I love contacting!

Hello!

To begin, I would just like to apologize for the title of last week's letter. haha I thought I had written about it, but I just looked over what I sent, and no, I did not. It was the title because last week alone, I raised my number of big falls from four to eight. I have since then fallen one more time...I have fallen 9 times on my bottom here in Russia. 7 of those have been in Chely. My winter boots broke, so I've been wearing the ones I brought from home, and they are very slippery. haha so that should clear up some confusion...sorry about that.

Anyway, HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you all had a great day. I know that I did. Here in Russia, everyone wishes you happy Easter by saying, "Jesus Christ Resurrected" and you respond by saying, "It's true, He resurrected." They ALL say that, but they don't understand what that really means - that He LIVES! and that we will ALL live after this life. I am so grateful for my Savior - for the knowledge I have of Him and for the relationship I have with Him.

I'm glad to hear conference was great - it always is. I haven't got to watch it yet. We are going to watch it this next weekend. Despite what they tell you, it is not directly broadcast all over the world (that would be in the middle of the night here). We have to wait for the DVD to get here, It's in Yekaterinburg right now. I guess we, as missionaries could watch it in English online right now, but we are instructed to wait until the Russian conference gets here, and then we watch it in English in the other room. It's amazing that at home we can hear the Prophet speak just on our own TV or on our radio. Oh, the little things I took for granted.

To keep you updated on my investigators...Our chinese investigator will not be getting baptized this week. Please pray for him. He works sooooooooooo much, but he also reads the scriptures so much and he has a great testimony. He will get baptized, I just hope I get to see it. We are trying to explain to Yulia that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the ONLY church on the earth today with the power and authority to perform the saving ordinances we ALL need, such as baptism. Maybe she will be able to watch a session of conference and really see how God has organized HIS church and that we really do have a prophet on the earth today. (She can believe that we have a prophet, but she doesn't understand why the Russian Orthodox church doesn't have authority) It's a legitimate question...one that can be understood when one understands the apostasy and the need for a restoration. We have taught her this many times, hopefully seeing conference will help.

We didn't get very many meetings this week (people don't want their holiday weekend interrupted with spiritual things, like why we have a holiday to celebrate). :) It was okay though, we contacted A LOT!!!! I love contacting. It is so fun and produces either great results with new investigators or entertaining results...we were blessed with a lot of both. It's getting warm really fast here.

Today, I ventured out with just a sweater on....IT'S INCREDIBLE. Because of the warm weather, contacting has been pleasant, and every now and then, Sister Hakes brings her violin and we sing and play hymns on the street corners, while Sister Spjute talks to people who stop to listen...it's been fun and productive. We've had some great new contacts.

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot to mention that we had zone conference on Wednesday! It was so great, but already seems like such a long time ago. I love zone conference. I love hearing from President Allcott - he is so insightful and so inspired. I can't wait to hear from the prophet! The focus of Zone conference was 'finding joy in the work.' I try to find that joy every hour of every day. Some days are harder than others, but I really do LOVE being a missionary. And not just any missionary, but a missionary in Russia. The church here is so young, the work we are doing is a lot different than in other places in the world....but I love it. I am so honored to serve the Lord and to spread HIS glad tidings. THE CHURCH IS TRUE! I love you all! I hope you all had a great Easter and took the time to listen to conference. If you missed it...you can always listen to it again online, and be sure to read it in the Ensign when it comes. You are all amazing. I love you so much! xoxoxoxoxo
Love always,
Sister Hansen

p.s. Laynie pointed out that on Wednesday, I will have been on my
mission for 6 months. How crazy is that?! Where does the time go?