the story is not over!!

HI FRIENDLY FRIENDS!!  

This week was a little rough in terms of missionary work but it was a good one nonetheless.  We said a lot of goodbyes and those were pretty tender.  Sister I in particular ended up being a special experience.  Throughout our time here, we've gone out to visit her at her little cafe every once in a while and it has been wonderful to see how things have grown between us.  In the beginning, she would let us eat there (and usually try to stop us from paying, even though she's running a new business that needs all the help it can get) but would kind of avoid our conversations.  We would call her most Sundays after church just to say that we had noticed she wasn't at church and to see if we could help at all and she would usually shut that down too.  After a while, we stopped trying to push the gospel at her and started trying to have conversations with her.  As we've sought to love her more as a person and share the gospel in the little things we could do--not out of obligation but out of the sincerity of our hearts--she has really opened up.  She would sit and laugh with us and show us pictures and tell us stories here and there and she even told us that it's been really hard for her to see M (her daughter's son who is still having a really hard time) and A (her daughter, the RS president) suffering and to not be able to help.  It's just been getting better and better and this last time was the very best.  The day itself had been kind of frustrating and all of our meetings had fallen through and things just seemed to go wrong, but it all led up to us being at her cafe while she was closing up.  She was the last person there and was getting ready to leave.  We told her we didn't want to hold her up and that we just wanted to say goodbye because we're leaving and she got really serious and asked us to sit down.  She then--in her cute little apron and bandana, sitting behind her cash register--gave us a lot of really, really good advice.  She told us never to fight with our mothers and that family is the most important and just told us all the things that are in her heart as a mother and a strong member of this church.  It was kind of a sacred moment.  She then told us about why she doesn't come to church.  She said it's hard because she works all week and is really tired by Sunday, but that even more, there's a lot weighing on her heart.  She doesn't feel like she's needed or really loved there, she's afraid of offending people--because even though she does love the branch and the members, she doesn't want to be fake with people and wants to speak her mind, she's lonely because she doesn't have a husband, and right now she doesn't feel like there's anyone that she can trust with her problems or to have answers to them.  She doesn't even think these answers are in the Book of Mormon right now.  She then told us about Paul Pieper 

and the role he played in her conversion and acknowledged how good it was and felt sad because she doesn't think moments like that can happen for her right now in the church or in our faith.  We just listened with patience and love and praying to have understanding, and then after all this, Sister Waldie started testifying with all the sincerity and love in the world that even though Paul Pieper isn't here anymore, we still have access to that spirit and that individual help because that's the promise of the Restoration.  God lives today!  He knows us today, hears our prayers, knows our hearts and DOES give answers in the Book of Mormon.  She encouraged her to live seeking those deeper waters and the spirit was so strong.  And then I testified about the fact that she really is a pillar in this branch and with that Christlike love and strong faith she has, our ward needs her and what she has to offer, and that that's what Heavenly Father wants, too.  I was just floored at the fact that the Spirit had helped this lonely woman open up her heart to a few teenage girls and then that He had given us what to say.  I really felt that He was testifying through us and it was so special and knew that in that moment, we'd been led to her and that we really were "successful missionaries".  God loves all His children and the promise in PMG is true--as we listen with love, it will be given to us by our friends and the spirit what to say.

Besides that, this week was filled with a lot of things, both good and bad on our part.  I don't feel like it was my most productive week as a missionary and I don't really have any way to justify that.  But this week I learned a lot of lessons about the Atonement, what it means in my life and how I can apply it better.  We are ETERNAL BEINGS!!  I have been reveling in that all week.  I have spent so much time feeling guilty that I'm not a perfect missionary and that my mission won't be perfect and that even if I start today and hold out until the end, I probably won't be everything I want to be for the Lord in the little time I have left.  But in the great, glorious plan of our merciful God, I love that that is okay.  He wants us to begin today, every day, to build our foundation for the ETERNITIES He is preparing us for.  Every day, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ 

and the Priesthood power restored through Joseph Smith,

If you would like to know more about the Prophet Joseph Smith, please click on the 

Joseph Smith link above the picture. :)

is a new beginning of all of eternity!  It is so beautiful.  It is so happy.  And it's a good life.  So last night, I spent some quiet time before bed and evaluated with myself and the Lord the things I did well this week and the things that could have been better.  I then made a few specific goals about what I want to do differently.  I think they can all be summed up in the scripture I chose to "ponderize" for this week (1 Samuel 15:22): 

"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  Behold, to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to hearken is better than the fat of rams."  

I am free to choose according to my own will and every day, I can choose to repent and to be obedient and better if I simply want to.  That is the promise of the Atonement and it beautiful and something I want to be a part of TODAY.  So I will!  And that's that. :)

Also, this week N and A both had some problems and aren't really progressing right now, aaaand A--who just recently got baptized--hasn't been to church or kept an appointment with us since she got the Holy Ghost while we were in Turkey.  Which is kind of sad.  But we are still hopeful!!  And loving and praying for them and we're ready to work this week!  Because hey, the promise about the field being white and ready to harvest doesn't have fine print saying "applies to all places excluding Kazakhstan" you feel me.  No one can say it better than Elder Faust--"the harvest is the Lord.  Your responsibility is to thrust in the sickle." #tru

Which brings me to an Elder Eyring quote that's been a rock this week:

"There is yet another way the Lord will magnify you in your call to His service. You will feel at some time, perhaps at many times, that you cannot do all you feel you must. The heavy weight of your responsibilities will seem too great. You will worry that you can’t spend more time with your family. You will wonder how you can find the time and the energy to meet your responsibilities beyond your family and your calling. You may feel discouragement and even guilt after you have done all you could to meet all your obligations. I have had such days and such nights. Let me tell you what I have learned.

"It is this: If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power.

"Then, invariably, the faces of people flood back into my memory. I remember the shine in the eyes of my child whose heart was softened, the tears of happiness on the face of a girl on the back row of a Sunday School class I was teaching, or a problem that was resolved before I had time to get to it. I know then that I have done enough for the promise made by Joseph Smith to be fulfilled once again: 'Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.' 

"You can have the utmost assurance that your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith. The Father and His Beloved Son will send the Holy Ghost as your companion to guide you. Your efforts will be magnified in the lives of the people you serve. And when you look back on what may now seem trying times of service and sacrifice, the sacrifice will have become a blessing, and you will know that you have seen the arm of God lifting those you served for Him, and lifting you." (Rise to Your Call)

Sorry the computer made this dumb but my dears, THIS IS TRUE!!  As long as we do all we can with the Lord and with all our hearts, seek to do what He's asked of us, ESPECIALLY for those around us, He WILL always make up the difference.  I challenge all of us, me included, to better a) recognize those evidences of His hand in the lives of those around us and b) live to make sure He can do things through us.  What a glorious task, aye?

Anyways, have to go, but sure love yous with all my heart.  Pray for you always.  Keep working hard and being good and being happy.  Only onward and upward, loves :)

LOVE,

Sister Hansen

by stevedocwra on 

холодец, молодец (Aspic, well done)

(холодец--look this up.  ate it for the first time last week :') 

холодец = Aspic: "a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé" (Source: Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspic])

also ate tiny octopus soup aaand liver last week!  

remember when i didn't even like onions?  my name is sister hansen and i am GROWING!! hollaaaa)

What up beloved homies.

This week was a super good one!  I feel like time is just going faster and faster and it is BLOWING MY MIND.  Do you realize that a year ago I was speaking in church?  And we were celebrating Thanksgiving by roadtripping to Las Vegas?  Is this even real life?!  AHHH.  I wish it would slow down but I guess if it won't stop that just means we can't stop either.  "WORK WORK WORK...the greatest secret to missionary work is WORK." #truuuuu and life is good!!  Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Mum and Dad!  Really hope it's a special one even though it's already bound to be because I remembered the date (the 27th holla holla) for the first time in my 20 years of life.  Love yous :')

Alright alright alright.  This week was super special.  With Christmas coming up and with the fact that He is the center of this work aaand the entire gospel, I've been thinking about the Savior a lot this week.  I added reading the New Testament to my personal study and am in 3rd Nephi in the Book of Mormon and as I have read it with questions about how to help others and how to change myself and how to love Him more and live better, I have really been so floored at His love for us.  As His crowning and probably most talked about attribute, I know that's cliche, but He really does love us all in a perfect and complete and absolutely individual way.  It's been special to read the Bible and see specific and concrete examples of this love.  

