9-23 and 9-24-13 email

Hello Dear Family! So, I'll start off with the not so great news. I'm not feeling so great today. I got a stomach bug or something. So I don't have energy to write a whole lot. The good news is, we actually had a wonderful week! Yesterday we had stake conference, so nobody could really come to church. That was expected though, because the stake center is more than an hour away... But stake conference was great! and we are getting very excited for general conference in just a couple weeks. We were able to set a baptismal date with an investigator named Brian Garcia. Hopefully his family can join him as well! Sorry, I have to go, but I hope you have a great week! grandma is in my prayers! -elder hatch

On Tue Sep 24, 2013 at 3:40 PM Jacob Hatch <jacob.hatch1@myldsmail.net> wrote: 

Hey family, So we actually got permission to come and finish emails since we were cut short yesterday. I am feeling much better now just so you know. So, like I said yesterday, we had a pretty good week. We were able to have a lot of very spiritual lessons. The highlight was probably Brian Garcia. So he is the brother in law of an active member, but we didn't know that until a week after we had started to teach him. We actually just knocked into him at first, and then later saw him at a family barbeque that we were invited to. Coincidence? I think not! Anyways, him and his family (wife, two little kids, and a 17 yr old nephew that lives with them) have been progressing quickly since that day. We have also started teaching both of their next door neighbors. We have also been having a lot of success out in Fort Hancock. We are still finding lots of people to teach, and while not all of them are quite ready to accept our message, the word is getting spread around. The english class that we have started to teach is really helping too. I really love Fort Hancock. I'll be honest, I don't think I would ever live here, but it's pretty fun as a missionary. The weather has been great here recently. the rain has pretty much stopped, but it's already significantly cooler than it was before. I think were in the 80's now. It's getting close to harvest time with all the farms here. We actually got like a whole bag of fresh pecans from a member the other day. Yum. Let me tell you, it makes a lot of difference when they are that fresh. They are much sweeter and softer, and it's a lot easier to get the shells off. Maybe I'll try to send some to you. Stake Conference on sunday was really great. It was interesting how they did it. It was a bilingual stake conference. Meaning some of the talks were in English, and some of them were in spanish, and at least a couple were in both. The Juarez temple president, the stake president, and our mission president all spoke, as well as a few other people. It was great, and it got me very excited for general conference in a couple of weeks. Also, this next monday will be our temple trip! (my last one) So don't be expecting an email until tuesday next week.

I'm sorry to hear that BYU lost last week. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't get to watch it. Also, I really hope Grandma is doing alright. She is definitely in my prayers. It's good to hear that she is recovering well. What does that mean for their mission? Keep me posted!

Well, I don't have much time right now, but I just wanted to get in a little bit more for this week. I love you, and miss you all so much, and I hope you all have a wonderful week. -Elder Hatch

9-18-13 email

Dear Family, This week was pretty normal, but pretty good. We were able to teach lots of lessons, and we found 6 new investigators! Most of them were found out in Fort Hancock, but there was also a really promising part member family in Tornillo, The Garcias. They even invited us over to dinner! The down side to this week was that nobody came to church! At least, none of our investigators did anyways. It was frustrating, because there were a few that I really thought were progressing well. That's ok though, we'll just keep working with everybody this week! That's just how missionary work goes. Also, we weren't able to meet out in Fort Hancock because Hna. Ariola (We use her house for the meetings) went to arizona for a couple weeks. And the stake still isn't ready to rent us a place yet. So, overall, it was a pretty frustrating week. A really good week, because we did have a lot of success, but just yesterday was frustrating. It has been ridiculously rainy here, and there has actually been some minor flooding in some parts. (the san elizario elder's apartment flooded too) And we got stuck in the mud a couple times. One time I even had to get out and push. It was very wet and muddy. My shoes are still drying off. It's actually a really positive thing for most of the people here. Seeing as most people have some sort of agricultural job. Lots of rain is good for all the crops! The fields are all starting to look really nice. Especially the cotton. I'll have to send some pictures. Anyways, It sounds like you are all having a great time. That's pretty funny that Jack got a cold. Poor cat. I'm really looking forward to fall here. You should send me some pictures of Utah too! Speaking of Utah, that vacation next summer sounds really fun! I would love to come. Also, as far as general conference goes, If you can't get any tickets up there, I might be able to get some down here. Just let me know if you want me to ask. Actually, the Branch President's family is going up for this October conference. People down here think it's weird that I've never been and I'm from Utah! anyways, I better go now, but I'm doing great! I hope you all have a wonderful week! I miss you all so much! -Elder Hatch

9-9-13 email

Dear Family, Honestly, it has been a pretty normal week. Haha, Which means, of course, that it was a great week!! Seriously though, we had a pretty good week this week. We have been getting a lot of member support recently. Lots of members have been coming out with us, and giving us referrals. The branch here is great! It's kind of funny, because almost everybody is related in the branch. It's either the Hernandez family or the Delgado family. And they are all related to each other anyways. It's almost as if the whole Hatch family came together and formed our own branch. So when we take people out, we usually say, "hey have you ever met Raul? we are just starting to teach him." then they usually say, "Oh yeah, he's my cousin, or uncle, or nephew, or something like that. It makes fellowshipping and member present lessons very easy. So, we have a TON of investigators now, and most of them are progressing really well. We still don't have any baptisms yet, but hopefully that will come soon. There are a couple families that are getting close, so hopefully you get some more good news next week. So anyways, it was also a good week because it was Elder Bath's birthday! Mine is starting to come up as well. Just think mom, you'll have a son that is 21 soon! Does that make you feel old? Hahaha. I was thinking about it, and I don't think I really have anything that I want or need right now, so I would love if you could just help me out a little extra when I get home (probably buying new clothes) One thing I would absolutely love though, is if somehow you could get the whole family tickets to go to April general conference together. As a missionary I have started to really enjoy conference more, and we have never gone to one. And we live in Salt Lake City!! I don't really know how it all works, but that would be a wonderful birthday present for me. Also, lots of photos from you guys. That's one of my favorite things to get. I miss you guys so much! In other news, I am looking forward to my last temple trip in the mission at the end of this month. Also, my last general conference as a missionary! It's so exciting! Anyways, I better go now, but I am glad you are all doing all right. I love you and I hope you have another wonderful week! -Elder Hatch

9-3-13 email

Hello dear Family!

Sorry this is coming late, but yesterday was labor day and everything was closed. Haha, the Fabens library here has been closed for like a month, so we have to drive like half an hour to email. Don't worry though, I wouldn't miss it for the world! So as far as transfer news goes, nothing much is changing for me. Elder Bath and I are both staying in Fort Hancock for another six weeks! On the other hand, a lot of things are happening in the mission right now. We are getting more than 30 missionaries today, and 20 of them are sisters! Our mission president told us that we have about 40% sister missionaries right now. Which is weird, because when I came out it was closer to 10%. Haha, from what miranda says, there are a lot of girls at BYU too, so I don't know where all the guys are disapearing to. Most of the rest of my district is changing around, but we still don't know who were going to get. Anyways, this week was pretty good for missionary work. We had another meeting out in Fort Hancock which went about the same. Hopefully more people will start coming, it's just kind of difficult having it in somebody's house. We have been told to wait now before we can start renting a building, so it's still just at a house. Our little group is doing alright though. And since we are still just a group, our leadership is still based in Fabens. It is still just starting up, but it's doing very well. Right now the work in our mission is really taking off! Especially with all of these new missionaries still flowing in! It's incredible! Honestly, the investigators in our area are still all doing about the same. Which is good, but not as good as it could be. We have a fresh start with this new transfer though, so I am expecting some great things. I really like the people here. They are all very relaxed and peaceful. And almost everybody will talk to us if we start talking to them. It's pretty nice from a missionary's perspective. Sorry I'm kind of rambling, but there really isn't a whole lot for me to talk about. It's great to hear how you are all doing though. I hope school and everything is going good! Oh, random, but actually my drivers liscence expires next month, so I'm going to have to figure out how to renew it... I think I can figure it out though. Well, that's about all for this week, but I hope you all have a wonderful week!

-Elder Hatch

PS congratulations Grandma and Grandpa Hatch! Good luck with your mission preparation!