April 7, 2025
From Abby - *First speaker .. Holland walks up*
Hiiii all
lets start off strong with my breakfast this morning..
Just imagine this photo but I'm sitting on the grass and the sun is streaming over my face and its also Iphone quality :)
Anyways I promise it looks much more appetizing in person.. And don't mind the tuppaware-
Starting off strong with last pday.. the FIRST pday as a new district. We made pancakes and Elder Cease guilt tripped me into PLAYING BASKETBALL?!?!?!? Brethren I never thought I'd see the day but here we are humbling ourselves and trying new things with hope and excitement..
We were also able to have a post Baptism lesson with Martin and I LOVE seeing the light in Martin begin. Embarking the covenant path is the most sacred thing I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of. Those moments are some of the few where you realise WHY you're here.
Anyways I promise it looks much more appetizing in person.. And don't mind the tuppaware-
Starting off strong with last pday.. the FIRST pday as a new district. We made pancakes and Elder Cease guilt tripped me into PLAYING BASKETBALL?!?!?!? Brethren I never thought I'd see the day but here we are humbling ourselves and trying new things with hope and excitement..
We were also able to have a post Baptism lesson with Martin and I LOVE seeing the light in Martin begin. Embarking the covenant path is the most sacred thing I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of. Those moments are some of the few where you realise WHY you're here.
We also knocked this house: The Huntsaker family: MULTIPLE people who've been in this area told me to go "Pound on Kory Huntsakers door" So thats what we did :) The door has one of those latches that open so that they can talk to you before you actually open the door.. when we knock it flies open, Kory examines us, and then it closes.. With some ruccus the door opens and we were able to have a really good conversation with Kory, his two kids, and two of their friends. By the end of the conversation Kory said "When I first saw missionariaries I was like "Oh no missionaries" but you guys are awesome!!" We were able to schedule a time for sunday! (Yesterday)
We're now teaching his oldest son Sorren and hopefully bringing Kory to the path of recieving the priesthood :) They're such a sweet lil bunch I'll put a picture at the bottom because it warms my HEART
We were able to do some ward visits with one of our relief society presidents Sister Watters who is eccentric and ON. IT. A couple doors that answered that were non members she would ask straight forward "Are you members of the church of Jesus Christ?!" It was interesting and Sister Orton and I just smiled and nodded :)
One door that answered was this mom with a new baby who apprently has been living in the ward for three years and hasn't been to church. Sister Watters asked if the Relief Society could bring meals and if she would like ministering Sisters. I watched this exhausted mother obtain a glimmer of relief, and hope, she said "That would actually be really nice.." we visited with her a little bit more after that and when we got in the car she texted Sister Watters for which church building and the time of the meeting.
HOW SPECIAL IS THAT.
This is what being a disciple of Jesus Christ is about :)
Sister Haught and I were able to go on exchanges this week!! It was idylic to be in a car and listen to music :)
At one point we're tracting and this car LURCHES around a corner as we're crossing the street and it honks at us. Sister Haught and I being dumb lil blonde sister missionaries think its a honk of encouragement so as we walk we wave and smile and these two teenagers speed up LOWKEY try to hit us and simultaneously flip us off :O CRIMINAL.
They can't all be fans a guess
at the end of the night we're knocking these sketchy apartments and literally the LAST door of the night this guy named Mauro opens up and we're like "Heyy!! We're your sister missionaries!!" at first he was like "Naa I think i'm good" we offered to give him our number in case he needed anything and continued to make small talk.. I asked him if he'd seen missionaries before or heard of the church and he hadn't which is always SHOCKING. After talking more we discover that he used to meet with Elders in Provo and didn't know that Sister Missionaries existed!? King. right before we say goodbye, Mauro says "I'm actually free on saturday if you guys wanted to come" BOOM scheduled that appointment
#Lostsheepfound :))
When Mauro closed the door sister Haught and I grabbed eachothers hands and jumped up and down in the hallway trying to suppress our sounds of excitement
AHH I love missionary work.
Friday morning I literally say to Sister Orton "We REALLY need to clean our apartment" and THAT day at 1:12 we get a solid knock on our door and RANDOM inspection?!? It was Crim.
We were able to do some ward visits with one of our relief society presidents Sister Watters who is eccentric and ON. IT. A couple doors that answered that were non members she would ask straight forward "Are you members of the church of Jesus Christ?!" It was interesting and Sister Orton and I just smiled and nodded :)
One door that answered was this mom with a new baby who apprently has been living in the ward for three years and hasn't been to church. Sister Watters asked if the Relief Society could bring meals and if she would like ministering Sisters. I watched this exhausted mother obtain a glimmer of relief, and hope, she said "That would actually be really nice.." we visited with her a little bit more after that and when we got in the car she texted Sister Watters for which church building and the time of the meeting.
HOW SPECIAL IS THAT.
This is what being a disciple of Jesus Christ is about :)
Sister Haught and I were able to go on exchanges this week!! It was idylic to be in a car and listen to music :)
At one point we're tracting and this car LURCHES around a corner as we're crossing the street and it honks at us. Sister Haught and I being dumb lil blonde sister missionaries think its a honk of encouragement so as we walk we wave and smile and these two teenagers speed up LOWKEY try to hit us and simultaneously flip us off :O CRIMINAL.
They can't all be fans a guess
at the end of the night we're knocking these sketchy apartments and literally the LAST door of the night this guy named Mauro opens up and we're like "Heyy!! We're your sister missionaries!!" at first he was like "Naa I think i'm good" we offered to give him our number in case he needed anything and continued to make small talk.. I asked him if he'd seen missionaries before or heard of the church and he hadn't which is always SHOCKING. After talking more we discover that he used to meet with Elders in Provo and didn't know that Sister Missionaries existed!? King. right before we say goodbye, Mauro says "I'm actually free on saturday if you guys wanted to come" BOOM scheduled that appointment
#Lostsheepfound :))
When Mauro closed the door sister Haught and I grabbed eachothers hands and jumped up and down in the hallway trying to suppress our sounds of excitement
AHH I love missionary work.
Friday morning I literally say to Sister Orton "We REALLY need to clean our apartment" and THAT day at 1:12 we get a solid knock on our door and RANDOM inspection?!? It was Crim.
We have this spot in our area called Thornberry which is a BUNCH of apartment complexes. Lets just say the dots (missionary information on a map) in that area are ABSOLUTELY EGREGIOUS. We knocked on 62 doors and I think 20 answered XD Rough.
One of the timelines saidd "Don't knock he will assault you" we proceeded to knock and the SKETCHIEST dude opened up the door... He wasn't interested.. Seed planting :)
It's ACTUALLY bad because timelines show which missionary put the comment.. Certain Elders which we know the nature of we have SO much less trust in what they put.
Its bad.. Anyways
GENERAL CONFERNCE IS HERE.
Saturday morning I felt like a little girl on christmas. We watched the first session as a District! We pulled couches all together and munched snacks
Sister Orton and I got to go IN PERSON for saturday afternoon. We brought Martin and our senior couple the Ellis's drove.
The parking was SKETCHY. Actually there was no parking XD Elder Ellis parks in the side of the road right by the sign that prominately says "2 Hour Parking" BRETHREN.. We def were going to be gone longer than that. Regardless Elder Ellis shrugs and says "What are they gonna do I have an Alberta Plate" Which I don't think makes very much sense but we exited the car and marched with the CROWDS of saints walking to the conferece center. It's always empowering and spirit filled. Especially being in the conference center.
Sister Atwood and I did it again on Sunday morning with friends from our last area, Chase and Alex (and Alex's Sister). We parked at a random hotel and walked and it was GRAND..
Serving In Utah has given me the privelege of existing in the midst of the heartbeat of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Its taken me a little bit to see but it is grand.
the highlight of conference was the announcement of fifteen new temples worldwide, and hearing from our beloved prophet.
Ever grateful to be the recipiant of modern revelation.
For saturday evening and Sunday afternoon we were able to watch at the Ellis's house and I LOVE OUR SENIOR COUPLE. They're from St. Albert alberta and I KNOW I'm gonna find them after my mission :)
Also Brad Wilcox has the same journal as me :) not to flex.
I've been reading "Heart of the Matter" By President Nelson (I asked my Dad to send me money for books and he said.. "I'll just send you books!")
One of the timelines saidd "Don't knock he will assault you" we proceeded to knock and the SKETCHIEST dude opened up the door... He wasn't interested.. Seed planting :)
It's ACTUALLY bad because timelines show which missionary put the comment.. Certain Elders which we know the nature of we have SO much less trust in what they put.
Its bad.. Anyways
GENERAL CONFERNCE IS HERE.
Saturday morning I felt like a little girl on christmas. We watched the first session as a District! We pulled couches all together and munched snacks
Sister Orton and I got to go IN PERSON for saturday afternoon. We brought Martin and our senior couple the Ellis's drove.
The parking was SKETCHY. Actually there was no parking XD Elder Ellis parks in the side of the road right by the sign that prominately says "2 Hour Parking" BRETHREN.. We def were going to be gone longer than that. Regardless Elder Ellis shrugs and says "What are they gonna do I have an Alberta Plate" Which I don't think makes very much sense but we exited the car and marched with the CROWDS of saints walking to the conferece center. It's always empowering and spirit filled. Especially being in the conference center.
Sister Atwood and I did it again on Sunday morning with friends from our last area, Chase and Alex (and Alex's Sister). We parked at a random hotel and walked and it was GRAND..
Serving In Utah has given me the privelege of existing in the midst of the heartbeat of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Its taken me a little bit to see but it is grand.
the highlight of conference was the announcement of fifteen new temples worldwide, and hearing from our beloved prophet.
Ever grateful to be the recipiant of modern revelation.
For saturday evening and Sunday afternoon we were able to watch at the Ellis's house and I LOVE OUR SENIOR COUPLE. They're from St. Albert alberta and I KNOW I'm gonna find them after my mission :)
Also Brad Wilcox has the same journal as me :) not to flex.
I've been reading "Heart of the Matter" By President Nelson (I asked my Dad to send me money for books and he said.. "I'll just send you books!")
Like 31 pages in the secton is "Discover the power of divine law" he talks about how absolute truths are stabilizing.. he says
"If you adhere to the laws or truths that govern any particular behavior, discipline, or activity, you will achieve the outcomes you desire." he goes on to say "Basing your life on relative truth will almost certainly lead to anxiety." and he connects this to Jesus Christ!!
He quotes Spencer W Kimball: "God, our Heavenly Father-Elohim-lives. That is an absolute truth.... All the people on the earth might deny him and disbelieve, but he lives in spite of them... Opinion has no power in the matter of absolute truth. He still lives. And Jesus Christ is the son of God, The Almighy, The Creator, The Master of the only true way of life- the gospel of Jesus Christ."
I love having a living prophet on the earth TODAY and to be anchored by him. Not to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
"If you adhere to the laws or truths that govern any particular behavior, discipline, or activity, you will achieve the outcomes you desire." he goes on to say "Basing your life on relative truth will almost certainly lead to anxiety." and he connects this to Jesus Christ!!
He quotes Spencer W Kimball: "God, our Heavenly Father-Elohim-lives. That is an absolute truth.... All the people on the earth might deny him and disbelieve, but he lives in spite of them... Opinion has no power in the matter of absolute truth. He still lives. And Jesus Christ is the son of God, The Almighy, The Creator, The Master of the only true way of life- the gospel of Jesus Christ."
I love having a living prophet on the earth TODAY and to be anchored by him. Not to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
Kory, his kids and their friend Raya :)
Happy Conferene Abby and Pedestrians :))
I love you all, I hope this week was fulfilling, and filled with the salvation of god and that you were able to see his hand :)
Photos always
-Sister Smith.
From Mom: Blow by Blow
Dear Abby,
This week I was trying to be less lame, but to be honest, I was just hanging on by the skin of my teeth and happy to get by. In between working, school and consulting, there were a few highlights and lowlights that defined each day. On Monday evening, the deal on the house happened! I'm aware you may feel sad about it but it is a HUGE relief for me and your dad. That was the big news for the week. The new owners take possession at noon on April 7 and I think that's the day that our equity amount gets deposited into our bank account. This will allow us to put a hefty sum towards our acreage mortgage and hopefully we can pay it off faster and enjoy our retirement, hopefully without a mortgage payment! Something that made me happy on Monday was anticipation of April Fool's Day. I bought some eyeball stickers on Temu and went through the office at the end of the work day and put "eyes" on everything: the printer, the diffuser, the kettle, the Staff bathroom light switch, etc, etc, etc. Silly, but fun. This is a good life hack when things are feeling stressful. Later, I heard it was a good laugh for everyone.
We decided acreage living is still heaven-on-earth except for our driveway in spring. Tuesday I was up early and ready for the day in spite of continuing to fight that UTI. Blah. I headed down the driveway and immediately got stuck in the mud. (Insert crying-face emoji) That soft clay is super slimy and the car could not handle it. Neither could my wavering resilience and I had to have a good cry as I headed to my class driving our garbage truck. Considering I can't see anything when I shoulder check, it's quite the nerve-wracking experience for me while driving in Edmonton. Plus, if I spend any time in that truck, I stink like a mouse nest. I didn't love it. Dad and I decided it might be worth it to renovate the driveway. As a happy coincidence, Dad's counselor in the Hinton Branch Presidency builds roads for a living and gave him some ideas to improve our driveway! So that might be a project for this summer.
Wednesday, I worked a full 10-hour day, looking forward to Aliyah returning back from South America on Friday, and I stopped by the Leduc house to collect all the rest of our cleaning supplies and did one last check. I stopped by Karli's and we chatted about strategies to make for an awesome week. As we worked together to curate her week, I realized I wasn't following my own advice! Typically I do, but for the past six weeks, I've felt like I've been living an unsustainable amount of energy expenditure. Running faster than I have strength. I wonder what would happen if we considered getting stronger vs. minimizing our tasks? And what does "getting stronger" look like, not just physically but also mentally, spiritually and relationally.
Incidentally, the way to curate your week is to brainstorm your "wishlist," then time box them and slot them into your calendar. Then you work to make it happen, knowing that unexpected things pop up to cause lots of adjustments to the calendar. I know you face this every day on your mission. It certainly takes a lot of emotional resilience to ride that wave of expectation vs reality.
Thursday, everything froze! And I was able to exit the driveway with the car and go into Edmonton. I never thought I'd be grateful for sub-zero temps in April, but there you have it. Class, then work, then home to crash again. My last shift was on Friday, then I have six full days off to face a research paper that I haven't even started yet. Crunch time! That will be all day tomorrow and all day Tuesday, ha. Tuesday is my last class of the semester and right now, I never want to go back again although I loved the content! This is the problem of burn out. I'm hoping to get the exam finished before Nikkei comes over for dinner on April 10. Then once Nikkei leaves, I can happily restructure my life for the next four months to prevent burn-out. Sigh. I told Dr. Watson that I'll hardly be working all summer because I gave all my hours to Aliyah so she could save for university in September. I'm looking forward to that!
Happy makers this week include:
- getting the driveway temporarily fixed by our neighbour with his heavy-duty equipment!
- walking in the forest and seeing an almost-empty bird feeder. Dad bought me a squirrel-proof bird feeder that I finally put out a few weeks ago and the chickadees found it! I can see it from my bedroom window so now I'm paying attention.
- Ben coming up for Conference but happily discovering he arrived in time to see Mia's year-end Cabaret where she performed "You Got Possibilities" from a failed musical called "It's a Bird, It's a Plane! It's ... Superman!" She's SO. GOOD. In my humble opinion, she's one of the best there.
- Conference, of course. Something happens to a person when their spirit is nourished. The nehiyawak (Cree) people call it "soul health." My faves were Camille Johnson, Patrick Kearon and Pres. Nelson.
- Mia, Ben, Sam, Josh and Madison came and stayed the week-end. It is really so so so so nice to be together. Madison, Ben and I attempted to go for a little walk in the forest but Ben got a soaker right away and the snow was still too deep to get very far, but it was nice to get some fresh air that was a little warmer. This week, the cold will finally be behind us. Everything is already melting in earnest!
I appreciate hearing your stories of the people you are growing to love. This, really, is the point of it all, you know? We're in this life together so we should do as much good as we can, as long as we can and as often as we can. Happily, we can draw upon the powers of heaven to strengthen us ... which I've felt most recently in the last week, and many times when I was a mom of six little kids. Sometimes strength would appear when I knew there wasn't a drop left. I've learned to just keep showing up and watch in wonder as capacity is increased. Having said that, it's also good to have a rest now and then. : )
Love you so much, baby girl. Keep shining that light of yours to the fullest.
Also, I'm ACTUALLY home tomorrow so I can have a conversation with you. Put me on your list.
Love,
Mom
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