Letter to his sister Jaylen

Dear Jaylen,

It is good to hear from you. I am glad that you liked my card. It is also good to hear that you had a good birthday. I'm happy to know that you are doing service also and having missionary opportunities while doing the service. I'm sorry that school is like a prison. I hope that the new school you'll go to will be better next year. The teachers can be real poopers sometimes also. You will survive though I promise. You just may be a little emotionally scarred for the rest of your life. But, I turned out okay. . . . .right? I hardly remember seminary or anything I learned in it because I was in zombie mode each morning when I went. Bad mistake. Don't do what I did.

It is really nice out here. It gets about to the mid 70's each day here. It is so sunny and pretty. It doesn't even feel like winter. A ton of people avoid me though. The badge that I wear must say "stay away" or something because I have seen people do some crazy maneuvers to try and not walk by us.

My companion, Elder Catmull, is cool. We have our differences sometimes, but for the most part we get along okay. Claire says that she sees you a lot in the hallway. Look for the opportunities to share the gospel each day with people you know. Stay strong and be happy. Love you!

Love, Connor

Letter to his sister Kate

Dear Kate,

It sounds like you're having a lot of fun back home. Hope you had a fun Halloween. Thanks for sending me some of your candy. I'm glad to hear that soccer is going well. Keep working hard at it. Go walking with Annie some more. She must be depressed because I left and as a result she is putting on some weight.

Guess what? I have a cell phone also! It isn't as nice as my old phone and doesn't have any games, but I text and call people all the time on it. Which phone did you get?

How is Minecraft going? I think that the game officially comes out on the 17th of November and you'll be able to play the full game then. It will be a huge update. You'll have to tell me how it is. Keep saying your prayers and reading your scriptures every day.

Love, Connor

Connor with missionaries in his zone.

I am happy that you had a good Thanksgiving. Happy B-day I sent you a card I don't know if it got there yet. Oh Kate she is so so funny. Ha ha I love hearing little stories like that keep them coming because I am sure Kate has a lot more in her. Our ward is full of BYU grads mom. Of course I don't play the piano about every single person in Priesthood plays the piano and we have an organist. Ha ha I barely get to practice though because Elder Catmull doesn't like it because he has to sit in the room with me while I do. So I have done it about once. I did get it. "I hope your happy, I hope your happy know. I hope your happy know that you've hurt your cause forever, I hope you think your clever. I hope your happy! I hope your happy too. That you would grovel is submission, to feed your own ambition!" Ha ha we had that soundtrack memorized. I will tell you about my average day in a letter I will send you guys. Me and Clare talk a lot. I am happy Jaylen did good at soccer though. Do you think she will get to do soccer in college? Send me some Christmas music. I am dieing for some. Love you so much and thank you for all the stuff you have sent me!!!

Connor's bed.

Connor's bathroom. I was just heppy to see him in the picture!

I only have an hour to write lol so I didn't get to all of them last week. I have a ton of e-mails so I will try to answer all the quesitons. They don't screen e-mails well at least I hope they don't...... jk They don't ha ha.

We have dinner at a members home on Thanksgiving and we can go. Sorry must have typed that in wrong. Ya we totally can go to dinner on Thanksgiving. The people we are going to are the Keesters. He is a spine surgeon and she is an amazing cook. He is super smart though and a little crazy lol. He has been down to Panama three times because he thinks he is withing 10 miles of locating Moroni's library and finding the Brass Plates that Nephi took from Laban. They are prophecied to come forth in the latter days though so it's kinda cool. Also he has found out the way to cure scoliosis. Can't work on me though because it has to be on a kid younger than 12 lol.

If you could send those other games also that would be great. Me and Catmull need stuff to do sometimes at night and when he isn't feeling well. He suffers from IBS (irritable bowl syndrome) so sometimes he can't walk because he hurts so much in the stomach so we just sit somedays. He also has a weekend immune system so he is constanlly sick. This is his third sinus infection he has had since I have been with him lol. So we have a lot of rest time. It is okay though because I am studying the Old Testiment really hard and learning a ton. Also we have the biggest teaching pool in our zone. 10 people.

