Countdown to Christmas...

Bula Vinaka Na

How is it? Cold? Haha, suckers.

Not gonna lie though, I kinda miss the snow, alright I REALLY miss it. It doesn't feel like December here, just feels like everyone is playing Christmas music in July, but oh well, ha.

First I wanna say thanks for the package and also would like to ask a question: How did you expect me to take all of the little bags on the 20 passenger plane back to Labasa? Haha! Needless to say I opened it all, gave away all the candy and somehow stuffed all the other stuff into my bag somewhat successfully.

Now for the week, sweeeeeet, got back to Labasa on Thursday, and just started working away. We had two of our investigators baptized on Saturday, and 28 members came to our jungle chapel in Naduna. The chapel is the one we helped build like the first day I got here, it has four posts with a tin roof and no walls.  The members are so happy to have it, before they would just pull out some mats and sit on the ground.  Now we have 40 chairs out there and a chalkboard for the class.  We were able to get 10 copies of the Sunday School teaching book in Fijian, so now we can actually teach a class. Our newly ordained unit President came to church and the only other two Priesthood brethren came to church also.  We taught them how to bless and pass the sacrament, so we’re starting to get some functionality out there, so in a few months if the Elders didn't come to church they would be able to still have a little Sacrament meeting.

We went out to some of our less-active members’ way out in the middle of nowhere and the little pick-ups we have barely made it, ha.  No cars had been there for what looked like years but one thing we were told is to not worry too much about the trucks, but worry about the people we need to visit, but still be smart but don't let the roads hold us back, haha.  So that’s exactly what we did and it was a blast, ha.

That Chief out in the Koro/village is still waiting for us to get out there and visit him so he can be baptized, so that is our main priority this week. We are also just gonna go look for service opportunities out in the villages and do some work for them, then hopefully we can get into some huts and get teaching.  Ha, I'm so stoked to be back out and getting sweaty and dirty, it’s the best place to do missionary work in the world because it so different.  We have to do some crazy stuff just to teach people and I'm way excited for it.

We'll be Skyping on my Monday  (for Christmas), so Sunday there.  I reserved the place from 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, so you can figure out what time that will be there.

Send my love to Grandpa Ed as well, I know everything that happens will happen how it’s supposed to, and that everything will be fine.

Love you all.

Peace and Blessings,

Elder Hanke

He does seem to sound much better, really upbeat; so grateful for that!

And yes, of course I asked him a few times how he was feeling, but no, I obviously didn’t get an answer.  Guess we’ll have to go with the “no new is good news” theory. (Although I’m not much of a believer in that at all! Didn’t work out so well for us as far as the mission goes, but I’ll try to keep the faith that he is doing much better.)

Now, on to the anticipation of the long-awaited “Best Christmas Present Ever”!!!  J

Happy Holidays!

Doing well...

Friday afternoon I was at work when up popped an email from Elder Hanke, what a surprise!  So here’s a modified version of our chat, which will have to suffice as the weekly email:

Nova Scotia, are you there?

Yup, what are you doing?

Our  P-day is today because we go to Suva this weekend and next week for a  mission tour.

Hmmmmm, this is where I will start editing my responses because when I read them now I sound like an incessant, overbearing mother.  (Not sure why my replies would come across like that??  And Kyndra, please don’t respond to that comment.)  J   I basically asked how he was feeling, and what was going on... in my typical, overly-verbose manner.

I'm feeling way better every day, ha, my comp. doesn't have to do everything for me anymore!  I’ve got my big boy pants back on, haha, and it feels goooooood, ya!  Sorry, I forgot to tell you last week that P-day was today .

How are you doing?

Let’s see, I may have asked him just a few more questions about how he’s feeling, if he’s eating well, if he had any stories to tell us….

No stories yet still, just chillin’, but just less than usual. But ya next week I'll be back out and it will be like it never happened.

My response:  How have you really been feeling?  How are your legs? Are you eating well? (Can’t I just get some specific answers?)

We go to Suva on Sunday and come back Thursday, so it should be a dang good time.  And I feel fine, seriously, just can't walk that far yet but no worries.

And one other thing if you send a Flip (video recorder) don't send it in its packaging, send it just in some case or something and if you have to put the value declared on the package slip don't put the real amount just say 20 dollars or something because if it is a lot then it costs a lot to get out of the post office. (Trust me on this one it was my job to deal with this before.)

Thought I'd give it one more shot to see if I could get some answers…   Also told him he should be writing in his journal!

That’s why I want the Flip so bad, it will be easier and I will get more info in less time and it will be funny, too.

I gotta go now,  I'll talk to you in a week.

Love you mom, say hi to everyone for me.

Peace and Blessings,

Luvemuni

(I can’t seem to find out what this word means in English!)

So, that’s it for this week, but at least all seems to be good.  I suppose that if they are letting him travel for the mission conference/Christmas party, that he must be recuperating well.  (I guess I'll have to accept the fact that he was allowed to travel as the answer to all of my questions.) 

I happened to run in to our Stake President and one of his counselors in church today.  They both stopped to ask how Garrett is doing, although neither of them knew what had been going on with his health.  They both happen to be doctors, so I was able to run everything past them and get their opinions, which was great.  They said that there shouldn't be any long-term issues from the cellulitis, and that once Gar is all healed he should be fine. (This has been a big concern of mine, so I was happy to hear this from both of them.)

I can’t even express how grateful we are for all of the thoughts and prayers in Garrett's behalf.  He seems to be doing much better….which is such a huge blessing, as well as a huge relief. 

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holiday season!

Love to all,

Nova

Seriously, everything here is fine.  My leg is getting better every day and it will just take time. I don't have athlete’s foot, ha, so honestly I don't know what it’s from, but whatever it is it’s getting taken care of. And as far as my teeth, haha, I understand where you’re coming from, but believe me, no worries there, and unless the pain comes back I'm not gonna get a root canal in Fiji (ha, that sounds like a death sentence in Labasa, ha). But all in all no worries, it’s all good over here.

As far as what I have been doing....nothing, in order to heal the fastest way they told me to just rest as much as possible. But honestly I'm super tired of resting but I don't really have a choice, ha. This also means that I don't really have any stories or anything for you but someday they will come again.

I will tell you though a bit about what has been happening while I've been out of the work. When I came here we covered both the Labasa branch and a unit in Naduna of about 50 members. Now there are more missionaries here and they will take over the Labasa branch mostly and we will take Naduna along with some other villages around Labasa. I'm really stoked to get back at it because this area, mainly Naduna, is the next big spot for the church in Fiji.  It is the next spot where they want to put a chapel, and if the area can get like 50 baptisms in the next year and start organizing the Priesthood it will happen, so me and Elder Seila have a lot on our plate.  There is a chief in one of the villages who is interested in the church and he will be very vital because if we can convert him then it will open the doors of a lot more homes and that baptism goal will be reachable. So what I get from this is that if we go and work our tails of helping these people then this area will be much different in a year and the people here will be greatly blessed because of the facilities provided for them. Elder and Sister Muir, the senior couple, have really let us know how much is on our shoulders here now so it’s really sweet, I'm stoked for this chance.

As for other news there is a new senior couple in Labasa, the Terry's, they are really cool and have helped me a lot, she made us a bunch of different cookies yesterday and they are really excited to put some fat on me. She promised us one good American meal a week here so I'm really excited for that. So our dinner list just got much more exciting. Other than that I don't really know much more to say.

I’ll just end with saying sorry again, ha, each week I just told myself, "No worries I'll be fine by next week", so my bad on that one. I would also like to say thank you for not freakin’ out too bad, Mom, I'm glad Dad can keep you calm, ha, he's probably the only one. Anyways thanks again for the support and I just want to say that Gospel is true and God has a plan for everything and needless to say I did really learn a lot about me and my comp. while I was down so it just reassures me of that fact that He knows every one of us.

Peace and Blessings,

Elder Hanke

Well…. sounds like he’s getting his spunk back, doesn’t it? What a huge blessing, as well as a huge relief.  Dr. Burton called this afternoon to report that Garrett had been released from the hospital on Friday after five days of IV antibiotics and tests. He said he had just talked to Garrett before he called me, and reported that he was still in good spirits and starting to get around a bit.  He said Garrett told him he is really getting his appetite back and is anxious to put some weight back on.

Just in case you can’t tell, I lectured Gar a bit about being sure to take good care of himself (i.e. brushing, flossing, taking care of his feet, etc.), so we all get to read the specific responses (I know, a little gross, huh?).  I also mentioned that it wouldn’t hurt for him to ask his companion to send a little email to his Mom should the need ever arise again.

 We’re so grateful for the blessings received, and that Garrett is recovering well.  Thank you so much to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Garrett, as well as for the moral support.  We are so blessed to have such great family and friends.

Have a great week everyone!

Update...

Just spoke with Dr. Burton, what a relief to get that call and his good news.  All tests came back with good results.  They did an echocardiogram and blood tests; no damage to his heart, no bad indications with the blood tests.  The infection is definitely bacterial, not viral; the diagnosis is still "cellulitis".  He said that Garrett's leg was looking much better (according to the doctors at the hospital), and that he had just talked to Garrett and he sounded really good.  They will probably release him tonight or tomorrow, and they'll keep him on strong antibiotics for a while until he's fully recovered.  Dr. Burton said he will keep in close contact with him, and if the cellulitis flares up at all he'll most likely send Garrett to a more modern hospital. 

A huge relief to hear all of that, what a blessing! So grateful for his improvements and that they are able to send him back to his apartment.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers...

The mission doctor (Dr. Burton) in New Zealand called me a couple of hours ago.  Not much of an update, but he did let me know that they are still waiting for the results from the blood tests, which he is expecting no later than tomorrow.  He apologized for not getting with us sooner, and basically passed along the same information we got yesterday.  He said he's been to this hospital and knows the doctors that are taking care of Garrett and he has no worries about their capabilities; he was very gracious and kind and put me at ease.  He said he will call me back with an update as soon as he gets the results from the blood test. Otherwise, Garrett is still in the hospital receiving antibiotics intravenously.

Interesting note:  I asked Dr. Burton where he is from, and he told me Heber, so then I asked if he is Dr. Neal Burton, and he said yes.  We both got a little choked up when I told him that he delivered Kyndra 23 years ago - because I insisted on going to him, even though we lived in SLC at the time.  He said he coudln't wait to share this information with Elder Hanke!

There are no coincidences.... of this I am a firm believer....

Finally an update...

I finally broke down yesterday and called the mission president, who referred me to the mission nurse, Elder Whiting.  I was able to speak with Elder Whiting for about 10 minutes last night and get a fairly good update on the situation.  (I still have a lot of questions but I guess they will be answered in time.)

Garrett did have an infection in his tooth, which they were able to take care of with antibiotics.  He didn’t get a root canal because of the other problems that surfaced, which they have been trying to take care of for a few weeks now.   They diagnosed Garrett with cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection, a couple of weeks ago, and at one point he was hospitalized for a few days in order to receive antibiotics through an IV.  Apparently the infection was in his right leg when he was hospitalized, and after he was home for a few days recovering the infection moved over into his left leg. When I talked with the nurse last night he told me that Garrett was back in the hospital for more tests because the antibiotic didn’t seem to be working, and that the mission doctor (Dr. Burton), who is based in New Zealand, has been in constant contact with the doctors that are treating Garrett.  He emphasized numerous times that Garrett is in good hands and is being well taken care of.

Elder Whiting also told me that he has talked to Garrett several times, and that Gar is in really good spirits.  He also said that there is a senior missionary couple in the same area and that they have been checking on him daily.  When I told Elder Whiting that we hadn’t heard from Garrett for three weeks he told me he would contact the senior mission couple as soon as we hung up and ask them to take a laptop to the hospital so that Garrett could send an email.  So here’s the email, what a relief to hear from him!

Mom…. Hahahahahaha….

How is it going?

All I can do is make a big apology for this whole situation, ha, but I must say there is not very much that I could do about it.

So I heard you talked with our mission doctor and he told you about the sickness and about the hospital and everything, so I don’t think there is a whole lot that I can say about what’s going on, haha.  All I know is that you shouldn’t worry about me, it’s really fine.  They’ve got it figured out, it will just take time to get it taken care of and recover, but honestly I’m fine.  There’s nothing to do with the situation except wait it out. My guess is just that during this whole time the people are just getting more prepared for me to teach them when I bust loose out of the hospital and the members are preparing by getting a lot of food ready for me so that I can put some weight back on.  That’s the second most frustrating thing is that I’m stinkin’ skinny and it will take a few months to get back the weight but oh well, what can you do…?

So other than that there is nothing really to tell, ha, but I will be emailing you this Monday for sure, so don’t worry anymore.  I know, though, that struggles we go through are for a reason and that Heavenly Father prepares us in our weakness.  I also know and so do you that there are many more in much worse situations than this and they are the ones we should really pray for.

Thank you for freaking out too much.  Sorry for the trouble.

I love you.

Peace and blessings,

Your son

So…. I’ll try to chill out now, but I’m definitely grateful for the update and for the email! 

Love to everyone, thanks for your support.

No email from Elder Hanke... again...

At this point I'm just going to cross my fingers, say my prayers, and look forward to a call on Christmas. 

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!  It was great to see those that we were able to catch up with.  And Congrats to Dallon and Natalie! 

Have a good week...

Happy Thanksgiving...

No email from Elder Hanke again… L

 I am, however, very thankful for all of the love and support shown for Garrett and his mission.  Very grateful for all of our family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

No email from Elder Hanke this week... so....  I hope he was able to spend his P-Day getting his root canal taken care of.  (i.e., I would consider that a good excuse for not writing!) 

Yesterday Kyndra and I went to a farewell for Garrett's last friend that will be going on a mission.  Elder Dillon Peterson, who was called to the Rapid City, South Dakota mission, which encompasses parts of South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Iowa, and Montana. (Whew!) It was great to see all of his friends there (those that are left anyway).  What a great group of kids!

Hope everyone has a great week...

Eight months in.... one-third of the way already....

What’s up out there in America?

Do you realize how blessed you are just to stay in a place that nice? Haha, I'm gonna give you a little insight and you can see the difference between the places.

1^st, ha, our mission doctor told me to go see a physician in Labasa. The lady, who was actually really nice, told me that I had an infection and to go to a dentist, so I went on over to the best one (supposedly) in Labasa.  He told me that he could fix the infection but the real cause was one of my teeth. He also said that I would need a root canal and that he would do it for 180 bucks (about 90 American) haha. So sometime soon I guess I need a root canal, but I will definitely need to do some looking around for the best place, but no worries.

2^nd, the doctor I went to gave me some random pills from her office in a grocery store and told me they would work on the back pain.  I dunno what they were but she was wrong, haha. So I'm not sure what’s going on right now but my body and Labasa aren't getting along but it should all be fine soon.

As far as my week goes we went to Suva this weekend for the mission tour.  Elder Watson, an area Seventy, came and did our training as well as the Stake Conference in Suva. He was an awesome, inspired man who has had some very awesome callings in the church, mainly being the secretary for the First Presidency for a long time.  He started working in Salt Lake at the age of 27 where he started with the Prophet Joseph F. Smith, and was the secretary until just after President Monson started. Part of his calling was to take the minutes of all the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve’s meetings together (no big deal) but in those meetings there was just twelve Apostles and the 3 in the First Presidency, so he was the 16th man in the room for all those years. Pretty cool. He gave some great talks and shared some awesome stories with us about Prophets he served. Lots of awesome stories that one has.

The rest of the tour was fun and it was the bomb being around all of my boys from Suva that I haven't seen in a few weeks. Ha, great times.

Anyways we had one of our investigators receive her baptismal interview today and she passed so we'll have a baptism coming up real soon, probably next week.  And we have 5 more dates already so the work is going great here now, if I could just start feeling better things would be perfect.  But I know everything will turn out just the way it is supposed to.

So peace and blessings until next week,

Elder Hanke

Mi'au Bula Si'a

So Labasa is way sweet, ha, technically it’s like one the biggest cities in Fiji, but compared to Suva its still really small.  Honestly, though, in some small ways it reminds me of like Duchesne. If there was sagebrush and no palm trees it would have a lot of similarities, ha! Because once you get outside of the town there are a lot of farms and it’s really open and super green everywhere, but it’s also a lot hotter here and a bit less humid.

My companion is Elder Seila.  He is Fijian but honestly he doesn't act very Poly.  He's pretty quiet, ha, I dunno.  He is way good at teaching and stuff so all of our lessons are good but pretty much all the other times it’s just pretty silent and what not.  I'm so used to being around really loud Polys who are way funny and I'm really used to being kind of obnoxious in the flat, but that is definitely not how it is now, ha. But  no worries because the Elders come up from Seaqaqa (Elders Yashko and Dakunimata) every Sunday and they stay for P-day and Tuesday District meeting, so that’s good.  And this week we will go to Suva on Friday until Monday for a mission tour so that’s tight.  We will have a blast and then next month on like the 15th we will go again for the mission Christmas party so it will be an exciting few months coming up.

As for the Baptisms, they went really well.  The best thing that missionaries can do in my opinion is have someone from the ward do the baptism and confirmation so that right from the start they have that connection and friend in the ward so it will help them stay active after they are baptized.  So for the first one her name is Sister Ali, she is about 70 and kinda just reminds of a sweet, old American grandma, ha. That’s how she treats us, but she was baptized by Brother Vakalala in the ward and was also confirmed by him. The next was Selita and she wanted us to do it so Elder Seila did the baptism and I did the confirmation and it all went really well, no worries with them they will be great, ha.

Language is still just coming along. Pretty much 85% of all the stuff we do is in Fijian so I'm learning a lot but it will take time.  I feel that if I am here for like 6 months then by the time I leave I should be pretty comfortable with Fijian.  And yes, I am taking a bunch of pictures but it would be hard to send them from here so we'll see about that but when I go to Suva I'm going to finally put all the pictures on a CD and send that in a little package and hope that it gets to you safe.

So this week was just pretty normal. I have been a little under the weather but no worries it’s just rough here cuz when you get a little sick it lasts for like a week because it’s hard to get rid of it. But that’s just how it goes sometimes, ha.

And ya, the package is in Suva so I'll get it when I go in this week.  Thanks for that, I'm stoked mostly just to see Elder Diloi in a 5XL SWK shirt, ha. Onz.

I'm glad you all had a good week as well.

Peace and blessings,

Elder Hanke

I was able to email back and forth with Garrett a little bit yesterday.  He didn’t seem quite like himself, though, as you can probably tell in his letter.  (Or is that just the worrisome mother in me?) Hopefully he gets feeling all better soon.  He said he was emailing from an internet café / tattoo parlor; he said it was “pretty nice”, and that it would be pretty funny if he got a tattoo that said “Mama”, or one that said “LDS” on his thumb like a lot of the Polynesians have.  I advised him that maybe he shouldn’t do that! 

He also apologized for teasing me last week (remember the “joke” about him not being able to email for a month or two?), but said he “just couldn’t help himself, ha ha, it was just too easy”.

Happy Halloween to everyone… have a great week!

Email #1:

Dear Hanke family,

This is Elder Gashler from the Mission Office. I regret to inform you that for the next few months while Elder Hanke is in Labasa he will not be able to e-mail. All of the missionaries will come to Suva once in November and once in December, so he will for sure get to talk to you then.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but just know that he is serving the Lord and this is his calling right now which he accepted gratefully.

Any questions you can e-mail back to this address.

Elder Gashler
Fiji Suva Mission

30 minutes later, Email #2:

Hope that e-mail didn't make you cry mom, haha. I kinda feel bad about it now that was pretty mean, ha.

But Labasa is awesome, ha, the work is way onz here right now. It is hard work but it is progressing way good and I think it is a lot because of my companion.  He is the bomb, is Fijian, is really pure, and I learn a lot from him.  But mostly he is just a way bomb teacher, he knows his scriptures so good.  That is one thing I'm trying to improve on always because I am really slack at that but he will be a big help. We have a bunch of progressing investigators and we had two of them get interviewed for baptism yesterday, so their baptism will be this Saturday.  I'm super stoked that I kind of just get thrown into an area like this because it’s going so good, but the branch needs a lot of work. President told me before I came that I need to build up this branch and help the leaders so that it can make its way on up to a ward. Yesterday there were about 70 people in attendance so that’s good.

We also cover a little unit in a small settlement called Naduna.  They were able to finally get conference yesterday and there were 44 people there to watch so that place is doing really good as well, but there are some problems with the leaders as well so that is our main focus.  If we can improve that area than I see no reason why these two groups can't become bigger. There are some really great members here as well.  This one lady she is the Relief Society president and I'm convinced that if she lived in Utah she would be the next in line for the General Relief Society presidency! She is the bomb, ha. There are a lot of great people here and I know I will have a great time.

Labasa town is pretty big, there is just one main road and all along it there are a bunch of shops and businesses and at night for some reason it really reminds me in a small, small way about Duchesne, ha, I don't know why. So yes World Cup is over and for the past few weeks I have heard a lot about it, ha.  Kind of sad that it is over, but here in Labasa they are all about soccer. There are so many Indians here it’s crazy. And they are freakin’ out about soccer. One other thing that is huge right now is a celebration called Diwali.  It’s mainly for Indians, but it’s kind of like the 4th of July back home. There are a ton of fireworks and parties that will happen this Friday I believe.

So anyways I'm super stoked to be here.  I will learn a lot of Fijian and my testimony should grow a ton so I'm really excited about it.

Have a good week.

Peace and Blessings,

Elder Hanke

Email #3:

How are you doin Dad?  How is the truck? And the stuff goin' with work? And how about all of the hunting and stuff going on there?

I just wanted to tell you Happy Birthday, hope you have a good one.

Lova ya Dad.

Peace and Blessings,

Your son

Email #4:

Love you Nova, thanks for everything.  I had a dream the other night and I was back home doing fast offerings and what not and you came running downstairs in your robe to hurry and fill out the form, haha.  Great memories, haha.

Fortunately I didn’t check for Garrett’s email until about an hour after he sent the first one.  I’ll admit (since you all know what a baby I am) that I got huge tears in my eyes when I read the first message, but I could also see that there were three other emails waiting to be opened.  Whew… glad to see that he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

It sounds like he is doing well, which we are so grateful for!

Love to everyone, have a great week.

"The best week so far"....

Bula my sweet, awesome family and friends,

What an awesome week I have just had, it probably was the best week so far on my mission because of the awesome stuff I was able to do.

So I will start and just go in order of events.

Monday-  Awesome P-day, we were able to get together as a zone for the first time so far and have a giant game of mud touch rugby at the LDS school.  It was a stinking blast and there were a lot of people there.  Best sports day so far, ha.

Tuesday- Pretty much a normal Tuesday, just worked in the office and had our district meeting and other stuff.

Wednesday- So for the past month I have been training the new senior couple in the office. The elder is the mission nurse and the sister is the one I trained. She worked in a doctor’s office as the finance person before so she is used to handling the money, so she has done really good at getting it all down because the stuff we use here is obviously a lot different than the stuff she was using there. She gets it really good and will do great. During the day I took her down into town and showed her how to do one of the most frustrating parts of the work, sending money and going to the bank. But Wednesday night was the cool part, haha.  So remember a couple weeks ago when you were talking about the new Ensign and how it could be a good tool for teaching and all I said was “ya it would be great for the elders teaching but for me no use”, haha.  Well I take it back. During the week I was able to get out and teach a bit and one of my lessons was with this lady named Lai.  She is the sister of one of the recent converts in my ward and she is awesome, we go there all the time but this was my first actual lesson with her. She is cool because she has a ton of questions she is always asking, some of them more difficult to answer than others, but I tried my best.  The funny thing is though the magazine answered all of the most important questions.  She honestly in these exact words asked "Who wrote the Book of Mormon?”, ha, and if you look in the magazine there are two pages in it where they just answer that question. On the top it says who wrote the Book of Mormon, haha, it was the bombest thing ever.  She asked a lot about the Book and about Joseph Smith. The main thing though is she was asking about where is the proof and how is she supposed to believe in what I was saying to her and how could anybody believe it if they were not there. I couldn't believe what she was saying, it was so perfect for a missionary.  Everything that we want to help investigators to know she was asking, it was so awesome. So I talked with her about it for a bit and answered most of her questions but I just said if you want to know really if it’s true and you want answers just read this magazine.  It was such a good lesson I lost track of time and after realized I was there for 2 hours, but that’s alright, to me it was worth it.

