Gettin' a Little Crazy!

Montevideo, Uruguay Mission Zone

WEEK 27 “Agency, Light, and Moses' Great Example”

Hello Familia y Amigos!

There is such a strong sense of why am here and where I am going. As I have reflected and thought about how I care about doing things right. So often I think one feels they come short and too often we feel inadequate. Yet, I love the promise in Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with you, whither so ever thou goest.”

Agency has been a principle I have come to know well.  It is something I have come to understand and to feel very strongly about throughout my mission. Agency is a powerful principle of maintaining personal righteousness. Agency--it is something that can make or create, ruin or destroy. Something I love about agency is that through the atonement—there is the ability to change, to progress. And what is even more important is the ability to be forgiven. This is that part that wraps around agency. It frees the sin bound soul and heals the heart wrenched man. It is important to remember that each one of our examples matters! My agency is what I can control.

We have had very little progress here. The people here are quite rude, yet THERE IS hope smiling brightly before us!! We know that our works are not in vain. The Lord is a God of mercy.

Prayer is a constant companion for me. I find that both the Lord and Satan are sending me promptings. Yet I look to the light and it filleth my understanding (see Romans 13:12 and 1 Cor. 4:6).

I LOVE THESE SCRIPTURES! Here are some insights I have found this week:

• Moses:1 Do you have your scriptures close? vs. 2-- the Glory of God is intelligence, that He promises to illuminate our minds and fill them with light
• 1 Cor. 4:6-- also endure His presence & cross reference to Moroni 7:48, 1 John 3:1 vs13-15.
• The Lord gives Moses
• 1.) a deep knowledge of who he is. Which reminds us that Satan has no power when we know who we are.
• 2.) Gives Moses an experience to compare with the false glory of Satan.
• 3.) God allows Moses to be tried and tested, because through our trials we are proven worthy of much more. We will be given more blessings and trials that will shape us and create us. WE ARE TESTED to the same degree as our experience.
• 4.)Look to God and Live --Mosiah 4:19-21, cross reference D&C 10:5 and Luke 22:31, also see vs. 24 after we have stood firm, and yes it took effort (3X) Moses was rewarded. He is not only had a testimony his heart was converted to the Lord (2 Nephi 31:20).  Vs 25 The Lord returns…which reminds us that He never forsakes us. From all of this He now has a servant who will be steadfast and immovable. He is a great example of the Believers and an instrument in the Hands of God. It has helped me to remember the mission and example of Moses. With his people did they all look to God and live? Were they ready for the higher commandment? Did all follow Moses? Do all remember God? Did not Moses perform miracles for the Lord?  So many valuable lessons to learn from him.

Be happy! Learn to rely on the Lord and know that the Lord is in His work. I DO so testify, the Lord is my light. I may not have very good numbers with contacts and I may not know what to do at times, but I know that I shall not be dismayed, nor shall I be afraid, the Lord my God is with me.

Love you all!

Hermana Hansen

Hermana Peterson, Me, & Lotsa Sistas!

WEEK 26 -- “Leonardo, Lamoni, Lightning, Laughter, & Lame Companions”

Hello Dearest Family & Friends,

Es un placer para mi hablar y escribir con ustedes hoy. Es un poco dificil para mi cambiar mi mente a ingles pero... :D yo puedo. It is a pleasure for me to speak and write with you today. It's a little hard for me to change my mind English but ... : D I can.

This past week has been full of such different types of trials. I am so grateful for the time I have been given to contemplate life, the reason I am in the mission, and learn to be more self-less in this divine work of the Lord.

I have seen miracles as I have devoted myself to the work. I feel much better than I have in a long time. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

I experienced an amazing scriptural experience the other day! We were in the house of this unique lady, named Blanca. Up until last Saturday I didn’t know she had Alzheimers (the illness Zeke had). Many “choice” experiences occurred with her...Lol! Her son, however, is such a strong figure. He has so much knowledge and takes care of his mom in her old age and his name is Leonardo.

So we started a lesson with his mom Saturday night and we sang a hymn and then entered Leonardo. He immediately told us his experience with the missionaries... it was pretty negative, but we talked with him some more. I felt prompted to start talking to him about the pre-mortal world and to help him gain an eternal perspective. We talked about our purpose here on earth, the gifts God has given us, and how agency is such an important and huge part of why we are here. The spirit was so strong as I testified.

Leonardo openly admitted that he did not believe in God, only a grand spirit. Instantly a part of the scriptures entered my mind, Alma 22. This is when Aaron and his brethren are amongst the Nephites. Aaron is teaching the father of King Lamoni. This was seriously an incredible lesson. Everything that we had taught him so far was in correlation with this scriptural text. He believed in a great spirit, he believed in prophets of old and had read the Bible. He wants to believe and with what faith he has--he gave to us! I was amazed. We just changed up the names--I was Aaron, Leonardo was the king, and Hermana Pazmiño was Ammon! lol It was incredible how everything worked out! It was incredible to me how Leonardo felt the spirit of what we were sharing with him. I felt the words coming as we talked about the things of our heart.  The promise that we will not be confounded before men is a real promise!! 

He said we gave him a lot to think about and that he desires to know more. Near the end of the lesson I testified that no matter how far you think you are from the Savior, He will always take your hand and walk with you every step of the way. He will never leave your side. The spirit testified of this reality. I know this is true, that the Savior will walk every long, dusty, and perhaps difficult road because He cares for us. I know the Savior is my dearest friend and I know the Savior came to be with us as we taught Leonardo that day. 

"The difficult path you are called to bare may in fact be your only path to shine!"

The other night there was a huge rain storm!! It was amazingly strong. We thankfully were in our house. Yet water was leaking through the window. We have this storm protector curtain on the outer parts of our windows (we live in an apartment) and well me being supposedly "smart" Ha!Ha! NOT. Opened up my umbrella and was like “okay, I can handle a little rain and close the storm curtains at the same time”. I opened the window and it was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Haha! With my umbrella open I still faced this huge amount of rain!! Dad, it’s like that one time at 5^th year girl’s camp when it rained.  It was JUST LIKE THAT! 

So I soon realized that it was way more than I could handle and I start screaming! Like a man scream...HaHa!  And all I can do is yell... I am in shock. My companion looks at me, like "what the--!!!! Are you Crazy!!!?? AHHH I need to help her!" So she ends up sticking her whole self out the window behind my umbrella and closing the storm curtains. Haha!!! We both shut the windows soaking wet and laughing so hard. I can honestly tell you it was HILARIOUS!! Lo Maximo!

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it is learning to dance in the Rain".

We had a short-plaza stay with us this past week, named Katherine. Corto plaza- is the equivalent of a “Mini-mission”. She has been a member of the church for only 4 months. The trials of the mission are really hard for converts... There are so many doctrinal questions and wow there is still a lot to learn, but SHE is incredible! The reason we have her is because Hermana Peterson has a hurt ankle and it is getting worse. She has been out for the whole change.... IT is really sad. Oh my dear companion! She might have to go home. The advice of Dr. Allen gave me before I left has been so great--stretch every day!! It really does make a difference. I have lost 14 pounds in the mission... it is weird. Yet is all good!

There are many stories I could share about drunk investigators, lesbians stocking us, and crazy moments of Spanish, but know it is all still good here mom. Don´t worry! We are being safe, learning SO many new things, and learning to be a light in the darkness!!! :D I truly believe that this mission is like Jonah and the Ninevehites... Haha! Not every one likes to be told to repent...yet just like Nineveh, all of YERBAL will be converted one day!! 

I LOVE THE OBRA MISIONAL! (Mission Work!!)

Love you guys,

Hermana Hansen

Te Queiro Mucho! Love These People!

WEEK 25

Hello My Wonderful Family & Friends!

Having a latina compañera is la MAXIMO. (<--- esta palabra es la favorita de mi Compañera Hermana Pazmiño!) Ella es en serio capaisisimo like fortisisisismo in musica (She is seriously like very strong and compassionate music). My head is spinning with Spanish and English. At times it really is much easier to speak in Spanish.

MOM!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY!! You were in my thoughts and I was like Yes, today is a special day! My wonderful mom, this is her day! Lately I have been thinking of how to help a dear friend of mine here in Uruguay. Her kids have been acting up and yesterday (possibly due to it being your birthday) I received promptings of how to help my dear friend here with her kids. I remembered some of the things that you have done for me and taught me. I created a 10 Steps to build a happy home chart. Remember all those charts you use to make us?! Chore charts, exercise charts, love of learning charts, charts for bed time, charts for practicing the cello, etc. LOL!

Those were helpful to keep us on task, yet it was other things that made a bigger difference – it was all those times you read aloud to us, those quite hours on Sundays when gospel truths were shared, the example of prayer, and the scripture insights you were always giving us. It was those times when I was angry over a decision and yet you still stayed firm knowing it was best --that has made me who I am today. It was the hugs and consolation when I was sad that helped me overcome my trials and challenges. Mom, I may be lacking certain things, yet I know that God sent me an angel to watch over me.

This week was WOW --stressed filled, spiritually building, and an opportunity for new lessons learned. A major stress was that we found out that one of our investigators is lesbian… that was a bit of a shock and we realized she had been hitting on us. We asked our leaders what the steps were to help her and teach her. They said that it was not a good idea for us to help her – even a bit dangerous for us to stay involved. It was difficult to know how to end our relationship with her with kindness and friendship.  After time some stress built up on that topic and it looked like we were avoiding her and it seemed like none of our leaders were helping us --because they had work and families. We lost our cell phone too and the whole world felt a little like it was falling apart. We talked with the bishop and well he said he didn´t have the keys to help us... great. There is still so much I lack in the Spanish language and so I think he thought I didn´t respect him as a leader --which was not the case at all. My hope is that we can still work on the same page! 

Anyways, I ended up crying it out and Hermana Dutra—and she helped me so much!! She helped me see the perspective just like you would, mom. Right now I feel as if many lessons have been learned through this experience and I am so grateful for the things I have learned. It is important to understand that God really does have a reason and it is important to honor our leaders and respect their decisions. It is okay to cry and to feel emotional, but it is also important TO RISE ABOVE the things that are bringing us down and to stay strong! We must work hard and only give it our best! I have learned to hold my tongue more, to speak only kindness, to not compare, to make specific goals, and then keep them! Wow! The Lord is really helping me. I desire to be an instrument in his hands! To be shaped into more than I ever could become without him. He has really helped me this week with patience and Christ’s love. 

There is a need for patience with some of the members here, and to feel love for my new oro who is so far from home for her first time. Distance is relative for me, actually. I feel like you guys are still close--practically the same distance as it was when I was attending BYU-Idaho. IT is not that far! LOL! I feel that way nearly every day. I look forward to writing yet in all honestly I LOVE THE MISSION!!!!! I LOVE getting home at the end of a long great day full of miracles and my feet burn and my mind feels tired, but my spirit feels enlightened and I know I have done all I could do! WHAT A FEELING. I love this work! I love the testimony building experiences, the ability to express in both languages now and for the blessing of a spiritually empowering companion.

This past week we have had an incredible investigator to teach and work iwth. She is incredible! The Lord has prepared her to receive the gospel! She will be baptized next week! I am so excited. She has such a love for the Lord. Her name is Isabel Olivera.

My leaders here are astounding. The new Mission President came up and visited us this past week and Wow! He spoke with such power of his calling. I needed so much to hear the things he said. He talked about discipline  and obedience. Wow! Powerful! So often we are obedient for spurts of time, yet it is when we are self-disciplined to stay strong and to press on, well, that is when the miracles begin. I am so glad to have heard his message. I am grateful for the leaders who help us to make good use of what we have for work of the Lord.

The other night Spanish made a firmer click in my head! It was so amazing to listen to a conversation without having to focus on each of their palabras (words), translating and trying to gather the meaning.

There is a scripture story I have felt really strongly about this past week. It is covers the topic about how the Lord cares about the one. In a journey to another city, Jesus and his disciples stopped just outside of Samaria to buy food and rest. The dusty roads lingered on their feet and the exhaustion of teaching all day, healing the broken hearts, and infirm souls that the life of mortality bares down with its weight on the body. I can see it now. All day no one has been listening to the Son of God. They are hungry and tired. The Savior sends his disciples into Samaria to buy food. Yet, does Jesus join them, walking through the markets? NO. He waits and stays back. Then there comes a woman who is a sinner and recognized as such. She comes as she always does to the well. 

The Lord is waiting there to talk to the one. Perhaps it was this Samaritan woman that needed to hear His message the most the afternoon. Perhaps it was this woman that needed the love and redeeming joy of forgiveness the most in her life. It is a beautiful example from our Lord. He gets to know this woman and her heart and literally raises her broken heart and sin bound soul to a higher level of forgiveness because he was willing to patiently wait for the one who would accept him. It says at the end of John I think, that not enough books could fill the works of Christ. Can we not find reason to rejoice?! We are all beggars; we all look to God for aid. Look to God and LIVE. This is a special insight gained this week!

Love you all so much

Hermana Kaitlyn Hansen