Step by Step

It's another beautiful Monday in Arizona, family!

This week has been entertaining. Sister Sprouse and I are always saying random things and it makes everyday hilarious.  I feel like we are constantly laughing, and it's the best!  This week, she decided that if I were a puppy, I would be Dug from Up.  (I have just met you, and I love you! Squirrel!)

Last Monday, after emailing, I had a rather exciting P-Day.  We were at Walmart, and I saw a girl wearing a Hijab.  In case you don't know, I am utterly fascinated by Islam, and I really wanted to talk to her.  I got scared, but then I remembered that I'm a missionary and I pretty much have a VIP pass to the talking-to-everyone-I-see party. I was telling her that I have a lot of respect for her religion, and she said that meant a lot to her.  We started talking about what I do on my mission, and I guess she had an interest in the Mormons when she lived in Canada, but didn't know any. Even though it was just a short conversation, it was a cool experience.

SIDE NOTE: if anyone comes down to Arizona, go to Rudy's Burritos.  Best thing in the entire world. I didn't think I liked Mexican food, but that's because I'd only had the American version. The real stuff is what's good! They have the best burritos ever.

Everyone around me seems to be catching onto the fact that my personality is rather quirky.  The Zone Leaders play this game called "Calling it out when Sister Sabey is the one texting us".  They can tell because I never text them in a conventional style, I guess.  We wanted to meet up with them to give them our progress records, and Sister Sprouse said, "thanks homies".  I told her, "I'm going to text them that."  Next text we get? "Not a problem, Sister Sabey."

Brother Jones, the ward mission leader in one of our wards, likes to mock me sometimes.  He's really good at it.  I guess I'm dramatic sometimes, apparently, I guess.... Anyways, we were talking to him, and I don't remember what I was saying.  He just asks me "Sister Sabey, is there anything that's not going to kill you?"  . . . A few days later the Joneses were going up to Idaho, and Brother Jones texts us "Drove through Cedar City today . . . and now American Fork. Trunk on that!"  Dad, I think you would like Brother Jones. You could be pals.

Speaking of pals, I saw another familiar face this week!  The Critchfields invited Sister Sprouse and I over for ice cream with the Richards. The Richards didn't know I was going to be there, so Brother Critchfield told me I had to answer the door, which I did and told them "I think you have the wrong address.."  Never have I ever heard Sister Richards yell with so much excitement! She forgot that I am a missionary, so she just screamed "EMILY!!!" and gave me a huge hug.  It was so wonderful to see them! I've told Sister Sprouse she's probably going to end up meeting my entire home ward.

We also had a good week with those we've been teaching.  Darin, one of the less actives in our YSA ward went to FHE last Monday. I have never seen him so happy, and it made me happy that just having a fun time at a church activity could change someones entire persona so much.  He has a hard time with thinking that everyone is judging him, but I hope that he remembers how much he liked FHE and that he can see that the gospel is all about continual turning to Christ.

Shannon also made a huge step this week.  We invited her to come to a Relief Society activity, and she came!  She was really afraid that no one would talk to her, but she just threw herself in and the ward was so kind to her.  She still has a lot of fear, but I love seeing how happy she is when she actually experiences the goodness of the gospel.  Even Carl wants to help Shannon.  We got a text from Carl last night saying "I have been pondering the concept of Shannon, her children, her interest in the Latter Day Saints, and I am comfortable with the challenge.  I did some hypothosizing and some praying and I am available for what service I might be for your cause."  Carl is the investigator trying to help us baptize everyone else.

However, I think the highlight of all my highlights this week has been with the Gonzalez family.  We were talking to them about the chapter we had asked them to read. Tracy's granddaughter is amazing at comprehending the scriptures.  It's amazing.  She said she really enjoyed it, and we asked her to keep reading.  Then, Tracy started talking about her experience this week:  Her husband commented that it was interesting that the missionaries always came to their house, but they are never sent there.  They could have tracted another street, or not came all the way to the end of their street, but they came.  She told us that the door is not closed and that they are considering taking the discussions.  Guys, I hope you can understand that this is HUGE! Initially, Tracy did not want anything to do with the discussions, but we were welcome to share spiritual thoughts.  Using the Book of Mormon, we've done just that, and it has softened her heart.  She told us she loves having us over there to teach her granddaughters about Christ, and said "whether they become Mormon or not" she hopes that talking to us will have a lasting effect on them.  That is the power of this message.

