"Mi Familia!!!" February 25, 2010

Ok so since I only get 30 minutes on here I've decided when you can you guys should just mail or dear elder me so i can spend all my internet time writing.  Literally there's a clock on my screen counting down as we speak.  It's intense.  I appreciated all of your emails.  I miss all of you so much- when I have time to miss you of course.  It's a good thing they keep me busy.  But guess what, I think I get to call home at the airport when I'm flying to Cali!  Right now my departure date is March 31 but these things change sometimes so I'll keep you posted.  Yup, I still have 6 weeks in here.  But I can't believe I'm already a third of the way done!  No new sisters in our zone so we're still the special four, but maybe next week.  We decided that we kind of like being the only sisters :)  My companera and I still get along really well.  Don't worry, we've had our share of confrontations and interesting companionship inventories (never fights though) but we are that much stronger and closer because of it.  I'm teaching her how to communicate better and she's teaching me to be a little more sensitive.  Evidently I'm passionate and intense haha.  Who would've thought?  ;)  The hardest part about being coordinating sister- because let's face it I don't really have to do much- is just worrying about the other sisters.  It's really good for me though because I'm so preoccupied with everyone else's problems I don't even have time to feel sorry for myself or have my own breakdown.  I didn't even cry until this past week, and that was only because I was so worried about one of my hermanas.  I'm just saying this cause we all know how emotional I can be occasionally - but I've been doing pretty well.  I still love my district and we grow closer everyday.  We have one Elder that has really been struggling with wanting to go home.  Please remember him in your prayers.  The hermanas in the district fasted for him last week and that night our teacher had us watch a talk given by Elder Holland called "The Miracle of Missionary Work".  It's pretty much the best and most intense talk ever!  I love it so much!  In it one of the things he says is that he felt impressed to share that if anyone is thinking they want to go home, they shouldn't.  Not for the church, or for investigators, but for themselves.  His mission meant everything to him and he inspires me to put everything into this short year and a half.  Well, this talk was perfect for this Elder too and we knew that it was in answer to our fast and prayers!  I've never felt Heavenly Father's love so much for me, my family, and every person we teach here.  I am so glad that I came on a mission and I know that it will change my life forever.  Last night we had another TRC in which we got placed into a room with "The bald man".  Literally, that's what our district refers to him as.  He is the most feared volunteer in the TRC because he asks soooo many questions- difficult questions too!  We found out later that our teacher deliberately put us with him.  Isn't that cruel?  ;)  Well, all I have to say is that the Lord's Spirit helped direct us both to know what to say and the lesson went great- difficult questions and all.  The beginning Spanish part was iffy but I'm definitely getting better.  It was funny cause one of the comments our teacher put on our eval form was "All i have to say is that you actually got the bald man to nod and smile!"  It's amazing how much the Lord helps us when we rely completely on Him.  And I am so grateful for all of the studying of the Gospel I've done to have stored for Him to bring to my mind answers.  But in the end, it is the Lord's Spirit that teaches and it doesn't matter how well we do, but how the investigator was affected.  I know that that man felt God's love for him and that was the best part of the night.  I've realized that the Lord is having me learn Spanish to teach me lots of humility.  First, because I'm not that great at it, and second because I rely so much on my words when I'm teaching that Spanish forces me to simply bear testimony and truths of the Gospel.  It's frustrating a lot, but I know that it will be a blessing to me.  Hermana Peters and I successfully taught the first lesson in Spanish last sat, although it definitely wasn't perfect.  We're also almost done with all the grammar principles.  One of our teachers told us that we are moving at the same rate as the accelerated Spanish class here- and half of us have never spoken it before in our lives!  It's amazing what faith, prayer, and a lot of help from the Lord can do.  Oh yeah, I didn't tell you that I go to the missionary choir.  It's pretty huge and we sing for Tuesday  night devotionals.  It's pretty fun- especially when we get good music.  None of the twelve have visited yet, but many wonderful general authorities, including Jay e. Jensen and Janice Kapp Perry came on sun to relief society.  I got to meet her!  Well, life really is great!  I love it here!  I love the Lord and I love all of you sooooo much!  I love hearing from you!  Keep studying the Book of Mormon and pray every chance you get!  The Lord loves us so much and I am so grateful for His Gospel!  Don't ever stray from the path!  Choose the right! :)  Ok, enough preaching- but I mean it with all my heart.  One minute left so goodbye for this week and I'll try to write individual little letters today to respond to your emails.  Love you!  -Hermana Hatch

First Email Home! February 18, 2010

Holla Familia! Como le va? I'm so happy that my email is actually working today! It was so awful last week to look forward to emailing only to be disappointed. I only have 30 minutes to write so I'll try to be quick. I hope these are the right email addresses. If Lindsey wants me to send it directly to her send me her email address. I can't start new paragraphs for some reason so you'll just have to bear with me. I am enjoying the Valentines Day package! Good work! Keep sending dear elders or letters cause it's so fun to get them! You guys are the best! I love you all so much! Anyways MTC life is good. Sunday is definitely still my favorite day! It's just nice to get kind of a breather from studying all day long and really getting to feel the Spirit even stronger. Most of our Sacrament meeting is in Spanish and I can understand most of it now. Spanish is AWESOME! It's soooo hard and we learn and memorize tons of new stuff everyday, but I really love it! Friday one of my teachers is making us teach the first lesson in Spanish- they usually wait until the 4 week mark but he's loco and wants to really push us. I have faith that it will all be ok though. My companion and I still get along, although it's not always easy. I am definitely learning patience and charity here. I really love her though and we have good times. We're already so close (also with the other two hermanas in our district) I can't even think about how close we'll be at the end. It's crazy to think we've already been here two weeks- while at the same time it feels like I've been here forever. The devotionals are great! Tuesday night we had one of the seventy talk and it was so inspiring and moving. Afterwards our district meets and talks about the devotional and that is also such an uplifting and spiritual experience. It has brought us so much closer as a district. I love them all sooo much! Two of my favorite elders are going to Tempe, AZ mission. Do we live in that mission? The elders are so fun- but unfortunately I think I'm becoming even more immature from hanging out with 19 year old boys so much! :) The food is good, although I don't really like the chocolate milk- I don't know what all the hype was about. Gym is still soooo fun! We go everyday but P-Days and Sundays. I run a mile with my roommate Hermana Flower and then play volleyball with my my Hawaiian friend Sister Berardy. She's really good so we have lots of fun. Lately these Tongan elders have been playing with us and they're intense!!!! But sooo fun! They call me their white sister. Mi companera jokes about how i get an after-gym high everyday because of how much it energizes me and makes me happy. I love the classes too! We've had so many spiritual experiences and I definitely see the Lord's help in learning Spanish. Every Wed night we have a TRC- which is basically like a fake practice teaching of volunteers that come in to play investigators- although some are actually real investigators. We do the first part (contacting, or door knocking) in Spanish and then right now teach the lesson in English. My first Wed as we got to the part about the Restoration and Joseph Smith I quoted the scripture of his experience in the grove, and as I did I just began to cry- the Spirit was so strong and testified to me that what I was saying was true. Both my companion and the Sister of the couple we were teaching began to cry as well. It's amazing how even in these practices we feel the Lord's Spirit so strong, testifying to everyone present that this really is The true church of Jesus Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is without a doubt the word of God. Being here has already changed my life in the short amount of time that it's been. It's amazing how having the Spirit constantly changes you in ways you never thought possible. Charity comes so much easier and you know that God loves you and that He will answer your prayers. I know that our Father in Heaven loves all His children and that He does hear us when we pray. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I've been called as our zone's coordinating sister. It basically means I'm in charge of making sure that all the sisters are doing well, and I let the branch president know if there's any issues. It's been such a blessing and I can't wait to get more sisters in our zone! (right now it's just the four of us). This has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I know that it will continue to get hard, but I wouldn't change my decision to serve for anything. It's not called "missionary play" for a reason :) I do miss you all at times, but it is hard to get too sentimental when I'm so busy. They also counsel us to leave home behind and put both feet into the mission- so that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give my all to this work because the Lord has given me everything! I love you all so much! Keep me and my district in your prayers and keep writing letters! Make righteous decisions and draw close to the Lord and His Spirit! Give all of your heart, might, mind, and soul to Him! Oh, and definitely be missionaries! Be bold! I am learning how important this work is and how we cannot take it lightly! I'm so grateful to all of you. I couldn't have asked for a better family! :) Lots of love, Hermana Hatch

Pictures from Melanie

Allesha's friend Melanie sent me some pictures she took at the airport, and I wanted to be sure and post them too! Thanks, Melanie :)

She's in the MTC!

Allesha left on her mission today! We got an email from the MTC tonight confirming that she arrived safely :) This was the important part of the email:

We are pleased to inform you that your missionary has been safely checked in at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. We thank you for supporting your missionary and know that your family will be blessed as a result.

Your missionary's mailing address while at the MTC is:
Allesha Rachel Hatch
MTC Mailbox # 273
CA-VEN 0405
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

I updated her address above - so send her lots of good letters. Also, just a little tidbit of info for you: while she is in the MTC, you can use the website dearelder.com to send FREE letters to her with same-day delivery (for letters submitted before noon MST)! You submit the letter to their website and they print it and deliver it for you. It isn't as personal, but it's free and gets there fast, so take your pick! (You can use it when she is in CA too, but it costs the same as a letter and gets delivered to the mission home rather than directly to her current address).

Here are some pictures from the airport this morning. It was early! We missed Joy, Aaron, and Dallin :( Allesha's friend Melanie was also there, but I didn't get any pictures of her, sorry. We said good-bye and then waited and watched her plane take off! It was quite the adventure!

I don't think it has sunk in yet that she is really gone for a year and a half. I guess it will sink in eventually! I will do my best to keep this blog updated regularly with letters and any pictures she sends. Just leave me a comment if you ever have a question and I will get back to you!

We love you all and are so glad you are supporting Hermana Hatch as she serves the Lord.

Love, Heather

(This is not her exact plane - as you can tell from the TREES in the background this is not Phoenix, but it looked just like this!)

Setting Apart

Our whole family was able to be at our parents' house Tuesday night when Allesha was set apart as a missionary. This is when she is given a prayer and a blessing by the Stake President, and then she is officially set apart as a missionary. From that point forward her mission had technically started, even though she didn't leave until the next morning. It was really wonderful to be there, and Allesha bore a strong testimony of the church and the Book of Mormon. She is going have such an amazing experience!

Allesha's Mission Call...

We all got together for Allesha to open her call. Everyone was so impatient, especially my Dad! Her call was at the house a few days before she could make it home to open it. Then we had to wait for people to get there and it was torture :) Here we are sitting and waiting...

Here she is before:

during:

and after :)

She has some great friends who came to celebrate... (sorry for those who left before I could get a picture of everyone)

And here is our family! Who knows how much it will change while she is gone?! We will miss her so much, but we know she will be the best missionary ever!