hello hello!

oh wow so biggest news of the week is dad winning march madness.  WHAT A TREAT DAD wow so proud of you.

That's real fun you're going to San Diego.  I'm feeling pretty jealous.  I'm about as white as a piece of paper.  Maybe i'll start fake baking.

Sooo I have just had a week for the books!  I don't remember if i told you about this but about two weeks ago we were out tracting and we met this guy named skylar.  he's like 23ish.  And he is jusssst golden.  Like we taught him the restoration last week and he was just eating up every word we said.  It was AMAZING.  He even said it was amazing we stopped by the day we did, because earlier that day he had been praying that god would teach him the truth!!!! ahhh i almost fainted.  But crap beyond crapper news we have to pass him off to the YSA missionaries.  blehg.

My friend sister newell left thursday morning and I was just a sad little bug all day thursday.  I haven't been that sad on mish thus far but thursday was just a sad day.  Anyway, I pulled myself outta the pit and am doing good.  She was just a peach, but ya know sister pew is a peach too.

So last night was just, WOW.  We were supposed to have a lesson with marcellius and we had a freaking member coming and everything and lo and behold he got backed up at work and couldn't make it.  I was just pissed.  So we go to contact this referral from the elders.  LET ME JUST PREFACE BY SAYING THE WORLD'S MOST ODDEST EXPERIENCE.

It's a mom, and her two daughters- one of them has down syndrome.  We got chatting and within the first five minutes she let us know some very personal information about a trial their family has been going through and i was just like WHOA LADY back up the truck i don't wanna know that but it also was just really sad.  Then one of her daughters (the one who doesn't have downs) went storming out of the room saying she doesn't believe in god and I was just feelin a little bit in over my head at this point.  We taught them about prayer and read with the romans 8: 35-39 (side note: that is like the best scripture ever) and they just were not focusing.  I was literally in the middle of baring my testimony on personal prayers and she starts busting up laughing because her cat was sitting on a picture of miley cyrus.  There are just some odd ducks out there peeps.  And I just am still at a loss for words concerning that whole situation.   

hope that made sense. hahaha

okay.  hmm.  mom i wanted to tell you that the virginia richmond mission has a facebook page that they update like everyday and you could follow it.

Another thing.  EVERYONE BETTER BE SHARING THE BECAUSE OF HIM VIDEO ON MORMON.ORG BECAUSE IT'S THE DOPEST VIDEO EVER AND IT WILL ONLY BE PLAYING THIS WEEK SO GET TO IT.

you can share it on fb or twitter or whatever.

mom i got your letter, thank you that made my whole day.  It came on my thursday (my day of misery).

Sooooo yeah.  David A. Bednar is coming to speak to us on may 3rd so i'm getting pumped for that.  He's just gonna bring down the house crying repentance to us missionaries ohhh boy i can't wait.

Alright everyone, keep it real this week and don't do anything too cray.  you're all just great and i love ya so much.

abbs

hello hello!

Well well well i don't know where to begin.  Glad to hear the family had such a lovely week.  Sorry to hear Cole is sick.  Hopefully he doesn't die.

Hmm so my week was just... ya know.  I don't know if I've told you about Marcellius- He is our most progressing investigator.  How we met him is a funny story.

So we were scrambling for something to do (a very common occurance that peeves me to no end) and i opened up the freakin area book and just randomly pick a house that is close by.  We originally stopped by to see his sister- but instead Marcellius opened the door and we taught him.  He's had the missionary lessons many times but he just gets stuck when it comes to the commandments.  It's just interesting because the elders in our ward had been teaching him pretty regularly about a month prior to our meeting but dropped him, and then we randomly show up on his porch.  I just thought it was cool how the Lord totally led us there- and I didn't even know it.  Anyway, he's actually doing really well.  He totally has a testimony... He just doesn't want to give up tattoos.  But he came to conference on Sunday AND MY FREAKING COMPANIONS MADE ME SIT BY HIM oh my gosh I almost died of awkwardness.  He's like a 30 year old black guy covered in tattoos who says things like "imma" and "axk" (instead of ask.  ya feel me?)  Anyway I sometimes get a little nervous about him because he seems a little creepy but hopefully that's just my little st. george sheltered mormon girl coming out.  Anyway, it's just really refreshing to work with someone who really will read the book of mormon and pray and actually has a desire to progress.... It's really awesome because we can be very bold with him and he doesn't get offended or anything.  

Well i must say i love so much being in a trio with sister newell and pew.  They are just lovely and yeah.  Totally the best thing.  Sister Newell leaves for Nauvoo on Thursday and that's depressing but also good. I will miss her lots and lotsssss.

Conference was the bomb shizzzzzzzle am i right???  oh my gosh let it be recorded in the books of heaven that Abigail Van Orden DID NOT FALL ASLEEP ONE TIME DURING THE 8 HOURS OF CONFERENCE.  I don't know about you but I now believe in miracles.  I'm serious that may be the first time in my whole life i've ever done that.

We had a pancake breakfast as an incentive to get our investigators to come to conference and it actually went really well.  So inviting people to that has taken up a big chunk of our week last week.  It was cool because it really helped boost my confidence.  by the end of the week i was walking up to people no problem and inviting them.  I never in my wildest dreams thought i'd ever be able to walk up to some random human and talk to them about coming and eating pancakes and then listening to a prophet of god speak..... look at what mission will do for ya.

Dad- Me and my comps will work on that thing you want us to do and then i'll get it to you next week.  I'm freakin pumped for you and your iron man.  The training sounds hardcore!  I'm so impressed.  Keep chuggin along.

My fav talks in conf were easily bednar and uchtdorf.  daaaaaaaannngg they just brought the heat!  I seriously loved conference.  It was just the best.  Hahaha i've really been missin out these last 18 years that i didn't care about it.

I feel like this letter is really formal.  I don't know my worst fear is becoming a psycho missionary with no personality.

that's soooo crazy about Quin coming over to my side of the country!  tell him to come visit me.  That's a big decision!  Tell him congrats for me.

OH i wanted to tell you i hit a turning point in life.  I can now start moving on with my life.  I read this talk by jeffery r holland called "remember lot's wife" and it just was a gem for sure.  As hard as i try to stay focused on my mish i can't help but just love the past and sometimes it gets a little troublesome.  It's hard to be here and wish i could still talk to my friends and crap everyday, but that talk really helped me see how FAITH is in the future- not living in the past.  Now i can start moving on from graduating high school.  wowowowow.  big day.

Yeah so that's all i can think of.  Hope you all have a great week and that you know i sure love ya and yadda yadda yaddddd.

Just so you know.  Wil and Lakyn walker are engaged.  who saw that one coming?  no one.

loves to you all

abbs

hey heyyyy fam!

first order of business DAD IS THE WARD MISSION LEADER oohhhhh boy do I have a shpeal for you.  GET MEMBERS TO LESSONS DAD PLEASE DO IT.  and get those vegas missionaries on a roll.  Baptize summerlin with fire.

alrighty.

this week i got a new companion!  Her name is Sister Pew.  She's 22 and from Mesa and she is the dopest.  like seriously so funny.  she reminds me so much of bree hansen.  I'm so relieved.  I was so nervous I was gonna get a psycho companion.  Praise the Lord i got a good one.

So yes.  It's me and Newell and Pew as a trio until April 10th.  And it's just real real fun.  We have so much fun together and can teach so nicely together it just works.  

*side note* wanted the fam to know that living with girls definitely isn't the easiest pill for abby to swallow.  GIRLS ARE VERRYY SENSITIVE.  It's teaching me to be more sensitive.  Which is annoying.  I don't like being sensitive.  hehe.  but I really feel like we've never had any problems, i just have to swallow my pride and help them when they're down.  I can't just tell them to stop being a boob.  You know what I mean?  going from all boys to all girls is a change but I love em so much.

this week was pretty whatever.  We got one of our less actives Betty Brown to come to the Broadcast on Saturday so I was pumped about that.  We also had some nice lessons with our investigators.... Our investigator Michele fell off the face of the earth so that's pretty sad.  She says she's really sick right now but whatever maybe i'll go break down her door and throw her in the font.

We actually had really good success with tracting this week.  WHICH WAS AMAZING.  We found 3 potentials in one day so that was crazy dope.

Sister Pew is really really awesome at being bold and unafraid and I just love it so much.  She's already taught me so much.

I wanted to tell you all about the coolest thing that happened to me DURING MY STUDIES.  yeah.  Buckle up.

So I have been praying a lot lately to be able to better understand my patriarchal blessing.  I always have treasured it, but I just felt like it didn't really help me or tell me anything I really needed to know.  

So i was studying the other day and I realized my patriarchal blessing talks a lot a lot a lot about different spiritual gifts I have.  

I was studying about spiritual gifts this past week and I just think it's so cool.  I read this talk given by Elder Oaks and it talks about how spiritual gifts are only given and able to start developing after someone is baptized and receives the gift of the holy ghost.

anyway- read the talk.  It's awesomeeee.

So yeah!  And it's also cool because President Parker said in my setting apart blessing that on my mission i would become more aquainted with and be able to develop my spiritual gifts!  SO COOL!

I just can't imagine not coming on this mission and meeting all the people i've met and learning all these things........ I just think everyone should go.  Yeah it sucks.  But it's cool too.

hahaha i mean that in the best way possible.
Mother I hope your birthday was everything you could ever hope for and more. It is on the 30th right?  hahah i always get mixed up.  

AND YES MOM MICKELL WROTE ME AND WIL AND LAKYN WANNA GET MARRIED ON JUNE 21st oh my gosh SO STUPID people are so stupid i can't even talk about it makes me sick.  It's also THE LAST thing jordyn needs holy crap i just really hope she doesn't respond in a bad way.  ya know what i mean.

Also my good ol friend James Katoa had his farewell on Sunday.  Remember my little gangster boy?  Yeah look at him go.  Mickell said he did a really good job.

Anyway.  Glad dad didn't die in mexico.

Have a grand week people!  I love ya!

abbs

ps- tell drew to keep killing it in march madness.  sure proud of him.

goodness gravy what a week for all of you!  I'm jealous you got to go to STG, love that place.  Mom what a bummer!  ANOTHER one bites the dust.  But it's all good.  Think about it, once they get your meds under control you will be a seizure free woman!  Get through the trying time and soon it'll all be dandy and great.  and at least dad has been with you the last couple times.  That's sure a blessing.

Proud to hear about Haden killin it in yet another week of PV Vball!  keepin rockin it out haden!

Hmmm so i don't really have that many hilarious stories from this week (shocking i know) but I have a kinda cool one!

It involve my gurl michele.

We do this thing where we write down on a piece of paper chapters for them to read and questions for them to answer.  Then they go through the process- pray, read, write, pray, read, revise, pray.  everyone calls it a "homework assignment".  Except i think that's stupid so I call it "questions for you to answer".

anyway, so we gave michele one of those to do.  Had her read Mosiah 2 and answer some questions.  We gave it to her like a week and a half ago so i was losing hope in her doing it.  But we went over on wednesday i think and lo and behold-

SHE DID IT.

and her eyes. her eyyyyes.  You could see a change.

she was like "at first i didn't understand it.  but then i prayed and read again, and i understood!" 

Music to my ears.

ohhhh my gosh.  bein on a mish, you just live for those moments.

I think giving out these assignments is really cool because instead of asking the investigator to "read and pray" we give them a specific thing for them to do, and if they realllllly do it, guaranteed to feel the spirit.

anyway, i about died when she said she did it.  I'd never really experienced someone keeping a commitment before (poor me) ha but it really was just awesome.  Something i'll never forget.

