26 December 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

Another great week here in Tandang Sora.  It was so awesome to skype and see your beautiful faces, especially de'niece' and de 'nephew's' … hehe.  Awesome.  Thanks for everything and I think I told you everything during our skype session.  I love you all so, so, much.  I can't believe that Jenna's almost finished her mission.  That went ridiculously fast and to think that I'm next.  Oh man... 

Thanks family again and just so you know, we have transfers next week so I will be emailing on Wednesday to tell you if I'm moving or not.  The time for me is going so fast and before you know it,  I will be the one buying little prezzies to bring home. Oh man!  Please tell Hinalei I'm excited for my date with her.  I think she can just be my girlfriend when I get back. Hehe.

Well, family, I don't have much else to share other than I love you all so much. Take care and have a great week.

Elder Chadderton

17 December 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone.  Christmas is so close and I can just about hear your voices.  Just to confirm, 10:00 a.m. is when I will skype - or somewhere between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.  Thanks for all the emails and the pictures.  You guys look awesome in the pics.

We've had a pretty amazing week.  We had an experience on Saturday night where we visited the house of one of our investigators.   On entering the house the son asked us straight away if we could give his mum a blessing.  I said it would be fine and he shared with us his mum's condition and how she had deteriorated.  We learnt that about 8 months ago she had a stroke and is now paralyzed down the right side of her body.  I remember when I first arrived in this area the mum's health was okay and she could sit up straight, was eating okay and overall, she seemed to be alright.  But, when I saw her today she was barely breathing and had dropped so much weight and she was in a lot of pain.  As I was about to give her a blessing, I was inspired to give a blessing of comfort where I was to prepare her and her family for when she enters the spirit world.  It was an interesting experience for me to give a blessing like that but I just followed what the spirit was telling me to do.  After the blessing we sat down and you could feel a sense of calm enter the room.  The mum's breathing seemed to settle and she went to sleep.  It was an amazing experience.  I haven't had any contact with the family since Saturday so I'm praying that they are doing okay.

On another note, the work has been great and we were able to teach over 40 lessons this past week so we have been very busy.  Our Mission is focusing once again on investigators so we have been doing some finding to help grow our teaching pool.  It's fun and I've come to realize that while tracting is a form of finding people, I know that the best way to get new investigators is to work with the members as they know people who are ready to hear the gospel.  Our area is progressing and Elder Van Dyke is progressing too.  I've been trying my best to help him memorize different phrases and words in Tagalog so that he can participate more during the lessons.   He's getting it and I know how hard it can be for him.  I find myself taking over the discussion during the lessons and I'm not complaining because I know Elder Van Dyke will get it and contribute more as he becomes more confident in speaking the language.  He will have a better mission for knowing the language.

I am excited to Skype you guys next week and I'm going to go to the same internet cafe that I skyped from last Christmas because I know that its legit.  Unlike when I skyped home for Mother's day and the reception wasn't that great.  I am going to look for some nice things to give to some of my investigators and less actives this week for Christmas.  Thanks again family for the Christmas money.  Thanks for everything.  I love you guys heaps. Take care and have a great week.

Elder Chadderton 

10 December 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

Thanks for the emails and the pictures.  I'm sure you know that this time of year is very special for all of us, especially because of the memories from previous Christmas'.  Don't cry mum because the things that you and dad shared in your emails brought tears to my eyes.  I know our family has been blessed from us serving a mission. I think the only hard part for me on my mission is being away from home during times like Christmas.  But, like you said mum I've only got five months left and that time is going to fly by. 

I also liked what dad shared about giving my all to my mission.   I have really done that in this area and I will have served here for 6 months which is the longest time I've been in one area.  I love the people here and I love the work because it's pushing forward so well.  I know it's going to be hard to leave. 

Our baptism on the weekend was a success.  Our investigator arrived a little late but other than that everything was great.  It was such an awesome experience to see how the gospel can change someone's life.  The name of the girl that was baptized is Vanessa Otiong and she is 22 years of age and stays with her family.  We met her when she came to church.  She rocked up by herself and we were introduced to her by some of the other members.  We could only teach her on Sunday's because she works all week.  Last Sunday we had to sort out her baptism and confirmation records.   After church we stopped over at her house where she lives with her parents and her grandma.  The great thing about us going over to her house is that we got to meet her parents.  Sadly, her dad was drunk when we arrived but he had a lot of questions about the church.   Vanessa's Mum was quiet and didn't say much at all. I asked the parents if they were interested in learning about the church and they said yes.  I told them that we didn't want to teach them right there and then because the dad wasn't sober so we set a return appointment for the following day.  We rocked up the next day but only the mum was home and she was sitting outside on the bench enjoying the views.  So, I sat down next to her and we started talking.  The dad wasn't home as yet so we talked with the mum and spent a little time just getting to know her.   Well, while we were talking the dad arrived home.  He invited us into the house and we started to chat with them.  As missionaries we call it BRT (building relationships of trust).  They expressed how they all wanted a happy family and they wanted to help the dad overcome his drinking and smoking issues and mostly they wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ.  Ding, ding, ding!   That's what missionaries do!  Hehe!  So, we started sharing the first lesson and I felt prompted to focus on families so I taught how the gospel blesses families.  They had a lot of questions about the church which I was able to answer.  It was great to see their desire to be taught.  We had taught Vanessa after church on Sunday about enduring to the end and I shared with her parents how Vanessa's example will help pave the way for her family to be together forever.  We also shared with Vanessa some of the concerns that her parents had for her.  She expressed how she too wanted to have a close, happy family.  I was inspired to give her some good words of advice and she said that she'll try her best to be a better person and be a good example to her family.  She's awesome and her family is awesome too. I told you I love this area. 

On Friday we had our Ward Christmas party and while it seemed a bit early, it was cool to see the Ward all together.   We had so many of our less actives attend which was great and we were able to have a really nice time.

Thanks for the Christmas money dad.  I'm going to help others to have a good Christmas as well.  I love you all so much and thanks again for everything.  Take care this week and share the message of Jesus Christ to everyone you meet. 

Elder Chadderton

5 December 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

It has been another sweet week here in the Philippines - busy, but great.  I'm having a few allergy problems where I'm waking in the mornings and my sinuses are playing up - just like dad.  It sucks but I still have my Zyrtec to take.  

Yeah, so the work has been a little slow because we have been so busy organizing everything for our baptisms that took place last Saturday.  They were both a huge and complete success.  We had  Bishop attend and a whole lot of youth to support the newly baptized members. My companion and I sang a musical item and it was good.  I was proud of him. Hehe. 

I have withdrawn some money from my personal account because I found some waterproof Hush Puppies that were just my size and they fit fine, so I bought them.  Cool aye. I also bought some more material to get more pants made.  I've already ordered two that I am waiting on and so happy that I am able to get that done while I'm here.

On Thursday we had District leader training and it was awesome.  President took us through some workshop training which was a lot of fun and then we focused on how we can help to lift the Mission.  We continue to focus on our less actives but we are trying to mix that with a focus on baptizing as well.  It's a great vision.

Um about the transfers, from what I understand the January 3rd transfers will not be affected but after that date the next transfers will be pushed back two weeks to align with the new MTC schedule.  That's basically why my exit date is affected but its all good.  Thanks for the pictures you send because it's always nice to see everyone's faces.  Mum, may I ask if you can send some pictures of you and dad the next time you are both at the Temple because I have million's of pictures of the kids but none of you two together.  Thank you. 

I've been out now for 19 months and am the longest serving missionary in the family.  I'll be extending for two weeks and it's as though the Lord doesn't want to let me go.  Hehe!

Mum, I must admit that training and leading the area can be difficult.  Elder Van Dyke is shy because of the language barrier but I've been able to help him over the past week to broaden his vocabulary.  It is so funny to look back over the months and see myself in my new companion.  That's how I was when I first started - so self conscious, so worried about if what you're saying is right and how the members and investigators see you.  If there is one thing that I have learnt from Elder Ofahulu, it is  how he would say, "You've got to lose money to appreciate money" or in this case, "You have to sacrifice before you gain the blessings" meaning that it's okay if you don't get the language straight away and if you make mistakes that's okay too because you have to know how it feels to make mistakes before you can learn from your mistakes.  Woah!  That's deep.  But so true. 

I like to use the son's of Mosiah as an example.  Imagine if everyone that the son's of Mosiah taught were converted straight away.  That would be too easy.   However, they were beaten, thrown in jail, starved and cast out of cities. But from each of their experiences they learnt something new.  They grew and then they became mighty missionaries and changed the hearts of many of the Lamanite's who then became converted.  Amazing diba!  They say that a missionary should serve his/her mission with no regrets.  The only regret you would have as a missionary is the regret of not learning anything from the mistakes you made.  Our mistakes should help us to become more perfect.  A diamond isn't a perfect, shining, sparkling diamond as soon as it comes out of the ground.  It goes through a long refining process where it is shaped, formed and cleaned in a way so that others can enjoy its beauty and lustre.   Man, I'm sounding like a preacher... hehe...

Well, we had Temple day today.  It's always a joy to be in the House of the Lord and to feel his presence and his love and to know that even with the imperfections we do have, he still loves each and every one of us and he will continue to do so as we continue to try our hardest.

I've got just over 5 months left on my mission and I hope that the Lord can mould me into the man I am meant to be for the rest of my life.  This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all.  I'm sorry my emails a bit late due to Temple day.  We have another baptism this Saturday so please pray that everything will work out ok there. 

Mahal ko kayo

Elder Chadderton   

26 November 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

Thanks again for the emails and the pictures.  I'm doing good and I have a new companion and he's sweet as. I'm not sick and the work is going well.  We have two baptisms coming up this week and with the help of my new companion we will organize them and then we have another one next week. Cool aye!

So, a little bit about my new companion.  His name is Elder VanDyke and he is from a place in the middle of Utah called Richfield.  I have no idea where that place is but Elder VanDyke is a nice guy and he's super quiet. One thing I am impressed with is that he is doing great with the language.  I am introducing him to the families in our area and he is getting used to the place.  He probably knows more Tagalog than I did when I first came into the mission.  He worked before his mission at his dad's company where he built kitchen and bathroom cabinets for people's houses. Cool aye!  He is 19 years of age and is doing great.

The big event for this past week would have to be transfer day on Thursday.  My last companion, Elder Braind is now assigned to serve in Antipolo and Elder Ofahulu has been assigned to MINDORO.  I started to chuckle when I found that out.  He is going to an area called Sablayan which is a three hour drive from the area I served in while in Mindoro.  They do not speak any English at all in Sablayan (kawawa siya).   He will have Christmas out there.  Poor guy.   After transfer announcements, all the trainers met at Mission President's house to collect our new companions that had arrived from the MTC.  Before that, we had a workshop with the AP's and then we were put with our companions and did some introductory stuff.  We all had something to eat and then it was time to pack up our stuff and head home.  We arrived home around 6:30 p.m. and went straight out to work - no rest for the wicked!  Hehe.  Later that night we had a dinner at a members house and then came home and slept. I was wasted.

I don't know what it is about training other then feeling mentally drained, but I have been having some great sleeps these past couple of days. I have to teach a lot of the lesson material at our appointments but I know my companion will quickly learn to help with the lessons.  I must admit that even though I have been doing a lot of the teaching, the Lord has been helping me.

Danii, what you shared about tithing in your email is so true.  I love teaching about the principle of tithing because in the scriptures it says, "Dalhin ninyo and inyong ikasampung bahagi sa kamalig at subukin ninyo ako ngayon."  Thats the part I like where God says, "Prove me now herewith" because it sounds better in Tagalog, "Subukin ninyo ako" which means, "TRY ME!" God is telling us that if we put the principle of paying tithing to the test and pay it, that he is bound to bless us.  The blessings don't come in the form of a drizzle or a sprinkle but the scripture says that he will, "POUR" out the blessings on us.  It's an amazing principle with an amazing promise and it is there for everyone and not just members of the Church.  Everyone!

The Word of Wisdom is another interesting principle to teach.  People always ask and I mean always ask, why tea and coffee is bawal (not good for our bodies).  The answer that I like to give is that God knows us better than we do because he created us and if he says that certain things are bawal then we should listen to him.  If you look at different societies these days the five things that are advertised a lot are, "Coffee, tea, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs."  If the world is focusing so much attention now on something that we knew was bad for us almost 200 years ago, why is it that people still question God.  It's not a Mormon rule to keep the Word of Wisdom but it's a law of God.  People just need to trust the Lord because he knows better.

Thanks for the pictures and the update about Uncle Rana.  I miss him a lot and I hope that he is at the airport when I come home.  I miss you guys.  We had an Elder from my mission return home to South Auckland last Thursday.  His name is Elder Uasila'a.  Just before he was about to leave I said to him, "See you in 6 months!" Hehe.  Time flies.  Oi, I'm not sure if I've told you yet but because of the huge intake of new missionaries this year the transfer days in my mission have changed so this means that my exit date has now been moved back to May 23 2013.  Sorry dad, I'll miss your birthday again and that also means I'll miss being home for Mother's day for the third time Mum! Ouch!  But if the Lord wants to keep me here for two extra weeks I'm fine with that.

I got my Christmas package and pretty much shared it with all the missionaries here.  I had a good munch on the chocolates and Tim Tams.  Thanks for the ties and the massive shirt.  It's huge!  Hehe... alguds.  I love you all so much and not long now until Christmas when I get to Skype home again. I think I'll just do what I did last Christmas and use Cola's Skype account.   We get to Skype home on Christmas day so please let me know the best time to Skype and I will make sure to do my best to call at that time. 

I love you all so much and thank you for everything that you do for me. You are all amazing.  Thanks.

Elder Chadderton 

21 November 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

It has been another great week here in Tandang Sora.  We have been very busy, with the main events of the week being MTC exchanges last Wednesday, a baptism on Saturday and trainers meeting this Tuesday.  I don't know why my camera is playing up but I will try and send some pictures.  If it doesn't work, I will look for a memory card reader today so I can send them to you.  I am doing fine and I'm excited for transfers tomorrow as I will be getting a new companion so I will tell you all about that next P-Day. 

On Wednesday when we had MTC exchanges I was put with a missionary from Negros Occidental.  He is Ilonggo and still struggles with Tagalog.  We went and visited some of our investigators and it was interesting because as I listened to this Elder speaking, I could tell when he would switch between the Tagalog and Visayan language.  He is a cool Elder.  I also met and Elder TRIAS.  If you can, please let the Montesclaros family know of him because he was surprised to learn that they were in my home Ward.  I had told him that I was from New Zealand and the first thing he asked was if I knew the Montesclaros familiy.  As mentioned earlier, I told him that they were in my Ward.  He was shocked and said, "What a small world!" Cool aye. 

On Thursday we went looking for this one family.  Tamboong. They're an elderly couple and when we arrived at their door, the Nanay let us in and the Tatay was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed.  I thought he was asleep for a minute and then he stood up - eyes still closed - shook our hands and explained that he had an eye infection and his eyes hurt if he kept them open so he had them closed.   We shared a little message and asked Tatay a question and we weren't quite prepared for his long response.  He just talked and talked and talked and we were there for about an hour and a half.  Funny thing, because the Tatay talked so long the Nanay ended up falling asleep.  Oh man!

Sunday is always a good day.  We had another great turn out at Church with our investigators and our less actives attending.  We had 8 investigators and 16 less actives come.  Just for your information, to be counted as an active member of the church after being less active a person is required to attend church 4 times in a row.  The work is going well and we have 2 baptisms on December 1 - cool - then another one on December 8th.  I just hope I can do everything that is needed to see them enter the waters of baptism.

Like I mentioned, on Saturday we had a baptism and it was an 8 year old girl from a less active family in our area.  It is not counted as a missionary baptism but we attended it because the family is awesome.  Her name is Rebecca Ramos and it was good to see her family back at church.  The dad also attended the confirmation on Sunday.  Awesome!

Yeah, so on Monday, I received a call from the AP's that I'll be training again, but I had already been told that by President.  They said that we had trainers meeting on Tuesday morning so, on Tuesday I woke up at 5:30 a.m., had a shower and was out the door by 6:20 a.m. -  right on time!  I met up with one of the other Elders that will be training too and we had breakfast at Macca's and then caught a taxi over to the Mission home.  In the trainers meeting we went over the training program and then we went back home.  There are 7 Elders that will be training and 9 Sisters.   That's a lot of new missionaries.   Cool aye!  It was funny seeing the newbies freaking out because it will be their first time to train.  I was a little bit more relaxed because this is my third time.  Next week  I will send the details about my new companion.

It will be sad to see Elder Braind leave but it will be fun to train a new missionary.  I haven't received any package as yet from President.  With transfers tomorrow it is going to be a very busy day. Oh, and about Thanksgiving,  I do know that we have a dinner appointment tomorrow night to celebrate it.

I love you all Whanau.  Kei te aroha au ki a koe.  Ingat kau lagi. Mahal ko kayo.

Elder Chadderton

13 November 2012

Hi Mum and Whanau,

It's that time of the week again and it has come around so quickly.  Thanks for the emails and photos.  I've been a bit slack in sending photos but I'll send them one day.  Brooke & Lehi's wedding looked awesome.  I hope you guys had fun.  Sounds like the baby's are doing well and I can't believe that baby Joe is walking and talking.   Such amazing progress from when I first left for the MTC up until now. 

My week has been good and yes, it was busy like I mentioned last week.   On Tuesday I went on exchanges with one of the other Elder's from my district. It was fun and we had an awesome Family Home Evening with one of the families.  The plan was to teach a lesson to one of the families investigators first and then have Family Home Evening.  However, before we walked into the house my companion leaned over to me and said, "Elder Chad is it okay if you share the lesson,  we're going to be talking about, "Enduring to the End."  I was happy to do that because that is one of my favorite lesson's to teach. So, we start with a prayer and I share a story about this video called, "Finisher's Wanted!"  I'm not sure if you've seen it but it's about an African Olympian who goes to the Olympics to compete in the Marathon race but half way through the race his ankle gives way and he collapses.  The medics come and attend to him and strap up his ankle thinking that they will now take him to the hospital.  But,  he refuses to go with them.  Instead, he picks himself up and carries on to finish the race.  He hobbles all the way to the finish line and when he finally gets there he is approached by news presenters who ask him why he kept going and why he didn't just give up and why he felt he needed to finish the race knowing that he would come last out of all the people that competed.  His response was,  "I have travelled over 5000 miles to be here to represent my country and I didn't just come here to start the race, but I was sent here to finish the race!"  After sharing this story, I then compared it to each of our lives and how our life is like being in a race.  Being born to this earth is how we start this race but what is important is how we finish it.  I then shared a scripture found in, 2 Nephi 31:20 which reads:  "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."  I then closed by sharing my testimony and asked if they had any questions or if they understood what I had just taught.  The tatay was amazed and he said he clearly understood what I had said and complimented me on my Tagalog saying that I was better than him.  Hehe!  He's from a different province so he's still learning Tagalog. 

On Thursday we had interviews with President DeLaMare and it was fun and President told me that I will be training again next transfer.   I will not be moving, which means that I'll be in Tandang Sora for Christmas.  Cool aye!  I was super excited at the news but sad that my mate Elder Braind will be moving.

MayMay came to church on Sunday and we've reset her baptismal date for the 1st of December.  She is doing good.  We have a new investigator that is only available on Sunday's so we have set up to teach her the lesson's at the Chapel.  We have set a baptism date for her for December 8 and she has accepted.  She's awesome and her name is Vanessa Oiting.   We also have another investigator by the name of JR and he's 13 and his family are all members but he wasn't baptized because the family became less active.  He also has a baptismal date of December 1st, so December is going to be a great month. 

There is no other work in the world like missionary work.  The work is harder, the trials are greater and the temptations are ridiculous but that is where enduring to the end comes in and it is so important that we stick it out.  I love it and I can see why people, after they finish their missions, talk so much about their mission for the rest of their lives.  I know when I finish I will be talking about my mission for the rest of my life. 

We had Temple tour and took some of our investigators and less actives there and it was an awesome experience. I have pictures but my camera is at home at the moment. 

Oh pala um, next week is transfer day so I won't be emailing until Wednesday and not on Monday.  Mum, I finished your letter but I just need to find a way to get it to you. Hehe!

I love you all and I love the Lord and a huge thanks for the letters that you guys send.   Please give my aroha to the grandparents and the rest of the Whanau. 

Elder Chadderton

6 November 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

Another great week.  Thanks for the emails and the pictures.  It is good to hear that Danii and baby Rawiri are dong fine.   Joe, your the man.  Thanks for keeping me updated. 

I'm a bit short on time today but I wanted you all to know that I love you so much.  One experience from this week that I want to share with you is to do with how they celebrate Halloween. Ok, so in the Philippines they have Halloween on November 1st and not October 31st like the rest of the world.  However, here it  is called, "All Saints Day."  So, what the people do on All Saints Day is they go to the cemetery and visit the graves of their deceased relatives.  It sounds a little creepy but that's what they do.  The people will usually stay at the cemetery for long periods of time and others will do an all nighter - like, spend the entire night there with their deceased family members.  Last week when President DeLaMare emailed, he asked us to go out and do some finding at the cemetery on All Saints Day and spend a couple of hours chatting with people and sharing the plan of salvation with them.   It seemed fine in theory and so on this particular day my companion and I walked up to the cemetery to go and find people to talk to and as we walk in I get this really bad feeling come over me, like eerie.  We were on splits today so I was with Elder Cortezano and while we were walking around the cemetery I was feeling like I do not want to be here.  This cemetery is nothing like what I've seen back home.  It's huge and in some places instead of graves with a headstone they have like houses or shrines built for the crips of the deceased.  Honestly, this was freaking me right out.  If you're laughing at me while you're reading this, I don't blame you.  Just thinking about it cracks me up.   So, we spend about a half hour or so walking around the cemetery and Elder Cortezano is trying to talk to people and I'm still not liking the fact that we are at this place and I looked at him after we get rejected by this one lady and I said, "Der alis na tayo!"  I didn't want to be there and we were getting rejected so we gapped it and walked as fast as we could out of there while trying hard not to bump over anyone as we left.  Once we were out of the cemetery I just had to take a minute to chill out on the side of the road.  I don't know why I was feeling apprehensive about being in the cemetery but what I did know is that I just didn't want to be there. 

