March 6, 2017 - Answered Prayers

Just to start out, because Mom I know you are freaking out, I am all better without eye or skin problems haha. Still don't know what it was but its gone and I'm in El Salvador, you learn to just not ask. Sorry I don't have a ton of time so this might be a little short, maybe not if I get on a ramble. This week was an awesome and super fast. We had a mixed baptismal service with the homeboy Elder Junior. We had 2 baptisms and he did also. We baptised a mother named Sandra and her son thats 8 years old named Mario, and we have the dad planned for the 18th of March. They are an awesome family who is always in church and they are always very active. 

Well I learned more from our baptismal service then anything. So it was supposed to start at 5 in the afternoon and we thought that we had everything planned and ready. To start off it was a little hard to plan because it was with 2 different wards and we had to coordinate everything. We called a bunch of people Tuesday so it wouldn't be too late like the Bishop, President of Relief Society and Primary to be there to support them. Of course they all said of course they were going to be there. Then we talked to the Ward Mission Leader and asked him to write up the agenda and assign a 3 minute talk to someone. 

On Saturday we went to the house of Sandra and Mario to go to the church. We got there 30 minutes early and thought we had plenty of time. Of course the bus we needed to take didn't leave for 30 minutes and we were a half hour late to our own baptisms. That stressed me out a bunch and I was hoping that when we got there we could just start. We got there and only the Bishop was there and some other members. Our ward mission leader didn't show up or call us. Long story short, everything fell through and we planned the baptism in 5 minutes right before it started. So I was already stressed out a ton and I thought I was going to mix up their names. I said a little prayer right before that it would all run smooth. My prayer was answered and after all the stress, we had an awesome service with 4 baptisms.

I learned to trust in our Lord that He will help us through our hard times and that we can always count on Him. He will always answer our prayers and help us through our challenges. That was just a tiny little example of how our Heavenly Father has answered my prayers and has helped me during the mission. I am so thankful for Him and His Son Jesus Christ. I love our members, converts, investigators, and even the drunk guys passed out in the street. I love you all with that same love and I know Christ loves us even more. Thats about it for the week. Hope you all have another awesome week and always remember the things that really matter in this life. 

Love,

Elder Adams Jr.

P.S. Yesterday Salvador gave us 4 references, none of which are in our area, but that doesn't matter. 4 separate families, 1 family of 16 another of 5 and the other two of 4. This man is a reference machine! We are still waiting for his divorce to finalize but the lawyer told us that it should be done by the end of the month!

In the trunk of a taxi with my guys when I had to look like an FBI agent all day

Juan completing years

The master chef with that flow

We first taught them the Gospel, now its time to teach them how to smile

Baptizing brothers! (I promise I'm not getting that chubby my shirt is just big!)

February 27, 2017 - Trust In Him

Throughout the little bit of time I have on the mission, I have come to find out that we learn valuable lessons every single day. So this week I learned a very valuable lesson, that I hope you all can benefit from.  So Thursday morning I woke up with my eyes a little red and it just looked like I was tired, but as the day went on, they got a little bit worse. Friday morning it was worse and my eyes were a little more swollen so we decided to call the nurse. She told us what type of medicine to go get and then said that I needed to stay in the house and out of the sun. I was super bummed because we had a sweet day planned and we were going to visit some of our families that were really progressing. Because of this we lost our work time and couldnt do much to help our investigators progress. I called Elder Junior (he is our District Leader) to let him know that we couldnt work and I told him how I was upset because we couldnt got help people progress to their baptisms. He asked me one question, "Do you want baptisms or do you want converts?"I didnt think much about it and of course I said converts. He went on to say if one day of not visiting someone is goiing to change their testimony, they are just a baptism. If they can continue on and progress by themselves, they will be true converts. I have been pondering this thought the rest of the week and I have accepted this reality. At first I was mad that we couldnt go out and teach but now I learned to put my faith in the Lord. He will bless us when we truly trust in Him. This experience made me think of a family home evening that we have given a few times. We have one person put a tube up to their eye so they can only see a little circle. We then place an image in front of the tube so they can only see a little part and they have to say what the picture is. Of course no one can say what the big picture is. We then compare it to our lives and how we take on life. We can only see this little part of the great plan that God has for us. He can see all of the picture, the hard times, the blessings, and the challenges. We have to put our faith in God and trust that it is for our benefit. I had taught this lesson probably 6 or 7 times and I hadnt really learned the principle. This week and through this challenge, I have come to know that when we put our confidence in the Lord, it will all work out. Maybe a few of our investigators did fall throuugh the cracks, but it might not be their time right now. I hope you can all put your faith in practice and not just go through the motions. Before this week I feel like I was just going through the motions and not actually relying on our Heavenly Father.

I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and that everything happens for a reason. We havent seen many of the blessings from this challenge, but I know they will come. "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to His will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in Him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to Him."(Nephi 7:12)

I love you all and I hope you all have an awesome week full of spiritual experiences! Put your faith in practice and you will see miracles, I promise you!

Love,

Elder Adams Jr.

Pics: 

Progress on the house. Its still coming along!

February 20, 2017 - Salvador in El Salvador

Fam,

So this week was a bit slower with finding new people and having more people to teach, but we worked real hard with the people that we have already been blessed with. So this week was centered in service for us. We did 3 service projects and really tried to help every person that we talked to with something. So our golden investigators, Salvador and Esther (Ill tell their story in a little bit), needed help building a part on to their house, so we saw it as the perfect opportunity to help someone out and show Christlike love. Well we didnt know how long it was really going to take when we first started, but we ended up working 2 days and a total of 11 hours, with 8 missionaries, on this project. None of us having experience building houses, especially with crooked pieces of bamboo and 1 hammer. Well we did our best and we got a solid frame and wall up that is later going to be filled with cement. 

The one bad part about it was all the gringos, me included, got super burned. All of our necks and faces are peeling now its wonderful. Well our service has already been payed off with blessings in this week and in the past from Salvador. So Salvador and Esther are awesome, but they have had their fair share of trials in their lives. First off Salvador was in a church (no clue what church) with his wife about 15 years ago and out of nowhere, the pastor said that he wanted Salvador's wife and if he didnt give her to him, he was pretty much going to hell. After that he was thinking and he came to the conclusion that in God's church that would not happen. He also came to the conclusion that there is only one true church on earth. Ever since then he had been looking for the 1 and only true church of God. 

About a month and a half before I arrived in this area, Elder Bailey and his companion were sitting outside Salvador's neighbors house teaching her. Salvador walked by and having heard a little about our Church, said to them, "Hey you guys have a book right?"The other missionaries of course saw it as an opportunity to contact someone and they started talking. He invited them in and they taught him about the Restoration. From then on he has been this area's most positive investigator. So the problem with him is, his wife that got taken from him and he were never divorced. He is now living with another person named Esther. Because of this they cant be baptised until his divorce gets finalized and they get married. Its all a big mess but we are working with it. Now he has been an investigator for 5 months and we are still waiting. He has one of the strongest testimonies that I have ever heard. He already kows more about the church then I do, and most of the lessons we have with him, he teaches us. Besides that he has been sharing the Gospel with more people then we have time for. He has given us countless references of friends, family, and random people that he met in the street and taught them about the Gospel. 

Just from him right now, we have around 8 investigators in Sacrament meeting on a weekly  basis. Well there is so much to say about him and how he is going to be a General Authority, but I dont have much time. Oh one other thing that is kind of cool is he has one arm. We have no clue how it happpened but its pretty sweet. Besides that, he has been an awesome investigator to have and a real help in the work. He's going to be an awesome member. Right now we are trying to work with his Grandkids and get them baptised but we just need permission from their parents. Well thats the story of Salvador in El Salvador. 

On the other hand, the other sweet thing that we did was make pupusas with Juan and Nohemy. Best place to learn, from the pro chef. He taught me to have flow and all while cooking (pic). Well this week was a good one filled with love for others, for God, and Gods love for us. We are blessed to be called to serve in this country at this time to share this Gospel and that is the best blessing I have right now! I hope your weeks were awesome and you could feel the love of God. 

Love,

Elder Adams

Trying to figure out how we are going to build a house with some crooked bamboo

Acting like we know what we are doing

Manly tools

Two days and some blistering sunburns later...

Stoked on pupusas

The first pupusas that Elder Adams has ever thrown

February 13, 2017 - First New Companion

Fam,

So this week was a full week of new. This is the first time I have had a new companion in the mission and for right now its a bit stressful. So we had changes on wednesday and my new comp, Elder Vasquez, came and we got right to work. Hes from Guatamala and doesnt speak a work of English. Sometimes it is hard but I know in the long run this is a major blessing and it is going to help my spanish a ton.

