December 10, 2013

"This week was, well, AWESOME. just like every other week. I LOVE THE MISSION!!! we had som crazy experiences, i´ll talk about two of them-

Élder Perez and I have been running into the challenge of doing all of our street contacts. in the hussle and bussle of running from one visit to the other, we´ve forgotten to teach those people inbetween! in D&C 61: we read, "But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." we have to share the gospel with EVERYONE, but just those we are currently teaching. My companion has never seen a street contact lead to baptism. i have been extremely blessed to see many brought to christ using this method, so i decided that if we did our part the Lord would do the rest. i left our house with the determination to find someone "perishing in unbelief." as the day progressed, we talked with everyone. We had varied sucess, some passed their adresses while others passed their distaste for us with bad looks, quickened paces away from us and some with the need to "bible bash." after we finished our work we felt accomplished enough to buy a cake mix for us to bake before we returned home. while in the market, a man came us to us with a thick accent from São Paulo and asked us, "hey you guys are mormons, right?"

we responded in the affirmative and he said, "Ive always wanted to know what you guys believe, when can you pass by my house to teach me?"

my companion and i were floored!! we quickly grabbed his address and promised him a visit. we returned home with such a strong tesimony to share the gospel with EVERYONE. we never know who will accpet our message, and if we open our mouths the Lord will guide us to those with open ears!!

One night while visiting our investigators, we showed up at a dark home... seeing as our plan fell through, we looked to our planner for plan b, when we felt the impression that we were needed at a different investigators home(the parents of Thaís, a recent convert). They live closeby so we showed up to find they had company! The wife´s brother(Galileio) was there with his wife(Carla), and after getting to know them better be began to share with them our knowledge of eternal families and the restauration. as we shared the first vision, Carla broke down into tears. she told us of the sweet feelings that had touched her as she heard our words. we explains that this is the spirit of the Lord, and that the Lord is calling her to follow him. Thaís then bore her newfound testimony about the validity of the message, and how she came to know for herself that it is real. Carla told us that we had home in a pivotal point in her job, marriage, and life. She expressed though tears her gratitude for our message and how she would return home a changed person. she wasnt planning on visiting her in laws that night, and neither were we!! but the Lord sometimes has different plans, how important it is for us to follow spiritual promptings, shes preparing herself for baptism!!

I grow closer to Christ every day here in the field. Im learning a ton form my companion. he has done an excellent job in molding himself into a missionary while still maintaining who he is! its incredible to see, ive always thought that to be a proper instrument i had to kill of pieces of my past and who i am that aren´t "in accordance" with missionary conduct. Hes shown me how it doesnt have to be that way! A chameleon doesnt stop being a chameleon to blend into its environment, he simply changes his shade to a more desired color. in the same way, we arent expected to throw out god-given attributes to become something we arent. He only asks for us to wash off the "color" the world has painted onto us and to mold ourselves into the way the Lord wants and needs us to be! i havent completely understood that untill now, the Lord gave me talents that i havent been using. the Lord wants us to be perfect, not the same! and we´ve all been given different tools to get there, lets use them instead off following a herd of half potential and limited results! President Uchtdorf talks a little about it-
"But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father. Even identical twins are not identical in their personalities and spiritual identities.
It also contradicts the intent and purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ, which acknowledges and protects the moral agency—with all its far-reaching consequences—of each and every one of God’s children. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are united in our testimony of the restored gospel and our commitment to keep God’s commandments. But we are diverse in our cultural, social, and political preferences.
The Church thrives when we take advantage of this diversity and encourage each other to develop and use our talents to lift and strengthen our fellow disciples."
Im more ready to apply ALL of myself in this work, these people need this gospel we have, and our varied talents capacities and opportunities will help them recieve it!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

November 2013 letters

Dec. 2

"This week was incredible! Eduardo Gavarret gave a great discourse, with tons of focus on the Book of Mormon and its role in the conversion process. he also spoke of the many changes that are happening in missionary work and how we will be able to adapt our work routine to have the most sucess. I learned a ton and plan to apply all of it!

Our mision president invited us to bring a question with us to the mission tour. being the day after thanksgiving with christmas right around the corner, i thought of the question- how can i maintain my "gas" through the holiday season, though the rest of the mission, and through life? unfortunately there wasnt time to ask questions, but as i was helping the predient pack up his stuff into his car, i saw Elder Gavarret on the side alone, so i took the opportunity to go for it... the answer he gave me was realtively simple(as the doctrine normally is, you dont need to be a rocket scientist to follow christ!)- DESIRE. he invited me to study daily the topic and remind myslef of the desire i have to preach this gospel. that has been the gas that has gotten me this far, so why change the fuel?? Im excited to see how this study and application will affect the work and my progress towrads perfection!

This month we as missionaries(Vila São Luis once again has 4 missionaries :D) are organizing an activity for the youth called MISSIONARY OLIMPICS. the youth will earn points for certain missionary efforts throughout the month, and whoever has the most points at the end will win the gold! the youth are pretty excited about it, as they have already filled our planners with references and visits. this is helping us out a ton with our teaching pool. we´ll need tons of investigators for us four to stay busy here, and what better way to find people than competitive youth?? i feel the ward is starting to "accellerate the work!"

this week i had to chance to look back on the progress ive had so far as a missionary. im grateful for all of it, especially with my developed communication skills. i remember when when driving off in my car to ignore life´s problems used to be my solution. now im capable of sitting down, expressing myself and resolving problems in an orderly and productive fashion. i can see how it has had an imense

impact on my mission, and im grateful to know that i have been molded to be a person more like christ! i love this work, it saves lives... including my own!!

Até a próxima semana!

Élder Hansen"

Nov. 25  

O Missão Maravilhosa!!

Im so incredibly happy here in Brasil!! Im feel my potential being attained and my relationship with my father strengthening every day. Miracles are happening here!!

we had many progessing families attend church this week, its been a blessing to how the focus on families, the first social unit organized by God, beings forth the richest fruits. We baptised a young girl named Luzia, whose mother is inactive and father had never been to church. As she left the water, her mother remembered the sweet spirit of her own baptism many years back, confessing through tears of the long forgotten testimony she has of the restored gospel. The father was well recieved, now with an open heart and a desire to know more, the door is open for us and the spirit of the Lord!

I LOVE MY COMPANION. i dont know how i got so "lucky" on my mission, but i have always had beside me a true friend and a brother in Christ. I´ll be so lost to find myself alone after the mission...

the weather´s on a roller coaster, one day its blistering heat and the other is downpour like ive never seen... last summer i was saved from the famous summer here in Rio by serving in the countryside of Resende, but now that our mission is divided there is no cool breeze mountinous paradise to escape to... and i hear it only gets worse!!

Not to go for the "glory of men," but it looks like the service project we did here went viral! its incredible to see how the simple desire to be as Christ and serve my fellow man can have a global impact nowadays. What a blessing to know that doing good is truely worthwhile!

Eduardo Gavarret from the seventy will be meeting up with our mission this week... im preparing myself for a spiritual feast!! i´ll let you guys know how it goes!

I promissed my mother that i would bear my testimony about the Book of Mormon, and seeing as it is her birthday this week(everyone has my permission to dote and spoil her beyond reason!)-

The Book of Mormon has been the essencial tool in my conversion. for me it is like the fire that heats water. When the fire is "lighted"(through daily studying to understand its meaning for me and then applying, not just putting my eyes on the page) the water begins to heat. does it boil in the first moments? no, but the contuation of keeping the fire burning soon has the water boiling over. The importance of an honest daily effort to read is great, if the fire goes out, the water will soon simmer down to its former state. this "boiling water" or real conversion leads us to divine strength, guidance and blessings. And the best part is that all we have to do to learn of its truth is ask the author... our all knowing and loving Heavenly Father! Looking back i cannot imagine my life without this anchor, all that i am is owed to my family and this divine book they provided me!

Im grateful for soooo many things, including the fact that this is the last thanksgiving im gonna miss for the rest of my life :P Im grateful for everything the Lord has given me, including all of those who are reading!! Thank you all for the support and love, untill next week!!

Com amor e alegria, Élder Hansen

Nov. 4

i think the hour we have to email gets shorter every week! SO MUCH TO SAY. so here we go!

i threw myself into the work like never before this week. With my companion recuperating, we had to do some divisions to save our progress here. Doing the work of two missionaries is HARD. but i loved it!!! i viewed it as a way to show the Lord that i have repented of past deeds and am willing to go the extra mile. MANY MIRALCES FOLLOWED!!! i wish i had a year to descive them all!

perhaps the biggest miracle happened in me. im humbled to see that the Lord has put me on the path that leads me to him. Alma 32 came to mind as i am striving to be humbled by the "word" not by "poverty!"

we had an incredible event this week!! on Nov 2 theres a holiday called O Dia dos Mortos, or the day of the dead.  in the center of rio theres a cemetery in which hundreds of thousands come on this day to pays respects to lost loved ones. there was a cemetery filled with suffering sons of God, so what did we do? our mission grabbed our members and our plan of salvation pamphlets and went to work!

after 5 hours of contacting in the sun, the mission produced over 5000 contacts, over 2000 lessons taught, and almost 1000 references!!! Many baptismal dates were marked on the spot, and countless miracles happened as we strived to preach of the plan of happiness to all who would listen. I was sooooo priveliged to be a part of this force for good. it was incredile to see me being used as an instrument in the hands of the lord to encounter those who are lookin for answers!

i felt more than ever that i am fufilling my baptismal convenant to cry with those who cry and to comfort those in need of comfort. is there a better way than to help our brother understand Gods love and perfect plan for us? many tears were shed and hope was iluminated as we preached of our Lord´s holy ways. My testimony of our Gods plan has grown so much, im so grateful for life and chance that we have to prepare to meet God!!

Élder Hansen

October 30, 2013

"So. there´s a reason that i´m writing one day late, i´ll explain why-

in short, me and my fellow missionaries goofed up a bit. we went for a hike up in a nearby range(which is fine according to the rules, as long as its not a technical climb and its safe, we did this alot in Resende) only when we arrived at the base our guide bailed on us, leaving us alone to do the hike. the spirit already started nagging on me that it wasnt a good idea, but i pridefully snuffed the word of caution with justifications.

as we hiked its was clear that my companions weren´t experienced hikers as i am. but once again i convinced myself that all will be well.

after a few hours we hiked to the top despite the lack of a guide(the trails are not well marked here to say the least...). we had a great view with some good photos. but as we descended, we noticed the hour was late so we picked up speed coming down the mountain. as we did so, i imediately thought about what mom would do if she were here- "SLOW DOWNNN!" i cant almost hear her saying it! but ONCE AGAIN i ignored the quiet promptings of the spirit and focused more on our quick pace and my footwork.

around one turn i cane to see that my companion Élder Alves had picked up some solid speed, and was unable to slow down, so instead of running off the cliff, he ran himslef into some rocks... in that moment i felt hopelessly guilty. how many times had he spirit warned me? how many times had my pride gotten in the way? and now my companion was paying the consquences.

the fall wasnt as bad as it could have been, but the rock did take out a solid chunk out of my companions knee. luckily the bishops wife was too ready to help him get to a GOOD hospital. the poor guy had the wound cleaned and five stitches put in with out anestetics. probably the worst part was the disapointment that i heard in the presidents voice as he cautioned of the dangers of ignoring the spirit. what a humbling experience. if the president felt that way, imaine how the Lord felt? you could say i spent a good part of my night on my kness asking for forgiveness.

well now i feel like Sister Hansen locked in our house, only difference is that this was something we brought on ourselves. i studied chapter 4 of PMG all morning. how could i turn my back on the source of sooo many miralces ive seen and experienced here on the mission? the spirit just help us baptize, he helps us with everything. this was a lesson i´ll never forget. never will i ignore, question, or justify a whisper of the spirit, i depend too much on him! but for now my companion could use your prayer for a quick recovery, i cant wait to get back to work!!

PS here´s a photo of a family we reactivated after 15 years of inactivity, im short on time so i´ll explain next week!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

October Letters

October 21, 2013

This week was great! lots of work as usual, but this week we held a service project here in the zone. heres the details:

in the Ilha do Governandor(governer´s island) there a surpising number of favelas and poor communities, in one of which there was a nice kindergarten completely coverd by grafiti. We volunteered by offering the teachers a clean-up! so this last weekend we gathered as a zone and went to work.

the Mission President helped us a ton. he bought all the paint/materials necessary for the project, and then brought the mission secretaries along to make a video for the mission. we invited some members who are painters to guide the project. we had to wake up at 4:30 just to get to the site on time. the day was SUPER HOT, but that wasnt gonna get us down! 

we first used sandpaper to rub off all the grafiti... my arms are still sore from all the scrubbing! but as mom always said, use that elbow grease!! we then layered the building with their desired paint color. the service project lasted about 5 hours. with 20 missionaries working that makes 80 man hours, the project was a sucess!!

perahaps the greatest sucess was the impact that our service had on the community. many onlookers and neighboors came to thank us for the charity, many of these asked us to come visit them!! it was a blessing to see how simple service opens hearts and doors for our work. It was a pleasure to serve my follow man, and my god! As Christ said,"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Mat. 25:40

October 4, 2013

EXTENSION!!!

what an answer to prayers! i was given one more transfer, so my original return date(18th of March) has been bumped up to the 30th of april. 6 more weeks of miracles!!!!

