A Week to Remember

Well, this has been probably the busiest week of my mission. On Wednesday, we flew to Rome. Because of holiday travel, our flight was delayed for two hours. Other than that, the flight went well, and the assistants were at the airport to pick us up. We stayed the night at the Rome 2 apartment where I had served last Christmas. Talk about a trip down memory lane. That was great. Then Thursday morning we did some planning and went to the misison home for the conference. The conference was really good. We talked about baptismal invites and how we can help our zones in their work. It was a good conference.

Friday morning we got the assignment to take a new car down to Sicily. So we started the drive from Rome to Messina. It took ten hours. Lots of traffic and construction. But we did stop in Battipaglia where my companion used to work, and we got some pizza. They gave them to us for free because they were good friends with my companion. So that made the trip worth it.

Saturday we had a baptismal interview for our investigator, but we were not able to be there because we had to go to Catania and do a baptismal interview down there. I conducted the interview, so consider my first baptismal interview under my belt. And everything went well. Everything went well for our investigator also. He is a 50 year old man who has been smoking for 42 years. Yes that is right. That puts his first cigarette at eight years of age. There was a point in his life when we was throwing down 150 cigarettes a day. That is a lot of money. He has been an investigator for 20 months and just hasn't been able to stop smoking. Then one day, a member gave him this book, "It's Easy To Stop Smoking If You Know How To Do It," but in Italian of course. He read the book and hasn't touched a cigarette since. So he is being baptized this Saturday.

Monday morning we set out early go to to Consenza and do an exchange. The exchange went well. I was exchanged with a brand new missionary. It was great. He is going to be a great missionary. Then the next morning we drove to Crotone and did exchanges there. Also the exchanges there went well. Then this morning, we drove home but stopped at some relatives of my companion. We taught them a lesson and they fed us, and then we drove back to Messina. And now we are at the internet point, and I am writing this email. What a week.

To answer some stray questions: No, Sister Smith is not in my Zone. But my companion just informed me that she is a good missionary. Service, Dad, is the key to brotherhood. I believe that it is the best way to show your love for someone else. It is what our Savior spent his whole life doing.

Love you all! Give Mikki a few more pets for me!

Anziano Hatch

Pictures of the ferry and my "seat" accomodations