september 10, 2012

hiiiiiiiiiii everyone!

did you miss me last week? i will just assume that there was a resounding YES that echoed in america just now. mission conference was GREAT. elder pearson from the 70 came down and beat us repeatedly with a spiritual bat and i loved every second of it. he definitely knows how to get to the point and tell us what's up, but he did it in such a loving way that afterwards you're just filled with desire to change and be better. and i'm like YEAH THE GOSPEL DOES THAT! and it's just cool. so it went until 3:00 in the afternoon and with all the transits and everything afterwards we didn't have time to do emails, but it was worth the sacrifice. hopefully not too many tears were shed on your end. 

let's seeeeee what can i tell you about the past two weeks...guys i gotta be honest i feel like i say the same things in every email i send so forgive me if my updates are boring now. by the way, i'm hitting my one year in tahiti mark this week! i arrived a fresh-faced missionary on the 12 of september 2011. man how time flies. that means i've almost hit my 15 month mark in the mission total. WEIRD. anyway, back to telling you the same thing i tell you every week. 

ah! we fixed a baptismal date last week. her name is malia and she is 10. her dad is an inactive member who's trying to come back to church. and she is just precious and we love her. so we're excited about that. we've been doing a lot of door-to-door lately and it's good, but we're also trying to work more with the members because that's where the mega-fruit comes from. but it's like a diesel engine. slow to start. (pretty sure i've already used THAT analogy in my emails like fifty bajillion times. don't be mad.) guys i really like this sector and our amis. the members are great too (even if they don't really help us haha). we had a really good family home evening yesterday (not a big deal that it's not on monday, right? right) and there were 3 potential investigators there. one of them is ata--she's like 20 and living with a semi-active member family. she is so great! and little by little i think we're making progress with her. and i gave her all my clothes that don't fit me anymore hahaha. 

let's seeeeeee...soeur isnard is doing well. she's making a lot of progress in her lessons and tracting approaches, so i'm happy about that. MAN I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING REMOTELY CLEVER OR WITTY TO SAY! guhhhh. oh! ha. funny thing that happened this week. the jehovah's witnesses came and tracted out our house. we were doing our personal study in the morning and we hear people calling out in our front yard and i'm like what the?? and we go out and boom--two women in skirts with pamphlets are there waiting for us. when they saw our tags there were like ohh...so...you're mormons. and we were like yup. we had a nice little chat but in the end they continued along their way without leaving a brochure. it was weird to be on the other side of tracting, haha. 

other than that, things are just moving along. as usual, some investigators are progressing, others are not, but we love them all regardless. i'm really happy though because i can honestly feel how much God has blessed me to just be able to LOVE people. i don't really feel like i was like that before. obviously there are some people where i find it easier to love them than others, but in general, i just feel happy to be around people. ok well i'm tired of being so dang boring so i'm gonna finish this off. know that i love you all (as usual) and miss you and hope to get some letters from you soon!! 

love,

soeur hansen

august 27, 2012

EVERYONE

it's pday! i'm gonna take a nap today. wanna know why? BECAUSE I'M SO TIRED. this was a really good week though. we worked our little missionary bums off (although at this point in my mission i'm afraid i can't really say that my missionary bum is "little" but you know what? IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL) and were able to double the amount of lessons we had last week, we had 3 amis come to church yesterday, and we got a new ami. yaaaaaaaaay! things are going well in the sector. it's still pretty slow going, and we're still trying to work our way up from zero, but i guess on a scale of 1-10 we're like at...4 now. so that's good, right?

our new ami that we have is named honore. he's a champion boxer. he's a cool guy, and he is suuuuuuuuuper nice. he's really receptive to the gospel and he is eager to learn. he always talks about how he has been to other churches but now he wants to "taste the fruit" of the gospel. actually it sounds kind of creepy when i type it out in english, but in french it sounds pretty normal, especially in the context that he says it. DON'T BE WEIRDED OUT GUYS. anyway, we committed him to baptism in our last lesson and he said YES! weeee! so now we're going to work with him to help him be ready to pick a date. but it's great because he has a good friend who supports him and always comes to lessons and is with him at church and stuff. and it really makes all the difference, so i'm really happy to have his help. we're going to have a family home evening with them tonight so hopefully everything will go well.

let's see...oh yeah. we did SO MUCH TRACTING THIS WEEK OH MY GOSH. guys. door-to-door tracting...is grueling. it's cool because you get to meet a lot of people and sometimes it's funny because people are just funny, sometimes it's annoying because EVERYONE has dogs and THEY BARK SO MUCH and i don't even like dogs. it can also be saddening because people are mean. haha. but we had some good experiences this week. mostly i just learned the importance of gritting my teeth and barreling forward. we had spent almost the entire day getting rejected and it was hot and we were just about to start going to a new little neighborhood and i was like ok guys. let's pause for a moment. here's what we're gonna do. WE GONNA PRAY. so we stopped on the side of the road with our bikes and our helmets and we just said a little prayer so that we could find people that would just listen to us. haha. and boom. the next three people we met were happy to listen to us, we got a future teaching appointment fixed, and one lady even gave us free donuts. BAM. and i was like "hey thanks heavenly father!"

another nice tracting experience--saturday. again, almost the whole day spent doing tracting. by the end of the day, i was just like man i'm kind of tired of getting rejected. and it was around 5:00, and we have to be at the house before sun-down (because we're girls on bikes and there are lots of drunk people that roam at night), and after getting another rejection in my head, i was like GUH WAAA BLEHHH LET'S GO HOME EARLY. so tempting. (yeah i know, don't be surprised that missionaries aren't perfect, k??) but then this little voice came in my head and was like "hey. don't go home early. keep working til sundown and God will less you." and i was like ooooooooook. bam. next house we went to, this lady comes out and is ALL ABOUT TALKNG TO US. she was SO NICE! and so full of love. and ok, yeah, it's not like she was like HEY I WANNA GET BAPTIZED! or anything like that, but you know, sometimes all you need is for someone to just be nice and listen to you. and we had the chance to accomplish our missionary objective, which in all simplicity, comes down to being able to invite people to come unto christ. so that's what we did.

anyway, so this week was long, but it was satisfying to see the results of our efforts when we gave our report at the end. soeur teraiamano finished her mini mission so now it's just me and the other mini missionary, soeur isnard. she still talks a lot. sometimes i wonder how it's possible that one person could have so much to say. but she really is so nice. i think God is giving me an opportunity to expand my love. next monday we have mission conference and i'm soooooooooo excited! so i might not get the chance to write, but know that i love you!

OH YEAH! haha. gotta talk about this really fast. last night we ate with the 2n counselor and seriously me and him (uhh proper englishhhhh) had like a 30 minute argument (not really an argument but whatever) about whether or not there were 50 or 52 states in the united states. and i was like BROTHA, I AM A PURE-BLOOD AMERICAN WITH 12 YEARS SPENT IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM--THERE ARE 50 STATES DANGIT. but he did NOT want to accept defeat. but, in the american spirit, i did not back down and came out victorious. BOOYAH.

obviously the virtue i'm choosing to work on this week is humility.

ahaaaaaaa!

love,

soeur hansen

ok the pictures (i don't remember the order)

last pday we went to some caves with the other sisters, so i think there are some pictures of us there and me in front of the cave sign.

another picture is the physical proof of our hard work this week--my apologies if it's too hot for myldsmail, but i am proud of my tan lines!

aaaaaaaaaand i don't remember what the other pictures are but i just know you will LOVE them.

august 10, 2012

iaorana errbody!

ok! i feel like i have so many things to say about this week but i don't know how to organize my thoughts so...basically i'm apologizing in advance if this email is just a giant mass of word vomit. YOU'LL READ IT AND LIKE IT ANYWAY.

so i'm in PAEA now! it's a new sector for the soeurs so i'm opening it up and lemme tell ya. opening a sector is kind of...how do i put this...grueling. yes. that is a good word. so we got here on tuesday and walked into the house that they just rented for us--it's completely empty, and filthy. me=not happy about this. and so we spent the day de-filthing and settling it. oh by the way, when i say "we", i'm referring to me and the holy ghost. just kidding. me and my new companion, soeur teraiamano (teh-ra-ay-ah-mah-no). she's actually not a real missionary, she's on a what they call a "mini mission." she's 19 and preparing to go on a mission in two years. since there's a serious lack of soeurs in the mission for the moment, i guess president set up some deal or something where ward missionaries could become provisionary missionaries and serve with us to fill in the gaps until more newbs arrive. i didn't really ask too many questions. but soeur teraiamano is great--she's like already super missionary, and we get along well. so anyway.

let's talk about how this all went down. our sector is TEENY, but there are two wards that we took from the elders (vaiatu and tepuhapa). so i talk to the elders

me: i'm like hey buddies, can we get the area books and a run-down of the area?

elders: yeah! we'll make a list of all of our potentials and fixed baptisms and give you all the stuff tomorrow.

me: yay!

next day: we go to pick up the stuff.

elders: here you go! *hands over area books*

me: thanks! so the list of potentials is in here?

elders: huh? no we're keeping those for us. here are all the stand bys.

me: ..................(i hate you guys)

so basically they gave us NOTHING. and i had to work really hard on my christlike attributes. but then i was like WHATEVER we'll find our OWN amis! so this week we basically ran around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to track down all of the people in the area book that had previously met with the missionaries to see if we could recontact them and start up lessons again, all the while stopping and visiting and introducing ourselves to the members. it was grueling. but we were able to get some lessons fixed for next week and we even have two new potential investigators! pretty happy about that. BUT, the elders redeemed themselves on sunday.

elders: hey we talked it over and we decided to give you our potential amis.

me: yaaaaaaay i don't hate you anymore!

anyway, now there's another mini missionary with us, soeur isnard. soeur teraiamano finishes next week because she has to go back to school. and i'm sad because i like her a lot. soeur isnard got here on saturday. she's cool, although i feel like i need four ears to listen and process all that she says because...she talks a lot. but she's suuuuuuuuuuuper nice.

anyway, i'm gonna try and wrap this up. all in all, things are going well. the new sector is good and we have high hopes for the future. just trying to work hard and be happy!

love,

soeur hansen

p.s. the picture--me, soeur teraiamano, soeur weller (a new american! finally!!! the last american sister to get here was ME), and soeur tauaroa at the beach at paea

august 6, 2012

aug 6

hey everyone

let's talk about this was a great week--i feel like the scripture in doctrine and covenants has suddenly become so much more applicable to my life: after much tribulations come the blessings. rang true this week! last week was woof--but this week was so gerat! we had so many awesome things happen, a couple new really solid references, and some members that are starting to get motivated to help us!

we met with this new investigator therese this week and taught her the first lesson--she is seriously the most awesome person ever. our first lesson went really really well and she told us about how she had met a member coming back on a boat and she was at a point in her life where she just didn't know where she was going or anything, and he talked to her about the church and she was like "i don't know, i just felt really drawn to what he was saying and i wanted to know more." so somehow she got into contact with her uncle who is in our ward and we started the lessons with her. gaah! golden! she has had some really hard experiences, but i think it just goes to show that she has really been prepared to receive the gospel. we encouraged her during the first lesson to start praying and how prayer is really important, and then the next lesson we had with her, (we always start and end with a prayer), we were like "so therese who do you want to say that prayer?" and she was like "i'm gonna do it." and seriously, i just wanted to cry because it was such a sweet and simple prayer but as soon as she opened her mouth it was like BOOM! SPIRIT IN THE HOUSE! i love seeing the discovery process of people who don't have the habit of talking with God and the light that comes into their face when they finally learn how to open that connection. when we first met with therese, her eyes were sad. but by the end of the week after we taught about joseph smith and the plan of salvation and everything, she looked like a totally different person. so great right?! yes it is great. the only hitch is that...she's not actually in our area! and she went back home on friday. but we gave the reference to the elders who are assigned to her area and i will go and beat them down if they don't take good care of her.

which brings me to my next point: i'm getting transferred! AND it was normally supposed to BE in the area where therese lives! and i was like YESSS PERFECT! but then president called a few days later and was like hey i felt like i needed to change your transfer, so now you're going to paea to open a new area for the sisters. and i was like man. ok. but! kind of cool because soeur chapman's family lives in the area where i'm going and they're not members, so i was like soeur, i'm gonna go track down your fambly! anyway, next monday i get moved so i have one more week in faaa and then i'm outta here back on the bike.

speaking of soeur chapman, SHE GOT APPENDICITIS! on saturday, soeur teheiura and i were doing work and stuff (you know, the norm) and president calls and i'm like man is he going to change my transfer again?? and it turns out he called us so we could go to the hospital in town to pick up soeur white (soeur chapman's companion) because SOEUR CHAPMAN WAS IN THE HOSPITAL! and i was like aaaaaaaaah my child!!!! we got there and she just looked so out of it and i was so sad and wanted to cry but i didn't because i didn't want to look like an idiot. but yeah they pretty much took her right away into surgery. so she'll be here for a couple weeks to be in the car while she heals from the surgery. craaaaazy things.

let's see...there are other things i could talk about but people are waiting for the computer so i'm gonna finish this off. hope everything is going well in america. love you!!

love,

soeur hansen

july 30, 2012

hey everyoneeee

i have no time (again) this week because one of the computers is broken and my companion is waiting for me to finish this, so i'm trying to type fast. this week was lonnnnnnnnnnnnng, because it's still vacation time and it seems as though the island of tahiti has been abandoned. seriously we had SO many lessons cancelled this week, we were kind of wanting to pull our hair out by the end. it was tough, but i guess it just allowed us a chance to try and get creative to find effective ways to use the time. we're trying to work more with the members in our 3 wards to get them motivated for missionary work, but i get the feeling it's going to be like pulling teeth in the beginning. but i'm pretty confident that once the wheels get turning, we'll see the fruits of our labors. (wow i mixed a lot of analogies in that sentence. hopefully you understand how my brain is working right now.)

other than that, things are going along well. now that i'm back in the car the weight gain has reared its ugly head again. seriously it's kind of unreal how quickly it happens. gross. whatever, more of me to love, right? :)

ok my companion's sighs are getting more and more frequent and obvious, so i'm gonna cut this short. i love you all!!

love,

soeur hansen

july 23, 2012

heyyyy everyone,

i have like almost no time to write because we have to go meet someone to do a thing (yes i know the details are overwhelming). but just a quick note to say hi! this week went by really fast! things are going well here in faaa. the work is gong alright--everyone is on vacation so it's kind of hard, but we're doing our best to find people to teach and help our investigators. we've been teaching a lot of kids lately, which is entertaining and makes you want to pull your hair out sometimes, haha. but they're cute and sincere and it mostly just makes me smile. 

this week we got to go to the temple with our district because two of the elders were finishing. so the picture included is of all of us in front of the temple. always good to go and feel the spirit and be happy. let's see...nothing too terribly exciting to report. just trying to do work and be diligent. the gospel is true, everybody, in case y'all forgot. ok i gotta go, but i love you!!

love,

soeur hansen

july 16, 2012

hey everyone,

guess where i am? not in moorea!! 

i'm back in FAAA. i don't know if you remember my first area. you know, the one that i was already in for 6 MONTHS. and now i'm back. president called last week and was in a tight spot and was like soeur hansen, none of the other sisters have their license, and i need you to go back to faaa. i'm not gonna lie, i cried just a TEENY TINY bit. but then i was like, you know what? it's cool. i'm happy to go back. but really though, i know this is where i'm supposed to be for right now, and things are good. although it is SUPER weird to be back. i feel like i just started my mission again because it was around this time last year when i first got here, haha! but there is a lot of work and a lot of potential in this sector, so things are good. and what's really cool about tahitians is that they love missionaries and are super welcoming and nice when you're new, but even more welcoming and nice when you come back, so when i went back to the wards that i served in yesterday and everyone found out that i'm serving in this sector now, i was seriously like CELEBRITY STATUS. haha it was so awesome. and obviously made my heart happy, because i was super excited to see everyone, and they were super excited to see me! love it when things are mutual like that. and we set a baptismal date last thursday, the day i got here, so things are off to a great start. 

except then friday came, ironically enough, friday the 13th.  A SCOOTER REAR-ENDED ME!! ughhhhhh. scooters are the worst. but because i was turning left (even though i had put on my blinker!!), the insurance company is holding me responsible. guhhh talk about a buzz-kill. i wanted to cry and kick puppies all at the same time. i just feel bad for putting an extra burden on the mission, and slightly indignant because it totally was not my fault--the guy driving the scooter even admitted that he was driving too fast and didn't see my blinker. aah the injustice of it all. oh well. just gotta smile and roll with the punches i guess. 

let's see...oh man i miss soeur chapman so much!! seriously like my favorite companion. i miss moorea too. i loved the people there, and the island itself was just awesome. now i'm back in the ghetto, haha. but it's good. and i love soeur teheiura too. she finishes up in september so she's almost done. it's actually like a whole new sector here because most of the investigators are new and so many of the investigators i taught before i left are baptized now! so awesome! actually, in a way, it's really cool to come back, because i'm seeing firsthand the fruits of the seeds i got to plant earlier. for example, i don't know if you remember nella and melodie, the sisters we taught before thanks to door to door contacting. well, they're baptized, and now their dad who was inactive is coming regularly to church, their mom comes too and has stopped smoking and drinking, their brother who lives on bora bora just got baptized, and we're teaching their other brother and his girlfriend. i was just like WHOA. that little seed has become a TREE. and it makes me really happy to see all the changes that have come about in their home. 

anyway, i gotta wrap this up. i love you all!!

love,

soeur hansen