I need Dayquil and Nyquil, advil, popcorn, just snacks stuff you can send. That trail mix was amazing and thank you so so much. Thank you for the game also. Catmull loves it and we have played it twice already. (I got it Thursday). I will definitly thank Nana. she sent me a letter and that was really nice of her. I wrote her back also.

Thanksgiving sounds fun lol for the Hinckley family. The missionaries hopefully get fed. Don't worry about feeding them because you are already so packed schedule. Feed them a lot though because When we get fed it is blessing. I literally would not get fed every night if it wasn't for the members because 150 a month isn't enough. So you thank them every night for feeding your son wonderful meals and feed the missionaries. They love it. Hopefully they are normal.

I can't believe that she got married. She was definitly a sweet sweet spirit and a nice girl...... Wow good luck to that guy ha ha jk. That is good for her though.

If you see Clare be nice. Her Grandfather just passed away at age 61. It was random and he was very healthy. She is taking it very hard so reach out to her if you can. Make her some cookies for me or something cause I can't. Her family is really sad right now. Thanks guys.

The pics are of some people in my zone and some sisters. The sisters are all pretty sweet spirits. They actually are more apostate (another word for not the best missionaries) then any of the Elders. It's funny.

Do you play the piano at all? Do people even know that you can play the piano?

Edler Catmull says I can't play anything but hyms but when we get into the car he cranks up christian rock. I feel that is a double standard but oh well. Yes most people know I can but I haven't yet played that much because He only lets me play hyms which are lame. lol I wan't to play my own stuff.

Did you get donuts in the mtc?

Yes I got the Donuts and thank you so so so so much. :)

Did you get the package with the AXE in it?

Did you get the package with the trail mix in it?

Did you get the package with the towel in it?

Did you get the package with the bubble gum and Cracker Jacks?

Did you get the package with the jackets?

I got all those pacages and thank you so so much. Your awesome and all the snacks were wonderful. I can't buy snacks here becasue they are too expensive. So they tasted wonderfull.

How often do you go the the mission home?

We never go to the misison home ever. We have to stay in our area at all times unless for a meeting outside the area which hardly ever happens.

Is it close?

Have you gone to the temple in the mtc or in CA? Can you?

I went twice in Provo but haven't yet here. I will get to around christmas time.

What discussions have you taught?

I have taught a ton of lessons. We have 6 people we teach pretty regularly once a week. We stop by and check on them also during the week. Most lessons cancel on us though which isn't fun. Work and scheduleing is the missionaries biggest foe.

What is the weather like?

Amazingly beautifull and sunny

What fruits and veggies have you eaten in the last two days?

apples carrots and beans and shakes with frozen fruits. Most veggies and fruits come from members houses because they are super uber expensive at the grocery store.

Are you taking your vitamins?

Yes I am

Are you wearing your contacts?

Yes I am

What do you do on Sunday in Church? Have you had to speak?

My first Sunday was fast Sunday and I got called up to give my testimony lol.

I think Connor's desk is a little messier than Elder Catmull's.

They each get a desk.

The kitchen. Pretty clean!!!!

Elder Catmull

I haven't heard from you guys in awhile hope you are doing okay. Hope you got my e-mail saying that I got here okay. I sent you a letter today telling about some things here but I will send some pics and most of the stuff about Cali for the blog and you. I hope you got my pics I send you in the mail also.

I get $150 a month here which is not enough at all. Groceries are so so so so expensive here.

I have a car in my mission and chances are I may not need to get a bike unless I get transferred to a bike mission but then the mission sometimes provides the bike. We drive a nice car also. It is a '10 Toyota Corroal. Quite the step up from my 99 Camery. Ha ha

My companion is Elder Catmull and is really great. I will be with him for the next three months at least while he trains me. He went to High school with Jess and even knows here which is pretty cool. Me and him like a lot of the same stuff. He played basketball in High school and so we love doing that on P-day which is Monday/today. We also love board games and he even created his own board game with army men and we play it on p-day. We also play battleship on p-day. We need more board games though so it would be amazing if you could send me either the Zombies!!! board game, The Walking Dead board game, or my Mechwarrior board game which is in a shoe box. They are all in my closet on a shelf. That would be amazing if you could do that. Don't worry it isn't against the rules we asked the mission president and we would only play them on p-day. That would be awesome if you could do that. Gives us something else to do on P-day and promotes companionship unity. Thank you guys so much.

