The Simple Life

The mission president has cut back the computer time from one hour to 30 minutes.  This week's news was short and sweet.

Its good to hear how the family is doing. I miss you guys a ton! I miss spending time with you, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be.

This week wasn't too exciting. We've been searching for people to teach, and there hasn't been too much success, but hopefully things will change soon. We're working our butts off, and I know the Lord will bless us.

We're having a barbeque later today, and I'm excited to eat some grub! Woo hoo!

I don't have anymore time to write. Sorry Tanner, Jared and Tyler, I'll write you guys next week. I love you all, and I really really really enjoy hearing about your lives. They are such much more exciting than my simple life of being a missionary. Keep being awesome, and know that I love you all.

Elder Hansen

La Grippe

Brett has been struggling with sickness this week.  Here is the latest:

So I'm in Cerro Grande. Its on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. I thought I wrote this last week, but I guess it didn't send. My companion is Elder Luna from El Salvador. He is super energetic and a little immature, but very focused and obedient. We work really hard here.  There hasn't been much success here, but we're working on fixing that. As far as this week goes, we had a baptism this past weekend. Her name is Xochilt, and she is 10 years old. She is the niece of an inactive bishop we've been trying to reactivate. So we got a baptism and a reactivation at the same time. It was really sweet, especially since the Bishopric told us that it would be impossible to get the inactive bishop to come back. HA! Nothing is impossible my friends, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't.

So this weekend has been one of the hardest in the mission. I've come down with what the people call la grippe aka the flu. So yeah, I don't remember it being this painful when I had it back in the states. My whole body ached, and my fever was pretty ridiculously high. I probably went to the bathroom 30 times, no lie.  We took the day off yesterday, and that was the hardest decision I've had to make. The flesh is weak, but my spirit is strong. I want to work! But anyways, I'm feeling less lousy, and I'm going to see how today goes. I'm grateful for the opportunity it gave me to be more humble and prayerful, but I feel like I learned my lesson and its time to feel good again. Anyways, any extra prayers would be appreciated.
I love you guys. You are the best.

Elder Hansen

Cerro Grande "B" - Big Hill - 11/28/11

Well, Elder Hansen experienced his first transfer to Cerro Grande "B".  Here is what he says:

I'm glad to hear how things are going back home. So we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving here, and to be honest I forgot until Elder Dance, my new Zone Leader called us in the night and told me Happy Thanksgiving.

A lot has changed since last Monday. But first off, something really cool happened. So transfers are on Wednesday, and Juan Carlos really wanted me to baptize him, so we got special permission to baptize him on Tuesday. It was an amazing way to finish my first area.

So I was moved over to Cerro Grande "B". It means Big Hill, and it fits. My area covers a very, very, very, large area, and I wish I was exaggerating when I say its 100x larger than my last area. Its on the outskirts of Teguc, and it covers all of the area until the next major city, Talanga. We have to take a 30 minute bus ride to get to one of our areas. I'm super excited though. We have a little bit of everything here. We've got a part of the city, and we've also got a lot of countryside. I'm super pumped. My companion has been here for 3 exchanges with 3 baptisms. So the work here is a little slow, but we're going to change that. We've already set 4 baptismal dates, and that's just the beginning. If there's one thing I learned in my last area is that nothing is impossible. My companion's name is Elder Luna.

He is one fireball of a missionary. Holy cow this kid has got some energy. He is CRAZY! But I love him for it.  I haven't had this much fun in all my mission, and I love it. He is awesome. We need to work on planning a little bit better and also with the ward, but that shouldn't be too hard to fix. I have very high hopes for our companionship. We are going to have a lot of success here, I can feel it.

It was cool to take pictures of the temple last week. Sorry I didn't write very much, I didn't have much time to write. Hopefully the temple will be finished in July of next year. All of the outside is finished, but the inside has a long way to go before its ready. Its exciting to have a temple in your mission, it gives you a goal to set with your investigators for after baptism.

I love you guys. I miss you, and I think you're the best.

