Week 2 - England MTC

Hello All!!

I'm happy to hear from you guys, sounds like you're all doing well. Not as well as I'm doing of course, but well enough. (: I'm happy to be out here. I'm having so much fun learning new things. German comes pretty easily to me and that makes it easier to help others. I'm currently in an MTC with 30 missionaries. Yup. 30. Hahaha very small. But, I'm having a lot of fun. It's hard work but it's totally worth it. I'm having an absolute blast. My week was full of investigators and classwork. There's the story. But, on Sunday night, an Elder spilled a full glass of milk on my brand new blue suit.... (shhh don't tell mom)..... But, we worked hard together and with a long effort we got it out (for the most part). This morning we took a Church History Tour to some of the places President Gordon B. Hinckley walked and the houses he stayed in, and examined the beginning of the Church in Britain. It's awesome. The last few days have rained and poured, which has been nice for a change, because it's been so hot. (all the Europeans say its cold.... weirdos). Next week, our district will be the oldest missionaries in the MTC after having been here for less than 3 weeks, which I find kind of funny.

On Sunday, we talked in Sacrament Meeting about the Atonement and one of the sisters, (Sister Wilde from PG, maybe you know her) talked about the video from the Church last Easter 'Because of Him', and said 'Because of Him, you, you, and you, and he, she, we, and they will live forever. Because of Him there is no end.' Later that night we watched Elder Bednar's devotional 'The Character of Christ', and it was so special to talk about how Christ turns Out, when the rest of Us turn In. It's a helpful thing to realize on a mission. Last week, we had Elder Drieden of the Seventy come and talk to us, and he talked about Being a Great Missionary:In Whose Eyes? it was awesome.
My companion, Elder Edvinsson, met a Muslim guy on the plane on the way over and is teaching him over email about the Atonement and about Christ. It's really cool.
I'm grateful for all of you and the impact you have week in and week out on my life. I truly feel your prayers every time I struggle. I love you guys. I hope you feel Christ's love for you and that if everyone else in the world was perfect, He would still have suffered for you, because of that love. Remember, the Atonement is for everyone, but it is specifically for (atone)ME(nt).
I love you guys!
Elder Hadfield

Until October 26, 2014:

Elder Samuel Phillip Hadfield

Alpine German-Speaking Mission

England Missionary Training Centre

Temple Way

Chorley

Lancashire

ENGLAND PR6 7EQ

The above Picture is of the exact area where Heber C. Kimball and his fellow missionaries started preaching and the exact area also of where President Hinckley started his missionary experience where he was terrified and felt like he couldn't do it.

This above picture is of the spot where they Baptized the first converts in Britain and still baptize the converts to the church

The picture below is of the home President Hinckley was in when he received the letter from his father and fell down on his knees in prayer, committing himself to the work



This above picture is where Elder Holland, Elder Nelson, and Elder Ballard met Lord something or other and talked to him about the church and the significance of where he lived in comparison to the church. (They talked on the back steps, which you can see through the tree)

Elder Holland's tree, and the bump where he came to sit and ponder about which location should be the location of the temple. It overlooks Downham and the Pendleton Hill.



This first one is of all the sisters in our district. From left, Sister Gehrig (teacher), Sister Bishop in front, Sister Holleson in back, Sister Berry in front, and Sister van der Put in back.

These are homes in Downham, the one below in 1600s was a Methodist Pub hahaha

Here are the Elders in our district wearing our matching ties:

From left, Elder Adam, Elder Bybee, Elder Mateer, Elder Edvinsson, Me, Elder Seidl, Elder Weight, and Elder Henry

Week 1 - England MTC

Preston England Temple

Home countries for missionaries currently in the England Missionary Training Center

The pond behind the MTC

Sam's District

Elder Seidl from Slovakia, Elder Matter from England, Sister Bishop, Sister Berry, Sister Holleson from Sweden, and Sister van der Put from Holland, Elder Henry and Elder Adam are from Alpine, Elder Weight is from Provo, and Elder Bybee is from Idaho, and Elder Edvinsson from Sweden.

The sisters in Sam's District are from Colorado, Alaska, Sweden and Holland

The flags representing where England MTC missionaries will be serving

The MTC Office

The Heber C. Kimball Chapel
 We call the Chapel the Kimball Room because it was specifically dedicated to Heber C. Kimball, the first missionary to come overseas

Arrival in England

MTC Companion:  Elder Edvinsson from Sweden

I have to tell you a little about the England MTC. I walked in, and met every single person in the MTC in about 5-10 mins. There are 61 missionaries from 20 different countries. German Speaking, English Speaking (6 weeks for those learning English), and Greek speaking. About 20 Greek missionaries will leave next week and we'll be down to 40 missionaries from 17 countries. Tons of diversity.  I'm learning a lot of bits and pieces of Swedish, Slovak, Norwegian, Dutch, and tons of German. The England MTC would double really nicely as a small hotel. It is very very small. There's a pond in back as well as a nice view of the Preston skyline from our window in our room. The MTC is right next to the Preston Temple, which is very tiny, and beautiful. Our MTC is in a complex with a small visitors center, family history center, and distribution center.
I'm loving it here. I never want to leave. There's a special Spirit about this place. I've had times in my life where I've felt the Spirit a little bit, but every time it hits you here, its just like a slap in the face. WHAM. We've been way busy, my daily schedule is as follows, wake up, breakfast, study, Gospel lesson in German, Lesson on teaching in German, Study, Read Book of Mormon as a District, study, Lunch, Study, Language Study, Computer Language Tests, Study, Exercise, Dinner, Study, Teach Investigator in German, Bedtime. Crazy stuff. We're all learning German very fast, and I'm impressed with everyone's dedication. I now know how to pray, bear my testimony, share a scripture, invite to commitments, invite to baptism, and the missionary purpose in German.
Sunday came, and our district had sacrament responsibilities. They did awesome. But, we had lots of wonderful talks on obedience, in Priesthood meeting we talked about magnifying our calling and holding the Priesthood, then later we watched "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" and bam, Spirit. It was truly AMAZING. Later on, we watched Elder Bednar's Provo MTC Devotional Classic: How do I know if it's the Holy Ghost or me? It is fabulous. Watch it. Please. It's about 45 minutes long from when he starts speaking. The main point is that if you're good, every good thought comes from God.
I love working with Elder Edvinsson. He is absolutely hilarious. He is honestly the Swedish version of me. He speaks broken English but I can understand him. His stories are awesome. Last week, one thing we talked about really hit me hard. He asked how many youth were in my home ward, and I told him about 100 (I think that's right) and he told me that there's 100 members in his branch. Then, Elder Seidl told me that there's 100 members in his country. I always took for granted how blessed I was growing up with great priesthood brethren and an outstanding young womens organization. I was so blessed with great leaders...
     Faith is the Power
     Obedience is the Price
     Love is the Motive
     The Spirit is the Key
     Christ is the Reason

Alles Gute,

Bis Spater

Elder Hadfield