10/05/14 Waiting for Conference!

This was a great week!!!

Elder Macabenta and I even though we were fairly busy we got some great work in!! We contacted some great part member families and we are excited to teach them and help them come back to church and in turn help the non-members come to know of the gospel!

Some of the other Less Actives that we met were really stubborn and did not even want to talk to us...  anyway there isnt much you can do there if they really dont want to listen to us. Time just keeps speeding up. this weeek will fly by because of our zone interviews and then of course for us here in the philippines we are delayed a week of watching General conference....I am so excited though.  I have some questions in my mind that I know will be answered in some way, if i just listen to the spirit. We have been playing a lot of basketball lately at the church in the mornings! Its so addicting haha 5 am we are up and playing! I just love to be running around. It also helps me just have fun for a little while and enjoy a good game. As I am starting to see some of my friends going home from their missions I realize how fast it does go by. I realize that everyday we get up and do all that we can for the Lord but there are also times where we wish we could get that 1 minute back. We just wish we could experience that one joyful moment again and again and again.  However if we were like that, the "enjoyable moments" we become less and less enjoyable. That is why I am so grateful for trials and problems in life. so that when I do have the joyful moments they are that much sweeter!! Anyway we had a great week here and are hoping for even better things this upcoming week!

Love Elder Hansen

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD

 

Yes. He is now driving in the Philippines! Scares me to death!

 

09/29/14 New Missionaries! Busy in the Zone!

That is so weird that Jessie and Jordan are now home from their missions...I cannot even imagine that from today until January I only have four months left in the mission...and no I'm not counting the days promise. I'm just blown away at how fast time goes by.. a couple of sisters emailed me from my batch I go home but in a way I hope a lot of things have changed.

This week we had the new missionaries come in there were 25 of them!! sooooooo many! They are so young and just brand new from the mtc....

Anyways we basically had three days with no work because of that. so not much happened for us this past week... we are hoping to see some good progress in a few of our investigators but we need to find a lot more. This next month we have zone interviews so for the next like three weeks every day except monday ,sat, sun. we will be traveling to other zones giving workshops and what not.......this next month will fly by..I'm trying to think of what else I have to say...not much.. make sure you tell Jordan and Jessie  HI! for me and congrats!! wow I Love the mission so much.. I have learned so much here and am still learning . The things stated in my patriarchal blessing are definitely coming true...Ii love this church with all my heart and will always remain true. I will never hide my light from others. I can say in front of anyone that I am LDS and I will share my beliefs and bear testimony to them that I know that Jesus Christ lives and this is the restored gospel. Just look at the fruit of what happened to Joseph Smith. Look at all the good things that came from his decision to find the truth......"by their fruits ye shall know them" nothing more true than that scripture right there. 

MOM I AM WRITING YOU A LETTER TODAY SO DONT WORRY!! I have little time left so I'm going to say good bye and that I love you all

Love Elder Hansen

 

 

The following are some pictures from a senior couple missionary and another blog of Zone Conferences.  Elder Hansen and his companion did training and other responsibilities.

The Sister Senior missionary commented to me that Elder Hansen is "always smiling!"  That makes me happy!  His nickname from infancy was "Smiley Riley!"

 

 

 

09/21/14 Don't Look Back!

 i thought of something a sister in our zone said earlier about us as children of our Heavenly Father. a lot of people here dont know their relationship with God, we are blessed because we do...however we cannot over think the fact that God has all ready given us a plan to overcome our trials...that is through the Gospel. the world to solve a problem uses money, politicians, friends, We use the gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ. "the atonement is what can take the slums out of man and teach the man to take himself out of the slums" that statement hit me hard. It is one of the most beautiful things i have heard since i have started my ,mission. We dont want to just get rid of the " slums" in us but we want to remove ourselves from the slums. turning away from sin and leaving it behind never to look back. just like lots wife "dont look back" once we are fully repented of a sin dont go back. once we have overcome a problem dont go back. just like the 2000 stripling warriors parents. they burried their "weapons of war" deep and covenanted with God to never go back and kill again. we can relate those things to us which is one thing that i am trying to do personally. i dont want to go back to my old self. i love who i am now and who i WILL become.

 

this week was way awesome!! we had a sweet investiagator come to church she is set to be baptized october 18!! please pray for her..her name is xxx.   she is a single mom doing it all for her family  ! tomorrow another batch of missionaries goes home! its my batch of filipina sisters.....so after tomrrow i will have no more batch in the mission except the elders...time is going by so fast...i cant believe i only have a few months left!! but i love the mission so much!!! im like Jordan (His friend across the street returning this week from his mission in California!) is right now...i dont know how to do anything else(meaning missionary work) and frankly im scared to....hahah but i will miss this place so much...its a shame its so far away..i wish i would be able to visit here all the time. but we have facebook right? im excited for the package!! thank you so much!!! tell jordan higgins I say Hi!!! anyways im runnning a little short on time because we have a crazy week next week. the new missionaries are coming in and there are 25 of them....soooo many haha i love you guys so much talk to you next week

love elder hansen

On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 11:16 AM, DARIN HANSEN <dshansen22@msn.com> wrote:

 

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD

Big Storm! 09/14/14

09/14/14

(Note from Mom)  I did what mom's do best and guilt tripped Elder Hansen because he has not written in a long time!  But we are never mad at him!

dear mom and dad.....

