Pageant Week #1

Hello everyone!

Oh wow, pageant is crazy, but oh so much fun. At most of the sites we have been doing something called park mode, I may have mentioned before. Basically, there are missionaries standing outside the homes telling the stories, and it goes on a loop all day. I have never been so busy on my mission, and yet we have the opportunity to teach thousands. To quote a previous sister missionary who served here, "today I taught the Restoration to more people than any missionary in the world." And it's true.

About half the tours I take have been Spanish, and oh what a joy it is to speak Spanish. One evening at the Smith farm after we finished park mode (because everyone had already fled to pageant) a Spanish tour walked in so I took them, then just as we were finishing a group that had just been walking through heard me speaking Spanish so they asked for a Spanish tour as well. They were from Honduras, and one in the group wasn't a member. He was just soaking everything up like a sponge, hearing everything for the first time. What a joy it was to preach the Restoration at the very place it began.

One of the most special experiences on my mission was taking the High Point Youth on tour. They caught me at the Peter Whitmer farm, their last stop. It was the coolest thing to see those I knew, but even more special was sharing a few of the stories and experiences that have meant so much to me the past few months, and what they can mean for all of us. I saw myself in them, from just a couple years ago, and knew there was so much in store for those youth. They are amazing.

I have loved every minute of the past few days. Even when my calves (which are becoming very defined) are screaming, or the sun is pounding, or the rain leaks in through my Book of Mormon. The words of the great prophet Joseph Smith are very appropriate for such a time as this. "Shall we not go on with so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth unto singing. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord and let all the sons of God shout for joy!" I have many reasons to shout for joy, and so I will.

P.S. I have not seen Pageant yet, but I will be Saturday, so I'll be sure to report on the experience ;)

1. Dead after a day at the Smith farm
2. Everyone dead after a day at the Grandin Building
3. Picture with President and Sister Baughan from High Point at the Peter Whitmer farm
4. Photo from a few weeks ago the mission gave us--shaking hands with President Uchtdorf and meeting his wife, slightly flipping out

The Calm Before the Storm

Everything's all good in Palmyra that's for sure :) We're all gearing up for pageant (coming at ya the 14th) and it's been oddly quiet at the sites. Still the normal tours, but not super busy, and I know it's the calm before the storm. However, not quiet is the pageant cast. They filed in and set up their tents and I've given some tours to a few of them. They are so pumped and it's making me pumped, and AH! For my whole mission everyone has described pageant as Mormon Disneyland, and there is no more accurate statement. I was walking through the base of the Hill one day during the lull of a pageant rehearsal and there were people casually reading the Book of Mormon in their hammocks, and hymn singing, and Frisbee throwing. I know it will get even crazier as time goes on. During their first day of rehearsal it was POURING, and yet they continued. We took pictures. It was pretty funny.

Also, with Sister Dickey being from New Zealand she doesn't have an American license, so guess what that means?? BIKES! I feel like a "real" missionary (not that that means those who don't ride bikes aren't real, now I just feel legit.) Sister Dickey though, did not know how to ride a bike. But huzzah--I have bike riding teaching expertise *cough* Isa...Anyway, Elder Spencer dropped off our bikes one evening and ever since during exercise time we practice bike riding! Lots of fun for sure!

I've learned a lot about listening to the Spirit while on tours. EVERY tour is different, and should be different, as children of our Heavenly Father we all have different needs. And though I don't technically have an "area" everyone that steps inside the door of the Visitors' Center suddenly becomes my investigator, and with every tour I always feel the special type of love Heavenly Father has for children. He really does love each and everyone of us. I love each and everyone of you and hope things are well :)

-Hermana Abreu

P.S. Please pray for extra strength for this full time site sister as Pageant comes. It will be needed!

1. Pageant Cast dancing in the rain
2.Sister Dickey and I with bikes (Sister Dickey's enthusiam is definitely shown here)
3. House bike picture!
4. Pictures by the canal that didn't make it last week
5. Ditto

4th of July Surprise Guest!

Surprise! It's Pday! Sorry it's so late. Full site life always keeps you on your tours (literally the iPad just autocorrected toes to tours, and I about died laughing, so I'm keeping it). Transfers have come again and I am still full site with Sister Dickey from New Zealand! She just finished training and the best way to describe her is through the cookie she ordered today from Subway titled "Rainbow Gem". She is just the sweetest and most definitely a gem ;)

Unfortunately with pageant coming up we won't actually get a Pday for two weeks. We'll get Pday hours dispersed throughout the week, just know I'll be trying to email next Monday and then the following Thursday, though not for very long.  Then after that, Pday will be on the 26th, the 2nd, and the 9th. Despite this I couldn't be more excited because PAGEANT IS COMING.

Something else is coming...well actually came, and for the past two weeks I've had to keep it secret which has been killer. But now that it's happened I can tell you. PRESIDENT UCHTDORF CAME TO OUR MISSION. His family was here on vacation and he took the time to gather the mission and speak to us. We each shook his hand and met his wife, and seriously, what an honor. Even more of an honor was the fact that Sister Packard, Sister Embley (each sisters I love very dearly and serve at the sites with often) and I had the chance to perform the musical number. We'd been practicing for weeks but just a few days before Sister Embley got really sick. The night before President Uchtdorf came she was in the hospital and President and Sister Evans had stayed up the whole night with her. There was lots of prayers and lots of fasting. Randomly, the morning of, her illness just went away. She came and sang and her voice was amazing and it was SUCH an honor to watch it all and be a part of that miracle. "Abide with me Tis Eventide" was very appropriate, because the Savior is truly with us

through every single moment of our lives. And this was such an amazing reminder.

Now more than ever I am so pumped to be at the sites! I was called last night to give a tour to a couple in Spanish. At the end of the tour outside the window of the Grandin building I saw fireworks

peeking out and buzzing behind the woman as she bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon and it really all just hit me where I was and what I was doing. I really really love my mission.

I love you all and hope you've had a happy fourth!

-Hermana Abreu

1. One of the last days with Sister Canova

2. Pageant set!

3. Sister Dickey from New Zealand!

4. Pday lake activities--fancy photo creds to Sister Nielsen

5. Being majestic at the locks

Basketball and Bruised Fingers

Hello everyone!

It feels like centuries since last p-day, and yet here we are! So much craziness!

I can't remember if I've mentioned, but recently I'd been attending lessons for a woman from El Salvador named Blanca, with the sisters who serve in the nearby area of Farmington. It's a rather funny sight because Sister Canova comes as well, and the Farmington sisters are already a trio, so we just show up--five sister missionaries on her doorstep. Anyway, we went again this week, and she dropped us hard core. So is life, but to our grand pleasure, huzzah--on the way out we noticed some kids playing basketball so we decided to go up and make a deal with them. If we won a round they'd listen to our message. So we get to playing and we were WHOOPED. (I was particularly whooped,

received a jammed finger that later turned into a huge black and blue elephant blob). There was thankfully a kind neighborhood child named Rocky that said "even though we beat you, we'll still listen..." Oh proselyting, what joys.

Even still, being full site continues to be amazing. The other day was Sister Canova's birthday and also happened to be the day fourteen buses from different youth conferences were scheduled. What a day! We did park mode again (where each sister was parked at a certain spot telling stories, as opposed to taking individual tours) and halfway through it started pouring so we were all soaked. My Book of Mormon also got fairly soaked, but it gives it that "well-worn" look, so no harm no foul.

We had the chance to serve at the Whitmer farm twice and the senior couple, the Nielsen's drove us for one shift. They have a DVD player in their car so we watched, "O How Marvelous a Possession" which just told the stories of people affected by the Book of Mormon. One of those stories was about a man from Cecily who found the Book of Mormon in a garbage can in New York City without a title page. After reading the whole thing he completely believed. He happened to be a preacher, and he began preaching to his congregation from the Book of Mormon. Upon doing this he was excommunicated from the council of priests he belonged to. For years he held strong to his testimony, and eventually discovered where the book was from and who it belonged to, but was

blocked from baptism until close to the end of his life. In the end his patience won out.

Later while serving at the Whitmer farm I was studying in the Doctrine and Covenants and realized it was there, in Fayette, where the revelation to leave for Ohio was given, right where I was sitting.

This revelation is given in D+C 36 and at one point the Lord says, "And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts." The man from Cecily sought the promised land with all his heart, and the Saints, leaving everything behind to form Zion, learned to consecrate themselves and what it means to "seek with all their hearts." It means we give ALL to the Lord, no matter the cost. When we do, the Lord will return anything we "gave" ten

fold.

I love you all! I hope the rest of your week is fabulous!

Hermana Abreu

1. People setting up for pageant!

2. There's secret storage behind the Hill for pageant set that's

slowly coming out, so here's a picture of me beside a piece

3. On top of the world!

4. On top of the world featuring companion!