How is everyone doing this fine Monday? Elder Hanley here reporting to you on the Christmas Cheer we experienced this past week.
Honestly...not a ton. We had A LOT of good experiences with members, and with a few of our investigators, but work is slow around the Holiday season, because people are so busy. So, we haven't had too much of a successful week, but it's been a good one.
Thank you to everyone who sent me presents and letters! It means so much! So, on Christmas. We opened presents first thing (of course I waited till Christmas morning. What do I look like, a Scrooge?) and then we went caroling with our Zone Leaders.
Then, the Davis family was kind enough to let us use their home to Skype home, and that was a lot of fun! It was kind of funny, the Davis's were so busy, that they just let us in, turned on their computer and their tablet and then bounced. After the good experience of skyping home, we went and visited a bunch of members. And then...our dinner fell through.
I was a little disapointed about that, but the reason was actually our safety. The Wolf's live up this really, really steep hill, and our front-wheel drive car wasn't gonna make it up the hill through the snow, so, we went over to an investigators house instead.
We actually just planned to say hey, and to visit some more people, but when he found out we didn't have dinner, he invited us in to have Prime Rib with his whole family. They were SUPER nice, and we enjoyed that a lot.
Other than that, our Bishop is awesome. Not only is he doing missionary work, and trying to find people for us to teach, but he also out of the blue decided to come with us to a lesson with Juan and Mary, just to help us out.
JUAN AND MARY ARE DOING GREAT! They are just soaking up all of the lessons, and they want to be baptized. The only thing is, they have to come to church at least three times before that, so it will probably be in February when they get baptized. It's so cool though, Juan feels the spirit so well. Apparently, last Sunday, he couldn't come to church because he was working, and he was having a really bad day, when out of nowhere, a random guy walks up to him, and asks if he can say a prayer with him. So Juan says yes, and the guy prays for Juan to have a good day, then the guy walks away without saying another word to Juan. Juan said that just improved his day so much.
We think Juan might have met one of the Three Nephites. It's a possibility. We're not ruling it out, at least.
Thank you all so much for all the support you give me! Sorry there are no pictures, we are slackers who forgot to take pictures on Christmas. But I will send pictures home next week!
-Elder Hanley
Monday, December 28, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Merry Christmas (Week)!
Merry Christmas to all of you! Elder Hanley, reporting to you from Rifle, Colorado, where things have been...slow.
We had a baptism scheduled for Saturday, but scheduling conflicts pushed it back. Hopefully, we'll have some good news about Chelsea by next week. Things have been kinda rough, what with it being so close to Christmas and all.
We have been teaching Juan and Mary, and they are AWESOME. They want to be baptized, but it probably won't happen for a little while since we still have a lot to teach them, and they probably won't be able to come to Church until Mary's work schedule changes and she has Sundays off.
Other than that, we got like 8 names from Ward Council this last week, and we are going to be working on contacting them, and hopefully getting some baptisms out of it. They are all Part-Member Families, so we're super excited for that.
We had our Christmas Luncheon with President and Sister Murdock on Thursday, and that was so much fun! We ate some great food, had some great spiritual moments, and did some really funny karaoke to Christmas songs. It was a whole lot of fun.
Other than that, we found a few new investigators who we're really excited for, and we are hoping to teach them some more and to get them progressing toward baptism.
Things have been kinda slow, but we're trying our best, and really, that's all we can do, is just invite people to come unto Christ.
Thank you all so much for all you do to support me!
Love,
Elder Hanley
We had a baptism scheduled for Saturday, but scheduling conflicts pushed it back. Hopefully, we'll have some good news about Chelsea by next week. Things have been kinda rough, what with it being so close to Christmas and all.
We have been teaching Juan and Mary, and they are AWESOME. They want to be baptized, but it probably won't happen for a little while since we still have a lot to teach them, and they probably won't be able to come to Church until Mary's work schedule changes and she has Sundays off.
Other than that, we got like 8 names from Ward Council this last week, and we are going to be working on contacting them, and hopefully getting some baptisms out of it. They are all Part-Member Families, so we're super excited for that.
We had our Christmas Luncheon with President and Sister Murdock on Thursday, and that was so much fun! We ate some great food, had some great spiritual moments, and did some really funny karaoke to Christmas songs. It was a whole lot of fun.
Other than that, we found a few new investigators who we're really excited for, and we are hoping to teach them some more and to get them progressing toward baptism.
Things have been kinda slow, but we're trying our best, and really, that's all we can do, is just invite people to come unto Christ.
Thank you all so much for all you do to support me!
Love,
Elder Hanley
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
December 14, 2015- It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!
Hello world! Elder Hanley here, reporting to you from the snow-covered Rifle, Colorado!
First off, some shoutouts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALICIA! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARY! Now, back to our regularly scheduled email.
So, this last week was...slow. For whatever reason, no one really wanted to talk to us. Most of our appointments fell through, and we spent a lot of time trying to contact people who seem to have vanished into some sort of time warp. We found a new investigator who seems pretty solid, but he says he wants to read the ENTIRE Book of Mormon before he even sets foot inside an LDS church. So...that was interesting.
We're hoping to get some baptisms by the end of this week. Gilbert (one of our investigators) has a baptismal date for this Saturday, so we're hoping he sticks to that. Apparently, he's had a lot of baptismal dates that have fallen through before this, so fingers crossed. Definitely keep Gilbert in your prayers. Also, keep Chelsea in your prayers. She was on date for the 11th, but that date came and went, so we're hoping to move her date to this Saturday.
Beside that, not much has been going on. We had to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up a few things the other day, and on the way in, some our investigators stopped to talk to us. We thought it was a pretty good sign that they didn't speed off, because if they hadn't stopped, we would never have known it was them. AND when we got into the actual store, we ran into one of the Less-Actives we've been working with. So, I think we were meant to be at that Wal-Mart that night.
So, it's been snowing quite a bit. Pictures will be included, but we had to shovel snow on Saturday, and we will most likely have to shovel snow tomorrow, since it's snowing pretty consistently right now.
We had Train the Trainers on Saturday, and that was super cool. President Atkinson was there, and he gave some really cool teachings. I also got to see Elder Smith and talk to him about how Montrose is doing, so that's really fun.
I guess this last week has been kind of a trial of our faith. While it would be easy to just say "nothing is happening today, let's just go home" we've been trying our best to continue working, continue trying to see people, even if no one seems to want to talk to us. It's important to keep going, even if it's tough a lot of the time.
A couple of days ago, I was super stressed, so I decided to call President Murdock (our mission President) and he talked to me about it. He said the secret to staying motivated to work is rooted in your testimony of the savior. If your testimony is strong, you'll have a strong desire to go out and to share the gospel. So, I'm working on that.
Thank you all so much! I love you all!
-Elder Hanley
First off, some shoutouts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALICIA! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARY! Now, back to our regularly scheduled email.
So, this last week was...slow. For whatever reason, no one really wanted to talk to us. Most of our appointments fell through, and we spent a lot of time trying to contact people who seem to have vanished into some sort of time warp. We found a new investigator who seems pretty solid, but he says he wants to read the ENTIRE Book of Mormon before he even sets foot inside an LDS church. So...that was interesting.
We're hoping to get some baptisms by the end of this week. Gilbert (one of our investigators) has a baptismal date for this Saturday, so we're hoping he sticks to that. Apparently, he's had a lot of baptismal dates that have fallen through before this, so fingers crossed. Definitely keep Gilbert in your prayers. Also, keep Chelsea in your prayers. She was on date for the 11th, but that date came and went, so we're hoping to move her date to this Saturday.
Beside that, not much has been going on. We had to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up a few things the other day, and on the way in, some our investigators stopped to talk to us. We thought it was a pretty good sign that they didn't speed off, because if they hadn't stopped, we would never have known it was them. AND when we got into the actual store, we ran into one of the Less-Actives we've been working with. So, I think we were meant to be at that Wal-Mart that night.
So, it's been snowing quite a bit. Pictures will be included, but we had to shovel snow on Saturday, and we will most likely have to shovel snow tomorrow, since it's snowing pretty consistently right now.
We had Train the Trainers on Saturday, and that was super cool. President Atkinson was there, and he gave some really cool teachings. I also got to see Elder Smith and talk to him about how Montrose is doing, so that's really fun.
I guess this last week has been kind of a trial of our faith. While it would be easy to just say "nothing is happening today, let's just go home" we've been trying our best to continue working, continue trying to see people, even if no one seems to want to talk to us. It's important to keep going, even if it's tough a lot of the time.
A couple of days ago, I was super stressed, so I decided to call President Murdock (our mission President) and he talked to me about it. He said the secret to staying motivated to work is rooted in your testimony of the savior. If your testimony is strong, you'll have a strong desire to go out and to share the gospel. So, I'm working on that.
Thank you all so much! I love you all!
-Elder Hanley
The view from our balcony the day after the snow hit.
This is Stanley. He's standing in for our Christmas tree for now. He's very festive.
Monday, December 7, 2015
December 7, 2015- All aboard the Transfer Train!
Hello people of Earth! So, I've been transferred to a little town called Rifle, Colorado. It's a nice little town where we get free Sonic and free Little Caesar's. This is not too good for my health, but hey, I've lost 5 pounds since I entered the Mission Field, so that's something.
This week has been...interesting. Transfers are exhausting. Been kinda wiped out all week, and adjusting to a new place is pretty draining. But we did find 6 new investigators this last week, and we've got about 5 people committed to baptism. So, that's exciting!
My new companion is Elder Eastley. He is super cool! He's seen a lot of the same stuff as me and we make a lot of the same references and laugh at a lot of dumb things that don't actually make sense. But that's my style of humor, so it works.
The ward here is super nice. We met with Bishop Reyelts (pronounced like Riots with an L added) and he is really cool and is making a lot of efforts to help us out. Our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Wolf, is also really cool.
The Elders were teaching a guy named Juan who wanted to be baptized, and we just recently met with his girlfriend, and she wants to be baptized too! And they have a one-year-old daughter, so it's really exciting.
Other than that, not much has happened. Mostly, just trying to adjust and to continue to become a better missionary, so fingers crossed on that front.
Thought I'd share my ponderizing scripture for the week. It's Jacob 4:7.
"Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things."
Thank you all so much for helping me out! It helps me so much to have people at home who are so supportive of me and are so effective at cheering me on!
Until next week!
-Elder Hanley
This week has been...interesting. Transfers are exhausting. Been kinda wiped out all week, and adjusting to a new place is pretty draining. But we did find 6 new investigators this last week, and we've got about 5 people committed to baptism. So, that's exciting!
My new companion is Elder Eastley. He is super cool! He's seen a lot of the same stuff as me and we make a lot of the same references and laugh at a lot of dumb things that don't actually make sense. But that's my style of humor, so it works.
The ward here is super nice. We met with Bishop Reyelts (pronounced like Riots with an L added) and he is really cool and is making a lot of efforts to help us out. Our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Wolf, is also really cool.
