Hello All!! February 16, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

Its been an interesting week! Sweeping into two wards is quite exciting! Especially because one ward covers the whole stake! So its an adventure! The wards here are great though! Super missionary minded and give a TON of support! They also love having sisters in their ward. I have heard so much this week how excited everyone is!! I'm really close to my old area so I find myself wandering over there on accident trying to find addresses.. So it will take a bit to get used to!!

So my new comp is Sister Smith and she played soccer growing up too! We found out that we played soccer against each other a few times :) She likes to run too, so we have been doing that this week and I got a wake-up call about my out of shapeness :) But it's all good :) We are really similar and we will work well together! We live in member's home named the Tanners! They have a really old antique house and I'll send you a few pictures! :) So I really like it here!!

This week we just met a lot of members on the wards and are trying to find as many new people to teach as possible!! Spokane is one crazy place though, and has lots of crazy people! What has been on my mind a lot this week is charity. I need to have more charity towards the people here. We had a really cool Regional Conference here last Sunday that encompassed Hawaii and much of the Northwest. Elder Renlund spoke and he said a good way to measure our progression is how we treat other people. That was a big wake-up call for me. I reflected on how a treat and feel about my companions, people on the street that reject us, and everyone in general. I have lots of improvement there! So that will be my focus. I want to make my progression, especially on my mission noticeable.

We had a great first lesson with the most golden person I have met on my mission! She is YSA and another set of elders referred her to us! Her name is Shae and when we taught her the Restoration, she ate it right up and already accepted the Book of Mormon. It was celestial. But as always, there is opposition. She has lots of medical problems and is hard to get a hold of and she is about a 20 drive from where we usually work. So that will be a challenge. She wants to be baptized so bad! And has just been waiting for her opportunity! We also have another on-date for March in the YSA. Seems like all the work in the YSA is from members dating non-members and they become converted :) haha so it's fun being in the YSA again! I feel I can really relate to them really well :)

I also had an opportunity to share my experience with the passing of my grandpa this week with a lady in our ward that really needed it! She was really active, but then her Dad passed away of cancer and she is really having a hard time coping with it and hasn't really been able to get herself out of her house lately. So we stopped by and spoke with her. She really struggles because she feels that in the church, we aren't supposed to be sad when someone passes away, but she is really having a hard time over coming her loss. So I shared with her how sad I am that my grandpa passed away and when I get home, he won't be there anymore. Of course I was crying (because every time I talk about my grandpa, I cry these days). But I was able to have so much compassion for her that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. So I know that we experience hardship so we can truly comfort those that stand in need of comfort and mourn with those who mourn. I could tell that what I said helped her. I just feel so blessed to be in a position to serve those that need it right now. I love my mission and everything it has been teaching me! Love you all!!

Love,

Sister Adamson

Transfers Again! February 8, 2016

Dear Family and Friends! 

So my prediction of transfers came true! I am sweeping into the Spokane 1st ward and the Spokane YSA. They meet at the came church building :) So I'm not moving too far! We have to move apartments and such and the 1st ward Elders are coming to the Manito ward! So we are just switching! Their whole ward knew I was coming there because they announced in sacrament meeting, so people in the halls were hugging me at church welcoming me to the ward :) So it will be interesting. My first and hopefully last time sweeping! My new comps names is Sister Smith from Logan. I have met her a few times before and we both will be STLs this transfer!! 

Members almost getting my last name right.

 recent converts, Thomas and Emmen!

So just a quick overview of this week.. I was exhausted EVERY NIGHT!!! Tuesday we had MLC and we talked about the Atonement using Alma 7 and my understanding of it tripled :) Sister Makovei and I did a training there as well and it was fun :) WednesdaySister M left to temple square.. so super sad.. but its ok! I will see her when I get home! So I was in a trio with Sister Bryson and Sister Stone for a few days! So we moved there things to our apartment and stayed there. We were split in between areas and it was crazy busy! On Friday we got a call from President asking if we could take another sister with us who had to leave because of a stalker.. so we had to move the sisters back to their apartment and move the other sister in. So I have four companions this week.. So that was fun. 

We also had so many cool things happen! Of course when I am leaving! So we tracted into a family a few weeks ago and we had a church tour with them this week! So I'm excited for the elders to start teaching them! Also we had a great lesson with Tammy-another person we tracted into and she will come to church next week! And last but not least, we found a secret less active and his wife that have four kids that agreed to meet with us again after a few weeks of trying them. I know that the Lord is happy with what we have done here! So I am blessed to have been in this ward! :) When I was bearing my testimony in sacrament meeting (my new favorite hobby) I was brought to tears again with the love that I feel for everyone in this ward. I have been blessed to meet amazing people and learn so much for them! :) 

So this week will be crazy and hard, but I'm excited for it! So please pray for me! I'm scared to death!! Love you all!!! 

 Brother Chun saw me on Peoples Magazine

Love,

Sister Adamson

Be At Peace February 1, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

So short funny story. At the beginning of this transfer I decorated my planner with a quote that says, Be At Peace. And every time I saw it, I would just laugh to myself, because Spokane has been about everything but peaceful for me. However, the Lord has strange ways of working, and I know that little quote was meant to be. On Saturday as we were going about our work, I just had this huge sensation of peace. Peace about the work we have done here, all the struggles we have had, all the tears, laughs, and frustrations. Just an overwhelming sense that Heavenly Father is proud of us, and even though we aren't perfect servants, He just loves that we try our best. And as a result, he showers us with blessings. So that was irony in action right there.

This week was a cool one. We shifted to a lot of street contacting this week, and as a result we had lots of cool opportunities to walk by people and offer help. We helped carry people's furniture in their house, carry groceries home, and other things like that. It was cool to be means of helping people in such simple ways. It happened a few times in one day and I called that day the "day of miracles." haha :) We just had lots of miracles this week, being in the right place and the right time to catch people at home we have been trying to contact for awhile, and for me, I felt the Atonement working in my life so much this week. We watched the Because of Him video with a few people this week https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-00-1420-because-of-him?lang=engand it has been amazing each time. I cried each time as well.. but that's to be expected of me. Every time I watch that, I have a confirmation of His reality and that He lives :) What joy this sentence gives, I know that my redeemer lives!! I believe that with my whole heart and soul :) 

We had an experience this week that really demonstrates being in the right place at the right time. We stopped in at a recent converts house, and her husband hasn't been able to come to church because of work, he recently lost one of his jobs, and they just found out she was pregnant. We just showed up, and she was in her PJs and she said she contemplated not answering the door. But as we were talking with her, she just started crying as she was telling us the struggles and the hardships she was going through. Especially the changes that she was seeing in her husband, because he can't go to church. I shared Helaman 5:12 with her and before she finished reading, she cried again and said this was just what she needed. It was a great experience. I love being a servant of our Heavenly Father and being able to reach out to His children in such simple ways!! 

Well this upcoming week will be interesting! Sister Makovei goes back to temple square this week on Wednesday. She will be there until July so when you go to temple square, go say hello for me :) She has been an amazing companion and we have had so much fun together :) I will miss her so so much!! I will be in a trio with another ward's sisters for a few days before transfers next week! My prediction is that I will stay in the same zone, but in a different ward.. So my fear might be realized and I might sweep into an area.. yikes.. haha But we will see! Never quite know what will happen in the mission! I love you all!! :) Enjoy the 1st of February :)