Hello Family!
I just looked at my blog and the last two bunches of pictures I sent you guys are not on there. I hope you got them! If not, I can try sending them again. Mom, you mentioned that you can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving...YEAH, your telling me! Time is flying by so quick. Sister Butters and I only have two more weeks in this transfer together. We are kind of sad about it. We are contemplating bribing President Christianson with the caramel apples we made this week to keep us together one more transfer. No... we wouldn't do that. We just joke about it. We want to be together for Christmas because we know the ward really well and we get along really well. But we will see. The past few days have been warmer than usual. No need for tights, a coat, and a scarf! But we walked outside this morning and it was back cold again. Oh my gosh Mom! We have been so spoiled this last week. We got roast and potato dinner twice. WHAAAA? Yeah! It was soooo good. We were spoiled by Elder and Sister Stroud, site missionaries at the historic sites that are serving in Lyons Ward with us, and by Brother and Sister Porschet, a really cool couple in our ward.
We have had some disappointing days this week, not going to lie. But they always end on a good note. For instance, we had a ward correlation meeting planned for Saturday and our ward mission leader cancelled last minute. We were so upset because we haven't had a meeting since I first got here in May. I am not going to go into detail about how this man does not do his calling, but let's just say that we have been tackling the work in this ward on our own this whole time. Well Elder Houskeeper and Elder Erekson call us and tell us that we are having our meeting at "Brother Wahl's". We all just died laughing. Tom Wahl's is a popular hamburger shop here and there is one right around the corner from our house. So Sister Hawkes, Graham, Butters, and I got in the car and we had district dinner together at Tom Wahl's. It was good and we had a lot of good laughs. We seriously have a celestial district in Lyons Ward right now. We all work hard and work well together. We also laugh really hard and have fun.
I bet you are all wondering about Jimmy. Well to be honest, he has been really discouraged lately. Sister Butters and I basically begged him to read the Book of Mormon. I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to him and I have never had my heart so on fire in my life. I told him that I wouldn't be out here on a mission if I didn't know it was true. I told him about Erika and how I left her all by herself with no other siblings around her to come and share this book with people and if it wasn't true and it didn't change my life, I wouldn't even be here. It seemed to touch him and he promised he would pick it back up and continue reading. He was reading for a while but then he just stopped. We know that the Book of Mormon can lift his spirits and help him find the truth and the answers to all of his questions. He has some hard mountains to climb and we have given him the tools to do that. Now he just needs to act. I hope and pray he has been reading it since we saw him last.
On Sunday Sister Butters and I had a shift at the Smith Farm. It was actually busy! I was so surprised! We got a lot of locals because it was a warm, beautiful day. It was so nice to take so many tours and get to feel the Spirit that just resides at that sacred site.
We had zone conference this week as well and it was all about not getting discouraged. Sometimes our mission here is really hard. We get baptisms, but we work dang hard for them. In Alma 26:22 it says "given" four times. I really needed to read this because sometimes we work hard and we don't see the fruits of our labors. But success is given by God, and on His time. So never give up, continue to work in faith and plead to Heavenly Father for help and He will grant unto us success when it is the right time. It kind of reminds me of President Eyring's talk in General Conference. He talked about how God is not distant or hidden from us. We distance ourselves when we choose to not reach out, trust Him, and accept His timing. We can't see around the corner, but He can. God knows what is best for us because He knows us and loves us perfectly. I know that this is true. "But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day." Alma 26:7.
Sister Butters and I got up to Sodus a few times this last week and we stopped in to see Julia and the nursing home. She is almost 99 years old. She is so cute- we got there and she had on a cute pink shirt and cardigan and then she had hot pinks nail polish on. We were talking to her and her roommate, Marie, and Marie was telling us about how her eyesight is getting really bad. I asked Julia if she needed glasses, because I have never seen her wear any. She goes, "I am 99 years old! What do you expect!" Haha it was so funny. She wears glasses.
Jina completely dropped us this week. She told us that she hasn't been honest with us from the get go. I know that was a lie. I know she knows she felt the Spirit and the positive change in her life from the Gospel. She told us she loves us and feels different around us and that we make her feel happy, but that she doesn't want to learn anymore because she just can't accept Joseph Smith being the prophet of the Restoration. I just looked at her straight in the eye and told her, "The reason we are different, happy, and make you happy is because what we teach is TRUE- everything- and that includes Joseph Smith as the prophet who restored these truths." So for now Jina is in God's hands. He will continue to work on her. She is just afraid of the truth. Our two newer investigators Brooke and Dee are doing great. We are actually going to go teach both of them later today and we are excited about that.
Well I found a really good scripture this week that is in John chapter 8. In verse 29, it is Jesus Christ talking, but this is how I feel as a missionary: "And He that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." Now, I am not perfect. But I want my family and my Father in Heaven to know right now that I know God has sent me here. I am not alone. And I want to be good and to do good continually to please my Father in Heaven. I know this is the work of Almighty God. He is my captain, and I am on the front lines of His army. And this work is going forth "boldly, nobly, and independent, until it has penetrated every continent, visited every climb, swept every country, and sounded in every ear." -The Standard of Truth.
I love you all. Keep pressing forward with faith.
-Sister Alexandra Adams
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