New Investigators, Temple Trip, and the Atonement

8/17/15

Dear Family,

We had a pretty successful week! We found a lot of new investigators--a family! It was the best. I have been studying a lot about the Atonement. It has been some really powerful study sessions. Sister R gave us an Atonement packet to study and it is really neat. I love it! I have learned a lot about what the Atonement is. I read a talk by President Faust. He talked about how the Atonement is all about grace. Christ is there to step in for us and He needs us to come to Him. He won't let us suffer alone, even when we are the reason He suffers, even when we sin. He won't make us do it alone. And I know that to be true because I have experienced that. He hasn't ever let me do anything alone. Every time I feel like I am overwhelmed or whenever I feel sad or alone, I just kneel down and I say a prayer. I give it all to God. the moment I do that, He helps ease the burden. I can feel Him with me everyday and I am so very grateful for that. I have learned to rely on my Heavenly Father, now more than ever. I love it. I love Jesus Christ. He is my Savior, my best Friend, and I have a relationship that will last for all eternity with my Savior and with my Heavenly Father. If you ever feel alone or sad or depressed or you just need to let go, pray. God will answer your prayers. I know it.

On Monday, we had a family home evening with the Ounesavaths after preparation day. We are doing another one with them tonight! And they are taking us golfing in about an hour and a half. I'm so excited! I love them so much. They have truly been a light for me here--not that I've really needed it. I haven't struggled a ton in this area but I know that they are always there. They love us for who we are. We are honorary members of their family...sort of. Haha. They are great. We saw M at the Hs'. It was awesome. We taught the Restoration! I loved it! And then we saw F. J was asleep already. I love F so much. She didn't make it to church last Sunday or yesterday :( We're trying to help her make it a priority. (Matthew 26:39)

On Tuesday, we went to the temple! I learned a ton at the temple. It was one of the best sessions I have ever been to. I just felt so accomplished. I had prayed that morning to Heavenly Father to help me know if I was making the right choice if I went to BYU I. I really wanted to know. I wasn't sure if He would answer me because I didn't need to make the decision quite yet. I walked into the Celestial Room and I sat in a chair. I had this feeling to go get a Book of Mormon so I waited until an elder was done with it and then I picked it up. I sat back down and flipped it open. I read some of my favorite scriptures randomly but it just wasn't an answer. It was all about missionary work and how if I hadn't come I wouldn't have helped those I've helped. And then I turned to Alma 7:19. GO READ IT RIGHT NOW AND THEN COME BACK. Did you read it? Okay. Good. So I read that...and how it says that "I perceive that ye are on the paths of righteousness" or something like that...it helped me to know that right now I am on the right path. It may change in two months but right now I'm going in the right direction. (PS I got accepted to BYU I!!) It was a really great experience. Then I went into the sealing room and I could see myself for eternity. It was awesome. We saw Sister Dale after lunch. Sister F, our ride to the temple, got us Little Caesar's pizza! It was free too! She owns the place. then we saw the Palmisano's. They are the best. I love that family so much. They are really learning and growing. Then we saw Sister P. I love her. She loves us coming over. And then we found a new investigator named P. He is so open! He wants to get baptized but he wants to understand first. He doesn't speak English; he speaks Lau so we have a translator. We saw Sister D and she is great. We finally got back with the R family. They are super sweet. I missed them. IT has been so long since we've seen them. (Alma 7:19...if you didn't already read it)

Wednesday we saw Sister J and then we had to pick up Sister Parshall because she was with us for the day. She is SO FUNNY. And she was really good with everyone. She goes home in September so she's nearing the end. We found FOUR new investigators! A family! There are actually six of them but only four who can get baptized. They aren't married, the parents, but they want to be so we asked Bishop if he could do it for them and he said he would! They were supposed to come to church--we found a ride and everything!--but they had an emergency so they didn't come :( We saw Sister P next and she is super sweet. Then we had dinner with the B. Their daughter got married in Las Vegas which is where Sister Parshall is from so she was super excited. Then we went to Mutual. It was a Mr. Right activity. Apparently I'm going to marry a recent convert who is a baseball phenomenon. Yeah...interesting right? Haha. We saw the P. They are great. Sister P is sweet and is thinking about coming back to church. It's great! (Psalms 22:8)

Thursday, we had district meeting. It was a good one! We talked about talking with everyone which I'm working on. So it was really good for me. We saw the F. They are sweet. We are trying to help them strengthen their testimonies but we can only do so much. We had dinner with the L family. They are great. Sister L is really sweet. We usually do our laundry there but today we did it at the Ounesavaths. We taught P at the Ounesavaths after dinner. He is super great. I love him. It's weird with the translation but we had a good lesson with him. (Matthew 28:6; 1 Nephi 1:15, 20)

Friday we saw Sister L and she is sweet. I love her. She has cancer but she is so inspiring. She told us she isn't worried because she knows the Plan of Salvation. She knows she'll be with her family again. We saw the P. They are so great. I think they are really learning and they are changing. They start school soon though so we wont' be able to see them as often...it's scary at night where they live. We had weekly planning. Then we ate dinner at the H's house. He is our new ward mission leader so it was good. We then saw F and J again. We hadn't seen them for a while so we stopped by and we were actually able to sit down with them. It was great. (1 Nephi 2:3)

Saturday was probably the worst day in history. Well, not really. But it wasn't a very good day. We had three appointment set in the afternoon and all of them fell through. It was really sad. I was sad. We did go to the relief society activity that morning. We did service and learned self defense. It was great! I can now protect myself...maybe? We talked with O on the street and he was really open. We gave him a Book of Mormon. Then we saw F. It was good! We hadn't seen her in a while. Then no one answered their doors and we ended up getting a late night fro yo. Sister H was there and she paid for it. It was nice. But then we lost our keys so we had to go back to the church. It was really sad. It just an all around bad day. It was sad. But it's okay! The next day was pretty good. (1 Nephi 3:7; 4:6-7)

Sunday we had church. A lot. Remember the taquitoes you used to by me?? Sister L bought me some! They are so good! I missed them a lot! So I've been eating them for lunch. Of course, I'm sharing, which is hard, but it's okay! The P came to church!! And so did P. A and S were supposed to--the family we found, the G--but they didn't. We did eat with the F who are super awesome. THEY HAVE WANDS! HARRY POTTER WANDS! H has Hermione's, Tonks', Cho's, and Cedric's! then Sister F had Luna's. IT WAS SO COOL! I HAVE TO GO TO DISNEYWORLD. It just has to happen now. They are the funniest family ever. I absolutely love them. They just make me laugh. AND they know me well enough now that they can tease me. It's great! We saw F and J and committed F to test the Word of Wisdom and give up coffee for two weeks. I told her I knew it came from God and she argued that God answered her too, and that coffee is good for you. So...we need prayers. WE are trying to help her be converted. It was a good lesson! (Al;ma 31:38; 1 Nephi 6:4)

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support! God loves you!

Always <3,

Sister Abigail Ree

Unanswered Doors, Exchanges, and a Baptism!

8/10/15

Dear Family,

This week was kind of...touch and go. We had a lot of really crazy things happen and a lot of people who didn't answer their doors. It was really sad. I don't know why no one answered--either that, or they were busy. But it's okay! We still had a lot of success.

On Monday we had preparation day. We didn't do anything too crazy. Just wrote letters. (I'm still waiting for letters ;) We saw the Fs. We aren't sure how to help them feel better at church. They came last Sunday but yesterday they didn't show up. We haven't seen them for a while since Monday. I love them a lot but I feel like they need more than we can give them. We will do our best though. We went to see M to touch on some things before her interview on Wednesday. It was good. Then we saw the L family. She does our laundry for us so we had to pick it up. We hadn't eaten dinner so they fed us dinner. It was burgers, which is Sister Putnam's weakness. So it was good. (Ether 9:35 D&C 59:5)

Tuesday we had a zone meeting! It was really good. My favorite training was probably Sister Parshall's. She gave a training on the Atonement and showed this video called Missionary Work and the Atonement. It was really good! It made me cry just a little bit. The Assistants were there too so it was good to see them--it has been  a while. they were my zone leaders in Hanford at one point. I miss them. We did some service for Sister V who just moved into the ward. Her husband is not a member of the church. We met him though and he's really nice. We helped her paint some rooms. It was really fun! I love painting. I'm not sure if we were a help or a hindrance but I think she appreciated it all the same. We had dinner with the F. I absolutely LOVE that family. They are so funny. they have a daughter who is four. She is so funny. She interrupts us just to tell us something really simple and silly. She didn't let Sister Putnam and I leave until we watched her do something on the stairs--that is, lay on them. It was really fun. OH AND THEY HAVE HARRY POTTER WANDS!!! I took a picture with one--Harry's! It was the coolest thing ever. Made my day. We saw Fs and J too. It was good. I love them so much. It does my heart good to know they love us too. We then saw the L. I have actually met them before. Their parents are in Cedarwood and I ate dinner there one time with them too! It was so funny to realize I knew them. It was awesome. I love that family. (Ether 12:4, 6, 27)

Wednesday, We saw Sister J. I nearly have a panic attack every time we go over there because there are these guys there who make me super uncomfortable--they are usually smoking weed. But we talked to her and she said to call her when we get there and someone will open the gate for us. So that's taken care of. We saw the Rs for dinner. They are so sweet. Brother R lost his sight but he's getting it back! We saw F and J and that was really good. And then we had M's baptismal interview. She passed! There were some things we needed to work on with her but she was able to get baptized! Elder Mcgovern was awesome with her. (D&C 42:22; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Thursday, we did service for Sister Ounesavath! We hadn't seen her all week and it felt so long. We thought she was at girl's camp, but she had been home all week. Crazy right?? We spray painted some things for her. It was fun! C helped me a little to get underneath the diving board. We saw Sister P. She is just the sweetest lady ever. I think she was sad when we had to go but we did leave her a little uplifted. We saw the A for dinner. Brother A wasn't there. He is in the military and he's getting ready to go on a year deployment--two days after their baby is born! Sister A is so sweet though. She is super cute and pregnant. We saw F and J again and then we went by Brother H. he is the best. He was kind of sick but they let us in anyway. I sometimes feel like they don't like us coming even though I know Brother H loves it. His son-in-law and daughter live in the same complex and they told us if we are ever in danger (because our complex is sketchy) to come knock on their door. We've had a lot of those offers. (Moroni 1:2-3)

Friday we did some more service! For Sister Ms. Sister Putnam swept up feathers--which took forever--and I washed her dishes. It was great! I actually like washing dishes...even though I complained about it a lot at home. We had exchanges next and I was leading the area which I really didn't want to do. Sister J was really sweet though. We went to see a family Bishop asked us to see, the T family. He knows French and Japanese because he served a mission in Japan! They hadn't been coming to church but they came yesterday so it's good we went by. I tried Creme Brulee while we were there. It was actually pretty good. We ate with the M--K! He made us the best mac and cheese ever. It was spicy but it was so good. they missed Sister Putnam but they gave us leftovers. I miss going over there. I really love that family so much. We saw M and she is doing so good. She was so excited for her baptism. Then we saw Frances and Jo because no one else answered their door. We talked about charity and the tree of life with them. Well, with F. J was in bed. It was good. (Moroni 7:5, 18)

Saturday we were still on exchanges. We drove all over and no one was answering their doors. We did contact a part member we'd been trying to see so that was good. We found a new investigator! R. He was a former and he was super nice. His girlfriend, J, wasn't there but we set a return appointment for next Saturday. It will be great! We saw the J family. They are in a rough situation and I'm not really sure how we can help them. Then we exchanged back before we saw the M. It was good! Brother M invited a friend to our lesson. she wasn't interested but she was nice and one day she might be interested. We ate dinner with the K family. It was good. Then we had our BAPTISM! It was such a good baptism. President Clark and Sister Clark were there and I was TERRIFIED because I spoke on baptism. But I didn't act nervous even though I was completely shaking inside. It was a really sweet baptism. Our ward mission leader's first--and last. he got released yesterday. It was incredible. (Moroni 8:3, 18, 26)

On Sunday we had church, all day. M was confirmed. NONE of our investigators came! The P were supposed to be there but they didn't show up. I guess it was probably a good thing...second hour was rough. But it's okay. We ate dinner with the H and then saw this less active family, the T. It was good. They are really sweet. Their son plays a bajillion instruments. Like every instrument known to man. It's crazy! We contacted a referral, M. He has some potential. Then we tried by a few other people before we headed home. And...well, we almost died. I swear. We walked into our apartment. It was dark. I set my stuff down and then turned on the light. I really had to go to the bathroom so I told Sister Putnam I would be back. But as I started to walk toward the stairs, my heart stopped. There was this ginormous spider just chilling out on our floor! It was the most terrifying sight in the world. It was huge. I told Sister Putnam to come toward me. She looked scared because of my reaction. Then she saw the spider and we were both freaking out. It took us thirty minutes to figure out what to do. We argued for a little while about it. I was on my chair and she was on the table. Then she got down from the table and went to the kitchen while I watched the spider. She brought out two pans and a cutting board. I grabbed the area book. I stood on the table and tried throwing the area book on top of the spider. It didn't work--just injured him. We both screamed because he started moving. I'm sure our neighbors thought we were dying but no one came to check. Sister Putnam tried dropping the cutting board on him but that didn't work either. Finally she got brave and smashed him really hard with one of the pans. Then I stepped on the pan. It was the scariest moment ever. I was panicking inside and I didn't know what to do. We weren't going to clean it up though so we called the elders and they disposed of the spider for us. It was a very terrible ending to our day. We are going to see what we can do about keeping spiders out... (Moroni 9:22; 10:7, 18, 30, 32)

Thank you for all your support. I love y'all so much and I am so grateful for you! Know that God LOVES you and He wants you to come to Him. I know that this gospel is real. I know it as I watch others change because of it. the Atonement matters. Rely on it. He will help you through all.

I LOVE YOU!

Always <3,

Sister Abigail Reese

Abby's Newfound Self-Confidence

8/3/15

Dear Family,

This week was alright. It was up and down all week. But it was better than last week which is really great! Nothing huge happened, just a lot of little things. I am no longer terrified of my own shadow. I got over it so that's good news!

On Monday we got to go golfing! The O family took us before preparation day was over. It was so fun! I loved it! We were SOOO sore the next day but it was worth it. It was very stress relieving so that was nice. We went out to dinner afterwards with them. Oh AND I got to drive a golf cart. It was fun! P let me drive :) We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory and I got an Italian Soda and then got to keep the cup! I will probably send it home in the next few weeks because I don't want to have to transfer it and it break. We saw F and taught J the lesson we had taught on Sunday on the Final Judgment in Gospel Principles. She loved it. It was modified because we didn't have as much time but she really liked it, as far as we could tell. (Mormon 5:11, 14, 23)

Tuesday we didn't have a district meeting like usual because of transfers. So we watched S for just a little bit do her Taekwondo. We finally officially met the J family! They are a cute young couple, part member. They met in Germany. They are so sweet! Apparently P, the nonmember, is taking the missionary lessons from the Hmong elders. It's easier, he says, since he can't be in a room alone with us. I don't know if  he wants to get baptized. He gave us a hug before we left...it was interesting. He made armor! I will send a picture. He is really cool! We taught the P. they are great. It was a really good lesson. P cried and opened up to us! She just wants to be a good mom. It's sweet. We ate dinner with J and the Spanish sisters. It was fun! I love them a lot. Then we got to go to the farewell. Fs took us. It was a really great one. Lots of people I know are going home. I saw Sister Arruda there and Sister Monson and Sister Smith and lots of missionaries I know and love. It's great. I got to see some people from Cedarwood because they came to see Elder Cook and Elder Parkin. Both of them left :( I'm so sad! but it's okay. I'm sure they are doing really great. (Mormon 7:5; 8:14-15)

Wednesday we saw quite a few people. We saw Sister J. Her apartments scare me. There are some men there that talk to us whenever we're there and they asked for a ride to church from us but we can't give it to them. They smoke weed. It's kind of gross. We try to avoid them. They make me really uncomfortable. We had lunch with Sister Ounesavath. She's trying to help us be healthy so we made skinny broccoli mac and cheese. It was actually really good! We had dinner with the S family. they are sweet. Both are converts and have a really great story. We saw M. She's sweet. She is so excited for her baptism on Saturday! It'll be at 7 because the young women get back from girl's camp that day. Then we went and saw F and J. They are really great. I love them a lot. J says I'm mean but I discovered that it's really a loveable thing. (Mormon 9:12-13)

On Thursday not a whole lot of people answered their doors. It was kind of sad. We didn't see anyone till around four and we got to see the R. They are super sweet. They are my old couple in this area :) Brother Rs collects coins and he is going to get me some Idaho ones, and Sister Putnam is getting Kentucky ones! It'll be great! We ate dinner with the L family. they are super great. I love them. then after that we didn't see anyone else. There were some things we needed to do and we didn't get to see anyone else though we did try. No one was home :( (Ether 2:5, 25)

Friday was weekly planning but in the middle of it we went to the mission office. Sister Putnam had to meet with President so we were there for a little over an hour. I helped some of the office couples with some things until she was done. I think he helped a lot. I love President Clark. We ate dinner with the Haroldsens--Bishop and his family. We had two dinners on Friday and both of them fed us lasagna. And Sister Haroldsen made éclair cake! It was SO GOOD. Tell Keri I want her to make some when I get home! We saw the F and talked a little about our identity as daughters of God. We then saw F and watched the Testaments. It was good! But F had to leave in the middle of it and J was up and down all the time for the baby. So we left them the copy and asked them to watch it themselves. (Ether 3:4, 9; 4:12)

Saturday was good! We taught a lot of people. We taught the P since they didn't come to church yesterday. They went to Corcoran to see her brother. It's a little town. We talked about the 10 commandments and the law of chastity. We think they may have a problem with some of them...but we're hoping not. We saw the Ms. They are great. R has some struggles but she is doing better. WE showed Finding Faith in Christ. We then saw Sister P and met her friend R. He's thirty years younger than her and thirty years older than us! He's really nice. They are in a convalescent home so it's kind of sad. We ate dinner with Sister Osborne and then we went to the J. I am worried about them. they have so many problems and she's pregnant. But I know God will provide. We saw F and J again. It was great! I love hearing about her Native American stories. (Ether 6:4-8)

Sunday we had a lot of church and then we ate dinner with the Fites. I love that family so much. Sister Fite is great and her kids are so funny. I learned something really cool though: I am not insecure anymore! I mean I have some insecurities but I am a lot more confident than I used to be. But I love who I am now and I am not ashamed of it! It's great! We saw Brother H because he wanted to tell us a story of how he gave away a Book of Mormon. It aws really cool! He showed us a little bit of where he went camping too. It reminds me of camping at Copper Basin or the property. they had a tent trailer until they built the cabin! Then we saw F again. We talked about how there are no prejudices anymore :) (Ether 7:27; 1 Nephi 19:9)

I love being here. I am so grateful for this experience. I have changed so much and I know I wouldn't have if I hadn't come out here. Thank you for your support!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Always <3,

Sister Abigail Reese

My Dear Friends and Family,

I wanted to post a short note with an apology for not keeping this blog up-to-date.  I don't have an exuse, but I will try to keep it up from here on out.

I appreciate all the support and love Abby has received throughout her mission.  We have FINALLY received her itinerary:  She is coming home December 2, 2015.  We would love for anyone who wants to welcome her home to please contact me and I will give you all the information.

Once again, thank you.  We love you!

Lynn