Pulled over while proselyting in the "crazy cat state"

Policeman nicely asks Sister Cobb and Sister Williams to cease and desist while proselyting at Monmouth University

 Hello everyone!
It's been an interesting week. I've mostly still been trying to adjust but I still love it out here.

It's still full fall right now but a couple days ago we had what New Jersey calls a nor'easter. It's pretty much a storm that blows in from the north. Sister Cobb and I were out contacting when it hit, which wasn't the best experience.

Something I've noticed about New Jersey is that every single person in this state has at least two cats. I'm not exaggerating, they really do. Jersey is the crazy cat state of America. We also have a less active member who has a pet pig. His name is Barbecue.

Last p-day we went to the beach which is only about ten minutes from our apartment. It's so beautiful there! The shore is covered with millions of shells, you are almost always standing on them.

A couple days ago, our district decided to all go contacting together. The Elders wanted to go to a college campus. I wasn't sure about that but we went. We contacted for about 20 minutes and then kind of got thrown off the campus by the police. They were super nice about it though. The Spanish Sisters got a picture of us being "pulled over" while proselyting.

So something that almost every missionary dreads doing out here is role plays. We do them in companion study and practice teaching each other. Sister Cobb and I decided to make it a little more exciting. We dressed up as missionaries from Book of Mormon times, stood on the couch, and preached to the Lamanites, speaking in biblical language. At first I thought those Lamanites would stone us or something, but they accepted our words and agreed to come to church on Sunday:)

Missionary work is pretty fun. I love going out and meeting all sorts of new people. We taught the Restoration of the Gospel to two investigators this week and the Spirit was so strong during both. I love sharing my testimony.

Sister Williams 

From Sister Cobb: The companion's view

This whole week has been pretty tough. It was almost like a scene from The Best Two Years. Knock - slam. Walk - pouring rain. Appointments - not home. We don't have a lot of people to teach, and we got a few doors slammed in our faces. I'm so proud of Sister Williams for persevering through it (we did a lot of finger painting and piano playing this week...it's therapeutic). She is determined to keep working hard, even though we aren't seeing a lot of the success most missionaries expect.

Interestingly enough, November 8th was my favorite day of the week.  It started off on an amazing note - teaching. We finally got to teach someone! We went over to a less active's home. Her name is Sister Woods, and she is a character. She feeds us figs and seaweed and has an enormous pet pig. His name is Barbeque, and she feeds him bacon (she thinks it's hilarious). We had a sweet lesson with her and her grandson, Ryan. Ryan isn't baptized (his parents aren't members), but he loves the missionaries and always sits in on our lessons. He's a pretty spiritual little guy though.

After that, all of the missionaries in our area met at the church to go on a contacting blitz! It was a blast. We went contacting around Monmouth University and then in Asbury Park. Asbury Park used to be in our area, but the sisters are no longer allowed to go there because the ward petitioned to get us out. It's pretty dangerous, even during the day (I know some sisters who almost got kidnapped there). We got to talk to this really neat woman who asked us a lot of questions, like, "Will I ever see my mom again?" and "What happens to us after we die?". She was really interested and invited us to come back and teach her! We gave her to the elders though, because she lives in Asbury Park. We also contacted a sweet Spanish woman who wants to know more about eternal families! She also invited us back, but we gave her to the Spanish elders because we don't really speak Spanish. All in all, we got to talk to a lot of people about the gospel. It was so fun.

On Saturday, we had another appointment to teach Amanda! Hooray! Amanda is one of the sweetest, most prepared people I have ever met. She was texting us all week about how much she was loving the Book of Mormon. During our lesson, SHE taught US about the gospel. She is really excited to be baptized!

We taught her about the Restoration, and Sister Williams got to share the first vision for the first time on her mission! When she recited the first vision for Amanda, the Spirit completely filled up the room. It was powerful, and Amanda could feel it. It was one the most spiritual Restoration lesson I have ever been a part of. Sister Williams is a clear teacher and is so sincere. After the lesson, we invited Amanda to pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true, only to find out that she had already prayed about it and knew it was! 

That night, our recent convert Crystal invited us out to dinner. She is such a humble and giving person. I always feel bad when members take us out for meals or buy us anything, but I know that they will be blessed for serving us. If anyone deserves blessings, it's Crystal. She was baptized in May, has more trials than any person should have to endure, and loves the Lord. She is so faithful and determined to keep her family rooted in the gospel.

Sister Cobb

Their humble home (apt)