He's back!!!

He's back!!!
HE'S BACK!!!!!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Well hello my family!
Sup?
pffffffffff  ha ha how is everyone doing?? I heard you guys were all at Paula's recently??  soo nuts! thats like about 30 minutes away from here! at most!  ha . .   crazy . .  Anyway, hope all is well and that you all are having a GREAT summer!  Oh and thanks for all your emails this week! I dont have time to reply individually this week :(  We have to write our new Mission president an email today and take some surveys for the old mission too so I don't have time, but thanks for writing! It's soo good to hear from all of you!!
Anyway . . . . .
Sooo . . . this week was crazy!!  We had so much going on.   Mission Conference was on Thursday!  We went up to Ogden early in the morning and heard sorta farewell talks from our Mission President and his wife.   They are awesome! Im gonna miss them  . .   but then we had a short training form the APs and then lunch and then guess who cam down to our conference???!!     John Schmidt!!!  He is AWESOME!  He is actually the high priest over singles wards in Bountiful!  So he came up there for a couple hours and played piano for us.  He is incredible!  Jamie plays a lot of his pieces like Waterfall and All of Me and stuff like that.   He played both of those and it was soo intense.   He wrote Waterfall when he was 17 years old for some girl ha ha. He is extremely talented!  He played many different pieces for us including the remix thing he wrote of Taylor Swifts You belong with me and Coldplays Viva la Vida!!! It was tight!!!!!!  So that was pretty much a big highlight of this week! :)  I bet you all are a little jealous.  At least I know Jamie is!!  Ha ha it was cool :)  Anyway . .  On a more spiritual note, we had quite a few miracles this week!  We have been having a pretty hard time lately getting people to help us especially members getting their friends interested and actually inviting them to meet with us.   But we were heading out to work one day, and then got a couple phone calls and knocked on a couple doors and in all of 30 minutes we had 2 or 3 strong potentials that we were getting lessons set up with!  It was awesome!  Sadly, at the beginning of this week some of them decided they didnt want to meet with us :( but we are still trying! Its good.   And we had our first baptism in the area this last Saturday!!! It was great!  I baptized James.  It was cool :) His leg came out of the water the first time though so I had to do it again, but it was okay! He is solid.  Then he got confirmed the next day! Im excited for him! This gospel will change his life .   I love it.  Anyway, also at the baptism, his mom came and she doesn't speak English, only mandarin. .   But a returned sister missionary from the ward actually said the closing prayer in mandarin for her! It was awesome :)  We hope to baptize James' brother and then maybe the mom will soften up enough to be baptized!  Its great! Sooooo yeah

Well we also had the missionary fireside!  I like how you guys joked about going up there to see it. . . . I wish you could have!  not really to see me, but just to feel how strong the spirit was there! It was so powerful.  It was the best fireside we had done yet and a lot of people showed up! the tabernacle was pretty much full.  It was awesome to share our testimonies through all our songs and stuff.  Oh and afterward the organ player who is an Elder from Hungry who has played since he was a little kid, played Phantom of the Opera . . ! and this short sister who just came into the mission is an opera singer so her and this elder who is also very talented sung it! It was actually really good.  It sounded like the real deal . .   soo yeah

 Hmm what else . .  Oh! We went to the Logan temple this morning!!! :)  I loved it!  sooo great! I am glad we got to go up there before the mission split!  But yeah,  overall its been a great week!  Learned a lot.   Been teaching more and more and trying to do better each time.   The work is hard, but rewarding. 
God lives.  He loves us. Jesus is the Christ and He is our Redeemer.  The church is true.
Godspeed.
Love you all and miss you!
-Elder Hansen
p.s. I am attaching a picture from Logan this morning!   Sweet :)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Happy Father's Day!

Hey Family.   Whats up???  Happy Fathers Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wish I could have been there to celebrate with you guys!  Thanks Dad for all you have done and all you do for me :)  I miss you and love you! Im gonna try and send a letter today!

Anyway,     how is everyone doing????   How is the summer treating you?  How is school??  How is work??  I hope all is well!

This week was pretty good.  Still really hard to find new investigators . . .    But we are working hard and trying to find people all the time!  We have two baptisms this weekend.  James Liu and Makenna Landon.   Its exciting! I am going to be baptizing James so I am super excited for that one.  He is soo solid.  He knows so much and studies his scriptures all the time.  And he is going to BYU in the fall! It will be awesome! So yeah.   Not much really exciting has happened this week....
We had dinner with some awesome families!  My companions bike seat broke off .. so a member helped fix that and is fixing my bike too! Soo nice.  And it was fathers day!  We spoke in another ward this week (I think we are going to speak every single week other than fast Sunday and even then we bear our testimonies in at least three wards.)   It was good though!  Im getting a little better at just getting up there and speaking about missionary work and about how members can really help us if they are willing! Soo yeah . .     Yesterday we had interviews with our mission president (President Olsen)  and it was great :)  He is soo nice and cool.  Its sad that he is going home in like two weeks!  Then our mission changes!!!  crazy . . . .      .   Anywho, right after interviews we went all the way up to Logan.  We went up there to practice again as a missionary choir for the fireside this Sunday!  It is going to be in the tabernacle up there!  Its a really cool place and it sounds really good when we sing in there for some reason probably cause it is so big and the organ is said to be the third best organ in the world! (or maybe just the U.S. im not sure)   So thats nuts!  But it was good!  yeah . . . . .  other than that, its pretty boring.   we work hard . . eat food . .     then sleep  .  . then start over .   haha
well sorry to keep this so short, but I dont know what else to say!

Love you guys!  Miss you!  Stay sweet.

God Lives and Loves us.
Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.
The church is true!

Peak the Strategy.
 -Elder Hansen

P.S.  Im attaching some pictures from flag rock last week! Hope you like them.
P.P.S.  I got the package mom!!!!! thanks sooooo much!!! you are awesome!  I loved all the food and stuff :)  THANK YOU!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Wordski

Hey!!!   Great to hear from all of you!!!!    Sooo excited for Jennie and Paul!!!!! I can't wait to meet my new nephew in a couple years!!  I hope everything is going well with all of you :)

Sooo yeah, this week was good.  Its still pretty hard.  Not much success coming from what we are doing.  We go out and work hard and long everyday, but not many people will listen to what we have to say . .  .     But is okay!  We just keep pressing on and keep praying to find the people that the Lord is preparing us to teach.   Its good.   Well   hmmmm what has happened this week . .  ?   Its hard to remember.   We spoke again in another ward and went to a couple more ward councils, we went to a missionary musical fireside in Bountiful and sung.  It was awesome!! The spirit was very strong coming from the music and from the testimonies of many missionaries and our mission president and his wife.   Then at the end, the mission president commits everyone to baptism! It was awesome :) there were a lot of investigators there and I am sure they were strengthened because of this fireside.  We are planning to do more in the future!  (One in like a week or two in Logan, and then more after the mission split in Salt Lake and stuff)    . . .  Sooo  yeah . .  Last week My comp was sick for like a day . . .  so that was pretty boring ..   but he got better quickly, and we were able to get out there and work that night! It was good . .  We eat ramen like all the time . . . .       we went through like a whole cardboard box this week . .  We each eat like 2 or 3 packages a day . . .  Its disgusting . . haha :)  but we are doing well.  Its fun out here!  We decided this morning to hike up the mountain in Farmington to a place called Flag Rock.   There is a huge American flag up there pretty far up the mountain.  We tried to find the trail but we never really found it so we just hiked straight up it . . . . . . . Not a good idea . . .   It was sketch . .   there were a couple times that I thought we were gonna die. . .  It was basically like rock climbing but without any of the ropes. . . .  haha sorry if this scares you mom, but we ended up being fine!  We literally just went straight up it though . .  It was freaking hard and took like 2 hours . . .   But then we get up there and there is a trail going down and it was like the easiest thing ever!  It took us about 20 minutes to get down . .  Sooo much easier!   Taught us a pretty good gospel lesson about being on the straight and narrow though!! Im sure we'll share it with an investigator sometime and it will all have been worth it :) haha man . . . I still can hardly believe we did that this morning . .  There were spots that you would look back and think "If I fell I think I might die . . " haha but its all good :) The Lord helps us and protects us.   As long as were arent being stupid!   ha . .  Anyway.  
Sooooo  yeah . . Not too much more has happened.  But we will have two baptisms on the 23rd.  I am supposed to baptize James!  I am a lil nervous . .   I've never done it before, but Im sure it will be fine!  Anyway.     . . .   . 

yeah . .  There us not much more for me to say . .    We ride our bikes everywhere . .   Its ridiculous ..  but great!  My legs should be pretty strong by the end of this.     And yeah . not much more has happened  .   . 

Well  . . The church is true! God lives and loves us.  We are so blessed to have families and friends and the gospel in our lives.  It really is our responsibility to share it with others and to show them how it can bless them as well.  Missionary or not, we should always be willing to bear testimony of this gospel and what it has done in our lives so that others can come to know the same things.   Missionary work blesses our lives so much.  It makes me so happy to be out here serving!  And everyone else can be just as happy as they share the truth of this gospel.  Its sick :)  ha  .  . .  Alright,  I gotta go but thanks for all you emails!  They really make me feel better and your encouragement is much appreciated!  I am thankful for you and all you guys do for me.  I love you and miss you tons!   Godspeed.
Peak the Strategy
-Elder Hansen

P.S. Yeah Mom and Dad, I talked to the Allens!  They used to live close to us in Louisville?  And they knew Natalie?  She may have been her young womens leader or something?  Anyway it was cool to talk to here and I think we may have dinner with them sometime soon!  I like them :) Nice people . .  All the member around are extremely nice. 

P.P.S.  I dont have time right now, but I will send some pictures next week of Flag Rock and stuff :)      Sweeeeet . . . Peace.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A handstand at the temple? Elder Hansen (:

Elder Hansen with MTC comp Elder Clarke

MTC District

Hey!   Whats up my family???   Thanks for all your emails and letters!! Seriously . . it makes me feel so much better to just see what is going on in your lives a little and hear how you are!  Thanks mom for the letters! Elder Miller and I will reply soon to those surveys :)  You are awesome.  Paula thanks so much for that card and those pictures!!!! Soo cute :)  I love the first one of Katie and Christopher!  Christopher looks so funny :) it made me laugh.  Its good to hear that everything is going pretty well out there!

Anyway,  soo yeah . . .   not too much has happened .  Its been pretty rough trying to find people to teach . .   .    Nobody will listen . .  appointments fall through .    . . Its sorta lame, but We are still teaching James!! AND  he came to church on Sunday!!!  :)  It was awesome! We have taught him 3 or 4 times now and he is growing so much. He is already gaining a testimony of this gospel!  I love it.  He is solid.   Yeah, but Sunday was crazy!  It was fast Sunday .  so that was hard because we are riding bikes now all over.  We went to 4 ward council meetings and 3 sacrament meetings (bearing our testimonies in each)  and a correlation meeting with us and all the Ward Mission leaders from both the Farmington Stake and the Farmington West Stake. It was a looong fast sunday . . .   But it was awesome.  We are really trying to get the work going out her4e and it seems like as we put forth our best effort we are blessed with success.  One thing I have realized though is that your success may not come from who you are out talking to and working with all day.  The Lord will bless us with a referral from a bishop or ward mission leader as we get out  and work everyday!  Its good. . .    long, but good :)     ha ha well anyway,  Holy Cow . ..  . What else is there to talk about . . .    Well Lagoon is in our area!  That sorta torture . .   ha ha but its okay.   

Oh and the missionaries in the Ogden Mission are putting on a fireside in bountiful this Sunday.  We are singing in it with the missionary choir.  Its gonna be sweet :) its just a small little fireside at a chapel, but it was nice to be able to sing songs in a choir like that again.  We had rehearsal already, and they are doing some awesome songs.  Anyway . ..  

Yeah  .   . .           Sorry this is so short, I just dont know what else to tell you guys.  The work is picking up.  We are trying very hard.  We ride our bikes errwhere with our suits on which is not too comfortable haha.  We have a couple baptismal dates and we are working with some less actives.   Soo yeah . .   The church is true.  Heavenly Father Loves us and wants to bless us so long as we keep his commandments and live our lives according to his gospel.  Jesus Christ is our Savior.  He died and was resurrected so that we could be washed clean of our sins and live with him again.  I love this church.  It gives me strength to keep moving forward and strive to help others and share what we have with them.  Godspeed.

Peak The Strategy

Love you all,

-Elder Hansen

P.S.  I might try and send some pictures in an email in a couple minutes.  If not I will next week.  Sweet . . . peace .