Elder Harrison Adams 9/5/16 Nags Head, NC

Family and Friends,

Hello! I made it through the storm here, even though things got a lot worse than they were supposed to. Initially they had just predicted rain and 40 MPH winds. But I guess when the storm hit the sound it gained some traction before heading out to the sea so a little bit up the road from us there was 70 MPH sustained wind and 80 MPH wind gusts. Saturday morning before things got really bad we decided to head out and see if we could go see anyone really quick, but no one really wanted to let us in because of the storm. Then on the way back our car was getting blown all over the highway from the wind, the stoplights weren't working because the power went down, and lots of the road signs had been blown over so we ended up missing quite a few turns! We went back home and spent the rest of the day inside our house and at the church across the street. Luckily nothing bad happened to us, although it was pretty scary watching all of the trees right outside our house getting blown around by the wind. We also lost power for about half the day. But no trees fell in or around our yard. Earlier today we spent most of our P-Day helping some people clear fallen trees and debris from their yards. Since the storm was stronger than everyone thought people weren't as prepared and it caused a lot of damage. The locals said it was the worst storm they've had at the beach in the past 8-9 years. 

Other than that this week was a pretty good week! We were able to have some of our investigators over at a member’s house. It's really cool to see members working with investigators and being their friends. It's one of the best things to see as a missionary, because it really does mean a lot to them. Without members, the investigators don't really have anything constant to hold on to. So it's good to see the ward doing such a good job fellow shipping our investigators. We also had to say goodbye this week to a good member. He comes here to work in the summers and now is returning to Peru for the winter. I'll include a photo below. 

Last thing, me and Elder Martinez found a really good local panaderia. They sell really good pan dulce so we've been going there several times these past few weeks after a long day. It's so good. Alright. Well that's all for now. I hope Y'all have a blessed week, and happy Labor Day! 

Love,

Elder Adams

Elder Harrison Adams 8/29/16 Nags Head, NC

Family and Friends,

This week has been a really great week! We have a new Elder in the house and he is probably the nicest person I have ever met! He's great. We also have a new district leader that is really outgoing and fun as well. So even though it was sad saying bye to a few Elders, it was also fun to welcome the others. Elder Martinez and I have been focusing this week on finding people and selecting the people who are ready and prepared to accept and listen to the gospel. So with that, we've done quite a bit of tracting and following up with former investigators. We were able to find a man called Ricardo (everyone calls him Rico), and he is super prepared for the gospel! It was fun and exciting to teach him. Although he does have work on Sundays, so that will be a little bit of a hurdle. 

Tourist season is starting to die down here. At the peak of the season we had 800+ people here for sacrament, so we had to have our services in the middle school. Normally we've been getting around 300 people but for the past week we've had just a little over 200. Everything around her is starting to die down. Which is sad but also really nice for the traffic. Lots of stores are getting ready to close soon, so in a little while just the big chain restaurants and stores will be open. 

Earlier this morning we were able to go to the Bodie Lighthouse. That was really cool to see, especially since I've been there before when I was little! We also went for a little hike in some sand dunes after. We hadn't planned to do that so we were in our proselyting clothes. Everyone was giving us weird looks haha. 

Just a quick story. A member gave a talk yesterday in church talking about when she went scuba diving. When they were in the boat, the waves were really choppy and the waves were really big. They jumped in the water and she started panicking. The waves were crushing her and she was struggling to descend. Then, she heard the captain yelling to grab a hold of a chain connected to a buoy, and use that to pull herself down. Once she was 15 feet beneath the water, the waves and currents above lost their hold of her and she was in a peaceful, safe environment. Even though we have trials and tribulations in our life, if we listen to our "Captain", He will guide us to safe waters. I know that's true. God sees the bigger picture even when we can't. I hope y'all have a good week, and be safe! 

Love,

Elder Adams

Harrison at Bodie Island Lighthouse on a family trip.

Harrison at Bodie Island Lighthouse as a missionary.

Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet in background.

We always cross this bridge on the way to the beach.

Outer Banks dunes.

We went to hear Harrison's trainer, Elder Berry, speak in sacrament meeting after returning home from his mission.