Last Email! 01/26/15 Farewell Philippines!

Dear World,

So for those who now know...I'm coming home in a few days. I personally dont like emailing especially long emails but I'm going to this time for my mom!:) First things first the mission was crazy fast and the best time of my life. I grew to be a man of Christ here in the Philippines and I'm still growing and striving to become like him. You never really can bring yourself to the point of change unless you try. If you dont go out and serve others look at your past mistakes and change them we will never learn. PMG (Preach My Gospel manual) really helped me to understand that repentance and conversion is an everyday experience. You cant just one day say you are now converted to the gospel or you have now repented and dont need to do it again, but everyday we need to find the Savior and strive to become like him. I cant wrap my head around the fact that I will be seeing those who are back at home and the fact that I wont be seeing the people of the Philippines anymore. I remember being brand new in the misson and looking at people who almost had a year in the mission and I just thought they were amazing missionaries, but now I look at the new missionaries and I think that exact same thing. I love what our mission president says that "we have all come a long way from our snug little cribs" its so true. We dont know where people have started out at or what their situations were or are in life but we see the Light in them. I love looking at little kids. The veil is so thin with them. Its like you are almost looking into heaven. That is one thing that Christ wants for us. In order to enter into the kingdom we must become as little children. HUMBLE MEEK and ready to be taught. We need to basically ilayo our selves from the world. That can be hard to do. But I have seen that in myself and in others. I am so excited to continue this work at my home and well wherever I may end up. Life couldnt be any happier. This has been the Hardest hottest most exhausting 2 years of my life, but it has also been the most rewarding, exciting, and treasured experience of my entire life. Like they say I'm going home but not going back. I'm not going back to my old self but I'm coming home a new person. A person who is striving for perfection and now relying upon the merits of Jesus Christ. "for we are saved by grace AFTER all that we can do" I have put that scripture to use in my life and I love it so much. I dont know quite else what to say but I love this chuch. I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet who was chosen to restore this gospel. I know that the priesthood power of God is real I feel it everyday and I felt it when I was sealed to my parents. This is His chruch and He is who guides it. I know I was called by a living prophet through revelation to serve here in the Philippines under the direction of President Monahan. I learned more than I can type in an hour limit so I guess this is where I will stop.  But I love you all so much. Thank you for the prayers and for your support to me while I went through my ups and downs! I will really miss the Philippines but I can say without a doubt that I gave it my all here and I will never regret my decision to serve a mission for the True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

with love,

Elder Hansen

A Missionary Tradition

The Burning of an old Shirt!

1/19/15 Last week of Mission...

Mom thanks for a great email I will make sure I let them know that you said those things! II asked him to tell his companion and President Monahan and Sister Monahan that I appreciate their sacrifice and service),  as for me here in Philippines things are going great! It's weird to be honest that I go home in basically a week. It still doesnt seem real.. I just know that I need to work hard until the very end so that I can please Him. No one wants a missionary who doesnt have the drive to finish his mission faithfully. This week we did a lot of finding and found a really sweet investigator. Her name is sis. a. We talked to her one night on the street, I guess she saw us next door and she wanted us to teach her back then but was shy so she didnt talk to us...Our first lesson with her she really felt the spirit and is really willing to follow Jesus Christ. They also have a tryke so they wont have a hard time going to church and they could be a big help in that area once they are members! Sister L will be getting baptized on Feb. 14, 2015 and we are very excited for her. Her daughter is undergoing surgery right now so please pray for them. President just told me in his email to tell you "thank you for a great son and missionary" its true. Thank you mom for raising me to be a man of good standards and to have a backbone. I'm so glad I never really gave into temptation back then. I know its because of your loving guidance!:) I'm very excited to give you a great big hug and I hope youre excited as well. I miss and love you mom I'm going to work very hard this last week I promise I wont go down without a fight. haha I will return with honor and I promise I served with honor! This mission changed my life. Anyway I love ya mom and I hope you have a great week

nagmamahal,

 

Elder Hansen

 

So this is my last full week here in the field. I will write a good email to everyone next week but to be honest I'm really lazy with emails now a days! I just want all of you to know that I'm very happy right now but very scared to leave this place....I'm scared of Americans now....haha I will be very shocked seeing all of these Americans in one place hahaha I love you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year! 2015 and 2 Weeks left on mission

01/12/15

 

 

Mom that sounds horrible about you getting sick...I'm sorry about that.  I'm glad that you are all doing great at home and that sounds like an awesome idea about praying for those things specifically, (we told him about praying for dates and people to have the missionaries teach) it is very true about what president said that missionaries pray all the time. Like we pray a lot haha I have gained a testimony of prayer here in the mission. To be honest I wasnt the most active kid in the gospel before the mission, and I regret that but now that I have changed I will just keep moving forward.  To be honest I am excited to come home as well but im not trunky and it doesnt effect my work here. I actually dont feel like im going home in two weeks.... it literally doesnt sound real when I say that. It seems impossible that I go home in two weeks.....our investigators are doing okay here we still dont have anyone progressing towards baptism but we will just keep working hard and it will happen. The sacrament attendance has increased the past weeks that I have been here. It has gone from 90s to now 146!!! So we are way pumped about what is happening there!

I have a great gift for all of you when I get home and I hope you cherish it forever . But I'm not going to tell you what it is until I get home!! Its something that you will be able to use forever. I don't know what else to talk about except for the fact that on sat night while we were sleeping there was an earthquake!! haha I was asleep and it woke me up but I was still half asleep and didnt realize what was going on and then I finally noticed that my bed was moving back and forth and I didnt understand why. The thought popped into my head that it was an evil spirit hahahaha but then I fell back to sleep. I thought it was just a dream until someone else was like did you guys feel that lindol last night?? and I was like what?? There was one pala? hahah and they were like yeah. No damage or anything but just a cool little story for you all! Have a great week and dont miss me too much!!

love,

Elder Hansen

 

(I love how he all of a sudden throws out a Tagalog word here and there!)

 

 

Happy New Year to all of you back at home!! I'm sure you all had a blast. We had a good time as well here in Aguilar. members treated us really well and the work went pretty good.  President emailed me and said that he pulled out the baseball ornament and said that he is excited to hang that up on a real tree next year. (We sent him a Baseball Christmas ornament that Riley signed as they have that in common) I love the Monahans so much.  The little choices change our lives. That is one thing I learned here in the mission. The Lord expects us to decide for ourselves and to chose the right. We should not have to be told to do all things but should be anxiously engaged. The work was good this week we had the E family go to church and we are working with our branch president on how we can help bro. X with his drinking problem.

The members,  I really like here. They are very nice to me and supportive of the work. I'm so excited though to go to the temple again! It has been so long since I have been there!!! I dont know why but I feel drawn to the temple right now and I miss it like crazy!

Thank you all for being such great examples to me my whole life. I am excited to be my brother's friends when I get back. I love you guys and miss you all but we will see each other soon

Love Elder Hansen

 

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD

Happy New Year! 12/28/14

Yeah Devin went on a mission and everything so that is way cool!!! (His friend Devin just got engaged)  Tell him I'm way pumped for him!

I LOVED THAT VIDEO OF BETTY!! haha she still seems the exact same! She can still bring joy to anyones heart.  ( I sent a video of our dog on Christmas morning opening her own presents!) I'm glad you had a great Christmas! I also loved our skype call for one it didnt make me trunky at all which usually happens to others on their last call home so im grateful that we kept the convo on a positive side about uplifting things! It seems that you are all doing really well at home and are successful! 

Here in Aguilar of course things are going good as well. Our IBD has been in Malasiqui for the past week and a half so we haven't been able to teach them....We have to extend their IBDS so I wont be there for it now. It doesn't matter though!!! I will continue to find and do the best I can for this next month up until the very end!! I have to if my wife is going to be attractive! just kiddin hahah We are doing some good finding and members are really helping out right now with the work. We hope that they will keep it up! I cant believe its going to be 2015 now ! How can time go by that fast? Did it seem fast to you all as well? I'm sure that it didn't for you mom cause you have been waiting for me to come home now for 2 yrs haha I want to give you a heads up that my last email home wont be anything special....not like some going home testimony or anything like that just to warn you all....haha I'm excited for the week because we will be able go and  do a lot of finding and teaching!! I'm starting to turn into a Filipino when I speak English....or Taglish I was telling members that I skyped home with you and to do that you would say "nakipagskype ako sa family ko" if you notice skype is in the sentence right? but the way I pronounced it was "skip"....I dont know if that would be funny to you but that is really funny here hahahahhahahah I love you guys and im grateful for the wonderful season here in the Philippines!!

nagmamahal,

E

lder Hansen

Merry Christmas! 2014

Elder Hansen has been transferred to a new area, new companion and new assignment.

Dear Mom and Dad,

So yes I did receive your long letter mom and it was amazing!! Thank you so much for all the things you said to me! It really helped boost my spirits a lot. I was a little nervous to go and open an area but I'm here in Aguilar again haha so I will spend my second Christmas and new year in the same house! I went to the other branch though so I will get to know all of Aguilar before I go home! haha Its pretty funny that I'm back. We have 2 IBDS right now that we extended yesterday. Its a part member family! The Mendoza family and they are really nice! My companions name is Elder Raguin. He is from Occidental Minduro he does speak Tagalog. He is really nice and way diligent and excited to work! I won't have a hard time training him. Thank you as well for the advice on training him. It will help me alot. I just need to love the opportunity you know? I hope you have a great time at the lights and what not! That will be way fun visiting Temple square. I miss that place now...I used to complain about going there haha sorry. So if we are going to skype it will be like 11 am for me here I don't know what time at night that is for you. I don't really have the ability to figure that out but I think you can figure it out using computers and what not there ....but it will be Christmas night for you guys and the 26th for me here. I'm really excited to skype home for the last time but we are only alotted 45 min. but that doesn't matter cause I will be seeing you like a month after that...haha things are going good here and I'm not trunky at all. I don't plan on it either. I just pray for the help every day. I didn't make the fudge sorry mom. (I sent hime a fudge kit in his package) Dad, I loved that story about the choir hahahahahahahaha( Darinb and I went up to sing in sacrament meeting, when we thought it was the youth and leaders, turn.  The choir thought it was their turn, so Darin decided to just join them and fake it like he belonged!) you will sing a solo for my homecoming is that okay? haha I think that would be a really great way for you to feel the spirit even more in your life!Especially singing hymns!! Such an awesome idea! I hope you have the best Christmas ever even though I wont be home for it that doesn't matter. Just know that I am out serving the Lord and helping other people know the real reason why we have Christmas!! I'm excited to bless the lives of others here in Aguilar. I will just get on and email you guys before I make the skype call. That would work right? okay anyway I love you guys so much have a great holiday season\Love Elder Hansen

Group Email

So this will be a super long email....hah not. I'm sorry but I just hate emailing now. training is amazing and I love my comp. elder Raguin! he is way good at teaching and very diligent in the work. He still has the MTC spirit to help me through these last weeks!! anyways I love you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!!

I'm here in Aguilar 2b if any of you remember  a year ago I was in Aguilar 1st so I'm back in my same apartment for my last Christmas haha what a coincidence right? 

love, 

Elder Hansen

 

(We spoke to Elder Hansen Christmas night, which was December 26th for him, for about 45 minutes.  He had become sick from eating some bad food on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day sick at his stomach.  But he was feeling better when we talked to him and was getting ready to go to their branch Christmas party.  He was still smiling and happy!  I love that boy!)

 

 

12/15/14 6 weeks left!

Elder Hansen has written mostly personal emails this last couple weeks, so I have not shared them.  However, he is doing great and loving the mission.  He informed us that he is going to be released as an Assistant to President Monahan on December 19th and will become a trainer in a different area!  He has loved assisting  the President and working with the missionaries.  But he is very excited to welcome in  and train a new missionary.  He is also very excited to get out and teach and find again, more than he was able to as an assistant.  His time has been precious though under the direction of President Monahan and his wife.  I know he will miss them dearly.  He is very sad that his mission experience is coming to a close.

12/15/14


I will keep this really short. You all probably thought that me Elder Hansen was a barren missionary because I never trained, and now coming up on my last six weeks in the mission you were probably thinking that there is no way that he will train someone...well if you thought that way...you were wrong. haha I will be training for my last six weeks and im soooooo excited!! It will be an eye opener  given the circumstances I'm in right now. and it will be fun!!! Life is great here in Urdaneta!!

love,

Elder Hansen

 

 

 

(Excerpts from family letter)

 

 

 

Hey family thanks for the awesome pics that you sent of the Pearson party and what not. Dad I thought that what an amazing story that you shared about grandpa. I find it amazing how sometimes we just need to show our love to people and they will feel it. Its actually hard to focus on my email right now because we have to go pick up missionaries who are leaving the mission tomorrow morning. We have to pick them up by 7-8ish at night and their area is pretty far. So it should be a fun night haha. Yesterday we had a PM family go to church!! We were very excited for them. The father is a member who is less active and lives and works in America. We caught word that he came in to town for the holidays and decided to visit them. THEY WENT TO CHURCH! Now I know that isnt a baptism but its a step towards it and whenever investigators make those moves I'm happy!! haha M

I am still waiting on the letter....and im sorry you are still waiting on mine to you. i am just horrible at writing and to be honest dont have a ton of time. We can only write letters on Mondays and when our Monday is like today I won't be home until 10 or so at night....but the weeks are just cruising by. I can't believe that I only have six left in the mission. I'm going to spend those last weeks doing all that I can to help my trainee and to bless the area. (the harder you work, the more beautiful your wife is) hahaha I'm just kidding. I will be doing that because I love the Lord. My friends all seem to be doing good in their missions! it will be weird seeing them in the next months. the first one will be Nate... I love you guys so much. 

 

love, 

Elder Hansen

 

December 7, 

Dad thank you so much for the advice!! I need to read my blessing more often. So I got some crazy news !!!  For my last transfer in the mission President and the Lord want me to train!! So I will train a new missionary which is supposed to be 12 wks but I will train him for 5wks!! So I will be leaving the area I am in and wont be an assistant any more. Its totally fine with me because my batch Elder Uhi is coming in to take my place! It was exciting for me because I will get to work the full time that missionaries are supposed to for my last weeks. I koow the area im going to but I can't tell you yet....On Sunday we had an investigator come to church sister Jean xxxx! she is awesome. We also gave her an IBD for Jan. 10 I really feel that she will be ready for that date! Please pray for her and for her baptism. I will be here in Urdaneta until the 19th and then I go to my new area Dec. 19th.

 

Christmas is coming around the corner now and well so is januaray...the dreaded month.  But one of the most exciting times of my life as well.  A lot of missionaries are really excited to go home but for me, I really dont feel it. It doesn't hit me that I am close to going home. I feel the same drive to go and teach and do all that I can to help people that I felt when I was brand new. Anyway life is going good here and the storm is very far away from us here in pangasinan. We are safe here! haha Ilove you dad 

love, 

Elder Hansen


Christmas Conference 2014

 

Area Conference 2014 December

New Trainers!!!!

 Area Conference 2014 December

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12-01-2014

Dear Mom, Dad, Jordan, Alex,

so I just want to say i love you all! thank you mom and dad for the wonderful letters that you sent and also or the emails! Mom I'm sorry I am horrible at writing home. But I promise I'm taking pictures! This week was a little bit rough with getting investigators to progress. Sis xxxhad an IBD for Dec. 13 but we found out that she isnt married yet so she cant be baptized. We were pretty bummed about that. We found 11NI this week so we still have a lot of potential in the area. we love our ward members and we are thinking of ideas that we can do to help them out with the ward and the work here in urdaneta. Please pray for our ward here URD. 3rd ward. today is Dec. 01, 2014 we were talking with others a little earlier and they are just saying its crazy how fast 2014 has gone by. its like it went from 2013-2015. Missions help develop people into who they need to become. Well for me it has put me on the right path. I can see a bright future to be honest. I do get a little nervous thinking about work and school and the real world but I read my blessing the other day and it just said I need to put the Lord first and if I do that all will be well and I wont sacrifice anything. And when you have a mindset of serving the Lord and then doing other things there are no sacrifices. 

I am very thankful that the sisters stopped by our house. please tell them one missionary to another how much I appreciate their efforts.  I deal with people every day trying to help them come unto Christ and it can be difficult when people dont want to. It literally hurts you inside at times. We met an old man who his church doesnt have a name but Americans stop by his house and do bible study with him 2 a week and that is there religion. We told him that he is missing out on a lot of things in the bible and we want to help him understand those things but he is so blinded and shut off that he wouldnt even let us in the house. so being a bolder missionary we kindly told him that he isnt yet following Jesus Christ and left. haha butI literally felt sad for him because he is so far away from the truth. 

Dad- about some of our questions. we are asked to speak a lot and all the missionaries always expect us to know what to do and say. We visit other zones and what not but usually dont speak unless invited. We usually speak at training meetings like Train the Trainers, New Missionary Training, Missionary leadership council, quad zone conferences, zone interviews. those are a few but its really fun. Even though Ihave been speaking in front of a lot of people now I'm still not used to it. I still get nervouse sometimes.....but i would say im comfortable now.  Mom Dad do you have any advice for me for my last two months in the mission? Its weird to think that I'm coming home to be honest even though I love you all I'm going to miss my second home A TON..... this place is just beautiful the people have changed me forever. Anyways I love you all so much

love, 

Elder Hansen

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD


 

So I don't want to believe that Christmas is right around the corner! Time is crazy fast and I dont like it. I'm exctied for Christmas but that is it ha. The week went well, we found a lot of new great investigators and are hoping they will progress! our IBD isnt married pala so were kind of disappointed about that but we will keep working with them it just takes faith! The mission is awesome I love the experiences that I have everyday! Keep the Philippines in your prayers! This is where the nicest people live and I can testify to that!

love Elder H

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD

 

Elder Hansen and Elder Mahayahay

Sent from The Mission President :)

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