That is the amazing thing about this gospel:  non-members and members alike are all invited to strive to become more like Christ.  It's not about immediate perfection.  It's about relying on Christ to change you one piece at a time.  I read a talk this week called "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox.  He related Grace to learning the piano, and I loved what he says: "When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don't say he is not worthy to keep practicing.  We don't expect him to be flawless.  We just expect him to keep trying.  Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction".  That's why we are here.  We are here to work bit by bit each day to become more like Him.  It doesn't have to be overwhelming.  It's just like playing the piano.  If you hit a wrong note, you try again, and it's Christ's Atonement that allows us to try again. "Grace is not the absence of God's high expectations. Grace is the presence of God's power."  He wants us to become all He has created us to be, and this message gives us the clearest picture of Christ's Atonement and gives us the tools God wants us to use to utilize it.  How blessed are we?

I'd better wrap up now so I can respond to individual emails, but I love you so much!  Until next week!

Sister Emily

Exchanges with Sister Kilsby

Selima came out and worked with us, and we also got Polar Pops

The Richards!

Praise the Heavens for Pokemon-GO!

FAMILY!!!

Oh my goodness, I'm so excited that it is Monday because I get to email you and hear how you are doing! I'm officially done with the first week of my second transfer and that is HUGE for me! I'm getting into the swing of things more each week, and each week I find more and more miracles. One miracle that I've seen is we've been able to talk to a lot more people thanks to Pokemon.

Most of y'all are probably very aware of Pokemon-GO, but allow me to explain it to those of you who are not in an area where everyone has an iPhone.  It's pretty much a new app for smart phones that takes your location, translates it into Google Maps, and then you go try to catch Pokemon in the real outside world. Because of it, we get a lot of people outside despite the scorching Arizona heat, which in missionary terms means more people to talk to!  We met one guy who accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon because of it.  

I remember Dad once told me that he had a companion that always sang the Beatles or something whenever a specific happening occurred. I've discovered my own little thing that I do too.  It's called Sister Sprouse says, "What's this?" and I pipe in singing from the Nightmare Before Christmas. The reason I bring this up is because Sister Sprouse turned that into a really motivational thought.  She said, "What if our investigators got as excited about the Book of Mormon as Jack did about Christmastown?" And really, that's exactly how excited they should be! Plus one and then some! I'm trying to figure out how we can convey that to people, but it does give me extra motivation to get out there and show people just how wonderful the gospel of Jesus Christ is.

Other fun happenings of this week: Sister Gasu is now companions with Sister Patrick, and I like Sister Patrick a lot.  Also, Zone Sports.  We got a few new Elders in our Zone, including a brand new, fresh off the plane Elder.  Zone sports is 100% the fastest way to get to know just how weird everyone is.  We played Frasketball (it's pretty much ultimate Frisbee with a football on a basketball court) last Saturday, and I need to give a special shout out to my Pops for always playing catch with me, because now I can catch the football in Frasketball!

But besides all that fun stuff, this week has been awesome because we have been so busy! Heavenly Father is blessing us because we have lots of new people who want to hear about this message that we bring, and I'm really excited! We had a lot of lessons this week. We've been continuing to teach Tracy and her granddaughters.  Last week when we were there, we were just talking and Tracy suddenly asks "Do you know why there are so many religions?" This is exciting because that is one of the big questions we want to answer! I looked at her with a huge smile on my face and just nodded, and Sister Sprouse and I were able to finish teaching about the Restoration.  Tracy makes me happy because she'll give us a statement of what she believes, and then she'll look to us and say, "Is that right? Is that what you believe? Correct me if I'm wrong."  I think it's so awesome that even if she doesn't consciously recognize what she's getting at when she says that, she knows that there is something undeniably priceless about what we bring.  She then went on and started right in on the Plan of Salvation.  The Spirit really works on people and I love seeing her heart softening.

During my training this week, we were watching a scene from the District. I noticed that the Elders in that segment were trying really hard to beat around the bush to try to not sound offensive, and their lack of boldness is exactly what opened the door for the person they were teaching to find offense.  I learned that if you are loving about what you say, people are much less likely to be offended, which is interesting because the world insists otherwise.  Sister Sprouse and I went back to teach Jorgen, and we decided that we had to be bold with him.  He hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon, and as long as he is not doing that, our meetings are simply to appease his curiosity, which is not what we are sent here to do. We are here to invite others to come unto Christ.  As we decided to leave our fear behind, the Spirit that was there was so strong that you could feel it. I'm not sure whether Jorgen will admit it to himself or not, but the Spirit was there testifying to him that there was more to our message than just casual learning about "these Mormons".  We invited him again to read the Book of Mormon, and I pray that he will let the Spirit teach him of it's truthfulness.