Monique´s baptism fell through :( we spent the week preparing so that nothing could get in the way, but when we passed by on sunday, her relative explained to us that she was in the hospital! even worse she went downtown so we couldnt leave our area to visit her. she´s supposedly getting better, i hope she has the strength to continue the progress!! good news though, our relationship improved a ton with her parents!! as we started teaching, her mother was strictly against us it seemed. Monique is already 18 but her mother still has much control over her actions. after a tense discussion about her baptism, we thought our realtionship with her was toast. but after much prayer and fasting, her mother open the door one day with a smile!! she asked for our forgiveness about impeding her daughters baptism, even invited us to her husbands churrasco(BBQ), what a delicious turn around!! i have no doubts that Monique will be baptised, the only question is WHEN. how many hurls will she have to jump through to take this step of faith? we´re praying a ton for her well being, we´re looking to bring her family with her as well!!

The work is going well, i always feel like im capable of MORE! the pressure of accellerating this work is stressfull, we´re quickly realizing that we cant do this alone!! the ward is ready to help, they just dont know how. so, we´ll be giving a lot of trainings in our lunch visits and sunday school classes. EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY. this is the vision that God has for his church, we´re entering into a time where there is no room for fence sitters. as the hymn sings- whos on the Lord´s side, who? i know that when the prophet speaks its a commandment. especially when he says something two times!! This is the time for members and missionaries to work together!! i hope everyone knows their local missionaries and are striving to aleviate the burdens they carry as representatives. many miracles will follow!! our friends, neighbors and family are ready to hear this message, now is the time!! we dont have to grab a box and preach in a plaza to be a missionary. simple invites, testimonies and love are the key! i hope eveyone has missionary experiences this week. write me about them, i´d love to hear!!

We´re planning a service project here in the zone, its gonna be incredible! we´re planning on painting a worn out day care, im exciting to see how our efforts to serve will bless our work. untill next week!!

Élder Hansen

September 30, 2013

"not lots to say this week. rain on sunday made the attendance(that we´ve been gradually increasing since ive gotten here) sink to its former numbers. a couple of firm baptisms fell through as well... FRUSTRATING. but thats where patience comes in, and we´re going at it harder and smarter this week! we´re really exciting for this weekend. General conference has grown to be one of my favorite events of the year. Sooooo much revelation to be had!!

My Companion is awesome. Love the guy. Im been incredibly blessed with spiritual studs throughout my journey here in Rio. I love this work and this gopel!

Quick thought- Ive really been focusing in on the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my studies. Sure i know the doctrine, but the application is another story! its amazing how one step reveals ten more that need to be taken. one topic thats been especially dificult is repentance. repentance isnt just a quick prayer or a simple continuation of life. its as necessary as breath. for our salvation it must be a daily process! it must be thourough sincere, and the hardest part for me is humility. i mean to ask for forgiveness for anything i may have done to offend or irritate to anyone who reads this. Please let me know if there is some act or deed that i may correct so i may be aliviated form the brudens of sin! There is no sweeter taste than forgiveness. untill next week!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

September 24, 2013

"MIRACLE-

6:30- we wake up sunday morning. Knowing we have three baptisms to prepare, i hop into the shower(literally hop, our hot water has been out for a week), throw down some food and we´re out the door.

8:00 we arrive at our first two baptisms house(Vitória and Marcos) to find everyone sleeping. quickly wake them up to get them there one time.

8:15 we realize my comp forgot his camera. we run back to the house.

8:30 bishop calls and lets us know that my comp will be giving a talk that day(a very common event for a missionary here in Rio).

9:00 our third bapisms house(Thaís) is all dark. we hope she´s already on the way and grab a bus to get to church on time.

9:30 we turn on the font and barely make it for the sacrament. looking around, we notice that none of the baptisms are here yet.

9:45 my comp starts his talk, and Thaís arrives with her family. her mother pulls me aside to tell me that she has to leave early for work and that the baptism wont do. i scramble to see if we can do the baptism during the interval(long story short, i almost had to call some members to repentance just to reserve the baptism room... the stake president got involved and we ended convincing Thaís's mom to put her work a bit for the sake of her daughter's salvation.

10:00 Marcos and Vitória show up... with out their mom! their dad looks to cancel the baptism, but putting off their baptism for another week just wont do. i send him off home to grab his wife.

10:30 The baptismal font FLOODS. me and my comp have to grab towells and buckets to lower the water level/clean up the mess

11:00 i grab a very charitable member and we drive off to pick up Marcão and Rose (marcos and Vitória's parents). my comp stays to mark visits with all of the visitors for the following week.

11:15 we show up at their house only to find Marcão, looks like she went off to buy lunch, so we let him in and start the search.

11:30 first market- no sucess. we´re off to the next.

11:45 second market- no rose. we´re now down to little time and little chance of encountering her.

11:50 whalie driving back to she if she had returned home(using an abnormal route), Marcão just by chance sees her walking by. we stop and tell her to get in there's baptisms to be had!! strangely she reacts in a very negative manner, explaining how shes super busy and doesnt have time to work and "live a the church" as she put it(to her defense she´s and independant sower and has to compete against large companies). i felt inspired to tell her that if she supports her children for this baptism, she´ll have time to complete all of her man daily tasks. she accepts and we zip off.

12:00 we arrive at her house so she may get dressed apropiately(the baptism is to happen at 12:30 so you can imagine how hard i was praying)

12:30 we arrive on the buzzer. my angel of a companion has everything set and we´re ready to snap some pictures... only to find my camera inexplicabley broken (good thing we passed by the house to grab my comp's earlier in the day)

12:45 the Baptism happens! the room was filled to the brim with room to sit. one of the most spiritual baptismal reunions!!

The Lord wants us to FIGHT for his church. the blessings will flow! i hope you all have the chance to fight for him this week!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

August 19, 2013

"here comes a really short letter, my beloved B Carvalho is going home this week, so we´re visiting one of his areas today here in Macaé... ive now been to all four corners of the mission!(Itatiaia, Juiz de Fora, Rio de Janeiro, Macaé) here its just beaches which has made for some good good photos.

in short, we had three baptisms this week. i´ll elabrate about them next week i hope. remind me to talk about Janaina, she was a miracle!!! my new companion will be Élder A Alves since my comp is going home, im missing my little indian from the north already!!

miracles are happening here in Vila São Luis, untill next week!!"

July 29, 2013

"This Week was a slow one... Élder B Carvalho got hit with a virus so we spent several days in the house. Ive been pretty blessed staying healthy on the mission so far, maybe because my eating habits have bettered? I ate a tomato like an apple the other day!

i got a question about the pope here in rio, it was quite an interesting week! he was on tv a ton, but here in Caxias we´re pretty far away from the center so i didnt see much of a difference in the work. many people thought we were a part of his gig. ive heard some great things about the guy, i was secretly hoping to encounter him here to have a quick chat about the restored gospel...

Sandra´s baptism fell through... her husband is being super controlling and so we haven´t been able to speak directly to her. She knows shes being cheated on but is powerless to stand up for herself... we´re doing everything we can to help! Our relief society is awesome though, they´re right along side us in this lost lamb pursuit. She needs these blessings the Lord has to offer!

We´ve got two families that are really progressing towards baptism at the moment-

Gil and Minza- Miracles are happening in this household! This couple is progressing a ton; we´re heading there tonight to mark a baptism date. Theyre the parent in laws of Thiago, and after 10 years of knowing the missionaries theyre finally putting their lives in order to make covenants! Thiagos baptism had a big affect on them, their other son was sealed this month which has helped as well! Theyre really fond of me, we´re shooting to baptise them before i get transfered so cross your fingers! 

Ana and Henrique- Another family  whose been pretty involved in the church without being baptised. But after some support from the ward, Ana has commited to make covenants! Shes even having her brother whose flying in from the states preform the ordenance. Henrique is progressing more slowly, but we´re working to get him ready for the same baptisimal date.

Tons of potential and progress here, the only thing between us and sucess is our faith! the mission doesnt have to be a roller coaster of ups and downs, when faith is applying in the enabling power of the atonement, the work becomes an exponential increase of marvelous works, miracles, and salvation. Im actively looking for this level of faith. the Lord is being so merciful to me! thanks for all the prayers and support on my behalf. Eu vos amo! 

PS im attempting to make some pancakes when i get back to our house... if i don´t write next week, you know why!!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen 

August 5, 2013

"This week was really... rushed. Our mission put into affect a new patten of excelence so we´ve been compltely re-looking at our work to fit into the new mold. tons of planning and prayers. I had two really cool experiences learning about repentance and forgiveness this week

The first was an interview with my mission president. i know this man is inspired, he is a huge example and has had a big impact on me! i was able to let out all of my worries, stresses, and difficulties. What a relief!!! i felt so strongly that the Lord had accepted my reconciliation and his spirit confirmed that my desires to work, labor and serve are in the right place. it was such an energy booster!

Another happened whilie testifying about the atonement during one of our lessons. while i feel like the words used and techniques applied were rather simple, the spirit filled the room and confirmed in my soul that the redeeming and enabling power of Christ are indeed powers that lead to perfection. I felt once more that this infinite and evelasting sacrifice was made for every one of us. The atonement of Chrirst truely was the greatest act of charity known to man. Christ is love, and if i desire to be his representative, i must love as he did. This testimony gives me the strength to step of of my comfort box and bless lives.

CHRIST LIVES! I dont need to see him to know that, that is the principle of faith(Hebrews 11:1). Faith leads to miracles. Faith leads us to Christ. Im grateful for all that has been given, including this marvelous mission here in Rio. Thank you all that have taken the time to read, respond and support me! i feel the love from thousands of miles away. Eu amo todos vocês!!

Com amor, Élder Hansen"

July 23, 2013

"This week was tricky. theres been some emergency changes in house, Élder Asto has gone off to another area to work his miracles elsewhere. with no one to take his place, his comp Élder Stinnett is in a trio with me and Élder B Carvalho! we´ve had to take on all of their work, leaving behind a couple of promising leads for the time being. we should recieve another missionary in the next transfer but for the time being the ward is doing their best to help us out with the work load. this ward is awesome!! our attendance going up every week, before long we´ll have have our own chapel... thats our goal!

Sandra and her family are doing great! Mateus and Stêfane are of baptism age and are being well integrated with the ward youth, right now the husband really ipeading(is that spelled right?) their progress. almost everytime we pass we have to clear up the false doctrine that he´s been feeding her. we´re wanting to sit down and talk to him but he is pretty good at weaseling out of it... if all goes well sandra and her kids will be baptised this sunday. she´s so ready an so needing these blessings!

Our work here is soooooo motivating, everyone in the ward is on fire with the references, we cant even keep up with them! The Lord has been so merciful to me and my companions, more miracles are ahead!!

Com amor e alegria, Élder Hansen"

Week Fifty-Six

"ÁGUA!!!

my favorite word! i think the only better word is FAMÍLIAS NA ÁGUA! a family that Élder Branco and i were teaching was baptised. Élder Asto got in the water for the first time, it was such a spiritual baptimal reunion. one more family for the Vila Saint Luis Ward!!!

My comp is going home :´( i love him!!!! its been pretty tough saying goodbye, tons of laughs and some great spiritual growth. my trainer dying off this week as well... weird! but i have some good news.... Élder B Carvalho is my companion again!! He was my second companion in the field. hes a crazy kid from the north, way hard worker and has a huge love for others. i´m really looking forward to my work with him! well me time is short, i´ll be sure to fill you guys in with more details next week. Eu vos amo!!!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

Week Fifty Four and 1/2

"this week was filled with blessings! Im writing this letter today because yesterday i was renewing my visa... that woke me up as to how much time i have left! i plan to use every minute of it well. Im short on time but i´ll do my best!

 

there was a family baptised this week. The parents aren´t married but 6 of their children were able to! they ranged from 10 to 18 in age, what a blessing to see so many come to christ! its amazing how much i was able to learn from these children, they understand the doctrine better than perhaps any of the investigators i´ve seen. the two oldest, Rodrigo and Rodolfo, are starting thier preparations for a mission. their parents are working to marriage as well, here the process is pretty tricky so keep your fingers crossed!

 

Irsael, 17 yr old young man was baptised as well. nothaving many role models as child, its amazing how he looks up to us as missionaries. i have no doubts that he is prepared sprirtually for a mission as well.

 

Miracles are happening here in rio. but theres so much more to do!! Robert C Gay visited some of the siants here in Rio this past week. I wasnt able to attend but this is what he started his talk with,"If Christ were to be in this moment, he would say this,'Where are your brothers and sisters?'" he has agreat point, there are so many inactives here. if even half the members were active, we would have had a temple ten years ago. We´re now planning and impleneting a huge reavtivation force in our ward. we visited dozens of names on sunday as a combined ward effort, and we´re doing it again and more untill all of Christs sheep are back in his fold! its incredible how many have left because of silly disputes and big egos. our first focus is to teach the doctrine of christ, because they have almost all forgotten what it is and how to apply it! it requires a lot of faith to reactivate but we´re putting our shoulders to the wheel!

 

Elder Gay left us on an inspiring note, that we were literally preparing the coming of Christ here in Rio. LITERAL. What an exciting work and great responsibility. I love rio, and in so excited for the able brings the blessings of a temple to this city. Hearts and doors are opening for us. only miracles ahead!!!

 

Com Amor, Élder Hansen"

Week Fifty-Five

"I believe in Christ!! that testimony never ceases to grow within me. Im so grateful that he has saved me so many times, and his endless mercy continues to stretch out towards me and the sons of God here in Vila São Luis. Miracles happened this week. I know that i wasnt worthy of them but how grateful i am for them!

This week we completed a family!! Tiago joined his wife Bia in the church, entering into the waters of baptism. They have a little son named Kauã, who has the personality of a little choate!! I love this family to pieces. his conversion was incredible! over this last transfer Élder Branco and i have been working with Tiago to aline himself with the standards of the church. with diligence and patience he was able to confide in Christ to prepare himself for baptism, so when we invited Tiago to make a covenant, he readily accepted. when we returned, however, he was very unsure about the baptism. His father is coming into town this week, and they have the habit of sitting down to have a drink to pass their time. Not wanting to dissapoint his father, he didnt know if he could follow up with the commitment to follow Christ. We felt inspired to open up to first nephi where the legend says "i will go and i will do..." interesting thing about that story is when he was ordered to kill laban. Suddenly Nephi´s conviction falters to keep his commitment to the lord. We explained to Tiago that he like nephi had the conviction to follow the lord when he accepted his baptism date. he then like nephi ran into a trail of faith. It wasnt easy for Nephi to follow the lord in that moment, but he did it and was immensely blessed, we felt inspired to promise Tiago similar blessings according to his faith. Tiago gained the courage to call his father and tell him that he no longer drinks, and this was the fathers reply,"well, if my son doesn´t drink, then neither do I!" What a miracle!! 

Tiago wanted it to be a quiet affair, so we then rounded up his close friends and family for the baptism... at 10:30 at night! Many missionaries would go crazy to be out of bed at this hour, but it was a testimony to me that missionaries need to stop being pharisees adoring thier handbooks and start serving Christ. Christ commanded us to baptise, not to pass numbers and pass time. once we open our eyes to the work and glory of God, baptisms flow! I may say this almost every time but it was one of the most spiritual baptism i´ve seen. He´s been fighting for this baptism for three years now, im so glad to glad to see this miracle come to pass. what a humbling experience. Im getting to know Christ here in rio!! 

Our missions dividing this next week. Because i was transfered i´ll be staying here in Rio. But so much is changing and the work is evloving so quickly that im looking forward to finish out my mission here. We´re here establishing the temple´s foundation. we´ve been called to be masons, and these families are paving the path to eternal blessings for all saints here in this city of God. More miracles to come!!

PS I was talking to Élder Asto last night in my sleep... IN SPANISH!!!!!! wop wop!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

Week Fifty-Four

"this week was crazy! Élder Branco and i have been putting all of our hearts into this thing, and we´ve been seeing the results! we have a list of 40 PROGRESSING FAMILIES. 40. We´ve bitten off more than we can chew. so what happens? we kneel down and the the lord for an answer. and he answers!! the president calls us the next day and asks,"what do you guys think about two more elders in your area?" what a miracle!

the two new elders are Élder Stinnett and Élder Asto. Stinnetts a little machine, he was pumping out tons of results in his other area so now he´s training! Élder Asto is Peruvian, he´s got only a week here in Rio! he comes up to about my thigh but he´s a spiritual giant. Dont know if you´ll believe me, but he knows Élder Wariner!!! he used to splits with matt when he was deciding on whether or not he wanted to serve. theyre really helping us out with the workload! its pretty fun living with three other missionaries, theres always something rediculous going on! we´re really working on our hours, its been pretty hard getting to bed/getting to personal study on time...

This weeks been slow because of the changes here in our area. ive spent the week showing the area to my friend Élder Asto. his portuguese is pretty good despite the fact that he´s new. we are however setting ourselves up for much sucess!!

one of our progressing investigators is Daniela and Vilma. theyre hilarious! such great people o be around. Vilma´s son was robbed and murdered a few years back(something very common here in rio...) and its very clear how it has affected her. shes such a sweet lady. the plan of salvation is helping her a ton. Her daughter Daniela is so ready to be baptised, but Vilma is a bit reluctant, we´re needing to help build her faith! theyre baptismal date is for the 23, but lets see if we can get them into the water before then!!

theres tons of other progressing investigators in our teaching pool at the moment(40 FAMILIES), and i love each and every one of them. my capacity to love increases daily! it truely is a gift from god. im so excited to see the miracles this week has to offer!!!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

Week Fifty-Three: 

"Vila São Luis!! heres how i feel- while having hakuna matata out in the country, Rio calls to me, "you have forgotten who you are, and so you have forgotten me." its time to come home to rio!! i loved the vacation out in Resende, but im back to my roots now and im loving it!!

my companion Élder Branco is from Florianópolis in Southern Brasil. this Elder is a baptisimal machine!! Ive never seen someone teach so efficiently. he gets on the level of the investigator and decifers their needs with the spirit. its incredible!! im learning a ton from him. the poor guy has come 5 weeks left in the mission... yes i will be killing him off it seems. but ive never seen someone so focused! not once has he talked about home, which is rare for someone whose one their last legs of the mission. but at the same time, ive never laughed so much in my life!! hes soooo funny, my throat usually hurts in the morning from laughing so hard... hes balanced though, we work hard, laugh hard, and baptise!!

Vila São Luis is a neighborhood in Caxias(pronuonced cash-ee-ash). its pretty close to nilópolis!! ive seen a couple of buses passing in that direction. its a temptation to grab one of these pdays... this area has alot of the same elements as my first area. theres some pretty sketchy areas but we stay in the nicer neighborhoods. our house is on top of the only hill in our area, we´ve got a pretty sweet set up! theres a great view of the ocean the cristo redentor and sugarloaf mountain. as well its the nicest house ive seen so far for missionaries here. the ward is incredilbe!! its the reception ive ever had on the mission, the barbecued to celebrate my arrival. our bishop is hilarious, first time i met him, he said,"oh, i was looking for you guys in the baptismal font... you guys have towels with you?" he´s pretty crazy for baptisms! the rest of the ward is as well. we´ve got some incredible investigators lined up for baptism, i´ll be sure to fill you guys in about them next week!

I figured out that Álvaro, my first baptism in Nilópolis and good friend of mine, died of a heart attack this week. pretty humbling, it felt strange to know that he´s in a different place. his wife Oneida(who took forever to be baptised) has parkinsons disease and wont be able to take care of herself. i dont know what she´ll do. please keep her in your prayers. i took the time to read alma 40 which is such a inspiring chapter, especially verse 12. its so good to know that death is not the end!

well back to work. ive got a tample to build!! miracles to follow. Cristo é meu Redentor!!

Com fé, Élder Hansen"

Week Fifty-Two:

im happy to announce that we´ll be baptising four people this coming week!! we have no truely fixed baptism dates, but im that certain that the Lord will come through for us if we are faithful to him. the Lord revealed to us that if we give EVERYTHING we are into the work this week, that we´ll be blessed with 4 baptisms. Im so grateful for the chance to follow up with this goal; i know its going to happen!

theres been such a change of pace in our mission. due to the temple announcement, mission split, and all of these newly arriving missionaries, we really are ´´catching the wave,`` of missionary work, just as Elder Russel M Nelson invited. Miralce really are happeneing in our area, i´ll share a few!

Lorenço- an older man who´s in his 50´s, but looks like hes in his 80´s due to an addiction he has to cigarettes. the man probably wieghts as much as my leg, ive never seen someone so unhealthy looking and so dependant on smoking. he smokes at least 4 packs a day, and does literally nothing else other than sleep and eat. a really sad case, and i doubted at first if would honsetly help him. but as we started teaching, he showed a huge desire to improve. even through he´s lives a fair distance away, we´ve been passing by everyday to give him the support that his family has never provided. its been really hard to love him, but its incredible how the Lord has allowed my heart to open up for this lost sheep. the week passed, and yesterday we got him down to just 5 cigarettes!! i couldnt really believe it, but he´s quickly turning into a man with more energy and more light in his eyes, its incredible what the gospel can do!! he loved church, the members were so loving and supportive to him. i hope to see him in the waters next sunday, pray that he throws of this addiction for good!!

SOOO many more miracles to relate nut unfortunately im out of time. in short, my companion and i are being immensly blessed. reminf me to tell you guys about Lais and Ivône next week. tiao tiao!!!"

Week Fifty-One

"Hmmmm. not much sucess this week, though i feel as if ive grown alot. My connection with the spirit is strengthening a ton, and that can only mean that miracles are up ahead! 

This week we went to Juiz de Fora for a Zone conference. i met up with Élder S Santos which was great, but more importantly i recieved many councils and personal revelation. many lives lessons were put into perspective for me, and i am so glad that im gaining all the tools necessary now to have a sucessfull mission and a happy ever after when i return! im so grateful to serve. my heart turns more towards the lord every day!

i was greatly blessed to talk to to my family on sunday. what a great 40 minutes! its amazing how such a few minutes could have such a positive effect on someone. i would like to say publically FELIZ DIA DAS MÃES PARA TODAS ELAS! but in specifically to my mother, thanks for everything you´ve done for me! my gratetude cannot be spoken, i hope that it can be shown through diligent missionary service.

I would also like to praise my sis lydia. our president asked us to only speak to our parents in our skype call, and i was fearing that she may be offended at the request to only speak to mom and dad. but Lyd was a champ and was very patient with me and my desire to keep the mission rules and the spirit with me. thank you for being understanding and for helping me to keep strong. LOVE YOU LYD!

as for the work, we´re going back to the basics. it feels off not having sucess after a good string of baptisms, but that just goes to show that the Lord expects us to progress. I so animated about this work, its really the only thing i know! My comp is great and im sure we´ll be able to report more miracles as we submit ourselves to the lord.

eu amo todos vós!! com grande amor em meu coração, Élder Hansen"

Week Fifty

"Short letter this week. lots of repentance, tons of growth. a man named Gean was baptised this sunday. his testimony is huge, he´ll fight against anyone for the church, including his mother. it was incredible to see a man wrapped up in the things of the world throw it all away and reach for something better. another sheep brought back to the fold!

This week i´ll be going in to Juiz de Fora, looks more and more like i´ll be here to open up this mission, im so excited for it! but if i stay in rio i´ll be happy too :) i love serving the lord!

Élder Hansen"

Week Forty-Eight and Forty-Nine

Forty-Nine:

"This week was filled with ups, downs, and tons of individual growth! I´ll start with the sweet first-

we had another baptism! Another soul for christ. his name is John Lennon.... really!! he went to church last week and explianed to us that he had been previously involved with the church and really wanted to become part of this work... how easy is that?! its incredible how god´s eleites are manifesting themselves here in rio. anyways the lessons went great, his only trouble was recieving an answer that everything we were teaching was ture. He felt it, but just didn´t know it! So i invited him to pray in that very moment to see if it was true, and promised him he would get the answer he was looking for! he started to pray, saying the words,´´please let me know father if this work is true...`` huge pause. the spirit was palpable. he then spoke, saying with an uncertain voice´´i felt something... someone touched me!`` we were not alone in that room. I felt impressed to tell him members of his family on the other side of the veil are waiting for him to be baptised, and how theyre doing everything they can within eternal laws to help you! i explained vicarious odrinances and how as a member he could bless his heritage with saving convenants. he was pretty blown away, and insisted on being baptised! his member girlfriend came out from rio(shes actaully from my first area, Nilópolis!!) and was tearfully astonished in John´s progress. With plans to serve a mission, she´ll wait for him as he touches the lives of thousands! Im that confident in him, he is a spiritual giant in a wavering world.

The new Sisters in Itatiaia are doing absolute work. Theyre Champions!! Sister Gordons form Arizona and Sister Ribeiro is from Curitiba; theyre working great together! we helped them settle in to their new area this week, im really gonna miss serving in this part of the kingdom. the members are so golden!! theyre ready for them with meny refrences lunch appoinments and family nights scheduled. i know jealousy is a sin but im full of it!!

But as i said, this week wasnt the easiest. as a companionship, we had an inspired goal to have four baptisms this month. we felt short of that goal, meaning that someone that could have been baptised, wasn´t. We worked extremely hard this week trying to achieve that goal, but everything fell through. we fasted, prayed and put our ALL into the work this week. Our golden family Débora and Fernando haven´t been living up to all that i expected, and we were forced to cut many other precious investigators. it was hard to accept that because of a fault on my effort, someone is still lost looking for the truth. Im truely looking for repentance, but for now the hardest part is accepting the lords will and continuing firm in the work. God has a plan for every one of us, i just hope to be a purer vessel so i can aline myself with that plan. im really searching for the spirits guidance, that way i can know with an assurity that im doing my part!

Spiritual message- MORÔNI 7!!! ive really been studying the relationship and importance of faith, hope and charity. go and read it to see what im talking about!! i learned and grew a ton!!

Forty Eight:

TRANSFERS!!! but we´re staying for once... five more weeks with Élder Meeks! Really loving this companionship, hes a HUGE thinker which helps a lot with the work, and makes for a good conversation as well! we´re all ready to continue strong with the work.

good news- Itatiaia has missionaries now! a sister companionship is arriving here tomorrow, im really excited to work with them! I havent had any connection with the sisters here in the mission untill now, so it should throw a new dinamic on things! Im sooo happy for the saints in Itatiaia, they´re really needing the blessings that come through respresentatives of Christ. it would have been nice to open up the area, but its all according to the will of the lord; they have my full support! im excited to see how many baptisms will come from their efforts.

speaking of baptisms, we had a baptism!!! Simão took that step of faith, it was such an incredible event! it was so incredible of see that after these few months, all of the family has entered into the water. Simão was asked up stand up in front of the congregation during sacrament meeting and bear his testimony, we has incredilby nervous beforehand, but we promised him that bearing his testimony would not only help his own testimony grow, but the testimonies of eveyone present as well! it was so powerful to hear the conviction in his voice as he testified of Christ´s ressurection, Josephs validity and the book of mormon´s fullness of truth. Ive never seen an investigator so prepared! he´s a great example to me, he´s overcome so many obstacles for these blessings!

We´re really gonna have to run if we want to get Débora and Fernando to be baptised this week. Theyre more than ready, theyre just never home! Work work work. how lame! but hopefully you´ll hear the good news next week!

Thanks a ton to everyone who took up the book of mormon challenge this week, i was really surpised by the amount of responses, as well as the revelations within them!! For those who didnt have a chance, the teacher i still accepting late homework :P

Im soooo happy being a servant of Christ. i feel so... usefull! ive been blessed beyond all measure with these baptisms here in Resende. Two solid families with plans to be sealed in the temple, this is what this work is all about!! Im not sure if ive been quite worthy of all of these blessings, but im humbled by them and am grateful to be part of this great work! Im so glad to be here for at least one more tansfer, many miracles are ahead!! Vamos para a Vitória!!!!!!

Élder Hansen"

Week Forty-Seven

"emergency transfer.... DE NOVO?! our mission pres. must have been so excited about the temple announcement that he felt it necessary to switch everyone up in the middle of the transfer. My Argentinian is gone, along with my dreams of learning some spanish... yo estoy mucho triste!!!! i really was upset about it though, Élder D Ferreyra was a great comp. But luckily im still here in Resende, and ive got an american with me! breaking the 5 companion steak of south americans. His names Élder Meeks(Élder Mansa em Português), and the title fits the description: he´s really meek!!! He´s from St Charles, IL!!! He´s been through Naperville a few times so that was cool to hear! He´s a really great guy though. we work hard and play hard, its great to have a comp from the red white and blue for a change!!


This week was amazing. Im still on a ´´temple high,`` and its contagious!! We´ve had tons of sucesses this week-

Simão- is getting ready to be baptised!! He´s got some big goals in front of him week, he has some things he´s got to straighten out but ive never seen anyone with such faith!! Im really excited for the baptism, after baptizing his mom and sister(Iracele and Maria Luisa), we´ll have completed the family! Sure theres no dad in the picture, buit they´re a strong family unit who are praparing for the temple already! Miracles happen through families. 

Octávio- a miralce contact!! I contacted him in the street with Élder S Santos in the street about a month back. He´s a 15 yr old kid who doesnt believe in god but showed huge interest in our message. only he live in another area so i passed the reference hoping the other elders would pick it up where i left off... well last week he showed up at general conference!!  He ended up assisting the two sunday sessions and a replay of the preisthood meeting, at the end he asked what he could do to be a missionary!!!! turns out the other elders ´´forgot`` about the reference, but at least we were able to regain contact with him! Hes been going to all of the activities and i hear the lessons are going well... i just wish i could be more involved!! He truely is an eleite though and im so excited for him!!

Débora and Fernando- One of the greatest couples i´ve ever met! Fernandos a lot like ben, hes great looking, loves a joke, and works well with his hands. Débora is an angel, very supportive and together they´re a dream team! Only in their early 30´s, they just moved o resende taking a step of faith to look for work. they miraculously found two jobs in the first 3 days! then they ran into us, and just happens to be that they were looking actively for another church to attend. looks like God blesses the faithfull!! Theyre gobbling up the lessons and loved sacrament meeting. they even took pictures in front of the church, telling us they plan on coming back every week!! We have a baptism date set for them, all we gotta do is follow up! i LOVE working with families, they´re the foundation of temples!!!!!

Scpritural challenge- everyone thats reading this, read chapter of the book of mormon this week, and then write me to let me know what you learned, felt, and thought about it!!!!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

Week Forty-Six

"April 6th, 2013

This date will go down as one of the most significant and happiest days of my life. On Saturday, my dream, my focus, my goal, and my only humble but faithful wish was granted. Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Prophet, Seer, and Revelator on the earth today announced the construction of a Tample here in Rio de Janeiro.

Words cannot describe the emotions that were felt that day. When announced, the best way that i can describe what happened is like this- everyone exploded!! Revence was unfortunately thrown out the window as everyone assissting the General Conference jumped to thier feet. The spirit of God was poured onto us as we laughed, cired, hugged and kissed; celebrating together and praising god in union. No film, no poet, and no explanation from man could have described the elevated atmosphere, because thats what it truely was; elevated! Ive never felt such powerful emotion in my life, because it didnt come form me, it was a direct gift from god.

I mark it as one of the greatest days because im starting to understand the importance of temples. The Saints here understand its importance as well! A temple is lilterally a house of the Lord. He abides in them physically as well as his Holy Spirit. Saving Ordinances done in the temple do just what they imply; SAVE!! Save us from the darkness here on earth and help us prepare to return to God. We may save others as well through Vicarious works and missionary efforts. I know that to be true, and my testimony stands along with thousands of other saints here in rio.

It means so much to me that God sees fit to bless the saints here with these blessings. I have been so blessed by his love!! i feel as if every prayer, every step, contact, every lesson, every rejection and every sucess over this past year has meant something. rejections are hard; literally being spit upon and casted out with threatenings of murder is not an easy thing to recieve, but as Jeffery R. Holland said,´´It was NEVER east for Christ, why should it be easy for us as his servants?`` Every step has been hard. But i have grwon so much from it. Every effort of mine here in rio has gone towards something so much bigger than me; a joint effort of member and missionary to place a house of the Lord here in this part of Zion. Thousands will be saved. Thats what temples do. Im just so grateful to have been a part of the work required. Im humbled to know that the Lord blesses his servants. I never could have counted the hardships ive come across down here, but i´ll NEVER be able to count the blessings ive recieved!!!!

The work, however is just beginning. Now is the time to redouble the efforts. Already the Lord is quickening the work here. Flávia was baptised!! And what a special reunion that was. the youth welcomed her with arms of love. the room was filled to the brim with attendants. Shes such a special Child of God. Her funny personality and Charisma will be a great addition to the ward. many more ´´eleites`` and revealing themselves at this time, theres not enough room to recieve these blessings from my most merciful and loving God!!

In short, my overall reaction to the announcement was peace. I cried without shame as i rejoiced with these saints. Quintin L Cook hit it right on the nail in his talk. peace can be found in this world, we just have to create it!! I feel so much peace in this moment, knowing that God is our heavenly father and that he has a perfect and infinite love for me. Im so glad i get to share this love with others!!! I John 3:11-our message is love... share it with everyone!

Spiritual Thought- my sister asked me some pretty good questions so I thought my answers will suffice for this week!

1) Why do you think its so important to know about and have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel?

its important to have a testimony of the restauration of the gospel because besides the atonement of Christ, it is the most important event that has ever taken place on the face and in the history of the earth. What good is the atonement if we have no knowledge of it? Christ clarified that knowledge to all of his special witnesses, the prophets, including Joseph Smith! God revealing himself and his son to Joseph Smith not only clears up a thousand years of discussion about the doctrine of the Trinity, but testifies as well that our god is still a loving god. He didnt just love his disciples in Jerusalem, but loves each and every one of us. Through Joseph Smith, Christ revealed true doctrine of salvation. He talked with god face to face as did moses, reminding the world that the lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Sacred ordinances were restored, through temples we can save EVERYONE that has not had the chance to hear the words of Christ. Shouldn´t that be important to know? I think so! :)

2)How has this knowledge effected investigators you have taught?

This knoweldge of the Restauration has had a huge impact on the people ive come in contact with down here in Rio. It has brightened the hope, knowlegde and faith within all the hearts that are willing to recieve the words of Christ. It has bettered the lives of many who already had faith in Christ, the knowledge and faith we have give a sturdy foundation to the unstable faith of other Christians. This isn´t just another church with another doctine. This is CHRISTS church with CHRISTS name and CHRISTS doctrine(and then people say we aren´t Christians....). Having knowledge and being part of The Church of Jesus Christ brings all the blessings promised by god to his children, including Imortallity and eternal life! Like dad worte in his last letter to me, the resauration is,´´like a font of sorely needed waters to distressed travelers on the face of the earth. They are parched, wanting for relief, but not for liquids but for Living Waters.``people want to know about that God still loves them they just dont know how to figure out!! We are the meesangers of the restauration, and when we share our knowledge, faith is increased, knowledge is expanded, lives are turned around, families are united and the god blesses beyond measure!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen

Week Forty-Five

"Emergency Transfers!! These keep on catching me off guard. Élder S. Santos got shipped out to Juiz de Fora(which just happens to be a future mission so i dont know if i´ll be seeing him for a while...) but in return Im here with my new comp... Élder Ferryra! An Argentinian! He´s actually from my group(meaning we arrived here in Rio at the same time), so i know him really well! When i was in Nilópolis he was in the neighboring city Nova Iguaçu, so we did splits almost every week!

Im really excited about my work with Élder Ferryra. Apparently he was having some companionship problems which surpirsed me because i think he´s an excellent missionary(it was probably one of those brazilian/argentinian feuds, the poor argentinian missionaries get bashed on a lot here). He´s a workaholic and probably the most humble missionary on the mission. oh and he´s teaching me spanish too, yo estoy aprendiendo muchas cosas en español! He gave me a fresh copy of Preach my Gospel in spanish and im going to grab a spanish book of Mormon the next time im in rio... whatchu know bout speaking three languages?!

One reason we´re working together though is because next transfer they´re putting in missionaries in the Itatiaia branch!! SOOO excitedd! i really hope i get to open the area up, its absoultely beuatiful there and the members are always so loving. Itatiaia is really needing missionaries, they´ve been passing references like crazy to show our mission president that theyre ready for us. its all up to the will of the Lord, but if get to open up the area i´ll the luckiest missionary out here! but in the meantime we´re really working with the members to get to know the area, members, and small numbers of potential investigators better, miracles are just ready to happen here!

uunfortunately we only had only three days of the week to work in our area because of the emergancy transfer, so we´re having to revisit a lot of our investigators. we held an ´´open house`` with some members at the chapel the day after we got back... what a huge sucess!!! i knocked out almost all my number records(175 contacts, 14 lessons with member, 10 new investigators and 4 new families... all in one day!). It felt great to get that Hansen work ethic pumping through me after three days of travel, and we´ve made up for all the days we lost through working with members and raw diligence.... hurah for Israel!

Quick update on investigators-
Flávia- wan´t baptised because of our lack of follow up this week. I felt pretty bad about it, but on the other hand, its hard to follow up when we´re not in the area! But the good news is that we marked the date for this sunday, it´ll be good for her because its planned in between the conference sessions, so there´ll be a lot of support from the ward!

Leila and Lana- cant remember if i´ve talked about them, but they are mother and daughter who´ve been attending church for about a month now. Theyre ready to be baptised, we just to get around to the invite! Its not like me to leave an investigator with at least a goal to be baptised, baptism is a sacred convenant and not to be ignored while teaching! the only barrier is theyre relationship with one another. theyre not very good at communicating as a family so we´re constantly teaching them how to get along, but we need to focus on the Doctrine of Christ! its the answer to all problems. hopefully they´ll be baptised at the conference as well!

Luisa- a great new investigator we picked up this week! A reference and friend of a member, Luisa is a very Spiritually receptive woman who questions EVERYTHING, like Thomas Jefferson, she questions with boldness!! My comp and i felt inspired that we were not to teach the restauration in our first contact with her, and that she was needing to hear something else. We began by teaching the Plan of Salvation, to reveal that she has some deep doubts about everything christianity has taught her. With the spirit beside us, we were able to carefully explain how God´s plan of love is real. She questioned us at every corner, but the spirit was so strong that her doubts were satisfied and her fears were calmed through his gentle caress. She´s progressing quickly and is such a blessing to teach! it was probably one of the most spiritul lessons ive had on the mission so far.

i absolutely love the plan of salvation! By far my favorite lesson, it explains the WHY of missionary work. If it weren´t for the plan of happiness there would be no need for Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, the Bible or even religion for that matter! The Plan of Salvation gives us hope for something better, and gives me great drive as a missionary to do more!! More contacts. More lessons. More baptisms. More people coming to Christ!!!!


PS happy easter everyone! i hope everyone gets to watch general conference, even if you´re not a member! the words of the prophet are for EVERYONE, not just members of the church.... invite all of your friends to attend!!"

-Elder Kelland Hansen