Baby Ruthie

I have been a huge slacker. I will try to update the blog this weekend between conference sessions. Meet Ruth Olive Montague. Born July 29, 2016 Our first granddaughter. 3 more yet to come.

Week 53 One Year Down and One Year to Go

July 11, 2016 Family, Hey y'all! So in big news you all already know that I hit my year mark this week! I seriously can't believe it. Plus, today is my "1 year left" mark, since I go home on the 11 of next year. Where has the time gone? I just can't believe it. Before you know it I'll be at 18 months. In other news, we had a good week. The Fourth of July was AWESOME!! We went out to point Reyes with the zone and did some fun hikes and went to the lighthouse and stuff, then we came back and had a big bbq with the whole zone and this awesome part member Fijian family. The wife is Fijian and the husband white and they cooked up all this food for us, like 20 missionaries. We all had a really good time it was one of the better 4th of Julys that I have had! The family was the Forsters they are in our ward. They are a super, super cool people. Tuesday was zone meeting, which was alright. I don't mind teaching that since I don't have to teach district meetings any more. We had exchanges that day and another elder came to Novato with me. We taught our investigator, Bazil, that night at a family's house. He is getting baptized on the 24th of this month! So that's cool. We are hoping to teach his brother in the next few weeks. Since their mom is an RC we think his brother will probably get baptized too, even though he hasn't come to church yet. Wednesday we had service at the food bank, and we tried to see some members that night. Thursday we had a bunch of service, in the morning and in the afternoon, then we saw some other members that night. Somebody that was high at one of our less actives house was ranting to us about something. As he was doing that he dropped a joint in my lap... Haha, super funny and I wasn't expecting it. Friday we had zone conference up in Santa Rosa all day. Since it was our year mark for like 5-6 of us, we went and got all you can eat sushi at a place in Santa Rosa called Hikunis. So that was really fun. That night we saw some of our investigators, just drop by. We were having a doorstep conversation with one when in the middle of it she was just like "I'm high right now, so I hope that's not weird but just letting you know" we were like ummm ok and so we then left haha. Saturday we went and did some service cleaning up Muir Beach. It was cool, the whole zone came. Me and elder Moniz feel like the whole zone is finally unifying, which is nice. We did weekly planning that day and some visits that night. Sunday was normal. We were at the ward mission leaders house eating and correlation and doing visits all afternoon, had dinner with a super cool family, and did zone numbers for the rest of the night. It was a good week. Full of fun, and work. Pretty crazy that it was my year mark. The time has just flown right by. Also crazy that Maddie’s baby is almost here! That's so cool! I'm super excited for that as well. Anyways, love you all! Thanks for everything! Elder Hatch

Week 52 Cool Experience on the Bridge

July 4, 2016 Family, Well another week down! It was actually a really weird one... Kinda strange being ZL but aside from that it was just weird anyways. So, Monday was a good day. I can't remember what we did for Pday or that night. My brain is fried. Tuesday we had transfers. We went up to Santa Rosa for it and had lunch with some more missionaries. We came back and had dinner then had a sweet lesson with our investigator and set a baptismal date for the 23rd! So that was exciting. Wednesday was nuts. We went down and did service for the parks and rec department by the bridge, but before that happened we got a flat tire so we had to go get that fixed and it was quite the fiasco but we managed to get it done. We then did some service at the food bank then tried to find some less active members that night. Thursday we did district meeting and I got to choose which one to go to, then we did food bank service again. So Friday was weird. We went to MLC and were late so we got roasted by president for that. But MLC was super long and boring, but that night we did contacts on the bridge, but some of the elders missed the exit and so the only options were to drive over the bridge and leave mission boundaries, or to back into oncoming traffic. But, right as they were about to go across the bridge, a cop pulled up and he was a member, so he blocked traffic on the bridge so that they could come back and get into the parking lot. It was awesome, me and Moniz got to ride in the cop car for a little haha. The member cop is so cool. Saturday we were able to set a baptismal date with another investigator for the 30th! So that's cool too. Sorry for the late letter we had fun celebrating the 4th! Crazy day. Love you guys! Happy 4th! Elder Hatch

Week 51 Zone Leader in Novato with Elder Moniz

June 27, 2016 Family, Another week down! Only like a week and a half and then I hit my year mark! It's nuts. I can't believe it. It doesn't feel like I have been out for that long. Crazy I only have one year of this left. It's not enough time! Anyways this week was good! Pday was fun last week, we went out to this light house called point Bonita or something like that I can't remember but it was really cool. We then went down to Sausalito and checked out this cool sock place called Socksalito hahaha. That night we went and saw a less active and had a good lesson with her. Tuesday was district meeting, it was a good last one, and we had the zone leaders come down for it. I'm just thankful that we don't have to teach district meetings this next transfer. That afternoon we did some finding then had dinner with a part member family and taught the young daughter about baptism because she is getting baptized soon. Wednesday we went and did service at the food bank and then did some finding that night too. Thursday we had two different services for the morning and afternoon, and had to go up to Santa Rosa that night and we didn't have a dinner so we went and got sushi while we were up there at an all you can eat place. We got our mini that day and he was so cool! He is from Middletown, the place that basically burned to the ground in September of last year. Friday we did service as a zone then did our planning that afternoon. We took him Tracting in the morning and got some doors slammed in our face and he actually liked it.. It was really strange. But he was happy to be there and we got along with him great. He was much better than the one from the previous week. We had dinner with a woman that has been actively coming to the Novato ward for 32 years and never baptized. We all pretty much said why the heck have you not been baptized?! We are still working on it; me and Moniz are motivated to baptize her before the end of the transfer. She needs to JUST DO IT. That night we went to the bridge to contact and do suicide prevention. It was so windy and one sisters glasses flew off the side of the bridge! Haha super funny but also too bad for her. Saturday was good too, we had the basketball in the morning, then studied, then tried to do a service with the zone but it cancelled so we all just didn't really know what to do. We had to be in Santa Rosa the rest of the night for the mini mission thing so that's how we ended our Saturday. Sunday was good, church and we visited a family with the ward mission leader that afternoon, had a good visit. Also me and Moniz are staying together! Thanks for everything! Elder Hatch Who knew that McKay liked Sushi? Thanks to Elder Moniz grandma for hooking them up with good food. She tells me he likes spam musubi too.

Week 50 Mini Missionary Experience

June 20, 2016 Family, Another week down! Can't believe that this next week is the last week of the transfer already! It's kind of crazy actually. It has flown by. My year mark is rapidly approaching! Also, too bad about the Warriors game last night. I thought for sure they would pull it off! But LeBron was just too much for them. It was a good year, anyways. This week was pretty good, we had a mini missionary with us from Wednesday night to Saturday night. But before we got him on Tuesday we had a good district meeting, then we went and did some finding less actives, then had dinner with a really awesome family in the ward, the Smiths. They have a bunch of kids and the whole family is really missionary minded. That night we went and did some more finding of less actives. Wednesday we went and did service at the food bank in the afternoon, and that night we had a meeting in Petaluma to pick up our mini missionary and also to teach a little mini MTC thing they had for the mini missionaries. We had a mini missionary from Petaluma. He was pretty quiet, a really reserved kid, but, we think that we were able to get him out of his shell a little bit in his time with us. Since me and Elder Moniz like to have fun and joke around we think that it was good for him. Thursday morning we went and cleaned the CrossFit gym, then went and contacted some LA's before going to do service at the food bank that afternoon. We had dinner then went to do correlation at the ward mission leader’s house. Friday we had our weekly planning and went that night to a restaurant with a member and they brought their nonmember friend, we were able to teach him and give him a Book of Mormon and stuff, so that was really cool. That night we went to the bridge and contacted people and did suicide prevention. Saturday was a crazy day. We had basketball early that morning then headed straight to a service on Stinson beach doing a beach cleanup thing. Right after that we had lunch then went to help a member move. They live up like 4 flights of stairs and me and this one elder ended up taking all of the big stuff, even with my sprained ankle. Haha but it was funny, we headed straight up to Petaluma from there for the final meeting for the mini missionary thing. It was just one thing all right after the other all day Saturday, it flew by. Oh, and on Friday or Saturday (can't remember which) we found out that we are getting another mini missionary this upcoming week! This time it's for the Santa Rosa stake because there are too many youth and not enough missionaries. Sunday was good too, we taught Elder Moniz grandma on skype, really cool, and also met the sisters’ investigator, then went to the bridge to contact cause we knew everyone would be watching the game. But, it was a great week this week. It's weird that it's already down to only a week in the transfer left. Love you guys! Elder Hatch

