March 10, 2014

Hey family,

This week was a good one. We recieved our transfers and I will be staying here and will start training another missionary. I am excited and feel like I need to be here for at least a little while longer to finish some things. It is easy to see that our President is inspired of God. 

Elder Swift my great friend here on the mission is going home this week. I can believe it. Its crazy to see all of these older missionaries that helped ya out so much and with whom you built such strong friendships, go home before you do. Its just part of the mission though. Mom you didnt respond about if it would still be possible for Grandpa to seal Swift and his wife. Just let me know what Grandpa says. 

So this week was a good one. I thought I was going to get transferred but deep down inside of me I knew that I was going to stay. And when it comes down to it. I am really happy that I will stay. This ward is a great one and the area is even better. 

So this week was cool. We had interviews and house checks. Our house won Reino Celestial. haha. Because it was so dang clean. It was tough for people to win the highest kingdom. We were one of the few on the mission. Then we had interviews with President. I love talking with President. I always feel so excited about the work after interviews with him. He and sister Andrezzo have a great spirit about them that just maked you happy to be around with them and talk with them. Tomorrow I will spend all day in their house waiting for the new missionaried to arrive so that will be cool. They always make pancakes for breakfest when we go there. haha. Thats what I am talking about. 

We had some great lessons this week. We committed this family to marriage and now we are talking about a date. haha. Its an exciting thing to ba apart of. We taught about temples and eternal marriage and chastity. They understood that they were sinning. We left that very clear. They have to repent. If the people that we are not teaching do not FULLY understand that they are sinning, why would they repent? And if they do not repent, they cannot see the blessings of the Gospel. Blessings from our Father in Heaven are given to us when we repent and do what is right. It doesnt matter if we are members of the church or not. Thats how it is and how it always will be. So we are really excited to see them progress. I will keep  you updated. 

We found some great people who are wanting to learn more about the gospel. It will be fun to continue to teach. 

So anyway. My week was a good one and it was full of the same old missionary stuff. Lots of walking and talking with literally everyone. I could give you guys every story and every experience but then I wouldnt have any to tell you when I get home. haha. Love you all and hope all is goind well. Be safe and be good!!

Elder Hadley

PS I will need to see a pic of pat standing next to mom to believe that he is almost taller than her. haha

March 3, 2014

Family,

I love you all and hope all is well. I miss you all very much. 

Life here is great. The Lord is really blessing this area. It is easy to see His love that He has for His children here on earth. I have a strong testimony that He is present in ALL  places at ALL times. Dont ever forget that. 

This week was a great week. We are teaching some great people and are helping many understand the Gospel of Christ. We have been working with a family who is not married but we are working with them on the whole marriage thing. This week will be a big week because we are going to work on getting their documents. So pray hard that all will go well. I will keep you posted on them. The husband wants to know if he can come and work for you dad. hahaha. He is a really hard worker and has always wanted to work on a farm. I told him I would talk to my dad. haha. 

We are working with a great group of young men right now. We are excited to see them progressing. The new rule of Brazil, I might have already told you but I will say it again, is that a kid under the age of 16 has so go to church at least 12 times before he or she can be baptized or he or she has to go a good number of times and have an interview with the Bishop if he or she is to be baptized before attending church 12 times. So with these young men who are all under 16. 13-15 are their ages. We are going to get them to chuch a few more times then have their interviews because they are wanting to be baptized now. haha. They are great young men who have a huge desire to follow Christ. We will continue to work with them as well. 

So last pday we went to say goodbye to our Bishop because he is moving to São Paulo. I talked to his daughter who had to come home early from a mission due to health problems and she started talking about eveyone in my district at the MTC in São Paulo. And I asked her, Wait if you knew them you should have known me. But she didnt remember and neither did I. Then the conversation continued and I jsut sat quiet thinking about the MTC and I remembered one day a Sister missionary came up to me and asked where I was going to serve. When I told her where I was going she told me in English that she has a dad that is a Bishop in Salvador and I need to go visit her family and that was the only time I saw her and forgot about it until that night at Bishops house.....to make a long story short we discovered that it was her that came up and told me that. So she invited me to come meet her dad and family and one year later I was able to meet them and she was there too. Its a pretty crazy story. Well at least I thought. haha. We all couldnt believe it. Its a small world but I think the church makes it even smaller. Anyway. That was kind of funny this week. 

I have been studying Jesus the Christ again and am loving it. I cant put it down. Study the scriptures and the words of the Prophets!!

This week we have interviews with President and Sister. They are visiting all of the houses to do a clean check. Good thing ours is clean. haha. It really is. 

Anyway, so my week was great. Congrats everyone with the babies that will be coming soon. I love you all and have a great week!! Remember that the Lord loves you!! 

Elder Hadley

Feb 17, 2014

Family,

So this week was a really really hot week. I mean really hot. I have never felt this type of heat before. haha. And it was also a pretty stressful week. 

We were able to meet some great people but when Sunday came. Instead of the 20 people we had planned to go with us to church. Only 5 went with us. We are really happy with the 5 that went but we really thought that we would be able to get a lot more. But thats normal. 

Anna is having some troubles. She started out really great but is having some difficulties with a desire to follow Christ. She is also studying with other churches. She went to church with us yesterday. I dont know how much she liked it but we will talk to here today. Its really heart breaking when you see peole who you come to really care about slip away and lose a desire to follow Christ. 

Missionary work is a great work to be apart of. But one that is not the easiest. And I think thats part of the reason why it makes it so great. I think that is why this life and this plan that our Father in Heaven has created for us is so great. Think of how little we would learn and how unexciting life would be if it were easy. 

I did a division with one of the LZs this week. We had a good time and were able to work really hard. He was my LZ in the other zone and he moved when I moved. It was good to work with him again. 

We were able to teach a woman this week who is planning a wedding with her husband. She and her husband the entire lesson were saying how much light that we Elders had and how much they loved just being around us. We had a powerful and very spiritual lesson about the restoration of the gospel. They want us to help them with their wedding. We are praying really hard that everything will go well and they will end up being baptized and then off to the temple. Thats the goal we as missionaries should have. 

I love you all. Sorry this letter is short but I dont have a whole lot to say. haha. Keep being good boys and girls. Love you all!

Elder Hadley

Feb 10, 2014

Hey family!! HOw are you all doing!! I am doing great. Its super hot here so enjoy the cold. My skin will never be white again and the mosquitos and the heat make it almost impossible to sleep at night. haha. But that cant even stop the missionaries here in this mission stop from loving it. This mission has great missionaries and they work really hard. I am grateful to be a part of it all.

Just a side note, mom take some sweet pictures of the farm and send them to me if you could? LIke of the horses and the sheep and when the lambs start to come and also the cows. For sure. Everyone here is wanting to see pictures of our farm. They like the idea that we are farmers. I am not sure why? haha. Just kidding. Farming is the way to go. It really is. That would be great if you coudl do that. Thank you mother. 

So this week was great. We were able to get a good amount of people to church this sunday. It felt good to have people walking with us to church. It always does but this sunday it felt really good. Maybe because it was raining and it was a little bit cooler. That may have something do to with it. Church went great. Until the very end.....Our investigator Anna....55. We found her last wednesday and she LOVED church. There are some steps that are really steep and pretty high right in front of our beautiful chapel. And she fell from the stop step and touched nothing until her face smaced on the ground at the very bottom of the steps. I thought for sure she got knocked out. Me and my comp ran over and picked her up both of us expecting to see a destroyed cheek bone and teeth that had falling out. BUt she jumped right up totally fine and yelled JESUS IS MY SAVIOR!!!! haha. It was super sweet!! She had a little blood in her mouth and a scraped up arm and leg and for sure she will be sore the next few days. But she is okay. I seriously thought that she might have been knocked out or dead. She fell face first and I mean fell hard. I dont know how she was okay like she was. We went inside cleaned her up and gave her some water. Then we walked her home. But she was fine the whole time. After lunch we passed by and she wasnt home. That left us a little nervous but we will go by there tonight to talk to her. She is alright. She said she has strong african ancestors. haha. And she has more muscle than I did when I was in great shape. haha. Well....good shape...haha. I have always been kind of fat and soft. 

But the week was really good. We are working in a different area. We first tried close to the church with all of the really big rich person houses. And we left and went back to the more humble area. This ward is a great one. I love the people here. We taught this Anna lady how to pray. She said all 55 years of her life nobody cared to teach her and she said she hasnt said a real prayer. Not even one time in her life. So I told her she was going to pray. It was on Thrusday. She was super embarrassed and said that she wouldnt. So we taught her how to do it. Then I said she needed to pray or nobody will talk to God after our lesson. hahaha. Just a little loving pressure.... Anyway then I folded my arms and bowed my head. Then my comp did. And she sat there for a while laughing saying that she wouldnt. But we didnt move a muscle. We just sat there. haha. Finally after 5 minutes she started to pray. Then she got quite and was crying and crying. Then finished. Then told us how amazing she felt and how she will start to pray every day. It was a blessing to see and The Spirit was very strong. 

The power of prayer is very real and very important. That is exactly why Cali and Utah are haveing the fasts and PRAYERS. It is very powerful and Our Heavenly Father WANTS to hear from us whenever He can. Dont forget to pray, family! The Savior Himslef prayed, If He needed it you better believe that we need it. 

Love you all and have a great week!!

3 Nephi 18:19-21

Elder Hadley

Feb 3, 2014

Hey family!

So its a little bit weird that now the entire world knows about what happened with me last monday.....mom, amanda.....Big mouths....haha. 

Sophia was born!!! Wow!! What a way to make a missionary want to go home!! haha. She is adorable and I am so glad that you all are okay! What a blessing to have in our lives. So she was born groundhogs day right? She looks like a little chunky groundhog. Probably because she looks like G....

So I am so glad to hear all is well with you guys and others back home. It brings a lot of comfort to know that you are all doing okay. I miss you all and think of you often. 

So this new area is a great one. Its a little more calm so dont worry mom. haha. I will be okay. We have a beautiful chapel here. Thats always nice. A chapel with AC because I cant even explain how hot it has been this last week...wow it was killer temp. Straight sun sun sun sun. Its something that you cant explain. haha. I have lost quite a bit of weight. I dont eat a whole lot becuase I dont find myself with a whole lot of time. Its like I would rather be doing other things. I dont workout everyday like I should because I am so dang tired. I wake up at 6;30 and drink a glass of chocolate milk to wake me up then take a shower to cool off. Then start reading. I should start to wrokout again....

So this week was a good one. There are some great people in this area. There have been some missionaries that have just been baptizing children when they passed by here in this area so we have a really high number of members but not a high numbers of active members. I have been thinking about some ideas that I think will help. We will have a meeting with the ward mission leader this week. Its a great ward that has lots of potential to grow. They will help us if we ask. My district is us. The zone leaders and two sets of sisters. haha. The sisters work super hard and are super obedient and the zone leaders work hard as well. Its a cool district to be in. I miss the missionaries from my other house. I hope they are all doing well. I am sure they are. 

So this week we were blessed to meet some great people and teach some great people. We were also blessed to help a little family enter into the waters of baptism. I dont mention my baptisms very much but I just want to talk about them. The 8 year old son holds onto my arm and never lets it go when I am around. haha. I have one week here and I am not sure why this kid loves me so much but he does. haha. During his confirmation I felt the Spirit so strong as I was giving him the blessing I almost started to cry. He will one day serve a mission. I have no doubt about that. I have never met an 8 year old boy who didnt grow up in the church have such a desire to learn about Christ. He knows the bible better than I do. It was a great weekend. 

We are going to continue to work hard and do what we need to do to help ALL come unto Christ. I invite you all to do the same. Love you all!! Be safe!

Elder Hadley

Jan 20, 2014

Tudo bem!

How are you my beloved family!? The work is going well here in our area. It has come to a little stop these past few weeks and that always makes things a little bit tough. But it is all part of the learning experience. It is exactly what helps us as missionaries progress and move forward and it also helps us know what we need to do to help our investigators or future investigators. 

So this week was a tough one. Elder Elliott was sick again and we had to miss out on a day of work...again... But its all good. Elder Swift our LZ came and did his two day division with our district. That was pretty darn sweet as always. (Elder Swift is the one who asked if Gpa clyde could do the sealing for him and his gf when he gets back). So that was sweet. It was kind of funny because Elder Elliott is a really really good kid and a great missionary. But he doesnt pay attention to lots of things of the world that are going on around him. haha. He is a lot like Amanda...oh man whats that word...seriously I cant remember the word....He is always viajando....uhh. Like he is. Oblivious! yes! Thats what it is. Okay so he is oblivious to what is going on around him. We were knocking doors and a group of like 6 guys with these huge hand guns in their hands were posted up just chilling on some stairs. We keep on going acting like everything is normal. haha. But these guys do NOT like loud noises or people being annoying and loud in front of them....I know this because they already told me....well not this group but another group in a situation just like this. Anyway my comp doesnt realize they are even there and he just starts clapping away as loud as he can yelling into houses to see if anyone is home. One of the guys stands up looking right at us...Keep in mind that my comp still does not know they are even there with hand guns..... And I am just thinking.. O great, we are going to get punished. I hope I have some cash on me to give to him. haha. And then they heard some yelling up the top of the stairs. So he looked up the top of the stairs and some of there buddies were calling them. So they took off up the stairs....Whew!! It was a close one. haha. It was funny. He wouldn't have hurt us so dont worry mom. Most likely would have just asked to see our ID and maybe took some cash. But even then. All of the guys really like the missionaries so he probably wouldn't have even done that. I am 100% safe. Everyone knows me by name, I have 7 months in this area. haha. But the point of this story is to just let you know that we had a funny experience because my comp is a boss who doesnt think about a lot of things that COULD happen. He is from Springville Utah....so that could explain some things. 

Anyway. On Saturday I got really really sick. That wasnt too much fun. We went out to work and the Lord gave me strength for a few hours to visit the people we really needed to visit. Then when I started to have to sit down. That is when we decided to go home. I thought Sunday was going to be really rough. But I woke up feeling much better and we were able to get people to church and now this Saturday should be a good one for us. The last Saturday in this area. Crazy! 7 months in the ward of Bandeirantes. I will miss a lot of people. But I am also ready to get out.

Anyway so that is a little bit about this week. This week we woke up early and went to the Barra. Google it. Its sweet. But no we did not go on the beach part. We went to the light house and watched the sunrise drank chimarrão. It was awesome. I will send some pictures. I love you guys!!! You guys are awesome! i am praying for you all. Help the missionaries in your areas! They need it!!

Elder Hadley 

Jan 13, 2014

Family,

So this week was a good and bad one. Bad because we didnt have the end result that we were looking for. But good because we were able to see the hand of the Lord. 

I hope your weekend was a great one. Filled with love in your hearts for the tender mercies of the Lord. 

So we were not able to get a whole lot of people to church on Sunday. That was kind of crappy. But something really cool happened Saturday night then Sunday morning that helped me feel better about our week. Elder Borges got asked to go do a baptism in another area that he had already worked in. It was Borges who started teaching this kid. His comp was sick so I went with him. We were on our way and before we got to the bus we got a call saying the kid didnt want to be baptized anymore and his mom doesnt want him to anymore and they had heard tons of garbage about the doctrine of the church. So almost to the point of the bus I told Borges that he and I should go and talk to this kid and get him baptized saturday night. He agreed. So we jumped on the bus and went over to the area. We got there and had a great talk with this kid. It started out that he was not going to be baptized and that his mom did not want him to. After Borges and I teaching and the Spirit testifying like crazy they started to warm up again. We created a friendship with the mom really quickly and with the kid. Borges already had one with him but it had been a long time since they had seen each other. Anyway to answer there questions the Spirit was able to guide us to different passages in The Book of Mormon to answer their questions. After reading and testifying I asked the young boy what he was thinking. The Spirit was so strong you guys. It really was. And he said to me, Elder Hadley. I want to be baptized. I know I need to be. Then I turned to the mom and talked to her and asked how she feels about this. She said that it would be the best thing for him (and she is super super strong in her church, that made things even harder). But she then asked if instead of doing it that night if we could do it sunday morning. This woman missed out on some work to go watch her sons baptism. It was an amazing experience to be able to be apart of. Ya it wasnt my baptism in my area. BUt it was a baptism. And it was a baptism of a young man who was really prepared. What a tender mercy from the Lord. 

My comp was sick on Tuesday. That is the worst thing in the world. Staying inside all day when you know that you have so much to do. As tired as you are it is not possible to sleep at all because you are so anxious about the people you are teaching. But Borges and Izatt visited some of them for us. Izatt got sick afterwards. But he is doing a lot better now. They both are. It was a good week. Like I said, we didnt get a whole lot to church like we normally do. And our baptism this week wont happen because she wasnt able to go to church because of a stupid emergency call to work. BUT, with all of that we are still happy because we are able to see the Lord in our everyday lives. And what a blessing it is to me to be able to not only see it here but see it at home. Its great to hear that all is well with you guys. I love you all so very much. 

Mom I will get a scripture for the plaque next week. You dont need to send anymore stuff for my hives. haha. I will survive. If they get out of control i will tell you and you guys can send it. But I have too much stuff to try and fit in my bags now. haha. 

Love you all and have a great week! 

Elder Hadley!