Well I am sorry this letter won't be as good as the subject title makes it out to be, but I will try to make it a good one. To start with some bad news, one of the senior couples in the mission had a son die and the sister was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. And so they returned back to America this week. That means our job in the office became a real job. We are now officially responsible for supply orders and traveling. That adds some more fun for us - adds a little craziness for us. But what would life be if it weren't a little crazy?
So Thursday and Friday were spent learning various things in the office and taking on responsibilities that we didn't even know existed. Man, it takes a lot ot keep the mission running. Saturday we took an inventory on everything in the basement. We didn't finish until Monday evening. There is a lot of stuff in the missionary supply room in the basement that I didn't know existed. On Sunday we flew over to Sardegna and participated in the District Conference there and then a Zone Conference with all the missionaries afterwards. There was an area authority there that spoke at the conference and also at the Zone Conference. In the meeting with the missionaries, he talked about the story about Jesus with the woman at the well, and talked about it in a way that I had never heard before in my life. He talked about the time of day and about how Christ must have been thirsty and hungry, but how he put those things aside and taught the Samaritan woman. He converted her and the whole town. Then he told us a couple of stories about not letting little inconveniences decide whether we keep working or not. It was a good one.
We spent the next day in Sardegna and stayed for one of their district meetings. We have some really good missionaries in Sardegna right now, and I was really impressed with their performance. About mid-day Monday, we flew back to Rome to take care of some things in the office and then returned home. On the flight home, there was a flight attendant who recognized us as missionaries, and we had a chance to share the gospel and give out a couple of pass along cards. That was good. On Tuesday, we started planning for our next transfer - my last one in the mission. How strange a feeling that is. I can't believe I only have this much time left. Craziness.
Well dear family of mine, that is it for this week. I love you all!
Anziano Hatch
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Hey Family!
This week has been a great one! Hey, and what do you know? I am writing on Wednesday this week! Ya, beat that. That is great about BYU, although I don't think they will get past the second round if they don't choke before that. Sorry the first email ended so abruptly. (An email to mom about apartment hunting in Provo). We had to take care of some things and the computers in the office were needed. So this weekend was fantastic! We got to go down to Battipaglia to see the branch president and his wife. Anziano Sapio got to see them before they leave for Mexico to adopt some children. They leave before he gets back, so President Kelly made a special exception for him and me! So we were there Saturday evening, and we traveled to Castellammare that night. We went to church there. It was so great to see all of those members again. That branch is probably my favorite one that I have served in. I felt so lucky to be able to go back there.
That night we traveled to Napoli and spent the night there. The next morning we had a district meeting with the Anziani in Napoli. The meeting went really well. We had some really good discussion about member work and how we could help the church grow in Napoli. Really good talk there. That afternoon we took the train from Napoli to Caserta to Bari. We spent the night there, and then the next morning we had some conferences with the missionaries in the Puglia and Calabria regions. It was a good conference. We have been talking about member work and increasing and improving the way that we work with the members. Good stuff. Then after the conference, we drove back in the car with President and Sister Kelly.
Well it is 99% sure that I will finish in Roma. I am excited. I really have enjoyed this time here. I love the unique opportunities to do exchanges with missionaries all over Italy. I have really enjoyed digging in and working with them and the different challenges that they face in different regions of Italy. It is really interesting work and really uplifting.
Well that is all for this week. Love you!
Anziano Hatch
That night we traveled to Napoli and spent the night there. The next morning we had a district meeting with the Anziani in Napoli. The meeting went really well. We had some really good discussion about member work and how we could help the church grow in Napoli. Really good talk there. That afternoon we took the train from Napoli to Caserta to Bari. We spent the night there, and then the next morning we had some conferences with the missionaries in the Puglia and Calabria regions. It was a good conference. We have been talking about member work and increasing and improving the way that we work with the members. Good stuff. Then after the conference, we drove back in the car with President and Sister Kelly.
Well it is 99% sure that I will finish in Roma. I am excited. I really have enjoyed this time here. I love the unique opportunities to do exchanges with missionaries all over Italy. I have really enjoyed digging in and working with them and the different challenges that they face in different regions of Italy. It is really interesting work and really uplifting.
Well that is all for this week. Love you!
Anziano Hatch
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Let the Madness Begin
Well this week has been a great week - real busy, filled with plot twists and fun. But first, let me just say that I can't believe that all those people are home! Man, I feel really old. I had a younger missionary ask me this morning, "So Anziano Hatch, when do you finish?" I said, "May," and he said, "Wow you are old." So there you have it - the word of someone who cannot lie.
So this week we started our Zone Conferences, but because they are in the off transfer in the rotation, they are Specialized Training Meetings. The first one was in Catania in Sicily. We went down a day early, but we flew into Palermo because a missionary left the keys to the car at the mission home last week. So we had to go rescue the car at the Palermo airport. And after paying a good sum of money, we went on the way to Messina. There I got my permesso de soggiorno. That makes me a legal resident again in Italy until May 20...weird. I wonder why they chose that day.
We stayed the night there and planned our training for the meeting and then headed for Catania Tuesday morning. The conference went really well. President Kelly talked about our thoughts and how we become what we think. Really good training. We flew back from Catania to Rome Tuesday night. It is kind of weird flying all over the place. I feel like Dad back in his Basic American Foods days flying all over the place. But thankfully, I haven't tested the "even if the bag does not inflate, oxygen is still flowing" yet. Yesterday we had a fun P-day. But before the fun, we had to play taxi driver to a couple of misisonaries with hand problems that had to come to Rome to see a hand specialist here. Then we got to play a little bit of soccer and some basketball. That was wonderufl, although I am quite sore today. But I haven't done that in a very long time.
Those classes look great Mom. I don't think I can take Chem 105 because it is a four credit class and I can't take more than 18 credits in a semester. But that is good for now, and if I want to change something when I get home I can do that. So how is BYU doing is basketball? I hear they are tearing it up. Well that is it for me, family. Love you all!
Anziano Hatch
So this week we started our Zone Conferences, but because they are in the off transfer in the rotation, they are Specialized Training Meetings. The first one was in Catania in Sicily. We went down a day early, but we flew into Palermo because a missionary left the keys to the car at the mission home last week. So we had to go rescue the car at the Palermo airport. And after paying a good sum of money, we went on the way to Messina. There I got my permesso de soggiorno. That makes me a legal resident again in Italy until May 20...weird. I wonder why they chose that day.
We stayed the night there and planned our training for the meeting and then headed for Catania Tuesday morning. The conference went really well. President Kelly talked about our thoughts and how we become what we think. Really good training. We flew back from Catania to Rome Tuesday night. It is kind of weird flying all over the place. I feel like Dad back in his Basic American Foods days flying all over the place. But thankfully, I haven't tested the "even if the bag does not inflate, oxygen is still flowing" yet. Yesterday we had a fun P-day. But before the fun, we had to play taxi driver to a couple of misisonaries with hand problems that had to come to Rome to see a hand specialist here. Then we got to play a little bit of soccer and some basketball. That was wonderufl, although I am quite sore today. But I haven't done that in a very long time.
Those classes look great Mom. I don't think I can take Chem 105 because it is a four credit class and I can't take more than 18 credits in a semester. But that is good for now, and if I want to change something when I get home I can do that. So how is BYU doing is basketball? I hear they are tearing it up. Well that is it for me, family. Love you all!
Anziano Hatch
These are the latest pictures of the temple grounds
Friday, March 4, 2011
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Well as you can tell, this week has been a busy one. We have been on the go as we have prepared for Zone Leader Council. We had a senior couple that got hit with some pretty bad colds, so we ended up sharing a lot of their responsibilities and taking care of our own. I believe I bought airplane tickets for the first time in my life. That was a new experience - nothing big, but new. I did great. One thing that I have learned being here is that there are a lot of logistics that go into a mission this big. Lots of traveling, and lots of missionaries thinking, and lots of potential problems. We try to keep things as simple as possible. We had very few problems bringing in the zone leaders from all over southern Italy and the two islands. After everyone was here in Rome at the misison home, we had a great council about things that could go better in our mission:
1. Our relationship with members and how we work with them.
2. Rules in the Missionary Handbook that we need to focus on as a mission.
3. Being more diligent in our work.
It was a good conference. We got people back to their assigned cities with a little hassle, but everything went well.
So a couple of incredible travel things that happened during the council - First, a couple of missionaries in Sardegna missed their flight because during the night someone knocked the phone off of the nightstand, and the battery fell out. They got to the airport as fast as they could but missed the flight by a couple of minutes. Somehow, Alitalia let them change their flight for free. Try that on for size as a miracle in these days. Then on the way back, we were driving out to the airport, and we got there (40 minute drive) and one of the missionaries says that he forgot the key to their car in Sicily at the mission home. So to make a long story short, we are changing our traveling schedule so we can fly to Palermo instead of Catania to get the car out of the airport parking. Nothing ever goes 100% correct when you are moving missionaries around. Too much free agency involved. Although that is not a bad thing. It is just what keeps it from going 100% great and keeping us from getting "pneumonia in the baptismal font from baptizing so many people." haha
Well that is it for my letter. Love you all!
Anziano Hatch
1. Our relationship with members and how we work with them.
2. Rules in the Missionary Handbook that we need to focus on as a mission.
3. Being more diligent in our work.
It was a good conference. We got people back to their assigned cities with a little hassle, but everything went well.
So a couple of incredible travel things that happened during the council - First, a couple of missionaries in Sardegna missed their flight because during the night someone knocked the phone off of the nightstand, and the battery fell out. They got to the airport as fast as they could but missed the flight by a couple of minutes. Somehow, Alitalia let them change their flight for free. Try that on for size as a miracle in these days. Then on the way back, we were driving out to the airport, and we got there (40 minute drive) and one of the missionaries says that he forgot the key to their car in Sicily at the mission home. So to make a long story short, we are changing our traveling schedule so we can fly to Palermo instead of Catania to get the car out of the airport parking. Nothing ever goes 100% correct when you are moving missionaries around. Too much free agency involved. Although that is not a bad thing. It is just what keeps it from going 100% great and keeping us from getting "pneumonia in the baptismal font from baptizing so many people." haha
Well that is it for my letter. Love you all!
Anziano Hatch
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Transfers
Well, this week is transfer week. I didn't get transferred, obviously, since I didn't write yesterday. So I am still in Rome. So as you have probably guessed, we finished helping president with transfers. As he normally does, we showed up to the office Saturday morning (the day of the transfer calls) and changed some things. So then we prepared the travel plans for everyone and spent the next couple days working kinks out. That is always fun.
Monday, we had a missionary in the mission have surgery on his finger. He tore a small ligament in his pinky. So we spent the day in the hospital waiting for him. Everything went well, and the pinky will be alright. But we spent pretty much the whole day in assisting with that. Then on Tuesday, the biggest adventure was that of the Courtyard Marriott. They called us looking for some more copies of the Book of Mormon. So we went on an adventure and went and found the Courtyard Marriott and gave them the books. We were even able to give away a couple in Italian. That was a good adventure. We got lost a little bit.
So on Wednesday, we got a lot of things done. We finally washed our car. That took only about two transfers to do. It is pretty clean. Proud of it. Then we prepared some things for some departing missionaries, and then we went suit shopping. I got a pretty nice one 95 euros off the normal price. Plus, I got a free tie on top of that. I will show you a picture next week. Sister Kelly said that she would hem the pants, so pretty soon you will have a picture of me in my new suit. Then we went around Rome and picked up luggage for some missionaries going home on Friday.
Today we have been driving missionaries all around Rome getting people where they need to be. It has been a good day. Things have gone pretty smoothly. Very good.
Well, I love you all. Have a great day!!
Anziano Hatch
Monday, we had a missionary in the mission have surgery on his finger. He tore a small ligament in his pinky. So we spent the day in the hospital waiting for him. Everything went well, and the pinky will be alright. But we spent pretty much the whole day in assisting with that. Then on Tuesday, the biggest adventure was that of the Courtyard Marriott. They called us looking for some more copies of the Book of Mormon. So we went on an adventure and went and found the Courtyard Marriott and gave them the books. We were even able to give away a couple in Italian. That was a good adventure. We got lost a little bit.
