Mission Log: 30 July 2012

More MTC photos.

With cousin Elder Anderson

So Jersey is just this strange little world. I love it. Police sirens are my constant lullaby, there are always random strange people to talk to, I see NYC every single day, the pizza is amazing. To be honest, my life is pretty charmed. I work one day at Ellis Island every other week helping people with family history. It's so fun. Hearts of the children are definitely turning to their fathers, and I love it. Family history is cool. It's even more cool when I get to talk about temples and how families can be together forever, but that's a bit taboo when I work at Ellis Island. It's okay though, because a lot of people ask anyway and then I get to tell them who I am and why I'm there and hope they keep asking me lots of questions. It's a fun life. I love my name tag all the time, but I especially love it when I'm at Ellis Island, because then I get to tell people about my purpose. I get to tell them that I'm this random half Danish/Colorado-native half Brazilian mutt who doesn't speak English, Portuguese, or Spanish who calls Florida home but is living in New Jersey for 18 months WHY? So that I can invite others to come unto Christ. That's why. And it's not just at Ellis Island. I go lots of places, and I always have the same purpose. And I love it. Most the time people just tell me I'm doing a really good thing, but sometimes they ask me more. Sometimes I meet Esteban who just wants to know what he should teach his son so that he'll grow up to be a good man and so that he'll know that God loves him and that he'll keep God's commandments. Sometimes I meet Luis who is just a teenage boy who doesn't understand if his life has any purpose, and if it does have purpose he doesn't know what to do with it. Sometimes I meet Crystal who doesn't want to talk to me any more, but for 5 minutes on a random Sunday I got to tell her that Heavenly Father knows her, and that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for HER and that she matters. 

That's why I love being a missionary. I love it because I get to help people understand how to receive answers to some of lives hardest questions. I get to remind people that they are children of God. I get to pray with people. I get to pray for people. I get to help people carry their groceries. I get to be a better person each and every day. I get to love so many people. I love it. And guess what, you don't have to be a missionary to do all those great things. So do some of them, and love it. Love, serve and help others. Read the scriptures. Say your prayers. Just do good, and be good, and be so happy. Because that's what you're suppose to be.

Something else to know about Jersey, there are bugs and garbage everywhere. Especially along the roads and sidewalks. Every place you look. Because they want us to be extra safe and to not wreck cars that are owned by the church I have to get out of the car and watch/guide my companion every time we back up. So I was helping her yesterday and wasn't paying attention as I was walking backwards guiding her. I FELL IN GARBAGE! I fell in my skirt, in my pretty skirt and pretty jacket right into some roadside garbage. It was terrible, but also hilarious. So I started laughing and couldn't get myself out of these disgusting, stinky, hot, black bags of garbage. And when I finally got all the way out and stopped laughing I realized that we had just parked at a bus stop and had to find a new place to park. Great. I do silly things like that every day, I'm just grateful that Sister Lowry can laugh at me and that I can laugh at me. Because if not my klutzy nature would get really old really fast. And the bugs. We found this weird bug in our shower the other day. We took a picture of it and showed our bishop what it was...he said it would sting/burn us if we touched it...so when we got home we killed it with Lysol. I felt kind of bad about it. Poor little, ugly bug. 

Anyway, life is really great. Really, really great. I don't understand how I have energy, and sometimes I get frustrated because I don't speak perfect Spanish...but mostly my life is just a whole lot of fun. I make lots of friends, I share the most precious thing in the world with them (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) and I watch as they make choices that change their lives for the better. It's great. Just great!

Notes from Annalee: Sorry the blog was late this week. And just so everyone knows Jari's address has been updated (there was just a little change).