JAQUE

November 18, 2019

Feliz dia!!! 

"Jaque" is the spanish word for "check" when you're playing chess. I learned that this week because we had a ward game night this week and I beat my companion 3 times! I still got game even after having not played for 18 months ;). Here's my update of this roller coaster of a week: 

I'll start with the down part of my week... We had exchanges (you switch companions with one of your sister training leaders for a day). Our STLs are English speaking sisters and they came up and did exchanges in our area this past week. Let's just say... it wasn't the best exchange. We left the day feeling condescended and upset by some of the comments our STLs made. After they left we still had 2 more lessons to teach that night and we were all in a bad mood. We pulled up to our first lesson and just prayed for the spirit and that we could let go of our anger. Then we got out of the car and we all just hugged each other for like 5 minutes and cried hahaha. It was a good stress relief. The lesson went pretty well. 

The second lesson was even more amazing. BACKSTORY: There was a night last week that everything seemed to have fallen through and we had to re-evaluate our plans. I said a silent prayer and asked Heavenly Father where He wanted us to go. The name "Salvador" popped into my head. There was a guy we met named Salvador like over a month ago - it was a really fast interaction, he was working on his car and he said to come back later and we gave him a card. Anyways, that night we decided to go and knock on his door. We ended up meeting his wife, Laura. She was busy that night so we rescheduled. Ok so fast forward and we are at the appointment we set. We were mentally and emotionally exhausted, so we decided that we would share a really quick spiritual thought with her, get a return appointment, and go home and finish our studies for the last hour of the night because we were DONE! To our surprise, we stayed from 7:30PM-9:00PM because the lesson went SO WELL. She is a teacher at the Spanish Immersion school - born in Mexico but grew up in the US so she is fluent in both languages (still only talks to us in Spanish so we can practice which is nice). She went to college!!! She might be one of the very first people I've taught that's gone to college. She started out the conversation just by talking about Christ and how much He's helped her in her life. She told a story about a teacher in her school that was very condescending and rude to her - it made her feel really bad. But she then talked about how she knows that she is a daughter of God and she may have just been having a bad day and she was able to forgive her with the help of Christ. I literally started crying as she told the story and thanked her, because I seriously needed to hear that after having a bad day. I told her about the exchange and as I opened up I literally felt this healing power from the Holy Ghost came over me and my feelings of anger were just replaced with love. It was amazing. After we talked for awhile, she started asking about our church and our beliefs. We shared the Restoration with her, and her mind was blown!! She kept saying, "I've never heard this before!!!" Then she asked what happens after this life, so we taught the Plan of Salvation! She was just so blown away about how much of it made sense! The whole time we talked to her I was just thinking... this is a future relief society president. She was just so put together and loving and I just needed that lesson that night. I know that the Spirit truly guided us there. 

Ok this story will blow your mind... it blew mine. So earlier this week we had a super powerful lesson with Jose and Annette. We had a lesson about baptism and the spirit was soooo strong! She told us she knows the church and the Book of Mormon are true. She was still a bit hesitant and said she would pray about being baptized. During the lesson I had this impression that I needed to ask Jose if he wanted to meet with the bishop (he's a less active member). I wasn't really sure how to bring it up, but at the end of the lesson Jose actually brought it up to us! He was like, "I need some direction in my life, is there someone I can talk to?" We helped him set up an appointment for Saturday. Both him and Annette went to talk to the bishop, and about halfway through the interview, the bishop called to us and asked us to come in. Bishop says, "So... Annette just told me she wants to get baptized.... tomorrow." I was like... "TOMORROW!?!" I almost fell out of my seat. After gathering ourselves a little bit we realized it would probably be best to have the baptism next Saturday because we haven't taught her like any of the commandments yet and she needs to be interviewed first haha. She agreed!!! She told me she wants to get baptized before I leave!!! I was so shocked! Later, Jose told us that Annette had actually already decided that she wanted to get baptized a while ago but didn't know how to tell us. It truly was inspired that we helped them meet with Bishop!! So cool how the Spirit has been working lately!!! And I am so excited for her baptism. That is just like the cherry on top of my mission experience. I am so happy!!!

