Abbey's letter Aug. 19, 2014

This week has been a good one! Patrick and Kathleen and Grace, Kathleen's daughter were at church this Sunday. This is the first time since I have been here that Grace has been to church. So that was exciting. We asked Tieroll if he would let us teach him more about the gospel and he said that we could but we haven't been able to set up an appointment yet. He did come to the Family Home Evening though this week. He seems to get a long with all of the members really well. We had quite a few people there this week. Kathleen and Grace came. And Emeron, Chelsie's son is back from his vacation in Idaho where he stayed with his Grandma for a month. So we have primary again, we are excited about that. Yanedra has not been home when we have dropped by the last month or so and hasn't been calling us back so we decided to give her some space. But we saw her in town on Sunday night. She said that she had lost her phone, so we hope that she is still interested and that we can start teaching her. 

This week we had nothing to do Friday night so we decided to go into town and see if we could find any people to talk to. We ran into a man named Vincent who works across the street from the library and we had a good gospel conversation with him. He is very religious and believes in Baptism by immersion. We gave him a Book of Mormon. And he said that he would read it every day. We went and got some dinner at the stop and shop and sat down at a bench to eat it. The girls sitting across from us asked if we were the sister missionaries for the lds church and we said yes. Turns out she is a former investigator. She is in high school and met Alex the Milstead's son in school and wanted to learn more about the gospel. She loves the Book of Mormon but she had to giver her copy back because her parents are very anti Mormon and she was having to hide it from them. She was coming to church and Family Home Evening but was having to sneak out of her house to come so they decided it probably wasn't the best thing. Turns out her father is a less active on our ward list and he very much dislikes the church. She was telling us that all of her family lives back west and is active in the church. She wants to learn about it so bad. It made me really sad. I hope that she looks into after she turns 18 and moves away from home. We were able to talk to her and then we were walking around and no one really wanted to talk to us so we thought hey well just ride a bus and see what happens. So we got on the bus that goes out to Sconset and we sit down and this man named Lucky turns to us and says, "Why haven't you called me. I have been looking everywhere for you!" We said ah we didn't know we were supposed to call you. We had meet him at the beginning of June. We were challenged to give away a Book of Mormon a day and had given him one but we hadn't gotten his number. He said I remember your faces and every time I am at the bus station I look for you. We asked him we could get his number so we could call him:) And he said that we could start teaching him. We had an appointment for Sunday but he cancelled on us. Then on Monday we were supposed to have dinner with Chelsie but Ozni's family ended up coming over to the island so she had to cancel on us. And we had nothing to do. So we again went into town and we were sitting on a bench and Lucky calls us and says I am in town can we meet. So we met him at the bus station and taught him the first discussion there. It has been a long time since we have gotten to teach a lesson and it felt so good. He believes in modern day prophets and has a really good testimony of prayer. He wants to come to church. He has been to an lds church before and knows a lot about Joseph Smith. We have another appointment with him on Wednesday at our church building. We going to do a church tour even though it is just a little basement:) We also on the bus ride to town saw a family that we have wanted to share the gospel with but we haven't seen in a while. They invited us to a music making event at a park and so after we taught Lucky we dropped by. It was really fun just a lot of people beating on drums and shaking tambourines. We gained their trust a little more. We are hoping to get them to come to Family Home Evening. I am learning that God will give us opportunities as long as we put ourselves out there. Most of our success comes when we have nothing to do because things have fallen through and we are open to anything. Most of the time we have no idea what were going to do at the beginning of the day and somehow things work out. It is teaching me to really trust in God. And its OK that we have no idea what were doing. Sometimes its even better because it forces us to rely on him. 

We are seeing many miracles happen. I feel very blessed to be a missionary at this time. The Lord is truly hastening his Work. In so many ways that we have no idea about. And it is completely by him and not us that it is made possible. But we are blessed to be a part of it. I love this gospel and I know that it could bless every individuals life here on the earth. God is a very merciful God. I love you Family. I hope that you have a wonderful week. 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton 

Abbey's letter Aug. 12, 2014

Hello Family:) I hope that everyone is having fun in Montana. But I also hope that someone played on the teeter totter for me. 

This week has been a very eventful and good one. A lot of unexpected opportunities have come up.

