Oh my goodness. I'm in Jersey! WHAT???!! OK what in incredible week! I just want to explode on this paper and tell you everything. So I hope you got my hand written letter about arriving in Jersey and how after we landed we went proselyting to Newark.. Ya that was terrifying, not going to lie. I really thought I might die. But never fear parents, that is not my area:) they don't send sisters there. It was such a cool experience talking with people. As I talk to people I just get to know and truly love them and appreciate all they are and what they've been through.
OK so I guess I'll go in order. So on Tuesday we had our Transfer conference where President Jeppson spoke to us. Can I just say all rumors about him were true. I can not express my appreciation for him and his solid testimony of this gospel. He is truly a man of God. and he struggled to get there but I'm so grateful for him. He sang us a silly song about how Book of Mormons use to sell for 50 cents and he just made us all happy then made us all break down in tears because we were all touched by the spirit.. Wow what an incredible man!! OK so after we ate we all lined up new missionaries on one side of the room and trainers on the other side and just like a draft of something they would announce the trainer and then they would go to the middle and then they would announce the new missionary. It was so funny I felt like I was in the play offs or something. But during dinner I sat by sister Richardson and she was incredible she reminded me of Shannon and we were already laughing and getting along so well. So the whole time I'm sitting there just thinking ah I wish I could have her that would be the best and sure enough the Lord hears prayers:) my trainer is SISTER RICHARDSON.! We ran and jumped on each other it was a hilarious moment everyone thought we already knew each other. I was like surely the Lord isn't going to let me have her because I want her as a companion so bad but It has been a tender mercy for sure. So as we are jumping on each other President Jeppson was like but wait there's more. We got assigned sister Kimball ( yes related to president Kimball) as well! she's so cute she's new as well, she's a visa waiter, heading to Brazil but she is from Georgia and just as sweet as a peach! She is so funny. Basically we are a power house we are all so strong and just want to be here and work hard:) Oh but wait there's more. I'm in the TOMS RIVER SOUTH area... we just got placed in a new area it's called doubling in. when everyone is new to the area and just opened for missionaries. So we're opening it up, and since there is 3 of us it's tripling in I guess. But wait there's more!!! Just guess who my district leader is???? ELDER BENSON!(Matt Benson is from our home ward) hahahaha funny huh?
So my mission is the Jersey Shore mission. Like this is truly where Jersey Shore is filmed and stuff. We haven't traveled to the beach yet because were so busy but we look forward to it. :) So the first miracle of Toms River was fitting 3 of us in our tiny car with our millions of luggage.
it's so funny. It was a miracle. Wow Jersey is SO BEAUTIFUL! No mountains, completely flat, but SO MANY TREE'S!!!
Just covered green. It's incredible. so many blossom tree's as well it's just so beautiful.
The weather has been nice and sunny, sometimes a little chilly but so great! OK I'll go through the events of my amazing week. Oh sister Richardson is 24 and Sis Kimball is 19:) Sis Richardson is from Spanish fork. Ah they are so fun! So the first day we get here and we unload our suit cases and as were taking pictures in front of our apartment on my mini tripod.
This guy comes over and takes the picture for us. We start talking and he thinks we are nuns. It's funny but we gave him a Book of Mormon and it was a great first experience. The next day was all planning... all day inside.. can you say cabin fever? We wanted to pull our hair out (by the way I have 3 now:) I'm earning these gray hairs for sure!).
That night was mutual at the church so we were dying to go to get out of the house so we got a ride from Sister Mayer. She's from Utah she's like 24 she played soccer for UVU and she's just like the rock in the young women's. As we walked in the church and we were waiting for our ward mission leader all these ladies came in and were just so excited to have sister missionaries! We have felt very needed and loved that's for sure. As we are sitting there this black lady comes in and she sees us and does a double take and she talks to one of the other sisters. Then she finds out we're her missionaries, she yells "PRAISE THE LORD WE GOT SISTERS!" She runs over to us and was like "Child.. come into the fold" and she just gives us all these huge hugs. hahahah This is sister Armstrong. She's the best! she use to be a baptist from the South if that helps her description in anyway. She just kept saying. "I"m the one and only Trudy Armstrong" and she just kept telling how she loves the Lord. Every time I'm around her I just wanna say amen!! and wave my hands in the air. But I contain myself! I'll tell you more about her later but she's the best! She sings her testimony in sacrament meeting. I love her. I wish you could all meet these people I've met. I guess I'll talk about them because they have been the blessing in my life here.
Then we have Wanda who is a new convert. She was a Catholic nun in a convent before she became Mormon! Ya when they said New Jersey was diverse they didn't just mean in ethnicity. They meant in backgrounds and religions to! So many churches! Oh and there are no left turns. In jersey when you drive you can't turn left. There are these things called jug handles where you have to turn right to go left, like a mini exit, it's weird, it throws me off! Anyways. Wanda is incredible, she is having a hard time, keep in mind the average age of our ward is like 60.. We are preaching to the elderly. Sacrament meeting is the best. They all sing so loud and they make comments out loud when they think they are whispering. But I can tell you I have never felt the spirit so strong in a sacrament meeting as I did Yesterday, it was life changing I'm so blessed to be here. OK back to Wanda, she's on crutches and we went to visit her. She calls us like everyday about things like the priesthood and apostasy but the best quote from her was she was talking about some of the other missionaries and she told me when she walked them to the door, she felt like she was walking Christ to the door. She's incredible I go and sit and talk with her whenever I can. It's so funny she can only remember my name so whenever she calls she always asks for me. She tells me that my enthusiasm is contagious and my happiness, which makes me so happy! I Just love this ward so much. I never want to leave Toms River!
Throughout the week we went knocking and there were so many little miracles (shout out to Jason for the knocking training!) OK so our first door knocking miracle was we were knocking and we kept getting No's then this lady opens and just praises us for young women talking about Jesus so I was like this is it! I offer her a book of Mormon and she rejects but we ask her for a referral. She tells us of this family down the street whose house burnt down. We drove to go look up the address and Sister Kimball sees this house across from it and she's like let's knock on that one, then I felt like ya we need to do that. So we go and meet chuck! We gave him like the whole first lesson. we have an apt to meet him again! What a blessing. Next we went to the store and as we are checking out we meet Denise and she was like hows the church? We find out she is less active and she wants to come back:) So we got her number, then so many other people we met and talked to. Like 3 days ago we meet Shawn, as were knocking and he lets us come into his house (this never happens!) So we gave him the first lesson and were meeting him again to. It's such a joy to be preaching the gospel and be doing the Lords work. Sister Kimball and Sister Richardson are so smart and spiritual, most of the time I'm lucky if I get a sentence in. It's so different to sit back and listen and just add in when I need to. Having 2 companions is the best! We do well together. Our apt is big for just 3 sisters.
Mom thank you so much for your package when I got here! Can I just say it saved me! That is what I lived off of because we didn't go shopping for 2 days so that was my source of food. So thank you! I'll send pictures which work now yay! oh I had pizza its so good! Rumors are true!
I'm so scatter brained right now but just know that I know this gospel is true! I know this is the Lords work. I know prayers are answered if they are sincere. I know that I'm needed here and I'm where I'm suppose to be. I'm so blessed to be apart of this ward. We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of less actives that were as Sister Armstrong would say "bringing back to the fold". The ward is like my surrogate grandparents although nothing could replace the real thing. This ward is filling the holes in my heart of missing my wonderful family. They take care of us for sure! I love you all, cind sorry if this didn't make any sense THE GOSPEL IS TRUE! WERE ON THE WINNING TEAM! STAY THERE AND FIGHT HARD
Just covered green. It's incredible. so many blossom tree's as well it's just so beautiful.
The weather has been nice and sunny, sometimes a little chilly but so great! OK I'll go through the events of my amazing week. Oh sister Richardson is 24 and Sis Kimball is 19:) Sis Richardson is from Spanish fork. Ah they are so fun! So the first day we get here and we unload our suit cases and as were taking pictures in front of our apartment on my mini tripod.
This guy comes over and takes the picture for us. We start talking and he thinks we are nuns. It's funny but we gave him a Book of Mormon and it was a great first experience. The next day was all planning... all day inside.. can you say cabin fever? We wanted to pull our hair out (by the way I have 3 now:) I'm earning these gray hairs for sure!).
