Another trip to the Crocodile farm

Last P-Day we went to the crocodile farm in Miri. I had been before,  but I went with all the new missionaries who have never been there before. It was a great day - it was really fun to hold a bear, a snake, and feed the crocodiles. We all somewhat realized how crazy crocodiles are and how scary they are! We all had fun feeding them chickens, but man we cringed whenever we thought about the chicken possibly being us! I got to hold a chicken over the water on a pole and string and it's so scary to see how fast the crocodiles can jump out of the water and you can't even see them! You have no idea they are sitting right below and then think about how much that can relate to our lives when it comes to sin, etc. We sometimes don't see the bad in some activities or lifestyles, until it's too late, then we see it. So be careful of those temptations because they will 'eat' you!

Drenched!

I went on exchanges this past week with our zone leader, Elder Lambert. What a cool guy! We had some great lessons and missionary experiences. We got poured on at one point in the afternoon and we both looked at each other as it poured on us and said, "Perfect time to get into someone's house." or so we thought!  It took about 5 rejections to finally find someone who let us hide under their porch roof thing. The best lesson was later that night. We were meeting with a less active and some investigators. It was all in Malay so I didn't understand much, unless my companion translated, but it was such a cool experience as we entered this little brick house with candles lit to let us learn the gospel by "candle-light." I loved it and felt such a powerful spirit with these humble people. Missionary work is true! 

One thing that Elder South and I are doing this week is first,  helping Elder South recover from a little fever he had, then working with the members some more. We want more of our members wanting to help in the Lord's work and we want to be their partner in this work. We have already felt a strong spirit from trying to work with some members and have them reach out to those we are already teaching. Things seem to building up and I can't wait to see where it all goes. 

Elder Hanks

Just enjoying a little sun bear...!

So last P-day,  after I emailed you all,  my zone went to a crocodile farm where we saw tons of crocs, but my favorite part wasn't the crocs - even though we got to feed them!  My favorite part was holding a young sun bear and playing with it. It was biting me, but it would just nip at you like a little puppy dog, so it didn't hurt and I just wrestled with it a little bit. Fun stuff! 

This week doesn't have as much to report as I usually do. We are still looking for more people to teach and to help come unto Christ. We weren't able to have any lessons this week because of lessons falling through and such. I learned that the Miri branch we are in has a TON of less active  members that we are trying to find and we have actually found quite a few of them. We are tracking down where they are living now and hope to do all we can in helping  them become active again in the church.  We need your prayers for this area! We are still looking for those who are ready to accept the gospel and change their lives for the better but for now- we still  really haven't found anyone. Our faith is still strong though and we are looking forward to any miracles the Lord has ready for us here. I have truly learned how important it is for all of us to become converted to the gospel and  to develop a personal testimony of why we belong to this church! 

We had some training this past week with Pres. Mains and  I got to see my old companion who trained me in Sibu almost a year ago, Elder Earl!  It was great seeing him after so long! 

Sorry, this is a short email this week !  Enjoy the pics! 

Love you all!

Elder Hanks