Hello Concord!!

Dear family,

How are you?? Well as you already know, I'm in Concord. It's right outside of Charlotte. It's the first time I've been anywhere close to Charlotte. The place I bought my bike is not too far from me! So they can tune it for free. Yay. And the mission medical advisors are in my ward! I hope this is not a sign that I'll be getting in a bike crash soon... Just thought of that as I was typing ;)

My address is:

……(Email my mom for the address) Concord, NC 28025

Well we'll start with transfers- We got there super early and I got to see one of my favorite members from Winston there. And all of my companions except Sister Farber were at transfers! Sister Whitmer, my trainer, went home. So strange. It felt so far away back when we were companions. Elder Dallin Abbott, from our home stake, came into the mission on Tuesday! So many Herriman kids here. Before the meeting we were talking to Sister Tucker, who I was in the MTC with, and who was Sister Evangelista's companion for 6 months. She asked if I was going home a transfer early or staying until December, and she said that she is going home a transfer early. We've seen each other several times at transfers and always wondered if we would be companions. Well when the meeting started and they started conducting transfers, we were definitely surprised when we got put together as companions!! What a surprise! What this means though is it's going to be a busy transfer.

We'll be together for 6 weeks, then she will go home, and then I'll get a new companion and I will leave after 5 weeks, since they moved the transfer. Which means I have to hurry and learn the area and then hurry and teach it to another sister! Phew. I was hoping for something to keep me focused and that would be a challenge, and I think I got it! I've been extra attentive to streets and people this week. More so than I usually would be getting to a new area. We are in a regular car share, but we are sharing with sisters in a different area, so we can't switch every other day like we were with the Morganton Elders.

We had a bike week this week, which was challenging. Luckily, it's not as hilly here like it is in Morganton. We rode a LOT this week. Also, we live right off of a highway, so riding at night is pretty much out the window. Luckily the members come out with us a lot! They definitely have a good thing going here. The area is also A LOT smaller than Morganton. It's still a long drive from one side to the other, but Morganton was like a long stretched out oval, and here it's more like a circle. Side note- I have my own bathroom and shower!!  Haha I know it's not a big deal, but I was super happy. I've been hoping I would. Heavenly Father is the best ;)

Anyway, this week was exciting and adventurous for sure! Haha. Where do I even start? Well first of all, they are working with this GREAT lady named Melinda. She is probably in her 30s and is so ready to get baptized. The only thing holding her back was that she was living with her boyfriend. Well he moved out, but then they found out that this other guy (the boyfriend of Melinda's friend, Becca) living in the apartment is not actually Melinda's brother, he's just "like a brother". So there's 3 adults and 3 kids living in this little apartment, and Becca and her boyfriend aren't married, so Melinda still has to move out before she can get baptized. She is so great though. She comprehends things so well. Last night we tried to set another baptism date with her and she said "Valentine's Day". NOOOO!!  Haha this is like Benjamin again! She knows she ready though, I think she just has some fears that she's not doing good enough to get baptized, but she is! So excited for her. Prayers would be appreciated so she can find a place to live by the end of the month.

On Wednesday we contacted a lady that one of the members had talked to at the Republican Party office downtown for 2 hours about the church. She is so great! Her name is Debra. Very smart lady. Thinks we're really interesting :) haha. So we will be seeing her tomorrow. Asked a lot of good questions, too! Downtown Concord is great. Super easy to ride bikes in and before the stores there are some of the most beautiful Southern homes from the early 1900s. I ride my bike down that street everyday picking which house I want to live in. It changes every day.

The next day we were riding our bikes and this man started talking to us. I thought he knew Sister Tucker, but I guess not! He was this tall, black man named Parker and he was so funny. Asking who we were, and then sitting next time was a young man named Jacob. He asked us if we were Latter-day Saints and said he knew some members, and I recognized the names from when I was in the High Point stake. Turns out he is studying to be a pastor/preacher! Super nice though. Probably 25 years old. Parker was about to leave, and asked Jacob if he would pray before he left, but said "I might have to leave early during this prayer, because I've got an appointment to get to!" And after the prayer he told us how much he loved the young people and that we take the time to talk to him. Hahaha. He was the best. So then we talked with Jacob more. He was very open and asked a lot of questions. Never trying to challenge us or bash. So after we taught more about the Restoration he asked about people that never are baptized and what happens to them, so we set up a time to see him this week! Yay. We left to contact someone else and couldn't find the street and I asked this man sitting on a small wall if he knew the street we were looking for, and he told me he couldn't read, and then he held up his hand and said "how many fingers do I have?" He had 5 fingers and 1 thumb! Only on a mission..

