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.