Regan September 28, 2009

This week has been very Interesting with Elder Barlow getting sick but also seeing that the work will continue to Endure through anything that my be thrown in our way.

On Monday we had a great p-day getting prepared for a few lessons that we had that night. I went to the Corbin's home and taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of Wisdom. We also committed her to pray to Know if baptism is the next step for her. Elder Barlow and Jensen went and visited another couple and less actives that lived close to them.

On Tuesday we traveled to Defuniak and had a great district meeting. I received some great direction. As we traveled back we tried to visit all the less actives on the way back and we were able to talk with few of them. We then went to the Royce's home and talked with the kids and read a bit of scriptures with them and continued to encourage them to read and pray every night. We then went to the Toolans to get a few things so we could prepare for our splits that night. We all split of and visited 7 different less active families in the 2nd ward.

On Wednesday we started off by seeing Misty in the Hospital because she had some complications with some medicine that she had been taking. We then went and visited Sister Thompson and had a great visit. Elder Barlow started to feel a little under the weather so we let him sleep and just made calls and set up appointments. We did on a few trade offs later that night and were able to visit a few more less active families in both wards and had great success with them.

On Thursday Elder Barlow was still not feeling well so we planned and I spent about 4 hours making calls before we took him into the Doctors. We then tried to get him to get his X ray but they had already closed so when we were getting his medicine at Walmart we contacted a little bit.

On Friday he hadn't improved so we took him to Doctor Roberts office and then we took him to the Hospital and got him admitted. That night we went on Trade-offs and Elder Jensen went and visited the Angeles family, while Elder Tolley, Anderson, and I went to Brother Phillips home for his Baptismal Interview.

On Saturday we started the Day of with Brother Phillips Baptism which went well and the spirit was so strong at the service. We immediately left to do service at the Fehlman's. Sister Fehlman is doing allot better and she was out walking around again. We followed that with a visit to the Sheets and mowed her grass and cleaned our her garage. We then visited Misty and she is doing allot better. After we went and visited Elder Barlow in the Hospital and took him up a few things.

On Sunday we had our normal meeting with the ward leaders and had a great time at church hearing all the little kids bear such a sweet, pure, and powerful testimonies. Oh how amazing they truly are. We had 5 investigators at church and were able to get an appointment set up with the Gorby's so we will be teaching them on Wednesday. We went and taught Brother Howe and his Sister the Restoration. They are less active members. We then split of and visited the Devine's and also taught Junior Dukes about the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. We then had dinner with the Mozina's and went and administered the sacrament to Elder Barlow.

Hey if you could please put Elder Michael Barlow's name on the Prayer Roll at the Temples that would be great.

Love Y'all
Elder Regan Hansen

Regan, September 26, 2009

Elder Regan Hansen and Elder Jensen, in Elder Barlow's hospital room. Swine Flu has hit the Tallahassee Florida Mission. Sister, Jeri Toolan sent me these pictures that she took at the Crestview Hospital, September 26, 2009. She also sent a text message to Elder Hansen's brother Austin to let him know.

Tyler Sept 21 2009

Hello family,

Thanks for the emails, it sounds like it has been a busy week. It is good to here that Aiden and Ashley are doing well. Mom thanks for being an angel and for the letters, they help me get through the tough weeks. Well this week has been kind of strange and new. I got transfer news on Tuesday and I am going to Windhoek, Namibia. I was expecting to fly out on Thursday early in the morning but because of the delay of obtaining our visas Elder Hajarijaona from Madagascar and me are staying in Somerset West. Elder Haj and I will just stay companions in Somerset West until we leave to Namibia which could be this week to three weeks time. I was sad to leave Hermanus though. I didn't even get to say goodbye to anyone because of the quick news except for the Beals and President Mackinnon. President Mackinnon say Hermanus is the Celestial kingdom in which I truly believe. Anywhere else must be of exaltation or of a lesser degree but I feel it is an honor and privilege to serve there which is a seldom opportunity. Yesterday I was able to attend the Cape Town stake conference which I didn't think I would be able to because of the news but it was great to attend and feel the spirit there and see the recent converts of Hermanus attend as well. President and Sister Probst spoke at the conference and the chapel was full with many filling the relief society room. Something that President Probst said in the conference that I liked was promised blessings only come through unforced obedience, the full blessings do not come through forced obedience, the kingdom of God can only be obtained by aligning our will with Gods will. I love to hear him speak, he is a man of God. We are staying in a four person boarding and mainly working the areas of Maccasar and Stellonbosch. We have had some success and some miracles this week which has been good. Well have a good week.

Love
Elder Tyler Hansen

Regan September 21, 2009

Monday was a really great day. Not only it being p-day but that night we were able to have a lesson with Regan and Liz. We taught the Restoration and how to mark the promises in the Book Of Mormon. They both caught on really quick and were excited about the promises that it had to offer. We then went and visited Brother Sanders our ward mission leader in the 1st ward. We discussed ways to involve the members and really focused on a direction on how to best have stronger unity with the leaders.

Tuesday we traveled to Defuniak Springs for district meeting. We did a few role plays and really were able to prepare ourselves for later on in the day with the appointments we had. That night I went with Brother Cooksey to his house to teach Brother Phillips about temples and go over the Baptismal Interview questions. He will be getting baptized this Saturday and it is exciting. He is very focused on the next step of going to the temple and being sealed.

Wednesday we went to transfer spots to see Elder Gudmundson off and meet Elder Tolley's new companion. We then went and tracted in an apartment complex and found 2 great people. We set up an appointment with both Jamie and Billie. We then went to the Royce's home and did some service and helped with some Yard work. We went over to the Corbin's home and had an amazing Plan of Salvation lesson. The spirit directed us to pray with her and the spirit was there very strongly. We are considering committing her to baptism shortly.

Thursday we planned and got 7 appointments set up with Investigators and less active members. We will now be splitting 3 ways this coming Tuesday so we can go and teach all of the appointments and we have great ward support with the High Priests. We had dinner with the Seager family and then went to activity night and there were 4 non-members there.

Friday the morning time was slow because I went to Doctor Roberts for a visit. We then went and visited the Baker family in the 1st ward who are a less active-part member family. We shared a great message our of 3 Nephi 11 on the verses we have been studying lately and we are hoping that instills a desire with Terenzio to want to learn more. We had a lesson with Brittany and it went well. We taught and then watched the Restoration DVD. That night her and the Toolan family watched the Testaments DVD with 2 other non-member friends.

Saturday we traveled to the Fehlman's and chopped some wood up for about 30 minutes then we discussed Abraham 4-5 with him. It has been great being able to read and study in the Pearl of Great Price with him. We then went with Brother Beattie and helped Sister Rodgers move into her new home. We had dinner with the Harrison family which was great and we are happy that Sister Harrison is coming back to church and fired up about her new calling in Family History.

Sunday we had 4 investigators at church and 2 of them came for the 1st time. The Coopers called us on Saturday and said they found our pass-a-long card with our number on it and called to see if we could get them for church. We got them a ride and we also set up an appointment to teach them today. Misty Royce and Junior Dukes were also at church. That afternoon we taught Junior Dukes about Repentance and Baptism. He is progressing well and he picked out his day to get baptized on December 31, so we are keeping weekly contact to make sure he is still reading and growing so he does not fall away from his goal. We had dinner with Brother Breen who is less-active and met his girlfriend Megan. We will be teaching her in the future which is exciting.
This week had been really great. We had our short comings, but we were able to work through them together and become better in the Service of our Lord.

Love Y'all

Elder Regan Hansen

Tyler Sept 14 2009

Hello family,

Sorry I didn’t write last week I was kind of frustrated with how the week went. I just get tired of all the lies and rejection we receive each day it gets old fast. I am grateful for the Beals though they have been a blessing in my life while I have been here and we continue to help each other through different circumstances to help us through the difficult times of being depressed. I understand that the hard times just make someone stronger. I have grown a lot in Hermanus by relying on Heavenly Father. Hermanus is far away from everyone else and the challenges we encounter are different in there own unique way. Member referrals aren’t working very well in the area but we have continued to have good success in the dvd handouts finding faith in Christ and families can be together forever. We have been able to see many people change their hearts because of these dvds and message of the restoration. This week we had Sebuleles baptism, it was great to see that he made the decision in his life to make this choice by asking Heavenly Father in prayer and receiving a specific answer from his specific question. I had the privilege of talking at the occasion, and we didn’t have another flood. Sebuleles uncle Wellington baptized him and it was a goal we wanted to see because of the example that Wellington has portrayed on his nephew Sebu. It is great for me because I have been able to teach him all the lessons to baptisms and witness his growth. We found two great guys this week from Malawie and I can just tell by the way they speak and their interest in the gospel that they will be baptized in the near future. Their names are Rolex and Charles, they are brothers who both have the desire to know more. We have tried to find more success in the white areas of Hermanus like West Cliff and North Cliff, but it is just a matter of finding the prepared people by being guided by the spirit of where to go. When a missionary brings up the word Joseph Smith or Book of Mormon all the interest of the person just shuts off, but it is great when you can enter into a white persons home and share a message with them. Because of racial issues of the africaans people, many of the black Elders have a hard time entering the homes ,which I have seen with Elder Manuwere since he has been here with us. There are a few homes that we haven’t been able to go into since Elder Manuwere has been with us. He is a great missionary though and teaches excellent despite the racial problems. I am grateful for the prayers of the many people you can truly see they help when in doubt. Well this week is looking a lot better and for us. We have many appointments and also transfers are this week. I am hoping I will get to stay here for six months even though it is sometimes difficult.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Love Elder Tyler Hansen

Regan September 14, 2009

This week has been the most spiritual and growing week that I feel that I have had so far on my mission.

On Monday we delivered a referral for a Book of Mormon to Yolanda Jones. We then went and taught Brother Wood the Restoration which went good. We then went and taught Ben and Mekala the Restoration and it went well. We then had dinner with Bishop Roberts and the White family. We have a really good friendship with their families.

On Tuesday we had our P-day last week because of the Holiday. That night we went on splits with Bishop Price and Brother Perry and visited 5 different less active families.

On Wednesday we had District Meeting which was a very great strengthening tool. We visited Sister Gray and helped her with some service. We then visited the Hansen's to see how Bennita was doing to see when they wanted us to teach her again. I went on splits with Brother Beattie and visited the Lemasters and the Hutchins who are both less active families.

On Thursday we began planning and set some really good goals that were definitely going to test us. We went to visit Trudy but she was not home so we went to visit a few less actives. That night we had activity night and we had great ward support and 3 non-members there.

On Friday we had the Opportunity to have Elder Gonzalez of the 70 come and direct us in matters of support. I received some great things that I have now began to apply in my life now. We went to the Walker family and did service and continued to get everything planned for Maeson's baptism.

On Saturday we went over to the Fehlman's and helped chop up wood as service. We then discussed Abraham 2 & 3 and answered questions that he had. We went and taught Brother Wood again and discussed temple blessings and they had some great questions. That night Maeson's Baptism went great. The spirit was strong and everything just went through so well.

On Sunday I had the Opportunity to Confirm Maeson and the experience left me with the strongest testimony of the 2nd part of the Baptismal ordinance. After church we went and visited with the Tew family and visited some other less active members. Elder Jensen and I went to a fireside that the 2nd ward was having about missionary work. We received a new investigator Liz there and also found out some great news that Brother Phillips will be getting Baptized in 2 weeks.

This week has been so great and I found out that I am able to stay here in Crestview for another 6 weeks and it is going to be awesome.


Love Y'all

Elder Regan Hansen

Regan September 8, 2009

This week has been really fun and as I have continued to Strive for Exact Obedience the power has been so real.

Monday after P-day we went over to Sister Sheets house and we had the opportunity to administer a blessing to her before she went into surgery. She is less-active and I know that this blessing could help change that. We then went to the Royce home and gave Misty's brother and Kevin a blessing. Kevin is switching to some new medicine and the Doctors are taking a few tests so him and house mom wanted comfort and direction from the Lord.

Tuesday we spent the start of our day in Baker dropping off a referral and we then went and tracted. We talked with Patricia and she is interested in the stop smoking program so we will follow up with her. We then went to the Bernier's home and administered a blessing to Sister Bernier because she just had surgery on her foot and she hasn't been doing to well. We also gave Sister Gray a blessing because she has been feeling very tired and ill lately. Elder Jensen and I then went with Elder Smith tracting and talked with a great lady but she was really busy at the time. I went on trade-offs with Brother Lesher and visited a few less active families.

Wednesday we started the day off at District Meeting and it went great. I really do feel that the Missionaries the I am serving around are striving to be the Best preach my gospel missionaries. We stopped by Telisha house and talked with her a minute to see how she was doing and then went and visited Napitre and taught a first lesson. We then went and talked with Dexter Marchman and offered service and we helped him on Saturday with planting trees and trimming shrubs.

Thursday we started the Day and really planned and set some goals that were going to stretch us. We talked with Trudy and set up an appointment with her for later this week. We visited the Woods and offered service. We then had dinner with the Koester family. Chris was there who is Erin's non-member boyfriend. We have been teaching him with her but she has now left for BYU-Hawaii. We then had activity night and there were 5 non-members there.

Friday we went over to Sister Toolans and called ward members and invited them to the day of service that the ward does the 1st Saturday of each month. It went well and we were able to call and invite many member both active and less-active. That night we had dinner with the Horst family and invited them to fast this Sunday to know who they could best help become acquainted to the church.

Saturday was a service day with no room for breaks. We ended up doing service for 9 families when we were doing it as the 2nd ward service day and then we went and helped 3 other families that we had scheduled with. We helped the Fehlmans, Dexter Marchman, and the Angeles family. I enjoyed every minute of service because I made sure that I was in the right attitude to really Love those whom I served. It felt great working hard to help everyone and I know the Lord was grateful for the service we rendered. We then had dinner and they invited 3 investigators over with there families and it went great. We had a great time and the spirit of friendship was strong.

Sunday we had 3 investigators at church but we are working hard on inviting everyone to come. We had a few appointments fall through for the day but were able to find less actives and members to visit before dinner. We went to the Nelson's home for dinner. We then went to the Royce home for our Nightly family prayer and only Kevin was there but we pressed forward and had a great prayer with him.

I am so grateful for the the Restored Gospel and the power of the Priesthood. I have never felt so blessed as I was this week in being able to administer blessings. My testimony has been strengthened so much and my faith has been increased because I felt the influence of the spirit on each and every blessing and it brought peace and comfort into the depths of my soul.

Love Y'All

Elder Regan Hansen