We had district meeting the next day and we're the only sisters! That's been different. It's always strange being in a new district, especially since in my last district we had been together for 3 months with zero changes. I super miss Sister Evangelista. She wrote in my "sign book" (little notebooks where we write to the missionaries we are leaving) that she had prayed for a Christ-like companion right before we got together and how happy the past 3 transfers have been and that I've been the best companion she's had. Sometimes it's so sad being with someone all the time and then never seeing them. I've picked up on some of her mannerisms, which is always funny when I notice. But yes, I really miss her. I hope she is doing well.

The most exhausting day was Saturday. There was a ward service project where we helped take care of a graveyard belonging to a church that has only 6 members left, so they can't really care for it themselves. I didn't realize the graveyard is 13 ACRES!! You can't even see all of it because of trees, and we definitely didn't do all 13 acres. But we filled in sinking graves and put down mulch. For 4 hours. It was great! But then we ate lunch and rode our bikes 16 miles throughout the day. Hahaha. I fell asleep as soon as I laid down at night.

My bike seat has been falling off, so that's been fun, too. It's fixed now though :) we went to visit a returning member named Ally. She lives in an apartment complex for people with emotional and mental issues. She seems great, I think the only thing is she has depression, but her friend was over when we got there, and he had just gotten in an argument with some other residents and she was trying to get him calm. Well the other resident called the police, so they came over too. So there were cops and missionaries. I just laughed. They were the nicest and funniest cops though. One of them you could tell is really great at working with people. It wasn't even a big deal, because it was just an argument. Anyway, we shared a short message and left, but apparently the member talked with her friend for 4 hours about the church, and he was pretty interested. So we'll see on that. We're being cautious and the ward is aware, so we'll take it slow and see how it goes. :)

I think that's all the major things that happened this week! We just got a call that we'll be going on exchanges tomorrow and they're having me stay here. :( every area I've served in they've have me stay in my area on exchanges when I've only been there for less than 2 weeks. So it's challenging, because I'll have to do all the planning and execute everything throughout the day when I still don't know a whole lot. Hopefully it goes well.

Yesterday at church even though I didn't know anyone and everything felt so different, I feel the Spirit so strong during the sacrament, just a feeling that a Heavenly Father is still here, and even though no one knows me, He still does!

Something in my study that I have been doing is reading from the Bible Dictionary. It has some very good explanations! I definitely recommend it, like the words "Revelation", "Grace", "Sabbath Day", "Prayer". I'm still reading lots and lots of Book of Mormon! I'm still trying to finish what I started with y'all at the beginning of the year and also what the mission started last month. Both are supposed to be finished by the end of the year! I just love the Book of Mormon.  It's definitely a great, concrete way to build your testimony, because it really is something you can read, hold in your hands, think about, and go back to! I hope that you read it every day.  I've also loved going back and reading the talks from General Conference! They're even better when you can sit down and read it carefully. Some favorite quotes:

--"The adversary knows that faith in Christ--the kind of faith that produces a steady stream of tender mercies and even mighty miracles--goes hand in hand with a personal confidence that you are striving to choose the right." Elder Klebingat

--"The negative commentary about the Prophet Joseph Smith will increase as we move toward the Second Coming of the Savior. The half-truths and subtle deceptions will not diminish. There will be family members and friends who will need your help. Now is the time to adjust your own spiritual oxygen mask so that you are prepared to help others who are seeking the truth." Elder Neil. L Andersen

--"The more we incline our hearts and minds toward God, the more heavenly light distills upon our souls. And each time we willingly and earnestly seek that light, we indicate to God our readiness to receive more light. Gradually, things that before seemed hazy, dark, and remote become clear, bright, and familiar to us." President Uchtdorf

Love you all! Thanks so much for all your support. I can feel it :) Love, Sister Adams