The Elders were teaching a guy named Juan who wanted to be baptized, and we just recently met with his girlfriend, and she wants to be baptized too! And they have a one-year-old daughter, so it's really exciting.
Other than that, not much has happened. Mostly, just trying to adjust and to continue to become a better missionary, so fingers crossed on that front.
Thought I'd share my ponderizing scripture for the week. It's Jacob 4:7.
"Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things."
Thank you all so much for helping me out! It helps me so much to have people at home who are so supportive of me and are so effective at cheering me on!
Until next week!
-Elder Hanley
A good view of Rifle, only partially covered by this weird guy who wandered into the shot.
And my companion, Elder Eastley!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
November 30, 2015- Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy (late) Thanksgiving everyone! Thanksgiving was pretty great, but more on that later.
This week has been pretty good! I have news, though. I'M BEING TRANSFERRED! I'm not sure where to yet (I find that out tomorrow) but I am honestly kind of excited to go somewhere new.
So, last Monday, we got to go on a hike WITH LLAMAS. (See picture below) The llamas are being trained to carry things for hikers, so we and the Mt. Sneffles Elders all went on a lovely hike with llamas. So, that was fun! (Even if the llamas were kind of stubborn)
We have been continuing to teach Connie, and she is great! She is OCD, so she gets caught up on tiny details (for instance, what Nephi meant when he wrote 'so forth.') but she is doing great! She came to a baptism in the Black Canyon ward with us, and that went really well.
And yes, Thanksgiving happened. So, as missionaries, we get to have multiple dinner appointments, and those appointments can last for up to two hours. So, we had two delicious Thanksgiving dinners, one of them at our Ward Mission Leader's home. We also helped him and his wife set up for Christmas in the yard. We're also helping them tonight to decorate their Christmas tree. Decorating the tree will be my last appointment in Spring Creek ward. Super excited about that.
A few other things happened: Cody came to Church! Since he's 14, he didn't enjoy it as much as we'd like, but we're still hopeful for him. We also talked to a girl named Ashley who was suuuuuuper prepared to hear the lesson. She's wanting to go to Church and be baptized if she felt it was true. So, that was great.
Also, one of the families in the ward, the Harrison's, who I've become super close with is actually related to me! We did some research and Dave found that he's related to the Johnson's! So, we're distant relatives, I guess.
People keep giving me food because I'm leaving. I mean, I'm not complaining, because now we have like 5 tupperware containers of cookies, I'm just stating it as a fact.
Thank you all so much for everything to do for me! You are all the best! I will talk to you all next week!
-Elder Hanley
This week has been pretty good! I have news, though. I'M BEING TRANSFERRED! I'm not sure where to yet (I find that out tomorrow) but I am honestly kind of excited to go somewhere new.
So, last Monday, we got to go on a hike WITH LLAMAS. (See picture below) The llamas are being trained to carry things for hikers, so we and the Mt. Sneffles Elders all went on a lovely hike with llamas. So, that was fun! (Even if the llamas were kind of stubborn)
We have been continuing to teach Connie, and she is great! She is OCD, so she gets caught up on tiny details (for instance, what Nephi meant when he wrote 'so forth.') but she is doing great! She came to a baptism in the Black Canyon ward with us, and that went really well.
And yes, Thanksgiving happened. So, as missionaries, we get to have multiple dinner appointments, and those appointments can last for up to two hours. So, we had two delicious Thanksgiving dinners, one of them at our Ward Mission Leader's home. We also helped him and his wife set up for Christmas in the yard. We're also helping them tonight to decorate their Christmas tree. Decorating the tree will be my last appointment in Spring Creek ward. Super excited about that.
A few other things happened: Cody came to Church! Since he's 14, he didn't enjoy it as much as we'd like, but we're still hopeful for him. We also talked to a girl named Ashley who was suuuuuuper prepared to hear the lesson. She's wanting to go to Church and be baptized if she felt it was true. So, that was great.
Also, one of the families in the ward, the Harrison's, who I've become super close with is actually related to me! We did some research and Dave found that he's related to the Johnson's! So, we're distant relatives, I guess.
People keep giving me food because I'm leaving. I mean, I'm not complaining, because now we have like 5 tupperware containers of cookies, I'm just stating it as a fact.
Thank you all so much for everything to do for me! You are all the best! I will talk to you all next week!
-Elder Hanley
Hiking with Llamas! This is Tanya the llama. She was pretty cool.
The Palmers had a festive Thanksgiving hat. So I wore it.
Monday, November 23, 2015
November 23, 2015- My First Baptism!
Hello world! Elder Hanley here, and yes, we had a baptism. More on that later, though.
This week has been really good. While I do get stressed occasionally, the frequency of the stress is dropping, so that's good. Also, it flew by! Seriously, I feel like I just barely got out on my mission, and November is already almost over. We taught some really cool people this last week, and found a total of 6 new investigators last week! We have quite a few of them committed to pray about being baptized. So, fingers crossed on that one.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner on Friday night. It might not have actually been Thanksgiving, but those are just details. We went to the Liberato-Halls from the Mt. Sneffles ward, and we brought Orlando along. Since it was the night before his baptism, and the Liberato-Halls were just baptized this last month, it was awesome. They are a great family, and they served an amazing dinner. Orlando really enjoyed it too.
We also got Ciera (a less-active we've been working with) to come to Church yesterday. It was great because her daughter, Aspen, has been dying to go to church for a long time. So, it was great.
