Tuesday, December 17, 2013

yoyoyyo.... hohoho... merry christmas

mmmmm that moment when you get your card reader cuz you have a sweet picture of you and the machette thats chilling in the custodial closet at the church (only in the pines) and you just want to share it with everyone and... your card reader breaks. sorry, lahat, no more pictures for now.

 KIRSTEN HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SISTA! YOU ARE OLD AND BOYS LOVE YOU IM SURE BECAUSE YOUR A BABE A BEAUTIFUL AND RIGHTEOUS AND FUNNY. IM A MISSIONARY. WE KNOW THESE THINGS SO PLEASE DON'T DATE ANY WEIRDOS... OR ILL KILL THEM.

 guess what ya'll? i get to spend anther 6 weeks in zion at least. did you know the pines grew faster in membership in the church in 50 years than any other nation on earth. aw yeah. now we just got to keep those lost souls from wandering.

 Did i ever tell you about the 2 high guys in 2 weeks who told me about my great nose... yeah one of them speeds up to us on a motor cycle asks us why there's no church in solsona then tells me a british accent "I have a prominent nose" (pretty sure I told you this... act interested anyway deal?) and the other one told me I look like Angelina Jolie and my nose is great like a pyramid. You guys are weeeiiiirrddoooosss.

 hahah oh and estela and lj were baptized! They were so cute and happy. man. missionary work is just the bomb diggity. also we didn't get to watch the Christmas broadcast cuz we live like out in the boonies so you know what we did? we made a HUGE DINNER  and listened to david archuleta christmas music hymns and such to compensate. I was happy. I'll write you more next week. I really need to get some better stories for you all. but oh man oh man I love it here. party on ya'll! :) merry christmas. go serve someone and share the gospel. that's the best gift you can give :) 
-love sister hansen

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Thanksgiving

Oh my goodness.... dad thank you for the updates. i feel for ali. You all should write her or something. and pray like mad for her. that would be sooo hard. pray pray pray. k since ya'll are so keen on pictures ill send ya some :) ha this is me at one of our baptismal dates houses. 



she wasn't home... so naturally i decided to practice my pig (baboy) whispering skills. and im not touching it cuz thats BAWAL. but we obviously are having a conection in this shot. Man can i just tell you about dingras? and solsona. we have like 11 people that want to be baptized this month. haha one of them got up on sunday in relief society and told us how she knows its true and how before she didn't have time to go to church because she was busy with pigs and such but then she went and she knows its true. these people are such an example to me.


this is pinky. she's a lot better with posing with the pig than i am. she's nine and read half the book of mormon. Her and her mom will be baptized this month if they keep coming to church. angel child. hahaha k funny moment of the week. actually most disgusting moment of the week. so we're chilling waiting for estela who's in her interview. Anyway so its alvin sister Banabatac Ian and elder Rodrigo. well theres this pesky fly... tries to land in my ear. well that's annoying. well that wasn't enough so it went for my lip. k that's gross stay out of my mouth pesssst. nope. it had to go the whole nine yards. so you know in princess and the frog how ray goes "a bugs got to dooo what a bugs got to doooooo!" flies up the dudes nose and he's all what in the world! plugs a nostril and blows him out. yeah i did that. with not even that much grace. pathetic. 


yeah... this is my thanksgiving... paaaarrrtttaaah. i was true my word. i ate an egg sandwich. and juice. i party like that. oh! ha i got to tell you so our conference for christmas is coming up. so we're learning this dance. lucky for me theres four different groups with different parts but one is basically the chicken dance. so theres like 12 20 year old sisters running in a circle flapping their wings and smiling of course! hahaahah k i die everytime.



hahahahahahah ok this is probably my favorite. because liahonas from like 2002 are just this great. what were they meant to be? clearly charlies angels. hahahah ok. its tooo good. i just die to my self sometimes laughing.

hahahahaha ok just look at the guys face in the upper corner. he looks like edward just about the eat bella. hahaah ok yeah this is my etertainment. now you know the real me. also a quote for you all " Behold i speak with boldness, having authority from God; and i fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear" -mormon (moroni 8:16)

Sunday, November 24, 2013

(sorry it has been forever since we updated Rachel's blog. We will get back on it promise! here is her most recent letter) 
Nah the typhoon did squat here. just windy. noooo problema. haha soooo um yeah. thanks mom. that's like actually just my problem. I have half a bajillion people that want to be baptize and they all live 30 pesos worth out side of town. haha. yeah. what am I complaining about. 

This week I learned that ALL missionaries. no matter how obedient or diligent or whatever aren't always going to baptize. *cough* laoag *cough* dead area... sorta. Man I worked HARD there. but then I come here and they're all yeah I want to go to church. yeah I want to be baptized on your birthday. pffft ok! We can arrange that. They don't even know me. These people are truly converted to the gospel. I didn't do anything. Heavenly Father just gave me a plot to reap like mad for now. YUP so that's what I'm doing. And its all cuz of the members. All of them are friends or family of members. SO YA'LL GET OUT THERE BE BOLD AND TELL YOUR FAMILIES TO REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED. then you'll see a bunch of happy missionaries like me *insert cheesey smiling face* at your house all the time. Want to know what else??? IVE GOT AN EXTRA HALF HOUR TO EMAIL. yeeeesssss yeessssss wen (yes) si (yes)

pichas


so yeah. this place is a whole tub of fun. Every few days we go to solsona. and we pass by these carribou (carry-bow) their names are bessie and tess. or at least they should be. Also every morning I wake up to.... (cuz we live in the parkinglot of a school and the guard likes to pump his music) ONE... you're like a dream come truuuuue TWO just want to be with youuuuu THREE I just want you to see that you're the onllllyyy one for meeee FOUR! ... and on and on.
 well good morning to you too! hahaha


yeah. ;hmmm what else. they call me sister barbie? haha one of the high couselmans daughters hath appointed that name to me. Yes I'm tall white and have blue eyes. I suppose you may call me sister barbie.  sorry no super cool stories this week but here's some picture. I'm going to go out and try to baptize a nation now;) with the Lords help. MAN  I am SO lucky. I love this work. I love the Lord. and I LOOOOOVVVVEEE YOU ALL. have an awesome thanksgiving!!!! whenever that is... 
-sister hansen

Monday, October 14, 2013

19 going on Jeffery Holland.

(sorry every body I am behind on the post but here is her most recent one)

Ok... hmmm ha what I typically eat... sandwiches. 