So on Wednesday, we got a lot of things done. We finally washed our car. That took only about two transfers to do. It is pretty clean. Proud of it. Then we prepared some things for some departing missionaries, and then we went suit shopping. I got a pretty nice one 95 euros off the normal price. Plus, I got a free tie on top of that. I will show you a picture next week. Sister Kelly said that she would hem the pants, so pretty soon you will have a picture of me in my new suit. Then we went around Rome and picked up luggage for some missionaries going home on Friday.
Today we have been driving missionaries all around Rome getting people where they need to be. It has been a good day. Things have gone pretty smoothly. Very good.
Well, I love you all. Have a great day!!
Anziano Hatch
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
129, 141, 132, 104
Yes, you are right. The numbers in the title are my bowling scores today. The last game, I played throwing between my legs because my arm was tired and it gave me more support. I actually played really well for bowling between my legs. I thought that it was pretty fun.
This week finished our stretch of exchanges for the transfer, which means it is time to think transfers. I love this opportunity to work with President Kelly as we work through where missionaries could be most effective. The best part is watching someone with the keys receive revelation on where people must go. I feel a lot like what I imagine Elder Rasband felt like when he talked about his experience with then Elder Eyring calling missionaries to certain missions. I always go in thinking, "Pay closer attention, and you can know too." I don't seem to always be really helpful, but every once in a while Anziano Sapio, President, and I are all on the same page. And it is really cool.
Well, I don't have much else to say about the week. But I have been thinking about what I am going to major in and stuff back at BYU, and right now this is my latest decision. I would really appreciate input, especially from mom and dad. Ok, to major in Computer Science and to minor in Business Management, and then do prerequisites for Physical Therapy school. What do you think? I am feeling pretty good about it. We'll see.
I love you all. Enjoy the pictures!
Anziano Hatch
This week finished our stretch of exchanges for the transfer, which means it is time to think transfers. I love this opportunity to work with President Kelly as we work through where missionaries could be most effective. The best part is watching someone with the keys receive revelation on where people must go. I feel a lot like what I imagine Elder Rasband felt like when he talked about his experience with then Elder Eyring calling missionaries to certain missions. I always go in thinking, "Pay closer attention, and you can know too." I don't seem to always be really helpful, but every once in a while Anziano Sapio, President, and I are all on the same page. And it is really cool.
Well, I don't have much else to say about the week. But I have been thinking about what I am going to major in and stuff back at BYU, and right now this is my latest decision. I would really appreciate input, especially from mom and dad. Ok, to major in Computer Science and to minor in Business Management, and then do prerequisites for Physical Therapy school. What do you think? I am feeling pretty good about it. We'll see.
I love you all. Enjoy the pictures!
Anziano Hatch
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Badu
Well this week has been a great one. We finished off the week by finishing off our exchanges in Sicily. We then flew to Rome. What a miracle modern flight technology is. We took a 13 hour drive and got from the apartment in Palermo, to the airport, to Rome, and to our apartment in under 4 hours. It was amazing. So we did that, and it was great to be in Messina again. I really like that city. I was here in Rome for my birthday, and yes, I got my package before my birthday. So good planning mom!
We were here on Sunday for church, and I translated again. I have really come to love it. Then we prepared ourselves to take a ferry to Sardegna or Sardinia as it is written in English, I believe. We got on the ship at 2130 hours, and it left at 2230 hours. It took pretty much the whole night to travel to Olbia where we got off at 0600 hours. We left Olbia and drove to Sassari. That is where the zone conference was. We had a really good conference there. We did exchanges with the zone leader and his companion in Olbia. Then last night we came back on the ferry. It was a really good week.
Unfortunately, I have run out of time for the week. I love you all. Happy Birthday Julie!
Anziano Hatch
We were here on Sunday for church, and I translated again. I have really come to love it. Then we prepared ourselves to take a ferry to Sardegna or Sardinia as it is written in English, I believe. We got on the ship at 2130 hours, and it left at 2230 hours. It took pretty much the whole night to travel to Olbia where we got off at 0600 hours. We left Olbia and drove to Sassari. That is where the zone conference was. We had a really good conference there. We did exchanges with the zone leader and his companion in Olbia. Then last night we came back on the ferry. It was a really good week.
Unfortunately, I have run out of time for the week. I love you all. Happy Birthday Julie!
Anziano Hatch
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