Last quick miracle. Last week we ran into this guy in a trailer park. We talked to him for a second and he said, "Me and my wife are actually trying to find a church!" We gave him our card, got his information, texted him and said we hoped to see him there, and HIS WHOLE FAMILY CAME! That never happens! It was so exciting.

I think this is my last email ever... Tengo que despedirme...!!!! I know this church is true and I am so thankful for the chance I have had to serve a mission. I used to have a lot of anxiety about going home and adjusting to normal life again. But lately I have realized that I don't have to be afraid. I love what it says in the new missionary handbook: "Prepare yourself now to continue your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ and as a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when you return home and as you fulfill your life’s mission." A full-time mission has just been a small step in my life mission. I will miss my mission and all the amazing experiences I've had. I will miss the amazing people and relationships I've created here (luckily we have technology so I can stay in touch). But luckily I know that this is only the beginning. I will be a missionary forever! 

Love you!
-Hermana Hansen 

1. Us eating pan from Boris when we got to see him!

2. A selfie with a cute family we are teaching. That's the little boy that gave me a giant hug after his prayer last week

3-5: This is us painting at a member's house for p-day today! \

6: Me after beating my companion in chess with Annette and Jose :) 

dos semanas más... !!!!

November 13, 2019

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!

It's been a great week and a half. Time has gone by way too rápido... I go home 2 weeks from today! The reason my P-day is today is because we went down to Omaha to go to the temple with all the departing missionaries, we ate lunch at President Ence's and had a testimony meeting! It doesn't feel real...! 

This week we saw a couple of special tender mercies. There was one day I was kind of in a bad mood, I felt liked we had been wasting time, we were super off schedule and I just wanted to keep moving. But of course when we finally left to go out and work we had to go get gas. I thought, "of course, yet another set back." But right as I thought that, I had another thought. "Go about doing good." That's my goal I set for the transfer. Just because we had to stop and get gas doesn't mean we are wasting time, I can just as well share the gospel here as anywhere else! So we went inside and I shared a pass-a-long card with the guy working up front. A couple hours we get a text and it's from none other than... Carey the gas station guy! We had a little conversation and we asked if he wanted to strengthen his relationship with Christ and he said yes!!! So even when nothing seems to be going as planned, just go about doing good anyway and there will be people around you that need you. There's a reason for every delay in life! We just need to open our eyes and watch the opportunities around us and God will present them to us. 

Lately it's been a struggle for us to find new people to teach. But our mission President promised us if we used the "YES list" (a document that helps us ask for referrals and work with members) we would find people to teach and people to baptize. My companion Hermana Phelps was so awesome and got us really excited about that promise so we got to work. We ended up finding 5 new people to teach!!! 3 of them in one day. There was one man that we taught and got a return appointment with who didn't seem particularly interested the first time. But we said we would come back the next day and teach his wife too! When we came back, he told us to come back later because his wife wasn't home yet. The day went on and we totally forgot about it. At almost the end of the night, I realized forgot we needed to go back!!! We were sure he wouldn't be interested based on our last visit but we decided to call him and just see if he answered. To our surprise he answered and told us to come over!!! We taught him and his wife, and turns out he had read a ton in the Book of Mormon since our visit the day before!!! We had an AMAZING lesson and they are so prepared. It taught me that we can never judge a person based off our first impression. 

Yesterday we were teaching this awesome lady from Guatemala named Miriam. At the end of the lesson, her 8 year old son Diego said he wanted to say the prayer. He said the most adORABLE prayer, and right before he said amen, he suddenly put his arms around me and just hug attacked me!!!! Then he says "aaaamen" and just doesn't let go for like a whole minute!!! It was the cutest moment of my whole mission. I'll forever cherish that moment. I felt this immense love for that little boy. I know God loves him so much.

I have absolutely loved my mission. I can't believe it comes to an end so soon. But I have had experiences that will last me a lifetime. I've seen the hand of God so many times in this short 18 month period, and I will cherish these memories forever. I'm thankful to know that even though in a few short weeks, even though I won't have the badge anymore, I will still be a disciple of Jesus Christ. That won't change.

I'll end with this quote a member sent us from Jeffrey R Holland. It helped me a lot as I've been a little nervous and stressed about what my future holds for me... I hope it helps you too.

"You are all a little anxious about your future, but I implore you not to be overly anxious. God has a plan for you, and the best thing you can do is trust Him and keep moving! If you will persevere throughout your life and be true to what you stand for, I promise you your future will unfold as God intended it. It will be very bright indeed." 

I love you all!! 

-Hermana Hansen

p.s. sorry I didn't get the chance to respond to anyone today! No time!! 

Pics:

1. The best shrine you ever did see (Roberto's)

2: Me bundled up for the snow

3: South Dakota sunsets

4-5: Jumping for joy to get to share the gospel in the snow :) 

6: ROBERTO SHOWED UP TO CHURCH IN A SUIT it was adorable so here's  a picture 

7-8: At the temple with the Ences/Hermana Iverson :) 

9: I got to see BORIS!!! Blessed  

Don't worry be happy. Hakuna Matata

November 4, 2019

Hola familia y amigos!!!

THIS WAS THE BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE. I know I've said that a lot but it gets better every time I say that. My subject comes from a hispanic member in our ward. He says it all the time. Read it in a Spanish accent and it will make you smile. Spoiler alert: ROBERTO GOT BAPTIZED! Best day ever. I'll talk a little bit about it later. Here are the highlights of my week:

We got blessed

We were knocking around this trailer park, and we saw one with Christmas lights so naturally we knocked it (sign that a hispanic lives there). This Hindu lady let us right in!!! She told us that it was the Diwali Festival that day (festival of lights). We talked a little about religion and Christianity and we gave her our card and pamphlet, but before she let us leave she said "I need to bless you!" She painted this beautiful sparkly mark in the middle of our foreheads and then fed us this DELICIOUS Indian food. We kept the "blessing" on our foreheads all day haha it was the best thing ever!! Oh, also the cute little hindu grandma gave us all $5!!! We truly were blessed haha. I love being a missionary because you get to see SO many cultures. And everyone is so nice!! She invited us to come back next year! Pictures attached! 

Zone Conference

We had Zone Conference this week and it was good for many reasons. It was my LAST ZONE CONFERENCE so that was a little sad. I got to bear my testimony as one of the missionaries that are leaving. It felt so good to bear my testimony because it made me realize that I really have given my all to my mission and I have been so happy throughout the past year and a half. I mean sometimes were harder than others, but through the hard times I was able to grasp onto the Atonement of Jesus Christ and He helped me grow and come out stronger every single time. Time has flown so fast. We also did a musical numbers with all the Hermanas present at Zone Conference and we sang in Spanish. Good day. We watched the new Light the World video about Christ's birth (it probably won't come out for all to see until December) but it was AMAZING it made me bawl my eyes out. It was really special to see a beautiful depiction of the wise men kneeling down and worshiping a baby. Not just any baby, the Savior of the World. Our Redeemer came here in the most humbling circumstances, so innocent and pure, to grow up and mature in the ways of Heavenly Father and learn that His eternal purpose and identity was to come and atone for the sins and sufferings of all mankind. I love and am so thankful for Jesus Christ in my life. I would be so lost and alone and so far gone without him. Think about where you would be without the Savior in your life and say a little prayer of gratitude for what He's done for you. And if you're not using His Atonement to your fullest capacity, start now. It's worth the repentance process, I promise. 

CHANGE

A huge theme I've seen this week is change. Roberto just keeps expressing to us day after day how much he has changed and how happy he is. Our other most progressing person, Annette, also expressed that to us this week. She is so sick with cancer and has so many complications. We taught her the plan of Salvation this week and asked what differences she's seen in her life since we started meeting with her/since she's been going to church. She told us that before she was so angry all the time, and now she is just so happy. It's because she is CHANGING! She is accepting the gospel and acting on pure faith. She smiles so much. She smiles despite her pain, despite the fact that her very close aunt just died, and despite the fact that she is very alone. She is happy because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Shouldn't we all be??

Bautismo!!

