Eric Hanson: Transfers!

More pictures from Diego's baptism last week: Eric, Diego, Elder Herold

Diego with his family

Hey family,

What's up! I'm doing great here, this keyboard is messed up and has lots of weird symbols and keeps typing the wrong things, but I'll try and make do. (Mom's note: I am correcting all the crazy typos and symbols so you can read his message.) Anyway, today is the day before transfers and we still don't know what the transfers are!!! Hopefully I'll find out while I'm writing this email, but as of right now, I have no idea. I like this area and would like to stay, but since there's always a lot of moving around in this mission, I could very well be moving again. This is a good area and the members are great. We are working with some great investigators here who are progressing.The members all love us, we have meals every day, and they always tell us to call if we don't have any meals scheduled and they said they'll give us more!

I'll try uploading some pictures while I am waiting for the transfer email to arrive. Once it arrives, I'll know what's happening with everyone. If I am getting transferred, I'll pack up today, and tomorrow I'll go to the bus terminal where I'll probably see many more missionaries, and then I'll take a bus to my new area, where my new comp will be waiting in the terminal of that specific city. If I don't get transferred and I stay, then I just stay and don't have to do any packing up or anything.

Ha ha, right as I was reading your email about how you talked with my comp's mom, he was reading his email from his mom, and was quite shocked when his mom told him she talked to you. It's never happened to him before, where mom's are in touch, and he thought it was quite funny. He's happy about it though and is still laughing over it.

Diego is doing awesome!! I think he's come by the church almost every day this week, just because he likes to pass by and come to every little activity we have or just to see what's going on. He's a taxi driver so he's always out driving, and whenever he sees us walking, he swerves wildly out of traffic and comes over and stops and talks to us for a little bit. It's cool cause he just stops to talk to us and hang out for a bit. Yesterday we watched the Joseph Smith movie, the short one, with him, and he loved it and afterward he wanted to watch the Testaments with us!! We didn't have time, so we just watched the last 15 minutes and then he asked us to give his whole family a blessing of comfort. We all got pretty emotional at the end of the Testaments when Christ comes and heals the main guy, and then we got ready and gave blessings to the whole family. It was an awesome experience and Diego was super happy.

Here is a perfect example of how the gospel brings happiness to people and their families. Before, Diego was a good guy, but he was the typical Argentine husband/dad, who is very dominant and the wife has little say, and the dads usually hit their kids if they are acting up. But now he is so much more patient and loving with his whole family, and he hasn't even yelled at his kids once while we are there, he is just so much better now with his whole family. He's awesome to his wife, and they are going to be married soon. So yes, he's a way cool guy, and he's going to receive the priesthood this Sunday and be made a priest!

You asked about my eyes and my contacts, and they are doing good. I am actually on Day 10 of not taking them out, because I've been out of solution, but today I'm going to get some. I'll be honest, though, my only concern is my ears, which are still clogged and ring all day, some days worse and some days better. The sudafed and other things only helped a little while I was taking it. Don't worry, I'll be fine, I just wonder if there is anything that I can do. (Mom's note: I called a doctor in Utah who thinks it sounds like allergies since Eric has had this problem since arriving in Argentina in January, so I will be sending Eric some allergy pills to try. We had thought his ears were fine since he hasn't mentioned it in a long time.)

I am going to start writing my mission president right now, (we do it every week) and hopefully by then we will get the transfer list so I know what I am doing. Also, I wanted to say that I hope Nana had a very happy birthday!

Hey, it arrived, I just found out I'm leaving and going to the zone Santa Fe in the area Rincon. I'm going to have a new comp named Elder Boudreau. Anyway, I will go now because it will be a busy day, I love you and will tell you all about my new area next week.

Love you,
Ciao (they say that all the time here)
Eric