Email from Rory Baxter

Hi!

Thought I would share.  My oldest daughter, Ceana went to Salem YSA for a friend's missionary farewell,  and guess who she saw as she peaked into sacrament meeting?  She said when the girls saw each other they quietly squealed and sat by each other for the meeting and had a fabulous time catching up after (Salem YSA sacrament is last). The girls were SO happy to see each other. It was fun listening to her tell about it.

We write to Sis H every week.  It is good to know that she is doing well. Hope you guys are doing well too!

Hello!

So, this weeks email will be another short one. So a lot of times, our plans that we make as missionaries don't go according to plan. That was our entire week! Every lesson every day of the week cancelled. It was crazy! It's really hard to have lessons fall through, especially since it leaves you asking yourself, "well...what do we do now?" But! There is always a lesson to be learned! I learned this week that you can always choose to be happy, even if the situation is far from delightful. I read a BYU devotional given by Larry R. Lawrence titled "Choose Happiness." In it, he talked about how happiness is always our choice. God wants us to be happy! 2 Nephi 2:25 says, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." Satan makes us think that our happiness depends on our worldly status, how much money we have in the bank, or how much wordy possessions we own, and when we feel that we are lacking in those, it's a cause for unhappiness. Uh, false. Happiness comes when we have the spirit in our lives and when we are living in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father! There is always reason to rejoice! Sister Lovell and I have set a goal that we will remember to have fun every day, even if all of our lessons cancel or if someone slams a door in our face. Our Heavenly Father and our Savior want us to be happy! They have designed a perfect plan for us, with the end result being eternal life, the greatest of all gifts. I know that as I choose happiness, and as all of you choose happiness, there will be greater joy in everyday living and you will be filled with a light that will shine through your eyes. Jesus wants you to be happy! So do it!

Love,
Sister Hanna    

Hi!

Another week has flown by! Time is weird as a missionary!

So we had another good week! We took another temple trip with our investigator Austin and some of our ward missionaries. Austin said that he really enjoyed the temple and he thought it was beautiful! He had no idea what a temple is and what it's for and he said it was really fun to learn about why we build temples and what happens inside. We also had a lesson with Austin the day after visiting the temple. We presented him with a baptismal date! He didn't commit to it, but he said he would pray about it.

One of the highlights for the week was when I got to go on exchanges with Sister Munford! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! And just like old times! It's crazy to think that we were companions a YEAR ago! WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?! We spent the day street contacting, which isn't my favorite thing to do. But, with Sister Munford by my side, we sure made the best of it!

I love being a missionary! Preaching the gospel brings a happiness into my life that I didn't know existed! I know that the Savior is standing by my side whenever I talk to anybody. He's promised us that He will never leave us, and I know that that promise is true!

Until next week!

Love,

Sister Hanna

PICTURES: At a member's house ~ On the bridge that crosses over the Willamette River

Hello all!

This past week was a really good one! We got 4 new investigators! They were all referrals from the Elders in another ward, and we've got visits planned with all of them this week! The work is really moving forward here in the Salem YSA!

The biggest highlight of this past week was our investigator Ryan's baptism! To start off, on Tuesday we took him and his fiance to the visitor's center at the Portland temple! They LOVED it! And they already have an appointment set up with the Bishop to get their temple recommends! And yesterday was his baptism! Ryan is awesome! He changed so much in just the past 6 weeks! He's happier, brighter, and filled with the spirit! I love seeing people changed by Jesus! When Ryan first started taking the lessons, he didn't know or feel that there was a God in heaven who loved him. And now he reads his scriptures and prays everyday!

I love this gospel! I know that it can change and heal hearts! I know that Christ died for each and every one of us, and I know that our Father in heaven knows and loves all of us.

Love,

Sister Hanna

PICTURES: Salem Zone, Sister Munford is my STL!

Hi everyone!

So this past week has been really great! There are a lot of good things beginning to happen here in Salem YSA! To start off, our investigator Ryan is getting baptized next Sunday! This guy is awesome! He's planned his whole baptismal program and everything! It's awesome to see someone so excited about baptism! We're also taking a temple trip with him and his fiance tomorrow!!! We'll get to go to the visitor's center, have a picnic on the grounds, and teach him his last lesson before his baptismal interview.

We found new investigator this week! His name is Timmy. So here in the YSA, we play volleyball every Friday night. We use it as a tool to find new people to teach, and so far it's been very successful! Last Friday Timmy showed up to volleyball and said he was invited by the Elders! Timmy is super prepared! He was asking a bunch of questions about the church and he said he would love to learn more about it! So we got his contact info and we'll be meeting with him this week!

So Sister Lovell and I had the really cool opportunity to be involved with a stake Activity Days girl's camp. We spent most of Saturday teaching the 8-11 year old girls about how they can be missionaries in everyday life. I love teaching kids! They love the gospel and they're not afraid to talk about it! Every class we taught, we asked the girls which of them wanted to go on missions when they were old enough, and just about every single girl did! They have so much faith! Their knowledge of the gospel blew me away, and my heart was full at the end of the day. Kids are awesome!

Well, that's the report for this week! I hope all is well with everyone!

Love,

Sister Hanna      

Hi everyone!

So I've been transferred to...Salem YSA ward! My new companion is Sister Megan Lovell! She's from Pleasant Grove, Utah and she's been out for 8 months. She's short and awesome!

Serving in a YSA ward is an adventure for sure! We meet at 1:30, Sacrament is the second hour of the block, and there are 3 counselors in the Bishopric. Sister Lovell and I have adopted the phrase, "YSA does what it wants!" Because, seriously...they do what they want haha. YSA ward is way different than family ward. Sacrament meeting was so quiet yesterday! But it's fun to be working with people my age! YSA does lots of activities, and we get to attend because it's a great opportunity to find new investigators. We get to attend Family Home Evening on Monday nights and on Friday nights we play volleyball. Our work area is huge! The Salem YSA ward covers all of Salem, except west Salem, as well as Keizer, Woodburn, and bunch of other small towns surrounding the city. I'm excited to have the opportunity to see Salem!

So my first day here we taught the Law of Chastity to our on date investigator, Ryan. He's engaged to a returning less-active in our ward, Jennifer. Law of Chastity is always slightly awkward, especially when you have to tell two people to stop living together...which is what we had to do with Ryan and Jennifer. They were shocked upon hearing that living together was a no no, but by the next day, they had made arrangements for Ryan to live in the RV outside on his parents property while Jennifer still lived inside the house. It was incredible to see the faith that the two of them have and to see how quickly they were willing to live the commandments of God! They're awesome and Ryan is getting baptized on the 14th!

Lots of exciting things are happening here! We've got a lot of great potential investigators that we are really excited about as well as some recent converts who are on fire!

Until next week!

Love,

Sister Hanna

PICTURES: Sister Erickson and I made a fort in our living room and slept in it the last night before transfers.