12/20

Snow! Thursday the flakes finally came down, while we were walking, of course, but the first snowfall is so much fun! I inherited a mammoth scarf from Sister Picard, and now I know why she was always so warm while I shivered in my boots last winter. I had no idea that one item of clothing could make that much of a difference. It's as long as I am, about a foot wide, and THICK. I can wind it several times around my head/neck. I feel a little bit like the little brother in A Christmas Story when I have it on, but I've never been more happy to tract in the snow!

The phrase death by chocolate has never been more real! We are fortunate to live in a ward where the members love us so much, but I think we have enough candy, cookies and other treats to last a couple months if I ate one every day. Sunday the Relief Society surprised us with a huge box filled with shampoo, soap, toothpaste, snacks for the car, candy, two stockings splitting at the seams, and I know not what. I haven't had time to examine it completely yet. Suffice it to say, our tree will have a lot under it Saturday morning! We're planning to meet as a Zone in Eatontown, where we will open all our presents, have a white elephant gift exchange, eat a breakfast provided by the Zone Leaders, and go caroling. Sister Bluth and I have been invited for Christmas dinner at the Serranos' house (Brother Serrano is the Ward Mission Leader) on the Navy base in Lakehurst.

I love Christmas on the mission. Before I left I would have thought that holidays are torturous as a missionary, but you feel the Spirit so much that I can't help being anything but merry at this time of year. Times are still tough. There are still disappointments--investigators still drop you, you still have "bad" days with little success, you still get tired or cold or hungry. My testimony of the Savior is my greatest source of strength and comfort. The past two weeks my thoughts have turned to Him more and more as I've pondered the significance of His birth, life, mission and sacrifice. I think often, especially this week, about how many people are suffering in ignorance about who He really is, their relationship to Him and the very real and strong presence He can have in their lives. Their lack of knowledge prevents them from having faith in Him. There are so many obstacles to coming to know the Savior and coming unto Him--I can't imagine doing so without knowledge of the restored gospel, without the clarifying witness of the Book of Mormon, without the power of the Priesthood, without constant revelation and guidance through a living prophet, relying on the interpretations and preaching of corrupt, misguided, fallen men, and all the while immersed in a world increasing in confusion, sin and evil. How many people know the story of Christ's birth, and yet have never been able to partake of that Gift? It fills me with sorrow for them, and also with gratitude that I was given the gospel before I even knew what a priceless gift I had. More than I ever I feel the burden of my responsibility to carry this gift to others who have not yet received it, and I pray the Lord makes me fit to do so.

The highlight of this week was finding Rita. She lives in Lakewood, Toms River's equivalent of the ghetto. We found her in the Area Book, on the potentials' list. She came to church a long time ago and met the missionaries, but was never taught. Time was limited for both of us, but she let us in. She has at least two children and is married to a Muslim man. He has been trying since they were married to convert her to Islam. I felt prompted to ask her if she believes in Christ, and how she feels about giving up that belief. She responded that she never has been able to give up her faith, because she knows that He is there, but she doesn't go to church because she is confused and doesn't know where to go. We taught a very short, simple lesson focused on the Book of Mormon and how it strengthens our faith in Christ and helps us know Him better. We testified of the peace it would bring into her life, and she said, "Yes, I promise to read this--I need peace in my life!" She held it as tightly as any child holds a Christmas gift. She invited us to come back on Christmas Eve, and I can't wait to go back and see how reading the Book of Mormon helps her.

I love you all so much. I am so grateful for the gospel, and for the gift of the Savior. I hope this Christmas is filled with His Spirit for each of you! Talk to you soon!

Love, love, love,

Sister Black

12/13

No snow last week! I was very surprised. A few flurries here and there, but so far we've been spared the blizzards we've heard about around other parts of the country.

I was greeted by a wonderful surprise Wednesday at Zone Meeting. Sister Greenwood, with whom I was companions my third transfer, finished her mission and went home, and guess who came to replace her??? SISTER COPE, MY GREENIE!!!! I was so excited to see her again, and so soon! Her companion also went home, Sister Cope went to Barnegat, and they've put Elders in my beloved Hoboken. I wasn't sure how I felt about THAT until I found out it's Elder Lebaron. I know he'll do well there and our investigators will be well taken care of. However, I will admit that I was clinging to the hope that I would go back to Hoboken at the end of my mission, which now is impossible. Don't worry, I do love Toms River, but after 7 months in Jersey City, there's no way any other area is ever going to compare. Oh well. Thank goodness I've got a testimony that there is plenty of work to do everywhere, even if the streets are not swarming with people. Even if they're quite desolate, actually.

But I'm happy to report a good week! Faith and works work every time. We had more members coming out with us, taught more lessons, and set two more people with baptismal dates! Zonia is preparing for Jan. 2, Joan for Jan. 23. We taught Zonia the Word of Wisdom the other day and were pleasantly surprised to find that she's already living it. Joan is a hoot. She is a very elderly lady who grunts in reply to most of what you say, but she agrees with everything we've taught and very easily accepted a baptismal invitation. She's the sort that could be overjoyed inside but would still stare at you like you've got antlers.

The ward put on a very ambitious Christmas program the other night, complete with full Christmas dinner, a play, activities, and a Nativity scene. The play was hilarious. The two lead roles were played by elderly sisters, who forgot most of their lines and shouted them at each other when the other forgot or lost her place. I enjoyed it much more than I would have a perfect, polished performance. Many of our investigators came and a lot of members brought their friends. I'm so proud of our ward! They're such good missionaries.

Well, I just love you. Not much more I can say than that. 'Til next week!

Love,

Sister Black

12/6

Sister Bluth hasn't been well since Thanksgiving. I'm beginning to wonder if my existence somehow infects my companions. The mission doc says it's just a virus and the only thing to do is get plenty of rest and fluids and to just wait it out--but her symptoms are eerily similar to Sis. Picard's last year. Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Neither of us slept very well last night, as it was transfers and we kept expecting the mass text to come in. It never did. Problems with the fax machines at the office, apparently. But we finally got a text from the zone leaders saying that if we didn't receive a call from them, we're staying. No call yet, so I think we're in the all clear!

It's been COLD the last few days. There's been a lot of wind and suspicious-looking clouds, so I won't be surprised if snow arrives this week. I've been absolutely delighted to break out my layers. I've somehow accumulated a large collection of scarves and gloves, so I am well prepared, and, thus far, I've been able to withstand the cold better than last year. My hopes are high that I've grown a thicker skin, or something. We'll see when it gets down to 10 degrees.

This was one of those weeks that never seemed to go anywhere and dragged on forever. It happens occasionally. One particularly rough day we came back to the apartment to suit up for knocking and look up some addresses in the area book. While Sister Bluth was busy with something else I went to our room to ask for help. I begged to the Lord to give me patience and faith, to help me retain the Spirit and be able to recognize and follow its lead to someone who needed us that night. I promised that I would follow the Spirit's lead wherever it led. I put on all my layers, we said a prayer, and headed out. We walked from our house to an apartment complex nearby where a former investigator lived. As we approached his building, I saw through a livingroom window a family putting up Christmas decorations together. I felt very strongly that I needed to talk to them. Sister Bluth was already at the door of the former, and he was the one we were there to see, so we knocked--but I kept my eye on that window. Sure enough, he was not there, so I marched right back to that door. It was answered by a woman and her daughter. The mother spoke only Spanish, but the daughter translated and told us that they knew the missionaries well. They had been taught by the Spanish Elders some time ago and used to go to church every Sunday until both the member friend who gave them rides and the missionaries--all of which used to live in their building--moved, and they were apparently forgotten. They still read from the Book of Mormon and were eager for the missionaries to come again, so we took down their information to give to the Elders. Though I only speak enough Spanish to tell people who we are and give them a card, and Leonarda and Angela will not be our new investigators, I am so grateful to the Lord for that experience, for answering my prayer and letting me be an instrument in His hands to help someone.

I love you all! I am so excited for this month, for Christmas, to be a missionary, to be in New Jersey. I am so proud of you all. You're the best.

Love,

Sister Black

11/29

Thanksgiving was truly a day to be grateful! With all the trips back and forth to Morristown, Sister Bluth and I ran out of miles and have been on our bikes every day since Wednesday. Thanksgiving day was cold and rainy, so as we pedalled against the wind from appointment to appointment I put my head down and thought of the many things I am grateful for: a car, so we don't have to ride our bikes all the time; bikes, so we don't have to walk and we can get from place to place faster when we don't have the car--AND so that I can burn off all the extra food we've had; good weather, which we've had in great abundance since I've been in this area; fewer dinner appointments, so I wouldn't have to eat 5 Thanksgiving dinners like I did last time and so I don't get too big for my clothes; good health and fitness, so I have the endurance to ride my bike all day; the gospel, which some people at both our appointments did't have; awesome ward members who invite their friends over when the missionaries are there, which means new investigators for us; Thanksgiving leftovers, so I don't have to cook, and also because my MSF is low; and a wonderful, loving family at home, another thing which is missing from so many people's lives these days.

I'm sorry it's going to be so short this week. Travel is longer on bikes, and there is much to be done today! I love you all so very, very much! I can't believe it's almost December. Next Monday we'll know if one of us being transfered. Sheesh.

