10-5-09

Dear Family,

So last week was a great experience. We in the Roswell district did something that I never dreamed I’d do in this mission. This mission is flat. No mountains anywhere. I never dreamed of hiking a mountain in the TLM, but that’s what we did. An hour west of here is a pretty town called Ruidoso and Ruidoso is real hilly and even has a few mountains nearby. We hiked up the mountain named Sierra Blanca, the highest point in the Texas Lubbock Mission. Honestly, it was really hard and I was not physically ready for it. I did ok, but it wore me out a ton. However, when we made it to the peak and then when we made it back to the vehicles, I felt a sense of accomplishment. My legs felt like jello, about ready to collapse. It seemed as if my lungs were about to give out on me. I experienced altitude sickness and almost lost it on the drive home (um yes, never thought I’d say that, but Roswell is 3000 and jumping suddenly up to 10,000 in one day drains you). Now I have a big rash that is really hurting me right now that may or may not have come from this hike. But do you know what, I did it. I climbed to the peak. I made it to the top, conquering the mountain and the physical ailments that came with it. I applied this experience to life and found that it perfectly aligns. In life we are going along an uphill battle. Lots of obstacles come our way and many of them we are not ready for. Opposition comes your way, totally catching you off guard. But what do we need to do. Press forward and put one foot in front of the other. It’s not a race. We need not compare ourselves with the progress of others. All that matters is that we make it. We make it through life, being as valiant and faithful as we can and we can conquer life. We can make it to the top and look down and say ‘I did it.’ Then comes to us a great feeling of love and joy that will never go away.

So also to report on last week was the baptism of Charlie Harper on September the 27th. It’s not very often that you see an 85 year old entering into the waters of baptism. Its truly an inspiration to me to know that anyone, no matter where they are in their life and what has happened can come unto Christ and repent. It’s not to late, never to late. Charlie had a lot of opposition. Satan didn’t want him to go through with this. His family was against this decision. They were confused and angered as to why he was being baptized into the Mormon church when he’d already been baptized a Baptist when he was young. It made Charlie question himself and his decision. We talked about it and then got him committed. He was interviewed and all ready when what happened? 3 days before he gets baptized a 500 pound horse falls right on his leg and puts him in the hospital for the weekend and immobilized him for nearly a month. He healed very quickly, especially for a man his age. I know some people that it would’ve taken them a year to recover when Charlie recovered in a month. However, in that month he also had time to think. A thought arose that maybe God was punishing him for deciding to be baptized into this church. We quickly dismissed that, telling him it was merely a test. Through all that, he made it and I am happy for him.

Now on to this week. Conference was this last weekend if you didn’t get the memo. We were given a wonderful spiritual feast. It gave me the added motivation to press forward through these last few months and knowing that, even though I am already sad about leaving the mission, everything will be alright. God has a plan for me. Serving Christ doesn’t end when I’m released as a missionary. I’ll just be moved to a different part of the vineyard. I felt that in conference, we were given the great instruction of knowing that God’s arms are opened for us. He lives and loves us and wants us to repent. He doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to others, but wants us to do our own personal best. That comparison can hurt us. If we compare ourselves to others, many times we will feel unworthy, unwanted, underappreciated, and will ultimately give up and go through an identity crisis. We were instructed of the love that God has for us as an individual and told to follow the basics of the gospel, to read the Book of Mormon, to pray, and to attend our church meetings. Ultimately, we need to show God our love towards him and everything will fall into place. We need to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and seek the personal revelation for us in our own lives. We were instructed on how we are to go about receiving that revelation. Ultimately were comforted in knowing that God lives, Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. My testimony is the same as the testimony our leaders gave. I know for myself, independent of any other person that God does live. He is my Heavenly Father and loves me. He sent his son Jesus Christ to atone for my sins and to support me in my weaknesses. Joseph Smith was called of him to restore his gospel. This is the true and living church, the only true and living church, and believe me, there are many. I am grateful to be a part of the Lord’s kingdom and am truly grateful to have had this opportunity to serve Him as a full time missionary and look forward to the months that I still have. I am signing off now, but I will talk to you all soon, next week even. Peace!


Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 9-28-09

Dear Family,

So it is 6:00 PM on Monday evening. We had quite the eventful day and because of it have no time to email. Sorry about the inconvenience. The baptism of Charlie Harper also went through. I’ll leave you hanging on that as well. Sorry, but it should be a great email next week so stay tuned.

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 9-21-09

Dear Family,

Another week has gone by here in the Texas Lubbock Mission and time continues to rush on. September is on the verge of ending and October is looming around the corner. The great news of the week comes in with Charlie Harper, the 85 year old investigator who broke his leg 3 days before his baptism. If you remember the story, a horse slipped and landed right on his leg. 500 pounds right on your leg wouldn´t feel that great if you know what I mean. Well, we visited Charlie this week and what I saw shocked me. Only a month afterwards, it´s almost fully healed. He´s already walking around it! So we discussed it and set the baptism back up for the 27th of this month, which is this upcoming Sunday. That is way exciting.

That is really about it. We did better this week, but still not up to par as to where I would like us to be. That is alright though, I´ll live. I´ve ran into another obstacle as well. Elder Droge´s companion isn´t a big fan of Elder Droge. His personality and how he grew up is completely opposite of me and thus he doesn´t really like to listen to anything I say and gets upset at me for the smallest things. It has actually caused me to grow a lot in the past few weeks. I have been praying alot as well as studying patience and humility and it has taught me alot and given me plenty of opportunities to excersize it. It seems like the story of my mission. I have been given trial after trial after trial. As soon as I overcome one thing, another gets thrown at me. It´s caused me to have a very hard mission, but I have learned alot because of it. Just like Joseph Smith said, if I had not gone through what I have, I would not be the same person I am now. Just have to move forward and endure well and all will be good. I hope all of you have a great week and I will do the same.

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 9-14-09

Dear Family,

Well, my new companion is here. Like I said, his name is Elder Gordon Pitts. He is from a town called Spring Creek, Nevada, which is right next to Elko, Nevada. He has been out almost 5 months now, which is quite comical, because he hits 5 months right near when I hit 19 months. Do the math and me and him added together equals 24 months or one full mission. Mwa ha ha! Elder Pitts is an older missionary. He is already 22 years old. After he graduated high school in 2005, he worked as a fire fighter for almost 4 years until he made the decision to come out on a mission. So that is fun. He is a good guy. I'll enjoy this time serving with him.

So this first week of the transfer wasn't all that spectacular. We hit a horrible streak of bad luck with getting in and teaching lessons. That's ok, though. Just part of missionary life. You just gotta keep moving forward and strive to work harder than you did the last week. We did do a lot of service, which was good. 3 different projects came up in which we spent 2 to 3 hours each in the morning hours. We dug a ditch, we helped with a roofing project, and we helped move. Service pays off in the long run. This week it also rained real hard. It almost feels like Roswell is built in a bowl type thing because the streets flood bad every time it rains hard. There was like 3 to 4 inches of water in the streets in some parts. I also got attacked by some ants and got bit a couple times, which hurt for a few hours, but luckily went away. We were talking to a guy and I was unknowingly stepping right on their little lair and apparently they didn't like it, so they started running up my leg. The ants down here are like 5 times the size as they are back home and most of them pack a powerful bite, so they can get creepy, but I think it's way cool… as long as they keep their distance.

So that is all for this week. We hope to be picking things up this week, but we'll see what happens. Yes, being in a slump is part of missionary life, but it still doesn't feel that great, so we hope to end it, with the Lord's help of course. Keep us in your prayers and have a great week.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 9-8-09

Dear Family,

So, it is Tuesday morning. Like always, no emails on holidays for missionaries because the libraries decide to close at every chance they get. For today I am hanging out with the Zone Leaders. A new transfer is upon us and like aforementioned, my companion, Elder Wheeler is going home. He is now on his way to catch the transfer bus up to Lubbock where he will fly home tomorrow morning. My Spanish companion, Elder Frederick, also got transferred and left with Elder Wheeler an hour ago. So I am companionless until tomorrow afternoon, which is why I am with the Zone Leaders right now. All that I know about my new companion is that his name is Elder Pitts, he has been out for 4 1/2 months, and he is a bigger guy.

So reflecting back, 6 weeks ago, when I first got to Roswell, we (the member that gave us the ride from Hobbs to Roswell) pulled up to my new apartment and waited for 10 minutes or so for my new companion, Elder Wheeler, to show up. When Elder Wheeler arrived, the first thing he told me is to get my scriptures and come with him to an appointment that we had right then. I was surprised at the sudden notion of being put right to work the very moment I got to my new area, but wasn't about to argue. The appointment was with a single mother named Marina Cobb where we taught her the first lesson, the message of the restoration. Great story. As to why I bring that up is that on Sunday, the last day of Elder Droge's 13th transfer, Marina and her kids were confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after being baptized the day before. Interesting coincidence. Meet her the first real day of the transfer, confirm her the very last. It's not very often that I get to say that. It was quite a glorious weekend seeing the Cobb family enter their new life as members of Christ's kingdom here on earth. Elder Wheeler and I stood as the 2 witnesses to the baptisms, so I got to see it happen up close. That was fun. I was invited to confirm Marina, that's the third time I've done that on my mission. Lastly, Marina's oldest son Eli, 12 years old, received the Aaronic Priesthood right after church. It's great to end a transfer with 4 baptisms. Momentum is on our side here in Roswell and now I will be assuming the role of senior companion after spending the last 6 weeks as a co-senior with Elder Wheeler. I'm hoping and praying that I will be able to continue what Elder Wheeler and I started. I could use your prayers as well as I set out on this newly opened chapter of my mission. That's all I have for this week. Peace Out!

Oh, and yes, for those people who are statistically minded and are intrigued by numbers, I am now in the double digits with baptisms. 11 is the official number. The last six years the average has been 2 per year per missionary and now look what is happening. That average is increasing dramatically as I am but one of the many to have numbers like these. The Lord has worked wonders here in the TLM. I give all the credit to him.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 8-31-09

Dear Family,

Not a whole lot of drama this week. It has been interesting being with our new Spanish companion. We get to go to Spanish church in addition to regular church. They have a one hour sacrament meeting in the chapel right after the regular block. I was hoping that I would be given the gift of tongues to help me understand what they were saying. Didn't happen. I had to force myself to stay awake for an hour. I don't think my attention span is that long, but it's all good. We've also taught a few Spanish lessons as well. I say we, but really it's all Elder Frederick. Elder Wheeler and I sit around looking pretty while Elder Frederick teaches. No gift of tongues there either. Same thing happened when I had a sign language companion in Big Spring. I always felt a little useless, but that's ok. There must be a reason I was called to speak English.

So on my mission I have talked to a lot of people from a lot of different religions and it has taught me a lot. But after all this time being out and talking to people, there is one variety of religions that I had not yet met until this past week when I was able to check it off the list. Visiting a breakoff from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Joseph Smith died, there was a big dispute as to who would be the next prophet. When it was determined that Brigham Young was to be the next prophet, there were several people that didn't like that and went off and created their own religion. One of those peoples was James Strang. He claimed that he was to be the next prophet and when he wasn't, he went off and formed the Strangites. I had not heard of them until I met a couple here in Roswell this past week that are members. They claim that James Strang had a divine revelation/vision just like Joseph Smith and was also able to translate new scripture known as the Book of the Law. This lady we talked with offered us to look at it next time we visit, which would be very interesting. A few of the things she did mention was that they do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ. Jesus is the son of Joseph and Mary. They do not believe that being sealed is a necessary thing for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom. They believe in the Book of Mormon, but not the Doctrine and Covenants. They claim they believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet, but I noticed that they have strayed greatly from the things that Joseph Smith has taught. They do not have a prophet anymore. He died a while ago, so for now they go by the authority of the presiding High Priest. They believe that every prophet will be called the same exact way that Joseph Smith was called, so I don't know how soon they will get a new one. The one thing that stood out to me was that she mentioned that there is only 400 Strangites left in the world and that number is declining. Joseph Smith prophesied that this church would fill North and South America and eventually the whole world. The church that Brigham Young was prophet over is now 13.5 million strong and increasing. You'd think that would be a sign to her, wouldn't you? Oh well. We haven't started teaching yet, so I don't know where this will go, but it will be interesting.

So that is the big news for this week. This coming Saturday, the 5th of September, Marina Cobb and her 3 kids, Eli, Lucas, and Amber, will be baptized. They are all set and ready. I am way excited to see a family come in to the church. It will be a first for me on my mission. I'll let you know how it goes. But until then, have a great week as we are fixin' to jump into Septmeber this week.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 8-24-09

Dear Family,

Good news for this week. First off, Friday was a very good day. It was the day we celebrated Doubling Baptisms. The whole mission got together in Lubbock. Because of the large area that we cover in this mission, that was the first time the TLM got together like that. We took a professional picture in front of the Lubbock Temple. All of us will get a copy. That will be a great memoir. It was really good to see all the missionaries that I haven't seen in a while. One of the highlights is when our MTC district, the 4 of us that came to Texas anyway, was reunited for the first time since the first day out in the field. It was also the last time because Sister Moyes, our MTC-TLM sister finishes up her mission in two weeks, having just hit 18 months last week. I still refuse to accept the fact that I've been out a year and a half now, so we just won't talk about it. Almost all of my companions have gone home now, so I wasn't able to talk with them in Lubbock, but that's ok. I visited with the ones that are still alive.

So, moving on to the next day, no freak accidents happened to Shameka Hill this week. She was baptized into the church on Saturday. It is always a great feeling to witness one of your investigators coming closer to Christ through baptism. The pinnacle of missionary work. For those interested in knowing how many that is now, I know Joe was curious about that in his letter. Shameka was number 7 for me. Before this transfer is up, I will also be getting numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11. Marina Cobb and her three kids, Eli (12), Lucas (11), and Amberly (8) have now been taught everything and were interviewed for baptism yesterday and passed. We were going to do it this week, but some of her family requested to do it next Saturday, September 5th, so they could have some time to prepare and get everyone there, so that is what we will do. I could also get number 12 sometime soon. Charlie Harper, the guy who broke his leg, could potentially get baptized soon. We've heard stories here recently of people getting baptized with a broken leg. One guy a few months ago got baptized with no legs, so it is possible.

So, before I sign off, two small items of news. Last week I sent another photo CD - Eastland part 4. If it isn't there already, it should get there today or tomorrow, so keep your eyes open and contact the Droge household in Bountiful to see the pictures. Last item of news, Elder Wheeler and I were given a new companion. Elder Andrew Frederick of Los Angeles, California has joined us for the remainder of the transfer, which is two more weeks. He is a spanish missionary that was serving in the other side of Roswell, and ran into a rough situation with his own companion, so is now with us until he gets a new one at the beginning of the transfer. It'll be fun. He is very analytical like myself and very detailed and eloquent in the way he does things. Both Elder Wheeler and I get along with him very well. Elder Wheeler even served with him for a transfer a few months back. So that is all for now. Peace Out All!

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester