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A faith-forward podcast for people who love Jesus but also love being honest about how weird and wonderful life can be. Hosts Kerrye and Jill tell stories about the Bible, talk about their faith, and dig into what it looks like to follow God through the ordinary chaos of everyday, imperfect life. Real conversations. Real stories. No pretending to have it all together. Pull up a chair, turn the page, and let's go.
Welcome to Chapter and Verse, where people
tell real stories about faith, failure,
redemption, and those "Lord, I'm gonna
need you to explain this one" moments.
Some stories are inspiring, some
are messy, some are miraculous,
and some probably should have
come with a warning label.
But through every chapter of
every story, God has a plan.
And he's never been
afraid of a little chaos.
We're Jill.
And Kerrye.
Let's turn the page
Okay.
Well, we're here today with
our good friend Hanna Ennis.
Hey.
Hey, Hanna.
Hanna, you, I, you, I had
you in children's church.
Kinda feel old.
But- I did not have you
in children's church.
You didn't.
I, I- You were helping the youth then.
Yeah, I didn't, I didn't come to
you, like, y- I didn't come to know
you at all until you were in youth.
Do you wanna know what my first
memory, or it's probably not,
like, the first meeting, but when
I think of meeting you, Jill-
and you can include this
if you want, I don't know.
But- Every time we say, "That might
get edited out," it never does.
So you're from Minnesota.
Nope.
No.
Michigan.
Michigan, Michigan.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
One of those M's.
I knew it was the M's.
Yeah.
But I remember when I first
met you, I would hear your
accent, and that was- Uh-huh
so cool to me.
I was like, "Where is she from?"
And I remember it was r- uh, recent, like
you had just moved to Arkansas and you
were- Mm ⦠comparing the Michigan price
of milk to the Arkansas price of milk.
I don't remember this at all.
And I just remember being a kid,
and I was like, "Wow, milk is a
different price in different places."
And that's like my first memory
of you- Wow ⦠as a kid.
Was it more expensive there?
Uh, I can't remember.
I think it is.
Yeah.
I think it was.
I think it was, like, more expensive.
One place definitely w- it
was, like, by a couple dollars.
Cost, yeah, cost of living in Michigan
was, well, Flint was definitely more- Yeah
than it was here.
Yeah.
But I don't know if I'd ever
shared that with you, but anytime.
No, you haven't.
Yeah.
But interesting.
I'm glad it wasn't, like, "I was
terrified because the l- first time
I ever saw you was you yelling at
your group- ⦠because they were not
doing what you were supposed to do."
No.
No.
First thing I ever heard was, "Practice
doesn't make perfect, it makes habits."
I do remember that.
I was like, "I knew that- I do remember
that ⦠phrase" during puppets
this year when we were practicing,
and I could not think of it.
I was like, "What did
she- Nope ⦠used to say?
I cannot remember."
Yep.
But okay.
I live by that, though.
Well- Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Okay.
Well, where to start?
Um, I'll just talk, and then you guys
can interject- Okay ⦠whenever.
Yeah.
That's perfect.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, I mean, I'm from Russellville,
and born and raised here, but
I went to school in Dardanelle.
It's where my mom taught.
Okay.
And so I grew up going to church here
at Russellville, and in college I
had went to a few different churches
around, um, but always came back
to Russellville First Assembly.
It's home for me.
Um, and I've loved every single church,
but- Mm-hmm ⦠Russellville's home.
And, um- Yeah, we have a lot
of good churches around here.
Yeah, we really do.
We're really blessed here in Russellville.
Yeah.
Um, and e- and side note, each church
just taught me a different element
of- Mm-hmm ⦠God and what it looks
like to serve God and what it looks
like to live missionally, and so
I'm very, very grateful for that.
Yeah.
But yeah, um- Grew up going to RFA.
I, uh, I was the kid that every
Sunday I was at the altar.
Um, I don't think I really grasped,
uh, Jesus, uh, like covering everything
until I was earl- like older in life.
Mm-hmm.
Because every Sunday I was like, "Oh,
Lord, I, I've, I've sure I did something.
I gotta go back to that altar- Yeah.
Yep ⦠and re- That was
me too ⦠rededicate."
Yep.
Praise God for discipleship and,
um- Mm-hmm ⦠yeah, just really
understanding the gospel as I've-
Yeah ⦠gotten older, you know.
And, um, but yeah, throughout my young
years, I was very involved in church.
I went to church camp, went to fine
arts, anything that I could serve.
Um, I'm really grateful that my parents
let me be involved in church activities.
And, um, it was about fifth grade, maybe
sixth grade, I remember I'm at a church
camp, and you know, they always ask you
like, "Who here feels called to ministry?"
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, "Well, Lord, like,
do I feel called to ministry?
Like, is this something like
you're asking me to do?"
And I felt this thing inside of me.
It was this still, small voice of yes.
And I was like, "Uh, okay, like, what does
that, what does that look like for me?"
Right.
Mm-hmm.
Because up until this point, I thought
ministry only looked like X, Y, Z.
Like you go- Like pastors.
Yeah, pastors.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You go to ministry school.
I was like, "Well, I sing, God.
Like, do you want me to go to
like ministry school to be-
Mm-hmm ⦠a worship pastor?
Like, what does this look like?"
I didn't really know what like missions
could look like or, um, yeah, I
think I had seen overseas missions,
but not really grasping it like,
"Oh, I could be called to do that."
Yeah.
And so, yeah, growing up, I kind of
had that on my mind of like, "Okay,
God, you called me to missions.
Okay, God, like, I'm trying
to live my life for you."
Mm-hmm.
But then, you know, of course,
you get into high school, and all
of these like voices are, "Okay,
you wanna be popular over here.
You wanna, you wanna do this over here."
And I remember looking at myself
of like, "Hanna, like- I wanna, I
wanna be, I wanna be the popular kid.
And I started, I wouldn't say walking
away from God, I still had God on
my mind, but I very much was like,
"Well, if I live this life, what
if these people don't talk to me?"
Mm-hmm.
And now when I look back,
I'm like, "Ha, dang.
What were you doing?"
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, it's so cool to follow Jesus.
But again, I don't think I really
understood, like, how, how cool, but also,
like, just how fun it is to follow Jesus.
I didn't get it.
I think the devil makes walking
between two fires look attractive-
Yeah ⦠and also look plausible.
Like, it looks like, he tries to make it
seem like you can totally ride that fence.
For sure.
You can walk between two fires.
You can have the fire of Jesus
when you want to have the fire
of Jesus, and then you can go and
be worldly when you want to too.
Yeah.
And like, it's, like, it's okay,
perfectly reasonable No problem.
Yeah.
You can have it all.
Yeah.
And it's just, woo, it's just such a lie.
Yeah.
You know?
It really is.
And it, and you know, like yeah, like
you said, like he wants you to believe
that you can have both, but obviously
we see that in scripture, it's like-
Right ⦠you can't serve two masters.
Nope.
Sure can't.
You're either gonna serve the Lord
or you're gonna serve this world.
Right, and when you do serve
the Lord, you do have it all.
Yeah.
Like, you aren't missing anything.
Yes, and- So ⦠yeah, side note, like
that, going off of, like that's the lie
from the very beginning- Exactly ⦠in
the garden- Yep ⦠of like, "Well, God's
holding out from you, so therefore you
need to go eat this fruit so that- Mm-hmm
⦠you can have all of these things."
But in reality, God was never holding
out from Adam and Eve- Mm-mm, no
at all, you know?
No.
And so it's the same, same lies.
Like he, like there's nothing new.
He's not very crafty.
He doesn't have anything new.
Yeah.
Same old tricks.
Yeah, yeah.
Nothing new under the sun, yeah.
But I definitely, you know, I'm, I'm ha-
uh, high school Hanna, I'm sitting here
and I'm, I'm thinking like, "Well, God,
like I can just believe in you- Mm-hmm
and I'll be okay."
I think, uh, understanding the
depth of what does believe in
God- Mm-hmm ⦠really mean.
Right, well, he's not asking us
to believe in him, he's asking
us to have a relationship.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And so but up until that point,
you know, like the question
was, is, "Do you know God?
Do you believe in God?"
Mm-hmm, yeah.
"Oh, yeah, I'm good.
I believe in God."
Yeah.
But yeah, so I, I remember just sitting
in high school and making that choice.
Uh, I think the TobyMac song
Jesus Freak had just come out.
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, "God, I
don't wanna be a Jesus freak.
Like, I don't wanna- ⦠be
known as a freak.
I wanna be cool."
Yeah.
Um, yeah, and you know, if I would, if I
could go back, I wouldn't change anything.
Mm-hmm, right.
But it also, when I look back,
because, you know, I'm, I'm sitting
here now, I'm walking in this
specific calling, I think because of
what I've grown through, you know?
Right, right.
God would've gotten here, gotten me
here anyways, but the, the things that
I've gotten to do within ministry these
past few years, I think has grown me.
But also, like I, I, I think back to
that testimony and I'm like, "Well, God,
like I can talk to this girl because
of what you brought me through here."
Right.
"And the choices I chose here, and
what you t- you taught me- Yeah ⦠I
can now like talk to this girl."
And so definitely wouldn't change
it, but yeah, when I look back I,
I'm sad 'cause I'm like, "Hanna,
man, you missed it a little bit."
Yeah.
But now when you see people missing
the mark, like now it's your turn to-
Yeah ⦠like show them the light.
Yeah.
And so I think that's good because if
you don't go through that, those times,
you have nothing to offer people.
Yeah.
Like, "I've been there," you know,
there's no, there's experience
there that you can draw from.
Yeah.
Yeah, and I think, yeah, it's, it's
really cool getting to match your
testimony with the word of God.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Mm-hmm.
'Cause for so many, for so many,
they need, they need the truth.
They don't know that's what they need,
but- Right ⦠when you get to see, when
you get to say like, "This is how the
word of God has become alive and active
in my own ver- like my own life," then for
them it's like, "Oh, this book is true."
Right.
Like, it's not just this book.
Well, I think, uh, another shade of that
is that w- we want to know that there
are real human beings who are flawed
and nuanced that are still loving Jesus
and f- figuring it out and messing up
even- Yeah ⦠today during their walk,
and that this forgiveness that we talk
about is legitimate and it's ongoing.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
By the way, I just wanna say- People
want authenticity ⦠like, you, you
mentioned church camp, and of course
I've been to kids camp with you.
Yeah.
And when you were talking about that,
I was like, you were always the one who
would volunteer to clean up the tables
and to go get stuff if you, we needed it.
Like, you were a servant from-
Mm ⦠a very, very young age.
Aw.
You know?
That makes me happy.
Yeah.
And I, I don't know.
I br- Yeah ⦠I brought that up at church
camp this year to one of our leaders that
was there, and I was like, "I remember
Hanna Ennis was always doing for others."
Yeah.
Like, in the room, you were
helping make beds or whatever.
You were, you've been
a servant from a child.
Oh.
Wow, I receive that.
I- Yeah, I had no ⦠That's so funny.
I, um, I kinda l- uh, it's really sweet,
but I kinda laugh about it, so, uh,
we'll get to this later I guess, but I
worked for a ministry called Chi Alpha.
And when I was a student in Chi Alpha
coming up, we, we would have, like,
door greeters, like, things like that.
And our boys, I just remember they
would, like, play, like, fight with
each other of, like, pushing each
other out of the way of, like, who's
gonna open the door for the new people.
And, like- Yeah ⦠there was
this, there was this, like, joke
of, like, who can out-serve who?
Um, because it's so ingrained,
uh, it was ingrained in us that
it's like, no, to live in the
Kingdom of God is to be a servant.
Right, yeah.
And, uh, you don't ⦠When you're
in the Kingdom of God, you're not
just rising like what the world's
kings would look like, but it's
actually an upside-down kingdom.
To be- Mm-hmm ⦠serving God is
to actually be at the lower spot.
Yeah.
That's true.
And so it's funny because it's
like, uh, who can out-serve who?
And so, like, that kinda
plays in my head sometimes.
Yeah.
I'm like, "Oh, I wanna
open the door," you know?
Yeah.
But yeah.
Yeah.
And so I feel like so many people
nowadays, they don't really
realize that, uh, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Like, when you're, when you're talking
about ministry or, "Oh God, you're calling
me into missions, and I wanna s- I wanna
do this and I wanna do that," but it's
like, okay Beginning out, it's like where,
where are you, where are you starting out?
Where are you serving?
Like- Yeah.
Mm-hmm ⦠how can you serve?
Like, if you wanna be on the worship
team, have you ever wrapped a cord before?
Like, do you know where
the microphones go?
Right.
Um, learning the ins and out.
Like, how can you serve the team before
you have a microphone in your hand?
Right.
You know?
Right.
And yeah, there's such a beauty in that.
It's like, oh- Mm-hmm ⦠I'm
learning to be humble.
Mm-hmm.
Doesn't always feel good.
No.
It's not what I thought serving would
look like, but it actually is so beautiful
inside- Yeah ⦠like, of my heart.
And so.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's such a cool memory.
I- Yeah ⦠I love that you remember that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, popped in my head.
So.
Yeah.
Well, high school Hanna, I'm really
glad that I didn't stay in that mindset.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
You know, um, now looking ⦠Like, uh,
thinking now, I'm like, you know, God,
like, I could be a Jesus freak, you know?
I don't know if I wanna be- ⦠a freak,
but, like, I definitely want to be known.
Yeah.
Like- Mm-hmm ⦠like I, when I
walk in the room, I want to be,
I want to smell like what Paul is
talking about, the aroma of Christ.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And that scripture to me has been so,
like, impactful, um, in my ministry of
like, well- To some, it's going to be
the aroma of life, and to some- Mm-hmm
⦠it's gonna be the aroma of death.
But to be the aroma, you actually have
to be close to God- Yeah ⦠and you have
to be close to His Son to smell like Him.
Mm-hmm.
And so if you're not smelling
like them, if you're not smelling
like Him, y- they don't have the
option to smell the aroma at all.
Right, right.
And so, yeah, um, but I didn't
get that until later on.
So graduating graduating high school,
I took a gap year from school.
I hated school.
Like, I did not wanna go to college.
Yeah.
Um, my family really wanted
me to go to college, you know.
Um, they are, my parents
are just super intelligent.
They have a couple of degrees each.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I am very smart, but
I'm not very book smart.
I mean, I can be.
Hey, listen, smarts doesn't necessarily
translate to traditional higher education-
Yeah ⦠or traditional education period.
Yeah.
That does not equate to smart or stupid.
We could have a whole other
podcast about college 100%.
Yeah.
When we do, we'll ha- we'll
have to, like, phone you in, so.
Well, yeah, please.
Yeah.
Please.
Yeah, no.
For sure.
I'm thankful- Or-
Uh-huh ⦠we just take a trip.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Please come to Spain.
Yes.
Yeah.
Please.
I'm thankful that now where
we're at, like, people don't feel
pressured to- As pressure, but for
sure ⦠as pressured- Yeah ⦠yes,
to only go the college route.
Right.
For some, it's wonderful.
Right.
Absolutely, and we need it.
But for, I think sometimes
the majority- Mm-hmm ⦠they
need to learn a trade- Yes.
Yeah, I agree ⦠or they need
to go to a different school.
I agree.
I didn't have that mindset or that-
Like it wasn't presented to you- That
wasn't presented to me- ⦠as an
option necessarily ⦠as an option.
Yeah.
Uh, graduating high school is still
very much, "You need to go to college.
That's the only way you're
gonna be successful."
Mm.
Sorry.
Mm-hmm.
No, that's okay.
That's how, that's how it
was presented to me too.
Yeah.
And what about you?
Well, it was definitely
presented to me that way.
Um, we, we, Ben and I both, like sidebar,
neither one of us have a college degree.
Yeah.
We're both doing very well.
Yeah.
Um, so it, it can be done, kids.
It sometimes is harder.
Yes.
It's certainly harder depending
on what you want to do, like what
you feel like your calling is.
But we definitely made it a point to tell
both Chloe and Owen that we just want
them to be productive members of society.
Mm-hmm.
Whatever that looks like.
Yes.
You definitely need to have a
plan for what you want to do next.
Mm-hmm.
But it's okay, it's okay to
not decide to go to college.
It's also okay to change your mind.
Yeah.
So, like, I've got Owen, who's in
UACCM for automotive mechanics.
Um, so he's doing trade.
And then Chloe went to U of A, and she
started off with music education, and
then decided, nah, that's not really it.
Yeah.
So then she was switching to just
elementary ed, and she transferred
back to, um, Arkansas Tech, and
then she did that and she was
like, "I'm just not feeling it."
And so now she's going
to cosmetology school.
Yeah.
And I'm like- She'd be good at it
⦠"Psst, I need you to finish something."
That's true, yeah.
But- Yeah ⦠and which is what I
tell her, I'm like, "Girl, I just
need you to finish something."
It's a lot of pressure to put
on a- But it is ⦠18-year-old-
Yes ⦠you need to decide right now.
Listen, it's not even 18 anymore.
Oh, that's true.
And I think probably when you were
in school it was, it was this way.
Yeah.
But, like, I distinctly remember
Chloe at, like, 11 and 12- Mm
coming home in tears because she
had to decide what she wanted to be.
Yeah.
Because they were designing her whole,
like, seventh- Yeah ⦠eighth, ninth- I
don't like it ⦠grade- Yeah ⦠like,
curriculum based on what she wants to do.
And I'm like, "Youâ¦
Okay, so what would you do?"
So what do you wanna have decided at that
age if- Uh, I don't know about 11, but
I know, I know, mm, when I was, like,
seventh grade, maybe sixth grade- Yeah
we had a class that was,
it was a career class.
Yeah.
And I remember at that point I
wanted to be a doctor because-
Chloe wanted to be a lawyer.
Yeah.
I wanted, I wanted- Yeah ⦠to be a
doctor because in my mind I'm gonna choose
whatever will make me the most money.
Mm-hmm.
Whatever will set me up for the future,
which- I'm gonna just be honest, is
not a bad mindset Right, it's not
a bad plan But also, you don't have
to do doctor, lawyer, like- Right
all of these things.
Like, you can, one, you can just do
whatever the Lord's asking you to
do, and he's gonna provide for you.
100%.
Um, but also, there's, there's just so
many avenues of being successful in life.
Right.
Successful does not mean
loads of money in the bank.
Yes.
You know, when you factor in God- Yeah
exactly.
Changes everything.
But, uh, yeah, I look back
and I'm like, "Oh, man."
Like, I remember I was thinking
about, "I'm gonna be a doctor.
I'm gonna beâ¦"
I wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse.
I- that was never gonna happen.
I, I failed chemistry
twice in high school.
There was no way I was gonna even try
to take that in college, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
And yeah, it'sâ¦
So for me, that was just not it.
Right.
But in sixth grade, I was like-
Well, yeah, it sounded great.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was like, "Yeah, this'll make me a
lot of money," and blah, blah, blah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Not for you, huh?
No, not for me.
So you took a gap year.
What made you go, "Okay," it- was it,
like, family, kind of family- Yeah
like, "You need to do something"?
Yeah, no.
Uh, it was kind of a,
just a decision early on.
I, I was like, "Dad, if I, if I take
this gap year, like, I will go to school
afterwards, but I need time to think."
Yeah.
'Cause I knew at that point, I had
been, I had been walking the line
with the world, but at that point,
I was like, "No, I really need
to get back on track with God."
I do remember that he
called me to ministry.
Mm-hmm.
I don't know what that looks like
for me right now, because I kind
of, I was so filled with shame.
I was like, "Can he even use me anymore?
Like, does he want to use me?"
You know, I was believing-
The stinking devil, yeah.
Yeah, all of these things, 'cause, you
know, I had been walking in so many, so
many things, and had done so many things,
and I'm like, "Oh, man, Lord, like, I
know, like, your word says you'll never
not love me, but, like, I kinda stink.
Like, do you like, do
you still wanna use me?"
And, uh, and at that point, I
still thought the only way into
ministry was ministry school.
Well, like I said, school was not my
thing, so I- Right ⦠obviously didn't
have, uh, scholarships or the- Right.
.. grade point.
Mm-hmm.
I barely scraped by.
Um, but I, I, I would say I got
my, um, high school and college
degree in, um, talking to people.
I was the yapper.
Um, so, like, the grades, you
didn't get graded for that.
No.
Actually, it hurt your grades.
Um, but- ⦠I passed, but I-
Yeah ⦠made a lot of friends.
Yeah, mm-hmm.
Um, but yeah, so early on, I was like,
"Dad, I really want to take a gap year.
Um, I don't know.
I know what I wanna do, but-" the
avenue in which I need to get there.
I don't know how to get there, and
so, like, can I just have a year to
work- Yeah ⦠and to think about it?
So I remember I started that
year working at McDonald's.
That was crazy.
But hot take, I think everyone should
work in a fast food or retail place.
I agree.
Me too.
I agree 100%.
It will grow your people skills.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
You need to work with the public-
Well, and- ⦠because it's not easy.
You need to also work with, like,
for me, I worked at McDonald's also.
Uh-huh.
And, uh, you, you work with some people.
Yeah.
Like, there are people from all
different walks of life that come in-
Yes ⦠and work side by side with you.
Yes.
This is gonna date me, but I worked
at Bonanza, which is now Brinker's.
Bonanza.
Ooh.
Owned by the same family.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, I was a salad girl.
But you're right.
Yeah.
It, it really helped my people skills.
Yeah.
Your people skills, oh, man, there's
so many people that don't even just
know how to have a conversation now.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Um, and, like, have customer service.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
I think, I think people need toâ¦
I- hot take, you just need to work at
at least a retail place or be a server
of some sort to learn those things.
It gives you grace in those moments
where- Yes ⦠things are hard.
Yes.
People are gonna do their best, and
they're still gonna screw it up.
Mm-hmm.
And you still just have
grace in those moments.
Yes.
You do not need to go off on the
poor person who- Yeah ⦠has
brought you a twice baked potato
instead of mashed potatoes.
Yes.
Heaven help us.
Yes.
You know?
And you understand, uh, a
new level of work ethic.
Yes.
Work ethic to me is a huge, huge thing.
Mm-hmm.
I, one of my biggest, uh, like one of
my biggest fears in life is to be lazy.
And, like, I- Yes ⦠like, I
mean, obviously, like, we have our
moments where it's like, oh man,
could've done more there, you know?
Yeah.
Of course, like, oh man- Yeah ⦠I
rested a lot to whatever.
But I, it was instilled in me
growing up to just work hard.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, so I, I have to really hold
back sometimes 'cause I, sometimes I see
around, I'm like, "Guys, do you, have
y'all ever had a jo-," like, around,
like, I'm like- Yeah ⦠I was like- Yep.
And so it's a, it's a,
it's a big thing for me.
I'm like, we need to work
hard in this generation.
Yeah.
And so anyway, so I was
working at McDonald's.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's how I started that year.
And, um, then I went to working,
uh, childcare, which I was there
for- Three and a half or four years.
Um, taught me a lot.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, I was like, "Okay, well
maybe I wanna be a teacher."
My mom's a teacher.
Um, so I was like, "Maybe
I wanna be a teacher."
But honestly, even then, I felt
like I was like, "Am I settling
for something that I just know?"
Like, my mom is a teacher- Mm-hmm ⦠so
therefore maybe I have to be a teacher.
It's comfortable.
Yes.
Yeah, yeah.
But in the back of my head, I
was like, "I know I'm supposed to
do something in ministry, I just
don't know how to get there."
Yeah.
And so when I started, um, I was,
during my, my year off, I remember my
mom kinda looked at me and, you know,
I never, I never told her every single
thing that I had, like, struggled
with, like in my time away or- Mm-hmm
time, like straddling, like with the
world and with the, with the Lord.
But, you know, a mom always knows.
Mm-hmm.
And so I just know she looked at me
and she's like, "Hanna, you need to go
talk to that, uh, that Chi Alpha guy."
Uh, our director for Chi Alpha-
Mm-hmm ⦠uh, went to church with us
at this, at this time, and- Which one?
Which, who was- Pierce.
Okay.
Pierce Williams.
He's- I was like, who was
the director at that time?
Yes, he's awesome.
He is- Yeah, I agree.
Yeah.
He's one of my very, very good friends.
He's, he's my brother and, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Love that guy.
And, um, you know, my mom was
like, "Hanna, you need to go talk
to that Chi Alpha guy and you
need to ask him if you can go."
And I was like, "But Mom, I'm not
in college yet," blah, blah, blah.
So I was like, "Ugh, I'll go over there."
And I was like, "Hey, Pierce,
like, this is who I am.
I'm not enrolled in school, but I am
college age, like, can I still come?"
And if you know Pierce,
he's like, "Yeah, for sure.
Come on."
And I was like, "Okay."
And so I start going and yeah, it, it
really, it was life-changing for me.
Mm-hmm.
You know, the first time I went
there, I remember I was like, "Oh,
not many people really talk to me,
but I'll give it one more try."
And that next week, it really was like
everybody was like, "Hi, how are you?"
You know, I think it was an
off week the first time I went.
I was like- I always say give things- Yeah
two tries, not just one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, I- 'Cause it might be an off week.
Yeah, it, and I think it wa- Yeah, I
don't remember, ugh, I can't speak.
I don't even remember, like, what
was going on, but I remember my
first impression, there was a, a
guy on staff, his name's Kevin.
Also love Kevin.
He, I always, always say Kevin's
my favorite staff member.
Um, I went to Africa with Kevin
and a few other staff members
on our team, and he's awesome.
Mm-hmm.
But they always called Kevin Uncle Kev.
And I'm walking in, I'm
like, "What in the world?"
Like, he's up there giving announcements,
they're like, "Uncle Kev, Uncle Kev."
And I was like, "Who in
the world is Uncle Kev?"
Yeah.
And yeah, then I got to know him.
I was like, "Yeah, Uncle Kev."
But, um, yeah, so I started going to
Chi Alpha and, uh, I, I just started to
see students my own age choosing God,
choosing to be there on, I think it
was on Thursday nights at this point.
And I was like, man, these
are college students.
So in my head I'm like, oh, they're cool.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You know, they're older.
These are college students.
They're choosing to be here.
They're choosing to read their Bible.
They have their hands lifted,
and nobody made them come.
Like- Yeah.
Yeah ⦠they, like they
chose this on their own.
This is real for them.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And I think in my, in my head, I
was like, "This is a first for me."
You know?
Obviously I grew up around many
people that did choose it, you know?
Like- Mm-hmm ⦠like we said,
like our church is wonderful.
I love it.
Yeah.
And it's filled with so
many people that love God.
But I think ri- coming up, I, like in
my head, I went, I did love God, but I
think I didn't really fully understand
like, "Oh, I'm going to church 'cause
like my mom's bringing me," or- Mm-hmm
whatever.
Or like, you know, kids are kids.
It was what you had to do.
Yeah.
It's like, "What we do."
And so when I saw people that were older
than me that I saw as like cool choosing
this, I was like, "Oh my gosh," like This,
y'all, y'all think following God's cool?
Mm-hmm.
Like, what is this?
And so that- A bunch of Jesus freaks.
Yeah, a bunch of Jesus freaks.
I was like, and I'm seeing these,
like, promo videos of the, like, what
their life looks like following God.
I'm like, "Oh, man.
Like, that's, that's crazy."
Yeah.
So it really did, like, start
to change, like, what I thought
Christian life looked like.
And, um, yeah, I started to, uh, go
to a discipleship group, and, uh, that
shame that I came in with and that,
that feeling of, "Can God still use me?
Does God still love me?"
Like, just slowly started to strip away
because as I walked in transparency,
which is so huge- Yeah ⦠as Christians,
we need to walk in transparency.
Yeah.
Well, we need to walk in transparency,
and we need to cultivate an atmosphere
to where people feel okay- Yes ⦠to
walk in transparency with us.
Yes.
Yes.
Because it, we can be transparent,
but if we aren't offering other
people the opportunity for them to
be transparent- Yes ⦠then we're
just cultivating a sin of deception.
Yes, absolutely.
Like, yeah, 1 John, it talks
about walking in the light.
Mm-hmm.
And the more that we kn- the more
that Christians know the word of
God, when we walk in the light, we
know how to encourage one another.
Right.
And we know how to, "Well, I'm
not gonna affirm the, maybe the
sin that you confessed, but I'm
gonna help you walk through.
Like, this is what-
Right ⦠the scripture says."
I'm gonna tell you that with
Jesus, nothing is impossible.
Yeah.
He died for every sin.
Yeah.
So it doesn't matter what
you're confessing to me.
Jesus can cover it- Yeah ⦠and
you can move forward.
Yeah, and my heart for you doesn't change.
Exactly.
There's no judgment here.
And God's heart doesn't change.
Yeah.
Yeah.
'Cause, you know, if you had a
magnifying glass and looked at my life-
Right ⦠I would hope that your love
for me would not change, you know?
Exactly.
But walking in confession,
walking in the light, that,
that was a big freedom for me.
Mm-hmm.
And I, I got to see James
5, like, being walked out.
And, uh, like, when I would
confess, I would be prayed for.
Yeah.
You know?
When I needed healing,
I would be prayed for.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, yeah, I feel like that
is what our world needs, and so I
think, I think walking through Cal
Alpha, that's, like, a big thing.
And even when I graduated and I,
I joined our staff team, that,
that's what I felt like God was
leading me into the next step.
I, I feel like he opened my eyes,
like, "Okay, for right now, this is the
ministry I'm asking you to walk in."
So- Okay That's what I tried to do.
Lord, like, when you, when you're
leading me and talking to these students,
like, what do you want me to do?
You know?
And he's like, "There's so many things,
but on this, on this train of thought,"
he's like, "Hanna, I want you to be
open and transparent, not just about my
words and my, and the word of God, but
I want you to be open and transparent,
like, what am I speaking to you this
week or- Right ⦠when you're reading?"
And really just, like, showing
people, like, God's word is alive
and active, but also his Holy Spirit
is speaking through us and to us.
Right.
Um, yeah.
Feel like there's probably some
more I can, like, share on that.
You- Amen.
I told you guys my- Go
ahead ⦠my rabbit trail.
Go ahead, yeah.
But, uh- If you feel like there's more.
No, I mean- Spill it.
There probably is.
It'll come out.
But yeah, uh, my rabbit trails
are, they're coming out,
but- Yeah, that's all right.
Yeah.
So how long were you on staff before you
realized, okay, this missions thing is
still- Yeah ⦠you know, on my mind?
Even though I know Chi Alpha's a
mission, but like- Yeah, yeah, yeah
foreign missions and stuff.
Yeah.
Um, so it actually, so World Missions
actually started to, like, I started
to ⦠What am I trying to say?
For World Missions, I felt like
God started to put that on my
heart when I was a student.
Um, and so it was probably,
I'm thinking about the years.
I think it was probably, like,
2018, ' yeah, so world missions for
me, I started to feel God draw me
into that, uh, when I was a student.
Um, I think when I, when that started,
I realized, well, God, like growing
up, you, you put me in a school
where all of my friends, like, were
from a different culture than me.
And so that was really awesome,
and I think an honor to
get to see even growing up.
Before I was in college, like,
I'm talking kindergarten through-
Right ⦠graduation, I'm surrounded
by a lot of friends, like, from
different parts of the world.
And, uh, so I feel like God put a
love for the nations and a heart for
the nations in me at a young age.
So even before I knew what
world missions was- Right ⦠I
had a heart for the nations.
And so in college, I remember I
was sitting at this retreat or
this conference, and I'm sitting
in, uh, I'm watching these, these
people speak, and they're, they're
representing different countries.
And there was this specific
organization, uh, that I just felt
like God was saying, "Hanna, you're
gonna work for this organization."
And I was like, "Okay.
I don't know what that means, but cool."
And so it wasn't until maybe, like,
a year later, I went on my first
missions trip and, uh, I was on a team.
We, there was, like, 20 of us, and my
first airplane, I was so scared and-
⦠uh, not only was it my first- Your first
airplane, and you went all the way there
to Africa.
Yeah.
Wow, okay.
That's a long airplane ride.
That is a very long airplane ride.
It was four flights to get there-
Ugh ⦠and four flights to get back.
So- Christ ⦠by the, by the
end of the first one, I was
like, "Okay, it's not that bad."
Yeah.
But- You're like, "I got this.
This is great."
Yeah.
Yeah.
Funny story though, like because I
had never seen the shadow of what,
uh, like th- there was a shadow on
the, the oceans as you passed by.
Mm-hmm.
Like of clouds?
Iâ¦
Y- Well, no, like of the- Oh, okay ⦠of
the airplane- Oh, okay ⦠on the ocean.
Okay.
And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, guys,
there is a megalodon in the ocean."
Because at that, at, at-
And there probably is.
There, you know- There probably
is ⦠if you do a podcast
about that, invite me back.
Okay, okay.
Uh, 'cause I believe they're down there.
Anyways- I was gonna say,
there's so much down there that-
Yes ⦠we don't even know.
So I was pretty obsessed with
the megalodon at this point.
I was like, "Guys, there's a megalodon."
And yeah, one of my, my, uh, leaders, he
was like, "Huh, it's almost as if it's
like the same shape as like the airplane."
And I was like, "Dang it."
"Hanna, what an idiot."
And I was like- You're like,
"Can we rewind a little bit?"
I was like-
"And I maybe not say that" ⦠"Okay,
Daniel, I didn't need you
to like make me feel dumb."
But, but I always remember that.
Um, so yeah, I remember I went on this
trip, and the first two weeks were in
one country, and then the second two
weeks were in a different country.
In that first country, um, this,
the team that we were helping, they,
uh, they were talking about this
organization that I had heard about.
And, uh, I was like, "Wait a
second, are you guys part of this?"
And they're like, "Yeah,
this is what this team is."
And I was like, "Oh my gosh."
And I think that is like one of the first
times I can count, like recount in my
mind, God spoke this, and I saw him do it.
Mm.
Yeah.
And, um- Yeah, I think, uh, as
I've gone on, remembrance is
such a huge thing to the Lord.
Mm-hmm.
And so I hold onto that.
And, uh, so even walking in where
I'm at now, like, that story, as we,
like, trickle on, like, that became
pretty big testimony in, like, how
I've even- Yeah ⦠gotten to Spain.
Yeah.
And, uh, yeah.
Um, do you want me- So- Yeah,
how do you want me to transition?
So at one point, did you,
did you think Africa was it?
Mm.
Or, like, how, what made you
go, "Oh, no, it's Spain"?
Yeah, yeah.
So of course at one point I was like
⦠Okay, so when I deci- when I graduated
college, I felt like, "Okay, God, ministry
is something you've called me into."
Um- What's your degree in?
So I actually just have my associate's.
Okay.
Um, because around my second year,
I was like, "God, this, I, I really
feel like Chi Alpha is what you
want me to do for my next step.
It may not be forever-
Right ⦠but this is what you
want me to do for my next step."
Technically, you do
need a four-year degree.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but there's, there's very small
j- like, moments where they make an
exception- Mm-hmm ⦠for that, you know?
And I was very thankful to be one
of those exceptions, you know?
That's good.
Yeah.
They fought for me, and they
allowed me to be there, and allowed
me to do our, our internship.
Um, I loved the internship.
I fought hard to get there.
