April 21, 2014

Well hello from Hartford CT!

So this week has been a "meh" week. Most of our appointments ended up falling through and there were many cancelled dinners. We've lost contact with a lot of our investigators, which is weird. But there have been some great things that have happened too!

For example N's baptism! It was, of course, stressful as all baptisms are, but it ended up being really good! It was an awesome baptism. I also had this crazy realization that he was born in 2000, which means he's about the same age as Jacob. He just acts SOOO different from Jake so it was a weird epiphany that I had.

The other cool thing that happened is that we got to go to the temple! It was the first time I'd been to the temple in almost a year, so it was exciting to get to do the endowment session again. We went with a couple in our ward who went to the temple for the first time. It was an honor to be there with them. 

So this really cool thing happened a few weeks ago, but I'm only now just realized how cool it was. So there is this singer named Dallyn Vail Bayles (http://www.dallynvailbayles.com/). When I was in the MTC I watched a broadcast of President Monson's birthday celebration on Mormon Channel and this guy sang at it. It was SO GOOD. 

So a few weeks ago we had a sisters conference in the Boston stake center. We were getting ready to leave at the end and suddenly... THERE WAS DALLYN VAIL BAYLES. This guy is like, a broadway singer. Sister H and I, after a bit of deliberation, decided to go and talk to him. We introduced ourselves and told him we loved his music. I'm so happy we didn't decide to just leave, because this guy is amazing! We've been listening to his music all week in the car (He also has three albums out and if you ever feel the need to send me something, buying his music would not be a bad way to go.) 

So now I have met two famous mormon singers.

I love you guys a lot!!

Hermana Hutchinson

April 14, 2014

Sooo I am going to tell you a story and I don't want you to freak out and I want you to remember that in every single moment of the day I have the protection of Heavenly Father's angels. So this is a part of the letter I wrote to my mission president:

This week has been quite a life-changer. One of the members in our ward called us one night and asked us to meet her at her work the next morning with the elders to meet with one of her friends who is going through a really hard time. We met with her the next morning and the elders gave her a blessing. This woman's name is D. She was a former investigator of two sets of missionaries and is a drug addict who's been through detox rehab and a few different 12-step programs to get clean but each time, she's relapsed. She really REALLY wants to change her life, but is having a hard time finding and using her resources. We've started meeting with her frequently to help her see that she is a daughter of God and has the power to overcome this addiction. It's been a whirlwind week. Neither Sister H or myself have been this close to hard drugs before so we're treading unmarked territory. We both feel like we've changed a lot in just the last week. The first time we met with her, we shared Joshua 1:9 and started showing her how the Lord is with her through times of trial and will give her strength. Suddenly she burst into tears and started spilling everything to us. That was a powerful moment. I've never seen anyone that low before. She was in so much emotional pain, after all, she's lost everything she has from her kids to her job. I remember sitting at her table when she burst into tears, Sister H rushed over to comfort her and I stared off into space for a moment while the complexity and intensity of the situation sunk in. This woman was the kind of person that you always hear about: somebody who was so deep into drugs and so low that they didn't have anywhere else to go. And I was sitting at her kitchen table about to get very involved in helping her find salvation from the chains that she's found herself in. I don't really know how to describe in words exactly how I felt, but I can say that it changed me. So I know that as missionaries, there isn't a whole lot that we can do for her physical well being. Luckily, her member friend is going to help her find a new apartment today because where she's living is not a good place for her, considering that all her drug using 'friends' know where she lives and frequently come over for a hit. I know what we can do is rally the troops. We've already introduced other members to her so she can have a network of real friends who aren't going to offer her drugs. We are attempting to meet with her every night to keep her out of temptation's path (although that's been thwarted twice by temptation itself). We are keeping in mind our safety by meeting in the church building and we have pepper spray in our bags at all times. I know that as long as we are doing our part to remain safe, the Lord will send his protecting angels to accompany us. We have also introduced her to Personal Progress...even though she's not a young woman, I know that this program will help her see her individual worth and help her to overcome the addictions that she is having.

It's been a crazy week.

That was the big thing that happened last week. It's been a crazy experience, but I can testify that Heavenly Father is protecting us. I have felt his protection.

So apart from that, we are still meeting with Nathan and preparing him for his baptism this Saturday! We're really excited for it!

