2.10.14 Atheist Jew Gone Mormon

HELLO FAMILY!!!! ARE YOU READY FOR AN AWESOME E-MAIL (hopefully I can live up to this opening hype but it's going to be an epic letter)
Ok so first off I want to apologize for last weeks letter.. The snow here in Paterson has made the roads completely crazy! Like every road is the size of a one-way street yet both sides go on it.. and.. I won't get into that; it's just something you'll have to experience someday to understand. But Last week we were restricted from our cars so we spent the day inside then the rest of the week went crazy and to the point the only time we had to e-mail was when we were at the church on Wednesday and I only had 30 minutes before we needed to be home. So sorry but this one will be legend.. wait for it... diary... legendary (quoting how I met your mother)

So Monday 

Like I mentioned before we were snowed in. the cool experience was walking the in the snowstorm.. Some people just would respond 'it's to cold for Jesus' which made me upset; they just didn't want to talk to us because it was cold. But we met a man who was shoveling snow and we gave him a card. We talked to him and he just told us how he was having a really hard time believing in Jesus. We left him and he told us that it's people like us that make him not want to do bad things. It was a cool experience, hard to explain. 

Ok I don't know if I wrote you about Lisa but here we go

So Lisa is a woman we met on the street the other day she was trying to walk by in a hurry, but that didn't stop us from sharing the gospel we gave her a card and I felt prompted to tell her that Jesus loves her. She stopped and listened.. We shared a message with her and said a prayer. During the prayer she was crying and she walked away. We went by her house and started to teach her, come to find out she has been an atheist her whole life. She has done her research though. She’s read the entire bible just to know, what she didn't believe in. recently she's been open to the idea that there is a God. She told us that when we stopped her on the street is was the exact right time and place. If we hadn’t stopped her right then she wouldn't have listened. She told us how the prayer we said with her made her feel better. She felt something.... (Little does she know it's the holy Ghost) but super cool. She is awesome. She is a chef so basically from my pre mission studies of cheffism (watching chopped and cake boss) I can totally relate. She’s really cool and makes great food:) she has been reading and keeping the commitments we leave with her! Which is huge!!! Anyways really cool.

2nd person I want to talk about is Azam (pronounce awesome with a z so like azsome) he is from Pakistan. His whole family is Muslim but he's never really believed it. His mom allowed him to go to Christen schools growing up. He has strong belief in Jesus Christ. He has to meet with our mission president before we can start teaching him but how cool is that!!! That’s the best part of serving in Jersey you get to teach people from places the church can't reach yet. PAKISTAN. So cool. 

3rd person

KIM!!!!!!! She’s so cool! We met him as she was walking her dog the other day I tried to give her a card that had a picture of Jesus on it. She wouldn't accept it and told us she was an Atheist. We talked with her about faith and she just kept asking how do you know? We started sharing scriptures with her and she agreed to meet with us. I stuck the picture of Jesus she wouldn't accept in her book of Mormon (I’m a sneaky missionary like that) and then we met with her this week. She grew up in a Jewish home.. but kinda a less active Jewish home, her family told her nothing about religion is true, that God doesn't exist and sad things like that. But last year she was in the hospital dying and she realized how depressing it was to believe that when she died that was the end of it. She was looking for hope, something to believe in. Her quote was "You know... it's really depressing and hard to be an atheist." she has a desire to change and to develop faith in Christ. Sunday she came to church! It was her first time at any church.. ever!! She stayed all 3 hours and she liked it! She’s so cool.. thus the title of my e-mail Atheist Jew gone Mormon.

Also this week we met with our dear old friend Rita she is insisted that we eat ice cream. She scooped out her cat food to feed her cats then gave us the spoons to eat ice cream.. oh the things you do on a mission to help people come to church... ha-ha 

Well that was basically my week. I know it wasn't as epic as I promised but it has been a great wonderful.. or as the smith family would say. 'Phenteroneawesome' (phenomenal, terrific, wonderful, awesome.)

Ok well family I love you a lot, keep doing the wonderful things you do. The gospel is true. The book is blue:)

P.S. this might be my last week in Paterson:( so pray hard for me to stay,, ha-ha jk just keep Paterson in your prayers. These people have changed my life. I’ve learned so much from them. Man.. It’s to sad to think about leaving so I just won’t talk about it anymore. Thank you also for the Valentines Day package. I felt the love:)

Love you,
love sister Clark!