Dear Mom,

 

I didn't get transferred. I'm staying in Plainfield and so is my companion. However, I did get a call to be the new District Leader. I've been learning a few new responsibilities that I have now. A big one, is holding District Meeting every week for an hour and a half. I'm a little nervous because I do it by myself. The best way to take it off my shoulders more is to involve everyone in the meeting. I would guess that the organization in the mission isn't known to a lot so here it is. The mission (our mission specifically) is divided into seven zones, with two zone leaders for every zone. Then each zone is divided up into two districts, each with their own district leader(s). Each district has from four to ten missionaries, depending on the district and where it is in New Jersey. Then there are two assistants to the President. They help out the President with a lot of things and have a HUGE load of responsibility. They get very little sleep sometimes, and on top of all their work load, they have their own area to proselyte in. So that's kind of how it works.

 

The announcement in General Conference was crazy! It's going to give such a bigger opportunity for sisters to serve missions. I think that a lot of sisters have to put off so much stuff like marriage to be able to serve a mission. Now they can start thinking about it after high school and serve on their 19th birthday. Crazy! I'm sure we're going to see a whole lot more sister missionaries in the mission. Also with the young men, we're going to start to see really young guys come out right after high school! Awesome! I'm so excited to see so many more young missionaries start coming out. President Jeppson we should start seeing the effects in the next three to six months. I would absolutely love to see Kelsie serve a mission! Norway or California is my guess for her. I really loved conference! It went by too fast. I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf's talk in the Priesthood session about the small little airplane versus the Blue Angles fighter jet. I can really see the difference. Big strong wards and stakes in Utah versus a small not very functioning branch here in New Jersery or probably even smaller in South America somewhere. But Priesthood service brings the same joy anywhere in the world. I also really enjoyed Elder Robert Gay's talk about sacrifice. "Would you sell your soul for a nickel?" I loved Elder Nelson's talk about the missionaries and the story he shared!! As always, Elder Bednar is very powerful. Another very enjoyable one is from Elder Holland. He is always very, very strong. I love talks from Elder Holland.

 

I'm super jealous if Kelsie goes to Greece. Thinking about Europe makes me want to do study abroad in college really bad! That would be great. I could go to Spain, I already speak Spanish, so that would be great. Maybe if Kelsie waited, we could go to Spain, Germany, Norway, Italy, and Greece. Just kidding. But I would love to go to Europe.

 

It's so great to hear about Kyle, Julia, and Kaylee and their progress. It sounds like they're doing so well! I can't wait to see how much they grow up when I come home. I really love to hear about how they're doing in school and other things.

 

Fall is definitely setting in here in New Jersey. More and more trees are starting to change. It's getting cold. I am really not looking forward to winter on the mission. I keep telling my self how lucky I am that I only have to endure one whole winter here. Next year, it'll be just until the beginning of January. I'm just not looking forward to the proselyting in the cold and driving so much on slick roads, since we drive and walk all day. It's definitely fall though! My little weather station, called Oscar Outlook, has been telling me lately in the morning that it's about 45 - 50 degrees every morning. As soon as it hits 40 degrees, I'm not running in the morning..

 

Awesome quote! I totally believe it! Mom, remember the quote you sent me in the MTC from President Hinckley about the blessings of serving a mission? I still have that and keep it and read it occasionally.

 

 

So this week, Elder Jensen (the one with chicken pox) was released from quarantine this last week. When they stayed at home, they would play cards and study a lot. They both really wanted to get back to work and now he is cleared to get back to work. But this past week has still been pretty crazy. My companion got a little sick for a few days, so we were back to a trio in three areas. I've spent a lot of time in the English area. It's pretty different from the Spanish program. I met a young couple who both served Spanish-speaking missions (the husband in Ecuador and the wife in Spain) and the wife only speaks Spanish to her daughter and the dad only English. He is super smart. He graduated from MIT and is now a mechanical engineer professor at Rutgers University. You don't run into people like that in the Spanish program.

 

Other than that, it was General Conference this weekend. As a focus in the mission, we are concentrating ourselves in teaching about the importance of a living prophet today. It's been an amazing experience teaching members and investigators about a living prophet today and why it is so essencial for us. It's really cool!

 

Not much else..

 

Until next week!

 

Love you mom! Miss you!

 

-Justin

 

 

 Q of the W:

1.  Where did you watch conference at? I watched it at the Scotch Plains Chapel in English.

2.  What time does conference start for you?  With a different time zone I'm wondering if it's live or pre-recorded for you? It was two hours behind Utah, but it was still a live broadcast. The conference was at 12-2, 4-6, and Priesthood 8-10.

3.  Have you still been going to Casanovas pizza every Friday? Yes we do. And it's still as good as ever! We're getting to be pretty good friends with some of the workers there. We asked one of the workers there a little while ago how long the missionaries have been coming by. They said about 26 years!!!