Well, it's good to hear that Michael is doing well, I have been thinking of him this week. I love newt's article! (For those of you who don't know, Newt is Nate, his brother)  I'm glad to hear his article got in the Salt Lake Tribune. But tell that kid to write...

Glad to hear that Morgan had a happy birthday! And that my letter to her took 11 days to get to the states...wow that's a little more than it was back in Logroño. I think this new city is too far away from the rest of the world, but it is an awesome city.

Have you seen it on a map? (And that's why I added the map above)It's on the west northern part of Spain, and it's a pretty good looking city. I am happy to be here taking all these pictures and all that. 

(Personal message to Mom and Dad) Quick question, did you see, or take off those videos of the MTC, and the CCM on my first memory card that I sent to you a while back? I don't want to delete them if you haven't...but if you just left them on to let me look at them, that is cool too.

I have a card that I am going to send home pretty soon, but I want to know the answer to this question before I do it. I also will be sending home a little package pretty soon; it is just a bunch of papers and my first planners, and some pictures from the CCM. I also will put in the CD of pictures from first transfer in it. So I don't know how much that will cost, or how long it's going to take to get to the states, but I am just trying to cut down on all the things that I have here with me, I am finding that this is the secret to packing, so I am going to send home this soon. I have some cool little tourist things from Logroño, and some stickers that I want to save. So I don't know if you want to just put it in my room or somewhere for the next year and 7 months.

But thank you for sending the pictures, they will be used almost everyday, so thank you, thank you.

Guess what, we are teaching this girl that just got baptized in a less active family all the follow up lessons, and she has a cat whose name is Lucifer. (Our cat's name is Lucy-Fur. Brett came up with it and it stuck!) It's awesome, so I am showing her pictures of the cat, we all thought it was funny.

But the work here has picked up a little. We had 4 people in church, and 2 less active families, so we saw some of the fruits of our labor here; I just hope it keeps going.

Zone Conference was pretty good, I saw a ton of people from my MTC group, and that was really great. It was in a city called Santiago, it is a little more south of us, and is probably the biggest tourist city in the mission. It has this big catholic cathedral, so we went and checked it out yesterday, it was pretty cool, but I didn't get any pics... next time.

Sorry to hear about the work. More banks are going under? I thought things might be getting better? The exchange rate turned around, so I thought things were headed in a little better direction, but they'll get there sometime.

Get Quang there in the CU! And tell everyone hello for me!

Take care, thanks for everything!

Elder Hanson

September 7th 2008

Ya wow that is a bunch of stuff! 

I can't believe that thing about Michael, so what's the deal? How dangerous is everything else? This is pretty crazy...(Our friends Michael Sanders was diagnosed with Lymphoma a few weeks ago.)

I don't really know the Jenny lady, but that is still sad. Especially because she´s probably related to that missionary that is related to Virginia, and grandma knew. He had a bunch of death in the family right before he went on the mission, so he had some hard times, I felt really  bad. (Mike's cousin Jenny passed away a little over a week ago.)

But I wrote Morgan a letter the other day, tell me when she gets it!

The political scene...that is very interesting, I'm really curious to see how it turns out.

Otherwise this new city is pretty crazy, it's the furthest spot away from anyone, and it's just me and my companion, who is from Logan and has been out here for almost a year. His name is Elder Olds. 

But the thing is he's been sick all this week, so it's been a little slow. I've been doing a lot of study time in the piso. It's a really nice piso, it's less than 8 years old, but is really cheap because it's so far out here in the middle of nowhere. But it was terrible, more trash, old food, old papers, "piso finds" were waiting here for me when I got here than I could ever imagine. So I've spent a lot of time just cleaning this place, and trying to make it the nicest piso I can, because everyone says it is the nicest in the mission.

but beyond that I've had a pretty hard week. Not many teaching appointments, and a lot of sitting. I just don't feel that good. So I hope in the coming days things will pick up a little and we can get to work.

the branch here is really strong, everything is very nice, so I'm glad that this is here, we just need to work!

but send everyone my hello, 

I hope all stays well.

Elder Hanson

August 24th Letter from Brett to Mike

Thank you!!!

Yes I got the box this week, and it was fantastic! Thank you! The pictures, and the planes, and the cool-aid, and all, thank you! I liked being able to see the pictures on the blog, and all that! 

But do you think you could print off some of the pictures that were on the ipod? I really liked the ones of the family and such. And the dog too. I need just some ones that I can share with like investigators and such, like other missionaries have some that are laminated, and they can put them in their scriptures. Like one of the house, just all done now, maybe one of the CU, so I can tell about my old work, and one of the truck, old on one side, and new on the other, I just know that I could put these into lessons. 

Glad to hear that you sold some things, is the gas coming down at all?

Ya I heard all about the Basketball game, everyone was pretty upset. they blamed it all on the refs...(dumb chinos is what they all said)

other news:

Along the lines of the work here, it really has been a good learning experience. You do have to be that sensitive to the spirit in order to plan what you are going to do everyday, and when you are contacting too. I find it very interesting when we plan, because we plan very specifically what we are going to do hour by hour, what we will plan to say in our contacts for that hour (inviting people to church, or answering questions on the back of a pass along card, and so on) and really when we carry it out, I see why we planned for that, and it is truly amazing. Along the lines of contacting people in the street, or knocking doors, we don't pray and look at a street and go there, we just stop everyone that we see, or knock every door that we can. Sometimes I think that the spirit works like that, if we are doing our job, being obedient, and trying to find we are rewarded.

We had a really good week this past week. We broke all our records for teaching numbers of lessons in 1 day, and the most I've ever taught in 1 week. We were really blessed. But why? I think that it is like it says in the scriptures, after our trial of our faith. After some hard weeks of walking, and walking, and not having success, we are blessed when we still get up and go, and do what we should everyday. I learn so much everyday, I am so grateful to serve here, in this mission. It might be one of the smallest,(80 elders in total) but there are people here, wanting to hear the gospel, and that's why I'm here.

But that's all for now, I´m getting the call that tells me where I'm off to this Friday, so I'll know next week, then I will leave on Wednesday! I'm a little nervous, but excited too. New city, new transfer, new companion, 4 months in the mission....total, 2 months in the field.

Thanks for everything! Again the package was so great!

Take care,

Elder Hanson

You may all find this hard to believe about me but a few weeks back I asked Brett if Spaniards did anything for Halloween. This was his reply...Read August 18th first.

August 25th 2008:

I found out that Spain celebrates it (Halloween)sort of, it is a day for the dead, kind of like the memorial day in the USA! Work is off, but no candy or anything...sorry

As far as picking me up after my mission thing goes, the reason is that a General Authority has asked us not to do it. Repeatedly. It causes visa problems for incoming missionaries, and if we visit cities that I served in, it makes other missionaries want to leave.

Plus it takes away from the mission. You have to still live the rules of the mission, but you're not a missionary. 

They asked us to send it to the families, and it's in the white handbook. It says "when your mission is over, return to your country"

Sorry...we'll just come later, no worries!

Thanks for everything!

Elder Hanson

August 18th 2008:

Thanks for the news, I will be sure to get a letter off to Morgan soon enough, but only after I move! Yes that is right, I am moving again. President told me in my last interview that I'll be changing cities in the next 3 weeks...hope the package gets here in time! Side note: (It did) Did you send it to the address that says Gonzalo De Berceo? just curious, because if it's not...it could be a little while. You could send any mail, packages, pictures, anything to the office anytime. They can receive anything and just give it too me at zone conference, just as a side note. Because with all this moving around it might be good to know that there is at least one address that is stationary!

But the Halloween thing, I don't really know! I know that they will celebrate it to a degree, at least that is what I have heard my companion who is a native say, but I will ask him what exactly the deal is!

Glad to hear that you have been going to the temple, because living in Utah we don't realize how lucky we are to have a bunch of different temples right by our house! It's so different from everyone else! Everyone is pretty jealous!

Same with the hiking thing, we are so lucky to have the mountains right there! it's pretty awesome!

Otherwise ya, things go on here just the same as usual, new companion who was an a.p. so he's a really good example to me, and I'm glad I could have some time with him, it's great! The people are still the same, and the language...ya it's still a different language! it's just a ton to work on, I can't quite explain it, I just try and do my best everyday and pray for the rest!

Well take care, I'm looking forward to the package!!!!!Thank you!!!!!!!!so much for sending it!!!!!!! Take care,

Elder Hanson 

Sorry friends! I was a few letters behind! Now we're all caught up

Here’s just some basic news:

Ya, our zone conference was in Vitoria, a city about 2 and a half hours away by bus; it would be shorter but we go through a bunch of little cities, and wow is
it strange to watch the driver shift all the time. I don’t know how all those
big clutches in bus work, but they seem interesting.

I got my new companion there at conference, he’s an old AP, he’s way awesome. He’s from Park City, and has 20 months in the mission field. I don’t know how much time I’ll be with him, but I think at least another transfer.

We use cell phones here, all of us. We just share each of the
companionships. It’s really nice to have, because we can make all of our calls
when we are waiting for investigators and so on. Plus it’s really nice for
safety reasons, if there is a problem, it’s just nice to have.

Everyone is always surprised to see that this little city has such a big strong
branch. Church here is really good. They are just really focused on making themselves Stakes and Wards, which is so strange to me, but the members are really cool like that.

Anyway the heat here has been killing me; I can’t wait for the fall! It’s been
crazy here as far as transfers in the mission, every companionship will change
in one way or another this transfer, it is pretty rare to have that. This is my
4th companion and I’m only mid way through my 2nd transfer! But the work still
goes on, I love it.

Don’t worry about the package, I just hope for it week after week...but you
know no rush! Thanks for keeping up the blog and all that for me.

I remember you in my prayers every night, thank you for all that you have done
in my life, before the mission, and now.

Take care,
Elder Hanson

Monday, July 28th

Alright, sounds like things are very good with all of you! I’ve been having to
adjust to some things here, I’ve had to say goodbye to my father (that’s what
you call your 1st companion) and move on to my new trio. It’s with Elder Bamy,
who is from France, and has a Spanish mother, so he’s fluent, and Elder Sayaz,
who is from Barcelona. Yep, there isn’t much English at all. But it’s good...I
guess.

Moving was a pain and a half, I really didn’t want to do it at all. Plus I just
kept getting more and more stuff from my dad, because he was trying to make
weight for the plane ride, so I have a ton of Spanish books, clothes, cigar
boxes, and other things I don’t really plan on taking back to the states. We
had to clean the whole piso, that took a day on it’s own, and then move into
our new, smaller, much smaller piso.

There are some ups and downs to this place. We have 3 of us in 1 small room to
sleep in, because you have to stay in the rooms with all of your companions. My
desk is a door that we took off and put books under. The place is just small as heck. But there are many ups. We have a dishwasher, a new iron, and it’s on the 1st floor, which is nice not to have to climb a thousand steps just to get up there!

But things continue to move on as usual. Our areas are now combined to make just a huge area, which is sort of a pain, but whatever. We did teach a lot more
lessons with our investigators combined. That’s about it.

Life’s pretty simple, not a ton of worries about money, or gas prices or things
like that. It’s kind of nice in a sense. But my worries are just in different
places. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve among these great
missionaries, and among the great people of Spain.

I hope all is well, thank you for your love and support.

Elder Hanson