Flying the Coop

I'm surprised to say this, but we got our transfer calls... and I'm leaving Cooperstown :( Hence the title "Flying the Coop." I honestly thought for sure I was staying, so I'm a little bummed. I wanted more time with the members and more time to get to know Sister Rasmussen more, but I guess there's someone or something in Owego that's waiting. The fun thing about being in Owego is that Sister Stephens is in my zone :D I'm sooo excited to see her, and it's near the border of Pennsylvania, so I'll have been in 3 states on my mission haha.

It was sad saying bye to everyone, but my last week here was good! We went to MLC on Friday and had exchanges after. As the STL I kind of had to lay down the law of obedience with the sisters we were with haha, but it went well. We actually got our car stuck in some snow (because our car is ridiculously weak haha), but someone pulled over and helped us, so that was a blessing!

We also picked up 2 new investigators! They're 2 girls in their late 20's. Oh, and for the past few weeks none of our investigators had been to church, but one of our investigators Marjorie (who bakes wedding cakes) came to church on my last Sunday here! That really was the best going away gift I could ask for!!! Elder Bird is also leaving. He's heading up to Glens Falls in the Albany Zone (my old zone!). In his last testimony in sacrament meeting he said, "There will always be a piece of me in Oneonta...... and that's my gall bladder." He got his gall bladder removed while he was here haha, so that was pretty funny!

I bore my testimony about this cute plaque Kallin sent me when I first came out on my mission that says, "Love is all you need." Well the other day I looked at it and though, "Okay... you need WAY more than love to do this hahaha." You need patience, courage, faith, etc. So I thought to myself, "What is one word that can encompass ALL that?" Then one word came into my mind... CHRIST. Christ truly is all that we need, because He is everything. So now every time I look at it I think, "Christ is all you need." That was a good eye-opener, so thanks Kal for sending me that :) I love it!

Being in Cooperstown truly was the hardest time in my life so far, but I was able to get through it and overcome trials... so in a way the person that I helped find was myself. I taught myself how to truly use the atonement, the sacrament, and all other aspects of the gospel. So when I look back (so far) on my mission, I'll know that I DID go to Cooperstown and help change someone's life, and that life was my own :)

I know that God is there for us, even if we don't feel like He is. There's a quote that says, "When you're going through a trial and you're wondering where God is, remember the teacher is always silent during a test." I know all my trials and hardships aren't over just because I'm leaving Cooperstown, but I know that I overcame things that I needed to and I helped my heart become stronger. I'm grateful for that. I know the gospel is true, and I'm happy to be on a mission.

It really was great serving in Cooperstown... challenging, but great! I'm going to especially miss the Willdens, the Jones, President St. John, and the elders. I'm grateful that I was able to spend the holidays there and get to know everyone :) I'll hopefully have time to send all of the pictures and I'm excited to see what Owego is like. Thanks for all the support :) Love you!!


Love, Sister Hansen :)