Pick of the Harvest

Hola!

We received a referral from the Elders for a gal named Courtney. She is a single mother with 2 beautiful daughters (ages 7 and 2). She used to be an alcoholic but quit because she wanted to be a better mother for her kids. We have been over there a couple times and every time the Spirit has been so strong. We had a lesson where we explained the Plan of Salvation and she was in awe because she had never thought of life in that way. Then, we got the prompting to share Alma 32 – talking about faith. We explained how faith compares to a seed. She didn't have any questions for us then – but the next time we came over to see her – she commented how hearing that scripture is exactly what she needed to hear. That scripture helped her to realize what faith is and how she can help her faith grow. At the end of the lesson she said the most beautiful prayer – asking directly if this gospel is something that she should pursue and thanking Him for leading us as missionaries to visit her. She has not committed to a baptismal date yet so we will keep praying and working with her.

We went to another referral from the Elders for a gal named Hope. She wasn't home so we talked with her husband Durk on the front porch for a bit. Now Durk is an Antagonist! I had no idea what that was but he explained his thoughts and beliefs to us. So basically, he does not believe in God; he believes in some other power but doesn't know quite what the power is. Anyhow, we were a little hesitant to continue talking with him because he didn't give off the vibe that he had any interest. We continued to share the message of the Restoration. By the end of our visit he had lit up so much! We gave him a Book of Mormon and he has been reading it! He was out fishing on our last appointment with them and his wife said that he was so sad because he really wanted to meet with us and he has a lot of questions. So, we just talked with his wife, and we will meet with both of them tomorrow. So I will keep ya'll updated!

I ate a Tabasco Pepper...it was so hot! We went over to a member's house for dinner and they handed them to us as soon as we walked in the door so I plopped it in my mouth. So hot! Luckily, it only numbed the left side of my mouth (because I was not smart and chewed it), so I could eat and enjoy the meal on the other side of my mouth.

I heard a really funny joke from a member this week (I thought it was funny)...
A guy was out on the town walking his Chihuahua, when he decided that he wanted to go in the store. On the outside of the store was a sign that said "No Dogs Allowed." He didn't know what to do with his dog, so he decided to just put on his sunglasses and pretend that he was blind so that his dog would be considered a service dog. He walked into the store and the worker came up to him...

• Worker: "Sorry sir, dogs are not allowed."
• Guy: "I am blind and this is my service dog."
• Worker: "Chihuahuas are not service dogs."
• Guy: "They gave me a Chihuahua!?"

"The Choice is Yours!" – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

We never know who we are going to be an example to…
"Whoever you are and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can now imagine." – Henry B. Eyring

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Spiders...

Hola!

This week we had Sister's Conference! It was awesome! We drove over to Dodge, KS (about 3 hours away) and had the conference with the Sister Missionaries out here in the West part of the mission. It was so fun to meet other missionaries that I have not seen before and to see other missionaries that I have not seen in a while. Sister Bell (President's wife) was there and she is just the cutest thing ever. She is so full of energy and always has a smile on. We had three main speakers at this conference – one of the mission presidencies wives, a recent convert, and a return missionary. It was so sweet to hear all of their different views on the church and how the gospel has affected their lives. Missions change more lives than just the missionaries. I have loved the way that my mission has changed me so far.

There are so many spiders here! We came home one night and there was one of the biggest spiders I have ever seen crawling up the side of our house. So, what do we do? We caught it! It was literally the size of my palm. We put it in a little container and poked holes in the top so Mike (spider) could breath. Then, the next day at District Meeting, we took him with us and gave him to the Elders. The Elders are nicer than us and let him go in a field somewhere. Since that day – we have been haunted by spiders and we keep finding them in our house (but luckily they are not the size of Mike). One spider landed on my head while I was eating lunch! Disgusting... I think that Mike's little babies are just getting revenge on us.

This week showed me how truly important it is to have Institute. Sundays are not enough to fill our spiritual buckets. We have not been able to get in contact with Christina (our investigator) in a while, so we went over to her house right before Institute to try and get her to come with us. When we went over there, she was outside so we were able to talk to her. We convinced her to come although she really was not in the mood at all. She had a really hard week with a lot of family issues. We walked with her up to the church and then came after Institute to see how it went. She was beaming! She was so much happier and she was able to make friends with Johnathon (the Elder's investigator). She needed to fill the Spirit and it helped remind her that there is good here on Earth. She thanked us for making her go. Institute is so important and it really had an impact on the rest of our week. The bad news is – is that we have not been able to meet with Christina since so we had to drop her because there are other people for us to visit. So – hopefully she calls us – because we really do truly love her and want her to be baptized.

Yesterday – Sister Moser and I gave a talk in church on Honesty. I tried to quote the 13th Article of Faith for the first part of my talk. I thought that I could do it from memory but I forgot the ending. It was so embarrassing! So, I paused for a second at the pulpit, and then all of the cute little Primary kids from the congregation starting saying it. It was adorable! It made it less embarrassing because it was so cute that they were all actually listening and helped me out. It made it all worth making a fool of myself!

Scripture of the Week – Mosiah 23:10-11
10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth.
11 Nevertheless, in this I do not glory, for I am unworthy to glory of myself.

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Fall Is Here!

Hola!

This week was good but we really didn't have any exciting adventures...but we did have to use heat in our house because it is starting to get chilly! I am loving the weather right now because it is not too hot and not too cold. I love the Fall weather and it will be exciting to have ice storms during the Winter. The weather out here is undecided – one day it is 95 degrees and the next day it is 50 degrees; therefore, we never know what to wear. We have been wearing cardigans so we can take them off when it gets too hot. It is just like Utah!

Our miracle this week happened when we were with Christina (investigator on date for the 27th). We were at her house teaching her about media and the influences that the media has on us. We read with her from “For the Strength of Youth.” In the middle of our lesson, her daughter named Aunteria came in really stressed out. The money from her pie fundraiser at school had been stolen. Christina told her to go to all the places that she had been and try to find it. As soon as she left, we prayed with Christina that Aunteria would be able to find the money. The next time Aunteria came back, she had all the money except for $20. Later that night, they found the other $20. We helped explain to Christina that our prayer was answered and the power that prayer has in our lives. Prayer really works!

Since then – Christina dropped us off the face of the planet. She won't answer her door, return texts, phone calls, or anything. So, we'll keep trying! Hopefully, I will have better news next week for y’all!

We had our first Institute class this week and it was awesome! The new senior couple from Garden City, KS came out here to Lamar. We had quite a few people show up so it was awesome.

My theme for this week was “Desire” – Elder Neal A. Maxwell said:
“When people are described as ‘having lost their desire for sin,’ it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to ‘give away all their sins’ in order to know God. Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”

Love y'all!
Misionera Amor!

The Hope of God’s Light

Hola!

We have about 11 investigators right now and they are all awesome! Two of them are Spanish speaking only and the majority of them are Mexican – how ironic!

So, last week when we were getting ready for bed, Sister Moser yelled, "Sister Adams – I need your help!" I went into our room and she had one of those floss things stuck behind her retainer and it was bleeding all over. I could not stop laughing – but I finally controlled myself – and had to cut off the floss thing for her. Somehow the floss thing broke her retainer. What was lucky is that the next day we had dinner with a family in our ward whose dad is a dentist here in Lamar. So, after dinner he took us to his office and fixed her retainer. We as missionaries are truly blessed!

Bad news... I ate chocolate! We were eating lunch at the Bishop’s house and his wife had got the dessert all ready for us and it had chocolate in it. I didn't know what to do because she had already made it for me and I didn't want to waste it. So, I told myself that I would just eat it – and might as well enjoy it while I eat it – so that is just what I did! It was cookies and cream pudding and it was actually really good. So sorry grandpa! Don't worry, I will be more careful in the future.

I FINALLY had some real Mexican food! Christina (investigator) showed us how to make some really good bean burritos – lard and all! Then, the next day she made us some super good Mexican rice with Menudo. The Menudo was pretty good – but she waited until after we finished eating it – to tell us that the meat was cow stomach lining. I love Christina! She is an awesome cook and she teaches us how to make it the real Mexican way. While we were eating, we were talking about how she felt at church. She said that it was really good and that all her kids really liked it. But, the first thing she told us was, "Girls – I have never seen so many cute white boys in my life!" Ha, ha, ha, ha – I am pretty sure we laughed for 5 minutes straight after that!

This Sunday we were waiting for Christina to come to church and we never saw her and the services were about to start. So, we went outside and before we knew it, we were RUNNING to her apartment which is a couple of blocks down the street. While we were running, we kept thinking to ourselves, "What are we doing?" but we kept running! Once we got to her apartment, we kept knocking until she opened the door. She immediately apologized for waking up late. We didn't take any excuses and we immediately helped her and her kids get ready for church as fast as we could. We made it back to the church just as testimony meeting was beginning. You could tell that Christina was feeling the Spirit because she was crying the whole time. It was an amazing testimony meeting and probably one of the most spiritual ones that I have ever been to. After church, Christina told us, "You guys are like my mom and I am so glad that you made us come to church today because it made me feel so much better." Man, I love Christina! We were talking to her later that day and she said that we are the best influences that she has ever had in her house. Since we have been visiting with her (about a week and a half), she has not done any drugs, smoked, and has only had coffee one time. The coffee was a complete accident, so yesterday we brought her over some hot chocolate that we had in our apartment.

