Hi-ya!

First things first. A Christmas miracle: Sister Worlton gave us some of her homemade jam for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Strawberry, Peach, Pear and Plum.

Oh my yummy!


Also - how the heck did it get to be 2012 already??? Happy New Year! Where on earth has time gone though?

I got a letter from Tanya. It was great. Tell her thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would it be possible for anyone to find me some sheet music (for a duet, trio or quartet) for the song "How Can I Keep from Singing?" ? When Dad set me apart he said that I would be able to use my singing voice to help share the Spirit and I have been trying to think of ways to do that, and this is the first idea I've had...

So, about Sunday: CIERRA CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Waaaaahh! I'm still so excited about it! She texted us around 10:15 and said that they were getting ready and we were just giddy the rest of the morning because she would finally be there! She and her mom showed up just before the meeting started, so we didn't have time to introduce them to anyone, but that's alright. They were THERE. Then the opening song was Hymn #291 "Turn Your Hearts" which is all about Malachi... I was mortified. Of ALL the songs they could have chosen. Really? We're going to sing about Malachi today?? Don't they know we have an investigator here for the first time??? yeah... and then it got worse. The youth speaker announced that he had been asked to speak on Temples and Baptisms for the Dead. Awesome... THIS is what Cierra needs her first week at church. To get freaked out because we baptize dead people...

All the speakers actually did a really great job though of explaining that temple work is on behalf of the dead and done in proxy. And they didn't seem to be too freaked out, so that was nice. No, it actually turned out fine and once I calmed down a bit and realized that Heavenly Father must have had a reason for having THAT be the day they talked about Temples, I was okay. Who knows, maybe something from those talks really touched them and was the piece they needed to maintain (in Cierra's case) or gain (in her mom's) interest in the church. God is in charge though, and He'll take care of it. If those talks weren't for them, he at least knew that they would be okay with them. I just have to trust Him. After Sacrament meeting, I was able to have a really good conversation with her mom, Tina, and finally get to know her story a little and bear my testimony to her that despite how hard life has been for her, and the disappointments she has experienced, God does love her. It was pretty cool.

Oh! It was also super awesome, because as soon as the meeting was over, Sister Dodd who was sitting right behind us started talking to Tina and I guess they work at the same place. Then other ward members and the bishop all started coming over to meet them. I LOVE OUR WARD!!! Cierra also recognized a couple of the kids from school, so that was cool too.

Another very exciting part about Sunday was this: I stood up after Sacrament meeting was over, and since Sister Dodd was talking to Cierra and Tina, I was just looking around the chapel. And then I saw Leah Hoogland. !!!!! It was so weird to see someone that I knew from pre-mission life. So much fun though. She is in the 1st ward that now with the time change meets right before we do. She said when she saw the Elders serving in her ward, she grabbed them and wouldn't let them escape until she found out if they knew me and how to get ahold of me. Haha. They told her not to worry and that I would be coming with the next ward. It was so good to see her! They live just outside of my area, but she said she might be able to meet us in our area on a preparation day or something.

Saturday night we got a call telling me that I would be staying here in Woodridge 2 and that my new companion would be Sister Stewart. The ward was so relieved that I would be staying, because apparently the last few times they got Sisters, they didn't stay for very long, and even that was a couple of years ago. It was nice to feel so loved though that they wanted me to stay and didn't want to see Sister Brown go.

So this morning we went to transfers and I met Sister Stewart. She is really tall, which means that together we will be the tallest companionship of Sisters in the mission! haha. It also means that I won't be the giant companion any more! Because even though I'm really not that big, next to Sister Brown, (and Sister Kearnes, and just MANY of my roommates...) I'm tired of being the giant. Perhaps this is one reason Juliette and I are such good friends?? ;)

Sister Stewart seems really great and I think we are going to get along just fine. I'm excited to be staying in the area, and it will be fun to learn some new styles of doing missionary work as I learn from her. I'll tell you more about her next week, when I actually know a little more. I can tell you though that she is from Oregon, though her family lives in Utah now. Both of her parents are from Idaho (Rigby and Hunt) Wasn't Grandpa born in Rigby?

