November 28 2011

Mummy,

Hey thanks for your email, it was awesome.  It is crazy to learn that just about everything I've studied this week, you mentioned in your email.  Just before coming to email you, I made the decision to study first and guess which talk I read in the Ensign?  Yep, the same one you mentioned, "You Matter to Him" by President Uchtdorf.  Tapos, I just finished reading the book of Alma this week and so I am fully aware of all the characters and stories that you mentioned.  Crazy hah! Teancum is the man,  Moroni is a beast, the Stripling Warriors are an amazing example for us all, Helaman is so humble and Pahoran (mentioned by dad) shows how we have the choice to either be offended or not.  These are all great men and all amazing servants of the Lord.

Yeah, it is less then a month now to Christmas, and I just realized why you are so excited. lol. Meeeeee!!!!  Will Sister Chadderton and I be calling on different days?  I asked my Mission President at interviews if we were allowed to skype home on Christmas day and he said, "Yep!"  So, can you please send me your skype information so I can skype you all.

This week has been good.  We had P-Day on Monday, interviews on Tuesday and MTC exchanges on Wednesday.   It has been a full on week but fun too. Oh,I met this girl in my Ward and learnt that she and her family used to live in Dubai.  I was thinking about how the church isn't very big in Dubai and asked her if she knew the Coopers.  She did! (Oh, and she knows English) Woohoo!  So, I spent a bit of time talking to her about Dubai, the Coopers and how crazy small the world is to have someone from here know one of the only pinoy families I know that lived in Dubai.  Crazy.  Her name is, Venim Lequinto and she is a Ward Missionary and she worked with us on Sunday, and she speaks English!!! Ha, so cool.  I told her to say hi to Eph next time she goes on Facebook.

Other news, "I'VE BEEN MADE DISTRICT LEADER!"  "What the freak?"  President texted me on Thursday and said, "Elder Chadderton from now on you are the District Leader for your District"  "And if my job wasn't hard enough already, I thought!".   I had to take all the key indicator numbers on Sunday and I had to interview an investigator for baptism as well (in Tagalog) and then I taught the district meeting today.  It was awesome but I feel totally unqualified.  I won't receive any training until next transfers so it's training on the job I guess. Haha!

The missions amazing and I'm having fun and I'm safe.  Our investigators and their families are doing well. 

Good work on the construction in the kitchen and for being such exercise machines. I'm off soda now and doing my push ups in the morning.   It's a beauty!

I love you all heaps and miss you a lot. I'm looking forward to my package coming soon. Woohoo! 

Ingat po kayo. Mahal ko kayo lahat.

Elder Chadderton

P.s. Can you tell the Ables to write to AJ.  Last week he said that he hadn't got any emails or mail yet.  I don't know if it's a fault or if they are just busy but he has been sick with the flu and could use a letter from home.

November 21 2011

Hey Mum,

Thanks for the email.  I'm doing good and my new companionship is going well.  We've had a whole lot more success this week and we have had a member work with us and has helped us to find 5 to 6 new families and where they live.  So awesome!  We have stepped it up this week and it will take some time to get our numbers up to standard but we're willing to work hard to get there. 

It rained here on Tuesday and because I didn't have an umbrella, I just soldiered on in the rain all day.   We got the strangest looks from the Pinoys, basically because they have a disease here called, "Pasma", that causes you to have the shakes or shaky hands, and apparently you can catch it from being out in the rain.   So, when my companion and I went to our appointments, people were asking us if we had pasma.  It's very superstitious here and quite hilarious but I guess they all have their own beliefs.

We have Zone interviews tomorrow with President between 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.  I am looking forward to the interviews and after that we head back out and get straight back into the work. That's the hard part, but we can do it.

We don't have an oven in our house but we do have a stove and my companion has been trying to teach me how to make, "Adobong Baboy" (braised pork in a tangy sauce).  Very masarap!!!   He is still really quiet.  

Oh, I saw a green Rav 4 yesterday and thought of you guys.  I told my companion that we have a car like that back home and he told me that at his house they have a bike with a side-cart, or they just walk where ever they need to go.  Hard life style!

About the washing of my laundry by hands, I only do it on P-Days and it takes me about two to three hours with all the soaking, scrubbing, rinsing and bleaching that has to be done.  It's all good and it is definitely teaching me patience and perseverance plus a good learning experience. 

Not much else has happened this week but its been good.  We were invited over to the Elders Quorum President's house, and he is so cool and is also Bishop's brother.  The work is going well,  I'm doing well and having fun doing it. 

