Sister Hannah Walker

Hello there wonderful family and friends :)

Goodness gracious, Jackie got baptized on Saturday!!!!!! Oh my, it was a wonderful occasion :)  Her birthday was also on Tuesday so it's been a great week for her!  This girl, even at just 9 years old, has surpassed me in maturity by miles!! haha we were able to see her every day this week and on Wednesday she got her interview.  The last question Elder Nelson asked her was "What does this Gospel mean to you?"  Without hesitation, she answered "Happiness!! ....For all the little children!"  This girl is 9!  I can't believe her....she's an ancient spirit in a child's body :) you know the type ;)  The baptism was wonderful!  The Primary room was filled with people supporting her and it was just an amazing time.  Afterwards we went out to lunch at Applebee's with Ciria and Jackie, and Ciria started telling us about her husband.  He actually talked to us a couple weeks ago, which surprised her!  He was not happy about the baptism though....he said many ugly things to her about the church.  During the baptism itself, he sent her an email about another church that he was "interested in".  She's been trying to get him interested in other churches for years and years!  And nothing until now.  She's been fighting him now.  She's come to church faithfully for over a month now and knows that this Gospel is the best thing for her and Jackie.  Jackie truly is her world and she would do anything for her.  And us :) She says she's adopted us as her daughters :)  So yeah, they are doing amazingly.  Friday night, we showed them the FamilySearch website and she absolutely loved it!  Her grandmother did a bunch of work so there are tons of names that need work done in the temple.  And she can't wait to go there with Jackie :)  We talked about eternal families in church on Sunday too which just got her more excited!  This morning we had a pretty special experience with her as well.  She's struggled with endometriosis and some health problems in her abdomen for years since the army did surgery on her.  It's a long story that I won't go into at this point, but a few weeks ago she was struggling pretty bad.  She asked a couple priesthood holders who lived down the street to come and give her a blessing.  For a while, there were no obvious results...  Sound familiar?  This morning though, we went with her and Jackie to the doctor's office where they were going to do an ultrasound and check to see how her tumors and things were doing.  And guess what?  The tumors are shrinking!  She says that endometriosis rarely goes that way, but it's happening!!  She's been blessed and promises are coming true!  She's had so many miracles happen lately despite all the grief she's been given from her husband..  Truly a time for giving thanks :) That family is just so fantastic and it's been a privilege getting to know them :)

Transfers are coming up soon.  The call is in a week from Saturday!  That's when we'll see who's going and staying..  I'm pretty positive I'm going :)  I can feel it in my bones!  I'll let y'all know though when it comes :)

So I've come to a conclusion.  Everyone down here in the South is familiar with the bible.  Not everyone is bible-genius, but they can hold their own and know where it says what.  So I've decided that it's time.  It's time for me to read the bible.  I'm in the middle of Genesis so far :)  The reason I've put this off for so long is because when I read the scriptures, it's really hard for me to just read them.  I need answers to all of my questions!  Haha I've already asked Sis A and the surrounding missionaries many questions relating to the content and doctrine and you wanna know the most common answer?  "Just keep reading!  Your answer is on the next page!" haha apparently I'm impatient!  Who knew!? :)  Probably everyone but me...haha anyways I've come up with a solution to my problem!  I need to read with a purpose because that's how I am.  I feel like I'm missing things if I just read for the intent to get an understanding of the books...so I am doing a geneology chart :) I'll attatch a picture of what it looks like so far.  It's going to get intense I know, but I read a lot the other day straight through because I had something for my mind to focus on other than just reading! :) I'm excited to finally understand what everyone's talking about instead of having to look it up after a lesson.  There are so many things in the Bible that prove the uniqueness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints :) it's true.  The Bible says so :) haha so yeah, that's what I've been spending half of my study time doing!

The weather has been AWESOME!  Today, it's in the low 60s which is PERFECT!  We're sporting short sleeves :) It's been wet and rainy, but it'll be like that for the next three months :) ...yeah.  I said three months.  In March it warms up again.  Winter is so short!!!  Super crazy...it's gonna wig me out...there are still colors on the trees which I don't mind :)

So yeah!  That's what's going on in the life of the Harlem missionaries :)
I wanted to end with something about Thanksgiving (of course).  So when Sister Anderson came here, I hit my 6 month mark, meaning that I had a year left of my mission.  A cool thought came to me that I should write down a miracle every day until the end of my mission.  At that point I'd have a year of miracles :) So I've been doing that and it has been such a blessing.  When we take a few minutes each day to recognize what we've been given, it gives us a greater appreciation for the things we have.  We should be doing this every day in our prayers anyway ;) But I'd like to encourage yall to go the extra step and write it down!  Whether it be on a post-it, in your journal, or something you see every day.  It makes it so that on those days when it seems like there's nothing to write down....no miracles...that you can go back and see the things that you've been blessed with.  It helps you recognize even the little things :) It's been working for me and I know that it can work with you too!  Start this week!  That way, next Thanksgiving, you can look back and see a year of miracles, blessings, and tender mercies that the Lord has seen fit in His infinite mercy and wisdom to give us. :)

I know He blesses us more than we even know!  And I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to be out here serving Him, bringing this happiness to so many people here in the blessed land of Georgia :)

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving, and happy fall y'all :)

Love
Sister Walker