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