NEW COMPANION AND APARTMENT

So we had transfers this week, and I've been moved out of my apartment! Goodbye bed bugs, goodbye indian food smells from neighbors, goodbye view of the potomac river, goodbye roommates (I will miss them DEARLY). HELLO "Bailey's Crossing", a swanky-swank apartment complex on the Falls Church side of Alexandria. I've been moved here because I will now be serving alongside Sister Kellie Deaver, who had previously been serving over Shirlington Ward. But the SHOCKER - we will now be over both the Potomac Mid-Singles Ward AND Shirlington Ward. AHHH! I was SUPER surprised when President Riggs flung that on us, for all of the missionaries in the entire mission to see. I'm sure my face wasn't pretty. But here I am!

Sister Deaver is from Rocklin, CA. Like me, she is a college graduate. Like me, she went to BYU-Idaho (but graduated in Communications, not Business). And like me, she loves musicals! It's a MATCH. However, she's only been on her mission for 3 months. So I've got a newbie on my hands! It's exciting though and hopefully I'll have a positive impact on one that is still trying to grasp everything (mission life takes some adjusting). Sister Deaver actually knows Derek Evans, Dana's old missionary companion, and Tyson Wheeler, Dana's old roommate. SMALL WORLD!

Yesterday, because of our new assignment, we spent SIX HOURS at church. Yikes! Now I can get a feeling for what Bishops and Stake Presidents go through. It's hard stuff! I usually don't fall asleep in church (on my mission, at least), but yesterday was a STRUGGLE. So this will definitely take some adjusting :) But the Shirlington ward seems very nice - a lot smaller and less talkative than the Potomac Ward, but still lovely. We have a homeless investigator named Oliver that came to church in Shirlington, and then Arthur came to church in Potomac... WIN WIN!

I will miss Sister Anderson and her bubbly laugh and personality! One of the last lessons we taught together was with Marvin, our returning less-active. We taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. The Spirit was strong! And Marvin was able to share a spiritual experience of his (first time EVER). He said:
"I remember in my late 20's, so before I even thought about coming back to church, I was riding with my friend in his car. All of a sudden, I felt I should tell him to slow down and almost stop. As soon as I did that, a car came whizzing past us, swerved and hit a power-line pole that came crashing down across the street. Had we not slowed down, we would have been under that pole. I didn't realize that that could have been the Spirit but now I do!"

I'm so grateful for the Spirit and its promptings. I know that most times, we won't even realize it's the Spirit until a while after the fact. But it's SO important to go through with those little nudges or thoughts. We are promised that as long as we're living righteously, those small moments of inspiration or alarm are more than likely the Spirit trying to communicate with us. Just today, I was reading about Nephi in Helaman and how the Spirit helped him keep God's command of telling everyone to repent!

Helaman 10:17
"And it came to pass that thus he did go forth in the Spirit, from multitude to multitude, declaring the word of God, even until he had declared it unto them all, or sent it forth among all the people."

Without the Spirit, I COULD NOT do this work. Wouldn't be possible. So grateful to know that those that humble themselves CAN allow the Spirit to touch their hearts to know if the gospel is true. Pay attention to how the Spirit works with you in YOUR life, and I know that you will see those small but powerful miracles.
LOVES,
Sister Hansen