February 17, 2025

From Abby: Patted Cheeks and the Work of God

Hellooo allll

I'm currently sitting on the stage of a church building in the midst of some pretty intense volleyball :)
Although insanity surrounds me I can't help but have a quiet sense of nostalgia and sadness with the shifting parts of the Orem Zone, with transfer news comes the ever prevelant truth that is reinforced in the garden of Eden: That we as human beings cannot progress when things don't change and if we remain stagnant.

Anyways lets get into the week before we actually feel upset XD

Last pday we made banana muffins as a district and for a solid portion we were absolutely SPOONING up the pure batter, It was awesome. (Salmonella, my favorite flavor)

Tuesday morning was something ELSE.
a 10:15AM appointment: Sister Hammon.
We walk into her house and the first thing she says after we sit down is "You can be honest with me.. Who sent you" Semi confused we explain to her that no one sent us and that we genuinly just wanted to get to know her better.. She proceeds to explain that her and her husband are less active, at this point im intrigued as to why she even let us into her home. As good missionaries should we strive to understand her situation so we can best help her, and ask her to continue: before she gets into it she says "This would take hours to explain" and us being happy go lucky gullible little children were like "WORST case we have until 12:00.. Go for it" OH my how that was a grave mistake for the next FOUR HOURS this women plunged into the trauma dump of the century. I don't even want to retell the explicit content that I absorbed in that period of time. Every time I looked over at sister Atwood she was deeper and deeper into the couch XD When we left we were absolute SHELLS of humans, our only accomplishment being that the words we DID get out were inviting her to come closer Jesus Christ 
It was a rough morning 
on the bikeride home my dress got caught in my bike :D 

I experienced some Utah Culture this week:
We decided to join a Relief Society Activity and when we walked in we saw a mom sitting by herself with a cute lil Baby: It was the emptiest table so we joined her > I Proceeded to watch every person walk in, observe all the tables and even make EYE contact with us and go to their friends! I WAS SHOCKED. Yes every table was completely full and squished into besides ours. Its okay we had a really good conversation with the sister and ate a valentines cookie that was probably 75% Plastic. Circumstances don't make you happy but it was interesting to observe.
Why can't we all just love each other. 

A very small German lady gave us banana muffins which was wonderful (Its the little things)

Met with president brown virtually.. I love how much faith he has. Every time I talk with him its almost like his faith is enough for the both of us and then when I'm away from him I go back to my skeptical ways. 
>It makes me wonder/grow empathy for Jesus Christs apostles after his ministry and when he had to leave after his resurrections: TALK RECOMMENDATION: The First Great Commandment by Jeffrey R Holland.
How lost they must have felt after LITERALLY walking with the son of God and helping him perform his work and THEN having to be left to their own devices. Anyways 

Other events.. February 13th was supposed to be Galentines (All the Sisters in the mission gathered to talk about things only sisters can talk about) until it SNOWED and people forgot how to drive in winter.. It was probably the most tragic moment when we received the news: We drowned our sorrows in Culvers and spent prime time making snow angels and visiting with leadership :)

This week I got to visit with my lovely Louise :) When we called to confirm a time she called me her Dear which was a score. I've probably talked about Louise before but she's my 81 year old smoking friend whos husband past away 3 years ago and since then her vibrant character has been riddled with grief and cigarettes'. Regardless off all this she likes visiting with the missionaries and although she has no interest in The Church Of Jesus Christ I love her DEARLY and have had so much time to visit with her. This most recent visit she gave us advice on adventure

 "Adventure is what you make it. Find someone who has just as much desire to explore as you do and then just go" She told us to RUN with that desire and to live a wonderful life. As I listened to her reminisce I felt so much gratitude for her character and rough yet tender way of existing. Before we went she took my face in her hands and patted my cheeks and I just smiled at the touch of her wrinkled hands and cigarette smell..
I love Savior type love which goes beyond someone's circumstances or sins.

Galentines was moved to Saturday and it felt so wonderful to unite with women :) EVERY sister in the entire mission comes to 50 of us so we were able to go to President and Sister Browns home in Springville! (Second time leaving the mission in 4 months..) 

We had delicious food and got to know each other better but my favorite part was when we gathered in their basement. We talked about Eve and her wonderful role as the Mother of all living. 

I love this quote by president Nelson:
"We know that the culminating act of all creation was the creation of women!"

Eve was the final creation and Masterpiece of Heavenly Father before he rested on the 7th day! I love it.

How grateful and lucky am I to be able to sacrifice as much as im ABLE to sacrifice as a latter day saint women.
It was so good to unite with the other sisters in the mission, I love to gather and talk and be apart of such a great Battalion.

A member shared this with us which is the Opening quote of the book "Saints"

The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

 —Joseph Smith, 1842

I love that God's work will keep moving forward until Jesus Christ comes again :) 

WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH
Q: "Why would we need more scripture? Wouldn't the Bible be enough?"
A: -Although we believe the bible to be the word of god we also believe the book of Mormon to be the word of god!
-Like the Bible its an ancient volume of holy scripture and just like the bible witnesses and testifies of Jesus Christ so does the Book of Mormon!
-Its a second, clarifying witness which reveals a fulness of doctrine > Instruction and clarification on how WE can achieve exaltation (Being saved in the highest and holiest of places)

-It also reveals plain and precious truths including the truth that we can pray, ask god, and know for OURSELVES

- 1 Nephi 13:40
"These last records shall establish the truths of the first which are of the 12 apostles of the lamb and shall make known the plain and precious things, and shall make known that the lamb of God is the son of the eternal Father, the Savior of the world."
-2nd Nephi 29:9-10
" I am the same yesterday, today, and forever... and because that I have spoken one word, ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another. For my work is not yet finished. Neither shall it be until the end of man.

2 Corinthians 13:1
"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established"
D&C 42:12
"Teach the Principals of my Gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book Of Mormon."
Moroni 10:4-5
"And by the power of the holy Ghost ye may know the truth of ALL THINGS"

There's so much more that happened this week which have been absolutely neglected, there's just not enough time. 
Transfer news came last night and yet another Transfer over Orchard and Cascade stake. (I will hit 6 months in this area :D) The zone has changed beyond recognition from when I first came in I feel that this next transfer is going to go very slowly..

With all that being said pretty soon the transfer will be over and I'll be writing to you absolutely perplexed and bamboozled 

I think I could nap for a couple hours but its time to go.. I'm very late for Proselyting time 

Best Regards,
Much love 
Bye <3

From Mom - I Wish I Was There

Dear Abby,

I had a great idea this week! I figured it would be an amazing thing if I typed out the highlights of every day ... every.... day ... then I wouldn't have to think back and try to remember. Our lives are busy enough that our time with Steph seems like an eternity ago already. Did I write every day? No, I did not. So here I am, trying to remember.

Of course, we loved our time with the Froelichs. Steph is healing well, and so is little Bowie, who had RSV AND pneumonia, a double respiratory infection. She had to mask and stay as much away from MargoMae as she could at the beginning, which was a very hard thing. Bowie did amazing though. I had a video call this week and saw Bowie (feeling much better) come home from school super excited because it was snowing! They all went outside to play, including Margo and her super-spacey silver snow suit. That baby is freaking adorable and she is already loved by a mom and dad and sister and grandparents and aunties and uncles. She has no clue. Such a lucky little one. Of course, Steph’s daily-dose-of-cute is what we look forward to every day now. I love her most recent of Bowie cuddling with Margo.  I just wish I could teleport there whenever Steph could use some help or when I could use some baby cuddles!

So, going backwards starting from today... Dad is on the plane again, this time to California. San Diego and area. I wish I could go with him. Best time to leave, too. -30 unless the wind was blowing, then it was -40. We did go to the Family Day breakfast at the church this morning because he kind of misses our ward family since he's in Hinton most of the Sundays now, but you know your Dad ... he always shows up and does what needs to be done. He's amazing. But we stopped at the church to connect with everyone in Devon anyway. We ate a load of bacon, pancakes and sausages, talked to as many people as we could in 45 minutes then zoomed to the airport. I dropped the man off and zoomed home to sit in coziness. It was very comforting to have Ben here, frantically writing a school assignment. That was me on Friday. Research paper proposal due at 11:59 and got it in at 11:29. Phew!

Ben went with Dad yesterday to Edson. I was supposed to go, but our tenant died and the Leduc house is empty and the only time they could do an inspection of the house was Sunday at noon. I went to the house, we did the inspection. It is indeed empty and needs some cleaning and some fixing. Mia was with me and she said, "wow, this is a small house." Unfortunately, we cannot afford two mortgages, so the decision is to sell the house as quickly as possible. Kind of nostalgic to say good-bye to the thing, but practicality wins. I'm glad Ben was here as he went with Dad as a travelling partner. Right after church I get a call from the iconic Kathleen Burrows, (who is a legend and I hope everyone gets a chance to meet her). First she tells me that they miss me (all eight of the original congregation), then proceeds to tell me I have a gem of a son, which I already know but it's still nice to hear. Apparently he saved the sad zoom music by dashing up to the piano and ad-libbing in an inspiring way. I wished I was there to see it. 

Mia and Emma started their girls trip to Banff. They were picking up Avenlea, staying overnight at the Cooper's, who moved to Calgary, then hanging out in the mountains today. I also wish I could be there with them. TIme to clone myself! Ha. Literally FIVE MINUTES after Mia left, Josh and Madison showed up. 100% my favourite thing to see any of my kids walk through the door with the ones they love. FAVOURITE. Sam, Naomi, Rex came 15 minutes after that. We ate our traditional chicken Sunday dinner with pickled beets and apple pie. It was one of those cold days that demanded the full gamut of comfort food. What can you do? I kicked butt in Scrabble then had my butt kicked in 5 Crowns. Like, KICKED. I drowned my sorrows in herbal tea and honey, but I honestly didn't want to be anywhere else in that moment. The banter, the laughing, the loud talking that gets louder, the headache, the krinkle of potato chips opening, the fire on, the fire off, Coco piercing our ears with her excited bark, the chairs that spread throughout the house, questions and answers ... it's heavenly ... all of it. 

Okay, now I'm summing up. Highlights of the week include me and Dad's continued epic dating adventures by going to listen to Jordan Peterson LIVE. He's the guy who said my favourite quote of all time:

Life IS suffering.

Love is the desire to see unnecessary suffering ameliorated.

Truth is the handmaiden of love.

Dialogue is the pathway to truth.

Humility is recognition of personal insufficiency and the willingness to learn.

To learn is to die voluntarily and to be born again, in great ways and in small.

So ...

Speech must be untrammeled,

so that dialogue can take place:

so that we can all humbly learn,

so that Truth can serve Love,

so that suffering can be ameliorated,

so that we can all stumble forward

Toward the Kingdom of God.

That is what you are doing on your mission. You are learning truth and creating opportunities for dialogue (which sometimes means listening to the horrifying things that people go through) so that Truth can serve Love. And there is no greater thing to teach than the reality of God's love for all of us, that He loved us so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ did what He did, we can be Healed and Whole, physically, mentally, spiritually. When we partner with the Saviour, we can in turn be His hands and benefit the lives of others whether they believe in Him or not. We ARE the salt of the earth that flavours everything else. Believe it. I see it more and more in my life. It's real and I love it. 

Aaaanyways, I digress. Yes, Jordan Peterson. The man has the mind of a bear trap and the integrity to follow through with all his conclusions. So inspiring. I loved sitting with your Dad in the massive and crowded Roger's Place, breathing through our noses to prevent coughing, and wondering what in the neck we are doing with our lives. In the Q&A someone asked how he had hope for the western world and he said, "You people." So what do we do with our lives? The answer is the thing right in front of us. For me, that means having a hard conversation with my boss, who is being manipulated by a mean girl and making everyone miserable. So, this is the second long email of the day. He got my first one. Hopefully he reads it and chews on it and we can have a productive conversation soon about improving communication, or ... I might get fired tomorrow. Either way, I'm ready to face the consequences because sometimes things just can't go on as they are, ya know? Happily, both Dad and Ben read the email before I sent it and gave me their wise counsel to say things in the nicest way possible. Dad's advice: "It's the kindest thing you can do for him, but you have to leave him some dignity." I tried my best.

Let's see ... I was interviewed by Ariana Townsend this week. She was doing an assignment for a class and needed someone who maintained a connected and loving relationship with their husband while raising children. Pretty sure her hair was standing on end by the conclusion of the interview but I think it went pretty well. I also met with cute Karli again this week. Self-directed learning is not for the faint-hearted but she is a trooper and doing amazing. My private consulting side-hustle is paying for my next trip, so I'm happy. Next visit, a novel study. Any suggestions for a 13-yr old girl who likes true crime? She also has a goal to create a gallery wall of paintings, so guess who is doing another watercolour class? I will never cease to be amazed at the odd things life throws at us. 

And that's the end. It has to be.

Did you make it all the way through?

I love you, baby girl.

You're a cracker jack and a lightening bolt all in one and the world needs you.

Also, I'm sorry you have a dud of a mom who takes no pictures.

Have a great week!

Love you forever,

Mom