December NO way

Another day of preparation. P days we love them so much. 

So thanksgiving happened. That feels like it was a year ago. But it was just a week ago. Time is just the strangest thing right now I can't even tell you. But anyways Thanksgiving!! 

It was great! Food baby's are real. That was the theme of the day. Foooood baby. So much food. I certainly felt sick. But that's not a new feeling as a missionary haha. 

We started the day out at the gym. Ran a few miles. Then studied. Then went to a church to make and serve a Thanksgiving dinner. That was nice! Then we came home and ate an apple for lunch because we knew what was coming for us.... And boy, were we smart to only eat an apple for lunch. When we got to the McCarthys they had so many appetizers out and then it just went down hill from there. But they told us we weren't allowed to leave if we weren't bursting at the seams. So we all were bursting at the seams. 

It was GREAT. Life is good. Food is yummy. Pie is one of my faves. Yes. 

We also did some more leaf raking. If I had a nickel for every single leaf I've raked in Connecticut I would be a VERY WEALTHY SISTER. So many leaves. But they are about all gone from the trees now so we should be gooooooody. :)

My companion and I got to speak in the YSA ward on Sunday. We spoke on missionary work. It went well. Got some good chuckles out of those YSAs. I'll tell you what, being a sister missionary in a YSA ward is just so interesting. SO interesting. Haha!! Oh boy. 

We met a new woman named Betty. She is obsessed with cats. We walked in and I'm like oh HI. It was so intense I think there were 400 cat eyes just staring at me. And I'm allergic to cats so I wanted to scream and run. But obviously that wasn't an option. I just endured the lesson and probably looked like I was crying the whole time. Haha #weepingsista

We also tracted into a psycho woman who was speaking in tongues to us... Ran away from her real fast. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ohhhhh goodness there are some real crazies in this world you guys. 

We have been using the new Christmas video a TON. #ASaviorisborn.  I already have it memorized!! I love it. I think we've passed out 100 cards and it's only been what like 3 days? I'm so happy to be here as a missionary at this time!!! The church is doing amazing things with technology these days. I feel so blessed to have an iPad to be able to share these magical messages! Such a good tool. 

I was reading in 3rd Nephi, the part where Christ shows himself to the people of Nephi. (My favorite part...) It just really touched me this time when I read about the little children. Here are the verses that I just found so tender. Chapter 17.

11. And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.

12. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him.

(Then Jesus knelt down and prayed with all of them.. Can you even imagine...I would be in AWE.)

21. And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

22. And when he had done this he wept again;

23. And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

Oh I don't even know WHY those really touched me this week. I can just see it so clearly in my minds eye. What a special part in the Book of Mormon. And ... I just I want my own child. (Don't worry and don't freak. I can wait.. And I will of course!!) ha!! But I love children. And these verses were a good reminder for me to look to the little ones and become as they are. So special. 

Anyways. Idk what else to say about that. I like kids.

I love this work I really do. Can I wear a name tag for the rest of my life pleeeeeaaaase?

I LOVE YA.

Love Abbey Marie 

FALL HAS FALLEN

Hey cool cats.

Well the leaves are on the ground! The trees are bald. Kind of sad but also kind of good because we have been able to do TONS of service. Raking for days. We raked 5 yards this last week. We bagged 473 bags of leaves!!! Intense. My arms are sore. 

Today is P day. We are pretty happy about it. We are going to the mall in Scarsdale. To window shop till we drop. 

Also I love this holiday vibe in the air. Kinda makes me giddy. And I hate the word giddy. 

But anyways I'm still kickin here in Connecticut! 

We were able to attend zone conference on Friday and that was dandy. President Smith is super motivational. Usually when he's done talking I feel like I want to get up and run a marathon. He has got so much energy. He teaches really great life lessons too. I think every training I've had from him has been a training for not only missionary life but for real life!! I feel blessed to have such awesome examples in my life. 

We got to watch the new video that the church made for Christmas this year! #asaviorisborn  Gettin me all pumped for the Christmas season. I'm way happy that I get to be a missionary for Christmas one more time!! It'll be a special one. 

