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