DIEZ MINUTOS PARA EL BREAK‏

Mi familia,

WOW. This week was crazy spiritual, amazing, and sad, just another week on the mission i guess! AND as of today, i've been gone for a month!! Like what the heck! I leave the ccm in two weeks! yikes I've got some learning to do haha.

First of all, soccer and ultimate frisbee ALL EXERCISE EVERY EXERCISE. haha the guys know now not to mess with Hermana Frandsen and I cause we get too weirdly competitive and into it (sorry white handbook I promise I'll tone it down) This week was great though, we sat with latinos every meal and I LOVE THEM. haha I seriously laughed so hard I cried every single meal!! I honestly can't wait to get out in the field and talk to latinos all day.

Our district kneels in a circle every time we pray now and it reminds me of nighttime family prayer!! :( I love it though because I love them like they're my family :)  I also got to go to the temple again!! I tried to do some of it in spanish, it was actually really cool. ALSO I don't know if I told you but every week we have to prepare a 5 minute talk for sacrament in spanish and president chooses randomly 3 elders and 3 sisters while he's on the stand to talk and the zone leader just announces them. AND YUP, you guessed it, I spoke this week! On faith in Christ. It actually wasn't too shabby, I looked up a lot and spoke for 6 mins 44 seconds (yes one of my friends timed me to stress me out) and all the latinos said my spanish was great! WOO i am learning!! :)

Sad news of the week, district 4 (a lot of my best friends here) and another gringo district and this group of latinos left this morning :( Seriously so many tears!! It's miserable joy, because I'm going to miss them soooooso much especially since I won't see a lot of them again but there's always email and I know they're going to do awesome things! So I can't be too sad. It is weird that we're going to be the antiguos though! ALSO HAPPY BDAY SHOUTOUT TO DILLON AND MALI THIS WEEKEND!!! Make sure they check their emails, i'm sending them stuff!!So sad I can't be home for the bday weekend :(

ANYWAYS, it was an amazing week. Life changing, as always. I have never had such a strong testimony. Viva el ccm!!

Love,

Hna Hansen

 

Pointing to Viña del Mar on the map

Companions emailing home

Elder Cody Paxman - a friend from home

Companions on p-day

Elders Santos & Rankin with the Hermanas

With her teacher, Hermana Cabrera

Hayley in Santiago

The park where the missionaries exercise

The companions with Elder Santos

SUEÑO DE PAN

¡BUENAS TARDES A TODOS!

Seriously I feel like i was emailing you all yesterday. Time is ALREADY going by way too fast! But I guess time flies out here. The whole days are slow but weeks are fast deal is SO TRUE. Also, the pan (bread) here is SO GOOD but it’s so bad for you because it  has lard in it so I just sueño (dream) of it all day. And then eat 4 at dinnertime hahaha

Hermano Ceballos - new teacher

ANYWAYS let me tell ya a bit about my week! First of all, i have new teachers! Hermanos Ceballos and Navarrete, they're awesome. Hermano Ceballos makes us compete for Candy all the time and threw water on hermana Frandsen when she challenged him! But he's great haha trust me. Hermano Navarrete is great too, he makes our tall time way better when it's usually the worst. he has us march there singing battle hymn of the republic haha it's awesome.

 

Soccer injury

CONTINUING ON. the latinos mainly live at alcantara now and they don't live here with us here at the hospedaje, so there aren't as many latinos exercising with us in the mornings! SO Hermana Frandsen and I play soccer every morning now! ITS SO FUN. we actually do really well and we're some of the first few picked haha it shows you how bad everyone is when I'M one of the first ones picked! I play hard though, I got bruised the other day, I'll send a picture haha but I'm fine now. and hey it meant I was trying! 

 

Spanish Happy Hour

Mom I know you're wondering what I did for valentines day! First I got a card from grandma Kathy!! it was so nice!! my first letter here at the ccm! BUT the most exciting thing was I SAW CODY PAXMAN!! his mission includes the ccm and he and his companion were here with an investigator, I think looking at the temple, and he asked around the teachers until he found me! I freaked out haha and almost hugged him! it was so nice to see a familiar face. He's doing great too, so it's nice to know there's hope for us here at the ccm!! Hermana Doll also made her famous DELICIOUS cookies, so it was a good day! We only speak Spanish for 50% of our days now and have an extra Spanish "happy hour." it's funny because it says happy hour, 5-6 on our board at the ccm haha. it's getting crazy! I have a lot to learn.

