i always think of a really good title in the middle of the week but then i forget.

Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2017 6:14 PM (MDT)
         Monday, September 25, 2017 11:14 AM (Vanuatu)

hi friends! 

this week went by pretty fast and a lil scatterbrained but her' goes! 

i went on exchanges! my old comp elder naikasau (longest comp too i was with him for 4.5 monies straight) is now a zone leader in my zone! so i got to have a 1 day relive the glory days exchange! he's such a great guy and it was great for elder imae too cuz he's really new and he was able to learn a ton from the other zone leader elder piol! 

john got the priesthood! dude it's so great and also a lil funny. there's a institute class held in etas. only like 6 or 7 people go. 4/7 are people that i have taught and baptized or reactivated. really good! but a lil funny heh. it's so great too cuz john is now sharing the gospel with his family and his twin brother and it's so great! he's such a bro. wow. 

transfers came!!!! and guess what!!!! i'm! staying. which is still good! at the end of the upcoming month i'll have spent 6 monies in etas. wow. what a blast. it's been quite a ride and it's not over! 

i found this mama in teoma who is a wizard with fabric (like makes and sells dresses and shirts and such at the market) but she got fed up with going all the way from her house in the bush to town every day to sell her stuff. so now she just stays at the house. so i gave her some fabric and she's gonna make me some sicckkkkk neck ties. wow. it's gonna be so grand. 

there was a primary program on sunday! and a bunch of less actives who send their kids to church but just sit at home themselves for whatever reason. came to church! our lil church was packed! but the microphone didn't work so we couldn't hear what the lil kids were saying but they sang a bunch of primary songs and it made me think of all the primary programs and such that i was in back in the day. wayyyyyyyyyyy back in the day. wow im old. 

dude! conference is next week! what!! dudee it's gonna be so legit! i hope i get to listen to it in english! while the translators are amazing, it's just not the same without the voices of the apostles and the first presidency. #stoked

guys. i am currently in the lil baby books in the book of mormon. ya kno enos jarom and omni. and what the fetch! there's so many legit scriptures in there that i've been pondering about and treasuring this past week. literally gold scriptures. (heh) highly reccommend if you fellas haven't read those lil books recently. they're like only 2 pages each and they are amaze. read themmmm we're so busy whenever i do get time to study it's so great cuz it's like i have a chance to recharge my testimony and spiritually feast as i read and ponder and pray.

(one question i've been pondering recently is: what is the connection between the heart mind and soul? spiritually speaking. cuz in scrips it says. my soul hungered. the words sank into my heart. my mind was troubled... any thoughts??? please send a email my p days are so boring.) 

since i only send this letter to my dad and a few friends i actually have no idea how many people read this every week. so, if you read this fellow family members, send me a lil email maybe?

dude this week i've been marveling at the idea of missionary work. there is nothing else like it in the whole world. only in missionary work do you cry with people, laugh with people, see the light and love of god light up in people. go into the world and pull people out of the pain and anguish. it's literally so amazing. if only i could hug all of my investigators. oh well. a firm hand shake will have to do. 

can i just say. this church is true. it's not something that is in question. it is a fact. and all the truths that are attached to it. joseph smith. the restoration. the plan of salvation. the resurrection. the temple. the priesthood. it is all true. there is no way it's not true. and if you (whoever is reading this far into this email) want to know of the reality of that fact. read the book of mormon. think about it. pray about it. what are you willing to give up to know it's true? to know god. 10 minutes? 20? it's not necessarily easy. but it is 900% worth it.

that's all words wise. woot. 

that's all for now. 

elder hyatt vi👔😎

oooohhhh sunsettttttt

multi tasking

breakfast

stake baptism! (none of them mine but i performed some of the baptisms for some sisters in my district)

#district

this lil toddler is literally the best. her name is simah. she walks around the whole village like she owns the place. thumb in mouth and bottle in the other hand.

lizards are the best. #davidvsgoliath. 

people carry all their freshly washed laundry from the river back to the house on this path. #toogood #skill

#mirrorselfie

how to make a road. scrape it flat then drip water on it to stop the dust and it hopefully becomes a pothole free dirt road with minimal dust. 

dude! so many things!

Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2017 8:23 PM (MDT)

         Monday, September 18, 2017 1:23 PM (Vanuatu)

if i had to describe my life right now. it's like the last lap of mario kart where the music speeds up and all the super big awesome items start dropping and it's so much more fun and awesome and at the same time you gotta focus like crazy cuz anything could happen at any moment.

yep. that's me.

so! this tuesday president granger gave us a impromptu training for like 2 hours after district meeting and wow. what a man. what a guy. really good at encouraging and progressing the work and will of the Father. wow. anyway. as a result of that training. a even greater fire was lit under our collective butts as missionaries in etas and we had 31 lessons this week! wowowowowow broke my record. 8 lessons in one day. wowowowowow. holy goodness. and we also found a couple solid new investigators!

dude! the church is gonna come to eratap! it's been talked about for like 5ever but it's actually gonna happen! in the relatively short future! i hope! there's so much potential there and so many people want to have a lil shelter to church at there but there hasn't been enough members to warrant said construction until family william! yassss it's gonna be great. i just hope i'm there to see it.

john got baptized! and jubilee has a home teaching assignment!!!!

had a lil ward baptism and a bunch of people came out to support and it was so great. i love it so much when the members fully adopt and befriend and care for and look after new converts. it's so great. wow. and the significance of the home teaching assignment. home teaching is something that has been discussed for like 7ever but no official assignments approved until this sunday! and only like 10ish dudes got assigned some families cuz most dudes are not worthy or too lazy or other stuff. but!!!! jubilee!!!! my mew convert of just over a month!!!! got a assignment!!!! wowowowowowowowow oh wow. what a day. 

i don't really have that much else to say just pix and such to share. so. yeah! this week is the end of the transfer!!! oooohhhh who's gonna go?!? who knows?!? i'll find out on friday!

how to make an elastic(sling shot) all you need is a good strong piece of wood, some rubber tubing, a old bicycle tire and an old leather shoe! wow!

custom medicine! your body hurts? cut it open! the 'rabis blad' (bad blood) comes out and it's all ok! remember to keep it covered! cuz if a fly sits on it you're not gonna be happy!

my 'clean' white shirt (thems stains neva comin out)

heheheheh bunny ears. 

baptism! 

whoops who broke that. 

it was me. i broke it. im fine thooooo nothing hurts or broken don't worryyyy

people give us island food like all the time now. i think it's the fact that there's a islander now not just two white guys like it was before. 

cut it up and boil it in coconut milk! 😋😋

oooohhhhhh wowowowow bush oven! bread! they gave us some! so good! 

so much things!

Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2017 7:00 PM (MDT)

         Monday, September 11, 2017 12:00 PM (Vanuatu)

hello friends! this week has been very full. don't know how else to say it.

we're working with lots of people and some of them i just don't really know how to help. so. it's very odd for a missionary whose purpose is to invite and help to not be able to do those things with a person. interesting problems. good problems to have. but! it's out of my hands! i am but a instrument in the hands of someone far greater. He'll help them the best way he can. 

we found eric! eric is anouther really dope dude. so great. we(elder west and i) met him while buying a snack on the far end of our area (eratap) while it was raining so he was kinda hidng under the store porch. contacted him but didn't really have any time to go and visit him until this past week. what a fantastic fellow. we taught him the message of the restoration and gave him a book of mormon. and then do you know what he did?! he read 18 whole chapters of that wonderful book in less than 2 days. holy good golly gosh. what a guy. and when we were sharing with him the message of the plan of salvation, some of the answers to life's big questions as answered in said plan, he had been pondering for a long time and the answers that he had come up with on his own were veryyyyy close to the truths as taught in the book of mormon. Wowe. what a friend. i got some seriously high hopes for him. 

we're just working with so many people right now and all of them are just so grand i worry about all of them and love all of them and when they come and keep the commitments that we the missionaries give to them i can see how much it blesses their lives! oh my goodness that is so great. this gospel man. what a thing. what a blessing. what a great experience. so grateful to be able to come here and serve these wonderful people.

also im like a week and a half behind in my journal cuz we've been so busy. 😓😅

yay! that's all friends! till next week!

look it's my house! and me! and my ties! and elder gray! hi elder gray!

oooohhhhhhh scary snake in the middle of the road at night we stoned it dead.

my camera is too legit to quit! i took a pic of some coals for 15 sec exposure and this is how it turned out! wowowowowowowow!

huzzah! it rained!

Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2017 7:48 PM (MDT)

         Monday, September 04, 2017 12:48 PM (Vanuatu) 

this week felt really long in the moment but now im looking back like. what just happened?

it is officially the 'dry' season and therefore doesn't rain a lot and it is generally windy and sunny and cool! nice! but in etas, there isn't any water supply from town so everyone depends on rain and when there's no rain they have to go all the way to the river like every day in order to have water to drink and cook and clean. challenge to all you city folk in the usa. try to live 1 day with only 2 buckets of water for everything. only two buckets. i have been very humbled by the humility of the people here. 

anywho. it rained! and everyone has water now! yay! but it's also really muddy and cloudy and cold! not so yay! but for reals it was really great that it rained cuz we were seriously hurting for water but now we have plenty for our needs! huzzah!

currently we're working with a lot of part member families. like. one or two people are members and the rest have never seen the missionaries or don't really want to see the missionaries... ect. and one thing that we're doing and i am definitely seeing the blessings of it in people's lives is daily study from the book of mormon. individually or as a couple or as a family. when ever someone or a group of someones comes together and feels the spirit together(while reading the book of mormon for example....) they can get more guidance from the spirit than any worldly way of working out problems. #tru-ia 

it's a two week spel for all the pikinini's! so lots of pikinini's olbaot. lots of people at home and ready/ able to be taught and accept the gospel! but that also means that they be hanging with the squad and so not really wanting to story. ya win some ya lose some. 

i met this mama this week who was a member since 1992. wowie. i've only been a memebr since 2004(when i was baptized at 8 years old) a member since before i was born. i kinda wish i coulda been in her shoes and see how much the church has grown in the past 20 years here in vanuatu. 

i baptized this dude named harry! he's 94 years old! a very interesting experience. compared to other baptisms for people who are like. young and can walk with no assistance. 

i've been studying recently in the first part of 2 nephi. what a great part. (literally my thoughts when i read any part of that book) but. if you fellas haven't read 2 nephi 2-10 recently. highly suggest it. grade A++ trutok.

the work moves forward! the lord will accomplish his will you just gotta get on board and help where he wants you to!

whoopsie another book. sorry friends. hopefully you don't get tired of my scatterbrained emails about how great my mission is!

that's all for now. elder hyatt vi

harry!

snack break and waiting out the rain at a convenience store of sorts. 

mud! mud everywhere!!!!

christmas tie selfie in the rain (more of a drizzle) ft elder imae!

dude! these kids are so legit! they go hunting through the grass and find these stick bug things and then they fry it and try eat it. #healthy #organic #protein

i didn't try one. but i wanted to tho.

i can never come up with a good title line.

Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2017 8:31 PM (MDT)

         Monday, August 28, 2017 1:31 PM (Vanuatu) 

hello! how are you! 

this week has also been a wild ride! what ever pops into my head i'll tell you!

the apostle came and we were taught by him for like. 2 hours straight! i shook his hand twice! he touched my right elbow! (lol jk it's not that much of a big deal but still) but he was such a great teacher and i got some super legit notes. they took a bunch of pix (like the official camera lady of the apostle) but i didn't take any.. so if anyone wants to try and hunt through the newsroom or something and find those pix maybe or his fb page or something i dunno. but yeah! he was great. went super in depth on doctrine and covenants 42. mind blown. 

we had a baptism! it was kinda hectic and found baptismal clothes like literally the minute before the service started but it was great! 3 people got baptized! and their families came and witnessed and hoping and praying that the spirit that was felt there will prompt them to also follow the example of jesus christ and be baptized by one holding the priesthood authority of God!

you remember last week about how i talked about john from eratap?? well. it gets better. he came to church. again! and then after church without us missionaries being involved at all members invited him over and chill'd with him and became bff's like all sunday. we pop by the member's house at like 5 in the afternoon and he's there! and we give him a white shirt so he can fit in with the white shirt people cuz everyone in this church who's a dude wears white shirts. and on the way to our house to give him said shirt he tells us. rough bislama to english translation. 'dude. i wanna be baptized. can i be baptized please? pretty please?' im like jumping up and down inside with excitement. we were gonna commit him to a date this last week but he wasn't home. so yeah! now he has a date! he's gonna be baptized!

also! my recent convert jubilee(remember him??) he got ordained to the aaromic priesthood last week! and this week he blessed the sacrament at church!!!!! oh my freaking goodness yes! he's so great. he smiles like literally all the time now. wow. 

ok im not gonna write another book so that's all for now. 

elder hyatt vi

baptism!

bandanas!

look at that water! so blue!

it's the apostle! he's shaking some people's hands! 

president granger is wearing a suit! what is this!

bus squad back to etas!