"I did not pee in the font, but Elder Parry and I did shed a few tears"

This past week has been incredible! 

Jack and Yu were able to be Baptized and Confirmed this weekend!

At the Baptism on Saturday, Sister Preece and I sang (per Jack's request), but we were also able to be the witnesses for the baptismal ordinance! It was great to be up so close and to be able to see the joy that they both felt! When Yu came up out of the water he cried and hugged Elder Parry who baptized him. Jack was beaming the whole day Saturday. He was baptized by his friend Art in the ward! Jack also brought Sister Preece and I letters to say thank you for teaching him. It was the sweetest thing and we were both amazed to hear the impact we had on him!

Sunday after both he and Jack had been confirmed, Yu bore powerful testimony that we need to share this knowledge with others! He also cracked a joke (like he always does) during his testimony he said "Art told me not to urinate in the water! I did not pee in the font but Elder Parry and I did shed a few tears!" The whole room went from laughing hysterically to and awee sound. Yu knows how to work a crowd! He continued by talking about how he has only cried three other times in the past six months. The first two were because of tragedies that had happened in the world and the third was the day before he was baptized. He cried for all the people who do not have the knowledge that he now has from the gospel and the love he has gained from the members in our ward!

After receiving the Holy Ghost, I think Jack recognized the Spirit for the first time sitting in that meeting! As he listened to Yu and Elder Parry, who also spoke, he was filled with the Spirit. He said he truly felt the difference! He also talked to us about the love he has felt from the ward members and joy he feels from the knowledge he now has! 

Seeing their joy and the way the Spirit has helped them both has truly strengthened my own conversion! I am so grateful for both of them and their examples of faith and Christ-like love!

TRANSFERS

Jack told us yesterday that the first thing he did that morning before he even opened his eyes was to pray that both Sister Preece and I would stay! 

His prayers were answered and I am grateful for it! 

I am staying in the Santa Barbara YSA ward but I am whitewashing the other set of sisters in the ward. So Sister Preece is training a new missionary and I am getting a new companion, Sister Taupa'ū from samoa! BUT WE BOTH GET TO STAY IN THE WARD!

Will You Be My Galentine?

Zone Conference selfie!

Hello all!

This week was so great! We had zone conference this Wednesday and I learned a lot from it! We had been doing a challenge to read all of preach my gospel before zone conference so the whole thing was around PMG. We learned a lot about how to use and  implement it into our teaching and the work in general! 

Jack had his baptismal interview on Saturday and he's READY! Yu will have his this tomorrow night! They are both doing so well and really excited for their baptism! Yu was able to come to a baptism this week and it was so cool. This couple from Colombia was getting baptized and after, the husband got up and bore his testimony! He said that he came to the US for an education but the most valuable thing he had gained was not his PhD but his knowledge of the gospel! The Spirit was so strong! They have gone through some hard things in their lives but the Atonement of Jesus Christ has truly healed them and they are so grateful!

Valentines day was so fun! We started teaching a new friend named Austin! That night, Sister Preece and I threw ourselves a Galentines party! We made a little movie nook, made heart shaped pizzas, bought a cheesecake and some flowers, and watched Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration! It was sooo fun!  

Galentine's Pizza

Galentines Party with Sister Preece

 It was a great week! Today we are going to the Zoo and Jack is coming with us! Transfers are in a week and WE WANT TO STAY SO BAD! This area and these people are the best! 

Love, Sister Hadden

12FEB Zone Conference

District Sisters

Exchanges!

What a week! Sister Preece and I were only together for two days this week. She is a sister training leader so she has to go on exchanges with all the sisters in her stewardship. 

Tuesday Sister Preece had MLC down in Oxnard so I got to go on splits with Sister Rea! We served with each other in Oxnard when I was in the Camarillo YSA ward! She is the sweetest and it was so fun to see her! 

Wednesday I went on an exchange with Sister Eckman. She is also serving in Santa Barbara YSA! We had a great day We had interviews with President Nakken that day too!

