July 19, 2010 "A United Household"

Hi everyone,

We had the most incredible experience this weekend watching our friend get baptized. It's been 12 years in the making- what patience her [member] husband has. I'm grateful for Bishop listening to the prompting that now is the time. She's been through a bunch of missionaries: my cute trainer, Sis Moody being one who taught her and saw her progress! I feel really blessed to have been able to watch her transformation. I can't wait to see them in the temple together! In her confirmation blessing, Bishop said she was now a "Mother in the House of Israel" and a "Mother of a United Household". I thought that was so profound. What an honor. What trust our Father in Heaven has given to women to fulfill that sacred role.

The baptism really got me thinking about the importance of families. And unity. And this whole "Zion" idea that I teach about every single day at the VC. We are placed into these little "units" to struggle together, to bear testimony to one another, to laugh and cry together. There is always something we can improve on to make more of a Zion feeling in our homes. I'm so grateful for my family. Thank you for teaching me right from wrong, and that I am a daughter of God. We taught YW yesterday and I could just feel God's love for them, as "soldiers in His army". I can't wait to be a mom.

Exchanges this week I was with two other sisters. We spent some time finding. We were checking up on some former investigators. Success! Yay! I actually love finding. It's teaching that I don't love. Kind of backwards from most missionaries, I think. Anyway, it felt good. We're going back to teach her in the next few days. I am just getting it more and more-that the whole purpose of life is LOVE. It's the foundation for everything. It's the motivator, the reward, the blessing that we have to live. Again, Sis Wathen has taught me that. By example.

Here's what I'm working on: Making small goals, then journaling about them. I'm excited. It will help me to feel less overwhelmed. Feel free to join me. :)

A woman in our ward was showing us pictures of her daughter's wedding. I feel like she is me. She is totally me. They call her their "eccentric one". I guess she is more of what I want to be. She wore dragonfly wings on the outside of her wedding dress for the reception. It was an outdoor barbecue. Is she not rad? So she lives in Logan and Sister Smith knows her and says she is way cool. I can't wait to hang out with her! Also she makes her own clothes.

In our PEC meeting on Sunday, a representative from the stake came in to show us the new LDS employment website. I felt like I was back in my multimedia classes! I got a little bit computer trunky. He was saying words I didn't realize I miss, like "hub" and "database". Oh my word. I am such a geek. It's an amazing website and they challenged everyone in the room (minus us, I guess) to fill out a profile and spend five hours on it this week. He said when missionaries go home, they give us a class lasting a few hours on job tips, resume advice etc. Then he said the people the Church gives the most time and energy toward, in this aspect, are 1. Stake presidents and bishops and 2. Returning Full-time missionaries. Then he said that the sacrifice involved in both of these callings is the reason behind that. Did that make sense? I felt pretty special. Great website, too.

My twin missionary out here, Sister Stanton told me about something that made me smile. There are two girls in her ward who are our friends. One gave a talk in sacrament. She said when she was struggling a few months ago with going to hair school and not feeling like she was getting it or making friends, that she came into the VC. That was the day we met. We went downstairs, watching a short video clip and just talked. In her talk she said "Sis Adamson challenged me to read the BoM everyday. And I have been. I have been waking up an hour earlier to get my scripture study in. And she's right. It fixed everything." I had no idea I even said that. I just remember how she cheered me up and taught me something that night. That is Zion. I love this job. And anyway, I was just paying forward from what BJ Vest taught me. I signed a self-made contract a few years ago that I would read my scriptures everyday for the rest of my life. And I have been. And he was right. It fixed everything.

I still have a few more minutes, so I figure I will give you a "Day in the Life of Hermana Adamson".

6:30- yoga or running

7 to 8- get ready (my new short hairstyle takes like five minutes. It's the best!)

8- study/eat some food. I've fallen in love lately with the Special K yogurt globulars cereal

8:30- get picked up for the VC

9- 3 take a bunch of people from on tour. Here are the typical types: #1.Traveling with a bus in groups of like 50. We split them up. They are my favorite, especially the youth groups. #2. UT Mormons, headed to Nauvoo. No time to hear my testimony. They gottta go! Can't stand those. They spend all this money to get out here and don't even appreciate the sacred ground they walk on. All they want to hear is when the meeting at Adam-Ondi-Ahman is, so they can be ready. Ugh. #3. On a business trip to Kansas City. Here to soak up the Spirit. "Yes, please take me through the whole Visitors' Center." These are usually amazing and these cute dads learn how they can create more of a Zion feeling in their homes. They often end the tour with tears in their eyes. #4. Summer sales boys. These are really weird for all of us. They are usually fairly good-looking, RMs. Some come in with heavy burdens on their shoulders, seeking spiritual guidance, some are just on their lunch break and want to see the original BoM. They're OK. Sometimes ultra awkward, like sitting closely to us sisters. Any time there is one or two men, two sisters will take the tour. #5. Visitors from other faiths who have come in out of "coincidence". Golden. Theses are fantastic and make the VC worth it. Even if one of those people accepts missionaries, it's worth the millions of dollars the Church pumps into these special buildings. It's dedicated for missionary work.

3-4 Companion Study, which is tough when your companion is still on a tour.

4-5 sometimes Language Study

4-9 Preachin' the Word! Dinner appointments and people to see. Sorry I am running out of time!! I can write more details about this later.

8:45 All the sisters gather at the VC. We pray together and then give each other a ride home.

9-onward: Planning and getting ready for bed. I am usually giving one of the sisters a back massage. Love that. Sometimes I use all of my "free" nighttime minutes to journal. Or I'll take a really long, hot shower. Or Sis W and I talk.

Missionary life. It's rough, but great.

Love you mucho. I will have a new companion on Thursday. I am sure it will be someone amazing. Thanks for everything!

Hna Adamson

July 12, 2010

A birthday at a place just like Los Hermanos

Me and our housemate, Sister Lee!

Cute princess hat

Hello!

We went to the mall again last preparation day. And you know how much I loathe the mall. Well, it was actually fun this time because we split up and Sis W went to the girly stores and I had fun at my stores with my pal Katie. Ha ha! I found Skippy Jon Jones books at Barnes and Noble and read them to my friends. I got them hooked.

My favorite senior couple, the Hallows went home. We came out the same week last July, so it's extra weird for me not to have them around. But we're getting new ones! And the other couples are getting more and more comfortable with being themselves around us.

This ward is so great with introducing us to their friends and family! We have, yet another person we are now teaching because she wanted to join in for a lesson. Woohoo! The work moves forward.

Exchanges this week was AMAZING, as always. I love talking to people. I feel like Sis W and I are always late, so we've gotten out of the habit of talking to everyone on the street. But it was so wonderful doing that on exchanges. So fulfilling. this one lady was kind of rude, so Sis Burton (my temporary companion) said "That means someone elect is right around the corner." We talked to a few more people after that and just had a really good experience. We taught this hilarious woman. She was the best ever! Big-boned African American with a good, wholesome and silly humor. Loved her. We also taught this older man who "would get baptized if I weren't Catholic." We asked him if he had asked what God wanted him to do and he said "But they will say that I need to be Catholic." No, not your friends. Heavenly Father. He's 85. So cute.

We had interviews with our mission President this week, too. We had us bring our area book. Scary! He looked over ours, asked me a few questions, then said "Onto more important things" and then with concern, "How are you?" He is fabulous. He helped me a lot with some things I have been struggling with. And his darling wife gave me ideas of how to keep my companion from getting trunky :) Ten more days. I'm going to miss Sis W so much! She has been an angel to me.

Saturday, we had the sacred opportunity to attend a funeral of our mission president's counselor- Doug Beck. I was asked to sing in a special choir, which I am grateful for. We sat on the stand throughout the service, so I was able to watch his family's reaction to the different talks and special musical numbers. Let me just tell you- it was the most Christ centered funeral I have ever attended. And that is exactly how Pres Beck would have liked it. He came to our last Zone Conference (which I did not attend but heard about). His cancer was so bad at that point that it took him about an hour just to get back to his car. He needed several people to help him get dressed that morning. He is the best example of diligence and endurance that I have ever known. He loved the Lord with ALL of his heart. Next week I will copy some of the notes I took from the funeral. One thing that stood out to me was that messing up when you're younger doesn't mean you can't grow up to serve a mission or marry in the temple or qualify for the Celestial kingdom. This is a Gospel of love. And forgiveness. And hope.

We had two really profound lessons yesterday. We have a recent convert who has still not received the gift of the Holy Ghost. He prayed and taught us all so much. He was asking for forgiveness of some poor choices and said he didn't feel like he was worth it. Then he said "Whenever those feelings come, my daughter calls or someone reminds me that they love me. I think you gave me my daughter to teach me how you feel about me, as Your son." It was beautiful. We were all crying. I know that God loves all of his children. Yes, bad things happen, but that doesn't take away from His love. God IS Love!

Keep being missionaries in your own way. Please go to the temple for me, since I can't. Miss you, love you.

Hermana Roo

July 6, 2010 "Fireworks That Will Never End"

Some of my favorite people

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a fun 4th of July. Independence puts on a great fireworks show with music from a live band. Everyone from the surrounding cities comes in to watch. All the missionaries watched them from the balcony at the VC. We invited our nonmember friends up there with us and they fit right in. We ditched the balcony scene for a while and mingled with some of our friends in the ward and in past wards. It's fun being Sister Wathen's companion because she is such a social butterfly. And we have mutual friends from past areas. So fun!

We received a referral for a man who teaches an Old Testament class for a branch of the Community of Christ Church. He reminds me a lot of Gpa Porcaro, very much so a teacher. He studies Hebrew every day and knows pretty much everything there is to know about the Torah (spelling?). He is not what we would peg as a "seeker", so he has not become a priority for us to visit with, but he sure is interesting! He spent like 20 minutes talked to us about the very first verse in Genesis. Who knew there was so much symbolism and additional learning to be found? Really nice man. And his wife was so cute. She brought us out fresh fruit and drinks the first time we went over. I wish everybody would do that.

Last Sunday, Bishop randomly had my companion get up to bear her testimony. Bishop does that all the time. He is a hoot! She got up and talked about how she was coming home soon and some of the things she had learned. Then he invited a fresh RM who had gotten home 3 days earlier. He talked about how you have to live up every second of a full-time mission. It really touched me and I am so happy that I still have a few months left. I still remember how I read a John Bytheway book and he said MTC stood for Make Time Count. So true!

Every transfer, when I am filling out the dates in my planner, I choose one day that stands out and mark it as "Miracle Day". This transfer's was Wednesday, June 30th. And yes, "Miracle Day" is an understatement. We went to Liberty Jail with our friend and his daughter that we have been teaching (she is super great). In the Summer it gets really busy but somehow we didn't get combined with another group. Just the four of us had cute Sister Reid as our guide. Sister Wathen served a few transfers at the jail, so she gave a portion of the tour. For those of you who have been there, you will understand the special feeling that is there. At one point when Sis Reid was catching up on the history of what happened before Joseph was sent to the jail, I kind of tuned out. Then a very comfortable feeling came over me with the quiet impression that "This place is special. This place is sacred." Obviously, I already knew that,but I love how Heavenly Father will always be willing to give us an extra confirmation from the Spirit when we prepare ourselves to receive such an impression. I love the Holy Ghost. What a fun job He has- spend time in people's hearts and minds teaching, comforting, reminding, warning, testifying, loving. We always talk about how the Father and Son love us, but I have learned that the Holy Ghost loves us too. He may not have a body, but he knows us.

When we were in the Rotunda (which is the actual jail part of the Visitors' Center), I told everyone that the first time I walked in that door [as a missionary], I just wanted to cry. Funny how the Spirit works. Then when we were driving home, little **** said, "I had that feeling, too". I am pretty sure she has received her answer that the Church is true, now we just have to figure out the tricky situation with her mother's feelings about the Church. I know it will work out. Good thing God is the boss of His work, not me. :)

Then that night, we visited with another part member family we have been teaching. It went so well! She got a lot of her concerns out on the table and we decided that her baptism date of July 17th is solid. Woohoo! Her husband has been a member for 12 years, so for him, this is a dream come true.

We are re-teaching a family we found in the "former investigators" part of our area book. I love it when that works. It's a super cute, younger family. The teenaged girls said they always wanted to "go play with the twirly doors of that place with the Jesus statue". AKA The Visitor's Center. Funny! So we are trying to work out a time when they can come get a tour...and get their lives changed, of course.

There is a fun less active family that we visit all the time. The mom is trying to quit smoking. She is the one that inspired me to start the Addiction Recovery workbook. Anyway, we went over there and were about to start our lesson when their son goes "Is that the elders? Quick, hide!" So Sis Wathen and I escape into the kitchen. Oh my word. It was hilarious! We listened to them do the whole "How's your week been/is there anything we can do for you" thing. Then we walked casually from the kitchen with a drink and sandwich in hand as though we lived there. We sat down on the couch with an "Oh, hey elders". Their jaws just dropped and they looked so confused! Man, it was funny. We both taught a little bit. It ended up being really fun. The one elder is our district leader. He's awesome. The other one is Elder Smith that apparently went to Timpanogos. He is super funny. I'm so glad we are friends! I realized the other day that each ward in the Indep. Stake that I have served in, has been one with elders. There are only 3 ward that have elders. Basically, I have served in each. Interesting.

I'll end with a really neat experience that I had on Sunday. Background first: The Indep. newspapers and radio stations accidentally announced that the fireworks were on Sunday, but they were actually on the 3rd. So all day Sunday, we had to deal with angry people who drove all the way up here only to find out they were a day late. One such couple walked in on chaos from a fireside letting out. I happened to be by the door, so I greeted them, explained the fireworks thing and suggested we move over by the Christus statue to talk for a bit. The woman asked who the statue was of. Obviously, it's the Savior, right? She thought it was Brigham Young, the man who wrote the Mormon Book and that we worshiped him. Oh, man.

From there, I cleared up questions and just testified like crazy about Jesus Christ and how this was His church. Her "question of the soul" is "Why does God allow suffering to occur?", so I brought them over to BoM kiosk that answers that question. It transitioned perfectly into the display of the BoM in different languages. I had her read 2 Nephi 25:26 to me in German. That brought more Qs, and from there, I just used all the media we have available to teach them. It was so well orchestrated by Heavenly Father. We eventually went downstairs and did the history. At the end, I saw two members who had gotten out of the fireside early. I asked if they would join us for one last video clip. We watched it, then I gave the members an opportunity to bear testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, etc. It was beautiful. The two couples connected withing minutes and the Spirit was so strong. The member woman quoted Moroni 10:4 and invited the couple to read and pray about the things we talked about. they agreed to have missionaries sent to their home!

On the way up the stairs, the woman said (in her fun German accent) "The Lord works in mysterious ways. We came here to watch the fireworks, but the Lord knew we needed to learn about the Mormon Church." Yes, another kind of fire. Fireworks that will never end. I can testify that the Gift of the Holy Ghost is the cleansing by fire that the scriptures talk about. This is God's Church. I'm honored to be His servant.

Love you all.

Sister Adamson

June 28, 2010 "Humidity, Humility"

We went golfing last Preparation Day. Me, Sis Hafen, Wathen and Finlayson.

More golfing. Here are our new Assistants to the President. Mini golfing was so fun!

This head-out-the-window picture is dedicated to BJ Vest and Jarom Moore. Also I heard Sean Vest is engaged? So fun!!

Homer and I studying from the Doctrine and Covenants

Hey everybody!

It was another one of those strange, dreamy weeks that came and went. I re-learned this week that doing small acts of service for people can change their day around and give them hope for tomorrow. We had a friend who was having a bad day and he said, "You're always asking what you can do for me. Could you pick me up a fountain drink?" He had to repeat it a few times for us to understand his Spanish accent. Being short on money causes lots of un-needed stress, huh? Anyway, we went the closest gas station and got him a soda. We gave it to him and sang him a song (Walk Tall, You're a Daughter, substituting his name for "daughter") and he cried. Turns out, we all just need a little love.

Sister Dimmick called to say hello and schedule a tour for the group she takes out here every year. That was fun to hear from her! They will be here on July 21st (my companion's last day as a missionary). Do I know anyone who is coming? I'm on shift, so I will probably take one of the groups.

We have two people who are preparing for baptism. I love the Holy Ghost. We're not here to convince people. We're just hear to remind them what they already know.

Last night, we got to watch our friend give his first father's blessing. It was so amazing. Wish there were words to describe the Spirit.

A theme for my life, it seems, has been how Heavenly Father likes to teach with contrast. Last week, we were around someone who is full of doubts and fear. A little confused is all, but still has a slight "dark" feeling. I went to return some shoes and walked in to to talk to what might as well have been an angel. She is a member of 4th ward, so I recognized her. We talked about how the work is going and suddenly I felt Light returning to me. I didn't realize how badly I had been suffocating. It brought a tear to my eye. The Spirit is so refreshing and edifying and I am so grateful.

I started a new journal. A positive one with a theme/topic on the top of each page. We also rearranged our furniture. I feel like we needed change. It felt really good!

Thanks for writing me. I need it. There is so much sadness is this world, it's energizing to hear good news. I am thankful the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is Perfect...because we are not. Don't forget you are a child of God with infinite worth, that the answers you are seeking are in the scriptures, and that your actions affect so many more people than you think.

Love you all!

Sister Adamson