Happy Birthday McKay!

Thank you everyone so much for the birthday wishes!  I had an awesome birthday.

But I'll start by telling you about the week.  We had a pretty tough and all at once amazing week.  On Tuesday, we randomly stumbled upon a man while knocking doors who had taken all the missionary lessons and had wanted to be baptized some years ago.  His name is Alejandro Cena.  All that's holding him back is a problem with the Word of Wisdom, and then he'll be set and ready to go!  In addition, we've had some awesome charlas (literally translates to be "chats" but I'm pretty sure they're called lessons in English haha) with several other men during the last few days!  The Lord is definitely preparing men to fill the vacancies in Priesthood positions here in the little Varela branch.

Rather less fortunately, no one came to the activity we threw this week!  Not even the few faithful grandmothers and their hyperactive grandkids that usually come!  So there we were, left to eat an entire cake we had made for the event all by ourselves... Life is hard :)

So, this Sunday--my birthday-- not just one, but two brethren came to help us operate the affair of Church meetings!  It was a miracle.  We spent that day visiting some sweet old ladies who are bedridden or otherwise unable to come to church to partake of the Sacrament, singing them the special musical number (a duet of "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy") that Elder Barber and I had been practicing all week.  It was awesome.  When I woke up to another dismal, drizzly day of rain I was convinced I'd be grumpy for the lot of it, but things just kept going my way, and I resigned myself to the happiness that is inevitable in the service of the Lord :)  It was a great reminder to me of what Christ offers us: Whether for our actions or our attitudes, the Gospel gives us a chance to choose to change.  Take the chance!  Make the choice!  The change that will follow is undeniably, completely worth your every effort.

I love you all!  I don't have too much time to write because of all the birthday letters I was reading, but that's a good thing too :)

¡Que pasen bien!  Ciao ciao,

Elder Hansen

P.S.: That picture is of the bridge over the River Olimar near 33.  Really pretty.  Not quite so pretty when the picture taken of it is from a moving bus on a bumpy bridge... sorry!

P.P.S.:Yes, for those of you who were wondering (especially my little brother Zach), I did get a birthday cake!  It is a coconut banana muffin with dulce de leche frosting and a chocolate peanut topping--  ¡Que rica!  Plus patriotic red, white, and blue candles to boot.  Woot!

Week TEN!

Dear folks,

Well, Varela saw a beautiful chance of luck with the weather these last few days, but it was another rough week spiritually.

Do you want the bad news first, or the good news?  :)

It has been bright and sunny, or else cool and foggy, for almost two weeks!  That has been most exciting.  No need for a sweater at night, et cetera.  Furthermore, Elder Barber and I are getting along just great.  He is very passionate about dragons, muffins, and conservatism, so we're usually enjoying ourselves in at least 2/3 of our conversations... Haha.

Unfortunately, though, the work has been a little stagnant of late.  Our only really progressing investigator, Luz, asked us nicely to stop coming by to teach her, since she said she'd never agree with us about living prophets.  That was hard, and it means we're kind of starting from scratch again--but then, I've spent much of my time here doing that!  So all should be well.

The other tough thing was our church attendance--just six old sisters and us missionaries!  With the stake president's permission, we ran the branch this Sunday.  I hope it is the only time in my life that I have to direct music, conduct Sacrament meeting (and write an agenda for it!), offer prayers, give a talk, and bless and pass the Sacrament in the same three-hour bloc!  Not that I dislike any of those things, of course, but I prefer them in carefully measured quantities...
We're working hard though, and muffins are keeping our spirits up! (literally "raising" them for those select few out there in the audience who enjoy baking puns)  Cinnamon apple, chocolate coconut, brown sugar banana--you name it, we'll make it.  Elder Barber has opened up my mind to a glorious future of possibilities.

We have fasted several times while serving here, and it's really strengthened my testimony of the power of sacrifice--we give up just a little bit for God and He gives us so much in return.  The same principle applies for the ten percent we pay of our income and the little bit of my life I'm giving to the Lord serving here; it's really no sacrifice at all, because the blessings I have received for being here are already of far greater value than anything I've given up to be here.  And as with all sacrifices, like the Great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the end result will always be well worth our meager efforts to reach them.

I love you all!  Stay strong in the faith and you will find the richest of treasures in your lives,

Elder Hansen

Week Nine.

Hey all!

So this week has been a bit hectic.  My (first) trainer, Elder Griffin, took off for the United States--no worries, he served his two years :), and so I have a new companion!  His name is Elder Barber, from Spanish Fork, Utah.  Pictures will be sent.  But,  like me, he is a nerdy reader, except he's been serving for about a year.  Fun guy.  I think we'll get along.

Anyway, the other things that have made this week stressful is that the branch president was unexpectedly released this Sunday and we don't know whom we'll be working with in the weeks to come.  In addition, a little contention in the relief society (so, essentially the entire branch since it's mostly made up of grown women) brought about our lowest turnout yet to Sacrament Meeting.  It's really humbling--and, I'm sure, frightening for Elder Barber, new as he is to Varela--to see how few strong Church members we have to draw upon here, our very small pool of investigators, and a lot of the rejection we're facing even from otherwise incredibly friendly people.  But we are confident that the Lord has put us here for a reason, and that we will accomplish the good He sent us here to do as we obediently follow the promptings of the Spirit.

Along those lines, there was a really neat scripture shared in the last district meeting we had that I felt really applied well to our situation--it was Christ speaking of how some are sent to sow seeds and others are sent to reap the harvest, even if someone else did much of the work beforehand to get the harvest ready.  It helped me feel confident that "we are sowing, ever sowing" seeds of good in the world, and that no word spoken that inviteth to come unto Christ is wasted, as it always serves to nourish the faith growing within those we teach and speak with.  "For every thing there is a season, and a time appointed"--right now might be a time to try our faith, but the blessings will come and are, if we look for them, in fact already coming into our lives for our diligent, enduring service.

So, the work continues!  Lots of knocked doors and four tired legs later (that's two haunches apiece, for those of you worried I was talking about just myself instead of my companion and me), we have yet to find new investigators since a couple of weeks ago.  Most of those we found in the past have by now lost interest or asked us not to come by anymore.  It's so hard to even find people a second time after a good lesson or talk with them, since most of the men here work out in the fields for weeks at a time, let alone bring strong Priesthood holders into the branch like we need...  But the Lord has all power.  It will be done in His own good time if that is His will.

I love you all so much!  Heavenly Father does too--even more, believe it or not.  Thank you for your support--I've received several letters and will hopefully have responses in the mail by the end of the day.

Cordially yours,

--Elder Hansen

Week Eight.

Well this week was great.  We went to the enormous stake center (it makes chapels at home look tiny!) in nearby Thirty Three (that's a city, literally named "treinta y tres," the number 33) and watched General Conference--all five sessions, in English!!  It was an incredible experience.  I was really touched by all of the messages.  Elder Holland's, as per usual, was a favorite, reminding me of the importance of declaring the little I do know and the testimony I do have instead of focusing on weaknesses.  I have such a testimony of the power of testimony in teaching.

We have an investigator here in Varela who's showing lots of promise--her name is Luz.  She has good questions, and feels good about what we're teaching her.  She understands really well everything that we've taught.  Unfortunately, she has a problem with her legs that make it almost impossible for her to get to church, and she doesn't always have the money to pay for a taxi to take her there.  But we're hoping and praying on her behalf and know we'll see miracles.

I keep thinking I've seen a real Guayan rainstorm until I get surprised by something bigger.  :)  They strike with stealth at inopportune times...

Well I'm a bit behind so I'll have to say goodbye!  I know that the prophets and apostles are men called and chosen of God, and that if we follow their counsel, we will not be led astray.  How comforting that understanding is to each of us.

I love you all,

--Elder Hansen

Week Seven.

Hey everyone!

This last week has been awesome.  On Friday, we went to the mission home in Montevideo (which made for a long day, with a four hour bus ride each way) to have a conference with all of the trainers and missionaries being trained!  I don't remember if I mentioned, but the new, inexperienced missionaries like me are called "oros" ("golds") in our mission, because of their bright faith or potential value or something.  Or how much they weigh down their trainers maybe haha.  But anyway President Armstrong was there and gave everyone some time to share the best things and the hard things about the missionary effort thus far.  It was a really neat experience.  And what's more, I got to play the piano!!!  I usually don't here, because the little electric one in the Varela "chapel" (a home with a nice yard, just for church meetings) doesn't work.

One of the other neat things about the conference was that Sister Armstrong, who had been away for several months in the States with health problems, was back and there to meet all of us!  She's just as amazing as President.  President Armstrong's message was about how difficulty and trial are natural prerequisites to spiritual growth--just as Nephi went from being a boy to a man, in his own words, after having faced the hard situation with Laban and his stubborn/abusive brothers.  Joseph Smith experienced the same before the First Vision, facing a dark and powerful force that preceded his revelation.  I know that as we strive to overcome and work through the challenges of this life, we, too, will have many testimony-strengthening experiences from the Lord.

So, Easter... It's not too big a deal here.  The Catholics all go out to mass, and there are a few chocolate eggs in the grocery store, but we didn't do anything special in church except for Christ-centered talks.  Church this week was great though--although we had the smallest turnout yet and the investigator, Perla, who we were sure was going to come was absent, the stake president unexpectedly came to visit.  He had such love for the members here and remembered them all and their families, even though he doesn't make it out to little branches like this very often.  He did warn, though, that if the members don't help to activate some worthy Priesthood holders in the next six to eight months, the branch may close.  That put the pressure on us for sure as well, and hopefully it will be some increased member assistance and cooperation in the weeks to come.

Well, today we helped pack Elder Griffin up to head back to the land of the brave, home of the free next week.  It's a bitter-sweet experience--I'm super happy for him and he deserves to bring the great service he's rendered here to a home and family, but it means I'll be missing out on an awesome trainer!!  Maybe it's selfish, but he's been an amazing teacher in and out of lessons, and we're pretty good friends.  Lots of laughing.

Well, we don't have a lot of time (in fact, I think Elder Griffin might be tapping his foot already for my slowness :) so I'm going to wrap up.  I love you all and know that the Savior does too.  I was comforted by the reminder this week that the Lord works in absolutes--He has All power, All knowledge, Perfect love, and lives Forever.  There is no exception unless we make ourselves the exception by sinning and distancing ourselves from Him.  I know that we will all rise again in the Resurrection with glorified bodies immune to the infirmities of this life.  What a comfort that is.

Good luck, and may the Lord guide you.

--Love, Elder Hansen