It was awesome

to talk to you guys! And Taylor, sorry you didn't get to say goodbye.
Love you!

So, Happy Mother's Day to all who fit under that category! Thanks for all you do :)

I got a package this week that made me feel like it was my birthday and Christmas all at once... Thanks so much Ann Moon :) I was probably the happiest missionary in the mission when I opened that package... Everything will be used well, thank you.

Haha, so yesterday, Raymart came to church... which was no surprise to us, we expected him to come.

What was the surprise was that he was wearing a tie and slacks- he told us before that he wouldn't wear a tie to church until he was baptized... then he showed up yesterday wearing one. Haha, it was awesome. And his mom said that he has changed since we gave him a baptismal date. She says he's more helpful now and nicer to his siblings. Now we just need to get her to see the need to come to church for herself...

Well, that's about all the news I have for this week. We're still trying to find the elect here in Roxas! (Raymart definitely fits in that category) We have a few potentials, but time will tell. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Oh, transfers are this week... but nothing will probably change with me...

Love, Sister Jennie Adams

P.S. I hear you are experiencing some late spring frost... I'll send some humid heat to y'all k? ;)

Zone Conference in Kalibo...

This week we had Zone Conference in Kalibo. We rented a van (and a driver... haha), and went on a road trip. We drove for 2 hours and slept in Kalibo. I still get carsick, so that was fun... Anyway, Conference was good, and different. I'm used to very big conferences with lots of missionaries... this one we maybe had 30 missionaries. It was pretty good and we got lots of good training. Nothing outstanding that I feel the need to report on though...

Transfer Announcements are next week, and I'll probably stay in Roxas. But we don't really know what's going to happen! Just wait and see, and in the mean time, we just keep working hard- Getting Raymart ready for baptism. We're pretty excited about that... and he is too :D

I am having a blast in the Seafood Capital of the Philippines! Those of you who know me, know that I don't like seafood. The other day, we ate at an investigator/part member's house and they fed us Bangus (also called Milkfish, the national fish) and shrimp. It was really good, I think bangros is my favorite fish. And a few weeks ago, I ate some pusit... or squid. I kinda felt like I was chewing a balloon... not really an experience I want to repeat. Haha, but that might not be an option... we'll see. They also have this stuff here called uga... dried fish. It smells... strong. They dry the fish, and then fry it... it gets REALLY strong when it hits the pan. I haven't eaten it yet, but I have a feeling the time is drawing near... :S

Also, please look at my picture from MY baptism and think "oxy clean" HAHAHA! An elder pointed this out to me (from my calendar)

One more thing...a few weeks ago, our cargo from Bacolod (containing proselytizing supplies and letters-dearelders included) was lost. I recently received a letter from Annie and Bill... but if you sent a dearelder at the beginning of April or end of March, I probably didn't get it...

That's all for this week, love you all lots!

Love, Sister Adams

Damo Sala.....

Thank you so much for the emails... A very happy day in the heart of Sister Adams.

I would like to tell you all about a lesson we had yesterday...

We were teaching our progressing investigator named Reymart. He's 12, and very intelligent. His mom listens too, but she's very catholic, so she isn't really interested... Anyway, we were teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and we were talking about baptism. Usually, when we get to this part about everyone needing to be baptized, people tell us happily that they've been baptized already. We then do our best to explain about priesthood authority. It's probably the hardest thing for us to explain to people. Reymart was no exception. I explained, and asked if he had questions, he didn't so I asked him why baptism was different in our church... he didn't know. So I explained again, in a different way... again I asked why, in our church, baptism was different... again, he didn't know. This went on for about 20 minutes, with Sister Cortes helping explain too. Finally, Reymart understood and asked the question that I think every investigator should ask when they understand authority, "Sis, I haven't been baptized with authority! Can I be baptized with authority?" It was awesome. We told him yes, and gave him a goal date in June. There's still lots for him to learn and he's only 12, so he needs time to make sure he's ready. But it's days like yesterday that make this worth it. When someone really understands what you're trying to teach them, you just want to click your heels, or shout for joy from the mountain tops. I love this work and I had an awesome week.

This week is Zone Conference in Kalibo, we have to travel 2 hours tomorrow to get there... yay! Haha, it should be good!

Love you all, and I look forward to emails next week!

Love, Sister Adams

p.s. Congratulations to Elder Hardy! :)

If I could ride a caribou

I would be as cool as the kids that do it every day... haha

This week was much quicker than last week… no dragging. We’re making progress with some of our less active members. Which is good for the ward, but not for the numbers… good thing I’m here for the people and not the numbers!

We had 2 investigators at church this week, which was awesome. And I spoke with Sister Cortes. We talked about missionary work.

I can’t wait for the conference Liahona to come out! I really want to read talks for my personal study. That is my favorite part of the day. I get a whole hour to concentrate on studying the gospel. It’s really awesome. Everyone should do this… why is life so crazy?! I think about my life before and I’m not sure I would have spared that hour a day to study the gospel. I really want to keep this as a habit even after my mission.

It rained on Saturday… for like 5 minutes. Haha, it’s so hot and really dry right now.

I’m starting to feel a little more confident in the language… but I still find it really hard to understand when people are talking, especially if they aren’t talking about the gospel- which is most of the time. I can tell my English is going away though: the other day I was writing the word “president” and I definitely spelled it “presidn’t”. haha, keep praying for me!

Well halong for now! Love you all and love the letters!

Love, Sister Jennie Adams

Love from Panay

This week seemed to take forever. I'm not entirely sure why, but I hope the coming weeks don't last as long...

So, Roxas is VERY different from Silay. At one point, (a while ago...) the missionaries assigned here weren't very obedient. We are still trying to fix the effects of these missionaries. It makes it hard, but we're pressing forward. Our numbers were low this week so we decided to do better next week. I truly believe that Roxas can become like Silay, can become even better than Silay. All it will take is hard work and time. I'm here for the hard work. :) And they are Children of God who are just as important as the last group of people I served.

We watched all of Conference! (in English... they don't broadcast it in Hiligaynon) WOW... FAMILY, FAMILY, FAMILY. I think that when I am closer to having my own family, I'm going to pull out the May 2010 Ensign for a guide... I really enjoyed the whole thing. It's just awesome to hear the words of the prophets.

So, I would like to share something I've learned about the language here... Hiligaynon is the actual name of the Language... Ilanggo is the name of a person who speaks Hiligaynon. Technically. So (hopefully) at the end of my mission, I will be considered "Ilongga." Anyway, I've known this for a while but I haven't ever shared.

This week has been a little eventless... what's the word in english? eventFUL... uneventful! HA! Sorry for my English everyone, it's kind of leaving me.

I am speaking on Sunday. Sister Cortes and I are speaking with our ward mission leader. Hopefully we can do some good... pray for us!

All my love,Sister Jennie Adams

p.s. one little request...if you are an RM, I would greatly appreciate to know how you all felt when you transferred out of your first areas... I'm not asking for a journal page or anything, but I would be really interested though if you could tell me a little about your feelings as you were leaving your first area in your mission...

Hello Loved Ones

From Roxas (x makes an h sound...). Yep, I got transferred. At the transfer meeting in Bacolod, the opening song was "Each Life That Touches Ours For Good" who's idea was that??? I bawled my eyes out during it... I am now on Panay. And what a trip that was... I had to ride the OceanJet, for an hour, and I got so sick. I just sat there with my head back, my eyes closed, and my jaw clenched... And I succeeded in not losing my breakfast. YES! (I kind of want to be assigned in Iloilo Mission so I don't have to do that again :p )

When I got to Panay, I saw Sister Woodward (my MTC comp) who I haven't seen since November. That was fun. Then I met my new companion, Sister Cortes from Bicol. She's only 5 hours (by boat) away from home... And then we got in a van (like a taxi...) and drove almost 3 hours from Iloilo to Roxas. I was very exhausted... but also very happy to not be traveling anymore.

I live with 3 Filipinas... I will be learning Hiligaynon very quickly now... it's all around me...

The work here in Roxas is very different than over in Silay. But that's ok, we keep our chins up and keep doing the best we can. I am grateful to serve the children of God in Roxas 3rd ward.

I have recently found out why the Filipino people are so tiny... it's because they eat a lot of fish... the fish have lots of little bones that you have to take out. For me, at least, it's hard... if that's what I ate every day for my whole life, I would be tiny too.

Yesterday was Easter, so last week was Holy Week... a HUGE holiday here. (that's why we took a van to Roxas not a bus... the busses weren't running... that's how big of a holiday it is)

I am just so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ, and I am grateful for the knowledge that He lives! I am grateful to be a member of this Church, and for the opportunity to share about the wonderful message that we have.Thank you for all your support! I love you all.

Pagpalangga, Sister Jennie Adams

Transfer Week...

Well, this is officially week one again... transfer announcements are on Tuesday, and transfers are on Friday. One of us is probably transferring... and that one is most likely me. However, it's all in the Lord's Hands, so I'm trying not to worry about it...

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday. It was good. They talked about our new mission focus, which is less-actives and members. That just means that if we have time planned for tracting (or if we get punted and have free time) we don't tract, we go to less actives and members. This will help reactivate the ward (there are some 500 members in each ward and attendance ranges from 70 to 100... there's lots of work to do) Also, the members will get to know us, therefore trusting us with their referrals. The members in Silay are really great at referrals... we almost never have tracting time. However, because of this new focus, our "key indicators" are a little lower... but numbers aren't everything. :)

I am SO excited for Conference. We have to wait for a week after you guys, but we get to watch the whole thing. So next week, you should all write and tell me your favorite talk (and when it is) so I can watch for it and pay special attention :) Wait... it's conference already??? I swear we JUST had it...

Well, that's about all for this week. I love you all!

Love, Sister Jennie Adams