Good morning all,
This was a really great week. In our mission we've been working a lot on building the faith of the missionaries. Our president strongly believes that if every missionary builds their faith, we will see so many more miracles as individuals, companionships, and a whole mission. And it has been so true. About every other week President Hall sends us an e-mail sharing some of the experiences that missionaries have been having and it is truly amazing to see how the Lord has been blessing us all as we've been building our faith and talking with everyone that we met.
Hermana Whetten and I have been blessed to see some of those miracles. If you remember, last week wasn't so great but this week was amazing! Definitely the Lord prepared us with the struggles so that we could truly appreciate the miracles we saw this week.
Often times in missionary work we think that if we need to find new investigators that our only option is to go pound the pavement and knock every door. I on the other hand have a strong testimony that finding new people to teach doesn't require strictly picking a street and knocking each door. Some of the best ways to find new investigators is by going through the area book and looking at old investigators and old referrals.
Tuesday we had a list of 6 old investigators we wanted to try. The FIRST door we knocked the man happily let us in and we talked with him. It was such an amazing experience because the day before his mom had died and he kept telling us how we couldn't have known that he needed us. It was so great to see how the Lord directed us to that man who in that moment was in need. And he wants us to come back and visit.
After we visited with him the next four doors didn't open. Then the LAST door opened, it wasn't the person we were looking for but rather her uncle. And as we talked with him we asked if he had ever wondered why there were so many churches. Then he said, "do you have 10 minutes??" We went into the home and we ended up having one of the best lessons about the Book of Mormon. He loved it! We showed him where the visit of Jesus Christ to the Americas could be found and he just started reading. He read and he read and he read. What was going to be a 10 minute discussion ended up being 40 minutes. And we're going back tonight. I'm so excited!
A big miracle for us this week was a young woman named S....... Two weeks ago we had met her mom and her sister and had a great lesson with them. This past Friday we had an appointment with D...... (the mom) and we ended up meeting S....... She has been though some rough experiences recently that have really humbled her and helped her recognize that God is there. She wants to find truth and know what her purpose is. She is one of those people that the Lord has prepared to hear the Gospel. She loved what we shared with her on Friday and then she and her sister P........ came to church on Sunday!! Hermana Whetten and I were a little sad at first because they had said they would come but when church started they hadn't shown up. Then 20 minutes into the next class we get a text from them saying "hey we came to the services but we didn't see you." And so we basically ran out of the class to find them hoping they were still there. And they were. It turns out that they had gone to a different ward's sacrament meeting (4 wards meet at the same time so it makes it confusing for people). But they decided to stay for the rest of the class and then go to a second sacrament meeting with us. It was so great!! We'd been struggling to get people to come to church for a while but they came and we couldn't be happier. I can't wait to visit with them on Tuesday.
So many other great things happened this week. But one experience with a lady named M..... is still unfolding and I'll have to save it for later.
Sometimes though great experiences happen when we do something nice for other missionaries. This morning we had the opportunity to surprise one of the other sister missionaries near us for her birthday. She's from El Salvador and she wasn't expecting anything super awesome. Well this morning we surprised her by showing up at her apartment with supplies to make a cake and breakfast. We had called 5 minutes before to say happy birthday and then her companion sneakily buzzed us in the complex and we knocked on her door. Her face was priceless and she almost cried :) It was good to be able to make her day.
Well that's it for today. We're working hard and having a great time!!
Love you all tons,
Hermana Hansen
p.s. Here's the quote that I talked about last week but didn't have on me...
"Today many sisters are being called to serve.. many more are preparing to serve, not because they aren't married or don't have anything else to do, but because they have the desire to serve. One reason that the Lord wants more sisters to serve is because within the next generation He will send His priesthood army to the earth. He wants to send choice spirit children to mothers who have been prepared, properly trained, and taught the gospel. What better schooling can a mother have than the experience and growth she gains through serving a mission." -President Hinckley
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