"Today Has Been a Good Morning"

November 30, 2015

Hello Family and Friends!!

I know my subject doesn't make sense, so I will explain..... Well, Sister Brower and I have problems with our neighbors that live above us. They are constantly partying and smoking weed/doing other drugs, and so we get to hear it all and smell it all. Don't worry, President Gardner is trying to move us out of there as soon as he can. But we were up most of the night because they were so loud. This morning at 6 we heard continuous honking right outside our apartment. This lasted until 6:45....... I'm not kidding, someone just kept honking over and over again. We could see the person out of our window and it was some crazy lady that was laughing hysterically. She was probably on drugs.. Anyways, the  lady gave us THE CREEPIEST feeling, so we called the police because the honking wasn't stopping and we definitely didn't feel comfortable going outside to tell her to stop. Long story short, I was so loopy this morning because I was so tired and I said "Well, today has been a good morning." And my companion laughed so hard at me. So that is the story behind the subject line. :)

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! I sure did! I had Thanksgiving lunch at a member's house. His name is Brother Washington, and he always is looking out for the missionaries! Then, we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Trail Center with all of the Sisters. It was so fun!! We got to watch The Best Two Years, and it is so much funnier watching it as a missionary! Oh, and there was an ice storm. So that was crazy!!

On Friday we were able to go to the Temple to do a session! IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. I loved every second of it.

Saturday we had our first baptism as a companionship!! We have been teaching a 9 year old girl named Eileen. Her family was less-active, but since we started teaching her they all started going to church and now her mom has a calling! The baptism was so special, and the spirit was so strong. Sister Brower and I taught the Restoration while Eileen and two other 8 year old boys who got baptized were changing.

We have been teaching 9 year old boy named Luca. He is getting baptized this Saturday!!! His birth mom was LDS, but she is super nuts and lost custody of him. So, he lives with his dad and his dad's wife. He remembered Primary though, and wanted to be baptized. His step mom, Courtney, listens in and loves all of our lessons, so we are hoping she will have to desire to be baptized soon as well. :) She is so sweet. I can already see her being a primary president one day!!

Just to make things easier, if you want to send me a letter, please send it to the Trail Center!! I don't know the address... But, I'm sure you can find it if you look up "Mormon Trail Center" on the internet. I am telling you this because I never know where or when I will be moved, but I do know I will always be at the Trail Center during the week. So that would be easiest!! Send packages to either the Trail Center or the mission office. Don't send anything to my apartment, it is sketchy!

I love you all so much, and I love my mission. Every day I am so reassured that I am doing what the Lord wants me to. I love this gospel with all of my heart. If you have 3 minutes, go onto the church website and watch the new church Christmas video called "A Savior is Born"! We show it at the TC and it gives me chills every time :)

Love,
Sister Hutchison

ps. There are going to be lots of pictures this week. Be prepared. I can only send 2 at a time. The first 2 are of Thanksgiving.

These are of our temple day :)

here is a picture of the baptisms that were this Saturday! We have been working with the two boys' family, the Keers. They are so amazing!!! The girl is Eileen, and we love her as well and have been teaching her the past 3 weeks.

PS

November 23, 2015

SHOOT I FORGOT!

I had dinner at a members house this week. She fed us steak and let me tell ya.. It looked and smelled amazing. I took a big bite and the inside of it was purple. It was seriously so raw. But, we were in a hurry and I felt bad asking her to cook it longer..... So I acted like it was amazing, closed my eyes and finished it, and then prayed I wouldn't get sick. Her exact quote was "If the outside is done, that's all that matters! The bacteria is gone!" mmmmmmm probably not..... I felt like the Nephite woman in 1 Nephi 17:2 (please read, it will make you laugh). Although my companion and I kind of felt sick the next day, it went away after about an hour. So the Lord truly blessed us that day, haha. Just thought that might make a couple of you laugh.

Get That Corn Outta My Face!!!

November 23, 2015

Hello Family and Friends!!

Another great week in the wonderful Ol' NE!! Before I forget... Here are some things I forgot to mention last week in my email : I got to go to a sealing in the temple!!!! It was a senior couple in our mission, and it was so sweet. I cried... I also saw a shooting star!! It reminded me of Lake Powell, so it made me smile. :)

So, I am getting used to the area now. At first it was a little cray cray, but now its great. I have met almost everyone in the ward, and I love them. They are all so sweet to the missionaries.

