Richardson and Thomas to serve missions in England and Boston

Hannah Richardson and Dallin Thomas have been called to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Richardson will serve in the Birmingham, England, mission. Thomas will serve in Boston, MA. Both reside in Daviess County. Richardson and Thomas will join more than 67,000 missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide.
Missionaries receive their assignment from church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.
Prior to going to their assigned area, missionaries spend a short period of time training to teach the people they will serve. They learn how to teach the gospel in an orderly and clear way. If necessary, they begin to learn the language of the people they will be teaching. This training is now handled remotely due to the current pandemic.
Missionary schedules and rules are flexible, depending on the culture of the country where missionaries are serving. A typical missionary day begins by waking at 6:30 a.m. for personal study. Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practice social distancing. Most of their teaching has moved online to comply with CDC guidelines. Additionally, missionaries serve people in the communities where they are called. Missionaries are allowed to serve people in outdoor projects where they can practice social distancing. Many have taken on projects such as photographing headstones for the Billiongraves project. Missionaries end their day by 10 p.m.
Missionary work is voluntary. Missionaries fund their own missions, except for their transportation to and from their field of labor. They are not paid for their services.
It is expected that Hannah Richards will serve for 18 months in the England mission. Hannah is the daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Richardson. She is currently a sophomore at BYU-Idaho and is completing a certificate in marriage, family, and human relations.
Hannah states, “I want to serve a mission because the gospel of Jesus Christ has made my life very wonderful, and I want to share that joy with others.” Hannah continues, “I am excited for the chance to thank God for all that He has done for me. I will have one and a half years of trying to focus completely on becoming closer to Heavenly Father and serving His children.”
Dallin Thomas is expected to serve 24 months in Boston, MA. Dallin is the son of Dana and Hannah Thomas of Jameson. Dallin said he is excited to “bring people to be together in our big family and serve in such an awesome area!”