Welcome Home Sister Kaylie Adamson!!! July 18, 2016

               Welcome Home by Oliver!!

Seeing your new nephews Brax and Mason!!

Walking around Temple Square with Harper and Ryder who missed you very much!!

                           

WELCOME HOME SISTER ADAMSON!!

This Is It. July 11, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

Well I can't believe it, but this is my last email. I doesn't seem like it has been 18 months, but it has. I don't remember any other way of life than being a missionary. It will be an interesting transition home, but I know the time must come for all of us.

My mission has been AMAZING! Words cannot describe the things I have gained, learned, earned, worked for, and developed. My mission has meant to world to me. Reflecting on my decision to serve and where I am now is amazing. I never wanted to serve a mission, but the Lord made it very clear that I needed to. And now I understand just a little more about why I needed to. My mission has altered the course of my life and the direction I was heading. I am soo grateful so the opportunity the Lord has given me to serve this mission.

My testimony has grown so much. I know my Savior more personally than ever before. I know the Atonement is real. I had soo many days where I didn't think I could do it, but I do. And at the end of the day I reflect back and wonder how I did it. But guess what? It wasn't me on my own. I know I was never on my own. My Savior was with me as I did my best to do His work. The Atonement healed my broken and struggling heart and enabled me to be more than who I am on my own. I have learned of my worth. I am a child of a loving God and my divine potential is to become like Him, and I know I can. I know this life is a trial and error. We experience hard things for our benefit. I know the importance of family and centering family on the Gospel. I have seen way too many families that are burdened down by things that could be avoided as we obey the gospel. I know that the skills I have developed here will help shape my future family. My priorities have changed. I know that the most important thing is family and serving others. I have so many great examples of Christ-like people in my life (my sweet mother and grandma for instance) that I will strive to emulate and learn from.

The people I have met here have amazed me. I love people!! All kinds of people!! And I have learned to love them! I can now see and look at others differently. They all have stories and I love that about people. I also have learned to love people despite their weaknesses. I have gained so many skills and have found talents and gifts I have been given. That has been such a blessing for in my life.

I have loved my mission and serving the people in all my areas. My companions have been amazing and I have gained so many good life-long friendships! I want to with all my heart just thank my Heavenly Father for letting me have these experiences. I can't wait to see you all again soon! It will be the best present for me :) I love you all so much! Thank you for all the love and support! Missionaries need it!! :) 

For the last time!! 

Love,

Sister Adamson

Happy 4th! July 5, 2016

 Dear family and friends,

This week was soo great! I love being a missionary and I love the area and ward I'm serving with! Can't think of a better place to finish up a mission!

So just to update you! Ron and Maribel are doing great!! We had a lesson with them last week. During the lesson we felt prompted to share Moroni's promise at the end of the Book of Mormon and when we did, Maribele couldn't stop smiling! She said how much joy she felt from the verse! We helped her recognize that as the spirit talking to her! We invited them to come to church, but due to work schedules they won't be able to for awhile.. so we invited them on a church tour! It was great!! We had another couple in our ward come and they were great! They shared stories and bore testimony of the gospel! We asked them if they were willing to be baptized if they knew it was true and they said yes!! :) it was awesome! :) That was a big step for Ron! Maribel is growing so much too! She said that of course, if the priesthood was restored, she would be baptized! The spirit was so strong! I just love them so much and will miss being able to continue to teach them the gospel! We have another lesson with them tonight!!

Since I have been here in this ward, I have seen so so many changes and growth! It is so cool to see Alma 37:6-7 come true here! "By small and simple things, are great things brought to pass." By working little by little every day, we have seen so many blessings! That is how life is! By doing the small and simple things we can accomplish great things! I have learned that so much on my mission! :) Steady, energetic, consistent and enthusiastic effort really changes things! This ward has been hard at times to unite and get much help from with missionary work. But to see where they are now is such a miracle! We have been able to get leaders of the ward out teaching with us, less actives coming back, and investigators progressing! i love being able to see the change and growth!

I bore my testimony last Sunday in fast and testimony meeting. I said that it was my last time as a missionary in sacrament meeting.. just saying that i cried.. haha so sad.. But its ok! There is a time to move on and go forward with life! About half of the women in the ward were crying with me and many returned missionaries came up to me afterwards and expressed sympathy that my time was about up.. But also congratulated me. It just made me feel so loved and like I made an impact here in this area the two months I have served here. I have come to love this ward and the people here so much! :)

So for our fourth of July! We had a BBQ and some members house for lunch. It was great! I love that family! They remind me of the Richards back home! (yes John and Stephanie) haha :) and the mom reminds me so much Jess :) So baby shout out! Love you guys! :) Afterwards, we headed to a former investigators house named Tracey. That was interesting.. Let me just say.. I liked the light-hearted, peaceful, and happy feeling I get at the Joungeward's home a lot better.. there was some alcohol and not nice words being spoken by her family.. So we didn't quite enjoy all of our time there, but it was nice to be invited and thought about! Afterwards, we went to the Wards for dinner! We helped make cookies for investigators and less actives. We also met their neighbor, who they have been friend shipping for awhile! she is pregnant with twins and needs help around her house! We of course offered and she said yes! she we will be helping her next week! It was a great Fourth of July :) Love you all! have a great week! :)

Love,

Sister Adamson

3 June 29, 2016

Dear family and friends,

I named this email three. Not because I'm trunky and only have three weeks left.. but because I want to tell you about three things that I have learned on my mission. Of course I have learned many many things, but I would like to just share three.

1) You can do hard things. My mission has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I have grown and changed the most here than I have my whole life. I have learned that no matter what life throws at us our Heavenly Father gives us the strength to do all things we need to do. The last few weeks of the mission are hard for me, because simply I'm tired. After working so hard for so long.. Its catches up to you. But I learned (even this week) that the Lord takes care of us. Monday and Tuesday of this week were pretty similar. Hot outside, not a lot of appointments, cancellations and lots of contacting and finding. But Monday was a lot harder than Tuesday. Why? Because Monday I tried to do it all myself. I learned my lesson and didn't want to have another day like that. So Tuesday I asked and pleaded for help and strength and even more guidance so we could be in the right places! And we were! The day totally was lead by the spirit. We taught a cute less active family that has a down syndrome girl named Ethel. CUTEST THING EVER!! The spirit was so sweet there! We also found so many potential investigators and others who were willing to listen. I know we can do hard things with the help of our God :)

2) The Book of Mormon is the most inspired book ever. I have recently just started the Book of Mormon over again. I have read it almost four times on my mission, and each time its like reading a whole new book. I'm at a different part of my mission and have different struggles. And the book has helped me through. I yearn for the peace the Book of Mormon brings. When we have hard days or moments the temptation is there to just sit and read the book.. Because it lifts me, encourages me, and strengthens me. But of course, we don't do that now. But I have learned that when I get home from my mission and I'm stressed or worried or sad, that I can find peace and comfort from the scriptures and the words of church leaders.

3) People are amazing. I have met incredible people on my mission. All have stories. All have trials, struggles, heart-ache, sorrow, triumphs, victories. The works. All are unique. I know God has a plan for each one of His children. He knows up perfectly. He knows how we need to grow and change. The gospel doesn't solve our problems, but it helps us through them. I have seem people lean on the gospel of overcome momentous obstacles. It has amazed me how strong people are, and how the gospel and our Savior makes them stronger. 

This last week was great! Sister Arnett is the best person ever in the world. Such a great missionary! She strengthens me so much! She is such a blessing to have as a comp this last little bit of my mission! She is funny and loves being a missionary! We have been working hard! Still teaching Ayla! She is still struggling reading the Book of Mormon, but we will help her gain her own testimony! :) Ron and Maribelle are still doing well! We have only been able to meet with them once this last week. They love having us over and learning about the gospel. Change is always hard though! I have no doubt that they will be baptized. They are so sincere. That is key to conversion. They have to want it! We are meeting with them again tonight and see how they have been enjoying the Book of Mormon. We also are working with a less active family the Evans. Cutest family ever! They are super great, but just let life get in the way of things. So the gospel was put on the back-burner for a bit. We stopped by and they invited us to come over that evening for ice cream and a lesson. They want to come back, but Satan is good at using two things: fear and distraction. They haven't come to church yet, but they will.

I love being a missionary and its so weird its getting closer to the end! I love you all and can't wait to see you in a few weeks! Have a great week!

Love,

Sistere Adamson

More Pictures!!

A dead little mousey! 

