November 2008

Well hello family again I wasn't able to email on Saturday because the telephone line was out so they let us do it on Monday if we wanted during our activity time. I hope I answer most of your questions but I'll try to send some pictures as soon as I can Ihere some of the things here are cheaper anyways since its 10 rand to the dollar. All I can tell you about Johannesburg is there are tons of people everywhere and most of them are black. We go to the temple every Tuesday and we go to the city and there are people everywhere sometimes i feel like the inside of an Oreo cookie with how many black people there are. It reminds me alot like Washington D.C. When we went proselyting the other day it was kind of sad to see some of the people in total boredom and nothing to do but drink beer. we went to this little community called sueto just about 40 minutes east of the mtc and the people have nothing to do there I was in kind of in a culture shock. As we walked around many were riding horses, walking on dirt roads and the houses were very small and very dirty. I think cape town will be maybe a little better. Some of the people here just have no lives they don't work they just sit there and drink or smoke and live there Protestant religion life. I really haven't been out in the safari much but there are some pretty cool birds that fly by the mtc every once and a while. the electrical is very different in the outlet you just plug in these two big prongs and when you turn on the light it takes about 10 seconds for the light to come on. This elder that is in my room has like this conversion kit that i guess works pretty well it transfers from U.S. to Europe to South America and To South Africa It just has all those receptacle changes. the mtc is in roodeport about 40 min away from joburg and here in south africa they drive on the wrong side of the road so that will take some getting used to. That's funny that lassys getting fat I think she should have her pups right around the end of November or something I didn't write it down when she was bred. That's good that Chris made the basketball team and yes I heard that Obama is president I heard it on the plane coming from Dakar to Johannesburg When we heard it just like all the black people on the plane shouted. Right now there are the 24 elders total at the mtc its a pretty small mtc but there are 11 black elders and 1 white elder that speaks British accent. Mostly everyone knows English here but some are hard to understand. I have two teachers that are white including president cannon and sister Cannon they have a British accent and then the rest of the teachers are black teachers. mother I just want to tell you I miss some of the food here at the mtc isn't as good as yours its mainly oily and some things that are grown in south Africa that I haven't gotten used to. We have been working on the second discussion lately found in the preach my gospel that is the main focus of what we study here as well as the book of Mormon. The preach my gospel is basically a study guide that missionaries use there whole mission the better you understand it the better off you are as a teacher. well I love you all and I think by the time my letter gets to you ill be in cape town so if I don't email you next week it will have to be when I'm in cape. Love Elder T. Hansen

Pictures of Tyler in Cape town

Regan November 24, 2008, Transfer to Gulf Breeze Florida

Hey well this week has been great. With the baptism yesterday and finding about the new transfer today I don't have much time before I need to start packing. I have found out that I am now going to Gulf breeze, Florida. I have heard that it is a small little beach town. I had the opportunity to look on a map and it is south of Pensacola. I am very excited about this new change. I have come to love all of those that I have served with here in Semmes and the ward members especially. I will miss them but I now know that I must press forward and enter a new area of the Lord's Vineyard. I know that the work there is only going to get harder since there has been no missionaries there for a bit but I look forward to the hard work I must perform.

This next message is what we received as a mission from the missionary department in SLC

"I hope this e-mail finds all well with you and the great missionaries in the Florida Tallahassee Mission. Elder Mask dropped by the other day to indicate he had just conducted a mission tour with you. He couldn't’t say enough about how impressed he was with your mission and missionaries. He made particular note of what great teachers he thought they are! Congratulations."

I am grateful to be one of the missionaries. The Lord will always bless the areas that we are in and will always have those who have been prepared for us to teach. I am grateful for the support that you all give me and I am indeed grateful for your prayers. Lets all continue to labor in the Lord's Vineyard. Indeed the work is there and will always be great in our lives. As for now I must go pack for my next great adventure on the Lord's path for me.

Love all of you

Elder Regan Hansen

November 17, 2008

This week has been pretty well. We had a Zone Conference and the spirit was there very strongly. We in the mission right now have been focusing alot of prayer. We have been using Elder Bednar's last 2 conference talks on prayer and applying them into our daily life's and prayers. I have been able to see so much increase in my work through the application of those 2 talks. I know that through prayer we can make those changes in our lives that will bring us closer to our Saviour and enhance the relationship that we have with him. I have been able to see the changes through prayer that have brought me more spiritual enlightened studies in the morning and also throughout the day. I would encourage all of you to take a look at Elder Bednar's talks and see how the spirit directs you. We had our work cut out for us this past week with teaching Myya before she gets baptized. We decided to change the date of her baptism to this coming Sunday. I can't wait to see that smile on her face after she gets baptized. I love going to baptisms because the spirit is there so strongly and brings that righteousness even closer to us. Yesterday at Church I was able to hear a powerful talk given by the Stake Patriarch. The power that he had in his talk about blessings and the importance that fathers have in their role of having the priesthood was powerful. He said that when we get blessings for our fathers we should write down those things that we remember because those are the things we need to hold onto the most. He read a talk that came from a prayer meeting out of the Temple in Washington. It talks about a young man who had some problems and his faith of wanting to receive a patriarchal and those things that were bestowed upon him. I will send that letter to my dad and have him put it on the blog so everyone can see it. Those blessing that we receive from our fathers are powerful and can bring much guidance into our lives. I will get some more pictures sent in the next couple weeks so everyone can see them before the holidays.
Love all of You
Elder Regan Hansen

November 10, 2008

This past week started off great being able to see some gators which I will definitely have to get send some pictures around. This week we planned out well and went to visit all of our new potential investigators. As we went over some of them weren't home but the great thing was that other members of their families were they are we shared the message with them. Through all of this we have been able to have whole families be investigators and wanting to learn of the truths that they can add to what they already know. We had a real close friend this week get baptized in the Theodore ward. His name is Hanalae and he is in the coast guard from Hawaii. I met him within a couple weeks of being out and I have been able to see first hand of the faith and the growth that he has been able to have through the gospel of Jesus Christ. His baptism was this past Saturday and the spirit was there so strongly. He bore his testimony to us after he was baptized and I can say that it is one of the strongest that I have heard from a new member. On Sunday I ended up teaching the 12-18 year old class and let me tell you it was a struggle. I can only imagine what my teachers had to go through. I am glad though for the opportunity because by the end of it I was able to bring out the scripture in Helaman 5:12. This is a scripture that we should all apply into our lives continually and I will leave it up to all of you to read it for yourselves. After we had a lesson with a Myya she is 9, by the end of it we asked her if she would get baptized and she said yes. I was filled with so much joy and happiness. It is going to be this coming Sunday and I will definitely get some pictures sent. We have been talking to her for about 2 months little by little at church since we only have so many miles and citronelle is quite far away. I am so glad to see the child like faith that she possesses and it how much I have grown from her. I am so happy be able to proclaim this gospel to so many. I know that if we apply the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives we will all continue to grow. I have been able to see first hand through my studies and apply the passages that I have read that I have been blessed with the spirit. As we all continue to be obedient and make it our objective, God will endow us with his power. With using the power of the Atonement in our lives and earnestly to desire to make those changes in our hearts through prayer those desires become one with us.
I love all of You
Thank you for all the support
Elder Regan Hansen

farwell pictures

farwell

Tyler is on his way to South Africa he was sent off at the airport by his parents Steve and Angie his brother and sisters his Grandpa and Grandma Hansen. He was all grins.

November 3, 2008

I don't have to much time to write because this p-day is pretty hectic with everything that some of the ward members have planned. We have had some continued success with tracting this week. We have also received many member referrals which are great for us. We have been able to contact every referral that we have been given and set up appointments to visit all of them. We had a conference this past week in Pensacola. We had Elder Mask of the 2nd quorum of the 70 and he is one powerful speaker. He has many stories from his mission and many that he has heard from his family members that have strengthened me. We have continued our mission culture by adding to more bullet points from "Remember This" in the back of Preach My Gospel. I have been able to see when we apply this in our work and use these great tools that we have received the spirit really does pour down. I have seen how much Unity has increased by applying all of those steps. Today we were able to go to an Alligator farm which has taken up some of my time today. I have not seen so many of them up close before, but they are some big suckers. I will eventually send another CD home so I can get some pictures posted on the blog that my dad has set up. Unfortunately we are not able to go on the air boats so we were not able to see all of the alligators. Well this is all the time that I have.

Love You all

Elder Regan Hansen