Hola!

Hola amigos y familia!

This was a pretty awesome week. The highlight had to be going to the University. On Friday two of  my teachers Hermano Martinez and Hermano Rodriguez walked us over to the University, gave us 25 pamphlets, and a Book of Mormon, and told us to talk to everyone and anyone. We were supposed to introduce ourselves as missionaries and then share a short message about our church. I was so nervous. Practicing being a missionary to your teachers is so different than the real thing. Hermana Graham and I decided we would just go for it. We walked up to the first person we saw and said "Hi my name is Hermana Hansen and this is my companion Hermana Graham, we are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, would you have time for us to share a quick message with you about our Savior?" (But all in Spanish) Then we would share a message, give them a pamphlet with phone numbers for missionaries they could call if they were interested in hearing more. I was actually being a missionary! I was doing exactly what I came here to do--share with my brothers and sisters the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was scared out of my mind but it felt great. I finally got to see my hard work put into action. Going to the University just reaffirmed why I am here, to bear testimony of Jesus Christ. To share his gospel and to testify that he lives.

The people here are amazing. Not a single person declined our message. They were so receptive to hearing a message about Jesus Christ. Many of them thanked us for the work we were doing and shared their own testimonies of the Savior. I am so blessed with the opportunity to serve such wonderful people. I LOVE the people of the Dominican Republic. I've never met more kind, loving people.

The rest of the week was pretty normal. Yes, there was an earthquake but it was so small I didn't even know it happened until I walked into the hallway and my teacher asked me if I felt it. So no worries :) We get to go to the store on Tuesday and to the University again tomorrow. I love the CCM but its nice to get out into the city. I cant wait until I'm out in the city teaching the gospel every day. I love the city. There is always so much going on. I love it. There is a lot of poverty, and our teachers say that we were walking through the richer parts of the city, but the people are happy. It's quite humbling to realize just how blessed I've been. The driving is crazy, and a lot of the buses are missing doors (but they always have curtains for some reason, haha) 

We got to go to the temple again today. I love that it is right across the street from the CCM. It is so beautiful.

On Sunday we watched an old Provo MTC devotional from 2009.  I saw Wesley Evans in the choir! The devotional was by Elder David Bednar. My favorite quote was "Stop worrying, keep the commandments, remember and honor your covenants, have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it will be all right, and ye cannot go amiss." I love that quote, and it is so so true. I just need to do my very best, and Christ will make up the rest. I feel so blessed to have that knowledge. I love my Savior.

I love you guys. You are the best. I am so blessed with such wonderful family and friends. Thanks for all of the support and love. I LOVE letters. Send them to the Miami address or use dearelder.com and choose Santo Domingo East mission. 

Goodbye til next week! 

Hermana (Carrie) Hansen

Hey Everyone!!!

It’s been another great week here at the CCM. It went by a lot faster than the last one. I realized last week how fast my email time goes, so I wrote a list of stuff I wanted to write. Hopefully it won’t be as jumbled this time.

A lot went on this past week. So how the CCM works is you are placed into Districts based on what language you are speaking and if that is your native language or not. People who serve missions in their native language stay for 2 weeks. People learning a new language stay for six weeks. This past Tuesday one district of North Americans left and two districts of Latinos left. All of them are either going to the Santo Doming East or West missions. The Latinos came from all over south and Central America along with the Caribbean. I miss them! They were so patient with us when we would try are Spanish out on them. And they were fun.

Wednesday a district of Haitians came. They will be here for 2 weeks and then return back to Haiti. They speak French/Creole. There are 3 Haitian sisters and they moved into our room. So now there are 7 of us. One of them speaks a little English but mostly we use sign language to communicate :) But I love them already. They are so sweet!

There are 2 North American Districts left. In my District we are all from America. We have 4 sisters and 3 Elders. I love my companion. Hermana Graham is a hoot!!  The other sisters are great and the Elders too. Elder McHenry joined the church barely a year ago. I’m amazed by his testimony and gospel understanding. The other District is all from America except one sister is from San Lucia. She helps us talk to the Haitians because she can speak Creole and English but her Creole is a little different than theirs.

So, I am going to be straight up honest. I love the CCM but I get so stir crazy being in class all day!!!! We stay on the 4th floor most of the day for class but then we go down to the 1st floor for meals. We have an hour of gym time outside but we have to stay on the CCM grounds. I can’t wait to get out into the mission field in 4 weeks where I can walk around Santo Domingo all day spreading the gospel!!! But I guess I have to learn the language first right? :)

This Tuesday we got to walk to the store!! I got my first real look at Santo Domingo!! I love it!!! The people there were all so nice but everyone was staring at us, haha. I guess 15 American missionaries walking down the streets of Santo Domingo is quite the sight. The store we went to was basically a Dominican Walmart, but I couldn’t really tell what I was buying because it was all in Spanish.

Tomorrow we get to go to the University a couple blocks away and practice contacting. Basically we'll just introduce ourselves to people, give them a short message and then give them information to contact the missionaries if they want to hear more. I’m so excited but I’m nervous too!! SPANISH IS HARD!!! But I’m getting better each day.

The teachers here are awesome. They are all returned missionaries who live in Santo Domingo. Hermana Gutierrez teaches in the morning, then I have Hermano Martinez in the afternoon, and Hermano Fernandez in the evening. The CCM is exhausting, but I am learning so much from my teachers. You can tell that they really care about us and the work we are doing.

I teach 1-4 lessons in Spanish every day. I always go in nervous but I’m getting better. I feel like I can actually teach by the Spirit now. Half of what I say might not totally make sense but our investigators (my teachers pretending to be investigators) are so patient. I love being a missionary. I love bearing testimony of my Savior so many times a day. I love teaching from the scriptures. I love that I’m going to be able to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Santo Domingo. Yea, I really just love it :) Last week they videotaped one of our lessons so that we could evaluate ourselves. It was really helpful to see where I could improve.

The temple is right across the street. We get to go there every week. I went this morning. I love the temple.

Fun fact about the DR. The power goes out all the time. The CCM has a generator but most of the city doesn’t. That’ll be interesting.

I have been converted to beans and rice. I look forward to them every day.

 Please send me letters to the updated address on my blog!  Or use dearelder.com!!!!!!!  If you really love me you will write me ;)

My testimony in Spanish:

Yo sé que Jesucristo es mi Salvador y el Salvador del mundo y que él vive. Yo sé que el Dios es mi Padre Celestial y el evangelio de Jesucristo es en la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias. Yo sé que la Biblia y el Libro de Mormon es la palabra de Dios. Yo sé que el expiacion es real. Yo sé que el evangelio de Jesucristo es el camino a Dios. En el nombre de Jesucristo. Amen.

I love you guys! Did I mention you should write me? :)

Hermana Carrie Hansen

First Week in the MTC!!!

Hola family and friends!!!!

First off, if you sent me a letter I’m really sorry but the address I was given was incorrect. My mom will update the address. PLEASE SEND ME LETTERS ;) The mail system is pretty reliable but not 100% so if you don’t hear back from me within a few weeks write again!!! Be sure to put your return address.  I want to write you guys but I don’t have any addresses if you don’t send me a letter!!  While I am in the MTC a very reliable way to contact me is dearelder.com You type up a letter on their website. Then choose the Dominican Republic MTC and they will print it off for me within a week.

I am in love with the Dominican Republic! It is amazing here at the MTC!!!!

The people are great, my teachers are great, the food is great, and my companion (Hermana Graham) is awesome!!!!

The day I flew in, I got to the MTC (Missionary Training Center—in Spanish it’s called the CCM) and didn’t get to bed until 2am.  The next day I woke up at 6:30am. Longest day of my life!!!  We had a full day of orientation and classes. By the end of the day I thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" As I said my prayers that night I remembered Gordon B Hinckley's quote, "Forget yourself and go to work." As I have remembered that thought, the CCM has been an amazing experience! Every Day I learn so much!! And it’s so fun.

The Spanish is coming along pretty good. After the 2nd day we were already teaching 30 minute lessons. I couldn’t even carry on a conversation in Spanish let alone teach the gospel before I got here!!! But I have learned that as I study diligently I am somehow able to do it. Not well. But I can do it!

The CCM is beautiful!! The temple is right next door. It is gorgeous!!! This is literally paradise!!!

On the 4th day I was able to go around the temple grounds and bear my testimony to people in Spanish!!! Wow that was amazing. I couldn’t believe I was doing it! It felt so right to be bearing my testimony as a representative of Jesus Christ to the Dominican people :)

We're only allowed on the temple and CCM grounds right now which is making me a little stir crazy. I can see the city and cannot wait to get into the mission field!!! Only 5 more weeks, right?

We are all separated into districts. There are 7 of us--3 elders and 4 sisters. Hermana Graham is a great companion. She is so enthusiastic and is a hard worker. I think we are making a good team.

Most of the day is classes. By the second day they were speaking to us solely in Spanish. I have 3 teachers. They are all locals from Santo Domingo and served missions here.

I love you guys so much!!! I’m going to attach pictures!!! I can feel the strength of your prayers and I am grateful.

I know my Savior lives!!! I cannot wait to share that knowledge with the people of the Dominican Republic. I feel so blessed to be a missionary. Love you guys!!!! Sorry this is so jumbled! So little time, so much to tell.

Con amor,

Hermana Hansen

Santo Domingo-I am Here!

Hermana Graham &  Hermana Hansen

The Santo Domingo Temple

I Love Santo Domingo!

A little sampling of the delicious food at the MTC

Hermana Hansen

Hermana Hansen with Sister and President Freestone (MTC President)

Hermana Hansen with her MTC District

I'm Here!!!

FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!

I'm in the Dominican Republic! Its 2 o'clock in the morning and I only have 5 minutes to write. I got on my flight to Miami with no problems. Then I met up with the other missionaries in Miami and we flew to Santo Domingo. Then we went to immigration and met up with people from the MTC (Missionary Training Center). Then we waited about an hour for everyone to arrive. Then we drove an hour to the MTC. They fed us sandwiches, yogurt, juice, bananas, and pringles. Yum :) And after this we are headed to bed. They are already speaking to us almost completely in Spanish. Might as well start now right? I love it here already! The temple is beautiful! And the other missionaries are super cool. I cannot wait to wake up tomorrow and see it all in the light. This all feels so surreal! I cannot believe I'm here and I cannot wait to start working! I love you guys! I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me get to this point! . You guys are the best! I love you I love you I love you!

Goodbye Chicago

I Am On My Way!!!

Hey everyone I am leaving for the Dominican Republic tomorrow! I am so excited and I cannot wait! My address is posted on the left column of this blog, but it can change so check the blog before you send anything! I would be thrilled to receive any and all letters :) My parents will be posting my emails home and any pictures I send each week. I love you guys! Thank you for your support and friendship! Posted below is the farewell talk I gave in church this past Sunday. See you all in 18 months! God be with you til we meet again!


My Farewell Talk-given at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Good Morning brothers and sisters

Wow this feels so surreal right now. I cannot believe this day is here. I leave on my mission in 3 days!

As I was thinking about what I would share today, my thoughts were moving in a million directions. All of you have left such an impact on my life and I want so desperately to be able to say something that will touch your hearts. There are so many different things I want to express and I felt like I could not adequately express any of them. I came upon a scripture in the Book of Mormon that sums up how I feel.

"Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." (Alma 26:16)

My heart is so full today.  I feel so much love and joy and gratitude for my Heavenly Father, for my Savior, for the opportunity to serve a mission, for all of you that I could not possibly express even the smallest portion of what I feel. But I will do my best.

Today is fast and testimony meeting. I feel very blessed to be able to share my testimony with those I love this day.

A testimony are the things an individual knows and believes to be true because of personal spiritual witnesses received by the Holy Ghost.

The foundation of my testimony is that God lives. I am His daughter. He loves me. He loves me perfectly and infinitely. I know these things to be true because there have been countless times in my life where He has shown me of His unmistakable awareness of me and of those around me.  Our God is not a passive God. He is impeccably involved in each and every aspect of our lives. We need only to open our eyes to see God’s presence daily.

The past couple of years have not been easy ones for me. It has been a time where my faith has been tested over and over again. It has been a time where I really had to find out for myself what I knew to be true. I have had to accept that sometimes in life we do not know the future. It is in these moments where we must "Trust in the Lord with all our heart; and lean not unto our own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

I have often turned to God in prayer and have said, “Heavenly Father I am doing my very best and obviously it is not good enough but I want to please thee. Help me to find peace of mind and strength to endure this trial.” I can testify to you brothers and sisters that God has heard my prayers, and He hears you. Answers may not have come on my own time table but they have come.

I had an experience with this my Senior year of high school. It was a trying year on a lot of different levels. I came to the point where it all became too much. I needed to somehow find peace and understanding. I prayed and I prayed but the peace was not coming. I was beginning to grow rather frustrated with God because I felt like I was doing the things I was supposed to do, but I had found no relief. I turned to my parents for comfort advice, but even their wise words could not ease my mind.

I went to bed feeling defeated and woke up early the next morning for seminary. As that seminary lesson unfolded it spoke directly to my fears and concerns. We watched a couple videos and each 100% applied to what I was struggling with. My wonderful mother was my seminary teacher. I was convinced that she had lovingly changed her lesson to fit what I needed to hear. I approached her after class and thanked her for preparing that lesson for me. And then she said something I will never forget “Carrie I wrote that lesson long before you ever came and talked to me. It wasn't me, but your heavenly father who knew what you needed to hear.” Never before had I realized how real God’s love is and how much He cares about His children, not just as a whole, but as individuals. I thought to myself there are so many important,crazy, wonderful, horrible things going on in this world all of the time. So many things for God to take care of and He loves me so much that He felt it was important to send a message for Carrie Hansen. In that moment my trials did not go away, but it was as if God was telling me “Carrie I am here. I am aware of you. Trust in me and it will all be all right." This instance was not a solitary event. It has been followed by several just like it. I know God lives because I see His hand working in my life daily. Each time I have wondered if God has abandoned me He has always proved me wrong.

I also have a testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He too lives. The most central part of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the atonement. We learn that this is where Christ took upon our sins and paid for them so that if we would repent we would be able to return to our Heavenly Father. We being mortal are not capable of atoning for our own sins. We do not have the power, but Christ being the only begotten of the Father did have the power. The power to pay for our sins and to overcome death.  It had to be Christ. Without Him we would have been forever lost.

But there is another aspect of the atonement that is dear to my heart. In  the Book of Mormon  it says,

"He will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:12)

Then in Isaiah it says,

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4)

Christ not only took upon Himself my sins, but also my, pains, my sorrows, my anxieties, my fears. He has felt all I have felt and therefore knows exactly what I need to be healed. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be healed from sin but also from the pains of this world that occur because of no fault of our own.

The atonement is all encompassing. Through Christ I can daily become better, more like Him. The Savior said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  To me this often seems to be an impossible task. And alone it is. But I testify to you that through Jesus Christ, not independently of Him, you and I can be made whole, we can become as God is.

I also know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God. I know this because as I read the scriptures daily I find answers to prayers. As I read the scriptures and live their teachings, I feel the Spirit testifying to me of its truthfulness and I feel closer to my Savior. I am a better person because of what I have learned from the scriptures.

I know that this life is not the end, We lived with God before this life and we can live with Him again. We are eternal beings. This life is only a small snippet of time in our eternity, where we have the opportunity to show our devotion to Him.  Because Christ overcame death we too will live again. Because of the atonement if we are obedient and repent when we stray we will return to live in God’s presence, with our families forever.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is Christ’s church restored through the prophet Joseph Smith to be how Christ would have it be.

I know that we have a living prophet today, President Thomas S. Monson. God has said  "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets," (Amos 3:7) and I know that holds true for today.

These are some of the things I know to be true. I am often asked “Why are you leaving your family, friends, school, everything behind for 18 months??” To be perfectly honest I logically know that a mission is a sacrifice but most of the time it really does not feel that way. Rather I feel that in some small way by sharing His gospel with my fellow brothers and sisters I am showing gratitude for all I have been blessed with. And honestly I cannot think of anything more fulfilling then to share the gift I have been so privileged to receive. The Savior said “when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Luke 22:32) I have been converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and with that conversion came a deep desire and responsibility to share the joy and the peace and the direction that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. I cannot wait to share His message with the people of the Dominican Republic. I also know it will not be easy. I am scared out of my mind. There have been days where I have wondered if I really was capable of being a missionary. But every time it has been confirmed to me that this is what I am supposed to do, so I will press forward with faith. I know that the Savior is by my side.

My favorite scripture is found in Doctrine and Covenants 68:5-6. It says,

"Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants. Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come."

I know that when I speak and live in such a way that testifies of Christ He will always strengthen me and make up the difference. I trust in Him.  He is my friend. He is my brother. He is my Savior. And with Him by my side I know that i have no reason to be afraid and every reason to be joyous.

I love my Savior. I love this gospel. I know that in it is found true happiness, and purpose.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.