Our new investigator is a man named David that we found tracting.  He was really fun to talk to because he asked questions and was open to actually hearing us answer.  He has been looking for a church to go to around here, but hadn't quite found their niche yet. We taught him about the Restoration, and he accepted a Book of Mormon.  We set up a return appointment, and asked him to start reading the Book of Mormon and assured him that he did not need to read the entire thing before we came--just get started.  He then told us that he will have read the entire book by the time we come back, and when we asked him if he would pray to know that it is true, he responded that he would like it was the most obvious thing in the world!  I'm so excited because his heart is open, and because of that, he will be able to feel the Holy Ghost testifying that it is true.

I love seeing those moments when Sister Sprouse and I really go full out so that we can be effective missionaries.  Sometimes we get scared, but it's like one of the Assistants to the President said at a New Missionary Meeting this week, "God has more faith in you than you do in yourself".  I know that isn't only true of missionaries.  It's so cool because even when we have hard times, God knows that we can do it.  Someone in sacrament meeting said, "Christ retained His scars because pain in this life does not mean that God does not love you."  It's true, we are here to be tested and if we read the Book of Mormon and rely on our Father in Heaven, He is going to help us because He knows what we are capable of when we go to Him.

I love you!!

Sister Sabey

Desert Ridge Zone

 I got bored while Sister Sprouse had to use the bathroom . . . so I built a barricade.

 These crazy people I live with catch scorpions and tape them to index cards to mail home

Scripture Lessons and Scripture Power

Hola Family!

I'm running out of ways to say hi, and I want to switch it up. Starting off, we have transfers this week, and I will be staying with Sister Sprouse in Desert Ridge. Now that I've taken care of that, this week has been one of fun dinner appointments, and myself realizing just how odd mission life can be sometimes.  When the car has to be driven in reverse, the other companion who is not driving (me) has to stand by the back corner of the car and follow it to make sure it doesn't hit anything.  I realized the other day that I've started backwards marching so that I could keep up with the car while I walked backwards (because, you know, walking forward and turning your head is way too easy). I also realized that there are somethings that you can only say to your companion.  Everyone else in existence it would just be weird, but it makes sense to a companion. For example:

Sister Sprouse: whatcha doing?

Me: following you around...

Yep, that is a companionship summed up.  We also had some exciting dinner appointments.  We had a Fourth of July dinner with a family and a couple other missionaries, and they wanted to take a picture of each of the missionaries to send to their parents.  Sister Washburn wanted to be all festive and add "Happy 4th" to the text, and asked "is it okay if I text your parents that?" to which I respond "I dunno . . . my dad is Canadian and might be offended". Her reaction was my favorite because she believed me, but worry not, I told her that it would be okay and no one would be offended.  It was a good laugh, though.  We also had dinner with the Critchfield family! Sister Critchfield casually just happened to know that I love chicken fettucine (mom, did you have a hand in that?), so she made it for us.  It was very nice of her.  It was so fun to talk to people who I knew and laugh with them.  Sister Sprouse has decided that the Critchfields are her favorite family.  She LOVES them.  I'm glad that she does because they make me really happy.  They are such a wonderful family.

Shannon has been sick this week, so we didn't get to visit her, but Carl has been reading the Book of Mormon and says he is really enjoying it! We also went back and talked to Heidi, who we met on the street a few weeks ago. We got to know her and introduced the Book of Mormon, and she was so grateful that we gave it to her.  I'm excited to see what happens as she reads it.  We briefly introduced it to her, told her where it came from, and showed her the Mormon Message of Elder Holland's testimony of the Book of Mormon. We got talking about Joseph Smith, and she makes the comment that "it makes sense that there would be apostles and prophets now, because there were prophets and apostles back in the day of Christ, and why would he just stop?" As a missionary, that is the most exciting thing you could have an investigator tell you because yes, it does make sense! It makes sense because it's true! We are now going to be teaching her family, and I am so excited!

We also had a Zone Conference with President Wheeler.  I love hearing him speak because he is so eloquent and he can talk about the atonement that is so simple, yet so profound.  We talked about the story where Christ raised the young girl from the dead (Mark 5:22-43).  I always just thought that it was a nice story about a miracle that Christ performed that showed people that He is the Son of God, but I know now that it is so much more.  Everything Christ did in some way was to teach us about the Atonement that He would perform.  He told us the story from a more spiritual view--a young daughter who had spiritually become sick, or had fallen away from the gospel. Her father loved her and begged Christ "please, come help my daughter".  However, when Christ came, the little girl had passed away. Everyone else thought she was gone for good, but Christ knew better.  He only allowed those who had faith to witness, and he brought the girl back.  From everyone else's view point, she was gone. They didn't realize that God has His own timing that is perfect.  I thought about how much the parents cared about their daughter and how hard it was for them to see her in that condition.  I thought about how happy they were when Christ brought her back, how Christ felt about the girl and how much He loved her, and what the little girl may have been thinking as well.  Just stop and think about how that applies to the Atonement.  A worried parent sees their child and pleads with God to please help them, but sometimes they have to have the faith that He will still be there even when it looks like they are too far gone.  That's what it means to have an Infinite Atonement. He also pointed that out with the Tree of Life, but I'll let y'all study that out.

In all of my emails, I like to point out all the happy things that happen to me during the week, but I'm going to let you in on a secret: Missions are emotionally and mentally exhausting, and sometimes I feel downright hopeless.  Doubts creep into my mind and I start questioning if I'm supposed to be here, and I just get so homesick for my American Fork--for the canyon and summer snow cone runs, and hearing the marching band in the mornings, and most of all, my wonderful family. Sunday was like that, and I was feeling anxious and I couldn't decide if what I was feeling was normal or if it was too much, but I knew that all the things that Heavenly Father said were supposed to happen on my mission hadn't happened yet, and I missed home. I even began to wonder how I was supposed to tell people that this message is the answer to all the problems they might have, when I couldn't figure out how to use it to help myself. I had training hour after church, and I think Sister Sprouse was inspired to suggest we just use it for Book of Mormon study time. I desperately tried to think of a scripture story that could help me so I could go out and work that evening, but I was drawing a blank.  Eventually I just said, "Heavenly Father, I don't know what to do, I don't know where to study.  I'm pulling a 'Hail Mary' and please bless that whatever page I open to will be what I need". Guess what? The page I opened to was exactly what I needed. I opened to Alma 37:44-45 and Alma 38.  It's the end of Alma talking to his son Helaman, and he reminds his son about the Liahona and that we just need to give heed to the words of Christ and it will lead us to "a strait course" that will "carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise". Wow. I needed that.

The next chapter was Alma 38, which is when Alma talks to Shiblon.  I learned something about Shiblon.  He is the missionary who tried and tried and still had frustrations. But Alma tells him something that I knew Heavenly Father needed me to hear: "I have had great joy in thee already because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long suffering among the people of the [Arizona Gilbert Mission]". He goes on to remind him that God does "deliver us out of our trials and troubles and afflictions", and that Shiblon has already seen that in his life. Then at the very end of the chapter, he says "And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things".  Keep going. You've already started, just keep teaching.  It helped me remember that there have been good things and I've done good, and that Heavenly Father is proud that I am trying.

Wow, I know this email is getting long, but last thing: The temple is amazing. Please go to the temple.  It is such a blessing that we have it.  If you can't go to do an endowment yet, go do baptisms. If you can't do baptisms yet, go to the grounds. Just get to the temple.  God has blessed us with so much, and the temple, aside from the Atonement itself, is probably the greatest blessing we have because it assures us that we will be together forever with our families.

Thank you so much for the emails and letters I've received! I love hearing what's happening in your lives! I'm mentally sending you all a hug! I love you!

Sister Sabey

 Fourth of July car selfie

 Scorpions glow under black light feat. my nametag

 *Russian accent* "You didn't see that coming?"

I Saw a Puddle!!!

Hi everyone!!!

Lemme just real quick tell you about the week I've had here in Arizona. President and Sister Nattress have officially moved on to their new calling as a General Authority, so now we have President and Sister Wheeler.  I definitely will miss President Nattress, but the Wheelers are wonderful and I love them already.  I think I'm beginning to transition into full out missionary mode because I had a dream the other night that I got to hang out with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and dream-me was so excited.

