THE FISH! SAVE THE FISH!

 OK I know I say this every week.... but this was a week of miracles!!! Ya, I know I'm sure you are all sick of miracles by now. So I'll start out with swimming.

This week we went swimming in the river! Well... not really. What happened...is due to weird hurricane trends it rained even more than it usually does. So, the river rose and flooded a lot of houses in our area. We just happened to be eating this day...right next to the river. It started pouring right as we were finishing up, which, we would normally just say NI MODOS and leave in it. 

But, something told us to stay and wait a bit. SO we used this opportunity to help out the Hermana with some family history. Suddenly, her mom comes running in screaming, "SAVE THE CHICKENS! SAVE THE CHICKENS! THE RIVER´S RISING!" We looked outside to see the river was indeed rising, and very quickly. So we helped move the chickens (well... Hermana Baker did.. I'm still scarred from when I killed a chicken a while ago and can't touch them really...) 

Then everyone just kind of stood around taking videos and pictures. I asked everyone, "Are you sure it's not gonna flood the house? It's pretty close." 

But everyone said, "No, don't worry. It always rises a little bit, and usually floods the street. But, in our 35 years living here it's never flooded the house." 

Bueno. So everyone just stood around taking pictures for a while. Then suddenly we hear, "THE RABBITS! SAVE THE RABBITS!!" We had neglected to see the river was flooding in the back of the patio, and was about to drown the rabbits! 

Everything went really fast after that.... a bunch of screaming, "THE DOGS! SAVE THE DOGS!" and "THE CHICKENS!" and "THE PARROTS!" and "WHERE ARE THE KIDS" and "THE MATTRESS!! SAVE THE MATTRESS" and "THE PLANTS!" 

Perhaps the weirdest of all, was when the river started going down people started screaming, "THE FISH! SAVE THE FISH!!" 

Here are a bunch of houses filled with water and damaged, but almost everyone on the street was outside looking for the little fish that had been left behind, to throw them back in the river! Hermana Baker and I were laughing so hard.... like Ron Weasley would say, "Where are your priorities??" 

But it was such a good thing we stayed. We were able to help out quite a lot, and there might have been more damage or some dead animals if we would have left right after we were done eating like we had planned.

Another fun thing that happened is we went to Izapa with our cookie family, Hermano E, and Hermanas Y and D!!!! We saw the rock of the tree of life... but it was kind of lame because its been badly taken care of... so you couldn't really see it... We also climbed a pyramid that looked just like a hill...it hasn't been completely uncovered yet...and some random pyramids that were pretty cool. Also we wore pants and did some long needed head stands. Long story short, it was a blast. 

 

AND for the miracles. Hermanas D AND J GOT BAPTIZED!!!! I've talked about their conversion stories in past letters, but it was amazing! Hermana D got baptised in the morning, then we rushed off to Tuxtla Chico for a rescate. We came back just in time for Hermana J's baptism! 

In Hermana D´s baptism, her mom came down from Comitan and spoke. Hermana Y. spoke as well, and it was just a beautiful, spiritual experience because she is the last of the family to get baptized! 

In Hermana J's baptism, when she was sharing her testimony, she said, "I bet a lot of you think I got baptised for my boyfriend. BUT NO. I did this for ME, and for GOD, because I know this church is true!!" ESOOOOO.

Love this lifffeeeee.

Hermana Hansen

Nos vemos en la selva

I've been dreading writing this letter all day because I just have so much I need to say and so little time and IT'S STRESSFUL! OKAY! I'M PANICKING.

Well goodbye to the city... cuz I'm headed to the jungle. 

Kidding I have no idea how much of a jungle it is...but it's on the border of Guatemala so you never know. I'm headed to Tapachula, Bonanza...my trainers old area...and with my big sister, Hermana Ortega! We are just following in our mother's footsteps haha. It's pretty cool cuz we get to be capacitadores together!! :) Let's just say..... HACE BASTANTE CALOR (it's very hot) and it's rainy season. I'm praying there's a few more mango piñas up there.

My big sister in the mission.. and my new comp!!! Hermana Ortega 

(we didn't even know we were going to be comps when we took the pic!! haha)

So it's kind of weird cuz I wasn't really expecting a change...and I haven't even been saying goodbye to any of our investigators or members. So today should be...interesting. 

I will miss this area. The ward is amazing, and I love the people here. I'm also gonna miss my comp a bunch. It's gonna be hard to say goodbye, but I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for me in Tapachula. 

This is a weird cambio because my mom (Hermana Martinez) goes home this week! That makes me sad and feel old. Also Hermana Hickman and Hermana Humphrey go home....the celebrity bloggers that I read before I came on the mish! So it's like an end of an epoca...and on with the next. Weird. I will miss them! They are all amazing missionaries.

 The best Zone Leaders!

Presidente is also closing a lot of areas because there is only one Elder coming in this transfer. Yep, ONE. And a bunch of Hermanas and Elders leaving. SO HERMANAS GET ON YOUR GAME AND SEND IN YOUR PAPERS SO YOU CAN GET CALLED TO CHIAPAS CUZ WE NEED YOU!!!!! The mission is shrinking pues!! 

So this week was USA's Independence Day and literally the best 4th of July I have ever had...weird because I wasn't even in the US. There weren't any fireworks or BBQ's...but we had two miracle baptisms. Really something we have been working for this whole cambio. Hermana J. and Hermanito P were baptized by their son and brother, Hermano S. 

 Best day of my life!

Hermano S has been a member for about 10 years. He got baptized when he was about 9 and is now preparing for a mission. Countless missionaries have passed through trying to teach his mom, but she never wanted to listen. Actually it seems like all the missionaries were scared of her (we were as well...but we didn't tell her). But poco un poco, she made a HUGE change.

Really it all started when we did service and made mole with her. Remember that story from a few weeks back? Yep, that's Hermana J. Poco un poco she started opening up to us, and we started to see her for who she really is. Instead of the Hermano S's scary mom who didn't want anything to do with the church...we saw her as a brave, strong woman. A single mom who has suffered a lot, but who wants nothing more than a good life for her kids...and to live with them for eternity. 

 

We knew she was really getting converted when she told us, "I don't care what the neighbors think, or who sees me enter that church. If God tells me to get baptized there, you better believe I will do it." 

And so she did. 

Honestly, I think a huge factor was the scary hospital incident last week with my companion. Hermana J. came running to the hospital in tears when she heard what happened. I think the incident really made her think about what is important in life, and that's what helped her make the decision to be baptized. 

  
I love her and her family so much. 

Voy a extrañar mis niños :( 

After 10 years of trying, it just took the right amount of love, service, and patience to get to her heart. I know Hermana Guarcax and I were here exactly for her, for this reason, to be used as instruments in God's hands and finally help her to the water's of baptism. 

Man, it's gonna be hard to leave them.

More than anything what I have learned from this experience is the gospel changes lives. It doesn't matter who you are or what the situation is, the cure for everything is applying the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to our lives.

Farewell Hermana Guarcax and Tuxtla Pimienta

Love you all.

Nos vemos en la selva (see you in the jungle).

Hermana Hansen

 

Last time wearing this dress cuz I gave it to Hermana J for her baptism present

Pizza on intercambios

 Zone conference!

 Called to serve in...Chiauaua!!!

Lice is the secret to beautiful, healthy hair (TMI?)

So, the only big news I have this week is that I had lice. Not just like, your normal, I live in Mexico and so I'm bound to get one or two kinds of lice. But like.....80 of them. I mean, I´ve been lice free for 20 years. Guess I was bound to get it sometime.

What's super awkward...is that I had so much lice it took us about 3 days to clean it all out. So on my second lice-hair filled day, I went out to work. For some reason like 10 people commented on how shiny and good my hair looked. I guess a little lice is the beauty secret to healthy looking hair....... HA NOT. Ew. So gross. I still have phantom itches. Luckily my comps the bomb and is a pro lice killer.

Well, miracles happened this week. We found 2 new investigators. They are so ready to get baptized that they are practically jumping in the font as we speak.... haha.

One is a reference from the bishop, his niece! We´ve been really trying to gain the confidence of the bishop and his family lately. So we went to their house to do a little service. His niece was sitting there with her baby. I've seen her in church a few times. So we starting talking to her. 

When we asked how long she's been a member, she said, "Oh, I'm not yet. But I've actually been thinking about it a lot and I would love to get baptized." 

 

UM WAT. We´ve had a super escogido investigator sitting right under our noses all this time and we didn't even realize it!!! We looked at the bishops wife, like, "What the heck? Why didn't you give us this reference forever ago?" And then she whispered to us, "It's that she just barely moved in your area and I really wanted you guys to teach her!!" It really goes to show that we are gaining the trust of the bishops family!!! A little service can go a long way...

We also received a reference from the Hermanas de barrio Palmas in our zone. It's the girlfriend of one of their members. She had been going to their ward, but came with us on Sunday. We talked to her, and she also wants to get baptized as soon as possible.

She told us, "I just really think its important that we can preach the word of Christ to everyone. That we can help everyone come to church to change their lives for the better." 

Wow..... yeah future missionary right there. 

 
And for the last miracle...God protects His missionaries. We have an investigator on the 3rd floor of a building. On the 2nd floor, just around some sketchy cement stairs..there is this devil dog that tries to attack us every time we pass. Usually its chain is too short to do us any harm. But these last couple of times the chain has been longer and this freaking dog has jumped the barrier and almost killed us. Well... bit us. 

 

So I was on intercambios with Hermana Zamora, who has an injured  foot and can't do stairs very well. It was time to come down the stairs. We had to go super slow for her foot, and the whole time I was praying that this dog wouldn't hear us and come out and attack us. 

Literally as soon as we get out of the kill zone, this dog comes out of nowhere and almost takes of the ear of the member we were with. Seriously, a miracle, because usually it comes out right when we are in the middle of the stairs. We can run from it, but Hermana Zamora can't. MILAGROS.

Needless to say, I've taken out that weird dog repeller mom sent me that I haven't used at all since I've gotten here...but we used it on the dumb dog and it seemed to work!! woohOo!! 

 I'm loving the mission, the pozol, being a sister training leader, my companion, Spanish, my investigators...and just love helping them really change their lives.

Being a representative of Christ is literally the best. 

LES AMO UN CHORRO. 

Hermana Hansen

Tuxtla Pimienta...Birthday Edition

The Birthday Girl...at Cañon de Sumidero

FELIZ Cumpleaños A MI.

Yes, I'm 20 today. But I don't like to talk about that because I feel super old. For my birthday surprise, I got an infected ingrown toenail (TMI?).  But that's the mission life for ya. I just keep trekkin on in my crocs. 

Also, today we went to the Cañon de Sumidero with the YSA (young single adults) from my ward and it was super chido. Blessings of a birthday on P-day!! 

 At Cañon de Sumidero with her YSA ward birthday posse

This week was a week of SERVICE SERVICE AND MORE SERVICE. But, not your normal service.... weird service opportunities like making bolis for the primary activity, making and selling mole, and helping a truck driver during the rainstorm..get unstuck. We've been praying for more service opportunities, and apparently it worked.

We made Bolis for the Primary Activity..."Day as a Missionary"!

With Hermana J, we've been trying to figure out how we can better gain her confidence so she can come to church and bring her son, Hermanito P. We asked her if we could do anything to help her, and she jokingly said to help her make mole. We told her we would be happy to, and we actually wanted to learn how anyways.

Making Mole

She also didn't want to read the Book of Mormon, so we made a deal with her that if we found 7 people to sell mole to, and helped her make it, then she would start reading the Book of Mormon. We put a date, and wrote it down in our agendas, all set.

 Making Mole

 So we went to her house on Friday, at 10 am like planned, and called her name up the stairwell. She stumbled out (obviously just woken up) and said, "What? I didn't think you guys would actually come!" 

We responded, "Of course, Hermana!" 

She said, "And you have 7 orders?" 

We said, "Claro Hermana como crea?!" (little did she know we had been frantically calling everyone we knew an hour before asking if they wanted to buy her freaking mole haha).  

 She told us that she hadn't even bought the stuff.  

So I said, "Bueno! Let's go to the market!" 

 

Making Mole like a boss

So, we went to the market with her, came back, and she taught us how to make mole! We made it in about an hour and a half. She told us alone it usually takes her 3 hours or more!! Then we went walking from east to west, bringing all the mole to her clients all over the area!! We had an awesome time, laughing with her and really just becoming her friend!

So, the next day we stop by..and she's ironing her sons clothes for church the next day. She says, "I'm not gonna be able to make it tomorrow. But, I'm gonna send my son. Will you guys watch out for him?" 

 We just blinked at her like uhhhh yeah sure!

YES! MIRACLES HAPPEN BECAUSE OF SERVICE! 

We also were able to help this kid who got stuck in the rainstorm. We ditched our umbrellas and bags on the side of the road and went with a member. We couldn't do too much since we were in skirts. But, we ended up getting in the truck bed and jumped around a bit giving it leverage so he was able to pull out! 

The kid was so grateful. Everyone was passing by, but nobody was helping him. He tried to offer us like 15$. But we just said, "No way man, the way you can repay us is by going to that church down the street Sunday at 10!" Haha 

LES AMO UN BUEN 
Hermana Hansen

Enjoy more photos of Hermana Hansen's week

 Bolis!

  At Cañon de Sumidero with her YSA ward birthday posse

 

 

Primary Activity: I can be a missionary too!

A day in the mission with the primary!

 Being Missionaries!

 

 Hermana C (one of our investigators)...teaches Hermanas how to crochet.

Display of Hermana C's creativity