Walk Day and Six Months

Me and my new bestie!

Week 6 was full of miracles! We had daily challenges where we needed to accomplish something by the end of the day and report back!

One day, the challenge was to ride the bus and contact on the bus! I was pretty intimidated by this challenge, but it turned out to be so cool! We met this lady--Cheryl--on the second bus we rode, and she slowly but surely opened up and told us all about her life and the struggles she was having! We shared a Book of Mormon with her and explained how it could bring her more peace and joy!

Walk Day was so fun! We went and visited some of our friends and caught all of them at home. It was a crazy miracle! We were able to set up appointments for another day to come and teach them. 

One cool miracle that happened...we were going through our area book and felt like we needed to reach out to a former person being taught named Victor. We only had his phone number so we gave him a call but the machine said the phone number had been disconnected! We were so sad! Then THAT NIGHT we got a call and IT WAS VICTOR!! He said he had been thinking about the missionaries and wanted to meet and have a lesson! We are meeting with him this evening!

It was my six month mark...we had cake! It's so strange that I'm already 1/3 the way through. It has been the hardest and the greatest experience ever!

ALSO it was transfer calls last night! I'M STAYING HERE WITH SISTER TURNER! It's going to be a killer transfer full of miracles and good times!

Love, 

Sister Hadden

Sister Turner is from Texas.

Sunburns!

Waiting for the bus

Walking Day

Us trying to carry in all the groceries at once
with no bags because we forgot our
reusable ones.

Bed Bugs BITE!

This week's email...there is not much to report on other than some funny stories and pictures for real this time!

We work out with a member, Brother Walea, every other day and he puts us through the ringer! I'm really sore about 3 days out of the week but it's getting less and less hard and I'm getting stronger and stronger! It's super fun! The Elders in our district all decided that wasn't good enough! They are now all on a crazy diet that Borther Walea suggested that includes no dairy, no gluten, no sugar. The literal only things they can have are VEGGIES AND PROTEIN! They get one cheat day. Saturday morning they walked in for sports and said "We had ice cream for breakfast!" They are hilarious and crazy! Gotta love Elders!

 

We went on exchanges this week! I was in an off mood all day and feeling super inadequate. I was all sorry for myself when we switched back and Sister Turner told me about the AWFUL day she had. She and Hermana Nally had a great day but the night of they were up all night. Sister Turner woke up at like 12am and had bug bites all over. She woke up Hermana Nally and they found some of the bugs and killed them. Sister Turner ended up having to sleep out in the living room and got hardly any sleep! After the exchange when she told me about it, my problems didn't seem quite so bad! The next day we asked our mission nurse about it and turns out they were BED BUGS!!! Don't worry Mom: Sister Turner made sure to wash her sheets and everything to make sure they don't come to our apartment!

We had some very kind people talk with us. Some of them were so generous and gave us plants or food! This one man saw us down the street and he called out to us! We walked over and he was standing in this beautiful community garden and he said, "Come in! This is your garden"! He showed us all the fruits and veggies that were growing, and even gave us some to try! It was crazy! We shared a little about the gospel with him, and he was very grateful!

On a more serious note, we had an incredible lesson in Relief Society this week on Revelation. What it is and why we have it. We talked a lot about how revelation comes: in the Lord's time and through many channels! We also talked about how we must act in order to receive the asked-for revelation. We must have FAITH AND BE PATIENT! We must love God, work hard, and turn to him often for his advice and guidance! I've seen as I have turned to my Heavenly Father more and more often open to whatever answer I receive I am better able to hear his voice and see his influence in all things!

Have the best week y'all. Don't forget to rely on your Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost...they are on your team!

Love,

Sister Hadden

Typical California street

What a week!

This week was full of adventures! Last Monday after a fun P-day, we got special permission to attend a YSA activity on the beach. They had a bonfire and s'mores and played spike ball! It was really fun! We got to meet our friend AJ there, and he even brought his friend Skylar with him. 

On the Fourth of July we had follow up training for Sister Turner! I learned sooo much... and so did she.

About halfway through I started feeling super dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. Then I realized the whole room was moving! The chandelier started swinging back and forth and someone goes, "Is this an earthquake?" Turns out it WAS an earthquake! 6.1 magnitude! It lasted about 30 seconds and felt like we were in the ocean! 

Later that day, we got to go to a stake BBQ (with great tri-tip). We talked to some of the members and some other people who were there! We had to head in early because it was a holiday, and as we drove home it was just getting dark. People were starting to set off fireworks! We soaked it all in, thinking we wouldn't get to see too many, but when we got home we had a great view from our balcony of the biggest fireworks show in the city. We pulled our chairs out on the porch and watched for a bit! So fun!

The next day was great! We had an amazing lesson with our new friend Jocelyn! There was another earthquake that night, this one was a 7.1 that lasted even longer. 

We recieved a referral from the Hawaii visitor center for a girl named Emma. She is elect and we are bringing her a book of Mormon on Tuesday. Our friend Jocelyn was a referral from a member! 

We have been working really hard in our area with little success so far in the transfer, but this week we saw the blessings pour down! They came from where we least expected them. First with Jocelyn and then  Emma, and many other member and missionary referrals. We truly could not do this great work without the Lord!  He has a hand in every aspect of our lives. We saw so many miracles this week and they came from nowhere. I truly cannot explain it. All our Heavenly Father has asked is that we do our very best through obedience and hard work, and then He will provide a way for us to accomplish this great work!

Love, 

Sister Hadden

Our fireworks show!

Care package received!

The Fourth of July

Hello everyone!

IT’S JULY?!?!?!? Everyone here is in the spirit for the holiday, constantly setting off firecrackers and fireworks. They are very loud, and sometimes scare us out of our minds while we are out tracting.

We had some unfortunate events this week, including Sister Turner shattering her phone and none of our friends coming to church! L

It’s okay, because we also saw miracles! We met some cool new people and hope to start teaching them!  Lots of people are coming to FHE tonight, which is a bonfire at the beach! I went on exchanges with Hermana Nally this week, and had a cool experience.  She was talking to an inactive member in Spanish, and I could understand pieces of the conversation here and there, but not too much, and I had no hope of responding. Instead, as I was listening to this man very intently, just trying to understand the conversation, I felt an overwhelming love for him. It was from Heavenly Father. I know he allowed me to see this man through his eyes. Then I felt a strong impression to talk to him about temples and ordinances.  Just as I was going to ask Hermana Nally if she could convey this message to him, she asked him if he understood much English. He said, yes, a little, and then Hermana Nally suggested I share my testimony with him. I told him the impression I had to tell him, that the temple is the only place on earth where we can receive further ordinances by proper authority. I asked him if he remembered the feelings he felt when he went to the temple for the first time after his baptism, and when he was sealed to his family. He told us he remembered those days clearly and how happy he had been. The Spirit was so intense. It was an incredible thing to be a part of. I don’t know if he will work towards going back to the temple, but it strengthened my own testimony that the temple truly is the House of the Lord.

Next week is Greg’s baptism!  Please pray for him! He is struggling with his addiction, but we know he can make his date this Saturday!

Love,

Sister Hadden

P.S. I’ll do my best to send pictures!