Monday, December 30, 2013

Monday, December 30, 2013

Actually, reading the emails Monday is fine.  We have 2 bars of Wi-Fi from the senior couple upstairs that come kinda in our apartment; so we can read them.  We just can’t send it until we get Wi-Fi.  So if you want to keep doing it on Sunday you can, whatever is easier.

What a great week to talk to you guys!  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Despite all the tears. Haha!  It was hard to refocus but- easier than it was when I left to come here.  Haha!

I am so thankful for the iPad keyboard.  It really saves me a lot of time.  I have learned the importance of keeping detailed records of phone calls and that has been helping a lot to have the keyboard to do it faster.  We have been receiving lots of contact information lately with the simple fact that we are talking to so many people.

This week the goal between the 2 districts was 650 people.   I don't believe we hit it.  The holidays really shot us in the leg for our goal, but honestly I tried realllllly hard, and it was one of those weeks where you are just exhausted afterwards, because you gave it your all.

Speaking of talking to people.  We had a neat experience.  We were inviting a woman on the bus to learn more, and she really wasn’t interested.  She was very polite though.  Then I invited the other lady that was listening to our conversation.   She took a card and said she was on her way to church.  But as another lady left the bus she said, “I want one of those cards please.”  And she took one and walked away. THENNN the bus driver said, "Wait, so what happened after Christ established his church?" and I went to the front and stood by him and just taught him the 3 min restoration and he wanted the website where he could learn more.  He says he sees the elders on his route often [his route passes the church] and he said he would order a Book of Mormon, but we had one on us and so we gave it to him. Nothing like New Yorkers fearlessing you! :)

Christmas and Christmas Eve was spectacular.  We got the awesome pins from president and we were able to hear about all our new goals for the year.  It’s always rejuvenating to talk of goal setting, it just gets you in a "let’s do it" mood.  We also did a lot of reflecting on how the year had gone.  For the upcoming year, president said there will be a progress graph in the office with how we are hitting our goals for the year as a mission.

We have been adding to our elliptical activities, and trying to refine them and make them better.  If you don’t remember, the elliptical is what we call the area around the church. President found that churches in the community that have tons of members are because people around that area attend it.  So he decided we need to do that with our members, strengthen it around the church house and work out. "Everyone" knows the Mormons around the church now, they see what we do.  So we have what is called "elliptical activities" to find people.  We started a new thing that is working well.  We give out hot chocolate and have a shoe shine. We talk to them about who we are and what we are all about as we shine their shoes.  The community loves it :)

We also met a woman on the street who was kind, but didn’t want to learn more.  She called us to ask if she could interview us.  She said she was thinking about it and she really finds it fascinating that 2 young girls are sharing our Christian beliefs in a highly Jewish/Muslim community.  She gave us info we needed to know and I laughed when she said, "Will you need time to get this approved by your temple, or something?" Haha!  I told her it would need to be approved, but i know every once in a while missionaries get interviewed.  So, we called our district leader, and zone leader and will contact president today to see if we will end up doing it. If president says to do it, we will.  It will be a great opportunity to bring the church out of obscurity and help people know who we are and what we believe.  I just stink at things like that, so we'll see what happens.

Things are really going well!  Sister Hodgson is tearing it up.  I am thankful for her as a companion. :)

Love you,

Sister Jalynn Freeze