Mission Log: 13 November 2012

Jersey Shore

Well, things are back to normal, or at least as normal as they’re going to be for the next who knows how long. Hurricane Sandy really did a number on this state. We will be working every Saturday for the next month at least to clean up the damage. This Saturday we were sent to Union Beach. What a tragic sight. The shoreline has been mostly washed away. Houses are completely destroyed by salt water damage, and sewage damage in some cases. People were throwing out every earthly belonging they’ve ever owned, down to the family pictures.

We helped throw out freezers full of rotting meat. We threw out filing cabinets, we destroyed desks with sledge hammers, we took out insulation, we mourned with those that mourned and comforted those that stood in need of comfort (but, for real!), and we sang hymns. It was one of the most heart wrenching yet incredible experiences of my life. And I get to replay it over and over for the next few weeks. There was one house we were working on that belongs to an older widowed woman named Stella. The boys were carrying out all of her furniture while the women wrapped up the few things she was trying to salvage. She told us about how she had won the yard beautification contest for her neighborhood just a few weeks earlier, and now everything was in shambles. There were a lot of us working there and we got the work done pretty quickly. Eventually she stopped us partly because there was no more we could do and partly, I think, because she was exhausted with the wreckage that had become her home. Before we left we sang "Called to Serve" and she broke into sobs on a kind stranger's shoulder. Her son also did the best he could to hold back his emotions. It just breaks my heart to see these people in so much pain, but then I see the ways that it turns them to God. These disasters are difficult and challenging and just no fun, but they bring people together. It's beautiful to see complete strangers offering support and love. It's beautiful to see people working together to deliver food, to clean up, to lend a hand in anyway they can. 

In my ward the members have been growing closer together by the necessity to care for each other. It's sad that we require such drastic measures to turn our thoughts toward God and our fellowman, but the results are glorious all the same. 

On a lighter note, lots of service all day long must have meant for some bored missionaries. While we were driving home we passed another car full of missionaries returning to their area. They ended up throwing bananas at our car for the next 10 miles. I don't know where they got all the bananas or why they thought it was a good idea to throw them at our car, but it made me laugh...and it also terrified me a little bit. 

We met an incredible man this week. He told us that he has been looking for truth and praying for an answer from God. We read the Book of Mormon with him and taught him how to recognize the Holy Ghost. I love meeting people with pure hearts. I just love them. 

I hope all is well at home. 

All my love, 

Jari!