Catching up with old emails

Weeeellll...this is Sister Fouts' negligent father. She fell behind on letters then I fell behind on posting them up. Here, for your reading pleasure, is a two month update. SORRY!!

On April 25, 2016 Hannah Fouts wrote: 

WOW HELLO EVERYONE!!!!
Here's a big old shout out for everyone who made my birthday soooooo
good! You all make me happy enough to hug a hobo, and there are some
pretty nasty smelling hobos out here. If anyone thinks they have the
coolest family and friends, scratch that (unless you're related to me
because same family) because I actually do. Sorry to burst your bubble
there!

Shout out to Carol for being the most beautiful artist
Shout out to Barb for fitting so much in such a tiny box
Shout out to Dad and Co. for finding 20 of so many things
Shout out to Mom for having the best taste of clothes
Shout out to Sister Landaverry and Hunter and Meri for nailing my
style on the dot
Shout out to Bountiful 31st ward for being real good note writers and
fudge makers
Shout out to Grandma and Papa and Nana for being the best grandparents everrrrr
Shout out to all of you cool people for loving me even though I'm a
weirdie. You all rock my church socks!

Well you're probably wondering what happened this week! If you're not,
I don't know why you're reading this email. Anyways, let me tell ya!

Here are 20 things about this week because 20 is a good number.
1. Many cancelled lessons, no advance notice equals much travel on
public transportation.
2. I. and M. didn't answer their phones or texts all week.
Neither of them came to church. M. didn't keep our appointment on
Wednesday. Boo! The adversary needs to get out my face.
3. A. from Nigeria is the coolest! She wants to be baptized so badly
but doesn't know where. She's been looking for a long time. We're
stoked to help her make that step by the proper priesthood authority!
4. We saw a plethora of cops and cop cars and police tape this week.
That was neat.
5. Earth Day means Prospect Park for lunch hour and dirt trails and a
carousel. I rode the lion!
6. I ate Dominican food for the first time since leaving Sister
Peguero's dinner table back in Lynbrook!
7. T. took us to a ritzy BBQ place and it was delicious.
8. A cockroach came at me while I was in the shower. I screamed and
then I squashed it.
9. A member got us a birthday cake and we had a party.
10. We found feather masks and party hats so we ate our earth day
breakfast of funfetti pancakes with those on.
11. It's hard to see with feather masks.
12. We ate burritos and I was happy happy happy!
13. We had stake conference and it was so good!
14. The stake conference was held at a super flash (New Zealand term)
hotel right by the Brooklyn Bridge. No big deal.
15. I translated the last two talks and even though I didn't know
"boat" it went well!
16. An elder translated the closing prayer from Spanish to Creole, and
I was impressed until I remembered he doesn't speak Spanish and was
just making it up. Next time I translate I'll just read an old
conference talk or ensign article and call it good!
17. I almost bought a cactus because there was an earth day sale but
remembered how the last time I tried to take care of Megan's cactus
Carter got lots of cactus needles in his face. I didn't buy a cactus.
18. Referring back to number 10, I actually just tried to make
pancakes out of funfetti cake mix and it didn't work that good. They
were pretty burned and our house was pretty smokey.
19. I saw a limo at a gas station that probably had Taylor Swift or
Beyoncé or both of them inside of it.
20. Grandma S. She's a cute Philippino lady in our ward and we
ate the Dominican food at her house. She told us how she met her
husband. (This might be long so if you hate fun and stories and
upliftment then feel free to skip on ahead.) Back in the Philippines
when she was 17 you DID NOT go on dates without a chaperone. Well once
she was invited by her brothers friend to go to his cousin's wedding.
Her brother was going with his girlfriend so they were going together.
The wedding was really far away and her brother and his girlfriend
left the wedding without Grandma S.! So she had to stay the night
at her brother's friend's family's house. Naturally they were in
different rooms, but it looked bad so she had to marry her brother's
friend or else she'd bring shame on her whole family. So she married
him when she was 17. And it turns out THAT WAS THEIR PLAN ALL ALONG.
HER BROTHER AND HER HUSBAND HAD PLA.ED THE WHOLE DANG THING!! And
now, however many years later, they've been sealed in the temple and
their family is eternal and they have wonderful children and
grandchildren and he doesn't have teeth and she takes care of him and
loves him dearly. There are probably lots of points you could take
from this, but mine is that sometimes life dishes out poopy things,
and sometimes at the time of a trial it might seem like we're being
forced to marry our brother's dumb friend. But it turns out that it's
actually going to bring us a lot of happiness later on! That's not a
very good parallel, I'm really sorry. Mostly I wanted an excuse to
tell that story because I thought it was hilarious.

Isaiah 41:10 is a real good scripture. Go look it up.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
YOU ARE WONDERFUL
GOD LOVES YOU
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING
MY FAMILY (immediate and extended) IS BETTER THAN SHARK WEEK🌊
LOVE
sister fouts

PS I was going to write this in the form of lots of small haikus but
maybe I'll do that next week. Maybe I won't. We'll see.
PPS A stranger man just told me I look sunburned. Nope, I'm just
actually red. BUT THE SUN IS COMING BACK AND I'M THRILLED.


 On Apr 18, 2016, at 5:02 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 Just lookin fly

 

Please look at the big arch, not me. I look like a dingus, but the arch is HUGE. it's hard to tell how big it is in this picture.

This one is for Sylee Baker!

 On Apr 18, 2016, at 4:58 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 Hey y'all! (Please say that with a gangster rapper voice, not a Texas
 farm girl voice.)

 First off, some shout outs. Happy birthday, Christopher Bare! Happy
 birthday, Barb! Happy birthday, Aunt Barbie! Happy Birthday, EARTH! 🌎
 Happy birthday to all you other people out there who are having
 birthdays or celebrating someone else's birthday! Go plant trees or
 something this Friday. (That's my subtle way of giving myself a
 birthday shout out)

 We had another awesome lesson with I.! She asked if she could
 change her baptism date to June 12 since that's when her family will
 be able to come. Um yes absolutely! She kept getting ready all through
 the lesson and saying "I feel so happy! I've never felt this happy
 before!" It was SO GOOD.

 We got a call from the elders in Staten Island saying they have a
 referral for us and she has a baptismal date for May 15th. Say what?!
 So that's M., and we'll meet with her on Wednesday so I'll let you
 know how that goes. SO GOOD.

 I contacted a lot in Creole and at made me happy. Two ladies I talked
 to thought I was Haitian, then when I told them I was from by
 California (none of them know where Utah is) they asked where in Haiti
 my dad was from. Then they asked if my dad was black. SO GOOD.
 Then I. texted saying her mom realized it was the Mormon church,
 and she was no longer down for the baptism. Fortunately I. is 18
 but we don't want strained relationships. We've been praying really
 really hard for her mom's heart to be softened, and I. texted again
 today saying that some missionaries in GA visited her mom and she
 thinks that's a good sign. PRAYER LITERALLY WORKS MIRACLES, PEOPLE.
 PRAY ALWAYS.

 For the big down, the Alexander family dropped us. We don't know
 what's wrong, but we went over and Sister Alexander told us not to
 come back and she'd call and explain. She still hasn't called, so
 we're just waiting on that.

 Also I translated sacrament meeting. TALK ABOUT SCARY. I used the
 fancy headset and everything! I started, and then a few words in got
 stage fright. I couldn't get my mouth to work. One of the elders came
 up and tried to help me get over it, but it didn't work too well. One
 of the members did their talk in creole, so that was a relief, but
 then another guy had the thickest accent I've ever heard. Translating
 that one was a toughy! But I'll get better. It's my turn again in 3
 weeks so I'll let you know how it goes!

 Some people I would have sent you pictures of if it weren't so dang
 hard to take pictures discreetly with an iPad:
 The green lady. Literally head to toe, hair and make up included, this
 woman and all her clothes were the same shade of bright lime green.
 The old woman with purple eyebrows, bright blue eyeliner, and the
 reddest lipstick I've ever seen. Also her foundation was white, so it
 was pretty intense.
 The guy at the library that was singing loud and proud to Louisiana
 skies or blues or whatever that country song is by Mel blah blah blah.
 I know it's by Mel because he had a conversation with himself about
 it. If you've ever seen lord of the rings, it was like when golem
 talks to himself.
 The little Jewish boy riding a unicycle down the street.
 And someone I did take a picture of was the escaped hospital patient
 that was sleeping on the church grass.

 Some good quotes were:
 "Thank you for there being no cockroaches to kill tonight." -Sister
 Taylor in our nightly prayer
 "D***!" -also Sister Taylor. It's not a swear word in New Zealand, but
 we get some pretty shocked looks from members here.
 "Why would I kill trees when I can just use my finger?" -anonymous
 lady on the bus, while picking her nose.

 Spiritual thought ish:
 Just be yourself! Life is too short to not have fun and love yourself
 the way your Father in Heaven loves you. As Elder Holland said the
 other weekend, He loves YOU with all His heart, might, mind, and
 strength. Don't worry about what someone else will think or say. Do
 what you know is right and true and fun and happy! Lift others and
 help them do the same by loving me no matter what. This message was
 inspired throughout the week by lots of New Yorkers riding scooters
 and rollerblading and skateboards and everything else to get around,
 and not just the teenagers and kids. Just do what brings you joy! I
 know this gospel brings true and lasting joy and happiness. I'm
 grateful for the chance I have to be here serving and loving the
 people of the world in Brooklyn!

 I love you all!
 Have a good, earthy week!
 Sister Fouts


 On Apr 11, 2016, at 4:24 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 Whenever I don't know what to say for a subject line I think, what
 would Glozell say? And then I say that.

 First order of business: my new companion is Sister Taylor and she's
 from New Zealand and we have a good time! She likes Milo, which I only
 know is a thing because of the Camerons.

 This week I broke a bowl, Sister Taylor cut her foot because of said
 broken bowl, our toilet FLOODED, like serious flooding, and I set off
 the smoke alarm while making dinner. And I broke a washing machine and
 had to air dry all my clothes and got lost in the subway. HOLLA. Also
 I am really good at killing baby cockroaches but less good at killing
 big ones. I tried to set one on fire because it was chillin on the
 stove but I think they're fire proof. Also we rode a bus that smelled
 super nast. Big apple wisdom: if you can't hold it, at least get off
 the bus before lettin it go. Please and thank you! Or don't.
 Apparently that's an option too.

 Miracles of the week: there we are at church, just greeting people
 before sacrament meeting, when I see a girl I've never met before. Her
 name is I.. She isn't a member but heard about the church and
 decided to visit to see if she liked it. WHAT!! It was fast and
 testimony meeting, which is always a little stressful when you have
 visitors. But it went really well! It was one of the most testimony
 based testimony meetings I've ever been in! Afterwards I asked if she
 had questions and she said "Well I don't really know who Joseph Smith
 is." Fast forward to 20 minutes later and she is getting baptized on
 May 15th. AND her entire family is flying here from Georgia (shout out
 to the Harrison clan and Sister Lawson) to see it! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!
 Sometimes I forget that this is actually Heavenly Father's work, not
 mine. We're just the tools He uses to make it happen.

 Also a cool thing that happened is we were on the subway and we saw
 two guys signing at each other. The ASL sisters recently sent out a
 video of them signing the address of the church and everything, so I
 was pumped! We showed it to them and one of them shook his head and
 told us he doesn't live in Brooklyn, he lives upstate. But we gave him
 the card and they were pretty happy about it. The coolest thing about
 this story is HE WAS SPEAKING SIGN LANGUAGE AND JUST MOUTHING WORDS
 AND I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SAY. You can pretend I just
 made it up if you want to, but I know that was the Holy Ghost stepping
 in and crossing a language barrier that would have been impossible for
 us to cross on our own. The church is true, my friends! And I figured
 out how to communicate with the Russians. We have pass along cards
 with the Book of Mormon on them in Russian! Big break through, I know.
 We just show it to them and most of them run away but I'll let you
 know if anyone ever gets excited about it.

 Quick spiritual thingy:
 This week I've been trying really hard to lift others burdens,
 sometimes literally, if they're carrying something heavy, and
 sometimes figuratively. Yesterday there was a little girl on the
 subway whining a lot. You could tell they'd had a long day out and her
 mom was just done with everything. I complimented her on her outfit,
 and her entire face changed. It just got happier and she started
 talking to her daughter more lovingly. Sometimes all someone needs is
 a happy little compliment or a smile or a text saying "hey, you are
 cool!" Try to be on the lookout this week for the little things you
 can do to make someone else feel happier about life, even if it seems
 like they're doing fine.

 Well that's all for now folks.
 Kenbe djanm
 Don't forget who you are or what you stand for
 Don't get a wedgie
 Don't pee on buses
 Remember I love you
 And go rock the world!

 Love
 Sister Fouts

 On Apr 4, 2016, at 4:06 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 This is us and T. my favorite at the Applebee's. I'm going to be
 best friends with T. for life.

 Oh yeah I met the guy who is Mufasa in lion king on Broadway. He invited us to the show next March in SLC. dtmif (only a few of you will get that reference and that's okay)

 This is my district. The I love you hands are for my mom. And whoever else needs a pick me up today.
 

 Because I love rain and rain boots and Brooklyn

 On Apr 4, 2016, at 3:56 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 Bonjou!
 Hola!
 Hello!
 Waddup?

 Well some news is the Spanish ward that met in our same building has
 been dissolved. And now our ward is Spanish, English, and Creole
 (shoutout to Sister Landaverry who is the only not Haitian person I
 know that speaks all those languages). So I'm trying real hard to
 brush up on my high school español because it'd be neat to be able to
 talk to half the members more than "Hola, como estas? Byen! Y Tu?" And
 also I can ask their names. Go team!

 Some great stuff happened this week! One of the members, T., took
 us out in her car so we were able to deliver a ton of bibles to people
 who had ordered them on Mormon.org. It was so good! Then she took us
 to Applebee's and we ate steak. Wow. Also she bought all the
 missionaries snacks for days for General Conference, which by the way
 was FANTASTIC. If you missed parts or all of it, go watch it because
 WOW. So much revelation and inspiration!

 We had some technical difficulties, naturally. The satellite at the
 church went out so we could only stream it in English. One of the
 Haitian members was real perturbed about that and yelled lots and told
 us we have no faith, and also asked the elders to use the priesthood
 to fix the satellite. Awkward because it doesn't work like that. We
 just watched in English and loved life. Also I love having the Spanish
 members because we had a straight up feast after the Sunday morning
 session. Apparently Latinos put potatoes in hard tortillas and call it
 a taco? But it was good so whatair. Also a guy came for the last
 session and he asked lots of questions in a really loud whisper voice
 and it was too funny! He really loves President Faust, he talked about
 him lots. Then today we saw him at the library, and he came over and
 did his loud whisper voice again and told us he couldn't talk to us
 there because there were lots of Jews at the library and if he was
 seen talking to us, they'd get suspicious because he's Jewish.

 We met with J. again this week and it was so good! Two of her
 sons have died within the last 5 years, and that's been really tough
 for her. The last lesson, we taught her about the plan of salvation
 and temples! It was so cool to be able to teach her about how we can
 be together as families FOREVER if we live righteously and do the
 things God asks. This week she told us she'd been thinking about what
 we said all week long, and even talked to one of her friends about it.
 She came to one of the sessions of conference, and we've been calling
 to read the Book of Mormon with her every day since then. It's amazing
 how most people don't have real answers to life's biggest questions,
 like why are we here, where did we come from, and where are we going.
 But because of modern day revelation, WE do have those answers. I love
 it sooo much! It's ridiculous how much comfort can be found in knowing
 exactly what happens after death, and in knowing that no goodbye is
 permanent.

 Well in other news we got to the church to email and there are lots of
 suits and ties and shoes and nametags all over the foyer, but no
 elders. We're afraid to go find them so we're just pretending it's not
 happening. Told ya my life is weird.

 Oh also I was called to train again! This time I'll be training in
 English because there are no Sisters coming in who are learning
 Creole. It'll be a bumpy ride and I'm sure we'll get lost a ton
 because I still have a hard time understanding bus maps, but I'm so
 excited! I've been studying a lot on Christlike leadership. There's a
 lot of thoughts there so if you're interested go ahead and email me.

 I hope you all have the most wonderful week ever and that you do
 something new. New things are good. If you haven't done something for
 the first time in a long time, go change that.
 LOVE YA SO MUCH.

 Sister Fouts
 PS Shout out to Sister Brenna Lawson for reading these emails and also
 because whenever she writes about Sister C and her 12 hairless cats I
 actually crack up out loud, instead of laughing in my brain or through
 my nose. Stay classy, stay sassy.

 On Mar 26, 2016, at 1:06 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 Hey there best beloved people!
 My life is weird. Let's move on.
 Have a great week!
 Love,
 Sister Fouts

 Just kidding. But my life is weird. Here are some reasons:
 * While we were waiting for the bus, there was a flower shop + bar
 that was giving away free flowers if you did a dance. You know we did
 it! And then we were stuck carrying really tall carnations with us all
 day long.
 *We were going to go to the temple with our recent convert D.
 today (hence the Saturday email. Did you all review my list of reasons
 why an email wouldn't come on Monday? I hope so.) but we realized my
 comp is going to the temple next week for her departing trip and we
 can only go once a month and so today is just a regular preparation
 day. Sorry for that really bad run on sentence.
 * I tried to speak Creole to a Jamaican man and it was so
 embarrassing that I just pretended I didn't speak English and my
 companion covered for me.
 * we woke up at 5 AM and rode a bus for an hour to get a family
 ready for church. And we were only 15 minutes late! Woot woot! Shout
 out to my mom for teaching me how to iron!
 * There was a giant fish head on the sidewalk and I almost tripped over it.
 * We had the BEST lesson EVER with K.. She'd ordered a bible,
 so we delivered it! She told us her dad just went into the hospital
 and she's been having a lot of struggles lately. She'd talked to a
 Visitor Center missionary on the phone and she told her about the Book
 of Mormon. K. told us that after that phone call, she was able
 to sleep. She hasn't been able to sleep in months. We invited her to
 be baptized, and she said yes before we'd even finished the question!
 The next day she texted us saying her dad was much much better. Ever
 since then she's been reading from the Book of Mormon! Then she asked
 if her daughter could get one. It was so so cool to see all the peace
 and all the blessings that come from doing simple things, like reading
 the Book of Mormon and drawing closer to God. I'll keep you all
 updated with her!
 * We just paid to print a Moroccan man's job application at the
 library. Best 35 cents ever spent!
 Awkward. He just said he needs to print lots more things. We'll see
 how this turns out.

 Update: it only cost .25 more and we may have broken the computer. I
 told you my life is weird.

 * My favorite Jewish holiday happened. One guy called it Jewish
 Halloween and I don't know if it has a more official name but it was
 FANTASTIC. We passed one house and there were Hawaiian shirts and
 sparkly red vests and karaoke and dancing. Nobody was really wearing
 costumes, they mostly were just wearing weird things that didn't make
 sense. One kid was wearing a clown Afro and a ninja suit. #goals
 * V.. We met him as he was coming out of the hospital. He was
 88 years old. We helped him zip up his jacket and get on and off the
 bus and he is Jewish and Russian. He and his whole family were in the
 Nazi concentration camps for 4 years until 1944 when they were
 released. WOWZA.
 * Another random holiday you probably didn't know you needed to
 celebrate is "Save the Florida Panther Day." According to my wildlife
 calendar, that is today.
 * there were a lot of things I thought about sharing with you all,
 but the basic message is Jesus is the Savior of the world. Because of
 Him, we can have new life! Yes I quoted the #Hallelujah video but it's
 worth quoting. I've been studying the Atonement this week and holy
 snap! I don't know how to say it better than that because I'm at a
 loss for words. (Weird, huh?) Not only did He suffer for our sins, but
 He made it possible for us to receive strength beyond our own in order
 to deal with the difficulties of mortality. Next time you pray,
 consider asking for the strength to endure a situation well rather
 than asking for God to deal with the situation right now, please and
 thank you. God knows us perfectly. He has a plan for us. We can
 receive some of His strength if we let Him give it to us.
 Well, you're probably all bored of reading this by now so I hope you
 enjoyed my Haitian flag bullet points of joy and that you have the
 best week ever!! Remember who you are and what you stand for! LOVE YA!

 Sister Fouts

 PS shout outs of the week go to Sarah Johnson for that temple
 marriage! #eternity4ever
 And also Taci Carroll paske li ap aprA. Kreyol ankò epi nap pale nan
 Kreyol tout jou chak jou lè m retounen! (My cousin is relearning
 Creole and we're gonna speak in Creole all day ery day when I get
 home.)

 PPS if you feel you want a shoutout feel free to email me and I'll put
 ya in here. Go team!

 On Mar 14, 2016, at 4:41 PM, Hannah Fouts wrote:

 Sometimes you don't have a funny idea for a subject line so you say a
 lame joke in Creole and feel comforted by the fact that half the
 people on this email list don't have access to google translate so
 they'll think it's probably funny and move on with their lives.

 Shout out to the birthdays of the week, including my dear father!
 What, you're turning like 72, right? Way to go! Just kidding, my dads
 not that old. He's probably like 43. I have no idea what age he's
 turning. But happy birthday! Also shoutout to Sidney Baker Ward
 (because she's married now) and also has a birthday! Final shoutout to
 Meri Pickering, Abby Rawlinson, and Melissa
 I-don't-know-your-last-name for giving birth within the last few
 months. Sorry I'm late at the shout outs. Welcome to the world,
 babies!!

 Well this week was great! I don't really know what to write about, so
 that shows you I'm getting more diligent because I didn't think about
 jokes to make in the email during the week. Go team! What team?
 Wildcats! (Maybe one day I'll stop with the high school musical
 references, but today is not that day.)

 We had some really awesome lessons and some really terrible lessons
 this week. Se lavi. Someone we talked to on the bus actually came to
 church, twice, so that's pretty cool! We set a baptismal date with one
 of our investigators! We're waiting on mom's permission still because
 she's 16. Also she didn't come to church so we'll have to move it back
 a week or two. It would also be neat if we could get in contact with
 her. In our great lessons we taught families about the plan of
 salvation and how their family can be together forever, which is just
 my all time favorite thing to do! It's so great to help families
 realize what's possible for them because of God's plan. I LOVE IT! In
 the most terrible lesson our investigator was packing up and ready to
 walk out without a closing prayer.

 My favorite person we met this week was Brother A. We stopped him
 on a side street after dark, which doesn't sound like a good idea, but
 when it's directed by the Spirit even the sketchiest things turn out
 great! He told us about how he used to grow and smoke his own weed in
 Grenada and then he started going to church with his brother and now
 he works 5 days a week, spends Saturday with his family, and Sunday
 with God. Way to go A.! Then he gave us a pep talk about the work
 we're doing and how we need to keep it up and never give up. Thanks,
 A.!

 Also on the bus the other day a man from West Virginia (shoutout to
 Sister Robinson) invited us to go milk cows on his farm. Maybe next
 time?

 The spiritual thought comes from A.. He was definitely not flying
 straight, and his life was a pot mess (get it? Haha, like hot mess.
 Ha. Ha.). But when he turned to God everything worked out. It doesn't
 matter to Christ who you were or what you've done. He wants us to
 become like Him, and we can do that through repentance. Thank goodness
 for that!! Not to mention what He does for our weakness! "Everything
 that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of
 Jesus Christ." Fact. The church is true and God loves you!

 I love you all and hope you have a grand old week! Stay strong and
 enjoy the spring rain and crocuses because they're beautiful. ✌️
 Love
 Sister Fouts



 On Mar 7, 2016, at 4:22 PM, HA.ah Fouts wrote:



 This is Brooklyn! It was a cold day so not many people were out, it's usually way more packed.
 

 How much sister Lamah and I love America is ridiculous
 

 Our district by a cool mural next to the Caribbean market, where you can buy all things Caribbean. SO FUN! Also reppin the Aggies!
 

 Coconuts. Not quite Philippines level, but still good.

 On Mar 5, 2016, at 3:48 PM, Hannah Fouts  wrote:

 Hello friends and family and returned missionaries and current
 missionaries and random people who check out this email on the blog my
 dad is in charge of! How the heck are ya??

 Catch up on Birthday shout outs:
 PAPA!!! Happy birthday! I love you so much!!!!
 Sister Paget! Wow! Way to be old and adulty! Getting out of the teen years!
 I think half the world had birthdays in February so
 I know, it's been a while since I emailed. It's because email crashed
 and also temple trips that got cancelled, so we moved our preparation
 day and didn't end up going to the temple anyway. If this happens
 again in the future, here are a few plausible explanations (not
 necessarily in order of most likely):

 1. The Avengers didn't have enough district unity and let Brooklyn get
 destroyed because they were too focused on Manhattan
 2. Godzilla hits NY 2016 (can that be a hashtag? Do hashtags even still exist?)
 3. King Kong
 4. MyLDSMail crashes about as often as lessons get cancelled
 5. Zombie Apocalypse (where you at, Will Smith?)
 6. Alien invasion
 7. Sharkicane
 8. Random preparation day changes midweek with no advanced warning
 9. I was devoured by R.O.U.Ss, which do exist and actually live in
 Brooklyn. I have seen them and they almost got my foot.
 10. Hit by a bus, taxi, or other angry driver
 11. Temple trips!
 12. I died because I ate too much halal food

 So if you don't hear from me you can guess it's one of those reasons.
 Well I made it to Brooklyn! The little Haiti of the mission! Our
 teaching pool has been English since it began, but we're trying to
 change it to Creole. The difficulty there is we don't have another set
 of English sisters to take all our people, so we'll continue teach
 everyone in our pool until we baptize all of them or get more sisters,
 and just start adding Haitians onto it. We're not currently teaching
 in Creole, but we are finding lots and lots of Haitians! My favorite
 thing is on the bus we'll be talking to someone in Creole and I'll
 look around and tons of people are just staring at us with awe and
 wonder in their eyes, and then we just contact the whole bus. SO FUN!!
 Some interesting things: if you are a parks and rec fan, I live right
 by the pit Andy fell in. Not really because that one is in Pawnee
 Indiana, but there is a pit. I won't fall in, don't worry. There are
 Russian grocery stores and Indian and African hair places all over
 instead of Hispanic delis and Dominican hair places like Lynbrook. So
 fun!
 Basically we're teaching lots of awesome people and we're going to see
 so many miracles this transfer!
 Oh my companion is Sister Lamah and its not pronounced like llama,
 even though I wish it was.
 LOVE YA BYE
 Oh yeah spiritual thought. Peter walking on the water. When we think
 of Christ asking US to meet Him on the water, we will be afraid and
 probably won't make it too far. But when we think of CHRIST asking us
 to meet HIM on the water, we will succeed. The bottom line: make sure
 your focus is on Christ and His abilities rather than yourself and
 your own inabilities and all will be well.
 Okay have a great week!
 Talk to you later!

 Love,
 Sister Fouts

Fwd: Mission call changes and true love

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 11:12 AM
Subject: Re: Mission call changes and true love

Me+the Russian burger 4 life.

Sorry, you probably want pictures of New York or something. But THE OLYMPICS ARE THIS YEAR SO GO AMERICA! USA, USA, USAAAAAA! 

There ya go. Have some New York today. (Close up, Queens. Skyline, Manhatten. The Empire State Building is behind the big white building on the left.)

One more of the big apple. The bridge is actually for trains so that is rad. 

ᐧ

Fwd: Mission call changes and true love

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 10:55 AM
Subject: Mission call changes and true love

Yo yo yo, waddup?

I just read Sister Paget's great email and now I'm nervous about my writing abilities. The above greeting is a good example of how I respond under stress like that.

Well the biggest news of this week is they've changed my mission call! I'll find out where I'm going tomorrow, but they need me in a different mission besides the Lynbrook, NYNYS mission. (That's a joke because I've been here for so long I'm pretty sure that's where I was actually called originally.) so what's atually happening is my sweet Sister Landaverry is training the Haitian sister, Sister Figaro, and I'm leaving! Not to train, just to mission. Sister Wheeler got Sister Cate, the other sister learning Creole. Cross your fingers for Brooklyn because LynBrook-BrookLyn would be so fun! 

What else? Well so much! Patricia's parents aren't giving her permission to be baptized right now, so we're praying hard there. But Gina is still thinking about it, so maybe she'll change her mind! Also a Haitian member was like, yo, my daughter Isabel just came from Haiti and isn't a member but wants to be. Will you teach her? UH YES WE WILL. Then she came to church, because she's the best, and I realized after the first talk she didn't understand a word. I don't know why it took me so long to think about it, but then I started translating for the first time ever and it was so fun!!! So hard, my brain was hurting after, and it wasn't making sense to me. I was just talking, and God was giving me the words. Hahaha it was especially rough when we translated for the last hour, when the stake patriarch came to talk about patriarchal blessings and described the lineage of the priesthood and used words I don't even know in English. HOLLA. 

Oh something else fun was it was like 5 degrees yesterday and Saturday, plus wind chill equals actually just -22 degrees. AND WE WENT KNOCKING!!! Because we are crazy! Saturday night our heater and our water had frozen up. We just piled on blankets and were fine, but we joked about it with one of the senior missionary couples at church and before we know it we have 2 space heaters (shout out to the elders and zoster Maxwell my BFF member for those) and we were asked to sleep at the mission home. I ain't even mad! Cold, yes. Mad, nope! But it's all good and fixed now, no worries! 

Apparently there's a holiday today, so happy (insert holiday everyone keeps talking about but not saying the name of)!!

 Food I ate: Greek, Dominican, Italian, Mexican, and burger shack which is my true love.

Here's my two cents for the week. When I first came to Lynbrook, I was a little bummed but ready to work. Then I realized it looks like a flat Utah and I got really bummed. Then I couldn't wait to leave. Then I got my trainee and settled in for another 12 weeks, not too happy about it. Not that I wanted to leave, but I wanted to leave. I wanted to see the rest of New York, not just A remix of Ogden. But now I'm leaving. Saying goodbye to my friends here has been so so hard! I love these people more than words can describe. I can't imagine my life without them! So here is the wisdom: it might be hard to be happy where you are. It might be hard to feel like you're not moving or progressing. And it might be hard to change and move and progress. But no matter what, do your best to see the good where you are! Enjoy something in every day, even if it's a nice cloud or you have to make something to enjoy like brownies or cookies. But never go to sleep without thanking God for something good and beautiful in the day. I know that as you do that, your various situations, whether you're at the beginning, middle or end of Lynbrook, will be better. God will bless you for your choice to be happy with even more reasons to be happy! I love you all so much! Go rock this week and try something new! Be adventurous! BE HAPPY! Tune in next week for some more big apple wisdom!

With all the love that I haven't already given away to Burger Shack and Lynbrook,

Sister Hannah

PS sorry to Emmie Brown who has heard so much about the shack today.

PPS a member told me to make sure I keep my weight and height in proportion so I'll be attractive to the men when I go home, so there's that. 

PPPS LOVE YA

ᐧ

Fwd: God is Great and I am awkward

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 2:01 PM
Subject: God is Great and I am awkward

People of the world! How has your day been? What was the coolest thing you did? That's so neat! You are the most cool! 

Let me tell you all about this week. It was, in the words of the lady we shared an elevator with this morning, a looloo. I think that means doozy or crazy or wacko. Take your pick! 

So on Wednesday we got a text at 3 from the young women's leader asking if we were set to be in charge that night. Nope...but with the help of the Spirit and poptarts, we had the best young women's night EVER. The spirit was so intense! All of the young women came (apparently everyone knew we'd be there but us) which never happens, and P. was there! We talked about missionary work and how great it is, and then we had them practice. P. even did it, and it made me so happy to hear her introduce herself as "a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!"  Then we went out to find people, and the guy we talked to spoke Spanish so Sister Landaverry took the reigns after I tried to introduce us and failed miserably. Turns out he's a member, but lost the church after he moved from El Salvador 3 years ago! HOW COOL IS THAT?!? SO COOL. 

What else? Oh yes. Why I'm awkward. Well, lots of reasons, but the main one is one night I was so tired and locked the door like always. The next morning when we went to leave the apartment,  we couldn't find the keys ANYWHERE. We tore the place apart, nothing. we prayed, and I thought maybe they were outside. Like, I'd left them in the lock last night. So we tried to unlock the door to check, and WE WERE LOCKED IN because the key was jamming the lock. Sure enough I'd left it out there like the dummy I am. So we had to call the elders to come get us out and I've never been more embarrassed in my whole life. They thought it was hilarious and I almost cried and I've never been happier to live in apartment building full of very old very nice people! 

Also a blind dog sat on me while I was trying to build a shelf for one of our investigators and it wouldn't get off of me and it was so awkward. 

Some good quotes from the week:

"He's in the hospital? Did he get stabbed again?" -in a condescending voice, from Elder Jeppson while on the phone with someone

"You must have the wrong number." -literally every number that people we talked to on the street gave to us when we called it

"My name is Kevin! You can call me Jamaican K.. And when you find someone you want to marry, you'd better bring him by to meet me first so I can approve." -Jamaican K. we met on the street

"I love you! Come to my house at 7 on Saturday. I will feed you. What's your favorite kind of juice?" -E., the Haitian lady we met on the street

Oh another thing that happened! While I was introducing us to E., SPANISH CAME OUT and I could not get my Creole to work! Sister Landaverry is ruining me! But it's okay because she's still the best, and Emma thought it was funny. Life goes on. 

Here's the thought for the week!

The gospel of Jesus Christ
is the plan by which we can become what children of God are supposed to become. This spotless and perfected state will result from a steady succession of covenants, ordinances,
and actions, an accumulation
of right choices, and from continuing repentance"

So that's a super cool quote from Elder Oaks. I love it! How cool is that?! I don't know why it looks like that, just go with it. Basically, through following the gospel plan of having faith in Jesus Christ, changing our actions and our hearts to be more in line with Him, making and keeping promises with our Father in Heaven, and listening to the Holy Ghost, we can keep progressing and becoming the person that God has in store for us to become. Solid! 

Well I love you all and hope you rock this week into outer space. Hopefully that made some sense, just go do some great stuff and always love life! 

Love ya!

Sister Hannah

ᐧ

Fwd: Sa ka rive koukouloukou a ka rive kakalanga tou

Me and Sister Young!

Us at sisters conference! UnShoutout to Sister Anderson for cutting out Sister Landaverry.

Betty's 93rd birthday. Right after this picture she leaned over and told me "I'm going for 100!" So I promised her I'd come back for her 100th birthday.

> On Feb 1, 2016, at 3:04 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>
> Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! 🐻 It's actually tomorrow, but we'll
> celebrate a little early because preparation day. I hope you're all
> alive and well! Here is a big birthday shoutout to everyone who's had
> a birthday in the past 8 months that I've missed, and one to Elder
> Tingey who's aging this Friday! So fun!
>
> Well this week was just great. It's currently 60 degrees, which is a
> big step up from last week, so I'm not complaining! The best things
> that happened this week include but are not limited to:
>
> -We taught 3 Creole lessons in one night! It was so exciting! If
> you're ever like, I wonder which language to learn, just pick Creole.
> See subject line for more support to this argument.
>
> -We had sisters conference, which happens twice a year and is when all
> the sisters in the mission get together and exchange clothes and eat
> food and listen to amazing speakers and get pumped about ourselves and
> the work! And we got to drive the Flushing Chinese Sisters to the
> meeting, which means I got to hang out with Sister Young! I love her!
>
> -This is a long one so get comfy: We talked to this guy on the street
> and he gave us his contact info. A few days later we tried to stop by,
> but he hadn't given us an apartment number and it was one of the
> places where you have to get buzzed in. The number he gave us was
> wrong, too. So we rang a random bell and the nice lady let us in and
> told us where he lived! Turns out he doesn't actually live there, his
> sister does. But his sister told us where he lives and is letting us
> come back to teach her and her family this week. Then we went to his
> actual apartment and he said "who is it!" and then pretended he wasn't
> home. His girlfriend opened the door and after talking to her for a
> minute she told us when we can find him (even though he was clearly
> there) and she wants us to come back and teach her this week! The
> lesson: don't give the missionaries false info because we'll find you
> anyways. Also thanks for all the investigators, friend!
>
> -While on the wild goose chase mentioned above, some boys asked us
> what we were doing. We said talking about Jesus Christ, and one of
> them, who was 11 years old, asked us if we were also looking for
> drugs. Nope...no we are not. Then we invited them to church because
> that boy clearly needs some primary songs in his life.
>
> -The elders had a baptism!!! But...the water heater broke...and all
> the pipes were rusty...so the water was freezing cold and yellow.
> NASTY. We ended up boiling cold tap water and bucketing the font full.
> Apparently it was still really cold, but it was better than the ocean.
> They talked about doing it there. Man, if only I'd known that was an
> option when I was 8!
>
> I want to close this lovely email with my testimony. I know that God
> lives. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, lived, died, and lives now
> for each of us! I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know the
> Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that everything in it is true.
> I know we have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I know these things
> because I've prayed about them and I've had it all confirmed to me
> through the power of the Holy Ghost. I came on a mission because I
> believed these things and I knew it was what God wanted me to do, but
> I'm still here in spite of all the really hard things because I now
> know these things to be true, and I'm still here because I love these
> people so much! I love this gospel! I know it changes our lives when
> we let it.
> I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support and encouragement
> and love. Go change the world!
> Love,
> Sè Hannah
>
> PS Today's subject line means "what happens to the rooster can happen
> to the turkey too." It's probably the funnest thing to say ever.
>
>
>> On Jan 25, 2016, at 2:21 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>
>> 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
>>
>>> On Jan 11, 2016, at 4:44 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> Also please enjoy this cliche street sign photo because I❤️NY
>>>> On Jan 11, 2016, at 4:39 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Because this morning our professional boxer investigator named Cara
>>>> 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 Yorkers 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
>>>> Cheryl, 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
>>>>
>>>>> On Jan 4, 2016, at 4:16 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> 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 Gina and Patricia! I'd tell you more
>>>>> about it but my fingers are frozen so maybe later. Keep praying for
>>>>> them, or start, because Patricia'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 Cara, 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
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Dec 28, 2015, at 2:57 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 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 Betty Jean McQueen 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
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Dec 21, 2015, at 5:20 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 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.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Dec 21, 2015, at 2:55 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> 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 Sofie, 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 Sofie 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 Betty Jean
>>>>>>>> McQueen...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 Tracey, 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
>>>>>>>> Dina and Hailey. Dina 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.)
>>>>>>>> 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!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>>>>>> On Dec 14, 2015, at 2:53 PM, Hannah Fouts <hannah.fouts@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> People of my life! How you be? Bon? Bon! Bay m sa byen! Tell me
>>>>>>>>> everything! Or don't, do whatever makes you feel good.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> It's time for some shout outs.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to my little brother Ben for conquering the mouse in his room.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to my parents and aunt for the best Christmas package ever.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to tiwi, the annoying black box in our car that yells at me
>>>>>>>>> when I speed.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to Sister Landaverry for being the best companion evah.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to the Holy Ghost for helping us not get too lost this week.
>>>>>>>>> Un shout out to the elders who used our gps this week.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to Gina and Patricia, who asked who would baptize them and
>>>>>>>>> where they'd be baptized, but still haven't agreed to pick a date.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to the two less active members who came to church this week
>>>>>>>>> when none of our investigators did. Special shout out to the one who
>>>>>>>>> doesn't have a leg and can't use her left arm due to a recent shoulder
>>>>>>>>> surgery. Big shout out there.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to Lucky, the giant 7 foot tall black man who put out his
>>>>>>>>> cigarette to watch A Savior is Born. "Not everyone belongs on the
>>>>>>>>> streets, that's why they have sidewalks." Thanks for that big apple
>>>>>>>>> wisdom, Lucky!
>>>>>>>>> Un shout out to our zone leader who asked us to sing at Zone Training
>>>>>>>>> Meeting 3 days before. We sang Far Far Away on Judea's plains because
>>>>>>>>> it's one of the two Christmas songs that have translated into Creole
>>>>>>>>> and they wanted us to sing part in Creole but then changed their
>>>>>>>>> minds, so we just sang the most unChristmasy Christmas song in the
>>>>>>>>> hymn book. It's whatever. Also I still can't sing, the mission hasn't
>>>>>>>>> changed that.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to the guy who let us in in traffic, that was a good day!
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to Maryse, the sweetest Haitian lady ever who changed her
>>>>>>>>> mind mid sentence about being baptized when she knows the Book of
>>>>>>>>> Mormon is the word of God.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to A Savior is Born because it's basically all we think
>>>>>>>>> about right now.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to the murderer that didn't kill us in Elmont. I actually
>>>>>>>>> don't know if it was a murderer, but we were just looking up some
>>>>>>>>> people when all of a sudden there were 15 police cars, with more
>>>>>>>>> lights than Temple Square at Christmas time, and maybe 5 or 6 police
>>>>>>>>> dogs. We kept knocking, but weirdly enough nobody answered their
>>>>>>>>> doors.
>>>>>>>>> Shout out to our Heavenly Father for sending His Only Begotten Son to
>>>>>>>>> the earth to live for us, to suffer and die for us, and then to live
>>>>>>>>> again for us! The gospel is my favorite and I love being a missionary
>>>>>>>>> and I love New York and I love Creole and I love all of you! I hope
>>>>>>>>> you all have a very merry week, and maybe someone can solve the
>>>>>>>>> mystery of Chanukkah for us. All the signs for Hanukkah spell it
>>>>>>>>> Chanukkah and also we don't even really understand this holiday. At
>>>>>>>>> the mall last Monday there was a dradel(?) spinning contest so that is
>>>>>>>>> cool.
>>>>>>>>> Mwen renmen ou anpil anpil anpil!
>>>>>>>>> Pase bon jounen!
>>>>>>>>> Sè Fouts
>>>>>>> <image1.JPG>
>>> <image1.JPG>
>>> <image2.JPG>

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: Sa ka rive koukouloukou a ka rive kakalanga tou

Boiling that water! Also that elder looks like and acts like Elder
Tingey and it freaks me out. They're not related, I asked.

ᐧ

Fwd: Sa ka rive koukouloukou a ka rive kakalanga tou

From: Hannah Fouts
Date: Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 1:04 PM

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! 🐻 It's actually tomorrow, but we'll
celebrate a little early because preparation day. I hope you're all
alive and well! Here is a big birthday shoutout to everyone who's had
a birthday in the past 8 months that I've missed, and one to Elder
Tingey who's aging this Friday! So fun!

Well this week was just great. It's currently 60 degrees, which is a
big step up from last week, so I'm not complaining! The best things
that happened this week include but are not limited to:

-We taught 3 Creole lessons in one night! It was so exciting! If
you're ever like, I wonder which language to learn, just pick Creole.
See subject line for more support to this argument.

-We had sisters conference, which happens twice a year and is when all
the sisters in the mission get together and exchange clothes and eat
food and listen to amazing speakers and get pumped about ourselves and
the work! And we got to drive the Flushing Chinese Sisters to the
meeting, which means I got to hang out with Sister Young! I love her!

-This is a long one so get comfy: We talked to this guy on the street
and he gave us his contact info. A few days later we tried to stop by,
but he hadn't given us an apartment number and it was one of the
places where you have to get buzzed in. The number he gave us was
wrong, too. So we rang a random bell and the nice lady let us in and
told us where he lived! Turns out he doesn't actually live there, his
sister does. But his sister told us where he lives and is letting us
come back to teach her and her family this week. Then we went to his
actual apartment and he said "who is it!" and then pretended he wasn't
home. His girlfriend opened the door and after talking to her for a
minute she told us when we can find him (even though he was clearly
there) and she wants us to come back and teach her this week! The
lesson: don't give the missionaries false info because we'll find you
anyways. Also thanks for all the investigators, friend!

-While on the wild goose chase mentioned above, some boys asked us
what we were doing. We said talking about Jesus Christ, and one of
them, who was 11 years old, asked us if we were also looking for
drugs. Nope...no we are not. Then we invited them to church because
that boy clearly needs some primary songs in his life.

-The elders had a baptism!!! But...the water heater broke...and all
the pipes were rusty...so the water was freezing cold and yellow.
NASTY. We ended up boiling cold tap water and bucketing the font full.
Apparently it was still really cold, but it was better than the ocean.
They talked about doing it there. Man, if only I'd known that was an
option when I was 8!

I want to close this lovely email with my testimony. I know that God
lives. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, lived, died, and lives now
for each of us! I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know the
Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that everything in it is true.
I know we have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I know these things
because I've prayed about them and I've had it all confirmed to me
through the power of the Holy Ghost. I came on a mission because I
believed these things and I knew it was what God wanted me to do, but
I'm still here in spite of all the really hard things because I now
know these things to be true, and I'm still here because I love these
people so much! I love this gospel! I know it changes our lives when
we let it.
I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support and encouragement
and love. Go change the world!
Love,
Sè Hannah

PS Today's subject line means "what happens to the rooster can happen
to the turkey too." It's probably the funnest thing to say ever.

ᐧ