Weekly Update 14 January 2013

Hi!

One of the first things we did here in Runcorn was buy a new frying pan, I made such a mean Stir- Fry this week, it was pretty incredible. This week has flown by. It started snowhing yesterday night, Runcorn is such a cold place, but I absolutely love it! This week was my first time on a Bike in such a long time. I got to go to an area called Wrexham for a little exchange, they don't usually use Bicycles that ofter, but I got them to dig them out so I we could go Bike contacting, it was a very new experience, talking to people on Bikes, pretty effective, I think. However, I was extra worn out at the end of the day. Instead of running to people it was only a case of pedaling faster, but I'm glad to be back here in Runcorn.

Time goes by so quick, my companion only has a month left to the day of his mission. Elder Corbin is a work horse, he is super motivated to work his best as the days count down for him. We are preparing a training for the Zone on Wednesday, we are going to achieve a new height, we are preparing them for a new activity that I've never seen in the mission field my whole mission. We are going to have a Chester Zone Book of Mormon placing day. We are going to aim as the Chester Zone to sincerely give out two boxes (about 80) Book of Mormons on Saturday. It is an exciting experiment.

A principle that I have been able to see work very effectively in my missionary work is economical finding. I love having a Sat- Nav. On my Sat- Nav, I put the whole ward list, practically our whole area book which includes: former investigators, our current teaching pool, part member families. So whenever we are in an area, we have more than about 5 "pins" to try- by including speaking to everyone on the way to each pin. It is the more excellent way, hopefully I will be able to teach as many missionaries this principle. If you can use your time wisely as a missionary, you have mastered each principle of serving a mission. Something I've learnt whilst applying this is that, Heavenly Father can help you the best when you have a direction, then he can place people in your path, rather than planning "lets go to speak to people in this general area" it is the more excellent way. We have a few investigators that have told us that they want to be Baptised, being a more experienced missionary I feel that I have definately been polished and able to more fully help these individuals we work with.

Here in Runcorn the ward functions pretty well, we have a reach out night every week with the missionaries where two different Priesthood holders go out on Exchanges with us. It shows a really willingness and motivation to bring those who have perhaps been lost back to the light of the gospel, we had a few people attend this sunday as a consequent visit from these efforts. Yesterday was also another very good day, we had a "missionary themed sacrament meeting" where Elder Corbin and myself gave a talk aswell as our Ward Mission Leader, we got the ward fired up for missionary work, the great thing is that the missionaries previous had Bicycles but now it is the Zone Leader area, so we get to travel out to areas where they couldn't get out to, we were working out in the Countryside this week, it was so pretty and also of people stopped to talk, much different to normal cities/ towns where people are caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping and distractions.

I had a little bit of an epitome this week; a mission does not change a person; a person changes a person but a mission helps to do that. I was thinking about who I was becoming, a lot of others would say someone that was the polar opposite of who I was when I came out on a mission. I wouldn't know what to say but, I don't think what I was and who I am now are comparable. Change, it's a funny principle.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 07 January 2013

Hi!

Runcorn is quite the interesting place. I've grown to love it. It is very different to Chester, it is known to be one of the more Rowdy areas in the mission, but I embrace it with open arms. Life seems to be a bit more stressful, moving into a new area with no investigators, getting used to the area and the conditions. In Runcorn we have to budget our electricity/ water and gas. I've never been in a flat that we have to do this, it teaches me a lot of life skills. I've never dealt withi things like this before and I never thought I would have to. I'm sure I'll get used to it but it is a very unique experience.

We had a great week in terms of missionary work, we Baptised! We travelled back to Chester for Saturday, we had a great time their trying to pick up and organise the Baptism because we weren't the missionaries responsible for the area, but it needed to be done. Life is good! Success is very hard to gauge sometimes, especially as a missionary. The Runcorn ward are very excited to have us. It seems that in every prayer uttered on Sunday in that Chapel mentioned us, many of the testimonies were centered around missionary work, our introduction to the ward was very exciting and thrilling. They even invited us to talk in Sacrament meeting this Sunday. Someone even got up to bear there testimony on how they needed to feed the missionaries more. I love this ward... and consequently we have a full week of Tea- appointments, I really haven't had a full week of Tea appointments since St. Helens. By the way St. Helens is only about 5 miles away, so it is very close within the whole Liverpool area. Logically I think that anything that gets closer to Liverpool is naturally better.

Transfers have filled the Chester Zone with Life, I love the missionaries that are in the Zone and we are gathering together on Tuesday, I'm really excited, we had an increase in Sister missionaries, which was amazing because they always bring a great spirit and a new increase in faith, they always teach a lot. We haven't got chased down the road by any hooligans so my luck seems to be proving well so far.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 03 January 2013

Hi!

 

Well, No one would have thought I would be bouncing around the mission this fast. I've been have too many 6 week areas. Now I am in Runcorn, it is a good place. It is by the River Mersey again. I have spent so much time in these Liverpool areas. This mission thing is going so quick. I am back in England again it is a good feeling. What was pretty funny is I went on exchanges with another mission to Runcorn just before transfers happened and I wanted to serve here, I was with another missionary visiting some of their investigators and members. I loved it, when we found out I was moving to Runcorn I was actually in Runcorn still.

 

I really do miss Chester, we had a few baptisms lined up but that is okay, the great thing is Sister Missionaries took us out of Chester and there are Sisters in Chester currently. We had an extremely good new year in Chester, we spent time with some great members. My favourite part was having Japanese food on New Years eve. It was quite a new experience and I loved it. I'm sad to say bye to the Chester ward, especially the members, they were amazing. It was good just being around them. I have a new Disney favourite, it's called Tangled, best film ever. Watching films on New Years was weird, it was like a million years since I've seen any films. My companion and I seemed to laugh at anything and everything... you could definately tell it has been a while.

 

Driving yesterday was crazy, we are Whitewashing, so we had to move all our stuff and clean our flat super nice because Sister Missionaries were coming in we had driven about 200 miles yesterday, it was really intense doing all that driving.

 

Well... I'll be e-mailing on Monday again. but just a piece of information the address for the Mission Office has changed:

 

England Manchester Mission

Springwood, Suite G5,

Chelford Road,

Knutsford, Cheshire,

WA16 8GS

 

With Love,

 

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 27 December 2012

Hi!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, it was great here. Christmas
as a missionary is such a great experience, people are much more
friendly and you can almost taste Christmas in the air.

We went caroling with the Chester ward this week and it is really fun
to be with the member at Christmas, doing those fun things with them.
Our investigators are doing great aswell, we are preparing ourselves
for a Baptism here in the Chester Ward and I am very excited for the
things that are awaiting us in the new year.

In Chester on Christmas Day, we even had a little bit of a carol
service and got together as members and exchanged presents, we just
had a really good time. I didn't think I would ever say this but, I
actually think we have too much Chocolate for me and my companion to
handle, we are on a Chocolate overload, chocolate treats for
breakfast, chocolate for desserts and chocolate for snacks. We are
trying to get rid of it as soon as possible, my New years resolution
is to get back into weightlifting for my last 6 months of my mission
in preparation to hit it big when I get home.

It is transfers on the 2nd of January, who knows what will happen.
This transfer has just flown by, it is unreal how fas this mission
thing is going. I will be a missionary forever, long after I actually
get released from this full- time calling, too many of us view
conversion as a one time experience. Many people say "It happened on
such and such a date" But true and lasting conversion comes from doing
and acting, conversion lasts forever and so will my mission.

I am personaally excited for this new year, I am excited for the
Changes that I am going to make, for the things that will happen
during these 6 months I have left and for the effects that my mission
will have when I return.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 17 December 2012

 A picture of me,

 

I just wanted to show you how good of a cook I have become. Seriously I could become a chef someday.

 

 

Hello!

Missionary life is all about adventure after adventure. Sometimes
missionaries definately overplay the thing that happen to them on
their missions, but this week was filled with moments that could have
went horribly wrong, times where my whole life flashed before my eyes
were on the increase. I have a strong testimony that I have guardian
angels.

Wales is a good country, it is filled with scenary, sunsets and sheep.
I love it! One of our investigators is a walking miracle. She is
perhaps the best investigator I've ever taught, she has been smoking
every hour since she was 13, she had a lot of trials growing up we
gave her a Priesthood blessing this week and she hasn't reverted to
the cigarettes since. What a miracle.

Much of this week has been helping the missionaries around us fulfill
their potential. It has been exciting, I've never spent so much time
on my mission driving around seeking to do one thing after another.
Some people may find happiness in the journey, a whole day where there
is always something to do, it also feels that sometimes there is no
room to breathe, but I prefer it this way, it seems that I wake up and
sleep and it goes so quick.

I spent some time with a younger missionary from Tenesee he had one of
those accents where you want him to say such things as "Life is like a
box of Chocolates" I love these moments of training and guidance where
you get to pause for a short while and remember what it is all about.
We learnt the lesson together, a lesson I learnt long ago on my
mission but tend to forget sometimes. Missionary work is fun, if not
then you are doing it wrong.

The Chester Ward is such a good ward, I really do like it here.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

"Count your blessings, but more importantly... make your blessings count"

Weekly Update 10 December 2012

Hello!

I seem to be at the point of my mission where things seem to be
jolting forward at an aggressively violent pace. It is going too
quick. The Chester Ward is amazing! I love it here and Christmas here
is going to be fantastic.

The other day I was in Birkenhead, it was another exchange with a
different missionary. It was weird... we had to travel through
Liverpool to get there, it used a train line similar to the Tube in
London. Going through back to my old proselyting area was interesting,
It brought back memories of unsurity, of newness and of joy. I was
such a new missionary when I went to St. Helens through Liverpool.
Liverpool is definately one of my favourite places ever. It kind of
took me back to the days when I had little responsibility of
missionary leadership, those were days never to be forgotten.

I got back to Chester on Thursday and it was welcoming, we were
teaching a lot. A important lesson is one I learnt of repentance. The
way we teach the principle of repentance as missionaries needs to be
very sensitive, it needs to be backed up by the spirit and done in a
loving caring manner. Ultimately the best way to teach repentance is
highlighting the joy of forgiveness. Many a time this week we had been
around people who haven't made the best of choices. Infact it reminded
me of our call and duty to emulate Jesus Christ, the people he was
around were perhaps not the most wise in their choices. He was around
publicans, hypocrits, harlots and many other people who had commited
sin in various forms.

He came not to call the perfect, but he came for those who needed to
become penitent, we are told, the whole need no physician. Those are
exactly who we spent time with this week. It is an eye opener, perhaps
as missionaries we aren't the most familiar with what is in the world,
we try empathise but that empathy falls short because we haven't been
through what they have been through. But the amazing thing is that the
grace of Jesus Christ is sufficent for everyone who had a broken heart
and a contrite spirit. When we speak to those who have particularly
been involved with those more serious sins, the transforming power of
the Atonement reaches out to the individual.

I came up with the "I'm not perfect" principal, what do people see
when they see missionaries? Some may see our perfectly tied ties, our
spotless white shirts, my hair that I still spend 10 minutes to
perfection and people get intimidated. It is so intimidating when
missionaries who exalt themselves talk to those investigators that are
abased. Vital to helping them is helping them realise we are just as
human as they are, while respecting the confidence of our power and
authority contained within our call.

It is something that has changed my mission forever. During King
Benjamins sermon the people had viewed themselves in a carnal state,
even lower than the dust of the earth. I want you to all know that I
am human, I make mistakes far greater than perhaps some of our
investigators but the healing power of the Atonement is transforming,
more transforming than any "10 minute makeover", more transforming
than the day and the night, it is viewing a difference perspective of
ourselves, the world and God.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden

Weekly Update 03 December 2012

Photos first :)
More sheep than people!

More of Wales

More of Me and Elder Corbin

 Well, there is a picture of me today, and some pretty pictures of Wales.

Hi!

It has been another very interesting week. It has been quite cold here
in Chester. This week we have been moving around a lot, one of the
things we do often is to exchange with other missionaries, I went to a
place called Porthmadog in Northern Wales and Elder Corbin went to
Wrexham. Porthmadog was quite intense, it was one of those places
where there were more sheep than people, it was very scenic and it
comes close to how pretty the Isle of Man is, it was very fun there.
It is probably the furthest away area in the mission (excluding the
Isle of Man) it takes perhaps more than 3 hours from Manchester, but
it was so worth it.

The work here in Chester itself is amazing! We have an investigator
Dated for Baptism and we have many other investigators working toward
Baptism, the future in Chester looks bright. Plus we have a good ward
here and spending Christmas here as a missionary is going to be
Celestial.

We have had a lot of fun this week and working with other missionaries
is great. Here in the Chester Ward we are very integrated into the
ward as missionaries, we are even part of a ward Nativity, we are
dressed up as Shepards and it is going to be fun.

Something I've been thinking about is the importance of personal
revelation in the mission field. Many times missionary leader try to
teach the importance of a principle to another missionary. It goes in
one ear and out the other. The best teaching is "caught" rather than
"taught", however even those various methods of teaching will not
work. The same with our investigators we try to help them gain the
vision that we have with them. I feel that the most common mistake
other see in missionaries is that the missionaries "convert"

The missionaries themselves do not "convert" rather we teach for
conversion. So how do we do that? Well... we cultivate and nourish an
environment for personal revelation, they do the converting be we
teach to be converted. It led me to this wonderful thought "The best
lessons a missionary can learn are the lessons he or she learns on his
or her knees." When we make the best guesses or even the most logical
or argumentative debates, if we are seeking our own will, then it is
not Gods will. Revelation is the key to the Celestial Kingdom.

With Love,

Elder Sapaden