Sin has lost its grip on me - 07/29/13

I want you to listen to this song while reading this email.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipl-rLRxOrs 

My companion and I had the pleasure this week of listening to music that we had borrowed from our zone leader  and identifying songs that we thought would help bring the spirit into our lessons. While the hymn-based instrumental songs seemed to be the best bets, this particular gem of a song moved us both deeply. So I figured I'd share. 

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! Transfer calls! Our beloved Space Cadet of a Zone Leader is going to be doubled in as a Zone Leader in one half of the newly-split Hemet zone. Replacing him will be an old friend of mine from Jurupa. Two of our Spanish elders are leaving for greener pastures and will be replaced by Spanish sisters. My former buddies in Lasselle ward will be gaining a greenie and becoming a trio yet again. The current trio of sisters will be losing their trainer to be a Sister Training Leader in Jurupa 1st (SO COOL) and the current duo of sisters will be gaining a third wheel greenie as well. So, all in all, there will be seven sisters in this zone, and they are all NOT MY DISTRICT. I'm a district leader over Hidden Springs, Lasselle and Valley View, so seven elders in total. The other elders are in a district with seven sisters. This work is changing, folks, I can see it happening. 

Oh... maybe you guys think the most wonderful time of the year is Christmas. And this past week we celebrated Christmas in July! We celebrated with soda and lots of weekly planning shenanigans. Fun stuff. 

Our investigators all weaseled out of being at church EXCEPT for "B". We actually didn't expect "B" to come to church this week but he did and told us that he wanted to work towards getting baptized on August 22. It's a Thursday, but it's the only time he thinks he'll be available. He's been ready for baptism since before I got here, so we'll take that and run with it. 

I'm also super excited about our new investigator the Typesetter who lives on the same street as two other ward member families. We had a member with us that night, and all of our ideas were fizzling, so we tracted for an hour and then tried back at the Typesetters house. Well he was home, let us in, listened pretty intently to our message, and agreed to read the Intro and Enos in the Book of Mormon we left him. I think he has a lot of potential, and if we get the Dad on board, usually the family will follow. 

I like my Hogwarts ties, especially when people comment on them. I got a couple of members to smile when they figured out I was wearing a Gryffindor tie on purpose. 

Yesterday at church was pretty uplifting. I had an image pop in my head of one of my former investigators dressed in white and kneeling at an altar with her husband. So I wrote her a letter about it and it will be hand-delivered by our superstar Sister missionary who is going to Jurupa 1st ward. I sure hope that she can help my precious former along the path and make that dream a reality. 

I also found a startling connection at church. Our lesson in Priesthood was about priesthood or something like that. In any case, the teacher asked if anyone had their line of authority with them. I pulled mine out of my wallet. He asked me to read it out loud, to point out how it goes back to Jesus Christ. Well, after I was finished, somebody said "One of those guys was my grandfather." So, Dad and Grandma, I hope that tickles you the way it tickled me.

Well, time for another exhausting week. I love you guys, and enjoy the music!

I will survive - 07/22/13

Now that Brett's home, I am the only Elder Hansen serving out of my siblings. LAST MAN STANDING! 

This week has been pretty great. I love working with Elder "G". We've got a lot of good stuff going on. There are currently three people we are working with that are close to baptism. Only one has a solid date right now, but the other two are close behind. It seems like planning and communication are the two things that this area has been most sorely lacking in the recent past, so I'm going to work on getting everybody on the same page and getting some organization going on for the missionary work. 

I feel like a pretty competent missionary now. That doesn't mean the challenges aren't a big deal, but I don't ever feel like I'm not prepared to handle things. All is well if I put my mind and soul into it and stay in tune with the Spirit. Faith has eliminated fear in most of my day-to-day interactions. It's a marvelous feeling. 

So, the YSA leaders gave us a roster of theirs and highlighted a few names to hunt down that they haven't the foggiest clue about. So far, we've determined that most of them haven't been found because they don't want to be found, but we'll keep on knocking on their doors at different times. One of these guys had the same last name as one of the Three Witnesses, and his father informed us that he was there, but none of them was interested in anything we had to say. I guess apostasy is a recurring theme in their family tree. 