Well, I went on exchanges with some of the other Elders later in the day and was able to help them with a few issues they were having.   At church yesterday, we had an amazing attendance of less actives.  The chapel was jam packed.   My companion and I had 19 less actives attend and the other companionship had 24 of their less actives attend.  The work is moving forward really well.  We are getting closer to the baptism date of MayMay Ramos but we had a little hiccup where she didn't make it to church yesterday.  It was a little sad because we now have to postpone her baptism date.  Things like that happen and it can be a little disappointing but despite that she is doing good.   We are going to go and visit them tomorrow and find out why she didn't come and what we can do to help.

We have interviews this week with President DeLaMare which is always nice and then we have Temple Tour on Saturday and I'm going on exchanges again bukas (tomorrow).  It is going to be a busy but great week. 

Mum, it was great to hear that Elder Ofahulu's mum called you.  Stay close to them. 

Um... other than that, life is good and we've had a good day today. I'm not sick and me and my companion are doing great. 

I love you all and I miss you all.  The time is going too fast and in a few months na lang… hehe…I'll be back home.  So, ang gagawin ko dito ay magtiis hanggang wakas.  Yun ung mahirap pero kailangan natin un upang makamtan ung mga blessings ng diyos.  Mahal niya tayo.  Mahal ko din kayo.  Inat kayo lagi at hwag ninyo akong makalimutan. 

Elder Chadderton

29 October 2012

Hey Mum and Family,

Great news about baby Rawiri. What a handsome little man!… Hehe!   Danii, you are a trooper!  You should have been a rugby player.   Mum, you look beautiful in the picture with the grandkids.  It looks like such a huge load is off your shoulders now that baby has decided to come into the world.   What a great week.  Oh and Danii, thanks for the explanation about the baby things.  Mum, go have a feed on the sandwiches, donuts, lahat... 

Work has been great this week.  We challenged two more of our investigators to be baptized and they accepted.  So cool.  It was the lady that we found who was forgotten, but we found her.  So, her and her daughter's baptismal date is set for November 17, but, they have to come to church four times before they can be baptized.  That's the rule here, so we've got to get them to come next week. 

About brother Noel Ramos and his daughter, they came to church and it was amazing.  My heart did a backward flip when they walked through the chapel doors.  The best thing was after the meeting, where tons of people went over and talked to them.   It was super awesome.    That night we went over and taught them a lesson and his daughter MayMay expressed her feelings about serving a mission.  She's not even a member yet but one of the greatest things about being a missionary is seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ change lives.  It's amazing! 

FYI - Dinners have be awesome this week.   We've had one just about every day with a member family. 

I'm not sure if I told you about a guy by the name of Mark Galindo.   He was given to us as a referral during one of my first weeks here in Tandang Sora but because Elder Ofahulu and I were white washed we were unable to meet with him.  Last month however, I finally got in contact with him, only to find out that he is English speaking.  He's a Filipino that grew up in Cyprus of all places. He doesn't speak Tagalog but is fluent in Greek and English.  Weird!  We have been teaching him and have also given him a baptismal date.  He's awesome and is working hard on getting rid of the bad influences around him.  Funny thing though, we rocked up to his house one day and him and his housemates were singing the song, "Listen" by Beyonce and as we walked up to the door, Mark turned around and being so suprised and caught off guard,  he swore at us.  He said it was just a reaction. Hehe.  So, I'm sure you can guess what our lesson was on that day!  

On Wednesday we had exchanges with some of the Elders in the MTC.  My companion and I were given Elder Guillermo.  He's sweet and he's from Cagayan Valley.  Really nice dude.  I asked him straight up why he came on a mission and he said that he was tired of living off a borrowed testimony and that he wanted to know if the Church is true. Cool. We went to our first appointment and handed the time over to him.  He did such a great job. 

Also, there is a Sister from Tandang Sora Stake that will soon be serving in the same mission as Sister Aleisha McIver.  I told her to give Sister McIver a big hug for me when they see each other.  Oh Mum, do you remember the Tipene boy from Church College?  His name is Beau.  He was mine and Storms friend.   He's in this mission!  His family is from Whangarei and it was cool az to see one of the boys from Church College here in the mission.   There are a ton of Kiwi missionaries now - about 10 or more with a few more arriving in the coming batches. Cool aye.   When I first came out here, there were about 3 of us and that's including me, but now there are a lot more.

Sad buzz, one of the members died last Thursday.  She had been battling with cancer for over a year and just last week she slipped over to the other side.  When I was first put in this area she was recovering from surgery, but last month things got worse, she couldn't lie down because it was too painful and then it got to the point where she had to lie down because of dizziness and when she lay down, she couldn't stand up.   It was so sad, because she couldn't eat and her condition just worsened.   She passed away Thursday. We visited on Friday and they held the service at Church last night.  It is so comforting to have the knowledge of the great Plan of Salvation, but I must admit that I'd probably be a mess if any of you were to pass away.  I know it's not the end, its that simple and there is something more for us to look forward to.  I know that to be true. 

Life is good and I'm having a blast with my new companion and I finally got my garments today.  Thanks po.  I love you all so, so, much.  I hope I can end this transfer off with a blast.  I feel that I will be transferred next transfer as I'm the oldest in the area.  Oh man!  I love na love the Ward here, the members, less actives and investigators.  It's going to be hard to say goodbye, but that's just how the life of a missionary is.

I love you all and wish you the best for the upcoming week.  Be safe, have fun and please keep me in your prayers.

Elder Chadderton

24 October 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

I've tried to attach some pictures, so I hope it works this week.  Thanks again for all the emails and pictures.  Mum, I haven't yet received my G package, but oh well!  A lot of the stuff I ordered a while ago has arrived - rings, bag, Preach My Gospel and Bible in Tagalog and I should be getting my new pants next week.  I still plan to get a scripture case.  With regards to the rings, I thought if you guys wanted, we could get family rings - CHADDERTON - or something like that.  Think about it and let me know because they cost about $NZD12.00 each and are stainless steel and customized.  

Anyway's, this has been a good week.   I did get a bit of a sore throat earlier on in the week but thats all good now.   The main events of this past week would have to be Temple Tour and Temple Day. 

One story:  "We went to visit this one less active family and the dad's name is Noel Ramos.   Sadly, he is seperated from his wife but he has 3 of their 4 children.   He is a member of the Church but hasn't been to church in over seven years,  which means his kids haven't attended either.  So, it is about our fourth visit to his home and this time his kids are there.  His daughter goes to another church and she knows a lot about Jesus Christ and the Bible stories, so as we are teaching, the daughter agrees with what we are saying.  Anyway, we start teaching the first lesson which is about Families and the dad - Noel - starts testifying and saying that everything we are sharing is true and how much he wants his family to be together forever.   Coincidence that we have Temple Tour on the Saturday?  I don't think so!  Of course we invite them to come to the Temple and they accept.   So, on Saturday morning we meet up with them at the Temple along with some of our other investigators.   I must say that that Temple tour was the most spiritual one that I have been to.  The family was asking heaps of questions about the Temple and you could see that this is what the father wants for his family.  Come Sunday, the dad didn't come to Church.  The other kids did but they said the dad got caught up in some other work.  O sa tagalog "may ginagawa siya o may inaasikaso..." Gutted!  We went and visited them after church and the tatay committed to come to church in the upcoming linggo... Sunday. Cool aye!"

Another story, one of our investigators is now hiding from us.  Yep, it's true!  The last time we taught him we talked about baptism and I think he kinda freaked out and he went behind the couch and was sitting on the floor rocking back and forth.   Since then we haven't been able to teach him.  Oh well, and two of our other investigators are in Province, meaning they've gone home and they said that they won't be coming back until January.  I don't think I'll be here in January. 

