A perfect weekend

 

 

                 Elsa and Alejandra Rodriguez, and Normando Smith 6/16/2013

Karla and Marco Wedding

Happy Hermana Hansen

This weekend was a weekend I will never forget. Alejandra, the daughter of Esna, prayed with us about being baptized with her mom and there was a huge silence that came into the room. She finished her prayer in tears because there was an overwhelming peace when she questioned God if this was the path for her. Her mom cradled her in her arms and spoke to her in words     that  I will never forget. One of the things she said was, "Right before these two missionaries came, we had been praying for a way to unite our family and come more unto Christ. I am confident that this is the answer and I have no doubt that this is the path." Esna and Alejandra were baptized Sunday morning, the 16 of June. Along with them, Normando was also baptized. It was a beautiful baptism and it felt as if my own family was being baptized. My heart is growing as people keep stealing pieces of it, it's kinda crazy how my life has changed so much these past 4 months.
On Saturday we also coordinated the wedding of Karla and Marco. About 60 of their friends and family attended and it was held in the chapel here. It was a little crazy running around and setting every thing up, I even had to play the piano when she walked down the aisle with her dad! But luckily everything fell into place.
We had planned for Karla to be baptized on Sunday morning as well but postponed her date to this Saturday so she could prepare a little bit more. Carlitos was also ready to be baptized on Sunday morning but his mom ended up not giving him permission. It was pretty discouraging but I know that his mom is seeing a difference in him and he is starting to read the scriptures and pray.
We have transfers this next week and either me, or my companion, will leave the area. We will find out Monday night and leave on Wednesday morning. I heard the hardest part of the mission is leaving an area, because you honestly don't know if you will see the people again in your life. The people reading this e-mail are my family and friends, but the people here have also become my family and friends. It's probable that some of the happiest moments in my life have been out here during the last four months; watching Alejandra waiting on the tops of the steps as her mom was baptized, seeing people learn about a reason to have happiness, and seeing them change their lives. I love the message I get to share with the people here, and I love the people I share it with. I'll write again on Monday, since next week is transfers.

Sara the wedding planner (and 4 baptisms!)

This week is very exciting because this Saturday, two of our investigators are getting married. We have been helping plan for this wedding and it has reminded me a lot of when our family planned for Rachel's and Rebecca's weddings. These two people have become my family, their troubles are my troubles and their happiness is my happiness and I cannot wait to see them married this Saturday.
Besides preparing for the wedding, we have 4 baptisms on Sunday morning! One of them is Karlita, the woman who is getting married on Saturday. Her boyfriend still isn't ready to be baptized but he is preparing for a later date. Another is Carlitos, the 12 year old boy who prayed with us in the lesson and finally decided to be baptized. His date was originally set for the 22 but when he found out that we have transfers the week after, he moved his date up so that he can pass the sacrament to us. The third is Esna, the single mother of the two teenage children. We are still teaching her children and hope that they will join her in the near future. And the fourth is a man named Normando Smith. My companion is convinced that this Latino man is the direct great-grandchild of Joseph Smith, because it is the first person she has ever met with the last name of "Smith". She still doesn't believe me that Smith is probably the most popular last name in the United States and every time we meet with Normando, she asks if he has had the chance to look up his genealogy haha.
Every day, I learn so much and my views of the world have completely changed. This last week, my comp was telling me that there is an area in our mission that "has houses like the houses in the United States". When I questioned what she thought a house in the U.S. is like, she responded, "A house with carpet. The first time I saw carpet was when I was 14 years old." Little moments like this create a little pit in my stomach when I realize how much I have taken my life for granted. I am so incredibly lucky, and so incredibly blind that it has taken my so long to really realize that.
I am really happy here and I am so lucky to have an opportunity to be teaching people about Christ and inviting them to change their lives to a life with a better outlook. A recent convert told me last week, "Before my baptism, I had a lot of problems. And after my baptism, I still had the same problems because they didn't change, but my view has changed. I can be happier in spite of my problems because I have a new life." I know that we have a Savior who suffered for us, so that we can have the opportunity to change our lives by changing our choices, which brings a change of views. I love my mission and I am so happy to be sharing such a beautiful message with the people here.

