Caminando en Chiapas

Monday, June 15, 2015

Vi una Columna de Luz

This week was just full of Mexican adventures... from killing chickens to breaking into our own house... to teaching lessons on a sketchy roof watching the sunset as the druggies smoked weed a few floors down.

Ah, Chiapas. LO AMO.

Yep... I killed a chicken, then ate the chicken...during service for the Bishop's family. Unfortunately, due to nerves and lack of experience, I took like 15 seconds to kill the poor thing. It should only take like 3-5. But although it suffered, I repented by eating it with delicious mole, and promising to chicken souls everywhere that I will be braver next time and kill it fast.

My chicken..and delicious mole

We also left our keys in our house... twice...which made for a whole lot of awkward adventures. We called Hermanito M., one of the members kids from down the street, and ended up sliding him through the bars in the window (it's a miracle his head fit through). He then retrieved the keys I left on the fridge. This happened Wednesday and Sunday. The first time it was funny, but the second time it was just awkward. NO MORE LEAVING THE KEYS IN THE HOUSE.

Breaking and Entering

I think possibly my favorite part about being a missionary is sharing the first vision. The mission is really the ONLY time that I will be able to share it, in Joseph´s very own words. (well I mean I could after as well....but people might find it kind of weird if randomly VI UNA COLUMNA DE LUZ MAS BRILLANTE QUE EL SOL. Yeah... mejor no.)

Baptism day!

On intercambios, and with all of my companions, everyone does it differently. It's really beautiful to see how everyone shares it differently. I love it! But...some missionaries just rush through it like a memorized text and it's just like..WHAT NO! DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT IS IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND SACRED MOMENT IN THIS DISPENSACION THAT WE ARE SHARING?! Ughhhhh seriously stabs my heart every time.

This cute Hermana got her mission call!

One thing that I learned in the MTC that I never have forgotten, is how the investigator should feel when we share the first vision. And man, when we share it like the sacred experience that it was, the spirit is so strong you could take a brick to it and the atmosphere wouldn't break. It's always the most amazing experience. I enjoy every time I get to share it because I know that my time here is short.

I challenge you all to read the first vision, put yourself in Joseph's shoes, and let your testimony soar.

I love you all. I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ, restored through un joven humble enough to ask God in sincere prayer, and that we can all receive the same testimony through fervent and sincere prayer.

Hermana Hansen

If you've got a minute...watch Origin.. A beautiful message about

finding truth..thru inspiration and prayer.

En Espanol

Enjoy more pics from Hermana Hansen's week!

Feliz cumple Hermana Mec!!

Cake and a pizza party!

Newly shined shoes (6 pesos... no idea why I haven't done that before!)

Playing Basketball

Prepping the chickens for dinner

Monday, June 8, 2015

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

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

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