2nd P-day

Family and Friends

Thank you so much for all your letters!  It is so fun to hear from everyone.  We are given one hour to email at the MTC so a little longer than when Evan and Justin were there but it still goes by extremely fast.   I fly out in 5 days!!!!  I got my travel plans on Saturday and the sisters in my district, another district in my zone, and one group of elders from another district are all going to Iowa.  So I think there is a total of 23 missionaries arriving Wednesday to the Iowa Des Moines Mission. We are leaving the MTC Wednesday morning at 5:00 and will be traveling to the airport.  When we get to the airport we will get checked in and find our gate and then we will be able to call home!!!!  So sometime between 7:00 and 8:15 that morning I should be calling!  Our flight takes off at 8:43 and we will have a layover in Minneapolis, MN for 50 minutes.  So a short layover, but then we will board our next plane and arrive in Des Moines shortly after 2:00 in the afternoon!  I seriously can't believe that we will be in the field in such a short amount of time!  But I've decided that the MTC distorts your perception of time.  Like the days drag on forever, but yet they fly by, and it feels like I have been here for a while, but yet it feels like I was dropped off yesterday.  


Sister Call & Sister Lindgren

 Like all missionaries will tell you Sunday's are fantastic!  You have tons of personal study time and no class time. We have Relief Society with all the sister missionaries at the MTC so this past Sunday there were 1,254 sister missionaries at the MTC!  Sister Carole Stevens (1st counselor in the General Relief Society presidency) was supposed to be our speaker, but she never showed up so the MTC presidency's wives each spoke on Joseph Smith!   After Relief Society they have a new sisters meeting where all the new sister missionaries stay in the room and they go over the dress and grooming standards we are to follow.  We then had our temple walk and were able to take lots of pictures!  I saw Marci after Relief Society so we took some pictures, and then went our ways, but after I got done with Sacrament Meeting Sister Lindgren and I were outside studying before the devotional and we saw Marci.  So I sat by Marci during the devotional and the film afterwards!  It was so good to see her.  We had both been praying daily to see each other since our schedules are so different from each others.  Marci's district was moved down to the Wyview MTC Tuesday, but all the departing missionaries had an in-field orientation yesterday so I ran into Marci again.  For the devotional Elder Allen who is the director of the Missionary Department spoke and it was amazing!  He had originally planned on a fun devotional where he would make us all laugh, but we were watching Sister Monson's funeral immediately afterwards so he threw away his plans and today went by the spirit as he spoke. 

Wednesday was fun to watch all the new missionaries come in, but I felt bad for them because they all looked so worried and scared because they honestly have no idea what they are about to experience.  The MTC is seriously the biggest, longest, steepest roller coaster of my life.  There are times when I get frustrated and discouraged, but there are times that you are experiencing the best gospel high of your life.  So this past week I was getting discouraged because I felt like I was doing everything I knew how to do but yet I didn't feel like Sister Lindgren and I were getting anywhere with our "investigators", but last night before we went to teach our "progressing investigator" our teacher was helping our class use the Book of Mormon to help our investigators to grow closer to their Savior and to receive personal revelation. Sister Lindgren and I changed our lesson plans and went and just listened to our investigator and used Alma 34 to help him receive his own revelation and reach a decision by himself.  Between the spirit, the scriptures, and his agency he committed to a baptismal date!  haha which this just made my entire week and I was on a huge gospel high last night so all the struggles of this past week are so worth it if I can help others strengthen their relationship with their Father in Heaven.

Sister Alvey is from Layton, UT,  Sister Woodbury is from San Antonio, Texas.  Sister Rogers and Sister Despain did not know each other before the mission but they have some mutual friends. My teachers missions: Sister Coultrin- Edmonton, Canada,  Brother McClain- Anaheim, CA. 

p.s. mom: Sister Lindgren's mom is going to Star Valley this week and is cousins with Jami Wilkes,  so she is giving her mom your cell number so she might give you a call.



I love you all,

Sister Call





 



Elsa, Sara, Hannah--Friends from BYU-I

 


Hannah & Marci at the MTC

 

 









1st P-day

Dear Family and Friends,

The MTC has been great so far.  Everyone keeps saying that the first couple of days are the hardest and that if you can just make it until Sunday you will love it because Sunday's are supposed to be wonderful, but I have loved the MTC so far.  They keep us so busy that we don't have time to think about anything else.  Like I haven't even had time to really think about my family since I have arrived, but there is a sister in my district that is homesick.  My companion is Sister Lindgren from Monroe, Utah.  She is so amazing and we get along great!  There are six sisters in my residence.  So there is Sister Alvey, Sister Woodbury from Texas,  Sister Rogers and Sister Despain are both from Gilbert, Arizona, and then there is my companion and I.  So my district consists of the 6 of us in our residence as well as four elders.  All six of us sisters are going to the Iowa Des Moines Mission and the elders are going to Mesa, Arizona. My MTC teachers are both so wonderful they are Brother McClain and Sister Coultrin.  They are also role playing as an investigators so each companionship will start teaching them today or tomorrow! 

It has been so fun to see so many people I know here. Before I could even take my luggage to my residence I ran into Sara Dustin!!! She is doing amazing, but it was so fun to see her again!  I run into Sara several times a day.  After we got my luggage to the room I was walking with my host sister to the bookstore and saw Kaisha Wray (from my YSA ward in Logan), and then I saw Taylor Richardson (roommate from BYU-I)!  I don't see Marci very much, which is kind of a bummer, but I am sure that she is having a wonderful time here as well.  I run into quite a few people I know in the cafeteria or out walking from building to building.  So yesterday I saw Elsa Dean (Sara's roommate) at both breakfast and lunch, I also ran into Katie Larson (public speaking and anatomy classes at BYU-I)  in the lunch room.  Yesterday after lunch my companion and I were leaving the building and I saw Hannah Christiansen (chemistry and public speaking classes at BYU-I)  originally she was supposed to go to the Peru MTC and serve in Peru, but she hasn't received her visa so she has been in the Provo MTC waiting for her visa, but she just barely received the assignment to go to the Washington D.C. South Mission.  She will be an amazing missionary wherever she serves!  I ran into Mykell Thompson last night.  So I believe that I have seen everyone that I know here! I see one of the Hanks' boys from Grandma Jensen's ward all the time. 

 Last night we met with our Branch Presidency and they are amazing!  I love each of them!  Our Branch President is President Boone from Mapleton, Utah and he emphasized a lot on being exceptional missionaries instead of average missionaries.  The first counselor is Brother David Wagaman from Highland, Utah.   He is with the Wagaman's that own the ranch/property in South End, so I think he is cousins with Neil Wagaman in Grandma's ward, so it was fun to make that connection.  The second counselor is Brother Casey Bilbro from Pleasant Grove, Utah and he is the one that did my interview last night, and he is an amazing person as well.   It was neat as we talked he could tell that I came from a very supportive family and then he made the comment that my dad has probably served in a Bishopric. So I really thought that that was touching and said a lot about what wonderful parents I have been blessed with! 

To answer questions from the letters I have received so far. Marci lives in a different building than I do, and I rarely run into her. But I do live in the same building as Taylor, Sara, and Elsa, but they are all on the first floor and I am on the fourth floor, so I don't run into them in our building. 

 The first night was a long night and I should have brought Tylenol PM or something of that sort to help sleep.  We had our lights out and were quiet by 10:30 p.m. but I was awake for the majority of the night.  Our room was light from the full moon and the lights in the hall.  I had a headache from not drinking enough water.  The air conditioning was loud and it froze me, and the bunkbeds are noisy and are not the most comfortable beds in the world. With the combination of all of these things I did not sleep very well.   I kept looking at my alarm clock and I honestly think that I got about a total of maybe 2 hours that night.  Another thing that I learned is that I should have packed hangers because there is not room for you to keep everything in your suitcase and just live out of your suitcase, but luckily Sister Lindgren is awesome and packed more than enough hangers for herself, so she let me use the hangers she wasn't using.  Wednesday and Thursday we spent a lot of time at class and workshops. Yesterday for our gym period Sister Lindgren and I went up to the fields below the temple and played sand volleball.  It was so nice to get outside and play!  The weather has been so wonderful!  Every chance we get Sister Lindgren and I are outside because the temperature is just perfect and we need to enjoy the dry air and mountains while we still have it.  Today is our p-day and we were assigned service from 6:05 until 7:20 this morning so we woke up at 5:45 and we are all exhausted, but have come to the conclusion that we are going to be exhausted for the next 18 months so we better get used to it.  For service Sister Lindgren and I swept the walkways outside of the main building. We were supposed to go to the temple today, but they cancelled it so that we could have more class time.  That was a bummer, but they promised us that we would be able to attend the temple next week. 

The MTC is amazing and I have thoroughly enjoyed every part of it so far!  I hope you are all doing wonderful and thank you so much for your prayers and support! 

 I love you all!

Love Sister Call

(The pictures are of when I was dropped off with my parents and then with Sister Lindgren and I.)

Second Letter:

 

Oh I thought you would be interested that there are 11 sisters and 12 elders going to Des Moines Iowa  the same day as I. 

