"TALK" to you soon

I had a great week.  Yesterday our district was made into a stake.  It was really cool to see how it happens.  I also learned a lot about being released.  It was a perfect time for me to hear that talk.

I am game with whatever for Youth Conference.  I am not going to be doing anything.  And camping and swimming would be a wonderful first activity.  Swimming is one of the activities that I miss the most, aside from shooting and watching movies.

My only request is Chicken Enchiladas.  That would be wonderful at the same time roast and potatoes sounds wonderful.  I am going to love any food you make.  I can't wait to go to the Old Grist Mill.

Sorry the email is not long but not much is happening here.  And with how close I am to coming home that I just want to talk to you instead of write.  I can't write like I can speak.  I feel like Moroni, in Ether 12, when he talks about how the Nephites were mighty in speaking but weak in writing.  I love you all.  See you soon.

Elder Hatch

Banana Katchup & Magic Sarap

That is awesome that Grandma and Grandpa got their call!  I am not surprised one bit that they are on a leadership mission.  Alabama is way cool.  They just look like a senior couple.  As soon as I got on the mission my plan was when I got home to convince Grandma and Grandpa to go on a mission.  But they felt the spirit of missionary work them selves.  I am so happy to see them go on a mission.  I am even happier that I will be able to see them before the go.

That is way cool that Dad baptized you and Nicole.  We did baptisms for the dead once instead of a session.  It was a blast.  They didn't tell me or the elder that was baptizing me how many we had done, so I was baptized 35 times.  I can't wait to come home and do temple work all the time.

I would have loved to help chop corn.  I was really kind of sad to hear that they started chopping but that is way cool that Dad asked to get paid vicariously for me.  I miss working on the farm.

OK the fruit here is really good and fresh, but there are no peaches.  That is the one fruit that I miss most.  I have eaten some crazy fruits but nothing beats a peach.

I will have everything bought by next week.  I hope you all like what I got you.  I haven't told you mainly because I want to see the look on your face.  I am pretty sure you will like the thing I got.  There is one thing I need you to remind me to get, every week, I need to bring home Banana Katchup and Magic Sarap.  Just remind me please.  I am going to try and bring most of my clothes home which isn't a whole lot, 3 shirts, 3 pants, and all the t-shirts that I have had made.  The main thing I am going to leave is my sheets and most of my garments.  I do want to show you all the mission worn things, I also have a plan for some of it.  I have taken pictures of the things that did not make it.  For clothes I should be ok until Saturday, which will be plenty of time to buy some new clothes.

The baptism went great.  We started late because the branch went to do baptisms for the dead and Iglesia had their thing, I will explain what Iglesia is when I get home there is not enough time to describe them.  It was a nice simple baptism.  I was just happy that our investigator family made it to the baptism.  The main goal this week is prepare for the district to become a stake.  We also have a lot of people with a baptismal date on my last Saturday, Oct 5, we will be working hard this week.  This will actually be our hardest week, mainly because it is in the middle of the transfer.

My studies are going great. That is my favorite part of the day.  I love the Book of Mormon.  Nothing explains doctrine better.

Thanks for every thing

Love

Elder Hatch

I speak English

Alright about my room, really I don't care where it is.  Except my first few nights I want to sleep in Whitnee's old room with the dark brown curtains so I can sleep as long as my body needs without being woken up by the sun.  That is all I really want.  I just want to sleep.

That sounds just fine to me talking on the 20th.  About my homecoming talk, are they going to give me a topic or do I need to start thinking of one?  Either way I am fine.  I am very sad that I am going to miss Conference, but that is what the internet is for.  It is going to be weird to have to Fast Sundays right in a row.  If you are thinking of camping, how far is Monte Cristo?  I have never been there and I don't think that most of the youth have either.  I think the best Youth Conference is doing something that is spiritual but that they have never done before.  Other than that I know you will do a great job.

How many days was Whitnee down for her wisdom teeth?  I think I was only down for a few days.  I am getting very excited to come home as well.  I love the mission and I love teaching people the gospel, but there are some things that I am just tired of and like I said earlier is I am just tired.  I am sure we are going to have a blast hunting and working on the farm.  Also at the first, Trevor will be the "big" boss on the farm until I get used to all the equipment again.  We have a lot of planning to do when I get home, it is a very good thing that I have 3 months before I am suppose to be at Snow.

As of right now we have a baptism every week until I come home, except for Stake Conference.  It is going we don't really have a Ward Mission Leader which makes it very hard to coordinate.  I have just been praying that all will go well.  We are still teaching all the recent converts and we are still walking around the streets.  The name of the city I am in is San Jose del Monte, but it is a huge city and I don't know if you will be able to see my area or find it.  I speak English all the time.  The only time that I speak Tagalog is in lessons and at church.  Other than that it is English.  My companion really wants to learn English so we speak English a lot.  I actually think that my English has gotten better as I have been on the mission.  The problem is, is there are a few words and phrases that are easier to say in Tagalog and I have lived with people, who for the last two years understand English and Tagalog.  So when I get home for probably the first week I will mess up a lot with Tagalog words.

I am game going to the Cabin.  Then everyone will already be up for the Homecoming, we can just knock out two birds with one stone.  Then the next week Marshall we get home, then I will have a fresh RM to hang out with.

Not much happened this week, but a lot should be happening in the coming weeks.  At the same time I am going to apologize right now that my emails might get shorter and shorter just because I will be talking to you in a few weeks.

Love,

Elder Hatch

Is my room ready?

I have had a long week this week.  Mainly because our pday was not on Monday, it was moved to Wednesday so we could go to the temple.  Hey how come you didn't tell me there was a new temple video?  Any way, it was awesome, I learned a ton this time through the temple.  I haven't learned that much in a long time.  I am really excited to be able to go to the temple whenever I want and as much as I want.  The temple is such a great place, it is as if the world does not exist.  Also along those lines I don't know if I have told you but being a missionary being in a church building just makes me feel safe.  I am pretty sure that it will be the same when I get home.  I just love going to church or to an activity at the the church.

I don't care when I talk, whenever works for me.  I also would be fine with helping with the Youth.  I really have no preference.  I would like it if you got my room ready for me.  All I am going to do that Thursday is sleep.  I would love to sleep in my own bed. Is Whitnee still sleeping in my room?  My plan for work was that Saturday that I get home to go down to the farm and talk to Larry on what I can do and what I would get paid and for how long.  Then hopefully start that Monday working on the farm.  That was as far as I had planned.  I am sure that Dad is also going to have a lot of stuff for me to do around the house.  Which is fine by me I will have nothing going on for that first month.

I am still with the same companion, he is very excited to be my last companion.  Where he gets all the stuff I don't want to take home.  We have a baptism coming up on September 14 and hopefully September 28.  All of us missionaries have a goal to get a total of 20 people baptized before I go home.  We are always busy trying to get people ready.  We did not move.  The house was too nice, they were afraid that with missionaries in that house for a long time stuff would get broken and the mission didn't want to deal with it.  I personally think it was my fault... I have not had housemates my whole mission.  The Lord does not want me to have housemates.  We had a lot of good lessons this week, and we taught a lot of people that I can't really remember what I taught.  That is the hardest part about teaching so many people is you forget what you taught especially when you teach the same lesson all day, but different parts of the lesson.  I know everyone in the branch and where they live, at least in my area.  The goals for this week are to give out lots of baptismal dates and to prepare for the baptisms.  Not a whole bunch happening here.  Sounds like a lot up where you are all at.  Hope you had a great Labor day.

Love,

Elder Hatch