Week 49 First Major Injury

June 13, 2016 Family, Hey! Good to see that you are all out having fun in Panguitch! I really miss being there and it sounds like you are all having a lot of fun! I wish I could be there but, I know I'm needed here! Plus, if the plan goes right I should be able to go next year with you guys! Anyways, we had a pretty good week this week. Monday we went out to the beach for one of the Hermanas birthday, it was super fun, the whole zone was there and a couple of guys brought stuff and cooked up some burgers and hot dogs for everyone. That night we had dinner with a cool family in our ward and they had that same Hermana over so they had cake and stuff. We did FHE with them afterward and one of the sons had his nonmember friend there with him, so that was cool too. Tuesday we had district meeting, we had the ZL's and one of the assistants there with us. It was a good meeting, really fun and there was a ton of people there haha like 13 in a district meeting. That day I went on exchanges with Elder Schaefer, who I was in the MTC with! So that was pretty cool. We are in the same district and his MTC comp, Elder Waites, is also in the zone. So all we need is my MTC comp, Elder brooks, to come here with us! But it's super fun having them with me in the zone. Me and Elder Schaefer visited a less active that is huge into basketball, and also likes ping pong, so it's like my perfect house. We were able to talk with the guy for a while about basketball, talk about his mission, play some ping pong, and just BRT(build a relationship of trust). We invited him to basketball on Saturday morning but alas, he didn't show. We will get him there eventually. That night we had dinner with an older couple in the ward that lets us do our laundry at their house, and the guy told us stories for like an hour and a half haha. Super funny guy he just really wanted to keep talking haha. That night we went and saw another LA in the ward. It was a pretty good day. Wednesday morning we tried to do some more finding but got lost and couldn't find the address so it was pretty frustrating. We went and had a waffle party down at the other elders apartment, since we have the stuff and they have a waffle maker. We are instituting "Waffle Wednesday" here on Wednesdays. I'm pretty pumped about it. We did service at the food bank that afternoon and then had dinner with a really cool family in the ward. Thursday we did service for the CrossFit gym, then did service at the food bank too. We do a lot of service here. We visited some of our other less active families and then had dinner. That night we had correlation with our bomb awesome WML, Brother Gruwell. Friday we went and saw some more LA's in the morning, then did our weekly planning in the afternoon. The sisters were jealous of our waffles and we didn't have a dinner appointment so we made waffles at the church. That night we saw a woman in our ward that hasn't come for a little while, and it was good to see her. She is from Haiti I think. A ton of people in our ward are from a bunch of different places, like Fiji, Haiti, Africa, etc. It's pretty cool our gospel principles class is always so diverse. Saturday was a crazy day. We did basketball in the morning, a thing we do to try and get some of our investigators and less actives out for some fellowshipping with the EQ and stuff like that. It's for the whole stake so we usually have like 10-15 guys there, about half of which are missionaries. But for that one, there are two things to mention. First, an elder that I won't mention said I wouldn't dunk on him, so I did. Second, in a later play I sprained my ankle and so I was out for the rest of the time. When I sprained it, I heard a pop so I wasn't sure if I had sprained or broken it, but I was able to walk, which was a good sign. But, progressively throughout the day it started hurting more and more to the point I couldn't walk anymore. So we unfortunately had to stay in for part of the day. At the end of the day we went over to a members house, because lucky me he is a foot and ankle podiatrist. So I had him look at it to make sure it was a sprain and luckily for me that's all it was. But it still sucked haha. I thought for a minute that I had broken it and I just thought whether they were going to send me home for it haha. But as usual I was overreacting and thinking of the worst scenario and luckily it's just a sprain. I should be good to go in like 2-3 weeks. I can walk on it now which is nice but I'm not functioning like normal of course. Sunday we had church, and we taught the gospel principles class. Well, Elder Moniz did since he is much more knowledgeable about the gospel than me. We ate lunch then went and visited some more of our less active families and members. We had dinner with a cool part member family and then again visited a less active lady. It was a pretty good night though, and I was happy that my ankle wasn't hurting too bad. In other news, it's super sad to hear about all of those people killed in Orlando! That's so awful. It seems like every month now there is some sort of bombing, shooting, or killing or terrorist attack of some kind. It's almost becoming normal to hear about it now! I can't believe how horrible the world is becoming. But, it's cool to see that this has been prophesied of and has happened in scriptural times too. Anyways I love you guys so much! Have fun in Panguitch! And also, I'm wearing my polar bear shirt in your honor for good luck! Elder Hatch

Week 48 Golden Gate Bridge Service

June 6, 2016 Family, Well, time to write again. It was a fast week this week. Me and Elder Moniz had a pretty good week. Monday was a good day, we had a fun Pday where we went hiking and we had dinner and FHE with a part member family in the ward. They are really cool, the wife is this awesome Fijian lady and the husband is a nonmember, but really really nice. They even lent us their waffle maker because we found a bunch of pancake mix in our apartment. Tuesday was zone meeting, which was for some reason held outside, then I went on exchanges with one of the zone leaders in Petaluma, Elder Checketts. He is super awesome, I love that guy. He is a bomb missionary and gets a lot of work done and has fun in the process. Also, a bonus about that exchange was that I got to be in an apartment with Elder Waites, who I lived with in Crescent City for a long time. That day with Elder Checketts we were able to teach a family that they baptized the two kids this last Saturday. They are awesome kids! Luckily even though they are Spanish elders the lesson was in English, so that was nice. Wednesday we did service at the food bank like usual, then went and saw one of our less actives that night. Thursday was good too; we did service at the CrossFit gym in the morning, then helped out at Theodore bank in the afternoon. That night we did visits with the WML, Bro Gruwell's, who is a super cool guy. Unfortunately our visits were not super successful but I'm glad we went anyways. Oh, that night we got the rest of a Queen mattress from the sisters and set it up that night. It's so sweet! I never thought I would have a queen size on my mission. Friday we went and did our weekly planning, had donuts, because it was national donut day, then went and had a pass off lesson with the sisters in San Rafael. We went and did suicide prevention on the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday night. Fortunately we didn't find anyone looking to commit suicide but me and Elder Shaefer were able to talk to a really nice guy from San Francisco on the bridge and hook him up with the missionaries down there. He was such a nice guy, because it was freezing on the bridge and we had no coats he was trying to give us his, and he gave this random Asian couple a ride across the bridge cause they had no other way to get there. Speaking of the Bridge, it is so beautiful, but when the fog rolls in and the wind picks up it gets sooooo cold. I couldn't believe how cold it gets there. But, it is really cool to get to go and walk the bridge every once in a while. Saturday was a crazy day. We played ball in the morning and a bunch of the missionaries came, it's like a bring your investigators type thing, the EQ from our ward set it up. One of the elders, as we were playing, got hit in the head and had to get 8 stitches in his eyebrow! Pretty crazy. His eye looked all bloody and stuff. Right after that we helped a family in the ward with a car wash fundraiser they are doing for their kid to go to junior Olympic weight lifting in Texas. Super cool. While we were there this guy in a brand new custom Corvette stingray, probably cost him like $100,000+. He said that his wife just bought it without him knowing it. Gosh dang. These Marin people are so filthy rich it's ridiculous. We did a blitz in our area with some of the other missionaries that afternoon, and that night we visited another PM family in the ward. The husband is a nonmember, super nice guy, but not super interested at this point. But, he will probably get there eventually. He comes to church like every week but just doesn't want to commit to it. Sunday was a good day. We fasted, and at church for testimony meeting it was sooo good. Our investigator that is married to the Fijian lady, came to church for the first time and got up and bore his testimony type thing, he said he has been reading the Book of Mormon and that he liked church services. It was so awesome. Super cool moment. That night we had dinner with another PM family, one where the dad is a nonmember, as well as the kids, but what is weird is that the kids are all like 8-13 and not baptized, because the dad won't let them be baptized, even though he is a nice guy and the kids come every week. It's a weird situation. Hopefully we can help change his mind on the matter. That night we saw the Forsters, who is the PM family with the Fijian wife. Super cool people. The guy made us some of his salsa which is really good. So it was a good week this week. We had some good old service opportunities, and some good times and missionary opportunities with the part member families in the ward. Elder Moniz and I are getting along good. He is an awesome guy. Anyways thanks for all that you all do! Love ya! Elder Hatch

Week 47 Some great cooks in Novato

May 30, 2016 Family, Another week down and more adventures here in Novato! It has been a good week and Elder Moniz and I have had some good times here. Monday we like lost our phone all day so it was kind of stressful figuring things out and stuff but it was still a good Pday. Tuesday was a good day, we had district meeting in the morning, then we went on exchanges with the Spanish elders in our district after that. I went with a Spanish elder named Elder Crosley, who was actually in the MTC with Elder Rees, so he knows him. Pretty cool! It was fun to catch up and talk about Spencer haha. We had some good times and I was able to read one verse in Spanish in a lesson haha. At the end of that lesson it was actually really funny, I stood up and the lady like started saying something really fast in Spanish and then all the sudden she was hugging me! It was so strange I was so confused since I didn't understand any of it! But afterwards I found out that she was saying something about how I looked like her nephew or something like that so she had to hug me I guess! It was super funny. Also we were actually able to teach an awesome on the spot lesson with another lady that they were trying to find. Luckily she was English so I could participate! Wednesday we exchanged back and went to the food bank to help there for the afternoon. That night we gave a blessing to a member and her roommate in the recovery center/crazy old people place that she is at right now. It was pretty cool actually, her roommate is pretty interested. Oh, on Tuesday we went at 5:30 AM to the CrossFit gym, as well as on Thursday and Friday. It's really early and I hate it when I have to wake up but after we do it I am always glad that we did it. The people there are really nice too, and a bunch of them are some of our members. Thursday morning after the gym and studies, we went and did service at the gym, cleaning it. That's actually how we are able to use it haha. We then had lunch then did service at the food bank in the afternoon. That night we had dinner with a PM family that is super cool. We also saw an investigator that should become getting baptized as soon as he can.. Meaning that he has some other stuff he has got to take care of first. But hopefully it will happen while I am here. Friday we did weekly planning then had dinner with a super cool PM family that the wife makes the best cupcakes ever... So good. Saturday we went and had a blitz with the other elders, I went with Elder Cawley, super funny kid in our district. We saw the lady at the hospital again, saw some of our other investigators briefly and saw a member of the ward who said that his uncle was a teacher at cottonwood for like 50 years. Mr. Jackman I'm pretty sure. So that was a cool connection. Sunday was good too, we had church then went and saw the WML, who he and his wife are freaking hilarious people. We got some of the best cookies I've ever had from a member that is apparently famous for his healthy cookies. I don't know if they were healthy but they were delicious. Overall it has been a pretty good week. I am having a good time with Elder Moniz and we are having fun together. Love you all! Elder Hatch

Week 46 Area #4 Novato/ Elder Moniz

May 23, 2016 Family, Well, I'm one week into Novato! It's a great place and I really like it a lot. The members here are super cool. They are always making sure we have food and stuff and twice already we have had members tell us to come pick up some food or ask us if we have a dinner. Apparently we have some famous cooks in our ward, this one guy made us some toffee of his that is to die for. Another lady is apparently famous for her healthy cupcakes that are tasty too and honestly they are some old. We stopped by and she gave us some cupcakes and later she told us she had ribs for us. So awesome. The ward mission leader here, Brother Gruel well, reminds me a lot of Owen Fuller from the ward. It's actually kind of weird but he is a super cool guy. Anyways, Monday in Woodland was good, we did normal Pday stuff and Elder Taylor had an eye doctor appointment that we went to. We saw some families that night that I said goodbye to. Tuesday we packed up and headed out for Santa Rosa early in the morning. It was good I was glad to be able to see a bunch of the boys. There are a lot of missionaries that I really love in this mission. Some that I will hopefully get to serve with. We got to Novato that Tuesday and a lot of the day I unpacked, we went and saw one of our investigators that should be getting baptized soon. He has cerebral palsy, but is a really nice guy. Wednesday we did service for the food bank for most of the afternoon, then that night we went and saw one of the less actives in the ward. Thursday we had district meeting in the morning, but we did it with the whole zone. The zone leaders took over for that one and we got to know the zone really well. We have a huge zone, 24 people, and we are all really spread out so it makes it hard. Thursday afternoon we went and helped out at the food bank again. At this food bank we pass out food to people that come needing extra food. It's a pretty good time. That night we went and saw another less active. Friday we did comp study with some sisters in our district, then had weekly planning for most of the afternoon. That night we went to dinner with the Schroeder's, who aren't even in our ward but were nice enough to have us come along too. Apparently she is like the San Rafael stake lady that keeps all the moms updated on the CASRM moms FB page. They are super nice people. Saturday we helped a member move her couch like 10 feet, then we went and did some finding that afternoon. We went and did a blitz for the Spanish sisters in Novato and I went with Elder Shaefer, who I was in Also, I love Elder Moniz. He is awesome. Plus he is gonna go play the MTC with, and Elder Crowley, who was in the MTC with Spencer. We all go home together and we had a good time. I love both of those guys. That night we had dinner and a little lesson with some people in our ward in a care center and gave a Book of Mormon to their roommate. Sunday was a good Sunday. I got called on to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting and we taught the YM/YW third hour lesson. We went and visited a PM family after church, had dinner with a cool family in the ward then had a meet and greet with a member of the stake presidency. Today we went on a hike, then played some basketball. It was good to go hiking again. I haven't done that in a while. It has been a good Pday. sports for the U when he gets home so that makes him even cooler. We have been having a lot of fun together and working hard. It's exciting to be here in Novato, I look forward to this transfer! Thanks for everything you all do. Love, Elder Hatch

