Week 79: In which I am transferred to Moses Lake, I begin my service as district leader, and Jay commits to baptism.

Dropping the Base
written 27 Nov 2017

Hello!

Here I am in Moses Lake. It's been quite the busy couple of days. After saying goodbye to some dearly beloved members and my wonderful companion in Toppenish, I came here to Moses Lake. We work only with those who speak Spanish in the northern part of town and a bit outside of town limits. We have a car, and I'm the new District Leader here. That means that I am responsible to help out, teach, inspire, and encourage the Spanish-speaking missionaries in Moses Lake, which is our Zone. We've had a lot of crazy days with a lot of planning, but even though we didn't have a lot of time, we were able to see the following miracle:

We found a few people that seem to have potential, and are excited to go back this coming week. Also, we've talked with a couple of our investigators, and they seem to be doing well. One of our investigators, Jay, committed to baptism! We asked him why, and he said that he wanted a fresh start to be free of the mistakes he's made in the past. He's leaving in a few weeks for the Holiday Season, but we're excited to see where that leads.

So, things are very exciting here in Moses Lake, the Prophet's Puddle. 

I'm super glad to be here with my wonderful companion, Elder Shoemaker! He is very buff. He works out a lot with weights in the mornings, and so is very strong. He also likes food a lot. We're going to get along just great. :-)

Love,

Elder Adams

Questions from Editor Mom

How are you today? - I'm doing resplendently well, thank you!

Have you had a good week? - I was sad to leave Toppenish, but I was super glad when I arrived. I do and will like it here. We've been ridiculously busy with planning and getting things figured out, so for a while, we didn't even have a lot of time to do normal missionary work.

Has anything Dad or I have written to you about our missions been pertinent or helpful as you cope with everyday mission life on your own mission? - Yes, absolutely! I love reading both of your mission accounts. I find things to learn from both of your experiences. 

What is a "prophet's puddle"? - That's my nickname for Moses Lake. You know, Moses = Prophet, Lake = Puddle.

Are you still feeling sad about the transfer? - Well, not really. I'm happy to be here. In a way, yes, because I love both Elder Rigby and Toppenish, but I also love Elder Shoemaker and Moses Lake.

Did you know your companion or anyone in your district or zone before the transfer? - I didn't know my companion, since he spent his entire first year waaaay up by Omak. I did know Elder Buchanan (who goes home in three weeks and was in the Othello Zone when I was there) and Hermana Burrup (who was in The Dalles Zone while I was there). Other than that, no.

How's your apartment? - It's decent. We're living with 2 other English missionaries, one of the other District Leaders and his new greenie.  It's a super nice apartment, but just a bit cramped because there are four of us. We're working on some home improvement projects today :-)

What's your new area like? Is it a pretty place? - This new area is absolutely amazing, and I'm really excited to be here! There are some amazing opportunities for missionary work here, and I already love the members. One of the members of the Branch, Sister Luna, is actually from Massachusetts! Her parents were visiting for Thanksgiving, and are from Olivia Iverson's ward.  Hermana Luna used to occasionally visit the Lowell Ward to play sports and things, even. She married a Peruvian. Small world, eh? As far as vistas, though, Moses Lake kind of lacking. Like Othello, it's pretty flat and brown. The only thing to break it up is a super funky looking lake (after which the town is named). Other than that, natural beauty-wise, it's honestly pretty flat, brown, and ugly.

What are you doing for exercise with your new companion? - Working out. I do some weightlifting, and other exercises I learned in Karate. On Thursdays and Saturdays, we exercise as a Zone. It's pretty great.

Have you had a district meeting yet? - No, but we will this Thursday.

What are your responsibilities as a district leader? - There are a lot. I may have to record that separately. Basically, I am there to inspire and help the other members of the District. That means preparing and leading out in District Meetings, calling and following up, reporting information, and forwarding information. Also, if people have questions (rules or other things) or if they want permission to do something as a special-case thing, I can make judgment calls on that. That's pretty much the gist of it.

Is Moses Lake a Mormon enclave? (It looks like there are quite a few wards in a pretty small area.) - To make a long story short, yes.

I love you too! Have a great beginning of the Christmas season, and don't forget to check out #LIGHTtheWORLD this year! It's a revamped version this year.

Love,

Elder Adams

Pictures

A stray picture from last week's Zone conference

Ben on transfer day at the "Yakima transfer site"

Spot Ben in this video at the transfer site:

Some farewell pictures from Toppenish:

 Thanksgiving dinner with Elder Shoemaker in Moses Lake: