July 27, 2015

 Lunch with the familia Echeverria. Capos! so good.

My dearest family and friends,

What a fantastic week it has been here in the mission. Crazy as ever, but more enjoyable then ever. I have been a witness of so many of the Lord's miracles this week, it has been incredible to see to tell you the truth. I have loved ever minute of working with the missionaries and have learned SO much from them. They are all incredible missionaries and it has been a privilege to work along side them.

I gotta tell you that travelling around is definitely interesting and always a new adventure! I've been living off oatmeal and bananas this past week and a half haha, it's pretty pretty awesome. My air-mattress is pretty comfortable though! This might just be the most enjoyable time of my mission, I really don't know why but It's just been something so special to me.

So we started this week off in Merlo. I went to Altos de Merlo B with Elder Rawlins and with Elder Farias. Things went really well and we were able to work really hard together. They are both such fantastic and humble missionaries, this was something I admire about them both. We saw some awesome miracles as well! On Wednesday we found a lady who listened to the missionaries before and she has 3 kids and is super interested. Wednesday night we also found a man who had recently been abandoned by his wife and kids, so we literally showed up at the perfect time. He told us he had been praying for a way out and then we showed up, was pretty special.

Next I was in Paso del Rey with Elder Ruiz and Elder Rodriguez. I was super impressed by their knowledge and ability for having so little time in the mission, I'm always so amazed by how awesome the young missionaries are! We worked really hard for the 2 days we were together. They have 2 awesome families they are working with.. and one of the families has a marriage date already.. such studs! 

Last off I was with Elder Healey and Elder Dye. Elder Healey is Tanner Murphy´s cousin! They are both super capos and it was a blast working with them. We had such a successful day together and we worked super hard! We ended up finishing with about 5 news and 6 lessons, and we were so blessed by the Lord! I love their work effort, they are both such hard working missionaries and have so many talents I was super impressed and learned so much from them! Elder Healey is a natural leader. His family should be proud! haha.

On Sunday I worked with Elder Child and we worked in the fuerte apache. It's a super famous ghetto down here in Argentina. It's huge! look it up online haha it's crazy.. but it was super awesome and we had a great time.

I think more then anything I have learned the importance of urgency and not procrastinating this past little bit. Sometimes in life, or in the mission we always think there is a more opportune, or better moment to do something. But having 2 days with each companionship has helped me have the desire to work and pray for miracles every single day and not wait... cause many times their is no tomorrow! Just a cool thing I have learned.

Overall things went fantastic this week. I learned a ton from the missionaries and I feel super blessed. I can't believe how the time flies by. I have been enjoying so much this assignment and I am super excited for this next week.

Can't believe it's the last week. Really doesn't seem real to me. But you better be sure that it's gonna be the best :)

Love you all!

Elder Hansen.

July 20, 2015

Baptism of Oscar, Andrea, and Maria 

Hola hola!

Thank you all so much for the letters. Looks like you all had a great week, good to hear! Glad that things went well!

What a fantastic week it has been here in the mission. It is incredible how fast the time flies by. This week has been awesome for many different reasons. 

So I officially am no longer in Rodriguez, and technically don't have an area anymore. But Elder Collins and I are companions again which I am loving! We have been called to travel in the mission and do divisions with the Elders out in the mission field, and boy is it a blast! We are pretty much just traveling around with a sleeping bag, air mattress and a change of clothes haha.. sounds like camping no? Last week we were able to go to 2 different areas and we are hoping to go to 3 this week. We just travel in a bus from area to area and eat whatever we can find. It's a pretty incredible opportunity. I'm learning a ton from the missionaries and we have been able to see so many miracles!

I love the tender mercies of the Lord. So President allowed me to go to the baptism of Oscar, Andrea, and Maria!! I can't express my joy and happiness for them, they are such amazing people and it was such a tender moment for me to be able to witness their baptism, and see their big day finally come. They are incredible. I was given the opportunity to share my testimony in the baptismal service and I was pretty emotional, it was a very special moment for me and it really meant a ton. It was amazing to see Oscar cry haha, it was the first time I have ever seen him tear up.. shows just how powerful the Spirit is and just how much it can touch the heart of one.It had to be one of the highlights of my mission, I was so happy for them. They also go married on Friday.. I didn't go but Elder Schoonover told me it was awesome.. so cool! Eternal families :)

Today we decided to go visit some our converts during our Pday since we were close! So Elder Collins and I were able to go visit Ruben and Osvaldo.. it was so cool to see them and hear how they are doing. Another tender mercy from the Lord for sure. I love the Gospel and how it changes the heart and lives of one.

This week has been such a blessing. Elder Collins and I seriously love the mission, and the missionaries more than we can express. We feel so privileged, and also under qualified.. we really are trying to make whatever difference we can, to be able to bless the lives of others... whether it be the missionaries or their investigators. I thank our Heavenly Father every day for this amazing opportunity to serve and I really can't express what it means to me. I think if their is one thing I have learnt in the mission is charity, and it's all come from coming to know better my Saviour. 

I love you all. Hope you know that. I feel so blessed for all that I have. Thanks for being apart of my life. So on the 3rd I don't know if I will be writing or not, but I will maybe have a moment. I had an idea. I wanted to invite you all to share you testimonies with me that last day, I think it will be pretty cool and special.

Well time to grab my sleeping back and air mattress and get to work :) haha

Love you all!

Elder Hansen.

July 13, 2015

Me and the Robertsons.

General Rodriguez Ward

Hey Fam,

Wow what an amazing week this has been. It has been one that has been super crazy to tell you the truth. We continued to be super blessed though. So it started out with a great Zone meeting, and then lots of tramites which was kind of the down part but we were happy to get those all over with. Our ward also did an activity for the 9th of July which was incredible. the 9th is Argentine indepence day, so we ate locro (which is like argentine stew) and it was a great day! After they had a couple traditional dances and stuff. They gave a lot of the investigators an assignment in the activity which was incredible, our investigators were there are like 6 in the morning cooking and preparing!  They all felt like they had a big responsibility in all that was going on. It was cool to see. 

This weekend was also a special experience for me. Today we had a testimony meeting with the missionaries that were going home, It was awesome to see the growth of the missionaries that I have worked closely with, I felt such a pride in having had the opportunity to serve with them. They really are such amazing people.

The other day we did divisions with Francisco Alvarez and I went with Elder Pratt, things went great and I was able to learn a lot about him and from him! I really enjoyed getting to know him, and getting to know how his testimony has changed during the mission. He expressed how on the mission he has gained a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon.. At the end of the night we had a lesson about the restoration and as I heard him share his testimony about the book of mormon it was sooo powerful, and so incredible to see how simple yet powerful it was. I am always so amazed and strengthened by the faith and power of other missionaries, it really is such a blessing to get to know them.

So in our area things are going great. This weekend we have the goal to have 4 baptisms. We have Oscar and Andrea who are going to be married this Friday and baptized Saturday! I'm more then excited! We have Maria who will also be getting baptized with them, and then we are praying for a miracle with Florencia. She is Maria´s grand daughter. She loves the church a lot and even passed her baptism interview she is just a little hesistant and timid but we are praying to know how we can help her! So we are super excited about that.

So our other investigators Eduardo and Diana didn't come to church yesterday which made us really sad. We are going to have to work with them for August now, but they are a huge possibility for that month. Kevin and his family (Family Cantero) came to church yesterday for the 2nd week in a row, that was awesome. Kevin is 10 and has a huge desire to get baptized, so we are helping his dad get active again so he can baptize him! Right now he has a baptismal date for the middle of August. 

We also saw a huge miracle the other day as well. We met a man named Alberto who has lived in Argentina for 23 years now, but is from Paraguay. So I guess when he was in Paraguay he went to church for 2 years with his friend! But he never really once got in contact with missionaries, so never really progressed towards baptism. The other day we expressed our desire and our goal to help him come to know that this is God's true church, and as we ended the Restoration my companion invited him to be baptized and he accepted! It was soo powerful! He has a ton of knowledge, now we just need to help him change this knowledge into a testimony, so we are super excited to work with him for August.

Well I can tell you that I love this work with all my heart. It brings such peace and happiness to my life and it has blessed me beyond measure. But  beyond anything I have seen how the Lord has blessed the lives of coutnless people, and how he has allowed me to witness it all. The other night when I saw some of my converts and families I had taught I felt so humbled, and so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and be apart of all of their lives. The Gospel is something so incredible, and the best is that it lasts forever.

Well the truth is im actually getting changed. I got called last night so I'm not going to be in Rodriguez anymore and on Wednesday I will be going to the offices to see what happens. Who  knows wha's going to happen but we will see, I'm super excited though and ready for whatever may come! Gotta love changes, the best!

Well I hope you all are great and know how much I love and appreciate everyone of you, thanks for being such a special part of my life!

All the best,

Elder Hansen.

July 6, 2015

Hey everyone!

So this week has been incredible but crazy! Life is great and always busy with things to do!

So this weekend I have my convert meeting (a meeting were we get to see all our converts one last time before we leave) so I have to call them today and let them know.. so I really don't have much time..

But we have had another fantastic week here in General Rodriguez and the work continues to go amazing. We have been so blessed by the Lord, and we have seen some big steps in our investigators and in their progress. This week I really was trying to focus on planning well and learning how to be better prepared.. it has helped us a ton. Elder Schoonover is learning a ton and continues to contribute more and more. It has been amazing to see and to be apart of his growth.

So this week President Robertson`s son Dallas is going to come out with us and work for the week! It is going to be so awesome, I am beyond excited. What a great experience it is going to be for all of us. It is going to be such a cool experience for all of us and I can't wait!

Andrea, Oscar and Maria continue to do great and are progressing super well! We are so excited for them. They are preparing well for their marriage (Oscar and Andrea) and then for their baptisms. On Sunday after church they stayed for a ward baptism and they loved it! Was a super special experience for them and they feel even more desirious to be baptized now. It has been so awesome to see them grow and change in these past weeks. They are doing fantastic for this month. For this month we are also working for Eduardo and Diana, they are a married couple that when to church 2 weeks ago. They are doing great as well. We are working a lot with them to help them strengthen their testimonies... They have been better in far as reading and praying but we are still focusing on that a lot. 

Well I don't have much more time but I love you all so much! Thanks for being so supportive and understand! Know that I love and pray for you all.. hope you all have a great week!

Elder Hansen.

June 29, 2015

Our zone going to the temple 

Lovin the life out in campo

Dear Family and Friends!

What a fantastic week it has been here in Rodriguez. We have been super blessed by the Lord it has been so incredible. I have loved the little miracles that He has blessed us with, it has been truly amazing to see.

Elder Schoonover continues to grow and do great. His Spanish is getting really well and is he is learning to take on a bigger role in teaching and contacting. I am always amazed by the faith of these young missionaries. We get along super well and working together is a blast. Sometimes the language barrier can be the funniest thing. So yesterday we had a big lunch with our branch president and his family.. and right after we went to do some follow up with a family we had contacted last week. So we clapped and they let us right in.. and when we went in we saw that they were just finishing eating. As we sat down they asked my companion "usted sabe que es pollo y asado" (do you know what chicken and bbq is) and before he could say yes they asked "ustedes quieren?" (do you want some) and with all this confusion he just said "yes" and so they brought out plates and we had to eat again.. we literally almost died haha it was hilarious.

So this week was incredibly rainy (well the weekend) and pretty much the whole city got flooded and the power kept going in and out.. classic Argentine winter I love it! It was definitely a wild time in our bikes, we got super soaked and muddy out in campo but it all makes for the great mission experience!

So like i said this week was fantastic and our investigators continue to do great. This week Oscar and Andrea (who get married on the 17th) and then Maria (Andrea`s mom) are going to have their baptismal interviews! We are more then excited for them, they are so prepared and incredibly excited. It has been so awesome to see their testimonies grow. Oscar was very doubtful about the whole thing 3 weeks ago, but now he has a solid testimony. The other day his daughter was at his house (she lives in a different part of town) and we ended up teaching her for the first time. Oscar was sharing his testimony about how this is God's true church and how much it has helped him, he also told us that he is going to make his daughter come to church with him someday! haha. It was super cool. So they came to church on Sunday even though it was raining like crazy, that was a miracle in itself.
We also have another awesome married family.. the family Villagra. Eduaro and Diana were taught over 2 years ago by missionaries and decided to get married, but they never were baptized. We just started teaching them and things have been slowly progressing. We have been focusing a ton on the temple and on family (they have 3 young kids) and it has been going great! They also came to church yesterday for the first time with us, which was absolutely incredible! We were seriously so happy for them.. more then words can explain. They have baptismal dates for the 25th of July so we are working with them like crazy as well!
We have one or two other possibilities for July as well. One is Florencia, the niece of Oscar and Andrea. She is still undecided about her baptism but she loves church a lot. Besides that we are already starting to focus on August and trying to prepare people for then.

Last night we did meet a really awesome guy though, he has been less active for quite a few years. His older daughter is a member and his younger daughter isn't, he has the desire to return to church but it's quite hard for him. We are going to start working with him a lot... and to do so we invited him to join us in an appointment on Tuesday. We think that a great way for him to learn will be to listen to the discussions again, and then to bare testimony when we give him the opportunity.. so we are super excited about that.

Love,

Elder Hansen

June 23, 2015

Elder Schoonover and I

Our Zone in General Rodriguez

Hey fam!

Happy Father's day again dad! Hope you had a good weekend, I'm sure you got spoiled as usual!

How are you all doing!? Hope life is good up there in the great white north. Things are getting pretty chilly here, sure nothing compared to Canada but I've become a wimp. After those Argentine summers I can't handle the cold haha. It is definitely worse on a bike, but I just bundle right up and life is good! We have had a great last week here.. lots of good stuff has happened!

So like I sad yesterday we went to the temple as a mission! So incredible. Then we went to the office and had a "family home evening" all together. It was awesome... such a special day. They had some missionaries share their conversion stories, they were pretty amazing. I am always so amazed by the faith and the courage of people who go out on a ledge for the gospel.. I feel like I always had it so easy. We then played some games, it was a blast.

As far as our area is going, things continue to go well and we are continuing to work and pray for miracles. We have been finding a lot of new investigators, just have been having some trouble in helping some of them progress. It really was hard for us the first 2 weeks to work with members for a lack of knowledge as far as their schedules, locations and capabilities.. but we have been trying to really involve them more. We know it is going to make all the difference. We do have some great news though, Oscar and Andrea set a marriage date last Monday! They will be getting married on the 17th of July and then baptized on the 18th! They will also be getting baptized with Maria (Andrea`s mom) and then we are working on 2 of their nieces and nephews right now who live right next to Andrea and Oscar. We had a big noche de hogar with them on Saturday, and we were about 11 people in total, and they all went to church on Sunday after so that was pretty special! It is awesome to see the power of families and how important they are, and how they are all coming to church together. The ward is super excited, and so are we. We are gonna plan a reception for the weekend that they get married! The other day we had an incredible lesson about the temple and the importance it has, and we really tried to help them see that the temple is the final goal.. not baptism. So we are excited about that. 

We are working with an awesome less active family as well, the Merlees family. They also went to church for the first time in over 6 months. They are a family with a ton of potential. They went to church for 11 years in Paraguay, then when they moved here like 4 years ago they kinda lost the desire to go. We have been working with them and they have responded really well, they have super strong testimonies just have fallen out of the habit.

