Find the elect!

It has been a fun week!  This week I had a lot of African food, it was great.  We had something called Fufu this week, it is like mash potatoes, and you eat it with soup.  I had it once with Palm Soup and Peanut Soup.  But the best part about it was that you eat it with your hands, no spoons.  Fufu is very thick and fills you up very quickly, but you have to make sure you eat all of it.  We had it twice this week, and both times I left the house barley being able to breathe because I was so full.

We spend most of our days finding, usually each day we have 2-4 appointments, and most the time maybe if we are lucky, one of them will actually happen.  So as we travel, we get to do a lot of contacting on buses and trains which gives us appointments for the future.  Each day we feel like we find "golden investigators" but then have a hard time contacting them after that day.  We are hear to find the elect: "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts" D&C 29:7.  So we must talk to everyone we see so that we can find those that are seeking for truth.

Eating Fufu!

Restored truth!

I love London!! Its so fun here, the people we meet are just crazy!! It is always an adventure going out each day. For example, yesterday we met this lady, she was really nice, and asked us if we could share a short message with her on the street, we did. After we shared are short message, she had a full water bottle in her hand, she took of the lid and started pouring it all over herself and around were she stood put her hands in the air and started saying Holy Water and a lot of other weird stuff I couldn't understand. Then she left telling everyone she walked past that we were Holy Men and that they all needed to talk to us... good stuff!

I read a letter from Pres. Shamo, who was the mission president when I first came into the mission, I only had him for a couple of weeks then he went home, but he said something in his letter that was really cool. He said I would serve with Companions from Yorkshire to California and from Malaysia to Whales... I have served with a Whelsh man (Elder Perry), from California (Elder Oleson), from Malaysia (Elder Tauman) and Yorkshire (Elder Bailey). Pretty cool.

This week we were invited to a Seventh Day Adventist church(they worship on Saturday). It was okay, but very different. All the people were very nice, but they were missing 2 very important things.. the spirit, and the priesthood. It was a testimony builder. It just showed me how lucky we are to have RESTORED truth and authority. I love the ward here, going to church is always an exciting experience. We were able to get an investigator at church this week, and she really enjoyed it. All is well in London.

"We cannot make others do the right things.  We can only show them by our example what "doing the right things" looks like.                                                
                                                         

Trains and buses!

This week has been great.. It has been cold which I really don't like, but that's okay! When its cold it is hard to talk to people on the street because nobody wants to talk in the wet and cold.  We ride around on buses and trains and talk to people. We have what is called an Oyster card and it last for 1 month so we can just go on trains and buses anytime, as long as we stay in a certain zone. We did a lot of that this week, I love it, because people can't just run away from you, so they are, in a way, forced to have a conversation with us, its brilliant. Of course you have a few that will get mad and tell you to leave.  On exchange this week, I was in another area, and we had lunch near Big Ben and the London Eye, it was brilliant. On Sunday for church we meet at a Catholic school, it is very different. Our lesson during priesthood was... crazy... we have a lot of strong opinion people in the ward. Thanks for every ones prayers and support!! Hope you all have a brilliant week!! Cheers!!

Life in London!

Wow. That is a great word to describe this week. So basically London is brilliant! I love it here. So many people, I have already been on many red double-Decker buses that have been jammed packed with people, its crazy! Life in London does not stop, everyone is always in a hurry. 

We have been so busy since the day I got here, I think only one night we actually had dinner before 10pm.. I haven't even unpacked... Its great. There are people from all over the world here, but mostly Africa. Finding people is so different from where I have been in the past, we talk to a lot of people on buses and trains. People are more open to talk, so we are able to have a lot of good conversations. The problem is trying to see them again and also helping people make commitments.

There are so many different churches around here, which makes it tough because we actually don't have a chapel in Crystal Palace, we meet in a Catholic School. Since it was conference, I only met some of the ward. There are about 30 active members in the ward, and in the Bishopric there is only the Bishop and his first councilor. My comp. is the Elders Quorum President for the ward.

There is one kid in our ward, he is 20 years old and wants to go on a mission, his name is Alban, and he has been out finding and teaching with us everyday since I have been here. Conference was so good! Its hard to say who my favorite was, but I'll just say.. Either Elder Ballard, the one on member missionary work or Pres. Eyring.. I loved the experiences he shared. 

We also had a baptism this Saturday. The mans name was Joachim, he is from the Ivory Coast, he is about 65 years old, and doesn't speak the best English, but so humble and such a sweet guy. Even though I didn't really teach him, it was such a blessing to be part of the Baptism. I had to play the piano.... huh I'll just say it was a bit rusty..  It has been a crazy week and so will next week! Thanks again for all the support and prayers! I love you all! Cheers!!

Joachim Baptism!

Elder Hanks new Address:

17 Raymond Close

Sydenham, London

SE26 6DW

England