Triple Trios! June 21, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was nuts!! So first of all, Sister Empey went home on medical release on Tuesday :( It was sad to see her go! She was a great missionary and a very hard worker! And she loved her mission! So if any of you find yourself in Bunkerville, NV definitely stop in and say hello :)

With me being companionless.. I was in three different trios this week! It was fun! I got to work in four different areas too! So it was an adventurous week that flew by!! With all the craziness we were still able to do enough work in Silver Lake. 

Ron and Maribelle- We weren't able to see them last week, but we are meeting with them tonight! So I'll let you know how it goes next week! 

Sharmmany- She already left for California for the summer.. but the ward will pick her right back up when she gets home. She will also be going to girls camp! So thats fun :) 

Jackie- We met her a few weeks ago. She is a young mom with two kids and her husband name is Cory. We were going to try and contact her again and no one was home.. so we start walking away and lo and behold-they started coming around the corner. She let us in and we talked to her for awhile. We set-up a return appointment for the next day. We went back and talk her the Restoration and left her with a Book of Mormon. She loved most of it. Joseph Smith she was a little more hesitant about, but she said she would read and pray! And we will see her this week again! She really wants an eternal family! And that can only be found in the gospel :) We love her she is a great mom :) 

Ayla- A 15 year-old in our ward that can't be baptized until she is 16. We teach her the lessons and help her gain a testimony of the gospel. Like most teenagers she is simply going through the motions of things. After our lesson this week, she told us that due to some custody issues, she might be able to get baptized sooner! She said that was a wake-up call! So we committed her to read the Book of Mormon and start gaining her own testimony of it! She is excited about it, and a little nervous, because she felt that she had time! So its a blessing how our Heavenly Father works :) 

I think that's all the people I want to update you on! I'm excited to spend my last few weeks here! My new companion is Sister Arnett :) I love her!!! She is such a cutie and we had the same trainer :) So it will be a fun last few weeks with her! 

Love, 

Sister Adamson

Sharmmany :) June 13, 2016

Dear Family and Friends!

So quick update on Ron and Maribelle! We taught them the gospel of Jesus Christ last Monday and they again loved it! When the spirit was strong, we invited them to be baptized! But then Ron had a question.. He doesn't quite get the priesthood yet.. We did our best to explain, but that's a hard thing for a lot of people to get. So we left them with some scriptures to read and invited them to pray about it. They of course, being the awesome sincere people they are said they would. We also invited them to come to Sharmmany's baptism, but they didn't respond. We are planning on stopping by this evening and trying to help them overcome their concerns. We loved teaching them! so hopefully they had a spiritual experience reading the Book of Mormon this week. 

Next, Sharmmany got baptized!!! AHH!!! It was so great! We were a little nervous about it all happening, because we weren't able to meet with her as much as we would have liked. So we met with her the day before she was going to be interviewed and went over some things with her and she did great! We felt a confirmation that going ahead with the baptism was the best thing for her! So we did :) She passed her interview and was baptized on Sunday :) It was a great baptism and the ward came to support her a lot :) it was cool to see :) She was SOOO happy afterwards :) I have never seen anyone so happy :) It was such a blessing to be able to teach her and watch her be baptized!! So that was great :) 

We also had an amazing Stake Conference this weekend! We had a general authority visit and that was awesome! I could listen to him speak forever! :) He gave lots of good teachings. Hopefully I'll be able to share some at my homecoming talk soon! We will see! We have been very blessed this week and I have seen how the Lord uses us in our weaknesses. He is able to do His work. Even if we, His servants struggles, He will bring others the gospel through His spirit. I love being a missionary and feeling the spirit guide and direct me! :) 

Next week is transfers! My last transfer in the field! I know I'll stay here in Silver Lake! I have loved this ward and trying to find people to teach amidst all of the cows and fields :) haha It's a fun area! Love you all have a great week :) 

Love, 

Sister Adamson

Some Pictures June 6, 2016

Running in the Park

Sister S

Car Character

Sister Empey's birthday!

Crazy Awesome :) June 6, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

So this week was pretty crazy, but like I said totally awesome!! The first of the week, I had a meeting down in Spokane with President and it was amazing!! We learned more about how all-knowing Christ and God are and because we know that about them, we can have more faith in them! I won't even try to explain how he taught it to us, but I'm coming home soon enough I could just tell you! But afterwards, Sister Empey was feeling pretty sick and exhausted this week so she stayed down in Spokane for about two days. I was basically a homeless person during that time sleeping on the floor and being passed between two companionship so we could cover all of our appointments. I was soo tired!! But is all worked out! 

So some really cool things happened this week. First of all Sharmmany is still doing well! She learns really slow, but we feel she will be ready for this Sunday :) We love her and she is the most innocent and sincere person. I know that the light of Christ is in her, because her family life is really hard. We don't know much, but she tells us things here and there and it makes me so grateful for the gospel. I have been so blessed with amazing parents and siblings that have loved me and taught me how to make good choices and how to reach my full potential. I love how the gospel helps our families be happy. I have gained such a testimony of that! 

Also we taught some investigators Maribelle and Ron this week. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and it was amazing! The best lesson on that I have been apart of my whole mission. They don't have much knowledge of the church or the Book of Mormon (which is super nice because they don't have any pre-conceived notions about us). They LOVED it! Asked amazing questions and I was soo happy to answer them! I felt the truthfulness of the message as we taught! Maribelle-the first thing she said when we walked in was "I love this book" (holding up a Book of Mormon). And Ron greeted us with a happy "Hello Sisters!!" Even though that was only the second we have ever met him. I am so excited to teach them! They are amazing! We just need to get the ward involved more with them! So that will be fun :) 

Remember the Evans family last week? We weren't able to go see them, but we re-scheduled for dinner tonight! :) so i'm excited to meet them!! And one final miracle! So there is a part-member family here that we have been trying to contact. We found out from a previous visit that the mom (the non-member) and Sister Empey are related somehow because they both have the last name Doney in their family. So Sister Empey went into Familysearch.org and wrote down some names to compare. Last night, we stopped by and went over some names. Turns out they are a lot closer than they thought! We are going back tonight to go over it more and hopefully invite her to take the lessons! There is something behind her being so excited about her ancestors, its because we are apart of an eternal family. We are all apart of God's family! :)

We saw so many miracles this week and were so blessed! I love seeing the Lord do His work through us. It's not us, its our Heavenly Father! 
Love,
Sister Adamson

Heavenly Father Knows!! May 31, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

Let me just start by saying how much Heavenly Father is aware of us and prepares us for upcoming obstacles. Because he does. We had a great beginning of the week! Sharmmany is still doing well! Asked us during a lesson how long she has to be a member before she can serve a mission!! It was the cutest thing ever!! She came to church and to the ward BBQ where she had a blast. She is the happiest 14 year old I have ever meet! We are still planning her baptism on the 12th! So thats exciting! We can all learn a lot from Sharmmany and her simply joy. About everything she owns is from Goodwill and her family lives in a garage.. so not too many worldly things, but she is so much happier than those who have so much more than her. 

Also we taught Tracey twice this week. She wants to be baptized, but we aren't sure exactly that she knows what that means yet.. But she is great to teach and is a very grateful person. We have only had a few real lesson with her, and it will be hard to get her to church because of her health problems, but all in due time!! :) She just downloaded the gospel library app so she can start reading the Book of Mormon!! :) So thats exciting. 

We also were able to contact this family that has lived here for about two years and hasn't come to church yet. No one in the ward has been able to contact them either. So we went by a week or so ago and we just caught the dad and two kids so we couldn't stay. We went by again and just barely missed the mom again.. But the Dad (Brother Evans) said how excited the wife was to meet us! And we set an appointment for later this week. I LOVE it when people are just ready to come back to church. I was so excited when we walked back to the car!! :) Sister Empey probably thought I was crazy because I was doing a little finger dance with my hands in the most professional missionary way possible. :) 

So we were blessed soo much this week. While contacting in Medical Lake, we talked to so many people who wanted to 'save us' and invited us to read the bible. And I always say I do everyday! Thank you!! :) haha A lady also asked us, "If you got rid of the Book of Mormon or stopped being apart of the LDS faith would you feel like you were missing something?" My answer: YES!!! Which surprised her. I would not to live my life another way. I have gained to much knowledge and blessings, and once I have seen them, how could I just forget about it?? I can't!! So that was great to be able to say that and mean it!!! 

We had so many blessings this week. I really like it here! Even though its small town and boonieville its an adventure! But like I said at first, Heavenly Father blesses us so much and prepares us for future struggles. Sister Empey wasn't feeling well on Saturday. But we went out and worked and did all we could that day to serve and help others. And everything worked out for our good! We had a ward BBQ and Sister Empey was having a ball with Sharmmany :) and had a few lessons and was able to serve at a horse training facility (Which Sister Empey loves horses). So Heavenly Father was watching out for her that day :) I love this church and this gospel AND my mission :) Have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Adamson

The Boons!!! May 23, 2016

Where we had dinner.....

