Hello All!

First of all, I'm super excited to have a niece! Sooo great! It will be super exciting to see her when I get back! I'm glad everything went well with the birth.

This week has been better than last week! First of all, we figured out where in the world we were. Next, we figured out who everyone was, Finally, we realized that we can talk to EVERYBODY! And, as a result of that, we have talked to a lot of crazy people. Here are my favorites:

Peter: Crazy missionary man. I think the person who referred us to him was doing it as some kind of joke ;) He has preached the word of God his whole life and he CALLED US TO REPENTANCE. Seriously, we could not get one word in. I tried to say something like, "Well, let's just agree to disagree." He was NOT having that. Anyway, we finally just said that we hoped he would have a nice day and left.

Julian: So we're trying to teach another investigator about the Restoration, and lo and behold, his drunk Pentecostal brother is there! Now I don't mind talking to people of different religions, but it's a bit annoying when they're so drunk they're swaying on their feet. I tried to talk to him...didn't really work. And at the end he tried to hug me.

AAAAH!!! I'M NOT ALLOWED TO HUG MEN!!!

I literally just SHOVED him away. I don't think he even knew what was going on. Good times with drunk people :)

Empire: MY FAVORITE PERSON I'VE MET THIS WEEK! We started out our conversation with him telling us that he is the son of the prince of Ethiopia. We later learned he is from Jamaica.

o_O

Don't know how that works.

He also informed us that:

- We are on the same spiritual "rims" with him.

- With his spiritual rims he can see what is going on across the street in the house without being there.

- Because my companion is born in January, they are brother and sister (Empire was also born in January) and they have the power of the MIND, which means that he and Sister Clark can see the future and can plan effectively.  Useful for missionary work ;)

-Since I am born in February, I have the power of the EYES. This means that I can see the future and that I can sleep well.

Yes. I said that correctly. I have the power of SLEEPING.

Seriously. This guy knows me so well. It's amazing. We really ARE on the same spiritual rims.

-Also Empire doesn't eat meat so that he can be in tune with the earth and the Creator.

Isn't he GREAT?!?! THIS is why I love talking to people! You never know what you're going to get!

Another highlight of the week: we taught a lesson to a drug dealer WHILE he was dealing drugs. Only in Paterson :) Who knows? Maybe he really WAS interested in the Gospel. I'm not judging.

Also, apparently we always look lost here. Twice this week we've been praying in our car before we go into an appointment and we look up and there's random black guys there and the first thing they ask is "ARE YOU LOST???"

Nope. Just praying. Thanks for you concern, though. WANNA HEAR A GOSPEL MESSAGE?

Also, I'm pretty sure if I stay in Paterson much longer I'm going to start talking like a black person, which will sound REALLY weird coming out of my mouth. I'll just chalk it up to  embracing the culture :)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I feel like I'm in 20 countries at once!!!" -Sister Clark, describing Paterson in 9 words.

Overall, it's been a good week. Not to say it hasn't had its disappointing times. Saturday was hard. Lots of appointments falling through. There are definitely good times and bad times on the mission. But the best times are when you talk to people and try to serve them the best you can. I love the Gospel! It's the best! I love what it does for people! I hope to make a difference in somebody's life while I am here.

Love you all! Choose the right and know what you stand for!

Sister Reed

First letter from the mission field

Happy Monday!

I can't believe I've only been in the mission field for 6 days. It feels like I've been gone forever, yet at the same time I feel like time has FLOWN by. That's the mission for you. Time gets kinda weird out here.

I've been assigned my first area and my first companion! My companion is from Kaysville, Utah and her name is Sister Clark. She is, believe it or not, taller than me! Like 6 feet! The two of us definitely stand out! Which is great because then people notice us and that gives us an opportunity to talk to them.

My area is called Paterson, which is another way of saying ALL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD UNITE IN NEW JERSEY! Basically we have people from EVERYWHERE! Lots of Latin Americans, Asians, and Blacks. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have an awesome gangster/Jersey accent by the time I leave this area. It's going to be GREAT. I love it! I LOVE meeting all the different people and talking in English and Spanish. I love hearing their life stories. It is so fun :) The more I'm here the more I love it here.

My companion and I were doubled into this area, which means that they created a new area and then sent two new missionaries into it, one of whom is a greenie. This basically means we know nothing about the area. IT'S GREAT!

Investigators? Don't know 'em.

Members? Still got to go to church.

Mission boundaries? Do we even have a map? 

Finding people? Don't have a GPS..

Basically, we started at ground ZERO and we worked up from there. Which is super fun since it was my first day and all...

Now, after 6 days of hard work, we know most of the members, have gotten to know almost all of our investigators, have found some new investigators, have learned the area, and have borrowed a GPS from one of the Elders in the area. And we have been pounding the pavement all along the way.

WE GOT THIS.

I'm new and I can tell in some things. I don't know how to report numbers or do meetings or anything. But one thing that comes naturally to me is missionary work. I LOVE talking to people, I LOVE getting to know the members, I LOVE teaching lessons. The lessons are still the hardest. That takes experience. Talking to people, however, is just fun. Especially since people in Jersey love to TALK. Oh my goodness. They will talk all day if you let them. It's pretty nice because then I learn about them and relate the gospel to their lives. I also love them the more I talk to them. You just never know what people are going through until you talk them. That is something I have learned again and again since I've been out here.

A few branches in the area are having an International Night this Saturday. It's New Jersey so it's going to be
LEGIT. I'm so excited. We're going to try to get as many of our investigators to come as possible.

If you want to send me mail or a package, my address is:

Sister Annie Reed

149 Dundee Ave
Paterson, NJ 07503

Love you all!! Choose the right and know what you stand for!

Sister Reed

Hello from the good ol' MTC!

Hello all!

A little more than the week at the MTC, and I am now considered to be an "experienced missionary." Experienced enough to host all the new missionaries who were dropped off yesterday. Half the time I was pulling out a map to see where I should go :) And then parents were like, "So how long have you been here?" And I'm like, "...a week." And the I smile really big as though trying to convince them that even though I am still completely a newbie their daughter is in good hands. 

Not sure if that worked. 

The MTC is definitely a surreal experience. I feel like I'm a missionary but I know I'm not one yet. I'm practicing hard :) I'm definitely not a very good teacher yet. It is something you have to learn from experience, and sometimes you just have to crash and burn along the way. I definitely have had a few lessons where I have crashed and burned. My one consolation is that they weren't real investigators :) However, if you put your whole soul into the work and have the Spirit with you, lessons go SO WELL. I have had some amazing spiritual experiences teaching investigators. It's so important to be teaching them as people, rather than just teaching lessons. It's so important to love your investigators!!!

My companion is named Sister Larson and we've become good friends after our 8 days here. She's from Las Vegas and she's going to New Jersey as well, along with most of my district. Our whole district is really close. After 8 days of studying together and having classes together it's inevitable :)

I will be leaving for New Jersey on Oct 14th at around 10. Then I will be heading to the mission field to start the mission! Can't wait!!!

Conference was AWESOME. So glad I got to watch it in the MTC! I loved the missionary themes, obviously :) I just can't get enough of our dear old general authorities. I know for a fact that they are inspired. 

I got my first package yesterday! Shout out to Virginia for sending that to me! I can't say I was expecting what I got...which was a tiny frying pan. It definitely was the best first mission package EVER. My whole district thought it was hilarious. As do I. It's also pretty nice, because I will definitely be using that on the mission. Eggs and bacon every morning for the next 18 months, HERE I COME. 

If you know anyone who wants to receive my weekly email, then tell them to shoot me an email, and I'll add them onto the list. After you give them the correct email :) The whole wrong email address on Facebook was just a test to see if everyone was paying attention.

KEEPING YOU ON YOUR TOES :)

Love you! Choose the right and know what you stand for!

Sister Reed

Annie's first letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

I made it to the MTC! After I left you, I felt like a sheep because I was herded from one place to another. The MTC is a well-oiled machine. All the missionary couples work together like clockwork.

My companion is terrific. Her name is Sister Larsen and she is from Las Vegas.

I’m in a room with 3 other girls. The other companionship is going to Georgia. Makes me think of Georgia peaches. Every. Time.

Everyone here is happy and excited. Us newbies are pretty much just shocked. I’m working on being positive about everything, even if I don’t know what’s going on. Which is pretty much all day today.

I have felt the Spirit so strong! Today we did role playing with an investigator and I felt like I was on fire. I realize how important it is to teach with the spirit.

Other than the many missing items I forgot, life is going great. We study & teach and are trying to learn ways to become better constantly. I should’ve been like this at home! If I had worked this hard & depended on the spirit this much, I would’ve been so much more productive. I definitely will strive to continue like this when I get back.

General conference is tomorrow and I am so happy to be spending it in the MTC!!! I feel like I will learn so much more because of the strong spirit that is present here. And the missionary talks, I’m sure, will be especially interesting. J

I don’t have a lot of time to write (it’s taken me 3 nights to write this much, and I started on the first night). We spend most of our time studying. So I will send this off in hopes to get all my forgotten items sooner and promise to write a longer letter on P-day (next Thursday). Didn’t have a P-day this week.

Love you & and miss you all! Choose the right and know what you stand for!

-Sister Reed