Sister Hannah Lynne Andersen

Tuesday, November 5, 2013~Week 12
Quezon City; 2:04 PM Tues (PH); 11:04 PM Mon (US)

Hey there fam! Well, I've made it to the end of my first transfer!! Holler at me!

TODAY!

Sad news though! We got the call this morning to tell us if any one would be transferring and Sister Jones is. I'm soooooooo sad! We've just gotten really really close and she is so sweet and has taken such good care of me! I really am going to miss her with all my heart! She has been the best trainer and nanay to me. She's going to an area called Pasig. Neither of us thought that she would be leaving because we figured that she would stay at least one more transfer to finish my training. She's been in this area for 6 months so it kind of makes sense that she would be transferring but it's still really sad! It means that I'm getting a follow up trainer and I'm a little bit nervous! I actually kind of had a hunch a couple days ago that Sister Jones would be leaving. A thought just sort of popped into my head that she's done everything that she can in this area and it's time for her to go to another one. And then another thought popped into my head saying that she's gonna end up leaving because Heavenly Father is sayin, "It's time to step it up Hannah!" So I was shocked, but like, not really... I'm scared though because I have to lead the area! I have to know where everyone's houses are and that's hard for my area because there are NO addresses! Everyone just lives in the mountain all over the place! And we have so many new investigators! And there's a sacrament service that's being started in the mountain for the less actives who can't afford to come all the way to the chapel and now I have to kind of lead that! AND I'm giving a talk in church next Sunday! I'M STRESSED OUT! The good news is that Sister Strebel and Sister Hepworth are staying! So they'll be here to help me get through this and keep me calm! My new companion's name is Tobungcog. I think she's Filipino. I have no idea. Oh well though! It'll still be a really great transfer! Everyone just pray really really REALLY hard for me!

We bought these BOO cookies for the other sisters. :)

Bought them in one of the little malls.

I'm glad that everyone had such a fun Halloween! I'm slightly jealous! I miss Halloween and all of mom's decorations and all the fun food and costumes! But I'll have you know that I started the day out right by eating a candy bar with my breakfast. (That's actually probably not good but it was Halloween so I said YOLO!) It was a good day though because we found a family to teach! Their names are Jake and Erika and they have a 1 year old son and 3 week old son! They are so cuuuuute! We've taught them three times already and they are just accepting it! They have the sweetest spirits! But they live in the squatters so it might be hard for them to come to church! Sooo as always, pray! Then! We went to the Dulalias, a member in the ward, for dinner and she fed us some nice Filipino food and then she brought out a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!! It made my whole day!! And when she saw how happy I was, she sent me home with a little container full of them! So, I basically went Trick or Treating! I was so happy! They tasted like Heaven! It was a Happy Halloween to me!!

Happy Halloween!

Then on Saturday, we had a really great lesson with this man named Marcos and his 16 year old son Marc! They are so great! They have such great questions and are very very receptive! I'm excited to keep teaching them! But at the end of the lesson, he told us that he had a 22 year old son who had A LOT of questions and he was reading the pamphlet and researching us a little on the internet and we were just like, ohh noooo. This is gonna be bad. So we told him we would come back on Sunday to teach his son. And we were definitely nervous. But we got there, and he was SO nice!! And he was just really curious about Joseph Smith and our beliefs and he had great questions and it was wonderful! And after I had finished teaching about how God is our loving Heavenly Father and how the gospel blesses families, he stopped me and said to us, "I really like the way you teach. You are so happy when you talk about God. And you have a light when you teach. It is a reflection of Jesus Christ." CAN YOU SAY GOLDEN?! Oh man. It was great! So super excited about that!

AND Ruben and Damdam came to church!!!!! We went to pick them up and they came! It was so great and I was so proud of the young men in our ward because they literally swarmed them and were with them the whole entire time and talked to them and laughed with them and Ruben and Damdam LOVED it SO much!! They are even singing with the rest of the young men in sacrament meeting on Sunday!! They just had the biggest smiles on their faces the whole entire time and I was so happy!! Then we went and taught them on Monday and they were so excited to see us and they are SO excited to come again next week and they even have a friend that wants to come and he joined in on the lesson we taught and they're just the happiest little people and I love them!!! Their baptism dates are moved to December because they have to go to church 4 times in a row but they really do want to be baptized! All it took was one time at church!! So pray that they'll keep coming!! I'm so excited for them!!

Then yesterday we had like a last little zone meeting thing where everyone just bore their testimonies and talked about what they learned from the zone and from their companions and it was really really great! I'm going to miss my district leader so so much! He was so nice and he really truly cared for us all! If we ever needed ANYTHING he would come running to fix it! He's being transferred to the Morong Zone. I think it's straight up province. He's been here for 6 months too. But he keeps calling us his angels and telling us how much he's going to miss us. He really is sad to leave us! And we're so sad that he's leaving! He was seriously the BEST district leader in the world! I'm gonna miss him! We bought him a bunch of candy bars and a coke and gave him a nice little card and everything as a goodbye gift. It's hard to say goodbye!

The thing that he's in is like a swinging bed!
Everyone has them hanging in their houses!

This week I've learned that change is hard but necessary. I don't want to have to start all over with a new companion when I was just barely starting to get to know the one I have! I don't want to have to lead the entire area by myself! But I know that it's what's best for me! And I know that I will grow so much more and that whatever my new companion has to offer is exactly what I need and that having to lead the area will be good for me! This will be a hard transfer I feel like. But I think I'm still gonna have fun and I know that I'm going to grow soo much! I love being on a mission! Some days are harder than others and sometimes I forget how amazing it is that I'm in the Philippines! But then I'll be in a lesson and I'll be bearing my testimony of the gospel and it's so clear to me why I'm here! I'm here because I love this gospel and I am so grateful for it and I want other people to have it! I want other people to feel this JOY!! Or I'll be riding in a crowded little jeepney and realize that I'm surrounded by Filipinos and how amazing it is that I can feel so at home here and that I'm starting to understand what they're saying! Heavenly Father has been so generous with me these past 6 weeks in giving me little reminders every day that I am SO blessed! And I am so happy! I feel so lucky that every day I can find a reason to laugh and find a reason to keep on going no matter what! I feel spoiled! I've said it before and I'll say it again, missions are hard. But they're so worth it! I am so grateful for all of you and all of your love and support and prayers!! I pray for each and every one of you individually every morning and every night! Thank you for praying for our investigators too!! You are all such a blessing in my life!! Thank you so much for EVERYTHING!! I miss you more than words can say! And I love you even more!!! Have a great week!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Love, Sister Andersen