Skype Was AWESOME!

Okay I just have to start off by telling all of you how fun it was to Skype and see your faces and to see Keri's Baby Audrey belly! I almost cried it was so awesome. I wish I could have talked for longer but I needed to get back and focus on the work here that the Lord has called me to do.  Thank you for all of your love and support.  I need it. After I talked with all of you on Christmas we got to watch a Disney movie for Christmas.  We watched "Brave".  It was so good! Such a cute movie. Have you been getting my emails? I looked on my blog and they are not on there.  If you need me to send them again I can.. I hope they are getting to you because I haven't had time to sit down and write a letter.  I haven't had time to do much of anything extra lately so I am sorry for that. Working two areas is starting to wear on us. There are so many people who need us to bring the gospel to them it is ridiculous. We never have opportunities to find investigators because we are working with so many people.  We have 5 investigators and about 15 less active members and recent converts to see each week.  So we are booked. Then add shifts at the sites on top of that and it gets pretty crazy.  Bishop Egan wants us to be in every members home too teaching them lessons and stuff.  Sometimes I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day so we can accomplish everything.  When we get two more sisters down here that will help because we've had double the load while Sister Earl and I are down here by ourselves. 

Yes we did get SNOW!! About 20-22 inches this week. We get a lot here between the lakes.  I had my first white Christmas! But that was just the beginning to the snow storms.  Now I know what they mean when they say, "walking in a winter wonderland." Don't worry Mom, I am getting snow boots right after I send this email.  Haha I have been walking through almost two feet of snow with my little wimpy AZ boots.  I've survived though, it really isn't that bad.  It is going to get down into the single digits here this week so I am going to get some thermals and stuff like that so I can layer up.  Sister Earl just laughs at me discovering things about living in the snow.  Elder Breinholt bought some tractor tubes for us to go play out in it today.  There are some good powdery hills out here at the girls camp. 

Oh by the way, we are living at the girls camp now.... yeah they built a new pavilion down at the Whitmer Farm and they hit our pipe line and now it's leaking and then the cold weather is freezing the water that leaks out.  So they are trying to fix it before it ruins the new pavilion.  So they shut off our water. We've been here with the Breinholts since Thursday. They are using the old well water right now at the Whitmer, but it is not safe to drink.  So the Breinholts told us to just stay here with them.  We think they just want us to stay :) hopefully the water problem will get fixed soon so we can go back home though.  Yesterday at church they had to use bottled water for the sacrament and everything.  OH and the water heater here at the girls camp broke too. So we've been taking cold cold cold showers.  Definitely wakes you up in the morning!

This week has been a hard one. One of our investigators committed suicide.  It was really hard on Sister Earl and I... but the Lord got us through.  We had 6 appointments after we found out on Friday and we couldn't just cancel them.  So we prayed and pulled it together and went to work.  It was the best thing we could have done.  We taught and shared our testimonies and felt the Spirit and it comforted us.   We got home to the girls camp at 9 pm and who was here?  President Christianson.  We just fell to pieces we felt so loved and looked after.  He had over an hour drive in the snow storms to get here and then get back home to Rochester.  He talked with us and gave us blessings and it helped so much.  We felt bad he had such a long drive and a late night, but he told us he knew he needed to be here. I am so grateful for a mission president who is willing to do anything to help his missionaries. 

Good news is that Lea has a baptismal date! She is for sure getting baptized on the 5th of January.  She text us on Friday right after we found out about the suicide and said she didn't think she could get baptized. Yeah, two big things at once I almost had a heart attack. But we met with her on Friday and Saturday with the Masinos and talked with her about it and continued teaching her.  She decided to get baptized on the 12th but we didn't want her to wait another week- she is ready.  So we asked her to pray about the 5th and she said she would.  I gave her a hug when she came to church yesterday and the first thing she said, "I've decided on the 5th, I prayed and got my answer and I know I am supposed to be baptized that day." I may have jumped up and down a few times. I am so excited for Lea. She is so prepared and is the definition of "the elect".  NOW, we have found out that Elder Masino in Chile is having his first baptism of his mission on the 5th! Isn't that so cool!  Heavenly Father just works things out.  I have seen His hand in this work more than ever. 

