Wednesday, February 6, 2013

7 February 2013


Hi family,

Sounds like you've had a few trials creeping in and I know that the adversary will try to hurt the ones you love the most.  I am certain that the Lord is watching over the family.  He has a plan for each of us as we do everything to line up our will with His so that He can guide us in the right direction.  Know that I do pray for all of you and this past fast Sunday was really great.  There is a Mormon message by President Uchtdorf that I love and would encourage you to watch.  It is entitled, "Moments that Matter Most."  I know that sometimes in life we have to experience trials to appreciate the blessings, but we also need to focus on the positive.  These positives could come in the form of a few moments of silence when the kids are sleeping, or reading your scriptures at the start of your day.  However they come, look for the good in each day and you will be surprised what will happen.

Thank you to all my fans, I received two letters from my sister Hina this week and it made my day.  Thank you so much Hina!

Last Wednesday we had a Zone activity and watched the movie, "Amazing Grace" then we had a potluck with the sisters and it was great.  Sister Vaivai, Sister Elliot and I are practicing hard out for  our cultural performance on March 15th.  We are performing, "Pokarekareana" and "Poi E" from the movie, "Boy" and it is heaps of fun learning new dances and songs because I feel like I'm back in the village.  It's good fun!  Oh, and guess who I saw on Friday?  I thought you may have emailed me about the Leota family being in Utah.  Well, they walked into the North Visitor's Center while I was at the desk and it was soooooooooooooo good to see them all!!!  They spoilt me and gave me some Tim Tams and Boost bars!  Yum!  My companion was so happy for Tim Tam slams when we got home that night.  The family looked really happy and after I said my goodbyes, I received a letter from Elder Leota.  I had written him a letter so he'd get it when he arrived at the MTC and he responded.  He sounds like he is having a blast.  I loved the MTC while I was there and I hope to work there in the future.

My companion and I had a little scare this week because we felt like someone was following us home the other night.  We have the best security here at Temple Square so I just called them and told them that I felt like someone was following us but wasn't really sure.  When our roommates got home they said, "There are heaps of security guards out making sure the sisters get home safely."  Well, the next morning I was still a little worried because my companion and I do the music for church and have to leave the house around 7:00 a.m. and usually most of the sisters don't leave until 7:10 a.m.  It's pretty dark in the morning when we leave, so I decided this morning to take my torch with me - you know just in case - and possibly protect me and my companion.  Well, I felt a sense of relief when I saw another two companionships walking down the stairs too.  One of the companionships just happened to be Sister Olden and Sister Rakatovao.  I was talking to them about our experience and Sister Olden thought it was the funniest thing since, "Home and Away" ahahahaha.  I laughed and said, "At least I would've been able to protect myself, you never know!"  She laughed some more.  It's cool having so many friends on the mission.  But, with transfers on Tuesday, I hate saying goodbye to the sisters.  It can sometimes be scary finding out who your new companion is too - especially after having such a great companion in Sister Stolp.  Who knows, we might even get to stay together.  So, FYI, I may or may not have a P-Day next week because if it changes from Wednesday to Monday you won't hear from me until the following week, so keep that in mind. 

Our mission is really blessed in that we get to do something called, "Temple Service."   This is where we go to the Temple for three hours and help clean.  It is currently closed and undergoing a few renovations so it was our turn to give service and it was AMAZING!  There were heaps of workers in the Temple and while I'm not sure about all the renovations they are doing, having the opportunity to help clean the carpet and vacuum the stairs and other things was great.  Honestly, the Temple is already really clean but we were helping to make sure it was perfectly clean.  Only the best for the Lord!   One of the housekeepers was so nice and showed us the Sealing rooms (there are more then two floors) and he even showed us the basement/storage area which I thought was pretty cool too.  I got to see more of the Temple cleaning it, then I would have if I'd come to do a session.  It was the best feeling ever being back in the Temple even if it was only to clean for a few hours.  We had a 10 minute break in the cafeteria and it was a little strange talking with the temple workers - without my badge on - and explaining to them that I was a missionary.  I was definitely relieved when I put my badge back on after we finished.

But, "Wow!"  Where has this transfer gone?  We called Abigail today and she was telling us that on Sunday her son Daniel received the Aaronic Priesthood.  That was incredible!  Steve is still hilarious and I didn't realize how much I'd missed English humor (especially from when I lived with the Collings family).   Steve told us the story of when he was banned from his School Library. He said he did something terrible and proceeded to tell us that when he was in Year 7 he was a strong believer that God DID NOT exist so he took all the Religion books in the Library and put them in the Fiction section.  My companion and I couldn't stop laughing while he was sharing and we could sense that it was definitely in his personality to do that as a 12 year old.  Turns out that the Librarian was a Christian and didn't think it was funny at all so he has been banned from the Library ever since!

Well, thats me for another week family.  Thanks for your prayers and fasting.  Keep the faith and trust in the Lord and if your wondering why certain things are happening, pray and ask God for understanding and then read your scriptures!  Love you heaps and I'm very excited for the letters on their way.

Sister Chadderton xoxoxo

P.s  Sorry, no pictures again.  I forgot my camera cord.  I'm turning into Buddy aye!  I'll remember it next week!

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