For The Last Time!

Bonjour tout la monde! 

This was my last week in the UK!! This past week flew by so fast! I know I say that every week, but it's true! I have really enjoyed my time here in the MTC and I have learned so much! It has been such a humbling experience learning the language, and I know that it is not over. It will be even more humbling when I actually get to France! 

Not much to report other than more... you guessed it....studying! 

The cooks here went all out for Thanksgiving! It was so sweet of them! It wasn't quite like home, but it was amazing, nonetheless! That night we had an awesome opportunity to join in on a live devotional broadcasted from Provo, UT with Elder Quentin L. Cook.  He talked a lot about missionary work and how we can better incorporate our Savior into the lessons and simply into our lives. I know that it is simply through my love for the French people, my love for my companion(s), and my love for the Savior that will enable me to be guided to those who are open and ready to receive the gospel. I can share all I want about the gospel, but nothing will really be taught or learned unless the Spirit is present. All missionary work is led through the direction of the Spirit, and as a missionary I am just an instrument of God, doing His will as He directs. Through faith and trust I know He will guide my heart and my feet to the hearts of those who need Him. I have begun to understand this principle more and more throughout my time at the MTC - through the various testimonies and experiences from teachers, and I am so excited to see it for myself!    

Much of  our time this week, and the past few days especially focused on our preparations for leaving the MTC as I fly to Paris on Tuesday! I will leave the MTC at 2:30 a.m. GST and will board my flight at 6:00 a.m. GST. I arrive in France around 8:30 am! How exciting is that! I won't know where my first area will be until I am there and receive my assignment, so stay tuned!

Spiritual Thought: 

This week a member of the Area 70 came and spoke to us. So cool! The one thing he wanted us to remember from his devotional was how important it is to know the Savior. He invited us to read the New Testament and Jesus the Christ. As I started to do that this week, I have been so amazed with how much I have learned. I haven't gotten too far in these particular studies, but I can tell you that I am feeling the love of our Savior more than ever, and He is beckoning to us all to come and know Him better.  As I was reading in Matthew 4:20 one thing stood out to me:

"And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."  

This was when Christ was gathering His twelve apostles to follow Him. They dropped everything they were doing straightaway and followed Him without hesitation or reservation. This led me to ask myself if I would do the same. After pondering this question throughout my last week in the MTC, I know that I would drop everything, without question, without hesitation, without reservation, and  without doubt. I would go and follow my Savior. I would go the second He asked me to follow Him. As a missionary I have chosen to drop everything in my life so I could follow Him. I left school, sports, extracurriculars; I put my life on hold so I could give my whole self and my whole time to Him, so I could be His servant and to be a consecrated disciple of Christ. 

This week I invite you all to do the same. Come to know Christ, our Savior, more. Read Jesus the Christ and the New Testament. Pray to know for yourself who He is and ask yourself the question, 

"Would I drop everything and follow Him straightaway?"                                

I love you all so much! I am so thankful for the opportunity to be serving the people in France. I am thankful for the gospel of Christ, and the many blessings it has provided me. I know that through giving myself to the Lord for this period of time He will bless me and my family and He will guide me to where I need to be. 

Signing off from the beautiful UK!  I will meet you all again from France!                                                                     

Aime- Soeur Hansen 

 

One Month!

Bonjour tout la monde!

Another week gone at the MTC! Still cracking away at the French and going with the Spirit! This week was another week full of studying! I am starting to find myself mixing up my French and English! 😂 

Last Friday for our P-Day (Preparation Day) we went to Chorley, which is the town next to the MTC. The MTC Presidents allow us to go to town in groups of 3-6 only on P-Days so we gladly take advantage of the opportunity. It kind of feels like a jailbreak! My companions and I went as just the three of us and it was so fun! While we were walking we saw the infamous English double decker bus!! It was so cool! I'm starting to feel a bit of culture shock with each outing. We stopped at Aldis, which is a small grocery store in Chorley, and wow! It was nothing like King Soopers! We didn't know which side to pass on because people were everywhere! I turned to my companions and said, "just act confident, it'll be fine." 😂 

Today we finally made it to the center of town in Chorley! Of course we stopped in front of all the churches to take pictures, along with some pictures with the pigeons, and even with a black cat in front of the church! Weird! For lunch we ate mint chocolate chip ice cream, and let me tell you... ice cream, ok, just sweets in general, in the UK and Europe just taste so much better!  That is probably not a good sign! 