                  

Thursday- Traveled out to Lami and did some service for this lady which was fun. We just did some grass cutting and gardening, pretty normal day. Just trained Sister Whiting and did some other office work, no worries, but wasn't able to teach a lesson this day though.

Friday- Was a good day as well but pretty normal. Did some training and was able to go out and teach a few lessons to an investigator and recent converts.

Saturday- Morning had 2 service projects planned and executed. The first was at our recent convert’s house where we just did some weed pulling and after I was able to sit down with Lai again for a little, not really a lesson just kind of sat and talked and had some breakfast. After we had service with our ward at one school here, just did some painting and stuff, pretty fun. My ward is awesome because when they have stuff like that going on they have a lot of people show up and help, there was probably 30 people there. After that went to the office and worked on a few things that i was late on and Elder Diloi wasn't feeling too good so we went back to the house so he could sleep a little. Later that night we went to the store and I bought some brownie mix because when he is sick that’s the best thing to help him is eat something chocolate, so we went back up to the office where they have the patron housing and an oven. Elder Diloi slept while I attempted the Brownies, ha. (FYI since being here I have had to cook a bunch and some of the stuff I make now is starting to taste kind of good, ha.) Anyways the pan I used was lopsided and so half the brownies were burnt and half were perfect but sometimes you just gotta take what you can get. Crazy thing though this night was a mind blowing kind of situation. After eating we went back to the house and just before I was getting in the shower, and while I still had shaving cream on half my face the AP’s came in and said they had something that both of us needed to read. Open it up and it was a plane ticket to Labasa in Vanua Levu, TRANSFERRED, bang! I was like what the heck! I look at Diloi and asked him what his was, same thing except his is Taveuni.  We’re both getting transferred, both I and new Elder Diloi are leaving. But I didn't think at all that I was, I thought that I still had 3 months in this area. So that’s the big news for the day! I leave tomorrow at 3, so crazy. I'm excited big time but I don't really wanna leave the people in my area, they are all so sweet and I love the crap out of them.

Sunday- Went to church told everyone there that we are leaving and that it was fun but it’s over. They had someone go break the Sabbath and buy some ice cream and after church the whole ward came together and had ice cream, ha, good times. Went and hung out at my recent convert’s house and had a good time, then I went to my favorite family’s house for dinner. It was the bombest Sunday ever.

Today- The whole zone got together to go for a hike to Mount Korobaba. Well Elder Diloi didn't want to go because he didn't want to be that tired tonight so me and him along with two other Poly elders went to the market and bought 12 chicken, 20 Dalos (which are like potatoes just islanders style) and a bunch of lamb, we spent like 200 dollars! Then we went to one member’s house and made a lovo (earth oven). Damani, it was like one of the most fun times ever. We all got the thing ready and made the fire with the rocks and then started getting the food ready. I scraped out 24 coconuts and everyone else did the chicken and Palosami with the lamb. After two hours of getting it ready we finally got to put it in.  We left it for and hour and a half and we called the whole zone plus some members to come eat then we got it all out and just had a huge feast with everyone for me and Diloi leaving.  So many people, it was so bomb, ha. After there was still a ton left over so we packed it then took it around to some members, it was the best, ha. 

So now I'm here just about to go pick up my dinner from an Australian family. They are having us take the food away because the husband was so mad about the rugby game last night.  It was New Zealand vs. Australia, ha, they lost so now he is upset I guess so we are just picking up.  So after that we will go start packing and what not, it should be way bomb. My new companion is awesome, he is Fijian and he is 29 years old, ha, just 10 years older than me, no big deal, but he is cool.  I can't wait, the work is supposed to be way hard there and it is all in Fijian so its time for me to learn Fijian, ha, I'm stoked. This first month should be way hard but after that it will be way set, no worries. I'm so ready to get back to normal work. I know I learned a lot in the office that I probably couldn't have learned anywhere else and it will help later on but for now I'm so ready to start again with teaching, ga.

I love you all.  It was great to hear about all of my boys and that they are doing great.

Peace and Blessings,

Elder Hanke

Here's a map of the the Fijian islands.  You can see Suva on the main island, and Labasa on the island of Vanua Levu, to the northwest.  Elder Hanke will be in Fijian heaven...

By the way, here is a link to the September issue of the Ensign, the one all about the Book of Mormon that Garrett refers to above:  http://lds.org/ensign?lang=eng

Also thought I would post Elder Hanke’s reply to his Dad’s letter:

I’m all set here, Dad. Thanks for the e-mail.

Good to hear that you are busy nowadays. I love being busy, if we ever just sit down to relax I can only take it for a few minutes before I have to get up and do something which is cool because in missionary work there is always something you can do no matter where you are at.

I'm glad to hear that you have a favorite talk as well in conference, it was such a good strong conference with a lot of good guidance from our leaders. If we just follow all of the things we are taught and that we know we should do it leads only to one place, that is eternal life with our Heavenly Father and our Families. That is so cool because in life right now in the world so many things are made up in people’s mind called “virtual realities”, so many things that take us from the real world.  It is so awesome to know that living with our Families forever can be a real experience and not a virtual one.  What a good goal that is and it is such a blessing that we have so many temples so close.

Thanks for the updates on football and hunting.  I got pictures from Grandma Sue of mom’s cousin’s bull elk that he got out at the Kennecott copper mine somewhere I believe. Man that is a nice bull! Good that Kyle is out hunting as well as Grandpa Mike, I wish them all the best and look forward to the rest of the story.

Have a good week.

Peace and Blessings, your son,

Elder Hanke

I think I’m too tired and emotional right now to add rational commentary to this week’s letter.  (When I went to sleep around 11:00 Garrett’s email hadn’t come yet, so I asked Steve to watch for it and let me know when it came.  When he called around 1:30 in the morning I knew there must be something good! J)

There are a few things I want to laugh at with all of you, mostly regarding Garrett cooking, not being able to sit still and relax, and shaving - but the joy I’m feeling for him right now overrides everything else… the joy you can read in his letter is what’s most important.  He finally received the transfer he was wanting so badly, but only after being very humbled in his recent office assignment.  What great lessons he has learned. 

Our prayers are with him that he will arrive safely in Labasa, Vanua Levu, and that he will thoroughly love being able to be back out teaching full-time again.

Love to you all, thank you so much for all of the support you give to Elder Hanke.

"Don’t worry about how inexperienced you are or think you are, but think about what, with the Lord’s help, you can become."

If you’ve been following Garrett’s letters since he was transferred in to the office as the Financial Assistant, you’re aware of how he has struggled and felt unprepared as well as unsuited for this position.  Last weekend’s email, however, had a completely different tone.  I just wanted to post a portion of the talk that President Eyring gave, “Preparation in the Priesthood: I Need Your Help”, which is the talk that Garrett referenced in his email.  This is truly one of those talks that hit home, and obviously made a big impact on Elder Hanke.  It brought tears to my eyes to read it; I am so grateful for and humbled by what seems to be a “divine message” for our missionary who so needed to receive this inspiration and direction.

A portion the talk given during Priesthood Session in October 2011 General Conference by President Henry B. Eyring:

So part of the priesthood preparation we will have in this life will be opportunities to serve and teach others. It may include being teachers in the Church, wise and loving fathers, members of a quorum, and missionaries for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will offer the opportunities, but whether we are prepared will depend on us. My intent tonight is to point out some of the crucial choices necessary for priesthood preparation to succeed.

Good choices both by the person training and the one being trained depend on some understanding of how the Lord prepares His priesthood servants.

First, He calls people, young and old, who may appear to worldly eyes, and even to themselves, to be weak and simple. The Lord can turn those apparent shortcomings into strengths. That will change the way the wise leader chooses whom to train and how to train. And it can change how the priesthood holder responds to the development opportunities he is offered.

Let’s consider some examples. I was an inexperienced priest (17/18 year old) in a large ward. My bishop called me on the phone one Sunday afternoon. When I answered, he said, “Do you have time to go with me? I need your help.” He explained only that he wanted me to go as his companion to visit a woman I did not know, who was without food and who needed to learn how to manage her finances better.

Now, I knew that he had two seasoned counselors in his bishopric. Both were mature men of great experience. One counselor was the owner of a large business, who later became a mission president and a General Authority. The other counselor was a prominent judge in the city.

I was the bishop’s newly called first assistant in the priest’s quorum. He knew that I understood little about welfare principles. I knew even less about financial management. I had not yet written a check; I had no bank account; I hadn’t even seen a personal budget. Yet, despite my inexperience, I sensed that he was deadly serious when he said, “I need your help.”

I have come to understand what that inspired bishop meant. He saw in me a golden opportunity to prepare a priesthood holder. I am sure that he did not foresee in that untrained boy a future member of the Presiding Bishopric. But he treated me that day, and all the days I knew him over the years, as a preparation project of great promise.

He seemed to enjoy it, but it was work for him. On our return to my home after we visited the widow in need, he parked the car. He opened his well-worn and heavily marked scriptures and he gave me kindly correction. He told me that I needed to study the scriptures and learn more. But he must have seen that I was weak and simple enough to be teachable. To this day I remember what he taught that afternoon. But even more, I remember how confident he was that I could learn and be better—and that I would.

He saw beyond the reality of who I was to the possibilities that lie inside someone who feels weak and simple enough to want the Lord’s help and to believe that it will come.

I know I'm just the mom, but I'm still saying, "Wow... this talk hit the nail on the head".  J

Here is a link to the talk, if you want to read it in its entirety (or you can cut/paste in browser):

http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/preparation-in-the-priesthood-i-need-your-help?lang=eng

General Conference update... mixed in with a little hunting and football...

Below is the first email we received from Elder Hanke today, which was a reply to his Dad's “guy talk” letter.  Steve told him about new truck tires, Josh and Dallon's elk hunting expedition, as well as some good General Conference comments.

Bula Vinaka,

Dang, you should send me a picture of the truck, ha!  There are no big trucks in Fiji besides the semis. All of the trucks are just little wimpy Tacomas and the trucks the mission drives are these Toyota Hi-lux. They’re not bad but I do miss seeing all the big trucks in Utah. But seriously, I love to hear about hunting and football! Especially pictures of hunting, now that’s the bomb.

Anyways, how is work going and all the family on that side?

Also, while I was watching the priesthood session of conference I thought that it would be a good idea for us to go together to the first one after I get home and maybe have Dallon and them come as well. Just an idea.

Thanks for the e-mail.

Peace and blessings,

Elder Hanke

We then received this great letter....

Isa Lei, conference was the bomb, right?! Ha, we had ours yesterday and Saturday; each session with an hour in between which was good.  I learned a lot of things and so much of it I felt was directly for me and how I can better my work and the people around me.  There was a story in one of the talks about a young deacon going home teaching with the Bishop to a member with financial problems and how they thought that they were very much so the wrong person to go with, but he went anyways. Afterwards he was saying how could someone who has never balanced money, had his own checkbook or anything like that be expected to be of any help in a situation like that, ha. Well that’s about the same way I feel. How could a 19 year old who was very poor at being smart with money, who never had to worry about his own money, be expected to take care of the finances of a whole mission?  Ha, I don't know. I feel very inadequate a lot of the time and I have to ask a lot of questions to be able to even operate, but somehow it works out and I accomplish the things I need to.

When I think about how much I complained during the day or how much I thought my job was the worst out of anyone’s in the mission, I stop and take a look around and think about how easy I have it compared to others, for example the other elders and sisters out there.  They are trying to bring souls unto Christ and that can be very frustrating at times when someone you love and care for chooses not to accept what you tell them. Another example is President Klingler (the mission president). He has one of the busiest lives I've ever seen, he is always leaving to other islands and dealing with missionary’s problems, but the cool thing is that he knew what he was getting himself into and he handles it very well.  I've never heard him say that it was too much or even that he had a bad day, even when I know he has. He is always willing to help. There are so many different people with more responsibility than me and I shouldn't worry, I can think of so many examples 

But as conference is over my thoughts are focused on my Savior and I think of Him.  Jesus Christ has done more for me than anyone. It is sometimes hard for me to imagine and hard to think about that time because it was so long ago. But really when I think about it, and how much sense it makes that for us to live with our families again, we would need a Savior, someone who could help us reach goals and receive blessings that to me seem so essential to our eternal lives. Think of how big of a deal it is that everything we as missionaries teach is true, if anyone can find out for themselves it is true, then it would change how they live their lives… for the better.  I know it is true, and general conference just gives me a stronger testimony of the church and everything dealing with it.  I know the stories I hear about Christ are true and that he did die for us, but mostly that he rose again for all of us so that we can do the same with our family eternally.

Thank you for all of the support. I'm low on time so that’s it.

Peace and Blessings,

Elder Hanke

Reading more humility in this week’s letter, as well as little yearning for hunting and football.  And dare I say that Elder Hanke might possibly be starting to surrender himself to the office work?  Before you know it, he might even tell us that he likes it!  J

Love to all, thank you so much for your support of Elder Hanke.

Retraction.... we finallly DID get an email this week...!

So sorry mom about not e-mailing yesterday. I was way sick, no joke, I was boiling inside. Had to have been like 120 degrees on the inside, I can't even explain it, haha.  Being that hot and having no way really to cool down was the worst, but I am feeling a lot better (just skinny, I lost a few pounds, but oh well, haha.)  All the food I couldn't eat at dinner I gave to big boy Diloi.

So general conference for us will be this weekend instead of last, so I’m super stoked for that, it will be awesome. Conference on the mission is way awesome! It will be really nice to spend that much time doing something else besides the normal. But mostly what a blessing it is to hear the voice of a prophet and other men that receive guidance directly from our Heavenly Father. What a huge blessing that comes to us, so it is very important that everyone listens and has questions that they want answered from it. And yes, we do get the church magazines here. Every companionship gets a copy each month. The last one was very good and I'm sure it will be a good tool for the missionaries teaching lessons but for me I'll just read it, ga, for myself then go back to work.

So the lesson (with the “golden investigator”) never got to happen which sucks really bad but there was nothing I could do about it. We don't have a really set schedule and he has no phone so we got caught up in our work and couldn't call him.  I think that he thinks we just stepped him because he wasn't at church on Sunday either so that one just kinda hit the dust.  But hopefully it will work out, I still think it will, I just feel pretty bad about that.

So there isn't really a typical day for me, they are a bit different so I'll just tell you, ga, what I did today.  Came into the office at around nine to have about five people asking me questions and asking for money. So first thing I’ll explain is that I do all the petty cash for the mission.  Whenever anyone in the mission needs money for anything besides the normal things like boat trips or plane tickets they come to me. We have 3000 dollars on hand at a time so I just distribute that until it’s gone, then go to the bank and get more. The church uses a ton of money, I probably spent 10,000 dollars last week alone. All of that has to get approved by my boss, but ya, it’s a bucket load of money. Next thing they were asking for was an explanation about the rent for a few flats which I then had to call the landlords, the banks, and everyone dealing with the accounts and figure out why they didn't get paid or what the problem was (same with their electricity or water or anything). Then I had a bunch of elders call in telling me that they me that didn't receive enough money in their support, so I had to explain to them that I was trying to figure that out with Salt Lake and that there was nothing I could do unless they helped me out.  After that I went to lunch with my district. When I came back I had to figure out why the petty cash was off balance and fix that, then run to the bank to get 3000 more dollars to fill it back up then balance it so it would be ready for the next day. Then I spent 2 hours talking with JP Morgan figuring out the problem with the mission credit cards which I need to finish tomorrow, and then I went to dinner, and now I'm here writing you while I have a little time. And that is a pretty much a normal day, a lot of people bugging me for help.

Good to hear about the Nelsons, but that stinks for the Aggies, they really need to pick it up. But honestly this season isn't sounding too good anymore, ha. But oh well, what can ya do.

Thanks for the support, I'm set over here. No worries, ha. We’re chill.

Have a good week!

Peace and Blessings,

Elder Hanke

Very grateful that we got our email, but sorry to hear he's been under the weather.  

And now we have a good idea about a day in the office for Elder Hanke, as well as a better understanding as to why he gets so frustrated.  He's really out of his element with this "job", but we believe this experience will serve him well for years to come.  (We'll just have to wait for him to figure that part out for himself.)

By the way, "ga" translates to "but, just, only...".

Love to all...

Elder Hanke must have been too busy to write his email again.  I understand, but it's still a bummer....

Hope everyone enjoyed their Conference weekend. Very sorry that we missed breakfast in the mountains, hope everyone had a good time.

Have a great week-

Nova

The latest and greatest from Fiji...

Sup my matavuvale, 

Pretty interesting week; a lot went on so it was really busy again. It seems like every week is super busy, ha.  I feel bad mama, because the office work is hard stuff on the brain.

Anyways, first off, Elder Malohifo'ou is finishing his mission today so it’s been crazy. His family will be in Suva in about an hour and then he will be gone (but he will still be here for a week just spending time with his family and the people he was around for the last few years). So all week he has been freaking out, he was acting like a giant 12 year old girl (it kind of sucked, I'm not gonna lie).