One story I have been thinking about all week is in the last chapter of John.  After being with the very Son of God during His mortal ministry--something you would assume would change people forever--they decided to go back to their ships and live out their lives in their comfort zone, doing what they knew.  But I LOVE what happens when Christ comes back and calls to them to throw their net on the other side.  Peter, as soon as He realizes that it's the Savior, without hesitation jumps right in and swims as fast as he can back to His feet.  Peter then gets asked if he loves the Savior and gets told to feed His sheep.  From my studies on this and also Elder Holland's talk from October 2012, 

there were SO MANY INSIGHTS I've had on this throughout the week.  It's really changed how I want to live my life, with the time I have left on the mission and throughout the rest of my whole life!!  I want to live in a way every day where the Savior could ask me if I love Him, hear a confident and ready "yes", and be able to see it in the way I live every day.  Peter is such a real example for me, too.  Throughout Christ's ministry, he was constantly immediately "jumping" all in for the Savior (like the time he walked on the water) and then maybe falling short of the glory of God like we all do (like the time he denied knowing Jesus).  I feel like I can relate to that a lot.  So many times I've immediately affirmed "of course I would follow Thee, don't be crazy" and then lived a little less than that.  But this particular story taught me a lot about the character I want to have and the character of the Savior.  I want to be like Peter and so willingly and wholeheartedly follow the Savior in every instance, even when I'm sheepish because I got caught sleeping (or in this case, fishing when I knew that there were things more important than fish), and I want to get to the point where I not only return and repent and retry wholeheartedly and without hesitation, but also STAY there.  To hold myself to the desire and passion of the moment even when the moment itself has passed.  Really love how Elder H. talks about how this was the pivotal moment in Peter's ministry and how if he hadn't been 10000000%, wholeheartedly, ALL IN for the Lord before this point, he was now.  That's the kind of attitute I want to have and the kind of effect I want the mission to have on me and I know that means that I have to live like that every day...which brings me to the Savior.  Even though He must have been a little disappointed in Peter and the disciples, He just called them again to the work, accepted them and told them to go and feed His sheep.  He frankly forgave them and just asked them to give all they could.  So I commit!  Like an elder in my district said, "it's okay to be chastened".  So often on the mission I just want to be perfect and get sad when I'm not, but He doesn't want us to be perfect just for the sake of goodness--He wants us to feed His sheep.  To lift and love His people and help them receive the healing and joy and forgiveness and peace and strength and power of the Atonement and the Savior in our real personal lives.  Also, Sister Waldie and I have been listening to "Come unto Christ" (the youth theme last year, apparently?) and watching the video approximately 28349082309482309x EVERY DAY.  

And the coolest thing is that I really feel how this is changing my life and my heart and the way I think about and treat others and myself!  And so it is my job to help others do the same.  AND THE WORK IS SO SWEET.  leggooooo.

(Fall pic) "from that super happy pday we had up there with the elders.  kazakhs have this tradition/superstition that they do NOT sit on the ground ever because they think you'll go infertile if you do so they do that squat--we call it the "Пацан (meaning "kid") squat" heh heh"

Ah ah ahhahahahhahhahah I AM SO BAD AT USING TIME but here are a few other things:

- all the missionaries here in Almaty spoke in church yesterday to pass along the message we got from E. Holland at the meeting for members and we were asked to speak for only 5 minutes and guess who spoke for EXACTLY FIVE MINUTES AND GOT A HIGH FIVE FROM THE SECOND COUNSELOR OH YEAH HOLLA AT YA GIRL.  also i really love Russian a lot a lot.

always the one not doing a patsan squat.  hahahah

- there's a single mother and her son in our branch that are really struggling and one day we felt like we should just call them and say hello.  Their living conditions are pretty bad but she just found work (something everyone here is struggling with right now) and things are getting better.  She mentioned in passing that they didn't have enough money to buy groceries this week but that all was okay.  That night, we had a little extra time so just bought a few things and went to their house.  The gate to their area was closed so we had to call instead of just dropping them off and that was embarrassing, but we just went in and said hello.  When they asked why we were there and we pulled out the groceries the mom burst into tears (which happens pretty often so we weren't too surprised) but then the son--who's this 10 year old kid that is SO adorable and tender hearted but not moved too deeply by stuff like this--also started bawling and they both just said thank you.  The mum told us they'd just been talking about their situation and she'd been promising that things would change soon and that if they relied on the Lord, He would provide for them and literally as she was talking about it we had called.  And we gave them so little but the love in that room was so divine and we all just cried and hugged and Mormon Tabernacle Choir was playing in the background and it was just so special to get to be the good in someone's life in that way.  Mosiah 2:17 is real, homes.

" 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bserviceof your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

- We haven't met with N yet this week because she is working SO MUCH so she probably won't be baptized before we leave this city but that's okay because she is amazing and will someday.  A that just got baptized hasn't been to church since we've been home from Turkey and we're kind of worried about her but she's been in touch and we're trying to meet with her and we pray for her a lot.  And then there's A--the contacted A.  We met with her last night and talked more about the Restoration and the living prophet.  We watched a talk from President Monson and she really liked it and she told us that she really does feel something and has been praying all this week but feels like she hasn't received an answer yet.  We got to testify about how answers do come while we act in faith even when we don't "know" and we got to share our own experiences and it was so special.  I don't really know how to convey it with words but there is so much love in that little family and they are 3 of 4 people I've met and worked with on my mission that I really feel like are 100% family to me now.  They are just trying their very best and they have so much sincerity and pure intent and with hearts like that, I KNOW the Lord will answer their prayers, that they WILL recognize it and that they will be baptized.  Her 14-year-old daughter even mentioned that she wants to become a member of our church last night!  And.  I don't know.  I just know that Heavenly Father has such a big plan for them and loves them so much and I feel that every time I'm with them.  BEING WITH THESE PEOPLE HERE IS SUCH A PRIVILEGE.  They're our brothers and sisters indeed.

Alright alright I have to goooo but I love you all heaps and heaps and pray for you always.  Thank you for all you do.  Have a happy happy Thanksgiving my loves and enjoy some pecan pie for me!  Love you with my whole heart.  Be good, be safe, be happy :)

love,

Sister Hansen

"ahhh...you're missionaries?" "yeah! yeah...wait, no. no, not that"

(this is what happens when you are in turkey and can only refer to yourself as a volunteer and also don't speak turkish and have convos through broken english and google translate)

Hello dear ones!!

I am the WORST because I am already 5 minutes over but everything is AMAZING.  Basically, the Saturday of the baptism was amazing.  There were little bumps throughout (examples: the water was too hot so 20 minutes before everyone got there we had to take buckets and speed empty half the font...everyone in the service was in jeans...she had to be baptized twice...little kids were going crazy and were all over...the talk on baptism came after the baptism because she was late...the whole thing started an hour late because people aren't always on time here...etc etc) but despite all that, it was just such a sacred and JOYOUS day!!  I really felt what they talk about in D&C 18:15.  

" 15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one ^asoul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

Our little quick meeting with her before the service where we just shared one last scripture and bore our testimonies about what she was about to do and heard hers was so tender.  The church is true!  And the Savior and His Atonement and His love are so real and enabling and it changes lives.  I know that with all my heart.  And her testimony after was just fire.  She talked about truth and the Savior and His love and the forgiveness and healing she has found and she KNOWS it!!  To the depths of her soul.  And getting to see and feel that was so special.  Plus, we made spaghetti lasagna type stuff, and everyone totally loved it.  Thanks, allrecipes.

Turkey was UNREAL.  

Sisters at the Metro after our flower shop adventure (Turkey)

a street in Istanbul

Really one of the happiest and most sacred and uplifting and enabling and instructive experiences of my LIFE!!

Inside the Aya Sophia! (Turkey)

We met and heard from Elder Holland, saw bits of Istanbul, ate some KILLER food (really friends, turkish delight is all they say it is), 

 turkish. delight.  wooooow it is TASTY 

met some BEAUTIFUL people, saw miracles (like the fact that one night I said hello to a woman who had met one of the senior couples there AND spoke perfect english.  In a city of 20 million people.), got laughed at trying to say "thank you" and became a family with the missionaries there.  It was so special.  And we are a team!  And there is no time to rest.  There's a LOT to do but we gotta get to it!  WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORK!!

the ATKIN COUPLE.  They are just finishing up their mission in Turkey and are THE CUTEST COUPLE.  Seriously just so happy and SO DANG CUTE.  They just have such happy hearts and so much love and humility and willingness to give and laugh, and the last day--when they'd already gone--President told us that he was the owner and inventor of Skywest and Cafe Rio.  So, I mean.  That's pretty cool I guess. ;) 

Friday was a sheepishly hard day. We slept and did weekly planning and that evening we translated institute for the Johnsons and did some contacting, but it was hard to find motivation to get things done...which is super ironic because we had just felt SO MUCH FIRE AND FAITH and determination to do things better and do things right. But it was also a good lesson for me because--despite the weirdness and laziness I felt at the beginning--as soon as we contacted the first person and took those steps forward, we felt so much love and desire and I knew that was a blessing of work. I love that! Saturday was really wonderful. We met with that girl--N--and she agreed to be baptized! We are still meeting with her and want to be sure that she understands what all this is and is committed to it but she feels it and she herself had come to the conclusion after talking to M (who is 16 and the best member missionary out there) that it's something she needs. Right now she's tentatively set for December 5th.  Seriously a miracle.  And then yesterday was just a great day. We had another meeting with N before church, there were like 5 people with real potential that just showed up to church wanting to be taught and learn more (THINGS ARE CHANGING HERE!  Seriously. It's unreal.), had a killer lesson on missionary work and all was just really good. I also had an epiphany about the Atonement. I thought about all the times I have felt fire and desire to get out and work and talk with everyone I see with all my heart...and then didn't do it because we had "errands" to run or because "maybe my companions won't want to" or whatever it may be. I thought about the times I put those promptings off in some sort of fear or hesitation and how often I've told myself that things will be different. And THEN I realized that that is BOGUS! If the Spirit tells you to do something, you should do it, and if you aren't doing it--for any reason--it's on you and you need to repent. And I was feeling really guilty about that Saturday night and Sunday morning. I'd repented and pleaded with the Lord for forgiveness and for peace and for the strength to change, and while I did feel that He would help me be brave enough to change and serve Him the way I should, I still didn't feel peace about what I had done wrong (or at least for everything I hadn't done yet). But thinking about the prodigal son and the adulterous woman during sacrament meeting really changed everything. Forgiveness and fresh starts, regardless of how much time we've wasted in the already short time we've been given, is the promise of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I just need to believe that. Faith is what will make me whole. And I believe Him!

 the sisters and a few of the turkey elders as we were finishing the conference on thursday.  I LOVE THOSE MISSIONARIES.  they are such dang good people and such good examples and so fun and last week was just like being with family and it was WONDERFUL.

Other than that, last night we had an AMAZING lesson with A, the woman we contacted on the bus last month. She really felt the spirit and the desire and urgency about reading.  She had never felt that before!  We had a lesson about the Restoration and bore the sincerest testimonies and cried and the spirit was so strong and it was amazing to see the difference between a good lesson and a lesson with the Lord.  She is really going to read and pray about it!  For the first time she really believes that we may actually have truth!  And she will find out for herself!  It's a miracle. 

Basically, life is BEAUTIFUL and the love is so real.  Love and pray for you always, my dear.  Carry on, carry on :)

with the sisters outside of the Blue Mosque before we went inside...it was just us and about half of the Turkey elders since President didn't want us in too big of a group, and even though the elders aren't used to having sisters in their mission, they obviously know enough because we got there and they were like "alright, we'll give you all a few minutes to take pictures before we go inside"...heh. #sistermissionarieslovephotos

ALL THE LOVE, 

Sister Hansen

i stand all amazed

Hi hi hi loves! 

WOW.  Wow.  There is so little time and so many feelings in my heart and all I can really say is wow.  God lives, this is His very own church and my dears, He is so, so, so good.

A lot has happened since last week (almost accidentally hiked to Kyrgystan in the snow last Monday...got my eyebrows threaded (read: cried a bit and now have great eyebrows)...saw an amazing, amazing human being--who at one point couldn't bring herself to even think of Christ as the Savior--testify of Him and His perfect love with power and conviction at her own baptism into His church...came to Turkey and fell in love with Istanbul...so dang many things, people) but because of time I'll just tell you about this weekend.  On Saturday, after having the most humbling and wonderful and beautiful baptism for A, we got on a flight to Turkey.

In the Blue Mosque in Turkey! :)

Yesterday, we got to go to sacrament meeting in the church here in Istanbul and I was blown away.  We met some of the members before and heard their stories and felt their faith and their love and all throughout that time and sacrament meeting itself, I just knew that I was in the presence of spiritual giants that Heavenly Father Himself is so proud of and loves so much and it was so special.  They have made so many sacrifices but love so much and are so willing to do all they do because they KNOW this is God's.  From the branch president--who is a Turkish convert who served a mission and married an American and had a great job and life there but decided to sell everything he had and come back here without any jobs or any promises because he knows the church is true and because he knew the call to help establish God's work in this part of the world was far greater than any sacrifice he made--to the man living in the city closest to Syria who singlehandedly opened a branch and has had 10 baptisms in the last few months just from sharing this precious gift that has changed his life with those he loved to the Pakistani people that came to the French people behind me to the happy family in front of me to the littlest kid in that audience, these are just people of such great faith and such great hope and surety that they are following none else but the living God.  Wow.  We were all together for an address from E. Holland (it was like a fireside for this region of the world) and it was so good. He talked about how the lives of pioneers have never been easy and never will be but how the little things we do--no matter how little we feel like they are--are not insignificant.  And he talked about the brother of Jared and told us how the Lord does 99% of the work and often lets us do the last 1% on our own and lots of times, we feel super ill-equipped to do that because we already rely on the Lord so much for everything else we are doing.  but when we show our faith and give the Lord our rocks (in his words, "the most uncreative, unimaginative, bland answer anyone could have given.  ROCKS!!  The Lord gave him this incredible blueprint and figured out everything except for lighting and had done it all, and even in the midst of that the best the brother of Jared could come up with was stupid rocks.  But the Lord saw this and said there had never been such great faith shown before.") with love and faith and offer up all we have, even when it's little, He will do the rest.  He also talked about the responsibility we have as individuals and in our branch to help the church and its members be able to be recognized by the Savior as His when He comes again.  woooow.  that was really big for me.  that really is the goal, you know?

 the Kazakh missionaries on our Sunday morning walk with President down to the Bosphorus.

along the Bosphorus.  Istanbul is seriously GORGEOUS and I want to live there someday. 

Today we had a session with him and there were so so so many amazing things he taught us I don't even have words to share them all right now.  He told us to never get down on ourselves or the work and talked about the fact that this is pioneer work and said so many things I needed to hear and gave us so many beautiful compliments and instruction and promises and it was amazing.  But in the very end, hearing him talk about the things we need to do to keep our faith alive (deep waters. we have to swim in deep waters, and keep kicking and stroking even when we don't feel like it ourselves), hearing the testimonies of the wives that were there, hearing him testify purely and with power and authority that this IS the truth and it is God's, hearing him plead before the Lord for us and this area and the work and our families and our happiness and faith and success in a kneeling prayer at the end and finally singing one verse of "God be with you till we meet again" and reflecting on the power of the spirit we had felt throughout that whole morning and being sad that it was ending but knowing that we WILL once again meet in a very literal way at the feet of our Savior...it was one of the most sacred and beautiful and special days of my entire life.  i don't really have words to describe that realm of feeling.  But I know what I felt, I know what I know and I know that there is no path backward.  This church is true and it IS God's.  He lives!  He loves us with a perfect love.  He sees our struggles and our growth and our efforts and our struggles and He is with us and I know that as we learn to use prayer the way He intended us to and then work and love and repent and act, we will know that He is leading us and He will confirm our faith.  Joseph Smith was a prophet and God did appear to him.  Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's prophet today.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God, the gospel is a life of love and second chances and Christ, our Savior, lives.  What a MIRACLE!!  What a privilege.  Wow.

 part of the Aya Sophia!  It's a church that was built by Christians but taken over by Muslims and turned into a Mosque throughout history and now it's just a museum.  SUPER gorgeous there

I love you all with all my heart and pray for you often, and I know the Lord is aware of you.  Thank you for your love and your faith and for being mine.  I love you I love you I love you.  I hope you have the happiest week and feel the Lord's love for you personally because that is real.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Sister Hansen

welcome to the disneyland of life aka a mission

HELLO MY DEARS!!  

How are you today?  Last night we had the first real real snow and Sister Waldie and I spent the first 10 minutes of this morning just looking out the window and appreciating it.  And then when we went outside after studies I just felt SO DANG HAPPY.  I've fought it for a long time but my name is Sister Hansen and I LOVE SNOW. 

(Also, I kind of like some country music sometimes.  I like having solo dance parties in the middle of the night when I'm not a missionary.  Once I ate straight hot chocolate mix at 4am during a finals week in order to have the energy to stay awake. #confessiontrain) Really though, life is good and I am so dang happy to be where I am and to be doing what I'm doing, even when I'm surrounded by 11 year old gamer boys that are speaking in noob both in Russian AND English.  Some things are stronger than barriers <3 but bad jokes aside, I'm happy and I really really hope all of yous are too.  Also, SHOUTOUT TO TAYLOR HANSEN FOR GETTING THE BIG WHITE ENVELOPE   

AND GOING TO ROME HOLLA HOLLA.

Hansen, Waldie and Johnson

This week was so good and so CRAZY.  Seriously in the last 3 weeks we have eaten like 7 meals at home and there is SO MUCH TO DO.  This week we met with A like 2834092349302 times and had some really wonderful lessons with her because she is officially GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!  It is a miracle!!  She understands everything so well and has such strong faith and testimony and knows that Heavenly Father has been the one leading her this whole time and being a part of it has been so humbling and SO HAPPY.  The worth of souls is so great!  We were also really busy prepping for Halloween parties because the school for kids with disabilities where we volunteer asked us to help with (read: plan and execute) their Halloween party and the branch put the missionaries in charge of the Halloween party and that was ridiculous.  But the parties were actually pretty good.  Especially the one at the school!  That made my day and probably week.  Those kids are so sharp and funny and happy and just soo good and pure and wonderful.  Really made me look forward to the Resurrection when their little bodies will be as strong as their brave little hearts.  They are the CUTEST!!  And have so much love and grit and inspire me to know the Savior so much better.  Super grateful for that opportunity. 

Yesterday we were at the church for like 10 hours teaching lessons after church and it was seriously a miracle to be a part of.  People are waiting and ready for the gospel!!  I am so convinced!  And my favorite lesson (is this even allowed to say?  Whoops...) was with this girl, N.  She's 20 and so dang great.  She's poised and funny and cool and kind and real and knows what she wants and I LOVE her and YOU HAVE TO HEAR HER STORY. hahahha prepare yourselves.

Once upon a time, this cool kid, S, was a member of our branch.  He's 21 and just left a few weeks ago to serve a mission in Ukraine.  What we didn't know is that he has a girlfriend that he's known for 4 years and has been seriously dating for the last 4 months, and what SHE didn't know is that he was a member of the church or a kid that believes in God at all.  He never told her anything about that.  They saw each other every day but on Sundays, he was always "at his uncle's" or "at work" or something.  When the mission came up, he told her that his uncle had found this great but suuper strict university in Spain (editor's note: this is the MTC Russian speaking kids go to and they're only there for two weeks).  There, they wouldn't be allowed to drink or smoke or fool around and would only be able to write once a week.  He told her he'd be gone for two years and she was in shock but believed that it must be a good decision based on what he told her and she supported him.  There was even a time when he was like "nope jk I can't do it I'm not going" and told her that, she encouraged him and said "listen, this will be good for you and I believe that.  you should go" and was just SUCH A KILLER GIRLFRIEND.  He left and wrote to her every Monday, but two weeks in told her he was moved to Ukraine and she started to think maybe it wasn't a school after all.  The next week, he came clean.  He said "hi, actually, I believe in God, am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and am here as a missionary for my church.  And I love you and hope you still love me...and also if you have more questions, here's my mum's number" (editor's note: I DIED OF LAUGHTER HERE I MEAN REALLY).  She had NEVER MET HIS MUM and she is kind of an intimidating woman, but being a believer (but not ever having associated with religion) herself, decided she would call her. O, S's mum, told her to meet her at a parking lot at 4pm next Saturday (which was last Saturday if that makes sense).  N thought they would discuss it all but O just brought her to the RS activity where she introduced her to us and let us take over.  We knew NONE OF THIS and didn't get to meet with her until yesterday, but she came to church both Sundays and to the Halloween party Saturday night and IS A MIRACLE.  She is so so SO open and so sensitive to the Spirit and so aware that there is something more and that there's something different about what we believe and is just SO DANG COOL and we love her a lot.  SO yeah.  We started teaching her yesterday and, on the fly after Church, had an unplanned and super spiritual Restoration lesson in full.  She's so open and ready and between her (the girlfriend of a longtime member) and A (the sister of a longtime member) I am convinced that everyone has at least one close person in their lives that is ready for the gospel and that would accept it if we shared it with them!  And it really is the happiest and most complete and life-changing gift we could give ANYONE and that means we gotta follow that repetitious D&C promise and open our mouths!!  Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by President Eyring:

"Again I have a caution and a promise. The caution is that sorrow will come from failure either to love or to bear witness.  If we fail to feel and show honest concern for those we approach with the gospel, they will reasonably distrust our message.  But if out of fear of rejection we fail to tell them what the gospel has meant in our lives and could mean in theirs, we will someday share their sorrow.  Either in this life or in the life to come, they will know that we failed to share with them the priceless gift of the gospel.  They will know that accepting the gospel was the only way for them to inherit eternal life.  And they will know that we received the gospel with a promise that we would share it.

"I can make two promises to those who offer the gospel to others.  The first is that even those who reject it will someday thank us.  More than once I have asked missionaries to visit friends far from where I lived, learned that the missionaries had been rejected, and then received a letter from my friend with words like this: 'I was honored that would offer to me something that I knew meant so much to you.' If not in this life, such messages will be sent to us in the world to come when those we approached will know the truth and how much we cared for them.  My second promise is that as you offer the gospel to others, it will go down more deeply into your own heart.  It becomes the well of water springing up into eternal life for us as we offer it to others."

From Pres. Eyring's talk, Witnesses for God

And my dear friends, I testify that this is TRUE!  I know the Atonement is for ALL of us and that with faith in Christ and in the love and healing and mercy of His we've felt throughout our lives, He WILL help us share this perfect gift with these brothers and sisters of ours.  And I challenge all of us--you and me--to do this better.  Let's get to it, aye? :) WHAT A HAPPY WORK MY LOVES!!

pday excursions...

Okay, well, I should go, but just know that I love you with all my heart and pray for you always and am happy because I know Heavenly Father's got you 100% and that means no worries.  He has your best interests in mind and loves you SO much.  Even more than me and that's pretty substantial. :) Just keep praying and reading your scriptures and trying every day to be the person that helps someone else know Christ better (through example, little acts of spontaneous goodness, words, WHATEVER YOUR MEDIUM MAY BE YOU DO YOU) and you will feel this personal love yourselves!  WHAT A GOOD LIFE IT IS :) 

Allllll the love,

Sister Hansen

Happy Halloween! :) xoxo