We were driving through Holly and there was a random church that had these words on their sign: "Heaven, don't miss it for the world!" It is so true and I love that quote!

Scripture of the Week – D&C 88:11-13
11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space –
13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

Quote of the Week – by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"There may be some among you who feel darkness encroaching upon you. You may feel burdened by worry, fear, or doubt. To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God's light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things. It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn."

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

First Transfer in the Mish!

Hola!

First transfer – what!? I am still here in Lamar with Sister Moser – thank goodness! I am so glad that I get to stay here with these people longer because they mean so much to me. Our district leader (Elder Godfrey) is leaving and it is so sad! He is my "papa" in the mission. But he is on to another adventure as a zone leader! Transfers are really sad because a lot of missionaries leave your zone, but new missionaries come in and you are able to meet new people so I am really excited for that.

My Zone P-Day

We had a HUGE rainstorm last week. It was dumping buckets of water! We had to run to the store to grab something and we got soaked from just the car to the store. The streets were filled with water and we hydroplaned a couple of times – it was awesome! A lot of houses flooded. We were at the Ortiz's house for dinner and Kevin (dad) decided that he should check their basement during dinner because a lot of other homes were being flooded. Well, their basement was definitely flooded. So, right after dinner we went to work on the flooding, dresses and all! Their son’s room was down there and it was like a teenager’s room – lots of garbage and clothes on the floor. Everything was wet. We used a little vacuum thing to vacuum up the water and we put all the garbage in the trash and the wet clothes in the laundry. The carpet was ruined so we ripped it up. It was actually really fun but it was really disgusting! We were able to clean everything up as best as we could. After that, we went straight home (it was 9:00 pm already) and washed everything that we had on and took a shower because we were disgusting!

I had my 6 week conference call this week! Well, they told us the call was at 1:00 pm so we were ready at 1:00 pm. But…we are on a different time zone so we missed it! Oh well, they understood. Now we know so next time we can be ready.

We rode bikes for the first time this week! I didn't have a bike and Sister Moser's bike is broken, so we borrowed the Elder’s bikes for the day. We actually only rode them for like a half of a mile so that wasn't bad at all. The only downside is the whole hair situation – thank goodness for ponytails. On Zone P-Day, I bought a sister’s bike that was going home so now I have my own bike! I am excited because I miss riding my bike. But, I don't think Sister Moser is too excited about riding bikes.

One of the miracles this week was that we were over at a less active’s home (Zariciah) teaching her about service. Her neighbor came over to bring her kids over to play – and when she walked in – she looked really uncomfortable. She asked us if she could sit in on the lesson and of course we said yes! She listened to the lesson and started to be a little more comfortable. When we finished talking to Zariciah – Christina (the girl that walked in) – said that she could tell something was different as soon as she walked in. She said that she had never felt that way before and that it was such a happy feeling. We explained to her that it was the Holy Ghost and that she could have the Holy Ghost with her always if she did the things that the Lord commanded. Christina has been really having a hard time, especially with drugs, and she now has a desire to change. We invited her to church the next day and she came! She brought all of her kids and she stayed the whole time. It was a miracle! The Spirit truly does testify to others that this is the restored gospel and that Christ lives. Christina didn't even know what we were talking about when she walked in but she could feel it. What an amazing experience!

This is our experience from last night (Sister Moser wrote it)…

Now this experience is not supposed to scare anyone...but we were driving home to Lamar and we had just gotten out of Holly which is about 30 minutes away and all the roads are two way roads and the speed limit is 70 mph. Sister Adams and I were having a good talk and listening to music when this car started coming straight at us in our lane – head first! Well, we both sat there kind of nervous about what to do but luckily this car barely missed us. I had to swerve out of the way but there was this barrier on the other side and I didn’t want to hit it and I remember saying in my head, "Lord, I don’t know what I am supposed to do." Instantly, I felt as though the car was driving itself. I watched this car barely hit the side of our car and we drove away without any damage. I then realized that if that car hit us it would have taken our lives due to our speed. Now I have never been faced with a car coming at me head on and there were several things that went through my head. It confirmed to me of my testimony of the Plan of Salvation. All will be well when we put our trust in the Lord. Even if it was my time to go, I know that everything would be as it was supposed to be. I am grateful for the Spirit and its comfort. I know that TJ was there to help us because there is no way that we should have not been hit!

Jacob 6:12 (Our Mission President’s Favorite Scripture)

"O be wise; what can I say more?"

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams