Making history in TEOPISCA

Our casita de oracion where we have church!!! It was just barely built...so it's brand new!

Welp! Here I am, writing from a little cyber in mi pueblito de Teopisca, freezing my butt off, and crying because this cyber is too slow to upload any photos..... So I guess I will have to describe Teopisca to all of you. (Maybe you can look up photos on google images. hahah....)

It's green... all of it. But its more of a Utah in June green than a Tapachula jungle green. There are little hobbit hills every where, flowers of every kind, beautiful skies, and every type of cute-weird farm animal you can think of. and CORN. There's freaking corn and beans EVERYWHERE. It's freezing. Indiginous women making the Chiapenecan shirts and skirts that they sell everywhere by hand casually on the side of the road. Everyone makes and grows their own stuff here. MOTOTAXIS!!

There are about 30 members in our little family group. We meet in a log house of prayer with an alumnimun roof, and we only have sacrament meeting. Although we are putting the pilas so we can have por lo menos 2 meetings. It's freezing. Usually only about 15-20 people come, but we had an attendence of a whopping 34 on Sunday, with 4 investigators!!! Everyone's friendly and believes in God. Just about everyone loves listening to us! But we will see if they like acting!! There hasn't been missionaries here for 4 years. The same loving family gave us lunch and dinner every single day last week!! It's freezing. The members are amazing here, and super fiel.

My companion is Hermana Arellano, indiginous from Ecuador, and she's the best 2nd child a girl could ask for. She speaks English and Kishwa fluently, and she is an AMAZING missionary. We are making history here in Teopisca, because we are the first sister missionaries... EVER!!!!! Woo!!!!

We are seeing miracles, getting lost, and just loving life. I love training again. I love being a missionary. I love my comp, and I have never loved anything more than TEOPISCA!!!!!!!!! Did I mention it's freezing?

Now,  just picture all of that in a giant photo.

Hermana Hansen

Traveling to Tuxtla

 Here are some pictures of Hermana Hansen's travels to Tuxtla Gutierrez last Monday.

Hermana Hansen and Elder Hunt got to travel in first class the first leg of the trip
(SLC to Atlanta)!

Hermana Hansen and her favorite MTC companion, Hermana Baker! These two were the only Hermanas traveling to Tuxtla...with bunches and bunches of Elders (I think like 20).

 Hermana Hansen wrote her testimony in a Book of Mormon and gave it to a gentleman she had been visiting with during their trip.

 So grateful these cute Hermanas had each other 
on this long trip to Tuxtla!!

Loading all these amazing missionaries luggage on top of the vans.

They have arrived! First few minutes on Mexican soil. Watch out Tuxtla!  
These Hermanas are coming for you!

 

Bienvenidos!!!!

 First glimpses of life in Tuxtla Gutierrez

Chiapas Unites Us!!

 

Arrival day included a trip to the Tuxtla Gutierrez temple

 

Hermana Hansen with President and Sister George!

  

Transfer time..... (at the mission home?)

 

 Goodbye for now to her fab MTC companion Hermana Baker

HOLA to her new official 'madre' in the mission, Hermana Martinez!

tuxtlllaaaaaaaa

Hola Familia!

Entonces.... apparatlement yo fue supposed a escribir ustedes cuando yo arrivar en mexico... pero yo no intendo eso!! LO SIENTO. Pero yo soy aqui! Mi compañera es Hna Martinez y ella es la mejor!!!!!!! Im in tuxtla gutierrez central. my pday is on monday! so ill talk to you then.... love you! bye!!

(Well.......apparently I was supposed to write you when I arrived in Mexico.... but I didn't understand this!!  I'M SORRY.  But I am here!  My companion is Hermana Martinez and she is the best!!!!!!.......)

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Note from parents:  We intentionally left her 'spanglish' exactly as she e-mailed (sic) -- so she will have a good laugh someday after her mission when she reads this.   Anyone who has served a foreign mission can relate to those first weeks when you're just learning the basics of the language and don't understand anything going on around you... and apparently she missed out on the instructions to let us know she had arrived :-)  ......and now having a Latin companion speaking Spanish 24/7 will be such a blessing in the long run.  We're so excited for her! (and not obsessed at all if you can't tell by the screens shots - ha ha)  Thanks to everyone who is sending prayers her way.



She landed safely in Tuxtla Gutierrez on Monday afternoon after spending about 18 hours in transit including layovers in Atlanta and Mexico City.  She arrived along with a total of 29 new missionaries (24 elders and 5 sisters).   She likely arrived to parades, fiestas and fireworks smack in the middle of the two day celebration of Independence Day in Mexico.

We were able to speak with her briefly at the Salt Lake and Atlanta airports while she was in transit.

We had purchased her a pre-paid calling card which ended up not getting used.  For some reason she couldn't get it to work from the pay-phone in Salt Lake so she finally deposited some coins and we were able to call her back at the pay-phone (yes, they still exist!).


In Atlanta the pay-phones were actually all out of service in the terminal she was in.  They are converting to a different type of phone where you can make 5 minute courtesy calls.  Some of the missionaries had 'throw-away' cell phones they used to call home while in transit.  But the calling cards we bought did not work as intended - so fortunately she was able to borrow her companion's 'throw-away' phone in Atlanta and we were still able to talk.

She sounded great and was excited to arrive in Mexico!