Week of Adventures

Hola!

I wish that I could just call and tell everyone about all of the adventures that happened this week because it takes too long to email. We have seen so many miracles – I love it! My new companion is awesome and she is growing so much. I have definitely been blessed with awesome companions!

This week has been crazy! On Tuesday night, we drove to Wichita for transfers and we stayed with the STL's there. The new missionaries that came in also stayed there with us so I got to see my new companion before she knew who I was. My new companion is amazing! Sister Webb loves the outdoors – perfect right? She was big into rock climbing, mountain biking, and she is very musically talented. We get quite the crack up in the morning when we sing because she has a beautiful voice and mine really struggles. Also, she plays many instruments including the piano and guitar. She is so motivated to do missionary work and she is as sweet as can be!

As soon as we pulled into Liberal for the first time, we got a call from the District Leader telling us that a drunk driver ran into a member’s home and almost killed the mom and the baby. So, before Sister Webb was able to unpack or see our whole house, we went over to see what happened. The gal that ran into the house was going 60 MPH, jumped the curb, and went straight into the Strydom's house. She barely missed Sami and her baby who were sitting on the couch in the front room – what a miracle!

Then, our heater broke while we were in Wichita so that night we had no heat and it was 48 degrees in our house! We were frozen and we used every blanket that we could find in our house. It was quite the exciting first night for Sister Webb in Liberal. The next day the heater got fixed so all is well!

On Thursday, we had dinner with Sister Brown and Ana. The next morning, we texted Ana and challenged her to bring someone to dinner that night. We got a text not too long after and she told us that her brother was going to be coming to dinner with her. That night at dinner, we were able to discuss with Luis (non-member’s brother) about what he believed in. It was so interesting to hear what he believed and some of the questions that he had. The Spirit was so strong as we explained to him about The Book of Mormon and how it can truly bless his life. Sister Webb invited him to be baptized and he accepted! He is going to be baptized on March 14th.

On Saturday, Luis came to the church to play sports in the morning and then our Bishop came and made everyone lunch who was there. After lunch, we gave Luis a tour of the church and taught him about the Restoration. Luis told us that he prayed for the first time in a long time the day before and he started to tear up when he told us that he knew that God was there and that he knows that he can change and find happiness in his life. Luis is so amazing! He has been through so much but he has such a strong desire to change and to be better through Jesus Christ. He had dinner with us at Bishop Willis' house on Sunday and we were able to talk to him about The Plan of Salvation. He ate it all up and he read everything that we invited him to. We are so excited to see the progress and the change that Luis will go through in the next couple of weeks.

Along with all of the crazy things happening – church got cancelled! We had a “snow storm” here in Liberal. We only got about 4-5 inches but the whole town got shut down. We actually weren't allowed to drive our cars until about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. So, that was definitely a new experience for Sister Webb.

“Above all else, ultimate happiness, true peace, and anything even remotely close to scriptural joy are found first, foremost, and forever in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

“Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.” – Joseph Smith

“Happiness here and now consists in freely, lovingly, joyfully acknowledging God's will for us – and doing it in all ways and all affairs big and small.” – President Ezra Taft Benson

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” – Nephi

Misionera Amor!
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Hermana Adams

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hola!

We got the new Nashville Tribute Redeemer CD – it is the best! We have been jamming out to it all week and we would highly recommend it. Love it!

Liberal, KS is the only town in the United States that celebrates Pancake Day. The official day is February 17th and it is so big here that they don't even go to school. Crazy, huh? The celebration lasts a couple of days and they have pancake eating contests, races, parades, and the whole nine yards. The day has something to do with England. We missed out on the majority of the events because we were doing other things (like missionary work) but it sounded like it was a lot of fun!

Hesta got baptized by the Elders this week! She has 3 of the cutest little girls and a husband. She is from Africa and she is so talented. She is the one who put cornrows in the Elder’s hair for P-Day. Her baptism was amazing and she was so excited! We would get calls or texts from her really early in the morning about something that she had read in The Book of Mormon. It was so neat to be able to help her at her baptism. I had the opportunity to give a talk on baptism and then help her with the baptismal clothes and all that Jazz. As soon as she was baptized and was getting ready in the bathroom, she looked at me and said, “I am now officially a Mormon” and she had the biggest smile on her face. It was so awesome! Words can't describe how happy I was for her. That night she came over and ate at the Bishop’s house and she was still just beaming (gotta love the Spirit). Her daughter is planning on being baptized in a couple of weeks. Hesta is an amazing missionary and she has already introduced the gospel to so many people.

Transfers! Sister Delos Santos (current companion) and Sister Valdivia (former companion) are both going to be Sister Training Leaders (STL’s) now and I am so proud of them. I am staying here in Liberal – yay! My new companion is going to be Sister Webb – straight from the Mexico MTC. All I know about her is that she is from Bluffdale, UT. I can’t wait to meet her and I am so excited for this transfer! The Lord has a lot in store for Liberal!

“Our Savior Jesus Christ was not kept on the cross by nails, he was kept there because of you and me!”

“Sacrifice is made sweet to us when we treasure the joy it brings to another heart.” – President Henry B. Eyring

Misionera Amor!
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Hermana Adams

Gotta Love Spanglish!

My Zone!

Hola!

I actually use a lot more Spanish here than I did in Lamar so it has been awesome! The best part is that a lot of the people know a little bit of English – so most of it is Spanglish – but I love it! It feels so good to speak Spanglish and to see the “Gift of Tongues” at work!

Last week, we had a multi-zone P-Day in Garden City and it was so much fun! Not going to lie – our district dominated in all of the sports! We played soccer, volleyball, steal the flag, and other random games. The Liberal District is the best!

The Elders in our district had to go to Wichita for a meeting and that same day Sister Delos Santos got really sick. She really wanted a blessing but all of the Elders in our area were gone. When the Elders got back, she received a blessing and her sickness was gone instantly! So, we got to work the rest of the day – the Priesthood is wonderful!

We had Zone Conference this week and I had to give my first Zone Conference training – ahh! I still feel like a brand new missionary – it is all flying by so fast. The training was “Building faith in Jesus Christ by expecting and seeing miracles.”

So, another miracle of the Priesthood! April had a mass in her body and was needing surgery to get it removed. The Elders gave her a Priesthood blessing and it was gone in a week! Who needs surgery when there is the Priesthood!? April's faith is remarkable. She came to church yesterday with 4 of her grandchildren and all of them absolutely loved it. That night, she came over to the Bishop's house for dinner. Sister Willis (bishop's wife) answered a lot of motherly questions that April had. April was just beaming after dinner and you could tell that she definitely felt the Spirit in their home. Her baptism is February 28th!

Last night – we knew there was another family that we could find – but we only had 30 minutes until curfew. So, we said a quick prayer, and decided to visit Isabel and Paije (investigators). We went over to their place and they were having a birthday party for their mom so their whole family was there! They were so welcoming! We instantly felt like we were a part of their family. They fed us cake and dished up a plate of food (second dinner) – gotta love it! They all gathered around and we shared our testimonies about The Book of Mormon and they loved it! We are meeting with them again this week. Gotta love the last minute miracles! Endure to the End!

Fun Fact…
Jared Nieman (country artist) grew up here in Liberal, KS. He is coming back to do a concert next month. Whoot, whoot! Goal for the Liberal District: Find his house and teach his parents (if they still live here) or whoever lives there now. They do have his picture at the local high school. Great people grow up in Kansas!

“If you're going to be this personally responsive, personally prepared, deeply endowed, deeply en-viewed, powerful teacher, you're going to have to work at that. And that means study.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

“Christ could change us with a wave of his hand, but he knows that strength too easily achieved is not valued of enduring.” – Brad Wilcox

D&C 82:3 – “For of him unto whom much is given much is required.”

Misionera Amor!
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Hermana Adams

Mudding!

Zuriko (from Lamar, CO) is baptized now!

Hola!

We went mudding in our car this week! We had service out in the country – and it rained so it was very muddy – so we had a little fun!

Last week we went on splits and we found an awesome investigator named Kasie. She is a 22 year old elementary teacher and she has her own house, dogs, and is very independent. She is awesome! She is actually Atheist but she is very interested in learning about The Book of Mormon. We left her a little bit to read and she read about 5 chapters! She found it really interesting but she is struggling with her relationship with God. She told us that she prayed for the first time in years – and during her prayer – she broke down into tears. She is such an amazing gal and we are so excited to help her build her faith.

I got to try African food and it was so good! It was like a potato stew that you ate with rolls (no utensils). It was made by our investigator from Africa. She was going to put cornrows in our hair for P-day but she slept in. While we were visiting her this week – two of her friends came over – so we started talking to them about the Book of Mormon and they loved it!

Miracles in Liberal – I love it!

Our senior couple here in Liberal left this morning to go back to California. We are definitely going to miss the Starkeys! They are pretty excited to go see their grandchildren and be away from the wind. They lived in a motor home that we called “The Palace” and they are excited to live in an actual house now. Elder and Sister Starkey are so awesome and they definitely made an impact here in Liberal!

“The foundation of all happiness is thinking rightly.” – Benjamin Franklin

Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams