2 languages 1 blessing

k dad let me get this out before you have time to ask again... sister porters great grandparents are... Leon David Porter and Maude Walton, Arthur Snyder and Clara Venetta Garside, Guy Reynolds Justis and Ardis Carolyn Larson, and John Raymond Erickson and Muriel Harris. and sister storey doesn't know hers. sorry that's all i got. But i hope you have some fun with that.

I miss you partiers at the hansen house. staying up all night playing board games and penny pinching off the streets for shakes... ahhh good times. mean while back at the ranch (thats a saying from oldie books if you didn't know)

Im doing peachy.

 Might as well start with the spiritual. thats always kinda important. So As you might know WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS AND ARE LEAVING IN 9 DAYS. WHHHAAAA???? or in tagalog nagsasalita ANNNOOOO??? yeah im a dork and my mtc humor is very mtcish right now. but back to the back drop of my story. well we're leaving and i really got pretty sad. I balled. k i said it. i love my district and mga kasama so much. we're seriously together like 10 hrs of the day. they are family. very disjointed but true. i love them and it made me sad to leave them and my kasama was getttiiinng a blessing sooooo.... i piggy backed and asked for one too. But then Elder Smiti from Samoa wanted to give it.... in Samoan. so the thoughts running through my head are just like how am i supposed to know what to do and what the Lord wants me to know if its in another language??? but he explained in his (pretty good for only speaking english for 6 weeks) way that  whether samoan or english the blessing God gives is the same. 2 languages, one blessing. Okaylang. still kinda with this doubtful mind i let him start. It was the coolest experience i started out with all this doubt and just skepitcal wondering thoughts in my mind but then gradually it was replaced with a sweetness and confidence and feeling of power. it seriously was the coolest thing. i realized it REALLY doesn't matter what language it is or if i understand. if im living righteously everything he blessed me with will come to pass. it also made me think of my language im trying to learn. how am i supposed to communicate and convert people i can hardly talk to??? But now i know if ive prepared and im living right, no matter what language im speaking the language of the spirit will come through and they'll understand whatever they need to. 2 languages one message. k my vent on that is over. but really its so awesome what the Lord will show you. Elder Smiti was inspired in more then one way.

k so more light stuff as is how my personality goes. haha so every sunday night after devotional we get to watch a movie or talk or something of our choosing. so last sunday we chose to go to the movie Legacy. i never enjoyed that movie so much in my WHHOOOOLLLLE LIFE.  was it a bit cheesey? indubitably (spelled wrong get over it this isn't word girl) was it mushy? absolutley. did i love it. YES! seriously david in that movie is such a babe with his sappy lines (ex: well maybe ill slow down and just work one day in 10) i really died. it was so lovely. haha you could actually hear all the guys shushing everyone cuz they hadn't seen that much kissing in months. elders are sweethearts. Let it be known Legacy is the Pride and Predjudice for elders and sisters at the mtc. it was seriously so awesome. in the ddddiiiiissstant future when i get home i might have to watch it like 5 times straight.

Oh so i thought you might like to know i was talking in my sleep AGAIN... in tagalog.  saying something like nagaral (studied in tagalog) hahaha yesssss its permeated every thought so now i even sleep talk in taglish.

miracle of the week:

i have a foot tan line. i may now be called a sister missionary with OUT shame. it really is quite lovely. it cuts right accross my foot where my grandma shoes finally show my foot skin. im so proud

ANOTHER MIRACLE:

I FINNAAALLLLY SAW QUININSKI!!! about time!  made me happy. please tell my brother in law i made larryanne and she sits adjacent to him on the sil by my bed. well. times up. i have so much more to say but it will lhave to wait

SOBRA mahal kita

sister hansen :)

Some pictures of Rachel with Quininski

um so yeah the time warp is coming to an end...

Guess WHAT??????

I GET MY TRAVEL PLANS THIS WEEK!!!! what the fweak just happened(kid history). i feel like i just got here then WHAMO!! oh hey you're leaving. say whaaa? whatever. ill conquer it or die. IM pumped tho!!! i can't believe ive almost been here 4 weeks the days have flown this place rocks! Im so glad i inspired stake conference :) i knew i was an inspiration character. and yeeeaaah sorry dad! i asked them but i forgot to write it down so i'll have to get a letter to you this week! sorrrry! im pretty slow at things sometimes but ill get on it. Yeah my district is made up of babes. i feel like an ugly duckling. not really. but seriously who looks good when they wake up? THEY DO! who looks like the walking death? I DO!! zombie lady coming through... let me wipe off all my smeared mascara that's makes me look like something worthy of the zombie apocalypse. ill have to send another letter and look at the picture before i can tell you their names. hahah ok so about me these 2 weeks since i feel like you've missed my whole life since they changed my p day. first off there is an elder named zimmerman who has the total hots for my kasama who is claimed!!  she has a boy friend. before she told him this it had come to him calling her pet names like ballerina girl (shes a dance ps) anyway she told him and now they're just bosom friends  but he's such a sweetheart. hahahahhah we'd count how many times he'd pop out of no where and talk to her a day. it was li;ke 8. also we have a "investigator" named patricio and you know how you can get things engraved with names here for free? well you can. and they did. but with patricio. hahahha they gave our teacher/investigator with a fake name his own book of mormon. it was funny. we are creepy loving missionaries. So the other day we were playing volleyball and gym... me being the awesome person i am was kicked in the face with the ball and also had it spiked into my face. yay. team. hahah it was soft tho so i didn't totally look like id been abused. That's what i get for being lazy this week and not running and working out and becoming the new p90x tony lady trainer. eh. tony is over rated anyhow. sorry this letter is basically a letter composed of all my funny moments so thats what you get cuz that's what i concentrate on. i carry my journal around with me during the day and write down whatever funny thing happens or is in the least bit quote worthy. for example:

we were talking at the breakfast table and sister porter with her pneumonia like symptoms was dying and she kept saying she felt like a sloth, then randomly she says "did you know sloths are so dumb, they will grab their arm thinking its a tree branch and fall to their death?" who even KNOWS that??? hahahahah we were dying. like bad. she has lots of random fun facts. she also said you have to tip turkeys over if they're drinking water as it rains cuz they'll just stand there with their mouth open until they drown. stupid birds. anyway we have a quote wall and it's really quite fun. really. if you concentrate on the good moments in the day it makes your day like triple the happiness lever as usual. try it. write down every little funny thing that happens. its great.

so you know how thomas edison said something like "i didn't fail, i found 2000 ways not to make a lightbulb" yeah well i can top you thomas!! "im rachel and ive found 20000 ways not to speak tagalog and butcher it past the point of recognition. im skilled like that. but not to worry i can manage a few basic, elemenary sentences to get me through. reminds me of when dad was all. this is all you need to know in spanish "donde esta el bano" got tit! haha so basically im in business with the latinos and the pilipinas.

the other day we were on mormon.org and we just started stalking everyone and their dogs profiles, let it be known you don't need fb with mormon.org. we found everyones boy friends. except mine. eli hasn't made one yet. which reminds me im so mad i missed his grunts and slobbery kisses. I MISS MY NEPHEW. and all ya'll too :) This week consisted of mostly sister porter dying slowly. as i stated she had a temp of 103 one day and went to the instacare then followed migraines and other stuff. mean while sister storey and i made a hobo corner in the hall and basically looked like the most spiritual homeless creatures you could find. ive got to figure out how to get you pictures so you can see it. we seriously saw daylight at dinner and squinted at it like we just emerged from a cave we'd lived in our whole life and took of some tinted sun glasses. it was like sun? what is sun?

