Week 5 - Travel Plans!

[Another Ed. note: Some context to the story Maren refers to below. I was in Provo last week to give a guest lecture in a marketing class at BYU, and afterward a student came up and introduced herself as Sister Coleman, Maren's MTC teacher. Very fun moment for this missionary dad.]

Hey hey hey Family-

WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS I'M GOING TO PARIS ON MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

It literally felt like Christmas. We all went with Elder Lucas to get the mail that day. It was probably one of the top 5 moments of my life. We're going direct from SLC to Charles de Gaulle, we're so lucky. The missionaries going to Lyon have two stops. Our flight takes off at 5:10 on Monday evening, and we have to be at the travel office at 11:30 on Monday. We have the BEST plans, everyone else has to get up at like 2 or 3 or 4 am to catch their flights. I found out we don't go to San Fran to pick up our visas anymore, in case you were wondering about that. We were so distracted all the rest of the day though. Sr. Coleman let us sing "Oh Come all ye Faithful" because we wanted to sing a Christmas song to go along with the mood.

I can't believe we've finally made it. Six more days.

Speaking of Sr. Coleman! I am so happy you got to see her dad!! That's too cool!! She walked in the classroom that day and was like "Can I give you a hug?", except it was in French so I just picked up on her body language. It was sort of weird, but later during a break when we were all out in the hallway she pulled me aside and said "so there was this guest speaker today in my marketing class..." and told me the whole story! She said you didn't want to be a distraction but she wanted me to know that the hug came from you. So so fun. AHH I was so happy. The next day it came up again and everybody wanted to hear the story so Sr. Coleman had me tell it in French so that we could count it as being productive, and I think the Elders pretty much stopped listening after I mentioned you worked at Nike. Haha they were like "can he hook me up?!?". Haha I love my district so much. I'm going to miss seeing them everyday.

We went to the temple this morning and ate breakfast at the temple cafeteria! Manna from the heavens. It was so good. Or at least it seemed soo good after a month of MTC food. Speaking of- I've been on my mission for a MONTH -- crazy!

The MTC laundry room on P-Day

Last Tuesday we had our devotional from Richard G. Scott! He talked about prayer. It was really cool! And tonight they're doing the same thing (broadcasting it to all the MTCs) so we think its going to be another good one. I mean they're all good, but the Tuesday ones are always AMAZING.

Sunday was a rough day for me for some reason. I mean the morning went okay, and I had a good interview with President Merrill (our branch president) and he basically told me that I was going to be speaking in sacrament meeting (because everybody is supposed to prepare a talk and then they announce who it is after the sacrament) so it was nice to have the heads up. I think it went pretty well, it was about repentance and I was able to speak without just reading my talk, which some people do.

I got the package you sent on Saturday! Sr. Walton and I have deep chats every night with petite ecoliers and we'd run out the night before so that was PERFECT. Speaking of Sr. Walton, last night my companion and I went with Sr Walton and Sr Blackhurst into another building to do language study so she could play the piano, and I wanted to hear her. She is so good. She did these awesome arrangements of different hymns mixed together and ahhhh -- spiritual feast.

This last week has been interesting, lots of good stuff, lots of not super fun stuff, but good overall. I don't know, its pretty much just TRAVEL PLANS.

I love you family!! you're the best. the church is true! God is our loving Heavenly Father!

LOVE LOVE LOVE you

soeur hansen

Week 4 - Marjorie Pay was one smart lady

Ed. note: Maren's email is below, but I thought I would add a preface to add some context to a couple of the things she refers to. 

"Comment dit-on..." means "how do you say...". 

"Souviens-toi" is a wonderful French hymn which I wish existed in the English hymnbook. It means "Remember" and it is set to music from the New World Symphony by Antonín Dvoràk. It has the feel of a tender lullaby being sung by a parent to a newborn child. I love the doctrinal aspects of the hymn, as well, particularly the reference to Heavenly Parents. Here are the French lyrics, followed by my feeble effort to translate them:

Souviens-toi, mon enfant: Tes parents divins
Te serraient dans leurs bras, ce temps n'est pas loin.
Aujourd’hui, tu es là, présent merveilleux,
Ton regard brille encore du reflet des cieux.
Parle-moi, mon enfant, de ces lieux bénis
Car pour toi est léger le voile d’oubli.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant des bois, des cités.
Pouvons-nous ici-bas les imaginer?
Et le ciel jusqu’au soir, est-il rose ou gris?
Le soleil attend-il la neige ou la pluie?
Conte-moi, mon enfant, la couleur des prés
Et le chant des oiseaux d’un monde oublié.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant : A l’aube des temps,
Nous étions des amis jouant dans le vent.
Puis un jour, dans la joie nous avons choisi
D’accepter du Seigneur le grand plan de vie.
Ce soir-là, mon enfant, nous avons promis
Par l’amour, par la foi, d’être réunis.

Remember, my child: your heavenly parents

Held you in their arms, not long ago.

Today, you are here, a marvelous present,

Your gaze still shines, with the reflection of heaven.

