My First Baptism!!!

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

This week was awesome! It started out with an adventure...
Last Monday night, Hermana Moser was in bed (it was about 10:15 pm) and I was making sure our doors were locked. I checked the front door – and as I went to lock it – I heard yelling outside. This caught my attention so I turned off all the lights and sat on the couch and watched out the window. Outside there was a couple that was arguing. The girl looked super scared and the boyfriend – or whoever he was – was freaking out. It started to get really heated and you could tell that he was starting to get violent so I ran into the bedroom to get Hermana Moser. At the same time, she ran out of the bedroom because she had heard all of the noise. We grabbed the phone and called a member (Brother Durst) who lives down the street. Brother Durst responded super-fast and came down the street in his minivan to the rescue. As soon as he was in sight, the guy hit the girl and starting choking her. Brother Durst just shined his lights on the couple and the guy stopped. Anyhow, the cops came and took him away. What a night! The girl was okay and we haven't heard anything since.

Hermana Moser and I have not learned our lesson about mosquito repellent. We were teaching a male Spanish speaker so we were outside and we got eaten alive! We had about 20 bug bites on each leg and they itched so bad! We have mosquito repellent but we always forget to use it. That night, Hermana Moser woke up at 3:00 am and was in so much pain because of her bites. So we tried to do all that we could to stop the itching. She washed her legs in vinegar, used anti-itch cream, and all that we could think of. Our last resort was to Saran Wrap an ice pack on her legs. So, here we were at 3:00 am playing doctor, but the ice pack worked for a little while! We were both exhausted in the morning because we were up for so long trying to stop the itching.

Sunday was an awesome day! It started off a little crazy because Brother Ortiz passed out after he blessed the Sacrament, so that was really exciting for everyone. Luckily, there were members who were able to catch him. After that, he went to the hospital. They don't know completely what is wrong with him but he is doing a lot better. After Sacrament, we were sitting by a family and I noticed that the kids next to me were giggling. I looked over at them and one of the kids drew a portrait of me. I could not stop laughing! It was actually really good and he is only like eight years old! His name is Cameron and he is the cutest kid ever. He had his mom make a copy of the drawing after church so both of us could have one.

Sister Peterson came up to me and gave me a present at church. I opened it after church and it was a bunch of jewelry that she had – they were beautiful! At church I always comment on how beautiful her jewelry is so that is why she gave me some of her jewelry. She wrote me the sweetest letter that said that every sister missionary deserves some pretty jewelry. I love her so much and she is seriously like an angel here in Lamar.

My First Baptism

Marla (mom) David (dad) Nathan (12) Bethany (8)

After church was the baptism! Yay!! It was quite hectic though. There was a lot of support from the ward so that was awesome. The AP's even came all the way from Wichita for the baptism. Marla's baptism suit was super tight, so we asked her if she wanted a bigger one, and she said that she was fine because she wouldn't be able to even get this one off in time to change before the baptism. So that was pretty hilarious. But they did awesome and all of them are officially baptized and they are so happy. I love that family so much!!

Scripture of the week: Moses 6:59-61
59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;
61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.

Love y'all!

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

The Yellow Brick Road

Hola mi familia y amigos!

Last week I gave a little talk in Sacrament Meeting and this week we sang with the Young Women because they didn't have very many there. This week at Sacrament Meeting was amazing! We have been working with many less active members of the ward this week and it truly is paying off. I have never seen so many people here at church in Lamar! The Hicks came and had their baptismal interview and they all walked out of their interviews with beaming smiles on their faces. Next Sunday is their baptism - awesome!!!! This is my first baptism! I don’t know how to explain it, but it warms my soul (cheesy, but true) when people accept the gospel and change their lives.

I saw the sweetest chick fight this week! We were having a meal at Abby's house and all of a sudden we heard screaming outside. We all ran to the window and Abby's sister and her friend were going at it. The friend hopped in her car to drive away and Abby's sister went over to talk with her. The friend grabbed Abby's sister's hair and started reversing! I thought that she was going to get run over but luckily they were both okay. It was just not something that I was expecting during our lovely meal.

It was Sister Ortiz's (recent convert in December 2013) birthday last Thursday so we made cupcakes for her on Monday (P-Day). We thought that they would be rock hard by Thursday so we just kept them in the fridge – and by some miracle – they were still delicious on Thursday. Who would have guessed!? We also put a little "care package" together for her present. Their family is dear to my heart! They don't have much but they sure do take care of us missionaries.

I SAW MY FIRST TORNADO!

Well, it was actually a "Dust Devil". Really lame...but it was better than nothing.

We went to a Mission President Devotional in Liberal, Kansas on Sunday and it was amazing! It was 3 hours away and that is a lot of driving! Zariciah (our recent convert) took us and we had a fun little road trip. Of course, we had road trip treats and lots of church music.

Dorothy's House in Liberal, KS

Liberal, Kansas is where they filmed part of “The Wizard of Oz” and so they have the original house and everything there. We got to Liberal a little early so we went and saw the house. It was so fun! We literally only had 5 minutes to spend there but now I feel like I am a real Kansas missionary now that I have seen Dorothy's house. Fun, Fun, Fun!

This quote by Dennis C. Gaunt was in the Ensign this month and I absolutely loved it:
When we “act upon this land as for years,” we begin to recognize opportunities we may not have seen before. We may also see that some of these opportunities may never come our way again. Then we think, “As long as I’m here, I’m going to get involved, do the best I can, and choose to be happy. I’ll continue to hope for the future, but in the meantime, let me do some good here.” It’s the difference between treading water and actually swimming.

Love y'all…

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

My Two Month Mark – WHAT!?

OUR ZONE!

Hola!

Can you believe that it has already been two months? Man, time flies by...especially in the field. This week was great!

We ate dinner at a member’s house this week with the Elders and we had tacos. Elder Apgood ate a jalapeno and his whole face swelled up! It was hilarious. His lips turned super red and he tried everything to cool his mouth and lips down. He was sweating like crazy! He drank milk, used ice, ice cream, ChapStick, sat by the air conditioner, EVERYTHING! We went to a birthday party right after dinner so he was miserable the whole time. The heat lasted about an hour. Apparently they were different jalapenos. The rest of us were smart and didn't grab any to eat.

I had my first exchange this week and it was amazing! I went with Sister Huff to Dodge City, KS. We had dinner at a member’s house with the other set of sister missionaries there in Dodge. The family we ate with all spoke Spanish and English, but the mom only knew Spanish. I was the only Spanish speaking missionary there, so the kids would translate what was said to their mom. After dinner when it came time for a little lesson, Sister Huff turned to me and asked if I would give it in Spanish. I was not expecting that, so I just did what I could and gave the thought in Spanish. None of the other missionaries knew anything that was said – and to be honest – the family probably didn't understand either. Regardless, it was an amazing experience and the Spirit really blessed me at that time with the gift of tongues, because my Spanish is very little. Gotta love Spanish and the Spirit!

After dinner we had an appointment with a gal named Cece. They found Cece at a gas station. A couple years ago Cece met with missionaries and knew a lot about our church. Long story short – when the missionaries went over for their first visit – Cece came out with 5 Book of Mormons, multiple copies of all the pamphlets, and the Christ video in Spanish. She knew that everything was true; she was just waiting to meet with missionaries and be baptized. It was a miracle! She is an amazing woman. She lives on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere on a little farm with every animal imaginable. She had so many ducks! Of course, I took a picture of all of them because I thought it was hilarious. But there is no way that the missionaries would have found her at her house, and that is why the Spirit directed these missionaries to meet her at the gas station.

On the way to Zone Conference this week (2 hours away), we had a HUGE storm! It was sweet! When we first left, it wasn't bad at all. After 5 minutes of driving – it was hailing, raining, wind blowing, and we could hardly see in front of us. Thanks to Kansas and Colorado, the towns are like 20-30 miles apart. So, at some point, we just pulled off on the side of the road and said a prayer because we didn't know what to do. Then we continued to keep going until we got to Holly. Once we got to Holly, we waited out a little bit of the storm and called the District Leaders to see what we should do. The storm settled and we were able to make it safely. What an adventure!

One of our appointments on Saturday fell through so we decided to go see a less active named Elise Perez. I have never met her before and it had been a while since the missionaries had seen her. We were on our way to her house and Sister Moser wanted to hurry and stop at the little grocery store so she could get some cold water (she ONLY drinks cold water, she is funny). We stopped at the store and as we were checking out we were talking to the cashier, and then the cashier said that she used to see missionaries like us. We got really excited, and turns out it was Elise Perez! What!? It was awesome – what a miracle.

The Hicks family (baptism is on the 24th) had their in-laws over this weekend and they are very anti-Mormon. It kind of caused tension at their home so we were really worried that they wouldn't come to church. They live in Syracuse so it is an hour away from the church. They don't have much money so it makes it really hard for them to come to church. Hermana Moser and I went to church and the Hicks weren't there. It was so sad – but then 10 minutes after church started – they all walked in. It was such a great feeling! This is the first time I have seen them at church and I don't know how to explain it; it was just amazing to see them walk into the chapel. Gotta love being a missionary!

Lamar only has one ward and the ward is kind of struggling right now. People really don't interact with one another and they aren't really united as one – they are very individual. That is our big focus for the week because we need a strong ward to keep our investigators and recent converts active. We have a ward BBQ this week, so hopefully that will help. Our area is about 1 hour in every direction of Lamar so it is huge! We mainly focus in Lamar because it is a lot of miles to get out to the little towns and hard to have someone drive an hour to church – but it is definitely possible!

Thought of the Week (Lawrence E. Corbridge):
"You may permit the Lord to change your nature if you give yourself to Him and to His work. He cannot work on what He does not have, and He cannot have you, unless you give yourself, to Him.”

Misionera Amor
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Another Week In Lamar, CO!

Hola!

Shout out to Chaz and Lacey for their 3 year anniversary! Whoa!!

The weeks fly by so fast in the field! This week was awesome! We taught 3 people in Spanish this week.

Stana – one of our less active members – had a big surgery this week. We visit her every week and share a message and try and get her to come back to church. This week when we went over to her house we did these facial scrub things, it was so fun! They are sugar scrubs and it makes your skin feel super soft. After that, we were talking to her about the surgery that she was going to have on her stomach the next day and she was super worried about it, so we asked her if she wanted a blessing. She said “Yes”, so we told the Elders and the Elders came over and gave her a blessing. It was a beautiful blessing and you could tell that she and everyone else in the room could feel the Spirit. Her son and his girlfriend, her other boy, and her boyfriend were there with us. None of them are active, but they all commented on how awesome the blessing and feelings of the blessing was. Yay! Please pray for Stana because she needs lots of help at this time.

We have an investigator named Carmen. We go over to her place and she always has a list of questions from the Bible. Her question this week was one that I didn't know how to completely answer, so I would love to get feedback. It is in Revelation 14:1-5. Who are the 144,000 that it is talking about? I did some research, but my little brain couldn't rap all the way around it. So, if anyone knows more about this, please share. Anyway, it was Carmen's birthday this week and she invited us over for her birthday party (she is like 45). It was so fun! They had amazing food – it was barbecue with tortillas (they are Mexican). Her family was so inviting and loving. We were the only non-family members there, so that was pretty cool! Happy Birthday Carmen!

This week is the Lamar rodeo/fair/parade. I wish we could go, but there isn't anything going on today. A lot of the people we visit say that it is so much fun! One of the bands from Saturday night actually came to church yesterday and we got to meet them. They are a country band from Nashville and they were all redheads. They were so sweet and I wish I could have heard them play.

Lamar is awesome! There are nice houses and there are ghettos. We spend most of our time in the ghettos because they are more receptive to the gospel. Just this last week, we had a guy that was beaten to death and another guy that got shot in the alley. Sketchy!

Our ward members here are awesome but we are still trying to get them more involved in missionary work. This week, I experienced my first time having 2 meals in one night. We had Tika Masala (or however you spell it) and then pizza with another family. The Tika Masala was delicious!!!! I ate way too much, so it was even harder to eat pizza afterward. Johnni would not have liked it because we know how she is with her Indian food.

Speaking of food... 
If anyone has any suggestions for good quick/easy/healthy meals that would be wonderful! I love food but I just don't know what to make.

Scripture of the week: Mosiah 5:15
This was our scripture when I was in the Young Women’s program. I read it this week in the Book of Mormon and I absolutely love it!

Misionera Amor!
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

From One Paradise To Another!

I’m not in Kansas anymore … because I'm in Colorado!

They kicked me out of the State of Kansas!  I am so happy because I love small towns. I am in a small town called Lamar, CO. I love it and the people here are so awesome. We come in contact with the best and craziest people. There aren't too many Spanish speakers in our area but there are more in the neighboring towns that we cover.

Well, I had my first real missionary experience at the airport. I was in line waiting to get my airplane ticket and so I decided to test my Spanish with the lady behind me. So I started talking to her and asking how her day was, but not soon after I found out that she knew English. Thank goodness! So we started talking in English and I found out that she was going to Dallas for work and we talked about that for a while. She asked about me and I told her that I had just come from the Mexico CCM but didn't say much more. When it came time for us in line, I felt like a dummy because I had just missed my perfect opportunity to tell her about our church. We were going on the same flight, so I got out one of my Spanish Book of Mormons and wrote a little note and my testimony to her in the front and I told myself that I would give it to her while we were waiting for the plane. All of us Kansas missionaries went to the waiting area and when I saw her walk in, I said a little prayer and it took me about 5 minutes to build up the courage to go talk to her. I apologized to her first thing and I apologized for not explaining to her who I was and who I represented. Then I continued to talk to her about gospel stuff for about 30 minutes until the plane arrived. It was amazing!!!! I made so many stupid mistakes, and said stuff that I probably didn't need to, but no words could explain how I felt. At the end she told me that I was the first person to talk to her about the church and she thanked me immensely. I gave her the Book of Mormon and asked if she would read it on the plane, starting with the introduction. When I got to my seat, I talked with the other missionaries for a little bit and then turned around and she was reading!! I was so happy. I got her email and her phone number so missionaries in her area can visit her. Her name is Dafne – please put her in your prayers.

I also sat by a lady on the plane but she only spoke Spanish. Man, it was super difficult! She talked for like an hour straight and I probably only understand 1/5th of what she was saying. My brain was fried! But I wrote my testimony down in English and gave it to her with a Book of Mormon and got her information as well. It was a great missionary day!

Then I got to Kansas!!! The humidity and heat about killed me when we got off the plane and we were all sweating like crazy. But we were all so happy to be here. We were able to meet the mission president, President Bell. He is an amazing man, but also hilarious and fun as well. We had a little talent thing and the President did a mission rap – it was awesome!

That night we stayed at a member’s home because we had orientation the next day. We stayed with Sister Smith – she was so sweet and she made us all smoothies in the morning. I love members!

My companion is Hermana Moser!! She is awesome and she is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. I had to travel all the way across the state of Kansas before I could meet her. We actually both went to Northridge High School but she graduated in 2012. We knew who each other were but have never spoken before. What are the odds? We have the biggest house in our mission. It is in a duplex and has 3 rooms. So we have our room, study room, and even a workout room (which nobody really uses). Our district only consists of 4 missionaries (both of us and two English Elders).

We have met some pretty interesting people. I met my first real cat lady! She lives in a purple trailer with cats everywhere! One of their names is Stubby because he only has 3 1/2 legs. We had an appointment with a member and when we showed up there, there were cops everywhere. Next door to the Ortiz's (member) house, some guy was getting beat up and all that jazz. Sister Ortiz saw it and called the cops – what a hero! Anyways, they found the bad guys and the neighbor is doing better even though he is pretty beat up. This is why you should not drink, because it brings problems and anger!

There is a Lamar Pirate – he walks up and down the street carrying a treasure chest and picks up all the coins he finds on the ground. Gotta love small towns!

I had my first Spanish investigator this week! It was quite humorous because Hermana Moser's Spanish and mine are about on the same level, which is not that good. But, we were able to have enough of a conversation to set another appointment with him. So yay for us! We will see how this next appointment goes.

We have another investigator named Kiki and her family just moved to Lamar about 3 weeks ago. We taught her the first lesson on Saturday and it went really well. Afterward, she asked us where the food bank was and we had no idea. So, after the visit we went back to our house and got all the food we could find for her and her family because she doesn't get paid until the 8th and they didn't have money to buy groceries. It was an amazing experience as well. She was so grateful that some random 19-20 year old girls would do this for her and her family.

Our bishop is 7 feet tall – I am not kidding! He was a basketball player for BYU. His name is Bishop Anderson and I don't know his first name.

Sorry that this email is all over. Lots of stuff has happened and I wish I could tell you all of it. Just know that everything is going awesome and I love being a missionary! The experiences that I have had so far have been amazing and I look forward to the days to come. Gotta love all the bugs, bunnies, snakes, and skunks here in Colorado. The thunderstorms at night are also way sweet because there is lighting all around you. Lamar is beautiful and I love it already!

My address is...
3212 Memorial Dr.
Lamar, CO 81052

Misionera Amor
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Last Week In Paradise (I'm Off To See The Wizard!)

I LOVE MY DISTRICT!
Sorry for the ugly hair – this was my hair dilemma day with no water and shampoo in my hair...

Hola!

The day has finally come! I am so excited to be off to Kansas. I have loved the CCM so much but I am so ready to go. I feel weird being here today because the majority of the missionaries left this morning, including Hermana Ballard. Man, I am really going to miss that girl!

