Adam is constantly writing about how much he loves and appreciates us (he means extended family too). Here are a few quotes:
"I hope all of you had a blast at Bear Lake with the Wardle family and with the Lovell's for the 4th! I miss you all so much more around the big days during the year. I never really noticed how much I love all of you until I was separated for just a short time. It doesn't help that I 'most likely' won't have any fireworks to shoot off...I always loved doing the show!"
"The letters from everyone were wonderful!" (He is talking about the letters he received after both the Wardle and Lovell reunions when everyone took the time to write to him as part of vacation.)
And..."Yes I got your Bear Lake Novel haha and I loved it! It sounded like so much fun and I could just imagine me being there with all of you. I also got the Lovell package with all the letters I love that idea so much and It's awesome to hear from everyone...but now I am behind about 60 letters and not sure how I'll get back to all of them haha!"
"You are always in my prayers and thank-you for putting me in yours. The days go by slow but the weeks/months/transfers seem to fly by. Let me know what you think about that I need to improve on...besides writing... :) I love you all!"
"I truly am so blessed to have a loving family that supports me back home!"
"Haha the one thing I miss about the family wards would be the lil kids... we were at the church building on Sunday while the other ward was there and of course there was this cute lil girl who was shy at first but then started to open up and reminded me of Kenzee so much!"
Most of his letters end something like this one:
"Thank-you for all your prayers, they are for sure felt in times of comfort. I'm doing great and time can barely catch up to how fast the mission is going by! I love you all so much, have a wonderful week!"
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Service and Fun
Adam seems to love the days he gets to do service.
"Good day that started with service! We sanded and chipped off all the paint of a 3 car garage from 7:30-12! We were pretty beat afterwards but all worth it."
"Dinner was with the old Bishop. We helped their son put a skateboard quarter pipe together, that's my kind of service!"
"Glorious Day! We were able to be in b-ball shorts and a t-shirt and blessed with service all day! Started off by helping a family move out of a house the size of ours in Provo. We worked from 9-11:30 and filled a semi-truck! The church is amazing! Then from 12-5 we were in the canyon setting up canopies, tables, tents, booths, and a flag pole for a cub scout camp. We had a blast and were beat by the end."
I love how he always mentions how wonderful it was even though they are "beat". If you think about it, we always feel better after working hard and seeing the fruits of our labors. It feels so much better to be "beat" after accomplishing something than to be tired from doing nothing.
He goes on to say:
"It felt so nice to be in the outdoors getting the closest to camping I can. Afterwards we went to the Stake Pioneer Day at the park. We had fun talking and playing and then an older man came to us and asked us to sing with him - 'You are My Sunshine' was the first and I was instantly trunky for the Petersen campout which I think you are actually on!!!"
He was right, we were on the campout just as he was wishing he could be there. I'm so glad my kids have the opportunity to get together and camp with so much extended family. They love it and they love all of you! Thanks to all who make it such a great tradition.
"Good day that started with service! We sanded and chipped off all the paint of a 3 car garage from 7:30-12! We were pretty beat afterwards but all worth it."
"Dinner was with the old Bishop. We helped their son put a skateboard quarter pipe together, that's my kind of service!"
"Glorious Day! We were able to be in b-ball shorts and a t-shirt and blessed with service all day! Started off by helping a family move out of a house the size of ours in Provo. We worked from 9-11:30 and filled a semi-truck! The church is amazing! Then from 12-5 we were in the canyon setting up canopies, tables, tents, booths, and a flag pole for a cub scout camp. We had a blast and were beat by the end."
I love how he always mentions how wonderful it was even though they are "beat". If you think about it, we always feel better after working hard and seeing the fruits of our labors. It feels so much better to be "beat" after accomplishing something than to be tired from doing nothing.
He goes on to say:
"It felt so nice to be in the outdoors getting the closest to camping I can. Afterwards we went to the Stake Pioneer Day at the park. We had fun talking and playing and then an older man came to us and asked us to sing with him - 'You are My Sunshine' was the first and I was instantly trunky for the Petersen campout which I think you are actually on!!!"
He was right, we were on the campout just as he was wishing he could be there. I'm so glad my kids have the opportunity to get together and camp with so much extended family. They love it and they love all of you! Thanks to all who make it such a great tradition.
A young ZL
This is what Adam wrote when he was first made a ZL in June, he had been out 9 months.
"Wednesday...started the day off with a nice ZL meeting, sorta teaching us how to be a ZL-basically a DL with more responsibility. Being around all the other ZL's I feel super young because all the others are past their year marks. I relate it to being the lil brother who follows his brother and his friends around and is welcomed but stands out and maybe not as cool as the rest....It will just take time I'm sure."
It's kind of fun to see him in the "little brother" shoes. He's never experienced that before.
"Wednesday...started the day off with a nice ZL meeting, sorta teaching us how to be a ZL-basically a DL with more responsibility. Being around all the other ZL's I feel super young because all the others are past their year marks. I relate it to being the lil brother who follows his brother and his friends around and is welcomed but stands out and maybe not as cool as the rest....It will just take time I'm sure."
It's kind of fun to see him in the "little brother" shoes. He's never experienced that before.
Being in a YSA Ward
So in an earlier post I mentioned Adam is now a ZL in a YSA ward. Here are a few things he mentioned about being in a YSA Ward.
"I found out our area is a little rough for finding efforts because we don't have any colleges or anything that would attract YSA people specifically to our area. So, we will be working a bunch with members and hope/pray for referrals."
"Dinner was sweet! It's sorta like going over to a friend's house and chillin because you can relate to them so much easier. We played some darts waiting for the food."
"Gonna be honest...being in a ward where everyone is around your age is just fun! Everybody is single and to watch them try to flirt is funny, what a great environment!"
I can't find the exact quote, but I remember him saying how it's ridiculous how the girls in the YSA ward flirt with the missionaries...he even said, "Ashlee, you'd better never do that!" I guess it's fun watching the flirting among the YSA people but it irritates him when they flirt with the missionaries.
"We came to realize something...As a YSA during the summer, why on earth would you be sitting in your apt. during the middle of the day...you wouldn't! We tried potentials from 12-dinner and not a single soul answered the door! People are either working or playing during the day during the summer."
The biggest challenge he has found in the YSA ward is that they have had to give away most of the people they have found to teach. When knocking doors they don't know the age or marital status of who lives there so they often find people for other missionaries to teach and rarely find young single adults. When people let them in, they teach the first lesson and then pass them to the other missionaries. It would be easier if there was a college associated with the ward but since there isn't, it makes it difficult to find people. They are relying on members a lot and there haven't been many referrals. With the difficulties in finding, this is an observation Adam made:
"This past week has been pretty good and I think both of us know what we are to do in this area, at least for now. That is to work with the less active/recent converts and make sure that they are solid."
"I found out our area is a little rough for finding efforts because we don't have any colleges or anything that would attract YSA people specifically to our area. So, we will be working a bunch with members and hope/pray for referrals."
"Dinner was sweet! It's sorta like going over to a friend's house and chillin because you can relate to them so much easier. We played some darts waiting for the food."
"Gonna be honest...being in a ward where everyone is around your age is just fun! Everybody is single and to watch them try to flirt is funny, what a great environment!"
I can't find the exact quote, but I remember him saying how it's ridiculous how the girls in the YSA ward flirt with the missionaries...he even said, "Ashlee, you'd better never do that!" I guess it's fun watching the flirting among the YSA people but it irritates him when they flirt with the missionaries.
"We came to realize something...As a YSA during the summer, why on earth would you be sitting in your apt. during the middle of the day...you wouldn't! We tried potentials from 12-dinner and not a single soul answered the door! People are either working or playing during the day during the summer."
The biggest challenge he has found in the YSA ward is that they have had to give away most of the people they have found to teach. When knocking doors they don't know the age or marital status of who lives there so they often find people for other missionaries to teach and rarely find young single adults. When people let them in, they teach the first lesson and then pass them to the other missionaries. It would be easier if there was a college associated with the ward but since there isn't, it makes it difficult to find people. They are relying on members a lot and there haven't been many referrals. With the difficulties in finding, this is an observation Adam made:
"This past week has been pretty good and I think both of us know what we are to do in this area, at least for now. That is to work with the less active/recent converts and make sure that they are solid."
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Priesthood
Here are a couple of quotes from Adam about how he feels about the Priesthood:
The Priesthood Power is something very dear to me, because I know it is the literal power from God and when a member of the church is worthy we have the Authority to act in his name. With that Power and Authority like it says in Luke 1:37 "For with God, Nothing is impossible". I have seen miracles on my mission with the power of the Priesthood. I am so glad to have grown up in a household with a Priesthood holder, I didn't realize how it effects a home when one is not present, but when a older woman in our ward told us how grateful she was to have Worthy Priesthood holders in her home. It hit hard and I decided that the Priesthood will always be in my home for eternity.
I see every type of family out here, and those with worthy
priesthood holders in the home always seem to stick in there even when
hard times come about. I hope our family can all be in the Temple when
Kenzee gets married, picturing that gives me the chill because of how
wonderful that would be. I know I will be there! I hope to be an
"incoming family " into the Celestial Kingdom.
The Priesthood Power is something very dear to me, because I know it is the literal power from God and when a member of the church is worthy we have the Authority to act in his name. With that Power and Authority like it says in Luke 1:37 "For with God, Nothing is impossible". I have seen miracles on my mission with the power of the Priesthood. I am so glad to have grown up in a household with a Priesthood holder, I didn't realize how it effects a home when one is not present, but when a older woman in our ward told us how grateful she was to have Worthy Priesthood holders in her home. It hit hard and I decided that the Priesthood will always be in my home for eternity.
I see every type of family out here, and those with worthy
priesthood holders in the home always seem to stick in there even when
hard times come about. I hope our family can all be in the Temple when
Kenzee gets married, picturing that gives me the chill because of how
wonderful that would be. I know I will be there! I hope to be an
"incoming family " into the Celestial Kingdom.
Prayer
Here are some quotes and an experience from Adam about prayer.
"OH I Iove the ability to pray to our Heavenly Father, experiences are wonderful and I love letting my testimony grow!"
"I love little experiences with prayer they mean so much."
Adam needed an answer to a question and tried going "up the line". (This was right before he was made ZL.) They called the ZL's who had him call the AP's. He tried 5 times with no answer. He called the ZL's again and they told him to call President Bowen. He tried twice with no answer. He called the ZL's again and they told him to go to Heavenly Father through prayer. He said, "In the middle of my prayer, President Bowen called. It was a really cool experience - simple yes - but a good one."
"OH I Iove the ability to pray to our Heavenly Father, experiences are wonderful and I love letting my testimony grow!"
"I love little experiences with prayer they mean so much."
Adam needed an answer to a question and tried going "up the line". (This was right before he was made ZL.) They called the ZL's who had him call the AP's. He tried 5 times with no answer. He called the ZL's again and they told him to call President Bowen. He tried twice with no answer. He called the ZL's again and they told him to go to Heavenly Father through prayer. He said, "In the middle of my prayer, President Bowen called. It was a really cool experience - simple yes - but a good one."
Zone Leader
Adam's letters have been a little sparse lately but he has been writing a little more in emails so I'm starting to do some copy and paste posts.
Transfers!!
Well on Thursday I was called by President Bowen, to be a Zone Leader- not knowing which area, but meant I was leaving my area for sure... Then Saturday night was transfer calls and we got all the news. I will be serving in the Young Single Adult ward of Placentia PYSA in the Anaheim East Stake. It was probably the easiest transfer of the entire mission. I moved two floors up in the same complex so I was moved in by Sunday night, pretty nice. Elder Josie will be training some greenie! and is pretty excited about it so I will be " Big Poppy Wardle" - Josie my son and his trainee my grandson haha mission talk I guess! Elder Johnson is going home and I have tried to aquire as much info from him as possible, and I have sure learned a lot and have a lot to look forward to if I can follow his footsteps. Zibs will be training in his area as well with his companion dying (going home) so yes he is staying in the Anaheim mission, hopefully I'll be around him some day!!
Sending home Elder Johnson (left) and Elder Roberts
Elder Johnson is someone Adam has really looked up do so far in his mission. He never got to be companions with him but did go on splits with him and has been in his zone. Adam was very impressed with his work ethic and his spirituality. He felt like he could learn a lot from him and said he wanted to be the kind of missionary Johnson was. Even though they were never companions, he felt like Johnson was one of the greatest influences for obedience and diligence on his mission. He is really going to miss him.
Adam's zone has 11 Elders and 4 Sisters. It covers Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda. He said it is a pretty nice area.
Adam's new companion is Elder Munguia. He is El Salvadorian and from Brooklyn, NY. He only has 9 weeks left of his mission. Adam feels like he needs to keep him busy so he won't be too trunky.
Elder Wardle and Elder Munguia
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