We get picture's this time!!!! Yea me! let the scrappin' begin!

Brett has finally graced us with some pictures! I'll put a few on this post and then you can go to the left side bar, (soon) and I'll have some slide shows that are more chronological. 

Plaza Mayor

Brett's dinner at the CCM (aka MTC Madrid)

Brett enjoying? afore mentioned meal.

Brett hasn't giving us any names really, and with the pictures coming to us digitally there isn't an easy way to attach names with faces. I can tell you that that's Brett...2nd to the left, in front of the Madrid Temple...that's about it.

Here in America we have Spanish markets, Italian markets, Chinese markets... So, I guess this makes sense huh? 

And now on to the letter for June 23rd, 2008

Hello from Hot Logroño!!

This week has been hot! My companion told me that before I came, he had not seen a day without rain in Logroño his entire time, and now since I've been here it´s been a killer! Nothing at all! I will never complain about Disneyland again, (the heat, and my feet hurting part) I mean at least you aren't wearing a church shirt, and shoes, and dark pants with a tie on! I just sweat all day, I guess you just get used to it...they don't have air conditioning in hardly any apartments here, especially not ours, and being on the top level of our building isn't exactly the coldest place in the world. Sometimes I don't know why I even shower in the morning...

Did you like all the pics? They show vividly the fact I gained 12 good pounds!!! Ya, wow they are starting to come off I can tell you that much...But also they show that I really was on a 9 week vacation, because I was spoon fed every meal, was in an air conditioned building all day, was next to the temple, I could feel the spirit really strong all day, it was so nice! I will admit, I miss it like crazy.

But things are improving as far as the language, but on Sunday we ate at a member´s house (which was sooo nice not to make our own food) and I just had to sit there quietly, not saying too much, because I just didn't understand what they were saying...the accents are tough, and change a lot from person to person! But little by little it´s moving along.

I love the investigators we have, they are good, they are all fairly new because so many dropped us, so we have been trying to seek out families, because that is what everyone tells us to do, especially this branch, there are a lot of Spaniard families who have a lot of kids here. Sacrament is kind of like home, there are kids running around, and crying babies, and enough teachers and deacons to do everything, this will be a ward pretty soon I guess, that´s what I hear...but it's in Spanish so if  I´m wrong don´t hold me too it OK!?

We had an awesome p-day, we played Frisbee and ate ice cream! I loved it, wow it was so nice to relax a little!

Anyway thank you for everything, and all the news updates!

Take care,

-Elder Hanson

Hello America!!!

I am here in a little old town called Logrono...I think it is spelled that way??? But I got here yesterday after flying into Bilbao, driving up to the President’s house, and then eating, talking, getting my credit card, and all that good stuff, I got on a bus and took off or 2 glorious hours and drove south east to this little town. I got my first companion, his name is Elder Anderson, he’s a good guy, he went to Olympus high, and grew up around me!! He’s on his last transfer, just about outta here, so he knows his stuff, and is fluent in Spanish. Anyway our apartment is pretty nice, I like it, we live with 2 other elders, one is a native that I served with during the CCM experience in Madrid, his name is elder Sayaz, he’s so funny, he doesn’t know much English, but enough to make  me laugh. I also live with another elder who is from France, he is a native of there, but his mom is fluent in Spanish, and spoke to him only in Spanish his whole life, so he’s fluent too...Let me tell you, I don’t talk a whole lot. but otherwise everything is really good here, I am excited to see what things are really like, we did talk with some natives, they were pretty nice, and we have some appointments tonight, but we have a bunch of our day that will be knocking doors, I’m ready to see how that goes...

But anyway how are things there?? My p-day is on Monday, but I can email you now to tell you how i am...Plus a cool thing about the mission is that we can email whoever we want! Family, friends, anyone really!!  So tell everyone that!! I would love to get email!!

Ok, for the package though, I don’t know how soon you can send it, but I’d love to get something sometime!! And if you could maybe throw in a jump rope?? I can’t find one around here...and everyone just has the free ones you get at gold’s gym, so I didn’t think you could maybe just swing by and pick one up?? I also figure it’s light enough too....

Any way tell Nancy that I here her songs all the time being played by my companions here and in the MTC, everyone loves the EFY music, it’s good stuff!!!

I’d love to hear from you!!! Hope all is well take care!!

Oh and by the way, this is the address of the apartment...

Apparently we can send pics now, so ill figure out how to do it next week...

Calle Somosierra 25, 4ºD

26002 Logroño (La Rioja)

Spain

Love you all-

-Elder Hanson

E mail letter from Brett!

Well good morning to the Land of the Free!!!


I just realized that I really don’t have much time here to email, and I am going to be in the field on Tuesday I thought I might have to just write one letter, and just have you forward it to everyone, I’ll be able to write others when I have the time, but wow how I really don’t have any time!!!!

So here’s what’s going on over here:

I leave on Tuesday to Bilbao, and get on with my mission!!! Monday is the 2 month mark since I’ve been in the MTC...doesn’t feel like it at all. As the saying goes "the days go by like weeks, and the weeks go by like days" I cannot express to you how true this statement truly is!! I mean we get up at 6:30 every morning, and start going, going, and going! And all I do is sit inside all day, and when it is time for me to go to bed I’m all tired, and fall right asleep at 10:30, I cant imagine when I actually get out there, and walk and walk...and walk some more. (Did I mention our mission has no cars, bikes, and apart from the city mission, no trains or other public transportation. the average weight gain on our mission is minus 30lbs. Well some Elder told me that, I believe it too, because the first 10 pounds will just be coming off what I put on here in the MTC. (Actually I think I’ve gained 12 lbs...But who’s counting right?) Brett could use a few extra pounds! :)

I just have to mention Elder Rob Swenson. I love this Elder, I think you’ve mentioned him to me, but he is one of my favorite people here. He is in my district, and we just talk a lot. For sure after the mission we will be friends, but I could honestly see us rooming together. He didn’t go to BYU, but he’s gonna go to UVSC and we’ll just hang out. He and I talk about Cardin sometimes, he always mentions how much he loves the Cullimore family, and how cool Cardin is too.

Well today was the last time I’ll go to the temple for 2 years (ok 22 months...but again who’s counting?) But I just loved being in there with everyone, especially my companion. Elder Moore, who has been with me all these 9 weeks, is the man. I am so blessed to have such a great first companion. I hope we can be later in the mission, and throughout our lives.

I got my hair cut again today. It’s the 3rd time since I’ve been in the MTC. It grows so dang fast. Well I guess I should mention my wonderful 89 euro razor I bought. Yes I did spend just short of my life savings on it, but it’s ok because every morning when I wake up I have something wonderful to look forward to. That’s what I spend my money on. That and McDonalds...5 euro for a Big Mac meal. (Don’t do the conversion it just hurts more and more every time)

Well I’m loving the food here, fish is getting better to choke down, and all sea food really tastes the same when you use half the bottle of Tabasco on it, so that’s my little trick I can pass on to you!!

I will have to stick up for Spain and say we get the best chocolate here, it’s straight out from Germany!! And it’s way cheap!!

Anyway I’m almost out of time; I’ll email you later if I get the chance!! Otherwise the next time will be in Bilbao!!!

-Elder Hanson

Email from Brett May 8th.

Spain Madrid Temple.

Brett Lives about 150 feet away from it, on the same property. 

What a beautiful view to wake up too.

Hello!

well first off we´ll cover the business...We are going to the stores today for p day so i´ll see if they have the paper or whatever...i heard the chinese stores have some cheap paper, mainly it is just strange here to buy things, and with the dollar exchange rate at 1.7 dollars to 1 euro things aren´t looking cheap. However i must say that the church gives us 30 euro a week while we are here in the MTC so that should help!! I´ll email you later on today to let you know how the trip to the store goes. 

Anyway glad to hear the trip to st george was fun!! I mean you did it all for me...essentially...i´ve made you do a bunch of junk since i left, sorry about that, but just know that i am exrteeeeeemly greatful for it, and with my praying at least 20 times a day (and no that is not an exageration) you all find your way in there somehow....

But the volley ball thing, I swear you are good! You´ll be fine don´t worry, just try and not get kicked out for yelling at the kids or the other coach or something!!! (Morgan's V- ball Coach had to work so he told me I was Coaching last Saturday YIKES! Luckily his wife Celeste showed up and we team coached.)

Also if you see Bryce´s mom tell her hi for me, me and Elder Sansing talk a lot, agian it is really nice to see anything that has some resemblence of home....

But things are pretty good here, the food though...maybe it´s just me but Provo had it way better than here. I mean i´m getting used to the whole sea food thing, but in provo  it was unlimited seconds and the lady´s wouldn´t get mad if you didn´t eat everything off your plate!

We had to do some visa stuff yesterday...we went into town in a car, that was so strange....i haven´t been in one of those for a while.

But the best thing here by far is the park. Every saturday we get to go to the park and preach the gospel for real! i was so scared, ¡¡¡¡¡i dont speak spanish!!! we are supposed to talk to everyone on the metro on the way there and all we see in this huge park once we get there!! We got new companions for the day (that had been in the ccm for a while and could speak half decent) and we went out. half the time as we would start to talk they would get into some random conversation and i wouldn´t know what they were saying. but after some hard times we got talking with an older man, just about the birds and the trees, and he was helping us with our spanish, and then we started to bring up the gospel. with him knowing that we were his friend first, and that we actually cared about him and what he thought, he was more readily able to accept what we wanted to teach him. We gave him a Book of Mormon, or Libro de Mormón, and then it was time to go. but i can tell you it is amazing to actually work and see what we will be doing for the next 2 years!!

i´m excited to get out there, but first i´ve gotta learn this language!

I´ll get back to you in a few hours...

Love Elder Hanson

Some day I'm hoping he'll send some pictures. I'm having withdrawals.  :)

First Email from Brett at the Madrid MTC!

Well hello!!
i am in a different country, and i don´t know what to even think! I dont know how to change the caps or anything, the keyboard is all crazy. anyway i hope you get this i´ll write to you more in a sec

(Dad makes a brief comment back)

yes!! Hello!! I am glad to see you are on! we get to write our families right now and tell you that we are ok. but i am more tired than i have ever been in my life right now, it is almost 5pm, and i havent slept really since i got out of my bed in provo. i did for a min. on the plane, but not enough to balance the fact that we got here at 9am spain time, but 1 am provo time, and have been going ever since!!!
I will have to say that this place is the most georgious place on the planet!! This mtc is the bomb!! We went for a walk, and saw all around the town, we get to go into town on our p days!!

Brett Called Home from Atlanta!! WOOHOO!

Well, he's really on his way to Spain today! He called his Dad this morning from SLC International and then he called me from Atlanta, Georgia. He says he's excited but a little scared and he's worried because he's boarding right now (6:00 pm) and in 6 hours he'll be in Spain and it will be Wednesday, 9:00 am! yikes! Are these 21 Missionaries going to get any sleep? Will tomorrow possibly be a free day for them to catch up? The mother in me says IT HAD BETTER BE! oops...sorry. The Lord knows best hehe ;)
Nate and Morgan got a chance to talk to Brett. The boys talked about guy stuff and Nate told Brett not to get killed by extremists! Hello?!?! don't say that in front of me!!!
And Morgan told Brett about going skating at Classic tonight and then asked him if he had a girlfriend yet...um...well...MAN! I'm a bad LDS parent...how does she not know that LDS missionaries don't go looking for girlfriends while they're out? how?

By the way, Brett says that McDonald's in Atlanta...possibly all of Georgia...possibly the entire south; I don't know,... has a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich that is Deep Fat FRIED! It's #5 on the menu in case you're interested. I can feel my stomach churning just thinking about it.

He's really going, he's heading to Spain. Leaving the continent, for 2 years.

Before I go, I'll tell you about the first Blessing I feel like I've received since Brett left. It's sweet for me, the kind of sweet that makes me tear up.

I've always loved Mikes boys like they were mine, but I've never felt comfortable telling them that I love them. I don't know why; everyone needs to hear it, but I just didn't want to embarrass them...or maybe I didn't want to be hurt by their possible reaction. But I love them. Always have.

But it's different now. They're getting older and they're leaving and I don't want them leaving not knowing how I feel about them. What if something happened to Brett while he was gone and I never told him I love him...I couldn't live with myself!

So that's the blessing...I love my step son and I can tell him so. AND he tells me he loves me too!!!! yeah me!

Watch out Nate...You're Next!

Our Final Goodbye's

Wednesday April 9th, 2008

As we walked to the front of the MTC, to take the pictures that every LDS family takes before their son or daughter embarks on the biggest adventure of their young life, I'm amazed at this picture before me...(below) of our two grown sons walking with their Mother Suzy. So big! SERIOUSLY...so much bigger then I thought they were. I see them every day in my home and I know they're bigger then me...their Step Mother, but to see them next to their Mother...

She looks like she's walking with two men.  

Amazing

Doesn't Brett look great in a suit?

This is Brett's friend Andy Hulka. Andy was going to BYU and thought he'd run from his classes on Campus to the MTC to see Brett off.  We were so happy to see the University approved 

MULLET gone from his head...till we saw the RAT TAIL he left in its place!  GOOD GRIEF MAN! But he's a great kid and we feel so luck to have had his family move into our neighborhood years ago, to become one of Brett and Nate's best friends. 

So we took Andy into the MTC as one of our Sons so he could get 30 more minutes with Brett.

That's our guy. I love him so much. I miss him like crazy, 

but I couldn't be more proud.