The Importance of Family

Hey Everyone,

This week was a pretty good week. We started working with a man named Paulo, who really has a desire to change. He drinks a lot of alcohol, but agreed to have missionaries come over be cause he believes the word of God will help him to change, and he really wants to change. He has a couple of kids and a wife, but she doesn't speak English, so I'm not sure how we are going to work that, but there is a lot of potential with that family. We also started working with Tamian and his mom Janelle and their family. They have been coming to church for about a month with a member family and finally decided to listen to the missionaries! So we are way excited for them. And Tamian is a beast at the guitar, piano, and drums. He's just a musical prodigy. He seems like a lot of fun to be around. 

One thing I realized this week is the importance of families in God's plan. The family is central to His plan, both in this life and the life to come. The gospel is centered on the families because it is only through the gospel that families can remain together for eternity. I am grateful for that knowledge, and the opportunity I have to share that knowledge and the love God has for all his children with the people here in Yuma. 

I'm also very grateful for my family, and for the love and support that we have for each other. I hope everything is going well back home. Take care, and God bless. 

Elder Hiatt

Hola, From Mexico...well, Almost.

Hola from Mexico!....well....almost. so this was my first full week in Yuma AZ, which is about as close to the border as we can get in the mission. We are covering two wards and both of their boundaries actually go all the way to the border with Mexico, so I am pretty dang close. There are definitely a lot of opportunities to use Spanish here, but at the same time, there are parts of the city that seem just like any normal American suburb. So there is a pretty big variety in this area. The work has been good. People here are pretty happy to listen to you, they are way nice, but a lot of them only want to listen to you once. The ones that we have been able to really talk to are way good people who have a sincere desire to follow Christ and to do the things that are right. One guy, David, is living with a member and is planning on getting married to her later this month. He is a way cool guy who has been on drugs but kicked them, and like a lot of people in the more poor areas, is struggling to make ends meet. But he has such a good attitude, even with the difficult things he has gone through and is still going through, that he really is just a great guy to be around. 

Well I hope everything is going well back home! Take care and God bless.

Elder Hiatt