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.

Elder Harrison Adams 8/22/16 Nags Head, NC

Family and Friends,

We had transfer calls this past Saturday. Elder Martinez and I will be staying together here in Nags Head for at least another six weeks so we are both excited for that! Other exciting events this week, the English Elders had a baptism this past Saturday and also an 8 year old member was baptized in the sound. I've never seen such good scenery for a baptism! I'll include photos. 

Really nothing has happened this week that was out of the ordinary. I'm sorry I don't have more to say. Happy birthday to my little sister though! She's turning 17. I miss and love her.

Just a quick chapter to ponder this week is 1 Corinthians 15, where it outlines the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Adams

Elder Harrison Adams 8/15/16 Nags Head, NC

Family and Friends,

This week went by really quick! I'm trying to think of things that happened and I'm struggling to come up with anything! I guess I can talk about food for a little bit. That's always a good subject right? So our investigators, William and Patricia, offered to feed us this past week. They're both from Costa Rica and fed us some amazing food. Nothing too special, just some chicken, rice, and beans. But it was fantastic. We also went to a place called John's Drive Through, which had the best seafood I have ever tasted in my life. If any of y'all are ever here, I recommend swinging by and getting the Dolphin Boat. Dolphin (the fish, not the mammal) has now become my favorite seafood!

We were also blessed this week to find several new investigators that have a lot of promise. One was a referral from a current investigator that we have. He's from El Salvador and just has an innate love for the Lord. We also taught another man from Columbia. His wife and kids are still living in Columbia and he's just here right now to make some money. But, his wife and kids are active members of the church in Columbia so he already knows a little bit about the church and is really interested in learning more!

Sorry I don't have too much to say this week. But there's just one thought I would like to share with y'all right quick. In church there was a sister talking about when her husband passed away. You could tell that it was a really hard thing for her to go through, and that she still missed him and still was hurting. But when she said he passed away she said something along the lines of this. "The good Lord took him to the other side." And when she said the words "good Lord," she meant it with all the sincerity of her heart. That really got me thinking. Yes we have heartache, pain, and sorrow in this life. Sometimes we even blame the Lord for those things. But, if we just remember that the Lord is good. That He's loving. Patient. Kind. Compassionate. Perfect. We know that we're in good hands. We're in the hands of a good Lord. Never forget that.

Love,

Elder Adams

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

Family and Friends,

Sorry I wasn't able to send out an email last week. Just a brief run through of a few things that happened that week...

My aunt, uncle, and cousins were at church on Sunday and I was able to see them which was wonderful! Especially since I hadn't seen my cousin Taylor in a little under three years. It was good to see them and how happy they were. We also went last Monday in the morning to the beach and took some photos. It was really pretty, even though the sun was covered by clouds (which is always the case when we go to watch a sunrise at the beach). After that we went to Duck Donuts, which was amazing. My aunt Heidi gave me some money, so we went with the English Elders and all had a nice treat. They all say thank you Aunt Heidi! 

As for this week, things have been a little slow. With the end of the tourist season winding down everyone is trying to get in as much work as possible, especially the Hispanic people. So we hardly were able to teach any lessons, although there were several tender moments where we were just able to listen. Listening is really one of the greatest things in the world. Yes, it's important in missionary work, because it can help us discern the needs of an individual. But it's also so important just on a mutual friend level. I'm sure if we all listened a little harder, a little better, this world would be a better place. 

 We had a nice surprise at church yesterday as well. We had stopped by a less actives house the night before and invited him to church. Well his friend was on the couch playing video games while we were there. The next day at church we were thrilled to see this less active show up, but even better, his friend was actually listening to us the night before. He asked the less active if he could go to church with him! And the ward here is amazing. After church several people went up and hugged the less active, and also his friend. They really help people just fit right in! 

This week I also hit my year mark. It's crazy to think that my mission is already half way over. I feel like even if I were to serve my whole life as a missionary, I would never be able to give enough back. I also feel like I would never end up being perfect as a missionary. But that's one thing that I love about this Gospel. We aren't perfect, and we won't ever be able to give enough to God. But through the infinite grace granted by the atonement of Jesus Christ, everything will work out. Everything will be just and fair. As long as we keep trying our best, no matter how many times we fall or falter, forgiveness and mercy are possible. I hope you all have a great week and enjoy every second of it!

Love,

Elder Adams

A side note from our family...it was strange spending Monday 8/1 minutes from Harrison in Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, and Kitty Hawk and not seeing him. Here are some pictures of us at the Black Pelican (a seafood restaurant Harrison recommended with one of the horse statues in front of it) and at the beach just across the street.

Elder Harrison Adams 7/25/16 Nags Head, NC

Family and Friends,

This week was an interesting but fun week. We really are hurting on car miles. So with our cars we have a certain amount of miles that is allotted to us each month and we can't go over that designated amount. So because we were doing pretty bad with miles, Elder Martinez and I have had to ride bikes quite a few times during the week. Which isn't my favorite thing, with it being over 100 degrees with over 90% humidity. I don't think I've ever been more wet in my life. The thing about North Carolina that's different from Utah, is I could walk outside and walk to the car. And in that amount of time I would sweat more than I would going on a run in Utah! It's crazy. 

We were also able to eat with several members this week. One thing that I've wanted my whole mission and haven't gotten until now is seafood. We ate with brother Paul Spencer. They fed us some really good fish, I'm not sure how to spell it, but it sounds like Wahoo. Probably the best sea food I've ever had in my life. His friend had caught it that day so it was really fresh. We also ate with the Seal family. They're super great. We had little pork sliders and some really good brownies for dessert. We also have several Hispanic families that will be feeding us this next week, and I'm very excited for that! I love Hispanic food. 

Other than that not anything out of the blue has happened this week. I did go on exchanges up to Kurrituck. Also this Sunday the bishop has asked the missionaries to speak on missionary work, and he asked if I would give my talk in Spanish. I haven't finished preparing yet, but I've started and decided to put a focus on the Book of Mormon in missionary work. In the little bit of preparation I've done, I've already learned lots! The Book of Mormon really is my favorite book, along with the Bible and, and the other books of sacred scripture that we have. I know that we can draw closer to God by reading the Book of Mormon. And I fully believe that it is the cornerstone of our religion!

Take Care!

Love,

Elder Adams

Elder Harrison Adams 7/18/16 Nags Head, NC

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been full of lots of change! I left Morehead City Wednesday, at 4 in the morning. A member (Brother Willis) drove us all the way to Portsmouth, Virginia. There I waited with some other missionaries while the training missionaries had a meeting. After that I got on the transfer van, drove back down to Elizabeth City, and then spent a little bit of time with the Zone Leaders there while the Nags Head Elders were driving up. When the Nags Head Elders got here, we exchanged and then I headed down to Nags Head. Our house is literally the house right next to the church, and is about a 20 second walk from our door to the church doors. We also live in a beach house, with the English Elders. It's really nice and roomy, I'll be sure to include photos next week. 

The ward here is really nice. Although it's very confusing at the same time. Lots of people have weird last names, there are 4 different Spencer families in the ward, and 2 Buchanan families. Also no one here uses last names, you call everyone by there first name. Our ward mission leader, Paul Spencer, owns the company Spencer Yachts. He makes million dollar yachts. Ironically, he can't afford one of the boats he makes. 

The area here is really nice. We're right on the beach really anywhere we go. And everyone working in restaurants here (other than local restaurants) is foreign. I guess lots of foreign people come here during the summer to work. There are also 100 horse statues on the island. I guess lots of missionaries here try to make it a goal to take pictures with every one of them. Something a little different about this area, is that we don't work in trailer parks very much. The majority of Hispanics around here live in the beach houses. You'll knock on a house, and there will be 20 different Hispanics living in the one house. It's different than what I'm used to. Although we do have a few trailer parks that we work it. 

 We had lots of visitors at church so it was hard for me to know who was just visiting and who was a local. Traffic here is also horrible with all the people coming. But I finally get to drive, which I haven't done in about 11 months. It's nice to know I still remember how to do it! Something that's really impressed he here is the unity of the ward. Everyone here is family. The ward is especially mindful and accepting of the Hispanic population here. Everyone really loves each other, and you can feel that special spirit. We had a service project for a widow, and lots of members came and helped out. They were all joking, laughing together, and talking like they were all best friends. It made me think on how my relationship is, and how it should be, with other people. Since we profess so boldly that we are the only true church of Jesus Christ, we should all strive to be Christlike and show that love to everyone. 

I hope y'all have a good week, and be safe!

-Elder Adams