October 5, 2015

October 5, 2015

Well this week was a very disappointing week, and an amazing week filled with TONS of inspiration!! My companion and I worked really hard this week, saw tons of miracles and had a lot of people committed to come to church, 18 to be exact. But 12 people ended up not coming and we only had 6 people at church this weekend... But the weekend was amazing!!! What an incredible opportunity to hear that the Lord has called 3 new apostles! I am so excited to have Elder Rasband, Elder Stevens, and Elder Runlend to guide us. Their testimonies were incredible as well as the rest of the conference. I found talks that I think each one of us can apply in our lives:

First, starting with me, I went with the question of how I can stay on the straight and narrow path after the mission, although there were many talks that in part answered that question, such as Elder Robert D Hales, Elder Holland, Elder Andersen and Elder Durant. I feel like Elder Quinton L Cook took my question and made a talk out of it. It hit me so hard with exactly what I need to do after the mission and that is one talk I want to apply arriving at home.

DAD - Well this talk I feel like can be applied by the whole family, but I feel like its something you would like to do, and something you could be greatly benefited by. It was the talk by Elder Devin Durant in the Sunday Afternoon session I believe. He talked about something called ponderization. It is a really cool idea and its something I will be applying also, give it a shot and if you haven’t listened to the talk listen to it.

MOM - There were two talks that made me think about you, the first was the talk by Elder Russel M Nelson Sunday morning, I imagine you saw it but I thought of you immediately, you are already this type of person but I imagine that there are still things you can take out of the talk. Secondly the talk by Elder Holland in the 2nd session of Saturday Afternoon. This talk describes exactly how I feel about you, I love you mom, and I hope you can listen to the talk and think about me, especially when he talks about the Mexico City Temple rededication because I was there and I actually know Sister Pyper and her daughter (the attend the English ward I served in while in the offices, they are such sweet people).

LEXIE - Lexie, one of the talks that I loved was by Elder Robert D Hales. Its a talk that was meant for all young adults, so I will be applying it also. Listen to the talk, and Im not trying to tell you to get married immediately.... but all the advice that he gave is inspired by god, especially the line that says "You can start preparing today, by being worth of the type of person you want to marry", I suggest that you start thinking about the type of person you want to have in your life and be worthy of that person.

EMILY - Well I already gave you tons of talks to read in your personal email but I would re-watch the talk from Elder Russell M Nelson. I know you saw it because you said it was one of your favorites but watch it over, and over and over again, to really dissect it, and dissect the things you can take out of it. 

JOSH - WATCH THE WHOLE PRIESTHOOD SESSION, but in particular Elder Iryings talk in that session. He talks about the importance of every priesthood ordinance, and every priesthood function. I remember about 6 years ago when I was a priest also, and I didn’t understand or comprehend the magnitude of that calling, or of holding the priesthood of god, watch it, and then watch it again. Make sure it sinks in, and really imagine what it means to be a priest of God.

I love you all, and I hope you all have a great week. I will be working as hard as I can for the next 5 weeks so I expect you all to do the same, help a neighbor, help a family member, do a good act this week and remember that Ill be doing it too. I love you all and hope you are all doing well.

Love,

Elder Adams

September 28, 2015

September 28, 2015

Well I had changes today and guess what.... Elder Adams and I just switched kids..... hahahaha Elder Adams opened an area last change with a kid, and I did the exact same. My kid (Elder Solis) was companions with Elder Guzman (Elder Adams kid) well Elder Solis went with Elder Adams and Elder Guzman came with me. He is from Costa Rica and I will be finishing my mission with him. Its so crazy to me that I only have 6 weeks left.... its going to fly by so fast. I feel like I just barley got to this area and barely got put with Elder Solis, but that happened 6 weeks ago.... the exact amount of time I have left in the mission........ Today sitting across from my companion with my new agenda planning the night with him it really hit me... This is it, I wont have any other chances, this is my last change to give everything I’ve got, and after that its over. Just like that the best 2 years of my life have come to an end... I have loved every second of these last 23 months and I wouldn’t change them for the world. I’ve learned so much, grown so much, changed so much, and met so many people who have, and will keep on changing my life. I never understood what people meant when they said it would be the best hardest 2 years of your life. I also didn’t understand when people said they loved their mission.... and to be honest no one does until you live it.

This week flew by really fast, just a story from last Monday. After writing everyone with the zone leaders we went to the "Nevado de Toluca" its the big Volcano that you can climb here in Toluca. It was such an incredible experience and being that high up in nature was SO cool. There is no air up there so it was hard to climb but we had all the intentions of making it to the very highest peak. We started climbing up into the clouds and we hit a peak and we thought for sure it was the highest peak, so the 4 of us knelt down and offered a pray together, we felt so close to our Heavenly Father and it was so cool, but as we opened our eyes the clouds went away and we saw one more pack that was higher... we didn’t have time to climb it but it was such a cool fun experience and I will attach photos for sure.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!! Keep working hard, keep with your shoulder to the wheel and Ill do the same, love you!!!

Love,

Elder Adams

1. The lake at the top of the volcano

2. Elder Robision and I at the top

3. Elder Eveyln and Elder Solis at what we thought was the top

4. The real top behind us.... haha

Photos: September 28, 2015

1. The lake at the top of the volcano

2. Elder Robision and I at the top

3. Elder Eveyln and Elder Solis at what we thought was the top

4. The real top behind us.... haha

1. The zone district photo

2. The district photo

3. Giving service with our recent convert

September 21. 2015

September 21, 2015

Well Everyone this is the last week of the change, which means that this week I will find out where and with who I will be spending my last change in the mission (the last 6 weeks).... I am almost 100 percent sure that I will stay here in Sauces and I think I will either train another missionary, or stay with my companion. Its really weird to be in the finally stretch of the mission. Its been really hard staying focused knowing that I’m about to start my last 6 weeks of the mission.... I hope you all know how excited I am to come home, but also how little I want to leave Mexico and come back from the mission. I love the mission with all my heart, I do miss some worldly things (league of legends, basketball, friends, family, facebook, etc) but I wouldn’t change these last 2 years for the world, the things that I have learned, the people I have come to love (especially converts), the testimony I have grown is indispensable. 

This week we went to see some of our investigators that had come to church twice but didn’t seem to be progressing very well. Only the mom really seemed interested and so it was really hard to go and teach them because if the mom wasn’t there no one would let us in. We went this week and found the mom (Norma) and we found her balling she has been going through some really hard times with her Husband and mother in law and were at the point of getting a divorce. We came and gave her a blessing and the whole family is now much more receptive after our visit. We testified of the love that Christ has for each one of them and the love that he has for their family, and that if they follow the teachings of Christ and follow his example to be baptized they would see incredible changes in their family. The accepted that challenge to be baptized but still haven’t accepted a date. We will be working with them and hope to baptize them within the next 2 weeks. The father and the mom came to church this Sunday by themselves and the messages were EXACTLY what they needed to hear. I hope this week the put in practice the talks they heard and can start to see the changes in their family. 

Lastly, there is a family of recent converts that I love so much. We get a long so well and even though they aren’t my converts it feels as if they were, they love me and I love them with all my heart. We have been helping them a lot and they have been helping us also. Israel came with us to teach Norma and Nicolas (the family from the paragraph above) and he is so powerful. His testimony is so strong and I know that we are going to see a lot of success from working with him. We helped him prepare to receive the Melchizedek  Priesthood and he asked me to ordain him. I had the wonderful opportunity to ordain Israel to the office of Elder. He is so incredible and I love him and his family so much. That will be the only photo I have for you guys this week but it is Israel and I, with the tie I gave him. 

I hope you all have a great week and keep working hard in every aspect, love you all!!

Love,

Elder Adams

September 21, 2015 photo

September 14, 2015

September 14, 2015

Wow, this week was incredible. First things first, I got really sad this week. I was reading through my journal and found in my first change in Mexico a phrase that I had written after listening to "come thou fount" I wrote a line from that song but changed the lyrics just a little. I wrote "Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it, seal it for these next 2 years". I can’t believe that "these next 2 years" ends in 8 weeks.... I have fought a lot trying not to believe it but its really real Isn’t it? I was thinking about a question that Elder McCubbins asked me a few changes back, he asked me "Elder Adams if President called you and told you that your mission was ending tomorrow would you be able to say that you are proud of what you did that you served an HONORABLE mission"? The answer then and now is yes! I feel so good that I can say that I have given it my all to Heavenly Father in these last 2 years. I still have 8 weeks left, and I also haven’t been perfect in my mission, I have made plenty of mistakes but I can say that I have worked hard. I have given my all to my mission and have reaped the treasures that Heavenly Father has had in store for me. I love my mission, but more than anything I love what my mission has made me. I don’t want to change, I will still be the same Taylor from before the mission, with the same hobbies and loves, but with a different perspective on life, and I don’t want that perspective to change at all.

Secondly, this week we had the rededication of the Mexico City Temple. Elder Holland and Elder Irving came to dedicate the temple and they both gave incredible talks, but the talk I loved more than the rest was the first one from Elder Holland he told the story of the Saints who had build and abandoned 2 temples before arriving to Utah, and that the first thing Brigham Young said arriving at the Valley "here we will build a temple to our God". Many people asked him and questioned him how long it would take? If they would have to abandon this one also? His response really changed the way I think and really impacted me. He said "I don’t know, and I don’t care. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, or where I will be or if this temple will be finished. But while I have had to serve I will serve my Lord and God TODAY". What a powerful message from a powerful prophet. This man understood what it meant to consecrate his life to the Lord, to give everything he can TODAY because we never know what will happen tomorrow.

I want to leave you all with my testimony that I know this church is true, that this is the church of God, and that we need to do what ALL we can do TODAY, because we might not have the chance to do it tomorrow. I want you all to know that this principle will be applied in my mission, that even though I only have 8 weeks left I will use it ALL to be in the service of my God while I have the chance. I love you all and hope you all have a great week.

Love,

Elder Adams

1. My zone

2. Part of my area, I’m out in the middle of nowhere

3. Some recent converts at the new taco shop some members opened.

4. My companion