One of my favorite yards to Rake was a woman in the Darien ward. I got to help rake her yard last year and I got to do it again this year!! She makes it such a good time. Fed us delicious chili. We rake rake raked and put the leaves in paper bags. And then she started her little campfire in the backyard for dessert! We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. HAPPY FUN GOOD TIME. We all loved it. It was my companion and I. And our roommates. And then four other elders in our zone. Maybe we had too much fun. Idk. It was great. Service wins.

Oh yeah! And we also had Stevens baptism last Wednesday! 

It was lovely. President Smith came. The YSA ward was very supportive. Loved it. Baptisms are always uplifting! Reminds me of the covenant I made for myself 12 years ago. 

Steven is so solid and happy. 

We are working with a few member referrals too!! We got 2 new ones from 2 investigators!! So cool. Progress is definitely being made here. 

The work is good!! I kind of don't know what to say about it or how to explain it... But we are doin it. And I love it. 

So yes life is still good here!! 

I love my companion. I have another life long friend! 

I'm happy. I'm grateful for so many things in my life!! I have a thankful heart. 

We are so blessed to have the restored gospel!! 

Sorry I'm kinda short today. Just have the P day jitters and I can't really write very clearly haha!

#pdayjittersarereal 

I love you!!

Love abb :)

Exceedingly Thankful

Thankful Thankful Thankful. 

I'm "exceedingly" thankful. (Yes, Book of Mormon term.) haha

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow. HUH? Time freaks me out. Goodness sakes. It's really weird to think one year ago I was in Manhattan eating at Bishop Nixon's apartment. Has it really been a year? What. Where did time go. It's all a blur. 

This year we will be serving a thanksgiving meal to people that don't have one. And then a member invited us over for dinner in New Canaan. It seems like it's going to be a good day. 

Selfless holidays are great. Weird but great. ;)

Sooo.. Today I get to go to the Broadway play WICKED. I love Wicked. It's my fave. 8 other sister missionaries and I. Haha we are way happy! It's a secret dream of mine to be in Wicked. I would LOVE that. Singing, dancing, dressing up.. Sounds like heaven. I am a big dreamer. I have SO many dreams. But dreams come true. So idk watch out. 

Also all the fun floats are going up for the Macy's thanksgiving day parade! What a dream that I am living in. I am blessed to be here. What is this life.

I'm currently on a split with the one and only Sister Spencer. We are the happiest cats. We are in Scarsdale. And then I will be going to the city on the train with two other sisters. It's a jam packed P day. I can't think of one P day that hasn't been jam packed though. So much to do. So little time. We make it work somehow though. 

                       

It really was a good week. We were able to look a bunch of people up and learn some more about the people in our areabook. Our areabook is so full of names its like going to explode. So we are sorting through all of those. It's quite fun. Actually not really. But missionary work really isn't supposed to be "fun." Sure it's fun along the way.. but the purpose of a mission is not fun. You know what I'm sayinnnnn. 

We got a new baptismal date! A cutie 12 year old! He is from a part member family. They have lived here for 6 months and we magically knocked on their door. They were so pleased to talk to us and find out where the church was located and all the good details. Little tender mercies all the time. 

We also delivered 5 whole thanksgiving dinners to 5 families. Giant turkeys and all. It was SO funny as Sister Johnson and I were carrying all the food to the doors. It was heavy heavy. And I fell down the stairs at one apartment with a bag of potatoes in hand. HAHAH. Dying of laughter. And more bruises. I have been a bruised queen on my mission. 

But really. wow to see tears in some people's eyes as we dropped off all the food .. It was so tender. I never realized how blessed I've been my whole life. These sweet families were so grateful and so humble. I honestly hope I can be more like them. 

President Smiths daughter's birthday was on Sunday and President invited us over to give her a birthday hug. It was my companion and I, the AP's, and the Smiths. It was a great night and I actually was very touched by the spirit. Let's see if I can explain why..

The AP's shared a quick powerful message about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And good golly it was just super real. I kept thinking about this wonderful Smith family and their amazing example to me. I also was thinking about how it is BECAUSE of the Restoration that the Smiths are the family they are. This darling family has been sealed together forever and THAT is a blessing that wouldn't have come if it weren't for Joseph Smith! He brought back so many blessings to ALL of us that I think I/we take for granted. My heart is so FULL of thanks for the Restoration. The blessings could go on and on... 

The priesthood, The Book of Mormon, The temple, My knowledge of my purpose here on earth, Prophets, MY FOREVER FAMILY, My future forever family, My mission, Health, Leaders, Friends. SO many blessings. Wow. We are such blessed souls. Fo realz 

My thankful list right now: 

*FAMILY. (Mom and Dad, you have NO idea how thankful I am for you) I'm getting emotional just thinking about it. (Sisters, I love you too.) 

*My MISSION. Oh how lost I would be without this rich rich experience in my life. I'm BEYOND thankful for this time I've had to be stretched and pulled. The knowledge I've gained here is worth more than the world. 

*The Holy Ghost. Wow. Where would I even be without it. It has brought so much comfort and peace and I surely wouldn't have made it through my mission without it. 

*My Savior Jesus Christ. K really. I would be nothing without Him. We all would be nothing without Him. He saved us. Ohhhhh boy, He really saved us. And I'm especially thankful for His understanding. There are so many moments where I just feel peace in knowing that He knows exactly how I feel. I love him. I've really learned how to come closer to Him on my mission. 

*My very loving Father in Heaven. I cannot comprehend Him most of the time.. But I do know with all surety that He LOVES ME. I feel it everyday! I could never. ever. deny His existence. 

Woah I just feel like my heart could burst!! Sorry to be all "thankful" on ya. 

I hope you all can make a thankful list at this wonderful thanksgiving time. We have so much to Thank our Heavenly Father for. 

Remember Alma 34:

"That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

There is always much to thank God for. No matter what place we are in!! There will always be someone with more than us and there will always be someone with much much less than us. So let us be thankful for where we are!! 

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Love Abbs 

HAAPPPPY ABBBEY

Okay my people it's time for another one of these! 

First of all can I just tell you. I'm so happy. I LOVE LIFE. 

I usually sound extreme and dramatic when I say this but... I. LOVE. MY. MISSION. 

There are moments in every single week where I literally just breath in and out.. and think to myself "I LOVE THIS PLACE." It's an overwhelming love.

I am unable to describe how I feel. Heavenly Father is so aware of me. It's like the theme of my mission. Heavenly Father is so aware of all of His children. He's manifested that to me maaaany times. 

All I know is that I am coming back to live here one day. It is my life goal. Ah my heart could just burst. I feel like I belong here. Abbey looooves east coast. oh boy. And today we are in Manhattan to go to the temple. I love this place and these people. 

There was a scripture that I passed by this week and I just felt so close to it. I love reading the Book of Mormon as a missionary because I connect to it in a special way. You know?

It's in Alma 28. Pretend you're reading about ME on my mission and my journeyings in the land of New York. ;)

Verse 8 says this:

"And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy..."

I absolutely love when it says incomprehensible joy right after listing their challenges. Because that is how I feel exactly. I can't even say more. I feel joy. 

Anyways.

The work here is great. We have a baptism TONIGHT. We are excited. Hopefully we will get some pictures to send home next week. Steven is so ready. And so excited!! What a special day for him. 

We went to the meeting that we got invited to on Thursday. With two of the members from the missionary department. It was a training on planning. Like a 6 hour training. Loooooong. And lots of information. It was really good for our mission. Im excited to apply what I've learned for my last 7 weeks. 

Monday night we did a look up of a less active and miracle moment when she let us in. Haha it was just another one of your weird daily experiences as a missionary. I'll explain.

