September 25, 2017 -Murray, UT

I am doing very well! I love it out here more every day! So Elder Fisher is my new companion. Super crazy back story to that. On Saturday evening, Elder Jolly and I were informed, as is customary, of the upcoming transfer. We were told we would be staying together. That brought great joy! At about 4pm Monday, as I sat watching while Elder Jolly was working with a physical therapist, I received a phone call from President Hillier asking me if I would accept the calling to be a trainer. Of course I responded I would, but then expressed my concern that Elder Jolly and I were going to be together still. About 2 hours later, in between our salmon fest and a second dinner, Elder Jolly received confirmation that he would be transferred out. So this left us one night to pack, and we had lessons all evening. So we had to rush his packing, and then say some last minute goodbyes to 3 different families. Then we went to the mission office Tuesday, where Elder Jolly took off with his new companion, and after about 5 hours of meetings I got paired with Elder Fisher. He is from Medford, Oregon. I am training him. He is fresh out of the MTC, and an absolutely dedicated, hardworking, sharp elder. It has been awesome to work with him!

It has been cold and rainy, but the Lord has kept us safe and sound. We do get soaking wet a lot, but we dry quickly. I have found not one, but two very large winter coats, so I am doing well with that! We may still do a DI run in the next couple of weeks. The mountains are getting snow, but it will just go away next week.

The work is progressing greatly, we are working diligently to find more and more to teach!  A cool missionary experience is we had a lesson with our golden investigator. While we were teaching their daughter suddenly started crying, and testified about how ever since her dad started going back to church, she has been so happy. That was really powerful. 

I hope all is going well, love you all so much! 

Letter to little brother:

Elder Cody (in a few years),

I have been great. Sounds like you are having fun! Way to go, you are rocking the season! The races coming up are my favorite! You will do great! Way to get a medal,  that is so awesome! The mission has been the biggest blessing ever in my life. I feel so close to Our Older Brother Jesus Christ. I love Him so much, and I know He lives. I got to pass the sacrament in church today, and I thought about how you get the opportunity to do that too! I am so proud of all the good things you are doing in your life! Keep it up! I love you Co-co! 

Letter to little sister:

Dear Heidi,

I am having quite the most incredible time! That companion I am with in the dinner picture is my new companion. He is only 6 days out on his mission! We were not on exchanges, but I am so impressed you know what exchanges are! That is great that you fed the sister missionaries, I know that they are thankful for it! I love YOU very much. Keep being a good missionary too; being a friend is the best way to start! Love ya mucho!

Pictures: Elder Jolly and young friends, a Prep-day picture, and my new comp Elder Fisher

September 18, 2017 - Murray, UT

This week has truly been one of the most grueling and difficult weeks of my mission. But it has also been the most successful and joyful week yet. This whole week we have been working as hard as we can to try to do all the things we need to do to be successful missionaries. We set goals, made plans to accomplish our goals, and then went forth and persevered to reach our goals. We had 2 baptisms on Saturday, for Bryan and Jose. I had the privilege to baptize and confirm Bryan, and it was such a great experience. There are also 3 other people we have scheduled to be baptized in October, and maybe more to join them. One of those people we met with on Friday, and we were able to teach them the Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Salvation is God's plan for each of us to be able to become more like Him so we can live with Him again. This message of hope resonated with the lady we were teaching very powerfully. There was not a dry eye in the room. The lady was sobbing tears of relief and joy, and even her husband, a huge tough looking guy, was choked up (I did not cry because I am heartless). 😉 It was an absolutely special experience; she is such a strong Spirit. I can testify that God truly loves us all so much, and He wants us to come back to live with Him, which is why He provided our Savior Jesus Christ.

A fun story from the week: On Wednesday we had 9 minutes left on the day, and no new investigators, so a rather unsuccessful day, but then we thought we should stop in and update Bishop Tingey on the names he has given us. Once again, at 8:58, Bishop was like, "oh I got a call, some guy who lives in the neighborhood is attending an institute class at SLCC, and he wanted the missionaries to come by!" So Bishop was going to get the information on that for us to visit, but first his wife was having contractions so we told him to focus on his wife and soon to be newborn daughter. He was really casual like, I might be having a baby tonight, no big deal. It was impressive. We were able to later visit with the young man and he is planning to be baptized in October.

I love my mission so much and I am so grateful that I get to serve our Lord and our fellow brothers and sisters.
I hope all is well, I love you all!
Take Care,
Elder Adams

p.s. transfers this week. Elder Jolly and I are staying here. Our whole district didn't even change!

September 11, 2017 - Murray, UT

So this week has been quite the week. We have worked so hard, and experienced many days of hardships and struggles, but we have kept obedient and diligent, and the Lord is rewarding us richly. We were able to teach a lot of lessons to people, and do some service. One day this week we got a phone call at 8:58, 2 minutes before we have to turn in for the night, from a Bishop of one of the wards we cover. He shared that he had someone for us to teach, and that this lady had actually requested the missionaries. We taught her yesterday, and she was so sweet, humble, and cried because of how happy the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ made her. She is on date to be baptized October 7th. We are also having some baptisms this Saturday, for Bryan and Jose, brothers we have been teaching for a while. The family is very excited for them. Missionary work is so awesome, it is hard for me to describe. The best way I have seen it described is in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Alma, chapter 26. In there a guy named Ammon just finished his mission and is sharing his feelings about it with his brothers and friends. It is my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon. I would invite you all to read it!

