The Final Report

August 22, 2016

Hello everyone!!!

I know I have been less than great at sending out emails and updating you on the happenings of Sister Hatch in LA, but you'll have to forgive me. These last several months have flown by and I just haven't quite been able to keep up.

With that said, I have reached the end of my 18 month assignment to serve as a missionary here in LA. I have grown and been refined in so many different ways, I couldn't even begin to describe. The Lord has blessed me with such a special experience as a missionary, which I am so deeply thankful for. I have had the opportunity through trials, frustrations, heartbreaks, joys, triumphs, successes and immense happiness, to draw closer to my Savior Jesus Christ. I have come to know Him. I have an even stronger testimony of the Atonement now than I did before. I have seen the miracle of God's forgiveness in my life as well as the lives of others, and I have played a small part in bringing my brothers and sisters back to the fold.

I can't think of anything else in my life that has been so fulfilling as serving this mission. I can testify that Heavenly Father knows us. He loves us, and He has a PERFECT plan for us. I have had countless moments during the course of my mission that have proven that to me. If it weren't for my Savior and loving Father in Heaven, I would not have been able to do anything I've done in the last year and a half. They have helped me to stretch and grow and become such a better me than I was. It has definitely been the hardest thing I have done thus far in my life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! I have been broken down by a loving Heavenly Father, who then helps to build me back up from the inside out. I have learned to take the Savior's yoke upon myself. From doing so, I have also learned that truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

I testify that God loves each of us, his precious sons and daughters. I know that the gospel that I have preached for 18 months and lived even longer than that is true. I testify that the gospel has been restored to the earth by a modern-day prophet, Joseph Smith. Thomas S. Monson is God's prophet today. I testify that if we live the gospel and keep the commandments to the best of our abilities, we will be able to stand blameless before our Father at the last day. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the way through which we are able to become clean to do so.

I love the Lord, and I love being a missionary! I am determined to continue to wear the Savior's name on my chest long after I take off my badge.

Love, Sister Hatch :D

Good Times as a Missionary

August 15, 2016

Sisters Hatch and Meyer

Sisters Hatch, Risenmay, Abon, Meyer

Sisters Hatch, Kosoltrakul, Risenmay, Abon, Meyer

Sisters Hatch, Meyer and Abon

Sisters Abon, Ragle and Hatch

Anniversary

August 8, 2016

Hello!!

Happy Anniversary mom and dad!! Glad you had a fun weekend and were able to go to Brittany Fischer's wedding! YAY for her!!! I'm glad she was able to find a good man who took her to the temple. 

I hate to break it to you, but all this going home business is overwhelming simply by definition. It also doesn't help that they changed our departing missionary training from tomorrow to transfer day at the mission home. That used to be where we get the info we need as far as our schedule the last couple of days, what we will be doing, when our departing interview is, etc. But don't worry, I'm fine :) 

I have to say, I am really thankful for all you do/have done for me on your end of things so that I can just focus on being here. That has helped me out a ton. So whatever details you have for me or anything is great. I am just thankful that I don't have to worry about things on that end in addition to things here. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please forgive me, but I really don't have any desire to type about all the craziness of the last week, And I didn't say much about the week before, so you'll just have to wait till you see me in person to hear about all the adventures ;D But I will send some pictures. 

Torrance North Zone plus President Haynie, far right

I love you all very much and am excited for the next couple of weeks! 

P.S. Also, please tell everyone I don't hate them, we have been slammed lately and that means I don't have much time to do anything else besides write a blurb to you and president. I am thankful for the love and support I receive and hope everyone can forgive me!

Crazy Week

August 1, 2016

Soooo this week has been quite crazy. I will have to tell you all about it later. But in the mean time, here is Sister Risenmay's version of the story, since I have been working on my plan and she had time to type - love you!!

From Sister Risenmay:  So then on Friday we went on exchanges with the Redondo 2nd sisters and had a ton of fun! We taught their awesome investigator, had dinner with just about the coolest family I've ever met, talked to all the fancy people in Redondo:) 

Then the next morning we had just woken up when Sister Hatch called us from back in Lawndale. Apparently some sisters had requested an emergency exchange and so we made plans to fit that into our already hectic schedule that day! We drove the Redondo sisters up to a baptism in downtown LA and dropped them off their while we went to talk to the USC Chinese sisters. 

