7 January 2014

Kia Ora!

Boy, this week is proving to be such an emotional roller coaster.  I'm sure my poor companion will be glad to see me leave!.  Well family, "I did it!"  "I made it through one of the hardest, yet best transfers of my whole mission!" Now I'm counting down the hours.  But first, we had New Year's Eve celebrations on Wednesday and then on Friday we went to the BYU Art Exhibition for Carl Block and three other famous artists.  We caught the, "Front Runner" (train) and it really has been a fabulous week.   I actually forgot to mention the exhibition in my last email.  After going to the museum we were given some free time to go to the BYU Bookstore.  While there we bumped into Sister Christiansen who has since finished her mission and is now attending BYU.  She was so shocked to see a bunch of Temple Square sister missionaries roaming around BYU campus.  It was so cool.   We all walked to the nearby Stake Center where ate lunch which was provided by a really kind Stake.  They had organized to have their youth come and serve the lunch and it was so nice.  Well, the reason why we were able to attend the Museum was due to Sister Back taking a VIP tour during her last transfer with her old companion - Sister Hvistendahl from Greenland/Denmark.   The Director for the BYU Museum and the secretary to the Queen of Denmark were on the VIP tour and a few other dignitaries and it just so happened that the Director really appreciated Sister Back and her companion, so much so that they said, "We should call your Mission President and invite you all to come and see the religious exhibit!"  Well, it was a miracle, because we were all in attendance at this exhibition.  It was such a beautiful, religious art museum and very moving.  I wish everyone could have seen it. They'd borrowed some of the altar pieces from different churches as well as pieces from the Palace in Denmark itself which were so beautiful.  "Did I mention they were beautiful?"  While we were at the Stake Center my old companion Sister Vach texted me and said, "Are you here at BYU?" So I texted back to her the address of the Stake Centre and she came over with her parents and Sister Jardine.  It was really awesome to see them again! 

Apart from visiting the Museum, we did spend a lot of time in the office working on schedules and while we haven't quite finished sorting through  everything, we are close to finishing.  Hopefully, we will finish up tonight and then Sister Back will be taking over as of tomorrow.  Her new companion is Sister Chang from Taiwan and she is returning from her outbound assignment.  I loved going to lunch with the Porters to the Cheesecake Factory.  It was amazing and I loved spending time with them again. Thank you Aunty Mona and family.

On Sunday our departing class was recognized by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  We attended, "Music and the Spoken Word" and towards the end of the program, the audience was made aware of our departing class of missionaries and so each sister was highlighted.  They firstly announced our name, where we are from and then had us stand after which everyone applauded.  It was so emotional.  The emotions had flowed over from our Sacrament meeting where we were invited to share our testimonies.  I forgot to mention that I had my departing interview and blessing after the art exhibition on Friday.  I really loved my blessing and I believe I may have started crying prior to my blessing when I was asked to share who all my companions were.  I really love President and Sister Gillette because they have done such a fabulous job as Mission Parents just by leading by example and showing us how to serve with love and how to remain motivated.  I am so grateful I had them as my Mission President & wife.  I hope to serve another mission one day.

Well, I witnessed so many miracles this past week and one of them happened last Thursday around the time when half of the mission went to the BYU Museum and the other half stayed behind.  There weren't too many Sisters left on the Square and it was during our personal study time that I received a text from West Gate saying that there was a really sweet lady on the Square who wanted to take a tour.  I glanced down at the text and then put my phone down as I think I was half asleep.  I then registered what I had read and quickly asked my companion if she wanted to take a tour.  We called West Gate and informed them that we wound take the tour.  We were informed that the lady was in Salt Lake City for a job interview and she really wanted to work on her relationship with God.  During the tour we learnt that this lovely lady was from Florida, is 25 years of age and is definitely searching for answers as she has experienced a number of trials this past year where she has applied for different jobs but hasn't been successful.  We took her to see the Christus and she said, "This...feels like home!"  After 30 minutes into the tour, we asked her if she'd like to learn more about the church and explained how we can have her local missionaries visit her.  We then extended the invitation to attend church and she accepted.  During the tour she had become quite emotional and said she didn't know why she was like that,  but we knew it was because she was feeling the Spirit and receiving answers to her prayers.  

The second miracle was when I had the opportunity to call Brian in South Carolina and re-teach him the lesson about Tithing.  At the end of our conversation he informed me that he was going to attend a baptism the next day for another one of our investigators in the Summerville 2nd Ward.  This particular investigator was married to a member of the church during the time that he was less active.  Then, he turned his life around and became active again and so his wife decided to attend church with him.  She has been attending church for years but has never been baptized.  I was so happy to hear this from Brian and was excited to write to the family after I hung up.  Well,  I wrote to them to learn if it was  true and they responded not only with an email but also with a copy of the baptismal program.  I learnt that Bishop Johnson had called her into his office on Sunday and told her that he wanted to give her a calling but he couldn't because she wasn't a member of the church.  He then invited her to be baptized (something she has been asked many, many, times) and he gave her a week to think about it.  The following week she went back to his office not knowing what her answer would be and she said the first word that came out of her mouth was "Yes!" So, this sweet sister was baptized on January  4 2014!  Tender mercies.  It will be awesome to see this lovely family sealed in the temple next year. I hope I can attend it in South Carolina!

Well family I will be seeing you all very soon and just so you know, all the tears I have been shedding these past few days are because of the love I have for this great work and for my Saviour Jesus Christ.  I am definitely going to MISS the many friends I have made while on my mission but I know my work on Temple Square is done and I am ready for my missionary experiences as a member missionary in my home Ward.  Tomorrow I will attend the Temple with my departing class and then we will have dinner at the Lion House followed by a testimony meeting.  Then we will go home, finish packing and on Wednesday I will be companions with Sister Vaivai all the way to NZ!  So awesome! 

I feel the need to end my email by sharing my testimony:  "I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers EVERYONE! Heavenly Father loves all of His children just the same, that's why His love is unconditional.  A person who lives on the streets and begs for money doesn't mean the Lord loves him any less.  We are all spirit children of our Father in Heaven with the same divine potential and our goal is to help remind our brothers and sisters of that goal and then achieve it together.  What a journey this 18 month mission has been for me to finally understand my place in life and eternity.  I love the Book of Mormon with all my heart, it has been the reason for my true conversion as I have studied its pages and found answers to life's questions.  I know it is a gift from God. I testify that my Saviour lives, He lived and died thousands of years ago and He was resurrected and lives again. We will all stand before Him and be held accountable for what we have done with our lives and the gifts and talents He has blessed us with.  My hope is to stand with confidence and not fear.  I love all of my companions - even when things were a little difficult - because it's the challenging times that helped me to grow stronger!  I am a witness that miracles do happen everyday and there is always something to be grateful for.  I know that enduring to the end is a principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because the Lord wants us to exercise our faith and gain the knowledge that we need so that we can be unshaken and immovable just like the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that we have a living Prophet today.  I have been in his presence and felt the Christlike love emanating from this great spiritual giant of a man. I am forever grateful for the sacrifices ordinary people make to bring about extraordinary things.  I am so happy that I chose to serve the Lord. This hasn't been easy and not every day during my mission have I wanted to take another tour or knock on another door but I have done it because I love the Saviour.  I am eager to share what I have learnt with anyone that is willing to listen so that they to can come to know of the truthfulness of the gospel.  I know that if everything were to be taken away from me and I am left with nil earthly positions, I know for sure that no one can take my testimony away from me, especially that this church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - is the same church that was organized by Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. There are no more doubts in my mind.   I still have a lot to learn but for now I know enough.

"I love you all!  Thank's everyone for all your love, your prayers,  your emails and most of all your support.  I wouldn't have had such an awesome journey without the love and support from everyone.  I have come to learn that I love tough things, I'm the first to do tough things, I do tough things first, I am a finisher and I love being a MISSIONARY!"

Sister Nicola Chadderton

Utah, Salt Lake City, Temple Square Mission

31 July 2012 - 24 July 2013

South Carolina Columbia Mission (Outbound Experience)

24 July 2013 - 16 October 2013

Sister Nicola Chadderton

Utah, Salt Lake City, Temple Square Mission

16 October 2013 - 10 January 2014

31 December 2013

FAMILY!!!!!! Guess who's coming home next week???? I may be a tiny bit over-excited to see you all.

I seriously can't believe it and I even said to one of the Sisters in my class yesterday that I think I need to have a good cry just to make it feel real!  It still doesn't feel real.