I know that God knows each and everyone of us personally. They way the world measures the worth of a soul is very different from the way Heavenly Father does.  The worth of EVERY soul is great in the sight of God.  I love the Lord and I love being one of His servants in the vineyard! I love you my family and hope you have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Love, Sister Alexandra Adams

Winter Adventures Have Begun

Merry Christmas Eve!  I just got off the phone with you, Mom, to set up the time to Skype.  I am so excited! Thank you for the pictures that you emailed me I love getting to see you guys. I sent a package last Monday with a little gift in there for you  and Erika and Dad.  I hope it got there okay and everything. This past week so many crazy things have happened. I'll start with the mellow stuff so you have to read through the email to get to the good stuff. Ha ha :)

Last Monday night we had a family home evening event at the Smith Farm.  We caroled from the log home, down Stafford road to the frame home. In the log home Elder and Sister Fuller was there reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (no beer involved this time.. haha) and then Elder and Sister Poulson were in the frame home reading Luke 2.  It was such a neat thing.  (The Poulsons are from Ephraim and they have the old freezer that was in the old malt shop! I told them that my Nane Sue and Papa John ran that shop for a while- they thought that was pretty cool.) Then In the barn the elders were there playing old fashioned games that the Smith Family would have played. We caroled back to the welcome center and had cookies and hot cocoa.  It was so amazing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at a place where he appeared. The Spirit there that night was a sweet one.  AND I got to see Sister Butters and Lindsay and Bishop and Sister Wildey and Danae and all the people I love from the Lyons Ward. I was so happy especially to see Lindsay. She is doing so good. 

Tuesday nights is when Fayette Ward has there ward scripture study so instead of meeting at the church we came down to the Seneca Lake Girls camp.  Sister Breinholt made cookies and wasil and we caroled and had a Christmas scripture study here at the main house at the camp.  It was so awesome.  I am really starting to love the Fayette Ward. I love our little posse that comes to scripture study each week. Mary came and she shared her testimony. It was so beautiful and powerful. Lea, our new investigator came too! She loved it.

We had the Christmas Zone Conference with President and Sister Christianson on Wednesday.  It was a spirit filled day and my heart was truly touched. We had a training on how we can learn to be a missionary like Jesus Christ was. Being a missionary is rough at times, but it is so worth it.  I decided that whenever I feel discouraged or rejected that I am going to be grateful. Grateful that I get to feel a tiny fraction of an ounce that the Perfect Missionary experienced in His life, ministry, and atonement He performed- because it brings me closer to Him.

Thursday was also a special day. We got to go to the temple and do a session at the same time Logan Graham went through for his first time. I was so thankful that it worked out and that Logan wanted me to be there.  Sister Graham hugged me twice after the session- once for Logan and once for her haha. I love their family so much. Logan is going to be a rock star of a missionary. Brother Graham came and waited in the lobby with Laurissa and Jake.  So I got to see them when we got out.  Laurissa feel into my arms and started sobbing and then it made me tear up. She is such a special girl and it was very obvious that we miss each other.  It was nice to see the Grahams (my mission family) while I am away from my own family this time of year. 

So here is the funny part of the week.  Have you ever been stuck in a ditch full of snow? Well... Sister Earl and I have! Hahah oh my goodness it was insane.  So we had some pretty intense snow storms here and we really needed to get to the Seneca Lake Girls Camp to make cinnamon rolls with Sister Breinholt to take to our investigators, less active members, and recent converts for Christmas. So Sister Earl was driving very carefully and slowly down the back roads to get to the girls camp.  The snow drifts were crazy and at times there was complete white out. So we get down by the lake almost to the camp and at this point Sister Earl is getting a little more comfortable so we were going like 20 mph and all the sudden this huge branch is in the middle of the road.  So she slammed on her brakes, veered around the branch, off of the black top, and then when we started to slip she over corrected and we slid directly into the snow bank.  All the sudden Sister Earl was up in the air, I was near the snowy ground, all of the stuff in our van was on my side of the car, and our van was sideways! So many people stopped and checked on us and kept telling us we would need a tow truck to get out. So we called Elder and Sister Breinholt and before we know it they are coming down the road in their mid-sized SUV. Now, this is how cool the Breinholts are:  Immediately Elder Breinholt attaches a rope to our bike rack and his car and Sister Breinholt jumps in the ditch and has powder up to her waste and starts digging us out. Luckily another man stopped to help too so he and Sister Breinholt start pushing the front of our car and Elder Breinholt pushes the gas and pulls us out backwards onto the road! Elder and Sister Breinholt get the coolest senior couple award hands down. Sister Earl and I jumped out of the car and hugged them we were so grateful they got us out. (I maybe cried a little because I was scared) and Sister Breinholt goes, "oooh our little Arizona bunny".  There was no damage to the van, the cinnamon rolls got made and were delivered and everything was just fine! Heavenly Father was really looking out for us because it could have been a lot worse. 

Yesterday we taught Lea the Plan of Salvation after church and invited her to be baptized on January 5th and she was really hesitant because she didn't want to disappoint her family. We delivered some cinnamon rolls to Lea and her family last night and met her mom.  Her family is not really too fond of the fact she wants to be baptized. We talked with her and her mom in their living room for like 20 minutes!  It was awesome! We told her why we came on missions and what we do to help people come closer to Christ. The Spirit filled the room as we were explaining this to her and she relaxed and smiled and ended up giving us hugs when we left their house! Sister Earl and I got in the van to drive home and we started screaming it went so good.  Then we are headed down the road and Lea texts us and says, "Thank you so much for stopping by I think that really helped :) and I've decided that I'm ready to be baptized. I told my mom that I am going to be baptized before I go back to school." Well you should have heard the screams in the van after that. We were on cloud 9! So so happy!  We stopped at Brother and Sister Masino's house on the way home and told them all that had happened and they were ecstatic.  They are so excited to tell their son, Elder Masino who is serving in Chili, that his girlfriend will be baptized in a few weeks! He will find out tomorrow when he Skypes home :)  That is probably the highlight of my week. I love missionary work so much. I know that it is the work of God and He is working miracles. 

I love you all very much and I am so excited to see your faces tomorrow! Merry Merry Christmas :)

Love, Sister Adams 

Skype? Yes or No?

Family! I want to Skype with you guys for Christmas so let me know if that is a possibility. I can always just call too though so no big deal. I would just need to know the account to call when the time comes. I'll call or Skype around 11 or noon your time, but we'll see. Still one more p-day until Christmas. 

This week was wonderful! I am finally getting a hang of everything and everyone. Two areas to take care of has been quite the task, but Sister Earl and I are still alive, well, and working hard! It's great. We got Bill and Beverly going on their family history and they are LOVING it. Mary is having a hard go with things lately, but her testimony is solid.  She is such a great person and we are doing all we can to keep her knowledge of the gospel growing. 

Sister Earl and I are driving a new van! Haha total soccer mom style. But it will be nice when we finally get two more sisters to take over Waterloo. The doors open at the push of a button and everything. Super fly. 

We got to go to the temple this week with the Brienholts again! We did initiatory and it was so neat.  The little old ladies at the temple stayed late, even after the temple should have been closed, to finish all the names. Between Sister Brienholt, Sister Earl, and I we finished 30 names. It was amazing and a sweet experience to be a part of. I love being inside the temple. The peace and joy felt there is something that cannot be described.  I am thankful for the priesthood that connects us with heaven and the sacred ordinances that allow us to return to our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, as forever families. 

There is a man we are teaching in Waterloo. His name is Jim and he is older and lives by himself with his dog, Jay.  I love going and teaching him because he likes the fact that I am bold haha. The Yearsleys are the senior couple who live next door to us that take care of the Whitmer Farm and they came with us on a team-up.  The Spirit was so strong and Jim told us that he knows it is all true. He is just trying to find the courage to take action. He is SO CLOSE! Ah I can hardly wait for him to be baptized. It will happen. The Yearsleys were perfect to take with us because they just connect with Jim.  He and Elder Yearsley have the same sense of humor and really get along great. I really appreciate these senior couples that come out and help us to bring people to the truth. 

We have a new investigator! Lea is a 19 year old girl who is back home in Seneca Falls for Christmas from college.  Her boyfriend is the son of a really great couple in the ward, the Masinos. Elder Masino, her boyfriend, is in the MTC right now getting ready to go to Chili. She talked with him a little before he left about what he believes and why he was going on a mission.  She said it really touched her heart and she felt something special as he explained it to her. So he left on his mission and she started meeting with missionaries while she was away at college. Well, I guess the elders teaching her were not obedient at all and never had lessons planned for her and stood her up a few times. (Yeah... not okay)  So Elder Masino sent us Lea's information from the MTC with a sister who just arrived in our mission.  He said that the elders were just not cutting it and to have sisters teach her and she lives in our area! So we contacted her and hit it off right away. She is the sweetest girl ever and she really wants to be baptized. The only thing holding her back is her family is really upset about her wanting to join the Church. I feel so blessed to be able to teach Lea. She told us that Sister Earl and I were an answer to her prayers and that she really feels the Spirit with us, more than ever before. I am excited to get her going and progressing more quickly so she can be baptized. 

Two less-active members we are helping right now, Greg and Jinny, are brother and sister.  This week their sister died in a horrible car accident. Sister Earl and I went to the funeral today to support them. It has been a little hard talking with them about it, because it takes me back to when I lost my brother. It hurts my heart to see them going through the same thing. But I know that the Lord sent me here to this area, before this even happened because He knew I would be able to help Greg and Jinny with my experience and my testimony. Losing a sibling so suddenly is really hard... but because of the knowledge that I have, coping with it is possible.  Sister Earl and I are meeting with them often to keep them close to the gospel and to the church. We will get them through this because we have Christ on our side to help them along. 

I am so grateful for my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He is everything to me, because without Him I would have no chance, no hope in returning to where I belong with each and every member of my family. I love this time of year that we get to celebrate His birth and His life. I love you all and I'm excited to talk to you on Christmas day. 

Love, Sister Adams 

From the Seneca Lake Girls Camp

Hi Family! I am emailing you from the Seneca Lake Girls Camp today!  It is only 15 minutes away from the Whitmer Farm and the senior couple down here, Elder and Sister Brienholt, are so awesome.  It is so beautiful and peaceful here I wish you could see it. This place is so special. Many of the early saints where baptized right here in this lake.  Thank you for all the pictures! I got a lot from you and Keri. It was so fun to see my dance girls!!!! Oh my gosh I just wanted to cry looking at them in their cute costumes they are so beautiful! Please give them all a hug for me.  And Erika's winter formal dress and hair and make-up... big thumbs up. I loved that the dress was modest. I am proud of her for not going into the gray area of what modest is or not.  SFTAR!!! ahaha Mom, you will know what that is.  I also got emails from Grandma. It was good to hear from her. I am worried about Grandpa and his cancer, but I know the Lord is looking out for him. I pray for him each day... Grandma told me he still goes out and takes care of the horses and cows and  rides too. Haha typical Grandpa- nothing stops him.

This week was great. Our Christmas decor is officially up! I love it... makes it more like home. I am adjusting better to the new area and people. The first week I didn't sleep at all. I don't know why... but I got a huge sty on my eye. I looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame or the guy on the "Goonies" who goes... "Heyyyy youuuuu guyyyyyys!!!" I reenacted that for Sister Earl a few times and she laughed really hard. The sty is now gone and I don't look like an ogre so it is all good.  Sister Earl's birthday was this last Friday. We celebrated by having birthday breakfast down here with the Brienholts and we also made an apple crisp instead of a cake. It was delish. The apples in New York are better than anywhere else. We worked at the Smith Farm that day and I took a tour! That is a rare occasion now with the cold weather.  They were a couple from San Diego out here on business and wanted to see the Smith Farm before they headed back.  It was such a spiritual tour.  We just clicked.  We talked about the atonement and overcoming weaknesses through Jesus Christ.  Their business is doing interventions for people who are addicted to various substances. They both have experienced spiritual healing from the atonement of those issues and now they are helping others do the same.  They were great people and I was glad I got to share in that experience with them. It is so true. Anything we struggle with in this life has been paid for. We just have to make the choice to let go of the things that keep us far from God and start doing those things that bring us nearer to Him. I know that He loves us and wants to help us and through Him our weaknesses will become strengths. 

After our shift at the Smith Farm Sister Earl and I walked through the Sacred Grove for her birthday.  And guess who we ran into in the Grove? BOB! It was fun to get to walk with him and feel the spirit of that sacred ground. It was dark so we couldn't see much... and hardly any words were spoken. But to be able to go and walk and just feel was an experience I will never forget. We got to one of the highest points in the Grove and we could see the temple lit up through the trees... it was really special.  

We also had the ward Christmas party that night.  It was really fun! Afterwards we stayed and did dishes until the bitter end. Whoever had the idea to use real dishes for everyone... bad idea, but it was good. I don't mind doing dishes. I also met Jessica and Brandon and their family this week. They are so great. They live in Waterloo and have been meeting with missionaries for 6 years. The only thing holding them back is that they are not married.  They have four kids and come to church regularly.  Six years is enough. I am so determined to get them wet and make them official. 

 We had some disappointing times this week with people not showing up to appointments. But we got to see Bill and Beverly again! Bill said that before he joined the Church he called the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, "The Mormon Talley-Wacker Choir" ahah. I thought that was pretty funny. He could never think of the word 'tabernacle'. We went to Mary's this week with her home teachers to make that transition. It was good and she really clicked with her home teachers. I love it when the ward and the missionaries work together in missionary work.  That is when miracles happen. The Fayette Ward is great. It is so cool I get to go to church where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized! I still can't get over it. 

So for Christmas... I really want to Skype you guys :) so let me know what you want to do. I still don't know what time probably in the afternoon/evening here. But I think we are three hours ahead of you here... so we will figure that out next week. I love you Mom, Dad, and Erika! Thank you for all of your prayers they are needed and I can feel them :) Make it a good week and I will too!

Love,

Sister Adams

This Week Was A Blur + PICTURES

Heyyyooo! So this past week has been absolutely crazy. I don't even know where to start. Well I guess I could tell you that the area next to Seneca Falls is called Waterloo and I thought President closed it, but it turns out that Sister Earl and I are flushing it. We are both new to the area and trying our best to get a handle on the people the sisters in the past were working with. So there is a lot of ground to cover and a lot of people to take care of right now, but being busy is great! I am glad I won't spend my winter tracting in the snow. Oh and my p-day is on Monday now... by the way. Sorry if I forgot to mention that.

This week I met Mary. We call her Miracle Mary because she just came up to the sisters in the Seneca Falls library and told them she needed to make an appointment with them so they could teach her and get baptized. She got baptized about a month ago and she is AWESOME. Her sense of humor is so awesome. I really click with her. We made soup a few days ago and took it to her house to eat lunch and teach her about temple work. We have a temple trip planned for this Thursday and she is really excited to go do baptisms and confirmations. Yesterday at church she pushed me to go up and bear my testimony so the ward could see who I am... literally she pushed me. Haha it was hilarious. The new elder in our ward, Elder Perkins, got pushed by another ward member too so we both went. Elder Perkins was like, "You know how on fast Sunday you feel that push to get up and bear your testimony? Well this week Sister Adams and I had a literal PUSH."

I go to church with the Fayette ward now and it is so cool! We have church where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized! Every week! I am so lucky to be here.

I met a few other recent converts this week. Their names are Bill and Beverly and they are a hilarious. They are both in their 80s and they are so darling. Bill is blind and basically deaf if it wasn't for his hearing aids. He always jokes that he is going to drive his "bride" home.. he says, "Okay give me the keys and I'll drive you home." Then he busts up laughing and Beverly says, "The only keys you are getting are the keys to my heart!" Haha cute cute cute.

Sister Earl and I put up a little Christmas tree the other day and today we are decorating it! It is fake... but it will do. Our house is so quiet. Having no roommates is so weird, and we are out in the middle of NO WHERE. It is quiet and peaceful though so I like it. It snowed and actually stuck! It was fun. But then we had a few warm days like in the 50s so the snow melted... But I will take as many warm days as possible before the long, cold winter. Well like I said this week has been a blur.. a very good blur though I guess. Still getting situated, but still lost in the work! I love you all very much and hope all is well with you.

Love, Sister Adams

PS- you asked about Christmas presents and it is weird to think about myself and what I want... I really can't think of anything. Probably just some oranges from AZ and some money to get my hair done so I don't look like white trash. That's about it! Love ya!

 

Sister Thomas and Sister Adams - Sister Thomas is going home.

 

 

Kathy Dunn & Sister Adams

 

A really cool old cemetery in Newark

Sister Adams and Sister Butter's last cheers with their cupcake sippy cups.

FHE at Danae's house. Celestial District in Lyon's Ward.

 

Sister Butters and Sister Adams being separated.