The assistants wanted help with a lady who was trying to decide if she should be baptized. Her 19 year old son was ready and so was her 14 year old daughter. The lady, Maria del Carmen, is in the process of a divorce. She wondered about her worthiness. So, I interviewed her. The assitants told her that a "specialist" would come to determine if she was ready.

After Hna. Maria offered a prayer, I began the interview. There was no question about her personal worthiness and repentant attitude. I went through the written questions which examine her testimony of the Godhead, the Restoration, and modern-day prophets. Then comes the one about having committed serious sins, some of which are also crimes. That is where she paused. She is getting a divorce. That is a sin in her native religion, Catholicism. She thought she could not possibly be worthy to be baptized. It toook a long time to work through that. She is quiet, shy, and very intelligent. She never smiled. She would not commit to baptism.

I returned to the basics. We talked about the First Vision. I repeated that story and told her that it is the most important scriptural account in my life. That is the basis of my own testimony. Then, I asked her if she believed that story. She assured me that she did. I said, "You have told me several times that you believe that the Church is true. Will you, then, follow the example of the Savior and be baptized by immersion into His church? Will you do that tomorrow evening with your family?"

Hna. Maria sat for a long time. Then she said, "I feel hot, very hot." I asked her what she meant by that. She said, "My face. My body. All inside of me. Why do I feel so hot?" (It was actually a very cool and breezy evening.) I said, "Let's look at a scripture which will answer your question." We opened to D&C 9:8 and she read it aloud. Then, she looked up at me, eyes very clear, still questioning--not doubting, but seeming to want more. So, we opened to 3 Nephi 11:35.

The scripture--you may want to study it--says that the Lord bears witness of the Father, and whoso believes in the Son believes also in the Father. Furthermore, the Father bears testimony of the Son to him who believes. Finally, the Father will visit the believer with fire and by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I told her that is what happened to Joseph Smith. He believed in the Father and in the Son because he had been taught by his mother. He believed her. Therefore, that which is decribed in v.35 is exactly what happened in the Sacred Grove. The Father literally testified to Joseph of his Son. Clearly the Holy Ghost was part of that. In a different sense, the Father was testifying of the Son to Hna. Maria at that moment by the power of the Holy Ghost. She felt the fire. She understood. She smiled gently.

I asked her if she would be baptized the next day with her family. She sat and smiled. She never said, "Yes." After a few minutes I offered my right hand and asked, "¿Hecho?", which means "done" or "it's a deal." She shook my hand and said, "Hecho."

We went into the kitchen. There, we repeated the experience, including the scriptures, to the elders and her daughter and also to Maria's sister who the elders and Mom had been teaching. At the appropriate moment, I asked Maria to tell what happened and what she had felt which she did as she smiled. It was quite an experience.

While we were in the interview, the elders were inviting her sister to be baptized. We do that in the first lesson. Baptism should not be a secret or a surprise we spring on an investigator after a couple of weeks of discussions. Get the cards on the table. That raises the level of teaching which invites the Spirit. The sister was a little slow to accept a baptismal date. Mom shared her testimony. The assistants later told me that Mom's testimony turned the tide. She accepted her baptismal date.

Maria and her daughter were baptized on Saturday the 30th. The son, who was out of town, gets baptized on the 6th. The sister has a date for the 13th. Her 7 year old daughter, who is the strongest of all, will have to wait a year. She gave the closing prayer. Perfect.

Hna. Maria is the redhead in the middle and her daughter is on her right. The 7-year old stands in front. The missionaries are Elders Collins and Ricks.

Missionaries who are obedient and working hard receive blessings. Such was the case recently with Elders Watts and Yebra. They were hurrying to an appointment one afternoon. A man called out to them and waved them over. They noted that he was smoking a cigarette, but proceeded to "contact" him. He puffed to them that he was already a member. But, he wanted them to take his son home because he was late for something or another, thanked them, and hurried off, leaving ten year old Ernesto with the missionaries. A bit bewildered, they half-ran with Ernesto to his home. As they approached, his mom called out, "Oh! You found the missionaries! Please come in." Then she explained that she and the boy's dad are separated. That is why he didn't bring Ernesto home. But, she said that she was very glad to see the missionaries. She is reactivating and she wanted Ernesto to be baptized, if they could help with that. That thought they might.

