Elder McLain's new apartment (according to Google Maps)
Hi Mom!I've got lots of news so I'll try to make it all into one e-mail.
So I made it to New Jersey just fine and saw New York from afar! It's
huge. But we headed straight into the heart of Newark to do the
"fearbuster" which is basically a bunch of street contacts to help get
us ready for what's to come. We handed out some Books of Mormon and I
got a little bit more comfortable talking to people on the street.
You've just got to be yourself, but also remember what you're doing
which is hard to keep that balance because most people aren't
interested in hearing about religion. It was way fun though.
Afterwards we went to the mission home in Mendham and stayed the night
which was nice sleeping in a comfortable bed and the food was solid.
We woke up and had a few meetings and then were assigned our
companions and areas and went off to our respective areas! My
companion's name is Elder Jerom Estipona and we are serving in East
Orange, which is just west of Newark I think. Only a few miles. Elder
Estipona is Phillipino and he is super cool and a hard worker. I think
we will get along well. My roommates, Elder Pruitt and Elder Scott are
also cool guys. East Orange is basically the ghetto from my
understanding but some people say it's the best place in the mission
behind Jersey City and Tom's River. Our apartment is stationed right
in the heart of everything so we've got crazy neighbors and what not
but I have heard they don't bother the missionaries because they know
who's on their side... The address is 108 South 11th Street, Newark,
NJ 07107. I believe we can only receive mail, no packages. I'll have
to find that out. I'll take some pictures of it soon. For now there
are a few on the mission presiden't blog.
Last night we jumped right into some appointments with a guy named
Aaron Green. He lives in an ill-patients home, and I'm not sure what
his problems are, but he seems pretty okay to me. He has a good heart
and he knows what is good for him. We invited him to read the Book of
Mormon (in exchange for a bag of potato chips) but his eyes are bad
and he is waiting on some reading glasses. He prays often and is
determined to come to church this Sunday. I admire Aaron a lot.
Right after that we went to John and Jasmine's home and they were a
loud bunch. John is a rapper and has a 3 year old boy but he and his
girlfriend realized they need Christ in their lives because they were
both struggling with addictions and were going nowhere. His girlfriend
is very sweet and more open to the message than John; John seemed to
be more worried about a scripture in Genesis that talks about Sons of
God having children with daughters of men. We didn't know the answer
and he wanted it but we made it clear that the answer wasn't going to
help him come to know Jesus Christ. Both are in a state where they
don't know what religion to believe but when we came over they said
the timing was so ironic that "we must be men of God". We didn't
really teach them much but they were interested and set up a return
appointment for the next day. They loved to hear from us and I loved
the visit with them.
That was all the people we saw that night, and today I have only
prepared and studied but we have a busy afternoon. We have at least 5
appointments depending on how many people are available. We are going
shopping right after I send this email and there is a store called
Western Beef by our apartment - I think that is a funny name for a
store. There are a bunch of shack restaurants nearby as well, but I
haven't found any that serve something besides fried chicken and
waffles, gyros, gumbo, and pizza. None of them look trustworthy to me.
So if you can google restaurants in Newark or more near East Orange
where Man vs. Food or Guy Fieri have visited, let me know!
If you were wondering, we drive a Chrysler Sebring and it is a lemon.
I do not like it, but it should be getting replaced soon.
Thank you for mailing my sheets! I slept on them last night - THEY ARE
SO SOFT and warm. I love them. And thanks for the notes as well! You
are the best. I saw you got me another bottle of face wash from that
letter I sent and right after I mailed it I found two more bottles in
my bag so now I have 3. So I don't need anymore of that, but thank
you! I know you'd do anything for me. One other thing - I am guessing
you sent my rain coat already. I'll be needing that soon as it has
begun to rain almost every day. I haven't encountered rain yet because
we drive, don't worry, but it would be nice to have that. Thanks
again!
I hope everyone is doing well! Let me know how things are going for
you. I'm doing just fine. New Jersey is awesome. If you have any
questions let me know and I'll answer them.
I don't know if there is a way to find out, but I am hoping that
people don't mail anymore letters to the MTC. If you could call and
ask that'd be great. No hurry though.
I love you Mom! You're great and I appreciate all you do.
Love,
Tab
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