Fwd: You are a coconut.

January 25, 2016 

 Hello people of my life!!!

 How you be? Good? Good! I'm just going to assume that unless I get

 mail telling me otherwise, so go team! What team? WILDCATS! GET YOUR

 HEAD IN THE GAME!

 Okay now that that's out of my system here is the low down:

 There was no email last week because I went to the temple and due to

 the poor wifi on the SUBWAY(!!!!) the really funny, inspiring email I

 know sustains you all through the boring week got lost. So here's my

 attempt to rewrite that one and give you some info on this week.

 Major life changing events that have happened in the last two weeks

 include but are not limited to:

 We saw two tumble weaves. They're like tumble weeds, but weaves. I'd

 have taken pics, but didn't feel like flashing the iPad in those

 areas.

 It finally snowed!! First it was just a dusting that melted right

 away, but this weekend we got a Nor'eastern, which is basically a

 blizzard that feeds off the ocean so it never dies. It dumped snow for

 about 24 hours and we got 2-3 feet! So fun! Except we weren't allowed

 to drive so we, like the pioneer children, walked and walked and

 walked. And shoveled and shoveled and shoveled. They ended up

 cancelling church because there was so much snow, so we've been

 shoveling snow for the past two days straight and I'm pooped. Also NY

 needs to learn some stuff  from Utah. The roads are still not clear!

 There were snow plows everywhere with the plows UP. What good is that

 gonna do? Tèt chaje!! We dug out 5 stuck cars, too. What team?

 WILDCATS.

 I went to the temple in Manhattan for my 6 month anniversary trip and

 it was perfect. I didn't see any of my north mission homies, but I did

 ride the subway for the first time ever and I did talk to one lady who

 escaped as a war refugee from Bosnia 20 years ago with a baby and a

 sick husband. Her advice: "Do not be afraid! Everyone in Bosnia is

 afraid of something. Fear is paralyzing! Just hold your head up and be

 brave!" Imagine that with a Bosnian accent. Then I talked to a guy

 from West Africa. His advice: "It's good to talk to other people and

 find out how they live. If you spend your whole life not knowing about

 others, that's no good." Say it with an African/French accent. Then an

 Indian lady God blessed me before getting off the subway. Best day

 ever!

 Also in the subway there were mosaics and news stands and one guy was

 playing the steel drums and two others were playing the saxophone and

 guitar. Also if you spit onto the rails the rats come out and eat your

 spit. I didn't do it, but it happened.

 Speaking of rats, Cheryl told us about a Greek god with an

 inappropriate name that is a rat that comes into people's houses who

 don't believe in God. She thinks the rat is in her house and when we

 meet with her we scare the rat away. What team? WILDCATS.

 When we went to see Cheryl, we ended up teaching like 5 lessons. There

 were 4 kitchen chairs set up in the living room and we sat in two and

 when we finished talking and praying with one person, someone else

 would come sit down. I don't know who the 4th chair was for, probably

 the Holy Ghost. We're still not sure if all the people we taught live

 there or not. And they gave us cake, which I probably would have

 thrown away once we got home if they hadn't offered the 2 year old

 some. People don't usually offer 2 year olds weed cake. Turns out it

 was delicious and weed free!

 Shout out to my father dearest for sending me the warmest coat ever

 that protected me from the frozen tundra of this weekend! You rock!

 Also we're getting TWO new Creole sisters in February!! AAAAHHHHH!

 Okay now for my spiritual schpeel - those of you with a temple

 recommend: the temple is SO GREAT. If it's been a while since you've

 been, drop whatever you're doing and go right now! If you're still

 reading this email, that hopefully means you've been to the temple

 recently. Now you stop whatever you're doing and go to the temple!

 Unless you're a missionary then keep missioning because rules. The

 blessings we get and the peace we can feel there are SO MUCH MORE than

 anything we will ever find outside of the temple for one simple

 reason. The temple is truly the house of the Lord. It is set apart

 from the world. It's the best!

 Also, don't forget my Bosnian friend's advice. Do not fear. Fear is

 stupid. Be brave!

 I love you all so much! I hope you have a wonderful week and that

 you'll be able to feel how much your Father in Heaven loves you. Go do

 amazing things! Lots of times, we are the only things holding

 ourselves back.

 You rock my world.

 Love,

 Sè Hannah Fouts

 PS Also about the subject line, I was given a book of Creole proverbs

 and it's my favorite and that's the English translation of one of

 them. It's like saying "you're a hard nut to crack" or something like

 that. In creole it looks like this: "ou se yon kokoye." So fun so fun!

