18 November 2016

some fun pictures came up today on Facebook from a Zone Conference on the 15th.....

President and Sister Simmons

14 November 2016

empty wallet

Our friend Siew Leong went proselyting with us

 Beautiful view(US)

 English Advertising like a boss

 Elder Hanks met his cousin

Brother L. our recent convert! He is an amazing missionary. Our Amulek! 

Hello

I am back in Singapore this week. We have Zone Conference and also MLC (Mission Leadership Council) We flew in this morning and here I am back in my old area emailing you again. It's weird to think about what I was like back last time I was here. I love Singapore. It would be awesome if I could get to serve here again. 

Anyway, I LOVE where I am servingi. This past week was a great week. When I first got to this area, it was being started from nothing because the Elders that had been here before had been pulled out because of a shortage of missionaries before. Now, there are enough so here we are to build it back up again. Starting from zero and trying to build it up has been an incredible experience of evaluation, trial, error, and success. Like I kind of wrote about last week, it's really a huge trial of faith. Finding new people has been hard. Especially in the last week, we have been trying to work with members more and get to know them and involve them more. I love the members here. So yeah like I said, finding new people to teach has been a trial. We have faced a ton of rejections and fallen through appointments in the past week and I tried as hard as I could to keep a positive attitude and be hopeful. We feel like we have been trying. We have set ourselves up for more success starting from the bottom and getting our area book and branch list organized, after that, working, evaluating, and talking openly and honestly about what is going well and what is not. We got ourselves out there with a prayer of faith that we would find the elect that have been prepared and all week seemed kind of bleak. Then, Sunday afternoon, we had our pre-scheduled appointments work out and we have 6 new investigators who are awesome. They have really been prepared. After the trial of our faith, we were blessed. These new people are awesome. We are meeting with them again next week.

Anyway, my companion and I are great, we are really open and honest with each other which helps a ton and we have been able to do our best to refine ourselves to be more effective. It's just SO cool.

We have an investigator who I talked about last week. She is AWESOME! She worked on Sunday and she was afraid of her boss to ask Sunday off, so we fasted with her and prayed and she told us a great story about how she walked up to her boss and felt no fear as she asked for sunday off. She got a few hours off and was able to come to church! It made me so happy! She is so great. 

I learned a bit about faith this week. James Talmage gives a great definition of faith in his book "Articles of Faith". He compares faith and belief. In the deep definitions of belief, it is more referred to as a passive knowledge, or something you merely assent to a knowledge or some kind of intellect but that is the extent of it. Faith is different in that it is like the next step up of belief. Faith is, like we have heard so many times, action, or acting upon belief. It is taking confidence and trust upon that belief as to bring about action. 

So I have had to ask myself sometimes. Do I believe, or do I have faith? If we feel reluctant to submit to the commandments of God, perhaps we only believe which is not enough. The Gospel is available to us so we can act to change ourselves. You can't expect that something as imperfect as man can become any better by just standing still.
Anyway, there's my little rant. The gospel works for those who work. By FAITH we are saved after ALL we can do. 

Love you,

Elder Hanks

11 November 2016

I never know what to say in the headings but it's true, as I feel about all my areas, This one is awesome. My companion and I are really figuring some things out and trying to tune up areas of lacking and it is so much fun. We are doing our best to be obedient and trying to get better faith to have great things happen. I didn't realize how much faith must be a constant renewal process. I think that is something we should always do, renew our faith and our testimony of the simple bits of the Gospel everyday. 

Anyway, this was a great week. A little update. We have an initiative in our mission at this time to set a goal for how many baptisms we will give the Savior by Christmas (called White Christmas) SO our goal for this is 5 baptisms. We have been really working for this and we can.  She was a referral from one of our recent convert members. A member,  bore her testimony to her one day at work about how the teachings of this church allowed her husband to overcome addictions he had and it made them a happier family and this sincere testimony from a friend caused this desire to rise in her. So we have met with her a few times already and she is on date to be baptized in December. The challenge is, she needs to get work off. She works on Sunday and it's hard to get off. Here comes even more tests of faith. She is awesome and is learning a lot and it's amazing to see her faith growing.
Like I said, lots of tests of faith. We have met people, set appointments, and been dropped just like that. Fallen through appointments have been normal this week but we have had some good back-up plans which give us opportunities to try to find other members in our area.
A project we have been doing that last few weeks was working on taking apart a members house to move to a new area. It's been a great service opportunity and also a great opportunity for our members to share the gospel. They get their neighbors asking them "where did you find those white guys to take your house apart" and they go for it. So awesome. 

I have really been able to understand a little bit more of what it means to have "faith to find". It's surely a journey. I am so thankful for the way that has been perfected and given to us to become better as long as we take it. It's so true. God wants us to believe as children; children will believe and humble themselves whereas adults fall in to skepticism and unbelief. I think we always need to humble ourselves and accept the will of God. Accept that some things happen for our benefit. Accept and find the truth of God calling a prophet for us today. Humility is one of the keys to finding out the mysteries of God. I realized this week I need to really have more of a focus on reading the Book of Mormon. I realized I had prided myself with thinking I had a good enough knowledge already but realized I needed to begin reading it if I wanted to progress and gain an even clearer knowledge of Heaven. It's truly amazing. If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, read it. It's amazing. and will truly help anyone who reads it come to know our God. 

I love you all,

Love,

Elder Hanks

24 October 2016
Since we didn't get a 'group' letter from Matt, I'll share what he wrote me:

Hey momma!

I'll send Dalton an emial! Where is he going again? I forgot..  That is so awesome!

Did you know Riley is Assistant??

So with Erika having her baby early, What does that mean?
That is so fun about the temple!~!! Wow. Can you send me more pictures of it?? 

Things are great here! I feel like I am finally adjusting to my area a bit. We are having transfers today. I lost my greenie because I got moved to ZL in my area. I have a new companion coming in this week so that's another change here!

Teaching is great. We have met some really cool and solid people here this week. I'll write a bit more about them in my letter:)

Stuff for christmas? Not much really. i'm sorry I don't really know what haha... food I guess? Anything you think?

I love you mom! 

Oh yeah, so i'm going to Singapore this next week for mission leadership council. I'll be getting that package when I go there if it's arrived!

Love you momma!

Love,

Elder Hanks

17 October 2016

Well last week was great. One thing to share real quick is that for P-day, we went to Niah Caves, I went there a year ago actually haha when I served in in my first area we went there. That is such a cool hike. We went and explored through out all of these caves going deep into the earth. Last time I didn't bring a light with me. I didn't know what to expect. This time I brought two, a headlamp and a flash light. We were crawling through this narrow part which was deep in the middle of the mountain and at a point where I could see some standing room, I stood up. With my headlamp on, I looked up towards the ceiling to see how close I was and found my head going in to a hole with this.....( look at the first attached picture...) Yeah I sure got out of there. I'm not taking any chances. 

So besides that, that was a really amazing adventure. Exploring like that was nuts. Pitch black with out lights. With all of those crazy bugs going around. 

ANYWAY, this week was a good week of learning a lot. Thank goodness I'm training a new missionary right now because it's helping me realize just how much I don't know.. It's been good. One thing specifically, working with the church that is already here. I realized when we came into this area, we just went for it and tried to talk to as many people as we could and just tried to get that going first. Eventually, that didn't really turn a ton of success so we had to reorganize our approach. We realized how blessed we are to have a good foundation of members here in this area. That has been our approach and it is in the process of being brought about right now. It's been a great experience and it's still in the process of getting there. I have learned a TON this transfer already. Thank goodness.. 

Not a huge update this week. I love this area. I love Malayisa. I would love to stay here my whole life and build of the church here. I feel like that because I really know that this is the true church of God. The only church that has the full Gospel of Christ. That's a way bold statement and I used to be afraid of it but it's true. And it's amazing! It's not a message to say that other people are wrong, it's a call to all people to come unto Christ through the church that He Himself has restored to the Earth. That's the greatest thing in the world. 

Anyway, love you all

Love,

Elder Hanks 

Man, I miss this smile!!  

Such cute kids!

  

South China Sea-is my son really there?

I had to look up what this was!  It's a Malaysian Cave centipede.....I am sure I would have hit my head as I screamed in panic!  

10 October 2016

Dear fam and friends,

This has been a good week out in here. LOTS of biking but thank goodness my bike is holding together. (hope it can bertahan sampai akhir for me) This week has been a great week of learning how to work with the branch I am working with here. It has been really nice to work in a place where a majority of callings and responsibilities are filled. It really gives me joy to think about the willingness of God to perfect us through our works. Anyway, this week, one of our areas has hundreds of people living on government land and they all have to move because the government wants its land back so this week, a little bit of last week , and some weeks to come, we will be doing EVERYTHING WE CAN to get the branch involved in getting over there to help them get moved over to the new area. That will be great. If that all works out, there will be such a great unity created. Oh I hope it works out.

We have been having a lot of fun in our work. It always starts off slow in a white wash but you always learn a ton. One focus of what we were trying to do this week was be more personable with people when we talk to them. Like trying to make a personal connection. Actually something kind of scary happened to me. So I was waiting for my comp in the bathroom and while I was waiting, I was sitting next to this 12 year old chinese kid. He was way cool but I realized that I had kind of forgotten how to have just a normal conversation with people. I realized that I just kind of got into a routine the last few weeks to be really bold and blunt about the message we share and realized I don't know how to talk about much else. So I'm trying to get back to that haha... I resolved in myself I was gonna get that down. We then went to a mall later and I really tried to be more personal with people. What do you know, out of the 6 people we were able to get in contact with in the 25 minutes we had there, 6 said they would be interested in learning about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ AND I felt that we had a personal connection with all of them. Amazing. I felt so much better about myself with that. Lots of things to work on of course but like the Malays say, sikit sikit, lama lama, jadi bukit. 

Love you all!

Sorry for the short email, we just got back from a crazy hike through some caves!

Elder Hanks

2 October 2016

Here's a few pictures that Elder Hanks sent this week.  Apparently, there was a Zone Conference and a baptism!  Love him!!

September 26, 2016
Here's the latest from Elder Hanks.  If you scroll down past this weeks letter and pictures, there's more FB posts from sweet Sister L!!

Hey folks,

Pray sure works. This week was awesome. Ups and downs. Learned a lot though. Like some of my past experiences, I have been able to see how prayer really works. We have been praying multiple times throughout the day for people we will meet, people we are yet to meet, and for the spirit to work within us and also with them. We tackled this week with 9 new investigators and 45 potential investigators which we hope we can meet again. There is no doubt or true way to explain the keilahian (I don't know what that word is in english) of what has happened besides admitting that it is purely the will of God being brought about. It is SO cool being able to know that. If you want to know more about how to feel like that, read the Book of Mormon. That book, man.... It's so cool. A lot of people say there is evil in it but where is there evil in something that helps us learn about the divinity of God and Jesus Christ. None lah. 

Anyway, this week was full of memorable moments. I'll share a few with you. There was a man we were talking to outside his house and while we were testifying of the truth of what we were sharing, this man's dog comes over to my companion, and hikes his leg and makes his territory on my companions leg.. This was no problem to this dog. It made a good contacting experience and we met with this man and his family a few days later! It turned into a really great lesson! 

Update on me, I am kind of in the midst of a mid-mission crisis haha. It's not bad or holding me back, just an update. My bike tires are BALD. I thought I would never have to replace those mud tires but the time has come. There are literally holes in my tires. Also my bike post that broke a few months ago, the weld broke on it again and it stays on but I can pull it out to my hearts desire. A nice weapon in a time of need. My bike helmet is falling apart too haha. Oh man but it is SO AWESOME. It's all a part of the adventure I guess. But don't worry, I am going to try to get that all fixed up this week.
This past week we had a talent show for our church here and it was so fun! There are a ton of talented people here. I sang there but man I was scared. I haven't sung a solo in a LONG time. Shoot. But it was way fun all the same. I love this area a ton. I love all of my areas. I really want to just continue to live here honestly. It's hot but oh well, it's awesome. The work we are doing here is just SO cool. 

Oh yeah, momma asked for a little bit more of an update earlier. So I am training a new missionary. He's a way hard worker and is way fun. He is from Utah in the Hurricane area. We are whitewashing here together and it is so much fun. We have a great area and zone here to work with.

There's a little update for you!
Love,
Elder Hanks

and one more fun picture....I think it was from the crocodile farm

from Sept 3, 2016

Sister L, "We attended church today in the JB Branch. After our meetings the Elders had a second Sacrament Meeting, because they had a new investigator who couldn't attend the early meeting because of school. I learned a great lesson from them and it is: The Lord cares about the "one" and even if there is only one, they are still important. They had a regular Fast & Testimony meeting with only the missionaries, the Ward Mission Leader and the young man. It was a beautiful meeting and hopefully the young man felt the Spirit that was there. These Elders continue to amaze me with their desire to serve.'

Sept. 2, 2016
Sister L, "The Elders came to our house today for interviews with President Simmons. We had brunch for them before they began. Elder L. made his favorite thing: Swedish Pancakes and homemade maple syrup ,with sausage and fruit. Everyone seemed to enjoy them but I don't think they were quite full. They started putting maple syrup in their milk and peanut butter on their apples. We will have to make more next time. 
Elder L. made a special Mickey Mouse pancake for an elder since he is from California.'

August 30, 2013

Sister L-"We had an amazing day with these crazy Elders and Bro. Ben, who is the Branch Mission leader in JB. He took us to the beach on the east side of the island which is on the South China Sea. The guys had a great time trying to climb a coconut tree. Some did better than others.'

August 30, 2016

Sister L-"Our P-Day was an exciting one. We went to a Crocodile Farm and watched them feed frozen whole chickens to the crocodiles. It was fascinating to watch these huge creatures raise up out of the water to catch the food."

25 September 2016
A sweet post from a missionary couple that served with Matt:

Just before transfers. Elder Hanks will be leaving us for Eastern Malaysia. We will miss our leader. This was missionaries visiting a family in the Masai Branch after church on Sunday.
On Monday this beautiful family from the JB Branch treated all of the missionaries to a wonderful dinner. Elder Rogers is being transferred as well. He was our right-hand man when we first arrived. We love these Elders.

from September 13, 2016

'After our District Meeting, the Elders were having a little diversion. They are great young men. We wish Elder Rogers and Elder Hanks the best as they go to their new areas to spread the gospel."