Weekly Update 15 October 2012

Hello Everyone!

This is what a real mission is! Liverpool is the home of opposition
and for that I am grateful for, because when God gives us a trial is a
sign that he trusts us to get over it and pick ourselves up when we
fall. Opposition is also a key indicator of good things that are about
to come. Let me briefly share one with you.

We were knocking doors trying to find a less- active member in the
area. We knocked on the persons door called Paul, Paul was Irish and
he wasn't interested at first he tried to send us away, he looked at
me and asked "are you Phillipino?" I replied "Yes, I sure am" he had
so many Phillipino friends, he invited us in, poured out a drink for
us and started tell us how he had a Half- Phillipino son, and he spoke
almost fluent Filipino, now have you ever seen an Irish man ever speak
Filipino? Well neither had I. It was quite a sight; he called some of
his Phillipino friend right then and there and asked them if they
would want us to come over. He even just gave us many names of
Filipinos and their addresses and drew maps for us for how to get to
those houses. What a great man.

Its funny Elder Webb has wanted to baptise a Phillipino family his
whole mission, he is pretty famous in the mission for that desire
because it is so different, he has envisioned and enquired of the
Lord, and now I'm with him to accomplish that great desire.

I love driving again, we live in a four missionary flat (it's my first
four person flat) and we are living with Chinese speakers, so that is
pretty intense, I love being around the Chinese missionaries they are
just so diligent.
This week we have taught a lot. There is a good reason for that. You
cannot be called a Leader or even a Zone Leader and lead from the
back, you always need to literally "lead" in number of lessons, in
speaking to people, you just need to lead. It is a very refining
experience, I thought I had already been trained to be a missionary;
I've even trained a missionary. But being a Zone Leader is a whole
different "Ball Game" (for lack of a better phrase) it is all about
progression about growing about making mistakes all over again and
then correcting them.

We even found a family to teach and baptise already, a Hungarian
family who just want to follow Jesus Christ, it is a big family but
they are great. We are Baptising this Saturday and by the looks of it
Liverpool is the highest Baptising ward in the mission, just as Bolton
was.

It accountability I feel as a Leader is scary at times and sometimes
it is the same fear I felt as a new missionary, not knowing what to do
or what my responsibilities are, I just know that these missionaries
around me are watching very closely at every action I take, just as I
was when I was a new missionary. The people of Liverpool are just so
friendly and there sense of humour is just fantastic, they could make
anyone laugh, it's a huge city and in many ways it's just a smaller
London except the people talk way different here.

A true principle that I learnt recently is: if you want to see a
change in the world, you must first be that change. If I want
missionaries to speak to 100 people everyday (a very hard, challenging
task requiring you to speak to everyone you see) you have to speak to
200 people a day (requiring you to run after everyone you see in the
distance) I love it and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Love,

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 12 October 2012

Hello!

This has been quite a week, it was transfer week, I've been called to
serve as a Zone Leader in the Liverpool Stake. It is one of the
biggest areas with one of the most amount of missionaries to help them
direct the work. It is very strange because I've already spent more
than 9 months in the Liverpool Stake and I will probably spend more
than half of my mission associated with the Liverpool Stake, but that
is okay because it is the best Stake in the world!

Going back to Liverpool has really made me feel quite a range of
emotions, as an Isle of Man missionary we were thrown out into the
Streets of Liverpool by the previous Zone Leaders when we came over to
England for our Missionary Meetings like Zone Conference, ofter more
than week we spend serving these wonderful, brilliant people of
Liverpool. My whole mission I've often said "I wish I could go back to
Liverpool" and now I am here again, the great thing is automatically
I'm an honourary member of the Liverpool Stake. I have great
relationships with the Stake Leaders from serving around them, I went
often to the Stake President for dinner when I was a St. Helens
missionary. I even went to the Liverpool stake youth camp when I was
an Isle of Man missionary. I could live here and even if I picked up
the scouse accent and come home, I would go home a happy man.

Just like my experience on the Isle of Man, being called as a Zone
Leader has made my shoulders "heavier" the often misconceived "cloak
of comfortability" isn't really what it seems and it becomes a "robe
of responsibility" of one I welcome.

I love the growth and the progression of missions, you learn, you fall
and you grow. It is a very enlightening experience. Being someone
people can turn to in times of trouble and gloom isn't an easy call to
bear but it is one of solace and duty.

I'm also serving with another great companion, Elder Webb, Elder Webb
was actually in my EFY group and who would of thought all those year
later when we were together in 2008 that we would one day serve
together as the Zone Leader companionship in perhaps the most historic
sites of the Church in England, Liverpool; where the early prophets
and apostles first set foot on English ground, we are litterally
following the steps of great spiritual giants.

The fun thing is that I'm driving yet again, although having
stewardship of the Liverpool Zone and directing the missionary work
there is a great privilage. I get to here from the missionaries that
are serving on the Isle of Man and missionaries in St. Helens call us
everyday and update us on the status of the work there.

A great miracle has taken place recently, one of my investigaors that
I found on the Isle of Man is dated for Baptism tommorow. He is called
Rong Xin Zhou he is amazing, he also has a tremendous story! One day I
street contacted his parents and spoke to them in Chinese and they
said they were interested but would give us a call if they wanted to
learn more. They gave us a call a week later telling us hat there Son
would be interested. We have been teaching Rong Xin Zhou ever since,
he is the Miracle of my mission. I left the Isle of Man and he was
still being taught. He has read the Book of Mormon more than once
over, he even studied the Index! He studies the Chinese Gospel
Principles 2 hours everyday, he now has the Doctrince and Covenants
and the Pearl of Great Price in Chinese and he has gone to Church many
times, even attended General Conference.

He is the miracle of my mission, who would have thought, learning
Chinese 9 months ago would have resulted in a Baptism right now? God
has a vision of who we are and who we are to become. All we need to do
is to Go to work.

Another amazing this that has happened is that my trainee, Elder
Nicassio is Training! It is very rare and almost unheard of that a
missionary who has just finished being trained for three months will
train another missionary straight afterward. He is ready and prepared,
we have both created a legacy in the mission field and he will do
great things, I was just privilaged enough to train such a great
missionary.

When we get comfortable in the mission field, we know we have grown,
if I can lift 10kg comfortably there will be no progression in just
continuing to lift 10kg, however if I lift 15kg it will be hard at
first, but someday I will be able to lift 15kg comfortably and there
will be no progression in continuing to lift 15kg and thus we see that
this is how progression works. I came into the Bolton District, the
biggest District of missionaries in the Mission. They had 0 people
dated for Baptism. I left and they have 8 people dated for Baptism.
Throughout that Transfer it was painful ad hard, I grew and grew, I
was uncomfortable. Then I acted and got rid of it. Then I had no more
comfort zone. I had to be utilised to continue to grow and so I got
called as a Zone Leader, now the phone rings more often with questions
that these new missionaries have, with the problems that they want
solutions to, telling us, confiding in us of there struggles and we
are here.

This is growth "welcome to the discipleship of Jesus Christ!" I
welcome it with great joy.

Love,

Elder Sapaden

P.S sorry it was short I'l e-mail again on Monday

Weekly Update 01 October 2012

Hiya, duck.

This week has been quite wearing out, it has been a time of running, a time of reflection and remembring. I love the journey, when you look back on it all what you have done, who you have become. But you are just worn out. I wouldn't want it any other way, but everytime I manage to have a seat it seems that as soon as I close my eyes I just want to sleep, it's a strange state, I don't think I've ever been pushed to that limit/ capacity before but I welcome that feeling it is a great one!

I've really grown in a capacity of a district leader, I've grown so much, infact a word of celebration makes me full of joy. My district is currently preparing 9 souls for Baptism, we have been praying for each other, finding people to teach together and just strengthening each other through training and other means and it has worked out. We might be the highest "going to be" baptising district.

We have been spending a lot of time outside of Bolton due to my district leader resposibilities. We spend some time in Altrincham at the Mission Home as District Leaders to talk about the needs of the mission, I absolutely love the time I receive to litterally stand on the shoulders of giants. It's always a great spiritual experience.

We had a district meeting on the next day and even the mission president and the zone leaders came. It was the best district meeting I've ever given, the church is all about training, we help each other, or as Moroni 6 puts it we "Nourish" each other and help each other be perfected. Accepting the invitation to follow Christ is not the easiest one, it is an invitation do keep his commandments and become like him.