That night was mutual at the church so we were dying to go to get out of the house so we got a ride from Sister Mayer. She's from Utah she's like 24 she played soccer for UVU and she's just like the rock in the young women's. As we walked in the church and we were waiting for our ward mission leader all these ladies came in and were just so excited to have sister missionaries! We have felt very needed and loved that's for sure. As we are sitting there this black lady comes in and she sees us and does a double take and she talks to one of the other sisters. Then she finds out we're her missionaries, she yells "PRAISE THE LORD WE GOT SISTERS!" She runs over to us and was like "Child.. come into the fold" and she just gives us all these huge hugs. hahahah This is sister Armstrong. She's the best! she use to be a baptist from the South if that helps her description in anyway. She just kept saying. "I"m the one and only Trudy Armstrong" and she just kept telling how she loves the Lord. Every time I'm around her I just wanna say amen!! and wave my hands in the air. But I contain myself! I'll tell you more about her later but she's the best! She sings her testimony in sacrament meeting. I love her. I wish you could all meet these people I've met. I guess I'll talk about them because they have been the blessing in my life here.
Then we have Wanda who is a new convert. She was a Catholic nun in a convent before she became Mormon! Ya when they said New Jersey was diverse they didn't just mean in ethnicity. They meant in backgrounds and religions to! So many churches! Oh and there are no left turns. In jersey when you drive you can't turn left. There are these things called jug handles where you have to turn right to go left, like a mini exit, it's weird, it throws me off! Anyways. Wanda is incredible, she is having a hard time, keep in mind the average age of our ward is like 60.. We are preaching to the elderly. Sacrament meeting is the best. They all sing so loud and they make comments out loud when they think they are whispering. But I can tell you I have never felt the spirit so strong in a sacrament meeting as I did Yesterday, it was life changing I'm so blessed to be here. OK back to Wanda, she's on crutches and we went to visit her. She calls us like everyday about things like the priesthood and apostasy but the best quote from her was she was talking about some of the other missionaries and she told me when she walked them to the door, she felt like she was walking Christ to the door. She's incredible I go and sit and talk with her whenever I can. It's so funny she can only remember my name so whenever she calls she always asks for me. She tells me that my enthusiasm is contagious and my happiness, which makes me so happy! I Just love this ward so much. I never want to leave Toms River!
Throughout the week we went knocking and there were so many little miracles (shout out to Jason for the knocking training!) OK so our first door knocking miracle was we were knocking and we kept getting No's then this lady opens and just praises us for young women talking about Jesus so I was like this is it! I offer her a book of Mormon and she rejects but we ask her for a referral. She tells us of this family down the street whose house burnt down. We drove to go look up the address and Sister Kimball sees this house across from it and she's like let's knock on that one, then I felt like ya we need to do that. So we go and meet chuck! We gave him like the whole first lesson. we have an apt to meet him again! What a blessing. Next we went to the store and as we are checking out we meet Denise and she was like hows the church? We find out she is less active and she wants to come back:) So we got her number, then so many other people we met and talked to. Like 3 days ago we meet Shawn, as were knocking and he lets us come into his house (this never happens!) So we gave him the first lesson and were meeting him again to. It's such a joy to be preaching the gospel and be doing the Lords work. Sister Kimball and Sister Richardson are so smart and spiritual, most of the time I'm lucky if I get a sentence in. It's so different to sit back and listen and just add in when I need to. Having 2 companions is the best! We do well together. Our apt is big for just 3 sisters.
Mom thank you so much for your package when I got here! Can I just say it saved me! That is what I lived off of because we didn't go shopping for 2 days so that was my source of food. So thank you! I'll send pictures which work now yay! oh I had pizza its so good! Rumors are true!
I'm so scatter brained right now but just know that I know this gospel is true! I know this is the Lords work. I know prayers are answered if they are sincere. I know that I'm needed here and I'm where I'm suppose to be. I'm so blessed to be apart of this ward. We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of less actives that were as Sister Armstrong would say "bringing back to the fold". The ward is like my surrogate grandparents although nothing could replace the real thing. This ward is filling the holes in my heart of missing my wonderful family. They take care of us for sure! I love you all, cind sorry if this didn't make any sense THE GOSPEL IS TRUE! WERE ON THE WINNING TEAM! STAY THERE AND FIGHT HARD
CLEAR EYES, FULL HEART,, CAN'T LOSE!
With all the love I posess
Sister Clark
P.S. my address.. ya you might want that
105 Corbin Court, Lakewood NJ, 08701
I'm hoping that's right:) all packages go to the office. and my p-day is Monday.. :) that's the info i have today
Mothers day! I will be skyping you from our dear friends the ChairWhiches house!!!:) we have an hour to skype. so I'll call you before and warn you on Sunday. I don't really know how else to plan so I'm just going to go with that:) CAN"T wait
Happy late anniversary mom and dad:) love you!
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| First time at the beach |
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| We had an ant infestation.... |
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