Meet Hannah

Hannah - Before my mission to Chile

Hi everyone! My name is Hannah, and I have just returned from an 18-month mission in Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had so many wonderful experiences while serving the people of Chile and teaching them about our Savior, Jesus Christ. It was honestly the hardest thing I've ever loved to do!

I'm 22 years old and the oldest of 6 children. In high school I played lacrosse and I love to run outside. Although I've been accepted to continue my education at a university for the summer term, I'm thinking about deferring my entry until autumn to give myself a little more time to adjust to life after my mission (and to save some more money, haha!).

One of the things I learned while on my mission was the importance of keeping my body, mind and spirit in balance. When those three things are not working together, my days just don't seem to go as well. Although my spirit and mind were constantly growing and expanding on my mission, my body really took a beating (and did some unfortunate expanding itself, haha!). Now that I am home, and have some time to focus on myself again, I want to share my journey with you.

Toward the end of my mission

When I left for my mission, a little over 18 months ago, I weighed 135 pounds. Although I walked miles and miles every day, my diet was limited to lots of bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and hot dogs. I'm embarrassed to share that over the course of my time in Chile, I gained over 50 pounds. It really affected my confidence and my self esteem, but spiritually and mentally I was doing great, so I think that helped me continue to be positive and successful in my efforts to serve and help people.

My goals for the food portion of my fast are to eat lots of raw vegetables and fruit. I will incorporate lean protein and grain back in when I feel like my body is getting back to normal. I don't really know what to expect, as I've never tried something like this before, but I'm hoping I will lose the last 30 pounds I need to within a couple of months. In addition, I hope to be able to run a half marathon by summer time.

Now, to the mental part of my 40-day goal. Something I didn't have to worry about on my mission was money. But, now that I'm home, I remember the poor financial decisions I made before my mission and realize how important it is that I get myself on track now. I never really cared to learn about money before now, but I saw on my mission the positive or negative difference our relationship with money makes in our lives by observing the people I served and taught. Although I believe "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil," I also know that money is a big part of our lives and we need to learn how to manage what God has given us so we can enjoy life and share with others (see 1 Timothy 6:10).

Spiritually, I plan to continue practicing the good habits I developed as a missionary of having daily morning and evening prayers, reading scriptures, and learning what God would like me to do in my life. I also got in a good habit of journaling every day, and I plan to continue that as well.

The idea behind this forty day fast is to get my body, spirit and mind firing on all cylinders. I've learned that the best way for me to feel successful and be of the most help to those around me is to have that balance in my life. I hope that following my journey will motivate you to become your best self too!