Mar 5, 2013 A Letter in the Mail

Hi everyone.  This is Adam's mom writing to let you know that he wasn't able to email us this week because of a scheduling conflict at the MTC.  However, we just got a letter in the mail this afternoon so I thought I would type it and send to all of you.  Thanks for all your support.  It means so much.    Angelique

Dear Family,                                                                                                    3/5/2013

I love getting letters from ya'll.  Please don't be offended if I don't write back and reply to every letter.  My writing time here is extremely limited. 

 We got the brownies a few days ago!  They were awesome!  And then today we got the donuts.  Wow, you guys must think they don't feed us well, huh?  We had somewhat of a district party to eat everything because it would take me and my companion by ourselves days and days to eat everything.  We pretty much can only eat junk food from 9:45-10:30/whenever we brush our teeth, so unless we eat like 4 every night, they go stale.

 Glad to hear Lubbock is getting so many new missionaries.  Almost all of Sister Casper's zone is going to Lubbock.  They're all leaving like a month before us.  The pool sounds awesome!  It seems like by the time it's all built and everything I won't be at home very often to enjoy it.  Darn.  I hope you guys love it though!  I know ya'll will.

  Now addressing things Dad asked about in his recent letters.  He asked me to talk about why my testimony of the atonement had grown since I arrived.  I can think of three very specific times when I felt that I received a personal answer about the truthfulness of the gospel:  when I was 8 and praying about the Book of Mormon for the first time; when I was 17, teaching with the missionaries about the Restoration; and in my first week here at the MTC. 

 We had a speaker who had been a mission president, and was talking about an experience he had with one of his missionaries.  Long story short, the missionary was told he needed a testimony of the restoration.  He prayed fervently and received a personal witness.  While listening to this talk I found myself thinking about the Atonement.  I couldn't get it out of my head all night.  I realized that though I believed in the power of the Atonement, I had never knelt and thanked my Savior for His sacrifice for me.

  That night after everyone was asleep, I knelt and prayed and did just that.  I asked why he would do something so difficult for me, and thanked Him as fervently as I was able.  As I was finishing my prayer I was absolutely overcome by the magnitude of the act the Savior performed for me.  I felt so loved and wanted, and I knew in that moment that Jesus Christ suffered and died for my sins personally, and I can't explain it, but I know he loves me.  It was a beautiful experience.  To quote what has become one of my favorite hymns since coming here, "Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives!"  I want to let the whole world know it.  I love ya'll.  The Church is true!    Love,  Adam

P.S.  Sorry I didn't manage to get to emailing today, we had a scheduling mess up with moving furniture into rooms here so we got stuck pushing dressers around for an hour or so.  Sorry!  Tell Uncle Bri I would like Romans 1:16 on my missionary plaque.  Thanks!

This was posted in our bathroom above the urinal because the air freshner gets us.

Caution:  This air freshner has it out for your eyes.  If you value your vision, you may want to duck your head while you do your business.  Keep the Faith.