Friday, June 14, 2013

Missionary March

This is a neat video of something Gavin was able to do during his first week at the MTC! I wish I could have been there to see thousands of young men and women in God's army preparing to go out into the world!

Missionary March

Happy P-day! 6/13/13

We finally got an email from Gavin at the MTC! I'm going to do a few edits if I can, but we'll probably just end up leaving the emails as they came. :) A few things to explain though...Cebuano is the language he is learning, Bryan is a college roommate, Josh is a friend from high school, and Whitman is Trey. :)


what up,
things are awesome here at the mtc. my comp is Elder Ferris hes from new Zealand and is a huge rugby playa and a flipper in a dance crew. he loves music and is a good singer and exceptional beat boxer. he is good at everything he does, and is our district leader. he eats pretty much like a horse. he puts down like 3 times as me and I've started eating a lot. he was asked to be in a natural body building comp before he got his call and hes super cut. its nice though i kinda have a personal trainer for free 5 days a week.  there are only girls in our district, and they can be super chill but also very annoying. i already know what Bryan and Josh were talking about when they talked about sister missionaries. for the most part though im trying to keep a good attitude.
Cebuano is 2 legit. its hard but its fun. i kind of missed the first days lesson, and we taught our first investigator the second day in Cebuano. the first lesson was terrible but things have gotten much better since. we have taught 4 lessons total and 2 went really well. we email our branch prez once a week to tell him about everything including our investigator. he is an old cowboy/war vet/college bballer/scary guy. no joke he scares everyone. his name is mike capik and he is just a strict old guy with one eyebrow. simple.
the MTC has been great not what i expected at all but good. we sit in the same chair for almost 10 hrs a day which got old a week ago but we try to make it a good time. Elder Ferris likes to have a good time as much as i do so its all good. idk what I'm gonna do when i get a strict comp. I've seen a few of them in my district and even though they aren't my comp they crush any hope of fun. like a grape.
my pday is on thursday and they didn't give us one the second day so its been more than a week. it seems like its been three. anyhow that's what took so long to respond to all the letters tell people i will try to write them but time is short because of studying and class. its good to hear from everyone tell Whitman I'm sorry about his leg thinger. that does stink up a summer.
I love you all and have other letters in the mail.



Elder Hatch hugging his mom goodbye at the MTC


Bye Elder!


Elder Hatch with the world map at the MTC. 
I guess nobody told him he's supposed to point to the place he's going!


Roomies


Gavin's District :)


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Farewell pictures!

Oops! I realized that I forgot to post a few pictures from Gavin's farewell on May 26th! He had a lot of family and close friends that came to support him, and he did a great job on his talk!
Gavin and Amanda

Gavin, Trey, Hanna, and Amanda

Gavin and Hanna

Gavin and Trey

Gavin and his strong little brothers: Trey, Broughton, and Carter

Gavin and his best buddies

A typical moment with these brothers

Gavin and all the men

Gavin and his dad

Off to the MTC!

Well, Elder Hatch was set apart last night and reported to the MTC today! He'll be in the MTC until July 18th, and then will travel to the Philippines where he'll be serving the rest of his mission. Please keep him in your prayers!

His MTC mailing address is:
Elder Gavin Dale Hatch
JUL18  PHI-CEB
2007 N 900 E Unit 52Provo UT 84602


You can send hand written letter, or you can also send a letter via dearelder.com that will be printed out the same day that it is written and delivered to Gavin. 

The MTC Presidency has also asked that he and his family observe these guidelines while he's in the MTC:
  1. Your service begins the day you check into the MTC.  Remind your family that complete separation from loved ones is part of the sacrifice that families and missionaries contribute to the work.  For this reason, you should ask your family and friends not to attempt to see or visit with you while you are at the MTC, not even during your temple walks or at other places near the MTC.
  2. All missionary mail must come through the US Mail or commercial delivery services.  These services should not be used to send pizzas, fast foods, ice-cream, or any items that will spoil if they are not refrigerated within 24 hours.  Missionaries are not called out of class to receive packages, nor do they have access to a refrigerator.  For security reasons, we cannot accept any items delivered by hand.
  3. Communication with family can be done through your missionary email account on your weekly Preparation Day. We cannot accept telephone calls for missionaries.  
  4. Families and friends should not visit missionaries as they depart to their field of labor, whether at the MTC or at the airport.

Thanks for supporting Elder Hatch!