December 15, 2014

     Hey family!  This will be a short email because we are leaving early from emails today!  But we had a great week!  A week filled with lots of lessons and lots of service!  We spent the first few days running around the city of Denver like crazy!  Basically teaching every hispanic we found and showing as many people as possible the "He Is The Gift" video.  That video is my absolute favorite thing in the entire world!  We have gotten in so many homes using it and the spirit is always so strong!  This week I think we had about 5 people crying because of the video.  It is so simple but sends such a strong message.  Everyone back home NEEDS to share it on facebook or with a nonmember friend.  It is the perfect missionary tool!

  On Wednesday we had exchanges and Sister Turner came with me to our area, while Sister Eldredge went with Sister Hancock to the english area.  I have heard a lot about Sister Turner, but we were always just on different sides of the mission.  But I loved getting to know her and she is such an awesome missionary!  I automatically just felt a lot of love for her!  And she is going to school at BYU, so I am secretly hoping we can be friends up at school haha.  But exchanges were great, we had a lot of lessons and our day was packed.  

   Then on Thursday we had more of a rough day.  Almost all of our lessons cancelled in the afternoon, so we decided to go tracting for a bit to see if we could find any new investigators.  So we started knocking this 3 story apartment building.  We knocked the first floor.  No luck.  We ran up to the second floor.  A few people opened their doors but no one would let us in.  No luck.  We ran up to the 3rd floor, and no luck.  Until the very last door, where we found the sweetest woman and her family.  We showed them the "He is the Gift" video and Juana loved it and her mother in law cried because she felt the spirit so strong.  They want help with their family and we told them that the gospel of Jesus Christ can help their family more then anything else.  So they committed to come to church next Sunday and we will also be seeing them a few times this week.  

    Then on Friday we had a very chaotic day of running around the city of Denver and helping our ward set up for the Christmas party the next day, and then helping the english branch with their program for their party.  It was busy but a lot of fun.  And I have to say,the gym for our party looked amazing!  I was really impressed with what our hispanic ward pulled off.  The party was a blast and we had more tamales and bunuelos then I think i have ever had in my entire life.  But the party was a lot of fun and there really are not words to describe how much I love this ward.  They are all a little bit crazy but that's why I love them all so much!!  

   Sandra is doing amazing!  She finally accepted that she needs to pray about if this is the right church for her.  She started out by asking if she could get baptized with the correct power (the priesthood) and then just continue going to her Catholic church.  And we were just like,,uuh.....  But then she said, "but oh, if I do want to get baptized with the correct power, then that means it is only your church that has that power.  So if I know that is true I probably won't want to continue going to my catholic church."  Thank goodness she realized that on her own haha.  She knows what she needs to do, it is just a hard change for her.  She compared the catholic church to mexican food haha.  It is what she has grown up and what she is used to.  It is just hard to change.  But she loves the Book of Mormon almost more then anyone else I know, and is already in the middle of Mosiah!!  I know that she will receive a strong answer soon and I can't wait for that day to happen!  

   The Banda family is great, we couldn't see them as much as we wanted this week, and they didn't come to church.  But I love them so much and we are so excited to teach them this week and help them progress faster.

    Then there is a woman Susanna who we having been teaching for a few weeks.  She is so sweet and loves everything that she is learning.  And she came to our ward Christmas party on Saturday and had so much fun!  She talked with so many members and felt really welcomed.  It was a huge blessing for us.  

   Anyway, the work is doing amazing and I love this area so much!  It will be a sad day when I leave!  I know this church is true with all of my heart and I am so thankful for the knowledge that I have in my life.  And the hope and happiness it gives me.  I love you all and am so thankful for the examples you are in my life!  Hasta la proxima semana!

Con amor,

  La hermana Adair

December 8, 2014

  Alright, this was such a random week.  So many things happened that we were not expecting.  But hey, that's the mission.  

   This week we had interviews with President Murdock on Tuesday.  Nothing to exciting to talk about there.  Just that I love President and Sister Murdock and feel super lucky to have them here in the mission with us.  They are amazing missionaries and have helped me in so many ways.  Basically they are like our parents here in the mission.  And I think my life goal is to become like Sister Murdock one day.  She is a powerhouse.  

  Tuesday night we had a really good lesson with that woman Gloria we have been teaching for awhile.  We had a very serious discussion about her needing to take more steps to progress and that she needs to come to church with us.  She loves this gospel more then anything and really wants to get baptized.  She just can't seem to find the confidence to talk to her husband.  He is the reason she doesn't come to church and he is just kind of a punk.  It is so frustrating to deal with machistas como asi.  Gloria is so ready for this but can't take the step quite yet.  But I know that one day she will be baptized.

