36 - Christmas Party - At An Orphanage!

                      

                                   

                      

                         

                              

                                     

                           

                  

                         

Well mom. I’m emailing you from President Carmacks computer.  I’m going for subing points here! It’s subir-- ask dad. It’s what we use to say like moving from DL to ZL or to AP. 

First off this week was a little crazy. I’m getting changed to a new area. They called me and told me like the night before we came to the city. It sucks. I had a comp I loved, in a place I loved, with people I loved, and doing stuff I loved. And now I’m getting moved. I’m sure you can tell I’m a little bummed. We call it the mission curse. Every time things start going really good, it seems like we get changed.  I know I should have a good attitude about it, but it’s really hard right now, especially this close to Christmas. I was just hoping for a good first Christmas here in Panama, and it was going to work perfectly! But I’ll just have to figure something else out. 

But we came into Panama City for our Christmas party and chilled. We bought Little Cesar’s pizza. There is one in the city by the mission offices! Then we had the big party, which was super good. The party included some talks, going to an orphanage, and then eating bacon! The bacon was amazing! But then we took some pictures and had a good old time. We got oil vials and stuff from the president as a gift. I chose a gold one! You already heard all the stuff we did, going to the orphanage. We had Santa and elves and did a Nativity program for the children. It was fun.

Then we went to this little burger place. It’s run by Columbians and it’s sooooooooooooo dang good! It’s just a little cart. So we went there Saturday night. Then yesterday we went and spent the night at the home of the office elders. We went on another run to the burger place. It was good! But other than that we didn’t do much. This week has been okay I guess. I’m kinda down because of changes.  But now we are just kinda hanging out until we find out where I am going. 

But I got to see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional in English at the church building right next to the temple. It was super cool! It was a great devotional. I loved how they focused on love. Everyone needs a little bit ‘o love. Regardless of what they say. Oh and I met an awesome sister missionary that’s from Mexico! She is way cool! So that was a good high point for the weekend! 

I got the birthday box, but the secretary is going back to the mail today to see if anything else is ready to pick up. So I might be able to get the Christmas package today too. 

This letter is super short but there isn’t much to say. We’ve been busy with travel and meetings. But at the same time I’m kind of not in a good mood. But I’m trying to keep a good outlook on it. Hopefully I’ll get a good area with a good comp. So I’ll fill you in on everything next week. I love you.

35 - Thanksgiving!

 

First off, yes, we did have a grill out for Thanksgiving, with garlic bread, mashed potatoes and grilled pineapple! (thanks Mom for teaching me how to grill pineapple) And it turned out awesome! Probably best meal I’ve had in the mission that night! I have heard little stories about this awesome little party that was had at the Adams family Thanksgiving! But that’s cool, I’ve never been to Mesa Verde! So I bet that was kinda fun! And that’s kinda funny that you had Bryan and Bryan had the fam bam. But it sounds like fun! I miss going to Monticello, it’s so much fun! Especially all the food. That’s the good stuff. And 450 shells does sound like a pretty good time! Brooke told me that she got the first one with one shot, which I was pretty impressed with! I’m glad everything is going good, and it sounds like it was a pretty dang good week over there for you guys! And make sure to help BYU win at the bowl game!

Yes I can get batteries out here. But you are great about being vague with the things you send. I can’t think of something I get every year. I remember like iTunes cards and movies, but that’s about it! But yes, I’m going to be here on the island for the holidays. We are all going to the mainland (into Panama City) this weekend to go to the Christmas thing for the mission. And then me and my comp get to stay in the city a few extra days to buy some stuff for the islands, as food and such. So that’s gonna be fun! We wanted to go in and buy some extra stuff for Christmas and stuff so it works perfectly! I’m gonna send some pics from there because the internet on the island is way too slow to do it. But that’s awesome that you put something extra in there for my comp. He said last year he didn’t get anything from his family so it was kinda sad! But this year he most likely will.

But I’m like 95 percent sure I’m staying here at least till February. I really hope I’ll stay longer but I guess we will just see when the time comes. I’m stocking up on mola just in case! I’m getting one made for Austin, just so you know mom. It’s gonna be pretty cool! And I will try and get some good ones for you!

