February 27, 2012

Hi Family,

This week has been good and I am good, healthy, and ready for another week.  My companion is doing good and we are having fun. The work is good and we are still inviting the less actives to come back to church.  There are so many less actives and it is crazy.   Elder Butler and I went bowling today for our P-Day and it was awesome. I've attached some pictures.

We have so many families in our Ward that are less actives and we have been told that there are over 300 families in the Ward but only about 30% are active. It is sad and I know we have got a lot of work to do because just when you think that you've found all the less actives, you'll be walking down the street and then someone will call out, "Elder" and you turn around and find out that they were baptised in to the Church but didn't know where the Chapel was when they moved.  It is a lot of work following up on the less actives but it is awesome. 

My Tagalog is coming along pretty well and I know I still have a lot to learn so that I can do the whole lesson in Tagalog by myself.  My companion is teaching me Tagalog and I am teaching him as well. He struggles with the accent and pronunciation so I have been helping  him with that part of the language and he helps me with the vocabulary and the structure.  When I hit my year mark (which is quite soon), I want to switch over my books and use Tagalog only.  I know it won't be easy, but it will help me heaps. 

Bytheway, we have not had the mission tour as yet and the MTC tour is next week.  It is going to be a busy time up until the next transfer but I am looking forward to working hard.  We have Zone interviews with our Mission President next week too.  Life is good when we are busy. 

Man, it is going to be great coming home to see Baby Joe and Hinalei running around. I can't believe Hinalei is in pre-school! Nice!

Tell Uncle Raana to keep up the great work with his physio and hopefully, I'll be able to go through the Temple again with him when I get back.  How is Uncle Dan doing? Give him my love and let the family know that I love them all too and pray for them.

Tell the Grand-parents thanks for everything and also Cola and Danii.

Thanks for everything Mum.  I am looking forward to the letters as we have mail run this week.  I love you all.  Have a good week and do take care.

Elder Chadderton

P.s. How is Lincoln? I did not hear anything about him... salamat!  

February 21, 2012

Hello Po,

Kumusta kayo? Baka okay lang, kasi ang haba ng email nyo.  Grabe.  Ok lang po kami dito siympre buyhay pa rin at missionaries pa rin.   Nag - MTC exchanges kami noon miyerkoles at nakapunta po kami sa mga bahay na may investigators doon. Nagturo po kami sa kanila tungkol sa kalakasan galing sa ating ama sa langit. Asitg.  Ung kasama ko mabait siya at masipag. Masarap talaga nag punted.  Kawawa kami noon biyernes at Sabado nag punted kami sa buong araw.  Pero nagbisita kami sa mga less actives.  Mahirap ung missionary work pero masaya pa rin.  Basta patuloy lang. 

Thanks for the email and the pictures.  Sounds like you had a sweet time in Samoa. Astig.  I received mail today from Mum, Danielle and Aliesha McIver.  Salamat po. Its always nice getting mail.

It has been raining heaps here but not to the extent of flooding.  We did get drenched because when we went out today the weather looked sweet as, then later it started pouring and we got caught without our umbrellas.  We were soaked and dripping wet.   Well, we had Zone leader exchanges and I went on exchange with an Elder Esteves, he is one of the district leaders in my zone.  It was a lot of fun despite the fact that none of our appointments were home.  It rained more and we got drenched more.  But, we kept going because this isn't our work, this is the Lord's work and we are his vessels. 

We have a mission tour coming up and that is when a General Authority comes and checks up on the Mission.   It is when we have to make sure we clean up our apartments and  top up the area books because they like to come in and see how things are going.  Woohoo!  We will go hard this week and make sure we make the most of the time that we have.  We are half way through this transfer and seriously, the time is going soooo fast.  In two weeks I will hit my 10 month mark -  double digits!!!  It is crazy to think how quickly the time is passing,  but I am so grateful for the blessings that I have received and the blessings I continue to receive while here on my mission.  I love this work and there is no better, despite all the hardships and trials, this is the work of the Lord.

Please tell Danii, the Grandparents, Leisha, and everyone thanks for their love, support and prayers while I am out here.  It's awesome and it really does help. 

Oh, and tell Uncle Hori that I met one of his companions from his mission.  His name is Joel Bundoc and he's a little guy.  He worked with us yesterday and we got to talking about his mission and I asked if he knew any Solomon's.  He said he did and that his companion was Uncle Hori.  Small world!   He remembers uncle being big, strong and hard working and I told him that it is still true and that uncle is now a Bishop.  He smiled and had a look on his face like he had gone back to the good old days for a bit.  So cool!  Astig.

The Church is true and the Book of Mormon is too.  I am now reading in the book of Helaman about the wickedness and pride of the Nephites before the coming of Christ. 

I love you mum and family. Take care and give Uncle Raana a big hug for me please.

I love you all heaps azz. That's heaps!  Hehe...

Elder Chadderton

February 13 2012

Hey Mum,

How is everybody?  We are doing good over here.   It has been raining for the past few days and my companion has the flu. He is doing okay and pushing on.  I bought me a new umbrella today and got to use it.  It is pretty huge and I guess it has to be to fit me under it.   Mum, it sounds like you and the family are doing well.  Thanks for the pictures and emails.  The work is going great and we are finding more people to teach in our new area.   It is funny to think that I get lost in this area because it has proper street names and addresses which is something I am not use to since I arrived.  It's okay and I manage to get around because I've got an awesome companion.

I've just finished doing my laundry and it was way faster then usual as we have a mini washing machine.   I still have to wash some of my clothes by hand to make the whites whiter.   We were talking to a member about his mission and he was talking about how they used to use washing machines just to make washing faster on P-Days.  He then asked if we had a washing machine and we told him no, so he went out the back of his house and brought out this little portable washing machine and told us we could have it.  So cool!  It's so funny because I can only fit about four of my shirts in it at a time and my pants, only one at a time... hehe... hilarious!  But, hey, it is heaps easier and a lot more effective way to get my laundry done than doing EVERYTHING by hand. 

We had zone leader conference this week.  We went and 'counseled' with each other and it was great.  We have a lot more new zone leaders this transfer and they made all the zone leaders put up their hand that had not been in the mission for a year.  There were only four of us.  That is four out of twenty-four zone leaders!  President DeLaMare said that we are the young and chosen ones. He's the man!  I am learning heaps more about the responsibilities of being a zone leader and one day be able to share that knowledge with others when I'm one of the 'older ones' in the mission. 

Oh, my companion and I went down to the Eliptical circle for P-Day and that was a lot of fun.   We were hanging upside down from a monkey-bar pole and when a big guy like myself does something like that,  you do attract a crowd so we had a heck of a lot of eyes looking at us. Hehe!  My companion is the man!  He has a confidence issue so I'm teaching him how to, "Slazz it"  so he doesn't have to care about what other people think about him, but instead he can just get on with the work and do it.

Hey Mum, I met Nanny-Ma Solomon on my mission!  You did not tell me that she moved to the Philippines?  We went to visit this skinny, little old lady with tanned skin and curly hair.  She really was  skinny and little.  Her name is Rosita and she is a less active member, but only less active because she is too sick to attend church.  I taught her about the love of God and read from John 3:16 and then shared my testimony.  She knows that the church is true but can't come because she has Pneumonia. Kawawa siya! Mum,  she reminded me heaps of what Nanny-Ma Solomon would have looked like if I knew her or met her.  Cool aye!

My tagalog is getting heaps better and my English is getting heaps worse. I'm kinda stuck in a rut with my language, where I sometimes struggle with Tagalog but manage to get by, and then when I speak in English I struggle as well.  So, don't laugh too much if I come home speaking broken English. (lol) 

I am doing good, the works good ,my companion is good and we are doing the Lord's work.  Obedience brings blessings but, exact obedience brings miracles.   This I know to be true and I am grateful to have the Lord on my side.   I am reading in Alma about Captain Moroni and he is the man.  By the end of this week I should have completed the book of Alma and once that is done, it won't be long until I have finished reading the Book of Mormon again.   I know the Book of Mormon is true and it has been a privilege to read it once again. She's a beauty!

I love you all and thanks heaps for your emails and pictures.  Give my love to everybody.    

Elder Chadderton

February 7, 2012

Hey Mum,

This is just a short email.  Thanks for everything.  I will email you all later, but I wanted to put some pics in this email for you.

Elder Chadderton

Hey Mum,

This is the real email (lol). How is everyone?  I am doing great but currently have the flu.  Oh well!  Transfers are over and another one begins.  Tomorrow, I will have reached my seven month mark in the field, but my 9 month mark since starting my mission.  

Well,  we got the announcement on Tuesday night about transfers and I found out that my kid (Elder Cortezano) and another Elder from our apartment would be transferring.  So, Elder Cortezano and the other Elder packed up their stuff on Thursday morning and we headed out to transfer meeting at the Cubao Chapel.  This is also the mission head quarters.  Well,  we get into the meeting and I am all excited to see where my companion will be getting transferred to, only to find out that he's not the one getting transferred.  He's staying put.  Poor dude, as it was a bit of a surprise.  But, instead it was me that transferred.  I transferred to the neighboring area with Elder Butler the other Zone Leader.  That was cool for me but not so cool for Elder Cortezano because he had packed up all his stuff only to move back to the same place.   Anyway, the good thing about it is he has been put with Elder Taurabakai, if you can remember he was from my MTC batch.  He comes from Mindoro "the rock" and is going to work with Elder Cortezano in my old area. So cool!  I was excited and glad that I was able to transfer, but not have to move house. 

Other than that, life is pretty much the same. Elder Butler is from Idaho - of all places, from Pocatello - and he has been in the mission field for 18 months now and is known in the mission for his obedience, which is sweet with me.   He is a great dude and it's really nice to be able to have a break from Tagalog between visits.   So, the area I am serving in now is Bago Bantay 2.   I am in the same Ward, but literally just across the road.  Elder Butler and I are co-Zone Leaders and we have a great Zone. 

I like my new area and when we went to some of our appointments,  the members thought that I was Pinoy because of my accent.  Cool aye!  It is great to have Elder Butler as my companion because he knows the language and helps me with things that I have no idea about or with unfamiliar words.  I was glad to get some positive feedback about my grasp on the language and it is a real boost for me.

Well, in the upcoming week we have our Zone Leader conference and then interviews with our Mission President.  It is going to be busy, but great because ZLC is cool and we get to discuss all the events in the recent transfer and discuss or sort out different issues that have been happening in the mission.   Interviews with the AP's is where the AP's take us through different workshops.  But interviews with the Mission President is on a one on one basis where he asks us about our area, our companion,  if we have any problems and if we need any help.  Following interviews we have a big feed and that is so awesome!  So, I am looking forward to ZLC.   Our Mission President calls it our, "Battery charger" because it is a time when we can get refreshed and ready to go and take on the transfers that have just taken place.  President has ZLC one Zone at a time,  so our Zone is scheduled to have ZLC on Friday and the other Zones are on different days. 

Mum,  I could not believe what happened to Lincoln!  I am going to be praying for that dude.  Man that sucks!  If and when he gets better he's gotta get straight out into the mission field and do his time.   If he does that he will be set for the rest of his life.  No worries!

Oh, we got to go on our tour through the new MTC and that is the third MTC that I have been through.  It was sweet and thats where the random pics come from. 

Please tell everyone that I love them and tell Uncle Raana all the best.   Tell everyone  thanks for all the emails and pics.   They are cool az!

I love you all.

Elder Chadderton

February 1, 2012

Hey Mum and Whanau,

How is everything going back home?  We are doing good here in the Philippines. 

My week has been good and kinda busy.  We had a normal week of work, but on Wednesday we had MTC exchanges.  I went with two new elders to do some work in my area and so took them to do some tracting which we call, "OYM" which stands for, "Open your Mouth!" I had them place pamphlets, contact people and then attend some appointments where they were able to teach one of our recent converts and then one of my investigators, a 17 year old boy named James.  We taught him the first lesson and set a baptism date for him.  It was sweet and after that we went and got some ice-cream before they had to go back to their area.  One of these new elders is named, Elder Alimpoos and he said he has just recently been assigned to my area and said that he's all excited to come and work with me again if he ever gets the opportunity to do so.  That was cool!

Today was transfer day and the announcements were made and I won't be moving but my kid is (Elder Cortezano).  Tomorrow I will know who  my new companion will be and what will happen with the Zone Leaders in the mission.  Exciting! 

This coming Friday we will have the opportunity to have a tour through the new MTC here in the Philippines.  I am excited to go and check it out.   That will be the third MTC that I've been to, and then on Saturday we have temple tour, so hopefully I can get some investigators and less actives to come along to that.

Well, I continue to recognize the blessings that come when you are doing the Lord's work.   We had an extra 3 days added onto this week because of transfers so we didn't get out to do any shopping and our support was running low.  So, on Sunday we were invited over to dinner and FHE at one of the Bishopric members home.  Sweet!  On Monday we were invited to another dinner and then another on Tuesday!  Woohoo!  So, although we didn't get to go shopping,  we didnt have to buy any food for dinner and yesterday we got our support.  We worked hard and the Lord provided.  That's all you gotta do. 

Astig. Lately,  I've been realizing just how young my mission is, or how young the missionaries are in my mission.  We have a lot of missionaries that have been here for a year or less and all the oldies are leaving.  Its good because it gives a lot more responsibility to the younger missionaries, like me, he-he... but of course we press forward, we keep going and we do the best that we can. 

Thank you so much for the present.  Last week Elder  Cortezano and I went to the Mall and walked around for like an hour pricing different cameras.  I ended up finding one that was P$3995 which is roughly about NZD$110.00.  It is a great camera, an Olympus, 12 megapixels, with a free 2 gig memory card, a free hard case and a free mini tripod stand. It is cool azz!  Elder Cortezano was gob-smacked when he realized that I had bought it for him.  I told him it was a present.  This week he has been using his camera and taking heaps of pictures.  Its good to know that he can now have some memories of his mission. It's been a good week. 

With the training and everything finishing up I'll be going back to the normal email rules.  When you train you get 2 hours to email,  but if you aren't training, you only get an hour, so next week I probably won't be able to reply and send personal emails to everyone but I'll try and keep you all up to date in the one email to you Mum.  But, thanks everyone for all the emails and do keep sending them. I really appreciate it.

With today being P-Day we went to a Memorial Site in Quezon City and also to this little museum where we learnt more about the history of Quezon.  It was really cool and I got some cool pics but like always I forgot my cord so hopefully next week I'll remember to have it and I can send you pics. 

I love you all and know that I have been praying for you.  Give the family my love and keep being awesome.  Oh and can you let me know what date Uncle Rangi is coming over.  I look forward to that. Salamat!

Mahal na mahal ko kayo.  

Ingat sila sa akin

Elder Chadderton