(Note: for all y'all who may not know what she is talking about, here's a snippet of sid the sloth in the movie, Ice Age -lh)
For the record: Almaty is beautiful in the spring and summer. Everything is green and warm and people are happy and there are flowers everywhere, including dandelions which people seem to treat as just normal flowers. That makes me think of dad every time. Heh heh. He'd go crazy here. I'd grace your thirsty eyeballs with photos but my name is Anela Hansen and I still don't have a USB card and don't know the wifi password for my cool wifi camera. #nice good thing we all grew up before the time of the internet and have the power of imagination...hahahha
Sis. Hansen took the picture, but didn't explain what it was, so I looked it up on Google, and found that it is that tall building in the background is the Almaty Television Tower. According to Wikipedia, "It is the tallest free-standing tubular steel structure in the world." -lh
This week was an adventure. I was in Astana for like half of it while we traded sisters around (p.s. saying goodbye to C. E was garbage and I think we kind of understood what it's like for yous watching people you love leave on missions. aka the WORST THING EVER) and that was cool. Astana was nice but I LOVE Almaty. When we (C. Waldie and I...holla at that new companionship life) got back, we met with our golden investigator G and started with a follow up of things...and we don't think she understands what it means that she knows the Book of Mormon is true. She was telling us that she wants to be baptized in Korea because there's a different church that she thinks she might already go to...ha! But it was a good lesson and we'll keep loving her. Seriously, every day I learn again and again that that's all we can do for people. But the coolest thing is that it's enough. The patriarch for eastern europe was here this week and remarked something about the work here. He said just in the little glimpse he got this week, he understood that there are soo many sisters (and it's true...the not active list is like 2 times the size of the active members list for the sisters here) that just need someone to go put their arm around them, read scriptures together and say "hey, you're doing a good job". And I feel like that's what everyone needs, you know? And it's the most comforting thing to know that the little things we can do for people are the biggest things. I feel like I'm learning variations of that lesson every second of every day and that probs means I have a lot to work on in that area. But it's all good because it's not just work, it's work for people and people are the best. The end.
okay my emails are the worst and i hate that but don't let me forget that i had a breakthrough this week and it was cool. i feel like i say that all the time but i was just reminded that this work, wherever the heck we are, is led by God and that it is, in fact, accomplished by the little things we can do every day. and even though sometimes it seems hard that I'm away from my family and asked to give parts of my heart to people every single day, it's the best thing ever and i've been learning about it my whole life because i've been surrounded by people that--through their love and smiles and friendships and warmth and honesty and laughter and work and examples and teachings and everything--have been helping me know my Savior better. how dang grateful i am. seriously. i just cried my eyes out. it's so good though, because it's a chance to give that same love and warmth and light and sense of family to other people. our Savior heals our hearts and our lives and everything we have that's "not quite" and it's the most beautiful message. and hard as it is sometimes to be giving it halfway across the world from the people who gave it to me first, "because i have been given much, i too must give." what a privilege. thanks to everyone everyone everyone that has contributed to that for me. love you lots. (and probs this isn't written well and is maybe preachy which is so frustrating but i don't have time to write something else so i hope all is well. heh heh.)
anyway. i love you all heaps and pray for you ALWAYS. i hope life is full of happy days and muffins and laughter and dancing in the kitchen. also, i ate horse and am officially a kazakhstan missionary. just in case you ever wondered about that.
love you and talk to you ON SKYPE NEXT WEEK!! woo!!
love,
Sister Hansen
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