"you're getting so tan from all this contacting, people will think you served in africa"

HEY HI HELLO LOVED ONES!!

Seeing as I have sent you horrific emails for the last 17 months, I figured I'd send you at least a semi-decent one today.  because hey, let's be real...being a missionary is the BEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.  aaaand my emails should probably at least reflect the joy and miracles we see and experience you feel me.  heh heh.

"behold, I will show you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all who He has chosen..." (1 Nephi 1:20)

THIS WEEK, that includes:

Gratitude!  Sometimes I want to panic and be sad that time is ticking but this week has just been one of work and joy and gratitude.  I love being a missionary!  And today, I'm simply happy for and humbled by this time to be a representative of Jesus Christ among people that He loves so much.

GOING TO ASTANA ON EXCHANGES!!!  That really just changed my entire life.  First of all, we saw what is probably the cutest baby in the entire PLANET on the plane.  Think baby from Ice Age.

(Source: http://www.mattfind.com/12345673215-3-2-3_img/movie/k/e/l/ice_age_2002_1008x567_323773.jpg)

Second, WE GOT TO DO MISSIONARY WORK IN ASTANA WITH THE SISTERS AND PEOPLE WE LOVE SO MUCH!!

The KZ Sisters (L-R): Sis. Morrison, Sis. Hansen, Sis. Peterson, Sis. Symons and Sis. Slight

 Photo credit: Sis. Diane Toronto

Sister Peterson and I served together the first day and it was great.  Before the exchanges, the thing she said she wanted to learn about was different contacting techniques--how to start conversations and how to tie in the gospel every time.  She doesn't have her permission to preach yet, and while any person in the world would be dying of frustration and stress right now, she is a CHAMP and finding ways to thrive.  She had an experience last week where she contacted a man on the bus under the rules and he ended up meeting with them to hear about the gospel, and since then she decided never to discount the miracles the Lord can work through her even now.  Basically, she's a stud.  Also, a man told her that she should wear a habit because it would suit her and she would look just like Mother Theresa. hahaha. #love101

We had a meeting with N which was just the BEST because a) we got to help N and b) Sister P just shared her whole soul during that lesson!  His favorite hymn is "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy"

so we sang that together in the beginning and the spirit was so strong.  Getting to share real ways the Savior and our faith in Him has helped us was too good (remember that one time when I was in the best circumstances ever in Russia but was super sad and wanted to come home and was doubting everything but literally could not doubt that Christ was my Savior or the things I'd felt in His church and how in a very real way, it kept me together?  Helaman 5:12

"12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty stormshall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

is REAL okay) and getting to remind him that the way to continue to feel the Savior's love and strength is in HIS very church.  And he listened and I think he felt something and getting to invite someone I love SO much to truly come unto Christ was a blessing and a privilege.

We contacted together for our evening block and that was really one of the funnest and most rewarding things that's happened lately.  We just sought to open our mouths to as many people as possible to share the gospel with them!  And we did.  And even though sometimes the questions that came out were less smooth than we had planned and not every single conversation got to the gospel, we really felt the spirit lead us alllll night long and we saw how the Lord just put people in our path that have so much potential (like A, the woman who has seen temples in Utah before!).  It was a big testimony builder for me too because it just reminded me that the Lord confirms right choices not just with miracles, but with joy in your own heart.  We also met a man who, in the beginning, was trash talking Mormons and telling us that we live by old weird rituals and that we wear pioneer clothes (which was ironic because the ~fabulous~ Sister P was literally right in front of his eyes...), and by the end wanted to read the Book of Mormon!  The Lord just goes before our face every single day and places people in the path.  Even the grandma that we contacted by asking where the nearest bathroom was that told us that such a big city SHOULD have toilets and that it's embarrassing that it doens't because "PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING!!! I AM SUFFERING!!"  it has been a long time since I've seen so much passion in such a tiny, wrinkly, cute body. #bless Afterward, she told me that really helped her understand how to start conversations while street or bus contacting and how to get to the gospel and it helped her feel the fire again.  She saw her faith grow and mine did as well.  Basically, she's the best.  Her Russian is SO good, she laughs an appropriate amount (think Elder Wirthlin in 'Come What May and Love It')

and she is willing to start a conversation with anyone.  At one point there was a family on the street that I knew we should talk to but I felt nervous about starting a conversation with.  While we were approaching them, I was racking my brain to think of a question...and then she surprised me by opening her own mouth and just going for it!  It was so good.  Also, blini.

Source: https://www.russianfooddirect.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Blini-2.jpg

Serving with Sister Slight!

