August 22, 2013

Hello Family!

We don't have a lot of time today after just going to the Temple so I just wanted to streamline a quick note. The new Temple movie is the greatest thing to happen to the Church since Temples. Maybe when I get home I can do three sessions in a row just to absorb it all. I'm sure I won't have seen everything in the time I have left. Everything is fine here though, the areas doing well, we have a pretty solid baptism planned for next Saturday, his name is Simon and he only has one arm and one leg. Not really sure if I've mentioned him before. We're pretty excited though. My companions doing alright, it’s a bit of a challenge sometimes, but it’s definitely not the worst situation I could be in. He's a talented missionary.

Other than that there isn't a whole lot going on, we just found out our District Leader is getting ET'd up to Katherine (Northern Territory, 200 miles southeast of Darwin), so we're looking forward to some mid-transfer changes. I'm gaining weight like crazy, it’s really really really sad. I just really like eating. My waist size hasn't changed too much (yet) but the sizes right above my waist are rapidly inflating. Hopefully that turns around soon. It sounds like everyone’s having a lot of fun without me (Kiefer was home the previous weekend), enjoy the warm weather and go do things together! I miss the botanic gardens. And the science museum. And my gun. (I hope you're taking care of my gun). Have a great weekend; I'll be up here again on Monday to check on everyone! Good luck with the house and everything!

Ofa atu,

Elder Hatch

* the day after we received this we found out the sale of our house in Benbrook is not going to happen on the 30th

August 12, 2013

So temple week is actually next week... So I'm here now.

I got the office staff to repair the suit I came out with, so now I think I'm going to take the more pricey suit back to the vault. If you could send a sewing machine in the care package box that might be helpful. I just have one pair of shoes, the new ones I bought at the Provo mall before coming out. They were on sale. Great shoes, they're pretty comfortable and they've lasted a good while. I had to replace the soles; the originals had holes bigger than my toes, so they're alright now. They had some cookie cutter made-in-China ones that look pretty nice at Coles for about $20, I'm going to go pick those up just for meetings. No I don't need you to send my shoes though.

The transfers just came through, and my companion and I are both staying here in Glenside. This is his final transfer. I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm not really sure why it'll be nice not to have to bring someone up to speed on the area. This is the first time I'll have to miss transfer meeting though.

Not a whole lot of other things going on. Missionary work as usual. 

Thanks for the early mail, good luck with the house and everything. I'll be emailing again next Thursday!

Elder Hatch

August 5, 2013

Colin’s emails are often just a series of sentences in response to the emails he received so they are often hard to follow out of context.  In my email on the 5^th to him I told him I was going to be sending him a care package…

Oh boy, package time. Send recipes for Mexican food. Enchiladas, Toastados, anything else. There’s a Columbian couple in our Ward that I want to ask to make tamales. We're hopefully going for Mexican food today. And send a couple boxes of Mac and Cheese. They don't have any here. New shirts would be nice and any nice ties that you find on sale. So with the suit situation... they had me look in the vault for suits. And somebody had just brought in three brand new ones that just happened to be pretty much perfectly my size. I took two, they both still had the tags, one was $229 I think and the other was $449. So I was pretty excited. Until I got to church and realized it’s a bit flashy. They aren't dark either; both are kind of a light grey so I stand out like a sore thumb. And they're 32 waists but they're a pretty sleazy 32. More like 30 and 1/2 with a bit of elastic. I need to get some new shoes here; mine look more like missionary shoes every day. Send more of the red Altoids too and another pair of those cheap black fabric gloves. Whatever else you think is nice.

I don't really feel like a missionary now, I have a couple of slacks I usually wear but one of our investigators has a smelly dog and when I got up this morning all I could smell was smelly dog so I'm washing just about everything I own. So right now I'm emailing in a light gray sweater and the light grey slacks I brought from home. Same thing at church yesterday with the grey suits.

The cat (BeBe) is huge now! Thanks for all the pictures. Sounds like the house is doing well, its weird to think it'll be empty pretty soon. Like I said I'm excited to see the new place.

This week was pretty normal, nothing too crazy to report. Transfers are next week so we're all getting predictions together. If I don't get transferred, you won't hear from me until the next Thursday since this Districts’ Temple P-day is that first week, and we go on Thursdays. I'm pretty sure I'm staying though.

Thanks for the mail! I smashed Kiefer to get a girlfriend last week. I want nephews and nieces. Good luck this week :)

To Ross who told him about the new media presentation at the Temple: 

There's a new movie??? I had no idea, man I'm so excited to go the Temple again. If I don't get transferred then I should be able to go in about ten days. I wonder which one they'll be showing there. I want to see it so bad!! And 12 minutes longer might be bad for the Temple workers, but I'm just fine with a little extra time. Do they do different things?

I've jumped back on the journal boat in the past two days, before that I hadn't written all transfer so I'm recommitting to do a little every day. We don’t have Ipads yet and we haven't heard anything else about them. I'm pretty sure the office staff has Church Ipads now though, not sure if they'll ever get them around to us.

This week was pretty normal, not a whole lot to report. We have about 6 or 7 solid investigators but they all have pretty restricted schedules, so they'll be baptized, but we don't really teach very many lessons. It’s pretty weird. There's a pretty big difference between those who have been prepared and those who haven't. Either they won't talk to you at all, or they'll get baptized in two months. There's really no middle ground.

Good to hear from you, have a great week, good luck with work and getting everything finished on the house.

Elder Hatch

Apology

Sorry everyone from Colin's Mom for not getting his Blog updated in a timely matter.  I promise to do better. 

Please email him if you get a change colin.hatch@myldsmail.net.

Glenunga Flat

from Google Earth

July 28, 2013

To Mom:

Terry is BAPTIZED!! I saw him for just a few minutes afterward, he's now moved to Melbourne. He's the man.

My talk in Church was alright, I really hate public speaking and I hate how the best revelation for Sacrament talks only comes when you sit down. But no, it went very well. I was speaking on missionary work. I had a lot of studying to do.

These Elders with the car are useless. I'm not sure I'll ever be getting a new suit. I had one of the office Sisters sew up my old suit though and my black pair of slacks, hopefully they get back to me soon. I wear the same pants every day to meetings and out working, so they're developing some pretty scandalous character as well.

It’s been freezing the past couple weeks, but the past couple days have been perfect day and night. I had been wearing the gloves…until one of the APs decided he really liked them. Maybe I'll get them back sometime it’s not something I really worry about. I need to go borrow some of his ties anyway.

Everyone’s moving... good to think it'll be a younger neighborhood though. Have kids running around everywhere. Break the X boxes. Go outside. Your grandkids will never know the feeling of a console controller in their hands.

To Dad:

I’ve stayed pretty healthy so far.   I don't think I'd mind a sick day every now and then though just to spend some time studying. I guess it'd get old pretty quick though.

You had fifteen baptisms while you were Bishop???  I never remembered seeing anyone new at Church and hardly ever any investigators. And I don't feel like there was ever anybody that really stood out as a kingdom builder baptism. Is there anyone baptized while you were Bishop that’s still there now? Would I remember them?

Oh boy. The kilos (weight gain). I don't look any different, but I feel different. I really miss running and swimming. I've started really watching what I eat now, I try not to eat anything after 7pm or so if I can help it. I think it’s really helping, but I guess I'll find out in a couple weeks. The hard part is when members feed us every night and I can't really control much of anything.

We have full weeks and empty weeks for meals; it kind of just depends on who signs up. We're right outside downtown, so pretty urban, but the edge of our area is hills so there's a good mix.

I always felt like we had some of the weirdest missionaries (in 5^th Ward) haha. I do remember a couple good ones though. There was quite a while there near when I left where we didn't really have missionaries over at all.

I'm excited to see the new house. And Arizona will be way better than Texas anyway.

Thanks for the mail, good luck in Palmdale this week and on finishing up the house!

Elder Hatch

July 21, 2013

To Dad:

The teaching pool is on the rise! We'll get there soon.

How many convert baptisms did they have while you were there? I hardly remember missionary work happening at all when I was there. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. All I can remember is Bro. Woodbury smashing the Priesthood for never feeding the missionaries. How much did they teach? Were they reliable or were you always asking President for better ones?

Oh boy. the weather here.... it’s cold. And it rains every day, sometimes all day haha. And yes we are exclusively on the bikes. It’s a bit of a hassle. Our whole are is one big hill. We're pretty much right in the middle.

We go to the temple once a transfer. Our day was a couple weeks ago. Not too many big waves of missionaries now, just the one so far, but they might be having another one soon.

Thanks for the mail! You may be leaving Texas, but on the bright side your Ward in Gilbert is going to be the most solid and as well-built Ward anyone in our family has ever seen. I'll bet the bishops feel like 70s and the Stake Presidents give talks like GAs. After being here in Australia I can't wait to go to a Ward that functions perfectly and just absorb it all.

We'll talk more next week! It’s good to hear from the family, I sent mom something about my son that’s getting baptized this week you should take a look at it. Tell her I love her for me and do something super nice this week. I never write her long enough emails.

Elder Hatch

To Mom:

Hello Mom!

Haha that suit.... it just teases me because it looks so nice just hanging there in my closet. I'd probably wear it anyway if I could get it half way up my legs. We're going suit shopping today so it should be no worries. I have to give a talk in Church next Sunday so I actually want to look presentable on that day.

Our area is starting to turn around a bit, we had a rough couple of weeks when I first got here because none of the investigators were solid at all and we dropped the majority of our teaching pool. But miracles have happened and we're baptizing this week! I know I've told you about Terry before, but I'll copy and paste a bit just in case. He's the man. Another really solid guy we're teaching only has one arm and one leg, but we're putting him in the water anyway.

So we were teaching a guy named Terry in our last area. I found him and taught him. He loves the Church, he's so keen to be baptized its crazy. He fed us Chinese food one night. He's pretty much the best. Right before I got transferred he told us he was moving to Sydney, and then back to China. He'd spend some time somewhere else in Adelaide for a couple weeks, but then he'd be gone. We couldn't baptize before he left, it was just too soon. After I'd been transferred for a couple weeks I got a call from the Assistants saying they had good news and they conference called me to my old area. My last companion (who we don't get to hear from except for weird situations like this, and who I miss like crazy) is on the line and tells me Terry is moving into my new area in a couple days. He'll be getting baptized in my Ward. He was updating me on their lessons the past week and on all of Terry's contact information, and I'm just trying to get it all down with tears just pouring out haha. He could’ve been moving anywhere in Adelaide, I could’ve been moved anywhere in Central Australia. Man this church is so true.

Thanks for the mail! We'll talk more next week. I always feel like I'm forgetting to put things in emails..

Mark (LaFerney) emailed me this week! It was good to hear from him.

Have a good week!

Elder Hatch

July 15, 2013

Dad

I did get the memory stick, thanks a bunch; I love the BYU devotionals on there. I've only had time to go through the first bit of McConkie's "7 Deadly Heresies" (which I've never read but heard a lot about) but I'm excited to get deeper into all of it. It's a lot easier to listen to tracks when we a have a car, not too much time to just turn it on in the apartment. Have to listen to it while we're sleeping basically. The first week two weeks of July came and went and we've heard nothing more on the iPad situation. We're thinking soon, but I thought we'd have them by now. No idea though.

The areas quite a bit different; Glenside and Glenunga (versus Mawson Lakes) are pretty well known as the rich neighborhoods around here so the work is really different. When I came in the Elders were teaching quite a bit, but a lot of the lessons weren't going to go anywhere. So the majority of our investigator pool has been swept, and we spend most of our time working with the members and finding on the streets and door steps. We’ve only been teaching 5 or 6 investigator lessons the past couple weeks, but hopefully that'll start to change when we get some solid investigators in the pool. Member missionary work is where the real power is at though, we're trying to do a lot more work with members finding and referring to us. It’s slower work with a lot less numbers, but the people they come up with will be kingdom builders for sure, it’s just a matter of time. 

Colin


to Mom:

The new Ward is basically the heart of Adelaide; we have the Temple in our boundaries, so there are quite a few really solid members here. We are living in a suburb called Glenunga on 97 Sydney Street. It’s still a pretty nice flat, but it’s got a different style than Mawson Lakes so it feels pretty different.   My companion was on the Tongan national team a while ago. The Elisala's are the best! They're feeding three companionships this week! They work so hard. Nicest people ever. Food was so good.

Oh boy. So the suit... is definitely not a size 32 waist. It’s more like a 26. The coat would have worked, it was only a little tight, but the pants don't go past my legs. I'm hoping to go suit shopping today with the assistants, we'll bring the suit along and see if I give sell it for a discount on whatever I buy. I'll figure something out though, thanks so much for trying and getting it to me. It was perfect color and material, and it looking pretty comfy. I just couldn't fit inside of it. I'm kind of worried I'll be going on a bit of a shops craze soon.. all of my shirts are no wear near the color white, I don't like very many of my ties, and the suit I'm wearing is a hand me down and is about 4 sizes too small for me. Oh and all my biking pants have holes in them except for the two nice ones, which I don't really wear at all because I don't want them to have holes in them too. Right now I've been using the missionary mall suit pants to do all the biking, they're holding up real well but they really look pretty bad. I'll figure something out. Spend more time at Salvos than at Church.

With Kiefer

Hey Colin,

Saw some pictures of that dinner you had Saturday. Ha ha that family was fresh. We're they Samoan's? Some island food sounds really good. It's weird how when I'm writing you I'm always in Church and on top of that I'm generally having a craving for some random food related thing. I saw they had the taro, cassava and chop suey... Hope you ate heaps. The more you eat the more blessings they get. It looked really good. I bet your companion loved the feed. I bet the family loved him too. With a Poly companion I reckon you'll run into a lot more Poly's. Have fun.

Stadium of fire was last week. It was fun. I clocked a little under 100hrs on the last pay week with overtime pay. It's was a hit and it was a long night but it was a lot of fun. As it turns out Kelly Clarkson is not the prettiest person out there...so much so that her merchandising people that sell her t-shirt and such have to make hideous t-shirt to cover up the fact that she just doesn’t photograph well. Kind of funny really.

Well that's what's going on with me. I have to decide what classes I want to take this week and buy my $200 organic chemistry book, which will hurt.  It'll be a good week. Hope things are going well. Ttyl. 

Kiefer

Colin's reply:

Kiefer

Hahaha I love the islanders! The Moaris say Owda. Yes.... That night was so good. You can't really see in the picture but they gave me raw fish too. I don't know how they do it, I couldn't figure out how to eat it right. They were the Elisala family; they were baptized a little over a year ago, and just went through the Temple for the first time a couple months ago. They're from Tuvalu. They are kingdom builders! Golden converts. Zion. Nicest people ever. Taro was not what I expected, but still good. I like the cassava better. Chop Suey is fantastic. I was dying when I got out of there. They're literally almost the last house at the very bottom of our area and it’s uphill to get back to the flat, not a fun ride home. She made a cake too... oh boy. My first Poly companion made us Oti, that was really good, I'm thinking of picking up the stuff for it and making some soon.

100 hours sounds crazy, hope it was fun. Good money. Thanks for the mail! Good luck at uni this week. Are they smashing Utah with member missionary work like they're smashing Australia? Go get a referral for the Provo Elders :) We'll talk more soon.

Elder Hatch

from July 15

Pictures from Sister Elisala

Colin and his new companion near Glenside, South Australia having dinner with the Elisala family.  Glenside is a suburb of Adelaide.

July 11, 2013

Everything is OK! I promise. I'm in Glenside now, with Elder Feingaloa (or something) Blake. Look him up, I'm pretty sure he's a celebrity.

Today is Temple day! So Monday was a regular proselyting day. I had no idea until last Wednesday, sorry I couldn't give the heads up. Sorry I have to keep it short today, I'll email again on Monday!

Thank you for the pictures! And I got the suit yesterday, haven't had the chance to try it on yet.

Have a great weekend and say hi to dad for me! I'm sorry he didn't get my last email I'll see if I can find it again. 

Adelaide Temple-June 2013

At Adelaide Temple with Elder Sexton, Companion in Mawson Lakes
June 2013

July 1, 2013

We only had two (investigators) at Church this week :( they're both getting baptized soon though so it’s alright.

Can't wait to get the suit! I'm getting transferred, farewell Mawson Lakes. I'm really going to miss working here. I have no idea where I'm going, we find out tomorrow. I have a lot of packing to do. I hope you watched the (missionary) broadcast from earlier because it was awesome! The new media stuff is great! Not sure how I feel about the talking heads instead the live speeches though. Doesn't really feel right. President Monson looked weird. And Elder Perry had on a brown suit; super weird. But we're getting I-pads this week. I think. Still don't really know. We'll see tomorrow. Thanks for the mail! We'll talk more soon.

Elder Hatch

June 24, 2013

The suit looks perfect, thanks so much. The other suit that had a hole in the back got another right on the bottom that week. I wore it anyway for a couple more days... until the right side pocket stitching ripped wide open too.... They're pretty much trashed they need a lot of work before they'll be wearable again. I'm planning on dropping it off to the office staff and having them work on them a bit. We'll see. I'm soooo excited for all the talks; I can't wait for the package to get here. It’s too bad you already sent it though I forgot to ask for Oreos and Nilla wafers. The joys of American snacks... You can't know what you’re missing until you come here and you can't get Oreos or wafers at all. I didn't even eat them at school. And when I did it was nothing special. Now they're heavenly.

I have no idea what’s happening with transfers. Right now either me or my companion pretty much have an equal chance of leaving, but with some things President and Sister Carter have been talking about we may stay together for another with no change. They want to keep missionaries together for longer. I hope we do, we've moved a lot in the past couple weeks and I don't want to go but I'm also not sure if I could handle it if I stayed behind training. We'll see what happens.

We had nine of our investigators at church this week! Three Chinese guys. It was crazy.

You know as much as I do as far as the I-pads. All we know is every Companionship will have one. I would think Adelaide would be the very last place they'd put I-pads so if you ask me they'll be everywhere.

It’s good to hear from you, thanks for the package, I really am excited for it. Good luck with the house and everything, I hope this week is a good one!

Elder Hatch

June 17, 2013

Hello Family!

Thanks for all the mail, a lot has gone on in the past few days; I had been working in a near-by area for a recent trade-off so most of it wasn't spent with my investigators. We had two Chinese men at church this week though, hopefully next week we can have more like 6. The work goes on. Transfers are soon, I'm a bit worried one of us is going to move out of Mawson Lakes, I've grown pretty comfortable where we are and it'd be nice to spend one more transfer here with Elder Sexton. We'll see what happens. Evidently we're getting I-pads in a couple weeks as well, I think I'm more excited than anyone else. We're headed down to the Mission Office today so that he (Elder Sexton) can record a talk he's giving to his grandparents, who are being baptized at the end of the month. His father was basically disowned for joining the Church when he was young, but over many years they've finally come around. Hopefully, President and Sister Carter will be there, they're pretty much the best. We have about 6 or 7 solid investigators right now, plus our Filipino family, and a whole bunch more that may or may not ever get anywhere. Our favorite right now is Terry, 23 year old Chinese uni student who is extra keen for baptism and has come to Church for four weeks straight now. He's the man. We're teaching him with President Carter on Tuesday. I'm not sure I've ever been more excited for anything in my life. Closely following in Erming, also Chinese, also at Uni he's an Environmental PhD working on catalysts to basically dissolve contaminants and pollution. He's been in China the past few weeks, but he just got back and came to Church yesterday. So he's great. A formerly less active member still needs his two kids baptized, and they're on track. We're also teaching a man named Simba from Zimbabwe, and he's recently started to really progress, he came to Church the week before last, and committed to this week as well. He's moving around though, so he's kind of hard to catch. Our next favorite is our wonderful Filipino family, who have committed to Church as a family for this coming week. We get them a little farther every week. They'll be baptized by the end of the year. Max is another Chinese student who is having issues with social conversion, and just general faith, but he'll get there too. We just got two new Chinese students this week, and we're excited for them, as well as another dark researcher, this one from Tanzania who pretty much just radiates with wisdom. And then there's everyone else that we don't like as much.

Also, I have another hole in my pants now. More important than clothing though, is a special request. I need a big USB with any audio talks and firesides that you can get. Preferably Bednar, Holland, and Uhctdorf heavy, but throw in whatever you like as long as it’s a General Authority. And especially ones that are a bit older. I would love some Hinkley and Maxwell talks. And Faust. Also if a GA ever visits, record him by hand and send me a copy! We've been listening to one by Joseph Fielding McConkie now for a couple weeks that’s fantastic. And a couple Mo-tab albums would be nice, but honestly I could just get those from any of the Elders here. Talks are harder to come by though. That would be amazing.

Thanks again for the mail, good luck this week.

Elder Hatch

June 9, 2013

This week P-day is today since it’s also Temple day. Which means, yes, we just got back from the Temple. Adelaide must have the smallest Temple ever made. It was good though, nice to finally go through again.

(In response to questions about his suits…)  I’m probably a 32 waist now. Sadly. It may be good to call the Utah suit place just to get my measurements. I can't have changed that much. I'm wearing that one right now just because my other one is trashed and I didn't want to wear it to the Temple. I don't really like either of them. I can handle the hem. I'm pretty sure 36 is right and I need a short jacket. Straight front pants.

We're still in the car, I've been driving a bit. We stay plenty warm, we picked up some coats off some other elders near-by. If you're cold you just aren't biking hard enough.

Thanks for the mail, I'll be on here again on Monday.

June 2, 2013

I have a big ole hole in my pants. It’s not good. And I'm still wearing the suit. Yes, it’s been freezing here the past couple of days.  Our investigators are great, hoping to have some baptisms in July and one in June. Chinese people are the best. My companion is the man.

(On his request for a new suit…)  The color doesn't really matter as long as it isn't pinstriped and there isn't really a pattern of any kind. I'd like a bit of a bluish grey suit. I'm the same size as I was so just get them hemmed as a 30-32 length and I'll fix it more if I need to. So go 31 and a half to be safe. My Comp has a duct tape hem and it seems to work alright for him. The brand doesn't matter. French cut.

Today we're going to the Gorge Wildlife Park. Should be a lot of fun! It’s kind of a last minute thing we don't have time to plan anything. Right now we have goals to baptize one in June and four in July, we'll see how it goes. It’s been raining like crazy this weekend so we've had a lot of fun. Sorry I can't write as much as I like to, have a great week and keep sending pictures! Kiefer is a toothpick.

I love you, don't let the house get too quiet. Put on some music :)

Elder Hatch

May 26, 2013

Yes Elder Paulo (extra Companion) was out last Tuesday. It goes pretty fast. The two-some is good, time moves a bit slower but it’s a little more ideal so it’s nice. I bought a 9 dollar watch we found at Coles, it’s pretty much already broken, and runs super-fast, but it gets the job done for now. I still haven't got a coat, we usually just do sweaters, and by now it’s almost to the point where I can take my big coat out and use it.

Robert Woodbury has a forge??  (Kiefer made a hatchet while he was home)  That’s awesome I had no idea he was planning that. Sounds like a ton of fun. 

The food looks great, I miss good American food, the Aussies just don't know how to do it right. I need to make some french toast soon. 

Thanks (to his dad) for the talk, I'll definitely be going over. It’s one of my all time favorites as well. Brother Wilcox is the man. Thanks for the mail, good luck this week.

Elder Hatch

May 20, 2013

We've been talking to a young Pilipino family since I got here, and we've been trying to get the other three members of their family involved for a while, and this week they started participating and said they'd stick to it as a family! WOOO!!!!!

LMRA (Lockheed swimming pool area) is closing?! That’s crazy I thought they'd never pull it down. Sad. I'll miss it. 

Good luck with the house! Take lots of pictures for me! Make sure whoever buys it from you understands they have to house me for a few days after my mission. And the kangaroos and koalas I bring home. Jokes aside, I'm definitely coming home with the biggest didgeridoo I can find. We're short on time this week, most of P-day we had rehearsal for a thing we have to sing with President at an upcoming Zone Conference.

Mark and Christina look great, I hope they had a lot of fun.  (Friends from Seminary)

This is my favorite. Ever.

May 13, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!! I'm not sure if I said that yesterday. I hope you got breakfast in bed. From the sound of it dad might not be too good at walking right now though. Just bring the stove to the bedroom and cook from there. It was great to see you guys and the cats, I hope you weren't waiting on the computer for too long. Too bad that Kiefer couldn't have been there too.

It’s good that Kiefer's doing well and staying busy. Seventy five hours (working the week of Women’s Conference – BYU) is a ton! Tell him he needs to send me something expensive to celebrate. Stop buying those (cheap NET10) phones! He should just put Skype on his iPod and call you from that.

Our Sacrament Meeting this week was just Family Relations counselors giving talks on their courses so it was a bit dry. We had a ton of people there (not as many as we would like as a companionship) that don't usually come so it was really great. There’s a less active who is coming back. He's an MMA fighter. Great guy.

Have a great week! Transfers are next week and I may be leaving, I'll keep you updated.

Colin

It was great to Skype to Colin on Mother's Day!  I wish I would have been smart enough to take of picture of him on the computer screen.  He looks and sounds great!  We are so proud of him.

May 6, 2013

Hi Mom

I'm actually really mad I missed Cinco de Mayo. My companion and I were planning on it being a big deal, but we both completely forgot. Sad day. I'll be picking up the package (from home) from my Zone Leaders today. I'm excited. And so are my companions. I may or may not be draining my personal funds today. We'll see what happens. I need a coat mainly, which I will be getting this week.  I just a windbreaker I can be on the bike with. When we're in the car we're fine with just suit coats.   I also need some little things that I can't go any longer without and a watch. Did I tell you mine broke? And then I lost it? So irritating. For a few days we had one watch for three Elders. Not fun.

Our Ward’s area is basically, if you draw a circle around Mawson Lakes, Tea Tree Plaza, Holden Hill, and RiverCrest(...River something I don't remember. Something like that. With an R.) There is one other Elder companionship that covers from Para Vista east, and travelling Sisters comps that covers our Ward and Golden Grove Ward.  So 7 missionaries, a lot. Our flat has a washer, but there aren't any dryers in the Mission, everything is hung up. I don't really know about fresh bread and produce, the Woolys is pretty much just like grocers in the states. We eat pretty well. Aussie food really isn't that different, it’s more how they eat. Yes we get just about as much boiling hot water as we could want and the flats pretty new so the bathroom isn't smashed yet. We're working on it though. Toilet broke for the first time last week.

We'll be Skyping Sunday morning around 9am Adelaide time (for Mother’s Day). I was just informed. Prepare yourselves. We'll be at a member’s home going from their computers.

I love you, happy Mother's week.

Elder Hatch

April 28, 2013

To Dad:

You're the man (ran his first ½ marathon on April 26^th). That's fantastic! I'm glad the race went so well, it sounds like a great experience. A seven minute miles at the start is pretty intense. I think eight minute miles alone are pretty intense. It’s a great pace. Unfortunately I don't think I'd keep up much if I had been there right now, but when I get back and have some time to train we can run one.  So what are the workout plans now that the race is behind you? It’s great to hear from you, have a great week, let me know how it goes.

The weather around here is still just about right. We're hoping for it to get just a bit more a chilly side right now so that we can wear sweaters (makes contacting way more effective), but most of the time it’s too hot for them. It'll cool down a lot soon though. And yes I'm still in the trio, but probably only for the next three weeks. We'll see what happens when all the new missionaries come in.

This week was pretty solid, the President popped up at our District Meeting unannounced to do interviews so that was fantastic. He's pretty much the best. Other than that not a whole lot going on. We’ve got another baptismal date, hopefully we'll have some Mawson Lakes baptisms in mid-May to early June. We're excited.

To Mom:

Thanks for sending the package; I'm excited for it to get here. I know I shouldn't be spending a lot money I'm still thinking about grabbing the mini scriptures. We'll see about the windbreaker, everything is just so insanely expensive here. I think I'd rather just be cold.

I have no idea what’s going on for Mother's Day. We'll see what President says. I'm sure it'll work out though, I'll keep you updated in the weeks to come.

This week was pretty uneventful; we did some more missionary work. We're still working with a Chinese guy named Erming and a Pilipino family right now as our focus, but we have about 20-25 solid investigators. The work is good. Ask more questions so I can write longer letters!

I hope this week goes alright, good luck :)

April 21, 2013

There was some problem with the library computers and reservations today so I got to read all the mail but I'll respond in full next week. First, my Mission President is the best he really cares about his missionaries and the work. We had a Stake Conference with Elder Rasband this week and he pretty much demanded he make time for a special meeting that morning. 

I'm going to be needing to buy a windbreaker style coat soon, the one I came with doesn't work with suits and I need something to throw over it when we're in the rain. I think that was it. I'm going to look around the salvos here for some more suits. Thanks for sending the sweater over. I love you, have a great week, sorry I couldn't write more.

Colin

April 15, 2013 (and the 8th)

Transfers have been a bit revealing for me as a new Missionary.  It was interesting to be able work with new Elders who had different ideas and focuses than my last companion, and so far it’s been fantastic. Last week we cancelled two of our baptismal dates.  It was unfortunate, but neither had come any closer in progression to their (baptism) dates.  But in just three days, in this first week, we set dates for four more investigators, all in the month of May, and are looking forward to setting at least two more in the coming week. Each of them is solid and excited to receive answers to their prayers.  Being part of each of those in such a short amount of time was, for lack of a better explanation, overwhelming.  I loved it, and I love these investigators. I can't wait to see how the Lord blesses their lives in the coming weeks.

One of the former investigators had a really rough week though. She's socially unstable, and came to rely on the Elders she was speaking to in the past few weeks. When my companion was moved, she was extremely upset. Most of the weekend I was worried we'd drive up to the Modbury Chapel and find that she'd started it on fire. Her date had been set for last weekend, and she claims if she had been baptized, and Elder Stirling left right afterward, she'd have (done something bad). I'm completely lost on how to handle the situation. I know that if we cut contact she'll be even more upset, but continuing to talk with her seems dangerous as well. Either way, she's likely to confront our Bishop about my companion's transfer, since she believes he makes the decision on transfers and is "responsible".  We've tried to explain that it’s through revelation, and doesn't have anything to do with our Bishop, but evidently she has not understood.

Transfers were a blessing. My last companion is, while a genius, (was a difficult) person.   It's not healthy to focus on (our issues) even now that we aren't Companions anymore so I say it only to contrast my two new companions (we're a trio) are two very humble missionaries. The first is Elder Paulo from Samoa, he doesn't speak much English but he has a great testimony and he asks everyone to get baptized. He's great. The other, Elder Sexton from Tennessee, was at BYU at the same time as I was.  He's a great missionary. This is going to be a great transfer.  Elder Stirling took the place of one of our Zone Leaders who went home so he's fired up more than ever.  Things are going well though.

Conference was awesome; there were so many great talks. Elder Holland is fantastic, Elder Ballard, Pres. Uchtdorf like always, and even Elder Cook this time. Great Conference.  Blanca shake everyone's hands!  I'm excited to get the Ensign and really study them (the talks).

(In response to questions about if it was nice to not be experiencing finals weeks at BYU)… And no it doesn't feel nice because here it’s like every week is finals week and no one is getting baptized yet. We're working on it though.

Have a great week! We'll talk more soon.

April 8, 2013 

(A short email with simple responses to the emails he received from home.)

Yes, we don't get to watch it (General Conference) until next week so don't say anything about it. It’s like missing the Super Bowl. I don't want to hear anything until I see it.

(His flat) a pretty cool place. The bikes are (kept) under the stairs.   We are on the third story over the (Bellezza Gourmet Chicken) chicken shop.  Mawson Lakes (his area) is upscale and very green.  Maybe it won't be in a couple months, but at least right now it is.  Great biking weather.

