Monday, November 24, 2014

Vayase de aquí Satanás!‏

Cute companions


HEY

So by this time I know you're pretty sick of hearing this, but I'm sick - AGAIN!!! This time with a really nasty cold and cough. Super congested, ears hurting, gross cough, 101 fever, runny nose sick. GAH. But I already got a blessing and today is P-day so it's fine. ALSO update on Hermana Page's weird thing in her mouth ... IT'S A CYST. Yep right up there in her gums she's got a cyst. So we've basically been living in Viña and today hopefully they're gonna finally take care of it! Seriously Satan is attacking us so much, but I know that that means that there are MIRACLES coming :)

This week we couldn't do that much because of our travels to Viña and back, but there were still a lot of miracles! Members gave us a bunch of referrals and the ward is really starting to make an effort so we can make a new ward here in Placilla so Valparaíso Oeste can be a stake! Seriously it is the coolest thing I have been a part of, the whole ward split/creating thing. It's so spiritual. I hope I can be a part of creating a new stake in zion!! :)

We are officially on the hunt for new investigators. Y and her family are still progressing but they're finishing college right now so they're in Valpo from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, so we can't teach them until later on this week. C went to Santiago this weekend, but we talked to him over the phone about his fast, and he said it went well, so we'll see how that turns out! But Hermana Page and I found a whole new area that I didn't know about in our sector, so we are convinced we are gonna find some escogidos (chosen) there :) 

ALSO cambios came and went and Hermana Page and I stayed the same! So looks like we're here together at least until new year's eve :) WOO. We're excited. 

It sounds weird to say but the whole being sick all the time thing is really a testimony builder for me. It didn't happen to us until they announced the ward split, and since then we've been sick on and off, our ward mission leader has a TON to do at his work, the bishop's new baby was born (now he has 8 kids... YIKES) and a ton of other stuff. It just goes to show how much Satan hates it when the church progresses! It is so cool to see that. And it's awesome to know that God will ALWAYS win, that his purposes and designs can't be frustrated no matter what Satan tries to do. So, long story short, I am way excited to see what this cambio brings :) love you all!!

Hermana Hansen
 
Hayley & Hermana Page's "Thankful Turkey".  We make one as a family every year, so this year I sent her a little kit to make one in Chile. :)
 

Monday, November 17, 2014

Hermana Hansel y Hermana Gretel.

Hayley wasn't able to send photos this week, so I found one that someone in Chile had recently posted on Facebook (even though it looks like it's from June, it's new to me :))
 
 
Hellooooo family!!
So this week was also a little uneventful, because now... my companion has a random infection in her gum! Literally there's like a little ball in her gums above her teeth, I feel so bad!! But because of that, we have to go to Viña a lot to take care of it. BUT we are still seeing miracles, don't even worry about it!! And we also made this decision to be obedient but 100 percent, like to the minute and the suggestions in Preach My Gospel, and it made such a big difference! Seriously, the key to happiness and joy is obedience. We had about the same numbers this week as last week, but I was infinitely happier this week, just because I was being a bit more obedient! In the scripture guide in Spanish, the synonyms for joy are obedience and obey and obedient. I am so grateful that I'm learning this now, and I really know it's going to shape my life. It doesn't matter what my circumstances are, if I am obedient I will be happy.
THATS THAT haha. But C is finally home!!! AHHH!! Honestly I almost cried in church when I saw them. We taught them yesterday and the spirit was SO STRONG. We taught about fasting and C was like yeah lets start RIGHT NOW. So I'm currently fasting with him, Hermana Page, Carmen, and Hermana Barros! We got the assistants to call her so she could fast with us!! I know he's going to get his answer and get baptized SOON. Honestly I love him and Carmen so much!!! Also Y, R, and S are progressing a lot - a family we're working with!! They are so awesome. They are really catholic, but they are progressing little by little every day! The mom at first wanted nothing, but last time she literally said: "have patience with me, it's just hard changing religion!" AHHH. I know that a lot of miracles are coming our way. It makes me so happy!! :)
Fun things: One, the buses here race each other sometimes, and it's good for us because we get there faster, but the buses are already really fast so it's HORRIFYING. But it's also awesome - haha. Also, here all the Chileans when I say "Hansen" are like oohhhh like Hansel and Gretel! And I'm always just like yeahhhh....ALMOST haha. But the other day, an investigator was praying, and she said "gracias por la hermana hansel y gretel...." So looks like Hermana Page and I are Hansel and Gretel hahaha.

There are cambios on Wednesday but I'm about 90 percent sure that Hermana Page and I are staying together. We had to do intercambios with some poor hermanas that are having a rough time that they don't deserve AT ALL. Honestly, I am just so glad to have the gospel in my life. I talked to Hermana Page, I'm in my halfway through the mission midlife crisis where I know how to do the things and how to speak Spanish, but now I just need to become the person God wants me to be. Let's see how it goes!! haha 
 
Anyways, love you guys so much! Love the mission more than anything, and I am HAPPY, don't worry about me ever! (mom...:))

LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Hermana Hansen

Sunday, November 16, 2014

No quiero más Gatorade NUNCA.‏

 
Hayley and Hermana Page


HELLO FAMILY!

So this week was a little crazy, but hey, that's normal, RIGHT?! 

I feel bad, things aren't progressing too well here because guess what... I WAS SICK AGAIN. This time with this super ugly stomach flu. Blech. First it was Monday which is always short on time, then Tuesday/Wednesday were intercambios (exchanges) and then district meeting and then some super good lessons, but then BAM. Wednesday late at night I woke up and started throwing up, and it lasted until nighttime Thursday. My AMAZING district leader, Elder Passey - he's honestly the best - came and gave me a really pretty blessing and I felt well enough to go to consejo the next day. But eating food still kinda makes me sick to my stomach, and I feel dizzy a LOT. The nurse said it's a two week thing, that i'm not gonna barf again, but I might feel dizzy and nauseated and weak for a couple weeks. GREAT. So that's just been a little lame, for me and my comp! But we're still gonna get stuff done.

At consejo I said bye to Hermana Puertas and Hermana Lucas (my trainer and an hermana that changed my LIFE) and totally bawled. And I said bye to Hermana Barros because she possibly isn't gonna be an hermana lider this next change so I won't see her. HEARTBREAKING. More than anything, it's just weird to see the generations go, pretty soon I'm gonna be the group that's been in the mission forever.  I don't know how I feel about that... 

C also got home!!!!!! I was so happy to see him. He's progressing! We're having some problems with me being sick, so we haven't done a lot. I feel bad :( But I know that this week can be way way better. 
 
Anyways, I hope you all are doing well.  Don't worry too much about me because I'm gonna be just fine! I the blessing I got it just said this is just a trial I have to pass through and it will be awesome when it all passes. That's the thing, trials always pass, so I'm not too hung up on it :) I love the mission, the church is true, and I just hope I can help more families be eternal! Love you all!

Hermana Hansen
Sick Hayley and her comp

"loreta, our neighbor, when hermana page told her i was sick she said I KNOW WHAT SHE NEEDS and brought me a toy gun and stethoscope. so cute!"

"definition of my sick day (gatorade, chamomile tea, space heater because i was freezing with my fever, and just not caring about anything)"    

"goodbye to my mamá with my half sister" (meaning her trainer and another sister her trainer trained)

Saying goodbye to Hermana Lucas


Saying goodbye to Hermana Barros
A cool street in Valpariso

Hayley and her comp making cookies for Family night with the familia Burgos








Views of Viña del Mar



Hayley and Hermana Page

Monday, November 3, 2014

God bless America, darling!!!‏

 
Happy "Halfway" day - 9 months in, 9 months to go!
 
OKAY so this week was a little loco, but it's okay.

First off (don't freak out mom) but my acid reflux got way bad for a little while there. So that was the worst because I couldn't sleep at night and we couldn't work a lot because it was a rough time and the nurse was like you need to take a break, so that was WAY frustrating for me, but it's all good now. I'm feeling way better! But it meant the week was a little lame, and it was rough with Halloween because it's a day off holiday for the evangelicos (i don't know what that is in English) and the next day is a holiday too so everyone just checked out for the weekend haha. 
But we still got a lot done this week, and worked with a lot of less actives and recent converts to up our attendance numbers!! So it went well :) OH and now I'm halfway through the mission! I only have one of the pictures because my camera died, but I'll send more next week I promise!! But yeah, J left town so he didn't go to church. Y said she doesn't want to get baptized, and A is MIA, so it was kind of a bummer. But hey, after an awesome week it almost always has to be the refiners fire! Like President Uchtdorf said "Don't wait for a rainbow before thanking God for the rain."  I know everything is going to work out great! 
Funny story of the week, we contacted this guy and he starts speaking to us in English with a way heavy accent and turns out he is an American citizen! He showed us his green card and everything haha and he lives in New York but is here visiting family. He was waiting for a colectivo (a mix between a taxi and a bus) and then it got there so we wrote down his address and he got in and drove away. But as the guy was driving off, J (that's his name) yelled GOD BLESS AMERICA DARLING! Haha - we died laughing. 
The mission is too good, and I'm so glad I still have 9 more months to enjoy it.  I love you family, I carved a pumpkin and thought of you :)  DONT LEAVE ME THIS WAY! Hope you all had a good Halloween and have a good week this week!!

Hermana Hansen

My friend Kevin sent me this talk, it's awesome!! http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1819 We all make mistakes, and others do to, but part of the gospel is repentance, and we need to leave everything in the past after we have repented and not let Satan make us think we can't progress because of that, faith is pointed forward! :) love you all!
 
The photos didn't come through with last week's email, so these first few are from last week.



Making French toast

Enjoying the fruits of their labors
They miraculously found ROOT BEER and decided to make floats



Happy Hermanas

Carving the pumpkin

Spooky!!


I think I hear "Don't leave me this way" in the background...
 
Cute Hayley on Halloween


Hayley on splits with a new missionary


Sunset over Hayley's apartment complex


Sweet companions


Nine months in and still smiling!!