Hermana Hansen learns how to do a flip kick 180

HELLO MY FAVORITES, 

So to explain the subject line - two weeks ago I was really in a dark, sad place, just struggling physically and emotionally. Then the most amazing miracle happened this week on Wednesday morning.  I was driving us on our way to an appointment, at approximately 10:25 am, and the heavens opened, and I decided, with God's help, to BE HAPPY and enjoy every minute God gives me. :) It was divine revelation and honestly helped me more than I can explain. Yay for personal revelation, am I right?

My first and last Thanksgiving here in Texas was yummy...and interesting. We ate with the bishop's family, which was so fun, because I love sister Ririe as if she was my big sis (but she will never replace you, Aubs) and she's about 8 months pregnant with a sincere perma-smile on her face. Sweetest lady. We also had....MENUDO or aka cow stomach for lunch on Thanksgiving!!! We stopped by Hermana Sonia's, and she asked if we wanted soup, so we said yes (free food) we are in! And then she puts it in front of us and I literally think my heart dropped to my feet. We politely ate it all, minus the menudo, but then she come over and caught us and forced it in our mouths. Needless to say, I am glad I tried it but had a stomach ache for the next few hours. 

Inv update: Fatima, the referral from hna Sonia is doing really well! Despite her telling us that she wouldn't come to church until she knew it was true, her faith is growing and daily repenting. She is starting to read the BOM, which is always my favorite to watch the changes that happen in their lives as they read it. Pray that her heart is softened to accept the gospel!!

A family that I helped reactivate in COSTA RICA, Riena, Henri and Eykell, just messaged me on Facebook (perks of being a Facebook mission) and told me that they are getting sealed in the temple, that Henri is in the bishopric and that they are just living and loving the gospel and it makes my heart want to jump out of my body. MARK MY WORDS...I WILL BE IN THEIR SEALING (even if I have to go spend my whole savings on a trip to Costa rica) and hopefully it's when I am home! 

Funny story: we got invited to a birthday party of one of our invs, and all of the birthday parties here consist of two things: a bouncy house and a bbq. It's so funny, rolling up to a trailer park on Saturday afternoons with about five different bouncy houses! 

It says in the adjusting to missionary life handbook that "you have a front row seat to the greatest miracle of all - watching the atonement change other people's lives!" But this past week, I watched and FELT it change mine. This week has been happy. I am loving it here and please pray that Hermana Young and I don't get separated...because man I love her and Christmas would be the best thing with her!!! I know that the Savior lives! He is the light of the world. What will you do this week to share that light with someone? 3 Nephi 11:11.

Love you all have the best week!!!

xoxox

Hermana Hansen

The bouncy houses I was talking about.

Our generous gift to the birthday boy.

Zombies aka sister missionaries (they didn't let us in lol).

Friday sushi lunch with the best ever.

Christmas is here in Houston!!

District meeting list of gratitude.

When our less active walking buddy stands us up ://

Sometimes after 9 pm, this is all the energy we have! 

(We go to bed at 9:30 lol)

cold hands

Hola hola buenos días!!

With Thanksgiving coming up, I feel like a gratitude email is in order. It's been amazing to see how truly blessed I have been to be able to serve the Lord once again here in Texas. ❤ It's been HARD but worth it. I am so grateful for my companion, Hermana Young (you the real MVP), the book of Mormon, my family  and warm showers:) also super grateful for the keyboard that we have here in our apartment and that I am relearning how to play the piano!! 

A HUGE miracle we saw this week was receiving a referral from Hermana Giron, the grandma of Valeria who just moved here from Honduras. Her name is Fatima and wow. We taught her the restoration and she had SO many questions! We went back later on Friday to teach her about the Book of Mormon, and she committed to read It! Hermana Giron was able to share her conversion experience and it was so touching. The Spirit was so strong! Pray for her that her heart will be softened to the gospel. 

So remember how we had a few awesome families and an investigator that was waiting for us on her porch last week? Well, we found out this week that they aren't in our ward anymore :( so that was a bummer, but we are having pass of lessons to the other missionries and praying for the best!! 

We had the ward Thanksgiving party this week, which was slightly the weirdest and best thing ever all at the same time. It was kinda funny to have turkey, stuffing and gravy on one side of the plate and then elote on the other side! I def missed mom's yams though. We had a few investigators come to the dinner, which was a huge miracle! 

Funny story: Hermana Young is the ward pianist, and she got asked to play at the ward baptism for the three 8 year olds that got baptized on Saturday and so naturally I got asked to lead the music, and they totally put me down as "Hermana Miller" lol I guess It happens when we are all gringas in a Spanish ward, they mix us up! 

We are working with a less active who is engaged to a non member. She is amazing and is pregnant, but opened up to us about how much she wants to change her life! Her fiance is really awesome and she is totally wanting to have the gospel be a part of their lives. Her faith is unshakable! 

Hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving and eat lots of turkey and go into turkeycoma for me ;) I know my Savior lives and I am learning so much for about him and his plan for me ❤ 
xoxox

Hermana Hansen

Familia Torres....having to say bye broke my little heart.

Exchanges with Hermana Gordon, my STL! She's a spit fire.

Caught in rain storms.

ERM who told us "you are MY missionaries".

Post district meeting club.

Biking on a nice warm Saturday morning a few weeks back.

WANNA HEAR A COOL MESSAGE THAT CAN SAVE YOUR SOUL?  

The best two years in real life

Hello again from Houston Texas! Where the weather is always warm and the tortilla are in abundance ;) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!! Love you so much and I hope you had the best day💕

It's a great week to be a missionary, especially here in West Lake Houston! We saw so many miracles this week. Starting off, we have an investigator named Soledad (yes that does mean solitude) that we have been having the hardest time getting in with! (no surprise there am I right RMs?) But we felt impressed to head there Saturday night, pass by again because she's having surgery today and we wanted her to watch some videos while she's in bed for 2 weeks. So we pull up to her trailer, pray, get out and SHE IS SITTING ON THE PORCH! Literally she tells us "I had just picked up my phone to call you because I felt like I needed to see my Hermanas again!" Ahhh miracle. Then we go in, start teaching her and her daughter (who apparently in the past hasn't been open with missionaries) sat down and we had a beautiful lesson about priesthood blessings. A little different for a first lesson for her daughter, but we felt impressed and followed it! When we finished, we asked Soledad if she wanted one before her surgery, and she said YES. The elders stopped by later to give her one, and she committed to read the BOM while she was recovering. 

Funny story: so last night around 8:45, we are at our house eating dinner and our phone had still been on silent from church (you can't have the phone going off in sacrament meeting as a missionary) and I hear it buzzing. I look at it and answer, and its Sister Hewlett (President's wife) calling us uh oh. She said that she is outside our apartment waiting to come in to bring us a chair. Ok ya know the scene in The best Two Years, where the mission President comes to inspect their apartment on a surprise stop right after they had just gotten into a huge fight? And they are running around trying to get everything cleaned up in 5 seconds? THAT IS HOW WE FELT. no mind you, our apartments are 2 months old, but I am a clean freak and didn't want anything in the wrong spot. We run around, turning the candle on, cleaning up the kitchen counter, and then we RUN to the front of our apartments to let her in! In the end, she come in, and checks it out and the first thing she says is "um is it always this quiet and empty?" Hahaha so we did all that cleaning for her to say it was too bare! So funny. I love sister Hewlett with all my heart and soul and she even is so excited for the day when we can have a sleepover at the mission home....❤

This week I completed 2 months here in Texas, and 11 months in the mission! I am just stunned and so grateful for the time that I have to be here! My testimony has been grown so much while I have been here. The Book of Mormon is so true and clarifies so much doctrine that only the Bible has. I have been going through and reading President Monson's old talks and I know that God leads His church through a living prophet. I love this Gospel and my Savior with all my little ❤

ALSO, about a week ago we went to search out a potential in the middle of no where. We found them home, and they said it was a miracle. *Hahaha no it wasn't, it was just God's perfect timing* because their house got flooded. 15 feet!! During Harvey. The husband is a member, but they weren't living at their house, just stopped by to feed their dogs. It was amazing to see how God is perfect, and I know without a doubt that his timing is too!!

We are also working with a less active family, and one of the daughters is pregnant and engaged, and they still live at home. But her fiance isn't a member, and he came to church yesterday with the whole family in a white shirt and tie!!! MILAGRO. We have dinner with them tonight so I'll keep ya tuned ;) 

have a good week!!!
xoxoxoxo

Hermana Hansen

Hermana Young is my best friend. 
Shouting it from the rooftops. 

Hellllllo again from Houston, Texas! Where the humidity fogs up this little missionary's glasses every morning. 😅

This week did not disappoint!! We met with every one of our progressing investigators this week! And all of them we brought members along...man, have I said how much I love this ward with all my little scrawny heart?? Because I do...they are the best ever. We had a lesson with someone named Felipe, and we called 5 different hermanos to come with us, and they all said no...so the 6th one we called came!  It was amazing. The member shared his testimony and even wrote down in the Book of Mormon his testimony and number and told Felipe if he had any questions to call! Sooool cool! 

I am now officially a Facebook missionary! I kinda felt like a sinner when I opened up Facebook... It's been so weird but also really awesome! We are adding investigators and being in contact with them daily! It's really going to be a tool to hasten the work! 

I'm really trying to think of a funny story that happened this week, but nothing is coming to me :((( We do teach an English class, I asked them how old they think I am, and they all collectively said "ummm...maybe 14?" Hahaha What? I guess I'm just a kid at heart:)

We just had a bunch of amazing lessons this week! We are teaching the granddaughter of a member! She has met with missionaries in the past, but really feels like "the missioanries keep coming back into my life for a reason!!" Keep her in your prayers, she is praying to see which church is true! She has so much faith and literally has a growing testimony of the book of Mormon:) 

Have a good week cuties!!! I am still loving it here and my testimony is growing so much!! I know God's timing is real. And I know that God will always help us when we look to Him. He has helped me countless times here in Texas and I know will help you TOO! 

xoxoxoxo
Hermana Hansen 


PS go ASTROS! Atta boys to get that W ❤

The West Lake Houston hermanas! 

Our pday last week....we carved pumpkins and it was SO FUN.

Pday this week....we went bowling! I got 88 and literally 23 the other game. Ummmm not my strength haha 

Halloween night! We made tacos with the sisters next door! 

A text from the zone leaders...so crazy

oh yeah 

Bowling Wahoo