Week 3: In Which I Celebrate Thanksgiving, Work as a Sealer, and Get to Meet a German Shepherd
Hey y'all! How have you been? How was Thanksgiving? I hope everyone had good food, and awesome family and friends to share it with. As good as your holiday may have been, though, I betcha mine was better.
Thanksgiving morning we had a devotional given by a very special person, someone whom we were promised we would appreciate. And appreciate we did. It was quite possibly the coolest day of my life. You know how sick kids get to meet whoever they want, like through the Make a Wish Program or whatever? This person would have been my Make a Wish. They were super funny and also spiritual and just about the coolest person ever. They (and their spouse) gave a talk and then the best part was after when---hang on, I'm getting ahead of myself. The person (are you ready for this) was... drumroll, please.... ELDER DIETER F. UCHTDORF!!!!! Awesome, right? In the flesh. Like, I could see him. It was the coolest thing. Since it was Thanksgiving, he spoke about gratitude. My favorite was what he said about trials. When there are difficult times in our lives, it's only because God knows we can handle it and He wants us to learn and grow from the experience. He will strengthen us so we can get through it, and the things we learn from that trial will help us go forth and do good, to serve others and to be more prepared for future challenges.
The best part was after, though, when the devotional was technically over. Instead of leaving right away, he started walking through the crowd and shaking hands with people! Like, missionaries! It was the coolest thing. He didn't come near me (I was up in the choir seats, in the back) but he shook hands with an Elder from my district and then I shook hands with him, so like, I think that's basically the same thing. Anyway. And through it all the organist was playing some postlude music and after a while everyone started humming softly along, and then quietly singing, and then as he neared the door it swelled into a full chorus of everyone singing, trying to express the joy we felt at having an apostle of God so close. He spent about 30 minutes just walking among us, and I think everyone was reminded of the time Jesus spent going forth among the people, ministering and loving and healing each person.
How do you even follow that? At the MTC, you follow up with a service project. We assembled food bag things for impoverished people in the area. We made an add-water-and-stir apple oatmeal thing, which actually smelled really good. Two Elders from my district and I ended up at the end, using a cute heat machine to seal the plastic bags so the food would stay fresh. It was super fun (and technically I get to say I've been a sealer, so that's a win).
The whole day was packed with awesome devotionals and activities, and at the end they let us out to admire the Christmas lights set up around the MTC campus (and I was only slightly offended about all the Christmas stuff on *Thanksgiving,* but that's fine). It was an awesome day, and they kept us too busy to miss home too much.
The rest of the week was less cool (but still pretty cool). Portuguese is coming along. Some evenings we do a thing where we practice teaching real people, and last Monday was my first. We did two lessons. The first one was really hard, because it was over FaceTime or Skype or something, and the man talked really fast (and in Portuguese, naturally) and also was not a member of the church so there was a lot more pressure to explain things well. That one was a little rough, but we got through it and did pretty well considering that a month ago the only thing I could say was "Eu nao falo Portuguese." The second lesson was better. We taught a couple, and they spoke pretty slowly and clearly so we could understand most of it. The guy was a returned missionary who had served in Brazil, so he understood our struggles.
I'm doing well and having fun. I'm learning so much and feeling the Spirit in everything I do. I love it here so much. For those who have never served, the MTC is like a college campus where everyone's majoring in Religious Studies (sometimes with a minor in a language, too) and everyone is super friendly and fun. They shuffled around the companionships, too, because some of the older missionaries were sent to the field, so Sister Miller has a new companion and it's just me and Sister Jones, which is honestly a lot easier to manage. I love it here and I love God for giving me this opportunity to learn and serve.
I love and miss you all!
Sister Hannah Hiatt
P.S. Here's my mailing address for the next few weeks, in case you want to send me stuff....
Sister Hannah Hiatt
DEC18 BRA-SPS
2005 N 900 E Unit 240
Provo UT 84602
Thanksgiving morning we had a devotional given by a very special person, someone whom we were promised we would appreciate. And appreciate we did. It was quite possibly the coolest day of my life. You know how sick kids get to meet whoever they want, like through the Make a Wish Program or whatever? This person would have been my Make a Wish. They were super funny and also spiritual and just about the coolest person ever. They (and their spouse) gave a talk and then the best part was after when---hang on, I'm getting ahead of myself. The person (are you ready for this) was... drumroll, please.... ELDER DIETER F. UCHTDORF!!!!! Awesome, right? In the flesh. Like, I could see him. It was the coolest thing. Since it was Thanksgiving, he spoke about gratitude. My favorite was what he said about trials. When there are difficult times in our lives, it's only because God knows we can handle it and He wants us to learn and grow from the experience. He will strengthen us so we can get through it, and the things we learn from that trial will help us go forth and do good, to serve others and to be more prepared for future challenges.
The best part was after, though, when the devotional was technically over. Instead of leaving right away, he started walking through the crowd and shaking hands with people! Like, missionaries! It was the coolest thing. He didn't come near me (I was up in the choir seats, in the back) but he shook hands with an Elder from my district and then I shook hands with him, so like, I think that's basically the same thing. Anyway. And through it all the organist was playing some postlude music and after a while everyone started humming softly along, and then quietly singing, and then as he neared the door it swelled into a full chorus of everyone singing, trying to express the joy we felt at having an apostle of God so close. He spent about 30 minutes just walking among us, and I think everyone was reminded of the time Jesus spent going forth among the people, ministering and loving and healing each person.
How do you even follow that? At the MTC, you follow up with a service project. We assembled food bag things for impoverished people in the area. We made an add-water-and-stir apple oatmeal thing, which actually smelled really good. Two Elders from my district and I ended up at the end, using a cute heat machine to seal the plastic bags so the food would stay fresh. It was super fun (and technically I get to say I've been a sealer, so that's a win).
The whole day was packed with awesome devotionals and activities, and at the end they let us out to admire the Christmas lights set up around the MTC campus (and I was only slightly offended about all the Christmas stuff on *Thanksgiving,* but that's fine). It was an awesome day, and they kept us too busy to miss home too much.
The rest of the week was less cool (but still pretty cool). Portuguese is coming along. Some evenings we do a thing where we practice teaching real people, and last Monday was my first. We did two lessons. The first one was really hard, because it was over FaceTime or Skype or something, and the man talked really fast (and in Portuguese, naturally) and also was not a member of the church so there was a lot more pressure to explain things well. That one was a little rough, but we got through it and did pretty well considering that a month ago the only thing I could say was "Eu nao falo Portuguese." The second lesson was better. We taught a couple, and they spoke pretty slowly and clearly so we could understand most of it. The guy was a returned missionary who had served in Brazil, so he understood our struggles.
I'm doing well and having fun. I'm learning so much and feeling the Spirit in everything I do. I love it here so much. For those who have never served, the MTC is like a college campus where everyone's majoring in Religious Studies (sometimes with a minor in a language, too) and everyone is super friendly and fun. They shuffled around the companionships, too, because some of the older missionaries were sent to the field, so Sister Miller has a new companion and it's just me and Sister Jones, which is honestly a lot easier to manage. I love it here and I love God for giving me this opportunity to learn and serve.
I love and miss you all!
Sister Hannah Hiatt
P.S. Here's my mailing address for the next few weeks, in case you want to send me stuff....
Sister Hannah Hiatt
DEC18 BRA-SPS
2005 N 900 E Unit 240
Provo UT 84602
Elder McFarlane, Elder Wright, Sister Jones, and me after doing service. Elder Wright has a lot in common with certain brothers of mine....
This is the sealing machiney-thingy! It's like a big scary curling iron, except you press bags of food instead of hair and it seals it together instead of curling it.
Sister Jones and me with the Christmas lights. Aren't they pretty? (I mean the lights... although Sister Jones is pretty cute too)
More Christmas lights! Here's Sister Moulton, Sister Jones, Sister Miller, and me.
Even more Christmas lights, feat. Elder Phelps, Elder Bastian, Sister Jones, and me.
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