Weekly update: 12th December 2011

Hi Family!

So this week, not a whole lot to catch up on again.

We have alot going on, and it seems that it is snowing everyday here in Rochdale. Alot of snow going on. This week, I was able to start off with an exchange. I was in Rochdale with my district leader Elder Nielson, we had a fantastic time, Elder Nielson did weightlifting like me before my mission so it was amazing how we could talk about it and really get to kow each other better that way. During the 6th of december we got a phone call at 3:00am from our investigator John, we were sleeping so we didn't answer it. It was hard, and we came into the lesson with the thought, that he didn't want to visit us anymore.

John has been making such great progress he is giving up his alcoholism, and he is now dated for baptism for the 23rd of december. During a lesson with John this past week, he knows that we are displeased when we see a bottle of alchol on his floor, and we tell him to dispose of it or throw it away, but because of his alcoholism he can't do that. But this last lesson we were talking about repentance, and we had a complete miracle. During talking about repentance, we expressed to him that he needed to change, and whilst we were talking he stood up. We were so puzzled we hadn't a clue why he stood up, without a word he took the alcohol bottle on the floor and went to his kitchen. Elder Lintusaari and I looked at each other very confused, John was pouring the contents of the bottle in the sink. He had felt the Holy Ghost and he knew that he needed to get rid of it. I have such a strong testimony that when we teach the correct doctrine, the application will naturally follow.

We attended Ward council for the first time in Rochdale, we had a great time, the ward really was concerned about our investigators and our work, the Rochdale ward is so amazing, the funny thing was that during ward council the area where the chapel was located had a power cut, so we held ward council in the dark.

I love my mission, more to write in the next e-mail. I promise.

Elder Sapaden

Weekly update: 5th December

Hello Family!

This week has been pretty good! I'm on day 165 of my mission! We are
facing alot success but with that success we are also facing much
opposition "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all
things" 2 Nephi 2:11

We haven't been teaching that much this week, but we have been talking
to many people on the street and seeing much happiness through that.
Although you can say we are teaching people, but out in the streets
the same principle is found in Alma 26:29 "And we have entered into
their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their
streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have
also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them",
I haven't taught anyone in a synagogue, but we have been teaching just
not much in peoples homes. This week we have been getting back on
tract with finding people to teach.

Sometimes it is hard to teach people when you don't see immediate
progress but you have patience. "the Lord will hasten his work in its
time" D&C 88:73 sometimes it is hard to see in the lords time, but I
know all of the people will be baptised in the Lord time, I just have
to be mindful and patient.

Here is a funny experience I had this week. On a day we were
experiencing much opposition, people had not kept their appointments,
and it was cold and wet outside Elder Lintusaari was looking at his
map and I was staring at the floor contemplating at what we should do.
At that moment a member drove past and saw us looking "Glum", within
two minutes of driving past us, this member gave us a call. She asked
us "do you have a dinner appointment this evening?", I replied that we
didn't and so she invited us to join her for Dinner in the evening.

We enjoyed having Dinner at that sisters house, it helped us
appreciate what we do have and it helped us regain our perspective.
She had saw us in our hour of need and had ministered unto us. She
told us that missionaries hadn't came to her house for years and that
we were the first missionaries who had come in a long while. She gave
us something to smile about, usually Elder Lintusaari and I have alot
to smile for, but she just added to our list. This past sunday she
even bore her testimony about how we brought the spirit into her home,
I love members!

Not much really to update on this week,  It is so wet, windy and cold
outside here now aswell. Last night it even started snowing!

Last thursday we had a meeting in Chorley at the Church near the
Preston temple, it was amazing we were able to do a temple session
aswell, half of the mission went one day and the other half went on
the other day. It was amazing.

Rochdale really is a wonderful area, I love it so much. I'm definately
going to come back and visit after my mission.

Hope you are all well,

Elder Sapaden.

Weekly update 28 November 2011

Dear Family!

So this week has been full of amazing events. Lets start off with a
little story:

Before boarding a bus we talked to a man before a bus stop, something
we do for fun to keep it exciting is have the person we are having a
meaningful conversation with guess our nationality. Elder Lintusaari,
being Finnish often gets Polish, Russian, German, Swedish. He gets
countries that are very close yet very far. I have never once got a
guess that I am english, for obvious reasons. This man was convinced
that I was Hawaiian, it really made my day, it was funny and Elder
Lintusaari were just very cheery for the rest of the day. We have a
less- active member who is convinced that I am Tongan and tell the
rest of the Ward, "have you seen that Tongan missionary yet?"

Of course we get people with the anti- American feelings in the North-
west of England telling me that I am American and I should go back to
America, and sort out the problems I have in my own country. To which
I obviously reply "I'm trying to sort out my country, you're not
letting me. I'm from London" to which the perplexed individuals just
seem to flee and brush it off. I mean I've had two American companions
but do I really seem American? Only time will tell.

This week we have actually had a supremely amazing week, having taught
over 20 lessons. These e-mails just seem to be progressing in a way of
information to stories because I have another of the latter to share:

Last week we were travelling home from an area we rarely go to because
of it geographical location, and so it is not too much of a familiar
area for us. As we waited at a bus stop, there was no one around us
and we watched a woman cross the road. Immediately she said "Mormons,
are ya?" to which we were speachless, us as missionaries go around
starting these conversations, talking to these different people. Very
rarely people start conversations with us (believe it or not). We
found out that she had been married to a Member of the Church and had
been less- active for over 20 years.

Her name was Burnadette, she had invited us to her home later in the
week to have a conversation with her and to find what was once there.
So we did exactly that! This last sunday (yesterday) she came to
church for the first time in over 20 years, she rejoiced because she
saw many of her old friends still there in attendance.

That morning where we were in the area we usually don't venture to we
didn't see much success, but we were there to meet her. Heavenly
Father had placed us in the path of one of his daughters who had been
lost for over 20 years, and now she has been found and has made the
beginning steps in returning to his fold. Such a Miracle!

It's getting harder and harder to stop people on the street because of
the weather, I've been trying to tell them "Don't worry, I know it's
cold. We are sharing a warm message!"

On Friday we had a ward activity where the Priesthood brethren
organised a meal for the Relief society sisters. We were able to serve
them, provide much entertainment and have such a wonderful evening,
these events when done correctly and organised properly provide such a
wonderful uniting experience for the whole ward. I truely felt part of
the Rochdale ward family. This was expressed this last sunday.

On sunday, expecially being a morning the members usually greet the
missionaries as "Morning, Elder" just in passing, they say things like
"Hello, Missionaries"

However this Sunday I was evidence of the wards love for me in almost
every greeting I got "Hi Elder Sapaden! How are you?", "Elder Sapaden,
how was your week?", "Elder Sapaden we need your help: Can you play
the organ for us in Sacrament?" they had said my name not just "the
Elders", I truely was "their Elder Sapaden"

I sent my family a funny story concerning a musical item that took
place in a stake conference:

The missionaries in the Ashton Stake, and the Manchester Stake had
organised that they were singing a musical item "Called to Serve" as a
surprise to the members in a recent stake conference, I was privilaged
to be part of this magnificent display.

Since Elder Lintusaari had came to Rochdale we had been visiting a
particular family, with whose children had grown particularly
attatched to me. We often played games with each other and they knew
me as "their missionary"

During this wonderful musical item, the children being particularly
restless because of it being a long church meeting began to be loud
[not in a bad way] they immediately saw me singing my heart out and
were shouting "that's my brown missionary!" I was so happy and just
began to sing my heart out even more, they are my heroes. I love
member- missionary relationships.

I love my mission.

Elder Sapaden

Weekly update 16 November 2011

Hello Family!

This week has been amazing, I've had so many good experiences! We have
4 people now dated for baptism. It is amazing we are going to baptise
so much. We had a sports day here as missionaries where half of the
mission play sports for a day, It was the first time I've played
american football, it was quite good.

We started this week to an amazing start, I had a nice exchange with
Elder Whited, our district leader. I learn't so much, it seems the
same for him too. I'm just so excited to spread this gospel!

It seems that we are facing alot of opposition here aswell, but we
press forward and just continue. The weather is completely different
now, from when I first got here. It is very cold and many missionaries
seem to be getting ill, but I continue to press forward. I don't have
time to get sick.

It is transfer week this week, so that is why I'm writting later than
usual, but I'm not getting transferred, I am staying here for another
6 weeks! I will be staying in Rochdale (my first area) for a total of
6 months. Which means I will get to spend Christmas in my first ward!
I absoultely love Rochdale, I think it is the best place on earth. The
members are fantastic and I have such great relationships with them
all, relationships that I will treasure forever.

We have had some amazing miracles this week, we have explored the
areas that missionaries have hardly worked in before. We had an
adventure in a place called Whitworth, in Whitworth we have just met
so many amazing people. In the center of Rochdale, almost everyone has
spoken to missionaries, everyone knows who we are even before we open
our mouths, but in Whitworth, missionaries have hardly gone there so
they have no previous conception of what we do.

