Sister Hannah Lynne Andersen: August 2014

Tuesday, August 26, 2014~Week 54

Antipolo; 1:17 PM Tues (PH); 11:17 PM Mon (US)

Helloooooooooooo!! So this has been a good week but it's definitely had it's challenges. It was a hard week for Sister Hernandez but we got Slurpees from
7-Eleven so all is well. Haha

I love her!

This was a big achievement because
Sister Hernandez is DEATHLY afraid of dogs!

First things first though! I must tell you about a wonderful referral that we got from my dear Eden! She was working with us one day and then she just said, "Sisters! Let's go to my friend Annie! She's less active and her husband isn't a member!" So we were like okayyyyy! So we went and it was just the best little lesson ever. We basically just talked and kind of introduced the gospel to Annie's husband Robin. He's soooooooo funny! They have a brand new baby who's just 2 weeks old and as precious as ever! But the best part was.....they came to church on Sunday!! That is usally the HARDEST thing in the world to get investigators to do but they came! No problems! And they enjoyed! I absolutely know for sure that Robin is going to be baptized. His spirit is just so ready and they already have a support system in the ward! I'm soooooo excited for them. :)

Eden!

Welp. I'm being transferred! I'm going to Cainta 1st Ward. My new companion is Sister Wiradi from Indonesia! I've heard great things about this ward and the area and the zone and so I'm excited. I knew that I was going to be transferring. There's just a different feeling when transfers are getting close and you don't feel stressed about leaving or staying. You just kind of feel..... okay. Whenever I get that feeling, I just know I'm gonna be transferring because I know I've done my part here in this area and it's time to move on. I'm needed somewhere else and the people here need someone new. Transfers are definitely my least favorite thing in the world but they are the best thing in the world. Every time I transfer, I just learn so much. This transfer though is different than my first two times transferring. Because here in Antipolo, I really feel like I became a missionary. And because of that, my relationships here with my investigators and the ward members are so much deeper and beautiful.

I love Brent and he loves me! {probably}

Yesterday we had a ward activity at the church and the Bishop gave us all a chance to give our regards to the ward just in case we got transferred. And as I was bearing my testimony and expressing my gratitude for them, I just got emotional because I can't even begin to describe the love I have for them all. They are such beautiful, wonderful, strong people and it's sooooo hard to leave them. But I'm so grateful to know that one day, whether it be in this life or the next, I'll see them all again! At the end of our missions, we get to come back and visit our previous areas for a day and if this is the only area I end up visiting, I'll be okay with that. Because this is where my home is now. I'm so so SO grateful to have been assigned here. The Lord just really really loves me.

Just because Toni wanted to take pictures like this...

So, now it's time for new adventures!! I'm going off to Cainta tomorrow and I guess I'm excited but I'm not really sure!

Haha anyway, I love you all so so much!! Thanks for EVERYTHING!! Gotta go now!! Have a great week!! LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!

TODAY

Love, Sister Andersen

Monday, August 18, 2014~Week 53

Antipolo; 1:40 PM Mon (PH); 11:40 PM Sun (US)

Hello there everybody!!

TODAY!
{I'm so glad that I bought this shirt
when I was 10 years old and I'm now
20 years old and it still fits like a gem.
#yayformagicclothes}

This has been an incredible week! Miracles truly happened and I'm so so grateful that we had such a wonderful week. I truly saw the hand of the Lord in our work this week. So our focus in the zone has been finding the 6 new investigators that we're supposed to find every single week. WE haven't been able to hit it the past few weeks because Sister Hernandez has been super sick and other road blocks always seem to pop up. But we had faith that THIS week, we were going to get it. And then we set out to work! On Tuesday, we had a goal to get three new investigators because we were going to contact and teach three referrals that we had received. Well, we got punted by the first two. So we set out to find the third one and we walked ALL OVER THE DANG SUBDIVISION! We kept asking people if they knew where the street was that we were looking for and people kept pointing in different ways. So when we finally found the street, we were already sooo tired. And then we walked up and down the street (which happened to be a very big hill) and we couldn't find the address that had been given to us! My poor little anak was dead and was saying that maybe it didn't exist. But I told her that we need to try that last house. And so we went up and guess what!! It was him!! He let us in and we were able to teach him and his two children! That's 3 new investigators!

#overlook #theresnoshortageoftreesinthephilippines

And then on Wednesday, we had a goal to get 1 new investigator and when we went out to work that morning, low and behold, our investigators invited their friends to listen to us! We were able to get 3 new investigators that morning! One of which was taught by Elders a year or so ago and was going to be baptized but his dad didn't give him permission. But hearts change and people change when the timing is right so this could be his second chance!

My anak is a cutie.
When she gets hot, she just wipes baby powder
all over her face and leaves it there.

Birthday chocolate for my date with my mama :)

And then Thursday, we had the wonderful opportunity of going on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders! I got to work with Sister Cutia which is opportunity we've been waiting for for like the past 4 transfers! WE had the best day ever! We had set a goal to get 3 new investigators that day and we ended up getting 4 WONDERFUL new investigators with SOOOOO much potential! I loved being able to teach with Sister Cutia she is such an amazing teacher. She teaches with such power and love and I'm just so amazed by our STLs! They are truly such great examples of servants of the Lord. When we did our evaluations, Sister Cutia told Sister Hernandez and I that we were such a great inspired companionship and that they could really feel the spirit and that we were Preach My Gospel missionaries. That happens to be #thebestcomplimentever Haha no but really, it's just good to know that after a year of serving the Lord, I've made progress and I really am doing my job and helping him here in this part of His vineyard.

So this isn't a very good picture of it but
a miracle happened last night!! I got Brent
to laugh for me for the first time EVER!
I was so excited! He's preshhhhhhhh

. Haha he looks like he's saying,
Uh hum.....excuse me??

Then on Friday, we had set a goal to find 2 new investigators and when we went out to work, those same investigators that had invited their friends before, invited MORE friends for us to teach! And then we went to teach our investigators that are getting baptized on August 30 and they had friends for us to teach too! So all in all, we were able to get 4 new investigators that day!

THEN! On Saturday, we went out to work that morning with the goal of getting one new investigator but the investigators that are getting baptized on the 30th invited two more friends to the lesson. And then we went and taught one more potential investigator! Which means that we were able to get 3 new investigators that day!!

So total for the week: 17 new investigators!! I was so excited!! It was just truly amazing to watch the hand of the Lord help us not only to reach our goal, but completely exceed it! I was so amazed and so humbled! I know that if we put all of our faith in the Lord and work hard, we can accomplish anything and everything!! It was the best week ever!!

Now, just for a little note about my birthday. It didn't actually feel like a birthday.

Wait what? It's your birthday today??

I got texts from other missionaries and members in the ward and I read all my little birthday cards that my family sent me.

If you can't read it, it says Happy Birthday on my cheek.

But it really just was another working day! We got up, cleaned, I ate oatmeal for breakfast, showered, did personal study, companionship study, worked, came back, ate lunch, did language study, did training, worked, had a nice dinner appointment with our neighbors, came home, they surprised me with a birthday cake that they all ate, and I went to bed!

My Birthday Lunch! :) I found Bean and Bacon soup here!
It was just a tad bit expensive because I'm on a
missionary budget.... but I said #YOLO #ITSMYBIRTHDAY
{Made me think of you dad!}

Haha normal day! But, it was still a good day. It was the first birthday in my whole life when I wasn't thinking about myself the whole time and neither was anybody else really. As I was riding in a tricycle I was thinking about how insignificant I really was. There are BILLIONS of people all over the world and I'm just one of them. But I was thinking about my own insignificance {not in a sad way.... just a thoughtful way}, I also came to realize that I was born 20 years ago from that day so that I could be serving as a missionary in the Philippines today. And despite how insignificant I may be, I thought about all the people that I've had the opportunity to serve before and during my mission and how my little insignificant self might have been able to make a significant difference in someone's life. I'm just grateful to be little insignificant me, making a significant difference in this lil' ol' world.

#birthdayselfie #owls #polkadots #fanbecauseitsstillbloodyhot

Sooooo all in all, this was a g r e a t week!! And I know there are better ones to come!! I love being a missionary! I love serving the Lord! I love everything! I'm so blessed! Always have been, always will be!! Hope you all have the best week ever!!! LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! :)

Love, Sister Andersen

P.S. Happiest Birthdays to my dearest Kenna Benna and Nessa!!! I love you both dearly and miss you like crazy!!!! HUGS AND KISSES MY DARLINGS!!! :)

My A M A Z I N G birthday gift from Loren Mendoza!

The cute birthday gift that Sister Cutia and Sister Franks gave me.
Hahaha I told them it was PERFECT because one year ago from
that very day, I went and saw Despicable Me 2 with my little brothers.
#tendermercies #nomatterhowsillytheyare

Monday, August 11, 2014~Week 52: ONE YEAR!!
Antipolo; 12:55 PM Mon (PH); 10:55 PM Sun (US)

It just hit me that I've been out for a year because I put Week 52 in the subject line. Do you know how many weeks are in a year? Yeah there's 52. #woah #mindblown #holdupplease #onlysixmonthsleft #thatsinsane #INSANE

TODAY!
Fun Fact: This is photo number 613 in my pictures.
OBVIOUSLY that is symbolic of my 6 months left
and my birthday on the 13th.
#thatsneat #theuniverselovesme

Sooo this past week was a little bit rough for my anak. She got {infected?} lymph nodes! And her whole body was just sick and achy and she had a fever and she was always dizzy and tired and it was definitely not fun for her. We weren't able to work on Tuesday or Thursday. {Wednesday we had Zone Conference and I'll write about that in a second.} So she was having a hard time. You know how it gets, when you're sick, you miss home and family because your mom's really the only one who knows how to make you feel better. But it's all good. We had a good time together and there was some nice bonding when she was knocked out. #bonding #itsapleasure

Sister Oyler and I

Elder Salisbury, Elder Starr, Elder Houston, and I
at Zone Conference! This is my batch from the MTC!

