Original Smith Family Lemonade!

Hello everyone! What a busy week! Things have been pretty steady over here, lots of tours, lots of buses, lots of teaching!

While serving at the Hill a group of about ten or fifteen walk in from Mexico. While in the back with the display of all the different languages of the Book of Mormons, one asked me if he could get a Tagalog and Polish Book of Mormon for his friends who were from countries that spoke those languages. "Of course," I replied firmly. Little did I know, everyone misheard me and thought that meant they could TAKE the Book of Mormons from the Book of Mormon display. After retrieving the Tagalog and Polish Book of Mormons I return to find about a third of those on the display gone with more being shoved into bags. As Joseph would have put it, "I cried in the anguish of my soul..." After explaining that we could not take the Book of Mormons from the display but rather there are some available in other languages we can give out if needs be, they begin to "make an order" of all the languages they wanted. French, Korean, Albanian, etc. Very much a "slapping forehead moment". Despite this, it was still a joy to speak Spanish with them and watch their faces light up when they saw Hermana on my nametag. The joys of being a visitors' center sister.

I've had some really amazing experiences in just the past few days of non-members coming into the sites. While at the Hill a man named Paul wandered in. I was on tour, so Elder Erickson, one of the senior couples greeted him and soon found out he had grown up in Seneca Falls, had attended the pageant when he was younger, and that was all he knew about the church. He was visiting a friend nearby and thought he might visit the Hill again and see what it was all about. Elder Erickson proceeds to spend two hours in the back room with him, basically giving him the first lesson. Elder Erickson then pops out and asks if Sister Canova and I would be able to teach him online. He isn't quite ready for missionaries to visit quite yet, but he is very curious indeed. MIRACLES.

I just recently gave a tour at the Hill as well of three men from Hawaii. They lived in Port Gibson (part of my old area in Newark) and when I start explaining I served where he lived he goes on to say, "I think you may have knocked on my door..." Soon come to find a friend of his who was a member let him know about the sites and said they were always willing to give free tours, and so they thought, "why not?" Such a cool experience to give them a "tour of the Restoration". There is no greater feeling than telling people about these things--which have become so real to me and such an instrumental part of who I am--about it all for their very first time.

In the scriptures it says, "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." What a joy it is to hold the message of the Restoration up as a light. When the Book of Mormon was being published a man named Luther Howard owned the second floor of the Grandin building--the binding room. He got the chance to read pieces of the Book of Mormon before they were available to the public, and was so impressed he started recommending it to his friends. Unfortunately a local newspaper rebuked him for this and Luther stopped speaking. It's a sad story, and what miracles could have proceeded if Luther had not been deterred by man, we many never know. True faith is not trumped by rejection, fear, or in site sister terms, an uninterested guest. ALWAYS proclaim. ALWAYS invite. ALWAYS hold His light up.

-Hermana Abreu

1.Chill'n Grill (fine dining in Palmyra) Ice Cream
2.By the huge Book of Mormon (Sister Canova is tall, as most have probably noticed, so the branches were in her face)
3. Posing as Moroni beside the Peter Whitmer home after dark
4. As a late birthday treat we got Lucy's (a.k.a Mother Smith's) obviously original lemonade at the LDS store beside the Grandin. New favorite.
5. Treasure trove in the original Smith family refrigerator

Teach the Multitudes, Reach the ONE

First of all, thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! You all made it a very memorable one indeed! Also memorable, having the chance to serve at the Smith Farm on that day. Everyone made it a very special day. The VCT's bought a little lemon pound cake and sang happy birthday. One of the senior couples, the Ericksons, made a very large dinner with lemon cheesecake as a dessert (tell people you like lemon things and it gets spread out around fast), but it made for a very delicious time! Even better was this was the first time we did park mode. There were five tour buses coming all at once so we gathered all the sisters and "parked" them at different spots, then rotated. I was parked outside the log home, then inside the log home upstairs in the room where Moroni came to Joseph. We simply yelled at people and gathered them around, then told them a few stories outside or inside the homes. Wow, what an experience. VERY hot and VERY tiring, but VERY gratifying. To be able to teach the Restoration to hundreds at a time...there is no greater feeling.

Another momentous occasion that is occurring! They are currently setting up for pageant outside on on the Hill, and I am FREAKING out. AAAAAH!! It's coming faster than I ever thought possible.

Pretty funny experience: One morning Sister Andersen (a sister I live with) didn't have enough time to make the rice she was planning on bringing for the day. I came to her rescue and said, "no worries, don't you know all rice can be made in the microwave?" (BIG FAT LIE) Later, while both serving at the Grandin they went to dinner and just a few minutes later the smoke alarm goes off. Yup, their rice had caught fire. All of us were filtered out, and the Grandin building smelled like smoke for the next week. Sometimes you just have to realize you are an idiot, and move on with your life.

So...moving on! We finished New Sister Training at the Hill so that was lots of fun. As I'm looking at all these graduation pictures I kind of had a taste of my own little graduation for Sister Canova. She is now trained to give tours at each of the sites, so she's basically a pro. Elder Bradford also enlightened us a good deal about how to give tours at the Hill, and revolutionized my ideas about teaching to people's needs.

I've had my fair share of cool experiences with tours. I took a group of three families from Mexico, with very strong youth preparing to go on missions. Another HUGE group of people (it felt like it at least all squished in the log home), who I had the most AMAZING discussion with about the First Vision. Another group from Utah, originally from Mexico, with a foster daughter about twelve years old who had the strongest testimony of the restored gospel, and a non-member uncle. These are just a few. The only sad part about serving full time at the sites is creating these small little relationships with people, and then they are gone. Recently on a tour I extended an invitation, and a man said, "I've noticed at all these sites you all give us these challenges." I simply smiled, touching the plaque on my chest, "That's what these nametags are for, we invite others to come unto Christ."

When Heavenly Father appeared to the young boy Joseph in the grove, the Savior Jesus Christ at His side, he said "Joseph, this is my Beloved Son." It is a small detail often looked over. He called Joseph by name. Christ works in the same way His father does, and as seen in the scriptures, He often ministered to thousands of people at a time, but always reached the ONE. Stopping to speak with a woman who touched his cloak, ministering to the Nephite children, crying at his friend's Lazarus death. He works by ones, because He loves us individually. My purpose as a missionary here is to always be on the lookout for that ONE, to be that tool in our Father's hands to show that one whatever He wants me to show them in their time here. And so I will always be looking, always teaching, always inviting, which to be honest, can be taxing, but VERY worth it.

Thank you for everything you all do to keep cheering me on! I feel very loved, especially this week! I love you all!


1. Birthday cake at the Smith Farm!
2. Last p-day we went to a burger shack named Pops, not bad!
3. Waiting outside the Grandin for the firetruck--notice Sister Andersen's face
4. Finishing New Sister Training at the Hill
5. Jumping the fence and standing beside the recently mowed grass at the Smith Farm (if you look very closely you will see the lemons on my shirt, something I have come to love dearly)
6. Setting up for Pageant!
7&8. B-day package from home



Surprise P-Day!

Hello everyone!

So with the busy season coming inconsistent P-days have returned! But no worries, the VCT's have started to make the schedule for the whole transfer, so instead of surprising you all each week I'm just going to go ahead and tell you when my next P-days are. They are *drumroll*...June 15th, 21st, and July 1st.

I'm very to sorry to hear that Big Joe passed away. He was an amazing patriarch that was a wonderful example of charity and love. I'll definitely cherish the words of my patriarchal blessing a little more, as most of us who received blessing from him are. My prayers are with all my family!

The sites slowed down since Memorial day weekend, but not incredibly. There's simply some breathing space in between tours. We've switched over to the summer time schedule so we have 9-9's every day. One of my favorite things is after a long busy day, when it quiets down a little, the sun starts setting, and we are just able to feel the Spirit of the sites. I've said it before and I'll say it again, what a privilege it is to serve here.

Online work is going well! I am in contact with a woman named Isabella who is going through a pretty rough time in her life. One of the biggest lessons I've learned on my mission is that Heavenly Father won't necessarily calm the storm, but He will calm his children. On the phone with Isabella, our Father's love for Isabella filled my heart with barely any breathing room. He is SO aware of each of us.

We had zone conference this week, which a piece of was held in the sacred grove. Afterwards we were all encouraged to go into the grove and receive our own personal revelation. If there is anything I can say, it is that Jesus Christ is keenly aware of who I am, what I am struggling with, and is ALWAYS willing to work with me. Elder Bradford once made the comment that the closer we grow to Christ, the more aware we are of how imperfect we are. The scriptures even say it, "And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness." Ether 12:27. But through Him we can be made whole. It is OK to be imperfect, as long as we are leaning on our Savior to improve.

I've especially learned that after examining the prophet Joseph's life. Most are familiar with the story of how he received the plates. He visited with the angel Moroni at the Hill Cumorah where they were buried for four years before he was ready to receive them. Though, my favorite piece is his second year.

Joseph didn't know this would be a four year process, every year he went to the Hill he had full intentions of getting the plates. After being shut down his first visit (in a rather dramatic way) Joseph is now a big, strong, mature...18 years old. Happy go lucky, he walks to the Hill, lifts the stone lid, and takes the plates out...then looks in the rest of the box for any other treasures (If we were on a tour, imagine me shaking my head). When he looks back, the plates are gone. Panicked, he prays to know where they went. That's when angel Moroni appears and puts the plates back in the box. After talking with Joseph, the stone lid is slammed shut and Joseph is thrown back, left lying on his back in a pile of dead leaves. He rises, brushes himself off, then runs back home to his mother and family, to whom he cries, "I have not received the plates!" I image Lucy was there with her churned ice cream to comfort Joseph. (Disclaimer: Lucy did not churned ice cream, I just like to think I'm funny).

Just like the prophet, we are all in a growing process. Have patience, the Savior is there to guide you through the process.

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

P.S I will now be putting pictures at the end of emails with short descriptions because it's easier and I've succumbed to the ways of the mainstream missionary. Yet again, photo creds to sister Jacobsen and Sister Tucker and their fancy cameras. All thanks to a slow evening at the Smith farm.

1.Candid laughing
2. Companerisma! (Companionship in Spanish, but I have no tilde)
3.First Vision casually happening in the background/

4. Hermanas!
5. Model Status

​

Much Candid, Many Missionary

First week of the new transfer!

It being memorial day weekend the sites have gotten super busy. Tour after tour after tour. It is honestly very exhausting. I come home every day and just collapse into bed. A good description of what it feels like is this announcement that Elder Bradford, our site director, wrote to all the site sisters: "As it warms up please always stay hydrated, wear sun screen (and a hat if necessary), watch yourself for ticks, wear mosquito repellent when necessary and have a fabulous time determining what people's needs are and having the Holy Ghost tell you how to meet those needs." Yup. Also, last week I mentioned Elder Bradford riding around in golf carts. Thought I'd include a picture of that here:

Anyway, the Lord definitely provides strength I never thought possible.  I'll be coming back from a tour, find a missionary just leaving on another tour, a hoard of more guests coming in, not think I can do it, then end up having a fabulous spiritual experience. The Lord is good.

At the beginning of the week we had training for all the new sisters and their companions. It definitely brought back memories from my first week here and how overwhelmed I felt, thinking I would never learn anything. But Lo! Here I am eight months in, and the sites sincerely feel like home. It rained both days at the Grandin and Smith Farm, but that didn't stop us! Here are some pictures of all the sisters in the rain and my loverly companion Sister Canova! (who is the most chill and awesome companion. Casually taught English in China, no big deal) Fancy photo creds to Sister Jacobsen and her fancy camera.

Training at the Grandin Building:

Also, while serving at the Hill Sister Canova's cousins were here on a family trip (that happens a lot at the sites) so we gave them a tour. We've recently been encouraged to take people to the Hill (as opposed to staying and only giving a tour in the visitors' center) so we walked to the top of and while sharing Moroni's experience they snapped a pic. Much candid, many missionary.

While serving at the Smith farm I gave a tour to family from home. The Allens! Their backs were turned and I approached them with the question "Where are ya'll from?" on my lips, and as soon as I hear Greensboro North Carolina and they turn around I go, "I KNOW YOU!" It was very sweet and a great experience to share a piece of my mission life with people from the good old "Boro.

This week has very much made me appreciate my mission so far. Since there are so many full time site sisters this transfer (7 of us!) they have a few of us attend the Canandaigua ward now instead of Palmyra. It was so much fun to come back and see so many familiar faces and people I've come to know and love. Also, just yesterday I was giving a tour to a family at the Grandin and up from the elevator walks Glen Baker. Who is Glen Baker you might ask? Glen is a member of the Lyons ward we'd have dinner with every week, and there are lots of memories of dinners at Glen's. I waved him over and he joined for the last little bit. After the tour we caught up with each other and he asked if I was the missionary who gave him the invitation to read the Book of Mormon every day. I was--slightly surprised he had even remembered the invitation. He then looked at me and said he hadn't missed a day since inviting him. You never know what kind of effect, big or small, you leave. Kind of made my day.

We've served quite a bit at the Grandin building and with me being pensive and looking back, it made me wonder how Joseph would have felt when the first page of the Book of Mormon was printed. All important characters were present. Joseph, Martin, Oliver, Grandin, and a few others. Fresh from the press, they passed the large sheet between their circle, and Joseph--I can only imagine how he was feeling. Generations of work, civilizations of people finally having their story told. Joseph himself had spent the past almost ten years of his life preparing for this book to be received in the world. Someone present said, "...passed it to the prophet himself, who seemed to be examining every letter, and without speaking gave it into the hands of his father and Harris..." So much had been done, yet there was still so much ahead. I feel a little like that, and only hope I am able to cherish every last second.

I love you all and hope you know you are in my prayers, and I can feel yours every day helping and moving me along! Take care this week!

-Hermana Abreu

P.S The Grove is gorgeous. Enjoy.

A Loose Brick and a New Mother!

Hey everyone! Yet another transfer came and went and it looks like I'm staying full time! Much excitement, many shouts of glee. I really can't get enough of the sites. Sadly, Sister Barrett and I's time together is up. It's been a fabulous two, almost three weeks. I wouldn't have wanted to spend it with anyone other than this lady.

With transfers I have moved yet again (just a little farther down Stafford Road, on the new NEW White House), and I am follow up training Sister Canova! She was trained her first transfer by Sister Moberly (my fabulous previous companion who came with me from the MTC, and left me in Newark a few months ago) in Buffalo, and now I am here to train her at the sites! She has some pretty derpy mothers, but I know she will get along from our training just fine :)

And yes, she is very tall--I feel inadequate to be her mother.

The sites this week have been picking up (from what I hear they will pick up more steadily and then by Memorial Day it will just BAM--people). So there are still some slow moments but that's alright! Today for site meeting we all met together at the Smith farm and Elder Bradford sent us out in the fields. We had to pretend each missionary was ten people, then we role played a few tours. Lots of standing on benches, lots of yelling at people. Also, Elder Bradford riding around on gold carts. It was a very merry time.

I served three times in a row at the Whitmer farm so that was quite the experience. Lots of driving, lots of music and jamming. Also, lots of tours! Well, not more than the usual, but lots of tours telling about the Whitmers! I've begun to lose track of how many times I've served there, which is a good thing because I know it pretty well now! I had a pretty cool experience with a group that came in and casually said they were related to a maid of the Whitmers. As we go throughout the tour and I mention how her name was Sarah Heller, but soon became Sarah Conrad, they freeze and say, "our maiden name is Conrad" and that pretty much did it. So here's a picture of me with some relatives of Sarah Conrad. Sarah was the woman I told about in last week's story :) I also have a picture of me and the town of Waterloo sign. Waterloo is the small town in the township of Fayette where the Whitmer farm is located, so we always pass it when coming up. This time we decided to stop and take pictures!

We also walked the Hill Cumorah as a house last week for P-day, and were eaten alive by mosquitoes. But what can you do?

One day at the Smith farm all the curly haired sisters were serving. We are commonly known as the curly fries :)

That same day at the Smith farm I took a tour of at first just a couple from Utah, but then more people walked in and it soon became a family from Utah, and then a family of investigators. It was the coolest experience: the family of investigators were from the Utica mission boundaries and had been invited by their sisters to come to the sites. They'd been investigating the church for a while, but nothing was coming of it, so to quote the father Richie,"we're just coming seeking some guidance". They of course, came to the right place. As we go on the other families in the tour bore powerful testimonies and witnessed themselves that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Literally, member present lesson. SO COOL.

In the frame home, the little boy of the investigator family was fascinated by the original bricks of the hearth where underneath they buried the plates (and proceeded to pick up the one lose one in the whole fireplace). Watching him though, I got an image of what it must have been like for Joseph Smith. Joseph was hard pressed for hiding places inside the families small frame home, so they had to get a bit creative. With each brick he cemented his life's purpose underneath the hearth. While hidden there a mob came bustling down Stafford Road, intent on stealing the plates. Joseph gathered his family outside the home and they made as much noise as possible, clapping hands, screaming, kicking. Joseph himself yelled like a drill sergeant, "Come on men, get ready!" The mob, believing there to be an army surrounding the home, fled.

It is through small and simple means that the Lord moves his work forward, and protects those instruments and people engaged in it. I can assure you, if you are looking to the Lord in everything you do, He will lead and guide your path.

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

Hermana Abreu

First Week of Not-Transfers!

Wow, yet another week.

First things first, Sister Barrett is the most wonderful companion ever. We do lots of Miranda voice impressions and just have a blast. To give you a little taste of us and the place we live I filmed a house tour!

(I think it uploaded at the end of the email, just scroll down there!)

So the proselyting sisters who live fairly close to us, serving in the Farmington area (a town right beside Palmyra), come POUNDING on our door one evening while we are weekly planning declaring they needed my Spanish. It turned out they found a family from El Salvador that didn't speak any English and they needed a Spanish sister to translate. So I went to the first lesson with them and only the mother was there, Blanca. It was SUCH a blessing to teach her. Truly, a lesson I will never forget. We've gone over a second time, so we're figuring that we'll attend lessons with them after our shifts our over for the next little bit. I am PUMPED.

In terms of serving at the sites, we served at the Whitmer farm and on the long drive over there we pass a great big "Jesus is Coming" sign, and always shout out "Amen to that!" This time we decided to stop and take a picture. 

We've also served at the Smith farm some. One evening it was fairly slow so Sister Barrett and I decided to go walk the grounds and jump the fence into the apple orchard. It was lots of fun. 

Also served at the Hill (can't serve enough at all the sites as Full time sisters!) The past few days though have been rainy and cold and not very May-esque. Kind of sad, but it serves for cute pictures in the rain near the Hill Cumorah! 

We also had the chance to go to temple this morning, cashing in all of our six month temple attendances. Not being able to go really makes you treasure the joy that the temple is. There is such a peace in that special house of the Lord. Please, if you haven't gone in a while--and even if you have, go to the temple. It will bring you such peace. 

Seeing as how Mother's day is soon upon us, I of course must share the experience of a grand mother by the name of Lucy Mack Smith. Being the mother of a prophet was no easy task. She was the first person Joseph saw upon emerging from the Grove that clear Spring day. She watched as her fourteen year old son--dragging himself like a man with hundreds of more years on his shoulders--slumped into the kitchen of their log home, leaning against the mantel, eyes glazed over at the glowing fire. She was the one to ask what was the matter with him and he simply replied, "All is well, I have learned for myself..." Though she didn't write her thoughts, I believe her testimony of her son's work began right around there, and it was a testimony never to be shaken. Years later, when called upon to leave her beautiful farm home behind she said of the occasion, "I will not cast one longing look on all that I leave behind me." She left it all for the love of the gospel and the trust in her son. She truly was a mother to behold.

I know of a few other mothers worthy of much admiration, one of them being mine. I am STOKED to be able to talk with her and all of the rest of the family this mother's day! See you fairly soon!

Hermana Abreu

P.S Here are some funny pictures!

Sister Lytle, Sister Barrett, and I all have curly hair so we all wear turby twists, the fabulous towel that dries hair without damaging curls

While trying to be candid in the apple orchard I turned into an alien:

Outside the Hill is this beautiful Book of Mormon display that didn't work so well with all the lighting. Sister Mummy Abreu:

An Unexpected Call...

Hello all!

Apologies this email is so late! So I have some pretty sad news, a sister in the mission named Sister Rae is going home early for medical reasons. She has full intentions of returning when it is all figured out, but until then--I have been emergency transferred to be companions with Sister Barret, her previous companion. I am super excited because I love Sister Barret lots, she was VCT when I came into the mission. I'll be leaving behind lots of memories though. The past month of my mission has honestly been the best. I will miss the trio lots. Sister Barret is also a full time sister, however she lives at the White House closer to the Smith farm, so today has been filled with packing and scrambling around.

Saying goodbye to Lucy (the van for all the sisters living at the old White House--named after
Mother Smith and her gaggle of eight, later nine children):

Since the other White House is super closer I didn't pack everything in the suitcases and just threw lots of things in the car, this is the mess that ensued:

On the sunny side the new White House is literally on the Smith Farm property (for anyone who has visited it's the houses by the parking spots), and the Sacred Grove is LITERALLY my backyard. Again, I am astounded by my mission and the opportunities and experiences afforded here.

In terms of this week the sites have been a little slower, but the tours that have come in have been some of the best tours ever! A group of youth leaders from a stake in Virginia came into the Hill inspecting everything for an upcoming youth conference with these fancy "Ask of God" binders. Almost thought they were from Salt Lake for a second. We start talking to them and Sister Tucker begins to explain her conversion story, and this group of five or six adults literally sit on the carpet and listen to Sister Tucker as if she were their pre-school teacher. The tour that followed really got us all pumped up for the summer when their youth group will be coming!

Us with the fancy binders and cool adults:

At the Smith farm I was able to give a tour to some past ward members in the Lyons ward, the Dors. They are a sweet family with lots of girls (one who is named Nauvoo, very pretty name), and they were just a delight. One of the daughters kept picking up the flowers that are popping up in all the meadows and handing them to me. By the end she commented on how I looked like a bride.

Me with all my flowers:

And just today while serving the morning shift at the Smith farm a group of young adults walk in looking pretty windblown and to be very frank---very cool. They then begin to explain they are biking through the U.S and this was one of their stops. I was very intimidated by their cool cat hipster-ness so I grabbed Sister Tucker along and it was one of the best tours EVER. They were all members of the church, most returned missionaries, except for their friend they brought along named Roberto. He was from Tijuana Mexico. Sister Tucker and I both shared the First Vision in the log home in Spanish and English and--wow, really those are the only words. What a privilege it is to be here.

Here are some more pictures of the week:

A group house picture, so many memories in this house!

Being our true selves, there's Hurmunah again:

There are super pretty tulips outside the Smith farm I needed to take a picture. Gorgeous:

A story I'm making more well known as I serve at the Smith farm is that of young Joseph Smith--a mere ten years old. As his family was traveling from Vermont to Palmyra to escape a particularly cold winter (albeit, it's not that much better here), Mother Lucy ran out of money on the last leg of the trip and their driver abandoned them. They were able to hitch a ride with a family by the name of Gates, traveling on sleigh. Sadly, Joseph, still recovering and limping from his leg surgery a few years prior, was on the last sleigh and one of the Gates boys knocked him over. His family far ahead, and unable to arise himself, in his own words he said, "I was left to wallow in my own blood." By the grace of a loving Heavenly Father though, a stranger stumbled upon Joseph and gathered him in his arms. He carried the soon to be prophet the last few miles into the town of Palmyra--the cradle of the Restoration. We don't know that man or what happened to him, but his act of kindness forever effected Joseph.

This week, take time and think of ways you can lift a fallen person. I promise you there are many, and the Lord will guide and prompt your thoughts as you pray for opportunities to--you never know what may come of it.

I really love you all! All my love from the sunlit Smith farm!

Hermana Abreu