September 14, 2010 "Cha-ching!"

Me and a Mizuruh flag. Yes, I'm wearing boots. We were on our way to the ward hillbilly hoe-down.

We had another tornado warning. This is our weather tracker at the jail. It starts beeping and a computer voice reads off how fast the wind in blowing and which counties are encouraged to get down into their storm shelters. Pretty exciting. We had a gorgeous lightning storm that night.

Someone from the Bishop's Storehouse brought by a whole bunch of bananas, so I turned into a monkey. But as you probably know, I don't even like bananas and it wasn't Tuesday, so I didn't eat any of them. Fun pic, though, eh?

My companion, cute Sister Nelson. She stole my camera and took this cheeser

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Found this cute paper written by a 5-year old at a member's house. DAR-ling

We stopped at a Kool-Aid Stand and didn't have change, so we paid the kids with Silly Bandz and Pass Along Cards. The church is true.

I may be in jail, but I've got the key

The only known photo of Joseph and Emma

Me and my favorite book!

Our elders after district mtg. We all went to Taco Bell

I got to be a ninja for a day! Two Sasakis!

Setting up our cars so the elders couldn't get out after district meeting.

Playing around at the jail after eating some of those bananas.

Funeral food. No wonder missionaries gain weight! Do you SEE that sub sandwich?

J**** coming to the jail.

Buffalo Wild Wings after eating the hottest thing I've ever eaten. Our faces burned, waiting for them to get the camera.

Week of miracles.

1. I survived the Buffalo Wild Wings Challenge. The back of my new, rad t-shirt says "12 wings, 6 minutes. It's like walking over hot coals...except you eat 'em" My tongue and tummy are still burning after a week. Worth it? Yes

2. We have T**'s baptism on Saturday!! He is so funny. I love him. He's a total surfer bum type guy. "Like...if we're awesome, can we make it to the celestial heaven and stuff?" He is a dad and his step children are preparing for baptism once we get their real father's approval. So great! The ward [mission leader] is doing everything. All we have to do is show up and look pretty. And give little talks, if we want to. I love this work.

3. I got pulled out of a tour the other day because they needed a Spanish speaker. Surprise! It was my investigator and his family from Inde 3rd ward. J*** is getting baptized on Sat the 25th. I can't believe it! So many miracles are happening out here.

4. Man, this lesson we had with a 12-year-old girl named P*** was one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission. I wish there were words. My heart was so full. She had never had anyone explain to her that she is a daughter of God. And I got to tell her! Her eyes welled with tears and I could tell she had always known it in her heart. We went through the entire first lesson (about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon) with her. Her member friend who referred her was writing her testimony in the Book of Mormon we gave her during the lesson. The friend's mom bore the most sweet, pure testimony about the Restored Gospel. The whole thing was just...like watching the perfect cinematography mixed with the best actors around. And the best part was that P*** was literally glowing. She was sitting in front of the window where amber sunbeams were bouncing off her hair. She read Moroni's promise and I thought I was listening to an angel. It was such a beautiful moment. We taught her how to pray, she agreed to close the lesson and had such a tender conversation with Heavenly Father. I wanted to capture it all somehow and put it in a jar for a rainy day. I will never forget how we all felt when she closed her prayer and agreed to come to church. I will keep you posted.

5. Last Preparation Day, I was able to attend the funeral of a friend's mother. She was in her nineties. 5 sister missionaries sang "Nearer My God to Thee". It was so special. It was wonderful because I got to spend time with my friends and was able to share my testimony through song with a room full of good, Christian people who have never heard about the Restored Gospel though Joseph Smith. He really was a prophet. It's not just something we talk about and read about. He knew Jesus Christ, at an early age. He actually was given the holy priesthood through men who received it directly from Jesus Christ Himself. I feel like we speak of that so casually. It has become so real to me.

6. We found a closet of "period clothing" and dressed up like Joseph and Emma. There were also some metal keys someone had welded together. We forged a note from our VC Director saying they were the new keys to the Jail. Everyone was super confused. Hilarious.

7. We stopped by a recent convert's house to check on her since we found out she had a cold. She and her husband (also a recent convert) ended up having a bunch of questions, so we stayed and had a really powerful lesson. They'd just had a visit from a JW missionary and were a little confused about authority and who is correct, etc. It's so interesting to me how Satan disguises things. He confuses people with man's ideas and makes God's TRUTH look silly. We had a fun time starting at the beginning. "God is our loving Heavenly Father, the Gospel blesses families"... they seemed to understand by the end. And at church, each participated in class and understood the doctrine. Satan is such a punk! Let's get him outta here!

8. In district meeting, we practiced inviting investigators to pray at the end of the lesson. I got grouped with my companion and my old companion from the MTC, Sis Card. Elder LeSuma (the elder from my lat ward, now my zone leader) was watching. We've been practicing how to get spiritual experiences out of people to help them recognize the Spirit and better understand when He is telling them that our message is true. I asked my companion (posing as a nonmember who had never prayed) if she had seen the Lord's hand this week. It was kind of hard to stay serious since she and I have so much fun together. We had just been laughing about some mistake I had made, but then suddenly the room changed. We were the only people in the world and she was telling me about an experience she had with her dad, when she was younger where he helped her calm down when she was stressed. It was so sweet. There were some scattered tears here and there and we had such a neat connection. She and I are basically the same person. Again, I can't explain it, but it was so special.

9. We got stuck the other night without a car after a lesson, so we walked down the street (don't worry, mom. It was like 5 houses) to our friend B***'s house. She just moved in. 3 kids. Single mom. LOVES the missionaries. We knocked on her door. It's like 9:15pm, PS and her confused look turned into the biggest smile. "Come on in. Let me guess. You need a ride! Done." I love this area! People in Liberty are so nice. Like today at the library, we couldn't find two computers next to each other that were available. We wanted to keep the rules, but didn't have time to wait and all that jazz. 2 people offered to move after overhearing us discuss it. Things like that never happened anywhere else in my mission.

I don't have too much time left and want to be sure and add pictures. Sorry this is kinda short. It was a great week! I wish you all the best. Know that someone out in the boonies of the Midwest loves you with all her heart. I will continue to pray for you. Please do the same for me.

He lives! In honor of Kyle...Hurrah for Israel!

Hermana Adamson

Ps I have turned into a cleaning freak. You may not even know me when I come home. Every night when we are done planning, I go upstairs in our house and clean and clean and clean. and yesterday, I deep cleaned the bathroom with bleach. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the 70s. I think that's why flip flops are on the missionary packing list. For disgusting showers like ours.