I had my first exchanges this week. Exchanges are when one companionship flips one guy with another companionship. Elder Jolly went out for a day with our District Leader Elder Mushet, and I took his companion Elder Hardt into our area for a day. We did a lot of contacting people who we had been referred to, and we got yelled at from some doors. It was actually quite hilarious. We did meet one young guy, Tyler, who we are going back to teach on Wednesday. That was cool because he was the last door we tried on that street, right before we called it quits. We spent the night at Elder Mushet and Elder Hardt's place, it was really fun. We worked out in their workout room, and just had some really fun conversations. Morning came, and it was back to work as normal. 

We got to speak twice in church meetings yesterday. I honestly didn't prepare at all before either, yet both were 10-15 minutes solid. It was very cool to be able to do that. I love being in tune with the Holy Ghost, I know we are guided and blessed as we listen to the promptings we receive. 

I have heard about the hurricanes, we pray for those people affected often! Thanks for letting me know that Grandpa Smith passed away. I know it is better for him, just like you said. Your testimony of where he is now is so true, and I hope you always remember that! That is a great photo of him, one of my zone leaders said I kind of look like him.

As for Elder Gundred, yes, we were in the same district in the MTC. Four of the elders (from that district) are serving in the San Antonio Texas mission actually. Elder Gundred and I worked closely together in the MTC, as I was District Leader, and he was Zone Leader. He is a great guy, solid soccer player, on full ride to Utah State, and we are gonna actually try and hang out after our mission. That is so fun that he is serving in Grandma's area, know she is in good hands there.

Time is flying, and I love it out here so much. That is a great quote you shared dad. “Faith in God engenders a love for the Sabbath; faith in the Sabbath engenders a love for God”  (Elder Russell M. Nelson, The Sabbath Is a Delight).  It speaks so simply yet profound. Aren't modern day prophets and apostles great?! I love them, and am excited to go to general conference this month. (We have tickets for the Saturday afternoon session!). I heard about Grandpa Smith from Mom. Praying for you all, I know that he is in a better place, and we will see him again and be together for eternity living in the presence of God and Jesus Christ.  

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I know this church is true. I pray that all is well with you!
Love you very much!

Elder Adams

Oh, tell Heidi and Cody and Carson this cool story: You know the Michael Vey series? Well the author Richard Paul Evans has a brother named Boyd, and he is the young men's president in one of my wards! His daughter (the author’s niece) is named Tara, and that is where the author got the name. So that is cool! Also they are gonna get his autograph for me, maybe even in one of the books, and I'll send it home! Fun stuff out here! 

Below picture: Adams' Peanut Butter and Jolly Rancher Time

 

September 4, 2017 - Murray, UT

This has been an absolutely incredible week. The last few weeks have been rather slow and unsuccessful, and really a tough time, but Elder Jolly and I continued to work hard, be obedient, and stay diligent. And wow! We have been richly blessed! This week, we started just being very bold with people, and inviting them to read from the Book of Mormon, go to church, and be baptized. We have 5 people scheduled to be baptized in the next 3 weeks, with many more to come. While I sometimes talk about baptism, I should clarify that I, or any missionary, am not out here to just baptize everybody we see, and that is it. No, baptism is simply a goal we help others come to by building their Faith in Jesus Christ and helping them commit and show they want to follow the Savior. It is so awesome to see people make those choices that bring so much joy and blessings into their lives.

Back to what I was saying about the good times after the hard times, I think that we can all learn from them. I would offer two pieces of advice, one a voice of hope, the other a caution and warning. Whenever we find ourselves at a low point in our lives, it is so important that we always remember that the bad times will end. We can have hope that God will help us, through His Son Jesus Christ. Unfortunately whenever things are going well we often become prideful. This leads us down an unhappy path, and we are low. But, we can always climb back up to the top with the help of Our Savior Jesus Christ.

Fun story this week, we were knocking on some doors in an apartment complex, and we met this guy who was an 84 year old member of the Church. He graciously offered to feed us anytime, and we actually had our dinner appointment that night canceled, so we went out with him. And oh boy was it a treat! He (Brother Wahlquist) took us up into Mill Creek Canyon, to eat at a restaurant named Log Haven. Look it up, it is expensive! Anyways, it is a beautiful drive in and out of the mountains, which is where those mountain pictures are from. My entree alone was $45 dollars. I got some elk. It was delicious. He also made us get a side, a salad, and a dessert. The total bill, with tips, was over $200! And we got valet parking. It was pretty awesome. This guy served a mission in Sweden, and has met 4 prophets, including our current prophet, President Monson, 3 times. It was a really neat experience that we had!

I am so grateful to be out here serving a mission, I have learned so much that will bless my life infinitely. I hope all is going well with everyone! I love to hear how things are going, feel free to email anytime! 

Hope all is well!

Elder Adams

Pictures: The water bottles got too big and messy so I cleaned them up. 

My track and the view (I run about a 15 miles a week)

Elder Jolly and Elder Adams fresh haircuts.