A Magical experience of Christlike Love

 
This whole week was fun and interesting. We have been making plans to try to convince investigators to make the hour journey to San Cris from Teopisca. Every fast Sunday we meet with our rama up there instead of in our casa de oracion. If it's hard to get the members to go, imagine investigators!

It's not so much the distance..but because a round trip ticket for one person costs a minimum of about 65 pesos (that's like 4 bucks). When you work 12 hours a day in a cake store for 50 pesos.... well it's a lot of money that people here just don't have.

So we have one family that has come to church since the very first Sunday we got here. We found them while street contacting our second day here. La familia B. They really want to get baptized. We just have to get them married...which is a problem because they don't have their identifications or the birth certificate of their baby.

Anyway, they hardly even have enough money to buy diapers, let alone go to San Cris. Also, their baby has a hernia and is getting an operation this week. But they really wanted to go.. so we prayed really hard and decided that we would invite them to go with us... o sea... pay for them.
 
I know it was the right decision because what happened yesterday was absolutely magical. Seriously. We get there and testimony meeting was beautiful. The classes were beautiful. Everything was beautiful! I have never been so grateful for 3 hours of church, and classes that don't consist of reading every scripture from the index about the topic given. (Since the church is very new in Teopisca, it's kind of at an elementary school level.....going to San Cris was like entering college. It was wonderful!!)

 
And the members! A LA MECHA THESE TRISTE LOVING MEMBERS. Were amazing. A bunch of members immediately swarmed the B. family, asking them who they are, how they are, etc etc. When one sister found out they would be coming up on Tuesday for their baby's surgery, she gave them her direction and cell number. Then she offered her house up that they could stay in, and to cook them meals. IT WAS AMAZING. 

After an amazing class of Prinicipos del evangelio given by Elder Crowely, (where one less active member I had just met gave me her earrings just because I told her I liked them), we met the branch president and asked if he could give their baby a blessing. After the blessing, they commented about her surgery, and asked if the church could voluntarily donate some money for their operation. I was super nervous, thinking for sure the President was gonna think they had just come to ask for money. But his response was the most Christlike response I could have hoped for, and really surprised me.

He said, "Of course." He even had his counselor pass around an envelope in Relief Society and Priesthood meeting for anyone who wanted to donate a peso or two for the surgery. In this short time, about 100 dollars were raised!!!

Afterwards, everyone was showering them with love and support as well. All of the sisters were so happy to have Hermanas in the ward, even if we are far away in Teopisca. It was a magical experience. I have never felt so much love so quickly from a ward! They were all so Christlike. And our B. family was very impressed.

When we visited them later that night El hermano told us that he had felt a warm feeling in his chest during the last class. It was so strong he almost cried. Later he told his wife, "This is where we are staying, honey. It's here with the Hermanitas."

And even better, they went to the DIF to ask for their new identifications, and they are going to ask for the birth certificate today! So we pretty much just need to raise the money to marry them!! They felt so much love and support. I will be forever grateful for this loving branch that made them (and us) feel so welcome.

LOVE YOU ALL.! 

Hermana Hansen

PS Oh and I forgot to mention... FYI...I don't have lice anymore but I had FLEAS. 

That's all. Parasites love me, and I don't discriminate.

That Awkward Moment When You Almost Go to Jail

 
Well it was another week of miracles here in good old Tapachula....

This time we got saved from going to a sketchy Mexican immigration prison!! Woooo!!! 

We were coming back from intercambios in Tuxtla Chico (which is right on the border of Guatemala). When randomly immigration stopped our combi and asked for our green cards. OK, usually I have my green card with me. But, we had just renewed mine and I had left it in my other wallet at the house.

Hermana Baker didn't even have hers because they just barely renewed it. It was still down in Tuxtla. Now, this might not sound like a big deal. But, there have been some missionaries here recently who had to spend a night or two in the immigration jail until Presidente could come bail them out..... and I DID NOT ONE TO BE ONE OF THEM.

So I just start praying in my head like crazy and start pulling out my wallet. Hermana Baker finds a wet paper copy of her green card and gives it to the guy. When I open my wallet in complete panic mode, I see the MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. MY GREEN CARD. I can promise you that I am 100% sure I never put it in there. I always keep it in my other wallet!! And they randomly accepted Hermana Baker's wet, expired paper copy!!!! AND WE DIDN'T GO TO JAIL!! 

HURRAH!!! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!! 

That's all. 

BYE

Hermana Hanzel

You say coma, I say coma

Well I don't have a lot of super mega spiritual experiences to share this week because most of the week was spent in the mission home. Why, you ask? NBD.... my comp was just recovering from her coma.

Cuídense mucho! 

Love, Hermana Hansen

 

At Zone Conference...Yay! It's Hermana Baker...Hermana Hansen's comp from the MTC! 

OK BROMAS I GUESS I'LL EXPLAIN.

Super long story less long...my comp had a bad headache Wednesday. So, on our way home we decided to stop by Hermano P´s house to see if he had an Ibuprofen to give us. He didn't. But, he said he would order some from the pharmacy...and since my comp wasn't doing very well..we decided to wait. 

She has had headaches like this before, and it's usually due to the tension in her shoulders. So I started giving her a massage, which started to help...but then made the pressure in her head worse. I told her to lie down for a bit while we waited for the medicine to see if the pain would pass (I know, HORRIBLE idea. We should have kept her awake... anyone who has been to any sort of first aid training knows that. DON'T KILL ME LIFEGUARD FRIENDS)

So 9:30 comes around and she's still out. I decide to call our District Leader to tell him what's going on. Midway through the call my comp wakes up, fall of the couch and starts dry heaving. 

I yell, "CALL YOU BACK ELDER" and catch her as she falls. Suddenly she goes limp and stops breathing. 

I yell, "HERMANO P! SHE'S NOT BREATHING YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO TOUCH HER!" 

He then ninja throws her back on the couch and starts giving her compressions in her side (which didn't seem like a good idea to me). But, before I can stop him she starts breathing again and opens her eyes for a bit. 

I start yelling at Hermano P. (what I thought was in Spanish but apparently was in English...good thing he understands a bit of English) "TAKE HER TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW!"

 Hearts are melted as the rabbit casually appears in the middle of our lesson

So, Hermano P. fireman throws her over his shoulder and starts running out the door, calling for a taxi. One of the member neighbors sees us. We tell him we need to get to the hospital, and luckily he has a car so we get in, go a block, and run out of gas. By this time, all of the jóvenes who were playing fútbol at the church have run over. Some staring in shock, some trying to help. 

I yell at one of our members that she isn't breathing again and needs a priesthood blessing now. He panics and gives her a quick blessing along with another member. Miraculously it worked because as soon as the blessing ended she started vomiting again. 

By this time another member with a car had pulled up and a bunch of members awkwardly crowd surf her to the other car. I jump in the car and suddenly it's 'Fast and Furious 7' to the hospital. She stops breathing in the car again and I said a quick prayer and she started vomiting again.

 Mango píña.... only found in Chiapas and Oaxaca. our favorite fruit evs

 

We pull up to the hospital, get her in there...and when I get a chance to look around...I'm just like, "WHERE THE HECK ARE WE?" 

It's super sketchy, looks like the red cross from that tsunami movie. Then I realize that they have taken us not even to a real hospital, but A SKETCHY RED CROSS IN DOWNTOWN TUXTLA.  The doctor and the nurses casually walk over and give her oxygen and an IV, like no big deal. AND I'M JUST LIKE HURRY UP PEOPLE MY COMPANION IS DYING. So then they make everyone leave except me, and things turn from scary to slightly uncomfortable real fast. 

1. Everyone kept asking if we were in prayer...that this happens a lot when we are in fervent prayer in the church or something. Like they thought we were NUNS. 

2. A bunch of members had come and were waiting outside and wanted to see her. But there was only one person allowed, and I denied everyone who wanted to switch me out. NO WAY JOSE. SHE'S MY COMPANION.

3. I somehow lost all my stuff in the confusion. I couldn't call anyone and tell them where we were. Luckily, a member got a hold of the assistants to the President and told them to come over.

4. Apparently nobody knows how to act to the companion who´s companion is in a coma. Like, no one knows what to say. "Como esta su compañera Hermana Hansen?" "Pues quien sabe, está en una coma!" "Bueno pues...como esta usted Hermana Hansen?" "Como piense que estoy, mi compañera esta en una coma!" "Si verdad... como podemos ayudarle?" "PUES OREN." *awkward head nod and half smile* Yeah, it's awkward.

Finally Presidente George showed up with his wife and the asistentes, and they gave her a blessing. When they finished the blessing she smiled, a tear fell, and she shut her eyes (they had been open but non responsive) and she started breathing better. About a half hour later, she woke up. This is a testimony to me that the power of the priesthood and prayer is real. The first time in the car, she started breathing, the second time with my prayer, again she started breathing and vomiting, and the 3rd time with president is when she started to wake up. 

When she woke up, she said, "What? Why did you take me here if I was sleeping peacefully on Hermano P's couch?" 

I laughed and said, "Seriously Hermana? You don't remember anything? You've been in a coma for 3 hours." 

She didn't remember a thing! The only thing she remembered is that someone called her by her full name, and she felt peace, like she had been alone but someone was with her. 

We still don't really know what happened. The doctor said it was a combination of dehydration, stress, and high blood pressure. But after 2 days resting in the mission home she's a lot better! Presidente and his wife left the next day so we had a party with the mission house all to ourselves! (which consisted of listening to the Piano Guys CD, sleeping, and reading Liahonas)

That night Hermana George and I went to buy more medicine and dinner while my comp was sleeping, so we bonded. And the next day when she was taking us back to our area, she said, "Do you mind if we stop by the mall? I need a shopping buddy." Haha and we went shopping with her! 

(The worst part is a left my camera in Hermano P's house in all the confusion, and I don't have evidence of any of this! BUT I PROMISE IT ALL HAPPENED).

But through all of this something amazing happened! This week, after all the coma fun..we went to visit one of our investigators who has all of the asistencias, her sons a member! Hermana J. just needs to get a testimony and be baptized! She actually came to visit us when we were leaving the Red Cross. She was so worried when she heard! So Hermana J. said to us, "Wow, I guess you're willing to almost die so I'll get baptized huh?"

We laughed and said, "But really, Hermana! We would do anything to see you take this path in your life. And yes...we would really be willing to give our lives for this cause. Not because we want to have success on our missions...not because we want another statistic...but because we have this happiness! We love you so much that we want you to have it. We've been baptized, and have eternal families, and we would do anything for you to have the same."

Then her son, Hermano S. was able to bear his testimony. He told his mom how much he wanted to have an eternal family. It was a super spiritual moment. Even Hermana J, who has been closed off from the beginning..was crying. We are going to have a noche de hogar with them today, watch the restauracion video and have her pray and ask God if it's true. Praying that all goes well! I know that with God's help...she will be baptized on Saturday!

Love you all!

Hermana Hansen

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