In an appointment with Don the other day he said that he and Rose were talking about it, and they determined that Sister Brown and I would "make great wives". Hahaha! I love that they were talking about that. It was a really nice compliment, but it was just funny. Especially since he told us that in the middle of the lesson. Oh Don...

Well I think that's all for now.

I love you lots and lots and lots!

Love, Sister Hatch

Pictures:

• Sister Stewart!
• the park at the end of Don's street.
• bundled up for winter - the first day of the big puffy coat.
• pants that match the bulletin board at church. Thank you for sending me new PJ's! those ones were getting a little old...

December 28, 2011

Dearest Familia,

It was wonderful to talk to you and see you on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Starting January 9th our preparation day will be moved to Mondays. So I have one more Wednesday (the one where Sister Brown goes home and I get a new companion) and then I will be writing on Mondays. So get your letters in by then!

Have you ever heard of having chili with noodles?? Because a couple of weeks ago, someone mentioned it "spaghetti chili" and then TWICE this week, we had chili with noodles. It sounds super weird, but it's actually pretty good.

STORIES

Friday I went on an exchange with the Wheaton Sisters. Sister Fossett came to Woodridge to work with Sister Brown, and I went up to Wheaton to work with Sister Nielson. IT WAS SO COOL!! We had an awesome day together and had a really cool miracle. We were working in a little neighborhood, not having much success, but so is life. We got to the end of the second streeet and turned around to work the other side, rather than continuing around the corner. When we completely finished both of those streets, we decided to start working on the next street at the top of where we had started from originally. At the first house of this circle, we met a teenage boy who told us that they weren't interested and so, as was our practice, we left a Joy to the World card, and continued onward.

As we were finishing our loop, a man came out of one of the houses we had already knocked on and asked us if he could offer us anything warm to drink and said that he was interested to know more. We didn't recognize the man, and realized that it was because we had never met him, but had only talked to his son. He invited us in and we sat down with him and his wife and ended up having a 40 minute discussion with them about the Book of Mormon, why we are here on missions, prophets, and what it means to truly follow Christ. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Sister Nielson and I were both able to bear powerful testimony about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and why they are so important to us, but that we do not worship them.

Sister Nielson, who is also going home next week, said afterward that she has been waiting her whole mission for one of those experiences where someone calls them back because they have decided they want to know more. They were both really nice, and it was a great experience to be able to answer so many of their questions, and to be able to do so by bearing testimony.

A while ago, we had planned to teach Don about obedience, and following the Prophet, but that lesson never actually turned in that direction, so we didn't give him the Book of Mormon Ensign we had planned on giving him. Yesterday we met with him, and were finally able to teach that lesson. Sister Brown still wasn't talking much, so it was mostly on me - a little intimidating I admit. I felt impressed to ask him about church on Sunday and dig a little deeper into his feelings about that, and we had a really good discussion about that and what going to church is meaning for him and Rose. From that discussion I was able to discern further some concerns that I previously knew about, but hadn't connected to this topic of following church leaders, which I was then able to use in talking about following the Prophet. Then, after we gave him the Ensign (which, by the way he totally loved and thinks is the coolest thing ever - he loves when we give him new things to read and new ways to research and learn about the church) and he had looked through it briefly, he said "You know, this is really what I needed today..." AH! And then I realized why we hadn't been able to give it to him two weeks ago like we had planned - because the Lord knows him, and knew that he would need it more today.

Last night we had dinner with Sister Beyler (her kids are all out of town with their dad this week, so she has the house to herself). Sister Brown was exhausted from being sick, so again, the lesson would be pretty much on me. I was thinking about it all morning, but I was struggling to know what we could share with her. It would be different because all the kids wouldn't be there, and we really wanted to share something that would help strengthen and uplift her. As I was pondering on the matter, and praying to know what on earth we could share with her, I had the thought to look at a letter from President and Sister Doll which they had given us for Christmas with some quotes by Elder Holland. I got out the page and began reading the quotes. The Third one seemed like it would be a good direction, and Sister Brown agreed, so we decided to share that with her. In the quote, he talks about how the best missionary work we can do, is to just be a good example of a happy and faithful Latter-day Saint life. And that's TOTALLY Sister Beyler. She is incredible.

