It Was Christmas

Dear all,

Boxing Day again. Luckily, I did not lose my wallet this year, and will actually be able to buy cheap stuff. 

Yesterday was Christmas. We ate a lot of food. We spent the morning with the Filipinos to call home, and then they fed us lunch. After that, through a slight planing error, we ate lunch again with a Nigerian member, then we had an actually Christmas dinner with the Evans, a senior couple in our ward. It was a wonderful day overall.

Also, the day before, Brother Da Rocha, a professional chef in the ward, threw a big Christmas party for anyone that didn't have anywhere else to go. We invited Sister Jung (the Korean lady) and her two kids, and RJ (a young man we work with). We ate a ton of food, and then Sister Jung gave us kimchi pancakes to take home. So much food.

Anyway, that's it for me. Elder Burton and I are going to do something interesting today, and buy some stuff. It's gonna be good.

Love you all,

Elder Hadden

Elder Burton and I took a walk to Mt. Royal the other day while doing companionship study. Here are some pictures. I especially like the one of the Olympic stadium

Christmas Dinner

Dear Brother and Sister Hadden,

We had your son, Elder Hadden, and his companion, Elder Burton, over to our home for dinner today,and had a delightful visit with them.

We were so pleased to hear that they had gone to school together in the 4th grade and were best friends then.  Obviously, this is not a coincidence!

Your son and his companion are doing a great job here in Montreal and we are so grateful to be around and associate with them.

Here is a picture that we took with us and them after dinner.

Thanks,

Elder and Sister Evans

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Hello Elder and Sister Evans!

Thank you so much for the picture, and for feeding our son!  (Aren't boys always hungry?  He was eating when we talked to him this morning. )

Merry Christmas!

Sister Rose Hadden 

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Sister Hadden,

Yes, they told us where they had been today and what they had eaten!

I'm afraid I did the same thing on my mission so many years ago!

We wish you the best in the coming year,

Elder and Sister Evans

I didn't get a new companion . . .

Dear all, 

Transfers happened this week. Elder Blinn left on his long journey back home to the Maritimes yesterday, and I got my new companion, who's actually just my old companion. I'm back with Elder Burton, this time in Montreal instead of Ottawa. We're both still in the very exciting Montreal ward with the same group of Filipinos, Americans, Nigerians, and a Canadian every once in a while. I'm honestly pretty excited about this transfer. 

Even better, Elder Burton is district leader, leaving me free from the worries of being a district leader for the APs. I really, really did not want to deal with that kind of wonderful mission drama. 

Interestingly, right before Elder Blinn left, we made contact with a Chinese less active in the Montreal ward. She's from China and speaks Chinese better than English, but she was baptized before the Mandarin branch existed, and then never switched over. So she's on our ward list, and technically our responsibility, and now we have two Chinese missionaries to teach her. It's great how that worked out. 

Also, if you remember the Nigerian member Elder Blinn and I found a few weeks ago at the Christmas concert, she has apparently been sharing the gospel with all of her friends in the refugee shelter. She's brought a ton of other refugees to meet with the sister missionaries. The sisters are very excited. 

That's all for me. Elder Burton and I have an exciting appointment at the Canadian Architecture Museum this afternoon, so we need to get going. 

Love you all,

Elder Hadden

Glenn Barrett Letter

Elder Hadden,

Center Ward members wish you a Merry Christmas.  It is cold outside with snow on the ground, so it looks like Christmas time.  President David Stokes, our Elders Quorum President, asked us to write to you and Elder Abrath.

I hope your Mandarin Chinese language speaking is going well.  I am still on the High Council.  I'm glad I got to conduct your Elder's ordination in your home.  I have kidded with the Roger's girl (I forget her first name.  Daughter of Brad and Sarah.) about you, and finding out how you are doing.  

Your Mom gave a good testimony about her trying to finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year.  I bet being named after a Book of Mormon warrior has its rewards.  You are reminded of faithfulness in the Book of Mormon.  Your Dad is back in scouting with the 11 year olds.

He was at Mutual, but no 11 year olds showed up.

A mission is very rewarding.  It really is quite an amazing experience, serving the Lord full time.  Enjoy it while you can.

Glenn Barrett

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Good to hear from you! It's nice to know that you all still remember me back home.

Merry Christmas,

Elder Hadden

The Christmas Concert

Dear all,

I thought of a good story this week.

The other day we were riding the metro home for the night. We ran into a Nigerian lady and her young daughter who had just arrived in Montreal and were trying to find their way back to the refugee shelter by McGill University. Since we live right by there, we rode the metro with her and walked her most of the way to where she needed to go. We told her we were missionaries and that we work with a lot of Nigerians who have just immigrated to Canada, and we got her contact info so we could pass her off to the sisters for them to teach her. 

Before we passed her off, we decided to invite her to the stake Christmas concert on Saturday. The day of, she said she would be coming down, but it took her a very long time to find the church. She showed up about an hour late with a friend (also a Nigerian lady) from the shelter. It turns out, her friend was actually a long time member in Nigeria and she was super excited to find out that she met the missionaries. We told the member about the church schedule, and got the original lady in contact with the sister missionaries. We won't teach her, but it was cool to be where we needed to be.

Also, during the concert, I talked to the Korean member we're working with named Minae. She told me, in very broken English, about her conversion in Korea. Somewhere in the conversation, we started talking about Korean food, and she was impressed that I knew even anything at all about Korean food (thanks RoseE). She invited us over in a few weeks to have Kimchi Chige with her and her family since I said I really liked it. Also, she told me that my Chinese surname is the same as her kids'.

It was a great evening. It was good to be around so many people. 

In other news, transfer calls are this Saturday, and Elder Blinn is going home, so I will for sure be getting a new companion. Wish me luck!

Love you all,

Elder Hadden


Chinese surname - when asked what his Chinese surname actually is, Elder Hadden responded:  "Han. 韓 It literally means 'Korea'.  Korean names can all be translated directly into Chinese. As far as I know, Chinese was pretty much the only writing system in Asia way back when, so most other Asian languages have very strong ties to Chinese."

In the event that no Canada family invited Elders Hadden and Blinn to share Thanksgiving dinner, sister Cat sent Elder Hadden a gift card.  They finally used it for dinner, just way after Thanksgiving.  

No, it's not Chinese stir-fry of some kind.  It's poutine, with every kind of meat.  Kinda of a poutine zoo.

Lunch with Cedric

Cedric de Concordia took Elders Hadden and Blinn out for lunch . . . recently.  They had Vietnamese sandwiches in a Vietnamese cafe, and dessert in a patisserie francaise.  Cedric sent photos, bless him!

A Vietnamese sandwich called banh mi with Elder Blinn and Cedric.

Dessert in a French patisserie!  

Old Port

Old Town Montreal

Dear all,

It has been a week. It's December now, so Light the World is in full swing. To kick off the month, Saturday was an international day of service. All 8 missionaries in our district went over to help a member of the ward clean their uncle's apartment. We spent probably about 4 hours with all of us there, scrubbing the walls, cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, and throwing junk away. It was a really small apartment, but there was plenty of work for all 8 of us. Pretty fun. Kinda gross. 

On Sunday, Brother Brao, the Filipino member we ate with a couple weeks ago, asked us to come and give the sacrament to another Filipino member (Brother De Guzman) in his building. Brother De Guzman has been having some health issues, so he hasn't been able to come to church for a while. Luckily, Brother Brao lives literally right next door, so he still gets the sacrament every week. He told us all about the history of the Philippines. He seemed super grateful to be able to have the sacrament even though he's unable to make it to church.

Afterwards, we helped Brother Brao put a bed together, and we ate dinner with him and another family. Filipinos are so much fun to be around. 

This weekend the Stake is putting on their annual Christmas concert. Last year I sang with the Mandarin Branch, but this year I think I'll just be watching. 

Love you all,

Elder Hadden

OH yeah, we went to old Port last week. Here are some pictures. 

Pont Jacques-Cartier

The oldest chapel in Montreal

The clock tower and the river

Super-bad picture of downtown

Light the World - During the Christmas season, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make a determined effort to follow Christ's example and find ways to share their time, love, and resources with those in need on a daily basis.