Sunday, December 29, 2019
Elder Hanni's Homecoming
On July 13th our favorite Elder came home. After delayed flights and waiting for hours at the airport he finally made it home and we got our hug on. We are so excited and happy to have him back.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Josh's Farewell Dinner in Trinidad!!
Our Favorite Missionary comes on Tomorrow, Saturday July 13th. We are all so excited. Sister Debbie Jones posted pictures of Missionaries serving in Trinidad!
Farewell Dinner
Farewell Dinner
Monday, July 8, 2019
Week 102--Couva, Trinidad
Week 6--Elder Raymond
Hello family,
We were able to have a great week in Couva. We didn't waste a minute. Something really good this week is that we were able to contact a lot of people, and we were actually able to contact into a lot of lessons with those people. We were able to find a few very, very promising people that way, and I was so grateful for that. There were a few who just loved learning about the Book of Mormon, and there were also a few who have a desire to be baptized. That was really fun this week to be able to do that.
I must say that I have really enjoyed being Elder Raymond's companion. He has done a really great job, and I know that he will continue to move the work along here in this area. He has a very good sense of the things that we and the ward can do to best help those we are teaching, and I have been very grateful to learn from that.
I have a testimony of losing oneself in the work of the Lord. There are so many things that we could be worrying about, but I have found that worrying about what the Lord wants makes everything else worry you less. I am very grateful for that. A goal I have had for a while is that I did not want to let myself go or allow myself to work with less effort as the time of my mission finishes. I am very grateful that I set that goal, and I can testify that the Lord has magnified that desire. Until today, all I want to do is to serve Him. With the time I do have left in this calling, I will continue to do all that the Lord expects of me, but when that time is up, I know that I need to continue to do the Lord's work, even if that means having a different calling. I am okay with that. I am going to miss being a full-time missionary more than I can adequately express, but I rejoice that I still have a few days left to give everything I have.
A spiritual experience I had this week was being able to go out with Adrian, our recent convert, to teach some of the people in our area. We were able to go with him last week as well, but this week, we taught him the Restoration and then went out to teach others the same message. It was amazing to hear him bear his testimony of the truthfulness of this message to those we visited, and it made me so happy to see his willingness to minister to those people. He has grown a lot in the month since we first met him, and I know that the Lord has truly been merciful in this part of His vineyard. I testify that he watches over all of His flocks and that His work is the greatest work on the earth.
I love all of you so much! Thank you for your prayers and your faith. I can't wait to see you all again at the end of this week. Take care and know that I'm praying for you! I'll see you just now.
Love,
Elder Hanni
Hello family,
We were able to have a great week in Couva. We didn't waste a minute. Something really good this week is that we were able to contact a lot of people, and we were actually able to contact into a lot of lessons with those people. We were able to find a few very, very promising people that way, and I was so grateful for that. There were a few who just loved learning about the Book of Mormon, and there were also a few who have a desire to be baptized. That was really fun this week to be able to do that.
I must say that I have really enjoyed being Elder Raymond's companion. He has done a really great job, and I know that he will continue to move the work along here in this area. He has a very good sense of the things that we and the ward can do to best help those we are teaching, and I have been very grateful to learn from that.
I have a testimony of losing oneself in the work of the Lord. There are so many things that we could be worrying about, but I have found that worrying about what the Lord wants makes everything else worry you less. I am very grateful for that. A goal I have had for a while is that I did not want to let myself go or allow myself to work with less effort as the time of my mission finishes. I am very grateful that I set that goal, and I can testify that the Lord has magnified that desire. Until today, all I want to do is to serve Him. With the time I do have left in this calling, I will continue to do all that the Lord expects of me, but when that time is up, I know that I need to continue to do the Lord's work, even if that means having a different calling. I am okay with that. I am going to miss being a full-time missionary more than I can adequately express, but I rejoice that I still have a few days left to give everything I have.
A spiritual experience I had this week was being able to go out with Adrian, our recent convert, to teach some of the people in our area. We were able to go with him last week as well, but this week, we taught him the Restoration and then went out to teach others the same message. It was amazing to hear him bear his testimony of the truthfulness of this message to those we visited, and it made me so happy to see his willingness to minister to those people. He has grown a lot in the month since we first met him, and I know that the Lord has truly been merciful in this part of His vineyard. I testify that he watches over all of His flocks and that His work is the greatest work on the earth.
I love all of you so much! Thank you for your prayers and your faith. I can't wait to see you all again at the end of this week. Take care and know that I'm praying for you! I'll see you just now.
Love,
Elder Hanni
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Week 101--Couva, Trinidad
Week 5--Elder Raymond
Hello family,
We are doing great in Couva. We were able to have the baptism for Antonio this week. It went really well. There was a really great baptismal service, and his aunt, who is from another faith, even came to support him. It's amazing what can happen when someone who was taught everything decides to be baptized. Antonio was one of those miracles, and it's amazing to see how much he's changed even in the last few weeks.
Elder Raymond is a great companion, and I am really enjoying it. Luckily, he has been able to feel so much better this week. We've been able to have a great week this week, and we are looking forward to continuing to fill our pipeline up this coming week. We have a lot of potential baptism dates, so we are really excited for that.
I have a testimony of contacting with the Book of Mormon. On my exchange with Elder Morgan in Couva this week, we met a young man, and we felt very prompted to not only give him a Book of Mormon but teach him about the Restoration on the spot. He seemed a little bit interested, but we weren't able to get a return appointment. we did get his number, though, and he got ours. Fast forward to Saturday evening, and he calls us and asks us what time church is. He came to church the next day. Later that day, which was yesterday, we went to see him, and we were able to go into more depth with the Restoration. First off, he loved church. Second off, as we shared the Restoration and invited him to be baptized, he said yes! During his prayer at the end, he prayed that the Lord would help him to be baptized and to become a full member of this church. Wow! That was a really cool experience, and it just testified to me of the importance of contacting with the Book of Mormon.
A spiritual experience I had this week was actually at Antonio's baptism. He had asked me to baptize him, and I was pretty nervous about it. But during the baptism service right before the ordinance, I just received a very peaceful and warm feeling from the Holy Ghost, and I knew it would be fine. When the ordinance was performed, it went great! We just had to do it once. That made me really happy. Afterwards, when we had changed back, Antonio shook my hand and said, "We nailed it." That was a really cool experience, and I am so grateful that everything was able to work out.
I love you all so much! I hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you for all of your prayers and your support.
Love,
Elder Hanni
Hello family,
We are doing great in Couva. We were able to have the baptism for Antonio this week. It went really well. There was a really great baptismal service, and his aunt, who is from another faith, even came to support him. It's amazing what can happen when someone who was taught everything decides to be baptized. Antonio was one of those miracles, and it's amazing to see how much he's changed even in the last few weeks.
Elder Raymond is a great companion, and I am really enjoying it. Luckily, he has been able to feel so much better this week. We've been able to have a great week this week, and we are looking forward to continuing to fill our pipeline up this coming week. We have a lot of potential baptism dates, so we are really excited for that.
I have a testimony of contacting with the Book of Mormon. On my exchange with Elder Morgan in Couva this week, we met a young man, and we felt very prompted to not only give him a Book of Mormon but teach him about the Restoration on the spot. He seemed a little bit interested, but we weren't able to get a return appointment. we did get his number, though, and he got ours. Fast forward to Saturday evening, and he calls us and asks us what time church is. He came to church the next day. Later that day, which was yesterday, we went to see him, and we were able to go into more depth with the Restoration. First off, he loved church. Second off, as we shared the Restoration and invited him to be baptized, he said yes! During his prayer at the end, he prayed that the Lord would help him to be baptized and to become a full member of this church. Wow! That was a really cool experience, and it just testified to me of the importance of contacting with the Book of Mormon.
A spiritual experience I had this week was actually at Antonio's baptism. He had asked me to baptize him, and I was pretty nervous about it. But during the baptism service right before the ordinance, I just received a very peaceful and warm feeling from the Holy Ghost, and I knew it would be fine. When the ordinance was performed, it went great! We just had to do it once. That made me really happy. Afterwards, when we had changed back, Antonio shook my hand and said, "We nailed it." That was a really cool experience, and I am so grateful that everything was able to work out.
I love you all so much! I hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you for all of your prayers and your support.
Love,
Elder Hanni
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| Antonio's Baptism |
Friday, June 28, 2019
We Love Pictures of our Missionary!!
These pictures were taken from President and Sister Baird's blog. We love seeing our favorite Missionary.
June Zone Conference in Trinidad!
May in Trinidad
Trinidad March 2019
June Zone Conference in Trinidad!
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| President Baird brought a ball and Gloves to play catch with the missionaries. |
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| Look at that form! |
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| Chillin! |
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| Elder Stott, Our missionary, Elder Raymond. Love the ties! |
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| Elder Hanni and Elder Raymond |
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| Sharing their musical talents. |
May in Trinidad
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| Leadership dinner. Elder Raymond, Our Dude, President Baird, Elder Porritt, and Elder Ritter. |
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| Sharing one of his many talents. |
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| Cutest Elder around and Elder Stott. |
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| Back row: Elder Stott, Elder Hanni, Elder Christensen, Elder Riter, Elder Griffeth, Elder Porritt, Elder Curtis, Elder Raymond Front Row: Elder Weeks, Sister Weeks, Sister Atkins, President Baird, Sister Baird, Sister Williams, Elder Williams |
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| The pose in the back was supposed to be "Titanic"??? Crazy Elders... It's always fun to see their "relaxed" side. They are incredible young men who are sacrificing a lot to be on missions and I love to see the brotherhood they have developed. (this caption taken from the blog) |
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| Playing "Don't Eat Pete"... This Zone Conference we are talking about Convert retention. One of the ways to do that is teaching them how to strengthen their families through family home evening so I shared this game with the elders to share with families. Families need to learn the Gospel together but they also need to learn how to have fun together. (caption from blog) |
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| After Zone Conference we did interviews so we played a few more games together. The Elders always like the 100 game. (taken from blog) |
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| Josh's super intense face. |
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| Elder Williams, Elder Griffeth, Elder Hanni, Elder Riter, Elder Porritt, Elder Norton, President Baird Sister Williams, Sister Atkins, Elder Raymond, Elder Curtis, Elder Christensen, Sister Baird |
Week 100--Couva, Trinidad
Week 4--Elder Raymond
Hello family,
We are doing really well in Couva. We had a baptism on Saturday for Adrian. It went really well! We are excited that we will be able to have another baptism this Saturday for Antonio. We are working on finding more people to be baptized here in the near future.
Elder Raymond is a really good companion. He has a really good talent for analyzing things very deeply, and I really appreciate that about him. This week, he got pretty sick, but we still our very best this week.
I have a testimony of the power of a ward coming together for one purpose. I was amazed this week at the support we received for the baptism we had on Saturday. There were a lot of people there to support Adrian, and there was just a really sweet spirit there. I felt really good there, and I know that it helped Adrian a lot to see how excited everyone was for him. I am so grateful for the spiritual power that comes from a ward that acts with one heart.
I had a spiritual experience this week on Monday. We were able to go with two of the priests in our ward in the afternoon before family home evening, and we were able to go on splits with them teaching and contacting. Because of that, we had one of the most effective Mondays I've ever had on my mission. It was really fun, and it gave me perspective of what can be accomplished while working with the members even just for two hours. I am so grateful for that experience, and I'm excited to have more.
I love you all so much! Say some prayers for Elder Raymond. He's been feeling pretty sick lately. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Hanni
Hello family,
We are doing really well in Couva. We had a baptism on Saturday for Adrian. It went really well! We are excited that we will be able to have another baptism this Saturday for Antonio. We are working on finding more people to be baptized here in the near future.
Elder Raymond is a really good companion. He has a really good talent for analyzing things very deeply, and I really appreciate that about him. This week, he got pretty sick, but we still our very best this week.
I have a testimony of the power of a ward coming together for one purpose. I was amazed this week at the support we received for the baptism we had on Saturday. There were a lot of people there to support Adrian, and there was just a really sweet spirit there. I felt really good there, and I know that it helped Adrian a lot to see how excited everyone was for him. I am so grateful for the spiritual power that comes from a ward that acts with one heart.
I had a spiritual experience this week on Monday. We were able to go with two of the priests in our ward in the afternoon before family home evening, and we were able to go on splits with them teaching and contacting. Because of that, we had one of the most effective Mondays I've ever had on my mission. It was really fun, and it gave me perspective of what can be accomplished while working with the members even just for two hours. I am so grateful for that experience, and I'm excited to have more.
I love you all so much! Say some prayers for Elder Raymond. He's been feeling pretty sick lately. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Hanni
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| Adrian's baptism day. |
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Week 99--Couva, Trinidad
Week 3--Elder Raymond
Hello family,
We are doing so good in Couva. For sure, we have a baptism this week and next week, and we could possibly have a few the week after. It has been so amazing to see the excitement of our ward for these baptisms.
Elder Raymond has been doing really well. I have really been enjoying it. We are trying to do all that we can in this area to be most effective. I am very grateful to be learning from him every day.
I have a testimony of having the faith to find. There have been a few times this week when I've felt a little discouraged just because of not knowing how we will be able to find even more people who are prepared to receive this message, but every time we have chosen to just press on and keep trying, and without fail, working as hard as we can every day has helped me to continue to have my mind and my everything in the work. I am so grateful for that. I am so inspired by Moroni in Alma 50:1 when it says that he "did not stop making preparations." I know that the Lord expects that of each of us as well.
A spiritual experience I had this week was in talking to our investigator who is getting baptized on Saturday. We were in Chaguanas Branch yesterday, but he was still there in Couva Ward, and when we went to go see him yesterday afternoon, he told us of his experience there at church. He was able to meet the bishop and sit down and talk with him for a while. He was very excited about that, and he expressed to us of the reason he is getting baptized. He said he is doing this as a way to make a change in his life and that he is very grateful for it. When we saw the bishop later that day, he expressed to us of how excited he is for our investigator to be baptized. He is excited to have him in the ward. That is something I am very grateful for. I am so grateful that we have members who are excited about missionary work.
I love you all so much. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Hanni
Hello family,
We are doing so good in Couva. For sure, we have a baptism this week and next week, and we could possibly have a few the week after. It has been so amazing to see the excitement of our ward for these baptisms.
Elder Raymond has been doing really well. I have really been enjoying it. We are trying to do all that we can in this area to be most effective. I am very grateful to be learning from him every day.
I have a testimony of having the faith to find. There have been a few times this week when I've felt a little discouraged just because of not knowing how we will be able to find even more people who are prepared to receive this message, but every time we have chosen to just press on and keep trying, and without fail, working as hard as we can every day has helped me to continue to have my mind and my everything in the work. I am so grateful for that. I am so inspired by Moroni in Alma 50:1 when it says that he "did not stop making preparations." I know that the Lord expects that of each of us as well.
A spiritual experience I had this week was in talking to our investigator who is getting baptized on Saturday. We were in Chaguanas Branch yesterday, but he was still there in Couva Ward, and when we went to go see him yesterday afternoon, he told us of his experience there at church. He was able to meet the bishop and sit down and talk with him for a while. He was very excited about that, and he expressed to us of the reason he is getting baptized. He said he is doing this as a way to make a change in his life and that he is very grateful for it. When we saw the bishop later that day, he expressed to us of how excited he is for our investigator to be baptized. He is excited to have him in the ward. That is something I am very grateful for. I am so grateful that we have members who are excited about missionary work.
I love you all so much. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Hanni
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