I just want to talk a little bit about the love that I have for these people. 2 Days before and the day before Elder Bailey left, we were going around and he was saying goodbye to all the member families, converts, and investigatores. This time really made me think about how hard these goodbyes are going to be when I have to leave. In specific with Juan and Nohemy (Baptised in December), I could see the love that Elder Bailey had for them and it made me think about how much love I have for them also. The love that I have for these people, that I can barely understand and have known for barely any time at all, is the same love that I have for every one of you. I have been so blessed to have this love grow within my heart for everyone. Im pretty sure you have all read it, but Kevin wrote a letter titled "A Love of God and of All Men" as you can tell, its about the love he has for EVERYONE. 

This week I have felt that same love for every single one of God's children that we have talked to. We can always remember that this love that we have for the people is love for our God also. I was reading this Email this week and I truly came to the realization of my love for God. Kev put it perfectly, "I had been struggling to understand what it means to be out here purely because of my love of God and of Christ... However I know now that the words of King Benjamin are true, that when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God. And when we have such love for our fellow beings, that love is truly towards our Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ." This love that I feel for the people and for my loving Father in Heaven is indescribable. I am so blessed to be able to serve here in this Country, in this Area, and at this time. I know I am here for a reason, to LOVE the people. I love you all just as much and hope you have an awesome week. Much Love.

Love,

Elder Adams Jr.

helping prepare to build a bamboo house

helping prepare to build a bamboo house

 elder bailey and i being nerds and twinning

February 6, 2017 - Changes

How is it already February?!?! I know I have said this before but the time is already flying. Everyone has always said that the MTC and your training feel like a lifetime. After that is when it supposedly starts to go faster and faster. The MTC sure did feel long but my training has been going so fast. Today is my first day out of my training and im scared for it to go any faster, it will be over too quick. 

So today we found out that Elder Bailey has changes so we will see soon who the new comp will be (changes are on wednesday). Elder Bailey and I have become super close and I feel like we really have gotten this companionship down. He has been here for all 4 changes he has in the feild and he is finally leaving me and is home :(

So besides that this week was another that we worked hard and had some good lessons. This week we have been working a lot with a some what new family in our teaching pool. It is a family of 3, mom, dad, and 8 year old son. We first taught them last friday. That lesson we set a baptisimal date for the 4th of March with them. We passed by their house the next day to just remind them about church and reinvite them. They ended up inviting us in and we taught them that day too. The dad was sick the next day for church but the mom and son came. Well we have kept teaching them this week and they have all been progressing a ton. They read the pamphlets that we leave for them and the Book of Mormon too. I mentioned El Salvador time last week or the week before, but if we are ever late to a lesson we had planned with them, we get a call wondering where we are. They all were at church today and they are doing awesome, I cant wait for the 4th haha. 

Well this week one of the highlights was having interchanges with Elder Junior and Elder Feliz. Not only because I got to have a break from Elder Bailey, but I learned a ton. We had a half day with each one, which was awesome to see how they teach and go about things, and apply it to my style and way I teach. I really learned that people can tell if you are confiedent in your message. If we show that we are not confiedent in our message, people are not going to follow through with committments and actually trying to come to know the things we teach are true. Why would they take advice and teachings of someone who doesnt even seem to know it for themselves. I know I am always going to have to learn more, and I am grateful that I got this lesson early in my mission so I can apply it sooner then later. 

Well sorry but we didnt have anything too out of the ordinary happen here. Sometimes that is the best though. I get to be a servant and tool in the Lords hands, help and see lives change, what is better then that? I love you all and hope you all have an awesome week! With much love and many prayers from the best place in the world!

Love,

Elder Adams

P.S. sorry the computers wouldnt load pictures this week. I know pictures are better then my letters sooooo sorry bout it.

January 30, 2017 - The Lord's Vineyard

My Fam,

This week was awesome! Just want to start out by saying how blessed we are to be working in the Lords vineyard. So this week wasnt extremely successful finding a ton of new people, but we really are starting to get some people progressing towards their baptisms. We have an investigator named Javier who is 18 and he is preparing to be baptised the 11th of February and this week we really saw his desire to be baptised. He told us that he was going to start a new job this upcoming week that starts at 4:30am and he gets off at 9:30pm... so he wouldnt be able to meet with us very much. That really scared us a bit and we kind of thought that he would veer off a little bit, but he told us that his one condition with his new boss was that he would not work on Sundays so he could go to church. That was just awesome to see that he has learned how important church attendance is in his conversion, and more importantly, in his salvation. 

The other investigator that we have been having a bit of trouble with is named Carolina. She is always reading and wanting to learn more, but at the same time that is a little bit of her problem. She isnt too set on being baptised because she wants more time to learn and grow her knowledge first. We always try to tie it back to faith. We know that we need faith to be baptized, and in Alma 32:21 it says that faith isnt having a perfect knowledge of all things, it is having hope in things that we cant see. She has been struggling with her faith a little bit but we were super blessed this week to have an awesome activity that really helped her. We got a call sometime last week saying that President Vasquez was going to have a Family Home Evening at our church building with just our district (5 companionships). He doesnt do these very often and we got lucky enough for him to come to our building with only our investigators. So the thing was kind of a long story but ill tell that in a second. 

So Carolina came to this Family Home Evening and it was all about faith and how we need to trust in our Heavenly Father. It seemed to work out perfectly for her needs right now, I wonder why. We passed by her house the next day and talked to her about the meeting. She was saying how beautiful it was and how we need to always have faith. It was a blessing to have this thing with our President, and even more of a blessing because of how specific it was to her needs. I hope this can give her the little push that she needs to get in the water. 

So now to the actual meeting, it was super funny how it ended up working out. We were told that we just had to show up with our investigators and the president would have everything else ready. We showed up and President wasnt there. We thought he was on El Salvador time which is like 15-20 minutes late. We got a call after a bit and he ended up being on Mormon El Salvador time. For those who dont know that is like 30-40 minutes late... to an hour long meeting. We had to do something for like 40 people right on the spot. We were lucky that someone had a Finding Faith in Christ video so we put that on and Elder Bailey talked a bit about faith. Just a little funny story that we had. 

The life of a missionary is super exciting sometimes. Seriously though, the work is awesome and I love it more nd more every day, I love my Heavenly Father, and I love the people here. I love you all and I pray for you all the time! Much love and have a great week!

Love, 

Elder Adams Jr.

Sometimes you just got to eat what they give you 

January 23, 2016 - Power of the Priesthood

Mi Familia,

So this week was a mix of the good and the not as good. We can't always have good weeks. Trust me I wish that was the case, but Heavenly Father gives us challenges so we can grow into better people, friends, leaders, and missionaries. Well I'm just going to jump right in to the good part of the week that I want to share with you guys because thats the part that really matters. 

So this week we had he opportunity to exercise our Priesthood power on a few occasions. The one that we really saw the results was from an investigator named Carolina. I might have already talked a bit about them but I'll just review just in case I didn't. So she lives with a less active member, named Cervio, which is awesome and not so awesome. He is always there bearing testimony and reassuring her that this is the Church of Christ, but we got to get them married before she can get baptised. He is a stud, I have no clue how he is less active haha we're working on him too. 

So she is a teacher and they just started school down here so she has been super stressed. Cervio told her about how we can give her a blessing of comfort so she wont be so stressed and so she can relax. We gave her a blessing last week but she told us how she felt and a little story about it this week. She said that right when we put our hands on her head, she felt all the worry rush out of her and she felt a warm feeling that she couldn't describe. We told her that that was the spirit working and she knew without a doubt that the Priesthood is real and we are blessed to have it on the Earth today. 

She then went on to tell us how later that night she was planning for the first day of school, the next day, and she was getting stressed again. She just thought about her blessing and she said that the same warm feeling filled her body and the worry left her. The power of the Priesthood is real! We are so blessed to have this gift in our lives. I am so happy that I have been blessed to live on the Earth when the Priesthood is here too. Just this little testimony that Hermana Carolina shared with us strengthened my testimony of the Priesthood tremendously. 

I hope you can all see the blessings and miracles that come through the power of the Priesthood. I love you all so much and I hope you all have a great week. 

Con todo, Elder Adams

P-Day activities in the backyard, We borrowed the 90 year old neighbor's machete

Looking like Gollum but just having some fun

Feeling like Jack Sparrow

Swimming pools in the middle of the road... The norm