Helllooo!!
So yes, today is the day that I have hit the big 21!! It feels, very old. I will not lie. I never thought when I turned 21 years old I would be serving a mission, I thought I would be studying or married. But I would not change it for anything! I am so grateful I am here, doing things so much better with my life than what many young adults are doing when they turn 21 haha.
As for this week, it´s been a really super great one! We had transfers and I will be staying in Cidade Verde. I am SO happy to stay here because things are just starting and I have much more work to complete here.
Also along with new transfers comes my new companion! So I´ll explain how it went down… Sister Telford (who was my companion this past transfer) went to Mossoró with a sister named Sister Tavares. Sister Newman (who was the former companion of Sister Tavares) came here and now is with me! So Sister Telford and Newman just switched places.
Also, Sister Stadler stayed in Cidade Verde with me and Sister Sigarán is now companions with her! So back 3 transfers ago… it was us 4 living together in Rio Branco. Me with Sigarán and Stadler with Newman. Now we have just switched areas and companions but it is us four together again!
I don´t know if you all followed that but yeah… it was pretty funny 🙂 I am SO EXICTED to be back with these sisters though because we are really like sisters. I loved Sister Newman a lot and she really brings out the best of me. We are going to tear up this area together!!!
As for work this week, it all has gone really well! We helped two people get baptized this week. First, Fransisco… the brother of one of the couples we are teaching. He has a lot of desire and was really excited to be baptized and loves to learn. He loves our visits and always has tons of questions.
Also, Cándida. Wow, I love Cándida.
Funny side note: In my 8 months on the mission I have never taught and baptized a woman. It has always been young teenage boys or men.
But this week Cándida was the first! And wow, her bapitsm really took awhile. First her son (Andrey) was baptized, then her next son (Nicolas), and finally her. Though it took her awhile for her to find her answer it was so worth it. She is one of the humblest and most caring people I have ever met. She takes care of me like her daughter (fixing my cloths, giving me and my companion food, etc) and will continue so firmly in the church. She knows it is true because she prayed and recieved her own answer!
This is always our invitation to all. Not to have the missionaries ´convince´ you of anything…. but to pray and ask God so that you can recieve your own answer. I want you all to know that I know that prayer works! It has never failed me. To anyone who wants to know the truth about this church all they have to do is have humility, and pray and ask God, with real intent, specifically, to know if what we are teaching is true. I works!!! I have seen it happen time and time again here.
I love this church and know it is true for myself.
Have a great week to all!
Sister Hansen
PS. I saw my first baptisms this week!!!!!!!!!!!! To remind everyone: it was twins. Two young men who came to know the church through the recently converted friend. They are still continuing firm in the church and were passing the sacrament Sunday. I took a picture with them so that you can all see them 🙂 Pretty incredible!
Natal Brazil Mission 