Adam has been on his mission about 18-months now, which, having only sent out his two sisters before him, officially means we are entering into unknown territory as far as missionaries go. Two years is seeming like a really long time right about now and I'm eagerly looking forward to August! It's been a while since I've done a recap on how he's doing (have I ever done one?!), so here's a little glimpse at the last year-and-a-half of his life. I'll do it in little sections to break it up:
THE TEMPLE:
He is able to attend the Portland Temple once or twice a transfer, which I love. Cami didn't have a temple in her mission in France and Emma was a COVID missionary, so despite serving in Utah, she only went three times total during the entirety of her mission. Even though it means that we don't get to communicate with him as much on the p-days he attends the temple, I am just happy he gets to go feel that peace and gain that strength on a regular basis.
THE WEATHER:
He's serving in Portland and, as such, often has rather unpleasant weather to deal with. As expected, it rains A LOT and we sent him with waterproof everything. I'll be interested to hear how it all held up after two years of heavy use. He doesn't complain about it, so I assume he's keeping pretty dry...most of the time at least!
It also gets quite cold sometimes and has random snow/ice storms in the winter, which Portland is not well equipped to navigate. He and his fellow missionaries recently spent almost an entire week in their apartment due to a pretty severe ice storm, which turned the streets into ice skating rinks and knocked out power to their apartment for a couple days.
Writing was his least favorite subject in school by a mile, and I'll be totally honest, that I've been quite surprised that he is a faithful weekly letter writer. His letters are informative and bring the spirit into our days! I also loves that he sends sky, scenery, and animal pictures on a regular basis. He's definitely a picture taker after his mother's heart!
PHONE CALLS:
I know I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE that we live in a day and a time when we can talk to our missionary on a weekly basis! Cami served her mission entirely before the communication changes were made and it makes such a HUGE difference being able to hear his voice and see his face every week! We usually manage to get most of the family on at one time for his p-day calls, but usually someone or the other (often Emma, Cami, Glen, or Garrett) are at work and unable to join. These calls are such a happy part of my week!
QUOTE FROM HIS LAST LETTER:
"This is the Lord's work. This is Jesus Christ's church. If it wasn't, it simply just wouldn't happen. No humans could ever organize this and see as many miracles as there are EVERY DAY!!
One last little spiritual thought this week is going to be the words of the prophet Jacob. He taught:
Turn to God! His arm of mercy is extended towards you! He is quite literally trying to reach you, love you, comfort you, and lift you up!
If you find a way to focus on God a little more this week you will feel that love!
I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Let me know if I can do anything for you all!"
I'll finish up this post with a few random pictures and thoughts. He got a new mission president (from Ghana) this past summer and I think it's been a great change for Adam. You can see his mission president and mission mom in this picture.
Not that there was anything wrong with the former mission president, but I get the impression that the new one has been a blessing for Adam. He's been a Zone Leader for the last several months, and I think that opportunity for growth and stretching that that calling has given him, has been good.
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