OK now I have to confess! I've been sick basically since I got here. it didn't distract me from my classes, thank goodness, but I couldn't sleep well and was getting pretty exhausted. the doctors medicine wasn't helping, and I was getting worried, so I asked my district leader for a blessing and Hermana Doll gave me some sleeping pills and then I was just completely better the next day! and I haven't felt sick!! it was a miracle. I am so so grateful for the priesthood and the power of faith and prayer.

ANOTHER exciting thing, we had a surprise devo today!! we had 1 hour notice, and changed our pday because of it. President Rasband came and spoke to us! he and Sister Rasband met every single one of us and shook all of our hands, and said we can all say we've been interviewed by him now haha. it was amazing though, he answered questions the whole time and I think everyone was in tears. the spirit was so strong and it was a huge answer to prayer. read D&C 31, it's one of my new favorite chapters in the BOM now.

ANYWAYS, I love love love it here.  Santiago is amazing, and the ccm is even better haha. I laugh so much, and I have the best district, friends, companions, and teachers. It's hard work and way stressful, harder than anything I've ever done, but I get to devote my life to the lord and to bringing happiness to other people. And I am happier than I have ever been!! :) I love you all so much, and I pray for each one of you at least every morning and night!! :)

 

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Hansen

PS. SUEÑO DE PAN.

Hayley and her companions today

Fountain at the mall

Some friends - Elder Smith & Elder Rankin

The street Hayley lives on

 

Photos of the MTC adventure

Hayley with Brother and Sister Doll (MTC President & wife)

Elder Cardona & Hayley in the cockpit

Elders sleeping in the Atlanta Airport

Hayley with her companions - Hermana Frandsen & Hermana Bluth

Hayley's MTC (CCM) district

Elder Santos & Elder Schubert (district leader)

Hayley and her CCM roommates

Hayley and her district

The CCM - where Hayley lives

Hayley and her companions at Bravissimos

Walking with fellow missionaries on P-day

LISTOS? SI. PREPARADOS?? SI.‏

HOLA FAMILIA!!

Como estan?? This week was great and not so great at the same time, which i think my whole mission will be like - ups and downs! but i love rollercoasters so hey i'm down. 

I'll tell you guys a bit about my week! we got to go to the temple after our pday last week, that was awesome! This week was insane with our investigators, but we committed them all to baptism before transfers, YEAH! the hermanas are the best haha. two of my teachers changed and i honestly almost cried! hermano figueroa gave us great advice though, my favorite part was "don't waste your time here, because it's the lord's time, not yours"

ALSO all the latinos and my friends from alcantara (the other house) left this morning!! it made me so sad!! they were seriously the best :'( my heart was sad all last night and this morning. elder daniel left too, but i think he sent a picture of us to ashley!! I'm excited for the newbies to come though haha.

Sunday was crazy spiritual and amazing with devo and church and everything! i love sundays here. My district also sang grand eres tu (how great thou art) acapella at the temple president devo and people said we sounded good so hopefully that's the truth hahaha. 

I'll end with a couple fun/funny stories! first of all, we bought grapes from street vendors during one of our breaks the other day!! it was so fun and so great. they were delicious! the cooks here cleaned them for us mom, dont worry ;) its funny, they just walk around to cars on red lights and people actually buy them!! funny story- We are really good friends with these two elders, elder smith and elder rankin, and the other day elder rankin was cutting his hair but his razor went out halfway through! so elder smith had to cut the rest, but with his facial hair razor. SO ELDER RANKIN ENDED UP BALD hahaha it was so funny he walked into personal study with a hat on and president made him take it off and everyone freaked out haha. Oh i love it here.

Anyways, bittersweet week, but i love it here and i am learning and progressing so much. time is going by way too fast, hopefully i'll be ready by the end of this, but i couldn't be happier! LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Hansen

From mom:  I asked for photos, and she delivered!  It's just so great to SEE her. :)  Can't get them up right now, but will as soon as possible.

 

One more photo...

My friend Ashley has a friend whose son is also in the Santiago MTC.  Hayley met Cade this year when he was staying with Ashley's family.  So, he sent this cute photo that he took with Hayley and her companions.  It's so great to see her, even if it's just in a photo. :)

Elder Daniel, Hermana Hansen, Hermana Bluth & Hermana Frandsen. Santiago, Chile MTC.

QUIEN LE GUSTA CHILE?!‏

HOLA FAMILIA!!! Como le va????