Speak to me, my child, of that blessed place

For the veil of forgetfulness is thin for you.

Remember, my child, the forests, the cities.

Can we imagine them here below?

And the evening sky, is it pink or gray?

Does the sun wait for snow or rain?

Tell me, my child, the color of the meadows

And the song of the birds of a forgotten world.

Remember, my child - at the dawn of time

We were friends playing in the wind.

Then one day, in joy we chose

To accept the great plan of life from the Lord.

That evening, my child, we promised,

Through love, through faith, to be reunited.

Fam:

Its PDAY!! I love me some p day.

Honestly don't know how to even tell you everything that happened this week because I feel like its the same stuff that happens every week. We eat, go to class, eat, go to class, eat, study. Its super exciting.

We didn't have an apostle last week, but they're broadcasting this devotional to all the MTCs so we think it's this week... we'll see. I think they just enjoy faking us out.

My district continues to be the BEST. I love my elders so much. We set a bunch of goals last night and I'm just so impressed with them. They want to be so righteous. Sometimes we forget and get distracted but overall I lucked out to the extreme. Yesterday we sang "Souviens-Toi" three times. Its a hymn thats only in the French hymnbook and we love it. The elders always sing it to incoming elders at the top of their lungs and its been stuck in my head all day.  Love souviens-toi.

We've been trying to speak French for chunks of each day. We're not very good but we try. 

I just love my district -- I treat them like little brothers. When we tease each other during French speaking time or any other times pretty much instead of just saying what ever it is we say "comment dit on ..." and then whatever comeback we want to use. It sounds lame trying to write it out but its so funny to us. Or another favorite is "Allez-vous shut up" because allez-vous is like "will you", its our commitment phrase for investigators. Haha I love them so much. Don't worry mom I don't say shut up. I just laugh at the elders who do. 

We moved from building 8M to 10M yesterday and we've all been complaining about it because its Ben E. Rich and his picture is terrifying. He looks like a zombie. It's so scary. Now instead of having the rolling chairs with desks we can fold down we have GIANT stationary desks that take up the entire classroom. There are 10 of us. To get in my desk I have to either climb over Sr. Walker or move the entire desk forward and slide in around it. I'll send pictures. Its ridiculous and my worst nightmare.  We call it spirit prison.

I love my teachers so much. Sr Coleman and Frere Pistorius. They're hilarious. Or at least we think they're hilarious because we're a little starved for entertainment around here. 

Except for the films they show on Sunday nights. Please for your own sakes go watch "Legacy", its about the early saints and its really sad because it shows a lot of the trials and persecution. But it is also hilarious. and terribly made. and hilarious.

French is coming okay, we've learned 4 tenses and we have 2 more to learn. Usually during language study I read the Book of Mormon in French and then conjugate verbs on the chalk board. I love writing on the chalkboard. 

Tying back to my subject line, on my journal there's a quote from Marjorie Pay Hinckley that goes something like, everything you are now learning is preparing you for something else. I'm trying so hard to learn the lessons the Lord is trying to teach me.

I love you guys so much thanks for all the letters and all the love.

You're the best.

soeur hansen

Week 3 - P-DAAAYY (in the voice of the Geico camel)

Fam!! 

I love getting to write you guys its the best! I honestly don't know where I'd be without all of you and I'm so grateful that I have such an amazing family who is so supportive and writes me letters and sends me stuff and basically makes all the elders in my district jealous. 

But seriously thanks for all the packages and all the love. I got the granola bars and the ipod this week, its been great! I checked out the music on there last night (which was way weird by the way, holding an ipod, foreign technology) and it looks so great. So thanks for that Fam. One night I got 9 dear elders so when I walked in the classroom my district was cheering "MVP, MVP" haha I love them. A couple ended up being duplicates but I still felt way cool. 

Explanation of the subject- basically after dinner on Monday (or all of Monday) I walk around saying - guess what tomorrow is and then everyone in earshot goes P-DAAAYY

Mom- we're actually not going to San Fran to get visas, we don't have to do that anymore so I won't need a calling card for that but I might need one for when we actually go to France. I'm not actually sure. So excited for Micah and Emily, they are pretty much the coolest people I know. And congrats to Trenton!

Dad- Thanks for the quotes, the Neal A. Maxwell one was pretty soul piercing for me this week. [Note: Here's the quote: "If we are serious about our discipleship, Jesus will eventually request each of us to do those very things which are most difficult for us to do."]

E- thanks for the quotes of a completely different kind. Glad to hear your classes and work are so entertaining haha.

R- sent you a letter this week! hope you get it soon!! The elders from my district and some of the sisters from my zone gave you some shoutouts.

I didn't get to see Hannah before she left- we should have seen her on Sunday at the fireside but we ended up being in the overflow room:( but I saw her on campus on Thursday or Friday I can't remember. Crazy that that's the last time for 17 months. 

I love my zone and my district so much. Beaucoup de love for them. We are super close, especially our district and the sisters in the district next to us (they share the residence with Sr. Walker and me), and then random other elders. They are all so nice and eager to help each other and it's the best. I think that it's my favorite thing about the MTC, how awesome the people around me are. 

French is going okay, its hard to maintain perspective sometimes because it feels like we've been here FOR EVER when it's really only been a couple weeks. Sr. Walker and I bought flashcards this week that have a ring on them so we can attach it to the MTC cards we wear everywhere (that we use to get in the buildings and for meals and stuff). It's way dorky but we're studying!

We said goodbye to Elder Lund and Easton this Sunday, they were our first ZLs and it was way sadder than I thought it would be to see them go:( I'm going to miss them like crazy. 

I'm still running every night! Sr. Blackhurst, Hogan and I always go, and Sr. Walton, Losse and Walker don't always want to so we do exchanges and make trios. It works pretty well. We run, stretch, run, stretch and then Sr B and H do sit ups and push ups and ab work while I stretch more and do like 8 crunches on a good day. But we eat salads for at least one meal mom! I had cantalope a lot the first while but then I got a really bad one and I've been afraid to try it again. Other than that there's not a lot of healthy options. 

On Sunday they made a point of reminding us how to act when a general authority comes so we all think that somebody big is coming tonight. Although apostle or not, I'm ALWAYS uplifted by the firesides and devotionals. 

I bore my testimony in French on Sunday! My district leader, Elder Omohundro, challenged us all to do that, and then he was the first one up. 

Things are good here though, we laugh everyday, we have good lessons and bad lessons but we haven't died yet and that honestly gets me through so many hard things. I survived yesterday, I can survive today. Haha a little bleak but keeps me keepin' on. I am actually really happy here, funny things happen all the time and we have jokes on jokes on jokes. Like the other night an elder accidentally punched me in the face putting his coat on and it was hilarious. It didn't hurt at all, honestly it was just randomly super funny. I don't feel like I have the time or writing talent to adequately tell you about the jokes that we tell or the things that make me laugh. And they're probably not actually funny to anyone but us. But just know that life is good as a missionary.

I love all of you, and miss you everyday. Thanks for all the letters and packages and love.

LOVE 

Soeur Hansen

Week 2 - Better and Worse

Family!

I love you guys so much and its killing me to only send stuff once a week! I think of things everyday I want to tell you and now that P-day is here I can't remember half of it!

This week was better and worse. We started teaching our teachers and when we started planning one of our lessons I just got super overwhelmed and discouraged. But later in the day I had a good talk with our teacher Sr. Coleman, who told me she had a prompting to come back to the MTC after her shift was over. She gave me some things to do, and gave me some encouragement. Mostly, I just felt better knowing that my Heavenly Father was watching over me, and gave her the prompting. 

I got sick this week along with 75% of my district. Our teacher yesterday said he felt like he was torturing us because we were all so lethargic, but we were just soo out of it. I'm feeling a little better but still sneezing and having to blow my nose every 5 minutes. It's great.

My district is seriously the best. Two of our elders are the new zone leaders, so obviously we're the most righteous district. haha jokes. But they're the absolute best Elders. Our classroom is in the middle of the hall so it tends to be where everyone congregates at night when we're all French Fried and ready to go to gym. I love it. 

Last night I was helping Elder Ho with some English and I realized how crazy our language is. I am so grateful that I don't have to learn it as a second language. Oh my gosh. He is so perceptive and so kind. We had a lesson that I was feeling not great about and he was so sweet with trying to cheer me up. Such a good person. 

This week was struggle week for everybody, but there was a ton of growth too. I can't believe we've only been here for two weeks. It feels like so much longer. Which is probably why we all get frustrated so much that we can't speak French fluently yet. 

Soeur Walton and Blackhurst are the absolute best, I love them. They've gotten us all in the habit of saying "beaucoup" in place of "a lot" or "very" so we'll say I'm beaucoup de tired or I've got beaucoup de candy or the day we were all crying there were beaucoup de tears. Haha it would probably make a Francophone cry but to us it's hilarious. 

I got the package you sent, the ritz bitz were much appreciated since we didn't get breakfast this morning before the temple. Thats also where the "beaucoup de candy" came from, I have so much so I just carry it around in my purse and hand it out to the Elders in my district. I'm basically Mary Poppins in case you're wondering. 

This whole MTC thing is starting to feel so much more comfortable, not that I'm happy all the time and never stress out but I'm not totally shell-shocked. And I know that probably means I'm in for a rude awakening and I'm going to get knocked down a peg or two but oh well. One of the things Sr. Coleman told me to do was to pray and ask to be made into the missionary I want to be, because it's what Heavenly Father wants me to be too. I hadn't been doing that and know I don't know why not, but even in the last couple days I've just felt so much of an impact from doing that. 

Mom, you're not going to believe this but I've been running during gym. I know. Crazy. Stop the presses, hold the phone. Maren has been running. I'm terrible and I can only do a little bit but in the big gym we can be apart from our companions so I go run while Sr. Walker plays foursquare or volleyball or something. I get to be in my own little world and it's the best.

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!! 

Soeur Hansen

Cedar Mill Stake missionaries - Maren with Hannah Murphy and Gavin Smith
(Thanks Heather Murphy for the photos!)