Thursday, July 13, 2017
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Missionary Monday (week forty-five)
Landon:
 |
| Landon with Boise State Center Jeff Beiderman. |
 |
| We just went on a tour with this guy from the branch who works at the Henesey factory. Basically it is a place where they take fast sports cars and make them faster and crazier. |
Dear Amigos,
The Fourth of July was great we had an exchange so I was with an
English elder from Katy. It was a pretty fun day because we also went
to a zone conference in the mourning and met our new Mission
President, President Peterson. He is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and was a banker. He has a bunch of kids and served a South American
mission so he speaks Spanish pretty well though it is obviously a
little rusty. I really wasn't sure what to expect and I am still kind
of getting to know him but I believe that he is a great man for the
job. His wife is a convert to the church and shared her conversion
story with us which was very nice. She seems like a very kind hearted
person I think we will be able to learn a lot from her as well. The
night of the Fourth of July I was still on exchange and we did some
finding in a very Hispanic trailer park and which was interesting
because I was the only one that spoke Spanish. Then later we went and
ate some really good barbecue with some investigators that invited us
over.
Alvaro and Gabriel are still both on date to be baptized. We had a
super awesome lesson with them on Saturday about the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. It is so nice to meet someone who is actually reliable,
Alvaro does what he say he is going to do even studying the material
we are going to be teaching before we come over. Gabriel his brother
isn't quite as reliable and works a lot but he is coming along as
well.
I went on another exchange with an English Elder named Elder Hansen
from Logan Utah. He is pretty cool he was a wrestler in High School
and has been out on the mission about 8 months longer than me. For
part of the night we went to a correlation meeting with their ward
mission leader who is none other than Jeff Beiderman who played center
for the Boise State Broncos. They were a really cool family too they
gave us breakfast for dinner and have two little boys and a little
girl who love playing crazy ball, which is a game with only two rules
don't break anything and the big guys try to hit the little guys with
the balls. I had the privilege to put on a Boise State 2007 Fiesta
Bowl ring. If you don't know what that is or you don't remember then
you need to go look up the highlights from that game and you will
understand the awesomeness of that.
Also this Sunday we had a potluck dinner with the whole branch after
church which was super fun. I got to sit and talk to the two oldest
members of the Sealy Branch. They are from a tiny little town called
San Felipe but if you ask them it's San Philip because "we won the
war!" They also told us all about how Texas got started in San
Felipe.
Elder Marquez is doing awesome he only has 3 weeks left on his mission
before he goes home to California.
12 Porque si no hay fe entre los hijos de los hombres, Dios no puede
hacer ningún milagro entre ellos; por tanto, no se mostró sino hasta
después de su fe.
Elder Hatch
Dallin:
This has been another week of miracles and blessings of all kinds. We
had the baptism of Alex and Erica on Saturday and the Confirmation and
reception of the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. We also did
exchanges with Dayton Elders and met many great people.
Last Tuesday was the 4th of July! It was a good day although we had a
lot of our plans change we still taught a lot of people and had a good
time. We ended up eating dinner with our Ward Mission Leader Brother
Cordell. They made us some good burgers and hotdogs. We also visited
and spent time with a couple other members and had a whole bunch of
home made Root Beer.
We went on Exchanges later in the week and I went with Elder Pruit.
Elder Pruit is a great missionary only about 3 months our of the MTC
and he has spent his whole time in Dayton and only been on an exchange
once with the Zone Leaders which wasn't even a real exchange. So it
was a new experience for him and me as a District Leader. It went
really well and we actually did have some good success. One think I
learned is that Cleveland is a bigger size town than I have ever
served in. Just about the same size as Twin Falls but feels a lot
more chaotic and harder to navigate than anywhere in the west. We had
some adventures finding our way just because I still don't know the
area so well. We did meet one really cool guy named Chris who claimed
to be atheist or agnostic leaning atheist that still isn't sure that
there is no God but doesn't think so. He was actually super blown
away when we told him about the Book of Mormon and what it was a
record of. We got to teach him again on Sunday and he is so filled
with questions and speculations. But some of the questions that he
has not been able to answer before are actually found in the Restored
True Gospel of Jesus Christ which we teach. So we will continue
working with him. Elder Pruit is from Colorado and took 5 years of
French in High School so he can speak French. We had a great time
learning from each other.
The baptism of Alex and Erica was on Saturday and we came and met with
them on Friday. Erica got super super sick. She was feeling terrible
and couldn't even stay with us for the whole lesson. We got them all
prepared for the baptism with what they were going to wear and who was
going to do what. That night they both had a terrible night and Erica
was very sick. Alex was stressed out of his mind and had all his
former doubts and fears return. He told he was expecting so much from
the baptism and wanted it to be fulfilling and a very big experience
spiritually and emotionally. The next morning Erica wasn't sure she
wanted to do it and thought about calling it off or rescheduling.
Erica had always been the driving force behind them getting them to
keep commitments and come to church, but it was at this time that Alex
overcame fear and doubt, took courage and decided they would go
through with it of at least to just go and be baptized and then come
back right after. They called us that morning and we were already
filling the font and told us she was sick and that they might not want
to stay for the talks. I received that phone call and prayed right
after. I felt comforted that things would be OK. They came and were
baptized. Immediately after being baptized while we were changing
Alex told me that he felt everything he could have hoped for and that
as he left the water he felt such joy that he was brought to tears.
Erica was sick but went through with it and said she was happy too
even though she had to be dunked under the water twice because her leg
popped up. They went home. The next day they came,e to church and
received the Holy Ghost.
In addition to Erica and Alex he had another 6 Investigators come to
church including people who spoke Spanish who were members and
investigators. This was perfect because some of the less active
member Hispanics could also speak perfect English and translate for
the Investigators. Some people that I had never even seen before came
to church. They were Bryan and Ashlee: Bryan is a member who actually
offered to come out with us to teach people and Ashlee is his fiancée
who is not a member so we will get to visit them this next week. We
were very blessed with the help of members in taking care of our
investigators. Last night we had the opportunity to find two new
families of Hispanics who will come to English class and let us teach
them.
