August 26, 2009

Hey how's it going??
The car situation sounds like a project. As for school, just have faith. Here's a scripture for you that is important to me 2Nephi 32:9. As missionaries we pray all the time, before we leave the apartment everyday, and every time we come back for meals and leave again we pray. Prayer is important. Pray always! Don't do anything until you have prayed. You can say a prayer before a test, before you start your homework, that you will be able to have a clear mind to be able to work. Then the performance that you give will be consecrated. God has the power to make us what we are not, to be able to go beyond our mortal abilities. You pray and he can make miracles happen for you. I know this to be true, I have such a testimony of prayer. I've seen the power of it out here on my mission. It really works. Heavenly Father is not just concerned with big things like parting the red sea for Moses. He is a personal God, and he cares about even the small details of our life and he will hear our pleas about them. This is my testimony, that Jesus is the Christ, and that he died for all of us. He did this willingly. I love this gospel, it is the fullness. Joseph Smith is the prophet through which it was restored. Every prophet since Joseph Smith has also been a Prophet of God. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I love you little bro...
Elder Adams

I can't believe Spencer didn't tell me that he finished the Book of Mormon. That's the first thing I want to hear about, not a car or school...THE BOOK OF MORMON. Way to go. That is incredible. I remember the day that I finished it for the first time. I was much older than Spencer though. That is such and important part of this gospel, reading the BOM. Congratulations!!!!! Now keep reading everyday.
This card from Grandma that you speak of, is this the one with the $50 gift card in it? If it is, then yes I did get it. Before I forget, this transfer is one week shorter, so transfers are two weeks from today.
The story about Jack in the water reminds me...Here in Byron it seems like everyone has a Jack Russel. I hadn't seen one forever, but then about our second day here I saw quite a few. One of the members has one, and their neighbors have about three. One of them is even named Jack. She has a swimming pool with steps that lead up to it and she can can them and snap her fingers and direct them and they will come running and jump in the pool and swim around and hit this basketball with their noses. One of the dogs won't get in though. Then when they have swam for a while they climb back out on the ladder. It's quite a show.
On this older couple had us over for Chinese food. She said she was making it, so I didn't know how it would turn out. It was exactly like at a restaurant, I couldn't believe it. She said that she started preparing the day before at 12:00 cutting up all of the vegetables. She is quite the cook. There were probably about 10 different dishes that she made, all spread out on the table. It was incredible, because you could have just a taste of a lot of different dishes. She is a professional, but she's not even Chinese. It had been so long since I'd had Chinese food also. I wish you could have seen this woman's creations, her hands have been blessed by God, and not just because she fed to servants of the Lord.
I held my first district meeting with this new district this week. Everything went great, it was really exciting having a bigger group to work with. I have to do some exchanges this week and next with the different companionships. That's where we trade companions for 24 hours and work with someone else. I may go to their area or have one of them come here to Byron with me, I haven't decided yet.
Yeah, a few people here are willing to talk to us, but a lot of these people are older country folk, very set in their ways. They will tell it straight to your face. We've done some tracting in a trailer park lately and this is a whole new world!!! First time I've done that. We had one trailer, where voices from inside started shouting at us "We worship Satan", as we approached. A lot of people really want to try to tear you down right there on the doorstep, and everything that you believe in. They even go as far as to make a mocker of sacred things, and mock what we believe in. We had this happen the other night. My companion and I just continued to remain calm, and we bore testimony several times before we finally left. It's a different world out here in the corn fields with these small towns. There are so many churches around, and a lot of the people have gone to them their whole lives or they have no interest in God at all. Nevertheless we have met some great people. God has prepared some elect here for us to talk to and to teach, we just have to keep searching. Yesterday we knocked doors for about 3 and a half hours straight, but we were able to set up an appointment with one man and we taught another man on his porch and had a prayer with him.
My talk went great. I finished it just before I went to sit on the stand before church. While on the stand I read through it for the first time. I had prayed the day before and that morning to have my tongue loosed and to be able to say what I needed to say. I was given the choice to speak on whatever I wanted to. I chose to speak on time. The branch members loved it. I received so many compliments, everybody was coming up to me and shaking my hand and talking about it. They were saying things like "It made me think about some things""Thank you for following the spirit" "I needed it" "Insightful, spiritual, and complete." We went to give the sacrament to and older lady on Monday who is unable to come to Church because she has oxygen, she said that she had heard that I'd given a great talk. Apparently word travels. She said that a few members that had come to visit her had told her about it. I really did feel good about it. It flowed well. Of course though when I got to the part in my talk where I spoke of the Atonement and the Savior, I started to cry. When I talked about my mission and how much it means to me, I cried. It went well though. The lady on oxygen, her name is Sister Zuniga, said that I'd made quite and impression. This is a good thing, it means that I've hopefully started to gain the trust of the members. This will hopefully help to push the work forward here. I am to remain humble in this though. I just thanked them for their comments. The Lord really helped me, and I feel his message was delivered. It had been something that had been on my mind for some time, so that is what I spoke on. The spirit can often press upon and occupy our minds, as it says in Doctrine and Covenants, so I think this was the spirit guiding me. Anyway I hope that everything is going well with school and that you are not getting too stressed out. I shared a few words of advice with Spencer, maybe you can read the same scripture and think about it. I really do love you mom, you do so much for me, and you're a great example. I often times have thought what you would have me do in certain situations, whether it's dishes piling up or a decision I need to make. I love you so much.

With love from here to the moon and back,
Elder Adams

P.S.-I didn't get the email with the pictures on it of the backpacks.

Hi where is this email that has the pictures on it. I'm at the library right now, you'll have to hurry we are about to leave. Stay on for a few minutes and we can quickly email back and forth.
I haven't heard from dad in a while. Dad I gave you an assignment a few weeks ago, how is it coming? I haven't heard back about it.
Oh, and did you and dad ever climb kings peak after you did timp? I want to hear about it. We have some hills here that we can get going fast on our bikes on. They make for good running also!
I'm not seeing the attached pictures. I've got to get going though.