Hey Mom!!! I'm so glad to hear about you and how life is going. That was a great email.
I'm so happy you are all working on genealogy! Isn't it fun? I think it's a good thing for your "Type-3-ness" too because I bet you like to see that progress and feel like you did something, like 5 initiatories, for example. I showed Elder Amico the cool picture with you, Dad, and the twins (or "jumos" as you call them here), and he thought it was cool! So there it is.
Yay for the New Year! Wow isn't that fun. Haha! Yes it's always a great goal to set to go to bed on time. Oh yay! Start reading books aloud as a family! That is such a good one. I like that. Haha. I think there are a couple moments of my childhood that I will always remember with you working away at your desk or Dad reading to me. I always like to remember those little bonding moments. Haha! Hey your Type 3 is good. Speaking of types, my Type 2 is rather rampant. Poor Elder Wells cleaned my desk himself last week because it was driving him a little crazy. I tried to convince him I'm really organized when I want to be, but I don't think he was very convinced. But oh well. :) Oh I loved the pictures of Zia, thanks a bunch!! Of the Christmas tree, too, that was fun to see.
I'm really glad that Grandpa and Dad were able to give Grandma B. a blessing. I'm sorry to hear about her back. I hope that the news is good tomorrow. But no matter what, don't lose hope, okay Mom? It's all going to be okay somehow. I feel a lot of the Lord's comfort every day, probably thanks a lot to the prayers of you and Dad, and I know that comfort is available to you, too. It really is a blessing to have the gospel and such a great family. Eternal families are so awesome! Hey and look, miracles DO happen, Edwardians made it to bed on time! Haha. Actually the mission has been really good for me that way. I'm far from perfect with bedtime but it definitely helps to have these rules and obligations!
:D I love the little Zia story with the dog treats. And "Daw, daw!" One thing the little one certainly does not lack is personality. It will be interesting to see how her little personality develops with time. Holy cow, she really is going to be talking like crazy before long! How are Malia and Austin doing? I hope they're doing well. Also, how is little Brielle? Is the pregnancy still going well?
Also, did you get my letters yet? I wrote them to everyone living at our home right now. Haha wow it was before Christmas that I sent them I hope it doesn't take that long! But if so, it's okay. :)
That's so cool what you said about the journey and the process of revelation. I think it's interesting, because another thing that delay, or that gradual change requires is self-control. You can't, for example, just go break a commandment while you're waiting for revelation on why it's important in your life. You need to be faithful and obey it. So that's really good.
Thanks a bunch for the recording and pictures! I will be sure to listen to it, that sounds awesome! Yes bishops for sure can bear powerful testimonies. In fact, we had a little lunch with our new bishop and his wife and our old bishop and his wife in the Charleroi 1 Ward, and it was really good, by the way, we had lots of nice yummy cheese which is very addicting haha, Wow there is one kind in particular that is really, really good. It takes some adjusting to, but yes it is scrumptious. :D Also cheese stinks a lot if you let a lot of good cheese sit in a bag for hours, in case anyone had any questions about that.
This week, we had a great New Year's, we got to hang out with Sister Beauvois, who is from Mexico (you say her name "Boe-vwah"), and her family, and we had a lot of Mexican food, and the dad of the house, who was Sister Beauvois' son-in-law, I believe, reminded me a lot of Tony, he was a really cool guy.
Also, thanks soooo much to Grandma and Grandpa Edwards, Grandpa and Grandma Balderree, the Jimenez, and any and all other ornaments I received for the Christmas tree! I loved it sooo much, it helped me stay close to my family and remember what I am here for, so thank you Mom and everyone! Shout-out to Aunt Megan too, there is a really funny member here who reminds me a lot of you, haha! Her name is Gabriella.
Besides that, it's been a cool week because we've received a lot of referrals, when people give us someone to talk to about the gospel. And I've been learning about self-control a lot, including about how much to eat, especially when cheese is involved! Haha Dad, you and me and Mom have got to spend a couple days in Europe sometime because you would just love all this cheese and chocolate. And it's normal to eat a pretty good dessert after every dinner, too! Holy cow the members are so good to us.
We have some good work to do this week because our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Cockx, and our Bishop have some people for us to visit. It'll be sweet. It's cool to receive guidance from the Preach My Gospel videos and Preach My Gospel about how missionary work is supposed to roll. The application is the harder part. But I know that with the Lord, we can work through the members as much as possible to find people to teach. So to everyone reading this, if the missionaries don't have anything to do in your little town or stake or ward, maybe try and help them out! They will love you. Invite a friend to a FHE, or things like that. Here, it's a common idea to just invite them to a sports night or things like that that are really fun and non-threatening to help them see that we're good, normal people and that the church actually isn't a cult and all that. :)
I love you all so much! I thank you all for your prayers and thoughtful emails and letters. I hope the Lord blesses you for the great way you support me. I know He looks after the people who help and bless the missionaries.
Love you all!!!! Have a great and Spirit-filled week! Also, go to the Book of Mormon when you have spiritual questions! And don't go to the Internet! Haha go where the truth can be found!
I'm far from perfect, I really need to talk to more people here, but I know the Lord will bless us when we ask, pray, study the scriptures and words of the prophets, and act in faith. I know the gospel is true!
Until next time!
--Elder Adam Edwards
P.S. Sorry there are no pictures this week, I will remember next week!
Also, please tell Grandma B that I love her, thanks to her and Grandpa for all the support, love, and help for my whole life, and I'm praying for her, and the Lord will look out for her? Thanks, love you!
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Hey Dad! I love you tons! I'm glad to hear about your life, thank you so much!
I'm glad that you were able to have a simple, low-key Christmas. That was probably very enjoyable for you, I hope. Hey that's cool! Thanks for thinking of me. I've thought about you during the holidays here too, don't you worry. But you know, Dad, it's really cool to feel the Lord turning my heart away from home so much and turning it more toward here and the people here. And you're right, New Year's is a great time to reflect and be thankful.
Haha! Go Zia and her little kicking instinct! She is certainly my niece. I will always claim her as such. :) Although I must give credit to the fact that Malia is a soccer player, too. But yes she is still my niece. :)
That sounds like it was a great meeting, Dad! I hope that you really enjoy the last month of your bishop-hood! I know it must be painful for you to let go of such a dear calling, or of the close relationship you have with the people in the ward. Not the relationship, but the way the relationship works, I guess. You've really sacrificed so much, it amazed me many times to hear you get up in the morning to go to meetings while I could still sleep for two more hours. I hope I can be that kind of example to my sons one day.
I loved your testimony a lot, thank you so much for sharing it. Beyond that, thanks for sharing it all the time at home and being the kind of dad I could look up to and emulate. I don't know what I would have done without that!
Yay I will look forward to those articles and pictures! Thank you sooo much! Also Dad, just so you know, I hear things you would say all the time in mymind. Haha you were such a good role model always for me that I think I have an automatic "What Dad would say" program in my head. Haha!
The P-day has been good, thanks! I hope you have a good sleep tonight, Dad! And a good day of work, I hope Court was good. Be strong! I love you all so much!
I feel like the Lord really does have a lot of power to work with imperfect people. That's the funny part--if he wanted to, he could send angels to teach everyone on the earth the gospel, but then that wouldn't give us the privilege of learning and growing as we serve and teach. What a big blessing, then, it is to be out here serving as a missionary. And Charleroi, Belgium really is awesome. I look forward to the changes I'll get from the mission. I want to be a little less soft, a little more willful, to speak up when something is wrong, or when something needs to be done. I also want to automatically forget about myself and help others when necessary. I love you, Dad. I'm so grateful to be in this beautiful country. Even just since last week I feel much more at home here. Heck, I even understood the flow of a French conversation today! Haha! It's awesome to have you as a sort of running partner as I do this mission thing. Love you, Dad. Have a great week. Next time you see Nate McClure, would you thank him for me for working with my imperfections and the mistakes I made? I think the job with ServiceMaster was a good preparation for the mission out here.
Love you tons!!
Until next week, I close mine epistle to my beloved father Michaelonhi,
Elder Adam Grant Edwards :)
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[In response to the recording of Dad's possibly last testimony as a bishop]
Yes it worked! that was awesome, thank you sooo much Mom! That testimony was great, Dad. Yayy it was so cool to hear your voice again! Woohoo! Hey Mom, would you send me a little voice recording about when you were a new mom and all the adjustments you had to go through? For some reason I think that would be akin to the adjustments I'm going through--not exactly the same but somewhat. :) Love you so much. I'm just starting now to realize what a great blessing my good parents were to teach me to love the Lord, follow the gospel, keep the standards of the church with media and music, to eat healthy, even to keep a budget. I'm so grateful. Nothing else could have given me so much. Thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you.
I love you so much. Have a great week, okay?
Love,
Elder Edwards
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[In response to my email telling him Grandpa Jim got going on family history and temple work thanks to Adam's example.]
Wow that's so cool! THanks for sending that to me Mom! I'm happy that other people in the family are doing so well with Family History Work! In fact, they train us to use it here to strengthen investigators and recent converts. Also great for strengthening members! Woohoo! Go Grandpa!
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