June 17, 2011

HELLO!

Before I forget! Let me explain the difference between -ito and -ita! It works like this, normally in spanish if a word ends in -o, then it's masculin. However, if the word ends in -a, it's feminin, with a few exceptions of course. Therefore, if we're trying to make it diminutive, then we use -ito for masculin and -ita for feminin words or people. I am more commonly called ''Hermanito Hatt'' - Little brother Hatt ahaha, I think it's awesome, I will continue making things smaller when I get home, because it's enjoyable.

What a beautiful day this is! Actually it's super overcast and still just as dirty as every other day. Did I ever tell you that Barranca hires people to sweep the garbage off the streets? It's nice that they're actually doing it but the other problem is that they have to. Garbage cans are anything but few and far between here in Peru. Us North Americans have a saying here in Peru whenever we're frustrated, confused, or disgusted. It goes like this, ''Where are we?'' to which the answer is always ''Peru'' which always clears up whatever question you have. Don't get me wrong, it's great to be here, but I think it's the experience that's great more than anything. And the people, there's some really nice people.

So enough about my speel of how incredibly filthy (awesome) Peru is. I know that you were worried for some time that your package you sent had been stolen, but here’s the deal. No, your package has not been stolen. It's arrived here in Peru, the problem is right now that SerPost (Postal service in Peru) is also on strike! I swear, I think the evil god of postal service is just trying to make me sad and discouraged. First we received the package, then it was returned for name issues. Now we've received it again, however, the offices were unable to take them out...until this week... Thank you so much for sending me a package!!! Not to mention how much you spent on all the AWESOME gifts that were inside. Seriously I think I smiled that entire night while asleep. I read your letter, and yes, I named the beautiful turtle :) HER name is Tortuga which is spanish for Turtle, but she's very small, there for I named her Tortugita, meaning, small turtle. Very creative, I know! But seriously thank you so much for the package, I'm literally so happy right now! The pooh towel, the sweat pants, the canadian knick-knacks, the snacks, the stuffed animals. Pretty much everything, you know me too well. I don't think there's anything else I could want. But I want to forbid you from ever sending another package! You're broke, you can't send those things! But I know you'd do it anyway, so maybe you can just send... smaller packages?

ALSO FOR NEXT TIME! (If there is one) write my name and the address in Spanish. And we've figured out the perfect way to send a package. More catholic pictures! The best way is to take a big picture of the Virgin Mary, and tape it along the T-seam of the package. So if they want to open in, they have to cut off the virgin Mary's head... and no Catholic wants to do that. Missionaries do, they enjoy it. Try it some time!

But I am attaching a lot of pictures about the package experience! I have many more but I think these will be sufficient! I hope you enjoy them!

Ohh yes!! Elections! Well those were yesterday, and it was another very boring day, filled with nothing but being stuck inside all day. We actually ended up cooking lunch with a few other Elder's at their Pension's house because  she wasn't there all day... I want you to know how glad I am not having to cook. I love cooking, don't get me wrong, just not in a Peruvian Kitchen. It's hardly a kitchen! I could go on for hours about it, but in the mean time just know that it was fairly dirty, and we had a lot of trouble just turning on the gas. But in the end we made a pretty delicious meal of Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes (Elder Hatt style!)... and a pile of mushy, sticky, rice. Which we actually took to the dog who didn't even want it. So we turned them into rice balls and threw them off the roof. Probably the highlight of my day! As to who won, I think you'll be pleased to know that Ollanta... actually won! The elections were very close, but in the end,  the people chose  Ollanta intead of a Chinese woman to lead their country. I think it's because she was Chinese, not because she is a she. But I don't know. And in reality I think it's good because he's going to change Peru completely (or so he says) and really increase the quality of living and the level of security. I doubt he would send all the outsiders back to their places, but there's a possibility. He takes office at the end of July, so we shall see! I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, over Mountains or plains or seas!

I am also attaching a picture of me with my new companion! It was about 10:00 at night and we were very tired, but that's the only one I have! My companion!! Yes! I have a new companion, and he's different. He's white!! But that's NOT because he's North American (Maybe one day). Ahaha, his name is Elder Iglesias (Which is the plural of churches! Like how Moosen is the plural of Moose... or is it meese? Please watch Bryan Reegan IF you did not catch that joke, and if that is the case, I am very sad) The reason he is white is because he's from Chile! I actually think that I might be more tanned than he is aha. But he's a really nice guy, eager to learn and eager to work. And we have a lot of things in common together. We're going through a bit of a dry spell here in Barranca (Yes, same area!) so it's been a lot of work, with little progress. But we're working and trying hard, and I think it will be okay :) We have a lot in common, Elder Iglesias and I, so it should be enjoyable. I'll keep you updated. He is very green! He completed 1 month last week aha. He's having troubles memorizing the lessons and remembering the scriptures. He never really studied them too much before his mission and now he's paying for it during the lessons. He's a little frustrated, but we're studying and practicing every day and every day he's a little bit better. Patience, patience, patience :)

This Thursday we had a zone conference in Huacho! Our President and his assistants taught us how we can better be the Lord's hands in this work. It was very uplifiting and re-energizing. I love my President, he's so loving and works so hard to improve the mission. I'll try to get a picture with him and send it to you. But for right now please know that he's awesome!

Love you lot's!

Your dirty Peruvian,

Elder Hatt

May 30, 2011

Hola!!!

So much to write... We heard that Osama Bin Laden is "dead.” My companion doesn't believe it. But I think it might be true. Tell me what happened exactly? Do you believe it? I also heard about the Royal wedding! And that is was the following day that the states killed Osama Bin Laden! But please tell me more as well. When will he be king? And what function does the Queen have anyway? Finally, we heard about this “end of the world” stuff... However Matthew 24: 30-39 teaches us that no one, not the angels, not Jesus Christ, no one but the father knows the time or date of the end of the world. So I'm not worrying! However, in Brazil there lives a ''Prophet'' who's predicted a lot of things that have happened (Twin towers falling, earthquake in japan) and now predicts that we'll have a bigger earthquake then Haiti here in Peru in June! Can't wait to see! Bahaha

So I am attaching the pictures again since they failed last week! I hope they work! They're basically the pictures of our tie burning ceremony and of the service that we gave to Teofilo. They were both great events, however the service for Teofilo was... dirty to say the least. I don't think I've ever seen so many cockroaches, spiders, black spider webs, fleas, or dirt in my life. Needless to say in the rooms where someone sleeps! So sad. It was very dirty and took a long time to clean, but the difference now is night and day, I wish you could see it! One of the pictures has a lot of specs in it, that's from all the dust in the air! However, it really is very fulfilling for me to be able to help those who are less fortunate than us and who really need the service. Now, I do not mean to say cleaning is fulfilling... but I suppose it is just when it's needed? Or when it's service!... Okay fine so maybe I've found a bigger appreciation for cleaning here on my mission. Perhaps I'll enjoy it as much as Jenn does one day! I think you need to experience it for yourself though; it really is very funny to see how many people sweep the dirt off... their... dirt. And  then they take buckets of water and splash it all over their dirt to make it dirtier and wet. So then my  shoes get all muddy and I slip all the time. Apparently it's to keep the dust down. If you could see this place you'd know that it doesn't work. It's still dusty, and still very dirty. I WANT RAIN! (ß Famous last words!)

Apparently Jarom is supposed to email me. I'm pretty sure he did actually, but I never receieved it. I just receieved one picture he sent me about my room completely transformed. Have you seen it? What has he done!! Ahhhh!! Please ask him to email me again with the pictures! If you read this soon, ask him to do it right away! I also need to write Kendra again. I wrote her 3 months ago, and she still has yet to respond to me! I'm holding a grudge now!

So here’s the juicy part...TRANSFERS: I'm not telling you anything! Mwahaha... okay fine, maybe I will. So I loved your predictions, however, they weren’t revelation, therefore it was wrong and that just makes you all false prophets! We've had a lot of people asking us about those lately what with all these predictions of earthquakes and natural disasters. Sorry for being a loser. This is what's happening! Elder Cruz... is leaving. Elder Hatt... is not leaving. I am now going into my 4th transfer here in Jardines! Woohoo! Can't wait... to... meet... new... people? If they exist? Aha no Elder Cruz is going to Lima to be closer to the hospital as he has some stomach problems where he can't eat very much food (that he doesn't like) without throwing it up (for forcing it down). My new companions name is..................................................................................Elder....................... Nuevito! That means Elder little new in Spanish. It's kind of cool you can distinguish meanings of words in spanish with the endings -Ito and -Ita. So Nuevo is new, but nuevito is little new. It doesn't make sense in English but it does here so that's all that matters. So yes, I will be training again this transfer! Wishhhhhhhhhh me luck! However, I feel much more prepared this time aha.

Oh guess what? Yesterday I taught an English class at the church. It went really well actually, I taught them about jobs! They learned quickly but the hardest part is the pronunciation. I think the hardest words were Lawyer and Administrative Assistant! I'll let you know when they've graduated Elder Hatt's english class for the english impaired. As to Baptisms... none yet! It's a bit of a dry phase right now, but we're

working hard every day to find new people!

Anyway I'm all out of time now. I hope this is email was sufficient for your little stomach (Stomach is Estamigo, little stomach is estamigito!).

Love you too much!

Elder Hatt

P.S. One of the pictures is me with Vanessa who's a member here. She's great and I asked her to write 

in my notebook and draw me a picture of Pooh but Canadianized. This was the result, isn't it awesome? I have learned to love Pooh a lot more down here since he's Canadian and he's very famous! But they 

have a very hard time believing me...

May 16, 2011

Hola hola hola from the dirty (beautiful) city of Barranca!

Yes! Happy 6 months to me! It's crazy to think it's gone by so quickly... but in reality I still have a year and a half, so it's okay! Still lots of time to go! Nevertheless, it is my first milestone, which feels quite good! Maybe I'll burn a tie tonight, we'll see!

So this week has gone well! As you can see we had another 2 baptisms this week which feels great! It's so refreshing and nice to see a little bit of success happening in this Zone. I'm just thankful to the Lord that he's been helping us so much and has given me the opportunity to work through him and bring more people back unto his fold. It's awesome!

So let me tell you a little bit about our new converts! As you can see from the photos, one is a very young girl, and the other one is a bit older. Their names are Maribel Brillit (Brigit) Ortega Vilca, and the other is Isabel Graciela Huapaya Rea. They both have very different, unique, and special stories.

Maribel is a little... different! Her father, if you remember, was baptized about 2 weeks ago! She and her father were references from other Elders who found them in their area. Turns out they actually were living in our area, and just visiting family. So with the other Elders, we spent about 30 minutes trying to find their house. Maribel and her father live in probably the poorest, most dangerous area of our Zone. It just so happens to me by area, woohoo! I'm grateful that the Lord brought them to us, because if not I don't think we'd ever have found them. Very rarely we go contacting in that area. Maribel originally told us that she was 10 years old. Then she told us 8. Then her father told us 9. We didn't think much about it since she was old enough to be baptized. Yesterday her father brought her birth record with her to the Church. And guess what? She's a bit older then 8, a bit older then 9, and a bit more than 10. I know you'd never believe it but she is 12 years old! She'll be turning 13 in November! She's a young woman! It's very sad actually, to see just how malnourished she is.

This week we've been focusing a lot on helping our recent converts. I'm thankful that our ward actually has their weekly Ward Council meeting because it really helps a ton. I've been trying to push to have more activities at the Ward so that the new converts can build a strong relationship with the other members, because the last thing I want is for them to go inactive! Yesterday at our ward council meeting we talked a lot about how we could help our new converts Teofilo and his daughter Maribel. Their circumstances really are very sad and he really doesn't have much, if not anything at all. His home is small, dirty, and reeks of mildew and animal droppings. We talked a lot with the leaders yesterday and have decided to have everyone donate something that they could use (a new blanket, some food, a towel) and are going to collect all these things and bring them to their house this Saturday as well as give service and clean their house, and clean Maribel whose head is full of dandruff and lice... As sad as it is, I'm really very excited and think it can and will really brighten their spirit and help him to stay positive in these tough circumstances. I'm so glad to be able to bring them unto Christ, to bring them unto these loving and helpful members, and to help them to just be happier in their life. We'll see how it goes!

Number 2!

Sister Isabel is a great sister who's been investigating the church and listening to the missionaries for the past 6 months more or less! She has a lot of faith and is very humble and loving. The problem is that she's been having a lot of troubles with her family, mostly with her Husband and her daughter. Her husband works almost all the time and it seems like he really doesn't have much time to spend with her; leaving her alone a lot of the time in the house, and alone a lot of the time to raise their kids. Her daughter is a very smart girl; she's 16 years old, almost 17. But her problem is that she has a boyfriend who's about 21 years old. Her boyfriend doesn't have a job, doesn't go to school, and basically doesn't DO anything aha. He's a very negative influence. And for the past few months she's been wanting to leave and live with him... he doesn't have a house. About a month ago she actually did it, she left home. She left on a Monday and didn't return until Wednesday. Then that same night she left again... not returning until Saturday. It was a very trying time for Isabel and her husband. Her husband basically said to let her go and live her own life, and that she's not his daughter anymore if that's what she wants to do. Isabel was confused, sad, and lonely. We continued visiting her and tried helping her through this difficult time. We helped her turn to Christ and helped show her how Christ could bless her and help her in this time of need. We read Luke 15 with her, the story of the Prodigal Son, compared the situations and compared the message to her life. It really helped her. Eventually we were able to clear out all of her concerns, answer her questions, strengthen her testimony, and bring her unto the waters of baptism! She's a great sister and I just hope everything can go better for her in her life. We'll see!

So those are the two stories! They're not perfectly described or written, but with the time I have I feel like they will suffice!

Thank you for your questions! Am I going to have these every milestone? Ahaha here are the answers:

1)    Q- What are you most thankful for as a missionary?

A- To be a servant for the Lord, to have his spirit and teach his children. Basically... to be the Lord's hands. Easy!

2)    Q- What is/ are the biggest change/ changes you have noticed in yourself?

A-   I think the biggest change I've noticed is my patience. Patience with myself, with the language, with a companion, with the investigators, with the members, with the country, everything! Patience is a hard thing to develop but I think it's definitely improved!

3)    Q- In what ways have you become converted?

A-   Hmmm, in what ways have I become converted...? Good question! Honestly when I entered the MTC in Utah on November 17th, I knew that this mission thing was... the right thing to do. I didn't exactly know why, but it was something I was taught to do and something expected of God, of the Prophet, and of my family. But I realized quickly that I couldn't teach and prophesy that this gospel and work was true if I didn't really know it was true for myself, 100%. So what did I do? I read the Book of Mormon from front to back, I got down on my knees, and I pleaded with the Lord, with sincerity of heart if this work and this gospel were true. Needless to say, I'm still here. And if it wasn't true, why would I be? I received my answer and that's one thing I'll never be able to deny. I know the church is true!

4)    Q- What sorts of things do you appreciate about the gospel that you didn't (or maybe did but not to the same degree) before?

A-   I think the best way I appreciate the gospel now is to see all the blessings that really come from it. More from living it, faithfully! The Lord blesses us when we follow his example, when we keep his commandments, when we strive to do our best. I've seen so many people, and heard so many stories of how the Lord blesses and has blessed them, every circumstance is different. But the lord's teachings, and his Gospel, can help them :)

5)    Q- Where are you, your companion, or other missionaries struggling?

A-   Umm... well for me and Elder Cruz right now it's contacting more! We've been very busy and continue to be busy with current investigators and such. But we need to get out and knock more doors! Here in the zone, or the mission, a lot of the missionaries get unmotivated easily. They get doors slammed in their face or have appointments fall through and as a result lose their drive to work. It's very easy to do that, but it's crucial that it doesn't happen, because then Satan has a chance to weasel his way in and make it that much harder to work.

That’s all the time for today, but thank you so much for your email, and the lovely pictures! I hope everything is going great, I pray for you regularly! By the looks of it you're doing incredible and for that I'm so thankful.

If there's anything I can do please let me know!

With love,

Elder Hatt

pee ess 1 - What's inside of my packages? So I can know everything there when I receive them :)

pee ess 2 - DO ME A FAVOUR!! I know Jarom has a girlfriend, but DON'T let him get married until I'm home. I don't want to miss another wedding, and he's my last sibling!

May 02, 2011

Hello Hello Helloooooooooo!!!

So last week was a bit tough, we had taught a lot and contacted a lot but were running low on new investigators. It was a bit of a trial, but we'll be okay :) We had to change our 3 baptismal dates to this Saturday. With transfer week, we just didn't have time to teach and verify everything, and I felt they weren't quite ready. And I never want to pressure someone into a baptism, so we decided to change it to this week. It also gave their mother a chance to go too! However it makes me sad that so many of our leaders are so focused on the numbers. They have a hard time accepting that date's have changed... It's almost like they'd rather just hear that we have no dates, and no progress. It pains me that they're so focused on success, and not about helping Children of God. Oh well, I'll just do my best to be loving and patient, and not do the same thing.

As you can see I am sending some pictures from a very magical day! On Saturday, the last day of April, we had 4 baptisms! One was 3 in the afternoon, and the other 7 in the evening. The one at 3 was with a man named Teofilo Ortega Hidalgo. He's 55, and has some of the most faith I've ever seen I think! It's sad at times because he's had and has a very hard life. The little girl is her daughter, her name is  Maribel, and even though it doesn't look like it, she's 9 years old! He's very crippled and has extreme pain in his back and knees, and as a result has a lot of difficulty walking and even sleeping at night. Also, he's had a difficult life because he's not educated, so he can't read or write. He's unable to work due to his circumstances, so he and his daughter go to the market every day so that he can sit down while his daughter uses that little basket to sell packaged peanuts to the people walking around. It's tough, but that's their life! They're very humble, and they're happy with what they have. So now it's my goal to work with the ward to see how much we can help him. We have a service activity planned to go to his house and clean and organize it. We're planning on giving him new clothes and food to eat. And we're planning on taking him to the hospital to see what it is we can do to better his circumstances. He's had a tough life, and now he has the ability to let the Lord and his church  help make it a little easier, little by little :) I'll let you know how it goes! The other 3 are  Fiorela, Ronaldinho, and Crhistian Quispe! (No, I did not spell the names wrong, it's weird, but it's right ahaha) They are 16, 14 and 11. And they live alone in their house. Their father is left one day to buy bread and never returned and their Mother works far away and doesn't return home very often. But they're some great kids! And we're hoping to work with them so they can go to the temple by the end of the month and so that Ronaldinho can receieve the Priesthood in the next few weeks.

What a blessing it is to bring  souls unto Christ  with the Baptism of John the Baptist. Or, a baptism of repentance. Our motto here in my mission is Peru Lima West -  Somos Sus Manos  (We are his hands). And that's how I feel, like I'm his hands and have the great chance and blessing to do his work here in the land of Peru. It's awesome!!

I started reading Jesus the Christ last week and it's probably one of the greatest books I've ever read, it's incredible! It teaches you so much, and answers so many questions, or puts things in a different perspective, the way you would never think to look at it. I highly recommend it!  I think you all would absolutely love it.

Please know I love you, and pray for you daily as well from this strange land of Peru.

With love,

Elder Hatt