This Week Has Been a Good Week

Not much to report on the extraordinary. Just plain old missionary work. Last week we had exchanges with the zone leaders. That went pretty well. That was after we played some zone football which was excellent. The zone leaders made zone t-shirts for everyone. They are simple but cool. This week has been full of dropped appointments and finding work. There hasn't been a ton of interest. We are approaching it in different ways. But we know that after the trials come the blessings.

We had a correlation meeting with the ward mission leader and the ward missionaries and we talked about things coming up and how investigators are doing. There is a Young Single Adults Activity/investigator activity next Saturday. It was supposed to be this Saturday but it had to be changed due to a bridal shower that same night. That got everyone in the meeting pretty riled up. They thought, and I agreed, that since this activity had been planned for so long that the bridal shower should have been moved. (The problem being that all the young adult women would be at this shower). So I got thinking. The Church is life. It is not something that comes after you have done your various things. Like that example of the jar, the rocks, and the sand. If you put the sand first, there is not room for the rocks. But if we put the rocks in first, then there is room for the sand. Which is how our lives should work, ALWAYS. Being baptized isn't something that you do and then it is done, or you only do things with the church when it is convenient. It becomes your life. You become part of the body of Christ to use Paul's words, and without YOU the church cannot function. The church isn't an organization that others will take care of. It is the Church of Jesus Christ that WE take care of. If we are not thinking about missionary work, who is? If we are not thinking about Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching, who is? If we are not thinking about Christ, who is? If we are not thinking of how we can help, who is? I came to the conclusion that it is our responsibility to do these things. It was a good pump up for me and maybe someone else who reads this letter. I liked what you said, mommy, about getting up 20 minutes earlier to get something done. I have done the same thing with working out, cause I wanted more time than a half hour to work out. It is the same thing again with being late to church EVERY Sunday. Get up a half hour earlier and get to church early.

Sunday went well. I wasn't able to play the songs [in Primary] because we had to go on exchanges so my companion could go pick up some invesigators in a car. And I needed to stay with some investigators in Elder's Quorum. So I am playing again this week though. So we'll see if I actually get to or not. Since we had some dropped appointments this week, we spent a bit of time in the church. We're getting tired of practicing the piano. I learned how to play "Ye Elder of Israel" on the organ, with one foot playing the bottom bass note. I am not good at it but it sure was fun.

This week we are hoping to set some baptismal dates with the Filipino family we are teaching. We are planning at least three from the family. The mom, daughter, and the mom's sister. The dad isn't quite ready, but he'll get there.

Well that is it for this week. Thanks for all your prayers and emails/letters!

Love,
Anziano Hatch