How My Low-Budget Horror Film Got Reproduced by Disney.

Dear friends and family,

I adore my new companion. Like, adore her. 

Name: Hermana Perry

From:  Huntington, West Virginia (be excited!)

Age: 19. She knew she wanted to serve a mission the second she found out about the announcement (in part b/c her boyfriend is serving in Italy and will get back just 2 months before her :) They're adorably in love)

Went to BYU before the mission and reminds me a whole lot of my dear cousin, Suzette.  Hard-working, SO sweet, friendly, and out going. But still hilarious in the most adorable way. I have laughed more with her than I have my whole mission I think. (I'm so grateful for that.  I don't think I have laughed enough on my mission. And my last companion told me that I'm starting to get wrinkles on my brow...ay!) She's super down-to-earth and chill, but has an obvious desire to serve and be the best she can be. She has so much light. 

And most importantly, she is a STELLAR missionary. She's discouraged by the Spanish sometimes (even though she's learning it so well!), but she has awesome ideas for our area and is a truly powerful teacher. I'm learning so much from her.  Plus, her Spanish just makes her even more endearing to everyone that we talk to. 

Needless to say, I am relieved. Because I don't actually have to train her, you know? I just have to love her, which I can't really help doing anyway. 

We just had our first real lesson last night with M**** and J***** P*** and M**** now has a baptismal date! Joy!  She said she wants to be baptized, but she wants to know more about what it is and why it's necessary first. And obviously...that's what we do. So it's done business. Pray for them though, yeah?  

G***** is still ignoring us so he can hang w/ his family whose still in town, and yesterday in stake conference, I had a piercing feeling in my heart about him. Like an "he should be here and he isn't and it's my job to tell him that" sort of moment. And then a sort of heart-broken feeling. So...we'll see what that means when I actually get a chance to talk to him. 

Speaking of stake conference...it was awesome. As church always is. But our stake has a handful of Spanish/Samoan branches and wards in it, so there was a plethura of translation headsets and the hymns were all mixed up in their various languages. It was neat stuff. Another one of those "I love serving in California" moments. Though it can't be easy to organize and coordinate all of that. I was super impressed with the leadership and their messages.

And the rest of the week has just been a mess of going stir-crazy sitting at our desk in our apartments for the forever-long transfer-and-weekly planning session and our extra hours of companionship/training study, getting lost on California freeways, and in a wide variety of trainings for new missionaries and their in-over-their-head trainers. We were spiritually, mentally, and physically exhausted by the end, and are now ready to start a normal week of work in the field. 

Anywho, I should go write a letter to my mission president about how marvelous my new companion is. You're all in my prayers, como siempre. And I just love you. So so much. Como siempre. (...which means "like aways"...not, "I eat always". Though that would be true as well. Also, pray for my metabolism yeah?)

So much love and faith,

Sister Abigail Wells

p.s. Peg Moffat! I ran into the Prince family last month and forgot to tel you about it! I even have pictures, which I can't upload... :/  But I mentioned that Kevin (...right? It's Kevin?) was the starting quarterback at UCLA to some of the elders, and they swarmed him a bit. I forgot that's a big deal to guys.  It was hilarious. I took stalker pics. 

One time, I scratched the car with my pencil as I tripped out of it in an attempt to catch the guy walking by that the Spirit told me I needed to talk to. And then he said he was too busy to chat and walked away.

March 5, 2013

Ay. The Lord's ways are higher than ours.

Speaking of...Tomorrow is DUE DAY. 

Aka the day my baby is a-coming. We had our "new trainer" training on Friday, which I equate to Chelsea and Dan's recent birthing classes. In that I would probably leave both classes feeling equally overwhelmed/excited/exhausted/kind of grossed out.  

(The mission/life analogy is just too good, isn't it? I'll try to tone it down a little. Don't want the joke to get old :)  

But of course, I'm excited!  We are leading out the hastening of the Lord's work, and I feel blessed to be here at this time, and I genuinely look forward to meeting my new companion tomorrow. I have full faith that she is exactly what this area/I need right now.  It will be wonderful. Of this I am sure. Regardless, however, I would love some training advice. 

Sister Deskins is leaving tomorrow, which is the only depressing part. She is so loved by the people here, and she knows so much about the area. But of course, I'm happy she gets to see her family, etc. I just love her. I so needed her beautiful, humble self this transfer. She taught me a lot by example.

So, miracles of the week! Are you ready?

1) I felt good about following the prompting to talk to the guy, even if we have an icky scratch on the side of our super cute red Corolla because of it.  Planting seeds, you know? That's part of my purpose.

2) E********! She's been living with a member for the past 6 years, has 2 kids (6 months and 4-yrs-old with autism. So cute!) She shows up at church last month and wants to know when she can get baptized. We're like...you're awesome, but...what? I was curious--maybe to the point of skepticism (ashamed to say). But she wants the lessons. So we start giving them to her and fall in love with her in the process because she's sassy and hilarious and a ZUMBA instructor (win! who doesn't love Zumba, you know?). ...But lo and behold, she's readin' the Book of Mormon. And lo and behold, she has the beginnings of a testimony. And lo and behold, she has a baptismal date. 4/7/13. Gen Conf. It's gonna happen, friends :) And I'm happy 'bout it.

3) My mom is having a birthday this week! And when I say "my mom", I mean my REAL mom. The one that gave literal birth to me and has put up with my nonsense for the past 21 years. The BEST and FAVORITEST of all of my moms. Love you so much. Your card is in the mail :) 

4) etc...there are always miracles. Just can't write them all. 

My NEEDS (I'm feelin' so needy today...):

Advice! Prayers! Love! 

Pray for the members of our branch. That the 100 something inactive families will miraculously reactivate themselves and that visiting teaching and home teaching will be set up and take fire soon. Pray for my new companion, that she'll forgive my weaknesses and that I can be an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands in lifting her. Pray that we'll have the faith and higher understanding to know who and how to drop those of our investigators who need to be given more time to prepare themselves to hear the word.

And...I love you. That's all I got for you today. Just love and gratitude for who you are and the support and prayers you're already giving for me. You, too, are in my prayers. So keep the faith, yeah?

Love ya tons!

"How My Mission Turned Into a Low-Budget Horror Film"

Or at least, that's what everyone keeps telling me. We're getting 10 new spanish full-field sisters next week. We currently have 10 full-field spanish sisters serving in this mission. My companion is going home this transfer. The math is terrifyingly simple, no? Though you never know. The Lord is full of surprises.

As I begin to tell you how I feel about the possibility of training next transfer, let me explain the basics of the Mission/Life Analogy.  You are "born" to your trainer, who then becomes your "mother" and you her "baby" over the 12-week course of your training. You are "sister" to any of her other "babies". And when you end your mission, you "die" or are "killed" by whoever gets the honor of being your last companion in the mission field. 

Come next week, I will have had the golden opportunity of killing 2 of my companions, including my first mother. This makes me a serial killer.

I just barely/kind of finished my 12-week training last transfer (I got to about Week 6 of the program when the December crowds hit the Visitors' Center and there just wasn't time...), which makes me a toddler of sorts.

Picture in your mind a pregnant toddler and you will be experiencing the same emotion I now feel at the thought of training next transfer. 

Now picture in your mind a pregnant, toddler-aged serial killer and you'll understand the subject line.

So, that's where I'm at. Terrified, but happy and willing to accept whatever the Lord needs me to become. And it may be that I don't train next transfer (which I would obviously be fine with), but I'm trying to prepare myself as best as I can regardless. I really do love this missionary stuff, you know :)

I've had some really good purpose-fulfilling moments this week. Really good, full days with a lot of testifying and boldness. You just FEEL good when you get from day like that, you know? Whether or not your numbers increased or your teaching pools expanded. You know that you INVITED people and you know that they felt the love of God during your conversation with them. And you know that you were exactly where you needed to be doing what the Holy Ghost was telling you to do. It's good stuff this missionary work.

We had a mini-missionary with us this weekend and let me tell you, Heavenly Father loves his mini missionaries. She brought us some nifty miracles of the people-being-home, appointments-following-through, and perfect-opportunity-for-a-baptismal-invitation variety. And her testimony was needed in very specific moments with some of the people we were teaching. It was so fun :)

Pet peeve (and a reference to last week's subject line, which I never actually talked about):  The word "comfortable". I had an experience last week that reminded me of an experience I had with Sis Jones in Malibu that awakened this little pet peeve of mine. We stopped by an inactive member's home  who had started to attend the Presbyterian church a few years ago. They told us all about the great youth programs and camps and bible studies and the optional ocean-side baptismal services...and how they really just felt like it was "a great fit" for them and their family. They were really COMFORTABLE there. So, what do you say to that? Obviously we loved this family and we wanted them to feel comfortable and happy with where they were at, so we told them that...and then just kind of nodded and smiled and said that we were there whenever they were interested.  Then we got in the car and felt ILL. Why? Because we didn't testify. So, we said a prayer, grabbed the Restoration DVD and went back to knock on their door. She opened the door and we explained what had happened. And then we testified. Sis Jones explained that while we were happy they were happy and comfortable and that they felt God in their lives...that God didn't really send us to this earth to be comfortable, but to become like His son...and that there was a deeper peace and happiness that he was waiting to give her through the Gospel that He has shown us. We invited her to watch the DVD and to pray. She agreed, and seemed to be touched by our boldness...We left and felt happy. Because we fulfilled our purpose. 

God loves us, and He wants us to experience His joy. And sometimes that means stepping out of our comfort zone. Aka accepting the thought of a pregnant toddler.

Fun thought: The difference between pushiness and boldness is Charity. Charity is also the difference between deep and shallow fishing in regards to finding people to teach. It is the opposite of fear and weakness and feelings of inadequacy. 2 Timothy 1:7. ...and the obvious root of all missionary work. Long story short, charity is a good thing.

Love you all so much! Keep the faith, eh?

Love,

Sis Wells

"Comfortable"

Hello hello!

I just spent 10 minutes trying to figure out pics on this lil computer I'm using at an internet cafe here in L******...and failed. But it's okay!  Because I have a slew of happy news and thoughts that may just make up for my lack of pics.

1) F****** is HOME!!!! F****** is a (used to be!) homeless man who came into the Visitors' Center back in January to get a drink of water.  My compa (Sis J**** at the time) and I decided we should talk to him. So, after showing him the beautiful Christus, he finally started opening up to us. Over the course of the few hours we chatted with him--showing him various media in between--his story unfolded.   From Chicago, has a wife and a few young kids there. He had problems with alcohol and drugs, and ran away. He felt like it would better for everyone. And then, as I imagine is pretty common for people who live by themselves on the streets for a while, he closed off, stopped talking to people, and told himself he could never go back. So he went from Florida to Cali somehow just to make sure they couldn't find him. He had been on the streets for a few years when he came in to the VC. By the end of our conversation, I was done. All I could think was that this man needed to be with his family as soon as possible. He needed to be HOME. So I told him that in a bold/maybe just rude and awkward way. At first, he sort of shuffled around the suggestion and said he would think and pray about it--which we did together before giving him a Book of Mormon and inviting him to come back the next day. Which he did. 2 days in a row. He came back and watched all the of the testimonies of the 12 apostles in the Special Witnesses room, read hours and hours worth of the Book of Mormon...and announced to Sister J**** and I around closing time of Day 2 that he was catching a train a few hours later to head back to Chicago.  We signed his Book of Mormon and said our goodbyes.  Sister J**** called his family last week, and discovered that he had made it!  That he was home with his family! And trying to figure out his addiction recovery stuff! And so happy!! Ah! Miracles!

2) G******, the future Branch President, has been living the WOW for 6 weeks now. Who is this guy? Just up and living commandments before we even invite him to. I don't know. But keep praying that he'll choose a date to be baptized, will ya? 

Love you all so much!

Sista Wells

The Beauty of Lynwood

First of all, Mom:  You win the Best Package I Could Ever Receive award. It was overwhelming how perfectly you met my needs. We are on our last roll of toilet paper, I only have 2 granola bars left, we were planning on going to Target today anyway, and we always pass by Subway and I think: "Man, I would like a foot-long right now".  And then of course, all of the notes were a  nice lift. So, THANK YOU. You're inspired, and I am spoiled. 

Second of all, look at the pictures and witness my 2nd week here in the beautiful land of Lynwood. I immediately felt guilty for sending my last e-mail b/c, while this place isn't exactly Malibu, it has its own beauty, you know? Hence the sunset picture. And there are others that I haven't taken yet--misty sunrise in the park and such. Not to mention the people, who are the real beauty of this place. It's a cool 'lil community, and it's not nearly as sketchy as I thought it would be. It's just real, you know? People here are just real. And loving and funny and awkward and  inappropriate and great.  

Specific examples:

*****. She's like 70 something and owns a clothing shop downtown--with whom we had 2-hour long lesson this last week,(which we probably spent an hour of talking about her $1500 dog who was stolen and how much money it cost to feed it its fresh-chicken-only diet, and me attempting not to openly gape at the amount of cleavage this sassy old lady has going on), sitting across from our member present Hermana *********--easily one of the more conservative  sisters from the church (and yet so kind and loving), whose daughter just lost her job and is therefore wondering how they're going to pay rent next month. The ********* family is WONDERFUL. They feed us the best food every week, and they're both so willing to come to lessons with us. 

And then there's *******, who's about to be baptized as soon as he figures out that God really will help him to quit drinking all the way--and then sustained as Branch President shortly thereafter. You can just see it in his eyes, you know? And I'm convinced that his wife is going to take a dip in the font herself. 

And *******, who is recovering from cancer and is probably one of the more faithful people I know.  She just converted to Christianity from Catholicism a few years ago and her commitment to read the BOM felt the most genuine of any that I've heard. Though she's new, so I'll keep ya updated. 

We had ward conference on Sunday, complete with a branch lunch and a color-coordinated/corsage-wearing ward choir performance with a borrowed pianist (You were right, mom. I so regret quitting piano.). We have already been contracted to sing at the multi-stake conference next month, which should be amusing :) 

The other pics are other happy things that I don't have time to tell you about. 

 The Gospel is true, friends. And the Atonement is real. 3 Nephi 9:13. Come unto Him, and be Healed. 

Love ya all tons!

Hermana Wells

P.S. Dad, what's going on with immigration these days? I made the mistake of telling someone that you were an immigration attorney and they immediately starting asking me questions. It's obviously a hot topic in these parts. Is the amnesty thing a real deal??? 

Also, please note how WHITE I look next to my beautiful compa. She says it happens in all of her companionships. Regardless, I'm glad summer is coming soon. 

Welcome to Lynwood. And by "Welcome," I actually mean "Bienvenidos" b/c white people don't exist here. Except me :)

...which I spelled wrong in my last e-mail. How embarassing. 

But in case you missed it, LYNWOOD is my new home. And I'm in love with it. Surprise surprise. :)

I had planned to do a super funny compare/contrast e-mail with all of my photos of Malibu and Lynwood thus far. But there just isn't time to be funny. So you'll hafta look through all the photos and figure it out for yourself.

For now, I'm just going to have to list all of the things I love about this place:

1) The PEOPLE. Who just love you the second they meet your. They are so deeply wonderful and loving. There's a pic somewhere in there of me and *****, who's a recent convert of about 8 months, and who has taken it upon herself to be the "mom" of all of the missionaries in the branch. (and more pics of me and her 5-yr-old daughter, *****, and 13-yr-old daughter,******, who is already studying PMG so she can be ready to go on a mission in 6 years. She's on fire)

 p.s. I'm serving in a brand new Spanish branch. I think there's enough people who attend for it to be a ward, but a significant lack of priesthood leadership. So, it's fun to see how these things work. No home teaching and visiting teaching yet, which may be part of the reason they have 2 companionships working here. It's a lot of work and I'm still wrapping my head around all of it, but it's happily fulfilling. Again, I love these people. And they love God. Another side note: my time in Mexico was literally the best preparation for what I am doing now. In so many ways and for so many reasons. 

p.p.s. Only issue here (or so I've heard...and sort of seen over the past few days): Commitments. Getting people to talk to  you and love you and say yes to all you ask them to do is one thing. Getting people to DO the stuff that will allow them to be CONVERTED is another. So...we'll see how t hat plays out. Trying to it figure out. It may really just be a generalization.

2) The ridiculous amount of "Chinese Donut Shops that also serve hamburgers" there are. Like, literally, every corner. Are you not intrigued??? I'm kind of obsessed with them, though I have yet to enter one. The second I do, you will be getting a fully documented report.

3) My COMPANION. I have  insufficient time to express how exotic and dynamic this woman is. There are pics on there. So, Sister D****** is from Ethiopia, was adopted by an American fam when she was 10. Converted to their Mormon faith when she was 11. Moved to Utah. And is now serving a spanish-speaking mission w/ me here in Lynwood, CA. NOT ONLY THAT...but she's also a black belt in karate, a Beautiful dancer.  (everything from latin to ballroom to hip hop to Ethiopian cultural dances). an avid Jane Austen fan, Chocolate addict, and INCREDIBLE MISSIONARY. She has an incredibly sincere and deep testimony that I love her for. Oh, and she's beautiful as you can see. Like, exotically. It's ALMOST obnoxious how cool she is. It's been a blast getting to know her. She surprises me everyday. 

Okay, I love where I'm at. And I love all of you! As always, that's the moral of the story. And that the Gospel is true :)

Love,

Hermana Wells


(Sorry to send these in a million e-mails. But I know you all appreciate pics, and I can't send them all at once.:/ )

To the most opposite of opposite...

...to the most opposite of opposite. Let's talk about diversity, shall we?  It's a good thing I'm a sociology major so I can fully appreciate this.

Where I am:  Visitors' Center. English-speaking. Malibu. With Sister Jones from Colorado/BYU.

Where I am going:  Full-field. Spanish-speaking. Linwood. With Sister Deskins from Ethiopia. 

Just to clue you in, Linwood is supposedly one of the sketchier areas of LA.  Malibu is...not.  Mom: Don't worry. Just pray. 

Before I begin listing all of the photos and the corresponding reasons that I am utterly heartbroken over the change, I need to tell you how EXCITED I am for this opportunity. Sister Deskins is AWESOME (I have only met her a few times). I get to work on my spanish. I LOVE hispanic people and food and culture. And I get to be in the field 24/7. Which should be incredible. I'm ready & excited to love and serve everyone there. 

Disclaimer over. Now I can tell you why I'm sad. Pictures are worth 1000 words, right? We can go through the list then. Though I only have 4 minutes. So I probably won't have time to finish...

1) Me and the Malibu sign. And the Book of Mormon that will cause everyone there to be baptized. 

2) Hannah and Grace and us. Hannah is Sis Jones' friend from high school and now goes to Pepperdine/lives in our area...it's an AMAZING story. Some of the most wonderful Christian people I've ever met. Grace is her roommate and one of 10 other students that we've been teaching there. She's hilarious.  We're going to collaborate on a combined Social Venture when I get home. I can't give deets. But we'll see how it goes. 

3) Bolander family. Cutest, coolest. Dad is an architect. Hence the awesome house in the background. 

4) New, amazing AMAZING ward missionary! And her cute daughter and homemade pizza, and a Brazilian friend that was staying the night with them (b/c they're THAT cool)

5) Guy we saw in the Yogurt Shoppe.  Are we creepy? Yes. But does he look JUST LIKE the guy in Baby Mama? Yes. So it was necessary.

No time for the rest! But I love you all!