Lilli's Farewell, Food Storage and Elder Adam's last 2 emails

Dear Family,
I just wanted to thank you all for the help you gave with Lilli's farewell! (I'm going to miss her so so so much!) She has been a joy to have around, but we are so excited for this new and wonderful adventure of serving the Lord! We feel that Great Grandpa and Grandma Boekweg had something to do with her going to Holland. We feel this is such an honor.

Also, one of my New Year's Resolution's was to work on our food storage..........
I've been looking at different ways to buy things and have come to the conclusion that the church really gives a pretty good deal at the provident living area in Layton. So every month I'm going to pick up stuff from their store. If any of you would like to get stuff from them, I would love to help any of you by picking it up for you at the same time I get mine. I find that sometimes it's just getting there that is the hard part.

Here is the link to what they offer.
 https://providentliving.lds.org/bc/providentliving/content/content/english/self-reliance/food-storage/home-storage-center-order-form/pdf/HomeStorageCenterOrderForm-US-short.pdf?lang=eng
One thing I like is that you can get it already canned and much of the stuff lasts 30 years. (I find I'm not really good at rotation.) Some of the things you can get in bags not canned. One thing I like about the church's food storage is that it's all high quality. 

I will be going this coming Friday the 4th of March, and then at the end of every month. Let me know how you would like to work it if you would like me to pick stuff up for you.

This weeks email
Dear Family,
I'm feeling much, much, MUCH better now! Thanks for your prayers!
Right now, I'm feeling at the top of my game! My companion is feeling
a lot better too, even though that sometimes he has a few bouts with
ear pain. He's going to Iquitos today to clean it out, and the
district leader is going with him.
Everything's getting better now. We're starting to find a lot more
people that are already reading and praying about the Book of Mormon.
One family we found, whose names are Jesus and Luz, was a reference
from a less-active member. When we found them, they invited us in
immediately. Usually, I'd be thrilled, but the funny thing was I was
slightly reluctant because we had just watched Saratov Approach that
same day for P-Day. I thought we were going to get kidnapped!
But then I had a reality check and manned up. The family is really
awesome! They're very receptive and willing to learn. The best thing
about them is that they're already reading and praying about the Book
of Mormon. The 2nd best thing about them is that they're already
married (I've mentioned in previous emails that most people here live
together without being married, and most of the time, the hardest part
of getting them converted is getting them married). That makes
everything a lot easier!
Another investigator we found is a man named Juan Casimiro. He's an
old guy who knows A TON. Here, the people who know a lot, would
usually be atheist or people who want to argue, but he too is very
receptive and kind. We didn't find him, he actually found us. He
mentioned that he saw us passing almost every day and wanted to know
what it is we do. He's rather pleased at the fact that he knows us and
that he's friends with us. He is also progressing.
So, in short, it was a pretty good week. We've been seeing the hand of
the Lord help us out here.
Lilli gave her farewell talk? Aww, I missed it! I'll bet she did a
fantastic job! I like the               analogy of the Book of Mormon
like a smartphone--I never even thought of it like that! That's a
great example that you'll be able to use a lot in your mission, Lilli!
I love you all and wish the best for you! I pray for you every day!
Love,
Adam


Last weeks email 

 Dear Family,
I mentioned last week that the area was going through a bit of a tough
time, but I also mentioned that this week would be the best week I'd
have in the mission. Funny thing, the next day, I got SICK. I got a
pretty high fever and had to stay inside all day.
In Wednesday, I went to the doctor in Iquitos, thinking that what I
got was dengue. It wasn't, thank goodness, but I had a weird throat
infection that was keeping the fever up in my head. They gave me some
penicillin and told me that I'd have to be very careful when I leave.
I couldn't leave when there was a lot of sun, a lot of rain, or when I
felt really tired.
I thought everything was all good until the next day, when my
companion got sick. His ear began to hurt big time. Thursday, we went
to the doctor in Nauta to find out what was wrong, but he didn't help
us out much and a lot of time was spent waiting.
Friday, a lot of time was spent inside, because there was a lot of sun.
Saturday, the same, but a lot of rain. And we went to a different
doctor in Nauta who helped us a little bit more. And my companion got
the same penicillin shot, so he's under the same conditions as I am
now.
Sunday was normal, so we were able to work.
This week's been kind of a goat stew. :P BUT this week will be better,
yes or yes. I'm not jynxing it this time! I feel okay now, just with a
little scrachyness in my throat, but other than that, I'm alright. My
comp's going to Iquitos today to find out what's wrong with his ear.
Sorry for the somewhat troublesome email, but just letting you guys
know that I'm okay and this week will be awesome!
I love you all and keep you all in my prayers!

 Love,
Adam

Elder Adam's February 15th email

Dear Family,

This week was really strange. So recently, as a mission, we started to watch and re-watch "The District" videos and apply the in-and-outs of lesson-teaching in our own missionary lives. I was kind of skeptical at first, but now I admit that watching those videos is what's been giving me the most improvement out of almost everything in the mission field.

My teaching skills have improved a ton and I can better feel the spirit in the lessons now, and I can feel that my new companion, even though he's new, is improving a bunch as well. The only thing is that this week didn't go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. Almost all of our investigators stopped progressing, went on vacation, or decided to argue with us. 

I got kind of discouraged, yeah, but then the idea came to me (the Spirit is telling me this as I type) that it's kind of like a forest fire. It's super devastating and pretty much destroys everything, but in it's place, new life springs up and prospers. I feel that all we have to do is keep working hard and work harder if we can and our work will eventually pay off.

This upcoming week will--yes or yes--be the best week I'll have in the mission! I'm confident in that!

We had another holiday this Sunday, which was the same as last week. Carnival 2. Only THIS time, all the adults decided to be a part of it. So not only did the mission advise us to stay home, they ordered us to. I'm kind of glad to be out of the house now. :P

How's everyone doing up there? Good luck with the teeth-pullers, Steven! Enjoy the pudding, ice cream, shakes, and mashed potatoes you'll be having for like a week. 

I love you all and keep praying for you every night! You are all the best!

Love,

Adam

P.S. Don't worry about me, Mom! I'm feeling great! 

P.P.S. What's baked Alaska? Recently, it was my companion's birthday, so our pensionist made us a type of cake called "King Kong", which is like a giant graham cracker sandwich. It was pretty good! 

Adam's February 8th Email

Dear Family,

This week's been pretty good. My new companion is a fast learner and
he's starting to get the hang of things already! Together, we've had
some pretty good progression. We've been able to find some great new
families to teach. Both have read their assignments in the Book of
Mormon already!

One family, the Olimar Family, is actually pretty funny. They've
spoken with missionaries before, back in 2011. Some gospel seeds were
planted back then, and now we're here to harvest 'em!

The other family, the Mori Family, was a reference from a recent
convert of the other area of Nauta. The family is pretty great! They,
too, have read the Book of Mormon already. The father is a
schoolteacher and he's usually extremely busy, but when we met him, he
mentioned to us that he wanted to put God in first priority, and was
hoping we could help him with that. Of course we can, and we
definitely will! The real test comes to coming to church.

That's one of the biggest weaknesses for the people down here is
keeping the Sabbath Day holy. As a mission, we've been focusing on
that lately (I think the entire church has been focusing on that), and
something I've learned that helps brighten the idea of what can/cannot
be done on Sunday is to think these questions:

"Would the Lord be pleased if he saw me doing this on his day?"
and
"What can I do on Sunday to make the Sabbath better?"

Something I recently read in the Spanish scriptures about the Sabbath
Day is that when someone begins to neglect the Sabbath Day, every
single aspect of their life begins to decay and degrade.

Yesterday was a huge Peruvian holiday called "Carnaval" (where they
plant the trees in the middle of the street and chop 'em down). I was
in Pucallpa when it happened last year, where it's pretty calm and
mellow, but in Iquitos and Nauta, it's a bit too crazy. The president
asked the missionaries to stay at home the entire day.

It was definitely different. I've been used to getting out and working
everyday, but this Sunday we practiced some of the things we learned
about keeping the Sabbath Day holy since we had to stay in all day. We
made cookies (they were deliciously burnt :P), exchanged mission
stories, and watched the Joseph Smith movie on our portable DVD. I was
a bit bummed that we couldn't work that day, but we had fun.

How's everyone up there? Has the snow melted yet? What's everyone up
to nowadays?

Love,
Adam