Elder Hansen

First transfer - 11/21/11

Looks like he is going to be transferred but we don't know where.  Here is what he sent last week, 11/21/11:

So I got the call last night that I would be leaving my area. To be honest, I was blindsided by it. Yeah, I said there was a chance, but really both me and my companion more than expected it would be him that would leave. He's been there for 6 months, and generally they leave the greenie there and take the trainer out to go be a District Leader or something. But yeah, I get to pack today and say goodbye to everyone. I really do love the members here and our investigators. Its hard to say goodbye. We've been teaching a young man named Juan Carlos. He has been faithful since we meet him. A friend invited him to church, and he started reading and praying before we even met him. He was almost finished with 1 Nefi before we even started teaching him the gospel. He has come to church every week for the past 3 months, and yeah, he is a good guy. The problem was that his parents didn't want anything to do with us. His mom was the one where we intruded and asked why she was holding him back. So anyways, originally they said wait till December, then May, and then it was they don't want him to be baptized period. So this past week has been tough. We spent a lot of time looking for new families to teach because our current ones are flaking out on us, and we need more people to teach. We had 18 contacts this week, and we always set a return appointment so that we could teach the lesson when the whole family was there. Out of those 18 people that said they wanted to hear us, none of them were there for our return appointment. We saw it all this week, and it was pretty frustrating having people lie to your face or just straight up tell you that they don't want to hear our message. But then on Saturday night we got a text from Juan Carlos saying that he got permission to be baptized this Saturday, and he wants me to do it, but I'm leaving areas. Anyways, I needed to have that boost, and I'm grateful the Lord blessed us with softening the hearts of his parents. Sorry if this sounds rushed, I've got to go to the temple right now. The outside is finished, and we are going as a Zone to go take pictures. I think I'll have more time to write afterwards. I love you guys, and I'm grateful for your prayers.

Elder Hansen

More baptisms - 11/14/11

Here is Brett's e-mail from 11/14/11

Okey dokey, here we go.

I am super excited for Tyler! Ahhhh! You have to tell me when he gets his call! I got mine in a little under two weeks, but of course I lived in Provo, which is a little closer to church headquarters, but still, he could get it before Christmas! Woooo hooooo!

This week was pretty intense, but really amazing. I got your Halloween cards on Tuesday, and they were really funny. Thanks for taking the time to show a little love to your long lost bronze boy out in Honduras :) We had 4 baptisms on Saturday, which was also the open house for the new Stake Center. There were over 500+ watching us, so there was a little bit of pressure, but everything turned out great. We baptized Familia Gutierrez and they really are special to me. We've been working with them for over 4 months, (I've only been here for 2 1/2) and there has been a lot of change in them. Its funny how things worked out, because about this time a month ago we were thinking about dropping them, because they weren't progressing. But we had a very frank and clear lesson with them, and they decided it was time to actually do the work required for conversion. We can believe until the cows come home, but until we put some action behind our beliefs, our faith is nothing. Right after that lesson, the family had a little crisis, and it humbled them. We knelt together and prayed for the first time as a family with them. Also, we gave one of the daughters, Linda, a blessing. She said she felt better immediately after the blessing, but she still couldn't sleep that night. So she prayed out loud for the first time in many years, and she said she felt at peace. I had the privilege of baptizing her, and I know that the Holy Ghost is the real teacher, and without it conversion isn't complete.

I love you guys. Thanks for your love and support. We should be having 2 more baptisms this Saturday, and on the 23 we are having changes. (I think that's what they're called in English?) Anyways, life is good

Elder Hansen

 Changes, in Spanish, are more commonly known as transfers for English speaking missionaries.  

Open House on Saturday

In Lynne's email to Brett this week, she included the following quote:

“I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience.  Salvation never was easy.  We are the church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our great eternal head.  How could we believe that it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for him”  Elder Jeffery Holland

Here is Brett's email from 11/7/11 -

I like that quote a lot from Elder Jefferey Holland. I also like the part where he says that both the missionary and the investigator will have to go through a little bit of Gethsemane during the course of their conversion. :) Thanks for reminding me about that quote, I haven't read it in a while. Its one of my favorites.

I didn't get your letters through pouch yet. Maybe I'll get them later today. We'll see.

Give Tanner a high five and a bear hug from me, and tell Tyler that I love him and he's awesome.