While we were talking to them about some struggles they were having, we got a text from some OTHER sisters that one of them had just gotten bit by a dog pretty badly... not just a dog, a GERMAN SHEPHERD!! It was pretty bad, so they went to the doctor and got that all figured out while we went back to LA, picked up the Redondo sisters, drove them home and then went on the emergency exchange. 

Turns out... one of them had just found out she was going home. And so starting Monday her companion would need a new companion. And you know who the only sisters in a trio were? My companions and me:) And I'm the only one who speaks Spanish. So yep, we got mid-cycled this morning and I'm officially serving in... COMPTON!!

Sister Farnsworth, Sister Abon and Sister Hatch

Hot!!

July 25, 2016

Howdy!!!

This week was busy!! And HOT!!! We were able to have some great exchanges and meet a select few new investigators. It has been really warm down here this week, but thankfully we have the lovely ocean breeze to help us out. So here we go!!

On Tuesday we had exchanges with the Hermosa Liahona 1 sisters and they went really well. On Friday we had another exchange with the Hermosa Liahona 2 sisters that also went well. They sure are working hard to keep things going since they had 2 out and 2 in. 

On exchanges we were able to teach a less active little boy named Terrance, his mom and some of his friends who were there playing. He doesn't come to church, and hasn't for a long time. We are trying to help him want to come back to church. 

The next day we had a pretty good lesson with an investigator who has been taught for over a year. She was supposed to come to an activity for Pioneer Day this weekend and also church, but she didn't come to either of those. We talked about it and decided that there are just a lot of things going on in her life right now, so we are going to turn her over to the Lord and let him work on her for a while. Hopefully some day she will be able to decide to act on what she knows is true. 

The rest of the week consisted of trying to contact referrals and talking to everyone we could. Lately there haven't been many people out and about - probably because it has been so hot and they're all at the beach! But we talk to the ones we can. 

Our zone did an amazing thing this week. We had 58 member present lessons!!! It all started on Sunday night with the zone leaders calling us and counseling with us about the trend in key indicators from member present lessons to sacrament meeting attendance to baptisms. Half of the investigators taught with a member present attend sacrament meeting, and half of those who come to sacrament meeting are baptized!! So they wanted us each set a goal within the companionship of how many member present lessons we were going to have throughout the week. We set a goal of 7. They combined each companionship's goal and the total that became our goal for the week in the zone was 50. By Saturday night we had reached our goal!!!!! And then there were more lessons on Sunday! It was so great. The Zone Leaders would text everyone each time someone had a member present, so we kept a running total, and it got everyone pumped up! I have never felt so united with my zone before. We added that goal to our praying for our mission's monthly baptism and Recent Convert temple baptism goal, and we definitely saw God's hand bless each companionship during the week. I loved having the members come out with us, and it gave us more drive to really have members come out with us, whether it was to lessons or just contacting. 

Yesterday was a great example. We were able to take a Young Woman out with us after church. We had a lesson planned and then wanted to try a few potentials in the area. The lesson we had went very well - we showed one of the "His Grace" videos and this guy loved it. We are going to see him again on Tuesday. Then after the lesson, we were trying to contact a woman who lived in the back house, and there was a big fence and a dog. So we were waving someone down over the fence and between the pickets. The guy that came out said that he was meeting with the elders somewhere in Redondo beach, and that he was so glad that we came to find his sister!! He told us to keep on her the way the other missionaries keep on him! It was pretty funny. After that we went to try another potential and the guy who answered the door there was a member! He has been less active for a while. But we were super excited to meet him! It was just neat to see that Heavenly Father definitely magnified the efforts of 3 sister missionaries and a young woman on a hot Sunday afternoon. 

Sara McCoy, Sister Hatch, Sister Abon, Sister Risenmay

Funny story about the lesson we had: it was at a park table that had NO SHADE because the table with a covering was taken by this guy all by himself. We sat down and the back of my legs were on FIRE! It was SO hot and I had to stand up for a few minutes to try to let the concrete cool. Thankfully the random guy at the shaded table left and we relocated ourselves there so that we didn't melt. That was a tender mercy!

We have been having a really great time together, and we are really helping each other work hard. That is one thing that I am thankful for. I am not letting up or slacking off, thanks to my companions. Life's good! 

Well I think that's all for now folks!! Hopefully the first day of school went well and you are doing okay with schedules and such. Have a great week!

Sister Hatch :)

Returning Soon

25 July 2016

Marvin and Virginia Hatch

3101 Scenic View Drive

Winslow, AZ 86047

Dear Brother and Sister Hatch,

On 24 August 2016, Sister Lauren Renae Hatch will be given an honorable release from the California Los Angeles Mission. 

Sister Haynie and I love Sister Hatch.  You can be very pleased with the contribution that she has made while serving in the California Los Angeles Mission.  She has blessed the lives of many; including those who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ as a result of her efforts and those she has helped to return to activity within the Lord’s kingdom.  Her name will be remembered for generations to come among many.  She has grown in her testimony of the Savior and in her ability to work with people.  We also have been deeply touched by her service in the mission, and we trust you were greatly blessed through her labor.

Sister Hatch will be part of our lives forever. Sister Haynie and I are grateful for all she has done to help the Lord hasten the work of salvation. We feel that she and her colleagues have a rendezvous with destiny. Our prayer is that she will grow in faith and good works as she continues to serve our Heavenly Father.

Sister Haynie joins me in wishing you and Sister Hatch the best.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Haynie, President

California Los Angeles Mission

Sister Bielamowicz

California Los Angeles Mission

1591 East Temple Way

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Phone: (310) 474-2593 Ext 2

Final Temple Trip

July 18, 2015

Hello everyone!!!

This email won't be quite as long as the last one. We are low on time today :/ BUT we had such a great week this week!!! We had a lot of fun working together, and got to see a ton of miracles along the way!

The fun started on Tuesday. Sister Syu is like a PRO packer, so she was ready to go. We got her sent off, and then I headed to Redondo Beach with another member to wait for my new companions. Transfers went smoothly and we were able to do a little bit of settling in before leaving for new mission leadership training. The first adventure was that our garage door opener died during the night, so we walked down the street to the 7/11 to get a new battery. But the rest of our day went quite well, and we were able to find an awesome new investigator named David!! 

He had a co-worker who was a member of the church, and Area Book Planner says that the co-worker shared a Book of Mormon with him. So we went to visit him Tuesday night. We spoke briefly with him and set a return appointment for that Thursday. We brought our ward mission leader with us, and they got a long really well. He was super excited to see us, because the last missionaries he had met told him they would come back, but then never did. Unfortunately he missed our appointment/ church tour on Saturday and didn't come to church on Sunday, and we haven't been able to get a hold of him. We are working on it though!!!

Last Monday evening, Sister Syu and I met another really cool guy in our ABP, and we were able to have a really awesome lesson on Saturday! He has a super solid Christian background, and participates actively in the church he currently attends. We are looking forward to meeting with him again this weekend. 

I LOVE MY COMPANIONS!!!!!! This week has been so great, and we have had lots of fun, while still being able to work hard. Between the 3 of us, we talk to EVERYONE and have some really great conversations. I am enjoying it :)

It was a privilege to be able to go to the temple last week. It was neat to just have a spirit of peace and contentment as I reflected over my mission. I really enjoyed President Moncurs' (sp?) message about what we do in the temple and how important it is. I am also thankful that we got to go at the beginning of the transfer, so that I could have that sustaining influence throughout these last several weeks. It is going to be wonderful!!!

These are the pictures of our temple day last Friday. The temple is closed for 6 weeks and won't open again until the week after I leave, so we did our departing session on Friday :D

Sister B didn't say 1, 2, 3, so I was not smiling, and it was super bright anyways. LOL. Makes for some great memories down the road.  :D

President and Sister Haynie are on the front row, far right.

Love you all a bunch and hope you are doing well!

Sister Hatch :D