It's been getting a lot colder as the days go on. When the sun is up, it's pretty warm, but once it goes down, it is freezing cold. It's an issue because we're pretty sure the heater in our apartment doesn't work. So, hopefully, we'll get that figured out soon, because it is pretty dang cold when we first get up in the morning.
And then yes, we had a baptism. Orlando has been waiting to be baptized for so long, that it was awesome to see him take that step. I got to give the opening prayer, and be a witness to the baptism. Orlando had to be dunked twice, but it was great. Lots of people from the ward have been coming out to support Orlando, and invite him over for dinner, and it's just great to see the ward excited about Orlando. Because we're sure excited about it.
A few quick notes: I've received a few socks from people lately. While I appreciate the socks, I am unable to wear socks that are odd colors or have cool patterns. Just black socks. Don't get me wrong, these socks are awesome. I'll just have to wait until I get home to wear them.
That's pretty much all that has happened, unless I'm forgetting something major (which I usually do) so, I'll sign off for now. Thank you all so much for all the support you give me! Seriously, I don't know how I'd do this if I didn't have amazing people in my life, supporting me.
Love,
Elder Hanley
This week has been really good. While I do get stressed occasionally, the frequency of the stress is dropping, so that's good. Also, it flew by! Seriously, I feel like I just barely got out on my mission, and November is already almost over. We taught some really cool people this last week, and found a total of 6 new investigators last week! We have quite a few of them committed to pray about being baptized. So, fingers crossed on that one.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner on Friday night. It might not have actually been Thanksgiving, but those are just details. We went to the Liberato-Halls from the Mt. Sneffles ward, and we brought Orlando along. Since it was the night before his baptism, and the Liberato-Halls were just baptized this last month, it was awesome. They are a great family, and they served an amazing dinner. Orlando really enjoyed it too.
We also got Ciera (a less-active we've been working with) to come to Church yesterday. It was great because her daughter, Aspen, has been dying to go to church for a long time. So, it was great.
It's been getting a lot colder as the days go on. When the sun is up, it's pretty warm, but once it goes down, it is freezing cold. It's an issue because we're pretty sure the heater in our apartment doesn't work. So, hopefully, we'll get that figured out soon, because it is pretty dang cold when we first get up in the morning.
And then yes, we had a baptism. Orlando has been waiting to be baptized for so long, that it was awesome to see him take that step. I got to give the opening prayer, and be a witness to the baptism. Orlando had to be dunked twice, but it was great. Lots of people from the ward have been coming out to support Orlando, and invite him over for dinner, and it's just great to see the ward excited about Orlando. Because we're sure excited about it.
A few quick notes: I've received a few socks from people lately. While I appreciate the socks, I am unable to wear socks that are odd colors or have cool patterns. Just black socks. Don't get me wrong, these socks are awesome. I'll just have to wait until I get home to wear them.
That's pretty much all that has happened, unless I'm forgetting something major (which I usually do) so, I'll sign off for now. Thank you all so much for all the support you give me! Seriously, I don't know how I'd do this if I didn't have amazing people in my life, supporting me.
Love,
Elder Hanley
Here is a picture of Orlando's baptism! Bro. Perry in our ward baptized him.
Monday, November 16, 2015
November 16, 2015- 1 Month Down!
Hello world!
So, this week has been...interesting. I was on exchanges a lot this last week. I was with Elder Gish and Elder Schmidtke for Monday and Tuesday, then we went up to Naturita for another day and a half. So, I've only had a couple days actually in Montrose. Being companions with the Zone Leaders is definitely interesting. Elder Smith says that because I've been going on so many exchanges, I'll never have a problem with exchanges for the rest of my mission, which I hope is true.
So, I know I promised news on a baptism, but that didn't end up happening. Orlando is waiting on paperwork from Salt Lake, and the day before the baptism, they still hadn't even started the paperwork. So, we're hopefully hearing news on his paperwork by today so we can get him baptized by this weekend. Stay tuned!
The little time I've been in Montrose this week has been kinda difficult. We're still trying to find more investigators, but so far, no one really solid has come along. We're going to be focusing more on getting referrals from members and from finding the elect this coming week, so keep us in your prayers as we try to find more people.
One of our investigators, Will, progressed a bit when we saw him last. He's always been kind of closed off and distant to previous missionaries, but we read the Book of Mormon with him this last time and he really enjoyed it. We brought Brother Palmer, our ward mission leader with us. Since he's a convert, he was able to bear a really powerful testimony that I think Will really connected with. So, that was awesome.
We also tried to commit Jeanie to baptism. She didn't accept a date, but she said if she felt it was true, she'd be baptized. She seems pretty skeptical of it, but she is still reading the Book of Mormon, so fingers crossed on that one as well. Again, any and all prayers would be greatly appreciated.
Ever so slowly, I'm getting more comfortable with all of this. One of these days, I'm going to wake up and all of this will just be normal. I'm looking forward to that. For now, I'm trying to enjoy being a beginner, and trying to learn as best I can. Thank you all so much for all the support you give me every single day! You are all the best!
Until next time!
-Elder Hanley
So, this week has been...interesting. I was on exchanges a lot this last week. I was with Elder Gish and Elder Schmidtke for Monday and Tuesday, then we went up to Naturita for another day and a half. So, I've only had a couple days actually in Montrose. Being companions with the Zone Leaders is definitely interesting. Elder Smith says that because I've been going on so many exchanges, I'll never have a problem with exchanges for the rest of my mission, which I hope is true.
