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!

A Lot Happened This Week!

I got transfered!!! This next transfer I'm in Camarillo YSA ward which covers Oxnard and Camarillo. I'm also training a new missionary! 

Sorry for no email last P-day it was a busy day full of packing and goodbyes. I'm going to miss my district in Newbury Park so much, but I know the Lord has a plan for each individual missionary and person here in this area! I'm excited to be serving in YSA again! 

My last week in Dos Vientos was awesome. We started teaching a man named Tim. His step daughter had a newborn kitten and I got to hold it... sorry, Mom. I got in a collision with one of the Elders during sports and ended up with a GIANT GOOSE EGG! I'll include a picture. As we taught and tracted that day, people just stared at my forehead. We had a lesson with Greg and Ianthe, and we talked with them about temples. We also had an awesome lesson with our friend Marianna on repentance and how the process of repentance can help her with all her problems. Sister Fowers and I gave a discussion in district council about asking inspired questions in order to unearth people's concerns. It went really well!

On Tuesday I left sister Fowers and headed up to the Mission office to pick up my greenie! Her name is sister Turner and she is great! She is so confident and ready to work, it is great! We have been getting to know the ward a little and trying to find new people to teach! I'm again so pumped to be back in YSA! It is so fun and we get to have activities throughout the week with the ward members and the people being taught!  

I had a little incident on Wednesday this week. I accidentally on purpose was checking to see which of our burners were wobbly and forgot one was on... YIKES! I now have circles burned in my hand! 

I miss my old area a lot though! I got to know those people so well. I miss Sister Fowers a bunc. She is one of my best friends now! 

I love my mission and getting to just talk to people and share with them. Training reminds me of the beginning of my mission. I see how far I've come in the past 5 months and I'm just blown away by the progress I've made. If we give our hearts and our efforts to the Lord, he will change us for the better and help us become what we want to be. 

Love, 

Sister Hadden

A guy gave us roses!

Hello friends and fam!!

 

I actually wrote in my journal this week, so I can include some fun details this week. It has been a goal of mine to write in my journal consistently, and I have been slacking these past two transfers, so I decided to jump back into it. Honestly, I love writing in my journal. If you have never kept one, I would highly recommend it! 

On Tuesday, Sister Chandler (our sister training leader) came to our area for an exchange with me! It was so fun and I learned a lot from her. She has only been out about 9 months, but she will be the oldest sister in the mission in about a week. We talked to some fun people. One guy told us he believes the church is true but he will never join because his rifle matches are on Sundays!! WHHHAAA?? ETERNAL LIFE > RIFLE MATCH!!! 

Wednesday was our day to report a miracle! We saw so many miracles, but the highlights we reported were that we had another lesson with Greg and he told us he wants to move his date up to the 6th of July!!!! YAYAY! The second was that we got a call from the Bishop in one of our wards and he told us he had given a blessing to a lady in the ward, Karlie, who is inactive, and her non-member husband Tim was there ,and said he felt the Spirit and wanted to learn more. We had a lesson Wednesday, and he told us he wants to meet weekly, and eventually get baptized!! 

Thursday was Zone Conference, and we learned a ton from our leaders. The focus of the Conference was obedience, and faith produce miracles. We talked a lot about how we can be consecrated missionaries by following safeguards and guidelines that have been put in place for our benefit. We also talked about how God has not ceased to do miracles, we simply must have the faith to ask for them and expect them. 

Friday was a normal day. 

Saturday we went to a baptism with Greg, and he felt the Spirit so strongly. Ianthe ( his wife ) cried the whole time, she is so in tune with the Spirit it is amazing. They decided they would come to her confirmation the next day, too!! The rest of that day was WALK DAY!! We left our car in our garage and walked into our area (3 miles), walked around knocking and talking, then to our dinner appointment ( where we ate British pasties), and home (3 miles). It was a looong day but was so fun! 

Sunday was full of meetings and fasting, which is not a good combo. We also went to the Westlake YSA ward for Chloe's confirmation, and I got to see everybody from my first area! We went out knocking that night, and at one of the doors some guy answered and started yelling at us telling us we needed to be born again. We bore simple testimony that we know God and Christ live, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God along with the Bible, and that God loves him and then walked away. He continued to shout at us till we were out of sight. The Holy Ghost confirmed to me the things I had told him were true. It doesn't get me down anymore when people are so rude; it just kinda makes me sad that they have closed their minds and their hearts.

Long email this week! We went hiking this morning and so we have the rest of the day to get everything done. 

Love you all,

Sister Hadden

Pic from our hike

Sister Fower's 3-month mark

Driving to Zone Conference

Good Times!

This week has been eventful. We had zone council, stake conference, and Interviews with  President. We knocked a lot! No surprise there. We talked to a lot of people and received  two referrals.  One is super solid and from the bishop of one of our wards. The wife of this family is a  relatively inactive member and the husband is not a member. She recently received a  priesthood blessing and the spirit was very strong. He said afterwards that he would like to  meet with us!  The other is a less solid referral but we love ALL referrals!! It is to do service and help a  new family in the area move in. We hope to clear up some misconceptions for them while we  work. The member who referred them is incredible fellowship for them and will also help  soften their hearts. Stay tuned to see if we start teaching them! We hope to start teaching a few more people in  the next couple weeks because it is going to be summer and there are more activities and no  school!  We learned a lot at Zone Conference. We have decided as a mission to focus more on Christ  in our contacts and in our lessons. We have also decided to work on our personal conversion.  I'm reading the Book of Mormon through again. I recently read Alma 36 when Alma is telling  his son Helaman of his conversion. He talks about how afraid he was when the angel came to  stop him and the sons of Mosiah from doing evil. He spoke about how much pain he was in  while he was struck down. He was "wracked with an eternal torment" for three days and three  nights. Then it says he remembered his father prophesying of Jesus Christ and he cries out  "O Jesus, thou son of God, have mercy on me" and immediately he is given peace and  his "soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was [his] pain". These scriptures have brought  me to a greater understanding of my saviors sacrifice and how it can effect our lives if we only  cry out to him. Funny moment: this week Sister Fowers and I knocked on this door. A man answered while  Sister Fowers was still knocking and started yelling "hallelujah my prayers are answered" we  thought he was mocking us and our looks could kill, then he said "I've always wanted two  beautiful girls to knock on my door" and we realized he was pulling our leg. He was such a  funny guy and even gave us some suggestions for our gentile lists (a list of things we need to watch/read when we get home).  Okay one more funny moment: We were walking down the street and Sister Fowers waved at  this old man across the street and then SWALLOWED A BUG. She started coughing and  choking because it was stuck in her throat. The man was sooo confused and just stared at us.  It was hilarious!!! It was a good week folks! Love you all.  Sister Hadden!