But Zone Conference!! Best.Thing. Ever. I looooooooooove Zone Conference more than anything!! I always feel so uplifted and inspired after. Especially after President and Sister Revillo speak! Every time that they speak to us, I just feel with every thing that I have that they have been called of God and I am so grateful for them. They are truly the most amazing people and they love their "missionary children" so much. They do everything in their power to make sure that we are safe, physically and spiritually, and they've given us so many things to make sure that we stay obedient and can obtain the blessings that the Lord is waiting to give to us. To all my missionary friends who are preparing to serve or have just started serving I have this to say to you: LOVE YOUR MISSION PRESIDENT. Don't murmur. Don't complain. Just obey. Sometimes they put out rules that seem ridiculous or like we don't need them or you want to get upset because it's something you could do before and now you can't. Just let it go and follow all the rules with a happy heart. I promise that if you'll do that, your love for the mission president, your mission, and the work you are doing will grow IMMENSELY. And for those who aren't serving or are done serving missions, DO THE SAME THING! But with the Lord and his chosen servants. Therein lie the blessings my friends.

We miss Elder Suarez.

My asawa and and my anak. We're a lovely family.

This is our dysfunctional family photo.

{Sister Anderson} {Sister Andersen} {Sister Anderson}

But the highlight of the week was yesterday at church! We had a rough start to the week but we finished strong! Yesterday we had 7 investigators at church and 9 less actives! The most we've had in a while!! WE were able to see blessings happen as we worked hard in those few days that we had! We found new investigators, built relationships with members, and watched miracles happen. I have a testimony that if we do what we're supposed to be doing and we work as hard as we can, the Lord reaches down and helps us. He loves us all so much!! I'm so grateful for this past week! It was wonderful!! Every week here is!!

Yayyyyyyyyy it came!!

Sa loob!

Well, I have to go now! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I'm so old!! I love you all like crazy!! I miss you so much!! Have a wonderful week and eat birthday cake on my birthday for me!! And lots of ice cream and have a party! See you all in exactly 6 months!! :) LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!

Love, Sister Andersen :)

P.S. Friends and family, if you love me, {truly truly love me} , you’ll do an instagram post dedicated to me on my birthday. Haha ;)
P.P.S. My sincerest apologies to those who wrote to me that I didn’t have time to respond to. Namely: Bryan, McKenna, Aunt Shawny, Nicole, Brocky J, Sister Oyler and others I may have missed. Thank you so much! I’ll write next week! Love you! :)

The bugs here in the Phillies are w e i r d.

This is Lanea. She. Is. Darling.

#donald #von #myfavorites

Monday, August 4, 2014~Week 51

Antipolo; 1:18 PM Mon (PH); 11:18 PM Sun (US)

Hello there everyone! I hope you all had a splendid week indeed! Soooo basically the best thing that happened this past week was the Mini MTC that we put together! It was so fun! It was a loooooooooooot of work and I'll admit I was D E A D tired after it but it was so worth it. The other sister and I made individual name tags for all the ward missionaries and name tags for the teachers {us} and the other staff.

Ang galing ko! Sobra!

MTC Teachers. #winning

Then we prepared workshops and lessons and it felt like a million other things but on Saturday morning before they all got there, it was nice to know that everything was ready and that they would have a nice experience! My favorite part of the Mini MTC that we had was teaching the cute little ward missionaries.

My cute little district

We taught them "The Doctrine of Christ" and "Teach People, Not Lessons." It was a neat experience for me because one, I got to see a little bit what it was like for MY MTC teacher. Of course, my MTC teacher was like 21547989310000000000001x better than me but #yolo. And two, I didn't realize how much I understood these principles until I had to teach them to those who don't know them yet. It was so cool because I could literally feel the Spirit leading the words that I was saying and I could see the Spirit working on these amazing young youth as they listened and tried to understand.

Loren, Rinabelle, Audrey, and Julfa

My girls Lois and Loren.

They be crayyyy.

#homegirls

And then as we watched them all try to apply it as we went out into our areas to do work. Sooooo fun and so worth all the effort!

Everyone loves food diba? #snacksforthelittlemissionaries

All of us at lunch!

Teacher and Staff table!

And then yesterday, it was the best sacrament meeting ever because our investigator Angie who can't get baptized until 2017 got up and bore her testimony!! It was so amazing! And she cried and I cried and the spirit was so strong. She is definitely one of those amazing people that has been prepared by the Lord to accept the gospel. And although there are a few roadblocks right now, she has so much faith and she's gonna make it all the way to the end! But wait! It doesn't end there! Our recent convert April got up and bore her testimony too! And she also cried and so of course I cried too! But wait! There's more! Our other recent convert Irene got up and bore such a beautiful testimony too! It was seriously the best day ever! I'm so grateful for these wonderful people who have such strong testimonies! They are such amazing examples to me and my life has been blessed and changed by them immensely.

Sunday's Best

This is Brent and this is literally his face
every moment of every day. It doesn't change.
But he's adorable and he loves me.

Loren!

Eden!

And just really quick, my anak cleaned the bathroom this morning for the first time in her life!! I'm so proud of her! She hated it and I loved it!! Hahaha I love being a mother!! Yay for moms that make us clean!!