WEEK #53

It's alright that I get to stay in my area.. but like you know, I am super impatient and I get bored really fast. So, with 3 months already in an area, I start to get a little bored and ready for something new.. but it seems like I always end up having about a month and a half more. Either way, that is definitely a positive that I already am friends with all of the members here and will have good nice people to pass Christmas with. And with the safe streets... those really dont exist haha all of the people are crazy here, but it seems like there is always somebody there to watch after the Elders which is good(:

 People are telling me that the climate is changing like crazy in Argentina as well.. this week it says that we should reach over 100 degrees... and with the humidity.. I really dont know if I am going to live haha but lets hope so.

The 8 pack that I had is already starting to fade. But I can honestly say that my butt has increased in size. And I'm not sure if the Top Ramen and milk every night is helping with the problem.

Well to tell you the truth this week has been a little tougher.. we find people, then we find out that they are too lazy to get baptized.. then we have to drop all of them. It has been the weekly cycle lately. So we are spending a lot more time with the members hoping that they will be able to help us find people to teach. Mom, if the missionaries pass by the house, they are really hoping that you will know somebody that they can visit. So, it doesnt matter if the the people will reject them or accept the message, just give them all of the names that you know that arent members and I promise you the missionaries will love you.

But anyway, that's just a thought haha cause really it is super tough on the missionaries without the help of the members.

Well, sorry that I have had what seems like such a boring week.. but it was really just a ton of hard work in the sun. Pero igual es tan importante que disfrutemos esta obra porque realmente es algo marvilloso.

WEEK #52

Thanksgiving was a little better even in a country that doesnt celebrate Thankgiving haha.. Yeah this Thanksgiving we got together as a mission super early for a devotional type thing. It was super crazy the things that we heard to tell you the truth.. Our President had the chance to talk with Elder Cook over Skype and he told us about the miracles that are still happening now days with the apostles, it's just that sometimes those miracles are so sacred that they dont find it fit to talk about them. But this is what he said in his testimony "I know that the Lord lives cause I know his voice and I have seen his face" is what Elder Cook said and after that we were all just like woww. But anyway, with Thanksgiving we really didn't eat anything haha We went to go pick up our lunch from a members house and they werent home.. and it was the end of the month so we didn't have very much money to buy things either, but we found some noodles in the apartment and thats what we ate. So, it wasn't the best Thanksgiving food ever, but at least we lived.

Right now I think a 5k would kill me haha We dont have much time to run and play sports and things like that now days. Haha I already way 163 lbs. but I promise its not all fat... a big portion might be fat but I might be just a little stronger too hahaha(;

It is so werid to see snow..... although it did hail here super hard the other day. I wish I had my camera with me the other day cause really the weather is so werid.. one moment it was super hot and sunny, and in about 1 minute it was so dark that the automatic lights turned on at the church at 4:00. Then it started to rain and hail harder than I have ever seen in my life. And it rained for about 45 minutes.. then it was sunny and about 70 degrees again. Super weird.

Other than that with our week... hmmmm not much. A few drunks again.. annnnnd listening to my comp. talk to the members on the phone about their tuppers that we need to return but he didn't know which goes to who because when they were explaining it by color, they didnt know that he is 100% color blind hahaha that was funny.

But anyways things are going great for us here, today were transfers and since I'm training I get to stay in this area until January and so we already have had about 10 invitations for Christmas and all of that so we do know that we already have a house to be able and skype from this Christmas.

Anyway, thats about it for now.

WEEK #51

Voy a decir feliz dia de accion de gracias ahora porque bueno ya viene el jueves y no creo que vamos a celebrar aca en Argentina/: pero igual ese dia es mas o menos tonto igual jaja. (talking about Thanksgiving because its this Thursday right?)

Is it already starting to get cold there in the valley as well? Yes please send me some photos of all of that.. Mountains and snow and all of that good stuff because it is starting to get to hot here in Argentina.. summer is coming in super fast with a ton of humidity. Actually it's weird because one day there is a huge rain storm all day and all of the streets are all flooded but then the next day it's like high 70s low 80s and horrible. I definitely like the winter better.

Wow, Christmas is already coming up.. I think Christmas will be a whole new experience here because they dont celebrate here quite like they do in the States. It's basically like a mix of all of the holidays with fireworks and a ton of food.. then while everybody is outside at night Santa Noel puts the presents under the tree so they open everything at night. But they dont get very many presents because their big holiday is Kids Day. Hahaha a little different but either way it will be a fun experience.

