Hey Everyone!!!

This past week has been wonderful. We did some really fun service projects as a district! One of them was a free car wash, where we cleaned any and every car that came through, even a big FedEx truck!! It was so funny and we tried to clean as much as we could reach! The guy driving it was super nice and thought it would have been funny if he did it, so we laughed and took some pictures. We got to know the people that came through and got their numbers so we could contact them later!

One of the other service projects we had was at a non-members home where we cleared out a pathway in their food storage room. Our whole district was there too and it made everything run just so much smoother and faster. We have started to grow a connection with them, even though they don't like the church very much.

Last Monday we got together as a district and grilled some hotdogs and played sand volleyball at a park! It was super fun and we got to grow closer and enjoy the Arizona sunshine!

The work has been a little slow this week, a lot of the people we are teaching are just really busy and can't seem to meet with us. It's discouraging but we are trying, and people still have their right to choose! We have invited many people to come to church and we look forward to when they do come, they seem so excited and interested!

We are teaching and meeting with a guy named Paul, who is apparently kind of a staple in the missionary work here in Arizona City. He's definitely someone I would have been friends with at Harley Davidson, that's his kind of crowd! He's been taught by the missionaries for a long time and has been almost baptized a couple times but he realized that he wanted to be baptized when he truly felt it was right for him, that he felt a change. I really admire him for that, Paul is such a great guy and I really hope we can help him understand and learn the things he wants.

Something that Paul is struggling with right now is prayer, so I have been thinking about it a lot. What is prayer to you? Do we take it for granted?  Do you truly believe that your prayers will be answered?

Prayer is so powerful. It is an action that shows our faith to humble ourselves before God. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and wants to help us through our trials, we just have to turn to Him and ask in faith. Answers are received through prayer! In 3 Nephi 18:20, Jesus teaches "And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you."

What a promise! So why don't we get what we want when we ask for it though? I'm still learning but I know that we need to ask for things that are right (in line with God's will), and ask for things in the right way. Joseph Smith asked "Which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join." He didn't just ask which church was true, but that he may act on it!

Prayer works best with action! Pray like it's up to God, but work like it's up to you! If you change your prayers to allow God to work through your actions and give you revelation, it will happen I promise you! You will see the hand of God in your life!

Thank you for listening to me today, I hope everyone has a great week!

Nana!!!

Elder Samuel Hansen