Elder Hatch

Facebook Post

Today, one of the alumni from Colin's Seminary class posted  this on Facebook.

CC: I do love L. Tom Perry. Plus he kinda looks like the old man from Up!

ML (Seminary teacher):   That observation reminds me of your running commentary during seminary while watching seminary movies. Thanks for the memories

CC: Hahaha I loved doing that! You're welcome Every time I watch one of those videos (I saw one just three weeks ago, actually) I can't help but turn to make a comment to Nathan and Colin even though they're not there.

Class of 2008-2009:  Back row:  Ashton, Kiefer, Colin, Nathan, Michael, Bobby.  Front row:  Stephanie, Devin, Chandrie, Marissa.  Motley crew, especially at 5:45 am...

April 1, 2013

I have literally less than 20 minutes to write. I had to give a talk in church on Easter Sunday; it went alright but like always could have been better. My trainer is from Brisbane, he came out when he was 18 so he's younger than me, and he has been out about a year. We have the nicest flat in the mission its third story on Goodall Parade in Mawson Lakes. 

As you can tell our schedules are pretty busy, we teach about 20 lessons per week and pretty much follow the standards of excellence for the Pacific missions, except in Church attendance which we're working on now. Member lessons are difficult too with the Ward we're in, there aren't a whole lot of great members right around us and we work a lot with the ones that will come out with us. We eat a lot, we don't sleep enough, and we teach all the time. Thanks for the mail, it’s good to know everything is still going well at home, good luck this week, can't wait to hear more. Time goes so fast!

I'm not sure which set of flats he lives in, but here are some examples of flats on Goodall Parade.

March 25, 2013

Ahh.. I have no time. We'll be going to the Temple soon; yes we're staying very very very busy. I still haven't taken too many pictures, we can only use the cameras on p-days and their usually too busy to think about pictures. And no we don't really do fun things on p-day, most of it is getting everything together for the week.

Thanks for the article (Pub Crawl in Adelaide) and yes we know about those streets and that’s why Rundle is strictly off limits to all missionaries, along with a couple of other streets. Those guys party harder than we preach. I have to go.  It’s good to hear from you and I can't wait to talk more next week.

March 21, 2013

UNIVERSITY students charged into one of Adelaide's busiest intersections, stopping traffic and jumping on a car trapped in the scrum during one of Australia's largest pub crawls.  Video has emerged of thousands of students on the annual Adelaide University Engineering Society pub crawl converging on the intersection of Rundle and Pulteney streets in a huge flash mob about 9pm last night (Saturday).

The video shows some of the students - among an estimated 5000 wearing Boozing Bad' t-shirts - stopping traffic and jumping on the bonnet and roof of a dark-coloured sedan trapped in the throng.  The footage was recorded by Sydney resident Catherine Greenhill on her phone from her bedroom at the Quest Mansion apartments on Pulteney Street after hearing roars from the crowd.  "It was pretty out of control," Ms Greenhill said.  "My heart was racing. I just thought - I'm going to hear one of these kids hit the deck."  Organisers promote the annual event on their Facebook page as the world's largest `shirted' pub crawl. Ms Greenhill said the flash mob occurred "many, many times" and decided to call the police at 9.30pm.

"I saw two police cars and two policemen in the centre of the intersection, but the next time the red light came sure enough everyone ran in the middle again," she said.  Police arrived soon after and dispersed the crowd. A police spokeswoman said officers were viewing CCTV footage from the intersection to investigate whether this and other offences had been committed.

More than 30 bars and nightclubs were listed on the event's Facebook page, where the AUES promises "a night so memorable you'll wish you hadn't forgot it".  "The AUES has lined up 30 venues ... with an additional four venues where you can get your craving fix by the ounce or pound," it reads.  "You own this town."

A university spokesperson said the university did not sanction the event but would be following up with the student society involved in the event. AUES president Maxim Dupree said: "We expect all students to demonstrate positive, responsible behaviour on and off campus with respect for people and property as members of the University and wider community.  "We certainly do not promote or support any form of binge drinking."  Pub crawlers and others took to Facebook and Twitter yesterday to both defend and condemn Friday night's antics. "The AEUS have a lot to answer for," Andrew Christ posted on Twitter.  "Cars got swarmed."  

March 18, 2013

Good to know everything is going well back home. This week was pretty normal, not a whole lot to report. The weather finally got nice this week last Wednesday; we're hoping it stays like this for as long as possible before cooling down too much.

Most of this area is pretty much just like the States. It’s really not all that different besides driving on the other side of the road and a whole lot more immigrants and people who don’t speak English.

It was good to hear from everyone, I'll see if this next week is any more exciting than the last.

March 12, 2013

Monday March, 11th was a holiday in South Australia so we didn't get Colin's email until Tuesday.  Not much news from him...I guess I'll have to start making stuff up. -- the mom

Hello family,

This week has been pretty normal I guess, even though it’s my first week here and I don't really have much to compare it to. It’s hot (mid 90's), and yes we are exclusively on bikes. Mine is brand new, but it won't be by the time I'm finished with it. Bikes are nice though, I don't feel as bad about not being able to run so much, and we get to shower twice a day. And yes, I'm always in short sleeves. I don't like them at all. The shirts are actually all too big for me, but if I got any smaller of a size then the top button wouldn't fit around my neck. All my pants are going to be ruined pretty quickly too, I mostly just wear the black pair right now; I figure I'll move on to one of the other ones in a couple of weeks. We don't really ever get fed by members, but that’s actually a good thing because dinners take a couple hours out of our day that we can't get any numbers from, so it’s kind of a waste of time. My companion cooks though so we do better than I would if I was living alone.

Take care this week, maybe I can write more next week. Talk to you soon. 

March 3, 2013

Yep I'm still alive. I'm in the Mawson Lakes area, we're on bikes, and yes it’s pretty hot here. My arms are already sun burnt  It’s still quite a bit like the states, and it’s kind of a nicer area. There are only four member families in our area of the Ward. Most of the people we talk to are students at South Adelaide. Most of them are immigrants rather than traditional Australian. We taught an Iranian family yesterday, and we're talking with a Chinese guy, Philippians, Malaysians, and a family from Azerbaijan. We're always busy.

There are three stakes in the Adelaide mission, all three here in town. The other two areas they send missionaries to is up in Darwin and Alice Springs. Usually 10-20 missionaries in both I think. There are less than a hundred missionaries here. The Alice Springs Elders teach the aboriginals, so they are the ones that live in tents.

I'll probably be here in Mawson Lakes/Modbury for quite a while though. They just opened up Kangaroo Island too so maybe I'll spend some time there later. I haven’t seen any kangaroos yet. My trainer is from Brisbane, but he might as well be American. I have almost no time at all so I need to get off, thanks for writing. Good luck and take care this week. 

February 24, 2013

So I'm leaving today to go to the Mission Home in the afternoon and have dinner with the President.  So he might have me call tonight I'm not sure.  After that our flight leaves San Jose at 7:40 and later I'll leave LA at 11:40.  It’s a 15 hour flight to Sydney and then another three (I think) to Adelaide. My MTC Companion will be coming with me. He's been in my Zone here in San Jose so we see quite a bit of each other still. 

I haven't taken hardly any pictures at all. It’s too much trouble to get the camera out. Maybe that'll change in Australia. 

This week has been alright, just killing time before I leave. I had to say goodbye to all the members and my former arms merchant and everyone else. Packing is weird, that big suitcase is a hassle because it’s got plenty of space but I need to keep it under 50 pounds so it'll probably end up being only half filled.  I don't have too much stuff though so I don't think it'll be an issue. 

I tried to cuddle a kitten this week.  It had other plans. I got scratched, right across the face.

Not much else going on though. I'll probably get to call soon, we'll see. Take care this week, if anything I'll let you guys know how everything is going next Monday. 

From the mom:  He didn't get to call.  We are hoping he made it to Australia alright.  I guess no news is good news.

February 19, 2013

Good to hear from you guys. We just finished transfer meeting. So Elder Slade's new Companion is the new District Leader and he's been out about 6 months. But on Thursday all the new greens come in and this guy is training. So they'll be in a trio for the rest of the transfer, which means we'll be a foursome until I leave (for Adelaide) on Monday. Should be interesting…

It’s good to hear you guys are doing alright, thanks for the meteor news mom. Also I ordered a San Jose Mission hoodie but it won’t get here in time so they're sending it to you guys first so you can get it to me. 

It sounds like you have some great Elders there in Fort Worth, I’m glad you guys might get some good work done there. I'm in the same area, and technically, I haven't started my in field training yet. I'll do all that down under. It can't be too important though I do just fine here. And the stuttering and stammering was definitely there when I talked (in Church).  I would've stayed up longer but my face started twitching so I had to sit down. I'm pretty sure no one noticed though. 

And I haven't really taken any pictures at all. I'll start working on that this last week. Thanks for the email, I'll probably be able to email again next week right before I leave. I always feel like there are things I want during the week, I'm just forgetting them by the time I start emailing. Thanks so much for the package, the jeans were much needed. Take care, excited to hear for everyone again next week. 

Colin will be leaving the San Jose California Mission on Monday, February 25th for the Adelaide Australia Mission.

February 12, 2013

Great to hear from all you guys, good to know everything is still going well back home. President Watkins got my itinerary this past week, my flight leaves LA (I think) on the 25th of February. So two weeks from yesterday. Transfers are this next Wednesday so I'll probably be in a trio with whomever my companion is going to train next transfer for a few days. I think I will be able to have plenty of time to call from airports but I'll talk to President about that and see.  Other than that not too much is going on other than the usual. We stay busy. We're trying to get the Ward to get us more referrals but it'll probably take some time before we get any really good ones. 

For P-day yesterday we went down to Santa Cruz at the boardwalk and played volleyball all day. President is pretty lenient with being near the water so we walked right next to the waves for a couple hours too. It was about 65 degrees so good weather too. And the drive down there through the hills is almost better than the beach itself. 

This Sunday the speakers didn't finish all the time so Bishop invited me up to impromptu for a bit. I only took about 5 minutes I think, felt like I should have gone a little longer. It was good though.

School sounds great man (Kiefer), glad to know you're staying busy and enjoying classes. And I told you with Corey, he's a lot of fun. You're lucky though I think he only sang once for us. Great guy. And Chemistry is going to lacerate your forehead, decant the fluid into a calorimeter, and test it (in multiple trial runs) to make sure it has enough chemistry power to soak in the insane amount of information they beat you with both in and out of class. But hey if you enjoy that... really though it’s not impossible. Stick with and don't fall behind and you'll come out on top. Spring and Summer should be great, I definitely enjoyed the terms way more than the full semesters; except with my roommates. Take care and keep warm, it’s great to hear from you.

Thanks for the emails. I'll update everyone again next week.