16 October 2012

Hey Family,

Thanks for the emails. It was so good to hear that you're all doing well.   Mum, I don't like hearing that you are sick.  You should look at taking some natural supplements that will build up your antibodies, because you're always getting sick so instead of just taking cold and flu tablets try and find something to make your system stronger instead of just getting rid of the flu. Just a suggestion. And I didn't get an email from the pregnant one? Whats happening? Anyway's, transfer calls came and I am staying in Nyssa!  WOOHOO!  It's comforting that for the next 6 weeks I am staying put. This week has literally flown by and I will tell you all about it.

Monday night after P-Day was Patsy's baptismal interview.  President and Sister Cannon came to do the interview and it was cool sitting and talking to Sister Cannon while Patsy was being interviewed.  She passed with flying colors.  Following the interview, my companion and I set up some appointments and got ready for the rest of the week.

Tuesday we were up early and off to the bakery.  Seriously, I had forgotten what it's like to work all day on your feet.  I feel our work as missionaries is not so much physically demanding but more mentally and emotionally demanding so it was interesting to be on my feet baking and cooking all day long.  Can I just say how much I loved it!  Yep, I was in my element and it was great to be cooking and we really  had a great time getting to know Laurie and Dwayne a little bit more.  On the way home we stopped in Nyssa and taught a lady by the name of Pat and she collects bottles and we had saved all these bottles for her so we dropped them off and then drove back to Parma.  We had dinner and then a correlation meeting and visited with Patsy again.  With her baptism looming, Satan is working on her and we found out that the night she is to be baptized the youth will be at the Stake Center practicing for the cultural celebration so we wanted to talk to her about that as well as bring the spirit into her home.  It is so interesting to see people being tried and tested in so many ways before their baptism and most people cannot understand just how hard Satan will try to stop them from making it into the waters of baptism.

Wednesday we were in Parma all day. It was great  and we taught several lessons and met a lot more people then we had the previous week.  They were mostly less actives, recent converts or investigators who for whatever reason are not really progressing.  It is so sad to see people who have these truths in their lives and yet do not utilize them. That night we saw Patsy again and we took a member with us and were able to talk to her a little bit about Temples and how she can feel peace in the Temple. It was a good lesson. I sometimes wish I could take all her concerns and burdens from her, but only the Lord can do that.

Thursday we were up early and off to Boise as Elder William Walker a member of the Quorum of the Seventy who oversee's the Temples was holding a special training for us Sisters for the Open House. We got to the mission office (the Temple is right next to the mission office) and it was still dark, the sun wasn't even up, so while we were waiting for someone to open the mission office, we got to take a walk around the Temple and it was so amazing. This magnificent ,white building all lit up with the dark sky as a back drop was so BEAUTIFUL!  I could have stayed a lot longer on the Temple grounds but the meeting was about to start so off we went.  It was a great meeting and Elder Walker encouraged all the Sisters to look their best at all times.  He said we need to wear make up, do our hair and make sure our clothes were ironed.  It was funny but he went on to say that some Sister's think not worrying about that stuff makes them a hard working missionary, then he said, "I am here to tell you that a general authority thinks you need to look your best at this Temple Open House."  It was awesome. It's also cool to see all the Sister's step up and actually take a bit more pride in themselves.  That afternoon we had lunch with the Meridian Sisters and then we headed back to Owyhee where we contacted some of our less actives.  One lady had just lost her husband about a month ago and was feeling sad.  She just didn't know what to do or believe anymore.  He wasn't a member of the Church.  We tried a couple more people and were able to visit for a while then it was home time. Talk about exhausted!

Friday was District meeting, then we drove to Vale and we actually did a lot of service. We stopped by the bakery to say hi to Laurie and Dwayne and they said they were going to the Temple on Saturday to the Open Home so we were exicted for that. Then we went to the Care Center and visited with some ladies there, then stopped by to drop something off to a member only to find they were building a greenhouse and needed some help so we helped them build their greenhouse, then we went to visit a recent convert and he was fixing these toy cars - okay, they weren't really toy cars, but I don't know the proper name for them - so we helped him after sharing a lesson, then we went to dinner with an investigator and his wife and it was funny because we were talking away during dinner then the guy stops and says, "So whats my story for tonight?  I am thinking awesome, he wants a lesson, so we go into the lounge, then he pulls out his Book of Mormon and says that they normally share stories from this book is that okay? And I thought to myself thats awesome, so we shared the story of Captain Moroni and then we got talking about the Temple and Angel Moroni.  It was a really awesome lesson about making sure we stand up for what we believe. Then we went and taught another lesson to a girl named Tina who is being baptized in November and we talked about Christlike attributes, then we came home to Parma.   It was a long day and that night we got transfer calls and fortunately, we are both staying in Nyssa for another 6 weeks.

Saturday we were up early and off to the Temple.   We were told  to be at prayer no later then 8:15 a.m. and to be at the Temple by 8:30 a.m.  However, they didn't tell us what building prayer meeting was at so we assumed it would be at the Stake Center where the Open House training had taken place, so all the Sisters were there and we got talking only to find out we were at the wrong place.  Bit of confusion as to where to meet,  but never mind those of us who were there went and held our own prayer meeting then the fun began!  It was expected that about 10,000 people would come through the Temple today so while we can't proselyte as such at the Open House, we can answer questions and encourage people to fill in comment cards.  It's called silent tours.  Oh my goodness it was such an awesome experience.  Some of my favorite experiences were asking the children what they thought and I would ask them how they felt and one little kid - who was probably about 6 years old - said, "You felt the spirit, duhh!" It was hillarious. I thought good on you for noticing. Then as I was talking to one family, in walks the Earl family!  Oh my goodness, it made my day! They were all there and you could see the excitement in their faces.  Next week they are going to be sealed as a family and it was so good to catch up with them.  We were at the Temple from 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. that day and what an experience!  Sister Westover - my trainer - also showed up and surprised me and it was just so good to see her! I was so, so, happy and she offered a lot of support and encouragement so that was awesome. Overall, Saturday was a long day. We left the Temple Open House beaming and then had a dinner appointment at 7:00 p.m. in Nyssa and after dinner we were wasted! So, so, tired!   We ended up driving home and got ready for the new day.  I was asked by President Cannon to help organize the sisters transfer times and travel so for the rest of the night I was correlating between the sisters when and where they would meet up with their new companions as well as making sure a companionship was covering the Temple Open House at all times.  Luckily, my P-Day is still Monday (at least for this week).  Woohoo!

Sunday was church, and it was good to be Fasting because last week was Conference.  Today I got to bare my testimony and after church we drove home and broke our Fast because we didn't have a dinner appointment then we did our weekly planning.  Our upcoming week looks busy, busy, busy and I think if we could squeeze more hours into our day we would!  We went to see Patsy and surprise, her daughter Lariann was visiting and she told us about seeing Sister N Chadderton on Temple Square at Conference and how she said she cried leaving her because she wanted to just put her in the car and bring her back to Idaho for me.  It was just cool to know she is doing an awesome job as a missionary. Also, this one family had come to the Open House on Saturday and they looked at my tag and said, "Sister Chadderton, we just met your sister at Temple Square!"  They had taken pictures with Sister N and showed them to me. This family is from Boise and had also driven down to Conference and when they met Sister N they took pictures with her and then found me at the Open House. Small world!  I am so glad Sister Chadderton is tearing it up at Temple Square.   I haven't got my package yet and ahh I would like my chocolates. LOL Nah, all goods! 