The night before Roberto's baptism we went over to teach him his very last lesson. We rolled up to his apartment at 8:00 and he was standing outside waiting for us. He then explained to us that his roommate invited his friends over so we couldn't go inside... and we'd have to have a lesson OUTSIDE in the FREEZING COLD. Literally 32 degrees and windy. But we did it. The things you do for the gospel man. Haha. Roberto's baptism went SO SMOOTHLY and he bore the sweetest testimony afterward. He talked about how the first time we met him he was smoking. He struggled with being an alcoholic and he's had a super rough past. But ever since we started working with him, he's given up all of these things. He allowed Christ to take off his metaphorical backpack and he feels free. This week he visited his friend that just got out of prison. He said his friend barely even recognized Roberto because he's changed so much!!! He got confirmed on Sunday and bore his testimony in Sacrament meeting. He was accepted with open arms into our little Spanish group and I am sooo happy I got to be part of his conversion (even though this is only the beginning)! 

Best chili judge you ever did see

To finish off the week we had a chili cook off for our ward party. They asked if we'd be the judges!!! I ate 17 different kinds of chili. Hahaha. Needless to say I see chili very differently now. Some of those things were NASTY but some were so delicious. That's all I am going to say about that haha.

Love you all!!! Just so you know my P-day will be on Wednesday next week so I won't be able to talk on Monday! <3

-Hermana Hansen 

Pictures:

1-2: Some silly little pictures we took at the church

3: Roberto's baptism

4-5: Zone Conference 

6-7: Diwali day festival!!! 

Aplauso para ti

October 28, 2019

Hola!

I could go on and on about the crazy things that happened this week... but I'll spare you the boring details and get right into the good stuff. 

The Drop Lesson

So we have been working with this guy from Guatemala named Edgar for about a month now. He is a SUPER awesome guy. He is so energetic and happy and he loves talking about the gospel. Particularly the bible. At first, we were really excited to teach him. During our first lesson he asked us about literally everything. We talked about tithing, the law of chastity, the word of wisdom, you name it. The next day he called us and asked if we could come back and teach him more! So we did! After the first couple lessons though, our outlook seemed to change. He refused to read the Book of Mormon, and our lessons changed from being centered on the restored gospel to him trying to teach us about the bible. He'd quiz us on scriptures and ask if we knew random stories and he'd go "preacher mode" and wouldn't let us get a word out. Whenever we'd get one of his questions right, he'd clap his hands and say "aplauso para ti!!!" (applause for you). He'd say things like "It embarasses me that 3 young girls are teaching me the gospel, when really I, a grown man, should be the one teaching you." He couldn't seem to get passed that. So, when he asked us to come back over, we decided to bring a friend, Brother Bechtold, from our church. Someone Edgar wouldn't belittle so much. He served his mission in Argentina, got a degree in Spanish, and now he's a doctor. As soon as we got inside, Edgar says something like, "Most people don't know anything about the history of their church. Do you know the history of yours?" Great question! We taught him the restoration and shared the first vision of Joseph Smith. The spirit was so strong during the first vision that it was almost tangible. I know he felt it. We think it scared him because he interrupts us and said, "Your faith exalts Joseph Smith! You worship him more than you worship God!"  The best part of the lesson is when he bluntly says, "When you guys come back, you are not allowed to talk about Joseph Smith ever again!" I could literally feel my fists curling but I held back my annoyance at his comments. Brother Bechtold calmly explains that Joseph Smith was a prophet, an instrument in God's hands, and he had the exact same authority as Moses, or Paul, or any of the other prophets in the bible! He was so patient with Edgar and that opened my eyes so much. We left the lesson and Brother Bechtold shook his hand and said, "Edgar, read the book. And pray. That's all we ask. Call us when you do." After the lesson I was still a little heated about how hard hearted Edgar was. But looking back, I learned so much about how Brother Bechtold reacted. Patiently, lovingly, and with simple testimony. That's the only way we'll get anywhere with difficult people like this. We have to act like the Savior acted and treat them with love, even if they don't seem to understand. 

