New Jersey (first week in the mission field!)

Bonjour ma famille! First of all I can't believe JOSH IS GETTING A MISSION CALL THIS WEEK! My guess is either California if he goes stateside o Toulousse(sp?) France if he goes foreign. That way we can be one big family of French speakers...I am getting a little nervous about my French speaking abilities. I still pray in French and have morning language study but that is about all I have had the chance to do. I am going to definitely need God's help when I get to Belgium! So much to tell and so little time. This is going to be a whirlwind of an email...sorry if it is hard to follow!
The zone leaders told me that they are going to try and keep me here until the end of the transfer which is October 13ish? (Happy Birthday mom!) If I leave earlier they would have to mess with areas again and then my companion would be companion-less. The lady at the MTC said that I would only be here until my visa comes which is 9 weeks from July 21st or tomorrow! I'm not quite sure who to believe but I am HApPY here in Jersey and will do whatever is asked. Something kind of crazy...I got to know a Sister Jackson really well in the MTC. She took a class from Soeur Earl's mom and so we had some fun times in the residence hall. Anyway, she left to come to NJMM a couple of weeks before I did and then on Monday night we drove up to our house and she is my roommate! So good to see a familiar face and immediately feel like a part of the group.
Ok so I flew into Newark on Monday and had the chance to talk to the family at the airport. Sorry Chels! I didn't have time to call you. I promise to call on the way to Belgium. I sat next to this nice girl named Pauline and we talked for the entire 4.5 hours! She lives in Morristown and said she wanted to do lunch BUT I am not even close to Morristown so that probably isn't going to happen. I'm thinking I am going to give her information to the sisters in that area to go and see her. Anyway, we had a great conversation and we talked about how she can live with her fiance forever. We'll see where that goes. We drove through downtown Newark (I'm pretty sure the assistants got lost a few times, we kept passing the same train station) and ended up at President and Sister Bahr's home in Morristown. Their house is in a neighborhood just like Harper Lane, the trees, the smell, crazy kids rollerblading all over the place. Made me think of my rocking childhood and how much I love the east coast. We ate some delicious Costco food and had interviews. I met my companion...It was a little anti-climactic because she was the only sister there. No surprise as to who I was going to get put with! Her name is Sister Child and she is from Portland. She has only been here since May so she is pretty new to this whole thing too!
We have been assigned to re-open the Fair Lawn, New Jersey area. Just goes to show that God has a lot more faith in us than we might think! Sister Child bought a GPS first thing Tuesday morning and I am o so glad she did. I am directionally challenged as is,I probably would have led us to down-town manhattan. I have to say, Sis Child is amazing but her driving skills leave something to be desired. Love it and her.
Northern New Jersey is so incredibly diverse! We have met people from Greece, Kenya, columbia, Peru, China, England, Israel...the list goes on and on. It is so amazing to see so many different cultures all thrown into the same place. The smells are unbelievable! I think the coolest thing was going to District Conference on Sunday. The District President said that there were about 25 different countries represented in the congregation. AmAZIng. The gospel really is for every single person and it has an incredible power to unite.
We attended the baptism of a woman named Keisha immediately following the service. She is the neighbor of Shimaya, one of the members who was baptized 6 years ago. Shimaya shared her testimony and it's purity was amazing. She just moved into a new area in July and became friends with Keisha. She said she was originally apprehesive about sharing her testimony and thoughts about the church, "You know she's going to think I'm strange, but you know let her think I'm strange. This can bless her life and I HAVE to try." Here we are 3ish months later and she is baptized with their other neighbor getting baptized next Sunday. The gospel really does have the power to change lives. This week was a bit of a transition and I think I kind of lost sight of that reality. The change is not only drastic but miraculous. If we are willing to share it, we can really help our friends have the pervasive joy that we feel. That is the reason I am here. I know that what I have, what we have, is the truth. It has the power to change our hearts and align our will's with God's. Ezk 36:26. Not only does it give us joy but it gives us purpose and motivation to serve.
I have been studying faith this week and was reading in Moroni 7:31-32. As a missionary it is my blessing to be able to share this message with people, to bear testimony of the Restoration. When we have faith and live worthy of the Holy Ghost, the covenants we have made are fulfilled. The way that I show my faith is by preaching the gospel, being exactly obedient and trusting in Heavenly Father's promises. When I do those things, I am made clean through the atonement AND I get to help other people have the same blessing. Isn't that the greatest cycle even imaginable? The more we act on our faith, the closer we are to Christ and the more able we are to help others have that same experience. I LOVE IT!
One last quick experience....Last night we were visiting people who had formerly been contacted and were suggested as people to check up on. Our very last visit of the night, we pull up to HUGE house. Anyway, we knock on the door and the lady says, "O the woman that you're looking for is renting our basement." So we go around to the side door and she lets us in. She said that she had just been praying for some kind of help from God. She has been feeling alone and needed to feel his love. We were able to teach her and help her to understand the unconditional love that Heavenly Father has for her. She had been kind of fidgety the whole time but when we shared the first vision with her, she physically calmed down. I am SO excited to continue teaching her and helping her!
Anyway, after years of debate between NJ Morristown and New York, New York South, it was determined that Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are in our mission. For our service in the mission we get to go to Ellis Island once every few weeks to help people with family history! I am excited! I'm not positive how I am going to be able to help anyone because I have no idea how the system works BUT, there's no better day than today to learn. I'll keep you updated.
And finally...I LoVE YOu all! I hope that school is going well and I can't wait to hear from you about the call and about all other amazing things going on in your lives. Mondays are P-Days and we email in the morning. LOVE You Sis P