September 14, 2015 - Waynesboro, GA

Hey Fam!

It's good to hear that you are doing good! 

For me this week we have been biking like 25-30 miles a day trying to teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how their lives can become better if they follow God and his commandments! It's rained 5/7 days this week and the lighnting and thunderstorms here are crazy! Lighting struck this light pole 50 ft from where we were riding our bikes and I've never heard a louder boom of thunder! My wrist is 100% healed and it's great to use it again and do ball handling drills again!! Elder Duran and I had a crazy experience this past week with a lady who needed help getting to the hospital. 

So we were biking on the main street of Waynesboro and this lady called us over to talk with her ( It shocked us cause that doesn't happen to often:) and she was pushing two carts that she was trying to return to a store and she said that she has to be at the hospital in 5 minutes to get her shot for her foot and that she was in soo much pain she couldnt walk anymore. What was crazy was is that she was going to the same hospital I was for my HEP A shot and our appointments were at the same time. So I was stressed because I didn't want to reschedule with those people again. So, This lady was on the heavier side and we tried to call members of our church to give us a ride, but no one answered so I suggested that we could help get you in the cart and we could push you to the hospital 3 miles away. So with some ingenious maneuvering we got her in the cart and pushed her in the cart, going down the streets of Waynesboro! Haha! So many people were taking videos and pictures and I'm sure we were all over Twitter and Instagram down here haha! But in the end we got here there just 5 minutes late and she got her shot! Then we raced over to the building for my shot and I got my shot just as the lady was locking up the building! So yes mom I got the shot so I should be all up to date!

We also tried to teach a man in our ward who is leaving for the mission field on September 15th how to ride a bike... It was just mind blowing because in Colorado everyone can ride a bike and I've never known a person that couldn't ride a bike over the age of like 6. But, he tried really hard and after many falls and scrapes he started to get the hang of it at the end. 

We also had zone conference this week and I had a really spiritual experience and I really am understanding what's important in life. I have a sure testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the church! Joesph Smith is a prophet of God and Thomas S. Monson really receives revelation for the church today! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you guys and how much I love you! The mission is opening my eyes and helping know what's important in life!

Oh and I'm not sure that I mentioned this, but like 6 weeks ago at transfer meeting I saw Elder Saint from our Mckay Lake Ward! He was in a brace for his MCL and is expecting to go back into the field in a few months. It was really cool to talk with him again and it was crazy just to see someone from back home.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH!!!

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!

Love, Elder Mitchell Hill

#IMISSYOU!  #Logansoundsfun!  #FindthemoonMichelle   #Sore    #Missingthefallcolors

September 8, 2015 - Waynesboro GA

Hey FAM!!

Sorry that I'm emailing you today, I hope I didn't scare you by not emailing you yesterday! But no we couldn't email yesterday because the libraries were closed for Labor Day. By the way I GOT MY CAST OFF!!! I literally feel more complete and feel like my old self. Which is great and I had my appointment on September the 4th with Andy Eberheart. It turns out he Michael Phelp's offical medical doctor!! How cool is that!!! He has a picture with him and I took a picture of it and I feel really cool knowing that I got my wrist fixed by Michael Phelp's doctor!! I'm glad that you all are doing great!! It literally sounds like a blast over there and I'm glad that Kevin and Dad can lift every weight in the weight room Kill the Tryouts Kristy, just focus and you got it. It's all about the little things and I'm glad Michelle is enjoying the middle school woes all over again hahahahaha.

As far as my week has been it's been pretty great!!! I was sooo pumped to get my cast off! The first thing I did when we got back from the appointment was go and dribble and shoot with my wrist. It was sooo amazing!! My wrist is still a bit sore, but Andy said that it's just because the tendons and muscles are tight from being in a fixed position for so long. So I've been "carefully" doing push-ups and workouts with my right hand again! I've missed the good ol' right hand:) Also because I got my cast off the day I got it off we started biking again so that's been fun:) We have been biking around 12-15 miles a day so far, I bought like these $3.00 stick on bike reflectors that are circles and stuck them all over my bike so it looks very colorful.Yesterday we had a really fun P-Day we went golfing at this course where all the professional golfers play at and I'm actually a pretty decent golfer for only playing twice. I hit numerous golf balls around 200 yards and I was like dang Michael Jordan was good at golf and basketball so maybe there is some correlation lol. After that we went to a mall in Augusta and it reminds me of the mall back home so like going there.

But as far as mission work goes, I'm really getting the hang of this mission thing and the days are really starting to add up! It's crazy to think that another transfer is coming up in 2 weeks! Time flies... We are always busy trying to meet people everywhere and I played one-on-one with a kid that was supposed to be the best high school player in Waynesboro and I beat him 21-12. There were alot of people watching and so now. So now when we ride our bikes and people see us they always like bow down to us on the bikes haha. It was pretty fun:) 

I'm glad that things are all working out for us in Utah! It really makes me feel good to know that my family is doing well so keep it up!! I'll try not to drown out here haha it rains everyday, and we come home soaked, but hey it's better than biking in 100 degree heat!!

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!!

I MISS YOU AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK IN BUILDING ZION FOR THE HILL FAMILY!!

Love,

Elder Mitchell Hill

#IMISSYOU  #GetbigKevinandDad   #Eathealthy  #Righthandswag   #Sore  #Ihatemiles

August 31, 2015 - Waynesboro, GA

HAYYY Fam!!

I'm doing great!! Time is finally starting to pick up and go faster which is great:) My wrist is feeling ALOT better and I can rotate it just like my other wrist, but it's just like muscle tight in some parts where I rotate it, but maybe a few more weeks and I'll be good to go! I miss my right hand tho, I can't wait to actually be able to shoot and do ball handling drills with both hands. No I'm not wearing the splint still, I'm just wearing the black brace and trying to keep it out of the rain haha. Thank you soooo much for the Money!! I appreciate it sooo much and I love getting letters from you guys! It means alot and I promise when I get to the NBA I'll pay you back with interest.  With my scripture for the plaque I'd like to change it to Doctrine and Covenants 138:30 if I could! I've shared this one quite ab it to investigators when they ask us why do we serve missions. If you could do that I'd appreciate it! I'm glad that Dad's job is going GREAT!! Great job Dad!! Keep it up!! Kristy make sure that if you see Kevin around on campus that he says hi to every girl that walks by haha! And tell him to get in the weight room:) I have learned tons of healthy recipes from my companion and so I'll have to cook for you when I get back!

My week has gone by very FAST! Alot of people this week have been talking about the hurricane coming and they say the world will end soon, but that's just how people down here are. They take things to the extreme. We were in a discussion with a lady and there was a big spider that ran across the floor and said the world was going to end at that very moment. But it rained really hard yesterday for probably 6 hours and it's really cloudy today. So we will see what happens, but don't worry I'll be smart about it and I promise I'll make it back to you! The missionary work has gone really well this week! Partially because when we tract outside in the rain people invite us in their house because they don't want us out in the rain haha. It's funny though, down in the south when it rains, it doesn't get chilly like it does out west so I'm not cold it's just sticky and wet. We got some great news last night when we visited with Marren. So Marren is an investigator, but he has been working with missionaries for a good 2 years and he wanted himself to be ready for baptism and not just do it to do it. Well, he got really close to these two missionaries who taught him before I got in the mission field and when they left and we came in he started to fall away from the church. So we've had to refocus his thoughts and try to teach him to not be converted to the missionaries, but be converted to Christ. He still struggled with it and wanted the missionaries who taught him to be there for his baptism, but we told him that they probably couldn't be there ( because they were out of the zone)  but gave him his address so they could send letters. So last night we went back, and Marren said he wanted to get BAPTIZED!! Since one of the missionaries who taught him said that's what he should do!! I'm really glad he did that and I'm excited to prepare him for baptism!

Another thing that happened this week is I got to use a lathe for the first time and make a pen!! Dad would be proud of me!! It turned out really well and I'll send you a picture of it soon!! It was actually really fun and we should get a lathe when I get back for our new house! 

I'm glad that we are waiting for the right opportunity for the house because it's gonna be the Dream home we've always wanted and at least that's the goal. Keep looking and keep me updated!! I'm glad Michelle's school is going well and Michelle stay involved in school! I promise if you do something with sports, theatre ("eh"), or any club that you'll love it! 

Keep up the good work over in UTAH! I can't believe I've been out for close to 3 months and I've been praying to know where I should go and play college basketball and right now I have a good feeling about William Penn, but I also have a good feeling on trying to walk-on for Utah Valley University, so we will see what the Lord reveals to me!! I also have a good feeling about going home a transfer early so I can at least spend some time with you guys and get in shape before I head off for college camps and such.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!! I MISS YOU BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT!!

Lots of love

Mitchell (Elder Hill)

Brother Elmmy helped Mitchell make the wood pen!  Very cool!

August 24, 2015 - Waynesboro, GA

Hey Fam!!

I'm doing great!! Georgia definitely has been wet these past few days which actually has been really nice because it's been sooo hot lately. The only problem is when it rains here and the skies clear up and it gets hot again, the humidity is out of this world haha. That raincoat y'all (lol) gave me is working great! It came at a perfect time My wrist is doing great! When I take it off to shower I stretch and move my wrist a bit just so it doesn't get too stiff and lately my wrist has had little pain but it's just tight and that will go down in a few weeks! As far as my shot, I havent told Sister Cottle yet about my shot, but I should do that today, don't worry I'll get it done.  I'm glad Kristy is getting back on the horse and that Michelle has lots of opportunities to make friends! Also it's great to hear that the condo move went great and that we are looking toward the next step in making a Dream Home! I actually had a really cool dream about that the other night so I feel like this move was supposed to happen. I hope Dad's job is going well and that he's loving work 

On transfer day I got a new companion and his name is Elder Duran! He is from Coolidge, Arizona and he's been out for 9 months. It's great to have someone who isn't constantly thinking about going home. Since Elder Hinton used to drive everywhere, I'm now the driver and it's been very fun driving our Chevy Cruse:) We have been having great success at tracting and we have taught 18 lessons in 4 days just by tracting so we have been staying busy. People in Waynesboro are willing to hear what you have to say, but the problem is people down here are lazy and it drives me crazy! I just don't get how you can sit at home all day and eat and waste the day away. It just doesn't make sense haha. So it's been hard getting investigators to actually do their commitments because they are just lazy haha. I just remember all those days where I never stopped moving and I was constantly doing something and I'm tellin' ya they don't know what they are missing. But we did have a cool experience this past week...

It was raining outside and we were soaked and we were ready to sit in the car until the storm passed, but I felt prompted to knock just one more house. When we knocked a man opened the door with a smile on his face. His name was John and he had been remodeling his house so he would be able to rent it out to someone. He invited us in and he had concerns about organized religion and felt it wasn't necessary and how alot of his beliefs were contrary to many churches. As we listened he was impressed that either of us didn't instantly try to correct him, but instead we listened. We told him about the Restoration and he said alot of his questions were now being answered. We told him that we would get him a Book of Mormon marked with our favorite scriptures as well as other powerful passages. After the meeting Elder Duran and I talked about how we had a DeJa Vu about meeting him so we felt he was someone we needed to meet on our mission. So, we met with him before church to help him load some tools into a trailer that he would be taking to Northern Georgia. After we finished the service, we talked about the Book of Mormon, read through the Introduction, and bore our testimonies. He told us he loved our message and he would read the Book of Mormon in a week! He also said that his wife had been talking to some LDS women in her work without him knowing. It was just a really cool experience and we will see what comes of it!

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!!! Keep going with building the home and keep me updated!!

Stay Strong cause you know I will:)

-Elder Hill (Mitchell)

#Hot'n'steamydownhere  #Gnatsareofthedevil  #2monthanniversary  #21left   # It'sgoinfast   #INEEDTHEWEIGHTROOM  #Mish

August 17, 2015 - Waynesboro, GA

Hey Fam!!

Thanks sooo much for the package this week!! I got it on Saturday and it was very much appreciated. With Elder Hinton leaving today I was thinking of home a lot and when I got the package it made my day:)  So on Tuesday, we have transfer meeting and Elder Westbrook said my bike is fixed.  So I plan to get my old bike back and use that one not Elder Hintons'.Sister Cottle gave us all reflective vests after my accident haha. My name is known very well in the mission because President Cottle sent an email all about me and what I learned from it. So you could say I will probably be the Guinea pig for bike safety for the next few years in the mission as well:)

I'm glad your eating healthy!! Always remember what would Mitch eat if you are questioning it in your head haha. I've learned a lot about health on my mission from members and just learning on my own. I have lots of healthy recipes for y'all (lol) to try when I get back:) On the matter of food I ate these burritos called "Navajo Burritos" which are deep fried bread (cause it's the south) chili, lettuce, tomatoes and salsa. They were really good, I only had one deep fried bread though because hey I gotta play College ball when I get back:) I also had to try a ghost pepper chili and a habanero chili haha. Don't worry I took it like a man and got it on video. My ears were ringing and you could say my nose was running haha. Don't worry mom I'm great:) I'm excited that Michelle is starting high school, just make sure she is as involved as she can be and she will have a great time.

My week was very trying because Elder Hinton and I have been talking about home and stuff this whole week and it has made me very Trunky... Until I got your package and it was all better. I've had to learn a whole new area in the matter of a week and I will be responsible for knowing members and where to go for my next companionship. It's been quite the unorthodox challenge because we got moved mid transfer and they assume I've been here for 6 weeks when I've only been here one. I also have to be the District leader until next Monday because Elder Hinton was the DL, but since he's gone I have to stand in his place and who knows I could just stay there which would be very interesting. It was hard to say goodbye to him cause he has taught me a lot.   So just stay strong at home cause I will if you will:) Dad keep doing your thang! Mom keep us under control:) Kevin get in the weight room haha:) Kristy when you go to the farm take showers;) Michelle enjoy high school!

I loved the package and you guys are the BEST!

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH

Mitch

#Eathealthy #mymouthisraw  #southernlifestyle  #gnatssucks  #missdamountains #missmyrighthand #recovery

August 10, 2015 - Waynesboro, Georgia 30830

Hey Fam!!

Haha thanks I mean the brace looks "hotter" than being in a sling lol. Haha but yes when I shower I take it off which makes showering a lot more relaxing. That's good to know about my wrist because honestly no one has told me about my break and it just never crossed my mind in the hospital haha (#rookiemistake). My face is back to it's natural, beautiful self haha.

We have had quite the week getting my brace and we have been very busy with appointments and meetings. On Thursday we received word that we would be moving from our house in Hephzibah to a double wide trailer in Waynesboro Georgia mid-transfer. They said it was because we were doing such a good job in Hephzibah that they wanted us to teach in the Ghetto's of Waynesboro. So on Saturday Elder Hinton and I moved everything in our house to Waynesboro which was very challenging. So if you are going to send anything to me you can either send it to the mission home or send it to this address, not our old house.

                                                 731 Old Waynesboro Rd

                                                       Waynesboro Georgia, 30830

So to answer your question I will probably be staying in Waynesboro for quite sometime. If you've already sent the package Elder Hinton and I will be going to our old house periodically to check for mail stuff.

 On Sunday when Elder Hinton goes home I will be in a trio with Elder Johnson and Elder Memmott. Elder Hinton has been great even though he talks about going home too much which makes me "Trunky" but I've been doing fine. I can't believe that I'm almost two months out already and it's been quite the eventful two months to say the least. Waynesboro sure isn't Utah by any means and if want to experience the Ghetto lifestyle this is the place to go. You see drugs, alcohol, guns, and injustices everywhere you go so we just have to be careful on which situations won't threaten our lives. Don't worry though I mean I'm Mitchellman, what can't I do:) My testimony of Joesph Smith has grown tremendously out here and reading my Patriarchal blessing has really helped me be confident in being out here. I've already learned so much about being on the Lord's team and doing things in harmony with the Gospel. With my bike accident I've really just felt blessed that it wasn't worse and that by listening to the spirit I was able to walk away with little to no injuries. I've been praying for you and I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! The Lord will bless us if we are willing and have faith in him! Let's make Utah our Home!

I hope you got my letter from a few weeks ago and I love the pictures!! You guys look great!

Love Mitch

#newhome #Movingpains #Utahsoundsamazing   #Goodworkfam  #Southernlovin

August 3, 2015 - Hephzibah, Georgia

Hey FAM!

I'm doing great, but wow what a crazy week lol. I didn't think I was going to experience this for sure but hey it's nothing I can't handle. So I broke two bones and the doctor was indian so he didn't tell me much but that I broke the navicular and radius bone.  I have an appointment tomorrow at 10:30 so hopefully all I need is a cast and no surgery.

My showers are a struggle lol, you don't realize how hard life is without two hands, and I've been using Wal-Mart bags to protect it and I've had to stick my arm out and squirt the soap on my body to rub it on my leg or something, but I've figured it out.

I've been getting a lot of attention around here with marks on my face and my sling so that's been kinda fun I guess lol. People just come up and talk to us and make sure I'm okay and while they talk we share scriptures with them so missionary work has been easier lol.

I was mentioned in the missions letter to all the missionaries in Georgia so my name is out there for only being out a month or so lol.

I have so much to tell you and not much time lol, but I'm glad yall are okay and well. Utah sounds like a blast and I miss you all so much!

I know yall like pictures so I'll send you some

I LOVE YOU !!!

Mitch

#tough # nicetrysatan   #cantstopme  #roadtorecovery #lovemyfam