Thy will be done

Well I survived another week here in Nederland. This week was not what I was expecting but amazing in a lot of ways!!

There are two things that I want to share that were huge testimony builders for me!

There is this lady in my ward that we go and visit every now and again. She is really awesome and I love her a lot! She is about 26 and has been through a lot of things in her life but still has a strong testimony of the gospel. The whole time I have been in Breda, she has talked about this missionary that changed her life when she was 4. She always talked about how he was so kind to her and that he is the reason she made it through all the hard things in her life. She also told us that she has been looking for this missionary since she was 4. She has been praying to find a way to come in contact with him and thank him for all that he did for her. So side story, my family has some good family friends and the husband served in the Netherlands about 20 years ago and every now and again I ask people if they remember him. I knew him and his family in Germany and he drove me to seminary every morning. I love their family and know them really well. Anyways, so we were at this member's house this week and I asked her if she remembered any missionaries from 20 years ago. She said well the missionary that I am looking for is in the Air Force, has a family, and flies planes. My jaw literally dropped(she was describing our good family friend exactly). I asked what his name was. She said Creer. I got really excited and said I knew him really well and that he is awesome!! She broke down into tears. She has been praying to find him for almost 20 years and now she had finally found him. I quickly helped her get in touch with him and now the connection has been made after 20yrs. The things that amazes me about this story is how intertwined the Lord is in our lives. I didn't know this member before I came to Breda. I didn't know that she had been praying to find this missionary. Her prayers to find this missionary started before I was born and yet, I was the one to answer them. The Lord allowed me to live in Germany at the time I did so I could meet the Creers and know to ask if anyone knew them. This experience helped me realize that the Lord is literally in the details of our lives. I am no one special, but the Lord used me to answer this prayer. I have learned that prayers are always answered no matter how long they take and the Lord is planning the answers to our prayers before we even ask them.

The other incredible lesson I learned this week is that sometimes the miracles we want are not the ones that the Lord has in store. Last week we had 6 baptismal dates and Sister Spencer and I thought that those were the miracles the Lord wanted us to see this transfer. We were doing everything we could to make them happen. But then all except for one of them got cancelled this week. I began to ask, why did this happen? The Lord promised us that we would have these baptisms...or rather he promised us that we would see miracles. I was frustrated. I thought that those baptisms were the miracles we were supposed to see. I realized though that sometimes the miracles we WANT to see are not the ones that the Lord WANTS us to see. I realized that these people will be baptized. It just won't be as soon as we thought. The Lord needs them more prepared and that is better than them not being prepared. The Lord told that we would have baptisms to motivate us to work harder. I wouldn't have pushed so hard at the beginning if I didn't think they could happen. And the great part is they will happen. We both needed the motivation. These investigators made a ton of progress and more than they would have had we not pushed them. We found a lot of other investigators this transfer and worked so hard. I have grown in more ways spiritually than ever before. The Lord doesn't always give us what we want and that is a blessing. He gave us the miracles we needed rather than the ones we wanted. We still have one more week left of this transfer and it is going to be amazing. I am grateful to be humbled and realize that I want the Lord's miracles much more than I want my own.

I love this work!! I love being here in the Netherlands!! Today, we went to the beach and enjoyed our P-day with our district!! It was amazing. Also this past week Nederland played Spain and it was crazy!! It sounded like bombs were going off but it was amazing!! I love it here and I love the people!! This work is amazing and it will go forth stronger than ever before! The Lord is truly hastening his work and I am honored to be a part of it!!

De Heer is over alles

Zuster Adams

When Life(or missionary life) Throws You a Curve Ball

This week was nothing at all like what I expected. At the beginning of the week, we had 14 lessons planned. We also had joint teaches for most, if not all of them. Then everyone started cancelling. EVERYONE. We didn't end up meeting with 5 of our baptismal dates the entire week. It was really strange and unexpected. When everything was being cancelled, Sister Spencer and I began to be very frustrated and doubtful. How are we supposed to baptize 6 people and see a miracle if they don't meet with us? But then the answer came. We realized that the real miracles happen when it appears like it isn't going to happen. We had been so blessed with everything working out that we began to expect that and not really appreciate the miracles. We both realized though that when the 28th of June comes and these people are baptized that will be the true miracle because right now, we aren't entirely sure how we are going to make it happen.

I also learned this week that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Because we didn't have any of those appointments, we went and looked up people that we wouldn't have otherwise. We found potential investigators that we were truly prepared. Yesterday, we were contacting in the Centrum and there was this man sitting on a bench. He said before we came and talked to him, he was thinking about what he needed to do with his life. He was trying to decide if he should go to church or not. He said he had also been praying to know what God wanted him to do. He said it was no coincidence that we were there talking to him at that precise moment. It was as if the Lord was showing him the way. It was incredible!! We weren't even supposed to be contacting in the Centrum but one of our appointments had fallen through. What appeared to be an annoyance, turned into the Lord answering a man's prayer. We also met with a few of our potentials this week. I had forgotten how amazing they were. They are excited to meet with us in a few weeks when school gets out. Oh there are golden people everywhere!! We met with a few of our inactive members and it went really well. One of them was baptized 20 years ago and really hasn't been to church since. She has forgotten everything. She is searching so much right now and we love meeting with her!! She is making a lot of progress!!

I had a really neat experience this week. We went to one of our inactive members and she always has all of these excuses as to why she won't come to church. We were talking to her about Temple's and how we can prepare ourselves to go there. Anyways, I asked her why people don't come to church. She said that it was because it wasn't the right time. The spirit came over me a in a way I have never felt before. I knew that I was supposed to tell her that there is never a "right time" to come to church. If the Lord commands something, there is never a right time. He doesn't wait for us to change to make a commandment. The commandment is always there, we just have to decide to follow it. I was very bold and honestly surprised myself with what I said. My Dutch made perfect since and I spoke with power. I remember thinking, I don't want to say that. But I followed the spirit and told her that she needed to work out things with God and come to church because that is where she needs to be. After I finished talking, the power that had been literally guiding me left. It was an incredible feeling to know I was following the spirit. Being a missionary is an incredible blessing because you are promised that you will speak by the power of the spirit. I love being able to following the spirit.

This coming week is crunch time. We have two weeks to get the 6 prepared and ready for interviews and baptism! I know that though adversity may come that the 28th of June will happen and 6 people will be brought into the fold of God!! I can't wait to see what this week holds and to share it with all of you!!

Geloof in de handelingen van God!

Zuster Adams

Teaching with Swagger

Wow, what an incredible week in Breda!!! 

I honestly don't know where to begin or even where to end. It has just been amazing!! Tuesday we had an appointment with a family we have been teaching and they bore their testimonies to us. We didn't know they knew the Book of Mormon was true...we were shocked!! They are getting baptized on the 28 of June. Guess what??!!! That means we have 6 baptisms for the 28th of June!! I am still reeling from that one! I am so excited to have 6 baptisms. I don't know if I will be here to see them baptized which is the hard part(because transfers are the Wednesday before) but as long as they are baptized!! We are crazy busy now!! We have so many lessons to teach and so much to prepare!! It is going to be a very busy month!

We had Zone Conference this week and it was so amazing! President Robinson said that we are going to strive to have a "Culture of Higher Expectations." We as a mission right now, have numbers higher than maybe ever. We are have more lessons, baptismal dates, and baptisms!! There is a spirit of the work accelerating and it is super exciting. We are trying to raise our expectations. We are going to start expecting things to happen when we put the work in. It goes exactly along with my ideas about expecting miracles to happen!! I was excited! I can't wait to see the work move faster than ever before. It is about time! President also told us that we need to teach with swagger...It was hilarious hearing it from him but great nevertheless!! I am so pumped and excited!!

Our investigators are doing incredible. We had 7 investigators in Church and one other person that is kind of investigating! It was truly incredible! We also are working with an inactive member and I think she is going to get it.

Things are amazing here in Breda. I know my letter this week isn't super detailed but just know that the work here is incredible. We are working very hard and miracles are happening. It is time for everyone to raise their expectations and believe that incredible things can happen! I love serving here and I can't wait to share what happens this week!!

Leven is heel druk!

Zuster Adams

Sister Spencer and Sister Adams in Breda

Catch the vision of miracles!

This week was amazing!! I already shared about Monday in my last email but lots of amazing things have happened since then!

Tuesday, we had an amazing district meeting and learned a new way to contact referrals...it is really weird but I am excited to put it to use! We also went over how to teach with baptismal questions which was exactly what we taught that night! It was so helpful! We had an amazing lesson with our investigators from the Congo. They want to be baptized and are beginning to understand what that means! They are going to take some time but I think they will get there!

Wednesday, I went on exchange to Maastricht again!! I love that city so much!! The day was so full of miracles. First, we went out to Heerlen(a city close by) and tried to look up an inactive member. We successfully got completely lost for about an hour. Although it was very annoying getting lost, it was meant to be. The inactive member had set up the appointment but was trying to avoid us. If we would have come at the scheduled time, she wouldn't have been home. Because we came an hour late, we were outside her apartment when she rode up on her bike. We may have never found her. It was a miracle that we were able to find her and have a conversation with her. I am not sure if she is super open but at least we established some sort of relationship. I am learning that sometimes we get lost for more than one reason. Sometimes, we miss a train or get lost so we can find someone or talk to someone. On our way back from Maastricht, we met this incredibly nice lady that is a Jehovah witness. We had a really nice conversation with her and told her about the church. Later that day when we were teaching in the Centrum, the lady saw us again and came up and said hi. Those things just don't happen. It was a miracle, first of all, that we were teaching the lesson we were and also that the lady found us again. Maastricht is a huge city but the Lord guided us to where we needed to be. That evening we got a call from an Elder saying that his companion was lost and on a train headed to Maastricht. We were to go and pick up his companion from the train station. We were somewhat annoyed and frustrated because we were going to be late to our appointment...but it turned into a miracle. We picked the Elder up and decided to take him to our appointment...after we had gotten past the train station his companion called and said he needed to get on a bus and go home. We then had to walk all the way back to the train station and put him on a bus. We were then really late to our appointment. But after dropping off the Elder, we were walking up the stairs and ran into one of their investigators that they were trying to get a hold of. It was a miracle. If we had not picked up that Elder, we wouldn't have been in the train station at that time to find their investigator. Then we went to our appointment and got there right after the investigator had gotten off a very difficult phone call. We were there at the perfect time to comfort her and help her. If we would have come earlier, she would have been on the phone. It was incredible. The entire day was completely led by the Lord. What could have been seen as huge annoyances, turned into miracles for us because we were looking for them.

When I came back to Breda, we went to our appointment with one of our new investigators. We had been tried to look her up a few times and had had one super short lesson with her and this was our first real lesson with her. She is incredible! The first words out of her mouth were "I want to be baptized, what do I need to do?" Sister Spencer and I were a little bit shocked. She then told us how the last few years have been really rough and she has been struggling with depression. Her sister was baptized in Peru about two months ago and told her to look up the church because we could help. She told us that she had been praying for help and that the Lord would show her which direction to go. She said that the day after she had reached her lowest and was pleading with the lord, we showed up at her door. I can't believe we were there at just the perfect time. The Lord is guiding our footsteps every day. We are seeing miracles every day. This lady is preparing to be baptized on the 21st of June! It was truly incredible.

These are just a few of the miracles we are seeing every day. Every day we pray for miracles, look for them, recognize when they happen, write them down, and then express gratitude. We are realizing that as we follow this pattern, not only are we being blessed with more miracles but that they are always happening if we would just look for them.

I love this work and I am so grateful to be a part of other people's stories. I feel honored and blessed to be a servant of the Lord. I feel honored to be bringing people the light of the gospel! I can't wait to see what is in store!! Miracles will continue to follow!!

