Enjoy Every Day and Focus in the MOMENT!

Well this week has been a little interesting because my poor comp has been super sick on and off because of the heat with a terrible cold, a cough, an infection and a fever. So working has been mas o menos. But, she's a trooper!

Also, kidney stone round two. I still have it! The pain came back and has been off and on all week.... called the triste doctor and he's like, "Just drink water! It will pass eventually....maybe." And then gave me pain medication that didn't even work. Chido. But whatever, I'm over it. But yeah, I'll be happy when it passes. IF it passes..... jajajajaja!

Funny things...we've started our own "Key Indicator" that we count every week.... "Lecciones con perro presente (lessons with dog present) ." There's this street dog that's practically a Mormon because he's always in the church. Once we gave him water, so now he's our friend and follows us around.... everywhere. Like to all our lessons and everything. Everyone asks if he's our dog and we say, "No, solo un amigo." (no just a friend) Jajaja

Our Mormon Dog

So... its hot. Like 39 - 40 C (I think thats like 104 F or something)... with humidity. So that's been fun. But it's given us an excuse to take our umbrellas everywhere and go Jehovah's Witness all over the place. (Their missionaries ALWAYS walk around using umbrellas for shade.... and we always used to make fun of them BUT NOW WE ARE THOSE MISSIONARIES.)

Hermana C...our General Conference miracle!

 

Haha! We look so much like the JW's that the other day a random JW stopped us in the street as she was walking back from her service and greeted us!!! The look on her face when she saw our badge and realized we were Mormon missionaries was priceless. 

So with us both being sick a lot this week, I've had a lot more thinking time than usual...which is weird. But, I've been thinking a lot about time and how it passes by us. Like, how I'm almost half way through my mission.... what? It's a crazy thought.

 And how as humans we are always wanting something different with time than what we have. Like I remember when I was in Jr High and High school... all I wanted to do was go to college! And then in college all I wanted to do was get on my mission... and in the MTC all I wanted to do was get out to Mexico.... and now I would do anything to go back to the simple life again, and live every moment of my childhood over again without wishing for something else!

Drinking pozol... there are literally no cups here... only if you go to a restaurant

 

And then I realized.. wait.... that means I'm wishing for something else todavia!!! Ah!!!!! But that's just how life works! We always want more or less with time. And we are always wishing to be in a different place then where we are.

But my new goal is to change that.... I'm going to enjoy and live every day that I have left of my mission focused in THE MOMENT. Not wishing for new area, or old area, or whatever. I'm determined to conquer this natural man and just ENJOY LIFE. So yeah, sorry for the random spiel. 

Our church is one of the nicest in Tuxtla - has A/C, benches and is where Elder Oaks visited all the missionaries

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL

Hermana Hansen pues

Prayer with Faith brings Miracles

No freaking manches! So much has happened since last week!!!!

Well La muerte de La Yorgason went well.... we had a super mega FHE for her Monday night.... like half the ward came!!! And everyone shared their testimonies about Hermana Yorgason... and it was super tender. 

 

She is such an amazing missionary and companion and everyone loves her so much!! We all miss her but I'm sure shes doing great things back in the States! 

Anddd introducing Hermana Guarcax!!! My new comp is from Guatemala!!! First off, we´ve come to the conclusion that I´m either psychic or prophetic...call it what you will...because last week I randomly found and bought a Book of Mormon in Sotsil (Mayan) just for the heck of it.... and Hermana Guarcax just came from Chenahlo, speaking Sotsil, and is now gonna help me learn Sotsil!!!

WHatttttt! I'm super pumped. And she is THE BEST ever! I'm telling you, like full of love and patience and diligence and every other Christlike quality you can think of. She's also super hilarious and we are having theeee best time together!!! 

So this week was a week of prayer miracles. The power of prayer is real. So first off, Friday we went to pick up Hermana D. to come with us in the morning, only to find her mom laying on the bed in a ton of pain. Something was going on, and she had taken the pain medicine hours ago but it wasn't helping. She couldn't even move and was about in tears. 

I said, "Okay, let's go find someone who can give you a blessing. We will be right back!" 

But Hermana Guarcax said, "Okay. But, let's pray first." 

I was a little skeptical, feeling a little discouraged like, we don't have the priesthood, is a prayer really gonna help her like a priesthood blessing could? But Hermana Guarcax is all faith and all action. She asked Hermana F.,"Do you believe that the Lord can help you if we say a prayer?" and she said yes.

So Hermana Guarcax offered the prayer. It was simple and short, but powerful. No more than 2 minutes later, Hermana F. sat up, and said, "Hey.... I'm feeling completely better. The pain is gone."

Then she got up and started cooking breakfast! We were shocked! We knew a prayer would be powerful, but we weren't expecting it to work that well or that fast!! By the time un hermano came to give her a blessing, she was feeling completely better!! 

Later that night, we went to teach a 12 year old girl, Hermanita L., who we had found the day before. She had really opened up to us the day before and expressed to us all of her trials in her life. Her mom had died a year before, her older siblings abandoned her and left her to live with her aunt, and she wanted to find a job so she could eat and help her aunt out...but nobody would take someone so young. We taught her that God loved her, and taught her how to pray to Him. At the end of the lesson, she had said a specific prayer, where she asked to find some sort of work. 

So Friday night, when we went to visit her, she was a completely different person. So happy! She gave us a huge hug and said, "Hermanas! A miracle happened! God answered my prayer! This morning, a random stranger knocked on my door, and said she was looking for someone to help with housework. She asked me and my cousin to come work for her! I didn't even think twice about it. I just went! Before I felt very alone, and didnt even know if God knew about me. But now I know that He loves me. He listens to our prayers, and He answers them!" 

We again, just looked at her in shock. She said, "This isn't what I was expecting at all!" 

I said, "Us either!!" Haha. These experiences really are a testimony to me just how powerful prayer is. I mean, if we think about it we shouldn't ever doubt prayer. The Church of Jesus Christ was restored through a simple, humble prayer from a young boy. Prayer with faith brings miracles. 

Cuídense mucho!! 

Hermana Hansen

Enjoy more pictures of Hermana Hansen's week!

Utah Hermanas getting their Mcdonalds fix

 

Farewell Hermana Yorgason!!

Tristemente.... I forgot my planner with all my notes written down about what I want to write you all so we will see how this letter goes!!

 Cambiooosssss!!! I'm killing off La Yorgason... triste dia...and will be receiving my new comp Hermana Guarcax tomorrow!! I think she's from Guatemala... but I'll let you know for sure next week!

I'm gonna miss Hermana Yorgason a lot... I learned so much from her. How to be a happy missionary all the time... how to really love the people... I admire her so much and we had a great time together!

Wow, this week was full of crazies and miracles. And crazy miracles.
 

SO, I got to go to Hermana N's wedding (one of my friend's from Central who married her zone leader from her mission.... jajajaja)! It was super beautiful!

 And!! Hermana D got baptised!!! I can't believe it. Her conversion really is a testimony of how the spirit works miracles. She's Hermano C (our recent convert's) cousin, and lives in our favorite house of menos activos, recent converts, and investigators.

The first time we met her, she wouldn't listen to us. The second time she was kind of obligated to because she was locked out of her house, and we were all waiting outside for Hermano P. to come home. Then the next time we came back, she hit us with a bunch of weird questions (like do Mormons believe in aliens...), and we didn't know if she even really had a desire to learn. But we didn't give up on her...even when she attacked the poor gospel principles teacher with questions at church as well.

After all this, we then found out that she had MAYBE been baptized when she was younger... and just an inactive member!! But after a few weeks of searching, and continuing teaching her, and her seeing the amazing example of her cousin, Hermano C,...the spirit worked within her and she changed so much.

Hermano C with Hermanas Hansen & Yorgason on his baptism day

She actually started listening in the lessons, asking sincere questions, and progressing. She starting changing into a COMPLETELY different person. It has been amazing to watch. 

Por fin, we received the splendid news that she was indeed NOT BAPTIZED. She accepted a baptism for the next Saturday. It was beautiful. Hermano R. and Hermana J. brought a home made pizza, and many members came to support her.

Coming out of the water, she had the biggest smile on her face. This Hermana, who hardly ever smiled before, was now smiling so big. Then she and Hermano C. were confirmed together yesterday in sacrament meeting.

It was absolutely a miracle! She wasn't a person that we would have expected to ever get baptized! It just goes to show that sometimes escogidos are hidden!
 

That's all I have time for... although a bunch of other crazy stuff happened this week....stories for another day perhaps. 

Love you all!! 

Hermana Hansen

Killing Rats, a Baptism & Conference is like Christmas for Missionaries!

