Tuesday, April 28, 2009

April 28 2009









Hello,
Yesterday I wasn't able to email because of the Monday holiday that happens around here. I appreciate all the birthday greetings that I received and thank you for that. It wasn't to bad of a day but it could of been better, if we would of had more investigators at church. We had plenty of commitments but no follow ups which seems to be quite common around here. This week I look forward to because we found six new investigators, who we will talk to this week and find there houses. The one thing about the townships is the houses have no numerical order so sometimes it is tricky to find where your going in this part of the vineyard. This last week was pretty laid back despite the elections but we were able to do some productive things such as a couple of games of football and soccer on Tuesday and have workshops and interviews. I really enjoy the interviews and workshops and admire the care and love that President and Sister Probst have for the missionaries. With the many missionaries that President Probst has to watch over it really boggles my mind to know how he remembers each and every missionary in the mission, and how they are doing. He truly inspires me with the wisdom that he has. We were able to have two full working days though on Thursday and Friday where we were able to get some less active hours and also some service hours which is harder to get in the townships since the people don't have any money. I am really getting used to their square mouth shovel and it is a tool for everything around here, even to cut the lawn. It truly makes me miss the dependability and durability of the American tools instead of third world country tools. While Ive been here In Mdantsane I am amazed at the love the Xhosa people have for missionaries and when we pass by everyone says umlungu which means white person which the kids typically have fun with since not many white people are here. The kids around here have nothing to do in this town so we usually see them playing the tire and stick game where they roll a tire across the road with a pair of sticks with piece of plastic at the end of the stick to prevent the friction and therefore makes it slick on the inside of the tire. Some of them are usually pretty good. A lot of the problem around here encompass the law of chastity since not a lot of amusement is around and absolutely nothing to do. I look forward to talking to you on mothers day, give me a time when you want me to call, I don't know what the time difference is now, but I think it is 8 hours with daylight savings. Just let me know what time we will call from the church when ever. Here's a few pictures from the previous weeks take care have a good week.
love
Elder Tyler Hansen

Monday, April 27, 2009

Regan April 27, 2009

Well this week has been really great. We had Zone Conference on Friday and it just caused the week to be exciting.

We had a few great lessons this past week with all of our investigators. We were able to go and visit Jeff and Kira this week and teach them both about the Plan of Salvation. We also asked them how they had been doing on there commitments with the Word of Wisdom. Kira had been doing real well. She told us that she always had a warm cup of coffee in her hand from 7:30 in the Morning until 5 at night. She has not cut it down to 2 cups a day. She has such great desires to change and follow this great gospel. They attended church with us this week and it was great. They both enjoyed the experience and will be coming back.

Zone Conference was amazing as always. President always expresses his love so dearly and you can truly feel our Savior's love radiating from him. We talked allot about how we are doing everything in our power and the Lord has prepared us to be strong servants. Even though some areas have been slow he knows that even if we are not blessed now from our service we will see it all unfold throughout the rest of our life.

We have been able to talk with Misty and her family this week. Kevin, Joey, and Masen really have learned to love the Gospel. Masen asked Sister Malcolm at activity night about some things and she taught her the first 2 lessons. It went really well and I could tell she was truly touched. We talked to Misty and Masen told her that she wants to become Mormon. We will be working with there whole family later this week and continued progress with them.

I have really come to notice how strong the power of prayers is in the lives of our investigators. I feel that if it wasn't for the Pleading and Fervent prayers that I have had for all of them that their hearts would of not been as soft and open to all that has happened these past 2 weeks. Blessing upon blessings and Miracles upon Miracles will continue in all of our lives and in the lives of others as we all prayer for each other.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen

Monday, April 20, 2009

Regan April 20, 2009

Well this past week has been a week for me personally up and down. It has seemed like everything is hitting me harder than ever but then everything is blessing me and our work.

This passed week we talked to Misty and she wants to be baptized which is great but she hasn't married Brad and most likely he won't move out. We found out they are planning on getting married in June which lifted me up again. She told us how she was talking with a preacher this past week who helped her with some bills. They ended up talking about the Book of Mormon and she defended it. It was exciting to here and understand that she is gaining a testimony of it's truth. She even included that she talked about Joseph Smith and explained that a bit. She is an awesome Daughter of God.

We talked with Jeffrey and Kira this week. We committed them to Live the Word of Wisdom and expressed how it would greatly improve there quality of Life. They said they would and also they would do it Cold Turkey. All seems to be going well that way.

We had activity night and were able to have Misty's kids come again. It is great that they want to come and enjoy it. We have really begun a great friendship and trust us. We should be able to teach them all very shortly and maybe even set some BCD's with them. It will be awesome.

This next week we will be having Zone Conference so I am very excited about that. It is one of those things like a General Conference that just uplifts and Boosts you up to continue in the work more diligently.

When I was reading a book yesterday I found out how much Strength and Power we can receive from Virtue. It is not just keeping ourselves clean but living at the Highest Standards of the gospel and being Obedient to them. I have set myself that this next week I will be Studying Virtue and also the "Law of the Harvest." Elder Parkinson shared a bit with me and it is really intrigued me.

If you a Curious about it you can find it in Alma 41-42 and Doctrine and Covenants 45. I am really excited to learn about it because it help me to understand that even if we are not seeing everything from our work at this time that we will receive great thing because of our Good Works in the Service.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen

April 20 2009

Thank you for the pictures that you sent to me. It sounds like it has been a busy week. The week that I had was ok for the most part. This week I realized just how small our area really is Elder Smith and I can walk across it in just a half an hour but there are more than a thousand small houses in that area and also how supportive the youth are for the missionaries. We have two of the youth from the ward that really set the example for others in the ward they are brothers, Mlibo and Luntu they are always willing to come out with Elder Smith and I when our evenings are filled with appointments. We are able to learn quite a bit of xhosa from them. There is no one near to baptism at the moment but on Sundays we usually have quite a few at the investigator class. The one that we are particularly working with the most is Vuyolethu he is about 25 but we first met him when we went the investigator class last week and he is really improving. We gave him a Book of Mormon this past week and he has been present to all the commitments that we have given him. Thanks for the words when you said Ryan would give people blessings who was trying to stop smoking, and how that desire would be relieved, that is truly a miracle. I will remember that, a lot of the people here who drink and smoke don't want to quit and just say it make them happy and feel good. This week though is really going to be interesting. It is elections this week and for two days we aren't going to be allowed to go out and go proselyting. Election day is on the 22nd and it will be a commotion day especially in Mdantsane. The Anc is the main political party and has been in for the past 14 years or ever since the Apartate but from the sounds of things the people here really want a change especially the Africaans people with the Anc. The president running for the Anc is Jacob Zuma, he is hated or loved by the people of South Africa. I hope with the elections it will not effect the work here to much or affect most of the week but during the waiting we will have plenty to do at the boardings with catching up on area files and the books. This past week I've been trying to learn a little bit of xhosa but it is definitely not easy since the most of the time they speak english and not fluent xhosa, I have got down all the clicks but I want to learn how to bear my testimony in xhosa by the time I leave the xhosa people. I really admire the people how accepting they are to us as missionaries in almost all homes you are invited in and usually given a cool drink or food. I think the biggest insult that you could do to them is not eat all the food that they give to you because it is truly a gift from them to us. The food that they give is worth so much of there daily living it is truly humbling to see how much they give in the circumstances that they are living in. Anyways with the questions that you ask dad the bubble is just talking about the area that we have to stay in on p days to shop and email since there is nothing to do in Mdantsane. Where we live now we only have one place to do our laundry and one place to shop in since it is not very commercialized. Thanks for the emails and picture I love you all very much.

Elder Tyler Hansen

Monday, April 13, 2009

April 13 2009

Hello family,
Well today we are emailing in a different location than usual, in our bubble where we stay it is a holiday so a lot of the shops are closed and are not going to open until Tuesday. Well this week was rather a more discouraging week and I hope things will work out better through time. This past weekend it was terrible in MD with the amount of drunk people because of the holidays. It is sad to see the life that these people live and what they do all day, they have no where to go and all day to get there. They spend most their money on the booze and when they are hungry they beg until they get something so a lot of the people don't have much of a work ethic. If it is one thing that I learn while I'm here in Mdantsane it will be to love the Xhosa people despite their work ethic and the way that they live there lives, but it is difficult. The thing that really frustrates me is how they spend their money they spend more money on their tv's, booze, cars, drugs and personal entertainment than what their actual house is worth. You can see how pride really settles into their lives. This past week though Elder Smith and I worked with the Vuyelle family and read out from the Book of Mormon, She has a testimony that it is true but despite the fact she still goes to her church for the social hour or whatever they do. We explained to her that if the Book of Mormon is true, then that proves and means, several true and important points. I think the key for her family is finding a member that will befriend the Vuyelles and really take Mama Vuyelle under their wing, she is the key to that family. I am really impressed with the ward and how they are committed to missionary work, and the support that they give. But as far as this week we will just be looking forward to tracting. Right now in the area their is not much progression happening but hopefully with the 5 week transfer that we might have something happen. This transfer is shortened because President Probst has a meeting in Joburg. As for our schedule we do everything that we need to in the morning and then at one o'clock we leave to MD which is about half an hour drive from our boarding and there we stay until 8 at night or until the other elders with the car pick us up at the Hanis families house. What we eat is usually in the boarding for breakfast and lunch and then when we get back during the night at 9. The whole of East London though I would say would be as big as Salt Lake I would guess but towns spread across everywhere. Thanks for everything I hope you all have a good week, please send a picture or two sometime. Love you all and I pray for you, pray for me that my heart can be softened.
Love
Elder Tyler Hansen

Regan April 13, 2009

Well this week has been a bit slower but we were able to continue the good service that the lord asks of us. Sister Parson's is doing really well and her family is doing great. Thank you for all of your prayers in her behalf.

Elder Manning ended up having to come home this past week because of medical things that had been happening. I will miss him dearly but he has such a great attitude to continue the work back at home. He was called for 2 years so either way he said he will serve it here or he will finish serving it at home. He is a great example to me and a great friend.

We had District Meeting on Tuesday and I was nervous as ever being it the first one that I have had to teach. I feel as If it went real well and the spirit used me as an instrument in his hands. Elder Mortensen said that I did good so that helped me calm down a bit after.

After ward Council this week we decided to spend a couple hours in prayer and pondering on which less active members we should really focus on. We were directed in all this and came across those we had not even discussed. I feel that if we put all diligence in bringing them back that they will be strengthened and we will see the blessings that will come of it.

We were able to talk with Misty this week which has been great. She has been given a good bill of health. We have been working with the family quite a bit. We were able to have 3 of her kids come to Activity night and play basketball and they seem to enjoy it. It has been great getting to know them and the work with there family is continuing to grow and miracles will soon come in abundance as we are diligent and obedient in this work.

I have been able to listen to the Conference talks quite a few times since they were released and there are so many great talks on faith. I know that if we all strive to have the "eye" of Faith as talked about in Alma that we will all be able to control our growth in the gospel and have more power to overcome the Adversary. I know that through Obedience that Power is truly Manifest through the spirit and increases our faith so me can see many of the Miracles that are in our life each and everyday.

Love you

Elder Regan Hansen

Thank you for all the Packages and letters.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

April 7 2009

hello family
It sounds like everything is going well and the conference was great. It was also great here too, we watched all the sessions except the Sunday afternoon session. On Saturday @ 6 we watched the Saturday morning session live and then on Sunday we watched the 3 sessions @ 11 we watched the priesthood session, @ 3 we watched the Saturday evening session by satellite broadcast which had some minor difficulty but was quickly fixed and then, @ 6 we watched the Sunday morning session so it was like Christmas for us. Now that conference is over I just look forward to the next conference in six months. This week was a long week though with it being transfer week. With me and Elder Marshall requesting to stay together another transfer I knew that President Probst was going to move us. I really enjoyed the first area that I was in and had a bond with a lot of the members there and on Thursday I had to say my goodbyes to as many people as I could before I had to leave which was difficult. I really learned a lot from Elder Marshall and hope by the end of my mission I can be where he is at. He knows how to interact and show the charity that he has to others I truly learned a lot from him but I got to move on. I am now in Mdantsane with Elder Smith who is from England he has been out for about 20 months now and he is extremely smart. He also likes star wars and harry potter and just one of the random facts that he shared with me is there are 15 thousand and one guns on the death star in star wars in the 4th episode so ya he likes his star wars. I really enjoy being around him and he has a lot of knowledge and wisdom that I can learn from especially some of the deep doctrine that he likes to share with me. In Mdantsane it is very poor and the people here are in very humbling circumstances with some families even not having a car. The pump shed in our back yard is larger and in better condition than some of their homes. Many of their homes are concrete walls with a tin top and tin door with concrete floors. Their average income is of probably 400 rand (40 dollars) a week and even if that. Many of the streets are dirt road and toilets are just basically a hole in the ground in some areas with a metal shack to cover yourself as you go to the bathroom. The only thing I can relate to back in America is like a trailer park but a little worse. I just don't see how the extremes of rich and poor can be so close together in a society, and work together. It is just a few kilometers inland from Beacon Bay but the missionary work here is a lot different. We wont be able to give very much service at all which I really miss and I will be entirely with the Xhosa people, for the next transfer or so. I will probably learn a little bit of Xhosa. They know how to speak English very fluently but when you speak their language is shows how much you really care about them as a people. Our boarding now is in Cambridge and everyday we stay in our boarding til 12 and then drive out to Mdantsane and the elders with the car drop us off until 9 o'clock that evening. This week will be very interesting meeting some of the new people and especially remembering names that are Xhosa. The game drive was excellent we went there with the Christians (the older couple) and they leave at the end of April, but we were able to see many of the animals there. We seen cheetahs, white lions, zebra, giraffe, coutu, springbok, warthog, iguanas, elephants, ostriches and other stuff but It was the best p day that I have had and I don't think anything else will really top it. When we got there we went to the lodge first and checked in and then went to do the 1 hour elephant interaction afterwhich we went on a 4 hour game drive through the 5000 acre Inquenzie land. The only things that we weren't able to see was the cape buffalo, rhino and jaguar but it was a fun time with the Christians who leave @ the end of this month. The A.p.'s told us to pray for senior couples because the numbers are becoming scarce and for the hearts of the leaders of Namibia to be softened because some missionaries going there were having rough times getting visas. I hope you all enjoyed conference because there were answers to my prayers through the messages that were said. I really liked the all the talks but the one that I like the most was by Deiter F Uchtdorf "the story of the light bulb" and how he talks about what he enjoys in life and how he relates it to the gospel. I thought he did a fabulous job and like I say I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks for all the messages every week, They help me get through the week; it sounds like a lot is going on. I would of sent some pictures of this last week but I left the usb cord with Elder Marshall.
I love you all and have a good week.

Elder Tyler Hansen

Monday, April 6, 2009

Regan April 6, 2009

Well this past week has been so amazing. After Finding out that I was going to be a district leader I made every change that I could possibly make to be more exact obedient and be a better example for those whom I am serving.

It has been amazing to see with that bit of dedication and using the enabling power of the atonement to make those changes that so much has come from it. I have been able to see more of the power and strength that I have been given to resist temptation and how much easier it has been to be even more obedient.

This past week we have had some really great companion studies out of preach my gospel. We were studying in recognizing the spirit and did the activity which allows how to better understand where to go, what to do, what to say, how to use the Book of Mormon with those we teach, and also how to better adjust to their needs.

It was amazing to see the power in all of the scriptures and how well it enabled us to have the best planning session for the next week that we have had. His hand is in everything and with putting our hands in his we are drawn to all that he wants and desires for us .

We have had some amazing member present lessons this week and all of those who have received our prayers have been strengthened and they are getting better physically and spiritually.

Wow!!! I don't even know how to express or where to begin on how amazing Conference was. I could of not asked for better direction than what was given. I loved all the talks and will be studying them just as President Monson as Directed us to. I am ready to Ponder the messages that are contained within and apply them into my life with all diligence.

I hope that all of you enjoyed the marvellous talks and received the inspiration that you had been seeking for. I know that I received those things that I have been pondering on for my district and also for all of those we are teaching and will find. There is not greater Message than that of the Restoration. We all need to continue as was directed yesterday to share this gospel to all of those who are around and about us.

Thanks for the letters and the e-mails they are great.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen