Week 48-The one with the first 500 copies of the Book of Mormon

 Friends!! 

Yep the title explains it all! I got to hold one of the first 500 copies of the Book of Mormon...WHAT?!?! Coolest experience ever! Talk about a testimony builder. ♡

This week was so much fun and busy which is always the best match. We have been getting alot of lessons with our people, which makes me oh so happy ;)

We had 4 lessons with Ken and man is he solid! He is the one that invited us to his church a few weeks ago and he is so open. He is reading the Book of Mormon and we helped him understand how being baptized in any religion is a sacred thing but we also need that proper authority. He understands and is now trying to understand how personal revelation is something that's key in knowing if this church is true. He reminds me so much of Joseph Smith!!

June is doing well :) we had met with our family history person in our ward and he helped her set up an account on family search. When she found her ancestors, it was like watching a little girl on Christmas day! The spirit really testified to me how important family history is!

***Please please please read the Book of Mormon people! It will feed your spirit more than you know!

We got a NEW CAR!! His name is Bruce and we love him :) he is brand new and the nicest car I will ever have in my life! 

The electricity went out in our apartment again....except for the kitchen, haha don't ask me why. Got it fixed yesterday so all is well in the Cascade Crest apartment!

We continue to do alot of service and it's been so much fun!

I have been really trying to focus on gratitude and can I just say that it makes a world of  difference in life and missionary work. I have tried to say a prayer of gratitude each morning and it helps me have more of a clear mind and be a happier person. 

Things I learned this week:

***Are we seeing our obstacles as an opportunity to grow?***

-Don't hold grudges, just learn from experience God gives us. 

-Invite and also do the invitation you give people. 

-Smile and laugh, it's better than being mad and grumpy.

-God has given us the OPPORTUNITY to grow...so take it!

-Gods grace is sufficient for all who are humble....so HUMBLE YOURSELF SO YOU CAN FEEL HIS STRENGH AND LOVE!! 

-You choose to be offended (Elder Bednar-And Nothing Shall Offend Them) Please read!

-Gods work isn't efficient, its individual! 

I love you all so so much, have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Fillmore

I can't believe I'm holding one of the first 500 printed copies of the Book of Mormon!

 

Our new mission car - Bruce!

P-Day hike!

Week 47- The one with more miracles

 Friends!!

God is real and miracles have not ceased! 

Every week I am more and more grateful to be a missionary!

Miracles keep coming, they are everywhere people. Just open your eyes and you will see Gods hand in everything!! How do you Hear Him?

If you want to learn more about your Savior, yourself, the love God has for His children, and how to stretch yourself...go on a MISSION! 

I have been really trying to change my mindset to a "just do it" mind set and it's been helping a lot! I love the Lord and I am apart of His work so I just need to do it. 

We have been able to do a lot of service this week which is always the best! We went and chopped some wood....that morning was a rollercoaster with a powerful lesson attached...so here is the story/miracle:

We woke up, got ready to go to our service activity right after we planned for the day. While we were praying I got this impression not to go. I pushed it off but something kept telling me to not go or to at least wait until after 8am. We were getting ready to leave at 7:30 am when I told Sister White what I was feeling. Sister White and I were confused but felt the same. We decided to go to the running track thinking maybe we needed to go talk to this women we have been talking to in the mornings when we go exercise. After we talked to her we were still not feeling good about going. By the time we got done talking to her it was past 7:30 and we felt like we needed to go back to the apartment. We messaged the Elders telling them we weren't going to make it. We got inside and I went to the bedroom and said a prayer asking God to at least give me a confirmation of the reason why we needed to stay home. When I came back into the kitchen it was after 8am and then Sister White says, "I feel so unsettled staying at the apartment." I agreed and I felt like we were good to go. I was so confused and said "ok let's go" we were getting our shoes on and Sister White said "you know the thought of a car crash keeps coming to my mind if we would have gone at the right time" well the most crazy thing is, was I was thinking that same thought earlier in the morning. I told her that and we both felt the spirit come over us instantly and knew that God loves us so much he wanted to protect us. We got into the car and we felt so much better. We know that God loves all of His children and He is looking out for us. We need to pay attention to Him and what He is telling us and then act on it. Thats our story of how we Heard Him this week!

We also had a wonderful lesson with one of our new people. His name is Kevin and he is so nice. I have seen him a couple of times when we went to a members home. I finally asked his name and got to know of him a bit. He asked us a couple of questions about our religion and so we gave him a Book of Mormon and then had a lesson Friday. I was a little nervous for this lesson but we went in and taught him the restoration and Sister White asked him if he gets the answer that this book is true and that this is Christ church, will he be baptized? And he said YES! I love to see how God works in peoples lives when they are ready to Hear Him. 

We put Bryce, one of our investigators, on date! He still needs to do some thing to get him ready. Please pray that he will be able to do that. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week this week! 

Love you

Sister Fillmore ♡

Sisters in my Zone - Love each one sooooo much!

Homemade paper masks - ha ha!

Video Lessons

Cutting wood for service - grateful we eventually made it!

This sweet girl is wrapped around our fingers.

She knows the scriptures are TRUE!

Week 46-the one with miracles left and right!

 Friends! 

What a busy week!

We have been all over the place and God has been showing us miracle after miracle. 

First Miracle,

So friday was a YSA activity and the elders invited us all if we could find a YSA to bring. Thursday we went out finding for a few minutes before lessons and we saw this guy waiting for the bus stop so we started talking to him. He wasn't interested in a message but I invited him to the YSA activity and he said why not!! So we got his number and gave him all the info. We also invited another person we are teaching. 

Ok friday comes...the day of the activity and one guy cancelled and the other guy from the bus stop didn't respond to any of our texts or calls. We didn't want to not go and find out he was there. So we decided to go and if he wasn't there we were going to go back and do some work. We were really bummed because we felt like he wasn't going to make it and we really wanted to go to this activity. Well rewind 2 days before, we met this girl, her name is Jenessa while walking back home and she was super nice and told us her apartment number since we live in the same complex. Ok well the next day we went over and she wasn't there so we left a sticky note inviting her to the activity. Fast forward to us driving to the activity, kind of bummed and anxious. After we made the decision of going back if no one showed we got a call 10 minutes later from Jenessa and she said she was coming!! It was such a fun night. We were able to get to know her a bit more and she is our age and is so kind. We are going to try to talk to her alittle more this week about our faith and what we do as missionaries....need all the prayers! (Sorry long stories but we knew God was showing us miracles!)

Second Miracle, 

We met one of our member's neighbors this week and talked to him about our church a bunch. He ended up invited us to his church and we did the same and gave him some pamphlets. Saturday we sent everyone the zoom link for church since we still haven't done in person church yet :( anyways, Ken said he would join but pretty much no one else said anything. Sunday morning in my prayers I told God that I have faith in His Son and in His timing that everything will workout the way its suppose to with church. We called June, one of our investigators we have on date 5 minutes before church was starting and she said she would be gone for the next 20 minutes but we told her when she gets home to hop on anyway. So church starts and we see Ken is on!!! We were so happy. The talks yesterday were just beautiful! Every word that was said, I definitely needed. Well get this, June messaged us after church and said "Hey I was able to get on alittle earlier then I was expecting and the women's talk was just what I needed to hear!" AHHHH we were so so happy that she was able to hop on and hear the speakers. My heart was full of gratitude and thanks towards God for answering my prayers. 

One thing I learned from this experience is turning our focus towards having faith in Christ....NOT the outcome. I feel like me specifically and we as Gods children tend to put our faith towards the outcome or the miracle. Which is good but we need to change our focus towards having faith in Christ the one who makes the miracles happen! 

Try it this week! Have faith in Christ!!

Miracle three,

We were able to attend Bo's baptism in person Saturday!!! It was suppose to only be 10 people but our wonderful ward mission leader pulled some string and got approval to let us come....we also got to be the witnesses and Sister White also gave a beautiful talk on The Holy Ghost. It was so amazing to see Bo from the time we got to teach him for a week and now. I love the change that happens in people when they bring Christ into their lives. 

Sunday we went to Ken's church. It was a Baptist church and it was so beautiful! I will be honest it was so wonderful to be in a in person meeting and with music where we can actually sing! Luckily they had 2 songs we knew so we could sing along ;) but the other songs were beautiful! It was amazing to see how others worship and it made my heart grow!! 

I am definitely grateful for the priesthood power that we have and how it makes the world of a difference when I partake of the sacrament. 

People are doing great. Finding new and helping others progress. I have really learned the meaning of Gods timing. Its perfect...even when we don't see that. So let's be patient with His timing because he is extremely patient with us as His children. 

It's ok if we aren't perfect....or good at one specific thing. God uses us anyways for His work. What a beautiful and merciful leader and Father. I am not perfect and wish I could do curtain things better. But sometimes that's ok!

Talk-Yearning for Home(Elder Uchtdorf) 

"Blessings will come not so much because of your abilities but because of your choices"

"God will magnifying your humble efforts for His purposes"

“Out of small things proceedeth that which is great.”

So ya it's not about doing it perfect or well. But about showing up and telling God that you are willing to do what He asks. Easier said then done and that's something I have been trying to do. And when I do, God shows me that I am doing well and to keep going. 

So don't quit, keep going and continue to improve and God will give you more strength then we can ever give ourselves. 

Ok I love you all BYE!!

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

We love doing service together.

Caving with Janessa.

Drive through BINGO with our ward.

We got the most interesting gift and note from someone living in our complex.

Week 45- The one where we get transfer calls....

 Friends!!

I hope you all had a wonderful week!

I will get transfers out of the way....I AM STAYING!! I am so happy and grateful to be staying another transfer in this beautiful place of Bend, OR that I've called home for 4 1/2 months. 4 transfers in each area seems to be the trend for me soooo we will see where I go next ;) but for now I am staying here! 

I have to say, that on my mission I've learned a lot about my self and what I can improve on but also the strengths. My comp and my wonderful STL's have been helping me see my strengths and it has given me a new sense of love and gratitude for my Father in Heaven. We might not be able to see our strengths all the time and sometimes we don't want to....for some reason ;) but God wants us to so we can see how much we have grown. 

We did SO MUCH service this week and I love it!! Lots of member service but then also people we have ran into on the streets have said yes to letting us come over!

Shout out to my zone! Everyone I have the best zone here! ♡ I am the luckiest missionary to be able to stand and work next to these missionaries. 

We found a new person and he is a out of the box, hippy kind of guy but hey he is HUMBLE!! Pray that his desires and intents are good ;)

We have been doing hope messages and starting to reactivate people. I have loved teaching people, which is a blessing for me. It makes me know that I love this knowledge and I know its true. 

I also got to go on exchanges with my OLDIE BUT GOODIE COMP, SISTER HAIR on Saturday! I love that girl!

*Some things I learned & want to share*

"Artist aren't artists, they are painters. Jesus Christ and God are artist because they created the world." -Nadine (Cascade Crest Ward, Bend)

Trails forge and refine faith.

Simplicity is key!

Everything denotes that their is a God

"Seldom will you receive a complete response all at once. It will come a piece at a time, in packets, so that you will grow in capacity."

-Richard G. Scott 

Well my friends, 6 more weeks in this beautiful place and so many more things to learn. I love being a missionary, I love my Father and Mother in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ!

Have a wonderful week! 

Love you!

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

Picking Raspberries!

Making a music video with this crew - Ha Ha.

Love these girls!

On exchanges with Sister Hair.

Thank you Elders!

Beautiful bike ride with these lovely ladies on P-day.

Week 44- The one where we hit 10 months!

Friends! 

As my title shows the time has gone by fast! Me and Sister White hit 10 months on Saturday and that is just so weird to me! 

This week was good! A week full of learning and using Christ's grace and atonement every day! 

We have been able to do some service this week and it's been good to mix up the schedule a little. There was one family that contacted me asking if we could stain their fence and they are so so nice. They bought us pizza saturday and we asked if we could share a message and they said yes! We had a great lesson and they said yes to having us come over to share another hope message! 

June is doing well! Trying to get off smoking but we have some ward members helping her out so we are excited and hopeful for the future. 

Saturday was a fun and interesting day. The zone leaders had a baptism that day and asked if we could fill up the font for them since they live further away from the Stake building then we do. We said yes and then they kept calling and calling asking if we could set up the chairs and then find a TV...long story short we got everything set up for them and they arrived right at 2pm, the time the baptism started. Haha it was pretty funny but it was also a big blessing because the baptism was so beautiful! The person who they baptized was in a wheel chair and so they carried her into the font and held her. Her smile was so big and when she got confirmed, oh man, the spirit was so strong! I looked at her face the whole time and all I could see was light! It is just amazing that everytime I see a baptism the spirit always testifies to me that this is His church. He is so excited when one of His children makes a promise with Him! It helped me to keep going and made me excited to continue to find those searching to help them receive and make that promise. 

This week was good but also hard. God knows I don't like change and stretching myself but He also knows that I know how good it is for me. With that being said I am grateful for His matchless love and compassion for me. 

" The gospel tent is big enough for all of us, with all of our different difficulties, because Jesus Christ’s Atonement is both infinite and intimate."  -Jeffrey McClellan (thy troubles to bless) 

I have definitely felt his infinite and intimate love this week. 

I love my Savior!!  

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

Love doing service!

It's hot ok?

Look at that tan line!

Toddlers don't know social distancing but thats ok!

Still painting!

Font fillers!

 

 

Week 43- The one where the Book of Mormon is the golden book!

Friends!!!

This week went by super fast and slow, if that's possible. But a week full of learning is a week well spent. 

Alot happened this week but to start it off with we had zone conference and it was much needed!  Sister White and a couple of the Elders and I sang Homeward Bound so that was so awesome. I could sing all the time! :)

BIG NEWS we can go outside and street contact again! Yaaaaay! I am a little rusty on it but hey, the first night we handed out a Book of Mormon and so it went pretty swell.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE BROTHER! HE IS 17!! I LOVE YOU ZACH!

Many miracles have happened this week:

•Gave out 9 copies of the Book of Mormon THIS WEEK!

•Tracted into my aunt's childhood friend from Salem...follow promptings my friends!!!

•Our Italian friends want to learn more about the Book of Mormon! Yay!

•We gave Ali AND Kevin a Book of Mormon 

•Got to do lots of service! 

The Book of Mormon is the best and it draws people because of the truthfulness that is found on its pages. I am grateful for this book and what it teaches me and the power that it has in people's lives. 

Change is hard people. But it makes us better and helps us grow. The best part of all of this is, I have my Savior to help me and He gives me strength when I have none. He is my friend and I love Him with all of my heart. 

Sister Carlson's ( my last comp) friend wrote a song that I listened to like 6 times yesterday and the lyrics gave me so much strength and peace. 

"We're all broken things to mend. In the hands of our greatest friend, and He carries you on His shoulders home. Your the one for whom he atoned."  -Hanna Ockey

Christ loves you everyone. He loves you so intimately. All of our feelings, our pains (physical, emotional, mental) and everything else matters to Him. 

I am so grateful for my Savior. I honestly can't do it without Him. I wouldn't be able to do this without Him. His love is something we truly can't understand with our minds, only our hearts. 

I love you all so so much! 

Have a wonderful week ♡

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

Tumalo Falls 

I was truly guided to find my Aunt's childhood friend!

Using my video skills to make a Family History ad!

Tumalo Falls  with Sister White

  

Sharing a Book of Mormon with Ali was a highlight of my mission!

Week 42- The one where June is on DATE!

Friends!! 

Well the title says it all....JUNE IS ON DATE!

On Wednesday we taught June the Gospel of Jesus Christ and when we asked her if she would  be baptized at August 22 she said, YES!!! She is learning to trust in her Savior more and more as we teach her. It's been amazing to see the change in her. I AM ONE HAPPY MISSIONARY!

Ali is progressing so so much! Last week we taught her about repentance and how it shouldn't be a scary thing but something we do to make a positive change and she really appreciated us helping her understand the positive side of it. When we talked to her yesterday her countacne was totally different! It was full of light and she was more focused on the lesson. It was wonderful  to see this change. We taught her the rest of the restoration lesson and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon! She is the best!!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! MY COUSIN IS COMING TO MY MISSION! NOT A JOKE! JAKE YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT HERE!! President Wilde and Sister Wilde are excited for when you get here!

We had in person interviews with our mission president for first for first time in 3 months! Oh man what a treat it was seeing my mission president and his wife! I LOVE THEM!!

The Wilde's joined in with our lesson on Sunday with Pastor Kevin and it was amazing! We ended it with the invitation to send him a Book of Mormon and he said yes!! After President and Sister Wilde called us and told us some ways how we can help him understand our religion more so I am excited! 

For P-day this week we went caving today at Boyd Cave again with the District and it was the BEST!! Since the Wildes are in town Sister Wilde joined us and it was so much fun to be with her. She has all of us wrapped around her little finger :)

After we went to the park had chick-fil-a ;) and then played spike ball! The Elders taught me and Sister White and it was so much fun! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

I love you! ♡

Sister Fillmore

Caving in Boyd Cave with the District and Sister Wilde.

Exchanges with Sister Leifson

Love cards and packages from home. This one is from my 1 year old niece Ellis.

Church Mirror Selfies!

Lesson with members....it involved digging through flour...with your nose ;)

My new favorite quote. ;)

Week 41- The one with the Jesus wall.

Friends!!

Hello everyone, this week flew by! We got a lot done and and had so many great teaching moments. 

We had a wonderful lesson with our friend, Kevin! He is a senior pastor and is so nice! You might be wondering how I met him. I probably talked about him a few weeks ago but here is a recap: Initially he didn't want to hear a message from us but the next day he messaged me and said he had been thinking about it and thought, why not? I am glad he said yes because we are now best friends. ;) We have wonderful discussions and share uplifting messages about Christ. He says he prays for us and even though we don't fully agree on things BUT we both are doing the same thing which is to bring others closer to Christ! I love our Tuesday night visits! 

It's been great to set tentative baptism dates for a few of our investigators to work towards.  It's always important to have a goal in sight! Please pray for them!

We had a fun 4th of July! We had a picnic with the sisters in our district and went for a little walk to see one of many beautiful views in this area. We had to be inside by 6pm but we had a lesson with June and then celebrated together...while working hard of course ;)

On Sunday we made a Jesus wall and I LOVE IT!  Basically it's just a bunch of 5x7 pictures of Christ and how He has blessed us here on earth. We are going to make a video for the zone page so look out for that. 

This week I had my first experience being bashed for my religion and what I believe in. This is where your armour of faith really has to be strong to withstand Satan's power. It all happened in the nicest way possible yesterday...if that is even possible, I don't know. It made me sad and was a little scary. Afterwards I took some time while my comp was using the restroom to kneel in prayer and look at my Jesus wall.  It helped me remember my purpose and what my focus should be on, my Savior, Jesus Christ! The quote from my favorite talk, "Lord I Believe" by Jeffrey R. Holland came to my mind last night. 

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited." 

People aren't perfect and God has had to work with imperfect people...in the words of Jeffrey R. Holland "that must be terribly frustrating for Him but He deals with it." :) I love this church, I love how I have always felt safe and loved by my family, church leaders and the General Authorities. 

Can I just say how much I love my zone! We had zone devotional yesterday and I seriously was in awe of everyone. Their insights and their testimonies make me know that this is true and I am the luckiest missionary EVER to learn from them! I love being a missionary and I am so grateful for the chance God is giving me to become more like Him!

Anyways, I love you all! Email me and update me on your lives! abigail.fillmore@missionary.org

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

Our beautiful wall!

Meet Kevin!

Hiking at Lava Island.

Happy Independence Day!

All the sisters in our district.

Love serving with Sister Hair again!

I highly recommend this talk!