hellooooo,
welp it's official guys, i hit my year mark. one year ago on june 29th, i entered the MTC a fresh-faced and 20 pounds lighter sister hansen. (yeah that's right everybody, i recently weighed myself. so while i appreciate everyone telling me that i don't look fat, the scale does not lie.) now i'm here in tahiti, one year later and proud to say that 20 pounds is not the only thing i've gained thus far on the mission. experience, testimony, and a die-hard love for da gospel have been rooted in my heart. cool right? RIGHT! soeur chapman and i had a little ceremony to commemorate my one year mark--i gave a talk, recited a poem on the spot, and soeur chapman made me do some ridiculous stuff like put on a bunch of the clothes that don't fit me anymore and ride my bike twice around the house singing my favorite hymn (at 8:00 at night mind you). the neighbors probably think we're insane. also you know how it's like tradition amongst missionaries to burn something at a year in? well a few weeks ago, i saw that some dogs had half eaten some of my shoes. so we were like hey no big deal, that'll just be the thing that i burn for my yeariversary. turns out shoes don't burn quite so easily, especially when it's pouring rain so the air is even more humid than usual. but i included a picture of the "burning" process for your viewing pleasure.
anyway, we had a baptism this weeeeek. our ami romea got baptized on saturday and confirmed on sunday. it was a good day, and he invited his family to come see his baptism and i think that they were really proud of his decision, even though they're all part of different religions. it was cool to see them there to support him. now we're back to the drawing board because our baptismal pool is dry. we have a couple of investigators that are really potential, but still got some hang ups before they can fully commit themselves. but we love them and are happy with even the slightest hint of progress. like, for example, we're teaching this couple: noelline and marama. noelline is a inactive member and marama is her boyfriend. they came to church all on their own a few weeks ago (i think i mentioned them and how they're a mirrraaaaccle) and we've been working with them ever since. our bishop gave them the challenge to read a chapter from the book of mormon and pray together every day for one week and they would see the blessings by the end of the week. we went to go see them yesterday and noelline told us that she had just found out that her grandma had died and then she was like "you know, during the week, i was like 'man bishop i'm really not seeing any of these blessings! what's the deal!' but this morning i realized that if i hadn't been reading my scriptures and praying, this news would have totally turned my world upside down. but i see how the scriptures have really softened my heart and helped me to react differently." and we were like yesssssssssssssssssssss! and even marama is totally into it! they were telling us about how when they got the news they were like man what do we do, and marama was like "hey maybe we should read a chapter and say a prayer." and we were like yessssssssssssssssssssss! again! so these investigators are awesome is basically what i'm saying here. it's always nice to have investigators that keep their commitments and when they do that, they see why we committed them to it in the first place. weeeeeeee!
anyway, this week was pretty good. although it's hard sometimes not to feel stuck in a rut. on the mission you do the same things every day, and even though they're really good things, it happens sometimes that you just get into the routine and forget why you do the things you do. so soeur chapman and i have been trying to think of ways to innovate our days and to get out of the rut. not easy. but still trying nonetheless. in other news, i finished the book of mormon for the second time on the mish--good news, it's STILL true!!! but seriously, each time i read it i'm struck by the fact that i learn something new and i see how my prayers and questions are answered through what is written inside. it's a great book.
alright well i'm gonna wrap this up. keep doing good stuff and being happy and writing me letters ok?! ok. love you!!
love,
soeur hansen
welp it's official guys, i hit my year mark. one year ago on june 29th, i entered the MTC a fresh-faced and 20 pounds lighter sister hansen. (yeah that's right everybody, i recently weighed myself. so while i appreciate everyone telling me that i don't look fat, the scale does not lie.) now i'm here in tahiti, one year later and proud to say that 20 pounds is not the only thing i've gained thus far on the mission. experience, testimony, and a die-hard love for da gospel have been rooted in my heart. cool right? RIGHT! soeur chapman and i had a little ceremony to commemorate my one year mark--i gave a talk, recited a poem on the spot, and soeur chapman made me do some ridiculous stuff like put on a bunch of the clothes that don't fit me anymore and ride my bike twice around the house singing my favorite hymn (at 8:00 at night mind you). the neighbors probably think we're insane. also you know how it's like tradition amongst missionaries to burn something at a year in? well a few weeks ago, i saw that some dogs had half eaten some of my shoes. so we were like hey no big deal, that'll just be the thing that i burn for my yeariversary. turns out shoes don't burn quite so easily, especially when it's pouring rain so the air is even more humid than usual. but i included a picture of the "burning" process for your viewing pleasure.
anyway, we had a baptism this weeeeek. our ami romea got baptized on saturday and confirmed on sunday. it was a good day, and he invited his family to come see his baptism and i think that they were really proud of his decision, even though they're all part of different religions. it was cool to see them there to support him. now we're back to the drawing board because our baptismal pool is dry. we have a couple of investigators that are really potential, but still got some hang ups before they can fully commit themselves. but we love them and are happy with even the slightest hint of progress. like, for example, we're teaching this couple: noelline and marama. noelline is a inactive member and marama is her boyfriend. they came to church all on their own a few weeks ago (i think i mentioned them and how they're a mirrraaaaccle) and we've been working with them ever since. our bishop gave them the challenge to read a chapter from the book of mormon and pray together every day for one week and they would see the blessings by the end of the week. we went to go see them yesterday and noelline told us that she had just found out that her grandma had died and then she was like "you know, during the week, i was like 'man bishop i'm really not seeing any of these blessings! what's the deal!' but this morning i realized that if i hadn't been reading my scriptures and praying, this news would have totally turned my world upside down. but i see how the scriptures have really softened my heart and helped me to react differently." and we were like yesssssssssssssssssssss! and even marama is totally into it! they were telling us about how when they got the news they were like man what do we do, and marama was like "hey maybe we should read a chapter and say a prayer." and we were like yessssssssssssssssssssss! again! so these investigators are awesome is basically what i'm saying here. it's always nice to have investigators that keep their commitments and when they do that, they see why we committed them to it in the first place. weeeeeeee!
anyway, this week was pretty good. although it's hard sometimes not to feel stuck in a rut. on the mission you do the same things every day, and even though they're really good things, it happens sometimes that you just get into the routine and forget why you do the things you do. so soeur chapman and i have been trying to think of ways to innovate our days and to get out of the rut. not easy. but still trying nonetheless. in other news, i finished the book of mormon for the second time on the mish--good news, it's STILL true!!! but seriously, each time i read it i'm struck by the fact that i learn something new and i see how my prayers and questions are answered through what is written inside. it's a great book.
alright well i'm gonna wrap this up. keep doing good stuff and being happy and writing me letters ok?! ok. love you!!
love,
soeur hansen