Love, love, love,

Sister Black

11/22

I remember once telling a friend near the end of my senior year in highschool that I could see my life before me like a rollercoaster just before you go over that first drop. The anticipation is agonizing getting all the way to the top, then you go over the edge--and before you know it, the ride is over. This week felt like I was going over the edge of my mission. After this week there is only one week left of the transfer, and with so much packed into the next month I know it is going to fly by. We spent three days in Morristown at Leadership Training, which was pure inspiration. The curriculum did not vary in the least from last time, but I feel like I took a whole different course. I particularly enjoyed the roleplays this time. I really put my heart and soul into it and found a lot of answers as to how to help some of our investigators. Our numbers took a huge dive due to our absence, which for me produces a sensation similar to that of nails on a chalkboard. BUT I feel very blessed to have been able to attend again, and Sister Bluth and I have noticed a positive difference in our teaching and the way that the message has been received by our investigators over the last couple days.

Last night we taught Lenore and Tom and found, to our great pleasure, that they had done their homework! They both seemed to have enjoyed the assignment that we gave them, and after a very short, extremely barebones lesson we watched the Restoration video with them. Tom, who usually sits quietly in a corner and only grins and nods when you speak to him, seemed particularly captivated. Afterward we asked him what he thought and how he felt. "Seems pretty true," he said, shrugging. Sister Bluth and I didn't know exactly how to respond to that, so we asked him if he believed that Joseph Smith had seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He nodded and said, "Seems pretty plausible." We couldn't get a more definitive answer out of him than that, so we asked him to pray that night to know if the Book of Mormon was true, and if Joseph Smith was a prophet. he accepted wholeheartedly and said the closing prayer before we left. In his prayer he said, "Please help me to realize that the Book of Mormon is true." He and Lenore both asked when we were coming back, and we scheduled another appointment for tonight! We are planning to set Tom with a date to join his wife, who is preparing to be baptized in January.

In other wonderful news--we had our last choir practice today for the Missionary Christmas Fireside this Sunday, and I got to see Sister Cope. CAROLYN AND CYNTHIA ARE GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!! I almost passed out. They got tired of waiting for Felix to come around and asked Sister Cope and Sister Child one day, "Is it ok if we get baptized?" My heart aches to be there and see them. I still remember contacting them on the street and teaching them for the first time back in April, and I am so grateful to know that they are finally taking this step. I wish there was a way I could stow away to Jersey City, but preparing people to be baptized by other missionaries is a common occurance in a missionary's life that I suppose I must accept.

Well, that's about all, folks. I am doing my best to prepare for perpetual stomach expansion this week. We had an early Thanksgiving dinner last night, actually, turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes and all. AND THEY GAVE ME SOUTHERN COMFORT EGG NOG. Naturally they ascended to the top of my favorite people list pretty much instantly. Sister Sosa is another Osmond fan--Donny looks back at you from all over her apartment. So far we have only one appointment for Thanksgiving, so maybe it won't be too bad, after all.

I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving! Think of me when you get full, because I'll STILL be eating! :)

With thanks,

Sister Black

11/15

What a wonderful week! Tuesday we received awesome training from the Zone Leaders and an official introduction of the mission theme and goals for this month: Thanks.Giving Month--all about giving thanks and giving the gospel. The goals are high and challenging, but I have felt a great difference already, just the last few days, in the way I feel about the work and my place in it. As emphasized by President Monson in the last Conference, gratitude really does bring joy. We've been writing a lot of thank-you notes, recording blessings of the day in our journals, offering prayers of gratitude, searching for verses in the scriptures about giving thanks and sharing the gospel--the list goes on. It's good to be busy and happy.

Bill dropped us. He needs help with transportation, and even after assuring him that there are plenty of members who live nearby who would be more than happy to give him a ride--and also reminding him of the Spirit that he felt as he visited the website, spoke with us, and read the Book of Mormon--he dropped us in favor of another church just around the corner from him. It kills me every time this happens, which is all too often. But the work goes on. We got another media referral, sent by a member living in PA, to visit Bob. Gotta love the 3-letter B-names. We got to teach him and his wife the other day. They've been church hopping for a while, searching for the church that feels right and agrees with what they've learned from their extensive study of the Bible. I love telling such people about Joseph Smith. They positively light up to hear that there was someone else like them, looking for answers, who found what they were looking for--and it proved to be the same for them. After every couple sentences of Joseph Smith's story he would interject, "That's what I do!" We have a return appointment Tuesday. My hopes are high! Missionaries foam at the mouth to teach couples and families.

Which reminds me of Alicia and Chris. Alicia has been meeting with the sisters sporatically for a couple months now. She loves Joseph Smith, has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying, and REALLY wants to come to church. However, she hesitates because her husband, Chris, is not interested at all, and she is afraid to make the journey into membership alone. We met with the two of them and a member for the first time the other night, and he just wouldn't bite. He has no religious background at all, and dislikes organized religion. We left the Restoration video for them to watch together. Hopefully that will spark some more interest in the future!

Going to Leadership Training in Morristown again this week, and I can't wait. It was one of the best experiences of my mission, and I'm looking forward to a repeat. It will be different this time, though. Both Sister Bluth and I will be attending, and with the distance we have no choice but to stay with sisters in the area all three days, which means no work will be done in our area during that time! Lots of preparing to do the next couple days.

Had missionary choir practice after Zone Meeting for the Christmas fireside--really ambitious this year, TONS of music, and some of it challenging. Nervous about finding the time to practice it all. Praying that a concert pianist will be sent to take over for me soon, or at least lighten the load. However I do love the massive collection of music I've accumulated over the past year.

I love you all! I'm grateful for you and pray for you all the time.

Sister Black

11/8

It's cold.

Hard to believe it's that time of year again! As evidenced by the FEAST we were fed at a member's house yesterday, I have great reason to fear the next couple of months. We have dinner appointments almost every day this week, and Thanksgiving is filling up. As well as our fridge. I plan not to buy any food until January. Maybe I'll ask special permission to spend my funds on skirts with elastic waistbands. And I'll really have to maximize those thirty minutes of exercise every morning. Sheesh.

However, this is definitely the best time to be a missionary. The holidays are the best when you're serving the Lord. We get to join our voices with the angels in declaring glad tidings of great joy to everyone around us! My mind is all aflurry with images of the snow, the lights, the carols, and the thought of bringing someone more cheer than they've ever had at Christmas--what better time to invite people to come unto Christ and experience greater joy than they have ever had? I'm excited. I hope the Christmas spirit will soften people's hearts as well. As excited as I am, I remember well the long hours spent tracting in the snow, making puppy eyes at people only to have them shout, "Whadya stupid? Get outta the cold!" :) Makes for some good laughs, if nothing else.

Got a text from the MTC this week to deliver a Book of Mormon to Bill. During our appointment with him he said that he wants to "walk with God", and that after a conversation with a member friend and a visit to mormon.org, he felt that this was the place to learn how to do that. He said that, while looking at the website, he was overcome with a wonderful feeling of peace and joy that he's never experienced before. When we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, he said, "I will because you've asked me to, but I have no doubt that this is true." Near the end of the lesson I was about to invite him to baptism, but he beat me to it. "What do I need to do to prepare to be baptized?" he asked. Sister Bluth and I had to pick our jaws up off the floor to answer him. Our next appointment with him is Wednesday. I can't wait!!!

Forgot to mention last week that I met a certain Brother Geschwandtner my first Sunday here. Got to speak in German for a whole five minutes! And I found a small Buch Mormon in our apartment. Don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to place it, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to use my German skills, however limited.

Love you all!

Schwester Schwarz

11/1 - November 4th marks a year down, 6 months to go!

Goooooooood Morning!

It is a BEAUTIFUL fall day in Toms River! Sister Bluth and I are the only missionaries in our ward, covering Ocean County, the largest county in New Jersey. This is the Jersey Shore I've heard so much about. It's a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Jersey City and Hoboken. I was thrilled to see grass and trees, especially at this time of year--the colors are absolutely gorgeous. But it definitely gives a sense of distance and isolation. We are in Cherry Hill territory, and it took an hour and a half to get here from Morristown. Sister Greenwood is the only missionary in our district that I know, and we only see other missionaries at our meetings on Tuesday. Sacrament meeting was quiet yesterday--very few students, newlyweds or young families here. The first counselor in the Bishopric recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

So! Lots to get used to here, but I'm loving it already. Tuesday night we drove directly from transfer conference to meet with Bishop Barton. He is a big, growly Jersey man who knows how to run the work in this ward. His goal is to replace full-time missionaries in his ward with...the members! He has a detailed, written ward mission plan with lots of member involvement. This is the first time I have arrived in a unit and felt like the Bishop ran the work, not the missionaries--which is the way it should be! He invited us to speak in Sacrament yesterday, took 20 minutes at the end of the meeting to talk about missionary work, and also taught the third hour--all about missionary work. And the members are all on board as well. We spent a lot of time this week teaching them how to use Preach My Gospel. We assigned every member we taught to memorize the principles of the first three lessons so that they could participate in teaching on team-ups and be prepared to teach their friends and families when approached with questions. Sister Card came up to me all excited on Sunday to report that she had found her copy of Preach My Gospel and already begun her memorization. As expected, the work in this area reflects the involvement of its members. Two recent converts passed the sacrament for the first time yesterday; we have three people set with baptismal dates as well as a decent number who are progressing and ready to be set with dates--one, Tracey, will be baptized this Sunday!

