Letter March 24, 2008

Hi Family,

So this is like a continuation of the email I sent. I had a nice email written out and somehow it got deleted. Really annoying. Then I had no time to rewrite it. But yes, Happy Birthday to Joseph. And Wendy, I believe it was hers sometime this month.

Mom – I got the package for Easter on St. Patrick’s day along with your letter. I enjoyed that Easter stuff all week and its still not gone because I got more on Sunday from the members we live with. It was great. I even took pictures of it on my camera. Which reminds me, the camera is really nice. I took 100 pictures at the MTC and I’m at about 130 right now.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to share very much at all because of MyLDSemailnet. That is the email site we are now required to use. It’s not very good compared to others at least. It only has 50 MB of storage and you can only attach 3 or 4 pictures at once. So that is another reason to not use email very much to write me. I don’t have the space. Plus its only 1 hour a week, whereas snail-mail comes every day and I can read it whenever I get time.

So with our little game, I emailed everyone this week because of the change of address. I’ll give you all the benefit of the doubt and say you wrote and it is in the process of forwarding right now. Next week or so, It’ll start. Mom and Dad will get an email each week. A few others will get emails, unless they stop writing, and Dave so he can post it on the blog. If you don’t receive an email one week, either beg someone who did to forward it to you or get it on the blog. Meanwhile, feel ashamed that you didn’t write.

So I heard Zac Allred got baptized. That is way awesome! Tell him congrats for me. Then have him write me and tell me his feelings. That would be way cool.

So like I said, my new mission president in July lives in Bountiful, somewhere around 500 North and 400 East, really close. His name is John L. Robison, so look him up and go visit him before he comes out here.

This last week was a combination of Spring Break and Easter. That was a horrible combination for missionary work. No one wanted to listen to us. We ran into a member who made an interesting point. One of the purposes of a mission is to teach the missionaries principles like Patience. That is something that I really had tested this last week. I will admit that there were times that I got discouraged. We did teach some less actives and recent converts, but the whole week we didn’t teach a single lesson until yesterday. When we did teach a lesson, it felt really good to finally get in and teach someone. What’s better is that the couple we taught seemed really interested. They were originally from California, so they weren’t the typical stubborn Bible-belt Baptist type people. They were open-minded and willing to listen. I hope it turns out.

When you pray, make sure to pray for the people here in Texas because most of them are extremely hard-hearted. It’s really sad to see.

Well, that’s all I have. Everyone have a good week and remember that I still need to have someone send me a list of email addresses.

Love Elder Adam R. Droge

PS – Feel glad that someone down here has updated me on BYU and how they lost to Texas A&M because I haven’t received a March Madness update. Bruce – Who’s gone home on American Idol these last few weeks?

Write! Write! Write!

Letter 3-17-08

17 Mar 08

Dear Family,

No email this week. Spring Break. The place we go is closed right now. So I gave you my address, but we moved from that place. I guess it was a temporary thing. We actually moved into a member’s home. They are doing that all over the states to cut down on cost. It’s really nice because the member’s home is nice and clean while the missionary apartments are a piece of junk.

Here’s the address for that:

Elder Adam R. Droge
4512 Cardinal Lane
Midland, TX 79707

You can put that one on the blog. I still need someone to send me everyone’s email address. So we are going to play a little game when I get those addresses. Usually it’s the missionary trying to earn letters, now it’s the family trying to earn an email. If you don’t write me, you won’t get an email directly from me. You’ll either have to make friends with Shawn, Dave or others that write or make the Elder Droge blog your new favorite website. If you aren’t in the family, I can’t email you, but if I get a letter via snail-mail. I will send you a letter back. That’s a promise. I need convincing that non-family members actually exist. I’ve got no letters that way.

On to Texas now, it’s very different from Utah. No mountains. Everything’s flat. It makes bike riding easy, when the wind isn’t blowing 50 miles an hour. It’s almost like that every day. It’s horrible. The grass is all yellow. The stoplights are sidewards, but the people are all really nice and polite. However, out of like 100,000 people in Midland, only 1,000 are members. That means 99% of the people are not members. Probably 99% of those people are all really religious, they are just all Baptist and Catholics - really stubborn and hard-hearted. No matter what I say, no one listens. I feel like Noah preaching repentance to the people and they all laugh and don’t listen. Many run away or don’t answer just because they see us. We spend most of the time knocking doors and getting them shut in our faces or getting preached to by hardcore Baptists who believe that they have already been saved by grace just because they have accepted Jesus as their Christ. I wish it was that easy, get baptized and believe in Jesus and then I’m done and can do whatever I want for the rest of my life.

It’s a small world. President Rose will be returning to Salt Lake in July and the new President, President Robison, is from Bountiful and lives somewhere around 500 North and 400 East. A hop and a skip away from the Droge home. I’ve ran into Alden Gray, who served in Mexico City North and knew Ariel Miller and Bryan Kerr. A guy in our ward served in the MTC with Steve Abercrombie and another sister in our ward, Mandy Zifford, was in Byron’s single ward, was the ward choir director there, and knew Byron. I’m doing good, my companion is great. The people here in Midland are wonderful, and I hope I get to teach my first lesson sometime soon. I look forward to hearing from you all.