 

The MTC is wonderful and I am so grateful that I made the decision to serve a mission.

 

Thanks for all your love and support! 

 

Also, just a side note I should have walked in my shoes a lot before the mission because I have blisters on my heels since they aren't worn in yet.  But they will be great.

 

I have been eating way healthy and have taken Sara's advice and have stayed away from all the desserts even though some of them look really good.

 

Well my time is about all up, but I hope you all have a wonderful memorial weekend and please visit Grandma's gravesite and send me a picture! 

 

I love you all and am doing wonderful.

 

Sister Call

 

p.s. I love receiving letters

 

Outfits Galore

As I was thinking about shopping for mission outfits I was thinking that maybe being an "Elder Hannah Call"  wouldn't be too bad.  I could walk into a store find a white dress shirt that I like, get 10 of them in my size, find a pair of dress pants that fit, buy several in each color,  get two different colors of dress shoes, find some ties at the D.I. and call it good.  But apparently I didn't think about the shopping part before I sent  the clarifying letter that I was in fact a SISTER to the mission home.  So I guess I have no option but to dress and look like a sister missionary now.

I have never been the kind of girl that loves shopping.  On rare occasions I get in the "shopping mode" and enjoy shopping, but for me this mode wears off in an extremely short amount of time.  So most of the time I dread going shopping.

But if there is one thing that I love, it is a comfortable t-shirt with shorts or a pair of jeans and I am found wearing these items approximately 90% of the time. This past summer was the best!  Because if I wasn't in a swimsuit at the pool, lake, or ocean, I was in a pair of shorts and a comfortable shirt every day except for a couple hours while I was at church on Sunday.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with wearing a t-shirt and jeans everyday of my life, but it doesn't quite fit the guide lines for what sister missionaries are supposed to wear.  As a missionary I'm supposed to wear a skirt or a dress and look professional every day for the next 18 months. Oh and just a side note we are supposed to pack everything we need in two suitcases. Slight problem, my whole wardrobe is basically t-shirts, shorts, and jeans with a few outfits for Sunday, and I don't want to be wearing the same seven outfits every week for the next 18 months of my life.  

Luckily my cousin, Cristina Cragun Johnson, came to the rescue!  Shortly after I received my mission call, I got a phone call from Cristina congratulating me on my call and wondering if I would like her to help me with choosing my outfits for the mission so that I could have the most amount of options for outfits with the least amount of clothes.  Exactly what a missionary needs!   Of course I was ecstatic that someone with the wardrobe knowledge that Cristina has was going to be helping  me pick clothes for the mission.  

Just a couple of weeks ago I was in Salt Lake and went shopping with Cristina.  It only took us a couple of hours and we had most everything I needed clothes wise for the mission.  But before we headed home for the night Cristina wrote down the items that I still needed to get to maximize the options.  So last week when I was back in Salt Lake I was able to find the items that Cristina had written down for me to get, and then with her help we took pictures of all the different combinations I can make with the items of clothing I am taking on my mission.  We made a spread sheet with all the pictures so that I can remember the different combinations while I'm on my mission.  Since we took the pictures I have added two shirts and 1 skirt and if we count all the options, without the different belt and accessory options, I easily have over 150 different outfit combinations. Which means I shouldn't have to repeat many of my outfits throughout 18 months of dressing up every single day.  The best part about it all is that all of my clothes fit into 1 suitcase and so my other suitcase is being used to pack all the other items I need for 18 months!  

Cristina was amazing in maximizing the use of my wardrobe and thanks to her I will not be wearing the same 7 outfits for 18 months straight!  So if you are interested in having Cristina help maximize your wardrobe email her at visageim@gmail.com.

I'm an ELDER?????

 Several weeks after I received my call a manila envelope came in the mail.  When my mom first picked up the mail she sent a picture message of the Iowa Des Moines Mission address in the left corner, and I was way excited!  Well, that excitement was short lived because moments later I received the next picture message from my mom which happened to be a picture of who the letter was addressed to. . .

Elder Hannah Call.  Elder Hannah Call. Elder Hannah Call. Elder Hannah Call.

To make matters even better the letter that my mission president signed with his name is also addressed to ELDER HANNAH CALL. 