I'm really sorry if this email has no structure....I have so many thoughts and miracles and only have ten minutes to share it all..so here it goes.....

First off a funny story...

We were eating in one of our favorite (and most humble) members house, when suddenly we see this HUGE rat (like a foot long...no joke) trying to sneak some food out of the garbage. I just go wide eyed. 

The cute member looks at me, and says, "Es la rata, verdad? (it's a rat, right?)" 

 

I nod my head slowly. Before I know it, this tiny, cute lady pulls out a giant butcher knife from the cardboard wall behind her...and ninja chucks it at the rat. Unfortunately, she missed, but it was the funniest, scariest, most unexpected thing on my mission!!! She just casually pulled a huge knife out of the wall!!!

Hahaha we were laughing so hard and she said, "Ayyy hermanas lo siento! Es que yo tengo mucho miedo de ratas y solo quiere matar ella!!" Jajajajaja  (Ay sorry sisters!  It's just that I'm afraid of rats and I only want to murder them!!)

So many miracles this week.... Hermana L. got baptised!! Not with us, but in the Barrio Juarez, in the same Zone I used to be in. So what happened is Hermana L. is dating Hermano A., a guy in our ward. They are getting married in August, and want to get sealed next year. We have taught her all the lessons. Even though she doesn't live in our area, we got special permission from the zone leaders to baptize her... because they are getting married soon and she will just be coming to our ward anyway. 

But in Ward Council, the Sunday before her baptism, Bishop said she needed to be baptized in the ward where she lived. Since we already got permission from the zone leaders, I just wanted to disgregard what the bishop said and baptize her anyways.

 But Hermana Yorgason was determined to respect our priesthood authorities... and so while we were on intercambios a few weeks ago she had "the talk" with Hermana L. and told her that she needed to get baptized in her own ward. 

When I came back, I found out... and ayyyy I was so mad!!! I was like....Seriously?? We are the ones who have been teaching her....how can we just give a baptism away??? I prayed a lot, and tried to understand that this is God's will, not mine. But I was still a little uneasy about it. 

Then, we received word that Hermana L. no longer wanted to get baptized, and wasn't going to church in her own ward. I was even more upset. So we called her, and set up an appointment with her the following week. We came to the appointment, determined to teach her obedience and try to convince her to listen to the missionaries in Juarez. 

Well come to find out... it was all a ruse and a big suprise! She really had been meeting with the other Elders and going to church, and she had gotten baptized that day!!!!! She was a little upset at first, but she was determined to get baptized. So she didn't let a little hurt feelings stop her. It was all just a trick so us AND her boyfriend would be surprised!! 

I know that it was the right thing to do to pass the reference, respect our bishop, and have her get baptized in her own ward. We were also able to provide a miracle baptism for the Elders of Juarez (imagine...getting an investigator who has been to church 5 times and ready to be baptized placed in your path!). 

I now have an even stronger testimony that this really is God's work, not mine. I'm so grateful that God is watching out for us, and always humbling us and preparing our investigators. It really was a miracle!

Another Easter miracle....(or Conference miracle)...

We were walking to the church Sunday morning, when this random lady stopped us in the street. She asked, "Y de donde es ustedes guapas chicas?"  (where are you beautiful girls from?)

Jaja we said, "Estados unidos! Somos misionaras de esta iglesia en frente!!"  (United States, we are missionaries of this church right here in front of you)

She says, "Yes! I remember you, Hansen, you talked to me in a combi once! In fact, I was reading my bible in a park the other day, when a Mormon came up to me, asked me if I was looking for God, and invited me to General Conference. I was just on my way there! I'm looking for God in my life, can you guys help me?" 

We just stood there shocked. Turns out a super awesome lady in a ward just hangs out in the park all day and contacts people and invites them to church. (Talk about being a member missionary!) She had been praying that she would find someone prepared, who needed the gospel... and she found esta M. 

So, Hermana M came to General Conference, she loved it, and we invited her to be baptized. She said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for!" 

GENERAL CONFERENCE BRINGS MIRACLES. Christ was resurrected and atoned for us so miracles like this can happen.  Through His atoning sacrifice, people who are suffering can find peace. 

Conference was awesome. I watched Saturday's sessions in Spanish and Sunday's in English. Both days were amazing. Conference is like Christmas for missionaries. 

 

While watching confernece, Hermana Hansen saw our neighbor singing in the choir

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Hansen

Enjoy more pics from Hermana Hansen's week...