Elder James Hadley

Here is a letter from Jimmy. He is doing so well and loving his mission as you will see from this letter. He has been out for 11 months already!!


Oct. 20, 2014

The first thing I want to say is that we are seeing so many miracles. IT'S SO AWESOME. I'm dead serious. So we are teaching about 25 GOOD people right now. And half of them are all family members of Rodrigo. We are teaching FAMILIES, nothing is better than teaching parents and kids together. Teaching so simple that the kids can understand the truths of the Gospel. And then doing magic tricks and stuff. Wow, I sound so much like a missionary.

But yeah, so this might be my last week here, which is a tiny bit hard, because really when I got here, well, there was nothing, and I have worked so hard and now, well, next change they are going to baptize at least 15 people I'm sure. I've never seen this much success in my mission yet, we have been SO BLESSED with the best people. But yeah, I really don't want to leave but if I have to I will. I'm not here for my own sake, other Elder's will get to baptize those people. But really it would be better if I stayed.

So yeah, it's so exciting, we should have 2 baptisms this week, we are going to do it, a Grandma and her granddaughter. I'm super excited.

So really I'm just here working so hard loving working with Elder Anderson, he is super amazing. And well enjoying every second. Honestly family and friends, don't take this bad, but I don't really miss you that much, I don't really have time to miss people and I just don't feel sad or anything. Its a super good thing. I still care about all of you a ton,  don't worry.

Thanks a ton I LOVE YOU ALL. 

Elder Jim Hadley

Elder James Hadley

June 30, 2014

Ok, so, stuff that happened this week.... Well yeah, so we ate at a Chinese food restaurant last Monday, and we think that is what did it to us, but Tuesday we were both sick, my companion more than me, and we had to stay in the house. I just read Jesus the Christ for like 4 hours straight. Then studied a bit of Spanish. And well Wednesday, I had a really bad fever and was sick but I wanted to keep working. So we did. It was kind of terrible, but when I was talking to people on the street, or teaching people, I felt better, or I guess forgot about my discomfort. But so when we got home I went to sleep and felt a bit better the next day. Then well, Friday, I woke up feeling terrible, and we went out and worked a bit, and went to lunch, and I had a way bad fever, and we went home and read the rules and it said when you have a fever over 100 degrees you have to say home. So we stayed home that day. So what I ate this week were saltines and bananas, and I drank a ton of gatorade.

I think I forgot to tell you this but we have started giving English classes for free Saturdays in the mornings... They haven't been super successful. We have had 3 weeks with only 2 people showing up, and 1 week when 6 showed up. But, well, one of the weeks a girl named Guadalupe came. And we invited her to church and gave her a Book of Mormon, and well, she actually came to church by herself. And like 30 minutes early, earlier than we showed up. It was the best, and she had read in her Book of Mormon. So yeah, We only taught her once last week cause we were both way sick, but she cried during the first prayer, it's so crazy how ready she is to hear the Gospel. So yesterday I called her and asked if she was going to come, and she said -well, my Mom has me doing some work for her, and I could hurry and try to show up to one of the later hours...- And I was like, bleh whatever ok, -just please come- Anyways, we went out from sacrament meeting halfway through to meet another investigator, and she comes walking down the street. She said -I just realized and told my mom that the job could wait, following God is more important- and at church she asked me what she has to do to get baptized. And what she has to do to be a missionary. So yeah, I'm super excited for her and we really want to work with all of her family and friends.

July 7, 2014

Ok so I got a call last night from the assistant and now I'm in the state of Michoacan. Crazy right, we had to take a 3 and a half hour bus ride. I went from the very south of the mission to the farthest West I could go. Interesting right? It was a huge surprise. And my companion, named Elder Lanza, is from Honduras. I really really really like him so far, I think we will get along super well. He is the, well, best at being a missionary. I'm super excited to learn from him.

Well, I'm approaching 8 months and learning a ton. I have another Latin companion so I will be talking only Spanish again. Oh yeah, so Elder Lanza was in D.F. So we are both new to this area, we have no idea about anything. So yeah, It will be fun to explore and try to find where people live without having a clue where to go. I'm excited to try and learn stuff super fast. I seriously think that all of the video games that I played helps me a lot in navigation. So yeah, stuff is super interesting, and I'm super excited about everything.

Oh yeah, I'm the worst, I forgot to tell you that we had a baptism yesterday. Here name is Claudia, and her husband (who we helped them to get married) lived in Utah a long time ago and got baptized, and we have reactivated him and then baptized her. They were so happy and are planning on going to the temple in a year.

  

July 14, 2014

Ok, so, Cuidad Hidalgo, cuidad means city by the way, is different than Tenancingo. It has a little downtown area, it's nothing more than a few blocks, but I think bigger than Tenancingo's. But it has just a bunch of suburb areas around it, well, just a bunch of houses. So yeah, we usually just work out there. The biggest change is that I went from a ward in Tenancingo to a Branch out here. And there is barely anyone. Well we had about 50 people there. But most were women and children. We have barely any Priesthood holders, so yeah that's interesting. We had to wake up early and go and clean the church, then we were going to give talks but we got to church late bringing people, and then we taught the Gospel Principles class and also the Priesthood class. So we have to do a ton more out here. It is way different, but it is fun. When I was in the city they had great teachers and a huge quorum and everything, so things are just really different out here. So yeah, I'm excited to work out here and try and help a ton. Baptize a lot of people and also reactivate less actives and help the active members be more animated.

So my companion is really really great, we get along super well. he is a really good missionary, he teaches really well and he is just good with people. He is just really cool. So yeah, I'm excited to be working with him and well, to keep working with him, and learn from him and everything.

So, in the next 8 weeks the mission is going to receive 54 new missionaries and only 20 are leaving. I'm excited to see what time brings.

Oh yeah, out here Carnitas are the popular food, what it is I think is they just get the animal, and cut off a few parts and throw all of it in a giant cooker thing, I think a steam cooker more or less, and then well, they give you all of it. The stomach, the skin (slimy), and the meat. So yeah its crazy, and weird textures, but it didn't taste bad. My companion said the nana is the best, that's the womb. So yeah, I will see if I will eat it or not, I'm kind of scared but we will see.

So, we have been teaching the woman named Gisela (he-sell-a) and she has 2 twins that are both 8. She has a disorder with her kidneys and has to get her blood cleaned out a few times a week, and she is 26 years old. She's SUPER great and accepts everything we teach her, and wants to keep learning more. The sad thing is that she used to live with the father of the twins, but as soon as they found out she was sick, he just left one night. and hasn't even talked to her or them since. We are super excited to baptize all 3, she already said she would get baptized, so yeah, hopefully be expecting pictures in a few weeks.

July 21, 2014

Hi. Um, so I don't really know what to say, another week working working working. Oh yeah yesterday I reached the 8 month mark which is also the 1/3rd mark, so that's pretty crazy. I can't believe it's gone so fast, but also it feels like I can't remember what texting is so yeah. The mission is a weird time warp.

So, um, we ate tacos of carnitas today, it was just the rib meat of the pig and they were so amazing. I want to come back here after the mission and eat them with you guys. I think dad would absolutely love them.

This week we entered into a lot more houses than last week, and have some really good investigators. We brought 9 people to the church. So that's cool. The total attendance of the branch here before we got here was around 35, and yesterday we had 58, so that's a ton better. We are working really really hard and it's been fun. We have 7 people that are going to get baptized soon, within the next 4 weeks. So we just need to keep working with them, 6 are females, and 1 is male.
So back in the day, the Elders would just baptize everything that moved, the people only had to go to church 1 time and the next time they could be baptized, but out of all of those people barely any stayed in the church. So we are focusing a TON more on helping people to be converted, to read the Book of Mormon every day, and really have a strong testimony. It's super exciting, this is the kind of work I want to be doing, not just empty baptisms.

We found a family a while ago, they went to church for the second time yesterday. The dad is named Fernando, the mom Cecilia (se-seal-ee-ah) and they have 4 daughters and 1 son, ages 5 and under. It is exciting to be here doing this kind of work, changing peoples lives, helping out these children, and just everything. It's so great. I have learned a TON of spanish this change. It is super exciting.

July 28, 2014

We ride the bus a lot, to go to other cities, today we had to go to the offices of the mission to do visa stuff for my companion, we had to ride 4 hours there and 4 hours back. So yeah, we left the house at 3:30 in the morning, so yeah that's cool. The bus to the mission offices is $232 pesos, which is like $30. We mostly walk here, always always always, which is good cause it's free.

So all of my áreas have different things about them that make them good, in my first área it was the members of the Ward, in the second, the members and the city, I really love big cities, and then the third área was so awesome, I can't explain it, it just feels like a special place, and well this one, I haven't really found it yet. Just the people we are teaching I think. Its fun to have a huger role in how things work here, a lot depends on us, like the last minute lessons. We just don't prepare anything and just teach them on the fly, its fine though, just to have a conversation and what not with everyone.

Yeah, so well, same stuff, working working working. We had 7 baptisms lined up for the 3rd of August, but a few of them are going to take more time. I think we will only have 3... hopefully. We will see.

I've been thinking about how lucky I am to be in this mission. Hearing a lot of stories about other missions and stuff like that, and well there is a great mindset of obedience and work here. I am SO thankful to be in this mission that is more concentrated on the work than a lot of others. 
Next week I will have more stuff to write about. We are going to have changes, and I'm pretty sure we are going to get changed around, that my companion is going to train or well, who knows what. We will see what happens.

Love,

Elder Hadley

Elder James Hadley

May 12, 2014

I'm in Tenancingo Mexico. In the state of Mexico. I was in the federal district for 6 weeks but now I'm back here.
So this area is really really awesome. We have the city part that we work in a lot, but also we have a lot of little villages that we go out to. Tiny little villages, where the people are so so so poor. It's sad, but well, that's Mexico.
Ummmm, well, we have been working a lot with families that are partially members and partially not. It's been interesting. Just a bunch of recent converts. We haven't made a ton of progress with them this week, but next week we are going to try to find a ton more people.
But yeah, people here are a TON nicer than they were in my last area, life here is more tranquil. Almost everyone will just listen to us and let us teach them. So yeah, that's really nice. I'm excited to keep working and keep finding people.
I don't know really what more to say. I'm happy, and it is crazy that 6 months has past. I'm 1/4th done. But at the same time it feels like I can't even remember normal life. I'm excited to keep going and keep experiencing things and whatnot.

May 19, 2014
So yeah, I arrived in my new area, it's the polar opposite of my old area. My old area was huge commercialized city, and here is just a little town. Well it could be more different, quite a bit of people live here. But yeah, it's really weird.
My companions name is Elder Bradford, he is from Blanding' Utah. He is great, we have a lot of similar interests, such as computers, videogames, that sort of stuff.  He is just kind of a regular dude, that's how I would describe him. He is really nice and we get along well. I'm excited to get to know him more and work with him.
So yeah, well, I told you about everything else. Anabel said she was sad I wasn't going to be able to baptize her. And that when I come back she would be my tour guide to Mexico City. I want to make that happen. 

May 26, 2014 

I think my favorite area was the city, because I really like the city, and I got along super super well with a lot of the members. And also I had some of my favorite favorite favorite investigators there. But out here is really really pretty too. It's different but also really great.
We do not have a chapel in this area, just a house of prayer. This ward was changed from a ward to a branch about 2 changes ago, so like 3 months. So it's super new. And a chunk was taken out to make another branch, for the members that lived super far away from this house of prayer. Right now they are meeting in a high school, because one of the members is a teacher.
The apartment here is my favorite yet. Its pretty nice. There aren't that many bugs, and we have this little washer and dryer thingy. The dryer just spins them to get most the water out, but it's super nice to have. This apartment is pretty clean, we clean it a lot, and the water heater thing is the best, it makes the water way hot and heats it up fast. In my old house it only heat it up for like 5 minutes.
Yeah, life is crazy being in the mission is crazy. It's great though. We are teaching this guy named Omar, and he is awesome. He used to live in Delaware. He's super great, he has a ton of problems and really really wants to change. And he loves us a ton. We are just best friends with him. He is going to get baptized June 8th.

