Transferred on his 21st birthday 2 days ago! (Jan 28)

hey mom! well I'm in my new area. I'm writing you today at brother spi's house. he's a cool guy in our ward, the library costs a dollar for people without cards so were doing it here today. well my new area is Picayune, Mississippi. its pronounced PICK YOON by the way. its about 30 miles north of pass christian. it's so close and so far away at the same time. well i was transferred out of my favorite area on my birthday and it was depressing for the most part, but its cool that i got to be 21 now. thanks for the birthday package you sent! the air heads too! I'm going to get sick from eating all those. well my last week in the pass we were saying goodbye to everybody. it was actually very sad for me. i don't know if I'm going to be able to see these people again, and that thought was always on my mind when i was saying goodbye to everybody. there are so many people that i really liked, the lie family, the necs, gene J, jack, jason, the gels, the cuas', the turfs. anyway i took a lot of pictures and stuff. I'll send them sometime.
well my new companion is elder Wag again! that is cool. Picayune got doubled out and we got doubled into picayune! so were still together.

now this area may be a temporary area for like 3 weeks, so its very possible i could be transferred out of here in 3 weeks on transfers. so you can send me stuff to this address, but on transfer week, send it to the mission home instead until i give you the "ok" again. thanks again for everything. thanks again for everything. love you mom, bye!

love hank

Helped someone move...mardi gras...etc.

hey mom whats up?! hey sorry i haven't emailed in awhile now. yesterday was very busy. me and wag went to waveland to go help one of their people they're working with. we helped him move into his new house. it took all day! but it was cool though. he was a cool guy. this past week we went to diamondhead to go teach this new girl were teaching. we've taught her the first 2 lessons so far and its going pretty good but we'll see hos it goes though. we also went to jacks house again.  oh and mardi gras is coming up too! mardi gras is also very huge down here! from new Orleans all the way to mobile Alabama, mardi gras is celebrated hugely. everyone has work off and stuff, last mardi gras i was in Vicksburg and it was celebrated, but nobody had like work off or anything. but down here everyone is getting ready for it. its going to be crazy. well anyway that's what is going on right now. not too much. well mom thanks for the letter, ill talk to you later, love ya bye!

love hank

Zone Conference with Elder Cardon of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy- December 2011
(Hank is on the far right on the floor-his companion is sitting next to him.)

A.J. turned his papers in~soon it'll be 3 Siblings!

(This is Lisa writing...)
There is no way I can keep up on more than one blog, and so when A.J. gets his call, no matter where it is...I will keep up on all of them through this blog. And if he gets a call to the South, I won't have to tweak the name of the blog! I was going to wait until A.J. got his actual call, but decided to mention it  now that his papers are in.  He has his final interviews with the Bishop and Stake Pres. this coming Sunday, after that, they'll be submitted to Salt Lake.  We'll keep you posted on this blog when he gets the call.

Many people have asked how we feel about having 3 missionaries out.  It's hard to describe.  I've been feeling a whirlwind of emotions the past few months, after Jonna told us she wanted to serve one too.  Never in a million years, did I ever think we'd have 3 out at the same time.  We didn't even think we'd have 2, actually.  But because Hank left when he was 19 1/2, A.J. and he will wind up overlapping about 5 months. And Jonna could have gone 2 1/2 years ago when she turned 21, but didn't feel right about going at that time. Instead, she finished college, graduating from ASU last May...something we're very proud of her for accomplishing.  So when they were young, it never crossed our minds that any of them would be out at the same time.  And so to have them all out together, brings a flood of feelings and emotions. Without question, I feel very blessed.  More than I can describe.  How could I not?  But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad. I guess sad isn't even the right word.  My heart is very heavy.  Just with the knowledge and reality that our family...will never be the same.  As it should be.  Why would I expect or demand that it be the same when they all come home?  It's not how it should be.  As my sister Julie described it when her 3 children all left within a few years...it's the "Landslide" that I knew would be coming.  In a few short months, we'll have 3 children left at home, and even they are growing up fast!!

I remember very well the night before Hank left, after the house was quiet and everyone had gone to sleep... and I came in to look at Hank, asleep (I'm such a mom!!), and as I watched him sleeping, that is when I felt the intense heaviness in my heart, as I knew that the changes were here, and I had to accept it. It was intense.  I don't know if I will feel those same intense feelings each time one of my children leaves...or if it gets easier?  I'll know soon enough.  Jonna leaves Feb. 8th.  It's coming so fast.

I'm just grateful that this is even a possibility.  Blessings beyond my imagination have been bestowed on our family, and I will be eternally grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who saw the desires of our children's hearts, and ours too, and allowed ways to open up for our children to serve Him this way.  Gratitude. Thankfulness. Humbled.  We feel them all.

Transfer week: Staying in the Pass again! Ten months!

hey mom how you doing? well as you probably know I'm staying in pass christian again! I'm very excited for it! i did not think that i would be here this long, but i am. elder mat is leaving and going somewhere else now. i think he's going to go to new Boston, Texas. so A.J. turned in his papers?! wow that's crazy, i think aj is going foreign. i don't think he's going stateside like me and Jonna, i think he's going to somewhere in Africa. so yesterday i was cut short on emailing home, mat had to say goodbye to a lot of people, we saw so many people yesterday. this past week was pretty cool, all four of us went to catholic mass! it was cool, and different. I've never really been to another church before and so it was new. everyone was really nice and i liked it. we went with a friend of ours in the area, who kind of hops from church to church every Sunday. well right now were all waiting for the new missionary to come in, we don't know who it is yet. well find out and I'll let you know next week! well mom that's about it for now, thanks for everything! ill talk to you next week, love ya bye!

love hank

Transfers this week....where will he go?

hey mom how you doing, sorry that i haven't emailed back yet. well transfers on on Saturday, ill let you know sometime next week whats going on. i would love to get all of your guy's predictions like we did a few months ago, that was cool. so these past few days i was with elder mor in waveland on exchanges, it was cool i like elder morris he's a cool guy. so new years was awesome, we just stayed at the apartment and watched all the fireworks, there was so much smoke, it was crazy, everybody lights off fireworks down here! it was cool though. .....well so far me and wag and doing good, were really hoping that well like the transfer info this week. hopefully i stay again. if i stay again I'll be down here for a total of 10 and a half months. but well see. well pass christian is cool i hope i stay again, thanks again for all that you've done, I'll talk to you next week with the transfer info on what's going on. talk to you later, love ya bye!

love hank 

hey dad whats up?! sorry i haven't emailed back sooner yet. well transfer week is this week. i know what you mean about not getting your hopes up but and being prepared for stuff happening that you don't want to happen. i know that I'm going to leave pass Christan eventually, but i really want to be here for as long as i can. its been a good run. .....hey dad sorry my letter is so short this week,....well dad thanks for everything and the letter, ill talk to you next week and let you know what happens. love ya, bye!

love hank