Hannah Hurt(ful)

The time has gone by way too fast. I can’t believe I’m already at the end. Had this farewell meal with members last night with another missionary going home with me. They sang us a song, it was so cute! The bishop was telling us that we should look back on this in like 20 or 30 years and see that you’re like…companions… eternal…something…, hahaha i couldn’t understand a lot of what he said. 

We got transfer calls this morning from President. LOLZ. My companion answered the phone because I figured I wasn’t moving areas or getting a new companion so I didn’t need to answer the call. He said to my companion “why do you sound scared, like I’m sending you to a new area?” she said “what? I’m not… wait, are you?” “yeah!” *both of our faces are shocked, how could he just completely take missionaries out of this area???* “I’m sending you back to the states!!” and then we both realize he thinks he’s talking to me, hahahah. “Your new companion will be the Holy Ghost.” Lulz. i love president furniss so much, he’s the besttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt and you’re gonna meet him!!!

i’ve been getting trunky [homesick] for this thing called MISSION REUNIONS which i didn’t know existed. but it’s like, everyone from the mission gets back together after the mission!! the best! i think you know you’re not trunky when you’re only trunky for the mission, lol.

had to give my goodbye talk in one of my wards this week so i’ll do it in the other ward next week.. and you’ll be there! what the whaaaaaat so weird so weird so weird so weird!!   

ok welp… this is it!!! i’m gonna get off now and i’ll see you in… 4 days! don’t miss the flight! triple check the date and time!!! get to the airport 24 hours early! haha bring a nice camera with lots of memory/film to take a million pictures! gotta make up for the lack of pics the last year and a half, haha.^^ ah i’m so stressed, i don’t know why!!!!!!!!!!!! i can’t wait to see you! i love you!!!! Bye!!!!!!

Ok, really winding down here. It doesn’t feel real, I still can’t believe it.

Oh there is a girl I want to tell you about. We met her for the first time last week, second time yesterday. She lives alone with her grandmother. I felt impressed to say more about the potential our families have to live together eternally and as it turns out.. her mom died last year. She attended a church for a bit last year when her mom was sick and they were helping, but she’s since stopped attending.

The first time we met her we gave her a Book of Mormon and told her to read the introduction page. Yesterday when we met her she brought the Book of Mormon and said “Sorry, I couldn’t remember which part you told me to read… so I read the whole section before the pictures,” which is like, Joseph Smith’s experience, the testimony of the 3 and 8 witnesses, and the introduction page. Never had an investigator do that before. Uuuuuuugh, golden. Then at the end I said, “So we have church at 10 on Sunday, could we go together? It’s 3 hours so it ends at 1.” “Yeah!!!” she was like, excited. I think we were all so shocked, we didn’t even get around to explaining what the three meetings are or why it’s 3 hours, haha.

There really are prepared people out there.. they’re just not on every street corner. I heard a stat that 1 in every 1000 missionary street contacts gets baptized and 600 of every 1000 member-referrals get baptized. Amazing that any street contacts get baptized!

I’m pretty sure she’s golden, but… we had to refer her to different sister missionaries because she doesn’t live in our area ㅠㅠ. I made sure to take a picture with her ‘cause uhhhhhh she’s gonna get baptized. haha.

The beginning of the end… the last transfer went by so fast and this transfer will go by even faster. Sent my baby off to Jeonju on Thursday and got my last companion. She’s the chillest, we’re gonna have like, negative problems this transfer. We’ve already taught a few lessons together and I feel like it’s really an even trade-off, we say almost the same amount of stuff to investigators. Her strength is definitely asking questions, I’ve kind of realized how bad I am at that. I think I’m afraid I won’t understand their response or I will and I won’t know how to respond anyway, haha. But she’s a pro! Can’t believe this is just barely her second area and 3rd companion. I’m really lucky this transfer^^

I called President about something this week and he said “I think this is gonna be a really good transfer for you” heh heh heh I wonder if he was trying to sense if I was trunky or not… or like, encourage me not to be. Who has time to be trunky when there is so much going on in this area right now! Aside from the fact that we have the most investigators I’ve had in awhile, not to mention a lot of potentials lined up, I have 3 particular investigators that I want to focus on because I really think they can be baptized (or in one case, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost) before I leave. Obviously the worst thing in the world would be if they got baptized and they WEREN’T ready and they just did it cause I’m leaving. So I’ll make sure that’s not the case…