word to the wise. you think men look good in suits with tags? HA! Try normal clothes. pretty sure street clothes are the most attractive thing ive seen since the dawn of time. you know what else is nice? sercret agents. last night i dreamed i was a secret agent with a fine looking partner in justice and we scaled the brooklyn bride which had made its way to seattle oddly enough trying to ditch some bad guys which we eventually did through some skilled driving. it was quite nice. reminds me of the time we went into public. as missionaries. yeah you heard me. we went out to go to the byu pharmacy and it was the oddest thing ever. i really did feel like i stepped out of a bubble and had a mantle placed on me. we were all feeling like weirdos so we said hi to about every person we met and creeped out some little kids. hoo ra for us doing our duty. it was a super cool feeling., not going to lie. they were real people!! not like ive seen those before.  anyway ive got to go but just know ng espiritu santo sa lakas and this place is istig!!! love the gospel. love this work. and love to learn. AND love bringing true happiness to others and myself. its great.

mahal kita

sister hansen :)

heeeeeeeeeyyyyy errrbody. im still alive. don't flip a top

soooo our P day got changed... it's now saturday. but am i complaining?? nooooo. our new schedule rocks! so don't worry. i will respond to ya all momentarily in like 4 days. sorry i only have a few minutes to tell you that is all till saturday!! mahal kita!! :) 

a pic of my district that i DEARLY LOVE

 

2nd letter

I serious am going to put the smack down on some of those stupid doctors of moms if they don't get their heads screwed on straight here soon. i really hope its just a hiccup and she gets better super fast. in fact i hoped so soooo much i put moms yours and a few others names on the prayer roll because its good for you. and you all need something im sure that im just not aware of. anyway sooooo fun happening of the week....

ELDER SCOTT CAME AND TALKED TO US!!!! ha! not only that but he left an apostolic blessing on us as missionaries THEN he interupted the girl about to give the closing prayer in front of everyone and continued the apostolic blessing. HOO RA for men of God. they make my day... no week... scratch that lets go with life. Really though cuz they make me want to be so much better. ill write you a letter of what he said cuz i don't have too much time now. sooo tag a log... is... coming. sorta. i feel like a failure and i speak probably as well as baby eli speaks english but minus the cuteness that sails him through it. aw man. im going to have to figure out how he does it someday. i miss babies. i miss sunshine and chilling on the grass listening to music. no music here. but am i complaining? nooooooo it is one of our district goals (yours truly came up with) and we are doing SMASHING i might add. sorta. but we do say 3 nice things about whatever we complained about after we complained about it and we all keep eachother on track because we don't want to be laman and lemuel complain and gossip status. they're dumb. someone in the scriptures had to be. poor nephi. HA funny thing. last sunday we had pretty much the funniest older mormon lady alive come and talk to us. she killed me. at one point she was like DOOOONNNT TOUCH THE ELDERS.... but keep track of the ones you'd like to touch so post mission you can find them at a reunion. she was awesome. she was the first lady to go to the philippines taiwan and somewhere else mission way back then. sweet huh? but anyway so we say bawal (forbidden) when ever any sister in our district is getting a little to friendly. its fun. its all BAWAL BAWAL BAWAL all the time. makes me laugh. and the other day this elder all innocently tries to tap sister morrell on the arm and like 6 girls (automatic reaction) scream DOOOOONNNT TOUCH HER!!!!! The poor elders probably been scarred for life. and his comps. hahah it was awesome tho. flirting is bad here. but we watched this talk by elder bednar on sunday called characters of christ. if you can youtube it or something i promise you'll never regret it. its like the best thing this side of the mississippi. we had a small melt down this week one day when we were all homesick and everything and we just all balled and bore testimonies and stuff. loved it. i cry like a baby here. someone spiked my tear glands in my sleep cuz they're quite over reactive. its just like take a chill pill already. so ive got to go soon but thank you so much for  your package. you guys dont know HOW much letters and packages mean out here. im such a punk for not writing people in the past. it couldve made their day. so pleeeeaaseee write me, email me( again i can email ANYONE now) and dear elder me!!! ( we get them daily) hannah please show mum how to do it. and dad. pleeeeaase. i love you. i love ALLLL OF YOU. i miss you like you wouldn't believe and pray about you even more. i beg my heavenly father to watch over you and keep you safe if its the only thing he does for me all mission. but he does so much more for me anyway. his will be done in all things. im striving to follow it. obediance is hard! how did christ do it. ( i almost said some people kids but that includes us cuz we're all God's children)