Well, my experiences for the week.. hmmm it was definitely a weird week. First of all I dont know why but I think I had a run in with the drunks just about every day of the week. One of the really funny ones that happened was when we were in a kinda sketchy neighborhood searching a couple directions, and it turned out that we had to go down a street with a couple kids on the corner (which is never a good sign here) but we felt that it was alright to pass by. So we started walking trying to pass them, and one of them talked to us about who we are and what we do.. and we explained to him that we were missionaries of the church and all of that.. so were going to leave him with an invitiation but we wanted to see what he wanted to get to know him a little more.. so my comp. asked him "What is the most important thing in his life?" and he answered "Rob" and by this time the member who is a future missionary was basically crying which was super funny.. but then we said "Wow thats the most important? Are you sure there is nothing more?" and all he said was "Kill" hahaha and we got a little nervous cause some of his friends starting coming closer and one of his friends was drunk but started defending us saying that we were kids of God and that he has to respect us and things like that which was super cool. So, we left him with the invitation and we left. But anyway, it was cool to see how calm we were in that whole experience and I'm not sure if the drunk with just trying to mess with us or what.. but it was also really funny of the member that was with us haha He literally had tears in his eyes.

Also they just had the Presidential Elections here yesterday so we were locked in the pension again which I decided is a little boring.. but either way it was nice to be able and take a sunday nap while being in the mission because that almost never happens.

But anyways thats about it for this week.. just to let you know that next week is transfers so I will be writing Tuesday morning(:

Jake

WEEK #50

I wish that I could share all of the things that I'm learning here with you guys because right now all of our leaders are talking about the faith necessary to work miracles in every one of our areas. And the best thing that you can do to increase your faith is start your daily reading of the Book of Mormon.. also in the priesthood session of the conference that just passed, about everyone of the talks were about the faith. The first talk by Elder Neil L Anderson is one of my favorites so you should definitely watch it if you haven't already. In the end of the talk he gives the example of a missionary and the things that happened to this kid.. haha I never cry but I wanted to cry when I heard this example. Just remember "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

Well, this week was a weird one for me. A lot of ups and downs well, I don't know really with my comp. he is a great friend but I'm just nervous that he thinks that I am going to be here forever. He has fear to accept more responsibility and it's possible that I am going to leave him in 2 weeks and the next missionary that comes is going to be like what the heck, cause my comp. right now doesn't know the map very well or how to plan or anything cause he doesn't show the desire to learn. So I'm not mad just a little nervous for that reason. But anyway, a super big positive that we had is that Thursday night we received a message that we would be able to go to the temple Friday.. so we took a last minute trip to the temple and it was super spiritual to be there with the whole mission like over 200 missionaries. And yeah, that was the highlight for this week.. however I feel like I am starting to fall into a rut or like a routine in this area so I need to something different or crazy, but I don't know what I can do. So, if you can think in something funny just let me know haha.

Well that's about it for this week

WEEK #49

It's really is crazy to look back to the day  I was left the MTC, it feels like it was forever ago but it doesnt seem like a year either.. I dont know its weird. Sometimes the days feel super long but the weeks and months go by flying. Who else was thinking about the mission from back home, it would be interesting to see where they all go so keep me updated in all of that!

Yeah, really they don't have much from the states or any other country here becasue they have a lot of laws that don't let them import things.. it's lame. But either way we went to a big supermarket named Coto which is kinda like the Costco of Argentina, I think, and they just ran out of kit kats and snickers so we are going to have to go back this week.
And things with my son are going great! Hes a stud, my fav comp. Obviouisly he's new and so he can't really help out a ton in the work and in things like that, but that doesn't bother me.. but just as a person he's the best. Super humble and willing to learn and he told before that he had his own band and things like that but I didn't really think too much about it.. but this last week his parents sent him his guitar and man he is super talented, both singing and playing the guitar. So yeah, it's pretty cool.

As far as the work goes in this last week... a little tough. Well, we broke the record I think for the most lessons in this area Jose C Paz 1 in a single week. The highest that I have seen on record here by far. But we still didn't find other people with a strong desire to be baptized.. so I hope that we will start to see the fruits of that work. To tell you the truth we had 3 people that were going to get baptized this next week, but they arent showing very much desire right now so we are going to have to drop them and keep on looking for new people which is always super hard and sad to do cause they are super good kids but for leaving them Im sure we will be blessed with new people.

Wowww the best day of my mishhh.. thats a super hard question because there are a ton. uhmmmm last sunday was a great day. I was able to see 5 of my converts in the church.. 1 got confirmed, 1 blessed the sacrament for his first time, and I was able to give the other one the priesthood.. and in the gospel principles class we gave them a minute to bare their testimonies and it was super spiritual to be able and see that I have really been an instrument in the lords hands to guide these people to the gospel. Yeah that was a great day.

The biggest challenge is to get along with your comp. by far. Well, it depends on the companion but during the mission every missionary will have at least one companion that will drive them crazy but just to be patient and humble enough to keep on going until transfers haha. And to be united as a companionship is the most important as well cause if you dont get along, youre not going to enjoy the work or the even have the spirit to help you out so everything just goes down hill.

And with the scriptures.. wow I honestly don't know which would be my favorites because I'm honestly addicted to the whole Book of Mormon haha so really, all of the scriptures. But recently I have been sharing a scripture with the members that is Mosiah 2:5 and when I share it a lot of people are confused I think because it doesn't have any straight up doctrine. But I like to think in the story.. King Benjamin (a prophet) calls of his people to come and listen to him give his last speech.
 5 And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their sons, and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family being separate one from another.
And I like how when all of the people went to listen to the prophet, how it says that they went as families and pitched their tents at the temple and I'm sure the spirit there was incredible.. When we think about that, that really is the most important thing in this life is the family and to be able and enter the temple to be sealed to one another and to keep on having spiritual moments together even after. I always tell them that this is something that I have always known.. but now that I am in the mission far away from my family I know without a doubt that the family is the most important that god has given us so that we can be happy. When I left for the mission I had a lot of things in my mind that I thought I was going to miss, like driving, my friends, music, and just a ton of things.. but now really the only thing that I miss and think about is my family. So with that I always give the commitment that we can set goals of things that we are going to do as a family to be able and have even more spiritual moments together.. the things small and simple like read a scripture together every night, family prayer, family home evening, or literally go to the temple together to do baptisms for the dead or do a session as a couple.
They don't have Thanksgiving which is a bummer and we have already had a family invite us over for Christmas which will be super cool and different seeing though its going to be summer and like 85 degrees haha so we will se how that goes next month.

Love Elder Hansen

WEEK #48

This week was by far one of my best of the mission  and there couldn't be a better time to do it than during my 1 year point!

Matias got baptized and confirmed, one of my converts, Norberto, blessed the sacrament for the first time, and my other convert received the priesthood.. and we had 27 lessons with members and found 5 people more to get baptized in the next 3 weeks. And President Gonzalez of South America and member of the 70 came to talk to us about raising our vision and faith which helped a ton. It was an awesome week.. and to top it all off, President Ayre just called me to congratulate my comp. and I especially for our week which has never happened to me in the mish, so it was pretty cool. 

Yeah, Halloween here was pretty boring... I didn't see anybody, not a single soul dressed up.. or trick or treat or anything. So, it was just a normal day. So, if you see a big dent in my bank account, it's because I went to go buy a lot of chocolate especially since I just found a place that has kit kats and snickers.. oh, and I saved the tootsie rolls that I brought here until my 1 year point so even though they are already super expired we are going to start eating those.

Yeah, if you guys dont want your old mattress you can send it here.. I just barely got done asking the mission for a new mattress too because I could feel the wood from the bed frame under me the mattress is so old. I think I would be better off sleeping on the floor haha but now that it is warming up we are starting to find bigger and bigger cockroaches. so, I don't want to sleep on the ground actually. 

Well, it's crazy to think that we have already made it one year here in the mission and they tell me that the second one flies by even twice as fast so it sounds like I'll be arriving home semi-soon haha. Sorry the computer isn't letting me send pics right now, so I'll have a few for the next week.

Love Elder Hansen

WEEK #47

So, I received my new son and its another Argentine! haha I think there are only 2 Argentines in the whole mission and I trained both of them. This Argentine is super humble and a great kid. So, I think I lucked out(:

Other than that, it's cool to be a trainer because there are always miracles.. for example that Matias kid that has been coming to church on his own for the last couple months that we dropped (stopped teaching) came walking into church yesterday in white shirt and tie with a huge grin.. so I asked him why he was so happy, and he just showed me his paper signed by his mom! So after a couple months she finally decided that she wasn't going to win the battle and is going to let him get baptized this Saturday!

And one more interesting story. Yesterday was the presidential elections here in Argentina.. so on Saturday we received a message that Sunday we would have to go to church and right after straight to the pension for the rest of the day. So that was the first time I have had 2 rest days in one week here in the mission. But yeah I heard things get crazy here with all of the riots and stuff, so yeah.

Here I haven't heard anything about halloween so I dont think they celebrate it.. and if they do they would have to do it super early becasue when it starts to get dark it's too dangerous to be out. So, I guess we will see what happens, I'll let you know next week.

I think its crazy how I can say"1 year" now.. time is flying. I will officially only have 1 year left on Sunday, because my finish date is Nov. 1, 2016.

 

Jake

WEEK #46

Things are going great here! I dont know if I already told you this but I am training again so I am just waiting for my new comp. to arrive from the mtc right now. I'm pretty excited to see who it is.. maybe a new gringo or mexican or Brazilian. Yeah, I have no idea but I guess will see here in a few hours.