A highlight of my week was a comparison between Star Wars and the Gospel of Jesus Christ with one of our most progressing investigators, Ash, he is so great and just willing to learn, we came up with a few comparisons, my favourite one being the Force obviously is like God, in certain places we learn that he is all encompassing, in all things and through all things there is a huge comparison there but we extended it. To use the force one must be focused, concentrated on only the best of best and it can only be handled upon principles of righteousness, being like the Priesthood (D&C 121) It is something I know many would consider geeky, but for an investigator to create a means of understanding principles of the gospel through analogies is great, so the force and the priesthood. Amazing. He gave me a quote I would remember for a lifetime "mormons with lightsabers"

So, being worn out in the service of God is great, but it isn't fun being in one of the wettest parts of England and having holes in your shoes, I've "upgraded" I figured why not, my suits are old and my shoes are old, I found the best place in the world, it's called "Slaters" eloquently posh, at affordable Elder Sapaden prices. So good!

We had a lot of Less- Active members come to Church which was such a great event, I love it and it shows to me that no effort is wasted.

My little spiritual segment for today comes from Helaman 5 read it this week and ask yourself "why is it important to remember?" even you don't escape homework from the missionaries.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

(It is transfer Preparation Day, transfers is on Wednesday next week so don't expect an e-mail next Monday)

Weekly Update 24 September 2012

First, Some photos!

Behold, it came to pass that I, Elder Sapaden having had such a great week! Was taught from on high in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and blessed be the name of my God for it. And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received the things which have come to pass.

Hello!

If anyone knows where the scripture found on top has been paraphrased has come from, you are a true scriptorian, it's one of the few mentions of the work "wrestle" in the scriptures, I find it a very expressive and appropriate word for this week. Aswell the subject line means "tearing up the streets of Bolton" for those who don't speak spanish like myself.

What a great week it has been, it has been raining pretty much the whole week and our e-mailing on these computers have been accompanied by the gentle "pitter- patter" of the north west's orchestra of rain. As it lands on the ceiling of our local library. I don't know about you, but I am wet. Also strangely enough, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Also to those of the Staines Stake, I've been able to spend a lot of time around Elder Miranda. We are District Leader-Trainers in the same Stake, so we get to meet together often, we have swaped places, I'm in Bolton his previous area, and he is in my very first area, Rochdale. Also the line extends, we are both training missionaries who were MTC companions together. It's funny how missions work out.

This week we have taught many lessons again aswell, we have taught 24 lessons, Bolton is on fire, seriously, for my whole mission I've found it quite hard to teach more than teaching 20 lessons a week, usually about 15 or so, but since I've been here we haven't got anything lower that 20, we have also reached heights such as 34. if you are a companioship in this mission and you are teaching 20 lessons you are doing extrememly well, I was just meant to be here in Bolton at this time, it seriously feels that every step and everything we do here feels like we are acheiving destiny.

Something I love as a district leader is going on companion exchanges with missionaries in the district, I was able to spend a day with a new missionary that is being trained in the district called Elder Caleira from Portugal, he is great, that day we were able to teach 10 lessons, I love the faith that these new missionaries have, I brings me back to my first days of my mission in Rochdale working with the other missionaries because I was with a District Leader in Rochdale. I love it, missions really give an experience of the circle of life, you come into the mission field, not knowing anything, just knowing you are here to speak to people, half way through you know some stuff but not everything, you train, you become a "father" in a missionary sense as you show your trainee what he needs to do, and you inherit responsibilities and you direct and supervise and bless and encourage and then in a blink of an eye it's all over and you are home again.

I've been out on my mission for 15 months today and it just feels like I left home yesterday. In some ways it feels like I've done this forever, it's just what I do day in and day out, and in other ways it just feels like I've just begun.

We had Zone Conference this week, I love getting together with all the other missionaries and just talking to all of them and growing and working together. I've attatched a picture of Elder Miranda and myself and our two trainees (Elder Bytheway and Elder Nicassio) they have such great potential they are going to become great leaders in this mission someday.

A highlight of my week has been teaching a lesson in Spanish, obviously I wasn't able to understand everything, but I got to just stop and pause and watch Elder Nicassio teach. I've never felt more proud as a trainer, I saw his teaching skills, I saw myself in him, somethings I did that he is doing. I saw his ability to ask questions, to bear testimony, to be sincere and genuine, to listen and to be silent, I was able to see him becoming a master teacher. A quality of a master teacher is the ability to use silience in your teaching, I saw him wait for our spanish speaking investigators to answer, he wasn't afraid of awkwardness or silence, he just waited and listened.

Yesterday was a great sunday, we experienced so much success and the ward just want to come fellowshipping our investigators this upcoming week!

Here is my little short spiritual thought I will leave you with to ponder and pray upon.

What is Success? Success isn't a "baptismal stastic" it isn't a "number" or being the highest teaching companionship in the mission. Success is facing trial after trial without losing enthusiasm.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 17 September 2012

Hello!

What a great week it has been for tremendous spiritual growth! I have loved and enjoyed many experiences I have had, I know as your ponder and search dilligently while you read this e-mail the Spirit of God will touch your heart, it will help you make some changes that you are striving to make, but perhaps you might not even be aware of it. Here is where it all matters though, these promises are real, the Holy Ghost will touch you - but only if you allow it to. Don't get in the way of the Spirit.

On a much lighter note, Bolton is a promised land of sorts, in the scriptures and in various other places we are told "you are a people of inheritance" like any good parent he or she would want us to gain the most in this life. To gain what he/ she has and to become what he/ she is. Our Heavenly Father wants the same for us the attitude he has is "I want you to be who I am, do gain what I have, I want you to give you this power and ability but I can't I can show you how to gain who I am and what I have, but I cannot do it for you" It is an attitude of a great parent and a desire for us to achieve our full potential as Children of the Most High but we need to be Obedient. We need to be perfect like we are commanded to, however as human beings the only thing that we are perfect at is making mistakes.

That's why he is called the "finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) because we do all that we can and we trust in him to do the rest. Our trust in God dictates the blessings we receive, Hope in an abiding trust that we have that God will fulfill his promises to us. Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." The amount of trust you have in him dictates the amount of success you will receive as a person in the world we live in.

If I could as a humble servant of Jesus Christ and as his representative exhort you all to do one thing, It would be to trust him, because he trusts us. It is something that has changed my mission, it is something that has helped me see the success I've experienced, trust is a powerful word, it presents the idea of a binding hope we have in a parent that loves us and give us the freedom to choose to make mistakes but to pick up ourselves when we do fall.

Something that I am guilty of myself is saying "I'm having a bad day" a bad day is only a perception that we have to decribe being in a state where we are the closest to God and being in a state where he is able to bless us. Thus consequently I don't have any more "Bad Days" I have Good days, and I have Great Days, Good is the enemy to Great. Somedays are hard and we frequently receive opposition by nature of this work, but we determine the promised blessings that will come only on how we "act" instead of "react" in those situations. Reacting takes away our agency, Acting unlimits our potential.

This week has been a tremendous week, I like to think I became more of a district leader this week, God qualifies those who he calls. I've truely experienced something fun, our efforts have been reflected in not only the Bolton Area but throughout the District, I spent a lot of time away from Bolton, but it was all worth it, in Whitefield they now have 2 people with Baptismal Dates.

I've become too much of a bold missionary recently. A few days ago I met some drunks and started talking to them, without hesitation I found myself asking them "why are you so ignorant?" "why are you so hard in your hearts?" questions that Jared Sapaden would have never asked, but questions that just flow naturally from Elder Sapaden. It's scary the confidence I've gained during my mission, it makes me feel nothing is impossible and that if the Holy Ghost prompts me to do anything - I will not hesitate to follow that prompting, when we get rid of our fears; faith is able to prevail. If the Holy Ghost told me to tell someone "why are you dragging your own soul to hell? repent and stop sinning - it's disgusting" I would. It's a strong feeling knowing that God is with you, those drunk people felt rebuked they left and they shrunk hopefully it touched their hearts and stopping in their own iniquity.

Although don't think I'm a trigger happy missionary, the Holy Ghost does not overide common sense and it certainly does not replace our ability to think to reason for ourselves. I'm not arrogant enough to say I am without fear, but it is a goal of mine by the end of my mission to have none, to be able to be a vessel that has the ability to do anything. Even if Jared tells me he is scared. A lesson that I have come to know so much is that when we limit ourselves, we limit our potential.

We are teaching many, we had an investigator at Church yesterday called Kakoko, we are still having great success and things that were once hard has become normal, I love growth! You look back at the journey you've made and it looks scenic at the height you've reached, you pick up a weight you felt was once heavy is now light. Growth is the reason we were put here, it is the whole reason to the plan, it is what we do and who we are. I am very aware that this is a longer e-mail than I usually send, please ponder, pray for the direction you need and he will give it to you, as long as you do not get in the way of that answer.

I love you all!

Elder Sapaden.

Weekly Update 10 September 2012

Hello!

First,

Enjoy, some pictures recently.

 

Me and my companion and just a rare opportunity to get the Ukulele out.

 

 

Well, what a week it has been, Bolton yet still proves to be a land of miracles. I have had one of the most successful weeks of my mission, perhaps even the most successful. We are easily one of the Highest teaching companionships in the whole mission, perhaps one of the highest in the Country. We had 34 lessons this week, it really makes me count my blessings, we have had 12 new investigators and many of them are very easily receptive to Baptism and a few of them have commited to Baptism.

We had 2 investigators at Sacrament Meeting, it is one of the greatest weeks I've had especially with being balanced in all the activities we have done. We taught a lot of lessons to investigators, we had 25 investigator lessons and we even mangaged to help with Less- Active work this week. But our week had been more than just high numbers we have had a lot of personal growth and I've been able to bless and strengthen many members of my District, I've enjoyed in my younger days as a missionary going on exchange with my District Leader and learning from them and their example, hopefully I can just live up to those same memories I had and set that example as their District Leader.

We are teaching a lot of people from Tanzania, we are teaching two families who have the desire to follow Jesus Christ, we are using our resouces such a French missionaries. It is such an exciting time, I love teaching African Families they really create a great atmosphere. It's a fun, friendly and inviting one.

A fun concept that we having been applying is something called "Celestial Days" we have been measuring the rate of success of our days with different events and if we achieve a certain number of the activities/ events we have a Celestial day. You aren't doing missionary work right, if you aren't having fun.

I've updated a lot of my Mormon.org profile, you all need to take a look at it, it is: mormon.org/me/87DG

My missionary work just went online!

I did a Musical Item this Sunday, it was my second sunday in the Bolton ward, it was just right. Their is a professional singer in the Bolton ward and we worked together and it was really good. Growing relationships with members is something that I love doing! It is really fun and I just love how we work together and create something magical.

I was focusing a lot on my feelings this week, being on my mission reminds me of how babies are, they can vary emotions very quickly, laughing one moment, crying the next, scream and shouting another but very content all at the same time. That's how I've been these past few days, I love missionary work, you grow, you stretch, you learn. It's not easy but it's possible.

I love you all!

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 03 September 2012

Elder Sapaden...es un missionero que habia en español?

 

Hello!

 

Well I only e-mailed you all last on Thursday and in normal human time not much could have happened, but in standard missionary time, so many thing have happened it is incredible. My first week in Bolton has been one of the best weeks of my mission, I've had so much fun and we have just accomplised so much! It started off slower, there was a lot I had to get used to including training, being on busses again, having a HUGE district and a whole new ward and area, I knew the Isle of Man like the back of my hand, but here in Bolton... it's a huge area that I still have to get used to, a success comes from being able to lead myself back home, I now know where home is at.

 

So we have just had great success we have just been so blessed, it was my first week here and everything just fell into place, me and my companion worked hard and we even hit new standard of work and it only been less than 5 days since I came here. We taught 20 lessons this week, set up more than 40 appointments to see people, taught about 10 lessons on-the-spot. My trainee Elder  Nicassio is just pretty much at normal missionary standard if not better, he is already managing to speak to everyone when we get on to the Bus. We gave away about 7 Book or Mormons in 3 days.

 

About the Subject line... I'm learning Spanish! Everyday we have to do Language study, I'm trying to teach Elder Nicassio about England as much as possible and to speak the best English, so he is teaching me Spanish so he can learn from me and I can learn from him.

 

Church was great yesterday! I really enjoyed it. The Bolton ward is very different to the Isle of Man ward, we have a multitude of Hugarian/ Czech/ Slovakian members, I love it, we have a few African members and the rest is english, Bolton is so diverse, there are areas in our ward boundaries if you go to you will not see any english people, it is definately intense.

 

It was my first Sunday and they fell in love with me already, we had a lot of great things happen, I was already glued into the ward because I came out with a missionary who was in the MTC with me who was from Bolton, aswell Elder Miranda has served here aswell for about 6 months, so it was just an instant connection and the fact I played piano for them immediately got us on a very friendly basis. This was the highlight of my Sunday: they loved my piano playing so much, it was my first Sunday in Bolton they already asked me to do a musical item next week, isn't that amazing?

 

3/4 companionships in my District are training, we have quite a few new missionaries in the District and they are great, I don't know what it is about the new missionaries but they just have such great faith! Well tommorow is going to be my first time to present a training to such as big district as it is, 5 companionships, 6 when the Zone Leaders come to District meeting and one thing I love is that I'm so close to Rochdale. Leaving my first area Rochdale was just as hard if not harder than leaving home. I'll be able to go to Rochdale atleast 3 times this Transfer so I am so excited!

 

Love you all!

 

Elder Sapaden