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