So, I know I promised news on a baptism, but that didn't end up happening. Orlando is waiting on paperwork from Salt Lake, and the day before the baptism, they still hadn't even started the paperwork. So, we're hopefully hearing news on his paperwork by today so we can get him baptized by this weekend. Stay tuned!
The little time I've been in Montrose this week has been kinda difficult. We're still trying to find more investigators, but so far, no one really solid has come along. We're going to be focusing more on getting referrals from members and from finding the elect this coming week, so keep us in your prayers as we try to find more people.
One of our investigators, Will, progressed a bit when we saw him last. He's always been kind of closed off and distant to previous missionaries, but we read the Book of Mormon with him this last time and he really enjoyed it. We brought Brother Palmer, our ward mission leader with us. Since he's a convert, he was able to bear a really powerful testimony that I think Will really connected with. So, that was awesome.
We also tried to commit Jeanie to baptism. She didn't accept a date, but she said if she felt it was true, she'd be baptized. She seems pretty skeptical of it, but she is still reading the Book of Mormon, so fingers crossed on that one as well. Again, any and all prayers would be greatly appreciated.
Ever so slowly, I'm getting more comfortable with all of this. One of these days, I'm going to wake up and all of this will just be normal. I'm looking forward to that. For now, I'm trying to enjoy being a beginner, and trying to learn as best I can. Thank you all so much for all the support you give me every single day! You are all the best!
Until next time!
-Elder Hanley
Picture 1: This was the first snow of the year. Elder Forrest and I were excited. Don't judge us.
Picture 2: On the way to our dinner appointment one night, we stopped and got this beautiful view from the top of the mountain. This isn't in our area, unfortunately, this is when we were on exchanges.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
November 9, 2015- First Snow of the Year!
Hello world!
So, this week has been...interesting. It's kind of been a roller coaster to tell you the truth. On the one hand, I've been learning how to overcome my awkward shyness and talk to people, and how to be a better missionary. On the other, we're losing investigators fast.
At the beginning of the week, we dropped several people who simply refused to progress in the gospel. They didn't keep any commitments, they cancelled any and all appointments, etc. So, we dropped them. It's always sad to drop someone, but we can't be meeting twice a week with people who don't want to progress.
And then we were dropped by several people who we thought were super solid investigators. Which has been kind of disheartening. So, we're trying to get new investigators, which means tracting. We're doing our best to get referrals, so fingers crossed on that front.
Ok, enough doom and gloom.
It snowed!!!! None of the snow stuck, but it snowed! Elder Forrest and I frolicked through it while we were on exchanges. Elder Smith took our picture, but since he is heading to a meeting in Denver, I can't get the pictures I wanted to send. My companions being the Zone Leaders, they often drop me at the District Leader's, and head to meetings in far-off towns. Elder Gish is the District leader, and he and his companion, Elder Schmidtke live in a member's home, so they technically have a pet German Shepherd where they live. Color me a little bit jealous.
We did some service on the day it snowed. We moved some irrigation pipes in the snow, which was really fun. We also chopped some wood once the snow had stopped, and that was a lot of fun as well.
Oh, something else. ORLANDO IS GETTING BAPTIZED. I don't take very much credit for this, since he has wanted to be baptized since before I came out, but now that President has given his Ok, we are baptizing him this Friday. I'm sure I'll get a picture to send home. Orlando's great. He understands so much and is so ready to be baptized. It's awesome to see him take this step, and to see how excited he is for it.
That's pretty much all for this week. Thank you all so much for all the support. Emails, letters, anything, I really appreciate it all! You are all the best!
Until next week, I love you all!
-Elder Carl Hanley
So, this week has been...interesting. It's kind of been a roller coaster to tell you the truth. On the one hand, I've been learning how to overcome my awkward shyness and talk to people, and how to be a better missionary. On the other, we're losing investigators fast.
At the beginning of the week, we dropped several people who simply refused to progress in the gospel. They didn't keep any commitments, they cancelled any and all appointments, etc. So, we dropped them. It's always sad to drop someone, but we can't be meeting twice a week with people who don't want to progress.
And then we were dropped by several people who we thought were super solid investigators. Which has been kind of disheartening. So, we're trying to get new investigators, which means tracting. We're doing our best to get referrals, so fingers crossed on that front.
Ok, enough doom and gloom.
It snowed!!!! None of the snow stuck, but it snowed! Elder Forrest and I frolicked through it while we were on exchanges. Elder Smith took our picture, but since he is heading to a meeting in Denver, I can't get the pictures I wanted to send. My companions being the Zone Leaders, they often drop me at the District Leader's, and head to meetings in far-off towns. Elder Gish is the District leader, and he and his companion, Elder Schmidtke live in a member's home, so they technically have a pet German Shepherd where they live. Color me a little bit jealous.
We did some service on the day it snowed. We moved some irrigation pipes in the snow, which was really fun. We also chopped some wood once the snow had stopped, and that was a lot of fun as well.
Oh, something else. ORLANDO IS GETTING BAPTIZED. I don't take very much credit for this, since he has wanted to be baptized since before I came out, but now that President has given his Ok, we are baptizing him this Friday. I'm sure I'll get a picture to send home. Orlando's great. He understands so much and is so ready to be baptized. It's awesome to see him take this step, and to see how excited he is for it.
That's pretty much all for this week. Thank you all so much for all the support. Emails, letters, anything, I really appreciate it all! You are all the best!
Until next week, I love you all!
-Elder Carl Hanley
Monday, November 2, 2015
November 2, 2015-Week 3!
Hello world! This is Elder Hanley, and have I got an email for you!
So, this week has been pretty good. I'm slowly getting to the point where I'm more comfortable with the mission. Emphasis on slowly. But I'm getting there.
We have been working hard this week, and honestly, it's hard not to feel discouraged at times. Montrose is a very religious town, and so about 98% of the people we talk to already go to Church, and believe that all they need is the Bible. So, that's been tough.
We have some people who are progressing, though. Orlando, one of our investigators who has been waiting forever to be baptized finally has a baptismal date. So, that is awesome news. We have also been teaching a mother and her son, Jeanie and Cody. Cody is one of the coolest 14-year-olds that I know. He is just so willing to do what we ask him to do, and when we invited him to Church, he asked if it was all right if he brought a friend. He's not even a member yet, and he's already doing missionary work! They both came to Church this last Sunday, and they enjoyed it a lot!
On Halloween, missionaries aren't allowed to tract, so we went to a Trunk or Treat instead. Actually, we got to go to two trunk or treats, since we went on exchanges and they had theirs on a different night. We also went to one of the Christian churches for a carnival type thing. We got some weird looks, but hey, they had free food so I was fine with it.
Since my companions are the Zone Leaders (I didn't do anything bad, I swear!) we go on exchanges all the time. It's kind of cool going to different areas of the mission, and constantly working with new missionaries.
Some days are rough, but my trainers tell me that all of this is normal. One quote I hear all the time is "There is no growth in a comfort zone. And there is no comfort in a growth zone." So, I'm trying my hardest to not feel stressed or discouraged. I just want to work and become more like Christ. Thank you all so much for your support! I don't know how I'd do this if it wasn't for all of you supporting me!
So, I would LOVE to chat with all you lovely people through Email. However, I'm not really allowed to do that. If you respond quickly to an email, that's great, since I get to read it before next week, but I'm just not allowed to respond until next week. Just thought I'd let you all know.
I love you all!
Until next time,
-Elder Hanley
So, this week has been pretty good. I'm slowly getting to the point where I'm more comfortable with the mission. Emphasis on slowly. But I'm getting there.
We have been working hard this week, and honestly, it's hard not to feel discouraged at times. Montrose is a very religious town, and so about 98% of the people we talk to already go to Church, and believe that all they need is the Bible. So, that's been tough.
We have some people who are progressing, though. Orlando, one of our investigators who has been waiting forever to be baptized finally has a baptismal date. So, that is awesome news. We have also been teaching a mother and her son, Jeanie and Cody. Cody is one of the coolest 14-year-olds that I know. He is just so willing to do what we ask him to do, and when we invited him to Church, he asked if it was all right if he brought a friend. He's not even a member yet, and he's already doing missionary work! They both came to Church this last Sunday, and they enjoyed it a lot!
On Halloween, missionaries aren't allowed to tract, so we went to a Trunk or Treat instead. Actually, we got to go to two trunk or treats, since we went on exchanges and they had theirs on a different night. We also went to one of the Christian churches for a carnival type thing. We got some weird looks, but hey, they had free food so I was fine with it.
Since my companions are the Zone Leaders (I didn't do anything bad, I swear!) we go on exchanges all the time. It's kind of cool going to different areas of the mission, and constantly working with new missionaries.
Some days are rough, but my trainers tell me that all of this is normal. One quote I hear all the time is "There is no growth in a comfort zone. And there is no comfort in a growth zone." So, I'm trying my hardest to not feel stressed or discouraged. I just want to work and become more like Christ. Thank you all so much for your support! I don't know how I'd do this if it wasn't for all of you supporting me!
So, I would LOVE to chat with all you lovely people through Email. However, I'm not really allowed to do that. If you respond quickly to an email, that's great, since I get to read it before next week, but I'm just not allowed to respond until next week. Just thought I'd let you all know.
I love you all!
Until next time,
-Elder Hanley
Brother Palmer, our Ward Mission Leader had this awesome Batman pen that projects the Bat Symbol. I said I liked it. He took that to mean that I wanted it, so he gave it to me. Brother Palmer is pretty much the best.
And we did a service project on a farm while we were on exchanges. Here's me being weird in my Hogwarts shirt before we started.
Monday, October 26, 2015
October 26, 2015- Greetings from Colorado!
Hello World!
Sorry I was unable to email this last week, things were kinda crazy last Monday. We boarded a bus at 3:30 in the morning, rode it to where we caught a train, rode that to the airport, and arrived in Denver. We then spent all day at the Mission Home, and then the next day, I got my companions.
I'm assigned to serve in Montrose, Colorado, which is a little town "Out West" of Denver. We boarded the Transfer Train for a 6 hour car ride to Montrose. I met my companions, (yes, I get two of them) Elder Smith, who is from California. And Elder Noblott, who is from Salt Lake. Both of them have been out a year and a half and are super cool.
Montrose is a funny little town, full of Christian churches, and nice people. They'll listen to what we have to say most of the time, but we have a lot of difficulty finding people who will accept a Book of Mormon, or even be interested in setting up an appointment with us. We're working really hard, and I feel like blessings are just around the corner.
Our apartment is literally right next door to another apartment of Elders, and their apartment has a washer and dryer. It's super convenient if you need to do an emergency load of laundry, like I did.
In terms of weather, it's pretty chilly here, but I can get by most days without wearing a jacket. It's been rainy a lot, which apparently means that the snow is on it's way. So, as long as the snow isn't 5 feet deep, I'm Ok. I don't much feel like tracting through blizzards, but that's just me.
