Alright people, this email is going to be a WHIRLWIND because literally this week had been absolutely insane, and filled with so many bizarre, hilarious, enlightening, and wonderful moments. that being said, lets get down to the nitty gritty details.
My area is Maplewood, or sometimes referred to as "the promised land". my companion/trainer is sister Phillips! She is from Idaho and went to Utah State for a year before coming on the mission. She is absolutely incredible. She is hard working, personable, hilarious, and caring. I love her so much, and I think that we work really well together. The two sisters in our area before us both went home, so we got doubled in, but the good news is that sister Phillips was in this area a little while ago, so she already knows a lot of the people. My district consists of Elder Locke, Elder Muir, Elder Tekulve, and Elder Sudweeks. They are all a bunch of nerds (I mean this as a term of endearment, don't worry) and I love spending time with them. Elder Muir is my district leader, and since he is my first one, apparently that means he's my "Dad". The whole mission has these weird terms of how people are "related" and its kind of bizarre, but it's fun. Sister Phillips (aka my "Mom") and I drive a literal minivan, so when we drive with the Elders, she is basically a soccer Mom.
So, here is a little bit about Maplewood. you know that email I sent last week about the huge yards and no fences and lots of trees? Yeah, apparently that was in the super wealthy part of New Jersey. lol. The houses in Maplewood are super close together and usually have multiple families living in one house, and people are from ALL OVER. Seriously, this place is like one huge melting pot. I've met people from Haiti, Spain, Russia, Columbia, Nigeria, Peru, India, the Caribbean, and so many more, it is insane. I literally started making a list because there are so many different countries. So, I think it's safe to say that I won't develop a "New Jersey" accent, because there are so many other accents from all over the world! But, people are always sitting on their porches or walking around outside, and they are always willing to talk to us, even if they aren't necessarily interested in our message. Also, driving around is crazy, and I don't think I've ever heard more car horns in my life. People literally just walk in the middle of the road with cars flying past them, so while driving you literally have to be watching every second because people come out of nowhere. We have never driven so defensively in our lives ahaha. But, throughout this week I have met SO many cool people, and have had so many experiences where I just have to stop and ask myself, "How the heck did I get here?!" I know without a doubt that if I weren't on a mission, there is absolutely no way that I would ever have the chance to meet people like this or have these incredible experiences. People who we meet on the streets literally tell us their entire life stories, they let two random girls into their homes, little girls will run across the street just to watch a video about Jesus, I can think of no other circumstances where things like this happen. I love being a missionary. I have already grown to love these people so much, and I feel so blessed that I get to serve and teach them.
Okay, now let's tell some funny stories. And trust me, I have acquired a LOT this past week. However, it will take too long to type them all out so I'm going to give just a few of them without very much context for an increased comedic effect. Let's go!
My area is Maplewood, or sometimes referred to as "the promised land". my companion/trainer is sister Phillips! She is from Idaho and went to Utah State for a year before coming on the mission. She is absolutely incredible. She is hard working, personable, hilarious, and caring. I love her so much, and I think that we work really well together. The two sisters in our area before us both went home, so we got doubled in, but the good news is that sister Phillips was in this area a little while ago, so she already knows a lot of the people. My district consists of Elder Locke, Elder Muir, Elder Tekulve, and Elder Sudweeks. They are all a bunch of nerds (I mean this as a term of endearment, don't worry) and I love spending time with them. Elder Muir is my district leader, and since he is my first one, apparently that means he's my "Dad". The whole mission has these weird terms of how people are "related" and its kind of bizarre, but it's fun. Sister Phillips (aka my "Mom") and I drive a literal minivan, so when we drive with the Elders, she is basically a soccer Mom.
So, here is a little bit about Maplewood. you know that email I sent last week about the huge yards and no fences and lots of trees? Yeah, apparently that was in the super wealthy part of New Jersey. lol. The houses in Maplewood are super close together and usually have multiple families living in one house, and people are from ALL OVER. Seriously, this place is like one huge melting pot. I've met people from Haiti, Spain, Russia, Columbia, Nigeria, Peru, India, the Caribbean, and so many more, it is insane. I literally started making a list because there are so many different countries. So, I think it's safe to say that I won't develop a "New Jersey" accent, because there are so many other accents from all over the world! But, people are always sitting on their porches or walking around outside, and they are always willing to talk to us, even if they aren't necessarily interested in our message. Also, driving around is crazy, and I don't think I've ever heard more car horns in my life. People literally just walk in the middle of the road with cars flying past them, so while driving you literally have to be watching every second because people come out of nowhere. We have never driven so defensively in our lives ahaha. But, throughout this week I have met SO many cool people, and have had so many experiences where I just have to stop and ask myself, "How the heck did I get here?!" I know without a doubt that if I weren't on a mission, there is absolutely no way that I would ever have the chance to meet people like this or have these incredible experiences. People who we meet on the streets literally tell us their entire life stories, they let two random girls into their homes, little girls will run across the street just to watch a video about Jesus, I can think of no other circumstances where things like this happen. I love being a missionary. I have already grown to love these people so much, and I feel so blessed that I get to serve and teach them.
Okay, now let's tell some funny stories. And trust me, I have acquired a LOT this past week. However, it will take too long to type them all out so I'm going to give just a few of them without very much context for an increased comedic effect. Let's go!
- Sister Phillips and I ran around chasing Paul's cat, while he stood at his porch HIGH AS A KITE (if you know what I mean), yelling at his junk mail...."Sorry sisters, I don't think we can do a lesson today, I'm a little f****d up at the moment". Don't do drugs, kids!
- We attended a funeral for a woman in the ward, but were uninformed that she was the ONLY member in her family. So, Sister Phillips and I literally stuck out like sore thumbs. One, because we were wearing bright floral dresses. And two, we were two of the four white people in the room. We were highly unprepared, but it was definitely an interesting event to be a part of.
- This man named Kory with a GNARLY beard was talking to us in the street and afterward kinda sneak attacked hugged us. Sister Phillips and I both freaked out but it was too late to do anything, So, I broke the missionary rule and hugged a male, I am sorry everyone.
- I jumped out of the minivan to talk to this family in the park, but they were all staring at the ground pointing at something, so I asked what they were looking at. They started talking about these nasty bugs that were all over and then walked away before I could say anything else. So, from Sister Phillips perspective (who couldn't see much from the car), she thought that I walked up to them, asked, "Ew, is that a bug?" and walked away. I like that version of the story better though.
- We knocked on this one door and no one answered so we went across the street, and a few seconds later, we see this little black boy completely naked, dancing in the doorway of the first house. It was so strange, but obviously hilarious. It doesn't get much better than this.
- We were doing service helping out at a food bank, and Elder Locke found a bunch of mice in one of the boxes....so that was cool.
Anyway, life is New Jersey is insane but always an adventure. I love meeting and connecting with all of these people, and I can't wait to see where these next few months take me.
Sorry that all of my letters are like insanely long, but I just have a lot to say. I love you all dearly--thank you for your letters, emails, and prayers. They mean the world to me!
Sister Yocum
(or, "Yo! Come." as I explain to people, since apparently it's really difficult to pronounce. I even have matching hand signals, it is pretty fancy)
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