This week was pretty normal. We worked really hard with our ward this week. We taught 20 lessons with members present, and 7 other lessons, and 10 lessons to Less Actives, so in total 37 Lessons. I finally reached my goal of having 20, and it felt pretty sweet. This transfer our numbers have been really good, and the best part is that they are continually growing. I love it, and its amazing. I love being a missionary. We have a open house this upcoming Saturday, and I'm pretty stoked for it. They just finished building the new stake center, and everyone in Honduras has been asking us since I got here when its going to be completed. Also as part of the open house, the missionaries from our zone are going to have a huge baptismal service. As of today, there are 16 baptisms planned, and 5 of them are ours. I'm getting in the water and baptizing, so I'm pretty excited. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. On the non-spiritual side of things, this week was pretty cool. We didn't have water for 3 days this week, so that was an interesting experience. The day we got it back the water was brown and dirty, so I got to take a shower in it, and that was interesting to say the least. I ate fish this week also, and they gave us the entire fish. I wish I had brought my camera with me, but it was pretty fun making the fish head talk and taking out the eyeballs etc etc. Our investigators thought it was crazy that I'd never really eaten a fish wish the bones still in it. I really enjoyed it, and it tasted really good. Also this past Saturday/Sunday we fasted, and of course, every single appointment we had offered us something to eat and drink. They understood that we were fasting, but I just thought it was funny how hard Satan was trying to tempt us and how its always when we are fasting that everyone is offering us food. Oh well. :) I'm still loving it

I love you guys a ton. You're the best. :) Be of good cheer

Elder Hansen

Happy Halloween!

Brett's email from 10/31/11 -

Happy Halloween! It was funny, because I completely forgot it was Halloween until I read the email. Everyday is pretty much the same as a missionary, but I love it.

So this week was pretty normal. We had two baptisms this past Saturday. I baptized Heydi. She is an 18 year old girl who has been waiting to be baptized for 3 years. Her Dad is anti-mormon, and refused to sign her paperwork, but she turned 18 recently and could sign it herself. Elder Boyce baptized the other lady. Her name is Suyapa, and she is the mom of Hector (my favorite investigators). We would've baptized Hector as well, but his wife said she wasn't ready to be married yet, which was disappointing, but expected. We're hoping to work with her more and change her mind.

There were a couple of funny stories that happened this week. As with almost all of our investigators, we have to get this one pair married. So we are asking for their name, and she says her name is Cynthia. We asked her how you spell that, and she said "Zeta, como Casa", which in English is 'Z as in House'. Elder Boyce and I looked at each other and tried to keep a straight face. Then we asked her for her birthday, and she didn't know what year she was born in, only that she was 23 years old. I guess I should be more grateful for the knowledge that I have and the blessing it was to be raised in the United States and to have had a good education.

Editor's Note: In Cynthia's defense, (and Brett's, I guess, for those who know more Spanish than he does) in some parts of the Spanish-speaking world (Spain, mostly) the letter C and the Z, when followed by either E or I, is pronounced like our 'TH'. It is sometimes referred to as 'speaking with the ceta' (theta). Because they both make the same sound, they are often mistakenly interchanged.

Another funny story is that we were in a lesson, and Elder Boyce was saying the opening prayer, and he almost ended it by saying 'in the name of Joseph Smith, Amen'. He caught himself at the last minute, but it was still super obvious. I had a good chuckle about that, especially since everyone here thinks that we worship him.

My little spiritual thought for you guys today is on time. Time is the most precious gift that we have while here on this earth. It cannot be bought, or obtained. Everyone is given time to spend how they choose. If you think about it, time really only matters while we are here on earth. In the eternities, we will have infinite amounts of time to do as we wish, but while we are here, every minute counts. We should spend our time wisely, because the 80-90 years we spend here will determine the rest of our existence in the eternities. President Uchtdorf has taught that love is spelled T.I.M.E. My advice is to give those you love the most precious gift you have, your time.

I love you guys :) Thanks for everything

Elder Hansen

Diligence is key to success - 10/24/11

Here is Brett's email from this week - 10/24/11
I guess I need to explain to him the concept of Choice and Accountability. Telling someone they need to get married is one thing. Telling them when they are going to get married is another -

Hola Familia!

     I think its pretty funny how you guys had stake conference this week, because we did too here in Honduras. It was alright. The choir was painful, the speakers weren't noteworthy, but I still felt the spirit. That's whats really cool is that you can feel the spirit anywhere and at anytime. We had a Seventy come, and he spoke for over an hour. It didn't float my boat, but whatevs. Life is good :)

Give Tyler a hug for me, and tell him that he should still be planning to go on a mission. I can't describe in words how amazing a mission is. I would say something about girlfriends being a hindrance to going on a mission, but that would make me a hypocrite. :)

This week was pretty interesting. On Tuesday we had interchanges with the Zone Leaders. It was my first official interchanges in the mission. We had one earlier, but it was only for half a day and with my District Leader. This was a whole day, sleeping in the other house and everything. I wish I got more out of it. I learned that Zone Leaders are constantly being called, which is pretty annoying when you are trying to teach a lesson. Also, we didn't really have very much success that day, we only taught 1 real lesson and we tried contacting, but that wasn't working out for us either. But I really enjoyed it, and I learned more about the small things than big things. Diligence is key to success. This week we had a ton of success teaching wise. We worked hard, and our numbers show it. But of course there is opposition in all things. We have to get 2 of our investigator families married, which to be honest has been a really big pain. Anyways, a couple of weeks ago our investigators asked for their full names, ID number, etc. We thought they were just going to get the paperwork and we would turn it in when they were ready. Nope, they got the paperwork, turned it in, and told us we had a week until the marriages. Well, with our first couple, the guy is super positive, and we've taught him all the lessons and he is golden. His wife we've seen twice. She is only home on Sundays, and she has successfully dodged us every Sunday this entire month. We told him that he was getting married, and he said yes. He told her the next day, and she said no. He spent the whole day trying to convince her, but she wouldn't have any of it. Its frustrating, because he wants it so bad, but he is being held back because she doesn't feel like she's ready, and we can't ever talk to her. Our other couple is super positive for baptism, but not for marriage. We had taught them 3 straight lessons on the importance of marriage, but they still aren't ready or willing to commit to anything. Then we told them they are getting married on the 28th. We haven't heard from them since. This makes 3 days straight of no contact. They haven't been home and won't answer the phone. But I'm still smiling :) I love being a missionary, even when things don't work out the way you want them too. Every day is a growing opportunity, and I have been constantly growing for these past two months in Honduras. I love it.

I love you guys too. I'm grateful for the home that I was raised in. Thanks Mom and Dad, you guys are the greatest. Thanks for your prayers; I can feel your love when things are rough. :)

Elder Hansen

English Fast

Getting behind again - this is Brett's email from 10/17/11

Hola Familia!

We are starting a transfer long fast of English today. So yeah, writing you guys is the only English I get to experience for the next 6 weeks. The loser has to buy the other companion ice cream, and I love ice cream, so I'm going to win.

This week has been AWESOME! Lots of work and lots of fun! I got 2 packages on Saturday, one from you guys and one from Grandma. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that the only thing left food wise is about half of the jar of peanut butter. My companion also got a package, and his went fast as well. It was nice to have American food.

So this week we worked hard and we found 17 new investigators, which was 8 shy of our goal, but I'm okay with how many we got. We've got a ton of people that we are currently working with and I'm super excited. Of course right when I thought that we couldn't find more positive people, we found 3 families in one day! Doubt not, Fear not.

I made french toast the other day, and it was delicious. You would be proud of me mom, I almost made it as half as good as you do. :) My companion loves me because I can cook some pretty awesome french toast.

Saturday we spent a lot of our time working with one of our investigators names Juan Carlos. He is golden and ready for baptism, but his parents don't like it at all. His mom refused to talk to us, but we were eventually able to talk to her. After a lengthy lesson, she said it would be okay if his dad said yes. Well, his dad lives in Kentucky, and hasn't seen Juan Carlos since he cheated and left with another woman 11 years ago. I don't know why he should be a part of this decision, but what do I know. Well, turns out that his Dad thinks we are a bunch of devil worshiping cult members who worship Joseph Smith and deny Christ. That was quite the interesting phone call. But even after we convinced him that we don't eat babies, he still said that a month and a half of going to the church and reading the Book of Mormon is too soon to be baptized........ Good news is that we can baptize him in December. The bad news is that either me or my companion won't be here. We're working on trying to fix that.

So I've been reading and rereading the conference talks from both both sessions of 2010 while we're waiting for October 2011. Its amazing! I can't believe I didn't realize how good they were before now. How did I sleep through them? Speaking of which, my sleeping problem isn't much of a problem anymore. I know that ALL things are possible through Christ who strengthens me, and through the power of the Atonement we can change and even transform ourselves into something better. I like this quote by Richard G. Scott. "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." I know that's true. I also like a talk that Elder Bednar wrote in this past months Liahona. He talked about Lehi's vision, with the Tree of Life and Iron Rod. So the difference between those who ate the fruit and were ashamed and those who ate the fruit and stayed faithful were the ones who consistently held to the iron rod. We need to consistently read our scriptures, pray, go to church, have family home evening and serve. Its the little things that matter most in our lives. Read or reread Uchtdorf's talk on the things that matter most if you have the time, its amazing.