How are y'all!! Sounds like this week was a pretty exciting week! So neat to hear that the team from Curaçao made it so far in the Little League World Series. It was weird, I remember being told what was happening in the LLWS last year out here in the field. Crazy how time just flies! I wish it would just slow down a bit.
Here is “the pana” (dude) Rafael. V is for Venezuela.
This week was a MIRACLE week. Elder Loar and I saw so many miracles it was ridiculous! I thought the first week was incredible, this week was insane. We saw the hand of the Lord so prominently, in so many different aspects this week. He was so kind to us and he truly did bless us. Every single day it seemed like there was something, but I will just go over the biggest highlights!
Here are the great missionaries I serve with in H2.
One day we were biking down a road back to the apartment to study, and we hear this man flag us down "Hey, I have a question for you". Usually when this happens, it doesn't turn out well, but we turned around and pulled up to his car, because he pulled over to flag us down. We get close, and he asks, "Does church still start at 11". Elder Loar and I were in shock. "No it starts at 9" we said, then we asked his name. His name was Rodrigo. When we heard his name, we were shocked. He was the famous Rodrigo. The one person in our entire area book who had been taught Everything, but was not yet a member for some reason and stopped seeing the missionaries. He was so cool, he mentioned he is a boxer who is actually turning pro here real soon. Coolest guy ever. He told us that his family was kind of against the church and his ex-girlfriend, but he felt like it was time for him to come back to church and act upon the gospel. We passed by his house 3 days beforehand, and apparently his parents saw us, and called him. And ever since, he had been looking for the missionaries on the street again. It was an incredible 15 minute exchange that was divinely constructed by the Lord. There are no coincidences when you are on God's errand.
Follow Elder Loar’s finger. haha Can you see the cops? Regular thing for us.
Yep. We witnessed an arrest. Just another day her in H2 area. 😁
One of the biggest miracles of them all came from our friend Omar. Wednesday we were walking back to our bikes after a lesson that we had and we were walking along side this man, I started talking to him and all the sudden he got super excited! He introduced himself as Omar, and told us that he had only been here in Houston a month. He said that he grew up in Honduras for most his youth, then for about 20 years he spent it in the Bronx. He told us that when he was 14 years old, he was about to be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints out there in Honduras, but 2 weeks before his date came, he had to move to the US. In the Bronx he never saw missionaries, and we were the first ones he saw since Honduras. We asked if he would like to make that same covenant he was going to make years ago here, and to come to church and do all such things, and he said he would love to. We taught him once outside and at the end, he gave us the biggest hug, thanking us for coming and giving him the message of the restored gospel.
The next time, yesterday, we had a lesson, we show up, because he was supposed to come to church and didn't end up coming, and we see him outside helping a homeless man, giving him some water. Doing his best to help him out. We show up and it starts down pouring, the man had to leave, and Omar invited us inside his apartment, as we walked in, we were shocked. There was nothing. Nothing more than 3 kitchen chairs. No table, no nothing. He invited us to sit down. We started talking and it became evident, the Spirit made it crystal clear, that this man was the most humble man ever, but still one of the happiest men I have ever met. I asked him what made him happy and he said "I always have a prayer in my heart, and with God, he always gives me enough". We asked what kept him from coming to church today, and he said he had to take his wife to the hospital at 2 AM because she had an emergency with the pregnancy she has. Omar is worried, but he said that he knows that God will be his support through all this. It became evident to me, and the Spirit was telling me that this man had been prepared for quite some time. We promised him Heavenly blessing for keeping the commandments of God, and invited him to be baptized and he accepted, and then once again, gave us the biggest hug.
He taught me so much about what truly is true joy and happiness. It is the gospel. It is trusting in God. It is knowing that he will give us strength to get through trials. It is not found in material things, it is found in our families, both here on earth and in the heavens above. As we focus on the family and serve others, we recieve pure joy. Omar helped me realized truly what is true, pure joy.
Yesterday I had the chance to go back to MoCity and Baptize a 9 yr old girl of a part member family that I taught my entire time there! It was so neat that I could do that for Emily and the Guzman Bolaños family!! They were so amazing! Families really are eternal, and we were one more step closer to making that family an eternal family after being so inactive for so long. What a blessing. It was also amazing to see all the members again. Got to see Gaby and Rafael too. It was as if I truly was going back to my home. I love MoCity!!
Caught in a downpour - again.
Lunch today.
There was a scripture in my study that I loved this week. It was in 1 Nephi when Nephi was building the boat to bring his family across the ocean. Laman and Lemuel are complaining once again, but are helping Nephi build nonetheless. It says in 1Nephi 18:
2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.
I imagine Nephi and his brothers were probably quite confused when the got the plans from the Lord on how to construct the ship. They said it was of "curious workmanship" a few verses back, and it was not made after the "manner of men". They were probably worried because they werent used to building a ship in such a way, and couldn't see the whole picture. However, they were building the ship by direction the Lord gave them, and through much prayer (v. 3), faith and ACTION, the come to see once it is finished that the boat was exceedingly fine, and it turned out great, because it was directed by the Lord. Made me think.. "How are we constructing out boats?" our families, personal lives, etc. Are we constructing them in a curious way not after the workmanship of man, or in the way of the Lord. The promise we recieve is if we are directed in our lives by the Lord, though at times it may appear strange, in the long run, we will see that the workmanship will be "exceedingly fine".
Love y'all mucho! Sorry for the long email, it was just an amazing week of growth and miracles. Hope y'all could feel the spirit of missionary work. There is no better work out there, we see the Lord's hand every day!! Hope y'all have an amazing week!!
Elder Brett Hansen
