Last Week In The MTC

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

So you ask how am I? My headaches and stuff are from me being a wimp, which is what I was afraid of. All they did is prescribe some pain killers that I could take and sent me on my merry way. It was however interesting to get out into the real world. I felt so strange as I was seen as a missionary instead of Curtis. It was funny because as me and my companion got into the elevator to go up to the floor where the EN was another man also got into the elevator. He smelled of smoke so I took a quick guess that he needed a little more of the gospel in his life. I was unable to really "invite him to come unto Christ" and I wasn't exactly sure what I promised the MTC what I would and would not do once I left the MTC campus so we kept it polite and friendly. He turned out to be a really nice guy. One of the most out going one there actually. He obviously wasn't doing to well because naturally he was in a hospital and through talking with him found that he was having some more serious trouble with either his leg or back. Please, if you want say a prayer or two for him.

I saw SEAN JONES!!! He looks great and right after I saw him I turned to my companion and started bragging about how great that guy is and how I think he will be incredible in the field. He is one of those people that seem to radiate the spirit and was a huge highlight as I am starting to leave the MTC.

It was sad to hear about Carmel and it sounds like she isn't going to make it through my mission. Please play with her a little for me. I am sorry I didn't play enough with her when I was there but hopefully I can make up for it in heaven where I hope we will have all the doggy treats she could ever want. It looks like I may have some time to call you guys~!!! I leave Tuesday Morning at 8 and my flight is scheduled to leave around 10:30-11:00 so please anticipate a call from me and please have something we can talk about because I will probably be really frazzled and you probably will get non-sensical phrases, feelings, emotions, and what-not.

I am amazed at how much I don't know and now that I am no longer bearing testimony for myself I am becoming ever more aware of my faults and just how much I want to know. Sometimes I get frustrated with how much I still don't know and it seems like I am trying to fuel the bonfire of curiosity and desire that won't go out. I am also struggling with Spanish and will probably spend a month or so in Mexico really struggling but I keep hoping and praying for the spirit and so far it hasn't let me down. Sometimes, when I am not prideful, I go into a lesson knowing that I have done what I can and my companion as well and we simply speak from the spirit and most importantly that senior companion is just filling in those gaps for the investigator. I was reminded today of the necessity of the help from the Ward members! WE NEED YOU! It's like a game of red-rover and a two man read-rover will not be able to come in contact with everyone!

Lisa's update

Hi everyone!

So I got a call on Friday from the MTC asking for Curtis' medical insurance information. Curtis has to see an ENT for pain he has been having in both his ears. Not a call a missionary mother ever likes to get (at least this over reactive, worrisome, clingly, missionary mom) but especially less than two weeks before he is to leave the MTC. So, that is why Curtis mentions this in his e-mail.

Also, he wanted to apologize to those who's letters he has not yet responded to. He has been busy trying to get "thank yous" written to friends and family before he leaves the MTC. He is planning on writing to you as soon as possible. Thanks so much for your continued prayers, love and support. He sounds like he is doing great!

Lisa

I AM GOING TO MEXICO!

Hellos!!!!

I got my travel plans yesterday!!!!

I will be leaving on the 21^st

Medical Heads up!

So I know they called yall! I have been experiencing headaches and other things that I think are just with my congestion system. I don't think that it will be that big of a deal When I went in to the Docs I thought that it was just my ears filled up with Ear Wax again but he actually complemented my ears and their lack of wax "Your ears are actually cleaner than the average". I was pretty excited about that compliment and had a few fist pumps

So....the Doctor ended up saying that I should go see a specialist just to make sure that it isn't to serious and because he doesn't think it's congestion they have to do some other stuff. So....FIELD TRIP! I get to go and check out the wondrous places of medical buildings where someone will most likely examine my head and tell me to keep taking the meds I have already been using. I am really sorry for the inconvenience but the Doctor suggested it and I feel that it would be better to get medical help here rather than in Tijuana. I don't know how the medical is in Mexico, then again they probably just send us across the border for any of that stuff.

So, now I can finally get to the actually email of this week! Everything sounds awesome at home! I love the pictures of Lydia and Jeffery. Katheryn Duval sent me pictures of Jeffery and Lydia and they are the cutest kids I think I have ever seen. I can't help but bust out into the biggest grin as I see Lydia's funny little smirk and I love the pictures in the email of Jeffery smiling! He is so cute and it looks like you have your hands full Crystal.

So I love it out here. I am learning so much at such a fast rate. The other day I even realized that with everything else that has been going on that it is essential that you plan every night so that you get the essential things in there like daily scripture study. Our investigators keep switching around and we lost Brady due to the teachers switching the schedule but we were able to contact into Edith who has a small 2 year old boy named Razul (I think). We had an amazing first contact and we actually taught like the whole first lesson! That has almost never happened with us. We have also effectively planned and figured out a system for preparing for investigators. I love it! I have even tried to figure out a coding system for each of the lessons and commandments. I have also been using different planning patterns for investigators and have a need to get another binder because the last two are almost bursting!

I am really sorry, funny stories just keep alluding my mind. I will have to try and make up for it next week. Oh just a heads up, the mission is amazing and it is changing my life....everyday. I hope that I will never be the same.

Thanks for everything, love yall (ustedes),

Elder Curtis Hanson

The Awesome MTC!

Wow,

So the MTC is one of the most incredible places in the world. I am absolutely loving it here even though it is very difficult at times, it is difficult because you have to undergo such great change in such a little time. I would like to just share as many experiences as I can about the MTC and the lessons I have learned before my time runs out:

My Companion: Elder Benson

If any of you have problems with people you are around constantly find those things that you both can agree on whole-heartedly (the doctrine) and don't get caught up in the nit pick (the organization). Elder Benson and I have recently begun to realize this and have found that we both have our opinions about how to order the lessons and present the material (organization) but we never have problems really with the message we want to give (the doctrine). One of the key ways we agree about the organization is that we think what would be best for the investigator through this method we usually can throw out our own personal biased-ness and more effectively teach to the investigator

Investigators:

So I am amazed at how much a companion can help and hinder I have been so blessed to have the companion I have. We both strengthen each other so much in everything we do. When we face trials we face it together. One of the latest pushes for us has been our investigators. We love them so much!!! In our zone we have a huge focus on teaching mock investigators. However, these investigators are actual people. All the "Maestros" (teachers) here are usually rather recently returned missionaries and each of them focus on a different person from their mission to be as an investigator for us. We have two more additional investigators that are Elders in our district: Bobby and Franky besides teachers: Andres (Special note: we had his baptismal interview last Wednesday so we won't teach him anymore. AKA our teacher left), Fransisco, Jose, and probably my personal favorite Brady. Each of them have their own story but Elder Benson and I have found a new sense of drive and purpose as we have thrown out any other topics really and solely focused on these investigators, this has been our stability. We used to have a little bit of trouble finding common ground but with investigators and sharing the gospel we both have such a desire to share.

Franky and Bobby:

These guys are brothers living rather close by each other. One of the great things about the Hispanic culture is their love for family. But they have been a major focus for us as of late. Franky is incredible and is soaking up everything like a sponge. Our greatest trial with these guys and probably with a lot of our investigators is how the gospel applies to their life. We had an amazing lesson about two days ago where both Elder Benson and I bore powerful testimony through the power of the spirit and both of them felt the spirit. This doesn't mean that they will necessarily receive the message though. My companion and I are both worried about Bobby and his progression, commitments are the problem.

I will have to tell you more about the others later I am running out of time.

So I have seen a lot of my friends here at the MTC. I am out of time though....see ya! Love you all sooo much!

-Elder Curtis Hanson

Another Feast!

We finally received two e-mails from Curtis on Friday, May 27th. He actually wrote the first e-mail on the 20th but just as he was ready to send it his time expired and the computer logged him out. Its great to know all is well!!!

May 27^th, 2011

Hey Family,

Another week in the MTC and it is still...crazy intense as usual. I was rather upset that I wasn't able to send my email from last week until now but it's good that GMail has that little autosave stuff. I was sooo close! Pero, gracias for all your letters and emails. Losiento por la Español (Sorry for the Spanish). It kind of slips in here and there. I am also trying to have you guys all slowly learn Spanish through my emails.

Okay so Funny story # dos!

Here at the MTC we are all music deprived so we all start trying our own versions of songs in all sorts of ways. The latest one for me is trying to beat box (my district doesn't appreciate the learning process). Another thing we do is that the showers become the Tabernacle choir as well as various renditions of Lion King. ha ha. We all gasped in amazement as one of the language training tools we use has a loggout function that sings "TAAAALLLLL". We all get a kick out of that and it becomes a highlight to our day.

Well, I am out of time once more. I love you all and I pray for you guys always. Thanks for your love and support. Spiritual thought for the week by President Hinckley: "Don't do anything stupid". Oh and here is something really cool in a talk given only to missionaries for trying to have the spirit by Elder Benson: Don't worry....be a good boy and a good girl.

Love you all,

Elder Curtis Hanson

May 20, 2011

Hello! !Hola!

Wow! Thank you all so much for your letters. They really are a strength to me and I love hearing about everything that is going on out there. I was so excited to receive some letters from friends this week. It really makes a missionary’s day or week depending on how long he has been waiting for one.

So I was able to go out into the real world yesterday and this morning! It´s weird. ha ha. I was worried about being brainwashed here in the MTC but I realize that it feels more like being sanitized. Have you seen how many billboards there are on the side of the roads? It seems like everything is trying to get you do this or that every moment. Well, the reason that we got to go out into the outside world is that, as Mexican Missionaries, we had to go to the Consulado de Mexico en Salt Lake. We were so excited to go and be there but then it turned out to be just a building with a lot of Spanish posters and signs(which was exciting). It still looked pretty official but the novelty slowly wore off as we spent a couple hours there just sitting. The system in Mexico actually crashed yesterday so we had to come back this morning. This means we missed our weekly temple trip, sad day, but the good news is that I got my visa! Who knew that three little signatures would be the gateway into living in another country for 2 years! They didn't give me anything but I think the church just takes care of it for us.

So I got the box! Yeah! The cookies were gone within the hour with the help of the guys from my zone. ha ha. I got everything including my license and the pictures of the savior. The packing peanuts were even fun! Thank you so much for the pictures. They are in my room right now and I love to look at them.

Now with the spare time I would like to tell funny stories:

The Benson Theory

So my companion has the supernatural natural ability to summon our Mission President directly behind him. All he needs to do is say something mildly inappropriate or even just weird and POOF!, there is the Mission President. So the latest incident of this was last night in our residence hall. We had just gotten back for the day and he was fixing his bed with his back to the door. I quoted a favorite quote from Top Gear just as I saw President Hansen walk in the door, sadly, Elder Benson also appreciated this quote and louder repeated: Ï JUST SOILED MYSELF!!! as President Hansen was walking right behind him. This isn´t the first incident and most of the time President just shakes his head and keeps walking. ha ha.

So I ran out of time to tell more of the funny stories but I will try to send more next week,

Hasta Luego!

-Elder Curtis Hanson