June 2, 2014

The guy who lives up super high didn't come to church, so we dropped him. We haven't seen him in a long time. There are a ton of drunks that always come up to us on the street and ask us to help them change. If they REALLY show interest then we do help them. One time there was this group of drunk guys and they called us over, and we went, and one asked us to help him, so I said - Ok, start right now and don't drink that glass you have in your hand right now, then we will help you - and he said that glass was his last one so we just left.
So we have been working with a lot of people. The last missionaries that were here baptized 11 people in one change..... but only one of those people actually go to church often. So we have been working a ton with all of those recent converts. They are great people, they just have a lot of stuff to work on. We have also found a lot of new people who we are hoping with be great and progress.
So, something cool that happened this week, ------- so my District Leader was Assistant to the President for 8 months before he was here. He was chosen to start a whole new branch in a place called Ixtapan (Eek-stop-an) it has been the first new branch started in over 2 years. Anyways, so he is incredible, one of the most spiritual, kind, loving, smart people ever, and his Spanish is flawless. People always ask him if he has Spanish parents and that he has been speaking it his whole life. Anyways, so I went on an interchange with him, and it was awesome. We went around and visited a lot of the people they have getting ready to be baptized.
So, well, I cant think of a ton more stuff that happened. We made scones today and ate them with honey and butter. They had bedbugs last change, and we went and checked the beds and I found a live one on my bed. Also, my companion found a baby little scorpian in his food box thing. Interesting!
Everyone keep reading the Book of Mormon every day. 

June 9, 2014

So this week was weird. We found a ton of people who we thought were great, but they ended up not being so great, so we kind of wasted a lot of time. But whatever, we will press on harder this week. We are going to work with the ward more, because that's the key. When you can teach people that ward members know, and then you bring the members, it's a lot more effective. They feel more obliged to go to the church. Which is the hardest thing is to get people to go to the church. So here in Tenancingo there is a huge market on Sundays, and EVERYONE goes there and shops. It's hard to get people to realize what their priorities should be, but when people are really great they will make time. 
It was a few months, maybe 2 months before I got here, that they couldn't knock doors anymore. So I haven't ever had to do it. Well, I have, the thing is that if you have a reference, and you are looking for a person, you can knock the door next to theirs or the door in front of theirs, so I've done it a bit. But it's not a too effective way of doing things.
So yeah, early we hiked up to Cristo Rey, it was amazing. I sent a few photos. We ran down all the stairs, we got down in like 10 minutes.
Ummm, oh yeah, so members, well less actives but members, made us sushi for free today. They made fried rolls and rolls with bananas, and then a sushi cordon bleu, it was soooooo amazing. I was filled up by it too. But yeah, they said we can go there every Monday. So I'm excited and hope I stay.
Keep reading the Book of Mormon and keep being happy.

June 16, 2014

I'm doing well, I went on an interchange all of last week with Elder Dubose, and he is really really really amazing. He was Zone Leader for a long long time. He is super great, and I learned a TON. We got along so super well too. They have a million investigators to teach, for 5 days it was seriously that he had an appointment every hour of the day, so we were running and teaching and running and teaching. It was really great though.
So well, this might be my last week here, I will hopefully stay here, we have found a few good people, and I would be fine with staying with my companion. Of course after 6 weeks with someone it's kind of easy to get annoyed with them, but I need to work on that and not care about stuff at all. I will be happy with wherever the Lord sends me next and who he puts me with.

June 23, 2014
SO THE NEWS ABOUT THE CHANGES, nothing changed. I'm staying here in Tenancingo with the same companion. He is now District Leader. So yeah. So last change we didn't baptize any, which is terrible. The thing is when I got here there was NOBODY at all. So well, we had to start from the ground up. BUT, we have found a lot of really great people. And we have one baptism for sure next week, and one for sure for the week after, and then another pretty sure one the week after. We have 2 other people that all they have to do is come to the  church, then they would get baptized that day. And we also have a bunch of family members to work with of the sure ones we are going to get. So yes, things are looking a lot better.
The goal that President Whitehead keeps stressing is that we should be baptizing every single week. And so, thats what we are working for.
So Tom needs to come down here to Mexico to eat the food. Everything has chile. They say "if it isn't hot then it doesn't even taste" And I have gotten super used to it, and really really like it a lot. Before I would eat hot cheetos or Takis and think they were hot, they would make my nose run and my face go red. But nowadays, those things are absolutely nothing. I eat salsa of habanero and manzano daily. And it's really delicious. So yeah, that's something cool that has happened on my mission. I wonder what I will do when I get home, maybe just never ever use chile. We will see.
Yep, well, another week here in Tenancingo. I'm happy that I'm staying. I love it here and we have really good members. My companion is good.

Love,

Elder Hadley

                               Elder Hadley at "Cristo Rey" - translated literally means Christ the King!

Elder James Hadley

April 7, 2014

Hello, this week has been great. The new area is the best, I love it a ton. But we don't have that many investigators right now. We are going to baptize 2 people this Sunday and after that we don't have any really... so that is sad. But we are going to search a lot more and try and find people. 
My new companions name is Elder Hansen, he is from Oregon. He is cool. I'm learning how to let my personality really come through in Spanish and not be timid or anything. I'm forming relationships with the members a lot faster and also with people we contact on the street.
So we were happily "forced" to watch every session of conference. I loved it so much. Really though, it is a different experience when you are on your mission. Well just life in general is so different. I'm really excited to get the Liahona and study the talks better. Some of my favorites were David A Bednar, then Dallin H Oaks in the Priesthood session. Well I liked all of them. I had to listen to Hollands in Spanish so it wasn't as good without his voice. Conference was awesome.

April 14, 2014

The mission is good. We baptized two people yesterday. And, well, last week went by super great. We found a ton of people to teach, and a lot of families. So this next little bit is going to be exciting and challenging.
So, we haven't had electricity in our apartment for about 4 days and now we don't have any water. So I don't know what is going to happen. We will see. It should be getting fixed right now but I kind of doubt it.
I'm happy you were visited by the missionaries. It's fun to visit members and just talk to them. We are suppose to do 7 member visits per week. It's interesting to find out about their lives and everything.
Well, another week down. I'm almost at 5 months, isn't that wild? It feels like a lot less.

April 21, 2014

My mission is one of the highest in baptisms of all the missions in Mexico, so yeah, that's pretty cool. We run a tight ship. We are really really driven and don't tolerate disobedience. Like we really don't tolerate it. Which is awesome I think. I mean I came here to work, not to mess around and waste time. So I'm happy they kind of force everyone to be on the same page.
Something I do want is cds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I want you to send the one that I forgot to bring that I got from Bishop Russon and also the one named "Come Thou Fount" it is the best ever. And well, any more you want to give me.
Ok, so a ton happened this week. Leading up to Easter they do a thing called "Holy Week" and they all have work and school off. So none of our normal people were here, and the streets were empty, more or less. BUT we found a lot of great people and we invited 7 people to get baptized. All of them said yes, but now is the hard part, to get them to go to church 4 times. But we are working with everyone.
I can't believe I've been gone for 5 months. Really it feels shorter but longer too. It's weird, in a month I will be 1/4th done. That's wild.
Yes we felt the earthquake, we were on the third floor, and we were ROCKING BACK AND FORTH so much, it felt like we were in a boat. It was awesome. The power went out and everything. But now we have power and water, it's all good.
So yeah, the truth is I'm so happy to be out here. And I'm so happy to be helping people in their lives with ALL my time, it's the greatest ever. I've seen changes in the lives of people. And just like helping members and everything. I think all the time that what I'm doing isn't a game, or isn't fake, I'm actually going into peoples homes and really helping them change their lives and get rid of their addictions and having a better relationship with their family, and well, coming to Christ. Actually realizing what he did for us. It's the greatest thing to be out here.
So I used to have dreams that I was at home, and it would make me sad when I would wake up and be here. But, probably like 2 months ago, I had a dream I went home, and I felt so terrible. You guys didn't treat me any different but I just couldn't stop thinking about all of the people I was teaching at the time. An when I woke up I was SO RELIEVED  to be here in Mexico. So yeah, I'm so happy.
April 28, 2014

This week I was on inter changes, where I go with other Elders in their zones, from Tuesday to Friday, it was ok, but I needed to change my clothes really bad... They told me at first it was only going to be from Tuesday to midday Wednesday. But whatever, it was an interesting experience that I don't really want to happen again.
Nothing that crazy has happened. We found a ton of people though, and brought 4 to church, my zone only brought 8 people to church this week, so we had half of them. One of them is named Anabel, she is so amazing. She is a psychologist that works with rape victims, so yeah, she is a great great great person. She loves EVERYTHING about the church. 
Every day I'm learning more and more about how perfect this church is, and that every single revelation that Joseph Smith received had a grand purpose. The Church is God's way of helping us through this world, and helping us perfect ourselves.
I often think about how beautiful the history of the church is, starting at well, when God made the plan, and the creation of us and the world, following with Adam and Eve, and continuing throughout the stories of the Bible, and then with Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem and Christ coming to the earth. Then the biggest event in human history, the key to the plan of God, the Atonement. And the fall of the Church of Christ. And of course, The Restoration of His gospel. Everything that the Pioneers faced and all of the modern day revelation that was received for us, and well, where we are today, doing more temple work than ever before and more mission work than ever before too. We are so lucky to live in these times and to be members of His church.

Love,
Elder Hadley

Elder James Robert Hadley

March 3, 2014

We eat at members houses every day for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal here by far. Every day except P day, but sometimes they invite us then too. We leave the house everyday at 10:30 and get back at 9:00 - 9:30 so we are out at night. The area next to us is more dangerous, and they said a guy pulled a long knife on them and asked for money, but they just gave him a pass along card with Jesus on it and he backed off. They just asked him if he wanted to change his life and through Jesus he can. 
We have district conferences and zone conferences every Tuesday and every 12 weeks a conference with 4 zones and the mission president.
So I'm really learning Spanish a ton. I can pretty much communicate whatever I want. I am connecting a ton with some of the members of the Ward. Some of them are so amazing. I really love them so much. It's going to be sad to leave them. The area I'm in is amazing. Really this week I kind of arrived to a new level of happiness and dedication out here. It's exciting.

March 10, 2014

Sometimes it's hard because I am so new and it's a different language and all. But I'm really starting to learn it so much. I can converse with everyone and express pretty much all of my ideas. It's so exciting and it's to the point that I don't even think of what I'm saying, it just comes out. I'm not fluent yet, because there is a ton of vocabulary that I need to learn, but I'm getting there. I can understand pretty much everything too, at first that was the hard part.
So, we find people to teach by either references from people or by contacting in the streets. For health reasons we can't just knock doors. We contact a ton of people in the street every week. The goal for everyone is 70 people every week, 10 a day. Sometimes a bit hard to get motivated to talk to everyone, random people in another language, but really me just stopping could really change their lives forever and help them and their families a ton.
We are teaching a ton of new people. The most promising of all is a women named Marina and her two daughters. The first time Marina went to church was fast Sunday and she bore her testimony. In front of everyone. After her daughters got out of primary they ran up to us and asked, "When are we going to get baptized?" They are awesome. Marina used to drink a ton of coffee, but last week in church her Sunday School teacher said one thing about how we need to follow the words of the prophets, for example not drink alcohol of coffee and Marina didn't drink coffee once last week. We haven't even taught her that yet.
The hardest thing here is getting people to church. Everyone works on Sunday or they sleep in. It's so hard to just get people to church the first time. But that is the key.
I'm doing well. I'm halfway through this change and I'm going to be sad to leave. I love the members here. Some of them have become such great friends. It will be fun to get a new companion and go to a new area.

March 17, 2014

Marina and her daughters are doing so good, Marina is amazing. She loves all of the lessons on tithing and law of chastity and all the other commandments. Other investigators are bummed to hear that stuff. 
We have other people that we are teaching, Martha and Alfredo, who have 2 kids, and I think we, well the next missionaries here will baptize them. I want to baptize a bunch more families because, really, Mexico is in a horrible moral crisis. Of course pop culture has been teaching everyone bad morals, but here in Mexico it is amplified. So the reason I love helping families is to help the kids grow up in a good environment, teaching good morals with loving parents. This is one thing that I love about the church. Martha and Alfredo love it too.
Yeah, I don't know, not a ton out of the ordinary happened this week. Just living the mission life.

March 24, 2014

Yesterday we baptized Marina and her daughters. It was a great experience. I'm excited to continue teaching them this week. The thing is that Marina was already like 100% prepared to hear about the Gospel. She was taught extremely good values from a young age. When we told her about Tithing and The Word of Wisdom and all that stuff she was so excited to do them. It's interesting. And her daughters are great too, they have been taught way well. I baptized both of them. A member from the Ward, baptized Marina.
We are teaching a lot of new people. And yes, it's weird to just go up and talk to people in a foreign language in a foreign land, but it's getting easier. It wasn't wayyyy hard for me at first, just hardish for them to understand me. But my Spanish is getting way better. I tried to say a prayer in English and I couldn't do it very well... ahah. 
So we found this one guy who is working in the Temple right now, they are re-doing the inside. So he is super interested in everything.
Also, we found this guy from Utah (it's weird we find a lot of people from Utah) and he speaks really good English. We were teaching him, and even though sometimes he would talk in English I would always respond in Spanish, I always do this cause it's funny, but then all the sudden I started teaching in English and it felt so weird but so easy. He said that he just wants to change his life and be like a piece of clay in the hands of God. He wants to be baptized way bad, but he is going back to Utah next week. We are going to teach him more and he is going to get baptized up there. USA missionaries need more baptisms. He just one day came up to us on the street and asked for a Book of Mormon, it was weird because that never happens. I'm excited to teach him more. 
I'm way happy to be here. Teaching families morals, helping children have good lives, it's the best. I really really hope that the daughters of Marina stay strong with the church.
I am changing areas next week, Monday, I might just stay here but I think I will go somewhere else. I'm going to miss the people here though, the members and the investigators.

March 31, 2014

Today were changes. I changed my area to an area that is completely opposite. My old area was hilly and super poor. This new area is in Distrito Federal, named "Roma" and it has a Cathedral named Zocalo, and it is pretty much the Time Square of Mexico. The are SO MANY people. The area around the central is just a super huge city with super tall buildings and everything. I feel like I left Mexico and I'm in Europe. It is so awesome. I'm excited to work here. When I decided to go on a mission this is the kind of place I wanted to go. A big foreign city.
There are a lot of couple missionaries, like 10 I think. Some of them live here. 
My new companion is my first white companion. Well I'm super excited for General Conference. The last 6 weeks FLEW by so fast I can't believe it.

Elder James Hadley

February 17, 2014

Hi, today is the first day of a new change. I have a new companion, his name is Elder Rodríguez, he is from Northern Mexico, close to my other companion. He talks really softly, its hard to hear and hard to understand. But yeah, I'm excited to get to know him more. He is 26, so that's cool. 

So, before the first interview with the Mission President I was in his office looking at the pictures of all the Elders, and I knew straight up that Elder Ibarra was going to be my first trainer. I knew it without a doubt. And so, the first 6 weeks started. And really, they were so amazing. There were hard times, but when I think back it was such a fun and amazing time. Elder Ibarra and me got along extremely well. He said I was his absolute favorite companion of his whole entire mission. I don't know if that was way true, but yeah. we focused a lot and worked hard, but joked around a lot and had fun. I loved it. I hope that I can bond well with the rest of my companions.

So yeah, 3 months down. Which is 1/8th of the way done. It feels like I just started my mission, but also that I´ve been doing this forever, its the weirdest thing. I'm way excited to experience everything that is coming my way, and I´m excited to go home and start that part of my life too. Everything is just exciting.

Really, nothing is really that hard. I live in hilly mountain área, and running up hills and stairs can be the most exhausting thing ever. We had a gigantic cockroach in our apartment, and tons and tons of other stuff. The only thing that is hard for me is the whole time factor. But, I can focus on how great it is. Its exciting and discouraging how long it is. But really, I´m doing so great. I just need to take it a day at a time.

So, parents, I guess I never told you why I chose to come on a mission. In all honesty I didn´t want to go my whole entire life. Seriously, even when I was little and we sang I hope they call my on a mission, I always thought, nooooo! But, at Snow, I realized something very important. That I have seriously had the absolute best life anyone could ask for. I can´t think of anything that could make it better. Our family is so amazing, and parents, you have done sooooo much for me. I can´t believe how lucky I am. I have felt so much love my whole life, and I felt that I had to share it with people. I had too good of a life and I needed to try and help others. Also, our Ward and everyone in it, and my teachers, and my friends. All of them are the best. I seriously have the best friends ever. You´ve seen how close I am with all of them, its so great.

So yeah, I wanted to say thank you so much.
Love Elder Hadley

Elder James Hadley

January 20, 2014

We had 2 baptisms this week and I did one of them. We have some more getting close but nobody came to church last week... There is a family, an inactive father and his 2 adult kids, who we have started to talk to. Both of them have a ton of doubts but I connect with them so much. I think and hope they will get baptized.

Yeah, the Book of Mormon is really really really great. D&C 122 is one of the best things ever. Read it.
The language is coming along. I'm feeling ok about it. But sometimes I say things and people laugh at me or they don't understand. But I'm learning more and more all the time. I can understand a ton of stuff in lessons, but normal street talk not so much. It's fun to learn though and sometimes frustrating. 

So I'm truly loving the work, and am super happy. The weeks are flying by, and I hear it just goes faster and faster. I read Alma 26 today and it helped me a lot. Read it. 
So yeah, I'm doing well. The food is way better than American food. I eat everything too like chilies and onions and gross stuff like that. It's fun. 

January 13, 2014

To look up where I live, it's called "Izcalli, Chamapa" in the State of Mexico. Chamapa is the name of the area, it's huge and all just hills. We only walk, and sometimes take a Combi, which is like a van with benches around the interior walls, they are super cheap, but uncomfortable, my first ride on one I held in puking. But I'm getting a ton better. 

The food here is so incredible. They have it figured out. This one member made homemade chicken cordon bleu, covered in creamy spicy sauce, and then had a huge pile of refried black beans and salsa and a million tortillas and you would just scoop the beans and salsa then dip it in the sauce. It was the best. Everyone here eats yogurt, jello, beans, rice and tortillas, and bread, so this is the life.

So there are tiny stores everywhere, mini convenient stores. Like 2 or 3 per block, and then random stores too like dog food or tortillas. Speaking of dogs there are dogs everywhere, but they usually just sleep or smell around, nothing scary.

So the language is going really well. I've learned so much, and I only speak like 1 sentence in English per day. My companion is Elder Ibarra from Durango Mexico. He is awesome, I'm sooooooo lucky. That was the only thing I was scared of is to get a bad trainer. But nope, I got the best. This is his last transfer in the mission, and he knows a ton of English because before his mission he waned to read books in English and play video games too that they didn't have in Spanish, so he taught himself how to read English. The thing is that he didn't know how to pronounce it, so his accent is mega mega thick. But that just makes it funnier when he says stuff. I'm sure that it is funny when I say stuff too. But yeah, the language is actually really coming along. I can get the general idea of what people are saying, and often understand everything and not even have to really think to reply. In lessons I can contribute parts, and bear my testimony and stuff really well. The MTC taught me a TONNN, college just taught me vocabulary mostly and kind of simple grammar stuff.

So the food is awesome, the people are awesome, another part this is so good about Mexico is that every single little kid is so cute. It's insane, I seriously haven't seen one not cute kid under the age of 5.

We didn't have gas to make our shower warm, so we would put an iron in a bucket of water to heat it up, then pour the water on ourselves with a cup. Funny right? We bought gas today though. And our fridge doesn't work, but that's ok. We aren't really ever home anyways.

We've taught a ton of lessons, I never realized how many missionaries teach. We contact on the street like none other too, but probably only 10% of those people let us in their houses. Then out of those people when Sunday comes, they just go AWOL and leave. We had 2 new people come to church. Yesterday we went to a house to teach a guy who had missionaries more than a year ago, but he wasn't home, so instead we taught his daughter, and it was the best lesson yet I think. She loved all of it, so yeah, it's exciting to have success after so much non success.

Elder James Hadley

January 7, 2014

Yesterday morning we received a call from the Salt Lake City airport from Elder Hadley. He was very excited to be on his way to the Mexico City West Mission. He loved his experience at the MTC and is looking forward to sharing the gospel with the people in Mexico. Around 6:30 p.m. he was allowed to call to let us know that he arrived in Mexico City. He said the first leg of the flight he sat by a man that let it be known that he did not want to talk. On second leg he sat by a family from Mexico that he talked to for over 4 hours about the gospel and before they parted the father asked how they could get the missionaries to visit with their family. He was so excited. He said that Mexico is more than he ever dreamed it would be. 

The Hadley Family 

Elder James Hadley

Elder James Robert Hadley enterted the MTC in Provo, Utah on November 20th 2013.  He will be learning Spanish before leaving for his mission in Mexico, hopefully sometime in January, providing visas and all are in order.  

Check the blog for his MTC address and feel free to write a note of support to him there.  

More to follow from Elder Hadley and family!!