To be humble...

So this last week has been so so good! Joseph was able to be baptized and confirmed! He is so awesome as I have already said but it was a really great experience for all!! The baptism was on the beach and it was just us, the Branch President, and Brother Willy who were there for the baptism! Too bad there weren't more people but I guess that is what happens when the branch is really small and really busy! 

Then on Monday we flew back to Kingston for the Christmas party! It was good to be back in Kingston for a bit to be able to see some other missionaries and they made some really nice food! Haven't had ham for a long time so it was great to get to eat a nice meal and play some games! Then we flew back today and got back just a bit ago!  So this week was really busy but it was really nice! As for being out here, it has been different trying to talk and contact those in different languages but it has also been a really humbling experience to see the difference between the Haitians and people who literally have nothing but some zinc over there heads compared to some of those who have huge multi million dollar mansions on the beach!! Yes there houses are cool and they have a lot nice stuff but they don't like to talk to us so much... the people who are humble and don't have too much are wanting to learn and become more like their Savior! And that has really strengthened my testimony of our purpose in this life! It's not to have the biggest house and the nicest truck but to be able to really find true happiness through the gospel and following the Savior Jesus Christ!

Joseph's humility to follow the Savior!

The week has been great as always! We did a lot of contacting and trying to talk to Haitians through pointing at the Book of Mormon and saying B-a-p-t-i-s-m?  It’s fun to watch their reactions sometimes because they have no idea what we are trying to do! A lot of them think we are immigration people so they get moving out when they see us but those who are prepared recognize us as servants of the Lord! 

We were able to also continue to help Joseph some more! We have been teaching him about the word of wisdom, tithing, law of chastity, all of those big commandments you know and he is so humble and willing to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus Christ! Whatever he learns he smiles and agrees to live it the moment he hears it! It has really blown my mind and strengthened my own testimony to watch this! I sometimes think if I didn’t grow up in the church would I have that faith! Probably not... but it really has been so great to see this and so he is going to be baptized this Saturday! He is really excited and so are we! 

Elder Shepherd and I are doing great! He is awesome and a really good missionary! We have been able to get along and it has been a great time serving with him! As for everything else! It’s great! It’s hot but that ok!! I know this is real and it has been awesome to be able to help these people who have so little to have so much, THE GOSPEL!! 

November 28th and December 5th...Things are going well in Turks!

December 5, 2016

This week has been really good!! One of our investigators is really doing great! Every time we come over he is so happy and tells us how much he loves the Book of Mormon! He is Haitian! Actually, most of the people we teach are Haitian because they are so humble and willing to listen, learn, and act! His name is Joseph and he is planning on getting baptized on the 17th! Watching the happiness come into his life since he has started reading, praying, and coming to church has really made me grateful for the gospel and the TRUE happiness it does bring into our lives! The only problem is that Elder Shepherd and I DONT speak Creole... But that’s alright because bringing a member out to translate for us is always fun! 

We are starting to learn the area now and it has been good!! We have this one Haitian member that is so awesome! His name is Brother Wanfrader and he speaks good English also so we will take him into these big Haitian schemes to go contact as many people as we can and he just goes for it! He is crazy! It’s awesome to see a member just go and share the gospel with everyone he sees! So we have been able to find a lot of people that way! 

There is also this other member named Brother Willy! He is just a little Haitian that fought in the Vietnam War! But he probably has more faith than anyone I have ever met! He always wants to come out with us teaching and so we bring him along! But he is just the nicest little guy! One time we were taking him home to drop him off and he tells us to stop at a grocery store so he can buy some groceries. He comes out with a bunch of food and tells us that it’s for us... This guy can barely afford to have electricity on his house. The week prior he was telling us how he had his power turned off for a while because he had no money!! It really showed me how charitable he was! That he has nothing but what he does have he is willing to give it all to others! On a side note we did not take all this food because it was close to $50 probably! 

But I am so thankful for these people! They have really inspired me to be a better and more Christ like person in my life!! I hope all of you can too!

Elder Hansen

November 28, 2016

The work is great and so is Turks! We had a NICE Thanksgiving meal we cooked up ourselves. We made some mashed potatoes, gravy, brownies and ice cream, and then bought a whole lot of fried chicken! So,  it was  a great Thanksgiving! But this thanksgiving I am most grateful for the time that I get to serve the Lord! It has been such a great time learning the gospel for myself and also helping others come to that same knowledge so they can be happy! I am also very grateful for all of my family and everything that I have been blessed with!

Also, yesterday  we had an appointment with this one guy set up so we were going to see him. He meets us at this parking lot and we start walking with him back to where he lives. Turns out he is a pastor for another church for all of these Haitians! So he brings us into his church while they are having a preaching session and invites us to come up and share a message... So we did!!  It was great. None of them could speak English except for the pastor so he translated for us and we talked for a while about Christ and then I tried sharing a scripture from the Book of Mormon. But then he stops translating and tells us they only use the Bible... So too bad they didn’t accept the book of Mormon but at least we were able to share a message with all of these people! Well I am having a great time! Still hard to teach sometimes because we don’t know creole or Spanish but it’s coming along and we have some solid investigators who will soon be baptized! Have a great week!

Elder Hansen