Letter 16 Mesa, Arizona February 20, 2017

Hey everyone! 

The weeks out here in Arizona are zooming by! I have loved my time out here so far, and I am looking forward to the rest of it! This week, I got to have a really cool experience. We did exchanges for a day, so my companion, Sister Irizarry went to a different area, and an English speaking Sister came with me to Mesa. I was so nervous because I had never led the area before, and Spanish by myself is a little scary haha! But, as I focused more on the Spirit instead of my imperfections of Spanish, I was able to speak with power and with clarity! It was so amazing to watch! We were able to find some new investigators as well! So cool! 

This week, we have been preparing Luis Gonzalez Jr. (one of the sons in the Gonzalez Family) to be baptized this Saturday! It surprises me how much I learn every day from investigators. Luis is so ready to be baptized! When we asked him why he wanted to be baptized in this specific church, he said: "Because I feel in my heart that it is good, and I know this church is true." 

AHHHH it was so cool! We are so excited for him!

In other news, my brother Andrew was passing through Arizona and visited my Uncle, and my Mission President gave me permission to see them!

I was so happy to see them! I love them so much!! ❤️ 

Anyway, the work is progressing here in Mesa! I am so excited to see what the Lord has planned for this area!

I hope you all are doing well! Remember to read your scriptures every night, and pray fervently like your life depends on it - because it kinda does!

I love you all!

-Hermana Abigail Valenta

Letter 15 Mesa, Arizona February 13, 2017

Hi everyone!

I am kind of limited on my writing time this week, so I'll make it fast!

This week has been a great one! We took our investigator family, the Gonzalez family, to the Mesa Temple grounds! We showed them all around the visitor's center, and walked the grounds with them. The day could not have gone better! They felt the Spirit so strong as they learned how their family can become eternal through the Temple. By the end of our visit, the mom, dad and kids were all crying, and hugging us. They kept thanking us for teaching them the truth about their worth to Heavenly Father. It was seriously so touching!

Something I heard this morning was really inspiring. I was in a physical therapy office when I heard this. This woman was nailing her exercises, and a man asked her how she has the energy and the attitude to keep going. And she said back, "my advice is to keep going forward, not backward." The Spirit testified of that simple truth to me. As long as we continue in patience and keep moving toward God, we can't fail. Don't turn back. Don't go backwards.

I love you all! Thanks for all you do!

The Gonzalez Family at the Mesa Temple

Abigail with Sister Bateman 

Abigail with her companion, Hermana Irizarry

Letter 14 Mesa, AZ February 6. 2017

Hi Everyone!

This week has gone by so fast! I have been out for almost 5 months now! So crazy to think about how fast the time goes. I never want my time as a missionary to end.

I don't have much to report this week, because a lot of crazy things happened, and so we weren't able to teach a lot. BUT, our investigator family, the González's came to church for the 3rd time! They are falling in love with the Gospel, and it is so fun to watch.

We were actually teaching the Gonzalez Family on Saturday, and during the lesson, one of the daughters asked if she had to be baptized again if she wanted to join the church. We explained that she would have to be baptized by the proper authority of God. She was a little upset, and said she's already been baptized, so she doesn't want to do it again. Then, her dad (who is also an investigator) said to her,  "No! Do you not understand? After the death of Jesus Christ, the proper authority of God was taken off the earth! But, that authority to baptize and stuff has been restored by a prophet of God named José Smith! You need to be baptized by the proper authority of God!"

I WAS SPEECHLESS. Like, he was spouting off straight up Preach My Gospel! (a publication missionaries teach from) My eyes actually watered because I was so impressed and happy! But, it was a different kind of happy. It was a happiness that only comes from the Spirit. It was such an incredible experience to watch someone who knew nothing 3 weeks ago, testify of the Restoration. I am so proud of our investigators, and I know the Lord is too! The Gonzalez Family is praying about being baptized on the 18th of February. So, we are hoping they receive an answer soon! We're so excited!

I love you all! 

Till next week,

Hermana Abigail Valenta

These awesome missionaries.... :D  

Letter 13 Mesa, AZ January 30, 2017

Hi everyone!

This week was a great one! But on a mission, there isn't a bad week!

We had a conference this week that was broadcast from SLC for all the missionaries! They made a lot of changes to the missionary schedule! We now have the option to go to sleep at 9:30 instead of 10:30 so we can get some extra sleep! So cool!

This week, we went to visit the Gonzales Family! They are so golden!

They have a 12 year old son who is preparing to be baptized on the 11th of February. They have been coming to church for the past few weeks, and they are falling in love with the Gospel!

On Sunday, we got a call from a woman who we have been trying to find for the past month. Time after time, she has told us she doesn't want to learn. But, on Sunday, she CALLED us! She asked us if we could stop by and teach her. We went over, and we taught the Restoration. She kept asking all these golden questions, and she was wanting to know more and more! She totally understood the need for baptism by the proper authority of God! At the end of the lesson she literally asked, "What can I do to be baptized in the true church?"!!!!! I was so excited! She is praying about a baptismal date, and she is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! I love watching people come closer to Christ!

I have fallen in love with the mission, and the people here! I love my area in Mesa, and everything is going so well! I am so thankful for this beautiful Gospel, and the peace it brings. I love my Savior, and I love doing His work.

Thank you for all the prayers. I love you all so much!

AAAAAAAND, I have pictures! I hope you enjoy!

Letter 12 Mesa, AZ January 23, 2017

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't written any interesting emails in a while! I thought I would catch you all up on some cool things!

Transfers happened this past week, and Sister Irizarry and I are both staying here in Mesa together! We are so excited about the work here in Mesa, and we're ready to blow up our area in these next 6 weeks!

We have 6 FAMILIES we are working with! They are all so amazing, and are all bound to be baptized soon! We love watching them progress and come unto Christ more each day.

We started an English class! 22 people showed up for the first class, and everyone has returned for the following classes! We only knew 2 of the people who came! The class is going so well, and a few of the class members came up to US and ASKED if they could attend church! So cool!

We were teaching one of our investigator families about Temples the other day. They all started crying when they found out they could be together as a family for eternity. They asked us how they can make it to the Temple. We told them the first step was baptism, and the 13 year old boy (he's the one we initially started teaching about 3 weeks ago) said, "Please Hermanas, tell me how I can be baptized." IT MELTED MY HEART! Right then and there, we put him on date to be baptized on the 11th of February! We are so excited! The rest of his family members said they need to pray about it before they can agree. But, it's progress! We're SO excited!

Seriously, I can't explain the love I have for missionary work. I have fallen in love with these people, and I couldn't imagine my life right now if I weren't a missionary. I am so thankful for the time the Lord has given me to serve in this part of His Vineyard.

I hope you are all doing so well!

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation." - 2 Nephi 22:2

I love you all! Until next week!

Hermana Abigail Valenta

Hermana by the lake! :D

 Holding the sign for their English classes!

Abigail found a friend!

Valentina is close enough to Valenta! :)

The Abigail we know and love! :D

Questions from Mom

Is Sister Irizarry still your companion or did she get transferred?

I haven't been transferred, and neither has Sister Irizarry! We are so happy we get to stay together for another transfer!

Tell me two great things about Sister Irizarry!

2 great things about Sister Irizarry

- Sister Irizarry and I have become such good friends! She and I can literally talk to each other about ANYTHING! Something I love about her is that she cares for me so much. She is always asking me how I'm doing, and what she can do for me. She is so sweet and caring. Also, she helps me a lot with Spanish! She grew up speaking both Spanish and English, and so she always helps me out when I'm struggling. She's amazing and I love her!

What was your best experience of the week?

It broke our hearts this week to find out that one of our investigators and his family were evicted from heir house a few nights ago. They are currently homeless, and they were nervous about sleeping in the cold. Sister Irizarry AND I got permission to go to DI and buy the family blankets so they wouldn't be cold tonight. They found a an abandoned building to stay in for a few nights, but to see the gratitude in their eyes was amazing. These amazing people then asked us what THEY could do for US! Here they are, after they have lost everything, and they still want to give. I love these amazing people and their love for others.

Letter 11 - Mesa, AZ January 9, 2016

Hello everyone!  

This week has seriously been filled with so many miracles! 

Our mission has recently made a change in our transportation policy. Those of us who have cars, now drive to a relative area, and then bike the rest of the day. I thought it was going to be miserable. BUT, biking is seriously soooo much fun! And being able to bike in a skirt is something I'm going to add to my resume!!! Here are some of our miracles from this week!

• We drove to an area where an old investigator lived. We couldn't find the house at all, so we decided to get out and walk down the sidewalk to get a closer look. As we were walking, a woman and her teenage daughter were walking towards us. Sister Irizarry and I whispered our game-plan to each other, and then stopped them. It turns out the mom was almost baptized a few years back, but just never went through with it. She had golden questions, like, "why are there so many churches" and "don't you think God would still talk to us if He did back in the Bible times?". They're awesome! They asked us to come back, because they wanted to learn even more. 
• We were biking around a pretty sketchy area the other night. We wanted to leave because it was creepy, but we both felt really strongly that there was someone there who we needed to talk to. There was a Latino Snack cart guy who was riding his snack bike thing around the apartment complex. Sister Irizarry and I rode past him at first, but at the exact same time, we stopped our bikes and said we needed to go talk to him. We went back, and it turns out that his wife was baptized about 2 months ago. AND, Sister Irizarry was the missionary who taught his wife!!!!! So crazy! He was really open to listening to us. He lives out of our mission, but he said he was going to attend our English class we're starting this week! So crazy cool!
• While riding our bikes, we found 3 people in the DI parking lot. It turns out that their car had broken down, and wasn't running. It was the perfect opportunity to teach them! First, we called a member from the ward who knows a lot about cars, to come take a look at their car. Then, we taught them about our loving Heavenly Father, and the Restoration. They gave us their information and asked us to come back to see them! Right after we taught them, the member pulled up, and tried to start their car. All he did was turn the key, and the car started!!! We know that the Lord needed them to hear our message before they felt the parking lot! It was awesome!

The Lord is great! I am so grateful for the time I have to serve Him! I love the mission, I love the Gospel, and I love the Lord!

Stay happy!!!

Until next week!

Hermana Abigail Valenta

Letter 10 Mesa. AZ January 2, 2017

Hi everyone!

Sorry this is so short, but it seems like P-day is only about 20 minutes long haha!

Arizona is amazing! I love it so very much! The work is progressing!

We had 3 FAMILIES commit to baptism this week! I am so excited to see what the future holds! I love this church, and this gospel! Thank you for all the prayers!

I love you all!

Hermana Valenta & Hermana Irizzary

Questions from Mom

How is PT? Are you doing your exercises on the days that you aren’t attending PT? That is the secret to full recovery. I speak from experience with my shoulder!

PT is going ok. I try to do the exercises as much as I can. They have me wearing the brace for 1 less hour each day! But, the past 2 days, my elbow has been getting worse, and I cant move it as far... We'll find out what's going on when I go back to PT.

Did you get a package from Carla that was delivered to the house that you live at? She said she left a note for you and your companion to call her? Did you get it and did you call her?

I did get the package! So cool!! Tell her thank you!! I got the note, but I am not allowed to call her. 

What did you do for New Year’s Eve? Did you get to stay up or were in bed by 10? :D

The woman we live with busted out a puzzle! So we worked on that until 10, and then we were asleep by 10:30 hahaha! Pretty exciting!

What was your best experience of the week?

We have 3 FAMILIES who have agreed to baptism this week!!!