We were able to meet Ernesto last Sunday and give him and the elders a ride to stake conference. The reactivating mom didn't have a dress and didn't want to be active that day. Mom had M&M's though, and that made Ernesto very happy during what seemed to me to be a very long conference (12 speakers!).


This is Ernesto and his missionaries a couple of weeks later. The mom came to the baptism but she turned out to be his grandmother. Her son, ¿or might it be another be another grandson?, is serving a mission in Mexico City. We asked her which one. We wanted to send the baptismal photo to him. She thought he was in either the north or south mission, or maybe the west mission. When I mentioned the east mission she said she was not sure but it might be. These are the challenges.

On the way out of town we detoured into Cosalapa Caracól to visit our friends, the Bravo Family. They are always so warm and welcoming. They get to church when they can, but usually only a couple of them a couple of times a month. They live 6 kilometers away and the bus costs more than they can possibly afford. Transportation from members is not possible either. Almost no one has an automobile. Esmeralda, in the red, is the most active. She studies her seminary manual every morning. It is not possible for her to go into town every day for seminary. She plans to graduate from seminary. School isn't happening because they can't afford the uniforms and tuition.

We asked them to pose for a training presentation and they did so. Their house was absolutely spotless including the toilet. They didn't really know we were coming. Note behind them their pared, wall, which tracks their goal-setting and investigators six weeks into the future. Part of the floor was tiled. The rest was shiny cement. On the floor is one of the two fans we provide them. The walls are cement. This is all their furniture except for the two beds. We hear of missionaries who have cupboards, stoves, and even leather couches in one or two cases. Not so where we are. They have a one-burner hot plate and a small fridge. No microwaves. No carpet. No air condtioning. But, there is a loud rooster next door. Every mission has its perks.


But the fridge needed a little work . . .

The following is a series of photos giving you a glimpse of missionary life in the Veracruz Mission. What you will see is fairly typical of other missions in Mexico, as well, especially those areas which are out of the cities and well into the sticks. This is Temazcal, a Mazeteco word which translates baño de vapores or steam bath. Mazeteco is a dialect which about 50% of the pueblo speaks. The missionaries teach in Spanish but like to play around with a few Mazeteco words. The town is well-named as it describes the climate.


Elder Valle from Nampa, Idaho and his companion Elder Rosales are two fine missionaries. They are about an hour bus ride from any other missionary. Only the most trustworthy missionaries can serve in remote areas. Here they stand in front of the front door of the property where they live.


This is the OSHA non-approved pathway alongside the landlord's house.


Most people cook with wood. Electricity is too expensive. They also use LP Gas, but wood is free. This area is the landlord's.

Thursday, February 4th at 9:30 a.m., I sent a detailed email to my 15 presidents of stakes and the district notifying them of the mission creation. At 10:00 a.m., we gathered the entire mission to the stake center next to the Veracruz Temple. We told them ahead of time, two days before, that it was a multi-zone conference, but did not tell them it would involve the entire mission. Because it was such short notice, the zone leaders were sure that Pres. Monson was coming, or Elder Holland, or some other "big name" such as Donny Osmond. (One of them, Elder Judd from Mesa, actually said that--I am almost sure that he was joking.) The assistants did nothing to deny nor verify. What the heck. Let the rumors run wild. One of the zone leaders called and reminded me that we are "buds" and asked me who was coming for real. I said, "Sis. Hansen and I." He responded, "Cool! I get it! It really is Pres. Monson!" The disappointment they must have all felt when only the two of us stepped out of the Toyota Sienna. Sigh . . . . . The attached photo is the only one we will ever have of the entire mission together, I am almost sure--unless, Pres. Monson comes.

Our mission conference was a great spiritual feast. Mom and I decided immediately after the Tuesday morning call with the Area Presidency that we needed to move quickly. In a meeting with the assistants an hour or two later, they agreed that we could do this in two days. I could not imagine giving this news to the missionaries, whom we love, via email or phone calls to the zone leaders. We needed to be face to face with all of them. Part of it was rumor control and to control "freaking out," and the rest was because we really wanted to look them in the eye and talk from the heart and by the Spirit.