This week is the 24th of July, yeah! I hope everyone is able to enjoy it.

Elder Reynolds found out that he has bronchitis, but he is feeling a lot better now. Thanks so much for everyone’s prayers. He is in LA right now, so good luck to him and his mission adventures.

I don't know what I do, but my luck is not the best. Last week, I was showering in the morning and the water got shut off and I still had shampoo in my hair! The rumor was that a bomb went off or something by our water tanks, but who knows if it is true. So, I had to try and rinse out the shampoo with the little water that was dripping. So, I put my hair up the rest of the day because it was “no bueno” (not good). Then, a little while later the power went out, so it was just a great day to be getting ready. But all is great now, we have power and water!

I am truly going to miss all of the people here. On Saturday while we were packing up our stuff, other Hermanas from our district came and heart-attacked our door. It was so sweet! They wrote little notes of how much they are going to miss us and stuff – love them! Other Hermanas wrote us little notes and stuff, so we felt really special and loved. Gotta love being a missionary!

We got our first real baptism! Well...kinda. We were teaching real investigators two weeks ago, but they actually already had a baptismal date. But anyways, they got baptized on Saturday and our teacher – Hermano Palma – was able to baptize them. He said it was an amazing experience and that they were all so happy. Even though we did not really have too much of an impact on their baptism, we could feel their Spirit as we were teaching them.

We have amazing teachers here! For our going away party on Saturday, they brought us REAL Mexico tacos from the outside world. Man – they were so good! Now, I crave real tacos all the time and the stuff in the CCM does not even compare. But the food here is still really good.

When we say bye to people now, we just say "hasta eternidad" (until eternity). It is so sad but so true. All of these missionaries are going to be awesome. I can’t wait to see them in Heaven and ask them how their experience was.

My scripture of the week is D&C 4:3-4 – "Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; For behold the field is white already to harvest..."

Kansas here I come!  I can’t wait to see the beautiful wheat fields...

Misionera Amor
Siempre Una Aventura
Hermana Adams

Week Five In Paradise (Home Stretch To Kansas)

Hola!

You have no idea how ready I am for Kansas. I love the CCM, but I am ready to move on into the real world. I love the food, my native people, this place, and my companions – but not going to lie – I am excited to only have to study 3 hours a day. I love Mexico, but I do not like being in an 8 foot fence. I want to be in the city and eat tacos from a taco stand. I can´t wait to be in Kansas!

This week was the same as the previous weeks, lots of studying and lots of food!

The Hermanas and Elders that got here a week before us all left yesterday and today and it was so sad because we were so close with them. They are going to be awesome missionaries! It is crazy to think that that is going to be me in one week – I am so excited! Speaking of that, they are letting us email on Monday and we get our travel plans later today.

One of the Elders in our district has been super sick and they think that he has pneumonia. He is on his way to the hospital right now to get an x-ray of his lungs or something like that, so please keep him in your prayers. His name is Elder Reynolds.

During one lunch, there was a Hermana who was telling us her conversion story; this is a little bit of it:

She is from Colorado and she was dating a guy pretty seriously until she went off to college. Well, after she went to college, she would still come home every weekend to go to church with him. Her parents were strong Catholics and didn’t really approve of her going to church, but she did anyway because she really liked this boy. Well, after a year of going to church with her boy, he asked if she wanted to take the missionary discussions and she said, “Yes.” After the first discussion, the missionaries invited her to be baptized (as they should have), and she agreed. Her parents hated this thought and they kicked her out of their house, so she went and lived with a member in her ward for a couple of months. During these months she just worked and saved up money to buy a car so that she could move to Utah. When she got the money, she bought a car and moved to Utah, where she didn’t know anyone. Once she got to Utah, she just worked so that she could save up enough money so she could serve a mission. “She met some wonderful people and was blessed so much”, she said. Well, it has been a year and one month since her baptism, and she is here at the CCM! We asked her how she was able to handle it and she said, "Yeah, a lot of bad things happened to me, but to every bad thing that happened about 20 good things happened."

What an example! Sorry – that wasn’t the best explanation – but she is amazing and the Spirit was so strong when she was telling us her story. I wish you all could have been there to listen. The gospel changes and blesses lives!

My scripture and theme of the week is John 13:17 – "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

I love this quote by Harold B. Lee – "Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you, but on what happens inside of you."

I love being a missionary!
Misionera Amor