Hello Everyone! I love you! Hope things are well 😊I think missionaries are the only people on earth who say "Just need to get through the weekend and then it's Monday!" 😉

This week has been very very... Interesting 😂😅😉 You know how I was called to serve in the desert, right? Right? Okay well why then was it HAILING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER? WHY? WHY???

And WHY WERE THE STREETS FLOODED? WHYYYYYYYYYY?!!!

Isn't that crazy??? IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT. I have videos of us driving through the road, which was at that time a river of water, and it engulfed half of our car 😳 (You will have to ask my Mama if you want to see those 😉) It was insane! After it stopped hailing Sister Hunt and I got out to snap these photos in the church parking lot. (The church is on high ground, and there was still this much water) It was all fun and games until we got back to the car and realized that the car was locked, with the keys, the phone, our wallets, and our shoes all inside.😬 All we had was an iPad and an umbrella. It was an EVENTFUL day. 🙃😂😂😂

mom note:  I have the videos and I cant seem to figure out how to post them.  I think it might be a problem with her ipad and my laptop.  I have to say I was quite upset when I  saw the videos.  The water was really high and they drove thru it.   I have already lectured her on how dangerous driving thru standing water can be and she promises if it happens again she will do things differently.  It just goes to show these missionaries are in the Lords Hands and prayers of safety do obviously work.

What else happened this week? We saved another animal! This time it was a dog, we found him running around in the street hot, tired, and confused. 2 guys in a truck told us they had been chasing him for over an hour with no luck. We told them that we would continue trying. After many failed attempts (Chihuahuas are fast 🏃🏻) I had the prompting to open all the doors of the car. Sure enough, the chihuahua jumped right in, (Thank you Heavenly Father!) and with the help of members and the Animal Hospital, he was reunited with his family the next morning!

On Friday we were blessed it be able to attend the Temple. It's so beautiful! I am so grateful to have the temple in our mission, it helps so much to be reminded of why we, as missionaries, are serving. As much as we emphasize baptism, our end goal for our investigators to be worthy to come and partake of the blessings of the temple! Baptism is just the "gateway" for all of the amazing blessings of the temple. Go to the temple often! If you can't make it there, try your best to go to the temple in your mind and in your heart. You'll experience great peace if you do!

Okay, so as I come to the end of this letter I feel that I need to address something. Most of you have picked up on the fact that I haven't been very happy here. I have my good moments, and I share those moments in the letters I write home- but I guess you all know me too well! You can sense that something is up! The truth is that I've really struggled these past weeks... It's different out in the field! Even though you're surrounded by people, it can become very lonely. I tried to deny that I was unhappy for a while, and I just kept pushing, but something my trainer asked made me really look at myself and reevaluate. My trainer asked "Do you ever laugh?" The girl that I had spent 24/7 with for the past 2 weeks had never seen me laugh? You all know me- laughing is who I am! I'm always laughing, or always trying to get someone else to laugh! That question really made me think- and I realized that I had forgotten who I was. Coming on a mission, you sacrifice everything. You give away your time, you put your family on friends on hold. Here in Vegas I felt rejected. Unloved. You can only endure so much rejection until it begins to wear on you. It wears you down, and soon you start to fade. It's difficult because you've invested so much, you've given yourself to God. And when you've given up everything that's ever made you YOU, who are you? Who was I? I didn't know anymore. And for someone who has always felt confident in herself, for someone who has always felt loved and appreciated, it really made me question who I was when all of that was taken away...

 My answer to my question came to me in a way that I would have never guessed. My answer came in the form of a 71 year old woman named Tanya Seaton. Sister Seaton is a member in our ward who has offered us rides, meals, and plenty of hugs. She gets bitter if we don't stop by at least one time a week for cold waters and chocolate 😂 Every time we knock on her door she'll make a comment like "Now get in here before you both melt on my doorstep!" This time was no exception. She opened the door right away and told us to get inside before our brains boiled 😳 We hurried inside and before we could even put our stuff down she grabbed us both by the arm and told us that she had VERY important and special company coming that evening for dinner. We were both surprised and asked who it was. She whispered softly but powerfully: "Representatives of our Lord, Jesus Christ!". I could feel tears begin to form, as I realized that was the answer I had been looking for. As many times as I had heard it before, it hasn't sunk in until that moment. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. Sister Seaton wasn't going to let us forget it either- She oversaw the setting of the table, the cutting of vegetables, and continued to act as if Jesus Christ himself would be eating with her that night. Only her FINEST silverware and dishes were to be used, and Disciples of Jesus Christ weren't leaving until they had dessert!😂 I realized that as I've been a missionary I've begun to understand just a sliver of how Christ must have felt while here on the earth. He was rejected, laughed at, and I'm sure he felt lonely and unloved at times too. But Sister Seaton helped remind me that our work wasn't in vain. She showed us through her example how much Jesus Christ meant to her, how much she loved and valued him. She was grateful for his atonement, and she testified of the Savior throughout our dinner with her. 

While serving my mission I've had to rely on Christ and his atonement more than I ever would have thought- I could no longer turn to my parents or my friends for support and help in times of need- the only person who could help me was, and is Jesus Christ. He makes the difference. He won't take away our pains or trials but he will make them easier to bear, and we CAN rely on him. Sister Seaton showed me that night why I serve a mission. Because Jesus Christ changes lives. I testify and act as his representative. I serve so that others can experience the joy that I have felt! I know that Jesus Christ lives, I know that he suffered for our sins, and I know that because of him I can be with my family FOREVER. Times will still be hard and storms may rage (LITERALLY 😉) but I know that this Gospel is worth the trial and pain. I'm away from my family now so that other families can be together forever! It will all be worth it in the end.

(Sister Seaton's favorite color is orange. 😂❤️)

Until next time! 

Love,

Sister Hansen