Besides that just working a full and trying to do all we can to hasten the Lord's work. It's amazing to see His hand in everything. We have been studying about faith a lot in the mission and it has been pretty powerful. Just to see how much the faith of one can do, and how our faith has to be based in Christ. I hope we can continue to grow in our faith everyday.. and as we do so we will see so many miracles! Take care!

With lots of love, Elder Hansen.

June 15, 2015

Hola Hola!

What a great week it has been here in General Rodriguez. We continue to be so blessed by the Lord, I really do marvel at the blessings he gives us. I have felt very privileged to work this week, we started with a fantastic Zone Meeting last week. We have awesome leaders here in Lujan.  I have also felt blessed to continue to watch Elder Schoonover grow. He is a great kid and such a hard worker. He is very humble and willing to listen which I love, he has a desire to apply all that he can. His Spanish has gotten so much better as well... i feel so jealous haha my Spanish took like 4 months to get better! He's a natural.

So the other night we had a pretty crazy little encounter with our bikes and a car and almost got robbed haha. But the Lord definitely protected us and we got out with any problems, just a bit of a destroyed bike. But we are all good so don't worry :) 

As far as our area things have been going good. We have a couple of really great people prepared right now. We have a couple (Andrea y Oscar) that is going to be married and baptized in July, they are really solid and are going to church every week. The other night we had a really special lesson about the temple and they have such strong desires to go one day. They are super special. One of our challenges is that the mom of Andrea has a baptismal date for the 27th of this month, but she expressed a desire to get baptized with her daughter. We have been praying a ton about what to do, we are trying to looking for the Lords will. We aren't sure yet what is going to happen but we know it will be great either way, we are super excited for this family they have SOO much potential.

 We also had another couple go to church yesterday, they are awesome but also need to get married. We haven't talked about that yet, but it's the next lesson plan that we have. They are a young couple and they have a lot of desires to follow Christ more in their lives. It is cool to see people and how they do whatever it takes to find the peace that comes through finding the Lord.

This week I was reading about the 2000 stripling warriors. And knowing that Father's day is coming up it made me think a lot about why the stripling warriors were as successful and faithful as they were. I love in Alma 53:20-21 because it explains their attributes.. and then its say that they were taught all these things. And if you read in Alma 27:27 it takes about their fathers (the Anti-Nephi-Lehi´s) and how they had many of these same attributes. I know that the stripling warriors were faithful because of their parents. I know that I don't come anywhere close to them, but I want you to know mom and dad that I am so grateful for what you have taught me. More with just your words, but for your examples. That you were always faithful, honest, and righteous. I couldn't have asked for anything greater. So dad I hope you have a great Fathers day, and I hope you both know how much I love you! 

Have a great week,

Elder Hansen.

June 8, 2015

Elder Marple, Elder Winzenried (our roomates) Elder Schoonover (mi hijo!) it's pronounced scew-no-ver

Dear family and friends!

Well as you can see I am once again writing on Monday. My second stint in the office has come to an end and I am once again back out in the mission field! It was weird to leave the office again but I feel like it was time. Elder Belloli and I had a fantastic transfer and we gave a lot of ourselves to the mission. Will definitely miss the Robertson's like always but I am super excited to be out in the mission field... I'm out in General Rodriguez .. it is like 15 km from Lujan! It's an awesome area. Super calm and we have bikes and everything... my legs are killing from these past couple days. Boy am I out of shape!

So we entered the area in a "white wash" which means the 2 others elders left and we came in brand new. I'm with Elder Schoonover.. he's a greenie! So I have the privilege of training him, but the truth is he came pre-trained. He is such an awesome kid and missionary. He is from Saint George Utah and is 18 years old. We get along great and have been having a great time here in Rodriguez so far.

The other day he invited his first investigator to be baptized and it was a super special experience for him. He also said the first vision the other day pretty much by memory. He has so much faith. In church yesterday they didn't tell us we had to bare our testimonies, but when they opened the time to the congregation he was the first one up there to share his testimony! Was incredible, I'm excited to be able to work with him for this transfer!

Things so far in Rodriguez have been great. Like always trying to adjust to the mission life again but it has been going pretty well haha. The area is large and since we are both new we have had some struggles trying to find where we are going haha. But we just ask a lot of questions and I love it. I feel like in life, the church, and the mission that the Lord never allows us to feel comfortable.. and in that way makes us stretch, grow, and learn. This week has been the first time I have opened and area, plus doing it while training has been a challenge. Trying to plan and trying to use every minute effectively has been a challenge but I have learned sooo much about trusting in the Lord.

We have really been focusing on trying to win the trust of the ward leaders. We have already met with all the leaders and spent time with them, trying to show our sincere desire to help them. I had been praying about it a lot and I really felt that this was the way that we should go about things. Instead of directly going to the members and leaders to ask for references, we have been focused on asking who in their respective quorums need some help. We have seen some amazing results. The Relief Society President told us to go visit a recent convert who was struggling and who lives REALLY far away. After we left the President's house we contemplated it but we thought we didn't have time and said we would do it another day. But as we thought this one of the bikes broke, and our appointment called us and canceled. So we had to spend some time repairing the bike.. and when we were done our plans were pretty much ruined. So we decided to go visit this recent convert. We went, had a great lesson with her and tried to bring our love and support. She then gave us a reference, and looking for that reference we found a different married family who is very religious but has been looking for something else in their lives! It was incredible. It was a very humbling experience for us. Showed us that everything happens for a reason, and that we really are here to serve the ward. I know that doing so we will be blessed.

We do have some really good investigators that we were working with that the Elders before were working with. We are working really hard to try to help Maria get baptized this month. She has a date for the 27th but has a couple of doubts, but she came to church yesterday and continues to progress well. There is also a couple Andrea and Oscar who are going to get married in July. Today they are supposed to go and set a date in order to be married in July, and then baptized after. They are sweet. We are working hard to try to get to know all the investigators as quick as possible and trying not to miss a step. I feel like it is a great way to keep us lost in the work! Always something to do.

Well just want to thank you all for your support and your love! Life in the mission is great as always. Don't even know how to explain it. It is just such a joy to wake up everyday and be able to serve the Lord. Hope you never forget that we are all His servants, and that he loves us. Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Hansen.

May 30, 2015

 On splits with the Lujan Elders

With Brisa and her mom at her baptism. 

Brisa's baptism.

Hey fam and friends!

Hope you are all doing good and had a great week! Things are going great down here in the mission. We finished up special trainings this week, I did it almost completely losing my voice.. 8 hours of talking a day sure did take a hit on my voice! It went awesome though and I learned so much from the missionaries! They are so incredible. So during the trainings we always had about 30 minutes (Hermana Robertson, Elder Belloli and I) to prepare the lunch while President talked with all the missionaries together. We served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.. it was heaven! But we were just talking about it the other day and we made about 800 sandwiches in the past month... oh the things that one learns on the mission. Sometimes talents we never would have expected. It all went super great though!

So today was the baptism of Brisa! It was such a special day. She is a little 9 year old girl.. a daughter of a member that we have helped reactive over these couple months. Brisa has come such a long way in the 2 months that we have been teaching her. She has really come a long way as far as her knowledge, and we have also seen how the Gospel has helped her continue to grow in all aspects of her life. She is just a little girl but she has such a bright future. It has also been incredible to see the growth and change of her mom to see how she has made all the right steps to come back to church. I remember about a month ago she was struggling because she had to work lots on Sundays and late on Saturday nights so it was really tough for her to go to church. I remember that we promised her that the Lord would bless her if she did all she could to complete with the commandments. So that Saturday she worked until about 6 in the morning and then got up at 8:30 to go to church... she slept pretty much the whole time in church haha but she complete with the Lord. About a week after that she got offered a new job and has been working Monday - Friday from 2-6pm since! Today in the baptism she shared her testimony and she shared just how special that moment was for her and how it showed the Lord was looking out for her. The really are such a special family.

We are also working hard with Enrique who continues to progress and has a baptismal date for the 13th of June. He is really still looking for an answer from God but he has such sincere desires that we know it will come. We have been working hard in helping him learn how to recognise an answer, and he has plans on coming to church tomorrow. 

We also found a married family last week, they are super awesome! They have 6 kids all between 11-26! It was quite the lesson the other night. We taught them the Restoration and it was super powerful, they are such a humble family but they understood the lesson super well and we are excited to see their progress.

Osvaldo our recent convert continues to do well. He has been attending church regularly and he is planning to go to the temple as quickly as possible. He is very interested in the vicarious work because he has lost both of his parents and also his brother. Lately he has been working a ton with his family and we have plans to go visit 3 different family members of his this next week! We are super excited. It has been incredible to see his testimony grow and see his personal progress. I have felt so blessed to be able to work with him, and to see the Lord's merciful hand in this work as we did all we could to look for men to teach. We feel like he has so much potential.

So this next week is transfer week.. who knows what may happen. Im not sure but I am excited to see what the Lord has in store and ready to do whatever he needs of me. I already have 4 and a half months here this time.. and almost 10 months in total in the office.. how time flies no! It's incredible. But I have learned a ton and am excited for whatever the next step may be!

The other day I read the talk "Grateful in any circumstance" by President Uchtdorf. Incredible. It helped me sit back and reflect on my life and really ponder if I'm grateful for the things that I have. I love when he says that "the catalyst to develop any Christ-like attribute is gratitude". It's so true. I hope that even though there are many trials in life that we can always be grateful.. I know that if we do we will be happy.

I'm so grateful for all of you. Know that I love you, and pray for you all. Hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Hansen.

May 23, 2015

Osvaldo's baptism

Hola, 

So I was talking to the president this week, and I guess my official release date now is August 3rd so I will be getting home probably on the 4th of August just to let you know ahead of time. 

Hey so we gotta go and do a couple of favours for the President around the mission. We are going to be changing our p-day to Monday. I'll try to get on a bit on Monday to let you know how things are going. I'm doing great just so ya know! Off to work! 

Keep that ball straight in the tournament tomorrow! Love you all and good luck on the course!! Say hi to the Lows for me!

Love you all!!

Elder Hansen

May 16, 2015

Hey fam!

