I love this week! It was so good! There were a lot of blessings and even though not everything was perfect, I felt so much joy!
I don't think I told you last week, but we had a really interesting experience with a homeless guy on the street. We went up to him to talk about the church and he was really nice at first, but then began to tell us how lost we were. He told us that we were brainwashed and that we didn't know what we were doing. He began to tell us some crazy things about Jesus that weren't true and it was just a little crazy. We tried to just bare our testimonies and leave, but he got angier and angrier. Hermana Norton was telling him that we respected his beliefs and he started yelling at us and telling us that we didn't respect him because we didn't have an open heart to what he was telling us. Then he told us that he was an "apostle" and as we were just leaving he told us that we were "servants of Satan". Wow! It was really crazy to look back on, but it was a good experience for me because even through all of that, I wasn't shaken at all. I know that I'm not brainwashed, that I have a personal testimony of and relationship with Jesus Christ that is strong. I know that I am a servant of Jesus Christ and that He is happy with the things I'm doing. I feel really sad for that man...
We had an awesome lesson with Patricio this week. We've been teaching him now for about a month and last week we found out that he's read to Mosiah 12 (awesome!). This week when we began our lesson with him, he said he wanted to talk about baptism, which was awesome because that's what we had planned to talk about. It was one of the best lessons I've had on my mission. The spirit was there so strong and he shared a very sincere testimony with us about Jesus Christ and how much He means to him. Every scripture we read with him, he loved and made sure to mark it. The best part was the end when we committed him to baptism. You could just see the light of Christ shine through his eyes and he was all for it. It was amazing.
Also this week we had the opportunity to teach some lesson active guys. We met them one day when they saw us on the street and started singing us primary songs from their apartment balcony. :) They have testimonies of the church, but they just have decided to go astray for a bit, but they have always known that they want to come back to church one day. They are really cool guys. We had a lesson with them and talked about the Restoration. The Spirit was so strong and we were all just loving it. They were very open with their testimonies and their desires to be good fathers and priesthood holders. At the end of the lesson we were talking about being missionaries and I was baring my testimony to them about how much I loved being a missionary and the Spirit just filled my heart and I felt so much joy. I couldn't help but just cry at how happy I felt. I knew then and have remembered since that being a missionary and leading people to the truth is pure joy! That was really precious for me to be reminded of just how important this calling is. Then yesterday we got a call from them and they told us that they'd gone to their singles ward this week and really enjoyed it and that they had read the scriptures everyday since we came over. They were so proud to have done it and so excited to tell us about it and we were just as proud of them. It was wonderful!
This week we've seen a lot of progress with Luis. We had two lessons with him and they were both very powerful. He is very humble and really wants to serve the Lord and be baptized still. He sees the goodness this is bringing into his life and every time we visit him, we can see his testimony grow even more. This week we plan to pick another baptismal date for him to work toward. We also had a cool lesson with Marvin about the Word of Wisdom. After we told him about it and why we have it, he told us "I love this commandment. I'm going to follow this for the rest of my life and tell my brothers about it!" I've never seen someone so excited about a commandment. :)
This morning our zone went up and climbed "A" Mountain (a big hill on ASU campus) and then we gave each other spiritual animals. It was silly. Hermana Norton is a white tailed deer and I'm a hummingbird. There were some crazy animals given out. One person was a spanish bull, another was a peacock, one is a mink, etc. Sometimes I wonder if I'm losing my maturity spending time with these silly 19 year old boys. But it's fun and it's really an amazing experience to see them grow up as they become missionaries and to see how much they respect their priesthood and their calling.
Basically, it's been just a beautiful, wonderful week. It was super hot, but it was probably the hottest it will be for the rest of the year because it should start cooling down now. It will probably still be above 90 until November, but 90 sounds really good to me right now. :) Well, I hope all at home is going well. Good luck for all of you that are starting school this week. Love you, love you, love you!
Con amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
No es facil ser una misionea inferma...(It's not easy being a sick missionary)
Well, it's been a long and good week. A lot of crazy things have happened that I'm excited to tell you about...
First of all, last night we got transfer calls to see where we were going. Hermana Norton and I have been together in Tempe for 3 transfers now, which is a little unusual. But last week when we had interviews with our mission president, President Howes, he told both of us that he didn't think that it's time for either of us to leave yet. So we've been expecting not to move, and last night we found out for sure that we will both still be here at least for one more transfer. It's actually a huge blessing for us. I love this area to pieces and also I love the ward. I love, love, love Hermana Norton and I know I still have things to learn from her. Also, we have a lot of complicated things going on with this area and we need to help the people we are teaching with their situations. So, it's all very inspired that I am staying here. I love being in Tempe, close to the mission office and mission president and to be able to be here in more of a city atmosphere.
This week we both were feeling a little under the weather. On tuesday night I started to have a headache and we both were starting to have tummy-aches. The next morning we both woke up not feeling good enough to go out, so we stayed in our apartment all day. I slept a lot of it because I was more sick and Hermana Norton was able to have like a 5 hour personal study, which if you've ever been a missionary, it's like a dream come true! She got to study whatever she wanted in the scriptures all day! I know it sounds super silly, but I am not ashamed to say that I have gained a great love for the scriptures and a huge hunger to study them more. There's just never enough time. Anyway, we were sick that day and a little the next few days, but we're all better now. What was interesting was that it was super hard not to be able to go out and work. I missed it so much and I felt like I just wasted the day away. I'm so grateful to be healthy again. :)
This week we encountered setbacks with almost every single one of our investigators. One is working in Flagstaff most of the time, so we can't teach him much; one is on probation and needs to work through that before he can be baptized, and we are teaching his son, who is progressing, but it will be hard for him to watch his son progressing faster while he still has to wait; a recent convert was hurt by some youth in the ward; another person might also be moving because of work, etc. It's so hard because they all want to be able to learn more, but they have things holding them back, but we know that the Lord truly loves each one of them and has a plan for their lives that is better than what we could hope for.
On saturday night, one of our investigators that we love to death, Luis, told us that he has a girlfriend here in the United States and he wants to marry her, but he's still married to his wife in Mexico. He's just in this horrible situation with his wife that lives in Mexico and because of this situation he's having a lot of setbacks. It makes it so hard when the world is teaching that these things are okay... He was getting ready for baptism and he still wants to be baptized, but now we've realized that he has a few holdbacks. But he is one of the most sincere men I have ever met and I have a lot of faith in Him. I know that I was supposed to meet him and help him on this journey to figuring out who He is and what God's plan is for him. It's crazy that so much crazy things can happen in one week, but I know that the Lord will help us through them. The cool thing about being a missionary is that the work is God's and if He has a plan, there's nothing that will keep these people from that plan. Sometimes I think I've been sent on a mission not necessarily because I have a lot to offer these people, but so the Lord can bless me to be able to see miracles in these peoples' lives. As a missionary, I don't make the difference, God does. And I'm just here to help them recognize that.
Oh, life is good. Things are going well and we know that even though there are setbacks with some people, as we trust in the Lord and continue to follow Him, He will work miracles. I love seeing people progress. We taught one guy this week that before we met with him didn't believe in God. This week, he teared up and told us that He believes that Jesus is the Christ. Awesome! Being a missionary is worth it. I hope all at home is going well. Love you all terribly and can't wait to hear what's going on in your lives.
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
First of all, last night we got transfer calls to see where we were going. Hermana Norton and I have been together in Tempe for 3 transfers now, which is a little unusual. But last week when we had interviews with our mission president, President Howes, he told both of us that he didn't think that it's time for either of us to leave yet. So we've been expecting not to move, and last night we found out for sure that we will both still be here at least for one more transfer. It's actually a huge blessing for us. I love this area to pieces and also I love the ward. I love, love, love Hermana Norton and I know I still have things to learn from her. Also, we have a lot of complicated things going on with this area and we need to help the people we are teaching with their situations. So, it's all very inspired that I am staying here. I love being in Tempe, close to the mission office and mission president and to be able to be here in more of a city atmosphere.