Our daily schedule changes from day to day. Wake up at 6:30 do exercises and stuff then we eat break feast have personal study then companion study then we go out to appointments with investigators and what not. We street contact a lot because we are in the University ward for UCI (University of California something) we nick name it the University of Chinese Immigrants because it is about 60% Asian. Anaheim is the birth place of Anti-Mormon Literature though so everybody knows about the Mormons and is usually full of false doctrine about us. There are a ton of great and abominable churches here also lol. The Jews hate us and yell at us all the time in Hebrew. It's okay though. For the most part everybody here is really super nice to us and listens to our message for the most part......except the Jews. They really really hate us for some reason. Some Catholic guy called us followers of Joseph Smith and wanted to bash with us but we talked him down and he actually agreed to read the BoM and find out if it is false doctrine or not.

The members here are super nice. Most of them are BYU grads doing their PhD or master programs at UCI. We are fed every night though by a member which is really good because we wouldn't be able to feed ourselves with only $150 a month. The temple is right across the street from the church building and is so so pretty. Look up the Newport Beach Temple and you'll see how cool it is. It has Rose colored granite instead of white on the outside.

I only get to write letters and check e-mails on P-day (Monday) and only get mail on Thursdays.

We don't get to ever go to Disneyland or the beach. Even the sidewalks are off limits. Next to swimming pools. apparently there is a history of girls exposing themselves to missionaries. So we aren't allowed to go by the sororities because girls will steal our name tag and stick it in their cleavage and make us fish it out while they take a picture of it. Apparently Missionaries are the second most wanted men according to GQ. It's a good thing that hasn't happened to me yet though.

I'm feeding myself fine though and am eating healthy. Just today for lunch I had rice, orange chicken, a banana, some tiny tomatoes, and Mt. Dew. Cooked it all myself. Aren't you proud of me?

So Elder Catmull will be training me for the next six months and then probably get transferred out of the area. Then I will stay in it and get a new companion and get transferred to a new area two-three months after that.

President Bowen is such a cool guy. He believes in the Spirit of the Law and not the Letter of the Law which makes him a cool guy already. I love him so much and feel like I can talk to him about anything. He is really spiritual and does have relatives in Star Valley. He is like uber rich also.

I need a second towel. If you can send that it would be amazing. That's all I really need right now. I love to hear from you so don't be afraid to write or e-mail your only son and missionary.

Some pics of the apartment and of Elder Catmull. I will send more next week of me. I love you guys and remember to read and pray by yourselves and especially as a family. God loves you and blesses you a ton. Never forget that. I love you guys!!

Don't forget to send me some board game and also another towel. Thanks so much Family of Mine!!

November 14, 2011

Hi mom!! Everything is going great here. I do need some things though. I need temple clothes asap. It is a small temple so you can't rent clothes here. I just need slippers, pants 34/34, and a white tie. They have packets here we can use. I don't go to the temple till next transfer though and that is in 4 weeks so there is some time. I have white socks also. I also need another hand towel along with the big towel if that would be possible. Also some more shampoo. I don't want to buy it because it is soooo expensive. Also popcorn please lol. I really miss it and it is $4.00 for three bags of generic brand here. Way to expensive. Thanks so much mom. Please send the board games also. Me and Catmull need something to do on Thanksgiving day because we aren't allowed to go to the gym and no one wants to be bugged on Thanksgiving so we basically are stuck in our apartment all day. So those board games would be awesome to play then.

We actually walk a ton here. More than we drive because our area is so small. The farthest thing away is five miles so definitely within walking distance. We are only given a certain # of miles we can drive each month so we walk a lot so we can use them for other things.

The mission president before Bowen was letter of the law guy so I lucked out because Bowen is awesome and totally spirit of the law. He is really spiritual though and such a Christ like man.

Me and Elder Catmull are the only ones in our apartment and it is like that in the whole mission. They don't like missionaries living together because things can get more rowdy sometimes.

I haven't driven yet because Catmul is the designated driver. I am cleared to drive though if I ever needed to. The traffic can get pretty bad but it isn't bad at all. We don't live in the big city though so it is mostly residental where we are.

The weather is so so nice. It is just beautiful here. It doesn't go above 75 during the day and doesn't go below 55 at night and that is just winter. Summer it is suppose to be even nicer. It is just sunny every day though.

We don't see missionaries very often unless it's p-day and we are at the church or it is district meetings because we are the only ones in our area. The ocean isn't in our area but Elder Catmul took me to it and we got some pics by it.

We have the biggest investigator pool out of everyone. We teach a lot and contact a lot. Hand out pass along cards on campus to students, mostly asian.

My first Sunday was nice. I had to bear my testimony and just introduce myself. Everyone asks me if I am related to Gordon B. EVERYONE DOES lol. Then I tell them how I am related and they are like. Meh okay. It's funny. The members are so nice though and everyone is just really strong in the church. I love you guys so much.

First Picture with all new missionaries and President Bowen and his wife

President Bowen and his wife are from Idaho Falls, ID.

November 1, 2011 First Day in California

I made it safe and sound. President Bowen is letting me e-mail you to let you know that. He also says to thank you for raising me to be so strong in the spirit. :) So thank you! I did get the donuts and thank you!!! They were very good. That's funny about Kate' costume. I was Spider-man for the last Halloween. That's how I met Jess remember lol. This Halloween I said goodbye to everyone at the MTC because it was my last night there. Jess sent me some Spider-rings so that I could wear them and kinda dress up for Halloween there. I love you guys and love hearing your stories. I miss you.

Tell dad he can if he wants I don't care if I have that car or another. It's all the same to me. Teri isn't allowed to see me at the airport. No one is. I have bought at the bookstore as follows

1. Voice recorder and tapes for Jess

2. Book of Mormon for Clare

3. Vitamin C suck on things

4. breath strips

5. stamps

6. A notebook

7. letters

8. a Motab CD

9. Three pens

Thats about it. I have recieved the most mail from Jess so far. Nana gave me two travel sized contact solution so they won't last me that long. We have had a devotional from richard G. Scott. It was a really good talk. We don't really learn about the gospel here. We mainly learn about how to teach it. We do A TON of roleplaying here. One time my district leader Elder Atiga and me were practicing in class. He was roleplaying an investigator and I was practicing asking him to be baptised. Elder Atiga is a tongan, and is ripped and pretty intimidating. He was roleplaying someone named George. He said he didn't want to be baptized because he wanted to clear things up with his ex-wife first and see his kids again. I began then to teach him about forgiveness and repentance and then the holy ghost seized hold upon my body and my mouth. I raised my finger at probably a man that could kill me with his bare hands and told him that if he was baptized I would promise him that his wife would forgive him for is misdeeds because she would see him making the choice to come closer to Christ. I couldn't believe what I had just said to this huge Elder when he looked at me and said thank you. I was roleplaying my cousin and he had just asked me how he could get his ex-wife to forgive him and see his kids again. He isn't a member and I just received an answer to his question through you. That was probably the most powerful experience so far at the MTC. Love you guys so so much and miss you guys. Please write. I will answer more question in a letter send all letters after wednesday to my new address which will be in a letter I send to you guys.

So they wont let me send pictures over e-mail here at the MTC computers which is lame. So I will write like a long letter and you can put as much of it as you want on the blog. Love you.

So I have been here for one week at the MTC and it feels like I have been here for months. I have done so much growing spiritually that It feels like I'm half way through my mission. I have sixteen hour days here, wake up at 6:30 in bed at 10:30. Our entire day is scheduled down to every minute and we have class all the time. It is a very hard schedule but I'm enjoying it very much. I am in a trio companionship and you cannot go anywhere without your companion. My companions are Edler Battorff and Elder Kenning. They are great guys and I enjoy having them around all the time. I can't wait for my three weeks of training to be done here so I can go out in the feild. It is really cold in the mornings here in Utah I can't wait for the California Weather. There are so many people here at the MTC all so strong in the gospel that it makes the spirit so strong. My P day is on wednesday which means that I can wear normal clothes, not a white shirt and tie, and do laundry and go to the temple. I love getting all of your e-mails and letters please send more. I have gotten the most mail out of everyone in my district which makes everyone jealous. I love you all so so much!!! Don't forget to pray. My 30 minutes is almost up so I will write more next week.

Love you mom feel free to edit anything and put stuff in from my letters that I send you. In fact please do. Thanks and love you.

Pictures at the Provo Temple

Dear Hinckley Family,

So here is me answering all of Mom's questions.

(What are your companions like?) Elder Kenning is from Maine and Elder Battorff is from Ohio. They will be going to the same mission as me , but when we get there we will have different companions. Elder Battorff was a local DM and played Warhammer 40k. He also wrote code for games and made many of them. Elder Kenning played piano and surfed.

(Have you gotten a haircut?) I HAVE gotten a haircut, just my normal 3 on the side and trim up top. It looks good and all straight. I also bought detergent and dryer sheets. Also, a lot of Febreeze and odor eliminators.

(Do you have enough clothes?) Two suits are just fine and I'm not going to wear them that much in the field. A jacket would be great for my p-days but I don't need a sweater.

(What techie thing he missed the most.) I miss being able to look up and Google things instantly the most.

(What do you learn?)We learn mostly how to teach not much doctrine.

(How is Jess doing?) Jess is being very positive and great. She is helping me more than I'm helping her right now. I love you guys. This is my new address:

Elder Connor William Hinckley
California Anaheim Mission
2500 N Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

I leave November 1st and I am way excited to get out into the field. I love you guys so much and miss you guys. I love you.

Love, Connor

p.s. Ask Papa or Nana if they know Wynn Hemmert. He is my mission president in the MTC.

A letter from the MTC

Hi Family,

I can't believe the organ got there after I did! (Grandma Jane's organ came by gigantic truck a week or two after Connor left for the MTC) It better be there when I get back? Things are going good. Now I'll answer Mom's questions: My day is jam packed and completely scheduled for me. I have no down town and it is work all day long. It is a little like that show (a tv program about the MTC that aired on KBYU after general conference that fall. We had watched it before he left.) except I'm a lot more tired than the people they interviewed. The Spirit is so strong here 24/7. I am so blessed to feel it all the time. I have seen Parker Call, Kyle Bradfield, and Spencer Twitchell. It is very very hard. Yes, people are very very nice, even the mo mo's (Molly Mormons).

1. Beef jerky 2. Donuts 3. Doritos 4. Cookies 5. Chips and salsa. (Mom had asked him what foods he wanted the most while there.)

I miss you guys so much! Elder Kenning is great and me and him get along so well. Elder Bottorff is good. I gave him one of my soaps. I need some more. He attacked me the other day because I trapped another Elder in my closet as a joke, and he came up and punched me HARD! Apparently, I triggered some sort of memory where some kids trapped him in a locker. We had a good talk after that about using words not actions when you are angry. I am trying to love him more every day though and he is just so so smart. Uber smart. I love you guys so much. God loves you all also, he knows how much of a great family you are. I miss you.

Love Connor Boy

MTC Emails

October 19,

So they wont let me send pictures over e-mail here at the MTC computers which is lame. So I will write like a long letter and you can put as much of it as you want on the blog. Love you.

So I have been here for one week at the MTC and it feels like I have been here for months. I have done so much growing spiritually that It feels like I'm half way through my mission. I have sixteen hour days here, wake up at 6:30 in bed at 10:30. Our entire day is scheduled down to every minute and we have class all the time. It is a very hard schedule but I'm enjoying it very much. I am in a trio companionship and you cannot go anywhere without your companion. My companions are Elder Battorff and Elder Kenning. They are great guys and I enjoy having them around all the time. I can't wait for my three weeks of training to be done here so I can go out in the field. It is really cold in the mornings here in Utah I can't wait for the California Weather. There are so many people here at the MTC all so strong in the gospel that it makes the spirit so strong. My P day is on wednesday which means that I can wear normal clothes, not a white shirt and tie, and do laundry and go to the temple. I love getting all of your e-mails and letters please send more. I have gotten the most mail out of everyone in my district which makes everyone jealous. I love you all so so much!!! Don't forget to pray. My 30 minutes is almost up so I will write more next week.

Love you mom feel free to edit anything and put stuff in from my letters that I send you. In fact please do. Thanks and love you.

Oct 26, (Dad's comments in black)

I have received the most mail from Jess so far (Thank you Jess!). Nana gave me two travel sized contact solutions so they won't last me that long. We have had a devotional from Richard G. Scott. It was a really good talk. We don't really learn about the gospel here. We mainly learn about how to teach it. We do A TON of role playing here. One time my district leader Elder Atiga and me were practicing in class. He was role playing an investigator and I was practicing asking him to be baptized. Elder Atiga is a Tongan, and is ripped and pretty intimidating. He was role playing someone named George. He said he didn't want to be baptized because he wanted to clear things up with his ex-wife first and see his kids again. I began then to teach him about forgiveness and repentance and then the holy ghost seized hold upon my body and my mouth. I raised my finger at probably a man that could kill me with his bare hands and told him that if he was baptized I would promise him that his wife would forgive him for is misdeeds because she would see him making the choice to come closer to Christ. I couldn't believe what I had just said to this huge Elder when he looked at me and said thank you. I was role playing my cousin and he had just asked me how he could get his ex-wife to forgive him and see his kids again. He isn't a member and I just received an answer to his question through you. That was probably the most powerful experience so far at the MTC (I'm kind of in awe as well as happy for Connor).

Love you guys so so much and miss you guys. Please write. I will answer more question in a letter send all letters after Wednesday to my new address which will be in a letter I send to you guys.

Connor's Second Letter (Mom's comments are in green.)

I can't believe the organ got there after I left. (We got Grandma Jane's organ by truck just a few days after he left.) It better be there when I get back. Things are going good. Now I'll answer mom's questions. (I had a lot of questions.)

My day is jam packed and completely scheduled for me. (I bet he loves this. He can't even handle to-do lists, let alone an entire day of scheduling.) I have no down time and it is work all day long. It is a little like that show we watched, except I'm a lot more tired that the people they interviewed. (We had watched a KBYU show about the MTC right before he left.)

The Spirit is so strong here 24/7. I am so blessed to feel it all the time. I have seen Parker Call, Kyle Bradfield, and Spencer Twitchell. It is very very hard.

Yes, people are very very nice, even the mo mo's (Stands for Molly Mormons.) (I had asked if people were nice to him.)

1. Beef jerky 2. Donuts 3. Doritos 4. Cookies 5. Chips and salsa (I had asked him what he wanted the most.)

I am learning to really get along with Elder Bottorff. He attacked me the other day because I trapped another Elder in my closet as a joke and he came up and punched me HARD. Apparently I triggered some sort of memory, where some kids trapped him in a locker. We then had a good talk after that about using words not actions. I am learning to love him more every day and he is very smart. Uber smart. I love you guys so much. God loves you all also. He knows how much of a great family you are. I miss you.

Love, Connor Boy

First Letters from the Missionary

We received our first letter from Connor. YEAH!!!!! Of course it was on Spiderman stationary. What can I say. He hasn't changed too much. This was after his first day at the MTC. This is what this card said:

Miss you guys so much. The MTC is really great though and I am having a lot of fun. The Spirit is so strong and powerful here and it is all so amazing. I have two companions. They had an odd number of Elders so I got TWO companions. E

Elder Kenning (who is John Kenning's cousin) and Elder Bottorff. I am learning great patience. Elder Bottorff has a very literal way of looking at things. I am learning to love him. Elder Kenning is great and we get along pretty well.

I ate fruit today and all of my food. (This comment was for Mom because I was really worried about how healthily he would eat on his mission.) It has been a wonderful first day. I love you guys so much. I am doing the right thing here.

Love Connor

Firsties

Alright so this is my first post on my mission blog. It is the day before I leave and I am extremely nervous. I know though that I am doing the right thing by going and that the Lord needs me out in California right now. I'm packing all my things because we have to leave my house at like 3:00 am tomorrow. At least I will be able to sleep in the car and on the plane. Then I will get to Utah and go strait to the MTC (missionary training center) in Provo. I will stay there for three weeks learning about the gospel and how to teach it to investigators. I will be able to check my e-mail once a week so please send me e-mails. I will also try to post on this blog once a week. Thank you to everyone who has gotten me to this point with your love, encouragement, and donations. I will try to make you all proud out there in the mission field. You can e-mail me at connor.hinckley@myldsmail.net and please e-mail me!!!