MIRACLES IN THE MISSION FIELD

THE MIRACLE
So Wednesday night we had Priesthood counsel meeting. We went through all of our investigators and their info and then we talked about Sara. Fransico and her have a kid and he lives with her. He is a member, she is not. Supposedly Hermano Lasero called him during the meeting to set up a meeting to get them married. He didn't hear very well because we showed up at his house and he was not expecting to get married. Well, he said why not and off we went to Zupango to get them hitched. It was quite the adventure. While we were waiting all these ladies in pink shirts were parading down the road. Like thousands of them. Apparently they are fighting and parading against Violence Against Ladies. Very interesting.
Anyway, Elder Ramos and I were on divisions together and we met her at the church and taught her everything except the Plan of Salvation. A day later Elder Johansen and one of the Zone Leader went and taught her the Plan and then interviewed her. Saturday at 12:30 she was baptized. On Sunday I confirmed her a member of the church and gave her the Holy Ghost. That was a first for me. You get to the blessing part and your head just goes blank. But it came and we all felt the spirit. So that is what happened. In four days, we met, taught and confirmed Sara. That, my friends is a record, but anything is possible with the Godhead on our side.

I also played the piano for the primary program. That was really fun. Victor, Milta and their kids, Victor and Danaya came and are going to make great members of the church. We ran into them 9 days ago and now they are reading the Book of Mormon, saying prayer over the food as a family and starting to have family home evening. On Sunday Victor Sr. even asked the bishop for the Conference issue of the Liahona. The bishop invited them to a huge Colixco family night. We got to their house at 6:55 and it started at 7. They were just starting to eat, they invited us to tacos. We happily accepted. They said they were not ready to go and didn't want to be late.
(of course we knew that every Mormon runs on Mormon time even in Mexico.) But we still insisted for them to get ready and come. We arrived in the Privada just ten minutes before it started.
At the house we gave a Book of Mormon to each of them. During the family home evening we did an activity that used the Scriptures and they were all marking their new copies of the book of Mormon. We had Hot Chocolate after with bread. It was good. I sat with the bishop and Victor and his wife. Chatting about forever families. The best part was the bishop saying, "You are going to make a great Mormon family." They smiled at that compliment. I really want to extend my mission to see this family sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. They are getting baptized for sure in two weeks. There is nothing stopping it. It is something that I just know.
My area is fantastic. I love it. There are a lot of hills but the Little Vans take us were we need to go for 20 cents each.
As for my companion. His name is Elder Steven Cory Johansen. He is taller then I am. He is going home to Sanpete or Manti Utah in Feb. He is really humble and says thank you alot and always asked everyone if they need help. He exercises to this Celtic Music that makes me want to do a jig. Kind of funny. He has the Primary Color Cd's which is great. He loves to sing and is going to Snow College when he arrives back in the US. He plays the bass guitar and loves to find shiny things. We plan on singing on Christmas Sunday. We are going to arrange a cool number that will really bring the spirit in.
We planned for the month yesterday and have a goal to baptize four in December. We are also going to find 100 new Investigators in the next month. That is a new mission standard. 25 a week. 1200 first lessons in the next year, at least. That is alot of pamphlets.
So Jordan says I am chubby....I stepped on the scale and I have gained 15 pounds on the mission. I weigh 160 pounds now. I am trying to work it off but I eat to good here. Every time we step into a house we are eating it seems like. Hermana Pati always feeds us a little tub of Ice Cream each time we eat with her. She has a great family. Her little girl is so cute.
Anyway, I am happy and love the ward. We have such a good support system here.
I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving last Thursday. But I remember eating good.
Love ya all.
Elder Chadwick

NEW AREA

Alfredo in Mexico. We sent him Alfredo packets and spaghetti because he loves it so much.
Elder Chadwick and kids from San Jeronimito his last area.
New apartment upstairs
New apartment main floor
New apartment kitchen. Two Fridges?
With new companion Elder Johansen holding the sign.
I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish!!
Being Goofy with kids in SJ one last time.
Members in SJ before he left.

Hi family and friends,
This week was awesome. I had a 8 hour ride to Chilpancingo. Elder Johansen is my new companion. He was my old district leader in Ziaut when I arrived there. I had to do some clean up and then we really worked hard. Tripling the numbers he had last week.

The members here are awesome. The family of the bishop is huge and is half the ward.

The food is great here and I love having people who know their responsibilities and ours as missionaries. Hermana Pati fed us on Wednesday, three hamburgers each!! She had prepared to feed us six each.

Here is the thing though, they eat a lot of insects here. We met a member who has his own tortillaria. He had a bag of Mils. Little buggys. They really had a kick to them and a bad after taste.

Then yesterday we eat with Hermana Belinda and her family. (When I say family I mean Mom, sisters, brothers, everyone.) Here we are eating happily and then every one starts flipping out. Then one of the Hermanas threw a bag of grass hoppers on the table. Then it got louder because Elder Chadwick was new to the insect club. Yes, I put a little lemon on it, closed my eyes and popped her in there. Actually it was a he, Freddy, crunchy little bugger.

Saturday after getting rejected from a man two floors up we talked to a man named Victor. He invited us in because his ten year old sons had some questions. One of them being, “Why the heck are we Catholic?” and “If God made man then who made God?” We said we could not answer the one about God but we would answer the Catholic one. We then taught him and his dad to pray. He did not know that he could talk directly to God. He then yelled for the rest of his family to come listen. His 7 year old daughter and wife came toward the end. They had a lot of good questions and had noticed how nice we look on Sundays and that we have good discipline.

Everything is better here. Even the Internet is faster and cheaper. The food is better and cheaper also.

The bishop is really on fire and we meet with him every Wednesday and the mission leader every Monday after our meeting.

This weekend was Young Adult Conference. Let me just say I enjoyed having a full conversation with my friends from my first two areas. I had lunch with at least one person with each of my areas.

I wrote the Gonzalez family a letter and gave it to Adi to give to them.

The Elders are really great here too. They actually wanted to play ball and for a good amount of time. It was fun. We are probably going to WALMART!!!! After Internet.

Don’t worry about the dead bodies. I have not seen any of them yet. We are always in the house before 9. (Editors note: we googled his new area and came up with a bunch of dead body pictures. Not fun!)
So dinner last night. We ate with a Professional Mexican Basketball player. How cool is that? He is the captain and they don't make as much but it is a lot for playing 6 games a week or something like that.

It was hilarious to hear everyone talking about the Twilight movie and how bad or good it was. All week the ward was talking about Vampires and Wolves. So what did I decide to do....Talk about wolves in my talk. The bishop asked me to give a 8 minute talk on Missionary Work. So I prepared the story that Greg Mitchell used in his homecoming. The one about the Pueblo with the fire and wolves. How we have to spread the fire! It really had an effect on the members because there is a huge FIRE here.

I am happy and ready for Christmas. The whole zone is going to do a service project on Dec. 24. That is the Mexican Christmas. Apparently Santa Claus has to split up the world in sections. ha ha.
That is about it.
Love all of you, have a great week!
Elder Chadwick
P.S. My companion has the Best Two years cd and I am addicted.

ZONE CONFERENCE AND TRANSFER

Tuesday 11-8-11
The night before the rest of the Zone came down to Ziuat, 4 elders slept over at our house in SJ. Two of them were Mexicans. Mexicans are really more comfortable around each other I notice. More hugging and kissing then in the US. (Well, mostly the ladies do the kiss and greet.)
I find it hilarious to see the face of the other elders when I only add water to my pancake mix and it tastes better then their mothers pancakes.
We woke up at 5:30 to get to Ziuat for b-fast at 7:30. Oh, almost forgot. Elder Nelson and I brought everyone to Lalos Burger the night before and so we now get a discount. 30 pesos por uno hawaiana! Delisious. Wish the boss would have done that a month ago. It is a tradtion we have to go to hamburgers every Monday.
Back to Zone Conference. I played prelude and lead the music like always. I am getting better at regular hymns.
ZC started out with President Spannaus laying down the law. He drew a man on the board and put a box around him. Inside of the box is law, outside sin. That was before the mission, now the box is tighter. The laws have changed and so will we he said. He put a curve on the side of the smaller box and said sometimes we interpret the laws in our own way, well when we get back we will do the same thing if we keep doing it that way. Then the law seems to expand to a bubble but it is really the sin that is shrinking. When we live Gods law we can become free. One thing I learned from reading "Jesus the Christ" is Happiness never calls for repentance. I like that. No one likes to repent. I know we have to, but let us do it less. Sometimes we think we are happy when we are only pleasing ourselves for a moment. (Please read "Pleasure versus Happiness" Pg. 247 in "Jesus the Christ")
We learned from the APs that all the missions goals are weak.
So they put out a mission standard.
For every week each companionship needs: 1 Baptism, 15 with date, 5 in Sacrament meeting, 25 lessons, 8 of 25 with member, and 25 new invest. WOW! those are High Standards!
Only one companionship completed on of those last week. We were close with 20 new investsigators.
Hermana Spannaus talked about Desire. She used alot from Elder Oaks talk about desire. We each received a paper that read. "My greatest desire in the mission right now is_____."
Lets just say my desires have changed a bit since ZC.
President Spannaus was up again and talked about discipleship. I loved this.
He asked, " How do you know that you love Jesus Christ? ( John 14:5, Deut 5:10, D&C 42:29)
How do you know if you are a disciple? ( john 13: 34-35; 8:31-32 D&C 41:5; 103: 27-28; 50:26; 45:32)
Do you really know the Savior? How? (John 7:17; 21:15; 1 john 2:3, Mosiah 4: 11-12, 16 D&C 50:24, Mosiah 5:13)
If we really love Him we keep his commandments and learn to be like Him.
We constantly have to evaluate our lives and try to become more like Him.
Everything is stacked in our favor to become like him and enjoy real freedom and happiness.
Last was Testimonies. My Favorite part. Some missionaries have some extreme experiences and conversion stories.
One of them was like mine. (I really felt the spirit while he was talking) I love hearing others stories and testimonies so I don't feel alone or crazy with things that will happen or have happened to me.
And that was ZC.
Wednesday
Interesting day. We ran into five people that speak English. It was nice to chat with them for a bit and help them speak better.
I found this place in Peta that sells tortas. SO GOOD! Every time we go there I buy one. Ham, Hot dog, string cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce and mayonnaise, GRILLED! YUM! Only 16 pesos, what a steal of a deal!
Elder Nelson bought food from the Super Precio and a girl who worked there asked if I spoke Spanish. I said yes and the conversation continued. She was baptized in the ocean 4 years ago. And I committed her to go to church and read the BofM.
I had the Himnos CDs burned with extra money I had and now we have more music and I can memorize all the Spanish hymns.
Hermana Gonzalez made us Chocolate banana smoothies. YUM! I am really going to miss this family like I have said before. They always make me smile. Andrea always has something to say and is really good at making fun of me for a 9 year old girl. I said," Andrea can't read still" and she said " and Elder Chadwick can't lose weight!" Ouch, but I deserved it. I am definately coming back to visit them.
Thursday
While getting ready this morning I was eat Trix and notice I didn't have my name tag on. All the sudden I felt naked so I left my Trix to go soggy and ran and got my name tag.
In personal study today I was reading Ch. 4 of PMG about he Holy Ghost. The activity said to read the heading of Acts, so I did.
I came across the heading of ch 7 and found that Stephen names Moses a prototype of Christ. What is that suppose to mean?
What is a Prototype? It is a first or rough draft of the final product.
Moses had to be hidden when he was born. He was prince for a time. Was cast out. Saw God. Did many miracles but people did not believe. Freed people from slavery. Spent 40 days with God. Fasted for 40 days.
Jesus did most of the same things. I am still studying this. I love it. Both Moses and Jesus are the most talked of people today and throughout history.
Friday 11-11-11-11-11
How cool is that? did you look at the clock at 11:11 on 11-11-11? Just wondering. (have to type faster no time these days)
Interview in Ziaut. Sat by 90 year old man that could not stop talking to me, smelled like pee and didn't know where he was on the bus ride home. It was entertaining and I helped him out and now I have a new friend.
Elder Nelson taught me how to juggle a soccer ball. Now I have a new cardio workout.
Here is a poem I really like. President Spannaus gave it to us. I am a Disciple of Christ.
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed.
I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.
I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16)