So we just got from a great pday with the Robertson family! We went to their house and had lunch, and then went to the school with their two boys Dallas and Dallin and shot hoops and played some volleyball! It was super fun. Next week I'll try to send pictures.

Tonight there is a cultural event for the dedication of the temple in Cordoba, and tomorrow is the dedication, I'm super excited, it's going to be super awesome!

So ya, I gotta go, but I love you all a ton and thanks for being such a special part of the mission and for all the love you show me! I am so grateful and am really enjoying it so much. I love my Savior and feel blessed to be doing what He would have me do.

All the best, have a fantastic week and know that I love you all!

Elder Hansen.

May 9, 2015

Hey fam and friends!

It has been another fantastic week that really has been very rewarding.

Right now we are doing special trainings in the mission in which we are working just us with one companionship at a time. I have really enjoyed them and have felt such a strong and special spirit being able to work directly with every companionship in the mission. It has brought a lot of light to my life. It really helps me appreciate the great missionaries that we have and their efforts, and dedication to leave everything behind to serve the Lord. I really have grown to love every single one of them like a brother and sister over my time in the mission and thank the Lord so much for this opportunity.

In our area we continue to be so blessed by the Lord. Today is Osvaldo´s baptism and I am more then excited for him, he has such a special place in my heart. The other night I had a very special experience, I just felt the impression to pray for him in my personal prayer and the strongest feeling of warmth came over me and I finished pretty emotional. It is amazing when we sit back and really try to realize what it is that we are doing... not just trying to baptize but trying to allow our brothers and sister receive the salvation and live with our Heavenly Father again. I can't think of anything great, or more special then this.

We also have Brisa, she went to church last week and is doing great! Her mom is a less active member and this week she got offered a new job that is just Monday to Friday! It is such a miracle. With her old work she usually had to work till late on Saturday (last week like 5:30 in the morning) and then Sunday as well. So this new work provides such a great opportunity for her and her daughter to progress spiritually, and we are super excited for them. Her date is for the 30th of this month.

We are still working with Marcos. He is doing well and has plans on coming to church tomorrow with his family. The other day we talked a bit about the Restoration and then they watched the movie together. He is such an intelligent kid, and little by little he is coming around. The other day we talked to Karina (his mom) and she bought her wedding dress! Big step. They are just waiting for the paperwork now to be able to get married, we are super excited for them.

We had another huge miracle last Sunday as well. We were walking through the park when a man 6'6'' said "hey Mormons, come over here" .. so we walked over a bit hesitantly and then he said "Hey I know some mormons, do you want to come inside and drink some matte?" This definitely was a little strange, but Elder Belloli and I didn't feel anything bad so we decided to go through with it. As we entered his house and sat down he introduced us to his 2 kids Isaiah (14) and Paola (12) and we sat down and talked with them all! The mans name is Omar, and he started to tell us about he knew our church. One of the first things he said was "I actually went to one of your churches this morning, out there in Las Heras, I even got up in front of everyone and bore my testimony." We were in shock... and then he went on to talk about how he was reading the Book of Mormon and everything! He explained that not too long ago he and his wife got separated and she is living out in Las Heras... and so last weekend he went out there to see some of his kids. He had actually planned on coming back Saturday afternoon but his car broke down.. so he had no way of coming back. It turns out that were he was staying are members and they were going to a baptism that night... so he ended up joining them, and then to church the next morning! To me it was such a miracle, that the Lord led us right in front of his house that exact same day.. when he was more than ready to receive us. So this week we taught him a couple times and he accepted a baptismal date for the 30th of this month, we are also working to help his 2 kids get baptized the same day. It was such a miracle, the Lord is so merciful.

Well I gotta run but I am excited to see you guys tomorrow! Thanks for everything you do and for being such a great example in my life!

Love you all!!

Elder Hansen.

May 2, 2015

Rice and mondongo! (cow stomache) 

Meal with the Florian Family

Dear fam and friends!

What a great week it has been here in the mission! We have been super busy this week it has been so awesome. We had some special trainings, and then on Friday we had the monthly leadership council, both went reallly well and and I always feel so blessed to learn from all the incredible missionaries here! President as well. I am amazed by his knowledge and his testimony, it probably is the best perk of being here, learning from him.

Today has been awesome! This morning we went to help out a couple missionaries and then this afternoon we went and did service with a member family who is moving! We went and helped them paint their new apartment.. was awesome! The familia Florian. Below I attached some pictures of them, they are great! They cooked us some rice and mondongo! (cow stomache) it was actually super good, sounds appetizing right? She made it with some potatoes and some kind of sauce. Then after we did the service, was a good afternoon.. but now i only have like 10 minutes to write but this week was good.. a little update on the area...

As far as the work in our area things are going so great! We have been super blessed lately and it is so humbling to see the Lord's hand in the work. Osvaldo is going to get baptized next weekend, he has his interview today. He was a contact we did on the bus 3 weeks ago. It has been so incredible to see how prepared he is! During transfer week we lost contact with him for about a week and we were a little concerned. The first time we saw him after that he told us that he had a couple doubts and had thought about changes his baptismal date, but when it came down to it he said he couldn't because he knew he had made a commitment with God to be baptized on that day. It was such a huge blessing! It showed me the power of commitments and how important they are. Also this week we taught him about fasting and tithing.. and he asked us if he is allowed to participate in them before his baptism! He said he is going to fast today with us for the temple in Cordoba and then tomorrow he wants to pay his tithing. What is so special to me is he comes from such humble circumstances and he said "I never have been very well off economically, and I feel like it might be because I never have paid my tithing". It was one of the most powerful things I have heard anyone say, he really does have such strong faith.

For this month we are also working with Alejandra, she is Ruben's wife and she is doing great. She has a really strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration which is incredible. Ruben has been a great help, they read together lots. Her only challenge is church attendance, lots of time on the weekends she has to go see her kid who lives in capital.. but she is working out a plan so she can do both things. It has been great to be able to see Ruben participate as well in the lessons and to see his testimony continue to grow.

We also are working with Marcos and Brisa. They are both kids of less active members that we are helping come back to church. There are so many little miracles the Lord has given us. All of these people have really great chances of being baptized this month.

We also found an awesome family the other day, they have a son who is 17 who is super awesome and then another "half son" who is living there with them. They all want to go to church tomorrow and they seriously have so much potential. The first 2 lessons we focused a ton on the restoration and the book of mormon and they understand so well. We have seen as we focus on these 2 topics our investigators have more purpose, they understand what their part is in finding an answer about the "one and only true church over the face of the earth".

Well things are going fantastic here, everyday seems to go by faster and faster and we are just trying to make the best of it! Still training in the morning with Hermano Echeverria, it's super fun. The other day we went and ran stairs, and I could hardly walk after. Crazy next week is mother's day! Can't believe how fast it came.. ill try to let you know some details next Saturday.. but I imagine Sunday afternoon .. like 2 or 3 your time. The Stake President invited us over to do it there, so ill have to give him a call and then let you know.

Thanks for all you, love you all a ton. How blessed we are to have the truth in our lives, and how privileged we are to be able to share it with others! Praying for you always! 

With love, Elder Hansen

April 25, 2015

 My comp Elder Belloli and I!

Us with the missionaries going to the temple!

Mis queridos amigos!!

How are all my dear family and friends!? Hope all is well and that you had a great week, thanks for the letters! Always good to hear about life back up there in Canada, sounds like the weather is finally getting nice!

This week sure has flown by and has been amazing! Every time their is transfers everything just feels like a blur it's crazy, but I have learned a ton this week. My testimony is always strengthened by the experience of the missionaries going home and then the energy and faith of the new missionaries. Crazy Elder Evans is going home this week, you will have to give him a big huge for me!

I actually have a new companion! His name is Elder Belloli. He is 20 years old and from Turlock California. He played water polo before the missionary and was a competitive swimmer.. he is such a stud! He is an incredible missionary, has been out for 18 months now and he has so many great ideas for our area and about how to have more success in the work. It has been a great couple days and I have learned a ton from him, and we have learned a lot together. I'm excited to work with him and I know things will be great!

Things are fantastic here in the mission. We got so blessed this week to be able to go the the temple. There was 2 missionaries that had never been because the Argentina temple had been closed for the past 2 months.. but just on Thursday it opened back up! So on Thursday Elder Belloli and I took the 2 missionaries and their companions to the temple and we all got to go through a session together! It was so incredible and I felt so proud and happy for them. There truly is nothing like the temple.. below I attached a picture of us.. and then with my comp!

As far as baptisms go we have some really great people for the month of May that we are really excited about. Oswaldo is still doing great and is progressing very well. We are really working to have more contact with him in order to help prepare him, but the great part is that he always completes with the commitments that we leave him. Also every time that we see him he mentions that he is excited for Sunday. It is so great to see someone with such excitement to go to church, he says he feels something incredible there and he wishes he could go more then just on Sunday! He's so prepared and it has been such a miracle to be able to work with him.

Alejandra the wife of Ruben is doing really well. The other day she wasn't to sure about the church because she said she already had been baptized and joined a church before. So we explained simply the authority and then how a baptism with the authority could and will bless her life.. she took it really well. Like I said Ruben is always there present and there is nothing cooler then hearing him share his testimony. The other day we were talking about the Plan of Salvation, and we just got the the part that talks about the 5 steps we should make in our lives (faith, repentance, baptism, holy ghost, endure to the end). As we were talking Ruben jumped in and said to Alejandra "you have faith, you are repenting of your mistakes, so what would be your next step?" It was so incredible. To think he has only been baptized for 2 weeks, and then to have him ask a question so inspired like that.. I felt the spirit so strong. After she answered Ruben's question it led perfectly to the baptismal date for the 23rd of may! She is really excited. The only problem is Sunday's, she goes to see her son who lives in Capital so we are trying to work all this out to help her attend church.

We also have Walter. He is doing good and we are hoping by next Saturday he will be able to get baptized. There have been a couple difficulties we are trying to all work it out together, he is putting forth a good effort so that is something awesome to see. We also have Brisa and Marcos. They are both children of different less active members that we are working with. They both have attendances and are working towards a baptismal date.. we are hoping the both of them will be ready for the 9th of may. We also have been looking like crazy for new families and we have found a couple really great ones lately that we are praying will go to church tomorrow! This week has been crazy busy but we have been working hard to make the best of every minute we have had, we have some great plans for tomorrow so we are excited.

