Thursday, February 6, 2014

APOLOGIES FOR MY ABSENCE!!

It's been a CRAZY month. But so many miracles and blessings have occurred! Where to start is the question... how about "updates"?
UPDATES:
1) Brother Garlock is moving to North Carolina this week for a new job :( But he's leaving on a good note and wants to meet with missionaries down there. So that's great! He's opened up so much - comes to church willingly and reads his scriptures. We're REALLY trying to get him to trust God again through prayer and it's happening... slowly but surely :) He gave Sister Anderson and I each a notebook filled with cool stories he used to use in his mission for Sacrament talks and such. SUCH a nice gesture! We'll keep in touch with him via Facebook to make sure he's keeping in line!
2) Chad - we went a little backwards with him. Meaning we hit a good peak, where he was coming to church and reading and praying - and then all of a sudden, he hit a brick wall. He got back into contact with his old church and things got contentious. We're taking it REALLY slow with him. Keep him in your prayers please! I have never wanted to "drop" someone so badly in my missionary life, but the Spirit keeps reminding that he IS listening to what we say... just not always acting on it in the right way. We're hoping the Spirit will break down his walls fairly soon.
3) MARVIN IS ON FIRE. He passed the Sacrament for the FIRST TIME last week. He was so nervous, but he did such a good job. He's preparing for his new calling as "Sacrament Coordinator" and so he's getting to know more people in the ward, which is EXCELLENT. He needs more actually BUDS in the ward, so we hope that happens soon. We just taught him about tithing, which was something he was nervous about. But after our lesson, we asked "Will you keep this law?" He said "Yeah! Now that I know exactly what it's all about!" Haha love this guy!
Now for "new" news:
So our meeting time for church has changed from 8am to 11:30am - can you say INFLUX?!?! Our chapel is busting at the SEAMS. Which is good thing! Two weeks ago, we had 3 non-members at church brought by their friends. We received the contact info for two of them and are now officially teaching one of them! His name is Arthur and he's from North Carolina. He first learned about the church through roommates back in law school who were members of the church. SEE?! Those are seeds that you're planting people! He has come to church now for 3 straight weeks. You can tell he feels something. Our short lesson with him on Sunday opened his eyes to the new notion that this could be CHRIST'S RESTORED CHURCH. He lives in DC (out of mission boundaries) so we will meet with him before church now!
We also received another investigator this week - even MORE prepared (I think)! His name is Eric and he is from Ghana! He has a member-friend in Ghana, so that was his original connection to the church. We have another male member of the Church from Ghana so we brought him and they became fast friends! So perfect. But he has always wanted God stronger in his life and he feels that this is the right path for him to take to do that. He feels very grateful that he met us! But we're so grateful to be teaching him! The sister missionaries in the Shirlington Ward street contacted into him and he said he felt the Spirit right away. They then passed him to us because he's 36 and SINGLE. So it's absolutely amazing! He's coming to church this Sunday :)
To end on a spiritual note, Elder S. Gifford Nielson came to our mission Saturday and spoke to us! He basically told us that this mission is OUR TIME to come closer to Christ so that we can be the best future leaders of the Church that we can be! He talked about how we can know that this gospel actually promotes REAL GROWTH and that is through the ordinances we make. Each has an associated covenant IF we keep our end of the bargain by being faithful. He talked about baptism and that its covenant was "The power to remit sin". He then said "WHAT A MIRACLE!" Isn't it amazing that ANYTHING we do wrong can and will be wiped clean if we just turn to our Savior and do what He asks? It requires a good dose of humility and a lot of diligence, but I know it's possible for each and every one of us to be COMPLETELY clean before we meet our Heavenly Father and Elder Brother one day!
Use the Atonement everyday. And if you don't know how, then ask.
I love you all! Thanks for your prayers, love, and support. It means the world!
Loves,
Sister Hansen
PICTURE:
1) SNOW DAY. A few hours later, I fractured my wrist. All is well!

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