Wonders gebeurt elke dag!

Zuster Adams

Some recent photos.....

 Allison in front of the Netherlands Temple

Allison with her Elders that she served in the MTC with

There is Sunshine in My Soul Today!

 I don't even know where to begin this letter...this last week has been crazy, sad, happy, fun, scary, creepy, hilarious, SUNNY, and probably every possible description you can think of. The sun finally decided to come out and oh my goodness, it is SO BEAUTIFUL!! It has been in the upper 70s all week and I can't help but be happy every day!

This week brought the end of my first transfer and the beginning of my second transfer. I can't believe I made it! I have now been on my mission for 3 months!! YEAH!! Sister Spencer and I have decided that we wanted to name this transfer "The Transfer of Miracles." We found a scripture to go with it as well. We made poster and put it on our door to remind us every day before we leave that we are going to see miracles. It is awesome! But of course, when you try to do something good, everything always seems to try and go against you! This week was hard. We met a lot of obstacles but through it all we saw some incredible miracles!

We had planned this week to be full of appointments. In fact, more appointments in one week than I had ever had before. I think we had close to 10 lessons planned and had found joint teaches as well....well we ended up only getting 3 lessons and no joint teaches. It was so frustrating. There was one day that Sister Spencer and I just got so frustrated because we were doing everything we could and nothing was working. We would knock on doors and no one wanted to listen. But somehow we kept a good attitude. We laughed and told stories to keep a good spirit. We knew the Lord was going to bless us with miracles so we kept on working. Even though our numbers of lessons weren't very high, the miracles we saw were incredible. We met with a lady this week and wow, I have never met someone so prepared in my life. It is a lady from Peru and her sister got baptized 2 months ago and she told us that she wants to be baptized too and that she wants to find a family in the church!! Oh my goodness, after we left her home, Sister Spencer and I were in shock. No one is ever super excited to meet with us or tells us they want to be baptized. It was incredible! She also came to church this Sunday and that was a miracle! We met with a Buddhist this morning that loved the Plan of Salvation and prayed with us!! Oh my goodness, it was incredible. A man came to church that we had been searching for. Then we found him in the city today! We went for an appointment with a lady and we thought she wasn't home but we wrote her a note and while we were writing the note she came to the door and turns out we had written the wrong day for our appointment. If we wouldn't have waited by her door for 10 minutes writing a note, we would have missed our appointment with her and never known. We also set a baptismal date with one of our investigators for the end of the Transfer!!! These are just a few of the miracles we saw! There were so many more and it was amazing! Even though, we faced opposition and didn't want to carry on, the Lord blessed us because we kept trying. Missionary work is amazing!!

We did have one crazy experience this week...we had a referral in a little tiny village 14.5km away. So we decided to bike out there to see if we could find it...well we couldn't find the house. We rode past the village and kept looking. We were passing through fields and huge houses. It was weird. Eventually we found #97 which was the house number...but it was a giant metal gate with what looked to be a prison behind it. It looked like a bunch of huge houses in a compound that had been abandoned. IT WAS CREEPY and kind of "Lost" like(the show Lost). We knew people lived there because there were cars but all the grass was over grown....but we kept looking around and Sis. Spencer found a gate that was open so we decided to explore. But quickly got too creeped out and decided to leave when a man walked out and asked if we needed help. Turns out the lady we were looking for did live there. The place we had found is an old monastery from the 40s that the Catholic church has asked people to live in to keep it up because the land is worth a lot of money. Cool story, but really creepy experience to say the least!! I am glad we survived and I didn't die!

I love being a missionary and I can't wait to see what is in store!!

Wonders Gebeurt!

Zuster Adams

A nice note.....

April 28th, 2014
This is a nice note from a native Netherlands friend that saw Allison.

"Hi Josh,

As you can see we met Sister Adams yesterday. Your daughter is doing great and her Dutch is amazing.

You can be proud of her.

Hope you are doing well,

greetings

Hans"