Thursday I went to Santa Barbara family ward with Sister McKean. We had an awesome lesson with their sweet friend Janet who is like 80. We got to teach her the plan of salvation! She loved it and was tearing up. She has had many close people pass away lately and had so many questions about the next life. We were able to answer many of her questions and bring her peace! 

Friday Sister Preece and I were back together! We had Compined District Council up in Solvang it was awesome!

Saturday I went back to Santa Barbara with Sister Stout this time! I sprained my ankle at district sports and it was WLAK DAY! We had a great day though and talked to a ton of people. We started teaching this cute family (a single mom and 3 kids). They are going to start teaching them every Monday! The mom (Theresa) is so ready to have the gospel in her life! We got to have dinner with this hilarious member Patty Pattee and she had some great pictures of Jesus!

Sunday Sister Preece and I were back together. I missed her! It's nice to be with other sisters but it's even nicer to be back with the comp! 

It's been a super hectic week and it has flown by! It was so fun but I'm ready to get back to a normal schedule. Exchanges are exhausting!

Sorry for the long email but it was a full week! 

Sister Hadden

"I'm British, It's against my religion not to drink tea"

Ramen with Yu

Hello there!

This week has been incredible! We have been super busy, but it is so great!  Every day we go, go, go, and when we get home at the end of the day, we are so tired, but I couldn't be better!

Yu decided this Tuesday that he wants to be baptized! It was out of the blue. Last week he was questioning if Christ was truly the son of God, and this week he has gained a testimony and knows this is the restored church of Jesus Christ! We asked if he had a date in mind, and he said no, so we knelt down right then and had him say a prayer. He prayed to know when he should be baptized, and when he finished, he immediately said the 22nd! That's when Jack is getting baptized, but he actually has been saying that he's nervous to do it alone, and doesn't want all the attention. So it's perfect!

Pathway to the sea

 We haven't found someone new to teach for about two weeks, so this week we decided we would asked people if we could come in and teach them right then!  The first door we tried this at, we were let in and were able to start teaching this really cool couple! We had prayed before tracting that we would be able to find someone to teach and WE DID! Their names are Heather and Chris. They are from Texas and they just got married in December! We are going to have to let the Elders teach them, because they should be in a family ward,  :( but it was a really cool miracle!

Playing on top of the cliff

The ocean

 This week was Jack and Yu's quit date for Word of Wisdom (they need to live it for three weeks prior to their baptism). Yu said he already lives the WoW, which is awesome! Jack told us it would be hard for him, but he is excited to try his best! The ward members got together to give him a blessing! There were like 8 members there helping and the Spirit was so strong! This ward is incredible, and they are all so good at supporting our friends!

Boothing with the Elders

Spring has sprung in California!

Tea for Jack

Every day on the mission has been tiring, but I've grown so much, and will continue to do so! This week I've really learned that our conversion is not one event but a continual process. I become further converted everyday as I see the changes this Gospel and the Atonement can work in people!

Love, Sister Hadden

Pictures: Ramen with Yu, Tea for Jack, spring has sprung here, boothing with the elders🤦🏽‍♀️, ocean, companionship inventory, the ocean again, exchanges!

"Excuse me! Did you hear? I'm getting baptized!"

Hello all! 

This week was so great! Jack decided to be baptized! He set his date for the 22nd of February. He has been coming to something at the church everyday. YSA have multiple activities throughout the week and we meet with him on the days there is no activities. He loves being around the members and says he feels different when he spends time with us. 

On Friday we did family history with Jack. We found one link and BOOM we were able to trace his line back to 100bc! He must have some distant cousin who is a member of the church! It was so cool. He got really excited and we ended up just reading about his ancestors for about an hour! Afterwards we were saying goodbye to the other sisters and he says "I'm getting baptized!" Then when they didn't hear him, he said "Excuse me, did you hear? I'm getting baptized!" He is great!