Mm-hmm.
And so I really, like, valued it.
Um, you know, I wasn't perfect, but
I think I did way better than, like,
maybe some expected me to, and maybe
even- Mm-hmm ⦠like, what I expected.
Mm-hmm.
And I learned so much.
Like, I'm not a reader, but,
like, that year I was, you know?
Yeah.
Yep, yeah.
We had to read so many books, so many
theology books, like, all of the Bible.
Um, and it was just so life-giving to me.
And so in that year, I was like,
"Okay, God, I really feel like you've
put, uh, world missions on my heart,
but also you've called me to do this.
What does that look like?"
Well, um, so we call it the CMIT,
which is Campus Missionary In Training.
Okay.
And then they also have the CMITI, which
is the international version of that.
Okay.
And so I was like, "Oh, well, God,
like- This seems like something
that would be right up my alley.
Like, is this something I wanna do?
And, uh, God made a way, and I spent
three months in Southern Africa,
Mozambique, and I did campus ministry,
um, with a family that does like a,
they have like a training base camp
there, and it was so, so life-changing.
I think I definitely went over
there and I cried a lot because it
was my first time going by myself.
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Um, it was very different than going
overseas with a team, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
And it was, I think, my first time feeling
this uncomfortable, but not in a bad way.
Yeah.
And I was like, "Man, like,
I don't speak Portuguese.
I don't ⦠Like I'm, I'm, I'm nervous.
Like I'm, I'm with a new set of people.
I'm trying to get to know them.
They're trying to get to know me."
But honestly, they were so,
like, they were so kind to me
and, like, just teaching me.
You know, I was really young.
Um, but it was a great time.
But yeah, to answer your question,
Kerrye, like, I remember sitting in
that moment of like, "Well, God, like I
know you called me to overseas missions.
This is where I'm at
now, so maybe this is it.
I've been to Africa before."
Mm-hmm.
Like, Africa's a- uh, the only places
I've been to for missions, so this
has gotta be where you're calling me.
But I remember coming back after
those three months and it just wasn't.
Like I was like- Yeah ⦠"Well, God,
like I don't feel like you're, you- I
love Africa and I've loved both times
that you've, you've taken me there and,
uh, I can see where you could use me,
but I just don't feel like that's where
I need to be, like, for full time."
And that was really heartbreaking
'cause I was like, "Well,
you've called me-" Then where?
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
"You've called me overseas,
but I don't have a place, so
like what do you want, Lord?"
Yeah, right.
Um, and so I remember I was sitting,
um, at our bell tower on campus,
and I was praying and I was like,
"Okay, God, like I'm ready to go.
Like, where do you want me to go?
Like, I have a heart for the nations.
I've been to Africa.
Like, I'll go anywhere."
And I was really mad 'cause
all I could hear was, "Hanna,
I want you to stay right here."
And I was like, "What do you mean?"
Like, "You, you just told me to go.
Like, what do you mean stay here?"
And so, um, yeah, I kept praying
about it and praying about it,
and I was like, "Well, God, like
what do you want me to do here?"
And it was about a couple weeks later,
right before that school year started,
so my second year into ministry, and,
uh, I just heard God say, "Hanna,
I want you to love sports teams."
I was like, "What do you mean?"
Ugh.
I was like- Kerrye's like, "This
is the worst thing- ⦠God
could possibly ask me."
Please don't say that to me, God.
Well, yeah, like no, I felt that,
I was like, "Well, well, God,
like of course I love athletes.
Like of course, like you love
'em, I love 'em, they're people.
You know, we love 'em.
But Jesus, do you, like, uh,
do you remember who I am?
Like did you think you were
talking to somebody else?
I don't run.
I don't- Me either, girl
I don't know anything about sports."
Uh-uh.
And so, yeah, I felt like Moses at
the burning bush whenever like he's
like, "Go, like go talk to Pharaoh."
Yeah.
He's like, "Um, I can't.
I have a speech impediment."
That's how I felt.
I was like, "Jesus, I don't run,
so- Find somebody else, I guess.
But, um- So relatable.
Yeah, I was like, "I can't do this, Lord."
But I just remember I
was like, "All right.
Well, listen, God, if this is what
you want me to do, you're gonna have
to help me 'cause I don't know."
Yeah.
"And honestly, athletes really scare me
because I have a lot of insecurities.
I am not skinny.
I am not fast.
I don't-- I quit every sport I
ever played growing up, and so I'm
scared they're gonna laugh at me."
That was silly.
Um, but- ⦠I mean, it's valid.
But real.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's real.
It's vulnerable- Yeah ⦠and it
gets to the heart of the matter.
It's not about the people.
Yeah.
It's about, it's about you.
Yeah.
It's about what your expectation was.
Yeah, and already when you are working
in a college ministry, you are-- You're
graduated, so you don't go- Mm-hmm
to school there anymore.
So you're already kind of the-
Feeling like a little weird-
Yeah ⦠'cause you're still on
campus and you look the part.
Yeah, they're like, "So,
like, what are you studying?
Like- Yeah ⦠what are you doing here?"
And so then you're like,
"Well, actually, I graduated.
I'm still here," you know?
Yeah.
It, like, feels way weirder in
our heads than it actually is.
Like, 99.9%
students were like,
"Oh yeah, that's chill.
Like, that's cool."
Oh, yeah, yeah.
But the enemy's like, "You're weird."
Yeah.
And you, like, need to get a life.
Like, "You're a Jesus freak."
Yeah.
Yeah, "You're a Jesus freak.
Come on, TobyMac."
Um- I meanâ¦
Yeah, and especially on the
college campus, you know- Yeah
it's a, it's a- Yeah ⦠a
secular college campus, you know.
There's so many different mindsets
on there- Mm-hmm ⦠you know?
Yep.
Uh, c- the college campus is the
most strategic mission field in the
world, and I will always believe that.
Um, and because you are
meeting some of the, like, next
world leaders, you know- Yeah
to do, to do, uh, like, these big,
like, government or, or, like,
CEO, like, all of these things.
Mm-hmm.
Obviously, we just talked about,
like, you don't have to go
to college to be successful.
Right.
And that's very true, but also
there are so many, like, of these,
like, big world leaders that may
never be reached if somebody- Right
isn't going to the college campus.
That's true.
That's true.
And so, yeah, we need missions
everywhere, but the college campus-
Yeah ⦠like, we can't forget it.
Anyways, side tangent.
That's okay.
We'll leave it in.
I love a rabbit trail.
We'll leave that one in.
That was important.
But yeah, so I was like, "Okay,
God, you're gonna have to help me."
And so, you know, a couple weeks
go by, and, uh, I'm doing an event.
We're handing out coffee.
That's, like, our, that's our little
thing on the c- the, the college campus.
Chi Alpha, we love to give a coffee bar.
And so we'll set up our little thing, and
we'll have free coffee, handing it out.
And I remember I saw this girl.
She was, she was so, so petite, and she's,
like, teeny tiny short, and I was like,
"Wow, I've never seen this girl before.
She's so cute."
Um, and she's, like, walking
towards the bell tower, and I
just felt like the Holy Spirit was
like, "You need to talk to her."
I was like, "Oh, okay.
Um, hi, how are you?
Like, do you want coffee?"
And, uh, I remember she told me her name.
And, uh, she was like, "I play tennis
and I'm studying business," and she'sâ¦
I'm like, "I'm from Portugal."
And I was like, "Oh, man.
Like, that's cool."
I was like, "I don'tâ¦
I've never been to Portugal,
but I just lived in Mozambique."
So I was like, "I got a couple
Portuguese words in my, in my brain."
They speak Portuguese in Mozambique.
Right.
And so we started talking, and I was
like, "Uh, can I give you my number?
Maybe we can go get coffee."
And I could tell she was
like, "Uh, this is weird.
Like, what?
Americans."
Yeah.
Like, out of nowhere.
Yeah.
And so, but reluctantly she was
like, "Okay, here's my number, but,
like, it's, it's my American number.
I don't have it set up yet,
so you'll just have to wait."
I was like, "Okay."
And so I remember she walked off,
and I was like, "Okay, Jesus.
I think she said something about tennis.
I don't know nothing about tennis.
I didn't even know we had a team.
Is this what you meant?"
And, uh, so clearly I heard the Lord
say, "Hanna," and I might cry every
time I talk about it He got tears, yes.
He has tears, yeah.
I love these girls so much, but I
remember, I remember God said, "Hanna,
I want you to go and love these girls,
and I want you to show them that
I'm a God who loves and sees them."
And I was like, "Okay, I can do that,
but I don't know anything about tennis,
so I'm just gonna try and show up."
Mm-hmm.
And, um, and I did.
And, uh, God really surprised me
because I have a heart for the nations.
Mm-hmm.
Obviously, God, you asked me to stay here.
That doesn't make sense to me.
I show up, this whole
team is international.
Wow.
They're from all over the
d- all over the world.
Wow.
Wow.
You got India, you got Mexico,
Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Australia,
France, like all over the world.
Wow.
And I'm like, "Oh, cool."
Like , uh, okay, Jesus, like you may not
be calling me to go at this moment, but
you've actually brought so many nations
here, which I think is like such a cool-
Yeah ⦠mission mindset of the Lord.
For sure.
You know?
For sure, like you're still gonna
reach missions, but you're gonna- Yeah
do it in your backyard.
Yeah, and, and this way it's
like, okay, I don't have to
learn each individual language.
Right.
But- Or go to each individual country.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But if I can show you like who God
has been in my life, if I can share-
Mm-hmm ⦠the gospel and you receive
it, then you get to take that back
to your country, but also you get
to go wherever you go with that.
Yeah, right.
And so it's such aâ¦
God's really cool, um,
you know, we don'tâ¦
Yeah, he's, he, he uses us-
He knows what he's doing.
Yeah, and it's like- ⦠man,
like we think that I have to do
everything, but like really, God,
you bring us the people, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Did it take long for them to like warm
up to you and- For some of them, yes.
Uh, for, for one girl, um, it took
us, uh, the whole like semester
and a half, and then she graduated.
Oh, wow.
And, uh, just remember fight, and not,
like not fighting her, but like fighting
in my mind the whole time 'cause I was
like, man, this girl, she's a senior.
She's from a country that's pretty
like hostile towards the gospel.
Like- Mm-hmm ⦠to tell somebody
that Jesus loves them in her
country is like kind of insulting.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and so, uh, I was like,
"God, how do I do this?"
Like, and I just remember there
was multiple times where another
girl on the team would be like,
"So-and-so is talking about you."
And I'm like, "Okay, God, like you're
really doing something inside of me 'cause
like I have to be okay with this- Mm-hmm
this type ofâ¦"
It, it ma- it f- it makes me feel silly to
call it persecution 'cause I'm like, God,
like- Yeah ⦠they're not like, you know,
they're not hurting- Right ⦠you know?
It's not stones, but- Yeah, but
it's like- Yeah ⦠okay, Lord, like
they don't get it yet, but you've-
Mm-hmm ⦠asked me to be here and you
asked me to love them, so I'm gonna be
consistent, and this is gonna take time.
But I remember this, with this
girl specifically, um- I was
always nervous around her.
I wanted to be her friend, but
I was like, "God, she hates me."
But I remember one time, um, I had taken
her to Walmart and, uh, it was right after
another girl on the team had, uh, had told
me like, "This girl's talking about you."
And I just remember like, uh, they're
shopping and I'm like in the corner
reading Romans 12 about how God's gonna
like be our defender and like how He
like will fight our battles and like
not - how to basically love those-
Mm-hmm ⦠who have done wrong to you.
And I was like, "Okay, God, like she
just doesn't know you, and that's okay."
And so for this girl, it took her the
whole time to r- to warm up to me, and I
remember we're packing up her apartment
at the end of the year and She said,
"Hanna," 'cause I, I had told her, I
was like, "Hey, I'm really gonna miss
you, and, uh, I've loved getting to know
you this year, and I just want you to
know, like, God really cares about you."
And, uh, she took a moment and she's like,
"You know, I hate that we didn't really
get closer, and, um, I hate that I didn't,
um, I didn't take the time to really get
to know you, and I'm sorry about that.
Like, I'm really gonna miss you."
And I was just like, "Man,
Lord, what are you doing here?
Like, this girl's about to leave.
Like - Yeah ⦠what does this need toâ¦"
You know.
And you know, we, we still chat every
once in a while, but that was one of
those, like we didn't really get like,
we weren't best friends by the end of it.
Right.
But I saw, like what God had done-
Yeah ⦠in that small impact and-
Yeah ⦠I don't know what He's gonna
do with the rest of it in her life.
I, I watch- It is ⦠from afar, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But getting to, getting to see a
small seed planted in her life.
Now, for other girls, like there's
a, I have my core, like three.
We got really, really close.
One of them came to live
with me, and I love her.
She is one of my, oh, she's one of
my closest girls, and I, like she
just made me laugh all the time,
but, um, but so, so like
hardworking, so smart.
I, I loved, I, I learned a lot from her.
Although she wasn't following Jesus-
Mm ⦠and I pray that one day she will
be, um, I still learned a lot from her.
Mm.
Which is like just so
important within discipleship.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like they may not be following
Jesus yet, but like I can still
learn biblical values because- Yeah.
Mm-hmm ⦠they don't, they are
made in the image of Christ, but
they are not, they're not walking
in the likeness yet, you know?
Right.
But I believe- Yeah ⦠that like the Lord
is beckoning them and speaking to them.
And so yeah, it took a little
bit of time to get to know them.
Um, I would invite them over to my
house and, uh, you know, any college
student loves a good free meal.
Oh, yeah.
Yep.
Um, but yeah, these girls, they
would come over, I mean, weekly.
I would be like, "I'm, I'm
gonna cook dinner for you guys.
Like, do you wanna have dinner?
Do you wanna ha- like watch a movie?"
And, um, very quickly, like I would
hear them talking about like life,
tennis, school, boys, whatever.
Um, but throughout the semesters,
I would start to hear them like ask
those hard questions, like- Yeah
talk about Jesus.
And I'm like, "Oh, y'all
are bringing Jesus up now.
It's not just me."
Right.
And so after inviting them into my
home, inviting them into my life,
and like telling them time and time
again, like, "You're not a burden.
Please ask me for a ride,"
'cause none of them had vehicles.
No.
Like, "I actually would love
to give you a ride to Walmart.
It's the- Yeah ⦠the brightest
time of my, my week," you know?
Um, inviting them into my life, um,
I got to see like walls start to come
down and, um, and even now like I'm
not around, I wasn't there this, this
year 'cause I was preparing for Spain,
but the girls that are still there
when they introduce me to the incoming
girls are like, "Oh, this is Hanna.
She's Mama Hanna.
This- she's our biggest supporter."
This, yeah.
Aw.
And so it's like I haven't lived as much
life with these new girls, but they still
know me, which is like really sweet.
And yeah.
That's cool.
Yeah.
I like it.
So was it through this connection
that God started showing you Spain or?
Yeah.
So, um- It was a year before
I stepped off of campus, so it
was, like, during my fourth year.
I, um, I just remember, I remember
God kind of, like, freed me up
to start thinking about it again.
And I don't know how
to really explain that.
People are probably like, "What
do you mean, like, God said this?"
You know?
Like, I just felt this, this freedom
in my mind of like, okay, I didn't
feel like I could pray about this
before 'cause I needed to be here.
Yeah.
But now I feel like I'm allowed to,
like, think about this and plan for this.
And I still didn't know Spain, but I felt
very, like, directly that I was supposed
to go to a country that spoke Spanish.
And in my head, I was like,
okay, my school growing up, I
had a lot of friends from Mexico.
I had a lot of friends from El Salvador.
Like, my roommate at the time, she was
from Argentina, so I was like- Mm-hmm
⦠well, God, like, Latin America, of course.
Like, this makes sense.
And, uh, but I just never
felt peace about it.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, yeah, uh, I started to look.
We have a, a website called, uh, Wide
Open Missions for the AG, and you just
can kind of just see, like, what's,
what's out there, like- What's available
what's the need.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
So I remember just looking
through, and nothing was like,
nothing was standing out to me.
And I just felt like, in my head, I
was like, "You need to look up Spain."
And I was like, "God, that's
not even in Latin America."
You're like, "That's in Europe."
Yeah.
"Europe's fine."
Yeah.
And you know, some people are
like, "Wait, isn't that by Mexico?"
No, guys, look at a map.
I still get that question.
Are you serious?
Yes, I still do.
Oh.
And you know, side note, back to
my, my girls on the team, uh, they
would laugh at me because I had this
huge, like, wooden map on my wall.
And I just remember they would be like,
"Do you know where this country is?"
And I'd be like, "Um,
uh, is it over here?"
And they would be like, "Hanna-"
Yeah ⦠"you don't know where
any of these countriesâ¦"
You know?
Yeah.
And so I still have to, like, learn.
I, I know the map way better now
'cause they- Yeah ⦠would laugh
at me, and they would teach me.
Um- Yeah, they laughed at me a lot.
But I just remember I was like,
"Okay, let me look at Spain."
And I just remember there was the, there
was a couple roles that just started
looking out, looking like it was-
Mm-hmm ⦠this is what I need to do.
Specifically, there was this, like,
hospitality, like, missionary position
where, like, you, basically you live in
one of the countries that missionaries
are coming through, but you, your, like,
job is to serve those missionaries and
give them a home in their transition.
Oh.
And I was like, I was like, "Man, God,
like, that feels right up my alley.
Like, I love being a homemaker.
I love cooking for people.
I've learned how to do it with my girls."
Like, yeah.
So, but yeah, I still was like, "Mm,
Latin America makes more sense to me."
Like, so for a good few months, I ran
from, like, Spain doesn't make sense.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but it wasn't until December
about two years ago, I kinda
reached the end of myself.
I was like, "God, I'm so stressed.
I have a trip planned to Costa Rica, but
that, like, makes me feel so stressed out.
What am I doing?"
Um, yeah, and I sat down with
one of our staff members.
We, umâ¦
She was like, "Hey, like,
are you gonna come toâ¦"
She's at a new campus now.
She's like, "Are you gonna
come be on our team?"
And I was like, "I don't know.
Like, really feel like God's
leading me to a Spanish country,
but I don't know what to do."
And, uh, through that conversation,
she was like, "Have you
even ever thought of Spain?"
And I was like, "Oh."
Here's all the times that God specifically
said Spain, and I just haven't listened.
And she's like, "Hanna,
stop, like, doing that."
And I was like, "Yeah, you're right."
Thank God for her.
Yeah, and yeah, she's the best.
She, she just speaks very clearly, and
she, she listens to the Holy Spirit so
well, and- We all need those people- Yeah
⦠who are like, "Hey, he already told you."
Yeah.
"Like, he told you seven times."
Yeah.
"What are, what are you doing?"
Yeah.
You know, it's really funny, uh, like,
even one of the times that he, like,
had said Spain to me, he literally
said, "Why are you dragging your feet?"
Oh, man.
And I still was like,
"Costa Rica," you know?
Like, so I was like, "Hanna, you idiot."
So yeah, from that moment, I was like,
"Okay, well, I really need to, like, look
into Spain," and thankfully we were at
a conference at this point, and there
was some Spanish missionaries there.
I was like, "Well, let me
go at least talk to them."
Yeah.
And when I started to talk to them, uh,
like, it felt so out of reach to me.
I was like, "There's not
even gonna be anybody here."
Of course, there was.
And this, uh, I saw this guy, and I
was like, "Hey, is this your booth?
I'm looking for somebody
representing Spain."
He's like, "Yeah, my wife and I."
And I was like, "Of course, Lord."
Mm-hmm.
And so he's starting to talk,
and he's sharing with me all the
things that they're doing in, in
Vigo, and that's where I'll be.
Mm-hmm.
And it's, for the first time, he's saying
things that I have never even considered.
I've never considered church
planting 'cause I'm, I, in
my head I do campus ministry.
That's what I'm doing.
God, that's what you've led me to.
But for the first time, he said church
planting and my heart didn't say that.
My heart was like, "Oh, I could do that."
Oh.
And I was like, "Who's that?"
Like, "Who's talking right now?"
Yeah.
You know?
And, uh, yeah, and I, I listened to all
the things and I, I just, I asked him, I
was like, "Hey, like, this is who I am.
This is what I've done for the last
four years, but I also feel like God is,
like, stretching, like, my capacity and,
like, leading me into something new.
Is there a way I could do both?
Like, do you need church planters
but also somebody on the university?"
And he was like, "Hanna,
that's exactly what we need."
And I was like, "Oh, okay.
Um, well let me go pray."
Uh, you know?
And- Give it one second 'cause-
Yep ⦠the God's already telling you.
Yeah.
But- Exactly ⦠it's crazy because I,
I hadn't felt so sure about something.
Like I said, I'd b- I'd felt heavy.
I, I'd been running.
I like- Yeah ⦠I, I ha- that was
the first moment that I felt like I
had actual clarity and I felt sure.
But I wasn't vocalizing that 'cause
I was like, "Well, we're at this
conference and I don't wanna just
be like, 'Hey, I feel like God is
telling me I'm gonna be on your team.'"
You know?
Like- Right.
So I was like, "Hey, like I really
feel, um, like this is something
that God could be, like, leading
me into, whether it's your team or
it's somebody else that's similar.
Um, I really wanna pray about
this and I wanna reach back out."
And so I leave and I'm like, "God-
You're telling me I'm gonna be on their
team, but, like, I need to give it,
like I need to do this the right avenue.
And so that's kind of, that was
the start of it, and, uh, it, it
kinda moved so quickly from then.
Yeah.
Like, we had, uh, Zoom meetings and
approvals and things like that, but
every meeting I had, district meeting,
national meeting, all these approvals,
I just went in and I was like, "God,
you've seen where I've ran from this.
You've seen, like, all the
things that I've struggled with.
Like, you even know my, like
my, my mind, where I'm at.
Like, if you don't want me to
do this, like close the door."
Mm-hmm.
But every single time everybody's like,
"Well, you don't have to share anymore.
We really feel like this
is what you're called to."
And I was like, "What?"
Like- ⦠what are you talking about?
It's easy when God's in charge.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
So, and you leave when?
We're, we're just kinda waiting.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I'm waiting for my visa right now.
Everybody listening, pray.
Um, but- Maybe by the time
this airs you'll be- Yeah.
Yeah.
I'll, I'll be there.
Bye, guys.
Um Tell us how people can support you.
Yeah.
So I mean, the first and most
important is always prayer.
Like- Mm-hmm.
I- we, we genuinely cannot
do anything without prayer.
That's true.
And, like, yeah, like, uh, the spiritual,
like, God moves in the spiritual so
much, and, like, it affects the physical.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so prayer is always number
one, and of course finances.
Mm-hmm.
Like, uh, I can't, can't go without
finances, and I, I can't be sent andâ¦
Yeah, we get to see that all
through the Bible of God sending
people and allowing the people
of God to send them financially.
Yeah.
Right.
And, um, yeah, so financially
sending me and yeah.
How do people do that, though?
Like, how do- Yeah.
Oh, sorry, I didn't know.
I was like, do I put that on here?
Yeah.
Like- Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
We'll put it in the little caption, too.
So yeah, um, anybody can
give to any AG missionary.
If you are listening to this and
you specifically want to give to
me, you can type in giving@ag.org,
and then you type in my name,
Hanna Ennis, H-A-N-N-A E-N-N-I-S.
And from there you can support, uh, any
missionary that is in the Assemblies of
God, both World Missions and US Missions.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Well- And please do.
Yes.
Yeah.
Please.
This was- Do you want me to
mention Spain just a little bit?
Yes.
Yeah.
Uh, what we're doing, and then- Yeah.
Yeah.
Sorry, I feel like I've
just yakked- No, that's okay
so much.
No, it's great.
This is exactly what we do.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yep.
Cool.
Yeah, so in Spain, obviously I
mentioned that we're church planting,
but also I'm gonna help out a
little bit with university ministry.
And so university ministry, uh, looks very
different than it would here, you know.
At- Yeah ⦠Arkansas Tech or most,
uh, most campuses in the States,
it's like one, like, piece of
the city, and all of the- Right
buildings are together.
But in a lot of, like, different
countries, like, that's not the case.
Like, okay, over here is
the College of Education.
And then- Mm-hmm ⦠three miles
down the city, oh, that's where
all the engineers go to school.
And- Right ⦠oh, over there is, like,
the lawyer, you know, like different- Yeah
things.
And so I will, um, definitely be
learning, like, okay, what does university
ministry look like in a new context?
Um- Right ⦠which I'm very thankful for
Mozambique 'cause that taught me a lot.
Yeah.
And it was very similar to
that structure, you know.
Yeah.
Different colleges all around the city.
Maputo is a huge city,
and so you're- Mm-hmm
walking, taxiing, all the things.
So Vigo will be very similar.
Um, that's where I'll be continuing
my language school, and so- Okay ⦠I
know a little bit of Spanish.
I, uh- I was gonna ask, like-
Yeah ⦠how, how fluent are you?
But- Well, okay, so I always say
I know way more than I let on.
Um, but you know, it's very true
if you don't use it, you lose it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so I will say when I was,
uh, with all of my girls from the
tennis team, majority of the ones
I was, like, super, super close to,
they were always speaking Spanish.
Sometimes it was really hard for my brain.
I was like, "Guys, can y'all
just speak English, please?"
But it actually was really good
for me because the more they would
speak, the more I would remember,
oh, I studied Spanish for this long,
and then all of these girls around
me, I was picking up new words.
Yeah.
And some were from Spain, some were
from Argentina, some from Mexico.
And once you're immersed in it,
it's, you'll- Well- ⦠you'll
pick it up really quickly.
But also, like, so was that part tricky?
Because I'm, I don't know Spanish.
I took- Yeah ⦠French in high school,
and I'm doing Scottish Gaelic- Yeah.
⦠on Duolingo.
Um, and you know, nobody's
speaking Scottish Gaelic here.
I made, I made Ben start learning-
Yeah ⦠so that he could
talk to me You gotta practice
But like, I've heard that, like,
Spanish is one of these types of
language where it's, it can be very
different- Yes ⦠depending on, like,
not just dialect, but like ac- the
way that things are- Yeah ⦠said-
Yes ⦠can be different in Nicaragua-
Mm-hmm ⦠versus Mexico versus Spain.
Yeah.
Every country, like, they don't all
use the same words for the same thing.
Right, right.
Like, backpack could be one thing
in Mexico and is a completely
different thing in Spain.
Exactly.
