Good Morning

Hello Family,

Well, It has been another amazing week here in the Emerald Isle. We have actually had three Sunny days in a row so that is a miracle in itself. "Rainy Days and Mondays always get me Down" well if that was true I would be down a lot. But not really, I seem to be happy and excited most of the time to be out here experiencing all these wonderful things.
Well since I've been here we have been getting about 10 lessons a week which isn't the best but about average for Ireland because it is very hard to find people to teach. But this past week we worked really hard and did everything we could to get more appointments, and we got 16 Lessons! I know that probably doesn't seem like much, but I was really excited to get that many it was a great feat for us.
"When you're hot your hot, when you're not you're not" - My good buddy Jerry Reed sang that and I heard devastating news from mom that he passed away, so it was a sad, sad day I was grumpy the rest of the day, not really. :)
One interesting thing about Ireland that I found out this week is that The Irish only started being able to get divorced 10 years ago before that you just had to stay married. Another thing it takes 4 years to get divorced here because the Catholic church has made such an amazing impact on the government, they want families to stay together whenever possible. Anyways I thought that was interesting.
Well, the last week we have had two elders living with us because they opened up a new area and have not found them a flat yet. They opened up like 4 new areas because in my group there was 10 and in this group that came in last week there was 15 so about a fourth of our missionaries now gave been here less than three months. (Theres a little over 80 missionaries on the island) So anyways it has been fun getting to know them Elder Beckstead just arrived, and he is from Mesa so it's fun knowing a few of the same people and areas. His companion Elder Furlong is driving me crazy. (I Need to Repent) But I am learning patience. But they took some of our area so the man that we were helping to stop smoking we lost so we don't get to see him anymore and also the recent convert Sammy that I have wrote about is theirs now, so I was a little sad about that. So, we have six elders in our ward now. But the ward I am in is the biggest one in Ireland. Usually about 110 people come out.
Well, we had an amazing experience this week. There is an inactive in our ward named Frances Keane. She is about 65. We stopped by probably 4 weeks ago and talked to her just for a minute, but we couldn't go in because her husband wasn't in. So, we were in the area this week and it was about 8:00 at night so we decided to stop by hoping her husband would be there so we could go in. So we knocked and her husband answered and said come in come in. So we visited with her a while and she told us that it had just been kind of an awful year for her. Her Sister died in March and then about a month after that she fell down the stairs and broke her pelvis. Then she got palsey in her face. Then she had a tumor that had to be removed from her head and now she was really sick with a bad throat infection. But anyways she had been praying and she said that that night she had had a dream that someone had come and given her a blessing. And then we showed up on her door. So, we gave her a blessing. We have been able to give 3 or 4 blessing so far on the mission and I gave some before I came out, but this was the first time I've sealed. But anyways I could just feel the spirit telling me what to say to her. It was a Miracle. It was a miracle that we could be the answer to her prayers.
A family just moved into our area from a different area, an African family, and the older son Moses was recently baptized about 3 weeks ago I think I told you. But anyways his younger brother about 16 is taking the lessons and wants to be baptized too so we have a date for him on October 11 so hopefully we can work with him and get him ready for baptism that will be exciting.
Well, I hope everyone is doing good. Thanks this week to Mom and Dad, Jamie, Shawn and Lindsay, Aunt Marsha (I Loved Getting the pictures as well), Carina, and Jeanette and the kids. Also, the emails Mom!, Aunt Marsha, Tommy, Brennon, Yvette, Sister Bigler, Aunt Oona, and Aunt Kathy. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
Also mom I did get the package last week so thank you SOOOO much for that. Me and the boys are really enjoying the Kool-Aid. But we don't have a pitcher so we are doing smaller portions.:) That knee brace did work pretty good too. It's usually only my one bad knee so I don't need another one I don't think. So, thank you for that I still have a bad day but not very often.
I Love YOu all I wish I was there to enjoy the fall, But I'm stoked to be here.
Elder Hancock

P.S. Something interesting I learned this week was that when Christ appeared to the Nephites he called twelve DISCIPLES, NOT twelve APOSTLES, there were already twelve apostles in Jerusalem and there can only be twelve on the earth at once. So, though they were given authority they weren't given the keys of apostleship. (I'm sure you all knew that because you are all a lot smarter than me I'm still learning every day.)
"A voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be. I Will find my way, I CAN GO THE DISTANCE. I know every mile will be worth my while!"
Hercules