Volcano Watch

Like all of the weeks so far, this last week has had struggles and miracles. I found out this last week that Reese's peanut butter cups don't exist here and that they aren't sold in any part of Guatemala...I'm not sure how people are so happy here without Reese's candy, it's one of the miracles! Also, I finally finished reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish, side-by-side with my English one. It is weeks after the goal I originally had set but it allowed me to have a deep study and a deeper understanding. Before my mission, I remember saying that I knew the Book of Mormon was true because it made sense to me and I could feel the truth. After what I have gone through the past couple months, I cannot see how this book could not be of God. I promise that any person who dedicates a little bit of time to reading even a chapter of it, will be able to see a greater purpose in their life. I see that almost every day here in Guatemala.
And the volcano that we live close to is officially active! We had a warning of an eruption last week but it was pretty low on the chart of probability, and I think the warning is gone by now. It erupted about 3 years ago and hit La Mariposa pretty hard so we saw a few people buying extra groceries to prepare if anything were to happen.
Time is starting to move a little more quickly, I realized yesterday that I only have 14 more fast Sundays out in the field. But I have so much work to do before then! We are entering June with 4 dates of baptism and the wedding next weekend. Esna, the woman with the two children, finally accepted a baptism date for the 16 of June. Her daughter who previously wanted to be baptized is now hesitant and her son still hasn't attended church, so we have been visiting them frequently. On Sunday, Esna missed church for the first time since we met her and we were a little nervous because she always looks forward to attending on Sundays. When we passed by later, she told us that the reason she missed was because she was watching a movie about families with her two children and talking about the church. She wants more than anything for her children to be baptized with her and we are working and praying for a miracle that her children can make the decision be united as a family and become members of the church.
We have been teaching another 12 year old boy, who has been taking missionary lessons for over a year. He attends almost every Sunday with his Grandma but his mom isn't a member and so he has been scared to take the next step to be baptized. However, we all got down on our knees and he prayed to know if this was the right choice. The next day, he told us that he knew this was the right path and he is being baptized on the 16! I have to go but I love you all and have a good week!

A Baptism

 

We had a baptism!!! Words cannot describe how I felt when we watched A enter the waters of baptism and make a covenant to follow Jesus Christ. It felt like all of my efforts these past months have more than paid off. We met with him again last night and his happiness has carried through the weekend, it is amazing to see how a decision to follow Christ is a decision to change your life for the better.  (KH note: This was the young 12 year old that Sara helped teach - whose mom had already been baptized. I love the grip his sister E has on Saras hand - the length of the pants on A and the look on the moms face)
This week, we had a lesson scheduled with a young man but he had left for work and wasn't home. We then asked his sister (about 17 years old) if we could share a message with her and she agreed. It was a pretty normal lesson about the Restoration and at the end, we invited her to say the closing prayer. She was hesitant at first but then agreed. When she finished her prayer, her eyes were holding back tears and when we questioned what was wrong, she said, with tears streaming down her face, "That was the first time I ever actually prayed." It's little experiences like that that help me continue on in this work.
I had another experience this week...that was very similar to my seal experience I had 11 years ago...but this time it involved a rooster. I now have a dislike for seals and roosters...
We don't have much time to write this week but I am doing super well here. We are busy teaching people and planning for the wedding (it is officially set for the 15 of June), and even though the days are long and the rain comes down hard, I am happy doing this work and I am honored to be a missionary!

new friends, wedding planners, and baptisms

Hello! I have made two new friends this week: the lady who lives next door to us sells chocolate covered bananas (a gift from heaven) and they have become a little 12 cent present of happiness. Just like I supported Hilberto's with my steady business, I am now supporting her and after the first two times I visited with her, she now gives me two bananas for the price of one! My second friend is a pet parrot who lives with a person near us ...I haven't seen it but every morning the parrot and I whistle back and forth and it has become quite entertaining when I need a little break from studying.

I have good news! We have a baptism set for this Saturday, for a boy who is twelve years old. We have been meeting with him since I arrived in this area and his mom is a recent convert, but he didn't really have any interest in joining the church or being baptized (his parents are divorced and his father doesn't encourage church attendance.) But we keep continuing to visit with him and last week we had a very good lesson where I challenged him to finally make a decision for himself and try to find out if this is the path for him. When we returned for the next lesson, my companion started talking about the Brother of Jared and he interrupted her and said, "I want to be baptized and I'm ready. I have prayed and read and I can't stop thinking about being baptized."

Besides the gospel jargon, we have been learning vocabulary for matrimony...we are wedding planners! We have been teaching a couple with a small baby and at first they didn't want to be married...and then they said, "Maybe in December when our baby turns one"...and now they have agreed to be married on the 15 of July and baptized on the 16! We have been busy trying to contact lawyers and ward members for help but everything is now falling in place and they are ready to make a lifelong commitment to each other and to God. I am so happy for them and I am so excited to be here helping them.
I have really grown to love the people here and whenever I am missing my family and friends from home and thinking of going back, my heart starts to miss the people I have met here. I have only been out for about 3 months but Guatemala already has a strong hold on my heart. I love you guys! The church is true and every day, I can see little miracles when I try to look for them. Until next week! Oh and Happy Birthday to Michael G., Sean A., and Jen B.! :)

A week of miracles

                           Sara and the other sister missionaries in her zone.

                              A trip to the zoo on p-day (preparation day)

This last week was like Christmas! I had my interview with my mission president on Friday, and he brought the mail for my zone! I want to send a special shoutout to Tori, AJ, Adrian, Dallas, Cole, Mom, Alexa, Jen, Lexi, Paige and (a special shoutout to my cousin leaving on her mission soon) :Breann, I got your dearelders! And I got letters from Annie, Mom, Austin, President Hixson (2), the Traina Family, Aunt Val, Steve Rogers, Kaitlyn Williams, Sean and David's wedding anouncement (which my companion saw and said, "Wow! That looks like something in the Ensign"). THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! It really means so much to me to hear from so many people and even though I don't know when, or if, I will be able to write back, I love reading them and they continue to help me. (Sara only gets mail when they bring it to her - around every 4 to 6 weeks)
As for the past week, it was a week of miracles. We decided to start getting up at 5:15 a.m. so we can fit in more work and we are beginning to see the fruits of this decision. Here are some of the miracles we saw in the last week:
The woman with the son who found anti-Mormon stuff online: their pastor said the following to their congregation "...Have you guys seen those Mormon missionaries? It is usually a taller North American and a short Latino (they were really excited when we fit that description). They sacrifice months of their life to teach people about Christ. They are young people that work hard knocking on doors and helping the community. What other religion does that? I wish more people in the world were like them." As of now, her son has started reading the Book of Mormon and has asked to meet with us.
The other woman with the teenage daughter: We went on splits this last week, which means my companion and I split up and went with other members of the church to teach our investigators. My companion went to teach them and the mother said, "I am starting to see the real truth in all of this...and yesterday I was thinking about baptism...will you start teaching my son, too?" We met with her son on Saturday and he was really receptive.
We are also teaching a very young family who has a lot of trouble in their marriage. We are challenging them to start praying as a family ("a family that prays together, stays together"). They have been starting to pray as a family and I am starting to see more love between the two parents each lesson...it is amazing that when a couple draws nearer to god, they draw nearer to each other. And we talked about baptism yesterday and how it is a way to start a new life, forgetting all the mistakes we have made and dedicating ourselves to Christ. After we had described this, the husband said, "Alright, let's be baptized."
I am starting to see the influence our message has on people's lives, Marriages, families and individuals are becoming happier because the message of the gospel can fill a person's heart with genuine happiness and purpose that no other thing can satisfy. I know Christ lives and I am honored to be a messenger of this message here. Love you all!

Rainy Season

"Going out to hunt for my dinner . . . . . . just kidding, I had cup of noodles for dinner but here is my machete and our backyard. To the right is our sink!"

When I first heard the term "rainy season", I thought it was just a phrase which meant that it usually rains during a certain set of months. Like clock work, it started raining on May 1 (the first day of "rainy season") and has rained almost every day! And I don't mean little droplets, I'm talking about thunder lightning and thoughts of hot chocolate- I love it! The people here say it is like this until mid-October.

So I'll tell you guys a story since my mom keeps asking for stories. About two weeks ago, we met a woman and gave her the first lesson, when we returned for the second visit, she wasn't home but her sister was (I'll call her F). In only one visit, we talked about the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration! They are both big lessons but she kept wanting to know more. She had met with the missionaries before so she had some background but we were able to expand. When we returned for the second visit with F, her daughter was there also. Her daughter told us about how she knew the Book of Mormon was true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet but she couldn't be baptized without permission from her mom, F (since she's only 15 or 16). F attended church on Sunday and we are meeting with her often, if we are able to help her see the importance of baptism then her daughter can have her permission to be baptized and F can be baptized also! I have grown to love these two people and I really hope they will keep progressing because I know this can change their life in every aspect.

And unfortunately, the woman I mentioned two weeks ago decided to believe the anti-Mormon, anti-Christ information online instead of reading the scriptures and praying. We are still meeting with her and trying to help her see that she can find the truth for herself instead of other people.

Every day has disappointing parts to it but when we see people progressing, the light from them outshine the disappointing darkness.

I have another story to tell but I don't have much time since I want to attach a photo! I'll tell it next week. I love you guys, the church is true and I am a happy missionary