Really pretty green stuff (and I need to appreciate it, because the leaves are starting to change, and this is the last time I'll be in New Jersey to see this kind of green).

Ah! Fancy meeting you here! (Thanks Tim and James!)

President Monson's birthday! Yay! We got permission to show tunes! Yay! We were quite pleased!

Dearest Judy after her baptismal interview.

Family Dearest,

President Jeppson called me this week and told me about Grandma Healy. She surely was a great lady, and I'm going to miss her. I'm glad she gets to be back with Grampa Healy, Popsy, and the rest of her family. For all we know, they could be up there playing Tiddlywinks as we speak! I'm sad I won't be there for her funeral, it's probably going to be really sweet. Give everyone hugs from me:)

This week lots of stuff happened. Dawn's husband Bill went in for his double bypass, and she has been with him all week. The surgery went very well, and he is still recovering. She reads the scriptures out loud to him, and she said he has prayed out loud a couple of times. He also told her that when he got his priesthood blessing, he felt warm inside. He said it was like nothing he'd ever felt before. And that's what the Spirit feels like, for me anyway.

We had interviews with President and Sister Jeppson this week and he asked me how my relationship with the Savior was. I didn't know how to answer. Since Popsy left, I thought I'd feel closer to the Savior. And I have, in that I've been able to go day to day without having break downs and crying all over the place. I've been able to do what I came here to do, and with a lot of calm and peace about the whole thing. But I didn't feel like I felt Christ with me through it. When I went home, I pondered about this, and it sort of troubled me. So that night I prayed to recognize more of Jesus Christ in my life and feel closer to Him. Since that prayer, I have felt SO MUCH of the Spirit. I was probably feeling Him before, but now I'm looking for and recognizing Him more. At any given time, if I think about the Savior, or read the scriptures, or when I think about my family and how we get to be super happy forever, I feel the Spirit. And for me, I feel warm inside. And I feel a sort of, orb of light, and energy, and happiness inside, that feels like it'll burst out of my chest. So, since I've started looking for Christ in my everyday life, I've recognized the love and comfort He's given me. I've always known what He's done for me and been forever grateful for it, but now I can feel the Atonement more. Maybe that's a little of what Bill felt, but he just didn't recognize it.

 
Judy, Dawn's Mother-in-law, passed her baptismal interview on Sunday and she's going to be baptized this coming week! We're so excited for her, and she is too! After her interview, she and our District Leader came out, and he gave us a thumbs up, and she was behind him doing a funny little dance of joy! She is completely off cigarettes now, and she is excited to make promises with Heavenly Father and to come closer to Him.

 
Also, Kevin, who's dating someone in our ward, called us this week and said he wants to turn his life around and take the discussions. We had our first lesson with him, and he wants to be baptized! So that will take place on September 15! His girlfriend's family was there for the lesson, and there were lots of tears happening. He has been reading the Book of Mormon with them for a while now, and is already in Alma. He feels really good when he reads, and feels peace at Church. After their lesson we helped them look for one of the daughter's necklaces in their lawn. We were combing the lawn with our fingers, on our hands and knees in our dresses. We didn't find anything, so we went inside and they gave us foods. Two days later, the mother told us she found it. When they first lost the necklace the mom went out there and prayed and all she kept getting from the Spirit was "5." What was that supposed to mean? Anyhow, the day she found it she took five steps from the porch, looked down, and there it was, shining under the grass at her. Funny how the Spirit works.

Thank you ever so much for the lovely package! Those cookies were tops Lib and Rob! And the caramels were quite scrumptious, especially after being refridged! And T and J, those mustache glasses are a hit! And I love the scarf and gnome paper, thank you so much!

And Mikey and Shelby and the tots, we're gonna be neighbors, AAAGGGHHHH! When I get home we're gonna put string and can phones between my window and whoever elses and we can talk! How neat!

Love you all, 

Sister Mister

I'll take it! Actually, no one knows why this little house is here. It's in front of a storage unit and every so often someone in the community repaints it. That's all we know.

I was Missionary #1, and that was a good grilled cheese (old McKay-Dee style!).

Dawn before her baptism!

Dawn and the Murrays, a really awesome family who fellowshipped her.

Dearest Family!

This week was full of all sorts of stuff. I'll put the most important stuff last, so as to end on that sort of note. 

You should all go to mormonchannel.org and watch the video, "The Phone Call." It'll really make your day!

We visited the Izquierdo family this week for lunch. When we came in, the 8 year old boy said, "Missionary number one, you sit here. Missionary number two..." Then after we'd sat (and there were name cards with the words Missionary #1, 2, 3 at our spots) he took our orders for drinks. Then he took the slip to his mom who told him to get the drinks from the fridge. He proceeded to tell us a lot of dinosaur facts and showed us his robot stormtrooper he built. It was real neat! The mother is also the the Bible Study teacher. We go to her Thursday night class every week, and it's sensational! She is a college history teacher with a special interest in ancient history, so she just brings the Bible to life. There are so many times they talk about some custom or manner of preparing food or dress that we don't understand, but she'll explain the context and it makes so much sense. It's like having someone from those days in the room with us. Anyhow, her kids are really smart and love to learn. The one rule in their house is that if they say "I'm bored" she gives them chores to do. So they stay busy and have fun by learning. In that class on Thursday we talked about the ark of the covenant and the philistines in Samuel 3-7, it's a real gas, so you should read it!

Dawn got baptized yesterday! It was so special and amazing! Earlier this week her family had a ton of trials, including finding out that her husband might need bypass surgery, and her daughter in the military fell 50 feet and is in traction. Dawn is so solid though, she keeps reading and praying and finding comfort from that. Her husband asked her this week how to pray and has started praying with her. Her son, who she gave the For Strength of Youth pamphlet to, has read it twice, and gave it to a friend who he thinks would benefit from it. We haven't even met with the son yet and he's already doing missionary work. Her daughter in the military told Dawn, when Dawn asked if she could send her a Book of Mormon, that she already had a Book of Mormon and was reading it. Agh! Crazy miracles!

The baptism was great, her husband shaved for it and didn't wear a hat. He received a Priesthood blessing for his heart, and he seemed a little nervous about it, which you would. But it all went very well. When Dawn went under the water and came back out again I felt the Spirit so strongly, it felt like bursting out of my chest. It was so neat. She said when she came up she felt a lot lighter and wanted to shout "yeah!" but she didn't because she didn't know if it'd be appropriate. She said she just felt a zing of energy go through her when it happened. Afterwards we celebrated, and Brother Gibbs made his famous carrot cake (he makes about 70 of those a year, it's a super secret recipe and it is super good).

 
And lastly, though not the most important thing this week, but I forgot to mention it earlier, we saw a Yorkie this week. And while its master was talking to us, it licked both of my legs off. It brought back memories of Samwise, that loyal hound we all loved so much. It was quite fun!

I love you guys! If you ever want to write or anything, feel free! Or if you don't, you don't have to--I'm terrible at responding anyway.

Love ya!

Oh, and friend Ashley, if you're reading this, I don't know what your new address is. I sent you your letter, but it may have gone to your old house, so yes. Anyhow, if you could send your new address, that would be lovely!

Sister Mystery

The missionaries of Zone 7--kind of an awkward group.

Our spoils at the Chatterbox.

 Enjoying a day on the town!

A beautiful Spartian (like martian) sunset.

The lovely purples.

"On the street where I live."

My assigned language and just a kewl sign.

Dearest Family!

This week was great. Let's see, this week we taught Dawn and Judy a few times. I am so amazed by these two! Dawn is so solid and has such an open heart! She now has no cravings to smoke or drink coffee, it was rough, but she made it. She says every time she's come to Church she has had amazing revelation about her life and how the Lord has been with her through all of it. The most amazing change though is in her husband, who we have only seen come in and out of the house. Apparently he's been listening to our lessons through the wall while doing other stuff, because he asks her questions about it afterwards. Dawn ordered a giant scripture set and she reads it out loud while he watches TV. He pretends not to listen, but later in the day asks questions about it and repeats most of what she read. One night before bed he said, "Well? Aren't you forgetting something?" "What? I locked the doors, started the dishwasher--" "The Book! Aren't you gonna read the Book?" He has never been interested in religion, but she is changing and he's seeing how positive it is for her. Without saying anything he's being more helpful around the house, and says fewer snide remarks to her. And she has been getting more sleep since she doesn't wake up at 5 am anymore to smoke. And she's lost weight because she now craves fruit. Whenever she feels tempted she dives into the scriptures and the craving for cigarettes leaves. And interestingly, her husband is starting to feel nauseous when he smokes and threw up once. We gave her a For Strength of Youth for her son, since she's said he doesn't want to give in to his friends standards. She casually put it on his nightstand. He came out a while later and told her how much he loved it!

Judy is struggling a bit more. She went from 2 packs a day to 1 cigarette a week, woof! She feels discouraged, but Dawn is there to buoy her up. 

We came upon an awkward, but mostly just sad situation the other day. We knocked on a less-active's door, and a man with lots of hair and no shirt answered. He ushered us in to see the person we'd come to see. She's an older lady, on the heavier side, using a very big and loud oxygen pump, has sores on her body, and was naked but for a blanket thankfully covering her privates. There were flies, and the house smelled of urine and death. There was a portable toilet next to her mattress. We didn't know what to do. I couldn't hear a thing she said because of the oxygen pump, but I guess she got offended by someone at Church and didn't want the Church's help. But since she let us in, she might let the Relief Society President come by to help. We sang a hymn, and that seemed to calm her down. I hope we can help her more.

Let's see, I'm doing well and so are my companions. President and Sister Jeppson got back from Utah yesterday and his surgery went well, so yay! We went to a real neat Diner this week, the Chatterbox, for Sister Torgerson's 23 and a half birthday. (Yes, we celebrate half birthdays here because we need some excitement every now and then). It's a circualr building with a different vintage car every month in the center. There are old movie posters round the walls and old tunes aplayin'. It was lots of fun!

Well, I love you guys, be safe and happy and enjoy the dry heat. The humidity, sorry 'umidity', is really gettin to this one!

OH! And a man we met the other day had lots of awesome nerd stuff in his house. I remarked on the Gollum bookend and he told me they're making the Hobbit into 3 movies!!!! I jumped up and down and in a high squeaky voice said, "Are you serious!? Oh my goodness! Agh!" And then kinda started crying. He just laughed and so did my companions. Maybe it wasn't the most professional of responses, but goons am I excited!

Love you,

sister mergle