Week 45 in the Mission Happy Birthday Year Mark

We have had another quick week here in the mission, with a lot of big days for me,
20th birthday, my one year mark, and I was able to go to the temple this week because conference is coming up. That was probably the highlight of my week, being able to go to the temple, it was a really awesome experience, spiritual experience. It was a lot better this time because I actually understand everything, the Spanish that is a least, the first time I went in Paraguay I understood a lot because of how often I had gone in English, so I could follow really well, but this time I was actually understanding, following the Spanish like a Spanish speaking person, not just because I can translate it into English, if that makes any sense.
That made it more enjoyable and meaningful, and at the same time it was Thursday, which was the same day I finished a year of my mission, so I was able to make it a kind of “rendimiento” with my Heavenly Father, everyone that speaks Spanish will understand that, well, maybe not, because I heard it has a different meaning here. I really can’t find an English word that does it justice, the word means an evaluation of performance, or a report, here the people use it to say a testing week, if they have to rendir, it means they have to take a test, but anyway, I’m getting off topic. The whole time in the temple I was just sitting there thinking about what I had been able to accomplish my first year, really pleading for forgiveness for mistakes, and seeking an approval of what I had done well, so I thought about that through the whole session, really focusing on understanding what was being said and looking for things that could help me be better.

As I waited to pass through to the celestial room I started to really notice how much the Lord has done on my mission for me. How much he has helped me, lifted me up, and how much he has really built upon my weaknesses to make me a better person. and as I entered into the celestrial room, I just felt the most amazing peace, like I was supposed to be there, like I was being accepted into his presence. It was amazing, it was probably one of the best feelings I have felt in my life; I truly felt his grace. There are a lot of things I have done, or didn’t do, on my mission I wish I would have done differently, but that night in the temple I really understood that I don’t have to, I don’t have to go back and try and change all those little things, all I have to do is live today a better person than I was yesterday, and let His love help me grow to be better the next time, because I have been forgiven. He is the reason I have grown, I am way too human to give any credit to myself, but I know that if I were to have to go to Him right now He would accept me, because He is whom I have put my trust in.

Those moments in the Celestial Room have really made me see things in a different light, and have really made me, at the same time, want to really reach my full potential. I know I’m not perfect, but the temple shows us that we can be, if we are doing all we can. That’s a little quote from Elder Gage, he told me that in the Celestial Room, we had a really nice conversation in the Celestial Room, it was actually kind of sad, it was like when you’re with all your buddies hanging out for the last time before you have to go on some big trip and you won’t see them for a really long time. Elder Gage is definitely one of the best friends I have in the mission as of now, and I’ll probably be here in the office to drive him home in January. I really hope he goes to BYU or something, or we can get together after the mission somehow, he has helped me out more than any other companion I have had, and it’s going to take a lot for any other to help me grow more.

Anyway, so all in all I had a really great week, we have still been working really hard with the rest of Laura’s family, there is definitely something developing there, but there is just something lacking, I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m going to do the best I can to find it. We had a really good lesson this week with them reading Alma 32, we went through where they are and how they can really receive a perfect knowledge that they need to be baptized, I explained that we get the seed and we experiment on it and it will begin to grow, Heavenly Father will help our faith in Jesus Christ increase, but we have a responsibility still to act upon our faith, we can’t expect Heavenly Father to give us the perfect knowledge Himself, or we wouldn’t be using our faith. We started reading in verse 28 and we went to verse 35, but I really stopped in 34 were it says, “And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant;” I asked them why they thought our faith would be dormant, then I explained that principle, how we don’t receive any testimony until after the trial of our faith, the scripture really is trying to say that because our knowledge is perfect our faith is dormant, but they understood what I was trying to say and I think the application is really what they needed, it was a really good lesson, I know they felt the Spirit in it and they accepted a date to be baptized next week, they are still a little not sure about it though, so I don’t know if it will happen, we will make sure we do all we can so they can get baptized this next week, but if not, it’ll be done in the Lord’s time.

That is pretty much all there was to the week, other than that the area has been really tough lately, we haven’t really been getting in to teach anyone new, but they will come, as long as we keep being diligent. Sorry, I didn’t answer too many of the questions in this letter, but I think you got basically the feelings for the birthday week. Tell Merrill I’m really excited for him, I did know him a little bit before we moved to New York, but not too much, but I’m sure he’ll remember me if you tell him congrats for me. Keep me updated on the other mission calls, and see how Nick is doing for me. It is funny that you mentioned him coming home because I was walking in the streets with my companion the other day and he asked me what I thought my friends from 8th grade were doing. I immediately thought of Nick and Tim, and how they were both on missions, then it hit me that Nick was either home or going home in the next week, because I had seen his parents in September at BYU when they dropped him off at the MTC, so I was right. It is so weird to think he is already a returned missionary, he might even be married before I get home...

Anyway, I love you all so much, can’t wait for General Conference, I will write you between sessions on Saturday, love you, Elder Adamson V