Wilmington... The Home of My Mission

Well I also remembered that I forgot to tell everyone that since I am now in the first ward I will be learning Swahili as well!!!  There are a ton of African refugees here in Wilmington. So i will be getting a name tag in Swahili!!!

Monday- Was the dreaded day of packing, but i skipped that till the night. So we did our like cleaning real quick then we bounced on out so we would be able to email quick. Then we were able to play a ton of basketball with the priests from our ward... and that was super fun! They are all characters and pretty funny, and one of them is so tall!  Then that night went by really fast, we had dinner with a member and then sadly I needed to start packing.  I started with my study desk and hurried to get that packed before I had an appointment. Then we went to that appointment and to be honest from the way the first appointment went I was not excited to go back and teach them more.  They were just not open to listening to what we had to say and we had really gotten into some stuff that they didn't understand. But it went really well and we were able to teach them about the plan of salvation and they were a lot more open and it just went a ton better!

Tuesday- was crazy like always on transfers. We got picked up and I grabbed all of my stuff and went to the stake center there in Raleigh. We were there for quite a while but it was fun. We got to help with some of the new cars that were getting sent out! So that was fun and then I got some home made root beer, it was a ton like grandmas but not quite as good.  It was a nice little like whoa there is home for ya!! Then after being able to find Elder Miller, Elder Dobson and Elder Millers trainee, Elder Garlick got a huge posterity picture which was a ton of fun!! So transfers were really great being able to see a ton of people and take pictures! Then at about 2 we left for Wilmington, and man this is like the 300th billion trip I have taken back down, and it was still pretty great!! That night we like rolled in and I threw my stuff in the house, (which I have already lived in) then we went straight to work. It was great we found a few new people and this older guy named Lundy let us right in. It was pretty cool!!! We got to teach him the restoration and he understood it pretty well, even though he was like 87 years old!

Wednesday- we went to district meeting, everone that was still here was like what your back... it was pretty great! Then I had to go shopping after that for some grocery's it was great!! Then we went home for our language study.. Swahili. It is great I am learning slowly but it will be good. Then we went out and worked a ton. I was able to meet Cecil and Melissa who are some characters, they are engaged and he is 39 and she is 64 it is weird!! We gave Cecil a blessing and both of them felt the spirit really powerfully. Then they committed to be baptized on July 22.   They are ready to start coming to church and being solid in everything!! Super cool experience!! 

Thursday- we went out to knock doors that morning and we were about to leave this area that we were in and then we felt like we should knock these one doors and boom we found Christine!! It was really cool we taught her the restoration right there on the door and she was like yea come back here Saturday and teach us more!! It was really cool. Then we needed to to weekly planning which took a long time because as zone leaders we had a ton of extra stuff to plan for like - going on exchanges with all of the district and elders in our zone. Then that night we got a call to do a ton of stuff for the zone and then we taught a few people and got one of our investigators to come to a class at the church. We then ran home and packed up our stuff because we had a meeting on Friday and we were driving up that night to Raleigh to stay with the assistansts! It was a crazy busy night!!

Friday- we spent all day in leadership meetings, it was kinda crazy we were there from 8 till 4 it was really good and inspiring but after that long, you are just super tired. Then when we put all of the supplies for the zone in our car we walked out side and man our eyes hadn't seen sun in what felt like forever!! Then I drove us back home, nice long car ride back to the house. Then it was eat and back to work which felt really good because sitting all day is not the best!!!

Saturday- we went and taught Cecil, it was on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the lesson went so good. Then in the middle of it Cecil started confessing some stuff to us and we were like yea you can repent and he is so funny and I quote him '' ima tell you sumptin!!!'' hahah its the funniest thing!!! That night was crazy though, we had a lesson in Swahili and our recent convert was like drunk it was insane, everything at the end went kinda crazy but the ones we were teaching believe the Book of Mormon is true and want us to come again. Now we just need to re teach the word of wisdom to the recent convert!! Haha crazy night!

Sunday- I got to meet the ward and I saw a ton of people from the 2nd ward, and they were excited to see me! It was great, and now since I am a zone leader we cover the YSA as well! So I was at church from 7 till 4 it was nuts and exhausting. But we got Cecil and Melissa to church which was crazy because everything was like going against them, but they made it!! Then sadly after church they called us and dropped us:(  Melissa was being weird all church so we kinda felt it coming. But we will find more people to teach. Like Dawn, Christine's mom, we went back because we forgot and were off time for their lesson Saturday and boom now she is interested as well!! It is awesome!! The area is great and so is the missionary work. Even working with the Swahili speaking people is awesome, I don't understand much but it is pretty great!

