spirituality increasing ish

Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2016 5:53 PM (MDT)

Monday, May 30, 2016 10:53 AM (Vanuatu) 

so. this week. 

i got to spend 6 whole freaking hours with a general authority. ohhhhh man was that awesome. he had a lot of training and stories and words of wisdom and connected doctrinal dots and expounded on a few confusing scriptures. definately very spiritually edifying. the general authority i got to spend time with was Elder Kevin W(?) Pearson. he's the area seventy for the pacific and it was great. 

because he came we had all the elders on tanna who are in our zone come and stay on efate for wednesday-monday for the meeting with elder pearson so that was kinda awesome. we played a card game called 7-lock. it's kinda like adult uno. pretty intense especially if you put the punishment that the loser has to drink a cup of water. after a few games we were all very hydrated hah.

i was p sick for part of this week and that put a crink in proselyting time. but we made up for it on saturday. we had 8 lessons. it was super intense. after the meeting with elder pearson we've been a lot more focused on what matters in the lessons and getting the investigators where they can continue their progress in the gospel.

one pretty awesome thing is that one of the tanna elders that came and stayed at our apartment taught me how to make a variety of philipino food so. more recipies in my chef... belt. for when i come back. 

so the pictures. so i got a hair cut last week and there was this little kid that was jumping around and playing and she grabbed my camera. it was kinda adorable. but also i couldn't understand a singe thing she said because little kid bislama is just. i can't. im sorry smallish child but i don't understand you. 

and the other one. one of the letters that i got had like 3 or 4 big rips/cuts in it. and it came in that little plastic bag taped shut. and i thought that was kinda hilarious. maybe you guys could get a laugh out of it too. 

That's all for now! 

Elder Hyatt VI

i don't have a clever title for this week

Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2016 8:17 PM (MDT)

Monday, May 16, 2016 1:17 PM (Vanuatu)

helloooo

so this week was pretty interesting. it was the birthday of one of the sisters in my district on wednesday so at district meeting we had a little celebration ft. food. good stuff. 

last monday after emailing and such, we went to the national museum of vanuatu and saw some pretty cool stuff. a 3d ish (relief) map of vanuatu on the wall and some pretty cool pieces of vanuatu culture that i didn't know about. like. how the circular thing on the flag is a pig tusk. because in olden times. pigs were basically the currency. and trading pigs for marriage and such. good stuff. there was also a dude there who knew and showed us a little how to sand write. or sand draw. like. super intricate drawings in sand done by one fingertip that never leaves the sand. like. cursive writing but. sand. and your finger not a pen... anyway

so this week i got kinda sick. well. me and my companion both. i think we bought some milk that was out of date or something. so didn't do as much proselyting as previous weeks due to that. 

on saturday, we had a really intense lesson. so we walked past a little like. pavillion thing? made of concerete and wood and such. and there was 20 or so dudes sitting under it in the shade and they were cooking something. and me and my companion both got the impression to go talk to them but niether of us really wanted to because we knew how it would turn out. anyway. we walked a bit slower and waved and the leader of the group beckoned us over and told us to share something with them. so. we sat down. these are all 20+ dudes smoking and such and we walk over and sit down. 

we start the lesson and they have quite a few questions. some of them the same questions that everyone here asks. and trying to address them and get the constant attention of all of the people there. but i think it went pretty ok. hopefully when we come back we'll be able to answer all their questions without bible bashing them. woot~ our area is pretty small so at times it feels like we've already talked to everyone but it's all good.

my bishop said that he's gonna dedicate every 4th sunday sacrament meeting to missionary work. which is really great because member missionary work is by far the most effective.

oh yeah. also i got a haircut. and so i took a selfie in order to show you guise how i look now. i dunno. that's all for now

Elder Hyatt VI

just relax.

Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2016 6:33 PM (MDT)

Monday, May 16, 2016 11:33 AM (Vanuatu)

so. this week. well every week.

goes by both really slow and really fast. like. on tuesday it feels like it's been forever and then all of a sudden it's saturday. 

so this week we had quite a few happenings worth mentioning. so one old guy this week. like the land lord for one of of my investigators. we went to visit our investigator and the old dude was waiting at the edge of his property and told us emphatically that he didn't want us there and that we weren't welcome. but in really fast bislama that i didn't pick up all of it. but yeah. that was an experience. and it woulda been mildly discouraging but the thing is we ran into our investigator on the street a day or so later and she was like. ''he's old and catholic he doesn't like any missionaries. but i don't care. you guys come back next week on my day off but come from the other side of his property and i'll be waiting and we can talk just off his property.'' :) that was p funny and encouraging and such.

so my apartment is really close to the mission office compared to other apartments of missionaries and so whenever there is a elder or elders that are traveling to a different island, or just arriving from the mtc or just finishing their mission, they stay at our house for a night or two and then leave. so we had 3 travel elders who were brand new from the mtc and we hosted them for two nights. it was weird. and fun because. they didn't know a single bit of bislama and it's like. realizing how much of bislama i actually know and can teach a little bit. 

'nother happening. the pictures. so there was a couple in my district's area that the husband is a amputee and the wife had a stroke a while ago. so it's really hard for them to do yard work. so we (most of my district and some of another district) came and helped cut grass, weed and such. and then after piling it all up and burning it because the trash service here costs 100vatu for one trash bag and a lot of people can't afford that.  anyway. the pictures. were all of the people that were there helping and also a picture of me being a pyro and using only a coal and a dead coconut branch to light a fire. good stuff.

 another thing! you can get fresh peanuts here! for like 100 vatu! so  that picture is how they come when you buy them from the market. they taste kinda like less sweet sugar snap peas if you don't cook them at all. but i cooked half of them with some oil and a little sugar and made a really basic peanut brittle of sorts. it was p good. 

so as far as the whole 100vatu for a trash bag. me and my companion didn't know about that and we didn't know how to throw out the trash so it kinda just accumulated in our back yard for like. a whole transfer(6 weeks) and then we bought some of the special trash bags and it was super gross throwing it all out. tied grocery bags around my wrists so i could grab the stuff without it touching my hands. filled 3 really big trash bags. but now our apartment is really clean so. it's all good.

and for those of you at home who want to learn a bit what it's like to learn bislama. one house we visited had those hung up. like kindergarten level stuff but bislama. 

spiritual stuff. so i now have 6 investigators that could be progressing a ton. but they are always busy or out of town or some such and never come to church. so. yeah. one thing that i've really learned in my personal study is that all things that we make in the gospel. this church. going to church. following the commandments. praying. are all acts of faith. and greater faith brings greater blessings. so. faith. important stuff. 

and lst but not least. i asked one elder who has been on his mission for a long time. for 20 months already. and asked him what one piece of advice did he think i could benefit from the most. and he said "don't be strict. just relax." and i've been over-analyzing that for a while. 

that's all for nowwwww

Elder Hyatt VI

new beginnings

Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2016 6:37 PM (MDT)

Monday, May 09, 2016 11:37 AM (Vanuatu)

so saturday was transfers. 

and just taking this marker as like. looking back on what i've done. what i've learned and who i've helped over the last 6 weeks. and like. yeah i've taught a lot of lessons. learned a language. and grown in my testimony. but it's kinda discouraging because none of my investigators are progressing. they love what we're telling them. love meeting with us. then suddenly they are never home. don't want to come to church. and they become former investigators. sigh. new challenges every day. 

since im training im not gonna be leaving this area this transfer. but it's just kinda crazy to think. my mission is already 1/16th over. ahhh!!!! season of excitement. one statement i read once said that according to some obscure scripture, we know that 1000 years is one day for God. so a mission. is like. 2 minutes of god's time. so better make the most of it. because i only have 2 minutes to be his missionary.

so. book of mormon readings. due to my fear of 2 nephi, i started in mosiah when i came to vanuatu. and this week i finished moroni. and jacob to mosiah. fell asleep while reading jacob 5. hah... but the end of jacob 5 really stuck out to me. jacob 5L72. that we are laboring and the lord is laboring right along side with us. really weird to think about. that god is laboring next to me. doing his hardest to try and help these people as much as i am. 

as far as the people im helping. so the people of vanuatu don't have a lot of things to take up their time here. so that means they tend to drift to breaking word of wisdom and law of chastity and such. and pretty much none of the guys here want religion. i mean like. young guys. most of the people we teach are widows or mamas or old dudes. it's all good. the lord works in his timing. 

as far as the pictures:

some pretty good views here. that one big building with the blue roof kinda dome looking or cone looking? my house is like a 20 min walk past that. n i took that picture from inside my area. lotsa walking. i've befriended quite a few dogs. the baptismal pic. sorry. getting off topic. so the two sister missionaries in the picture. it was their convert and the district leader who woulda done the baptism was swamped with appointments so they sisters asked if i could do it. my first baptism but not really mine cuz i didn't teach them. i had to re do the ordinance 3 times because her hair didn't go under. 

and the last picture is of me and my district. good stuff. i dunno. i dunno what else to say so, i guess that's all for now.

if anyone wants to send me anything. 

Elder Matthew Hyatt

Vanuatu Port Vila Mission Office

P.O. Box 1412

Port Vila, Vanuatu

have a great week!