Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Week Eight

January 7, 2014
Hey everyone! This week schedule changed and I now have P-day today. Yesterday my district left for Mexico City, I was really bummed and really wanted to be out in the field but even though it has only been 2 days extra here, they have been the two best days in the MTC thus far. Of course Heavenly Father knew I needed these two days more than I knew I needed them and I'm so glad and happy to have stayed longer. I am working on my patience as  I wait for my new call or visa to come in. I am excited to see what the rest of the week has in store for me! 

I am currently sleeping on a couch in the apartment of one of our other districts. I'm living out of my suitcase and have been chilling on the couch. Due to my extra length in the MTC, President Tyler wanted me to join the companionship of the new zone leaders and have three zone leaders because he loved having me as zone leader. To lift my spirits about staying on Friday President Tyler sent me a weekly letter reassuring me that I need to be here at the MTC for a reason. He said that I had touched the lives of many in the zone and maybe I need to help some more people here before I leave. In the letter he also included an anonymous section from someone's letter to the him. This letter said: 
"I love our Zone. It's a great feeling to know that I always have friends and people who care about me and want to talk to me and know about things that made my day and things that I'm struggling with. I think I might have already expressed this to you, but one person who is especially good at that is Elder Adams (Taylor -type). I can't ever leave a conversation with him without feeling loved, uplifted, and just a better person all around. And I see that he makes everyone feel like that, not just me. He is a great example to me of someone who has true, Christlike charity toward everyone. I know he's disappointed about not being able to leave the MTC with the rest of his district, and I'm sad for him for that, but I'm also a little selfishly glad because it means I'll be able to continue to learn from him, and so will the other Elders and Sisters in our Zone. His example makes me want to be the best missionary I can be by loving others around me unconditionally. He's definitely teaching me a lot about the love our Savior has for us and the love I should learn to feel for the investigators I teach. I know he'll be especially good at making the new District D feel welcome. He did it for us." 
This made me feel really good about myself because the hard work I have been putting in was being recognized, and the person who said this really meant it because they weren't looking to make me feel really good they were saying it to President Tyler. 

The two moments I would like to talk about happened last night and this morning:
1. Last night I was having personal study with Hermana Gerideli, Snow, and Briggs while my companions were studying Spanish. I felt the need to share with them two of my favorite Mormon Messages: http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#testimony-of-the-book-of-mormon , and one that won't pull up called he was all alone by Elder Holland. After watching these both the spirit was incredible. Hermana Gerideli said "Thank you Elder Adams, when I started my personal study I prayed for another confirmation that the Book of Mormon was true (something our teacher had us do) and that was exactly what I needed." After that we all knelt in prayer which brought the spirit even stronger. After this I began to share a very dear experience with them about the day I got my Temple Recommend back. By the end of my story streams of tears were rushing down all of our faces. We shared a few other experiences and bore testimony. All four of us were extremely grateful for the experience and it is one we will never forget.    
2. This morning we had P-day, and got to go back to the temple this P-day (which has been closed since our first week here at the MTC). I had the opportunity to go and do an endowment session in the Provo temple this morning. Going into the temple I had a pretty lose question in my heart something along the lines of: "I've felt the spirit a ton in my life, and I believe the church is true, but if it be your will please let me KNOW that you (God) are there." Before the session sitting in the chapel I began to pick up on my Book of Mormon Reading which by chance was in Alma 32, a chapter all about having faith and not needing to "KNOW". If you haven't read this chapter I highly encourage it. After the reading I had one of the best endownment session of my life, where I learned more than I ever have in the temple. After the session while sitting in the endowment room I decided to try something out that an Elder in my zone had recommended. Whenever he is feeling like he needs a specific answer he lays the scriptures on the table bind down, and lets them fall open by themselves and starts reading. As I did that I opened the Bible to John 14:1 which says "Let not your heart be atroubled: ye believe in God..." Both of these experiences were amazing, and to think I wouldn't have had either of these things happen had I left when I was "supposed to". Heavenly Father knows so much more about my life than I do. I've learned from this to put my trust in him, he knows what I need more than I do and I can't wait to see what the next weeks here have in store for me! :)

I love you all and I hope you are all doing well. Stick to you new year's resolutions and keep on keeping on. Write me or email me if you'd like, I'd love to hear from you all so please keep in touch! Miss you all and love you tons!
Much love,

Elder Adams

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