Hope you like it.
Well I am getting transferred to Chilpancingo.
The area is called Airport. How cool is that?
I will send pictures next week.
Love you all.
Bye bye SJ Hello Chipo.
Not looking forward to six hours on bus but that is ok.
Love ya alll
Elder Chadwick

NOVEMBER 7TH POST

EDITORS NOTE: The last two weeks have been hard ones for Elder Chadwick. They did have much success but that also came with much tribulation. Some of the members were spreading rumors about the missionaries and things were not good.
November 7th
Here is the Sitch!
This week was just fantastic with more rumors going around about us but have no fear testimony meeting saved the day. Hermano Gonzalez and his wife bore their testimonies and gave a short talk about loving the missionaries. It was great. The look of our accusers faces was priceless. I know Heavenly Father is watching over us and that it doesn't matter what the whole world says God always knows if we are doing the right thing.
We found 20 new investigators this week and are ready to rock and roll this week to prepare them for the incoming missionaries.
President Spannaus is probably going to take us both out because of this rumor thing. (Which was not true and we had evidence and witnesses.) The sad thing is that many people are going to miss Elder Nelson and I after we leave. We got everyone in the Branch reading the Book of Mormon. Every family has at least one person in 2 Nephi. It is just great. Satan is at work here though. Looks like the Governor does not like our church because he shut off our water and we have not had Internet in the church for three months. They are charging the church twice or three times more then the regular average joe. Not good Governor man.
The food is getting better, took a little work to teach some of the Hermanas to cook us food but we did it and now eat hot dogs and spaghetti at least twice a week. I am back to being spoiled again...this time with more then one mother. ha ha.
Since G man turned off the water we had nothing to flush the toilets with at church yesterday. Well, the ladies and gentlemen could not hold it so it smells like an out house on holy ground. Not good. So Zone Conference will not be in SJ this week. There goes our record. I have been here for three zone conferences....they are three months apart. lets just say its time to go.
I don't have any wishes for Christmas this year. Just Christmas cards from all who read this blog with a letter about what is going on with all the families and friends.
We should receive the Conference Liahona tomorrow which will be exciting. I always love zone conference and the spirit that comes with it. At the end of every ZC there is a mini testimony meeting. That is one of my favorite parts. The missionaries going home always give their testimonies.
We played basketball today for two hours, went home and now the whole zone wants to play volleyball at the beach. Not happening for this pair of stripling warriors. We ate three packs of spaghetti after we balled it up and then came here to Internet.
It cost 80 cents and hours.
Well, happy 7 de November.
Love Elder Chadwick