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.