GREAT FALLS, VA TO STAY....A LITTLE LONGER

Hello Everyone!

I failed to mention that transfers were last week and GUESS WHAT?! I'm here to stay! Haha this is my 4th transfer in Great Falls, and I was both happy and nervous about that. Happy because I know the area and people so well. Nervous because I think God is trying to tell me something by keeping me in the same area for at least 6 months. Who knows! But I'm ready to work hard and make some serious goals with Sister Udall! Pray for us.

This week was pretty hard and amazing all at the same time. Remember Marcus? He sent us a nine-page long text explaining that he wasn't interested at this time. We believe that because he still lives with his parents, this may be the reason for his ending our lessons. SAD! But we were happy to see that he was very respectful and understanding of our purpose.

Remember David? We FINALLY got a hold of him this week. He then mentioned that he will be in and out of town for the next month, so we can talk to him then. AH. That was hard. But he ended our phone conversation with, "You won't forget about me right? You'll pray for me?" We said "Yes, of course David! But you won't forget about US right?" And he said "Nooooo way." Hahaha so we're positive we'll see him in the near future!

One of the goals Sister Udall and I made was to check on at least one former investigator each week. Sister Evans and I had checked on most of the former investigators in our Area Book. There are a couple names though that we wanted to see, but never got to. So as one of our goals, Sister Udall and I chose "Donna O'hara" as the former investigator we would go visit this week. Well, that goal was made Friday. And on SUNDAY, we had dinner with a member family. These members told us they had been thinking about their friends, the Thompsons, lately and how they are probably in need of service. This older couple has a daughter living with them and that daughter has children of her own, one of whom is friends with our member's daughter. Anywho, we were told that missionaries had once checked on them before and immediately... I knew they were talking about Donna! So I asked if that was who it was and they said YES! How amazing that we picked that name to focus on THAT WEEK and then they proceeded to talk about her for the FIRST time to us a couple days later! Miracle. Well sadly, Donna is about one street over out of our area. So we will probably phone the address and info into the mission office as a referral. AMAZING nonetheless!

I'm grateful for the amount of miracles we experience each day. The mission REALLY opens up your eyes to all of those small but important blessings I had a hard time noticing before I got out here. Because we have few people to teach right now, I became frustrated and turned to the scriptures. I found Matthew 7:14 -

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

FEW. Did you see that? Only a FEW will find it! I remember Mom sending me a quote from Elder Holland about how salvation is NOT cheap! It is hard to live a higher law than you've ever been used to in your entire life. But I KNOW that those people are out there and waiting... we just have to find them.

Thank you so much for your prayers and love! I feel them each day.

LOVES,

Sister Hansen

PICTURE

A funny candid from last week's trip. We tried to take a "jumping picture". Fail.

HAPPY BELATED 4TH!

 

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July! I sure did!

This week was a busy one, as always. Still trying to find more people to teach! Having finished with the "DC South Wall Rebuild" last week, we have MANY potential investigators to check on. And something good came of that this week!

When Sister Goates and I were on an exchange, we met a young man named Marcus. Marcus is a young adult/teen (we're not sure yet!) who goes to a Baptist church and has a strong faith in God. We talked to him outside his house and committed him to read some of the Book of Mormon. Sister Udall and I were FINALLY able to find him home one day and asked if he had read from it - he did! He said he "didn't NOT like it". Haha so we gave him the Restoration pamphlet to read and pray about it, then we would come back a few days later to see how he liked it. Well, we came back this past Saturday, and he had read the WHOLE pamphlet AND prayed about it! AH!!! Haha we were so excited because we're not used to someone keeping our commitments so easily! The lesson went really well (despite being on his noisy porch the whole time, in the hot sun). We get to see him on Wednesday and hopefully he will develop a DESIRE to know that these things are true because for now, he is just simply "curious". We're hoping to help him realize that his reading and praying are ACTS OF FAITH, not just things to do out of curiosity. Looking forward to having this next lesson at a member's home! Pray for Marcus!

