Last Week in Terre-dise

Hello Everyone!

Well, as you can see from my email title...I am being transferred!  I am very sad to be leaving Terre Haute and Sister Faleono! I have enjoyed this wonderful ward and area so much! I feel so blessed to have been able to serve here for so long with 2 wonderful companions! Last night when we got the call, we were at our former bishops house talking after dinner to his wife and the Elders. All of a sudden, I heard the phone ringing and my heart jumped as I answered the call from the assistant. He told me I was leaving and my companion was staying. At that moment, our hearts broke a little. 2 seconds later the Elders phone rang, one of them is leaving too. The Honey Creek ward will be getting 3 missionaries transferred in this week. We are all very sad...but I know it is the Lord's will, so I will go and do what He needs me to do! I have worked hard here and have been blessed to see many miracles, so I feel like I have done my job here in the Haute!

So besides transfer news, we had a very good week! The highlight was being able to go to the St. Louis Temple with some members! It was so great to finally be able to go back to the temple after not being able to go for over a year! The spirit was so strong and I felt to so good being there! It was the best way to end my stay in Terre Haute! I also realized how much better Indiana is than Illinois...the drive through the part of Illinois was very boring...driving through Indiana is very boring too, but it is greener here and the corn is taller, which makes for a more interesting drive! It was exciting though when we got to the south part of Illinois and I saw some hills! It was great!

We taught a lot of people this week! We found and taught some pretty solid people! One person we taught is a young women who is friends with a member. This girl's family doesn't approve of the church so since she isn't 18 yet, she can't get baptized. That hasn't stopped her from gaining a testimony of the gospel however! She knows it is true and wants to be able to have the spirit with her always! She also even talked about maybe going on a mission one day! It is super exciting and I will definitely be returning to Indiana when she gets baptized! Her testimony and faith is so strong!

We also found some cool potentials this past week and were able to teach a couple lessons to them. It was a good week and we used our time effectively! I love being a missionary and being able to see the changes that people are willing to make for the gospel!

Yesterday, I spoke in Sacrament Meeting! I spoke on an article out of the June 2014 Ensign called "That We May Rejoice Together." I think it went pretty well! About a month ago, I felt a prompting to write a talk based off the article and to volunteer for a talk. I  skeptically obeyed the prompting and am glad I did. I don't know why Heavenly Father wanted me to speak on it but I do know that the spirit was in that room! There was a time in the middle of my talk where the room was spooky silent! It freaked me out a bit actually...but it was good. Sister Faleono told me that you could feel when the spirit came into the room and a couple people mentioned to me after that they were more inspired to do missionary work. So even though I felt a little off, I guess others were able to receive some guidance! We also taught the YW yesterday! We had 4 girls at church yesterday and no leaders. So it was us and them and we were able to have a nice talk about what it means to take Christ's name upon us and how we can better stand up, even if we are standing alone. I think it also went pretty well!

That is about all I can remember from the week....but I have a good couple days ahead of me! Tomorrow is basically already planned out with saying goodbyes to members and teaching some gators one last time. I hope you have a great week and I will talk to you next week from somewhere else!

love,

Sister Abbie London

1. at the temple! 

2. the craziest district on the planet...half of the group will be transferred... :(

Keep on Keepin' on

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all having a wonderful s
ummer and that they weather isn't too bad for you all! I have got to say that this summer is so much nicer than last summer was! Maybe that horrible winter was worth it if it means a cooler, less humid summer! It has been beautiful here! :) Hopefully it stays that way...the Indiana weather is more bipolar than Utah weather!

So this week was a little rough with our numbers. Last week we taught 17 total lessons and this week we taught 8 total lessons. It was a struggle but we kept working hard and tried to teach as many people as we could. There is always more to do however! This week we have set some goals to make ourselves stretch more and are looking forward to diligently moving forward! It will be a better week!

We went up to the mission home last Monday to drop off Sister Hansen so she could go home. So for the following 24 hours we were in a trio with Sister Wilkinson until she got her new companion! It was a pretty fun day! On Monday night, we stopped in Fishers and had dinner with Sister Ingram and her daughter, Lexi! It was so fun to see them again! It was crazy because it was almost exactly a year since I had first arrived there as a very green missionary! Time flies! Then on Tuesday we had interviews with president. That went well and we were able to get some trainings from the zone leaders and the assistants on how we can be better, more powerful missionaries! It was a pretty good morning. Since Sister Wilkinson covers the ISU campus, we went and PCed for a little bit...at least we tried too. There weren't many people out and those who were did not talk to us. It was fine though, we still had fun and it was cool to see campus!

Something that the mission is trying to be better at is inviting investigators to baptism in the first lesson, so the assistants committed us all to invite the next 5 people we taught to be baptized. So on Tuesday when we had a lesson with a new gator, we invited her to be baptized and she said yes. Then on Wednesday, we had a lesson with another gator, Amanda, and recommitted her to be baptized and she also said yes! So we are super excited to extend them both dates in the next couple of days!

