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Sister Jennie Adams
Philippines Iloilo Mission
Osmena St.
Arevalo
5000 Iloilo
Philippines

November 2010 - January 2011

Monday, January 25, 2010

Camping and Camping

So before I left on my mission, I knew I would be camping while I was here. Here's something I didn't realize:

I'm here camping. The people here are also camping. But there's a difference here. I'm camping in an RV. They are camping in the woods with a tarp draped over a rope. I'm only here for 16 months. They live here their whole lives. I am so incredibly blessed. (note: they don't actually live under tarps and I don't live in an RV. It's just a comparison)

It's been a great week! We went to a place called Adela. It looks really beautiful on the outside, but I was kind of expecting same old same old on the inside. But when we went in we really wanted to find a way to live there... It was SO beautiful. Actually Sister Rellora wanted to go there, but we never had time. We found lots of people. It's like a little hidden community. And I'm excited to go back there because it's so beautiful and the people there seem receptive. More on that...

So... I don't have much else to say. I love you all! The Church is true!

Love Sister Jennie Adams

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Dear President

Haha, that's the line of the week. You know, new companion and all. We joke a lot and it's fun. But I'm learning a lot too :) I hope that we get to be together for another transfer (fingers crossed).

A few experiences from this week:We are teaching lots of people. I want to tell you about 3...First, there's Lorfely. She's deaf. Sister Rellora knows sign language... but she's in Panay. S. Fair and I went to her once and it was rough... Anyway, soon, there will be 2 blonde americans in the Philippines learning sign language together.

And then there's Garen. He's like 30. And VERY educated about the Bible. He met the missionaries at a clinic and he said they could come and share. It turns out HE was the one sharing and we didn't really say much. We're going to go back one more time and see what happens, but it was a very interesting experience.

And last there's the Gallo (Galyo) family. We taught them once and left 3 Nephi 11 and when we came back and asked about what he read, he described not only chapter 11, but 12 as well. AND when we asked him to read aloud, it was evident that reading was not very easy for him... so we're REALLY excited about teaching this family! The only hard thing for them will be coming to church. (their house is about the same size as my room at home... and they live kinda far away)

Ok, it has rained for like 5 days straight! Ulan! It won't stop! Yesterday, we walked in the rain and when we got at the investigator's house, I was DRENCHED. Haha, it was awesome. We also went jogging in the rain. And because of the rain, the river that we have to wade to get to an investigator's house was swollen... but they have baptismal dates, so we had to go to them... That was an adventure and there are pictures to go with it.

That's all for this week! Love you all!

Love, Sister Jennie Adams

Monday, January 11, 2010

I Prayed Her Here

and she came. Flying in to save the day in a Jody. (Well, actually, she wasn't wearing one that day, but she has every day since). I needed her here, and I prayed and now she's here. God answers prayers. I know he does.

I was struggling with the language and trying to be obedient by myself, and now I have Sister Fairweather to learn the language with me. And even be obedient with me! I’m so excited!Haha, we actually have had an interesting and hectic few days:Friday was Transfer Day. We all went to Bacolod to find out who our new companions would be. I heard rumors that I would get Sister Fairweather but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I actually prayed specifically for her for like a week. And when the meeting was over, the first thing I said to her was, “I prayed you here.” It turns out I wasn’t the only one, but that’s another story (maybe read Sister Grant’s letter?). We then left to go back to Silay. After we ate lunch, we went and bought food (our cupboards were bare) we went straight to work. It was interesting leading her around the city because I don’t know the language… but she doesn’t know the area. We worked well as a team. She met some investigators, and we taught and it was great. Then we returned home and fell into bed (after planning). That’s been my weekend. A whirlwind of righteousness. (please note: S. Rellora is righteous too, but it’s just different with another American)

A few funny things:Sister Fairweather is a first time-senior, so she isn’t used to having a cell phone, and neither am I, so we forgot it on Friday when we left the house… it turned out ok though…

~Sister Fairweather came up with some nicknames for our bishops, because they’re opposite… Darth Vader and Yoda
~And yesterday, I used Sister Fairweather’s toothbrush (by accident). Yeah, we’re that close already.
~And today, we’re going to go to Bacolod for Sister Grant’s Birthday! To Pizza Hut! We are both wearing correlating Jodys to honor this great woman. Lol, it's awesome. Yay!

Also, we heard that Sister Beck is coming HERE, to Bacolod. We’re really excited.

Well, that’s all!

Your exhausted, but extremely happy, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Cousin, Granddaughter, Niece… Love you All!!!

Sister Jennie Adams

In case you were wondering... A side note from Naunie...
Before Jennie left on her mission, she was following a blog that she found of a Sister Grant, who is also in the Bacolod Mission. (http://sisterbgrant.blogspot.com/) Sister Grant's MTC companion was Sister Fairweather. So Jennie had "met" her months ago through that blog. Jennie also met her in person at the Conference they had at Christmas. She is from New York.
Mystery solved.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Count Your Many Blessings

name them one by one. This song played through my head today on the bus back to Silay from Bacolod because I was just sitting there bemoaning the fact that my preparation day didn't go quite like I planned. I felt TONS better after I pondered the words to that song. Just so you all know: it works. Memorize hymns or scriptures that you can call upon at a moments notice if you ever need to.

I got the letter you sent Mom, from Elder Ward. The one about 4 baptisms in one day, but they were all at different times. I was kind of taken aback when I read "the water might get cold" haha, we don't have CLEAN water, let alone WARM. Haha, I was just stricken by how different our missions are. But hey, pass on "Congrats" to him, it's awesome to see people enter the waters of baptism!

This week nothing worth reporting happened... I don't think. We just taught a lot. Especially yesterday. We got 15 new investigators yesterday. It was insane. Everywhere we went (usually for a referral) there were always more people than we expected. It was amazing. I'm hoping for at least 5 baptisms from them. We'll see though.

Well, I'm doing great! It's transfer week, which means that next time I write, I may or may not have a new companion, and/or be in a different area. I'll let you know!

Love always, Sister Jennie Adams

P.S. Here's a shout out to all my friends who: Just graduated college, taught English in China, are going to teach English in Russia (I JUST got your letter btw, yay! I'll write you back), may or may not be engaged (I just have to guess because I haven't heard from you... ;) ), and everyone else who is enjoying the snowy winter weather (or not... ;) ) I love you all! Keep working hard at life, and don't forget that "Of all the things you wear, your expression is most important."