Christmas for us was amazing, especially when I got to call home.  That was so awesome!  It seemed strange finishing off the conversations after an hour by saying, "See you in two weeks!"  Weird!   Christmas Eve was so much fun where we had dinner together as a mission to kick off the celebrations and then we watched the movie,  "The Nativity" with Keisha Castle-Hughes acting as Mary.  It was a little more graphic than I remembered but still good. Then we did our Pasada where the Sisters were put into zones and then walked to different stations on Temple Square and experienced a roving Nativity spectacular.  My companion and I were based in the Assembly Hall balcony and we depicted the, "Angels" who came around the time of Christ's birth to announce the good tidings of great joy.  It was really sweet and the Spirit was super strong. I had a whole new perspective on how those poor shepherds must've felt when the angels visited them.  I'm positive for them it was an awesome experience.  Well, as we continued with the Christmas theme we sang the song, "Angels we Have Heard on High" before the sisters headed off to their next station. Special times. That was a great way to start off Christmas.  My companion and I had a neat experience prior to the Nativity.  While inside the Assembly Hall we met a family who were in Salt Lake City because their three year old son was in the hospital.  They had three other children and had brought them to the Square to see the Temple lights.  This family was really incredible and had an awesome understanding about God's will and that if it was time for their sickly son to go then there was nothing they could do about, but if it wasn't his time then the Lord would take care of everything.  They said there is no point worrying about something you have no control over.  I loved their attitude, especially at a time when we are all reflecting on the birth of our Saviour and knowing what he went through.  I gained an even greater appreciation for our Heavenly Father in following through with His great Plan of Happiness for us.  For me, it was a very special and sacred experience to meet this family and then soon after go and be the angels who announced the Savior's birth. 

Well, Christmas morning was awesome where we got to sleep in until 7:30 a.m. and then we all pitched in to make breakfast.  I had bought some croissants so I filled each one with cheese, ham and tomatoes and put them in the oven to warm up just like I was told to by my sister.  Our roommates had made french toast and Sister Magaoay and her companion made scrambled eggs.  We had a feast and then we went down to the Square so my companion could call home to her family.  After her phone call we went back home and chilled a little before returning to the Square.  This Winter there hasn't been as much snow  and  there no snow fell on Christmas day so we had tons of people come to the Square wanting to take the tours.  It was awesome!  At 5:00 p.m. we closed the gates on the Square and headed off to have Christmas dinner with the rest of our Mission then we watched an LDS film, "Christmas for a Dollar!"  It was really cute.  After the film Santa came and spoiled us with more gifts and seriously, this year I could not believe what we got in our stockings!  I will send you a picture but I am so grateful and humbled by all the kindness from those people who contributed.  Oh and to my loving Porter family, "Thank you so much for the BYU hoodie, it is so awesome and I wore it to our Christmas party!  It was so nice and warm!"  I know I have been so blessed for serving a mission and I am so happy I chose to serve.  I know that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World and that we don't have to wait for a national holiday to celebrate his birth. I'm grateful we can celebrate it everyday in our hearts! 

I am so happy that I have served in the best mission in the world.  No one will ever be able to understand what an awesome mission this mission is unless you serve here but for those who have followed my blog I hope you have been able to recognize how true that statement is for me.  This is a very unique mission but I'm so grateful for all the hardworking examples I've had during my mission.  I'm also very thankful that I got to serve in the South Carolina Columbia Mission. That was the icing on the cake for my mission experiences.  Nothing like a piece of humble pie when you experience being swarmed by gnats and chased by dogs.  But truly, despite the gnats and the dogs I had so many tender mercy experiences like Kaitlyn and Brian getting baptized and more to come soon!

I love this Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Saviour will come and reign again soon and I'm excited to continue to spread His word no matter where I am. 

I love you all heaps,

Be seeing you soon!

Sister Chadderton

P.s. Pray for me, because this week is going to be crazy busy and I need my health and strength!  Our musical number at church yesterday was really beautiful and we had class photos at the flag pole this morning. This is my class clinging to the pole protesting that we do not want to leave the Square.  So crack up!  I'm gonna miss these sisters terribly!  Picture of me and then a picture of my presents in my stocking.  Another picture of Sister Back and I with President and Sister Gillette.  Oh and guess who found me this week?  "Nat & Kevin Martin!"  So awesome!!! Love you Nat xo

24 December 2013

Hi family!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I will try and keep this brief because guess what? I can call you tomorrow!!!!  So crazy! Just to clarify, I will be calling home at 2:00 p.m. my time which should will be 10:00 a.m. your time.  YAY!

I can't believe we have reached the Christmas week already!  I know time goes by so quickly but it feels like this month has flown by.  The past week has been busy as usual and it's been a little tricky to get a hold of some of our investigators and recent converts.  I talked to Mattie this week which was a tender mercy.   Mattie is a recent convert that was baptized when I was training Sister Pipe. I called her and learnt that she has been called as a teacher in her Relief Society class and she taught her first lesson last Sunday about Joseph Smith.  Isn't that awesome?  I love hearing from our recent converts and finding out that they are still strong. Sister Walker from the South Carolina Columbia Mission emailed me and said Brian is getting the priesthood this week!  I am so happy for him.  My heart is overflowing with joy as the Lord's blessings continue to flow in the lives of our recent converts.

