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

helllllo my dear loved ones!!

helllllo my dear loved ones!! 

today is a really beautiful day here in kz and is SUCH A GREAT DAY TO BE A MISSIONARY.  And a member of the church.  And also alive.  And basically, there is sunshine in my soul today and SO DANG MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART.  I hope it's like that for all of you, too :) 

This week was a week of miracles and lessons about the Atonement of Jesus Christ!  On Monday night, we taught A the last half of the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized next week and she said YES!  She was smiling SO BIG and there was so much love in that room as she told us about her own journey with Heavenly Father to come to that conclusion answer.  She told us about how even after she'd agreed to meet with us, she'd loved to fight and was sure that Jesus wasn't the Christ and that even after the first time she'd felt the spirit with us, she was sure that she would never get baptized but that after her own prayers and strugglings in the spirit and reading the Book of Mormon and seeking to have her own relationship with God and to recognize His voice in her life, she herself had come to the conclusion that very morning that she wanted to be baptized.  And she basically just testified for 10 minutes about Jesus Christ as her Savior and about how God has led her to where she is and OUR HEARTS WERE SO FULL.  We just smiled and cried and really felt just a glimpse of the joy they talk about in D&C 18:10-17. 

"10 Remember the ^aworth of ^bsouls is great in the sight of God;

 11 For, behold, the Lord your ^aRedeemer suffered ^bdeathin the flesh; wherefore he ^csuffered the ^dpain of all men, that all men might repent and ^ecome unto him.

 12 And he hath ^arisen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of ^brepentance.

 13 And how great is his ^ajoy in the ^bsoul that ^crepenteth!

 14 Wherefore, you are called to ^acry repentance unto this people.

 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!

 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the ^akingdom of my Father, how great will be your ^bjoy if you should bring many ^csouls unto me!

 17 Behold, you have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my ^asalvation."

His love is so real and so all emcompassing and for EVERYONE!!  And THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

(also that night we ended up having to go back to the church at 10:15pm because there was convincing evidence that a crazy person might have tried to sneak in there and live there and we had to go check so we did that thing like real policemen with flashlights and the proper "scoping the room out thing" and everything...also sister johnson had a pull-up bar as a weapon and we had brother dan skinner with us so no worries everything was great it's a casual thing) (but no one was there so fear not) (shoutout to dads for being the bravest humans and to moms for bravely letting them go examine scary things) (for real)

Besides that this week was really busy and we got a lot done and even got to do some early morning contacting and had some great meetings (like with Y, the Bishkek woman and with Babuska G who is ACTUALLY the cutest and bore such strong testimony and has SO much love and faith even though she's blind and confined to her bedroom and has all these problems.  always learn a lot about the Savior from being with her.  also, we totes took some photos and she blew you some kisses so just know that in Almaty, Kazakhstan there's a grandma that already loves you a lot okay and with M and THERE IS JUST SO MUCH GOOD IN THE WORLD) and some awkward meetings and saw the first snowfall (and then shed tears because SNOW IS THE WORST) 

boo...

and saw some miracles and such.  the norm.  but I really loved what happened yesterday!  Sundays have really become such a special day for me, especially as a missionary, because even though we do pretty much the same thing we do every other day of the week, we have the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of church!  We get to take the sacrament and have a really personal, reverent moment to remember the Savior and just have a little chat with Heavenly Father, and then we get to interact with and uplift and feel uplifted by the rest of the people who are also just doing their best on their path back to Heavenly Father.  I feel like I always get a lot of epiphanies on Sundays and just feel so much love.  Listening to our discussion in Relief Society, a lot of things came together and made sense for me.  Doubt and faith, as President Monson just reiterated, can't coexist.  And duh, that's true.  But I realized how often I doubt myself or the fact that I have anything to say or my ability to express it and realized that I can't believe that the Lord will do His work through us and that this is the most important work I'll ever do and at the same time be filled with doubts, even if they're just about myself.  D&C 6:36, ya feel?  

"36 ^aLook unto me in every ^bthought; ^cdoubt not, fear not."

That made me really happy.  Then 1 Cor 2:1-5 just made my burdens feel lighter 

" 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the^atestimony of God.

 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you,^asave Jesus Christ, and him ^bcrucified.

