December 29 2013

Family!

Ha sorry dad for sending you mass amounts of emails, but I just had so many good photos to share this week! I am sure there will be lots more. My comp took super good photos of Christmas eve and Christmas, I can't wait to show you!

Today was a blast we went to a little island off of the main island, called Pulau Ubin, and rode bikes on trails they have all over the island. Wow, let me tell you though, major respect for bike riding missionaries, because I am real out of shape. It's the Filipino food, so good. Anyways we rode bikes for about 3 hours and walked along the wetlands, so so pretty. Dad we walked up this huge tower and it was ridiculously tall and unstable, you would have freaked. There was only supposed to be 20 people on it because it was super old and rickety but there was about 30 and it shook whenever the wind blew. Haha. 

Yesterday was the best day of my mission though. It was my first baptism and it was so so special, i will never forget the day. Keith's testimony was amazing and really helped me to feel that I am really making a difference. It's so awesome to see how much the gospel really can change people's lives, not only that but the impact a testimony has. Keith was unsure about the gospel and baptism till his wife, whose a member, bore her testimony to him and that was when he was ready to really have a change of heart. 

I seriously urge all of you to share what you know and feel about the gospel. It will touch peoples hearts, as cheesy as it sounds. If I can do it, an awkward american girl, you can too! Besides it's so much fun!

Sorry I don't have too much to say. It was such a good week though! 

Sister Lou

P.S. 

Mom I am in love with the necklace you sent, thanks so much. Christmas was great!

I've Hit My Month Mark

Ahhh You Guys!

I am OBSESSED with my mission, quite seriously so. 

This week in terms of missionary work was beyond slow, we literally only had 2 appointments, both on Saturday, but I really got to know a lot the missionaries I am serving with and I love them all so much! They are so much fun. On P-day we played ultimate frisbee in Bishan Park and well it rains all the time here so it was basically a swamp and we got wrecked, so muddy, but definitely worth it. Then we had choir practices Tuesday and Wednesday, all of us, followed by Christmas Conference which was so amazing. I really serve with the best of the best. 

Like I said this week was pretty slow, last Sunday Sister Wynn was sick so we did get to go to church but then we came right back home and she passed out so i was left to read my scriptures till 11pm and make phone calls. On the bright side my scripture study is out of this world now. Luckily she was better by last P-day. However this past Thursday I got unbelievably sick, like super ill and slept literally 48 hours straight, I smelt like death. I am still kind of sick so it's hard to do a lot of work when you sound and look sick, no one wants to talk to me, haha, but we are getting things done. 

I LOVE my ward though! I seriously want to be Filipino so bad. I love them all so much. Yesterday was our ward Christmas party, and boy can they party. Hahaha. It was a huge feast with the most delicious food I've ever had followed by about a million little skits. To my surprise the missionaries were supposed to come up with a musical number as well. As you all know my musical talent is well below par, I can't even carry a tune, but they wouldn't back down. Hahah luckily the best AP's ever are the Elders in our ward and they thought we should sing rudolph the red nose reindeer complete with song and dance by Elder Toney haha. The Filipinos joined in and it was so much fun. I've made some great friends in the ward and I will be so sad when I transfer to not see them anymore, but I am positive we'll keep in touch. They are even teaching me some Tagalog words, I'm so stoked to learn it! I made them promise me to teach me how to have a basic conversation in Tagalog by the next transfer cycle in case I get moved.

There isn't too much to report this week. Its been a weird week but one of the best. And I seriously can't believe I've been away from home for a month. That isn't a very long time, especially compared to those I serve with but if each month goes by as fast as this one did, my mission will be over too quick. 

Love and miss you all,

Sister Hansen

P.s. 

Real quick I ate my first fish and duck this week. Duck is DISGUSTING, like the worst I hate it, but fish is so tasty. When I got to my appointment at an investigators house they had like 3 dead fish, full fish, just laying on plates in the middle of the table, like eyes and teeth and everything still attached, but it tasted so good. I will never like duck though. 

You Guys:

This is truly a dream come true!

Before I get started on my letter first let me say to my wonderful brother Happy belated Birthday! I want you to know meef that I thought about you all day long and was missing you more than ever!

This week was one of miracles! I love serving a mission. The saying, "a mission is 99% hard work and 1 % pure joy and the pure joy makes it all worth it," is true. This week was ROUGH. At the beginning of the week I wanted to die, quite literally, I was constantly tired, we got lost everyday, and my comp and had some differences, however by the end of the week my outlook changed. There is a talk that I heard while in the MTC, "Character of Christ," by Bednar and I was able to read over that on Wednesday and I realized how selfish I was looking at my mission. As my focus shifted from the things I was missing at home and the life I want when I return, to loving the people I am teaching and knowing my purpose is to help people come to Christ this experience has turned from a burden to endure for 18 months to a blessing to appreciate! 

I do have to say though that family those letters you wrote to me before I left have been well read and have helped me in ways you can't even imagine, each one has said something that I desperately needed to hear! I love you guys and miss you so so so so so many much! 

I have to share the best most coolest experience that I had on Saturday night. We were meeting with K one of our investigators and he had been back tracking and had gotten rid of his baptism date and really shying away from the church. My comp and I were so distraught and on Tuesday we decided to text him and challenge him to start reading/watching General Conference starting with Hollands talk "Lord, I believe," (i think that's the title.) After being worried sick all week about how he was doing it was finally time for his lesson. We planned to teach him the restoration again because he had questions about priesthood and prophets. When we got there though the first thing he said to us was that he had been listening to general conference non-stop and I quote, "The questions I had I realized don't really matter anymore, and I want to be baptized, I want to be baptized before the end of the year." WOW! I was so overwhelmed with love and happiness! I can't wait till he is baptized on the 29th! 

Basically I am loving it, the hard times especially because moments like the ones on Saturday night make those rough times so so worth it! I am in love with this work. 

Much Love, 

Sister Hansen!

P.S.

Haha I look disease ridden. My legs are unrecognizable now due to mosquito bites all the time! 

1st Week in Singapore

Hello Friends and Family:

Apa Khabar?

I made it, I have touched down in Singapore and I have been in my 1st area for 4 days now. I was assigned in Singapore south, 3rd ward. My area is the whole of Singapore which is great for referrals, but hard on the wallet. It's a Filipino ward, and they speak in half English and half Tagalog, so the members are helping me to learn a few phrases so sacrament meeting is as confusing. Who would've thought that I would be handing out Tagalog BOM's over English ones? The ward is so hospitable and eager to help in finding and teaching investigators though so I was so blessed in my 1st assignment. 

Singapore is beautiful and I absolutely am in love with this place. I want to live here forever! If I love it as a missionary imagine how great it would be as an actual citizen. 

So the flight here was so so long and even with the help of Advil PM I could not sleep, I was sitting next to the cutest Filipina ever though and I got to explain my purpose and kind of what I was doing and now looking back with my new assignment I know that I was supposed to be sitting by her! She was seriously so cute! I would have to say I am most definitely jet-lagged though. I am so tired all the time especially in the afternoon when it is bed time at home. 

My companion, Sister Wynn, and I are both brand new to Singapore though so we are white-washing this area which is hard especially since the ward had such a deep connection to the previous sisters and our area is HUGE! Lucky for me though one of the old sisters in this area is really helping us out and doing pass-off lessons and she is Sister Parcell's companion now! So i get to see Sister Parcell which is a huge help because I grew very close to her in the MTC and trip to get here to Singapore! Area's really are divinely inspired because I need all the help I can get in adjusting to this new place, routine, and people.

Not too much has happened here though we've only had a couple lessons, most of what we do is ride the MRT (train) to get to places and do A LOT of contacting. It's been hard for me since the English here isn't really American English or really any form of English being able to effectively communicate has been a trial. Singlish isn't my favorite thing but I have already caught myself using it. It's basically conjugated weirdly and the tense of the language is almost always wrong. Basically my grammar will be worse than it already is when I get home. 

The food here is delicious. I am returning a beast. Haha I could honestly eat this food for the rest of my life. The best is probably Chicken Kar-gee and Butter Chicken with Naan. (indian food is everywhere) The shrimp fried rice (which is their normal fried rice) is like floating on a cloud. I am really concerned for my waistline. Haha just kidding, it's great, but I am constantly walking and going from point A to point B I've already dropped some weight. I will have to take some pictures today of the Hocker stands, that's where the good food is at they are like little markets of just different food and drinks. 

Today for P-day we are about to head to Marina Bay and see the Merlion statue and basically everything Iconic to Singapore! I couldn't be more excited and I will have way more photos for you next week! 

Thank you so much for all the love and support that has been give to me! It means a lot! I love you and miss you all, but the work needs to go forward! I am so happy to be a part of it!

Sister Hansen 

The view from my apartment! It's so urban and so green and always slightly raining! That building with the colorful windows is a school! how crazy is that! 

"garbage water" this flows through Singapore everywhere the water is pretty gross and you have to be pretty careful to make sure you are only drinking mineral or filtered water! but look at how green it is

Here is Sister Parcell, so happy I work with her still everyday at a Yishun sign haha we just wanted a picture.

This is a Tao Pah. Every stop on the MRT is a mall and I was so excited to see my first Christmas tree even though it was gold

Ahhh here are my Jellies! Everyone wears these and they are so cheap I have a feeling I will wear them always. What a blast from the past!

This is me and my new comp Sister Wynn (hopefully the computer at the internet cafe is being a little weird) She is great and I truly can't wait to learn all she knows about being a missionary!

Hello all:

My P-day got all messed up because of Thanksgiving so I technically don't have one today but they did give us an hour for laundry and e-mails. So here it goes: 

This past week was rough, we started our TRC investigator and my companions and mine was SASSY. She knew the perfect things to say to make us feel completely inadequate. I felt so bad, after our horrible TRC but by the time we went to class I thought I was doing pretty good. Of course I was disappointed in how the lesson went but there was nothing I could do about it now. However in class we do practices on each other pretending that we are teaching a lesson. Because I am in a tri-panionship it was my turn to work with Brother Gruninger and I lost it, literally lost it. I felt so bad I couldn't stop myself from crying and basically making it the most excruciatingly awkward 5 minutes of his life. He was so nice though and really made me feel that I could teach and that I was called to Singapore for a reason and that the Lord would help me. I seriously love him for that, it was exactly what I needed to hear. Honestly since Monday times have still been a little overly emotional. My investigator though after the worst 1st lesson ever, we have been able to give her the BOM and she has started reading it and is really gaining a testimony of her loving Heavenly Father and prayer.

FRIDAY! WOW! It was 12 straight hours of class. I thought I couldn't sit any longer. I had what is called "in field orientation," they should honestly change the title. It was spiritual and I did learn a few things but it was basically a regular class drug out for and obscenely long time. My companions and I were wiped out. Because it was supposed to be our P day we had a service assignment in the morning from 6-730 and then the orientation right afterwards. We didn't get breakfast so the whole time we were sitting there I am pretty sure we cleaned out a box of tic tacs, a container of icebreakers, and at least 1/2 a pack of gum it was ridiculous! 

Can you believe I go to Singapore in just 3 short days! Ahhh! I can barely contain myself. I am feeling like I truly can go out and preach the gospel at this point. My teachers are amazing I want to put them in my pocket and pull them out when lessons get hard! I will be flying out of SLC on Tuesday around 5, so I will either be calling you there or when I get to Hong Kong, honestly because of the time difference I am not quite sure, so keep your phone handy dad and I will call youTuesday Night or sometime on Wednesday (which will be my Thursday, CRAZY). I can't believe I just loose a day like that. Haha. 

They've been preparing us to leave and we've had a few meetings on our specific mission. We've learned a lot about Malaria and they've started us on the medication for that, and a fun fact the group that I am going out with is one of the last ones until more come home. I guess we've reached like the quota of missionaries aloud in Singapore. I am so glad that I was fortunate enough to make the cut. It's funny telling people where I am going because they always start on a tangent about how hard learning mandarin must be and the shock that comes over their face when I say I am English speaking. But it is a very real thing that I will be learning Malay and Mandarin while there. I am both excited and scared for that to happen. I am truly most excited to know my first area and companion! I am really hoping to go to East Malaysia (the part right above Indonesia), it is the only biking area, but the potential for growth is so great and I really feel like that because it is more of a 3rd world country over there, there is so much service I could offer. I will be so ecstatic wherever I go though. 

As times drag on my companionship has gotten strained, in lessons it is a blessing because we all have different strong points of our testimonies and look at the gospel in different lights, but in class and the apartment it is hard to really keep a balance if that makes any sense. I love them both completely though! 

It's cold here but I am trying to appreciate it before I get to hot humid Singapore and will probably want to die. Haha. Anyways, please keep sending me e-mails. I love hearing about everything! I miss and love you all more than anything, but I am doing exactly what I know I should be. 

Maybe someday I will send some pictures! haha

Lots of Love, 

Sister Emma Lynne Hansen

1st Letter from the MTC

Family and Friends, 

The MTC is great! I feel like I am on spiritual overload. I think the amount of times I have prayed in the past two days equals the amount of prayers I give within a month or two. Seriously, there is one in the morning, one to bless breakfast, one before personal study and one after, then one before companion study and one after, then one for lunch, and one for class, then 4 during class, and one after, and so on! It is so great though! I feel like I can really personal communicate with my Heavenly Father and receive any answers I might need and calm my overwhelmed heart!

Yesterday we were told about the investigator my companions and I will be teaching, and wow I already love her so much! Her name is Rose and she has had it rough and is continually burdened with other peoples cares, so during companion study we prayed to know what we should tell Rose so that she may feel of the love her Father in Heaven has for her, and it is amazing to see that me and my two companions immediately turned to the same gospel principle in PMG. Wow. Prayer. We teach her later today and update you on how the lesson went I was so nervous about the thought of it, but now I am overjoyed at the thought of official meeting her and getting to share my testimony.

I should probably tell you about my compainions, I love them! We are a "tripanionship" so basically there are 3 of us. I was definitely concerned about the logistics of 3 sisters in one group. Emotions were sure to run high, but not here. Sister Mafi is from Tonga and she has such an inviting personality so even though we are very different, I can't help but to love her! Sister Parcell is HILARIOUS, honestly so funny. I think she is very good at lightening the mood when the time is right but she is a spiritual powerhouse! I just hope I am bringing something to the group. 

My teachers are so great they really help me to know what i need to do to be an effective missionary and are so intuitive to how I am feeling and the words in which they need to say to me. Honestly I think I will be sad to leave, however I am not done yet so we will see what the rest of my stay here brings! Things have been going so great here though and I am thankful everyday for this opportunity I have to serve. I cannot wait to be with the people of the Singapore Mission in just 10 DAYS, wow! I already love them so much! My P-day here in the MTC is Friday so family write me e-mails and send me letters! I am making my way through the letters you wrote me and I am overwhelmed with the love I feel, and will write you guys back as I read them!

Love you and miss you all more than I can say,

Sister Hansen

P.S.

hopefully i will take and upload some pictures next week, there is seriously no time to snap pics! 

Just Real Quick

Let me just say this, preparing to serve has been the hardest, loneliest, self-doubting times I have EVER had. Oh boy was it worth it.
A lot of people were surprised by my sudden peaked interest in serving a mission for my church, and I can't blame them, so was I.
     Weeks before I had honestly given a second thought to serving there was a talk I heard, and to sum it up, it made me question what I was really doing and what I valued. After much self evaluation I decided I was far from the person I knew I could be or even wanted to be. There was one small problem, I didn't actually know who I really was. Secretly all along, deep down, I was always uncomfortable in my own skin and reaching desperately for something more within myself. After trying to continue along in my day to day routine the feeling in the pit of my stomach grew stronger and stronger, and I felt as though I was always carrying a large burden with me.
     Then something crazy happened. I prayed one night to know what I should do, something I had never done. The next morning I knew who I could become and what I should be doing; serving the Lord and growing in the gospel.
     It hasn't been all blue skies since that point, it's been rough. Self-doubt came back with a hammer and what-ifs flooded my mind constantly. However the change that I see in myself is so much closer to the person I hope to be one day. I am preparing to serve people in a country I have never been to or know anything about, but I love them wholeheartedly, something that has never come easily to me.  I am beyond excited to bring to them what has brought me more peace or joy than I could have ever imagined.
Adventure begins in 9 days.
Sister Hansen