Hermana Juliet Hansen - Knocking on Doors

Good morning!!

 

Recently we've been doing a lot of knocking because we are trying to find some new people to teach. Unfortunately, the investigators that we currently have are not really progressing. Before my mission I thought I wouldn't enjoy knocking but I was wrong. In actuality I like doing it because of the wide variety of people that we get to meet.

So today I would like to give you a little taste of the types of people we've met as we've knocked in Reseda California...

 

We've had the "we're not interested" door slam, the peek through the window, wave, and ignore the door, the "I was raised (insert religion here) and don't go right now but I'm okay with my beliefs. Thanks for your time.",(those you could get just about everywhere but the rest were very singular)

 

One day we knocked a door and when opened we saw the biggest, most orange Hindu shrine I'd ever seen. The lady then told us about how she doesn't go to the doctor but instead takes a little bit of the white holy powder found on one of the pictures, mixes it with water, drinks it, and she's cured.

Another day we knocked the door of a man who believes strongly in medical marijuana. He expressed interest in coming to church but only if he could be sure that no one would judge him for wearing his "colors" (a ruby and emerald encrested cross with a marijuana leaf in the center). We left him with a pass along card to check out the mormon.org website and as we walked away he yelled, "Hemp will save the world!"

For the first time ever on Saturday we met someone who was raised going to the church of the Holy Rollers. And that same day we talked for a while with a lady who was very nice to listen to us but not super interested. Whenever we finish talking to people we always ask if we can pray with them before we go. Normally they'll just say "no thank you" but this time she told us "We don't need a Mormon prayer."

 

Life gets really interesting when we go knocking. You really never know what you'll find behind the door but sometimes we get really lucky and we find someone who has been prepared to receive the gospel. I love the experiences we've had where we knock the door and the person is really happy to see us. And the best is when they feel the spirit and then let us come into their home and teach them. Those are rare but they make every slammed door so much more worth it. And I know that if we have sufficient faith God will lead us in the right direction to find that person who is most in need right now.

 

It's time for me to go but know that I love you all.

 

Que tengan muy feliz semana! (Have a great week)

 

Con mucho amor,  

 

Hermana Hansen

Hermana Juliet Hansen - Happy Father's Day!!

Good morning!!

 

First I would like to say a CONGRATULATIONS to Meg Fike for getting baptised a couple weeks ago. If you remember she was the lady I mentioned in an email a month or two ago that sent me a letter about how she had attended a Mormon service for the first time. I got a letter this week from her saying that she had got baptised. I love hearing stories like that and knowing that the ward back at home is growing.

 

In church yesterday one of the speakers mentioned how it was Father's Day. One of the things he said was that we ought to thank our Heavenly Father for the things that He has done for us ever day but even more so on this day. I was struck by that because we grow up celebrating our earthly fathers on this day but shouldn't we also celebrate that we have a Heavenly Father as well. I'm really greatful for my earthly father but also I'm extremely greatful that I was raised knowing that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me just as much. So today I would like to say THANK YOU to my dad and my Heavenly Father for everything that they have taught me and given me. I know that without either of them my life would not be the same.

 

One of the coolest experiences this week was with the De Leon family. The other week when we had sister exchanges Hna. Arguello and I had dinner at the De Leon's home and we read with them part of the Proclamation to the Family. We invited them to look at the things mentioned in the Proclamation and pick one that they could work on as a family. About a month or so ago Hna Fish and I had shared a thought on family prayer but they still were struggling with it. And so we were hoping that they would maybe pick that as the thing to work on. And that's what they did. They decided that they would start having family prayer every day before they sat down to dinner. Well...we followed up the next time we had dinner with them a few days ago and they have been successfully having family prayer every night!!! And the 7 year old daughter is super happy that they are now doing it. And what's even better is if they happen to forget before dinner someone always remembers and reminds the family that they need to do it. I was SOOOO excited when I heard that they were seeing success in their desire to be better at family prayer. 

 

Through many of the lessons that we've had this week and just generally during my time on the mission, I've found that true conversion really only comes when gospel principles are taught and learned by the spirit. I know that much of the success that I've seen with my companions has been because we strive to always have the spirit with us.

 

I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish this week. That was a really great moment. I love the scriptures and I really really know that they can help change our lives. And I know that there is comfort in those pages that we really can't find anywhere else.

 

I'm grateful for all of you and the support you give me.

 

Con mucho amor!

 

Hermana Hansen 

Hermana Juliet Hansen - Christlike Love

Good morning all,

 

Today we start a new transfer. For me this transfer marks the half way point of my mission. CRAZY!! and Hermana Fish and I are officially staying together! We're excited to continue working together and seeing this area progress even more.  

 

This week we had the pleasure of meeting someone who truly exemplifies Christ like love. The Elders had told us about a lady named Maria Guerrero and how she had requested that the sister missionaries come and visit her. We visited with her and as she shared with us her story I really could feel how much the Lord loves her and how much she loves the Gospel. About 8 months ago she met the missionaries in the street when she was going through a really hard time. Her grandson was incredibly sick and she was very sure that he would die. The missionaries talked with her and asked if they could give her grandson a priesthood blessing. They gave him a blessing and almost immediately her grandson went from on his death bed to sitting up and asking for food like nothing was wrong. She had literally seen a miracle in her life and for that reason she knew she couldn't not join the church. You might be wondering how does she exemplify Christ like love....recently her parents starting having extremely poor health that requires around the clock care. She told us that growing up with her parents was really difficult and for a long time it was hard to forgive them for some of the things that they did but when she came to know the gospel she recognized that she needed to love her parents anyway. So she took them into her home and devotes 100% of her time to them and their needs. And she does it without complaint or desire for any reward. She does it because she knows that the Lord wants her to. To me that is Christ like love because she is willingly putting past wrongs behind her and giving of herself for the needs of others. That's what Christ did for us...he gave of himself for the benefit of us...to fulfill our need for repentance from sin.

 

I also had the opportunity to finish the New Testament this week. I fell like I've really been able to draw closer to my Savior as I've read the pages that contain the story of His life. And my testimony of Him has grown immensely. I know without a doubt that Christ lived, died, and was resurrected for our sakes, so that we could attain that great gift of living with our Heavenly Father again and receiving eternal life. I know that I can't do anything without His assistance, so I must put my trust in Him everyday. I have learned so many things from the New Testament and have come to develop such a powerful love for the scriptures. They really are for our benefit and learning.

 Here is one final favorite scripture from the New Testament that I would like to share that illustrates one of the most important lessons we could ever learn...

1 Peter 4: 12-13 "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."  

I know that all our trials are given to us for a purpose. The Lord always wants us to learn and to grow and for that reason we all have to experience fiery trials. But God gave us His son so that through Him our trials could ultimately bring us exceeding joy. And if that joy doesn't come in this life then it will definitely come in the next life when we can rest from all of our struggles.

I know these things to be true and I invite you to read the New Testament if you haven't or re-read it if you have.

 

So as I mentioned at the beginning...I'm at the half way point. I cannot be more grateful to be on a mission at this time in my life. I know that the Lord has called me at this time, to this place, with these companions for a purpose. I'm excited to continue working in his service for another 9 months!!

 

Have an absolutely fantastic week.

 

Con mucho amor,

 

Hermana Hansen

Hermana Juliet Hansen - Humility Bringeth About The Miracles

Hello all,

 

This week was really great. And for some reason my brain is refusing to let me right out in paragraphs how great this week was. It's like I don't have the words to describe everything that has been so amazing.

So forgive the randomness but it's the only thing that I can do right now since my brain is going in a million directions.

 

Nicte finally got confirmed!!! She was so excited she skipped off the stand :)

 

We had sister exchanges. I was companions with Hermana Arguello for a day. I found out that I still don't really know my area. We got incredibly lost :) but adventures were had and I'll have to send pictures later. 

We had an awesome lesson with a member family. The spirit was super strong there and they came to realize for themselves the importance of doing family prayer. Afterwards Hna Arguello said that she was really grateful that she had the opportunity to teach a family like that because she doesn't really get to teach families in her area. We both felt like it was the least stressful day we'd had in a while. Every time  we finish sister exchanges I'm always super grateful for my companion and my area. This was no exception and my missionary fire was definitely fed a lot that day.

 

We had a super big miracle when we finally were able to teach a lady named Martha. The lesson had such a strong spirit and we were able to set a baptismal date with her! If everything goes well she will be baptised on the 24th of this month!

 

So many other great things happened this week but I lack the time to share all.

 

Getting creative with the words helped me write in paragraphs. Maybe I should do that every week.

 

I just really want to share with you how much I have come to know that pride really takes away from the blessings that the Lord could be giving us. Our lives can be so much more richly blessed if we are willing to forget ourselves and do what the Lord would have us do.

 

Love you all,

 

Hermana Hansen

Hermana Juliet Hansen - Seminary and The Ensign

Hello all,

 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial day weekend with lots of food, fun, and family. Our zone of missionaries had a special activity where we played broom hockey and ate hot dogs. It was really fun.

 

This week was good. We had the opportunity to attend the last day of Seminary. The teacher for the seminary class asked us to come and share our testimonies with all of the kids to kind of give them a good start for their summer vacation. The theme for the day was on the topic of how can you apply faith, virtue, vision, and three other gospel principles to becoming a "finisher". And each student had been asked to prepare  a short essay on that topic. As each student got up and shared their thoughts I was struck by how spiritually mature these teens already are. They know who they are, children of a loving Heavenly Father and they recognize what is important in life. And they all talked about how Christ is the ultimate finisher. He did everything that the Lord asked him to do. He didn't let criticism or betrayal or temptation sway Him from His ultimate purpose, to give His life so that we might be saved. I took away from that class how important it is for us to remember what our ultimate purpose is....to live with God again and receive eternal life. And what do we have to do to get there? Finish the race that is life. Don't let criticism, peer pressure, tempation, etc. distract us from our ultimate goal. We have to have faith, cleave to virtue, maintain an eternal vision, etc and all things "will work together for our good".

 

We've been working really hard to update all of our records with regards to members in our area. And we have been blessed in that aspect. We actually found an inactive older gentleman that no one in the ward had been able to get in contact with in years. When we told the bishop that we had found that gentleman and talked with him, he was SO shocked. I'm excited to help this man come back to the Gospel. He was baptised 10 years ago and went inactive 5 years ago. I'm excited to help him remember the feelings he had when he was baptised and why he believed in the Gospel. And I'm excited to potentially bring the blessings of the Gospel to the rest of his family because he is the only one that is a member. I know that the Gospel would bless his family so much and maybe now is the time when they are most prepared to receive it. I love this potential for new adventure :)

 

This week I have learned SOOOO much. I would encourage you all to read this month's edition of the Ensign. When I read the article by President Eyring I was deeply struck by his message. I know without a doubt that the Lord speaks to us through so many different ways. And this week for me it was through the Ensign (it was an answer to one of my unspoken prayers). I know that no matter what you may have a question about, whatever you may struggle with, the Lord will always find a way to communicate with you to help you know what you need to do. That answer may come through the scriptures, through a blessing, through a church magazine, through a friend, etc. But the answer will ALWAYS come. I have no doubt about that.

 

I love you all and am grateful for you!!!

 

Hermana Hansen