Pictures at last

Single mom loves the church

Sorry couldn't write yesterday, we didn't get back until 6 and then we had an appointment. But we had a super sweet day. We went to is proclaimed as the ´number one marvel of Colombia!´ Its a cathedral that is made completely of salt. Pretty sweet. You enter into a cave and what they've done is carved out of the mountain rooms and made a cathedral. It's in a city outside of Bogota called Zapaquira. and so mom when you asked me if were able to travel now, yes, as a zone we can travel 2 hours outside of our zone. Twas pretty cool.

Welp. This is the last week of the change. This sunday we'll know where were headed, or not headed. I'll be finishing up 6 months and here in my mission not very missionaries, if any, stay more than 6 months in an area. So its a pretty much sure thing. But i'm not set on anything cause you just neva know. They should make a drama about changes (they call them transfers in english, i think? in spanish it's cambios, which means, changes. Perdoname). It's pretty intense. Right now i'm super content with what ever happens, could stay here in a campiña for another month and a half or go wherever. it's all good. But yeah i'll let you know!

Right now it's supposed winter. Which means, it just rains alot. all day. every day. I'm looking for a rain coat.

We had another baptism this week. Here name is Delia Moralez. She's a single mother and she has 22 years. She's great. She loves the Church, and how it makes her Feel. She knows it's true and is excited for her son of 2 months to grow up in it.

Sorry if this letter is outragously short, i'm working on making a DVD of pictures to send you guys. expect 4.5 gig packed of killer pics in 5 days or so.

Thanks Josh for the letter! I'll have to pick back up the EXTREME X SPORTS when i get back so we can sherd the gnarkill.

Jess or better said, Super misionary-visiting teacher-mom, got and loved your letter.

We weren't able to get the papers for the wedding of Alex and Adriana ready this past week, so looks like there probably going to get married after i leave. Shoot. Maybe i'll still be here in Bogota so i can go to there baptism.

OOssh. Drama time. Remember Jesus? The what i thought was a perfect investigators that got baptized in 3 weeks, that later stole my camera? ha. yeah his name is Jesus Ernesto, lets call him Ernesto so we don't have to shamefuly use the other, is causing up a storm here. The most decietful person I've ever met. Welp were teaching his wife right now. She's great, but puts up with all his garbage, this garbage we found out to include domestic abuse, hittin his wife and daughter. So this sunday he got in a fight with his wife, gettin ready to put his dukes up but Giovani (his son) got stoped him and took him outside, he then picked a rock and swung at Giovani, but it was at the same time that Adriana (his daughter) tried to seperate them, and hit her instead. Cutting up her face. Super horrible and Super intense. And through all of this his wife, Margot, stays with him. So now i just called the President and he's going to interview Margot, who was scheduled to be interviewed for baptism this week, but told me that he was going to do it, and talk to the Stake President to interview Ernesto. Intense. Hopefully everything works out, ok.

Welp, i'm out of time. I love you all. So much. Thanks for everything. That might have been my most scatared letter ever, i promise i'm not going crazy. or maybe i am. who knows! but i'm lovin life!

les amo,

e. adams

interview and baptism same day!

Querida Familia,

Aunt Helen, i wasn't ever sure how she was my aunt, from what i understood in the letter is she was the sister of Grandpa Adams, but what ever the relation really was, doesnt change that she was a great. I remember vividly spending time at there house, swiming in there pool, i remember they had a big killer whale water toy that rocked. I remember they served a mission together. They were faithful. I'm sure the death was hard for Uncle Ted, but how great it is to know, what peace it should bring that he just needs to wait a little bit longer till they can be together again, forever.

I tell people as much as I can my reason for coming here to colombia, no is for them to be solely member of the Church, or for them to be baptized, but so that they can, in families, have the same guarantee I had when i left you guys for two years, that they, and us, can live together forever with God, only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm so glad Dad, that you were able to attend the service. I haven't seen Aunt Helen for years, but I loved as much as anything see her smiling face when we would walk through the door. she was great.

We had three baptisms this week when we thought we'd have one. What's up! The people just can't wait to get wet here in Campiña. The area is on fire. The three people that made covenent with the Lord this past saturday here in my area are the following-- Juan Pablo, an 12 year old, who will soon be joining Josh as Deacon, is a result of faithful visiting teachers, his family, all of which are members, hadn't been too church in three weeks, and now Juan Pablo is baptized, he's pumped, they are all pumped, and i hope with all my heart that this is that this little push that we'll keep them going, going and going. Simon, another soon-to-be qourom member of Josh, asked to have his interview early, then in that interview saturday he asked if he could please be baptized that day, we had no reason to say no, he's the brother of Laura and Salome that were baptized the few weeks before. I remember as he finally opened up to us and said with his 12 year old great faith 'quiero estar bien con Dios (I want to be ok(on good terms) with God)', we are now working faithfully on their parents. Along with Adriana, she's a well learned, insightful, 25 year old girl. As we began to talk in the first lesson she let us know she knows alot about the church and said `I understand your going to try to baptize me, probably fast, but that's not going to work with me.' We countined to teach, i cried for the first time in a lesson as i recited the first vision, the spirit testifed, to all of us, she read, she prayed, she recieved an answer. I jokingly told her to ask if should be baptized in two weeks, and i just realized that i believe she was now that she moved her baptism up a week. I see so many little maricles.

