Understanding the Atonement - 5-30-11

I always wanted that spirtual high mission. We have got a lot of finds lately, me playing the guitar and singing. hahaha so things are doing better. I have lost all sorts of awkwardness with people. I just walk up to people, or next to them, and just go for it. hahaha im going way outside of me lately. hahaha
oh yeah, i had a 2 hour long convo with a lady that thought that only by faith are we saved, the claim and save christian. She couldnt ever answer the faith without works it dead thing. Repentance is not one and done. I found out that the reason they think like that is because they really dont have a close relationship with our heavenly father, they think that he is just a puppet master, and that we spend the rest of our lives glorifying him and not actually progressing. I told her we can become like him. She called me a blasphemer. I said that the pharasies and scribes called Christ the same thing. She never answered why the apostles were given the priesthood. I think i am getting a small taste of what God feels, when His children dont accept it, even though he is all powerful. I can expain this gospel. Its all their choice. Its hard to deal with. Thats my biggest issue. Doesnt matter. Here they have choice. I can only invite them. But i want to be so convincing that they have no other choice but to believe like Ammon, thats what i want. i will never speak this language perfectly, sometimes people wont understand me.
I think the coolest thing about a mission is that its such an amazing opportunity for self purification. And understanding the Atonement, self purification isnt a sad thing like i thought it was before my mission. i kinda had a weird view before my mission. I think elders are sent here to be used, and humbled haha. I look around in the mission, these missionaries are kids with talent upon talent. I kinda get this feeling that we have to be a little bit more than the normal missionary, we have to play more roles, deal with more stuff, and use more of ourselves than most places. maybe thats just me. I hope in the end the Lord will be pleased with what i have done.

Thanks so much, you help me out soo much. You are amazing. i hope the snow melts??? WEIRD. I love you a lot. Thanks for everything. you are the best.

Love
Elder hansen

Being Blessed - 5-23-11

I am being blessed, my knowledge, my eyes are opened up wider every day. But i want to help other people. My mission means helping other people. Im not gonna lie, it doesnt quite mean everything yet. My mission exists for me to help others come closer to Christ through Baptism. Thats what MY mission means.
Hey i gotta go. Send DVD, send kool aid. Ok thanks. Thanks for helping me out. I gotta get going. Im just sitting here. doing nothing. I gotta go. I love you so much. You mean everything to me. Thanks for loving me too.

Hungarian Names in Manti Temple - 5-16-2011

Richard got a random call to go with the YM/YW to do baptisms for the dead in the Manti Temple. He was a witness as they began the baptisms. The names of the people seemed to have a lot of c's, z's, an s's. When they got through with that section Richard asked the officiator, "These sound like they could be Hungarian names?" The officiator said, "They are Hungarian." Bishop O'Donnal said, "He has a son on a mission in Hungary." The bishop also said this is really special thing that there is a connection with these people and having Trevor in Hungary and Richard just happened to be called to help. We wrote to Trev to tell him what had happened...

Trev's Response: "THAT IS SOO COOL! I got huge cold chills reading that! were there names like Zsuzsana, Zsolt, Istvan, Janos, Lajos, Gabor? those are pretty common names. thats soo cool!!!! They must be SUPER old names, thats the old way of spelling, i know that people who found those names! haha they do it in Pest. Vaczy is a common last name."

Family Skyping Hansen Elder - May 7, 2011

Blood of Israel... May 2, 2011

This (Buda) is a self sustained ward, it runs really good without the help of the missionaries. In Kaposvar, we played a bigger role. I live in Budapest. I live 200 yards away from the mission home. and i teach our programs in the mission home.
im glad tristen is doing scouts, that will be way good for him. when i get back im taking the boys out on a camp. Thats funny to hear about Kaia, haha wow, i cant believe its almost been a year since i have seen them.
Oh yeah, dad, remember when you told me to find the blood of Israel? i found one. hahahaha he is from Venezuela??? He actually kind of speaks Hungarian too, thats pretty rare. We have a program with him this week. im excited hahahahaha
i would love to have a Hungarian companion. hahaha hopefully i get one. I want to think in hungarian, i do sometimes, but i just want to be drowned in it. It would be exhausting at first but i would love it.
Well i love you sooo much, you help me soo much, you have no idea.
Love Elder Hansen

Kaposvár Stole My Heart... (email 4-26-11)

Ok, well.... yes, i dont want to leave kapos, the place that was so hard, has stolen my heart, i could stay here for the rest of my mission! We have Brownies and peanut butter cookies for the english class students..... Hungarians worship our desserts. hahahahaha especially brownies. ha. My new comp is an elder from Holland. We will be serving in Budapest, it will be an interesting transfer. He speaks english fine, his parents are almost english speakers. Im gonna try and turn both of our focuses on the work and the people.
Medveczky Elder, is the Hungarian who is going to Ogden. He is still in the MTC, will be for a while, he really cant quite speak english that well yet so they will keep him there till he passes.
Doin ok,. my legs are dead tired, from biking, hiking, (i have pictures just not today, remind me next week) My back is good no pain, but my left back strap is still huge, and tight all the way up my back. but doin good really.
Here, Easter is Sunday and Monday, EVERYTHING closes. We rode bikes in the evening, and the morning went on a hike with an eternal with who i am pretty good friends. It was the best P day ever!

Really, Really Cool Sunday... (email 4-18-11)

Hey Mom & Dad,
We are just getting ready to go to a program at 9.
We had a good Sunday, a really good Sunday. We had a baptism with the other Elders. Now we are a Tri-panionship because the Hungarian went to America (he will be in Ogden). So that went really good, he is a really good guy, got baptized really fast, a guy who just really, really cares about it. He will be a really good priesthood holder for us. We had a really good Sunday, we had 24 people there including missionaries there so it was a really, really, cool Sunday. We didn’t have too many at his baptism but we had a lot of people like investigators one eternal investigators who came. It was really good to see everything.
I also wanted to share something that was a huge revelation for me.... The reason the Law of Moses existed was to create equality. An eye for an eye. etc. if you killed, you got killed. it was fair. it was the only way to make their lives fair. to make up for their losses until someone came to take the inequalities of life upon him. Now he takes the pain more than we understand, and thats how our lives are fair now. it still makes me spin but i was reading in the old testament and it hit me. Thats why it was so "barbaric" that was the only was to make life fair. Now we forgive, he takes our sorrows, we share the burden, and now through him all losses will be made up in this life or the next.... this still blows my mind, but thats the exact reason. this life is meant to be joyful, but with inequalities, its impossible so there had to be a revenge, or now, a mediation.
I met with a really cool guy from English class. I called him up and said “We often meet with people separately and tell them why we are here, can we meet?” He said, (something in Hungarian?) “Naturally, like of course.” I was confused and wondered if he had like met with the elders like a bizillion times and just likes meeting with us? So we met with him and he is a doctor and we talk and he complimented me on my Hungarian which helped since I haven’t been feeling so well on it lately. He specifically complimented me on my grammar. He said if I could ever speak English as well as you speak Hungarian I would be fine. He said it is a miracle that you guys can learn Hungarian. He asked about our families and what you like to do. Then he came to the point, why did you want to meet with me? I said we like to help you with your English and wanted to talk to you about why we are here. He said, “Okay, alright, because your religion interests me, seriously. I’ve got a friend who lives in Australia and his wife is Mormon. This really interests me but you need to tell me how long we need to meet so we can do this right.” He has two little girls and a wife and he is super legit or “rendesh”. He has a job, he listens, he reads… That was really really nice. To me that was someone who cares.
We painted eggs at family home evening. (I think this was a branch activity…I could be wrong.)
Thanks for caring and listening, i miss you guys a lot, it’s hard being here especially with this, without anyone close to lean on. Thanks for your prayers. I got your letter Mom. Take care, i love you very much, ne felejtsétek el!