This week we both were feeling a little under the weather. On tuesday night I started to have a headache and we both were starting to have tummy-aches. The next morning we both woke up not feeling good enough to go out, so we stayed in our apartment all day. I slept a lot of it because I was more sick and Hermana Norton was able to have like a 5 hour personal study, which if you've ever been a missionary, it's like a dream come true! She got to study whatever she wanted in the scriptures all day! I know it sounds super silly, but I am not ashamed to say that I have gained a great love for the scriptures and a huge hunger to study them more. There's just never enough time. Anyway, we were sick that day and a little the next few days, but we're all better now. What was interesting was that it was super hard not to be able to go out and work. I missed it so much and I felt like I just wasted the day away. I'm so grateful to be healthy again. :)
This week we encountered setbacks with almost every single one of our investigators. One is working in Flagstaff most of the time, so we can't teach him much; one is on probation and needs to work through that before he can be baptized, and we are teaching his son, who is progressing, but it will be hard for him to watch his son progressing faster while he still has to wait; a recent convert was hurt by some youth in the ward; another person might also be moving because of work, etc. It's so hard because they all want to be able to learn more, but they have things holding them back, but we know that the Lord truly loves each one of them and has a plan for their lives that is better than what we could hope for.
On saturday night, one of our investigators that we love to death, Luis, told us that he has a girlfriend here in the United States and he wants to marry her, but he's still married to his wife in Mexico. He's just in this horrible situation with his wife that lives in Mexico and because of this situation he's having a lot of setbacks. It makes it so hard when the world is teaching that these things are okay... He was getting ready for baptism and he still wants to be baptized, but now we've realized that he has a few holdbacks. But he is one of the most sincere men I have ever met and I have a lot of faith in Him. I know that I was supposed to meet him and help him on this journey to figuring out who He is and what God's plan is for him. It's crazy that so much crazy things can happen in one week, but I know that the Lord will help us through them. The cool thing about being a missionary is that the work is God's and if He has a plan, there's nothing that will keep these people from that plan. Sometimes I think I've been sent on a mission not necessarily because I have a lot to offer these people, but so the Lord can bless me to be able to see miracles in these peoples' lives. As a missionary, I don't make the difference, God does. And I'm just here to help them recognize that.
Oh, life is good. Things are going well and we know that even though there are setbacks with some people, as we trust in the Lord and continue to follow Him, He will work miracles. I love seeing people progress. We taught one guy this week that before we met with him didn't believe in God. This week, he teared up and told us that He believes that Jesus is the Christ. Awesome! Being a missionary is worth it. I hope all at home is going well. Love you all terribly and can't wait to hear what's going on in your lives.
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Lord Heals...
This has been a good week. Many, many good things came of this week. This last week for P-day the sisters in our area went to a sweet members house (Sister Clark) and learned how to make pies. It was so fun! I felt the whole time like I was in Grandma and Grandpa Livingston's house because it is decorated very similarly. So, I felt very at home. We had a great time laughing and enjoying the yummy-ness that we made.
This week was had an awesome lesson with a neighbor of one of our investigators. Her name is Elizabeth. She is about 14 years old, so about Kimberly's age, and she is a very sincere girl. During the lesson the Spirit was so strong and whispered so many times to us the love that the Lord has for this girl. There were a few times when I couldn't hold back the tears. She very sincerely wants to learn about God and loves praying to Him. What a special experience that was! I can't wait to teach her again.
This week we had a training with President Howes. In the end he talked with us about things that might be holding us back from doing our best. We wrote down a lot of things that might do that and then he drew a little trialer around it. He told us in order to let go of these burdens, we need to "unhitch our trailers'. Hermana Norton and I decided that we have a lot of little worries that are holding us back, so we decided to 'unhitch our trailers' by burning little things that remind us of them. We burned just little things, like an X-small tag that reminds me that I'm little, and we did it in our apartment complex one night before bed. It was so freeing and fun! I know that part of the reason that I'm on a mission is to get over a lot of my worries, so this is one step in the right direction. :)
We also had a really good lesson with one of our favorite people, Luis. We've been super worried about Luis because he has been having a hard time coming to church. He's planning on getting baptized in about 2 weeks, but he hasn't been feeling up to come to church for the past little bit. He has had a super hard life and sometimes wakes up feeling really depressed and because of that He doesn't want to go anywhere. We wanted Luis to see that the church is where you can go to be healed from all your hurt because that is where you come to know Jesus Christ and his power to heal us. We felt prompted to ask a sweet older lady in the ward to come to the lesson, Hermana Cordoza. She came to the lesson and bore a sweet, powerful testimony of the Lord's ability to save us. She compared the church to a "hospital of souls" where we all come with our own spiritual sicknesses to get the help of the Lord. The Spirit was just beaming off of her face and Luis surely felt it. His countanence changed so much during the lesson and yesterday he showed up to church and stayed the whole time. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy!
On Saturday we had a baptism of Juanito, the 9 year old we've been teaching. It was such a special occasion for that family, because his little brother also was baptized. The whole family and extended family lives in our ward and they all came to the baptism and it was a huge turnout! The spirit was there strongly. I love being a missionary and feeling the spirit like that so often. Their mother is not a member, but she actually has met with the missionaries before and helped us teach Juan a bunch. She knows a lot about the church and we are excited to see if she might be interested in talking to us agian.
Even though so much good has happened, I'll admit that it's been hard this week to not think of home and to be so excited for Kara's wedding and also miss everyone a ton. But the Lord has helped me a lot. Hermana Norton has showered me with hugs and with little notes to remind me that she cares that I'm here. Also, randomly on saturday (the day of the wedding) we recieved a text from our zone leaders that said this: "Good morning sisters. Last night I felt prompted to thank both of you for deciding to serve a mission. So thank you." I know that the Lord knew this week how hard it might be, but He truly blessed me with so many things to help me remember how wonderful it is that I'm on a mission. During the week it was hard, but then on Saturday, I felt completely fine. I felt very happy and a lot of peace. I know the Lord strengthened me this week a lot. I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven that knows of our little worries and cares about them too. I'm so happy for Kara and Justin and I loved the pictures that I was able to see of the wedding. I hope all is going well at home.
love you all,
Hermana Hansen
This week was had an awesome lesson with a neighbor of one of our investigators. Her name is Elizabeth. She is about 14 years old, so about Kimberly's age, and she is a very sincere girl. During the lesson the Spirit was so strong and whispered so many times to us the love that the Lord has for this girl. There were a few times when I couldn't hold back the tears. She very sincerely wants to learn about God and loves praying to Him. What a special experience that was! I can't wait to teach her again.
This week we had a training with President Howes. In the end he talked with us about things that might be holding us back from doing our best. We wrote down a lot of things that might do that and then he drew a little trialer around it. He told us in order to let go of these burdens, we need to "unhitch our trailers'. Hermana Norton and I decided that we have a lot of little worries that are holding us back, so we decided to 'unhitch our trailers' by burning little things that remind us of them. We burned just little things, like an X-small tag that reminds me that I'm little, and we did it in our apartment complex one night before bed. It was so freeing and fun! I know that part of the reason that I'm on a mission is to get over a lot of my worries, so this is one step in the right direction. :)
We also had a really good lesson with one of our favorite people, Luis. We've been super worried about Luis because he has been having a hard time coming to church. He's planning on getting baptized in about 2 weeks, but he hasn't been feeling up to come to church for the past little bit. He has had a super hard life and sometimes wakes up feeling really depressed and because of that He doesn't want to go anywhere. We wanted Luis to see that the church is where you can go to be healed from all your hurt because that is where you come to know Jesus Christ and his power to heal us. We felt prompted to ask a sweet older lady in the ward to come to the lesson, Hermana Cordoza. She came to the lesson and bore a sweet, powerful testimony of the Lord's ability to save us. She compared the church to a "hospital of souls" where we all come with our own spiritual sicknesses to get the help of the Lord. The Spirit was just beaming off of her face and Luis surely felt it. His countanence changed so much during the lesson and yesterday he showed up to church and stayed the whole time. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy!
On Saturday we had a baptism of Juanito, the 9 year old we've been teaching. It was such a special occasion for that family, because his little brother also was baptized. The whole family and extended family lives in our ward and they all came to the baptism and it was a huge turnout! The spirit was there strongly. I love being a missionary and feeling the spirit like that so often. Their mother is not a member, but she actually has met with the missionaries before and helped us teach Juan a bunch. She knows a lot about the church and we are excited to see if she might be interested in talking to us agian.
Even though so much good has happened, I'll admit that it's been hard this week to not think of home and to be so excited for Kara's wedding and also miss everyone a ton. But the Lord has helped me a lot. Hermana Norton has showered me with hugs and with little notes to remind me that she cares that I'm here. Also, randomly on saturday (the day of the wedding) we recieved a text from our zone leaders that said this: "Good morning sisters. Last night I felt prompted to thank both of you for deciding to serve a mission. So thank you." I know that the Lord knew this week how hard it might be, but He truly blessed me with so many things to help me remember how wonderful it is that I'm on a mission. During the week it was hard, but then on Saturday, I felt completely fine. I felt very happy and a lot of peace. I know the Lord strengthened me this week a lot. I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven that knows of our little worries and cares about them too. I'm so happy for Kara and Justin and I loved the pictures that I was able to see of the wedding. I hope all is going well at home.
love you all,
Hermana Hansen
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
reaching forth unto those things which are before...
This week I realized that one thing about being here on a mission is to have the attitude of come what may and love it. Of course we need to do our best to be the servants of the Lord that He needs us to be, but at the end of the day, if everything doesn't turn out just like you planned, just accept it and love it. There's a scripture in Phil. 4:14 that talks about being content where we are placed. I am happy and I am content and I am determined to put my all into this work and love it. I know this is a sacred privelege and I don't want to let any moment pass by without loving it.
Well, this week has been probably the longest week of my mission so far. As I say that, I don't mean to say that it's been horrible. There were many good things, but I've just been completely exhausted. We biked all week this week. I love biking and really am coming to see it as something that is fun, but it's just really exhausting in 110 degree weather everyday. This week we were outside a lot because a lot of our appointments fell through. But we are getting more and more people to teach. It's a slow process, but it's really great. Also, I'm am realizing that the Lord has things for me to work on through this. One of the things that I learned is that I need to just enjoy the time that I have here. I found a scripture this morning about that. It comes from Phil. 3:13 and says "This one thing I do, forgetting those things wich are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Paul really is one of my heros and knowing how to enjoy life. This week I've been longing for things I had before and dwelling on those things that I don't have, but I know that this life is to be enjoyed and it's especially important that I enjoy these precious moments that I get here on my mission. I also need to embrace this culture and language more. I know that I as we put our whole "heart, might, mind, and strength" into serving the Lord, in whatever capacity that is, we will find the blessings and the work the Lord meant for us (D&C 4). I love being a missionary and I know that this time is short, so I am here to enjoy it (thanks for the advice, Aunt Linda).
This week I got a big ol' stack of letters from my family from the recent Livingston Family reunion. I just wanted to thank you all for that. It truly meant a lot to me to see of your support and direction. It sounds like it was a great time and if I could have been in two places at once, that's where I would have been. Grandpa, thank you for the prayer that you offered in my behalf. I heard about it and I appreciate so much your concern and love. I love you all so much, each and every one! I know that family is part of what Lehi meant when he said "men are that they might have joy". We are given this life and our families to have joy!
Well, let's see, what else happened this week? We were able to teach a lot of new people, so that was a huge blessing. We had some really good lessons, but we will have to see this week how much people are interested in our message. It's always hard to tell until the second or third lesson. But I have faith that the Lord is leading us to the people that are ready for this message. One family that we taught this week met with missionaries before and then moved and lost contact with them. They seem very sincerely looking for something in their lives and we're excited to teach them. We've also been able to teach a young boy who has a very Buddist background and has a sincere desire to really understand what the truth really is and if there really is a God.
I've been really blessed to learn from the members here in our ward. There are a lot of young Hispanic couples and they are such a good support to Hermana Norton and I. They are our instant friends and they are so willing to help us out with missionary work. Also, there are a lot of amazing members that are just wonderful examples. They are so willing to do anything and to try so hard to follow God and not worry about what others think of them. They serve so selflessly and often sacrifice so much for others. I love this ward with all my heart and am so grateful to have the opportunity to know them.
Before my mission I wish I would have known how easy and fun missionary work is. I love it so much! And the most important part of missionary work, besides the spirit, it the members. If the members get involved with a person that is interested in learning more, just by being a friend to them and being willing to testify and be there for them, these people have the support they need when they begin to feel the spirit and don't know what to do. As missionaries, we can only do so much and we won't be there forever, so the people really need friends in the ward that they can rely on. I would encourage you all to consider how easy it is and to know from me that it's so gratifying, so fun, so uplifting, so worth your time to help Heavenly Father's precious children to find the truth.
Well, I know the summer is going by fast. I hope all of you enjoy the last little bit that you have. Love you lots!
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
Well, this week has been probably the longest week of my mission so far. As I say that, I don't mean to say that it's been horrible. There were many good things, but I've just been completely exhausted. We biked all week this week. I love biking and really am coming to see it as something that is fun, but it's just really exhausting in 110 degree weather everyday. This week we were outside a lot because a lot of our appointments fell through. But we are getting more and more people to teach. It's a slow process, but it's really great. Also, I'm am realizing that the Lord has things for me to work on through this. One of the things that I learned is that I need to just enjoy the time that I have here. I found a scripture this morning about that. It comes from Phil. 3:13 and says "This one thing I do, forgetting those things wich are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Paul really is one of my heros and knowing how to enjoy life. This week I've been longing for things I had before and dwelling on those things that I don't have, but I know that this life is to be enjoyed and it's especially important that I enjoy these precious moments that I get here on my mission. I also need to embrace this culture and language more. I know that I as we put our whole "heart, might, mind, and strength" into serving the Lord, in whatever capacity that is, we will find the blessings and the work the Lord meant for us (D&C 4). I love being a missionary and I know that this time is short, so I am here to enjoy it (thanks for the advice, Aunt Linda).
This week I got a big ol' stack of letters from my family from the recent Livingston Family reunion. I just wanted to thank you all for that. It truly meant a lot to me to see of your support and direction. It sounds like it was a great time and if I could have been in two places at once, that's where I would have been. Grandpa, thank you for the prayer that you offered in my behalf. I heard about it and I appreciate so much your concern and love. I love you all so much, each and every one! I know that family is part of what Lehi meant when he said "men are that they might have joy". We are given this life and our families to have joy!
Well, let's see, what else happened this week? We were able to teach a lot of new people, so that was a huge blessing. We had some really good lessons, but we will have to see this week how much people are interested in our message. It's always hard to tell until the second or third lesson. But I have faith that the Lord is leading us to the people that are ready for this message. One family that we taught this week met with missionaries before and then moved and lost contact with them. They seem very sincerely looking for something in their lives and we're excited to teach them. We've also been able to teach a young boy who has a very Buddist background and has a sincere desire to really understand what the truth really is and if there really is a God.
I've been really blessed to learn from the members here in our ward. There are a lot of young Hispanic couples and they are such a good support to Hermana Norton and I. They are our instant friends and they are so willing to help us out with missionary work. Also, there are a lot of amazing members that are just wonderful examples. They are so willing to do anything and to try so hard to follow God and not worry about what others think of them. They serve so selflessly and often sacrifice so much for others. I love this ward with all my heart and am so grateful to have the opportunity to know them.
Before my mission I wish I would have known how easy and fun missionary work is. I love it so much! And the most important part of missionary work, besides the spirit, it the members. If the members get involved with a person that is interested in learning more, just by being a friend to them and being willing to testify and be there for them, these people have the support they need when they begin to feel the spirit and don't know what to do. As missionaries, we can only do so much and we won't be there forever, so the people really need friends in the ward that they can rely on. I would encourage you all to consider how easy it is and to know from me that it's so gratifying, so fun, so uplifting, so worth your time to help Heavenly Father's precious children to find the truth.
Well, I know the summer is going by fast. I hope all of you enjoy the last little bit that you have. Love you lots!
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
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