Summertime

Hi to Everyone!  You cannot imagine what a beautiful Sunday it is here in Mill Hall, PA.  We have had a very rainy week and the results are amazing!  I never knew summer could look and feel so good.  There is so much change in the weather here – it can be hot and sticky for a day or two, then cool for another day, then rainy with thunderstorms.  I think of California summers past where it gets hot, stays hot, and then gets hotter until practically Christmas! I will never forget being witness to the change of seasons – now I understand what Easterners mean when they say they like living where the seasons change.  I do too.             

We had a long day Wednesday as we traveled to Pittsburgh with the Fabulous Jacksons (the name of their blog and a true description of this amazing missionary couple from Utah!) for the Senior Couples Conference.  It was a 3+ hour drive, the meetings were from 11:00 to 4:00, then a long drive home with torrential rain and thunder most of the way.  There is a talent that many members of the church possess that I have yet to develop – I find it impossible to sit for an extended length of time.  My back hurts, my legs get twitchy, my mind wanders, and I feel like I am going to crawl out of my skin!!   Thank goodness we have very few of these all day events that remind me what a slothful servant I really am.  As I sat there and looked at the variety of great couples who continued to SIT HOUR AFTER HOUR (!) WITH NO BREAK AT ALL,  I was humbled and enlightened!  I came away thinking there is no hope for me in this world or in the world to come if sitting for long hours is involved!

Hill Cumorah Pageant

Happy Pioneer Day to all and Happy Birthday to Caleb!  As Pioneer Day approaches I am hoping you are all getting ready to celebrate in style just  as the Abbott Family has done for years – with homemade bread, butter made from scratch in a mason jar, and at the very least making s’mores for dessert!  I must admit that the homemade bread and butter idea didn’t last too long (does anyone remember shaking the jar to make butter?) , but the backyard fire with s’mores happened fairly regularly.  Dad and I are proud of our pioneer heritage, so July 24^th has always meant something to us.  I think it is wonderful that Caleb was born on July 24^th.  He has an entire church celebrating on his Birthday!

This was a week that we have been waiting for: Our trip to the Hill Cumorah Pageant!  On the way we took a little detour and visited Ithaca, NY, a very pretty little town, home of Cornell University, and several lovely State Parks with cool hikes and waterfalls.  We are including a picture of Ithaca Falls, and Lucifer Falls.  We have learned that upstate NY is beautiful!

We arrived a little early to the Palmyra area to join the crowd of people hoping to get a good seat for the Pageant.  Only at an LDS event can you leave your jacket on a chair for two hours and have no one move it or steal it.  The Pageant is performed on a large grassy field and hill next to the Palmyra Visitors Center.  There was a light rain falling for the entire two hours we waited for the Pageant to begin.  We were anticipating a soggy hour, craning our necks around umbrellas, trying to see the stage.  Exactly, I mean EXACTLY, when the prayer was over, the rain stopped and did not start up again for the entire performance.  I might have been more impressed with this small miracle than I was with the Pageant itself!  The Hill Cumorah Pageant is a cast of hundreds acting out specific parts of the Book of Mormon.  This is done to a recorded soundtrack and the action moves fast, with performers coming and going on and off stage.  The whole thing was meticulously choreographed and the costumes, lighting, sound, was perfect.  It was a great experience.  The few pictures we took do not do it justice.  It is one of those things that you have to witness to appreciate.  The audience is over 5000 people each night for about 10 nights.  Wish we lived close enough to see it more than once.

We spent the night in a small town close to Palmyra and the next day we headed to Corning, NY – home of Corningware and the Corning Glass Museum.  Truthfully, how much could there be to learn about glass?  You would be amazed – I was!  We stayed five hours and I learned more about glass than I ever thought I wanted to!  Ask me about fiber optics next time we talk!

This week we hope to do some teaching to Lance and the Hanna Family.  We are also hoping to visit and invite a less active family to come back to church and hopefully we can teach their 11 yr old to prepare her for baptism.  I love Mondays when we have our preparation time, set our goals and get all motivated for success.  Our week seldom ends with our goals being realized, but there is always Monday to refocus and go forth with faith.  Happy Monday to all of us!  Much Love, Mom and Dad

For Our Grandchildren

I took a nice walk on a warm, sunny day,

And saw cute baby ducks, so I watched them at play.

They splashed in the water, they swam and had fun,

And I thought of our grandkids and remembered each one.

How we love to be with them and watch them at play,

How much we do miss them while we are away.

We pray every day to our Father above,

That He will take care of the people we love.

So wherever you go and whatever you play,

Remember Abby and Papa love you today!

The Lazy Days of Summer

Summer in PA is like summer everywhere – the days are hot, the nights are hot and people go on vacation, leaving us missionaries behind to be hot and bothered with no one to teach or visit.  We did teach Lance Litton on Monday, so I take it all back (but it is still hot!) Lance is a  71 years old widower, but still works full time and has a jazzy sports car.  He shared with us that he has always had a “sense” about knowing when someone is LDS – we glow, says he!  He has been a patient of Dr. Hoffman, our Stake President, and really admires him.  He also has a 101 year old mother who is in a facility in Maryland and needs to go there often.  We had a good first lesson with him, he seems to understand the gospel and has no problem with believing Joseph Smith.  We taught him at the home of our Branch President and Lance liked President Leffert and his wife very much.  It took two months to get with him for our first lesson, so hopefully it won’t be that long until Lesson #2.  It felt wonderful to teach an investigator again.  It breaks my heart to announce that we probably won’t be teaching the Hanna family again.  After all the prayers on their behalf, it looks like the timing isn’t yet right for them to be interested enough in the gospel to make any time for us to teach them.  We have left the door open, and hopefully they will feel prompted to call us in the future.  Boo and Boo Hoo!

Our branch had a nice activity last night – a progressive dinner.  One of our new converts, Bonnie, had never heard of that, and was a little worried about the flyer we gave her that announced “Adult Progressive Dinner”!   She was troubled because it was going to be adult and progressive, and she thought the church was “against all that stuff”!!  The turnout was not wonderful, but all who came had fun.

I have included two pictures of our new painting that was done by a member of our branch, Michael Hall.  He has had some struggles in life since we arrived, but he is a very good artist, and we talked him into selling us one of his paintings.  To us it represents the beautiful countryside that surrounds us here in Mill Hall, and the Amish presence which is so charming.  We love it.

Papa and I are going to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra NY this Thursday and Friday – we are excited and hear it is an amazing production.  We may take a side trip to Ithaca New York which is supposed to be beautiful.  There will be a full report in the next blog post.

We are so thankful to know you all support our attempts to be good missionaries.   We are being blessed here, and we are working hard to make a difference in this little Branch.  Our love to each of you.  Abby and PaPa

Penn's Cave

It was time for another day trip, so we decided to go to the closest attraction to Mill Hall that we could find in our tour book for Pennsylvania.  That took us to Penn’s Cave!  It was a beautiful 30 minute drive through the forest and a left turn in the middle of a valley with expansive farms and cornfields and there we were.  The caves are underground and only accessible by water, so they run boats every 15 minutes for the 50 minute tour of the cave.  We went from a temperature of 95 degrees to a wonderful 52 degrees in the cave which is 100 feet under the ground.  Dad took some great pictures which speak volumes more that I could tell you about the geology and growth of stalagmites and stalagtites.  We did learn that a stalagtite grows one inch in 500 years!!  It was a great way to spend a very hot day.  Wonder how we will keep cool the rest of the summer?  Hope all is well at home and that you are all keeping cool in your own way!   Love, Abby and Papa

Counting My Blessings

Another week has come and gone – wish I could report huge success regarding investigators or progress with our less actives.  This has been the kind of week that makes me look to my  blessings as a way to focus on the many good things in life.  We attended a funeral on Friday of an 11 yr old girl who died in a fire in a town nearby – the family was less active in the branch where our friends, the Jacksons, are serving.  The funeral was conducted by the new branch President and it was held at the High School Auditorium.  Hundreds of people came and most were not members of the church.  The community choir learned four Primary Songs and performed them, which was very touching.  The Gospel message came through loud and clear and I hope many were touched by the Plan of Salvation and comforted.  Being at the funeral and witnessing a great outpouring of support for the grieving family, reinforced my knowledge of the goodness of most people, regardless of their church affiliation.  We are all God’s children, and tragedy often brings out the best qualities like compassion, love, and service. 

This past two months we have watched a new couple to our branch regain their testimony and desire to become active in the church.  They announced today that he has been transferred to West Texas and this was their last day with us.  We are so happy to have been able to be their friends as they have recaptured their faith and we will miss them – hopefully they will be welcomed into their new ward and remain active there.  I think about our dear friends the Claytons and Youngbergs and wonder how to say goodbye to these precious people who have been such an influence for good in our life.  We count as one of our most cherished blessings  the years of friendship and unforgettable memories that we share.  How we will miss them!

As this new week begins, we have set our goals as usual to meet with our investigators and invite several people out to church.  Simple goals with much potential for great things to be accomplished.  The exciting part is that this week could be the most successful week of our mission – or not!  It is not in our control at all so we just keep doing what we are asked to do and try our hardest to enjoy the journey.  That brings up the philosophical question:  If we are supposed to enjoy the journey, why is it such hard work? Guess that is what life is all about and each of us needs to figure it out for themselves! 

Happy 4^th of July to everyone!!  While you are at the beach, park or neighbors backyard, Elder Abbott and I will be at District Meeting with our great Elders and the Jacksons.  It takes most of the day with driving, going to lunch, etc., but afterwards we might drive to State College to see their spectacular fireworks show.  I would be just as happy sitting on our porch and watching the fireflies!!   Much love to all