Week 78--Bel Air, Guyana

Week 6--Elder McMillan

Hello family,
 We had a great week this week. We got transfer calls on Saturday, and Elder McMillan is leaving to go to my old area, Canje. I will be getting Elder Andrews as a companion. He's actually from New Amsterdam, Berbice. I knew him before he went on his mission when I was in Berbice. I'm pretty excited!

 Bel Air is doing great. We are really loving our new contact area. Two people living there are going to be baptized on Saturday, so we're really excited for that.

  I have really loved being with Elder McMillan. I'm so grateful that the Lord put us together. I've learned so much for him. I am also excited to be Elder Andrews' companion this next transfer.
  I have a testimony of growing where you're at. I know that all of us aren't at the same stages or at the same level in life. Not all of us have the same gifts or same backgrounds, but I know that it is possible for everyone to be growing where they are at. I'm grateful for that. I know that the Lord is aware enough of me and everyone else that he can help everyone to be in a situation that will help them to grow exactly in the way He needs them to and at a rate that is the best for each person. It blows my mind that He can do that, but I know that He can and does. I am very grateful for that.

  A spiritual experience I had this week was in reviewing the baptismal interview questions with an investigator who is going to be baptized this Saturday. When we asked her what it means to her that there is a prophet on the earth, she said, "A prophet is very important, and he needs the priesthood." It's interesting because we've been focusing a lot more on her sister than her, but she was soaking it all in. I am grateful she has a testimony of that.

 I love all of you so much! Thanks for your emails. I hope you have a great week this week.
Love,

 Elder Hanni

Driving to Linden. 

Driving to Linden

Crossing bridge in the middle of Linden. 

Week 77--Bel Air, Guyana

Week 5--Elder McMillan

Hello family,

 This week was pretty fun. President and Sister Baird came for zone conference, and Elder McMillan and I got to go teaching with Sister Baird in our area. We decided to take her to a place called the Durban Backlands. It is super cool back there, and we took her to two girls back there who are going to be baptized soon. It was super fun. At the end of this week, Sister Lilla got baptized! It was awesome. Unfortunately, on Sunday, she accidentally slept in, so she missed her confirmation, but she will hopefully make it next week.

  We are doing great in Bel Air. We had some baptismal dates that needed to be moved later on in January and February, but we were just really excited because someone we had put in the peripheral a week or two back came to church on Sunday! I'm grateful for that, and we are just trying to meet as many people here as we can!

  Elder McMillan is great. He is very good at evaluating himself and situations, and he is able to discern what needs to happen so that we can be doing the most good in our area. I am very grateful for that.

  I have a testimony of having the desire to find people. I feel like I shared a similar testimony a few weeks ago, but I was just so impressed when I got to work with Elder Morgan on a contacting visit this week. He just really has a desire to find people and teach them the gospel. I was grateful to learn from him this week.

  A spiritual experience I had this week was pretty simple, but it was really nice. We went to this investigator who is very bright, but pretty cautious and a little skeptical about everything people tell her. Right, when we got to her house, I just had a good feeling, and I felt like this was going to be a good lesson. We've been able to teach her a few times, but what stood out to me this time is that immediately after the prayer, she asked us the question, "So what time does church start tomorrow." It turns out that she was already planning to go. The lesson also went very well, and when we invited her to be baptized, she accepted without hesitation. Yesterday, she came to church with her sister. I know that this gospel softens hearts because it is His gospel. I am so grateful for that, and I know that this is the truth.

Love,
 Elder Hanni

Sister Lilla's Baptism

This is the area we took Sister Baird.

This is the area we took Sister Baird.

This is the area we took Sister Baird.

Week 76--Bel Air, Guyana

Week 4--Elder McMillan

Hello family,

  We are doing really good in Bel Air. We were able to clean up our teaching pool this week, and we finished our contact area and found a new one. We were also really glad to have 6 of our investigators at church this week.

  I'm really enjoying Elder McMillan. He's an amazing missionary. We are just having a lot of fun, and we are enjoying the work here in this area. He's teaching me to be a more effective missionary.

  I have a testimony of wanting to find the elect. Right now, I just feel like I'm enjoying contacting more than I ever have before. I'm always excited to meet new people because I know that the Lord is putting people in our path so that they can be able to receive this gospel.

  Elder McMillan and I were in an area going to an appointment, and when we got there, the doors were closed. There were some kids outside who informed us that the people we were coming to see were inside the house, but when we called inside, no one came out. We were sad that they didn't want to see us anymore, so we decided to follow up with someone a few houses away. It turns out that she just didn't agree with what we said, and she just wasn't interested anymore. We were sadder after that, so we were about to leave the area to go somewhere else, but then someone called out to us from a shop and asked us how we were doing, we said we were doing good, and since the shop was behind us, I considered just continuing on our way, but then we felt like we needed to talk to this woman. We did, and it turned out that she knew some members in our branch. When we returned for a return appointment, she told us that she feels like she needs to be baptized because she's been going down the wrong track for a while. We invited her to be baptized that lesson, and she accepted! I know that wouldn't have happened if we had just biked away. I'm grateful that the Lord blessed us that day to be able to find someone new when the others dropped out.

 I love all of you so much. I hope you have a great week!

Love,

 Elder Hanni

Week 75-- Bel Air, Guyana

Week 3--Elder McMillan

Hello family,
 I really loved being able to talk to you on Christmas. It was sweet! We had a great week this week. Junior got baptized on Saturday, and both he and Ronaldo got confirmed on Sunday. It was a miracle that Ronaldo got the day off. He was very happy about it.
 We're doing great here in Bel Air. We have been finding a lot of people, and pretty much everyone is accepting a baptismal date. We were also able to help someone set a date for January after figuring out what to do to live the law of chastity, so we are really excited for this next month. It's going to be awesome.
  Elder McMillan and I are doing great. I really love working with him. We are working very, very hard together, and I'm excited about what is going to happen in this area soon. I am just having so much fun here.
  I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. I just finished it after marking every reference I could find to Jesus Christ. I loved it, and it really is incredible how often He is mentioned. I know that that book is the word of God and that this church is Jesus Christ's restored church in these last days.}
  A spiritual experience I had this week was in a contacting visit in Garden Park. I got to see a family of recent converts again, and the spiritual experience was to be able to see the relationship they have with each other now. The mom and the son used to fight all the time, but when I was there, they were both just so much more calm and loving towards each other. I know that making covenants and receiving the Holy Ghost changes these people's lives for the best.
 I love all of you so much. Happy New Year, and have a great week!
Love,
 Elder Hanni

Junior's Baptism. 

Week 74-- Bel Air, Guyana

Week 2-- Elder McMillan

Hello family,

 It has been a wonderful week this week. I really love it here, and I'm really excited for Christmas.
 I really love being here in Bel Air. We were able to do a lot of finding this week, and we were so grateful to be able to find some new people to teach. We are working on having a full pipeline of investigators in our area. We were also able to see some recent converts this weeks that we haven't been able to see in a while.

  I really, really love being with Elder McMillan! He is such a great companion. We are getting along so well, and he has already had some fantastic ideas of how we can just be in our area more. We've had more time, so it's been incredible.

  I have a testimony of contacting every day. I've just really enjoyed meeting so many new people this week, and I've just really felt the desire to talk to everyone I can. I know that's what the Lord wants.
  My spiritual experience this week was during our contacting time. During fall-throughs, we've just been contacting, because we really just want to build our teaching pool, and so we were doing that on Friday, and we had just come back on the road from the track we were contacting on, and we saw a lady also come onto the road from a track right opposite us, so we went to talk to her. She told us that earlier that day, she had been struggling because she didn't really have anything to give her kids, and she just wondered if it would be better to commit suicide. Thank goodness she didn't, but as we talked to her, she just expressed how she sometimes felt like God loved everyone else but her. As we talked to her about our message, though, she told us that she believed that God had sent us to her. We scheduled an appointment with her for a few hours later, and we taught her about the Restoration later that day. While we did that, we invited her to be baptized in January. She said, "No problem, it's about time." We gave her the Book of Mormon that day and invited her to read 3 Nephi 11, and we scheduled another appointment for the next day. The next day, she had read the chapter and understood it very well. The day after, which was yesterday, she came to church with her two little ones. After church, she made some really nice friends, and when we went by, later on, she talked about how much she loved the church and how nice everyone was. We only met her about three days ago now, but she is already progressing. I know that the Lord will put people just like her in our path as long as we are willing to get out there and give everything that we have.

 Well, tomorrow, Elder McMillan and I are planning to start skyping around 12:00 PM our time, which is 9:00 AM your time. Hopefully, that works for you. I'm super excited to see all of you tomorrow! I'd encourage you to write all of your questions down so that you remember them tomorrow. Have a great Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas!

Love,
 Elder Hanni

Our family Christmas picture with Attish, Sarika, and Geetangeli