Raise your hand if you think Elder Hanke enjoys serving a mission in Fiji...

Bula Vinaka!

This week was way sweet! First of all, the Tongan girl I wrote about last week, Mele, agreed to be baptized and we set the date for the 30th of this month. We had such a sweet lesson with her, she had prayed and read a lot, so I knew she was ready. I'm so freaking stoked for her, mostly because she knows that this is what she needs to be doing and there is no doubt in her mind. ONZ, ha!

The next day we taught a girl named Barbara. She is sweet and is in the perfect situation to be baptized. She is from Kadavu, but she is staying in Suva with her Auntie while she goes to school at USP. Her Auntie and Uncle are strong members so Barbara comes to church every week with them.  Anyway, we talked about God preparing people to hear the Gospel and when we went over to their house for the second lesson it went really well. After the lesson we decided to ask her to be baptized and she was all for it. I was like, “ONZ, Sista! I know you’re doing the right thing. PERIOD.”  It was such a sweet week.

Sunday was sweet as well. Komai, the awesome kid I baptized a few weeks ago, he blessed the sacrament! He only received the priesthood like two weeks ago. He did really well, though. He messed up the first time but nailed it the second. I went up and talked to him after and he was stoked. Man, I love doing the stuff that I’m doing; I'm totally gonzo on being a missionary. Whenever I think about it, and the promises people make with me, it’s all a pretty big deal. Like one time this week this guy straight up promised us that he would stop smoking which is huge because he was doing like a whole lot of cigarettes a day. But when we went back five days later he hadn't smoked one. He said he just prays for help and it comes. ONZ, I can't get over how awesome everything is going.

Anyway, today is P day, so we went to a waterfall, which was so sweet. I slipped in the water and what not, but it was way fun. ONZ, ha-ha. But I am hoping you are all still having a good time, because I am! I'm sorry, but this is the BOMB! SERVE A MISSION! It’s so sweet when you do things that make it fun. There are those missionaries who aren't having a good time, but I know that if they would just give it their all they could have the time of their lives, just like me. Anyway, I know this church is true with all of my heart. When you can be so happy that you just wanna cry, that’s when you know something is true. The feeling deep down, knowing that what you believe in is true, it just makes everything perfect, even if you have a bad day. Nothing could change my mind from what I know and believe right now.

So I'll try and send pictures next week, but no promises, ha-ha.

Peace and blessings,

ELDER GARRETT HANKE

So….I was at the computer when Garrett's email came through, so I emailed him right back saying hello and that I loved him.  Here’s the response I got back:
Right back at ya, mama. How are things?

(Yes, this is where I got all excited because I’m emailing “live” with him.)  My next question was “What in the world does ONZ mean???”, to which he replied:

ONZ is just some slang used here. It means like “sweet” or “awesome”.

Well, we all know these are two of Elder Hanke’s favorite words, so I suspect that we’ll be seeing “ONZ” many more times in the next 20 months.  I asked how it was pronounced,, and he answered with:

You just say it like “ons”.  Pretty much say it all of the time and people will love you.

And all I can say to that is, Elder Hanke seems to be very, very happy and completely in his element, for which we are so grateful.  J

Love to everyone, thank you so much for your prayers and support.