We had some fun on Thursday with a member making cupcakes for Elder Litster's birthday on Friday. We had them all nice and they looked really good. The only problem was that we had district meeting in Linton, about an hour away...so needless to say, they did not end up still looking there by the time we got there. :( good thing the look didn't really effect the taste!

That pretty much sums up my week...other than helping little kids find some frogs/toads, getting called short by a 9 year old who is shorter than me, and having 2 different people make fun of my parking, it was a pretty normal week! 

I love you all!

-Sister Abbie Paige!

1. the awesome shirts we got last week! They say "I'm so Haute"!

2. hunting baby frogs/toads with the newest member of the HC Ward! 

Defending Your Faith

Hello Everyone!

It's been a good week here in the Haute! We had some cooler weather and a nice little break before it started getting really humid! So I was happy about that! This week we had some really interesting and fun things happen, I'll start with the interesting! 

So on Saturday night we met with an inactive that we have been meeting with since I first got to Terre Haute. She doesn't come to our church anymore because she has had many bad experiences with some ward members and she decided to go back to the church she grew up in. But she is still on our records. We have been doing service for her and spending time with her for about 6 months now. for some reason she decided to let the sisters in back in January. So on Saturday we were over there and had just finished eating our dinner and somehow she got on the topic of the church, she then proceeded to tell us all of the bad experiences. We were put in a situation where someone we loved was attacking our faith and was therefore attacking us. We sat there, both wanting to get up and leave but something kept me held down on that couch. I could not get up and I did not know what to say...so there we sat. Listening to her say how much she hated Mormons and Mormonism. Then right after she said that, she burst into tears. She kept apologizing over and over again. For a while we sat there watching her and then I was up and walking towards her. We sat by her for a while and tried to comfort her and then Sister Faleono opened her mouth and allowed the spirit to work through her. We were bold and told her that we are representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as such we will talk about the church. For the first time in 6 months, we were able to have a real talk about the church and how it will help her. We talked about forgiving like the Savior did and all realized that she needed to tell us all those negative things because she has been holding onto them for years and hasn't moved passed them. I am not gonna lie, when we left her house....I was ticked! I was so mad and upset and felt like I did not do all that I could have to defend my faith. My face got all red and stayed all red and hot for about an hour after. As we (Sis Faleono and I) talked later that night, she helped me realize that I was did defend my faith. In that moment, we acted like Christ would have. We loved those who were trying to tare us down. We listened with love and comforted even though it was hard to do. In that moment, we did more for her than we would have done if we would have vocally stood up for what we believe. Instead of using words, we used our actions and were able to have positive results. I learned a lot that night and am grateful that this experience only strengthened my belief and my testimony that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. 

This week we also helped a member's sister move. That was a fun experience and we were able to spend time with so many great ward members and help a non member feel the love. I have mentioned before how great service is a missionary and I am so glad when we have opportunities to serve others. There is something so great about helping someone and doing a good deed. It brings joy and happiness to someone else as well as to our Heavenly Father. 

I hope you all have a great week! Keep being awesome and know that there is a missionary in Indiana who loves you all very much! 

love, 

Sister Abbie London

1. My angry face on Saturday night...

2. All of us after packing up the moving truck! 

3. definitely not in Sandy anymore...

Fun on the Fourth!

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! It is so great that we have the opportunity to live here! The only place where the Restoration could take place! This week has been a fun one but also a slow one work wise! So last week we had exchanges down in Bloomington on the IU Campus! It was a fun day! I was with Sister Hain. She is awesome and we had a blast laughing at the mean people ignoring us and at the silly animals! We were able to teach 6 lessons in the 6 hours we spent out on campus. It was pretty exciting and missionary work on campus is so different from missionary work in neighborhoods! I liked it though, it was fun! Almost all the people we talked to were not really interested and were being polite, but it was still planting a seed whether they know it or not! Also while we were out walking around the beautiful campus, I touched a squirrel! Yep, that's right! It's nose grazed my finger! If it didn't look like it wanted me for dinner than I probably would have reached for it's tail or something to touch the soft part but it looked like it was gonna bite so I didn't take any chances! It was legit! On Thursday I hit my 1 year mark as a missionary! It was a good day full of missionary work, weekly planning, a random lady at my door with a bucket of treats, and celebrating in style up in Brazil! The last year has flown by and I am so excited to see what the next 6 months have in store for me and the Hoosiers of Indiana! Since not too many people like being interrupted during family celebrations, our mission president moved our P-Day to Friday. So on the 4th, we were able to celebrate by not making people hate the missionaries and by eating lots of food! In the morning the 2 wards here had a combined picnic breakfast at a park. We helped cook some of the breakfast and then enjoyed the beautiful weather! It was a breezy day in the 70's with low humidity! It was perfect! Since there were games and such going on at the picnic, we were able to wear real people clothes, so not only did we get to spend the day relaxing but we also got to spend the whole day in pants! :D It was great! We chilled with the other missionaries through out the day and then all went to a members house for a BBQ with some of the other families in the ward! It was so fun being able to get to know the families better and not have to feel rushed after. We played football, volleyball, and basketball and just sat and enjoyed the fireworks! Here it is legal to buy and shoot off the ones that go high up and boom...you know, the ones you imagine when you think fireworks. There were some really pretty ones! The party didn't stop there! On Saturday we went back to the normal missionary work and taught some people the gospel but that night we got permission to go to a baseball game with some members! It was fun...but also pretty boring. I have decided that Baseball is probably more enjoyable when you have a device that you can play on during the game and watch every now and then. It was fun though because now I understand baseball a little better and there were 3 homeruns by our team, Rex. Those were always exciting! It has been a good, fun week! I am excited for the week ahead of me and am excited to be able to work a little harder and to teach some more lessons! I hope all of you are having a fantastic summer! I love you all! love, Sister Abbie   1.Exchanges with Sister Hain   2. my 1 year surprise from home! Thanks family!

Happy Independence Week

Hello Friends and Family!

Happy Independence Week! I have to say week because we still have like 4 days until it's the 4th...and it's technically still June! Haha!

Well, it's been another week here in Indiana doing the same old missionary work. Knocking doors and trying to teach some people the gospel! This week we had some pretty funny run ins with some of the Terre Haute crazies! We had only heard stories about them from the Elders but finally were able to meet a couple the other night! I guess you could say it's an accomplishment making it 5 months in the Haute without meeting some! YAY! haha and it wasn't actually me who talked to the crazy guy, it was my companion...I was talking to a relatively sane one. Anywho, it was funny! We taught a drunk guy who wasn't interested at first but the more we talked, the more interested he got. He said we could come back, so we are going over to teach him tonight with some members. Hopefully he isn't drunk and remembers we are coming over! We had been praying all day to find a new investigator and it was like 8:30 at night when we found him, so we saw it as a miracle and have high hopes that it will work out!

This week for dinner, I got one of my favorite meals! Yep, that's right, I got some chicken roll-ups! I love when members ask what we miss from home and I can just give them mom's number for her to give them the recipe! It was like I was back at home! I ate way to much obviously and left feeling fat and happy! Thanks for passing on the recipe mom! Loved it! 

We had a fun day Friday. We had district meeting in Linton, middle of nowhere Indiana..., and had to take the Brazil Elders down with us. It was a fun car ride and a pretty fun District Meeting. I really like our district, we are some fun missionaries! We got to sit in on a lesson with the Brazil Elders since it was on the way back and we finally got to teach a recent convert who we haven't had contact with in a couple months! It was so great to be able to see her again! 

On Saturday night we got permission to go to a football game for someone in our ward! He was on an All-Star team for the surrounding high schools. It was so fun to be able to watch football again! It was an exciting night and we had lots of fun with the members and other missionaries!

It was a great week and will be another great week this week! I am excited for the adventures ahead! Love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

love,

Sister Abbie Paige!

1. After the football game

2. The best meal of the week! 

Little Moments of Laughter

Hello Everyone!

This week has been a good one. It was still a really slow week. We didn't find any new investigators or get anyone on a baptismal date. We actually had a hard time getting in contact with some gators, but we were able to find many moments each day to just laugh and enjoy the work! It was wonderful and I would like to share some moments with you today! Some are random, some have things to do with the gospel and some don't, but they are all pretty fun! 

So the week started off great on Monday! Once P-Day was over, we headed over to a less-active family's house that we have been working with. They are awesome and we really enjoy going over and meeting with them. As we were walking in, the youngest, who is 7, comes running out telling us about the 8 kittens they have. So she shows us and we hold them for a bit and they are adorable. We started talking to the family inside and they are talking about their pig, so the older daughter goes down to the barn and brings up the miniature potbelly pig! It was cute, but he was kind of freaking out and when she tried to pick him up, he pooped everywhere! It was pretty funny! Then later that night after we had finished our planning, we got a text from a ward member who lives a couple blocks away telling us that the fireflies, or lightning bugs, were out! So we took out our trash and saw the field across the street lightning up! It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! I wish we had lightning bugs like that in Utah...It was magical!

Tuesday was the day before transfers and one of the Elders from Brazil were getting transferred so we had lunch together with the missionaries in the ward one last time before he left. That was pretty entertaining and then all had dinner at the same members house which was also fun because they let us play with their kid's toys as we wait for dinner! So we were in a circle hitting a beach ball around...it sounds lame, but it was so fun!

My companion gave an awesome training in District Meeting this week! Sister Faleono is a rockstar! She can play the piano and the organ and she is a great singer! In her training she made up some new words to the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy," and sang it for us all! I had a proud mom moment! :) She was so great!

We taught Sunday School yesterday and taught about baptism. We knew none of our investigators were going to be there but we did know that some of the elders would be. The majority of the people the elders are teaching have very unique views on things, so we were a little worried about how the lesson would go. It started going away from normal and towards awkward when we got thrown off by a question meant to prove us wrong. Luckily one of the missionaries in the class came in with the save, but the gator wasn't satisfied with the answer and just kept shaking his head. Later he started talking about how we all came from the womb and how Satan and his angels came down and seduced the women...there was more but he talked quietly so that is about all I heard....this part was very hard for me to keep my composer. I almost busted up laughing...to make it worse, I could see the elders faces and the reaction of the rest of the class, which were even more funny! It was an interesting lesson and I was apparently making pretty funny faces. Some of the people there told me that I looked like I was biting back some sassy comments...that is a miracle! Who ever thought I could hold back the sass!

It was a good week and I'm sorry it these experiences aren't as funny to you as they are to me...too bad, it's what happened so I shared it! I love you all and would love to hear how things are going with all of you!

-Sister Abbie Paige

1. Me and Bacon (that is what the little girl says his name is)

2. The elders got a basketball stuck on top of the hoop! T'was sick!

6 Months in the Haute

Hello my lovely family and friends!

So we had transfer calls last night and Sister Faleono and I will be staying together for another transfer! Yay! Which means that Terre Haute is now now my longest area! By the time I leave her when Sister Faleono is done with her training, I will have spent 6 months here! Which is just crazy to me because it doesn't feel like I've been here for almost 5 months already! We are both excited to keep working together and to work on getting an investigator to baptism!

We have a mission wide goal of "121 Miracles" going on that will end at the end of this next transfer. The goal is to have each of the 121 proselyting areas have a baptism. So we are both working hard to try to meet this goal. We have a couple investigators who could meet it, but are facing some hold ups right now. So as well as meeting their needs, we are trying various ways to find new investigators. I am very glad to continue to work in the Honey Creek ward and get to know more people!

This week was pretty slow. We didn't teach as much and didn't find any new investigators. We spent some time trying different ways of finding though! We went to a Strawberry Festival and got to talk to a couple of people there, which was good! We met with less-actives and did some service. our zone meeting this week was almost a repeat of the specialized training we received two weeks ago, but it was really good to hear a lot of it again in a smaller group. We were lucky and got to hear it twice, so hopefully we should remember it better...

I am trying to think of something funny that happened this week but I can't think of one...we didn't have too many funny awkward missionary moments this week so I will share one from one of the elders in the ward! hehe...while beginning a lesson with their 22 year old investigator, she asks, "Is it hot in here?" and the elder responds, "No, it's just you....(they all look at him and laugh) oh, I just called you hot! I'm sorry!" HAHAHAHAHA it reminded me of a similar moment in Disneyland a couple three years ago while we waited in line for the Haunted Mansion....ring any bells family?

Well, sorry there's not too much to report this week! Hopefully this week brings more adventures and miracles for me to share next week! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

love,

Sister Abbie Paige

1. A cool helmet one of the members has...Megan would get along well with the majority of the Hotians...they all love Dr. Who and Star Trek type things...

2. the infamous Indiana cornfields are starting to grow! :) 

Trainings, Exchanges and Patience

Hello, Jello!

We got to go to primary yesterday because Sister Faleono played the piano for them and they sang a nice little welcome song to all of us visitors! It was the Jello song...a different jello song that I was used to...I thought they were about to sing the "Jello pudding yum, yum, yum..." that we sang at Girl's Camp. It was really fun to be able to be in primary again and see the little kids singing the songs for Fathers Day on Sunday!

This week was a pretty busy week. It was one of those weeks that flew by but by the end of the week, you can't remember anything that happened! It was very fun though! So on Wednesday, we had a specialized training for all the missionaries in the training program, so all 3 sets of missionaries from our ward went. It was pretty funny actually because as we were driving up to Fishers, we missed one of our turns and then ended up right behind the Elders from our ward! The training was really great! We received some cool trainings from President and the Assistants on prayer and contacting people. Then we had lunch and had a chance to talk with the other missionaries there. Sister Faleono had a great time catching up with her MTC friends! After lunch, we had some more trainings on the church tours we've been practicing, which was great! It was a good day and I received lots of cool revelation!

Then the next day, we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. I got to do my exchange with Sister Vidmar. It was fun to be able to catch up with her and talk about our crazy times back in the Fishers apartment! It was a fun day and we met some cool people. I don't have a picture from that day yet, we were in a rush at the end of the day to switch back and I had left my camera inside but it was a fun day!

The last couple days have been a test of my patience with a couple different things. First off, on Saturday we  had a lesson with an inactive we've been meeting with. She doesn't really want much to do with the church but we have been doing service for her for a while now. So we were meeting with her and her daughter came to visit, who used to be a member. They kept saying little side comments about the church but the most awkward part was when the two women started arguing about the Bible...we were literally in the middle of this mother and daughter's bashing! They weren't bashing the church, they were bashing each other and we were sitting in the middle of it...it was pretty funny but it also really aggravated me after. So that was a test of my patience and Sister Faleono and the Elders heard me vent about that for a bit. Then another test has been yesterday and today.There is an Elder, who I'm sure is a wonderful person but for some reason, he just irks me so much! It has been so difficult for me to be patient and try not to get bugged every time he talks. So trials happen no matter who you are or what you are doing! Luckily the Sassy Abbie in me hasn't crept out and said some snarky, sarcastic comment...there is always a plus to every negative! :)

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic weeks! Happy Fathers Day to my favorite dad! :)

love,

Sister Abbie London

1. A little bit of Indy for you! Look familiar dad?
2. Our Crazy district

Howdy!!

Here is Abbies email from June 2nd:

Howdy!

It's been another week here in the Haute. Nothing really super exciting happened this week. We had a really cool thunder and lightning storm yesterday when we were teaching a lesson. We were in an investigators home and the thunder was directly above us...it was so loud that the house shook! Seriously! It was insane! We saw a really awesome lightning bolt as we were driving to the lesson too! It was so clear and I wish I could have paused it for a second to pull over and get a picture of it...too bad life doesn't work like that!

We taught some this week and we tracted some! We spent 3 hours tracting Friday and met some awesome potentials. This one guy was really nice and after we left came back out with some ice water for us so that we didn't melt in the crazy Indiana heat and humidity! It was pretty fun tracting this time though and the 3 hours went by pretty quick. We have been trying to find some new investigators because the people we are teaching right now don't really have a desire to learn for themselves. It is mostly listening because they like us and want a friend. We have one or two who do really want to learn but aren't taking the necessary steps to progress. Their desire has been tested a little these past couple of weeks too. It is really hard to have to just sit and listen to the people you love tell you about their struggles and not know how to help them, especially if they won't accept the one thing that you know will give them all the peace, comfort, and joy that they need. No matter how hard I testify and how strong the spirit is, it is still up to them on whether or not they choose to listen and follow that spirit.

Things are looking up though. The Honey Creek Ward just got a new bishopric last week and yesterday the new bishop challenged every one in the ward to pray for missionary opportunities in EVERY pray they say, as well as to have missionary work centered fasts every month for their purpose. Many amazing miracles await the people in Terre Haute and Brazil and there are 6 eager missionaries here ready and willing to help! It is an exciting time to be here, even if we aren't super busy right now.

I am excited for this week and know that great things will happen! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

love,

Sister Abbie London

Saw this while tracting! It made my day!!

Tracting selfie!!

Don't let the Hoosiers get you Down

Hello Everyone!

I would like to start off by saying HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to the best parents in the world! I love you both and hope you have a great day! Also Happy Birthday to Aunt Debbie tomorrow!

This week has been good! On Tuesday during studies, Sister Faleono and I were talking and I told her, "Don't let the Hoosiers get you down!" So we have made this our new slogan! We taught a couple new investigators this week, one of which had a very hard time believing that I was sarcastic...little does she know! It was pretty funny because the whole time I wanted to say something sassy, but my powers don't work on demand like that. So she will just have to wait until another lesson when I don't have to try to force it out!
On Friday we had to go to Linton (a small town about 45 minutes south of us) for district meeting. The Elders in our ward didn't have the car and didn't have a way down there so we got permission to take them. On our way down, we were driving on this little country road and saw a turtle crossing the road!!!!!! It was so legit! I had never seen this before, neither had the other missionaries. So the Elders made me pull over so they could catch the turtle. They brought it back to the car so we could get pictures of the turtle and then they carried Harry (the turtle) back to the forest that he was walking towards. So we got back in and headed to Linton but we got there before the missionary with the keys to the building. While we were waiting outside, that same Elder who had to get the turtle comes walking over showing us the toad he just caught! It was a very exciting morning for us!

On Sunday we had dinner at our former Bishop's house! We made homemade, personal pizza's on the grill, with watermelon (yay!), salad, veggies, and a fruit pizza for dessert! It was probably the best meal of the week! 

Yesterday for Memorial Day, we were able to go to a memorial service at this cemetery for all the fallen service men and women buried there. It was a really neat experience, at a really neat cemetery. Nicole would love this cemetery. It is named Highland Lawn Cemetery and is just beautiful! After the memorial, we went to a BBQ hosted by a member in the ward in honor of their son who died in service. It was a beautiful day, very hot, but a great day for a picnic! It was fun to be able to sit outside and enjoy the day and not have to rush off to other appointments. One of the perks of a Monday Holiday! We also saw a cool miracle yesterday when we were washing the car! We go to one of those self service car washes because it's cheaper and cleans around the bike rack. So we pull in and are about to put our quarters in when we see that the hose is already going! We were able to wash the car and didn't have to pay! It was so nice!

Well, I hope you all enjoy your last week of May! It has been a good month and am excited to see what June brings for us here in Indiana!

 I love you all! 

-Sister Abbie

1. Me and Harry the Turtle

2. Since I don't have instagram, I thought this was the next best thing!

3. Si with his sword of truth and Book of Mormon

Rockin on Knockin on a Billion Doors...

Howdy Ho Friends and Family! 

It has been another week here in crazy old Terre Haute Indiana! We haven't had anything super exciting happen this week but did enjoy hearing fun stories from the Elders about all the crazies they met this week. We didn't meet too many of the crazies but we did meet a lot of people! 

Even though we study for an hour longer now, I feel like we have more time in the day than I did before. Probably because we don't have back to back to back appointments and our lessons keep falling through. Whatever the reason may be, we have found ourselves out on the streets of Terre Haute more doing what missionaries do! Yep, we've been tracting! And to make it better, it hasn't been completely horrible! I have never been much of a tracter but this week, we have been blessed for being obedient! Blessed because both of us were able to find joy in it! Also blessed because we only had to tract in the rain once and it rained a lot this week! We didn't meet any "Golden" potentials or investigators while we were out. No one came running out when they saw us walking by begging to get baptized, however it was still enjoyable. This experience has helped me come to the conclusion that when we do what the Lord asks of us, whether it be through personal revelation or spoken from one of his representatives, he blesses us with a greater desire to do it. When we are obedient and diligent, He gives the help we need to accomplish what he's asked us to. Sound familiar? Probably because Nephi says basically the same thing in 1 Nephi 3:7. Read it, love it, apply it.

We had Zone Conferences this week up in Indy at my former chapel on Stop 11! It was fun to be back up in the old area and to see all the missionaries! We were well fed, both spiritually and physically! One of President's friends came out and spoke to us about Joseph Smith. It was such a great talk! We received a wonderful Game Plan on how we can become a more powerful missionary! It has been fun applying that to our studies and planning this past week. We were also fed some yummy Cafe Rio pork and cilantro lime dressing! For all those who know me, you know how happy that would make me! It was an all around great day! 

We had some awesome run ins with the Spirit this week! We were teaching a lesson to an investigator and she started off my giving back all the supplies we gave her and by saying that she wasn't going to become a Mormon. She still wants to meet and study the Bible but basically won't let us teach her our lessons. We continued on with what she had wanted us to share with her but it didn't feel right. It was a struggle to get the words out of my mouth. Then the member we had there with us decided to share the bible dictionary definition of Faith. She shared it and from there we were able to talk about miracles and how miracles aren't dead. God is unchanging and so therefore miracles still happen. With that logic laid out, I got the impression to bring up prophets. Since God is unchangeable and he called prophets in the Bible, then he would have them today. We ended up teaching her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong in that lesson and it was perfect. We ended up committing her one final time to sincerely pray about the prophet Joseph Smith. She asked us to give her a week to pray and check back with her to see if she got an answer. Sister Faleono and I have been praying so hard for her and are faithful that a miracle will happen with her! 

So that's been my week! Love you all and miss you! Keep looking and praying for missionary opportunities. Don't forget to be obedient and the Lord will help! 

Love,

Sister Abbie London

The computer's being slow and not connecting my camera up...which is fine because I didn't have any new pictures this week...sorry! 

Another transfer come and gone...

Hello All!!!

Happy Mothers Day and Birthday Mom!!! You are the best! Also Happy Mothers Day to any other moms reading this! 

So the exciting transfer news is.....I am staying in Terre Haute and will be training a new missionary! I am super excited!! Sister Ruth will be leaving her first area and will be moving on to new adventures. I just can't believe how fast that last transfer flew by. The longer I am out, the faster it goes by! 

So this week has been a good one. We did a lot of service, in fact all day Wednesday we were in our service clothes! It was nice to wear pants that long! We helped spring clean the church building and then on Thursday night the Boy Scouts had a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser that we helped out with. We helped set up, cook, and then talked to the various ward members and community folks that were there. We had some less-actives show up and our investigator Amanda and her dad came. It was a good night. 

We had an interesting experience last night in Brazil, interesting in a good way! It was a neat experience. A couple weeks ago the Brazil Elders asked us if we would be willing to come to a Q&A with them and their landlord's church group. We accepted but were scared that it would lead to bashing. So we went up to Brazil last night and met the Elders at their landlord's. It was a little awkward at first but was a good experience. The landlord had one rule, they could ask any question about what we believed, except why questions. So they were not allowed to ask why we believe that way. It applied to us to. It turned into a good discussion and we were able to understand each other's religions a little better. I think that is something important for everyone. If you love Christ and want to be like him, then we need to love all of his children and not judge them. That is something I have been noticing lately here. Just a thought to keep in mind.

I'll end with a comment someone made last night about how you know where Indiana is. "From Utah you go East until you smell it, then you go South until you step in it." :D Haha

I love you all and hope you have a good week! 

love,

Sister Abbie Paige

1. Terre Haute Zone...yep, we're crazy! 

2. Gotta let the stress out somehow! 

Golden Gators & Spooky Spiders

Hello All!

I hope you have had a good week! This week started out a little rocky for me but has ended great!

so our investigator Amanda is one date for June 14th! She is awesome and I absolutely love her to pieces! She is so ready to accept this gospel and is doing so well! We took her on a church tour on Saturday and she came to church yesterday! She stayed for all 3 blocks and stayed for choir too! It was so great! We met her about a month ago. The Brazil Elders tracted into her and handed her off to us thinking it would be a better fit...they were right! She is just so amazing! We were talking with her yesterday and she was stating that she doesn't really see the difference between Christian and "Mormons". We told her there is none because we are Christian and she replied, "yes, we are!" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sister Ruth and I got the biggest smiles on our faces when we heard her refer to herself as a member! It was probably the highlight of my week!

Now to the not so highlight of the week part...spring in Indiana means the birth of lots of creepy insects...including big nasty spiders! One thing I do like like about Indiana is because of the extra moisture in the air...the bugs are big and nasty. We hadn't see a bug in our apartment for at least a month until yesterday when we were getting ready to go to church. There on the wall by the door, was a big, nasty, black spider sitting there plotting my demise! Sister Ruth made me take care of this one because she had to take care of the last one. It was awful and I knew it was finding pleasure in my discomfort! Then this morning, Sister Ruth found one trying to eat her in the shower. He was creepin  on her and came done on it's little web...so we had to drown it. It is gross and I know that they are all conspiring against us...

Well, that just shows you how uneventful my week was. So, that is about all for this week! We get transfer calls on Sunday...can't believe another transfer has come and gone...crazy sauce! 

Love you all!

-Sister Abbie 

 

I slacked and didn't take many pictures this week...but here is the one I did get! The Honey Creek District at it's finest! 

New Adventures Everywhere!

Hello friends and family!

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter and week leading up to it! It was definitely a week full of excitement here!

On Wednesday, we had a specialized training for all of the sisters in the mission! It was so great to be able to see all the sisters together and to catch up with them. We started off the morning with some trainings. We had a training by Sister Cleveland on remembering to Depend On The Savior (D.O.T.S. everything was poka-dot themed!), then a training for a sister in the mission and one from a member of one of the wards. One of my favorite trainings came from a member of the mission presidency. He trained on Women and the Priesthood and it was mind blowing! Words cannot even say how awesome this training was and how inspiring and uplifting it was! Basically he spent the whole time telling us how awesome we are and how interesting it is that women don't need the priesthood power given to them to go through the temple but men do....it was just so wonderful I don't even know how to tell you about it in a way where you will understand like we all did! Another one of my favorite trainings was from President Cleveland. He talked to us about Joan of Ark. Yep, Joan of Ark! He told us about her life and then proceeded to talk about how each of us are like her. He talked about the greatness that is in each of us and how through our different talents and abilities we are able to achieve and succeed! We had lunch where they made us Cafe Rio pork, while we ate we watched a slide show of pictures of the sisters that we had been asked to send it. The afternoon part of the day was spent in our work out clothes because after we learned about health and staying healthy, we did a strength/cardio training thing called Tabata and then did Zumba! It was such a great day!

Another cool adventure that we got to have this week was going to the Holocaust Museum here in Terre Haute...yep....there is a Holocaust Museum all the way in little Terre Haute! The owner of the museum, Eva Kor, is a survivor of Dr. Mengele's (not sure on spelling) twin experiments. We got to go and listen to her talk about her experience there and tell us her story about forgiveness. It was so awesome! That was on Saturday and then on Saturday night, we got permission to go to the local Eastern Orthodox service. It was a really neat experience and it was so cool to be able to go to another church and see how they worship. It wasn't one of their normal services and was actually pretty long, about 3 hours. We were standing most of the time, sitting down sometimes. It was so different from what I am used to but it was a really great learning opportunity. We were also able to meet so many of the great people there who were so kind and welcoming to the 10 missionaries in attendance. We were invited by the bishop of our ward so we went with him and his sister in-law too. At the end of the service they have a big feast to end Lent ( I think...) so they had us stay for that and we were able to talk to some of the members more as well as Father Paul, the priest. It was amazing!

It was also a great Easter here! We had beautiful weather and were able to spend the day focusing on what Easter is all about! We also felt so loved by the members of the ward and were given many little Easter treats! It was a good day and a good week! I hope you all were able to remember your Savior and that He lives.I love you all and hope you are having a good spring! It is beautiful here in Indiana and it is so nice to be able to see it green again!

Love,

Sister Abbie London

1. Sister Jones and Sister Francis...we have all been companions at one point

2. Easter Egg from the Hellman's!

Scones, Mice and Awkwardness all around!!

Hello Everyone!

It has been a good week here with the Hoosiers! A very crazy week but I wouldn't expect anything different in the Haute! 

So Tuesday was a very busy day. A lesson fell through so we decided to try by one of our investigators who we hadn't been able to get in contact with in a couple weeks...bad idea. Not really because we were able to finally know why they had been avoiding us...He got anti-ed. They let us in, but would not let us even get a word in, instead he proceeded to tell me what it is that I believe. He started cussing and after a few choice words of his and feeling the spirit leave, I opened the door and told them we were leaving. Then he decided to cuss at us some more as we left. At least he didn't throw mashed potatoes at me...but it was not a fun experience. We were both upset about it and took it out of the random bubble wrap we had in our apartment! That did make it feel a little better but now we are out of bubble wrap...

Then on Wednesday, we had exchanges! I went with Sister Hain! It was a fun day with an awkward lesson! So through a lot of misunderstandings, we started teaching this lady in Brazil and had a lesson scheduled with her for that day. As we pulled into their driveway, they told us that some of the men (Elders) were coming too. Right as they said that, the Elders come driving down the street. We go in and start talking and then here come the Elders knocking on the wrong door to the house. They come in and sit down and we try to have a lesson. My companion wasn't saying anything because she was sure that we were pranking her (long story that I don't have time to explain...)  and then one of the Elders isn't saying anything. This lady starts telling us here life's story and after ending up having an Elder be my teaching companion for that lesson, she mentions how she has never been baptized. So I committed her to be baptized and the male in the house had to leave. So the Elders left almost as awkwardly as they came in. We talked to them later and found out that the whole situation was just a big misunderstanding...the person we were teaching kept getting the words Elder and Sister confused, in turn making all of us not sure who will teach her. Since she's in Brazil, we decided that the Elders should teach her, but it was just so funny! I hope that made sense...

So as some other random highlights, I got to see a wiener dog kill a mouse during a lesson this week and got to have scones for dinner last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was wonderful! 

It's been a good, busy week with another one ahead of us! With Easter coming up, you should all check out mormon.org/BecauseofHim  It is a great video that you can share with others by using #BecauseofHim  The church has asked the missionaries to spread the word with people and help make Easter more Christ-centered! 

I hope you all have a great Easter week and that you take some time to remember the wonderful fact that our Savior lives! 

love you! 

Sister Abbie London

1. exchanges with sis Hain

Excitement All Around!

Hello Everyone!

So this week has been a great one! Lots of exciting things! We will have to start at the beginning of the week this time. Last Monday was absolutely beautiful! It was the first time since September that we did a preparation day activity out side! It was so great to be able to be out in the sun and run around! We played soccer, so I was loving it! To make it better, we were playing with all Elders. They were very shocked that I knew what I was doing out there...I wasn't able to be as violent with them as I was when I did coed a couple years ago, however it was legit! The highlight was when I scored a highly epic left-footed goal! Yes, that's right! Left foot! The only downfall to the day was like 5 minutes later when I heard a "pop" in my right ankle...all is well, t'was only a minor sprain or roll. It swelled up a little bit, went down, and is now still a little swollen...I think that is because I kicked the wall in my sleep last night...oops!

This week we received a training on doing church tours! This type of church tour is being done in one other mission in Boston! It is really neat and is so simple! Right now we are only doing the trainings and focusing on getting down what it is we need to say. Then next month, we are going to give the tour to members and then probably in June we will focus more on giving the tour to investigators and nonmembers. It is such a cool thing and am so excited that I get to be a part of it. It is definitely going to help the work here. It used with various selected art work around the building and using the artwork to simply teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am really excited!

The highlight of the week though, definitely had to be General Conference! I loved it all but was especially touched by the Sunday morning session. I felt connected to every talk and thought it was just spectacular! Some of my favorite quotes were:

"Lift the Goblet of Gratitude."-President Uchtdorf

"The Gospel is not weight, it's wings. It carries us."-Sister Stevens

"The miracle of the atonement can fix any imperfections in our performance."-Bishop Stevenson

"We never need to be alone."-Elder Bednar 

"Love is the essence of the gospel."-President Monson

All of those were from Sunday morning, however I loved the whole conference!

It was a great week and another busy one ahead! I love you all and hope you are all working on obtaining a copy of Preach My Gospel! I am excited to hear the thoughts you receive during your studies! :)

love,

Sister Abbie

1. Elevating my foot during planning

2. missionaries definitely stand out...

Service Brings Smiles

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a joyful week! It was a good week here in the Haute! It was the first time in about 7 months where I didn't have to go to a transfer meeting! It was a strange experience for me! Haha! So this week we had more open spaces than in previous weeks, especially on Wednesday. So I don't have too many exciting stories to report.

So we ended up doing a lot of service this week! There is a member in the ward who is fixing up an old house that used to be condemned. He has been working on it for the past 2 years and it is pretty close to being done. He was supposed to be finished by today so that someone could move in, however, I don't think that happened due to how much was left to get done. So on Wednesday we spent a lot of time helping clean some things up and do some painting. It was so much fun and it just felt so nice to do so much service. We spent some time on Saturday helping out too. I have noticed that these past 9 months as a missionary have been some of the happiest times of my life, all due to the fact that I get to serve others. Service really does bring smiles. It brings smiles to those we help, it brings smiles to us, and it brings smiles to God. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." It is such a joy to be able to serve people physically and to be able to spiritually serve them by sharing this wonderful message! So I want to invite you all to find ways this week to serve someone. Service doesn't have to mean going and pulling out their dead tree, it is simple acts of kindness. It is easy and when done right, it will bring a smile to your face!

The rest of this week was pretty routine. I had a cool experience Thursday around 4:00, so right about the time when my sister had just got married. We were watching the Restoration video with a new investigator. It is only a 20 minute video but it is so powerful and spirit filled. I learn something new every time I watch it. What I recognized this time was how vital the Restoration is to our eternal families. I was sitting and watching Joseph Smith look at a pillar of light and I realized that without that simple act of faith, I wouldn't be in an eternal family. My sister wouldn't have just been sealed to a man for time and all eternity. We wouldn't have the temple or the sacred ordinances that come along with it. I gained an even bigger testimony of the Restored Gospel than I already had and it made me feel a lot less sad about missing their special day. The gospel is true!

So those are my random thoughts for the week! I hope you enjoyed them! I love you all!

love,

Sister Abbie London

1. Cool wooden Indian from a restaurant

2. I received lots of love from home this week! Thanks mom and dad!