Hi Family!
Hope you've all had a fantastic week! I'm at a loss as to where to begin my email as we don't have a lot of time and their's lots to tell. I'll let the spirit guide. We've had a full on week and a few of the sisters in our Zone have been sick so we've had a lot of exchanges take place to cover companionships which is always fun.
This week in my personal studies I was reminded that the word, "Gospel" translated means, "Good news!" Isn't that cool? I do have some good news to share. You may remember me sharing with you earlier that Sister Pipe and I were teaching a lady that Sister Pipe had met while she was in the MTC. Her name is Mattie and the good news is that she got baptized on Saturday!!!! We were so, so, happy. She is an amazing person and I love her so much. She even told Sister Pipe that she wondered if one day her boys would have the opportunity to serve a mission. Her boys are both under the age of five so there is a huge chance that they will serve a mission. Great blessings ahead for Mattie.
Sunday was a fun day because Sister Vaivai and I had the opportunity to sing together in Sacrament. The song we sang was entitled, "I'll find you my Friend." One of the Sister missionaries that serve with us, her aunty wrote that song and it is based on a true story that the aunty had read. She sent all the missionaries in her nieces district a copy of the story and it was so beautiful to read. It was such a cool experience to sing a song and know the history behind it. Another cool experience was meeting Sister Pipe's family who were visiting the Square after having checked out BYU-Idaho for the younger sister. They all look so much alike. The photo below is of us with her family and her mission step-mum whose name is Sister Hillam and she's awesome.
The temperature has typically been about 40 degrees celsius every day which is really hot, so I'm, "FINALLY!" getting my tan on! I'll have to send you a photo some time soon of my feet because they look pretty funny at the moment. My toes never see the sunlight so they look really white and the rest of my feet are really tanned. Hilarious!
This Thursday - Independence Day - we are having a mission activity which will be along the lines of a talent show. Woot! Woot! The Polynesian sisters are trying to pull together and item for that day but today President Gillette asked me if I could teach the sisters the Hukilau dance while he plays the Ukulele. It's gonna be a crack up because I have to learn that dance first as it's not one I learnt at the PCC.
This morning we went to the Temple and it was so beautiful to be in the House of the Lord. There were six young men on our session - eighteen years of age but looked younger - who are leaving on their missions soon. It was a little surprising to me because I'm not used to seeing so many young adults in the Temple at 7:00 a.m. It's awesome to witness how much the church is growing stronger and how the call to serve has definitely been accepted so willingly by the young adults.
Well, our awesome Zone is doing really well. Everyone is working hard and finding the time to teach their investigators and we are having a steady flow of baptisms each week. These sisters are amazing!
My health has been a little topsy turvy this past week and I'm not sure what is causing it but I know my companion is recovering from a virus so maybe it's finally catching up with me. My ears have been hurting a little along with my throat and I've been getting a few headaches of late. I know it's not heat stroke because I drink about six bottles of water a day to stay hydrated. We have about three weeks left on Temple Square then my companion heads home. We are combining our foods so we can eat it all before next transfer. I really love my companion and whenever we go on exchanges I miss teaching with her. It's nice having such a good companion and friend who works so hard to the bitter end even when her body may be shutting down due to a virus. After almost eighteen months in the field her desire to work hard is still very strong. What a great example she is to me.
I forgot to tell you about the other highlight of my week. I had the opportunity to help out with a Youth Conference. After showing the youth around the Square they attended a fireside where the guest speaker was, "John Bytheway!" Yup! It was so awesome but weird, to see a man whose books and DVD's I was raised on watching or reading and to now see him in real life. I loved seeing him and as expected, he gave a great talk and something in his talk that really stood out to me was when he said, "The Spirit should be your best friend so that you can feel it's presence at all times. He is there for you, so whenever you go into a place and your best friend leaves, you better go and find your best friend." I got from what he was saying that if you are ever in a place where the Spirit leaves, then you need to leave too. I know that it's not worth being in a place when you can't have your best friend with you.
Well, that certainly was a highlight for me on Temple Square that day. Love you all heaps and have a great week.
Sister Chadderton xoxo
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