Elder John Hiatt's Mission Blog

Hello family and friends, I have an accent. It is not the same as that of my parents, siblings, or friends. A few people asked about it in Colorado, generally thinking it was British. I apparently have the same accent in Portuguese, so while I was in Brazil people also noticed it. (They also noticed that I was American, so they probably just assumed it was because of that.) When I asked them to describe my accent, they said it sounded French. Here in the South (a few thousand miles north of my original assignment), someone asks about my accent nearly every day. Most people think I sound Nordic, but one person I talked to on Saturday apparently did voice recording at one point and heard a lot of accents, and he described my accent as Israeli or North African (mixed with other accents). Malaquias 3:10 Trazei todos os dízimos à casa do tesouro, para que haja mantimento na minha casa, e provai-me nisto, diz o Senhor dos Exércitos, se eu não vos abrir as janelas do céu, e não derramar sobre...

Hello family and friends, Some people look forward to their birthdays for months. They make plans for meals and desserts, invite all their friends, and write out all the things they want. Others just want to get on with life. On Thursday last week, my companion asked when my birthday was. He was surprised to learn that it was Sunday (yesterday). By the time Sunday came around, he had nearly forgotten, but remembered in time to inform the other missionaries in our zone. We also had dinner with a member family (which was scheduled previously), and they were informed after we arrived that it was my birthday. They did not have a cake for us, but did have brownies and ice cream. Also, when we got home yesterday, we checked the mail and there was a package for me. It contained socks. Doutrina e Convênios 78:19 E aquele que receber todas as coisas com gratidão será glorificado; e as coisas desta Terra ser-lhe-ão acrescentadas, mesmo centuplicad...

Hello family and friends, As most if not all of you know, in March of last year I temporarily returned home from serving a mission in São Paulo, Brazil. I was later given the option to be reassigned immediately or to wait a year, and I chose to wait. Since COVID still isn't gone, I'm not yet able to go back to Brazil, so last week Tuesday I got on a plane to continue serving in the Jacksonville Florida mission, which includes most of northern Florida and southern Georgia. After a day of additional training, on Thursday I was assigned to an area around Kingsland and St. Marys in Georgia, where I will spend at least the next five weeks and probably the next three months or beyond. The work here seems to be going well. Several people have been baptized recently, and others are nearly ready to be baptized themselves. We even found a new person to teach on the first day! It's very different from Brazil, but this is where the Lord ha...

Missionary Reassignment May 26, 2021 Dear President, Elder Hiatt has been temporarily reassigned to the Florida Jacksonville Mission. He will report to the mission the week of 7/6/21. The exact reporting date will be indicated on the travel itinerary that he will receive about two weeks before his departure date. The length of service in this mission is unknown, and reassignment to his original mission will be based upon conditions associated with COVID-19 Elder Hiatt has been reassigned by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. [information concerning travel, COVID-19, etc] Sincerely, The Missionary Department June 6, 2021 Jul 9, 2021, 11:07 AM Dear Family of Elder Hiatt, President Wood asked me to update you and let you know that Elder Hiatt has been assigned to labor in the Kingsland 1st Ward in the Kingsland Stake, Kingsland, Georgia. Attached is a picture of Elder Hiatt with his new companion Elder Benjamin Jackson. In the event you want to send letters or packages dire...