Monday, April 21, 2014

Crazy Week in Mexico! (week 23)

April 21, 2014
Well hello everyone again! This week was a very hard week to say the least, but was also a very entertaining week with many crazy stories, but first off just to get some business out of the way: Happy Birthday Josh!! I won’t be able to write you happy birthday on your actually birthday, but know that I will be thinking about you. I love you and miss you tons and hope your have a great birthday!! Secondly if at all possible mom could you send me my line of authority for the priesthood? That would be amazing! :)

Well here come the crazy stories. To understand these stories you first need to know that even though my area is very calm and easy going, the area right next us, called Molino, is the most crazy dangerous area in the whole mission. There are 2 sets of Elders in this area and one of my friends, Elder Stromberg, served there for 9 months. While he was there he witnessed 9 people get killed in all different types of manner: people shot, stoned to death, curb stomped, hung, you name it he probably saw it.
1. Well to start out the crazy stories the first set of Elders in Molino, Elder Ramirez and Elder Sailee, returned home at 9 Monday night and were saying their companionship prayer, when all the sudden a brick flew through the window and a man started climbing in the window. They ran to their room and stacked the beds behind the door and were holding back the door while calling president. The man was just looking to rob them and was searching for money. After about 10 minutes the man left and their apartment was flipped upside down while he was looking for their money.
2. Second crazy story, in the other side of Molino on Tuesday night the Elders were riding home in a combi when I man climbed inside the combi announced "This is a hold up! Everyone pull out all your money" He had 2 pistols and a taser and went around the whole combi robbing everyone and taking the purses of the women.
3. Lastly, this Thursday I did interchanges with my Zone Leaders who lives in Molino. We were riding home from our day in Molino and a man walked into the Combi with his hands tucked under his armpits, in his jacket and came and sat right next to me. As we were sitting next to each other I felt a pistol where his hands were that was rubbing against my side. Luckily already in the Combi with us was a police officer and I believe the man was trying to rob the combi, but was waiting until the policeman left. Luckily my companion and I got off the combi before the officer did and nothing happened. Molino is a crazy place and you see some crazy stuff there!!
4. Last crazy story, that really isn’t all that crazy. This week there was a huge earthquake in Acapulco which is about 3 hours away. The earthquake was so big that we felt it here in Constituyentes but it really wasn’t that big or scary, just crazy that the earthquake reached that far.

Lastly before I have to go I got really sick yesterday. Saturday night I felt like I was getting a fever and so I went to bed early and took some Tylenol. I woke up in the middle of the night sweating bullets and freezing even though I had on 3 blankets and 2 jackets. I took my temperature in the morning and had a 102 degree fever. I ended up going to church and afterwards we did interchanges so my companion went and worked with a member and I went to another members house to rest. While I was sleeping there my fever rose to 103 and the family insisted that they take me to the doctors. I went to the doctors and he gave me 5 injections that I have to take the next 5 days. The injections are about 2 inches long and I have to have them shot in my butt and they KILL!!! Today the doctor told me to rest the whole day and only eat Saltines and drink Gatorade. It has been a really hard week and ending the week like that is really hard also.

Well I need to get off. I love and miss you and hope you are all doing well. Love you!

Love,
Elder Adams

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Week 22

April 14, 2014
Wow Week 22, it is weird, I feel like I have been here so much longer than 22 weeks sometimes, but then at the same time I feel like I have only been here no more than a month. Time here in Mexico (Not my whole mission just Mexico) is flying by. I can’t believe that I have already been here for 2 months. It seems like just yesterday I was flying first class on my way to MEX City!
Well just to start out there is some business I need to fill you in on. Number 1, here in Mexico Mothers Day is always the 10th of May, no matter what day that falls on, which means I will be skyping with you on Saturday May the 10th, so please don’t plan anything! I don’t have exact details as to when or how I will call you but I do know that it will be the 10th of May. Second, I just got a Dear Elder from Emily. It was so nice getting a letter when the zone leaders came for their monthly meeting with the letters, if you can write some Dear Elders I would really appreciate it. Don’t include news or anything of great importance because usually I don’t get them until a month later, but it is nice having a dear elder when they come, so maybe just include some spiritual thoughts, a cool story, or something like that would be great! :) Lastly, I am going to send a letter to Emily. After the conference in April one big thing that I took away from the conference was from Sister Reeves talk about family scripture study, family prayer and family home evening. The letter I will be sending to Emily is more or less homework for her to help the whole family complete these objectives so don’t get mad at her if she bugs you to have family studies, you can be mad at me ;) 

Just some quick news from Mexico City:
1. Since the church changed the rule in Mexico that all investigators need to have 5 times at church before they can get baptized no mission has broken 200 baptisms in a single month, until our mission last month! We had a total of 243 baptisms, which is a TON considering our investigators need to go to church 5 times before their baptism.
2. This week in Mexico City is called Semana Santa, where they celebrate the week Christ was crucified and resurrected. Everything will be shut down this week for the most part and everyone will be going on vacation, but the thing I wanted to share with you is the crazy rituals they do this week.... On Thursday (The day Christ was crucified) they take a person who has been building up his resistance to pain the whole year and they treat him like Christ for the day. They will whip him, shove a crown of thorns on his head, beat him and ultimately literally crucify him. Apparently they actually crucify him but don’t kill him, they take out the nails before it is able to kill the person, but after the whole experience the person is usually half dead. In our area this ritual is going to be happening about 10 minutes away from our house, a part of me wants to see it and a part of me no.... That is kind of crazy though.
3. I am losing weight. I wasn’t sure if I was losing weight or not because even though I swear like crazy and we work so hard, I also eat a TON in this area. The only reason I can tell I’m losing weight is because everyone tells me I look fat in the picture we took before my mission for the Christmas Card, and second my belt is now one notch tighter. It has been blazing hot as of recent and I have been sweating like crazy, sweating so much that every night I have to wring out the sweat from my socks... Disgusting I know but true..\