We are also working on trying to contact more less-actives this week! Our bishop was just given a WHOLE bunch of records that may or may not be valid... so we get to go check on them! Having watched that broadcast, I'm excited to see what comes of checking on someone who once knew the gospel was true! I'm confident that there is someone out there ready to rekindle their faith in God and His gospel - we just need to go out and find them!

Don't have much time to write today, but I'm so GRATEFUL for the Spirit. It is how we KNOW that the gospel is true. It is how we are able to TESTIFY of Jesus Christ. It is how we REMEMBER the knowledge we have gained from living His gospel. Without the Spirit, we'd be nothing. I found this comforting scripture in Mark:

11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

When we share the gospel with others - it's not us speaking, but the SPIRIT! How wonderful is that.

Thank you for all the prayers and love! It all means so much to me.

Love,

Sister Hansen

 

PICTURE:

1) Zone Activity at Great Falls Park!

I LOVE THE "OLD & WISE"!

Oh how I love the "Old & Wise"!

But all good things must come to end, huh? This week, we called Bob EVERYDAY to see if we could see him again. No answer. Until Saturday! Bob told us that he was at doctor visits all week long - he has prostate cancer and will probably be starting radiation very soon. We're sad that we have to drop him but we promised him that we will continue to keep in touch, even if just for that friendly conversation he may need! I forgot to mention last week, Byrd! We called her house a couple weeks ago and talked to Tom, her husband, who has two types of cancers himself. Byrd is also sick, he claims, and that we wouldn't be able to see her again either :( I love these wonderful people! It saddens me to let them go, but then I think... we still have David!

We saw David this week! WOO! Finally. We thought his wife would be home, since he claims she was last time. Nope... wasn't home. So we had to sit on his front porch! (Because two female missionaries cannot be in the same house/room with a male unless another female is home - SAFETY first, people!) He felt so bad that we sat out there in the heat, but it really wasn't bad at all. We talked about the Book of Mormon with him and how it will bless his life as he commits to read it each day. He is gaining faith already - I can tell! He will have family in town this week, so we won't be able to see him until later in the week. But he is doing so well! I can't wait to get him to church and have him feel the Spirit more in his life!

 

Had ANOTHER miracle - we saw Glenn! We hadn't seen him really since the lesson we had with him and President Riggs. He and his wife had been out of town EACH weekend, making it difficult to find the time to visit and coordinate. But we saw him on Friday and had an impromptu lesson with the both of them! Jessica (his wife) indicated that they read once in a while together, but not everyday. So we recommitted them, and asked if we could remind them each night with a text. They said yes! So we've been doing that. I truly hope this works out. We had them at church on Sunday too, so things are slowly getting back to where they used to be, though even better! I really think Glenn has increased his faith over these past few months, and I pray that it only grows stronger!

Speaking of Sunday, we had quite the third hour at church. Bishop conducted a combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting ALL about missionary work. He even offered a blessing upon the ward and had EVERYONE (all those who physically could) kneel in the room. It was very spiritual. The exercise then was to have each person write a name of a person they're thinking about sharing the gospel and then write their own contact information. Then they wrote what step they would like to take with this person, whether it's an introduction or invite to dinner or WHATEVER. Then... we (the missionaries) collected them! Now it's OUR responsibility to keep up on these names and these members - to commit them to these actions that they wrote down and remind them that they're doing it out of love for their friends/family/neighbors.

 

Missionary work is the most important work that we can be doing right now! I never realized that until my mission. If you knew that something was true and would bless people's lives forever - you can't possibly think it's okay to keep that to yourself! NEVER. Haha It's true though - we love the Lord and we love others... now it's time to show it!

I'm so grateful for this time I have to be a missionary. And I appreciate all of the love and support I get from each and every one of you!

Loves,

Sister Hansen

PICTURE:

1) Sister Udall and I in front of a museum (I think?) in DC last Monday