Sister Hannah Lynne Andersen

Tuesday, June 3, 2014~Week 42
Antipolo; 2:10 PM Tues (PH); 12:10 AM Tues (US)

Hey there everyone! Sooooo this has been a crazy week! There's so much to tell! So I hope that I can fit it all in! But I'll start with the fact that last week we had Mission Conference and it was the best thing everrrrrrrr!! Elder Craig C. Christiansen {one of the Presidents of the Seventy} came with his wife and Elder Echohawk and his wife! It was just so incredible! and I was able to receive so many revelations! It was seriously just revelation after revelation after revelation! It was incredible!

One of the things that hit me most of all the things that Elder Christiansen said was that this mission, is for ME. He told us that the age change for missionaries was a part of the hastening of the work of salvation for multiple reasons. He told us to look how many more missionaries we have in the world! Look how many more Sister missionaries there are! That's no small thing! It's not just so that we can help the Savior bring more souls to the waters of baptism. It's also because, now we have all of these missionaries that are going to be truly converted to the Lord and be truly strong in this gospel! So that when we all come home, returned missionaries will marry returned missionaries and build families entirely founded upon the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and upon missionary work. He told us that this is how the Lord is helping to strengthen the Kingdom of God here on the earth. Because it just means, that with all these thousands of missionaries, there will be soooo many more families that will be strong and remain strong and continue to help prepare the earth for the coming of the Savior! It blew my mind for some reason! I've never EVER thought "Oh yes, this mission is for me!" But Elder Christiansen looked at all of us and literally said, "This mission is for YOU. THIS is the hastening of the work of Salvation. YOU are the work. Heavenly Father is taking you and shaping you to become the leaders of His Kingdom. And along the way, you're saving others. Because we all know that if we want to save ourselves, we must save others first. But let it be known, that this mission is for YOU." It hit me so hard how true that is! Can you imagine all of the families that will be blessed because BOTH parents will have served missions and BOTH parents will be strongly rooted in the gospel so that ALL of their children will turn out the same way! It's so incredible! It's completely g e n i u s. Heavenly Father really really knows exactly what he's doing! He and Elder Echohawk then preceded to tell us that when we go home, it is absolutely a necessity to get married. That is the next step and we cannot delay it. They looked at us very sternly and said, "This is what Heavenly Father would have you do. So do it." Sooooooo that's kind of weird to think about......... But seriously! It was the best conference ever! I learned SOOO much! I'll try and write a letter about all the amazing things I learned because there was seriously just a freaking bucketload! I loved it! Favorite conference so far!

Love this girl! w/Sister Oyler

Plus! We got to see almost everyone in the whole mission! Which was super duper fun! Everyone except for those who are on Mindoro. It was just the greatest day everrrrr.

There is beautiful symmetry in this photo plus probably
deep spiritual meaning if you look really hard. #youdecide

#cogeo

And then, I got a surprise temporary companion! Haha Sister Racaza became my companion from Wednesday until Saturday! She is an STL in Cogeo which isn't too far away. Soooo that was super duper fun. I got to be companions with two STLs and not actually have to be an STL. #rockedthatone

Sister Racaza!

Anyway, Sister Racaza is Sister Tibungcog's trainer. I learned a lot from her! She's such a powerful missionary and I get a better understanding of how to truly be bold with people when teaching so that when you extend a commitment at the end, they actually want to do the thing you're committing them to do! What an amazing concept right? No but really, I learned a lot from her and I'm super grateful that President loves me enough and loved my area enough to give me such a great missionary to work with for a few days. And on Saturday, Sister Racaza had scheduled a temple trip with their investigators and recent converts so I got to tag along! #luckymeeeeeeee

#philippinesmanilatemple

I love going to the temple. It's just so peaceful and quiet and beautiful! Nothing compares! Whether you're inside or outside, the spirit of the Lord is there. We're so blessed to have so many! And I'm so so blessed to have one in my mission! I super duper miss my temple dress though. Haha I can't wait to wear that thing again! :)

#soprettyyyyyyyyy

It was gettin' a little stormy

Then the rain came! MTC

And then suddenly, the rain left

I'm just super obsessed with the
weather that was happenin' here!

#temple #palmtree #philippines

#panoramic

Sooooooooo that's basically it! I hit my goal! We have 23 investigators with baptismal dates! Hollaaaaaaaaaa! Jayson is getting baptized on Saturday! He's super excited! He was interviewed on Sunday and passed despite how nervous he was for it.

Our ward mission leader, Christian and the
assistant ward mission leader, Donald! He is sooooo funny!

Just for fun. Loren, Eden, me, Sister Brown

I'm excited for this upcoming transfer! I get my baby this week! Yayyyyyyy!! I get her on Wednesday! She's a very lucky child because she's being born into a freaking g r e a t area! My kabahays are staying too so that's fun!

Our district. We're like a mullet.
Business in the front, party in the back!

Sister Brown is just finishing up her first 6 weeks of training. So it means that this next transfer, we're gonna have a toddler and baby in the house. Funnnnnnnn!! I'm super excited! I don't think that I'm nervous to train but I'm not sure. I'm just really hungry actually because I haven't eaten yet. Maybe I'll be nervous tomorrow. Maybe not. Depends. I just want food. Hahaha okay anyway....it's been a great week! I learned tons and am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for all of the amazing things that He teaches me each and every day! Missions are literally the greatest thing on the planet! Syd leaves on hers soon and Nessa gets to open her call tomorrow and I'm so bloody excited for both of them!!

TODAY

I love you all so so much! This is the greatest work ever! Thanks for all the love and support and prayers that you give me! You're all truly amazing! Have an amazing week! LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!

Love, Sister Andersen