Well, what a crazy and unexpected week. There were so many good things about this last week. So many miracles, trials, blessings, and surprises. First of all, let me wish McKay Hansen and Rachel Burr, two of my very best friends happy birthdays this week. I am so blessed to have you two in my life and to be able to love you. Happy Birthday!
This week was the beginning of what they call the "Monsoon" season down here. The funny thing is that because it's so dry here, it's really should be called the "dust storm" season because there hardly ever is rain. Ever day there are beautiful clouds and the skies give you every sign that it's going to rain, but yet there is still intense heat and no rain. Instead there are crazy winds that blow dirt around like crazy. This week on tuesday we had a crazy dust storm/monsoon/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. It was a big cloud of wind and dirt the size of the whole valley (about 60 miles long). It was super fast and did quite a bit of damage to a lot of trees around here. That night, luckily, Hermana Norton and I were in a lesson, so we didn't get caught by it. But we talked to some elders that were trying to ride their bikes it it and they told us that their bikes were falling over as they tried to ride them. As far as I've heard, it's the biggest storm that they've had here in over 20 years. Every night since then there has been beautiful clouds and the sunsets that Arizona is famous for. I promise to send pictures soon! It is beautiful and kind of a tender mercy to me, because of the beauty that I get to see and also because the clouds cover the heat of the sun just a bit.
This week was kind of a slow week for our area. Just trying to find people that are ready for the gospel. Luckily, because we're spanish, we have a huge area that we share with many english elders. And they have given us a lot of referrals, especially this week, that have turned out to be such tender mercies. We've met and taught many people that have been prepared to hear about God's great love for them and we're excited for that. The week still had it's fair share of disappointments too and some days it was hard to be excited, but I am so grateful for those days this week. Because of them I was able to more fully turn to the Lord and learn to rely on Him. And I felt His love this week maybe more than I have the whole time I've been here in Arizona. God truly brings blessings out of our sorrows.
This week we also had two HUGE blessings in our ward. On thursday the Elders in our ward had a wedding/baptism and on saturday, we had the baptism of Marcos and Stephanie. They were both amazing experiences and the Spirit was so strong. I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed us in this ward lately! These people were truly, truly prepared and ready for this blessing in their lives. The Spirit was there so strong and the ward was so supportive of these people. What a special step it was for them and what love they were able to feel from not only the ward, but from their Father in Heaven. What a beautiful blessing and end of the transfer.
Today is the last day of my second transfer here in Arizona and specifically in Tempe. I have learned so much this transfer about being loving and about being bold. I know the Lord is helping me to grow in my missionary abilities and in my Spanish. I count my blessings every day that I am here in this mission with these people. I also am happy to know that this next transfer I will still be here in Tempe and still be with Hermana Norton. Yeah for that! I love this area and am not ready to leave. The elders that have been in our ward have also been travelling APs. Because of that, they know the plans for transfers and they gave us some hints that Hermana Norton and I would be together again. We are so, so happy! I love Hermana Norton and she is fast becoming one of my dearest friends. After our missions we plan to go to Mexico together and we already have plenty of people from our ward that have offered to let us stay with them.
Basically, the life a missionary is a dream. I love it and am so blessed to be here on a mission.
love,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
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