My companion and I have been working on a project which is a document that records the amount of motor coaches we've had visit Temple Square throughout the year.  The document is broken down into weeks and into motor coaches that have Mandarin speaking people on them and then other languages.  It was very time consuming but awesome to see how many people from China visit the Square when they come here for a holiday.  It's incredible because from May-October we've had 2000 Mandarin speaking people come through Temple Square.  Our Mandarin speaking sister missionaries are the bomb and I believe that is how China will get the gospel. 

On Thursday we had our Relief Society class in the Relief Society Building on Temple Square and whether it was a coincident or not, but guess who came to speak for my last Relief Society? Well, no it wasn't the Prophet,  but it was Sister Linda K. Burton who is the President of the General Relief Society.  Despite the snowy day the spirit was strong in our meeting.  She talked about woman who have influenced our lives and shared stories about some of the heroes who are past Relief Society General Presidents and whose pictures hang on the wall in this huge building.  She then invited us to share about women who have influenced our lives.  Mum of course I thought about you and also Nan and Nanny Ma and so many others.  Mum, I loved reflecting upon and thinking about what you have taught me throughout my life - like putting others first even when its not convenient or comfortable for you and giving things away without even thinking about it (even when it's a new IPod Touch).  I really admire that about you mum and this week I had the opportunity to apply what I learned because a sister missionary who is here from the islands didn't have a pair of boots and she asked me if I had any spare boots. Well, I did have a spare pair and I was going to bring the brown pair home but I know they will be put to better use here.  It was a great feeling to be able to give them to this sister - just like my mum would've - and of course our Savior is the greatest example of giving and that for me is the true meaning of Christmas.  Thanks for teaching me that mum!

I wasn't feeling too good on Thursday and so I went to stay with my Zone leader who was sick too.  I slept for 3-hours straight and then we found out that because it was snowing so hard Temple Square was closed early so Sister Magaoay came over with Sister Loisotto to pick me up and take me back to our apartment complex.  I was so grateful.  It was nice to rest as I have been going hard out and my body just told me, "That's enough!"  That night we had dinner with he Schultz family.  It was so nice and the food was delicious!  We shared some of our fun Christmas traditions and they shared some fun ones too.  We played a guessing game where there were three tupperware containers and the first one was filled with goldfish (crackers), the second with Kisses and the third with M&M's.  You had to guess how many crackers, or kisses or M&M's were in each container and the person who guessed the amount closest to what was in the container was the winner.  Well, turns out that my companion and I are terrible at guessing because we didn't win a prize.  The next day Sister Schultz  turned up to the Square with another tupperware container filled with Kisses and M&M's for us.  That was so sweet and we appreciated her so much.

Friday!  You'll never believe who we had dinner with that night?  Sister Garisau that is here is from Raglan in New Zealand and her Uncles are the, "Moleni Brothers!"  Turns out that they wanted to have her over for a Christmas feed and asked if we could go too.  So,  Fisi Moleni came and picked Sister Garisau and her companion up along with Sister Vaivai and I and we went to dinner with them.  It was at a Chapel and their were lots of family members there and they had put on a mean feed.  So awesome!  They remembered the Solomon boys but more especially Uncle Rana.  They called them, "The Temple View Defenders!"  It was so nice of them to spoil us and we ate Maori bread, pulled pork, chicken, lasagna, pizza, salad, veggies, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake, ice-cream - pretty much everything!  It was just like being at home.  We rolled home after that massive feast!   The next morning Amanda found me and gave me my Christmas package. Thanks again Amanda for bringing all that home and thanks family for spoiling me so, so, so, much!  I am so grateful and I'm excited to give many of these presents to my friends. 

Well, I will call you tomorrow and talk more.  We close the Square at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow and on Christmas day so that we can have our Christmas celebrations. Tuesday will be more spiritual as we are doing a pasada and me and my companion will be the angels and the sisters will be going around in groups to meet different people from the Nativity and we will have a spiritual experience and watch Keisha Castle Hughes' version of the Nativity after. Then Wednesday we have Santa coming.  I haven't started packing and next week will be my last full week. It's so crazy!  I have my departing interview and blessing this Thursday and while it may seem a little early it's because our class is pretty big so I guess we've got to start somewhere.

I love you all and I'm really looking forward to calling home tomorrow.  Merry Christmas everyone and see you in two weeks!

Sister Chadderton

18 December 2013

Hi Family,

Thank you for all the emails and trying hard not to remind me of how little time I have left in the mission field.  It really is strange to think that the end is so near.  Crazy!!!

