Hey!

Dear Family,

I am sorry that I have become so inconsistent in writing you.  I need to make sure that I write at least one thing each week to you.  I will just have to make most of my emails shorter!  Thank you sooo much for your emails and letters.  I appreciate them.  I am horrible at responding, but I hope you know that I am thankful for everything you write and that I do read them and am anxious to know about everything that is happening out there!  So thank you!  I love and miss all of you a ton.

Okay.  Well this might be another long email…… ha ha oh well.   I’ll talk briefly about what we have been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Well after conference we had the opportunity to be involved in a stake priesthood leadership meeting up in Kaysville.  The whole mission presidency came! President Hansen and his councilors, President Bennett, and President Hodson (both previous mission presidents) and Executive Secretary Brother Craven…. And us… ha ha it was pretty cool.  Had a planning meeting first with just their stake presidency and then had the meeting a couple of days later.  It was a powerful meeting.  We all learned some very simple and specific ways that we can share the gospel and be missionaries.  It was great! 

The next week was spent mostly in preparation for our Mission Tour on October 15^th, 16^th, and 17^th.  We had to get together everything that would be used, reserve buildings, get materials, learn how to officially conduct meetings, put together some slides in a powerpoint about where we are as a mission and where we are headed.  Used key indicators to see where we needed improvement, etc. etc.      So there was a lot of preparation for it, but wow.  It was amazing!  Elder Clarke of the First Quorum of the Seventy came all 3 days and helped us.  He trained us for about 6 hours each day.  I learned so much.  I think I already talked about him in my last email, but I just wanted to mention again how great it was.  His perspective on missionary work is so clear and defined.  So straight forward and helpful.  I learned how to be a better representative of the Savior.  At the end of each day every missionary would fill out a card with 5 things that they will change because of what they learned today.  I made one both days, and there was so much more I wanted to put on the list, but it was good to have a simple game plan of what to do to change after receiving so much guidance and revelation while we were there.  So cool. I love missionary work.  So yeah.   I conducted on Wednesday.  I was nervous, but everything ran smoothly.  I learned a bit about conducting meetings as well.   Word. 

We also had 2 baptisms since I last wrote!  The first was a young girl names Ani from Armania!  She was very prepared.  It only took us a couple of weeks to teach and then she got baptized!  I love when it works out well like this and when I can see their conversion and that they are being sincere.  Ani definitely is.  Then a man named Edwin from Kenya was baptized!  He was also very prepared.  The bishop tipped us off and the missionaries a couple of months ago started teaching him.   And then when he was ready he got baptized!  I have a picture from one or both.  I’ll send them with this email.

What else happened…..

Transfers were this week!! It was crazy.  I got a new companion.  Elder Logan was released and went back to a great area for his last transfer.  My new companion is Elder Williams. He is a stud.  He is from Austin, Texas. He is learning quickly.  Has a great understanding of the gospel and loves being a missionary. I have a lot to learn from him!

Well I will write more later, but I figure that I will get this out to you all now and I can send more later.  

Love you!!!!

Godspeed.

-Elder Hansen

Peak The Strategy

P.S. I will send the pictures soon!  Just don't have time at the moment. Sorry!