We are working with a family, as hard as we can to get there marriage ready for the 29, if everything works with them, we'll finish May with 8 baptisms. Maybe more!

btw, we sold a 100 tamales this saturday.

I love love love this work

and i love love love you all.

e. adams

So is that temple ready? Gila Valley? you said that you live close? Whose going to give the dedication? You guys should go often.

m and d

i got the package!!! twas great! thanks sooooo much! I'm probably never going to see that camera again. shoot. i'll start looking for a new one i guessss

Short letter due to Mom's day call

Oh my beloved family, twas so great to hear your sweet voices and beloved faces. Skype owns a call home in so many levels.

Ha, welp, not really much has changed around here. My companion was able to chat it up today with his family. We are really getting along, and working great together. His strength, even with all his trials impresses me.

Mom, like you, i am also hoping and praying the package comes. twould be sweet. I'll let you know if it comes.

btw its alot easier to write coherent then to talk coherent with you guys. Bilas con el ingles.

Talking with you guys helped me realize that i actually have a life outside of colombia. I wish you could all know how greatful i am for each one of you and how much i love you all. I've been so blessed to have such a rockin familia.

i'm sure this letter and it's shortness will disapoint, but i'll be sure to make up for it next week with a whole bunch of fun facts and events.

les amo a la lata.

e. adams

What would Christ do?

Looks like you guys had a killer trip to Disneyland! Oh, how I love that place. But, like Nehemiah said, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down (to go to Disneyland)." Haha please tell you got that epic gunfight between woody and preston on video. Such wit. Jess please have them write me. As a matter of fact, I would love a letter from anyone! Only mom and dad remember me. But I’ll quit feeling sorry for myself now.

Ha, defiantly the unexpected happened these past two weeks. Oh gosh. So the other week , the dad of a convert of mine was baptized and confirmed. After church I was filling out some missing information with him on his bautismal record (i´m not exactly sure how you say that in English). Anyways, the day before a close family here asked if me if they could barrow my camera for a temple trip or something like that, so they gave it back to me in church while I was filling out the information, so I sat it down next to me as I finished up, then my companion called for my help and so I left for a second and came back, and picked up my stuff and left. So we walked back to house, which is a block a way, and I realized when I picked up all my stuff my camera wasn’t there, so I called a friend that was still in the chapel to look and he said it wasn’t there. We then walked, or better said, ran back to the chapel, and as we entered, we found Jesus (the man that was baptized, and what irony of a name as your about to find out) and his son and daughter in law (Familia Silva, they were baptized in January) walking out of the chapel. We asked them if they had seen it, and with a mouth full of lies told me that they had not, and rather guilt fully said ´we didn’t take it!’. Ha, so I was looking for it all week talking with the members, hoping someone would be honest and give it back. Until today when we invited the cousin of Giovani, Oscar, to play soccer, he took me aside and told me exactly what had happen. He found out yesterday, from his mom, that Jesus had taken the camera, when I left, and showed it to Giovani, and giovani told him instantly that they weren’t going to give it back and they were going to sell it. They ended up selling it for 50 bucks, to upgrade their apartment. Oh gosh. When Oscar told me this it just about killed me. Never felt so betrayed. The funny thing is he called us this past week to help him move, which we did, and to bless his new apartment. Oh and how right after they stole my camera they went in to have an interview for temple recommends. Three people that I taught and baptized, stole from me. We had done so much for them, and I thought they were genuine. And now I difficulty have to think, what would Christ do, and I am yet to figure it out.

Shoot. I just waisted my whole time writing about this garbage. I’m, dumb, I had a bunch of sweet experiences this week, but I had to tell about my thieving converts. But don’t worry I wont ask for another camera.

HA, but other than that! Things are going great! We had 10 investigators in church yesterday, and we continue to be blessed in finding new people to teach. We’ll probably finish up may with 7 baptisms! Super pumped!

So I’ll call Saturday night, to arrange the time we’ll talk. With our conflicting church schedules, and the time when Todd is calling, it’ll probably have to be at like 7 at night my time, when you guys get out of church. Shoot. But dat don’ matta! Because that just means we’ll be able to finish Mom’s day of strong! Love you all!

Tu hijo, hermano, amigo,

e. adams

Congrats Grads!!