I know exciting eh? ha actually I eat pancit sometimes, and noodles. Rice is also big, it is also my enemy... I shall not conform to popular beliefs.  RESIST. Ha um I had sesame noodles this week. lots of pancit. sometimes pancakes :) yesss they still have pancakes. Basically food you can cook without a microwave or oven. Lots of veggies. Sometimes I like egg plant and egg, tuna and egg over rice is good. I'll just cook for you like chef tony when I get back :) 

Weather... uh rainy. We've got mountains near by. The real storms are up north in like sanchez maria. Lets pray I go there :) really I am. I want to see it STORM. 

Ha dad that made me laugh about moses and abraham because most people here haven't heard of them either. If they have its like whoa! ang galing po kayo! (you're so smart!) then they throw out a name like Isaiah and its like watch out here comes heart failure. 

OOOOK so you would not believe this week. FIRST: DID YOU SEE CONFERENCE (pardon the delayed reaction but we just saw it yesterday) MAN ARE THEY CALLED OF GOD OR WHAT??? wow. I went around asking what was everyone's favorite was and they were all different for everyone. 

Revelation is real. prayers are answered... speaking of... ha so our some leader in our ward are basically inactive. 2 of them haven't been in months. both rm's. So this weeks letter is entitled 19 going on Jeffery Holland. 

that's right. I went and taught them. I was praying like you would not believe. I said Heavenly Father. I don't know how to call out a high up leader. Help me. I kid you not words just come to you. All those scriptures about your mouth being filled are true. You just have to start talking and have the confidence in the things you testify. God takes over.

 I basically told them they've been breaking the law of the Sabbath  I know you need a job. but you need salvation more. I said "who's will do you value more the lords or your bosses" k. I've never been so bold; but it was the way they reacted that was the craziest. 

The one was like yeah... you're right. I'm going to start looking for a new job. The other got MAJORLY DEFENSIVE. I was like whoa. chiiiiilll duuuuude. 

Basically I offended one of them. Yup. I was freaking out so I texted president. He said "if he doesn't get offended he'll just be grateful that your reminded him. Crying repentance is just like giving a bitter pill to someone who is sick and take the bitter pill to be healed" so. yup. 

I hope he doesn't hate me but its like in mosiah 13. at the beginning. read it. Abinadi. He's the former Jeffery R. Holland. umm.. 

What else. I had another investigator ask if I had a boy friend (me naievely replying to that with) no... then he goes can I apply? (sound familiar barb ;) it resulted much the same way though) I was all uhh... no. and then a kid from the ymca here texted me saying he missed me. you're a dork. I've met you once. and you bible bashed with me. go. away. 

ha ok miracle for the week. so I hit 6 months and with it this mile stone. I. Love. This. Work. SOOOO SO MUCH. but I've always prayed to be transferred. I'm just thinking no one wants to be baptized, the leaders are all trunky and its struggle town. But for the first time this week I prayed... to stay. I beeeegggggeeed heavenly father to let me stay. I love this ward with all my heart. It's not about the baptisms now.

siyempre I want baptisms. but no its about blooming where you're planted (a quote from April conference). There once was a lady who was wondering why her grand son had gone off the deep end while she worked so hard to be good. Heavenly Father said I gave him to you because I knew you'd love him no matter what he did. Bring on the struggle. 

NO body knows this area like me and I want to stay and help them. there is so much potential. Heavenly Father is so great he let me be part of the change. DAAAAAHHHH THIS WORK IS SOOOOO COOOL!!!!! talaga. 

Funny story last night an investigator gave us pepsi. I don't drink pepsi so I'm like sister mcphie you drink it under my breath. so she starts downing hers while I stall the conversation talking about Avril Levine. She was on a poster on their wall. yeeeaah. she totally noticed I slipped her my pepsi. whatevs. not smooth. itsss oooh k! love you all. mom 3 nephi 18:32. keep up the work and your uphill climb. I love you all! I want to serve forever. No lie. this work is amazing. 
ciao!

Monday, September 23, 2013

hmmm... well. we have an investigator with 4 dogs?

Ha so this week wasn't soooo exciting. Not that the other ones were either but at least typhoid and dengue make for a good story. 

We had zone conference and I saw like 50 bajillion missionaries. including Sister Gadiano, Sister Storey, and Sister Porter again. soooo good. I love them. oh. ha k well since I'm sure you're DYING to know I'll just let you know what I did with my hair.

 I got it rebonded monday. Wouldn't recommend it in America. Its probably like half a bazillion dollars there. or at least over 100. but its pretty much a chemical straighten. Its suuuper convenient. 

So our star investigator who started avoiding us for like 3 weeks told us its not her time and pretty much not to come back. um. ok. blow off salvation. It's not your time?? This is eternity we're talking about MAKE TIME. Silly siya. So I hate it when investigators go former. but we found some new ones. 

One is named Maria. She has 4 dogs. Pretty sure they'd eat me if they weren't tied up and behind a fense. ha every time we go over its like where's our welcoming committee? "tao po! (what you say to knock doors)" BARK BARK BARK. Oh there you are. Seriously they go berzerk. but she is progressing good. And her son too. He's all how did Christ perform the atonement? Do you want me to try to get all deep in tagalog cuz I'm pretty sure it'd be ugly. but I tried anyway.

 This whole work is a miracle. Man I just want to be the boldest most outgoing missionary ever but sometimes satan is all. no. Don't talk to that person you just got a prompting to talk to. Be quiet satan. you're dumb. I've got work to do. and souls to save. 

Oh there was a typhoon. Thought you should know. This wasn't a drizzle. This was a rain flying directly horizontal so bad its like a white out... but for rain sorta deal. so we stayed in. we went to the eddingtons and google mapped our house. Ah. I miss you all. but you all are probably wondering. Why is she talking about the weather. isn't that what people talk about when there's nothing else? Well that's about where my small talking skills are right now so I'm going with it. 

I still love pinoys more then anything. Every day brings new adventures and challenges. So you face them. Hmmm... a good scripture for this week is in Jacob 6. about weaknesses. really we all just need to be humbler. Like the savior. True fact. weaknesses are a blessing because they give us something to work on. When you've got no goals or anything to work for you're digressing. Weaknesses are opportunities and they rock. So do you all. Party on!

-love sister hansen 

Monday, September 16, 2013

ha... and i thought it was chikungunya

yeahhhh..... um. Don't freak out. Cuz im still alive. I decided this last week. chikungunya? pffft llllaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeee.... lets go the whole nine yards. 

So I went and got dengue instead. oh. ha and then that wasn't fun enough apparently, for the hard core Sister Hansen. So I got typhoid fever on top of it. 2 virutally non existant diseases in the US. so I would've been hospitalized for one of them.. but then I had both. So yeah. totally hospitalized. 

Remember when I was like 10 and Hannah went to the hospital and I was jealous. What 10 year old doesn't want a moving bed and tv all day? I mean really. Well its a little different then I imagined. my blood platlet level was so low they were withdrawing my blood every 6 hours. No fear of needles now. thats a plus. and I got stabbed multiple times in my finger tips, and the typhoid started to fill my lungs with water... and it was hard to breathe... and I had a temperature of a 104... and ha.

 Mom and Dad. let me interrupt. k I'm FIIIINNNNNNEEE now. In case your freaking out :) but I'm hard core. Its how I roll. but lets just say it was probably the hardest most painful week of my whole life. I was SO homesick. I was all crying and like all I want in life is high school musical and a hot bath. *sniff sniff* is that to much to ask??? ha but Heavenly Father loves me. As do the other missionaries here and especially my mission president and wife.

 I got like 3 blessings, the one from president said that there were many souls still waiting for me. and of course that I'd recover and all. and I remembered stake presidents setting apart blessing that is all I bless you with protection from everything and it's dog pretty much... (see small print: apparently excludes needles and pain and suffering) but my testimony of the atonement has gone WAY up. Christ loves us all SO so SO so MUCH!!! its seriously unfathomable. 

This gospel is real. and I'm walking and shopping and living it up and pretty much back to normal health again. Party hardy in the pines. Don't worry about me. The lord has my back. I'll go out and baptize some nations now. party on like Donkey Kong  I love and miss you all so much! but I've got work to do
-ciao!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

chikungunya. what a lame name

This is the story of how  I died... (tangled quote) so as I lay awake last night i tried to think of clever ways to start this, and thats is all I got. But yeah. Soooo chikungunya... chicken goon yeah!... chicken... birdflu!! DDDEEEAAATTTH!!! that's kinda how things escalate around here. 

So you may be asking yourself. What IS she going off about? Have you heard of dengue? Well this is its counter part evil twin. You get it from mosquitoes. But the best part is... wait for it... ITS NOT CURABLE! yayayaya. ha. no its just a virus so you have to chill and die while you wait for your body to kill it. 

anyway... yeah I got it. Friday night. I've been bed ridden like 3 days. ew. its like fever. check. chills. check. nauseous. check. head ache. check. rash. check. only thing I haven't done yet is vomit. so thats a bonus.

 ha but before you frweak out ( yeah that's totally a typo in freak but I decided that sounded cooler after all) just know my President and Sis Barrientos take good care of us. She's a nurse. And i have 3 of the most motherly missionaries in my appartment. Baby me to the max. Do my wash and make me lay down and make me soup. I seriously feel like such a pansy. I'll just be like will you peel my grapes now? ha joke. I love them all.

I got a blood test at the hospital this morning. She was the most magaling nurse I've ever met. (basically awesome) she found my vein in like 2 second and it didn't ever hurt. Yay for competent nurses. But yeah I'm feeling a little better now. I think im on the up hill swing now.

 but last night. (here comes the spiritual phenomenon) I was seriously done. The previous night I had had a panic attack when I took some medicine on an empty stomach so I was scared to go to sleep and Elder Eddington(senior couple next door) had given me a blessing (along with rice pudding and a liter of spirite... my neighbor is cooler then most of yours. its a fact) but in this blessing he blessed me with some things that I'd pretty much been feeling the exact opposite. So I was like what am I doing?? I'm just dying slowly in the pines. and I just started to cry. pitiful. Pretend it didn't happen though. but then we were saying our prayer before bed. sis mcphie goes who says it. and I said ako (me). and I folded my arms. closed my eyes. and just started BAAALLLLIIINNNNGGGG. It was seriously the most pitiful, desperate, begging, sincere prayer I've ever said in my whole life. I testify that Heavenly Father is REALLY there. and he really listens. 

I don't know if you all remember the talk given my Jeffery R. Holland  he talks about why isn't this(missionary work) easier. and why aren't people just lining up for baptism but then he says: this isn't easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. why should we expect it to be easy when it was never ever easy for Him. and he talks about that when we're struggling the most is when we take a few steps into Gethsemane and that's when we stand with the savior. My testimony grew last night. I know that the savior lived and died for us. He can enable us because he's been there. he knows what we need. I felt comforted after my prayer. not healed. but a little better. This church is true. I'll share more adventures next week. but just know I'm doing good. I'm not writing my last will and testament... yet ;) joke. but I love you all!

-sister hansen

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

ya'll... this week was fun

(here is the one from this week)

Soooo this week... hmmm... yesterday we had 2 of our investigators come to church. 

First our lovable bible bashing nanay ta(m)bis (we just recently found out there's an m in there) who's real name is Leomella,  who does nothing but read scriptures and pray all day I'm pretty sure and like to go off at least once every visit about the second coming. she's usually right though :) except when she interprets scriptures directly and thinks the true church BUILDING will not be burned in the last days. So her church is made out of stone. Oh nanay. I love you. I really do. She is the most valiant awesome person ever. 

We took her to church and on the way we run into one of our recent converts that has recently decided her job is more important then church. So N.Tabis goes off about how we need to go to church. And in my head I'm like this is why you need to be baptized. She follows the word of wisdom and think modesty means sleeves past your wrists and ankles need to be hidden (uhhh... haha whoops. my skirt is a bit sketchy i guess ;) she reads everything ever given to her. and now... she's moving. Eh. not my favorite. The missionaries of quezon are lucky. 

Then we have another investigator who I see as the future relief society president. She invites everyone within the vicinity to come listen to the word of God and come to church. WHY ARE YOU ALL SO AWESOME??? 

ha quick story about Tabis. So she likes to say praises during prayers so during the prayers at church I hear her start to mumble and im all huh? so its like *mumble mumble mumble* Jesusss *mumble mumble* and I'm like yes. you are so awesome. Sister McPhie's birthday was yesterday and president brought her her own birthday cake (reason number 1921832488 why my president is the coolest/chillest there is) and then we had cake at the Eddingtons (next door neighbor senior couple) and so long story short we have cake for days going on in our house. MAY WE BE SMITTEN WITH FATNESS AND NEVER RECOVER :) jokelang ;)

 oh and it flooded this week. That was pretty cool. so not many lessons but at least I can say I treked through... a couple inches of water. IM LEGIT NOW. ha k maybe not but I felt like it. My grammar is pitiful now in both languages. pray for the gift of interpretation of tongues as you try to decipher my letters. its real. as is my pitiful grammar. I LOVE YOU ALL ;)

-Sister Hansen 

eh. punted.

(sorry this letter is waaaay late, its been crazy this is her letter from two weeks ago- hannah)
So this week wasn't all sunshine and beaches. and peaches. theres no peaches here. and actually it rained like the whole week. one day we actually had to stay in because 2 missionaries somewhere got more then they bargained for when they were electrocuted walking through standing water that was it. lame sauce right? 

hmmm k. lets dwell on the positives. even though we got like no lessons and were punted beyond belief there was miracles! one: our bible bashing nanay (but not really a bible basher but she spends literally ALL day reading the bom and bible) bore her testimony of sorts to this random teen sitting in our lesson. I think we'll baptize him :) 

Lets just baptize everyone. The spirit really has been guiding me in this work. for example. last week I mentioned Jerry. yeah well we went to house once and we didn't really know why and then he was there so we're all we'll teach you! 

Then once when we were trying to give directions to a tricee driver he didn't really understand but under some miracle he just kinda went to the right place. I was all whaaaa? then jerry texted us bible bashing question,  and we were all "we really got to answer this face to face" and he didn't reply but then later we're walking by his house and guess who happens to get off school at the same time? well hello jerry... we've been waiting for you.. (ha not. we're not that creepy of missionaries... yet) and we taught him.

 Its seriously awesome what and who the spirit will lead you to if you let him. This latest picture is of me. creepin on my burrito. when mexico meets the philippines its truly a beautiful thing. ha we taught some other lessons this week and I really felt the spirit testifying through me... cool experience wont lie. im all brotha (or sister) THIS IS FOR YOOOU! (Like jullian smith hot koolaide) AND I DID IT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! and then they're all IM NOT DRINKING IT (spiritually speaking) and them im like.... lame. gah. oh well. after the sunshine comes the rainbows. and pegasai (a popular myth here).  and butterflies. and cock roaches. but we'll ignore those. well thats all for now folks. Keep me in your prayers the whole 2 language thing is an adventure. party on! k well the picture I was GOING TO send was with a burrito. it didn't work so use your imagination :) love you. the work goes on
sister hansen

Monday, August 19, 2013

so... ya'll. this is going to be split up cuz I'm sending a bunch of pictures :) and I can only send one an email. hope you like random cuts in the convo. Pero this first pictures is called. The miracle of toes.
 eh. k not so much. But remember like a year ago when I hurt my back being a buff woman at college and could barely reach past my knees? yeah. those were pathetic days. I felt like an old person asking people to help me tie my shoes. long story short: I have never been able to touch my toes. weakness. so I realized this weakness. though small it was still pesky and i have since stretched almost every morning. little by little. UNTIIIIILLLLLLLLLL: LOOK! 

gahahaha I like about screamed like a banshi with joy. I can now touch my head to my knee and wrap my hands around the bottom of my feet. so moral of the story is weakness rock. Through weakness you can be made strong and have your faith strengthened in the enabling power of the atonement. Its real. it works. Man alive it works. Also the gift of tongues is real. Since I've been training suddenly I can follow the conversation. These last two weeks have been harder then harder but SO FUN AND AMAZING! I understand I understand. which only increases the fact that I adore Filipinos.  I seriously love all the teens in the ward. They're our ward missionaries. Its... an adventure. *sigh* ah so is life but I love them more then anything. theyre so funny.


so sister Mcphie. Her family is from scotland. LeRue Bruce is her great grandma, but yeah so dad that's it for now. I'll work on more for next week. But this picture is our transportation. 


eh heh heh. so illegal. so fun. When in the pines. Do as the pinoys. This is shiela one of our killer rc. She's going to serve a mission. yes life it worth it. hmmm other adventures this week... I got my second potential mother in law invitation. haha. at one of our appointments with these amazing members. I let it slip I want to visit here again post mish. as I'm leaving she goes: Hey! when you come back you can marry my son! uhh... yeah. maybe. ha so I'm pretty sure a lot of american moms think the same thing. like I want this person to marry into my family. people in the pines are just a lot more open about it. so im like... uh next time na lang! a favorite put off of people here. Sister Mcphie was sick this week. she was seriously a zombie child saturday and was all I want to go out and save souls. no. you will not. you will stay home and rest child. good news is she's all better now :) yay. 

k this last people is called how legit people do laundry. 

 so when sister mcphie was being an of the dead so sick you need to get better and rest and stop killing yourself for the work child I was doing laundry. oh man alive. It was paradice. me. the laundry. a down pour of rain. and... david. oh yes. davie enchilada was right there serenading me through it all. yayaya  oh holy night. sing for MEEEE. mmm. it was pretty great wont lie. I love laundry. im still alive from the wimpy typhoon. however this week at church it decided to flood. It was all satans doing im sure because we had SO many solid people lined up for church but rain likes to change things. you have not SEEN rain like this. awesome. so basically we got soaked BUT we found one investigator to come to church. his name is jerry. yes. awesome right. starts with the name. but oh man. earlier this week we were led to him through a series of down right miracles. thats all this work is. I LOVE IT MORE THEN ANYTHING. I'm totally signing up for the 2 year program when it comes out. I love missionary work :) I want to be one forever. 
-sister hansen signing out!





Monday, August 12, 2013

TYYYPPPHHHOOOOON.

(explanation for this first part so you know what is going on, my dadio aka dad sent Rachel a bunch of pictures from home:) so ya that should clear up a few things) 

Oh dadio. What an over achiever you are :) kaya mo yen (basically you can do it!) ha am I home sick???? pffft no. got way to much to do but WOWZA what happened??? you're all getting old and kirsten lost her braces. I apparently am missing monumental stuff like that. wow. I sat here like a creep taking pictures of pictures. yay for weird american status. thats me. I walk under the rain and under the sun without an umbrella. and i like being tan. so basically they might think I'm weird. over that. guess what??? theres a TYYYPPPHHHOOOOON. ha yeah. we're in laoag city. basically that means its a joke. we've got mountains. so its currently... gray. eh. maybe we'll get a real storm later and I'll go all life guard swim captain and save someones life and soul when I get transferred in a while.

 yeah but the heat before the storm was killer. im talking 37 degrees celcius... like 98 fareignheit PLUS like bath water humidity. you don't even know. heres our blessing. so in japan and korea it was 40 degrees celcius or like 104 and 500 were hospitalized. needless to say i am a brown child. one of our fellowshippers made it a point to tell me and i was all why thank you! he gave me the weirdest look (quote from mormon pride and prejudice "she was talking about the women feminist movement in jerusalem and i was all well then maybe you should call it shebrew... she gave me the weirdest look." -thats so you can have the right voice in your head) yeah they just like to be white. I will be pinoy to a point but tan is much prettier. 

oh what else. so I forgot my journal so sorry if i have to dwell on the weather and my small talking skills take over. hmmm so this week was punted beyond belief. WE DON'T SPEAK ILOCANO. news flash. apparently they don't understand a lot of our tagalog. thats ooook. we all speak the language of the spirit. ha earlier this week sister ellis and I were discussing how so many missionaries hook up after missions and i was all its cuz they speak (for example) the same 3 languages! english spanish and love! ehehehe I think I'm clever. silly me. no but really people understand the pure love of chirst. so I continue to try to love people despite the language barrier. 

sister mcphie rocks.. dad I forgot her geneology again.. remind me next week! but shes a good worker and funny and blunt. I just love all my comps :) oh ps: while we were waiting out the "typhoon" warning we made a soup called mchancallis. its about the most delicious thing ever invented. I'll make it for you sometime. oh... yes then theres my teeth.. I might have to get some work done on them. one of my rootcanals started hurting.. again. whats new. so pray for me. but if I need to convert the dentist and the Lord sees fit for me to have this challenge its going to come out of our bank account. we'll see. but it feels ok now :) 

last thing. we go to pick up our stroke victim investigator yesterday that we THOUGHT could barely walk. as soon as he saw us I doubt a fully healthy person could move as fast as him. he proceeded to hide behind a curtain... when there was a mirror on the other side of the room positioned perfectly so we could see him. it was a tad awkward. we stared at him in the mirror and he stared back. ha um... want to come to church? yeah. we had no investigators as church that day. it happens. but I'm as happy as ever. we had 3 aaawweeesome contacted MEMBER referrals. they're the way to go. I kid you not. this work is one giant miracle. I love it more then anything. its like alma the younger... when he was older. he kept preaching because he "could not rest" i want to be a missionary forever :) I love you all more then anything and literally live for your emails. share your adventures. 

sister hansen signing OUT!

Monday, August 5, 2013

ha um did i see miracles this week

ha um did i see miracles this week





 is that even a question



YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! I've seriously grown more this week then probably any other week of my whole life. You cant even imagine. Well so it started out with me balling. whats new. jokelang since being here I've only cried 3 times. one lesson. Once when I left sister porter and sister storey (it was the ugliest most pitiful thing ever. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH) and then again after sister gadiano left. (I LOVE HER SO MUCH) I seriously just started to cry and then she left this letter about how she knows i can do it. well that helped. ha I started crying in front of my whole district. So that's just the office elders and the ap's. and my house of sisters. yeah.. pitiful. but then I started.

 oh man mom did I feel your prayers. I seriously stopped one day and was like someone is DEFINITELY praying for me right now. so Sister McPhie and I went out. Yeah I was feeling so sick to my stomach with worry. It was the hardest thing ever. I was thinking thoughts like yeahIi kinda would be ok to be in lehi right now. like this isn't kansas anymore tottop- dorthy status. 

Well we got stalked by an 80 year old man who started singing to us and wouldn't let me teach him the gospel or accept my pamphlet. that was bummish. Lucky for us 80 year old men who like to linger longer on hand shakes cant walk or run very fast. Both of which we are capable of. eh. lost him no sweat. and we saw my other creeper "ronny" so I turned right around in the middle of the street with him only 100 ft away staring and I walked the other way. 

Call me discreet.

 ssooooo smoothe. I'm over it. I cant afford smoothness with creeps. We also went to 2 birthdays/lessons that day and got a magic show while waiting for a fellowshipper. the whole time im all is this legal? cuz magic isn't exactly the priesthood power. eh. life continues. so this week was an adventure. BUT I UNDERSTAND. The lord was SO right by my side the whole week. I just go up to people not knowing how they're going to respond or if they even speak tagalog or just ilocano and just use what I got. Man alive. I've never felt the gift of tongues so real. so so SO real.

 Dad remind me to tell you her geneology next week. Sister Mcphie that is. 

oh and these pictures are entitled: rachel... has terrible form but its not about beauty but about getting it done.

 and the other is me about to catch a ball and Sister Bacalla goes "I saw a pillar of light".

 self explanitory. haha. 

anyway back to business the ward continues to progress. before the avg attendance was like 95. now with 2 sets of missionaries its jumped to 125ish. wowza. we made a goal for 140. God helps us reach goals. I testify of it. oh last thing. In a lesson yesterday, I just kinda forced my self in. We've been bugging them non stop. but then the nanay and tatay both just started balling as we talked about repentence and faith in christ. Does the gospel change lives. um yes. that's all for now. I feel your prayers and love you more then anything. :) I miss you all :) but not enough to distract of course. keep me posted. 
Sister Hansen over and out :)


Monday, July 29, 2013

laugh or cry

hannah and little girls. you are all amazing babes and swimmers. mom I love you! thanks you for the advice i will buy the best i can. ill withdraw next week. and hahahahahahahahaha this weeks letter is called laugh or cry. There is no option c, and also adventures with rice cheeks.

Soooo yeah I got a suprise phone call saturday night... why hello president. Will I follow up train an american? yyyeeeeees? I suppose. Ha I've been here 10 weeks and its still struggle town with the language I feel very inadequate. and then my new comp I think has been sick a lot... so ADVENTURE! ha I'll get her tomorrow. So whoever is reading this I encourage you to drop to your knees right now and pray. PRAY like theres no tomorrow for me. the Lord really does hear prayers. 

In facccctt... that morning i prayed for him to put me through whatever I needed to to become the missionary he wanted me to be and learn the language. then president calls. ha funny joke. I take it back I TAKE IT BACK! joke. ha I can do this because the Lord is with me. 

but I'll tell you right now missions are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard. guarantee it'll top the hardest thing you've ever done before but they are also so rewarding. its like stretching your legs... i have famously painful and not flexible legs. you push it till it hurts then hold... till it starts to feel comfortable then you push it till it hurts again... aw yeah. love the pain. love it. ha really though this work rocks more then anything. 

We had baptism number 2 on friday.. his birthday. How awesome is that? Then like 50 less actives came to church on sunday. I sat in church grinning like a weirdo and trying to keep a bunch of adorable kids (from the family that we're teaching) occupied while my comp gave her "farewell" to the ward talk. Note to self. do not give 5 and 8 year olds pens. haha. 

oh and my face is rounding out. I was told that twice this week. let me just tell you the word fat isn't an insult here. its like telling someone they have long hair or their eyes are blue. only problem is I don't want rice cheeks.... ehhhhhh. no worries im throwing the nutella out the window.

 oh and this is a picture of Lamoni. In case you havent read the picture book bom lately.. reread it. Lamoni is basically the best looking cartoon I've ever seen. If I die a martyr before I train i'm going to go to heaven and hook up with one of his decendents. joke ;) 

hmmm what else. Oh sister else the other american in our appartment I didn't think I would like at ALL at first but now I adore her more then just about anything. A few of her quote I wrote down this week "when I see couples i just think yall are cute... I wish that would happen to me in the milenium." hahaha and I said"some guy just told me im getting fatter... I'm pretty sure its definate I'm getting rice cheeks. then she said: well some filipino just said I was getting tan but im pretty sure im still white.." hahahahahaha what would I do with out all these wonderful people I'm surrounded with.

I'm going to miss Sister Gadiano. she's awesome. and Sister Storey my mtc comp is staying I'm my appartment TONIGHT!!! I love her SO SO SOOOO0OO MUCH! well thats it for now. please pray for me this week... its going to be a ride. but the lord is with me. no need to fear. except a little. keep being awesome family and friends :) I love you all! 
sister hansen :)


Monday, July 22, 2013

Wowza!

Wowza!  a family of 10 moving in... sounds like a party! make them feel welcome. thats really what we need in the church. unity and brotherly kindness. and dad im mailing you a birthday letter home soon :) did you get my fathers day one? 

but now... stories for this week... hahah mom and dad don't worry about my creepers. I'm a head taller then all of them. I've toned down the helloing. especially cuz "ronny" sent us a creeper text saying he liked me... weirdo. i could sit on him and he'd be crushed tho. he's only a teenager. so president said stop teaching him and avoid seeing him... president is wise :) im going to carry that with me through my life. or just punch them. probably the first though ;) 
Plus I'm becoming maitim (tan) so I probably won't stick out so much. They think its nuts I want to be tan. I think they're crazy for going for the white. ha so basically I love them. I pray every day to become a filipino. 

and this week I think I made progress. We were chunted (cheerfully punted) but I let things just slide of my back. I don't worry about numbers and time limits so much anymore... like a beach head just go with the flow duuude, also my filipino squat has improved drastically, I can now make adobo.

 My face... *sigh* is becoming more rice cheeky every day. I can smoosh ants WITH MY BARE HANDS. ha yeah I was pretty proud too. I killed a 2 inch spider that moved faster then what should be humanly possible with just a flip flop. pinoi pinoi pinoi!!!!! 

also I want a motorcycle. thought you should know. I rode on the back of a tricicle... man its the life. life should be viewed on the back of a bike. not kidding your. I will marry the man who drives me on a bike to some scenic over look and says "an arrangement of marriage would please me" (the testaments) gahahahah k not really. marriage is for old wrinkley people ;) not missionaries. 

We had a zone activity today and it sufficieth me to say everyone knows I can throw a football now. Felt soooooooo so so good. some elder said I had a cannon for an arm... why thank you :) I love this work. There's nothing more satisfying then helping other people. serving other people and loving other people. We have another baptism this week! yayayayayayayaayaa the gospel changes lives. true story. test it out. nothing is cooler then seeing people change. our first baptism tatay Abraham comes to church every week at 8 and stays till 6. he goes to like 10 hours of church and in 3 weeks he's already practically done with second nephi. do I feel like a proud mother? yes. yes I do. :) 
I love you all and couldn't do this with out  you
the work goes forth. till next week :)
sister hansen 

Monday, July 15, 2013

3 months...

Famila and Friends... 
We gather together now to celebrate... HAPPY 3+ MONTHS. and in one week on papi's birthday my happy 2 months in the Pines. Sometimes I wish time would hold up. Eh. Life goes on. And so does the work. 

well this week was... interesting. Line of the week: are they drunk? sounds sketchy right but let me explain. On Friday we're walking down the streeet past some teens and I get an overly enthusiastic HI! so i say hi. then they say you're so beautiful! me: slamat po! (they're way too outgoing and friendly is what im thinking) then they yell can we talk with you?! I about just keep walking and sis Gadiano goes: want to talk with them? my first question: well are they drunk? nope. (they are actually 2 super cute outgoing friendly girls who know different missionaries and wanted to discuss my eye color but they let us teach them and they're basically golden) tapos... Saturday comes around and another investigator (we'll call him Ronny) comes uop to us just as we're headed to give a different stroke victim investigator a blessing. His eye's are serioiusly wider then a deers. "sisters I want to be taught!" (now our sweet but unknowing Nanay fellowshipper is all YES! lets teach him|! ( umm ... nanay, Ronny likes to send us good morning :) texts and not let go of my hand when we give hand shakes and be creepily friendly and interested)) so we're all.. um we have an appointment and he's all i want a lesson. I said great! then come to church. he never showed up but afterwards sister G goes do you think he was drunk? I just started to laugh because whenever anyone is abnormally eager to hear our message we assume they're drunk. 

haha its life so now for the spiritual matters: this week we got punted and basted (dumped) and punted and punted. we got a hard core text from one investigator telling us she has her own God and religion. (um same God silly. aaaand you're wrong so be baptized) and is kinda is lame being basted cuz they're throwing their salvation that you're working so hard for out the window. So we got dumped by 3 people then I got bit 32 times on my legs in one day(the red cross could get liters of donations from my mosquito friends i give to so generously) and i got made fun of for being white (uncommon occurance but it happens) So by friday i was kinda done with it all. and just enduring. 

But then we committed Arnel and Jane annnnddd.... FAMILY to baptism!!!! a family a family a familiy!! and not jsut any family they live in a house aqbout the size of 2 of our closets down stairs. six people in a 4 by 12 ft space. so SSUUUUPER poor. and we taught about tithing and im all this lesson will be taough. Um want to know what they said? money come money goes. Basically we'll pay tithing and save money for a marriage license too. and Tatay Abs (abraham) is still coming to like 12 hours of church. both wards and mcm. I feel like a proud parent. sorry for all the spelling mistakes I was trying to type fast (I tried to fix most of them before it went on the blog- rachel's sister) . BUT THIS WORK IS amazing. truly. be thankful for the trails because the rainbows always follow the storm if you keep your vision high and youre attitude up. love you all. mom get better please :) and read the scriptures yall everyday. theres power there. Tell kirst sarah and emily I love them and im proud of them :) 
love you all :) 

oh... and this is what I do with uneffective mosquito nets. 

love sister hansen 

Monday, July 8, 2013

i love wash. MIRACLES HAPPEN

so basically my week was stellar. what's new. I love this work. like nothing else. nothing makes me happier. Im just waiting for the announcement where they say in general conference: so like the scriptures we've decided to Let you go on a mission for 14 years... alma the younger status. SIGN ME UP! jokelang but kinda serious.

 There is SO much work to do and nothing is more satisfying then seeing this ward and all the people we know change. its awesome.It's really like Ike said in an email one week. You understand everything one second and the next its day gone again. 

Soooo what to tell you about this week... there was one man we contacted on the street. He is a tan taller version of the old man on UP i kid you not. THEN he proceeds to tell us how his son goes to University of the Philippines... UP college. oooohhh this is too great. sometimes I have to learn to contain my excitment.

 I feel like Im finally starting to feel like I'm not in a dream. probably because im starting to understand people. im in a time warp still though. 3 months?? sayyyy whhhhaaaa??? nonoooonononononon No. ive got work to do. time can't go by. 

oh and heres the miracle of the week... probably not what you were expecting but I now love doing wash by hand. yes yes. i know pathetic thing to be happy about but it was my goal for the week and you know what?? God help you achieve righteous goals so I changed my attitude and now its this glorious mindless work of squatting and scrubbing. may i never be cured of this condition.

 I've also realized this week how selfish i am. forgive me friends and family. I'm working on it. I will never be the same. I want to be a Filipino. they're... so cool. you've got to experience this culture some time. sorry this week was more boring then most letter wise. I'll go for some cool stories this week. SO prepare for my next letter. its coming. and as always pray for me :)

 I LOOOOOVVVVEEE THIS WORK AND THESE PEOPLE AND EVEN THE MOSQUITOS. joke. not the mosquitos. but really it rocks. and I love you all. i hope you had a happy 4th. you sound like youre killing it in meets and everything else. mom I miss your letters. have someone teach you how to email:) missionaries need members. true story.

sister hansen signing out

love you :) again and the pic is of tatay (that actually means father its a term of respect you call old people here his real name is) Abraham's baptism



Monday, July 1, 2013

Here is the one from this week

hahaha im thinking you maybe felt to pray for me on transfers day. it went glorious. 

buuuuutttt.... STORY TIME. let me just quote my journal. "ha so today i finally had a creeper mcCreeper experience.

 ready? So we're outside April's house (she's a nine year old part member with a baptisimal date and attitude. i pretty much love her) and we see her so we're all can we teach you? and while we're bartering with her theres this dude like 3 feet away staring.... ok. so i say hi. he then goes siiiissster... Hansen (creepin on the name tag) I had a dream. (me: um.. great!) ... about YOU!! ( mom this remind you of your creeper at college?) you need to touch me so i can be free (ok you're now on the weirdo list get lost) Sister will you touch me? me: sorry its bawal (forbidden) (obviously he is more off his rocker then moms college creeper who said he dreamed about her then proposed) him: why is it bawal?? (did i tell you he was speaking english) me: because we're missionaries! (at this point im all april do you know him? she says no then shouts something probably not super respectful at him... love her) sister will you show me how to pray? teach me your lessons! me: later right now we're going to teach april. him: i will follow you sister!!! i have the same face as Jesus (ok dude you've gone to far) at this point we start walking away and true to his word he starts following us. so we like sorta run and april is all get in my house! so we do and he starts yelling creeper stuff from outside the door. weirdo. luckily he disappeared after. what can i say? filipinos love me. i actually was pretty pumped after cuz i finally had a weird missionary story. so there it is. The gospel is for everyone. except the creepers (see fine print) 

and WE BAPTIZED TATAY ABRAHAM THIS WEEK!!!!! he is so awesome. when he got sustained a member of the church yesterday he cried a ,little. he is such a changed man. you don't know the half of it. he told us how he was in manilla and just felt like he should come to Laoag. then his family was being taught. then he came to church and had the sacrament and knew this church was true. and now he smiles all the time and is pretty much a rock. he comes to church at nine and goes to both wards! golden? i think so. we got to see the work of salvation yesterday. soooo so SOOOO GOOOD. MISSIONARIES NEED YOU! I NEEEEEEED YOU. k that sounds creepy (that seems to be the prevailing word in this letter) but its true. everyone needs to find a reason to have the missionaries over. find the less active. find the investigators. because it is SO crucial they have a friend when we leave or good luck keeping them in the church. anyway i got to go. transfers this week. i didn't get transferred BUT im training an american in 4 weeks... pray for me. I LOVE YOU ALL :) Life is good and the church is true and filipinos are my favorite. 
till next week

sister hansen :) 

this one is the letter from two weeks ago

(sorry this one is late... I wasn't able to update her blog because I was at girls camp so today you get two!
-Hannah Hansen aka Rachel's sister)
Dad i guess im supposed to ask about some crazy hike you dragged everyone on... sounds like you ;) do tell all. k that day was vacay (vacation but i wanted it to rhyme) for like 4 hours. i was in heaven playing capture the flag.

 soooo news for this week... it was zone conference and elder teh of the 70 and his wife were there again. and we were all asked to prepared 3x3 minute talks on various subjects. im just thinking. k. i JUST talked in sacrament and in their stake auxillary leaders meeting. im good right? well they get up to anounce the speakers. very first one... of course its me. again. love it. ha and the subject is the one that i struggled the most to write... well so im not sure how that went but i did it. 

so i hugged elder teh's wife again. we're basically tight now. she said she went on a mission to pay back God for her awesome life and ended more in debt then ever. that's how i feel. missions ROCK. still cant speak or understand much. its a bit pathetic. but let me quote ursula "you've got your looks, your pretty face. and DONT underestimate the power of body language" hahahaha i kill myself when quotes pop in my head that fit. its struggle town usa (as sister storey would say) and its great. 

We were teaching tatay ooohhh... who by the way IS BEING BAPTIZED THIS WEEEEEEKKK!!!! FIRST ONE. im a little pumped. but he said a prayer at last nights lesson in which he said he couldn't have come to know this church was true. yyayayayay spirit. seriously it made my life. he is a new person. i kid you not. he didn't smile once for the first 3 weeks we taught him. he smiles all the time now... he exudes the light of christ. he knows he's been forgiven for past sins and it is honestly the most amazing wonderfully awesome thing ive EVER seen. to see how the gospel can totally change a person and fill them with just this hope and light... it makes me so happy. ive never been happier. each day is a struggle. but tatay... tatay abraham is making it all worth it 10 times over this week. i love him.

 latest adventures. i woke up the other day with over 30 bites on my ankles. im at war with mosquitos... they may have the upper hand but i have stratgem. here comes the net. i seriously am resorting to buying a mosquito net. haha i said this week to sister gadiano " im going to have THE most HIIIIDEOUS legs when i go home and i wont care because i sacrifice them in the service of the Lord" it happens. im over it. OH. most import thing. rice face is REEEEAAALLLL curse round faces. ive got the beginings of one and someone tell ike this week to tell me pronto what to do. i refuse to have a rice face. kanin mukha (rice face in tagalog) its totally unacceptable. it doesn't compliment any of my outfits. we cant have that. well missions rock and everyone should go on one. they're seriously the best struggle but so awesome experience you can have ever. i wish sometimes the days would speed up and the weeks slow down. live it up and have no regrets. talk to everyone. that's what im trying to work on. hope you enjoy my rants cuz time is so short. well i love ya'll. till next week

sister hansen :)

ps i got a little homesick thinking about round up week and summer games but i got over it so no worries. ive got to put my whole mind and heart into the mish. IIIII LLLOOOOVVVVEEE YOU ALL :)

Monday, June 17, 2013



wowza! way to go hannah! you rock. really you do. I tell everyone about my stellar good at everything family. Ah what good genes we have. Salamat Po Dad and Mum. 

hahahaha funny that you all had to talk in church... i did too! The bishop comes up to me at the beginning of classes after relief society and goes Sister want to talk in sacrament... naturally i thought he was joking. haha funny bishop... he just stares. Ummm... what subject? tithing :) ooooh... well... i suppose.... how long? -oh uhh 10 minutes! (now it was my turn to stare) oh um 5 minutes! ok... i will try bishop. I think i talked for 7. blessings to me. haha don't know if they even understood it... im over it. But was someone praying for me yesterday??? because at church i was understanding people!! like they said a joke. i got it. miracles happen people. That seriously made my day. its about the worst feeling in the world for someone to spout off giberish then everyone laughs and you just smile weakly. yeeeaaah so nice to laugh. oh!

 Dad happy Fathers DAY!!!! late. i know. But what a great day it was. k eye opener this week. Friday it rains. ha you think you know rain? you probably don't. it POURS here. like singing in the rain status on steroids. in 20 minutes its up to your ankles. and do you feel legit? yes, yes you do. Like a boss... or a pioneer. or someone that forges through things for the greater good. I smiled like a weirdo while i got soaked.

 Then later we were teaching Tatay Abraham. (this is the moment)  ill just quote my journal: "So yesterday we were sitting in a lesson with Tatay Abs and we were soaked and our toes were prunny (i taught sis Sadiano that word and i was so proud... i thought you'd like to know) and our shoes were dripping water from the inside out. and were sitting on the ground and he was on a small stool and there were 3 lizards on the ceiling and we used a flash light cuz the lights were dim and we testified. and i thought: this is the real deal. ha no airbrushed only the good parts "the district" episode here. Theres probably roaches in the crack underneath me im sitting on and the twins are noisy and i cant speak and i love it ALL. ha i've serioiusly never been happier/more content. Maybe Im becoiming more like a Filipino but you're just happy because you trust in the Lord, you know he answers prayers, and you will be ok. Yay missionary work!  

Yup that's my entry

Life is good. Our thief/contact who robbed our neighbors was caught. Heavenly Father answers prayers. and when we tried to explain to sister mimi who the gentiles are in the scriptures she goes oohh... so kinda like muggles. hahahahahaha oh man. i love this work. 

We're praying tatay Abraham has a good interview this week and will be our first baptism next week! we'll see. Well i love you all. Hey. Dear Elder me! we still get them after like 3 weeks but its free! so keep them coming. till later. Share the gospel because it rocks. 
Ps: im going to come home with such a weird sense of humor. All my jokes are now gospely... yeah we'll see how that goes. 

-Sister Hansen

P.s. I have a new motto. you might want to tell everyone. It's FAIL GLORIOUSLY!!! good motto eh? its better to fail trying to do the right thing then sitting there like a pansy and wishing you had said or done something but you didn't. failing is great. its how we learn. 


Sister Hansen at the Beach of P-day


Monday, June 10, 2013

I went to the beach.... and killed at steal the flag. what's new?

Dadio! my mission president and his wife are the Barrientos! pretty much love them. They're filipino. They must love me too cuz remember how I spoke in stake leaders meeting just me and sister Gadiano? well after sister Barrientos goes "they're two of our finest" ummm... ive only been out 2 weeks but thank you! ill take it! then after this lady comes up to me and hugs me (she'd been teaching) but i was all awkward because in our mission its bawal (forbidden) to hug anyone! I just realized She's Elder Teh's wife. As in Elder Teh of the 70. a general authority's wife hugged me!! and i was awkward! who preaches to a 70's wife? I do apparently! check that off the bucket list. hahah.

Oh and remember how someone broke into the eddingtons house? yeah so we found out who. it was this kid we actually contacted on the corner a few nights before. crazy eh? he said he was mormon (but he had bleached hair.... suspicious) and was an rm of manilla but when i asked for referrals (rms should know what that is right?) he looked at me all confused (k my tagalog isn't THAT bad that i mispronounced referrals IN english) anyway.... so his name is romel. and we have like 50 jokes about romel now. If something is creepy or we hear a creepy sound. its probably romel. 

DAAADDDD HAPPY FATHERS DAY NEXT WEEK!!!!  I will write you a heart felt letter the day after deal? look forward to it :)

 OH today for zone activity we went to the beach. THE BEEEEAAACCCHHH. aaaannnnddd then we played capture the flag. as in my favorite summer game of ALL TIME. on the beach. my inner swimmer came out and i was pretty competitive. I gave a stirring speech to all my team (cuz i was captain) about how its better to fail gloriously then sit in a stale mate for 10 minutes. I seriously love our zone and i hope they like me cuz im kinda a dork but I dont care.

 I will try to send picture next week! ask barb for my story on how my tagalog got made fun of but then the lady came to church. sorry my thoughts are scattered. but it was a good story. man i love this work. and its kinda sad buuuuutttt My fame has died. like hannah montana or sagwa. what was once popular is forgotten. they probably got sick of me the 4 time i said hello po going down the same street, the same day. 

The bugs have decided to level up and the party is now on my arms. bites EVERYWHERE. love it though. haha. battle wounds and such. mostly my biggest struggle here is just the language. I have SO MUCH to say but i speak like im 3. im over it. ill just keep trying. it will come. the lord is with me. I seriously rely on him sooooo so SO much. I pray every day for the gift of tongues so I can be a better teacher and help these people. 

news of the week: I got tatay Abraham (our not just golden but platinum investigator) to smile. I seriously cannot wait for his baptism on the 29th. he'll be my first. first let me tell you how i did it. sooo filipinos have this strange notion that white is beautiful (everyone wants what they cant have) so we're talking about it at the hilarios and Sis G goes tatay do you want to be white? and he says yes. and i go "hindi! HINNNNDDDI! (no) and i told him his skin was beautiful and he cracked a half grin! my life is complete. 

so some funny moments: this week sister diamonds ipod is playing and its tab choir. and i could swear they're playing the "praise to budah" song on king and I. I started to laugh. its a bit ironic the tab choir singing that. I dunno... 

I just want to tell you all I love you. and I think of you. Be kind to each other. And NEVER be sarcastic IF its at someone elses expense. its the most belittling thing ever. 

Mom i love you. i want you to get better soooo much. so get a blessing. and just trek on. kayo mo yen! (you can do it) the lord is always with you. he is with the walkers. Lean on him. I promise the closer you try to be to him the more you'll see him everyday. im sorry you're sick. its like the hardest trial ever but I love ya'll. know that. until next week :) ill live on. 

love you
Sister Hansen