Magic & Jesus Cards

Hey Yall!

This week was a good one! Neither I nor my companion got transferred but he wrecked his ankle this last Monday and so he's been in a boot cause he tore some ligaments. So we stayed close to our homestead. But that's been good because we have been going out and playing pickup games and shooting oops at a nearby court as well as we have learned a ton of card tricks and do street magic for people and then talk about missionary stuff after cause they always ask. Well this weekend was the third weekend we have really made it happen and so we were out Friday shooting hoops and tons of high school kids walked by going home from school and all of em were like, "Hey! It's Elder Hiatt and Elder black!" They knew us by name! All cause of street magic and ball. It's awesome. They know me as the baller and Elder Black as the magician but we do both we just are better at our corresponding talents. So it's way fun. Members are that way too, when we get to dinners they all after are like, "so we hear you do magic, let's see this!" So we then have an awesome time and end up getting tons of ward help from it too! It's been so fun. We recently learned a new trick and it blew some kids minds. While they all were watching magic some of them came over to me and asked for more Jesus cards cause they wanted some and so this time I gave them the articles of faith cards and everyone saw and then everyone at McDonald's wanted one! I sat while Elder Black did magic talking with everyone else as they read the articles of faith and asked what they all were and such. It was so sick, I felt like Alma. They all put em in the back of their phone cases so they could have Jesus showing it was sick.

We also had tons and tons of full size candy bars. Elder Black and I didn't want them so we filled our suit coats with 70 total things of snickers, Starburst, milky way,skittles, and everything you'd find in movie theaters. We then went to church and whenever someone in any class answered a question we tossed em. The priest quorum went nuts and the young men's president was all, "man you guys know how to get street credit with the youth, making my bar too high sheesh! No you guys are the best thanks for that man." So that went awesome. We also had a linger longer after church and we got stuck at a table with a way cool family. Their daughters were awesome and we enjoyed their company. 

This week has been FREEZING...... It's awful. The air is so dang wet and it's all sub 32 temperatures so coats literally don't matter. It rained one night and then froze and all the trees were coated in like ice, every inch of them. I felt like I was in heaven cause the sun in the morning shined through all the ice on the tree branches and made them glow. It was so cool. Then it slowly melted through the day and so under any given tree it was raining.

Things are awesome, I appreciate your prayers!

Elder Hiatt

29,000 Steps!

Hey mom!

We walked 29000 steps Saturday! But ya so far has been good. We currently have a baptism for next week so that'll be awesome. 

We also had a mission president fireside for our stake that was themed the joys of missionary work and all the missionaries in Mckinney came to be a panel for a Q&A and I got the question of if there was a budget for groceries. I don't know why but I had all the people there laughing their heads off as I talked about it and it was really good. I got a lot of compliments from the parents and leaders on the things I said so it was cool to see that. 

We got to help the family that our investigator lives with take pictures of all their puppies to be ready for selling. They are super cute it was a puppy party!

Saw a sweet Lamborghini too! 

We biked a ton one of the days around here and my legs have never felt so destroyed. It was super nice though cause this lady gives us stuff at Starbucks where we sit down to plan in the evenings and stuff. But ya, it's been a good week, had some awesome meetings with my president and stuff and everything is really good. 

But ya, life is good. Just Goin along.

Love you mom! You can use the email stuffs for sending something out.

Yard work & Magic

Hey Y'all!

This week was really good. This last Sunday was long as heck but as a testimony to having charity above all, let me relay it to you. We got to Sunday meetings and had a ton goin on, when it came time for the second ward sacrament meeting, we didn't realize it but afterwards there was a family with two investigators in it there. They came up to us after and asked when we could come over for dinner. The dad is a member returning to activity since he was 14 when he left the church and his wife and kid aren't members. The missionaries in the past rubbed them the wrong way really bad they said, how it was like someone selling pest control but instead it was membership at the price of getting taught lessons. But unbeknownst to us when Elder Black gave his testimony two weeks before and how candid he was with who he his and giving true testimony rather than a thankamony or talking the talk without walking the walk, and how I testified of love and charity and the effect it's had in my life and how it should be the growth formula of our nature, they went and met with the bishop after and asked for our names and numbers. They then this Sunday set up a time for us to go eat dinner and just, I was humbled. We met the wife earlier that week when we stopped by and got to play with their cute dog and get to know them. It's gonna be awesome getting to know them. Then in the next ward a youth brought a friend to church who moved in with their family. He has taken extreme interest in how his family is from the gospel and asked us to teach him about how he can be a part of it. So that's been crazy, literally just the lord showing his hand, making our efforts light up. It was awesome. 

So that was the big highlight. We also helped a family with yard work to ease the burden placed on them from moving out soon. It was way fun and I got to do some magic tricks with their kids, it was enjoyable. 

We also had some awesome sushi with Elder Owens and Busch one day, sushi is the best we went again today and that was a treat. 

We also saw a dog that made tears come to my eyes and you'll see why.

Oh and we also built a puzzle and the last piece literally didn't come with the puzzle. I think someone working at the puzzle place fricken trolled us.

Love you!

Elder Hiatt

Loving People is Most Important

Hey Yall!

This week was a slow one. Battling motivation is a real battle but we are the masters of our own fate and our area just exploded with some astounding blessings and people.

I'm sorry I haven't done a Dallas Daze in forever. I really have run out of things and so why best a dead horse ya know?

We got evacuated for a fault fire alarm in our building and got to meet all our neighbors in the coldest dang day ever so that was grand. I'll attach a photo.

So the highlight of the week was we had a meeting with our bishop in one of the wards and discussed the work he'd like from us which was good because everyone's been out of town and finally our leaders are back. I felt like the army of Antipus and how they were confused because of the loss of their leaders. So we discussed things and then he asked if we'd give our Testimonies so the ward can see us and pray for us by name. So we figured we'd do it in all three. So we did and I felt to share different things in each ward and I feel like a testimony has to come from the heart which means you gotta open up a little personally to really bring the spirit otherwise it's just vain repetitious words. So I shared some of my struggles of reading and praying for a year and a half and still not getting an answer and how I eventually received one. Then another ward I talked about the importance charity has taken in my life. Then another I said how I grew up and really didn't believe how I talked like I did. All round just being real. I wondered if it did anything and such. Well we got a call from a bishop and he talked about how there was a less active who has just barely been wanting to come back and his wife and kids aren't members. He wanted them to take the lessons but his wife is really uncomfortable with elders and doesn't like their pushiness and such. Well they were at church this Sunday coincidentally and he requested to meet with the bishop and said and quote from what my bishop told us "He said he looked at his wife and said that these are the elders that are suppose to teach us, let's get em over here." So they're hesitant but ready. I am totally astounded the way God works through us, cause I don't feel worthy of that kinda thing but the spirit carried our words to people. So Elder Black and I have really recommitted and repented so we can give the proper time to this family because they deserve our 100%. That was the biggest thing this week and I can't believe how the Lord's hand is in my life these days. Ever since I've sought love and love only I've become more obedient, filled with joy, and stuff like this is becoming regular. As a really good friend said to me, Missionary isn't suppose to be like a corporate business, it's suppose to be personal, genuine experience. It's suppose to be love filled. Like really all missionary work is is first experiencing the truth of the gospel for yourself, and then just giving a crap about someone else and they'll eventually see like,"why the heck does this person love people so much, what do they have I don't." And then you share your experience with them and the spirit carries it home. I have never been so happy. This is what I think President Monson tried to teach through his life. I genuinely feel like the greatest lesson I learned form him and I'll say it over and over because it's changed how I see life. "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." I've typed that much my iPad auto corrects it for me. Seriously all this life is is to follow the greatest commandments, love God and love everyone else. But that's my spiel. I glory in God for how merciful he has been to use a rust tool and work through it. I don't feel worthy of the blessings he gives me but I know that I am clean, and if you can say that then the blessings of heaven are around you. That's what christ came to do, so get clean and feel this joy, then go give a crap about someone else and let them know they are loved and they can be clean too. 

Love 

Elder Hiatt

Love they Neighbor

Hey Yall!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Mine was awesome. Thanks for everyone who got me a gift! I really appreciate it!

This week was amazing, and cold!  It's been in the 20s with high humidity so it's pretty  much like no layering helps for the sole fact that it's cold from the inside out. It cools your blood down in your feet and legs and circulates that to the rest and it's really just terrible. Humidity is of the devil.

We have had some excellent moments this week. We felt prompted to go see a lady that worked at a salon near us and so biking over there we locked our bikes up and this guy gets out of a car and is all, "ELDERS! Hey! Can I buy yall lunch? I'm not a Mormon but my aunt is and I can't thank yall enough for who you are. Can I do that?" So of course we had some awesome lunch at jersey Mike's subs (I HIGHLY recommend the number 8 Mike's way, subs of any other kind pale in comparison to that place). So there was that, then the lady we saw was working today and we had a fantastic chat with her about spiritual topics and she looks at us and is all, "your hair needs hair cut, it's been a while since you saw a good barber huh (she was someone I went to in prosper that is less active but got really close with her and her husband, she gave me haircuts for free and I'd never had a better one so this was a great surprise.) so we let her do that and talked with her even more . missionaries haven't been seeing them since and so it was really good to get contact again it them. So that was a hand of God experience there. 

We also had two families with non members come to church and later spent new years with them and the father of the second was really appreciative we followed the prompting to come see them and how awesome it was to have us. It was so cool to have God see fit to use us the way he has been. I can't glory in him enough!

We had a day this week I was on exchanges with my district leader that was SO DANG COLD. He and I resorted to going back to our apartment early because it was a little dangerous. But we got to see some awesome people that day and have a wonderful day as well. So it's been fun. 

I have never been happier in my entire life and its all because of mercy from repentance and seeking to love our neighbor. There's nothing greater than the joy that comes. I love this.

Side note, my black Year is over! (The year I spend fully as a missionary) so that is nuts to consider. 

Love yall!

Let Your Light Shine

Hey yall!

This week has been amazing. Two experiences I want to share will suffice I think.

So the Stadler family we've been working with got cold shoulder for a bit cause much to my dismay, there was an elder that lately has been extremely pushy trying to set a baptismal date with their kids and they kinda got mad. Well I solved that problem and went and had a ton of pecans someone collected and I shelled them all (lemme tell you that is harder than breaking in to the Pentagon) and made those like cinnamon roasted pecans you can buy and I made them homemade. We took them over for his birthday and rekindled some relationship and had  a really good talk about what our true motives are and how we want to love them and help them anyway we can. We talked about bringing their kids at least to church and they said totally. Well we set it all up and then Sunday we got a text saying that even more kids than expected wanna come and he'd be bringing them instead. We'll the ward hasn't seen them for 4 years at church and wasn't looking pleased that it was 10 minutes in and no Stadlers. Well after the sacrament we went and got them out of the foyer and you shoulda seen the faces of the bishopric! Oh man the "good job elders" head nods we got. The Sunday went SO GOOD. I forgot I was teaching gospel principles and elder Hartley was with the kids in primary on splits. So I accompanied the dad and he the kids. It was awesome. Well my gospel principles lesson turned out awesome and for once the class was FULL. it was about developing talents and man oh man it was awesome. The spirit spoke through me and I was told after by brother Stadler and others I should teach more often. Glory to God for that cause it wasn't me. It all went super well, the ward was hyped. 

Then another experience. This lady called us and is a referral who wants a book of Mormon. Her name is Angie and she is seeking exactly what we have. I ended up having an amazing lesson over the phone with her and we set a lesson with her for tonight. She is eager for us to teach her and it was really fun to have that. 

This week has just been a confirmation of my efforts and I glory in God he's seen fit to forgive me and give me the spirit to make my words more than sound waves. It's been awesome. 

Light the world is one of the best things ever BTW. I've never felt better than I do doing this much service. It's the best! I put it on Facebook contradictory to many people who think I'm prideful in putting my good works to glory in my self but as christ himself said, "16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." and i ask that you see that who I am is only by God's mercy and the sacrifice christ made. I am worthy of the spirit finally and I've never felt better. The great change is of God and I boast of our God that he still works among us.

I love yall! Hope things are well! 

Elder Hiatt 

Making an Impression!

Hey Yall!

This week has been great. We had Elder Pearson of the 70 come and it was a fantastic meeting. I don't think I've ever received more clear revelation than I did during that meeting. Like discerning revelation that clearly has never happened that strongly. It was so cool. So I've made some huge changes in my lifestyle and it's awesome. If you actually give the time of day to your studies and meetings I promise revelation abounds.

Every day this week we went over to this family we are teaching and have helped with cabinets and taught a lesson. It's going so well and it's so much fun! We are getting really close with the people and the ward council is stoked that we finally made contact with this family. So we are teaching them and it's going awesome. 

We got to begin forging knives out of rail road spikes. This member invited us to and it is way super cool. 

I was told this week by three youth that are 18 and such that they hope I don't get transferred, they opened up and said how much I've helped them and they like that I'm not weird or corny like so many missionaries, I give the glory to God because he's been merciful in molding me. But it was comforting to know I'm having some kind of impact. 

Our light the world activities each day have led to a ton a of awesome conversations and I really enjoy it. Everyone loves our hats and ties we wear for it. It's been awesome. 

I wanna invite everyone to do the light the world challenges each day and it's legit! It's literally so much fun and really brings the Christmas spirit. So it's been really sweet.

Things are Goin excellent! Love yall!

Elder Hiatt