So sad day sister newell is leaving for nauvoo on April 10th and that's in like the middle of a transfer so most likely I'll be getting a new companion tomorrow.  ew.

mission people are so weird and they say i'm getting a "step mom" cause your trainer is considered "your mom".

so stupid.

but anyway, i'm getting a new trainer tomorrow most likely so it'll be me, sister newell, and some crazy lady.  Weird we'll be in a trio for like 2 weeks!  We'll see how it goes.....

DAD please don't die in mexico by the way.  Try to stay safe.  I'll pray for you.

hmmmm i don't know what else to tell ya we have a few new investigators here and there but no one too golden yet.  But maybe over time they'll become golden.

I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in the ward here, and it's starting to get a lot more fun!  I really like this ward, the people are so nice and I just am so happy i'm out of the miserable stage of not knowing anything or anyone, and slowly but surely Manchester is starting to feel a little more like home (kinda) (not home home.  Temporary home.).

Wellllll people try and keep it real this comin week!  I'll work hard here in virginia and start this freaking town ablaze with member present lessons so yeah.  (long story.  our ZONE had 3 member presents last week.  sister newell and i plan to double that ourselves.  just wait.  you'll see.)

love you lots and lots!

oh and shocking news about mason, mom. That kid has gotta slow down.  I can't keep up with him.  Also i was thinking and around august is when mason needs to have at least met his future wife so then they can have a year to date, get engaged and plan the wedding and then i'll come home and he can get married.  it's full proof.

mom thanks for taking care of all that stuff for me, you da best.  dad, just keep swimming (and running and biking).  

tell cole i got his letter and it was great.  I'm so proud of him and his grades.  no F's.  What a scholar.

And mom i also got your letter.  i'll write ya back.

Also mom i'm pretty sure it's your birthday either sunday or monday of next week (i can never remember if it's the 30th of 31st) REGARDLESS, LIVE IT UP YA FREAKIN 49 YEAR OLD you don't look a day over 20.

Talk to ya next week!

abbs

hey heyyyy fam!

first order of business DAD IS THE WARD MISSION LEADER oohhhhh boy do I have a shpeal for you.  GET MEMBERS TO LESSONS DAD PLEASE DO IT.  and get those vegas missionaries on a roll.  Baptize summerlin with fire.

alrighty.

this week i got a new companion!  Her name is Sister Pew.  She's 22 and from Mesa and she is the dopest.  like seriously so funny.  she reminds me so much of bree hansen.  I'm so relieved.  I was so nervous I was gonna get a psycho companion.  Praise the Lord i got a good one.

So yes.  It's me and Newell and Pew as a trio until April 10th.  And it's just real real fun.  We have so much fun together and can teach so nicely together it just works.  

*side note* wanted the fam to know that living with girls definitely isn't the easiest pill for abby to swallow.  GIRLS ARE VERRYY SENSITIVE.  It's teaching me to be more sensitive.  Which is annoying.  I don't like being sensitive.  hehe.  but I really feel like we've never had any problems, i just have to swallow my pride and help them when they're down.  I can't just tell them to stop being a boob.  You know what I mean?  going from all boys to all girls is a change but I love em so much.

this week was pretty whatever.  We got one of our less actives Betty Brown to come to the Broadcast on Saturday so I was pumped about that.  We also had some nice lessons with our investigators.... Our investigator Michele fell off the face of the earth so that's pretty sad.  She says she's really sick right now but whatever maybe i'll go break down her door and throw her in the font.

We actually had really good success with tracting this week.  WHICH WAS AMAZING.  We found 3 potentials in one day so that was crazy dope.

Sister Pew is really really awesome at being bold and unafraid and I just love it so much.  She's already taught me so much.

I wanted to tell you all about the coolest thing that happened to me DURING MY STUDIES.  yeah.  Buckle up.

So I have been praying a lot lately to be able to better understand my patriarchal blessing.  I always have treasured it, but I just felt like it didn't really help me or tell me anything I really needed to know.  

So i was studying the other day and I realized my patriarchal blessing talks a lot a lot a lot about different spiritual gifts I have.  

I was studying about spiritual gifts this past week and I just think it's so cool.  I read this talk given by Elder Oaks and it talks about how spiritual gifts are only given and able to start developing after someone is baptized and receives the gift of the holy ghost.

anyway- read the talk.  It's awesomeeee.

So yeah!  And it's also cool because President Parker said in my setting apart blessing that on my mission i would become more aquainted with and be able to develop my spiritual gifts!  SO COOL!

I just can't imagine not coming on this mission and meeting all the people i've met and learning all these things........ I just think everyone should go.  Yeah it sucks.  But it's cool too.

hahaha i mean that in the best way possible.
Mother I hope your birthday was everything you could ever hope for and more. It is on the 30th right?  hahah i always get mixed up

veryone neeeds to thank their lucky stars cause I MADE IT A WHOLE MONTH ON MY MISSION and didn't even come home.  Wow never thought I'd see the day.

So this week was like.... yeah.

There were no clowns involved so yeah, blessings all around.

This week i experienced a lot of "so that's what it's like" moments.  You know what i mean?  For example Sister Newell and I were planning the other night and we were saying our prayer to end and she starts asking where we should go to tract and after the prayer we both had the same idea of what place we should go to and it was just cool.  before my mish i never really felt like I knew when Heavenly Father was answering my prayers.  My mish has already taught me so much about recognizing that.  i just think it's dope.

We had 2 really good lessons with our investigator michele this week, and on Saturday night after a lesson she agreed to come to church.  And we were so pumped and yep you guessed it she didn't show up.  It's okay though, she'll come next week.  RIGHT? 

We did a lot of tracting this week and saw very little progess.  It's kind of annoying. I WOULD HOPE that if i wasn't a mormon i would at least have the kindness in my heart to listen to two teenage girls who go around sharing what they believe all day errryyyday.  plus the message we're sharing is TRUE so i don't know maybe you should LISTEN bleeehhgg.

Times of drought just mean the rain is on its way.  that's what sister newell tells me.  and she knows everything.  hahah

The people of Virginia are seriously SO DIFFERENT from peeps on the west.  Like i don't know what it is but they are just a different breed out here. 

It snowed yesterday so we were confined to our apartment so that's why i didn't email.  When it snows the whole town literally shuts down.  It's pretty funny.

I don't really know what else to say....... my life is one big awkward moment which is great it keeps us laughing all the time. 

That's cool that you got to go to the symphany thing.  That sounds way cool.  Can't BELIEVE cole didn't go and drew didn't drive down for the occasion.  Literally so shocking.

I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE GOOD THING THIS WEEK CAUSE THIS LETTER IS KINDA BLAH SO FAR.

So this family in the ward, the Cahills (they're the ones who took us out to eat and then had us over again and made us salmon) ahh i love them but anyway.  It's a husband and wife, they're like 50 and their kids are all moved out but his mom lives with them, she's like 70 and she is so funny i love her, but she isn't a member.  So she is like baptist i think and has never been willing to talk with them about the church.  BUT sister newell and I have been "practice teaching" them (really teaching her) and she is listening and being responsive and it's just SWEEEET cause i can just see it in her eyes that it's all starting to make sense to her.  Also I'm learning a lot from it because they ask a lot of hard questions and we study it and also talk about it with them so i am learning a lot about backing everything up with scripture and meanings of verses in the bible.. i think that this experience is something that i will be able to use my whole mission so i just find it such a blessing and so awesome.

We also visit a lot of less active old ladies who have completely let themselves go.  Some people have really sad lives.  yeesh.

Okay love you all have the best week in the history of forever!

abby

ELLO FAMILY

WELL can we all just lay down and praise the lord HADEN VAN ORDEN IS A PALO VERDE VOLLEYBALL STARRRRRR.

can't tell you how excited i got when i read that fabulous news.  Congrats to hain.

ALSO biggest news of the letter this week is MOM bought the freakin eye shadow holy crap i'm almost sure hell froze over SHE FINALLY BOUGHT IT!  So happy for you mom you finally bit the bullet and made the big purchase.  

to answer the boiling question of transportation-

yes we have a car and sister newell is the driver.  I literally laughed out loud the first time i had to back her.  Dad, you were right.  I literally have to stand outside the car and watch every time we need to go in reverse.  It's ridiculous.  But yeah our car is nice.  We don't have a GPS so i had to learn how to read a map REALLY quickly.  Not to mention virginia has no grid system.  all the roads have a mind of their own.  I never know whats going on but somehow we make it to people's houses alive everyday.  I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES.

sooooo sister newell and I did a very unhealthy amount of tracting this week.  wow how i love to tract.  We just have a very dry pool of investigators lately and have been doing everything we can to find.  someday we'll see the fruits of the labors i hope.  tracting is so funny because every single door without fail i have a meltdown right before but then it's okay i calm down and can talk to the people.  no one wants to listen though cause "they have their church they go to their baptist church and they know jesus christ is their savior blah blah blah" so annoying.  I do think tracting is good it shows God we are willing to work hard but i'm not sure it's the most effective thing to be doing.  oh well we do all we can and god will provide am i right?!

Anyway so we did a shiz ton of that this week.  We also had some good lessons with our three (*tears*) investigators.  The problem is none of them really are interested in keeping their commitments.... they just like me and sister newell and the spirit we bring.  So i have a feeling getting them to progress is definitely going to be a process.

One of my favorite parts of this week was we did a couple lessons centered on Joseph Smith.  I love Joseph Smith.  We watched the restoration movie with the Cahill's (the ones we are "practice teaching") which was swell but we also taught a less active about Joseph Smith.  Her name is Cherry and she has chemical sensitivity so every time we go visit her we have to wash our clothes with special soap and wash our hair with special shampoo and use this certain kind of deoderant ya know the whole shabang.  she's a sweetheart but was one of those who was converted to the missionaries, not the gospel.  She didn't even remember the joseph smith story so we started from square one.  It was just the best to teach that lesson.  We memorized the first vision and I QUOTED IT TO HER (hehe) and the spirit just is so strong when you recite those words.  We got to talk about his whole life and read some awesome scriptures from D&C and it was just a really good moment.  It was fun to teach a less active about it cause they understand he was a prophet and that we don't worship him and all that jazz so we didn't have to worry about that.

WORLDS MOST WEIRDEST THING THAT I KEEP FORGETTING TO TELL YOU ABOUT: I am allergic to that EOS chapstic mom bought me for christmas.  My lips have been a very sad story the last month and a half.  Like they were so chapped and peeling every minute and i had big sores on the corners of my mouth that would open up and bleed every time i opened my mouth.... so i just kept putting on more of that eos chapstick but they just kept getting worse!  finally sister newell made me buy some burts bees and my lips have been so much better.  I talked to this lady about it and she also had me buy some cold sore cream which is kinda helping.  The weirdest experience. At first when i talked to the lady about what was going on she thought i had herpes.  I was like.... um.  no.

DAD- could you please send the stuff about my blessing from president parker.  I would appreciate that very much.  Also so happy for you and your new bike.  I bet you two will make the cutest couple.  keep killin it in your ironman training.  It's pretty hardcore!

I HAVE FAITH that next week when i write you i will have miracle stories to tell you about new investigators we have found.  just you wait.

Things are good here in good ol virginia though.  still cold but getting warmer.  my jacket is the bomb mom.  I am in love with it.

OKKAYYY everyone have a blessed week and Cole i hope you know that mom and dad love haden more than they love you.  I also wish you the best of luck at the dentist aka hell.  i hate the freaking dentist.  make sure to get the gas.  that's the only thing that makes it bearable.  And haden good luck with your tournament go our there and kill it in your new duds!  and mom i need to go to the mall too but mission rules are literally psycho and even though there is a DOPE mall in richmond "we can't go there because it's out of our area" blah blah blah stupid.  I hope you get to go the mall soon.  Live it up for the both of us. hahaaaa

okay love you all and i am pledging right this instant to never say the word "y'all" like everyone in Virginia does.  okay have fun byeee

abby