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