Sister Reed in New Jersey

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