3 And I was with you in ^aweakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

 4 And my ^aspeech and my preaching was not with^benticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the ^cSpirit and of ^dpower:

 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the ^apower of God."

because if I can testify of Christ with all my heart, that really is enough.  The Lord is what will make up the difference.  And then this morning I reread Elder Martino's talk from this recent conference

(plus the priesthood one about faith being a choice.  MONEY) 

and realized that 

THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH TIME TO GET TO WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS.  But basically, if we will just trust the Lord enough to make His will our will, no matter how big or out of our power it may seem, and work with all our hearts to make His purposes happen, all works out.  I know that!  And I know it's only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior and our biggest fan and greatest ally, and I know He knows all of us perfectly and loves us with an individual love.  If we will but remember that and strengthen our faith and act to do what He wants us to, we will find safety and peace.  

Primary kids have it right, yo.  Love you all with all the love in the world and pray for you always.  have a happy week my dears!!

love love love,

s. hansy

WHAT THE GLADSOME TIDINGS BE

hiiiii loved ones!!

"Kok Tebe while we were walking to church yesterday"

This week was a crazy one with lots of service opportunities and goodness, but one of my favorite things that happened was this morning.  I was thinking about whether or not I'm the kind of missionary I want to be yet or the kind of missionary Heavenly Father wants me to be yet and yet again, I felt like the answer was no.  And as I was making a mental list of all the things I need to do to change or do better, I felt SO DANG OVERWHELMED.  I talked to Sister Waldie about it and she brought it all home by reminding me of the simple truths of the gospel.  She reminded me that we're here to seek to live more like Jesus Christ lived (background: yesterday we found out L's son is coming home from his mission and arrives at the airport at 5:30 tomorrow morning and we asked President for permission to go and he said something like, "YES!!  Rules and commandments are important but they are there to help us be more like the Savior" and we were really touched by that and found it pretty profound), and that I can and do seek to do that every day.  And then at the end of the day, we just reevaluate, repent, change as needed and work with the Lord to do what He needs to get done here.  She then said to stop worrying about all these other factors and to just be Anela Hansen.  To remember that Heavenly Father sees me as I am and knows what I need to do, and that only with Him and the Savior--not with other people or crazy expectations--will I become that person I can be.  Then she said, "remember that you're already doing a good job.  Take the time to thank Him for everything you already are and then ask Him to show you what you can become."  AND LIFE WAS GREAT.  

 "the photo of my hand was for dad.  This week we did a service project for this woman in our ward and we weeded for like 4 hours.  My allergies KILLED me that night and those were blisters that had died on my hands afterward but I loved it so much.  I love that kind of work and we were literally in the Huntsville of Kazakhstan and it was BEAUTIFUL there.  Sure love yous." 

Life got even better after I read President Uchtdorf's talk Of Regrets and Resolutions.

That talk is MONEY  And it's so true!  I know that as we follow those steps and really seek to make our faith real and personal, seek to love and serve and see and BE with others like the Savior would, and then choose to be happy TODAY, we will see miracles.  And even more, we will just be happy, good people that the Lord wants us to be.  And for the record, that's a pretty dang good thing to be.

Pretty much, the Lord has blessed me a lot, and this church is true.  I know that as we seek to apply the gospel, and especially to apply it outward, everything else works out because our Heavenly Father lives and loves us and our Savior already paid the price.  Life is a good wave.  And it's a happy one, too  

Last thing: yesterday we sang Lord I Would Follow Thee 

in church and the last verse in Russian made me cry.  In the last verse, like in English, it asks for the Savior's help to love others with the same strength He does us, but in the last lines it says this: 

Я смогу любить так сильно –

Я за Тобой пойду.

And that word "смогу" means that I WILL be able to.  and we just sang it and I cried, because I am that person.  I want to love like He does but I'm human and flawed and get in my own way of being able to love like that.  But I believe with all my heart that as we feel the Savior's love for us individually and seek to share that love with those around us, His strength overcomes ours and we are eventually able to do all He has asked of us.  He is the author and finisher of our faith and I know that with Him, we can do whatever He's asked us to.  Do what you can and He'll do the rest.  And all really is well.

I love you!  I pray for you and I am so grateful for you.  Have a wonderful day and have a bonfire and make someone's day okay.  Also be ready because CHRISTMAS SEASON IS COMING BOOYAH I CAN FEEL IT IN THE AIR HALFWAY THE WORLD AWAY BEST TIME OF THE YEAR (tom haverford voice)

ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD,

Sister Hansen

helllooo from the central eurasian mission what what

HELLO LOVED ONES!!

Maaaan, this week was a rollercoaster.  

Made me think of yous 

(Note: This is a painting of a cartoon my kids enjoyed watching together - lh)

This week I became a lot more familiar with some of the more frustrating aspects of missionary work and that was...a learning experience.  hahah.  but I learned something super wonderful that I wanted to share with you. 

