Solothurn - Week 4

Hello Family and Friends,

I am currently writing to you in the train to visit the Matterhorn!! How cool is that? I am way excited. We got on a train at 6.22 to make it down there.

The Matterhorn

#SunsOutGunsOut

Eating Ethiopian Style!

Elder Harradine, Caddy - Elder Hadfield and A

Zermatt

Elders La Plant / Hadfield

The P-Day Group!

The Matterhorn

So this week has been seemingly spectacular. Let me give you the rundown. So on Tuesday, we had an Austausch and I got to work with Elder Seidl. It was way too much fun, we had a great time together. We stayed up until 2 in the morning telling stories from the MTC and from our missions. We had an awesome time together. I really like Elder Seidl.

On Wednesday, Elder Seidl and I rode to Basel because I had to play the organ at a funeral. It went well I guess, but it was honestly like a second PDay which was weird. After that we Tausched back and Elder Harradine and I taught a new family named M. They were so cool and we had a really good time getting to know them and setting up some good expectations and getting a return appointment. They are friends from some members. So that was really good.

On Thursday, we had an appointment with our ward mission leader in the morning. They always feed us pretty good to start off the day. Then we had an appointment with an Italian member who made us cake and we watched the Restoration with him. Then we had another appointment with Emmanuel, who has been a member for about 2 years now and is so solid in the gospel. He is really just awesome. That was really cool actually. Because it was Thursday night, which is the day before Karfreitag, we talked about the garden of Gethsemane with him and the Spirit was just really really powerful. It was so thick you could almost touch it.

On Friday, we went golfing with A and the family R. They are honestly the greatest family ever. The type that are special people who could potentially become the Bishops and Stake Presidents, but just need to accept the gospel first. We are so so so close to getting them to become new investigators. They even gave us a referral this week. So they are pretty close to getting to that point. We would just like it to come from a member rather than us at first. So, yeah we went GOLFING. I played so bad haha. I shot like a 45 or something. But it was great to be with them and realize that I actually can still swing a golf club. I have videos, but I will spare you all the pain of my horrible form. Hahaha. That night, we ate with their family.

On Saturday, we did our weekly planning, and taught M and his family. They are actually making really good progress and are great to work with. We are trying to coordinate with missionaries in Ethiopia to help the family understand better and make faster progress.

Sunday was also really good. We got a lot of candy from members, and had a great member appointment. The daughter brought her non member boyfriend who is from Ludwigsburg and it was fun to talk to him and actually fully understand someone. Hahah. No I'm kidding, the Swiss German is actually coming along quite well, I can understand a lot better than at first.

"The" Swiss Chocolate

So yup, things are great. I am loving Switzerland for the short time I have here. Elder Harradine and I are loving life and doing great work together. Thanks for all your prayers. Have a great week!

Bis zum nächsten Mal!

Elder Hadfield

Elder Sam Hadfield

Fritz-Kaeserstrasse 16

CH-4562 Biberist

Solothurn

Die Schweiz

Solothurn - Week 3

The Memories - Elder Hadfield & Elder Harradine - Solothurn, Switzerland

Liebe liebe Grüsse an euch alle!

Man, this transfer is flying by so fast. I can hardly believe it. Now we got Easter, General Conference, and Transfers in back to back to back weeks. We'll go for the 3peat and make them all good! 

This week has been pretty great. The sun has begun to shine down on us, and it's been warm finally. It's still relatively windy, but not too chilly. 

As for events from our week, we found a new investigator and set a baptism date with him in our first lesson. That was really good. His name is L from Cameroon. May 7 is the date. We'll get him down in that water. We had some really good appointments with members, and got 3 new referrals from members. They are really doing well for us. They're putting in work, which results in more work on our side of things which is really enjoyable. That's a pretty common theme. We go out and find people on our own, but only when we make that effort to go out and hit the streets, then the Lord throws us a bone with a member referral or a golden investigator. We can't expect to not work hard and be rewarded for it. Sometimes it seems pretty tricky that our work doesn't result in too much success, so we stop doing it, then everything falls apart, where as when we are doing our hard work on the streets, then we get the blessings through other people, like the members. I couldn't rave enough about the members here in Solothurn. They are fabulous. They do really well with us. I have already had about twice as many eating appointments in my 3 weeks here than in my 7 months in Munich. 

As for investigators and teaching opportunities, this week was kind of a letdown. We had 6 fallen out appointments which we confirmed just an hour or two before they happened. It was frustrating. We were still able to teach a ton of people, just not as many as we would have liked.

One of the coolest teaching experiences from the week was with the family we teach from Ethiopia where the father is a member since a year ago, and his family just got here. We were teaching very basically the Restoration and the role of the Book of Mormon as a part of it. We asked them if they would love to know if what we were telling them was true and they all nodded and said yes. So, we whipped out 5 Amharic Books, and they thought it was just Christmas. I have never before seen an 11 year old so excited to hold a Book of Mormon in my entire life. We couldn't hold their attention the rest of the lesson because all they wanted to do was read. The only thing really holding them back from getting baptized is the dad, who only allows us to come by 1 time every week, and wants us to take it slow and only teach things with his permission first. That could take a while, who knows. 

We also didn't get to play golf this week, but we are going on Friday with the dad and the olympic team son. We plan to run it like a business deal, where we take them out to play, and by the end, have them as new investigators. Hopefully. It might be embarrassing because I haven't touched a club in 18 months. I'll take pictures though.

Alright, everything is good with me. Hope you all enjoy your Easter. Check out the Follow Him/Hallelujah video online. It's pretty fantastic.

Love you all!

The Crew

Add caption

The Primary Kids

The Posters (We have 3 potentials from this already!)

The Landschaft

Chris from Munich!

"The Elder Hadfield Kick"

The Sunsets!

The Temple

Elder Sam Hadfield
Fritz-Kaeserstrasse 16

CH-4562 Biberist

Solothurn

Die Schweiz

Solothurn - Week 2

Helllllooooo Family and Friends! 

This has been another very busy week in the life of me! We are all quite busy and there is a lot going on in this area. This week we had 7 member appointments, seeing as we are in the biggest ward in Switzerland. There's not too much time for anything other than teaching and teaching members at appointments with them. We did fortunately find a lot of new people in between things this week on the buses and on streets, which was really good because we don't have too much time for it. Things really are very good though. 

On Tuesday, we got to be at the temple. It was so awesome. The first time in a year for me. We did a session there and the 6 of us missionaries just got to sit together in the celestial room at the end, which was just once again another really special experience for me. For me, there isn't anything much more powerful than missionaries coming together in the house of God and praying for the people they are working with.

Let me tell you about the people we are working with a little bit. We are teaching 5 families right now, which is every missionaries dream right? I have never taught a family before now. So it's all an experiment for me at this point. 

The family of M is a family from Ethiopia. He was baptized a few months ago and his family just got here to Switzerland. So they are experiencing some culture shock right now and trying to integrate. Things are very slow with them to make sure they understand and everything, but they are coming along very good. They live right next to us as well, so we have daily contact which is really important. The Mom is named A, the 16 year old daughter is F, 13 year old son B, and 11 year old H. 

The G family is awesome. The 13 year old son S runs the family because Dad is gone. S is the most mature kid I have ever seen. Since it is the culture there, he is in charge of the family and the mom just lets him run everything and he does a pretty good job. We are teaching the mom J, S, and his little sister R.

We teach the family A. I haven't met them yet, but I will this week. They're apparently very interested and ask really good questions. I am excited for that.

We teach as well the family R. This one is way cool and I'm pretty sure this is why I'm here in Solothurn. The son A, 13, is on the Swiss National Olympic Golf Team. Hahaha. He and I get along so well. They are friends with American members here and ask us some really good questions. No missionary has really connected with A yet. We went out last week and played billiards with them at a bowling alley to form a friendship and to start talking a little more. A and I just clicked so well. He loved hearing stories about the Masters and about meeting Bubba Watson and seeing all these big golfers. So, we are going golfing with them this week and I'm going to try and beat one of the Swiss Olympic Golf kids at a match play! How about that? We've totally got them, and they would be the best member family ever. 

We are going to start teaching a member referral family named the M's this week. They had been taught very poorly by missionaries before, but the family is ready to give it another shot and so we are up!

Isn't that just all wild? Feels quite crazy. I have stepped into a very very busy area and my head is still spinning trying to learn everything so quick and it's been really fun. 

We had mission tour this week with Elder Pilz of the 3rd quorum of the 70. It was really good. I won't share too much because I would like to use some of it at a later time. I got to play the piano though and that was a good experience.