We had 38 people at church on Sunday which is an all time record for our little group here. Tim had felt the night before that he should drop by his work and pick up some extra chairs, and we had exactly 38 chairs there:) We had 7 non members there which we weren't expecting. Patrick came to church. And Rosie's friends Dida, Loreto, and Wally who we had had dinner the night before with came. And a couple who is here for the summer spoke in sacrament meeting and they had invited the man that they take care of to come. Also two young adults who are here for the summer to perform in the Oklahoma play invited two of the cast members to come to church. We had two people from the branch and a member of the stake presidency there. A family of 8 from Boston were visiting for the day. And on Saturday we had 2 nannies and another woman call asking where the church was. We didn't know what to do with so many people. It was almost like normal church because we actually had two speakers instead of one and we had a musical number. It was awesome, and every one was so happy. It was a blessing to have so many non members there this week. The member of the stake presidency wasn't so sure about our basement church:) They are going to come put carpet in and make a few changes. 

Patrick and Kathleen invited us over for dinner on Sunday night. This is the first time that I have ever been invited to their home. The whole group was over there for dinner but Lorraine and Sister Vaai and I stayed around after dinner and talked to them for a while. We were able to chat with Kathleen for a while, which was a blessing. She opened up to us a little. She has a very hard time with missionaries being transferred and has vowed that she will never get close to another one again. So as a result of that she doesn't want missionaries coming over to their house to have lessons with them because that means she would get close to them. So we are trying our best to find our means for them to grow spiritually. Part of me worries about them because they wont let us help them progress more spiritually. But then another part of me recognizes that they are still studying on their own and are slowly gaining very strong testimonies so I am trying to have patience. Patrick is studying in the pearl of great price and he loves it. He has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and the stories in it have really come alive for him. I am starting to see how hard it is for the members here with the missionary changes. They really are a family and they consider each other family. And each of us missionaries become their family, and it is hard when one of them has to leave. It makes me all the more grateful that they still love each of us new ones that come in even though they know we wont be here very long. Lorraine was really sweet and was trying to convince Kathleen that if she doesn't get to know each of the new missionaries she is missing out even though it is hard when they leave. Kathleen did agree to give the spiritual thought for our next Family Home Evening which is exciting. She will be doing it on the grace we find through the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

This week Dida and Loreto, Rosie's friends had invited Tim and Lorraine over for dinner. And they decided when they started dinner that they wanted us to come as well. Their friend Wally was also there. He recently lost his wife a few weeks ago. They were married for 30 years. We had dinner and discussed families being together forever. We were able to talk about the Book of Mormon and give them one. They are very intrigued with the church. They go to the born again christian church and it meets at the same time as us so they said that they weren't going to be able to come to our church. But Rosie did not give them a choice:) She said um Brother Tim wants you to come so you will pick me up at 10:30 and we will go to church. So they all came to church and we are hoping to have them at family home evening on Wednesday. 

We had zone meeting this week so we got to go off island for that, which was nice. 

President called us on Thursday night and asked us to be digital missionaries. Our mission has started a digital mission. They started a website calledreallifeanswers.org. It is a website where they have short articles on a lot of religious questions. They asked every missionary here in our mission and a lot of members to write articles for it. They have had the website running for a while. Then they have a few missionaries that have worked on a website that finds blogs or articles that are written about these topics. So then the digital missionaries can go on these blogs read them and comment on them, and refer them to reallifeanswers. We have been digital missionaries since I got here and then they decided to stop it for a while. They have it up and running again but this time they are giving us more lee way with how we can talk to these people. Before if they started to write back and forth we had to refer them to the missionaries on the website and hand them over. But now we can use Facebook or pinterest or email to communicate with them back and forth and we get to teach them. If it gets far enough we can even Skype them and teach them over Skype. So cool! President said that before we start we will have a meeting with the missionaries in charge of this and they will go over the rules and help us get our Facebook ready. I'm not sure if I will use the same one or a new one but we will see. I always said I never wanted to be a Facebook missionary. But I am kind of excited! 

President Packard has also started a portable visitors center. He has a few missionaries that are called to just over see the portable visitors center. They have created a lot of displays with videos and answers to questions and they travel around the mission and do open houses for the church buildings or they will come to church events that are happening. They called us this week and they want to come to Nantucket! We are very excited and we just need to find a place for them to do it. It may have to be in the Milstead's backyard, but we shall see. 