We met with the one that was baptized but never confirmed this week. I was so excited to teach her the lesson because I could really tell the Spirit was guiding us as we prepared for it. And then when we taught it I could feel it really testifying to her, especially through the awesome help of the member that taught with us. By the end of the lesson she committed to come to church and prepare to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by a certain day by keeping the commandments… and then she didn’t come to church yesterday ㅠㅠ or respond to my texts or calls. But we did have one investigator there! 

There’s a Seventy coming to talk to us next month and in preparation he’s asked us to all read the entire book of Alma. Luckily it was just like, right there in my personal study anyway. So yeah, I’ve just been reading Alma lately. Such a great book. I love the promise that is repeated like 50 million times:

“…inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandment ye shall prosper in the land, and inasmuch as you… don’t… ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord,” or something like that.

I wish I counted how many times I’ve read it. The most simple things like “ask and ye shall receive” are the ones repeated a trillion times because people never cease to like, not get it. It’s SIMPLE, GUYS.

I can’t believe how fast the time is flying!!! Everyone left and right keeps giving me countdowns, it’s driving me crazy! My next transfer only being 4 weeks long is super throwing me off. I keep thinking I have way more time left than I really do. I’m so glad that now that it’s finally gotten down to it, I really don’t feel “trunky” [homesick] at all. I love this area so much, I want to do all I can for it so when I pass it on to the next senior I’m leaving it “better than I found it” like it says in Preach My Gospel.

Our lives would be so much easier if we didn’t give up time to go to a foreign country and learn a difficult language and proselyte in difficult weather and wake up early and go to sleep late.. but we feel an obligation to because we’ve had the undeniable witness from the Holy Ghost. I have a testimony that this gospel is true and that its purpose is to bless us, and so even though it might be hard to confront some people… I have this obligation that I can’t explain. And I know that I am much, much, much happier for it. I know I will always have this living testimony. I’m so excited to go home and be a different person.

I’M SO GLAD I SERVED!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t imagine if I hadn’t. I’d be so different and I would never know how much I love Korean people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah, I’m gonna miss them. I can’t wait to take you around everywhere!

We taught a lesson with one of the referrals from one of my fave members. Accepted a baptismal commitment and date in the first lesson! The prophet has asked us to do it the first time we meet investigators. And considering this one was super prepared, referred by a member, and the spirit prompted me to do it, I did it! And she accepted! Exciting!!

So we had some great miracles this week ^^

On Monday one of my favorite recent converts referred a friend of his to us. She’s adorable and I love her. We haven’t really figured out a time to meet weekly so we haven’t started into the lessons yet but I think it’s gonna be really great for her (obvs) and also for HIM to start doing missionary work. He just barely got baptized like 2 weeks ago and he’s transitioned from investigator to member like NOBODY’S BUSINESS. He’s a great example, I think he’s gonna be a really great leader some day. You’ll meet him when you come to Korea!! His English name is Sam.

Also this week!!!! Reunited with my favorite investigator and we went to church together. She even sang hymns with us, and well, I was really impressed. I think she was a little bit scared just cause she didn’t know anyone but us (all the members we did lessons with go to the other ward ㅠㅠ)  But she LOVES the Book of Mormon! I could tell she’d been studying it more. Oh, and Robert Holley gave a talk during sacrament which I think she really enjoyed, haha, because he’s kind of semi-famous. He was just like a little comedian up there.

Anyong!

Just got the news that I’ve been accepted into BYU! Hooray!!! Gotta register for classes and whatnot. Also we may have to buy tickets to Utah soonish. I need to be back in Utah by April 21st-ish? which gives me april 6-20 to do all the things I have to do before I go back to schoolzies. Crazy. I’m glad, though. I want to stay busy^^ Also I have to be back in Utah by the 21st because my favorite convert ever from Korea goes into the MTC on the 23rd so I have to see her the day before!! It’s about a week or so before school starts but I should probs get up around there anyway to find a job before everyone starts school, ya know what I’m saying???