Beloved Suba

familia,

To first set things straight, I have a change, along with my companion. We all knew he was heading out, because he already has 6 months here, and we thought that I was going to stay. But, My comp is heading to bogota, along with me. I'm returning to my beloved Suba! I was just there 6 months ago. ha. So it looks like ill be having another suba christmas. They should have just called me the Colombia Bogota - Suba Mission. My companion will be elder gardiner, he has basically the same time as me in the mission. Its rare here in the mission to have two gringos together, i hope my spanish doesnt worsen. Nevertheless, im excited. Mainly because of being soo close the people who i grew to love so much. As a matter of fact, 5 converts that i had while in la campina moved to the ward that ill be in, and are now less active. So it's going to be great to be able to visit them and help them come back to the fold. Also! Familia Beroy is getting ready to enter the temple, so i'll be able to go with them! Lifes so good. Yes, ill be in an area for a long time, but at least not a 1 and a half like michael curry!

It makes me a little sad to leave this area. We were getting things moving, the ward was progressing, these past couple weeks. We had a killer week teaching Lorena. We taught her, she opened up more, and we were able to give her a blessing to quiet smoking. I felt impressed to tell her that she could never smoke again. The next day she called us, super excited telling us how much temptation there was, but she was able to resist. She is progressing a lot, and I hope after trying to fellowship her with a member she'll still be able to progress even though both of are leaving.

I'm sorry. this letter is short. but i gotta go!

But i hope you guys enjoy the rest of your trip! ive told you once, ill tell you again, mom and dad, you have always been my example of what a marriage full of love is. i love you both so much. and i really owe everything to you. Being away from our family, for a long time, i've really come to understand all that i have. We are so blessed.

i love you all. soo much.

e. adams

Bishop's family dressed as "The Adams" what an honor!!!

Loving the Boyaca

Mom! and family,

i'd like to apoligize if i've already started off my letter biased, but I soooo do love my mom!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I won't go off on old age jokes like i did with dad, cause we all know your a little more sensative. nevertheless, i'm so glad that you had a killer birthday party and recieved two elder adams-approved gifts, a new camera and a mac product. we're so alike.

Today, we went to a little town that's known for their arts and crafts, one of the sisters bought a doll at one store, and then later saw a different one that she wish she would have bought instead, i quickly told her ''Well, if you had my mom, for a mom, you wouldn't had done that.'' haha. i told her, ''you got shop for the best deals before you buy, duh!!!''. haha i didn't really say it like that, but i let her know that she sure was missing out for not having you for a mom.

Normally, i try to focus a lot, not let my emotions get to me, but in this moment, thinking about you, mom, i almost cried, almost!, thinking about how great you are. thanks for everything, really everything, you have ever done for me, and what you mean to our family. i lovelove you.

Anyways, so yes, we went to a little town, it's actually part of our area, its called Nobsa. It's ''cute''. super small, basically just a couple houses, the cathedral, and a street of art stores. I'm really loving boyaca. They have a bunch of little towns and every town has their ''thing''. Next week a want to go to a different town that is famous for making soccerballs made out of pure cow hyde with the hair and everything. SWEET! and it's been persevered in the orginal colonial form. Haha, before the change one of the sisters that was in my district before and who is know in my district was telling her companion that ''Elder Adams is super cool, he likes to visit and do all the touristy things, like us...'' hahaha! how lame am I!

Yes there are changes this next week. i'll keep you posted. most likely, i stay, my companion leaves. He already has like 6 months here. i'm down with that.

Were working on improving the ward. There is talk that the stake might change to a district if it stays the way it is. We did have a pretty cool activity friday, a costume party! were were able to bring about 5 investigators, they seemed to like it! hope they can come this next week.

I want to fill this next change full of activities, to wake up this ward to realize how great it is to be a Mormon. I'm praying to have a companion that will help me wake this ward up! I'm thinking soccer tornaments, i'll thinking family reunion styled olympics, egg tosses and all! If you got any ideas send em my way!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALIANA! I understand, i've missed your ownly two birthday parties, but i promise i'll be there for the next one!

I love you all! but today, i love my mom more!!!!

e. adams

p.s. yes i got your package. the burt's bees wax is doing wonders! thanks !!!

also, their are always missionaries that want hymnals in english. maybe you could look in to see how much they are, you k now for a good christmas gift!!

Jake Wolfgang Puck

A visit from the Prophet!

Mi familia,

buenas tardes. I loved loved loved seeing the pictures of the kids (as they are referred to). Seeing Aliana blew my mind. She's huge! Liz = Jess. identical. Out of all my years in my persuits for the best costume, I never was a gorilla. This Preston guy always has me beat.

And yes. They do celebrate halloween here in colombia. It's not as big And they don't give away near as much candy, nevertheless it was cool to see the little kid's costumes. One of the biggest reasons why it's less celebrated here is because latin america is very, umm, I forgot the word, ( you know when someone believes you can't open an umbella indoors, or walk under a ladder, or break a window because its bad luck, feel free to implement said word. oh gosh my english. horrible.) Anyways, so they believe alot in witchcraft and bad spirits. I've heard more about witches in the past three months then I had in my whole life. So for fear of that they focus more on that conatation of halloween than kids going crazy for candy. I've had to battle to protect my beloved holidays reputation here.

Today we went and played some more football. Then after the sisters complaining that we don't ever do anything as a district, i decided i was going to put that spegetti sauce to good use that mom sent us and make some good ol´ spegetti. It went well. super good. THANKS MOM! As you will see from attached pictures, i'm trying to keep my culinary skills thriving. Here they've started calling me Elder ´´Wolfgang Puck´´ Adams. Not really, just wish.

This sunday was the best---They had a stake (country) conference for all of colombia. They sent out flyers saying that an apostle was probably going to be in the broadcast. Turned out 4 general authorities were there, one of which was elder Richard g. Scott, and Pres. Monson!!! Elder Scott speaks spanish perfectly, impressive (fun fact--- elder Scott was the mission president of elder Cristofferson). As for Pres. Monson he had a translater. elder Scott talked to the youth, using the best examples. One that he applied to missionaries is that those that decide not to serve missions are like birds that never decided to leave the nest and fly, never being able to reach their given potential. Revelation was truly manifested through the prophet of the Lord as he basically addressed all the problems in OUR ward here. He talked a lot about the duty of home and visiting teachers, of the need to visit the less active members of the church, mixed with what I worte about last week, being the power to save souls through the power of charity. he quoted Spencer W. Kimball ´´If we do not do our duty ..., then I am convinced that God will hold us responsible for the people we might have saved had we done our duty.” He was very clear. He talked about a letter he had recieved from a member less active. This memeber had written that he wanted to come back, but he just didn't have the courage to do it alone. That he just needed someone to extend a hand to pull him back in.

Speaking of which, Grandma and Grandpa sent me this today. About a success story of a soul they tried to bring back to the fold...


´´ Don (Burhham, the mission president of grandma, and grandpa)
Hello from the Northwest! I was down in Utah several weeks ago and had plans to call you, but with various family pulls, I ran out of time to contact several people I had in my plans. Someday.
I just thought you might like to hear, and perhaps pass along to the Snows, a story that has just popped up in our Stake.
Several years ago the Snows contacted a less active sister named Jewell Delatore. After a few visits from the Snows and after giving her a Book of Mormon, because she did not have one and had not been to Church for many years, she told them she wanted nothing more to do with the Church. She had her name removed.
A few weeks ago, after feeling down and even suicidal for quite some time, she began to pray. As she did this, she felt prompted to find the Book of Mormon she had been given. When she did, she read the testimony the Snows had placed in the book at the beginning. She immediately felt the Spirit, felt like she needed to come back, and she has come to Church (Rose Hill Ward) the past two Sundays. Last night the Bishop met with her to begin the process of getting her re-baptized and re-instated.
We can count the seeds in a one apple, but cannot count the apples from a single seed. Please convey our thanks to the Snows for the fruits of their labors, which continue to occur long after their visible service.
Jeff ´´

I loved it. There are people just waiting to be rescued. After returning to the house sunday night I started looking at the lyrics to priesthood songs... I started to read ´Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy'. I don't remember singing it at home. But I basically found the essence of Pres. Monson's talk in the third verse...


''Trim your feeble lamp, my brother, some poor sailor tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor, in the darkness may be lost.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Trying now to make the harbor, some poor sailor may be lost.
or Some poor struggling, sinking sailor you may rescue, you may save.''

We're working on this here in Sogamoso, Colombia. I plead you, my family, that you be true friends of your assigned families, brothers and sisters, to visit.

I love you all so much.

e. adams

mom and dad,

I would like to know how it goes in the numbers that attend church now that you have changed to 8 o clock, if it lowers a little or a lot. Here it's the excuse the members use to not go to church.

Ha, dad i do like subaru´s..... haha, especially when theyre hatchback!!
Mom, pre happy birthday!!!! I hope it's the best one yet. just remember that in my picture that I show people, almost never people distinguish you as my mom, they say ´´que joven!!! (how young!)´´. I love you !

The Power of Charity

mi familia amada,

first things first. Yes we have investigators, just a few, but yes we have them. One of which was baptized three weeks ago. The same day that my favorite investigator in Faca was baptized, Sandra. The kid that got baptized here in Sogamoso is named Juan Pablo---he's the best, super smart, punctual, on the ball kid, he captures everything that we teach him, and i believe that soon, he'll know more than me. We have one other that is progressing alot, he's a soldier, we hope that he finds time this week so that we can put a goal for him to be baptized.

Yesterday i went to Bogota for a leader's conference. It was great. All of last week Presidente Hacking was in a Mission President conference in Peru, with a couple of general authorities learning how they can progress their missions. I believe i told you about these eight lessons from the church leaders given to us as missionaries to help us be more effective teachers. The first principle is, that it is required to set a baptismal date the first or second lesson. When I started learning about this new program i thought about the Scripture in D & C that says

''Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.''

In the conference elder Gonzalez stated that we just need to baptize more. The field has never been whiter and we just need to use these lessons with preach my gospel to baptize more. He said, activation is great, but we need to baptize more.

So yes, i was teaching a lot of in active members, but i'm ready and willing to ''baptize more''.

Its been work, working with four sister missionaries. they have a lot of ''needs''. There is one companionship that just cant get along. This week there was an ''almost'' emergency transfer. One of the sisters called me crying telling me that her companion is nuts and that she had to have a change. So the president called the other sister to come to Bogota, five hours away, to work things out. He, in the end, decided to send her back and have them work it out. So, it's going to be a fun next three weeks talking them out of asking for another transfer. haha also, they called me last week and told me they needed to change houses because they had maggots falling from the ceiling. I'm pretty sure they just left something rotting because they eventually stopped. The President in the conference told me it's just preparation for future years filled with women. ha.

This week we spent the night with other missionaries because we got home to late from Bogota. In the morning we went to play with an organization called The Moroni Foundation, its a center owned and ran by a member for the majority, less active member's kids who have fallen into drug and other addictions. They learn how to behave well, developed character, and overcome addictions, and if they want, learn more about the church. I talked with one of the kids that inspired me with his story of recognized repentance. He told me that through his last 17 months he's learned and changed a lot of things, but out of of this, he said the thing that he has enjoyed the most is realizing the patience and love his Father in Heaven has had with him, and how far he pushed him away, and where is now, he told me the joy is indescribable. He has plans to get baptized this next month, the 6th.

In this foundation the brother has seen maricles. He says that one of the kids he's helped is on the mission, one preparing, another went, came back, and is getting ready to get sealed in the temple. I've told you once that the biggest lie i've ever heard is that people don't change. Sometimes, that demon inside tells you that, as you watch people fall back into their old ways, or even with our selves as we try and progess but we seem to be paddling water.

But people do change. I watched as we played, {by the way i made three goals, one was a header. They started calling me ronaldiniho, haha. I'm thinking about goin pro after the mish}, i thought i would hear a swear word hear and there being accustomed to street soccer here in colombia, but nothing, i watched as they called their own penalties and never tried to call an out of bounds ball, in. They never lost their temper, as a matter of fact i think they all acted with better class then my own companion. And as i watched them play i looked at this brother, who founded it all, and he smiled, played, and laughed with them. I could see that he loved them. And in that moment i learned a great lesson. It's the pure love of Christ, charity, manifested through the acts of great people, that change people. I realized that it all comes down to love.

I started to think about Harry Potter. haha. If you remember, Harry Potter was saved from Voldemort because his mother protected him from the spell, Voldamort after failing to kill Harry, shriveled and almost died. It says that with all the power Voldemort had, was triumphed by the power of love.

Drugs and vices had changed these kids, in to a worthless state. Satan has power to change people though the sins of the world, but the power of God, which I felt today, which really just comes down to love, will always overcome the power of Satan. Virtue will always triumph over vice. The power of love, or in other words, the power of the atonement, can change and will continue to change bad men, good, and good men, better.

Each and everyone one of us has the power to change ourselves, and to help change others through the power of charity.

I saw miracles today.

I love you all.

e. adams

Fuel your flame

Familia,

I had a great week.

Starting with today. We had a zone activity in which we went to a small town that many tourist go to and had a barbecue and went on some go carts---I love Colombia.

At the end of the go carts I just wanted to call myself speed racer. One of the sister missionaries asked me why I drive so nuts. I told her that it's because I live my life by one rule---no limits. hahaha, jus kiddin, but I dooo love go carts.

We then had a barbecue Colombian style. la carne asada, delicioso.

I learned a lesson as we worked with the firewood grill. We had cooked about 3/4 of the meat and then left to eat. when we went back to the grill it was dying and we had little wood left. The coals were about to go out but I went to work trying to get it started again blowing and fanning the coals, but i couldn't get it to start. Then a strong wind came and ignited the fire. We were able to cook a good share of the meat but eventually the fire burnt all the wood it had. We still had a good share of meat too cook. So we went and looked for some more things to burn. We took some of the ashes from the fireplace, and found a cardboard box to get it started. With the little heat left in the grill and the already burnt ashes and cardboard box we went to work getting it started again. This time with just raw effort fanning and fanning the fire. After fanning the fire for a good time we finally got it to start and we finished cooking the meat.

I see it like this (bare with me!)... We have many goals or missions in life. Some we finish with ease, others we start and about 3/4 of the way through we run out of fuel, wood, and energy. It happens for a variety of reasons, sometimes lack of diligence (leaving to eat before the job is done), lack of preparation (not stalking up enough wood), or sometimes uncontrollable circumstances. But the lesson is that we don't give up until we finish completely our honorable goals and missions.

Sometimes, as our flame starts to dim we will start fanning the flame desperately with little progress. If we follow diligently in the task, a Divine wind will come, and give us the needed push.

Other times we will have to use our minds, look for new ideas and think for ourselves just be creative, and even running around looking for scraps of wood. Then after doing all that we can do, and working the hardest we can with what we know, we can start the fire again.

There was one point when we had the new fuel there to burn, but just a little started flame. The sister of the house taught me that it was because we had put the uncooked wet, meat on and it wasn't letting the fire start. So we painfully took off all the meat that we wanted to eat, and started fanning the fire again. Almost instantly it started to burn, and burn well. We then placed the meat back on the grill and bam! quality steak.

Often, we have all the components of a project ready but the fire doesn't want to start. But we want to eat! Sometimes, we have to take a unwanted step back, work on the basics, and then add everything in at its given time.

Sunday i felt a little discouraged. I started reflecting. I know that I love this work, I understand the utmost importance in what i am doing, so why then was my heart lacking? I learned, that fires will always burn out if we leave them alone with out anything to burn. But if we fuel the flame with all that we can find, God we give us that push, and if we stay at it, we can keep the flame red.

I'm working to have the same flame that Alma had ----

“O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.“

I always want to feel this way. I'm going to study more to learn how Alma fueled his fire.

ha. I hope you understood my analogy.

I love you and i wish you success in all your worthy goals and tasks.

fuel your fire,

e. adams