please dont be angry with me....i try my best haha im just not good at writing down the details. about going to alaminos the other week, it was strictly business it wasnt to visit or anything like we just went there to go to a meeting of the missionaries.  here in the philippines we listen to christmas music as soon as it is september. we cut our hair earlier and there was deck the halls playing and weird stuff like that. It makes me think of christmas and then i walk outside into the heat.....haha there was a crazy storm last night!!! crazy rain....a couple of missionaries houses were flooded but it was cool!! we were up until like two in the morning because of people calling us.....elders.....the water is getting close to the electric sockets...what do  we need to do?? of course the answer is easy....."turn off the power and go upstairs" but some other people dont understand that so we have to help them out when they are freaking out ahaha. it was a fun night!! crazy thing is yesterday at church i was looking at the bulletin board of another ward and saw a pic of koa when he was at the MTC i started freaking out!! "thats one of my best friends" ahah really funny. 

we had a good week but some of the investigators dropped us.....they would either say elders sorry but my husband is a pastor and will get mad if i listen to you or others just werent interested....they were saying they want to see a good change in thier lives before they listen....I just thought to myself that that is reverse thinking and false! we Have to act first before we will see the good change. so i told the lady in a nice way that she doesnt have faith, because to be honest she doesnt. read alma 32:17 which is the opposite of faith. that is how she is acting. but we left and went to find new investigators!!! \

we love the missionary life of finding if they dont progress drop and find some more. its really fast work especially when we can be a little short for time like elder macabenta and I are.

speaking of elder macabenta he is from davao, he speaks cebuano, way smart and is planning on either becoming a professor or going into law! best missionary i have met at the scriptures and really humble! 

we love to play basketball (bukol) is what we call it haha we also love messing around and having fun but getting the work done!! Im doing great! mom if you are going to send me a package...add like one or two ready bake brownies....we are a little spoiled in the big house and have an oven hahah but yeah I love you guys so much and im very grateful for all of you and im way excited for whats going on in all of your lives!! keep up the great work and always remember to remember our savior!

love Elder Hansen

 

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD

09/08/14 Fasting with a Purpose Brings Blessings!

09/08/14

Elder Hansen told us he was fasting for a purpose on 09/07/14 so Darin and I decided to fast along with him even though we did not know what his purpose was.  What we do know is that he has righteous desires and so we added our prayers and fasting to his.

Dear family,

I loved your emails!!! very spiritual and uplifiting for me!! I loved the part about you two fasting together! I can tell you that i definitley felt your prayers and fast! thank you so much!  dad that story you told me about our distant relatives is way awesome, it gave me the goose bumps. I mean imaging if they didnt do those things and what not i could also not be here and the people i have met could have not come to know the gospel and the people they will meet ect.......its a never ending chain. just like the vision in the old testament i cant remember where but it talks about the gospel; as a big boulder rolling down the mountain until it consumes everything.....that is what is happening now!!!!! time is flying by.....this past week we had our mission conference....two days half the mission per day.....it can be stressful for us because we do a lot of the organizing, conducting solving probs...and so forth as well as giving a workshop in front of all the misisonaries and then going home in the late afternoon and teaching our inv.....one thing that is hard for me to get used to is having less time to teach.....but this week we should be able to get a lot done teaching wise!! one answer to our prayer and fast is that we had and inv. family come to church .....we met them the night before (sat) we thought none of our inv would show up because the members that stopped by to pick up the others said that the invs wouldnt be coming....we were kind of sad about that but just before sac., started we saw the family come in!!!!! we were so excited!!!! so time is going by to fast.....its all ready september!! i dont understand why time speeds up the longer you are in the mission....i would hope that it would slow down......but there is nothing i can do about that.....Im giving it my all and really finding myself here in the mission. I have come to a better understanding about conversion. im still working on being more converted to the gospel everyday....it can be hard.....but sooooooo worth it.

I love you all so much!!

love elder Hansen

 

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ELDER HANSEN

URDANETA STAKE

URDANETA 3RD

09/01/14

09/01/14

(Mom's note)  I woke up in the middle of the night with the thought that "Riley needs your prayers" at first I ignored it but then I got out of bed and knelt down and said a prayer for him.  This was his reply to me.

mom dont worry about me but i love the fact that you in the middle of your sleep woke up and followed the spirit!! Those times are lessons that will help us in the near future. I think of those times as like the spirit is trying to train us to listen to him....we never know when i could be life or not.....I always feel your prayers every day!!! That is soo cool that taylor is home! how is he doing??   Satan is very good at using things that seem reasonable to turn us away from the truth....that is why i dont like him haha. This week we had some good times.....it actually flew by.....this week and next week will as well.......ahhhhh time goes by so much faster when you have more and more things to do. everyday we are busy and when we get home we just crash! haha my companion is so awesome!! way good in the scriptures really humble really good at english and loves to learn our sayings we have in english. like 'we are stuck between a rock and a hard place kind of sayings. I finished the Book of Mormon by the way! How is your Reading? i hope we are still reading!! haha im going to try and finish it again before i go home!! (thats weird to say) I cant believe that on the 13 i will have been out 19 months!!! I will never be able to replace these days with any other. by far the best time of my life. The easisest way to tell if we are truely converted to the Gospel is by following one scripture. 

• Luke 22:32

   

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou artconverted, strengthen thy brethren.

that is truely the test. I love you so much

 

08/25/14 Eternal Progression

great week!!! found some new investigators.....dropped others........the caravan keeps on rollin....we dont ever quit in this work....The savior never quit and neither will we!!! I love the mission....I have found myself and more while being here.....I know that i will continue to grow...last night we dropped an Inv. because they were obviously not ready yet. she mentioned that she was content in her life and her religion and did not want to ask God if what we were saying was true. I told myself last night that i hate the word content.....satan is good at manipulating people. tricking them into being content with their progression as children of The Father. Our progression is Eternal. We can be happy with the blessings and grateful for the trials...but when we are content and not doing anything to improve ourselfs we are failing. If we are not coming closer to our Savior...we are falling away from him. there is no staying in one place. anyways...im excited for the week!! I love you all keep up the great work

love elder Hansen
8/25/14