Anyway's family, I have some information for you for when I am released.  I called President Cannon  to let him know I had decided to go home in January 2013 and he said he wanted to be in denial for a another couple of months.  Haha!  I will leave Boise on January 5 2013, which means I will arrive in NZ, according to my calculations on January 7 2013.  I talked to the lady in travel who does the bookings and I told her that, "I needed the world's longest lay over in Salt Lake City!"  She said she would see what she could do.  I also found out that all the flights from Los Angeles to NZ are through the night, so technically, I could leave LA at like 10:00 p.m. and once again, according to my calculations I could leave Boise as early as 7:00 a.m. arrive in Salt Lake City to see Sister Chadderton for a copious amount of time, then stilll get on a plane and get to LA in time to catch my 10:00 p.m. flight.  HOWEVER!  I keep telling myself it's all in the Lord's hands.   I have had several people offer to come and pick me up at the airport in Salt Lake so once we get closer to that time and once I know my flight schedule I will let you know my plans.  I thought you would appreciate that information.  The travel department will probably send my flight details to the parents before I get them.  What is our new Bishop's name? Please let him know that I will be ready for a calling and a speaking assignment.  It has been a good week and I will try and attach some pictures. Love you all. I'm hanging out for the 21st for baby Rawiri's arrival but who really knows.  Hope all is well. Take care, Sister Chadderton xoxo

Picture 1 - Picking apples (these are old pictures)

Picture 2 - Picture of Boise Temple at doctor's lounge

Picture 3 - Sister Armstrong and I at doctor's room

Picture 4 - Random picture of a tractor

Picture 5 - My District

Picture 6 - Me in front of a big mural

Picture 7 - Sister N Chadderton (picture taken by family from Boise, Idaho who went to General Conference)

Picture 8 - Another one of me picking apples

Picture 9 - Sister N Chadderton with family from Boise, Idaho.

9 October 2012

FAMILY!

So good to hear from you all.  So good to hear baby Rawiri hasn't come yet but I suspect I will know soon enough. As far as letting me know when baby is born, I don't really know anyone around here who would have Facebook because they are all mostly elderly people.  I will think about how you could let me know.  Also, just a heads up on next weeks email, if I don't email you on Monday, it's because I have a new, temporary P-Day schedule due to our Open House schedule starting this weekend (Oct. 13th - Nov. 10th).  So, for the next few weeks I may have a different P-Day but I won't what that day will be until Friday when we get transfer calls.  We have had a very busy, but awesome week.  Can I just say how much I loved Conference!  More on that later. Oh, I'm glad to hear you received the baby blanket and glad to hear that the weather is getting warmer there.  The temperatures here are dropping. 

Monday, we had a good P-Day then we drove to Nyssa later that evening and visited with a few people.   We finished the night with a correlation meeting with a Ward Mission Leader.  On returning home, I was preparing for bed and just as I was about to go to sleep we got a text and it was from Patsy - Lariann's mum - texting to say that October 20 is when she would like to be baptized.  It was an answer to prayer.  Last Sunday when we left Patsy's home after our discussion I had mentioned to Sister Armstrong that we would get a text this week with a baptismal date in it. What a good note to finish the day on.  My companion and I will help to make it happen. The Lord truly is helping Patsy.

Tuesday morning I was off to Boise for my doctor's appointment.  I have to undergo a few other tests but otherwise everything is fine.  Following my appointment we drove back to Parma and worked there for a while. We contacted a few less active members and then went and had dinner, followed by another correlation meeting.  We then contacted some referrals.  It was a good day. 

Wednesday was an awesome day too. We stopped by and met a potential investigator who likes us to come by and visit but thinks she is too old to change, so we visited with her for a bit.  The previous night Bishop had given us a few referrals so we contacted them.  We knocked on this one door and I was surprised at how quickly they opened the door. We started talking and sharing information about values and the mother talked about how strict she is with her children and straight away we were able to testify of the strength of youth pamphlet, and the family proclamation and she said we could come back so that was great!  Then we went and tried another referral and sadly, this person had just lost her 4 month old son.  We talked about how families can be together forever and she said we could come back! T hen we had a lesson with a lady named Tristan and challenged her to baptism and she said she would think about it, so I'm excited to see her this week.  We had dinner, then that night we went to see Patsy.   She was sticking by her decision to be baptized on October 20th and had already asked people to be a part of her program.  It was cool. However, I will pray for her as I feel she is carrying a huge burden of uncertainty and fear.  We asked her if she needed a blessing and she broke down and started crying and said yes, so I ran to the car - because I left the phone in the car - called a couple of brethren from the Ward whom she requested and they came and gave her a blessing.  During this whole time the spirit kept saying, "Tell her she can have her baptism earlier if she wants!"  So, as we were wrapping up the lesson I mentioned that if she felt like being baptized earlier she could.  We closed with a prayer and said our goodbyes. 

Thursday we were up early and had several appointments to be at.  Everything worked out for us and before we knew it, we were at our dinner appointment and then we contacted a potential investigator who attended church on Sunday.  Her name is Amber and she said she is reading the gospel principles book and that she knows she needs to be baptized, so now it's just a matter of when.   We had a Stake Correlation meeting that we had to be at and then it was home time.

Friday was our District meeting and then we went up to Vale and stopped by and met this couple named Laurie and Dwayne. They run a bakery - yeah I was in heaven! And they said we could come and help them make stuff at their bakery so we're going to do that this week.  Dwayne is a recently re-activated member and Laurie is a non-member so we are working to help her come closer to Christ. Then we visited a few more people, then had dinner with one of our Ward Mission Leaders.   Vale is a country town, there were more fields of corn and potatoes and sugar beets in this one town then I have ever seen in my whole mission.  I found country alright!  Then we had a lesson with Tina, a 13 year old girl who is preparing for her baptism on November 2nd.  So, Friday night before going to bed I decided to pray about what questions to take into conference and nothing much came to mind.

Saturday morning when I was studying before Conference I wrote down 7 questions.  So, I have my list of 7 questions and Conference starts and President Monson makes his inspired announcement! Oh my goodness, you know that the last days are upon us when they lower the age of missionaries.  I think its brilliant.  I feel we won't lose many of our young men who graduate from high school and have to still wait a year before going on their missions.  I think its great for the sisters too because more sisters can serve missions! It's great all over.  I loved Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk about, "Ask the Missionaries!"   Again, it helped me to realize what answers we really do have.  Just as President Uchtdorf was about to give his talk we lost reception so we ran and quickly pulled it back up on the internet and caught the end of his talk. I  am anxious to read that talk again. Saturday afternoon session was also awesome and I loved Larry Echo Hawk's talk as he encouraged the Native American's to read the Book of Mormon.  Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a powerful talk about, "Child abuse" and I just love his delivery and the way he speaks. That night we did weekly planning and then went to Nyssa for the rest of the night.

Sunday morning was awesome!  Elder Jeffery R. Holland's talk was on, "Lovest thou Me" and interestingly enough he gave a talk like that at the MTC while I was there but it was  focused more on missionaries!  I thought it was such an awesome talk.  I loved President Eyring's talk on how their is no pavillion covering the Lord and we are the ones holding a pavillion over our heads.  Elder Boyd K. Packer talked on the lower lights and shared stories about Samoa and while he was talking I could imagine everything he was describing about Samoa and it was so true.  Then President Monson's talk was awesome as he talked about getting a prompting and following it and allowing it to bless others lives.  I loved the Saturday afternoon sessions too and it was interesting because Elder Bednar gave his talk about Testimony and conversion which was similar to the talk he gave at BYUH that helped motivate and inspire me to want to serve a mission.  That was a highlight for me.  I also loved Elder Robert D. Hales talk as he shared the same story Elder Jeffery R. Holland gave.  Interesting how we need to be reminded, "Do we Love God?"  By the end of the conference I had received an answer to every single question I had written down. Was it a big answer? No, but it was the spirit giving me guidance one step at a time on what comes next.  And so, with that in mind family, I have decided that I will be coming home in January. I don't know why.  I honestly could not logically see why I needed to be home in January but for reasons unbeknown to me I feel strongly I need to be home in January.  It's my leap of faith but I know I can trust that the Lord has a plan for me that I am not even aware of.  I have been given the option to come home in either January or February because I will be between transfers, so, if someone is praying me home in January here I come.  Sunday night we went and saw Patsy and she asked if I could give a talk on the Holy Ghost at her baptism and she also said her daughter Lariann got to see Sister N Chadderton when she went to conference and gave her a hug so I am excited to hear about that next week.  Anyways, hope all is well. I love you family.  Conference is amazing!!!!!!! Good luck for when the new baby comes sister.  I am hoping he stays in until your mid-wife gets back but whatever the Lords will, it will be done.  Love you all. Thank you for your prayers. Take care, Sister Chadderton xoxo

2 October 2012

FAMILY!

Oh, goodness I am glad your week has gone well. I love getting your emails and I am glad you had fun at the grandparent's anniversary party. So, yes, I am in Nyssa. It has been a LONG WEEK!!!!!!!!!! And I will fill you in on all the details. They would say I got an, "Emergency transfer" as transfers aren't for another 2 weeks.  That means, I will be here in Nyssa for the next 2 weeks, then transfers will happen and who knows where I will end up again.  Let me start at the beginning and don't worry I am the hero in the story.  Haha!

So, Monday was P-Day where we played volleyball with our Zone and then we drove back to Middleton and Sister Rupp - who is the wife of Shane Rupp who was a carver at PCC - came and picked us up for dinner.  She had made a mean feed of curried chicken, rice, shoyu chicken and potato salad - REAL FOOD! Honestly, I didn't tell her about any of my allergies because it all looked so good and I found out that none of the food she made had any dairy or gluten in it.  After dinner, we went and contacted some people, then we called it a night as Sister Watson wasn't feeling well.  We came home, and the Nyssa Sister missionaries called to set up exchanges for the next day. The plan was that Sister Watson would go to Nyssa for the day and Sister King and I would stay in Middleton and Sister Armstrong would come from Nyssa and be our companion for the day. That was the plan when we went to bed.

Tuesday morning I woke up, and my companions weren't feeling well so they stayed in bed a little longer, and I figured instead of sitting around doing nothing I would clean our bathroom and kitchen so I was cleaning all morning. Then Sister Watson got out of bed and said she still wasn't feeling well and didn't think that exchanges would be a good idea, so I called the Nyssa sisters and we decided that instead of Sister Watson going to Nyssa I would go for the day and Sister Pyhu would come to Middleton with Sister Watson and Sister King. So this was fine. I go off to Nyssa for the night with Sister Armstrong. Its a great exchange. We did some solid missionary work and I really enjoyed the change of scenery for a day. 

Wednesday I get reunited with my companions, and we have some appointments and places to be and things to do, so we do that. We have dinner, then we go on splits and I went on splits with this older lady. She is probably in her late 70's and it was 8:00 p.m. by the time we were heading out and it was funny because she kept saying "It's dark in their house, we probably shouldnt knock!"  But, being a missionary I figured, nah lets knock, well no one was home/or let us in, so we went back to her place and I did some service for her while I was waiting for my companions to return as they were with another Sister from the Ward. It was  a good night and it ended on a spiritual high.

Thursday was weekly planning and it went really well. We got our whole week planned and we had fun which is always a good thing. Then we went to another lady's house and helped her peel and slice apples to put in her dehydrator and after we had dinner with her, then we got to visit Lariann which was awesome but she expressed some concerns about the Sister missionaries in Nyssa who were teaching her mother. She was worried that they were pushing her mother away instead of helping her. Overall it was a good discussion. Lariann is amazing. Her testimony is so strong and if nothing else I know I needed to be in Middleton to meet her today and learn from her story. That night I was saying to my companions how sad it will be when transfers happen because I have so enjoyed serving with the both of them.

Friday was District meeting and we got a ride to that.  We had parked our car at the Chapel which is about 4 miles from town and a lady took us to the meeting.  It was a really good meeting and the Elders are now use to having Sisters around.   After the meeting we went to lunch, then got picked up and dropped in Middleton as we were going to walk for the rest of the day to our appointments.  So, our first appointment is to see Fern and Ken and they had put together a light snack for us and they also had a tonne of onions and canned foods for us.   While we are at Fern and Ken's the phone rings and I think to myself, "Dang I forgot to put it on silent!"  It was President Cannon and because Sister King has been conversing with him a lot I figured I'd just hand her the phone and she went out to take the call.  However, she comes back and says, "It's for you!"  Now I'm worried!   I step out of the room to take the call and President Cannon says, "Sister Chadderton what are you doing right now?" I told him we were in an appointment and so he said okay I need your help with something but please give me a call back after the appointment.  We taught our lesson then left and I saw that we had another missed call and a voicemail from President Cannon and I thought okay so he has figured things out he must have just called to tell us. So this is where it gets almost comical - picture 3 Sister missionaries walking along the main street in a country town, carrying bags of onions and canned foods and flowers, leaning in to listen to a voicemail message from our Mission President.  President Cannon in his message says, "Sorry to interupt your appointment but can you call me as soon as you get this message?"  I didn't hesitate and called President back straight away and he says, "Sister Chadderton, I need you to come to Nyssa and be companions with Sister Armstrong for the rest of the transfer. The Caldwell Sisters are on their way to your apartment to pick you up to bring you to Nyssa." And then he said something else like, "Are you going to miss Middleton" or something, and without thinking, I said out loud, "I'm going to miss my companions!" At this point my two companions turn around and are like, "WHAT'S GOING ON?" So, I finish talking with President and I turn to my companions and I said, "I guess I'm going to Nyssa?" They were not happy campers, but we managed to pull ourselves together.   We still have to get to our car and we are in the middle of town with our onions and canned foods and flowers and our car is about 4 miles from where we are and I have a set of Sister missionaries on their way to pick me up.  We walk to the nearest church building which was a few hundred meters away, call anyone we can find and we finally get a hold of a lady who comes and takes us back to our car, then we go home.  By this time the other Sisters are already at our place, so it's a mad rush and I literally am just chucking everything I can into my suitcases and within an hour from getting home I am in Nyssa. I said goodbye to my trio, and then said hello to my new companion Sister Armstrong. BREATH!  Was pretty much all I was telling myself. I dropped my stuff at our place in NYSSA then got in the car and we had an appointment about an hour away so on the ride I found out from Sister Armstrong what had happened between the Sisters as to why an, "Emergency transfer" had to happen and long story short the Sister's were arguing while driving in the car and it became dangerous - just a bit of Sister drama!   After the appointment we went home and I unpacked and then went to bed!  On the plus side of this emergency transfer, I now have a queensize bed.