Sis. Hansen and Sis. Slight doing a service project with the other members

Really, I don't know what it is but something happened in our companionship this winter that is almost magical, and whenever we're together I feel such an increased desire to do everything the Lord expects of us and greater faith in what He can do as we become those kinds of people.  It was so happy and like home to be there and to work under those circumstanes!  We contacted and met some people who REALLY didn't want to hear what we had to say and a cool kid that went to ASU even though he's from Moscow ("ah...you're recruiting" haha) and met some really lovely souls.  We also got a call from a woman we contacted this winter!  We met with her and she said she'd been having a super hard time lately and just wanted to tell me her problems because even though she hadn't been interested in the gospel at the time, she remembered that I believed in God.  Cute woman.  We met with their new investigator, V, and he had SO many questions about the Book of Mormon.  Really good questions, too.  For example, how could did these people live by the law of Christ (the law of baptism, repentance, faith, grace, etc) when all the people before them lived the law of Moses (saying that essentially the law of Christ hadn't been introduced yet and couldn't have been lived by until the other law was fulfilled)?  Why didn't Isaiah get to know about Christ's law when SO much else got revealed to him?  How could Laban--a powerful, important man, have been both drunk AND left alone in the middle of the street?  Things like that.  We got to answer all these questions with scriptures from the Book of Mormon and that was suuuper cool because we got to see the fruits of all the studying and praying and seeking for understanding we do every day.  But all the answers we gave that he wasn't satisfied with we backed up with our personal, sincere testimonies of the divinity of the Book of Mormon and that he can know too.  It was great and he's a super good guy.  It's also neat how Sister Slight always teaches from a place of sincerity and calm faith.  She never gets stressed or frustrated or ruffled.  Somehow, she always sees the other person as a child of God and is able to think and teach by the Spirit because she doesn't have that barrier of stress or panic getting in the way.  So good.

That evening pretty much killed my soul.  I got sick and at English I thought I was going to die and pulled out my contacts and everything...it was so pathetic and so ugly.  hahha.  but talking to those friends we made that we have actually come to love so much and that I know will accept it someday was so great.  Someone even had a dream about me in which I cursed someone out in PERFECT RUSSIAN. and I mean, cursing someone out isn't my style, but he said the words I was using were "really, super Russian". ahahahha.  M was there (!!!!) and she was skyping with Sister Johnson, who asked if she could play us a song.  She played "count on me" by Bruno Mars

and then just said she loves us all and that even though the mission ends, the friendships never do. That's when the tears started...AND THEN THEY DIDN'T STOP.  Walking out of the branch there for the last time tore my heart open and then saying goodbye one by one to our favorites there as they went to their various bus stops cut a new heartstring every time.  THE VERY WORST, though, was M. Wowowowowowowow.  she gave me the Little Prince in Russian.

The Little Prince is Sis. Hansen's favorite book

Source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31qpCu2UXfL._BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

and we just hugged.  and cried.  and said that we will see each other again and expressed gratitude and that was it and it just killed me.  SO GRATEFUL for that Christlike soul and for how she has shaped and taught me.  Just experience the most profound gratitude for every person the Lord has allowed me to love and serve and interact with here.  During planning, kept crying and just wanted to be a sad sack...until Sister Slight and I remembered President Cooke's

President and Sis. Cooke, Washington DC North Mission

(Source: http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/media/photos/9190733.jpg)

(the Washington DC North mission president holla he's the best) famous line: "charlie mike".  Finish the mission.  And retaining and working and loving and teaching according to everything outlined in Alma 26:29-30

"29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been stoned, and taken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.

"30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some."

every day of the rest of my mission and the rest of my entire life is my goal and my prayer.

We had a giant sleepover of sisters in the living room

and actually went to bed at a decent time but I woke up Sister Peterson...by sleep talking...in Russian.  ABOUT TOILETS AND PEACE.  And when she said "what's that?" I got semi-conscious and said "uhh....that I said just barely?  It was just...a couple of reminders...." even smooth in my sleep.  hahahaha.  but really, the sisters in this country are the BEST and I am so excited and grateful for the missionary culture and joy there will be here among missionaries, members and Kazakh people alike for years and years to come because of their faith, love, obedience, work and consecration.  THEY ARE JUST THE BEST!!!

Had a talent show and I sang His Eye is on the Sparrow

and was sick and didn't sound good.  Buuuuut a former investigator, N, was there, and she said she felt something SO strongly she almost cried!  THANK YOU, SPIRIT!!  there were just like 2248920482390482390 moments that evening that reminded me that as we stop questioning what we have to give and just GIVE it for our brothers and sisters, the Lord qualifies our efforts.  so grateful that He makes up the difference.

Other than that, this week was fantastic.  Sister Symons and I have seen miracles every single time we've done all we can to effectively plan and then just thrust in our sickles and worked.  For example, yesterday--we gave away two copies of the Book of Mormon!  One was to a man we contacted on Saturday evening (that was so special.  Sometimes when I'm contacting, there are moments when I share the gospel because I know it's MY responsibility and will be on MY head and all that stuff, but when we talked to this man, the Lord just gave me so much love for HIM.  He's old and doesn't have any children and has only been married for two years and that makes him sad, and we shared the gospel because we know that's the only way HE'LL find real peace in his heart and we really want him to find that.  Too good.) and another was to a man we met as we were contacting!  We were walking the same direction and we asked him a question about where to find a trash can and next thing we knew, he walked all the way to the church with us to get a Book of Mormon.  Small and simple things, huh? :) He is a physics guy and doesn't leave his house that often and isn't even sure that God exists but he really listened to our testimonies and wanted to know how we had come to know, and when we said the Book of Mormon helped us and that he could know too, he came and got one.  The Lord is with us!  And we felt that in the big miracles and in all the joyous little moments as well.  Such a happy work!  And along that same note, Sister Symons is an actual angel.

On the way to church yesterday, we walked past a boy and a girl sitting on a bench.  Their backs were to us and when I contacted them, the girl looked up and I saw that she was sobbing her eyes out.  I felt like I'd interrupted a sacred moment and was thrown off guard and apologized and left.  It made me soo sad, and I told Sister Symons about how I felt sad that I hadn't been more prepared to help her in a moment when she obviously needed some kind of help.  I hadn't said anything at all!  But instead of saying, "yeah, that's the worst", Sister Symons just said, "well, we can still go back!"  So we took two pancakes (that we had brought for the linger longer) and literally ran back and gave them to her. We asked her if she was okay and if we could help and she told us that her brother just got sent into the army.  She didn't ask us who we were so we couldn't give that much of a testimony, but we just told her God loves her and knows her and her family and that He's with them in this hard time.  We gave her hugs and told her to write down our number if we can do anything and it was such a tender, satisfying, human, Christlike moment--and it was all prompted by Sister Symons.  So thankful for her!  She always remembers why we're here and makes it so easy to follow promptings.  She's a good one.

basically, life is full of miracles and joy and laughter and fake nutella and faith and work and tears and sacrifice and the spirit and all the things that make life worth living.  and i am SO GRATEFUL for it.

last words this week go to Rudyard Kipling

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Rudyard_Kipling_(portrait).jpg

and his poem "If":

If you can keep your head when all about you  
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,  
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;  
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;  
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;  
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;  
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,  
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,  
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,  
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,  
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

the Lord loves us and has a plan for each of us, and i know that each day just gets better and better.  the best is yet to come so we better enjoy this moment to know what to measure it against, aye?  so grateful for the love and mercy and light and hope and confirmation I receive from Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, every day.  They live, They love us, and this really is their church.  The Book of Mormon is true and is the source of answers and that is an assurance anyone who is willing to act in sincerity can receive.  God is good!

love you all SO so so much.  pray for you always.  talk soon and have a happy happy happy week my loves!
sister hansen

"klo"

~this week's title courtesy of a kid that always tries to speak the tiny bit of english he knows and somehow mixed up the oos and the l in 'cool'.  hahahaha~

hello loves!!

this morning i was thinking about the principle of faith and how faith in Jesus Christ is the first and most foundational step in anything we do in the gospel.  and in thinking about how we show faith, one of the things that came to mind was gratitude.  when we have faith in the Lord, we're able to do what Christ did when He fed the 4,000 in Matthew 15--He asked for the simple things those around Him could give, for the benefit of the people He'd been called to serve, and then He did something interesting.  instead of living the life of Sister Hansen and being like "OOOKAY WE ONLY HAVE SEVEN LOAVES HERE WHAT DO WE DO.  Peter why didn't you bring any money today eh?!  HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN SOMEONE SOS PLEASE HELP, HEAVENLY FATHER HOW CAN WE HELP YOUR CHILDREN WHAT DO WE EVEN DO", He accepted their tiny sacrifices and He "gave thanks".  In the chapter before that when He fed the 5,000, He just looked up to heaven, blessed and gave.  He never focused on what was lacking or imperfect in situations, but instead expressed gratitude to the Father for the stream of tender mercies He poured out and then repeated one of the crowning acts of His ministry--He put His hands on weak things and made them strong for the goodness of those around them.  And throughout my mission, I have seen that through the principle of gratitude to the Lord for all He IS doing coupled with the faith that in giving things to Christ to give to others, relying on His power that is mighty to save, miracles happen.  the Lord is with us and we see His very own almighty hand where other people might see lack.  it reminds me of an email I got from a certain Ben Brown

Mr. Ben Brown, one of Sis. Hansen's mentors in high school

at the beginning of my mission:

I really resonated with what you described about cherishing. I've recently become fascinated with the book of Job, and there's an interesting line in there about the fleeting nature of things, and how that should give us gratitude. Right after Job loses everything he says, "[T]he Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Now, I don't actually think that God goes around taking things we love away from us, but I don't think that's what he's saying here. I think he's hinting at a deeper truth, one that you described when you talked about learning to cherish. Everything is fleeting, everything is changing. This may seem rather grim, but it offers us a choice: to be bitter for the inevitable end of things, or to be grateful for the journeys.

And I guess I just wanted to say today that life is joy.  Life in Christ is a joyous experience, because through our heartaches and peaks, He carries us.  We find out that we really CAN do things through Christ which strengtheneth us.  And even though most days I get really caught up in that journey of learning to work with our perfect Savior, today I'm just really grateful that He is who He is and that in His mercy and love, He did what He did.  Lots to do but we have the best news in the world--Christ lives, He is our Savior and that in His strength, we also can overcome.  what a ride, eh?

the church is true my dears.  the Book of Mormon is the secret to peace and the safety of a foundation in this crazy world because it's Christ's book.  His words are written there and i know we can ALWAYS trust Him.  Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and President Monson is the Lord's prophet today!  if we will trust Him and follow Him, i know we will find ourselves happy in any circumstances.  the Lord is good and has provided the means for us to be joyous and strong in these very days.  and it's all because He loves us.  how sweet it is.

LOVE YOU SO MUCH.  and pray for you.  and grateful for a loving God who looks after you every day.

love,
sister hansen

p.s. you'll have to edit out names but here are some actual events that happened this week heh heh my emails are the worsssssst sozzz

We met with I this week!  M was on the lesson with us and it was honestly so good.  The Spirit was really strong and we were all open and sincere, including I, and because of all the love in that environment, we got to use some "sweet boldness".  We talked about the role of the Spirit and times it's helped us or led us and described how we've felt it.  She did the same...and then we asked her if she ever experienced that while she met with us.  And she said yes.  And we invited her with all our hearts to come back and to do it again because God loves her, wants to help her and has given her the means for that here in His church as well as confirmation of those truths through His spirit...and she said no.  In a roundabout way (because she's really busy).  And it actually broke my heart a little bit.  There are so few people I've loved to that extent and knowing that she's felt it and and still chooses not to partake of it right now is very sad.  But we know that the Lord is truly working with her and that she will be ready someday and in the meantime, we will continue reaching out with love and encouraging her member friends to do the same.

Yesterday we did some member splits with M and N, the two young women who are preparing for missions, and it was amazing!!  M and Sister Symons were led to talk about the Restoration with a sister that used to be super active and now hasn't been to church in years...and she herself asked if she could be re-taught all the lessons!  She really wants to come back and just needs some help.  And with N, we visited G, a woman who's married to a member here but isn't a member herself.  We got to share some experiences we've had with the Atonement in the church, and she told us that she's felt the spirit in church since day one.  She said she walked in that first Sunday with her husband, K, and immediately felt something different and felt so strongly that God truly existed and that this is His church.  She also explained that right now she's not interested in becoming a member, but she really listened, and it was amazing how she and N--who see each other almost every Sunday at church but rarely talk--connected.  It was a testimony builder for me that members are the key and I think it built N's understanding of the power of reaching out and the beautiful things that can happen when the members are confident enough in Jesus Christ to share His gospel, even in little and simple ways.

Lastly, there was a little moment this week that was really instructive.  We were coming home in a taxi from a meeting and the driver wasn't very talkative.  He just seemed indifferent to our questions and to the fact that we were there.  We asked about his family and he told us he was divorced.  After some silence, we felt prompted to ask what he thought the meaning of life is, which led to silence on his part.  He then said that he didn't know the answer to that right now.  He explained that the divorce had been really hard and that he was having troubles with work and at this point, he was just living because he hadn't died yet.  And we just bore really humble and sincere testimony about a loving God that is aware of His struggles and that wants us to have meaning in our lives, and about how that's available even in those dark valleys when it seems out of reach.  He wasn't interested in hearing more, but he thanked us when we told him we would pray for him.  Even though it was an "unsuccessful" interaction that didn't lead to anything I could mark up when counting statistics, we really felt the Lord's love for that man and a witness of the individual nature of the gospel.  And I hope that man felt His love, too.

WAIT ALSO GOT TO SING A LOT THIS WEEK AND THAT WAS JOY.  even the paul simon song from the wild thornberries.  

people cried.  the spirit was there.  and it was joy.  more details to come.  

Other than that, Sister Symons is wonderful and teaches and pushes me every day.  It's a privilege to serve together.  We really see the vision of what might be here and are seeking with all our hearts to make it so.  We've been working a lot on doing that through the members and finding people to teach while helping them be active and strong, but we're also getting to a point where we're having to improve our contacting approaches...and it's crazy how sometimes it's still hard to be brave.  You would think that it would be easier by now, right?  But I'm so grateful for a gospel of progression and how the Lord helps me learn every time I humble myself enough to be taught.  Learning to continue to be myself and to be a real, sincere person, but also to put His will and His message above my own comfort zone in every situation.  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  And I'm deeply grateful for this time to rejoice in His strength and to be His servant.  How great is our calling.

happy monday :) love you love you love you!!!

love is spoken here

HI LOVED ONES!!!

first of all, families are joy.  thank you for our time yesterday.  i'm sorry that i had sooo many emotions...i just cried all night because i was worried that i wasted our skype time by not being happy.  it was kind of a weird day before that.  and i'm sorry for being a weenie.  but i just hope you know how much i sincerely love and appreciate you.  being here has confirmed to me every day that the Lord was so merciful in blessing me with such a good family.  you just love and serve others the way the Savior would.  each of you extends kindness and patience to others, including me, even when it's not convenient or desirable for you, just because you love the Lord and want to be like Him.  you are truly my heroes, dad, mum, tay, mark and tia.  i love you SO MUCH.  thank you for all you do.  and even though leaving kazakhstan and this mission will be the most bittersweet thing in the world, i am so excited to see you and so grateful that i will get to be with you again.  i just love you a lot and hope you feel my love--and especially HIS love--every day.