I love being companions with Sister Sprouse.  She is a wonderful person to be around and a great missionary.  I love her because we can work hard and laugh hard too.  Sister Sprouse and I have fun little games we play to find the joy in the little things, like we will scream "HACE FRIO" (it's freezing) even when it's 120 degrees.  But my favorite by far has been looking for puddles.  It rained the other day--by the way, Arizona rain and lightning is AMAZING, and I haven't even seen a monsoon yet--and the next day, Sister Sprouse pointed out a really big puddle.  It was exciting enough that I made sure to tell my district leader about it, and now I get really excited whenever I see a puddle. Usually it's super hot, so puddles don't last very long. It actually did cool down a little last Thursday, and it felt wonderful! Someone in Utah, please guess what we defined as "cool". Answer: 87 degrees. Whooo! Arizona!

On Saturday, I was on exchanges with Sister Anderson, and we spent from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. helping someone move and reorganizing someone else's garage.  That was a fun change of pace. Mom, you probably would have died if you had been in the garage that we were trying to organize because there was so much stuff.  

We also had incredible spiritual moments with some people that we are teaching.  We were at the home where we teach piano lessons on Wednesday.  We always give a spiritual thought, and Sister Sprouse and I agreed that we need to be more bold with them.  Yes, we are here to do service, but when the "field is white all ready to harvest", we need to be spending our time with those who are ready to accept the gospel. We wouldn't know if they were ready if we weren't bold in inviting them.  We felt inspired to tell them the story of the First Vision, but rather than "this is a history lesson", we taught it as "this is an example of how much God loves an individual". As we taught, I got to quote Joseph Smith History 1:16-17. Every time we quote that, it instantly brings the spirit into the room with great force.  The grandmother said that she got chills when we said it.  We then invited them to pray to know that God loves them.  It was such a blessing to get to be in that room.

We also had a return appointment with Shannon.  We really wanted Shannon to understand that God loves her, and did our best to follow the Holy Ghost so He could do His job and testify to her of that truth.  Shannon has faced many trials in her life, and as she spoke about some of the things she has faced, it brought her to tears.  I cannot imagine what she has been through. She feels lost and doesn't know where to turn.  It made me stop and realize that here she is in her early 40s and feels broken and lost. Yet here we are, two 19 year old girls from Utah, and we have the answers she searching for.  We know where she can turn for peace and how to help her do just that.  The magnitude of our calling is unbelievable.  We invited her to pray, and helped her read and understand the Book of Mormon, and by the time we left, her countenance had changed. She was so happy.  It's moments like that when I am so happy to be a missionary.

This morning was also amazing because we got to go help clean the Gilbert Temple.  The temple is the best place on earth.  Even just being there to vacuum and dust and clean windows, I felt the spirit. My favorite part was when we were done, I got to go into the Celestial Room for just one moment. 

I found a scripture that I really like and I've seen how true it is. In Mormon 9:15-19 it says, "And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works‍ of God? Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word‍ the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created‍ of the dust‍ of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought? And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty‍ miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles. And if there were miracles‍ wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles."  That is true.  I see miracles every single day, and I am still amazed by just how much God loves each of us.  Joseph Smith said, "Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God WILL GO FORTH." This is the work of God, and it's my job to keep testifying of that truth even when the persecutions come.  I'm thankful for this gospel, and that I get to focus on how amazing it is for 18 months.

Thank you again for all your love and support and the prayers in my behalf.  I love you so much!

Sister Sabey

I was asked to draw a welcome poster for President Wheeler 

My favorite Desert Ridge sisters

 Sister Sprouse and I by the temple

Awkward Christian Soldiers

Hello Friends and Family and all of my favorite people!

Finding joy in the little things really is what makes missionary work fun.  Sometimes it's really awkward because you knock on a door and all of a sudden you have no idea what you were planning on saying, so one of the elders rewrote a little bit of a hymn that Sister Sprouse and I sing a lot. Because guess what we are? "Awkward Christian Soldiers, knocking at your door!"

I was all the amounts of excited when we got to talk to one girl this week.  Why you may ask? Her name is Wednesday. Real-life, I met someone named Wednesday.  Another thing that I am learning is that you need to find those little things that are just "Emily things" and that was definitely one of those things that Emily, the imperfect missionary, needed to tie back to her own real life self. When you have those things from time to time, it's a lot easier to focus on the work.

I also saw some familiar faces this week.  I realized that one of the wards I'm serving in is Sister Lucas' home ward (she was in the MTC with me for those of you who need a refresher), so I meet a lot of people who know her (obviously), including her dad. I also got to see the Critchfields who used to live in my home ward. It was nice to see a familiar face.

I'm learning that service actually can be really fun. We got to clean windows at one house and then the other day, we helped someone pack because they are getting ready to move.  Guess where they are moving? Lehi, Utah. I think the Lord knows just how much those connections back to Utah mean to me, because I had a lot of those connections this week.

We also had some wonderful lessons this week.  The first one I want to tell you about is with a girl named Geneva.  Her boyfriend is a member and she has been going to church for several years.  She wants to be baptized, but her family isn't too fond of that idea yet.  In the mean time, we get to teach her.  It's so funny because she knows a lot from church, but there's a lot of scripture stories and such that she hasn't learned which leads to all over the place questions.  It is the best. Geneva is so funny and I love her willingness to learn.  

The other lesson that I want to tell you about was with someone we tracted into. Sister Sprouse starts walking toward this one lady that I hadn't even noticed, and I was just sitting there thinking "she does not look like she wants to talk to us, but oh well". Well, we get talking to her, and she tells us her name is Shannon.  She was really open when we asked questions, which was really cool, and come to find out, she had just been having a real hard time the day before.  She told us that she works with an LDS girl at work, who said that she would pray for Shannon. What happened the next day? We showed up. I know that wasn't a coincidence and Shannon realized that it wasn't either.  As we talked to her she made a comment how she could tell that we knew what we were telling her was true. She had talked to missionaries before, so she told us that she would read her Book of Mormon that night, and now we get to teach her! I'm so glad Sister Sprouse was in tune with the spirit so we could meet Shannon.

On Sunday, I was at the YSA ward, and because no one will play the piano in that ward, the bishop has to get up at the beginning of sacrament and beg for someone to come play.  Who would have thought that I'd play the piano so much in Arizona?  Anyways, I was playing the piano, and I was just praying "Heavenly Father, please help me play these songs because I am sight reading".  I was totally relying on Him to help me play, and then I realized that He did that for me because I put in the effort to practice sight reading hymns before I came out. I thought of that scripture that says "we know we are saved by grace after all we can do".  I realized how applicable what I was doing was to how the Atonement works.  Yes, ultimately, I had to rely completely on God as I played the piano, just like ultimately we cannot return to live with Him without the Atonement.  However, during this life, He expects us to do what we can.  If I had not practiced before I came on my mission, I could not have expected Heavenly Father to make up the difference of what I couldn't.  The Atonement is the same.

I'm thankful for all the things I am learning.  The Book of Mormon is the most amazing book ever and to anyone that hasn't read it, read it! The reality of how amazing this book is incomperable. In fact, Harry Potter is nothing compared to the Book of Mormon. Anyone who knows me knows just how bold that statement is, but it is 100% true. If you have read the Book of Mormon, read it again.  Sister Sprouse pointed out a scripture that has helped me this week as a missionary.  In Alma 2:30, Alma is in a war and he prays that God will spare him so that he can be an instrument in the Lord's hands.  Sister Sprouse then remembered a quote from Preach My Gospel that says Christ did everything the Father had planned for Him to do.  We need to be the same.  God has a plan for us, and if we allow ourselves to be an instrument in His hands, we can also do what the Father has planned for us to do.

If nothing else, my mission so far has taught me two things: 1. how to be a little more understanding. 2. It has given me the opportunity to KNOW that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that because God loves us so much, He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet in these days.  Miracles have not ceased to exist among the children of men.  I know because I see miracles every day.  Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, and this work will continue to go forth until it has filled the whole earth.  I am so lucky to have this knowledge in my life.

I love you all so much! I love hearing from my dear family and friends! I want to hear from you (yes, I mean you)! If you want to send me a letter, you can send it to 1001 N Burk Street Gilbert, AZ 85234. It would mean the world to me.  Thank you for everything you all do for me!

Sister Sabey

Arizona sunsets are stunning

 I got a package from my mommy!!

The Critchfields

Gospel Lessons from a Blacksmith

Hi all!

The weeks are starting to go by faster, and it's really weird to me that I'm starting week four of my first transfer!  I absolutely adore the girls I live with.  Sister Gasu is like our mother and reminds us to wear sunscreen.  Sister Kilsby is so sweet and is always ready with a scripture when she senses that I need a boost.  And of course, my companion, Sister Sprouse is helping me transition into missionary life.  She's fun and easy to work with, and I'm very thankful that she is my trainer.