Love Y'all! 

Elder Hutchings

GEOFF GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!! AMAZING!!!

Monday- We played a ton of basketball, then we had a big zone activity that kinda failed because we didn't have the volleyball net.  We played soccer instead so I really liked that! And then we got to have this sweet bbq! This investigator called us and invited over, and so we got 2 dinners it was the best... funniest thing was he was like yea pool is open as well bring your trunks hahahah! We were like only if your wearing all white! haha it was funny though!!  The burgers were really good!

Tuesday- We went with Geoff to the bishops house for dinner and a lesson.  While we were there we planned out Geoffs baptism and I was asked to baptize him!!!  It was so cool!! Best night ever! Then after that we went and confirmed everyone on the program!!

Wednesday- This was as Elder Toblers last district meeting and it was good! I really enjoyed it! Then we got to do service because of my skills. This older less active lady in the ward was having a problem with her duct work so guess what??  I crawled up under her house and fixed it!! It was awesome I used all of my know how from working with dad!! It wasn't my best job but it fixed it completely and I even replaced some of the parts!! It was awesome!!!!

Thursday- We planned for the week and it was fun we made a ton of records and made notes it was great!! Then we went and met with Geoff and he was so excited he is the best!! We taught him all about families and temples and the priesthood!!  Then I showed him how the ordinance of baptism would happen and it was great!!

Friday- cant really remember!  (I can never remember these days!!!  Hmmmm)  

Saturday- We got a real treat that night,  Brother Peedin took us out to eat at this amazing Mexican place that was so good!!! Then we got a call from President James!!  I have been called to be a zone leader, back in Wilmington!! It was crazy and I am so Excited!!!!  Then, because Brother Peedin loves us he was like were getting ice cream!! It was so much fun!!! I loved it!

Sunday- We got to church early and it was crunch time for the baptism!!  We needed to make programs and get a video from lds.org and for both we needed the internet and guess what the internet is down!! Of course so we figured that all out and then Geoff showed up for church.  He was glowing and walking on air!! It was the best, we got him his jumpsuit and then church was amazing just perfect for him again!! Then the Baptism happened and everything went so smooth and almost all of Geoffs family was there it was amazing and I baptized him. Then I had to tell him that I was leaving but I got his number and gave him my email so we will stay in contact!!!

Today - We are playing ball with a bunch of priests from the ward and then we will go teach tonight and I will have to pack so it will be interesting!!!

Love Everyone 

Love Elder Hutchings​

Geoff ready for Baptism!!!  

Geoffs amazing family!!!

Elder Malyon and I with Geoff - what an amazing day!!!

Sad/Happy Transfer Day!!!  I will miss Raleigh!!
But I Love Wilmington!!

Playin Some Ball!!

Monday- Well we started off this week with an awesome night! We got invited over to a members home who has this non member living with them.  We got to go and hang out there and we were able to teach her so that was really awesome! While we were waiting for dinner we got to play some basketball with their son Evan and it was really fun just an awesome night and it kick started a really great week!!! There are some pictures attached from basketball!

Tuesday- we met with Geoff and whoa it was amazing.  He missed church last Sunday and he hasn't been to church yet and we have a rule that they have to come to church twice before they can be baptized. He came today and he will come tomorrow and that will give him 2 Sundays and then just baptized that Sunday!!  The other thing was the word of wisdom because you have to keep it for 2 weeks and we hadn't taught it yet so we didn't know if he was living it yet.  We taught it Tuesday and he was like yea I have been keeping it and the last time I had coffee was  awhile ago.  It was a miracle!!! We had his baptismal interview before church and yea it is pretty crazy, everyone is like how are you two pulling this off!!!! He is so ready for everything and he loves it all!! It is amazing how prepared he is to receive the gospel!

Wednesday- I went on exchange with elder Tobler our district leader and it was really fun. We tracted like all day it was really fun though because they have a ton of weird people in their area... for instance we are knocking on doors and next thing we know this door opens to us and ahhhh this lady answered without pants on we were like uhhhhhhhh hahahaha!!! So we gave a door approach and then she was like yea I need to go and get dressed and we were like uh yeah here's a card hahaa byye! It was so funny!! 

Thursday- We had district meeting today because of the power being turned off in the church for maintance reasons and then we had weekly planning so we got like nothing done until about 3.  Then we got to go meet with this investigator who has been investigating forever... and we set a baptismal date it was awesome!! and that is really all that happened!!

Friday- I don't really remember...

Saturday we tracted  a ton and visited a bunch of people but no one was really home. Then it was awesome, we got to do service and it was tons of fun. We helped this old lady do a bunch of cleaning outside it was funny and she was like so happy for it!! It felt really good to help her out even though it was just like raking and some small jobs. It was cool because she gave us a bunch of snack stuff hahaha it was great!  We visited this less active family who are really cool and we might start teaching one of the kids so he can be baptized.  It could be super amazing!!

Sunday- Jeff came to church and it was amazing!! We had his baptismal interview before church and it was the best Sunday ever!!  He loved it so much and he passed his interview and now he will get baptized next Sunday I am so excited!!!!!! It will be the best!!! Then we had some Asian bbq it was so good!!!  Then that night we went to get our bikes from our ward mission leaders house so we get there and we were gonna bike home and he was like oh no! So we stuffed our bikes in his.... Kia Soul hahahhahahaha it was the best!!!! that morning was crazy we had 2 appointments and then coordination and then ward council and whoa!!!! Busy day!!

This week has been amazing and just crazy but it has been so awesome!!!!

Love Elder Dylan Hutchings

Playing some Ball!!!

Look at that sunset!!!!!

Missionary LIfe!!

Monday- We had a ton of Elders come down from the zone and we had a huge game of basketball and it was tons of fun. My team won the first like ''BIG'' game it was funny because we weren't the ones who should have won it was pretty funny! It was a fun day though and apparently a holiday. What was really fun was we got invited to a ward party thing. I got to play some corn hole game with a few kids while we waited for dinner. Then that night we went and visited a less active named James.  He is a super sweet old guy and is really lonely.  We just absolutely brightened up his day by visiting him, it was really a good visit. 

Tuesday- Was suppose to be crazy, we had 4 appointments lined up and ready to go and then boom it all came crashing down!!  One person called and dropped us and the rest weren't there for the appointments. It was so lame!  We decided not to let it get to us so we knocked doors all day and kept on going. It was pretty interesting.   Then yet again as we were going to contact a less active my GPS runs out of juice and none of the cords in the car work for it. So I was so frustrated but I was like well I know how to get to another place with a referral and what not so we went and did that.  Then we tracted to finish out the night and we found Charles, this cool old guy who we were able to teach the restoration to on the door and he invited us to come back it was really awesome.

Wednesday- I got to go on exchange with Elder Carrel who is one of my favorite missionaries ever!  It was a ton of fun. We got to go tracting and we found Alexis who is this super cool young mom.  She was offended at her old church but is interested in finding a church that she can go to and she has a kid so it will be awesome!! We kept working and then we got to go visit a less active named Charlie Harper.  He had a goal to be at church on Sunday, which he came to... but it was an awesome lesson! That night Elder Carrel got feeling super sick it was pretty bad so we ended up calling it a night early but it was a ton of fun!!!

Thursday- Nothing really happened we planed for the week and then went tracting and found a few new people but other then that we just exchanged back and what not but it was still a good day!

Friday- We ended up having to drop a few investigators so that was sad but the best part was these 3 old ladies of the ward took us out to eat and it was just funny and cute!!  They treated us to a place called Zaxbys it was really good! There are a ton of placed out here that I want everyone to go to it is so great!!!

Saturday- Jeff told us he was still super sick and wasnt going to be able to make it to church which was a huge bummer because we will need to move his baptismal date back... but it is okay he will get baptized!! We went and did service and whoa it was insane! We helped this family move and whoa there were so many cockroaches! It was awesome and elder Chui was there it was awesome!!

Sunday- Charlie came to church and so did another investigator named Michelle it was really awesome!!!! Then we had a great dinner and we got told we were the best missionaries the ward has had in a long time!!  It was really funny!! And church was great!! 

It has been a great week I loved it!! And we had this one experience where we were knocking and this guy answered and we were talking to him and he was really cool and nice.  Then his wife came out and was like ohh mormonism well our lives have been changed by Jesus and we both were like yea us to and she was like what and it was pretty funny!!!

Have a great week everyone!!!

Love Elder Hutchings