Anyway, we got to her house, and she had invited her mother over for dinner as well, who is not a member. I got a little nervous, because our message was directed very specifically at Sister Beyler and the awesome example she is of "happy and faithful Latter-day Saint life", and not geared at all toward having a nonmember present. Sister Brown didn't seem to concerned though, and I didn't know what else to share, so we just went forward with it. As we were driving home, Sister Brown said she was glad we had still shared the quote, and I was too, because it led to a really great discussion, and it was nice to let Sister Beyler know how great we think she is and what a good job she is doing, even though things are really difficult for her family right now. And then as Sister Brown and I talked about it, I realized that as we had talked about earlier, we don't need to worry - the Lord has it all under control. I shouldn't have been nervous just because her mom was there, becasue the Lord guided me to that quote, and HE knew that her mom would be there, even if I didn't. And if we had known, we probably would have shared a completely different message.

I love you all so very much! And thank you for your prayers.

The Lord is in control. He is watching over all, and we just have to trust him and give our worries over to Him.

Love, Sister Hatch

December 21, 2011

Dear family,

Some updates of

how things are going:

The big thing out here is not ice cream, but custard. It's EVERYWHERE! Seriously. Have you ever heard of Culver's? It's a fast food place out here that has a different flavor of the day every day of different things they mix in the custard. It's delicious :)

I finally went into a Menards. What the heck?? That store is crazy! It's a hardware store mostly, but then you're walking through, and suddenly you're in the middle of a cereal isle. Continue walking, past the Ranch dressing and tuna fish, and you will soon come upon clothing. And toys. And who knows what else because that place has EVERYTHING! It's crazy.

And now to the more serious things (though ice cream/custard is quite serious in itself): Our ward is awesome. In addition to all the food they gave us, they have now given us tons of Christmas presents! Our "tree" actually kind of looks like a tree now it has so many things under it! And once again, our counter is beginning to overflow with goodies and treats. Apparently everyone has the same train of thought, which goes a little something like this: "I have WAY too much of this food and these Christmas treats... I know, I'll give it to the missionaries! We had to freeze some of it we have so much. And some of it might still go bad before we can eat all the leftovers, becuase the ward feeds us every night! It's awesome.

Have you ever been to christmas.mormon.org? You should go. It's cool.

About investigators: Jasmine (have I told you about her?) is doing great. She is so cute! She is 12 years old, and has such a strong desire to follow God! She really is incredible. And we were finally able to meet her mom! We tried to schedule times that she would be home, but then things kept coming up, and it would only be the grandma home, who doesn't actually speak English... (She is from Haiti, so she speaks French Creole). Then on Monday, her mom came home right as we were getting ready to leave. She was so nice and thanked us for teaching her daughter about God. It was really cool. English is her second language, so she said she struggles sometimes knowing how to teach Jasmine about Him, but she seems to be doing a pretty good job so far. We talked to Jasmine about prayer on Monday, and she said that they say their prayers every night before bed, AND they have family prayers. umm... AWESOME!

We also just started teaching a girl named Nathalice (sounds like Natalice). She is 16 and has a 6 month old baby, andwants to be a better person. We found her because she had ordered a Bible from mormon.org after she heard people talking about the Second Coming and she wanted to know more because she was kind of scared about it. She said we could come back, and we were able to talk to her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We have our third appointment with her on Friday. She is so sweet. It was actually really sad (turned into a good thing) too, because she said that she didn't feel like she could pray or that God would listen because she hadn't been to church in a while (her family is Catholic, but I don't know how strong they are) so when we told her she could pray to know about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, she was really happy to know God would still listen to her and that He would answer her prayer. The next time we went back, she said she had been having a really bad day, so she decided to pray, and afterward she felt really good and things started to get better. It was so cool! She's great and I am so excited for her to learn more about the gospel and be able to turn her life around.