Earlier last week I really felt like I needed to get a priesthood blessing. I had just been feeling a little off. And I had felt really emotionally and physically tired. And I was having a harder time forgetting myself and going to work. And I just felt like I needed to ask for a blessing. It was a weird feeling to know that there was only one person I could ask for a blessing and I completely depended on him because no one else could do it. I can't imagine what he feels like being absolutely the only one on the island who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood. He gave me a blessing after we had dinner with them on Tuesday. It was really good. I feel like all of my blessings in the past have just been very loving and this one was very to the point. Heavenly Father told me that he loved me and that I need to completely push my wants and my desires aside and plead every night for the spirit to be with me. I just had this very strong feeling that the Lord is completely in control and he knows what he is doing and we are not doing the work, He is. So if we don't do everything to align our will with his and to try to have his spirit with us then not all of his work is getting done. Ever since I have gotten here on the island I have met all of these wonderful people and I have wanted to teach them and to see them reach baptism. But the Lord humbly reminded me that it is not yet time. Not everyone will be interested right away and want to join. But they will some time down the road. And we may never know it until we leave this life. I was told that those that we serve with will learn more from us by working with us then they would from us teaching them. That was really powerful. I know that there is a lot to be done and that the Lord expects a lot out of us. But all he asks is that we tell him we cant do it on our own and that we need his help. President always reminds us that we do not know the needs of those around us. But the Lord does. I was specifically told that I needed to be taking vitamins and minerals. I don't think that I have ever been told something so direct in a blessing. So I started taking vitamins and I feel much better. I am learning that if we take care of the Lord's individuals he will take care of us. 

Life sure is beautiful. I am loving all of the people that I am meeting and everything that I am experiencing. I hit my year mark on Thursday which is all together very crazy and a little scary. It has gone by so fast. I feel very blessed to have had this last year. I am grateful for all the people that I have met and all the things that I have experienced. I am grateful for this gospel and the blessing that it has been to share it with others. I have been truly blessed. I know that this is God's church on the earth. 

I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week and drive safely on your way home from vacation. 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton 

Abbey's letter August 5, 2014

Hello my dear family!

Not much new things have happened this week with our investigators, hopefully we will have more updates next week. Tieroll did come to our family home evening this week. We had a fire in the Milstead's back yard and roasted some s'mores. He seemed to enjoy everyone in the group. He was not able to come to church because he had to work this Sunday, but he has become really good friends with the Milsteads nephews, which is good. They will be helpful in his conversion process. 

Being here on Nantucket is teaching me a lot about really loving those around you. Sister Vaai and I only get to see other missionaries once a week when we go off island for Zone Meeting. When we are both used to seeing other missionaries twice a week, and in my first area I saw other missionaries almost every day. And we have a lot of time where we are alone to ourselves. We are alone during a lot of the service that we do, and when we are walking to places. I don't know if I have every spent so much time with one person. And it has really taught us to rely on each other. And I am grateful for the time that we get to spend together. 

I am also learning a lot about how our Savior judges our success based on our efforts. We were able to sit down this week and set some goals for all of our investigators. I am gaining a testimony about setting goals no matter how small the goal is. Nantucket is really teaching me how all the small steps lead to big things. And I am grateful that I am starting to see the vision of it all. 

I feel that this week I have been constantly reminded of all the many things that I have to be grateful for. It is a blessing to be a missionary and to try and share the gospel of Jesus Christ and his redeeming message with others. It is a blessing to be put in a situation when I am constantly trying to have the spirit with me. It is a blessing to have been born as a member of this church and taught to love it since I was a little girl. It is a blessing to have been taught who I am, that I am a daughter of God. And because I am a daughter of God I can know that my life is being guided by him. It is a blessing to have been taught standards that keep me safe from the things of the world. It is a blessing to know that God lives and the purpose of this life is to return to him. It is a blessing to have been born into families that are all members of the church and continue to live their faith. My life is a blessing. I am grateful for all the wonderful people that I have been blessed to meet and know. I am grateful to see the faith of all of the members here on Nantucket. They are so strong and have such tender testimonies of the gospel. They are all very much living examples of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And they sacrifice a lot for it. They are learning what it means to sometimes stand alone and to stick up for what they believe in. I am grateful to know each of them. I am grateful to know that God loves all of his children and he is very aware of the individual. 

This Sunday I was studying about how to align my will with Heavenly Fathers. And I looked up Prayer in the bible dictionary and it says that first we need to recognize the true relationship between the Father and Man and then prayer becomes easy, and then through prayer our will becomes aligned with our Heavenly Fathers. I learned that prayer does not change the will of God but it secures us blessings. And most blessing will not come until you ask for them. It says that prayer is a form of work and is the appointed means for obtaining the highest blessings. Prayer is such a beautiful thing. 

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week. I love you all very much and I hope that everyone is doing well. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the Lord's very church on the earth today and that he stands at the head of it. I know that we will indeed get to see Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father again. I love you all. Have a great day:) 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton 

Abbey's letter July 22, 2014

Dear Family, 

This week has been a humbling week. We have seen so many miracles and tender mercies this week. Marcia is a woman that was a mormon.org referral. She has requested a free bible. We went to visit her a few weeks ago and she had some questions about the church. She said that she wanted to come see our church and we could come see hers. She was doing a presentation this Saturday on all of the missionary work that she is doing. So we asked the Zone Leaders for permission and they said that we could. It is a small group of Brazilians and the service is in Portuguese so we needed translators. That was a cool experience in itself to be a minority language and not know what anyone is saying. The church is called foursquare and it is a big christian church in Brazil. It was really cool. A lot of clapping and shouting and singing and standing. They were all so nice. And afterwards Marcia invited us to come to her home again this week to teach her more about our church. I have never thought of going to potentials as a way to gain their trust but I think that it helped Marcia to trust us more. As we showed that we are interested in knowing what she believes. It made me really appreciate other beliefs and religions. We do things a little differently but there are a lot of good people who are trying to worship God and doing the best with what they know. 

On Sunday church was about to begin and this unknown number asks when church is and what time it starts. So we were excited thinking it was someone that we had contacted in town. But a man walks in named Rick who is a member and had gotten our number from his friend. He is here for the summer and is from Gautama-la. We told him about Yanedra and he said that he would love to come translate for us. It was an answer to our prayers. We were so excited. So we went to visit her that night and we set up an appointment for this Thursday. And she is excited to learn more. She also invited us to go to her church with her. So we went with her Sunday night. And this one was in Spanish so we again needed translators. It was a lot like the other church from the night before. They had us stand up and sang us a welcome song. They were so nice. The Pastor came and introduced himself to us afterwards and his wife is actually a baptized member in Salvador. He was really surprised when we told him that we were Mormon missionaries. 

We also received a new investigator from the sisters in Boston. He has just moved here to Nantucket and they were starting to teach him there before he had moved. So we are really excited. His name is Tieroll. 

On Wednesday for FHE, Danielle who is a less active gave the spiritual thought. Sister Vaai felt like we should ask her to. She hasn't ever come to church her and has been to FHE once a few months ago. But she came and gave a beautiful thought on repentance and what it means. It was really cool. I think that people just need to feel needed.  

We were able to go visit Rosie this week. We had dinner with her on Thursday. She is such a funny lady. We asked her what her spiritual goals and she said that she really wants to serve a mission. Her husband lived with her here for 13 years and then decided to move back to the Philippines and has since been unfaithful to her. But she is so loving and forgiving towards him. She is such a strong woman. We really enjoyed getting to visit her again. Rosie Set up a lunch her friend Dida who has been coming to church and us on Saturday. We are really excited to get to start to teach her. We have been so blessed this week with things moving forward with our investigators and potential investigators. 

Lacy will be here on the island this weekend and will be coming to church. We are hoping to get to set a baptismal date with her while she is her with the group. We really feel like we need to keep her spiritually progressing before life wears on her too much and she completely breaks down. So we are hoping to help her set a date. She is so ready her life is just really crazy. 

We have quite a few summer visitors now. We have about 10 new people who come every week. And we love them. We have two young couples from Utah, two people who are here for the summer plays, Rick, and then Carolyn who comes here every summer with her husband. So it has been really nice. On Sunday Jackie, the woman we met on the bus, came to church with her fiance. We think he was a little overwhelmed with his first Mormon church experience being in a basement:) But we hope he felt the spirit! 

Patrick and Kathleen are doing well. Patrick came to church on Sunday by himself. He is about in his sixties but he is so fully of energy. And he has such a strong testimony of the gospel. We are hoping to have him come out with us to an investigator lesson here soon. 

Life is really good her on the island. We find out if one of us is leaving on Friday. We hope that we get to stay together for one more but we will see. I know that the church is true. And that all of us are apart of something incredible. I know that God has an individual plan for each of his children to return to him. I am learning that if we think less about how things affect us and more about the people around us that things get a little easier. It is easier said that done, but is true. I have found that sharing the gospel becomes hard if you start to think about how you are going to find more people to teach or how things are affecting you. And it becomes a lot easier if you love the people around you and focus on how much they need the gospel. I love you my dear family. I hope that you have a wonderful week. As Sister Vaai always says, "God is soo good." Have a wonderful Day. 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton 

Abbey's letter July 16, 2014

Hey Family, Sorry I forgot to mention that I wouldn't be able to write yesterday. We had an all day long zone conference yesterday. So we are taking some time to write today, in between our service. We were able to go off Monday afternoon and spend the day with our zone which was fun since we don't get to see other missionaries very often. 

I am learning that the Lord very much has things under control. He knows where we plan to be and things work out the way it needs to. Being in the right place at the right time just simply means being obedient and doing what you should be doing. This morning we were on the bus going to the library and these two ladies on the bus recognized us as sister missionaries. They had no idea that the church was on the island. They are here for the summer selling designer bags. She started talking to us and said that her father is very into missionary work and has served a mission. Turns out she has been in active in the church for a long time. She took this happenstance of running into sister missionaries on Nantucket as a sign from God that she should go to church. She asked when church is and said that she will be coming every week.  It seems that every time we are running late and miss our bus we meet someone who has a lot of questions about the gospel or who has had a lot of exposure to the church who we would not have met had we been on time. 

This Sunday we were planning the Sunday School lesson on baptism. And we were really excited for Patrick and Kathleen to be there. So we had planned it around their needs. They had decided not to come. But Rosie's friend Dida came to church again. And we were glad that we had tried to make the lesson simple. Afterwards she came up to us and told us that she wants to learn more about our church! We are so excited:) 

We have an appointment to meet with Yanedra on Thursday and to start teaching her. We have decided that with Patrick and Kathleen we will start treating them as if they have a baptismal date and start preparing them for baptism. President Packard has his ten commandments of all the things missionaries must do for an investigator when they have a baptismal date. So maybe if we start working towards it, it will be sooner than later. We had a good talk about them with the Milsteads this week. We decided that it is better to love them and to accept where they are at then to push them away why wanting them to do things they don't want to do. It is terrible frustrating because they have such strong testimonies of the gospel and baptism would bless them so much. But I am trying to understand the Lord's timing in things. 

We were able to see Lacy on Monday. She had not gotten back to us for two weeks but we thought we would told her that we would be off island on Monday hoping she would be able to respond. She happened to be away from home when we texted and also was planning to be away again on Monday for appointments for Angie. It was such a blessing. We met her at a park with the cape cod sisters and she was able to meet them. We think going to church will be a little less scary for her now. She was terrified of the thought of going to a big ward with three noisy children and Angie having a break down in the middle and what people would think when she had to hold her down so she doesn't hurt herself. We told her we would find someone to sit by her to help her with the kids. Shes feeling pretty low. The rules at the shelter are pretty rough. And she is feeling very alone. If she could just make it to church then we think she will be ok. She said that she is starting to wonder if all of this is worth it. We pray that she makes it. It was heartbreaking to have to leave her. Sweet Lacy. 

Zone Conference yesterday was really good and just what I needed. It was all about retaining baptismal dates and that we as missionaries have more control over it then we think. President Packard talked a lot about becoming who we need to be. And to not let pride get in our way. He told us that we should welcome correction with open arms. Let everyone know our faults so that they can help us with them and that we should not be ashamed of them. Life experiences are meant to correct us and who are we to be offended by correction or to be hurt by it. Because that is how we become more like our Savior. We can't gain Christlike attributes if we don't find our faults and try to change them. It was a good reminder that becoming and changing and making mistakes is a beautiful and wonderful thing. I realized that if I am so busy at trying to be what I want to be and worrying that I am not, then I wont become who the Lord plans for me to be. 

I am starting to fall in love with the ocean. On Monday we took the ferry to the main land and sat outside on the side of the boat. My companion was asleep and I just sat there for two hours looking at the ocean. I think it is the best therapy and can take away any worry. 

I love you very much, and I hope that you have a wonderful week. I know that we are so blessed to live in this time and to witness all of the miracles of the Lord Hastening his work. I know that he is very much in control and will not be stopped and it is up to us to be a part of it. I love you all. Have a wonderful week. 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton 

Abbey's letter July 8, 2014

Hello Family! This may need to be a short one but I promise to keep writing until my time is up here at the Library! This week has been a very adventurous one. We were off island when the hurricane came. We had gone off island on Thursday night for a zone meeting on Friday. And when the storm hit on Friday we ended up staying until the storm passed and went home on Friday. We stayed on the Cape with the Cape Cod sisters. The Martha's Vineyard sisters stayed with them as well. We had our meeting on Friday Morning and then the storm started to hit. Not a lot of wind but a ton of rain and it rained most of the day. Sister Packard was a little worried so after the meeting she asked us all to go home and stay in for the night. So it was kind of like having a little slumber party with three sets of sisters since we were stuck in the apartment all day. Nantucket got it a little worse than we did but not too much damage was done. They lost power for part of the night and had a lot of wind but there was only a few tree branches here and there that had fallen off of the trees. On Thursday night we were on the ferry heading to the main land and Sister Packard called and was worried about us and wanted to make sure that we were coming off of the island for the storm. She is quite the lady. You will never have to worry about our safety as long as she is here. She sure worries about her missionaries. Make us feel good that even though she has about 300 missionaries she was worried about us and wanted to make sure that we were safe. 

Our Zone meeting was really good. The theme was to let it go and to let them know. Almost all of us have heard that frozen song because many little kids like to sing it to us. So we all vowed to let go of any fears that we have about contacting and talking to strangers about the gospel, and to let every know about anything about the restored gospel and to bear testimony of it. It was a really good meeting. This weekend Nantucket broke their record for the number of people in Sacrament meeting. We had 32 people:) We had a family of 16 visit from Salt Lake. One man got up to bear his testimony and said that last week he was in a sacrament meeting of a 1000 people and the Prophet was there. And he said that the spirit that was there was the spirit that was here in our little group. He said this as he had to hunch over while bearing his testimony so he wouldn't hit his head on a pipe:) They were all pretty amazed with our little group and our humble meeting place. Makes me really proud of them. They all are truly amazing. Lorraine taught the Sunday School lesson and we got to sit in since we had no primary kids at church and it was nice to be able to sit in. She taught about agency and how we have the power to choose. She told about how Satan will influence us to choose not what the Lord wants us to. She said that when the mission contacted them and told them that they were getting sisters and they were asked to look for an apartment. Immediately her husband said that they could live in their basement. And she was hesitant because it needed some work. But after looking they decided that the sisters could live with them and they got to work. Things were going horrible wrong. And one day the basement had flooded and when her husband came home she was in tears as she said their is water in the basement, and I don't know how this is going to work and how they were going to pull it off. They were about to tell them that they needed to find another place for the sisters to live and then she had this thought that Satan was was working really hard for the sisters not to come. That he did not want them to be there. He did not want the work to progress here on Nantucket and he was going to do anything to stop it. She said that once she realized that things changed and they were able to figure things out. Sometimes when there is opposition all we have to realize is that sometimes there are things working against us and once we realize that the path seems a little bit clearer. 

There is not much more news on our investigators. They are all busy little bees working for the summer. Hopefully I will have more updates next week. I love you all and my time is up, But I know that the church is true. I love this gospel and this mission. We are having a mission wide fast tomorrow for all those learning about the gospel and I am excited. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you for all of your support. 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton 

Here is a copy of President Packard's letter to us this week. I wanted to share it with you. He is truly amazing. 

Dear Elders and Sisters,

Tomorrow we will all take part in our first ever, mission-wide fast. We will be fasting for everyone who is committed to baptism this month (95 people at the beginning of the month.) We want a unified and collective effort on the part of the entire mission. All of us care for these investigators. They do not “belong” only to the missionaries who are teaching them; they belong to all of us. We all pray for them, and we all rejoice when these people make and keep sacred covenants. 

As you have undoubtedly observed, the record number of baptismal dates is an extension of a more broadly experienced spiritual outpouring that we are seeing throughout the mission. Much of the influence of this spiritual outpouring is intangible and unmeasurable (such as greater consecration, greater companionship unity, a greater effort to open our mouths, and a greater desire generally to throw ourselves into the work with reckless abandon). However, the measurable indicators have also increased. For example, the number of new investigators is way up, member lessons have increased, member “helps” have increased, and non-members at church have increased. Now, it is time for baptisms to increase – significantly. The Lord has set the table for us by giving us all these investigators and baptismal dates, and if we do our part by collectively exercising our faith, the Lord will bless these people. In essence, we are going to work like everything depends on us, and pray like everything depends on the Lord. Of course, the investigators play a huge role in this as well, and some of them will inevitably let go of the iron rod and wander off, but we want these cases to be only after we have done all we can do, individually and collectively, to shepherd them into the fold.

