Not Your Regular Mission: Grove tour with Bob and Blackouts in the VC

Hello everyone!

So this week some weird stuff went down. We had some solid area time and we went to go visit a referral in a trailer park, but he was nowhere to be found, so we went and visited some old people from the area book in that lived in the same park. That was an adventure, they were a pretty crazy family. They had previously met with the missionaries but didn't really want to change. Their daughter loves reading from the Book of Mormon though, and they are open to reading scriptures, so we'll stop by every now and again.

Also, while serving at the Hill this week the power went out, but we really had to use the bathroom so we go in with a flashlight. It felt like a horror movie, but we survived :) I got to give a Spanish tour
to a group of young men in a Spanish branch from Pennsylvania, and it was so nice speaking Spanish.

So I sang in Sacrament meeting this past week. I sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives". It was a missionary themed sacrament meeting. There's a fair amount of missionaries in the Canandaigua ward (two sets of sisters including our trio, and a set of Elders) and we all either spoke, sang, or said a prayer. I was the singing one. It was so wonderful to be able to sing for those there. I hope I was able to bring the Spirit into that meeting and they would be able to feel it. Speaking of all those missionaries, here's a picture of us after district meeting. Our zone leaders are there and some of the sisters had left by then, but yeah, that's us!

One miracle this week! So in reading Isa's email this week the four door approach really impressed me and I read the method to my companions. For those who haven't read Isa's email it's basically a form of finding where you knock on four doors, but beforehand you pray that one of those four doors will lead to someone prepared to hear the gospel, and that you will be led to that specific door. We agreed to try it and knock on four doors. And soon as we finished the prayer we look up and wait, and something tells me to go to a trailer park we had passed (a different one), and so we go. Every door accepted a Book of Mormon, and two doors accepted return appointments (which is a big deal for this area, where everyone is Catholic and "all set".) So shoutout to Isa, thank you!

Today we had a grove tour with Bob, which is why I'm emailing a bit later in the day. I mentioned him last week, but he's the keeper of the grove. He really is the most sweet and humble man anyone could ever meet. He is so insightful and finds joy in the most simple things, like giving us empire apples. He always has a smile on his face and is so kind. The grove tour was amazing. Bob knows so much about the grove, down the every last little root and rock. One thing he described are character trees, trees that are tilted at angles or somewhat awkward positions. This happens because they have to grow past other branches or different obstructions, and they are always searching for the sunlight. In a lot of ways we are like those character trees. We may not be the straightest, and we

may have gone through many trials, but we are growing, searching for that light of the gospel, and if we reach it, that's what's important. It doesn't matter if were covered in tattoos or emotionally battered, Christ wants us all to come to Him, and we can always stretch towards that light. *End of metaphor about trees.

A side note I was supposed to say ten million years ago, but forgot. Everyone go like the Hill Cummorah Visitor's Center Facebook page. They post good uplifting stuff and a couple of weeks ago they posted a picture of all the new sisters with their trainers in the Christus room, which includes me. So scroll back some, and I'm there!

I love you all and hope you have a great week! Hermana Abreu