We met a lady who had been taught by the missionaries and had a baptismal date set and everything but 2 weeks before her baptism date the missionaries were pulled out of that area and the new missionaries didn't find her.  But we did!  She is really cool and her husband is a less active member and she and her daughter want to get baptized so we are going to help organize that so it can happen.  Astig diba!

That's about my week as far as outstanding major events go. Oh, today we went to the Temple.  That was nice too. It's always good to be in the House of the Lord and doing a session and not just touring around the building. 

Mum, as an answer to your question,  I have experienced a huge change which I'm sure you will notice when I get back.  I still do and say things how I did back home.  But when I look at people now I have hope for them that through the gospel teachings they can have hope too.  I have gained a greater love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and it is something that I cannot and never will deny.  Whether that is a mighty change of heart or not, I do know that the changes I have experienced on my mission are far beyond anything I could have gained from a job or college study.   This is the best two years and in a way they are two years that turn a boy to a man.  Two years of CHANGE.  I hope that answers your question Mum. 

I love you all so, so, much and I feel a sense of pride (in a good way) when I can share with people that we have 3 people in our family serving missions at the same time.  It's awesome.  Mum about the letter, I will send you one but want to make sure that the postcode is 0629.  I can't remember... 

Wala akong masasabi sa inyo na perfect ako. Syempre impossible 'yun pero, ang aking mga natutunan ko sa mission ay hindi kayang maisalarawan.  Ito lang talaga ung best two years. D&C 6:36 Isa alang alang ako sa bawat pagiisip, hwag magalinlangan, hwag matakot. Doubt not, Fear not. Hindi po ito ung pinakatotoong simbahan kundi ito land ung totoong Simbahan sa buong sanlibutan. Mahal tayo ng diyos, totoo 'yun. Mahal ko kayo lahat. Salamat sa lahat po. Un po ung aking patotoo sa pangalan ni Jesu Cristo. Siya nawa.

Elder Chadderton

15 October, 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

Another good week has past and I have a new companion - said goodbye to Elder Ofahulu and had an awesome weekend watching General Conference. Thanks once again for all the emails and pictures. Last weeks email was a bit rushed due to our busy schedule, but this week I've got some time. How's everything going? How's little Rawiri? How's your health? How are you doing in applying what you learnt from Conference? How's all the Uncle's? 

So, this week I want to try something a bit different because Elder Ofahulu said that when we write our emails home we should write about our feelings and events that have happened and not just about what we had at our dinner appointments.  Cool aye.  Mum, were you able to contact his family? So, I'm going to listen to him and try his suggestion. 

On Thursday as you know, Elder Ofahulu was transferred to the Quezon City South Zone and he has a companion from the States.  My new companion is from the Marshall Islands and his name is Elder Braind.  He is two transfers ahead of me which is nice because we can share the teaching load.  I have been learning a lot from him and he's awesome at speaking Tagalog.  Most people think that hes a Filipino because of how well he speaks.  After transfer meeting we went back home and Elder Braind unpacked and then I took him and introduced him to some of the families in our area. He is awesome! 

Friday we went out and worked and found out that two of our investigators are going home for a holiday, so it's a bit hard to help them if you can't visit and teach them. They said that they will be back sometime next week so we will visit them next week.

On Saturday and Sunday we attended General Conference. It was mean az and I learnt heaps. But the thing that stood out to me the most was the inspiration I had about raising my own family and what kind of example I would set for them and what kind of rules and traditions I will have in my family.  It is a lot to think about. But, I've got to finish my mission first.  The talks by Elder Bednar and Elder Holland were awesome.  The part where Elder Holland says, "Do you love me... over and over again!"  I could just feel the spirit asking me if I was doing everything I could to show that I love Jesus Christ. Elder Bednar's talk about your testimony was mean. He said that a testimony is pure knowledge of spiritual truth obtained by revelation through the Holy Ghost and he compared it to the story of the Ten Virgins and how you have the lamp of testimony and the oil of conversion. Mean aye!  Then Elder Marvin B Nash shared his thoughts about Faith and Reason and that you can't have one without the other.  It was astig!

Well family, I've had an awesome week and I look forward to applying what I've learnt to myself and also to my District. It's awesome and my companion is good, I'm doing good and the area is good. I hope these pictures send this time.  Hey mum thanks for the letters and please thank Uncle Dan and Aunty Dale too. 

Take care and keep being awesome and know that I love you all.

Elder Chadderton

P.s Pictures still aren't working. I don't know what happened… Sorry!

11 October 2012

Hey Mum & Whanau,

Another sweet week this past week with transfers bukas and a soon to be new companion.  Yes it's true, we found out last night that Elder Ofahulu is definitely leaving and my mate wasn't too excited.  Thanks for the emails and pictures.  I am sorry but you will have to wait another week for some pictures.  The place where we do our emails does not have the proper facilities to upload and send pictures.  Sorry diba...

Well, my week has been good.  Tuesday we worked so hard and we had no dinner.  Wednesday was the same!

Thursday we worked and then had lunch with the Stake President where he took us to an all you can eat place which was really nice.  I have pictures of us at lunch but you'll have to wait until I can send them - maybe next week.  We worked again and that night we went to Sister Ivy's house for dinner. 

On Friday we went on splits with the Ward missionaries as we have about 6 in our Ward that are preparing for their missions so we had some of them come and work with us.  It was a great day and we did a lot of good then we had dinner at Bishop's house.  It was awesome.

Saturday we had a good day of work then we went to a baptism and Elder Ofahulu and I were asked to sing.  It was awesome and after the baptism we had dinner and then opened our fast. 

Sunday was amazing.  As missionaries, we set a new record for the number of members attending church.   Just to give you a little update, when I first came to the Ward there were about 170 members attending which was really good.  Our Bishop met with us and told us that the highest attendance in their Ward was 229.   Again, great numbers.  Last week we had 245 people attend church - a new record and that was so awesome.  Our investigator class was full and we had a ton of less actives attend too.  Astig talaga un.

Monday wasn't our normal P-Day because of transfers, so we worked our butts off.   We taught 5 lessons to some of our less actives and 2 lessons to investigators and we had a member present in our discussions.   It was awesome and that night we had dinner at one of our investigators homes and we shared a good message with him about Faith before we left. 

On Tuesday Elder Ofahulu and I went on splits with the Ward missionaries.  I went and worked with them in some of our areas and we got some good numbers to add to our weekly totals.  After that we went to Bishop's house and had BBQ and it tasted just like home.  Hehe!  Oi, some interesting news, Mum, if you or Uncle Rick know or remember a missionary from your mission days by the name of Elder Maroket from the Philippines Davao Mission, he is my Bishop here in Tandang Sora.  He swears that he knows you Mum.   So, can you and Uncle Rick please email me and let me know the names of those areas you served in during your missions in Davao.  That would be awesome.

Today is our P-Day and we played a bit of basketball before attending District meeting.    After the meeting we received our transfer announcements and then we went and did some bowling at the mall as a kind of farewell activity for Elder Ofahulu.  It was fun. 

Well, family, that's a break down of my week.  Tomorrow, it will be fun to find out who my new companion is.  I will also receive a few items I ordered as well.  Oh,  I  had to order a new pair of pants today because one of mine ripped the other day when I was getting in the trike... hehe. 

Before I forget can I please request some items for my small Christmas package: 

- Chocolates

- Naturals

- Cookies

- L&P and whatever else Mum feels so inspired to send me

Thank you family.  I love you all so much and I'll write you with more information about my new companion next week, and hopefully with some pictures too.   Cola, please tell your Filipino friends, "Sa mission mo na magsulat sa akin sa tagalog para mag practice ako.   At sabihin mo din sa kanila na hwag maging trunky." Translated, it means, "I'm on a mission and to write me in Tagalog for me to practice.  And also tell them to stop being trunky."

Elder Chadderton

Philippines Quezon City Mission

Aurora Blvd., Cnr. J P Rizal Street

Project 4, Cubao 1109

Quezon City, MM, PHILIPPINES

Thank you all so much again.  Have a great week.  Oh and mum 7 and a half months left… hehe!

Elder Chadderton 

2 October 2012

Hi Mum and Whanau,

Thanks once again for the emails and the pictures. It's awesome to be kept updated on everything back home.  You know, there are some missionaries out here on their missions that don't receive emails from their family at all.  Mahirap 'yun.  Mum, next time you visit the  Filipino sister missionaries at the Visitor's Centre in Temple View be sure to say, "Maayong buntag, maayong hapon, or maayong gabii."  Translated that means, "Good morning, good afternoon and good night." 

This week has been good.  We had exchanges with one of the other Elders in my District.  It was cool to work in another area. 

On Tuesday Elder Ofahulu and I went out to work in NIA village and Roque One compound.   We had a good day and visited some of our investigators and less actives.   Rubina is one of our investigators and our plan was to teach her about baptism and set a baptism date.   We started our lesson by sharing a scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants section 42 where it says something along the lines of, "If thou lovest me ye will serve me and keep all my commandments."  I asked Rubina, "What are some of the ways that we are able to follow Jesus Christ?  She gave answers like reading the scriptures, going to church and praying.   We then shared another scripture found in 2 Nephi 31 where it talks about how we need to be baptized and explained that even Jesus Christ as PERFECT a being as he was had to be baptized.  At this point we invited Rubina to be baptized.... awkward silence filled the room and it seemed as if time it self stood still or had ceased to be… dom, dom, dom... Then she said, "Yes!"  I remember at that point my heart felt like it was beating faster and I was so excited that I almost wanted to hug everyone there. Hehe. It was awesome and to finish off the lesson we shared our testimonies  and then handed the time over to one of her friends that were there with us to share her testimony too.  It was amazing to sit and listen to the testimony of this once less active friend now testify of the truthfulness of the Church.  It was great.  Well, that was our day.

On Wednesday we visited some awesome families and met a recent convert that had been taught by an Elder MacDonald from New Zealand and he had been given a Maori Book of Mormon with the NZ National Anthem in it and the Haka.  Cool aye.  We visited this one house where they were mixing up cement so that they could make stairs in front of their house.  I got in there and helped them out and it was awesome to be able to give that spontaneous act of service.  After that we went to Sister Ivy's house for dinner.  Super sarap. We had chicken afritada and banana-que with fruit shakes as our beverage.  Awesome dinner.

On Thursday we had exchanges and I went with the other Elders to their area and met their investigators and members which was awesome. We visited a few people and later went to one of the houses and had dinner. Sarap. Adobong manok and we had magnums to end the night and then sleep.

On Friday we swapped back and then had to do our weekly planning.  Once that was finished we went out and worked and had a few challenges but we were able to teach two great lessons to Ruby about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom.  It was good. We also found the referral that was given to us by the Office.  We texted him found where he lived and then went over and talked with him.  We call it BRT (building relationships of trust). He is an amazing guy - golden as they would say in the mission.  We didn't teach him a lesson but I told him that I felt inspired to give him a baptism date.  So I did and he accepted and we all agreed that we needed to review and reteach all the lessons to get him ready for baptism.  Awesome!  Dinner that night was at Bishop's home and we had beef sinigang with bangus and ice-cream for dessert. Mmmm... so good.

Saturday we were booked out with a Stake activity followed by a baptism which we were invited to sing at.  It was a good day and because we had eaten at the activity we didn't need dinner. 

Sunday came around and we were meant to pick up one of our investigators but he had a fever and texted to say he couldn't make it.  Sayang.  Church was good and it was packed, which makes us and Bishop happy because they can see that our work is paying off.  I had to interview one of the other Elders investigators for baptism and that was awesome.  She will be getting baptized on Saturday and we have been invited to sing there too.  Cool.  We were invited to a dinner at the Arucan family home.  They know Tito Mike Ramirez.  Sister Arucan had a picture of the family.  Dinner was amazing - BBQ ribs, kebabs, chicken, pancit and ice-cream.  So, so good.  The members dropped us off at home after dinner and it was a good night.

Today is our P-Day and we splurged a bit because we are sure that Elder Ofahulu will be transferred next week.  Boohoo!!! But such is life.  We went and had pizza at Shakeys. 

Thanks for everything Whanau.  I know you are always there for me. I am trying my best and I realize that the time is going by quickly and I only have like 7 months left until I walk through those airport doors like Elder Stefan Huysmans did last week.  Hehe. Trunky... lol

I love you all.  Take care. 

Elder Chadderton

P.s.  Tell Cola I got her package and I got your letters too. Thanks.

P.p.s.  Photo's still aren't working but next week I promise.  

24 September 2012

Hey Mum & Whanau,

Thanks for the emails and pictures. It has been a good week and you all sound good.  I love reading all your emails and Nan and Grandad thanks for the email as well. I can't write you directly but just know that I love you and hope you have a great anniversary. 

So, my week, Tuesday we had a service project in the morning where we cemented the floor of one of our less actives homes. It was a cool experience and definitely a first time for me.  Gave me a good work out and the family spoilt us with food and drinks.  Lot's of fun.   Later on we had a good lesson with one of our investigators about Charity and it was awesome but our dinner appointment got cancelled.

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference and the focus was on commitments. We did role plays and practiced effective and efficient ways to give referrals.  It was fun. The Zone leaders took us through the importance and power of our calling and it was a good refresher. We didn't have much time left to go out and work after Zone conference because it finished late but we did go to dinner at the Relief Society President's house. We were all wasted from the Conference because we had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to get to it on time.  After dinner we waddled home. Hehe!

Thursday we went on exchanges with some of our Ward missionaries and it was fun as well as a good experience for them.  We taught some of our less active members and just as we were about to split up and go home they suggested that we go visit this one family that recently had someone pass away. It was a great idea, so we went and visited the family and shared an awesome message about faith and how it helps us through trials. They bought us pizza and again we waddled home. It was mean.

On Friday we had our weekly planning and then we worked in Banlat and Congressional Avenue.   It was a really good day and we were able to get some good lessons taught and towards the end of the day we went to Bishop's house and had a feed. It was a good day.

Okay, so on Saturday I had an interesting experience.   First of all, we had Temple tour and we woke up at 5:00 a.m. got ready and then made our way over to the chapel.  We got to the chapel at about 6.30 a.m. but our jeep hadn't arrived. I texted the jeepney driver and he said he was on his way. So, we were waiting for him and by 7:30 a.m. he arrives only to find out he got a flat tyre on the way... poor dude.  We headed off to do the tour and I got to catch up with some of my friends from my old areas and then as we were about to go home Sister Lorente, one of the sister missionaries came out of the bookstore and was saying goodbye to some of the other missionaries. I said goodbye to her but she didn't seem well because she had her head on her companion's shoulder.  We were about to leave and her companion Sister Joseph's called out.  I turned around and Sister Lorente was about to black out. So, I picked her up and everyone was freaking out and I was instructed by the AP's to take her inside the bookstore and lay her down. I did that and then the doctor came and took care of the rest. I was freaking out because that Sister has epilepsy. It was hot and she just blacked out.  I had to do something, so yeah that's my interesting experience for the week. The latest news is that she is out of hospital and back in her area. 

Oh and mum in answer to your question about listening to the Spirit and following the Lords will, I feel I have found the way that the spirit talks to me. They say that it comes in different ways to everyone and I've identified for myself the way it speaks to me.  

I love you all and I haven't received my package from Distribution yet but thats all goods. I only have a few months left. Take care and keep writing and sending pictures. Say hi to Stefan for me when he gets home. He's the man!

Elder Chadderton

17 September 2012

Hi Mum and Whanau,

Thanks again for the emails and the letters. Sad to hear that you haven't been felling well Mum and that your hotel room in Rotorua was freezing.  After being in this heat for over a year and a half, I can't wait to feel the crisp, cold air when I walk out of the airport.  It's all good. 

This week has been good and I've been working hard to keep on top of all the records and stuff in the area book.  The work has been better and my companion hasn't been sick this week.  He said that you got in contact with his family over Facebook.  Cool as.  Just from hearing what he has shared with me about his mum, you two seem very similar.  We've been fed well this week and I'm ready for the upcoming week.

On Wednesday we had MTC exchanges but the only problem was that our first appointment was a luncheon/birthday/FHE.  So, we went to the chapel to pick up the Elders and we explained that we had set up the lunch appointment earlier on in the week and that they were to share a spiritual thought at the luncheon.   They were fine to do that and they did a great job and after the luncheon we dropped them back at the Chapel where we met up with one of our Ward missionaries and headed out to work again.  We taught this one family about prayer and sacrifice and it was a really good lesson.  Some of our other appointments fell through so we visited other members in and around that area and then went and grabbed some dinner. 

On Thursday we got to teach some good lessons and we met some less active families and were able to get a grasp on how things were going with them.  We shared a lesson with some of them and also invited them to come to church.  Sadly, the baby of one of our less active family members is in hospital until next week.  Kawawa.   After the lessons we went to dinner at Sister Ivy's house and it was amazing.  Again, a nice waddle home.

On Friday we went out and did some finding of less actives.  It was great because we found two families and were able to teach them, but we had several appointments cancel in another part of our area.   We had dinner that night at Bishop's house and it was another mean feed - curried chicken and fish and then mango float for dessert. Sarap! 

On Saturday we had a visit from the Zone leaders and they wanted to do exchanges with us so I went out with Elder Gallagher from Cosherum, Utah.  He is a tall, lanky Elder and he was in batch 1 transfer after me. Good dude.  We went out to find more people to teach and met two new families - Royo and Olivero's family.  Great people.  The Royo family are not all members so we were able to share a lesson as we have two potential investigators now. Cool aye.   They are a part member family.   Later that day we met up with the Zone leaders again and got out our support (pay day....lol) and then went home.  No dinner. 

On Sunday we went to church and had quite a few less actives attend despite the rain.  After church we went straight to work and we were able to have a really good lesson with this one family where we set a goal date with them to enter the Temple. Cool aye!  We shared a lesson with another family and then the inevitable happened, we had someone cancel on us but no worries, we went to another area and visited with this one other family and then headed on over to our dinner appointment where we had curried chicken.  Sarap ulit!  So good. We shared a message with the family before leaving and then went home.  It has been a great week.

Thanks for the PACKAGE!  I got it today - my shoes, lavalava's, chocolates and the ties are sweet.  Thank you so much. 

Cola made me laugh when I read her email.  Funny stories.  Like I said, our missions are all so different.  Thanks for the story you shared with me about faith Mum.  Awesome.  You put the Lord first and He takes care of the rest.  It is so true.  I know I'm in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.  I love this work and I am so grateful that I've got the best of seven and a half months left to give it my all.  Oh, Mum, I'm going to ask the Filipino missionaries from Cebu in our apartment  if they know Sister Bunting's companion, Sister Chan.  How is her English and when does she finish her mission?

I love you all soooooo much.  Keep writing me and sending pictures.  My next package will probably be Christmas time.  Thats cool and thanks again for everything. I love you all. 

Elder Chadderton

11 September 2012

Mum and Whanau,

Thanks for the emails and pictures. It is so awesome to see all your smiling faces. This week has been good - very busy but awesome.

We've finally settled on how to split our area which also means we had to split the area books and we are left with the goal of finding more people to teach.  Last transfer we mostly worked in the main areas of Tadang Sora and we weren't able to work in those areas further out, but this week we have been focusing on finding more people to teach because our numbers decreased due to the split.   We were introduced to a lot more members in our new area and it really helps with the work. 

So, on Tuesday we wanted to go out to find more people so Elder Ofa and I split so he could help the other Elders in their new area.  We walked everywhere and found 5 new families that we didn't know.  We had some great visits with them and that night we went to a dinner appointment at the Arias family home and they are cool. 

On Wednesday I went to the dentist and he drilled and drilled and drilled into my tooth and finally concluded that the cavity was too big and that I needed an X-ray to show what he could do.  He ended up putting in a temporary filling and then worked on fixing my other tooth and then I was on my way.  We went and visited some of our investigators in NIA village.   We have this one young man, named Kenneth, who is 18 and his aunty and family are all members but he has been investigating the church for about a year now and we are planning to give him a baptismal date next month.  He's the man!  We went and visited some other less active families and they all came to church.  Woohoo.  We had dinner at the Relief Society President's house.  It was a mean feed and after we waddled home with a full tiyan. 

On Thursday we had District leader training meeting where the focus was keeping our area books up to date.  With the amount of people we teach and visit it can sometimes be hard to keep on top of all the records but we manage.  We went back to the zone leaders apartment and my companion was sick as a dog and he had a fever and so did the zone leader's companion.  So, I went out and worked with the Zone leader in his area "Bago Bantay" which meant I got to visit some of the people I used to teach and was able to help the Zone leader as well. It was cool.  After that we went to dinner at one of our Bishopric members home and it was good.  We had pork sinigang.  Sarap. 

On Friday my companion was still dazed so I just let him sleep.  I text Sister DeLaMare and she said he needed to rest so thats what he did.   I studied while he slept, but by about 5:00 p.m. he seemed a little perkier so he got up, got dressed and ready to go out for dinner at Bishop's.  While we were at Bishop's we gave a report on the areas and then had Beef sinigang with calamari rings and for dessert we had crepes with chocolate ice-cream. Mmmm... again we waddled home. Hehe!

On Saturday my companion still wasn't 100% but he wanted to go out and work so we went out.  We did more finding and found another 3 less active families.  Awesome!.  One was this little old lady who has been battling with cancer for about 10 months and she's 73 years of age and she says its her time.  Her illness is the only thing that stops her from coming to church.  She's awesome.  We met this one member family and when we arrived at their house the dad was passed out on the floor.  The family said he has trouble sleeping so he drinks until he drops.  Definitely some work to be done there. Nice family though.  On Saturday we didn't have a dinner appointment set but we texted this one member and she invited us over to eat with her family.  Her husband use to be the Mission President of the Butuan Mission in Mindanao about 2 years ago. Awesome feed.  We had pork sinigang again. Cool aye. 

Sunday came and we went to church and the topic of one of our lessons was on Faith and I was reminded during the lesson that everything we do is centered on our faith.  I remember Elder Bednar saying that, "True faith is centered in and on Jesus Christ and always leads to righteous actions."  Totoo 'yun.   Everything that we do as members of the church is because of our faith in Jesus Christ.  It is one of my favourite topics to teach in lesson 3 and amazes me every time I study it. 

I've been reading the book, "Our Search for Happiness" this week and it clicked why it's and approved missionary book.  It's because it explains all of our lessons simply and with doctrine to support it. I'm almost finished reading it. 

Mate, that's my week. Oh, and we had temple day today so that's why I'm emailing you today and not yesterday.  Sorry! 

Danii,  your kids are so beautiful.  I can't wait to give them big hugs and kisses when I get home. Number 3 on it's way. Rawiri. Can't wait. 

I love reading the sisters emails and learning about the difference between their missions and mine.  They are awesome and I can't believe that Jenna is so close to going home. Its gone so fast and even Elder Stephan Huysmans is coming home.  I remember his farewell.   The time has gone so, so, quick, its crazy.  Man, I love you all so much - mum you're the bomb, dad happy fathers day and Danii I love you and Joe you're the man. 

Take care.  I love you all so much.

Elder Chadderton

P.s.  Thanks for the funds Dad.  I may need  to withdraw some money because I'm a bit broke and I should be getting my package next week. Cool beans.

  

3 September 2012

Hi Mum & Whanau,

Thanks once again for the emails, pictures and the packages you have sent.  So awesome.  This week has been good and this transfer will go well.

On Thursday - as you know - we had transfer day and Elder Heather, Elder Ofahulu and I were assigned to give a musical item at the beginning of the transfer meeting.  It was mean azz.  Good news, we got two new Elders in our apartment - Elder Plenos and Elder Lavandero - both from Cebu.  They are cool and they'll be a huge help to the work this transfer. After transfers were finalized, we went home and helped the two new Elders unpack their bags and then we went out and introduced them to some of the families in their area - keeping in mind that our area has been split and then around 7:30 p.m. we had a mean feed for dinner - adobo, bananaque, barbecued pork chops & chicken, mashed potatoes and rice.  Mean azz.

On Friday we had the Mission Fireside with Elder David A Bednar and that was awesome.  We were told to be there at 12:00 noon for a 1:00 p.m. start.  Elder Bednar had arrived and the first to enter the room was the Callister's and then the Ardern's followed by Elder Bednar and his wife.  Siemprey.  The focus of his talk was, "How 'WE' or in tagalog 'TAYO' as children of God are things to ACT  and not to be acted upon.  This means that we shouldn't have to be told to do things in order to do it.  We shouldn't treat others as objects but help them to use their agency and ACT on things they know they need to do.  He then opened up the floor to a question and answer time.  Lots of things were asked and I even asked a question.  I asked Elder Bednar, "What effect has sacrifice had on your life as a servant of the Lord?  He said for him it was giving of himself and everything to Jesus Christ. Cool! To, "LOSE YOURSELF" in the work.  It was a great time and I learnt heaps and I've been using the skills he taught us to help people act for themselves by using agency. Elder Bednar is awesome!

Saturday was our, "Temple tour" day where  we took some of our recent converts and less actives to the temple so that they could feel the spirit of the temple.  It was good and gave us a chance to meet up with some of the other missionaries.  Our Bishop's son went into the MTC this week and he has been called to serve in the Naga Mission - that is Elder Ben Fuimaono's mission.   Bishop's wife was crying, as you would expect, but the dad was happy to see him off.  After that we went out and worked and we went to an area I hadn't been to before called, "Congressional Ave Extention."  It was a good area and we got to meet some really nice families. We visited to this one home and the family cooked us a huge feed. That was awesome, especially since it would be Fast Sunday tomorrow.  After our awesome feed, we then went back to our apartment, opened our fast and went to sleep.

Sunday we went and picked up some members to attend church. It was sweet and we had a good fast and testimony meeting .  After church we went home and our kabahay, Elder Lavandero cooked us a mean feed - adobo and sinigang.  It was good.  We went out and worked and visited some great families then home for the night.

Today for P-Day we played basketball and had district meeting then went out and ate lunch.  We are going to shop after as I've got to get me some stuff.

Um, I've been having some teeth problems so I've got to go and get my teeth checked out.  I was told that I will have to pay for it. I am going to go and see if I can get them checked today but I just wanted to tell you because I will need a bit of pera so I can pay for it.  Thanks heaps.

Hey Danii, the scripture you shared is one of my favourites here, especially amongst the people here. It is so helpful and the blessings are incredible.  We trust in him and he does the rest.  Keep on being good. Your kids look amazing and I can't wait until I can give them each a big hug at the airport. (Ohh… ahh…  trunky… hehe).  I am grateful for you for sharing that scripture with me. 

Mum and Dad, our family is blessed because of the examples you set for us.  You should be proud in the way you taught us and raised us up.  I hear stories of things some Elders did before their missions and I'm proud to say that I did none of that stuff. THANK YOU. 

I love you all heaps.  Keep me in your prayers. Mahal ko kayo. 

Elder Chadderton  

29 August 2012

Hey Mum & Whanau,

Another good week in the Philippines.  Thanks for the emails and pictures. They are cool and yes mum, it is true, I only have 8 months left. Oh how time flies... 

This week has been a bit of a beauty.  We had a good week of work and Elder Ofahulu and I worked hard.  Oh, side note if you want to know where Elder Ofahulu's family lives ask Tim and Rochelle Maifaleni because they are in the same Ward.   Ask for Sydney Ofahulu or the Lavelua family.   Elder Ofahulu said you might not be able to catch them because their son, his brother, just got married last Saturday in Salt Lake.   Anyways...

On Wednesday we went out to work in this one area called NIA village and sadly, we got punted during our first hour and after that we started meeting our appointments.  We were blessed to teach two less actives and one of the families we taught we had a member present.  That night we went over to Sister Ivy Maroket's home for dinner (she's the Relief Society president) and we had ... wait for it STEAK... my first time since I've been here.   We also had kebabs with barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes and root beer.  I ate heaps and it was so good.

On Thursday we were called in to do service again to help load all the bags of flood relief goods into the trucks so they could be delivered to the rest of the country.  That night we went and visited two less active families, the Ampil and Garan family and then we went over to Bishop's house for dinner.  It was Bishop's wifes birthday and so they took us out to an all you can eat Japanese Restaurant. Amazing.  After dinner they dropped us home.

On Friday we worked hard and in this one area called Banlat we were able to teach eight lessons - two with a member present and the others to some of our returning less actives.  It was a busy day but amazing.   We didn't have any dinner appointments set up for tonight but we had a good feed at a little shop close by our house. 

On Saturday we had an Elder's Quorum activity where they started with a workshop and after that we did splits with some of the members of the Elder's Quorum.  At 4:00 p.m. we returned to the chapel to attend a baptism (another District's baptism held at our chapel).  Elder's Heather, Ofahulu and I sang at the baptism and it was mean azz.  After the baptism we had our Tandang Sora Ward activity where we had a lesson, followed by games and then performances from each auxiliary.   We performed a musical number again and that was cool too.

Sunday was church then we had a Family Home Evening at one of our less active families homes which was fun.  The food was great too and then we went home. 

On Monday we worked, Tuesday we worked and now we have P-Day/ transfer day.  I'm not getting transferred and neither is my companion.  Woohoo!  But we are splitting the area and  getting two more Elders in our house.  Cool aye.  This transfer will be Elder Heather's last and final transfer because after this transfer he's going home.  Boohoo!  I'm gonna miss him.

Thats my week!  Tomorrow is transfer day and on Friday we have our Fireside with Elder Bednar and that will be cool azz.  Then I will email again on Monday.

I love you all and thanx for the coming package.  I'm excited that Cola is going out into the field soon.  Jenna's almost done and I've got 8 months left.   I know that the Lord is watching over you family and blessing you.  Give my love to Joe, he's the man.  Thanks heaps for all your support and I will email again on Monday.

Love you, 

Elder Chadderton