CHANGE YOUR SPEED

Well we got tiwi's put into our car. Which basically is a device that
tells you to slow down, driver not there, or AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. They
are really nice as long as the coordinates and gps are coherent to the
actual mile signs posted. I was driving on this road and the speed
limit is posted as 35, well the tiwi says that it is 25, so we were
holding up traffic. (Oh by the way I drove in Virginia, mom. And I
didn't die,but we almost did. Not my fault though!) so anyways we got
tiwi's! They are pretty cool!

So we had zone conference this weekend down in Charlottesville! I love
zone conference! They are so much fun! We got to see President Wilson
and his wife! I love them so much and they are probably the best
mission president and wife ever! They love all their missionaries!
Zone conference was amazing!

We also had Return and Report! Where all the new missionaries from
this past transfer got back together down in Richmond to do some
finding. We went around finding in downtown Richmond where there are
cute little streets with a bunch of shops, especially antique shops!
(grandma you would of loved it, but Harrisonburg is better for the
small town shops!) Richmond was beautiful and I had an amazing time
catching up with my old Mtc friends.

This past week we have been meeting with Laurie and Tom daily. Laurie
is set for November 7th and SHE CAME TO CHURCH! Coming to church is
the first big commitment that people need to do to be ready to be
baptized. Tom is scheduled for November 15th and he came to church
too, but also went to his other church. He is receiving answers from
his other church more than this one. UGHHH! But it's okay! Taylor our
miracle, has basically disappeared. Which is soooo sad, and we miss
teaching her. She was going to fast for what she needed in her life.
So please pray for her.

We have been doing a lot of finding. But last week ( I forgot to tell
y'all.....) WE MET A WICKEN! Which is a WITCH! She is a white which
and she only does protection spells, but my companion, sister Johnsen,
loved listening and I was honestly afraid to say anything. But it was
kind of cool! My companion liked it a little more than I did.

Anyways this week was a lot better than last week, and I am finally
seeing that the little miracles are way better than the big miracles!

I am so grateful for this gospel and for this opportunity to teach
Young single adults that no matter what they go through Heavenly
Father has his arms wide open for us to return back to him. ( just
like the Prodigal Son) coming on a mission is probably one of the best
things that I have ever done, and will ever do (except getting
married). I know that the priesthood authority has been placed here
again because Heavenly Father loves us all!

I love you all and miss you tons, but this is where I know I am
suppose to be, and I know that I have been called here for a reason!

Talk to you all next week!

Happy birthday grandma!!

This is in Richmond for return and report.

Where we do our weekly planning!

First time ever having Jimmy Johns! 

The Mennonites driving a carriage! With car seats!

This week was sooo fun! Love you all



Love,
Sister Pewtress

"It's a beautiful day to save [souls]!"

Well it's been another week!!! It was definitely a rough week, but a
good week at that. I have really seen the Lord work in mysterious ways
and my testimony of this gospel has definitely been strengthened. It
is definitely hard work with college students. They have so many
distractions that bring the spirit away. We had 4 on date this week
for baptism. 2 of them are still on date but there baptism keeps
getting pushed back. We are working so hard at pushing them towards
baptism. So please keep Laurie and Tom in your prayers.

We have been working a lot with the Less-Actives and recent converts.
A lot of the less actives have gotten into anti. Which is so sad. 😫 I
know that when the day comes and they see that this is all true they
will bow down before God and ask for forgiveness. Please pray that all
may be well with them and they will be reminded of the blessings that
this gospel brings.

ITS FREEZING HERE! ❄️❄️❄️💨💨💨 the high today is suppose to be 45?
Freezing I tell you! And just bask in that warmer weather over on the
west coast!

I love this area and I am so grateful to be here in the place that I am!

I know that this church is true and that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. I know that he translated the Book of Mormon, and that it is another testament of Jesus Christ.

I love you all and hope you all stay warm! Remember who you are and DO MISSIONARY WORK!

My PONDERIZE scripture helped me out so much this week! "Therefore continue on your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold and lo, I am with you even unto the end." Doctrine and Covenants 100:12!

I know that He is with us all He lives and He knows what we go through.

This weeks PONDERIZE scripture is...... Doctrine and Covenants 4:4!

Have a great week all! 

Love,

Sister Pewtress

LEAVES ARE FALLING ALL AROUND!! :) 🍂🍁🍃

From the rooftops to the ground! HOLY COW!! The leaves here are
changing and they are falling!! There's a huge red tree that we found
and OHHH myy!! I hope I'm not making you all jealous!

Anyways! We were going to have a baptism last Saturday, but he wasn't
ready:/ people are scared of change... That's what I have noticed
while being here. Especially in YSA(young single adults). But we have
three people on date for baptism right now!!! It's amazing! We have
Laurie, Tom, and Louis. Laurie is sooo sweet! They had found her on
July 4th! And she is now set on getting baptized on October 25th! Tom
set his own date for November 14th, but we might have to push it
forward. :) and Louis he has been set for a while, so we are just
waiting for him to be ready! I know that these three have been waiting
a long time for this!

MIRACLE TIME!: so my companion and I were on exchanged with our sister
training leaders, and Hermana Powell was with me. We were in this
apartment complex and we were just knocking! Well we were on the last
floor and we were knocking on the door and this girl starts walking up
to her apartment across the way. And we said hello! But no initial
contact. We finished knocking on the door that we were at, and no one
was home. So we were going to leave, but WE TALK TO EVERYONE! So we
knocked on the door.... We felt so awkward, because we had just said
hello.. So we started out by saying if there was a Kristina who lives
there.. (There was no Kristina), but we said that all these apartment
complexes look the SAME! And so we talked to her. Her name is Juliana
and she said that she had met with the missionaries before!!!! And
that her best friend was serving in Northern California. We have a set
appointment with her tomorrow!

Another miracle was that, we got a referral! Taylor has met with
missionaries before and her boyfriend broke up with her because he is
focusing going on a mission.. We will be in contact with her too!

The Lord works in mysterious ways and I am so grateful to be a missionary!

I also hit my ONE MONTH MARK! I can't believe I have already been a
missionary for over a month! It's an amazing experience to be a
missionary!

So I really wanna do the PONDERIZE scripture! So the scripture I want
to do this week is D&C (doctrine and covenants)  100:12! I challenge
you all to be a missionary this week and to PONDERIZE this scripture
or another that you really like!

I love you all! And I hope you all are having a warm time in Vegas!


Love, Sister Pewtress

One month mark I got some Benny's pizza!! (Mom you would love this pizza place and the pizza is thin and like $5!!!) 

WATCH OUT THERE IS A HURRICANE! (2nd P-Day)

  Well this past week we didn't have a lot of me investigators.. But I
DID FINISH THE BOOK OF MORMON IN 6 DAYS!!! It's so much better when
you read it in order! You can really understand it! I learned so much!
And I am so grateful to have the Book Of Mormon in my life! What did
ya'll think of conference!? Wasn't it amazing to get 3 NEW APOSTLES!!
It was amazing!! I loved how Elder Holland and President Nelson...
Talked about mothers opens our divine potential in this life! It was
so sad to see President Monson struggling, but you can definitely see
how much he misses his wife. It's sad to think that so many apostles
are passing through the veil, but just think of the other side and the
party they are having! I love knowing and teaching others that this
life we have here isn't the end!!

Soo we still have 3 investigators who are scheduled for baptism this
week and next week! I love the area of Harrisonburg! And my companion
Sis. Johnsen! We get along so well!!

This past week was freezing! We had a hurricane that rolled up
northward to the coast, and with where we are the cold front comes
down into us because we are high into the mountains! So it got really
bitter cold!! Let's just say Mom I might not be coming back with ALL
my finger and TOES!! Lol just kidding.. It is amazing! I am in the
country aspect of Virginia... And let's just say there is a lot of
cows and horses and MANURE... ITS SMELLS LIKE MANURE ALL THE TIME.. it
reminds me so much of when my grandma says "I LOVE THE SMELL OF THIS!"
Haha! But... The members here are so humble.. And working with YSA
makes you realize our potential! I love it here in Virginia and I
never want to leave! I know I was called here for a reason!

I hope you all enjoyed conference and received revelation to prayers!
I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called of God and that his
apostles are called of God as well! I am so excited for this week and
for the things that I will be able to see happen!

I hope you all are WARM in Vegas! Because I am freezing HERE!!!! Haha!

I love you all and i hope to here from you all!

When I finished the Book of Mormon!

We even matched but when we finished the Book of Mormon in 6 days!!

Check out that slug!!!

1st Week in Virginia

*Before we begin, let me introduce myself. I am Hannah's Aunt Chandra and I will be taking over this blog for about 18 months while she is diligently serving the people of Virginia. Be not afraid; as it will not be my thoughts and words but Hannah's, or Sister Pewtress', if you will. So check back often if you miss her emails or photos because I will be posting them all right here!

Now let's hear from Sis. Pewtress......



 Well I am here in the beautiful country of Virginia!!!!!! Ahhhh! First
off it is so different from Vegas! Crazy different!!! When you are
driving on a freeway there is no sense of direction! There are trees
every which way!! There are rivers in just the middle of cities...
It's soooooo crazy... I am in the Harrisonburg area! My companion
Sister Johnsen and I are serving in a YSA area, but the wards are so
small that we are combined with a family ward for sacrament. Speaking
of my companion, she is from Alpine, Utah. She recently just got out
here in June and is already training... CRAZYY! Well this first week
was somewhat crazy. Or at least it was a big culture shock... The
weather has been getting colder and the leaves are changing..
BEAUTIFUL!!! I love it! During the week we have been running every
other day(aunt Steph you would be proud of me! And there are so many
HILLS!!!) my calf muscles and quads really do get a good work out! It
so much easier running here but also hard because the air is sometimes
thick.. Well at least these past few days it has been rainy so today
is very humid.... We have been tracting/finding for basically this
whole week.... And we got a referral from some of the elders in our
zone, and he is just GOLDEN! He is set on date for baptism for October
10th. And we met with a young girl (we are YOUNG SINGLE ADULT
missionaries & JMU is in our zone) and she is on date for baptism for
the same day... And another man is also on date for baptism, but he is
out of town so we haven't been able to meet with him. :/ but it's
okay.. If y'all could pray for them to strengthen them it would be
great! It's a brand new week and General Conference is this weekend!!
So president Wilson wants us all to read the Book of Mormon in a
WEEK!!! That's at least 80 pages a day! Crazy but we all know that
thought the Lord we can do hard things! THEY HAVE A CHICK-FIL-A here
in Harrisonburg!!!! YAYYY OH AND A TARGET!!! Soooooo thankful! There
are so many people here in our ward who feed us.. We don't get food
everyday but we are grateful for what we do get.. For lunch and
breakfast we really have a budget... So this past week I ate salad,
and cereal... Hahah( Sis. Cook don't hate me!) haha.. But I have
honestly learned how to deal with living on a budget! We live in a
small town, and we live in an apartment with Hermanas. 3 OF THEM!! We
squish... Haha!! But I really enjoy talking with them and hearing
everyone's story! OHHH and there is a small but big population of
Mennonites that live here in a town right next to Harrisonburg, called
Bridgewater.... Most of them ride in the carriages!! We actually saw
two of them last night driving back into town! Pretty great! My
companion and I get along very well! We both love sports and we both
love working HARD!

Anyways! Women's conference was amazing!! It really hit me hard
because the girls name was Ava, and the great aunts name was Aunt
Rose.. Two family members, but it was a beautiful story!

Yesterday during church, our relief society teacher said," as little
kids we wear ctr rings, and that means choose the right. As adults we
wear ctr rings as well, and we all have gone through the  temple, so
when you look down at your ctr ring, instead of choose the right, it
says CURRENT TEMPLE RECOMMEND!" They both mean the same thing, but it
applies to us as adults!
I am so thankful for temples and for the opportunity that I have to
teach people that they can be married and sealed to their families for
all eternity! I know this gospel is true, and I know that I was called
to Virginia for a reason! I don't know why, but Heavenly Father sure
does!

REMEMBER TO WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND!!!! (Guess what time
ours is at here in Virginia, 12&4 pm!!! THATS SOOOOO WEIRD!! But it's
okay!

I love you all and I can't wait to here about your week and what you
learned at General Conference!!

You are all the best and I am so grateful for the support and for the
prayers. I can definitely feel them! Till next week!!!
GOD SPEED!!!
Love,
Sister Pewtress


This is the mission home!!! We were able to stay in the Monday to
Tuesday night!! It was so nice! And GORGEOUS!!

