Hey Mum and Whanau,
Thanks for all the emails and pictures. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" Hinalei! After emails last week, Elder Van Dyke and I went home and I packed my bags straight away. After that we went over to Bishop's house to say goodbye. It was awesome and Bishop bought us pizza and magnums. On Tuesday we said our farewells to some of the other members in the area and took pictures. Around 5:00 p.m. the AP's came by and picked me up. Everything went well and I was comforted by the Lord during this transfer. My new area is Sumulong and it is in the Marikina Stake boundary. I am the Zone leader and the Ward is small but great. I met my new companion and his name is Elder Carman and he is from Denver, Colorado. He and I were in the same zone in Mindoro. He is an awesome missionary. He has about 7 months left on his mission. When the AP's and I rocked up to the house where I will be staying, the other companionship came out to meet me first and my companion came out last because he was scared to see who his new companion would be. One of the other Elders gave me a big hug and said, "You're an answer to our prayers!" Hehe! We chatted for a while then went to visit the Bishop. Bishop is awesome and his second son leaves for his mission this week. It was about 8:45 p.m. so before we left I asked Bishop if I could share a 15 minute lesson about the Atonement. He said fine so I explained the events of the atonement, the advantages we have because of the atonement and how we can live with God again because of the atonement. I shared scriptures and my testimony, after which my companion shared his testimony. By 9:00 p.m. we said a prayer before leaving.
I have met a lot of really nice people here and I know we have a lot of work to do. There are things to do to improve the area and help the Ward. I know it's my time to step up.
On Thursday we had Zone leader council - my first one in a long time. It was awesome. After Zone leader training we usually train the missionaries but instead President opened up the time for us to bear our testimonies. It was a really special experience and we were able to strengthen each other during this time.
My new Ward is small compared to my last Ward in Tandang Sora where we had an attendance of around 250 people, but here we barely get 150. We will work hard on improving the attendance figures as well as increasing our teaching pool. We have a lot of investigators that are females and need to find more males. There is a lot of work to do in a very short time. I know I've got to make the most of the time I have left. The work is not easy but I knew that from the beginning. It will be awesome!
Thanks again for all your words of encouragement and prayers. They have really helped me get through this transfer and everything is good. I love you all heaps. Take care and have a great week. Keep up the good work with the weight loss.
Elder Chadderton
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