Elder Harrison Adams 1/30/17 Greenville, NC

Family and Friends,

Hello! I hope Y'all had a fantastic week! We had a really good week here. I was thinking lots this week about the Sabbath, and also about church attendance. I don't think I valued church before my mission as much as I do now! Church is, without a doubt, the biggest highlight of my week. It's what I look forward to more than anything! Just to go to the Lord's house, rest, and renew covenants. There's nothing better! It's also so exciting when you get an investigator to church because you know that they are going to feel the same way!

I'll let Y'all know what we did last P-day since it was pretty fun. We went to the student center at ECU and played billiards, ping pong, and later went bowling. It was all really cheap and so we might do it again in the future! This P-day the missionaries from Kinston are coming up here and we're going to play football outside.

A part member family, who moved away before I got here, has recently moved back and we have been able to see them several times! They had us over to eat ceviche last Friday night. It's so fun to work and meet new people, it's one of my favorite things about missionary work!

There have been a few changes with missionary work, worldwide, so I thought I'd just give Y'all a quick update. The biggest changes are that we are now planning in the morning instead of night. P-day will now start at 8. And our schedules will be a lot more flexible. So we can choose when we want to do companionship study, etc.

That's all for this week! Talk to Y'all later!

Love,

Elder Adams

Elder Harrison Adams 1/23/17 Greenville, NC

Family and Friends,

This week has been a really good week for us. I'm trying to think what happened, but it's always hard to think back on the week and remember everything!

Let's see. We went on exchanges. We were able to eat dinner with quite a few people. Mostly pastas. But we also had sopes which I hadn't had in a little while! We were able to teach our investigator Maria several times again. We're working over a few minor bumps but she is pretty prepared and should be pretty close to baptism! She's great!

We've also had an emphasis this week on finding new people. So we've been looking specifically for families. Well, we were able to find two solid families this week and so we're hoping to see lots of progression there in the future!

Hmm. What else. Oh. I've locked our keys in two places this week...which is never fun. I've never really had an issue with locking keys in places until now.

We also helped move a new fridge and microwave to one of the Hispanic members homes. They were so grateful for it, since they haven't had a working fridge in over two years.

Well, the work here is going good! I love being a missionary. I love representing Jesus Christ. And I love the people here. I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Adams 

Elder Harrison Adams 1/16/17 Greenville, NC

Family and Friends,

Hello! So I realized I haven't really talked much about my new area, so I'll give y'all just a brief rundown of it all! So Greenville is great. It's a college town. So everything here revolves around the ECU campus. There's lots of traffic here, and this county is also proven to have the worst drivers in the State of North Carolina. There are accidents all over the place.

We have the biggest district in the mission here, so it's fun! Every P-day so far we have just played sports in the church, since everything has been closed (due to the snow and Martin Luther King Day). There are lots of trailer parks and Hispanics. The members here are super nice too, and it's nice being in a bigger ward again! This is the biggest ward I've been in so far in my mission.

Training is super fun! It reminded me of when I first came into the mission and has brought back some of that initial excitement and energy that I had! Elder Barboza is great too. It's really nice that I don't have to teach him Spanish. Elder Cutler was also with us, but this past week he got emergency transferred down to Kinston because a missionary there went home. So now it's just me and Elder Barboza. Elder Barboza also showed this week me how to make arepas!

We found a new family this week, and they were all super nice! Their names are Patricia, Jasmine and Bryan. They were super nice and they were so receptive to the message that we shared. And that's probably one of my favorite things about missionary work! Just being able to talk to and meet so many great people. Being a missionary is the best!

Love Y'all!

Elder Adams

 

Elder Adams, Elder Cutler, and Elder Barboza

Elder Harrison Adams 1/9/17 Greenville, NC

Family and Friends,

This week was a good week! We got a little bit of snow this week, and everything iced over. So, for a few days we weren't allowed to drive. But we were able to go out and see someone! We had to walk a long time in the snow, but it was totally worth it!

We didn't end up having church this week, so there's not a whole lot to talk about this week! But things are good. I love being a missionary. It's super fun training. It's the best. I love a mission. I love this gospel, and I love Jesus Christ!

Love, Elder Adams

Elder Harrison Adams 1/2/17 Greenville, NC

Family and Friends,

Hey Y'all! This week has been a really good week here in Greenville. I'm with Elder Cutler and Elder Barboza. Elder Cutler has almost been out 6 months and Elder Barboza is brand new. Elder Cutler is from Draper, and Elder Barboza is from Magna. Although his parents are from Venezuela. So he already speaks perfect Spanish! 

We had to move apartments this week, just so we would have more room. So our address has changed. It is 

Elder Harrison Adams

2716 Meridian Dr, Apt. #3

Greenville, NC 27834

We just switched with the English Elders. 

We've met some pretty great people here so far! It's so much fun to go and meet new people, especially to feel other people spirits and testimonies. There's a really great lady we're teaching named Maria Tijeda. And she is one of the nicest people I have ever met! She has such a sincere desire to know the truth and is willing to do whatever it takes. 

We had a pretty eventful New Years. We had to be inside by 5 so all the Elders in our district came over and we played some card games until 9. Then went to bed at 10:30 as normal! It's fun being here in Greenville. It's also super fun being a missionary! It's the best thing ever. Well, Happy New Year Y'all! Much love!

Elder Adams

Elder Adams and Elder Claridge

Elder Harrison Adams 12/27/16 Newport News, VA

Family and Friends,

Well to start off I hope Y'all had a Merry Christmas! Christmas is awesome for missionaries. Just because we get to focus so much of Jesus Christ, His birth, and ministry. Also we get to talk to our families so that's a plus as well!

Christmas Eve we ended up spending in several places. To start off we went and spent the first part of it with an Anglican monk, making gingerbread houses and what not. After we went and played basketball at the church for a little, and finally we went to a Hispanic party where we had lots of really good food! It's a bummer as a missionary that we had to get back to our house by 9, because in the Hispanic culture they stay up all night Christmas Eve and then open the presents at 12. 

We also had transfer calls. I'm leaving to go train in Greenville, North Carolina. My new address will be:

Elder Harrison Adams

2740 Meridian Dr, #7

Greenville, NC, 27834

(In case any of Y'all feel so moved as to write me a letter or two. haha) 

This was a really good week focusing on Jesus Christ and all. I had lots of time to reflect on what He did for all of us. Our past actions don't define who we are. And it doesn't matter who we are right now. What matter is that we have a Savior who came and suffered, bled, and died for us. And through his atonement, we can achieve our divine potential. Don't ever forget who you are! I love Y'all so much, have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Adams

Elder Harrison Adams 12/19/16 Newport News, VA

Family and friends,

This week was a super good week! I'm trying to think what happened but it's hard because this past week flew by. Let's see. We met a really nice family from Cuba this week. They've only been in the United States for about a month. They're looking for jobs and currently don't have a car, so they have to walk everywhere. They think Virginia is the coldest place in the world haha. But they're super nice and humble, and since they currently don't have steady jobs they are home quite a bit during the day. So we've been able to see them quite a bit. Cuban Spanish is quite a bit different than normal Spanish though, so we have to stay on our toes! 

We also got invited to go to a birthday party with one of our investigators. It was his sons birthday. We had a really good chocolate mole there, along with some ensalada de fruta and also a pineapple/coconut cake. I find it funny that for birthday parties, Hispanics always have the person bite the cake then someone else shoves their face into the cake. It ruins probably a quarter of the cake, but it's pretty fun! 

Let's see...with Christmas coming up we sure are excited! It's been great talking to people around this time of year, because they are a lot more open to talk about Jesus Christ. This time of year is so great with all of the time we have to focus on Him, and celebrate His birth.

I'm also grateful to be where I am for Christmas. The people here are so great. The only problem is that they all want us over for Christmas! So we're going to have to work some things out. But, Merry Christmas to y'all! I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ. And for this time we have to focus on him.

Love,

Elder Adams 

Newport News Spanish Branch Missionaries