Exchanges and FHE

Dear all,

It's been another normal week. More visits. More Filipino food. 

We went on exchanges with the APs this week. I was with Elder Smith again, but this time in their area. They have the same area as us, so it wasn't that exciting, but I did get to spend a night in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Montreal. Elder Smith and I decided, on a whim, to go knocking in another very wealthy, and even more Jewish neighborhood on the west side. Elder Smith said he had a good feeling about it, and I just like talking to Jewish people (but not necessarily proselyting to them) so I didn't have any problems with it. We knocked a few very, very fancy houses, and were greeted by a few very uninterested Jewish families. The most interested people we talked to were all the Filipino women that work as housekeepers. A few of them were interested. 

It was an interesting afternoon. I hope no one thought we were doing something antisemitic. 

Last night we had our long-awaited family home evening. We've been planning for months, and it finally happened and people actually showed up. It was pretty relaxed. I got to see the Korean family that we meet with again, and I gave her kids one of my Chinese name tags because they have the same last name as me. It was pretty nice. 

That's all for me. 

Love you all, 

Elder Hadden

An Email from Vincent Mutia

Sisters Hadden and Burton,

I apologise for the abruptness if this email. However, I just wanted to forward you the attached photos of your sons, who are serving at present in the Montréal Ward here in Montréal, Canada. 

I attend a neighbouring Ward, but I've come to know your sons quite well through my Church responsibilities, as well as often setting them onboard the subway and other forms of public transport here in the city.

I had dinner with them yesterday evening, and thought their Mothers would very much appreciate a photo 

They are both wonderful young men, who are doing a great job in the preaching of the Gospel here in Montréal, and you both have every reason to be proud of them!

Yours sincerely,

Vincent Mutia

LaSalle Ward

Montréal Québec Mount Royal Stake

--
Vincent M. Mutia
6354 Mazarin Street
Montréal, Quebec  H4E 2X3
Canada
Tel: 514-659-1281

New Rules

We got a big ol’ snow storm this week. A lot of snow.

Dear all,

Elder Burton and I were excited to find out about the new rules this week. It makes email writing seem pretty lame now, but I guess I should do it anyway. It's way easier to just call people than it is to write emails. I'm not particularly good at writing, but I like to think I'm good at talking (if only because I'm one of those cool trilingual kids). Anyway, needless to say, I'm happy about it.

We got to go to institute with RJ again this week. He seemed to be a little bit more comfortable than last time. We even convinced him to go to the YSA dance the next day. Hopefully he met some good friends in the ward. Our plan is to help him meet some good friends that will help him go on a mission.

One of the less-active members who we've been meeting with, Brother Batson, came to church on Sunday. He still has a very strong testimony, but he's just fallen out of the rhythm of it a little. We're trying to help him get back in. Hopefully, we can keep helping him.

In other news, we didn't get fed by Brother Brao this week, but we did get to eat with the Wendt family instead. Brother Wendt is a psychology professor at McGill, so Elder Burton and I had a great time talking to him about "cultured" things. In the end, he said we were "very cultured elders, " so now a man with a PhD agrees with our opinion of ourselves. It feels feels pretty good. 

Hopefully they'll feed us again before the end of the transfer. 

Our lunch at Schwartz, the world-famous Montreal smoked meat deli.  In Elder Burton's words,
"walking into Schwartz felt like walking into an episode of Seinfeld". Very tasty, but
very expensive.

That's all for me

Love you all, 

Elder Hadden

Missionaries Now Have More Options to Communicate With Families

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced an update to guidelines regarding communication between full-time missionaries and their families.

Effective immediately, missionaries may communicate with their families on their weekly preparation day via text messages, online messaging, phone calls and video chat in addition to letters and emails. Previously, missionaries relied primarily on email and letters for communication. See the official notice to Church leaders.

“Regular communication with their families is an important part of a missionary’s service,” said the First Presidency in a statement. “One of the major purposes of this adjustment is to encourage families to be more involved in their missionary’s efforts and experiences.”

Under these new guidelines, missionaries are encouraged to use judgment in determining the length of phone calls and video chats and to be considerate of their companions. Additionally, to avoid disruption to missionary schedules, family members are asked not to initiate calls or chats but instead should wait for the missionary to contact them on his or her weekly preparation day. If a missionary’s parents live in different locations, he or she may contact each parent separately.

With so many advances in technology, this communication should take place at little or no cost. In those locations where families or missionaries do not have access to computers or phones, missionaries will be encouraged to continue using their current means of communication.

“We encourage missionaries to communicate with their families each week using whatever approved method missionaries decide,” said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and chairman of the Missionary Executive Council. “This may vary based on their circumstances, locations and schedules for that week. It is not expected that all missionaries will call or video chat with their parents every week. The precise manner of communication is left up to the missionary as he or she decides what will best meet their needs.”

In addition to weekly communication, missionaries are also encouraged to contact family on other special occasions such as Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, parents' birthdays and other culturally significant holidays.

Elder Uchtdorf said the new guidelines offer several additional benefits, including accommodating varied family circumstances as well as better supporting those missionaries who would benefit from increased personal contact with family at home.

Currently, more than 65,000 missionaries serve throughout the world in a variety of countries and cultures as representatives of Jesus Christ. Serving full-time, they study the gospel and teach its life-changing principles to people who are interested. Young men serve for 24 months beginning as early as age 18, and young women may serve for 18 months as early as age 19. They gain valuable and life-changing experiences along the way, giving of themselves and serving others.

“We love the missionaries and know the Lord values their selfless service,” said Elder Uchtdorf. “We continue to try to find the best ways to support and help them and their families while they serve.”

Just More Working

Elders Hadden and Burton at 2019 Chinese New Year

Dear all,

No birthdays or zone conferences or anything this week. Just more working. 

We're still working with RJ. He came to church this week and he's coming to institute again this Friday.  

We're working with another guy named Brother Bailey. He's a long-time less active, but the more we meet with him the more excited he gets about the gospel. He still hasn't come to church yet, but I think it will happen soon. Hopefully. 

Thanks to the Filipinos, we're still getting fed. They're pretty much the only ones who feed us, but they do feed us. We worked with Brother Brao on editing the ward list on Sunday while we were at his house. Brother De Guzman, the man we normally take the sacrament to, was really tired so we couldn't give him the sacrament. They fed us balut instead. Elder Burton didn't really like it. 

We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders yesterday. I was with Elder Morales from Nantes. I went to Kirkland again and spent another day knocking doors. This is only the 4th time I've knocked doors in my whole mission, but we had a good time and found a few people who might be interested. Elder Morales is a good guy and a good missionary. It was a good exchange overall. 

Also, Mandarin branch New Year's party was this week end. Elder Burton and I peeked in for a sec. Pictures below.

Love you all,

Elder Hadden

2019 Mandarin Branch Chinese New Year Party

Elder Burton doesn't like balut.

balut - a developing bird embryo (usually a duck) that is boiled and eaten from the shell. It originated from and is commonly sold as street food in the Philippines. 

It was my birthday

My birthday with Vincent

Dear all,

It has been another very normal week. My birthday was yesterday, but I'll get to that later. 

RJ turned 18 last Sunday. We've been trying to get him to go to seminary for a long time now, but we realized that since he's 18 he can go to institute. So, we took him to the weekly institute class on Friday night and got to spend the evening with him and the other YSA members. RJ seemed to enjoy it even though he felt a little over his head. I think we'll be going back this week. 

Other than RJ, transfers happened, but Elder Burton and I stayed the same. The only change in our district is that Elder Wilson replaced Elder James as AP (if any of you remember who Elder James is). Elder Wilson is from Idaho and fits in as an AP very well. We'll probably go on exchanges with them sometime this transfer if they can find time. 

Institute with Vincent

Anyway, my birthday was pretty uneventful yesterday. We had zone conference for 7 solid hours (which included lunch so that was nice). It was a pretty normal zone conference.  They're just like a really long work meeting where your performance at work not only determines your own worthiness but also the salvation of others. They can be a little stressful, but usually pretty uplifting in the end. Afterwards we hung around the church for another 4 hours or so waiting to do interviews with President (we ran out of time, so I have to do mine later), and then we went and had dinner with Vincent Mewtew. It was overall a pretty nice day. The ramen we had with Vincent was very Japanese and very good. 

Thanks for all your birthday wishes.

Love you all!

Elder Hadden

The lucky cat we got in Chinatown for New Years