Wow! Changes Changes! Questionnaire Answers

Hey Family!,

You have had many changes! It is exciting that you are getting to work in SAN LOUIS RIO COLORADO!!! (I think) Now that you have had a weeks experience, tell us more?

Yeah, it is exciting to work in San Louis Rio Colorado. It is quite a different change. Before I was the junior companion gringo but right now I have been having a lot more responsabilities and worries because people understand me more and I am a lot more forward plus with the Spirit one can do anything that he has too.

What is Elder Ibanez like (looks, personality, missionary style) and where is he from?

He is so funny, he is from Pueblo Mexico and he has the biggest grin. He is pretty tall for being mexicano. He really likes to talk in the lessons and I have to remind him to let me talk as well. He is really funny and a nice guy. I am starting to realize how much of an obedient missionary I am. I am the only one wearing a helmet right now. ha ha. Some times this causes problems between us but I explained to him that I wanted to qualify for all the blessings of the spirit through obedience especially as a missionary. He seems to agree and so we are both praying with faith and hoping for miracles here in San Luis.

We looked up San Louis Rio Colorado in Wikepedia and it sounds like it may be extreemly hot there? What is the temperature for you now?

its starting winter season here so its not too hot which is good.

How do you do your contacting?

We are looking for the Chosen or in other words we testify and we hope that the other person is in tune with the spirit enough to tell the difference between all the different churches. We have to contact about 1 out of 100 to find a Chosen but we also have a lot of help from the Spirit. We think we found a Chosen, Martha, and are anticipating a bautism in the next three weeks or so.

Why is there no tracting in the area?

There is quite a bit of tracting but right now we are getting a lot more references than what we were getting in Tijuana. We are also making plans and goals with Ward leaders to keep them coming and also to allow us to help out more in the Ward.

Why is your house so awesome?

Its just really nice. Today we spent the morning cleaning it from the ages of teenage boys that have inhabitated it. It was rough and we are still not finished.

Do you enjoy biking?

My legs are dieing but it is a lot faster than walking. Here in San Luis most of the roads are Sand....yeah, sand....so we try to hit the pavement as much as we can. It is however completely flat. Which makes me miss Tijuana a little and Utah.

What experiences you can share with us?

I am breakdancing in the morning. ha ha. I had been having a hard time trying to find some type of cardivascular activity to do in the morning until I found that it never says dancing in the white bible.

I will try to think of more experiences to share with you as well. Did I already tell you about (Pedro) and (Pedrita)?

Did you get your Autumn Package? Now that you are farther from the Mission Home, how often will you get to go. I assume you will go there for Zone Conferences - when is your next one? I need to make sure you are able to get your Christmas package before Christmas so I will try to send it soon.

Yeah! thanks! I haven´t been able to get a backpack so maybe could you send me my High Sierra. Its perfect for the missionary work. Also a Carabeaner for my old packback because it broke again.

Thanks love you all!

Elder Hanson

Sorry Blog Followers

Hi Everyone -

I don't know how time has gotten away from me so quickly. Curtis has been out for six months and seems to be doing great. Following are four new posts from the last four weeks. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for your prayers, love, and support of Curtis!

Lisa

Lisa's Favorite Missionary Short Answer Questionnair

Hola Familia,

* What is your exact address? We have been trying to locate your area on google maps and cannot find anything for Riveria Del Bosque. Also some land marks might be helpful - like are you closer to the coast, the border, the airport etc.

Ha ha, as missionaries we cant really share our exact locations with family back home but this is how Ribera del Bosque is spelled. Also I think if you look for branches on the Church website you can see my sector and also my zone, Florido. Also I am really close to the Airport. I think its in Otay. They always fly over.

* About how many members do you have in your branch? (it is a branch isn't it?)

We dont really know but active members about 50. We have quite a few less actives and as missionaries we recently have been really trying to help our little branch run better.

* About how many children, youth, and priesthood holders do you have?

Children are hard to count some times cause they run around to much but I would say about 10 or 15, youth we have about 10 girls and 2 boys, and priesthood holders we have about 20 or less.

* How are the converts you have had doing?

Not to good. They have a hard time going to church and right now we are really focusing this last week in this sector to try and get the mission plan we have running with the members. Its really frustrating and discouraging to see your converts go less active but we are trying to help the ward get going on their responsibilities and I am trying to get to be a really good missionary to help make strong testimony converts

* Have you heard any more information about the Tijuana Temple? Like a possible site for it?

Yeah!!! WE KNOW WHERE ITS AT!!! It is actually really pretty close to Riberas

* How is your health?

Really good. Cardiovascular activity every morning, some strength excersises and trying to work on my splits. I am also starting to really focus on what I eat.

* Any more ear pain? Headaches?

My ears are perfect. Clean them everyday in the shower! Headaches just occasionaly

* How is your back?

Good. My backpack has broke a couple times and we are still trying to find a new one.

* Can you get pretty much whatever you want? Food, toiletries, etc. Is there anything you would really like to request for Christmas?

Something you need, want to share with the people, or just would like to have.

Um....New Scriptures? Maybe...That is just a want though..I will have to think about that one.

* Do they celebrate Halloween in Mexico? Any kind of Thanksgiving? (I am eager to learn all about Christmas traditions they have as you find them out)

Dia de meurte or Day of the dead. Its the halloween here. Its really interesting they put all the favorite foods of the deceased and they believe that they come to eat it. They also have pictures to help identify. Right now we are teaching a family about the Plan of Salvation to clear some stuff up. ha ha.

* Is your next possible transfer date coming up?

This week may be the last week I have in Riberas del Bosque. I may be righting my next email from a new sector or possible be with a new companion. Both sad things.

* What kind of weather have you been having?

Its been really cold for a lot of the mexicans here but I have felt really pretty good. Right now though it is back to hot again. The climate changes have made quite a few people sick. I got sick but I am better now, I ate a bad taco from a street vender. ha ha. Its all good now though with all the meds I took.

* Does it get cold there during the winter time? (are you using your Pajama Pants to sleep in or are they too hot?)

Yes, and Yes. Both and all. It actually rains pretty hard here.

* What kinds of things have you been able to do on your P-days?

My companion and I love to have a really clean house and then we both like to study so my P'days havent been too exciting. We have played soccer, went bowling, and gone to Mission home for visa stuff and etc.

* Have you seen the Ocean?

Yeah, I saw it when I first came but havent seen it since maybe they will move me to San Quintin or Playas wich are both next to the ocean. My companion was one of the lasts to baptize in the ocean in San Quintin.

* Have you been on a temple trip?

NO....

* How often do you get to the Mission Home?

Quite a bit. We often go there for different things like visas

* Where is the Mission Home? Do you have an exact address? (knowing it would be helpful because we are sending you a package with a rep. of Dad's from Tijuana - it should be there sometime between today and next Monday - please let us know when you receive it)

I dont have it right now. I am in an internet cafe. Its in Central but I dont know everything.

* How are your shoes holding up?

Really pretty bad. I am thinking that we should have bought the missionary mall ones.

* Do you need any more socks?

Nope. My socks are good...smelly sometimes but good.

* Are you still wearing your glasses more than your contacts?

I trade off. right now I am really wearing my contacts alot.

Future prospects

Hey Family and Friends!
This email is going to describe a little of the investigators that we have and how we find them...

• Contacting
• This is what we do every day and is our main source of finding people
• Components
• Approaching a person in the street and talking to them
• Knocking doors and talking to them
  
• By the way I have a bam sauce tocador (tocar signifies to touch so in other words its something that we use to touch or knock the fences). Its the lenses from plasma t.v.s and I found it after someone was busting up a tv infront of our house and left the lenses. If your wondering what they look like they are clear stones and remind me of the Urimm and thummin. It also can be used for magnifieing the scriptures for the older people we visit.
• It is not very affective and the amount of baptisms that I have had in this way is....1
  
• References
• These are extremely rare and usually are from people that we contact who usually dont know there neighbors but try to help us out by pointing at some houses. We like them anyway. We also recieve references from members and this can be ideal.
• Components
• Asking everyone we meet if they have references and going to members houses to ask them for some. Recently we have been really trying to implement an inspired plan by the First Presidency with our little Branch but it is taking some difficulty starting. We are pushing our mission leader. ha ha.
• Extremely effective or not effective at all (dependant on the sources efforts to find and give them)
  
• This can be very effective and helpful. When we recieve a reference from a member the investigator already has a support system and a friend, we are just the teachers.
• Even if the reference is from someone that is not there to support it is very effective
• We were given a reference from someone from the states to someone living in our sector. We went to the house and said that so and so sent us. Immediately she let us in and let us teach them. I think it was about three weeks later that both the Mom and the Son were baptized. They had seen us many times before but never knew what we did. The mom wasnt there when we usually do our contacting so she either wasnt receptive to two teenagers at her door or just was never home.
• Miscellanious
• We helped a drunk guy back to his house and now we are teaching him how God can help him quit his drinking and the Mom and daughter seem really receptive to our message.
• We have another family that are progressing really fast that we were able to teach after first being personal tutors for their children in English. The Mom and three children are listening to our lessons.
• We gave service to a catholic woman with her groceries. She wasnt interested in our message but her son that we met is progressing really well and is wondering about how science and religion fit together. I shared how we dont understand everything but through faith we can achieve a perfect knowledge (Alma 32).

Thats all the time I got. LATER!
Elder Hanson

Evangelio, Familia, y Los Profetas

Hey Familia,
So this week was really interesting and awesome. YEAH GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! I have never before felt so many of the messages apply to me and Dad! it was basically a new PMG it was pretty much all about missionary work except for that one about how to raise virtuous girls in the crappy world. I am so studying that one to pieces when I get a daughter.
So I learned about a million lessons this last week but I will try to keep the really neat ones on the top of the list. Saturday morning before Conference I was thinking about Vosotros, Mom and Dad, and how grateful I am to have had you for parents. One of the most evident things that can be seen out here is the contrast of the gospel teachings and everything. The start of my mission I was continually trying to make the best way to be a missionary only to find out that it was already made. I just had one of the frustrating and enlightining experiences this morning. But back to the subject...so I was thinking about my life and how I have had so many good things and some bad things. It became very apparent that the Gospel, or the plan that God has for us, was the source of every piece of happiness that I could remember either from living the Gospel myself or the positive side effects from others living it. I realized that it is the way to perfection. To really become like God and the only things that can stop us from suceeding is ourselves such as not learning what exactly the gospel is, how to live it, or just being to scared to try. We have the perfect plan for happiness. Even if we dont completely understand all the inner workings of it we know it's better than anything that we could come up with and we know at least in part what we need to do to live it. I challenge anyone reading this to put aside their fears, exercise a little faith, and living those principles of the Gospel no matter how small they may seem. I would probably not have been able to see this pattern in my own life if it wasn't for the faithful living of my own parents. Thanks MOM AND DAD!!! One of the most amazing thing is that the Gospel never wears out no matter how many people have used it. It continues to bring happiness and it has from the foundation of the world. We have hundreds of years of scriptural evidence and the continual words of the modern apostles and prophets that testify to the never ceasing functionings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would also invite anyone reading this to learn more about the Christ, Jesus. We, as saints, sometimes go through life reaping the benefits and lack to see the source. How great our joy and appreciation might be if we only tried to recognize the source of our salvation. READ JESUS THE CHRIST!!! It is perfect to try to comprehend everything the Saviour did for us. It is the inspired compilition of everything the savior is from the Pre-mortal realm until far into the future as compiled in the Salt Lake Temple by James E. Talmage using both ancient and modern scripture.
Being at the battlefront of this war against Satan we as missionaries could see almost every idea that was spoken at Conference and the truthfulness of the message. As a representative of this Church and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ I invite all of you to live the principles that the Prophets and Apostles have taught in this last conference. I feel that the rift is getting wider and wider. It is becoming harder and harder to be in the middle ground. Please, let's all choose to push aside those things that are stretching and tearing us apart. Let us side more valiantly with the Lord and we might just find an abundance of peace and security in an unstable world.
I Love you a lot, thanks for everything,
Elder Hanson

Conferencia y todo!

Hey Fam,
Sorry, I love you guys a ton and I really need to write to you guys more I was looking in our rule book and I am trying not to include anything to specific like names of people and all that jazz but I will try to let you guys know alot. Also it is really hard some times but in the book it says not to say anything bad about your area or the people you serve in so I have just tried to avoid it all together.
So Tijuana is really nuts. Its really busy, in another language, and their is a ton of dogs. Our sector is pretty big and we just found out that it is even bigger. The pictures I sent last time of the Privadas is only the tiniest part of our sector. We have a more rich area around Matamoros and then we also have a really poor area with house on the side of giant hill going into a valley that holds RB (Rivera del Bosque). We encounter a lot of different people with a lot of different problems.
We are recently dealing with some people that are trying to get over addictions and I am learning alot about how to really help them. Also contacting is really hard here. The majority of people have the idea of All is well as long as you have a faith in God and have a religious belief your good. The most popular phrase we usually here is that it all goes to the same place. Its a bit hard not to be too mean and say there wrong. Instead, we use scriptures. YEAH!!! So we also just had a huge meeting with our small little branch leaders and everyone else like that. They are really kicking the mission into gear with more than just Missionaries doing the work and I am loving it.
My Spanish is getting pretty good as I have been studying and walking and just trying to fill my brain with all the concepts. I also have made some goals for myself that you might find interesting

• I really want to learn the Guitar when I get back
• I want to learn Sign Language as well as other languages
• I am currently working on trying to be able to do the splits

I hope that kind of updated you guys a little bit. I will try to do better with my letters. Also the last baptism we had was with Judith, the mom, and Diego, the son, they are awesome and their story is awesome but I really need to go and I will try to keep you updated. Pardon.
¡LES AMO MUCHO!
Elder Hanson