Well, I hoped to share more about this week but that story was really long. But one awesome thing is ROBERTO PASSED HIS BAPTISM INTERVIEW!!!! He is getting baptized this Saturday! We are so excited and proud of all of his progress. Also, we had interviews with our President this week and this was my last one ever!!!! I can't believe it. He gave me a priesthood blessing afterward and it was really special. I'm so thankful for the special experiences and relationships I've created on my mission. I will never be the same because of them.

This week we also had an AMAZING Stake Conference with Lynn G Robbins from the 70. It was so special. My favorite part was when he talked about resilience. He talked about how more and more youth in this generation lack resilience and tend to give up when life gets too hard and overwhelming. He mentioned that to become more resilient we have to go through hard things. We have to fall and fail and be lost. Hard times and trials give us the opportunity to use Christ's Atonement to become better and stronger. We can't always resort to taking the "easy way out." We'll never learn or become stronger if we don't face opposition and make mistakes sometimes. I'm so thankful for Christ and His Atonement because through Him, I can try again EVERY day, despite my failures the day before.

Love you all!!! <3

-Hermana Hansen

Pictures: Apparently we literally took none this week. So here's a picture of the pumpkin I carved last P-day haha  

Las superpoderosas

Oct 21, 2019

Hola familia y amigos!

El tiempo se mueve muy rapido y no me gusta! I've really been enjoying fall in Sioux Falls and I am trying to soak in every single precious moment of my mission before it spirals to an end in about a month from now... I love being a missionary so much. I love waking up and knowing exactly what my purpose is and feeling productive. I love setting out for the day with our eyes wide open on every street we turn onto... looking for every possible sign of a house that contains Spanish speakers... I love laughing the night away with my companions. I love studying the scriptures and learning more and more about my Savior's love for me. I love helping people progress in the beauty of this gospel... the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Part of me never wants to leave this wonderful adventure that I'm on. But I'm realizing that a lot of the wonderful parts of being a missionary can stay with me and can become part of me for the rest of my life. I'm grateful for that.

A few highlights:

-This week we were on the "hunt" as we call it. It's not as bad as it sounds. We often drive or walk around and write down every house that we find that has any kind of hispanic vibe. (Often times they have Christmas lights up, kid toys on the lawn, a grill--for carne asada of course, and they often have a snow shovel or broom on their porch by their door, no importa the weather). I hope none of you think that we are creepy or racist for noticing these kinds of things. But the longer you've been a Spanish speaking missionary in an English speaking world, you start to notice them. We drove past a house that had a few of the "signs" and my companion yells out "I saw a guy in the window we have to go knock that door!" The cutest little cowboy from Mexico lets us in and tells us that he used to attend the "Mormon church" in Mexico for 3 YEARS!!!! He never got baptized but took like all the lessons! He was so open to learning the gospel again and even said he wants to come to church! Milagros.

-Annette is also progressing so much. She is very sick with cancer but all she wants to do is learn more about the church and understand God's love for her. She came to the relief society activity and our ward game night this week and to church, despite how she was feeling inside. She is progressing so well, please pray for her health!! 

-This week we also found a lady named Maria. She invites us in, introduces us to her guinea pigs, invites us to sit down, and then the first thing she asks is, "Do you guys do baptisms in your church?" "Yes!" we say. "Que bueno. I've been trying to find a church for my daughters to get baptized in and I haven't found any I've liked. Can they get baptized in your church?" Ummm YES!!! Haha. We are going to start teaching them this week and hopefully they will come to church. And hopefully her heart will be softened and she'll want to become a member too :)

-ROBERTO IS ON FIRE EVERYONE!!!! His baptism interview is tomorrow, and we hadn't finished all the lessons yet and we were getting nervous because he still had a couple "big ones" we had to cover. We planned a lesson that included the 10 commandments, the Godhead, keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and the law of chastity. We thought we were gonna be there for like 3 hours cuz he talks a lot but surprisingly it only took an hour and he took it all very well! My eyes were very opened because I realized that the "big lessons" that we teach people, like the word of wisdom, chastity, and tithing, aren't really that "big" when the person is truly converted. Roberto knows the gospel is true, and because of that, he is willing to do give up anything and change. It made me reflect on myself. Am I truly converted? If Christ asked me to give up something that was important to me, would I do it? Think about it.

