Manhattan and RAIN!!

Hello all! hope the coming summer is treating you well, and that your week has been good!

This week was pretty good! We went to the temple on Tuesday, and it was incredible! However- I was definitely glad to be back in Jersey. 

We had to meet in Newark (also- jersey people pronounce newark like nerk. 1 syllable. fun fact for you.) and from there we walked to the train. Definitely interesting walking through Newark! Sisters don't get that opportunity often, haha. 

We get on the train to New York, and we walk from the train to the temple. (It seemed so long- I found out after that it was from 33rd street to 65th. holy cow.) I will have to include some pictures of the sights we saw on the way! We get to the temple and it was a really good session. I really enjoyed getting to be there and to be in that spirit of the temple. 

Walking back was interesting- we had to wait a while for a couple people, and we ended up taking the subway to the train to get back to Jersey. We also got some street food- I ate a lamb gyro. It was pretty good! whoo! first time for everything.

One of the most incredible sights was getting to walk right past the World Trade Center- the Freedom Tower.  we got off the subway right next to the WTC and got on the PATH from there. Seeing it from a distance is one thing, but being right next to it was CRAZY! I did get a picture of it i think! It's sideways. sorry. (I fixed it before posting - Kristi)  BUT WHOA THAT TURNED OUT COOL!

This was literally in the middle of the street. this guy was sitting on a chair on a tight rope probably like 50 feet up answering questions. 

Me and my comp Sister Taylor at the temple!

random burst of pics. there ya go!

Anyway. The temple was awesome. we got back into Newark right around 5:30 or 6 i think, and we were like 1.5 blocks away from the chapel where we parked when BAM RAINNNNNN! I was literally soaked through to the skin- I had to change everything when we finally got home! My hair was a hot mess, we were soaked, but it was kind of fun to be in the rain. It was Sister Taylor's driving day so I had to back her out (white handbook for life), and one of the elders was like SISTER RICHMOND Get in the car! I'll back you up! so I did and then, of course, we remembered we had hid the GPS in the trunk (newark man) and so I had to jump back out and get it. I WAS SO STINKIN' WET IT WAS NUTS. so that was a fun day.

The next most exciting thing of the week was meeting with a sister that has come to church these last couple weeks with her son (who is a member) and she is bound and determined to get baptized! ON SATURDAY! she's been to church 3 times, has a testimony- we just have to teach all of the lessons again and make sure she is still solid! It's been a crazy couple of days and it will be a CRAZY week as we scramble to teach everything and put a baptismal service together. but that's okay because I LOVE HER SO MUCH. She is absolutely incredible! We had an amazing lesson last night- the spirit was present and very powerful and we (the investigator and I) were able to connect really really well because we've been through similar situations in our lives. I know that trials are sure hard sometimes, but she is one of the reasons I needed to go through that trial in my life. It was an amazing lesson as we taught with her son and her son's best friend (who is the one that really helped her to get to this point and leaves to return to his mission on the 16- hence the rush baptism) and we all were able to feel the spirit as it testified through all of the words that were shared that night.

I think that about sums it up for the week, other than the standard contacting/tracting/being a missionary. (and being exhausted. holy cow. I felt so bad- I totally nodded off during a lesson on Saturday! and she totally called me out on it... haha. she told me to get some sleep. I will have to get a picture with Jane- she is an adorable old lady that is pretty blunt and she is so happy and she loves the gospel. there you go- embarrassing Sister Richmond story of the week. story of my life)

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LOVE YOU ALL! have a great week and enjoy the sun & warmth! (or, warm rain. ha)

Love always,

Sister Richmond