Sister Dunford the actress...

It WAS a great week k!? 

I LOVE TO SHARE THE GOSPEL. I kid you not, I'm doing it for the rest of my life. Why did I never share the gospel before my mission!?! Well I guess it was just a lack of knowledge or something. PS- you should all read "The Power of Everyday Missionary Work." My invitation to you. (Mom, Dad, Kylee, McCall, Ellie, that means you.) I will follow up. 

So let's see I will start with some of my favorite investigators. Claver and Saidou. The coolest French speaking Africans. I hope you remember the story I told about Claver not too long ago. (The one about him having a dream that missionaries talked to him.) Okay well anyways. Like two weeks ago they had a big question and it was like really stumping them. Claver and Saidou are Protestant. And they are very good people. (Like oh my gosh I can't explain how good and pure they are) anyways. Claver asked why he had to be baptized *again* if he had already been baptized in his church. He said "my church says only *one* baptism." So we knew right then that he was having confusion with the priesthood and the great apostasy and all that fun stuff. Well we had like THREE lessons just to answer that one question. With the language barrier and everything it just wasn't making 100% sense to them. (Even with French speakers!) Well. On Sunday, Sister Sam and I decided to fast for them. We seriously love them and want nothing more than for them to progress and receive the blessings from the gospel. So fast forward after fast Sunday we met with them again to have a lesson. We brought another French speaker and we went right into the lesson! (Wish I could include all the details..) but this'll do!!  The whole lesson I could see that Claver and Saidou were being enlightened and things were making sense. It was like 20 minutes into the lesson and Claver stopped us and put his hand on his heart and started sharing his thoughts in French. Our member present then translated it for us and Claver said that he finally understood why he has to be baptized again. He explained that he felt so happy and he felt peace and that he was SO happy that he met us. I wish I could remember his exact words but all I remember was that it was SUCH A TENDER MOMENT. I just wanted to jump for joy!!! Sister Sam and I looked at each other with the biggest smiles. 

This. Work. Is. So. Fulfilling. It's SO HARD. But SO GOOD. I know this experience is small but it has strengthened my testimony of the power of fasting. I believe in the power of fasting!! I am so grateful. My heart is full. I'm grateful for Claver and Saidou. I'm grateful for their open hearts. Their softened hearts. I love them!!! After the lesson Claver said "I want to be the first missionary in Burkina Faso." YESSSSSS. "This is what dreeeeeams are made of." (I'm singing that. Lizzie McGuire.)

We had an APF in Central Park on Saturday. LOVE. The diversity is fabulous. The park is beautiful. I love to talk to people. It's my fave!! We talked all about family trees. I showed EVERYONE my family tree. I had it pulled up on my iPad from family search. (So yes, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, great grandma, great grandpa... I introduced you all to these New Yorkers.) even showed them pictures of you!! everyone thought it was SO COOL. (Blessed technology, I love it.) They wanted their own family tree. That spirit of Elijah is the realist thing ever. Met some wonderful cool people. Woweee! 

Today we saw a man fighting a wall. Hahahaha. Like I was dying. Too funny. (Oh Harlem.)

Sister Sam and I are green smoothie fanatics. We LOVE THEM. I have a wonderful book called clean green drinks. It's my best friend on the mission. Just for your information. 

Pday shopping

There was a member that drove us home from a dinner appointment one night and (they are wealthy) he has a nice car and it goes fast. Hahaha. It was a thrill!!! What a fun thing driving through the city. Driving through tall buildings and looking at all the lights. I loved every second. In moments like that I want to cry because I love this city. It's amazing! (Dad I thought of you because this member likes to step on the gas too.) (he was showing off his speeding skills, you would have loved it.)

Funny:

Marie-France, our investigator, told me that I was born to be an actress. HA HA HA. Why do people keep telling me that? You guys New York is making me consider acting classes or something. HOW FUNNY. No teasin. But I mean what!!? Actress? Definitely like the 5th time I've been told that I need to be a movie star. Everyone says I have an actress personality. Hahaha. I tell you this because it's funny. Please laugh with me.

We went street contacting with our recent convert Natasha. SO fun. Haha she's the coolest. We gave her some cards to pass out and she was so in!!! We had fun picking people to talk to. (Yes we have to pick and choose here because there are just TOO MANY people) We always walk up to the people you would never expect to ever be a Mormon. Ex: tatoos, cigars, etc. haha Natasha was dying. But thank heavens for the spirit. It is the spirit that guides us. no way could we hit all of them. I love my mission. 

Oh. My. Good. Crap. THERE WAS A MOUSE IN OUR APARTMENT. The screams were hilarious. I saw it Monday night as I was on the phone talking to the district leader and he thought we were being kidnapped or something. Haha. Then we lost it and couldn't find it. We did not sleep that night. Not kidding. Sister Sam said I was sleep talking all night and whining about mice. Woopsies haha. Well guess what. We are professional mice exterminators. We bought ourselves some handy dandy MOUSE TRAPS. And guess what. After 4 hours. SNAP. Dead. Bye bye mousey!! Hahahaha so gross so horrifying and SO hilarious. Good memories. Who knew the mission would teach me life skills like that? I will be such a good homemaker, mother, exterminator, one day. Hahah #lifelessons #howtokillamouse 

dumb mouse

Another good experience. Small but good. We went to a park to contact some people. I turned to Sister Sam and said wait. Let's pray. Haha (picture it) so cute. Anyways we prayed right there in public. For all to see. That's always fun and cool to see people watching us. Anyways we both had a Book of Mormon in hand and within the first three people we talked to, they were gone :) passed out. Easy peasy lemon squeezey. Those blessed souls don't even know what they now hold!!! The FULLNESS. THE TRUTH. THE HAPPINESS. Answers to every single question they could ever have. The Book of Mormon has SO much stinkin power. That book has changed everything for me. Literally. I obviously for sure wouldn't even be HERE if it weren't for The Book of Mormon. I would not be me. My ancestors would not have been who they were. I would not be Abbey Marie Dunford. And my future children would have complete different lives. I would never have gotten to be the missionary me. Sister Dunford the missionary would have NEVER existed if it weren't for that book!!! (Goodness I know that I was always supposed to be Sister Dunford) it was always in Gods plan for me. It's just TOO RIGHT. And just THAT alone helps me to know the Book of Mormon is true. Just my call to New York alone helps me to know of The Book of Mormons truthfulness. There are so many good fruits that have come from that book. Good fruits don't come from bad seeds. Therefore the Book of Mormon MUST BE A GOOD SEED. There would be no church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints if it weren't for that book. Most of the time I don't think we even realize the impact that the Book of Mormon has had on our lives. It's quite interesting to think where my family and I would be without that book. Im forever grateful for The Book of Mormon. Especially as a missionary right now. As missionaries we are questioned quite often. We are objected. All that jazz. Heck, I question myself sometimes. I question why this, why that, I don't understand this, I don't understand that. 

Ezra Taft Benson said this:

“… The only problem the objector (you) has to resolve for himself is whether the Book of Mormon is true. For if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his prophet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation."

It all comes down to that book. It either is true, or it is false. That's what YOU/WE/ME have to find out. 

I love the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is true. There is no way that it is not true. Not only because it logically makes sense to me, but because of the Holy Ghost that has testified of it to me. And never mind that it logically makes sense to me, if you took away all logic, I still know the Book of Mormon is true. The spirit has literally engraved that in my heart. I don't need to see the golden plates, or the first vision to know the Book of Mormon is true. Because I have my very own witness. It's SO comforting to have The Book of Mormon back me up in this work. It is my most powerful tool out here. It is my sickle. I will "thrusteth in my sickle with my might.." D&C 4. 

I pray that you will all find your own personal witness of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. Because with that witness, you can withstand any of satans blows. ;) Read The Book of Mormon every day. Pray about it everyday. Share your testimony and share the actual BOOK itself to others. Go pass out a book to someone and tell them it's changed your life. And I can promise that GOOD THINGS WILL COME. :) (take that how you want) #blessings (Okay sorry I'm done ranting about my favorite book.) Actually. no I'm not done, I'm going to go pass one out right now. Ha I love you. I love this work. I love to be able to help further my Heavenly Fathers work here on earth. What a blessing to be a part of it. 

LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Love abb!