October 28, 2019
Heyyyyy friends and family,
This week has been a hecking good week! Kind of crazy too, but it's all good in the hood. As you can tell, my preparation day got moved to Monday! I'll try my best to remember all the things that have happened this week. It will probably be a long email, so I'm so sorry.
Last Tuesday night was great! We had a devotional, we heard from Elder Gonzalez of the seventy and his wife. They were so cute! English isn't there first language, but they spoke well and talked about missionary work!
WEDNESDAY WAS SOOOO CRAZYYYY. Ugh! We woke up and cleaned a bit and said goodbye to the other sisters that were heading to Layten, Utah. We also had to say goodbye to our hermanas, because they still had another 3 weeks to go. Sister Shipley and I went to breakfast and said goodbye to the only Elders that were left. Then we went to send packages home, but that took a while because they don't open until 8am and it was like 7:50am. Our check out time was 8:15am. So we were kind of rushing. I, being the mess that I am, forgot my wallet so Sister Shipley offered to pay for my package because she's the sweetest person ever. We went upstairs and got our luggage then hurried down to the travel office to turn in our keys and check out. It was only after we did that I, being the mess that I am, realized that I didn't know where my phone was. So we went back to the room to check, but we turned in our keys so we didn't have a way back into the room. Luckily we found a maintenance person to let us in, and I grabbed my phone and we went back down and went to catch the next bus. Our travel group went without us because ya know, I made us late. We caught the next bus, and met a nice man named Francisco who helped us with our luggage! There were lots of nice people who were willing to help us out. Sister Shipley was carrying our travel passes for the front runner and realized that one was missing, luckily I was able to pay for a new one. We were heading to the front runner when of course, the strap that was holdinh two of my bags together snapped, which would make rolling around three bags a lot harder. A friend of Francisco's came to my rescue, and we got on the front runner, where Francisco was, so we talked to him for a bit. He was so nice! We also met some ladies who got on who were headed to the Salt Lake Temple. Finally the front runner started moving, and one of the worker ladies came by and talked to us. She told us that there was a group of other missionaries on the other cart, and we figured they must be our travel group. But we didn't move because it was too much work. We were on the frontrunner for an hour, our friend Francisco got off at American Fork, but we met so many other nice people, including a member named Scott! When we finally got to our stop, Scott was nice enough to help us with our luggage! When he got us to the green trax stop, he had to go to work, but we were so grateful for his help. And we were united with our travel group! We got on the green trax, which would take us to the Salt Lake Airport. Then a man named Doug helped us with our luggage.
So many blessings! So many nice people! So he helped us with our luggage and we finally got to the airport, checked our bags, and got our boarding passes. I had a hard time checking in, because my name on the boarding pass and my name on the missionary card were spelt differently. But Sister Beckstrand was able to check me in, so I am extremely grateful. Then we went through security and of course I, being the mess that I am, had to get my bag looked inside. Nothing was wrong, the scanner thing just thought all my books looked suspicious. So then I had to figure out how to get my back zipped back up because it was way to full, and it took like four sister missionaries to finally get it zipped up again. Then of course with all the bag craziness I, being the mess that I am, somehow lost my boarding pass. I was able to get a new one but it was just frustrating. Then we got cafe Rio and waited for our flight. Apparently the flight was overbooked so they were offering $500 for four people willing to change flights. We weren't going to, but the offer was pretty tempting. Then no one was taking the offer so they bumped it up to $700. Then $1000, so four people finally took the deal. It was kind of crazy. Finally we boarded the plane with the missionaries from the Mexico MTC, there were a little under 20 of us all together that were missionaries. It was a really short flight, not even like a full hour but it was fun to see all the clouds and snowy mountains. When we landed, President Nygaard and his wife met us at the gate! They are literally the sweetest people ever! We took three separate cars to the mission office in Boise. We spent some time doing some orientation stuff. We weren't going to get our assignments and companions until the next morning. The Elders went to sleep in the AP's apartment, and the Sisters drove with the Nygaards to the mission home in Nampa to sleep. It was a beautiful house, and I slept very well. The beds were significantly better than those stupid MTC beds. Also, another cool miracle! One of the Elders I kept passing in the MTC has cerebral palsy and so his companion would also help him out with his wheelchair all the time, and he is so nice, but I had no idea he was going to my mission! The miracle is that President Nygaard also has cerebral palsy, so he is able to understand the struggles that Elder might go through, which I just thought was so tender.
I'm so sorry that this email is already so long and I'm like only a part of the way through. Props to you if you made it this far.
Thursday we woke up, ate breakfast and went back to the mission office to meet our new companions and be assigned! I got assigned to the Meridian North area, and my trainer is Sister Tunstall, who is awesome! She's Canadian! She was emergency transferred from her last area to here, so she's only been in Meridian North for about three weeks, so we're both trying to learn the area. I also got a package from my family, which was a little extra but it was fun! I'm not sure what to do with the whoopie cushion though. A member named Sister Day gave us a ride to drop off my luggage at our house. We are in a walking/biking area, which I'm actually really excited about! I know y'all are probably thinking that it's sad news because winter is coming, but the walks are pretty, and I'm just excited that I won't have to think about driving in the snow. We're living like my sister Claudia, meaning we live in a basement. It is a little bigger than her though, plus there is not as many people living in it so there's more room. Sister Day took us grocery shopping and out to lunch at Kneaders. There are so many nice people in Boise! After that, we went back to the house and did some study, then Sister Dye picked us up and took us to her house so I could meet the Dye family! I didn't even get to unpack, but I didn't really need to so it was fine! The Dyes are really nice! After we met them, we started walking to the Earls' house. They're a part member family, the mom and dad and one daughter are recent converts, and the rest of the kids are not members. We are te as ching their daughter Maggie, who is in color guard!!! On our way to our house, a car stopped by the side and the woman and daughter inside introduced themselves as the Cliftens, and then they offered to have us over for dinner! Miracle! We had no clue what we were going to do for dinner. Our dinner schedule has been wack because of the way the last Sister missionaries set up the sign up sheet. The Lord provides. We met the Earls and then the Bahms and then we briefly met the Martins, but they were busy so we didn't talk too much. We headed to our dinner with the Cliftens, when we passed an open garage with the door open with a man working inside. Sister Tunstall thought we needed to talk to him, so we did. His name is Beau, and he was so nice! We gave him our number (which ended up being the wrong number, but I'll get to that) and a Book of Mormon! He was open to us coming back.
Then we had beef stew at the Cliftens and it was superb! It tasted like my mom's stew, which was great! We shared a message with them and then they gave us a ride to a neighborhood and we did some street contacting! We met a lady whose last name is Walker, and we sort of taught her and her mom a lesson, and she gave us donuts, and now we are going back on Wednesday! Then we taught a member family a lesson about the restoration, the Johnsons, who are seriously so awesome.
Friday was awesome, we are still working on getting bikes so right now we're just getting rides and walking everywhere, which is super fun. On walks, I get to know Sister Tunstall! We went to the Dyes again and talked about a book called the Enneagram, which is so cool! I'll have to get one when I get home. We did companionship study at the park, then we walked to the apartment complex and met people we are teaching named Angela and Trehvon. We just said hello because they were busy, but it was nice to meet them! We talked to a few people in the apartments, which was awesome! We also met Dan, who we are teaching too. And we met a member family named the Curtis's, who are great fellow shippers. They gave us pumpkin fudge! Then we went to the Mckinlay family's for dinner! Bishop Mckinlay is the bishop in the Hobble Creek ward. We had pad thai, which was great! They are an awesome family! We saw a hawk eating a squirrel on their fence in the backyard. They gave us a ride to the Edinburgh ward for the Halloween party! They had a chili cook off and a trunk or treat! We met lots of awesome members, and I got to meet more people we are teaching because they were there which is awesome! We also helped pass out candy! Then we did a bit if street contacting in a nearby neighborhood, then we finally got back to the Hickories wardboundaries, where we live. But we didn't go home yet, we went to meet Bishop Johnson! He raises chickens. Then we went home.
On Saturday we went to a baptism! Two eight year old cousins were getting baptized on the same day, it was really sweet. Except Sister Tunstall and I sat behind thsse teenagers who were talking and laughing and on there phones the whole time. But that wasn't even the worst of it. Two of the teenagers were snuggling and like making out the whole time, so that was awkward. And they were loud, so it was icky. We did some contacting in the DeMeyer Park ward area and in the Hickories ward area. We tried to contact Amy Bates, and when we walked up to their house, we saw a couple outside. We tried to talk to them and asked if they knew Amy, but they ignored us and walked inside. They even left the back of their car open with all their stuff inside, they were really trying to avoid us, it was awkward. We were walking around the area trying to meet people when we got a text from a Sister Morgan who apparently saw us on her way home and offered us a ride. She was so sweet, we took her up on the offer and wen to her house! She gave us hot chocolate and we talked for a bit. They have a cute family. One of their daughters wasn't there because she was at a competition, because she is also in color guard, and she knows Maggie, but apparently they aren't friends anymore.
Sunday was GREAT! We got up and went to the DeMeyer Park Ward, Hobble Creek Ward, and Centenniel Ward. We cover five wards so we can't go to all of them, but they're all awesome! It was fast and testimony meeting this Sunday because next Sunday is stake conference, so we got to share our testimonies, which was so fun! In the Centennial ward, this girl shared her testimony and apparently she was a missionary that served in this mission five years ago and she was back in town for a sealing of one of her converts! It was so great to talk to her. After church we saw Maggie in the hall so we talked to her and I asked about the competition and talked to her about guard. We talked about how obnoxious it is when the band resets to set one and expects the guard to be ready right away even when we have ten times more equipment than they do. She said, "finally someone gets it!" And that made me so happy because we now have a bond and I hope we can help her progress. She wants to be baptized and has a testimony but has a hard time keeping commitments. After church we visited with the Bullock family, they are members in the Hickories ward. On our walk home we saw one of Bishop Johnson's chickens crossing the road, hence the title for my email. Later that night, we got to do a BYD (which stands for Bishop-Youth Discussion). The Youth in the Hobble Creek Ward got together at the Mckinlay's to ask us questions about being a missionary and how to prepare while you're in high school! It was awesome, the spirit was there and afterwards, we got hot chocolate and brownies and got to talk more with the amazing youth!
FRIENDS, I LOVE IDAHO. Jokes on all you suckers who said it sucked that I would be coming here, because it's the best mission. There is so much work to be done here, and I am jazzed to do it! Plus there's like trees and actual fall here, and it is AWESOME! It is beautiful here. Anyway, sorry my email was so long, but it was a great week! Also, the wards we cover are Centenniel Ward, Hickories Ward, Hobble Creek Ward, DeMeyer Park Ward, and Edinburgh Ward. It's the bestest! Plus the APs (assistants to the mission president) just brought us some bikes! I love you all! Sorry this was so long!
Mosiah 2:41
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
Sincerely,
Sister Hatch
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