New Companion Sister NelsonSurprise!
I am now in Liberty, Missouri with the sacred privilege to show visitors where Joseph and his friends endured such painful refining. I am beyond excited, as you can imagine, to be able to stand on such hallowed ground. The Liberty Jail has been called a "Prison Temple". It honestly is the closet feeling you can get to being inside a temple. I love it here. The other sisters and I are already enjoying a close-knit friendship and sisterhood. All but one are my current or previous companions- I'm here with Sasaki, Card, Howe and Nelson (my new companion) and Penrod. We have a lot of fun! You don't even know.
The Liberty 1st Ward feels a lot like the Inde 3rd. There are several people preparing for baptism. Each is from a part member family. We are working closely with the ward council and are seeing miracles already. We received a great member referral this week for a young girl aged 12.
A week of miracles already. Visiting the St Louis temple with recent converts from the Independence 3rd Ward will ever remain in my memory as a day where I felt the closest to God. We had, I think, 6 new members and 3 returning members who had been less active almost their entire lives. It was also a youth trip where many were attending for their first or second time. Before each individual was baptized, Bishop Cato would bring them in close and whisper something in their ear. Each child or adult's whole countenance would change. They would relax, some would tear up. Every single time, the love of the Lord would drench the room. One of those retuning after a lifetime of away was our friend M. Watching him be baptized for deceased persons filled me with so much emotion that I could not contain it. My whole soul was on fire and I started sobbing. I thought for a minute on how much change I have seen in this man, how much sincere love I have for him, then imagined how much Bishop must love him for his recent good choices. Then it hit me that if I were to multiply this feeling by infinity, that would almost be equivalent to God's love for me. For you. For everyone. Such an overwhelming, all-encompassing thought. God lives. This is His church. I am so blessed to have this knowledge grow within me everyday.
I can't even try to explain how I feel here. I'm at the top of my game. I'm happier than I have ever been. Learning to love like the Savior loves is wonderful. We aren't here to tell people what to do. We're here to invite them to be better. Thank you for all of you who have shaped me into the disciple that I am. Thank you for your examples of enduring hardships. Thank you for teaching me how to pray, to really talk to my Dad in Heaven.
My new companion is Sis Kari Nelson from Salt Lake City. And I'm really mad at her for not bringing her camera cord because we've taken a million pictures on hers this week (well, these past 5 days).
Something unique or interesting about you? "I'm a twin?"
Some of your heroes? "My Grandpa."
Fav Scripture? "DC 6:36 Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not."
Fav thing about Sis Adamson? "EVERYTHING"
And I don't even pay her! This is great. We're pals. She is a hoot. I got to our bedroom and saw that she keeps a little Ammon figurine on her desk. I pulled out my little Nephi that has followed me my entire mission. We had a good laugh. You know your companion is comfortable with you if, on your second day together, she is accidentally calling you "dude". She is just like me: anti-pink, sporty, "one of the guys" type girl. Board shorts and a t-shirt. Yesterday, as I went to get in the car after backing her up, she kept driving and didn't stop to let me in. It was just like Indiana Jones! So funny! So that's our new tradition: jumping into a moving vehicle. Quote from her: I picked it up. It was cold and it felt wet, so I threw it at you..." We take pictures of the same random stuff. Our first lesson was a part member family. We transitioned perfectly. We're pretty much going to baptize all of Liberty because we already work so well together.
I'm never coming home, by the way. I thought I'd extend until next Summer. As long as I get to go to Lake Powell and maybe Payson Lakes with the Porcaro side, I'll be fine. Then...I'm moving back here either into the Lib. 1st or Inde 3rd ward.
Once upon a time when I was companions with Sis Hafen in Mound City, she was invited to a baptism up in Liberty of some folks she had taught. I attended with her and got to meet the bishop and many of the ward members because it was a wedding/baptism combo. Well, guess what? It was the 1st ward. So I'm already comfortable with the people. And they remember me. I actually got up to bear my testimony and made fun of the ward mission leader for being late to sacrament meeting. I couldn't believe they still fed us that night! He was so embarrassed! So last night, we visited with those recent converts. They've gotten into some Word of Wisdom issues again, so we'll be helping them with that. But it's amazing. Their home and visiting teachers are fulfilling their callings most definitely and have been seeing them pretty often. Can I just say, "Every member a missionary?" Incredible.
I had a specific question in mind the other day during my scripture reading. A person I could help. The Lord just opened up my mind and filled me with light. I didn't have enough space to write in the margins to get my thoughts down. I wish I had more time to explain some of the things I learned, but the computer is about to kick me off.
Love you all. Keep up the good work. Choose the Right. Go to the Temple....because I can't.
Hermanita Hijo de Adan
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