   Then this week we saw la familia Banda again.  The dad Jose, the wife Francisca, and their 3 gorgeous girls!  I love that family more then anything!!  We had an incredible lesson about the Plan of Salvacion and they all loved it.  Jose said it was just too good to be true, but he wanted it to be true for his family more then anything!  He is one of the best  fathers I have ever seen and he wants the best for his family.  I respect him a lot.  And Francisca loves us and all of their girls adore us! haha I think that only little kids like me now haha.  It is mainly because I give them stickers ;)  But anyway, we took the entire family on a church tour this week.  So they could know where the building is, where the classes are, and so they could feel comfortable coming to church on Sunday.  It was amazing and the spirit was so strong!  We ended in the chapel and had a very serious and spiritual discussion about baptism.  Both Jose and his wife wouldn't commit yet, but they want to know if this is true more then anything.  They said if they found out it was true they would be baptized the 28th of December.  Both Sister Eldredge and I have our fingers crossed.  I want to be here more then anything, but more then likely they will need a little more time.  We don't want to bush them away just because I want to be there.  It is whatever God wants to happen.  But they are incredible!

   Then we put a woman on date her very first lesson.  She has let a ton of different religions in her home trying to find the correct one.  And as soon as we came in she started asking us questions and wanting to know everything.  So we told her to chill for just a second, listen to our message, and then ask whatever questions she had.  She loved the message of the Restoration and it made so much sense to her.  She really wants to know if this is the true church.  So we will see what happens, but we are excited for her.  

   Then the woman Sandra is doing good.  The one who is Catholic and having a hard time to let go of her traditions when she knows this is the true church.  She knows what she needs to do she is just taking her time doing it.  And we will let her make that decision on her own.  She is just in denial right now hahaha.  But the next step after denial is acceptance!  So that is what we are waiting for.  But this week we showed her the movie, "The Testaments".  The one where Jesus Christ comes to the Americas.  She bawled at the ending, well actually we all did haha.  But the spirit was really strong and we are hoping she came closer to making her decision.  

   On Wednesday we did a lot of service helping our stake decorating for the giant Christmas concert they have every year with the Lakewood symphony.  So we spent about 5 hours decorating wreaths, putting trees together, and whatever manual labor we were ordered to do.  It was actually a lot of fun and we got to talk with a lot of the other sisters in our stake.  Plus it put us in the Christmas spirit.  And then we went to the Christmas concert with Ginette Friday night.  Before the concert we decided to get some street tacos for dinner, I mean come on, my new baby had to try the best tacos on Federal.  So we grabbed some tacos and sat in an alleyway right next to a vietnamese nail shop haha it doesn't get more ghetto then that!  And we were driving away, and literally, on the first street we got into an accident!  I couldn't believe my luck!!  I have never been in an accident my entire life and of course it had to happen on my mission when we had only been in the car for 30 seconds!!  Technically I was at fault, but the other car was being a complete idiot!  He could have missed us entirely, but nope.  We collided and then he sped off.  Probably didn't have a license of something.  Well, our front bumper fell off and our coolant tank exploded.  So we couldn't drive the car.  We ended up getting picked up while our car was towed, and since there was nothing else to do, we just went right to the Christmas concert.  I was so frustrated and felt so bad about everything.  But it could have been a lot worse.  No one was hurt and only the very front end of our car was damaged.  My poor new companion though.  haha She is a saint for putting up with me.  But the concert was really good and lifted our spirits and helped us remember the important things in life.  But yeah, I couldn't believe that happened.  And the next day we got a really nice brand new car.  So I was super jumpy all day driving and didn't want anything else to happen.

   And then this weekend happened.  Ever since Sister Eldredge has been here we have had amazing numbers and amazing days filled with lessons.  Until this weekend.  Everyone cancelled on us and no one was home.  And we were expecting 10 people at church with us this week!  They all said the night before that they would be there.  But not a single person showed up Sunday morning.  I was livid.  On a mission you see a lot of days like that.  Where people use their free agency to make dumb choices.  So this weekend wasn't too bad for me, I have had plenty of days like that in my time.  But this was something completely new for my companion.  And I think it was good for her.  It is good to be reminded about how hard we have to work to see results but also that this work isn't about us.  No matter what we do, it doesn't change the fact that people have their choice.  And that no matter how beautifully we teach and testify, they won't act unless the spirit touches their hearts.  The spirit is the real teacher here and we just kind of stand around like mannequins.  We have a purpose but it really isn't the main point.  This work truly is so humbling and has helped me realize that with my own strength I can do nothing and I am nothing.  But with God and his strength I can see miracles and do anything that he needs me to do.

   So last week I mentioned something that the church is doing during Christmas time to hasten the work and help other people feel the spirit.  They put together a video called "He Is the Gift."  It is an amazing video that makes a person feel the spirit so strong and helps them be reminded about their Savior Jesus Christ.  The church has bought a billboard on Times Square for this entire month and yesterday they bought they head page on Youtube.  So they are going all out on this.  But this video has helped us get into so many homes and help families feel the spirit.  Every one today has a smart phone so it is cool to just walk up to someone on the street, ask if they have seen the video, and then show it to them right then and there.  But we are trying to get everyone to share it on Facebook and show it to their friends and families.  Especially the non-members.  It is a great missionary tool!  Everyone loves Christmas and everyone loves Christ this time of year.  So it isn't anything too pushy or that make people put up a wall from the beginning.  Here is the link to the video christmas.mormon.org  or you can find it on youtube under "He is the Gift."   But I want to invite everyone to post this video on Facebook, Pinterest, or what ever social site you use, and share it with all of your friends.  Help in the hastening of the work and in changing people's lives through the spirit.  

   I love this work more then anything!  And I love being able to serve my Savior this time of year when we celebrate his birth.  It is a huge priviledge and I feel so lucky to be there!  Thanks for all the support I have back home!  Les quiero muchisimo!!!  

Con Amor,

   La Hermana Adair

p.s. if you want to see the "He is the Gift" video in spanish here is the link.  I have watched it ways more times in spanish.  But it might just be something cool. navidad.mormon.org

um....our car.  Poor thing.

My baby and her first baptism!!!

Us at the Chirstmas Concert andthe Temple

December 1, 2014

    This was the best week of my entire life!!!!  Ok, that was an exaggeration, but just by a smidge. 

   This week the weather was amazing!  In the 60's and 70's every single day, which was perfect to do missionary work.  And every single day Sister Eldredge and I worked our tails off and we saw the fruits of our labors.  Every single day besides Thanksgiving we had 5 or 6 lessons.  As in real, lets help our progressing investigators, type of lessons.  We would get home exhausted every single night but so happy.  When you are engaged in the Lord's work nothing else really matters.  It is a state of bliss almost haha.  Ok, not really, but when you know you are where the Lord wants you to be, there isn't much to worry about besides your investigators.  And plus we have our apartment decorated with lights for Christmas and we have been listening to Christmas music this week.  It was such a good week.  

    This week we have found some amazing people who have a sincere desire to learn about the restored gospel and know for themselves if it is a true message.  There is a woman named Sandra who loves everything we talk about and knows the Book of Mormon is true.  And the idea of a living prophet has changed her life.  But she has a very strong Catholic background and was very torn about listening to Mormon missionaries at the beginning.  But she prayed to God and asked him if she should listen to us still and he told her yes.  So now she knows everything is true and is just trying to let go of the tradition of being Catholic.  But she is amazing and we love her family to death.  

   The woman Alma Rosa did not end up going to church again this week.  We stopped by her house a few times but she never made time to see us and said she would give us a call when she had time.  So we are thinking we will just wait to see if she calls.  If she wants this she will make time.  It is a little sad but people have to make the choice to listen, we can't just babysit them all the time.  But Alma Rosa is the sweetest woman and everyone at church missed her.

   Then there is Jesus and Tanya.  Jesus is the man who wanted to get baptized on Christmas but now he wants to wait a bit.  Which is extremely maddening because he is so ready and just needs to be baptized!  But his "wife" is so sweet and trying to find out the truth on her own.  We are hoping that they can be baptized together very soon.  

   And this Thanksgiving was so much fun!  We went with the other Hermanas in our ward to the house of a woman named Kathy in our ward.  All of her family lives in Colorado Springs so we decided to keep her company and help her cook.  So we went over a few hours early and helped Kathy make some of the food.  It was so much fun just hanging out and having fun together.  And then we ate :)  which was the best part haha.  Then we watched a church movie for a bit while we waited for the pie to bake and we had apple and pumpkin pie.  SO GOOD!  But overall it was a really good day and I loved just thinking about all the blessings that God has given me in my life.  I am so blessed it is ridiculous.  

   And now, here was the highlight of my week.  Ginette's baptism.  That woman is so perfect and has such a strong love for her Savior and this gospel.  And her baptism couldn't have turned out more perfect.  So many people showed up to support her, from 3 different wards, and the room was packed.  I wish I would have taken a picture of everyone who came.  Even her own family came, which she wasn't sure would come.  But it was a perfect baptism and the spirit was so strong.  It reminded me a lot of Yesenia's baptism, and then I realized how similiar the 2 of them are.  The same sweet spirit, strong testimony, and determination to make their lives better.  I now have no doubt that Ginette will be a strong member for the rest of her life.  And I can't wait until the rest of her family follows her example.  

   But the baptism turned out to be a spanglish baptism and it was so much fun!  It was supposed to be all in english because there were people there who didn't speak spanish, but Ginette understands spanish better, so it went to spanglish.  Hermana Eldredge said the prayer in spanish and I was so happy that she was able to participate in her first baptism!  She is amazing and I love that the first few weeks on her mission have been amazing!  It sets the tone for her next 18 months. And I actually gave a talk at her baptism.  I had planned it in english but ended up doing the whole thing in spanish, because Ginette was the only person who I was really talking to.  And it made me realize that I can actually speak spanish haha.  You would think that I would have figured this out a long time ago.  But I guess it took actually speaking in front of a HUGE group of people and speaking improv in a foreign language for me to let it sit in.  But I felt so honored to be asked to speak by Ginette.  And then the other speaker was her friend from the english ward that she has know for over 10 years.  And she and her family are actually the reason that Ginette wanted to look into the church.  The spirit was so strong and everyone was crying.  I was filled with so much happiness when I looked around and saw how much of a family everyone was and how much love there was.  And then, since it was Thanksgiving weekend, Ginette's other member friends came into town and they were the ones who baptized her.  It was perfect and she had the most important people in her life there to support her.  

    After the baptism, Ginette was confirmed right away by members of her ward and with a little bit of help from the elders in our ward.  Ginette is now a member of this church and I know that we will be in the kingdom of God together.  It is a promise in D&C and I am holding on to that promise.

   After the baptism we ended up going to someones house for hot chocolate and some amazing food!  The kind that only hispanics can whip our in a split second.  We just spent time together talking and laughing and enjoying the feeling of closeness that was at the baptism and followed us home.  That entire night I couldn't stop smiling.  Ginette was so happy and she knew she had made the right choice, which is all that mattered.  I just love that woman so much.

   And I love my mission more then anything and I love being apart of the Lord's work here in Colorado.  I know I am exactly where I need to be and I wouldn't trade my mission for the world.  I know this church is true with all of my heart and I know that the message I am sharing can change people's lives.  I have seen it happen many times and I am excited to see it happen over and over again for the rest of my life.  Because I know that I am not just a missionary for these short 18 months.  But that I will continue being a missionary for the rest of my life.  

   I love everyone back home and am so thankful for the support that I have.  Thanks for everything!   Hasta la proxima semana!

Con amor,

   La Hermana Adair

                                Ginette after her baptism.  Isn't my comp gorgeous??  And Ginette??

Ginette and her entire family :)  So cute!

                                        Ginette with her 2 best friends who are members!  Adorable!

Us with Ginette right before her baptism!!

November 24, 2014

     This was an amazing week!!!  I honestly have the  best companion ever!  Sister Eldredge really is amazing!  She is just fresh out of the MTC and already is an INCREDIBLE missionary!  Her spanish is awesome and she has no problem jumping in the lessons and teaching.  She is so much better then I was at that time!  In a few months she will probably be the best missionary in the entire mission haha!  But what I love about her is her fire!  She is so ready to run from door to door and proclaim this gospel!  She is just awesome and we get along so good!  We have some amazing plans for this Christmas season and I know that will we have an awesome transfer!  So I got super lucky this transfer, Sister Eldredge was exactly what I needed to stay strong these last few months on my mission.

  But anyway, this week has been amazing!  We worked our butts off and we saw so many miracles!  First of all, Ginette is still getting baptized this next weekend and she is perfect!  She is that perfect "Golden" investigator that everyone hopes to find on their mission.  Where she is perfectly prepared and gets baptized about a month later.  She has helped my testimony grow so much by the example that she is to me.  Her testimony is so strong and I am amazed at the things she shares with us.  And she goes to church on her own every single week and this week she came to our ward Thanksgiving dinner.  I just love her so much and can not wait for her baptism this weekend!

   Yeah, so on Friday was our ward party.  It was a blast!  I just love this ward so much!  There was tons of food, the only way that hispanics know how to party :). And it was fun just to go around and talk with everyone and enjoy ourselves.  And we had 2 investigators come, Ginette and a woman named Alma Rosa.  She is the woman that owns the corn stand we would eat at sometimes.  But Alma Rosa is super social so as soon as she walked in she just went off by herself and mingled with all of the members.  It was great!  

   Alma Rosa is doing good but she has a problem keeping commitments.  She basically has to be babysat to do anything, which is not ideal for us as missionaries.  On Saturday night she told us she was going to church, but when we called Sunday morning she said that she couldn't.  But we were not taking no for an answer.  Sometimes you have to know when to push your investigators or the give them some space.  Alma Rosa needed a little push.  So we went by her house and convinced her 19 year old son, Victor, to take her to church!  And church was awesome!  They stayed for all 3 hours and in the gospel principles class they asked so many questions.  Actually the entire class went super missionary on them and tried teaching just those 2 for like 15 mins.  It got kind of loud and out of control haha Hispanics love to be heard and talk over each other.  So we finally had to stand up and say that we were going to teach them that lesson later that day so the class could continue on.  It was hilarious and just reminded me that I love this ward no matter how crazy they are!  

   This week we found an amazing family and taught them the lesson of the Restoration.  It completely blew their mind and they said they had never heard anything like this before.  But it made so much sense to hem and they really wanted to find our on their own if it was true or not.  Hna. Eldredge and I are so excited to teach them again and help them to progress.  

   Anyway, we have a lot of great investigators and we are excited to help them progress, especially during this Christmas season.  This Christmas is going to be amazing!  On Saturday we had a zone meeting and talked about what the church is doing this season to help missionary work and to advertise our church.  IT IS AMAZING!  This really is the time where the Lord is hastening his work and the prophet and apostles are doing everything they can to prepare this world for when our Savior comes again.  Because the  church is going all out this year!  And it is the perfect time to be a missionary because people's hearts will be softened and what the church is doing will be able to reach everyone!  

     But funny story for the week.  So we had a guy sit us down and tell us his religious beliefs.  He knows that Christ came down on the earth and did many things.  But he also knows that now God himself is on the earth......  He is actually a black man from West Africa.  He brought out his Bible to prove his point and he actually had a picture of this man in a red cloak taped in the back of his bible.  And then he showed us how he prayed and it was super weird, with a lot of kneeling, praising, and random gestures.  But the funny thing was, this was a white man who spoke spanish, but somtimes he had a southern accent and the other times he sounded like he was from Ireland.??  It was the most random thing and some of the weirdest things I have ever heard haha.  We meet some crazy people here on our missions!  

   Anyway, I love you all so much and hope that this Thanksgiving week is amazing!  I love this gospel and I am so thankful for the blessing it is in my life!  

Con amor,

   La Hermana Adair  

November 17

      Well, this was the week of hell.  That is if hell was freezing cold!!!  Man, last week was in the 70's and then mother nature had no mercy on us when the next day was in the 20's and then the next 2 days were below 0' the entire day!  It was insane!  And really really REALLY rough haha.  

   But I will start on Monday, the first real day of snow.  We had no idea it was going to be so cold so fast, we missionaries are in a bubble, but it was completely fine because Nayeli and her friend Noel ended up taking us to the Downtown Denver Aquarium!  I have been dying for 7 months to go there and finally did!  It was a lot of fun and we took a ton of crazy pictures.  It was the perfect activity for a snowy day.  Plus it was with Nayeli!  And this was the day that she realized she was a mormon now and she got so excited haha!  It was so hilarious and cute!

   Wednesday was our Sister's Conference, which was really good and inspired.  It felt like everyone that was said was tailored to my needs.  And then we went on exchanges.  I went into an english area for the day, ggrrrr, and Sister Stoeltzing stayed in our area.  The other area didn't have any lessons planned so we ended up tracting most of the day in the freezing cold.  It was a little rough but not too bad.  Once I get out and start working then I tend to forget how cold I am.  And this winter will not be half as bad as it was in Eagle.  Eagle was insanely cold, and we white washed the area so it was mainly tracting for the first 4 weeks haha!  Good memories!!  

  Thursday was our last District meeting of the transfer, it is always hard when our district gets split up.  We truly are like a family here.  Friday we had a temple tour with Ginette and it was INCREDIBLE!!!  She felt the spirit so strong and asked so many deep questions!  She is so excited to get baptized on the 30th and I can not wait for her!  She is one of those Miracle people we find where you meet them and a month later they are baptized!  And I know WITHOUT A DOUBT that she will stay converted for the rest of her life!  I am so lucky to be a part of her life.  Ginette went to church this weekend as well and loved it!  And she came to one of our ward baptisms and it only made her even more excited for her own baptism.  She is just perfect!

   And then we are teaching a family who are adorable.  It is a single mom, Araclei, and her 2 kids, Sandra and Miguel.  They are so cute and warm towards us and the mom and son came to church yesterday and loved it!  We are hoping that they can be close to baptism by the end of this next transfer.  And we have another family who are part members and then the rest are not and they are kind of like our family here as well.  We want them all to be baptized by christmas!!!  The holiday season is a time for miracles!  So we are super excited to see them!  

    Well, today is my last day with Sister Stoeltzing and I am a little sad about it. :(  She is heading off to California Wednesday morning and I will miss her.  We have had a lot of fun together and have seen some amazing miracles.  But alas, her time is up.  I would probably be a little sadder but it hasn't really set in yet because this transfer has gone by so fast.  And plus, I am kind of used to losing my companions really fast.  The only companion I have had for more then 1 transfer was my first.  But I am grateful because I have met some amazing people!   

    And drumroll please................... I will be staying in Denver this transfer!!  Man, I have been here forever!  I honestly thought I was going to die if I stayed in an area this long.  But last night at our ward baptism we were singing the closing hymn and I just looked around at the packed room of members.  And that was when I realized that this ward holds my heart  and that they are my family.  I was so thankful to have another 6 weeks to spend with them and to serve them as much as I can before I have to leave.  When it is my time to go I will miss this crazy and insane hispanic ward.  Nothing else is like it haha.   And also for transfer news, it turns out that I will be training a brand new missionary!  She is the only spanish missionary coming this transfer and she will be fresh out of the Mexico MTC.  I am excited to meet her tomorrow and just pray that I can help her have an amazing beginning to her mission.  Really, these first 2 transfers can change the entire experience of a mission.  And I am a little scared haha.  But all will be well, I trust in God and his promises!

   Well, I love you all and am so thankful for the support that I have back home!  Never forget how lucky we are to have this gospel and never forget that sharing this gospel is the most important thing we could ever do!  

   Con amor,

  La Hermana Adair

November 10, 2014

        Ok well, this was a great week!  Well for the most part.  It was definitely a week of miracles.  

  To start off, well, Halloween was great last week.  We had an awesome ward party and it was super fun to watch all of the little kids run around in their costumes.  Sorry I didn't write a big email last week.  I figured that all of the pictures could make up for it :)  

   But this week we are teaching an INCREDIBLE woman named Ginette.  She just moved back from Mexico about a month ago and she is really good friends with a member who goes to the english ward.  She has always admired the church and what it does for families and has really wanted to change her life.  So we have been teaching her for a few weeks and she is amazing!  Really.  There are not words to express how great she is.  She has been reading the Book of Mormon, praying, and has even come to church!!!!  We had an incredible lesson with her this week and she talked about all the blessings she has seen from this gospel.  She told us that she wants to cry all the time when she thinks about it, but that they are tears of happiness.  And that now she has hope and a reason to live.  Not that she was depressed of anything.  But this gospel provides so much of a light in ones life and it changes everything.  If provides a happily ever after that really lasts for forever!  And Ginette has realized this and told us she is ready to be baptized!  So she is getting baptized on the 30th of November and she is AMAZING!  One of my favorite people in the entire world!  I know that she is truly converted and will stay converted the rest of her life.  Man, moments like these make me love my mission and realize how  blessed I am to be here and be a part of these people's lives.  I will keep you all updated on her.

   And now, here is a super sad story from the week.  We have been teaching a "golden" guy named Jose and he has loved learning about our church.  And last week we had a miracle where him and his wife AND his daughter all came to church.  We were so excited!  But it was testimony meeting, which can always be a little sketchy for investigators, especially in the hispanic wards.  But as soon as the first hour was over they basically ran our of the building and we didn't have a chance to talk to them.  Until Saturday night.  We knocked on the door and Jose's wife answered.  They said they were not interested anymore.  That they were looking for a church that actually talked about God and Jesus Christ.  Not one that gave more thanks to a random man named Joseph Smith and that the members only liked to talk about their problems.  

    What they said cut us so deep.  They thought that our church didn't even talk about God most of the time.  We tried explaining about testimony meeting and why joseph smith is important, and that he is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But nothing would get to them.  We were so heartbroken.  Because they just shut down so much happiness in their lives without even giving it a shot.  There were not just shutting us down, but they were shutting Christ down as well.  I guess that what they said was so hurtful because it was disregarding everything that we believe and hold sacred.  Kind of sad.  But I have never had someone so rude to us that we were close to and good friends.  Very sad how people can change so fast.  

   But as members, we never realize the people who are watching us and listening to every word we say.  It was a few weird testimonies from Sunday that stopped them from wanted this gospel.  Never forget the impact you have on every single person you come in contact with.  That we are always representatives of Jesus Christ.  And we need to act like that in every single moment of our lives.  No matter where we are or what we are doing.  

   Anyway, enough with the depressing news.  I have some fantastic news now.  Do you remember the girl Nayeli that I have been teaching for awhile?  Well, anyway, she was super close to baptism 2 weeks ago but something was holding her back.  She was basically just really scared.  So last week she gave me a call and asked if we could come over the next day.  That she had something she had to tell me and that it was really serious.  So I said yes of course.  But when I asked what was going on, she hung up on me!!  I was furious!  So the next day we went over to her house, and the YSA elders were already there and her good friend from the YSA ward.  She sat us down and immediately said "I just have to let you know, that I can't do this anymore.  I have been feeling pushed and I just can't.  I don't feel happy anymore and I just don't want you guys to come over.  I'm done.  I just can't do it.  I am so sorry."  And then she just looked over at me and just kept saying sorry over and over again.  Obviously my heart dropped to the floor and I just wanted to cry.  But I told her not to apologize, that this was her life and we didn't want her to get baptized for us.  Basically I just wanted her to know that she was loved.  And I don't remember what she said next, but she was talking when all of a sudden she screamed and pointed at me saying "and you're speaking at my baptism!!!"  Then she ran up and hugged us....  We were so shocked and so confused.  Honestly I had no idea what was going on.  haha but it was hilarious!  They seriously got us really good.  And all of the Elders were laughing hysterically.  AND, they got it all on video, our reaction.  

   So anyway, Nayeli made the decision to be baptized all on her own!  She said she has never  been happier then she has been now.  And that if this gospel is what has made her happy, then she wants to be a part of it.  I was so proud of her.  It has been a long 4 months with her.  But she got baptized this saturday and confirmed on Sunday!  Best day ever!  It felt amazing to see someone brought to Christ through baptism!  And the spirit was so strong.  It was exactly what I needed to keep me going these next few months!  But I love Nayeli so much and am so excited for her and the life she is going to have!!!!  And I spoke at her baptism about the Holy Ghost!

   Anyway, I love missionary work and being apart of people's lives here in Colorado!  I love this gospel more then anything and I love being a follower of my Savior Jesus Christ!  It has brought me more happiness then I ever thought was possible!  

  I love you all and hope that everything is going good!  Never forget that we should be strengthening our testimonies every single day!  And that missionary work is the most important we could ever do here in this life.  

   Con amor, 

  La Hermana Adair

                                                                         Nayeli and everyone who came!

Nayeli and I!

November 3, 2014

                                 Me and some little girls from our ward!  They are all so adorable!

This is the booth that the missionaries ran.  You can't go wrong with donuts on a string.

October 27, 2014     

         Well, what a week.  Literally it was a week filled with a lot of miracles and a lot of disappointment.  But hey, what's new.  

Monday was a normal day, nothing special.  Tuesday we had an INCREDIBLE lesson with a woman named Sandra.  Two of her stepdaughters are LDS and are ready to come back to church after years of being inactive, and Sandra is super excited about learning more!  We had 2 lessons with her this week and she is loving everything she is learning.  She loves the  book of mormon and wants to try and read as much of it as she can before next week!  She really is so prepared and we are hoping to get the entire family involved.  Her husband used to go to our church with his ex-wife but was never baptized. That's how his two daughters were baptized at 8 years old.  But we already love that family so much and they love us!  We even went to Catalina's baby shower saturday afternoon at their house for about an hour.  It was a Halloween/baby theme and a lot of fun.  People dressed up, we played games, and ate dinner there.  It was really good for us to go because it showed that family that we are really there for them.

   This week we talked a lot with Kathy.  She is a member who used to be strong but became really less active this summer.  She feels like the ward abandoned her and it has been really hard for her to come back.  But this week she finally came to church and loved being there!  After church she texted us this huge message about how thankful she is for what we have been doing for her.  It was very special and meant a lot.  Then we have talking a lot more with Steven Luna.  He is a 18 yr old boy, actually our ward mission leaders son, and has  been pretty in active.  But he wants to go on a mission so we have been working with him on that.  He wants to go but it is hard to take the steps for him.  But we are fasting with him this week to give him the strength to do it and he has an appointment with the bishop tomorrow.  So we are excited.  All he has to do is sign the papers and he is done!  

    Gloria is still doing decent, but not great.  She was supposed to come to church with us on Sunday but then backed out the last moment. :( not cool.  Alma Rosa is doing great, but she didn't come to church as well.  Man, I don't know why church is the hardest thing for people to do.  It is almost impossible to get them to come.  Sundays have literally become the worst days ever because nothing works out as it should.  But it has taught me a lot of patience and perseverance.  

   Friday we saw a huge miracle!!  We knocked into this man Jose and he was perfect.  He talked about not being into religion, he was raised Jehovahs Witness and that was just way too much for him.  But as soon as we started sharing our message he was hooked and could not stop listening or asking  questions.  He asked if we could bring a member to his house next time, so he could get to know a few people in the church.  He asked if we could come over the next day to teach his wife.  And then he asked if it was okay for him to come to church with us on Sunday.  Our jaws dropped.  No one does this.  NO ONE.  And that came from a mexican man, which is even a bigger miracle.  He didn't end up coming to church with us :(  but we are super excited to teach him this week.  

   And one more miracle.  Do you remember the girl Nayeli who we were teaching for awhile?  Well we gave her over to the singles ward elders because it was better for her to go over to the singles ward.  But she loves me like crazy and needs a lot of support so we still keep in touch and are there for her.  But on Saturday we had a giant lesson with us, the elders, nayeli, and her friend.  It was about baptism.  We all kneeled together and prayed if baptism was what Nayeli needed to do.  And she was overcome with so much emotion.  She cried and she was angry because she doesn't like feeling weak and she was confused.  She knows she needs to be baptized now but it is just really scary for her.  But I was so excited for her!  We are shooting for the 9th of November.  Her baptism won't count on my record  for numbers, but to me it will count.  I have been teaching her for 3 months and have seen her entire change!  She really is doing great and I can not wait to see her get baptized!  I love her!  

   Anyway, this week we saw a lot of miracles and have so many people who are serious about finding the truth in their lives.  Not just the usual they like hearing about God crap that we usually get.  But this weekend was also rough.  Saturday and Sunday nothing worked out for us.  Absolutely nothing.  All of our lessons cancelled.  The 5 people we had rides to come to church all ended up backing out.  It was sad.  But it is just teaching us to hold on to our faith, keep working, and appreciate the miracles that we do see.  

     And I have had a lot of requests to write a little more about my companion Sister Stoeltzing.  Basically she is a gorgeous blonde from California.  She is hilarious and we have a lot of fun together.  We are both really sarcastic so we kind of just play off of one another, which is fun.  We have the same taste in music.  She is a lot cooler then me and she is going to BYU-I  right after Christmas.  She only has a year left until she graduates.  At the moment I can't think of anything else to say...

   Well, this next week is Halloween and I am super excited!  Today we are going out and getting our costumes.... any guesses and what it is going to be?  

   I love my mission so much and I love this gospel.  I hope that every one realized that they are missionaries as well.  Actually your job is more important then my job!  But as members it is our duty to preach the gospel.  Joseph Smith said, "After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel."  Never forget that.  

  I love you all!

-La Hermana Adair

We had dinner with Alma Rosa again at the corn stand.  So much fun. 

And I am not quite sure why I look like death in these pictures??  Must have been a rough day.

                                                                              My super cute companion. 

She has a dark side.

                                       Gloria's daughter Pamela who adores me more then anyone!

Sister Stoeltzing and I were pirates (i created the costume, and was very proud of myself :), and then the other sisters were Gypsies.

October 20, 2014

So my comp says I need to be better at sending pictures home.  So you can thank her for these.
                                                 My 1 week trio and caramel apples we made.

Me and a baby chihuahua.  It is the only cute chihuahua I have ever seen!

Eating my own face.

Yesenia, Claudio, Sister Arnold, and Me!  Best day ever!

                                                                              Me and the cutest baby ever.

My birthday cake!

                                                                      

                                                                      Look how excited I am.  The usual.

My wish.  Let's see if if comes true.

October 20, 2014

Buenos Dias mis amores!

Well, today I am feeling super lazy.  Mainly because I am sore all over from doing insane workouts this week and just want to curl up on my bed and drink hot chocolate all day.  BUT, because of my love for all of you I will persevere and type through the laziness and soreness. 