 PPS Be prepared for lots of pictures this week. #Sorrynotsorry

Half an hour after we shoveled this house, this is what it looked
like. Mwen fini.

I'm literally under Times Square. It's fine.

THE TEMPLE

When you find Haitian coconut milk at Target you obviously buy it. Please tell us what to do with it, we have no idea!

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Fwd: Call me Rocky

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 4:39 PM
Subject: Call me Rocky

Because this morning our professional boxer investigator named C.
taught us how to box! We even warmed up by jogging around the block in
New York, like Rocky. It's fine, I'm basically famous. And she told me
I'm a natural, so I guess I've figured out my career path.

We had some incredible first lessons with people this week! We're not
sure how things will end up, but man the Spirit was strong! I love the
first lesson because it's where we get to testify for the first time
of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of the
restored gospel. ITS DA BEST. You can literally see the stress melting
off of these New Yorker's shoulders as they listen to us retell the
First Vision, which is Joseph's account of when he prayed to get an
answer to a question and in response he saw and spoke with God the
Father and Jesus Christ. It's so incredible and I love it!

Some of the best quotes of the week are:
"Ya know when water jis sits...and, and stuff GROWS in it?! Dats
GROSS!! And dats where I'm at! And I don't wanna be dere no mo!" Well
Ch., the gospel can help you get out of that gross growing sitting
water.

I won't put this in quotes because it was in Creole, but we were
talking to an old lady about the bible and she was telling us why she
couldn't read it and it was basically because her eyes were bad and
there were too many chickens in Haiti. I'm not really sure what the
correlation there is, but okay! Also there might have been a language
barrier problem, but it was a funny one.
"How many siblings do you have?"
"The nice answer? 4. The real answer? 19."
"Can I learn some more about dis Book uh Norman's?"
And some graffiti wisdom because why not: "know God, no fear. No God,
know fear."
Also we found out that an older lady in our ward worked with Joan Jett
and has her name on two of Joan's album covers and hung out with Alice
Cooper. She doesn't talk with Joan anymore because "we've just gone
our separate ways."

For my spiritual schpeel of the week, I'd like to share a quote from
Elder Holland, a living Apostle of the Savior Jesus Christ.
"I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled
with faith, and remember the Lord has said He "would fight [our]
battles, [our] children's battles, and [the battles of our] children's
children." And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to
"search diligently, pray always, and be believing[. Then] all things
shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and
remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted." The latter days
are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing
and remember our covenants."
Amen to that!

Always remember that God loves you and He will be there to guide you
if you will accept His guidance. I love you all so much and hope you
have the best week EVER. Kenbe djanm!

Avek lanmou,
Sè Hannah Fouts

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Fwd: Call me Rocky

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 4:44 PM
Subject: Re: Call me Rocky

We decided to freeze at the beach today. Best choice ever! Beach
therapy is the answer to all of life's greatest mysteries. Also I wore
my shark shirt but you can't tell.

ᐧ

Fwd: JT and Soup Jou Mou

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 2:18 PM
Subject: Re: JT and Soup Jou Mou

We party hard on the New Years Eve!

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Fwd: JT and Soup Jou Mou

From: Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 2:16 PM
Subject: JT and Soup Jou Mou

Family, friends, fellow Creole speakers who randomly stumble onto the
blog my dad has created, and anyone else who weirdly reads these
emails,
Transfer calls came....drumroll.....STAYING IN LYNBROOK for another 6
weeks. Holla. Lynbrook is da best.

We met JT this week. He is a singer songwriter for Akon and also
Shaggy. We're gonna start teaching him the gospel before he goes on
tour with Akon next month, so that's pretty cool. If anyone does
research and discovers that he doesn't exist or that Akon isn't going
on tour next month, I don't want to hear about it. Let me live a
little, please.

NEW YEARS EVE IN NEW YORK!!! BALL DROP!!!! Jokes on us. We had to be
in at 6, so we played all the board games and it was a party!! 🎉
So Haitians really love New Year's Day and in Haiti everyone makes
soup jou Mou, which is a spicy pumpkin soup with meat and stuff
(everyone makes it different) and everyone just goes around eating
soup jou mou all day! I need to learn how to make it because if I
could eat that every day I would. It's delicious!!

We had an amazing lesson with G and P! I'd tell you more
about it but my fingers are frozen so maybe later. Keep praying for
them, or start, because P's dad is really against her being
baptized and until he says "go ahead," nothing is gonna happen until
she's 18. But they came to church so that's so good!!!

