Simply Hannah: New Area!!

Dear Family & Friends,

Last Monday Sister Brown and I got the phone call from the Assistant's saying that Sister Brown was staying and that I would be leaving Des Moines. Transfers are always bittersweet, because you love the people and the area, but at the same time you are excited for the unknown. Tuesday and Wednesday we ended up saying good byes to many people that I have grown to love in the Des Moines ward! We were able to talk briefly with Gary on Tuesday, and he said that he would be at church, but I wasn't in Des Moines yesterday to know if he came or not.

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to spend close to 6 months in Des Moines and for all the lessons I was able to learn, and the people I grew to love!

Along with saying goodbyes there came the challenge of trying to pack everything back into your suitcases, which is extremely difficult when you have to have clothes for all the extremes of weather and when you haven't moved for 6 months, but after the purchasing of some vacuum packing bags, getting rid of stuff not needed, and sending a few boxes home, the task was accomplished!

Thursday morning was an early morning and of course I am just like the rest of the family where, on the days that you are to go somewhere, you can set the alarm for earlier than normal, but your body will still wake up long before your alarm goes off. Anyways transfer meetings are always exciting to attend. Every companionship that was getting a change arrives at the Stake Center in Iowa City, where you mingle and talk for a little while, and then everyone eventually sits down in the chapel as the mission presidency trains. After the training President Jensen reads off the transfer assignments and that is when you find out who your companion will be and what area you will be serving in.

I am now serving with Sister Stoffers in the Mt. Vernon Branch! Which, it was really neat, because right before the meeting I was talking with Sister Stoffers who we were both trained by Sister Thompson, and then she was companions with Sister Lindgren who was my MTC companion. And I was companions with Sister Whipple, who was Sister Stoffers' MTC companion. So during our conversation before the meeting we said that all that was left was that we (Sister Stoffers and I) needed to be companions.

Mt. Vernon is a small town, very similar to the size of Carthage, IL, which is quite the change to Des Moines, but I love it! Like on Friday, we went and helped one of the members, who lives out in the middle of corn fields (imagine that in Iowa), anyways we helped build an arbor, and then helped gather eggs. An experience that I never got in Des Moines!

This is also my first time being in a branch, but the branch members are so wonderful and so down to Earth.

Yesterday was really neat, because we met with Jacob, who is a high school student that was doing a project on religions and had happened to come across the mormon.org website and requested missionaries so that he could gather information for his project. He doesn't have much of a religious background, but we were able to teach briefly about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was really neat, because he was asking questions and the Spirit was working in him, but he also wasn't familiar with the feeling of the Spirit. But it is really neat how the Holy Ghost works and how it does bear witness of all truth!

Yesterday was a wonderful Mother's day and I am so grateful for the influence that women have on each of us and the power that comes from their Christlike examples!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call

Sister Call, Nan Ku, Cho Ku (English every Friday with them)

Elder and Sister Crapo!

Sister Strayer helped us out so much in Des Moines!

Carrie

Andelin girls!

Andelin family! Such an adorable family! The girls would come and talk with me every week at church, and their oldest daughter is the one that drew a portrait of me!