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was full of unexpected happenings. So sounds like a mission to me. We had a great week! First of all I would like to talk about Sharmmany. She is 14 and her grandma is an inactive member of the church. She is the CUTEST thing ever. I have never seen anyone want to be baptized so much! She is on date for the 12th of June! :) It will come by so fast! We had a few lessons with her this week. She reads the Book of Mormon every day and marks it. She doesn't have a lot of support from her family, which is sad. But the ward is stepping up and giving her rides and having lessons in their home. She came to church on Sunday and made Sister Empey and I bracelets and got us a little music statue thing from Goodwill. haha :) She is the most innocent and Christ-like person. She knows the gospel is true with all her heart. She is the SWEETEST! We just love her! I'll get pictures of her this next week!

Our other investigators are doing well! Still there dads won't let them be baptized. But I'm sure they will soon!! But I must tell you about the day we had on Saturday. That day I was so tired in the morning. I didn't want to run or work out, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't. So I ran about six miles and then felt great. But after my studies I got really tired again.. But off we went! We went to find this former investigator out in the boons. We were driving and had no idea where this address was taking us. Out of no where, comes these trailers and we found hers. So we knock and this ginger with a really long pony tail, a bandana and no shirt on says come in I'll go get Tracey (the lady we were looking for) and so we did. Haha. He got her and we had a nice conversation about the Book of Mormon. We will be going back to see her this week.

Next a member wanted to have us over for lunch. I was slightly hoping to go home and take a nap during lunch. Which isn't usually what I do. But I was SOO tired. I didn't think I could get through the day without it. But off we went to the Andersons. Best family EVER! They just moved into the ward and are already the most active family. They gave me some strength to go out and work the rest of the day. To make a long story short--that day we were so busy, going from place to place. We saw so many miracles and found many cool service opportunities. We had lessons with a few less actives and saw so many people. Even for driving in the boons all day. At the end of the day, we were exhausted, but we felt so good about the work we did that day. I know without a doubt the we can to so much more with the strength of the Lord than we could ever on our own. I know Christ carried us that day. We hope to see many other miracles come from the work we did that day. 

The mission is really hard. Especially closer to the end. But I know that this gospel is true and it is my blessing to be able to serve the people here and bring them the joy that comes with Christ in our lives! I love you all! Have a great week

Love,

Sister Adamson

In Da Boons!! May 16, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

I have thought long and hard about how to describe to you where I currently am serving. And Its hard to put it in words.. haha Our area is HUGE! We drive about 40 minutes in every direction and still be in our area. But its mostly farm land, cattle, and trees. We see way more cows than people some days. We see lots of mailboxes, but the houses are too far back behind the trees to even see them. So tracting alone in the woods.. probably not! We have cows in our backyard, trains that come by, and lakes everywhere! We have a little town called Medical Lake here of about 5000 people. They high school there is 1A.. So tiny!! Its been fun though! We get lost on dirt roads, and drive here and there trying to figure it out! The Bishop here is from Hawaii! So that's fun :) The people here are very diverse and interesting. The members are great though! I have already learned so much from the families here so it will be a great last few months on my mission here! :) 

So the work here going! We are working with a few part-member families that were found by the previous sisters! But other than the ward list, its hard to find new people to teach! We feel we will go to the cute little town of Medical Lake and contact there. We found a new investigator this week doing just that! So that will be the plan! And as always working with members. But it is hard at times for members to know their neighbors in the middle of the woods and can't see each other.. haha But Its great! I really like it here. Our mission is so diverse that you really have to re-learn how to do missionary work almost everywhere you go! So you are constantly tested and challenged! 

Sister Empey and I find plenty of opportunities to laugh and make fun of ourselves trying to figure things out. We love it though! There wasn't a ton of progress of investigators this week! There are two different part-member families that the daughters (9 and 15) can't get baptized until there not interested dads give them permission.. So we will be praying and hoping that that happens! But It is an adventure here I assure you! Hope to have some fun updates for next week! Love you all! :) 

Love,

Sister Adamson

Pictures! May 9, 2016