Transfer 5 Week 6

Dear Everyone whom I love:

So the weather here is super mild. Like really, really mild. I sometimes think we are in spring or fall. The summer weather lasts like a week or two and the highest it gets is like 82 and people are panting and fanning themselves and I am in heaven! Being near the coast is pretty amazing and I love it here!

Last Monday after we emailed we went to Bandon to hang out with the Bandon Sisters and to go to the beach for a little bit. We also went to the cheese factory like how we went as a family a few years ago. So its a new one because the other one closed. Its really good. And I bought some cheese curds for a throw back to the cheese curd days and they were super good! These ones were called "vampire slayer' and let me tell you....with the amount of garlic on those bad boys... you definitely were a vampire slayer! They were so good though!!!

President came to do interviews on Wednesday. I just love that man. He is so inspired and I love serving in this mission with him. He is great!

I love being on a mission! I really, really do. Sure, some days are tough so I sit on the curb and cry for a second. But mostly I am so happy. I am so so happy. I get to study the scriptures everyday! I get to pray about 15billion times! I get testify on a daily basis about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I get to work with amazing people. I have a fantastic companion. I live in Oregon where its always green! My favorite thing is being able to feel the spirit so strongly and readily. This past Sacrament meeting the youth had all gotten back from youth conference and they were sharing their testimonies about their experience. The common theme from them was loving how the spirit made them feel. I am right there with them. I love how the spirit makes me feel. I know that it is God wrapping his arms around me. I know that this feeling of peace, warmth and love needs to be shared with everyone! Especially the people in Coquille. I am excited to have been called by God and share this with everyone here in this town! Was it Elder Utchdorf who gave the talk "Lift where you Stand"? It is so true. We can do our part to lift and eventually the entire world will be lifted!

My scripture for the week is Mosiah 29:20.

"But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of me, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him."

Humility + Prayer = Arm of mercy. As we humble ourselves before the Lord and go to him in sincere and heartfelt prayer his arm will be extended towards us.

I love you all so much!

Transfer 5 Week 5

Hello all!

So again I made a list (yea lists!) of things I wanted to share with you all and I have more time this week!

So I think I told you last week but if not.... Last week we got Stephanie and her two kids on date and we are so excited about them! They came to church for the first time yesterday and it was so good! They loved how they felt and what they learned! The dad is softening and will eventually come round! They are so great!

So last Monday: We started a mission wide trek. We were to go 800 miles (the distance between Eugene and Salt Lake) and hand out materials as we went. So each companionship was to tract 10 hours and each hour would equal a mile. Each companionship also needed to find 10 new people to teach, hand out 20 book of Mormons, hand out 20 lesson 1 pamphlets and hand out 60 mormon.org cards. So we were super excited to do this with our mission but also a little nervous about the high goals. As a companionship we had been handing out about 6 books a week and finding about 1-2 new people a week. But nonetheless the trek started! it was great! (I will tell you how it turned out at the end.)

On Tuesday we thought we would kick off the trek and do a day of tracting and we found a wonderful woman to teach because we sat down to take a break. She came out of her house from a street we were not tracting that day and we were able to talk to her. Breaks can be instrumental!!! Just saying. And Savage came in the evening for our exchanges but ended up going to Bandon instead but it was nice to see her for an hour.

On Wednesday Savage and her companion Sis. labrum came back in the evening and they actually stayed so that we could do our exchange for real.

Thursday we divided and conqured. Sis. Savage and I went and worked with one another first and Sis. labrum and Aldous were together to start as well. Sis. Savage was my MTC companion and I just love her to pieces! She is amazing and it was so nice to work with her and to see how we have both changed and grown. We found a new man to teach while our companions found a great couple to teach. It was so good to have them here!

On Friday Sis. Aldous and I went down to Gold Beach (about 2 hours away. The drive was breath taking! Awesome coast!) to volunteer at the fair down there. So we stood at the booth for 3 hours handing out cookies, books or mormons and talking in general. Also the bird show was right across from us so we got to see these amazing birds and a CONDOR!!! So cool!!! And the bird man took a book of mormon.

On Saturday we found Brenda who loves geneology and was washing her car. We found Larry who was having a really hard day. And we had an amazing lesson with this woman who we started teaching and hasn't been to church in like 50 years. She is amazing and loves how the church building makes her feel so much peace!

Rita is another woman we are teaching who is amazing! And I need to tell you about Kimberly and Jared but I am running out of time. Remind me next week.

I love you all! Go be missionaries! Its a commandment!

Transfer 5 Week 4

Hello all!!

So unfortunately this is going to beshort but I wrote a list of things to write you about!