This is a special time for us, so let us enjoy this Spirit and keep its rich abundance flowing in our lives and ministry. Let us not be “weary in well-doing, for we are laying the foundation of a great work.” (D&C 64:33). Indeed, let us “waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things… [and] let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123: 13; 17). We really do have the “utmost assurance” that God’s arm will be revealed if we “cheerfully do all things that lie in our power.” Let us do this together!

Love,

President and Sister Packard

Abbey's letter July 1, 2014

On Thursday we went to visit Yanedra with Sandra. She had read the restoration packet and part of the book of Mormon and she wants to learn more but doesn't know how to formulate her questions into English. We were able to talk a little bit about it and bear our testimonies about how Families can be together forever and the Book of Mormon. She had already shared them with a friend who also wants to learn more. She is already sharing the gospel with her friends:) She is one step ahead of us. So we are working on getting Spanish translators. We originally thought that we would have some Spanish missionaries help us through Skype. But we feel that there are a lot of finding opportunities to have someone from Nantucket help us. Chelsie asked Ozni if he could help us. She said if he doesn't want to than she will try. And Celeste also speaks fluent Spanish so we are going to see if she can help us as well. We are very excited and very grateful to get to start teaching Yanedra the discussions. She is such a sweet lady. 

We haven't heard from Lacy this week. We just keep praying that she is OK, and has been able to figure out things with Angie. We also weren't able to meet with Blake but we have had some contact with them. We went to visit Patrick and Kathleen on Sunday because they were not at church. Kathleen was sleeping but we had a good discussion with Patrick. He talked a lot about how he knows that President Monson is a prophet and his two councilors are men of God. He has done a lot of research on them. He has such a sweet testimony of the Gospel and of the Book of Mormon. We extended baptism to him but he says that now is not the time. He knows that there is a difference in a person when they have decided to get baptized and that blessings come from the covenants that they make. But he doesn't feel that now is the time. He knows that he wants it to be in his future. But now is not the time. They have a lot that they would lose financially if they were to get married, and they are not ready to do that quite yet. So we are trying to be patient. But they are such sweet people. Patrick reminds me a lot of dad. He is really close to the spirit and he really feels things. He has got quite the sense of humor. We went to the beach for FHE on Wednesday and they brought their dogs. One of them is a rescue and he one has one eye and he is a white dog. He is carrying his dog to his car and he yells over to me, "Sister Rushton, Sister Rushton what if Jesus was holding a one eyed dog instead of a sheep." Oh Patrick, we all got a good laugh. He is quite the guy. He keeps us all laughing. 

On Friday Night one of the sisters serving in down town Boston was hit by a car. Her name is Sister Budvarson. She is actually the sister that took my place in Ellington. So was there for a transfer and then got sent to Boston to finish out her mission. She was crossing the street and got hit by a car going approximately 40 miles per hour. She was flipped in the air and landed on the other side of the median. She was ambulanced over to the hospital. And was checked for hours with cat scans and x rays for broken bones and internal bleeding but they couldn't find anything. She is very sore but the only injuries she has are a gash under her chin which required some stitches, a few fractured nasal bones, a black eye, and a little road rash. And she has no injuries where the car hit her. It is miraculous that she is alive and OK. She ends her mission at the beginning of August and will get to stay to finish. We are all very grateful that she is OK and the Lord was looking after his missionaries. It was a tender mercy for our mission. 

On Sunday the Milstead's were out of town for the weekend. It was good that it was high council Sunday because Tim is the only Melchizedek priesthood holder on the island. It was this man's first high council assignment, and he got the job of conducting the meeting and being in charge of speaking in Sacrament meeting:) We had more people than we were expecting. Rosie brought her friend with her. We had a couple come who are here to do the Oklahoma play in town and will be here for about 7 weeks.   

The High council man is from the New Hampshire area. He joined the church 41 years ago when the elders knocked on his door. He was newly married and said he would have never let them in but went along with it because his wife was interested. His wife was baptized and then he followed. 8 years later they were sealed in the temple together. He said that many years after that he was serving as the branch president he had a son on a mission in Brazil, and a daughter who attended BYU and was then married with a 2 year old little girl and living right down the street. He said that life was good and they were doing everything they were supposed to. One day his daughter asked him to give her a blessing because she was having a hard time getting pregnant. He said that her husband should give her one and she said no it has to be you. So he gave her a blessing and in it she was blessed that she would rise up and receive her eternal family. So he thought OK she is going to get pregnant. Two days later she stopped breathing. Her husband called her father who rushed down the street to give her CPR. She died in his arms as he was performing CPR. And he was reminded of what she was promised in her blessing. They found out she died from a rare heart disease which later they found out was passed down from him. So they brought their son home from his mission to make sure he was OK. He had the disease but was fine so they sent him back on his mission to Michigan. He was the first Spanish speaking missionary in the state. He trained 9 missionaries and opened up 11 Spanish branches. He returned home from his mission and later was also taken back to live with his Heavenly Father. He spoke a lot about the will of God and how things are played out. He looked me and my companion right in the eye and said that you only have to find that one person. Just that one and it will affect many generations and people. He talked a lot about those beyond the grave. And how much of a part they play in our lives. He said that his grandfather died before he joined the church and he has no doubt that it was his grandfather who brought the missionaries to him. And know his daughters little girl who was 2 years old when she passed is serving a mission in the highest baptizing area in the whole United States. She also has a heart problem and was starting to have some pain so they set her up with a doctor. She thought her appointment was a day earlier than it was so she went in on the wrong day. They sent her home but on her way out she started to get really light headed and dizzy so they took her in right then and found that something was wrong with her pace maker and if she would have done any cardiac activity it probably would have caused her to pass away. I bet that her Mom is looking out for her. 

Our lesson was on trials and Chelsie was sharing her story of how she is having to raise her two boys alone in the gospel. The other day she asked Ozni if they could say prayers together as a family and he got really made at her. She said that she was praying and crying and telling God that it was hard and she was having to do it all alone. And she got this strong feeling that she is not alone. That her and the Lord are raising the boys together in the Gospel. She got a blessing after church from the high councilman and was promised some pretty amazing things. I was reminded of how merciful our father in Heaven is. Even though Chelsie married a non member the Lord does not expect her to have to do it alone. And she is very blessed in her efforts to raise her kids in the Gospel. We went over that night to help her clean her house, because they were having an inspection on Monday, and then we had dinner together. We don't ever get to pray or share a lesson when we are there but we get to spend time with their family. Ozni is a very nice man, just doesn't like the church. But he is very nice to us, he teaches us Spanish whenever we have dinner there. And he always stops to talk to us when we see him around town. He is a good man. I think the church just scares him more than anything. I think that one day he will surprise everyone and decide he wants to be a part of the gospel. 

Sunday was a good day. It feels really weird to think that I am 22, but I am getting used to it. I had that Taylor Swift song about being 22 stuck in my head all day:) On Sunday Morning I woke up and my companion was still asleep. I opened up my card in the kitchen my self and had a good laugh. I was having my own little party. Sister Packard really likes birthdays and makes sure that every one knows that it is your birthday and sends out a little bio about you to all the missionaries in the mission. Their was five of us who's birthday was on Sunday. They make exceptions that anyone can text and call you on your birthday even if they are not in your zone. So I got to talk to a lot of missionaries that I served with in past areas which was really fun. It was a very normal but a good day. We didn't really get time to celebrate. But we are going over for dinner at the Milstead's tonight and she wants to celebrate then. They have two nephews living with them, who are working here for the summer. And one of them has the same birthday as me. I think that I will also make my cake today to, because you can never have too much cake. Thank you for the birthday package, it made me really happy. My companion is really excited for the light up start necklaces for the fourth of July:)

It has been a very good week, with a lot of good things happening. There is something very special about this island. I hope that I get to stay here for a while. I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's restored church on this earth. I know that he is at the head of it. I know he has planned a way for all of us to be able to return to Him and it is up to us if we want to be a part of it. I know that God loves us more infinitely than we know. When Elder Holland was here he told us that we are the Lord investigators. As missionaries we should want to do anything for our investigators to help them progress. And the Lord will do anything for us. He wants us to progress, he is patient with us, and he tries and tries again, and gives us as many chances as we need. He will never give up on us. I know that God wants us to be happy and to enjoy this earth life. The high council man talked about how in the Lords time most of us will only be on this earth life for about 20 minutes. Crazy to think that our earth life is such a small fragment of eternity. It kind changes things a little bit. I know that families really can be together forever. I am grateful for my family and to be a member of this gospel. I love you all, and hope that you have a fantastic week. 

Love Sister Abbey Lou Rushton