Elder Sam Hadfield - Alpine German Mission: May 2015

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Ludwigsburg - Week 1 - Goodbye Offenburg!


Elder Monson, Elder & Sister Hatch, Elder Hadfield - Goodbye, Offenburg!

First few days in Ludwigsburg have been great. I really enjoy this place. The ward is awesome. Almost half of the ward is primary age kids. They're fun. Elder Werner is from Cali, and he's been out for a little over a year now, he's 4 transfers older than I am. We get along great and we really enjoy each other. I like working with him, but it's slow. So ist es. Not many investigators right now, we're building from the bottom. We do have 1 that we're all teaching. She's getting baptized on the 13th of June. It'll feel like an overall win for the area. We live actually in Bietigheim-Bissingen which is a Stadtteil from Ludwigsburg and then the church is in Freiberg, which is another Stadtteil of Ludwigsburg. The other elders are in Ludwigsburg. It takes about 40 minutes-an hour to get to church. Lots of transportation. S-Bahns (street cars) everywhere. Stuttgart is right down the road. It's really pretty here and I enjoy it. That's about all I can tell you as of now. I'm doing great, no worries here. We're having a lot of fun, just got to pick up the area and the members will help us do that. Things are good here. Area is great, ward is amazing. Having a blast!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Goodbye, Offenburg! - Lahr / Offenburg - Week 18 - Hello Ludwigsburg!

Hey everybody!

We got transfer calls this week, and I'm out! Unbelievable. I'm headed to my 3rd area in my 6th transfer. That's not normal here at all. But, I'm going to Ludwigsburg, which is widely known as the best ward in the mission. I can't wait. It's going to be amazing and I'm so excited. I'll be in the suburbs from Stuttgart, so I'll get some work in a bigger city. Really cool stuff is happening. The mission is going great places. We had 11 baptisms this week as a mission, which is really awesome. As for our area, we taught 12 lessons this week (HUGE NUMBERS) and we really have some good things going, but I'll be out on Thursday. I have a lot I need to do today, but just a heads up, don't send anything to my old address until I give you the new one. (: I love you all. You're all amazing. Have a great week.

Elder Sam Hadfield


From Offenburg to Ludwigsburg GERMANY

Lahr / Offenburg - Week 17

May 10, 2015 - Mother's Day!

Skyping from an iPad owned by our senior couple, Elder and Sister Hatch. They are amazing and working so hard. We love our senior couples so much. Thanks for a great Skype. Hope you had a great Mothers Day. I love you! Sam

Monday, May 4, 2015

Lahr / Offenburg - Week 16

Friends and Family,

Wow. My heart is just overflowing this week. There's a lot on my mind. We set another baptismal date this week and this one is really solid. He's an amazing man, and he loves the Book of Mormon. I ran into him on the street this morning and he yelled, "HADFIELD!!!!" and came running at me with a bear hug. He's an all around great guy. (for those of you that get that inside joke).

I feel really blessed and I'm simply on cloud nine to be on a mission. A mission is the greatest blessing of my life. I've told everybody that I wanted to serve a mission since I was 8 or 9. That's of course true, but I could never have imagined the effects I would see in my life. Being on a mission has blessed me and affected my life more than I could ever have imagined. I have changed so much and I owe it to the miracle that I wear the name of Jesus Christ on my chest every day. The whole reason I'm writing this little tender portion here is because this Thursday, the 7th, will be the one year mark since I received the most important piece of mail I ever had received in my life. I remember it like yesterday. It was a B day at school and about halfway through the day I got a text from my mom saying it hadn't come in the mail. Bummer. We had a game against Orem that day that if we won, we would be in the state tournament. That game was one of the craziest baseball games I've ever played in in my life. It lasted long and we were playing through the rain and the snow. The game ended and my mom came up to me and told me it had come, in the neighbor's mailbox. We raced home to open it before mutual as a family. It was really tear jerking opening the piece of paper that I had waited for my whole life and that would change my life forever. As I ripped it open, it took me a while before I could see the paper. I read Alpine German-Speaking Mission. My dream had come true. For those of you that didn't know, this was my dream mission since I was 12 years old or so. I remember opening it again that night with friends and ward members. I remember the faces there and the feelings I had. The mission call goes on to say, "Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of Love among His children." That couldn't be more correct. I have experience greater joy than ever before. You don't need to drive in the game winning run or win the state championship to get your blood pumping. I remember the first time I invited someone to baptism, and that was more of a rush than being in the state championship game a few years ago. The mission is life changing, and I'll be forever grateful for it.

The next thing to address is Mother's Day, and I don't really know how to tie this in, but I'll try. My mom has been my #1 fan throughout my life. She's always been there. I can't describe the love I have for her. I was sitting in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and I popped open to one of my alltime favorite scriptures. Alma 56.

44 Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?
45 And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni,that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.
46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.
47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

56 But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength

My friends and family, I do not for a second doubt that my mother knew it. She always supported me when I went to battle and especially as I made the choice to serve. She's my hero, and I would do anything to become as Christlike a person as my mom is. I was thinking about it yesterday, and I'm waiting urgently for the day that my son or daughter can say the same thing. "I do not doubt my mother knew it." I'm so happy to be on a mission. The blessings this is bringing me may not be able to outnumber the blessings it is bringing my future family. What a miracle a mission is. I'm going to try to live my life right every day so that I can marry a woman who has no doubt that it's true, and shows the light of Christ in everything she does. Thanks for your example, Mom. I don't doubt that you knew it. I love you!

Elder Sam Hadfield

Friedrichstrasse 26

77654 Offenburg

Germany

Elder & Sister Bednar's Visit - April 25, 2015


Alpine German-Speaking Missionaries on their way to Mission Conference with Elder Bednar

Elder & Sister Bednar / Elder and President Kohler

The Bednar and Kohler Families

Elder Bednar Addressing the Missionaries


Goodbye!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Lahr / Offenburg - Week 15

Hey Everybody!

This week has been awesome. We've been getting some work done and I'm really pleased with the way things are moving forward. Things are looking great!

Elder Bednar came this week for those that didn't know and he delivered an amazing, absolutely outstanding message. I loved it so much. The whole meeting was about our calling as missionaries and what we can do better to bring the work forward. I need some time to sort thoughts and what not, but very basically, I'd like to share one thing he said that struck me pretty hard.

He was talking about agency and he said,

"We have so many people in the world today who say, 'I have my agency, I can do what I want.' As a member of the church, that is wrong. Your agency is not given you to choose, but to choose righteously." He goes on, "When we make covenants, our agency becomes changed. We no longer have the choice to do what we please. We are tied to sacred promises we have made to our Heavenly Father and although we CAN choose to break those, it's not really a choice. We must hold on to the covenants we have made and that doesn't take away our agency in the end, but expands it to the furthest capacities."

It's true, what can I say. I don't really have words to follow up an apostle, so have a good week, and think about the covenants you have made, and use your agency wisely! (:

Elder Sam Hadfield

Friedrichstrasse 26

77654 Offenburg

Germany