Enjoyed Memorial Day

The usual breakfast and some new friends

A new feature - a ward band, the played and sang it was great!

Enjoying life at the Nausin's pool party

Standing Tall

Michael with his Mission president and wife

March 19, 2013 A call to serve - for a lifetime

We met with President Hunt and his councelors, Richard Chapman and Scott Bevans when your dad was set apart.  It was so nice that your Grandmama and the girls could actually be there with us.

Companionship Unity

I will never guess where my competitive gene comes from. As I read mom's gripping story of Dad's bidding war over sister Nausin's legendary German chocolate cake I actually laughed out load in the middle of the Angleton public library. My companion looked at me with his "what's going on over there" look and I had to play it off like nothing really happened. The words of my father and the joy of the saints sink deep into my soul, as did with Enos.

Elder Smith is getting transfered tomorrow so let me take a second to prove to the world how unified our companionship grew. We noticed early on in the transfer that we would wave simaltaniously to random pasers by without having a premeditated determination to do so. The stranger would usually feel blitzed at first but he would eventually apprietiate our gesture and respond with a wave in a similar fasion. We further explored our unity by syncronizing our greeting with both hands-- first with the right, then with the left. I give this story only to illistrate the depth of our togetherness. Keep in mind this is only the tip of the iceburg.

I recieved the package you sent with the music. Thank you so much. It will be used.

I am grateful to carry the Adams name on my shoulders. It means a lot and I have been taught to live up to it. There are certain expectations that come with the name. I am also grateful to have taken the name of Christ upon me through baptism. There are certain expectations associated with this name as well. (Mosiah 5:5-7). We are to keep His commandments and stand as a witness of Him in all times and all things and all places. We reaffirm our alligence to God each week in the Sacrement. Through it we show that we "are willing to take upon us the name of [Christ], and always remeber Him, and keep His commandments".

I love you all!

A Previous letter: Angelton Area

Sounds like a way good week for everyone! Way exciting.

At the end of your letter you asked me some questions -- let me try to answer some of them.

I am getting the opportunity to teach and it is way fun. It is fun to try to see what the spirit wants for the investigator. During the lessons I asked myself, " What does this person's ancestors want this person to know". I also wonder if those ancestors are in the room. The hearts of the fathers are turned to their children.

My companion is definitely going to be a friend for life. He was an avid swimmer before the mission. He won a few state championships in Utah. He is super diligent as well. He has a couple containers of flashcards that he uses to memorize lots and lots of scriptures. He is Elder Smith by the way.

The ward is way nice to its missionaries. They have a genuine love for us. They especially like Elder Smith because he has been here for over three months I think. We get fed more than half of the week usually! (Texas Barbecue is like no other.)

The ward is small. We have one building for four cities which makes it difficult for members to make it to church each week. You may be thinking, "But distance shouldn't matter Elder Adams -- the blessings of going to church far outweigh the inconvenience of driving a few extra miles to church!" If this is your thought I would have to side with you but I also agree with Dad's philosophy about seminary: " You have to make it so good they know their missing something".

I have had a couple opportunities to play the piano. I play in district meeting. I may or may not have jazzed up the prelude hymns for my own enjoyment. And maybe a couple latin grooves. But I do remember playing hymns during the meetings. Do you think you could send me the piano book that has the "Come Thou Font" arrangement? This is our mission hymn and the zone leaders where asking if I could play something during one of their devotionals. That would be awesome. And if you are already sending something do you think you could slip some classical music cds with it?

Life is good. I like being a missionary. I have come to understand the necessity of some of the more bizarre mission rules after experiencing first hand the cognitive ability and decision making process of some of the Elders in the mission. I feel bad and have a deep respect for the sister missionaries that have to abide the same constraints as the before mentioned persons.

Quick note to Rachel -- the Mavis Beacon on my laptop was uninstalled because it kept freezing the screen. I'm not sure where the cd went.

A quick note to the family as a whole to make y'all feel warm and fuzzy: I have been in the homes of many people. If nothing else my mission has given me a deeper respect and love for my family. (I wish I could slip some fancy Andrewism in this paragraph to make everyone laugh but I must lament and accept the fact that I am not Andrew. Congrates to him for graduating though, well done my good man.)

I send you off in the words of Nacho Libre. "Hug hug, kiss kiss, little hug, big kiss, small hug, kiss kiss". (I hope you understand this reference, because if you don't you may think it is a little awkward. It is a risk I am willing to make. Sometimes you must "risk it to get the biscuit".)

-Elder Adams

Reminiscing the Week's Adventure

I mentioned over skyp just yesterday that I had an interesting experience with mysterious beans this week. I worry my anxious reader will bore him or herself as I expound the short story yet again. I must admit that my purposes in this are slightly selfish-- the story puts a slight smile on my face as I relate it.

It was at lunchtime, high noon, when I discovered a can of beans that would work perfectly with a large tortilla chip and cheese to fill my stomach. I ignored the tale-tell signs that these beans had no business entering my stomach. They were slightly uncovered at the bottom of the fridge. As I ate freely I didn't know that I would see these very beans and their companions again in a less joyous situation. I sense that my reader sees what comes next in this story, partly because he or she is extremely intelligent, but also because of my foreshadowing skills.

"Elder, I don't feel good". I mentioned this a couple minutes before Elder Smith decided to clean the bathroom floor. Luckily we were at the church which had a nice sized mop.

The next incident occurred at a less active members house. We entered and I quickly found out there was going to be an epic struggle. Unfortunately, the battle ended on the less active member's lawn. I remember Elder Smith's words of encouragement. "He'll be fine".

Thank you for bearing with me as I related the story. It remains one of the good moments of the mission because I was reminded that God has all power.

What does God do when he needs to humble his people? In D&C 43 he describes several ways starting in verse 25. He sends prophets, ministering angels, the voice of thunderings and tempests, and the voice of famine. Do we hear these voices in our own life?

I hear the voice of famine when I fast. Fortunately, it is a controlled environment were I choose to do so. I feel an added blessing when I do this because I choose to humble myself (Alma 32:14). The Lord then works to change my heart because I have offered up unto him a broken heart and a contrite spirit. (3 Nephi 9:20). As I follow this pattern I become strong according to Mormon's promise in Ether 12:27. Cool stuff! Hopefully it made sense.

I love you all individually! Have a great week!

"That's a Bednar part"

My companion was thrilled to recieve recognition from the our zone leader, Elder Barker. He has been working hard on becoming a better missionary-- particularly in his overall countenance. He decided to perfect the "comb-over" last week. He spent a good portion of his morning preperation time in the bathroom molding and sculpting what seemed to be unruley hair. But at last he did "come off the conquerer". He stepped out off the bathroom with his best attempt a couple days ago before zone meeting. We have certain criteria to judge the effectiveness of a given part. Let me explain. The line must be straight. We need to see scalp from one end of the head to the other. All hair must be tidy and well kept. He succeeded in every category and was rewarded with an interesting comment from the ZL. "That's a Bednar part".

I hope I have not offended any readers thus far with my levity. It is something I will work on, as did Joseph Smith when he was around my age. My only aim is to uplift the viewer -- make him or her feel at home with a sense of comfort and peace -- as I update the Adams clan of my involvement in the Angleton area.

The area before mentioned remains an important part of my life. Everyday we work to bring souls unto Christ by inviting them to receive the restored Gospel. We teach that we all can come closer to Him by having faith, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As we teach I see the realization sink into the investigators heart. He thinks, "Does this mean I have to change?". This is the critical moment when he decides for himself. Either he thinks " I don't want to change so the message isn't true" or " Wow... this is kinda crazy, I'll give it a shot."

I am grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. I am grateful to know that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me personally. He gives liberally to all who ask him sincere questions. I am grateful for the very Eternal Father of Heaven and Earth, even Jesus Christ, as Amulek teaches us (Alma 11:39). I am grateful to be his seed as Abinidi taught (Mosiah 15:11). He created a way to come back to Father in Heaven. He came to the Earth and lived a perfect life despite sickness, illness, and all the other obstacles that faced him (Mosiah 14). As we come closer to Him He comes closer to us. What He says goes -- bottom line.

Let me answer some of the questions from your last email. My address is 1100 Bucta Rd. 77515 Angleton Texas. As far as I know it is safe to send packages directly to me. My companion got a package a couple weeks ago. We had to go to the post office for some weird reason, but it eventually landed safely in his hands.

I love you all! And in the words of a Texan, take care now y'all.

Elder Adams