Oh yeah, our water filter broke this week so we've been a bit dehydrated.  At night time, instead of drinking water we go out and get soft drinks.   It's not good, so hopefully, our filter will be fixed sometime this week so I can get off the soda. Pero.   We have this supermarket that I go to, and I found a place there that sells Bundaberg Ginger beer and PEECHIES.   It is expensive - about 67 pesos a bottle - and the other day I got one of each and cherished them.  Hahaha!  They were so awesome!

Mum, I love you heaps and wanted to let you know that I've almost finished reading through the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon.  I used to think that the book of Alma was boring but man I was so wrong.  I just finished reading about Amalickiah and now I'm reading about the Stripling Warriors.   Amazing Talaga! I really liked the part where Captain Moroni fortified all the cities so that they were strong and then he gave the soldiers armor so their bodies were protected. i compared it to how we need to do the same in our lives, that is, make our fortifications strong - our homes, our lifestyles - and then after that, we need to then strengthen ourselves.  It is so cool and really important to do that.  The Book of Mormon is true and it hurts when I see people not reading these awesome words that are right in front of their eyes.  It hurts me to think back and ponder as to why it took me so long to read it.  It is the word of God and it is there for us.   All we have to do is open it and read.

Good work on the running and exercise.  Keep it up.  I love you all heaps.

Elder Chadderton 

November 15 2011

Hi Mum,

Mate, I don't even think that epistle covers what you just sent.  Wow!  But, thanks, I loved it!

So, news about me, well, firstly, transfer day was a huge success - really awesome.  I'm now in Quezon City Zone (City) in Bago Bantay 2 area.  We live on Road 10 just off Visayas Avenue.  If you want look for it on the map, it is right next to a golf course.  I am companion to a missionary fresh out of the MTC.  He is a Filipino from Bicol, in the Naga Mission area.  His name is Elder Cortezano, he is very quiet and I think he is scared of me...hahaha!  I don't blame him.   I have been speaking the most Tagalog I have ever spoken in my whole life because I have a Filipino companion.  I have to lead our area and the other missionaries in our house are all Filipino too.  Woohoo!  I love it!  District meeting is a wonderful break as it is all in English.  I am learning to form sentences a lot faster and to speak Tagalog a whole lot better so it's the best thing that could have happened to me.

Elder Cortezano is super shy and he follows almost all that I do.  He is 22 years of age  but looks like a 14 year old.   He loves the scriptures and is good at cooking.  He is skinny azz.  It is so cool Mum because he wrote me a letter in English today and told me about his life.  There are four children in his family and he is the third child,  but the first to serve a mission.  His dad passed away about 5 years ago and he would work with his mum at the market during the week. He is really a quiet person and the cool part is that he knows the doctrine really well.  He bore his testimony at one of our lessons and started to cry.  He is here for the right reasons but he just needs to gain some confidence within himself and try to make friends.

Our area is a beast.  The City is sooooooo, much hotter than the provinces and we have a map of our area but its useless.  The first day we spent walking around looking for families and had no success.  The second day the same thing but we actually got to find people.  I was praying hard that day and then on Sunday we went to Bishop's house for dinner and got to visit with him and his family and they showed us some of the other members houses in the area.  That was sweet.  This week will be a beauty week and I just need to get out there and do it.

Oh, Mum, I finally got to see Elder Abel.  Astig.  He is our Zone Leaders companion.  I didn't realise that he had put on so much weight but he's awesome. He told me that he used to live up by Whangarei before his mission.   I didn't even know.  He is doing good and he has a good companion.

I hope you're all doing well.  Good work on the 10 km run.  Keep it up.  Glad you got to see pictures of Elder Stebbings.  I know he'll lose any excess weight before I get home.

Oh man my pants are getting too big for me and I'm on the last notch of my belt. Aaaargghh!  I think I will lose more weight now being in the city as it is so, so, hot here.   Mum,  I had my first experience today of having to wash all my clothes, "by hand!" Crack up azzz Mum!  I've washed like, one or two pieces of clothing before by hand, but this was the first time I had to wash everything by hand.  It is hard work, but at least I have clean clothes.  Hehehe! 

I love you heaps family.  Please say hi to the Stebbings and the Coys for me.   Give my love to the kids. 

Mahal ko kayo lahat.

Elder Chadderton 

November 9 2011

Hey Mum,

Thanks for the emails and the freaking huge package.  I'm  looking forward to getting it.  It must have cost you a fortune.  Wow! 

This week has been surprising and scary at the same time.  Firstly, we've had dinner pretty much every night which is awesome.  We went to Elder Teh's house for dinner last night. Mum, he is the Area President over the Philippines and is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.   The food was amazing and it was awesome to be in the house of a general authority.  He said he had to get permission from our Mission President before he could have us over for dinner.  His house is in Masagana 2nd Ward area and we were invited to tag along to dinner as well.   It was awesome!

Now for the scary part.  As you know, we have transfers tomorrow, and I already knew that I would become a senior companion.  Well, I got a text from the Assistant's on Tuesday telling me that I will be, "TRAINING!".  Holy smokes, I've been in the Philippines for four months and now I've been called to train a new missionary.  But, in district meeting this morning when they were calling out the other announcements on who will be staying or transferring, my name was called out to transfer!  So, what this means is that not only will I be training, but I will be transferring as well and I'll be moving into a new area that neither I nor my companion has ever been to.  Man oh man!

I was reassured at the training meeting that the Lord has trust in me and that the trainers are called because they are the most elite missionaries.   I feel so inadequate.  When I was sitting in the meeting yesterday I was surrounded by missionaries that had been serving for over a year.  All of them have trained before, they know the language and they've all had a lot of experience as a missionary.  Oh man!  I know that I'll be taken care of and I keep telling myself, "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies!" 

So Mum, this is my new calling and it's going to be a huge growing experience, huge, but I know that through much fasting, prayer and faith in my Savior Jesus Christ I will be fine.  All these experiences will be for my good.

I'm gonna include some pictures for you:

1. Me and another Elder in a trike

2. My zone

3. Dinner at Elder Teh's house

4. Again

5. A birthday party we were invited to

6. Me and Mowgli.  I dont know his name but hes a cute little kid.

7. Another pic at the party. 

8. Me and two of our Ward missionaries

Sweet as. Mum I'm having fun here.  I'm scared about training but I know I'll be fine. I usually work well under pressure. I love you heaps and am so grateful for all you do for me.  The pics of the package are mind boggling - chocolate galore!  Me and my companion are going to have fun eating that. 

I'll update you next week  on the haps with my new area and companion and I'll try to send some more pics too.

Love you heaps,

Elder Chadderton

P.s. One of the Ward missionaries told me my blog was cool. Haha!

October 31 2011

Hey Mum,

Thanks for the emails.  It was our mail run today and I got all your letters, postcards, and the calender.  So cool!  All the sister missionaries were looking at the pictures of Baby Joe, Hinalei, and my sisters.   Funny aye, but thanks heaps for the letters and everything. 

The Christmas package that you are putting together sounds great and it's just what I need for a good Christmas in the Philippines.  Thanks heaps Mum.

We have transfer day next week and a little birdie told me that I am going to be made a Senior Companion!  Wow!  So exchanges definitely, but I probably won't be able to see Elder Able for a while like I had hoped but it's all good.

Our baptism on Saturday did go through and the girl was so happy.   She was very nervous at the beginning and a little uncertain of what was going to happen but once we started, the spirit came and  she calmed down and we all had a great time. I've included some pictures of the baptism for you.

Some sad news.  So, you know how I told you we had exchanges last week?  Well, some of the older Elders thought that it would be cool to go to the Mall.   This is not allowed unless it's P-Day.   Anyway, they went to the arcades and did some shopping.  (Idiots!)  Turns out that a member from that area saw them and contacted President.  They got in trouble and lost their Cellphone and DVD privileges.  Pretty sad really, anyway,  President talked to each of them and they have committed to improve.   Unfortunately, my companion was one of them, so while we were working in the hot sun they were all out in their P-Day clothes playing games at the arcade. 

Everything's going to be okay and President said that as long as we're doing the right thing we won't get in trouble and to make sure that as missionaries we all need to step up and watch out for our companions.  That is what I've had to start doing.   In my patriarchal blessing  it talks about my name and how Richard means, "Powerful" and Solomon means, "Humble".   It also talks about how in my formal mission and church callings I will exercise these attributes of, "power and humility" wisely and prayerfully. That's exactly what I've had to do this week Mum.  I keep telling myself, "Only a week and a half to go!"  I'm happy though, and prayer has become a big part of my mission.  It really does work.

Mum, I love you very much and I'm so greatful for all that you do for me.  Take care of yourself and the family.  Pray always and the Lord will take care of you. 

Have fun on Guy Fawke's day and don't hurt yourself.   Love you heaps and heaps.

Elder Chadderton 

p.s. The pics are of the baptism we had on Saturday. The girls name is Antoinette Bo David. 

The other pic is of an investigator we have, the girl with the kid, the boys a member. They're my age, and the other one is of my comp, the same investigator and one of our ward missionary sisters.

Awesome.