March 24, 2010

You'd have to send the bleach as well otherwise there would be no purpose in sending the trays. If you send it on a monday so that it doesn't get stuck in an airport over the weekend then it should be ok. I think it should be fine, don't you. See what you can do.

Wow!!!! I don't even know where to start this week. This Friday we had the opportunity to have a missionary in training come out with us from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. The stake put on a mini mission for priest age boys. There were only about 10 boys who did it. We were chosen as two of the missionaries who would have one of these boys stay with us for the weekend. We got Mike Hobbs from the Beloit ward where I once served. He stayed at our apartment, ate with us, studied with us, did everything. What an experience to have. Especially on this weekend because, let me tell you this was miracle and blessing weekend. We told Mike he was our little blessing basket of faith that was with us because so many incredible things were happening, and we met so many people. (For instance we were out tracting in the snow storm on Saturday and I saw this house with a lot of cars at it. Usually this means a gathering and people will quickly dismiss you and say they are busy. I thought we’ll go there anyway. We knocked on that door and this guy in a black shirt and pants lets us in. There is a BIG party going on, lots of people. He quickly invites us in. He tells us he’s a Catholic priest and asks if we want some food. Now it’s a St. Patricks party and there is a house full of Catholics, everybody but the priest is in matching green shirts. They are having corned beef and cabbage and traditional irish dish and they take us over to the food and help us get some food. Then we go and sit down in a side room with the priest and this other lady. This priest actually knew a lot about the church and had a lot of good to say about us. We taught a few things and explained things. Especially to the lady. At times other ‘partiers’ would overhear us or would pause and listen. One guy sat down at the table for a while. What a meeting. There’s no converting here, but we were able to explain a few things and then we were on our way, maybe it’s a seed planted. How incredible though. You’re never let in and asked if you want food and then sit down and teach a Catholic Priest.) This is only part of what I mean by Mike being a little added blessing to bring the blessings down from heaven for us this weekend. We have had several new investigators that we have met and began teaching. One of which has a baptismal date set for April 10. Her name is Helen Lockett. This is truly one of those elect who hear the Lord's voice that are spoken of in section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants. I wish I could write and tell you every incredible miracle and story that we've had this last week. I wish I could recount to you every lesson that we've had and the experiences we've had with investigators and the incredible things they've said and the truths they've recognized. That would take pages and hours as it has in my journal. Elder Layton and I were extatic to have our first investigator, that we had found, at church this Sunday. It was a monumental marker. Tonya was our investigator that came and she had a great time. She was moved to tears in gospel principles. I don't know if her coming to Church had anything to do with having our missionary in training with us. Mike was great. Our Sunday got even better when we went to stop by some of the potentials we'd met while tracting on Saturday, who had said we could come back Sunday. We were let in to teach Helen Lockett, and it was in this incredible first lesson where she exclaimed how she just knew what we were saying is right. She had questions about which church to join. She told us she had been praying for a church and for someone to come, and now she recognizes that this is the one. She said that she had learned more from us in the time we met than she had in the whole 60 plus years of her life. When the commitment to be baptized was extended to her, she paused for a moment and said, "Well,.... I've been baptized before..., but I know that this one is different." She accepted!!!! She went over and marked it on her calendar. Mike, Elder Layton, and I all looked at each other. This lesson had just gone incredible, and the spirit was there helping us. We've taught her a second time since, about the plan of salvation, and she had read everything we had given her and was ready for more. This woman is incredible, I'm telling you. The things she says: "If something doesn't make sense it doesn't feel right....You've taught me so much of the truth you can just feel it's the truth without even questioning it....This church is the one I've been praying for." She's already recognizing the spirit telling her of truth. She felt good when she met with us and she felt good when she read from the Book of Mormon. It's been incredible. I hope Mike had a great weekend with us, because we were worried about what we were going to do with him. Originally we had nothing lined up, and so we had to make a lot of phone calls. We did set some things up, but ultimately the Lord blessed us with those to teach. We were able to line up an appointment with the husband of a part member family whom we are teaching the son Noah Dutcher, and preparing for baptism. This lesson was incredible. He accepted to take the lessons like his son who is preparing for baptism. This was such a powerful lesson, where we taught the Plan of Salvation. His wife who is a member began to cry during the lesson, and Mike told us even he was crying during the lesson. It was really incredible. I love teaching this lesson to families. There is just so much happiness and purpose, you feel like you are fulfilling God's purpose. When you teach a family it's just so much different.

Monday we were out tracting and I had to go to the bathroom so we asked this guy that answered his door. He let us in and after I went to the bathroom we started to talk to him. He survived cancer 8 years ago in which a large portion of his pectoral muscle was taken out. He decided life was short and at this point 40 or 41 he decided to have the 4 kids he has now, all of them under the age of 4. We told him a little about the Church and explained some things to him. We told him about what we do as missionaries and how the 2 year program works. He laughed as he said, “ You’re a better man than I am.” He had a lot of respect for us. We invited him to the ward easter egg hunt this week, and he has to work but he wants his wife and kids to go. He wants to meet with us again and have us over, so he’s going to talk to his wife about it. This was such an incredible meeting. Then he took us downstairs and just said, I want to show you something. We had no idea….if we weren’t in such a nice house I would have been worried. He showed us his sound recording studio in his basement with guitars all over the walls. He has a voice booth and tons of equipment. He produced, wrote, and played all the music for a cd that he made. It’s called Sunday Morning, and on the back is a picture of the old Methodist church where his dad preached when he was a kid. It has religious songs on it, but it has to do with his journey through cancer. His name is Andy Potts. He pulled out two copies of the cd still in the wrapping and gave them to us. We won’t be able to listen to them until we get home, because it is guitar, but how incredible. This was just one of the many incredible meetings we had this week.

We also met this guy who was a Vietnam Vetran. He’s and Italian Catholic named Mario. He flew in a helicopter over opium and cocaine fields spraying a chemical that would mark and make snipers visible under infrared. This chemical though has gotten into his pours and he now shakes sometimes. This war was no glamour for this man. He has to sleep in a separate room from his wife, because he sometimes wakes up in the night screaming. He said that he was sent over there to help refugees especially children, but he would round them up and he saw as they were put on ships that they were blown up by our own US fire. He said his brother was one of the commanders and he and his brother would fight because he would try to save as many of the children as possible and he didn’t want to send them to his brother because he knew he would kill them. He told us of these horrors. He said though that he had seen Christ saving those little kids. This man was moved to tears, he was very emotional about this. We are going to meet with him again on Saturday.

This week were led to new people, people we are teaching were accepting and keeping commitments, and people we met were accepting commitments and becoming new investigators. There's a hundred incredibles stories and experiences to be told. I'll give you the names of our new investigators that we have this week. Helen Lockett, Tynika, Doug, Mario, Alicia and Kathy Composano (part of a part member family), Jose Ortiz (father of a part member family), Maria Ratigo. These are the New investigators since last Wednesday. Jay and Della who are investigators are now praying about baptism. This has just been pinnacle week.

As for my studies. I'm almost finished with my topical study of parables of Christ. I did one this past few days that I'd never read or heard of before. It's incredible how much I'm learning. Then the lessons that Elder Layton and I are coming up with to teach and how we teach them. We teach things in a new way, or phrase it in a new way. It can only be the Spirit guiding our words. I love it. I love being a missionary. This is the greatest time in my life!!!! I can't wait for you to meet Helen Lockett, she is a gem. On my planner I have "Miracles" and then below that "A season of Opportunity" , and a picture of Christ healing a blind man. This truly has been a time of miracles, and I have no doubt that this is a season of Opportunity. The work and the ward and the members and the investigators and Elder Layton and I we are surging forward. This is the sprint at the end of the race, you give it your all. I love it, it's exhilarating.

This week has taken a lot in my journal. For one thing that I can tell you, we have our first baptismal date for April 10. We set it in a first lesson on Sunday with a lady we'd tracted into on Saturday. This was incredible. This doesn't happen often, in fact it hasn't ever happened. We've met with her again since then. Everything is finally starting to click here after the many weeks and months of knockings doors for days straight. The Lord is blessing us immensely. It's just been the most incredible week every. This is the happiest time of my life, I love it. I love you dad. Have and awesome week and keep this lady Helen Lockett in your prayers for April 10.

I don’t know what else to write, there’s just so much. This is probably all a little jumbled, but I’ve tried to capture most of it in my journal. Just know that there is a God and he is blessing us. There are so many incredible stories and people to tell you about just from this past couple of days, it would take eons. I wish I could tell them all in detail and have recorded the dialogue. Wow the life of a missionary what an incredible blessing. How incredible to be a part of this and to have these past couple days as a part of my life experiences. You can’t put a price on that, nor how it has strengthened my testimony of the love of Heavenly Father and the Truthfulness of this work. I love you all and onward we go!!!!


Love Elder Adams