Microwave Episode.

So, it wouldn't be a normal weekly letter from Drew, without something hilarious involved, now would it? To set up his email, my mom actually received an email from a lady in Drew's ward, explaining the following:

Hi Lisa
I have to rat on your son. The boys came over for dinner last night and
Elder McMichael could not wait to tell me this story- So, he wanted to take a quick nap,
but your son did not want him to. So he tromps around the kitchen talking
loudly to irritate his companion. As he is talking he decides to make a
snack. Elder McMichael describes the noise he heard next akin to the 4th of
July.
He yells Turn It Off ands runs into the kitchen to see a horrified Elder
Hatch staring at the microwave containing an unopened can of beans!

It still works! That part amazes me. He asked my husband if he knew how to
cook and if he ever had to cook. Too funny. I thought you might get a
giggle!


We seriously could NOT stop laughing after reading this! As my husband, Ryan put it, he's surprised we hadn't heard something like this a couple months ago! 

We then got an email from Drew himself: 

OKAY... WHO TOLD YOU THAT?!?!?!?! Just so everyone knows, it wasn't on purpose!!! My companion was sleeping (as usual) and I was trying to chat his head off to wake him up. Whilst I was doing so, I decided to heat up a can of baked beans in the microwave. I was going to put it in a microwave safe container (tupperware) when I got too distracted talking and stuck the can in the microwave. It was a scene from Back to the Future, and sounded EXACTLY like the DeLorean revving up to time travel. There were sparks galore coming from the microwave. I thought the whole house was going to explode. However, it DID wake my companion up. 

-Of course, he also wrote more, but I just wanted to share the funny parts first. Drew's letters crack me up! Anyway, here is some more from his letter this week! Enjoy!-

In other, more important news... we had some amazing blessing occur last week. We have been struggling to get a decent sized investigator pool to teach, and I have tried to do everything in my power to stay exactly obedient and have the spirit with me when we did find someone. President Nilsen has counseled us to meet with part-member families, prospective elders, and some other categories of members in our wards. This was revelation, as we visited two of these families yesterday, and the Lord poured out blessing upon both of them. 

First, we visited a part member family in the ward where the wife was an Atheist. The husband is on the high council, and has had pretty much every calling you can have in a ward. Last time we had dinner with them, the wife said she was still not ready to hear the gospel. We scheduled another dinner with them via our meal coordinator (most underestimated calling in the church) and were able to visit them a second time. Even though the sister had said she was not ready to receive the message last time, my companion and I were impressed to ask her about her relationship with God. She was wary at first, so we were guided by the spirit to open her up. Her dad had taught her growing up that all organized religion was of the devil. The spirit helped her realize at dinner that it was the adversary who was halting her progression and her relationship with Heavenly Father. We mentioned experimenting on the word, and how many of the first latter-day saints had the same concerns that she did before she joined, and also how we had to come to a knowledge for ourselves. I had an impression at the end of the short lesson to talk about my anxiety, and I compared it to the adversary, how he makes you afraid of things that don't even exist. She was afraid of what the future held, afraid of succeeding, and she realized that by the end of the lesson. She told us that she would pray about being taught the lessons!

Like a Boss.

Here are the e-mails we received this week from our Elder! It's always the best days when we hear from our Drew bug. He sounds incredibly happy! I am literally counting down the days until we get to talk to him on the phone....oh my goodness, I am sure excited!

Dear Lex,

My P-day changed only for last week, because we had transfers. We have transfers every six weeks, so plan on the sixth week having a p-day on Wednesday. It's so good to hear from you Lex!!! I love you so much, and am proud of you and Ryan for working tirelessly to support mom. That's so crazy that Carson got a grand slam!!!! He is such a boss. How are the other 'Adams' boys doing? Is Ethan liking baseball as well? How is Carter liking the Wii? Haha. 

Well, we are now beginning to teach a 15 year old girl named Taylor. She has been to mutual before with one of her friends, but she stopped going a while ago. We taught her the first lesson so far, and have tutored her on her algebra homework (piece of cake now compared to missionary work!) We really hope that she will accept our invitation to come back to mutual and maybe have her and her mom attend church. Well Lex, I love you and I miss you. The mission is flying by though, and I know that this is an amazing experience that I am able to go through. Helping others come to a knowledge of the gospel is the most gratifying thing anyone could be doing in their lives. 

-Elder Hatch 

Dear mom,

Thank you so much for the updates mom! It's so good to hear all about how the family is doing. Mom, if you saw our apartment and car right now, you wouldn't believe that I had part ownership of them. They are as clean as a whistle, because we know that the spirit abides much more frequently and strongly in a house of order and cleanliness. It is GREAT! Well, we taught Kelvin the first lesson. He is training to be a pilot, and is currently Lutheran. We met him outside his house when he was carrying in groceries. Oh... BIG NEWS... I had the opportunity to go on a 24 hour exchange with the assistants to the president!!! This was probably my greatest learning experiences as a missionary, to see the best of the best in action. Not only did we go on exchanges there in Worthington, but I spent the day with Elder Floyd (my grandpa, or trainer's trainer). He is definitely one of the best in the mission field, and it was amazing to get to tract, contact, and teach with him. Yes, that's right, I taught a lesson with him!! The lady's name was Jasmin (with a y sound for the j), and we taught her in the stake president's office. Although all of these circumstances combined may have seemed nerve-racking to me at the time, I know that my preparation on my mission paid off for that day. We (Heavenly Father, Elder Floyd, and I) were able to put her on date for baptism on June 1!!!!! We were so excited when she accepted our invitation, and knew that she would be blessed because of her great faith in Jesus Christ. Also, my scripture memorization paid off, because Elder Floyd "threw me under the bus" a couple times when he told the investigators that I would recite the scripture from memory. I DID IT. It was an incredible feeling when I went to bed that night, like all of my life was preparing me for this one day. I know that there are going to be many other amazing experiences on my mission, and I plan to continue to work my hardest so that I can bring people to a knowledge of the truth.

-Love,

Elder Hatch

First Haircut in Ohio Fool.

I just got Drew's email this morning, (well a couple of them). The first one was sweet and made me tear up, but the second one made me laugh SO hard. Drew and his companion decided they needed a hair cut and had quite a hilarious experience! He is doing so well! Every time he writes I feel his strong spirit and love for the work he is doing. Well, here are snippets from both e-mails I received this morning! I hope you had a wonderful conference weekend. :)

First email:

Thank you so much Lex. That means a lot, as things always do coming from you. I hope that, when I return from the mission, I can show you the love I have always felt for you through my more "personable" self! Love you so much sis.

-Elder Hatch

Second email:

So my companion and I needed to get haircuts really bad (I looked like toad from "mario" with all of my fluffy hair), The only nearby place to get our hair cut was Great Clips. This was definitely not an option, as my companion said that he would rather have a monkey cut his hair than for us to go there. So we look on the GPS to try to find another place nearby. The only place still in business was called "X-Quisite Cutz". As we drive up to park at our destination, my companion says, "Watch, this is totally going to be a haircut place for blacks only." I then said, "What? That's way racist!" He then said, "The way they spell it, I guarantee you it is." I then said, "No way! That is not good to say. Let's go in." Sure enough, as we walk in, the whole place is filled with black barbers and customers. They all stare at us "white guys" in our suits for a while. There are certain political posters, which I can't talk about as a missionary, strewn up all over the wall. There was a black version of looney tunes on the t.v., where they were talking about Wesley Snipes and 2-Pac. Anyways, it was hilarious. We sat down, and I almost said nothing for the entire time to my barber. The one thing I did say was, "How long have you been cutting hair?" He then said in a loud voice with plenty of attitude, "Boy, how long have you been ALIVE?" I said, "19 years". He then said, "I've been working at the barber since before you were in the womb fool!".... I didn't talk to him much after that. It was 20 dollars, but it was one of the best haircuts I've ever had. 

-Elder Hatch 

Eating Crickets

So, lastnight, my mom got a text from a Sister in Drew's ward in Ohio. She texted her a picture of Drew eating crickets at a ward cultural night! Of course I wanted to post it:

This was a fun surprise to see this picture of Drew, since he hasn't sent us one single picture yet..... :) This just goes to show how much Drew is putting himself out there on the mission! If any of you know Drew, you know that eating crickets is not something that he would usually EVER do. In fact, his diet mostly consisted of yogurt, bologna sandwiches, and cheese quesadillas. Looks like he's branching out! 

Here is a little part of Drew's email to me this past week:

"Well this week has gone pretty well. Last week was definitely a struggle, emotionally and mentally. I was just feeling really insecure and anxious, but I prayed to Heavenly Father, and He helped. Remember to do all you can to improve yourself, but don't rely on yourself alone. Christ suffered for all of us, because he knew that, not only would we make mistakes, but there would be many things in life that we could not handle well without him. When things get tough, press forward with faith. In the end, doing the right thing will always bring you blessings. Some of which we don't even notice being brought into our lives."