   Well this week went insanely fast.  What's new.  Monday was uneventful.  And Tuesday was my birhtday!  It was really weird to think that it was my birthday.  I didn't want to make a big deal about it, just keep being a missionary.  Which is exactly what happened :)  We had lesson after lesson and it was a great day!  The weather was perfect and we just had fun.  And a member, Alberto, found out that it was my birthday and acted like he had this huge surprise waiting for me at the church.  I was terrified.  If you knew Alberto you would understand.  But when we got into the church we found a giant cake waiting for me!  It was such a cool cake and had a picture of me on it....well in frosting form.  I think he had someone from the ward make it just for me.  It was fun and we shared it with my entire district.  And to everyone, thank you so much for the birthday wishes, cards, and gifts!  It truly means a lot to me!

   Ok, has everyone heard of Ebola yet?  I'm pretty sure everyone already knows what i'm talking about.  I mean, if we as missionaries have heard, then that means the rest of the world already knows.  Anyway, on thursday we received a random text from a member, (alberto nontheless) that said, Ebola was in Denver and that he wanted us to take preventive medications right away.  It was from Alberto, who is a little dramatic, so we didn't panic completely.  But I have to admit, we were a little freaked.  As missionaries we have no idea what goes on in the real world.  A zombie apocalypse could happen and we would be clueless.  But no worries.  We are still alive here and no one is puking up organs quite yet..

   Anyway, the work is picking up and we have some amazing people in our teaching pool.  The 2 who are our favorite are Jesus and Tania.  Jesus is the son of our favorite member, Lupe Calderon, and him and his girlfriend just had their second baby.  The blessed the baby in church and say they are now ready to be baptized!  They are such an adorable family and know this church is true.  Well, Jesus does, and his wife Tania is trying to find out so she can be baptized with her family if she feels it is right.  We are so excited for them!  The only thing standing in their way is marriage.  BUT, Jesus is picking out the ring now and since they already have 2 kids they don't feel a need to have a giant wedding.  Just something fast.  But we are hoping that they will be baptized the 16th of november!  We might need to see a miracle, but God is a God of miracles!  And everything is possible with Him in our lives!

   Gloria is still progressing and thinking about baptism.  But we do not believe she is married to her husband, which causes huge problems.  Most men here don't ever want to get married....  Story of my life as a missionary :(  And then there is an adorable woman named Alma Rosa who we always eat with.  She runs a little stand of mexican corn and other things and she is hilarious.  She has family who are strong members of the church and already knows a ton about our beliefs.  She wants to come to church with us and loves us coming over.  She has amazing questions and really wants to find some answers.  She has been prepared for 20 years and now just needs to be baptized!!

   This weekend we had exchanges.  So I went to serve in my first english area for a day, and another sister came to our area with Sister Stoeltzing.  Well, english is super different.  And I have to say, I am so glad that I am a spanish missionary.  Everything is so much better haha.  And I am probably only saying this because I am just used to spanish.  But I feel super lucky to work with the hispanic culture-it really has changed my life.  But yeah, exchanges were fine.  It is always fun to get to know other sister missionaries.

   And the highlight of my week was on Saturday.  Yesenia came to Denver and took us out to lunch with her fiance Claudio!!  YES!  Yesenia from Eagle came up and it was the best day of my entire life!  When I first saw her I couldn't help but run up to hug her!  We had the best time ever and just laughed and talked.  And it was awesome because I could actually talk to her for real this time now that I am so much better at spanish.  I felt like I was just having lunch with some of my best friends.  And I love her fiance Claudio so much!  He just got baptized this summer and is such a good man.  They are the perfect pair.  They are already planning to go to the next General Conference together!  It is so cute!

   Words cannot explain how incredible Yesenia is doing!  She is now getting her patriachal blessing the 4th of November.  She is the primary secretary and has a calling in the relief society presidency.  And she is counting down the days until she can go to the temple!  (but i am secretly hoping she will put it off for a month so I can be there with her:) She is just an amazing example and it meant the world to see how happy she was and how she is changing the people around her.  And her and Claudio are planning to take Me, Sister Flores, and Sister Arnold to Lake Powell next summer so we can all have an entire week together and just have fun.  I cannot wait!  

   These couple of months have been a little rough for me.  Full of disapointment and discouragement.  But seeing Yesenia made everything better.  I would go through a life time of disappointment and hardships just to see her happy and give her the gospel.  Even if I never see another baptism or another person come unto Christ, I would be completely satisfied.  It would all be worth it.  I just love that woman and her entire family so much.  

   Oh yeah, and one more crazy story to share.  We are pretty sure that a murderer lives in the apartment above us.  And it kind of freaks us out.  We have now bought pepper spray and have put blankets up on our windows.  Please pray for us haha.

   Well, this was a long rant of an email.  But I know this church is true with all of my heart!  And I love this gospel.  And one of the reasons that I love my mission so much is because it has taught me how to live the gospel for the rest of my life.  Not just how to be a member.  But how to actively participate in the work of salvation and how to become truly converted!  I hope that everyone back home is finding those ways to share this amazing gospel we have to those around them.  And that everyone can find a friend to take to Meet the Mormons.  That is the entire purpose of the film.  To enlighten the people on who mormons truly are.  To show that we are followers of Christ and that His gospel truly is a lifestyle!  I love you all and am thankful for the support I have back home!  

   Con Amor,

 La Hermana Adair