I’m Getting Into Dodge

Hola!

It was so sad to leave Wichita but Dodge City is so much fun! We got fed four times my last day in Wichita – holy cow – I was about to explode! We had breakfast, lunch, and two dinners. Also, we had the opportunity to have a brand new missionary come out with us for the day and it was so cool. She had so much fire and enthusiasm so we were able to see a lot of miracles! Hermana Dahl is such an amazing missionary – she is going to tear it up in Wichita and wherever she goes.

Darcie was a miracle baptism! I was so sad that I wasn’t there for Maria Guzman’s baptism but it was such a comfort to get to meet Darcie. She stopped all of the Word of Wisdom issues that she was struggling with and made a way every Sunday to come to church. After her baptism, she had a little bit of water in her ear and she said, “It’s alright, I will be able to take a little bit with me when I leave” – it was so cute! I have never seen her this happy before and she is one of the bubbliest people that I have ever met! I love her and I am so excited for her – she will be a light to all those around her.

It is so amazing to serve with Sister Valdivia again! It is so cool to realize the growth that we have both made in the couple of transfers that we were apart. She was a stellar missionary when I was with her before and now she is a complete powerhouse! It is so fun to be out here in the West with “my people” again. Also, it is not as hot here because there isn’t as much humidity – whoot, whoot! There has been so many miracles that have taken place and the Lord’s hand is in everything that has been done. I love being a missionary and I love serving here in the great flat plains!

Fun Fact: The Mormon Message “Power of God” is about a family in our ward here in Dodge. The older couple in the end is the sweetest couple you will ever meet! They have 10 kids and over 60 grandchildren – love them!

“God knows what is best for us. Although we may not understand why we experience some things now, in his timetable we will know and be grateful. He has promised to help us with our burdens.” – Elder Richard G. Scott

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Small Town Girl

Hola!

I am officially a small-town girl! I am getting transferred back to the West side of Kansas to Dodge City and I am going to be companions with Sister Valdivia again – whoot, whoot! This is an area where they mainly speak Spanish. The best part about it is that I will get to go back to Lamar and Liberal for exchanges and I will get to see Uncle Gary again! I am so sad to leave Wichita – it is crazy how you get so attached to a place in such a short amount of time. I love the Spanish Branch and they are all so loving! Fun fact about Dodge City – it is the windiest city in Kansas. Also, I am going to be a Sister Training Leader (STL) over the Western part of my mission!

We got through this barricaded door and now they are our investigators!

What people will do to keep the missionaries out of their lives!

Spanish Branches by far have the best parties! We had our Branch Father’s Day party on Saturday. There was a ton of Mexican food (including different Mexican desserts). They put sweetened condensed milk in a lot of their desserts so it tastes so good but it is so bad for you! They have music playing, dances, and skits going on. It was the most interactive, entertaining church party I have ever been to. I wish we had the same Sacrament attendance as we did at the party.

The best mango popsicle dipped in Chili sauce stuff!

Maria Guzman gets baptized this Saturday – whoot, whoot! She is the best missionary – we have been teaching two of her friends’ families because of her and her example. She is so excited to give a talk in church – I wish all the members were as excited as she is about giving talks.

Oh yeah...we got Apple iPads this week and they are pretty sweet! They help a lot with studies and being able to use different resources. We are still trying to find the balance in lessons and not trying to “flaunt” our devices. We have had some powerful lessons with sharing videos on it so I can definitely see how much they will truly help hasten the work.

I had Tinga for the first time at Hermana Hernandez’s house – holy delicious! It was her birthday and she made us a wonderful meal (it should have been the other way around). I am truly going to miss that family because they are the sweetest things ever!

Hulk Award – Best Miracle of the Week!

In our zone – the person with the best miracle gets the Hulk for the week. Our investigator Sonia, read The Book of Mormon for the first time and that night she didn’t smoke a cigarette because she had no desire to. The power of The Book of Mormon! Now she is back to smoking – but other than that – The Book of Mormon is still true!

I love Wichita – but Dodge City – here I come! Going back to the small towns and wide open spaces – I can’t wait! I love it here in Kansas – every place has been wonderful!

“Father, like mother, is ever willing to sacrifice his own comfort for that of his children. Daily he toils to provide the necessities of life, never complaining, ever concerned for the well-being of his family.” – President Thomas S. Monson

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Happy Birthday Bud!

Hola!

Spanish Blooper: We talked with two gals that were outside by their truck. They weren’t too interested in anything that we had to say so I pulled out a “Because He Lives” video card and gave it to them. Then I was explaining what the video was about and meant to say “we can watch it with you right now if you’d like” but I said, “Podemos morir...” (We can die…)! Their faces were priceless and I realized that I used the wrong word! My companion was laughing hysterically at me and I quickly fixed my sentence to “Podemos mirar...” (We can watch…).

We had soccer night on Friday! It was our Wichita West Spanish Branch against the Kellogg Spanish Branch and it was so much fun! Their Branch is a lot bigger than ours and they had a lot of older people and we had a lot of youth (ages 8-12). It was a blast! I realized how out of shape I am and how uncoordinated I have gotten but we had a fun time with everyone!

Scripture Blooper: We invited Sonya to read Moroni 10 but she started on the top of the page on the left hand side and read Moroni 9:8 – “And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them.” She was very confused and we died laughing as we read it with her! We were able to explain to her the context and she was totally fine later on.

Matthew 25:40…
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Strengthened By The Fast!

Hola!

We met a gal named Kenya while walking to a referral. When we went back to see her, she wasn’t there so we talked with her sister named Sonya. Sonya has had so many trials but has kept a strong faith in God. Sonya has an adorable daughter who is 7 years old and she is her biggest fan. Sonya mentioned how she wants to quit smoking so we made a whole calendar for her to help her stop. Her daughter said the closing prayer and it was the sweetest prayer ever! She asked God to help her mom quit smoking. The next day when we saw Sonya, she hadn’t had a cigarette. Also, she came to all 3 hours of church and really enjoyed it!

We met another gal named Maria – Maria #4 is what we’ll call her. She can only meet with us on the weekends and so we had an appointment scheduled for Saturday and she actually remembered! The whole lesson was in Spanish and it was by far the smoothest Spanish lesson that we have had this entire transfer. The Spirit was there and “The Gift of Tongues” is real!

It is starting to get very humid and warm – I have been melting! Thank goodness for lots of water! Those darn mosquitos are a pain as well – I love bug spray!

Funny news of the week...
I am the new Branch Chorister! Yep – we should all be worried! Luckily, all I have to do is click a button and it plays the song!

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Chihuahuas and Chickens

My Zone in Wichita!

Hola!

We had iPad orientation this past week! Yep, that is right...iPads! Elder Clarke from the Seventy came and gave us some wonderful training. He didn’t talk a lot about the actual iPads, but he talked to us a lot about being converted and what happens after the mission. I thought that it was really interesting and it was truly a spiritual experience. At the end, he opened it up for questions and it was so cool to see how firm his faith is in the gospel.

We were at a recent convert’s house – and across the street – was a mom with her two daughters putting up a fence. We went across the street and asked if there was anything that we could do to help but they were just about done for the day. We were able to set up another time that we could come back. When we came back, it was just the daughters that were home and we were able to have a lesson with them. Afterwards, one of the daughters asked for help on her homework. Their mom came home when we were helping with her homework and she was very impressed and happy to see us. Long story short – another recent convert was in her class at school and so she came with us at our next appointment. It was a beautiful day so we sat out on the front porch, ate popsicles from the ice cream truck that drove by, and had a lesson. Before I knew it, I had made a commitment with her to stop eating ice cream if she would go off of coffee and she agreed. She hasn’t had coffee since then and I haven’t had ice cream - sorry Hannah! That Sunday, her mom was busy and wasn’t able to attend church so the daughter got a ride with the other recent convert. It was so amazing!

We had a “mini” missionary for the weekend! She is a gal from our Stake named Arise (age 17). She was so adorable! She was with us from Friday night to Sunday night. We had so much fun with her and were so sad when she had to leave. She was exhausted by the end of the weekend and she said that she had never seen so many Chihuahuas and chickens in her life. Also, we had so much food!

One really sweet miracle this week was that we were doing service at an investigator's house and helping her move out all this junk from her house. Her friend came over to help as well and was very impressed that young people who hardly knew her were helping. So, she wanted to learn about what we do as missionaries. Last night, we met with her and her son and she cried after the opening prayer saying that she felt something she had never felt before. She walked out of the room because she didn’t want to cry in front of us. It was such an amazing experience and it shows how the Spirit truly testifies of the truth!

Alma 26:22…
22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know themysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams