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.