Lately in the BOM I've been reading Mosiah and Alma and I seriously have been loving it.  The missionaries in those books were so powerful and did everything they did with so much love and faith and hope and humility and boldness, because they knew they were doing it with the Lord.  They had the authority of the calling and earned the power by how they chose to live before their God and I am constantly so inspired by their examples.  But this time when I read, I realized that when the Lord called Alma and the Sons of Mosiah to do the work, He told the usual--to preach repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to all--but also added to bear their afflictions with patience.  He said if they did those things, He would give them success.  And I was super struck by that.  The Lord realized that this group would be super successful, but not just because of what they taught--because of who they were.  Plus, last week, Dad sent me an email about being patient and assuming the best of people.  Loving them regardless of reasons to be frustrated with them.  It was all super inspiring and together, left an influence on me.

And then Heavenly Father, in His love and wisdom, gave me the opportunity to LIVE by these nice-sounding-in-principle principles.  OORAH!

Photo credit: Sis. Karin Carter (Thank you! xoxo)

Wednesday, we were suuuper frustrated because we had a lot to do and were running late and everything was not working out and we weren't even getting along with each other.  We were on the street walking somewhere and we were moving really fast and were just grumpy for every justifiable reason.  And then in this moment of indulgence (and y'all gotta remember, I love indulgence), the thought was like "be patient.  And show your patience by your attitude toward the situation." and then I saw a cute old lady in a cute dress and told her her dress was cute.  And kept saying hello to people.  And smiled.  AND IT ACTUALLY HELPED.  For real.  Not the situation very much, but how I felt.  And I really felt like the people in Mosiah 24:13-16.

"13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

 14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

 15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up theirburdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

 16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage."

It was a miracle!  And this attitude and seeking to change that in myself helped sooo much this week.  The Lord stepped in once I decided to get over myself and I am so grateful I got to see that.

Which brings me to this...THIS WEEK WAS A MIRACLE. For real.  It was a frustrating one in some ways but in lots of other ways, we have seen the Lord moving forth His work here.  Like the man we contacted on Friday who was willing to listen to a message about Jesus Christ and then ACTUALLY came to church when we invited him to the woman from Bishkek who'd met the church in Russia once and showed up at the building early on Sunday because she loves the doctrine and wants to feel that always to the woman that's been coming that asked us what she has to do to become a member to our investigators who have been making REAL PROGRESS in their hearts and just.  This is the work of the Lord.  And I am so so so so so grateful to be a part of it, even when I have to get a blood test in a scary hospital by myself. (results to come tomorrow) (oorah for visa renewals) (pray i don't have aids okay)  

tl;dr the best way to share the gospel is to be Christlike people.  because I know that every time we choose to act the way Christ would, in a big way or a little one, people FEEL that.  they feel His love and the reality of His existence in a way more powerful than words.  

I love you!!  i hope you all have a wonderful wonderful week. I love you and pray for you always. 

Love,

Sister Hansen

Photo credit: Sis. Karin Carter (Thank you, thank you!) 

hbd america miss u

ALRIGHT I HAVE NO TIME AND THIS IS THE WORST BECAUSE THIS WEEK WAS SO SO SO SO SO GOOD

but honestly, the most important thing I hope you all know and feel is that our Savior lives.  this is His church and His perfect love and Atonement are what make everything work.  He waits for every person with open arms and anything that's wrong in our lives is made right through Him.  He heals lives and hearts and people and it's the most beautiful message in the world.  how grateful i am it's true!!  He is the gift and He is the reason. (*please watch "Share the Gift" here*) 

okay. i actually have to go.  but just remember that "to love another person is to see the face of God."  get to it! we're all just on the same path back home.  and also, please eat some chick fil a and watch some fireworks for me. also hug my father because it was his birthday last week and i miss him.  and that is all.

sorry for the lameness and probably preachiness and uhhhha sjlkraseklr but i love you and pray and fast for you ALWAYS.  have a wonderful day, a wonderful week and keep on keeping on my loved ones.  read your scriptures and keep your dreams big.

love, 

sister hansen

So very grateful to Sis. Karin Carter for this photo. KZ

hahahahha.  for the fourth of july we'd bought these hot dogs that were the closest things to american hot dogs we've found here, and we were going to cook them at the church to eat with the missionaries to celebrate the 4th and the carter's bdays before music night (p.s. i have been using music more!!  we all have!!  woooo!) but we had a lesson and the fridge at the church isn't working right now so that was our cooling system. #americaninnovation