6.15.2015

see ya in a few.

From his mission president we received the following letter:

As your missionary prepares to leave the Chile Concepción Mission, I would like to thank you for the opportunity I have had to work with him . No other work in the world promotes more emotional and spiritual growth for young men and women than the work of bringing souls to Christ. It has been a privilege to work with Elder Hutchins as he has served the people of Chile.

Elder Hutchins has been a faithful, dedicated missionary. He is loved and respected by all of us in the mission and by the members and nonmembers whom he has served. He has influenced the lives of many for good by encouraging them to love God and follow His Son, Jesus Christ. His missionary experience prepares him to step into the future, knowing that his Heavenly Father will help him succeed in accomplishing his righteous desires.

You will receive a copy of a letter that will be given to your stake president regarding your missionary’s service in Chile.

Thank you for the support your family gave Elder Hutchins while he was serving he mission and the support you will give him as he adjusts to his “post-mission” life. We hope that he will continue to strive each day to retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost, as he did in the mission, and that he will also continue to look for and fulfill opportunities to serve others. May the Lord bless you and your wonderful missionary as he returns home.

He'll be home on Wednesday June 17, 2015

6.8.2105

I love the Lord. This past week he blessed my companion and I so much that I can hardly express it, I will try to show some of the miracles which he has brought to pass:

Santiago: He is 13, and has been coming to church for a few months now. He is super excited to be baptized, this week he received his approval from the mission president to be baptized on the 27 of June so we are working hard with him to prepare him for that date.

Saturday he left with the deacons to see how they collected the fast offerings, then on Sunday the very next day he stood up in sacrament meeting and said in front of everyone that he had a wonderful experience and felt great for having been able to serve the Lord in his own way, and then he said that as the date of his baptism approached, he felt happy to be able to finally take that step. He is powerful and already has the goal to go to the temple in August and to read the entire book of Mormon before that. He also wants to receive the priesthood in order to pass the sacrament with the other deacons.

Gerardo: He is married to Cristina Parra a super active member in the ward, but he is not a member, actually in the ten years which his wife has been active he only really began to meet or talk with the missionaries about three years ago and in that time he never picked up the book of Mormon and read, never came to church and never accepted a baptismal date or anything, well that is changing.

 In the past two weeks he has had an amazing change of heart, It began about two weeks ago after we had left a reading with him and returned on a Saturday, he told us kind of jokingly that he had not read because he did not have time.... Well after that preach my gospel verification response we committed him to read and were back the very next day verifying it again, he read. And since that occurrence he has not failed to keep the commitments which he makes with us, and so he is reading chapter upon chapter of the book of Mormon, sincerely seeking to feel the truth of the message and the desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized in order to one day go to the temple and be sealed as a family with his wife and their son.

Well, yesterday after a super good lesson where the spirit was present ,we challenged him (yet again) to baptism and to a specific date, he accepted and said he still wants to feel it before he takes that step, but he agreed that he would pray and specifically asked God if he should be baptized on the fourth of July and explain to God what he desires to feel in his heart and promise God that if God allows him to feel the truth of this work in a way that he can understand that he will be baptized on that date. Well, I know that if he prays in that manner that God will respond to his prayer. "Ask and ye shall receive, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." That promise is true.

I Love all of you!!!

Elder Hutchins

6.1.2015

Just to get it out of the way, I would like to make a quick shout out to the best looking dude in the family.... Yes, Derek, that is you! 

Other than that I got nothing... Except for this:

Santiago:We are currently teaching a youth who is 13 and whose father went less active when he received his mission call to Columbia (with past problems with drugs and women the prospect was too much for him to take) and he has not been back since and does not want to go back now, although he has said that he wants his son to join the church and this week he arrived almost before the bishopric in a shirt and tie and pumped up to be at church, he has a baptismal date for the 13 and is super excited to be baptized! I am amazed at the change that is going on in his life.

Gerardo: He is the husband of Cristina Parra a super active sister who is in the relief society presidency and who loves the missionaries, well Gerardo has met on and off with the missionaries for about 10 years and has not progressed at all whatsoever, until now. This week we shared a lesson of the plan of salvation and the true importance that seeking an answer has in his life right now because if our message is true ( and I testify that it is) then it is the single most important thing in the entire world. Well after our lesson he committed to read and to pray about a chapter in the book of Mormon (we left Alma 7 with him) and then we taught him how to ask step by step: 1. Sincere Heart 2. Real intent and 3. With faith in Christ. It was a spirit filled lesson and when we came by Saturday night he had not read.... So we sat him down and did a preach my gospel version of verifying when people do not keep their commitments (if you don't know what that is look it up PMG chapter 11) Needless to say we were back there the day after (yesterday) and he had read (twice) and his attitude was notably different. For example the if I ever decide to be baptized changed to a when I get baptized and the I'm never leaving coffee (Grampy should appreciate that one) changed to a I'm going to have to change that. But the spirit of God is working within him and our prayers fasts are going out to him to aid him in that sincere change of heart, that permanent change of heart that only comes from the Holy Ghost. 

I know that this church is true, I love the gospel and I have a profound love for the book of Mormon, for those of you who have not read it ever or recently (as in today) I invite you to pick up a copy and to read it, even if it is just for 5 minutes, do it you will be thankful that you did.

Much Love,

Elder Hutchins