March 30, 2016-Puerto Alegre!

After 6 weeks in the missionary training center Hannah made it to Porto Alegre.

Her mission President and his wife sent us a letter in Portugeese saying how impressed he is with her already and not to worry because they would treat her like she was their own daughter.

Hannah's hand written letter in the PDF file below (wouldn't paste so I typed it up-sorry, not hand written) tell about her companion and new area. 

Family,
     I have finally arrived in Porto Alegre and it is absolutely beautiful! This morning I woke up at 4 a.m. which was difficult, but on the bright side, I got to fly Azul! Both of my bags weighted 25 kilos (way over the limit) but the sweet workers didn't even mention a word about it. and of Course the snacks on the flight strangely tasted like home because #1-I've had them before and #2 they remind me of you, Dad!
     My Mission President are honestly some of the sweetest people I have ever met and I feel so blessed to be in their mission. I especially love how cute they are with each other, they really adore each other. So today I got my companion! She is fromArgentina and has been on the mission for 8 months. At first I was a little worried because she isn't Brazilian, but her Portuguese actually sounds pretty perfect to me! She is so sweet and very welcoming. We will be serving in Granado which looks beautiful (look up pictures of the area and maps!)
     Crazy to think that from here on, no more speaking English. Today was pretty difficult because I didn't understand everything, but I'm trying to stay focused and not discouraged. When my mind starts doubting, I immediately replace that doubt/fear with faith and trust in the lord. All day today we had an orientation and training for the field, then tonight we have dinner at the President's house, and then SLEEP! Long day!
     Oh, I forgot to mention one of my favorite parts of today, going to the temple! We didn't get to go inside, but the outside is stunning. Since my area where I will be serving is pretty far, I won't be going to the temple while I am serving there. But once I serve in a closer area, we get to go pretty ofter.
     Love you family! Im working harder than I ever have because I am devoted to learning Portuguese and serving my God. I won't let him down, he has trusted me as his representative!
Tchau!
Love,
Sister Hannah

March 25, 2016

Only 3 more days in the CTM and man am I excited for the field! This week not much happened but here´s a few things that I wrote down throughout the week:
1.) Substitute fear with faith. This has defiantly been my motto in the CTM and also going into the field. I have trust in the Lord that I am here for a reason, and that there is work here to be done. Sure i´m a little nervous, but I know that I can do it! Faith brings HOPE, and gives life to our souls. Also, fear just makes us run away from developing relationships/getting success. Don´t let fear get in the way accomplishing amazing things!
2.) Thank you so much Christine for the stationary I have been using it SO much for my instructors, friends, and others!
3.) So apparently I have 6 name tags! They messed up 3 times making them so I have two Sister Neeleman, two Sister Labrum, and 2 Sister Hannah. hahhah i´ll be sure to send them home when I get a chance! So funny
4.) A elder in my district found out last week that his father had Lung Cancer. His family broke the news to him over skype, and it has been very very difficult for him. Please keep his family in your prayers (Diaz Family)
5.) Another motto of mine has been to try to make everyday better than the last. Each day I strive to be more Christ-like, and in doing so, my love is growing immensely for others.
6.) I´m trying to convince my companion to go to BYU Provo for accounting! She is extremely smart and I think she would love it! Looking back on the first week here at the CTM, our relationship is serisouly a whole world different. We have grown so much love and understanding for one another, and I am going to miss her and her sassy personality so much!!
7.) This past week a member of the Quorm of the 70 spoke (they´re from utah) and they said they know Grandma and Grandpa and love them dearly! I agreed and told them that I have the best grandparents in the entire world!

Next time I write i´ll finally be in PORTO ALEGRE! So excited!!

Love,

Sister Hannah

March 18, 2016- 1 MONTH!!!

Nossa!! I can´t believe that I have already been in Brasil for a whole month! I am learning so much here, it really just soaks up all my time. But here are some things from this week:

1.) I have a testimony that time is a precious gift, and that we shouldn´t waste it because we can never get it back again. I am trying my hardest to use every minute to my advantage, whether it be studying words, phrases, grammer, leccons, etc.

2.) I love what Matt´s grandpa (Joseph B Worthlin) said: ´come what may, and love it´ athough time here is difficult and stressfull, i´m learning to just accept it with a smile, because I know that as a result I am much much happier. 

3.) fun facts about my companion: she speaks 7 languages (her home language is Xhosa and she speaks it to me a ton), she wants to study accounting, she ´tries´to wash her hair once a month, and she scripture slaps me all the time (she is literally an expert). I love so much hearing all her stories from South Africa because it really is a world different than life in in the states. She is teaching me everyday to me more humble.

4.) I know for a fact that God knows me (and each of us) personally. He knows exactly what trails and experiences I need for me to learn and grow. I know that sometimes the trials I recieve in this life are very challenging, but that he never gives me something that I can't overcome and be strengthened from in the process.

 I love the scripture Ether 12:27. It talks about that we all have weaknesses, but if we are humble and come unto Christ, those weaknessess will become strengths. That is such an amazing promise!

5.) I have come to realize that you can learn something from EVERYONE. Whether it´s good things, or things that make you realize you dont want to do.Since I am meeting so many people here, I trying to think about something that I can learn from them and apply to my life. 

6.) Funny story: So we had just finished up playing Volleyball and they only give us 25 minutes to shower, and get ready again for class. So I was sitting at my desk brushing my knotty hair, trying to race against time. I pulled so hard on on my hair that I flew back in my chair, legs flailing in the air and crashed head first on the floor. bhahahahah so painful but I was dying laughing at myself. I wished so bad that I could have had a video of it because it was just one of those moments that if I even think about it, I burst out laughing. 

7.) as a district, we have a testimony meeting that truely opened my eyes. You really NEVER understand what people have experience in their life or the trails they have faced. It is just a strong reminder to me to never judge someone, because there is always something that you don't fully understand about them. Be kind to everyone, no matter who they are. Look for the good in everyone, because everyone is a child of god, and everyone wants to feel loved.

Love you all!! Brasil is so amazing, and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for all the people/experiences that lead me to serve mission because it truely is the best thing in the world! I feel so fortunate to be in a place that I love, sharing the gospel that I love.   

Com Amor,

Sister Hannah

March 11, 2016-Week #3

Hey Family!!

Wow today have been such an eventful week! First of was I
have the BEST day ever today. I get out of the beautiful temple and
who was standing there....victoria, hannah, kiddies, and pumpkin
cookies!! ahh all of my favorite things! My heart literally skipped a
beat when I saw them, it made me so happy!!! So amazing to see
familiar faces. Thank you for coming all the way to suprise me guys,
you are the best!! My instructors were really nervous that I might get
trunky from seeing them, but honestly it made me want to work even harder because I was reminded that all of you are cheering me on.

Well so a few points from this week

1.) We went proselyting  on the STREETS. All 7 of us missionaries in my district had to give out 5 Book  of Mormons and we were So NERVOUS. But it was so so much fun. Seriously people in Brazil are so kind and everyone we talked to was so open to hearing our message about the church and book of mormon.

2.) Last Sunday I bore my testimony in Portuguese!!! Sure it was short, and was no where near perfect Portuguese, but it felt so good to be able to speak from my heart in this language  that i´ve only been learning for 3 weeks! Portuguese is coming guys!! The gift of tongues is SO real I can´t even explain

3.) When my companion were teaching a lesson and she meant to say `´commandments are blessings not burdens, but instead
she said ´commandments are blessings not crap´ (she pronounced the
word wrong in portuguese BAHAHHAHHA) our investigator was crying she was laughing so hard.

4.) Thank you stephen so much for the workout book, SO HELPFUL

5.) We got a new guy in our district from provo and he´s 6´9 ... tall and skinnyyyyyy

Love  you all so much!!!

Love,

Sister Hannah

March 4, 2016

So wow time here have gone by so fast/slow all at the same time!!

So basially we wake up at 6:15am, study in a room with about 5 other missionaries, eat breakfast at 7:30am, and then go back into the room to be taught portuguese and plan lessons to teach investigators until 12pm for lunch, then we teach investigators, and study more and more and then dinner at 5pm, then workout, then study more, then go to bed at 10:30pm! It really is super simple, but it seems so long because we mosly are in the same classroom all day long. My fitbit says I barely even walk 5,000 steps a day....ahhhh

Today we were able to go to the Sao Paulo Temple and man it completely took my breath away. It was SO beautiful I honestly never wanted to leave. I love the feelings that I get in the temple, because I feel so close to the Lord and I feel so much love for him.

So in my bedroom there is me, my companion Sister Bavu, 2 other Americans, and 2 Brazilians. It is so hilarious because the Brazilians are teaching us Portuguese and we are teaching them English. All night in english they say ´shut up and turn off the light´then they die laughing haha

It´s super fun being with people from all around the world because we all have different ways of doing things (which can also be super annoying). For example, it is SO HOT here but our Brazilian roomates insist that we sleep with the fan off, and it´s killing me....I basically drown in a puddle of sweat all night (sick right?). But all good because I shower 2-even 3 times a day...crazy.

Twice a week we get to hear devotionals and they are seriously so inspiring, I love it. This week we had one about how missionaries are like angels becasue they bless the lives of others. I can~t wait to be that ´angel`, the person who makes the difference to change someones life for the better.

So as you know my name here is Sister Hannah, and I can´t even begin to example the amount of times I get asked ´so what´s your first name.....` (by the Americans) or ´Hannah, like Hannah Montana!!´(from the brazilians). I tell everyone that my first name is claire which is super stange, but I´m even starting to believe that is true myself. 

We do service here a once or twice a week, and while a bunch of the sisters fold laundry, the brazilians always beg me to sing American songs so they can try to sing along too. They especailly love miley cyrus and justin bieber haha. 

I truely love the brazilian people SO So much!! they are all so kind and loving. They always say hello with a hug and kiss on the cheek, which makes me feel so welcome.

Thank you all so much for your letters, advice, support and love. I am loving my time here and trying to not waste/procrastinate a single minute. I hope you get the pictures!

Love,

Sister Hannah