Me Encanta la Lluvia! (I Love the Rain!)

It's great to hear from you guys! 

Things with Anna are going great. She is continuing to read and pray, and is looking great for her baptismal date on the 11th. I think she is really excited. We have seen how much more positive she is about the trials that she has had in the past, and the trials she continues to have. It's awesome. You can feel the increased love in her home, even though she doesn't have a ton of support from her family there, but she is strong in her growing testimony. She loves to "water her tree". She says that since we talked about Alma 32 with her. She's the best! Hopefully Derrick will continue to be more and more interested so we can teach him as well! Her daughter Bri, who is six is amazing. She's soooo funny! She's the bubbliest little girl ever.

Funny story- I was playing patty cake with her, when one of her cousins started pulling my pant leg. I looked down, and then when I was patty-caking I accidentally high-fived her face. I didn't even know since I was looking down. It was so funny. And they still both make fun of me for it. We just love going over to their house. We go there every night before we go home, and I can't wait to get there everyday. We have taught her pretty much everything we have to teach her, so we are sharing Mormon messages and sharing scriptures and reading from the book of Mormon now. We should be starting Derrick on the lessons soon!

We are working hard to find more people to teach. Sometimes it is a challenge, but it's fun!

We are teaching a cool 17 year old kid named Angel. It's awesome to meet kids who think more deeply about things, and are so mature. I definitely wasn't that way when I was his age.

There was a huge rainstorm this past week! It was so nice! Ever since it has been much cooler everyday. In the mornings now its actually kind of chilly! I love it!! So much nicer to run now that it isn't 95 and humid at 645 am.

Other than that I don't have anything too interesting to share!

I Have A Challenge For You!!  

I have a little notebook that I want to fill up with quotes! I would love to hear your favorite quotes, any kind. From General authorities or scriptures or anyone!

Also I want to hear your favorite quotes from this upcoming general conference!! 

Love you all!

Elder Hansen

El Horno Está Enfriando un Poco (The Oven is Cooling Down a Bit)

Hello my dear Family and Friends! :) 

I received a bunch of letters forwarded from the CCM today. Thank you to everyone for writing me! It was great to get mail as well! :) it's like my favorite thing! 

Some highlights from the week! 

Last Tuesday we had an awesome Mexican Independence party! We had a sweet turnout! And a few investigators showed up as well! it was sweet!! We had some awesome food there too!

Wednesday was transfers! It was a craaaaaaaazy day! We got a new Elder here, Elder King who is awesome, plus two additional Elders who are opening a new area out here. The work is progressing so fast in the valley! It's awesome! 8 missionaries in our little ward!!! Elder Collins and Sherman are both studs as well. We traded in our Chevy Cruze and picked up a nice ol minivan. I'm the driver this transfer! Its our swagger wagon! :) 

We continue to teach Anna, we have now taught her just about all we have, but we are going to start over to teach her 9 year old son Derek so he can be baptized as well!! They are amazing. We have seen such an awesome difference in their house. I love visiting them so much!!

Saturday we had district exchanges. I went down to the bike area with Elder Takke. We had a blast!! We got to teach some good lessons and we ate some good meals as well! Usually Saturdays everyone is in Mexicali, but we were able to find a lot of people home! It was a miracle!

Sunday was a great day in church!!! Anna's son came for the first time, so we went to primary with him. It was awesome, I missed primary so much!! :)

That night I went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Fowler. It was a blast! I learned so much from him, he's an amazing missionary! We had an awesome day. 

Some random lady called us we have never met before and asked us to move a "few things", so we went to help in proselyting clothing. Turns out they had a full storage unit, full of metal, dirty junk in it and it was stinkin hot! By the end our clothes were completely covered in dirt, and we were drenched in sweat, but it was still fun! 

Today we went out to salvation mountain, which wasn't all that exciting but it was a good thing to do I guess. 

Love and miss you all! Can't wait to hear from you!

Elder Hansen

P.S. This is a poem that Elder Fowler Showed me. I loved it so I thought I would share it.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit

Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has

been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow

down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,

and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight

walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,

mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or

popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,

regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by

patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my

way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,

or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the

presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the

pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of

mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed

up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a

disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,

preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My

colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the

power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.."

Salvation Mountain

Me Encanta Ser Un Missionero (I Love to be a Missionary)

Hi my dear family and friends!! :)

So happy to have the chance to write you after another awesome week! It wasn't too eventful so I don't have a ton to write about, but I'll hit some high points!

Anna keeps progressing! Which makes Elder Carlson and me so happy! We finish off every night at her place and there is no better way to end it! I've seen her and her family change so much! The environment of their home has changed, her attitude has changed, and her childrens' attitudes have changed. It's awesome to see how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can bring a family together, and make them so much happier! :) We took her to the Family History Center last week, which was awesome! She didn't have much information for herself and her ancestors, but she entered in as much information as she had! I also found out that the Senior Couple, the Carrols, are also related to Samuel Gadd! Which was fun! Anna brought us California Burritos, which are Carne Asada burritos with French fries in them, and they are sooooo good! We didn't know there was a good place to get them out here, turns out there is!!!!!! Anna takes good care of us, she also hooks us up with the NFL scores and BYU scores as well! She is a huge Niners fan, so we have some disagreements but that's okay :) Anna brought her daughter Brianne to church on Sunday.

We were a little worried because Bri doesn't speak that much Spanish, but she LOVED primary! She had the biggest smile on her face when she walked out with a sucker in her mouth, and that's all she can talk about! And she always wants to come pray with us when we go teach them! Its amazing!

Lately we have had some struggles with finding solid investigators, but we keep working hard, and talking to everyone. I know the Lord will help us find the people who are prepared to have the gospel in their lives. Elder Carlson and I have a ton of fun together! Even when the days aren't going the best we make the most out of it!

 Transfers are tomorrow!!! Crazy right? I already made it through my first transfer in the field! Me and Elder Carlson are staying together - thank goodness! Elder Stecklein got the call for a transfer, so he and Elder Takke are getting separated.  We might be seeing some changes in our area tomorrow. I have a feeling Elder Stecklein might open up a new area in Calexico.  The Church just started renting out a vacant apartment in our complex.  Supposedly we are getting two new missionaries in Calexico which is exciting!   

The work out here in the Imperial Valley is booming! It's awesome to be a part of it.  There are also some wonderful changes going on in the ward. The whole attitude has been changing for the better and it's really helping the missionary work out here. Elder Stecklein got the transfer call today, so I think he's out, but he could be opening up the new area with the new set of missionaries in our complex, so we shall see! I'll miss him a lot if he goes, but I'm excited for a little bit of change!

We have a sweet ward activity tonight for Mexican Independence day. (no Cinco de Mayo isn't independence day in Mexico), It should be a ton of fun!, I should have some pictures to send to you guys next week!  

Thank you for your prayers! Love you all!

Elder Hansen

Una Semana en la superficie del sol (A Week on the Sun's Surface)

Another Great week in paradise! AKA Calexico :)

This week was Awesome!!!!

Elder Carlson and I continue to get along better and better and work better together. We also have a ton of fun doing it. I feel like we are laughing like 90% of our time together!

Some highlights of the week!

Last Tuesday we taught a sweet FHE to a couple of families. We taught about the armor of God, out of D&C 27, which is a sweet section!! We had them make the armor out of cardboard, it was super fun!!!

Last Wednesday was an adventure!!!

We had exchanges, and I went into the other Elders' area in Calexico with Elder Takke. Their area is a bike area, so it was something fun and new!! It was a scorcher that day too, so I sweated...a lot! But Elder Takke and I had some good lessons, and had a lot of fun as well. Their bikes are so ghetto, mine didn't even have brakes. haha!!! Still fun though! And don't worry mom I wore my helmet and stayed safe.

Thursday was a pretty normal day, except I met a former investigator named Jose Cunningham, and he's super cool!!! He has had some really bad back problems, so he's basically stuck in bed all the time, but he has been friends with missionaries for years, one companionship used to check on him a lot, and he says they kept him from committing suicide! Anyway, before his back problems he was a prosecuter in Mexicali, he says he put a lot of Cartel members in jail. He told us some crazy stories!! He's super cool so I'm excited that we are back in his house teaching again.

Friday we had a sweet lesson with Fernie in the Church, I'm really excited because I think he really felt the spirit and really understood the restoration and how we have the authority of Jesus Christ again. He's a super cool kid, I'm glad we were able to contact him.

Saturday we did a ton of service!!! It was super fun!

First we went and helped out at a fundraiser car wash for a kid who died at Calexico High of heat stroke. We got invited by this cool truck enthusiast we met. There was some bumpin music at this car wash. There was also some super cool lowriders there. They fed us and were really grateful to have us there, plus we got to get sprayed by some hoses!!! It was a blast. We also helped a less active named Daffney and his wife Diana move some stuff from Calexico to El Centro. Daffney is the Bomb. He feeds us all the time and loves talking to us, especially because his little brother just left on a mission. Sometimes when he can't feed us he will leave his apartment unlocked so we can go grab some food or water when we need to.

Sunday

Unfortunately all the people who told us they would be at church didn't show up. Including Daffney which really made us sad. That afternoon though, there was a baptism! A family in the ward baptized their son, who's name is Nephi. Hes the funniest little kid! After he got baptized he came up with his thumbs up and said " Esta bien chilo" which is basically like "this is cool!" in slang. He cracks me up! They gave us some sweet Mexican style hot dogs after too, with chili beans and cheese and bacon and onions, they were good! They have food for everything down here, members treat us well!!!

Monday!

Yesterday we had a dynamite lesson with Anna, and we finally got her to commit to baptism! We set a date for October 4th, which we all feel really good about, so I'm super excited! And hopefully we can get her two kids going as well. She is really awesome, and takes good care of us with food and sports details :) She's the bomb!

That sums up our week! Love you all!!

Calexico

Hola Querida Familia y amigos,

Another amazing week with Elder Carlson is in the books!

Lovin life out here in Calexico, El Horno de dios (The Furnace of God?).  Its cooling down out here.  We only had one day over 115 this week!  And a couple days that didn't bust 110! It was a miracle. We still sweat ... a lot. :)

Wednesday! To be honest I don't remember anything interesting happening this day. Sorry! but...we tried Yum Yums Chinese restaurant with Elders Stecklein and Takke which was fun! And then Elder Takke got us donuts from this little shop down the street. We were stuffed

Thursday- We had a sweet visit with some members! The Garzon family. They're super awesome. Hno Garzon is/was a really good basketball player.  He was showing us the videos from when he was doing 360 dunks in a streetball tournament. They also made us some really good little taquitos with home made pico de gallo and salsa and tortillas. I stinkin love Mexican food!!!!!!!!  We also have been infiltrating this new neighborhood called Sevillas. Which is by far the richest neighborhood out here.  We have a theory that there are more responsible people out here who might actually keep commitments and be there when we make appointments. We will keep you posted on that!

Friday we had some good lessons with some new investigators, one of which dropped us hard for no good reason, but I think he will be coming back eventually. We also had district meeting where we tried this Chinese place that was not really very good. Fun fact-Mexicali was founded by the Chinese, so some of the best chinese food in the world can be found there and some pretty good Chinese food is here in Calexico too, it's just not at Golden Dragon. Yum Yum's was way better!

We walked around Sevillas Friday night.   Man these houses are soooo nice. Everyone has sweet trucks and quads and all the business. Since it's Calexico, it was probably really cheap! Anyway, we added some solids out there and talked to some really great people!

Saturday in the AM elders Stecklein and Takke had a baptism so we went to that. It was awesome!  Then we studied and went and ate at a members house, Hermana Montano. She fed us welllll! We had Jumbalya, Church's chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, fries and some really really good peach cheesecake. Good thing we run here a lot, or I'd be gainin some serious weight!  After that Elders Stecklein and Takke had another baptism for Jose and Zyra, who are brother and sister. They are so cool! They're the best! Jose asked me to speak so I gave a little talk on baptism... In spanish, which was fun. And what's crazy is his neighbor came, who we had contacted on the street, and she's totally interested and I'm pretty sure going to get baptized. She's in Takke and Steckleins area. It was an awesome baptism! 

Sunday was a great day at church!  We had two investigators there, and Anna is for sure our most solid! The other missionaries in our ward had a bunch of people there too! Plus Zyra, Jose and Hna Beltran got confirmed! It was awesome being in their circle! We also had a super solid lesson with Anna and a lady from our ward Hna Martinez.  It was awesome! 

Monay was a great start to the next week.  We met with some less actives, which has been a big focus of ours recently, and we have successfully reactivated a couple of people since I've been here. It's awesome! We also brought Omar Barron out to a couple of lessons with us. He's 16 and it was sweet to have him with us!!

Anyway that was my week! Today Hno Martinez took us out to In-N-Out Burger, which was awesome! And now we are emailing! :) Love you all! 

Elder Hansen