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Top O' the Mornin!

“Top of the Mornin” to you or Afternoon or Evening, whenever you have a chance to read the happenings of the New Jersey Morristown Missionaries!  Holidays add a little spice to life and to the mission.  I wore green and pinched Dad, Jon, President and grandpa several times and he still didn’t wear green.  Holidays come and go sometimes because we have so much going on, as in lots and lots of missionaries that are coming, areas to open and apartments to find!  We love our Senior Couples and Sisters because they are all stepping up and helping us do all of the above and then some!  One senior couple had looked all over for an apartment with no success. (Josh, you know them well) They prayed and put it in the Lord’s hands asking to direct them to some place that would be an acceptable apartment for the missionaries.  They got off their knees, got in the car and started driving. They went past one street in the area that they had been looking and this senior sister said “We need to look over there”. Well, over there was a sign that said Apartment for Rent!  The woman had put out the sign 3 days before hoping to find some nice people to become tenants.  She was thrilled when she heard about the missionaries.  Another senior couple who helps look for these apartments has been giving out pass along cards and telling them why they are looking for apartments etc., and now the missionaries are teaching 3 different landlords!  Miracles surround us every day!

Easter is hitting early as well! We do have “egg”straordinary missionaries, but all of you who read this also know that to be true!  We are truly “Lucky” to have Easter. It is such a special time of year because of the celebration of Christ’s resurrection and what that means for each of us. I like Easter following Conference and it just fits in the month of April, but, not this year!  It will prepare us for conference instead! Our missionaries are having a consecration month in April to commit ourselves once again to being more Christ like and living a more Christ like life.  We grow in many ways when we have this particular focus for a month. Besides the “wearin of the green” and our new Easter outfits we eat everything green and have Easter baskets, eggs, and candy, but also new life as in chicks, ducklings, calves etc.  Then the flowers start to appear! I miss working in the yard planting bulbs each spring.  I like to watch as the snows melt and their pretty colors start to push their way through the thawed dirt to let us know spring is on the way.  We decided the ground hog lied to us, however!  It was, suppose to be an early spring, but we still got more snow and cold wind! Jersey is beautiful in the spring.  With all the trees, we have an overabundance of blossoms everywhere.  So we need spring already!!!

As for the missionaries, we had 26 new missionaries arrive this month.  We had them sleeping everywhere! Plus we had to send 7 sisters to stay at a member’s home. It will be like that for several more months.  But it is really exciting.  The young missionaries are excited and have come with an energy all its own.  We have two “Leprechauns”. We have a 4’7” and a 4’ 9” sister.  They look like they are twelve, but their spirits are giant and they are not afraid of missionary work and opening their mouths.  It’s amazing! After we pick them up at the airport, we take them into downtown Newark to do a “Fear Buster”. Experienced missionaries take them and start contacting within an hour after they arrive to bust their fear!!!  Afterwards, a new sister said to me, “Oh that was so fun!  I was actually talking to a real live person as in not a plant, or someone I was practicing on.  Oh! Everyone needs this gospel.  I am so excited to give it to them”.  Now that kind of attitude is a real blessing for President Jeppson, your dad!  It made us all smile!

We were very “Lucky” to have and “egg-straodinarily”wonderful all mission conference with Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Tad R. Callister from the Presidency of the Seventy.  They were in Jersey for a Priesthood Leadership training and then spent 2 and half hours with our missionaries.  They bore powerful testimonies of Christ and shook each missionary’s hand.  It was a first for many of them.  Jon and I then became the chauffer for Elder Callister taking him to a fireside for the YSA down south and then again the next day for a stake conference like meeting down south again. We were in the car awhile, but Jon and I thoroughly enjoyed being with Elder Callister.  He is very funny and down to earth.  However, I didn’t like that he called on us to speak to each group!  You would think it would be no big deal anymore, right?  WRONG!  Always nervous!

We followed up the month with Leadership Training where we take all the new missionaries for the past six months and give them extensive training on everything in the 12 week training packet!  From 8 to 4 for 2 days, we talk, we teach, we train, we role play and we eat!  Our food budget is expanding that’s for sure!  But we love being with the missionaries.  They are “Egg”ceptional!

We had a family home evening with the senior missionaries.  We get together every other month at the mission home for dinner and discussion and the other month we go on a field trip to see the sights of New Jersey.  It is really enjoyable.  We have terrific Seniors!

We had 30 baptisms this month! The Jersey Missionaries LOVE the people, have great FAITH and put in great EFFORT.  We may always be looking for our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but we really don’t have to look too far when we have the rich blessings that come from being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Our missionaries know it and we hope you do to.  May you all be blessed with that “Egg”sta knowledge we have been so “Lucky” to have and also with an Irish Blessing as well!

We Love you! Dad and Mom, Grandpa Jon and Bon Bon, Jon and Bonnie, President and Sister Jeppson, NJMM- Love, Faith, Effort!