We did some fun service for C, a professional boxer. We organized
her bookshelf! She has so many books! It was so fun! We've been
helping her out a lot lately and that's been super cool. She's way
awesome, she even has a belt. Not a big deal. At first I thought she
was a super model (we organized her closet and man that woman has a
lot of expensive clothing) but nope! How neat is that!

Sorry this email is lame, my fingers really are so cold it's hard to
type. Humid cold and I are not on good terms, and we don't even have
snow yet. Ridiculous!

Well I hope all is well with you and that you have the best week of
your lives thus far! The big apple wisdom of the week comes from the
poor man who missed his train. We were knocking on a lady's door and
he was running to the train as it was about to leave the station. He
yelled, "Oh me oh my, oh me oh my! Oh me oh my, oh me oh my!" A lot of
times and stomped his foot. "I've missed my train, and now I do not
know what I shall do! Oh me oh my!" He really yelled like this, ps. We
could hear him from across and down the street over the sound of the
trains and the arms that stop cars from going. He was really upset.
Anyways, after the train pulled out of the station he crossed the
tracks and waited for the next train to come. The moral of the story
is its okay to be really upset and yell and stomp your feet when you
miss a really great opportunity or things don't go the way you want,
but when you've got it out of your system, move on and patiently wait
for the next train to come. Turn what you can't control over to the
Savior. Also maybe don't get too drunk because I'm pretty sure he was
in the tavern next to us too long which is why he missed his train in
the first place.

Avek lanmou,
Sè Hannah Fouts

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Fwd: Did Merida eat caviar? Um yesss

From: Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 1:06 PM
Subject: Re: Did Merida eat caviar? Um yesss

ᐧ

Fwd: Did Merida eat caviar? Um yesss

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 12:57 PM
Subject: Did Merida eat caviar? Um yesss

Hello my people!!

CHRISTMAS WAS THIS WEEK!!!! How fun is that?!?! The answer is THE MOST
FUN!!!! It was sort of white because it was SO foggy. I got to talk my
family, cute grandparents, and favorite Brooke and it was just the
best! We were in two nativity recreations. In one we were the
narrators and in the other we were singing angels and it was
magnificent, thanks for asking! Also in one the Baby Jesus was a cat
named Van Lapis. Go figure.

We went to lots of people's houses and ate lots of food and it was
glorious. We went to 2 Haitian parties where we were the only non
family members and also the only white people and it was great! I
really love akra, which is basically dough that's been fried to death,
but it's not a scone because it's spicy ish and way better. Also
griyo, which is pork that's also been fried to death. But I'm good to
stay away from the pikliz, which is basically coleslaw of death. New
favorite Haitian foods for sure! One Sister we went to visit didn't
have anyone to spend the day with, so we surprised her! It was super
fun! We sang songs and played some of her 30+ guitars and just had a
grand old time.

Okay. Here is the craziest thing that has ever happened ever. Are you
ready? We got leftovers from a member who works at a restaurant. It
was seafood, and anyone who knows me knows I do not have a good
relationship with seafood. But I ATE AN OCTOPUS. Not just part of an
octopus, a real live (we don't know if they cooked it or not) octopus.
IT WAS PURPLE AND STILL HAD ALL 8 LEGS WITH THE SUCKERS STILL
ATTACHED. I know because I counted. And I chewed it and swallowed it
and didn't throw it up. It's a Christmas miracle!!!! I could see its
little face. Ugh. Nasty.

In other news, we went to see B.J. McQ and she had moved the
day before. What the heck. So we're going to be calling her until we
find out her new place of abode and get her to the missionaries in GA.
We've found some really awesome people this week who seem really
interested and committed to learning more about the gospel! Hopefully
they respond to our texts.

Also today I shot a bow and arrow, it's fine.

For my thought today I wanted to share something from a dear book
called "Adjusting to Missionary Life." It talks about dealing with
stress and has the driest sense of humor I have ever had the pleasure
of experiencing. One section says something to the effect of "think of
the worst possible outcome. If it's something you can live with, or
something the Savior can help you overcome, then move forward without
fear." Um yes hello. You can actually live with anything except death
of you, because unless it kills you then you're living with it. And if
it kills you, then the Savior can help you overcome it because
resurrection!! At first you're like, uh thanks a lot, adjusting to
missionary life, you're the worst. But then you think about it, and
you're like, woah! It's actually pretty true! Thanks!
I know the Savior lives. I know that by Him and through Him, we can
accomplish any righteous thing. When we humble ourselves and align our
wills with His, miracles will happen in our lives and in the lives of
those we love. I'm so thankful for the chance I had to spend this
Christmas in the service of my God. I love you all!! I hope you have a
wonderful week, and the happiest of Independence Days!!!
🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹 (who needs New Years when you can just be Haitian
instead?)

