Sam shared his Testimony with the Priests and Teachers of the Sandridge Ward...

Hello Elder Adams ,

I hope things are well with you in North Carolina.  I am so proud of you Sam and your commitment to serve a mission.

We are leaving for Priest/Teachers Quorum High Adventure in the next couple of weeks.  I was wondering if you could send a message to me that I could share with the Priests/Teachers during a nightly devotional and let them know what you feel they need to do to prepare to service a mission like you.  Please feel free to share anything else you wish someone would have shared with you when you were a Priest/Teacher.  Please also share your testimony.

Thanks in advance.

All the best,

Adam Call

Sandridge Ward Young Men
Hey guy its Elder Adams. Right now I am serving a mission in Charlotte North Carolina and wow it has been a wonderful experience for me. During this duration of time I have seen a huge growth in myself. Not only have I gotten a deeper understanding of life and knowledge but I have gained a testimony that is centered on our savior Jesus Christ.
 
One thing that I would like to point out is when I first came out here to NC. Man was I a nervous wreck and I had absolutely no clue what in the world I was doing at the moment. As y’all know, I came home for a knee surgery and it was the hardest thing that I have done in my life up to this point. During this time period that I was home I was set in my ways and told everyone that I was not coming back out here. Little did I know, the Lord had other plans for me. So, I eventually got to the point where I was deciding to come back out on a mission and that is the best decision that I have ever made. Why? You may ask. Because of the wonderful opportunities that I have had to serve and help Gods children. These wonderful opportunities have all been very spiritual and they hold a very special place in my heart. These opportunities that you find out on a mission, you cannot and will not find anywhere else in your life. The beautiful experiences that you experience out here will shape you for the rest of your life. I promise that as you decide to serve a mission that you will have these same experiences. I promise that the Lord will make wonders happen in your life. I promise that you will be able to see the growth that you have been able to accomplish. At times it will be very hard. You might even have the feeling and thought to want to go home. In those situations I challenge you to look on the bright side of things and think about the hard things that you have been able to accomplish in your own life. I would also invite you to think about what Christ has gone through just for you. He has gone through every Pain, Heartache, Temptation, Affliction, Mental discouragement, Physical discouragement, and all this because the worth of your soul is far too great to be lost and forgotten about. He loves you, He will be there for you in your hardest moments, and He will give you inspiration. At this time I challenge you all to start reading your scriptures a little more. You may already be reading your scriptures and that is great but I am asking for you to do some more because it will help you out in the long run. I challenge you guys to go out and serve the people around you. If you do these things I promise that there will be spiritual experiences involved and you may not see it right off the bat but keep doing it and you will soon realize that you are doing miracles. You guys are amazing.
 
Some things I wish I would have been told before my mission are:
1. I wish I would have been told how hard the start can be.
2. I wish I would have been told how much the spirit is involved in this work.
3. I  wish I would have been told the details of how amazing it is to be out here.
4. I wish I would have been told that I am not expected to be perfect on a mission.
5. I wish I would have been told to be myself at all times.
6. I wish I would have been told how hard it can be to get along with some companions.

Some things I wish I would have done before my mission are:
1. I wish I would have studied the scriptures more.
2. I wish I would have distanced myself from the worldly things.
3. I wish I would have gone out ministering a lot more.
4. I wish I would have paid more attention in church and seminary.
5. I wish I would have been prepared to be uncomfortable with my living situation.
6. I wish I would have been ready to be away from my family and friends.
7. I wish I would have listen to the spirit more growing up.
8. I wish I would have had more faith in the Gospel.
9. I wish I would have done more service.
10.  I wish I would have taught the gospel more back home.

I would like to leave with my testimony. Over these past two years I have really come to know the characteristics of Christ and who he is. I know for a fact that he lives. I know for a fact that he is in our day to day lives and that he is supporting us every step of the way. I know that He loves us and wants the best for us even though that might mean going through hard times. I know that the Atonement is not a backup plan. It is the game plan. God knew that we were going to mess up in our lives and that is why he implemented the Atonement into our individual lives. I know that the Atonement is so wide spread to every single person that has ever lived on this world or ever will but I also know that it is person to us individually. I know that this work, “bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” is sacred and it is something that is so perfect. I know that we are meant to be placed into the lives of others for a reason and that is for us to find out why. I bare this testimony upon you in the sacred name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Amen.

June 20, 2022 

Hello Everyone 

This past week has been pretty good, but to be honest. it was also very generic. Sometimes I feel like I am constantly living the same day over and over again. I'm here in Rock Hill still and have been for the past 6 months. Plus, I pretty much started my mission here (way back when) so it has really been more like 9 months in South Carolina.  I feel like there isn't a whole lot more work I can do and I honestly think that I have reached out to every single person in our area book! But I also know that there is something in store for this amount of time that I have been here. For the next transfer that will be coming up,  I think it would be really nice to go somewhere else in the mission. I think I will probably go up to Charlotte or somewhere around there. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

This past week we have been teaching some really good lessons. To be a little bit more specific, we taught Johnny a lesson. Johnny is probably our most progressing person at the moment. He is a great guy and definitely someone that has a lot of trust in God. It is amazing to see his growth and more importantly his testimony. I think my favorite thing about being a missionary is watching those that you care about gain a testimony and receive the wonderful blessing that come from living the gospel. I love watching the joy and peace that they are getting, especially in their struggles with life. That is a real testament to me that there is no way the God is not aware of what we are going through. While being a missionary I have heard, "You came into my life at the right exact moment!" WOW, that is the best feeling ever to know that God placed you in someone's path to help them build a relationship with their Savior, which will help them in all aspects of their life. WOW, missionary work is amazing.  One thing I have realized on my mission, is that everything about the gospel is about helping other people. When you look in the scriptures you see that most stories are about someone helping someone else . Even if that someone is God helping his beloved children. Holy smokes, I love this gospel and I love you all or all yall;)  I am thankful for every single one of you because each of you have helped me somewhere down the road and have follow the example of our Lord and Savior!

1. Exchanges w/ Elder Rout

2. Just a beautiful picture

3. The horizon 

4. Cam asleep

5. Dinner

6. Obi Wan Kenobi on a Baptismal Schedule

 June 14, 2022

Hey y'all!

This past week has definitely been one to remember. First things first, we found some new people. One in particular, his name is Johnny and he is a real cool guy. He has had 6 strokes in his lifetime, which has caused him to be a little bit set back physically but his spiritual side is very strong. He has a wonderful testimony so far and it is wonderful to watch him feel the spirit in our lessons. He is awesome.

This past week I got the stomach flu!! It was one of the worst days of my life. I was throwing up ALL DAY LONG. I honestly had the thought come to my mind "oooh I might die right here and now!"  I made it out alive but not without consequences, so much pressure while throwing up and having to do it so many times resulted in blood shot eyes and they won't go away.

Onto bigger and better things... these past few weeks have been hard and a little discouraging. I have learned  that naturally the human mind (when things are hard) will think of the worst scenario possible! So with knowing that, I have found that it is a little easier to have a more positive attitude towards things. I learned that when I have that positive attitude, I will have better days and I will be able to feel the spirit a little more. I know that when we go through hard times, there are also benefits that come out of it. I know for a fact that God has an eternal plan that we cannot see, but when we have faith and hope in Christ, we will be able to fulfill the will of our Heavenly Father and do amazing things. There is always something that we cant see. There is always something further down the line that is positive and we may have to work to get there but in the end, it will always be worth it.

-Elder Adams signing off.

Pictures 

1. The sunsets out here are outstanding 

2. Stomach flu blood shot eyes

3. New shoes

4. My favorite scripture

5. Just me being silly

 June 3, 2022

Hard Weeks Bring Good Weeks

Hey everybody!

 Alright, I'm just going to start off with saying that this week was probably one of the hardest weeks that I have had on my mission. I am willing to go through hard things though, because it is for this work. To start off about why this week was difficult... Ms. Lisa told us that she didn't want to be baptized anymore because she doesn't believe the same things that we do. I know that deep down, the spirit has told her otherwise. Following that, Elder Semrow and I were caught in the middle of a fight and we had to break it up (oh boy was that fun). I also lost my airpod pros. Like I said though, I am definitely willing to go through this in order to help other people because that is where I have found the most joy in my life while being out on my mission. I understand that is what the gospel is centered around. Jesus Christ loved helping and serving other people and He is the ultimate example for us all.

While going through all this emotional and physical stress, I have been able to feel the presence of our Savior right next to me. If there is one thing that I have learned on my mission, the most important it is that Christ is by our side always regardless of where we are at in our life. Whether we are just in our deepest and darkest situations our when we are absolutely striving to be like him, He is always there to comfort us. That is extravagant! He is amazing.

Anyway sorry this is a little late but talk to you guys next week:)

Pics

1. Elder Semrow and I

2. QT trip 

3. Lambo 

4. Tech Decking to Kolob

 

April 28, 2022 

Hello everyone! This week has been a good one but it also had some rough times as well because of the lack of people interested. It can just be a little discouraging sometimes. One good thing is that we have set up a bunch of lessons for this coming week, which gives us something to look forward to. 

This week, one of my best mission friends will be leaving to go home. This is the worst. His name is Elder Mauluulu. His name is a mouthful, haha. Anyway, he is amazing. When I started my mission, he had just started a transfer before me. He was one of the missionaries that really helped me find peace and comfort out here when I was terrified of this place and being away from home. I will always be so grateful for that. 

The other day I was kind of reflecting on my mission and how it has impacted my life. The thoughts that were coming to my mind were  "what would I be like if I hadn't come back out" and other things like that. Well it kind of scared me a little bit. While being out here in the Carolinas, I have learned that missions are absolutely wonderful and the blessings that come from them are amazing and awesome. But, they are super hard too. The blessings and the rewards that come from being a missionary and helping people everyday are absolutely worth the hard times and they definitely exceed the hard times:) 

I love you guys and I am excited to see you guys again (one day). Keep doing all you do and everything will work out. I promise! Just put your trust in Heavenly Father's timing and you will go where our Father would like you to.

Love everyone

Elder Adams

Pics

1. Semrow and I

2. Cool Lil frog

3. P.2

4. P.3

5. Just me

 May 23, 2022

These past 2 weeks have been really good. To start it off... we put Ms. Lisa on date to be baptized the 28th! Absolutely crazy! She is so ready:) She has such a wonderful spirit about her and she cares for everyone The only problem or road block, is that she has been smoking quite a bit:/ so, we unfortunately had to move her date back a little bit because you have to be 2 weeks free of smoking. 

This last week, Dale G. Renland came to our mission.  Immediately when he first walked into the gym, I could feel  the spirit and it was so uplifting. WOW.  He walked past many of us and we were able to shake his hand. OH BOY I'll tell ya what, it felt like he was starring right into my soul. It was a little intimating to think that this wonderful man is like a war general for God and Jesus Christ. After, we were able to do a Q & A with him and his wife and that was super cool except my question wasn't answered but that was fine, they answered a lot of good questions.

In the past two weeks, I have really experienced the joy of being a missionary and seeing God's work affect the life's of others. That is the most beautiful joy that anyone can experience! Being able to see people progress within the gospel is amazing and something I'll never forget. 

A lot of stuff has been coming up and we are busy, but I've finally gotten to the point where I just say to myself "it'll work out" or "just sit back and let it happen". If there is one really cool thing that I have learned on my mission... it would have to be that when you get on your knees and pray and plead, your day will become easier. Your load will be lightened and what an awesome experience that is when you feel that. 

Christ is here for us. He is here with his arm around us, guiding us to wherever we need to go. He is here to help us feel peace and joy.

He is here to bare our burdens:)

Pics👇

1. Hard Sam

2. Me, Geffry, Semrow

3. Just a picture outside 

 May 10, 2022

Hello Hello Hello

Riley asked us to be baptized!!! Our jaws literally dropped when she asked us. Not kidding, it was one of the coolest experiences I've had on my mission and so unexpected. As a missionary it is not common at all for someone to flat out ask you to be baptized the first time you meet. So, that was probably the highlight of the week. 

Today, my dad asked me what has been the biggest lesson I have learned so far while being out here on my mission? This question kind of got me thinking for a little bit.  I told him that one of the biggest lessons I have learned is to have a good time but still work hard. If you are not enjoying being out on a mission (or anything else we do in life) then you might not be getting all you can out of it. Which means that you might not be growing as much as you could.  

This coming week, Dale G. Renland is coming to our mission. Wow it is going to be an awesome experience! I am so excited to hear from a prophet of the Lord.

Anyway, gotta blast! Talk to ya next week:)

1. I'm goated at bowling 🎳 

2. Me giving this kid a noogie 

3. May the 4th