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