E-mail - Nov. 27, 2006

"Thanksgiving was a blast and having preparation day on Thursday made the week go by even faster. Lawrence is baptized! It was a really interesting baptism and there were more people there than at Kofi's. The water heater broke so he came up shaking like a leaf. That Satan is a tricky one, but Lawrence was determined. It's an amazing thing to be a part of, but having experiences like this really put things into perspective. It is interesting to hand over responsibility to the ward. I didn't really see that with Kofi. All of a sudden, he has hometeachers and he is being interviewed by the Bishop. It feels strange to have him "lifted off my mantle" so to speak. All of a sudden I think that Hometeaching is the most important calling in the church. It probably was before but I just didn't notice. But I'm so afraid that he'll get lost like so many recent converts do. Less active members as well. But it is good. The work is progressing. For some reason this week has renewed my excitement for Missionary Work. It's a good time to be alive. The main message of this e-mail is DO YOUR HOME AND VISITING TEACHING! and I love you so much."

Abby's Zone Elders

Abby's Zone Elders

October, 2006

E-mail - Nov. 15, 2006

"I feel like I'm finally back in the swing of things as a missionary with a new companion. I have a feeling that the transition period will get shorter and shorter with each new companion. Thanks for the e-mails. I love hearing about my little nephews and it's a joy to hear you recognize your blessings...We have another baptism on the 25th, Lawrence. He's from guess....GHANA! It's a miracle too, he seemed to just fall into our laps. We were in the right place at the right time and he has just gobbled the Book of Mormon up. Missionary work is different from anything else (or maybe it's not) because I can't take any smidge of credit for people accepting the Gospel, especially for people like Lawrence. He's so prepared, he calls us everyday to check in and asks us for scriptures he can study for the lesson we have prepared for the next time we'll see him -- amazing! The most spiritual thing that has happened this week was probably teaching Latif, a man from Turkey (originally Afganistan). Latif knows very little English and we met him on the street, spoke for less than five minutes, but we told him we would order a Book of Mormon in Persian for him. He called us for an appointment. (I love when they call for an appointment!) and we taught what we felt he could understand but mostly tried to figure out what verses were where in that crazy language. Watching his face read was incredible. You could just see the light in his eyes as he read from that precious book. I love it so much! Thank you for your prayers. Keep reading and praying. Talk to you soon."

E-mail - Nov. 8, 2006

"This week was quite hard for various reasons. A particularly fragile situation with an investigator has fallen apart. Agency is a powerful gift from our Father in Heaven and it is sometimes painful to see his precious children exercise it. There are always ups. Brother Settle has given himself the baptisimal date of December the 9th and Lawrence will be baptized on the 26th of November. It's quite exciting. Sister McKeen and I are getting along very well and we are figuring out together what it means to be the best missionary ever. It's getting much colder. It will be nice to be in a familiar place for at least part of the holiday season. Transfers fall 2 weeks before Christmas and if I'm not moved, I will stay in Milton Keynes a third of my mission! I can't believe how time has flown by. I still love you all. Thank you for your prayers, they really do help. the church is true!"

E-mail - Nov. 1, 2006

"...Thank you all for your words of encouragement. This week has been amazing. Sister Jarvis is the gospel principles teacher in the MK ward and she invited her class (and us) over to dinner on Sunday. It was a very memorable night. Kingsley (Nigeria) and Lawrence (Ghana- to be baptized on November 26) came and we were able to teach them about the Word of Wisdom. They both readily accepted. Oh dear, I haven't told you the best part of all, I will get to see them get baptized! Yes, both S. McKeen and I are staying another six weeks. We will be walking most of the month. We are allotted 1,000 miles a month in our car and we are barely scraping by. It sounds like a lot but covering two wards can be difficult. I love being a missionary! I love it! I feel more and more at home with what I'm doing, my only fear is that I will get too casual. This is truly the Lord's work.
PS Oh yes, my retina. Last Zone P-day I took a football to the face and had a bit of a blind spot for about a week and a half. But like I said, it was nothing serious."