Now I wouldn't have been so shocked if my first name was Jordan, or Taylor, or any other name that is used for both male and female names, but Hannah!  Have you ever heard of a boy named Hannah???   Me either! At first I didn't know what to do, do I call the mission home and let them know what happened or do I laugh about it and have fun with the circumstance?  Well I chose not to call the mission home, but I did have fun with "Elder Hannah Call"  as I wrote back to the mission home telling about myself.  The following is part of the letter I wrote back:  "Since my package from you came addressed to "Elder Hannah Call" you must have known that I grew up with all guys.  I have two older brothers, two younger brothers, no sisters, and most of my cousins are guys.  I can hold my own with the guys, so I guess as longs as I am considered "Elder Hannah Call" then I am eligible to have another Elder as my companion (we just won't send pictures to President Monson).  No but really, everyone got a good laugh about "Elder Hannah Call" and just so you aren't disappointed when I show up I'll let you in on a little secret . . . I'm a "Sister Hannah Call."     

It was only a matter of days from the time I sent the letter back to the mission office that I received the following letter.

Well I'm glad everyone is now on the same page and we can all agree that I am in fact a Sister Hannah Call!

To serve or not to serve

I haven't always had the desire to serve a mission.  In fact most of the time growing up and especially in my teenage years serving a mission wasn't even on my list of things to do.  Every time my parents would make

mention of me serving a mission I would get upset and tell them that I wasn't going on a mission, instead I was going to college, I was going to go on to graduate school, I was doing anything but going on a mission.  

On my mom's side of the family there is a history of women serving missions.  My mom served her mission in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission, my Grandma Jensen served her mission in Australia, and my Great Grandma Jensen served her mission in Colorado. Now on my dad's side of the family he does not have a tradition of women serving missions.  So I am in the middle of two different but both very good traditions and until just recently I didn't know which tradition I was going to carry on. To serve or not to serve, that was the question.

In the October 2012  General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson made the historic announcement that lowered the minimum age requirement for both young men and young women to serve a mission. (Click here to watch the announcement) Ever since the announcement you could feel the excitement coming from all the members of the Church.  Many of us tried to comprehend and imagine what this age drop would result in.  But there I was in my living room wishing that the announcement came a year earlier so that a mission would have fit into my plans.  There I was once again making excuses on why a mission wasn't for me.  

Weeks and months passed from when the announcement was made and I continued to focus on school and other activities.  But somehow the idea of serving a mission kept coming up.  Each time the idea of serving a mission showed up, I was there with an excuse on why it wouldn't work out for me.  Crazy thing is that whenever I would use an excuse, within days the excuse I had been using didn't work any more.  For example one of my excuses was that I was in the middle of sequences for some of my classes such as Chemistry, Physics, and Anatomy courses which all build on each other and become extremely difficult to take a long break and try to pick up where you left off.  so this excuse worked for a little while, that was until I met with my department adviser and found out that quite a few of the classes I thought I needed sequences with weren't that way.  Well that excuse was shot down during that appointment.  Similar things happened with all of the excuses I came up with and eventually I came to the conclusion that I needed to follow the prompting about serving a mission that I had been receiving and pushing aside for months. 

 On January 16th (the day I decided to serve a mission)  I wrote the following in my journal, "for the past couple of months every excuse I've come up with on why I shouldn't serve a mission has been worked around.  So I have been feeling like I should go on a mission, but I've tried to ignore it.  It has come to the point that I don't know if the Lord is going to slap me in my face anymore to get me to realize that I really do want to serve my Lord."  On Sunday January 20th, I met with my Bishop and started my mission papers, within 9 days my papers were completed and submitted to the Church headquarters.  For the next couple weeks it was a waiting period for the call to come in the mail..

Friday, February 15th, 2013, my parents and younger brother Dallin were heading to regional wrestling where my youngest brother Ben was wrestling.  On their way out of town they stopped at the post office and today was the day we had been looking forward to.  It was the day that a Big White Envelope from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed to Sister Hannah Call came in the mail.  This white envelope contained where I would be serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 18 months.   I was in my Nutrition class when I received the text message from my mom with a picture of the white envelope!  Needless to say from that moment onward I did not pay attention to a word that was said in any of my classes the rest of the day.   

My family was not going to get back from regionals until Saturday evening. So we waited anxiously until Saturday evening when I could open the Big White Envelope with friends and family present. Take note, Saturday was February 16th, exactly one month from the time I officially decided to go on a mission!   As we were waiting for everyone to show up we wrote down people's guesses of where I would be called on the back of the Big White Envelope.  

Finally six o'clock came and everyone had arrived.  The moment we had been waiting for was finally here.  With some family members on the phone and others present I opened the Big White Envelope and read "Dear Sister Call, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Iowa Des Moines Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.  You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013." 

I was ecstatic about being called to Des Moines, Iowa especially since Nauvoo and Carthage Illinois are within my mission boundaries. What better fit could there be for me than a mission with lots of small towns and rich in Church History? NONE!  So Iowa here I come!