the good, the bad, and the ugly.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Hi! This week was filled with the hard and the best, which is no surprise! :) Let´s start with the Chequeo de mes! It´s a meeting that President has with all the new missionaries and the trainers after a month in the mission. It was on Thursday in San Jose! So we took a bus Wednesday night to San Jose (about 2 hours) and slept over with the other sister missionaries! IT WAS SO FUN! Then we got up bright and early around 4:20 and headed to the TEMPLE! They opened the temple JUST for us missionaries. What a blessing! Man it was awesome. Of course it was all in Spanish, but the spirit was just the same :) It was SO FUN to see all the elders from my MTC district, and to hear that they are struggling just as much as I am! It made me feel not so alone :) Then we went to president´s house, and had a few devotionals! then lunch :) It was so awesome! He really nailed into us that we need to cast the things that are impeding us from working with all of our alma, mente y fuerza aside! MAN! subtweet to me!!! I am getting better and better at focusing on the mission, because the more I understand the less I space out and think about my wonderful fam :) 

My heart just about broke this week! We walked an hour to an appointment with one of our progressing investigators, Seidy, and she MOVED! We don´t know where, or if it´s in our area! I literally started to cry, in the pouring rain, in the streets of Costa Rica. MAN! She was so solid and was a young mom with two little kids that needs the Gospel! It´s so hard to drop people and lose them! But I have faith that we can find her, and that she will receive the gospel! 

The work here is hard! Our area is HUGE, and we only had one investigator at church :( I feel like sometimes I´m impeding the work, but I know that that is not the case! We have another solid investigator named Luisa who, if she accepts the restoration and gives up coffee, will be such a solid member! Pray for her please :) 

So we have this family that we visit twice a week, the mom washes our clothes. They have 3 boys, alejandro, jose and luisito! luisito is only 4, but the other 2 boys are members. The mom needs a miracle, because she needs to travel to Nicaragua to get her papers to get married! the husband doesn´t want anything to do with the church, but Marta is so solid! We are going to have some sort of service or bake sale to raise money! PRAY FOR HER :) 

Something that has also been on my mind is that people here have next to nothing, and yet they are all SO giving. Man, it´s incredible! I already love Ticos so much, it´s crazy. As hard as this is, I am so happy to be serving the Lord here in Costa Rica :) Some days it still doesn´t feel real. 

So my mind is in Spanish mode, and everywhere we go people ask me what a word is in English. Yesterday in church I was trying to think of what D & C was in English, and I could not do it for the life of me! LOL! It just goes to show that I really have been called to serve speaking Spanish! We watched a video in District Meeting, and it was Pres. Eyring describing the process of mission calls. Man, it was SO powerful and strengthened my testimony about the fact that I really am needed here, and that the Lord knows that I can learn Spanish and preach the gospel in Spanish, even when I have doubts. :) 

I love you all! I hope you have a good week! Know that I am praying for you all each night! I am finally settling in to life here, and slowly understanding more and more. I am so grateful to have such AMAZING friends and family who support me. LOVE YOU!  

Hermana Hansen

ONE MONTH

HOLA FAMILIA! 

Can you believe it's been a whole month here in Costa Rica??? I sure can :) This month has been some of the hardest, longest, darkest, scariest days of my life! BUT, every day I learn more and more Spanish and more and more about my area! Each day is easier than the last, but they still have their own trials lol. 

This week was a week of miracles, which just means it's a week dedicated and focused on finding new people! We do TONS of fun activities to switch things up, and each day has a theme for us to focus on. Each day we worked with the Elders from Naranjo, an area about 40 minutes away. We went to the park in our area, set up a table, and just talked with everyone! Man, it was so awesome! Tuesday we focused on the Book of Mormon, and there was a lady who spoke English that I contacted, but it was surprisingly SO hard to teach the gospel in English! I kept thinking that it's because I've been called to preach in Spanish, not English. Way cool :) 

Something that we do here that I love, is that we ALWAYS pray kneeling. Where ever we are, we get down on our knees and pray :) It's something that I LOVE. I think it shows our humility and how seriously we take being able to talk with our Heavenly Father :)

Thursday was Independence Day here, so Presidente had us stay inside until 3 pm. It was so nice to be able to study, catch up on some reading, and just have extra time to work on the language :) I couldn´t help but think about the 4th of July though, and how different it is here than in Utah. They still have fireworks though! 

Awkward moment: I fell TWICE this week! So embarrassing! Mom, don´t worry, I only scraped up my hand and leg a little bit! It was more awkward than painful! One was in an alley with these risky guys all around, and honestly if I wasn't a missionary I would have been scared, but the Lord protects us, and I know that for a fact now :) 

THIS WEEK WAS SO GOOD! Sunday was the best day here by far. I actually understood a lot of what was going on in Church, and I talked a lot, and people understood me! We also had an FHE and we had popcorn and watched an old testament movie! I think I can finally start to be settled in here to my life here in Grecia :) 

I love you all. Gosh I am so blessed with the BEST family and friends support system! Thanks for everything. You all mean the WORLD to me, and I pray for you all daily :) 

con amorsh, 
Hermana Hansen

PS We get to go to the temple this week!! on Thursday! We have a meeting with president, all the new missionaries and trainers, so we are going to San Jose on thursday! I AM SO PUMPED TO GO TO THE TEMPLE! Hopefully they have headphones! lol

HOLA

HEY FAM!

So last week we had the BEST pday ever. We came together as a zone in San Ramon, a city about two hours away from Grecia. We ate lunch, honestly no idea what kind of meat it was, and then went hiking!! We legit were in the forests of COSTA RICA!! It was awesome!! :) We hiked and my shoes got SO muddy, so much for bringing white shoes :) It was so nice to be in the mountains and relax a bit.

This week I did something terrifying. I contacted a WHOLE bus!! Ah it was so scary. I got up in front of the bus and introduced us, and then sung a hymn and invited everyone to church! It was terrifying, but each time I do something scary its easier the next time!!

Something funny about Costa Rica: since I'm a giant compared to everyone else here, ALL the mirrors in houses and bathrooms only go to my neck! lol! I have to squat down to see in our bathroom and I have to bend down to wash my hands! Everyone asks how tall I am, and I am easily the tallest sister missionary in the mission! Shout out to my dad for my height lol.

Something totally gross: there are cockroaches in our shower! YAY! lol They come at night and come through the drain! I totally freak out each time, but later I killed my first one! yay! Small baby steps :) The mission is taking all sorts of adjusting!

Being at Church is hard because I do not understand a whole lot, and people are talking SO fast! We also had two investigators that we needed to help around, but I don't know how to talk to them! AH! So we get home and make lunch, we relaxed a little bit, and then the STLs called and one of  the APs who both speak English. AH, finally someone who could understand me. They let me talk it out. It was really nice to let my stress out. I know that my mission will be hard, and I believe that the Lord has sent me to Costa Rica because He knows that I can do this. He knows that I have the capability to learn Spanish.

I've been thinking a lot about faith this week. I have been reading in 2 Nefi, and Nefi had such a tremendous amount of faith, even when his people were wicked. Nefi went through some incredibly difficult trials, just as I am right now. However, Nefi had unshakable faith. He was able to pray to the Lord with faith that things would work out. I've been studying Hope this week, and hope is to know that all things will work out for your benefit and that the Lord will provide a way. Man, having hope is a whole lot easier said than done, but I am trying each day to have hope. :)

Something that I learned in the MTC is that as a disciple (sorry I cannot spell in English anymore) I must walk a LITTLE bit of what Christ walked. It may seem silly to compare my mission with the atonement, but right now is my Gethsemane. I am struggling like never before! I know that all of this opposition and struggle has an equal blessing, somewhere down the road.

I can not thank you all enough for the support and prayers on my behalf. I love you all so much!!!! Also, this week is semana de milagros, which is basically just a week dedicated to finding new escogidos! so I'm super pumped.

Hermana Hansen

Hiking last pday with my District.

They have snowglobes in Costa Rica.

Just a normal road here is Costa Rica.

We carry a Book of Mormon with us everywhere, 

it's to help people not confuse us with Jehovah Witnesses.

WEEK TWO BABY

MY FAVORITE PEOPLE,

Ok. Lets just start by saying that this week was still HARD. So many tough things happened this week, BUT I am slowly understanding more and more Spanish!! Yay! It's hard with all of the different accents, but I can completely understand my comp in lessons, so that's a blessing. She also lets me teach and when she turns to me and points to a picture in the pamphlet, my heart starts pounding, but the only way I'll get better is if I practice, and I'm so grateful that she lets me talk in lessons. :) 

This week was way different. We had divisiones on Martes, and I went in another area with Hermana Brown. She's my STL and also a grenga! Yay finally I could speak some English and understand what was going on in lessons!! She also understands exactly what I feel, and we had a little cry break after one of our lessons because I was a mess. She also suggested that I get a priesthood blessing, and it helped TONS!!! Also, she explained the whole money situation and helped me get everything figured out. What a blessing :)

Also, I was sick on Wednesday. I had a little bit of a fever and it was the WORST without my mom there to take care of me! But my comp was so nice. I just slept for the afternoon and was all better the next day. MIRACLE!! YAY! 

As we were in FHE last night, I couldn't help but be eternally grateful for my ETERNAL FAMILY! I'm so grateful for the fact that we are going to be forever together. What a blessing! :) Also, we had 4 investigators in the capilla this week! YAY! I know that it was because we fasted for them. Man, the Lord gives us such amazing milagros :) 

God is so good. He knows exactly how much I can take each day, and He is always sending me tender mercies to help me along my way each day! I know that Christ lives. Yo se con todo me corazon que Cristo vive! I know that the Lord truly does hear and answer our prayers each day :) I love you all. Thanks for all of the support and prayers this past week!!! 

All my love,
Hermana Hansen

My Mama

HERMANA BROWN, aka the literally best person ever. 

Man divisiones with her came at the most perfect time.

Our house! (ants everywhere)

Our galmourous closet!!! Living the high life here in Gercia :)

MY FAVORITES!

Hi. Ok, wow this past week has been the craziest, most whirl-wind kind of week. Also, my spelling is terrible, so bear with me :)

I MADE IT TO COSTA RICA! YAY! I'm in an area called Grecia. It´s about two hours by bus outside of San Jose. Our area is pretty big, and we have to take a bus to spend days in other cities that are about 20 minutes away. It rains here everyday around 2 or 3, and honestly it makes me want to just curl up in my bed and watch a movie, but I will get used to it :)

My COMP: Hermana Henao. She's from Columbia, and doesn't speak any English, so communicating has been quite the challenge. She's super kind and loving, and helps me a TON. She does most of the talking in our lessons, but she lets me talk whenever I want, which is SO helpful. We have a lot of laughs, even though we can't communicate. :)

So, here in Costa Rica, every woman kisses each other on the cheek as a greeting and as a goodbye. It's super different than I'm used to, so the first time it happened I was SO freaked out! But everyone here is so loving. If we go in for a lesson, and ask for some water, they will give us some cookies and fresa (a strawberry drink)

I'm definitely still in culture shock! I cry everyday. In our first companion study, I cried my eyes out. I cry myself to sleep and while we are walking. It's normal :) The showers here a FREEEEEEZZING, but I'm slowly getting used to it!

Pray for me! I need all the help I can get. I love you all. Thank you for all the support and prayers so far, it means the world to me!!! Know that a missionary in Costa Rica is always thinking about you all and praying for you :)

Con mucho amor
Hermana Hansen

Hermans Henao and Hansen

hahahaha packing is the worst

last exercise time as a district :(

MATCHING RAINCOATS!

ultimo carta in el CCM!

Those I love,

HOLA! So as you all know, I'm leaving and moving to a different country in 24 hours! I'm slightly having a panic attack, but then I'm also SO excited to meet the Costa Ricans and love them with my whole heart and try to understand what they are saying! Estoy MUY anima por COSTA RICA en 1 día!!

This week was filled with way too many tears. When I left my family, I never thought that I would ever cry as hard, and then I got here and made all these wonderful friends and got so close to my teachers. Just picture 12 young kids all stuck in a room for hours on end, we are bound to become good friends. As I said goodbye to my District last night, I was a mess! We sang "God be with you till we meet again!" and I lost it! Saying goodbye to my teachers was also NO FUN :( I was so sad to have to leave and say goodbye to these people who helped me so much to become a good missionary. So the goodbyes will never end for the next 17 months!

This week was full of a lot of "lasts" my last lesson with Hermana Haroldsen, my last Sunday here, last class with my favorite teachers, last devotional here, last sand volleyball time with my District. We has the chance to skype a member, and she lived in ARGENTINA! What?? It was so cool! Even though she was talking a million miles an hour, and we weren't able to understand a lot, we still were able to teach her about the Book of Mormon and share our testimonies! ah! It was so great :) I love how no matter if we can't understand them, I still can testify and the spirit will come!

We had in-field orientation this week, and it helped me so much to realize the importance of teaching with members and having them there! It was the biggest one they've had- there are about 850 of us leaving this week!

The Elders of our District gave us all a priesthood blessing this week! ah. It was the best. I know that they are God talking exactly to us. I love the priesthood. What a blessing it is to have the priesthood power restored to this earth!

I love you all! You are the best. Thank you for all of the love and support you've all given me so far. If you think of me this week, just know that I LOVE you! I'll be probably crying myself to sleep every night, but I'll also be exactly where I want to be.

All my love,
Hermana Hansen

The best District in the world!!

THE BEST TEACHERS EVER

My District President and his wife with the Hermanas :)

My favorite Hermanas (don't tell)

Hermana Gunner aka my soul sister

We love infield orientation - 9 hours of sitting in meetings!

We have this game called "circle game" where we try and draw the circle on the board. 

It's a great stress relief and we all get superrr into it!

Also, my teachers love it. It's the most hilarious thing!

Only 6 more days until we can leave these gates!

LAST WEEK IN AMERICA

Sup Fam,

SO MUCH happened this week, but I'll try and be brief so that I don't bore anyone to death :)

On Wednesday we did exchanges with another district in our zone who is two weeks younger than us. I went with Hermana Gunner. What a day! They separated us into our levels of Spanish, and somehow I got put with the upper class! We went the whole day speaking in majority Spanish. It was so fun! I learned so much from Hermana Gunner. I was honestly so nervous for the exchanges, but she taught and helped me with my Spanish so much!

Elder Andersen came this week to Tuesday night! It was amazing. We have devotionals Tuesdays and Sundays, and it makes everything better. He talked about our missions are specifically for us. I know that there are people in Costa Rica who need me, and that only I can help. He also compared us missionaries to the apostles, because we do have the same purpose. He kept saying "It is our job to collect the elect" I'm so excited to go teach Costa Ricans in 6 DAYS!

Oh, so I got my travel plans this week! I leave August 23, which is next Tuesday! I'll be traveling all day, from 6:20 am until 8 pm when I land in Costa Rica. My Spanish is no where near ready, but I know that no one is ever fully prepared after the MTC, that's so we can rely on the Lord! :) I'm so so excited to get on Costa Rica and teach and try and communicate! I'm mostly excited to leave the MTC, because I'm ready!! (Sidenote: I told you that on my travel plans I had a flight from Costa Rica to Atlanta in October, and we found out that is just because apparently people just fly to Costa Rica and bum around there, and so in order to get into the country you need to have proof that you can get out! So they will cancel it as soon as I arrive next week! Crazy, huh?)

We decided to start memorizing D & C 4 in Spanish as a district! It's been so cool! I also memorized Articles of Faith 1-5 this past week. I'm just trying to be ready for Costa Rica!

For those of you who do not know, or if my mom has not told everyone she knows yet, I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PROGRAM AT UTAH STATE! I am overjoyed. I know that the Lord is sending me amazing blessings and miracles! What a relief that I don't have to worry about school or what I'm gonna do!

So we had our last weekly planning as a district this week. Honestly I was so sad! I'm so ready to leave, but also not at all! It's going to be SO hard to say goodbye to everyone in my district! :( We've all gotten so close!

So my teacher, Bro Santillan, made a deal with us as a district that if we spoke only Spanish on Sunday, he would buy us In-N-Out shakes! OF COURSE I DID IT! only Spanish was way tough, but SO worth it today when we got out of the temple and had In-N-Out shakes waiting for us! YUM! Last american food for 17 months!

I talked in Sacrament Meeting this week! I knew it was coming as I was planning it. It was on "enduring to the end" and I mostly just read it because it was only in Spanish, but while I was giving it, it wasn't as bad as I thought! I was happy that I had the chance to "practice" giving a talk in only Spanish.

Thanks for all the love and support! Sorry if my emails are so boring or long, I just wanna share my wonderful experience with everyone! I LOVE being a missionary and I'm so so happy. I'm also way tired, and it's hard, but I'm so grateful that I'm here. I'm so excited for Costa Rica in a few short days! Keep saying your prayers and reading your scriptures (totally missionary thing to say, I had to).

Love you all,
Hermana Hansen

ps. you all only have until Sunday to send me dear elders, packages, and letters until I'm out of AMERICA! so I better be feeling everyone's love :)

One happy sister missionary :)

In-N-Out + Temple = Blessed Day

k but how cute are we

I got the classic mission shirt, and it's the best purchase of my life.