1 Year In Spokane! January 25, 2016

Dear Family and Friends! 

It's so weird that it's been a year since I entered the mission field. It has gone by so fast. This last week was good! Full of blessings and challenges as always!!

I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Bryson this week!! Whoo!! It was nice to get to work with her again and see her growth! I love watching missionaries grow and change. I just hope I'm also growing and changing along with them! So that was fun! :) While we were together we had dinner at a semi-crazy less actives house. We were eating lentil, bean, and onion, and a mystery meat soup on our laps (no table). And I got distracted and about half of the hot soup just started spilling on my lap.. So that was delightful. But as always I recovered with grace and dignity :) haha 

So this week we did a lot of.. whats the word again? Oh ya. TRACTING. And can I tell you how much that is not a fun thing to do. We are really frustrated with the lack of support the ward is giving us. Their priorities are elsewhere, yet they expect success in their missionary efforts. Its hard to get people to come out to lessons with us, and even support a recent convert in our ward who is really struggling. Its so frustrating. To help with that however, we had a zone conference that bishops, ward mission leaders, and other leaders were invited to attend. (I will say that Brother Frederickson was there! So yay to the Hawks family! The Fredericksons are great) It really united members and missionaries. Our mission president said that members aren't here to help the missionaries in their work, it's the other way around. Missionaries are here for members! So I think that really sunk into our bishop's mind. At ward council he said at the beginning, "I feel that we have been letting our sisters down. We need to be the ones finding and they should just be teaching." I almost cried. Because Sister M and I have really been trying hard to find new people with little success and it does get discouraging. So I'm looking forward to the changes that will begin to happen here! 

Other than that, our less actives and part member families are doing well! We had so many returning at church there on Sunday! Nothing better then sitting at church and seeing who is there, knowing that you had a small part of getting them there! Its always such a tender mercy to just be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Like I said before, all it takes is to invite someone. Sister Makovei and I have so much fun together. She makes me laugh so hard I cry. She still is working on her English so its fun to decipher words she is trying to say. It's been great to have her as a companion. She makes it fun for me :) So thats a big blessing. She leaves next week, just before the end of our transfer. So president might put us into a trio. We had a meeting with the zone leaders, stake president, mission president, and us and in the meeting they said they might switch up which wards have elder and which have sisters. So I wouldn't be surprised if something crazy happens this transfer!! :) Time will tell!! well I love you all!! :) Hope you have a great week!! 

Love,

Sister Adamson

Ups and Downs January 19, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was full of just what I said. Ups and downs. The mission sometimes pushes you to your absolute limit, and when you feel you can't take anymore, God blesses you so so much. I have such a testimony that God has the full perspective and we are just little ants trying to figure out how to drive in the snow without snow tires without dying (for the record we only got stuck once this week). This week was extremely challenging.. Lots of crazy people and lots of trying to find those who have been prepared to receive the gospel. Sister Makovei and I have been pushed to our limit--spiritually, physically, and emotionally, and as a result we grew and were so blessed this week. 

I have learned many lessons this week. First of all, I'm studying the Addiction Recovery Program booklet in the morning and that book has been changing how I see myself and my weaknesses. If you haven't heard of or read this book--do it! Its amazing. It has helped me realize that even though I feel like I'm a strong, capable, and independent person--I still need the help from my Savior. I have had such sincere prayers and really felt a strong communication with Heavenly Father this week. I have felt His love and the Atonement strengthening me so much. I feel that's what God has been trying to teach me my whole mission--that I need His help, but I've been too stubborn to listen. 

I also learned how truly the gospel improves ALL aspects of our lives. Our families, homes, cleanliness for goodness sake (I'm constantly surprised of the people that just can't keep their homes in order), friends, jobs, and just emotional well being. We had Stake Conference this weekend and it was all about strengthening families. I'm so grateful for that aspect of the gospel. I have learned so much from such strong members of the church on how they live the gospel in their home and the difference in makes in their lives. 

So enough of the cheesy lesson learned things.. This week we did a LOT of tracting trying to find new people. We have had lots of success working with the ward list finding part member families, but most of them just aren't quite ready yet. So tracting it is. As I said earlier, we were so blessed this week. We have been so tired of talking to just crazy people, so we changed the areas we worked in and we found two celestial streets!! Where (almost) everyone was so nice! And from that we have a new investigator we will meet with later this week. Even though tracting is usually the last thing I want to do, God gave Sister M and I strength and the motivation to do it. We were tracting queens :) haha 

Even though this week was hard in all ways possible I have grown so much and I can see the Atonement working in my life and I'm so grateful for that!! I love you all and thank you for all the support and love you show me! :) It means so so much!! 

Love,

Sister Adamson

Sometimes I don't know how to title my email.. January 11, 2016

Dear Family and Friends!! 

This week was great and went by super fast!! Getting the hang of things here in Spokane and some really cool blessings are coming to us! First of all I want to relate a little bit of what I learned at this week's MLC (missionary leadership council). We talked about D&C 93 and discussed how Christ received a fulness of grace, truth and light from our Heavenly Father, and because of Him, we too can receive that same fullness. I read this section before the meeting and DID NOT getting anything remotely close out of it as did our mission president. But basically what we learned is that to receive grace and to gain the fulness of grace, we must give grace. We do that by serving others and loving others. That's why callings in this church is so important. We give service to others and enable them to grow. And in return, we develop a greater ability to love and serve. Is essence we gain grace. If that made sense to you--great. haha We spent a lot longer discussing it! But it was really good!! 

So some things that happened this week!! We are still working with Brother Niemi. He is doing so well! The Lord has prepared him to come back to church after over 20 years! All we did was show up at his door one night! It is never too late to receive the blessings of the gospel and enjoy membership is God's church! We had an amazing thing happen this week as well! After 4 years of being inactive, Sister Long came to church!! And her non-member husband! Once again, the Lord prepares people so well. All we did was call her number from the ward list a few weeks ago, and she gladly let us come over. Sometimes, people are just waiting for someone to invite them, and to support them as they make these, often times, hard changes in their life. We just need to be the ones to invite! And we all can do that! Missionary or not! 

We also had a cool experience this week! We were looking for an address and we saw a lady outside and she kind of avoided us at first, but then we had an opportunity to talk to her and did! She recognized us as someone who could help her, which was really cool. She told us a lot of her story and she is going through a lot of problems right now. She has been on medications and lots of other things, so she's not all the way there. But she has a desire to change and is wanting to be better. We testified to her of the Atonement--its healing power--and of God's love for her. She started crying and we invited her to church. She didn't come this last Sunday, but we will keep trying. She has a big hole to get out of, but nowhere is too deep that the Savior can't save you. I heard a cool quote this week, "If you feel you are drowning in life, just remember, your lifeguard can walk on water." If we don't see her again, I know that we were there at that time, to make sure she knew God loved her, and to remind her to not give up. From that experience I know that God loves ALL of us. No matter where we are in life. 

This week we only got stuck twice in our car. Luckily the Lord always watches out for us and there are always super nice and capable people that pull us out! Its great! haha I'll send a picture of one and you can debate how we even got there in that position in the first place! We had a missionary gathering at our stake president's house for breakfast this week! They made the best pumpkin belgian waffles ever!! And Sister Adamson might have had three.. haha and the last one was a competition to see who could eat one the fastest.. peer pressure got me into that one.. haha I didn't win because elders are crazy.. haha but still did pretty good :) haha So that was fun! We also did some Russian work with my companion, and I used the gift of tongues to figure out what they were talking about :) works pretty well :) haha Russians are very nice, but not interested.. very strong baptists and pentecostal. But it was a cool experience anyways :) Well that was my week! Love you all!!! 

Love,

Sister Adamson

New Years!! January 4, 2016

Dear Family and Friends! 

This week was a very challenging one as well. The week after the holidays people sure are grumpy. On New Years Eve we tracted for five hours because we didn't have any appointments. I learned that the people here in Spokane are not very nice.. haha Makes me miss my small towns of Sandpoint and Moscow. So Sister M and I really struggled staying positive and not letting things get us down. We really know that the Lord is preparing people her for us and we are trying so hard to find them!! 

With all the obstacles and the freezing cold this week, we were able to still have some miracles :) First of all Brother Niemi. We found him going through the ward list. He has been inactive since he was a deacon. He recently has had many trials in his life that have brought him back to God and a desire to follow Him again. We taught him the restoration and the plan of salvation this week. He has almost no gospel knowledge so he is basically an investigator. He is so humble, teachable, and sincere. The lessons with him are soo spiritual. I love teaching the gospel. I all I did each day was teach appointments all day long, I don't think I would be coming home anytime soon.. haha But missionary work is a lot more than that! He also came to church this week for the first time in years. He stayed all three hours and enjoyed it so much! The ward really embraced him! :) 

Next, we had the family the live out in the boonies where Sister Adamson got herself stuck in a snow bank :) haha that we went and saw again. Her husband that's not a member participated in the lesson and it was also very spiritual! We had a member come named Sister Lund. She is in her 60s and is amazing. She reminds me of my mom and my grandma. After we were at her house for dinner awhile ago she said I reminded her of herself when she was younger. That to me was a HUGE compliment, because of the people I associated her with. I love that about missions. The people we get to meet. I'm continually amazed by the members of the church wherever you go. 

Also this last Sunday was amazing. I love fast and testimony meeting. It really is what you put into it determines the spirit you feel. I love bearing my testimony each time. I'm surprised on how easy is it for me now. Sister M also bore a very strong testimony. She is one of those people that has tasted the opposite side of life with no gospel because she is a convert. Every time she bears her testimony, she makes people cry. One day I will reach that level.. haha I just love our ward. We have been struggling getting to know the members because of the holidays and such, but our ward mission leader was a boss and told the ward council how much we have been tracting and the ward jumped on board to help us out! So this week should be much much better :)

I think i can say that I have had one of the all-time worst meals so far on my mission this week.. We helped a hoarder family organize some things. We were covered in dust. Then she brings out this chicken and dumpling something. It was so gross.. She even pulled out a hair from it, right in front of us, before she dished us up some.. I though I was going to throw up.. Sister M almost did.. it was discussing.. So that one will go down in my memory for life. On that note, have a great week :) love you all! Love this work, and love my Savior :)

Love,

Sister Adamson