There is just so much potential in these areas that missionaries don't
normally work in. One success story is find a man called Steven,
steven had just recently lost his dad and he was looking for somewhere
to turn to, we just happened to be at the place at the right time, the
right surroundings, we helped him understand that there is more to
life and now he is investigating the Church. Rochdale is just full of
miracles!

Church in Rochdale is so good! I'm pretty much the Ward organist (the
ward organist comes to chuch less than once a month) the Ward gets me
to help them in all their musical items and everything else. They
don't want me to leave, because of my talents.

It's so amazing all the changes that seem to be happening while I'm on
my mission. It seems like just yesterday I came to Manchester, I know
that God lives.

Love,

Elder Sapaden.

Weekly update 31 October 2011

Hello!

This week has been such a great week, we started this week by tracting
(knocking doors) with our ward mission leader and another member. I
was with the other member and Elder Lintusaari was with the ward
mission leader, it was some quite a good night, we had managed to set
up 8 appointments all together, the member I was with and myself
tracted around where our Bishop lived, Bishop Smith. We even managed
to set up an appointment with our Bishops next door neighbour. I value
the members in our ward so much, they help us so much. That night
myself and the member I was with even managed to teach a lesson to one
of our investigators. I love working with the members.

We have been focusing alot of our missionary work on our updated ward
list where we had identified active members, less- actives and recent
converts by colouring in the names of the members in three different
colours, we were able to try by many of the members on the ward list,
and I know that by using them the missionary work in this area has
been forwarded so much.

One of the best feelings a missionary is when children tell us that
they want to be like us when we they grow up. We have been visiting a
family called the Mainwarings, they are amazing and they have three
young children who aspire to serve missions someday. They love us and
when ever we pass we hear a loud shout "Missionaries" in young
childrens voices, the youngest is about a year old and whenever we are
about to leave she runs up to us to shake our hands. Being a role
model is one of the most gratifying feelings.

Growing and developing as a missionary is such an amazing thing, as
soon as you leave a lesson, you think "what could I have done better
in that situation?" you never stop analysing it and you keep growing
as a missionary, you keep growing as a person. During another visit
with John he asked: "Do miracles really still happen?", in this day
and age it is so hard to recognise miracles, we take advances in
science and technology as granted. John had been hospitalised for
alcohol problems for 4 times now, he had shared with us that the
doctors said that he should have died the first time he was in
hospital for alcoholism.

I had shared with him, how I knew that despite the amount of times he
had been in the hospital, and the times he should have died, he was
alive now and that was all that mattered. He acknowledged that he
being alive even now was a miracles and was soon grateful for us
pointing that out to him. I let him know that God gave him this chance
for a reason. To receive this gospel. I wouldn't have known the
experiences he has had if I hadn't have listened to him. Sometimes
more important than speaking, is listening. I know this for a fact.

Recently, Elder Lintusaari and I have pondered what the strength of
our companionship as missionaries is, by various investigators and
members we have received the nicknames "Good cop" "Bad Cop", Elder
Lintusaari says very Very VERY bold things, he gets the point across
so bluntly, he says what he thinks, he is nicknamed "Bad Cop", because
he is very blunt with the truth. I am nicknamed "Good Cop" because I
reinforce what Elder Lintusaari says immediately without a moments
hesitation. I reinforce what Elder Lintusaari says with a loving
demeanour.

I love using that phrase "we only say these things because WE LOVE
YOU!" I let our investigators know what I feel, because of this I am
nicknamed "Good cop" Elder Lintusaari and I are such a great teaching
companionship because of this, he says all the necessary things that
need to be said, I relate all the necessary feelings that need to be
felt. We are such a great companionship together!

I love you all, I know that this is his Church and that he lives, even
Jesus the Christ our older brother and our saviour.

Elder Sapaden.

Weekly update 25 October 2011

Hello Sapadens!

So this week we have some more pictures, we start off with a typical
Preparation day meal, a mervelous invention, if I do say so myself.
Then a picture to show you that I am not starving, that is my storage
cupboard, and of course I have more items in the fridge and freezer.

A now you have a picture of my new companion, Elder Lintusaari, he
says he knows Elder Karjalainen, from stake events and things,
speaking of which, their is a missionary in the Staines ward, Elder
Keck or something like that, he is a great friend to a missionary
called Elder Roberts who entered the mission at the same time as me,
feed Elders Folkerson, (if he is still there) Keck and Elder
Karjalainen especially well.

I was also thinking that you didn't have an updated picture of me,
with a side part implemented, so yeah, that was taken in a rush 5
minutes before I sent this e-mail,

I have received all the packages now thank you, you are such an
amazing family, thanks for all the gifts and things, the backack is
now being put to good use. Our investigators are all doing well, and
some are even progressing to baptism, hopefully they will be able to
have that opportunity very soon.

We have found an area where their is alot of phillipino homes, it is
like a gold mine, we are setting up appointments with many of them, I
was challenged to try and communitcate with them in Tagalog during
doorstep conversations, it was a little strange trying to do so, my
companion finds it pretty effective I sure hope it is, he even wants
me to knock the doors in that area because my knocks might be more
phillipino than his.

This week we managed to find 8 new investigators (that is amazingly good)

Weekly update 17 October 2011

So this week has really been amazing, we now have an investigator with
a Baptismal date, he is called Akin, he is from Nigeria.

This week I have just developed so much as a missionary, I just begun
to feel so comfortable and have really settled into this work. The
members in this ward love me and can all say my name right! I have
developed so many great relationships with the members in Rochdale. I
can talk about all of the members in my ward with love and I know they
will support me with any decision we make as missionaries.

This week we also sat down with our Ward Mission Leader with the Ward
list and coloured in Active members, Less- Actives and Recent converts
and Auxiliary Leaders, we have brought the missionary work in the
Rochdale ward to a whole new standard. I am so grateful for the
efforts of members in this area, we have visited many less actives,
found on the ward list and we are seeing miracles as we start to work
with them.

In Rochdale you meet all different cultures, much like London, we see
many Portugese people, Polish people, you name it we have it. It is so
funny, I came to this mission expecting to talk english my whole time
here, now I am having almost whole conversations in Portugese, it is
amazing, I start a conversation in Portugese from someone that looks
like they come from Portugal and they reply back to me in Portugese
thinking that I really can speak their language.

We are still meeting many new different people and we are uniting with
members in this mission, our goal is to receive many refferals from
members because they immediately have a friend in the Church and they
are more likely to stay active in the Church because of that friend.
We are working on ways to develop that trust relationship with members
so that they can trust us to work with their friends and associates.
In my spare time I have been making these Mini thank you card out of
sticky notes and then dropping by members and sticking them on their
door.

I can only begin to imagine how refreshing that must be for some
members to come home after work, and see that their missionaries in
their ward care enough about them to stop by and thank them for coming
to church/ their efforts in missionary work, because of this we have
really changed Rochdale around with the lords help, it just seems that
we are travelling from one teaching appointment to the next, before we
had to find alot through our own efforts, but now we are blessed with
many investigators through members efforts.

We have seen so many miracles this week aswell, we told our
investigator Akin to bring a question to Church, he came to Church
with a situation in his mind that he wanted an answer to, he had
recently fallen out with a friend and wanted to know more about
repentance and forgiveness, during last Sundays gospel principles
lesson it was on Exaltation, what a topic. The teacher explained what
we need to do in order to be exalted, Akin was sitting next to Elder
Lintusaari and I, he was taking notes on the lesson and was listening
intently.

After Church Akin shared that he got his question answered, he had
received guidance on how to deal with that situation, Repentance and
Forgiving others is necessary for Exaltation so Akin heeded that
council and told us that he will apply that in his life. I am so
grateful for the inspired lessons in Gospel principles and I know that
he was able to receive guidance from Heavenly Father about what he
should do.

On Saturday morning we got a call from a member of the Bishopric
telling us that we needed to give a 20 minutes talk on the following
day, Elder Lintusaari and I were flustered because of the short notice
and because we weren't given a topic to work with, I didn't know what
I should talk about. Heavenly Father however did know what I should
talk about, before my mission I would have struggled to fill a 20
minute talk, but I can tell you that yesterday (Sunday) I gave one of
the best talks I have ever given in my life, about missionary work and
families.

I shared many personal experinces, and it was a great talk. The ward
Organist wasn't present so I also played the music for sacrament and
for a musical item. They have probably never seen a missionary give a
talk and play the organ in the same meeting yet, I am so grateful for
these opportunities I have to serve the people in Rochdale.

Thank you for all your prayers and letters, just a note I will be
receiving a months worth of letters tommorow so if you haven't had a
reply yet it's only because I haven't got your letter yet, so expect a
reply soon!

Love,

Elder Sapaden.