At an investigators house they had a ferret.. It was one of the coolest things I have done.. Plus they are so flexible!! CRAZYYY

" If Ye Have Desires Ye are Called to the Work.."

Well it has finally come. 85 days later. In less than two weeks I will be reporting to the Provo MTC. Am I scared? HECK YES! Do I feel ready? In a way yes, but will we ever be ready? To all the Sister missionaries preparing to serve... I want to tell you this... Satan is going to be working on you ever so hard! Satan does not want us to go and he for sure doesn't want us to serve our Father in Heaven, and he for sure doesn't want us to bring any into the fold! But can I tell you something.. FIGHT IT! As I am fighting it. It's hard, you will have doubts, you will have friends and family be getting at you with contention. You will have that! But FIGHT IT! Don't let him win. Don't let him get to you! That's what he wants! He wants us to be miserable. I promise you, that as this happens counsel with the Lord. Counsel with him in prayer and in scripture. It may not get better, but there is nothing that we can not do with the Lord on our side.

Life is hard. Life is hard even on the mission (so sisters say), but WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! 

I am so excited to serve the Lord and His people of Virginia. To know that those people can find peace and joy in this gospel and that they can live for all eternity with their family. I love you all!

Virginia here I come!

How Time Flies!

75 days ago, the most exciting thing happened. Two o'clock hit and I was meeting with the Stake President. Never in a million years would I have thought that I was going to be going on a mission. NEVER! But that day as I was sitting in that room talking to my Stake President and getting ready to submit my papers was I the most nervous girl in the world. The interview went on and it came to the end where he was getting ready to press submit when he handed me his iPad and said, "Go ahead you press submit!" Never in a million years would I ever be that nervous.. What felt like 7 years, but actually 3 weeks, I would run down to the mail box and check. Disappointment came every time, and made me think that I wasn't ready for these next 18 months. Everyone kept telling me that it would be here, "Patience is Virtue." I started not caring, I started thinking that I wasn't suppose to go on a mission. But it wasn't until the Monday night after my 3rd week mark, that I went and checked the mail. I wasn't going to be disappointed if it wasn't there, but I was going to be FURIOUS! So I checked the mail, with my sister and Kaylee behind. As I checked the mail, I looked throughout the junk, and there it was this BIG, WHITE ENVELOPE! It was made out to me! It was from SALT LAKE CITY! It had my address, my name, and it was there! IN MY HAND! After I grabbed all the rest of the junk (mail), and locked the mailbox, I sprinted up the street back up to my house! (That was the fastest I think I have ever ran!) I was so excited that it was finally here, that I had my mission call! But now was the hardest decision of my life.. Was i going to open it with all of my loved ones right then and there or was I going to wait till tomorrow (Tuesday) to open it? I knew what I was going to do, but it was still the hardest to choose! I chose to wait for that Tuesday. That night was filled with so much excitement, and Harry Potter and not opening my call. (I hid it from myself.) As Tuesday morning rolled around, I did the normal things. I went swimming, and got the house clean for the fun filled excitement that was about to happen that night at 7:30... As 7:30 rolled around there were so many people at my house, people were in the front room and in the kitchen, and well let's say there was a ton of people.
It was that time, everyone was here... It was finally time to open that BIG WHITE ENVELOPE! People were recording and taking pictures, and when I finally opened it, I was the most nervous person in the world. I had no idea where I was going to be living for the next 18 months of my life. Whether it was out of the United States or here. It was so quiet, that you could hear a mouse squeak. The moment I started reading it I broke out into an ugly cry. I could already feel the Spirit there. As I started to read where I was going (Virginia Richmond Mission), I knew that was where I was suppose to go. I knew I was suppose to stay in the United States and go there.
I submitted my papers on May 24th, 2015. My call was assigned on June 9th, 2015, and I received my call on June 16th, 2015 and my time to go and be a servant for the Lord is September 9th, 2015.  That was 85 days away. Time flew! I hit my 60 day mark, then I hit my 50 day mark, and now I am hitting my 30 day mark! I am glad that it has flown by because I am so ready to serve the Lord.

I love you all and I am so excited for this journey to serve the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that this church is true and I wouldn't be going and living 2,000 miles away if I didn't. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to bring forth this gospel. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to share this gospel to all who are prepared and who are ready for when Jesus Christ comes again!