As far as our lessons, this week was full of... you guessed it, FRENCH! Remember the English fast I told you about last week? Well, I did it! I lasted 12 hours speaking only French and it was hard but actually so fun! It is hard to switch between languages as I find myself mixing up my languages a lot. I am doing it again tomorrow so we will see how this one goes! Yesterday I hit my one month mark out on my mission! Only 17 more months to go! I am loving it so much and I cannot wait to get to France! 

Spiritual thought for the week: 2 Nephi chapter 32 is a great read!  

2 Nephi 32

It talks about how through the Holy Ghost you can speak with the tongue of angels. I loved this because learning a language for anyone can be overwhelming, tedious, and frustrating. But, I know that through the Spirit I will speak French, in the Lord's timing. The chapter also highlights how when we go to God for answers, questions, guidance, and help, He WILL answer! When you seek Him, He will be there every step of the way. I promise!

"Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost? Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." 

I promise that through the spirit we can speak with the tongue of angels. Heart speaks to heart, and this is through the Holy Spirit. Go to God in sincere prayer and He will bless you with answers and comfort. Trust in His timing, because it is perfect. 

I love you all so much! 

À bientôt! - Soeur Hansen 

  

And Then There Were 46

Bonjour tout le monde!!! 

Has it already been another week! Time is going so fast and I am only in the MTC! 

This week was a bit eye opening! We took a deep dive into French, and let's just say this is going to be a bumpy ride. 😉 I have already learned so much! Last week we learned how to pray, greet people, how to get to know someone, how to share a scripture, how to bare a testimony, give an overview, etc. This week we started learning lessons and the principles in each lesson... IN FRENCH! CRAAAZZZYYYY! At first I thought taking French in the past would help... I was very wrong! 😂 It helps some but dang, this is very different! 

At the MTC we practice SYL (speak your language) where you just try to speak your mission language as much as you can. It is hard but it is also kind of fun! I have begun greeting people in French, asking questions in French, responding in French, and even attempting to have conversations in French with my companions and some of the French natives here. I'm finding that the more French I speak, the less I've continued to think in English. I already find myself speaking Franglish/ Franglais!

On Wednesday we had our first "helping others" appointment in French. These appointments are mock lessons we teach to instructors just to practice and get feedback. That was an eye opener. My companions and I had planned a lesson and we were nervous but excited and as soon as the instructor started their role play and spoke rapid French we knew we were done for! All we could say was chouette and ouais! (cool/nice and yeah) We were however able to ask simple questions, pray, and get our message across but I think the nerves got the best of us. It's okay though - one down millions more to go! We are laughing about the experience now, but after that appointment we were a bit frantic. At least we know what to expect for next time and what to work on. 😊  

Another thing we experienced this week is that there are multiple types of fasting. There is going without food or substance for a period of time, which I'm used to, but this week we conducted an English fast. An English fast is where those who are learning a language will go a whole day without speaking English and will only speak their mission language. For the remainder of my time in the MTC, on every Saturday my district has decided to speak only French. The best way to learn a language is to just speak it and learn from our mistakes, so that is what we are going to do! I will keep you all updated on how that goes! 🤞

Alright, if you looked at the title of this post you read, "And then there were 46." 46 what? 46 MISSIONARIES! At the moment there are only 46 of us missionaries in the MTC. Super small, I know! Tuesday the group of missionaries assigned to serve in English speaking missions left. Our numbers went from about 110 to 46! Honestly, I like how small it is. It is easier to get to know everyone, especially your teachers. We are already pretty good friends! Yesterday we all went to the stake center for sport and played volleyball. It was so chaotic, but so much fun! This coming week though we are about to get more missionaries. A lot of French natives learning English along with German natives learning English. My companions and I already decided that we wanted to befriend the French native soeurs right away so we could help each other with our languages! 😂  

Well, I have to say that the UK has THE BEST sweet potatoes! If you know me and my family you know that we like sweet potato fries, and oh my goodness, they are amazing here! So far they have only served them twice but I am praying that they come around again. The food is still overall pretty bland. There is a tax on sugar to try and help the country be healthier and honestly I kind of like it! They also don't use a lot of salt here. Makes things less flavorful but I guess it's good for my cholesterol or something. 😉 I had some American goldfish the other day and they where too salty! It was so sad because if you know me, you also know how much I love goldfish!! I guess MTC food is pretty average but I think that goes for all of them. I have to say that vegetables, fruits, bread, tea, and water have become my best friends! 

Not a whole lot happened this week, just a lot of studying! We went into town this weekend since we couldn't last week, so the shampoo problem has been solved! 

To leave you all with a spiritual thought I want to highlight the importance of humility. I have learned that one of the most humbling experiences you can have is learning a language, no matter if you studied it before. From James 4:10: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." 

I learned that through humility, the Lord will enlighten our minds with the things we need. Through humility I can learn what I need to learn and remember what I need through His spirit. The more I acknowledge Him throughout the day and the more I open myself to Him, I find I learn and understand a lot more. This week try to acknowledge Him more in your day and in all you do. He gives us so much! Become humble and give Him your heart so that your eyes may see more and so that your minds may be open to more understanding. Through humility our weaknesses will become our strengths!

Love you all! À bientôt! - Soeur Hansen

Pass The Shampoo

Bonjour tout le monde! 

Welcome to my missionary blog! I was set apart as a full time missionary for our church on October 16th and began my at home Missionary Training bright early the next morning.  I spent two weeks training from home, but didn't post anything during my home MTC  because there just isn't a lot to report while doing six hours of zoom lessons everyday 😉.  

But this week is when the real fun began! 

*President Crandall - who set me apart as a missionary, with my father, and my grandfather who were also a part of the blessing.

*My first day of home MTC

*Me with my family, my aunt, and my grandparents

I am so excited to report that I am now in England! This week was my first week of training here at the England MTC!! I can hardly believe it! So far I have loved it here. It is so green! The MTC is located in the countryside in Preston and it is just as you would imagine an English countryside to look like. 

Halloween afternoon I flew from Denver to London, and man was that an interesting flight! It was about 9 hours and I didn't sleep a wink. There was this super cute baby in front of me and we played peek-a-boo in between the seats, the guy next to me slept with his eyes open and was snoring...(creeeeeepyyyy) and the dinner...let's say it was not too appetizing. The bread and water was great though! The views from the flight were amazing and Tuesday morning I landed in London. My very first time in a foreign country! The Heathrow airport was huge and there was even a Harry Potter shop, but sadly I didn't get a chance to take a picture in front of it. 😂 My flight from London to Manchester was delayed an hour but I was able to meet up with a group of missionaries who were on my same flight that I knew from our soon classes. From the Manchester airport we took a bus through the beautiful English countryside to the Missionary Training Center near Preston. I was also able to finally meet my companions in person while on the bus! They are the cutest! 

At the MTC we were greeted by all the missionaries already there and the MTC President and his wife, who immediately gave all the sisters a hug. They are amazing people! The rest of the day was full of tours, orientations, meeting other missionaries in our district, and familiarizing ourselves with our new home for the next 4 weeks. Wednesday and Thursday were our first real days of learning and instruction. So far we have only studied French in our classes, which we attend for 6 hours each day. We are focusing on the basics of how to pray, testify, share a scripture, how to meet someone, etc. We are only allowed to pray in French now and have shared our simple testimonies in French. It's amazing how much you can learn and remember with the help of the Spirit in just two days. My companions and I are already using simple French phrases and words as part of our daily communication with one another. There is a super nice French Elder here who will speak French with me and has been helping me a lot with various words and pronunciation. He is here learning Greek and will be serving in Greece! C'est Chouette! (it is cool) Everyone is so nice and I already love it so much! 

Here is an idea of what life is like here at the England MTC: 

6:30-7:30 - wake up and get ready - I share a room with 4 other Soeurs (sisters) and sleep on the top bunk so it gets interesting in the morning 😂 

7:00-7:30 - breakfast

7:30-12:15 - an hour of personal study, an hour of language study, 30 minutes of daily planning and scheduling, exercise for 50 minutes, and complete any teaching appointments

12:15-13:00 - lunch 

13:00-14:00 - another block for teaching appointments if we have any, if there are none we do companion study  

14:00-17:00 - classes 

17:00-17:45 - dinner

18:00-21:00 - classes

21:00-22:00 - nightly devotional and spiritual thought with all the Sister missionaries led by Sister Oster (the MTC President's wife)   

22:00-22:30 - bedtime and lights out by 22:30. 

As you can see our days are busy! Filled with a lot of studying every day, with choir practice on some days and added devotionals. Today Elder Scott Whiting of the Seventy is coming for our evening devotional.  In preparation we have been practicing "Je suis Enfant de Dieu" (I am a child of God) in the language of our assigned missions.  Each verse will be sung in on of the difference languages taught here: Greek, French, German, and English. The French districts are singing the second verse and it is so cool! This is super special to me. As some of you know my dad served a french speaking mission in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg (my same areas) and when I was a child he would sing "Je suis enfant de Dieu" in French at bedtime, so to be able to sing the same song in French for a General Authority is pretty amazing!                                                                  

See the title of my post: Pass The Shampoo?  Well, turns out I brought two conditioners and one body wash, and my companions didn't bring body wash! The way the showers are set up here, is that there are three stalls in a row, so my companions and I will go into each stall so we are next to each other and pass each other bottles of shampoo or body wash under the stall! 😂 One night we could only get showers across from each other so when one companion was waiting for a shower stall, she stood in between the stalls and passed the bottles across the corridor so that we could share what we needed. 😂 Needless to say we are going into town soon to pick up a a few things from the shops.

 

Of course being a missionary I have to share a spiritual thought! In our evening class our teacher took us to the temple. Currently in the UK it gets dark at 16:30/17:00, so at 20:00 when we were walking to the Preston temple it felt like the middle of the night. We walked around the temple grounds and our teacher, Brother Webb, pointed out something very cool. There are 33 bushes that symbolize the age of Christ when He was crucified. In between each bush there are roses and thorns to symbolize the crown of thorns Christ wore. Symbolism within the temple is so cool! I invite you all to see what symbolism you can find at a one of the temples near you.
 

After walking around the grounds, as a district we read from 3 Nephi 19: 21-36 in the Book of Mormon. Those verses were powerful. They pertaine a lot to missionary work and reading them on temple grounds brought the spirit so strongly. Verse 28 especially stood out to me:

"Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me." 

In this verse/chapter Christ is praying to our Heavenly Father regarding His disciples that they may remain faithful and have the spirit with them as they teach and minister to others. He also prays that those who are being taught and ministered to may be receptive to the spirit and be open to what is being taught, that they may gain the faith they need to understand. This is even more profound as a missionary because I take this as Christ praying for me, that I may be purified and that I will have the faith I need so that those I teach may also have the spirit and be able to believe. Christ prayed for me as I do His work and for those whom He sends me to minister to, so that their hearts may be open to believe His word and be receptive to the spirit. 

I love you all and miss you all so much! I would love to hear from you all whether it be on messenger or email! As of right now I can only respond on Fridays but it always puts a huge smile on my face to see anything from you all!  Sorry for the super long post, but you made it to the end! 😊

 

Bonne Journèe! 

- Soeur Hansen