28 May 2012

Hey Mum & Whanau,

FYI I got my package and I love the book.  It is sweet az and all the missionaries in my zone were having a good geeze at it.  I'm doing fine - a little exhausted from the busy week - but doing okay. 

On Tuesday we had a service project in a place called Mungyan Village and just a bit of background, the Mungyan's are a group of native Filipinos found only on Mindoro.  They speak their own language and live very simple lives.  One of the less active members in my area is a teacher to some of the Mungyan's so he asked if we could do some service for them.  It was a great opportunity for us.  "Fia fug maru marung" is a phrase in Mungyan which is like, good day or kumusta.  Astig.

On Wednesday I went on exchange with Elder Carman from Colorado and he is a really cool missionary and we had a great time.   We did our personal study and then shared information about the importance of, "Sacrifice."  One thing that is so important in our lives and something that the people in the Philippines and elsewhere struggle with, is trying to help them to recognize that after the sacrifice comes the blessings.   If people can see and understand that in everything we do, if you sacrifice a little bit to the Lord, he will bless you abundantly.   It is so true and I am learning this important principle more fully as I teach it and I love it. 

On Thursday we had a family home evening at the home of one of the families in my Branch.  It was super fun and they had heaps of food.   I literally stuffed myself because the food was amazing.  lol.   Sorry, I didn't get a picture of all the food but there was heaps.

On Friday we had a Branch activity and at first we as missionaries were organizing the activity and it was along the lines of a Luau, but the Branch members got involved so we handed it over to them and it became more of a Lugaw/ FHE night.  It was a lot of fun and there were talks, a spiritual thought and then the auxiliaries performed different items and then we ate.   After the activity we went home and had some of the other elders stay over as we had Zone interviews the very next day.

On Saturday President DeLaMare, his wife and the assistants arrived in San Jose and we had our Zone interviews.  We had a great time and we also had an opportunity to be taught.  The district leaders taught about obtaining referrals and the Zone leaders taught about building relationships of trust with auxiliary leaders.   It was sweet and then we had a huge feed after - chicken curry, adobo, fish sticks, chop suey (pinoy style) and then for dessert we had buko salad, mango float and a chocolate bar.   Mate, I could barely walk after that feed.  Following the feed we went and dropped our stuff off at the apartment then headed back to the chapel because the sisters had a baptism.  After the baptism we were invited to attend the PEC meeting in the Branch.  It was good.  Then, if we hadn't already eaten enough, we went to a restaurant with President, his wife, the assistants and the senior couples and it was awesome.  That night we went home and slept.

On Sunday we had Church and after church we were invited to attend Branch council.  After Branch council we went and taught some of our less actives and later we were invited to have dinner with President at their hotel.  I love President.  It was sweet.  Today being P-Day we have our meeting and we also have a lot of other things to do. WOAH!

Well, family, it has been a great week but I am feeling a little bit exhausted.  I love the work and I am so grateful for the things I am able to learn while I'm here.   One thing I have learnt is that my companion will be transferring next transfer and I look forward to seeing who my new companion will be.  Remember always that after the sacrifice comes the blessings.

I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Elder Chadderton

P.s.  Sorry Mum, it was supposed to read a plain white t-shirt and a plain black t-shirt.  Salamat!  Oh and some black forest chocolate please! 

21 May 2012

Hey Mum,

First things first, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!"  Have fun on your trip and know that I love you and I will pray for you.

How is everything going?  We're doing great here in the Philippines.   I continue to love it here in Mindoro and am still enduring the intense heat.  It is great!  Thanks for the emails and pictures.  Please send all the uncles and aunties my love because I love them all and I'm so grateful for all that they do for me and for you as my family. 

It looks like Uncle Rana is healing well and you can tell he has dropped a bit of weight.   Please give him my best and tell him to, "Magtiis hanggang wakas" (endure to the end). 

One of the things that I have learnt here in the Philippines is that we all struggle to magtiis hanggang waka or endure to the end.  It is one of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and for many it is the hardest to keep.   That is one of the reasons why there are so many less actives here in the Philippines and in the church worldwide because they don't have a strong foundation and so they struggle to magtiis.  One of the hardest things to see here is when a whole family becomes less active because of the weaknesses of others in their family.  Really sad so you can see we need to have a foundation on Jesus Christ and continue to nourish that foundation and make sure that it is strong, supported and matatag.  The basics, however simple they may be, are soooooo important in every family.  If those things are taught and practiced in the home, then families will over come trials and not suffer and they will not fall away from the Church. 

I love this work and my eyes have been opened to the things that I must do for my family and the importance of, "the small and simple things".  I am so grateful for you and how you taught our family these things.  I didn't know how important they were until I came on my mission and saw what happens to families that don't have their foundations upon Jesus Christ.  I love the gospel of the Lord and am grateful for the opportunity that I have to share that.   One of my favourite songs that the Moleni Brothers sing is, "Give Your Heart."  I know that Jesus Christ gave everything he had, even his own life and all he asks us to do is follow him by keeping his commandments and magtiis hanggang wakas. 

Well, now that the serious part of my email is over, I hope you enjoy the pictures.  We had our Zone activity today and we went to a Resort in a place called Calintaan.  It was on the beach as you can see in the pictures we played volleyball, had a swim (haha, jokes) and had a feed.   It was an awesome activity filled with success and that is why this email is a little bit later than usual. 

Also, I don't know if I told you, but as missionaries we held a training workshop for the auxiliary leaders in our Branch.  It was focused on accountability which in Tagalog is, "Pananagutan." It was sweet and the leaders seemed to really enjoy it.  We had fun teaching and we were all, "Edified and uplifted." 

The mission is amazing and I know when that time comes I'm really going to miss it.

I love you all heaps az, heaps az and I pray for you always and I know that the Lord is helping you.  Maraming salamat sa lahat ng inyong ginagawa sa akin habang dito ako. nararamdaman ko and inyong mga espiritu at pagmamahal araw-araw. ingat kayo at magtiis hanggang wakas.

Elder Chadderton 

P.s. I still haven't received your package but I hope it comes this week as we have interviews this week with President DeLaMare so hopefully they'll bring it over.

14 May 2012

Whanau!!!

It was soooooooo great to see you all during our Skype last night.  I was a little sad when we had to say goodbye because I miss you all heaps,  but one year down and only one to go. I know the next year will go super quick,  but hopefully not too quick as I love it here in Mindoro and my only wish is that you could all be here with me to experience the fun I have. 

I am still doing fine and I've just picked up another pair of pants that I had made and they look good az.  I will try them on and send you some pics next week. 

We are coming into the rainy season and it is still super hot and the rain doesn't really help the humidity.  Thanks for the emails Dad and Danii.  You are right Dad, I will miss this beautiful place after my mission, but the sweating I will not miss at all.   I'm also excited to have a warm bath.  Haha!  The little luxuries you just don't get in the Philippines.  Oi, sorry Mum I just remembered that you asked me to send pics of my house but I forgot to take pictures.  Oh well next week as well. 

Oh man, I really enjoyed last night so, so, much, especially hearing Hinalei speaking.  She was awesome and she is going to be even cuter when I get home.  Baby Joe is so grown up and walking around everywhere.  YOUR DAH MAN BABY JOE!  Danii, I can't wait to come home and meet the brand new baby and I think it's going to be a boy.  Just think, I'll get to help raise him and teach him Tagalog.  Cool beans!  Nah!  But seriously, I feel as if this year is going to fly by because we are almost half way through the month of May, and next month we will be half way through 2012. Grrrrabbe... ang bilis ba? 

Namimiss ko kayo lahat pero natutuwa na nandito na ako sa Mindoro. Maganda talaga dito kahit mainit. Masaya dito. Meron pa akong layunin at gawain dito, kaya, kailangan  kong gawin ang lahat ng kaya ko, upang magkaroon ng kasiyahan at katuparan pagkatapos ng aking misyon.  Ito po talaga ay ung best 2 years. 

Mahal ko kayo at alam ko na ung simbahan na ito ay totoo. Buhay ang diyos at si jesucristo at mahal nila tayo. ito po  ung gawain at kaluwalhatian ng diyos at instrumento lang ako sa kanyang kamay. Natutuwa na ako. magingat kayo. 

Please give my love to Uncle Rana and his family, Uncle Dan and his family and the rest of the Whanau.  Please encourage Little Dan to continue to prepare for his mission.  Tell him he will miss his family because that is a given, but he will find so much fulfillment and satisfaction in serving a mission that he could never find anywhere else because as a missionary you are in the service of God. 

Cola, I love you heaps and when I get home I will write you every week.  Just know that I love you and I always pray for you.  You are going to do a great job in the mission and with your beautiful smile you will be able to help a whole lot of people.  Just promise me one thing?  Promise me that you won't marry an American unless I approve him first!  Haha!  I love you heaps.

Below are a few pictures so I hope you like them.

Mum and Dad, I love you heaps and am grateful for the examples that you set for me - serving a mission, going to College, getting married and sealed in the temple, having family scripture study, family prayers and family home evenings each week as these things are so important and I am grateful that you understood those important concepts as that is a huge struggle here.  To start with the basics is so important.  I love you all very much and hope you have a great week.

Magingat kayo and have fun.

Elder Chadderton

7 May 2012

EEEEEEE!!!

Hi Whanau & Mum,

Thanks for the emails and birthday cards.  It has been another great and super hot week here in Mindoro.   I mean, "Super hot!"

Thanks for all the Skype details and also for the email and postal addresses for Elder Stebbings and Elder Solomon.   I've got to write to them soon.

Yep the big one year mark has now past and I'd like to say its smooth sailing from here on in, but that's a joke as the work must go on and there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to help grow the church here in San Jose, Mindoro.   We have weekly co-ordination meetings with the missionaries and on Sunday at Branch Council the missionaries are invited to stay and give their input (fyi... the missionaries don't usually stay for the whole Branch/Ward council). It is awesome to be at these meetings and President Gabriel is lucky that he has 4 sets of missionaries assigned to his Branch.   We are here to help grow the church and that is what we are doing. 

Mum, I am just as excited as you are for the Skype call.  I was thinking how this will be the last call until Christmas then after that I will call you on my birthday (as that is what President is allowing me to do because I will be home just before Mother's Day next year), then 3 weeks after that I will be able to talk to each of you face to face.  Wow!  They say that the mission is the best two years and that is sooooooo true.  I'm just sad at how fast the time is going here and on the 9th of May I will have one year until I come home (that's my release date). I know it's going to go so, so, fast.  

I am in a place in my mission where I can express myself in Tagalog and say just about anything and the people understand what I am saying and that makes it easy to build relationships with the members which is great for the work.  I am grateful for the gifts that the Lord has given to me in speaking the language.  I look at Elders that have been here the same amount of time as I have and see the struggles that they are having with the language.  I'm not perfect but I know that the Lord blesses those who follow his council. I am so grateful for that. 

The work has been good here.  It's a lot harder than in the Mainland but we're still able to help the less active members come back into activity and having 4 companionships in the Branch really helps the work to move forward. It's awesome. 

I am going to attach some more pictures and like I said last time a picture paints a thousand words.  Oh, and the white stuff isn't snow its salt, and it's really heavy when there is a lot of it  -  super heavy!

I love you heaps and look forward to our Skype session on Mother's day!  WOOHOO!

Love you Mum and family.

Elder Chadderton