Nebraska has black squirrels. Literally black. It scared me, but they are every where!!!! Also, everyone in Nebraska has dogs... It makes me miss Charlie!!! But I am not kidding. If I went to 10 houses, probably 9 of them would have a dog start barking as soon as I knock. Except, one lady had two big cats... We went into her house and I just saw cat hair every where. My nose got all stuffy and I got a headache. So this week I discovered I have a minor cat allergy. My 7 year old dreams are now shattered. (Family joke)

It is super cold here, and since everyone here is used to the cold ALL OF THEIR HOUSES ARE COLD. My toes are going to be frozen off by the time I get home!! I seriously have gained so much respect for the Pioneers. I can't imagine pulling a handcart in 18 degree weather. (That was the temperature on Saturday, but it's warm today so I really shouldn't be complaining.)

I didn't talk about the Trail Center much last week, so I'll expand on it today!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH THERE. It makes me so happy being there, and I'm learning all of the history really fast. I actually gave a non-member family a tour all by myself last week, and I was able to teach the restoration along the way. The spirit was so strong when I recited the first vision, and you could tell that family felt something that day. I am at the Trail Center twice a week, but I wish I was there more!! There is constantly a sweet spirit there.

On Thanksgiving we are having dinner at a members house, AND at the Trail Center. So two Thanksgiving dinners!! So excited. I don't know what I'll do without my mom's Yams though...

I have officially been out a month!! Missionary work is hard, but rewarding. I received 2 packages last week. From Ashley and Ross, and from Aunt Deb. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

I love you all so much, and you are all in my prayers!!! Have a happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all of you.

Love,
Sister Hutchison

pic 1: a diagram of the Salt Lake Temple in the TC! My home!!!

pic 2: A member, Brother Washington, made us such good bean soup and sunny D!

There Isn't NE Place Better

November 16, 2015

Well Team, I made it to Nebraska!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

Let me explain my first impressions... Well, I looked out the plane window and what did I see? Cornfields. Regardless, I was excited! My Mission President and his wife picked us up, and I love them so much!! But the amazing part was when I was in the car. Nebraska isn't what I thought. It is soooo green, with hills, beautiful scenery, trees with falling leaves, and random squirrels and bunnies running around. I'm not kidding, it's a fairytale here! It is not at all what I expected. It exceeded all expectations :) It also has the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. (Ps. The first night I was here it rained, snowed, and there was a tornado) As I was enjoying the scenery, I felt so at peace. I also heard a still small voice that told me I was exactly where I needed to be. I know God needs me here.

The first couple of days were just training at the mission office, which was fine. We spent the first two nights at a hotel, and the beds were pretty great. On Thursday night we had dinner at President Gardner's house. It is such a good feeling eating home cooked meals. Sorry MTC, but your food is the worst.. Anyways, after dinner we had a testimony meeting and then we received our areas and companions. My companion's name is Sister Brower, and she is amazing. She is one of the most Christ-like people I know and always goes out of her way to make me feel good. I love her, and am so blessed to have a trainer like her. Our apartment is cute too! It's little, but hey, I get my own bathroom!

I am in Rockbrook, Nebraska. It is a cute town, and I love it. Everyone is so nice. When we go tracting, everyone rejects us so nicely!! It's great!! But the members here are amazing. We just had Stake Conference yesterday so I was able to meet tons of people. I met a woman whose son is serving in Murray for his mission.. So if you meet an Elder Gill, feed him!! The members feed us like there is no tomorrow. We were fed spaghetti for lunch, and THAI FOOD for dinner. Awe man, it was a dream come true.

It gets cold here. But, it's a humid coldness. Trust me when I say the humid cold is the worst, because it is. In Utah you get the dry kind of cold where it just burns your skin. Here, the cold goes right through you and burns your soul. A member told me it is supposed to get to 18 degrees on Saturday. Youch. The humidity is doing wonders for my complexion though, so can't complain!

On my first night with my companion, we met Julie. She is less-active, but kind of crazy. She has been living in a sketchy hotel for months. We went over to her house with our Ward Mission Leader(Brother Conda). We knocked on her door and then she opens it just a crack, and all of the lights are off. Bro Conda started being so nice and talking to her, then all of the sudden her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her door shuts, and you hear a thud. She passed out!! We got the hotel manager and called the ambulance because when we went back in her room she was really shaky and taking all these pills with a gash on her head (from the fall). It was insane! What a good first night, right??

Last night was great though. We taught an amazing lesson to a girl named Natalia, who is less-active. We taught her about the Sabbath Day, and the lesson was guided by the spirit the whole time. The spirit was so strong, and everyone felt it. My companion and I teach really well together.

I love this great work, and love being a missionary. Nebraska sure feels like home, and I love it so much.

Love,
Sister Hutchison

ps. The picture of me in front of the blue door is me in front of my apartment. Its so cute!
pss. the first time I drove past a corn field was yesterday. I feel fulfilled now.

 Tuesday November 10, 2015

DON'T WORRY
Before you are curious about me emailing not on my P-day, let me explain :) We do not know when our P-day in the field will be, so we are able to email a little while doing our laundry. I LEAVE TOMORROW. WOOT WOOT!!

I thought I would just send a short group email to talk about my past few days. On Saturday I was able to go to Temple Square! It was such a cool experience to teach REAL people!! Most of the people I talked to were already members, but it really showed me that no matter what, everyone needs to feel the love of Jesus Christ. We stopped to talk to this one woman, and just confirmed to her that the temple is a wonderful place where we can find peace and comfort. She cried and just hugged me and my temporary TS companion (Sis. Lysie). She said she knew we were inspired by God about what to say to her.

Me and Sis. Irwin got to talk on the phone with an investigator today over chat. She was trying to find answers to serious life questions, and we were able to teach her about the Plan of Salvation. She found comfort in our words and agreed to meet with her local missionaries in Florida, and we are sending her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She is now considered one of my investigators, so I am able to keep in contact with her. I am excited to her how her discussions go.

Well, I love you all. I can't wait to leave tomorrow and be in the real world!! I know there are people in Nebraska waiting for me. 

Love,

Sister Hutchison

This picture of me making a sad face is when the Front-Runner stopped in Murray on the way to Temple Square.

This is Sister Lysie, she was my Temple Square companion on Saturday.

Last MTC P Day!!!!!

November 6, 2015

Well, this is my last P day in the MTC!!! Crazy, right? I leave on Wednesday!! I have to be at the MTC Travel Office at 2:30 am that morning.... BARF. It's okay though, it will be a party.

My week was wonderful, as usual. I actually started visitor center training this week! It is so much fun!! We role-play taking tours a lot, and it is actually pretty fun! I know that I have been called to a visitor center for a reason :) Another fun thing about visitor center training is online chats! My companion and I are able to both be on a computer and chat with people who have questions about Mormonism. It's actually pretty neat! If you ever go on Mormon.org and press "chat with a mormon", and it's "Missy" and "Stephanie" are talking to you, that's us!!! We go by our first names to make it seem more casual, and less like a missionary discussion. Most of the time people are unaware it is missionaries speaking to them. So it is really fun!! Except for the occasional prankers.. Haha!

Speaking of Visitor Center Training, tomorrow (Saturday) we get to spend half of the day at Temple Square!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, I am so excited to be a little closer to home. It will be really weird to be so close, but so far.. If that sounds cheesy, I apologize. But I am so stoked. We should be there in the afternoon around 3ish, until maybe 7:30.

Speaking of feeling close to home, I see Ross and Dorothy Davis just about everyday at the MTC. It is a little tender mercy for me to see ward members and be able to hug them!! Every time I see them I say "Make sure to tell my parents I love them when you see them!!". So it is directly from me if they tell you that.

It snowed in Provo this week!!! I'm sure it did in Salt Lake too, but it was so fun!! It wasn't thick, but it was just so pretty! Some of the girls in VC training are from really exotic places, so they have never seen snow before! It was awesome to experience it with them. I also added a picture of the Nebrasquad by the MTC Christmas lights! I can't believe they already have Christmas lights up, but hey, I'm not complaining. Christmas is the bomb and it just makes me more excited for it.

The Elders in our Zone left this week.. Man, all of the sisters were bawling. We have grown to love them soo soooooo much. We quickly turned into a family and our testimonies strengthened each other so much. I know they will do so amazing in the field, and I am so blessed to have gotten to know them.  The picture of our district at the temple is attached, as well!

I have to teach relief society this week, speak at sacrament meeting, AND sing for a musical number. So prayers are needed these next couple days!!! Lots of responsibility, but lots of blessings too :)

My challenge of the week is to read Ether 12, and count how many times it uses the word "faith". Being in the MTC has made me realize how important faith is, and I'm hoping all of you can realize it too!!

I love you all so much, and I'm sorry if I didn't get a chance to email you back today. I literally logged on and had 27 emails! WOW! I feel so loved!! Also, sorry if I did email you back and it was short and not very detailed.

God be with you till we meet again!!

Love,
Sister Hutchison

Sister Orton and I during the first snow!!!!

Sister O'Brian and I became great friends here at the MTC. She left for the Honolulu Visitor Center this week, and I miss her so much!! The second pic is just a cute selfie we took at the temple :)