Camp Helamen!

This week was a very busy week. Camp Helamen is a week long camp for high school kids. They live the missionary life for a week and then on Wednesday we meet up with them. Each missionary went out with two high school kids. The two I got put with were very quite so I did almost all the talking which was fun. They thought it was awesome getting some doors slammed in our face. Ricardo and Winston didn't make it to church. Ricardo works every Sunday so I don't know how he will ever come unless he changes his work schedule and Winston for some reason didn't come. We had a lesson with him on Friday and Saturday and he said he would come but didn't show up. We haven't heard from him since Saturday now we are going to have to push his baptism back to the 15th. We meet a couple new people last week and have lessons with them tonight so we will see how that goes. The zone leaders are hilarious. The one I went on exchanges with was so crazy. He had so much energy and he knew his scriptures so well. It's crazy how people tell us their whole life story and about all their trials when we have only meet with them for about 10 min. Sister burton the one who always gives us cookies made us Oreo cheesecake. It was sooooo good. She is such a great cook and always gives us a bunch of desert. For the 24th we went to a party at a place called Texas old town. We had food and meet with a bunch of our members. It was pretty fun but we couldn't stay to long because we had to drive an hour back to get to one of our lessons later that night. We had to teach class again yesterday on fasting which was pretty interesting because everyone started sharing stories about fasting and the blessings that it has brought into their life's.

"You have the powers you never dreamed of.  You can do things you never thought you could do.  There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations as to what you cannot do.  Don't think you cannot. Think that you can.

Gold Tablets!

We visit less actives or get referrals from online or through members. Also we sometimes just walk down a street and talk to people that are outside. We had a lot of appointment this last week but most of them cancelled which was a dagger. Nothing that funny or interesting happened this week. We meet a black guy named Reese when we were walking down the street and he wanted to come knock doors with us even though he doesn't go to our church. He also wanted us to show him the gold tablets. The area is very poor in some places but pretty wealthy in others. There are a lot of trailer parks in the area. The ward is medium size I would say it's a little bit smaller than ours in Utah.

Yesterday we started talking to this old man who is from Navoo and he told us he knows more about the Mormon religion then we do and that we are evil. He did not like us or want to talk to us. We have three investigators right now but none of them came to church yesterday which kinda sucked. Winston is 15 and is such a great kid. He will hopefully get baptized in a couple weeks depending on if he comes to church. Also Ricardo who is this Mexican with a very high voice wants to get baptized but works every Sunday so hopefully he will be able to change his work schedule. I have exchanges with the zone leaders tomorrow so I'm excited to finally meet them. We have camp Helamen on Wednesday which is where I get to go out with a couple high school kids so that they can experience the mission life. I will explain it more next week. Also they have a big 24th of July party that we might be able to go to. The high school football fields are huge here. Last p-day after emailing the washer broke when I had my clothes in there so we finally got a new washer and I can actually wash my clothes instead of just doing it by hand. We have iPads here. We have videos, scriptures, pamphlets, planner, area book, and so much more.

Greetings from TEXAS!

Elder Hanks address

1900 Walnut St. #301 

Bastrop tx. 78602.

What a crazy week. It is so hot here. The first thing I did when I got
here was help someone move in. We didn't have time to go home and
change so we just did it in our Sunday clothes. I have never sweated
so bad in my life. It was just dripping down my face like crazy. But
everyone says that this summer has been nice because it hasn't even
hit 100 yet so that's good. The slaughters are such great
people. He is very cool and the only rules he has is what it says in
the missionary handbook. We had dinner at their house Wednesday night
and they had some food catered. It was the best bbq ever but other
than that I haven't been fed yet. I guess we usually are fed every
night but the last couple nights our dinners have been canceled. We
all got new iPad minis that we use. Also I get to check my email every
day but I can only respond on Mondays. These last couple days we
visited a lot of less actives and also a couple investigators.
Everyone has such a dirty house and doesn't clean up anything. This 15
year old boy named Winston is an investigator and came to church
yesterday. He is such a great kid and I hope he gets baptized in the
next couple weeks. Bastrop is a big area but the houses are very
spread apart. We have a 2014 Nissan Frontier to get us around the
town. Also there are so many bugs. I have about 60 misquote bits so it
will be nice to get some but spray today at the store. It is very
green and their is a ton of trees. We are about an hour away from
Austin which we drove passed. I got to see the Longhorns football
stadium which is so sick. That field is huge. My companions name is
Elder Ramsden. He has been out about 10 months now and is such a great
guy. He is very obedient and always makes sure we are following every
mission rule. He has already taught me so much and I can't wait to
work with him for at least the next 6 weeks. We have a lady that gives
us a big jar full of cookies and when we eat them all we just give her
the jar and she fills it back up. Also we have an old lady that gives
us a bunch of eggs all the time from her chickens. The members here
are so nice and helpful. A lot of the time we have members come with
us when we go visit less actives or investigators. Also the bishop
here is a great guy. He is going to be at bear lake in a couple weeks
and he said he might be staying in the log cabins in St. Charles so
maybe if you guys are there you could meet him. I love it here and am
having such a great time.

"Nurture your mind with great  thoughts; to believe in heroes makes heroes."

MTC!

Whats up everyone? I am doing great and having such a good time. Its crazy thinking that next week on Wednesday I will be leaving to Texas. My companion is awesome and so smart. He has taught me so much and we have become good friends. I love being in the MTC because the spirit is so strong here. I love my teachers who have helped me become a better missionary. I hope that everyone has a great fourth of July. We get to go out on the MTC field and watch fireworks which will be awesome. My companion and I have been called as the sacrament committee we have been preparing for Sunday. I have meet so many different missionaries and its nice to know that they are all going through the same thing as me. Love y'all

"We do not suddenly become what we do not participate in becoming."

My best 2 yrs.

Heber Lincoln Hanks left for the San Antonio Mission on June 24th 2015.  He starts his best 2 years at the Provo MTC.  We are excited to hear about his adventures and experiences.  Heber we love you and support the work that you are about to do.  May the Lord bless and watch over you always.  Thanks for being an example to many.  We know you will touch the lives of many people in San Antonio.  May you recognize the Lords hand in all you do. 

"It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as the way in which you believe it, and proceed to translate that belief into action."