FROM PH: Radar Up

"Radar Up"
Sent Date: Monday, December 8, 2014
Author: President Hansen

Dear Sisters and Elders,
You are all so great. I love getting your letters and seeing your amazing growth and success week to week.

I was talking to a Stake President this week. He told me that he was with a new convert who was talking about her children and grandchildren. He asked her if any of them knew anything about the church, to which she replied that they didn't. They lived near the convert but hadn't been invited to the lessons or the baptism. President Stock said that he felt like sometimes we were missing the easy opportunities to find and teach people that are right in our path. I love the thought of what happens if we just become more aware of asking members, investigators and less actives all the time if they know of someone who would benefit from our message. Sometimes a specific question like, "do you have any family members who we could talk to about the church," is a better way to ask the question.

Yesterday in church, I talked to some long term investigators who had invited the missionaries to meet their parents at Thanksgiving. The investigator's father loved one of the missionaries from the first minutes and the connection that was made eased the fears of the investigator about their parents reaction to their joining the Mormon Church. They were talking about their baptism with more confidence because they had included their parents in the circle.

Let's ask more questions about family. Let's invite people to share the gospel with their friends and family. When some one comes into a room or crosses our path Let's talk to them about the message we have. Bold missionaries are successful. Let's all be more bold. It has been gratifying to see the numbers of investigator lessons being taught go way up these last few weeks. I was pleased to see that even with the holiday, the missionaries were successfully teaching and finding. I am so proud of the missionaries in this mission. Thank you for your dedication.

Here are some of your thoughts and experiences this week:
-----He (district Leader) told me some tips about tracting and he said to always have good thoughts and think positively while you're tracting! So I decided to just have a good attitude and if people were going to reject us and be mean, I was just going to let it roll off my back. Well it was amazing! We had such good conversations with people, received phone numbers, and we are going to follow up soon. A few people rejected us but I noticed when we are happy, and people see that, we have the Spirit with us more!

-----President I hope missionaries in our mission understand that there are so many people who are prepared to hear our message God has prepared them and as we exercise our faith in him and his work we will be put in the paths of those people and find them, teach them and Baptize them, THIS IS A BAPTIZING MISSION!!!! As missionaries we need to plead with our Heavenly father in prayer and ask him to help us find those people who are ready to hear the message of the Restoration they are everywhere! Everyone needs the message we have to offer.

-----Another thing I have felt I need to do better is to be BOLD with our investigators. I think that is why most of them have stopped progressing. I love the talk "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" and it really rings a bell when it says that we as missionaries are so afraid of offending people, we forget to SAVE people in the process. That is so me! So I am going to try to pray for help and change my ways this week.

-----I don't know if you remember, but when I left on my mission I was the only active member in my family. In my family there is me, my mom and dad, one older sister, two younger sisters, and a little brother. My younger siblings are 7, 9, and 11. My dad was baptized at 8 and then became inactive. My mom has become inactive since she married my dad in 2009. Well my mom is now going to church with my younger siblings, and my younger siblings are taking the missionary lessons and they are all three going to be baptized when my little sister turns 8 on December 6th!!! I am so excited!!