Other than that, all is going well, I finsihed strong with my last comp. and learned a ton. We found a kid named Matias that started coming to the church in the beginning for a girl but i'ts funny cause she is 19 and he is 17, so he lied to everybody and said that he was 19 just for the girl haha and now he doesn't know how to tell them all the truth. But anyways since he is 17 he needs signed permission from his mom to be able to get baptized, but his mom refuses to give it to him because he was baptized catholic as a baby and she doesn't want him to change his religion... and it's super hard to accept that sometimes especially when you hear his prayers asking the Lord to let him get baptized then you seem him cry everytime that he thinks about not being able to get baptized. He has so much desire its crazy so that is what has kept my mind busy for this last week.

Yeah, that is something that has really called my attention lately as I have been reading the scriptures.. we always see the all of the basic commandments like the word of wisdom, the law of chasity, tithing etc. but sometimes we dont realize how important it is to develop christ like attributes which I think are just as important.. and sometimes  it's the hardest thing to do,  but for that reason we have these experiences in the life to help us find the attributes and characteristics. but anyway, that's just a thought haha

The family that has helped us so much here in the last transfer, one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. The family Ledesma.

WEEK #45

This week was like a roller coaster, is about the only way I can describe it. In terms of the work, things went great. We had 3 baptisms and 2 confirmations so by far my most successful week until now. Really, these last few weeks have been great in terms of the work, I have gone to a wedding, had the oppurtunity to baptize 2 of those people, and do a confirmation. It was awesome! (again I am using a couple crummy computers that wont let me send photos, so I'll have to try and figure something out for the next week)

But the only bad part is that I let a few things get so deep under my skin with all of the pressure and my companion that kind of took away from the joy that I should of had with all of that success. First of all our ward mission leader should prepare the baptismal service and he didn't do anything, or even tell us that he couldn't do it until 10 minutes before the service.. so we had to find some people to help with the talks and prayers and all of that in 10 minutes. Then we talked with the stake president to talk with the bishop about all of the things that are happening and he did it.. but the bishop still didn't even listen so we talked with the stake president again and now he is going to give it to him good talk I think haha.. then I had to get after my companion because all of my food that I bought, I walked into the room and he was eating it all..I dont know why latins think that that is okay.. then this morning we were going to go get together with the zone but my companion said that he didn't want to last second and went and layed down in bed, then tried telling me that he only wanted to write our families for 30 minutes... uhhh, it's tough hahaha but it's alright I'm sure I'll live.

And apart from that this is my last week with him, becuase this next week my president has already told me that I am going to train a new elder again so I guess we will see who it is this next week!

Like I said, my comp. is cutting my computer time a little short today so I can't write much but I do have a picuture from the sister Ayre that I can forward.. I don't know if you have already received it but oh well.

Jake

WEEK #44

Things went alright this last week.. we had a great wedding and everything but just after the wedding there were a few complications with their relationship and they didnt make it to the baptismal interview and all of that, so we have to wait until next week to  baptize them which is a bummer and it kind of put a damper on the conference mood that I had. But either way we are going to try and get them ready for the next week.  So, if everything goes right we will have 3 this next week.

 But yeah the  talk by Elder Hales was my favorite. I know I'm still in the mission but man that gave me a lot of excitement to get home and start my life which I'm not sure is a good thing  hahaha but it had me thinking a lot.

I also liked the talk by Jeffrey R Holland that talked about the love of mothers haha That was a really powerful but everything that he said was true. Mothers are incredible! (:  

Argentina has the worst government I think and it's because they are handing out money like crazy to all the lazys...so I'm definitely against that now that I have seen the results here in this country.

But yeah, this week has gone by way too fast. We are teaching a ton of   good lessons and we have a lot of investigators but we are starting to struggle to find new investigators  because we are teaching so much in  the houses. Sooo, yeah it's a little bit of a struggle in that aspect but everything will turn out fine...   That was also a good talk that talked about how everything will be alright.

I don't have much time to write and we are using ancient computers so I can't send pictures but I will talk to you next week !

 Elder Hansen

WEEK #43

This week I get to go to a little wedding on Friday and we are going to baptize this Sunday between the sessions of conference, a young couple named Leo and Nair and they have one little boy(: And the Sunday after that we have 2 more people that are going to get baptized, my comp. and I are being super blessed right now, especially for being in an area that didn't baptize very much in the past. But we are baptizing almost every week. This area is great but man, the Bishop is a convert of only 10 or 15 years and he hates us for some reason which sucks.. but he is always trying to get after us for something. I think I like the country a little bit more.. the people are a lot more humble and chilled out. But the mud does suck a little bit, haha. Yeah, I'm super excited for this conference.. it's going to be a special one that's for sure. With 3 new apostals and 2 baptisms in between, I don't think it could get any better.. I'm going to be one happy kid.

Love Elder Jake Hansen

WEEK #42

This week went great! We had a baptism yesterday and we have a couple that are getting married in two weeks, then baptized during conference or the next week! 

Haha I think in Argentina there are dangerous places in every town, you just need to know where to be and at what time and it all turns out fine. 

Argentine food is just alright.. like it's not amazing. But their are a ton of Peruvians that have the best food I have ever tried in my life I think. 

I think I am getting a lot better at futsal here to tell you the truth, now that I am playing with a ton of good Latins and I am keeping up with all of them, so I'm sure it will be fun to see how I do when I get back to Utah.

Well, I will see what I can do to send a picture of the baptism, sorry I don't have a ton of time to write but really writing I think is my favorite time of the day its always good to know how the family is doing back home. 

WEEK #41

I'm still in the country with mud and all of that good stuff! The weather has been really weird.. one day it's super hot and humid, and the other it storms all day. I love the companion I'm with right now, Elder Nina is a perfect example of a dedicated missionary and we get along great. He just barely finished his training but it seems like he has been in the missionary for a year already, he came prepared haha.
Has Justin gone out with the missionaries yet? Really, if their was one thing that I could say that would really help his testimony, it would be to share it. And there isn't a better place to do it but with the missionaies in a lesson.
Well,I dont have more time to write sorry! And I'll send some pictures next week I promise you, but it's just that this area is even more dangerous..so, I have to be careful. I should have some pictures of a baptism as well!

Elder Hansen

WEEK #40

Things are going great for me here. I couldn't write yesterday because this week we had transfers.. and I left to another area called Jose C Paz as a District Leader! And I have a new comp. named Elder Nina from Bolivia.

He seems like a stud, so I'm pretty stoked.. and a little bit nervous because being a leader in the mission is a ton of responsibility, but I know God called me for a reason so really their is no reason to be nervous as long as I'm giving all that I can. 

Lately the weather here has been perfect.. I'm not sure how many degrees exactly cause it's all in celsius. But it feels basically the same as San Diego. but yeah we are only finishing winter right now and the heat and humidity are only going to get worse, so I'm not so exctied for that either. Winter here is definitely better than the summer. But still high 70's with Utah humidity sounds pretty nice to me about now. 

Well, sorry I dont have much time to write..  I let you know how it all goes here in the new area next week

Elder Hansen

WEEK #39

Things are going well here, I'm sad to say there hasn't been any major changes since the last week. A lot of long days in the humid sun. Really, the weather is the biggest change.. it has been so hot and humid lately that I have been in short sleeve shirts, sleeping without a blanket, and dying from the mosquitos. Like, I have already said about 100000 times.. I hate the humidity haha I think Im just going to live in Utah all of my life.

As far as things are going with my companion.. things are going alright, I think I have finally gotten through to him a little bit. I just had to do it through I nice call with President Ayre. But now he is an obedient Elder which makes me happy to see his effort now. But still our personalities are just so different,  haha. 

Sometimes patience is the hardest thing. But we just need to remember that everybody comes from a different background. Even when you go to a pizza joint and your companion just thinks that the gringos are entitled to pay for them..haha. 

Well mom I hope everything goes well for you guys this next week.

Jake

WEEK #38

Sorry, I don't have a ton of time to write today because we went to the city to play soccer against another zone and we didn't get back until late...
For me here in Argentina things are going alright. A lot of ups and downs with my comps still but I think that just might be how it goes with a son (greenie) sometimes. Trying a lot to work with my self
control cause as we all know that sometimes I just get to a certain point that I explode and sometimes it doesn't take much to reach that point. But, we have also had some positives. . we were able to bring four investigadors to church the other day and an inactive family which helped us have the highest attendance that we have had in my time here in this area (82 people). It's still not a ton of people, even just the little progression has made me happy. Well,  that's about it from my part for now.
Sorry,  I don't have a lot of time or things to say right now

 Elder Hansen

WEEK #37

Things are going good here. A lot of long days in the mud and rain haha. 

When we get sick we have to call the Hermana Ayre (the presidents wife) and it's kind of the joke of the mission because no matter what the sickness is, it's always take ibuprofen and drink Gatorade hahaha. But yeah I also hope I don't get sick again.. this country is just really dirty, I think. It's true to say that Utah is basically in its own little bubble and the rest of the world is completely different. With how dirty the air is, the water is, the ground is... all of the murders, robberies, and kidnappings going on here is unreal. So, count your many blessings that we grew up where we did, haha. 

Well, as far as it goes with my comp now.. he wasnt listening to me so I talked with our President to see what I should do and he told me that I was doing it all exactly right. If he isnt listening just be firm in what we should do and if he still doesnt listen that I need to call the president right there on the spot. So the other day the President called my comp into his office and I think he gave him a good ol' talk haha but still my comp. isnt really listening to me. It's a real tough situation for me cause we all know that Im not the most patient kid haha. 

But even with all of that going on we have found a few people to teach and I think we are going to have a baptism in a couple weeks(: But anything can happen cause I have said that a lot about baptisms then last second its like the people get scared. But this time its a family where all of them are members but really inactive so they have one 11 yr old boy who is a stud and isn't baptized. So we are in the process of reactivating all of them and baptizing the kid(: 

Oh, and also yesterday was Dia del Niño which means Kid Day.. which is a huge holiday here, haha. So all of the kids were going nuts and receiving things as if it was Christmas and I had no idea what was going on until somebody finally told me. Wouldn't that be nice to have a Kid Day in our Country, no?(; 

Isnt it nuts that I already have 9 months in the mission.. I still feel new sometimes but time is flying by. Well, talk to you next week.

WEEK #36

Wow, I cant believe that McKay is home... that would be such a weird feeling. But really, at the rate that time is going by right now I'll be home tomorrow. I really already have almost 9 months in the mission!

I'm not sure how well I'm really taking it with my comp. but I am really trying to do my best. It's hard to see somebody so new not come with the fire for the work, or with the willingness to be obedient. One day he was just complaining about everything..." why do we have to kneel down to pray... why do I walk so fast.... why do we have so many rules to follow.... just about everything." And it finally got to the point that I stopped walking and I got after him for it. I asked "why he was here in the mission? if he misses his family? and if he loves Jesus Christ?" and he answered yes to all of those questions I told him "That is why we are here. We aren't here just on vacation or to focus on ourselves and only what we want... but because of what we want and for the love for other people." I felt a little bad for being so hard on him after... but really, it's the truth. It's a promise if we lose ourselves in his name (of the savior) that we will find it. I know that their are blessings waiting for everybody but sometimes we need to work for them through diligence and obedience. But other than that experience it has been a good week with my comp. we have been contacting a ton of people and finally starting to find some gold. I just wish that the people had the desire to get married here, haha. I have found so many people that seem so prepared for baptism but in the end nobody wants to get married. That's one of the challenges of Buenos Aires, especially in my area, haha. It would probably help if the president of the country wasn't paying all of the kids for having babies young..haha but it's fine I guess. 

Oh, and I got sick again this week... I don't know what happened but one morning I was just having some super sharp pains in my stomach then eventually I made it to the bathroom and again had problems from both ends of my body for the day. It was the worst.. I just wonder when my body will get used to things here so I will stop getting so sick all the time.

Oh, and also it rained super hard this week... so bad that all of the streets were rivers about a foot deep all of the streets... and some even worse. A lot of houses ruined. We saw a car just completely submerged. It was bad. But I didn't even think it was raining so bad, it's just that they don't have a very good drainage system here I think. Oh, and it's sad that a couple kids died in my area because they got lost in the water. One of them was 11 yrs old and the other only a baby like 2 years old. And it happened like a few blocks from where I was working that day. It made me feel sick when the ambulance finally got there and they couldn't even find the kids in the water. 

I was a little mad that I didn't bring my camera cause we had to take off our shoes and socks to walk down the street for awhile. That was the first time that I had to do that as a missionary. 

Well, that's about it from my part.. a lot of hard work. In Elders quorum they were talking about the things that parents need to teach their kids, and the teacher asked me a few things about things before the mission. And really it made me think about how blessed I am to have the parents that I have. I have been able to see examples of patience, humility, and hard work in my life. I have also used the example of your marriage a lot in my teaching... it has given me a goal to have something similar one day.

Jake

WEEK #35

My new greenie companion, Elder Villa, is an Argentine but he's from a part called Tierra de Fuego, which is really really south, like where the penguins are. Things are going well with him and all of it, but it's really difficult, haha. I think I'm starting to understand what you and dad felt like when none of us kids ever listened. But he has already taught me something really important.. Yesterday he had a little bit of a mental break down with the stress that he was feeling and homesick. And in that moment I realized that as a trainer I was only teaching him the basics of the mission and how to put your head down and go to work.. haha we were working really hard this last week. But one thing that I wasnt doing really well was putting my arm around him and showing him the love that he needs to feel right now which is probably just as important. It's something really really.. really hard for me to do sometimes but it's a personal goal that I set to point out the positives that he has and just love him the best that I can. But that about sums it all up until now. Hard hard work this last week haha.  I know I have only been gone a little more than 8 months but it seems like everything is changing so much. I feel like I was a Sophmore last year... 

 

Elder Hansen

WEEK #34

Things are going awesome here... a little crazy but awesome. I received the call this last week that I'm going to train a new missionary, so right now I'm writing from the offices waiting for my kid to get here. Haha, sometimes I don't feel all that ready to be a trainer, but I don't think anybody ever feels ready for it. With Milton.... it was tough. Last week we set the date again for the 2nd of August and he accepted. Then yesterday we passed by and he told us that he isn't sure if the whole church thing is something he wants to do his whole life. So, I talked to him about it for awhile and told him we are still going to be checking up on him every once in awhile, and he said that he was still going to come to church when he can, which is good. But, it was just tough cause he is such a stud and showed so much desire, then one day the truth came out that he isn't ready. But it's fine because one day he will come around in the future.
I have talked to a lot of people lately that need help with a lot of  things like substance abuse and alcohol... and it's sad when they think that's impossible to change. Really, you just need the desire to change and the humility to accept the help that our heavenly father WANTS to give to us. Well, I don't have a ton of time to write today, sorry, but I need to eat still then go pick up my greenie hahah It's still so weird to me that I'm going to train a newby. I'll send you photos and all of that next week.

WEEK #33

Things are going great! I was able to sit down and talk about things my comp. and what we can do to help things run smooth and ever since things have been great. When I talked about it with another missionary he told me that its good practice because I'm going to have to do the same with my wife probably which just sounded weird to me but probably true, haha. And yeah, we have been working really hard this last week and have found a few people.. the only hard part is finding people that are really going to progress until baptism. However, we have found one kid that is the friend of one of the youth in the ward, and he has already accepted a baptismal date for Aug. 2. Yeah, he's a stud named Milton who is 15 years old, and he has been going to everything lately including church, mutual, and a fireside last night.. and he is already asking about seminary. Yeah, sometimes I feel like I'm in the same "rut" with the same schedule everyday as a missionary; and what helps me is going to new places that I have never been to, and just doing something really weird. I don't know like one night I slept on the floor just because it was different or I tried to cook something new for breakfast. Wow, its crazy to think that Justin is already in 10th grade....make sure you are watching him close because that seems to be one of the hardest years with everything. I cant believe he is already to that point that I feel like I was in last year. High school was awesome though I'm sure he'll love it. Well, that's about it for this week .. I miss and love everyone of you. Elder Hansen

WEEK #32

Hey! The mish is going well! I still have the same companion for 2 weeks but after that my comp goes home and I'll be here in the same area but with a different comp. Haha, I hope he's enjoying it, but I'm not sure with how much I've been buggin him about finishing strong. And yeah recently the weather here hasn't been all that bad, I think it has been in the 60's all this week.. kind of like a nice winter day in San Diego(: Really, this last week there hasn't been much change which I'm a little sad to be able to say that at any point during the mission, but we have just been keeping ourselves busy trying to find some new people to teach more than anything. We have had a little bit of luck in finding some new investigators but I'm afraid they aren't all prepared for baptism yet, so we will just have to keep working hard! Well mom Ill talk to you next week

WEEK #31

Things are going good! On Wednesday we made it to the temple, it was cool to be able and do the session in Spanish and understand everything, haha. Right now in the mission we are doing a mission activity of reading the Book of Mormon in 24 days.. we started on the first of July and we will end on the 24th of July to remember the pioneers then we are going to have a little party or something like that after. We received permission to watch a soccer game on the 4th of July because Argentina made it to the finals of the cope America which is a huge tournament between all of South America, but they lost to Chile in penalties, haha. I dont know why Argentina can never finish a tournament strong, they are always losing in the finals just like in the world cup. But it was fun to be able and watch it. It was a little sad to not be able and celebrate the 4th of July here, but I guess I will see what their independence day is on July 9th. It's funny that everybody here knew the American Independence day too. A couple people talked to me about it when they realized I was a gringo. Time is passing incredibly fast here.. I already have almost 8 months in the mission. Nutz!

WEEK #30

Things are definitely staying busy. It has been a little bit of a challenging week for me as well.. really just because I feel like I have been doing it all around here but its alright I'm sure becoming a better missionary from it. It's just a bit frustrating, however even with working alone we did have a little bit of success which is great. But also I just received word that we won't have a complete p-day today because we are going to the temple this Wednesday! That will be my first time here in Argentina so I'm pretty excited. This last weekend it rained so much here that most of the roads were just flooded with mud which was crazy, haha, but Argentines act like the rain is the end of the world like all the parents wouldn't even let their kids leave the house which I thought was pretty funny, Haha, and the bishop in the town right next to us cancelled church after sacrament which I don't even think is allowed but whatever. Really it was just busy work without too many climaxes. I guess seeing as I don't really have much to say about the week.. oh, and I'm learning to speak Portuguese a little as well. So, I just made that another life goal to speak 3 languages, cause Portuguese is so similar to Spanish it's crazy and I did divisions with a Brazilian kid who taught me a ton already but yeah, that's about it, haha. Well, like I said, we have a short p-day this week because we are going to the temple so I can't write much more.

