Simply Hannah: A Few Highlights

Dear Family & Friends:

Last week after emailing we stopped by a little small town shop here in Mt. Vernon and within minutes of being in the store the storm sirens went off and we headed back to our apartment. The sky was so eerie and it was the calm before the storm, luckily it remained calm until we were back in our apartment, but as soon as we got in our apartment the sky and all of outside was green, almost like a swampy-green fog. It was really weird. We were in the process of gathering a few of the things we wanted so we had things to do as we waited out the storm in our bathroom, when our power went off . . . Neither Sister Porter nor I had unpacked our flashlights or knew where they were at. So with the light from our phone we went searching for our flashlights. I had flashlights with no batteries, and Sister Porter had batteries, so we made a good team. There were no tornadoes, but because of the water and wind, there were many trees down, basements flooded, and roads that were washed out. So we spent Monday evening, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons helping people clean up from the flooding!

Wednesday we had a great zone training meeting in Cedar Rapids and the Assistants were in attendance! The trainings were on bearing testimony, and how a testimony is our constant in the ever changing world, and one of the most powerful ways to bring the Spirit; obedience: a Christlike attribute; and the importance of commitments and following up on commitments.

Thursday was Sister Porter's birthday and it was a great day! The highlight of the day was when we received a text from the AP saying that one of Sister Porter's investigators from Macomb, IL was going to be baptized on Saturday and that if we could get permission from President, and find a ride with a member that we could go! After President gave us approval we literally called almost every member in our branch, but since there was a wedding in our branch on the 4th and most of the branch members were going to be in Nauvoo on Friday, and at the reception on Saturday, we couldn't find anyone to take us.

Another highlight from Thursday is that we had decided to go to the city hall to see if we could find out any information on things that we could help out with on the 4th of July. Since it was a beautiful day we decided that we would walk, since we don't live very far. The people at city hall told us to go talk with Joe who works at the visitor center, but as we arrived at the visitor's center it was closed. Deciding that we would go on with our plans for the day we went to the library to have our mormon.org time for the week. After the library we stopped back at the visitor center, but it was still locked. Heading back down Main Street we came across two people that were attempting to put up a canopy all by themselves. Immediately we asked if we could help them out and without even looking to see who we were they said "yes please! You came at just the right moment!" Once the tent/canopy was set up, one of the guys looked at our tags and said "Are you the Sisters?! I have your number in my phone! Elders and Sisters have helped me out so much! . . . I am Joe. .. ” The very person that we had been looking for! He then asked if we could help him out since they needed to close Main Street at 2:00 p.m. in preparation for the Antiques Extravaganza that would take place on the 4th! And we were able to meet a lot of people as we helped close the streets! And then the following day when we were able to help one of the vendors who had Parkinson’s load up their trailer after the show!

We had a birthday dinner at Elder and Sister Templeton's which was our last time being in their home, because they conclude their mission and are heading back home today :( but what a joy it has been to serve with another wonderful senior couple!

Saturday was an interesting day, because it started out kind of somber, since Sister Porter really wanted to go to the baptism, but the chances were getting slimmer as the moments ticked by. We had lunch with our Branch mission leader's family, and we were supposed to roast hot dogs over a fire, but the rain decided that we would do otherwise. Anyways, around 2:00 we thought that we should call one last member to see if she would be willing to drive us to Macomb for the baptism that would start at 6:00. Much to our amazement and as an answer to prayers she said that she would, and by 3:00 we were on the road. The people in Macomb, didn't know that we were coming, so when we walked in the doors at 6:00, Carrie (who was being baptized) saw Sister Porter and just started to cry! What an exciting and special experience it was to witness Carrie's baptism and to hear her sweet testimony after she was baptized.

Anyways, I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Sister Call