So, we gathered at the temple, so to speak, took a picture, and went into the stake center. We sang "Called to Serve" and prayed. There was one announcement about a change in their email service (myldsmail.net). Then, the meeting was mine. The assistants had prepared a brief Powerpoint presentation. After I made some brief introductory comments about the establishment of the Church, we went through it slide by slide. The gasps! The excitement! The "What will happen to me?" in their eyes! Then, we sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go." Powerful. Then, I had the privilege of sharing some things I written in the previous email and some more personal which I will not put on the Internet, but they are in the family letter of February 7th. Mom shared her testimony and heartfelt thoughts. After that we opened the meeting to questions for quite a while. It was a very valuable time to process all this very quickly and under the influence of the Spirit.

At the end of the questions and answers, I talked with the missionaries about where we are in the mission, the improvements we have made in the last 7 months (we have raised the success rate by more than 40%) and we talked about where need to go in the next 5 months. We closed with prayer sent them to the cultural hall to eat Little Caesar's Pizza. Fortunately, it was all gone by the time Mom and I made it back there and we had to go out to eat.

The word for unique in Spanish is único and it means "unique" (duh), but it also means "singular" which might be what unique means. I am not sure anymore. But, I am sure if this. The Lord's hand can be seen very clearly in Mexico. Let me expound on an experience very única which took place on February 2, 2010.

If you were to search the Doctrine and Covenants for the word "establish" or its variations, you would find many examples of the Resurrected Christ talking to Joseph Smith about the establishment of the Church in the promised land and in the latter days. My personal favorite is in section 31:3-7. It is very personal to us. Elder Holland taught that it to us in the very last hour of the new mission presidents seminar on June 25, 2008. This scripture is taught to every incoming and outgoing missionary in the Veracruz Mission.

The phrase "establish a church by your hand" speaks volumes. The definition of the establishment of the Church is found in "Preach My Gospel", page 10. That is what we are trying to do the the Mexico Veracruz Mission. Establish the Church. Good things are happening.

On Tuesday morning the 2nd, I was invited to a conference call with the Area Presidency and the presidents of the Tampico and Tuxtla-Gutierrez Missions. They announced to us that the Frist Presidency has approved the creation of two new missions in Mexico. One will be called the Mexico City Northwest Mission. The other will be called the Mexico Villahermosa Mission. The second is the one which impacts us.
Three stakes and two districts will be taken from the Tuxtla-Gutierrez Mission. Five stakes and our one district will be taken from the Veracruz Mission. The Veracruz Mission will inherit four stakes from the Tampico Mission, leaving us with thirteen stakes, all generally north of Veracruz. The Lord continues to establish His church in Mexico. We get to be part of this marvelous and único event. What an amazing blessing!!! The effective date is July 1st, 2010.

What does that mean for the Mexico Veracruz Mission? First, the famous ruins, El Tajín which adorn many license plates in Mexico, will now be part of the Veracruz Mission. Second, we lose 73 of our 186 (today's count) missionaries to the Villahermosa Mission. Third, we gain 50 missionaries from Tampico. Fourth, and this one really hurts my heart, we lose the Los Tuxtlas District. We love that place and those people. It is very único, I believe, in the entire world. But, it is the right thing. The Lord knows what He is doing. There is much more, but those are the basic nuts and bolts.

I want to share with you some things personal. I knew this was coming. In October (I think) of 2008, I was sitting in an Area Council in Mexico City with my 20 mission president brothers and the 21 Area Seventy. The Area Presidency was up front. Out of nowhere, it was a lightning bolt, I felt that our mission would be divided. The thought never left me, but I did not share it with anyone, including Mom. A few weeks later, Mom and I were in Temazcal attending a baptismal service at the river. They have no font. As we were waiting for people to show up, Elder C. Scott Grow, who was serving as the first counselor in the Area Presidency, called. He told me that I should begin to think about being involved in a division of our mission. I asked a couple of questions and he answered them. He told me to counsel with Mom, but with no one else at that point. After months, I had heard nothing. In a subsequent phone conversation, Elder Grow told me that the First Presidency had placed a temporary moratorium on the creation of any new missions due to the worldwide economic situation. That notwithstanding, the thought never left. It had to happen. It was the right thing and I knew it. The only question was when the Lord would tell the Brethren to proceed. The time is now.

The Church is true. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands is rolling forth (Daniel 2:45). The Lord continues to establish His church in all the world including Mexico.

These are the missions as we exist today.


This are the new missions.