Saturday, we got up early and went with the Stake to help pick apples from the church orchard then we came back and helped cook spaghetti for a fundraiser for a local lady who was in an accident.  It was an awesome activity because we got to meet a lot of community members who are non-members, then we went to the General Relief Society broadcast which was incredible!  Oh my goodness, we have an amazing General Relief Society Presidency and President Eyring spoke and his talk was awesome too.  It got me so pumped for General Conference that I cannot wait, and yes, unlike Sister N, I get to watch all 4 sessions. Poor Sister N!

Sunday was good. We went to church, then we met with a few of the Ward Mission Leaders and did some correlating and then we went to Boise because we had a Temple Open House training and guess what? They surprised us and took us on a tour of the Temple!!!!  It was incredible!   It was so good to be back in the Temple, even if it hasn't been rededicated yet.  In the training, they said we will be required to be at the Temple every day and working for at least 4 hours a day and maybe more.  We received some Public Affairs training and were told that we needed to look professional.  President Cannon turned around and said to us, "I think they just gave you all permission to go buy a new wardrobe" and we all laughed, but its probably true considering we are all used to serving in country towns. But, definitely the highlight of my week was being back in the Temple. We live about an hour from Boise, so we drove home, had dinner, then went to an appointment with none other then Lariann's mum!  Her name is Patsy and she is incredible. It was such a spiritual lesson and it felt so good to be teaching and testifying again. She will be baptized soon enough and I am excited to teach her.  We had a few more calls to make and then organized our week before calling it a night.

So, Monday, here I am, sitting at a computer in Nyssa emailing you. We may be going shopping today but hopefully we can stick to the thrift stores.  Anyway's family, thank you for all your prayers. I know the Lord is giving me strength because it is kind of emotional being ripped from an area and placed into a new area all in the space of 2 hours. My new companion is great, and I will love her like I loved my other companions. I need your prayers so I can continue to face any challenges that lay ahead. I am very grateful for my health this week because I did so good on my eating and I wasn't sick - not even once.  My follow up visit with the doctor is tomorrow so I will give you a report on that next email but I have been good.   Bytheway, any kind of wheat - even ground wheat - affects me, so I'm sticking to rice, potatoes and corn products. Such is life. It's alot easier when you stop buying wheat products as well.

I love you family and if nothing else, I know the Lord is my strength and I do not boast of myself, I boast in my God, for in his strength I can do all things. And, I hit 14 months tomorrow! My mission is flying by! You will be making signs for my homecoming before you even know it. Love you family. Take care, Sister Chadderton xoxo

001 -    Sister Armstrong and I on exchanges - but now she's my new companion.

002 -   Saw this sign in a restaurant and thought it was funny. Haha!

003 -   I guess this is called a wrap? Black girls do their hair like this before bed so Sister King did my      hair before bed.

004 -   In the library at the Church building while waiting for a ride to take us to our car on our crazy Friday!

005 -   Last picture of the trio!  Notice how tall I am? 

25 September 2012

Family!

A whole new week!!! Thanks for all the emails and I can't believe Nanny and Grandad have been married for 50 years and will celebrate it on Saturday!  Happy Anniversary grandparents.  Thats amazing and so cool. Good example for sure.   This week has been SLOW!  I know we will be real busy soon enough so I should probably enjoy the break a little bit. 

Last Monday was good. We went shopping and I found a fabric store and got some stuff to put together a quilt for baby Rawiri. You know with all my free time I decided to add quilting to the list of things to do…haha!  Bytheway, Hina, you will love the baby quilt.   Monday night we taught a lesson to one of our most recent converts and it was about the Spirit. It was so cool and I had a bit of a realization.   It says in the Missionary white hand book that we have to be within sight and sound of our companions at all times and it dawned on me, that that means we have to be within sight and sound of the Holy Ghost at all times as well and how we need to make sure we are always doing the right thing so as to not drive the spirit away. It was just cool connecting the dots.   We finished the night by delivering some more Temple Open House invitations and set up more appointments then headed home. 

Tuesday was a good day. We started the day with service where we went and pulled weeds for this one lady.  We were pulling weeds from a patch of road that looked like it was normal for it to have weeds in it, but I just enjoyed being outdoors doing some service so I didn't care where the weeds grew.  After our service project we had lunch, then went and visited Fern and Ken - an older couple who I feel are a little lonely.   I took some pictures with them and then we headed to dinner and after dinner we went to the Chapel so Lariann could have her baptismal interview. Normally baptismal interviews would take around 15 minutes so we had planned to go out with a Ward Mission leader at 7:30 p.m. but the Elders were running a little late and the interview didn't start until 7:15 p.m. and it went for 45 minutes which was a little longer then we'd hoped but she passed her interview and was fine to be baptized.  The District Leader later told us that he wanted to know her conversion story.   We were late for our next appointment with a lady named Heather who wants to have the lessons. The night ended good.

Wednesday was Zone Conference and I love the spirit at Zone Conference.  We role played alot about the temple and talked alot about the Book of Mormon because as a mission we have been reading the Book of Mormon for the past 3 months, so it was good to reflect and discuss things about it. That night we went on splits with another set of Ward missionaries and met some less active families. We stopped by one ladies home whose name is Ella and she said she wanted her daughter to have a blessing because she just found out her daughter has cancer. It was sad to hear and told her that we would organize to have someone come and do the blessing.  I was feeling a little sick later that evening and I think it was from all the sandwiches I'd eaten at Zone Conference thinking a little gluten wouldn't hurt.  Yeah clearly I was wrong!

Thursday I had to get a blessing and I managed to improve to get out and do some work. I just hate staying home its such a waste of time.  That night we had a few appointments and we also did weekly planning today because on Thursday night Boise State University - the local football team - were playing BYU so we struggled to get appointments because people will just ignore the door while the game is on. Not even members let you in, sad but true. But the Lord provided and we had 2 appointments that saw us through the night. We visited and met Ella's daughters and the Bishop gave her a blessing so that was a cool experience then we called it a night.

Friday Sister King wasn't feeling too well but by the afternoon we all went out and visited more people. It was pretty cool because we managed to hand out almost all the Temple invitations that we had left. It was a really good day and we met a lot more people in Middleton this week then we have in the previous two weeks. Our appointment that night cancelled on us but on the bright side, it left more room for us to meet more members and get them excited about the Temple.   I believe the spirit of excitement is in the air for the Temple Open House and there is an announcement in the Ensign about the Boise Temple.  It's really nice.  We had a good night. 

Saturday was a crazy day!!!!! We had a correlation meeting first thing in the morning and then Sister Howard called and said she was stopping by to say hi and take us to lunch, so I was excited.  She came by with her parents and it was awesome seeing Aussies!  However, Middleton doesn't really have a lot of good places to eat so instead we ended up at the grocery store and got chicken and stuff and took it back to the Church building and ate there.  It was like the good old days when we would come back from the beach and grab some cooked chickens and rolls with tomato, lettuce and cheese and eat them.  I passed on the rolls this time because I didn't want to get an upset stomach.  It was so good seeing Sister Howard again and it actually gave me a peace of mind regarding you guys not coming to pick me up. I know I want you to, but I can also see the benefits in you not coming, plus like you said it isn't fair to pick up one missionary and not the others. So, don't worry, I am totally okay with the whole thing. I got to make a video and sing happy birthday to send to Cola and the Howard's will play it for her when they see her at Conference.  She won't be phased by my awesome singing. Lol.  Later that afternoon Barb Webb came and picked me up and drove me to Meridian so I could go to Anthony's baptism. I got there just as they were starting and as I walked in Anthony had this big smile on his face and his girlfriend gasped because someone had told them that I wouldn't be able to make it to the baptism so they were chuckling when they saw that I'd made it. They asked me to share my testimony after he was baptized and I just cried through my whole testimony.  I know how long Anthony has waited for this.  You couldn't wipe the smile off of Anthony's face and I was so, so, happy for him.  Then Tana Bovee picked me up and drove me back to Middleton just in time to make it to Lariann's baptism and to hear the speaker talking about baptism.    I was glad that I didn't miss much.  Overall a very busy but great day.

Sunday we attended church from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and we fasted for opportunities to find more people to teach and also for good health and strength for our companionship.  Yesterday, we got 4 referrals from people so we are going to contact them this week.  Honestly, I know the Lord hears and answers our prayers when we pray in faith. Last night we handed out more Temple invitations and then we had an appointment with Meciah and she is getting ready for her home coming and she was trying to decide what to do with her hair and I told her I would come over and do it for her with my GHD so that was cool.  Service comes in all forms. Overall the night and the week ended good.

I am so excited to see the work pick up in this area.  I think in my last email I said I was the oldest serving missionary sister but what I meant was I am  the longest serving sister in the mission, I am not the oldest age wise, there are sisters who are older then me.  It just means I get to organize a few more things for the Sisters which is fine. Organizing people is something I specialize in.   Well, family enjoy the warm weather as it is getting colder here and yesterday it rained for the first time in a long time!  There are some bad fires in Idaho at the moment and there is a smoky haze over the valley so the rain was a welcomed blessing as it helped with quelling the fires and also clearing the haze.  But, it's definitely getting colder - Boo hoo - here comes Winter. Anyways, I love you family. I love being a missionary and it's a great blessing and I can't believe the time is going so quickly!!! Love you all. Take care, Sister Chadderton xoxo P.s.  Mum, I didn't get Sister N's big email from last week? Can you resend it again please?

Pic 1 - Sister King, me, Sister Watson

Pic 2 - Lariann in the middle with four sister missionaries

Pic 3 - Girlfriend, Anthony, me

Pic 4 - Sister King, me, Sister Watson after our service project

Pic 5 - Fern and Ken

Pic 6 - Brother & Sister Howard, me, Sister Howard

                                     

18 September 2012

Family!

Woohoo for P-Days! Thanks for all the emails and I'm glad you are all well.   I'm also glad you got to see Uncle Rana and the grands and I'm jealous you got to go to the temple, but grateful that you went.  Also, I got my package the other day! THANK YOU! And I had my hair cut today!  I will send pictures. This week has been good and no where near as crazy as last week.

Monday, we went and checked out the tiny little stores in Middleton and then we went to Kuna and met up with the other Sister missionaries as we had a farewell dinner for Sister Howard.  Her parents are coming to pick her up tomorrow.   After dinner we had a 7:00 p.m. appointment with one of the Bishop's and his family then we went and met some people who we tried visiting last week but didn't get to them.  It was a really good visit.   We drove home and as a companionship we all realized we needed to improve our studies but our room isn't large enough to have 3 people study, get ready, and so forth.  We decided that we would all get ready by 8:00 a.m. then we would drive to the chapel and study there because it has more room for us to spread out and I am learning that a good study session before we go out can either make or break your day. If you don't get the spirit first thing in the morning you literally struggle through the day.

So, Tuesday morning we arrived at the Chapel, did our studies and then we walked to our first appointment with Fern and then back to the Chapel to have lunch. We then went to visit an elderly lady, only to find that she was sick so we did some service by helping to tidy up a little before heading off to our next appointment.  For dinner that night we had beef stew which was a welcomed change to chicken and rice.   We visited with one of our investigators who is struggling a little so we talked a lot about prayer.  We still have a lot of work to do with her as sometimes we get the impression that as missionaries she thinks we are cleaners, but we did help clean her home before leaving.  Later we saw Lariann who is set to be baptized on September 22nd and we had an awesome lesson with her about President Monson and we showed her a few clips from the DVD entitled, "On the Lord's Errand" She loved it and she has such a strong testimony. Today was great! 

Wednesday we had weekly planning and  then we had a bunch of PMF that we planned on contacting.  We were in search of house number 22850 and as we were driving down the road we saw 22840, then 22850, then 22860 so we turned the car around, parked on the side of the road and walked to the mailbox and as we looked closer at the numbers, we realized that the number we thought was 22850 was actually 22854 so we walked the street a little more and could not find number 22850 anywhere.  A guy came out of his house - 22854 - and asked if we needed help. We told him that we were looking for house number 22850 and he said he had never heard of 22850.  Strange!  We ended up talking to him for quite some time about the gospel and he said we could come back and visit with him. The Lord works in a mysterious way.  We took advantage of this opportunity despite not finding the house. After our visit,  I got back in the car and I started to feel sick so I rested for a bit, then we headed out to dinner where we ate Chilli and rice and it was good.  We went on splits with a Ward missionary who is probably in her late 70's early 80's.  It was a good experience and we met some families that I feel we need to spend more time with so that was good.

Thursday we had Sister's training meeting which is a little like Zone conference except just for the sister missionaries. It was a good day of training and it was great seeing all the sister missionaries from the whole mission. FYI I am the eldest sister missionary in the mission,  It's crazy!  We also found out about our role in the upcoming Open House.  We are going to be the, "Host" missionaries, which means we greet and meet everyone when they arrive at the Temple, show them a short DVD, then take them to their tour guides who will take them through the temple.  At the end of the tour, we meet them again, invite them to have cookies and punch and then they leave.   We are not allowed to proselyte on the temple grounds during the Open House so we will get training soon enough on what we can and can't say. The Area President is adamant that the Sister missionaries be involved in the Open House and they said we will do four hour shifts so every day for four weeks we will be at the Temple helping with the Open House.  I look at it as an opportunity of a lifetime because I feel that I will never get this opportunity again.   Elder Walker himself wants to do the training of the Sister missionaries.  Our appointments that night cancelled on us, so we went and visited some families in the Ward and we met the Rupp family.  Small world, so we learn that Sister Rupp is from NZ and her maiden name was Tanya Flynn and she said she went to Church College and is from Taumarinui and knew dad and his family when they lived there!  Real small world actually!  Her daughter Jasmine opened the door after we had knocked and she looked straight at me and said, "I know you!" And I said back to her, "I know you too!"  Turns out that I was Jasmine's Resident Advisor (RA) at BYUH. Super small world. Who knew?  SO, Sister Rupp made us milos and it was just so cool to visit with their family and enjoy a small taste of home in a cup of milo, in the middle of Idaho.

Friday was our District meeting and I think the Elder's are still getting used to serving around Sister missionaries.  After District meeting we had an appointment and then a meeting with a Relief Society President.  We helped someone do some canning as it is canning season again.  We had dinner and then we had to race off to Meridian to attend Dan Sager's baptism as I was speaking.  Middleton is about a 45 minute drive from Meridian on a good day and we were running late as it was already 6:30 p.m.  and the baptism was at 7:00 p.m.  I was just praying that some how we could get there on time. The lady who was taking us to Meridian said we wouldn't get their until around 7:30 p.m. but somehow we arrived at the chapel at 6.56pm. MIRACLE OR WHAT!  I know the lady driving us did not speed and even she was adamant that she was keeping to the speed limit the whole time. It was a true miracle. The baptism was great and I probably cried through my whole talk. I love the Sager family and it was just cool seeing Dan baptized.  While I was in Meridian I guess I made alot of Banana bread because I would always borrow our Ward Mission Leaders loaf pans. Anyway, at the baptism his wife comes up to me and has these brand new loaf pans and said, "I wanted to get these for you to take home so you can always remember my family." It was so neat and it made me chuckle a little, but, I have these brand new loaf pans to bring home.

Saturday we studied, then we tried visiting a few people, then Sister King wasn't feeling well so we went home and she rested for a bit. We managed to make it to dinner, then we had the adult session of Stake Conference that night. Can I just say how much I love the adult session of Stake Conference.  The Stake President gave an awesome talk about the tree of life and posed questions like, "Why was a fruit used?" and then compared it to the atonement.  He talked about how much we need the atonement in our life and the difference between right and wrong.  He talked about Lehi and his family and the Liahona too.  It was an awesome talk!

Sunday we had the second session of Stake Conference and after conference we took Sister King home as she still wasn't feeling well.  By 4:00 p.m. we went to see Lariann to help prepare her for her baptismal interview then we had dinner and later visited Meciah who is another investigator that we are teaching.  Stake Conference was great and I did enjoy the adult session a lot.   Well, the best news of the week is that Anthony from Meridian received approval from the First Presidency to get baptized so that will take place on September 22nd too.  I am in the process of looking for someone to take us to that baptism because I am speaking at it as well. I am so excited for Anthony. 

Overall, this has been a great week.  Sister Watson is helping me to stay away from gluten foods and it's actually making a difference. For three days now I have felt way better and not stressing so much.  It's a miracle we are in this companionship together.  Sometimes its hard eating vegetables but I keep telling myself I will sacrifice whatever food I need to so I can finish my mission. I won't get sick anymore. I eat vegetables and fruit and sometimes I make some rice.  Sacrifices only make us grow stronger. Oh and I got my hair cut! It's short, but I wanted a change. I think it still looks fine but you can tell me what you think.  Well,  I love you family and I can't believe my mission is flying by! Take care, hope you have an awesome week and I sent you some letters this morning. Love you all. Sister Chadderton xoxo

5374 - All the Sisters in front of the Temple

5375 - Carey Sister Missionaries

5377 - Dan Sager (with the tattoos) and the guy baptising him

5378 - Dan Sager and I

5380 - Gage and I. He is a favorite. He gave me the biggest hug, it was so cute!

5384 - The Sager Family

5393 - The hair cut

11 September 2012

Family!

It's P-Day and wow, this week seems to have flown by.  Thanks again for all your emails and it sounds like you are all doing great and I am so glad to hear your  cough is going away Mum. So, a trio companionship is interesting and filled with a lot of fun - sometimes it just seems like we are having a sleepover every night. This week has been a little crazy! Middleton is a great place and we are still getting use to our area as we cover four Wards and some of the Wards are in the country and some in the city.   We are kept busy finding addresses of different families.

So, a recap of the week. Tuesday, after I emailed you, Sister Watson needed to purchase some gluten free food because her bag of gluten free food that she bought with her got lost during transfer.  We went to the store and as I was watching the checkout total of her groceries adding up, I cringed on the inside because of how much it was going to cost her.  But, just when she was about to pay, a member walked up and said, "Sisters wait, let me pay for this!" and she paid the whole bill for Sister Watson.  What a blessing! We walked out of their feeling so grateful for that person and that experience. We went home, dropped off the food, had lunch and then just as we were about to go to our appointment, Sister King asked if we could turn around and quickly check our mailbox.   As Sister Watson turned the car around we slid off the side of the road into the soft sand/dirt/ ditch area and our tyres sank right into the sand and wouldn't move.  We got out of the car and another car pulled up behind us and offered to tow us out but because our car is so new (2012 Chevy Malibu) it didn't have a tow bar so he couldn't use his truck to pull us out.  We called the mission office and they gave us a number to call a tow truck company to have them come and pull out the car. An hour later Sister King starts running around like crazy because she is allergic to bees and they kept chasing her. In the midst of Sister King trying to escape from the bees,  the local Sheriff pulls up beside us and is like, "What is happening here?"  Seriously,  we are feeling a little awkward at this point because their is nothing we can do, so we just tell him what happened and that we are waiting for a tow truck.  We are about 2 miles from any form of civilization so our phone reception kept dropping out on us and it turns out that the Sheriff was sent to find us because the tow truck company couldn't reach us on our cellphone. Finally, they arrived, pulled our car out of the sand embankment and we left to do some missionary work. Experience number 1!!!  It has been a bit slow for us in trying to find people home and getting into a regular routine with teaching but I know it will come.  We were able to set up a few appointments and meet a Ward Mission Leader tonight before heading home.

Wednesday we were off to try and find a lady by the name of Mary and we were driving up and down her street but could not see her address so rather then waste any more time, we decided to do some tracting/distributing of flyers. The flyers are to invite people to a ward BBQ on Saturday and we were asked to distribute them around town which we did. Then we went to have lunch at the Church building because we had a packed lunch with us, only to find that their was a funeral on so we drove all the way home, had lunch, then went and helped a lady clean her house.  It's a little sad because this lady thinks she hasn't got long to live so she is trying to get rid of unnessecary things in her house.   Following our little act of service, we visited a few recent convert families to learn of their progress and then we had dinner with a Ward Mission Leader from a different Ward and did some correlating with him.  That night when we got home, we were walking into the house and the cats got in. The people we live with have 3 cats and they aren't allowed inside the house because Sister King is allergic to cats.  So, poor Sister King doesn't want to have anything to do with cats and because I was the one who let the cats get in, Sister Watson and I are both running around the house looking for these creatures.  We ended up trapping two of them in the basement and closed the doors behind us. The last cat we just could not find and by this time I am sick of these cats.  As we get to the top of the stairs from the basement, I try the door handle and the door is locked.   I turned around and looked at Sister Watson and said, "I think we're locked in the basement?"  The worse part is that we had left the phone and keys and everything upstairs because we dropped it all as we ran after the cats. Seriously, this week has been strange and to make matters worse, I started having flash backs of bad horror movies that I'd seen about people being locked in their basements.  You just have to laugh!  We found a door that lead to a garden and were able to get out of the basement and as we are going in the front door, we pick up our stuff and Sister Watson spots the last cat so we get him out and then its bed time.  Experience number 2!!!

Thursday was a good day. We spent the morning working on our weekly planning and then visited some of our investigators.   We have a lady by the name of Esther who allows the missionaries to help clean her house so we did that and then we went to help our Ward Mission Leader prepare for the Temple Open House.  Only 5 more weeks until Open House and the Stake President has asked our Stake to make sure everyone in the Stake boundary is invited twice to the Temple Open House, so we have a lot of invitations to give out over the next 5 weeks.  I am excited because this area does not have a lot of teaching going on, so through the open house we will be able to get more work. That night we had dinner, and then we had Family Home Evening with a recent convert family, then we met with Lariann. Lariann is getting baptized on September 22nd and she is awesome. We were teaching the ten commandments to her and she shared her testimony about church attendance and how important it is and how her week was horrible because she knew it was due to her not going to church.  Pretty cool.  As we drove home and walked into our house, I said to my companion's that I was so glad today has been normal.  We decide to feed the horse before going inside the house and Sister Watson slipped down a pile of rocks and scraped her leg real bad. Jinx much!!!  

Friday was District meeting and it was a little awkward because I think our poor Elders feel a little intimidated by sister missionaries.  Poor guys, we will help them to see that we aren't scary and make them our friends by the end of the transfer. Then we tracted and handed out the rest of the flyers for the BBQ.  We were pretty wasted after handing out flyers and invitations for two hours then we were off to organize more things for the Open House, had dinner, then a lady drove us to Meridian so I could go to the Sagers wedding.  We got lost on our way to dinner which meant we were running late so when we got to the ladies house who was taking us to Meridian, I was praying the whole time in the car that I wouldn't miss the wedding.  We get to the chapel and the doors are locked on the side we were dropped off, so we quickly ran through the bushes to the other side of the building just in time to see that the bride was about to walk into the room so they see me, laugh, stop walking, and one of the groomsmen opens the door and lets us in.  We ran in, sat down and the wedding party continued. The Lord answered our prayers and it was a cute wedding.  It was also cool to see Sister Bishaw again.

Saturday we had the BBQ and while we were there Sister King looked like she was going to pass out so we had to take her home to rest. Once she was feeling better we went out again and did some work and correlated with a few of the Ward Mission Leaders.  After dinner we organized lists of people's names for the Temple Open House.  It is pretty much our focus this transfer.  We headed home early because Sister King still wasn't feeling too well.

On Sunday Sister King still wasn't well but we managed to make it to our 1:00 p.m. Ward which was awesome because Lariann shared her testimony of how she knows the church is true.  In her testimony she mentioned how she was talking to her mum about Moses and the 10 commandments and realized that the LDS church believed in Moses and the 10 commandments and because of that then Joseph Smith was given the gold plates and that helped her know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.  She is so ready for baptism. The rest of the evening was productive in that we managed to find all the addresses of everyone that we couldn't find during the week and we were able to set up a lot of appointments.  We headed home and sadly, that night - the Wilcher Family (the people we live with) had their two year old grand daughter stay the night and she was in the room right next door to us and the poor little thing was sick all night so the whole household didn't get much sleep.  Can I just say how happy I am that it is P-Day today because I/we got to catch up on our sleep!  Poor little girl though, it reminded me of Hinalei and when she would get sick. 

Well, thats a recap of my week - a little crazy and I am excited to get into a routine to go back to teaching and baptizing people. I know that we need to place an emphasis on the open house because that alone will bring baptisms.   We just have to be patient and I know we are meant to be here in Middleton.  I hope you are all doing well.  Bytheway, Sister Watson can't have gluten or wheat foods and I can't have dairy so when we have dinner appointments we have to let the families know of our allergies and the poor families start wondering what they can feed us.  For the past week we have had chicken and rice. No joke. Every night someone has fed us chicken and rice!  I'm not complaining because I am so grateful for food.  But we do need to think more on what meals people can feed us so we aren't eating chicken and rice for 6 weeks.  A trio definitely brings its own challenges but I am enjoying it and not letting anything worry me (my new motto). I'm determined not to stress too much this transfer because it can't be healthy, so I'm making the most of being in Middleton.  It is a little strange being back in the country and as far as shopping goes, yeah don't worry about shopping, because apart from the dollar store here, thats about it. Hope you like the pictures.  Love you family and take care.  Sister Chadderton xoxo

5339 - Our car not going anywhere soon.

5341 - My companions. R-L Me, Sister Watson from Arizona and Sister King from Georgia

5342 - Me and our stuck car

5343 - What else do you do when  your waiting for a tow truck? Take pictures with Book of Mormon's

5347 - At the wedding with Sister Sager - the bride!

5 September 2012

Family!!!

Thank you for all your emails.  "Happy Fathers day" dad! Who knew it was Father's day? Someone should have told me sooner, but I'm glad you had a good day. So, wow, what a week.  I have a lot to fill you in on and yes, I got transferred, and it was Labor Day yesterday so everything was closed and we couldn't email. I will tell you more about transfers shortly so let me start at the very beginning of my week.

Monday, we had an awesome P-Day where we played nerf wars and then we exchanged and so it was Sister Cline, Sister Anderson and I.  We had dinner in Meridian after our activity then we were off to Boise to teach a lesson then drove back to Meridian later that night.  It was so good to be with Sister Anderson and Sister Cline and there was a lot of laughter and fun on our trip.

