No Bike Contacting, yet!

Don't worry, I haven't done any bike contacting! Yet! And no crazy bike crashes! Although my bike has a flat tire, so I've been using Sister Hadley's old bike which is a little too high for me, and that's been reeeeeal uncomfortable. Whew!

The most delicious ice cream cone of my life!

The week has been awesome. The other sisters are still in our apartment, but they got a new apartment that they can move into September 1. It's really fun being with them though!!! Søster Murray and I have gone out almost every morning to run and work out. I'm super grateful for that! :)

Minion Cupcakes thanks to Emily (sorry, just had to add these in)

Happy birthday to dad! It sounds like it was such a fun party. I love the minions! So cute! That was a way good idea. Did Dad get anything exciting for his birthday?

I'm copying and pasting from my email to President Sederholm (when you're telling two different people about how your week went, sometimes you have to just copy and paste!) and I don't know how to reformat it so there isn't a weird color in the background, so sorry about that!

Well it's been another fantastic week!  I've noticed a theme in our lessons, church and reading my patriarchal blessing - the Lord has been bringing it to my attention again and again how important scripture study, prayer and listening to the Spirit is.  It's amazing how when I take the time to be quiet inside, the Spirit can speak to me and I feel the confirmation that I'm doing the Lord's will.  And on the other hand, it's amazing how quickly I can tell when the Spirit is not with me.  I feel like a toddler trying to learn how to walk - I have this amazing gift from the Lord, and I'm still figuring out how to keep my balance while using it.  But some day I will be able to walk with confidence. 

When Sister Handley and I planned for the last week, we planned Friday to be a miracle day.  We didn't know what would happen or how, but we really wanted good things to happen.  On Thursday night, we made plans for the next day, with our main "miracle time" at the end of the day.

The Lord had different plans for us though, and when Friday came we had a surprise first lesson in the morning with new investigators the Gladsaxe First sisters had found who happened to live in our area.  On our way out to the appointment, I talked to a man on the S-tog who was very interested in the church and asked me to pray for him as he went to a job interview.  

The appointment went well, with a sweet lady named P who was so excited to receive a Book of Mormon and wants to continue to meet!!  Then on the way back, we talked to a girl on the S-tog and she gave us her number and said she wants to learn more about the church!!

Basically, the miracles we had planned for the evening happened in the morning, and the work we had planned for the day, which was wonderful, happened in the evening.  The day didn't go according to our plan, but it did go according to the Lord's plan and He had miracles in store for us.  It was a really good day.  :)

Also, on Wednesday we were going to stop by a potential investigator from Poland.  We had a Polish Book of Mormon for her.  That morning we found another Polish Book of Mormon in our apartment and Sister Handley said "maybe there's someone else who needs this as well!"  That evening on the S-tog I started talking to a girl around my age, named E, and her mom.  They were from Poland.  It was too good of an opportunity to pass up!  I asked E if she wanted a Book of Mormon, Sister Handley was ready with a book to give her, and E accepted.  It was probably the highlight of my week - what are the odds of us meeting E the same day we were carrying around a Polish Book of Mormon?  It was meant to be!

I love the work and I know I am doing it as well as I can.  I can always do better and I really want to understand the Atonement better and how it can help me be a better tool in the Lord's hands.  But I get impatient sometimes!  I want to understand everything right now!  I know it's in the Lord's timing though, and that I'll only be able to understand it more through diligent study over time.  It will all work out.

It's SO HOT and humid here, oh my goodness. I sweat from the moment I wake up until 9 or 10 at night. Who knew it could get so gross in Northern Europe?! I'm pretty amazing that my face isn't breaking out like crazy, hopefully that continues. 

I broke our fan on accident!

Meh I'm running out of time and I think my email is not so fantastic this week, but everything is going really well and I love it! I'm trying to be more aware of the Spirit and I feel a lot more of Heavenly Father's love! 

Oh and I got a priesthood blessing this week, because I've been hitting what I'd like to call a mid-mission crisis where I feel like I'm not really making a difference, what am I doing with my life, am I spending my time where I should, etc. Don't worry though! It happens to everyone. The blessing was amazing and very comforting. By focusing on listening to the Spirit and studying the scriptures, I am remembering why I am here and I'm more aware of opportunities to help other people.

I love you so much! I pray for you all. Just keep smiling!! Thanks for your good attitudes and positive emails, it makes such a difference to me to hear that everyone is doing well and having fun. If everything was falling apart at home, I think I would be a ball of stress!

Tell everyone I love them, and to have fun in DC! Don't forget to pray!

Love,

Hannah

PS I got a cute letter from Sister S with an update about the youth in Rapid city. I miss that place! I hope I can go back after the mission!