June 2, 2025

From Abby - HAPPY NEW MONTH

GUYS
ITS 9:52 PM
WE STILL HAVE TIME 

Not enough time for pleasentries.. lets ump right in. 

Last Pday I was drug kicking and screaming to the pickleball courts to play in the BLAZING hot sun. I have very much respect for those missionaries in my zone who absolutely eat this up. 
I had a pleasant conversation with my mother about plants and little things like clear bird feeders :)



I love my mum.

Sister Peterson and I have somehow decided (Subconciously or not) That we're DEF in the crux of our mid mission crisis (Yknow.. Like the one that comes mid life, but on your mission) 
We've really been learning how to stay in motion and some moments are HARD. 
Hard work is a principle that I'll always be fighting to maintain. ALWAYS. 

Tuesday this week we were able to have SUPERDAY which is always one of my favorite days of the transfer.
We were def late because we were helping this older sister wrangle her escaped miniature schauzers who booked it out of the house :)

President made this one about the Importance of the BOOK OF MORMON.
I liked this:
"It's not a script. Its an objective" 
-That objective being the gathering of gods children and the spreading of the good news. 

I also liked these two takeaways about the priesthood:
"The Priesthood is LITERALLY designed to bless the lives of other people. It is not a Holier than thou function.. It is the direction and clarification on how to REALLY bless the lives of those around you, and not your own."

"This is Christs church, so we want his permission and power to perform his functions."

SO GOOD 
This is elder Cease waiting for interviews and answering texts:


Fun socks King ^

Post Superday we ZOOMED to firebird and DEVOURED some pizza before we were mixed up and went on jumble exchanges 
I was with Sister Harris and we had a GRAND time. We talked about our past experiences with the baptist church (She converted from it.. I dated a baptist.. Its all great)
We had a lesson with our lovely little friend Georgia who basically taught US about adam and Eve and how they fell, we just had to add on that it was a joyful thing and not something to be scared of :)

We had to DASH through someones sprinklers to get to the doorway of these non members (Missionary deterrant? I don't know)
We chatted with this guy on his door steph that comunicated that he wasn't interested.. As I'm about to bid him farewell sister Harris WHIPS out a scripture!? She shares Alma 26:37 and starts testifying about Gods love for him. I jumped in and we were able to give him a book of mormon and invite him to read it. 

We also spontaneously ran into the EQP of the Grove ward moving this massive couch down the stairs and we were able to help out 
#Rightplacerighttime 

We handed out TWO more BOMS throughout the night and I learned about Boldness from sister Harris. Shes an absolute UNIT and we had so much fun. 
When we got back together there was some awesome chaos of Elders and Sisters rejoicing in the miracles of missionary work 


YAY zone unity. 
I actually love this zone 
Not me being skeptical at the beginning 

Something CRAZY this week 
We were texting with one of our Relief society presidents to set up a meeting and she informs us of her UNBAPTISED SON!?
We met, set his baptisimal Date and scheduled every lesson.. It was the bomb.com. 
Shocking though.. At the same time. 
But yay? 

On thursday we did a Criminal amount of phone work (PMG) and also just texting and coordinating in general. 
We were able to have a sisters Lunch and Dimitrov and Harris told us about how a members attempt to give Sister Harris motion sickness drugs they somehow gave her Dramamene!?? (I DON'T know how to spell it) Which are Drowsy drugs!? We also talked about favorite movies and how we can be better and do better as missionaries... I love these sisters :)


Also we were left without the car for the evening and as we hopped on our bikes sister Petersons tire was VERY much flat. 
So we mooched rides the entire night and VERY happily walked home. 
I like this phrase one of our WML's said in response to me living in Alberta 
"I used to sell Jerky there in 84'"
I just liked that :)

We were able to enjoy the flowers and follow a chalk path that actually led us nowhere 
As we were walking home we saw this couple outside who was NOT interested, I complimented their roses and we started chatting. Somehow the ended up offering us some farm fresh eggs?? They invited us into there home and we were able to visit with them for a bit 
SCORE for walking 


Me  INHALING flowers ^

Sister Petersons Boyfriends parents came through town this week and we were able to visit with them which was strange but also awesome. We went to this place called Buddas Bakery and ended up chatting with the owners (Members) They don't LIVE in our area but their Bakery is in the area.. So they invited us for dinner... in their bakery. 
I thought it was a major win. 

We then zoomed to president interviews and had our minds blown. He chatted us through some of the Crisis feelings we're having and shared some of his personal experience.. We asked him about some things that he was dealing with and BOY 
I would be probably deceased if I had to think about HALF the things he does. 
so much respect for him. 

THIS WEEK ALEX GOT BAPTISED 
My sweet darling LOVELY friend from the Cascade and Orchard stakes :))))
(She's really from the Aspen 10th ward but it's fine.)
It was so good to be back there, I sat by Sister Atwood and we rejoiced the entire time In this lovely ordinance we were so blessed to witness. 
Chase baptised her and although he was stressed about wording things right he said the baptism beautifully and sun was streaming through the room into the font as he carefully and precisely lowered her into the water. 
I'm so grateful for the Ordinance of Baptism :)


The Bowens and Alex ^

Thats ALL I can do for this week. 
I will edit this fast and then sleep 
Please forgive me missionary friends :)

BYE 
PHOTOS 

From Dad - The peace that passeth all understanding

Dear Abby,

It's been an interesting week on the Homefront. A number of things began to press down on my mind this week and I really had to intentionally lean into them both to understand the source of the stress and to decide whether I could do anything about it or not. It started with my calling and the joy and pain of helping someone confess and repent of a serious sin. Going through the process of repentance can be very hard and watching someone struggle through it, knowing that the adversary is right in their faces telling them to give up and that it's not worth the fight, and who is this church anyways that says I should keep these commandments, has kept me up a little at nights this week. With that on my mind, 

I have also been dealing with some important customers at work who aren't happy with a few things and I'm getting pressure to figure out who may have to go to Australia to deal with it, including possibly myself. While going to Australia seems awesome, going to deal with a cranky customer can just be stressful. 

Then on top of that, when Mia left work the other day, Rudy wouldn't go after stopping at a red light!  After another reminder that Canadian Tire is not the best place to take your car (we took it there because it was so close to Mia's work), I was able to get some help from my friend Kyle in the Hinton branch who is a service manager for the Edson Ford dealership. He located an extended warranty option that, if we're really lucky, might just fix the car for free!

So my prayers have been focused on these things and I have seen small miracles and tender mercies that once again remind me that God is close by and concerned about me. I've learned a few things in the process. One, not everything can be solved if I just work harder or do something more. Sometimes I have to wait, both on the agency of others and on the Lord's timing. Two, It's ok to feel some stress and trust and remember that it won't last forever based on my previous experiences. Three, It is because of the stress that I feel even more joy later. Psalm 30:5.

On Friday Mom and Mia headed down to Sterling for Benson's Grad. They're having such a great time, they decided to stay an extra couple of days. 



Here at home, Sam and Josh and Madison came over after doing the Carlsons windows, had supper and played pickleball. It was so nice of them to come by. Really enjoyed the evening with them. Worked well since the internet with Xplornet has been so bad these last few days. We decided Madison is now fully comfortable in our home as she ate her ice cream sandwich with no hands...



Margo continues to grow unbelievably cuter and stronger. Looking forward to seeing her this summer.



This week we will hopefully be entertaining company a couple of times. Max and Joanne Mclellan are coming by to stay for a few days and Demond and Candace are coming up on Thursday to help me build the greenhouse. I picked up all the panels over the past few days.


Thanks for calling me today. I love you. You bring me joy. Good luck with mid-mission crisis moments. One step at a time, my girl. You are 


Dad

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April 7, 2025

Image
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. We also knocked this house: The Huntsaker family: MULTIPLE people who've been in this area told me to ...
Read more

January 27, 2025

Image
From Abby - 2.0 Heyyy I'm currently approaching this email post reading the VERY first one I sent out titled "Ye Cannot Go Amiss" and wondering who that version of myself was, she certainly had no clue exactly what she was getting herself into thats for sure :)  Also i think that she was much more poetic.. my brain has so much less room nowadays to contemplate abstract ideas.. Or maybe ideas I thought to be abstract actually are not and I was just naive before this point. All that nonsense being said lets plunge into this week and as we do bless journaling since my memory is more and more spotty as we go. I think I've shared this quote before but I must share it again (takeaways from last weeks sunday school) "Happy in the prospect of a restoration of primitive christianity, I must leave younger athletes to encounter and lop off the false branches which have been engrafted onto it by the mythologists of the middle and modern ages" -Thomas Jefferson, a letter...
Read more

March 3, 2025

Image
From Abby:  HI ALL I'm currently writing my email in my beloved notes app because my email has not been saving drafts and therefore causes for great distress and mourning at the loss of an email that was invested into and then GONE in an instant. HAPPY NEW MONTH  Can you believe we've already made it to MARCH?! So many exciting things to come, my mind dwells primarily on spring yet I try not to fixate :) Last Pday I somehow only spent $22 USD on groceries I swear I could hear my wallet singing. We went thrifting and blessed the Burts name (Our senior couple) when they were willing to drive Elder Cease, Elder Chapin and Sister Atwood and I  Highlight: When we picked up the elders we saw their adorable lil old man landlord named guy on his bike :) We DEVOURED subway to give us energy for the event that is thrifting and then got to work. Outcomes include: -Green old lady grandma sweater -black skirt that attracts hair  -Black puffed sleeve top  - SLACKS?! Yes my fr...
Read more