Familia Fermin (01/16/12)

Here is the latest:

Life is AWESOME! So I kinda mentioned that we have this ginormous family that we're working with, but I realized I didn't tell you very much about them. Their name is Familia Fermin, and they have thirteen people living in their house.  Eight are progressing or old enough to be baptized.

One of the sons is always playing soccer and isn't interested in listening to us, and the other three are babies. They are from Gracia a Dios, which is a really cool place. They speak a Misquit (miss-key-t) which I think is really cool. The only way to get to Gracia a Dios is by airplane or boat, and it has the largest natural reservation in the world. I think that's what you call it in English. Its where animals roam the land unhindered by human development, ya know, that kind of thingy. Anyways, so we have to marry them before we can baptize them (they agreed to both) and so getting their paperwork is a little bit tricky, but our goal is to have it all done by this Friday.

Their conversion story is super cool, and I think I've learned more from Fam Fermin than they have from me. So other Elders found and started teaching them, but they were acceptive to the message, but distant to the invitation to be baptized and married. She didn't want to be married to him, and he couldn't stop drinking. So the Elders dropped them, and rightly so. Me and My companion went looking through the antiguos investigadores, and we found this family of 8. The Elders didn't write down why they dropped them, so we figured we'd give them a visit and see whats up. Turns out they were praying for us to come visit them, and they are ready to give up everything to follow Christ.

When we walked in they treated us like family, even though we had never met, and immediately told us that they were going to church with us on Sunday.  He told us that he would give up drinking on the spot if she would support him. Man, it was pretty cool. So she's a nurse and works crazy hours, like most nurses do, and he's out of work, and they have a pretty big family. So we invited the bishop over, and we talked about welfare. I could see the disappointment and pain in his eyes as he asked for help from the bishop. It's a man's responsibility to provide for his family, and he knows that, and he knows that he can't do it alone. As Alma teaches, the Lord will have a humble people. We can choose to be humble, or we can be humbled, but the end result is the same. I know that this hardship is actually a blessing from God, and that it opened their hearts to the gospel.

Be Humble.

Pride is the universal sin. Humility is the universal cure.

Love you guys, thanks for the prayers
Elder Hansen

Seafood Soup 01/09/12

Tyler received his mission call to Riverside, California this week. He is excited because he gets to serve in the desert and will only need one suit.  He will be wearing mostly short-sleeved shirts.  Here is what Brett had to say:

Ahhh! That's so awesome! I'm so proud of Tyler, and I'm sure he'll love his mission. Not wearing a suit is a blessing, and it's the best. I'm sure he'll do great in California.

Life is pretty chill here in Honduras. Same old same old. We had changes, and a lot of friendly faces came into the zone, but I'm still stuck with my companion. Its hard for him to wake up in the mornings and follow the schedule.  It's frustrating because this is his last change, and he's totally being a slacker.  He didn't roll out of bed until 9 today, and we're supposed to wake up at 6:30. I still love him, and its building my patience, so I'm grateful for this opportunity. That's the cool thing about eternal progression, you learn from the bad and the good.

I ate seafood soup this week. That was pretty interesting. There was octopus, clam, and crab inside, and it was pretty good.  I really enjoyed it, but of course they just threw the whole crab, clam and octopus in the soup. It was pretty funny when I got a spoonful of soup and the crabs eyes were looking right at me. They were gooey on the outside with a crunchy middle, but the octopus was my favorite part. I wasn't impressed with the crab meat, its a lot of work for a little bit of meat, but all in all I really enjoyed it. I knew that if mom was there she would've been sick.

So now that Tyler's good to go, when is Tanner going to turn in his papers? Also, tell him that yes I'll wait a year for him.

Thanks for the prayers and the support. I love you guys, and I love being a missionary. Keep the faith, and give a little love.

Elder Hansen

Happy New Year 01/02/12

Here is the first letter for the new year:

Dear Family:

Happy New Year! How are you guys? Things are going pretty great out here in Honduras.

So not too much happened this week. The work is going really, really, really slowly but it's still moving forward. These past two weeks are really hard on missionaries because everyone is thinking about home, and everyone is busy. Its good because they´re generally busy doing things as a family, but that also means that they don´t have time to listen to ¨the Mormons¨.  Good news is that we found a family of 8 the other day, and they are extremely positive, so I´m excited to see how it goes.

We have exchanges this Wednesday, but neither me or my companion are going anywhere. It's good, and I´m excited to finish strong with him.  Life is good.

So here's a cool spiritual thought for you guys that I learned from my good friend James E Talmage. Our knowledge will not save us when we are faced infront of God. Our actions are going to be our salvacion. Every single demon that Jesus cast out proclaimed that he was the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer. They knew who he was and what his mission was. It's the same with us.  Just because we know what we need to do doesn´t mean anything. We have to back up our beliefs with our actions. There is a reason why Alma compared faith to a seed, it needs constant care. Not once a week or every now and then but constant, day to day care. It's the same with our soul. We need to constantly feed it with our good works.

Love you all, set good goals, and become the best.

Elder Hansen
 

Nutella is officially the greatest thing 12/27/11

This e-mail came two days after we had a chance to talk to Brett.  He sounded so very happy and, for those who know him well, he told the best stories.  He had us laughing so hard and the smiles lingered into the night.  It was so good to hear his voice.  Here is what he says:

Man, I miss you guys so much! Its interesting, because like Jared said, we as missionaries are always telling people of how families are central in God´s Plan, and how the Gospel blesses families. I truly can testify of how much I love you guys, and how my family is the most important thing in my life.

I love you all

Tell Grandma that I love her and my companion is super grateful for the stocking. He was so confused when I handed him the stocking, and all day yesterday when we were walking around he was practicing to say in English ¨Thank you Grandma for the present¨ but when I called he chickened out, but that's okay.

Nutella is officially the greatest thing in the world. It makes everything taste better. Holy cow, I´m in heaven.

I don´t know why I´m so happy, but I am, and I love my life. As I reflected on it today, I realized that your attitude and outlook on life really is what changes whether or not you are happy. Some inspiring talks given by General Authorities and the example of Joseph Smith and the other saints really helped me understand the purpose of suffering and how with the right attitude, our burdens really can become light. It never was or ever will be that our lives will be easy or simple, but it is the ability to cope with our problems and to have them slide off of our backs. Its the peace the spirit brings, and only the spirit can bring it. The Holy Ghost is like the force in StarWars, it guides us, and is the power behind the miracles, and it gives us the knowledge that brings peace to our souls. Wow, I´m a nerd, and yes, I just made a connection between StarWars and the Gospel.

I love you all and I hope you guys have a Happy New Year!

Elder Hansen