"look at our cute mission!!!  ahhh!!!" (Mission Conference for Central Eurasian Mission, Istanbul, Turkey, 2015)

i just wanted to share something i shared with President this week:

Lastly, this week there's been a lot on my mind.  On my mission, I have really been striving to become obedient and strong and someone the Lord can count on to be going about His work in any situation.  With all my heart I want Him to catch me doing something good for His children in those moments when you don't think anyone is watching you.  The problem is, though, in trying to make these things my habits--in trying to always testify about the Restoration, in trying to always talk about the Book of Mormon, in trying to have faith-filled perspective, in trying to talk to everyone I see, in trying to make sure no one is sitting alone at church or at English or in whatever situation--it's easy for it to become a routine.  Even though they're good things, and maybe even the best things in life, they too can become things that we kind of "take for granted" because it's just part of the schedule.  I don't feel as sincere and loving as I did at the beginning of my mission.  And it breaks my heart.  It worries me that it takes so much effort right now to not just talk to everyone and not just testify, but to do so with conviction.  Not just to have the actions of a shepherd, but the heart of one, too.  I think it's the same question Elder M. Clark asked at mission conference with Elder Holland--how do we continually have conviction in this glorious work even when we're doing the same thing over and over?.  I haven't completely figured it out yet, but in studies this week, something that really struck me was the beginning of Mark 11 when Christ came into Jerusalem with "hosannas" and praises to His name.  He was the Son of God.  He could--and probably should--have had that kind of welcome and respect every day of His life.  He could have been like a celebrity and riden around, showing off His powere and inherent goodness...but that wasn't the way He chose to life.  His was a humble and personal ministry.  His concern was for individuals, not crowds.  His actions weren't to ensure the praise of others, but to heal and save souls.  And in thinking about how I can demonstrate that kind of love and sincerity and faith and individuality, I've come to realize that it can only happen one person at a time.  And even though we should be talking to as many people as we can every day, each individual deserves to feel like, in that moment, we really genuinely are doing this for THEM, with sincere willingness to share those burdens that we all carry, because that's how the Savior would contact them.  The Lord is teaching me to cherish every chance I have to bear my testimony to my brothers and sisters as a set apart representative of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  And even though sometimes I'm a hard-hearted student, I'm so grateful for His patience with me and for the way His Son walks with me every day, on the water and through fire, through hills and valleys alike.

i was thinking about this when i got this little gem from my girl alyssa:

Alyssa, one of Sis.  Hansen's former volleyball teammates and good friends who recently returned from her mission to Germany. (Photo credit: Facebook. Used with permission)

I had an incredible incredible experience while in the temple. I won’t go into tons of detail about it, but pretty much, I have had a couple things really bothering me lately. After praying and searching for an answer, God comforted me through other people. Who so randomly told me exactly what I needed to hear. The thing I really noticed though, was how natural both situations were. God didn’t have the people jump through hoops to help me, they probably didn’t even realize they had helped me so much. I thought about on a mission, how you are constantly striving to help people and sometimes you get to a point where you really don’t know what to do to help them, and I know I tended to really overcomplicate things. But there are times you probably don’t realize the effect your kind words have on others. So keep your mouth open. God seriously works through us.

                Here is my favorite scripture that talks about this, I had it written above my desk on the mish: "Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings. And behold, and lo, I am with you to bless you and deliver you forever. Amen." D&C 108:7-8

and just remembered again that the gospel is simple.  and that the Lord doesn't ask us to save His children.  that's why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ.  He just asks us to love them.  to serve them.  to testify to them.  to strengthen them the way we can.  and with Him, the little bit we can give--be it 700000 loaves of bread or just a few crumbs--is enough to relieve the suffering of others.  and i am so grateful for that.

lastly, something i loved from President Packer this week:

"I know what He felt in Gethsemane 

Is too much to comprehend.

I know He did it all for us;

We have no greater Friend.

I know that He will come anew

With power and in glory.

I know I will see Him once again 

At the end of my life's story.

I'll kneel before His wounded feet;

I'll feel His Spirit glow.

My whispering, quivering voice will say,

"My Lord, my God, I know."

The church is true, my loved ones.  and what's more, it's Christ's.  He lives, He loves us and He directs His work today.  may we all live to be closer to Him and to help others do the same.

all all alllll the love, loved ones.  i keep you in my prayers and know you're in  heaven's hands.  happy monday, lovers.  talk soon :)

xoxoxox sister hansen

rain rain rain comes down down down

Hello hello dear family!! 

What a week. Things were a little crazy up until at least Friday...as far as figuring things out logistic things and learning how to get around the area and all those fun details. But even though understanding how to be a good team together and how exactly to accomplish what the Lord would like us to here is a process, things are much better and we feel much more settled. At the beginning, while things around us were hectic, I wasn't sure how we would learn to work together or be effective here. But this week we have seen a lot of miraculous things happen, both in missionary work and in our relationship as a companionship! First of all, Sister Symons is dynamite. 

