E-mail 12-10-12

Dec 10, 2012

Bonjour!!! Thanks for the awesome emails. Y’all be rockin. This week was awesome, at times, but mostly it was just rough .  This transfer I am really going to have to learn how to speak le Français!  It’s been a super humbling experience. The majority of the "humble pie" I ate this week came on Saturday night. We had a lesson with our new investigator Matthieu. He is a super nice guy that doesn’t believe in Christ. So my goal going into the lesson was to help him understand the importance and the role of our savior Jesus Christ. He was not having any of it. He ate me alive. There is no worse feeling then getting shut down in French because there is so little I can say back! The only thing I knew to do was to bear my testimony. He wasn’t having any of that either. He kicked us right out of the house. I will never forget the way I felt, even if I live to be a million.   It was the worst feeling ever. I was not as prepared as I should have been and for that reason alone he may never accept the gospel in this life. I felt horrible. I know those experiences must happen and I must learn from them to become a better missionary but my oh my was it a rough experience. Needless to say I have been studying extra hard on how to teach people who don’t believe in Christ. It’s been good for me! Learning about the Savior of the World never gets old. I love this time of year that we have to learn, remember, and reflect on his infinite atonement, his crucial birth, and his glorious resurrection! Yesterday I was quietly thinking to myself during personal study where I would if it wasn’t for the life of my savior Jesus Christ? Then I quickly thought to myself... what a stupid question!!!! I would be NOTHING. I would be NOWHERE! My life would be WORTHLESS.  Its because of Him and his infinite and eternal atonement that I can even repent and have the chance of returning to my Heavenly Father. He is the one who created this wonderful earth! I love my Savior!

This week I studied my missionary call, you know the one that every missionary gets that says where he is going and where he will be serving, and I learned that there are many awesome promises outlined within its 6 paragraphs. I don’ t have time to explain them all but one hit me hard. "Greater blessings and more happiness than you have ever experienced await you as you HUMBLY and PRAYERFULLY serve the Lord in this labor of love among his children." True that!  I have never been happier and I have never been bombarded with so many blessings from the Lord! Serving the Lord is the hardest thing I have ever been asked to do. Loving the people of France is the second. And Learning French is third. (or 1st haha) But trying my hardest to be successful at all three of them has blessed me more then i could’ve ever imagined! I am nowhere even close to where I need to be but each day the Lord comforts me and lets me know that I am on the right track! (or relatively close haha).   This week out DL has asked me, to ask you, if you could pray for us as a district. We have made a goal to get 20 baptisms this transfer. I know it’s possible! Thanks for your prayers. yall rock!

Life is the best. Thanks for all your prayers! I have surely felt them. Stay awesome! Que Dieu vous benisse! 

Bises Bises Bises,

Elder Adamz

E-mail 12-2-12

Bonjourrrrr! I can’t believe it it is already Decembre! So crazy. I love this time of year! Chartres is way into Christmas too, so it makes it that much better. They have so many sweet displays of lights and what not. I have taken some pretty sweet pics. (I’ll send them to you one day if you’re lucky :) Thanks for the package! It was pretty clever of you to put "thanksgiving in a box." That Turkey Jerky was way good. And of course the potatoes.  But of course my favorite part was the letters & and pictures of my cute sister and her family. Mostly just Raegen and Greyson haha. They are a couple of studs. Raegen looks so BIG! Pretty crazy. Its only been like 6 months. I can’t imagine what they will look like after two years. And yes I do have some sweet photos of last weeks football game under the Eiffel Tower. I’ll be sure to send them for Christmas, don’t you worry.

I have been eating pretty well. I can’t complain. The main reason I am loosing weight is because of all the walking we do here in Chartres. They used to have a car here, but right before I arrived but President took it away. There are some days where we have no time to eat but usually we find  time to have a couple of meals each day. My favorite is anything with potatoes in it. I have kinda mastered how to cook potatoes, not gonna lie. I can’t get enough of them :) I got skills in the kitchen haha. And to answer your question... there are fast food restaurants here in France. We have 3 McDonalds and a KFC here in Chartres. Not sure if they are any good because I have never eaten at any of them but I suppose they are the same except for the portion size. Everything is SMALL here. Like ridiculously small. Like it makes me crazy to know that people eat things so small haha. I don’t know how people do it. That part about France kinda makes me love America a little bit more haha. But i still LOVE France.  A lot.

I almost forgot to mention transfers! haha. I will be staying here in Chartres of course but my comp is leaving :(   He’s gonna be a stud ly zone leader in Nancy. My new comp is Elder Harris. Should be a good time. I keep telling myself that change is good, even though it is hard and I wish it didn’t have to happen so often haha. Things are going so good right now here in Chartres! I hope and pray it will continue!! I am excited for this next transfer. We have a few amis who are progressing like crazy. I know if they continue to keep there commitments/engagements they will be ready for baptism this transfer! Our newest ami Bairing is so awesome! He is from Chad, Africa. We have recently just finished teaching him the plan of salvation. He loved it! He is still in the process of praying and finding out if it’s the true plan that God made for him. I already know it is but I hope and pray he can know for himself that he’s a Child of God with a purpose in life! At the end of our lesson last night he gave an awesome prayer. He told Heavenly Father that he loves the plan of salvation and he wants to know it is true! Such a powerful prayer, especially for someone who never prayed up until two weeks ago! Its so awesome being  a missionary. I learn so much each day. Sometimes I think I learn more from my investigators then they learn from me and my comp. I thought I was supposed to be the other way around? haha. I have really learned that when I forget about myself and all of the things I have left behind to be here in France... the Lord blesses me with an increase of knowledge! Sometimes more knowledge than my big dome can process. I’m pretty sure when I started my mission I was the dumbest missionary alive hahaha. In the MTC I was shocked EACH minute of EACH day by the amount of knowledge that EACH person had. Not just some, but EACH and EVERY person knew so much more then me. I was the kid in class that had to cheat and look at the person to my side when the teacher said, "turn to Ether" because I had no idea where it was! haha. I still know very little about the gospel but I know so much more than I did six months ago. In ways I am very grateful for my lack of knowledge because it gives me so much motivation each and every day to work and study hard. Sorry mom and dad if this hurts your feelings hahaha. It’s not that you didn’t teach me lots before the mish, its just that I chose not to listen and remember all of the things that you taught me! You’re the best parents ever :)

Thanks for being awesome! Keep on keepin on. Thanks for all of your prayers in my behalf! (especially for my French). I need all the help I can get! Que Dieu Vous bénisses. (God Bless You). 

Bises,

Elder Adams

P.S. - Brother. I had Foo-Foo this week with my African friend. Stuff is pretty dang good. Tastes like play dough. Not sure I could eat it every day like you did but I can’t say that I hated it. I got some sweet pics of it. And lots of pictures!! I love pictures(hint hint). I’ll send you a ton if you do the same :) hahha jk.

E-mail 11-26-12

Sounds like y’all survived Thanksgiving. That’s good. Thanksgiving is always the best. I have not yet received the package from you and Tristin. It should come soon though. Did you get the package I sent? How was the chocolate? Life changing? Good. The turkey bowl game was pretty awesome. We played on a huge field right next to the Eiffel Tower. #FieldOfDreamz. I was playin like a boss. Threw a couple of TD's. NO biggy. HAHA jk. I still stink at football! Safe to say I couldn’t walk for three days after though. I am SO OUT OF SHAPE. kinda sucks. I have lost another 8 pounds though, so that’s pretty neat. I’m like right at 190. At the MTC I was 214! Bizzare eh. Walking 25 miles a day really helps with the gut uhh. #Blessing. You liked my new coat huh? I like it too. I won’t tell you how much it cost ;) #70$

That’s sweet that Scotty and Alonzo got their mission calls. They will be leggit. Pretty crazy that Tommy is already an assistant! Kid has got way to much swag. He hasn’t even been out a year yet. It really doesn’t surprise me though. He’s a boss. He will be awesome. I’m glad you found humor in that heartfelt letter I wrote you last Thanksgiving! That was not supposed to be funny haha. Je blague. Elder Adams never was good at being serious until he decided to serve the mish.

This last week was pretty awesome. I had to grow up A LOT. I went on a bleu exchange! (When two way young Elders go on an exchange). It was a huge step of faith for my French! I had to make all the telephone calls (so hard in French, but I’m making progress) and lead the discussions. And I had to get us from the center of Paris all the way to Chartres. A lot harder than it sounds haha. It was neat. During contacting the Lord blessed me so much. I was talking to French people all by my self! Just like a Frenchy. Without memorized phrases haha. I talked to three different people for about thirty minutes each. I never knew it was possible until now. I was pretty nervous for the exchange but I am so glad it happened. It has given me a lot more confidence with my French. My big head is finally starting to understand this French stuff. Sometimes I even think in French! BEST FEELING EVER. 

Yesterday rocked. We taught our new ami Bairing (From Chad, Africa) about the Plan of Salvation. He is amazing! He has kept every engagement we have given thus far and is super open to learning. He loves reading from the Book of Mormon and has prayed everyday since we have started meeting with him. (9 days). He has got a BRIGHT future. Yesterday at the end of the lesson I asked if had any questions about what we had just taught. He said, "Yeah, does everyone know about this wonderful plan of salvation?" We explained that not all that many people know. And he replied, "That’s sad!" He is so right! I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach people about the plan of salvation! The plan that God has made for each of his children! THE BEST PLAN EVER. 

Oh yeah and on Saturday I got to go to Géant (grocery store, about the size of 10 super Walmarts) with our ward and collect food for the Banque Alimentaire (food for poor). It was pretty awesome. We weren’t allowed to wear our badges though. Weirdest feeling ever haha. It was huge for my French. I got to practice my French with about 4554523877458 people who were rushing into the store. I'll guess that I successfully convinced about 100 people to donate. I wish it was that easy with the GOSPEL! It was a pretty sweet experience. I'll tell of one unsuccessful experience haha. I stopped a girl and explained what we were doing. She looked at me with a crooked face and said, "I didn’t understand a word you said." That hurt my heart a little. And then she decided to make it worse when I tried to explain that I am from America and I’m still in the process of learning French.  She said, "Cool, you should probably go back. You don’t have much of a chance with French." OUCHHH! I may or may not have cried a little after that ahha jk. But then later I thought she must have understood my French if she told me to go back to America! BOOM! I win. She understood :):)

Have a good week! Thanks for all of your prayers in my behalf. I am truly blessed! I have the best family and friends ever, and I am serving in the best mission in the world. Life ROCKS. Stay awesome. Have a good week. Keep the faith. 

Love Elder Adams

E-mail 11-18-12

Only one question? Not to shabby haha. Yes my feet are just fine. Pas de probleme! My bunions are turning into rocks. Pretty neat ehh. Can't even feel them anymore. #DreamComeTrue. Sounds like you have all had a good week up in Tahoe. Thats pretty sweet. Love it up there. Its a lot funner when its not snowing and you can play golf tho. Just saying. I can't believe Jeff is already home. Thats nuts. I swear he like just left like a month ago. Its pretty crazy how time flies. Kinda scares me. Tell him hi. Sounds like your gonna have quite theThanksgiving. Thirty people is kinda a lot. Lucky. I can't complain tho. We are having a Turkey Bowl Game on Thursday in downtown Paris! Football on the mish. Pretty sweet right. And we are having a huge pot luck. Life rocks! They don't celebrate Thanksgiving, here but that's okay, we'll make our own!

This week was one of the best! Shaking an apostles hand is always a real treat. Elder Andersen was so awesome! Easily the most powerful talk and most relevant I ever heard in my life. He started his talk with like five stories. The man is Hilarious. He had some pretty awesome jokes. I would retell them but I don't know how haha. But I do remember the first things he said when he stood at the podium. "Elders and sisters... you're not serving in Brazil! You're serving in France. One of the hardest missions in the world! You may not baptize that many people but that doesn't mean your mission is a failure." Not a bad start. He definitely had me listening haha. The main purpose of his talk was to help us find joy in our work, understand that baptism isn't everything, and to understand who we are. I got from it that finding joy in our work is all up to ourselves. When you wake up in the morning and think to yourself today is going to be rough... its going to be just that! But if you wake up with a good attitude and are excited for the opportunity to work... your day will rock. Sometimes it takes getting put down and spit on by 200 people before you have the opportunity to find that one investigator you have been praying for! Hard work is always worth it. I also loved how he explained that baptism isn't always the most important. He believes that one of the most important things to focus on here in France is the younger generation of members. To many youth fall away and never come back to church. So true. I would guess that only about 20 percent of the youth in the church here are strong and active. Pretty crazy. Another thing I got from the talk is that missions are hard but they are a lot easier when you know who you are! I have been called by a prophet of God to serve the people of France. My Father in Heaven wouldn't have sent me here if he didn't think i could do it! He wants me to be successful. And I'll be successful when I live by his commandments and follow all of the mission rules with exactitude! Not just keeping the ones I like. ALL. If I was to ALMOST keep all of them, I would ALMOST receive all of the blessings. Almost isn't enough. I am here for a reason! A reason I may not know quite all of yet but a reason nonetheless. The last thing I learned is that baptism is so important but its not something we should grade ourselves on. I was sent here to baptize people into the church of Jesus Christ... but that doesn't mean I know how many or when they will take place. Maybe it only happens once? CA VA! Thats life! It wasn't meant to be easy. We wouldn't learn if life was easy. Opposition in all things is a good things. Kinda sucks while its happening but it HAS to happen. Alright. That's about all I can remember. #BrainIsFried.

Have a good week. I sent a package the other day. Be on the look out. I may or may not have put some of the worlds best chocolate in it. Your welcome :) ... Can you give me some Jimmer updates? Please. I miss him. Those brothas better be passing him the ball. Thanks for being awesome. Keep on keepin on! Life is the best. I am THANKFUL for all of y'all. You rock. Eat some pomegranate salad for me. And taters!

Bises,

Elder Adams