sorry i didnt say more to your letters personally but i cant remember it all. ill write a long letter to address it. i love you much. mahal kita( thats about all i can say i struggle. lets be honest. with this language)

sister hansen

ps: thanks for the little scriptures dad they make me happy :) im still finding slip of paper in my bags

ciao(any filipino missionary here would be mad i said that cuz its technically italian. im over it)

pss: i run like a gypsie. if gypsies run. i dunno but i ran 40 minutes straight the other day. a new record. ha i was pretty proud. ive got my swim body back. tis the oddest thing. im getting buffer in the mtc rather then weaker. and i still eat like a horse. that is messy and A LOT. hahahha its ok . its how i roll.. but no body runs longer then me on the track. no one. i outrun the xc boys and girls and the lifters. the closest is this army chick. but it feels great. maybe i got a little of dads genes mixed with moms football/tennis arm after all. life is good :)

elllllloooooo salam and good evening to you

Yeah,

So you know how in alladin they say salam and good evening to you? we say salamAT. because we're that much cooler. Aladin can't touch us. hannah your email still makes me laugh ;) i love it. i hope you get your senior pics soon.  hahahahahaha so guess what the girl to guy ratio is in our district.... 8 girls to 3 guys. That WOULD happen! pffft who needs hot elders anyway? NOT me. really tho. Stay awwwaaaay from the elders. We had a lesson on sunday. She was the funniest old woman (what is she to you? an old woman) lady talking to us. She said DONT TOUCH THE ELDERS.... but keep track of the ones youd like to touch then at reunions feel free! hahahahah. really tho i stay away from elders. they're much to flirty. So mga(means plural form) kasama are sister storey and sister porter. They are both suuuuuper cute head strong lovely sisters of God(ps we cant eat gum or say guys here soooo now sister is kinda the new word for dude. what up sister?) I love them very much. We taught our third lesson to keveeeeeen Yesterday. NAILED IT. oh hey kevin want to be baptized if you feel it's right? sure! if i know its right! good cuz youre going to know!!! (EVEN tho i know you already know we know you're mormon... joys of teaching probably we guess a mtc teacher. you cant pull the wool over our eyes kevin. you will be REbaptized!! oh aaaannnnd we did it memorized! HOT DOG. k im getting a little excited with the caps lock but thats how it goes. Ps Im sending home a letter about the new rules on emailing... they include emailing FRRRIIIIIENDS and getting 60 WHOLE BLESSED MINUTES!! 200% baby of what we had before. We say thank you prayers all the time now since we basically can pray and bear testimony like natives now. Not really but the gift of tongues is real! sooooo real. ( with hard work see small italized print for more on it)

But its real! If this were spanish(with icky spanish teachers who teach at Lehi high who shall not be named) it'd be like spanish 1 the first week and spanish 2 the second week. I can already sort of understand and talk to Kevin the native who talks really fast whom i love. mucho much. want to hear our motto? for our branch anyway... obediance brings blessings. strict obediance brings miracles. ummmm blessings... great! miracles BETTER!!! id like an order of miracles for my strict obediance please! we have seen miracles. hahahah so you should have seen me day 2 here. I was all what. is. going. on?!?!?! i felt dead last in my class cuz mgakasama are just suuper brilliant individuals that learn way fast  so i felt very inadquate so what did i do? i asked for a blessing from our cute(in a little boy way dont go thinking anything crazyu ;) dl. we have to best elders. theyre super funny. all 3 of them. today we went to the temple and besides being this spiritual feasting groud its a physical feasting groud. WHY HAVE I NOT BEEN TO THE TEMPLE CAFETERIA BEFORE NOW???  that place matches the rest of the temple. heavenly. loooooved it. so good. so cheap. great service. 5 stars.

so every day here feels like sunday. so when we get to sunday its more chilll but still like every other day. want to feel the spirit 24/7 and feel guilty for going to bed 5 minutes late come here. ITS AWESOME! it really is THHHHEEEE HARDEST THING i have EVER done! its the longest days of your life. like spiritual emotional and physical drainage and its addicting. im getting sucked into it and i just want to love everyone not complain and be EXACTLY obediant.

