Tuesday, May 27, 2014

May 26, 2014

I can not wait to write about this week.  Not going to lie, this was the week that Satan threw EVERYTHING at us!  We are lucky to have made it out alive!  But we did it, so no stress.
   So I will start with Monday.  It was P-day and we explored the Belmar mall a bit, went to a fancy tea shop, and then hit it up in mini Mexico.  Going to all the Carnicerias and Mercados.  It was such a blast and truly brought out my inner brownness (which is getting stronger and stronger everyday, just so you know:)  Then we went to a member's house for dinner.  Hispanics are not satisfied with just giving you a regular portion size. No, they have to see how high they can truly get the food before it falls over.  I think it is a cultural competition.  Oh and if you don't eat it all, it offends them, their entire family, and all the tiny chihuahuas they have.  So I finished eating this huge meal and we start getting to work.  Until I realized that things were not okay with my stomach.  It turns out that I had the flu, and I spent all night throwing up that huge, SPICY meal that I had just ate.  One of the worst nights of my life.  
   Then on Tuesday I was still recovering and it was just a long day.  That ended with us realizing we had bedbugs in our apartment.  Yes.  One of my biggest fears just became reality.  We realized it when this super sketchy bug crawled out of Sister Marley's planner..... Then we decided to strip our beds and check everything.  And of course, because everything happens to me, we found a live bug crawling on my bed.  It was horrible.  So bedbugs are super contagious and the next day we were under house arrest.  We had to dry ALL of our clothes to kill any eggs that could have been on them.  Then some guy came in our apartment and sprayed it and I was honestly to the point of ripping my hair out and pacing our tiny apartment.  The worst thing that could happen to a missionary is not being able to work.  All I can say is that bedbugs are the crawling spawn of Satan, and I made sure all of them were destroyed.  With a smile on my face of course :).  
  Ok, and then the weather here has been crae.  The other day it rained so much that the streets were flooded.  Think of the scene from Jamanji, thats what it was here.  I half expected to see crocodiles floating besides our car.  But we survived driving through that and had a hilarious dinner with the other sisters after wading through the river into our dinner appointment.  But did you know that Tornado's can happen here in Denver?  Because I didn't haha.  We have been on Tornado watch all week and it got super intense on Saturday.  As missionaries we have no connection to the world and what is going on.  So we are driving in this intense storm and see a funnel cloud that keeps getting closer and closer to the ground.  (I have a picture, it was the real deal)  Then the tornado sirens go off and we are like, "oh my gosh, we're going to die."  But the best thing is that Sis Marley gets super nervous with things.  So when she heard the sirens she freaked out so much and suddenly stopped the car and ran into this sketchy mexican beauty salon.  I had no idea what was going on but just ran after her as she ran inside and yelled "tengo una emergencia!  Necesito usar su bano!"  She got so nervous that her bladder almost exploded haha.  And I got to sit there awkwardly while everyone started at the 2 weird white girls.
   We got emergency texts and had to go back to our house to stay safe.  Outside it was hailing marbles and raining and the wind was crazy.  We survived the night and I am not sure that the tornado actually touched down.  But I am not going to lie, I was a little bit excited to live through my childhood fear of Twister.  
  AND it is a holiday weekend so NO ONE was home and the work was slow even though we worked so hard.  
    That was a very long rant about the craziness of this week.  Satan truly tried to knock us down.  BUT he did not succeed!  We had some huge miracles this week.
   We are teaching a woman named Margarita and she has had a lot of hard things going on in her life, so she asked for a blessing.  Hermano Cardenas in our ward came and he is so awesome.  He is this ex-gang member who is covered in tattoos but is the sweetest man with the sweetest family and the biggest testimony.  He gave her the blessing and she just sobbed.  She said she had never felt like that before and knew that God was with her at the moment.  She knows it was the true power of God and begged us to come to church next week.  She is so great and the Lord truly prepared her!  I felt the spirit so strong and couldn't help but testify her that this gospel was going to change her life.  It was the first time that I started crying when I was testifying to an investigator.  I don't know if she felt the spirit with my words or not, but that moment was very special to me.  Because I knew without a doubt that I had a Father in Heaven who loved me.  And that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that the exact same church he set up here on the was restored through Joseph Smith.  I KNOW without a doubt that this church is true and that it will bless and change the lives of anyone who accepts it.  I know this because it has changed my life completely.  And it was the most amazing experience to be able to look this woman in the eyes and know that I was telling her the truth.  And to feel the love that our Father in Heaven has for her.  We are very excited to teach her and know she is truly prepared!    
   Then we had a perfect member lesson last night that flowed and was guided by the spirit.  As a missionary there was nothing else I could ask for!  It was with a couple who are a little older but can't have any kids.  And it turns out that they were taught by Elders almost 5 yrs ago.  I was a little worried that they weren't going to open up, but last night they did and we can't wait for them to progress.  And today we had a great Sisters Conference where the spirit was very strong.  It helped get all of the sisters motivated and realized that with Faith we can do anything and even see miracles.  
    I love my mission and have grown so much and I love the people that I have met.  And today in Sisters Conference the shared a scripture that describes a mission perfectly, especially this week. 
  Alma 28:8 And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their INCOMPREHENSIBLE joy, with the reception and safety of their brethren.  And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever.  
   As you can see from my letter, crazy things are thrown at you during your mission.  People mock us, yell at us, and a lot of things happen that just plain suck.  But there is truly a joy here that is incomprehensible.  It is like nothing I've ever felt before in my life.  I truly am happier then I have ever been before.  I remember thinking how crazy it was that I was going on my mission to Colorado.  Just a few hours from my house.  But I love Colorado just like the people loved the Waters of Mormon.(Mosiah 18:30)  I love Colorado because this is the place where I have come to know my God.  I have come to the knowledge and truth of my Savior here.  And it will always be a special place to me.  
   This letter was a long rant and I apologize.  But thank you so much for all of the support and love I have back home.  !Hasta la proxima semana!!
Con am
   Hermana Adair or,

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