Happy Halloween - Part 2!

Can't get enough of the " Missionary Duo"

Hermana Adams and Hermana Valdivia

Hola!

Our investigators are doing awesome! One of the biggest miracle families that we have right now are Joseph, Tiletha, and their family. Also, Brenda is another one who is really interested. I don't really know how to explain everything over email but they are doing so good! Sister Hicks is in the hospital and we went over to see her this morning. Elder Leichty gave her the most beautiful blessing and said that she would be able to overcome this illness that she has. She was bawling at the end and said that he is the first one to tell her that she would be able to overcome it. So, of course, I cried like a baby. I love her so much!

After P-Day on Monday, we had a bunch of appointments set up and they all happened to fall through. So, Sister Valdivia and I decided to say a prayer to know who to go visit. As soon as the prayer was done, we both looked at each other and said "Brenda." We knew that it was right! Brenda is an investigator whose parents got baptized about five years ago. Brenda has 3 kids of her own and a husband. When we went over there she was so happy to see us. She gave us the biggest hugs and had a huge smile on her face. She went on to explain how she had one of the hardest days that day and our visit made her day. She just started a new job and it has been really stressful for her. After we left she sent us this text... "God is good ALL the time. I'm always amazed how he sends Angels my way just when I need them! Thank you for thinking of me tonight my Angels. I love you." We love her so much and we knew that the Spirit guided us over there that night!

We have a less-active member named Sister Zeaman. She has a hard time coming to church because of health issues and a phobia of lots of people and open spaces. We went over to her house this week and the lady that was helping to take care of her was there. While we were talking with Sister Zeaman, she invited her house lady named Linda over to talk with us. Then, Sister Zeaman bore her beautiful testimony about the Book of Mormon and how it has helped her in her life. The Spirit was so strong and we were able to help Linda better understand the gospel and how the Book of Mormon can help her in her life. She was very receptive and we can't wait to meet with her again.

Halloween!! We still wanted to have some Halloween spirit so we carved pumpkins during our lunch time. Sister Valdivia carved the Angel Moroni and I carved the temple. We attempted to bake the seeds later that night but it was a failed attempt. On Halloween morning, we made pancakes in the shape of Halloween things (e.g., pumpkin, witch hat, and so forth) but most of them just looked like blobs. Halloween day was a regular missionary day for us and that night we had a Halloween dinner over at the Loveless' house (members) and handed out candy to all the cute little kids that came around. Loved it!

"What matters most is what lasts longest!" – M. Russell Ballard

NEWS FLASH! A bomb threat at Walmart just after we left but it wasn't a big deal to us! Small town problems…

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Happy Halloween!

Hermana Adams and Hermana Valdivia

Hola!

This week has been so awesome! We broke Sister Valdivia's record for new investigators found – we found 14 new investigators! I feel like part of my personality is coming back with Sister Valdivia because she is so much fun. She reminds me a lot of Lysje – so you can only imagine! We have been a lot more dedicated and focused lately – it is so great! I don't want to leave Lamar or Sister Valdivia. Nothing new is happening with the Sarmientos. Our investigators right now that are really progressing are Angela, Courtney, and Linda.

A funny thing happened – a less-active in our ward sent us a text that said, "For some reason, I am worried about both of you! Be very careful today while you are out and about okay!?" That is always comforting to hear, right? I love Sister Zeaman! Sister Valdivia and I cracked up about this text and now we are being careful – so no worries!

I'm becoming a true cowgirl out here in Lamar! Megan and Shanae (investigator and less-active) are students at the College for Rodeo and they taught us how to rope a heffer. It is harder than it looks and I looked pretty ridiculous while trying to figure it out.

This week we taught Angela about the Word of Wisdom and it went very well! Her daughter was there with us when we were talking to her about her cigarettes. We promised that she would receive help and we knew that she could quit smoking. Her daughter turned to her and said, "Mom – I know that you can do it." Sister Valdivia and I melted when she said this because the Spirit was so strong! She is on the road to baptism – whoot, whoot! After our lesson, she taught us how to make homemade tortillas and they were so good – lard and all!

We had exchanges this week here in Lamar (both STL's came to Lamar because we are so far away). Sister Judy and I came home for dinner and realized that we didn't have a key to the house and the other Sisters were in one of the outer towns. So what did we do – we broke in! We took out the screen on our front window – and as we were trying to push the window up – it just fell off. We got in pretty fast but it is not too comforting knowing that our house is so easy to break into. Sister Judy and I were dying of laughter!

"All you need is a little faith and trust – and a little bit of Pixie Dust!"

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Welcome to Lamar - Sister Valdivia!

Hola!

The first week with Sister Valdivia was amazing and I know that this transfer is going to be awesome! Now I get to see how it really is to fully consecrate myself to the work. After exchanges this week – we were determined to still reach our standard goals – and so we worked hard and about doubled it in 4 days! We were able to get 4 new investigators in the first hour that we worked together. We didn't have any team-ups lined up yet we managed to get 7 member referrals. We had 2 of our investigators show up to church when we didn't know if anyone would show up. Angela actually showed up 40 minutes early! We taught 30 other lessons in 4 days – it was a miracle! We had so many miracles this week – it was such a faith builder. We just relied on the Lord and he provided the way. Lamar is growing in missionary work and I love it!

Sister Valdivia is seriously an awesome missionary and we have had so much fun this week! She was born in Mexico but moved to the U.S. when she was really little. She looks and talks just like Rachel Ray and she is gorgeous! I have used a whole lot more Spanish this week and I've learned a lot from her since she can correct me now.

Some fun things we did this week:

We gave Jake (dog) a bath this week because he smelled so bad! Sister Eirhart (a less-active) had knee surgery and hasn't been able to bathe him in a while. He reminded me so much of Bear except that Jake actually enjoyed the water and Bear hates it!

We got our palms read by some random guy that we talked to while visiting a less-active. It was pretty sweet and creepy at the same time. He told us that we were both good witches that had good powers. So, we told him that those powers were the Holy Ghost and that we received it when we were 8 years old. He said some other random stuff – but one thing that I remember is that he said that I am very close with my mom. I told him, "heck yeah – she's my best friend!"

Kassidy (a cute member girl that goes to LCC) got engaged this weekend! So, of course, Sister Valdivia and I went and stalked her getting engaged. We helped Abby and the fiancé set up lights at a gazebo in town so we knew when and where it was going to take place. Abby is their photographer so she took all of their professional pictures and we were her sidekicks. Anyways – later that night – we hid behind a tree and recorded the whole thing. It was so cute and they are the cutest couple ever! Then, her fiancé sang "I Stand All Amazed" in Spanish in Sacrament on Sunday and it was so awesome.

Scripture of the Week – Psalm 37:4
"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Training Has Come To An End!

Hola!

Last Sunday our district made a song for the Kansas, Wichita Mission CD – boo yeah! I actually sang a song! Weird – but it was pretty sweet! Elder Liechty is really good at making music so he wrote the lyrics and Sister Moser wrote the chorus. When it comes out, I will send it home so ya'll can listen to it.

We went on exchanges this week with the STL's and loved it! I went with Sister Runia and she is one of the best missionaries that I have ever seen. She goes home this week so I was so glad to go out with her before she left. We saw so many miracles on exchanges – we were able to put Jesus on date and he has never accepted a date before with Sister Moser and me. Then, we went running in the morning and it felt so good to run!

Our miracle this week happened when we were at Linda’s (new investigator) house. This was our first real lesson with her and we were starting to teach her about the Restoration. Before we even talked about Joseph Smith, she stopped us and asked us one question, "my mother died – can you tell me where she is?" We loved the question! We switched right over to the Plan of Salvation and told her where her mom was and that she will be able to see her again someday. She began to tear up and said that she knew what we said was true. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted! She is on date for November 1st. Love her! Milagros!

I had my first quarterly interview with the President. It lasted about 3 minutes because there were a lot of missionaries waiting to talk to him. He is an awesome guy and he is so great! His wife is amazing, too! She is the cutest little thing you'll ever meet.

Lamar Garbage Day

Sniff hard and you can probably smell us!

We did service for Lamar Garbage Day. It happens twice a year – people put garbage that they don't want on the curb and volunteers go around and put it in a truck. This is the first time I have worn jeans on my mission! We had these pretty sweet bright orange vests as well so we looked pretty legit. We had two softball girls from the college with us in the truck and we all stunk! I swear one of the bags that we picked up had a dead skunk in it because it smelled terrible. Sister Moser had to wash off with ketchup because you could still smell it on her!

Transfers! I am staying in Lamar – boo yeah! My new companion is Sister Valdevia! I have not met her but I heard that she is super amazing and nice. She is a Spanish native so she will be able to help me with my Spanish! 

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Conference! Woot, Woot!!

Hola!

We were at Sister Eirhart's house (less-active) and she was in a lot of pain because she had fallen the day before when she was taking her dog out to the bathroom. She also had a knee replacement a couple weeks prior which added to the pain. Her fall caused her to pull a lot of things in her knee (i.e., LCL, MCL, and ACL). Ouch! She is basically stuck on the couch because she can't do much walking with her knees like that. We asked her if she would like a blessing from the Elders – and she agreed – so we asked the Elders to come over. The Elders came promptly and Elder Liechty gave her a beautiful blessing. After the blessing, she stood up with ease and had a huge smile on her face. She said that most of the pain had gone away and that she has not been able to stand up that swiftly since before her surgery. What a blessing! The priesthood is real and it does perform miracles.

Sister Simons – another less-active in our ward – gave this hilarious prayer...

Bless this food, and bless this meat.

Thank you Lord, now can we eat?

She has quite the sense of humor and we all couldn't help but laugh. She has a strong testimony – but being seriously ill – has kept her from attending Sacrament meeting. We were able to go over to her house and watch General Conference with her husband and the Elders. Brother Simons is so sweet – he had snacks for us and made us lunch after both of the morning sessions. I love that family! They were both baptized about 5 years ago and have been sealed in the temple for time and eternity.

Some favorite quotes from Conference:

• "The guilty take the truth to be hard." – Lynn G. Robbins
• "The Gospel of Jesus Christ opens the path to who we can become." – D. Todd Christofferson

Conference was amazing! There were so many amazing talks and the Spirit was so strong. Love it!

We had Zone training this week and were able to watch the new film "Meet the Mormons." Love it! It was so good and it is coming to theaters pretty soon. I am pretty sure that all of the missionaries cried during the last part of the movie because it was so good.

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

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