marchin

HEY!

I'm happy.

Let's be real you guys I'm in the best mission ever.

Okay I will start out my email with a silly Sister Dunford thought- (If Maddie Lowry reads this.. she will understand me) :)

Have you ever seen the Lizzie McGuire movie? Well Kate (the bratty blonde) says to Lizzie at their graduation: "Lizze McGuire, YOU ARE AN OUTFIT REPEATER." And then Lizzie says "you are an outfit REMEMBERER which is just as pathetic!!"  Hahahaha. I repeat this in my head EVERY DAY OF MY MISSION. Feelin like such an outfit repeater. The trick of being a sister missionary is not feeling like the homliest human alive. (I don't know if homliest is a word.)

Hope you all had a LUCKY day yesterday! Haha (we didn't) but it was still a happy St. Patrick's day :) every single one of our appointments cancelled. That's got to be a missionaries FAVORITE kind of day... Ha! No. 

Today we get to go to the temple. Yay!!!! I can't wait. It will be so good to just take a step back from crazy missionary life and to remember the big picture. The temple is my favorite. 

We had Zone conference on Friday and we got our brand NEW iPads. So that was nice. Although such a pain to make sure I didn't lose all my notes and pictures, etc. now I don't have to worry because I get to take this iPad home. Hooray. Zone conference was swell! Talked a lot about how to keep our bodies HEALTHY and to work out!  You know what's funny? President told us that with in the last month, about 20 companionships ordered blenders, and full length mirrors and scales. Haha you can tell spring is coming because everyone's trying to look good and lose weight or somethin! President was laughing. I love him. 

We also had STAKE CONFERENCE. 

Two general authorities were there and it was great! 

(Not to mention I saw MY 2nd MOM Heather Moss and my sista Sydney Moss on Sunday!!!) 

Couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't even know what to do with myself. Seriously I was like speechless. My Moss fam is the best. 

#ohana 

Sister Spencer and I are still going strong! Missionary workin. Trying to keep busy! It's challenging because everyone here (almost everyone) works like 18 hours a day or else they die. Haha New York City is so expensive and so everyone is working working working so they can survive and live here. So that means less teaching appointments. More finding. It's good.

At stake conference Elder Hallstrom shared a WONDERFUL talk on reverence. And I wanted to share some thoughts from that here. 

He said that to be reverent is to revere! Which is to feel deep respect or admiration for something. So.. if we are truly REVERENT, our thoughts and actions will be consistent with our love for our savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Not just our Sunday thoughts and actions, but our EVERYDAY thoughts and actions. Meaning when we are at work, when we are at school, when we are out to dinner with friends, etc. The way we think and act is so fundamental and foundational as to how we feel about them. 

There is a song often sung in our church and that is "I Am a Child of God." How many of you can sing that song? (I know EVERY WORD.) Elder Hallstrom challenged us to ask ourselves if we REALLY REALLY REALLY know that we are a Child of God. Because IF WE DO, then it should be OUR IDENTITY. It should affect everything we do and everything we think! Yes we have OUR identity. (I am from UT. I am blonde, I like music, I am a daughter, a sister etc.) but MY IDENTITY is that I AM A CHILD OF GOD. That is.. Who. I. Am. And I know that. ;) 

We live in a world that can cause us to forget who we REALLY are. Thinking happiness will come from having the most money, having an amazing appearance, etc. Acting in certain ways so that others look at us with great respect. When this becomes our identity and our focus, we lose sight of who we are. So question... Do we love the Lord more than we love the things world? 

My testimony is that I AM A CHILD OF GOD. And he has sent ME HERE. He has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear. (Holla Mark and Kendra!) 

If there is ONE thing that I have come to really know on my mission, it's that I really am a Child of God. I am SO grateful for that knowledge. I hope and pray that I will FOREVER know my true identity and not lose sight of who I am. I LOVE Heavenly Father. I LOVE Jesus Christ. And I LOVE being a missionary. 

#twinning #winning 

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH SO MUCH SO MUCH!! 

Love 

Sista Abigail Dunford