Jersey Girl: Lessons Learned

Well, it's that time again....time to find out what Sister Yocum did this week in New Jersey! Well, I'm officially done with my first transfer, and am half-way done with training. Holy cow, it is freaking me out how quickly time is going by. This week specifically, I learned some really great lessons. However, there are two that I would like to specifically write about this week.

Lesson #1: Seek Guidance, then Follow Promptings. On Tuesday night, Sister Phillips told me to pray about where we should go the next day, we had about 3 hours of finding planned. I prayed, and felt the strongest impression that we should go to Hillside. So, we begin what I decided to call the "Hillside Hangout". Pretty catchy, right? Anyways, we decided to visit some former investigators and then knock the houses around them. We had been doing this for several hours and it was starting to get late, so we stopped at one last house. I always feel SO guilty knocking on people's doors past 8PM, so I try and avoid it whenever possible. We sat in the car and tried to decide after we visit this woman, if we should stay on the street and knock on doors or if we should do something else.

We decided to say a prayer, and right after the words "should we stay on this street" were spoken, I heard a distinct voice say "yes." I literally opened my eyes to see if anyone was there, and right as I opened them I see someone a few houses away walking up his stairs, and walk into his house. After the prayer I said "Yes, we should stay on this street. And we need to talk to that guy first." The woman we came to see wasn't home, so we went straight to the other guys house. We knock on his door, and before we can even get out a full sentence, he looks at the Book of Mormon in our hands and says "Oh, Mormons! How are you doing tonight?" We start talking, and he tells us that he had taken a few of the lessons about 12 years ago when he lived in Union, but once he moved, he had lost contact with the missionaries. He then says "I'm about to put my kids to bed, but I would really like to sit down and talk with you both. When are you free?" My jaw was on the floor, I couldn't believe it. Fast forward to Sunday night when we have our lesson, it was easily the best lesson I have ever been apart of. We had the lesson with him and his wife, and it was so awesome. I really can't think of any other word to describe it. They had all these incredible questions and were genuinely interested, and it was just such a great experience. They said that everything we were teaching them "just made sense" and they were so excited to learn more. He even told us that he felt like God had put us in each others paths for a reason. Oh man, you have no idea. So I will definitely keep you all updated with Pierre and Juanita, I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of them in the near future.

Lesson #2: Remember Who You Represent. Another one of the people we met during the Hillside Hangout was Elizabeth. After we met Pierre, she was the next house we knocked. We hear this voice from the side window "WHO is it?!", and went to the side of the house to talk to her. She tells us about her church and her belief in Christ, and finally we say "We have a really incredible message that is centered around Jesus Christ, when is a time that we could come by and share it with you?". She thinks for a second, sighs, and says "alright you can come in." We were so excited. We go inside, meet her kids, and begin teaching. This lady KNOWS her STUFF. She starts referencing parables from the Bible, quoting scriptures, making connections....in that moment I was so thankful for seminary and my New Testament class I took in college. Lol. Anyway, her biggest concern was that Joseph Smith is never mentioned in the Bible, so we told her we would study up and see her in 2 days. We studied the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim and how they related to the Bible and the Book of Mormon, we found scriptures in the Bible that prophesy of the great apostasy and the restoration, we read talks, and gathered William Tyndale quotes, we were so ready.

Anyway, we go back to teach her. Or more accurately, she talked and we sat and listened, feeling frustrated and not able to get a word in. It wasn't pretty. Whenever we would try and explain things, she would twist our words, manipulate the conversation, and interrupt us. She kept trying to tell US what WE believed. It quickly became very obvious that she had no interest in learning, but just wanted to prove us wrong. After AN HOUR AND A HALF of defending my belief and trying to provide scriptural proof and testifying, I was just feeling so frustrated and discouraged. Finally we were able to leave, and the second we got in the car I start going off on how rude she was and going on and on about how awful that entire experience was. After a few minutes of my ranting, it got kind of quiet for a moment and Sister Phillips asked, "How do you think we came off in that lesson? What impression do you think we made?" I thought back to my many deep sighs, my defensive explanations, and occasional glances at the TV that was on in the background. I realized that I could have acted a lot better. She finally said, "I know it can be difficult. I'm not sure if you could tell, but I was fuming in there. But we need to remember that as missionaries, we represent Jesus Christ." Wow, that really hit me.

Yes, it's true that as a missionary, I literally have His name on my nametag, but I think that this lesson can be applied to each of us. Even if we aren't set-apart-doing-missionary-work-24/7-type-missionaries. Do our actions reflect those of someone who is trying to become more like Christ? Are we patient with others? Are we kind, even when other may not be kind in return? "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." Allow other to see Christ through you!

Both of these experiences that resulted from the "Hillside Hangout" were kind of extremes. The Triumphs and the Tribulations. But I am confident that the Lord wanted me to experience both of these things for a reason, for me to learn and grow and become who He wants me to be. And for that, I am so thankful.

Sorry this letter is so preachy, but hey, that's kinda all I've been doing lately. Next week I'll put more funny stuff, I promise. I love you all, thank you for your love and support. And thank you for all of the survey responses from last week!! For any of you that are wondering, Lego Movie won. And yes, that chocolate milk was delicious.

Love,
Sister Yocum

The Different Weathers in New Jersey: