3rd letter who's counting

That was a nice string of questions so i'll try to anwer each one of them.

is the newness wearing off?
Yes the newness is wearing off. I wrote last week how i couldn't believe it was time to write again. Its like that x 2. Going by so quick. I only have 716 days left. yikes! 

How is the food anyway? 
The food is sufficent. Feel fat, but maybe thats because my eating abilities keep getting chalanged by other missionaries. These boys fail to recognize that I once ate 12 hotdogs in 10 minutes. I'm the champ. But yeah, somedays are better than others. Straight up cafeteria food. Excited to eat chicken feet and stomach a-la-carte. (side note: last night it was like 90 degrees in our room. I think they were preping us for sleeping in S. America.) 

Do you like your zone? 
The zone is awesome. There were some kids that were too-cool-for school but they left monday so all is well in zone 51. My district is by far the coolest one. They are the best, everyone's super funny. We have this one kid that is an Opera singer. He's awesome. I don't know if i mentioned in an earlier letter but Morgan's cousin is in my district. He's the best. We knew each other up at school. 

How many Colombia missionaries are in your zone?
4 others going to Colombia Bogota Norte (all in my district)
Elder Naumu (huntsville, ut)- my companion
Elder Furmanski (bountiful)
Elder Seaton (atlanta)
Elder Burns (layton)

3 Going to Barranquilla
(Elder Jenkins whom you mentioned is going there)
4 Going to Paraguay

How is the language coming? 
The language is coming thats for sure. Kind of forced to dive into it now that's for sure now that our teachers only speak in Spanish. We've learned things that you learn after 4 years in Spanish. Crazy stuff. I can write it and read it very well, but when i hear it i'll miss a couple key words so it doesn't make since. And when i try to look up words they say I think its one word when its really two and so i can't find it and by then they're talking about something completely different. Its not really normal to move at this pace here but our teachers think we can handle it. 


Soo the Temple is closed until next week for cleaning, so we weren't able to go today. Such a bummer. So we went back to our room, I wrote some letters and read, while E. Naumu napped. 
This week the new Mission Presidents were all here. It's been kind of funny, they have security guards around all the enterences to the building they are all in. Possibly because they don't want us to contaminate them with the swine or the fact that general athorities are like rock stars around these parts.My mission is getting a new one, his name is President Hacking, I was really looking forward to meeting him, but they decided they aren't going to do that anymore. Would have been really cool to meet him but oh well! 
Consolation - Jeffery R. Holland is speaking tonight! What's up! (like i said, rock stars around here. Me and Elder naumu are going an hour early so we can get a good seat.)
Consolation #2 We can play soccer now. They weren't letting us play any contact sports because of the swine (basketball, soccer, softball??). But there are only 5 people left in ISOLATION. Soo funny. We still can't shake hands though, so we swine pound it.

So yeah, I think the highlight of my week is when we get to go 
the Referal Center(RC). It's the best. We get to call people and see if they recieved there free item (i.e. dvds, bibles, book of mormons) that they ordered from the television. I mentioned some people last week, and i met a couple more people this week. I was able to talk to this man named Eric for a half hour. It was great, he said he wasn't interested in us sending him the Book of Mormon at the begining but once we got talking he really opened up to me. He told me why he had been searching for God, and how he's just had a really tough life. I was able to teach him the Restoration of the Gospel (lesson 1) and he didn't even know it, it was great. By the end our talk he wanted me to send him the BoM and we talk about great chapters in it, and I told him I was going to call in a little bit to see how the reading went. He also told me he would look into going to Church (mormon.org has this cool app where you just put your zip code and it tells you the closest church). Can't wait to talk to him again. I could feel the spirit as we talked and I know he did too. He committed to pray as well. I also talked to another guy for about 15 minutes that I'm going to follow up on. I love this work.

So yeah Shaq traded(Status on Stoudamire?), MJ dead (how old is he?). Oqurrih Mountain Temple Angel Moroni was struck by lightning and it turned black(true/false)? All in two weeks. crazy stuff.

La Iglesia es Verdadero

Love,

E. Adams

Week #2

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't believe it was time to write you guys again. It felt like it was just yesterday that i was setting down to tell you guys about my first days at the MTC. Needless to say, I can already tell that my mission is going to be over before I know it. (Ha, i'm sure your saying the same thing mom??)

This week has been great, were really getting in to the swing of things. We're on the same schedule as the rest of the zone now, and there are already new missionaries so were not the new kids anymore (that was quick). So basically that schedule is, wake up, eat. study. eat. gym. study. eat. study. study. sleep. Its great!

I get more and more stoked for Colombia everyday, as I become a better missionary. Its harder than i thought, we had our first practice teaching this week and we boarderline blew it. But we learned so much from it! i think this next one will be great, we scheduled a couple tutor sessions and were much more prepared (Like they say here at the MTC "if fail to plan, you plan to fail"). 

I went to the temple this moring with my district, it was great. I love the temple so much. I gurentee that everytime you go you will learn so much, and feel so much closer to God each and everytime. 

I've seen all my friends that are here too see, its been great! Morgan's cousin is in my district so we basically spend all day together. love him. Todd Rodgers classroom is on my floor so i see him everyday, its great, Brett and AJ i see every couple of days so thats great, yeah! great!!