-Elder Adam Droge

p.s. Midland is the hometown of President George Bush. Which reminds me, what’s happened in the political race?

Letter 3-10-08

10 Mar 08

Hello Family!

Well, it was great calling from the airport and talking to you all. I just wanted to write and give you an update on how I’m doing. After I hung up, we waited a while to get on the plane. It was delayed for 20 minutes, but I got on and experienced my first plane ride. It was great, but rough at the same time. It was quite the scene riding through and above the clouds and looking at the landscape far below. It felt like I was flying to heaven. We landed in the Dallas, Fortworth airport a few hours later, waited another hour and took off to Lubbock.

Texas is really flat, with no mountains. Because of that, my sense of direction is absolutely lost. I still don’t know the difference between North or West. It’s also really dry and hot. But it is great. I am doing well. President Rose was there at the Lubbock airport. He is amazing. My biggest suitcase ran away though. I hope it decides to return to me. I hope it’s not off to Detroit, because that’s where our plan was off to.

I have my new assignment; I will serve in Midland, Texas. Here is my address:

Elder Adam R. Droge
3600 North Midland 14B
Trinity Place
Midland, TX 79707

Pretend that other address in the book doesn’t exist. It will take longer to get to me and packages don’t get forwarded. Pass that along to everyone and post it on elderdroge.blogspot.com. I want a lot of letters to make me feel happy. J I got no letters from friends at the MTC so I hope that changes. Anyway, I’ll write via email later.

P-days are Mondays. Make sure to get everyone’s emails to me preferably before then. I love you and miss you all!

-Elder Adam R. Droge

RE: Letter 3-7-08

7 March 08

Hi Family,

I was booted off the email before I got to finish. There was something that I wanted to say. First off, at the end of Elder Holland’s talk, he gave the most powerful statement I’ve ever heard. “In the name of the atonement and in the name of the crucifixion, don’t you dare run!” The talk was very powerful. It was given with tons of emotion. I was privileged to hear it.
Also, the main thing I needed to say is that I leave early Monday morning to Texas. We meet at the travel office at 5 am and our flight leaves at 8:50 am (ish). It travels to the Dallas-Fortworth airport then backtracks to the Lubbock airport. It has gone by fast.

Read my emails ASAP.
Oh, mom, remember to ask Lorraine about a Savannah Moyes going to Lubbock on the same day as me. She’s in my district and on my same flight. Dad – I would love you to send me poems. That would be great.

Send Mike’s B-day card and Annie/Mike’s anniversary card to them. I didn’t have their address.

-Elder Adam Droge

Letter 3-7-08

Like I said in the email just sent, I sent an email to the family email and just found out it didn't work. so I tried to remember everyone's email, but couldn't really, so some of you I tried two emails. Someone forward this to the family email. When i get out in Texas, I will send you my Texas address and someone can send through snail mail everyone's emails. Or you can send it to the package address and they might forward it. ANWAY ---

I've decided this week that I must not be in Utah county. It has either been destroyed or gone apostate. I have recieved absolutley no letters from anyone in Utah County, family or friend. Everyone at home in Bountiful has sent me two letters, Byron donated this watch and saved my life. Shawn and Dave from Syracuse and Tennesse have also sent 2 letters. So shame on everyone in Utah County!! (Did my address get posted on the blog? That could've been the problem. Make sure to do that when I get out in Texas.

Bruce - Thanks for the American Idol updates. I'm glad the Colton guy went home last week. He took the place of the politician guy who should've made it to the top 24. I was saddened by Robby Carico going home. He was cool. BTW - did the apprentice get cancelled? I was anxious to see how that turned out. Someone should tell me about it. Has March Maddness been cancelled too? I want to know how BYU does and who wins.

Side note - Letters got to me in 2 or 3 days, for those of you who were worried (and actually wrote...). Not 5. I just sent that first letter a day or so late. I did send Mike's birthday card Home and also I just sent an anniversary card for them home so make sure to pass those on to them peoples in Bountiful.

If anyone goes to Temple Square in the next 18 months, look out for a sister Ward from Australia. She is the sister of the Australian sister in our district. Say hi to her for me. If she doesn't know me say that I was a good friend to her sister who is going to New Hampshire.

On to the main thing that I wanted to write about this week. Elder Holland of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles came and spoke Tuesday. It was the best talk I have ever heard and had the most raw emotion that I've ever seen from an apostle. He started out by saying how much he loved and appreciated us missionaries and how important it is to be serving a mission. our mission is the same type of mission as an apostle's. He called us apostles with a lowercase "a." Many people including little children and investigors look up to us and believe we are perfect so we should act that way and not dissapoint them. He then went on to talk about Moses 1:39. He stressed that we need to know that this is the Lord's work and we need to do it the lords way. If we memorize it in our hearts the mission rules shouldn't be a problem. 180 years went into making that handbook so we should trust it. If we want to do things our own way, that's ok, but if we do then we need to take our nametags off because thats not what we're here for. If we follow the rules then we will be able to teach by the spirit with power and authority. If we are doing this, we should remember that not everyone will listen to us and many times we will fell down. When this happens we need to reflect back on to the last week of the savior's life and remember that he felt abandoned by everyone including his friends, his country, his head apostle, and his father. He descended below us all. We need to remember him and be able to defend him boldly. Let him count on us.

The Missing Letter

No I didn't die. I sent a letter last week to droge@googlegroups.com, but after I logged out it sent a message back saying it couldn't send it. So by memory I tried to send it to everyone's email. Whoever gets this first, forward it to the family email.

So my packet told me that there would be no email at the MTC. I feel betrayed and lied to. Oh well...

Discression - I am only able to check email once a week and I only have a half an hour to do it. So Please, do not send me email at this address. My companion is district leader of our 8 person district and we go check the mail twice a day, so please, do it the old fashioned way when you write, or actually, jump on to dearelder.com. I'm not quite sure on how exactly it works, but I know that it is really fast. I believe it sends it to the MTC through the internet and as soon as the MTC gets it, they print it up and put it in the mailbox, just like that. Shawn wrote from Tennessee and I got it the very next day. Some people have even got letters the same day.
Anyway, Mom wrote and asked me if I believed that I have been here a week already. Well, time seems different here. While life in the outside world has gone by in the speed of light, here in the MTC I feel like I've been here a month. Its truly incredible. I've learned a ton. I feel like a brand new person. I teach, testify, pray, learn, and study many times a day. Its really been an incredible experience. I absolutely love. The gospel is true.

A little bit about my 8 missionary district. First off, my companion. If anyone needs a witness of this church, read this story. There are a few mathematicians out there, so tell me the probability of this happening. Two young men from Utah work at Arctic Circle during high school, go to BYU for a semester after high school, get called to the same mission on the same day, recieve their endowments at the Bountiful Temple at the same session, and become companions at the MTC. Yes, Elder Derrick Craven is my companion here. It is really cool. We work together well.

The others in my district are also very amazing, we really connect. 4 of us are going to Lubbock. There is a sister from Australia. It is fun to hear her talking. But there is one in particular that I have been very curious about, so I am going to have to ask someone, mom most likely, to talk to Aunt Lorraine and give me feedback. There is a sister in our district that is going to the Lubbock mission as well that is named Savannah Moyes. She got here the same day as me. She has brown hair and is just over 5 feet tall. Someone talk to Lorraine and tell me if there is a relationship between us. that would be amazing.

The highlight of this last week has been at the RC (referal center) where we basically proselite on the phone. The outbound calls are a little discouraging, but the people who call in are a blessing to talk to. They have been prepared to recieve the gospel. One imparticular lady that called me was really golden. She worked all day, everyday, and has been really stressed. She has been praying to god everyday to help her find a way out of it and recieve something more, so she finally decided to call the number on the card that the missionaries gave her for a free finding faith in christ DVD. I testified to her as well and got her to accept the missionaries. It was amazing. This work is great.

Anyway, my time is almost up, but I love you all. I have recieved very little letters compared to the others in my district so please write me. Time goes by slower here and I feel like everyone but Mom, Bruce, Joey, Shawn, and Dave have died. Remember dearelder.com. It is amazing.

Love, Elder Droge

PS - Marlin K Jensen of the seventy came this tuesday and gave a wonderful talk about the conversion process.

Family Letter -- February 20th 2008

We were starting to wonder if this first letter would ever come! The letter is dated February 20th, 2008. I edited a couple spellings but here it is:

February 20^th, 2008

Hello Family,

It’s crazy to think that I am already here, but I am. It’s started to sink in that I am now a missionary. I am ready to get started and work.

However, it has been a little overwhelming. There has been a lot of stuff to take in and lots of information to try and remember. It seems like a lot of the information goes right over my head and I feel like I’ll never remember, but I have faith that I will. The missionaries that toured us around and gave us lots of info have only been there for a week and they seem to have got it down pretty good.

Anyway, today was a day that lots of good words were said. One thing that they stressed a lot was [writing] things down. A dull pencil is better than a sharp mind. So that is what I’ve done. I have lots of things written down. A few things stuck out to me. We need to do good. Abraham Lincoln said, “When I do good, I feel good, but when I don’t do good, I don’t feel good.” We also need to keep a smile on our faces. Keep a good attitude.

Anyway, I don’t have a lot of time, but just letting you know that I am doing good. The MTC is wonderful. The spirit is strong here. They treat me well. I love you all.

Adam -- Elder Droge

PS – The watch Joey gave me would be really nice to have right now…