This week has been awesome and tomorrow we will have our first Zone
Conference with the new Mission President! Life is good.
Elder Hatch
Monday, July 10, 2017
Summer week eight! July 9-15
We have been seriously exhausted this week so we took it easy at home!
These boys find their way into our bed in the early (does 7 am count as early...?) hours of the morning.
On Thursday I went to Salt Lake for some training for our homeschool CommonWealth classes next year. I'm teaching a class about study habits, science and math and logic. It includes a ton of philosophy which is still making my brain hurt. I have so much to learn! Of course Robyn, Shelly and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning discussing the state of the universe--and doing a lot of homework! It was good for my brain.
Monday, July 3, 2017
Missionary Monday (week fourty-four)
Our favorite day of the week is here again! Both boys had new mission presidents arrive this week. Dallin's new president is the Pickett family from Oakley! We are so happy about that. Landon is looking forward to meeting his new president as well. You don't want to miss the video at the end. Ha. Here's the report from the mission front...
From Dallin:
dhatch@myldsmail.org
Wow this week and last have been some of the busiest weeks of my
mission. We have spent the majority of our time just teaching all the
people that we meet and have had many adventures. I can't write them
all because there are so many, so I will just talk about some of the
more exciting parts of this week.
Tuesday was an all around awesome day. I felt like every one we
talked to we were able to teach and we ran into almost no rejection.
We got to go visit Kay Booker again as well. She was the woman that
we gave a blessing to last week that was so thankful and comforted
because of it. We went to her house and shared with her the message
of the restoration and she accepted it whole heartedly. It was pretty
cool she asked some of the best questions and really understood some
things that almost no one understands. She is pretty old so we will
certainly have to go over a lot again but at the end she told us she
wanted to be baptized by someone who really does hold the authority of
God to do it. She committed to a date on the 22nd of July to be
baptized. She also, of course, said she was going to come to church
this weekend as well!
Wednesday night was pretty chaotic but we had one of our
investigators, Kaitlin, who is Kay's granddaughter, come to mutual.
Things got a little complicated and we ended up having to go pick her
up with a member because Kaitlin's mom was uncomfortable with things
and then Kaitlin wanted to bring her boyfriend. So we brought them
all and put the boyfriend with the deacons Quorum, I hope he likes
Indian Lore, and Kaytlin went with the young women who are preparing
for girls camp. We were about to leave but then the young men's
leaders told us we needed to stay in building with the young women
because all of the other priesthood holders were actually leaving with
the young men, and of course he Bishop got there late, so then we were
at young women for the next hour and a half! Yay! Haha it was funny
and we made sure Kaitlin was doing well and making friends and
things.(honestly I think I know how my mom felt dropping off each of
her kids at primary for the first time). And we also have two other
teenage girls that we have been teaching that ended up coming to young
women's as well so it ended up being a pretty successful night and all
went well. But then we had to drive pretty late because we had an
exchange/power up with the Zone Leaders in Chattanooga and we were
supposed to drive there that night and actually we ended up getting
lost because we don't have a GPS. But it is OK because we made it in
the end.
We were in Chattanooga all day on Thursday with the Zone Leaders. It
was good because I got to talk to them about being a District Leader
and get some tips and stuff. We didn't really have any success in
Chattanooga though, which was a bit disappointing, but it was good and
we met some members there.
At District Meeting on Friday we had a good time and had a senior
couple come and visit us. It was good and I think I am starting to
get the hang of being District Leader and all that. After the meeting
we met up with Alex and Erica at the courthouse. It was pretty great
because we helped them get their marriage license! We signed a paper
that we had been teaching them in preparation for them getting married
and it worked out great. Then they wanted to know if WE could marry
them right there. I wasn't so sure about how that all worked. We are
duly ordained Ministers of the Gospel but I didn't know if that meant
we could marry them or not. So we called President but now we have a
Mission President so I actually got to meet him for the first time and
talk to him. He went and found out and called us back and told us
that we weren't supposed to do that as Missionaries. He said that all
officers of the church can do it though, but that the Bishop is
usually the one. So then we had to find a way to get in contact with
Bishop to set up a time when he could come and marry them.
Over the next day or so we tried and tried to contact the Bishop but
he was out of town. Finally we had a lesson with Alex and Erica in
Saturday night. Honestly this lesson was one of the most Spirit
filled lessons I have ever been in. Alex still had some doubts and
fears baptism and didn't feel that he was ready. We taught him about
the power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost and how having the Holy Ghost
for companion is not something to take lightly. It truly is a
strength and a blessing to have with us. He finally began to realize
that the next step to take was baptism and that that truly is the gate
to path that leads to immortality. So we called the Stake President
and asked if HE could marry them and he said he would on Sunday after
church. Alex then told us he wanted to set a baptismal date for next
Saturday.
On Sunday Alex and Erica both came to church. Kay Booker was not
feeling very well so she didn't come. I spent all Sacrament Meeting
translating for a Hispanic guy named Robbin, and I also translated for
him for Priesthood. That ended up keeping me pretty busy for most of
the meetings, but Alex and Erica did come and after church we went
into the Stake President's office and they were married. They were
super happy.
As my mission goes on I truly have seen my testimony increase
exponentially. It gets stronger and stronger faster and faster. I
also see how important the small and simple things are. Consistently
praying and studying the scriptures is something that can never be
overlooked. We must continue to do those things always and to
reaffirm our faith. If we do not it will leave and eventually we will
falter. The iron rod really is the work of good. We just need to
hold tight and keeping going even when the mist of darkness gets
thicker and thicker. I know the power of prayer is real. This is my
testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Hatch
If any of you remember for Mexican Independence Day I was in Mexico
and it was a pretty cool experience. Now I get to make the comparison
between Americas and and Mexicos. ;). I don't think I will be
disappointed, out here people take their fireworks very seriously and
there is no lack of national Pride. We actually got invited by one of
our investigators to go to their house and eat and have a bonfire
while we watch fireworks so we are pretty excited for that.
There is also a big ward breakfast tomorrow that we have to miss, but
we are missing it because we are going to go meet President Petersen
for the first time. Needless to say we are pretty exited, he got here
last week but I am sure he has been moving in and trying to get a feel
for our mission these past few days. I still don't know very much
about him.
The Sealy Branch is doing pretty good out here, and I actually think
they will make it a ward before too long. The Branch President,
President Bingham, is a great guy and with a big family of six kids
that all served missions. They invite us over every Sunday to eat and
it always reminds me a lot of home. Right now we are working with
some good families out here. We just set a baptismal date with a man
named Alvaro. He is super cool. His mother and wife are both actually
pretty recent converts and he just got here from Mexico. He and his
wife are both engineers he teaches at a college in Mexico and she
worked at a nuclear power plant and they are trying to come here to
America. It is really hard for them and their previous education
probably won't mean anything here but they know that the future in
Mexico doesn't look very good. Especially around this time of
Independence Day I feel very fortunate to have grown up in this
wonderful country.
We had another mini missionary this weekend a guy from the branch
named Raymond he has 9 sisters and is preparing to serve a mission
next year. He is also like 6'5". I think I have a picture. We do a
lot of service out here every Saturday we spend several hours with an
organization, Habitat for Humanity, building a house. The people out
here have an awesome accent.
Con Amor,
Elder Hatch
From Dallin:
dhatch@myldsmail.org
Wow this week and last have been some of the busiest weeks of my
mission. We have spent the majority of our time just teaching all the
people that we meet and have had many adventures. I can't write them
all because there are so many, so I will just talk about some of the
more exciting parts of this week.
Tuesday was an all around awesome day. I felt like every one we
talked to we were able to teach and we ran into almost no rejection.
We got to go visit Kay Booker again as well. She was the woman that
we gave a blessing to last week that was so thankful and comforted
because of it. We went to her house and shared with her the message
of the restoration and she accepted it whole heartedly. It was pretty
cool she asked some of the best questions and really understood some
things that almost no one understands. She is pretty old so we will
certainly have to go over a lot again but at the end she told us she
wanted to be baptized by someone who really does hold the authority of
God to do it. She committed to a date on the 22nd of July to be
baptized. She also, of course, said she was going to come to church
this weekend as well!
Wednesday night was pretty chaotic but we had one of our
investigators, Kaitlin, who is Kay's granddaughter, come to mutual.
Things got a little complicated and we ended up having to go pick her
up with a member because Kaitlin's mom was uncomfortable with things
and then Kaitlin wanted to bring her boyfriend. So we brought them
all and put the boyfriend with the deacons Quorum, I hope he likes
Indian Lore, and Kaytlin went with the young women who are preparing
for girls camp. We were about to leave but then the young men's
leaders told us we needed to stay in building with the young women
because all of the other priesthood holders were actually leaving with
the young men, and of course he Bishop got there late, so then we were
at young women for the next hour and a half! Yay! Haha it was funny
and we made sure Kaitlin was doing well and making friends and
things.(honestly I think I know how my mom felt dropping off each of
her kids at primary for the first time). And we also have two other
teenage girls that we have been teaching that ended up coming to young
women's as well so it ended up being a pretty successful night and all
went well. But then we had to drive pretty late because we had an
exchange/power up with the Zone Leaders in Chattanooga and we were
supposed to drive there that night and actually we ended up getting
lost because we don't have a GPS. But it is OK because we made it in
the end.
We were in Chattanooga all day on Thursday with the Zone Leaders. It
was good because I got to talk to them about being a District Leader
and get some tips and stuff. We didn't really have any success in
Chattanooga though, which was a bit disappointing, but it was good and
we met some members there.
At District Meeting on Friday we had a good time and had a senior
couple come and visit us. It was good and I think I am starting to
get the hang of being District Leader and all that. After the meeting
we met up with Alex and Erica at the courthouse. It was pretty great
because we helped them get their marriage license! We signed a paper
that we had been teaching them in preparation for them getting married
and it worked out great. Then they wanted to know if WE could marry
them right there. I wasn't so sure about how that all worked. We are
duly ordained Ministers of the Gospel but I didn't know if that meant
we could marry them or not. So we called President but now we have a
Mission President so I actually got to meet him for the first time and
talk to him. He went and found out and called us back and told us
that we weren't supposed to do that as Missionaries. He said that all
officers of the church can do it though, but that the Bishop is
usually the one. So then we had to find a way to get in contact with
Bishop to set up a time when he could come and marry them.
Over the next day or so we tried and tried to contact the Bishop but
he was out of town. Finally we had a lesson with Alex and Erica in
Saturday night. Honestly this lesson was one of the most Spirit
filled lessons I have ever been in. Alex still had some doubts and
fears baptism and didn't feel that he was ready. We taught him about
the power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost and how having the Holy Ghost
for companion is not something to take lightly. It truly is a
strength and a blessing to have with us. He finally began to realize
that the next step to take was baptism and that that truly is the gate
to path that leads to immortality. So we called the Stake President
and asked if HE could marry them and he said he would on Sunday after
church. Alex then told us he wanted to set a baptismal date for next
Saturday.
On Sunday Alex and Erica both came to church. Kay Booker was not
feeling very well so she didn't come. I spent all Sacrament Meeting
translating for a Hispanic guy named Robbin, and I also translated for
him for Priesthood. That ended up keeping me pretty busy for most of
the meetings, but Alex and Erica did come and after church we went
into the Stake President's office and they were married. They were
super happy.
As my mission goes on I truly have seen my testimony increase
exponentially. It gets stronger and stronger faster and faster. I
also see how important the small and simple things are. Consistently
praying and studying the scriptures is something that can never be
overlooked. We must continue to do those things always and to
reaffirm our faith. If we do not it will leave and eventually we will
falter. The iron rod really is the work of good. We just need to
hold tight and keeping going even when the mist of darkness gets
thicker and thicker. I know the power of prayer is real. This is my
testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Hatch
From Landon:
hatch.landon@myldsmail.net
Happy Fourth of July!!!
If any of you remember for Mexican Independence Day I was in Mexico
and it was a pretty cool experience. Now I get to make the comparison
between Americas and and Mexicos. ;). I don't think I will be
disappointed, out here people take their fireworks very seriously and
there is no lack of national Pride. We actually got invited by one of
our investigators to go to their house and eat and have a bonfire
while we watch fireworks so we are pretty excited for that.
There is also a big ward breakfast tomorrow that we have to miss, but
we are missing it because we are going to go meet President Petersen
for the first time. Needless to say we are pretty exited, he got here
last week but I am sure he has been moving in and trying to get a feel
for our mission these past few days. I still don't know very much
about him.
The Sealy Branch is doing pretty good out here, and I actually think
they will make it a ward before too long. The Branch President,
President Bingham, is a great guy and with a big family of six kids
that all served missions. They invite us over every Sunday to eat and
it always reminds me a lot of home. Right now we are working with
some good families out here. We just set a baptismal date with a man
named Alvaro. He is super cool. His mother and wife are both actually
pretty recent converts and he just got here from Mexico. He and his
wife are both engineers he teaches at a college in Mexico and she
worked at a nuclear power plant and they are trying to come here to
America. It is really hard for them and their previous education
probably won't mean anything here but they know that the future in
Mexico doesn't look very good. Especially around this time of
Independence Day I feel very fortunate to have grown up in this
wonderful country.
We had another mini missionary this weekend a guy from the branch
named Raymond he has 9 sisters and is preparing to serve a mission
next year. He is also like 6'5". I think I have a picture. We do a
lot of service out here every Saturday we spend several hours with an
organization, Habitat for Humanity, building a house. The people out
here have an awesome accent.
Con Amor,
Elder Hatch
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Keep calm and trek on (summer week 6)
 |
| Friday night dinner and dance with the trekkers! |
Last October Rustin started working on plans and preparations to take 175 youth up to the South Hills where they could re-enact some of the experiences of their ancestors as pioneers. At the time I thought it would surely not take anywhere near that amount of time to get things together--but I was wrong. I can't believe the amount of time and effort and resources it took to pull off three amazing days! Rustin and I both have grandparents who walked across the plains with their meager belongings packed into a handcart to go to a land they had never seen. Rustin's grandmother was with the Martin handcart company. We both feel like many of the blessings we currently enjoy are because of the prayers and faith of our ancestors. We don't ever want to forget them and we want to give the same blessings to our own children.
So back to the trek.
This undertaking is the perfect example of how to get things done. Once the wagon masters were called (love you Kelly and Cory Piling!) they sat down and made a list of what needed to happen and then they assigned people to be in charge of each specific area. Here's the amazing thing--every single person did their part to the very best of their ability. It was amazing! They had activities on the trail (some people got snake bites, or mission calls where they went and taught other families, or typhoid fever so they had to ride in the cart...), they had dances with an awesome live bluegrass band, they had their carts raided and had some of their lunches stolen so they had to share with the other families in their company, they passed the great and spacious rock where the young single adults were having a 'party' and tried to entice some youth to join them for a soda.
They had the best food ever!! (seriously...)
They had quiet moments to sit and ponder and times to laugh and socialize. They walked almost 20 miles total. And there were virtually no complications. The kids were happy and the ma's and pa's loved their children and the logistics all worked just as planned. Every night the families split up and the kids met with their wards and bishops to talk about what they had learned for the day and how it could be applied to their current lives before they went to bed.
It really was amazing.
I'm so happy that I never complained when Rustin was gone to yet another meeting to make sure things were on track! I am so very grateful for other adults who sacrifice for my children. I truly love youth leaders!
 |
| Thirteenth ward trekkers! |
Monday, June 26, 2017
Missionary Monday week forty-three
June 26, 2017
We love to get letters from the boys. Both are going great. I am going to go back and post all of their letters and pictures but I'll just start with today's letters now! It's so interesting to look at these two. They left one day apart. They have had transfers at exactly the same time--they have both been in three areas with this last area for the longest. Both got transferred this last week and both are now the district leader. Their mission moms look like sisters and there are getting new presidents July 1st. Weird?! They are both happy and sweaty.
From Landon:
hatch.landon@myldsmail.net
Happy P Day everyone!
I feel like I have a ton to write because a lot has changed, so I
will try to include it all but if you have questions feel free to ask.
First of all, Monday night after P Day was over we got a call from the
Zone leaders saying that they had more information about transfers.
They told me that I had been called as a district leader, and then on
Tuesday I found out I was being sent to Sealy TX.
Now, up to this point on my mission I have been serving in areas very
distinctly part of the city. Actually they have all been right next
to each other so I have really only seen a little part of the mission.
Sealy, Texas, is not part of Houston and it is very different from my
past areas. In Jersey Village I was on bike and I was concentrated on
a few little parts of the area with big apartment complexes and lots
of houses. Sealy is definitely in the country and because of that I
am responsible for several small towns and my area is gigantic, but I
also get a truck. I am in a branch out here that was recently
combined from the English and Spanish branches into a mega branch
which also means I have to do some translating for the people that
don't speak English. Honestly I love it out here I believe this is
exactly the place where I needed to go. My companion is Elder Marquez
who is also a native Spanish speaker though he grew up in California
and is also on the last transfer of his mission.
We had kind of big surprise as well with Jersey Village there used to
be two companionships but now there is only one. So Elder Smith who
has driven a car about three times in his mission is now taking over
the entire ward in car which is a ton of work. I know that he will do
great with it though and he has a great companion as well.
The majority of the Spanish areas in the mission are closer to the
city which is why Sealy is sometimes referred to as "outer darkness"
by the Spanish missionaries. The reason is that there isn't as much
Spanish out here and you are far away from most other Spanish
missionaries. Actually although I am now in an English zone my
district is made up of Spanish missionaries which is pretty nice
though we are the only Elders. Although "outer darkness" has kind of
a bad connotation it is really pretty awesome out here. Honestly when
you imagine a mission in Texas this is probably more of what you
imagine, there are a ton of really cool country people here and this
is the first time in the mission I have really gotten a chance to know
some true Texans. For example: on Thursday we went and visited some
recent converts in English. They live a bit out of town in a nice
little trailer and their names are Rachel and Bubba. They are super
cool! They live in this little trailer and gave us food right out of
their garden. Bubba is kind of hilarious, he had a beard and was
wearing a cut-off button down shirt and he always speaks with a
country southern accent. We asked them to share some of their
favorite scriptures with us and Bubba chose Mosiah 26:25 which says:
"25 And it shall come to pass that when the second trump shall sound
then shall they that never knew me come forth and shall stand before
me." The reason he chose this scripture was because it mentions
Trump, specifically the second Trump which, according to him, means
that Donald Trump is going to get a second term. He was of course
joking but it was really funny because the majority of the people I
have served around don't really like our current US President.
This weekend we also had a mini missionary with us most of the time he
went home at night but was with us the rest of the time. I think he
had a great experience to see how missionary work really works. Any
one preparing to serve mission should do so by doing missionary work.
Yesterday we had a really great opportunity to go to a Fireside in
Katy which is basically the outskirts of Houston. The guest speaker
at the Fireside was a man named Glenn Rawson. If any of you have
seen the TV series the Joseph Smith Papers he is the Host. By the way
if you haven't seen it you really should and I believe it is on he
Gospel Library app. His words were about Joseph Smith the Prophet of
the Restoration, church history and the testimony of these things. It
was truly inspiring and I truly believe that we should try to be
familiar with our history. It is rich with miracles and witnesses of
every kind and an honest study with faith in these things will
strengthen your testimony.
I didn't know what to expect out here but I have been happy to find
out that there is a lot of work to do out here and it is a joy to
serve here.
Elder Hatch
We love to get letters from the boys. Both are going great. I am going to go back and post all of their letters and pictures but I'll just start with today's letters now! It's so interesting to look at these two. They left one day apart. They have had transfers at exactly the same time--they have both been in three areas with this last area for the longest. Both got transferred this last week and both are now the district leader. Their mission moms look like sisters and there are getting new presidents July 1st. Weird?! They are both happy and sweaty.
From Landon:
hatch.landon@myldsmail.net
Happy P Day everyone!
I feel like I have a ton to write because a lot has changed, so I
will try to include it all but if you have questions feel free to ask.
First of all, Monday night after P Day was over we got a call from the
Zone leaders saying that they had more information about transfers.
They told me that I had been called as a district leader, and then on
Tuesday I found out I was being sent to Sealy TX.
Now, up to this point on my mission I have been serving in areas very
distinctly part of the city. Actually they have all been right next
to each other so I have really only seen a little part of the mission.
Sealy, Texas, is not part of Houston and it is very different from my
past areas. In Jersey Village I was on bike and I was concentrated on
a few little parts of the area with big apartment complexes and lots
of houses. Sealy is definitely in the country and because of that I
am responsible for several small towns and my area is gigantic, but I
also get a truck. I am in a branch out here that was recently
combined from the English and Spanish branches into a mega branch
which also means I have to do some translating for the people that
don't speak English. Honestly I love it out here I believe this is
exactly the place where I needed to go. My companion is Elder Marquez
who is also a native Spanish speaker though he grew up in California
and is also on the last transfer of his mission.
We had kind of big surprise as well with Jersey Village there used to
be two companionships but now there is only one. So Elder Smith who
has driven a car about three times in his mission is now taking over
the entire ward in car which is a ton of work. I know that he will do
great with it though and he has a great companion as well.
The majority of the Spanish areas in the mission are closer to the
city which is why Sealy is sometimes referred to as "outer darkness"
by the Spanish missionaries. The reason is that there isn't as much
Spanish out here and you are far away from most other Spanish
missionaries. Actually although I am now in an English zone my
district is made up of Spanish missionaries which is pretty nice
though we are the only Elders. Although "outer darkness" has kind of
a bad connotation it is really pretty awesome out here. Honestly when
you imagine a mission in Texas this is probably more of what you
imagine, there are a ton of really cool country people here and this
is the first time in the mission I have really gotten a chance to know
some true Texans. For example: on Thursday we went and visited some
recent converts in English. They live a bit out of town in a nice
little trailer and their names are Rachel and Bubba. They are super
cool! They live in this little trailer and gave us food right out of
their garden. Bubba is kind of hilarious, he had a beard and was
wearing a cut-off button down shirt and he always speaks with a
country southern accent. We asked them to share some of their
favorite scriptures with us and Bubba chose Mosiah 26:25 which says:
"25 And it shall come to pass that when the second trump shall sound
then shall they that never knew me come forth and shall stand before
me." The reason he chose this scripture was because it mentions
Trump, specifically the second Trump which, according to him, means
that Donald Trump is going to get a second term. He was of course
joking but it was really funny because the majority of the people I
have served around don't really like our current US President.
This weekend we also had a mini missionary with us most of the time he
went home at night but was with us the rest of the time. I think he
had a great experience to see how missionary work really works. Any
one preparing to serve mission should do so by doing missionary work.
Yesterday we had a really great opportunity to go to a Fireside in
Katy which is basically the outskirts of Houston. The guest speaker
at the Fireside was a man named Glenn Rawson. If any of you have
seen the TV series the Joseph Smith Papers he is the Host. By the way
if you haven't seen it you really should and I believe it is on he
Gospel Library app. His words were about Joseph Smith the Prophet of
the Restoration, church history and the testimony of these things. It
was truly inspiring and I truly believe that we should try to be
familiar with our history. It is rich with miracles and witnesses of
every kind and an honest study with faith in these things will
strengthen your testimony.
I didn't know what to expect out here but I have been happy to find
out that there is a lot of work to do out here and it is a joy to
serve here.
Elder Hatch
From Dallin:
dhatch@myldsmail.net
Hey everyone! Wow this has been a week of serious change for me.
After six months in Lebanon and three months with Elder Macdonald I
have been transferred to Cleveland, Tennessee. I also have been called
as a District Leader in this District which includes The Athens
missionaries and Dayton missionaries. It's been a huge adjustment but
I have loved it here so far.
For half of this week I went and said goodbye to some people in the
Branch, although a lot of them were busy so I only so a few people.
It was sad to say goodbye to some of my friends but I know that the
missionaries that will still be there will take good care of them. We
went to Transfers on Wednesday morning with a couple members from the
English Ward and also e Sisters. There I got to see a lot of my old
friends and most importantly meet my new companion!
Elder Fillingim is from Show Low, Arizona. Which is a very small town
of about 6,000 people near Snowflake Arizona. Elder Fillingim is
really just an awesome guy and really good companion. He laid back
but he cares about the work and is ready to work hard and be obedient.
He is a talented Athlete, he set a few different weight lifting
records for his weight back in High School, but he is also very humble
and not prideful at all. Elder Fillingim has been out about a transfer
less than me and was actually trained in Dalton Georgia(the only
actual Spanish Ward in my mission) by Elder Macdonald. Honestly right
off the bat Elder Fillingim and I became really good friends. I am
very happy to serve with him and I think we are going to have a lot of
success here in Cleveland.
The Cleveland area is good. There are a lot of investigators in the
area book that have a ton of potential. There is also a lot more
Spanish than I had know about before. One thing that has recently
changed here is that we use to have Sisters but recently they have
were taken out and the missionaries struggled with miles to be able to
visit them all so a lot of good investigators haven't been seen in a
long time. So we have had to go through that a lot. On Sunday
afternoon we had a great experience related to that. We spent a lot
of hours looking through old investigators and trying to contact them
by phone call to set up a time to come by. Well I found one
investigator that had some good records. The previous missionaries
had written that she had wanted to be baptized but no one had seen her
in over 100 days. We decided to go contact her and another woman that
lived near by. We knocked on the door and she answered! We explained
to her who we were and that we wanted to begin teaching her again.
She said yes and I asked her if she still wanted to be baptized and
she said yes! Then we taught her the restoration pamphlet and she
still remembered everything! The other lady we met next door was also
on the list and she had been reading the Book of Mormon a lot as well.
Little things like this are small miracles to me that make this work
possible. Knowing that he Lord is on our side.
One amazing that has happened is Alex and Erica. During my first
transfer on the mission I went on an exchange with Elder Molloy. We
were both only about four weeks out of the MTC and excited about the
work. That day we probably knocked on hundreds of doors. At one
place we went through a whole set of little apartment buildings until
we met Alex. He opened the door to us and told to give him the
message right there. So we taught him the Restoration right there.
We then found out he has actually met with missionaries before back in
California. He told us missionaries could come back and talk to his
girlfriend(who basically an atheist at the time), and if she liked
what we said then he would consider joining the church. OK so fast
forward 9 months and now I am in the same area and Alex and Erica are
our best Investigators! Erica had gone through a massive change of
heart and truly believes and wants to be baptized. The only thing
holding them back is Alex. They are not yet married and are pretty
much either in or out together. Alex knows it's true. He knew the
church was true that first day when I knocked on his door. The thing
stopping him is fear. Fear of change. Fear of Commitment. And Fear
of failure. I had the opportunity to go teach them last Saturday
night. It was a good lesson but it's tough to know where it will go.
We committed them to get married and work toward baptism. They are so
close. I know it is not a coincidence that I was sent here at this
time. God is truly in control and I will serve him.
I have a million stories to tell and a thousand things to say about
this new are and change in my life but I do not have time to say
everything. Being District is certainly a change and an important
responsibility. I am going to need to turn to the Lord and become
better to be able to do the things that I am meant to do here at this
time. I know that in the scriptures there is peace and knowledge to
help me. I love you all! God bless!
Elder Hatch
dhatch@myldsmail.net
 |
| This picture was sent this morning from the bishop and his family that is hiking with Dallin. |
Hey everyone! Wow this has been a week of serious change for me.
After six months in Lebanon and three months with Elder Macdonald I
have been transferred to Cleveland, Tennessee. I also have been called
as a District Leader in this District which includes The Athens
missionaries and Dayton missionaries. It's been a huge adjustment but
I have loved it here so far.
For half of this week I went and said goodbye to some people in the
Branch, although a lot of them were busy so I only so a few people.
It was sad to say goodbye to some of my friends but I know that the
missionaries that will still be there will take good care of them. We
went to Transfers on Wednesday morning with a couple members from the
English Ward and also e Sisters. There I got to see a lot of my old
friends and most importantly meet my new companion!
Elder Fillingim is from Show Low, Arizona. Which is a very small town
of about 6,000 people near Snowflake Arizona. Elder Fillingim is
really just an awesome guy and really good companion. He laid back
but he cares about the work and is ready to work hard and be obedient.
He is a talented Athlete, he set a few different weight lifting
records for his weight back in High School, but he is also very humble
and not prideful at all. Elder Fillingim has been out about a transfer
less than me and was actually trained in Dalton Georgia(the only
actual Spanish Ward in my mission) by Elder Macdonald. Honestly right
off the bat Elder Fillingim and I became really good friends. I am
very happy to serve with him and I think we are going to have a lot of
success here in Cleveland.
The Cleveland area is good. There are a lot of investigators in the
area book that have a ton of potential. There is also a lot more
Spanish than I had know about before. One thing that has recently
changed here is that we use to have Sisters but recently they have
were taken out and the missionaries struggled with miles to be able to
visit them all so a lot of good investigators haven't been seen in a
long time. So we have had to go through that a lot. On Sunday
afternoon we had a great experience related to that. We spent a lot
of hours looking through old investigators and trying to contact them
by phone call to set up a time to come by. Well I found one
investigator that had some good records. The previous missionaries
had written that she had wanted to be baptized but no one had seen her
in over 100 days. We decided to go contact her and another woman that
lived near by. We knocked on the door and she answered! We explained
to her who we were and that we wanted to begin teaching her again.
She said yes and I asked her if she still wanted to be baptized and
she said yes! Then we taught her the restoration pamphlet and she
still remembered everything! The other lady we met next door was also
on the list and she had been reading the Book of Mormon a lot as well.
Little things like this are small miracles to me that make this work
possible. Knowing that he Lord is on our side.
One amazing that has happened is Alex and Erica. During my first
transfer on the mission I went on an exchange with Elder Molloy. We
were both only about four weeks out of the MTC and excited about the
work. That day we probably knocked on hundreds of doors. At one
place we went through a whole set of little apartment buildings until
we met Alex. He opened the door to us and told to give him the
message right there. So we taught him the Restoration right there.
We then found out he has actually met with missionaries before back in
California. He told us missionaries could come back and talk to his
girlfriend(who basically an atheist at the time), and if she liked
what we said then he would consider joining the church. OK so fast
forward 9 months and now I am in the same area and Alex and Erica are
our best Investigators! Erica had gone through a massive change of
heart and truly believes and wants to be baptized. The only thing
holding them back is Alex. They are not yet married and are pretty
much either in or out together. Alex knows it's true. He knew the
church was true that first day when I knocked on his door. The thing
stopping him is fear. Fear of change. Fear of Commitment. And Fear
of failure. I had the opportunity to go teach them last Saturday
night. It was a good lesson but it's tough to know where it will go.
We committed them to get married and work toward baptism. They are so
close. I know it is not a coincidence that I was sent here at this
time. God is truly in control and I will serve him.
I have a million stories to tell and a thousand things to say about
this new are and change in my life but I do not have time to say
everything. Being District is certainly a change and an important
responsibility. I am going to need to turn to the Lord and become
better to be able to do the things that I am meant to do here at this
time. I know that in the scriptures there is peace and knowledge to
help me. I love you all! God bless!
Elder Hatch
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Washington D.C tour guide (Summer week 5)
Summer week five June 18-24
Rustin is the president of the Idaho Optometric association this year. It has meant a lot of traveling (Boston, DC, New Mexico, Portland, Boise...) and he has put in a lot of work. We decided to tag along to his Washington DC meetings this time. Austin has been working on the JumpCo play Guys and Dolls so he stayed home with Jackson (at grandmas house, more on that later) and Jenna and Benson came with Rustin and me. We had such a great week! There is no way to describe everything we learned or did but I'll put in a bunch of pictures and maybe a few highlights. And I have a few quick suggestions:
1. Take a good insulated water bottle and fill it with ice in the morning
2. Bring some prepackaged snacks. Food at museums and monuments is crazy expensive. You can't take a lot of food into the museums but they didn't say anything about nuts and granola bars...
3. Bring two pairs of shoes. Your feet will thank you.
4. Don't bother with your fancy camera. It will get really heavy...
5. Get a bus pass for at least one day. We did the old town Trolley which included a tour of Arlington cemetery. And they had a pick up at our hotel.
6. The metro costs as much as a taxi. Just take a taxi or Uber. However, I'm counting our metro ride as a bit of real world education.
7. If you forget to get tickets to the holocaust museum you can go online at 6 am the morning you want to go. The African American museum is sold out for like two years but you might checkout the door. Sometimes groups have extra tickets as they go in. We weren't so lucky...
The monuments/memorials were touching. The reflecting pools are beautiful. There was a nurses' monument kind of tucked out of the way and it really touched me.
The expression on their faces--it reached my soul. For some reason the Vietnam memorial also really touched me--I was realizing that some of those names on the wall were my parent's friends. I appreciate their sacrifice so much.
Jenna and I were really impressed by a story from the Holocaust museum. Most of the stories there are horribly sad--its easy to feel angry at people who were so cruel. One story, however, was a light in the darkness. A survivor told the story of a guard she grew to love. She said when they first arrived at their camp the guard was outside barking orders. She said she had never heard a person that sounded so harsh and literally barking. She thought, " this is going to be terrible." But it turned out that that guard was a decent woman who saved many of their lives. She encouraged them and kept them in line so they wouldn't get in trouble by any other guards. One day the survivor said she was sick with a high fever so she had stayed in the bunker instead of going to work. But that day a really mean supervisor came to inspect the camp. The kind guard went in and helped her and two others get dressed and go to the factory where they worked on looms. The guard knew how to operate the looms so she got everything set up and got it started for them and she said, "today is life and death, you must not look sick." She saved their lives. I think there are a lot of good people in the world. Even in the midst of terrible things.
I have a whole list of things I want to read more about after our visit--the Mexican-American war, Lincoln and his role in the Civil war, pretty much all of the war stories...I'm fascinated by battles and strategy all the little things that played such a role. I want to read about spies and some of the early spies in our country. Spies played a huge role in the wars! I want to read about the enigma machine and how they broke the code... There are also so many stories of innovators/inventors that are just fascinating. How do people think of such amazing things!? What type of life and environment do they have that encourages such creativeness and such inquisitiveness? I took pictures of just about an entire floor in the American History museum!
I haven't even touched on the art museum. I will just say that I love Rodin. His sculptures of beautiful women with full thighs and pooch-y tummies were refreshing. And truly beautiful. Artists are amazing. There was a super popular Da Vinci painting at the museum but we really loved the American and French artists best!
Overall I came home with gratitude for those who have gone before me and with a desire to learn more about the amazing things in our world. But more than anything I am grateful that I got to go with Jenna and Benson this year and Dallin and Landon last year. And Rustin of course. I'd say we are all pretty lucky.
Rustin is the president of the Idaho Optometric association this year. It has meant a lot of traveling (Boston, DC, New Mexico, Portland, Boise...) and he has put in a lot of work. We decided to tag along to his Washington DC meetings this time. Austin has been working on the JumpCo play Guys and Dolls so he stayed home with Jackson (at grandmas house, more on that later) and Jenna and Benson came with Rustin and me. We had such a great week! There is no way to describe everything we learned or did but I'll put in a bunch of pictures and maybe a few highlights. And I have a few quick suggestions:
1. Take a good insulated water bottle and fill it with ice in the morning
2. Bring some prepackaged snacks. Food at museums and monuments is crazy expensive. You can't take a lot of food into the museums but they didn't say anything about nuts and granola bars...
3. Bring two pairs of shoes. Your feet will thank you.
4. Don't bother with your fancy camera. It will get really heavy...
5. Get a bus pass for at least one day. We did the old town Trolley which included a tour of Arlington cemetery. And they had a pick up at our hotel.
6. The metro costs as much as a taxi. Just take a taxi or Uber. However, I'm counting our metro ride as a bit of real world education.
7. If you forget to get tickets to the holocaust museum you can go online at 6 am the morning you want to go. The African American museum is sold out for like two years but you might checkout the door. Sometimes groups have extra tickets as they go in. We weren't so lucky...
We rode in trains, metros and cars. The taxis were definitely my favorite! Every driver we met had a story to tell. And they were all so kind! One man from Morocco invited us to his house for dinner. But then he told us his wife is due to have a baby in less than week and I just couldn't see us barging in expecting dinner so we didn't go. But I REALLY wish we had. Home cooked moroccan food? How did we pass that up?!
We met a 20-ish man who was a farmer in Ethiopia who is working three jobs and trying like crazy to have enough left over so that he can send some $$ home to his wife so she can join him here. He sounded discouraged. I wish there was some way to help him. His one bedroom tiny apartment is $1100 per month. I told him to move to Idaho... :)
Another driver from the middle East has been here for more than thirty years. He is so proud of his children who have both gone to college and have great jobs.
I left feeling so grateful that we have such a wide variety of people in our country who all do there best with what they have.
DC is amazing. It definitely is't a relaxing vacation but we loved every minute. We walked until we could barely move. Poor Rustin was in meetings all day but by the time he got done Jenna, Benson and I were so tired we just wanted to lay down and read! We did have all day Tuesday with him so that was good.
The Spy museum was surprisingly awesome. I could read about spy's and their stories all day.
We also went to Lincoln's theater. Likewise, I could have stayed in there and read about the politics and subterfuge that led to Lincoln's assassination all day long!
The highlight of our first day was our trip out to Arlington cemetery. We bought a tour bus pass and it was awesome. The cemetery has a calming and serene feeling about it. And the magnolias were blooming! The sweet lemon-y smell of magnolias take me right back to our days in Memphis! The thick, hot humid air made me feel like I was home in Memphis again too.
We spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday exploring the museums and monuments. There is a lot more space between the museums and monuments than you would expect! We were pretty much hot and sweaty the whole time.
I love reading about history. I could have stayed in the American History museum all day long! I love reading about all the wars and battles and leaders and nurses and clothing and food...
In case anyone is wondering--the Shake Shack is as good as all the reviews say. YUM!
We were able to eat breakfast in the hotel every morning (except when we accidentally slept in until 10:45...). We found a few food trucks to try for lunch and we found some great affordable restaurants near the hotel. One night Jenna, Ben and I accidentally wandered down to Chinatown in a seriously sketchy area. It got dark before we realized how late it was and we were definitely out of place. I pulled the kids into a restaurant off the street when a fight broke out right in front of us. The police were there almost immediately and everything calmed down quickly but we completely were out of our element. Funny think is that the kids didn't really notice. Benson was just moseying along like there was nothing to see... I think he thought it was all awesome.
We ate one crazy fancy meal that was paid for by the state Optometry board. I couldn't even come close to eating enough food to make it worth it but everything was so pretty I enjoyed every second! And I have a bunch of ideas of food to try--creamy polenta with mushrooms and tomato risotto and cauliflower rice with truffle and fish en papilotte. Rustin ordered beef Wellington which was delicious and so pretty.
Jenna and I were really impressed by a story from the Holocaust museum. Most of the stories there are horribly sad--its easy to feel angry at people who were so cruel. One story, however, was a light in the darkness. A survivor told the story of a guard she grew to love. She said when they first arrived at their camp the guard was outside barking orders. She said she had never heard a person that sounded so harsh and literally barking. She thought, " this is going to be terrible." But it turned out that that guard was a decent woman who saved many of their lives. She encouraged them and kept them in line so they wouldn't get in trouble by any other guards. One day the survivor said she was sick with a high fever so she had stayed in the bunker instead of going to work. But that day a really mean supervisor came to inspect the camp. The kind guard went in and helped her and two others get dressed and go to the factory where they worked on looms. The guard knew how to operate the looms so she got everything set up and got it started for them and she said, "today is life and death, you must not look sick." She saved their lives. I think there are a lot of good people in the world. Even in the midst of terrible things.
I have a whole list of things I want to read more about after our visit--the Mexican-American war, Lincoln and his role in the Civil war, pretty much all of the war stories...I'm fascinated by battles and strategy all the little things that played such a role. I want to read about spies and some of the early spies in our country. Spies played a huge role in the wars! I want to read about the enigma machine and how they broke the code... There are also so many stories of innovators/inventors that are just fascinating. How do people think of such amazing things!? What type of life and environment do they have that encourages such creativeness and such inquisitiveness? I took pictures of just about an entire floor in the American History museum!
I haven't even touched on the art museum. I will just say that I love Rodin. His sculptures of beautiful women with full thighs and pooch-y tummies were refreshing. And truly beautiful. Artists are amazing. There was a super popular Da Vinci painting at the museum but we really loved the American and French artists best!
Overall I came home with gratitude for those who have gone before me and with a desire to learn more about the amazing things in our world. But more than anything I am grateful that I got to go with Jenna and Benson this year and Dallin and Landon last year. And Rustin of course. I'd say we are all pretty lucky.
