Nap Time

Looking back on my time in the MTC 28 years ago, there were very few days during my 8 weeks there that I didn't doze off a little bit in class. I got teased about it, but what can you do. Anybody who has ever sat behind me at church has probably noticed it happens there, too. Apparently, Brett has the same problem and some of the staff are concerned. That's my boy :)

Things are going pretty swell here at the MTC. I'm teaching, the Spanish is coming along just fine, and everyone is freaking out about my sleeping problem. Fun stuff :) 

So me and my district/teachers have decided that my sleeping habits are far from the ordinary, regardless of what the volunteer doctor here at the MTC said. I have sucessfully managed to fall asleep every single day for the past month or so I've been at the MTC, and I haven't stayed up past curfew since I've been here. I'm constantly working on it, and hopefully we'll see some improvement pretty soon here. I really hate all the attention I'm getting, it makes me uncomfortable, but I realize that you guys are just worried for me.

So I made some really good friends here at the MTC. They were a good bunch of guys that were in my zone that I really enjoyed playing basketball with. I really got close with these Elders, they were a good bunch of guys. They left on Monday for Panama and Canada. I miss them already. I guess this is what its going to be like for the next two years. You meet really cool people, serve the lord with them, and then say goodbye as you go your separate ways.

Spanish is coming along pretty well. I know the material really well, and I can translate/write out Spanish  but it  takes me a few seconds to process it in my brain. I'm hoping that someday soon I'll just be able to spout it out without thinking about it. I know that once I get to Honduras, I'll struggle for a little while, like everyone does, but that it will perfect my spanish. I'm so excited to serve the Lord and be a missionary! Missionary work is awesome!

So its time for some cool insights I had this week. First one comes from Tuesdays Devotional by Cecil Samuelson, President of BYU, member of the 70. He emphasized that as missionaries, we are "always on stage". Every single action we do is being watched every second of the day. Every action we do has a consequence, and he emphasized the importance of how we are examples of Christ and represent him. I know that this also applies to you guys as well (especially you Tanner) because people are always watching us. There is something different about us. We are a peculiar people. Live your life in a way that you will bring honor to both your Savior and your family. There are 3 things on the name tags of missionaries. Your Family Name, Jesus Christ, and the Church. As missionaries we need to be good examples of those 3 things.

I guess I'll close with my testimony of how I know that this church is true. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love sharing this gospel. I treasure it more than anything else. I love reading my scriptures and growing closer to my Heavenly Father. I know that he is our Father, and that he loves his children and watches over us. I know he has a plan. I'm grateful for his plan for me, and the people he's put into my life. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Lord used him as a tool to restore truth again to the earth. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I know that through him, all things are possible. His Atonement is infinite and eternal, and through our faith in him, we can and will be saved, happy, clean, and purified. I know that the Holy Ghost is powerful, and bears witness of truth. I know that thru the Holy Ghost, we can be guided back to our Heavenly Father to live in his presence so that we truly can be happy. I love my family, and I cherish every single one of you and I miss you all. Don't worry about me, the Lord is taking care of me and I'll be fine. :) I know everything will be alright in the end. As my good friend Jeff Holland said "Believe in good things to come"

Elder Hansen

Over the Hump

Well, Brett is on the down slope with a little over 3 weeks left in the MTC. Here are some of the thoughts he sent us this week:

Life here at the MTC is amazing. I love it. I agree with you, I am over the hump, and now is the time to separate the super dedicated missionaries from the weeny missionaries. It is a constant struggle to push myself to be the best I can be.

When I wrote Brett this week I told him of an interesting experience we had with an old friend of mine who I haven't seen in over 32 years. We were friends from elementary school up through 9th grade when I moved from California to Wisconsin. He wasn't a member of the LDS Church when I knew him, but when I found him on Facebook a while ago, I noticed a picture of his family in front of an LDS temple. They stopped on their family vacation this week and spent a few days with us, including a trip to the Columbia Temple.

I do remember you telling me about you're friend. That's cool that you guys got to go to the temple. I get to go in a few hours, and I'm excited. It was closed until last week, so I haven't really had any opportunites to go until recently. I loved going last week, and I really felt the spirit in the Celestial Room like I always do. I'm not sure what ordinances we will be doing today, but I know I'll feel the spirit no matter what.

Apparently the church has updated or changed some of the material the missionaries are using, and it gave him a little stress this week but also helped him learn how important it is to rely on the Spirit when teaching the gospel.

So teaching has been really great. Yesterday, we had prepared our lesson and were ready to teach what we thought would be a simple 30 minute lesson in Spanish on the Restoration. But of course, they implemented the new teaching material on the first of August, so we we were completely caught off guard when we were told we would be teaching about how you can recieve revelation in church. And of course they gave us about 30 seconds to prepare a 30 minute lesson. To say we were slightly stressed would be accurate. But it was okay, the lesson was amazing. I surprised myself at how well my spanish is on a subject that I've never studied really or prepared for. The Holy Ghost does wonders, I am constantly being knocked off my feet at how powerful it is. We heard in a devotional that while they might say we are in pairs, really it's a threesome. You, your companion and the HG. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost, and I am constantly striving to have Him as my companion.

He closed with another peek into his expanding insight: 

Another cool quote I heard in the Devotional on Tuesday that I thought you might like dad is "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement." I heard it and I thought you would like it. I like it alot, and I know that our mistakes and failures are actually blessings from our Heavenly Father. It is all about attitude. If we take it as a gift and realize that God has a plan for us, everything makes sense. I love this gospel, and I love you guys

Photos from the MTC

Here are some photographs Brett sent to us -

Elder Petersen & Elder Hansen 

Elders Elzey, Barlow, Petersen, and Hansen (the best friends a guy could ask for)

Elders Hansen, Petersen, Stauffer, Schaat, and Elzey

Elders Barlow, Wright, Mailo, and Stauffer

Elders Rogers, Barlow, Polevia, and Mailo

The District