More snippets of Jenny

February 24


Knock, knock, knock. Dog barking incessantly. Yelling. Outline shows up behind the glass. Fumbling with the doorknob. Crack the door open to contain the dog and protect from bodily harm, in case that's why I was knocking on their door. "yeah?" "Hi, how are you doing? We are missionaries sharing a message about Jesus Christ and His Church restored to the earth. Would you have a few minutes for us to share a message with you?" "yeah, I'm not interested." Not interested?!? NOT interested?! Bring it on New Jersey.

So we went to dinner at this members home and she fed us "garlic nuts" which are the little nub type rolls that you pull apart. so I guess I should have compared them to pullaparts. anyway, I ate quite a few of those and everytime I would wipe the garlic flakes from my fingers onto my napkin. Also the butter that would grease the wheels as the nuts went down. I got a little carried away eating them because I was trying to avoid the inevitable huge second helping that the hostess dishes up herself (I succeeded) so I kept slowing eating the nuts just to keep something in my hands and look like I was still eating and too busy for seconds. We move on to dessert (ice cream cake) and I went to adjust my napkin in my lap and couldn't figure out why there weren't any garlic flakes on it anymore. I moved it around a bit trying not to draw attention to myself and realize that the garlic flakes had become static to the table cloth! I could not get them off! and she had white carpet so if I'd gotten them off onto the floor that wouldn't have been any better. Every time that she went into the kitchen I exchanged frantic looks with Hermana Decker who was next to me since we were doing an exchange and I would try to get the flakes off. There was still a row of green specks when I vacated my seat because I never did figure out a solution. Lesson learned, go easy on the garlic nuts.

 

We stopped by a members house to meet her but only her husband and baby were home. She was baptized after they were married and he doesn't practice any particular religion so we'd only seen her at church. He thought that she would be home soon so he invited us to stay and wait. We sat on the couch and the 18 month old came over and unzipped my bag. I knew she was harmless and there wasn't anything embarrassing in there so I just let her do it. She started pulling out my hand lotion, my planner, my hymn book, my wallet, my pepper spray, ...my PEPPER SPRAY!!! I didn't want to alarm the dad or make her cry so I cautiously started to reach for something to trade with her before she started hitting it around. I luckily succeeded or I could have faced time in jail. Who'd have thought. Did you know we also aren't allowed to touch children for fear of lawsuits? I can't hold a baby for 18 months. That shoves.

Oh, and also on my resume is being put in a trunk as the newest greenie. But don't worry they didn't close it or drive around, my trainer just picked me up and put me there. I think it was because the Elders were around. If you thought that girls acted differently in front of boys trying watching elders and sisters. Wow, that is a goony bunch of people.

Exerpts

February 17th 
I knew that we were lucky but we have so much compared to the people that we visit. Everybody talks about debt and barely making it and cutting things out because of their current situations but they are happy. They love their families and they know that they have what really matters and all they need so they don't complain. It is truly beautiful to go into some of these very small apartments where three of us fill the living room and to see the strength in their family relationships.


So last week we went to Vinny Baggio's pizza place to tell him to come to church because he is a member and he gave us a free pizza on the house. Best pizza, I have had many since being here but his was my favorite. Him and Ray Alianello just opened their new place and while we were standing there talking to vinny he was leaning with his hand on the counter and no lie his thumb was just smashed into a piece of pizza in the display area where it stays warm and then he started kind of flicking his thumb back and forth over the edge of the crust. I will never eat a pizza from there that I don't watch him make sanitarily. Anyway, yeah, I found my New Jersey Italian pizza makers.


A day in the life. Well, no, a week in the life.

Every day:
6:30 exercise
7:00 shower, eat, do hair, get ready
8:00 personal study has to be at desk
9:00 comp study: sing, read out of handbook, prepare lessons
10:00 leave to teach people or visit people On Monday's we go do service.
Take an hour for lunch somewhere

Tuesdays we have district, zone, or combined meetings in the mornings so they are a weird day.
Wednesdays we have studies and then do everything else until six when we head to the church for splits and teaching appointments with members or investigators but keep in mind our members need a lot of strengthening
Thursdays we have weekly planning so we spend three to four extra hours in the apartment going over EVERYTHING
Church is from 9:30 to 12:30 on Sundays and we have ward council before
I was supposed to sing in zone conference yesterday with four other people but I currently don't have much of a voice so I couldn't but it ended up being one of those moments where you hope that the audience's reaction doesn't show on their face while the performers are performing. In other words, I wasn't sad about it in the end. But I am using a talent I didn't know I had and trust me, I am actually decent I was just always too insecure to sing out but it turns out that I can do it when I want to.
Writing is only for preparation days and I feel very strongly about observing that rule even at night. Oh yeah.
We teach until nine which is when we're supposed to be home.
9:00 daily planning, set goals for lessons taught the next day, talk about how day went
9:30-10:30 get ready, write in journal, eat cornflakes, talk, pray and be in bed.


The Lord really does taylor make our lives to our needs. It is incredible to see that and to see the way that we are answers to people's prayers the way that they are answers to ours. We had a neat opportunity the other night when we needed to go to a members home to do something on their computer and we were able to talk to their nonmember friends who never would have let us in at their door but who I really think we planted a seed with the other night. The Lord makes a way but I can see why we serve missions as long as we do because it takes that long to get things done.

New Pictures!

Notes on these pictures were written by Jenny herself (with an editorial comment or two from this author).  Enjoy!

                            

With Sister Adjei outside the MTC in Provo; showing off our boots, even though mine didn't make the shot.  Still a cute picture though!

My favs; man do I miss them.  They were such bright lights for me.  

Sister Nickle and I at the MTC

My second "Greenie" dinner.  The family was darling; they all dressed in green shirts.  When I walked in, the little boy said "we're playing a trick on you!"  The three little boys were so cute, and I initially thought the item next to the roll was a bat, but I couldn't prove it.              

So, so much snow the first Saturday I was here.  We used baking sheets to build our fort!

Best soft-serve in ze world; seriously.  It was vanilla, but seemed to have a tinge of carmel.  These are the elders who throw each other in the snow, throw boots at each others' faces, and pull mini dart guns out of their breast pockets.  

Ray Alianello and Vinnie Vaggio after feeding us a delicious pie.

(At a member's house who appears to have an infatuation with Donny Osmond)  The Donny doll.  Patterned in likeness to Donny when he won a baby modeling contest.  Also take note of the Osmond pics behind me; the one on the top left from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Donny is shirtless) is similar to the one Sister Sosa put up in her bus, and after several complaints from passengers, they called her and told her she needed to take it down.