Jersey City - Week 23

1-12-2015

Que Tal familia,

Okay super good week this last week. We had two exchanges which really aren't super crazy because our zone is so stacked on top of itself and so close together that we literally walk like 5 min and we are in the next area on exchange. Its like we are all just working the same little but super dense city. I love it! Also it was superismo cold this last week. No idea where it came from. We were just on a phone call with the assistants when we looked outside and it was snowing. The rest of the week was super cold. Like 15-25 degrees and super windy. We had a big zone conference in Morristown on Friday and only us and two other people in our zone made it on time. There was so much traffic from the snow. It was crazy. Imagine driving 20 miles and it taking 3 hours! Its tough because Jersey City is a peninsula so there is really only two bridges off it back to Newark. So all the cars were just trying to squeeze through. Oh it was crazy. Our car just barely made it before all the traffic. We got there in like 40 minutes. Freezing walking around all week. Thermals and coats and jackets and hats all week. I even broke out some handwarmers once last week. Ha who does that. But it warmed up last night and its raining today so not too bad.

I went on exchange to Bayonne this last week with Elder Garfield. He is a new missionary, only like 3 months out but he is already a super powerful missionary. He knows how to work and have fun. We taught 5 lessons that day and contacted some really cool people. All day in the snow. Then we got some homemade burgers from a Senior Couple. Man, it was a solid day that's for sure. We taught a couple less actives that are just having trouble getting over problems with people in the ward.

On Wednesday we went on splits with the ward. We had a few members there and we all teamed up and went out and taught some less active members. Our ward list is like 25 pages long so we have really been trying to find the inactive people in Jersey and invite them back. Its some powerful stuff. I went with a member named Hermano T---. We went and taught one new member who is not coming to church very often. It was a quick lesson but hey he came yesterday! So pumped for him.

J--- is doing great. The 1st councilor in the Bishopric performed the confirmation yesterday at church. So he is now officially a member! Wooohoo! We are already starting temple prep stuff so he can go to the temple as soon as possible. I will hopefully be able to go with him as well. Neither of his parents are living so he wants to do the temple work for them. 

Found a new family from Hondurus this week. Well just the father for now. But he has three kids and a wife that actually lives there too! No too often we find that in Jersey City. The father's name is M---. We were originally looking for his suegra who is a less active and M--- let us right in.  Ha you should've seen the mother in laws face when walked up the stairs. Not too happy to see two Mormon missionaries in the home. Come on-  all we want to do is to help you! Ha but we started teaching M--- because the mother in law didn't want to listen. So there is a family baptism down the road. They are all awesome.

I am glad you made your decisions on your new RS presidency. Hard decisions but God will bless decisions of inspired leaders.

Sam, keep the music bumpin' so I can hear some fresh beats when I am home.

Dad, hope the weather unleashes some time for biking this week!

Love ya,

Elder Sumsion

SHOUTOUTS********************

Thanks everyone for the Christmas surprises and cards. You are such examples to me!

Ward

Williams

Agnew

Murray

Wilson

Butter

Hirichs

Peers

Gay

Innis

Thanks for the Love!!!

Jersey City - Week 22 - Happy New Year!

Familia que pasa? 

Happy 2015 family! Feels super weird writing that. I cant believe that a whole 2014 has gone by. But wow some cool blessings for the year already. Snowed in Utah and our investigator J--- got baptized yesterday in just about the funniest and craziest day of church in my mission. Thanks for all the prayers seriously. It was such a special day for all of us. Everything came together really nice. But wow things started off crazy. So our ward got switch to meeting at 2 this new year. 2:00? Who does that. Ha so the English ward is before us. The sisters in the English ward had a baptism and it somehow didn't reach us so we didn't know that it was the same day and so they used the baptismal suits for theirs. So then after their baptism we had to search for a dry baptismal suit for Jesus. Finally found one. Then we sit down in Gospel Principles and Jesus says, "Elders I didn't bring any clothes to change into after the baptism. So we are going to have to do it next week." Man, my heart dropped and we were like ok hermano lets walk to your house right now. Oh man we were flipping out but in the end he said, "No hermanos, fue una bromacita." ha he was just joking the whole time. Ha thats what we get for always being jokesters with him. Ha well everything came together great in the end. So happy to see him baptized and the ward was a huge support yesterday. Very happy day.

FIRST baptism that Elder Sumsion actually got to perform!

We taught I--- and his family last Monday. I love this family so much. They got baptized in June and just my favorite people. So happy I got to meet them on my mission. We taught them this last week about prophets and obedience and then she made us some delicious food and then they wanted to play Apples to Apples with us randomly. Holy smokes its been a while since I played that game. We were all laughing so much. 

 

Went on an exchange with Elder Davenport this past week. He actually came into our area and spent the day with Elder Bellavance and I. He is so trunky its unreal. Ha he cracks us up. he has like 2 weeks left on his mission. We taught some boss lessons and found a new investigator and a less active. Ate baleadas with him for $3! Thats a steal. Those things are unreal good. Fun to learn from him hear all his mission stories. 

Finally got P---'-ed this last week. There is this family in our ward called the P---. A mom and 5 daughters and their dad is less active and its pretty hard to get into their house because its hard to gain the dad's trust and respect. I've been here for 2 transfer in their part of the area and it was the first time we finally got over. It took a lot of work to get in but we made it and the dad loves us now and he wants to go play soccer with us and have us over more often. Woohoo. Finally. This guy is so amazing but he is definitely missing something in his life: The gospel. It was a big miracle this week.

Such an awesome week. Sounds like Sam is makin bank at his job. I know Brandon Olsen's brother a little bit. He is a good kid. 

Almost a year exactly from when S--- got baptized- Jan 5th that jesus got baptized- Jan 4th. Crazy

Love you all,

Elder Sumsion