Letter #23- "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone "

Dear Everyone!

First order of business!

1.  Thank you so much for all the packages and letters.

2.  In the future if you are going to send a package, send it priority through the USPS so it can be forwarded. Otherwise I will not be recieving it for 6 weeks or even longer.

3.  Hey!

I have been having a great time here still in Goose Creek, and I'd be ok with never leaving this area! I love it here! Elder Grayson and I have baptisms lined up for the next two weeks and the people that will be baptized are amazing people! I know the Lord has great plans for them. We have been working with people that have gone less active recently and the thing that I am learning most is how much more loving I need to be to the people I am working with. We went and talked to a less active guy last night who served a mission in Mexico and has been less active for about 4 years, he's only 26. I was blown away! HOW DO YOU DO THE LORDS WORK FOR TWO YEARS THEN JUST LEAVE LIKE IT'S NOTHING!?!?!?!? I was pretty blunt with him. The first thing I said was, "You're Alex? Nice to meet you. (shake hands, and found out from him that he is less active and a return missionary) Have you thought about going back to church?"

He said, "I know I need to."

Me, "Well, what is stopping you?"

Him, "I live all the commandments of the gospel I just don't attend."

Me, "Attending church is a commandment, it's even one of the ten, keeping the Sabbath day holy."

Him, "Oh, ya. I guess.....(silence)"

Then I just bore my testimony to him and we talked for a while.

That might have worked on him if I had been nicer, the intent behind me giving him that little stinger was not lead by the spirit. More so it was me wanting him to feel the sting of my judgmental attitude....That was hard for me to admit, but it's true. This Sunday, a sister gave a talk about how our words and actions need to uplift others around us not tear them down. And that was not what I was doing at all in these meetings with our less active members. Not just with Alex. But with mostly all of them. I had a bad judgmental taste in my mouth and I let them know it. But that IS NOT how the Savior would have done it. I know that if he were teaching these people he would ask them questions to understand them and then he would lovingly and directly help them realize for themselves that they are not doing what is right. Just as when the woman was caught in adultery, he did not rebuke them for their evil desires, he simply asked them, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." I just want to testify that we have a responsibility to uplift and help our brethren and sisters here in this life. I know that as we seek to do that, that we will feel our Saviors love for them and greater help them as well as ourselves. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Letter #22- "I Need Thee Every Hour"

January 21, 2013

Dear Everyone,

Hello! I have been having a way good week this last week. Ups and downs all week. I studied a talk called the 4th missionary and that changed my life! Holy smoke! Look it up! It doesn't just apply to being a missionary. This week we had a really good lesson with a part member family. The two little kids that Elder Zurita and I were blessed to baptize last month had an older brother named Makai who didn't get baptized because he was unsure. So we broke things down for him. Went to the baptismal interview during the lesson and found out where he was having problems. It stemmed from Joseph Smith being a prophet. So we went over parts of the restoration again and talked about how he expected to recieve an answer. He said i don't know. I told him to look for it, it might be small, and it might be huge but be ready for both and pay attention to your feelings and thoughts after you ask. So then we set up a return appointment for Saturday. We sat down with him and talked for a bit, he's 13 home schooled so we talked about him taking over the world and how we we get to run two of the countries after he does it....Not sure why I put that in there, but anyway we asked him how he felt about Joseph Smith, if he got an answer or not. He looked at us and said I felt something warm when I prayed about it, I don't know what that is. We then indicated that that was the holy ghost and that he recieved an answer and then he said, "ya, you're right and I've been really bummed." We asked why? He said that he knew he needed to be baptized before, and that he made the wrong decision. So he is getting baptized this coming saturday and then Jorge is just golden as gold can be. He went out and bought himself clothes to go to church in and asked us to send him something to study each day. He'll be getting baptized two Saturdays from now. Things are just going super duper well.

Small personal experience really quick I have been concentrating on doing the things the savior would do every day. So I was sitting in Sacrament meeting this week in between my companion and some investigators and the whole sacrament was super good, really good talks and really missionary oriented talks. The closing hymn was "I need thee every hour" I got through the first verse and was fine, when I got to the second verse the words started to play back to me in my mind. I couldn't sing anymore, I quickly wiped away tears as the song ended and hoped no one would see me. The words pounded into my heart. Not only do I need the Lord every minute of the day, he needs me too. He wants me to come closer to him. That song was a cry of love for me from my Heavenly Father and I know he needs each of you as well as me in his Kingdom. As I've observed peoples agency I've started to understand more my need to choose better over good. I got to run every one!

I Love you all,

Elder Kendon Hatch

Letter #21- Changes

January 7, 2013

Dear Everyone!

 

Hello hello, and happy new year! Things going on down here in the Goose. My new companion is Elder Grayson and he's from Colorado. 20 years old. 6'2, a little interesting, but a good guy overall. I am learning a lot. I've learned how to magically understand Spanish all the sudden as well as understand most of what someone says in Portugese. I've been trying to learn both because we have 3 progressing Brazillian investigators and no Spanish right now. So we working a lot in Portugese. We have 2 members who spoke Portugese about 15 years ago and other than that.....not really much more help. The Spanish group down here is on fire! They are bringing back old members to the fold and working really hard for us to be able to have success. We have one investigator that speaks English other than that all day we are working in Spanish or Portugese. I taught the lesson in Elder's quorum this last week and it was a success over all I'd say. It was on building a testimony.

 

Other than that little bit, I've been adjusting to having a new companion. Elder Zurita and I had things figured out and learned how to work with each other finally and boom....new companion. But it's cool, because I can really feel the Lord stretching me. He's been helping me do things that I never thought possible. And now I talk to everyone! And I don't know if they feel wierd, but I know that I sure don't. But I've never really been wierded out by much. I'm finding the more time I spend with these people I really and literally don't want to go any where else, but I know that I can't just work one area my whole mission. There's other things for me to do else where. We got English sisters in here now. The Elders are moved out, so it's just Elder Grayson and I living together now. Before I was in a 4 pack and now it's abit wierd when we come home and it's way quite. Benefits are that everything is clean though. I don't have to worry about the dishes and I can just relax and take it easy, when we get home. I don't know what else to tell you. Keep praying for me and I'll keep praying for you. That's not a conditional statement. I'm greatful for my time to serve.

 

Love you all,

Elder Kendon Hatch

Letter #20- Happy New Year

December 31, 2012

HELLO EVERYONE!                                          

Hello hello and Happy new year! The library is closed again so we are over at the Benedict's home. I made them mango salsa and they made us caldo de bola! We are gonna eat it way soon! I'm so excited! Elder Zurita and I have had some miracles recently. We had a baptism this week 2 kids! It went way well and I was way nervous for some reason. I never get nervous. I wasn't even nervous when I came out in the mission field. Oh well.

This week...yesterday....we had two Brazillian investigators show up and they are totally solid. We are going to keep working with them and I know eventually they'll be baptized. They are very sincere people! They make us eat every single time we go over there though...I've put on only five pounds, but I'm trimming up....I don't know how that works. We had a good experience where we were prompted to go see our one Brazillian member in the ward 3 different times and we finally listened to it. Turns out he is going through some bad issues and he broke down in tears and we gave him a blessing and were able to help him. He's slightly less active and now he's all excited! He said he's going to call us today and tomorrow.

Elder Zurita is getting transfered and the English Elders are getting replaced with Sisters. I'm stoked because I can think of two investigators that speak English we haven't been able to see because they are single women and we can send them to see them. We had a really good zone conference for christmas and we have been loving the work down here.

Challenge! Do something crazy fun for FHE something you would never normally do.

Keeping this one short!

Love you all!

Elder Hatch

Letter #19- Christmas Eve Letter

December 24, 2012

Dear Everyone,

Feliz Navidad! For my Christmas present to you I would like for each of you to make an effort to make eye contact and smile at someone you don´t know and normally wouldn´t and just enjoy that feeling you get from it. I am keeping this one short because I am at a member's and typing this up on a kindle. I love you all, and I love my Savior and I am so grateful for His birth.

I love you,
Elder Kendon Hatch