Blessings From Heaven

Hello everyone!

We had quite a cool experience this week that will sum up what it has been like. We have been really pushing for miracles in the mission and so my companion and I have been asking for a miracle that we will be led to someone prepared. On Wednesday we were headed to a lesson, biking like mad to be on time and when we get there, no answer. The person bailed on us and we were pretty sad about this because we hadn't had a lesson in a while. So we start going back and it is taking us forever because people are blocking our path, red lights all the time, everything was deciding to slow us down. So we are almost back after way too long of a ride and in the middle of a neighborhood we get stopped by a truck. This distraught man gets out and we start talking with him to find out he is going through a serious trial and needs help. He asked if we could pray for him and we were able to share Ether 12:27 and say a very powerful prayer with him. It was an exact answer to a prayer and though he wasn't super interested in the church itself, he gave us a hug and with tears in his eyes thanked us for help. You could see his view of the church was softened by the spirit and he was willing to have us come over and talk to him more about the church. So so cool that if we hadn't had all the things leading up to it we wouldn't have been able to help him.

The mission has began greatly pushing on the concept of sacrifice and how we will attain blessings when we put forth something we have on the altar of sacrifice. Some sacrifice their Preparation day and won't begin it until they find one new investigator. Others have sacrificed candy and won't eat it to show the Lord their commitment. Just something they do a lot or enjoy a lot they sacrifice for the Lord to show they are committed. And how AMAZING have been the blessings that come! As in Praise to the Man, "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." First comes faith, then comes obedience, then comes sacrifice, and lastly consecration. Repent and find what blessings come from that process.

Dallas Daze

So I'm not sure what it is about people here but sedans like Crown Victoria's are highly sought for one reason, putting 34 inch wheels on them and blasting Latino music at about 3 in the morning. It isn't so much an experience this week so much as for some reason this week I have seen about 80 of these flying around town and then slowing speedily down to go over a speed bump at 1 mph so they don't mess up their car. They have like a foot and a half of ground clearance but maybe half an inch of give before the wheels are hitting the wheel wells. Which isn't smart because the roads here look like earthquakes happen frequently. The logic is nonexistent.

I hope everyone is doing well and I want to leave my testimony of miracles in these days. Miracles have begun flowing forth and as we seek to serve all men and follow the savior, more keep coming. I can testify our Savior lives and the strength in His atonement is not just a fun phrase to say, or a fun concept to talk about. It is real. I experience it everyday but it only comes when we remember the Savior and His selfless sacrifice for us. As we follow His example and lay down our weapons of war, as we sacrifice for the Lord, we will receive blessings we cannot contain. I love you all and invite you to repent and discover the blessings the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has for us children of God.

Elder Hiatt

Hey mom,

That sounds pretty much like Drew, never did like homework. I think it's funny the dinner places that are that expensive are never where you'd prefer. It's always just something to mix it up a bit. I am amazed dad agreed to do that diet, sounds pretty interesting. You'll have to let me know how it goes. This week has been much safer don't worry. Love you mom, thank you for everything you do for me. I appreciate you more than I say. I am blessed to have a mom like you that helped me get here on a mission. Let me know how that drink crap
is with the syrup and such. Maybe I'll try it.

Love,
Cam

Picture from Laurel Featherstone

Laurel Featherston wrote: Just got this picture from my nephew Joe Anderson. I have relatives on my side living in Dallas too. He said "Having dinner with your neighbor Elder Hiatt".

Not a Scratch

Hey y'all!

This week has been pretty slow but blessed in different ways!

To start, the heavens have truly been opened, in the sense that the
the clouds have been literally DUMPING on us this week. No longer are
we soaked with sweat, but soaked with water. So we have been blessed
with cool weather and it is glorious! Truly it is a blessing to have
rain in this heat and humidity. There isn't a ton to talk about
because this week was very rainy and slow but I have a few things.

One cool experience this week has been with an experience of a
referral. We got this referral Saturday morning from a man in Japan.
He is a recent convert from Nigeria living in Japan. His email was
very broken English but he wanted us to go visit his son that lives in
our area here in Texas. So that night we stopped by and met his son.
His name is Eddie and he knew of us coming by. We talked to him for a
bit and asked if he wanted to come to church Sunday with us in which
he was not really excited to but said sure. He was one of 4 people who
was suppose to be at church but that day nobody showed up! We were
really disappointed but halfway through sacrament, another elder leans
in and waves us to come out. We walk out and there is Eddie and his
non member aunt here for church! We were so happy to see him, it was
like that first drink of cold water after running a mile in the
summer. So refreshing and good to see. He had to leave after that but
he wanted us to come by today at 7. Referral from Japan really worked!

Dallas Daze

So this week as I said was pouring rain all week. We were riding back
from service in the rain and as we were going through an intersection
that the walk sign came on allowing us to go, my companion looks back
and says, "look out!" Well suffice to say I got hit by a car! It was
crazy but I got up and looked at myself, completely unharmed. Everyone
got out and asked if I was alright and it was all totally okay. Not
even a scratch on me and even more crazy on the bike. I took a second
to really think and really thanked God for my safety. The Lord really
blesses his servants with safety and I can thank him for such a
miracle.

I promise I am okay btw mom, I literally wasn't even scratched or hurt at all.

But that's about all the worthwhile things to mention from this week.
I leave with my testimony that this gospel is true, there is an answer
to every doubt and we need to doubt our doubts before we doubt our
faith. Our Heavenly Father loves us and is mindful of us. In the
strength of the Lord, we can do miracles. I know the Book of Mormon to
be true and I hope all is well at home.

Tell Savannah I'm excited for here and that is way awesome she is
going out on a mission.

Love y'all!
Elder Hiatt.

Bikes, Pool Noodles, & Duct Tape

Adjusting the fender on the bike so there's no more skunk stripe up his back. Ingenious use of a pool noodle and duct tape!

Humble Stick

Hey y'all!

This week was transfers, and it was pretty crazy. We had a ton of
driving back and forth to different areas dropping people off and
picking up, crazy. Reason being, I don't think drivers here know that
their car has a blinker. So I rigidly drove all over the place and it
was lovely.

This week Ether 12:27 has made a lot of impact on me. I wanted to know
how I could stay humble instead of getting beat with the humble stick
every time I start getting prideful so I can better be a missionary. I
realized as I read the Book of Mormon, the people who are righteous
continually acknowledge their inability to overcome things and rely on
the Lord continually for strength. When we repent and forsake sins,
sometimes they don't go away. We have to continually rely on the Lord
to truly forsake our sins. The moment we let our pride increase and
take it upon ourselves, we fall. I know now that how the Lord can use
us for good and how we can continually be humble, is by recognizing
our weaknesses daily, admitting our inability to overcome them, and
asking for the strength to do so from God that he will help us in our
trials and in our afflictions. As we are humble and follow God, joy
will come. It is truly liberating and life changing when we humble
ourselves and submit to God. I cannot fathom why we ever think
following God isn't the way, God literally cannot lead us anywhere but
where we will have joy! Why we choose to sometimes follow a path of
misery is beyond me, but I can testify that God loves us and only
wishes us blessings of joy and peace.

Dallas Daze.

So this week wasn't necessarily a secular experience so much as it was
3 days worth of bike problems. During transfers we had to take apart
my new companions bike and shove it into the back seat of a Honda
Civic to get it to the area that day. So riding with that for 45 min
was awesome and we get it out all fine. So on our way to dinner my
back tire pretty much explodes. We see a pole randomly placed next to
a sidewalk, lock them to the pole, and continue to dinner. We got help
in picking them up and taking the bikes home that night where we try
to find a tube but are unsuccessful. That morning a member lent us a
bike and it was truly a blessing. But it then came in pieces so we
spent a good while putting it together. We got to putting the tires on
and realized the front tire is bent a ton. So we took the front tire
off the old bike, which was still good, and put it on the new bike.
Then rode over to a members and pumped up our tires. Not 2 hours later
my companion's bike got a staple in the tire and went flat. So the
next day we went and got a new tube at a bike shop, switched it out,
went to the members house, pumped it up, came back, and go to put the
tire on the bike. Boom, tire is on backwards. So we repeat the last
process and finally we got the bikes working and it is truly a
blessing now that we have them fixed! The me,beers (the prayers) really helped us
out and it's been awesome to see the Lord's hand in it all.

So that's really it for this week. With transfers and bike problems,
our week has been kind of slow. I'll have more to say next week but
for now I want you all to know how real this gospel is. If you aren't
yet converted to the gospel, just try it. It will only bring you joy
and happiness. Our savior is coming and we must repent and prepare
now! It will really be an amazing day when we see our savior again.
Learn what this gospel has in store for you. It's designed with your
happiness in mind.

I know our savior lives, I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know the
Book of Mormon is the word of God and will change your life.

I love you all!
Elder Hiatt

To Mom and Drew and such.

That is some awesome gas mileage in the new car, and yes I was very
happy to see Molly ha in a blast. My last companion was cool as a
person, I'll leave it at that. Elder Christensen is AWESOME, it's like
as soon as he got here the work just exploded. Way cool. I think I
should be fine without a bike so don't worry about that. Drew happy
birthday buddy! I'll try to get a present next week, it's hard out
here to get stuff. But I shall eventually!

To Andy,

Andy I love you man! I hung your Dory on my wall where I study so I
see it everyday. It is way awesome. How is Finding Dory? I also saw
the Mike Wazowski you made and the characters of Zootopia, they look
awesome! I am glad to call you my cousin Andy, I tell everyone all
about you when they ask about Dory and they think your awesome. I love
you Andy and hope all is well!

Elder Hiatt

Serving Others

August 8, 2016

Hey mom,

So I'll send you one before the big one you can just delete it out of the forward, but ya that new car sounds awesome. We have a lot of 2016 vehicles here and they are so so nice. We twisted some arms and got a car for this weekend and it's been so awesome. Except the people here drive like maniacs.

Drew, happy birthday buddy! Though I bet it's not fun with school, excited for it? That's crazy man you better keep growing man, gotta be tall like me!

But ya I spent some money at McDonald's, I grabbed the wrong card so sorry about that haha. But ya is there any other good foods we can make? Love you mom, don't send gum btw we can't chew gum, mints are best.

Tell everyone that I didn't get transferred so packages can come now. Love you mom and hope everything's well, give Molly a hug for me.

Love ya mom

Hey y'all!

This week was the last week before transfers! So we had a few exchanges this week and I am amazed at how much I learned. The first exchange was with elder Hewitt in which Dallas Daze happened. But I'll say that later. Staying in a cockroach infested apartment was amazing but he cockroaches are way smaller compared to the ones in St. George so it wasn't bad. But I got a car for a day!! What a blessing AC really is. I'm not kidding either. On a bike you basically just get to the point where your soaked but you have joy in doing the work, it is such a blessing to not have to walk everywhere! People hand out water like its free here too and we are super blessed in that aspect.

This week was very influential in my view of charity. Charity is something that we MUST have and I wanted to know how to really develop it. Some times it is very hard to get along with people, to see past strangers appearances, to step into the shoes of others, to not be critical, and to serve others unconditionally. But it is truly
miraculous when you try. This week I wanted to develop it more so I started with service. When I felt irritated or anything instead of thinking all these situations in my head out and getting angrier, I tried to replace it with service, no matter how small the act. Only a week and already I've begun to understand that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6)." You really begin
to love those you serve. So put your pride aside and get on it! Pride is truly the downfall of too many and it's a plague that needs to be stopped. I invite all who read this to see what you can do for someone else each day this week. If you love God and wish to do works that show such, for faith without works is dead, then serve someone, anyone! Especially those who you get frustrated with and you will
begin to love, to develop charity. "17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God (Mosiah 2)." What a blessing it is to serve others.

Dallas Daze.

So this week during exchanges with Elder Hewitt, we met a guy that went by LZ. He had talked to the senior sisters in the past about how he sees demons and fights them daily. So we finally met him and talked with him about it. He described how demons come and he uses his bible as a spell book basically to cast spells to fight the demons. For instance, he told us one of his favorite spells is the Ezra spell found in the book of Ezra....or the resurrection spell works good too. He also uses weapons and extended weapons found in Joshua and casts these spells to fight off demons. This poor man truly was paying way too much mind to Satan! He was truly lost and we felt so sad but it was quite hard not to laugh as he explained this to us. But the spirit took over and really hit home when we talked about how when we read the Bible and the Book of Mormon, our focus should be in Christ and the feelings through the spirit that lead and guide us. We need to read to better understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we can better follow it. So when we pay heed to Satan, we are giving him exactly what he wants, attention. Don't do it! As we told LZ, stop it! Find what Christ our redeemer has for you! Not Satan!

I love you all and I pray y'all are well. Never forget our Savior, remember him often. I know repentance is real and I say do not procrastinate the day of your repentance, Heavenly Father has joy in the soul that repenteth, and so will you in yourself. Don't withhold such joy! Repentance is the way to apply Christ's atonement. Repent! Repent! Repent! Please! Stay humble and follow Christ and you will be found spotless in the last day.

With love,
Elder Hiatt

Faith in the Book of Mormon

August 1, 2016

Hey y'all! 

This week has been a big one! First of all, our mission got Facebook, so that's huge! We have been setting it up and finally got mine and my companions accounts ready so to everyone, you can friend me but please limit contact to emails, it's very tempting and distracting if you leave comments or message me but likes are okay. 

Anyways, way cool experience this Sunday morning. We had just posted our purpose on our page when we get a request from a woman in the Philippines. She then messaged my companion and I that she wanted to ask us a question. So we group chatted and she had some very saddening concerns and was without hope in her life. She isn't a member but she decided to reach out to us as a last resort. So we were able to talk to her through Facebook and send quotes and conference talks, videos, songs, and scriptures as well as how to find a building near her and links to her local missionaries. We got confirmation that she requested a Book of Mormon and we've been told that she is planning on attending church next week. All from posting our purpose as a missionary and only two days after we got Facebook!? They told us the numbers would spike but we didn't realize just how amazing it would truly be! The Lord is really hastening His work and it's amazing how we can use these tools for good. 

I also want to share my experience this week. These past few weeks were very hard for me. I had some things that were really bringing me down and it was what you would say a trial of my faith. We listened to a talk about how reading the Book of Mormon changes behavior, attitude, and lives. As we listened it was all about how by reading the Book of Mormon and feasting on its words, it can bring us to a knowledge of the things we believe in. So I really started focusing as hard as possible during Book of Mormon study and was praying a lot, pleading for my soul and wondering if I was being heard, if God was really hearing me, and if he cared about my desires in this trial of mine. I wanted to know that he was there and that he loved me, because before I believed very strongly he is and does, but I didn't truly know. So I prayed as Enos had, I wrestled with God. Pleading for supplication of my soul as well as expressing my desire to do his will no matter what it may be. That even though I have my desires, that I will follow His will because I know it is what's right. That I wanted to know as well if the Book of Mormon was really true. I essentially wanted to gain a witness as I hear so many other testify of that God is our loving Heavenly Father, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that I could have strength through this trial I wouldn't have otherwise. So I did this and I read, feasted, studied, and pondered the words of the Book of Mormon. I continued this and really had to work hard, but I can tell you that as I read, prayed, and obeyed. I have received my witness. I want you all to know that I know without a doubt, that the Book of Mormon is the greatest tool in conversion, that repentance is something that brings us such joy in this life, that God is a merciful one who is filled with incomprehensible love for each of us, that I am a child of His, that he provided Christ, His son, as my savior. That the atonement is real. I know that God cares about your desires and has no problem blessing you with your righteous desires so long as you humble yourself before him, put yourself aside, and be willing to follow him into the unknown. That he knows what's best for us and when we ask and pray to him, he hears us and wants to bless us. We are not here to suffer, through the atonement we are here to have joy. It is there for us to repent and come unto him. Christ is the way, he is the light, he is what brings us new life. Have faith and experiment on the words of the Book of Mormon! Live by its precepts! As Alma says, this seed will grow, it will grow into faith, and as you continue to PRAY, READ, and OBEY, as you be a PRO, your faith will increase. And as it does so, you will want to repent, it may seem a hard thing, but it brings more joy than you can ever know. Repentance is such a blessing and truly liberates you. We have such strong feelings of hiding our sins because Satan knows the joy we will have when we let it out and give it to Christ. This gospel isn't a one time thing, it is a way of life. Be a PRO and gain this witness, there is so much more to this gospel than just being a religion. 

Dallas Daze

So this week we had a dinner appointment that started awesome. We rode over to the house and had a great dinner with one of the members and we were about to share a message. They wanted to have their granddaughter come and listen to so they open her room and tell her that the missionaries were there and they had a message they want to share. Well this is when we find out that she has Down syndrome and is such a sweet girl. But she was on the impression that they invited us over to be her boyfriends........SO she looks into the room and gets this huge grin on her face, and says, " oh momma, they're PERFECT!!!!" Then comes racing over and sits quite on the close side by me and begins cuddling me and saying how much she loves me......I was caught off guard very much so and had absolutely no idea what to do in this situation so I just pleaded with the mom of the girl, by staring intensely at her of course, to do something. But this goes on for about two minutes of dead silence other than this girl pronouncing her love to me as she cuddled me. Finally her mom got her her own chair and we were able to share a message and leave. So it was quite the experience! But it was awesome how enthusiastic the girl was during the message. 

I love you all! 

-Elder Hiatt

To my family

It sounds like everything is going well! The family that sends the pictures is DeAnn Smith and Kent Smith. They are a member in the ward and Sister Smith is so dang awesome. They have 4 dogs and they love me hahaha. But ya she loves sending stuff to missionaries moms and such so that's them.

We get 140$ a month. It makes me happy Courtney comes by, she really loves goin over to our house. That's cool your getting a new car. Tell drew to stop partying so hard! He's got too many party friends. Now you see me is a way good movie though, love that one a lot. 

I've been able to give a lot of blessings this week and it's been amazing the spirit that is felt. I'm really loving this mission and things are falling into place so well. 

Love you all!