December 29, 2014

December 29, 2014

Hey I don’t have any time right now to write but just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This week we will have another zone party for New Years and it should be lots of fun. The next week is concilio (concilio is almost always on the first Monday of the month). Basically Concilio is a leadership training that all the zone leaders and Sister Training Leaders have with President and the APs. It will take my whole P-day those days and so I will have a half P-day the Wednesday right after concilio. This week we had a baptismal date for Antonio, he had given up smoking and was working really hard to stop smoking but smoked the day before his baptism so his date got pushed back till tomorrow. The zone is doing well, and being a zone leader is going well too, a little stressful but I love my zone and the missionaries that I am serving. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Adams

December 29th photos

1. The shirt I got from my MTC companion Elder Wanner

2. The Ridley’s museum with Elder Jordan and Elder Veazy

3. The view of Mexico City on Christmas Day

4. The Wax museum

December 22, 2014

December 22, 2014

Wow I can’t believe that Christmas is already here. I haven’t thought about it at all until just now but today feels really weird, I can’t believe that Bryn is married, I can’t believe that I will be talking to you all in 3 days, and I can’t believe that this will be my last Christmas in the mission. How time flies by. I don’t have a whole lot to say because I am going to talk to you guys in three days but here are just a few things that have happened:

1. We had our mission Christmas Party and it was a ton of fun, we had a talent show, tons of good food and got to watch meet the Mormons, it was amazing and I highly recommend it to all!!

2. I saw a Which Wich here in the zone the other day on interchanges and one of these Pdays I WANT TO GO!!!! hahaha

3. There was a Sister in our zone who got really really down and wanted to go home that I got the chance to help, she called me at 11:30 the other night and I got almost no sleep but with Presidents help, the APs and our Sister Training leader the sister is staying in the mission. 

4. About the numbers. Both you and Dad told me not to worry about the numbers, and I agree with you, but at the same time I don’t... The numbers aren’t the most important, and we shouldn’t get purely caught up in the numbers, but they still are really important. There is a reason why the first Presidency asks for the numbers and why they report them in General Conference. The mission before was based all around pure numbers, and President has keep the pressure up for good numbers and lots of baptisms but has made it clear that each number represents a soul, a child of God. To be completely honest us teaching people really won’t help them in the eternities unless they get baptized. We can change the lives of people here in this earth, and maybe help them become better people, but as it explains in John 3:5 NOBODY who hasn’t been baptized (*with the proper authority) can enter into the kingdom of God. I realize that everyone has their agency, and I am not trying to sell baptism as if it were a product, but we have to realize and understand that we are here to help our Brothers and Sisters that chose to follow the plan of our Heavenly Father to come here to earth, everyone who is here on earth chose this plan and chose to take the risk, wanting to return to our Heavenly Fathers present, but will NEVER return to heavenly father if they don’t accept baptism in this life or the life to come. I feel very strongly about this, also coming from the general authorities our mission has been given the goal of 1 baptism every week, this goal can be looked at as a commandment for us, something God wants us to do and has given to us, we need to believe in the promise that every primary kid sings "I will go and do the things the Lord commands..." It isn’t against God's will to find the people he has prepared to be baptized and if we give ALL we can and put our part, he will put the in the rest. But I still agree that souls are more important than numbers, and we don’t baptize just to baptize, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to help all my brothers and sisters return to Heavenly Father.

Love,

Elder Adams

December 15th

December 15, 2014

Life has gotten crazy here, it is super weird being back out in the field because I felt like I lived in a bubble for 6 months and so I kinda put my guard down, I got back out here and started getting anxiety attacks but its a lot different this time, I don’t miss the family as much, and with my stronger testimony I feel like they are easier to overcome, working hard takes away any kind of anxiety but unfortunately the stress, no. If my zone doesn’t have good numbers I get ripped into by the APs.... haha always have to be on my toes. I love working with all the members of my zone, I feel like I am never in my area because I am always out helping other areas. Its especially hard being a zone leader at this time because I have to help teach all the young missionaries in the zone and over half my zone have 6 months or less... The holiday seasons are coming up and we have lots of things planned, but my companion and I have to try and keep everyone focused because it is easy to lose track of everything. Tomorrow we have a huge mission conference with all of the 5 zones in the city and the next day the five zones in the pueblos will have their conference. We are going to hear from President, have lots of fun, see a talent show, watch meet the Mormons, and eat a ton of food. The 24th we will have a zone activity where as a zone we will be able to watch frozen, play basketball, soccer, hang out and also have a white elephant gift exchange. My companion and I are in charge of putting that all together. On Christmas day we will call our families (more or less around 11 my time so 10 your time). That time isn’t exact but I should be able to call you like I did last time and give you an exact time more or less. Then the 31st we will have another zone activity pretty much the same as the first but with a different Disney movie still to be determined. So we have a lot of fun ahead of us.

The field is going really well, I like teaching all day and I am going to love having more lives to change but as for right now we have lots of potential with the people we are teaching but only one that is progressing really, really well. His name is Antonio. I love seeing his progress because he is someone that a lot of people would judge at first sight, but has such a tender heart and wants to follow God. He completes all of his homework assignments and was a reference from a friend. He went to church for the 2nd time yesterday. I really love the ward, because even though he has gages, tons of tattoos and just has a little bit of a thug look everyone loves him and he has tons of friends. He has a baptismal date for the 28th of this month.

Even though the field is going well I really miss the offices. I miss my companion Elder Bastian, I miss the Toblers, I miss my computer ;) and I miss most of all working so closely with the APs and President. Life was like paradise there and now its nothing but hard hard hard work.

Well I love you all, hope you all have a great week! Happy Birthday Mom, Happy Early Birthday Grandma Call, and send Bryn my congrats!!

December 15th photos

1. Elder Bastian and I before I left

2. Our Thanksgiving feast from Hno. Tajeda

3. Elder Bastian and I with the best converts EVER!! The family Rigabar Cruz.

Not A Lot of Time (12/8)

December 8, 2014

Now that I am a zone leader I won’t have a whole lot of time to write. I have to put in all of the numbers from the whole zone during my hour time now and today I only have a few hours for P day.

This week my president dropped a huge bomb on me. There are zone leaders 1 and zone leaders 2. The zone leader one is in charge of EVERYTHING. Both are zone leaders but really zone leader one makes all the shots and the zone leader 2 is there to help the zone but to do it in the way the other zone leader says. Well I was sure I was going to go be zone leader 2 with an amazing zone leader one and just learn a ton, but my president sent me to be zone leader 1!  I am the first missionary in the mission ever to go from not being a zone leader to being zone leader number one and I am scared out of my mind!!!!

I am going to work my butt off and I think it will be a great experience because it will really humble me. I feel exactly like I felt at the beginning of my mission but a different type of anxiety. I am going to have to rely so much more on the Lord for help and I think over all it will help me tons, taking me out of my comfort zone. I feel like I have fallen a little bit into a rut, just doing the same things over and over just because I know what I should be doing. It will be really good and nice to get back out into the field, but to be honest I miss the offices a ton already.... hahaha the pampered life! I forgot how pampered I really was because it just became normal. I went from the Beverly Hills of Mexico to the ghetto.... Well hopefully my letters will start getting longer if I have time to write. Love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

Love,

Elder Adams

Last Week in the Offices

December 1, 2014

Well, this is my last week in the offices, I am really sad to leave the offices but so excited to get back out into normal work again. The offices have treated me really well (my weight says maybe just a little too well) but it has been such a wonderful experience. I have loved so much working so closely with President and Sister Whitehead. As well as the Toblers (the senor couple we have here in the offices with us). This change has been really really crazy here in the offices, sending lots of missionaries home and taking lots of people to the airport, so we haven't had much success in the field with our limited time, but the sisters in the district just married and baptized an amazing family and our recent convert (José Juan) did the ordinance!! He is so amazing and is by far the best convert family I have in the whole mission, I love him and his wife so much and they are already planning a going away party for me... haha. Not a whole lot has happened really, just a lot of talking with President about the changes, where he wants me and what he wants me to do. We don't have any investigators that are progressing to tell you about but I should have lots starting next week. Well sorry this is a super boring letter but it will be a lot better next week when I leave out into the field. Love you all and hope you all had a great thanksgiving!!

Love,

Elder Adams