Sister Bluth is one of the gentlest souls I have ever met. She is from New Mexico and is the fifth child in her family to serve a mission. I met her back in February, when I was still with Sister Picard. She was the only missionary to arrive that transfer, and Sister Picard and I went street contacting with her in Newark her first night here--it's called Fear Buster. If talking to people in Newark doesn't cure you of a hesitancy to talk to strangers, I don't know what will. As it is suburban we do a lot of knocking here in Toms River, and I am definitely rusty! Sister Bluth is very determined and persistent and gets her message in before the door closes. Over the course of the last year I have found ONE investigator by knocking. Sister Bluth has found many, so I have a lot to learn from her! We've a lot of fun this week. This area is HUGE and there's no rhyme or reason to the roads--that's just Jersey, though--so getting around has been interesting. Our apartment is in the basement of a member's home. I can touch the ceiling! WithOUT standing on my toes! I can easily see over the fridge. And the kitchen counter reaches between my knee and hip. I call it the Hobbit apartment. I think all of you would actually have to duck in some areas. But it's very nicely put together and decorated.

Well, that's about all the news I have for today. I'm hoping if we get our errands done quickly we can go to the Shore! I haven't seen the ocean in a long time.

Love you!

Sister Black

10/25

The fated text arrived last night, and, as expected, I am being transferred. I have spent more than a third of my mission in this area. At risk of sounding a little melodramatic, I am crushed. I am leaving at a time when the escalator is moving up--a lot of people with whom I have been working for a long time and whom I love very much are so close to baptism. BUT life does go on. I remember being devastated to leave my first area. And I find a lot of peace and joy in knowing that I am leaving this area strong and running, much better than I found it.

Giovanni was confirmed yesterday. It is now his habit to glow like a streetlamp wherever he goes. He radiates joy and good humor, even on his down days. Richard will probably be baptized this coming Saturday. The entire Nyero family (Carolyn, Cynthia and Felix) finally came to church yesterday. That is usually the straw that breaks the camel's back. I look forward to hearing of their baptism soon.

I think it's about time for a funny story. So, in an effort to be a better, more loving companion, I decided to surprise Sister Cope and make breakfast yesterday. It was ready at a quarter to 8, but she was still getting ready and I didn't want it to get cold, so I stuck it in the oven. Then I realized that while I was in the shower she might make her own breakfast, so I used the magnetic letters all over our fridge to make a large, very obvious "LOOK IN THE OVEN" sign, complete with a huge pointing arrow. I then proceeded to get ready and began my personal studies. A few minutes later Sister Cope also sat down at her desk--without breakfast. So I made a paper airplane with "LOOK IN THE OVENNNNNNNUH!!!!" written on it and threw it at her head. Cue the giggles. In all her rummaging through the kitchen for a quick breakfast she had still managed to miss the huge sign and resigned herself to Reese's pieces. Moral of the story: maybe TELL your companion you made breakfast.

Awkward moment of the week: Sister Arguelles had leftover hot dog buns and apples from a party and brought them to church for us. In our haste we left them behind, but the Zone Leaders grabbed them for us and called to let us know. Imagine Sister Cope's face when over the phone Elder Rope said, "Oh, and we grabbed your buns...(realization hits)...and apples...(hysterical laughter from Elder Guinto in background)". Sister Cope managed to keep her composure until she got off the phone.

That's all I got.

Love you!

Sister Black

10/18

Giovanni was baptized yesterday. At church he was absolutely fidgeting, he was so anxious. Several times throughout the week he would tell us, "I don't want to wait for Sunday, I just want to be baptized already!" The service was beautiful. Many of his family members attended, and there was a great turnout and a lot of support from the ward. Giovanni has definitely been one of the biggest miracles of my mission thus far. I can't believe we only met him three weeks ago. He has changed so much in that short time! I wish you could have seen him literally jumping for joy when he saw the baptismal font all filled up. I will never forget the look on his face. I am so grateful that I've been here to see such a miracle.

In other news, the zone leaders spilled the beans and told me they are 100% positive I'm being transfered next week. After nearly seven months I feel like I'm leaving the MTC all over again. I will miss this area very much. It's the place I have learned and grown the most. The ward is like my second home--the people here have been such a strength and support, more like family than just members that I work with. I hope President changes his mind, or that the Elders are wrong. BUT. I'll be good. I'll be faithful. I won't complain wherever I go. And I'm sure when I leave that area I'll be mourning all over again.

I love you all! I hope you're being good and thinking good missionary thoughts. They're the happiest ones. :)

Sister Black

10/13

I'm so sorry this is so late. Columbus day + a companion who has gotten really good at scheduling back-to-back appointments all day = no emailing until Wednesday. :) Aaaaaaaand it's going to be short.

Giovanni passed his baptismal interviews with flying colors and is ready to jump in the water! He's told all his friends and family about it and asks us every day if he can just be baptized already.

Last week was one of our best, and it's just getting better. With transfers nearing, I'm afraid that my time on the Hudson front may be drawing to a close. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm here for just a couple more months. Hey, maybe President will leave me here forever! Zone Conference is this week, I'll give him puppy eyes and see if he'll let me stay.

All right. Gotta go. Got an appointment.

Love you bunches!

Sister Black

10/4

Conference was absolutely wonderful, and over far too quickly. One of my greatest joys this time around was to watch it with my good friend Ray, who was baptized back in July. Ray has been doing really well. We see him at least once a week, he attends church faithfully and has an appetite for the gospel similar to a shopvac. He studies at work every day from the Book of Mormon, the gospel principles manual and even studied Sister Fonua's spare copy of Preach My Gospel for a time. He almost read the whole thing and is now hankering after a triple combination so he can begin Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. He is anxious for the welfare of his friends and children and, despite feelings of inadequacy, frequently teaches and testifies to them. He tells everyone that their problems will all be solved if they would just read the Book of Mormon. His faith and testimony are completely solid, and if he lacks anything it is patience--during our last visit he suggested that we teach with shotguns and threaten stubborn investigators with destruction (both physical and spiritual) if they don't comply. Since we began teaching him he has been curious about President Monson and the other General Authorities and has been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to hear them speak. Throughout both sessions he both nodded and grunted his approval of what was said and took notes. I love Ray so much! I can't wait to return and go to the temple with him.

Giovanni surprises me every time we see him. He has relatively easily sailed over some major spiritual hurdles and is steadily progressing towards his baptism on October 17. I have been amazed by the change that such simple things as prayer, study of the Book of Mormon and church attendance have made in him. He can never say enough how happy he is, how excited he is to continue to learn. He has received some awesome support from the ward as well. He has had dinner twice at a member's home now and is quickly making other friends. He loved General Conference and told us yesterday that he feels like grabbing a megaphone and shouting the good news of the gospel to everyone who passes by.

I thank you for your support and prayers. I pray that God keeps you all safe and happy, and prepares the way before you to achieve everything necessary to your welfare and happiness.
Love,
Sister Black

9/27

This week was like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. Remember those new simplified training techniques I was telling you about and begging prayers on behalf of my brain for a few weeks ago? They refer to it simply as Leadership Training, specifically for zone leaders, district leaders and trainers. Sister Cope and I were both required to attend last week. For three days straight we immersed ourselves in Preach My Gospel and the scriptures, watched segments from The District 2 (reality TV style documentary of a district in San Diego, CA used to instruct missionaries), received training from President and Sister Bahr, the assistants and selected zone leaders, and roleplayed everything we were learning. I've never roleplayed more in my life, nor have I ever appreciated roleplaying so much as a learning and application tool. We had the opportunity to roleplay situations and challenges we were having with real investigators and experiment with ways that we could help and teach them. It was focused very much on following the Spirit, asking inspired questions and listening intently to the answers that were given, discerning their needs and teaching the doctrine accordingly. It has been, and resulted in, some of the best experiences of my mission thus far.

The first day of training Sister Cope and I got back to our area just in time for a 7:00pm appointment at the West New York chapel with Giovanni, a potential investigator discovered by the Spanish Elders. His demeanor belied his appearance--Giovanni has tattoos up and down both arms and several piercings in his ears. He was very soft spoken, almost timid, but friendly; I could tell that he had been very humbled. Our minds reeling with everything that we had learned that day, eager to apply it and with the faith that it would work the miracles promised, we explained our purpose to him and said a prayer. We strained to follow the Spirit as we asked questions and sought to understand him and his needs. I felt a sincere love for him as he related to us some of the trials and struggles he has endured. He was very depressed, and even said that he felt God hated him, but expressed a desire to know Him better and draw closer to Him. Sister Cope and I bore our testimonies of a loving, forgiving Heavenly Father and the healing that Giovanni could experience through repentance and the Atonement. We committed him to read from and pray about the Book of Mormon, taught him how to pray, and knelt as he offered the closing prayer. The Spirit was very tangible throughout the lesson, and Giovanni agreed to meet us again Saturday.

Due to our return appointment with him, Sister Cope and I actually missed the Relief Society broadcast. I've heard from a lot of people that it was very good, but would not trade it for the experience we had with Giovanni that night. He got to the chapel before we did, and as we entered the doors I noticed immediately the change in his countenance. For lack of a better description, he looked comfortable in his own skin. His smile was genuine, not polite, and as we asked him how his reading in the Book of Mormon went, he said he had a problem: he was having trouble sleeping at night, because all he wanted to do was read it. As we taught him about the Restoration and continued to ask inspired questions, he spoke of prophets, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon in ways that I had never expected. He even stopped mid-sentence and said, "I didn't know this before. I didn't think this just now, it's just coming out of me, from my heart, from somewhere else." He said that he had learned, just from reading the first few pages of the Book of Mormon, that he had been wrong, that God did love him. "I'm glad I was wrong!" he said. His only concern was how his Catholic mother would react when he inevitably told her that he was going to be a Mormon. When we invited him to be baptized, the Spirit filled the room, and he smiled and said, "When?" He is now preparing to be baptized on October 17. He came to church with a member family yesterday and told us excitedly that he had already spoken to his mother, and that she was okay with it because she could see how happy he was.

I cannot begin to put in words the joy that Sister Cope and I have felt the last few days. There have still been disappointments, losses and failures, but the ways that our faith and testimonies have been strengthened drown out discouragement. I know more than ever the power of the Atonement and the Book of Mormon, and how quickly they can change our lives if we let them.

Time to go. I love you all soooooooooo much. Congratulations on passing your exam, Mom, and on finally getting a job, Em! I know how relieved you must be. Until next week!

Love,
Sister Black

9/13

Sister Fonua is getting transfered! We were all so hopeful that, since she only has one transfer to go, she would stay in this area, but no. She is needed elsewhere. I have learned so much from her, more than any other period of time on my mission thus far. Transfer Conference ought to be interesting tomorrow. I wonder if they'll keep Hoboken a trio area? Trios are way fun and can be extremely efficient, so hopefully Sister Cope and I will be bringing home another companion tomorrow!

Let me tell you about Pat. Pat was given a Book of Mormon by a professor many years ago and lost it before he could read it, so he called and ordered one a couple months ago. Sister Bean and I delivered his copy and taught him one lesson before the areas were combined and Sister Bean was transfered. He grew up a very devout catholic and even considered becoming a priest, but after the scandals in Massachusetts (sp?)--and aided by his training as a lawyer--he lost faith both in the Catholic church and God. However, since he found out that he is going to be a father he has been studying various religions, trying to restore his faith and find the church that is best for his family. He didn't seem terribly interested in meeting with us and was just happy to get his Book of Mormon and read it at his own leasure. But I had such a good feeling about him that I wouldn't leave him alone. :) I called and called and texted and did everything I could to get a return appointment with him, which was eventually successful. Pat has progressed in leaps and bounds since then. He is somewhere in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and has read several chapters from Jesus the Christ, which he says is "light reading". Psh. His appointments are awesome but usually result in a slight headache on my part. He uses a lot of big words. ;) Our last lesson with him was especially rewarding for me. He's been pondering a lot about Joseph Smith and trying to recognize and understand the Spirit and how it speaks to him. He said the other day that he feels he can now say he believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He loves the clarity he feels when he reads the Book of Mormon! I love the Book of Mormon so much . It's the best.

But anyways I have two minutes left. Pray for Pat! He's worried about how he can share these things with his nonreligious wife, and he's finding it difficult to come to church.

I love you!

Sister Black

8/30

Can I just tell you how much I love our investigators? We've had some really good experiences with a lot of them this week. Let me tell you about some of them.

Once upon a time, Sister Bean and I were doubled into an area with very little happening. Our area book did not look too pretty, but we did their best and began visiting potential and former investigators. One of them was Sylvester Wright. He is from Sierra Leone and has worked as a translator for the UN. He became familiar with the church in Africa and obtained a copy of the Book of Mormon, but never actively investigated the church. When Sister Bean and I met him he had read a great deal, but did not want to meet with the missionaries until he had finished reading it. We managed to get a return appointment, but through a series of cancellations, reschedulings, and unreturned phone calls we decided to return him to the area book, to be checked up on at some future point.

Fast forward a few months and our area had been combined with Hoboken, Sister Bean had been transferred, I served in a trio with Sister Fonua and Sister Tolman, Sister Tolman had been transferred, and I am now training Sister Cope in a trio with Sister Fonua. Phew. We decided that we needed to spend some more time in what we now call the "north" area (previously its own area, North Bergen), and after all our plans fell through and we were aimlessly roaming the streets of West New York, Sylvester Wright popped into my head. So we stopped by and knocked on his door. His wife proceeded to yell at us through the door that he no longer lives there and she doesn't understand why people keep coming by, etc., etc. We called a cheerful, "Have a nice day!" and continued on our way.

A few days later I was still thinking about Sylvester, so Sister Cope found his number and gave him a call. He answered! An appointment was scheduled and we returned and taught him at his door. This time Sylvester said that he feels the Book of Mormon is true because it agrees completely with the Bible, and because of the Spirit he feels with him when he reads it. Sylvester said that in order to find joy and be close to God we must be willing to find His will for us, follow His Spirit and faithfully obey. The Spirit filled the hallway, and yielding to its guidance we testified of the restored gospel and committed Sylvester to be baptized on September 12.

It was one of the best lessons I think we've had. It was so clear in my mind what needed to be said and done, and Sylvester's prayer before we left was beautiful. He prayed to be led by the Spirit to know if he should be baptized on the 12th and requested that same Spirit to be poured out on Sister Cope, Sister Fonua and me as we continued to bring the gospel to others.

I wish I had more time to tell you about our lessons with Pat and Manny this week. Ach! I'll tell you about them next week.

Love yas!

Sister Black

8/23

I'm sorry to hear that the weather has been so ugly. It's been raining here the past few days, and the nights continue to be cool. I hear tell from longer-time ward members that the weather turns at the beginning of September, so my hopes are high that I will soon remember what it feels like not to be sweaty and sticky. However, Sister Fonua, Sister Cope and I find that people still want to talk to us, even when our makeup is melting off, our hair sticks out a mile from our heads (not an exaggeration in Sister Fonua's case, Tongan hair does not do well in humidity), and we have very attractive sweat marks from our bags. It's amazing what the Spirit can do, even to one's appearance to others, and especially to those who are not familiar with the Spirit. People often tell us that there's "just something different" about us.

I am convinced that the best way to spread the gospel is to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon, which I told you about last Monday. Several times last week we ran into people who had received a copy of the Book of Mormon from someone, sometimes many years back. Even if they haven't ever opened the cover, they all remember the kindness of the friend who gave it to them and are willing to stop and listen to our message. Preach My Gospel says that when members share the gospel with their friends, it softens their hearts. I am absolutely delighted to hear about Caroline's acceptance of the Book of Mormon challenge and Mom's offer to go out with the sisters! I know that those will both be really good experiences for you. Emma, I have often taken young women out with me and my companions, and they always love it! I have had girls call me back the next day and ask when they can come out again. Seriously, there is nothing more fun than sharing the gospel. So I am strongly suggesting that you give it a try, too. ;)

Had a cool experience the other day. We had some appointments fall through and came back to the apartment to regroup and figure out our next plan of attack. I decided to look at some old progress records for names of people who had investigated previously and had come to church. I chose two names that lived on the same street a few blocks away, and we headed out. We were almost to the first address when I spotted a man sitting on the steps outside his apartment building. I introduced myself, and he immediately shook my hand, smiled, and called himself "Brother Robert". He has studied religion for many years, looking for forgiveness and a way closer to God. His library actually already included the Book of Mormon, but his copy was lost in a move. We gave him a new one and are planning on seeing him again this Saturday. Talk about being led right where you're needed.

I'm out of time.

Love you!

Sister Black

8/16

So I was just telling a member the other day that we've never had sister missionaries in our ward and how sad that makes me now that I've served around so many amazing sisters and that I'm hoping someday that they'll open the area to sisters, and POOF. Sisters. I almost fell out of my chair. It makes the idea of being home the entire summer after my mission much more bearable, no offense. ;) My life will probably consist of working, going on splits, eating, and sleeping.

Omar was confirmed yesterday! We met with him the Friday before. For some reason I'm always afraid that something will happen in the week between the baptism and confirmation and our little seedlings will get choked out by the weeds or scorched by the sun, etc. as the Bible says--but as one of our favorite members, Sister Sabo and I waited for him at a park (we were on splits--we're ALWAYS on splits) and watched him approaching, there was a definite confidence in his step, and a big, happy smile on his face. He said he was feeling really good, and he asked us how he could help all the suffering people around him. We gave him a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon and challenged him to give it to someone in need in the next two weeks. He said he already had someone in mind and is really excited to give it away.

We've been "flooding the earth" with the Book of Mormon, as President Benson said, by giving copies to our members, encouraging them to fast/pray for someone to give it to, then roleplaying with them different ways they can go about it. An adorable older couple just moved here a few weeks ago from Bountiful, UT, and Sister Imlay volunteered in Relief Society to be the next to take the challenge. She was very nervous during roleplaying and was worried about offending whomever she might give it to, but we practiced with her and promised that the Spirit would help her. Not two days later we got an ecstatic message on our phone from Sister Imlay, reporting that she'd given the BOM away to a perfect stranger after striking up a conversation with him and bringing the gospel up. "He wasn't offended or anything!" she exclaimed. It's been so much fun to work with the members and see the excitement they get for missionary work when they have these experiences.

So I'm curious. When was the last time any of you gave away a Book of Mormon? I'd never done it before now. Might we make it a family goal? I have a testimony that there are opportunities everywhere and that Heavenly Father IS putting people in our path for US to talk to and if we have the faith to open our mouths, we will find them! I'm sure there's a Preach My Gospel in the house somewhere. Instant FHE material! Read it! Use it!

One minute left. I love you like a fat kid loves cake!

Sister Black

8/9

This week was so jam-packed, I can't even begin to tell you everything that's happened--even an hundredth part of my doings cannot be contained in these writings. Early Tuesday morning Sisters Fonua and Tolman dropped me off at the mission office with all the other soon-to-be trainers, and I found my very first companion, Sister White, was among them, as was another Elder from my MTC district. We're growing up and having "children" of our own! Oh how fast it is going. We carpooled to the mission home, where we were given some instruction by President and Sister Bahr before meeting the new missionaries. My new little one is Sister Cope. She is from Bountiful, UT and is the goofiest person I think I have ever met! I love her to death. She has a natural ability to follow the Spirit's lead and blew everyone away during roleplays at Zone Meeting the next day. She is a tough one! Due to some confusion at the MTC, she and the rest of her district were shipped out Monday night, instead of morning, and didn't arrive until 5:30 Tuesday morning, the day of transfers. They went about 36 hours without sleep, but Sister Cope worked her hardest her first day anyway.
Training in a trio is crazy. Sister Fonua is still with us! She has two transfers left and is delighted to be staying in this area, she's hoping this is where she'll "die" (finish her mission). I'm glad to have her, she is very experienced and has given me a lot of good tips for training. Elder Westover, one of the assistants, told me that training is a humbling experience, and it certainly is. It has shown me just how inadequate I and every other missionary really is to do this work. All I can do is be a vehicle for the Spirit and live and work so that it can speak through me. Sister Cope seems to be thriving despite my mistakes and faults, so hopefully I'm doing a good job! This is a great time and a great area to enter the mission. This week we had two baptisms, Ping and Omar, Omar was confirmed yesterday and Sister Cope set our investigator Eric with a date!

Funny story. So Sister Plange, one of my favorite ward members, is known for giving missionaries a hard time when she sees them out working. She likes to pretend she's not a member, approach the Elders as though she's interested, and then be very difficult and ask crazy questions until they're sweating bullets. So we thought we'd get her back. The other day we brought Sister Cope to meet her and told her that she was deaf (Sister Cope can sign very well). We had Sister Plange absolutely convinced! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. She was writing things down, doing charades, over-anunciating her words, everything short of literally bending over backwards to make Sister Cope comfortable and make sure that everything was communicated correctly. Sister Fonua and I nearly lost it several times. We had her going for about a half hour before, after a pause in the conversation, Sister Cope thanked Sister Plange for the lunch she'd served us and said very sweetly, "Thank you for the hot dog." The look on Sister Plange's face was priceless! She knew it couldn't have been me or Sister Fonua that spoke. She told us later she had even wondered for a moment if it was a miracle, the Holy Spirit speaking for this new Sister missionary. She almost killed us when she realized how badly we'd gotten her, but she was too impressed with us to really be mad. :)

It's been a hard, wonderful, crazy, back-breaking, joyous, hilarious week all rolled up in one. That's basically that best way to sum up mission life. I'm glad to hear you all are doing well. I loooooooooove you!

Sister Black

8/2

The weather here has actually been quite nice the past few days. It hasn't been as hot during the day, we've had a lot of storms and it's beginning to cool off at night. Probably won't last long, but I'm enjoying it!

Transfers again last night. I swear every transfer feels shorter than the one before. It's official. I will be in this area longer than I was in my first! Sister Tolman is getting transferred and Sister Fonua and I are staying here. We will be joined tomorrow by another brand-new sister, whom I have been called to train. It's a big responsibility and I'm a leeeeetle bit nervous about it, but I know they don't ask people to train willy-nilly, and it is a tried and tested truth that we as missionaries can and are expected to receive revelation daily, hourly, basically every moment of every day. So I'm expecting a lot of revelation this transfer!

Thanks for your prayers on behalf of my brain! I have noticed a big difference. It's still nowhere near perfect, but I feel when I am teaching that I can more quickly discern what our investigators need and how to help them. The words come, especially as I say prayers in my heart during our lessons. And we are looking forward to seeing the fruits of our labors with two baptisms scheduled for this week, Ping on Friday and Omar on Sunday!

7/26

Lots of changes this week which will carry through the rest of my mission and beyond. A new training from the Brethren is changing the way that we teach. It is the way missionaries have been intended to teach all along, but it is helping those of us who haven't gotten the memo yet to catch up. As the senior companion, Sister Fonua spent four days in Morristown at a seminar for all the leadership in which they were given this training and are now to teach it to the rest of us. It will be introduced to missionary training centers worldwide in May. Even though we no longer use the memorized "discussions" to teach, many missionaries, myself included, still have a tendency to take the lessons in Preach My Gospel and present them to investigators. They were intended to add depth to the knowledge, understanding and testimonies of missionaries, not investigators, so that missionaries can take the knowledge that they gain and adapt it to investigators' needs. This training is meant to tear down the old way of thinking and establish a teaching method based more completely on the Spirit. It involves a lot of inspired questions, silence, and listening. And it is twisting my brain into knots! I didn't realize how reliant on the lessons I had become until I was required to teach to a commitment without knowing which lesson I was teaching. I did it in a roleplay with Sister Fonua last night and drew a complete blank after saying one sentence. So I anticipate a lot of migraines in the coming weeks, but I am excited to take my teaching to a new level. Not only will it benefit me but, more importantly, it will make all the difference for our investigators. Prayers, which I already know you give in abundance and for which I am very grateful, would be appreciated! Please pray that my brain will be able to work in this new way and that I will be able to follow the Spirit.

Ray was baptized Saturday morning. It was beautiful. He was confirmed the next day and was an absolute ray of sunshine. I've never seen anyone so happy or felt such a glow come from a person. It made me want that much more to help someone else find the joy and peace that only the gospel brings. More than anything I feel gratitude that I was able to be a part of such a wonderful thing. I know I didn't earn it. One of our missionaries once said that the baptisms we get to participate in are God's gift to us. The work we do is our gift to Him. The gift I've received is far greater than the one I've given! Though I know they will never compare, I hope that I can bring the two into slightly close proportion.

Fun experience before I go. Due to an agreement we made with some of our investigators Sister Tolman and I attended a spanish Pentecostal church yesterday while Sister Fonua was on a split with a member. Never been to one before, and I must say that it was a lot of fun. We were escorted by our friend Joseph to the very front row. By the end my ears were ringing as though we had just sat through another N*Sync concert! It was very interesting to see the differences between methods of worship. I can see the attraction. It was fun and exhilarating, but I was grateful afterwards to return to the peace and reverence of the chapel in Jersey City.

7/19

It's been an awesome week. Ray had a second interview, passed with flying colors, and is preparing for his baptism this Saturday @ 11am. He came to the same conclusion as you, Mom, and is confident that his testimony of Joseph Smith will continue to come with time, prayer, and faithful study. Another investigator Bradley is getting baptized on Sunday, and two more are set for August 1. Needless to say, Sister Fonua, Sister Tolman and I are all ecstatic. I love them so much! I can't believe how much fun we've been having. The other day Sister Fonua and I were about ready to pee our pants we were laughing so hard, and I asked, "Are we supposed to be having this much fun?" Sometimes it boggles my mind how physically fatigued we can be, how many disappointments we endure and how many challenges/trials spring up in our way, and yet we enjoy every minute of it.

I had a sweet experience the other day. As a zone we fasted from lunch Friday to lunch Saturday. I wouldn't recommend it, it's definitely harder going to bed hungry. But anyway, after some pondering about discussions we've had during companion study, I decided that I need to be more converted. I chose that as the focus of my fast and asked Heavenly Father in my prayers to help me to better understand conversion and, more importantly, apply it. A few days beforehand I had grabbed a few issues of the Ensign at random and stacked them on my desk as study material. Saturday afternoon, shortly after ending my fast, I grabbed a Conference issue from 2002 and opened immediately to a talk by Elder Scott on conversion. My heart swelled with gratitude for such a swift answer to my searching. I am so grateful for a loving, mindful Heavenly Father, who is so willing to bless us if we but ask!

7/12

Life in a trio is crazy. It's like a slumber party all the time, except that we're constantly on the go, going on splits with members, trying to cover as much ground as possible and we sag into bed every night. Sister Fonua would admit wholeheartedly that she is an absolute slave-driver, but I have never worked so hard nor felt so good in my life! She's teaching me the real meaning of hard work. If any of you thinks you know what hard work is, just ask Sister Fonua. She'll set you straight and rock your world. Sister Tolman is two months into her mission and reminds me every day of what it felt like to be a greenie. She has the biggest heart of anybody I know and is incredibly sensitive to the Spirit. Like every new missionary, she doesn't know a lot. But she has a huge testimony and a sincere desire for the welfare and salvation of others, and she doesn't give up. I love both my companions so much! We'll be together a minimum of three weeks, and I have a feeling it's going to go by way too fast. Chances that we'll stay together after that are pretty small.

Ray was not baptized yesterday. Sister Fonua says that she has never had a smooth baptism, so I'm trying not to get too hysterical about it. The adversary works the hardest on people immediately before and after baptism. Going through this experience with Ray has made me wonder what it was like for you and Dad? I know it can't have been easy, but perhaps looking back through years of experiece and increased understanding makes it seem so? Right now Ray feels like his whole world is being turned upside down and is having a hard time adjusting, even if it's true and even if it's a good thing. He still knows he wants to be baptized and is having another interview on Friday. In the mean time we're wracking our brains to figure out what we can do to help him feel more secure, especially about Joseph Smith. Book of Mormon? Best book in the world. Word of Wisdom? Check. Tithing? Piece of cake. Law of Chastity? No sweat. Joseph Smith?...Not so much. So that's the story right now.

BUT. We found bajillions of new people to teach this week. One of the coolest experiences was when I was on splits with our member Sister Sabo. While the other sisters were checking on less-actives, we went to contact media referrals. After several failed attempts, we caught one at home, Jose. He's only fifteen and is a member of a group started by and for teens called FIGHT (Faith In God Holds Truth). He and a handful of other youth in the area are striving to help their peers go to church and have more faith in their lives. They saw that they could get free Bibles from us, so they all ordered them. Jose called up his buddies and Sister Sabo and I were able to teach three young boys and schedule a return appointment, to which they will bring their twelve other group members! We gave them copies of the Book of Mormon, committed them to read, and will be meeting them at the West New York chapel today. Can't wait to see what happens!

Time to go. I love you!!!

Sister Black

7/6

Well the 4th is HUGE out here, and the library was still closed yesterday, so sorry for the delay. It was a fun day. We went to a barbecue at the Arguelles' and ate our weight in kabasi, sauerkraut, hot dogs, burgers, deviled eggs, potato salad, and many varieties of pies, cakes and jello. We didn't get to listen to them, but we heard that the Motab was in Manhattan performing during the fireworks, which were plentiful on both sides of the river. The show nearest us in Union City was spectacular--they were shooting them off from each port all up and down the Hudson, and they were timed perfectly to go off at the same time. We didn't get to see much of it, but enough that I say we've got to come back next year! President gave us permission to stay up a little later and go see fireworks last night, and we went as a zone to Summit to enjoy some Rita's gelati and see a pretty good show.

We got a call from the assistants Sunday night. Sister Bean is being transferred :( and...drumroll...the North Bergen and Hoboken areas are combining, and I am going to be in a trio with Sister Fonua and Sister Tolman! :D There are MANY changes coming with Cherry Hill joining us, not just transfers. We are getting new phones (yippee), and mail will be collected only twice a month. SO. Probably anybody who wants to send mail should send it to my new apartment:

170 Bowers St.
Jersey City, NJ
..........google the zip

There's another all-mission conference tomorrow, where we will finally meet the new missionaries and we will probably be learning about other changes as well. I can't even tell you how excited I am to meet the new sisters! I can't wait for tomorrow.

AND RAY IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!

'Nuff said.

So when you're a missionary, pretty much EVERYTHING has a gospel application. I've been really excited for the 4th of July. I think it would be almost an understatement to say that we are a patriotic family and that we recognize the blessing it is to live in the good ol' USA and to enjoy the freedoms that we do. We know that this country had its beginning in people's desire to have the freedom to worship as they saw fit. As I have pondered these things this week, I couldn't help but think about 1 Nephi 13, where Nephi sees Columbus and the colonies and the eventual emergence of the US in vision--and how instrumental and VITAL this country has been in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the carrying forth of that gospel--in the form of the Book of Mormon--to the world. This is the only place that it could have happened. I am so grateful to have that gospel and to have this precious freedom. I talk to many people from very many different countries on a daily basis, and despite all its flaws and imperfections as a nation ruled by humans, everyone seems to agree that it is the greatest nation on the earth. And THIS is why. NOT because we of ourselves merit anything more than others, but because God has blessed us so much and has chosen this land to bring forth His gospel.

I could go on forever. I'm so grateful for the blessings Heavenly Father has poured out on me, our family, and this nation. There really isn't room enough to receive it all. I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

<3 <3 <3
Sister Black

6/28

Good week behind us! Ray is still on target for July 11, we had an awesome lesson with him and Bro. Arguelles at church yesterday. We see him 3+ times a week now, and he continues to soak everything up. He insists that he's a "toughie", but he accepts commitments with very little, if any, resistance.

You don't know about the Arguelles family--I don't think. They are good friends with the Osmonds and are our adopted family out here in North Bergen. They live in Secaucus (pronouced SEE-kwah-kis or Suh-KWAH-kis, depending on what type of Jersey accent the person you're talking to happens to have) and have two awesome kids. Stephanie served a mission in good ol' Fort Worth, Spanish speaking, and AJ, 10, insists that he's going to serve in Haiti ever since the earthquake hit. Both Bro. and Sis. Arguelles were baptized as teenagers after being Osmond fans and wanting to know more about the church. They are some of the "oldest" members in this area, and still remember the days when sacrament meeting was held in a little rented room in Jersey City and the then ranch included members from all over northern NJ. Every time we come Sis. Arguelles herds us into the kitchen, opens the fridge and pantry, and says, "Sit, girls. EAT." I LOVE them to DEATH. The longer I am out the more I fall in love with the members here--both in this area and my last--especially ones who, like my own parents, are pioneer members, the first in their families. Their stories are inspiring. Their testimonies lift our hearts and give us the strength to go back out after a hard day. Seeing the sacrifices they make to build the kingdom out here makes me more and more grateful for all of you!

Another all-mission conference coming up next week, at which time we will finally meet the long-awaited-and-anticipated Cherry Hill missionaries. I am so torn! I love North Bergen, but I want really badly to go down to Cherry Hill, as well. We'll see what happens. In the mean time, we found several new amazing people to teach this week, Ray is doing well, INDEPENDENCE DAY IS COMING, and I get to play the organ that day because the organist is out of town!!!!!!! I am so excited. I really hope the music lady chooses The Star-Spangled Banner. How could she not? OH my goodness. Caroline, you have to find the recipe for cherry slab-pie and send it to me, I don't think the holiday will be right without it! I can't wait to see how they celebrate the 4th Jersey-style.

6/21

Transfers were last night and Sister Bean and I are staying in North Bergen, glory allelujah! HOWEVER--in two weeks there will be a mini-transfer when the Cherry Hill missionaries come, and then nobody knows what's happening. It's gonna be crazy! But we're all really excited for them to come and are determined to make them feel at home and happy in the Morristown mission.

This week was absolutely nutso. We went to the temple, had all-mission conference, AND had the fireside w/ the Osmonds! The temple was wonderful. I have never felt such a need to go before, nor have I felt so good being there. It was very renewing, peaceful, and comforting. All-mission conference was great--I always love conferences. It got us really pumped for Cherry Hill, and for missionary work in general. Not to mention I got to see all my favorite sisters! Being on the far-east side of the mission we don't get to see the other sisters very often, so that was fun. I think we have the best sister missionaries in the world! Thursday night Jay Osmond and his son Jason gave a fireside. They are HILARIOUS. I was a little disappointed that they didn't sing, but they had wonderful stories and testimonies to share. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures with them--there were several older ladies in the audience who swamped them as soon as "amen" was spoken, and it was past curfew. BUT, some of my favorite members from Paterson came as well, just to see me! I got pictures with them instead. :) Cici, you said that my blog is your homepage, so if you're reading this, HI! I LOVE YOU!!!! Say hi to everybody for me. :D

Coolest thing happened Friday at Ellis Island. So there's something crazy going on with the parking on the island, so we had to park in Liberty State Park and walk a mile or so, and there was a huge air show going on over the Hudson, between the island and Manhattan. Took me back to the shows on the base when I was little. I kept thinking of Dad and knew that he would be drooling if he was there.

So time is going by way faster than I would like it to. I'm nearly halfway through my mission, which has led me to ponder a lot on what has happened for the last 7-ish months, who I've met, how I've changed, etc. I'm so grateful for the experiences I've had, especially the hard ones. It has made me realize just how precious the gospel is, and how incredible blessed we are to have it. How few people enjoy/have enjoyed what we take for granted every day! I think more than anything I've learned how to pray. You cannot survive one day on the mission without praying your little soul out. President has practically threatened each of us with certain doom if we don't continue to pray like a missionary for the rest of our lives.

6/14

Sorry, it's gonna have to be short today, but first of all THANK YOU FOR MY PACKAGES!!!!!! I've been listening to the motab CD over and over and over and over all week long (thank goodness Sister Bean likes it too, hee hee), and I've been "really" disciplined witht he mango, so I still have some left. :) Caroline, that cake was perfect! I don't know how you managed it, but it came out of the box flawless, and it was absolutely delicious! I don't know how you knew to make a coconut cake, but I've been super obsessed with coconut lately. Weird. Monday I bought all my favorite foods (including Cap'n Crunch, yogurt pretzels and ingrdients to make Bang Bang), and I bought a coconut. It was quite an adventure to open and I've been munching on it a bit at a time all week. I tried really hard not to let anyone know it was my birthday, but the word got out and after district meeting the zone leaders threw a mini party. I was actually rather impressed with the cake they made (definitely didn't compare to Caroline's, but it was good!), and the district leader and his companion bought me a case of rootbeer. They heard somewhere that it's my favorite. Don't know where that came from, but I was delighted all the same!

Had a slight scare w/ Ray this week. His best friend of many years passed away and when we went to visit him he was so distraught that we thought he might drop us. We worried about it all week, but then Sunday rolled around and he came to church! He heard a lot about Preach My Gospel there and is now begging for a copy. Last week we found two young men from the Dominican and Cuba and taught them a lesson outside their apartment, just to find out that one of them, Rochet, had a copy of the Book of Mormon and had read the whole thing. I thought he was joking, but then he said something about "Nefi". I asked where he'd gotten it, since he claimed never to have spoken to missionaries before. Story goes that someone gave it to his grandmother, who gave to his father, who gave it to him. We had to turn him and his friend over to the Spanish Elders, but they called us a few days later to report that they had gotten four new investigators from that one referral! We ran into Rochet on the street after that, and he happily reported that he is meeting regularly with the missionaries. So! Even if the person you give it to doesn't accept the gospel, you never know who will be affected by the Books of Mormon you place!

Time's up. Again, thanks so much to everyone who sent packages and so many lovely cards and letters in the mail this week, it was so fun to hear from so many people I haven't talked to in FOREVER!

I love you all, keep being good.

Love love love love love,

Sister Black

A note from Caroline: Thank you to everyone who sent the "lovely cards and letters" for her birthday. As you have read, she really enjoyed them and I'm sure it made her birthday that much more awesome! Thanks so much! :D

Catch-up post

- Mother's Day we got to talk to Holly! It was good to hear her voice, and she sounded like she was doing well... Well, unless you take into consideration the fact that she had limited use of both her arms. She fell down a set of stairs by getting tangled in her own feet (she said it looked like she'd been clothes-lined at the ankles) and caught herself with her hands at the bottom of a short flight of stairs (8 steps or so). They thought she'd broken them, but she didn't. But she couldn't move them much and couldn't type to send us an email the next day. But besides that she's happily serving in her capacity as a missionary!


Holly's letter from 5/17 -

So my arms are doing much better. I have some gnarly bruises, but my range of motion is much better. I still can't drive and I look a little funny when I brush my teeth or eat or do anything like that, and my hair looks a little crazy 'cause I can't really reach my head very well--but most of all it gives me and Sister Bean an opportunity to laugh. And the ward members keep having us over for dinner and giving me chocolate, so I'm happy!

Our investigator Ray came to church on Sunday--whoot! He really enjoyed it and he continues to accept and love everything he learns. He says he's not ready to accept a baptismal date yet, but he's steadily moving closer to that point. Hooray! Also, I fasted yesterday because I was getting so desperate for something good to happen, and last night this cool Filipino guy we taught a couple weeks ago called us to set up an appointment. At the very end of that one lesson his wife came on the seen, said "We're Catholic" and practically kicked us out. On our way out we tried to set up a return appointment and he said, "Uh...I'll call you sometime." We didn't think we'd ever hear from him again. Three cheers for prayer and fasting! It works.

Sister Dennis went home Wednesday, and Sister White was transfered (they were the other companionship of sisters in our ward). Sister Fonua and brand-MTC-new Sister Tolman were doubled in. They are awesome. I met Sister Fonua my first night when we were contacting in Newark. She is a wonderful missionary--we went on an exchange last week and I have already learned a lot from her.


Holly's letter from 5/24 -

Last week was BUSY, and this week is looking like it is going to be the same. Wonderful treat with Zone Conference on Wednesday--I always enjoy Zone Conference. Lots of talk about continual conversion, becoming master planners, and making executive decisions to be different. There is no 'try' in our mission! You either are or are not the missionary the Lord expects you to be.

President did a good job of getting us all riled up and raring to go. He promised us baptisms every week if we do our part, which was more than enough to perk up my ears! I especially felt like I needed a spiritual boost this time. The work is never easy and the past couple weeks have seemed especially stubborn as Sister Bean and I have sought to turn our plethora (sp?) of potential investigators/media referrals/other investigators into solid, progressing investigators--and then to turn THEM into baptisms. I have found over the past 6.5 months that just when my companion and I have discovered someone/something really good, that is when the adversary pulls out all the stops.

BUT. He's not very smart, because then I know exactly what I'm doing right, bahahaha. :D

So, Sister Bean and I have been especially prayerful about our investigator Ray, and we had an awesome experience with him the other day--a wonderful respite from a long streak of running on a hamster wheel, so to speak. He came to church last week and loved it, but he has still been stand-offish about baptism. We decided to focus an entire lesson on it and do everything we could to get HIM to give us the right answers, instead of us telling him what he needs to do. The majority of the lesson was spent reading verses from all the standard works about baptism and authority. Ray's wheels got turning as we asked him to tell us, based on what the scriptures teach us, why baptism is so important, what it means, what its purpose is, etc. By the end of the lesson Ray was telling us that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that the blessings he sees in the church are "proof that Joseph Smith really was a prophet", and about a dream he had the other day that he was covered in pure, clear, blue water, and that he has felt light and happy ever since that dream. He recognized that as an answer to his prayers. He agreed whole-heartedly to be baptized and is praying for a date.

So, no matter what is thrown at us, life is good.

ALSO -
If you are planning on "joining" us for Holly's birthday "party", all letters or cards must be in the mail no later than next Friday. Thanks for making this the best birthday a sister missionary could wish for! :)

5/3

This was just one of those weeks. It felt a little bit like trying to run through deep mud. Many of the new investigators we found last week juked their return appointments and we had difficulty getting members out with us. But Sister Bean and I did the best we knew how, and all in all I would call it a successful week, let the numbers be what they will.

Saturday we visited our investigator Ray for the second time with the Bishop's wife, Sis. Christensen. He has been taught previously, has read the entire Book of Mormon, started over and is now in 2 Nephi again. He has nearly kicked his smoking habit and is now working coffee. He attends sacrament meeting at the Spanish ward because it is the only shift he has off as an animal technician--but he's been praying that he'll be able to get Sundays off and--turns out someone is leaving his job, the next person who comes in will be junior to him, and he will be able to choose his own hours. :) It was a wonderful lesson--despite the random interjections of his hung-over friend, Jerry, haha. We fasted for him on Sunday and will be seeing him again Wednesday. Sister Christensen bore her testimony about the experience and members are inviting us over and asking to go out with us. So, life is good!

4/26

Ack! I am always so short on time, but here are the highlights from this AMAZING week!

Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the first quorum of the Seventy visited us on Thursday. I cannot adequately describe that experience. He changed the way I think about myself, my work--pretty much my whole life. He talked a lot about the vital importance of the Holy Ghost, our identities as disciples of Jesus Christ, and the power that those two things hold. He challenged us to change a lot of things, but President Bahr's "Change Your Heart" theme prepared me well. Sister Bean and I got to work applying his instruction immediately, and.....

We found eight new investigators within 48 hours. Suddenly I cannot think of anything better to do than work. I have always enjoyed the work we do, but now I live for it. I cannot wait to finish shopping today and just get out there and find more people, because they are EVERYWHERE. Oh my goodness, we could not turn a corner without finding someone else who had been prepared to hear and accept the gospel.

For FHE tonight, study "Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon" (Ezra Taft Benson). It will rock your world.

Forgot one little detail last week. We had a couple really hot days and I realized that there was no way I was going to survive the summer with my long, thick, frizzy locks, so--I chopped my hair. It's really short. I'll send pics soon.

4/19

Sister Bean and I are sure that the state of our apartment was the result of years of culmination. BUT--we've worked hard to purge it of all uncleanliness, and, entering our fourth week here, we are finally feeling comfortable and at home in our apartment. Diane, our wonderful landlady, is helping us "sisterfy" it, including shampooing the carpets (it STILL smells like elder) and putting pretty curtains on all the windows.

Oh my goodness, Diane is a riot. We feel like we are living a sitcom sometimes. There are three floors/apartments in the house. She lives on the first floor, we're on the second, and Tommy and Ray are on the third. It's like a big Italian family. Diane frequently cooks dinner for the whole building--including "macaroni and gravy" and ham. We got a message the other day from her--"Just cwalling to see when yous are gonna be home--I've got some ham for yas." On many occasions we come home to find foil-wrapped dinners waiting for us in the fridge. Just an example of normal everyday conversation: [Tommy stomps down the stairs] Diane: "Tommy! Is that you makin' all that noise?" Tommy: "You don't like it, move out!"

The work has ups and downs. Overall Sister Bean and I are making good progress. It's been a little like slogging through mud as we've struggled to get things organized. It is SO important that the area book is in good shape so that new missionaries like us can hit the ground running. So we're still working on that. But, we continue to find new investigators every week. We had a tour of the church on Saturday for our investigator, Cathy. She's been meeting with missionaries for quite some time now but has never gone to church or made any other step that would help her progress towards baptism and seems almost terrified of doing so. The tour was very helpful. She seemed much more comfortable with the idea of coming to church, and is praying about being baptized on May 9! We have high hopes for her. We're struggling with Nabil, who had a baptismal date for April 25--he didn't come to church, so his date will have to be pushed back. But we still have high hopes for him.

Sister Bean and I are both wracking our brains for other ideas on how to get people to church. I never would have expected it to be so, but it is THE hardest thing to do as a missionary! Even committing people to baptism is easier than getting them to go to church. We're also trying really hard to win our ward members' love and trust. Previous missionaries'--ahem--lack of effort has left them slightly less than welcoming. There are a few families that love us already and frequently have us over, but the vast majority of the ward distrusts us. SO. Sister Bean and I are planning to do some major brown-nosing this week to win their affections. We'll also be finding as many people to teach as we can through our own efforts to show them that we mean business.

4/12

So Sister Bean and I arrived in our new apartment late the day of transfers and were greeted by sticky floors/counter/tables, dirty dishes in the sink, and several garbage cans full of...garbage. There was also lots of left-behind clothing and personal items, along with TONS of food in the fridge and pantry--including green hot dogs (I shrieked when I found those) and 50+ POUNDS of top ramen and mac n' cheese alone. I kid you not. 50 pounds. I know because I used to haul 50 lb. bags of chicken feed to the barn. Suffice it to say, it smelled like stinky boys. It was gross. The next day the Hoboken sisters and two senior couples came to help us clean. The poor senior sisters were on their hands and knees scrubbing the floor and walls! It took several hours to get the biggest cleaning jobs done, but Sister Bean and I spent the next two days washing dishes, scrubbing cubboard shelves, cleaning windows and blinds that had years of dust and grime on them...etc. It was a nightmare. Not to mention that the area book was completely devoid of information about the area and ward. We had no idea who the bishopric or other important ward leaders were, like the ward mission leader. There were many teaching records that had no addresses or phone numbers, and a lot of investigators' names were listed in the planners we inherited, but again...no information.

So, if anyone thinks that missionary work is only spiritual, I can bear you my testimony that it is most definitely NOT. Cleanliness is next to godliness, as they say. The Spirit was not present in that apartment, and the general disorganization and chaos made it really hard for us to get to work. It was like trying to run in quicksand. BUT, we trudged on through, and things are beginning to move along. We had a blitz on Wednesday in our area which has given us a lot of potentials to work with. We contacted and taught some former investigators and have some return appointments, and Thursday we set an investigator with a baptismal date! April 25! His name is Nabil, he's 20 and is pretty much golden.

President Bahr has really raised the bar this month (no pun intended, he he he). Wow. Bad joke. What can I say, I'm an awkward missionary now. So our Zone especially is working really hard to be obedient. The scriptures say that greater obedience equals greater faith, which means greater success, etc. Sister Bean and I have definitely seen truth in that. The days that we are the most obedient to ALL the rules, even the little ones, the most success we have.

And my time is up. Moral of the story, be good, be obedient, and CLEAN, for goodness' sakes, take your stinky socks with you when you leave an apartment!!!

4/5

I hope you enjoyed Conference. I don't think I have EVER been so excited for it before. Each session seemed to go by far too quickly, and by the end of the last session on Sunday I was wishing that it could start over. I loved the overwhelming emphasis on the Savior and families. This is the first time I have listened to the messages directed to parents at Conference and included myself in that category. Even though I am not a parent yet, I came to a realization that I have crossed the awkward inbetween-adult-and-child stage and need to prepare to help the children and youth of the Church. Especially during Sister Beck's talk, I wanted nothing more than to get married and have a bajillion little babies. Crazy. I am ready to make something of myself and make a contribution to the world!

My new companion is Sister Bean, and we have been doubled into the North Bergen area. We live in Union City, which us just north of Jersey City. HUDSON FRONT!!!!!!!!! Two blocks to the east of us is the best view of New York that I could ask for. It is a cement jungle! Busy, noisy, and perfect for contacting. We love it, and we love each other, and we are excited to get to work. We have set some good, challenging goals for this transfer and are getting ready to make good on President Bahr's promise that EVERY companionship will baptize this month.

There is SO much more to tell you--unfortunately I am woefully short on time... Look forward to reading more about transfers, our landlady Diane, our vehicular woes, and moving into the Elders' apartment...yes.

3/29

Well, my time is up. Sister Greenwood and I got a call from the Assistants Friday afternoon, instructing us to update and organize our area book and clean up the apartment as though we "were going to present them to the Savior". According to Sister Greenwood and Sister Cornish, the more experienced missionaries, this meant that Sister Greenwood and I were both being transferred out of Fair Lawn. Sure enough, the transfer fax came in last night with both our names on the list. Sister Erickson is being transferred as well. We won't know more until tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people are being transferred and area boundaries are being redrawn, some areas closed and others opened, all in preparation for the absorption of Cherry Hill in July. It has come up a lot lately in Zone Conferences and other meetings, and President/Sister Bahr have really emphasized obedience and charity. The poor Cherry Hill missionaries are probably completely demoralized--I would be if my mission was being dissolved. So we're getting ready to welcome them in and help them adjust. We're having to adjust as well. Our MSF amount is going to go down from $171/month to $151! So we're going to get some more practice in budgeting as well!

I'm sad to be leaving my first area, where I have gotten to know so many people and really grown close to a lot of the members, especially less-actives. We also have made some real progress with some of our investigators, and I'm hesitant to hand them off to someone else--but President Bahr always promises us that our new assignments are inspired, so I'll have to have faith that whoever is taking over for us will take good care of them. Ariv, our investigator from India, has been working a lot and has not had time to see us as much, but we've seen a lot more of his family in his absence, and they have all expressed an interest in coming to church and learning more (wife Shakila, daughter Rhuksar and son Asahd). Yesterday Sister Greenwood and I walked from the church to their apartment and walked back with Rhuksar and Asahd so that they could go to church (Shakila could not go). They are both wonderful! Rhuksar is 13 and Asahd is 7, and they both were so excited to go to church. They both loved it and made lots of friends, and the whole family is hoping to go to General Conference this Sunday. I am going to miss them a lot. I hope that they keep progressing and that the whole family can be baptized!

3/22

Apologies for the missing letter last week. We got out to run our errands ok in the morning, but by noon the flooding had gotten really bad. Almost all the libraries had no internet--the only one up and running was near our apartment, which was across Passaic River from where we were shopping. Our apartment was fine, we're up on a hill and there were no power outages, so we were lucky. But it took 3 hours to get home Monday night! We had to double our travel time over the next few days as traffic from all over the surrounding area was funneled into one or two unaffected bridges. It was crazy! But, the rain stopped, the flooding began to subside (I discovered a bridge that no one else seemed to know was open, hehehee), and the rest of the week was glorious! Temperatures were in the 70's, flowers and blossoms exploded, and everyone started breaking out the flip flops. Just in time--it's rainy again today, and there's a flood watch. But it's not coming down too hard, so hopefully the river won't rise as much as last week.

Funny story. So the storm that started all this flooding really got bad the Saturday before. The Elders in our Branch had agreed to do a blitz with us (several companionships all work a particular area, knocking and contacting like crazy to try and find investigators for one of the companionships). It was raining like I've never seen it rain before, even at home! The wind was so strong that we were having trouble staying on our feet. It was pretty miserable, but we had hopes that it would make people feel sorry for us so they'd let us in. Sister Greenwood and I taught one former investigator family--they want us to come back!!!--and were on our way to track down some more formers and then attend the adult session of District Conference. It was really hard to see with the rain and glare from other cars' headlights. I was turning left, when all the sudden--BAM. Hit a curb. And popped the front passenger side tire. So I got to change a tire for the first time! In the heaviest rainstorm I think I've ever seen! The Zone Leaders came to help us and kindly told us that we looked like drowned rats. We considered skipping conference, but Elder Thaler said, "No way! Do you have any idea how many referrals you'll get? Everyone's going to say, 'Whoa, those sisters are intense!'" So off to conference we went. Little did I know that President and Sister Bahr would be there!

A certain seventy by the name of Matthew Eyring came for conference. He looks nothing like President Eyring--he's got flaming red hair. But he talks just like him. Very funny guy, got to shake his hand and chat a little bit before Sunday morning's session. And a very good speaker. He spoke a lot about the Atonement, something that any half-way decent missionary really comes to appreciate over the course of his mission. There's something about the work that we do that lets us have a glimpse of what the Savior feels for each of us. It can be overwhelming at times, but it's a wonderful thing to be able to work with the Lord in bringing salvation to our brothers and sisters, and see them the way He does.

Sister Greenwood and I are working. Hard. We got a lot of good potential investigators from the blitz and have been scouring our area book for other opportunities. There's a lot to be done! But it's good to be busy. We've been walking a lot, trying to hone our contacting skills. Discovered a bakery last week, Venice Bakery, that's out of this world--we could smell it all over the neighborhood we were tracting in, and eventually we couldn't stand it any longer and had to go find it. Amazing hand-made bread, and their pastries...we about died. I think we will be returning. :)

No letter this week...

Sorry folks! We didn't get a letter from Holly this week. We're betting it is because of the flooding that has hit her area of NJ, and that she couldn't email us. Hopefully things are ok, and we'll be back to regular letters next week. In the mean time, please say a quick prayer for Holly, her companion, and the area she is serving in that everyone will be all right after the flooding subsides.

Also, we're a little over two months away from Holly's birthday! I thought it would be great to make her 22nd the best birthday a sister missionary could have and show her some great love and support. If you'd like to join in the fun all you have to do is send her a birthday card! Sounds easy, right? That's because it is! Just send her a card between June 1st and 4th. As she only collects mail once a week she'll get all her letters on the same day - June 8th! Her birthday! So please make this a special birthday for our Sister Black! :)


Caroline

3/8

Things in Jersey are going pretty well. We've had some unusually warm weather--it probably won't last. But we're enjoying it while we can and I am wearing the most spring-ish thing I could put together.

Sister Greenwood and I are working really hard. I'm really grateful for her experience! Apparently our area book was in revolting condition, so she whipped it back into shape and we are setting goals and getting to work contacting former investigators, visiting referrals, supporting members, asking for referrals fellowshipping less-actives, and talking to everyone we meet inbetween! We have some fun activities planned to do with the members in our area in the hopes that it will encourage them to share the gospel more. The longer I am here the more I realize what is meant by that phrase we've heard so much--"Every member a missionary!" It doesn't mean that members should be missionaries. It means that members are missionaries by definition! As soon as we are baptized and make covenants to take Christ's name upon us, we become missionaries, because it is part of our covenants. In the Book of Mormon there are countless examples of people who were converted, repented, were baptized--and then started preaching. The two go hand in hand.

After Alma and the sons of Mosiah had been visited by the angel and repented of their sins, their first desire was to share the blessings of the gospel with others. I don't have enough time to tell you all about it, so read Mosiah 27:1-4 and Alma 36:17-30. I love the Book of Mormon so much! It has taught me more about being a missionary--being a member--than anything else.