Baptism in the Mediterranean Sea

So yeah, unfortunately, my email last week was completely deleted, and I don't know why. I could honestly lament about it but I've decided to see it as, "Maybe I need to change the perspective for this next email."

So let's start with a joy. Last month, we had a baptism in the North side of Cyprus. It was beautiful! This is the first baptism I have had the honor of attending on my mission. I remember in that moment, as the baptism proceeded, I felt a great sense of hope. The people of the Adriatic South Mission area will come to know the gospel of Jesus Christ and come to accept it in their due time. Something I always try to remember is one fact that I have stated over and over again. It is not missionaries that convert people. It's the spirit. God could do missionary work on his own, however, he has given us the opportunity to be a part of it.

So French. Goodness, French. Having to use a language you grew up hearing but using only a little creates the strongest feelings of humility and amazement. I currently have had more lessons in French than I have had in my mission language. Which isn't a problem, it's just what is needed in this area.

For example, one of the layouts of our lessons was this: we had three chairs in the center of the chapel facing each other. Our friend met us at the church and I would sit in such a way to interpret. I think we often over use the word 'translate', because often the 'translation' I have experienced in the mission is more of a 'interpretation' because, believe it or not, live translation is hard. I recognized this as I would see our Greek translators in Athens, and it became especially prevalent when I became the translator for French.

We began our lesson, and Elder Mueller proceeded to share something to our friend in English. Our friend understands a lot in English, but still he looks at me to translate. Which is no problem at all that he needs that. An important doctrine of the gospel is that those that learn of the gospel should have the ability to study or learn in their own language. I butched an exact translation of the thought, and we continue. Only after about 4 minutes, I realized it's better to try and interpret than translate because you can communicate ideas more comfortably than exact words.

An hour goes by and the lesson is completed. It was a very special meeting in two ways. I know we had the presence of the Spirit there with us. I know, that my French was not good enough to teach a lesson in it. And yet, we find ourselves, concluding an entire lesson in French.

I did realize how much French I knew by doing this, but I also realized how little I actually knew at next Sunday. I attempted to have a very similar conversation with a member on Sunday, however, I could barely even begin to communicate the Gospel topics. It was a testament to me that God the father will give us strength in the time we need it.

Something that has come up a lot this week for me in the mission is faith. I often have refered back to a talk given about walking through the fog, but compare it to walking through a large crowd. I actually have shared this to a friend a few months ago, and I feel now is the right time to share it. I hope it makes as much sense to you as it does to me!

"Especially at the beginning and before your mission, thinking about it is kinda like walking through a big crowd. You can see how big it is. You can see some faces and some gaps, but you have no idea how to walk through it. It's scary, man. But that's okay. Once you step into the crowd, the path becomes clear. But only once you step into the crowd do you know how to navigate it. It might be hard or not clear at times, but with patience and hard work, it becomes clear. I really felt like I had no idea what I was doing when I got here in Greece. But bit by bit, and taking my time, it became clearer and I felt comfortable. There is a lot of humanity in a mission, and since you are literally doing it full time, you can take your time to do things right. It's actually surprisingly refreshing. In Preach My Gospel, it explains that missionaries need to take there time going from one place to another because missionaries miss too many opportunities to help others and teach by literally walking by without seeing cause they are in a rush. It also refers to going from one thing to another, or preparing. Do things efficiently, but not more than what you have strength for. That is strength in mind and body, I believe."

This is the same for faith as well. As we gaze across a big crowd of people or a valley of fog, we might not know which way to go and the path may not be clear. However, we can come to know from one step at a time, God has the ability to reveal each step all at once, but is that really the best way to learn to trust him? I've come to learn even if you could see the whole path ahead of you, it's not what causes you to act on what you know. That is faith.

Within the last few weeks, we have had the opportunity to meet with a friend of ours that, regardless if it's rain or shine, sick and tired or bright and joyous, he is happy to meet with us.

He is one of the coolest people I know, and it didn't take long to love him. I feel that one of the ways God has given me strength on my mission is to feel more comfortable with people. I believe my work at Allen's Camera prepared me for this, but the amount of just saying "Hello!" to everyone supersedes any amount of preparation I could have gotten before my mission. However, despite this preparation, I still don't have a lot of experience teaching the gospel.

Our discussion consisted of the Plan of Salvation, and everything was going very smoothly. I began explaining an aspect of the plan God has for us which, somehow, quickly transitioned into me bearing my own testimony. It wasn't any problem until my mind went blank. Oh, crap, is what I thought until I realized, my mouth was proceeding to move despite the lack of thought in my mind. It was the first time I believe, that I really felt the spirit fill in where I lacked. Because I know, with the entirety of my being, I would have not been able to continue without the guidance and blessing of the spirit.

The last two weeks, I've had the opportunity of working more with video projects for the mission's social media pages. Honestly, I haven't been more myself doing that than so far on my mission. I've come to learn one of things I enjoy the most, even from before my mission, is the fun involved with making videos. If everyone is on the same page of what the project is and willing to put effort into it, it can be so much fun. The amount of laughter to work is a near perfect ratio, which sometimes, can be rare in other situations.

Funny enough, one of the best places we could shoot an introduction video for one of the missionaries here was right next to a mosque by the airport. The trees there provided perfect shade-cover from the harsh sun. There are a lot of mosques here. We were eating at a Pizza Hut last P-day, and a man we met there was discussing with us about how he arrived here in Cyprus.

"The whole time I was getting ready to come to Cyprus, I was being told it was like Europe! 'Come to Cyprus, it's like Europe!' and I got here and it's not Europe-- it's the middle east!"

We all got a hoot out of that, and in a lot of senses, I think he's right. However, with the influence of Greece, England, and Turkey, the country has been one of the most religious-culturally diverse places I have ever been. The Muslim and Christian faiths operate without much conflict (from what we can see as missionaries), and yet the two remain quite prevalent throughout the country. I will say however, it's very Muslim on the North side compared to the South.

Elder Mueller and I actually had a really interesting experience when trying to meet with a friend of ours. Unfortunately, he was not able to make it to our meeting. However, as we left the apartment complex we ran into an older lady. She smiled as she saw us so naturally we said hello. Stood there speaking, in Greek, for a moment until she offered us glasses of water. She was offering anything she had. We met with her and found out she was feeling quite lonely because her son was living a ways now.  She showed us all of her religious items in her home and expressed a deep belief of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary.  As we spoke for a while, she said in the kindest way I have ever heard, "There are a lot of churches, but there is only one true church. Your church is a heresy, but it's not the only one that is a heresy."

She expressed so much kindness to us and accepting to hear part of my testimony of miracles in my life, but it was also a little funny because I had never been called a heretic in such a kind way.

She said to us, "God sent you to me because he knew I am alone." As we said goodbye, she thanks us for stopping to talk to her. I think the word for heretic takes a different meaning in this part of the world because there's not a lot of hesitation in using it. In Preach My Gospel, it explains that you should learn the culture to understand the language of the people you teach. I think that applies even when you are speaking English. Some people use different words to explain the same idea or communicate certain topics. Learning the culture of your mission really helps with understanding what people are really trying to say.

I only got so much time again, so I will conclude for this P-day. Next week I guess I'll explain how one of our friends brought 3 friends with us to church and we had a great time listening to African Gospel Music!

Hope everyone is doing well especially with all the snow!!

I love y'all and you are amazing. You should know that.

Elder Dylan Hansen