Week Twenty-seven.

Hey!

  This was the week of the infamous anual tempest, the Santa Rosa.  We have heard in hushed tones and whispers, almost certainly accompanied by a shiver of dread, for months now... seven uninterrupted days of relentless rain and a downpour of pure evil which would cause even the most weather-hardened missionary to tuck his tail between his legs and plead for an ounce of warmth or hope from any neighbor brave or merciful enough to open the door to him.

  Ok, so it wasn't actually that bad.  :)  It came late this year so the actual storm wasn't so rough.  It rained all week, which was gloomy, but our habit of yelling "Whoo!" and thrusting our umbrellas (I'm on my third for the mission) triumphantly up at the skies each time lightning strikes has kept the motivation levels high and a pair of smiles on our faces.  Because of the torrential attack from on high, we only had 18 people (instead of our usual 50ish) in church on Sunday, but I was struck by how that was the exact number of Maximum turnout to the chapel in my old area, Varela.  We're very blessed here.

  Florencia's mom, Lorena, accepted a baptismal date for the 13th of October!  Her husband José is a little more skeptical and hesitant, but he told us it wasn't because he didn't want to join the Church, but rather because he wanted to be able to commit 100%, without allowing old weaknesses like his trouble with the Word of Wisdom to come back and tempt him after his baptism.  We'll be working with both of them to help them access the changing and impelling force of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  In time I know that family will come to be a strong source of good in this world.

  I've been really pushing myself to be obedient in my thoughts and desires as well as my actions, to be converted into a true disciple and representative of Jesus Christ and demonstrate the depth of my testimony in Him.  It isn't easy.  But it is ever so rewarding, fulfilling, and worth the effort.  I know that the Gospel of Christ is true and that as we take the necessary steps to come unto our Savior, making and keeping sacred covenants, we can be saved and eternally happy together.

  I love you all,

  Elder Hansen

Week Twenty-six.

September 9, 2013

Hello hello!

GREAT WEEK!  First, Elder Zeballos, a Chilean from the First Quorum of the Seventy visited and we talked about a little bit of everything-- I especially loved how questions I had had for the longest time about random Gospel topics were answered by the Spirit as I carefully listened.  He especially stressed the importance of finding complete families to teach.  Speaking of which...

Florencia´s whole family came to Church this Sunday!  Even her dad, José, who had been a little hesitant before.  It was such a joy to see them all sitting together in Sacrament Meeting.

In addition, another very promising investigator of ours, 18 year old Jorge (or "Lolo" as his whole family inexplicably calls him) has been coming to Church too.  He moved here to live with his sister, a very faithful member, and to turn his life around.  He's eager to be baptized.

Elder Alder signed his residency papers today-- we went to the huge central bus station in the city called Tres Cruces.  It's such a tourist trap haha.  And even busier than the airport...

Lots of love!  I know that the Lord answers prayers and responds to our individual doubts.  And sometimes it's waiting and searching for those responses that teaches me the most.

Elder Hansen

Week Twenty-five.

Mis queridos,

  How's things and stuff?  This week was what we call in Spanish "ahí" or "más o menos"; we really enjoyed it but didn't see as much success as we would have liked.  It's tough to spend weeks like this one where we only teach around twenty lessons even though we're trying every day.  It reminds me of the slower pace of little Varela, my first area.  Hopefully the warm weather will draw people out of their homes to be trapped--I mean, taught :)--in the streets.

  The good things, though?  Lorena, Florencia's mom, came to church for the third time in a row!  She said she had spoken with missionaries almost thirteen years ago and taken the lessons then, and that at that time she didn't feel ready or comfortable committing to be baptized.  But now, she says, lots has changed and she wants to try preparing herself again!  And better yet, her husband has also been taking the lessons with us and asking really good questions, even though he hasn't come to church since the day of Florencia's baptism.  He said he had a dream the other night in which we as the missionaries had told him he needed to stop smoking and he's trying to leave off now: without us having as much as mentioned the Word of Wisdom to him (we taught him the importance of that commandment later, of course)!  It's really evident that the Spirit is inviting him to do that which is good and uplifts and edifies.

  We have a couple other really promising investigators.  As always, the classic Uruguayan problem is that we are literally the last priority on people's lists--if we have a time set up to pass by and teach a lesson, and anything else arises (like their dog needs to go for a walk or they run out of milk and go to the store), they drop everything and stand up the missionaries.  It's kind of frustrating.  Elder Griffin, my trainer, used to say, "One of the hardest things to do in Uruguay is to find a really promising new investigator and have a strong, spiritual lesson with him or her.  But the Very Hardest thing to do here is find that same person again and teach them a second time."  haha... I wish that were less true...

  But I know that it's nothing personal against the missionaries, much less against the Lord--the people of Uruguay are really wonderful and accepting.  I come to love them more every day; I know I'll have a hard time leaving this branch when I finally do.  Our other really powerful experience this week was meeting our new mission president (a Fortune 500 businessman from Florida) and his wife.  They are incredible and stressed the importance of developing that sincere love for people.  I realized how much I need to improve.  "At the end of the day," said Sister Newsome, "We will not be judged by which areas or callings or jobs we served in, rather by how well we have loved our spiritual brothers and sisters who surround us."

  Thank you for always having showed that love toward me,

  Elder Hansen

Week Twenty-four!

Hello, hello!

Busy but exciting week--- FLORENCIA GOT BAPTIZED!!!  Pictures attached.  Not a lot of time today but the excitement of the moment speaks for itself, methinks.  Love and prayers your way,

Elder Hansen

Week Twenty-three.

¿Qué tal?  ¿Cómo andan?

We had another pretty good week!  We were finally able to meet Florencia's parents and they are on board for her baptism this Sunday!  Her mother may even want to be baptized herself, which is exciting.  Some other investigators have also begun to progress, among them an investigator named Mario who's been investigating the Church for five years (You'd think he would have made a decision one way or the other by now!).  During companionship study one morning, we felt impressed to share a specific scripture about baptism and the Spirit with him later that night.  When we showed up to his house, he had felt prompted to read that same passage, Acts chapter 2, and told us all about it and what he'd read!  It was a very touching experience, and helped us to see how often our lives are guided by the Holy Ghost as righteous members of the Lord's kingdom here on the earth-- oftentimes without even realizing that it's happening.  I know the Gift of the Holy Ghost that I received when I was baptized is real, and as we each strive to live worthily, we entitle ourselves to blessings of guidance, revelation, comfort, and protection.  I love the knowledge that a divine being can be at our side as we teach and testify; He can even be our constant companion if we keep the commandments at all times as we covenanted with our Heavenly Father to do.  I'm eager to allow others the opportunity to live with the assurance of that same eternal power-- as we strive as a companionship to do so, we will be able to fulfill part of our missionary purpose in "Inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through... receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end."

Six months ago, I was set apart as a missionary and spent a long, sleepless night, anxious before a long, sleepless flight.  My time here and the effort and other sacrifices put toward my missionary service are well worth the while-- I learn and grow every day, and I'm trying my hardest to help others do the same.

With love,

Elder Hansen

Week Twenty-two.

¡Buenos días!

This week flew by!  I feel like I was just sitting down at the computer a couple days ago.  We saw some exciting progress though--one of our investigators, a twelve-year-old girl named Florencia whose grandparents are members of the Church, is getting very close to being baptized.  She even spoke up in the adults' Gospel Doctrine class yesterday, then bore her testimony in Sacrament Meeting!  We're just trying to win the support of her parents (her mom would also like to be baptized but has a very busy work schedule that makes progress slow) when we finally meet them for the first time this week.  Within a couple of months, we could have a whole new family in church!

Elder Alder is what we call in the mission a ''capo.''  It's like a stud--someone who's really impressive, powerful, and prepared.  He went on an exchange in our area with the district leader this week, and showed him around the (rather large) area just fine, even finding a new investigator in the process!  I'm moved by the progress I've seen in my little Orito (greenie :).

As we see our list of investigators growing by the day and our help from branch members going through the roof, I feel humbled and grateful to my loving Heavenly Father for rewarding us for our little display of diligence the last few weeks.  We are ever in His debt--the blessings showered upon us in His service are far greater than the sacrifices we make to attain them.  I feel my love for the people here, my knowledge of Scripture, my ability to communicate in the Spanish language, and my worthiness and ability as a servant of Jesus Christ growing, expanding, and improving.  Life is better every day; after many tribulations come the blessings (D and C 54:10; 121:7-8; 1 Peter 5:10).  I know that the happiness I feel is also a result of the prayers offered on my behalf--thank you all!  

May the Lord bless each of  you in return for your efforts is my prayer for you,

Elder Hansen

P.S.  Just because the prayers worked doesn't mean you get to stop just yet!  Keep up the good work ;) Let's make this just one time among many, eh?  Love you!

Week Twenty-one.

Good morning, America!

This has been a pretty fantastic week--we've done a lot of work with incomplete (part-member) families and the weather was randomly warm and sunny for like four days in a row.  The branch here is finally getting excited to get involved in the missionary efforts, giving us references of people to visit and coming with us to teach lessons.  I gave a talk this Sunday about responding spiritually to Jesus' instruction, "Feed my sheep" instead of just feeding missionaries.  I told them I would trade in my lunch for help in our proselyting and finding situations :) so we'll see whether I starve next week from getting too much member participation... haha.  Well we had a good few days, is the general idea of things.  So I'm going to close up and try to send some pictures.

Lots of love,

Elder Hansen

Bridge over the Olimar river in 33

The business complex near our house in Prosperidad

Montevideo Temple

Same thing as before. But at night. 3.68 times as cool. :)