Yu is still progressing and we are trying to help him get an answer that Christ is the son of God and that this is his church. We meet with him about twice a week. At one of our lessons this past week, we were reading from the Book of Mormon, and he turns to us and says "If I deny the Book of Mormon, I have to deny Christ!" He has such a strong desire to come to know the truth, and we are doing our best to help him understand who Christ is and why we need him!

The spirit is so cool. I gave a talk on Sunday about the spirit and learned a lot from preparing it. The spirit is so powerful, and I often forget to let him work though me. I've learned to not rely solely on my own words or thoughts but to listen for promptings from the Spirit. It has made my life easier. Instead of agonizing over what to say to someone, I listen for the Spirit and say what comes to my mind! Contacting has been a lot less stressful as I use this principle, and I have better conversations with the people we meet!

I feels like spring here in Santa Barbara! I never want to leave! 

Love, Sister Hadden!

Pictures: Boothing at UCSB, members birthdays, Jack's progress, Lemonade stand/booth, the other sisters serving in our ward!

BA BA BARBARA, SANTA BARBARA

Hellloooo! 

I am officially here in the mission field! It is so great! I am serving in the Santa Barbara YSA ward! My companion is Sister Preece, she's from Layton UT. We came out the first time together, and she is great!

Our area is incredible! UCSB is a huge campus and our institute/church building is right next door. There is a  village of student housing called Isla Vista and we go finding there. It is ALL YSA which is so great. In the other YSA wards I have served in, it has been very hard to find interested YSA because there weren't any big pockets of YSA so we would just knock wherever and mostly talk to older people and families. Then if we would find someone who wanted to learn, we'd have to send them to the Family ward missionaries. Here we don't have that problem. 

We also booth a lot on the campuses. Our bishop bought this huge chalk board and a spinner wheel for us to set up booths. 

We are teaching some great people. Jack, who's from England and is super funny, is progressing so much. We are hoping to ask him to set a baptismal date this week. Yu, who is from China and loves everything we teach him, eats up the information and knows what we're teaching is true! Then there's Lindsay. We met her this Wednesday on campus boothing and had a lesson Thursday. She is so prepared and said she really wants to start coming to church and learning more. 

I know that Heavenly Father knows me as an individual and that he loves me. It was a hard decision to return but I know the Lord is blessing me for it. I know he knew exactly where to place me to have the most growth and impact. I grew so much while I was out the first time and while I was home. I am so grateful that the Lord can mold us to reach our full potential! I am so grateful for the Gospel and the way it helps us to become so much more than we could on our own!

Love, Sister Hadden. 

Ps: my address rn is 5839 Encina rd. Apt 206

Also I can't find Honey Burt's bees anywhere, so if it's on Amazon can someone please send me some?

First day, bye to sister Chandler, mexican sandwiches.

YSA Dance Set-Up

Teaching with the Hermanas

Gospel and the way it helps us to become so much more than we could on our own!

Love, Sister Hadden. 

Ps: my address rn is 5839 Encina rd. Apt 206

Also I can't find Honey burt's bees anywhere so if it's on Amazon can someone please send me some?

First day, bye to sister Chandler, teaching with the Hermanas, YSA dance set up, mexican sandwiches.

Second Setting Apart

 Notes from Marissa’s Second Setting Apart

given by Jared Hadden

January 13, 2020

Sister Hadden, I know that it has been a difficult decision to choose to return to the mission field and serve, but I know that it is a decision you can be proud of, one that will bring you joy and great experiences over the next year. We bless you that as you serve, you can build relationships with companions and with other missionaries in your districts that will bring you happiness and fulfillment, that as you serve the people of Ventura and the cities around, you will find opportunities to improve the lives of the people you work with through service and through teaching, that you will bring the action of the Gospel into their lives. And while there will be difficult times and trials that will arise, you will have the perspective to recognize the benefit and the good that you are doing, and that will bring you comfort and joy as you serve. Most of all, we bless you with safety, that as you serve in the field, you will be healthy and able to work throughout your mission, that you can look forward to the time that you return to your family and tell us fun and exciting stories of the time you served. We are grateful for the example that you are setting, and for the decisions and efforts that you are making. 

We say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.