Update on Don and Rose: Rose had a crazy weekend working, so she wasn't going to be able to make it to church. Because she wouldn't be coming, neither would Don. But, the Spirit was working on him, and on Friday he told us that he was going to try to come even if she couldn't! And even though it would be far for him to drive alone. Sunday morning it was really foggy outside and we weren't sure if we would see Don or not. But he still came!!!! Without Rose, driving far by himself, and driving through the FOG! It was a miracle. Then yesterday we had lunch with Don and Rose and it was really great. We were able to explain a little more about the Restoration to Rose and answer some of her other questions. And we were able to give her a Book of Mormon and she said she would read from it!!!!!

Things are really moving forward here in Woody 2 and I am so blessed to be a part of it!

I love you all so much! I can't wait to talk to you on Christmas.

Love, Sister Ali Hatch

Pictures:

• 1) eating my first Chicago Dog
• 2) this is from the Live Nativity that we had on Sunday. I guess they've been doing it for 20 years now! Our ward and the other ward in our building do it together, and people from all over the area come. It was REALLY awesome.
• 3) the Picture that Hailey Smith sent me and told me to color to look like myself. Please share this with them.

• 4) some of my Christmas decorations :)
• 5) our Christmas "tree" - it's the fireplace... and the best we could do.
• 6) the Chicago Dog.

The Christmas card: I can't believe you actually did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahahahahahah! I was cracking up when I opened it.

Thursday was our Zone Conference, and it wasn't super Christmas-y as Sister Brown had predicted, but it was still really good. Every ZC, President sends out an assignment to everyone for a 5 minute talk (all the same topic) and then at the conference a few people are asked to come up and give their talk. I was one of those chosen. Our assignment was 3 Nephi 5:13 about being a disciple of Christ. I focused on the last line that talks about how we do these things that they might have everlasting life. That line describes how selfless our calling as missionaries is, and how Sister Brown put in context for me the saying that "we're not here for ourselves". For some reason I was SUPER nervous the whole time I was speaking and I could hear my voice cracking and everything, but everyone said I did a really nice job, so that was comforting.

Exciting news relating to discoveries concerning my distant past: One of the Elders that meets in our same building is named Elder Hibbard. On Sunday we discovered that Katie Hibbard, the same Katie Hibbard who shares my birthday and was my best friend until I think I was 4? when they moved to Meridian, is his cousin. SMALL WORLD.

Yesterday we had two appointments in the same neighborhood (Don and Cierra) so we decided tha in between them, we would just keep working in that area. We've already done a bunch of it, so soon we'll have the whole section tracted out! It was not only convenient, but turned out to be inspired. We knocked on a door and this man, Jermaine, came outside. Sister Brown introduced herself, and I followed suit. Jermaine was SHOCKED. He told us that his god-father had just died a few days ago. His god-father's name was Robert Brown. And Robert Brown's best friend (and Pastor) was Pastor Hatch. None of us could believe it! I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering that the name Poplar is what led us to find Don and Rose, and Cierra. But I truly believe that Jermaine really needed a Hatch and a Brown yesterday to grab his attention so he would listen. We had a really good talk with him, and then Sister Brown asked him to read from the Book of Mormon in Moroni 10:3-5. He read that, and then he just kept reading for a while after that. I felt the Spirit so strongly and I could tell that he definitely did. It was really cool. We set up an appointment to meet with him next week.

After our appointment with Cierra yesterday, we saw that we had a voicemail. It was from Don, who had seen our car across the street. He told us to come over for a minute when we were done. We went over and Rose had just gotten home from work. She had brought us a poinsettia for Christmas! It was so sweet and so perfect! They were wanting to do something for us for Christmas, but they don't have much, so it turned out perfectly that she was able to bring one home from work to share with us. I also LOVE them of course. Well anything that has to do with Christmas really... Each week we make goals, and we decided to make a few fun goals this week and one of them was to Christmasify our apartment. I had already made a few snowflakes and a paper chain, but we thought the place could still use a bit more. And it's been awesome because people have just been giving us stuff this week! We got another Poinsettia from Sister Andrews later that night, and on Friday, a sweet old Philippino lady gave us some bells to hang on our door.