On Monday we had a FHE at the bishops house. They invited another family who are members but they brought their cousin who is not. And we taught the restroation. When we left he went to his member cousin and said "What do you think of all that?" and she said " I think its true." and he said "I think it's a bunch of crap." and she said "nope. Its true." I love how simple she kept it. She avoided contention and made her point and he had nothing to argue against except the fact that as we were teaching he felt something. I love the spirit!

On Wednesday a member gave us a ride to a town an hour away and she told us of her re conversion story. She removed her name a 20 years ago and she told us how she chose to 'follow the light.' It reminded me that we are all in the dark and as we look to Christ we can follow that light and serve him who saves!

On thur we had several people tell us they were comfortable with where they are in life and it made me so sad because they wont move forward or toward this incredible message even though they all admitted in varying ways that they know the church is true. Don't ever be complacent with where we are. Continue to improve and follow God!

We have started challenging families to make a family mission plan. It all starts when we take the steps to have the spirit more in our life. I invite you to watch the "i'll go where you want me to go video from the work of our salvation broadcast and make your own individual plan and tell me about it next week!

And we went to make a dif. day and we quilted. My fingers hurt. And I kept forgetting the keys.

The End. I love you All.

Sis. Adair

Transfer 5 Week 3

Hello all!!!

This week I will do my best to give a full report on who we are teaching and how my companion is and the sort. 

So this week we traveled quite a bit. On Tuesday we went to Powers which is a tiny town about an hour away from us (yes our area is that large) and we visited Rita. Rita is an amazing woman who started coming to church because her father came to town who is a member, found out where the nearest chapel was (an hour away) and brought her. She is getting baptized on the 17th of August and we are so excited for her! She has the clearest green eyes and the most thankful way of praying. She is quitting smoking at the moment and we learn so much from her faith in Christ and her desire to follow God's will. 

We had a new missionary training meeting on Wednesday of which we qualified for because my comp is on her 8th week in the field. She is such a pro though. She really doesn't need a trainer. She came pre-trained and she is the one who teaches me really. But we went and learned lots from our mission President. One of things that was impressed upon us is that we are constantly being watched and whatever we do either increases or decreases trust. I thought about how that translates over into life as well. We have to watch our selves and our actions because as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints we are constantly and consistently being watched. I know and have seen the impact a good example can make. Our president is challenging us to go into every home in our ward and challenge them to make a ward mission plan. To do this we are to challenge them to change simple things in their life that will invite the spirit more often and then to act upon those promptings. That is something I'd like to extend to each of you to do as well. 

On Thursday we started teaching a beautiful new family. The mother is best friends with one of our members who recently started coming back to church. We are teaching her and her 10 and 8 yr old  In the first lesson we had she wanted to know if her kids and herself could be baptized. We were, you know... pretty much thrilled out of our minds!!!!!! We walked away from that knowing it was a blessing and a miracle.

On Friday we went to North Bend for our Zone Meeting. Also in the evening we had our first ever correlation meeting with the bishop and all four of us missionaries. P.S I love the bishops daughter! She is my favorite! She gives me jelly fish high fives all the time! And Jelly fish hugs! I love it! 

On Saturday we began teaching Alisha. She works at the gas station. We took her on a tour of the church building and she loved it. She was also very taken with the picture of the savior in Gethsemane. She is amazing and we are so excited to be teaching her as well!

More about my companion. She is 19 going on 91. She was seriously born in the wrong time. But I am so happy that she was born at the time she was and that she is my companion. She is amazing. She is so focused on serving and so dedicated and diligent  She is happy that I make her laugh. So... let it be known... I can be funny. That is all. But really. She is a brilliant missionary and I am happy to learn from her.

I love you all! Have a great week!!

P.S My comp and I decided to do away with the term DTR. We have to 'define the relationship' with investigators all the time and instead we are calling it WIGO!! 'What is going on?!?!!?' Its better this way. Believe me, in five years everyone will say WIGO.

Transfer 5 Week 2

So My comp and I were talking and it totally feels like I've been in this area forever because I've gotten to know the area and the ward pretty fast it just feels that way! I love Coquille! It is seriously fantastic. More to know about this area. Everyone has at least 12 cats. There are spider webs everywhere. There is a high school right around the corner from where we live so I lost my belly pudge. Yes that was an important statement for everyone to read. Oh and yes we did get the Elders this week. They are great. Elder Ayre and Elder Smith. Ayre has been out 7 weeks and Smith is brand new new new. We are all heading to Eugene this week for a new missionary training, in separate cars. The work in this ward is going great! The members really are incredible! Feeding two sets of missionaries every night at different houses! We already had a funny moment with the Elders. We were teaching a lesson and they were out tracting and they tracted into our lesson. And their phone has the same ring tone as ours does so its confusing when I hear there phone go off.

On the 4th we had a BBQ at a members house and met some incredible people! It was a lot of fun and we saw some fireworks but the trees got in the way for the most part. We are still settling in with the Elders and who they will teach and who we will teach but we are all excited for the growth which will take place in this area! It's going to be amazing!!! 

So more on sis. Aldous. She is from Alpine. That makes 3 comps from Utah. Oh and the Elders are both from UT also which is funny because this ward gets all the UT missionaries. She loves food and is not picky. She is one of those 'always sincerly nice people.' She never, ever, ever focus' on the bad. She always finds nice things to say about everyone and she is so driven. Like. Super driven. She loves the people and the work and she is a wonderful missionary. I seriously don't have to do any training with her because she came out into the world with a name tag on, pretty much. And I don't think she would ever get mad either.

I love you all!

 

 

P.S More about who we are working with next week.... when we get it all settled with having the Elders here and everything. We pretty much got it all worked out.

Transfer 5 Week 1

Hola!!!!

This was a super long week!!!!! Oh my goodness! But it was so good!!! Ok I will tell you more about my area. Actually I am going to give pictures first and then write, that way you get pictures. Ok. I will tell you about my area first. The bishop and the Ward mission leader are amazing! They truly are missionary minded! I love all of the members so much! I think partly what made it such a long week was the fact that I met so many investigators and ward members in the first week and my brain was struggling to keep it all in line. I don't think I've ever met that many people who i needed to remember in one week. Crazy awesome!!! I sent you a picture of downtown Coquille (which is pronounced coke-hill) Dad, did you ever serve here or near here? I am super excited to be serving in a coastal town but the best thing about this coastal town is that it is about 20 minuets inland which cuts down on the wind and makes it slightly warmer. it totally cracks me up though because all the locals have been telling us that the heat the last couple of days is unnatural and the highest its been is 85. Yeah. I thought it was funny. It never really gets hotter than 80 here and I love it! So glad to be here for the summer! So fun fact for you all, the ward that i am serving in is gettting a second set of missionaries. It's a testament to the fact that the work truly is hastening. We are excited to work with them and the ward is so excited to have us all. P.S its elders. (For my last area I do beleive Elders took it over. Our investigator that we had on date to be baptized we moved it back and left really detailed notes about everyone we were working with.) 

So about my companion. She is pretty much fantastic and exactly the right companion that I needed at this point. She is so optimistic and completely focused to serve the Lord. I am her follow up trainer. She's been out only 6 weeks but she was pretty much born to serve and came out pre-trained. I litteraly have nothing to worry about. She's great. She loves to eat. She has noticed my love of Ranch. P.S I dropped my Grants Pass weight! I am now normal again! So I can eat ranch again!!! Hahaha! She always cooks in an apron. She has curly hair. I sent you pictures of us at the coast because we get to go to BANDON for our district meetings each week. Remember our awesome time in Bandon? I got to see where we went as a family! It was great! I still remembered them and next week we are going with the Bandon Sisters on PDay to the cheese factory! So excited. If you have any specific questions about Sis. Aldous my comp, just ask.

 

I love you all!

 

 

Transfer 4 Week 5

Dear All you all who read this!

So this week I am writing a day late because our special early transfers were yesterday. I don't have a lot of time to write this week but I will try my best to fully update you all! So I am now serving in Coquille (coke-hill) which is on the southern coast about 10 minutes inland. I am so excited to be serving here! It looks like a mini version of Grants Pass. And it smells of Canada... which I love! Monday was crazy...Sis. Levy and I went to Eugene so we could depart ways. She and I both got moved out of our area which is rare but I am so glad to be in Coquille with Sis. Aldous. She is absolutely fantastic and I love her already. I got to talk to Sis. Rock and Sis. Savage (from the MTC) and they are both staying in the OEM! Then my comp came in and we were being driven by the bishops wife from our ward. We left to drop off Sis. Aldous' old comp to be with Sis. Taualii (also from MTC) and so I got to see all my lovely MTC people! I made a new friend! The daughter of our bishop came also and she is such an adorable 8 year old whom I love so much! Plus also my new insta friend... aka... my companion. She seriously is great! I am excited to serve with her. I am her follow up trainer but she doesn't need me. She is a go getter and has such a strong desire to serve the Lord with all her heart!  

Neat things about my last week in Junction City:

1- We found two new investigators who are solid! They have a sincer desire to be close to God.

2- One of the new investigators we found is Bob. I learned so much from just listening to that man. He has so much faith in God. He knows that bad things happen but its ok. A direct quote from him is "If both my legs were to be cut off tomorrow I know it would be Gods will. I am not here to have an easy life, God wants to make me wise." He is incredible and I am sad I wont be continuting to teach him!

3 - The Wintch family...the one that we lived behind... I gave them a package to bring to you. So... they should do that.

I love you all!!