 

OH MY GOODNESS it seems like it's been so long since I've emailed you all!! Ok i have a scary timer counting down so let me see if i can get as much info as i can, so i apologize for spelling and capitalization errors because this is also a spanish keyboard!!

 

OKAY. SO. I have the best district in the entire world to begin!! i am in a trio with hermanas frandsen and bluth, they are SO awesome!! they're from utah and are just so s
weet. we have so much fun together. I feel bad though because hermana frandsen and i already know spanish and are really good at it but hermana bluth doesn't speak as much so it's hard because when we're teaching lessons she doesn't really understand what's going on... we're trying to find ways to get her to speak!! she's bearing her testimony at the end right now. the elders in my district are AWESOME. elder schubert is our district leader (no one was surprised, he took control in atlanta even though he had a fever and was throwing up, and he is so awesome) and he's in a trio with elders denison and rupert, also awesome, and then we have elder pedersen and draney, they're great, they were also in atlanta with us, and then we have two brazilians, elders silva and santos!! they're so hilarious, i feel bad though because only hermana frandsen and i can really talk to them because they speak portuguese. THATS MY DISTRICT :)

 

Santiago, Chile Temple.  It is right next door to the MTC.

I have two latina roommates that we love, we talk all the time, one is hermana alonso from ecuador and one is hermana balboa from peru! :) they are so sweet. our room is called rut (ruth in spanish) and its so tiny!! smaller than the dorms and there's six bunkbeads, one shower, one toilet, six tiny closets and two sinks and a mirror!! getting ready is an adventure haha but it's great.  i love the latinos and latinas here!! i'm gonna be so sad when they leave next week... but then a new group will come!! there's only 68 people in the ccm, so i see everyone all the time. my president and his wife are like our parents!! they sit with everyone and talk with everyone and are just the sweetest. they're brand new too, they just got here last week too!! OH and i found elder daniel who lived with the serafins!! i see him all the time and he's super nice. he's roommates with one of my atlanta friends! i forgot to take a picture with him though haha we can only take pictures on pday :(

 

we sit in classes for like 12 hours a day, but it's okay because my teachers are great. i have hermana cabrera, hermano figueroa, and hermano henriquez. they are just great!!! hermano figueroa told me who won the superbowl on monday morning since he knew i was from seattle haha GO SEAHAWKS!!!!! i was so so happy!! the spirit has gotta be with me though because i love all my classes and don't zone out the whole time... MIRACLE.

 

so pday has been great!! we get to leave the mtc on our pdays!! we're one of the only mtcs that can. it was nice to get outside of the wall as some say it!! i love santiago, the weather is amazing! the stray dogs are so cute, it's hard not to pet them haha. we went to the ghetto mall and got some post its and then went to the grocery store and got candy :) it was nice just to be outside! it's so hard to be inside all day while it's summer outside... we go outside on every single one of our 10 minute breaks!

 

hmmm let me see.. OH. for exercise we get to go to a park down the road!! we played ultimate frisbee with the elders one day and there's also all this cool exercise equipment that we use!! i love deportes time, i keep getting sore from it though haha but hey, i guess that means it's doing something!! there's also a hermana here who speaks french so i spoke to her a bit haha. and an elder who used to live in french canada so whenever i see him he says "ca va?" instead of como esta haha i love it.

 

I've taught three lessons with my companions so far, and the first one was TERRIBLE. we didn't focus on his needs at all and just felt really uncomfortable the whole time and didn't know what we were doing. the second one was good, but then the third was also kinda hard because we had to teach the same investigator as before and we didn't build a good base... ahhh. it's tough!

 

AH it's so hard to say everything i want haha it's like i can't remember anything!! Basically, i love the mtc so so so much. I'm so happy to be here. it's so hard, harder than i ever thought it would be, but so rewarding and so fun at the same time. i feel the spirit constantly and it's amazing. i have never felt like i had such a purpose and i've never loved studying the gospel as much as i do here. I've been doing it wrong my whole life! well, not wrong, but not as well as i could have haha. ANYWAYS, sorry this is so all over the place! i love the mtc, i love you all, and i hope everyone is doing well!!!!

Hayley & her new friends sleeping on the floor at the Atlanta Airport

 

Love,

Hermana Hansen

 

 

 

*I was able to email back and forth for a bit with Hayley this morning.  I asked for photos and she was able to send these two before she had to end.  She also told me that all her luggage was found - yay! :)

She said that she bore her testimony in Spanish in her ward on Sunday - so proud of her!