10.26.14 i wouldn't want to be anywhere else 

dear home  

launceston is the best area in the whole world let's just say that we had ANOTHER amazing week. we had yoo and georgia at fhe at the wheelers on monday. that was awesome.

tuesday we got to see the zl's elder sargeant and cavanaugh... they are the best! elder sargeant lived in the this flat – it was the first place he came almost 2 years ago… crazy. p.s. we have only seen one spider here and it was small...we've been pretty lucky i'd say for being in australia w/ the deadliest animals/creatures in the world. then we slept that night. our mattresses are THE WORST but i pray to sleep good and i'm usually alright.

wednesday we went to del city! (deloraine) for district meeting. we finally got to meet the other missionaries! did I tell you we have to have district meeting on the phone now because of k's (car miles) and stuff? so actually being with the other missionaries was good. they are all pretty cool. i taught them my hand signs for how to begin teaching points from chapter 10 of pmg. hand signs make memorizing easy. :)

then of course i took sister g to the raspberry farm. we got some yummy smoothies and French toast. I love that place the most. its $$$ so now I have no money for the rest if the month so that's fun. oh I hit 5 months, is that weird or is that weird? do you miss me? if you are reading this you better miss me! and WRITE ME! and SEND ME GOODIES :) if you write a letter I will send you one back ...ready set go. 

we got to go on exchanges this week w/ the stl's (sister training leaders) sister bennion and chan, the chinese speaking sisters from hobart. we met halfway and swapped. i had sister chan with me. she is from taiwan and is short. we have a korean investigator and she speaks a little korean so she taught him. it was good. we were so busy that day. we saw almost all out investigators (like 1,000). it was cool though, I love teaching them!

we taught maddi (recent convert) that night as well. it was about helaman 5:12 and the atonement and sacrament.  i just think it is so cool how every single time i teach those things i learn something new through christ through the extra strength and knowledge beyond my own. my advice to you all, learn more about the atonement of jesus christ. study it, apply it, experiment with it. as you do these things you will experience it, and then you will understand it. then your testimony will be unshakable. the atonement is everything! it's redeeming but also strengthening and enabling. USE it. also, just love our savior. love him with all you are. a wise old man (grandpa jack) once told me that the most important thing we can do to live the gospel is to love our savior. so love him! pray to love him and feel of his love. It will change your life.
                    

                                  the gospel is amazing. ok. 

we asked hayley and rome if they would teach us the plan of salvation and they said yes! so they had a few days to prepare and they taught it sunday. they are so cool. so we went and rachael and dale came as well. then they taught it! and didn't hardly look at the pamphlet or anything. they bore the most beautiful testimonies at the end. it strengthened mine so much knowing how much hope this plan has given them and the happiness and peace it has brought to them. the gospel is real. that was the best experience ever! they are just ... amazing. 

we also have been teaching georgia our miracle golden investigator preparing her for her baptism on SATURDAY WHAT?! she was so beyond prepared. it's been awesome teaching her. she understands everything so well and lives what we teach her. she has all these things on pinterest helping her study the b of m. it's just, i mean like total miracle. GOD IS GREAT!

so just if any of yous were wondering, we wake up @6:15 then snooze the alarm then wake up for real @6:30. then pray then go outside and RUN. yes i run. then do some exercise and then shower. then eat and then at 8:00 am studies. then 9:00 am comp studies, role plays etc. then 10:00 am golden study. then 8:00 @ night active member lesson (as requested by elder ballard) then 9:00 pm home/plan. 10:30pm pray and then  sleep. i'm always tired. and stressed but it's good, it's like adrenaline stress so it's fine. #missionarylife

i wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here. especially australia. my mission is the best! also i love sis gilbert, we get along like a house on fire. :) 

love you all
write to me

love sister hatch

selfie with grandpa jack

awesome sister g

maddi

our investigator tess

georgia

10.19.14 miracle after miracle 

dear home,
  lets just start by saying this was one of the most amazing weeks of
my mission! we saw miracle after miracle. the first one.... we were
going to see an investigator (whose flat id been to over 5 times) and
we were walking and i walked up to the flat right before the one we
were headed for and there was a girl there and she talked to us and
told us where to go, but then we talked to her more and more and asked
if we could come back the next week and she said yes! she was keen.
that was saturday, then on tuesday we went and saw her and taught the
first lesson, she really liked it. we were amazed at how open and
willing to learn she was. so we left a pamphlet and came back the next
day, she had done all the questions in the back of the pamphlet and we
didnt even tell her about them!! she was so happy to see us and said
all these things about how she really believes that we accidentally
came to her house for a reason. she is just amazing. and we showed a
video about the resoration in modern times, so it was more relatable.
and she said so many times how much sense it made and how much she
liked what we taught. then the next day we taught the plan of
salvation and asked her to be baptized and she said YES. she said she
had really been thinking about it a lot, and that she really felt like
she needed to. she said that her whole family was baptized catholic,
but then she was talking to her mom that week and found out that she
only made it to the dedication part, never christened. she took
that as a major sign that she was meant to decide for herself and that
lds church is what she wants and needs. WHAT! it was the most amazing
experience, the spirit was crazy and i actually felt like god was
speaking through us. i love being a missionary.
  okay but it gets better. she wants to be baptized in the next 2
weeks, and it gets better. she came to womens conference with us in
deloraine for 7 hours the next day! it was all spiritual stuff and she
loved it. it didnt overwhelm her or anything. ah it was awesome. then
she came to church this sunday and loved that as well, i sent a
picture of her and our other investigator with us in the parking lot
at church. her name is georgia! she is awesome. the korean boy is yoo and
that gets confusing let me tell ya. so overall good week.
    we were also able to see hayley and jerome and they are still
doing amazing. still killing it with the craziest experiences. jerome
and hayley have both been studying pmg and applying the christlike
attribute chapter. they both went through and chose an attribute to
work on, and had the coolest experiences with them. They are the best,
i love them SO much.
    we also went finding and met the most amazing family. the wife is
suffering from cancer and the husband and 2 little ones were at home.
tess (little girl 8 years old) is adorable. and so is tommy the boy
who is about 10. they were both so happy to hear what we were saying
and the father was as well. we taught the first principle and prayer
and said a prayer with them, i about started crying! ah miracle after
miracle. we are excited to see them this week.
    me and sister gilbert have been getting on very well! we have a
lot of fun together and are able to work hard as well, its the best!
we go for a run every morning and get a good work out in. golden study
is good too! its fun to be back doing it, weird to be the trainer
though but very good. all is well here.
    this week we'll be focusing on planning georgia's baptism, she
wants to be baptized this sunday, but we might push it back. we
will see how we go. pray for us! australia is the best place in the
world! god is good, and is in charge of this work. i love being a
missionary! :)

ps to all that have sent letters and emails thank you HEAPS they make
my week so much brighter. thank you for thinking of me! i will write
back to you as soon as i can. thank you!! love yous.
love from tas

sister hatch

georgia and yoo

the amazing lisa woodward

10.12.14 launie love 

Hey family and everyone I love!
  

This week has been such a good one, although sad at the beginning,
saying goodbye to all the missionaries that raised me....It turned out
to be a great start to a new beginning! I was with Phebe Woodward from
Tamar ward until Monday waiting for my new companion to come down. It
was so fun to be with Phebe and have her as my companion, a good start
into training. But Phebe is awesome and is planning on a mission
herself, I reckon she will be the best missionary! Anyway we saw a lot
of people and got a lot done. And I got to stay with the awesome
Woodward fam!
    

Sister Gilbert (from Dallas Texas) arrived on Oct 9th in the Launie airport! We got
her some Maccas (McDonalds) and went straight into the work. We had a couple
appointments that day so we didn't get home until about 8 for her to
unpack and everything. We get along well, she is really fun and loves
the work, that's what makes a good golden. :) She is still jetlag but
that will pass in a week or so.
      

She came on a pretty crazy week! On Friday we went to the
funeral of a 25 year old girl that lived in Tamar ward. She had
cancer. The funeral was beautiful, it really focused on celebrating
her life rather than mourning her passing. That is what is really cool
about  LDS funerals is the hope that comes from them. There are a lot
of non member people here and they all admire the happiness that comes
in such a sad setting. The plan of salvation is our hope! The
atonement is the way. We are so blessed to have this gospel I'd say.
Later that day we saw a less active lady called Rebecca. She is really
sweet. She was baptized a few years ago and married a nonmember and
doesn't often come to church. But we had a good lesson and we invited
her to come to general conference! She came!!! It was so cool to see
her there. Later Friday night we went to the Challis' for tea. They
are the best people in the whole world!! They kinda remind me of
Andrew's parents, different but similar in some ways. They are so
wonderful!
    

Saturday we went to general conference at the chapel, it was so
funny because there were probably 10 people that showed up for it.
Nobody comes to conf at the chapel here! But man the Saturday sessions
were so good. I loved them!! I loved the one about sacrament, I have
really come to realize how important the sacrament is, I never knew
before. And also President Utchdorf's talk, it spoke to me. I loved
it! Conference just has such a new level of meaning when you're on a
mission, I couldnt get enough of it! I filled half my journal this
weekend with notes.
    

That day we took Maddi out and went to see N an
investigator. She is just amazing!! We have really good talks with her
and she tells us often that she knows God sent us to her at this time
because she needs us!  We invited her to conference,
she was hesitant but felt the confidence we had in her (that the Lord
has in her) and said she would come!
    

The next day just 30 minutes before it started she texted us and
said she needs more time and would rather not go this week. Then I
called and talked to her and she said that it helped to hear me to get
a little more encouragement and decided to come. She said that she
believes us, and we told her that we knew conference would help her.
And it did! She LOVED it. It was a miracle. We will hopefully move
forward with her this week.
    

We also had two other girls come to conference as well, it was
awesome! We had the best week. And we got to be with Grandpa Jack a
lot be cause he is always at the chapel. He got us fish n chips the
first day of conf and then took us to his house for sandwiches the
second day. He is the best!! The elders came too. they both speak
Chinese and Elder Chen's golden didn't even go to the MTC! Crazy
right, haha so pray for them.
    

It has been fun to do golden study again, but being the trainer
not the golden is the weirdest part! I love It though. We are doin
well out here, I love my mission! Also I wanted to say how powerful
conference was this week, wow! The talks were inspired, I know that
those things are what God needs us to here and apply at this time in
our lives. Especially to gain a strong solid testimony of the prophet
Joseph Smith. SO I challenge all of ou to do that. Read Moroni's
promise in Moroni 10:3-5 and gain your own solid testimony! Why??
(Helaman 5:12) because satan is real and is powerful, if we aren't
strong and solid on the foundation of faith we will fall. These are
the last days people! We have to prepare. Be like captain Moroni,
prepare yourselves with breastplates and helmets and a sword. we do
this by reading the word of God, applying it and praying to gain a
relationship with God and to experience the atonement. DO THIS. and
you will not fall.

 
I love you all. Write to me plz. :)
Sister Hatch

Sister Hatch's temporary companion Phebe Woodward

Sushi making with Lisa King

Saying goodbye to family

Sister Hatch's new golden, Sister Gilbert

10.9.14 i'm gonna be a momma!! :)

Dear Mom, Dad, family and everyone else.

This week was just awesomeeeee. We had UYC (just like EFY in America but 100 times smaller) with all the youth in Tasmania. There were about 120 of them, it was really fun. We were invited because they had non members there the whole time. We didn't get to talk to all of them but had a good experience anyway. We helped out mostly in the kitchen and that, makin food chopping potatoes and what not. We were in competition with Elder Campbell and Chen and we won! Lisa Woodward bought us massive chocolate bars for it, bless her. We also made sushi! Haha but no it was fun. It went from Wednesday to Saturday. On Friday we were asked to speak at the young women session. President Maxwell came down and spoke with the elders in the young mens session and then we spoke with Sister Maxwell. It was really good! Talks went well and Sister Maxwells was so good as always. They also had missionaries from Tasmania send videos answering questions and played them in the session. It was so cool! They should have all us missionaries do that for our stake at home...

They had dances every night, Emily and Aaron Gilligan decorated them and they turned out so cool, I have never seen dances decorated so good! Kala would have loved it. Haha she's the queen of dances. The formal dance was that night, we didn't go in but we helped out with food and everything.

It was good though, after the sessions were over we got to talk to President and Sister Maxwell. I was talking to the elders in the back trying to teach them how to plan and I look up and Sister Stewart is crying! I knew right then she was leaving Launie. President doesn't always tell us early that we are leaving but he did since he was there. He also told her that she would be training for her last transfer! 

..........AND........................................DRUMROLL................................................PLEASE...

I WILL BE TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY. My baby golden is due on Oct 9 2014. I'm gonna be a momma!! I'm excited! Nervous because I'm only a toddler myself, but excited! It will be good! It will definitely stretch me and that is exactly what I need. I'm so glad that President and the Lord trust me enough to do this. I am with Phebe Woodward at the moment, a youth from Tamar ward, I just love her! I will be practicing training her to see how we go. haha it will be good. Wish me luck this week!! We had to drop off Stewie and all the the other missionaries that are leaving (Elder R, C,and P) at the airport today and it broke my heart. All the people that raised me are gone! :(  New beginning. Well I love all you guys so much. Thank you for the letters they mean the world. Have the best week ever, send me some more mail if you want that would be really good. Love you!

Sister Hatch

Some of Sister Hatchs favorite people, Lisa Woodward & Lisa King

President & Sister Maxwell

9.28.14 zoodoo pday 

I'm at the Roberts house as we just got back from Zoodoo (wildlife park) down here in Hobart. We are emailing here and I'm on the TV emailing!! Haha its cool, but I won't be printing the email.

In the first chapter go PMG it talks about how we are successful missionaries if we are doing all the things we are supposed to, if we are keeping the commandments and covenants and reading the scriptures and trying to be better every day, that is ALL we need to be doing to know that we are good enough. If we are doing those things we can know without a doubt that God is proud of us and loves us.

Have you watched the Mormon message about the current bush? Its based on the talk by D. Todd Christofferson. Please watch it! It's so good. If we remember, Christ taught by example, everyone should be working to become like Him and everywhere he went he was the same person. He was a good example and people change because of it! That is what what we need to do. We can either think bad about what others are doing or we can be the example "come unto Me" love it. Just be an example to them to guide them in the right direction. Live your life the way Christ would and others will follow.

We get the general meeting one week later here. The general women's meeting is going to broadcast in Australia this Sunday and General Conference next Sunday one week later.

Hahaha you changed your Siri to Australian, thats hilarioussss. Thats what I hear all day every day!!! Lucky me hey. We have UYC this week and me and Sister Stewart get to speak on Friday to them! (ALL the youth in Tasmania) and we are excited. President and Sister Maxwell will be speaking in the same meeting! We are excited. Wish me luck. Pray for us. We haven't prepared them yet. ahaha And transfers! Pray for me and that as well!! I want to stay! Love you,

Sister Hatch