And so, and so yeah,
it's not just dialect.
It's like- Right ⦠okay,
what- It's like legit
vocabulary ⦠what do you call this?
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
And I can't remember, oh man, I can't
remember what the word is, but I re- like,
in one, in one Spanish country, it's just
a regular word, but in another Spanish
country, it's actually a vulgar word.
Yeah.
And it's like- Yeah ⦠man, like, what
if I accidentally say some- you know?
And so- Yeah.
People would give you grace 'cause-
Yeah, absolutely ⦠anyway.
And I think that was really special to
get to see all of my friends from, like,
three to four different Spanish countries
just, like, speaking, and they're,
like, uh- And figuring out the- Yeah
nuance there.
Like, for them, they just kind of knew.
But it was like- Mm ⦠wait, why
do you say it that way, you know?
Yeah.
And like, they would talk about that.
And so that was really cool.
But yeah, so I, uh, I really
enjoyed hearing all of them speak.
It was helpful for me to like-
Mm-hmm ⦠try to comprehend and listen.
Um, sometimes I would be able
to pick it up and I would just
answer in English, and thenâ¦
But yeah, sometimes I'm
like, "Yeah, I don't know."
But yeah, so I will, I'll be in Spain for
two years at first when I go this time,
and I'll be in language school that whole
time, and praying and, like, looking and
asking God, like, what does it look like
to do ministry on this type of campus?
Um, where like, you know,
an American campus, like, we
have all these organizations.
That's not the case there.
Yeah.
Right.
You know.
Um, and as for the church, um, it's,
it's a, a cultural center, and so of
course, like, we have services on Sundays.
We actually have them in the
evenings because for most
Europeans, like, that works better.
Yeah.
Um, and there's no buses that
run in the mornings on Sunday.
And so if you live out of the city and
there's not a church to go to but you
want to experience kingdom community,
you want to experience, like, living
life with Jesus and people of Jesus-
You know, fellowship, yeah ⦠um, you,
it works best to go in the evenings.
And so we've already seen testimony
of that with a, a lady that she found
content online and gave her life to Jesus
before our church actually launched.
And so when- Oh, wow ⦠when it
officially launched, she began talking
to our team and said, "I'm, I'm ready
to be baptized, and I, and I wanna make
this, like, this is where I need to be.
Not just for me, but for my,
my husband and my children."
Wow.
And so yeah, we've already
seen, like, testimony of that.
Um- If you, like, if you're listening
to this and you wanna pray for Spain,
uh, you praying that, like, there's 1.3%
that claim to have a personal
relationship with Jesus.
Wow.
And in Vigo, there's only 0.4.
Oh, goodness.
And so which is like when you hear those
statistics, like when I first heard
that, I was like, "Uh, I don't know.
That seems pretty low, God," you know?
Yeah.
Um, but the more that I had met people,
the more that I had spoken, I was like,
"No, I think that this might be true."
Like, when I talk to you, you know
who, like, you know God by name,
like, and you even know Jesus by name,
but, like, do you actually know Him?
Um, do you know what it looks
like to live a life with Jesus?
Right.
And so, um, when I'm thinking about
Spain, and when I'm thinking about,
like, what is ministry gonna look like
there, that's, that's my heart is like,
"Jesus, You've been so good to me."
Mm-hmm.
"And, uh, yes, You died on the
cross for me, but You've also,
like, chosen to walk with me.
Like, You, You're bringing
me back into the garden.
The thing that- Yeah ⦠like
we were separated from, You're
bringing me back into the garden,
and I want to show people, like,
you can have communion with Jesus.
You can have, uh, you can have
relationship with the Lord.
Like, when You tore the veil, we don't
have to go through certain people."
Right.
Yeah.
"We don't have to go ask, like, a
certain person of, of power of, or,
or like of holiness to pray for me.
I, I literally can sit with somebody
that just loves Jesus, and I can say,
'This is what I'm going through.'"
Yeah.
Yeah.
"And I, I, can you pray for me?"
But also I can just sit with the
Lord myself, and I say, "Jesus, like,
this is what I'm going through."
And so I, I think, um, that's my heart,
and that's my prayer going into Spain
is I want to show who God has been to
me, and, uh, I want to minister to the
people around me, and I want to see
Spain Be 100% claiming to know Jesus.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so, yeah.
That's really amazing.
And I'm, I really, I know I say all
the time, "You don't wanna go, do you?"
Even though I want you to.
I mean, I do want you to- Yeah
⦠but, like, I'm gonna miss you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But- Yeah ⦠I'm really proud of you,
and it fits your whole personality-
Thank you ⦠to be a missionary.
Yeah.
It really does, because you're a servant.
Yeah.
But okay, we're gonna ask
you our final question.
Oh, shoot.
Ask away.
You probably- I forgot to think about it.
You probably- But I
think I have something.
Go ahead.
All right.
Go ahead.
So if you could go back and watch a
Bible story real time- Yeah ⦠what
would you wanna go watch?
Hmm.
There's so many.
Um- Yeah, I know.
Yeah ⦠but I think the first
one that comes to my mindâ¦
Oh, man.
Can I break the rules and say two?
Yeah.
Yes.
Sure.
All right.
Okay.
We'll allow it.
Okay.
Okay, 'cause I really can't choose.
I think the, I think the two that
come to my mind, the first one was
the woman with the issue of blood.
Mm-hmm.
I think that is so- That's a good one.
It is a very good one ⦠like, my gosh.
Like, to, to put yourself in her, in
her shoes of, like, I've been struggling
with this for, was it seven years?
I think 12.
12.
12, yeah, 12 years.
Yeah.
Yeah, and to, and to have to take
on the identity of unclean, unclean-
Mm-hmm ⦠unclean for 12 years.
Yes.
And then just to, like, oh, I've,
I've heard in the scriptures of,
like, the hem of his garment.
Like, if I just touch the hem of
his- Yeah ⦠garment, you know?
Oh, uh, I don't think it'll make him
unclean, but, like, I just have to try,
you know, to have- Yeah ⦠that faith.
And to not even ask him for healing,
but just to like, just touch a, a hem.
Mm-hmm.
I think just seeing that in real time,
I'd be weeping in the back of the crowd.
Oh, yeah.
Like- 100%.
He's like, "Who touched me?"
I was like, "It was her."
But, like, not in a bad way.
Like, what, w- uh, she,
she's- Don't be mad.
She's healed.
Yeah.
You know?
And so that one comes to my mind.
I think that, like, I, I think about that
a lot, especially when I'm struggling with
something, like either mental or physical.
I'm like, "No, Jesus, like, if I
could just touch the hem of your
garment right now, like, whatever
that looks like in my life.
If I could just-" Mm-hmm ⦠touch
the hem of your garment,
like, I will be made clean.
Yeah.
I will be healed.
Um, I think the second one is
the woman at the well, of course.
Like- Mm-hmm ⦠God, like, Jesus- Yeah
Jesus sitting there and, um, like,
breaking every, like, stereotype.
Like, I'm talking to somebody
that's not of my culture.
I'm talking to somebody- A
woman ⦠that is, yeah, a woman.
And so I'm breaking all of these,
these boundaries, you know?
Like- Mm-hmm.
But he wasn't being disrespectful.
He wasn't being, like, weird, you know?
Like- Yeah.
But he, uh, you know, and even
whenever, um, even whenever he's,
like, quote, unquote, calling her out
on her stuff, like, it wasn't out of,
like, "I know you don't have a husband
'cause you've actually had five."
You know?
Like- Exactly.
"And the one you're with
ain't even your man."
It's like- Yep.
Like ⦠But it wasn't like that.
It was like, "Hey," like,
"I actually know you."
Yeah.
"And," like, "I'm, I'm
speaking the truth in love."
Mm-hmm.
And- Yeah ⦠yeah, I just think that
that's so cool, and I think that it's
awesome that she was, uh, the first one
to get to know that he was the Messiah.
Yeah.
And it was a woman.
Yeah, go girl.
And she, it was a woman that got to
know that he was the Messiah, and
she got to go minister to her whole
town, and I think that's pretty cool.
That is.
I agree.
Yeah.
That, I'm not surprised- I like
it ⦠you picked both of those.
Yep.
But it's, yeah.
They line up.
It's good.
Yeah.
It does.
Yeah.
Well, this was awesome.
Yeah.
And we will definitely, um, post all
this so they can, people can support
you, and- Yeah ⦠you can go see Hanna.
Yes.
Plan a trip to Spain.
Come to Vigo.
Yeah.
Yeah, so.
Yeah.
Well, thank you guys
so much for having me.
This was so fun.
It wasn't so bad, was it?
Yeah.
No.
I came, I was so scared.
That's who you are.
I'm like- It's, it's so weird.
I'm like- We're scary people ⦠we're
just having a conversation.
Yeah, yeah.
I get it, but- Yeah.
Anyway.
Thank you so much, and we love you.
You're welcome.
I love you guys.
Thank you.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Oh, so good.
My ears are sweating.