So, things have been good but a little stressful. I'm learning a lot all at once, and it can be a little overwhelming. My trainers are super helpful, though, and have been giving me some great advise on how best to calm down and enjoy my mission. I'm getting there, and I know that I'll grow and learn from this experience in ways I don't fully understand yet.
Thank you all so much for the support you've given me! Seriously, I say it a lot because it's true. This mission would be 10 times harder without you guys supporting me and cheering me on! You all are the best! I will email again next week.
Love,
Elder Hanley
Sorry I was unable to email this last week, things were kinda crazy last Monday. We boarded a bus at 3:30 in the morning, rode it to where we caught a train, rode that to the airport, and arrived in Denver. We then spent all day at the Mission Home, and then the next day, I got my companions.
I'm assigned to serve in Montrose, Colorado, which is a little town "Out West" of Denver. We boarded the Transfer Train for a 6 hour car ride to Montrose. I met my companions, (yes, I get two of them) Elder Smith, who is from California. And Elder Noblott, who is from Salt Lake. Both of them have been out a year and a half and are super cool.
Montrose is a funny little town, full of Christian churches, and nice people. They'll listen to what we have to say most of the time, but we have a lot of difficulty finding people who will accept a Book of Mormon, or even be interested in setting up an appointment with us. We're working really hard, and I feel like blessings are just around the corner.
Our apartment is literally right next door to another apartment of Elders, and their apartment has a washer and dryer. It's super convenient if you need to do an emergency load of laundry, like I did.
In terms of weather, it's pretty chilly here, but I can get by most days without wearing a jacket. It's been rainy a lot, which apparently means that the snow is on it's way. So, as long as the snow isn't 5 feet deep, I'm Ok. I don't much feel like tracting through blizzards, but that's just me.
So, things have been good but a little stressful. I'm learning a lot all at once, and it can be a little overwhelming. My trainers are super helpful, though, and have been giving me some great advise on how best to calm down and enjoy my mission. I'm getting there, and I know that I'll grow and learn from this experience in ways I don't fully understand yet.
Thank you all so much for the support you've given me! Seriously, I say it a lot because it's true. This mission would be 10 times harder without you guys supporting me and cheering me on! You all are the best! I will email again next week.
Love,
Elder Hanley
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Week 2! October 16, 2015
So, today is day 10 of my Mission, and I'm honestly getting a little tired of the MTC. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving feeling the spirit and learning how to teach, but this place is kind of like a prison. A good prison where they feed you pretty good food and let you go to the temple and stuff, but a place of incarceration nonetheless.
Enough of my fancy speech. We've been teaching two investigators, one of whom is our teacher pretending, and another who may or may not be a member. But they are both super cool, and by teaching them, we are learning how to rely on the spirit more. It's been really cool, since one of them is progressing really well, and is reading the Book of Mormon and we're encouraging her to pray about it. We have our last lesson with her tonight, so pray for me and my companion!
We have had some cool experiences as well. On Sunday, I was really stressed out, and I was kind of overwhelmed. So, the Elders in my room gave me a blessing of comfort, and that helped a lot. We also had a devotional later that night, where we watched a recorded talk by David A. Bednar (My favorite!) and it was all about the character of Christ, and was mainly about focusing on others, and not on ourselves. It was really, really powerful, and exactly what I needed to hear. Too bad that the talk is only available for viewing in the MTC, so I won't be able to see it again.
We went to the temple and did a session today, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was nice to be in such a peaceful place after a week plus of a slightly overwhelming environment.
If there's one of the rules that is the most difficult to follow, it's going to bed on time. I'm still not used to trying to go to bed at 10:30, and it usually takes me like an hour to get to bed. Waking up usually isn't a problem, but if anyone has some techniques for falling asleep quickly, they would be greatly appreciated.
So, I report to Denver this Monday, and I get to get up at 3:30 in the morning for it. (Yaaaaaaay...)
Oh! And the scripture I forgot the reference for last time. It was Alma 38:15. It's awesome, and is one of my new favorite scriptures!
I know the Church is true, and even though I have days where I'm stressed out, I know I'm supposed to be here, and I know there are people in Denver who have been prepared to hear my message. I'm scared, but excited to go out and teach. Thank you all so much for your support! I really couldn't do any of this without it.
I love you all!
-Elder Hanley
P.S.: I've been recording video logs, but they are apparently too big. So, I'll try to figure out a way to send those home.
Enough of my fancy speech. We've been teaching two investigators, one of whom is our teacher pretending, and another who may or may not be a member. But they are both super cool, and by teaching them, we are learning how to rely on the spirit more. It's been really cool, since one of them is progressing really well, and is reading the Book of Mormon and we're encouraging her to pray about it. We have our last lesson with her tonight, so pray for me and my companion!
We have had some cool experiences as well. On Sunday, I was really stressed out, and I was kind of overwhelmed. So, the Elders in my room gave me a blessing of comfort, and that helped a lot. We also had a devotional later that night, where we watched a recorded talk by David A. Bednar (My favorite!) and it was all about the character of Christ, and was mainly about focusing on others, and not on ourselves. It was really, really powerful, and exactly what I needed to hear. Too bad that the talk is only available for viewing in the MTC, so I won't be able to see it again.
We went to the temple and did a session today, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was nice to be in such a peaceful place after a week plus of a slightly overwhelming environment.
If there's one of the rules that is the most difficult to follow, it's going to bed on time. I'm still not used to trying to go to bed at 10:30, and it usually takes me like an hour to get to bed. Waking up usually isn't a problem, but if anyone has some techniques for falling asleep quickly, they would be greatly appreciated.
So, I report to Denver this Monday, and I get to get up at 3:30 in the morning for it. (Yaaaaaaay...)
Oh! And the scripture I forgot the reference for last time. It was Alma 38:15. It's awesome, and is one of my new favorite scriptures!
I know the Church is true, and even though I have days where I'm stressed out, I know I'm supposed to be here, and I know there are people in Denver who have been prepared to hear my message. I'm scared, but excited to go out and teach. Thank you all so much for your support! I really couldn't do any of this without it.
I love you all!
-Elder Hanley
P.S.: I've been recording video logs, but they are apparently too big. So, I'll try to figure out a way to send those home.
My District. They are pretty much the coolest ever. It feels like I've known them for a lot longer than 10 days, and it's gonna be sad to say goodbye to them. Granted, four of us are headed to Denver, so that'll be good.
Me enjoying a cookie back on Day 1. The Elders who arrived the week before us just gave us a bunch of food. I was very pleased.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Elder Hanley's MTC Update- Week One
Hey everyone! Fridays are Carl's P-days! So here is Elder Hanley's first email! :)
So, day 3 of my mission, and things are going good. The classes are going good, and I have a cool companion, Elder Didericksen, is really cool.
We are kept pretty busy here at the MTC, but I'm Ok with it. I enjoy the classes, and have been feeling the spirit in almost all of them. The only time I struggle with is when they give us study time. I'm still not amazing at studying, though I have found some really cool stuff while studying. (More on that later)
The food is fine. Honestly, I guess I was expecting food from a five-star restaurant or something. The food is just fine. The other missionaries in my class are all really cool, and we're already really good friends.
So, I have been stressing a little bit about the length of the mission, but I'm getting through it. Today in class, I was studying, and I found a scripture in Alma that said something along the lines, "Go, my son, and preach the gospel to this people." I feel bad for not having my scriptures on me to check the actual quote, but it was a really great spiritual moment, and I just started crying. I felt like God was saying the words directly to me, and it was just really spiritual and emotional.
I accidentally left the cord to my camera in my room, so I don't have it with me at the moment. I will send pictures next week, when I write again. Don't fret, you'll see pictures soon.
Even though I'm kind of scared still, I know this is where I'm supposed to be. I love you all, and thank you all so much for all the support you give me!
Love,
Elder Hanley
So, day 3 of my mission, and things are going good. The classes are going good, and I have a cool companion, Elder Didericksen, is really cool.
We are kept pretty busy here at the MTC, but I'm Ok with it. I enjoy the classes, and have been feeling the spirit in almost all of them. The only time I struggle with is when they give us study time. I'm still not amazing at studying, though I have found some really cool stuff while studying. (More on that later)
The food is fine. Honestly, I guess I was expecting food from a five-star restaurant or something. The food is just fine. The other missionaries in my class are all really cool, and we're already really good friends.
So, I have been stressing a little bit about the length of the mission, but I'm getting through it. Today in class, I was studying, and I found a scripture in Alma that said something along the lines, "Go, my son, and preach the gospel to this people." I feel bad for not having my scriptures on me to check the actual quote, but it was a really great spiritual moment, and I just started crying. I felt like God was saying the words directly to me, and it was just really spiritual and emotional.
I accidentally left the cord to my camera in my room, so I don't have it with me at the moment. I will send pictures next week, when I write again. Don't fret, you'll see pictures soon.
Even though I'm kind of scared still, I know this is where I'm supposed to be. I love you all, and thank you all so much for all the support you give me!
Love,
Elder Hanley
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Elder Hanley's first day! BEST MISSIONARY EVER!!!
Hey everyone, I'm Kara Haven (Carl's girlfriend), and I will be running Carl's mission blog for him while he's out. I will post Carl's updates that he sends on here. I'm so proud of Carl's decision to serve and I know he's going to make an incredible missionary!
As of yesterday at 8:45 p.m., Carl was set apart as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Spirit was incredibly strong, and I know that what he was blessed with, is going to help him, so much during his mission.
As of this morning, Elder Hanley has reported to the MTC, where he will spend the next couple of weeks preparing before heading out to Denver. I'm super excited for him, and I know that he's going to influence so many lives!
I will post Elder Hanley's emails on here, once I receive them! :) here's to the BEST MISSIONARY EVER!!!! :)
-Kara
-Kara
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Who is Elder Hanley anyways?
Hi There! My name (for now) is Carl Hanley. In just a little while, my name will change to Elder Hanley for 2 (!) Years. I'm off to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I've been called to serve in the Denver, Colorado South Mission. I'll be speaking the exotic and difficult to learn English language.
Once I report, the lovely and talented Kara Haven will be taking stewardship of this here blog. She'll be posting any emails I send home, any pictures I send back, and anything else she deems relevant. Maybe she'll just post funny memes and videos. Who knows, really?
I'm off to preach the gospel to share what makes me happy. The gospel of Jesus Christ has changed my life, and I owe it something in return. So, I'm off to teach anyone who will listen, in hopes of making their lives a little better and a lot happier. There will be tough times and happy times, but it'll be worth it in the end.
Once I report, the lovely and talented Kara Haven will be taking stewardship of this here blog. She'll be posting any emails I send home, any pictures I send back, and anything else she deems relevant. Maybe she'll just post funny memes and videos. Who knows, really?
I'm off to preach the gospel to share what makes me happy. The gospel of Jesus Christ has changed my life, and I owe it something in return. So, I'm off to teach anyone who will listen, in hopes of making their lives a little better and a lot happier. There will be tough times and happy times, but it'll be worth it in the end.
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