Thanksgiving 2014

At the Woodwards' house

Middletown, NJ

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun:) The morning of, all the missionaries from the southern part of the state came to the Princeton stadium and we played football all morning. It was freezing and snowing outside, but still a lot of fun. Later that day, Sister Cobb and I went to a member's house for dinner. The members here take such good care of us. We had so many offers for dinner appointments because everyone wants to make sure we're being fed. This ward is very focused on missionary work. 

Missionaries from Zone 11 at Princeton Stadium on Thanksgiving Day 2014

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we're trying to focus on the new Christmas initiative the Church is putting out. It's a short, two minute video called "He is the Gift". We watched it with a member and I absolutely love it. We're encouraging everyone to watch it and then share it. I'm starting to really love Christmas because it's a time when millions of people celebrate the birth of Christ. Also, no matter what your religion is, you are focusing on Christlike attributes (joy, gratitude, love, etc.). I'm so excited to share this with everyone.

Surprising reception in the 'hood

Best experience this week: We were trying to find a former investigator to see if we could continue teaching her. It was 8 o'clock at night and we were in one of the more sketchy neighborhoods in our area. We drove past her house, but there were two tall black men standing on the porch. We were kind of terrified to approach that house, but we decided we should. So, we said a prayer, locked our purses in the trunk and walked up to the house.

The two men had gone inside. We knocked on the door and when they opened it, we saw that the house was full of people. It felt cramped and they were blasting music. We asked for the former investigator and they immediately invited us in. I'll admit, I was kind of terrified because I didn't know what I was walking into. But, as soon as they saw who we were, they all got really excited, jumped over each other trying to talk to us, turned off the music, asked us to play the piano for them, asked us to pray, wanted to know where we were from, introduced us to everyone in the house, showed us family pictures, and told us their family tree. All in the space of about 10 minutes. It was so cool how excited they all got. We don't know how interested they are in the church, but it was great to be received so well. We are going back next week, so we'll see how that goes.

Love you all!

Sister Williams