This has been such a joy-filled week. So many good things happened and the Lord is aware of me and the area here in Tempe. We have felt very blessed this week.
I never thought I would say this, but I actually love being a trainer. It is helping me to be a more bold, more organized, more myself missionary. I really love it a lot! And Hermana Taylor is just such a joy! That really sounds like a mom-thing to say, but it's so true. She's just so easy to work with and so easy to love and we have a really good time working together. One funny thing about Hermana Taylor is that she's afraid of all animals, so even though she's more than 6 inches taller than me, I always have to protect her from them, especially dogs and cats because they are everywhere here in Tempe. Oh silly!
Probably the best part of the week was Luis' baptism. He has been doing so well this week and we've been visiting him everyday to check on him. His testimony has grown so much and he is 100 committed to the gospel. He is so happy and is always listening to fun music when we stop by at nights, which is such a turn around to his depressed mood that he had before. When he arrived at the stake center, he was really nervous, but very excited. He just had a glow about him and was ready. He actually had a bouquet of a dozen roses for each Hermana Taylor and me for thanks for what he says we did for him. But we didn't do it. It's God and the Spirit that helped him to get here. We're just so grateful to be so blessed to see the blessings of true conversion come into his life. The program was so good and when he went under the water, I had a confirmation that all of his sins were behind him now. It was so beautiful! Everyone is so encouraging of him and we are just so excited for this change in his life. He has a hunger to learn as much as he can. Even though he only has a 3rd grade education, he reads as much as he can from the Book of Mormon and Liahona every day. He's so wonderful and we're so excited for him. But he actually told us after the baptism that he had to work the next day, Sunday, and since converts get confirmed on Sundays, he has to wait to be confirmed until next Sunday, but he's willing to wait.
Patricio is doing awesome. We had another lesson about giving up smoking this week and we had him make his own plan for giving it up. He told us that the only time that he doesn't feel tempted to smoke at all is when he's at church or reading the scriptures, so that's a huge part of his plan. The scriptures really have so much power and have been a huge part in his conversion process. He's been very humbled and so far has not smoked at all in the past two days. That's huge for him because he used to smoke up to 30 cigarettes a day. Also, going to Luis' baptism was a huge motivator for him too. He really wants to be baptised and we really think he's going to give up smoking completely this time. We're so excited for him.
A lot of other really good things happened this week, but sadly, I don't have a ton of time to write them today. But we had some good lessons with some other people, we saw a lot of little miracles, we went to the temple again, and we were asked to speak in sacrament meeting. Hermana Taylor loved the temple and it was so good to see Hermana Norton again. She's doing so well and she was also able to come to Luis' baptism, so I've been able to see her a lot this week. Speaking in sacrament was actually really good because I was able to see how far I've come in my ability to speak in Spanish. I felt so much more comfortable speaking from the heart and being myself in Spanish this time than I did in May when we spoke. And everyone is so impressed with Hermana Taylor's Spanish abilities. She's so awesome!
We are just being really blessed and excited for the week to come. I feel so blessed to be here on a mission and there is no other place that I would rather be!
love,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
"It's Always Good to Have Another Boat in the Church!"
This week has been truly crazy, but really wonderful. Last week I wrote that I found out that I was training. Later in the week I found out that I would be staying here in Tempe. On wednesday we had transfers and I got my new companion, Hermana Taylor. To be honest, this week has been full of really mixed emotions. Tuesday Hermana Norton said goodbye to a lot of people in the ward. It was so hard for her to leave because she had expected to stay and there were a lot of people here that she had needed to help. A lot of people were really sad to see her go too. Our little friend, Juan in the ward, cried when he found out. It was so sad. It was also just hard saying goodbye to her myself. She has become one of my best friends and has helped me in so many ways. It's so hard to say goodbye to someone you've been with nonstop for 6 months, but I did it. And Hermana Taylor has helped to fill the space.
Hermana Taylor is really amazing. She is from Minnesota and she was at BYU before her mission and she's convinced that we know each other somehow, but other than figuring out that we have friends in common, we haven't figured it out. The title of this letter is a quote from her. She's a water baby! She has such a love for the people already and is just so fearless and loves to teach with the Spanish that she does know. And her spanish actually is so much better than I expected. This week we have bonded a lot, and you'll see that in the pictures. This morning we went on a hike up A Mountian with our zone and read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and some of the pictures are from that. Also you'll see from the pictures that because of our heigths, we are a funny pair. :) But we love it! Basically, this week went a lot better than I had expected. I feel the Lord strengthening me and really making me capable of this new calling and I am so excited to have Hermana Taylor as my new companion.
This last week's zone meeting was probably the best of my mission. Each of our zone leaders and the two district leaders chose topics that really touched all of our hearts. They talked about sacrificing and giving up our weaknesses and our greatest fears for the Lord. They talked about how we can show love to the Lord through the time that we are giving to Him now. And then they talked about the power of prayer. This last transfer I have gained a huge testimony of the power of prayer and I have been able to see a weakness that I have that is keeping me from focusing on the work and to learn to overcome it through the power of prayer. I have realized that prayer is the way that we can tap into the Atonement of Christ and overcome any weakness that we have. I love the Lord and the ability that we have to be able to talk to him personally everyday. To finish off the zone meeting, we had a testimony meeting. It was amazing to hear the other missionaries and see what things they personally were learning from their missions. It's amazing to see how we are all so different and we all need to learn different things, but then how much we can all learn from each other. The Spirit was so strong in that zone meeting and I think it will be something that I always remember.
This week our area has been doing good. We are still struggling to find, but our two little investigators that are preparing for baptism and just striving so hard to be ready! Patricio has almost given up smoking and he is so strong. Luis is just so depressed a lot of the time and we are trying to help him through that. But we feel such a deep love for them and love working with them. This week Hermana Taylor bonded with Patricio and his family. We were eating some tomales that they gave us (which are one of my favorite) and Hermana Taylor got one with really hot chiles. She's still trying to get used to hot foods, so when she ate it, she kind of screamed because it was so hot. Her face was all red and she was trying to tell then how much she loved it, but that it was just hot, but she was just having a hard time saying anything. We all started laughing so hard and Patricio actually had to leave the room he was laughing so much. We had a good time and everyone loves her.
Well, life here in good ol' Tempe is just going well. I can't believe how fast time flies by. I'll turn 8 months on the mission this week and it's kind of crazy. Who knew how fast it would fly by. I'm just trying to love it as much as I can. Have a great week everyone.
love,
Hermana Hansen
Thursday, October 6, 2011
I'm Going To Be A Mom!
This week has flown by! We have had so many adventures and good times. I love this ward and everything about it! I love Hermana Norton and I'm sad to have to say goodbye to her this week. We had some really great lessons and some awesome opportunities to share the gospel and our testimonies.
This wednesday our zone had the opportunity of running a youth activity for one of the stakes in our area. We reinacted the MTC and tried to teach the youth what it was like to be a missionary. It was so much fun and I was really edified myself. Hermana Norton and I were given the topic of learning a language, so we got to teach the kids about learning a new language. We loved telling the kids about how awesome a mission was and getting them pumped up to be missionaries. I loved it! There were a lot of investigators there and I hope they were able to feel the Spirit and I hope the members were able to be more excited about going on missions, especially the girls. :)
This week as we were street contacting, we met a guy named Benny. He told us his friend just got baptized and he had a lot of questions for us and asked if we would find a place to sit with him. He was so ready to hear the gospel! He asked us really simple questions about our beliefs and once he figured out that they made sense to him, he started getting really interested. We told him about a prophet and about how we had general conference this weekend where a prophet was going to speak. That was really awesome for him. We were able to bare our testimonies to him a bunch of times about how much the gospel truly has blessed us and how much we know that it is true. He told us he's very interested in learning more and wants to meet with missionaries soon. It's amazing to see how God has prepared him with his friend and how much he is ready to make a change in his life. We're so excited for him!
Hassan is just one of my favorite people! We got to teach him last night. We read Alma 36 with him about repentance and forgiveness. The Spirit touched him a lot and he he got uncomfortable for a second, but he knows that there are a few things in his life he needs to change. He's been praying and reads the little scripture messages that we send him everyday. I wish you could all meet him and understand. He is incredible-so easily touched by the Spirit and such a good kid. I wish he could also see it himself and believe more in himself. I know the Lord has incredible, incredible things planned for him.
So this weekend was so, so, so incredible! We have been waiting for conference for weeks and weeks and it finally came! And it was exactly what we needed in so many ways! I still haven't had time to collect my thoughts too much about all that was said, but I was able to recieve a lot of personal revelation for me and how I can be a better missionary. I loved Elder Scott's, Elder Alonso's, Pres. Uchtdorf's, Elder Cook's, Elder Curtis's, Elder Hales's (I'm worried about him), Elder Oaks, Elder Richardson, etc. I could keep going on and on about all of them, so let's just say that they were all my favorite talks. I was so incredibly surpised to hear that the Provo Tabernacle will be made into a temple. I can't wait to see it when I get home! I love conference as a missionary! We also were able to have both Luis and Patricio make it to 2 of the 5 sessions. They really enjoyed it and gained a lot from it. It really helped Patricio to have more of a desire and strength to quit smoking. We were truly blessed as a church this last weekend in what was said in conference. I would love to hear how conference touched all of you.
One other treat that we had was we were able ot see the Priesthood session of conference. Luis was there during that session, so we were able to accompany him. We got a lot of weird looks and comments, but we were so happy to be there. Amazingly, a lot of things that were said were so perfect for me. I felt like I really needed to hear Elder Waddell's and Elder Eyering's talks. Something that really touched me was to see so many worthy priesthood holders in their white shirts and ties all there. Our stake's huge chapel and cultural hall couldn't even fit all of them. I don't think you men of the priesthood understand just how amazing you are. You literally hold the priesthood of God, the power and permission to do God's work here on earth. And you are such good men. Not just any man can hold God's power. Being a missionary has made me so much more grateful for the priesthood and for worthy men that hold it and honor it. Thank you all.
Well, those of you who have gone on missions before and understand mission lingo probably understood the title to this post, but for those of you who are really confused right now, let me explain. In the mission we a "family" when it comes to training. The person that trains you is you "father"/"mother" (depending on if your a sister or an elder) and you are their "son"/"daughter". So, in that case, I'm Hermana Norton's "daughter" and she's my "mom". Last night we got a call from our mission president, President Howes, asking if Hermana Norton and I would both train seperately. So according to our little lingo, I'm going to be a MOM! It was a little shocking to say the least! We had a totally different guess as to what was going to happen and I never thought I would train now because there are at 3 other sisters that are older than me in the mission. So for the next few minutes after the call, Hermana Norton and I were in complete shock! But after the shock wore off, I felt complete peace. Something that really hit me from Conference was the talk from Elder Carl B. Cook. He talked about forgetting our worries and trusting in God and in our abilities. It was completely everything I needed to hear! Especially because he talked about how we are capable of our responsibilities. Throughout all of conference I felt a renewed desire to serve the Lord to the end and a new strength to love every minute of it. So, I have faith that who ever I train and where ever I go (we still don't know those things or if I'm the one going) it will all be exactly what needs to happen. God's hand is in all things, as President Monson told us yesterday. Later today I'll find out if I'm leaving this area and on wednesday we'll find out who our companion is and where we are going.
I'm going to need a lot of support in the next little bit. Please pray for me if you can and write me and tell me about your lives. I love you all and I appreciate so much your support!
This wednesday our zone had the opportunity of running a youth activity for one of the stakes in our area. We reinacted the MTC and tried to teach the youth what it was like to be a missionary. It was so much fun and I was really edified myself. Hermana Norton and I were given the topic of learning a language, so we got to teach the kids about learning a new language. We loved telling the kids about how awesome a mission was and getting them pumped up to be missionaries. I loved it! There were a lot of investigators there and I hope they were able to feel the Spirit and I hope the members were able to be more excited about going on missions, especially the girls. :)
This week as we were street contacting, we met a guy named Benny. He told us his friend just got baptized and he had a lot of questions for us and asked if we would find a place to sit with him. He was so ready to hear the gospel! He asked us really simple questions about our beliefs and once he figured out that they made sense to him, he started getting really interested. We told him about a prophet and about how we had general conference this weekend where a prophet was going to speak. That was really awesome for him. We were able to bare our testimonies to him a bunch of times about how much the gospel truly has blessed us and how much we know that it is true. He told us he's very interested in learning more and wants to meet with missionaries soon. It's amazing to see how God has prepared him with his friend and how much he is ready to make a change in his life. We're so excited for him!
Hassan is just one of my favorite people! We got to teach him last night. We read Alma 36 with him about repentance and forgiveness. The Spirit touched him a lot and he he got uncomfortable for a second, but he knows that there are a few things in his life he needs to change. He's been praying and reads the little scripture messages that we send him everyday. I wish you could all meet him and understand. He is incredible-so easily touched by the Spirit and such a good kid. I wish he could also see it himself and believe more in himself. I know the Lord has incredible, incredible things planned for him.
So this weekend was so, so, so incredible! We have been waiting for conference for weeks and weeks and it finally came! And it was exactly what we needed in so many ways! I still haven't had time to collect my thoughts too much about all that was said, but I was able to recieve a lot of personal revelation for me and how I can be a better missionary. I loved Elder Scott's, Elder Alonso's, Pres. Uchtdorf's, Elder Cook's, Elder Curtis's, Elder Hales's (I'm worried about him), Elder Oaks, Elder Richardson, etc. I could keep going on and on about all of them, so let's just say that they were all my favorite talks. I was so incredibly surpised to hear that the Provo Tabernacle will be made into a temple. I can't wait to see it when I get home! I love conference as a missionary! We also were able to have both Luis and Patricio make it to 2 of the 5 sessions. They really enjoyed it and gained a lot from it. It really helped Patricio to have more of a desire and strength to quit smoking. We were truly blessed as a church this last weekend in what was said in conference. I would love to hear how conference touched all of you.
One other treat that we had was we were able ot see the Priesthood session of conference. Luis was there during that session, so we were able to accompany him. We got a lot of weird looks and comments, but we were so happy to be there. Amazingly, a lot of things that were said were so perfect for me. I felt like I really needed to hear Elder Waddell's and Elder Eyering's talks. Something that really touched me was to see so many worthy priesthood holders in their white shirts and ties all there. Our stake's huge chapel and cultural hall couldn't even fit all of them. I don't think you men of the priesthood understand just how amazing you are. You literally hold the priesthood of God, the power and permission to do God's work here on earth. And you are such good men. Not just any man can hold God's power. Being a missionary has made me so much more grateful for the priesthood and for worthy men that hold it and honor it. Thank you all.
Well, those of you who have gone on missions before and understand mission lingo probably understood the title to this post, but for those of you who are really confused right now, let me explain. In the mission we a "family" when it comes to training. The person that trains you is you "father"/"mother" (depending on if your a sister or an elder) and you are their "son"/"daughter". So, in that case, I'm Hermana Norton's "daughter" and she's my "mom". Last night we got a call from our mission president, President Howes, asking if Hermana Norton and I would both train seperately. So according to our little lingo, I'm going to be a MOM! It was a little shocking to say the least! We had a totally different guess as to what was going to happen and I never thought I would train now because there are at 3 other sisters that are older than me in the mission. So for the next few minutes after the call, Hermana Norton and I were in complete shock! But after the shock wore off, I felt complete peace. Something that really hit me from Conference was the talk from Elder Carl B. Cook. He talked about forgetting our worries and trusting in God and in our abilities. It was completely everything I needed to hear! Especially because he talked about how we are capable of our responsibilities. Throughout all of conference I felt a renewed desire to serve the Lord to the end and a new strength to love every minute of it. So, I have faith that who ever I train and where ever I go (we still don't know those things or if I'm the one going) it will all be exactly what needs to happen. God's hand is in all things, as President Monson told us yesterday. Later today I'll find out if I'm leaving this area and on wednesday we'll find out who our companion is and where we are going.
I'm going to need a lot of support in the next little bit. Please pray for me if you can and write me and tell me about your lives. I love you all and I appreciate so much your support!
Monday, September 26, 2011
A change is gonna come...
The first person is Hermana Criss and us cooking with her and the second is of some of the sisters at zone conference.
Wow! It's been a wonderful and busy week. Full of adventures and goodness! This last monday a sweet hermana in our ward, Hermana Criss, taught us how to cook some yummy little hispanic goodies. She taught us how to make home-made tortillas, wonderful quesadillas, gorditas, and picaditas. Yum! We had such a wonderful time with her and she is such a little hispanic woman- so proud of her cooking and so good at it. I'm excited to make them for all of you when I get home!
Elizabeth, one of the people we are teaching was a tender mercy for us this week. She's 14 and so sincere about wanting to know about God. This week when we went to teach her, she was with two friends and we invited them to join us for the lesson. We talked about being daughters of God and what that means and how it can help us. They really listened up and had a lot to say about that. They are such sweet girls that just want to do what's right in such a crazy world. During the lesson we were also talking about praying and Elizabeth told us she had something she wanted to say. She got very serious and with a trembling voice, she thanked us for teaching her how to pray and that she could really talk to God about anything. She said that she's been praying every single night since we first taught her and she knows that God is answering her prayers. Also every night she prays to know if what we are teaching her is true and she said that she's felt so strongly that it is true. She loves reading the Book of Mormon and really feels so much peace. Oh my goodness! Hearing that is honestly the best thing ever! It's so incredible to see God's hand in someone's life and to feel of His love that He has for them. She finished the lesson by baring her testimony to her friends that this will also help them. It was so beautiful to see the light in her eyes.
This week I finished my mormon.org account. Starting in October, the chruch will have ads, commercials, and billboards all over Pheonix valley about mormon.org and we are so blessed to be here now to see the effects of this. It's so cool to see what purposes the Lord has for modern-day technology. And we're excited to reach more people about the gospel. All of you that get to read this really should check out this website. This website was created under the direction of the prophet and it truly is inspiring, especially the videos and profiles. All members are encouraged to make their own profile so that people can see how the gospel has blessed their lives.
Patricio, our little friend that is trying to give up smoking is doing well. He still has a lot of opposition, but he difinitely has "ganas" or a deep desire to follow God. Yesterday he told us that his boss might transfer him to another city about 2 hours away, so he might be moving. We are praying that he won't, but we know that whatever happens is God's will. He has a bapism date for October 8th and we hope that he can continue to progress towards that.
Luis is also working towards his baptismal date. Yesterday his friend was using his car, so he walked for probably 20 minutes to get to the church. He knows he needs to be baptized and we can feel of God's love for him. We know that baptism will help him overcome his past and start a new life in Christ by fulling using the Atonement. We're excited for him.
Another adventure from this week is that we were able to go on exchanges with the engish sisters in our area. I was able to go the the english area with Sister Makela, one of the incredible english sisters in our mission. It was amazing to see the work in the english area. It is blooming and they are having huge success and I am so happy for them! We taught this awesome lesson about the restoration to this wonderful lady, Arie. She has been searching for a church that will help her to have a personal relationship with Christ. As we were teaching, the scriptures that we shared really spoke to her and she felt like this is what she was looking for. She told us that she felt that this was it and her search was over. Sister Makela and I felt the Spirit so strong and knew that this was exactly what we needed. We were able to testify from the conviction in our hearts that this was what she was looking for. There are so many people out there that are prepared and ready for this truth and we just need to find them. The rest of our exchange was amazing. I learned so much from Sister Makela and how to improve in our area.
As many of you know, this weekend was the general broadcast for the Relief Society. Wasn't it incredible?! I felt the Spirit so strong and saw so many ways in which I could improve and also felt much comfort. I especially loved the talk on charity by Sister Allred and the talk by Elder Uchtdorf of the 5 forget-me-nots. And isn't the new Daughters in my Kingdom book amazing?! It just gets me even more excited for conference this next week!
Last night we visited with Hassan. He is such a wonderful kid and he's slowly, but surely working towards a greater relationship with Christ. He's been praying and reading a little bit. We hope to get him to conference this week. He has such a strong testimony and it's only a matter of reminding him about that.
So transfers are coming up in about a week or so. Hermana Norton told me that every time she is leaving an area she can just feel it. I've been praying that I would be prepared for whatever happens this transfer and this week I think I might have gotten my answer. I don't know how to discribe it, but I feel like I'm on the last little bit of my time here and that I'll be leaving this area. It's sad because I love this area and I love Hermana Norton. I love the people, but I also think that I need to experience more in the mission. Now, I could be wrong, but just in case, all of you that send me letter this week, send it to the mission address until I tell you otherwise:
1871 E. Del Rio Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85282
Well, I love you all. By next week I should know if I'm leaving or not. Have a wonderful week and God Bless!
love,
Hermana Anneli
Hansen
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
God is Good
It's been a pretty crazy, but very wonderful week. We've planned for a lot of lessons, but a lot of them have fallen through for one reason or another, but we've been blessed with many other things to be involved in. It has been a week full of laughter and joy and even though we aren't seeing the success we would want, I know the Lord is blessing us to be able to learn and enjoy the time we have here together. We see miracles every single day and for that, I am humbly grateful. I love Tempe and I love serving here. These last 5 months have been wonderful. There are only about 2 and a half more weeks in the transfer and I have no idea what's going to happen, but I'm going to enjoy the time that I know I have here while I can.
Patricio is doing awesome! This week he's been having a lot of opposition and he's been fighting it like a champion. He realizes that something is trying to keep him from this amazing step he's about to make to baptism and he knows that he's stronger than any opposition, so he's pushing through. He just has this light about him every time we see him and he calls us his "angels". He also came to church this week and everything he heard really hit him and gave him that extra strength he needs to make it through. We are so grateful for his example of courage and determination to do what is right.
This week we stopped by a former investigator named Socorro. She was talking to missionaries for a long time, but her husband (boyfriend) is having a hard time accepting the gospel, and they aren't married and he doesn't want to get married right now. While we were visiting with her we told her we didn't know a lot of people around her house and so she said "Let's go meet some people". So she basically took us out around her neighborhood to OYM and talk to people about the gospel. Crazy! But it was even more incredible! While on our walk she told us that she has been reading the Book of Mormon and that she believes it to be true. Then we met a girl that she knows and she introduced us to her and started baring her testimony about how much the missionaries have changed her life. She kept saying, "if you just listen to them, they will change the way you see life and you will be a lot happier." It was amazing! We had no idea she had such a strong testimony! What an unexpected miracle!
On wednesday we had the chance to go to the Mesa Temple. Again, about 5 zones came and we had so many missionaries there at once. It's so special to be in the temple with so many missionaries. The spirit is so wonderfully strong and you know that all of them are spending all of their time and efforts bringing others closer to Christ. And after the session, it was wonderful to have them all in the celestial room together, like a big family reunion. Right now, because I'm away from all of you, these missionaries are my family. And we don't get to see each other very often, so when I see them I realize what it will be like in Heaven when we get to be reunited with those that we love so much forever. It truly is like Heaven. I can't wait!
The 15th of September is a big holiday in mexico. It's Mexico's Independance Day and Mexican's go all out for it. Our ward had a wonderful activity this week for it and they all dressed up in traditional mexican attire, including us as missionaries. The elders had bandanas and sombreros and the hermanas (us) had a blouse and long skirt with a red flower in our hair (see the picture). We really enjoyed ourselves and felt very mexican. One member of our bishopric saw our outfits and said, "Now this is the way our Heavenly Father wants His daughters to look." :) The food that they served was amazing mexican food, frijoles (beans), sopa (they call it soup, but it's actually a salad), of course tortillas, and carne asada (the meat of Mexico). And then we had a little program of songs and dances from Mexico. As full time and ward missionaries we all sang Cielito Lindo, a really famous Mexican song, and it was really silly, but really fun. This ward is such a blessing and it was so fun to share more in their culture this week.
Before the activity we also had another incredible opportunity. There is a man in our ward that had fallen away and had been excommunicated, but wanted so much to repent and stay strong in the gospel. He has worked hard for over a year to fully repent of his sins and this weekend he was able to be rebaptized. He asked me to sing at his baptism, and while I sang for him, I felt such a love for him and knew that Heavenly Father was so proud of him and that all of his sins had been forgiven through the Atonement of Christ. I know the Atonement is real and that was a really special, sacred experience for me to be a part of.
I know this is kind of a long email, but there's even more to tell. Last night we were OYMing (talking to people on the street about the gospel), and we had two very interesting conversations. One man that we talked to was very against the church. He told us that there were a lot of things that he did not agree with that he had learned about us from his church. He began to talk about a lot of things that he had heard that we did or believed in that were not true. We tried so hard to tell him that they were not true and to help him realize the truth, but he was very closed minded. Seeing that man, just made me sad that there are people out there that really do want to decive others about what we as a church believe in. And it made me so grateful for the chance to be a missionary and to try to help people see the truth. We also had the opportunity to talk to a man that just got out of jail. Because of his circumstances, he is jobless and homeless right now and he's trying to figure out his life. He actually came up to us and talked to us. He previously had many prejudices about our chruch, but he feels like he could use a little bit more help in his life. We had a really good conversation with him and bore our testimonies to him. It's amazing to see that God has helped to humble him to be able to turn to Him a little bit more.
Basically, it's been a wonderful week and we've had a lot of fun. I thank God everyday that I have the chance to be on a mission. Sometimes I can't believe that I actually am here on a mission and serving God fulltime. What an incredible chance that I have to do this and even though time is going fast, I'm so glad that I still do have time to continue to grow and learn and help more of His precious children. God is so good!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
I September in Arizona
I've found that in the longest weeks of my mission, that is where I grow the most. So far, this transfer has been filled with long weeks, so I know I have a lot of learning to do. We saw the hand of the Lord in the work so many times this week. It was incredible! And we also had some harder experiences, but it's all good.
This week we taught Chris and Jesse, these two less actives that we are working with. We had an amazing lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ. They both are growing in their testimonies and the spirit was so strong. These two are not afraid to share their testimonies or their beliefs. They know this is true, they just need to find their way back. Jesse shared a Christian rap that he wrote with us this week. It was awesome! :) After the lesson, we gave them each a note card with their names on it and told them to write down one thing that they want to do this week to be closer to God. They took it really seriously and made some really good goals. Also, we got a text from them this week telling us that they talked to their neighbor about the gospel and gave him a Book of Mormon. Yay!
One of the greatest things that happened this week was in a lesson we had with Patricio. He is an investigator that we have that has been trying to give up smoking. To support him, we've been giving up chocolate, which is a lot harder than it seems, but we love him and want to help him. We had kind of a last minute lesson with him and went there not knowing what to teach or what to say, but the Lord guided us. During the lesson he told us that he had prayed specifically about many things, one of them being the Book of Mormon, and he had received very clear answers to all of his prayers. He knows that the Book of Mormon is true and has a great desire to follow God. We talked with him about how we knew the Lord had a great plan for him and that this was his time to follow Him. The Spirit just glowed from his eyes and we could all feel the confirmation that this was all true. He gave us his last pack of cigarettes and signed it promising God that he would not smoke anymore. Wow! He is going to be baptized on October the 8th. Sometimes I am just so blown away at these incredible experiences that I can have and how precious these people are to God. Since our lesson, Satan has been working on Patricio and he had some things come up that kept him from coming to church, but I have faith that the Lord has a plan for him and He will help him through this time.
Luis is also getting baptized on the 8th. This week he told us that he has no doubts about the church. NO DOUBTS! He wants to make this change in his life and he's really excited. And he's been living the commandments so well. We are just so proud of him! He also just needs to learn the importance of coming to church. :)
It has been amazing weather here in the last few days. Cloudy and cool and it even rained a little. There was one night that we came outside and I felt like I needed a little sweater. It's been about 80-100 degress lately and I love it. People say it won't last, but so far, I love Septembers in Arizona!
We did a lot of biking this week, which was good, but for some reason, Satan is working on us and we had a lot of hard experiences while doing it. We talked to some people that were very against the church and had some kind of humiliating experiences. But that's okay. We're here to serve the Lord. Last night I was listening to the song "I feel my Savior's Love". I thought about how much I've felt His love in my life and because of that I know that I will "follow Him, give all my life to Him".
This week I've remembered the importance of gratitude. I know that life never is going to be perfect, especially while I'm a missionary, but it's important to be grateful for the things we have. Yesterday in church, a lot of situations we have with the ward, with less actives, and with investigators were weighing down on us, but I knew that I should focus on the good. In my journal I wrote down all the blessings we'd recieved and my blessings out weighed the trials 3 to 1. Gratitude is such a help, such a divine virtue.
Looking back on all that has happened so far this transfer, I feel like this is a transfer of stretching and of healing. I can see the Lord molding me and shaping me into something better and I feel so blessed that He cares enough about me to want to make me better. I truly feel His love in my life even amidst the stretching. I see so much support here from the sweet members of our little ward and can't help but just love them to death! How great is God that He knows better what we need and works such amazing things in our lives that we couldn't ever have dreamed of!
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
This week we taught Chris and Jesse, these two less actives that we are working with. We had an amazing lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ. They both are growing in their testimonies and the spirit was so strong. These two are not afraid to share their testimonies or their beliefs. They know this is true, they just need to find their way back. Jesse shared a Christian rap that he wrote with us this week. It was awesome! :) After the lesson, we gave them each a note card with their names on it and told them to write down one thing that they want to do this week to be closer to God. They took it really seriously and made some really good goals. Also, we got a text from them this week telling us that they talked to their neighbor about the gospel and gave him a Book of Mormon. Yay!
One of the greatest things that happened this week was in a lesson we had with Patricio. He is an investigator that we have that has been trying to give up smoking. To support him, we've been giving up chocolate, which is a lot harder than it seems, but we love him and want to help him. We had kind of a last minute lesson with him and went there not knowing what to teach or what to say, but the Lord guided us. During the lesson he told us that he had prayed specifically about many things, one of them being the Book of Mormon, and he had received very clear answers to all of his prayers. He knows that the Book of Mormon is true and has a great desire to follow God. We talked with him about how we knew the Lord had a great plan for him and that this was his time to follow Him. The Spirit just glowed from his eyes and we could all feel the confirmation that this was all true. He gave us his last pack of cigarettes and signed it promising God that he would not smoke anymore. Wow! He is going to be baptized on October the 8th. Sometimes I am just so blown away at these incredible experiences that I can have and how precious these people are to God. Since our lesson, Satan has been working on Patricio and he had some things come up that kept him from coming to church, but I have faith that the Lord has a plan for him and He will help him through this time.
Luis is also getting baptized on the 8th. This week he told us that he has no doubts about the church. NO DOUBTS! He wants to make this change in his life and he's really excited. And he's been living the commandments so well. We are just so proud of him! He also just needs to learn the importance of coming to church. :)
It has been amazing weather here in the last few days. Cloudy and cool and it even rained a little. There was one night that we came outside and I felt like I needed a little sweater. It's been about 80-100 degress lately and I love it. People say it won't last, but so far, I love Septembers in Arizona!
We did a lot of biking this week, which was good, but for some reason, Satan is working on us and we had a lot of hard experiences while doing it. We talked to some people that were very against the church and had some kind of humiliating experiences. But that's okay. We're here to serve the Lord. Last night I was listening to the song "I feel my Savior's Love". I thought about how much I've felt His love in my life and because of that I know that I will "follow Him, give all my life to Him".
This week I've remembered the importance of gratitude. I know that life never is going to be perfect, especially while I'm a missionary, but it's important to be grateful for the things we have. Yesterday in church, a lot of situations we have with the ward, with less actives, and with investigators were weighing down on us, but I knew that I should focus on the good. In my journal I wrote down all the blessings we'd recieved and my blessings out weighed the trials 3 to 1. Gratitude is such a help, such a divine virtue.
Looking back on all that has happened so far this transfer, I feel like this is a transfer of stretching and of healing. I can see the Lord molding me and shaping me into something better and I feel so blessed that He cares enough about me to want to make me better. I truly feel His love in my life even amidst the stretching. I see so much support here from the sweet members of our little ward and can't help but just love them to death! How great is God that He knows better what we need and works such amazing things in our lives that we couldn't ever have dreamed of!
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneli Hansen
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Missionary Work=Pure Joy
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
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
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