Mission Tour with Elder Pilz

Well, man. Life is good. I'm happy and healthy. Just exhausted! I can also hardly wait to golf this week, so we will see how it goes and if we can pick up some new investigators! 

Alright, I'm out. I love you all. Have a great week. 

 

Elder Sam Hadfield

Fritz-Kaeserstrasse 16

CH-4562 Biberist

Solothurn

Die Schweiz

Solothurn - Week 1

Hello Switzerland!

Goodbye Munich!

Elder Hadfield & Fred

Hello all ya'll! 

WOW. I don't even know where to begin.

This week has been insane. So many goodbyes and hellos and long train rides and culture shock that my head is still spinning. I'm relatively exhausted I guess you could say. Things are great though.

Goodbyes were pretty difficult. Especially with the people I've taught and that have been baptized. Even the ones I had been currently teaching. Fwas a tough one to say goodbye too. He seemed pretty down until Elder Carr and I got him on a computer and registered him for a new email address so we can keep in touch. S was even harder. We met with her on Tuesday night and she made us food for the last time. We read D&C 18 with her, which just made me cry really hard. As we left, our Joint Teach Chris, a YSA, said, 'That's the best thing you can have. A New Convert wishing you the best of luck in your new area.' He was definitely right. I couldn't have asked for more. She wrote me a note and gave me a gift, which turned out to be a Bayern Munich jersey. HOLY COW. I love that woman. She's the miracle of my mission. But I do have to admit. I don't think she was the hardest goodbye. 

The hardest one easily by far was with Elder Carr. Man, I love that kid. He freaking cried at Bahnhof (okay maybe I started it) and we had to give each other our last bro hug. It broke my heart to get on that train and have it pull away. I cried and cried until we were past the city limits of Munich. That city has meant so much to me. It's a miracle for me that I got to serve there for the past 7 months with Elder Croft and Elder Carr. I've made life long friends, and memories I will never ever forget in Munich. Change sucks. That will make my parents laugh because they know how much I hate change. But sometimes it's really good for you. 

So the 4 and a half train ride from Munich to Zurich ensued. It was extremely beautiful. We went right through Bodensee and Landau, through the Alps, down into the beautiful rolling hills of Switzerland. It's amazing here. Everything is like an upgrade in beauty. Well, I got off the train in Zurich, and met Elder Harradine, my new comp, and Sister Tauche, who is also in the area. Elder Harradine is such a boss. We are doing great together. Sometimes it's really good to get a new companion so you can realize what you've been lacking on and enforce yourself to work towards new goals. Elder Harradine is about 6 months out now. He just seems very experienced though. He knows everybody in the big ward here in Solothurn. He's a smart missionary, very obedient, and goal oriented. Just way fun to work with. We are doing fabulous. 

So I mentioned the ward is huge. It is. I don't know exactly how big, because yesterday was Stake Conference. I met a ton of people from our ward though. We've had like 3 eating appts so far, it's so much different from Munich, where we hardly had an eating appointment with a member family in 7 months. Everything here revolves around the members, which is so different from anything I've ever done on my mission. So I'm learning how to do missionary work again. We have a great Ward Mission Leader, who follows up with us every night. 

So I mentioned a little culture shock. Switzerland is so completely different from Germany. I'm not sure I could explain it very well, but everything just feels, looks, and sounds way different. Everything is as expensive as crap. It's quite shocking to see how rich people actually are. Haha. The language is NOT German, I don't care what anybody tells you. I can't get a word of this Swiss-German yet. I've had a few people who I just stand and stare back at with my jaw dropped, wondering how in the world someone could make sense of what they just said. 

Anyways, things really are very good. I'm loving it so far. Living in a 2 man apartment is an adjustment for sure, but a good one. Stake Conference was so good yesterday. President Kearon came and was just his normal 'blow you away' self. He did such a good job, talked about letting things go through the Atonement in order to make progress in our area plan and moreover in our eternal progression. Everyone really enjoyed it. I've got some great impressions I had from it. 

Well. I've said too much. Nobody will read this because it's so long. Tomorrow will be one of the greatest days of my mission. I get to go to the temple again. After a year of not going. I'm so excited I can hardly contain it. I hope I never go another year in my life without visiting a temple. Speaking of the temple, here's a picture.

Bern Switzerland Temple

Solothurn

Elders Harradine & Hadfield

Love you all, make good choices this week. (:
Elder Hadfield

Elder Sam Hadfield

Fritz-Kaeserstrasse 16

CH-4562 Biberist

Solothurn

Die Schweiz

Week 28 - Goodbye, Munich!

Guten Morgen alle meine Lieben! 
Man, this has been a crazy fast paced week. Some of the weeks just fly right by you and you wonder where they were by the time they're gone. This week was definitely one of those! So just a quick update. I've now been in Munich for the past 7 months. This past week was transfer calls, and I'll be heading to my 5th area in my 13th transfer. I can hardly believe that it's been that many transfers! So, the question is.... What's happening to Elder Hadfield?? Well, I can give you all a picture as a hint.

Any guesses?? No....?
Alright, I'm headed to Solothurn in... Switzerland!!!!!! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. This will be the first time in over 5 years that American missionaries have been in Switzerland for more than 1 transfer. We are trying to kind of tear down this border with the government and the laws there. So, what's going to happen is I'll get a tourist visa, even though I'm not a tourist, and that's only valid for 90 days. So after 90 days, I have to get transferred again. For that reason, I have to go in with a train ticket for the day that I'm leaving, so I can show the government that I really am only staying 90 days. So after 2 transfers, I'll get transferred again. This makes it 3, 2 transfer areas thus far. But the exciting thing is that this will begin to tear down the weird kind of barrier we have in our mission with the European missionaries and American missionaries. So, a test group of about 5 or 6 of us are going in to see how it all works and to try it out, and if it all goes well, then they'll pull us out and initiate the plan where they mix all of the missionaries up instead of having this barrier in between us. It's totally awesome to be part of this test run. It's the talk everywhere right now among the members and missionaries. This was a process that President Kohler had to go through the Area Preisdency with, then the Quorum of the 12. So it's all a pretty legit deal. Going there with me will be Elder Killpack, Elder Howarth, Elder La Plant, Sister Baugh, and a couple others. So some of my best friends from the mission are headed in with me. I'll be working with Elder Harradine from England. It'll be kinda funky. I picked him up at the airport a few transfers ago when he first came into the mission, but I am SO excited to work with him. I've heard so many good things about him. The temple in Zollikofen will be part of my district, and thats where Elder Seidl from my MTC group is serving. I'm way pumped to see him and others again. This is going to be so much fun. The whole thing seems a little bit iffy and shady, but I think it's going to work just fine. It'll be great to try it out!
That being said, Elder Bybee is replacing me here in Munich, which I couldn't be happier about. There was a few options for replacements, and he was by far the best option for Elder Carr and for the ward. I'm so pumped for him. He's going to be way good here. I think the area is left in pretty great condition. Better than I've ever left an area before for sure.
I'm going to miss Elder Carr a ton. He and I have become absolute best friends. We are so ridiculously excited to hang out at home. He will be at BYU as well, so it'll be awesome.
I'll also really miss this Ward and the city of Munich. After my closing testimony yesterday in the ward there was a lot of old women crying, and S was just bawling and gave me a huge hug. I'm going to miss her a lot. She's the biggest miracle of my mission. No questions. It was such an awesome Sunday for a goodbye. I hate goodbyes more than anything, but I'm pretty sure leaving Munich is going to be harder than leaving home the first time. I'll probably be a mess at Bahnhof when I get on that 5 hour train ride to Switzerland. I've loved this place and grown more here than anywhere I think I have before in my whole life. It's been an AWESOME ride. I can't wait to come back to this city in the future.
Well other than that, investigators are doing great. D, S, and Y were all at church yesterday. We didn't have an extreme amount of time to work with them this week. We went on Austausch in Landshut and pumped up their area a little bit and visited their district meeting, then went out on a finding day back in Passau. I got to see my birth area one last time before I go. This little area of Bayern will have a special place in my heart forever. 

Old Passau

So it's a week of hard goodbyes and memory gathering. I'm excited for what the mission has to throw at me over in Switzerland. It's going to be the coolest ride ever. Super ready to pump it up!

Ich hab euch alle lieb, hoffe dass es euch gut geht. Schöne Woche, wählt das Recht!

Elder Hadfield (:

Elder Sam Hadfield

Fritz-Kaeserstrasse 16

CH-4562 Biberist

Solothurn 

Switzerland