Rain....Wind....and more Rain--Thank goodness she's from Oregon!

Since I, Allison's mother, get to post all these emails she sends me onto this blog I thought I'd take a moment and give you a little insider information.  We got to Skype Allison on Mothers Day.  It was wonderful to hear her voice and see her beautiful face.  I was so touched with the amount of growth that she has already accomplished--in just 3 months.  Allison has always been a sweet, shy girl.  Now some of you that know her, know she is anything but shy....after you get to know her.  But on initial meeting, Allison is probably my shyest kid.  She acknowledges this and said that this was one of her fears about serving a mission, was how uncomfortable she would be in talking to new people--ALL THE TIME!  She shared with us, on Sunday, that since she has been in the Netherlands, she hasn't had one drop of hesitation at talking with strangers.  In fact she likes it.  She has felt a confidence that she has never had before.  She knows that it truly is a gift from God.  I, as one that knows her quite well, was amazed to see that quiet, peaceful confidence in herself on Sunday.  It was wonderful.


She also expressed how it was somewhat difficult to adjust to her new life at first and then one day she just woke up and felt at home.  She felt at peace and was ready to work with all her heart.  Moving to a different country ourselves, 4 years ago, I can relate to feeling uncomfortable for a while and then one day....it's your reality, it's home.  It took me about a year to feel this way about living in Germany.  I'm grateful it only took Allison about 1 week in the Netherlands.


Missions are great!  Missions teach more than the gospel to others seeking the fullness of God's will.  They teach, grow and develop our future mothers and fathers and leaders of our countries.  I'm grateful for the Lords perfect plan in this.  We help ourselves as we help others.  If any of you are thinking about serving a mission....do it!  You won't regret it!


OK-On to Allison's letter......

When it decides to rain in Nederland...it downpours. This week we had an appointment across town and it had been down pouring for about 20 minutes. We figured that it would let up pretty soon and that if we started biking we wouldn't get too wet. Well that wasn't the case. We got soaked! The rain went through ever layer of clothes I had on and there was water running down my stockings into my boots(I'm not exaggerating). At one point, we were stopped at a stop light and it was raining very hard and I thought oh it can't possibly get harder...and then it did. It was ridiculous!! We finally got to the appointment, soaked and tired and guess what? The person wasn't even home!! It is okay though, we looked up someone else and got an appointment. It was still ridiculous how wet we were. The other hard part about Nederland is the wind NEVER stops blowing. There were multiple times this week when I was biking and I wasn't moving because the wind was blowing so hard. I have learned how to laugh at ridiculous situations such as these because honestly, that is all you can do!! 

My first transfer in Nederland is over!! My awesome district is getting split up! I am pretty sad about it but it will be good. We are losing an Elder in Roosendaal but that is okay. This past transfer, Sis. Spencer and I have not taught very many lessons. We have basically just spent the whole transfer trying to find people to teach. Our hard work is finally paying off!!! This past week we got two new investigators!! The both seem like really solid people and I am very hopeful that things will go well with them!! I have learned a lot in the past transfer and I am beginning to see the fruits of our labors. It is exciting to see the work starting to hasten!! We have more appointments this coming week then we ever have had in a week since I have been here!! I am very excited to see what is in store!! Sis. Spencer and I are going to get some good work done this next 6 weeks and I am excited to see where things go!! 

I loved talking to my family yesterday!! I won't get to talk to them until Christmas so I have a 7 month wait but it will go by fast!! I can't wait to see what is in store in the next 7 months!! 

Nederland is geweldig!!

Zuster Adams