First things first, we get a five minute phone call home today so if anyone is home I will call around your 2:15 p.m.  So excited that Christmas is next week!

We had an awesome week in that our mission was blessed with a visit by Elder Don R. Clark who did a 3-day tour of our Mission.  My companion and I attended day two of his tour and I loved his inspirational talks.  He talked a lot about how a mission brings about a mighty change and he gave a lot of good advice for those missionaries returning home.  Mum, you'll like this part where he said, "More important than your mission is who you will marry!"  He asked the missionaries who are returning home to stand and then invited each of us to set high goals and to go on two dates a week.  Haha!  I had to laugh because I was thinking, "Aren't we meant to be learning things about missionary work here, what's going on?"  But it was perfect advice because experience has shown that those who return from their missions always have a little bit of anxiety during their transition from the mission field to going on dates.  So, his words of wisdom helped a few of us to feel more at peace about life after the mission field. This week I have really felt more at peace about finishing my full-time mission.  I really feel like I can come home with no regrets.  What a beautiful way to end my mission by celebrating our Lord and Savior's birth.  We have some fun things planned for Christmas as we focus more and more on our Savior Jesus Christ.

Volunteers from our Mission President's stake are having the missionaries from my mission over for dinner in their homes.  The missionaries will have an opportunity to share their Christmas traditions with the assigned families - similar to what we did last year.  Our District will go on Thursday night and I'm so excited about going because  I miss being in the homes of the members and sharing spiritual thoughts with them so it's going to be fun!

I bumped into a lot of familiar faces this week.  I saw Irene's little sister who was here for a YSA activity.  During this activity I met a sister who served in Jenna's mission - Boise, Idaho.  She had called me awhile back to give me a referral - her niece and the nieces husband.  It was so cool to see this sister and she kept saying how much I reminded her of Jen!  I asked what happened to her nieces husband and she said, "He ended up getting baptized!"  Isn't that awesome?  She didn't have his phone number so I was never able to follow up with them so it was a tender mercy that I got to hear it from her first hand. So cool!

We were in the West Gate booth the other night and I saw a family walk by so I smiled and waved to the little boy.  The family turned around and came back to the window and guess who it was? Jessica Millard!  So awesome!  She was with her family!  It was awesome to see them because the last time I saw them all was probably when I was aged 12 or 13.  It has been over 10 years since we saw each other so I was glad she recognized me!  She is expecting again.

My companion and I have been busy organizing covers for assignments while the Sisters go to the members houses for dinner and we had staff meeting yesterday and are looking at ways to simplify the numbers we keep track of for the New Year. That will keep us busy this week!  My departing class is also singing in sacrament meeting on December 29th and we have started practicing for that.  We have some very talented people in our class and I'm confident we will do a good job.  

I'm so grateful for my mission and what the Lord has done for me. I am constantly amazed at all He does for each of us.  He knows each of us individually.   We had a meeting yesterday entitled, "Finish Strong" which happens when you're half way through your last transfer.  It was awesome and my goal to finish this transfer strong is to think of others!  Really, I want to forget about myself and look at how I can help the sisters more before I leave.  My companions goal is to continue to help me to be so exhausted that I will want to go home to rest! Hahaha!  I love her!

Well, I hope you enjoy finishing your Christmas preparations for next week and I will talk to you all real soon.

Merry Christmas,

Love Sister Chadderton

James 5:11 "Behold, we count them happy which endure..."

10 December 2013

Happy Christmas everybody!

This week my email is  entitled, "Good Tidings of Great Joy" because its the season to be jolly and boy, am I jolly!  I have witnessed so many miracles and received so many blessings this past week and I am very grateful for the continued love of my Heavenly Father. 

I am going to share a few of the miracles with you all:

Monday night we finished our P-Day and went to work and we kept meeting up with so many adorable children.  They would see our badges and point and say, "Wow, those are missionaries!"  I had a little girl come up to me and say, "One day I want to be a missionary. How can I be a missionary now?" So cute!  We got lots of hugs from the children and it was the sweetest thing ever.  I felt soooo loved. That night we ran into the parents of one my companion's from the South Carolina Columbia Mission - Sister Walker.  Her parents and younger sister Lexi were looking for one of the Thai Sister missionaries because they wanted to give her a warm coat.  They'd found the sister missionary and when we were talking to them they invited my companion and I to have lunch with them the next day.

So, on Tuesday, after receiving permission from President Gillette we went to lunch with the Walker's at the Blue Lemon Restaurant which was awesome. I love Sister Walker because she has such a bubbly personality just like her daughter and it was cool to be at lunch with them. She even brought me the biggest bag of Peanut M&M's that I have ever seen!  We shared it with our fellow sister missionaries and still have lots left.

Wednesday we were in the office when a man by the name of Brother Westergaard - he drives people from the airport to bring them for a tour on Temple Square - came and handed me an envelope with my name on it.  He just gave it to me and left.  I had met him a week before and he'd asked me if I had a copy of the Articles of Faith in Maori.  I learnt during that visit that he had served his mission in New Zealand.  Well, I told him that I didn't have a copy of the articles of faith in Maori so inside the envelope today was, "The Articles of Faith in Maori" along with a sweet experience that he had written about from his mission days.  In his experience he shared a story about how when he was on his mission he was to be transferred but had no money for transportation.  A humble Maori member of the church gave him $11.00  because this member felt lthat this missionary needed it.  Well, inside this envelope Brother Westergaard had also enclosed a ten dollar bill and a magnet with a NZ Tiki on it.  Wow!  If I didn't already feel so loved I certainly felt it now.  I was so humbled by his kindness and kept wondering, "What have I done to deserve all these blessings?"

Thursday I was surprised to see a package addressed to me sitting on our Mail table.  It was from Kellyville 1st Ward!  So excited!  I laughed so hard when I opened the package because there was a  huge photo of me inside the box.  I have to take a picture of it and send it to you.  I was so grateful to everyone that contributed to my package.  Thank you so much for making my day Kellyville family!!!   Bishop Leota had written about all the missionary work that is happening back home in Kellyville 1st Ward and it made me so happy to hear of how everyone is working together to hasten the work and they have also witnessed baptisms! That is awesome!!!! Thanks so much everyone.

Friday night my companion went to the Latino Concert and I was on exchanges with Sister Magaoay - my little MTC companion.  We found a man on the Square who had been attending church and contemplating baptism.  He wants to be baptized for the right reasons so we told him we would be happy to phone him so he gave us his contact details.  I had the chance to call one of my other investigators in South Carolina whom I hadn't been able to get a hold of for a few weeks and she was the one who we gave the large print copy of the Book of Mormon too.  We'd also shared the Mormon Message about, "Mountains to Climb" and was surprised by everything that she had learnt.  She said she had still been reading the Book of Mormon and even downloaded it onto her kindle to read.  She asked why the missionaries hadn't come back to visit her?  I'd talked to Sister Walker who said that they went to visit her and she believes the Book of Mormon is true but that she wasn't able to make it to church but will make it soon.

I am excited to share my biggest miracle of the week which happened on Saturday.  You may remember my investigator  Brian back in the South Carolina Columbia Mission.  I had called Brian a week ago and he said he wasn't going to get baptized because he wanted to be able to quit smoking and drinking for two consecutive weeks before he was baptized.  In doing so, this meant that he could be baptized on December 7th.  I called him around his 4:00 p.m. and we were making small talk and then I said, "So Brian, when are you getting baptized?"  He then said to me, " You mean, "When am I getting confirmed?" OHHHHHHH, I was soooooo happy!  He had been baptized that morning and that was the biggest tender mercy of my life!  He was so happy and sounded like a whole new man because thats exactly what he is.  The first time I met Brian he wasn't very sober and  also smoking and now he is sober and clean every whit.  I love this gospel.  I love how it can change people's lives for the better and all they have to do is be obedient to God's commandments.  I'm so proud of him!

Sunday we continued to receive more blessings.  "Guess who came to our early morning sacrament meeting?" " Elder Quentin. L. Cook!"  He met President Gillette in the elevator after church last week and asked if he wouldn't mind if he joined us so he could partake of the Sacrament and then go and attend all of his other meetings in the day.  It was so cool to have an apostle sitting with us in our Sunday meetings.  It was a wonderful sacrament meeting.  The day was filled with lots of wonderful experiences - we went to Music and the Spoken Word Christmas special which was fun, had our staff meeting after where I was asked to give the spiritual thought.  Later on in the day the whole mission was to attend the Christmas devotional and because of this a BYU YSA Ward was invited to cover the Square for us while we went.  Guess who was asked to train up the YSA? Yup!  My companion and I were asked to do the training and we had almost 200 YSA volunteers turn up with about 6-8 returned Temple Square missionaries who had also come to help out.  It was really awesome to have the RM's back on the Square to help.  They were  Sister Jardine, Sister McKay, Sister Hinton, Sister Yazzie, Sister Aranda, Sister Ibarra, Sister Palmer, Sister Christensen and Sister Fredrickson. It was more like a fun mini reunion with many of these sisters having been my leaders at the start of my mission.   We got through the training and knew that the Square was going to be in safe hands for an hour!

