November 11, 2024

From Abby - Sit tight Sisters!

HELLO ALL 

I am not missing another week. 
This week has been something thats for sure. 
Last Pday we went shopping at DI and I purchased a shirt i definitely didnt need but its literally whatever (Budgeting who?) 

Culvers is half off for missionaries so best BELIEVE we're always there and everytime we walk in i see the look in the employees eyes "here they come" the culvers visit this week included me trying to get a concrete mixer that was only PICTURED on the menu with no description, I pointed and explained with all my might and the employee and I laughed at the awkwardness as he figured out which icecream matched the picture (#humbled) 

The first couplle days of this week have been rough for the appetite. Something about being sick too it OUT of me and I think I realised how much i yearn for a good three meals a day. the worst day was when i literally had one tomato toast for the ENTIRE day :) 
My blood sugar is like the grinch and every time i try to feed myself consistently and with nutritious food its heart grows three sizes and i suddenly love everyone and everything around me.

Sister Ellis and Sister Ortiz entered the chat on tuesday night by barging into our apartment with a whole mattress :D Of course we welcomed them cordially and with every ounce of girly excitement. The word "Sleepover" Should i think in every girl envoke max levels of excitement 

Predictable outcomes: We stayed up much to late. This is where daily repentance comes into play. AND we made a music video. I don't think it can be posted on my google photos due to max cringe levels, but the knowledge that we did in fact make and edit one is apt information for this crowd.

We went to the temple this week!
Its interesting because we went to the mount Timpanogos temple which I was literally at in the beginning of october with my OTHER DISTRICT (RIP Disctrict 25-C) While I was in the MTC
i think ive finally somewhat figured out the labryth of Utah Temples... Or at least the mount Timp temple
this week I Said to an older couple "We went to Timp!" And I think they were pretty unimpressed with the plagueing habit  I posess of shortening everything for slang reasons. (I corrected myself) 

we got home to allll the matresses on the floor and the sisters were like"Well, we should probably clean this all up" and Sister Heaton says "Well, we do have zone council tomorrow..." EMMEDIATLY justified them staying another night (Teehee) 
Girlhood can still exist on the mission i think gods probably okay wiith it

one evening when Sister Ellis and Sister Ortiz were about to leave to go teach a couple little girls Sister Ellis thought it would be a wonderful Idea for me to get thrown into the FIRE and put us on exchanges for ONE hour so I could go teach the lesson with Sister Ortiz. anyways, in this wonderful little lesson with this 6 year old and 9 year old Sister Ortiz shared a video about christs life on earth that she did NOT preview because suddenly Jesus was getting Whipped and his hands NAILED to the cross and we both GASPED and skipped the video XD the scariest part is that these little girls were unphased. :O anyways...preview your videos folks ;)

After Zone  council this week someone was like 'We should go out to eat" everyone was on board so Sister Ortiz picked Maria Bonita :D we walk in and the person at the front was like "...how many..." and we were like "..Eight?" I emmediatlyyy flashed back to my hostess days and shuttered remembering seating people who spontaneaously planned do go out and eat. While we were waiting i decided to flip through the menu and within the first 3 seconds realised that almost every item was so above the MSF budget AND I forgot my wallet :DDD 
Yknow that scene in the office when Jim Orders the Chicken Picatta with a side sallad and then everyone proceeds to order the exact same thing? If you don't look up so you can get a solid vision of what happened, there was a lunch special option that with tax came to like $15 (Cheapest option by far) and as the waitress went around this is what it sounded like "Can I get the uumm lunch special?....yeah i'll get the lunch special as well....What he ordered.....Lunch special please!" so comedic we're all too broke (Sister Ortiz payed for me i owe her) 
more about Sis Ortiz Later 

Random fun thing: (So many of those) 
We were out and about and this black cat pops out and is SO cute which I emmediatly started petting and loving on, after like 5 minutes we hear a voice in the distance and its this old guy telling us to lead his cat back home: as we walked up we started a conversation and he proceeds to tell us that he owns  10-12 cats and lives alone, he smoked his cigarre and also told us he wasnt a religious type guyXD I'm just glad he let us pet his cat (Midget :))

Speaking of sister Ortiz we did Exchangess this weekkk 
I've concluded that we're the problem when it comes to late bedtimes and early get ups we just get too into the conversation and start giggling about something, its bad. 
We had a couple interesting member message experiences
The first of which we were dyinglaughing and conversing primarily about her CAT, she thought it was funny too so we all just giggled and talked about her cat (And family) For like 40 minutes.
The second of which was an older lady 
We knocked and emmediatly an old lady shuffled past us asking us where we were from and B lined it to her car, left behind was a less older lady who welcomed us in: Beverly! We had a wonderful very lengthly conversation and ended with a prayer. The moment I said "Amen" she said "Sit tight Sisters" and Sister Ortiz and I, thinking that this was a strange departing well wish started responding with "Ohh thank you" and she PLUNGED into a prayer for us!? We got studious so quickly the moment we realised and tried not to laugh at her reverent send off XD
Beverly also gave me a nice hug and Sister Ortiz a big wet kiss! So fun.

Theres more but its PAST MY BEDTIME (Rebellious who?)
So just a takeaway: 

President Nelsons Talk - Revelation for the church, revelation for our lives.
you should listen to it! I love President Nelson, he is a prophet of god and the older I get them more I'm filled with gratitude to have LIVING prophets. Living Scripture, living revelation.

Okayyy I'm not checking for spelling or grammer issues so be patient and use context clues I know you'll do great!

Have a fulfilling week, 
I love you all thanks eternally to every soul willing to read through my plethora of thoughts and feelings and wild stories. You are my favorite people!!!!

BYE.

-Sister Smith 

From Dad - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Dear Abby,

I had a moment of joy and sadness at the same time at church today as I had the chance to go to the Devon Ward. As church was about to begin, Megan Day came in and sat with her parents. It was so good to see her and then I remembered that she had been sick and is hoping to return to her mission. I'm so grateful for those who have a positive impact on my children and she certainly is one of those.

I had a long week away in Lisbon, Portugal. It was an interesting city, though I only got to see it for about 1/2 a day total. The rest was spent in the hotel in conference rooms giving presentations and meeting customers. I'm grateful for my job and even though we calculated this was my 6th trip across the Atlantic this year, it is a blessing and privilege to be able to travel and provide for my family at the same time.

It was an uneventful trip otherwise right up until I got to Calgary on the way home. As we boarded the plane, there was an electrical malfunction that was not a quick fix, so we had to sit on the plane for about 1/2 hour, then deplane and make our way to a new plane. That would have been ok, except as we were about to leave, they experienced technical difficulties getting their load balance confirmed with someone in Nova Scotia of all places. Then, once that got resolved, some nosy technician noticed some hydraulic fluid under the plane and flagged us down again. So off the plan we went. By this time, I was looking for options and when I learned that Ben was coming up at the same time from Sterling, I took it as a sign from heaven and cancelled my ticket to catch a ride with him the rest of the way home. This saved Mom having to drive late to the airport and I got the added bonus of spending time with my youngest son. 

Tender mercies.

Even since we have been empty nesting, I have had a wild urge to dejunk and organize. Saturday morning I continued and started working on the pile beside my workbench. I put the red part organizer I inherited from my Dad up on the wall instead of on the floor and started filling the drawers. There is something so satisfying about cleaning up and having a place for everything.

By Saturday night (last night), we had Josh, Madison, Sam, Ben, Clara and Amelia with us for supper followed by Christmas decorating! Madison was in 7th heaven and we were happy to give her full reign to decorate our house. We made snacks and a few of us went to watch  some of the 2nd season episodes of Arcane. Don't be too jealous :)

Ben and Mia and Sam are off for Reading Week break. Sam is going to Cranbrooke to spend time with Naomie, Ben is hanging here till Wednesday, We loved having everyone out for snacks and visits.and good food. After church, Mom, Mia, Ben and I took a good power nap and then enjoyed a delicious roast beef dinner. We played a good game of Rummikub and Ben won much to Mom and Mia's delight that I did not win :) 

Mia continues to dominate the Foosball scene at YSA and is now targeting the table tennis crowd. She and I had a good "practice" session. I'm amazed at how quickly she picks up physical things. We may have short changed her by not putting her in more sports growing up! I loved spending time with her.

I have been pondering a lot on the atonement and my temple covenants this week. A line from President Nelson's talk struck me and encouraged me to put more focus on understanding the atonement. 

"I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

Then in Stake Conference the temple president encouraged us to consider the reason for the order of the covenants we make in the temple. As I was pondering this, and as I went to the temple last Thursday, I was struck with new personal insight into the Law of Sacrifice. My thought was that I have always primarily viewed the "Law of Sacrifice" as a covenant focused on me being willing to sacrifice for the Lord and the gospel's sake. I realized that it is more than that. Additionally, I now feel that it is much more about being willing to accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ into my life as demonstrated by my willingness to repent, have faith in and trust him. It then, hopefully, motivates me to do all I can to bring the knowledge of that saving sacrifice and path to peace to those around me and help them have the blessing of Christ's sacrifice in their lives. I testify that it has had a profound impact in my life. I need it now more than ever to redeem me from my sins and mistakes as I continue to blunder through life, repenting as I go.

Sure love you, sister. Thank you for your example of persistence and willingness to sacrifice your time and effort to help bring souls to Christ in your mission. He is mighty to save.

Love Dad.