soooo gym time comes around i head up stairs and start on the track. looking like the slowest cow of a sister missionary to ever attempt to jog. i really wasnt going to slow but everyone was crrruuuuiiisssing. until they started to drop. ah Ha! (said like mario). oh hey elder i thought youd last longer then me? guess not! i ran further and longer then anyone else up there. men and women alike. then i did push ups. maaaan push ups. apparently girls dont do that here cuz i got looks from boys pumping weights like what are you DOING? ummm working out? tell coach ZAN SHIN! and i creamate. k competition is bad but it feels so good to exercise and run 31 minutes straight. yes 31. not XC status but im over it. 4 miles with no music on a small track in something to be proud of. until you curl up after the workout in your room in the fetal position cuz you ran just a bit to hard. whatever. im over it. 

so everyone here is going nuts over the food and not in a good way. all i here is complaints. and then im just in a corner looking like a dejected animal like... i like it.... ha i actually love it! yaayayaya to meal times. its no temple cafeteria but i do like it much.

sooo why havent i got any letters? im thinking maybe i told you the wrong email. buuuutt please dear elder me! all week! its way easy and i get it that day and then i can write more to you on p days. also if possible could you tell lindsay smith jentry mcgregor grant lamont(his number is on my phone)  and anyone else pertanent its legal to write me so please do! id really like it. email me people!!! dear elder me!! if you love me. write me! really. PS: shout out to cheyenne for being the first and only one to write me of my friends. I love her :) she is awesome and her letter made my day.

mahal kita pamilya! (not sure if its correct sentence structure oh well)

sister rachel Hansen

the work rolls forth and im enjoying every minute of the mtc as advised love you! 

one more thing! (hahahaha that's what uncle says on jacccckkkiiiiie chan!)  i still have 15 minutes hahahahahahahaha. please get me some of my friends emails. pleeeeeaaassseeee! i really want to write some of them! BUT not nearly as much as i want to write you because i ADORE YOU all! really you guys. i about flipped when i saw i had a package. so more random things. in our room we have these things called narnia holes that contain hidden treasures. sister porter found a temple reccomend case and some sheet music! guess what i found??? wala. that means nothing. but i did open a drawer and find...... ha im not going to tell you cuz its coming in my letter that was in response to all your letters so ill talk more to you in that letter. but for now you can wait. and wait. ah ha. im so sneaky. P day is really so great. i neeeedded this! i cant believe i made it to  this day. this place is really a time warp. like it slows down the days speeeds up the weeks, slow weeks, fast months. thats how it goes. im trying to love every second and just laugh. and i do. i state whatever i feel like as long as its righteous and just let it go. so thank you so much for the gum :) i cant eat it during the day which is kinda puh-lame but i can during our wind down our so thanks! im stocked! ps: ike said he would write me. tell him to write me. he promised. prrrrooomiised. write me!  love you! love my comps. this work is soooo so so hard. just letting you know. its like the hardest workout ive ever done times to for how it drains. but if you give your whole self you can be blessed! got to go do more stuff and fill my schedule cuz 5 minutes a day wasted over 2 years is 18 days. at least thats what the guro(teacher) said.

paalam :)

Gung Ho No No

Today while i was talking to my sister she was telling me how on her mission she had some gung ho AP demoted to ZL because he was disobedient.
no.
It was you can only be AP so long. But her last transfer in the field she got in a friendly competition on baptisms. Let's be frank. Missions aren't about the numbers...
UNTIL THE LAST TRANSFER! hahahhahahah. just joshing.
It happens though. Especially with gung ho "i can baptize the world" AP elders. Or sisters. BUT she won :) And I started quoting pride and prejudice  "you should all go to Brighton (or where ever her last area was)! For that is the place to get converts (noooot husbands. that's gross. missionary mindset!). baha so I make myself laugh. That's life. And you get to hear about it :)
K so switching up the subject!
On a spiritual note it was conference and it twas glorious! Loooooved it!! (like wheezey from dragon tales... i know you know what im talking about. everyone watched it as a child) But a talk I really liked that hit me was Erich W. Kopischke talk. Here's some gems I found: while talking about Heavenly Father and Christ, "They do not accept us because of our title or position. They do not look at our status. They look into our hearts. They accept us for what we are and what we're striving to become. Seeking and receiving acceptance from them will always lift and encourage us." aaannnnddd "As we follow the simple pattern the Lord has laid out, we will come to know that we are accepted of him regardless of our position, status, or mortal limitations. His loving acceptance will motivate us, increase our faith, and help us deal with everything we face in life. Despite our challenges we will be successful, prosper, and feel at peace."
I realized I don't have to please everyone and their dog! I don't have to bend my values or back down when people make fun of me for what I do or do not do. GET OVER IT. As long as I'm doing something the Lord would be proud of, other people's opinions (if they're stupid) can drop and burn for all I care. I can be bold and people can disagree! Stand in the flames! (iiiiii fell into a burning ring of fire... k im done with quoting stuff for today) But really. I'm going to go forth with confidence and spread the word! because it's awesome and I love it!
This church is true! If you're a non member and reading this I just want to say test it out! God loves you! He will NOT lie to you. Just read The Book of Mormon. It can't hurt. And what if it IS true? You often hear everyone say what  if you're wrong? BUT what iiiiifff... we're right? What if Joseph Smith really was a prophet who saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. Crazier things have happened. Take the atonement and try to wrap your head around that! But it did happen! Miracles happen because we have an ALL powerful, ALL loving, ALL righteous Father that will do ANYTHING to see that we get back to him safely. This is His work and His glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men (and women if youre touchy and want to throw that in). Just test it out! Is a religion that teaches people to be the best they can be and have hop in eternal life really so bad? (I'm sorta rephrasing this from an awwwessome testimony I heard recently) But that's my schpeel. Take it or leave it! :)
Welp here's the last post before I'm set apart. My sisters will update it now. Party on, Choose the Right, and Obey with Exactness!!! :) later gators 

cow tipping

Once upon a  time.... long

long

long 

ago. 

Jk it was just my junior year in high school. I was at a meet and this creeper kid came up to me and was all

helloooo rachel. 

me: Ummmm... im pretty sure i don't know you...

You don't remember me?

me: No ive never met you(now let me finish my rubix cube on the side of this pool in peace!) 

You're right i just read your name off your swim pants

me:.... (Quit looking at my pant leg) 

Soooo you do rubix cube?

me: Yuuup. its our latest team obsession. just learned it.

so what else do you do for fun in Lehi?

He'd been implying Lehi was kinda a hick town to begin with so my friend, being the grounded amazing person she is, was kinda sick of him so she thought of the most small town activity she could and said... Cow tipping.

I. About. Died. 

Laughing so hard.

 He just looked confused and eventually left. It was perfect. 

BUT me being the honest Abe I am I didn't want to make her a liar. So I'm proud to say I finally did it! 

Some of my good friends on swim team work with cows so they asked the owner if we could tip a few! He said it was fine but watch out for the recently made mommy cows as they might charge and trample you for coming near their calves. 

Joy. 

Ever heard those stories of missionaries who right before they enter the MTC break their arm playing basketball, ooor get paralyzed landing wrong on a last moment skiing trip. I've heard of people also snapping their arms and EVEN breaking their rumps.

But how lame would it be if I was delayed and when asked why I just am like... Oh. Ya know. I tried to tip a cow but she got ticked and trampled me. Every day excuse right. 

But that didn't happen. All the cows apparently have a late curfew because they were all awake. But I tried! A for effort!! One day I'll tip a cow... Maybe before I leave... maybe after, but I'm determined! My apologies to you cow lovers but trust me. They're fiiine. This coming from my friends who spend hours with them.

Guess it's still on the bucket list! :)

PS: I LEAAAVVVE IN 5 DAAAAYYYSS