I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support!

Hermana Hutchinson

April 7, 2014

Okay, confession. I've been avoiding this confession because I don't want to worry you mother, buuuut Hartford is really ghetto. Like, really ghetto. But, we live in an extremely safe and protected apartment complex so there is nothing to worry about. The reason I make this confession is because today we stopped at a Walgreens to pick up something and as I'm parking this woman sitting in a car a couple spots away, gave me the WEIRDEST look ever. I didn't really think that much of it. We went inside and came back out and she was still sitting in her car. I get in to back up and the rule is, the companion who's not driving has to stand outside the car and back the driver up. So my companion is backing me up and the lady in her car shouts, "What're you two white girls doin in the hood?" My companion said, "We're missionaries!" "Oh okay, so you got the Lord on you side so you can preach his word." "Yep! And the hood needs it the most!" This was by far, the best and funniest conversation I've heard on my whole mission. We laughed about it for a few minutes afterwards.

So we don't really live 'in the hood', we live outside the hood, but we usually drive through it everyday. It's really funny though. There are some really great characters that walk around Park St, which is the center of the hood. Of course we always have our doors locked, but we've already had some fun experiences, like giving a homeless guy dinner and a Book of Mormon. You better watch out, I might come home a gangsta, dawg.

So this week has been great! We have a new investigator named S who's awesome! We had a great lesson with her about prayer and the Restoration. We also had a great lesson with an investigator named E. And with our baptism date, N! He's a 14 year old kid who is awesome! It was a really great lesson about the Word of Wisdom. He's getting baptized on April 19th. We're really excited!

Of course, General conference was AWESOME! I watched and understood the whole thing in Spanish! I was pretty proud of myself. I had some of my questions answered, which was really cool. I love General Conference!

Keep doing what you're doing! Don't forget to share the gospel and help the missionaries! Keep reading the book of Mormon and studying Preach my Gospel!!

Love you all!

Hermana Hutchinson

March 31, 2014

So yeah, I'm in Hartford now! It is definitely a part of my mission. The boundaries cover Mass, Conn, Rhode island, a bit of New Hampshire, a bit of Vermont and a tiny bit of New York state. I'm living in a tall apartment complex on the 19th floor with a great view of downtown. I really like it here. We're covering the Spanish branch and the people here are really nice. It's been so nice to just be covering spanish. My companion is also really awesome, Sister H. Our bonding started when I first got in the car after transfer meeting. She had her ipod hooked up and it happened to be on a David Archuleta song. The album cover is a picture of him leaning back in a chair with a huge smile on his face and his really long hair. I chuckled and she said, "do you not like David Archuleta?" and I said, "oh no, it's just that I was just serving in his mission." she stopped and said, "WHAT?!" and it just went from there. She LOVES David Archuleta haha. She got me though when she told me she's met Dieter F Uchtdorf which is SO COOL. We've also discovered that we're both obsessed with Harry Potter, we both have all the Very Potter Musical songs memorized and we have a lot of other common interests. Basically, we've become really good friends in just the last few days. It will be a god companionship. 

Also, I'm the designated driver for our companionship! I was kind of nervous at first, since I haven't driven in about a year. But the nervousness went away quickly. New Englanders drive CRAZY though! There is shameless shoulder driving, passing on the right and pretty much nobody stops at stop signs. It's pretty crazy, but I've gotten used to it. One thing I find amusing is how everybody seems to feel the need to be first in line so they'll pass you and get in front, just to be in front. They don't drive any faster or anything. They just want to be in front. Good thing I'm a nice driver.

So one of our investigators name's in L. This guy is awesome. They found him 9 months ago on the street and he has become one of those Ensign article investigators. His life has changed completely around and he is an amazing strong disciple of Christ. He has been so converted though, I'm amazed! In our lesson, he told us that he has three goals in life and they are to get baptized, go to the temple and endure to the end. He is AMAZING! I'm so happy that I've gotten the opportunity just to meet him! He is SO sweet!  

Well that's been my life for the last few days. On Tuesday we dropped Sister P off at the airport. I got an email from her saying she made it okay and she even contacted some Brazilians in the plane. She's going to be awesome there.

Tell everyone I say hi!

Hermana Hutchinson