Love,
Sè Hannah Fouts

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Fwd: Jwaye Nwel!

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Dec 21, 2015 at 3:20 PM
Subject: Re: Jwaye Nwel!

So this just happened...panini a la carte! Get it? It's a panini food
cart? And it's called panini a la carte?! So punny!!! This is Giovani
and David. Giovani was a mortgage broker until 60 days ago when he
decided to follow his dream of owning a panini food truck. Giovani and
David have been buds since high school. We are best friends, they even
gave us a free menu and a muffin and took A Savior is Born cards.
Ignore the really bad lighting and rejoice in the glorious gospel. K
thanks.

ᐧ

Fwd: Jwaye Nwel!

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Dec 21, 2015 at 12:55 PM
Subject: Jwaye Nwel!

Hey there friends, family, and any other beloved children of God who
may stumble across this message,

MERRY CHRISTMAS! FELIZ NAVIDAD! JWAYE NWEL!! 👈👐🖕🖖🤘👌✊! (That's
not actually sign language, I just typed in some emojis.) Are you so
excited to celebrate the birth of our Savior? I am!!
Well this week has just been great. We met with S, that old
Haitian lady who taught us happy birthday in Creole. Well she knows
everything we've been teaching her is true, except for the fact that
she doesn't think she can get baptized again. Also the people in her
church love her and would be sad if she left. But she's in her church
choir, and so she taught us a Haitian Christmas song! We just be
singin with S all day. I almost recorded it for you. I'll try this
week, were singing with her more on Wednesday. We told her we'd sing
her some of our songs, but that's awkward because there are only two
Christmas songs translated into Creole. So this week in language study
I started translating the hymn book, and who knows how many mistakes I
made. I'll be sending it over to Frè Anderson, Frè Chandler, and Frè
Dillon (the Creole teachers in the MTC. I actually haven't met Frè
Dillon, but he deserves a shout out because he sent us a Christmas
present.) so they can look it over.

My favorite phone call of the week was with B.J. McQ...
remember her? The one who was supposed to be baptized this
week? Yeah awkward she actually hasn't been to church yet so we moved
it to January 17th. Well PLOT TWIST because she called us saying she's
moving to Atlanta GA by the end of the month. What the heck? So some
missionaries down in Georgia are about to get a Christmas present.
Fingers crossed its Sister Lawson!

Also Tr, the other girl who had a date for this Sunday, has
dropped off the face of the planet.

The best day was when we had all of our appointments cancel and we ran
out of gas. Wow, that sounds like the opposite of the best day. False.
(It's because Heavenly Father directs the work.) But we looked around
and felt impressed to knock on these 2 doors with Christmas wreaths
(Jews and Jehovah Witnesses don't usually put up Christmas wreaths,
and they're the bashiest of the bashers.) and BAM both people answered
those doors and they are interested in the message! Then we ran into
D and H. D hasn't been to church in a while, but she's
worried because Hailey, who's 9, hasn't been baptized yet. She has
friends in the church and is super open to learning more! They were so
excited to get Book of Mormons and come to church! They didn't, but
they seemed like they wanted to, which is a good first step!

Something I've been working on this week is turning outward instead of
inward, and just doing things the Lord's way. I was reading in Mosiah
2 today, which is SUCH a good chapter. King Benjamin, a prophet and
King in the Book of Mormon, is teaching his people right before he
dies. He explains to them that even if we were to serve God, who has
given us everything from our freckles and eyebrows and breath to our
clothes to our homes to our families to our riches, with exactness and
with all our heat and might and strength for the rest of our lives,
we'd still not be able to repay Him for everything He's done for us.
And all He asks is that we do our best to keep His commandments,
repent when we mess up, and take care of each other. Just something to
think about.
I love you all so much! You're such a support and a strength to me,
and I'm so thankful for all of your examples and love. Pase Bon
jounen, e jwaye Nwel!

Sè Fouts

Oh also for those of you who have been asking for my address:

Sister Hannah Fouts
New York New York South Mission
85-69 60th Drive
Elmhurst, NY (insert zip code.) [Note from Dad: 11373]

I recognize this address is totally unhelpful without the zip code, I
will do some, digging and see if I can find it.

Merry Christmas!

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