Things are great! Crazy that it is almost May. Hope that life is great back there and that you guys are having fun in all that you are doing. Remember how much I love and pray for you all.. and that my biggest wish is to see you succeed in all you do. Thanks for being such a big support to me, and thanks for being so faithful in the church. You have always been my examples when I most needed it. Stay strong and I know the Lord will bless you :)

With lots of love!

Elder Hansen.

April 18, 2015

Spoiled by President and Sister Robertson for Easter

Hi Fam!

Sorry about the lack of contact lately! These past 2 weeks have been absolutely crazy! We haven't had much time on our P-days to write but they still have been enjoyable! Last week we had to take care of a couple changes in the mission (like help missionaries change areas) and then also prepare for Ruben's baptism! Which was incredible! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with me they build up my faith and testimony every week! Also thanks for the Europe pics, brought back lots of good memories! Looks like a blast, glad that you all had a good time over there! Did you say hi to the pope for me? He's a fellow portaño! Glad life is well and that you are enjoy it, we are so blessed eh!

Like I said the baptism of Ruben was absolutely incredible and it turned out to be such a spiritual experience! His whole family (4 people) and then another investigator showed up! We were listening to a talk by Elder Holland and he said that 80% of people that go to a baptism get baptized, so we were focusing on that a ton to invite investigators! So ya it was by far the most spiritual baptismal service that I have had in my mission. Ruben was joyous beyond words! As he left the water their was such a special glow on his face, and as he left the font he came and gave us both a big hug and just said "thank you so much" with a huge smile on his face. It was such a powerful experience and I literally could feel and see the change that had taken place in his life. His family loved it too, and now we are teaching them.  When we have been teaching his family it has been incredible to have him there with us sharing his testimony about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and his personal conversion. It is so amazing to see how much he has changed, and although he is new and has lots to learn he has such a great desire to progress! The other day we talked about the temple and he is really excited to enter. The Bishop is also going to interview him tomorrow to be able to get the Priesthood! It is so awesome.  His family has plans to go to church on Sunday which is awesome. 

We also had such a cool experience with Ruben the other day. We decided to talk a bit about the temple and about genealogy work and how he can help out his ancestors. But even before we had said the prayer or even mentioned what we wanted to talk about he asked us if he could share an experience with us. He went on to tell us that just 2 nights before his baptism he had a dream and in this dream he saw his dad.. and he asked us what it could mean. We asked him a bit about his dad and their relationship. He told us that his dad was never a religious person, but just before his dad died he was in the hospital really sick and unable to move, and as he was about to die he wanted Ruben to take him to the church so he could repent and accept God in his life.. but it was literally to late and he passed away. As Ruben shared this story we asked him what he thought his dream could have meant... and he just talked about how maybe God have a plan for his dad. I was seriously left without words. We had just planned to talk to him about this topic, and as we taught him about temple work he was amazed and left so excited. He mentioned that he had never heard of this before, but it was something he would love to do in order to help his father. As we testified that his dad could still accept Christ in his life and that Ruben could help him do it the spirit was SO strong! Ahh i love miracles and the mission! it was super amazing.

We are also working with Oswaldo, he was such a miracle! He was just a contact on the bus a week and a half ago!! But last week he went to the baptism and then to church the next day all on his on! He is such a sincere man and has an incredible desire to know the truth, he has been searching in many different church's but has never settled in one. He felt incredible in the baptism, and after he asked us "what does somebody have to do to get baptized?" I don't know if I've ever heard a better question then that! So when we passed by yesterday we talked a bit about the Plan of Salvation and how we are here to follow Christ and be happy. He mentioned the word baptism and then he asked "I was baptized before a long time ago, but I feel like I was very prepared. I am definitely more prepared now is it alright if I get baptized again?" Another incredible question! We explained the difference of the baptism in our church and the others and then invited him to get baptized and he accepted a baptismal date for the 9th of May! It was super incredible. Just to see the importance that we talk to everyone!

We are also working with Walter, he has a baptismal date for next weekend! He has come such a long way! We started teaching him about 2 months ago and has made slow progress but lately he has been very excited about it all. He finally felt for himself the need to follow Christ and to complete the commandments. He has had a tough past but you would never know, he is one of the most genuine people I have ever met. We are really trying to help him focus and understand the importance of repentance and how we can finally leave behind his passed and move on. The other day we asked him how he felt and his baptism and he said "I've already made up my mind that I'm getting baptized, and when I make up my mind I don't change it" it was amazing to see him confirm his decision!

 Like I said we are teaching his family so it has been incredible to have him there with us sharing his testimony about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and his personal conversion. It is so amazing to see how much he has changed, and although he is new and has lots to learn he has such a great desire to progress! The other day we talked about the temple and he is really excited to enter. The Bishop is also going to interview him tomorrow to be able to get the Priesthood! It is so awesome. 

Well i gotta run! Things are going fantastic here and we have a ton of great people we are working with.. also has been so fun to continue serving all the missionaries! Has been such a blessing to me! Love you all a ton, hope you have a good week and enjoy the blessings that we receive daily from the Lord! What a blessing to be apart of His true church!

Love, Elder Hansen.