Last Monday, we spent the day in Queen Creek.  We went to a member's home in one of Sister Kilsby's old areas, and we got to be blacksmiths for a day! It was a lot of fun!  You know that scripture that says everything testifies of Christ? It's so true.  Brother Reed, the member we got to visit, told us the analogy of the tree of life from a blacksmith's point of view.  The Iron Rod is described as being strong and bright and true, and we learn in 1 Nephi 11 that it represents the word of God.  I thought that was all fine and dandy, but let me tell you a thing: iron only stays bright if it is continually used.  If you stop using it, it turns dull.  He said that's like reading the scriptures. You have to continually treasure up the word of God for your testimony to remain bright.  I think it's so cool to see correlations like that in the scriptures.  Everything is symbolic, and as I learn, it deepens my conviction.

On Wednesday, I got to be a piano teacher again.  I am teaching piano to the two granddaughters of a less active member.  She really wants to have them learn piano, I am always happy to be near a piano, and we also get to give a spiritual thought when we go over.  The granddaughters are not members, so we showed them "Because of Him" and "Because He Lives".  I could feel the spirit so strongly while we testified of Christ, and I know they could feel it too.  It's so exciting to see their testimonies develop.  Their grandmother isn't too big on the actual lessons, but as we teach them of Christ, they sense that there is something more. I love it! We also are teaching a less active woman who is coming back to church.  We met her on accident--we didn't know she was LDS and asked if we could help her since she was out weeding her front yard.  She decided that this time, she wants to have her own testimony, and so we are teaching her.  I love seeing her put forth effort because she wants to learn. Although we do spend the majority of our time looking for those who don't have the blessing of the gospel in their lives, I have a special place in my heart to watch those who have had the gospel come back and realize just how blessed they are.

Thursday was my first exchange.  I went with Sister Haymond, who is my Sister Training Leader, to Higley.  I may be low-key obsessed with Higley.  Every person I met, I just instantly loved so much.  I hope I get the opportunity to serve there sometime.  Sister Haymond decided to go out for lunch, and we went to Chick-fil-a! It was pretty much the best thing ever.  AND we saw Kenzie there, which made it even better!  During the remainder of our lunch break, we watched the John Tanner Story.  I love seeing the faith of someone of whom I am a direct descendant. I'm finding that I use Spanish about once a week here, and I LOVE it! I was with Sister Haymond, and we ran into this guy who only spoke a little English. Sister Haymond had that awkward pause that happens when you realize that you are trying to talk to someone that you can't communicate with.  My Spanish was even better this time, as I told this man about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy.  Sister Haymond was so excited when she discovered that I can do that--given, I'm still mind-blown that I can too.  When we had a similar situation later, she just looked at me expectantly, as if to say, "Okay, do your thing." What can I say? The Lord blesses His missionaries so that they can fulfill the work He needs them to do.

On Friday, I was not feeling so great--I had biked more with Sister Haymond than I was used to, and I don't think I drank enough water.  I'm drinking more water now.  Because I wasn't feeling my best, that made the day a little hard.  Thankfully, the sisters I live with are the best, and called up the Zone Leaders to give me a blessing.  I am learning more and more that Priesthood Blessings are truly from God.  I told Elder Shively briefly about what was hard, but as he gave me a blessing, the words he said could not have all come from just him.  Everything he said paralleled my setting apart as a missionary blessing to a T, and he reminded me that God knows my situation and that He is in charge.  Maybe that seems small, but that was exactly what I needed, and Elder Shively had no way of knowing that I needed to be reminded of that.  I also found a quote that has seriously changed my life.  Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring.  It means staying with something and doing all that we can.  Working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardships with fortitute, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed.  Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

On Saturday, we went back and visited Amanda and Mariah.  It's hard to teach them because they have two very small children, and we weren't sure if they were really committed to learning, but as we talked to Amanda, even though she works 60 hours a week, she committed to reading from the Book of Mormon for five minutes each day.  I love visiting them, and I pray that her excitement to learn about the gospel will continue and that I will get the opportunity to see how the Gospel blesses her family.

Last night (Sunday), was the new member fireside, and Sister Sprouse and I invited some people and went.  It was the last one that President Nattress will be speaking at, and it makes me sad that I won't get to have him as my mission president for much longer.  The spirit was so strong, and I know that everyone there was edified in their own way.  In particular, one person we have been working with has a newfound re-commitment to read the Book of Mormon everyday.  The Book of Mormon changes lives, and that is not an exaggeration.  After, I got to see my MTC friends that came to Arizona! Plus, I found another missionary from American Fork! Her name is Sister Bailey, and I think we went to elementary school together. She was a grade or two older than me, but it was so nice to see a familiar face.

My testimony has grown so much while I've been here. I say that every week, but I see it growing every week.  This week was the first week in my life where instead of saying "I believe Joseph Smith is a prophet" or "I hope Joseph Smith is a prophet", I could stand in front of someone and say, without any doubt in my mind, "I know Joseph Smith is a prophet".  He was called by God, and I know it. Being a missionary is mentally demanding, and some days are hard, but guess what? The gospel is more important.  I love you all so much, and I love hearing from you and please know that I am grateful for your prayers in my behalf.

Sister Sabey

I'm making a horseshoe

The Zone at the Gilbert Temple

How missionaries do service

One Faith, One Baptism, One Month, and One Libro De Mormon!

Hello!

This week has been a lot smoother than last week now that I am getting the idea of who the members are and I'm starting to get comfortable with the field missionary life.  I hit my one month mark on Saturday! It was like a little mini birthday.  I figured that in mission years (like dog years, but for missions), I'm about five years old now. I know I said this last week, but the members are ever so kind. Except for when they ask me where I'm from . . . I tell them American Fork, and almost every time, they respond back, "American Fark?". I'm still trying to think of a witty response or something.  But they are really kind to me and Sister Sprouse.

One of the most entertaining things that happens here is random texts from Carl.  I forgot to mention this last week, but Carl refers to the sister missionaries as Sisters of Jesus, and sometimes he texts us with his deep questions of the world.  The other day he was pondering if maybe God is the boss, Jesus is the Son, and the Holy Ghost is the director of activities/the master of ceremonies. He then goes on to ask us "Mayhap thou hast a verse or three on this subject?". I have also shared 2 Nephi 8:12 with him several times because he keeps asking me to reread it to him.  He went on in this text to say, "I need to learn more about Sister Sabey's favorite Bible verse. We will work on this."

This week, we met a lot of people! The first one I want to tell you about is a girl named Leslie.  She is a baptist.  We stopped and talked to her while she was getting her mail, and during the conversation, she made a comment about how what we as LDS Missionaries are doing is really a good thing.  It feels really nice to see that even if others don't recognize just how amazing this message is, they still appreciate that we are doing a good thing.

Of course, there are others who do not like our message at all. When people straight up argue with us about how we are wrong or something, we call that getting "anti'd". But Sister Sprouse pointed something interesting out.  When people tell us that the message we share is not true, even though we feel sad that they don't see it, there is also a wonderful feeling of peace because we know that no matter what they say, that doesn't change the fact that this message is of God. No argument is stronger than our testimony, and it's the most incredible thing!

Then there are other people that it's a blessing we were able to speak to at all.  Sister Sprouse and I were walking to visit someone on Sunday, and we saw someone in their driveway, and decided to go talk to them. Turns out, they don't speak English. They speak Spanish.  I found a Spanish Book of Mormon at our house that I've been carrying around for just in case this happened, and guess what? I started saying what I could in Spanish.  I didn't say much, and I know my Spanish wasn't perfect, but let me tell you: God loves His missionaries, and He gives us just enough to do what He needs us to do.  I was able to bear a simple testimony of the Book of Mormon, and tell her to read it, and she accepted the book! Even though any more contact will have to be made through the Spanish missionaries, I am so thankful God let me run into her so I could have that experience. 

However, the most incredible highlight of this week was getting to teach Kenzie and then seeing her get baptized. Kenzie is such an amazing source of strength to me.  We were at her baptismal interview, and we were talking about how her family is not supportive at all of her decision to be baptized.  It was heartbreaking because I don't know if I could do that. I'm thankful that my family already knows the message of the restored gospel. But as she talked, even though I'm sure this is hard for her, she knew how important this was and how happy it would make her, and that because of that, it didn't matter what her family thought.  That was Thursday night.  Two days later, Kenzie entered the waters of baptism, and it was such a blessing and an opportunity to see how happy she was.  The Gospel changes lives, people.

I've started to understand what it means that we have the only true church on the earth again and just how blessed we are to know about it and be members of that church! This is an amazing opportunity, and it's not always easy, but it is worth it for the tender mercies I get to see.  It's amazing that God gave us agency, the power to choose, because we get to influence our fate, and we also know how to do that in the way that will make us most happy because of this gospel.  I love you all so much, and I miss you more than I can say, and I'm happy that the Lord is allowing me to take part in His work.

Until next week,

Sister Sabey

Carl and the Sisters of Jesus

Biking!

Kenzie's Baptism