Another week as a missionary, another week to cherish! We had a lot of appointments scheduled, but then most of them canceled. We still were able to teach a few lessons and see quite a few people. We had dinner at the Smith's, Corwin's, and the Albuja's. They all are great people and I love getting close to the members! The Albujas made us fried plantains and potato pancakes.... I had never had them before, but they were SO good!
We had a district lunch before district meeting. We went to a place called Moe's that was kind of like Costa Vida. Then after we went to COLD STONE!!! I finally had some Cold Stone ice cream after almost 11 months! It was great :) After district meeting we had exchanges with the Binghamton sisters. I stayed in Owego and Sister Gochnour (Gok-nor) came. It was a good exchange and we had fun!
One day we were trying to visit a few people and they were either not home or they canceled, so we decided to see someone else. While we were walking there we turned the corner on a street and there was this teenage girl who was crying as she was walking.
We had no idea who she was or why she was crying so we asked her how she was doing and if she was okay. She was hesitant at first. We asked if there was something that she wanted to talk about. For a moment I think she almost opened up to us... but then she shyly said no and kept walking. We let her know that we cared and hoped she had a good day. Nothing ever came of it, but I think Heavenly Father wanted her to know there was someone who cared when she was sad. Maybe we'll see her around town again! It was just cool to be at the right place at the right time!
We've been teaching William (set for baptism on Feb 8th), and a few other people. I love this gospel and am grateful for the people we have to teach! It's been snowing a lot, but we're still pressing forward! Thanks for all the support! I love you all!
Love, Sister Hansen <3
Monday, January 27, 2014
Fun Week!
This week was really fun! There are a TON of random things I want to share, so sorry this post will be all over the place. We had Zane Conference... and guess what?! I saw Sister Stephens!!!!!!! :D It was probably the best companion reunion ever haha. We SCREAMED, RAN, and HUGGED each other a billion times. We couldn't stop laughing and talking about the good ol' days in Bennington. It was great being with her again and having an awesome Zone Conference centered on Faith In Christ. It really uplifted and motivated me!
Another funny thing: All of my companions have either snored or talked in their sleep, but I've never really done either of those haha... but one night before I went to bed my alarm clock got bumped so it was unplugged. I plugged it back in, set the time, and went to bed.
Then in the middle of the night I woke up (still half asleep) paranoid that I set the alarm wrong. I can't really remember this happening, but Sister Stewart told me that I was like, "Hey!...don't worry! We're okay.... we're good.... we're okay.... alright?! My alarm didn't go off..... Wait, did my alarm go off?! Did you hear it?! What time is it? No.... we're alright.... okay?"
I can barely remember doing this, but then I just started grabbing my alarm clock and pushing a ton of buttons hahaha. I was looking at it REALLY close. I sat up in bed and just stared at her for a few seconds, set down my alarm, and went to bed haha. I know that probably doesn't sound very funny to anyone else, but to me it was hilarious! I never do anything funny like that in my sleep, so it gave me a good laugh! Don't worry, my alarm DID go off at the right time, so we were good ;)
Also it was Sister Stewart's birthday last week, and her mom had a HUGE cake delivered to our apartment. It was made by the bakery near our house and it was soooo good. I don't know if I'm proud or ashamed to say this... but we ate it all in 2 days... haha. It was heavenly... but I'm grateful for the morning workout program ;)
I love everyone here in our ward and am getting to know them more! It's really weird being in a big building again and in a ward rather than a branch. It's nice, but different at the same time! The attendance at church is the size of a branch though, so we're trying to work with as many less-actives as we can. We taught Gospel Principles on Sunday about Service and that went well!
Another cool experience we had was when we taught one of our recent converts, Elaine. She's been a member for a year now and is still so solid in the gospel and LOVES everything. She had kind of a rough past, so fears sometimes creep back into her life. So while we were there she asked us to pray for her. Sister Stewart and I each took a turn praying out loud while she was there.
That was seriously soooo cool because after we both got done praying she was crying. She's VERY in-tune with the Spirit and has had some amazing experiences happen in her life from the other side. She told us that she could tell what type of people we were by how we prayed.
She told Sister Stewart that she was someone who could handle a lot and fight trials and battles in her life. She told me that I had the gift of comfort/peace and that I truly understood the atonement. When she said certain things it highlighted some sentences in my patriarchal blessing, so I thought that was pretty cool :) It was a great lesson!
We've been teaching and helping as many people as we can, but as always we're trying to find more investigators. We have goals set and are trying to achieve them! I'm grateful to be here in Owego and I already love it! Thanks for everyone's support. I'm thankful for all of you and love you! Oh, and Dad I hope you had a great birthday!!
Love Sister Hansen :)
Another funny thing: All of my companions have either snored or talked in their sleep, but I've never really done either of those haha... but one night before I went to bed my alarm clock got bumped so it was unplugged. I plugged it back in, set the time, and went to bed.
Then in the middle of the night I woke up (still half asleep) paranoid that I set the alarm wrong. I can't really remember this happening, but Sister Stewart told me that I was like, "Hey!...don't worry! We're okay.... we're good.... we're okay.... alright?! My alarm didn't go off..... Wait, did my alarm go off?! Did you hear it?! What time is it? No.... we're alright.... okay?"
I can barely remember doing this, but then I just started grabbing my alarm clock and pushing a ton of buttons hahaha. I was looking at it REALLY close. I sat up in bed and just stared at her for a few seconds, set down my alarm, and went to bed haha. I know that probably doesn't sound very funny to anyone else, but to me it was hilarious! I never do anything funny like that in my sleep, so it gave me a good laugh! Don't worry, my alarm DID go off at the right time, so we were good ;)
Also it was Sister Stewart's birthday last week, and her mom had a HUGE cake delivered to our apartment. It was made by the bakery near our house and it was soooo good. I don't know if I'm proud or ashamed to say this... but we ate it all in 2 days... haha. It was heavenly... but I'm grateful for the morning workout program ;)
I love everyone here in our ward and am getting to know them more! It's really weird being in a big building again and in a ward rather than a branch. It's nice, but different at the same time! The attendance at church is the size of a branch though, so we're trying to work with as many less-actives as we can. We taught Gospel Principles on Sunday about Service and that went well!
Another cool experience we had was when we taught one of our recent converts, Elaine. She's been a member for a year now and is still so solid in the gospel and LOVES everything. She had kind of a rough past, so fears sometimes creep back into her life. So while we were there she asked us to pray for her. Sister Stewart and I each took a turn praying out loud while she was there.
That was seriously soooo cool because after we both got done praying she was crying. She's VERY in-tune with the Spirit and has had some amazing experiences happen in her life from the other side. She told us that she could tell what type of people we were by how we prayed.
She told Sister Stewart that she was someone who could handle a lot and fight trials and battles in her life. She told me that I had the gift of comfort/peace and that I truly understood the atonement. When she said certain things it highlighted some sentences in my patriarchal blessing, so I thought that was pretty cool :) It was a great lesson!
We've been teaching and helping as many people as we can, but as always we're trying to find more investigators. We have goals set and are trying to achieve them! I'm grateful to be here in Owego and I already love it! Thanks for everyone's support. I'm thankful for all of you and love you! Oh, and Dad I hope you had a great birthday!!
Love Sister Hansen :)
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Owego
My last few moments with Sister Rasmussen in Cooperstown were good ones! We rocked out to Josh Groban, "You Raise Me Up" in the car haha and were able to drive to transfers safely. I met my new companion (Sister Stewart) and we were on our way. Owego looks quite a bit like Cooperstown! It's a cute small town with old fashioned buildings and busy roads. We live above a bank that's green and purple haha. The colors of houses out here in NY are awesome!
Our apartment is pretty old, but it's a good one. We have a washer and drier!!!! AND we have a dishwasher... crazy!!! I'm sooo happy I won't have to spend $25 on laundry anymore. We have a bunk-bed, so that's kind of fun haha. I'm on the top bunk. I forgot my camera, so next week I'll send some pictures. Also, there's a big bridge that goes right across the Susquehanna River. It's really pretty and we drive across it every single day :)
Church on Sunday was great! I'm getting to know people and trying to remember everyone's names. We have 4 or 5 investigators too, and 2 of them came to church! I'm excited to get to know all of them! Sister Stewart has only been here for 6 weeks, so we're both still trying to figure the area out haha.
We visited someone this week and a member in their family went all anti-mormon on us during the lesson... They started yelling how we as women should be able to hold the priesthood and how Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet. The Spirit was immediately gone and the family was yelling at each other... it wasn't good. So we said a prayer and left. I started crying after because sometimes those experiences really tug at your testimony and at your heart.
As I was leaving their house, two scriptures came into my head though. D&C 127:4 and D&C 136:31. I know that as missionaries we can be persecuted and rejected all day, but in the end there will be a reward in heaven. I'm thankful that even though that wasn't a good situation, God helped remind me that there's a purpose for everything and that all that I experience will be for my good. Nothing says welcome to Owego like having that happen the day after I get there right?! ;)
Anyway, I'm doing pretty well, but still trying to adjust. I love all of you and hope you know that you're missed. I pray for all of you! I also want to give a shout out to the people in Bennington and also Cooperstown!!! I love you all!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and everyone should listen to the talk called, "His Grace Is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. It's soooo good! :)
Love, Sister Hansen <3
Our apartment is pretty old, but it's a good one. We have a washer and drier!!!! AND we have a dishwasher... crazy!!! I'm sooo happy I won't have to spend $25 on laundry anymore. We have a bunk-bed, so that's kind of fun haha. I'm on the top bunk. I forgot my camera, so next week I'll send some pictures. Also, there's a big bridge that goes right across the Susquehanna River. It's really pretty and we drive across it every single day :)
Church on Sunday was great! I'm getting to know people and trying to remember everyone's names. We have 4 or 5 investigators too, and 2 of them came to church! I'm excited to get to know all of them! Sister Stewart has only been here for 6 weeks, so we're both still trying to figure the area out haha.
We visited someone this week and a member in their family went all anti-mormon on us during the lesson... They started yelling how we as women should be able to hold the priesthood and how Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet. The Spirit was immediately gone and the family was yelling at each other... it wasn't good. So we said a prayer and left. I started crying after because sometimes those experiences really tug at your testimony and at your heart.
As I was leaving their house, two scriptures came into my head though. D&C 127:4 and D&C 136:31. I know that as missionaries we can be persecuted and rejected all day, but in the end there will be a reward in heaven. I'm thankful that even though that wasn't a good situation, God helped remind me that there's a purpose for everything and that all that I experience will be for my good. Nothing says welcome to Owego like having that happen the day after I get there right?! ;)
Anyway, I'm doing pretty well, but still trying to adjust. I love all of you and hope you know that you're missed. I pray for all of you! I also want to give a shout out to the people in Bennington and also Cooperstown!!! I love you all!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and everyone should listen to the talk called, "His Grace Is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. It's soooo good! :)
Love, Sister Hansen <3
Monday, January 6, 2014
Flying the Coop
I'm surprised to say this, but we got our transfer calls... and I'm leaving Cooperstown :( Hence the title "Flying the Coop." I honestly thought for sure I was staying, so I'm a little bummed. I wanted more time with the members and more time to get to know Sister Rasmussen more, but I guess there's someone or something in Owego that's waiting. The fun thing about being in Owego is that Sister Stephens is in my zone :D I'm sooo excited to see her, and it's near the border of Pennsylvania, so I'll have been in 3 states on my mission haha.
It was sad saying bye to everyone, but my last week here was good! We went to MLC on Friday and had exchanges after. As the STL I kind of had to lay down the law of obedience with the sisters we were with haha, but it went well. We actually got our car stuck in some snow (because our car is ridiculously weak haha), but someone pulled over and helped us, so that was a blessing!
We also picked up 2 new investigators! They're 2 girls in their late 20's. Oh, and for the past few weeks none of our investigators had been to church, but one of our investigators Marjorie (who bakes wedding cakes) came to church on my last Sunday here! That really was the best going away gift I could ask for!!! Elder Bird is also leaving. He's heading up to Glens Falls in the Albany Zone (my old zone!). In his last testimony in sacrament meeting he said, "There will always be a piece of me in Oneonta...... and that's my gall bladder." He got his gall bladder removed while he was here haha, so that was pretty funny!
I bore my testimony about this cute plaque Kallin sent me when I first came out on my mission that says, "Love is all you need." Well the other day I looked at it and though, "Okay... you need WAY more than love to do this hahaha." You need patience, courage, faith, etc. So I thought to myself, "What is one word that can encompass ALL that?" Then one word came into my mind... CHRIST. Christ truly is all that we need, because He is everything. So now every time I look at it I think, "Christ is all you need." That was a good eye-opener, so thanks Kal for sending me that :) I love it!
Being in Cooperstown truly was the hardest time in my life so far, but I was able to get through it and overcome trials... so in a way the person that I helped find was myself. I taught myself how to truly use the atonement, the sacrament, and all other aspects of the gospel. So when I look back (so far) on my mission, I'll know that I DID go to Cooperstown and help change someone's life, and that life was my own :)
I know that God is there for us, even if we don't feel like He is. There's a quote that says, "When you're going through a trial and you're wondering where God is, remember the teacher is always silent during a test." I know all my trials and hardships aren't over just because I'm leaving Cooperstown, but I know that I overcame things that I needed to and I helped my heart become stronger. I'm grateful for that. I know the gospel is true, and I'm happy to be on a mission.
It really was great serving in Cooperstown... challenging, but great! I'm going to especially miss the Willdens, the Jones, President St. John, and the elders. I'm grateful that I was able to spend the holidays there and get to know everyone :) I'll hopefully have time to send all of the pictures and I'm excited to see what Owego is like. Thanks for all the support :) Love you!!
Love, Sister Hansen :)
It was sad saying bye to everyone, but my last week here was good! We went to MLC on Friday and had exchanges after. As the STL I kind of had to lay down the law of obedience with the sisters we were with haha, but it went well. We actually got our car stuck in some snow (because our car is ridiculously weak haha), but someone pulled over and helped us, so that was a blessing!
We also picked up 2 new investigators! They're 2 girls in their late 20's. Oh, and for the past few weeks none of our investigators had been to church, but one of our investigators Marjorie (who bakes wedding cakes) came to church on my last Sunday here! That really was the best going away gift I could ask for!!! Elder Bird is also leaving. He's heading up to Glens Falls in the Albany Zone (my old zone!). In his last testimony in sacrament meeting he said, "There will always be a piece of me in Oneonta...... and that's my gall bladder." He got his gall bladder removed while he was here haha, so that was pretty funny!
I bore my testimony about this cute plaque Kallin sent me when I first came out on my mission that says, "Love is all you need." Well the other day I looked at it and though, "Okay... you need WAY more than love to do this hahaha." You need patience, courage, faith, etc. So I thought to myself, "What is one word that can encompass ALL that?" Then one word came into my mind... CHRIST. Christ truly is all that we need, because He is everything. So now every time I look at it I think, "Christ is all you need." That was a good eye-opener, so thanks Kal for sending me that :) I love it!
Being in Cooperstown truly was the hardest time in my life so far, but I was able to get through it and overcome trials... so in a way the person that I helped find was myself. I taught myself how to truly use the atonement, the sacrament, and all other aspects of the gospel. So when I look back (so far) on my mission, I'll know that I DID go to Cooperstown and help change someone's life, and that life was my own :)
I know that God is there for us, even if we don't feel like He is. There's a quote that says, "When you're going through a trial and you're wondering where God is, remember the teacher is always silent during a test." I know all my trials and hardships aren't over just because I'm leaving Cooperstown, but I know that I overcame things that I needed to and I helped my heart become stronger. I'm grateful for that. I know the gospel is true, and I'm happy to be on a mission.
It really was great serving in Cooperstown... challenging, but great! I'm going to especially miss the Willdens, the Jones, President St. John, and the elders. I'm grateful that I was able to spend the holidays there and get to know everyone :) I'll hopefully have time to send all of the pictures and I'm excited to see what Owego is like. Thanks for all the support :) Love you!!
Love, Sister Hansen :)
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