NEW JERSEY IS REAL!!!

MALO LE-LE!!!!!!

So yeah guess what?! I have just spent my first week in New Jersey!!!! YEAH I KNOW!!!! I LOVE it here!!!! some of the other sisters that I cam here with from the MTC went to some really ghetto parts of New Jersey, but I am serving in a SUPER nice part of town where all the rich people live! It covers Madison (which is where we live), Morristown, East Hanover, Chatam... aaaaaand a couple of other towns that I can't remember the name of.... But is it SSOOOOO PRETTY!!!!!! And all you silly people were talking about how terrible the humidity would be here, but its not even that bad. It is like perfect here all the time and I love it!

My companion is a STELLAR powerhouse of testimony named Sister Roundy. She is the best trainer EVER!!! She is such a good example of having integrity with the mission rules and fulfilling her mission as a representative of Jesus Christ. She is so good when teaching people about the Gospel and explaining everything, and her testimony is SO STRONG! I love her. She is the best. She is also from Utah... I don't know why all my  companions are from Utah... But we will see if it just becomes a thing with me so that the Lord can prove that there really are a lot of cool people there and that I shouldn't be such a llamo.

Guess what ELSE?! I get an IPAD!!! YEAH!!! It is soooo coooll!!!!!!!! Apparently it is a new thing for this mission, but it makes planning and contacting and everything so much easier! On my first day here (which I need to tell you about) I went street contacting with this sister, and after she started talking with this guy, she asked him if she could share a short video with him about Jesus Christ, and just pulled out her ipad and showed him the video! It is so awesome!!! The work is HASTENING!!! Sis Roundy was telling me about what the mission president was talking about when they first got the ipads, and it was so powerful. He said that their goal with the new use of technology is not only to help hasten the work here in the mission field, but to help the missionaries better combat the temptations that Satan uses it for. When the missionaries go home, we are to see technology only as a tool like a pencil or a car. We use it with purpose to complete our purpose, then we put it away without even thinking about using it for anything else that would distract or tempt us to use it in a bad way. It was just so cool how she said it... I
probably can't even say it right... But yeah, it was just super awesome.

So my first day here they did this thing called the fear buster... And the pathetic thing was that I was warned about this even before I got on the plane and still forgot... Right when we landed they picked us up and took us downtown (which was actually pretty sketchy...) and gathered us in a big circle with some missionaries that had already been here for a while. We all started singing Called to Serve in the middle of the block, and I was like "Oh this is so awesome and spiritual and I am so glad to be here and I can't wait to start serving these people-" and then BAM!!! They all ran away!!! Even President and Sister Taggart were booking it down the street! Everyone went in different directions and I was like WHAT THE FRUMPY IS HAPPENING!!! (Later we found out that this one lady who had seen us all running thought that there was a shooting going on and started running too... but then a pair of missionaries stopped her and taught her the Gospel.) So I started running frantically after the sister I was supposed to be with and got my first taste of the New Jersey Projects haha, it was crazy... so many strange people... I have been so sheltered...

ANYWAYS!!! So I know that if I have faith I shouldn't need to fear... but I have to admit I have a new found fear.... TICKS!!! UGHMIGOSH I am so scared for my life! I literally pray EVERY DAY to Heavenly Father PLEADING that I will not get a tick, because apparently there are A TON here... so yeah... just keep that in mind when you are praying for the people in danger who need help.

So the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the reason I am out here on my mission is so that I can help others have a special experience with the Atonement of Jesus Christ each week when they take the Sacrament. Imagine if Jesus Christ were standing in front of you right now. As He reaches out to you, you see the nail prints in his palms and wrists. Then as you are overcome with His presence, you fall to the ground and see the scars in His feet. What if Christ asked if He could join you this Sunday as you partook of the Sacrament? What if He is the one that passed it to you? What if He said "Here, take me into yourself and always have my spirit to be with you." He does every week. He loves you and He died for you. But He knows that you love your family too, and that you want them to have the same joy that you have. So He died for your family too so that you wouldn't have to be alone and they could have that joy too. But you also have friends that you love too and want them to have the same experience. So He suffers for them. He suffers for their families. And on and on until everyone is saved. Because of Christ, families can be together forever. Because of Jesus Christ, we can experience true joy. How can we not share that? If we truly understand and embrace the Atonement when we take the Sacrament each week shouldn't we be changed? If we truly take Christ into ourselves and allow His spirit to fill us up, shouldn't we have a change of heart? Just something to think about. I invite all of you to be filled (3 Nephi 18) when you take the Sacrament this week.

I love you all!!! I love being a missionary!!! And I love GOD!!!!

-Sister Baine