Here’s the cool story for this week, though (I actually have one!).  So yesterday in church there was an unfamiliar face in the young men’s crowd and it turned out to be this kid who wasn't a member but he goes to the LDS school and he is enrolled in seminary and came to church, so pretty much the most Golden investigator possible.  I can't even think of a more perfect situation for this kid, I know he will be dunked in the waters of baptism in about a month.  We have our first lesson with him on Wednesday at 5:30, which is awesome because I haven't taught a lesson in forever, like four weeks (at least in my area).  But I'm super pumped for it; this is probably the biggest blessing I have received so far on my mission, someone that is so prepared that I won't even have to do hardly anything!  It is perfect, I’m so stoked!

That’s the only story I have really, and other than that I'm still stuck here in the offices just doing all sorts of nonsense, but such is life, haha.  Everything is so good though at the same time. I can't really explain it, but my life is so set, it’s not even funny. I freakin’ love it, sara ga man.  Hopefully we can start teaching this other family that I believe is prepared, too, and if that works there will be like seven baptisms next month, so things are just the bomb right now.

And the whole FRIENDS IN THE FIELD dealio, that was pretty sweet.  Keep doing that cuz it was way sweet to hear about all those in the gang and how they are doing. They are all workin’ it, I just hope I can be as good as Jacks, Dalt and all of them.

Anyways, sounds like you all had a good week and that’s always good to hear.

Peace and Blessings,

Elda Tavoi

We were able to email back and forth with Garrett a little bit again on Sunday, so here's a little more of our conversation:

I asked if he’d received a package we’d sent a few weeks ago:

Ya, I got the other package, thanks for that it was the bomb, haha. But really the shirts are what I'm looking for, haha (he asked to have some t-shirts printed and sent over for himself and some of the other missionaries).  If it’s possible you should send a 6XL tall shirt with SWK on it for Elder Diloi (the new companion), he is a freaking huge kid and he doesn't have very many shirts that fit so that would be a blessing for him (if not 6XL then as big as you can).  My comp is huge and hilarious, ha.  He is the man and we still see his family a bunch, which I don't think he is a huge fan of it so I don't know what will happen.

I asked how he has been feeling and if he’d received other emails:

YYYeeeeeeaaaahahhahh, I feel great, no worries. And ya, I got a lot of good e-mails from friends and family, which is awesome.

I sent a picture of Steve with some hot peppers that we got at the fruit/veggie stand:

Oh ya, haha, that’s classic man.  We eat some stinkin’ hot food here, these little chilies called rockets.  Man they are hot!  But man all of the other elders I'm with today freakin’ love Dad’s mustache, haha.

So there you go, the whole nine yards of the email correspondence from yesterday.  By the way, when Garrett wrote about “FRIENDS IN THE FIELD”, he is referring to a “newsletter” that a friend’s mother put together.  Her son, Jackson, is one of Garrett’s good friends (he is serving in Indianapolis); the newsletter includes updates on several of the boys Garrett’s age that are all buddies that she’ll send out monthly.  The boys are spread all over the country and world…Indiana, Oregon, Russia, Paraguay, Guatemala, South Africa (sweet, huh, Dallon?!), Tonga  and the last one just got his call today to South Dakota.  What a great group of kids, we love all of them.

Ciao for now… thanks to everyone for your love and support!

(Oh, and do I smell Conference Breakfast in the air....?  Yummmmmm!!)  J

Sega Na Lega

ok Matavuvale

The whole earthquake deal i don't even think the weather stations here knew there was an earthquake na i kena ibalebale now worries haha sega na lega.

So about last week it was probably very easily the busiest i have ever been in my whole entire life Monday through wednesday haha. So first sunday morning at 7 am we drove elder Tafuna'i home which was really weird but thats just how it is. second on Monday the new intake of missionaries came in so since i didn't have my new companion yet i was with the APs all day and i had to give this little orientation deal to the newbies about all the financial stuuf that i barely know.( by the way that took all flippen day)Third my companion cam in from Vanua Levu at around 6 at night so therefore no time at all to go e-mail sorry about that. 

Anyways my new companion is freakin awesome haha so the movie Blindside he is gunna be part 2 ha 6'6 300something pounds he is just a monster but at the same time he is probably the funniest elder the whole mission haha whatever we do were always laughin haha i can't get enough of the kid his name is Elda Diloi ha and he lives even closer than Elda Tafuna'i did. we've already ran into his family like three times and he spoke at his little sisters baptism this week so that was interesting but if you serve in your home country sometimes thats just how it is ha. i guess.

And as for the week still the same crappy office job 9-5 everyday just doin what a senior couple should do. I also think that this could help me down the road but that doesn't mean i have to like it ha i am learning a lot but its not exactly what i wanted or thought i would learn on my mission. But still whatever is wanted i will do. We still get to go out at night talk to a few people and then go to a members house for a sweet dinner. One problem though is when i leave i will feel way lazy because i'm so busy here and when i leave there will definately be tme when i'm not busy at all. hopefully we can get some lessons in this week though i'm really feelin deprived of the spirit in my life but i don't really know what to do since i can't study or teach.

Thats it for now 

Peace and Blessings

 

(He sent a few of his friends and us some pic's this week!)

 

Bula Vinaka na kequ itaba mai na noqu bula mai viti!

 

-Elder Adams from the MTC just both happened to have some jerseys so this happened.

 

Pig we killed for the good ol' LOVO(earth oven) for one missionary just about to leave this pig was just livin in a dog cage haha until we brought it out killed it with a dull knife and got quite a bit of blood every where ha all part of the experience baby ya

 

This is how we do cooking in Fiji ha this lady is making the Mity cocunut milk with the onion and the Chilli so fliipen good

 

(I can't make it rotate, sorry!)

Me and one of the recent converts from Tamavua ward that i'm in right now they are the sweetest family haha.

Classic Temple picture haha this is what i see every day

(Garrett has an eye for taking awesome pic's.)

PS this is to mom for sending me a picture of swedish pancakes look who's jelious
now haaha

Peace and Blessings

Elda Hanke

Looks like Elder Hanke is having a great time and meeting lots of amazing people. Thank you to all of our family and friends for supporting him through out this amazing jorney!