27 September 2015
Hello everyone!

This has been a good week! I would first like to share a story of how I know God is looking out for us. So on Friday we went out and started contacting. We were fasting that day and I could definitely tell that self mastery such as that is a blessing. We contacted quite a few houses and out of those contacted a few awesome folk that wanted a Book of Mormon so that was awesome, they were Chinese so we couldn't work with them but we got their number to give to the Chinese Elders. So one houses we went to was one of these big houses along the beach. We knocked on the gate (everyone's property is surrounded by a fence with a gate. That and adjacent houses. They're set for the zombie apocalypse) and waited. The people were in there, and were stubborn. They didn't come out but something else did. This little potato sized fluff ball comes wandering over from the far side of the yard. This little 2 week old puppy comes scampering over to the gate. Then what do you know, out of the corner of my eye I see more movement. 3 MORE came running over to the gate! All I was thinking was man. I wish I could hold these puppies. Well, I know there is a God in Heaven because next thing I know these babies pushed through the gate and popped out on the outside! Well. What else could I do besides collapse on the ground and hold them. Dang. I was so happy. I'll attach a picture to show my joy. These pups we're not the regular homeless dogs that chase you on your bikes. No. I can't even describe my joy over email. Holy cow. Anyway, we finally got the owner to come out and take them back over but they still didn't want to listen to us. They actually couldn't listen to us because they were Muslim. (Background info- it is illegal for us to teach Muslims about Christianity) Anyway. That boosted me for the day. The very next house we went to was the home of an Atheist who I must say had a very hard and closed heart. He came out with the intention of proving the Gospel of Jesus Christ wrong (even though we flipped his logic with true logic) What discouraged me the most was the fact that he said "the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is useless". It is not useless. It is actually the only thing that allows us to be truly happy in our lives. At that point we were just done. We knew his heart was closed and there was no way to get him to open it. It was hard. We just had to ask, one last time, do you want to learn about Jesus Christ, to which he answered no, and we were on our way. Now thinking back on that, I am really glad for that experience. First off, I figured out that us having that puppy attack was definitely a blessing and allowed me to emotionally overcome that haha, second, it actually STRENGTHENED my testimony of the Atonement because I had to testify before that man that it was a true aspect that our lives revolve around, and lastly, It was good for me to know that sometimes, people are just not ready. I can only hope that he softens his heart and allows himself to be changed. That's a huge thing I have learned.

On Sunday I taught a bunch of the kids how to play piano a little bit! I guess that's a part of the end of church now haha.

Another huge event this week was my companions birthday! Dang. The Ibans know how to make birthday cakes and celebrate birthdays. We did some sick floating lanterns which we found very cheap at a market (because it was the lantern and kite festival this week) and they were so awesome. Only 3 ringit. That's like 60 cents. Not. Bad. At. All. We had a HUGE abundance of food at multiple occasions. One was like a branch party for my comp and there was SO much food there. These Iban people only want to see how much the white man can eat. It gets quite difficult. It was way fun though! One of the members

is way close to the same age as me and we're like best friends now. He is gonna start working on his mission papers soon so I'm way pumped for him! It has been a bit of a better week. More people came to church, and I am adjusting more to the life here. It's an adventure. Try Malaysia sometime. It's so awesome. Except right now Indonesia is on fire and it is SO hazy. We have to wear these super uncomfortable masks. But it's all good. Life is way good. "Death has no sting" is my favorite quote of this week. I love all of you! 

Elder Hanks