January 13, 2014

Well, another week has come and gone.  I only have a little over 15 months left, what!! crazy!  Even though that still seems like forever away.  But this was a pretty great week!  And like always, we had some more adventures.  It seems like everything that could happen, always does happen with Hna. Noffz and I.  But they always make for some good stories :)

   Monday night we did some service in our ward at the Methodist church.  Every 1st week of the month the Methodist church has a "simple supper" where they make a meal that is free for anyone.  And they try and get as much food as they can to hand out.  And this month our ward volunteered to run it.  It was actually so much fun!  There hasn't been too many service opportunities here and it felt great just to work and help out.  Plus, we got to talk to a lot of people and show them what we do and just represent our church.  And this whole ward feels exactly like our ward at home.  I feel like i have known these people for years, so it is fun to do things with them and feel at home.  I just want you to meet everyone here! 

   But, this ward is also super unorganized.  We had a meeting on Sunday that lasted hours.  And it was only us going over the ward list.  Only 20-30% of the members in this ward are active.  And more then half of the people on the list nobody has any idea who they are.  It is so bad that there was a man on the list who had been dead for over 10 years.  Yeah...it's that bad.  I wasn't joking.  So this week we have been trying to visit as many less-actives as we can and help this ward figure things out.  So far, over 6 of the people we have tried to contact have been moved for years.  This work is a little frustrating to do, especially since it is the wards fault for letting it get so bad.  But, this is part of our calling and we are glad that we can contribute to the ward and the people here.  And we are changing things.  Because of us, things are getting fixed and progress is being made, so it does feel good. 

   We have a few new investigators who we are super excited about.  Yessenia is on of them.  She is the sweetest lady who lives about 15 minutes in a trailer park called Dotsero.  (which is super sketchy and full of really scary people.  Meth addics and alcoholics especailly.  And doesn't really have cell service good.  So we are not aloud to really go there after dark unless we have an appointment.)   But Yessenia is amazing and truly ready to know the gospel.  We taught her a few times and she really seems to accept our message.  We are going to invite her to be baptized tomorrow.  And I will be saying it, yikes!  I hope I don't mess it up in spanish haha.

   But my spanish has been progressing a lot lately.  We had a lesson with Yessenia and I did so good! (not to brag or anything)  But the spanish came and I ended up actually contributing and teaching the lesson.  Hna. Noffz said that she was completely blown away by how awesome I did.  And Brother Wait, (the spanish ward mission leader) has said that I have come a long way.  He even asked me to translate at our last baptism!  Which freaked me out, but it was a huge compliment coming from him.  He wouldn't have asked if he didn't think I could do it.  But I never did it because I ward doesn't have enough headphones.  Which is changing this week.

   There is a couple named Daniel and Laura.  They are great and I love talking to them and feel so comfortable with them.  They are really open to the church and Laura truly wants to know the truth.  But Daniel is a little bit tougher.  He has so many questions and wants an answer to everything now.  Which is great, but so hard to teach that kind of person.  We had a lesson with them last night that lasted 2 hours!  I just pray so hard that they accept the truth that they will feel.  Because they are so amazing and I know that this gospel will bless their lives forever. 

    I also recited the first vision in spanish for the first time this week.  Everytime I hear it or say it myself I feel the spirit so strong.  I never realized before my mission how much Joseph Smith and his sacrifice meant to me.  And I know without a doubt that he was a prophet of God and that he truly saw the Father and the Son. 

   This Friday we had Zone Conference up in Rifle.  The drive there was terrifying.  The weather was horrible and we had to drive through Glenwood Canyon again.  That canyon is the scariest few miles I have ever been in my life.  We could only go 20mph or less it was so bad. Plus a semi almost ran us over!  I thought I was going to die from a heart attack. So it took us forever to get to ZC.  ZC was great!  I learned a lot and it was fun to see all of the missionaries in the area.  I saw Hna. McRae again!  Which was great!  But she and her comp ran into some nasty bed bugs and termites at the apartment.  So they are completely covered in rashes, bumps, scabs, and who knows what else.  Their apartment is being fumagated with everything in it and they have been living in a hotel for days with only 1 change of clothes.  I felt so bad for them but couldn't help laughing because they have to wear latex all over their bodies for the treatment they are doing.  It was fun to see her again and exchange some of our stories. 

   And it was great to talk with President and Sister Murdock.  They are great and talked to Hna. Noffz and I for a bit.  He told us he put us in Eagle for a specific reason and that we are the two who are supposed to be here.  And that we are doing such a great job with getting the work started again.  It felt really good to hear this.  Because we are working so hard to get thing moving again. 

    Saturday was Alex's baptism!!!!!!  I love this kid to death and am going to force Madee to marry him in a few years!  Plus, he has the cutest smile ever haha.  But he was baptized and it was such an amazing night.  He is Myrnas(who is already a member) nephew and the grandson of Cecilia(who was baptized the week before)  He wants a better life for himself then the rest of his family in Mexico and knows that this church is the right path for him.  Brother Wiemer(a member in the ward who we love! and his family!) baptized him and even said it in spanish.  During the prayer they both got really emotional and it touched everyones heart in the room.  And when Alex came up out of the water he had the biggest smile on his face.  It was so incredible to see and be a part of it.  And his confirmation blessing on Sunday was amazing as well.  The spirit was so strong and it talked a lot about his future and the person he is going to be.  I am so excited for him.  He is excited to get the priesthood next week and is now planning of serving a mission!

    Alex was supposed to be returning to Mexico this week right after his baptism with Cecilia and his sister.  Hna. Noffz and I were so worried about him because in Mexico he won't have the support he needs and it would be so easy for him to find some bad friends and get into some really scary things down there.  We have been praying for them so hard.  And guess what!  Alex is now staying!  He is going to get some help in school and will be staying with Myrna now permanantly.  It truly is a miracle and we are so happy for him.  He has so much potential and now his life will be so much better!  But his little sister Adrianna is still going to Mexico and we are worried about her as well.  She is 7 years old and completely adorable.  She loves us so much and can't wait to be baptized when she is 8.  But she is leaving and probably won't be treated great by her mom(who shouldn't even be called a mother) and she will have a lot of opportunities to get into trouble in a few years.  Hma. Noffz and I have a plan to ship her back here once we are off our missions.  I will definitly keep in contact with her and give her support and love.  She needs it so bad.  So, mom and dad, please adopt Adrianna for me haha.  But i'm still totally serious.  She is amazing!

    Funny story for the week.  Yesterday we hit a stopsign.  Correction, Hermana Noffz hit a stopsign.  We were going slow and where turning down a street when the car suddenly had a mind of its own haha.  She tried turning and braking but nope. nothing happened.  So we ran into the stopsign.  And it was hilarious because once Hna. Noffz knew she couldn't do anything, she raised her hands and said, "Jesus take the wheel."  Which is what we joked about after our accident in the canyon.  (We were debating how far our faith could get us over our own effort to control the car.)  Of course we didn't hit hard, just a little bump on Felipe(our car)  But after that our car was stuck in about 2 ft of snow.  And Im out front pushing when the other English sisters see us and come help push.  Then a guy came out from his house to help.  He said he was watching the football game and saw us hit the sign.  Then he wondered why 4 girls in skirts were trying to push the car in such deep snow.  We could not stop laughing when he said that.  But thankfully, he was able to get us out.  What a good samaratan.  To come out into the cold and help complete strangers when the Broncos were playing,  I don't think a lot of people would appreciate the sacrafice he was making haha. 

     I am so excited for this upcoming week and love being here!  I am so excited to speak fluent spanish!  But I know this work is the most important thing that I could be doing and I feel so honored to be here serving the Lord and representing my Savior.  I know that this gospel is the true gospel of Jesus Christ and that through it we can have eternal happiness.  More happiness then we can ever comprehend.  I love everyone here so much and love everyone back home so much!  Thanks for everything you do for me!

Love, Hermana Adair