So we went to the referal center this week, it was awesome. I was told that you just sit there and listen to voicemails the whole time. I did here a couple, but talked to sooo many great people! One man by the name of Earnest had ordered a Book of Mormon, and had the missionaries come to visit. He told me that he wanted to read the Book of Mormon all the way through before he met with the missionaries again, I asked him when he was going to finish it, he saidJuly 1st. So July 1st im going to call Earnest again and check up on him. We talked a little bit about the Book of Mormon, and he told me he knew what he had read was true, I told him to read Moroni 10:3-5. He told me he would. I talked to another man named Michael and he requested a missionary visit but they hadn't come by, he asked if i would send him a book of mormon in the mean time, and he told me he would tell all his friends that would be interested.

Mike told me that I should make them my investigators, and that i should check up on them, and teach them the precious truths of the Gospel. Such a good idea. 

Spanish is coming along, we learned concepts that We didn't talk about in two years of spanish in a week, so its going very fast but im staying on top of it. 

Miss you guys and hope your dong great! Love all the letters and packages!

Love,
E. Adams

Elder Adams address

I wanted to post Jake's address for anyone who would like to write or he would also welcome packages!!

Elder Jacob Adams
MTC Mailbox #237-H-10
Bogota Colombia North
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604

I used Dearelder.com and they will print it and get it to his box by the next day.

1st letter MTC

Ok So I was in Macy's with Mike and Steph Glen and Josh. Glen said I got a email from. Jake and I said no way! I thought he was kidding. Then my phone buzzed and it was a email Yea! I sat down on the furniture for sale and started to read the tears would not stop flowing. A sales clerk came and ask if she could help and I looked at her through my tears and said no I just got my first letter from my son on a mission. (Its was the Macy's in Provo so she understood.) She said let me get you a tissue!!! Enjoy this great letter!


Hola!So I have never been happier in my life. It is so fullfilling to get up at 6:30 and labor nonstop on the work until 10:30. (thats right, I ENJOY waking up at 6:30, and I'm in a good mood. haha make sure Sister Carroll sees that.) It is so rewarding to go to bed and just pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow (btw thanks mom for the sheets, quality linens, muy bieno). They say that the first three days are kinda of a drag, and that it picks up. So can't wait for it to get even better!My companion is great. His name is Elder Josh Naumu(His grandpa is from Hawaii, thats where the name comes from), hes from Huntsville, Utah. He spent this last year at BYU, he lived in the same hall as Nick Hardy, Jason Score, etc. But we never ran into each other. Its to bad because he's awesome. The first night when we were meeting our district, (btw they are the best, Elder Jake Dance is in my district, he's Morgan's cousin. Love him. Can't wait for this swine pandemic to end so we can play futbol together) I was sitting next to him and i already had so much love for him, and could tell we're going to create quite the friendship through our mutual service to the Lord, Plus, he laughs at my lame jokes, so life is good. (I'm starting to feel like have this letter is going to be in parenthesis, but who cares!). We really have a great thing going where we find things that can make each other more obedient and we put them to action. If there was just one thing i have learned already Is to do it. do it right. do it now. When we strive to live righteously in all things, God blesses us, and and the Holy Ghost draws closer and closer to us.Spanish is going muy bieno. I can already testify the Gift of Tounges is real. I have been here three days and I feel like I have already learned more spanish than in the two years i took spanish. Part of the reason is that i actually pay attention and want to learn. (insert quote from Einstien about how learning with out desire is useless, and a waste of time, but i don't have that with me, nor can I google at the MTC, which reminds me to tell you that I am surviving without my sweet, sweet technology. Ocassionaly I will feel like I forgot my phone, or its buzzing in my pocket, or i'll here something that sounds like the begining of my ringtone. But I am trying my best to leave behind thoughts and things of the world.) I have learned if we want help from the Lord, we must do our best, and thats when he steps in for the (thats how 19 year old boys learn how to speak Spanish, Chinese, Russian, etc in a couple months)So you guys are still in utah? Loved to here about you guys using public transportation (i.e. the lite rail). Its the best. I hope that this letter was long enough. I miss you guys. I hope that it is comforting to know that i am truely happy here. I have no doubt that what I am doing is the will of God, I have grown so much closer to Christ through my service already, I love putting 100% of my thoughts and efforts on the work. Elder Naumu and I try to use our time as effectively as we can, we look up the words we don't know in spanish as we walk, and write them down, we set goals, and strive to achieve them. I can't wait to go Colombia to serve the people and teach them the loving restored Gospel of Jesucristo. I hope this was long enough.I love you all.

Curb side drop off

We dropped Jake off at the curb on June 10th.  No.... it is not any easier than sitting through the missionary film and singing call to serve.  I am so happy for him and know he will be a great missionary.  I will post his letter when I get it.  I think his first p-day will be this Saturday so we are waiting anxiously.   I have his MTC address and I know he would love to hear from you.

MTC at last

Jessica had to say her goodbyes from Phoenix.  I am not sure if that wasn't easier.  We missed having her family with us. 

See ya in 2 sister!

President Tillman came to our home Sunday night and set Jake apart to be a missionary!  We all felt the spirit and know there are people in Colombia waiting for Elder Adams.

Setting apart

We had a dinner for Jake before the stake president came to set him apart.  He said his goodbyes to the kids.  I don't think they know how long two years really is.  

Uncle Jake