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from General Conference from Elder Christofferson: "I believe that the ultimate “joy of the saints” comes in knowing that the Savior pleads their cause, and no one can conceive of the joy which will fill our souls as we hear Jesus pray for us unto the Father." Think about that too.

Los quiero! 

Con amor, Hermana Hansen 

P.S. My subject comes from a member from Columbia that always calls us the "superpoderosas." That's what they call the powerpuff girls in Spanish hahaha. 

Pictures:

-A beautiful Sioux Falls fall view with some hot air balloons 

-Us and Roberto

-Us and Annette and Jose and our ward mission leader Matt at game night

-A sick picture of Roberto I stole off his Facebook

Who let the dogs out?

October 14, 2019

Buenas tardes!!!! 

THIS WEEK WAS FUEGO. The first big news is I am in another TRIO!!!! Our new companion is also named Hermana Hansen. She is from Seattle, Washington and she has been out about 6 months. She's super fun and smart and great at spanish, she adds a lot to this companionship!!!! A huge perk about being in a trio is that normally we can't go inside to a single man's house unless we have another woman with us. But with 3, you can go inside ANYWHERE. We feel invincible. It's been so nice, especially with the cold weather we're getting. It snowed for 2 days straight this week! 

I'll share a few funny/epic fail experiences we had this week: 

One night we were knocking doors in this apartment complex, and this lady answers the door, swears at us and yells at us to go away, and then opens the door up as wide as she possibly can just to get a big windup to SLAM it right in our faces. It gets better though... we went to go knock the next door and the walls are thin so she could hear us knocking, so she continues to YELL at us at the top of her lungs, through her door, every swearword you could possibly imagine. "GET OUT OF THIS #@#$ APARTMENT! NO ONE #@#$$ WANTS YOUR $#$@$#!!!!" You get the picture. We ran out of the apartment laughing hysterically. It's those moments where that is the only thing you can do. Ahh... so entertaining. Gotta love being a missionary. 

On Tuesday we went to go help a member move into their new house. She asked if we could carry her clothes downstairs and put them all on the top rack of her closet. I think she had more clothes than she anticipated... The plastic support holding up the pole in the closet SNAPPED and all of the clothes fell. It was so embarrassing and we felt so bad. But yet again, we found ourselves laughing hysterically. Hahaha. All that work for nothing.

On another rainy/snow day this week we went to go visit a referral that the elders sent us. They were a Hispanic family and they couldn't communicate with them so we went and knocked their door. A teenage kid opens the door and then watches in horror as his gigantic dog escapes outside and runs out the fence that we foolishly forgot to close..."OTRA VEZ?" He says ("again?"). We felt so bad that we stupidly volunteer to run after it and bring it back. So we continue to chase this GIANT and very fast dog all throughout this giant neighborhood... We realizing that it had no collar or leash and it probably the size of one of us. So we eventually gave up, and made the walk of shame back to the house and told them we couldn't find their dog. Later that evening we saw the elders that referred them to us, and we tell them about our experience, and they say, "YOU LET THE DOG OUT TOO???" and bust up laughing. Whoops... Hopefully they let us come back to teach them. We'll close the fence next time. Hahaha. 

This week we were tracting in this trailer park and this Hispanic guy opens the door and he's literally wearing a Utah hat. Like the Utes. I was like "you've been to Utah???" And he's like "What's Utah?" And I was like "uhhh... your hat says Utah!" And he was like "Oh yeah no I just found it at the store so I bought it." Hahahah. Classic.

Okay sorry I know this email is already super long. But just 2 more cool experiences. This week one on of the freezing cold days we decided to contact some less active members that we wanted to meet. We emailed/called/texted/messaged on Facebook. It was like the most successful hour of my life! Pretty much everyone responded, many had moved, and the ones that had moved told us that they've been wanting to get back in contact with the church!! One of them literally said, "Can you help me?" Ummm YES!!! We sent missionaries to like 3 of them! It was so awesome! So much more successful than if we went out and knocked on their doors. Technology works people! It was given to us to spread the gospel! Use it! 

This week we had some awesome lessons with Roberto. We had to push back his baptismal date to November because he still has to overcome some Word of Wisdom issues. But he is sooo determined and even got a priesthood blessing when he came to church this week. It was one of the most spiritual experiences ever. After the blessing he just thanked everyone for helping him and motivating him on this journey he's on to get baptized and change his life. Later he texted us saying how happy and special that blessing made him feel. The Holy Spirit is so real and so strong!!! I love being a missionary and being able to be part of these awesome changes people are making in their lives... please keep praying for Roberto! 

Love you all!!! Thanks for all your support! <3

-Hermana Hansen 

Pictures:

Not sure what order this will send in. But: 

1. Breaking the pole in the closet...

2. Celebrating my birthday again with Sister Homer (mission birthdays are the best because you celebrate it like 5 times)

3. Me in the SNOW!!!
4-7: Us at the pumpkin patch 

2 bags of popcorn per week

October 7, 2019

Hola familia y amigos! 

Thanks for all the happy birthdays! It was a great day and there was no better way to celebrate than watching conference!! 

This week was FULL I mean FULL haha. We had Zone Conference in Omaha which occupied like a day and a half including driving and spending the night, and then 10 hours of General Conference. So basically it involved a lot of sitting and being spiritually edified. All good things! Haha. So we had a BIG change announced at Zone Conference... you know all those rumors you've heard about missionaries in the U.S. that can't eat with members anymore? Yep. The dreaded day arrived and they are implementing that rule in our mission....!!! Hahaha. But there are some exceptions. We can eat with members if they invite a non-member or less-active member, or if it is at 4:00 on Saturday or Sunday. And unless those things are the case, we eat alone at 4:00 every day. It's all with the purpose of us being out proselyting from 5:00 - 8:00 which are hours that people are normally at home! At first everyone was a little upset when our mission president announced the change. Then I felt like everyone calmed down and we actually all felt the Spirit. It was just a calm feeling, helping us realize that this will be a good thing. It will help us be more effective, and it will hopefully get the members excited to be more involved in the work, and we'll be able to find those who are prepared to receive this important message!!!! And if worst things comes to worst, they gave us all crock pots so we'll have to learn how to cook for ourselves hahaha.

We had a really spiritual lesson this week with Annette and Jose. Jose has been a member for several years but has fallen inactive, and Annette isn't a member. It's been a little hard to find our swing in teaching them because she's a native english speaker and he only speaks Spanish, so it's been very spanglish-y. We read Alma 36 with them in the Book of Mormon with them and neither of them understood a single thing. We broke it down for them in very simple terms, but they still didn't understand. Finally, in English, we asked something like, "Annette, do you know what it means when we say that Christ suffered for your sins?" "No," she said. In that moment we instantly realized that she has basically no knowledge about God or our Savior. I mean, why would she? She didn't grow up religious. We took it from square 0 and testified about Christ's mission and His Atonement. We told her that He suffered and died for her. He knows her pain and sorrows. And He is the only way we can make it back to Heavenly Father again. The spirit was so strong. I haven't had many times I've gotten to teach in English on my mission, and hearing those words in my native tongue touched my spirit and it was re-affirmed to me that those things are true. It is so special to be able to teach someone who has never heard those words before and to invite the Spirit into a person's life who hasn't been able to recognize it before. Jesus Christ knows us. He loves us. 

A few things that stuck out to me during conference were how they kept telling us to put away worldly distractions. I heard so many warnings about Satan and his tactics. I heard that we need to keep our covenants and that there is a need to access God's power more than ever before in our lives. I heard that we need to become true disciples of Jesus Christ. I heard that we need to repent and become holier. All these things led with a promise of happiness and joy... All we have to do is make the changes and we can be happy! I testify that that is true. 

This week for my birthday I got a 12 pack box of popcorn. I was so happy until I realized that... if I want to finish all this popcorn before the end of my mission... I basically need to eat 2 bags a week. It then hit me how little time I have left on my mission... It was a very bitter sweet moment. The popcorn won't be a problem though. It will probably be gone next week let's be real. 

Love you all!!! 

<3 Hermana Hansen