Well, another good week has passed. Time just flies by way too fast here in Arizona. There's so much to tell, I don't even know where to begin. I'll start with transfers. So, like I said last week, I'm staying in a companionship with Hermana Staples and Hermana Saxon got a new companion. You'll never guess who that companion is. It's.......HNA TAYLOR! I was so excited when I heard and even since she's been living with us, it's just been a huge tender mercy to have her close. She's such a good missionary and such a good friend. She's helping me to see more good in the work and to be inspired to be better. I love her! It's been a little crazy with all four of us in the apartment together with all that we have to do, but we have a lot of fun. And it's been wonderful being with Hermana Staples. I love having just two of us and I feel like we've been working together in unity and things have been going really well. I'm super excited for this transfer. I know it's going to be good.
We had this amazing experience with a part member family that we are teaching. We were teaching them last week and they had been having a really stressful day and some crazy things happening with their family. The mom decided to make the thirteen year old son join the lesson. He was reluctant, but did eventually. During the lesson, Hermana Staples let him borrow her scriptures and asked him to read a verse. He did and actually listened and paid attention fairly well to the lesson. Near the end of the lesson he turned to Hermana Staples and made a silly comment. He said (referring to the scriptures) "These are making my hands sweat!", and then he handed them back to her. We just all thought it was a little weird until she told us later that she had wanted so badly for the scriptures to make an impact on him that she had prayed that the scriptures would "burn his hands". That's Hermana Staples for you, but the amazing thing about it was that her prayer was answered-the scriptures did make and impact on him by literally making his hands feel hotter. It was a crazy, but amazing experience to see how much the Lord is aware of our efforts and willing to answer our prayers.
The two Ashely's we are teaching are doing super well. Ashely and Ryan have been so excited about Ashely's baptism. She's been giving up so, so much because she knows and feels that this is right. She's now living the word of wisdom and obeying the law of chastity and keeping the sabbath day holy so well. She's so willing to give up her old life because she wants to follow the Lord and can feel that this is right. I feel so, so blessed to be able to watch the whole process and to just love her so much! I'm so proud of her and Ryan both.
This last week was the last week of the snowbird branch for the year. I didn't get to see Grandma and Grandpa Hansen again before they left, but I hope they enjoyed the rest of the time they had down here. I love that branch so much and we've enjoyed being able to learn and grow from them. This last week every night we had dinners with them and they were so sweet to us. They just loved us and encouraged us in everything we are doing. And yesterday they actually split the branch and so next October they will have two branches of snowbirds because it's just gotten so big.
Yesterday we had another ward council meeting with the ward that chewed us out a few weeks ago. This week was a ton better. We've been really working on finding solutions to the problems we were having with our investigators and doing what's right for them and I hope the ward noticed. Everything seemed to go smoothly, so we're very grateful for that. Lately we've been realizing that we need to build our member trust. Since neither of us has been in the area very long, we want to be able to get to know the members better and show them how much we love them and the Lord and want to help them. This week we plan on visiting a bunch of them and finding ways to serve them and help them in their callings and to be better missionaries. We're excited.
We also taught this cute man named Robert who is actually in the other Hermana's area, so they are now teaching him. But he is so cute! He's a 50 year old rancher who just recently moved here to Yuma and wants to start over. He is such a gentleman and cute little farmboy. He just wants to help others and to follow God. His prayers are awesome! And he's preparing to be baptized soon!
Anyway, that's about all to report for now. Hope you all have a wonderful week. Enjoy General Conference! We can hardly wait!
love,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
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