I GET TO STAY IN ROXAS!!! WITH MY BATA (child, or trainee)!!! I am so excited that I get six more weeks in this place that I have come to love! I am also excited that I get to watch my second (and last) General Conference in the Philippines in Roxas. Well, I would be excited no matter where I got to watch.
But I am extra excited I get to stay here.We had a really good Zone Meeting earlier, where I got some good ideas about how to better teach people. I'm excited to start trying them. I've been struggling lately just getting in the door because people are soooo "busy." But now I am going to try focusing it all on them, so they feel like we are interested in them as people. *sigh* maybe by next March, I'll figure out how to do this missionary thing... it's hard, but I love the rewarding things that happen. Like the member who came to church for the 2nd time in a row yesterday! I've been visiting ever since I got here, but just now did he come (last week).
I don't really have any news this week... just business as usual... just a little wetter, because it rains almost every day...
I am so grateful to belong to God's Kingdom here on earth. I love being part of such a great work, "a marvelous work." I know that THIS church is true. I know that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration, and since him, we've had a living prophet on the earth. I love the opportunity I have to teach the people here how to be together forever. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to be with MY family forever. I know that the Book of Mormon IS the word of God, and in it is the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
Thank you all for your continuing prayers and support.
Love, Sister Adams
November 2010 - January 2011
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
What happened to September?
Hey Everyone!I totally forgot to tell you last week that we have a really easy address. Are you ready? Here it is:
Sister Jennie Adams
P.O. Box 43
Iloilo City 5000
Philippines
I know, it's REALLY hard... I hope no one is confused. ;)
President said to encourage the use of this because they pay a fee to the Post Office to maintain it. Everything can be sent there: packages and letters. The only thing you can't send there is a door-to-door service (like UPS?) Anyway, mostly, use this one. :D Thanks! (it will get to me if you send to the other one, but President said that this one is better.)
Well, this week, God reminded me that He is in charge of everything. And He also let me know that I really am doing some good. You see, all week we had appointment after appointment fall through. We taught lessons, but I was feeling a little down because no one seemed to be a progressing investigator. And none of the "returning members" (no more "less actives") seemed to say that they would come to church. Actually the entire time I've been in Roxas, I've struggled with the fact that not very many of those returning members that I've visited seem to want to return to church. I also found out on Saturday that one of our investigators won't listen to me because I'm American. And he won't listen to anyone who is American. (he's only 10, and his parents are members). I still have to figure out why he hates me... And in the middle of that day someone decided to try and teach me about their church. He was one of those people who are out to prove the rightness of them and the wrongness of you. He seemed nice, but I knew he just wanted to convince me that I was wrong. We are not to debate, it is neither missionary-like, or Christ-like. So I just told him to have a nice day and walked away. But I was really down at this point. By the time we got home and I texted the Zone Leaders to inform them so, I put a little smiley face at the end of the message (we're home now :-) ) He replied and said, I'm glad you're happy! Haha, I was only happy the day was over.
Well, Sunday was the day God decided to show me His power. In short, there were 4 recent converts (still going strong!), 3 investigators, 6 returning members (one that I've been visiting for 6 months, and hasn't come to church till yesterday), and 1 referral were at church. When the last one came in to the chapel, I cried. Then I said a little prayer of thanks.
I know that this is not MY work. This is God's work. And it is my privilege to be a part of it. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the lives of these wonderful people, and especially to be a part of bringing the gospel to them, and them to the gospel. I know that I am not alone in my efforts to bring others to Christ. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Love Always,
Sister Jennie Adams
Sister Jennie Adams
P.O. Box 43
Iloilo City 5000
Philippines
I know, it's REALLY hard... I hope no one is confused. ;)
President said to encourage the use of this because they pay a fee to the Post Office to maintain it. Everything can be sent there: packages and letters. The only thing you can't send there is a door-to-door service (like UPS?) Anyway, mostly, use this one. :D Thanks! (it will get to me if you send to the other one, but President said that this one is better.)
Well, this week, God reminded me that He is in charge of everything. And He also let me know that I really am doing some good. You see, all week we had appointment after appointment fall through. We taught lessons, but I was feeling a little down because no one seemed to be a progressing investigator. And none of the "returning members" (no more "less actives") seemed to say that they would come to church. Actually the entire time I've been in Roxas, I've struggled with the fact that not very many of those returning members that I've visited seem to want to return to church. I also found out on Saturday that one of our investigators won't listen to me because I'm American. And he won't listen to anyone who is American. (he's only 10, and his parents are members). I still have to figure out why he hates me... And in the middle of that day someone decided to try and teach me about their church. He was one of those people who are out to prove the rightness of them and the wrongness of you. He seemed nice, but I knew he just wanted to convince me that I was wrong. We are not to debate, it is neither missionary-like, or Christ-like. So I just told him to have a nice day and walked away. But I was really down at this point. By the time we got home and I texted the Zone Leaders to inform them so, I put a little smiley face at the end of the message (we're home now :-) ) He replied and said, I'm glad you're happy! Haha, I was only happy the day was over.
Well, Sunday was the day God decided to show me His power. In short, there were 4 recent converts (still going strong!), 3 investigators, 6 returning members (one that I've been visiting for 6 months, and hasn't come to church till yesterday), and 1 referral were at church. When the last one came in to the chapel, I cried. Then I said a little prayer of thanks.
I know that this is not MY work. This is God's work. And it is my privilege to be a part of it. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the lives of these wonderful people, and especially to be a part of bringing the gospel to them, and them to the gospel. I know that I am not alone in my efforts to bring others to Christ. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Love Always,
Sister Jennie Adams
Friday, September 24, 2010
Leadership Training
So, the leadership training was on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was really cool actually. I learned a lot, and came home from Iloilo with a renewed feeling... like, "yeah, I CAN do this... even in Roxas."
Anyway, on Tuesday night, after we ate dinner, the APs said "we know how excited you all are to apply what you learned today, so now we will announce the split assignments and you can go work tonight." I was cool with that (well, I really wanted to relax and talk to Sister Carr, but applying what I learned was a much better idea...). So I went with the Sister that I was assigned to (there were only 4 of us at the meeting) and we headed to the house she had decided we could go to (she decided because it was her area). When we left the church, it was kind of raining, but not too hard, so I wasn't worried about the fact that I left my umbrella at the apartment. We climbed in a jeepney and it was still just kind of sprinkling, so I was thinking we were fine. Well, as we neared our destination, we could tell by the looks of the people getting on that it was starting to rain pretty hard now. Sister Arellano had an umbrella, but it was kind of small... but such is missionary work- sometimes you get wet. So when our stop came, we sighed and got off the jeep into the now-pouring rain. Under one umbrella. We both had our copies of Preach My Gospel and some papers that they gave us at the training since we didn't go home first... so here we were 2 Sisters walking down the street in the torrential down pour, huddled under an umbrella trying to protect our things from the rain. I had my WONDERFUL rubber shoes on, so I was fine when the street turned into a river. But Sister Arellano had just planned for a meeting, so her shoes were a little nicer. So because of that, we would stop for a second whenever we came to a speed bump (that wasn't covered in water) or anything else that was higher and big enough for us to stand on. I think the house was about 10 feet away when we stopped for the last time. At this point it had been raining so hard that the street was flooded so much that you couldn't tell where the pavement ended and the dirt shoulder began. As we stepped off of our "high ground" for the last time, we were surprised when we found ourselves falling in 2 feet of water. We had stood on a bridge over a drainage ditch, but it looked exactly the same as the street, so we just took the shortest path to our destination. Haha, it was hilarious (but only because I managed to get out of the water before my camera got wet). There was a deaf girl that saw the whole thing and apparently tried to warn us, but... well, I guess we didn't see the warning. Sister Arellano escaped without a mark on her, and I walked away with only a few scrapes on my knee. And we both walked away with a story to tell.
Well, that was pretty much the funny story of the week! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Love, Sister Jennie Adams
P.S. Note from Naunie... Sorry, I spaced posting this letter on Monday. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes for Jennie!
Anyway, on Tuesday night, after we ate dinner, the APs said "we know how excited you all are to apply what you learned today, so now we will announce the split assignments and you can go work tonight." I was cool with that (well, I really wanted to relax and talk to Sister Carr, but applying what I learned was a much better idea...). So I went with the Sister that I was assigned to (there were only 4 of us at the meeting) and we headed to the house she had decided we could go to (she decided because it was her area). When we left the church, it was kind of raining, but not too hard, so I wasn't worried about the fact that I left my umbrella at the apartment. We climbed in a jeepney and it was still just kind of sprinkling, so I was thinking we were fine. Well, as we neared our destination, we could tell by the looks of the people getting on that it was starting to rain pretty hard now. Sister Arellano had an umbrella, but it was kind of small... but such is missionary work- sometimes you get wet. So when our stop came, we sighed and got off the jeep into the now-pouring rain. Under one umbrella. We both had our copies of Preach My Gospel and some papers that they gave us at the training since we didn't go home first... so here we were 2 Sisters walking down the street in the torrential down pour, huddled under an umbrella trying to protect our things from the rain. I had my WONDERFUL rubber shoes on, so I was fine when the street turned into a river. But Sister Arellano had just planned for a meeting, so her shoes were a little nicer. So because of that, we would stop for a second whenever we came to a speed bump (that wasn't covered in water) or anything else that was higher and big enough for us to stand on. I think the house was about 10 feet away when we stopped for the last time. At this point it had been raining so hard that the street was flooded so much that you couldn't tell where the pavement ended and the dirt shoulder began. As we stepped off of our "high ground" for the last time, we were surprised when we found ourselves falling in 2 feet of water. We had stood on a bridge over a drainage ditch, but it looked exactly the same as the street, so we just took the shortest path to our destination. Haha, it was hilarious (but only because I managed to get out of the water before my camera got wet). There was a deaf girl that saw the whole thing and apparently tried to warn us, but... well, I guess we didn't see the warning. Sister Arellano escaped without a mark on her, and I walked away with only a few scrapes on my knee. And we both walked away with a story to tell.
Well, that was pretty much the funny story of the week! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Love, Sister Jennie Adams
P.S. Note from Naunie... Sorry, I spaced posting this letter on Monday. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes for Jennie!
Monday, September 13, 2010
It's raining, it's pouring....
but, don't worry, I don't usually hear old men snoring. ;)It's been a wet week. Every day (almost) it is SO hot in the morning. Then at about 2 or 3 in the afternoon (sometimes sooner) it POURS. I'm talking buckets. Anyway, it's kind of hard to find motivation to go out those days because it's not fun to do missionary work if you're soaked to the skin. But the rain usually only lasts a couple of hours, and then it's a nice cool temperature for the rest of the day.
Anyway, enough of the weather report...This week, we gave a baptismal date to a guy named John. He said he would prepare to be baptized on October 30, and I am pretty hopeful. He is in college and living away from home (but he's a lot like I was in college... and goes home like every weekend). So we just need to convince him to stay in Roxas for one weekend so he can experience church.... We're praying!
We had Mission Tour last week. On Wednesday, President Edwards came to Roxas. I got to meet a General Authority. He gave an awesome training about how to develop charity and humility (which wasn't even planned, he asked if we had any questions and 2 Elders asked about Charity and Humility). Then he talked about how to ask inspired questions... something that I definitely need to work on. Anyway, it was pretty cool to meet him and learn from him.
And today, I'm going to Iloilo for a leadership training. I get to travel with 4 elders. no sisters. (because it's for trainers and leaders only...) It's going to be interesting. But I'm SUPER excited for the training because it's all about the new curriculum. I'm ready to learn and come back and apply everything.
Well, I think that's about all for this week!
Love always,
Sister Jennie Adams
Anyway, enough of the weather report...This week, we gave a baptismal date to a guy named John. He said he would prepare to be baptized on October 30, and I am pretty hopeful. He is in college and living away from home (but he's a lot like I was in college... and goes home like every weekend). So we just need to convince him to stay in Roxas for one weekend so he can experience church.... We're praying!
We had Mission Tour last week. On Wednesday, President Edwards came to Roxas. I got to meet a General Authority. He gave an awesome training about how to develop charity and humility (which wasn't even planned, he asked if we had any questions and 2 Elders asked about Charity and Humility). Then he talked about how to ask inspired questions... something that I definitely need to work on. Anyway, it was pretty cool to meet him and learn from him.
And today, I'm going to Iloilo for a leadership training. I get to travel with 4 elders. no sisters. (because it's for trainers and leaders only...) It's going to be interesting. But I'm SUPER excited for the training because it's all about the new curriculum. I'm ready to learn and come back and apply everything.
Well, I think that's about all for this week!
Love always,
Sister Jennie Adams
Monday, September 6, 2010
Happiness and Humility
So this week, I've felt a little stressed. Our investigators aren't really what I thought they were, so we have been trying to figure out ways to get more. The urgency to find new people to teach, coupled with the fact that I was feeling at a loss as to HOW, filled my heart with depression (Alma 26:27). But yesterday, my family (the one in the picture I sent last week (see last weeks blog, the Llave family: Rose, Karen and Pabs)) worked with us. They brought their strong testimonies and their tricycle. It was an awesome experience. The lessons are so much more powerful when you have a local member to back you up. I went home feeling much better than I had all week (even though no investigators came to church). I have some fresh ideas and a fresh look on a fresh week. Things are looking up.
I also had a lesson in humility this week. To understand this, we must rewind my life almost a year (yeah, a year). When I was in the MTC, there was one thing that they repeated over and over. No matter where we were, this piece of advice, commandment really, was repeated. Every day. And then in our last devotional, it was really stressed. Every time I heard this commandment, I thought, "duh, I know that... no worries here." This commandment is "Don't Do Stupid Things." Now, fast forward again to last Thursday. In the Philippines, there are frequent brownouts. It's normal, so to save on batteries, we keep candles on hand for light in case the brownout happens at night. Thursday, there was a brownout, so when we came home from work, we lit some candles and planned as usual ("no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing"). We finished planning and the power still wasn't on. I won't go into detail, but basically, because we were done planning, and I got distracted with an index card and the candle wax, the card ended up bursting into flames, and my right index finger came out of the ordeal with a giant blister on the end. It hurt. But I think it hurt my pride more than my finger. All I could think was, "thatwas really stupid. Didn't I listen in the MTC?" I kind of cried to myself, but not because of how painful it was. Because of how much work I felt would be effected by this small, simple, stupid act. I wondered how I would sleep that night (because it hurt pretty bad), how I would do laundry, how I would cook, how I would do pretty much everything a missionary needs to do. I tell you, you don't know how much you use your right index finger until you no longer have use of it. Anyway, before I went to sleep, I remembered that frequently repeated statement in the MTC. "Don't Do Stupid Things." But this time, the thought that followed it was much more humble than it was last fall, "Ok, I'll do all I can to never do stupid things again." So, in case you are all wondering, they aren't just talking to the Elders (sorry...) when they say "Don't Do Stupid Things." Also, in case you are wondering, my finger is doing quite well. It actually stopped hurting before I woke up Friday (which I am very grateful for), and it is well on it's way to recovery. But until then (and probably for a long while after that), every time I look at it, I will remember that very valuable lesson.
So folks, that's all for now. I love you all, Sister Custodia is doing awesome, and THANK YOU for your prayers, letters and support.
Love,
Sister Adams
P.S.
I got a letter from Ann Moon (which I am in the middle of answering... just wait about 2 weeks for it to get to you)
and a letter from Jimmy and Taylor
and a letter from Grandma
THANK YOU!
P.P.S. Also, I want my cousin Elder Ward to know that I am sending a letter... and that he's pretty much the coolest missionary I know!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sister Custodia
My new companion is Sister Custodia from Laguna (Philippines). We have had an awesome few days! Full of traveling,and walking and being SO completely exhausted that we fall into bed at about 10 pm. :D Missionary life is GOOD!
We had Stake Conference yesterday, which was pretty awesome. The attendance for our ward was 108, which is about 30 more than the average. It's kinda sad, cause I think they mostly come to see friends from other wards... *sigh* they've got the action right, we just need to work on the reason. haha.
President and Sister Pagaduan were invited to be speakers at our Stake conference. I really enjoyed President's talk. He mentioned that now he knows what the missionaries mean when they say that the members in a certain area are "mabuot" (nice). Haha, he was like, "mabuot = pagkaon" (food). Then he said that the missionaries are needing to buy new pants... Haha, he is really funny. And Sister talked about being humble. It was really nice. There was also an area 70 there, Elder Costales. (I have NO idea if I spelled that right...)
Well, if I thought time flew before, I'm pretty sure it's going to FLY now. It's really weird to think that I've been in Roxas for 5 months now... Yeah. By the end of this transfer it will be 6 months. CRAZY. But I absolutely love it here, and I would stay here for 5 more transfers if I could... Anyway, Sister Custodia and I are working hard! We're hoping for a baptism on September 25, but it's not completely sure. The rest of our candidates are in October.
We're looking for the elect. In the mean time, I'll stay away from the mosquitoes and dogs!
Til next time,
Love
Sister Adams
Monday, August 23, 2010
When President Pagaduan Calls
you naturally get a little nervous. The AP texted on Saturday night and said that President wanted to talk to me and asked when he could call. We said ok... we were planning for Sunday, but you can put that on hold for a phone call from the President. I was a little nervous cause he just wanted to talk to me, not any of the other Sisters in the apartment... SO we waited for the call... it never came. I went to bed on Saturday night not sure what to think. Why in the world does he want to talk to me??? Sister Gonimil joked with me and said, "Sister Adams, you're training!" But my reaction to that was, "no, I'm not." Anyway, I was really curious... President doesn't just call missionaries for no reason. I thought it maybe had something to do with something I wrote in my weekly report last week. I had asked a question... but I really had no idea. So yesterday, we got up early because we had business at the church at 7 am (just wait... one story at a time). Anyway, President called as we were walking out the door. He asked if he could speak with me privately for a minute. Then he told me that he had been on his knees for the last few weeks and his knees were swollen. Then he said that I am to be a trainer for one of the new missionaries this transfer. Yes, I too, must step out of the comfort of having a companion who has been here for a while, and step into the GIANT shoes of trainer. I get to pick up my new companion on Friday. I'm really excited, but only because I know that this is revelation and therefore, I will not be the only one training this new missionary. Thank heavens!
SO the reason we were going to the church at 7 am (actually we were late, we were supposed to be there at 6:30). To get the answer to that, we have to back up to Friday. On Friday, there was a brown out. Which means that the electric pump that puts water into the baptismal font in about 45 minutes didn't work... so it would take about 3 hours to fill it up. So, Sister Mindaluz had to wait for Sunday to be baptized (Saturday didn't work for them). But, in order to be confirmed the same day, she needed to be baptized before the 8 am service started. The family was there bright and early. I am so happy. These people are the highlight of Roxas. The best part is that they have cousins that live in this ward too, and some of them have started coming to church. It's awesome to see new members doing missionary work. :D
I love hearing about what you all are doing! Keep writing!
Love,Sister Adams
SO the reason we were going to the church at 7 am (actually we were late, we were supposed to be there at 6:30). To get the answer to that, we have to back up to Friday. On Friday, there was a brown out. Which means that the electric pump that puts water into the baptismal font in about 45 minutes didn't work... so it would take about 3 hours to fill it up. So, Sister Mindaluz had to wait for Sunday to be baptized (Saturday didn't work for them). But, in order to be confirmed the same day, she needed to be baptized before the 8 am service started. The family was there bright and early. I am so happy. These people are the highlight of Roxas. The best part is that they have cousins that live in this ward too, and some of them have started coming to church. It's awesome to see new members doing missionary work. :D
I love hearing about what you all are doing! Keep writing!
Love,Sister Adams
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