Christmas time!!!

Dear Family,
I am so excited because it is finally Christmas time!!!
Reasons why I love Christmas:
~Everyone is happy and nice
~You get to sing Christmas songs
~Santa Claus times
~the Christmas Initiative the Church has going
~Hot cocoa and treats
~Everyone has work and school off and are at home
~You think of Christ all the time
So we contact with these great Christmas cards and it's basically the bomb .com.
On Wednesday, we had our first snowfall of the year. Thus was ordered the first no driving day of the year. As our area is ridiculously large with zero buses, this is a bigger problem than it was last year in Bayonne. So my dear companion called people all day until we were able to find someone to take us to an appointment we had. Success!
I also had my second Turkey Bowl of my mission. I think this one was more successful than last year because now I actually know how to play football! Go me!
Only one Thanksgiving dinner this year but we came out just as full. I honestly have no idea what has happened to my eating abilities-I used to be able to eat 4 meals in a row back in Kearny and now one knocks me out! WHAT KIND OF MISSIONARY AM I???
Also I met Santa Claus on exchange this week :)

Highlight of the Week: Nelson came to church for the third Sunday in a row!!

We had a really spiritual lesson last night with a part-member family. They were really mad with each other--why won't you go to church--I'm going to move out--it's my salvation not yours--what do you consider failure...it was pretty heated. The whole lesson everyone was angry and yelling and finally at the end I bore a very personal testimony to the family. And with that experience, the whole spirit in the room changed. For the first time I felt peace. That's how you know God is there: peace. The dad offered the closing prayer and he prayed for me and my family :) It just about melted my heart.

This is why I love being a missionary!!

Remember to choose the right and know what you stand for! Love you all!!!

Sister Reed

Awkward moments and tongue-twisters

Dear Family and Friends,
This week we had tons of miracles!
First of all we decided to contact one of the potentials on our list. We dropped by his house and our conversation went something like this:
Us: "Hey, you've met missionaries like us before, right?"
Him: "Yes, and I told them I wanted to be baptized."
Us: "...o.O"
We don't hear that every day! It was pretty fantastic. He hasn't been baptized in ANY church (unheard of for Hispanics, they're usually baptized Catholic as babies) so that probably is a big motivator for him. The great part about it is that he's ready and wants to make a change and the Lord led him to us. Life is pretty sweet that way :)
Also his name is Abelisario. I feel proud of myself for being able to say/spell it. (although it's not as bad as a word I learned yesterday: descorozonar. As in "yo the descorozonare". It means to pull out your heart :P)
Last week we had one set for baptism. This week we have three. So mind-blowing! It's crazy because you can work and work and nothing happens or you can work and work and things happen and it just depends on God. Frustrating sometimes but at the same time it's a really good lesson in leading to be dependent on Him!
I also had two exchanges this week. This always makes my weeks disappear at the speed of light. One of my exchanges was with a Filipina sister who got her driver's license. Love her to death, but driving with her was a very different experience. Fortunately, we only almost died about two times and the rest she was super careful. Yay life!
Funny experience of the week!
We were at a less active's family's house the other day and the kids opened the door. We walk in and neither of the parents or the grandma is there. So we wait while all the kids play like crazy monkeys and finally the three year-old comes up to us and asks us to go with her to find her mom.
So we're like ok and she takes upstairs and we follow her. First she opens the door of her mom's bedroom where her mom is dressing.
So that is awkward.
She then proceeds to the next door, which was the bathroom, and opens that one, where her grandma is going to the bathroom. So after that we decided it was safer to wait downstairs.
And then the mom did come down eventually. And she was so intoxicated I don't think she remembers any of it!!!
Oh, that missionary life.
Last of all, Hermana Brown and I have been battling out to see which is the most correct: "que bien" or "que bueno". Apparently they're both correct but I just know "que bueno" is better.
And I changed my mind. I actually want a Honduran accent. We have so many Hondurans in our area and their accent is so cool!
The Gospel is true! Love you all! Remember to choose the right and know what you stand for!!
Love,
Sister Reed

That one time we got locked out of our apartment and had to climb up our neighbor's fire escape.

La familia Garcia! Pday Burger King trip! They are the best! Yes and I realize my face is only halfway in it. It's harder than it looks!

It's that time again...winter

Dear Family,
It'll be a quickie today because one of our menos activos called us and asked us to come over and see them! I have no problem with people setting appointments with us although I would prefer it not to be on pday ;)
Two exchanges this week and I went with a brand new missionary on the first one. I love new missionaries--they are full of faith. The second exchange I went to Sparta which SURPRISE if you thought New Jersey was all city you're wrong because Sparta is like wilderness! We drove into the "mountains" and I felt for only the 2nd or 3rd time on my mission the feeling of carsickness. That's one benefit of no mountains--I am a much happier passenger.
On Thursday it SNOWED!!! First snow of the year. Not sure if it counts because it was more like water snow but it was very much snow. IT HAS BEGUN. The snow is here. #shovelingisgreatservice :)
We dropped/got dropped by our Catholic investigator. It was bound to happen. But still it was a toughie. :(
We decided to teach Elmer, a recent convert, inside a house because normally it's on his porch. WE decided that it was no bueno with the cold. So we walked to another recent convert's house and lo and behold, she has visitors! So we taught them. They live in a part of New Jersey I've never heard of before, and it was really great. Poor Elmer though. We never teach him.
Well, love you all, remember the Gospel is true no matter how many investigators drop you!!! Remember to choose the right and know what you stand for!
Love,
Sister Reed

Now we kinda know what we're doing!

Dear Family,
It's Hit and Miss time again!
Hit: We taught a new investigator named John and he said he'd go to church!
Miss: He didn't go to church.
Hit: But he still is really awesome so he probably will next week!
Hit: He's reading in the Book of Mormon!

Miss: I had to give a training in District Meeting.
Hit: I got to use a story from Where the Red Fern Grows!

Hit: I'm getting better at soccer from practicing with hispanics!
Miss: I'm still really bad at soccer in comparison to them.

Hit: We found a secret less-active family that lives in the woods between two freeways!
Hit: I got to jump on a trampoline in order to blend in with the natives (aka the children)
Miss: They didn't come to church.
Hit: But one day they will!

Hit: We got to teach Elmer, a recent convert!
Miss: We got home ridiculously late ;'(

Miss: We didn't have any appointments on Friday in the day.
Hit: WE called a random member family and they invited us to come over right then!
Hit: They are awesome!

Hit: We got two investigators at church! They have been taught for like 10 years by missionaries!
Hit: They might actually be getting married finally!
Miss: Won't put a date on it!

Hit: WE taught a lesson with a cucumber and pickles!
Hit: The investigator explained the metaphor even better than we did (all of us are cucumber and we need to become pickles. The Spirit is what helps us become pickles. To have the Spirit we need to keep the commandments. Cucumbers die after two or three days. Pickles don't die! Most of that was our investigator telling us).

Miss: It got cold!
Hit: I got to wear all my winter gear!
Miss: It was still cold!

I love you all! Keep choosing the right! I know the Church is true! I know we can find happiness from following the Gospel. Real happiness. Not lame happiness.

Love,
Sister Reed

Mo-town!

Sister Brown and I!

WEeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll I done been transferred! My new companion and I have been doubled in to MORRISTOWN!!
What!!!
Ok I kinda saw it coming. I figured it would be a great sister training leader area so I guessed we would go there. I also TOTALLY called who my new companion would be, who is Sister Brown! Sister Brown came out with me! We are the same age in the mission and what is even better that we were in the same college ward at BYU!
WEIRD.
But good.
So this first week has been pretty crazy moving out, moving in, seeing all the appointments we have and calling everyone who has lived or lives in the entire Morristown area. Believe me it has been completely crazy!! In the last 5 days we have:
~called bajillions of people
~sent bajillions of texts
~taught lessons
~contacted like crazy
~planned for hours on Halloween
~gone to ze church
~directed a choir (did NOT see that one coming)
~asked the elders in the ward for help with everything.
~had three different companions
I feel like I've been going 1000% for the last few days to et the area going. Sister Brown is a hard worker and we are doing work :)
In addition to that since we are so close to the mission home we get all the sisters who don't have companions due to the fact that they are going home early, have a companion coming in from Temple Square, waiting for their parents to pick them up, etc. So in the last few days we had two different quadpanionships and a trio. Due to this we had to borrow a bed from the elders and also food because we didn't have any. Thank goodness for charity for the poor :)
So I would describe Morristown as a ritzy areas/sketchy areas. We got it all! It's pretty great :)
We've met a few families since we've been here. One is the Garcia family which is a super great family. They are from Honduras (side note: TONS of people here are from Honduras isn't that great!!) and two of them are recent converts! We like them a lot, although they are having some issues with friends. When your friends want to smoke, you want to smoke :( They are so great, thug, and we're pretty excited to get to know them better.
Hermano Carvajal is our ward mission leader and the thing I remember most about him is that you're not supposed to have Jersey pizza with water. It has to be soda. Other than that though he's great!
Lastly but not leastly we were able to have Elmer, who was baptized last Sunday by the sisters who were here, confirmed this week! He got up and bore his testimony afterwards. I've only known him for 2 days but it was seriously the best thing of my life!
I love you all! Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers. Remember to choose the right and know what you stand for!!!
Love,
Sister Reed

This is Gloria! We taught her English in Short Hills.

Goodbye Short Hills!

Do we count as clergy?

Dear Family,
It has struck again! As you might have guessed from the title, I am being DOUBLED OUT this transfer! :(
This will be my 2nd time being doubled out on my mission and it's pretty CRAZY! Don't really like it--it means you spend a lot of time in the apartment planning. Yuck. On the plus side, we left a seriously awesome letter for the new sisters that are coming in. I am really proud of it.
We got Maria and Leslie to go to church again! IT was really sad to leave them--they were the people we found and they are sad to see us go!!! But I really think they are going to be baptized one day. Hopefully this next transfer! They taught me to make tortillas yesterday. They thought it was really funny how awfully bad I am at making tortillas. Honestly, it doesn't matter how many times I go to Latin American countries--I come back JUST AS BAD at making tortillas :)
Sister Jarman went on all her departing trips this week and it was crazy because it was like I was going on two extra exchanges because all of us leftover companions just hung out together. It was pretty fun though. Finding people in the rain all day? That's my idea of a good time ;)
To finish off, I will make my "things I will miss from Short Hills" list:
~The trees (and the leaves)
~Maria and Orbelina and Leslie

Maria, Leslie, Orbelina!

~Parking spaces
~Seltzer water
~Sister Jarman
~Our great branch :)
~The cheats food you will ever find
~Fruit ninja
~INTENSE frisbee every Saturday!!!
~Familia Aquino's baby!!! SO CUTE
~Mauricio's ridiculous stories (every lesson: Us: "Well...no idea how to connect THAT back to the gospel.")

Mauricio!

Things I will NOT miss:
~Our ridiculously humid apartment
IT is sad to go :( But I do like change and God knows that! As long as I don't think about anyone I am leaving I am fine! (yep cheesy but true)

The whole fam!

Love you all!!! I know that this Gospel is true! Thanks so much for your support love :) Remember to choose the right and know what you stand for.
Love,
Hermana Reed

The Secret Life of the Trunky Missionary's Companion

Dear Family,
To start off I will clarify that my companion isn't THAT trunky. She's just more trunky than any of my other companions have ever been, because I've never been a dying missionary's companion before. Still, I'm thinking of things like school, boyfriends, work. I do not enjoy it. I like procrastinating the day of making decisions :)
This week was awesome. I'll start off with the higgling because it was just so great:
Highlight of the Week: WE GOT FOUR INVESTIGATORS TO CHURCH!!! WHOOO A FAMILY!
It was so great! They walked in and our Branch President's jaw dropped. We haven't gotten investigators to church for months, so it was nice to see it pick up again.
I feel like I learned a lot from the couple of transfers where I had no investigators. I think I'll just quote the letter I wrote to my mom:
"It only takes two months and THEN you can have investigators :) . I think, though, that I learned a lot from those two months with nothing. I learned how to be closer to God because I had to depend on Him in order to make it. I learned who He was."
Isn't knowing God the most important thing of all? I think so. So even if I didn't like it all that much at the time, I learned much more from it. Missions are hard. But also worth it.
Other Highlights of the Week:
~Went to Ellis Island again! That's always fun.
~Had three exchanges! WHOO that was a blast! Now I just need a nap. I now know Morristown VERY well...I went on an exchange there in English and Spanish this week.
Last week of the transfer! New transfer time...here we go again! Love you all! Choose the right and know what you stand for!
Hna Reed