I'm melting!

I will do a quick email today because the librarian at this library is crazy and we could be thrown off the computer at any moment.

Well it is hot and I am constantly sweating and it is no bueno. Thank goodness that Heavenly Father had pity on my soul and gave me two winters instead of two summers.

We got a new president this week, had transfers, and went to Ellis Island, so it was hard to get the 20 lessons goal that we have for every week, but we did it and I am super proud of us.

I bought a harmonica necklace and I am planning on playing it all pday long.

Our investigator John, who we found two weeks ago, went to church, read the reading, and we have already met with him five times. He is super cool! He's from Ecuador but mostly grew up here (hence the English name). He says he used to be cool but feels that there is a hole in his life, and is trying to fill it. It's really cool to be able to teach someone who is genuinely looking.

Sounds like everyone is having a blast at home! Glad to hear it :) Love you all! Choose the right and remember what you stand for!

Love

Sister Reed

Goodbye President Jeppson!

This week is sad because President Jeppson is leaving! I can't handle it. I love that man and it's going to be weird to be on a mission without him.

However, this does mean that we are getting a new mission president! His name is President Taggart! The only association I have with this name is the name of one of my high school math teachers hehehe. But I'm sure he will be awesome :)

Weeeelllll this week we finished off the transfer which means I've been out in the field for 6 transfers. It's been a good transfer and I'm pretty excited for the next one too. I haven't been transferred and so Sister Stevens and I are staying and we have BIG PLANS! So far our plans are to have crepes every thursday. We've done it for two weeks and it's been a big success so far :)

This week we went to this house of a guy named Diego that the elders contacted in a different area. We met "Diego" (who later revealed his name to be John! Mentiroso!). He wasn't who were were looking for because the guy we were looking for was old and this one was our age. Then we had a great conversation:

Us: "Well you are not the Diego we were looking for but hey can we give you a card anyway?"

Diego (John): "Sure...so is there like a class I can take about this or something?"

Us: "What? Yes! There is! Let us come to your house!"

Thus began the life of Juan our New Investigator!

So now we are teaching Juan from Ecuador and it is going great! He is really cool and I am excited about it.

Other than that our week was pretty tough. We struggled to find anyone until the end of the week. Lots of rejection :( But it happens and we just keep moving forward.

Just want to send a quick congrats on: Janeen getting married! So happy!!

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

Love,

Sister Reed

Look at us gooooooo

I couldn't keep up with Sister Stevens this week. She kept saying things like, "Great!  We got 20 lessons! Can we get 22?" and "Yaaaay! We got 10 contacts! Can we get 15?" As a result, I spent most of my week running after her, both physically and mentally. This girl is not afraid to raise her expectations :) It's pretty inspiring.
We had a great week. We had an All-Mission Conference on Friday and got rained out. When it rains it pours in Jersey. But we were still able to eat cake and watch skits and take lots of pictures, so it's all good. President and Sister Jeppson are leaving us soon so they told us all their story. I have a lot of respect for them. I'm going to be like them when I grow up :)

Highlights of the week:
~Eating Sopa de Pata de Gallina. In other words, chicken foot soup. Apparently you eat the meat off the foot. I'm not going to elaborate. It's painful to think about.
~Running into all sorts of people I haven't seen in weeks! Hahaha WE FOUND YOU!!!
~Getting 9 lessons on Wednesday! And being delightfully exhausted afterwards (that's the nice missionary way to put it).
~Meeting the grandma of our recent convert, Jonatan, who just came from Argentina. She has got to be the funniest and coolest old lady I've ever met. I've decided we are best friends.
~Being sassed at dinner by said grandma and her son at dinner. I had no idea a 70 year-old lady could pull out that kind of sarcasm. It was awesome.
Love you all! Choose the right and know what you stand for!
Love,
Sister Reed

Free Nerf Guns and Second Temple Trip

I feel like the subject line of this email could pretty much summarize my week, but since I have time I guess I'll elaborate for you.
We won a nerf gun! I don't exactly understand how, but now we have a nerf bow in our apartment that we use to shoot elders, and which I occassionally use to shoot my poor, unsuspecting companion (bless her heart). It's pretty intense.

We also got to go to the temple again!! I LOVE THE TEMPLE! I was really missing it. 6 months is a long time! However I should just be happy we can go to the temple because if I didn't go I would probably die spiritually or something. There is such a peaceful feeling there that you can't get anywhere else.
Afterwards I found FALAFEL AT A STREET VENDOR!!! #jerusalemforlife

However, after the temple trip we were walking down the street, all of us in this great spiritual high, when we saw these almost-naked girls (they were wearing nothing but bikini bottoms) on the street. WHAM! Spirit was gone. It was crazy to feel the two different extremes in such a short period of time. It is really sad to see those things and to feel the difference between them and the peace you feel at the temple. :(
After that experience, I heard one of the elders say something that I think is the best compliment I have ever heard: "If everybody dressed like the sister missionaries the world would be perfect."

On a lighter note, I recently bought stickers that have crazy glue-on eyes and they are SO CUTE! I'm going to give them to all the little children in the whole world!
People-wise, our recent convert, Nicolas, is doing great! He is getting the priesthood next Sunday, then he will get his temple recommend, and then he is going to get a calling! YAAAAAAAAAAAY
We've had to drop a lot of investigators these days, and that's hard. We pray and we sweat and we cry over the people and it's hard to let them go, but you can't force anyone to do something they're not willing to do. Hopefully missionaries will come back later and they will be ready then.
Meanwhile, we are working to find new people to teach, and that's always fun! That's where all my crazy stories come from :) People are just so funny.
I love you! I know this church is true! I hope you all are having a great start of your summer.
Love,
Sister Reed

My Mission Vision

Our Zone at the park

June is here! That means heat, humidity, and mosquitoes (they aren't here yet, but apparently they are coming). I am going to melt like a popsicle in this weather.

This week we:

~Asked our investigator Angel to get baptized and he said yes!!

~Watched Nicolas get confirmed and recieve the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting! He's awesome. He even wore a tie! I am so proud of him. He hates ties. 

~Found two secret members we never knew lived in Kearny.

~Set up every member we could find with a Family Mission Plan. They're great. You should get one too.

~Were served at least two liters of Inca Cola in one day. I don't know why, but Hispanics love the stuff.

Pretty much summarizes our relationship

Sister Stevens and I have been having a blast together. We have been working on our gringo accents as we walk around finding people ("Me llamar Hermana Reed."). Sister Stevens is an awesome missionary and I've decided that we are going to be friends forever. Too bad if she has other plans.

I've been thinking a lot about my vision as a missionary and about what I want out of my mission. I definitely didn't want to go on a mission, but I felt I should go. The day I entered the MTC, I decided that if I was going on a mission I was going to LOVE IT and do it WELL. I was going to be happy no matter what (and that happiness, I have learned, only comes when I put everything into this cause). I decided that I was going to make my mission my own and to never again be embarrassed about my religion or the fact that I am religious. I was going to give it my all because my Heavenly Father had asked me to and I love him.

That decision has made my mission what it is now. Sometimes I forget why I chose this, but then I remember and everything makes sense. The mission is changing who I am. I love being a missionary, and I hope that as time goes by here I become better so I can better help the people I love.

The Church is true and the Book is blue! Don't forget! Remember to choose the right and know what you stand for!! Love you all!!!
Sister Reed

At Ellis Island.