My Experiences as an English Teacher and Missionary in Mongolia Ulaanbaatar (Jan 2016 – Jul 2017)

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Sister Jennifer Hansen
Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission
(Sorry I'm home now)

Monday, May 29, 2017

Living God's culture

Good morning America! This week Sister Guild and I got to take our transferly road trip to Baganuur, and it was so beautiful! We had a really nice time. Although while we were there, we encountered some problems with priesthood authority that was going on, and we about had to break up a baptism... but thank goodness for phones and an inspired mission president, we got everything figured out okay, and there was still a baptism for Baganuur.


We also welcomed our new mission doctor couple, the Andersons, from Long Beach California area.
We also had the privilege of getting a visit and hearing from Bishop Waddell, from the Presiding bishopric, his wife, and another member of the Asia area. Bishop Waddell gave a wonderful talk on living God's culture. He spoke a lot about following the spirit. It was wonderful. Sister Guild and I also had a really good discussion about how the Holy Ghost will help us follow exactly the truth, and discern the discrepancies in the world's teachings.


I finished the Book of Mormon for the third time on my mission. Every time is a new experience. This time as I was finishing up the Book of Moroni, and feeling kind of overwhelmed with all of the things I need to change and improve on, and thinking about how to keep progressing and being better and more charitable and imerhuu zuils, I read Moroni 9:25, and he pretty much told me "Don't let all this stuff stress you out- just remember all the hope that the gospel brings, and keep trying to be good, ok? Ok." and I was like, "Okay, thanks Mormon", then I felt better.



I love the Book of Mormon, and I love the gift of the Holy Ghost. These are our most precious gifts and tools throughout our life.

Have a great week!
Sister Hansen

This is our: mission headquarters, stake center, mission president residence, & distribution center.
Basically, Mongolian Mormon central

Only 2 more months to email me at: jennifer.hansen@myldsmail.net

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

This is a short one

I'm pretty tired and I'm talking to my sister so this'll probably be pretty short.


We went on a really fun hike for pday with  Sisters Olsen, Shreeve, Bottorff, Tilleman-Dick, and our friend Urinbileg. It was super hot, but really fun. Sister Olsen about got eaten by a dog. We're doing the same hike again this Saturday for a ward relief society activity.


My new member, Myagmar hit her 1 year mark this week too! I didn't have the opportunity to talk to her or anything, but she is still going strong and so excited and preparing to go to the temple.
Also ENGLISH IS OVER! Sister Olsen I are now free from the little yellow prison FOREVER!!! That is one thing I will not miss.



We should be welcoming our new doctor couple tomorrow, saying goodbye to the Maynes on Friday, and a replacement senior couple should be here next week as well.
Sister Guild and I will be going to do and exchange is Baganuur again this week, and I'm so excited to see it turning green and beautiful!


I am so excited for Allison to go to the temple this week. I so wish that I could be there, but it will be amazing! I love the temple- it is a complete separation from all the worries and stress of the world, and it is the only place that I feel completely and totally at peace. I can hardly wait until I get to go inside again :)

Have a wonderful week!
Sister Hansen

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful, lovely mother! It was awesome as always to skype with you on Monday, and can hardly believe that was the last one. Next time I see you I will be getting off a plane! 



This week has been pretty spiritually exhausting, with MLC and zone conference and all the other "normal" missionary things. This month as a mission we are studying chapter 5 from PMG on the Book of Mormon, and all of our meetings and conferences have been hard focused on the power of the Book of Mormon. We've studied President Monson's most recent address urging each of us to read the Book of Mormon every day, as well as Elder LeGrand Curtis Jr. on the critical need of a testimony of the Book of Mormon in our conversion. It has been awesome. My knowledge and love of the Book of Mormon has grown exponentially since being a missionary. 

This was my FINAL conference as a missionary.



Last week, we also had some volunteers from DIC in America bring a delivery of 600 wheelchairs for Mongolia. They came and did a training to doctors of how to care for and maintain the wheelchairs, then they proceeded to distribute them to patients. A woman from my ward who has 2 bum legs and for her whole life has struggled around with only one crutch, was given a wheelchair, and Sister Guild and I were able to go push her to church Sunday morning. I love DIC. They have done incredibly enormous amount of good and service not only in Mongolia, but around the world. If you ever feel like your life is lacking something, that would be a good place to start. Get involved with a charity project, and go change someone's life. 

Singing "Beautiful Savior" with Sister Tillerman-Dick (L) and Sister Bottorff (R)

We were also lucky enough to take the 3 DIC volunteers to an amazing performance. We originally thought that it was a celebration of Mongolia's victory day from Russia, but turns out it was actually Russia's independence day from Germany, all put on by Mongolian military performers, and IT BLEW OUR SOCKS OFF. It was so dang good. Talk about cultural overload, it was amazing. 
We're going on a hike today, and I'm really excited. 







I hope you all have a great week. Read the Book of Mormon every day. You'll have more power over Satan, and we all need a little more of that. 
Sister Hansen

Email me at jennifer.hansen@myldsmail.net

Monday, May 8, 2017

So excited to be missionaries at the same time as Allison!

First of all, I just got to watch the video of my sister opening her mission call to the California, Modesto mission, leaving July 12th!!!! I am so excited for us both to be missionaries at the same time for 2 weeks :)


In regards to this week, we got down to work building up our relationships with the members, and it was so awesome. We did an FHE with the Bishop's family, and taught them how to play "Don't Eat Pete!" and Spoons, and it was so fun!! Their kids are adorable. We also just got a new ward mission leader, named Pujee, who served his mission  in Mongolia 4 years ago with my MTC teacher, Brother Boyd! He's super awesome, super pumped about missionary work, and we're really excited to start working with him.



We also have been meeting with a less-active names Urinbileg (mom, this is the one you've been chatting with on FB- she sent a picture of us together). She has been a member for a long time, but also inactive for a long time. But we started befriending her, and she is coming back very quickly. We had a wonderful lesson on testimonies- what your testimony is based on, how to grow and strengthen your testimony, and how your testimony can be your most valuable defense through life. She was so appreciative and said that it was just what she needed. She told us later that since meeting us, she starting thinking about going on a mission, and she wants to start preparing to serve a mission by the end of the summer!! Holy cow!! Missions are the best.

It's starting to get so warm and beautiful again. It feels so good to go without tights for the first time since September!!

Playing shagai with the Baganuur sisters



I'm so looking forward to Skyping with my family next week! Can't wait to talk to Allison about her mission, and see everyone's faces- last one of my mission. It's all going way too fast now.

Have a wonderful week, my people.
Sister Hansen




Wednesday, May 3, 2017

I love this work. I love this gospel!

Transfers!!! I am so glad to announce that Sister Guild and I will be remaining companions in Sansar this transfer!! Wooo!! And President reinstated the STL's in the Baruun stake, so we will actually have time to be companions and work together in our area! We are so excited.

Sister Guild, Orhon, Sister Hansen
This has been a wonderful, spiritually uplifting week. We went on an official STL exchange with the Sukhbaatar sisters (Olsen and Shreeve) even though we go on English splits with them twice a week. It was so fun to spent the day with Sister Shreeve, just like last transfer! She is doing so awesome and her Mongolian is starting to take off.

Sister Shreeve, Sister Hansen, Sister Guild
We taught a really beautiful lesson to a less-active on the Plan of Salvation, and I don't know if it was because of Grandpa Hansen recently passing away, or this just came at the right timing for Delgermaa, but this sweet knowledge of a perfect plan was so needed for all of us at that moment, but especially for Delgermaa who had forgotten where she was going. We strengthened each other and loved each other and it was a really touching meeting.



Sister Guild and I were also able to meet with our relief society president this week, who we both served with as missionaries. Handsuren has been off her mission for less than a year, and is now the relief society president of a large, functional family ward. We were discussing with her a lot of recent-converts gone less-active that we are trying to find and help. As Handsuren was offering our closing prayer, I could not get the quote out of my head from one of our Relief Society general presidency sisters who said "we need women with a bedrock understanding of the gospel". The spirit whispered to me, WE are those women! WE are the ones with the knowledge and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and WE are needed to lead, uplift, love, and inspire the wayward sisters and members of this church to bring them back into these loving folds.

Jen, Sister Guild, Handsuren (Relief Society Pres.)
In the hymn "Called to Serve" about missionary work, it doesn't say "and we'll baptize thousands!". It is all about service. Allison, and other's, remember that as you shortly depart on your full-time mission.



I love this work. I love this gospel! and just in case you've never heard me say it before, I love Mongolia. Have a great week!
Sister Hansen

This is for you Grandma Hansen

I love Mongolia!