Elder Adams in Yakima: Week 73: In which our schedule fills up, mice die, and a spider hangs a rock

Not Room Enough...
(written 16 Oct 2017)

Hello, everyone! This week has been... insane. I'm going to have to be really quick. This week, we found a lot of new people, and a lot more people decided to get serious. We've seen a lot of straight miracles this week, and we both feel very privileged to be here in Toppenish to see them. Our schedule is getting really, really, full. Truly, I'm beginning to understand a little better what it means to be blessed that there be not room enough to receive it. In our case, there is not room enough to receive it... in our schedules! We're totally booked! I'm not sure we can handle many more miracles like that. Quick list of the people preparing for specific baptismal dates and what's going on with them:

Perla Santos - She's doing well, and is progressing. It's just slow, slow, progress. She's still doing great, she mainly needs to start taking our lessons (and lesson times) more seriously (she's often 30-60 minutes late, which, with our schedule the way it is, doesn't work). It's partially our fault for being late a couple of times ourselves, but we've been a lot better. It's just scary for us to try to take members with us to her lessons, because she's not always very punctual... at all. Still doing pretty well, though!

Norma and Noe Cortez - A couple that lives in Zillah. Their son, Juan, has studied with the English Elders there for a long time. They are cool, and want to be better for their families. Norma, however, works on Sundays. That's going to be tough, but she can do it. Noe needs more faith/desire to actually do anything, but they're making some progress!

Jamie Ibarra - She's waited 10 years to be baptized, since she's a foster child in a strong member home and had to wait until she was 18. She's very, very, excited for her birthday/baptism (the same day).

Jose Campos - He's great, and he told us he wants to be baptized so he can change his life for his family! He wants us to teach his whole family next time.

Leo - Nice guy, about our age. Lives with his girlfriend and her mom. Wants to start fresh and change his life, and wants to do what his mom wants (she passed away when he was a sophomore in High School).

Germaine and M'kaiah - Germaine is an awesome Native American lady who feels the spirit when we come by and wants more. She's so excited to be baptized and change her life/come unto Christ.

Excerpt from letter to President:

One morning, we wanted to knock some doors, and we felt like we should knock on a particular street. We went there, and we felt inspired to pray that the first door we would knock on, the person would let us inside and we would share our message, and they would eventually accept a baptismal invite. Lo and behold, the first door we knocked on, a Native American gentleman opened up. We asked if we could come in, and he said sure. We went in, and it quickly became clear he had a lot of honest questions about the Plan of Salvation. We shared how God's plan was restored today, sharing the Joseph Smith story. It was very powerful, and he seemed to really enjoy it. We set up a return appointment with him on one of the few times we have open.

The next people we talk to, on that very street, were yet another miracle. A teenage boy named Isaiah opened the door, and we began talking with him about the restoration of the Gospel and how that can bless his family. His mom came out, wondering what was going on, and we began talking with them both. She told us they were both Christian. As we shared the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they kept exchanging knowing, and even somewhat surprised, looks. Towards the end, as we were testifying of the truth of our message, the mom, whose name is Narida, began crying. She told us that she is always amazed about how whenever she and her family is going through a hard time, God always sends someone to help them rebuild their faith. She told us it had happened before, and that, this time, we were the answer to her prayers and needs. We set up a return appointment this week (which is now REALLY full) and are excited to go back! We ended up finding a total of 4 new investigators that morning.

Also, we killed 4 mice this week.

Love you all!

Elder Adams

Questions from Editor Mom

Que tal? - Muy bien, gracias! Que transa?

How has your week been? - Being completely honest, the only way I could describe this past week would be miraculous. It's been absolutely insane. When I think about it, I usually blink a couple of times in disbelief. However, it happened. So, so, crazy. I have no words.

I'll just tell you briefly some of the key indicator numbers for this last week. It's the quickest way to give you an idea of what the week was like. We found 16 new investigators and now have a total of 8 people preparing for baptism on specific dates. That's ridiculous. I've never even seen anything that high. Our mission standards of excellence are 3 new investigators each week and 2 people with baptismal dates. That goes to show what is a nice, high, number for most areas. That includes my previous areas. That's just the numbers, too! Every one of those numbers represents a son or daughter of God. We both feel so very, very, blessed.

Are you happy with having your district stay intact? - Yes, we are super happy! We have a fantastic district, and we look forward to seeing many more miracles.

Still working hard? - You know me, and I've told you a bit about Elder Rigby. What do you think? :-)

What's your favorite food these days? - The delicious kind. I've never really been very picky.

What's your favorite way of contacting people? - Honestly, telling them that we are messengers from God and that the way to have more happiness and have their families together forever has been restored, or brought back, by a modern prophet, like Moses. Or, in other words, God told a modern Moses how we can be more happy and find purpose in life.

Do you have all the key points of the discussions memorized in English and Spanish? Are you comfortable talking about every aspect of every discussion? - Heck yeah! We can teach both in English and Spanish, and we do it all the time. It's really quite natural. The only discussions that are harder are the ones in Lesson 5, but that's because you only teach those in the week or so leading up to baptism. It's about all the specifics about how the church works. We can give that discussion, and we have all the names of the principles down, but we're a little rougher. Generally, though, teaching any of the lessons in either language is pretty much second nature by now for both of us.

Is your favorite fruit still Fuji apples? - Heck yeah! I love Fuji apples! I do also love a good, juicy peach though. It's hard to beat those when bought fresh in season from a farmstand. Other than that, though, yes.

Have any of your tastes changed, as far as favorite meal or dessert? What are they? - No, not really. My tastes are about the same, as far as I am aware.

Do you know your companion's favorite foods, likes, dislikes, etc.? - Elder Rigby loves chicken, spinach, brown rice, eggs, tomatoes, and protein shakes. Also, he likes yogurt high in protein (or anything else high in protein, for that matter).