Elder Matthew James Hadley is home!

Home from the mission on Friday, February 2nd 2015.

Dec 15, 2014

Family, 

I am getting transfered!!!!! I am pretty dang excited and a little nervous....haha. I will go to the last city of the Bahia...16 hours on the bus.....yikes....haha. I will train a new missionary and open up the area (as in both of the misisonaries are leaving the area and we will replace them). Its a little tiny group in a city called Mucuri....Pretty crazy.

So this week we had the Christmas conference. I gave my "testemunho de saída" at the conference because it is the last zone conference I will have a part of.....pretty sad. But its good. Its all good. That was lots of fun. We had great food. Some really good Turkey. We didnt eat beans....thats a first...haha. I actually kind of missed it...thats weird. I love brazilian beans....haha. 

Then we worked really hard and met some really good people. I was doing some divisions this week and doing some interviews so I didnt work a whole lot in our area. I kind of missed some of our investigators. But it was super nice to help other missionaries. Elder Hoggan and I are going to be transfered....wow I am going to miss that kid SO MUCH....I love that kid so much. He doesnt get home till next August and I wont see him till then....I mean he studys at the Y but still....its super sad. Its really hard to say goodbye to missionaries, members that live in the area, and the people you taught.....its seriously super super hard. I always just bawl like a baby during transfers....Its not cool....

Then this week on Friday we had a Chirstmas Choir concert at the chapel. Thats what I sent the pictures of. It was SUPER HOT and we had to be in our suits....but the Spirit was so strong and so sweet there at the concert. We showed the video "Ele É O Presente" and talked a little about it then we read the scriptures in Lucas about the birth of the Savior and we sang tons and tons of hymns. It was really really good. The women of the ward were super happy that we helped out. It was a pleasure to help them and we really had a lot of fun doing it. On Sunday we also had a huge ward lunch at the Chapel. That was really good. On Saturday me and my comp Elder Brown were pretty dang sick. Brown was worse than I was. He like could hardly walk. We both came to the office right after lunch to grab some stuff and we just like collapsed on the floor and just laid there for a while....haha. But it was a really good week. We were able to see the mission baptize lots of people. Its super cool to see missionaries teach amazing people and see these people recieve answers and have a desire to be baptized. 

Then we were able to take a few people to church on Sunday. That was really good. I am sad and really excited at the same time. Mucuri will be amazing. Its a tiny little group of about 25 active members....Lets see how the next 7 weeks go!! I will talk to you guys on the skype next week!! Crazy. 

Anyway, I love you guys and hope you are all well!! Have a great week!!

Elder Hadley 

Dec 1, 2014

split in Vitória da Conquista!!!






like 1/15th of my area. hahaha.

 

Nov 24, 2014

Hey so this is a guy that is actually almost totally blind and plays the guitar like the great Slash. We almost baptized him. He wanted to get baptized so  badly. he loved the church but....his pastor started saying lots of bad stuff about the church so he decided not to be baptized....Its sad to see some people listen more to men then they do to God.... it was pretty sad even though I am pretty much used to that happening cause that happens A LOT!!! Either way. A really good guy. In the future he will be baptized.  

Nov 24, 2014

Family,

So this week was a really good one....other than our baptism falling on Saturday after doing everything possible to make it happen. But Its okay. It will happen next weekend. 

This week I spent the whole time in Vitória da Conquista. A really nice city. I loved it! I did some divisions with some missionaries there and we saw some incredible miracles. It all started off on Wednesday morning. I got there at 5:30am. We then went to their house and got ready to go to district meeting. We had district meeting.

Then we ate lunch with an incredible couple who has about 8 years as members of the church who had a girl who is 8 years old. I hit it off really quickly with the two of them and all during lunch the three of us (me and the wife and husband) were laughing and having great conversation. Anyway I had no idea that they are less active. Its been almost two years since they have been to church. So they chose me to leave the message with them. As they were talking with the other missionaries I had the STRONGEST urge to talk a little bit about Carson and share my message while using some scriptures about the importance of eternal famalies and temples. I was fighting that feeling a little bit just because I dont share real personal experiences with everyone and anyone, you know? Anyway I read some scriptures and shared with them that I had lost a member of my family and proceeded to show them the dog chains that I use around my neck. As I was testifying of the blessings we have from the gospel and the temples the mother and father just started sobbing. I was a little confused and asked them if everything was okay. The mom got control and answered that two years ago they lost their two year old baby girl to a sickness that they didnt even know she had. She then went on to tell me that is why they stopped going to church. She said that the entire day she had been thinking about her baby girl and was having a really hard day. She then told me that because of the death of their daughter they had stopped going to church. They were angry and questioned why it had to happen. I read one more scripture in The Book of Mormon and testified to them the importance of going to church so that we can prepare ouselves to go to the temple to be sealed with our famalies by the priesthood power. They have not yet been. I invited them to return to church and start reading The Book of Mormon together as a family and they agreed. The Spirit was so strong. Everyone in the house was crying. After leaving a chapter in The Book of Mormon to study that night we left. 

I got a call from the missionaries yesterday and they told me that the whole family was in church and the dad went to talk to the bishop about baptizing their 8 year old daughter and plans to go to the temple. 

Miracles like this happen honeslty...weekly on the mission. As many hard times as I have had Its hard to remember them because experiences like these shut them out. 

Later that same day we went to do some baptismal interviews. As we were walking one of the missionaries said....hey lets go visit a man whos entire family is baptized and has a daughter on a mission. He isnt baptized yet because he believes he doesnt need to be. Well the missionaries have been working with him for over a year but we were determined to help him understand the importance of baptism. 

We got there and started talking. After three hours of talking I finally picked him up and threw him up on my shoulders and ran out of the house yelling back to the family to show me where the nearest river was cause I was gonna baptize him. hahaha. It was pretty funny. He is a little guy. I ran a pretty long ways with him on my shoulders. haha Then we talked for another hour. We explained everything and took away all of his doubts and answered his questions. He has a testimony of the church he jst didnt really understand why we needed to be baptized. So after 4 and a half hours of talking with him. He was interviewed and baptized this Saturday.....another incredible experience. He and his wife also talked to bishop on monday making plans to go to the temple with their daughter in January when she gets home from her mission. 

Thursday and Friday I worked with other missionaries where we also saw some miracles. They baptized some great people on Saturday as well. On Friday I made a contact with a woman in front of her house who is super strong in her church. While the other two elders were teaching someone right next to me I just went on to teach her taught about the restoration of the gospel. By the end I started to testify and while I was testifying I saw a wedding ring on her hand (something you dont see cause its hard to find people who are actually married) and the thought came to share a testimony about eternal famalies and temples and priesthood power. While I started talking about eternal famalies she started sobbing.....again i stopped and asked her what was wrong. She answered that her husband passed away four months ago after 20 years of marriage. Her and her daughter were very sad and having a really hard time. I continued to teach and then left.  

In the beggining of the contact she said she wouldnt go to church cause she had to go to her church. By the end of the lesson she said she would go to church with us. The missionaries called me and told me yestreday her and her daughter were there and really loved it. 

The gospel is true and brings happiness to ALL who hear it and apply it!!

Sorry, I know this email was long and I usually dont share very many stories with you guys. I just wanted to share a couple of experiences with you all because they had a lot to do with eternal famalies. I am grateful that we can go to the temple with our famalies and be sealed for time and eternity. I love you all. 

Have a great week! 

Elder Hadley

 

 

Nov 24, 2014

MOTHER and family,

I am sorry for the past couple of weeks that i havent sent email....I spend most of the time here in the office on pday playing "phase 10" or sleeping. haha. Just kidding I dont sleep that much. Even though I want to....I did a division with Elder Hoggan to do a baptismal interview and while we were teaching a lady at her door i was literally sleeping while standing up and leaning against her wall.....it was not good. haha. 

I sent some pictures to you....I hope that makes up for my lack of writing emails the past fw weeks. haha. 

So this week was pretty good. We worked really hard and were able to teach a lot of great people. So the missionaries in this are before I got here were working with a couple and were trying to help them get married.....why it wasnt done before I dont know but we are finally seeing progress with the marriage....now the progress of their testimonies have come to a halt.....I have taught some of the best lessons that I have ever taught while here on the mission with this couple and....nothing.....its tough to see someone SO SPECIAL start to have more and more doubts. Its like these doubts that are being put into their minds are coming from a series of dreams they have been having.....These dreams are so DUMB and honestly have nothing to do with anything but they feel like God is trying to warn them about something they are doing.

 One dream Salai had (the wife) was that she was at some random church without a name and that people were crying in the church and then two women stood up and started teaching everyone.....that was all that happened in the dream and she thinks God is trying to tell her that she needs to re think all of the confirming answers that she has already recieved...like I understand that she can feel confused because she is understanding things that are not coming from God, but its just a little frustrating when she has recieved many spiritual confirmations about the truthfulness of what we teach.....And with Cardão her husband....this last week we had a lesson and Salai had finished telling us that she wouldnt be baptized cause now she has doubts (keep in mind they have both born testimony on fast and testimony meeting that this is the true church and they have told us a million times they have recieved an answe about everything) then I asked Cardão "if marriage wasnt an issue would you be baptized this week" and he responds (he is really smart and always tries to "out-smart" us haha) "Elder Hadley, if you were on a path and a door popped up in front of you and you didnt know what was on the other side, would you go in?" (he was totally expecting me to say no) but I just said "If God told me to...Id kick the door down" then we had a great lesson with them and responded to a lot of doubts.... but still......its tough.....We arent quite sure what we need to do....the bottom line is they stopped doing their part and allowed the enemy to start working on them....

 And these past two weeks they havent come to church and I talked to them on the phone yesterday and they said they want a little bit of time to see if this is the true church so what are they going to do....stop going to church....okay so after explaining to them that that is not how God works they wanted us to pass by their house today....so tonight we are going to go to their house. Its tough but.....we will not give up on them. We just have to figure out what they need because they are extremely special people and we love them a lot! Thats why you probably could pick up a hint of frustration in the email. haha. 

the rest of our investiagtors are AMAZING and things are going smoothly. 

Elder Fernandes came to visit....it was incredible....I love that man. He gave a training on Faith. And it had been something I have been studying HARD for about 2 months. And his training just was amazing. It helped a lot. We had the time to spend some time with them after the training. It was really cool to talk with him and his wife. And to have Presidente and Sister Andrezzo there with us made it way better.  

I sent a picture of when he came to our house. I hope you guys can open it up. 

Anyway so this week was awesome. I love you guys and hope you all have a great week!!

Elder Hadley

Nov 10, 2014