Tuesday was my doctors appointment and he prescribed me with some drugs for nausea and stomach pains but no real conclusion as to what's wrong. He took some blood tests and stuff but I didn't think it was a very productive visit as I asked him if I should be avoiding any foods and so forth and he said if I wanted to I could but that I shouldn't have to.  I have medicine now so when I do get sick I can take it.  I think I have been so busy this past week that I haven't had time to worry about being sick.  After the doctors we had lunch in Boise at the Sister's apartment, then we went and taught a few lessons and then went and got dinner.  So for dinner,  between the three of us we had a total of  $11.00 in cash to buy something for dinner. We ended up getting this giant sandwich which we spilt 3 ways and we took it back to the Chapel to eat it.  As we were sitting in the kitchen eating a 1/3 each of this sandwich, Sister Anderson remarked, "The things you would only do on your mission!"  It made us laugh but there is nothing wrong with humility. Then we went and did some gardening for this one family and we got to eat lots of fruits and veggies right out of the garden.  It was so good and we got an entire lesson on compost. I'm an expert now at gardening.  It was the end of exchanges so after gardening and exchanging companions and went home to Meridian.

Wednesday we had interviews with President Cannon and it was a great interview and I was bold enough to ask President if it were possible for me to have a lay over in Salt Lake City on my way home to see a certain Sister missionary and he said he would help me out to make it happen, but he also said I would need to get permission from Sister Nicola Chadderton's  Mission President for it to happen too. So we will see what happens. Later that day we had back to back appointments all night and we got home around 9:30 p.m. and hadn't had dinner. Lucky the Christensen's had all this food in their fridge because they were concerned that we hadn't eaten and were happy that they had food in their fridge for us, so needless to say it was more of a mid-night snack then a dinner but hey I would rather be busy and miss dinner then not busy and eat all night.  We were fine.

Thursday was zone training and then we went and saw Anissa and had another amazing lesson with her.  She was so sweet in that she had brought Sister Bishaw and I these cool books.  Honestly, we haven't been able to have companionship studies that much this week because we were always off early to appointments and so I didn't feel super prepared going into Anissa's lesson and we were trying to help her understand a scripture in Matthew 22.  When we arrived at her home I felt the spirit take control of the lesson and whatever came out of our mouths is what she needed to hear. It was so humbling for me to see how you can truly trust the Lord when he says that he will give you the words you need in the moment you need them.  I know I came out of that lesson more grateful and aware of the workings of the spirit. I forget sometimes of the power and authority we carry as missionaries but its always a good reminder having lessons like that. Then we tried seeing a few other people before dinner and then it was off to Boise for the rest of the night where we also taught a few lessons.  The commute between Meridian and Boise is approximately 30 minutes depending on traffic so there is a bit of commuting during the days.

Friday we had to pick up Sister Lee as she was spending the day with us because her companion, Sister Howard was going on her departing temple trip so we looked like a real circus.   Four Sister missionaries in the one car because Sister Bishaw is the only one of that has her license so we spent the whole day together. We went to Boise District meeting and it was a really spiritual experience as we talked a lot about prayer. Then we had lunch, then came home and made banana bread for Carol because it was her birthday. After that we took Sister Lee back to the Mission office and President Cannon was there and he said, "So who wants to know what's happening with transfers?"  We were happy that he told us because we didn't have to wait for our phone call later that evening.  He said I was being transferred and that I was going to Middleton and I am going to be in a trio with a Sister King and Sister Watson.  Needless to say I was expecting a transfer but wasn't expecting to be in a trio.  Sister King has been out for about 8 months and she is from Georigia, and Sister Watson has been out for about 3 months (she was in the MTC with Sister Bishaw) and she is from Arizona.  My week with Sister A and Sister B was preparing me for this new transfer in a trio.  Well, that was nice of President and after learning about transfers we went to dinner then we went and visited the Sager family and I told them I was leaving and funny thing, they weren't too happy about that. I love that family! But the hardest part wasn't  telling the Sager's it was telling the Christensen's I was leaving. They weren't happy either.

Saturday we had zone training in Boise, then we came home and the Christensen's wanted to take me to P F Chang's before I got transferred so they took us to lunch, then we came home and did progress records and dropped them off, then I had to pack. I realized I had accumulated a lot of stuff since being in Meridian so I had to get rid of stuff or donate a lot of it to Deseret Industries of which I did, then did my laundry before visiting other people that night. Packing was frustrating me and I wanted to do something else to take my mind off the transfer as this transfer is definitely the hardest because I've been in Meridian for so long.  I didn't want to say goodbye to anyone because they always say things like, How unfair it is that you get transferred" or  "You should stay" and stuff.  I really do miss Meridian.

Sunday was church, and the Bishop from one of the Wards asked us to come and help him teach Relief Society so we did and it was fun.  Bishop definitely knows what is up when it comes to missionary work. Then we went to Boise and had lunch with a family in Boise and it was really cool.   After lunch we drove back to Meridian and had dinner with the Webb and the Bovee families and took a few pictures then headed home so I could finish packing and getting everything sorted for Monday.

Monday morning we had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to be at the Mission office by 6:30 a.m. as I was being picked up and taken to my area first thing that morning.   I got dropped in Caldwell and Sister King and I spent the day with the Caldwell missionary sisters, because our driver Sister Watson wasn't arriving until 4:40pm as she was coming from Twin Falls. She is our driver as neither Sister King or I have our license. It was a good day but I was so tired!!!!!!!! It took every ounce of patience I could find to get through the day but I know the Lord strengthened me.  We got to our place in Middleton.  Geographically, I'm back in the country area but Middleton is about 20 miles from Boise, and we live on a farm like property with a horse who isn't a very nice horse.  My new address is:

6543 Schmidt Lane

Star, ID, 83669

We actually live in a place called Star but our area Middleton is a 6 mile drive from us.  I think it's going to be a good transfer and I cannot believe how quickly my mission is going.  I  only have 3 transfers left and I am confident those will fly.

Well,  it has been a BUSY week but a good week.  I have a tonne of pictures that I will send.  When I was in Meridian we called ourselves, "Sister's AB&C" because we had Sister Anderson, Sister Bishaw and Sister Chadderton so I have a few pictures of us.  It was a great end to the transfer and I know their are new experiences awaiting me. I love you family, and I am guessing my package might end up in Meridian but I will get it soon enough. Thanks for sending that. Did you send any of those scarfs? Anyway's have a good week and I hope your coughs go away once and for all.  I got a letter from Sis N.  and it sounds like she is doing good.  Please be sure to forward me her big emails so I can read them too? Take care family.  Love you! Sister Chadderton

5267 - Zone picture

5300 - Rock wall in Boise

5281 - My district

5275 - Sister's A, B & C - Anderson, Bishaw & Chadderton

5291-  In the car on our way to Boise

5303 - Me with the Bovee family

5294 - At P F Changs

5321 - Crazy picture

5295 - Christensen's and I at P F Changs

5307 -  Webb family

5308 -  Webb family again

5317 -  Sister Bovee, myself and Sister Webb (Barb)

Enjoy the pics!