Another name on this list led us to a part-member family. The YSA no longer lives there, but we got a current address for him. The mother was very nice to us, and I felt very strongly pricked in my heart that we needed to be with this family. She invited us back, showed up at church, and told us we needed to work on her husband. She also signed up on our dinner calendar. I'm excited. 

Let's see, I also met a homeless guy who wants to smell my feet. Seriously, he asked if he could smell my feet. I'm not quite sure if he's trying to be odd so he doesn't have to talk to us, or if he really is that odd. Either way, we biked off a little bit puzzled. 

Pday was awesome last week! We had a recent convert take us out to Lake Perris and we got to relax by the lake while they fed us and gave us all goodie bags and paintings as gifts! I kid you not, this lady painted fifteen canvas painting for all the missionaries of landscapes and churchy stuff so we could all have one as thanks for our missionary service. That was pretty cool. Not sure if we have anything fun planned for this week, probably just a lazy catch-up day for once. 

Well I love you all tons! Remember the worth of souls is great, and it's up to you to find the pure in heart for the missionaries to teach! So go out there and talk to people. D&C 33:8

Better Not Blink - 07/15/13

My assignment has changed already. On Tuesday at 4pm, I was told that I needed to pack up and be ready to leave by 7pm. I am now companions with Elder "G" in the Hidden Springs ward. Still in Moreno Valley, in fact I'm still in the same district. Just a different ward. 

Elder "G" and I have had a decent week. I'm still not sure what's going on in this ward, but I'm glad I'm here. Elder "G" has been struggling a lot with his testimony, and I think I'm just the guy to help him figure things out and get back on track. We both like nerdy things and it's fun having intelligent conversation with him. He's also very obedient, which makes things a lot more enjoyable on my end. 

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to hear 4ordained perform for us live in our stake center. They're a pretty good group, and they were very inspired. Unfortunately, the musical fireside was not very well advertised and it was sorely under attended. There were maybe 30 people total in the stake center. I felt kind of bad for the four guys who drove all the way down from Utah to perform for a handful of dudes in a stake center. But it was so uplifting! As logical and stubborn as Elder "G" is, he is very in tune with music, and it lifted his spirits a lot. I think if for no other reason, their trip was meant to soften him up a little. 

I'm still a bit shell-shocked that I was asked to move so quickly. I'm still in the same district as my former threesome, but I don't get to be with my ward that I was starting to love and get used to. I guess I'll just have to go on exchanges when my favorite families are feeding them in the Lasselle ward. :D 

I'm very much aware that God loves all of us and knows our talents. He fits our areas and our challenges as missionaries to the lessons that we need to learn and the skill-sets that we have and are developing. Elder "G" keeps complimenting my charisma, and that makes me blush a little bit. But hopefully that means I can inspire him to be more outgoing and not be afraid to open his mouth and talk to people about the gospel. 

"I can see why people might think you're a flirt, Elder Hansen," he said. "You're just really good at being warm and genuine so people can't help but want to trust you." Earlier this week, he made a Dungeons and Dragons joke: "I thought Charisma was a dump stat!" I laughed. 

I stayed on top of the bike all week, but I almost got hit by a car once. And it turns out that the car was a bunch of Mormons in our ward on their way to the temple. I heard a lot about that on church this week. And I got to explain to everybody that yes, I'm the permanent Elder in this ward, yeah, the former elder assigned to your ward wasn't here that long, he was needed in Perris, yeah it was an emergency transfer but President needed to switch things around. What I don't tell them is that while the original problem was the Elder in Perris that had a head injury and will be going home for more care, I was definitely needed to help Elder "G" rekindle his trust in God and the promptings of the Holy Ghost. He's far from fixed right now, but I can tell things are moving in that direction. 

Stay strong and carry on, my friends! I love you tons. Remember that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God!