I can tell she's the kind of person that has been a missionary for a long time. She has a really strong foundation of the gospel, both in understanding and in her personal testimony. She knows that members are the key and wants to testify to everyone about Jesus Christ! She's constantly opening the mouth and not allowing the language to be a barrier for her. Sometimes I feel like she's teaching me more than I'm teaching her. But I'm really grateful for this humbling time to get to serve together. I feel that the Lord is supporting and guiding us as we have righteous desires and seek to make righteous, faith-filled choices and it's a real blessing to get to serve here with her.

This week we really saw the power of the Book of Mormon 

and some of the blessings of contacting, both here and in Astana. In Astana, the sisters told us about some people Sister Slight and I had contacted that they are now meeting with and that are reading the Book of Mormon!! That was amazing, especially because one of the people that wants to meet with them is a girl I contacted on the bus a few months ago that Sister Slight and I BOTH knew we had to talk to...and pretty much shut me down after hearing that we were from church. We saw some of their influence here this week when we got a call from a random number and a man said, "excuse me sisters, but you promised me a Book of Mormon and I would really like that please." Miracle! We weren't sure who he was until we met with him and realized it was a man Sister Slight and Sister Peterson had contacted while they were down here in Almaty! He identifies more with Atheism because he's a scientist, but he really wanted a Book of Mormon and listened as we testified about it when we gave it to him. 

We really felt the spirit guiding us as he was with us, even though our interaction with him was short. On top of that, he asked about church and wants to come next week! And what makes allll of this EVEN BETTER is that that morning during church, we'd felt prompted to ask A--the girl that the sisters and I taught in November--to write her testimony in a Book of Mormon. We weren't sure who to give it to because there were a few people we were supposed to be giving BoMs to that day but once we met with Ab--that man--we knew that he was the reason. The Lord really guides the work, and I truly see that getting to share the message of the Restoration through the power of the Book of Mormon is strengthening both my faith and the faith of the people here. 

Along with that, this week we met with a man that we contacted earlier in the week and it was a really good learning experience. While we planned the lesson, we figured it would be best to talk about the Book of Mormon--sharing a simple background and then some answers to questions of the soul we have found. It ended up being a lot about Jesus Christ, and the lesson itself was really good, but he didn't really listen to us. He kind of heard our ideas and the things we shared from the Book of Mormon but then tried to teach us what he felt was true. It was like he always knew better than we did. We handled it the best we could and it turned out okay but was awkward and a bit frustrating, and in the end he said, "well, it doesn't matter that much anyway because there's basically no difference between religions anyway." He still took a Book of Mormon and we ended on fine terms but it taught us a huge lesson--that we need to testify of Christ and meet people where they are, but we always always need to do what it says multiple times in Preach My Gospel and share our unique message of the Restoration!! We had talked a bit about Joseph Smith with him and he didn't really listen to that, but we realized that when there ARE people that are listening, we need to share the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them in a clear, compassionate and astonishing way.

We realized today that members and their families are pretty much the key to missionary work here and anywhere in the world and are going to try really hard this next little bit to figure out how to work with them more effectively, especially to gain their trust and to help them share the gospel with their loved ones. We're really excited for the next few weeks and are going to work hard and do our part so the Lord can do His, and we feel that lots of good things are going to happen! One thing that gave me some hope this week, though, was meeting with Sister F. She told us her conversion story--which I'd heard before--but for the first time, I heard her say that she came to church two years after her initial invitation from the missionaries (good to know that I know Russian a little better now...growth! haha). TWO YEARS!! The missionaries that she loves and calls her own and that she thanks and praises and tells literally EVERYONE about have NO IDEA that they even helped her--and through her, her daughter and her friends--come unto Christ. As we're trying to work with members, non-members and contact to share the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, truly no effort is wasted. Not one!! We just have to do our part and trust the Lord. And it's such a joyous work to be a part of.

Last thing is just a thought about being made whole.  I thought about that a lot this week, especially because with the end looming ever nearer, sometimes I have a really hard time feeling like I've becoming or am becoming all that I could or should.  Which is a poisonous thing to do, I know, but it happens sometimes.  However, as I prayerfully studied this week, I found a lot of gems, including this one:

"Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." (Mark 5:34)

In the end, all of us are flawed and come up short in one way or another.  And realizing the disparity between who we are and who we want to be is sometimes painful.  But I know with all my heart that what makes us whole isn't our cool abilities or talents or characteristics or even best efforts.  Our faith in Christ--the only one who IS whole--is what heals our hearts and changes our lives and characters. It's what enables us to have "no regrets" when we ourselves just aren't enough.  And I am so grateful for Him.  For His mercy, for His Atonement, for the times He has lifted me up and for His reality.  He really loves these people and He really loves us, and I pray and hope that you feel that as you walk on YOUR waters and battle through YOUR storms.

Love and pray for you always, my dear ones.  See you next week on skype :)

love love love,

sister Hansen

Sister Hansen

"я тебя люблю" "спасибо" ("I love you" "Thank you")

#newcompanionshipawkwardness

Sis. Hansen and current companion, Sis. Symons, Almaty, KZ

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii loves.

this week was just...emotional.  hahahahah i don't even know what to talk about.  life. :')

the first part of the week was spent in astana and it was pretty emotional.  partially because we met with 283492389023 people to say goodbye (like d, our english friends, a (the student that works with brother creig), m, n, c. z...so many people.  so many miracles.  it's crazy because looking back, i just see how the Lord moved mountains for us every day in that flat city and leaving it is probably one of the saddest things i've ever done)

Sis. Hansen, friend and Slight, Bayterek Observation Tower, Astana, KZ

Bayterek Observation Tower, Astana KZ 

"#hollaatyourgirl #dunnowhyimusingsomanyhashtags #yolo"

and partially because we woke up at 5:30 every morning to get everything done in time without having to break the rules and go to bed late (holla at the "striving for exact obedience" life).  heh heh.  the tired nela 

#stillmouthbreatheonaccidentsometimes

hahahha the mouth breathing one is my favorite...i was half conscious while it was happening and knew i had to close my mouth but didn't have the capability to.  sister slight said she wouldn't have photoed it except that sister morrison (who is in the background laughing her head off...hahah I LOVE THAT COUPLE WITH MY WHOLE HEART.  seriously.  who knew...)

being subject to more emotions than fully-rested sister hansen is still a thing.  but all is well.  it was just a really good first half of the week, even though we got hugged a few times and it was pretty awkward. #whatisphysicaltouch

the second half of the week was spent in astana with our new missionaries!!  we got elder shaw, sister symons (my comp) and sister peterson.  

Sis. Slight, Sis. Hansen, Sis. Peterson and Sis. Symons, KZ

we had some cool sightseeing, 

#hot #cool

it's a lot greener down here and there was a lot of rain last week 

some realllllly good instruction in zone training, a really hard goodbye (with sister slight.

the. worst.  even sister toronto cried watching us say goodbye.  thanks feelings who do you think you are.  plus the morrisons!!  and elder longin and elder cluff!!  SO MANY PEOPLE I LOVE LEAVING ME WHY), probably like 7 hours and 1200 dollars worth of shopping to get our new apartment up and going, a suuuuper good time at church seeing all the loved ones and trying to get on top of life and back into a regular groove.  it's pretty crazy stuff.  still haven't really figured it all out.  but we're getting there, and what's more important, the Lord is really helping.  sister symons is amazing and unafraid of anything.  

Sis. Symons

she's just ready to work and loves the Lord and these people so much.  it's so inspiring remembering those first days and all the fire and mistakes and pure heartedness.  it's a good life.  she will do great things with the Lord here and i'm really excited to be serving with her.

sorry for the lack of details but one of the best things was our time with m.  

"M [cropped out for safety reasons] and sister slight ft. ugly looking sister hansen #didntsleeplastweek"

we met with her to say goodbye and had a fine meeting.  she even wrote me a card that was so cute (funniest thing of my life.  we were like "well we'd better go" and then she's like "uhh....okay i'm going to run over there really fast, don't leave" and we waited for like 10 minutes.  she came back with a card in her hand and put it in her backpack and pulled it out and was like "hey, here's the note i wrote you...while i was at home..." and we started laughing and she started laughing and was like "okay I HAD NO TIME i'm sorry okay" and it was the best and i hate that you can't tell this story in a funny way over the internet.  boo) and happy to read.  but the best was the text we got from her that night (in english, too, which is adorable).  keep in mind everything i said about her last week:

"Hey, sisters!  I haven't written a lot in the card. I just want you to know one that you really change people life! I really liked all you lesson and stories even if I didn't show. I was coming home after our meetings and thought about it a lot. You changed my life.. and I am so grateful to God that I met you here. Usually I try to keep a distant with people but I couldn't do it with you, cause you are so amazing! I'll send you another card later." 

I shared that story while I taught during zone training and just bawled.  The Lord loves His children.  With all His heart.  And I know that these people are so special to Him.  Even though I don't always know how to help others, He does.  He lifts and loves and heals them.  And as we take faith-filled steps forward, striving to do the right, even when other forces would try to convince us that it means nothing, I know the Lord works through us and manifests His hand.  how great the plan of our God.

all the love, fam.  talk to you soon and pray for you always.  be thinking about when you want to skype in a few weeks!!  

all the love.  hurrah for israel.

sister hansen

"ах, мормоны ищут блины" (ah, Mormons seek pancakes)

[Note from Sis. Hansen's mum: I'm just prefacing her email with a part of her correspondence with me. I thought it would be appropriate to put this here. -lh  "also, sorry for being so bad about emailing today (and every day, but especially today).  i'm trying to figure out how to write to president and what to say in the big email and i don't know how to do it because my heart is all jsiroaj rioajsrklasemrlkawrjkalerjawlk4jwlkwlka right now.  i thought i would be stoked to go back to almaty and to train in my "homeland", and i am, but my heart is breaking leaving these people and knowing their faith and just a tiny bit of how hard it is for them and knowing that they need Him just as much as I do  aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh mum.  jaklsj aklsrjlksarjaklrjlksrjsarlkasrej.]

(one of the rules in kz is that we aren't allowed to talk about religion right off the bat and we aren't supposed to just approach people to try to talk to them about God...so we end up asking looots of questions about where to find things when we talk to people on the street in order to get them to stop and talk to us.  the title is one of the reactions we got from a lady who reallllly wanted to help us find blini 

Blini - Russian crepes 

(Photo source: http://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/blini-1-of-3.jpg)

and found out we were mormons in the meantime. priceless.)

hellllo loved ones.

astana, kazakhstan is zion.  i just hope you all know that.

M felt the spirit this week.  we were at sister stice's house and listening to stories about their trip to taraz when sister stice invited us to share a spiritual thought.  we hadn't planned anything but we had talked a bit about what we would share with M if the chance came up and decided to talk about President Uchtdorf's most recent conference address.  

background: M NEVER talks about God herself and sometimes makes us think that talking about religion in general is suuper uncomfortable for her, and even though she's a member we sometimes think that maybe she doesn't consider herself a member anymore.  but she has a soul of GOLD, and this week we got a text from her that said "do you really believe that God loves everyone?  or is that just something you've been taught since childhood?" we were shocked.  but as we really prayed and discussed the reasons why we know that and how that truth became part of our souls, we really felt the spirit and gave her an answer.  she never replied.  but on friday, while we were at the stices, we explained the story of dresden [during the war, and today].  

(Photos courtesy broadcast.lds.org)

and then we just got to share a simple story about when we felt like that city and that the healing we have felt in how the Lord has so lovingly and carefully put us back together.  we cried a little bit.  and she did too.  and we know that the Lord gave us the testimony she needed to hear.  He loves her and loves all of us and it never ceases to amaze me the lengths He will go to to orchestrate a moment that will touch the heart of just ONE of His children.

Sis. Hansen and her friend (cropped out for privacy reasons), Astana, KZ

N came to church yesterday for the first time in almost a year.  he translated my talk and even though before i'd been nervous to give it, i have never smiled so big walking up to the podium before.  testifying about the power of Jesus Christ to heal our hearts and that in His eyes, it's never too late for any of us--that there's no such thing as a hopeless cause--i was just so grateful for the chance to share that part of my heart with N.  even if no one else listened, i know he did and i pray with my whole heart that he felt it and knew it was true for himself.

sister z--a mongolian sister that is just a rock and speaks not super proper russian and that i think people tend to take for granted sometimes--told us yesterday that sometimes she thinks about leaving the church and going back where it's easier.  it is so hard to do what she does.  beyond the regular struggles of a branch and missionary work, the church is facing some potential legal problems here and she is worried that if things DO escalate, they will arrest her because she's the one that signs all the documents.  she basically has the branch on her shoulders, spiritually and in a logical sense.  and usually she bears it all with laughter and with such childlike patience, but yesterday she told us that sometimes it's just so hard.  we were just bawling listening to this Christlike woman--who always puts 5000 tenge (5000 Kazakhstani Tenge equals
14.9134 US Dollar) into the missionary fund each month because she's sad that her home (which is outside of the city and doesn't even have running water) is too far away and in too poor of a condition to have missionaries over for dinner--talk about how she believes it all and loves the temple and knows it's true but sometimes feels like it's too much and that her strength isn't enough.  getting to testify about the strength of the Savior to pick us up and carry us and testifying that THAT is what we should rely on because it will ALWAYS be enough, even when our strength truly isn't...it just was so special.

the turkey elders are life-changing, and even though they are 4 time zones away and we see each other really rarely, there are few people in the world that i admire as much as them and that i seek to emulate as much as them.

also, jeremiah 16:14-16.  

"14 ¶Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

 15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

 16 ¶Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."

yes.  from the beginning this scripture has just been the realest.  too good. 

serving with sister slight has been heavenly.  

Sis. Slight and Sis. Hansen at a bus stop, Astana, KZ

i mean that in every sense you could imagine.  we have sought every day to be more than just girls doing a good thing in a foreign country and to give up our hearts and souls and weaknesses and fears and favorite sins and inadequacies and doubts to serve the Lord, to serve the Savior and to serve Heavenly Father's precious children.  i wish i could tell you how much i admire her or all the reasons why, but the joy and the sorrow we have felt together has been felt by people like alma and amulek, like lehi and moroni, like ammon and aaron.  and even though our contributions have been imperfect, the divinity we have felt while doing it is undeniable and i could not be more grateful.  the Lord has been with us every step of the way.  He really, really, really loves us.  He loves them.  He loves you.  and i'm trying to love Him with my whole heart, too.

"my brothers and my brethren, behold i say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land into the land of astana that God would have granted unto us such great blessings? ... behold, i say unto you, i cannot say the smallest part which i feel."

life is heavy and God is good.

love you all with my whole heart.  pray for you always and hope that you feel His hand and love in every moment this week.  as we draw near to Him, He draws near to us and that i know.  

with all the love in the world.

sister hansen