Week 45 Moving to Novato

May 16, 2016 Family, Well, transfers are upon us and the news is..... I'm going to Novato! I leave tomorrow morning so it should be fun! My new companion is Elder Moniz, he is Poly, has been out for about 17 months or so, and apparently is really athletic, like playing football for Oregon level. So it should be a fun time. I'm excited to have a companion that is older than me finally other than my trainers! So that will be nice. Elder Taylor is staying here in Woodland and he is getting elder McKinley, who I served with before. They will do well. But I a, ready for a new comp and area. I really love Elder Taylor and Woodland but it's just time for a change. I should have a good time in Novato! Novato is down by the bay, just below Petaluma and just above San Rafael. It's in Marin county, which is the richest county in America, from what I've heard. So I'm sure it will have pros and cons about that! Monday was a pretty good day. We did the usual Pday stuff and then we did some finding during the night. Tuesday we had district meeting, but we got switched districts mid transfer because there is one Hermana that doesn't speak English very well so they made a Spanish district, and we got switched back to the English district. It was strange. But that afternoon we did some finding, then had a lesson and dinner with a guy in our ward and his 10 year old son that we are teaching. That night we went on splits and saw an inactive lady that is 86, really nice. She told us about her husband who is 98 and he was in the death march, and Japanese prison camps and stuff. It's so crazy. His story was just like unbroken. Wednesday we went and had a lesson with Sean in the morning, then we went to the food bank in the afternoon, and had a lesson and dinner with this "investigator" guy. It was really good unfortunately he isn't interested but we had a good time. Thursday we went on exchanges and I was with Elder Achal, my super cool DL. He is such a good guy, and we had a lot of fun. A bunch of crazy saga's and weird stuff happened. We did service staining a playground in the morning, did some finding during the day, and then we went and did service at the senior center in woodland. After that we went on splits and me and Elder Achal both had inspiration to go to the same place! It was super cool. And the guy I was with and I thought to go to the same 3 people in a row and we didn't ask each other beforehand. Super cool! It was good to be with Elder Achal for the day. Friday we had our weekly planning, and did a bunch of finding during the night. Saturday we did service in winters in the morning, then came back and had two lessons in the afternoon, then did some more finding during the night. Also we got the transfer info that night too! So that Saturday was a long one. Sunday was good too. Elder Taylor spoke in sacrament meeting, and he did a good job. We went to try and see some families in the afternoon then had dinner with a family with 8 kids, all under the age of 13... Wow! They are a well oiled machine! Pretty crazy. Today has been not too bad either. I am currently sitting in a hospital cause elder Taylor has an eye appointment. Also I can't believe that all 4 of the new babies are girls! That is so crazy! I'm only used to having nephews now I come home to 4 new nieces? Absolutely insane! It should be fun though! I know that you are having a good time with it mom. In conclusion, Woodland has been good to me. The ward is awesome, the people are awesome, and I've had a good time. Also, I am excited for Novato. I have heard that my comp likes to get up at 5 AM to work out though so I'm not too thrilled about that. We will see how that goes. But I will have a poly comp so that will be cool. Also I can't wait for the new babies to come! It will be exciting. Love, Elder Hatch

Week 43 Temple #3 Sacramento

May 4, 2016 Family, Well it has been a while since I have emailed! But it was worth it , we just got back from the Sacramento temple, and it is really beautiful! It is really simple. A small temple, simple yet beautiful grounds and rooms, with one simple spire and an angel Moroni on top. I love seeing the variety of each temple in contrast with one another but knowing that they are all the houses of God where we can be close to him and can feel his presence in our lives. I also love how it is the same spirit we feel in each temple. No matter where we are, when we are in the act of worshipping God in His holy temples we will always feel His spirit there with us if we are worthy, always. I love that about the temple. I am also so grateful that I was able to go to all 3 temples within the vicinity of our mission. The Medford, Oregon, and Oakland and Sacramento, California temples. All unique but each equally beautiful. This week was pretty good. Last Tuesday I went on exchanges with one of my district leaders, Spanish elder. It was cool. We rode bikes all over town, probably over a couple miles for the day total, all the way from the east side of town, over to the west, then back again. We ate dinner with the Hermanas and a Spanish member and the whole time I had no idea what was going on. It was great. It was actually a really fun day, it made me want to get bikes to use. Wednesday we went to Davis and abated graffiti in Davis. That night we saw a less active and then went and had a lesson with a PM family. They are doing a lot better now, which is good, but she is still not setting a date for baptism because of family issues. It's so frustrating! But, I know it is happening for a reason and that all will happen in its due time and order. I realize that there is a time and an order set forth for all things, that is just how it is. Thursday we did service at the cemetery in preparation for the Woodland day of service that Saturday. We cleaned out underneath the fence of the cemetery and then helped power wash the fence. In all, it took about 4 hours for all of that. Later that day we walked everywhere, because we were out of miles. So needless to say at the end of the day we were pretty tired. Friday we did our planning, had a lesson with Sean at his new place, then went and had a new member lesson with a recent convert. Saturday was the woodland day of service, and we as missionaries filled a playground about a foot and a half deep of wood chips. It was a big job, took about 3 hours total. They provided lunch after so that was nice. We ended up walking a lot that day too due to no miles, so again, needless to say we were tired that night too. Sunday was awesome, a member’s less active daughter came with her friend, and another friend from school that has been coming the last few weeks. Plus another member brought her friend too. So we had like 5-6 nonmembers in sacrament and gospel principles class. Probably had like 20 people in the gospel principles class. It was so awesome. That's a cool moment for us missionaries, to see members really reaching out and trying to friendship, teach, and invite their friends and acquaintances. The next Monday we did our shopping and laundry and cleaned but other than that our Pday was cancelled until today so we went out and were walking again. We had a meeting with this guy we met on the street. He's an interesting one. It was a fun meeting though. Yesterday was district meeting and most everything else cancelled on us except for an appointment with a 10 year old son of a member that isn't yet a member. So that was fun to teach him. Today has been awesome! With the temple, and we saw some people from Utah at lunch, the guy was sporting a Utes jacket and they were members. Always fun when that happens. I'm getting really excited to talk again this Sunday! We aren't sure when we can do it, but most likely in the afternoon. Probably around 3 ish our time, so like 4 your time would be best. But we can coordinate further. Hope you all have a great day! Thanks for everything! Love, Elder Hatch

Babies

WE FOUND OUT WE WILL BE HAVING FOUR NEW BABIES JOIN OUR FAMILY. ALL GIRLS!!! Maddie and Stephen Montague Baby girl due August 1, 2016 Annicka and Steve Borges Baby girl due September 25, 2016 Angela and Zach Hatch Baby girls due October 30, 2016 We are very excited to welcome these new little ones into our family. :)

Week 42 Stake Conference with Elder Bednar and other General Authorities

April 25, 2016 Family, Well it was a great weekend here! I got to go and have an all mission conference with Elder Bednar, Elder Soares of the presidency of the seventy, Bishop Davies of the presiding bishopric, and Elder Schmutz and Watkins of the seventy. It was solo cool. Elder Bednar is so awesome. He is really funny too. I thought he would be really stoic but he isn't, he is really a funny guy. Not really what I expected. But, he is very, very spiritual nonetheless. Monday was a good day. We went and had two on the spot lessons, one with a guy that we met once before, and another with a girl we found when looking for someone else. We knocked on her door and she told us that she had the worst day of her life that day. We taught about the Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment for Wednesday. We also saw or Vietnamese investigator and her husband. That was a good visit too. But they are a frustrating family. Fortunately they came to the conference with Elder Bednar. Tuesday was a pretty good day too. We saw the family we are teaching with the sisters, then we went and did some finding that night. After district meeting we went to this super good pub in woodland. Wednesday we had a lesson with Sean in the morning, then in the afternoon we did a bunch of finding. That night we had a bunch of lessons. One with the girl that we found on Monday night. We had an awesome first lesson with her and brother Dennis came for that. It was like the perfect lesson. Committed her to baptism and everything. Super cool. Thursday was a full day of service. We went to the food bank then did mulching. We went to the super good sandwich place again. We had splits that night and correlation with the ward mission leaders. Friday we did planning, then finding, then had a lesson with a recent convert. Saturday was the conference with Elder Bednar. That was awesome. We had to get up at 5 to start driving at 6 to be there on time. We got back at around 4:30 and helped Sean move to his new place. That night we saw one of the PM families that we are teaching. It went well. They came to the conference with Elder Bednar too. So that was good. Sunday was the Bednar conference and that was pretty awesome. We had a bunch of people come. The girl that we found on Monday and taught Wednesday came too! But after the meeting she texted us and told us she didn't want to meet anymore. Soooooo frustrating. It made me so mad. That has happened like 5 times in this area, where we have people ready to be baptized but then Satan gets to them. But, it is what it is. That's part of the job description. It was really a cool once in a lifetime experience to get to see Elder Bednar two days in a row like that. It just reaffirmed my testimony that he really is an apostle, and a prophet seer and revelator on the earth today. I even got to shake his hand! That was really cool. I am so lucky to be here for it. I can't wait to talk to you all in a couple of weeks! Also I am pretty much freaking out about all the new babies too. I'm still in shock. But anyways I am currently getting a haircut from another elder so we will see how that turns out. Thanks for everything! Love, Elder Hatch

Week 41 First Time on a Bicycle

April 18, 2016 Family, Well, it was a really good, fast week. I love it when the weeks go fast. But also it is rough because then you realize how much loser you are to being done. I am 9 months+ out and by the end of next transfer I will be a year. That's really strange, and kind of hit me. Have I done enough? Will I continue to use my time wisely? Have I been using it wisely? Hopefully I can do my best. This last Monday we had a really good lesson with a PM family, our Vietnamese investigator. It went really well. They came to church yesterday too. So that was awesome. Tuesday was a really, really cool day. We were at the church with the Spanish elders and a guy and two of his kids rolled up on bikes. They came in and wanted a church tour, so we gave them one. They really liked it and the guy was on the verge of tears the whole time and really wants to change his life around. Super cool. Right after that, we went over and saw a referral from someone while we were Tracting. His name is Harold. We went and saw him and he agreed with all the stuff we said. We went back the next day and taught him the restoration and committed him to baptism on May 13! We will see how it goes, hopefully he continues to progress. He really wants to come to church as well. We hope and pray that everything goes well for him. That same day we saw the family that us and the sisters are both teaching. It was a good visit with them. Wednesday we had zone conference, which was nice to see president and sister wright. They are the best. Later that day we saw Harold again, like I said earlier. Day 2 of our other lessons cancelled, but that's ok. We were able to make contact with both of them and reschedule. Thursday we went to the food bank. I got to use one of those manual forklift things where you have to hand pump it up. Pretty fun. That night we saw an awesome less active. He is about 6'6" so it's good to be able to look him in the eye. Friday we saw Sean, then we did our weekly planning. When we went to see Sean, this huge 40 foot moving trailer was parked right in the way of our car, so we went up and got the bikes! I rode a bike for the first time on my mission. It was great. Pretty funny. That night we saw the family win the sisters again. Saturday we went way up to knights landing at 8 in the morning and helped them pack up. It's a shame, they are an awesome family. We went and did service almost in another zone later that day. It was way at the bottom of winters area just out of Vacaville. That night we had dinner with a member that served in this mission and he came to a lesson with a PM family. We saw that family with the sisters again. Sunday was cool too. This random guy came cause he saw the lady on the street corner with the sign that says "Mormon.org" and he thought he'd check it out! So he came for sacrament and gospel principles and we had a lesson with him after gospel principles. He is such a cool guy. He lives in the other area so we will hand him off but it was really cool to be there for that. Pretty much I'm just stoked for elder Bednar. I can't wait. It's going to be so great. I love all of you and thank you for all that you do! Love ya! Elder Hatch

Pictures from Woodland

April 2016

Week 40 As long as we are trying, that is enough

April 11, 2016 Family, Well, sorry for the late email. My iPad email isn't working too well I promise I will write more and respond next week. But it was a good week. Really long though. Some of the other missionaries said the same thing. We think Satan is trying to get us down since Bednar is coming soon. Anyways Monday was ok. We did an FHE with some members of the ward. Tuesday we went and saw a bunch of members and stuff, we were able to go to a rest home and see this really old member and give her a BoM. She reminded me of granny but a lot more with it. That afternoon we saw one of our investigators and then had a lesson with our RC that night. Wednesday we went to Davis and did Graffiti Abatement which was good as always. We went and did some more ward finding that night. Thursday we want to the food bank and did service. That night we saw the family with the sisters that we are both teaching. Friday was a really good day. We saw Sean in the morning, then went and saw a former in the afternoon, and then we found the husband and son of a LA and had a good conversation/lesson with them. They had been drinking some so they weren't all with it but they were enough, we gave them BOM's and we are going to try and set something up for later this week. It was a really cool experience. Before that happened, we prayed before our finding that night. Elder Taylor had an idea to go see another investigator and I thought that we would go see this LA downhill e street while we were there. Turns out that she wasn't there but that those people were, plus their friend that grew up with Mormon friends, he was kind of that guy with all the Mormon friends that never got baptized. He hadn't even held a BOM and we were able to give him one. So that was cool. Saturday was weird too. These random people invited us to play baseball with them, so that was cool. They live in this random place called Arbuckle so that was unfortunate but a cool experience. Really random. We went to the Davis Elders baptism that day too. That night we went over to this sweet family’s house. Sunday, not a single investigator or recent convert came to church. Super frustrating. People just need to do it! But we had a good rest of the night. Today was fun too. We have a really good zone for bball again. I have been blessed to have people to play ball with in my zones. Apparently that isn't too common. In short it was a good week! Slow, but good. This is my first time being in an area for a 3rd transfer so it should be good. I hope to continue to improve but also know that I'm not perfect, that I can't do everything right all at once but that I can constantly improve. I take a lot of solace in that fact. Elder Holland really helped me to realize that we don't need to be perfect, but that as long as we are trying that that is enough. Love, Elder Hatch

Week 39 Staying in Woodland

April 4, 2016 Family, Well it was another good week here in Woodland. We did some good stuff and had some fun along the way. The news about transfers is...... Me and Elder Taylor are both staying! So now it is the second time I have stayed with my trainee for 2 transfers. So it should be good. We should see some good stuff happen this transfer. Maybe not, but we shall see. If the Lord wills it then it will happen. Monday was a good day. We were able to see our investigator that night. Tuesday was a good day; we had a good zone meeting and were able to see a family that we are teaching with the sisters. They will hopefully get baptized this month sometime. Wednesday we saw Sean, our investigator and he is doing great. We went to the food bank that day and then went and found some members that night. Thursday we went to Davis to do mulching and it was weird. One of the sisters wasn’t having any of it and just stayed in the car while her comp just worked. And her comp is going home tomorrow so it was just too funny. Friday we had weekly planning plus 2 lessons, one with Sean and one with the family again. Saturday was conference and it was awesome!! Such good counsel. It was so great to hear from all of the GA's and the Apostles and President Monson. It was too bad we didn’t hear from President Monson for that long but his counsel was really good. Sundays counsel was amazing too. I really enjoyed Elder Hollands talk. I thought it was crazy how he went from crazy spiritual, to a dinosaur picture, to like the best talk of the whole conference in my opinion. I also loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk on Sunday as well. Such good counsel. GC just seems to get better and better every year. Especially on the mission, it is so good. So the big news is that Elder Bednar is coming for a stake conference in Woodland in April, and that Saturday before he is doing a whole mission conference! So I will get to hear from Elder Bednar 2 days in a row! SOooooooooo cool. He is one of my favorite apostles if not the favorite so i am really looking forward to it. And we are going to the temple this transfer too, so I will have been to all 3 temples by the end of the transfer. So cool. So that’s the news! Love you all and I would love to hear your insights from conference. Love, Elder Hatch

Week 38 Happy Easter From Woodland

March 28, 2016 Family, Well Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday and go to relax a little bit. I love holidays but hate them on the mission, because nobody is home and wants visits. But it is a good time to calm down and focus on the Savior, which is what we all need in our life. This week was a pretty good week. It went by a little slow but it is nearing the end of the transfer so that is to be expected. On a normal transfer cycle we would be done tomorrow but with the 7 weeks we still have another one left. It went pretty well though. Monday was a pretty good day. We saw our investigator and her husband that night, and had a good lesson with them. They have been struggling lately but hopefully they will do better. Tuesday was a pretty slow day. We had a lot of finding and everything we had fell through, so that was pretty disappointing. Wednesday was kind of crazy. We had a lesson with an investigator that morning and he told us some pretty crazy stuff. I can’t say what, but it sufficeth me to say that we ended up calling President and asking for advice on what to do. Luckily it worked itself out though, and our investigator told us a few days later that he had fasted about the situation on his own, without us even asking him to or anything. So that was cool. Later on Wednesday we had service in Davis called "Graffiti Abatement" where we walk around downtown Davis, which is a really weird place. I will send a picture that will just describe Davis worth a thousand words. It’s so strange, full of Asians and people on bikes. For some reason Asians love going to UC Davis. I can’t figure it out, but they are everywhere there. That night pretty much all of our appointments cancelled as well, so that was great too. Thursday we helped a member move some of his stuff out of his apartment, because he is moving later this month, we then found out the 12 year old girl we were teaching moved back to Sacramento. She hasn’t come to church the past few weeks anyways cause her other grandma found out she was coming and liking it so she stopped letting her go. We think that is why she moved as well. So that was great. Pretty disappointing. That night we saw a recent convert and did a new member lesson with her. Friday we saw our investigator that we saw on Wednesday and he told us how he fasted and things have been getting better. Things are really looking good for him. We did our weekly planning that day then had a lesson with the sisters with a family that we are both teaching. We hadn't seen them in forever either so it was great to see how they are progressing. Saturday was a good day. We had a ward Easter picnic that morning and one member had an egg launcher and I helped hold it for people to launch them. They went around 100 yards probably. It was so funny. That afternoon the sisters had a blitz for their area, which happens to be the same area as ours, just Spanish. So me and Elder Angulo, one of my favorite Elders that lives with me, were able to have an amazing street lesson with this guy. We don’t think it will go anywhere but we were able to teach him a lot of stuff and gave him a Book of Mormon and gave him the challenge and told him about general conference, which he seemed pretty interested in. It was really cool. That night we had two awesome lessons. Back to back, with 2 part member families. One in which the wife is super close to baptism. I think if me and Elder Taylor stay she will get baptized, but who knows. The other was one where the husband is super open and he told us that everything makes sense doctrinally so far, and that once he reads the Book of Mormon and knows it’s true he said he would be baptized. And he is pretty sincere so we know that as soon as he reads it he is going to love it and want to be baptized. So that was a really awesome night. Saturday was an awesome day. Sunday was good too. Although none of our investigators came to church except one, it was Easter so it was kind of expected. But it was good services and the likes. We had a good dinner that night. And yes mom, they have funeral potatoes here too, just without the corn flakes or whatever so it’s like cheesy potatoes too. But we were all wondering at the dinner whether funeral potatoes were just a Utah thing or a Mormon thing too. I guess a Mormon thing. That night we had another good lesson with the family we are teaching with the sisters. It was a good week. We went out to Knights landing on Sunday and talked to this black preacher guy about Easter and Jesus. It was so sweet. Pastor James haha. I am really excited for GC!!! It is such a good time of year and especially for missionaries. A little weird that it’s my second one on the mission already and that my 9 months is rapidly approaching... so strange! But, I know that I need to really cherish the time I have left, because I know it’s not much. Thanks for everything and Happy Easter! Love, Elder Hatch

New Little Ones

Well it took me all day but I am finally caught up with the emails. He is doing great and loves serving in California. Thanks to all who follow him and ask about his experiences. Time is really going by so fast. He is going to be an uncle to two new little ones when he gets home. So exciting. He will get to see both of them when he calls in December. So excited for our family to celebrate new life.

Week 37 Happy St. Patrick's Day

March 21, 2016 Hello Family, Well it was a pretty good week here. One thing, somebody sent me a potato in the mail in a package. Some website called Anonymous Potato or something and on the potato was written "Here comes the meat wagon, wee-oo wee-oo" so that was pretty weird. It was hilarious though. All of us in the apartment thought it was funny. Also I don't know if I said this or not, but thanks for all the birthday wishes! I appreciate it, and it’s weird to be 19 now. It’s weird that I’ll be 20 when I go home. That’s so strange. Anyways, this week wasn’t too bad. Monday we had our usual lesson with our investigator cancel, and so that sucks. She is struggling with her parents still and her husband (a less active) isn’t doing too hot either. We are pretty worried about them, we haven't seen them in over a week and they didn’t come to church. But hopefully we will go there tonight though. Tuesday we had our district meeting which went well. We had a lesson with Sean and he is doing pretty well. He told us that he is probably getting another place and so is his girlfriend, so that will be good for him to be keeping the Law of Chastity now. We are excited about that. That night we had splits as usual and those went pretty well. There is a member of the ward I go on splits with a lot so we get along good and get good work done. Wednesday we had interviews with President Wright, and that was great. I always love to see him. He and Sister Wright are seriously just the best. I love them so much. I am so grateful to have them as my mission president and wife. I can’t imagine someone better fit for the job. They are great. Their son just got his mission call so that is cool too. We then started exchanges and I went with Elder Tripp, from Draper. He went to the same school as Zach Scott for high school and is dating a girl that goes to Cottonwood so we have some good connections back home. So that is pretty cool. We had a good lesson with DeShayla, although she still can’t be baptized. But we challenged her to have more faith as she asks her mom if she can be baptized again. We aren’t sure if she totally gets it though. We also saw a less active that night and hopefully we will be teaching his nephew soon. We went on splits with the Ward Mission Leader, Brother Chandler and that was great. He is an awesome guy too. Thursday we did some finding in the morning, then went and did service at a hoarder house in Davis again. That place is sooooo nasty. It’s just packed to the brim with stuff, and this guy wants us to like "organize" his garbage. We end up just throwing most of it out. We then exchanged back and had a new member lesson with a RC at Brother Chandler’s house. Friday we had another lesson with Sean, and that went well. We then had our weekly planning session, which is getting better and better as the transfer goes on. That night it sucked, we had like 2 lessons cancel. But, we had a really cool experience with prayer. So, both of those lessons cancelled, so pretty much we had no idea what to do with the last hour and a half or so of the night. So we decided to say a prayer, because we had no idea where we needed to be, but we figured it was somewhere important because both lessons we had planned for that night were really solid and important. So we say a prayer and it comes to our mind that there was a lady that Elder Taylor and Brother Dennis found on splits that is a less active member that said she wants us to teach her husband. So, we remembered that, and we decided to go over at like 8:20, which we never just drop by unannounced at that hour. So we decided to go over, and they were there! And available! They said that that day was perfect, any other Friday and they wouldn’t have been available, because he is in the police academy and is super busy always except weekends. So that’s perfect that they can have lessons and come to church on the weekends. So we knew that we had been led there that night, and that we were supposed to go over there. We taught about the Book of Mormon and he is super willing to learn. It’s awesome. That really strengthened my testimony on the power of prayer. It was amazing to see the hand of the Lord making that happen that night, and while we were disappointed about our other lessons cancelling, we knew that that home was where we were supposed to be. We knew that it was the lord that made the other lessons cancel, because we never would have gotten there if it weren’t for that. Oh, that night we also found this awesome free public parking lot that nobody knows about, so we were pumped about that. We even took a picture because we were so happy. Also that night I think was the High Priests St. Patrick ’s Day party. And Brother Dennis is the HPGL so he went all out since he went on his mission to Ireland. I think Sister Dennis is sending some pictures to you guys from that night. Saturday we did a big service thing in winters as a zone. That lasted most of the morning and was pretty fun. That day, we did some finding and a lot of our stuff cancel as well. We ended up doing more finding that night and that’s pretty much what we did all day. Sunday was a good day. Unfortunately we only had one of our investigators at church, so that sucked, but we had 2 lessons and they were both really good. We had one with a former member, and another with the part member family that we found on Friday. We taught the restoration and it made sense to him and he just soaked everything up. That was a good night. Otherwise, that is pretty much it. I am pretty bummed about the Utes losing, but oh well I guess. I still love them. I’m just worried about next year without Poeltl. Thanks for everything everyone. As far as spiritual thoughts I found a talk this week called "When Thou Art Converted" by President S. Dilworth Young. It is really good and cool to see how he uses the story of Peter in the talk. I love Peter too so that made it even better. Also watch the new Easter video!FollowHim.mormon.org Love, Elder Hatch

Week 36 Stake Conference and a New Stake Presdency

March 14, 2015 Mi Familia, I thought I would start out in Spanish today, no idea why. Actually probably because I forgot to tell yall that I try to contact people in Spanish sometimes. Haha I suck at it but it’s pretty fun. My Spanish isn't too bad from what it was at the beginning of my mission. Living with a bunch of Spanish elders probably helps out a little. Anyways, this week was pretty good. It was a pretty average week with some cool stuff, and some pretty bad disappointments. So Monday we had a co-lesson with the Hermanas in Woodland. It was really cool, they are teaching this Hispanic family(they all speak fluent English) and the Hermanas cover our same area, just Spanish, so they have been teaching this family every night for like 3 weeks, and they finally asked us to come over and help, cause they can’t go every night. So we are going over like 2-3 times a week to help them teach, and Monday night was the first time. So this family knows like nothing, so the Hermanas have done good work already, but we co-taught them Faith and Repentance, and they loved it! This family is so into the Book of Mormon and they really just want to change, and it was such a spiritual lesson. Super cool. We then had a lesson with our Vietnamese investigator and she is still having problems with her parents letting her be baptized. Even though she is married and old enough, it’s still a huge part of that culture, so she is struggling with that. Tuesday was a pretty good day. District meeting went well, and I’m just glad I don’t have to conduct/teach them. That night we had dinner with a really cool/funny family and we had productive splits. No lessons but we found a bunch of people on a list that bishop gave us. Wednesday was a good day. We had a lesson with Sean, our investigator. He is doing alright. Still struggling with the WOW. We also had a lesson with DeShayla, our investigator that can’t be baptized because her parents won’t let her. That went alright as well. She is young so she was super distracted by her tablet. That night we saw the family we saw on Monday again. We had a good little lesson with them as well. Thursday we went to Davis for zone service, which is always fun. That night we had splits, and we had an awesome unplanned lesson with a former investigator whose husband is a member, and her mother in law is too, and she lives with both, so we went there with a member, and there were already 2 members from the other ward visiting her too! So it was really awesome, it was a neat experience for sure. We are hoping to continue to teach her. She is soooooo close to being there, but she has felt a lot of pressure in the past so we are going to take it easy with her. We then saw the family that the sisters want us to see again and had another cool little lesson there. Friday we saw Sean again. We had a member there with us that Sean loves so that helped out a lot. After that we had weekly planning. And that’s where the day started to suck. We got a text from our investigator that we had that SUPER solid lesson with last Friday and set a baptismal date with her, she texted us and told us that she doesn’t want to meet anymore and isn’t going to be baptized. So we were just in bad moods the rest of the day about that. Like, it is just so sad to see. She was so awesome, prepared, you name it, but she decided not to go through. And it sucks, because we KNOW she felt the spirit and knows it is true, and she is still choosing to go away from it. So sad. But that night we had a lesson with an RC and it went well. The WML was there for it and he is such a loving great guy. So awesome. I am going to miss the people in this ward when I have to leave. Saturday we went up to Knights Landing. We were able to see one of our investigators up there. He is a frustrating guy. He knows what he needs to do, and knows what it feels like to live the gospel, and he wants it back in his life(former member) but he just won’t make the steps for whatever reason. And he doesn’t even know why. It’s so frustrating, but we were able to see him which was good. That night was adult session of Stake Conference. We had 2 seventies at our stake conference due to us getting a new stake president. It was elders Falabella and Auna (the second guy is he is Hawaiian. We were able to sit by our investigator and her member husband that I talked about in the Thursday paragraph, so that was good. It was funny, President and Sister Wright were there, and during the rest hymn when I was standing up I made eye contact with both of them, and I was standing pretty far back, but it was just funny cause they said that they saw me sticking up above the crowd and couldn’t help but laugh. It was pretty funny. Sunday was a pretty cool day too, because of Stake Conference. We had the Stake Presidency rearranged, and the 2nd counselor is now the Stake President!(totally called it) What’s cool about it is, that his sister and her family are the cool family in my ward that we ate with on Tuesday(refer to the Tuesday paragraph) and so after he was set apart, he was able to confer the Melchizedek Priesthood on his nephew, and there were two seventies in the circle for that. We are pretty close with this family and go over a lot because they are cool and the dad isn’t a member so they want blessings sometimes, and also so we can see the dad even though he smokes like a chimney. He is a really funny and great guy though. So since we know them Alex, the nephew, invited us to be there for the ordination. We weren’t in the circle but it was cool to be there for that blessing since his uncle is the new stake president and there were 2 seventies in the circle. So that was really neat. Our old stake president is going to be a mission president in Brazil. He is only like mid 40's so look out for him to be an apostle in like 20-25 years. President Cuvelier. That night was topped off cause we had dinner with the Dennis'. SO that was great. So all in all it was a pretty good week. Not the best, but not the worst. I am pretty pumped to hear about Utah being a 3 seed in March Madness! That’s sweet! I hope they do well. I’m totally picking them to go all the way. Mostly since I am super out of the loop on college sports, and you never know. It’s not that unprecedented for a 3 seed to win the whole thing. Anyways thanks everyone for all that you do! Remember to always be missionaries and ask your local missionaries for some #Hallelujah cards, or go to FollowHim.mormon.org to see the new Easter video. You can share it on facebook too! You never know who might need that message. Love, Elder Hatch

Week 35 Happy Birthday Elder Hatch

March 7, 2016 Family, Well, it was a pretty dang good week here in Woodland. We got a lot done and saw some pretty cool stuff too. So on Monday we had a lesson with our recent convert, but right before that we thought we should go and try to see a church headquarters referral that we have been trying to see for a long time now, and we ended up having a sweet door lesson with him and he is really interested. Unfortunately we couldn't set up a time to see him this week but we will see him this coming week for sure. Tuesday we had our district meeting, and that was good as well. We then had a lesson with our progressing investigator Sean, which went well. He is a great guy. We had a new member lesson with a recent convert that night and had a quick stop by our other progressing investigator. Wednesday we went down to Winters and Angie Hand and the Le Brett's came and took me and Julander (and our companions) to lunch. It was really good to see them again. We then came back and had a lesson with DeShayla, who can't be baptized but we are going to teach her anyways. We then saw a member that night and did some member finding for the rest of the night. Thursday we went to Davis and did mulching, and we saw a potential investigator and he said that he would come go church! He isn't really interested in joining but he wants to learn, so sometimes that's how it starts. He didn't come this week, but he said that he wanted to come next week. We then saw our progressing investigator and she is doing well also. She is still struggling to set a baptismal date by we are working with her. So Friday was the best. First off, it was my birthday, so the other elders that live with us had one of the Hermanas make a cheesecake for my birthday, and they woke me up and sang to me and stuff with the cheesecake on my desk. It was pretty funny. So for lunch went to Panda Express and Flinders(my son, who happens to be serving in the other woodland ward) bought my lunch for me. So that was nice. We then had an awesome lesson with Sean, our progressing investigator and we had a member come with us. So that was sweet. We then did weekly planning and it was really good, really effective, we made some solid plans for the week. After that, we went and had dinner at our recent converts’ house and she made us fried chicken which was delicious, and some sort of southern thing where you take mackerels and cut them up and basically fry them or something, apparently they are called croquettes or something like that. Pretty nasty but it's all good. She got some cake and ice team for us as well. So when we were at her house, her neighbor that came to church last week came over for a second, and she ended up staying in Lianas front room and we had an unplanned lesson with her. And it was the best lesson I have had on my mission to this point. The spirit was incredibly strong and she opened up so much and we taught the whole restoration, and we committed her to baptism for March 26th! So we are really excited about that and are hoping that she will continue to progress. Plus she has 3 kids and she wants them to learn too so we will hopefully teach them too this week. So that was the best birthday present ever, an amazing unplanned lesson with the coolest investigator. It was probably one of if not my best birthday. So Saturday we talked to a self-proclaimed inactive member, and that was good, but he still isn't coming to church. But turns out he is a Utah fan so we talked about that for a little bit. It's rare to find one of those out here. We had a lesson planned for that afternoon but it fell through, so we did finding most of the day, and it rained ALL day. Like nonstop and it was pouring. And it was super, super windy all day too, like I haven't seen that kind of a storm since I have been here. That night we went and saw a non-member whose whole family is members but he is super stubborn but he loves the missionaries so we talked with him for a bit. He has all kinds of guns that he shows us when we go over. We also picked up a new investigator that night too, it's a woman who was almost baptized but wasn't because she has a few minor concerns but she says she wants to get baptized and her husband and in laws are members, and I think they are in our ward. So we will see how that goes as well. It looks pretty promising. Sunday we had church, and the woman we had that awesome lesson with came again! So we were happy. We had a lesson with a guy out in Knights landing so that was fun too, and we thought we were going to have a lesson with another new instigator but he wasn't there either, so that is unfortunate. But we will keep trying with him. Anyways it was an extremely awesome week. We saw a lot of cool miracles and were able to notice the spirit a lot in everything we were doing. So it was a really good week. It's been amazing to see, since Elder Hamula came and I have applied the principles he taught, I have been able to already see amazing blessings from it. Also I have been reading the Book of Mormon a lot lately and it really is just awesome. I like to read for a specific subject and mark that, then also just write down the scriptures unrelated to my topic that just stick out to me. So it has been really cool to see that. Anyways that's for everything! I love you all so much! Love Elder Hatch

Week 34 New Companion Elder Taylor

February 29, 2016 Family, First off happy Feb 29th! Such a weird day. It feels like right now shouldn't even exist haha. Also it's sooooo weird that I am going to be turning 19 this week too. It's like I know it's not that weird, but it feels weird. It's pretty cool to think that only this week I would be 19, and without the age change I would maybe be leaving on my mission sometime in March or April, but now I have been out for almost 8 months! It's pretty cool and it really makes me feel so blessed that I have been able to have the experiences that I have had thus far on my mission. I wouldn't have been able to have if not for the age change. So that is pretty cool. On my birthday we happen to be having dinner with a recent convert in the ward who is this super cool black lady and she is making us some of her homemade fried chicken. Mmmmmmmmm. I'm so excited! It's been a while since I have had any of that. So on Thursday we went to do some service for a woman in another ward with her elders which went well, then we went to zone service in Davis which was good as always. It was a good bonding activity for everyone. We then taught our investigator, DeShayla, that can't be baptized, but we are teaching her all the lessons anyways because we feel that she at least deserves to know about it all. Later that night we had dinner with a cool family in the ward and they played a little prank on my new companion. Nothing too mean, but it was really funny. They had a guy from the members mission that played pranks on him come out and help with it, and they acted like a big meteor was going to hit San Francisco and that we needed to like evacuate the area. Hahaha they sent a text from like some fake random administration like when you get those flash flood texts and stuff. It was pretty good. That night we saw a family in the ward which was also good. Friday we had our zone meeting and that was really good. Kind of another mini slap in the face like it was with Elder Hamula, since he was the one that taught the MLC where they got the zone meeting material. So that was another good boost. We had our weekly planning that day and then went and had a killer lesson with our progressing investigator with the ward mission leader. It was pretty sweet. Saturday we did some service for some investigators and we are hopefully teaching them this week too. The rest of the day we pretty much did finding all day long with little to no success, but I have a rule where when I see any PAC-12 stuff in a yard or on a car or house or whatever, I have to stop what I'm doing and knock that door. . So I talked to this guy about the Warriors and the NBA and stuff for like 20 minutes. Other than that not much happened, we saw a less active at night which was also nice but she didn't come to church... But on Sunday, the same recent convert that is makings fried chicken and whose granddaughter we are teaching, brought her neighbor to church and she was really interested/prepared and whatnot. We gave her a Book of Mormon to read and set up a time to come and see her and her family. That was such a blessing and such an amazing thing to see that when we have a tough day or time, the Lord blesses us in a way that we weren't expecting. It was really cool to have that happen and I am really excited to teach her this week. That Sunday we had dinner with the Dennis's and I know he was FB messaging mom. It was funny, kind of weird. I always get a kick out of it when that stuff happens. Other than that it has been a good week. Elder Taylor is doing well, and he is a good kid. We are working well together. Anyways thanks for everything! Thanks for the birthday wishes, and thanks for the box mom! It was awesome! Love, Elder Hatch

Week 33 Called to Repentance

February 24, 2016 Family, Well it has been a weird week. Pretty strange. It’s weird to be training again but it should be a fun experience. My greenie is Elder Taylor from St. George, Utah. He is a really good kid and is really... enthusiastic! Not just because he is a greenie but that is just his personality. He is kind of strange but I love him. He is at least adjusting well and isn’t a Nazi so that is nice. We work hard together and hopefully I can show him a few things and in turn learn from him. But Monday night was good. Elder Hardy and I had one last good run together and set a baptismal date for March 11. Unfortunately since then it has been postponed, so we are disappointed about that but it was good in the moment. Tuesday we were in Santa Rosa all day for the transfers and for training meetings. It was really good to see some of the missionaries that I haven't seen in a really long time. We also had dinner at President’s house that night, so that was fun as well. We drove back to Woodland and didn't get back until like 9 or 9:30. Wednesday we had a lesson with a new investigator DeShayla and set a baptismal date with her, but now have since come to find out that she cannot be baptized because in short she doesn’t have parents’ permission. So that was good then as well, but disappointing now. It’s kind of been rough the last few days with both baptismal dates cancelling. But we will work through it. Thursday we had a bunch of finding, so it was funny. Elder Taylor’s first day we had a bunch of lessons and set a baptismal date, then the next day we did a bunch of finding. Friday we had a district meeting which I didn’t have to teach! It was soooooooo nice to sit back and relax in a district meeting. We planned later that day and then went to a Spanish baptism that night. It was cool, one of the Hermanas that just went home got to skype into the baptism so it was really cool to see that. Saturday we did service with some investigators in the morning that we are hoping to be able to teach soon. They are super, super cool and honestly prepared, but we just need to approach it in the right way. We are doing service there again this week. We had our PPI's with the zone leaders and a ward spaghetti dinner that night as well and played soccer with the Spanish branch too, which is always fun. Sunday we had the usual stuff and we were able to go out and take a couple in the ward to a lesson with us that night. Mom I think he is the one that you messaged. He is a great guy and he and his wife help a lot in the lessons with that one investigator. Ok so Monday was crazy. We had the conference with Elder James Hamula of the 70. He talked to us a lot about being "of a sober mind" and such. Like he pretty much threw down on the mission and said that we are too frivolous and not of a sober mind. It’s pretty true though. I recognize it in myself and others, so it was definitely inspired. He also talked about faith a lot and having the desire to have faith and see miracles. Pretty much he called us out and told us how to be better and not only how to be better but why. It was a great experience. He promised us many times that if we will cut the frivolity that we will be open to infinitely more revelation and blessings for ourselves and areas, and that there are some things that we cannot know or learn without removing excess frivolity and lightmindedness from our work. It was really great. That night we had a lesson with our investigator that told us she is postponing her baptism again. So that’s that. Yesterday was a good day, we had like 4 lessons, and we talked to this lady in the ward whose daughter had just died, but we didn't know that. We shared the video "Mountains to climb" and Alma 40:11 and I was tearing up during it. It was so cool. It has been a good week. I like my greenie, and my area, and the guys that I live with, so all is well. Thanks for everything! Love, Elder Hatch