I SURVIVED THE BOMB CYCLONE

That (^^^) is the name of the blizzard that hit Jersey and some of the other East Coast states (also some of Florida I heard?? Someone will probably have to fact check me). Apparently because of it, the entire state of New Jersey was declared to be in a state of emergency, and this was the biggest blizzard in the state's history. So naturally, it has to be given the most hardcore name ever. I am thinking about making T-shirts that say "I survived the Bomb Cyclone", but we will see if that ever happens. Who wants to pre-order ones in case I do?

Before taking on the Bomb Cyclone

Well, I should probably begin this email by giving my own personal account of the historic Bomb Cyclone. My area is closer to the coast, so we got hit pretty good. We got over a foot of snow and on Thursday when it started basically no one went anywhere because the roads were too dangerous.

Here is a little perspective of how much snow we got lol

We tried to trek across our complex because the Hillers invited us over for lunch, and oh man it was a mess. Normally that takes like 2 minutes to walk over there, but this day it took easily 10 minutes. We were walking against 45 mile per hour winds, trudging along with the snow up to our knees, as snow pelts our faces and I kept falling over. It was hilarious, our faces were all red and wet afterward, I will have to attach the picture so you can all see a nice little comparison.

......after. We got #rekt

Because of the blizzard, this week has been pretty slow. We couldn't really drive for a few days and it's too cold for anyone to want to open their door and talk to us, so we did quite a bit of Facebook proselyting. Which involves adding random people and talking to them on messenger which basically goes against every internet safety rule I have ever learned, but I sure have met a lot of interesting people. One of which being a very confused older woman named Nancy Yocum who thinks that I am her pregnant niece, but I still love it. She calls me every day still!

Birthday party for our investigator Liza and her son!
It was a proper Filipino feast with a pig and karaoke. So fun!!

This last week, our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson passed away at the age of 90. Although I am sad that he is no longer on the Earth, I know that he is so happy to be reunited with his sweet wife, and that his legacy will live on. He was the ultimate example of what a devoted, faithful, and loving person looks like, and I am so thankful for the influence he has had in my life. In his memory, I will leave you all with a quote, from his October 2012 General Conference address entitled "God Be With You Till We Meet Again"

"Let us be of good cheer as we go about our lives. Although we live in increasingly perilous times, the Lord loves us and is mindful of us. He is always on our side as we do what is right. He will help us in time of need. Difficulties come into our lives, problems we do not anticipate and which we would never choose. None of us is immune. The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father, and it is often during the difficult times that we learn the most, as painful as the lessons may be. Our lives can also be filled with joy as we follow the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I know that we can receive true happiness in this life as we follow the gospel. An everlasting, genuine, celestial happiness! It has blessed my life more than I can describe, and I am thankful that I get to share it with the (freezing) people of New Jersey.

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support.

Your "Beautiful Sister of Jesus",
(what the lady who volunteers with us at the thrift calls us hahaha)
Sister Yocum