Also, apparently khakis are going to be okay now? Everybody has told us that khakis are in and backpacks are out, except for our mission president. So I'm awaiting further light and knowledge from him. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16

I Swear I Can Fly - 07/08/13

This has been the most encouraging week I've had in a long time. I was expecting it to be a bit tedious, but I've been uplifted and strengthened and I rejoice in the work I've done and the reward that follows. 
The first two weeks in my trio were refreshing because we worked really hard, and I haven't worked hard like that in a while. Well now we're finally seeing people progress and show promise. Our numbers are way better this week. And I feel like a really good missionary and a good leader.

 

We found six more new investigators this week! The ones from the week before haven't met with us again yet, but I still have hope that maybe some of them will shake out. We taught more lessons this week than anybody else in the zone, including the Spanish elders! We're still not reaching this area's potential, but things are growing in a big way. I'm super proud of how much work we've put into the area and how determined my companions are to keep on working. 

The "G" family, my dearest bittersweet challenge, is moving forward slowly but surely. We gave the Mom a blessing after she had a seizure, and we're hoping that she will talk to a doctor about maybe adjusting her medications. I feel like most of her problems are caused by stress, and that perhaps the stuff she's taking isn't working the way it should. I'm hoping that my impressions on the matter are the result of the spirit talking to me and not just me talking out of turn.

 

The Dad, who previously was supportive of his daughters but not interested in making changes, asked to sit down with us and talk religion. He's very faithful, and I think he will make a great priesthood holder with a little motivation and a push in the right direction. I'm still in awe of his faith throughout that conversation. We all felt like asking him to be baptized during that lesson, but Elder "B" was the one that got to ask the question. Brother "G" said "If it's God's will, then absolutely." It sounds like we just have to get him to pray sincerely. I couldn't be happier! If we get both of the parents trying to set a good example, and the whole family working as a cohesive unit, things are much more likely to change for the better in their situation. This is a great deal more promising compared to the "I think my family is falling apart" conversation that I was presented with a week or two ago.

 

Lots of meetings this week. District Leader meeting with the Zone Leaders on Tuesday, Zone Development Meeting on Thursday which the Assistants to the President decided to attend, and a District Leader Training with President Smart in Riverside on Friday. I also went on exchanges on Saturday. The word from up top is that our mission is full of new missionaries that need training. We need to set an example in our missionary work for the young elders and sisters. We need to train effectively during district meetings and offer support and encouragement during nightly call-ins. We need to be constructive and sensitive when talking with the sisters. President's words stuck out in my head: You need to learn now how to talk sensitively with women if you're going to be a good husband someday. Luckily for me, I don't have responsibility over any sister missionaries. 

I am a bit concerned about the Elders in my district. One of them in particular is struggling to stay motivated and focused on the work. He is discouraged by deep doctrinal concerns that he can't seem to resolve in his head. I wanted to touch on them but didn't get very far before we had to run off to more meetings and more work. His area is struggling, but I think they have a couple potential baptisms, and seeing a baptism will help him keep his chin up, I hope. I'm wondering if there's a way we can address his doctrinal concerns, as well.

 

I'm super awkward. I wiped out on my bike pretty hard while on exchanges, bringing my bike accidents count up to 3. My bike is still functional, and I've only got a few bruises, so I think I'll be okay. I feel kind of dumb though. 

I had two very vivid dreams this past week.  In one of the dreams, I was at home. I was hugging everyone before church where I was to give my homecoming talk. I sat down on the far left side of the second center pew from the front, right where Grandpa Hansen used to sit next to Grandma. I looked at my worn-out old suit, being held together by duct tape in a couple spots, and in one forceful breath, I realized that my mission was over. I put my head in my hands and wept out loud. Again, it felt so real, like a vision, that it stayed with me after I woke up.

 

But my mission isn't over. I will be returning home nine months from today. I still have lots more good I can do, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in the wonderful good things I've done so far and the beautiful work I've put in. I will finish my mission with honor. In nine months, a new Tyler will be born, one that is converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and can continue to bless the lives of others in loving ways. For now, Elder Hansen has a great work to do.

White Clothes Wet - 07/01/13

It's been a hot week in Moreno Valley. I've been biking around in triple digits looking for people to teach. And I'm so happy about it! It feels good to be a hard-working missionary again. My companions are superstars, and we are hard at work rebuilding this area.