As for the work or stories, this week is pretty bare, It has been a fairly hard transfer even though I have done a really good job at fighting the homesickness and disanimation (*Mark says this is a Spanish word that means melancholy.) I have had a little bit of a hard time with my companion, we really aren’t finding very much success this transfer and I have to deal with the never ending vicious cycle of having a hard time with my companion, which causes me to miss Elder Herd, which causes me to miss home and think about how this could be my last transfer had I done my mission correctly the first time. I’ve done a really good job at staying strong but if anyone has any advice I would love to hear it! :) The only crazy story is that with my new companion we eat a ton in the street! I have been eating tons of Tortas, Carnitas and Tacos in the street, and even though they haven’t made me sick yet I have had really bad diarrhea... haha which really isn’t that bad, just means I spend a lot more time in the bathroom... haha this in turn has given me the chance to read Jesus the Christ a lot more and I am already 100 pages in after starting it 5 days ago. 

Well sorry this week was a little boring, hopefully I will have some cool stories next week about Semana Santa or hopefully we will find some success I can talk about, but just to close I wanted to say I love and miss you all!  Well I miss and love you all and can’t wait to talk to you in one month!!! Crazy to think about that I will be 1/4 done with my mission and talking to you! 

Love,
Elder Adams
PS something funny, here in Mexico they have Dora the explorer also, but instead of saying /come on vamanos, everybody lets go!/ she says /Vamanos come on, vamos a la obra!!/ haha

Week 22



Monday, April 7, 2014

week 21

Well I have lots of things to write this week, mainly about conference and hardstruggles so strap in!! First things first, I still havent got your package yet and I really hope it shows up!! Secondly when you get the chance please get my new shoes from missionary mall and send me them. My shoes are starting to fall apart and they are the only ones I have xD

Well to start of this email this change has been a hard one to start out, not because of my companion, he is awesome a good hard worker and we get a long well, but more so for three reasons that are starting to bring back anxiety:
1. Missing/thinking of Elder Herd is a little hard, because I think about how he is home in Utah and how badly I would love to be home, because as much as I love the people here, the experience and the adventure, I really really miss home and would love to be home and see everyone again.
2. This change is really hard because if I would have stayed out on my mission the first time, or had done it correctly the first time, this would be my last change. My old zone leader would have been here the same amount of time and thinking of him makes it really hard because he is going home in 5 weeks and I could be too had I done it correctly.
3. Not being able to speak Spanish and fully express myself, because even though I can converse with my companion I cant speak very deeply with him and our conversations are very basic... haha
No matter what I am not going to give up, I am doing a really good job at managing my anxiety this time around but no matter what I am never going to give up the fight. I just always have to remind myself that even though I really miss home and the US I love it here too, I love the people here and this is such a cool amazing adventure that I am on. I already have so many stories and I will have so many more by the end. Lastly and most importantly I am changing lives. It is so amazing to see and feel those who I love change their lives.

Sorry this email seems to be all over the place but something I wanted to talk about briefly is how I can already tell how much I am changing, food that I didnt like before I do now, such as cocunut, avacado and pineapple. The thing that I am most excited about for my change is I have really grown to love reading and studying!! Studying is always my favorite part of the day and I even when I return at night I love studying, I dont want my hour to end! I have been reading Our search for happiness by Elder Ballard and I am almost done, and started it four days ago, for those who know the book, or me, know that means I had to be reading more than just my one hour of personal study ever day.

Lastly, conference was so amazing!!! This is the first conference I have ever watched all 5 sessions and I am so disapointed in my self that I didnt realize how amazing conference was or the significance of conference before my mission. I hope you all got the chance to watch all 10 hours and if not I would challange you to do so. I dont have anytime left but I just wanted to share 2 talks I think my family can grow from, and 5 of my favories. 1. Family, please watch the talk by Linda Revees from the Sat morning session, you can learn and grow from it so much!! It is amazing and talks a lot about how to strengthen a family (more than just not watching pornography which is what she starts out with.)
2. Randall L Ridd. from the Priesthood session, this talk we can all learn and grow from but is especially for Josh because it is something I wish I would have applied before my mission.

My 5 favorites were (in no particular order):
1. Jeffery R Holland (Sat morning)
2. Linda Reeves (Sat morning)
3. Russell M Nelson (Sat Afternoon)
4. Robert D Hales (Sat Afternoon)
5. Diter F Uchdorf (Priesthood) as well as Jean A Steven Sun Morning

I love an miss you all and I am getting off early because we are late writing but I will be sure to write next week. I miss and love you all and cant wait to hear from you!! Love you!!

Elder Adams