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!