Sup!

Congrats Grads! MikeSteff! you better make your first million before I get back or else!

Welp things are going great around here with my hijo, Everyone continues to comment on his large-ness, its pretty impressive. But he's lost about 20 pounds since he started the mission, so yeah, he's slimin and thinin down and ready2go!

He's told me a little bit more about his life. So his mom died when he was 10 or so, then he lived with his grandma tell she died when he was 16, so that's when he started living on his own. It's been a rough life, but he's doing great here. haha he speaks all day in chilian slang that i don't understand but i'm sure little by little he'll succomb to la vida Colombiana. I'm pretty sure that his situation affected him a little bit, he's 24 but acts much younger. But i'm impressed by what he's becoming. He 's only has about 7 months active in the church, but he's learning alot and I'm sure by the end of the change he'll be a rockin´ those lessons. Right now with my gringo spanish i'm forced to teach about 95 percent of the time, it's made me realize the need to improve my spanish, but God blesses us in our weaknesses.

God has blessed us with a plintitud of elect investgatodors (i have offically forgotten my, already bad, english grammer. will you please forgive me. I'm pretty sure I mixed that word with english and spanish. oh well). I'm excited to see some new families progess in the gospel. One of which is a teengager that is part of an inactive family. They were inactive for more than 3 years, now there back and lovinit. They are now making us lunch two times a month. We found out about them from a sister that did her visiting teaching. Oh the power of visiting teaching. Visit all of your families! Try to the max to visit the ones that aren't active and reciving the blessings that God has ready for them. And of course this applies to home teaching as well! I'm pretty convinced that more than a half of the inactive families in the world would have stayed in the church, if they had visiting and home teachers that visited them monthly. All this family needed was a little push, now their eternal conditiones have drastically changed.

I'm still lovin the Campiña.

Today went bowling again, got a 125, movin on up, what's up! pretty positive. 3 more weeks and I'll be bringing home the 300. On our way home in transmelinio we got stuck for two hours in a traffic jam because there was a protest against transmelinio. The more I'm affected by liberal acts, the more i lean to being conservative. But Barrack you still got my heart! Oh, america.

But oh how I love Colombia. My companion told me that I eat a lot of rice. I now feel more comfortable eating my rice and beans than going over to the KFC across the street which I am yet to try. It'll probably take me some time when I get back, to get into the swing of our fastfood american lifestyle.

love you all to the max, max max!

e. adams

Still in Campina

Sorry, once again we had a conflicting activity Monday, happens. haha I guess there is a grand panic in the household if I don´t write Monday, probably thoughts involving me being abducted by the cartel or other intense situations, so i´ll do my best to write the week before if I know that

I´ll have to postpone to write until Tuesday. This week was because the changes were moved from Tuesday to Monday, because pres. Hacking had to leave for Peru today, so p'day was moved to today. But anways my change--I´m still here in campiña, elder huaman left to be District Leader and señor companion! I´m pumped for him! The president told me that he wanted to give him responsability so that he´d be able to stay focused and busy. I know he can do it, he only has to choose to. And as for me, I´m staying here in campiña, and am now training a new elder, his name is Elder Ramierz, from Chile, he´s 24 years old, and he´s the only member of his family, he hasn´t told me much, but said his mom died before he could remember and that was it. When he was 21 he was baptized and then three weeks later he was inactive, until seven months ago. Pretty intense no? He sent in his papers two months ago and now here is. He´s sweet! and he´s huge, a big 250 pounds! I´m pretty sure were the biggest companionship in the misson. what´s up! But yeah I´m pumped to work alot with someone that wants to work alot! A little overwhelmed, thoughts of what I expected from my trainer some 8 months ago, but I´m sure I'll have the help that I need if I just work, and pray, a lot.

This past week we had three baptisms. Andres and Salome, and Jesus Ernesto. The baptism rocked. Jesus, because of his back problems, was baptized him in a chair. Never thought i´d do that but it twas great, there weren´t any complications, super smoooooth.

One of my favorite things about missionary work is being able to see people change during the course of a lesson. Yesterday we were looking for a new member, but he wasn´t there, but we starting talking with his family and they let us in to share a 'quick message', ha they started by telling us how great their church is and they respect other religions, but they were content and firm in it ... or at least this is what they said. Ha he pulled out his CD player and insisted that we listened so some Psalms. We then started to share our message. One thing I love about being a missionary at this time, is the ability to be able to share any thing I want with an investigator. We started to talk about the Proclomation to the Family, and the plan God has for our families, little by little they began to listen more, we talked about the temple, and eternal familes, they listened more, we then talked about the restoration of this power to join our families together, and they listened more until the Spirit was so strong that they couldn´t deny it.

I love the opportunity I have to share the gospel. and I love you all.

e. adams