Wednesday, November 30, 2011

November 30, 2011







Pictures:
1) can someone please identify this for me? They are ALL over and we have no idea what they are. They grow on the trees and they look soft and fluffy, but we discovered that they are actually hard and look a bit like brains...
2) the inside of unknown vegetation...
3) Sister Doll and I after our shopping excursion a few weeks ago. I got a wool skirt and a red sweater. Though I think I'm going to need more skirts... It's just so cold!!!
4) My district.

Dearest Family,

Thanksgiving was different, not being home.

On a related note: if you are ever wondering what you can do to help out the missionaries, invite them over for appointments on Holidays if you can. We are still expected to work on Holidays, but knocking of people's doors just really isn't a good idea... Also- you do not have to feed them dessert every time they come over. I'm pretty certain that's why so many missionaries gain so much weight... Yes it's delicious, but unnecessary.

Momma - that is so cool that you listened to that prompting to stop by .........! Miracles happen when we prepare for them. I will keep them in my prayers.

A little about Sunday: Church was really awesome on Sunday. Don and Rose came again and loved it! The Spirit was so strong in all of the meetings and I had a really great day. In Relief Society the lesson was on Elder Christofferson's talk from April 2011 GenCon and it was really great. I love the story about Hugh B. Brown and the gardener.

Then that afternoon we went to stop by a few people and then go tracting. The houses we went to all seemed to have a ton of company over, so we ended up not stopping to talk to them. When we were down in that neighborhood, we passed a street and I had the thought that we could tract there instead of where we had planned to be, but I didn't make a big deal out of it, so Sister Brown kept driving and we went up to Zurich Lane where we had planned to work. Bad idea. Very few people were home, and of those that were home, most were quite rude. After working that area for 2 hours, we had only had 1 quality gospel conversation. It was cold. It was rainy. It was windy. And it was rough. I learned an important lesson though. If you have an impression - small though it may be - FOLLOW IT. Who knows what could have happened if I had listened to that idea of working Franklin instead of Zurich. Who knows how many people were waiting for us there! And we never met them, because I was too shy to make a big deal about something that I wasn't absolutely certain had come from the Spirit. The Spirit is quiet. And usually not as forceful as we would hope when important matters are at stake. Whether or not there were really hundreds of miracles waiting for us on that street, I should have listened. Because maybe the thought just came to see if I would. But at least I have learned - or am starting to learn - a little better how the Spirit works with me. And maybe I won't always be 100% certain that it was a spiritual prompting, but as long as it's not for anything bad, there really isn't harm in following it. Yes I wish I could know more exactly what is and what isn't a spiritual impression so I know whether or not to act on it, but if I don't start acting, how will I ever find out if it was?

A few items of note before I run out of time: Apparently no one in Illinois has sprinkler systems. I guess it just rains enough... who knew, right?? I guess that's the difference in being from a desert...

Often instead of coming to the door, people will just look out the window and then motion for us to go away. Sometimes they yell at us to find out who we are. It's pretty funny. I just don't understand why yelling through the window is easier than coming to the door...

People here are very cranky and impatient drivers. I feel bad for them.

I love you all so much and am so grateful to have you as my wonderful family. I hope Grandpa gets better soon!

Love,
Sister Hatch

P.S. A Louisiana accent turned Chicagan sounds extremely odd. Just in case you were wondering (because I figure that you all probably were...)

Oh. And Mom you can just send the package here because I will be in this area at least until Sister Brown finishes her mission in January, and probably for the next few transfers after that. But I will for certain be here until January 2.

1 comment:

  1. The fruit you have there is from an Osage-orange tree. The tree is native to Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, but has been planted throughout the U.S. As you probably guessed, the fruit is inedible.

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