Floods are gone & more English signs just for me!

Jan 11 2016

So this week I wish I could say has been a really exciting week but this week has been a little bit more on the boring side but we will see what I can muster up and write to you guys about. So let me tell you guys some things that happened this week. 

 

So quick funny story, as you all know I played football, or aka soccer back in the day. And well I loved it very much but I have come to learn its not that important. However, we were at the church on thursday night and we were about to have a missionary meeting with the ward mission leader of our ward. Elder Von Cannon decided it would be best to use the restroom before we started so as I waited for him outside a teenage lad walked past me. And well I recognized him but I didn’t know from where but then it hit!  I yelled "Chase" and he turns around and I was right! This kid Chase was on the Davis high soccer team with me 3 years ago but left to go to another school. I hadn't seen him in 3 years but there he was in England!  And it turns out that well he was here doing a soccer academy and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time ! So that was way awesome to see a familiar face from back home. Quick little fun story huh!

We were also able to meet this man named A……., he is a younger lad, probably around 24 who works here in York. We met A……. on the side of the street and we asked him about the bus system and he said he would walk us to this bus stop and help us out. In reality we knew exactly where we needed to go but it showed us how willing he was to help us out. While we were walking we started to talk about who we are and what we do, and then we asked if we could come by and share a message with him. He said why wait, tell me some now, so that's exactly what we did. We taught him half of the first lesson while walking and then he said we could come back and teach him more, so we got his number and we went off to the bus stop. It was awesome he seemed like the perfect guy for us to teach, and I know the lord has a plan for him, I just hope and pray that, that plan involves me and Elder Von Cannon. 

Now we can talk a little bit about the fruits of the flood. Well there is this man named S….. and we met S….. while ripping out the tile in his kitchen because of the flood. As we were ripping out the tile we started to talk and he had a lot of theories about how the world was created and who created it. So I figured why not ask, so I asked him if we could come share our views and beliefs on it and he accepted it. Well the thing about S….. is his past. His past life was so full of drugs and overdoses that he now has several disabilities and cannot socialize with people very well. And he is very slow when it comes to learning new things. So talking with him can be quite the challenge and sometimes it requires a lot of patience. However we don’t stop for anyone and so we came back to teach him. The lesson took 2 hours long, for one lesson, because of the way he responded to our ideas, and he liked to throw in some random thoughts here and there, but at the end it turns out that he accepted to be baptized on Feb 13th. Now both me and Elder Von Cannon know that this is going to be a long journey with him and will require a lot of attention and patience, but we know that the gospel can help him, and will change his life! We are excited to see what happens with S……

I think that I told all of you guys about the man named J….. Well let’s check up on his progress shall we! We'll this week we were supposed to meet with J.... on Wednesday. But when we got up to his housed and knocked there was no answer, and we started to panic we didn’t know what to do. But then we got a phone call from him. It as J….! He said sorry about not being at home he had been called into work and well he missed out appointment and said that we could set one up for later in the week so we got him set up on Saturday of this week. Well as time rolled on we came to Friday night, we were very excited to go see J……. the next day, when all of a sudden we received a text from him on Friday night, he stated that he had done some thinking and thought that the Mormon church was not for him and we should not come by tomorrow! I never thought in my entire life that I thought I would be so sad from someone cancelling an appointment on me. I never thought that I would feel that way when someone says, "I don’t think your church is for me!" it didn’t hurt me as much as the thought of them losing the chance to hear the wonderful message and hope that this church brings to people. It was heart wrenching, for the first time on my mission I really was torn apart by someone saying that the church wasn’t for them. So J…. is no longer part of my mission experience, but I wish him the best and time to move on! 

Well that’s this week for you all! Lots of ups and downs, but lots of good learning opportunities. This is the last full week of the transfer and we will see if I stay here in York, which I hope I do! 

Love you all and the Church is True!!!

Love Elder Hanks

Cool Dudes  (something)