Yes, there is a rule on the island, no kids can be in the street after 8 o´clock so that is one thing, but it doesn’t affect us that much. We still teach English every Saturday. We have a few show up pretty consistently. And yes I do fall asleep to the sound of faint waves every night. No there hasn’t been storms. Well not enough rain storms to sustain water levels! It’s gonna be so hard after being here on the island. I’ll want to trap water and collect it and horde it! It could be a serious problem for me.

We had a good zone conference. It was my first one since I’ve been back in the country, 12 people total, and we just had fun! Yes mother, that is pure joy in that picture! Or completely losing your mind on an island, not sure which.

Now to my week, so this week was a little hectic. It was kinda weird, we had some lessons, nothing super special or memorable, just days of working hard. We had a good few days of work, but then we ran out of clothes. We had to spend a few hours washing clothes one day. So we couldn’t leave until the afternoon. So that kinda put a dent in the work time. But then Wednesday we had a good day, a ton of contacts. And then Thursday was a good day. We kind of just tried to find new investigators all day. Then Friday I got super sick, I felt like throwing up all morning. But then by about 4 I started to feel better so we left and got a little bit of work done. We only ended up with like 30 lessons, which is still really good but we could have done a lot better. The funny thing is as a companionship we don’t put many goals. With us it’s just more of go out, work our hardest and try to teach as many people as we can, we don’t worry so much about number of lessons. And it seems to work! So we are happy. But the workers are still here working on the church building. They are trying to finish everything today. We will see how that turns out. But we don’t have water, which kinda sucks. But we are gonna pay someone to go get it for us. So hopefully we will get some soon. But on Sunday we were doing the Sacrament, and the guys were here working. When the guy turned on the light, it popped and started smoking, so I turned it off. But the guy was just sitting in the back on his phone and didn't even notice! I was like dude your freaking light just blew up! It’s just different some times. I have learned in the mission that you are in control of yourself, not others. And you can’t blame others for the things that happen. 

But this was a pretty good week! Keep up the good work mommy! Love you!

Elder Adams

34 - Baptism Week!

Well, this week was kinda weird.  Kinda stunk at times but then ended good. Totally up and down. So first, we still had the workers here working on the church (which is where we LIVE), and they cut the lights to fix them. But they really did nothing, so we have been without lights for 5 days and counting. So that’s awesome. And they just bug us. Their work ethic is lacking.  It bugs me so bad! But they are so close to being done so hopefully they will finish and move on.  I think the workers were messing around with my camera and all my pictures got deleted. So that kinda sucks. But I have a few pictures I could send you so don’t worry! But Elder Kipp is my Zone Leader. He is a really cool kid. That’s cool that you got pics from his mom.

Yes it was kinda crazy! I took the initiative and cleaned something! It’s really out of the ordinary! Weird.
 
But we did have the baptism this week, and she asked me to do it. So it was a super cool experience! We had a few people show up. The girl’s mom who isn’t a member showed up but her sister who is a member didn’t show up and didn’t want to come. We had a few problems before the baptism. We got there to fill out the baptismal thing, and the sister was like my mom said no. Her mom only speaks Kuna so it’s hard to communicate with the mom. But right as she said that, she fell out of her hammock. So we believe it was her being smitten down. So that was kinda funny.

But it’s all going pretty much the same. The lessons are going good. We actually had like 40 lessons this last week so we got some good work done. We are trying to work smarter not necessarily harder. We try and make the lessons as productive as possible. And we are working more with the members and try and use other things we can to help us. It’s a lot easier to have the help of a member.

That’s so funny about Kooper! I remember every time he would come over I would hang with him. That little guy. I can’t wait to come hang out with him! He is such a fun kid to be around. I don’t understand how he can be so funny sometimes! But he is just a little cutie.

It really will be hard to get schedules together after everyone is married. I guess we just gotta start planning further ahead! Which is not really our strong suit.
 
But the thing about packages is I don’t really need anything. I have plenty of stuff! But anything is appreciated. Just like little things. I don’t know! I don’t know what I ever want mother! You know this about me!

So I’ve been thinking. If we ever make a plan for a new house, just make sure we put a car lift somewhere in there. Then we can work on cars! Mainly mine. But you know what I mean! And they really aren’t that expensive mom! And if we are building a house, it will be even easier! But I mean just a little shop in the back yard with a lift will be fine with me!

Now to this week. So we had a ton of lessons. We ended up with like 40 lessons and we had the baptism, which was super good! She was super ready! And we have a list of like 7 people we want to put baptismal dates with so we are getting some serious work done out here! Me and Elder Murray have been getting along really well. We are just enjoying the time we have here. And we are super positive about all the work we have been doing. But there are a few things we can do better that we are working on. So things will only get better from here on out!
 
Hope everything is good in the hood!
 
Love Elder Jakey Adams

33 - Zone Conference on the Island

Well first off, that cake looks great! You would be surprised with the lack of sweet things there are in Central America/ Latin America, whatever you want to call this place. I guess we are kind of Caribbean/Central/South America. And for my day of birth remembrance, we had a grill out! But it was not just any grill out! The ZLs came and so did all the other missionaries in the zone. We took a lot of pics. I’ll have to send them some other time; the internet is being a little temperamental today. But we built the fire using paint thinner as fuel, you know whole eagle scout training kicked in. but one of my ZLs was doing it, and the fire climbed the stream and caught the rim of the bottle on fire. He ran to the ocean to try and put it out but as he threw it into the water, it sprayed and caught the ocean on fire. So we had a fire tornado kinda thing going on right by the bathroom. My first thought was --wet the dock so it doesn’t catch fire. Finally we put out the ocean fire but it was pretty stinkin cool if I do say so myself!
 
But that’s crazy to hear about my buddy. It’s too bad that things like that happen to people that I was so close to. I still feel like he is one of my good friends. It’s just sad to see how badly a few decisions can switch your life.

So about the package. The first thing I thought, what the freak am I going to do with 15 CTR rings????!! haha just kidding. Thanks mommy! But maybe I’ll get em. We are going into the city for Christmas the first Friday of December. So maybe I’ll be able to get them then. But we will just have to wait and see! I really hope I can get some. And if not, it’s not like I’m gonna be sad! It just means I’ll just have to wait. But we are trying to get permission to stay in the city an extra few days so we can be there for changes. We need to buy some new pans for the house and such so we are trying to get that worked out. We will see how it goes I guess.

I’m sure that would be good spam- jalapeno! Out in the mission, spam is a good thing! Just fry it up with some oil and boom! It turns good! I’ll make it when I get home. Don’t you worry your little spam-deprived heart!
 
I don’t know why time is going slow for you. It feels really fast for me! Like it feels like I just got back into the mission a few weeks ago! But it was actually a few months ago. But don’t worry. I’ll be home before you know it!
 
That is a good thought you sent me. Learning and gaining a testimony is a lifetime of work. I have been thinking a lot about that. A man who was really strong in the Gospel here is kind of inactive now. It’s just kinda weird to think you could practically go from bishop to inactive just within a few short weeks. But maybe my thinking is wrong on this one. I’m not sure!
 
Oh good old region dances. So much fun! I totally would have come and chilled with you guys! That would have kind of been fun to chaperone! Just you, me and dad watching a bunch of little kids. We would have had some pretty funny comments come out of that group. But I guess I’ll just have to wait till another time to do it with you guys!
 
But that’s awesome Marcus got a birthday gift! And it’s only a month late! That’s awesome! ;) haha I’m just messin with ya mom! But that’s actually a cool gift!

I’m so glad I’m not there to watch granny go through all this chemo and stuff. I don’t know if I could handle all that! But I’m just a little tender I guess.

You guys are gonna party that place up at Christmas! And I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to skype. We will get it figured out! It might have to do it on a different day, but that’s only if like some freak storm takes out the power on the island or something big like that.
 
But other than that, this week was good. We had the zone conference, then taught some good lessons. Me and Elder Murray cleaned the entire building before these guys came. But now it’s dirtier than before, and they have been here less than a week. So now we’ll have to clean again! But we have a baptismal date and we are hoping to get at least 2 more this week. So we got high goals! And we think these are good solid dates. So I’m pretty excited! But that’s about it. I love you! Keep up the hard work.

Oh, and remind dad he has to ride the scooter a little bit so the gas doesn’t go bad and ruin it. But I love you! See ya!
 
Love
Elder Adams

32 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKE!

First off I don’t get why everyone is making such a big deal about 20! Yeah it’s not a teenager anymore but still! It’s not that big of a deal! But don’t worry. We are going over to a member’s house to have a birthday dinner. And you guys can eat all the cake you want! It doesn’t bother me at all! Eat multiple cakes and go to California Pizza Kitchen if you want! Enjoy it for me! 

Me and Elder Murray were never comps and we never lived together. He was just in my zone back in Arraijan. We have a ton in common! Back home in Sacramento he has a 66 Mustang and we talk about cars a lot. We both play guitar and we are just a lot alike. So I’m glad I get to spend Christmas with someone that I enjoy hanging out with. Speaking of, we might get to go into the city for the mission Christmas party! So keep that one in the prayers! haha just kidding! But my comp and I actually teach great together. We have had some really good lessons so far and we are trying to find investigators. We put a list on the board of some tasks we have including names or descriptions of some people we want to teach. But being DL is kinda cool I guess. I just take numbers and talk a lot. It’s not too much but it’s still fun. There are two companionships of hermanas in my district so not really many people but it’s still fun. 

I’m glad I got just a little bit of drama with Booga. Now I know how to handle stuff like that! haha But the hermanas in my district aren’t very dramatic so I’m glad for that. And Elder Murray has the special assignment. He is in the district presidency or branch presidency or something like that. But there’s only ever 1 DL in a companionship.

That’s so awesome about Abbi cheering! That little cutie! And good job Brays! And Emmry is a lover! I remember over the summer when she would get mad or sad, I would go into her room and we would lay on her bed and watch tv. We actually became pretty good buddies this last year and a half or so. She’s a cutie.

But studies are going good. There is always more to learn. It would be harder for you to study like in depth study. I have all morning for that and then it just kinda keeps rolling. But your studying is on a time limit. But this week I was kinda all over the place. I was studying faith and how it affects our lives. About how our own faith can change our life course and how a lack of faith can be a huge thing. Like certain friends I have. A lack of faith can take you from a good place to a really, really bad place you never wanted to be in a real hurry. And how to make big changes like Alma the younger and Enos. They started with just a little bit of faith. Like Enos just says he knew his father was a just man but he didn’t know anything else. He used that little bit of faith that he knew, and it turned him into a great man. So even though lack of faith can be seen as weak, it could be made into the biggest strength you have if you know how to work for it. 

Then I started reading some parables like the prodigal son and the 10 virgins. I’m just trying to find more ways to apply the stories into the lives of the people I am teaching and trying to simplify them so people can understand. Like this week we had some family home evenings and we taught Matthew 25 verses 1 to 13. It’s the 10 virgins and we went through it and explained what the olive meant, what the lamps meant, and how we need to always be ready for when Jesus comes because no one knows exactly when. And just so you know, in Spanish it actually says boyfriend instead of bridegroom. So that was kinda funny to me. But we taught that the other night to a family. One kid is a less active, and then his sister and aunt are active members. But we taught the parable and talked about it a bit. To every question I had, this little girl who is like 5, she had an answer. Sometimes I had to whisper it into her ear, but she almost always had the answer. She is so dang cute! But she just came over and sat on my lap and we were just kinda chillin the whole time. It actually turned out really good. The aunt told us how her husband was a less active, and then he served a mission, she got baptized and they got married and all this stuff. So it was a super cool experience. 

But we did find our bag on the boat. Most of the food was still in it. But yes my suitcases are okay in the house of the assistants back on the mainland. I locked them up before I came to the island. So they will be fine! I’m glad Dolores is feeling better. Pass along this message to her for me please ( Espero que estas bien. y tambien te extraño mucho. estas un mujer especial. estoy tan agradecido que tu puedes estar en este familia. debes saber que te amamos mucho) She is such a sweet lady. Grandpa is way too lucky to have her. And tell dad to get his butt in gear to get my contacts. Tell him he needs to go missionary mode and write down a schedule and keep it on him all day. And write everything down right when it is said. He probably won’t, but it would help a lot! Planning is a huge thing in the mission. 

I sent you a picture of our makeshift grill. It’s pretty awesome. It’s made by yours truly! I took a shelf from an old fridge, some tin foil, a little fire, and some wood to make it. Our neighbors were like what are you doing with that food? So I guess they don’t understand the amazingness that is grilling! And it was some of the best chicken I think I have ever had. It was straight up good! We are planning on having another one tonight for my birthday so it’s pretty exciting! But I love you. Hope you have a good week! 

Love, Elder Jakey Adams 

31 - Staying on the Island!

First off yes I did pull some money out of the account. It's because I'm spending money on that mola! I am actually sending a picture of one I bought a few days ago. It's a little nativity scene. 

Now about changes. So we went into the city and my comp went to Chorrera. He became a ZL and I became a DL so that was pretty cool. My new comp is Elder Murray and he is pretty dang cool. I don't know if you remember him but we were friends back in my first area. So it's super cool to have him as my comp. We already get along really well so I'm super excited to work with him out here!

I'm not sure if people did anything for Halloween. I think not. But a few people in the city were dressed up and they had a few signs about it but nothing too big.

I do remember that I left some contacts at home. But other than that I'm not sure. I'll just be happy to get anything I guess. Being out here has made me grateful for receiving at least something. There are a lot of things that I have realized out here on the mission.

That's awesome that Loren's team took 3rd in State! It's probably not what they wanted but at least they got a trophy! I'm glad it was fun to watch. Going to state games is always fun! But speaking of Grandma, I went to the temple when I was in the city. It was me and my comp, the ZLs, and some hermanas. It was a super good experience. I learned quite a bit. It's crazy that now I can understand most of it in Spanish. And I can actually do most of it in Spanish without help!! Just thought you would think that was kinda cool! But I was in the celestial room, and I started praying. I brought up grandma, all the struggles our family is going through, the help I need, everything I could possibly think of. Every feeling I had. And I had the warmest most awesome feeling come over my entire body. It was like 500 cups of hot chocolate all at once! And it all just felt like everything amazing happening all at once. It was seriously such an awesome experience and it made me realize that we aren't ever alone. We could feel completely alone, but we still have someone watching out for us. It was super cool. It was one of the happiest moments in my life and it was amazing to realize that in that same area of the temple. Families are sealed for all eternity. It was a super cool experience.

Something I have learned lately is the importance of the things we do in the church, everything from baptism to keeping the commandments. Sometimes some things seem dumb or not important but those are just as important as the big commandments. And God expects us to keep all of them, no matter how small they are.

The kids here are done with school in December. They go on a different time line than us. And now to my week. So we went to the city and I got my new comp. We did a lot of shopping and then we headed out here on Saturday. On the water taxi, we had to put our bags on a different boat. But the guy in charge was a member back in Arraijan where I was before. So we got to the island and waited for our bags. About an hour later he showed up and said the big red one with all our food, another lady had said it was hers. So he had us go with him to go get it. When we got there some of our stuff was taken. Just off the top of our heads about 80 dollars worth of stuff, including a Christmas pack of hot chocolate. We were kinda bummed. It's sad that we are out here working with the people, trying to love them, and still our things were stolen. It really stinks. But we have what we need to survive so we will survive. They stole stuff like toothbrushes and toothpaste,  some food, some snacks, and then random stuff we got like can opener and all that jazz. So that kinda put a damper on the week. But my comp brought up a good thing. He was like, hey this means Satan is working against us because he knows that we will work really well together. So yeah.

I'm glad to hear the Jazz are at least somewhat playing well now. It's good that we finally got some guys who are willing to hustle and work hard for the ball. That's what it takes. Like with the Lakers the other year. They had Steve Nash and all these super stars but they couldn't do anything because no one wanted to put in the hard work and hustle for the ball.

That was kind of all that happened. But being a DL is so weird! I have to take numbers and all that. But it was exciting! But I'm glad things are going good. I hope you have a good week! I love you.