WEEK #29

I'm proud to say that I really do love the mish life. This last week has been a little crazy, but definitely in a good way. It started out with a divisions, then another day of divisions, then another day of divisions, then finally a baptism! It was cool to be able to do so many divisions and meet so many new elders, cause really everybody has their own unique ways of doing things. It doesn't matter if they have more time than you or less time, you still learn so much. And even better, you are always best friends by the end of the day. On Sunday we were able to have a baptism with one of my great friends and "brother" like he says with his really really Latino accent every time he sees me, haha, but he is a 19 yr old kid from Peru named Junior. And really the feeling you get every baptism might be the best feeling of all time I'm convinced, seeing though when he was finally dunked under the water I could barely breath cause I was so happy and excited it's unexplainable. And to know that he will receive the priesthood in the next couple weeks and go on himself to help so many other people is just coolest thing. I have also met one of the biggest examples I have ever met, his name is Jose Segovia, and now he is our ward mission leader. But before I really didn't know his story, and I still wouldn't know his story if a different member didn't tell us. But it all started about 10 years ago when he finally gave in and listened to the missionaries at about the tenth time that they passed by. But he was a drunk and didn't even know how to read because he left school at such an early age. But when the missionaries invited him to pray about the truths of what they have taught, he prayed and received an answer. And when he received this answer he decided to never drink alcohol again, but he also received the determination to be able to read the book of Mormon. So he tried to teach himself using the bible and book of Mormon but couldn't do it. So he signed himself up for primaria (elementary school) as a 40 yr old man and has now read the Book of Mormon multiple times and is the most faithful member I have met here in Argentina. I just wanted to share that cause really he is such a stud, and I realized how easy we have it with all the truth that we need right their at our finger tips with the scriptures that we can study so easily but still nos cuesta leerlo and learn from the key of our religion. So read and study the book of Mormon and I promise it will make the biggest difference every day! The gospel is so real, I have learned that really even though at times it seems like a huge sacrifice, it really is a huge blessing that we have to help us and bring us this happiness.

WEEK #28

This last week was nutz but I loved it. Really, just a little bit crazy cause we did a lot of traveling on crowded old Argentine buses to meetings that we had more than half the days last week. But I don't know, sometimes it's when you are just doing crazy things and life seems super busy that you need to take a step back and look at what you are doing. Like when I think about it, it still blows my mind that I'm so far away at home here in Argentina working all day every day but I love doing it. I don't know if I just explained that very well but I hope you guys can at least some what understand. It just brings a smile every time. Also, we have been able to see a miracle this last week in the work. So, we went to go visit a family from the ward, and as it turns out one of their cousins named Junior came to live with them from Peru. And right before he came to Argentina, he received all of the charlas and went to the church and really has done everything besides get baptized. So we went to go talk with him about everything, and he basically gave himself a baptism date. But as he kind of told his story to us, it was cool to see how much faith a 19 year old kid could have. Im excited to see him grow in the church and receive the priesthood and all, it will be such an experience. If everything goes right we will have photos next week! Oh and also he showed me a cool game from Peru called "trumpo" which is so sick, you guys should look it up. I want it to get popular in the states haha

WEEK #27

This last week was de diez really even though we didn't baptize (baptisms are definitely in the future). I really enjoyed it. This area is so chill and the people are just so humble that it's cool to be around them and really see how much faith a person that has close to nothing can have. But, one thing I really enjoyed this week is just meeting new people in general, that has to be one of the best things of the mission. Doesn't matter if they are members, investigators, other missionaries; I feel like I have already built like lifetime friendships with so many people. Man the mission is the best no doubt. Well, anyway this last week I had the chance to do divisions with one of my zone leaders in my area which was kind of crazy cause really I still get lost really easy here like I always had the map in my hand but we were still able to have a lot of success because he taught me a valuable lesson that really everything depends on your animo or really how much energy and excitement you bring to the table. It doesnt matter who you are working with, if you are really excited and showing them that you are enjoying what you are doing, the other person is going to want to help. So, that was one of our goals for the day, and man it really worked. we went to go visit a member named Hermano Coco who is a really old guy and I still dont understand a single word he says, haha, but we went and shared this excitement that we had and wow, I have never seen an old guy move so fast to introduce us to some people haha hes nutz. But really thats all I wanted to share is a little bit about animo that everything is in your head, so in any situation if you need to give yourself a pep talk to pump yourself up. DO IT, because it just makes everything 10x better. And also my sd card got a wicked virus, but I think it will be fixed by next week so I'll have some cool videos and photos and stuff by next week.