On Tuesday, we had dinner with our favorite MexSamoan family, as usual. The father there started telling mission stories for the first time since I found out he was a missionary in Glenpool/Jenks/wherever it is in Tulsa that my aunt and uncle go to church. He spent a lot of his time on the mission regaining the trust of members and rebuilding the teaching pools in areas that had been dead to missionary work previously. So he offered some moral support and advice for us when we got to talking about our sad state of affairs. It was really cool.

On Monday, we had dinner at the Bishop's house, and we had an awesome chat with him about families that we could visit and homes that we could strengthen. We were late getting to his house, so very late that he started driving out to pick us up in his truck, but saw us hard at work talking to people on the street right outside his neighborhood so he turned around and went back. I think we are starting to make a good impression on people again.
Most of this week we spent on the street talking to people and looking for anyone interested in hearing more. We had the list of referrals from the bishop, a list of names from the ward clerk from the ward roster audit, and now we have a list of part-member families, so hopefully we can start making a big difference in effective ways. Our Ward Mission Leader is excited about the broadcast and at ward council revealed his draft of the Ward Mission Plan that he's put a lot of effort into, so I'm excited to see how the ward reacts. The Ward Council has decided to discuss it in the individual auxiliaries and come back with revisions and feedback in two weeks. It's a pretty hefty document, so we'll see how it ends up being implemented.
I got a package from home! I'm so glad my parents love me so much.

I got to visit my old home in Murrieta yesterday, and that was a lot of fun! My old companion and I got a ride back to the baptism of "DP". We actually got to the church building just before the meeting got out, and I got to see a lot of my old friends! My recent converts "R" and "E" were especially glad to see me. They've been caught up in a lot of crazy rhetoric over the Supreme Court rulings, and they were glad to tell me that despite lots of hate from everywhere around them, their testimonies are still strong and they are active in the ward. "E" was actually teaching a bit on Emergency Preparedness for the combined 5th Sunday meeting when we walked in. So yeah, that made my heart soar to see them so strong still.

The baptism was a lot of fun! I am so glad that I got to be there and get my white clothes wet for the first time in a while. The missionaries that replaced me have been super busy! After their two baptisms last night, they've had 4 baptisms since I left. That's pretty darn cool!

I love my mission president. He sent the following quote to my inbox, and it really warmed my soul.

"I promise you that the time you spend in the mission field, if those years are spent in dedicated service, will yield a greater return on investment than any other two years of your lives. You will come to know what dedication and consecration mean. You will develop powers of persuasion which will bless your entire life. Your timidity, your fears, your shyness will gradually disappear as you go forth with boldness and conviction. You will learn to work with others, to develop a spirit of teamwork. The cankering evil of selfishness will be supplanted by a sense of service to others. You will draw nearer to the Lord than you likely will in any other set of circumstances. You will come to know that without His help you are indeed weak and simple, but that with His help you can accomplish miracles. 

"You will establish habits of industry. You will develop a talent for the establishment of goals of effort. You will learn to work with singleness of purpose. What a tremendous foundation all of this will become for you in your later educational efforts and your life’s work. Two years will not be time lost. It will be skills gained. 

"You will bless the lives of those you teach, and their posterity after them. You will bless your own life. You will bless the lives of your family, who will sustain you and pray for you. 

"And above and beyond all of this will come that sweet peace in your heart that you have served your Lord faithfully and well. Your service will become an expression of gratitude to your Heavenly Father. 

"You will come to know your Redeemer as your greatest friend in time or eternity. You will realize that through His atoning sacrifice He has opened the way for eternal life and an exaltation above and beyond your greatest dreams. 

"If you serve a mission faithfully and well, you will be a better husband (wife), you will be a better father (mother), you will be a better student, a better worker in your chosen vocation. Love is of the essence of this missionary work. Selflessness is of its very nature. Self-discipline is its requirement. Prayer opens its reservoir of power." (Pres. Hinckley, Priesthood Session, October 1995)

Have a wonderful week guys! Love you.