MY FIRST WEEK IN THE MISSION FIELD!!!

Amigos y Familia, 

I am finally out of the CCM and in the mission field!!!!  I love where I am serving. I am in an area called Villa Mella. It’s probably 30 minutes outside of Santo Domingo. It’s a wonderful place to serve. Sorry I didn’t warn you guys I wouldn’t be writing on Thursday. My P-day is now Monday. 

I love being a missionary. There is so much work to be done in Villa Mella. I have never met kinder people. No matter what their religion or their living circumstances, people invite us in because they want to hear about Christ. I love it here. I’m finally doing what I dreamed of--sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of the Dominican Republic--ALL DAY LONG. There really couldn’t be anything better.

So you´ll never guess who my companion/trainer is… Hermana Hansen!!! She’s from Texas and is a great missionary. She’s been serving for 14 months and I’m learning a lot from her.  Everyone says "Ustedes son Hermanas? Primas? Familia?" Our answer is always "No, pero somos hermanas en Cristo" Haha I love being a missionary. The other sisters in our apartment are Hermana Barrington (from Utah) and Hermana Romero (from Columbia). I’ve found out that I love Columbian food :)

So my Spanish is coming along. I can understand most people pretty well, and I can usually get my point across. Hermana Hansen lets me do a lot of the teaching so I’m learning a lot.  Dominicans speak sooooooooooo fast! All of the Latino missionaries in our zone I can understand almost perfectly but some Dominicans are almost impossible to understand. My trainer tells me to be patient, first you have to learn Spanish, and then you can learn Dominican :)

We do lots of walking. Lots!! During the week we really don’t use any public transit. The streets are pretty old and we have one of the biggest areas in the mission, so my shoes are getting quite a workout. But I don’t mind the walking. I love exploring the Dominican Republic :)

It is HOT here. I am always sweating. The only place with AC is the church and the store. But on the bright side, I’m never cold and I’m getting a great tan. The tan lines on my feet are going to be awesome by the end of my mission. 

I stick really stick out here. Besides some of the missionaries, I’m the only white person I’ve seen since I left the CCM. Plus the blonde hair doesn’t help. The whole time I walk down the street I hear "Americana! Rubia (Blonde)! Mormona!" I’ve never felt so different in my life :)

So I had a cool experience on Saturday. Every Saturday the English speaking missionaries offer a free English class for the city. Hermana Hansen and I taught probably 30 kids. It was so fun. But afterwards we were talking to one of our investigators in the adult advanced English class who had brought a friend. His friend knew I was a new missionary so he wanted to hear my Spanish. After he ran out of questions to ask me, he said, "teach me the gospel of Jesus Christ.” My companion looks at me, hands me the pamphlet we use to teach the doctrine of Christ, and then gives me a look like "go ahead.” So I taught him the whole lesson on the doctrine of Christ. Then he wanted to hear more, so I taught him the whole lesson on the restoration. He knew pretty good English, so he helped me with a few words I didn’t know and corrected some of my conjugations BUT I taught the gospel IN SPANISH. That felt amazing. I felt the Spirit guiding me in that lesson. And he and his friends had some really good questions. He doesn’t live in my area, so I referred him to the missionaries in his area and they are meeting with him. I told him to pray about the things we talked about and then told him we would talk more next week. I love being a missionary. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives, and I cannot think of anything better than to share it. 

I love you guys! Thanks for all of your prayers. Sometimes when I’m lying in bed and I’m nervous or feeling discouraged I think of all the people I know are praying for me that night. That brings me so much peace and strength. God loves us! And he really does answer prayers, often in ways that we don’t expect. But he does answer. We must have faith, patience and diligence. When we do, miracles happen. I know that is true because I have seen it occur over and over again as I have asked for His help and trusted in my Heavenly Father. 

Love you lots! Keep the letters coming! Dearelder.com is still a great way to get in touch with me.

Hermana Hansen

All the Missionaries in the CCM

The Missionaries in my CCM District

Hermana Hansen y Hermana Hansen

Best Week At the CCM so far!

This week was AMAZING!

The first highlight would have to be going into the mission field for a day. On Friday the 2 North American districts got into a van and they drove us 15 minutes to a church building where we met up with missionaries who are already in the field. We each got paired up with a companion and off we went.  My companion was Hermana Melgar, she is from Guatemala. She doesn't speak any English, so I spent the entire 7 hours speaking Spanish. I speak Spanish!!! What??? I’m not even close to fluent but I can communicate. That is amazing to me. The field is awesome. The first thing we did was jump into a beat up taxi and drove 15ish minutes to my companion’s area. Driving in Santo Domingo is CRAZY. They squish as many people as possible into the taxis and buses.  I am in love with this city. We had a lesson planned for the morning but the lady wasn't home so we just started knocking on doors. The people of this country are so receptive.  So many people let us in and allowed us to share a message about Christ. That was amazing. Hermana Melgar did most of the talking, but I was teaching people about Christ and His gospel--exactly what I came here to do. We taught lessons everywhere--on the floors of stairwells, outside people’s gates. I had a blast, and it felt absolutely incredible.  I love sharing this gospel.  I know Christ is my Savior and I want to share with all of Santo Domingo that He is their Savior too.  A lot of the streets we walked down were really poor, but the people are so loving and happy. Everyone would say hi to us and a lot of people would give us mangoes. MMMM my favorite! :)

I get to go into the field for the day again tomorrow, and I can’t wait!

The second highlight of my week. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a devotional at the Dominican Republic CCM! I had the privilege of meeting an apostle of Jesus Christ. I will never forget this experience. This man has truly been called of God. He talked a lot about our purpose as missionaries. He said that if we want to help others come unto Christ, it is essential that we ourselves are converted. He also said that as missionaries we need to be BOLD. He said that probably 30 times. But it is so true. Being a missionary is scary, talking to people about the gospel, especially when you don’t know the language very well is very scary. BUT the message that I am here to share is so important. It is a message of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is a message that will change lives.  Despite any fears I have, it is my duty and calling to share it with anyone who is willing to listen, and that is exactly what I plan to do. Being a missionary is awesome!

So here’s something that will make Adriane laugh. Almost every Dominican I talk to always goes "Cuantos años tiene?" (How old are you) When I tell them I’m 19 they always say "No, Usted es un bebe" (No, you are just a baby) Then, if it is a woman over 40 they pinch my cheeks. I love the people here. They are unbelievably blunt, but incredibly loving.

Shout out to Olivia! I hope you got my letter before you left! If not, have the time of your life in France! Take in every minute and write me all about it!!! I love you best friend! Don’t do anything I wouldn't do! xoxo

This week is my last week here in the CCM. I leave for my first area very early on Tuesday morning. I am so excited.  My Spanish still has some work and I’ll miss all the wonderful people here at the CCM, but I am so ready to be out in the mission field--full time for the rest of my mission.

Oh one more thing! Accomplishment of the week: I can FINALLY, sort of, kind of roll my R's. Trust me its serious progress and a huge miracle. My teachers are so excited. I walk around the CCM with a little hand mirror practicing whenever I get the chance. I look ridiculous and the Latinos all laugh at me, BUT I’m sounding less and less like a gringo every day. 

Thanks for all of the letters! I have responded to all of the ones I've gotten so far. They seem to take about a week to get to Santo Domingo and a week to get back to the states. I love letters! Keep them coming. If you haven’t sent me one, you should get on that ;)

Love you guys so, so much! 

Hermana Caroline Hansen

CCM with Elder Holland (Seated in the center)

 Me & Hermana Clove

Me & Hermana Barnes

Latino Sisters & Sisters from our District

Me & the Latino Elders

Drawing of our District by Hermana Graham

One More Week!!!

It’s been another great week here in the CCM. 

The first highlight would have to be going to the University again. This time it wasn’t nearly as busy because the students are on break, but it was still a great experience. I had an especially cool experience with a particular girl. Hermana Graham and I asked if we could share a message with her. After we shared our message she talked with us for a long time. She said she had once been baptized into our church, but had stopped coming. She said that she believed God had sent us to her that day because she needed to come back to church. She asked us if we would meet with her again. We tried to explain to her that we were still "missionaries in training" and that we didn’t have phones yet, but we gave her numbers of other missionaries and then she gave me her number and asked me to call her whenever I get into the field. Which I will! We then gave her a pamphlet and a Book of Mormon. Before we left, I felt prompted to testify of God's love for her. With all my heart I testified to this sweet girl, “Dios ama usted. Yo siento Su amor por usted ahora". (God loves you. I feel His love for you right now). I’m still not even close to being fluent in Spanish, but I am still capable of doing what I have been called to do--bear testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That feels really amazing. 

The Haitians left Tuesday morning. I miss them so much.  They are wonderful missionaries with beautiful hearts and spirits. On Sunday we had a testimony meeting. Every one of the Haitian missionaries stood up and bore testimonies of their Savior. I really couldn't understand what they were saying but the spirit was incredibly strong in that meeting. The night before they left, they all sang "God be with you till we meet again" in French. They all had tears in their eyes. The North Americans sang it in Spanish. Again, it was really, really beautiful.

Yesterday, 30 Latino missionaries arrived. I love having Latino missionaries again. They are so fun and full of life. I can already tell they will be great missionaries. Two Latina Hermanas moved into our room. One is from Guatemala and the other is from Mexico. They are really sweet. I’m glad we get to share a room with them, especially since they don’t speak English. The more practice I get with my Spanish the better! 

Oh, shoutout to Maddie Neubuerger! We watched a devotional that was at the Provo MTC , and I saw Mitch singing! Haha 

I love the CCM, but let’s be honest.....I’M DYING TO GET OUT INTO THE FIELD!!! Obviously I have a lot more I need to learn but I just want to spread the gospel!! I thought I was stir crazy before, but I was wrong :) BUT.... it’s all good because I get to spend 7 hours out in the city tomorrow and go teaching with a more experienced missionary. Ahhhhhhhh!!!! I’m so stoked!!! And then in less than 2 weeks I’ll be doing that every day. When I think about that, it helps me stay focused. I need to get all the Spanish/teaching skills I can before I do this for real :) And the CCM is really great. All of the teachers and other missionaries are some of the most amazing people I have ever met.

Goodbye till next week! Did I ever tell you how much I love letters? I didn’t collect any addresses before I left so unless you send me one first, with your return address, I can’t write you! And I want to :)

I love you guys. I really do have the best family and friends there are! Have a great week, I know I will. Being a missionary is the best thing there is! 

Love, 

Hermana Hansen

All the North American Girls & a favorite teacher, Hermana Escoberes

The Girls in my CCM District

North American & Hatian Missionaries

Me & Hermana Jean-Baptiste