Happy New Years!! Wow, what a wild year 2018 has been. I feel so blessed that this year will forever be remembered as the year I was a missionary in New Jersey, and I am so thankful for the time I've been able to spend here. I know that the next year will have its own exciting and stressful and growing experiences, so I can't wait to see what lies in store for me. But wow, we really ended the year with a bang!!
Definitely the most exciting event of the week was ILEANY'S BAPTISM! Ah, it was so so happy to be a part of all of that. It was a pretty crazy week getting ready, but it all came together beautifully. Even though the odds were stacked against us. Everyone in the bishopric and our ward mission leader were out of town, the person who was supposed to perform the baptism bailed an hour before, Ileany's family was 30 minutes late, the font had partially drained itself and the water was about knee deep...yeahhhh, it was pretty stressful at times. But seriously, everything worked out exactly the way it was supposed to. The person who conducted the baptism served a mission Spanish speaking and could conduct the meeting in both languages and translated the talks and testimonies. The person who performed the baptism had served his mission in the Dominican Republic 10 years ago and could connect with the family in a really sweet way. Members brought little presents and made her feel so loved. It was such a great service, and they had so much support from family and members in the ward. Anyway, wow I'm rambling now but really it was such a special day!!
Well, here are some other random events from the week! Enjoy!
Last week we met this guy on the street and we have been texting back and forth for a bit, finally we decided to meet up at the laundromat to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon! So we get there and are sitting on these benches talking to Tony, when this teenage girl comes up to us and says, "Hey, Sisters!" Turns out, it was a girl from the Spanish ward! She just stood by and totally joined in on our lesson, it was so awesome!! She told the story of Joseph Smith, answered questions, explained what the Book of Mormon was, and talked about her own experience of coming to know that it was true when she was being taught by missionaries herself just 3 years ago. She was such a baller!! But yeah, basically doing our job for us, lol. Member missionaries are the greatest!
Oh, also we stopped by a woman named Victoria that we've been teaching for a while and she offered us some Nigerian food that she made for Christmas. So we had this spicy fried rice and plantains, it was sooo good. The only problem was, it was super spicy and Sister Williams like cannot handle spice ahah. So she kept spooning a bunch onto my plate whenever Victoria wasn't looking. It felt like a classic missionary moment.
Anyways, hope you all have a Happy New Year! The New Year is a great opportunity to start new, to make changes, and move forward. It is a time to become the person that you want to become, and the person your Heavenly Father sees in you! Whether the changes are big or small, it's the perfect time to set goals for yourself and improve.
"Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." - Jeffrey R. Holland
Love you all! Talk to ya next year! Ha ha ha I'm the worst, I know.
Sister Yocum
P.S. The subject line is an iconic quote from Sister Williams, I love that lady hahaha
1. Ileany aw my heart
2. Scarlet the bomb member missionary
3. Christmas day hot cocoa on our porch
4. After our 2 hour nap lol
5. This was before our Christmas Skype in the high counselor room
6. Elder Holly playing the saxophone in a Santa beard for family zone evening bahahaha we lost our minds
7. The district on Christmas!
8. Sister Williams first wawa trip
9. Us and grace while Victoria was heating up the spicy food
10. Ileany and Jaivin, my favs
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