Hello world! 

Here we are again. Another week gone. 

Last p day was one of my favorites. I've got my routine down for p days of getting up and diving right into emails. I love hearing from everyone. Makes me happy. Sister Church, this awesome lady in our ward, picked us up to take us into town. She paid for us to get pedicures and bought us lunch. Picture 1 is of my toes. I felt spoiled. Got time to talk to my parents and felt really good. Picture 2 is of the baileys kitty bonnie asleep on my companion. So we both got kitty cuddles and it was so nice. We went to ward mission correlation and it's great to see our progress each week. 

Tuesday not too much happen. Had district council where I taught a scripture immersion on being a consecrated and successful missionary. I picked alma the younger who is one of my favorites in the scriptures. Did some service at the old folks home and did bingo. Ate at muley's and then did some tracting. 

Wednesday the morning was a bit rough. We tried this little drink place here called Mudd Hut. I got a delicious strawberry banana smoothie but sadly it didn't agree with my stomach. Sister Garris stomach was also having issues so we got the mail and then crashed. We did some companionship studies before going back out. We walked down one of the streets here and knocked doors. We knocked on this one door and a man answered. He gave us a look as if he smelled something bad then promptly slammed the door and locked it. My first door slammed in my face and I couldn't help but laugh. Sister Garris and I always just say well baptize him later. Did some more walking around before heading back for the night. Picture 3 is of the sunset on our way back home. 

Thursday was an interesting day. We made some cookies in the morning while doing our weekly planning. Had our lesson with Faith on the plan of salvation. Went really well. We then did exchanges for my first time. I was so nervous about them. I went with sister touveli to elko. Her area is around the main part of town. We had dinner with a super sweet family and had amazing chocolate chip cookies. We did some tracting and met a lady named Morgan whose less active. She's so sweet and we got to walk and talk with her. Ended the night sharing great insights between sister touveli and I. 

Friday started out quiet and calm. I started reading this article in our binders called the Riccardi letter which is this gentleman's mission experience with a very bold missionary. I loved it. Went out tracting with sister touveli and man was it hot for some reason. I got more confident with talking to people on the street though so I was super happy. Picture 4 is of this awesome car I saw while we were out.  I was so happy to come back to spring creek though because I missed it. Had dinner at Kalen Fisk who is so awesome. Made plans for the next day. 

Saturday was so insanely busy. Did some yard sale hoping to contact people. Walked the marina. We were only home for 20 minutes when sister Rangal called and asked us if we could come help decorate for her daughter Davyns birthday party. Her mom goes all out for parties I wish I would have taken pictures. Hopefully I'm here for her baby boy's first birthday and I'll take pictures then. We then hurried over to the kalens where they were making cute little pies for us to take to all the people were teaching. Picture 5 is of us with sister Fisk and kalen. It was so awesome of them to do this and the joy it brought the people we visited. Loved it so much. Sister rangal invited us back over to get some leftovers from the party and she told us about her friend Bobbie who has expressed interest in meeting with us! Were do excited. 

Sunday was not going to lie kind of dull. Our Sunday school consisted of a Ysa representative talking to us about the justserve.org which is an amazing website but during church wasn't the time for it. After church we finished delivering pies. Went over to the church's for dinner which was heavenly. Steak, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, and salad. A lot of my favorite foods actually. Did a little tracting and then watched some mormon messages videos. I highly recommend watching them. A lot of them are so good. Oh we got word today of which apostle is coming to visit in September. DRUM ROLL PLEASE! 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁PRESIDENT M. RUSSEL BALLARD! AAAHHH! I'm so freaking excited! 

Anyways that's all I've got for this week. Hope you all have the best week ever! Love you all! 

Love,

Sister Sydney Hanks 💙

P.s. here's my address for anyone who needs or wants it. P.O. box #249 Elko, NV 89803

Hello wonderful people!

I cannot believe we are already at another week. I'll be honest I didn't believe people when they said this time flies but boy does it fly. 

So last P day I wont lie was a bit of a rough one. I definitely have felt my age this week. We were having a district activity which was so fun. We played games, didn't sugar scrubs, and face masks. Picture 1 is of sister Garris and I with elder Low and Linford in our face masks. During this activity we had some drama arise that I wont go super into but it was super frustrating. 

Picture 2 is a picture I drew. My creativity has been at an all time high out here. I've been wanting to do this type of piece for some time now. When I'm going through hard times i just imagine myself clinging to that iron rod. That's all we can do in this life sometimes. I refuse to ever let go again. 

Tuesday we got up and deep cleaned our car. It was much needed and so nice to get clean. We went to district council which was okay. We had interviews with the mission president after. Mine was not very long but man was it profound. He has continued to let me know how great of a missionary I am. He slightly mentioned how what I'm experiencing right now will prepare me for the positions heavenly father has prepared for me. So well see what happens after these 12 weeks of training. I got to talk with his wife sister godoy and we talked about family and life before. I am so beyond grateful for where I am and how far I've come. We came home and did some contacting. We had a scare with our sister training leaders wanting to come over and talk to us. It wasn't anything bad just wanting to check in. 

Wednesday we had zone conference. My first zone conference was a bit all over. Picture 3 is of our zone. I would go through everyone but it'll take me forever. Right before that picture though we had an issue with the sister training leaders pulling my companion and I into the girls bathroom. They called her out for her earrings which are within standards for the mission. She got super upset and boy you all know me I got super protective. Luckily sister godoy, the mission presidents wife, walked in and helped handle the situation. The women leaders we have are so awesome and sweet. 

On to a more happy note. We had car inspections and sister Garris and I won one of the gift cards. YAY! We got the opportunity to hear from Elder Gerard of the seventy. As I have been on my mission parts of the blessing I received back in January have been restated which just helps renew my drive for this work. Some notes I made from Elder Gerards address that I'd love to share. I would love to challenge everyone to go reread or listen to Elder Robin's talk "Which way do you face?" From October 2014 conference. This talk is so amazing. Elder Gerard did a lot of talk on focusing on our own conversions which will than help us convert others. Heavenly father helped answer a question I've had but forgot about for a while. I have had many times where people have gotten mad because I am part of the church but why don't we love them like God has commanded? Well this topic is going to be addressed more in October. SPOILER! Haha I loved this though because Elder Gerard touched on it saying how many people focus on that second commandment but forget the first great commandment. Love the lord thy God. If you do that and follow his commandments everything else will fall into place. Such a profound insight. He asked us this question which I loved "why do we spend so much time deciding what team were on when we know who wins?" I challenge all of you to pick the right team today. He finished his address to us by saying "We are spiritual beings having a mortal experience." So so true and powerful. 

We finished that day visiting a few people in the mobile section here. We had a dinner appointment where I shared a dinner thought. I have my great grandmother's scriptures and as I've been studying the scriptures I've kept an eye out for her markings. I found one in Mosiah 2:22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

I love this because my great grandparents were such a big example for me with the gospel. They did all they could to keep the commandments. I know they're proud of me for serving a mission and are helping me everyday. 

Thursday was a great day. We did some visiting with a few members. We stopped at the deremiahs. Picture 4 is of me with them. They are the sweetest couple ever. Extremely spiritual too. We sat and talked with them for a while about family history and the importance of writing our experiences down. Let me tell you I've already been doing this but it's still so important. We talked about history and I might actually look into doing more with history when I get home. I've always had a love for it so well see. Went to dinner at JJ's bbq which was so good. I thought I had a picture but it's missing so sad day. We came home and as we were doing companion study we get a message from the Elders. They had left us cookies! They were so good and hopefully we can get the recipe and make them again. 

Friday we did some tracting in the morning. Helped our sister morrill with her yard sale stuff. I acquired a new dress and star wars shirt. I made French toast for lunch again. I love making food lately. We got a ride out to the trailer section of our area. We met with this cute girl Faith. Picture 5 is of sister Garris and I with her and her brother Billy. I am so excited to announce we put Faith on date for Baptism. She is so excited to be baptized and she has such Faith for her name. Her dad was recently baptized so he's excited for her. Her mom isn't yet but when Billy brought out his ensign about temples she lit up. I was able to share more about temples and my absolutely love for them. We hope we can teach her soon and help her be baptized as well. We visited a recent convert Felicia who is the sweetest old lady. She reminds me so much of my Great Grandma. We had a great discussion about Heavenly Father and his love for us. We had dinner at our apartment and than walked around more. We didn't use our car at all that day. Oh! I forgot to mention that we have limited miles for driving out here so that's fun. Sister Garris and I have been able to save where we can though so that's good. 

Saturday was an emotion filled day. We tried to go to a few yard sales but man they are nothing like Utah yard sales. We went over to Sister Church's house and did foot zoning which helps you to detox parts of the body. I should have taken a picture of the water after mine was done. It was so gross. During that zoning though we sat and listened as sister church vented a bit. Her son committed suicide 2 years ago and she's still grieving. My heart hurts for her and her family as we learned more about what happened. This area I'm in has gone through a lot of heart break. Sister Garris and I hope to help the people find healing. Picture 6 is of the amazing meal we had that night. A cowboy hamburger. Hamburger, chili, queso, and bacon. Oh my gosh it was heavenly. We came home and made Banana muffins to give to a lot of the people who have been helping us out. We shared this with our district and our district leader got in trouble because our group chat is "too casual". My companion ended up breaking down because there has been so much correction over ridiculous things. It's hard because I'm reminded so heavily of my age during these moments. I'm so protective because I'm watching as some of these missionaries are feeling sophisticated when their work is so amazing. In these moments I wish I could share what I have learned in my life to help them. All I can do those is comfort and follow what Heavenly Father tells me to do. 

Sunday morning Heavenly Father helped me to further strengthen myself. I read my patriarchal blessing. I decided to do some research in some terms i wasn't too familiar with. Well i found out a lot of amazing things through the scriptures. This moment definitely further developed my testimony for the scriptures. If you ever have any questions seriously go seek the scriptures. They wont disappoint you. After church we had dinner at the Morrill's which was so good. We delivered the banana muffins and just had a good chance to visit with people in the ward. 

I'd like to leave this very long letter with just some insights from this week. I have been told for so long that missions are not easy. I very well knew this coming into the field, but nothing in this life is easy. The plan Heavenly Father has for us is meant to be so worth it but we have to give it our all. I am so proud of myself for being on a mission and being out here to help these people. I might have been upset at first when I recieved my call but man this is absolutely where I'm supposed to be. I love you all and I am so grateful for this gospel. It is true. He has a perfect plan for us. Don't give up. Keep going, keep trying. Put your trust in him. I know I have. 

Love,

Sister Sydney Hanks ❤

week 2

Hello awesome people!

Whoa! Can you believe it's been two weeks already?! Ah! That's so crazy to me! Time really does fly on your mission. 

So last pday was good. I got fizz because they have one out here. Made me so happy. I also tried the limited edition liberty brew mountain dew. So freaking good. Picture 1 is of a piece I drew for someone in our ward. Picture 2 is our apartment 

Tuesday was super busy. We went to a zone meeting in the morning. We talked about charity and having more charity in our work. I shared my mtc district's goal which comes from Christ asking Peter "Do you love me?". This goal has stuck with me and I plan to keep it my whole mission. If we love him what wouldn't we do? We did some service at an assisted living home doing bingo. So fun. We went to the trailer area of our area and met with a lady, glenda, who is so close to being baptized. Just needs to stop drinking coffee. 

Had a slow start to the day on Wednesday. Picture 3 is sister Garris and I with liberty brew. Visited a few people that day. Met with Donna who were slowly teaching. She has an adorable granddaughter whose six and super sweet with us. We had dinner at the bishops house. It was so good I wish I had pictures. We had a really great spiritual talk about our families and those that aren't active anymore. Picture 4 is of the beautiful sunset that night. Moments like that just remind me how aware heavenly father is. 

Thursday was a great day. We went out to trailer again to contact some referrals. While out there I had the impression to try a lady, Marlene, from our map that was listed as a not interested but had been for over a year. Well when we walked up she immediately asked for a prayer. We ended up talking with her for over an hour. She has a lot going on in her life and has a desire to change for the better. Here's hoping we can help. We helped the members we live by with watching their kitty and watering their plants. Picture 5 is of sister Garris and I watering the plants. 

Friday was so hot. We did a lot of walking. We did a lot of visiting the members. We got invited over to Kalens house for pizza and banana boats. It was so good. 

I officially hit my month mark on the mission on Saturday. Again we did a lot of walking. We keep trying some houses around us but don't always get answers. I'm still majorly learning that for sure. Learning to be slow when I speak. I guess I'm also super loud when were out in public speaking so not gonna lie that's been hard to learn to be softer spoken. As we were having dinner that night we got a call from a lady who use to be a do not contact. She's been going through cancer treatment and she really needed a friend. We immediately rushed over there. Sister Garris told me she is normally a rough around the edges I can do things myself lady. Not the case when we got there. She was so sweet and we helped her out. It was so hard because you can tell she's close to dying. My heart aches for her. We will be visiting her again on Friday when she comes back from treatment again. 

Sunday was fast Sunday. It was a good fast Sunday where I fasted for a lot of people. I love the ward were in. They're all so sweet. I ask one thing of everyone. Help feed the missionaries. Please. Think of me when you do. I love having dinners and not having to worry too much about food. Picture 6 is of sister Garris and I getting caught in a rain storm on our way to dinner at the church's house. Man I love them they're amazing. Had some knock off olive garden soup. After dinner we knocked doors on our way home. It was my first time talking and I'm getting better. One lady got mad at us for "soliciting". Wish I could hand out definitions of it. 

Today is a beautiful p day again. Ran some errands. I want to share an amazing moment today. We stopped at Costa vida to grab some food and these flight paramedics came in the line behind us. They started talking with us. Both amazing members. Talked about their missions. They than offered to buy our meals and it just touched my heart. Well then another gentleman offered to pay for our meal as well. I thanked him and the paramedics who bought our meal. Seriously made me so happy. 

Anyways I'll give more updates next week. Love you all!

Sister Sydney Hanks ❤

first week in the field

Hello everyone! 

So it's officially been my first week here. I can't promise this will be short because I have so many things I wish to share. 

I loved P day so much last week. My mom was so awesome and sent goodies for my roommates and I. Picture one shows the shelf of snacks and the second picture is sister kosorok in the box my mom sent it all in. I was a bit giddy carrying it back to our residents. I loved what we learned in class that night. We learned a lot about christ. I loved this video https://www.comeuntochrist.org/easter. I know I've seen it a few times but man I got chills. It's such a beautiful and powerful message.  

Sunday was fast Sunday and it was the first time I've done a complete fast. I wanted to challenge myself though and so I pushed through. We had a great mission conference which was really amazing. I loved the mtc president and his wife's talks. Sister lesueur spoke about the importance of writing journals and keeping records. Something I feel very strongly about myself. She quoted a talk by Spencer w kimball about keeping personal journals stating, "Your private Journal should record the way you face up to challenges that beset you." I loved that quote because I definitely feel I show that in my journals. Here is the link for that talk https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1980/12/president-kimball-speaks-out-on-personal-journals?lang=eng

Elder lesueur spoke on the importance of conversion. How our first convert should always be ourselves. Conversion = A more joyful life. Conversion is an invitation to follow Christ and be like him.

My companion convinced me to join her for choir which was fun but hard with being hungry. Picture 3 is of us in choir.  Dinner was amazing after fasting. Our Sunday night devotional was given by elder and sister zwick. They spoke on the importance of connections. We must first connect then convert. When our lives are rooted in the savior our lives are filled with fruit to harvest. It was definitely a very powerful meeting. That night we had the chance to watch a video/movie. It was called characters of Christ by Elder David A. Bednar. I so badly wish I could share it with you because the message and power was so astounding. He was extremely blunt with his message. He spoke about how a mission is not about you. True conversion in ourselves is the end goal. This spoke extremely strong to me as I've made this journey. I realized that going on a mission has been a major part of my personal conversion. He continued his address with talking about how when we face troubles in our lives that instead of turning inward we should turn outward. Help others in your time of need. 

Monday morning was a bit rough. We had service at 6:25am and then were late to class. Luckily the day got so much better. Picture 4 is of my favorite mural here which is of Alma the younger. The murals here are so stunning. I'll have to share more of the pictures I took when I'm not limited to 10 pictures per email. We had a workshop where we learned there's an app just for the book for mormon. In the right hand corner of the app there's a question mark where you can easily search for questions and find scriptures to help with them. We had our first TRC (Training resource center) teaching. It went really well and my companion and I were able to learn a lot from it. Later in the day we had exercise time and played volleyball as a district. It was so much fun. 

Tuesday we taught our other TRC. It was a little more challenging and we'll continue to meet with her until we leave the mtc. My companion and I are learning so thats good. We had an amazing devotional on Tuesday by sister Kathleen Andersen and Elder Wilford w Andersen. Sister Andersen spoke on a few things. She mentioned how when we choose to repent we allow jesus to transform us into our best selves. Satan's first line of offense is the mind. Be aware of what your mind is doing. Train your mind to love God with all of it. Elder Andersen then gave an extremely powerful message. He talked about truly loving the savior and following him. He gave three ways to truly love the savior. 1. Learn his language 2. Play his music. 3. Be willing to take upon you his name. He quoted jesus saying do you love me more than you love all this? This hit extremely hard for me because I knew that's what he asked me when going on a mission. If I loved him more than my life I had been living than would I serve a mission? Well here I am. We were able to share after the devotional our thoughts and feelings with our district and I have grown so much love for these people I get to call my brothers and sisters. We all just wanted to hug each other after. I'm so glad we all get a long. Picture 5 is of sister kosorok that night with one if our empty ramen boxes on her head. 

I honestly don't have much to report for Wednesday. It was just a day of getting work done. We finished meeting with our first trc and wish we could keep teaching her. Picture 6 is of sister mittens just chilling by s1 building where we eat food. 

Thursday was a much better day. TRC number 2 went better than our first lesson. I loved this scripture that was shared in class. 

Alma 36: 27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.

I love this scripture because it's how I've felt at a few points in my life. He definitely will deliver us and help us through our hard times. I hit a bit of a low on Thursday. There have been a few times while here at the mtc that I have been reminded just how open I am. How much of the world I've seen and experienced. I might not be able to spout off scriptures like a lot of the other missionaries here but I am able to connect with people a lot better. I'm grateful for how unjudgemental I am. Its definitely been a major blessing for me. 

Friday was a much better day. Had a bit more energy for the day. Class was okay. Called my brother for his birthday. During our second class we had a teaching demo that was really good. If we have exercise time in the evening we always seem to make it out to play volleyball as a district. Were working to get a picture all together and once I have that I'll share it. The 7th picture is of a mural much companion and o sat by for personal studies. The sun was just perfectly coming through the window. 

Today is P day and man am I glad its here. Working on a ton of laundry. Going to visit the store because my companion needs to get a few things. It's nice to have a day to just take a break. Picture 8 is of my awesome mission shirt. I also got a necklace with my mission on it. 

I'd love to hear how others are doing! Email me! 

Love,

Sister Sydney Hanks ❤

last full week at MTC

Hello all!

Last full week and p day at the mtc. We leave Tuesday bright and early for the mission field.

I forgot to mention last week that during one of our lessons I used the Disney movie Hercules to help explain our relationship with heavenly father. It was pretty great. 

Sunday was a really great day. Were required to have talks prepared and they randomly pick a few missionaries each Sunday to give their talk. As we were walking into sacrament I shook president warners hand and I knew I'd be giving a talk. 😂 I didn't mind when my name was called. It was on repentance which is a topic very close to me and one I love. Our talks only have to be 3-5 minutes long so wasn't bad at all. Recieved a lot touching emails that just warmed my heart reading them during ponder time. Our Sunday devotional was really good. Sister and brother Thompson spoke. Sister Thompson is President and sister lesueur's daughter. They both spoke on ways to be great missionaries and told some great stories of sister missionaries visiting them. It was good. Picture 1 is the view from our Sunday classroom. 

I will be honest. The beginning of this week was hard. I was feeling extremely down and just trying to push through. I'm happy to share the following below that immensely changed my attitude this week. Picture 2 is of sister mittens sun bathing on Monday. 

I never got a chance to make any kind of post on Facebook about this so I'll share it here. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/god-loveth-his-children/god-loveth-his-children. This link is for a beautiful booklet that has to do with same gender attraction. Through out my life I have had many around me who have had these feels or still have them. I am a strong believer of agency and it is your choice to do as you wish. This booklet though is a beautiful help for anyone who is struggling with those feelings. I wish it was made more public because it so fully testifies of God's unconditional love for ALL his children no matter what. How powerful that is. It's something I strive for. I want people to know they can come to me in hard times. I know this life isn't easy. Not one bit but I know it is worth it. Every trial and hard time is worth getting through and becoming stronger. 

Tuesday we had another beautiful devotional. I think a huge tip I can give to new missionaries is make it through the week to a devotional. Once you have another one your energy and strive to be here is renewed. We had the chance to hear from William r Walker an emeritus seventy. He gave us 10 points to help us become happy and successful missionaries which I shall share with you. 

1. Focus on the lord 

2. Love the scriptures. 

2a. Learn to love the leaders of the church. 

3. Forget about yourself. -your prayers should not be all about you 

4. Love the people - love the land, love the culture, love the food 

4a. Love your companion 

5. Follow the mission president - if you don't understand something respectfully ask the mission president. 

6. Learn the language of the spirit -learninf this is more important than any language. 

7. Word hard -it is not a competition. Be able to return saying "I did my best". 

8. Be obedient - with exactness

9. Be a "Preach my Gospel" missionary

10. Prepare yourself to go home and be a faithful member for the rest of your life. - every commitment you give you should also be keeping. 

These points are definitely ones I work for whole heartedly. I have definitely felt the blessings from following them. My favorite one has been the forget about yourself. I love not having to worry so much about my needs. I love being able to serve and help others needs. I have found great joy and peace from doing so. 

Picture 3 is of an ice cream I got on Tuesday. Blue goggle. Its mint with Carmel chocolates covered candies and cookies dough. 🤤 so good. 

Picture 4 is of me by one of the walls of a ponder room. They have music playing and it's super calm and peaceful. 

Picture 5 is of our district. Going from the left going along the line for elders we start with Elder Baker, Elder seyfried, Elder Richins, Elder Saunders, Elder Larsen, Elder Hardy, Elder Andrews, and then Elder Lawson. The sisters starting from the right, Sister Cruz, Sister Rowell, ME! sister Hanks, my companion Sister Voelkell, Sister kosorok and then Sister Turner. Love this group of people so much. Can't believe we leave soon. 

Picture 6 is sister Turner, sister kosorok and I in the elevator going raiding. Raiding is when we go to all the different resident all floors and raid the share tables and buckets. It's so much fun. 

Wednesday. Halfway done with our last week. It's crazy to think how fast the time is going. I am so so excited to share the experience I had today. Today was the last day we taught one of our TRCs (training resource center people). With the people we teach we never know if they might or might not be a member. With the person we taught I'm pretty sure he's not a member. We learned of his concerns for starting a family and wanting to be the best father and husband. There is a beautiful teaching pamphlet we use called families and temples. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/families-and-temples/what-about-my-family the section we shared) as we had him read the first part of the first paragraph he asked about eternal families. He loved the idea of being with his family forever. He wanted to know how to get to that point. With our limited time we told him the steps and how baptism is the first step to do so. Sister voelkell then invited him to be baptized. The spirit was incredibly strong. He said yes. He will continue to have lessons even if we do not teach him. Sister voelkell and I were both in tears when we left the room. I was quietly reminded very strongly that that moment was why I was here. Moments like that are the whole reason for being on a mission. I am filled with a renewed excitement for my purpose and to keep bringing others unto this beautiful gospel. 

Thursday were the last day we had for teaching a trc. It went really well and we invited her to consider baptism. Wasn't as spiritually strong as when we asked max but still good. Picture 7 is a sky light in t3 i loved and the sun was coming through it perfectly. 

Friday was a good day. We talked in class about the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. We learned how to be direct about teaching this so the people we teach can best understand it. It was really good. We got to experience a new work shop on people and their purpose. A lady came in and spoke about culture and how to adapte to it. It was really good. Second class period was okay. Just going over a lot of stuff we've already learned. The rest of the day was super chill. Sister voelkell and I get to teach relief society on Sunday so we planned for our lesson. Super excited for it. After we did a lot of core exercise and ran a bit. My body isn't too happy but I love how fit I'm getting. Improving my body physically and spiritually ever day. 

Picture 8 is of the sunset during exercise time. 

Picture 9 is during breakfast this morning giving sister mittens some milk. P day is off to a beautiful start. I got a trim for my hair so it can keep growing and healing. Ate breakfast and now I'm working to pack up. Can't believe we leave on Tuesday. Next time I write I'll be in the field. Love you all so much. So thankful for all the support. 

Write me! I love hearing from everyone! 

Sydney.hanks@missionary.org

Love, 

Sister Sydney Hanks ❤