Elder Webster and me decided it was time to look like real soccer players.. so we bought ourselves some soccer shoes! I don't think my friends will believe that I bought them haha. My other shoes were so ripped up!

The jackets we made in Marcos Paz.. they're legit.

Hey Fam!

Glad to hear from you all once again! Things sound great up there! Glad to hear that everyone is doing awesome and that volleyball is going well! Love to hear and see pictures, Carter is a beast! I really appreciate the love and support you all show me!

It seems like every week my emails are getting shorter... haha. I find the more time that I'm out here the less there is to say because there is so much to do and so little time. But this week was once again excellent. We had transfers so we spent a good amount of time in the office helping out with the new missionaries and the ones going home. It is always great to learn from the missionaries going home, and what helped them have success in their lives. Elder Dos Santos (one of the assistants) went home this transfer which was pretty sad for everything. He was one of the greatest missionaries and biggest examples for me in my mission. He taught me a lot of important things, but the greatest was about the importance to love others and be kind to everyone. I will definitely miss that guy!

In our area things continue to get better. The other week we started visiting an inactive sister in our ward (Sister Ortiz). She's great. She hasn't been to church for about a year, but when we showed up she started telling us that just about a week before she started having the desire to start going to church again. She then introduced us to her sister who isn't a member and we have started teaching her about the Gospel, and she is so receptive! The first day we taught her she didn't really understand much, she has trouble reading and understanding the scriptures, and also has a bad problem with cigarettes. One of our focuses in the mission is to help people choose for themselves what they want to do. As missionaries it's so common to tell them EXACTLY what they should do to overcome their problems.. but when they learn to choose for themselves is when they really understand the importance. So we tried to patiently asked her how she could learn to study the scriptures and stop smoking, she gave us a few answers and we left it at that. The next day we passed by she had been reading the scriptures and she came across a verse.. Mormon 9:37.. and for her it was such an answer to her prayers.That if she prays and has faith that she can be healed and helped through her Savior Jesus Christ. It was so amazing that she found this on her own, and now she truly believes that she can do it. Not to mention that in 5 days she went from smoking 2 packs of cigarettes to just 3 cigarettes! What a miracle! It was so amazing. She is great and we are praying that she will continue to progress in the Gospel.

We also saw a pretty amazing miracle yesterday. I went with Elder Webster to the airport to drop off a missionary who finished and was heading home.. and after we took a taxi from the airport to President Robertson's house. In the taxi we were talking  to the driver as normal when he started to ask us who we were and what we were doing here. We explained that we are missionaries here to preach about our Savior, and we continued talking about the Book of Mormon, The Restoration, and the Temple and he was super interested. So we thought.. we gotta ask him where he's from so missionaries can go by and visit him one day.. and you will never believe where he's from. Caseros! Our proselyting area. Of millions of people and taxi drivers in all of Buenos Aires, we got in his taxi. This showed me so much the tender mercy the Lord has for us, and that if we are just willing to open our mouths and share the Gospel that we will see miracles in our lives. We ended up writing down his address and we are going to visit him another day, he also said he was going to talk to his wife about going to church tomorrow! The mission is so filled with miracles, and I feel like we can see blessings like that everyday in our lives if we pray for them. If we pray for the opportunity to meet people who need our help I know the Lord will put them in our paths.. we just need to be willing to do our part.

Just wanted to share quickly with you these 2 miracles.. and share my testimony that I know that the impossible is possible if we just have faith, and trust in the Lord. Nothing happens in the way we expect or desire, but His plan is perfect and if we learn to understand that everything will happen in His time. I love you guys so much. Hope you have the greatest week ever!

With love, 
Elder Hansen.

Picture is with Modesto, a member in our ward.

For you mother, not a great pic but shows the different between my old shirts and my new ones. haha what happens in the mission :)

Hola todos! (Hello Everyone)

Sounds like you guys had a great week! What a blessing it is to enjoy such good company with family and friends eh. Glad that Carter is doing well and volleyball, hope the tournament goes well this week! Send the little guy my best :)

Today for our Pday we played some basketball and american football, first time in a longgg time. It was so funny. The latinos really don't have much experience with sports other then soccer, and we died laughing so many times but it was a blast. I feel blessed to be around such a great group of missionaries who are extremely great examples for me. The other day I was reading my Patriarchal Blessing and I would like to share just a part. It talks about how in my life I should be careful to choose who my friends are, because I will tend to become like them. I have found this to be so true, and am profoundly grateful for the friends and examples that I have here in the mission as well back at home.

This week I had to go on splits with the Assistants because they had a wedding! haha. Two of their investigators got married so Elder Dos Santos and my comp Elder Flores went to the wedding and Elder Webster and I went with President and his wife out to Chivilcoy to do special trainings! The Assistants and thePresident do this every couple months to talk to the mission about our focuses and to teach them how they can be more efficient missionaries. And because of the wedding they asked me to go. I was pretty honored but super nervous! haha. We went and talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon, and about helping our investigators use their agency to become converts and members more deeply converted to the Lord. We did some practices in front of all the missionaries about different teaching situations and then let them go and do practices. It was an amazingly spiritual experience for me, and I learned a ton.

After some tough time as far as working out in the mission field we have been starting to see sooo many miracles the past 2 weeks. Last Sunday our friend Cacho went to church for the first time and loved it! He is doing great and got along well with the people, I love how humble he is. Like I said we made him a cake and went to his house and ate with him Sunday morning, then walked to church together. It was a good experience for him. This week he has been hit with some problems. He lives with his daughter, and his daughter's boyfriends dad is the preacher of an evangelic church. So his daughter and all the family have been really trying to influence him to not come to church anymore and go to church with them. He is in a tough spot, but we shared deeply about the Restoration and how Joseph Smith was confused and had to ask God. We left him with the commitment to read the Book of Mormon and to pray, and I have faith he will get his answer.

I don't know if I mentioned last week about the Quiroa (Key-row-ah) that we are visiting. The mom is a inactive member but her husband and her kids aren't members. They are pretty religious and worship a lot from the Bible but we have been teaching them a lot about the Book of Mormon and how it complements the Bible and teaches us more about Christ's Gospel. They have been struggling to read but they are making good efforts, we are praying a ton that they will make it to church tomorrow. They are some of the nicest people though. The other night they invited us over to eat asado (roast/steak) chorizo (sausage) and chancho (pig) and it was unreal! They have great hearts and they have so much love, I would love nothing more then to see them have an eternal family one day.

We also have some other great investigators that we are working with. It has been amazing to show the Lord help us as we have been diligent and put our faith and trust in him. I can tell you that it hasn't been easy at all, but it has been worth it every single day. I have learned a ton. Mostly I have learned about the power of the Book of Mormon. Our responsibility as members of the church is great, to share this sacred book with everyone that we know. 

In the offices we are short on time as far as being with our investigators, but we have learned that their conversion will come through the Book of Mormon. I feel so blessed to be able to read and share it every single day, and it has brought me so much happiness. I love the words of President Gordon B Hinckley when he said  "I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness" I have seen this blessing so much in our house, and in the lives of the people here in Argentina. The small act of reading the Book of Mormon changes lives and changes our desire to do good.

This week we have transfers!! I'm pretty much positive I won't be going anywhere but it is always an exciting week, and always a crazy week here in the offices. I love being able to work with President Robertson and his wife, they are such amazing people who have so much love for others. Should be a great week, so excited to get to work :)

Hope you guys have a great week! Love you a ton and am always praying for you :)

Love,
Elder Hansen

"My fam is the Best"

The Blazers repainted their bus and I'm on it.  How crazy is this photo. Like wow.

Eating with the Llerena's

"Me and Elder Healey (from Edmonton) when he got here! He's great!"

 Bombing in the mission truck

Me and Elder Webster painting at the Hospital for "Helping Hands"

Helping Hands service project at the hospital

Hey Family!!

Thanks for the emails this week, love to hear that everything is going well.. besides the snow and the weather! Classic Canada. I showed Elder Dos Santos (from Brazil) those photos and he was just like "how is that even possible" haha. We definitely have some wild weather. I love to hear as well that Carter is dominating in volleyball, I would love to see that but yes you will have to video tape some of it for me mom!

I am so heartbroken to hear about that loss. (Barry Gorham) I seriously can't imagine how hard that would be. I wish Zach and his family my very best and all of the love that I have. I love that kid and his family so much. We have to be so grateful for the Gospel we have in our lives.

Sorry this week is going to be a bit short. We just got back from "Manos que ayudan" (helping hands) which is a world wide service project that the church does. Did you guys participate in it as a ward or a stake? Sure hope you did :) All of our stake went to a hospital and helped paint, do yard work, and clean up. There was probably about 100 of us there and we did a lot of work. It was a blast. There is nothing better then serving others and doing it in the company of those who you love. From when we first got there and when we left there was a huge difference. After the hospital staff came and talked to us and they were so grateful for the work we did. It was so nice to see the smiles in their eyes. I have gained such a strong testimony in the importance of service and how it blesses and changes lives in every aspect. I love my Savior so much for the service he gave to others, and as it says in the Bible, he came here not to be served but to serve others.

We also saw some amazing miracles this week in our area! First off we have an investigator named Gilbert who is a Capo! We contacted him when we first got to the area and he rejected us about 2 or 3 times, just did not want to let us into his house or anything to do with us. The other day we just felt the need to go and visit him and we could see something different about him, he ended up letting us in! As we got talking, he mentioned that in just 2 days it was the 1 year mark from when his wife passed away. He had been going through some pretty hard times. We had an amazing spiritual lesson with him about the Plan of Salvation and how much our Heavenly Father loves us, and that we can continue to live as families forever. We ended up inviting him to be baptize in October and he accepted! Tomorrow we are going to prepare some pancakes or some type of breakfast and go to his house early in the morning, eat with him, and then go to church!

We also were visiting some less active members the other day and we met this lady who has been inactive for about 2 years. We ended up teaching her, her husband and her son about the Restoration and how this is God's true church on the earth. As we taught them I was just thinking about how this really is what makes us different from all the rest, and how important it is to share the Restoration of the true through Joseph Smith with everyone. With the Book of Mormon this is how one gains a true testimony.

A family in the MTC just brought me my package right now!! I am seriously out of words, te pasaste! (you overdid it) haha. Thank you so much for everything it is great! I am sure we will enjoy the candy here in the offices for a couple days... don't worry I won't eat it all. Im already fat enough.

I hope that you guys have a great week. Love you all a ton! Not a lot of time, lots of things to do. Love this work so much and am so proud to serve my Savior and my family every single day. Nothing I would rather do.

With all my love, Elder Hansen.

Mission Office Staff

Elder Dos Santos

The Doctrine and Covenants Section 4 in Spanish.. so cool.

Hey Fam!

Sounds like things are going great as usual back in the promised land! Glad that you guys enjoyed your week, looks like it was pretty eventful! Can't believe it's back to school already. How is it already September? The time sure does fly by. It's incredible. Hope that everything goes well and that Carter has a great year and enjoys it all. Good old Senior year!

Thanks so much for the words of support and encouragement you send me. I love when you guys share your testimonies and thoughts with me, they really do strengthen me everyday. What a blessing family is!

This week was good out here in the mission. We had Elder Gonzalez come and visit the mission!! He is the Area President of Southern America South. I absolutely love when the General Authorities come to speak, they talk with such power and humility. We had such an amazingly spiritual session with him. He taught us some pretty amazing things about how we can be more successful as missionaries and how we can help build the church. He talked a lot about why we are here. To help build and establish the church in Argentina. There was a couple principles he taught that I absolutely loved that I would like to share.

As we were talking with him one missionary asked how we best can apply all the information he was giving us. He went on to talk about receiving personal revelation. I think this is one of the toughest things we are faced with as people. Making decisions. Sometimes it is so difficult to know which way to go, or what decision to make. He talked about the uniqueness of every single child of God, and that the way one person feels happy or has success will not necessarily work for someone else. In my mission I have come to understand what it is to receive personal revelation. To feel like God is talking to me, and knowing without a doubt what he wants from me. I know that our eternal progress depends on how we use our agency, and how we learn to humble ourselves to do exactly what the Lord wants us to do, not what we want.

But what caught my attention most was when he talked about building our lives on the foundations of the Gospel, and the principles that lie within. He went on to talk about how crutcial it is for someone to study and know the Gospel inside and out, and to know exactly what it is that the Lord desires for us. I have to be honest when I say that it was hard for me before the mission, to sit down, focus, and study. But I have learned that knowledge and understanding of the Gospel is what brings the change of heart to average people. and makes them become something greater. With this he talked about the Book of Mormon, and how we never ever should take it lightly. 

How it is the absolute most important thing we have. And personally, the Book of Mormon has changed my life. I know that if we pray and study with a true and sincere desire that the Lord will be able to work miracles in our hearts.

I read a conference talk called "Principles" by Elder Packer the other day. It talks just about this. I read this quote and thought about Carter :)

"The safety of the Church in generations ahead rests on our success in calling missionaries. If we have concern for the future of this work, we will not rest until every able-bodied young man is made worthy and desires to receive a call to a mission."

We had a great week as well out in the the mission field. About 2 weeks ago we found a family from Bolivia and they are great. They consist of the mom and dad and their daughter. and then they have 3 other Bolivians working and living with them. The little girl is a member, and the other day we had a lesson with her and one of the girls that is living there. Yamelin (the girl) is only 13 years old but bore her testimony to her friend about how much she loves the church and how happy it makes her. We invited her friend to be happy and she accepted, she has a lot of potential. She is pretty shy but has a great heart. After that we went and played soccer with the other 2 kids that are living with them, Rudy and Cristian. They are studs. It was a good way to show them who we are and to build a relationship with them. This family is super humble and the Gospel would bless their lives so much, we are going to be working with them a lot.

I hope you guys are doing great, things here are as great as ever. Flying by, but I am trying to make the best of every minute. Love you guys a ton, have a great week! Go zeniths :)

Les amo, Elder Hansen.