So I just finished off my sixth week in the field which means I've just finished filling up my first planner--or would have if we weren't having a seven-week transfer like I said last week!
Anyways, the baptism. It got postponed. Smoking is a killer addiction to quit, especially when we're on the right path and the Adversary is doing everything in his power to stop us. Sister M is still going strong but she still has to go two weeks without smoking so the baptism isn't going to be until February 9th. But that's okay because its still the most important thing in the world to her!
In other news, I'm getting pretty sick which is just swell, but Elder J was sick exactly a month ago so I suppose its my turn now. This week has actually been a pretty rough week. The hardest part of missionary work, it seems, is finding people to teach. Because tracting or street contacting is next to useless. I think the statistics are 1 in every 1000 doors knocked, someone gets baptized. Whereas 1 in every. . . 3 or 4 persons, I think, that is referred by a member gets baptized. So our focus right now is trying to get into members' homes and get them fired up and excited about missionary work so we can help them realize that the Lord is putting people in their path who are ready to receive the Gospel and all that is standing between those people and the Gospel is the members' desire to just go and do it! It might take a little while but we're pretty sure that if we can provide some powerful lessons with the members we're going to see some real powerful results, just not immediately.
That's probably the lesson of the week: patience. Learning to work on things with all your effort now so that you can see results later. Its a pretty difficult lesson to learn but as a missionary you can really see the value of it. Especially as the weeks seem to grow shorter and shorter. Before I know it I'm going to be counting transfers instead of weeks!
We had an exchange again this week which was actually pretty awesome. Elder W came to my area and Elder J went with Elder S and it was a pretty great day. We didn't have tons of success but we had a lot of fun and we learned a lot. Elder W and I seem to be on the same page pretty frequently, we actually tend to reply to questions simultaneously which is pretty amusing. That night of the exchange we went to teach a lesson with Sister M and Brother W, this absolutely AMAZING man who is the only member in his family, whose wife is dying of cancer, who has an amazing testimony, went with us to that. Well the lesson went swell and all, I took the lead--which wasn't unusual. I've been taking the lead in lessons most of the time just because I don't think about it. Anyways, yesterday at church Brother W paid me probably the greatest compliment I could have received. He said to Elder J and me, "This missionary was prepared the other night!" and I asked him what he meant. He said that he was impressed at how prepared for my mission I was because of how short of a time I had been in the field.
Make sure those pictures of us at the N's and the H's (stormtrooper helmets and lightsabers) get put on facebook or something for all to enjoy! The N's and the H's just love us so much. We actually had a dinner appointment with the H's early in the week and then Friday night we were going to go share a lesson with them and they ended up feeding us again! That was the night they had to show us the Storm Trooper helmets that their son, L (who is on a mission in Magna, Utah), owned as well as his room which is a shrine to all nerdery--which Elder J and I absolutely loved. And get this--CALLEY HE HAD A DARTH REVAN COSTUME AND WE WOULD HAVE WORN IT BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME!!!!!!!!!! ...I'm pretty sure L and I would be great friends.
Oh, so I guess its been super freezing out west. Well, we finally got our portion of it this week. Last week may have been 75 degrees, but its been below 30 most of the week and down to about 15 at night and super cloudy and we actually had our first ice storm this week. It was SO bizarre. Because I guess due to the humidity that it isn't cold enough to snow even though its below freezing. So it rains and then freezes onto everything. EVERYTHING ends up covered with inches of ice. The trees and other plants were absolutely gorgeous when the sun came out the next day and they were all iced over and the pine trees were crystallized. SUPER miserably cold because of the humidity and all, but it was pretty gorgeous too.
This week has really been pretty awesome. Rough as far as getting new people, but its been an amazing week of learning learning and learning. When things get difficult its always easier when you remember that the Lord is always taking care of you if you're on the right path. That's all you need to remember and even the hardest trial becomes surmountable. If you're doing your part, the Lord will take care of the rest. And frequently that means he'll send miracles. But something I may have said before that David A. Bednar said was that the Israelites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant and came up to the River Jordan, they were promised that the river would part, just like the Red Sea. But they came up to it with the Ark and it wasn't until they had stepped into the river and gotten their feet wet that the miracle happened. If you read Alma 60, Captain Moroni says the same thing. He thinks that Pahoran is refusing to send his armies aid against the Lamanites and he rebukes Pahoran, reminding him that just because God delivered them from bondage before didn't mean that he would go and fight the Lamanites for them if they refused to help themselves. If we want miracles we have to get our feet wet. Its that simple. So work as if everything relies on you and have faith that it all relies on the Lord. Then we know that everything that happens is for our own benefit. And that's my soapbox to family and friends for the week.
As far as piano music goes, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if, wherever it is located, someone could send me the Prince of Egypt book, Come Thou Fount sheet music (its the full choral arrangement for like the MoTabs), Nearer My God to Thee and Army of Helaman and Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief sheet music (they're all super beautiful arrangements I miss), and anything else that sounds like a great idea to send me because I know I have tons of music. Speaking of piano music, did I tell you a member of the ward is going to teach me to play the piano entirely improvised? Or at least the basics so I can do the improvising I already do but actually do it well? I'm super excited. Some night this week they're going to feed us and then he'll teach me. I'm so so so so so so so excited. I'm also going to teach Elder W and Elder S to play the piano! Woo!
Calley--I haven't received that package you were talking about at Christmas. So I hope it didn't get lost.
Chris and Anne--yes I did get the cookies in the MTC which was wonderful. I have the tupperware and I plan to send it home to my mom when I next make it to the Post Office along with everything else. Also, yes that is the Elder Warner who is my district leader! He's from Orem so it all fits even if he doesn't know who y'all are!
Grandma Penny-- I got the letters you sent via the Hills! I'm sure your talk went just fabulously. Wish I could have heard it!
Alrighty! I love you all! Thus ends this weeks' update of the Adventures of Elder Adams in Kinston--the Land Where the Weather Can't Make Up its Mind Whether its Going to be 15 Degrees or 75 in January!
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