Week 103 - Last email

"The best companion ever"

Hey everybody!

Well I've been sitting here for about five minutes now trying to think of the words that could possibly do justice to the last two years of my life. Trying to wrap up all the experiences, memories, and lessons learned is honestly one of the hardest things I've had to do on my mission. It's been one crazy adventure and I could sit here writing for hours and I wouldn't be able to fully explain everything I've been able to take away from my mission. It's been such an amazing blessing to serve as a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ, to represent His name, and His church. The simple fact that He would trust someone as insignificant and inadequate as me to preach His glorious gospel is something I don't think I will ever be able to understand or explain. He has given me the chance to be a part of something much bigger than myself and has let me feel the joy and happiness that comes from seeing the changes in the lives of other people, as well as my own. I've seen how His love and peace can soften even the hardest of hearts and lift even the lowest of spirits. I'll never forget the moments on my mission when I have been a personal witness to the power of the atonement in the lives of those around me. I know it's real and has the power to take away all our burdens and pains, leaving the sweet assurance of His peace, and giving us the chance to then share that with those in need. 

Like I said a few weeks ago after conference, I never knew it would be possible to be so happy in my life. I've felt a greater happiness than ever before, and I've been able to learn how to keep that happiness alive even when things get tough and it seems like the whole world has turned against me. Happiness isn't the end result of external factors, but rather an internal decision taken regardless of the surrounding circumstances. Even when every appointment fell through that day or even when every dog just had to bark at us as we passed by, or even when the rain started just as my umbrella broke, the Lord has replaced those feelings of disappointment and frustration with the simple idea that everything will be all right. That even though things seem so dark, if I can just hold out, it'll get brighter. I mean it really is that simple. Every challenge we go through is only temporary, so why stress? Why worry about it? The Lord will never let us be tested beyond what we can bear, so if we can just bear it a little longer, He will eventually help us. He has taught me through many trials that if I will trust in Him and bear my afflictions with patience, He will bless me. Something that President Hayes has taught me is that the Lord tests us to be able to teach us and that if we aren't tested, we can never progress in this life. So instead of complaining when the tough times roll around, we should rejoice with the knowledge that after this test, we'll be better than we were before. 

I know without a doubt that this is the work of the Lord. There's nothing I would have rather done these last 24 months than be a missionary. He lives and loves us and if we trust in Him, He can work miracles in our lives. I know because that's what He has done for me. I still have a lot of work to do, He's not done molding me yet, but I know that as I rely on Him, He will slowly change me into the person He needs me to be. 

I want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout these last two years. All the prayers, letters, and emails have made a bigger impact than most of you will ever know. I never could have done this without you. I love you all so much. Thank you for the love and support in all the ups and downs. I can't wait to see you all again!

Elder Hansen

"My biggest homies in the mission" 

"Elder Vasquez and Muñoz (my replacement)"

PS - Got to say goodbye to my good friend Elder Hangsen. Great guy, except for that extra "G" in his name. Gonna really miss him.

Week 101 - The streak is broken

Hey fam!

My streak has been broken. I cried today. The first time in as long as I can remember. It was the monthly check today with the new missionaries that came this change and everything was awesome until the very end when President asked me to bear my testimony. This is now the third time I've had to do it and the other two times I was perfectly fine, and this time I started out fine until I started talking about how much my testimony has grown and the love I've felt from my Savior and I just lost it. It wasn't as bad as my farewell talk, but it wasn't great either. But hey I am my father's son haha (love you dad).

But anyway other than that, this was a great week!

Tuesday was pretty normal, district meeting and then some great lessons that night.

Wednesday was awesome. We went to Los Santos for district meeting and then had a baptismal interview with Rosi's daughter, the woman who was baptized while we were working there, who is going to get baptized this week. That area was really special, good memories.

Thursday we took of in the morning for Siquirres and Limon. President had asked us to go work with them, so we split up and I got to go work with the elders in Siquirres. It was so crazy to be back there again. There's only one set of elders there now so I got to see parts of the area that I had been assigned to at the start of my mission and we even taught some people that I had been teaching with Elder Duran, who are now going to get baptized. It was awesome. And I got to see some converts which was so special. Love that place so much.

Then Friday and Saturday we worked with the zone leaders in that zone which was super fun because we got to see Elder Greene again. I was super bummed when he left San Diego but it was great to see him again. 

With Elder Shumway and Elder Greene

Then Sunday we were back in our area and it was a pretty normal day too, which is always nice. 

And that brings me to today. All in all a really great week. Time just refuses to slow down, but these have been some of the best weeks of my mission and I know that these upcoming weeks will be even better. Love you all so much! Have a great week!

Elder Hansen

Week 100 - General conference and a temple trip

Watching conference

Hey hey!!

Well, doesn't get much better than conference weekend. It came and went too fast. I felt like each session was about 20 minutes long haha but it was amazing, I loved it so much. There's just nothing better than hearing the inspired words of the Lord's servants. And going to the temple. That's pretty cool too. And luckily it worked out and we got to do them both this week! The perfect way to get ready for conference. 

Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal. Just pday and then a normal day's work. Always good.

Wednesday we got up early to get on the bus at 5:30 that would take us to the temple, which because of the traffic didn't show up until about 6:00 and then it was another hour and a half before we got to the temple. We were supposed to get there for the 7:00 session so we had to wait until the 9:00 one, but it turned out alright and we got to go through anyway. It was a really special session for me, too, I felt like I got more out of it than I ever have before. Love the temple.

Thursday was pretty cool. Don't remember much, but it was cool.

Friday was another pretty normal day, which has been nice because I feel like my mission is lasting longer and the time hasn't passed as fast as before so I'm good with that.

But then the weekend rolled around and everything sped up again haha Saturday was perfect. Got to see all three sessions without problems. I loved Elder Cook's talk when he said that our stumbling blocks can become stepping stones. That really hit me and has stuck with me these last few days. I also loved Elder Oaks' talk. Great boost for the members. 

Priesthood session was awesome as always. Elder Holland coming in clutch with another great talk.

Then Sunday was another amazing day. I really liked President Nelson's talk about having joy through suffering. I think it's one of the biggest lessons I've been trying to learn on my mission. It's not always easy to be a missionary, in fact it's almost never, but I don't think it's supposed to be. The trials and tests don't get easier or softer as time goes on, but I've been able to see how the Lord has taught me to deal with them and be able to stay positive and joyful even through the hardest moments. Even as those freezing saints huddled in that bitter cold cabin maintained their cheerful spirits, the Lord has taught me how to keep smiling when doors are slammed, appointments are cancelled, and invitations are rejected. One of the best talks from conference.

But I love you all a ton! You're the best, thanks for everything!

Elder Hansen

Random dog walked into our district meeting

Week 99 - A normal week...

Hey everyone!

So I'm out of time so this will be really short.

I'm great. Life's going great! This week was pretty normal, the most normal we've had in a long time so it's even harder to remember what happened so I'll just keep it short. I love you all a ton! You're all the greatest, thanks for all the support and the prayers, it really makes a difference. Have a great week!

Elder Hansen

Enjoy this picture of us with one of the recent converts from the ward -- he's awesome

Week 98 - Golfito, Independence Day, and Fun at the Border

Hey guys!

Well another great week out here. It was another crazy week, but really fun so it's all good. Last week was changes so we got to go to the airport and the temple with them which is always fun. It's always fun to see new missionaries because they're all so different. Some are excited, some are scared, some are just confused, but they all have so much faith and it's such a great example to us. 

New missionaries from the Provo MTC

The rest of the new missionaries

Wednesday we took off for the Zona Sur, the zone farthest away from San Jose, which meant a seven-hour bus ride. It's funny though because I was talking to Elder Vasquez a few days before about how I had always wanted to take the bus down there and sure enough the next week President sent us down so I finally could check that off my ever growing bucket list haha and let me tell you it was awesome. I mean it was kinda boring at times, but it helped me catch up on all the sleep I had lost. That night we stayed with the zone leaders, who are Elder Garay and Maldonado, two of my companions so it was fun to get to see them again.

Thursday we took off for Golfito, a coastal town waaayyy down south that I had always heard about. It was awesome. Honestly one of the coolest parts of the country that I've seen. It was the Costa Rican independence day, too, so there were celebrations all over and people were giving us food left and right. I've never been so full in my life, but it was awesome.

"Golfito"

"Iguana"

Friday, Elder Maldonado took me to the border with Panama so I got get my passport stamped and be able to drive legally here. I had heard it was pretty simple so I went in without too much stress. I got stamped out pretty easily from Costa Rica, but then when I got to the Panama side, they didn't want to let me in because I didn't have a plane ticket to get out from Panama when my visa expired. So I was stuck with a stamp out of Costa Rica, but without a stamp into Panama..... and you can imagine how I was feeling in that moment. I started playing it out in my head and got to the point where I would have to spend the rest of my life on the border haha. So we went back to the Costa Rican side to see if there was anything they could do for us and they said we could get the stamp rejected from the Panama side and problem solved. When we got back over there, there was another guy at the window and he asked me why I needed to go to Panama anyway and I told him I just needed to get stamped out and then back in to Costa Rica to be able to drive. He looked at me, talked to the guy behind him, looked at my passport, looked at me again, talked again to the guy behind him, then miraculously stamped my passport and told me to go get stamped out. I couldn't believe it, but before he changed his mind I went to the other window and got stamped out and almost ran back over to the Costa Rican side and got stamped back in haha it was crazy but I felt so relieved. I'll never forget that guy that felt mercy for me and gave me that stamp. So to celebrate, we went to Burger King.

Then Saturday we took the bus back to Tres Rios at 4 am and got back home at about 11:30, just in time for lunch. Later that night, we got a reference from Salt Lake of a cousin of some temple missionaries who lived in our area. We talked to her and she said we could stop by at about 7:30. We made it over there, but the house was dark so we decided to wait a little to see if she got home soon. After a few minutes, we called her and no one answered. We kept calling, but nothing. After about 20 minutes we decided to just leave a pamphlet in the door and hope for the best. 

The next day, we were getting ready for church when the elders from San Diego called us about some woman who had showed up with her 3 kids looking for us. We ran over to the church and sure enough, it was her! Apparently her phone had died and she had gotten stuck in traffic, but she decided to come to church anyway. And she loved it. It was so awesome, she got super into Gospel Principles, answering almost all the questions. After church, we went to go visit her, this time when she was actually there and got to meet her husband too. They both seem super interested so we'll see what happens! Miracles!

But that's about it fam! Love you all a ton! Have a great week!

Elder Hansen

Week 97 - Staying in Tres Rios

"Elder Barrios who's taking off this change"

Hey everyone!!

Well, changes were this week and.............................I'M STAYING IN TRES RIOS!!! I really thought I was going to have changes but I'll be staying here in Tres Rios with Elder Vasquez. It's been so much fun with him so I couldn't be happier to be staying with him my last change. It was a pretty crazy week, filled with too many road trips and too little sleep so I'm almost falling asleep writing today haha but it's been amazing to see the Lord's hand in our daily life, helping us with small miracles every day. I love this work so much and its been an incredible last few weeks and I'm just hoping it will continue that way.

I can't remember too much from what happened on Tuesday or Wednesday, but Thursday we got a text from president asking us to go pick up some missionaries from an area that was going to close down this change. We left at about 1 and didn't get back to Tres Rios until about 8 so it was kinda a crazy trip but it was to an area that I'd never been to before so it was a fun trip. 

Then on Friday we had leadership council and it went really well. There were a bunch of changes this change so it was a pretty long meeting but it was fun.

"Leadership Council - missing like all of the sisters"

On Saturday we headed down to Los Santos again for a wedding and a baptism! Miracles! It was a challenge to get the abogado out there, but in the end it all worked out great and we had a great turn out so it was really fun! 

Then Sunday Elder Vasquez went to Los Santos for church and I stayed in Tres Rios with Elder Greene, who was pretty sad because he had changes and was super bummed. I was really sad that he had changes, I've spent a lot of my mission with him and I was hoping to see him until the end, but the Lord needs him somewhere else so he'll do great!

Also President was out of town this weekend, so you all know what that means!!! Late night trip to the hospital!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Sure enough, Sunday night an elder who had changes was coming up on the bus and got really sick so we headed to the hospital at about 9 and got back to Tres Rios at 3 in the morning haha and then had to get up at 6:00 to start helping with the changes. We had to pick up and drop off some elders and then take the new elders that are going to open up Los Santos down there, SO its been a long day, but I feel like we've got so much done so I couldn't be happier.

But I'm out of time! I love you all so much! Have an awesome week!!

Elder Hansen

"The baptism!"

Week 96 - Volcano, pizza and a baptism

Hey fam!!

Well another fast week. I really can't believe how fast time is passing. I'm really hoping I can find a way to slow time down so if anyone has a suggestion just let me know please. But this week was really a good one, kinda crazy busy, but those are always the best ones.

Tuesday we were in Los Santos preparing an investigator for her baptism on Saturday and then we went with a member family for dinner and they gave us some super good sandwiches with real American ingredients because they lived in the states for like 30 years and it was awesome.

Wednesday don't really remember what happened, but it was great.

Thursday we headed back down to Los Santos for a baptismal interview and then after we cleaned up the baptismal font which is like just a small plastic pool, which turned out to be harder, but a lot more fun, than we thought (see picture). We basically just flipped it on its side and then slowly rotated it until we had cleaned it all.

Then Friday we were back in Tres Rios and we had some investigators come to the church to play soccer and it turned out being really good. The members and investigators bonded super well so we'll see how that turns out for us.

Saturday, back to Los Santos for the baptism! I was a little nervous to see how many people showed up because the branch is pretty small as it is, but we actually did get a pretty good turn out and the service went a lot better than I thought haha they had accidentally filled the font to the brim so when they got in and then actually baptized the person, a ton of water came splashing out, but it looked super cool haha.

Then after, that member family from the states invited us to pizza. It was awesome haha I've never eaten so much pizza. The owner makes his pizzas in a wood fired oven and it was amazing. 

Then Sunday, Elder Vasquez took one of the elders in the neighboring ward, San Diego, and took of for Los Santos for the confirmation and I stayed in Tres Rios with Elder Greene for both the wards. Marathon church day haha then it was a pretty normal day after that.

Then today we had a zone activity! We went to a volcano about half an hour away from our area which was supposedly super cool. I'm assuming it was because we couldn't see anything through the clouds haha and it was freezing cold, raining, and the wind was blowing super hard, so we were all frozen in about 15 minutes haha it was miserable, but also really fun haha you can see how much I'm enjoying it in the pictures.

Also I got to play with one of these weird animals up there haha it was cool.

But I love you all a ton! Hope you're all doing great out there! Talk to you next week!

Elder Hansen