December 15, 2009 "Exceedingly Great Joy"

Hi ev'rybody,

It's only Wednesday and we are already having a fantastic week! We have found 2 or 3 new investigators every day this week so far. I am so excited to see the miracles that will happen this Sunday. We already have about 4 people who are planning to attend the special Christmas sacrament service.

One person we met this week stands out. It had been a successful day and Sister Howe and I were about to drive home for the night. I had opened the door and was about to sit down when Sister Howe suggested we go talk to this dark man who had walked past. I was a little intimidated, but agreed. As we got closer, she asked if he was okay. I realized that he had tears in his eyes. We explained who we were and that we were here to help. He wiped his eyes and told us of his woes. The holiday season has been especially difficult for him; there are some things going on with his family. He was also dwelling on past mistakes and was overall very blue. We talked to him about Alma the Younger in the Book of Mormon and how he went through a similar experience. We read about how beautiful repentance can be and how much joy is available through understanding and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He needed to hear that. I was so grateful that we were there and that we had answers for this man. God is so mindful of each individual. I am also for Sister Howe's example of talking to everyone. That is why I do not use the phrase "greenie". Even though she has only been on her mission for a few weeks, Heavenly Father has prepared her for years and years. She has taught me so much. I love being able to serve with her.

Friday was Zone Conference. As always, it was just what I needed. We made all sorts of goals for the new year and President Van Komen got us all excited to end the year out strong. I was enjoying myself and having a great time taking notes, etc. when my worst nightmare happened. I got called on to give what we call a "five minute talk". Each conference, President will give us a theme. We are to memorize a relevant scripture and be ready to expound on it at any time. He got the idea from one of the 12 Apostles. We are supposed to practice them in our sacrament meetings and with members. OK, so I always memorize mine to a song. This time it was to "Book of Mormon Stories". Well, it turns out when you are NOT expecting to be called on (the elder who asked me to come up had never met me before) and when there are almost 100 missionaries in the audience and your mission president and ... yeah, suddenly you can't remember how to speak English. I totally blanked in the middle of my scripture and made a total fool of myself. My hands were sweating and I wanted to throw up. I found myself saying, "I don't know. I am so nervous." I ended quickly and just felt so awful. Then President got up and he's so cute. He says, "Isn't the human brain such a phenomenal thing?" He is a doctor. "It starts working when you wake up in the morning and doesn't stop...until you have to come up here and give a talk. Well done, Sister Adamson." He is the best!!

Funny quote from the week (you will think it's even funnier if you are familiar with chapter five of "Preach My Gospel"):
Why are we all such losers? -Me
That, my friend, is a question of the soul -Sister Susan Collado

Yesterday, I was on exchanges with my trainer, Sister Moody. She goes home this week and it was her last exchange. She planned it so that she and I were her final adventure. It was soooooooo much fun! I can't even tell you! Any difficulties we may have had when we were companions is totally in the past. I love her to death. It was one of the greatest days I have seen. We went and visited a few people she knows (some we had not been working with in a while). It was so neat. We taught in almost perfect unity. We could read each others' minds, it seemed. And I realized that I have grown so much from when she was training me. I was completely comfortable talking to everyone we passed and I was able to give half the lesson (unlike before where I would go into my shell and she would take over). We found a new family to teach! And a few people we have been trying to reach for months were actually home and we got appointments for this weekend. It seriously was just miracle after miracle. And we just laughed the whole day.

Our dinner actually canceled and we remembered the Sonic Burger coupons she and I had received from some investigators about 5 months ago. We forgot that Sonic doesn't have a place to eat indoors, we are not allowed to eat in the car and it was about 15 degrees outside. We drove to a ward member's house, knocked on the door and asked if we could eat. They were redo-ing their cabinets and so the kitchen was out of whack. We ate by the fireplace and just enjoyed the funny moment. It's my favorite family, the Browns. Sis Brown will do anything for the missionaries at the drop of a hat. She's the one who used to help us with our laundry and take us out for those celestial beef brisket subs. And it was perfect because Sis Moody wanted to say goodbye to them before she heads home to CA this week. Seriously, everything just fell into place. It was a wonderful day. And both of us are training new missionaries, which means they spent the day serving together. They taught 6 lessons in 6 hours. That is amazing, in case you don't know!

So I used to talk about this one family (the woman I gave the shoes to who is struggling with addictions) all the time. The reason I haven't mentioned them in awhile is that we had an awkward run-in with the father and we turned them over to the elders to teach. Anyway, they have been out of town for conferences and things (they're the assistants to the presidents) and so they requested that we go teach them. WOOHOO!! My favorite investigator family! Long story short, we get to teach the mom in the day and the elders will be teaching the entire family at night. Today, we went over and it went so well. I miss them so much. Their 13-year old daughter who got baptized a while ago is a Saint. She really holds the family together. It's so inspiring. When they say this is the "chosen generation", they're not kidding. We played that song "This is the Christ", which I think is written by Pres. Faust. She, the mom, loved it. She is getting baptized on Saturday. I love feeling that I have helped get her ready.

Not much time left. Love you all! I'm having such a good time. I know the Gospel is true and I love how each of us can have that witness as we make the effort.

Love you muchly,

sister roo adamson HAPPY HOLIDAY-INGS

PS a reminder to friends that I love getting your emails, but I cannot respond until you provide your home address. Snail mail-boo

December 9, 2009 "Happy Holidays"

Hi everyone,

We had a great week! Though a few (feels like a million) of our appointments have canceled on us, we had success this week. We had one really neat experience where a less active member-woman we are working with asked for a priesthood blessing. Her husband is not very nice to her and does not support her in her faith. She feels very alone and just needed a boost. We asked the senior elder on shift at the VC (where we were for the lesson) to give the blessing. It was beautiful. She was promised that if she continued to be faithful, her husband would soften and follow her example. Holy smokes! He is a hard one, if you know what I mean. We were all crying, not able to express how strong the feeling was in the room. I loved it. She is going to change her attitude, I know it. I can't wait to see her get to the temple! She is ready to start on that path and it is so exciting.

There’s this one family we are teaching where the parents are like in and out. They like us coming over and everything, they just don’t really get who we are. But last time we went, we both felt very strongly that we were there for their 13 year old daughter. She knows her stuff. She was telling us what she thinks the gift of tongues is. It’s totally Mormon doctrine. So interesting! She reads the Bible for fun. Yes, she is 13. Who is this generation? She could be like the General Young Womens president someday. I’m serious.

A sister in the ward we have been trying to get a hold of since July FINALLY let us in for a lesson. OK, so I tricked her and asked for some hot chocolate. We sat in her kitchen and talked about her recent divorce. She has picked up smoking and wants to quit. She offered to feed us dinner another night. Woohoo! She got talking about how the only religious thing lately in her life is this book her sister suggested- Anita Stansfield's "the Guardian", I guess. She said she read this one line about the Atonement and started bawling. She knelt down and prayed for the first time in months and months. She could feel Heavenly Father just carrying her. How wonderful is that?! Then we told her that we felt inspired to talk about that very thing with her tonight. We explained that we always pray before we go to someone’s house and confirm with god what we should prepare to teach. With her, we had planned to talk about the Atonement. We shared some comforting scriptures and tried to let her know how much she is loved. It went really well. Something so interesting about being a missionary- I can FEEL how much God loves these people. Even total strangers. I wish they knew what I felt around them. I wish each of us really knew. It’s kind of weird, but wonderful. Here is something neat we talked about in Relief Society on Sunday. When Christ goes to the Garden, he askes his apostles to stay, to wait, to stay awake or whatever. He shows us that we need each other. It’s okay to ask for help. In fact, we should ask for help. We are placed in the specific families, the groups of friends, the circle of coworkers etc. for a reason. We are here to lift each other. So thank you, all of you, for helping to lift me.

May each of you find the time to meditate this week and think about Christ and really what we can learn from Him. Please take a second to say a prayer, thanking Heavenly Father for sending His son. Life would not be possible without our Redeemer Jesus Christ.

Love you,

Sister Roo

December 2, 2009 "My First Baptismal Challenge!"

Me with the Ward Missionaries -The Andrees- on Thanksgiving

Me with a man who had an original 1830 Book of Mormon -click on it to zoom in on the title page! So cool!

Woohoo! I feel so pumped. If you remember last week, my zone leader challenged me to invite ALL of our investigators to be baptized. We have a little pool of about 10 people we are working with. We dropped 2 and found another 2. Funny how that works. Anyway, up to this point, I had never asked anyone to be baptized. But we keep having these trainings lately about creating an environment, not just wishing the moment would arise.

We did it! We invited someone to be baptized. I don't even care that she said "I don't know" and that she would pray about. I did my job! The Spirit will do the rest.

Anyway, I had the spiritual highlight of my mission (so far) on Monday. Really, I think I should call it "The first of many spiritual highlights" So backing up a week or so. I may have written about this young woman last week...she let us right in before she knew who we were. She was visiting her aunt and lives in FL. We decided to try her aunt on Monday. But it was the same girl who answered! We had a team up with us, my favorite sister in the ward. It was amazing. Turns out, this cute girl was studying about "fasting" in the bible and thinking about our last visit when we knocked. She was planning to leave for the airport in an hour. She recognized that we were an answer to prayer. She is 18 and trying to figure out life. She is searching. She has been reading the Book of Mormon. We found her the nearest chapel to attend on Sunday when she goes back to FL. She talked about her grandmother who passed away. I was so so so happy to testify with absolute confidence that she will see her grandma again. I love teaching people about Heavenly Father's perfect Plan. She wanted to know everything! She took notes and was highlighting the verses we shared. I have never met anyone so ridiculously prepared for the message of the restored gospel. She wants to serve a mission! She asked for all of our phone numbers and addresses to keep in contact. She said we changed her life. The discussion, by the end, turned into "when you join the church", not if. There are no words to describe how I felt. Alma uses the phrase "that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory". That'll have to do. :)

I feel so blessed to be a VC sister, where I have the chance to call her from our referral center. I can keep in contact with her! I love that! I just have this feeling we will be friends forever. I love her so much.

What else happened this week? I bought a pair of schmancy boots. I know, I know. I feel like a rockstar. They're pretty great. funny story with that, though. It was last preparation day and we needed to get permission to go to the mall to look for boots. We had been giggling about it, because we have to get permission from these little elders who were born in 1990...Yeah, they're like 12. Sister Howe was mid laugh when they called us back. Instead of explaining anything about my boots, she just spits out "Elder, can we go to the mall? hee hee hee" Oh my gosh. It was hi-lar-ious! He made us promise no window shopping.

We have certain families the bishop wants us to focus on. The one picture I sent once with the old man with no teeth, with pizza on his mouth- he is not a member and his family is one of ours to teach. His wife has been less active for years and years. AND she has come to church for the last 3 weeks. I actually am doing some good out here. thanks, Heavenly Father. We planned a pizza party/date night with this family and our ward missionaries. They. hit. it. off. They're best friends now and were planning a camping trip for the spring. We had them watch a movie after we left to get to another appointment. I guess the four of them talked about it afterward and stayed up until 1 AM discussing eternal families and temples! I love it! They're like in their 60s, by the way. How cute is that?

We had a full proselyting day and I was on exchanges with a new sister (Sis Moody is training her). She has a lot of the same challenges I had when I first came out, so we bonded really well. We found a few new people to teach and tried to drop one woman who just will never make appointments and she turned it around and made an appointment for the first time! We're seeing her at the VC on Saturday.
And we're gonna (with lots and lots of help from Above) commit her for baptism. Wish me success!

We're singing a song in Samoan tonight, as a zone, for the stake presidency and our mission president and lots of other important people. We have been practicing at 6AM the last few mornings. It's actually been fun! "Tula I Mai a ... O mai a iSiona" I love it! I may just come home saying "Talofa" all the days. Who knows?

Ahh! It's just been a week of miracle after miracle. It's about time for the sisters in the Inde 4th ward. We have the assistants to the president in our ward and it's so difficult when they unknowingly steal all of the members we are trying to work with. They've had lots of baptisms lately and I just feel like it's about to go up for the sisters. And we're gonna do it in half the time (because of the VC schedule).

A gentle reminder, when you email me, please put your home address, so I can write back.

Man, I am so blessed to be here in Zion. When we sing "As Sisters in Zion", it's like...legit. Keep doing missionary work in your own way. It's making a difference in this crazy world. Thanks for your love, your prayers, your letters and emails. I will try to write everybody back!

Lots and lots and lots of L-O-V-E,

Sister Roo Adamson

November 25, 2009 "Happing Thanksgiving"

This is my companion, the model. She always has to back me out and I looked back there and just had to smile. Look how cute she is. No, there are no boys writing her. You should--it's my same address. But seriously.

Turns out apple vinegar is not any more delicious than the other vinegars.

The Hot and Ready sign was up...free donuts! Reminded me of Bree...we used to do that all the time.

One year from today I will be home. November 24th. Weird, I know.

Hi everyone,

I pray that you each have a most fantastic Thanksgiving holiday. I love you all! Please don't send me sweets; I already have way too much.

I want to tell you about a man who has changed my life. So Sis Howe and I had just gotten on shift at the VC. Someone earlier had started the Joseph Smith movie for this man and we needed to go down and end it. We usually bear testimony and ask if they want a history tour or whatever. Well, we walk in and he is like bawling- for those who haven't seen the movie, do it. It's a tear-jerker. He stays and talks to us for probably another twenty minutes. Even though we would probably never see him again, he wanted to know all about our hobbies, our families, our interests. He, in turn, told us about how he'd had a rough divorce, lost his job and had hit rock bottom. He is still on his way up. I have never met someone so sincere. He just CARED. Sis Howe happened to mention that her fav food is breadsticks from Olive Garden. When he finally left, he said "Oh yeah, where is the closest Olive Garden?" and returned a few minutes later with breadsticks! I can't even express to you how much he inspired me. I want to be like that. Total strangers can become your new best friend in a few minutes.

Tracting story- woot woot! We felt prompted to knock this one house with a big bee-autiful eagle wood carving out front. Sis Howe has this amazing gift that gets us in doors...I dunno. I'm trying to figure it out. It never used to happen before and now it does all the days. So she lets us in and we teach about the restoration. This woman had tears in her eyes. It was so great! She felt it. I know she did. When we told her about the Book of Mormon, she ate it up. We asked her to just read the intro and then pray to know it's true and she goes "Oh, this is so short. I could probably read the whole thing." We're like "Yeah! Go for it!" And Sis Howe starts telling her about Lehi's family... I'm telling you. My companion is an angel.

We've been working with a part member family and the wife has now come twice to church lately! The husband came once. And we have a pizza party/Movie date night set up with them (Sis Howe will be my date, of course. I figure we'll probably sit by each other and ya know...) I am pumped! It's the first time the husband has set up an appointment. It's at a member's home and we're watching "Together Forever" to teach about temples.

My zone leader, Elder Swayt made me promise I would invite all of our investigators to be baptized as soon as possible. Oh. My. Word. I am terrified. I've never committed anyone for baptism before, and I haven't seen anyone else do it (in real life, only in practice). BUT if Heavenly Father is going to put two new missionaries together who have no idea what they are doing, then He is going to help us do this. I know He will. He has seriously been carrying us lately. We have almost all new people to teach in the last few weeks. Those who were not keeping commitments...adios.

Oh, and we taught Gospel Principles and it was a total flop. The Relief Society President in our ward is very professional, very ... I don't know- different from me? And she kept asking really hard questions like "Will you explain why women do not hold the priesthood?" Thank you. I love her and I appreciate her talents and the wonderful things she brings to the RS; we're just different.

Quotes from this week:

In a talk at Church, while reading about the Spirit World, a single adult in the ward said "Never-happy endingness". It's so true though. When we make wrong choices, we cannot be happy. It's a law God has to follow. Hmmm, food for thought or whatever

I'm taking this darling family on a history tour. At one point, you go inside a cabin and listen to journal entries of pioneers. To make it more interesting, there are flat screens that show video clips of the seasons changing. So this little 3 year old girl chuckles, sighs, rolls her eyes and says under her breath "Psh-talking windows". As if to say "they think theyr'e sooooooo clever, those windows". It was so stinking funny! I about died! 3 years old. It reminded me of Aunt Lisa's little Kate. Or something Zoe would say.

I feel like this is the longest email in the world and I still have not left you with a Spiritual thought :) Here you go. I like how you can really get to know Christ through the scriptures. The New Testament gives us a glimpse of what He was like while on earth. Check out Mark 8:12 and 23 just to see how gentle He is. I love it! He sighed deep in His soul. He cares about each of us so much. I have learned to rely on Him so much more than I possibly could have imagined. We deny ourselves so many blessings when we try to do things on our own. He lives. I know this. He is everything to me.

Lots of love,

sister roo adamson

November 18, 2009

A man we took on tour loved us so much, he brought us Olive Garden bread sticks.

For Bubba's birthday I wore his scarf in his honor. Will you tell him Happy Birthday for me?

My new companion, Sis. Howe. I made her a candy lei

Hello to you all,

So...here's how the phone conversation went with President. "Sister Adamson, the Lord has called you to be a trainer." "Does the Lord know how new I am?" :) Man, I was terrified!

But I am loving this! I still cannot believe the Lord has trusted me to be a trainer. Sister Howe is wonderful! She's from Ephraim, UT. A total sweetheart. I feel so honored to serve with her and never would have guessed she is new to the mission. I am trying my best to help her feel equal. Already we have seen many miracles! It makes such a difference with there is no tension in the companionship. She is so teachable, so loving.

We found a new family to teach who seem very promising. They recently had a baby and area searching for answers to their questions. Once they had accidentally attended a Community of Christ worship service and asked us about the differences and wanted to know about temples. I was so excited for an opportunity to bear my testimony about the priesthood power.

We have one investigator (seventeen years old) who keeps all her commitments and loves to learn, but her parents will not allow us to teach her. They hung up a sign on the front door telling us not to come back. This is after they had given permission to let us teach. Sister Howe and I plan to fast tomorrow for her and a few others.

On maybe her second night in the field, we went out to search out some people who had once said they were interested in the Gospel. None of them were home, so it turned into tracting. Cold and wet. We had 2 people let us in before they even knew who we were! I think sometimes, people can just feel something different about us. The first was a bit chaotic just because there were so many children. The mom is super eager to learn more. She loved the idea of having a second witness of Jesus Christ (Book of Mormon). Too bad we'll have to pass her off to another ward. She was visiting the home for the evening. The second lesson was going so great until "...And when the light rested upon me, I saw two personages" RING RING! We got interrupted by E****. He came into the apartment and just brought a horrid, contentious spirit. He is from Sudan and does NOT believe the things we were teaching his friend. It's so sad because she was so sweet and was enjoying the lesson until he popped up. He was short with us, but we left on a good note. We are going to help her find a nursing job with some help with ward members.

We are cleaning up our list of investogators. Pretty much none of them are progressing. But I absolutely KNOW the Lord will fill it again. He's done it before. I had to drop 3 over the phone this week.

Here's my favorite recent miracle. OK, when Sis Balois got transferred back to the 4th ward, she asked the old ward mission leader, Brother Tonga, who he thought we should visit. He mentioned a family. We searched our area book for former people missionaries had worked with. No luck. Then one day, out tracting, we knocked this one door. "Oh, she just left." We had no idea who she was, but he let us in for a few mins. We taught a short L1 and got a return appt. We got his name and it clicked. This is the family Bro T. wanted us to visit. So we've taught them a few times and then ... Monday night happened. We got Bro T. to tag along for the lesson. He brought his geneology, which is seriously traced back to Adam. You see, he is from royal blood from the friendly island kingdom of Tonga and he apparently paid lots of monies to get this done. He bore incredible testimony about the sealing power found only in Temples. He helped them see how we are not just another Christian church. They began to understand the importance of baptisms for the dead and eternal families. Something inside of these people finally clicked. Brother Mason was crying. We have invited them so many times to keep certain commintments with no response. This time, when Brother Tonga invited them to church, they said yes!! It was amazing.

Training is great! I still feel very new, but we are learning together and I love it. I love the gospel with all my heart. Serving a mission is the best decision I ever made. I can't wait to see more miracles! This week, I am working on really talking to everyone, even when it is uncomfortable. I will leave you with a neat quote I heard in sacrament meeting:

"A mind stretched to a new dimension will rarely return to its original state." That is how I feel. I will never be who I used to be. I am slowly trying to become who the Lord needs me to be. I'm so grateful to be serving in the Missouri Independence Mission with so many terrific missionaries. What a blessing to be the Lord's full-time servant.

With Love,

Sister Adamson

November 10, 2009

Our dear friend (and recent convert) Sis Andree at the St. Louis Temple. She and her husband are our ward missionaries. They go out on team ups with us like twice a week. They're my favorite!!

Backyard Burger after the All Mission Conference (me and Sis Balois)

The St. Louis Temple

What a wonderful experience this week has been. The All Mission Conference with Elder Russell M Nelson went smoothly and the Spirit was felt so strongly. There were 230 missionaries and some members who had given the missionaries rides. We gathered in the cultural hall of the stake center here in Independence. When Elder Nelson walked in, the room got silent. The Spirit bore witness, again, that this man is indeed a special witness of Christ. He carries himself with confidence, but with humility. Did I already mention he is one of the Liberty Jail sister’s grandfather? What would that be like? Pres VK and sis VK spoke briefly. Then Sis Wendy Nelson spoke. I fell in love with her at the MTC, where she gave a hilarious talk on following the Spirit. She told a few of the same experiences and made me tear up when she said “If you could only watch 10 mins of your ‘premortal DVD’ and saw who you really were and are, it would make all your hideous struggles, all your trails just melt away.” I have been praying lately to have my eyes opened to see what God sees in me. He has helped me to recognize some of my gifts. Do it! You will have the same experience.

Something funny first: so Elder Nelson agreed to shake each missionary’s hand. When I went through, he said “It’s nice to meet you.” When my companion went through, he asked “Where are you from?”, to which she responded, “New Jersey.” Then later, he had all the international missionaries stand up. He asked “Who was born in Asia? Please stand.” Sis Sasaki and my companion stood up. He looked surprised and said “Where are you from?” to Sis Balois. She’s like “New Jersey.” Everyone laughed. "But I was BORN in the Philipines" It was so great! See, he changed the question on her. We had a good chuckle about it the rest of the week.

I have always known God answers prayers, but I love it when He surprises me with unique answers. Before the conference, I had written down and told God all about my struggles. I knew He would answer them, but little did I know… Elder Nelson stopped His talk and said, “I can feel that 2 or 3 of you have questions that you have come with. You want them answered.” So I stood up and asked him. Yep! Me. An Apostle of Jesus Christ looked me straight in the eye and answered my concern. Those eyes have seen things I can’t even imagine. I know God answers prayers. I know it. And I know Elder Nelson has been called of God to teach us, to guide us, to testify of Christ.

My question was “How can I know God accepts my work? How can I know He is pleased in me?” He turned straight to section 31 of the Doctrine and Covenants, where the Lord promises to bless missionaries’ families. “Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you…your family shall live.” It was such an incredible experience. The Spirit let me know some ways I can know I am successful, which are personal and I won’t share, but just know it was one of the neatest things that has ever happened to me. God is real. He listens.

Our area is doing well. We are trying to discern which investigators are really interested as we are kind of in an “I’ll call you” rut. We have a few families who seem promising. It’s difficult when there is tension in the air sometimes, though. I have enjoyed this transfer, trying to really understand what it means to me a missionary. I have learned to rely more of prayer, more than ever in my life. I’m so grateful for this chance to focus on the Lord and His will.

I don’t have much else to report on. I just want to express my gratitude, again, for all you do for me. I know this is the only true church. I have seen too many miracles out here to ever, ever doubt that.

With love,

Sister Adamson

November 3, 2009 "AdamsOn-di-Ahman"

Hi Everybody,

Halloween was wonderful. I was privileged to join with the other new VC sisters for a church history trip. I had been to each of the places as a kid, but going while set apart as a missionary was especially inspiring. At Liberty Jail, it struck me how much I am not alone. I was surprised to find that Joseph was incarcerated for more than 120 days and didn’t receive revelation from the Lord until the 110th day. It was so humbling to feel just a tiny portion of what he must have gone through. Walking into the jail brought a feeling one can only find in the temple. I feel changed having been there. Adam-Ondi-Ahman was another highlight, of course. Bro Brickey, a man who lives up there and teaches Institute to the people of Gallitan and the surrounding areas, did an excellent job inviting the Spirit while explaining the significance of that place. It helped me to feel closer to God, closer to Adam and Eve. I was able to take a few minutes to just close my eyes and imagine being there with our first parents. It made me miss the temple endowment. I love learning more and more about sacred things out here. Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve to even be here, especially to be trusted as a missionary here. I adore the Gospel with all my heart. I know it has been restored fully and feel so blessed to be a part of this great work.

Halloween night, we did service with some ward members. We helped to clean, move and organize their food storage (and they had a lot!). I have learned so much from the members of the 4th ward that I know I can take home and apply when I am a wife and mother.

We have had a great week in our ward. One of the part member families we have been teaching came to sacrament meeting. Also, the Lord is continuing to bless Sis Balois and I with new investigators. We seem to consistently find about 3 a week. There are a few that we feel will progress to baptism in the near future.

One of our appointments fell through, so we walked across the street to knock their door. A man answers and says “You just missed her! She will probably be back in about half an hour.” Having no idea who this man was or who he was referring to, we just went along with it. “Oh, OK. Well, we would love to do a short lesson with you, since we can only be inside with a single man for a few minutes.” He agreed. Turns out, the missionaries have visited his mother before, but never shared anything with him. We taught him all about how God has restored the Gospel through Joseph Smith and how the Book of Mormon will change his life is he lets it. It was so great! He wants us to come back in 2 days. And then he said we were an answer to prayer—kinda funny. He was looking for good, honest people to help him move furniture for a garage sale. Yay for elders! We gave him the elders’ phone number and they were able to help him out.

On a more random note, they were giving out free Black Jack tacos on Halloween. They are my new favorite fast food addiction (only because Taco Bell stopped selling those double cheesy beef burritos). So if you haven’t had one yet, go get one…errr, WILL YOU go buy a black jack taco this week? I PROMISE YOU, you will love it and it will be worth the 80 cents or whatever. I KNOW these tacos will change your life… Oh, missionary humor. I am a geek. My apologies in the future when I am socially awkward.

Quote from this week:

“Mommy, can we go take a picture with Him”- a little girl, pointing to the Christus statue at the VC (mostly people say “it”, not “Him”). It was very touching. Children are so close to the Spirit.

At church on Sunday, our second counselor (a big Polynesian guy) in the bishopric raised his hand to oppose someone with a new calling. It was hilarious! And then he announced that they were going to have a special fireside on abortion. He came into Relief Society later and apologized. It is on adoption. Ha ha!

Yesterday, I had quite the experience on the phone. Sometimes we sign in to take calls when people order free DVDs and copies of the Book of Mormon, etc. This woman called in, crying, telling me how she had just had a divorce, her husband cheated on her…basically, a horrible experience. She is a member of the Church and just needed to talk. For about half an hour, I helped calm her down. We read scriptures together, she told me about her grandchildren. Then it hit me how she could best help herself. I asked where the closest Visitors’ Center was. After finding out the Twin Falls temple was minutes away, I told her she should bring a gift to the sister missionaries who serve there. I suggested fruit and vegetables. I got her laughing when I asked about Idaho’s “Famous Potatoes”. She said she hadn’t laughed in days. She just bawled and bawled and thanked me for helping her. I don’t even know this woman, but I love her. I feel so connected to her. We were able to sympathize with each other…we talked about our challenges feeling alone, rejected. I reminded her that even though I had no idea what she was going through, Jesus Christ knows exactly how she feels. She just needed to hear that she is loved. Isn’t that funny how often we forget that?

Well, my friends, I am out of time. I love you all. Thank you for everything! Love you tons,

Sister Rouxy Adamson-di-Ahman

PS Russell M Nelson is coming on the 6th. I get to shake his hand. Woot woot!

October 27, 2009

Here goes nothin’. I do not have very much time. This week, I got to go to the St Louis temple with a sister in the ward who was baptized in May. It went really well. She had 2 sets of missionaries with her (us current ones and the one who had taught her and her comp, who is Sis Sasaki). I loved it! It was neat to be there. I miss the temple so bad, especially having like 6 within an hour’s drive. Take advantage! So many people are waiting for their work to be done.

We keep running into the elders in our ward. It hasn’t really happened in the past, but for some reason lately, they keep showing up at our appointments and things. It’s so awkward! We walked into one appointment with new members and they were there, hiding. We can’t be in the same place with them, so they had to leave. And then twice recently ward members have signed up to teach both sets of missionaries (against the rules). Party time, right? Ha ha! We had to get another family to feed us.

During a lesson, we hear this scratching/biting sound. We look down and there is a giant RAT eating Sis Balois’ boots! Freak out! It was under the table. Turns out it’s their family pet…anyway, it was hilarious! She kept “gently” forcing him off her leather boots with the other foot. Eventually, she found that the best way was to lift both feet up, out straight. I was laughing SOOOOO hard! She somehow kept a straight face. It was great.

We’ve been working with this part member family for some time now. I mentioned before when we fasted that he could come to church and he did…well, we feel like they’re not really progressing, so we went in and had just a super solid lesson one (the restoration). We had a team up, who we are reluctant to take because of awkward situations in the past (for example “Your baptism doesn’t count. You are in the wrong church”---yikes. Please, Sister, be careful!) and she proved again to provide us with lots of tension in the room. Maybe that’s what they need, though…? Well, she brought up the fact that they are not married and “how will you get to the celestial kingdom if you…” etc. It was ga-reat. Welp! Heavenly Father knows what He is doing, so I trust it will turn out okay. Too bad they are no longer returning our phone calls.

We had interviews with Pres VK this week. In mine, I told him all about my wonderful parents who are now Spanish missionaries!! He was ecstatic! Then I told him how I am trying to sympathize with you by saying our companionship prayers in Spanish…he looks at my nametag and with furrowed eyebrows asks me, “You’re not Spanish-speaking, are you?” No, president. I figure I will let HIM come up with the idea, instead of suggesting it. He made a “hmmm” sound after that. We shall see!

While Sis Balois was in her interview, I had a minute or two where the elders were cleaning up their bags and the other sisters had left. I was only bending the rules for a second (I don’t actually know where I am supposed to be when my comp is in an interview), it felt so good. It made me feel like “One of the guys”. The elders are pretty comfortable around me. I thanked our Zone Leader, Elder Swayt (he’s from Sandy, UT) for his training on gossip. It was so needed! It’s been kind of an issue at the VC lately.

The other say, I got a nap during our lunch break. Best day ever.

I am struggling to make my Referral Calls (when people come into the VC, we ask them for people we can call to send a free DVD/BoM/missionaries). It’s terrifying! But I made some yesterday. Hardest thing in the world. I start crying every time from anxiety. But they’re making schedules for us, to force us to make the calls. So I am slowly getting over it.

The New Sis Trip, where we visit all the historic sites is on Halloween. That should be fun!
The best part: Exchanges with Sis Higbee! She’s my hero. I absolutely love her. She’s sis Card’s companion, the one I go to for motherly love. Their new area (they’re doing damage control from some floppy elders) is pretty far away. It takes about 25 mins to drive there. We had watching the Joseph Smith movie at the VC with an investigator, then were headed out to their area. We had doubts whether we should actually take the time to drive all the way out there. We would only have about 25 mins in the area… maybe 40 if we went straight to someone’s home. No set appointments. We get out there and are lost. The map stinks. And suddenly Sis Higbee can’t remember this one person’s house, although she had been there ten times. We kept getting stuck on Green Street. Over and over, we would turn and there is Green St again. So we say that we must NEED to be there. We agreed we would teach a lesson to whoever we saw, no matter what. We pull over for a prayer. It’s funny how sometimes we forget to involve Heavenly Father, huh? After the prayer, she goes “I know where we need to be. There’s a house on this street with a porch light on. We are going to teach whoever is there.” We slowly drive down the street. Nothing, nothing. Then we see a person get into a car. Person! Done. We look up and ba-da-bing: the porch light is on! This is our person. Then Sis Higbee goes “Wait. I know this house. This is an investigator’s house we tried to visit once…C****! Her name is C*****!” We hop out to catch the person before they drive away. A young woman gets out and greets US. “Hi , sisters! Man, I just keep running into missionaries lately.” So we got out and asked her why she prayed us here. We told her all about the experience and how aware of her God is. I got a feeling like she needed to read Alma 40 and out of the blue, Sis Higbee says “And Sis Adamson has a chapter from the Book of Mormon for you to read.” Talk about companionship unity! Seriously, it was such a miracle. I loved that God trusted us. Miracle happen! You have to just expect them, then keep your eyes open.


Love you all. Hope this made sense. It's the longest one I've done in a while to make up for last week. Thanks for your letters and emails and prayers and everything!! I have the best friends and family in the world!

Luff,

Sister Rufis Adamson

One thing for friends who email- PLEASE PLEASE send me your home address, so I can write. I got an email from Jarom...I need his address. I'm not allowed to email friends, but I want to write back.

October 20, 2009

Me and Sister Card, singin' in the rain (on exchanges last week). Man, I love her.

Here's the group who volunteered for the Halloween thing last week. We couldn't really talk religion with the other community members, we could only wear our nametag and answer any questions. It was fun! We filled pumpkins with sand and froze our fingers off.

Look, ma. I'm a mish-a-merry. This is me pondering "Hmm, If I could hie to Kolob..."

OK, so we had a sister whose camera got erased and we are trying to figure that out.

It's been a crazy week. We had our first FULL proselyting day. I wanted to never go back to the VC after that. Woohoo, missionary work!

Maybe I'll have time to write a letter. Sorry! Love you all.

Sis Adamson

October 13, 2009

We had a really great lesson with the perfect teamup this week. Both the family we were teaching and Sis H. have been through cancer treatments with their daughters. They really connected and the Spirit was there. It's one of those families who loves the lessons, but doesn't really get it. This is the restored Gospel, not just something nice. We're working on making sure they understand our purpose. Super cute family, though. They are way busy because the little daughter has all sorts of fundraisers and parties she goes to. She's sponsored by lots of companies who give her free stuff all the time. Isn't it awful that she had to have cancer in order to have all that? 3 more people in our ward out here have cancer, we found out. Man, poor God can't kill us anymore with the usual. He has to send crazy diseases that just shut down the body. Off topic...Anyway...

I was on exchanges with Sis Card (MTC comp) this week. So fun! She got transferred to an area that hasn't had sisters in it for like 12 years. And the elders (bless their little hearts) who left the area didn't keep the best records. Instead of a neatly organized area book, they left a sheet of lined school paper with the info for one investigator and some appointments they had made with ward members. Yikes! We had fun that day, finding. Good ole street contacting and knocking. OK, so story time: this one older woman came to the door. "Wow, you are beautiful." She looks at Sis Card, "You should really be a model." Sympathy laugh. Then she looks at me, "And oh...you're pretty too." Gee, thanks! ha ha!

Friday night, our dinner was fish. The kind where his fins are still attached and his little head is cut off. I seriously almost teared up. Luckily, it was a drop-off to the VC instead of at the family's house. Oh my gosh. Sis Balois also hates fish, so we had her friend order Chinese for us. I gave the fish to the new sister from Samoa. Hey any more news about the tsunami there? We have tons of Samoans in the ward, but I don't think any of their families were hurt out there.

The new sisters trip where we get to go to Adam-Ondi-Ahman, etc. should be soon. I'm kind of tired of waiting. It will be so cold! It is coat weather now. I wear my maroon pea coat every day. Also temple trip on the 24th!

And also there is this funny couple in the ward who doesn't come to church. They are maybe in their 50s or 60s. The man is not a member of the church, but he enjoys our visits. I have never met a more sarcastic old man. He is seriously a hoot! He is darling, though. He walks us to our car and makes sure we have gloves and cookies. We (Ok, my companion) kind of tricked them into taking us out to eat this weekend. That should be fun. Plus, we can get a lesson in so that they continue to have spiritual experiences though they are not attending the ward. We'll get them back. The other day after one of our visits with them, Sis Balois goes "You might be the key that gets Bro C back to church." Man, he is funny. I hope so. I think we really click. Pure testimony...that's what it will take.

The anniversary for the missionary manual Preach My Gospel is on Thursday. I love that book. One of my new favorite lines from Preach My Gospel is about how Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home. Amen! I think we do not understand fully the importance of these little units called families. I'm so grateful to have grown up in a home where I learned that I am a child of God, that I knew God answers prayers and where I was loved. Thank you to my dear parents, siblings (and friends!) who raised me. The best way (the only way, really) to find lasting happiness is through the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. This I know. It's the reason I am here- to help others see that we all have a long way to go to be like our Savior and he has provided so many wonderful ways to do so.

I feel like this was really scattered, but who cares? The Church is true. Love you all!

Love,

Sister Adamson

"If God is your co-pilot, switch seats" -Bumper Sticker

October 6, 2009

General Conference at the VC...brrr!

Elder and Sister Viking

My new comp, Sheryll Balois (her family is Filipino)

I have had an eventful week, too, with General Conference and a new companion. I feel like time flies faster and faster the longer I am out here. My new companion's name is Sheryll Balois, from New Jersey. I think we both needed each other. She is very patient with me as I am trying to learn how to be a missionary. She helps me feel important and involved. We think differently sometimes, which is turning out to be great because I'm learning how to better communicate my feelings. We have little "gratitude moments" each night where we talk about what we are thankful for, about each other. It's fun! We have rearranged the furniture and the Area Book. I'm so excited for this transfer! We are ready to work hard and find joy serving together. She is super organized and professional, which is fantastic because I have so much to learn in that area of life. There have been some sisters who have had a hard time, I guess? Anyway, it's going to be great.

Yesterday, we saw a neat miracle. The part member family we had planned to visit wasn't home, so we started toward the car. We saw a young woman attempting to carry a broken bookshelf down to the dumpster and offered to help. As we carried the wood downstairs, we found out she had recently been robbed (her car and her home). She has an incredible attitude about the whole thing and I learned a lot from her perspective on life and material things. She invited us inside for a lesson. She loved learning about The Book of Mormon and said "I've been needing something like this!" Heavenly Father is answering our prayers by sending us prepared people. I also think he is showing us that we need to drop those we area teaching who aren't progressing in the Gospel (something I thought would be harder than it is...I think only because I pray a TON about having His help with it).

My last few days with Sis Moody, we went to Clinton's Soda Fountain. It's where U.S. Pres Harry Truman worked when he was a kid. It's so fun! It's totally old fashioned. We got some cute pictures. Then we walked across the street to where they were having this Scandinavian Festival...? And we took a hilarious picture with this cutout "Viking couple" (where you poke your heads through). Oh my gosh! Such a blast! I made CDs of all my pictures, so they will be coming in the mail soon.

General Conference was, of course, inspiring. If I was on shift at the VC during the session, I was huddled with the other sisters around a laptop up front...freezing (for some reason the air conditioning is stuck ON). If I was not on shift, I was next door at the stake center, watching the broadcast. We didn't have any investigators attend, unfortunately, though some promised they would. This was the first time I really took separate notes, not from their words, but from the Spirit. I had attempted to do this in the past (at home), but had not yet experienced such great personal revelation. Several people were brought to mind that I needed to follow up with something or at least write a letter to. I saw things that I need to share with families who come through the Visitors' Center. I learned from the way the general authorities present themselves. My favorite talk was by Tad R Callister, on his testimony of Joseph Smith. He presented it so simply and powerfully. It helped to make my testimony firmer that Joseph did, in reality, have a visit from God the Father and Jesus Christ. I love studying about prophets and how my calling as a missionary is similar in that I am here to testify and teach. This is God' work. He is real. He does answer prayers. This I know, and only can know, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

With love,

Sister Roo Adamson

PS We have a sister in our ward who was recently baptized (May 2009) and who plans to attend the temple with the ward on Saturday, October 24th. Sis Balois and I asked for permission to go. I hope it works out! It would be to the St Louis temple.

September 28, 2009 -Alma 32

20 Lessons!

Me and "Pider-ma" (he was free at a garage sale!)

Bro Jeffrey, the man who helps at the VC. We saw him at church all pimped up, so I had to get a photo. He is amazing. He's super funny!

Iguana Lady!! I love Missouri!

"Why'd you get sent home?" (our favorite pasttime, thinking of funny ways you'd get sent home) "I told the President I was sick of being frumpy" -My companion Sister Moody

That's SISTER Cruella Deville to you!

I feel like a totally different person. This was an incredible week. I think I've grown a lot. I don't have much time, so I will copy/paste parts I had written to president.

It's been quite the week of ups and downs. One of the sisters, who is from Argentina, had a brother who died (self-inflicted). She was already having a really really hard time because she feels trapped in the VC. She has been out full proselyting and misses how missionary work goes out there in the real world. the VC is a TOTALLY different thing. It has very different challenges. She's been so mad all transfer, like "How dare Pres VK put me here, when he knows I hate it". And then the Lord throws a curve ball to show her why she needed to be here.

The night she found out, she had sisters to hug. She had shoulders to cry on. She had a family. She had dear, sweet senior missionaries who were her temporary father and mother. When she left, we all gathered at the Christus and sang hymns. The Spirit there was way beyond words. I think there is so much power in having so many righteous sisters in one place. We all fasted for her family. We've been doing our best to make her feel loved and supported. She's doing really well. She's staying busy.

As far as ups go, we hit our goal of 20 lessons! We had nine new investigators! We saw miracle after miracle when we really involved the Lord more in our goals. We had a district meeting this week where Elder Lamprecht invited us to challenge 5 people to baptism. That is something I have yet to do/see. It was good for both Sis Moody and I to remember that baptism is central to our purpose. We haven't been challenging people. I don't know what we were waiting for. Lame, I know. And here I am, brand new, like "Uhhh, is this what we're supposed to be doing?"

I passed off my "Preach My Gospel" lessons and feel more confident in our appointments. AND I can drive! Today is my first day. I'm grateful to have been able to focus on just that--the doctrine in PMG. I know it will help me as I try to become the missionary God would have me be.

I'll leave you with some miracle stories. We were on team ups with a young woman in our ward. The person we had planned to visit no longer lived at the house. We talked with the children who were playing outside across the street. The mother and grandmother were very, very welcoming. They invited us in and asked if THEY could come to church with us. They don't have a set religion and have been looking for a church that is family-oriented and has a Sunday school for children. Thank you, inspired prophets, for the Primary Program! The grandmother had read parts of the Book or Mormon in the past and has LDS friends. We gave them a fresh new copy. I can't wait to see what unfolds.

Last night, we visited this less active that we just love. Sis Moody is pretty sure she's gonna be transferred (we find out tomorrow night), so we've been visiting people she will miss. This lady finally, finally opened up to us. She told us about how when she was growing up in the RLDS church, she had some amazing spiritual experiences that molded her into who she is now. When she had Mormon missionaries show up, she felt like she'd been lied to all her life. Like she had been jaded. And so now, she has a hard time opening up her heart. she's so afraid it will get stepped on. Last Sunday, she said she got all dressed for church (for the first time in 20 years!!), got in the car, but sat there with white knuckles on the steering wheel. Poor lady! She just gets bad anxiety. Any suggestions? We're gonna get her home teacher over there, right away to give her a blessing. then she said she would come to Gen Conf at the stake center, as long as we were there. Anyway, we left from that lesson just feeling very loved. Very needed. I had no idea that was why she didn't go to church. Who knew? :) Oh, wait, the Lord. That's why he sent us over last night.

Anyway, the work is picking up. I'm doing well. I'll probs have a new companion next week. I hope I get to stay in the Inde 4th ward. I love them.

Have a great week! Thanks for all you do.

Sister Adamson

ps And also we met this man this week that is a Restorationist. The lesson went well. We read from the BoM. Then he started attacking us about polygamy and stuff. We bore simple testimony and left the house. Then on the porch, he goes "And I've met and talked to one of the three Nephites. I swear on my life."

Oh. My. Word. Who is this man? Sister Moody goes, under her breath "Cherry on top." It was ridiculous. The Spirit that we had worked so hard to invite was smashed in about 2 seconds.

September 21, 2009 Chubby Devil and Frozen Custard

We got hula hoops for morning exercise when it's raining. 25 cents each at a garage sale!
Sister Moody

Our district went out to eat after a meeting. Here we are! Take it or leave it.

We went bowling last Prep Day. My new haircut! The bowling place was darling.

I know you're curious about my subject line. 1) I was on exchanges and we knocked this door. A young man came out. His eyes were half open. He agreed to a lesson, said he felt we were inspired to come here, etc. turns out! He was totally intoxicated! He started to explain how he sees the devil. "He's got pale skin. He's really chubby and his teeth are.." I cut him off because 1. I was about to laugh and 2. it was creepy. We got out of there as fast as we could. We gave him a pass along card and ran away. Yikes!

2) Thank Heavens for Sheridan's frozen custard. We had an awful day. One of those where ALL your appointments fall through (even dinner from a ward member), none of the people you stop by to visit are home, you have nothing. Lame! So Sis Moody decided to break her no sugar oath and get frozen custard. It was SOOOO needed. I got this one called Chocolate Voodoo Pothole.

Umm, I'm so sorry I didn't write last week. The lds mail system went down. And I'm not allowed to write from my gmail or anything. Lame, I know.

Our ward mission leader was out of town and he asked S Moody and I to teach Gospel Principles. The lesson was on the Creation. OK, so Preach My Gospel has like two lines about that. We have to talk about it for an hour? To investigators? Ahh! BUT the Spirit led us to how we could best prepare and then did His job to guide the lesson. We read from a talk called Christ and the Creation by Bruce R McConkie (1983?) INCREDIBLE!! I went through and marked like every verse of Moses 2-4ish. He has so many great insights. Go read it right now. My question was why do we study the Creation? And I guess what I pulled from it was 1. A better appreciation for the power of the Holy Priesthood and the beauties we enjoy in the Earth 2. To see that everything. Everything testifies of the Savior. 3. Apply principles God teaches us through the scriptures about the Creation: Order, Efficiency, Planning...so good. I remember Bro Dowdle, my mission prep teacher saying how the scriptures would really come alive while I was out here. He said to use up the margins as much as possible. I am- let me tell you! Holy cow. Alma 13 is GOLD. I'm so grateful to be a member of God's kingdom on the earth.

Today S Moody and I were reading the "white handbook". We were at the part that talks about priesthood ordinances. If you know me very well, you'll know that I have always struggled with not feeling equal to men. But today, it hit me that, right now, I am equal to the elders who are out here on missions. Then S Moody said "Yeah and when is the only other time anyone is called an elder? When they are members of the quorums of the 70 or Apostles. We are equal to the Apostles". Then I remembered something my MTC teacher had pointed out. In the Bible Dictionary, there is no entry for missionary, but there is for apostle and ministry. The one under Apostle says that a missionary IS an Apostle--a witness of Christ. Ho-ly smokes. This is a big deal.

This week we have a zone-wide goal to actually teach 20 lessons like we're supposed to and have each companionship have at least one investigator at church. this is it. this is the week we're gonna do it. We have gotten 19 before, but not yet 20.

I am so exhausted, but it's good because it's from working so hard. Thanks for your letters, emails, packages, love, prayers and support. I love you all!

PS We saw a sign yesterday that said "Free Garage Sale" I love Missouri.

September 14, 2009

Sis Moody and I pulled up to the VC adn saw everyone standing around. Our first thought was "Maybe it's someone famous", so I grabbed my camera. Well, it wasn't David Archuletta again, but it was Emeritus Elder Hartman Rector Jr, from the 70. So we all got a picture in front of the Christus. Funny man. He was the guide for a tour hitting all the sites.

Zone Conference with the sisters. We got $1 ice cream cones at McD's after...our little tradition.

September 9, 2009

Donuts at the Laundromat with one of the senior couples: The Hallows from Heber City

Birthday flowers for one of the sisters. Sis Moody took this one

"Welcome to the Independence Visitors' Center. How can I help you?"

Our preparation day was on Labor Day, which means the library was closed. So here I am emailing today. We're in a hurry, so it might be short. But know that I love you all!

We met lots of new investigators this week, mostly while we were on exchanges. There is something about the idea that "This is someone else's area. I won't see these people again" that allows you to be more bold.

I'll just tell you about one. We talked with this young woman who was out jogging. She seemed really excited to go to church and wanted us to come over. But the more we talked to her, the more apparent it was that she is mentally handicapped. She told us all about her neighbors and how nice they were. She suggested we visit this one house. We're always looking for referral, so...OK. The mother was really short at first (might I add it was 8pm and completely dark). We figured we would invite her to the photography exhibit at the VC and leave. She softened up and we were able to discuss scripture with her. She told us about a tornado they survived (No, I haven't seen any since I've been here. For some reason, people keep asking me that), and I was reminded of Helaman 5:12 that talks about how Christ is our foundation and the devil's whirlwinds can't stop us. The Spirit told me to ask if we could go inside since it was so dark. She let us in! Usually, we just do lessons on people's porch's since they are often uncomfortable letting total strangers into their homes. Here's where I want to say that "Planting seeds" is huge! You ARE making a difference.

They already have 2 copies of the Book of Mormon. One from a garage sale she picked up and one copy from a friend at school who is a member. then seed #3 is an invitation to an art exhibit. They're a great family. I'm excited to work with them. We have an appointment this week.

Sat, we stopped by one of our part member families. Husband=LDS, wife=Catholic. He wants to get back to church really bad, but she is iffy about the whole thing. She has really warmed up to us lately, so that has been neat. Only the husband was home. We committed him to fast that he could get off work in time to make it to church at 2pm. Man, I must have no faith. I don't know why Heavenly Father keeps blessing me...

He came to church!! First time in years! We were so pumped. And then...one of our other investigators showed up out of the blue. We invite her every week and she's always like "yeah, yeah. I know where the building is. 2 o clock. OK" But she came!! It was fast and testimony mtg and she loved it. We all just need to hear other's testimonies sometimes. We are here to strengthen each other.

Also our ward has suddenly been super supportive in coming out on our appointments. We have team-ups for every day this week. I know the work will be so much more effective when we use this ward more. They're so great. My attitude has totally changed and I hope I don't get transferred because I love the Inde 4th ward.

AND we're having an all mission conference in October where Elder Russel M Nelson will be our speaker. I love serving in Zion!

And my favorite family that I talk about all the time (the one I gave the shoes to) finally went to the Addiction Recovery Class! Baptism, here we come. She picked a date on Sunday, the mom.

Zone conference. It was good, but not as good as last time. I don't think any will be as good as my first one. They talked about service and obedience and how to have a closer companionship. I ate three bagels. And we watched a video clip from the news where Pres Van Komen went to a little island in Peru to do humanitarian work. He's a doctor PS. It made me miss Central America. I want to go back to Guatemala!

Not sure what else to say. When you're on the winning team, you have nothing to fear.

Sis Adamson

August 31, 2009 "You gotta have Faith-uh, Faith-uh, Faith-uh"

Hi everyone!

Preparation days are gonna be great. We played soccer or like 3 hours last time. I think I'll just write postcards from here on out, if anything. Don't hate. The "new missionary trip" to visit Adam-Ondi-Ahman etc. is planned for mid-October.

Funny quote:

At district meeting, we had the elders pretend to be random people on the street and the sisters go practice talking to them. One elder acting a 75-yr old Catholic man. He talked about how his wife had died and sister moody goes "So where do you think you're going in a few years?" He broke character and we all couldn't stop laughing! That's one way to begin talking about the Plan of Salvation...

This week, I finally feel like I am becoming a missionary. I am slowly becoming more confident with how things work around here. On Monday, I feel like things really started to go up. We had a dynamite first lesson with a woman and her daughter. She brought us upstairs where she had laid out her Bible and notebook. She took notes excitedly about Joseph Smith, didn't have many concerns and voiced that it would make sense to have a prophet today. She asked if we would sign her copy of the Book of Mormon, so we had the opportunity to write our testimonies in it. I loved it! We had a second appointment with her at the VC, which also went well. She is interested in how she can help her friends to receive the Gospel. She really has such a great heart, very service-oriented and loving. She committed to come to church, but something must have come up because she didn't make it yesterday. I'm so excited to see how the Spirit will convert her. She already lives a "Mormon" life with high morals, so it wouldn't be too much of a change as far as habits/lifestyle.

Thursday, I was on exchanges with Sis Jacobs. She helped remind me that missionary work is fun! We worked hard and made it a goal to talk to everyone. We had a lot of success and witnessed quite a few miracles. In one neighborhood, we purposefully parked the car and walked down to the less active's house we planned to visit. This is something I had never done before, but will definitely do in the future. We found 3 potential families and one allowed us to have a lesson with them and made a return appointment. We had planned to visit some referrals next. One woman invited us in and we taught the first lesson. She soaked it all up and is very excited to meet members of the ward. She is ready to come out of the dark life she has led and give her heart to the Lord. I love that the Lord does not waste time when you are ready to work. He definitely prepared this woman for the message of the Restored Gospel.

At our dinner appointment, we asked for referrals and ended up going a few houses down. The large man who answered the door was a bit intimidating with his tattoos and earrings. His grandmother had died that week and his heart was soft. We discussed the afterlife and read with him from the Lesson 2 pamphlet. He asked if we were Mormon and then said "I'm RLDS. In fact, Joseph Smith is one of my ancestors." Sister Jacobs and I were blown away! We said "cousins", *bones* shared our testimonies with him and then he had to leave. When we got back in the car, we talked about how Joseph Smith was most likely there, watching us, and making sure we were taking good care of his descendant. We shared a common feeling that we had felt very led with the words we had shared with this man. And of all places, we are serving in Zion, the New Jerusalem! I love being a missionary.

Sister Moody and I are getting to be closer friends, which I know will help the work move quicker. We had an investigator pick a baptismal date when she came to church yesterday! Out of the blue!

Our goals for the week are geared around the members. We're going to keep the dinner conversations spiritual by discussing our investigators and try very hard to teach in members' homes this week. We've had a hard time connecting with the ward in the past and it will only go up from here.

I know working with the members of the ward is important and I am excited to see how my testimony of that will grow as we use them more. The Independence 4th Ward is about to see many miracles! I'm so honored to be a part of the Lord's work. He leads this Church. He lives!

Have a great week,
Sister Rufis Adamson