Well, I've had a wonderful week and my companion and I are certainly feeling strengthened beyond doubt as we've witnessed the Lord's hand where in carrying us during those times where we've almost had no energy left to continue on.  We slept well last night and attended the temple this morning.  It has been such a wonderful week. I am definitely feeling the Christmas spirit and recognize the Lord's hand in everything. 

I love you all and pray that you may continue to recognize the miracles in your life and have good tidings and experience great joy just like I have this past week.  

Love Sister Chadderton

8 Decembeer 2013

Aloha everyone!

This truly has been one of the busiest weeks of my mission!  Transfers happened, we completed all of the Christmas schedules for all of the sister missionaries - including the Christmas assignments.  We had a few hiccups but overall everything worked out nicely. The weeks are going by way too fast.

 Last Wednesday I said goodbye to my companion Sister Vach.  Thursday we had Thanksgiving at Noah's Ark and I didn't think it was possible, but I thought this years Thanksgiving celebration was even better than last years!!!!  We all came together and performed a thanksgiving skit, sang karaoke, had a HUGE feast, made Christmas ornaments - with our pictures and flags - while we watched the movie, "Monsters University!"  That movie was hilarious!!!  I was so happy we got to watch it because I think I laughed the whole time.  It was so good.  Mum, I hope you have that movie at home because I so want to watch it again.  We also did some line dancing and played Wallyball with President Seppi.  It is one of his favorite games at Noah's Ark so I texted a few of the keen players to bring either a black or white shirt and the players in a white shirt were part of, "Team Seppi's"  group.  Heaps of fun!  On the roof top of Noah's is an ice-skating rink where we all hung out and enjoyed ourselves too.  So, it was pretty much the best thanksgiving/mission activity EVER.  So much fun!  I was so exhausted the next day but we had much to do because the Christmas lights were due to be switched on that night.  We are the, "behind the scenes crew" on Temple Square so we had to find a mission microphone, fix a movie that had stopped working, teach the sisters how to effectively control the mobs at the Christus Statue (located in the North Visitor's Centre) which kept us busy for the entire night.  

Friday morning was awesome because I got to take Uncle TC, Aunty Cerian, Caleb and Lauren Chadderton on a tour.  It was so sweet catching up with everyone and Lauren said to me that she could only remember meeting me like twice in her life.  It was an awesome tour and it made me so grateful for the things I learnt from the parental's - like gaining a testimony for ourselves when we were little.  I loved seeing Uncle & Aunty and the cousins again.  Thanks for coming!  

Well, the Lord has been helping us with our assignments especially with that missing microphone.  We went to the North Visitor's Centre where the Christus Statue is located to try and find the microphone and the AV guy that is in charge of all the Visitor Center equipment was taking photos of his children.  Yay!  I was like, "Hey thats the guy we need to talk to!" So crazy!  He told us which microphone we needed but that we could also use a wired microphone as well, so we went and found one of those.  I am so grateful for the Lord's help otherwise nothing would've worked out for us.  Saturday was another hectic day but we are doing good at balancing our missionary work and office work.  

Our investigators are still progressing even if we aren't able to talk to them as often as we'd like to. I called Brian a few times and he is still working on quitting his addictions, he's almost there!

We had a cool experience with a Korean guy this week just after we had opened Temple Square.  We asked him if he needed help and then talked about some of the research he had done about the Church, showed him the model of the Salt Lake City Temple in the South Visitor's Centre, gave him a Book of Mormon and then referred him to have the local missionaries teach him in Korea when he goes home!  So incredible and this all happened in less than 15 minutes.  Miracles!  I love it.  Heavenly Father is great!  On Saturday the Sisters in their last transfer - like me - and those in there first and second transfer had the opportunity to attend the, "Celebration of the Christ Interfaith Concert" as there weren't enough tickets for the whole mission to attend.  It meant that I missed the Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert but I wasn't too upset. The interfaith concert was amazing! Jenny Oaks Baker, BYU Vocal Point, Kevin - a beat-boxing cellist from Pentatonic - and some Baptist and Catholic Church Choirs performed.  I loved the Baptist Church's choir number! They were from Georgia so I was missing my people in the South.  BYU Vocal Point was definitely one of my favourites. Did you know that Jenny Oaks Baker is Elder Dallin H. Oaks' daughter? She is a very talented lady and Elder Oak's and his wife were at the concert.  So cool!

We still have a few trainings left to do this week but it won't be as demanding as the previous week.  We have to work until 10:00 p.m. two nights a week during the Christmas season and we can sleep in and be up and ready to study by 8:00 a.m.  We got to sleep in today and I was so grateful for that because it made a huge difference to my day and I feel ready to work late tonight!  My companion's goal is to drag me off the Square at night and take me home as I just love being on the Square talking to the thousands of people that visit.  It just makes me so happy to be here and that I still have a few more weeks left as a missionary.  We are having a mission tour by Elder Clark next week so that should be heaps of fun.

Thanks for all your prayers and love.  I fasted for strength to make it through this transfer and the Lord is answering my prayers!

Love you all, Sister Chadderton xoxo

26 November 2013

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wow!  Transfers!  Transfer week is always rough and I've been a little emotional these past few days knowing that my companion and many of my friends are finishing their missions this week.  I will miss them so, so,  much.  When my friends were sharing some of the things that they have learnt while serving their missions I was just in awe of how far they've come in the past 18 months.  Each of them has sacrificed so much and I can't believe it's all coming to an end for them.  My class will officially be the oldest class in the mission as of Wednesday and we have some pretty HUGE shoes to fill.

 A story of endurance, patience and long suffering that I have learnt since being here on Temple is about one of our sweetest sister missionaries currently serving who is from the Philippines.  Her father was tragically shot at  the beginning of her mission and this is something that she doesn't talk about  a lot as it is a very sensitive topic but her example of humility is something that stands out to me.  She is totally reliant upon the Lord for strength and knows that He will take care of her and her family.  She told me that she chose to stay on her mission after receiving the news despite the challenges that she has had to endure.  She is such an inspiration to me. There aren't too many sisters in our mission that are aware of her story and her example of striving to follow Jesus Christ is incredible and I love her so much!

Well, I have a new companion and her name is Sister Back (pronounced like Bach the music genius) and she is from Finland/Bolivia so she speaks several languages.  Surprisingly enough, she was also companions with my trainer (mama) Sister Calderwood so thats exciting.  I love her already and am grateful we can be companions for my last transfer.  As Temple Square Co-ordinator's we have the opportunity to help the AP's write up the schedules for the whole mission and it can be quite a tedious job because we only have one computer to set everything up on so being patient and working together in unity with each other can have it's challenges.  Thank goodness for the strength we receive from the Lord or we could go a little nutty and luckily I have a companion who is a little nutty too because we found this toy unicorn and pretended to gallop down the hallway as a, "sanity break" and we were about to do it again when 30 odd missionaries entered the Square from the MTC for visitor's center training.  They had come down to the offices where we were working so we stopped real fast - haha - hid our toy unicorn until they went into the big theater room and then galloped off one more time before going back to work.  Don't worry we didn't spend too much time goofing off but those sanity breaks sure are worth it when you've been stuck in a room with one computer for almost five hours.  Everything worked out nicely.

The AP's had my companion and I assist them in training the mission on what takes place around Christmas time on the Square.  The presentation was fun because we dressed up in Christmas colors, wore reindeer antlers on our head and played Christmas music as the sisters entered the room.  We talked about the many thousands of visitors that will flood the Square over the Christmas season, presented them with the new schedules along with the logistics of Temple Square and staying on the Square until 10:00 p.m. at least twice a week.  We even role played how to usher people effectively up to the Christus Statue in the North Visitor's Centre because sometimes the guests can turn into angry mobs if they are kept waiting too long. It was a successful training and the AP's had written a Temple Square version of the Christmas carol, "Sleigh bells ring…" so we sang it to everyone to end the training.  It was hilarious and I think its what the sisters needed to help them get excited for the hectic Christmas schedule that starts this week  Friday.  But before that, we will celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday and our celebrations this year will take us back to Noah's Ark where we celebrated last year.  I know it will be heaps of fun because after the fun comes all the hard work!

Oh,  I was able to call Brian yesterday in South Carolina and he is still going good.  He still wants to be baptized so hopefully this week is the week!  I'm hoping I can call more of my people this week to find out how they are all doing.  I hope you all have a great week.  I can't believe how quickly this time has gone.  Oh and Sister Pipe is going outbound to the Yuteca New York Mission for two transfers so this will be the last time I see her as she leaves tomorrow morning.  So, so, sad...but such is life.  I know I will see her again!

Take care,

Love you heaps,

Sister Chadderton

P.s.   This week Sister's Jardine and Ellen who used to serve here took my companion and I out to dinner at CPK's - a delicious pizza place - and a member had paid for all of us! So sweet!  I love Ellen!  And today Sister Kyle - another RM from Temple Square - took us out to lunch and it was awesome.  I hope if I'm ever back here I can do the same for a missionary too!  I love Temple Square Sisters - especially those two!