I love you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 7, 2011

And so dearest family, here is my update for the week:

Last week President told us to all expect and pray for miracles, so Sister Brown and I decided to make that one of our goals. On our first street of the day, we prayed to find miracles, and let me tell you - we found them! At almost every house (I think all but one) if they weren't already home, the people either pulled up right before we got to their house, or as we were knocking on their door. Because of this we were able to talk to so many people! Then, about halfway trough, we got a phone call. We decided to head back to the car to talk so that we weren't just awkwardly standing in front of this house we were about to knock on. By the time we were done on the phone, the lady at that house was outside talking on the phone. We decided it would be a little odd to bee-line it straight to her with her watching us for the whole walk, so we just decided to start at the top of the street again, just on the other side, and work our way back down to her house. At the second door we met Lizzie. Lizzie only had about 10 minutes before she had to leave, but she let us in and we were able to teach her a quick lesson about the Restoration! She was really excited about it and invited us back! If we hadn't had that phone call, and then decided to start at the top of the street again because of the phone lady, we totally would have missed her. MIRACLES. It was so awesome!!!

I got a new bed! Yay! The old one was like sleeping on springs, and I ended up sleeping on the couch for about a week because it finally got so bad. But thankfully they brought me a new one and I am sleeping much better now. However, I have gone from sleeping on an extra tall bed (there were two boxsprings) to now sleeping on an extra low bed (I guess the mattress is just really small? I'm not exactly sure how my bed got to be so much shorter than Sister Brown's...)

Burr Ridge (where the Hoogland's are moving) is just barely outside of my area. It borders the northeast corner of my area in fact.

The Beylers are awesome. So are the Andersons and the Andrews. Those are probably my three favorite families, and they all really love us, so it's great :) Eating with the Beylers is where I heard the coffee thing. Those kids are so funny. I wish I knew how to describe it, so you could enjoy it as much as I do.

Don said he wants to get baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He just wants to wait for Rose, who we still haven't been able to meet with, so we don't have a date yet. But I am very okay with that. We know that he wants to, and once he has committed to it, you can be pretty certain he'll do it. He is starting to realize that only on of the baptisms can be valid, which is really exciting becuase it means that his testimony of the Restoration is starting to really take root. Cierra is awesome. She just "gets it" all, and said she feels like the Book of Mormon is something she should believe. We are also teaching a 12 year old girl right now, Jasmine, that also soaks it all up and really wants to do what is right. Yes that means that half of our investigators are teenage girls.

quick side note: How on earth did you get such a big tree??? Does it even fit INSIDE? Also that is really cool about the Elders and the whole 16th ward effort.

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.

Dear Familia,

Some fun facts to start us off: 1)People go to bed REALLY early here, and by 5:00 is is DARK. Both of these make for very interesting contacting/finding in the evenings... 2) I have discovered a store like-unto Winco, which makes me happy :) It is called Food for Less and you bag your own groceries like Winco and it really is cheaper! Thankfully they do take credit card though. 3) The wind is so LOUD here! In fact, there is so much wind, that I swear you can almost see it sometimes...

I picked up the package this morning and it is wonderful!!! Thank you so much! It really was perfect. And the gloves are nice to have now because my red, possum fur ones seem to have disappeared. Luckily I have still had the little stretchy gray ones, but it is still sad to lose those ones. That little angel is adorable Mom! And the pine cones smell so good! And thanks for all the peanut buttery things. Mmmm...

Saturday was incredible. It was supposed to rain all day and be really windy so we were nervous. But, God knew what we needed and the words to "Be Still my Soul" kept running through my head: "The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below" because it didn't rain, the wind didn't start until after we were done, and in fact it was actually quite nice and warmed up a bit. So many people from the ward came to help and it was wonderful. Don and Rose were astounded that so many would come to help and that they did such a fabulous job. Every time we talk to them, they express their extreme gratitude. It has been really neat. Sister Brown and I were also able to go inside and talk with Rose for quite a long time and answer lots of her questions. We had a really good discussion with her and they said they are definitely coming back to church this week! They weren't able to attend Stake Conference this weekend, but they said they WILL be there on Sunday. Yay!

Stake Conference was really good. They had three recent converts/ recently re-activated members talk about what it means to them to "be a Mormon" and they all did a really great job. The Stake Presidency all gave really great talks as well and then the Temple President and his wife spoke. He said that some people would never even dream of missing Sacrament meeting, and some people wouldn't even consider not paying their tithing - so do we feel that way about the Temple? It was a pretty cool perspective. He also said that we shouldn't just be going to the Temple to get a spiritual renewal, but that we should be gearing up spiritually so that we can go to the Temple. He said it much better than that, but that was the point he was making. Another thing I really liked from Stake Conference was from the Stake President. He talked about how conviction leads to action and action leads to revelation.

I don't remember if I ever thanked you for the letter you sent wit all the notes in it! THANK YOU. Thank you Mom and Dad. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa (also thank you for your letter Grandma!). And thank you Quilting Mothers! When I lost Dad's original "fear not" note, it was really hard for me. It was a silly thing I know, but the note meant a lot to me - they all do - and to lose one was difficult. I prayed that I would be able to find it, and I knew that Heavenly Father could easily give me a miracle in which it would turn up. I didn't understand why He wouldn't give me such a small thing, especially because it gave me so much comfort and courage. And then when your letter arrived I realized why Heavenly Father hadn't answered my prayer - at least not in the way I had asked Him to. It was because He had something better in mind for me. If I hadn't lost that note, I wouldn't have gotten all those others and the added love and support and joy that came with them. It's a small example, but it has really taught me that although it may seem like He sometimes doesn't answer our prayers at times, we have to understand that He knows what He is doing, and that what He is doing will be so much better than we could have even imagined or hoped for.

The same day that we met Don, we met a girl named Cierra (who also lives on Poplar) and we have been teaching her, but because she is so busy, we have only been able to meet with her every other Tuesday. We met with her for the third time yesterday. The last time we met with her we read 1 Nephi 1 with her (because she hadn't been reading since our last appointment) and then invited her to read something everyday. When we went back yesterday and asked her how her reading was going, I couldn't have been more pleasently surprised. She has read up to 1 Nephi 22! We were also able to have her say the prayer at the end of the lesson and it was really beautiful. She is wonderful and I am so excited for her. She said she might come to church this Sunday because she doesn't have any dance things this weekend, so we are praying that she WILL come.

For Thanksgiving we are going to the Otto-Piech family's house. Cecily asked if we could help them put up their Christmas tree afterward and I told her only if we could listen to Christmas music ;). Thursday evening we are trying to set appointments with members so that we don't have to be out proselyting and having everyone think we don't celebrate Thanksgiving.

Sister Brown and I continue to grow closer and we are starting to have a lot of fun together. I am very happy.

A lot of my scripture study this week has been bringing with it a recurring theme (that really has been a theme since I was in the MTC with things people have said etc.) That theme is FEAR NOT. Funny how that all works out, right? I have been praying to know how I can become a better missionary, and the answer I seem to be getting is that I need to stop being afraid of inconvienencing people on the sidewalk, or in the store, and just talk to EVERYONE! A scripture related to this theme that I have decided to memorize is D&C 6:33-34. So that is my goal for the next little while: To take advantage of those opportunities Heavenly Father gives me to talk to more people, becuase who knows when one of them will be searching for the Truth.

I love you all so much! Happy Thanksgiving! Our district leader asked us to text him on Thursday and tell him one thing that we are grateful for from that day and one thing that we are most grateful for out of everything, and the thing that I am most grateful for in all the world is My Family. You are such amazing examples to me, and you bring me so much joy and happiness. You are my greatest strength and your loves sustains me through all of the heartache and challenges I have faced in my life, all of those I am now facing, and I know it will through future challenges as well. Thank you for being the wonderful family that you are. Knowing I can be with you all for eternity makes everything else worth it.

All my love,

Ali (though technically I suppose I should say Sister Hatch)