Monday, June 28, 2010

Regan June 28, 2010

Elder Regan Hansen is in his last two weeks of his mission.

He is flying home out of the Mobil Alabama Airport on Wednesday July 14th arriving home in the afternoon at the Salt Lake City Airport

His Address to the Nibley 8th Ward will be July 25 at 10:30 am at the LDS Chapel on 3200 South in Nibley Utah.

We are excited to see him Return With Honor after serving the Lord Jesus Christ for the Past two years in the Florida Tallahassee Mission.



Regan June, 28, 2010

This week has seen its different challenges but it has also opened up many promptings of the spirit to bring us to a new understanding of submissiveness for the Lord. We were able to see a change within our investigators that only the spirit and the Lord could bring into their lives.

Monday we had a really great opportunity to strengthen our unity with a new ward member. We were able to spend sometime on p-day with Brother Blackburn and went on some trail rides. It was really fun being able to talk with him and find out that he is willing to go out with us and help us when he can. We continued out the day with our emails and taking care of some shopping and cleaning that we wanted to do. We were also able to visit with the Parkes family which was really great. They are probably the family that I will remember the most from all of my mission. We finished the evening with dinner at the Fairchild's and did some service for them as we were there.

Tuesday we were able to have a great District Meeting that continued to allow us to act upon those things of which we are receiving. The spirit was able to commit us all to do better and we committed that we would act upon it and continue to strive to follow all promptings that we receive. After lunch we visited with Brother Serrano and were able to answer allot of questions that he had concerning the spirit world. His father passed away a little bit ago and many of his family members had questions that he was trying to get better answers for. We had a lesson afterwards with Joe Hickman and we had to be bold with him. We taught the Restoration and focused on how the Priesthood and been restored but he is still very staunch in his Catholic ways. As we expressed our love and concern in such a bold fashion I felt that it broke a barrier that he had up. We will follow up with him this week and from there we may drop him. We continued to do some tracting afterwards which was really good and then we went to the church to help for the set up of Brother Mathie's funeral. We were able to get a lot of different things accomplished and were able to take much of the burden off of the Relief Society sisters backs. We then went with the Theodore missionaries and Elder Bawden did the baptismal interview for Edlyn which went really well.

Wednesday we started off with Elder Bawden's doctors appointment which went really well. He found out that everything was good and he didn't need to come back for anymore follow up visits. We came back and did some studies before starting on our way. We tracted a little bit before lunch and testified to some great people. After lunch we traveled and visited with Sister Kimberly Evans and watched Finding Faith in Christ. As we were there her neighbors brought over some anti-literature for us. We used it as an example that if they brought anything in the future over to just through it away. We were able to then leave and throw away the material ourselves. We then had a really great lesson with Melissa and we focused allot on the Atonement and it healing powers. We watched Lamb Of God and it gave her a real sense and understanding of what Jesus Christ went through for us. We answered further questions for her reading that she had and left her to continue reading in the next chapter. We came back down for Brother Mathie's wake and funeral service. The spirit was very strong and the messages that were shared touched many hearts. We then had dinner with Brother Martyn and discussed things about the Elders Quorum. He is the new president and is wanting to set up things so we can help them and they can help us.

Thursday we started out with a great lesson with Caroline Chebet. We were able to talk with her and she came with a lot of great questions. We asked her how her reading went in 3 Nehpi 11 and she asked a few questions. We followed up about her watching the Restoration and she wasn't able to so we decided that we should watch it with her. The spirit was so strong as we testified and as she watched that she felt a change come into her life. We were able to see the change within her countenance and the spirit was able to answer questions she had in her heart. She committed herself to read and pray to know if what we shared was true. We are planning this next week to set a baptismal date with her for around July 10th. We then went and tracted for a bit which went pretty well. We were able to testify to many people and found a referral for the spanish elders. We went and visited with Evalyn and it was a very night to day appointment. This time she wasn't very open and she really didn't pay attention at all. We felt it may be because of the person that was there, so we are going to follow up and see if she is still open to learning. We visited with the Klug's which went well and found out that Brother Klug will be having surgery soon for the cancer he has but it hasn't spread which is good. We had dinner with Sister Seats which went really well and we left a thought on Ether and invited her to church. We then did some service at the Olsen's and helped cut down a tree with the High Priest and Elders Quorum.

Friday we began our day with planning and we were able to update all of our records. We were all able to do allot of different things and work in unity to accomplish all that was needed. We were able to set some really great goals that will stretch us to keep being diligent and improve personal and companionship goals that we are focused on. We were able to have lunch with the Parkes and Odom's which was really great. We were able to talk about a few different things and working on setting some plans for service up. We went and visited with a media referral that we had which went well. Roderick Fisher said that he would watch the Restoration DVD and we also gave him a Book of Mormon to read. We said that we would follow up next week and he was very open about it. We then visited with the Baylors which went really well and we were able to invite them to activity night. We came back and had dinner then headed to activity night which went really well and a few families showed up.

Saturday we started by visiting with a few potentials but didn't have any luck with them. We went and visited Ryesha Henderson and talked with her for a little bit. She invited us back for dinner on July 3rd and that will give us a good opportunity to talk with her husband Andrew who isn't a member. We then continued before lunch to try and visit other less active members and did some tracting in between. After lunch we went to the flea market and visited with Sister Bross and Sister Evans. We are hoping to get Sister Bross to come back to church but she has been reading the ensign while she is working down there. We then visited with a potential and we still have to follow up next week with her. We visited with the Johnny's which went really well and we were able to answer a few questions for Brother Johnny about them moving soon and getting things set up. We had dinner with a less active member which went really well and we invited him to church but he wasn't able to make it. He has been talking with a few friends that we will be teaching soon.

Sunday we started the day with PEC which went well and we were able to discuss a lot of things of which have been happening and seeing where they can help us. At church a member from Missouri brought one of his friends who lives in the area to church and we were able to teach him and set up an appointment to visit him this next week. It was great to feel of Brother Taylors testimony already and will be looking forward to seeing him this week. Melissa was also able to attend church which was great and we had a good lesson in Gospel Principles. They both stayed for sacrament meeting which went really well and the spirit and messages shared were powerful. We ate lunch at the church and then quickly went off to tracting. We had a really great discussion with a few people but they weren't interested in hearing more. We then visited with a few less active members which went well. We stopped by and visited Sister Gover and we will be setting up another time to visit her. We also visited with the Blackmon's and Wyser's which went really well. We ended the night by visiting a few other members and finished with the last Conference Call with President Summerhays.

This week has brought us a new understanding of staying in the right spirit that way we will always be able to instruments in his hands and be able to witness the miracles that happen within our Investigators lives.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen

Regan June 21, 2010

This week has been a great week but it has also been extremely warm and it is not going to stop. We have just been very careful with making sure we have enough water and that we are trying to talk with everyone because it allows us to break and share the gospel with them which is great being able to talk with more people.

Monday we spent most of our preparation day helping the Parkes by painting and doing service for them. We were able to get much of the task accomplished and were able to spend sometime talking with the kids and having them help us paint and work hard. We then got cleaned up really quick and headed off to dinner with the Fairchild's which went really well and we spent sometime sharing a spiritual message with the kids. We then went and tried to visit with a few less active members and made phone calls for those new referrals we received and those we needed to call.

Tuesday we had a really great district meeting. The spirit was able to have us all commit to different things that individually and as companionship's will strengthen our efforts within his service. We were able to spend some time focusing on some goals to set us companionship's and we were able to set a goal as a district to be more diligent in those things of which we committed to. As a district we had a lunch together and were able to get to know and talk with each other some more which allowed us to strengthen our unity as a district. We then went and did our emails very quickly and then got back to work. We visited with Brother Martyn who is the new elders quorum president and we discussed with him some things that we are going to try and do together to strengthen within home teaching and with members. We went and did some tracting which went well being able to be out and trying to talk with everyone. We headed for dinner at the Fairchild's which went really well and we then went and focused on taking care of phone calls and some last minute things we needed to get for a lesson.

Wednesday we stopped first thing in the morning so I could give a shot to one of the Fairchild's puppy and we then headed off and began to tract. We were able to talk with quite a few people and found some potential investigators we are going to follow up with. We then headed up after lunch to the Saraland area and visited with Sister Thompson. She has been very busy with her garden and it has really been growing good. We invited her to come to church and we are hoping that she will choose to make it. We then traveled up to visit with Melissa who came to church this past week. We had a really great lesson with her and she opened up really well to where the lesson was taken to the end result of sharing about the Plan of Salvation. It is so amazing at how beautiful the spirit guides and teaches. We then had dinner with the Cogsdell and Hayes family which went really great. We shared a thought with them and quickly headed off for our lesson with the Young Women. We had a lesson on missionary work and how through their examples they will carry the Light to their friends.

Thursday we began with having some really great planning. It really helped us to spend sometime all working on updating progress records, teaching records, and other records that we have been working on. We were able to set some really good goals but more importantly we were able to set goals that will help us to be more diligent and patient in our efforts. After lunch we went and visited with Joe Hickman and really focused with his comments and were directed to teach the Restoration. We then went and followed up with Lindsey who we talked with last week and ended up talking with her and also her boyfriend Brad. We were able to answer allot of their questions and a lot of his interest was peaked as we discussed a bit about the spirit world. We then continued to do some more tracting which went really well. We had dinner with the Odom's and shared a message with them before we headed off to the Johnny's. We talked with them about the importance of the temple and keeping them focused on getting there.

Friday we started off in the morning by taking in our car and getting the 2nd recall notice fixed on it. We were able to get a little bit of extra study in and we talked with allot of people there about the gospel. We then visited with Sister DeGuire which went really well and we were able to offer service to her and invite her to church. We then started out in the afternoon doing allot of tracting and talking with allot of people. We were able to visit with a few less active member just to get some water and see how they were doing. We then got some new tires on the car and talked with a few people in there. We went back out and continued to tract before we went and did some service for the Fairchild's and helped them clean up so they could prepare to paint.

Saturday we began with service at the Bishop's Storehouse which went really well and we were able to get allot of things accomplished. We delivered a few of the orders for some of the members in the ward with the Morris's and then went to the Mathie's with them to do some more service. We visited with Sister Jett which was great and she is doing pretty good. She has lost a bit of weight but she is still holding on stronger than ever. We came back and Elder Bawden helped Brother Fairchild do some primer while Elder Mackay and I went out and did some visits and some tracting. Elder Mackay and I had dinner with the Blackmon's and visited with their granddaughter who is not a member. We will be following up and seeing if she is interested this next week. We then came back after doing a little bit of tracting and helped for the last hour before coming in that night and helping with the primer at the Fairchild's.

Sunday we didn't have any investigators at church but we were able to feel the spirit throughout the meetings and really were strengthened. Brother Tyler had his girlfriend at church but we were not able to set up an appointment with them at that time. We were able to help Brother Mathie at church because he has just been getting worse and worse and we found out last night that he passed away. He was a really great man and someone as many of the other that I have learned from their example and will remember it for the rest of my life. We visited with Brother Lambert after church and then continued to do some tracting. We were able to talk with allot of great people and find a few more potentials. We had dinner with Brother Tyler that night and talked about being able to teach his girlfriend. They are both extremely busy driving ambulances.

This week has been a week that we have been able to focus on some new goals and really set a stronger standard to strengthen our efforts and understanding of what the lord wants us to do.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen

Friday, June 18, 2010

Tyler April 26 2010

Hello Family,

I look forward to September to see Jefferey R. Holland that will be pretty sweet, Elder Probst told me that he was coming but did not know when. We have had President Kolliker from the area seventy come a couple of times and also Elder Watson of the seventy has also come once to the mission. This past Tuesday we had a really great conference on how to increase our faith to find people to teach. It is something that we are struggling with here in George and so there were a lot of great ideas to find some new investigators. President Probst gave some some great insight and asked some questions to first show that we are in the right mission. He then told us how the transfers work and how we are chosen to areas just like the council given from Elder Rasband of the seventy of choosing by revelation where missionaries need to go throughout the mission. He then asked if we believed we were in the right area in the mission because then there would be no need to proceed on. And then he shared on that if we believed we were in the right place in the right time. It was something great to ponder upon the council that he gave. He is definitely one of the wisest men I have ever met it wouldn't surprise me if he goes to the general authorities. Throughout the week we have been handing out ensigns to different business to help people find some interest and give us a call. We met a nice lady this past week that I have reflected on quite a bit. She works for a safety affirm business and when we knocked on the door she pulled us right into the board room. She was very inattentive as we talked about what we believed, I just hope that she will respect her word and eventually come to church. It has been hard to find white people to teach because most of them attend the dutch reformed but we have trying to think of ideas to say to persuade them to believe in the things that we say. I have learned that racial issues have been a problem in the branch, there is a lot of less active people that don't come because they don't want there children associating around the other children. We just hope that the branch can be strengthened by the conference because it is struggling alot. We were able to watch the general conference on this Saturday and Sunday and it was really great to watch. There was a few sessions where it was just us 4 missionaries and the branch president that watched but we really pushed for the people to attend this weekend but not many investigators and members attended unfortunately. well as for today we are going to have the ap's do some district training Elder Msimango who was in my district for a transfer in Namibia is now the new a.p. here with Elder Tanner. We are going to try and climb George peak which overlooks the ocean and the town of George and then at 7 we will be seeing Deseree and Elizabeth and the there family which are some recent converts. well thanks for the wishes, have a good day and week, send some pictures

Love elder Tyler Hansen

Tyler April 19 2010


Hello family,

Well this week was transfers so I will stay in George for another 6 weeks at least, I know that President Probst is humbling me in this area, because he knows that I don't like it as much so I will be here for quite a while I feel. We had interviews this past week and he just basically said it will prepare you for the future. I don't like this district leader stuff, I am being stretched to much. it would be nice and I just need to find a way to convince President Probst to move me down to a co companionship or junior or Namibia but it wont happen. haha
This past week was Elizabeth's Dangeans baptism at the river. Everything went really well and the next day the Probsts came to church and President Probst was able to confirm her. We have quite a few recent converts in the branch and with them all, I just don't know if the branch can handle a lot of new members because there isn't enough established leadership, but the branch is growing and President Probst told me that they are looking for ground so that they can build a proper chapel soon in George. Today we are going to be driving to Port Elizabeth to a zone conference on Tuesday. A lot of the days this week are going to be taken away from proselyting between zone conference and watching general conference on Saturday on Sunday. We will have the zone conference on Tuesday and then come back that night I don't think there is another place in the mission that it more compared in banishment and so far away from things than George. I look forward to the upcoming zone conference though it will really give us some good ideas on how to find people here in George. From the talks that were assigned to us we were assigned spontaneous talks on how do we build faith in finding people to teach. 2) what does it me to find them that will receive you. 3) How did the savior find people to teach. So I really look forward to what will be said through the spirit through President Probsts superior wisdom and how we can apply it here in George. Well Elder Maja is in the district still with me and then there is Elder Bradshaw from Centerville, and Elder Hajamaramalala from Madigasscar. The other guys area got whitewashed and this week they also experienced two car accidents. Elder Wilson and Moyo got hit in the back of the car by a drunk driver just before they got transferred to Mdantsane and so there was quite a bit of damage to the car and then Elder Bradshaw drove from Port Elizabeth and they had a brand new car and someone hit them in the back last night so the township of Thembulethu is pretty crazy. Things here are going really good though, Well thanks for everything, have a good week.

Love Elder Tyler Hansen

Tyler April 14 2010

Hello Family,

Well this past week was transfers and so I will be staying here in George another transfer in George. It will be huge growth building experience for me because I have had a hard time in this place. We have Elizabeth Dangeans baptism on Saturday and so that is something great coming up. Elder Wilson and elder Moyo left Thembulethu the township here and so the area will be whitewashed. There will be Elder Bradshaw and somebody from Madagascar come into the area and the district. The area in George has been really kind of slow. there was three hundred extra ensigns from the last general conference sent to George a little while ago and so we are taking them to different businesses and practices for the client and patients to read them. We are just leaving are contact details with them and so i hope soon we can start to get some phone calls with as many that we have started to hand out. I one of the challenges is trying to build good relationship with everyone in the branch because I don't know whats happened in the past but a lot of the members don't want much to do with the missionaries. We talked with a guy that is pretty old in the branch to see if we could visit him and he said he was going to be busy for the entire week. It is just kind of disappointing because I have not met many people to where they cant take one hour out of there week to talk with missionaries. The Odells left this past Friday to Port Alfred and it hasn't been the same without them around. Have a good week tell me how things are.

love Elder Tyler Hansen.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Regan, June 15, 2010

This past week has really been a stretching week at times because we didn't know how at all we were possibly going to achieve what the Lord needed us to do. As we went and and worked through everything that was happening we were blessed to have a greater understand that allowed us to have His eyes to see, His ears to hear, and His work to become our work.

Monday we had a really great preparation day and we were able to get allot of things done. We were able to doing some cleaning and really focus on a few things at the apartment. I was able to really focus some more time on my journal and also reading and marking in the Book of Mormon. We had dinner with the Fairchild's that night and had a great family home evening with them focused on the Godhead.

Tuesday we had a great District Meeting that really allowed us to gain a greater strength and understanding of how to act and commit to the promptings of which we receive. I felt as if we were all endowed with a greater power at that moment to really see and find those that he needed us to find. We visited with the Hughes after lunch which was good and we invited them to come to church. Sister Hughes has been recovering from a heart attack a few weeks ago and has had some really great progress. We traveled to see Evalyn Matonyei and had a really great restoration lesson with her. She was a member referral of which we received and she was very receptive. We left her with 3 Nephi 11 to read. We visited with Sister Thompson which was really great and we are hoping that she will come back to church. She has had many ups and downs recently and she is still struggling to find stable ground to land on. We visited with the Harris family and had a great time visiting with Brother Harris and his sisters. They haven't been to church for a while and we are planning on doing service for them which hopefully will help us better get in the door and talk with them. We helped the Johnny's fill out a few paperwork things again and just set some goals with them about bettering their situation. We visited with Brother Serrano and had a great lesson with him and read out of Alma. We committed him to continue to read everyday because with work he is unable to attend church right now.

Wednesday Elder Bawden had a doctors appointment which went really well and the doctor said that he is doing better and he can now exercise and soon everything will be completely healed which was great to hear. After we went and immediately began to tract. It was kind of a strange day of tracting because on every house that we knocked we didn't get an answer, but we continued to knock each and every door that we could. We had lunch with Sister Klug which was great and we did a few things for her while we were there. We headed to Kimberly Evans home and had a really good lesson with her and read in Alma with her. She has been reading and it still is continuing to change her ability to greater focus on what he wants her to learn. We stopped and visited with Ryesha Henderson and set up a time that we could come back for another visit and a lesson. We then had dinner with the Fairchild's after a bit more tracting and we were able to talk with allot of people this past time which was great. We found a few potentials that we will be following up with soon.

Thursday we spent allot of our day up at the Mathies helping them with some service they needed. We received a call before lunch that Brother Mathie had fallen so we rushed up to help him out. It is very sad to see that he doesn't have the strength or ability to do allot of things that he used to be able to do. We were able to help him get up and we had a lunch with them which went well. We then spent some doing some yard work and also putting a chair lift on the vehicle to Brother Mathie will be able to use his scooter. Ever since his last set of heart attacks he has never fully recovered but I know that he is trying with all of his heart to do all that he can. We came back down and tracted which was really great and we stopped by the church to get some more water and we were able to make a few calls that we had needed to make. We had dinner with the Millers which went really well and we were able to invite them to church and really help in anyway that we can. They both have some health problems that have kept them from being able to make it to church but luckily Brother Miller doesn't have work this week and can take a little bit of a break. We stopped by and visited with Joe Hickman for a brief moment and set up an appointment with him for the next day. We stopped and visited with Brother Serrano and helped him with some applications that he needed help with.

Friday we planned in the morning because our Thursday became very jam packed. We were able to set some great goals and were able to set up a few appointments with some referrals that we had. We were also able to get records updated which helped us to really specifically focus on the needs of our investigators. We had lunch with the Parke's family which was really great and after we immediately had a great lesson with Joe Hickman. We shared with him the Plan of Salvation and it really hit him very hard. He lost his wife a few years back and she is on the top of his conversations always. We left him to continue reading in Mosiah 1 - 4 and invited him to church. We then tracted for a few hours which went well and we also talked with Caroline who was a member referral and we set up an appointment with her the next day. We had dinner and finished the night off with activity night which went really well and we had allot of people come.

Saturday we started by doing some service with Sister Jett's family by moving her stuff out and getting it put on the trailers so they could move it to her son's home where she is now living. It went really well and there was allot of member support there to help. We came back and had a bit of our studies and then had lunch after a little bit of tracting. We then went out and continued to tract which went really well and we found Lindsey and she invited us to come back and we are really excited. She was very open and really desired to learn more. We then went and had our lesson with Caroline which went really well and she asked allot of great questions which allowed us to each her allot of great truths through the spirit. We left her with 3 Nephi 11 to read and invited her to church tomorrow and she said that she would come. We continued to tract until dinner which went really well and after we continued to visit less active members and make phone calls.

Sunday we had allot of changes within the leadership of the ward and everything is now going to run even more smoothly. Many different people had moved away and they reorganized a bunch of callings. We had a great lesson at church and as we left priesthood we had 3 investigators at church which was really awesome. Caroline was able to make it which was cool and Melissa came with a member. We were able to have them both in Gospel Principle class and we set up appointments with them. We left Melissa with 3 Nephi 11 to read and set up an appointment with her for Wednesday. We had potluck after church and afterwards immediately went out making visits. We were able to visit with Lori Shelton who is a less active member and she has now asked us to call her on Saturday to remind her about church which is awesome. We then began to tract with a Brother Nordwald who is leaving on a mission soon and we had allot of great success. We were able to find Anastasia and will be having a lesson with her next week. We finished the night with some more calls and did a little bit of studies to prepare for a few things.

This week allowed us to see more tender mercies of the Lord. I know that because we continued to work hard throughout the week and kept tracting even when we figured no one would answer the Lord always provides in some way even if it is a way you would never expect to see at that moment.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen

Monday, June 7, 2010

Regan, June 7, 2010

This past week has brought us so much joy in working hard and being able to experience the blessings of the Lord. He has been amazing to us and has brought us into a greater Unity and strength in his service.

Monday we started the day off by visiting a less active members we don't get to visit very often. We visited with the Presley's and stopped to see how there son was doing after being in the hospital. Brother Presley isn't a member and we are trying to establish a more solid relationship with him so he feels more comfortable around us. We visited with the Worthington's and invited them to church. Brother Worthington has been very busy with work and we are hoping that he will get some Sundays off soon. We decided we would try our hand at tracting which went really well and we were able to find Will. He is a really great guy and is open about learning about the gospel. After lunch we headed up into the Eight Mile area and visited with a few less active members. We were able to talk with them and find out where some of their children had moved to so we could get the records up there. We also spent sometime tracting and found a few potential investigators that we are following up with. We stopped and visited with the Colvin's and found out that Sister Colvin's mother hasn't been doing to well and her cancer has spread very quickly. We also talked with Tyler and Chelsa Colvin which was really great and we were able to discuss a lot of great things with them and invite them to church. We had dinner with Kimberly Evan's and her husband which went relay well. He is still not open about the Gospel but at some point he will be.

Tuesday we had a really great p-day and were able to accomplish quite a bit of things. We were able to get through a lot of our shopping and emails quickly which allowed me to be able to spend some more time studying and marking within the Book Of Mormon which is always a great experience. We were also able to stop by the Parkes home and talk with Bishop and the family for a bit which was really great. We had dinner with the Fairchild's which went really well and we invited them all to church. We then went to the church and FHE with Sister Byrd and had a great lesson on family history that she shared with us.

Wednesday we started off the day trying to visit a few of our investigators that haven't been progressing. We weren't able to see them so we went tracting and found Brian. He has a very large background within the scriptures and has a lot of family who is Jehovah Witness. When we came back to our car we found that it has been egged so we quickly went and got the car washed and luckily we got it all of with no damage done to the car. After lunch we traveled into the Prichard area to deliver a few referrals. Neither were interested in hearing more but as we were there we talked with Tasha which went really well and we left her with a Book of Mormon and Alma 32 to read in preparation to teach her the next week. We had a great lesson with Kimberly Evans after and read Alma 5 with her. She shared with us that she hadn't been able to read during the week and we rec omitted her to it. We traveled to Semmes and had a Baptismal Interview with Gus Navarro. He is a really great guy and his testimony was very strong as I was able to talk with him. We had a little Bar-b-cue with the Young Men and Young Women which went really well and we visited with a few less active members of the youth that showed up. We visited with Heather Hall quickly and she is doing pretty good. Afterwards we visited with Joe Hickman and had a really great lesson with him. We left him with Mosiah 1-4 to read and also Alma 5.

Thursday we started out and did a lot of great planning. As I was updating the progress record Elder Mackay was updating the teaching records and Elder Bawden was updating the referrals. As we worked together we were able to accomplish a lot of things quicker and planning went very well. We were able to set goals that will stretch us and we were able to make all of the phone calls that we needed to make. We visited with the Campbell's afterwards and have now set up a time that we will be visiting with them and we will be following up to confirm that it will still work for them. Brother Campbell isn't a member but we are really focusing on his grandson to try and get him back to church, hoping that it will trigger something within Brother Campbell as well. We visited with the Millers after which went really well and found out that Sister Miller has been feeling a lot better but she is still having her day to day battle with MS. Brother Miller has continued to stay busy with the Core of Engineers and luckily has this next week off. We had dinner with the Parkes which went well and we were able to have some time with Bishop Parkes and we were able to help them with their garden. We then traveled to the Johnny's and helped them fill out some paperwork so they could receive some help with food stamps and things. Brother Johnny has been working hard and has been a little bit down because of the lack of hours at work he has been receiving.

Friday we had a really great Zone Conference. His Spirit was very strong and it allowed me to reflect, ponder, and write down many promptings of which I am striving to apply. It really allowed me to reflect on a lot of important things that I have been striving to do and also re-focused myself on how I could better accomplish those goals and be more effective throughout the whole process. It was sad that this was President and Sister Summerhays last Zone Conference in Mobile before they leave. I know that the of which President Summerhays has received and applied within our mission will carry me forever. I have truly felt the Power of our Mission Culture and I will strive with all my might, mind, and strength to continue the Pattern of Excellence that has been established within my life forever. I love the examples they have been and will always be within my life. After we traveled and visited the Johnny's and helped the children prepare for their assignments for Primary. I was able to help Ailleen with her talk on the Holy Ghost. I really do love the Johnny family, especially the children. We had dinner with the Curtis's that night which was really great and we were able to talk with him about the split we would be going on with him on Saturday. We went to see Sister Jett after and she is in bright spirits even while being in the hospital. She is having to have surgery on Monday and the cancer has really now caused her problems recently. We followed up with having activity night at the church which went really well and we were able to have a lot of different people show up and they have now began to invite their non-member friends to come.

Saturday we started the day with Bishop's Storehouse which went really well. We have been able to recently get done quicker and quicker because of the system that Sister Jett instituted has helped so much. It was unfortunate to not have her there. We came back and got cleaned up and had lunch then traveled down to the flea market for about and hour to visit a less active member. We talked with Sister Bross which went really well and found out her new address and that her daughter who is a member is coming into town this next week. Her daughter is a member and we are hoping to get them to church. We traveled to Semmes for Gus's baptism which went really well. We didn't have anyone show up but it looked like the Semmes elders had a few non-members there. We traveled back and visited with the Baylors which went really well and we had a great talk with her and her husband. He doesn't open up to much but this time we were able to talk with him a lot. We came back and had a quick dinner before Brother Curtis picked us up. We traveled up to visit a media referral that we had who wasn't home and we then visited Sister Bexley who we have never met. She is really great Sister and is going to be moving to Grove Hill soon. She has been attending church up there because her parents live there. We then came back and made some phone calls and updated a few more records.

Sunday we didn't have any investigators to church but we had a few less actives that we had been inviting and our attendance was over 100 people this week which is awesome. We had a great lesson with some of our recent converts and the less active members on Honesty. It went really well and the Spirit was very strong, especially as we were able to hear other bear their testimony. We helped do a few things at the church after which went well and we then traveled to see Sister Jett in the hospital. We found out that she is no longer going to be able to eat anything again. The cancer has gotten so back that she is not able to digest food anymore. She is having surgery so she can have a drainage tube because she is only going to be able to have liquids and it is needed because he won't be able to digest things. The doctors have given her 3 - 4 weeks of life left and it is really sad. She has been a Sister dedicated to service and whenever I see her I feel the Spirit of the Lord. She has been a great example for me and I hope that she will always standout to everyone as she has to me. We then visited with a few less active member and did some tracting. We had dinner with the Martyn's which went really well and we discussed with him some things that we can do to help with some of his home teaching families.

This week has been really amazing with the Lord's hand in it every step of the way I feel. I know that because of the Enabling power of the Atonement and the great leadership that we have, that our desires to serve Him with all of our Might, Mind, and Strength will increase daily.

Love You

Elder Regan Hansen

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Regan, June 1, 2010

This past week has been a changing and growing experience that has really helped me to understand a lot of different things that will continue to help me become better each week. With each challenge and trial that has been thrown my way His Spirit has helped me through and brought me into a new understanding within his light.

Monday we had a pretty great p-day and it was very interesting when we read that we would be training a new missionary. We immediately began planning for that and getting everything set up so he would have a bed and everything would be prepared for him. We were able to get a lot of things accomplished before dinner with the Hearn's and Mason's. We discussed with them about the service we would be doing for them tomorrow in helping them be ready to move to Indiana on Wednesday.

Tuesday was a really great day that really helped us reflect on those who would be leaving and how they made an impact for the better in our lives. We had a really great district meeting in which we were able to do a lot of different role plays and went over the new Zone Conference packet. We were able to prepare and also able to express our Love to Elder Morrison for his dedicated service and example that he ways for each of us. After we immediately went over to the Hearn's and began doing service for them. We were able to help them get everything packed into the moving truck and thanked them for there friendship and the example they were. After service we received a call from Brother Klug and we ended up giving him a blessing. He found out that he has cancer and wanted to know the direction he needed to pursue. We then tracted for a few hours which went pretty good and we were able to testify and ask for from everyone that we talked with. We had dinner with the Fairchild's which went really well and we then tried to visit a few other less active members.

Wednesday we had Elder Metcalf come with us because of the transfer situation and we started in the morning by going and getting a few box springs bought so we would have enough beds for everybody. We were able to find a great deal and talked wit the owner for a little bit. After lunch we traveled and had a lesson with Kimberly which went really well. We followed up with how here reading was doing and you could tell that it had already been making a world of difference for her. We shared a few scriptures and left her with some chapters to read. We came back and met with Elder Mackay our new companion and it went really well. He was able to spend sometime unpacking and getting settled in. We had dinner with Sister Pacetti which went really well and we were able to share a good thought with her. We then finished off at the church so Elder Mackay could meet some of the ward leaders and members.

Thursday we began with a great planning session and really went over all of the things that were consisted of planning and really focused on him learning how to fill out the records. It went really well and we were able to set some goals that are really going to be able to stretch us. We did some shopping so he would be able to get the food that he needed then we went and started tracting. It went really well and he was able to do some great door step approaches. Even with the first door closed in his face we kept him positive and everything went great. We then went to the Parkes for dinner and did a little bit of service before which went really good and we were able to do a lot of things. We visited with the Johnny's that night and introduced him to them. They are doing really good and they have been holding strong coming to church each and every week.

Friday we had a great day fixed on making it an all day adventure into Saraland which we haven't been able to do recently. As we were there we visited with less active members and did 5V5's near their houses. We were able to talk with a lot of great people. We visited with Brother People and he is headed off to the Academy for some training for his job. It will allow him to be able to support his family better with a better income and more opportunities of work. We stopped by and visited with Brother Bedwell since he had shoulder surgery. He was doing pretty good and he is planning on being at church on Sunday. We visited with the Mcdonald's which went well and hopefully we will be able to see them a little bit more in the future. After her knee operation she has been doing a lot better but hasn't yet fully recovered. We visited Sister Shelton and found out that she was going to be moving so we offered service for when she needed it. We had dinner with the Mathie's which went really well. Brother Mathie is still slowly recovering from his heart attacks but, he is still able to make it to church. We finished the night with activity night which went really well and we had even more people show up than last time. It went really well and everyone had tons of fun.

Saturday was filled with a lot of great service. We had breakfast and service at the Fairchild's which went really well and we were able to do some trade-offs throughout. Elder Mackay and I went and did some service for some other members which went really well. We came back and helped Elder Bawden and Brother Fairchild set up a few things and then went and visited s few other people. We were able to have a pretty good lesson with Joe Hickman which went really well and we left him with Moroni 7 and Mosiah 2 to read. We then had dinner with Brother Serrano and had a great lesson with 2 of his roommates very unexpectedly. We ended up teaching Larry and David and it went really well. This was one of Elder Mackay's first full teaching lessons and he did really good. We were able to bear testimony and ask questions that allowed His spirit to guide the lesson to what they needed and wanted to hear. We left them with a few of the pamphlets to read and look over.

Sunday continued to be really great day and the work went very well. Brother Serrano brought Larry and David to church which ended up being really great. During Gospel Principles class we were able to teach Larry and David about the Plan of Salvation and His spirit really took over. They learned a lot of new things and asked some really great questions. After church we went to try and visit with a few referrals but didn't have any success. We were able to visit with Brother Blackmon and he said that he would be at church next week. We visited with Sister Gover and we are working on setting a date for her to come back to church. We also visited with Sister Wyser which went really well and she has just continued to be really busy. Throughout all of these visits we were able to do some tracting when the lightning wasn't going crazy. We finished the night with dinner at the Martyn's which went really well and we continued after with some of our studies.

This week has showed me a new understanding of the Tender Mercies of The Lord. We didn't know when or where our investigators would show up but as we worked hard and finished out the week strong his Tender Mercies opened the doors so we could find Larry and David. Oh, how I truly do love this work and recognizing and thanking the Lord for his Tender Mercies.