She had like this giant room with books everywhere like a big library and every single book was a book about religion. She was so interesting. Her husband was Jewish. They had the funkiest stories to tell us. They talked and talked and talked. They gave us tea and we awkwardly didn't drink any of it. They had like 4 dogs that were licking my shoes my hands and just chillin on my lap. I was dying. We were right by the ocean looking out the window at these cute little sail boats. It was just such an interesting

40 minutes. It was one of those moments as a missionary where you laugh to yourself and think what the crap am I doing. Like these experiences are so abnormal. It's the weirdest best thing I've ever done in my life. Just thought I'd throw that in my email. Because I have those feelings quite often. 

Oh yeah we've been raking a TON of leaves. SERVICE. Sister Dunford is queen leaf raker. Just sayin. 

Also we go to this old folks care center place. Called Waveny Care Center. I LOVE it. We just get to talk with old people. People that have like dementia. It is probably one of my favorite service activities I've done on my mission. The old people there are SO funny. I need to write down some of my favorite old people quotes. They keep me laughing. 

Anyways. I've gotta run! 

We're off to PINKBERRY and then to the temple. 

I am so happy! I love this thing that I'm doing. 

LOVE abba 

NOVEMBERR

Let me update you with my sister missionary life that I love! Oh how I love it.

It was a week full of tracting, teaching, laughing, cooking, smiling, finding, praying and studying.
All the good things.
Tender mercies every. single. day.

I don't think I can explain how good life is here. I feel so blessed.
So many good things happening. I love my new companion. We are similar. We are just HAPPY. Happy. We both have similar goals. She likes HEALTHY food with me!!! She loves going to the gym with me!!
She's hilarious. We both work hard together. And we smile while we work. Life is good. I'm so grateful. I've been fasting and praying for a companion like her for my last transfer. She is someone that I can work my hardest with. I love her.

HALLOWEEN happened!
Haha we had such a good halloween. We made cookies to deliver to more ward members. Tracting on halloween as a missionary is not such a good idea. Haha tricker treating sisters.... No Bueno. So yeah. we went to the ward party and it was just a grand time. Trunk or treat. Games.
Members. It was good. We had 2 investigators come and 3 less actives!!! YES. Then we taught Richard our investigator. (HE IS
AWESOME) Then we had to be home at 6. Halloween curfews are the best.
We ate some chili and bread bowls that we made. And we ate homemade pumpkin cookies. Then we all somehow ended up with our journals out and we were reading our favorite stories and experiences. It was TOO GOOD. One of my favorite nights of the mission. I am so grateful I came on my mission.

Sister Johnson and I are having so much success. The ward that we are serving in had had some not so good missionaries in the past. That created some trust issues. So we've been working hard on getting the member's trust back. I can really feel some progress being made. We got TWO legit, for real, awesome member referrals last week. Magical.
Member referrals are THE BEST. It's a huge compliment when a member trusts you to teach their friends.

We have a baptism in 1 week!!! Steven. Our golden YSA investigator.
He's seriously so genuine and so nice and so ready. He used to be Jehovah's Witness. And he's come to find the truth for himself. What a miracle. He is so smart and has his head on straight. It's cool to see his head and his heart connect. It makes sense to him both spiritually and logically. If you know what I mean. I love when that happens.!

Sister Johnson and I got invited to go to a special meeting tomorrow with one of the members from the 70. So that'll be fun! We are excited. It's in Scarsdale. The good ol scarssss! Yay!

Today in my studies I read Alma 41 and I was just like "amen." like you know when you read something and the thought process is just like "YES. This book. Mmmhmm." Well these were my scriptures today.
13. ...the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish--good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful."
14. Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.
15. For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.

I just think it's way cool that WE CAN CHOOSE what our reward will be.
Whatever we choose to be is what we will receive back in the end.
Like.... I don't know about you, but I want a waaaaaayyy awesome good reward. So I'm gonna try to be waaaaaayyy awesome good.
That's my plan for life. Be great. And then be rewarded great.

K. I love you!

My emails feel rushed lately and I'm sorry.
Xoxoxo
LOVE ABB

For the Beauty of the Earth

The following is my life as I marvel in the car these days.


"GASP!!"
"SISTER!! DO YOU SEE THAT ONE!?!"
"Tears. I'm in tears."
"Good heavens unreal."
"Gasp. LOOK LOOK LOOK!!!"
"Oh that one looks like it's on fire!"
"HOLY COW THE TREES SISTER!"

My companion sits silently hahahaha. I am in literal heaven!!!!!I have been singing that one hymn of grateful praise, "For the beauty of the earth," over and over and over and over in my head as I drive our lovely little Subaru around Connecticut. I never knew earth could create these colors!! And it's better than I remember it from last year. Idk guys I'm just really happy about this time of year. Just really happy. Life is pleasant!

Here's that hymn. I really like this one."For the beauty of the earth,For the beauty of the skies.For the love which from our birthOver and around us lies.Lord of all , to thee we raiseThis our hymn of grateful praise."

God is the best creator in the whole UNIVERSE. I love Him.

So now on to the fun TRANSFER NEWS.I'm staying in my cute Connecticut world!!! And I'm getting a new companion!!! Her name is Sister Johnson! She seems cute. Also. I will be moving apartments! So instead of living in Stamford, we'll be living in my very first apartment from Darien!! Haha started my mission there and now I'm going to end my mission there. What a good spot for me to wrap up my mission. I feel like I have grown immensely since I last lived there.

Okay the BEST part about transfer news is that I get to live with MY BEST FRIEND.Does anyone remember my girl SISTER SPENCER!? I trained her in Manhattan. And now we be livin togetha. A DREAM COME TRUE. I love her with my whole heart. Shes a BFF. She will be in the Darien ward white washing and training a brand new missionary. So since I know the Darien ward, President Smith asked if I would help her out. My jaw was on the floor when I found out I get to live with her again. Happiness.

So let's seeee!!It was a week full of goodbyes for Sister Taylor! We saw lots of members. So that kept us busy. We also did lots of service. At the food pantry and at our Russian investigators house. (I took a picture with her) she makes me laugh so hard. Her Russian accent is so extreme and it's awesome.

We met with Heinen twice. Our YSA investigator! The stubborn one.Don't remember if I told you about him. But the first time I met him the first words that came out of his mouth were "The prettier the girl, the more rude you have to be." And then he continued to be sassy and rude. (I'm confused why he's rude to me though..) But yeah that's him. Anyways, we've been praying and fasting for him that his heart will be softened. It's been two years of investigating for him. What an indecisive little fella right? Well. We decided all together that we shouldn't meet for two weeks and see what happens. So that two weeks started yesterday after Sister Taylor said goodbye. We'll see what will come in the future. Pray for him?

In preparations for returning home, (preparation is important. Let me CLARIFY for you, its preparation. Not being trunky.) We have been doing 5 minute arm flaps every single night. Now you might ask, what the heck are 5 minute arm flaps. And I will explain.It's those arm exercises that we used to do in dance. They make your arms look like Madonna arms. I can thank my dance coaches Traci and Di for providing ways to stay fit without a gym. Also. You might think that is not "forgetting yourself and going to work" but let me tell you something!!! Missionaries need to be healthy and strong so we can serve with all of our "heart might mind and strength." Strong arms are needed to pass out millions of Book of Mormons. So if you're not doing your five minute arm flaps, I recommend you get on that and pass out some BOM's.

The sisters here are really taking advantage of my hair skills! haha.Done quite a few haircuts. It's fun. Takes me back to the days of hair world. I do love hair.

OH how could I forget. We went to stake conference on Saturday and Sunday. It was awwweeesssoooome. I absolutely loved seeing people from the Darien ward. I was such a happy cat that day. The drive there was just pure beauty.President and Sister Smith were there. And their daughters! They are like my best friends. I could be with them all day long. I really do love them. President had called me the day before asking for a story I had that he could share in his talk. So I gave him one! And he shared it. And I felt the spirit so strong as I listened to him share it over the pulpit for the whole stake to hear. Wowza the Smiths are awesome.Love them.

OKAY okay. And also this quote was awesome to me. I found it in my favorite hour of the day... Personal Study.It's from President Uchtdorf. He said:"..Let me be clear: there is nothing noble or impressive about being cynical. Skepticism is easy--anyone can do it. It is the faithful life that requires moral strength, dedication, and courage. Those who hold fast to faith are far more impressive than those who give in to doubt when mysterious questions or concerns arise."YES. I think that's all I can say. Yes.And I love you.And I hope you have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Be safe.Love abb

Mid October

Thought I would start out with telling you that my favorite meal right now is a peanut butter honey sandwich. I have become quite the amazing peanut butter and honey sandwich maker. Can't tell you how many times we've been in a RUSH and these puppies save my life. And I'm eating one right now so yep. Happy.

Today I got to go to the HAIR salon. There's a member in Greenwich that does hair and she is amazing. She offered to do my hair for FREE and to have my companion come and get a clear gloss. Idk why people are so amazing. But I'm blessed.

I'm happy! A happy sister missionary.

We had another successful week here in the Waveny YSA and Stamford 1st ward. Successful for many reasons. One because we reached just about all of our goals! That's always an accomplishment.

I feel like the week was just a big mush of business. Teaching and preaching and working and planning. I think they need to add PLANNING into that primary song "I hope they call me on a mission."

Missionaries are PLANNING planners planning all the time plans plans plans. It's quite crazy.

Here are some of random things that happened or things I am thinking about. I am not really going to expound on them much because of lack of time.

But anyways..

*That whole "forget yourself and go to work" thing really works. I've found much happiness in forgetting myself.

*Our investigators are moving along slowly and nicely!! We have three baptismal dates. Which is good!

*Our investigator from Target is hilarious. We really enjoy teaching him. We brought him to dinner at a members home and that was so great.

He has a lot of questions. He knows the bible SO well. It's great.

*Lately we've been having a problem with people confessing their love to me. (I hate to say that..) but it's real and something we have been dealing with. We've passed off quite a few investigators to the elders. It's actually really hard. I decided I gotta start wearing a paper bag over my face and body. I will still wear my name tag no worries. Ha no teasin. But really. It's a problem.

*We went to a wedding reception for a YSA member.

*Being a missionary in a YSA Ward is the weirdest thing sometimes. But it's oh so good.

*We went to help our Russian investigator with her house and her tag sale. Have you ever seen the TV show hoarders? Well. As missionary you get to really experience the hoarders homes. SO MUCH STUFF.

I've seen inside a lot of people's lives (both good and bad) and I've learned a lot of things that I want for my life and also what I do NOT want. I'm grateful for these experiences that have helped me see who I really want to be and what I want in my life.

ANYWAYS.

Today I read Elder Cristofferson's talk from general conference. "Why the church."

I am really digging into these conference talks and enjoying myself.

Makes my studies even more delightful! I loved THIS.

"... It is important to recognize that God’s ultimate purpose is our progress. His desire is that we continue “from grace to grace, until [we receive] a fulness” of all He can give. That requires more than simply being nice or feeling spiritual. It requires faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism of water and of the Spirit, and enduring in faith to the end. One cannot fully achieve this in isolation, so a major reason the Lord has a church is to create a community of Saints that will sustain one another in the “strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life.”

GUYS the church is true and the gospel of Jesus Christ is real. The realest thing ever!!

Despite the many different opinions and beliefs that I've heard and seen, I know with all surety that there is ONE true church. And that is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I really can't explain how I know it, other than its taken me work and pondering and studying and praying for me to find out for myself. I just want EVERYONE to know it. So imma share this loud and proud for the rest of my life! The church is true. The Book of Mormon is true. God loves us.

He speaks to us through a living prophet. It's logical.. like it really is. and it feels right. I love it.

I love to be a missionary!!

Hope you enjoyed my mumbled quickly typed email.

I love you alllllll.

Love abb