Here is some from my mom's email from Drew this week:

"So, great news! I received your birthday/easter package, and I was so excited, especially about the new razor. That thing is like butter, and I don't have to shave twice a day now! Anyways, the last couple of weeks were a big learning curve for me. The mission is definitely the hardest thing (emotionally and spiritually) that I've ever done. But it's worth it! Valuable principles were learned about putting my trust in the Lord, being confident in him and myself, and working hard. I learned that doing the right thing always pays off in the end. It is definitely fun hearing from you guys back at home, and your letters brighten my day. The message about fear that you sent me was essential on my success this week. That was so inspired mom. I had let fear control my life, and that is not an option out here. Whenever I fear talking to people now or going up to a door, I just think of who these people are. And also who they can become. It invites the spirit so much more, and I'm not shaking in my boots when I speak."

First letters from OHIO!

After having to stalk someone else's blog to find out how Drew was doing, we FINALLY heard from him again! It was such a great relief to know that he is in fact alive and in Ohio, safe and sound! Here are a few snippets from his emails this week!

Hello Lex Bo Bex!!! I'd like to give you a list of some things that have happened, because a lot has happened in the past week. Here it is:

- My very first contact with someone in the field was when we were tracting a sketchy trailer park. There was a guy digging a hole for no reason near his trailer home. When we walked up to him, he took out his phone and was probably pretending to talk to someone. We walked up to him and waited for a few incredibly long minutes as he kept up his imaginary conversation. Elder Hansen (my companion) greeted him, and asked what he was doing. He said, "I'm digging a hole, what does it look like I'm doing?" And we politely introduced ourselves and talked a little bit about what we believed in, gave him a pass along card and told him to look us up, and went on our way. 

- Right after this, we walked by a window with a barking chihuahua dressed in a pink sweater was putting his paws up on the window.

- In the first home I went into, I stepped in dog poo in my brand new Rockports that I wore to look good for the mission president earlier that morning.

- I have gotten on my knees and prayed more than ever before in my life

- My first workout, I about passed out because I was trying to keep up with my companion who is a football player turned musical theater guy. 

- I helped move a family who was being evicted out of their house and into their new one. They were so grateful.

- I taught a 40 minute gospel doctrine lesson in Church with a night's notice on repentance. It was the best I think I've ever taught in my life because I prepared so hard for it. Fully grown adults in the class were asking ME questions about the principles of repentance!! It was amazing.

- We were rejected in door contacting (tracting) by a white lady who said she was Muslim, knew everything about Jesus Christ, and believed in Buddha.

Anyways, more experiences will come to me later, but I can't think of them right now. Love you LEX!!

- Love Elder Hatch

Week One!

We FINALLY (I know, it's only been a week....) heard from Drew! He has been in a "tripanionship" with two other elders, and has been loving it. Today, he wrote and said that he just got switched to a regular companionship, with an Elder Campbell. (Drew said that we are related to him, small world, right?) He's loving the work and is really happy. He says he is eating a lot of food, but it's okay because out in the field he will live off of yogurt and cereal. :) Here is a little section from his email:

"Hey Lexipoo! Yes.. it's been great! I have been in a tripanionship. Us three have been having the time of our lives. We just changed to a companionship. My companion is Elder Campbell... and yes, we are related. He lived in Michigan, California, and New York. I'm sorry I don't have very much time to write you this week, but just know that I love you. Tell Ryan hi. I love this gospel so much. I have had the most spiritual experiences of my life so far... ALREADY! Love you Lex. "

"Mom, I love being here. It is the best

experience of my life! I was in a tripanionship, but now I am back to two.
We study a lot, and I have felt the spirit every day here.Tell everyone at home that I miss them, and that I love all of them.

My letters will get increasingly longer... I just don't have very much
time, as I have to go do laundry by myself.(DREW WAS LUCKY IN THAT HIS MAMA DID MOST OF HIS LAUNDRY HERE AT HOME.) Love you! -Drew"

It's so wonderful hearing from our Elder. We are so proud of him and all that he is doing at the MTC. If you would like to write him a letter while he is still in the MTC, here is the address, I'm sure he would be thrilled!

Elder Drew Michael Hatch

MTC Mailbox #367
OH-COL 0213
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604

He's Alive!

Well, my mom called us tonight with some good news to share! She received her first letter from the one and only Elder Hatch. (They sit the Elder's down at the MTC their first night and basically force them to write home to their parents to make sure they know they are alive.) I think that's an amazing rule! :) Otherwise, we might never hear from him for 2 years. Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone and let them know that he is doing amazingly well! In fact, he said in his letter that he is doing even better than he thought he would be. He's been placed in a trifecta companionship! He had some witty name for it, of course, but I can't remember what he said exactly. He said they both are awesome and they all get along really well. He also said the Spirit in the MTC is off the hook ridiculous! He loves it so much and also let us know he forgot to bring hangars. Eh, whatevs. :) Stay tuned for more updates!