10 April 2013

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the long email again!  Last week with the change in emailing time, I tended to get a little carried away.  I think it might happen again, but thanks to everyone for emailing me back.

So, you probably may have heard about all the people that I ran into this weekend and who they were! It was so cool seeing all their familiar faces. SO COOL! But, funny thing, the only people I wasn't running into was my parents!  It was funny getting a text from my district leader on Thursday night telling me that she had met my parents and I was like, "What?" "They aren't meant to be here until Friday!" Then Friday came and I heard from some other sisters that they had met my parents that morning and I still hadn't seen them.  On my way to look for them I ran into Rochelle and Tim and they were trying to help me find them too but we just kept missing each other. I've gotta say, I love Sister Vaivai because she called me and let me know that she had seen them.  Because my companion weren't on the Square at the time, we ran out to find them and it wasn't long after, that we finallly ran into each other and had big hugs!   The visit wasn't long enough, but it was great to see the folks and comforting to know that I could now say to the other sisters that I had finally caught up with my parents.  We plan to get together again after Conference to take a tour, do a temple session and then have lunch or dinner. Yay!

Then the craziness of General Conference began on Friday too, so it was extremely busy on the Square and the Quorums of the Seventy were using our conference room in the basement of the SVC (South Visitors Centre) for meetings and my companion and I were downstairs in the study lounge when their meeting had finished and then you see all the members of the seventy start filing out of the room and past our kitchen and study room lead by Elder L. Tom Perry!  I jumped off the couch and stood there for a good 10 minutes shaking everyone's hands and it was such a neat experience and honor.  There were only about 12 of us sister missionaries who were in the right place at the right time. 

Friday night all the sisters were going crazy as usual due to our early mornings and long days but I felt a lot more prepared for this General Conference then I did for the last one, knowing what to expect.  The next day I got ready and was on the Square by 7:20 a.m. for a quick breakfast then out to meet the multitudes!  My companion did really well considering how busy it was,  but we did have to go on exchanges for a little while with the zone leaders because she was tiring and not doing to good and one of the zone leaders had pulled her Achilles the day before conference and was on crutches so I went on exchanges with Sister Mitchell (Lyle Wert's girlfriend from Texas). It was awesome and fun and it was really cool to see dad after the priesthood session too.  The session that we got to go to was on Saturday afternoon and it was amazing!!!  I was sitting on the far left of the conference center, third row from the front and it was really neat. The lady I sat next to said I had met her during the Christmas season - small world. I only wish I remembered what we had spoken about but it was still cool. One talk I really liked was about, "Catching the Wave!" Have you all caught the wave of missionary work that is flooding the world right now? It is so exciting and I'm glad I am a part of it. We left the Square at 9:30 p.m. totally exhausted and went to bed in preparation for the next day of conference mayhem. 

I woke up earlier then usual because we had a meeting at 7:00 a.m. (I know cruel) but it was to pump us up for day two of conference. My feet were still swollen from standing for so long the day before, but I'd put bandaids on my blisters and drew a smile (thank goodness for make up) and went back out to face the thousands of people and cameras.  My companion's health went downhill really fast that day so I went on exchanges again because she felt like she was going to pass out twice while sitting down. So, Sister Mitchell and I were together for the rest of the day. It was great fun and we had so many miracles happen. Once you are out talking to people you literally forget yourself in the work and the pain of sore feet or swollen feet or blisters or even tiredness leaves you and you focus on uplifting the members and asking them for referrals or people to teach. Missionary work is hard work, especially when everyone's trying to listen to the session being piped through onto the grounds.  We met a lot of nice people and we even met this one man who wasn't a member  that was taking photos and had little shorts on (clearly wasn't here for conference) but he was travelling the states with his friends and they were waiting for music and the spoken word to start so he was taking pictures before it started. We had a great conversation and I asked if I could call him and share with him more about the church and why we have prophets and he said sure! So I found a new investigator during the craze - tender mercies!  He is French Canadian so I'm brushing up on my francais!

Well,  the day passed quickly and I felt like I had not only talked to a lot of people but also to a lot of RM's that seemed a little lost after being home.  It was cool to remind them of what's important and to bear my testimony to them. I also met alot of pre missionaries too which was cool and I shared with them of how I felt that I could've better prepared ie. studied PMG more before coming out.  At 7:30 p.m. the Square was almost empty and we gathered in the Tabernacle for our, " High 5" meeting. The total number of referrals received this weekend was 3363 and our goal for baptisms before the next conference is 486. I don't remember if I told you how many baptisms we had this past 6 months but it was 437!  Such a miracle. The sisters here work so hard and are very obedient and we see so many miracles. The church is true!

Well, Monday morning we slept in (we were granted permission to do so) and later we took the senior couple missionaries from the MTC around the Square because they are going to be serving in various Visitors centers around the world.  I felt so sorry for them because I was feeling like a zombie with my sore feet and because of that I didn't want to smile anymore but it was good that my little companion was in good spirits and had rested so much during conference because she could be her bubbly self for the both of us. Then at 6:00 p.m. we had a big celebratory dinner which was taco bar and it was so delicious. We watched a short video where our mission president was playing different instruments and in the video it said that we had a special guest coming to perform. I don't know if you have ever heard of this piano guy before but the pianist, Jon Schimdt was our guest!!!!!!! President Gillette knows everyone so we ran to the NVC (North Visitors Centre) where he came and played some songs for us and answered any questions that we had.  It was a blast. It was so cool and he is sooooooo talented. Many of us listen to his music everyday so it was special seeing him in person.

Well, family I tried to keep it short but I don't think I did.  I am half way through my mission and it's insane. Never take the mission for granted because it just passes you by without you realizing it. I wonder what my next transfer will bring?  Have a great week! Read your scriptures and listen to the talks from General Conference.

3 April 2013

Hi everyone,

Wow! What a week it has been! I hope you've enjoyed your Easter weekend because it was so good to be here for it. The trip to Goshen really helped jump start the Easter spirit for me and we also had Zone Conference where we went over the contacting model that we will use as missionaries.  We were split into our districts and then we went to four different places on Temple Square to be trained on the different areas of the contacting model which are:

1. Initial contact/Build a relationship of trust

2. Create an environment to teach

3. Teach and testify

4. Invite/Re-invite

There is a lot more material that we covered within these four groups and it was so cool.  This is all in preparation for our Summer season on Temple Square.  During this time we also have to eat lunch on the Square in the kitchen and cannot go across the road to the Mall (foodcourt) because we are needed to take people around the Square.  Summer season is the busiest season on Temple Square and already we have over 250 bus tours booked to do, "Motor coach tours."   This is where you are like a tour guide with a microphone and flag and can have over 50 people in the bus and take them around the Square.  We just need to be sure there are enough Sister Missionaries to go around.  Well, depending on whether I go outbound or not during the Summer season, I will be sad if I  miss out on the fun during that time.  Anywho, whatever the Lord wants!

We also went to a baptism on Saturday morning.  The baptism was for an investigator that we had the opportunity to teach a lesson to a few weeks ago.  Shaun and his family came to the Square for a lesson with the Elders who are in the Salt Lake City mission and we helped teach as a team and committed him to be baptized.  It was so neat to attend his baptism and his wife and two children are already members.  He has attended church every week for quite some time now and has read the Book of Mormon with his children but just hadn't been baptized.  So, he finally decided that it was the right time. Such a miracle because he has taken the lessons several times.  I love going to baptisms - they are the best and it makes up for those times when our investigators who live half-way around the world get baptized but we aren't able to attend.

Haha!  Okay, I just remembered something that happened this week that I wanted to share. So, we were meant to share a lesson with another set of Elder's investigators.  While we are waiting for the investigators to arrive we are planning out the lesson with the Elders.  I learn that one of the Elders is from Hawaii and the other from Texas.  Anyway, the Hawaiian Elder has been out on his mission for one month and the Texan Elder has been out for seven months.  The Hawaiian Elder says to me, "So, we sing for our investigators at the beginning of a lesson and at the end - its how we bring the spirit."  I then said,  "Thats cool Elder, yep it definitely invites the Spirit."  We continue to talk some more and we find out that during this companionship, the Texan Elder had heard the Hawaiian Elder humming one time and said to him, "Elder, do you sing?" Ever since then the Texan Elder makes the Hawaiian Elder sing all the time because the story goes that the Texan Elder (apparently) almost had an opportunity with his, "Boy band" to go big before his mission, but he came out before they could meet with the producer.   By this time 30 minutes has past and their investigators still haven't shown up so they decide that maybe it's time to leave and as they are about to leave, the Hawaiian Elder says, "Would you like us to sing for you?"  In my mind I'm thinking, "Um, is this guy serious?" (We are sitting in a public area next to the Map of Jerusalem in the North Visitors Center).  So I said,"Sure! Why not, but just make sure you don't sing too loud or else security might come!"  Anyway, the Texan Elder wasn't listening and says, "What's happening?"  I said, "Your companion want's to sing to us!"  He says, "Oh, okay!"  They pull our their mini hymnals from their coat pockets and turn to the hymn, "Did You Think to Pray" (apparently its one of their favourites) and they break out into this beautiful, harmonized singing for just my companion and I.  My companion couldn't look at them because she's about to bust out laughing not because they sound bad but it just seemed a little awkward, and I didn't know what to do so I'm smiling and trying to stay focused.  It was so beautiful and the song was great and I loved it.  Never in my life have I been serenaded by Elders in public (or in private) as a missionary.  Haha!  Classic moment and a memory I'll never forget! 

Well, Saturday was the General Young Women's meeting and my companion's health was co-operating with us due to her getting a blessing and it was a miracle that we stayed out as long as we did on Saturday.  It was really neat to see all the 21,000 young women and their leaders file out of the Conference Center and while they were inside we talked to their Bishop's, Dad's and husband's.   I love the young women so much because they love talking to the missionaries.  Every time they see us they point and wave and say, "Hi! It's the missionaries!"  This is a huge contrast to last year during the Relief Society meeting where I felt a lot of the sisters would look at you and then pretend they hadn't seen you and walk faster. The young women are great and all of the ones I talked to said that President Uchtdorf's talk was their favorite.   So, be sure to watch it and let me know.  I'm waiting for it to be published so I can read it too.

Easter Sunday started extremely early for us because our Mission Choir was singing the opening hymn for Sacrament and our Choir Director, Sister Palmer (Senior missionary) wanted us to practice before church.  We arrived at church around 6:45 a.m. to warm up our voices and practice.  Sunday is probably the longest day of the week for us but now it was extra long.  But because it was Easter Sunday it didn't matter and the medley we sang included, "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" and "Love one Another."   It was really beautiful and in honour of it being Easter we went to the Easter special of, "Music and the Spoken Word" and it was the best!  We even saw Sister Elaine Dalton of the General Young Women's Presidency.  After that we went and took an incredible tour with a lovely group -  a couple from Utah and their son, and a couple from South Africa.  I love the South African people because when you say, "I'm from NZ" they say, "Oh, you're the opposition!" (Rugby talk!).  They were the sweetest couples and we had the best tour with them.  The spirit was so strong and the love we felt for them was amazing.  At the end of the tour as we were saying goodbye the wife of the South African couple tried to give us this wad of cash to say thank you and we were like, "No, no, you don't have to pay us we're volunteers!"  She looked like she was hurt and said, "But I want to support you in what your doing!"   I gave her a big hug and said,  "You are already supporting us by coming here and taking the tour."  She put her money away and gave us a few more hugs, said thank you and then left.  It's actually incredible after an experience like that as to how much love you can feel for a complete stranger.  I often get hugs from people that I've only met for 30-45 minutes max.  The Church is so true and the love of God is exquisite as mentioned in the Tree of Life.  It is the most desirable thing ever and this is why we are missionaries because we want to share the love of God with everyone!

Yesterday, my companion wasn't feeling well and there was another Sister who was sick too, so I went on exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders because she had to go to a district meeting and it turns out it was with Sister Vaivai's district.  It was so cool to see her in action and also to hear the instruction she gave to her sisters.  She talked about a scripture found in  Jeremiah 16:16 and how she didn't want the sisters to be fishers because fisherman have to wait for the fish to come to them and if we wait as missionaries for the people to come to us then we might be waiting our whole missions.  She encouraged the sisters to be hunters instead because they go to their prey and find them in the mountains and valleys.  It was a really good motivational speech as a build up to General Conference this weekend.  Sometimes, I wish I could be like Moroni and Ether and hide in the cavity of a rock while all the thousands of people are moving around you,  but at the same time there are soooooo many people who need strengthening and need support in the form of a special message from the missionaries so thats what we'll be doing this weekend.  One week from now I'll be able to breath again even though I still might have sore feet, but my heart will be full for another six months.

Well, family this email is ginormous and I hope you are all getting prepared for General Conference. Remember to write those lists of questions down for things your seeking revelation for so the Lord can answer them through his servants.  I can't wait to attend our one session of conference this weekend.  Please write me next week of your favourite speaker and one thing you learnt so I can learn about who else spoke because we have to wait for the May Ensign to read them all.

Love you heaps and heaps!  God be with you 'til next week!

P.s Mum and Dad are coming. YAY!!!

Sister Chadderton xoxo

27 March 2013

Yay!  Finally, I get to write to you all about my week!  It's awesome that we have 2 hours to email because I need every minute of it.  Thanks to those who wrote to me - you know who you are!

Well, as you know we had transfer Conference last week Monday and received our new assignments.  The conference was held in the Tabernacle Building around 7:30 a.m. and my new companion is Sister Whaley from Nevada.  She returned home shortly after she arrived in the mission due to health problems but she is a trooper and a great example to me because she came back out.  It was sad to say goodbye to Sister Stolp but she is doing great and her new companion is Sister Lupashko who has just returned from her outbound experience.  Sister Lupashko said she served with one of Jenna's MTC companions. Small world aye?  Apparently, she heard the other sisters talking about a, "Sister Chadderton" and she was like, "Wait!  What? We have a Sister Chadderton in our mission who is also from NZ!"  When she saw a picture of Jenna she said, "They must be sisters because they look so much alike!"  Haha.  I love it - sorry sister I can't remember where she went outbound to.

Anyway, so this past week we have seen a lot of changes take place and while change can be a little unsettling at first, you soon get use to it.  We are all gearing up for General Conference which is fast approaching and Temple Square is getting busier and busier each day.  I'm not sure how my companion will cope during Conference due to her health but we are mentally preparing ourselves for it and we will do our best.  Mum and Dad, you can decide when we can meet for the tours.  I may or may not run into during Conference because there will be over 21,000 people on the Square during that time and it may be better that we meet up after Conference.  Exciting times!  I am praying that there is an announcement at General Conference for a new temple to be built in Auckland, New Zealand - so know that my fingers and toes are crossed.

Last Saturday we had a General Conference, "Pump-up" meeting and it has inspired everyone to get excited.  At this same meeting President Gillette talked about a special field trip that we as sister missionaries would be going on.  I don't know if you've heard of, or watched the new Bible Videos on lds.org.  The set that these video's are filmed at is located in a small place called Goshen in Utah.  Well, our Mission Presidency have been working for over a year to have us visit the set.  It's a little tricky to have visitor's at the site because the people at the set in Goshen are always filming so they don't allow tours during that time.  However, there is a short gap during the build up to General Conference where they are accepting tours.  So, guess what?  We got to go!  My zone and another zone went yesterday (they split us up so their were still sisters on the Square).  We were given a packed lunch (yippee) and rode in a bus for about an hour and thirty minutes before arriving at Goshen.  It is a very small town and it looks like a farm and as we drove into the tour area  we saw this HUGE film set.  I know I was expecting a tour of the grounds but I was overcome even more to feel the spirit so strong at this venue.  Honestly, it was amazing!  Our tour guide explained to us that Elder Bednar and Elder Scott oversee the Bible Video filming and Elder Bednar had dedicated the ground especially for filming.  So, it was any wonder that we could feel the spirit so strong.  It was such an incredible place to visit and to me, it looked like a replica of Jerusalem that has been built out of Styrofoam, carved and then had stucco cement applied and then painted.  It's pretty hard core.   We knew it wasn't Jerusalem but this place had a reverence about it as you reflected on what happened in Jerusalem during the Savior's time.  We went down to the area where they filmed the Garden of Gethsemane video and we saw how they had even made their own Olive trees.  We looked up the hill and saw three crosses which is where they shot the Crucifixion at Golgotha.  What a humbling experience it was for me and I felt the spirit of that very tragic but sacred event.  The church is true and I don't need to say anything else!

I hope you all enjoy reflecting on that story and if you get a chance, watch the Bible videos because I went to the very place that they were filmed at and it was powerful.

Here's one to enjoy entitled, "He is Risen!":  http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/he-is-risen?lang=eng

I'm excited for the chance we have to hear from our beloved Prophet and the apostles next weekend.  Make sure to spiritually prepare yourselves for Conference and listen and wait for the personal revelation you will receive for yourselves.  Write down that question list again and all your questions will be answered by the various speakers.

Oh and our assignment this transfer is, "Visitor Center Contacting Co-ordinators!"  This means that we have the opportunity to take Sisters from the MTC (that are going to serve in a Visitor's Center) around our mission and share with them what its like to serve at a Visitor's Center.  I am getting excited for when it's my turn to go outbound, but this week I have had fun being an airport Sister where I've picked up sisters who have returned from outbound, including my mission mum Sister Calderwood who just returned from serving 3 transfers in Louisiana.  She said she had so much fun and is really looking forward to meeting you Mum and Dad when you come for Conference.

Hope you all have a great week!  Oh and Sister Bunting was right, our Sound of Music performance went well and the spirit was powerful and there were a lot of miracles that were a result of the performance.  The performance was open to the public and there were a few people who wanted to learn more about the gospel because of it.  The sisters are so talented and the recording is, "Sound only" so when I get a copy I will definitely send you one.

Love you heaps,

Sister Chadderton

P.s  I've lost my camera cord that connects  to the computer but I will try and find another solution.  Dad, if you can, could you please bring that little device that I can put my memory card in to link it to the computer.  My camera is dead so I have been using my fellow missionaries camera's. Will send pictures as soon as I can.  Sorry!

14 March 2013

Hey everyone!!!! 

Wow what a week and it sounds like you are all having too much fun in the sun! We actually are experiencing 16 degree Celsius weather outside and its so nice and warm and later on we are going to the beach - no just kidding- there are no beaches here at Temple Square. But I'm glad it’s a lot warmer today then it has been!!!

Last Wednesday we went to Red Robin and Burger restaurant for our zone activity and it was great fun.  Our Zone leaders Sister Armstrong and Steenblik are the best and it was Sister Armstrong’s birthday celebration.  It was really good food and just fun spending time with everyone.  I can't believe we are at the end of another transfer okay maybe this one was only 5 weeks but still if you don't hear from me next week its because my P-day would've changed and I may or may not have one. It's scary not knowing what is going to happen because companions rarely stay together for 3 transfers in our mission but all goods the Lord knows best.

The square has been humming with so many people here to ski or to sight see.  Every Tuesday we meet lots of pre-MTC missionaries who go in on Wednesday so it’s really cool to see the huge influx of missionaries.  My companion and I did MTC contacting and then took 6 Elders around on a tour.  One was Elder Gemmell from Hastings and his brother went to BYU-H and worked in the MTC so that was pretty cool and if I remember from our genealogy chart we are distantly related to that family so small world.  The rest of the Elders were 4 from England and 1 from Finland and they were great Elders.  A few of them were the first 18yr olds going to the Alpine Germany mission. We took them to the conference centre and then on our way out one of the sisters called out to me and pointed to someone who was half way down the conference centre and who was waving at me.  It was my mate Tim Mahoney who I always forget works there and it caught me off guard so the Elders were asking me questions like “who is that?” and more probing questions. Nosey Elders aye? No they’re okay. 

We have been busy practicing our for our performance on Friday and its going to be so great the whole thing is I mean. We start at 7:30pm and the opening number is “Called to Serve” where we all march in with the flags of our country. We practiced the whole thing this morning and I am excited for Friday night. We have had a lot of early morning meetings and what not so it'll be nice to start the next transfer without a huge performance in the middle of it. Then after that it will be CROM. This is a nickname that some of the sisters refer to Conference as being the sister missionary’s form of Prom. Kind of ridiculous but they are starting to look for their 'CROM' outfits.  Oh the unique things our mission of all sisters brings!

Also this morning when we were practicing our island’s performance President & Sister Gillette were there watching us in the audience. I didn't know but President served his mission in Hawaii when he was 19 and the last number we close with is “Aloha Oe” and he had tears streaming down his face (both of them did) so it was special and I'm glad we end with that number for our performance.

Today is “East High School day” or so we are calling it. We are going to visit my beloved Zac Efron’s old filming ground – and in his honour we all wore red, white and black.  I'm sure we are going to get a lot of special looks today. It's great having friends on the mission that you can do fun things with.

Well the year is moving faster then I think it should, ridiculously fast oh and by the way we talked to Abigail today and she and her 18 year old daughter are getting their Patriarchal blessings woo hoo! Great family! Definitely going to visit them after the mission.

Hey Mum – so Sister Matautia (who is Jordy's mission preparation teacher) is a legend here on Temple Square! Seriously if only every missionary had the conversion story like she does and the power in her testimony. She trained Sister Vaivai and I love her so much. Jordy has no need to fear with her for a teacher I think she’s the next MTC President.  She was such a powerful missionary but can you believe that she was a devout Jehovah's Witness when she was 16 and her dad was a Bishop for our church and she would try and tell him why our church was wrong.

In the end he said to her "Why do you think you're special? 14.5 million people have read the Book of Mormon and have prayed and know that is true. Why do you think you are so special that you won't even read the Book of Mormon to know for yourself." So after reading and praying she knew it was true. Moral of the story - Read the Book of Mormon and Pray and you'll know its true.

Mum Sis Jardine says hello and is really excited to meet you next month and Jenna she said you need to email her!

Hope you have a great week, be happy and remember - God loves you! 

And I do too Sister Chadderton xoxo

P.S.  Summer is just around the river bend!!!!

7 March 2013

OH MY GIDDY AUNT!!!!

I even screamed out loud when I read that mum!!!!  Oh my goodness, I don't feel like emailing for very long because I am just so excited!  Of course it's up to President Gillette's discretion but this wouldn't be the first set of parents to see their children on Temple Square.  Oh, I am so happy even at the prospect of seeing you both! Ahhhhh!   But, it does all come down to whether President plans on sending me outbound on my next transfer or not .  We will wait and see.  But my fingers are crossed and I'm just excited that you get to come here and spend time at my mission.  Yay!!!! I love, love, love it!!!

Well, besides all that fun news I am sad to hear about your leg Joseph and hope you feel better soon!!! 

Our practices for our upcoming performance next week has improved so much and I know the Lord is helping the sisters with their poi because, boy, they have learnt so much and so fast! Seriously, it has  only just been over a month that we've been practicing and they are already for the village at PCC.  Haha.  I can't wait until next week to come even though I am getting burnt out by all the training.  But, the Lord is helping me to know where my limits are.

One of our investigators - Steve -  from England was doing so well and was on track for his baptism date but wanted to wait for his dad to be their so he pushed his baptism back. Well, we hadn't heard from hime for over a week and it wasn't like him.  We finally made contact and learnt that he has clinical depression and was in hospital. He told us that he is now an Athiest because he doesn't believe that if there was a God that he would be so cruel to anybody.  It was a hard thing for us to hear because my companion and I both care about him so much and I know that it's his depression that is speaking.   I have never felt so heart broken as I did when we hung up the phone and my companion and I had a little cry and the other sisters from our district were giving us hugs.  The hardest thing was that we know he has a testimony and he needs to rely on God the most now, especially during this trial but he is pushing him away.   We assured him that God loves him and that we would still be here.  We were so depressed after the conversation and we are not the first or last set of missionaries to have this happen to us. In the end,  the church is still true, I believe in Christ so what else matters?  We will trust that the Lord will watch over him and help him.  We wrote to the wonderful Evans family in England asking if they would write to Steve and share their testimonies to him and they are so sweet.  They said they would fast and pray for him too. Great family!  Abi is now the 2nd counsellor in their Young Women's presidency and Daniel is up there passing the sacrament. Tender mercies of the Lord.

And thanks heaps sister for this inspired excerpt:

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit.

-Elder Richard G. Scott

It was just what my companion and I needed because there has been a lot of trials with our investigators this week and more specifically this transfer. Nice to know the Lord is helping us grow!

Well, we got some cool news today in that our Mission President read a letter from the First Presidency allowing all the missionaries around the world to email friends and family on P-Day's and we have been given up to two hours of emailing time if we wanted to use it. How cool is that??? So friends of mine if you are reading this you can now email me and I will email you  back so please, "Go for Gold!"  I will try my best to email you back.

Love you all family,

Stay safe in Aussie mum!!!  Can't wait for the phone call to go to President's office this week! Haha.

Sister Chadderton xoxo

No pics this week but watch this uplifting Mormon message!

http://youtu.be/xdN8rfwW3SI Enjoy love you's!

28 February 2013

Hi Whanau!

Wow!  I cannot believe that it's already been a week since I last emailed, and yes dad I've hit my 8 month mark and its terrible.  Sorry!  When they say a mission goes by fast ,they are not kidding and now I'm thinking that possibly as women we get jipped 6 months of serving, but all goods, the Lord has a plan for me and I will obey.

Well, get this,  as you know, on Thursday mornings we have Relief Society and last week we went to the Relief Society Building and we had a guest speaker by the name of Sister Carol M. Stephens who is the 1st Counsellor in the General Relief Society Presidency.  Yay!  The lesson she gave was so, so, awesome.  My companion and I are in charge of the music for Sacrament meetings,  we often we are asked to lead the music for other meetings.  We were asked to do the music for our Relief Society meeting and it was just the coolest experience.  From what I wrote down in my planner, Sister Stephen's covered material in her talk taken from the book,  "Daughters of My Kingdom."  She talked about how the church wasn't organized until the Relief Society was organized and that there were servants of the church that were women during Christ's time.  We were encouraged to read Romans 16 about Phoebe.  She wanted to let us know how much Heavenly Father knows us individually and she shared some cool experiences about when she was called into the Relief Society General Presidency and how she was set apart for the world.  It was so cool.  She gave us a hug and it was so sweet.  So, I took some photos with my Mission Relief Society Presidency.  They are, Sister Carter (CA) Relief Society President, Sister Ince (Canada) 1st Counsellor, Sister Vaivai (NZ) 2nd Counsellor and Sister Creal is our Secretary. 

Oh, I'm glad everyone liked the picture with Elder Leota.  That was cool and I can't help but think of him as Kendall.

Anywho, I had an interesting experience last Friday when I was in the Teaching Centre on the phones and I receive a call and it's from a missionary who is serving in the Virginia Mission.  He called in just to make sure that the phone number on the pass-along-cards that they hand out, works.  I just laughed when he said that and responded, " Elder, oh ye of little faith!"  Turns out he is from Utah so I asked him if he knew anyone that I could call and share the gospel with.  He said, "Yes, my mum!"  Wow!  I was surprised and then he told me that his mum is less active and hadn't been attending church for a while and gave me her number.  I was excited to call her after we hung up.  I learnt that she became engaged on Valentine's Day and will be married before her son returns home.  I invited her to the Square with her fiancee so that I could show them around, but also to share a lesson and help them commit towards getting sealed in the Temple in the future.  Her fiancee is not a member and I'm really glad the missionary that called in allowed me to call his mum.

So, this past week has felt like we've had a lot of anti's visit Temple Square.  I shouldn't be surprised as it happens a lot here.  There was one strange guy in the Beehive house who kept asking hundreds of questions, like, "Is this original or is this original?" "Where did you get your facts from?" " Where is the manual?" " Can I have the manual?"  Sadly, he didn't want to listen to any answers so our friends in security came over and told the man it was closing time.  Turns out, the next day he came back and did the exact same thing to some other sister missionaries.  Yep, exactly the same thing!   We have a lot of wonderful and interesting people come to the Square and it really is a great place to teach, especially when you have amazing tours where people are willing to listen and be taught.   Yesterday, we went on our first motor coach tour meaning, we have a big bus filled with a group of people arrive at the Square for a tour.  I hope to go on one of these tours one day.  The company is called, "The Moostache Joe Tour Bus!"  Epic!  We had 33 sweet, elderly people arrive to take the tour but they all needed to go to the restrooms first.  We then started the tour at the Assembly Hall, and then onto the Tabernacle where we did the pin drop.  The flag pole was next and one guy asked some great questions so we showed them the Temple Model and then ended at the Christus.  They were so cute and most of them kept saying, "Speak up Love!"  I guess it's because they are elderly but the spirit was so strong and when they asked questions and it was great to be able to answer them.  But, the worst thing happened at the end of the tour.  So sad!  We were taking them back to their bus and one of the ladies had dropped a $5 note and it was flying along the ground so one of the old men started chasing it and he ended up tripping over and landing face first in the snow with the rest of his body on the concrete floor.  The part I saw was him ricochetting off the wall with snow on his head, holding the $5 note tightly in his hand.  Firstly, I nearly had a heart attack and secondly, I thought I might have to call an ambulance.  Well, other than being a little embarrassed, he stood up, dusted himself off and walked towards the bus.  I was so glad he wasn't hurt.

Our practices for the March 15th performance are slowly getting better.  We have two hour choir practices on Sunday nights and during the week we meet with the Island performers to practice Pokarekare ana, Poi e, a Samoan Siva and Aloha Oe.  We're getting there!   The stage that we will perform on is so tiny but we are working around it.  We had a two hour practice this morning and now I'm wasted.  Lucky for me it's P-Day and I can sleep.

I've had a great week family and on Sunday we had Elder Richard G. Hinckley and his wife speak in our Sacrament meeting.  They were great and I enjoyed listening to Elder Hinckley share stories about his dad.  Oh how I love President Hinckley!  His wife spoke about the importance of keeping a journal and he talked about the sacredness of the Sacrament and how many people take it for granted.  He also talked about the pure doctrine that we have about the true nature of the Godhead.   It was so cool.

I love the mission and I love you all.  Be safe!

Sister Chadderton,

P.s. Keep writing to me.  I love your letters!  My address is below:

Sister N Chadderton

50 NW Temple St Rm BSVC

Salt Lake City, Utah 84150

United States

   

   Picture 1 - Performance practice

   Picture 2 - Place mats we made

   Picture 3 - Sister Gillette, myself and my companion

   Picture 4 - Me with my Mission Relief Society Presidency

21 February 2013

Hi Family & friends that read my Blog,

Glad to hear you're all doing well despite you all being incredibly busy.   Mum, that is so cool that Sister Wixom - General Primary President - was in New Zealand doing training.  Do you remember me telling you about her earlier on last year.  She was the sister who attended our missionary Thanksgiving dinner.  I couldn't be bothered waiting in line to have a photo taken with her but she is really lovely!  Her son married one of the full-time senior missionary couples daughter's in our mission - Elder & Sister Creer.  When Sister Wixom learnt that her son and his family were coming to our Thanksgiving dinner she asked if she could come too.  It was awesome.

This week has been good, but I wish there was more that I could report.  We have been working hard everyday.   One of the highlights of my week would definitely have to be seeing my mate Elder Leota last Friday.  The international missionaries came for a tour around Temple Square and I had a thought that he might just be in the group, so it was awesome when I bumped into him.  I took the opportunity to have a photo taken with him too.  He seems really happy and I know he'll make a great missionary.  My zone leaders took the Leota family for a tour of the Beehive House yesterday and I was a bit sad that I didn't get to see them again but it was good to know they're still in town.  I don't think they're going to make it back to Aussie! 

Well, we haven't had any funny weather this week but we have had a lot of POI!  It has become quite stressful finding time to practice and I know I will be happy once we've performed.  It will be a great night and I'm excited to see all the other cultural performances. 

Yesterday, we took some primary school children on a tour of the Beehive House and it was so much fun.  The bus had pulled up out the front and the teachers and some of the parents were trying to help organize the children into lines, so being the ex-pre-school teacher that I am,  I went to suss out the number of children in line and there were these two children hitting and pushing each other.  My first instinct was to go over and tell them to stop hitting and pushing each other, but there were four teachers with the group and once they noticed these two having a go at each other, one of the teacher's told them to stop.  Well, knowing who these two were, I thought, "Please, I don't want them in my group!"  Wishful thinking!  "Guess whose group they were in?"  We had a group of six children and their teacher that we escorted around the Beehive and the children were hilarious and would not stop talking the entire time.  They asked the most hilarious questions but I had so much fun with them.  The teacher was great and it is a little different to take children on a tour because we can't teach about gospel principles and invite them to learn more because they are children so we shared lots of facts and pioneer stories.  It was really cool to share the great stories of the pioneers because the spirit testifies to me once again of their great sacrifices.

We had a really amazing tour last night where we had three people visit Temple Square.  These people are in Salt Lake for a work conference and they are all Catholic.  During the tour they asked some of the best questions I have ever had as a missionary, so as we walked from the North Visitor's Centre to the South Visitor's Centre there is a model of the Salt Lake Temple located between these two building so I was inspired to share the story of Joseph Smith's First Vision with them.  Honestly, whenever I share that story I really feel the spirit strongly and it was a neat experience to share it as I know they felt the warmth of the spirit while we walked outside into the cold to get from one building to the next.  They then asked a lot of questions about the Temple before it was time for them to leave because they were already late for their work dinner.  The good thing is that they are going to come back on Thursday to listen to the MOTAB practicing.  It's hard having such an amazing spiritual experience and then to have the visitor's leave when you feel you may not see them again.  I know that the Lord will continue to guide them to the truth whether it be in four months or four years.  I am positive that they won't forget how they felt while they visited here.

Well, our investigator Steve is still going strong and today we shared with him a lesson from Alma 47 where it talks about Lehonti and Amalickiah.  This is a really powerful story in the Book of Mormon and the lesson here is how important it is to not lower your standards and to recognize that Satan is very subtle in his temptations and he will try to get you do things at first that may seem harmless, but later, he has you in his grasp.  For example, it maybe that we choose to not read our scriptures one night because we're too tired, or we might miss church on a Sunday because we finished work late the night before, or we may go shopping just once on Sunday.  By and by as we allow these temptations or excuses to creep in, before we know it we've stopped reading our scriptures altogether, we aren't attending church at all and we continually shop on a Sunday.  And why?  Because we decided to allow Satan to subtly worm his way into our lives and finally, he's taken over.  Just as Amalickiah slowly had Lehonti poisoned until he died, Satan is slowly enticing us away from following the basics.  

I love this gospel and the knowledge I receive when I exercise humility and allow the Spirit to teach me.  I am constantly learning new things every day and hope to be able to continue to share what I learn with those around me.  I love you family and friends.  Don't forget to read your scriptures daily and to truly study and apply the things you read in your daily lives.

Be safe and know that I pray for you all each day.

Love Sister Chadderton

P.s Channie, don't give up my friend.  Everything happens for a reason and I know the Lord is preparing someone that you need to teach in six weeks time.  True Story.