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| Skyping w/ Hermana Jade!! |
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Week 36: 12/24/13
I get to talk to you TOMOROROWOWOROOW!
Okay. Uhm... don't have much time today. But this week was Nutz.
First of all, mom, your car washing story was epic. Haha. Like a scary movie. Glad you made it out. ;) Tender mercies of the Lord for sure.
So... pretty much Saturday was the worst day of our lives. Rode clear across the area to see our less Active, and when we get there she sends her 8 year old boy to the door to tell us she didn't want to talk to us, but he wouldn't tell us why. Then we saw our investigator, her friend, outside and when she saw us she turned the other way and pretended like she didn't see us. Then we stopped by a potential, who told us it makes her husband mad when we knock on the doors and that we shouldn't come back. Then we went to our investigator, Janie's, house, who we've been teaching for 6 months and who was going to be baptized the end of this month. She told her girls to lie to us and tell us she wasn't home, but we heard her voice in the house. We taught her girls (who just got baptized a few months before I got here) and they didn't listen to us at all. THEN we went to find someone we talked to on the street, and she totally told us an address that didn't exist. Needless to say, we were pretty discouraged. That night was the Christmas Party for the ward, and lo and behold we got a text from Janie saying that she didn't want to be baptized anymore, and she didn't want to hear any "comments" about it. Oh my gosh. It was like - one thing after another.
But it's fine! Things like that happen! Days happen! And the rest of the week was fine. Sunday we fasted with Antonio so that he could get an answer. He's so prepared. I've just never met anyone so like- real and prepared for this in my whole life. He's just got to take the leap of faith. He's like a little kid learning how to swim and he's just holding on to the side the whole time. It's like "You can do it! You can swim! You just got to take a leap of faith and try!!" He'll get it. I'm infinitely patient with him because he's so legit and it really is like going to change his life. On Sunday he sat by me in church and after they said the sacrament prayer he's like "Can you show me where that is in the book of Mormon?" and I was like Sure!! So I pulled it out in D&C.. then he's like "uhm.. is this the book of Mormon?" I’m like No. So I showed it where it was in the book of Mormon... then I busted it out in the bible for good measure. (Don't worry. I'm not that legit. Footnotes anyone?) But I really hope- man! Okay random thought. After Christ was resurrected and his disciples didn't recognize him, they realized it was Him when they took the sacrament. In the BoM when Christ comes, He gives the nephites the Sacrament and tells them "This is how you feel and see and this is how you know who I am." My personal opinion is that investigators should take the Sacrament. but I'm fighting against the majority. I tell Antonio every week that he can take it and he never does, cuz his fellowshipper's missionaries told her that you shouldn't before you're baptized, and other missionaries say "it doesn't matter." It does matter! This is the way you really come to feel and see Christ and what He did for you! It does too matter! Dah. Dah!!! Okay I'm done.
Monday we had our giant mission conference. It was the best ever! We talked about Christ and His life, and listened to some sweet musical numbers. The more I learn about Jesus Christ, the more I want to be like Him!!! So infinitely merciful and loving and kind and just- everything. We studied the b-attitudes and talked about choosing faith, like Christ would do. Anyway, we got to watch Ephraim's Rescue! best movie ever!!!! Like everyone was crying! I love it so much! We got fed GOOD food. Like steak and prime rib, and chicken and like- everything ever. And then we had a little gift exchange. And a talent show. And I just got to see all my friends from the mission! Hermana Dorian's my only "Living" companion, everyone else is gone. Either in temple square or Argentina or home. So... super great. But you get to know a lot of people and it was seriously too much fun. We have the best mission in the world.
I know that Christ is our Savior. I know. I know that He knows us perfectly well, and when we ask to feel of his Love and of His mercy, we will be able to feel it. I know that God has a perfect plan for all of us. I'm so grateful for them. I'm so grateful for this time of year, and this opportunity that I have to proclaim the "good news."
Love you!!! Feliz Navidad!!!
Hermana Johnson
Okay. Uhm... don't have much time today. But this week was Nutz.
First of all, mom, your car washing story was epic. Haha. Like a scary movie. Glad you made it out. ;) Tender mercies of the Lord for sure.
So... pretty much Saturday was the worst day of our lives. Rode clear across the area to see our less Active, and when we get there she sends her 8 year old boy to the door to tell us she didn't want to talk to us, but he wouldn't tell us why. Then we saw our investigator, her friend, outside and when she saw us she turned the other way and pretended like she didn't see us. Then we stopped by a potential, who told us it makes her husband mad when we knock on the doors and that we shouldn't come back. Then we went to our investigator, Janie's, house, who we've been teaching for 6 months and who was going to be baptized the end of this month. She told her girls to lie to us and tell us she wasn't home, but we heard her voice in the house. We taught her girls (who just got baptized a few months before I got here) and they didn't listen to us at all. THEN we went to find someone we talked to on the street, and she totally told us an address that didn't exist. Needless to say, we were pretty discouraged. That night was the Christmas Party for the ward, and lo and behold we got a text from Janie saying that she didn't want to be baptized anymore, and she didn't want to hear any "comments" about it. Oh my gosh. It was like - one thing after another.
But it's fine! Things like that happen! Days happen! And the rest of the week was fine. Sunday we fasted with Antonio so that he could get an answer. He's so prepared. I've just never met anyone so like- real and prepared for this in my whole life. He's just got to take the leap of faith. He's like a little kid learning how to swim and he's just holding on to the side the whole time. It's like "You can do it! You can swim! You just got to take a leap of faith and try!!" He'll get it. I'm infinitely patient with him because he's so legit and it really is like going to change his life. On Sunday he sat by me in church and after they said the sacrament prayer he's like "Can you show me where that is in the book of Mormon?" and I was like Sure!! So I pulled it out in D&C.. then he's like "uhm.. is this the book of Mormon?" I’m like No. So I showed it where it was in the book of Mormon... then I busted it out in the bible for good measure. (Don't worry. I'm not that legit. Footnotes anyone?) But I really hope- man! Okay random thought. After Christ was resurrected and his disciples didn't recognize him, they realized it was Him when they took the sacrament. In the BoM when Christ comes, He gives the nephites the Sacrament and tells them "This is how you feel and see and this is how you know who I am." My personal opinion is that investigators should take the Sacrament. but I'm fighting against the majority. I tell Antonio every week that he can take it and he never does, cuz his fellowshipper's missionaries told her that you shouldn't before you're baptized, and other missionaries say "it doesn't matter." It does matter! This is the way you really come to feel and see Christ and what He did for you! It does too matter! Dah. Dah!!! Okay I'm done.
Monday we had our giant mission conference. It was the best ever! We talked about Christ and His life, and listened to some sweet musical numbers. The more I learn about Jesus Christ, the more I want to be like Him!!! So infinitely merciful and loving and kind and just- everything. We studied the b-attitudes and talked about choosing faith, like Christ would do. Anyway, we got to watch Ephraim's Rescue! best movie ever!!!! Like everyone was crying! I love it so much! We got fed GOOD food. Like steak and prime rib, and chicken and like- everything ever. And then we had a little gift exchange. And a talent show. And I just got to see all my friends from the mission! Hermana Dorian's my only "Living" companion, everyone else is gone. Either in temple square or Argentina or home. So... super great. But you get to know a lot of people and it was seriously too much fun. We have the best mission in the world.
I know that Christ is our Savior. I know. I know that He knows us perfectly well, and when we ask to feel of his Love and of His mercy, we will be able to feel it. I know that God has a perfect plan for all of us. I'm so grateful for them. I'm so grateful for this time of year, and this opportunity that I have to proclaim the "good news."
Love you!!! Feliz Navidad!!!
Hermana Johnson
Week 35: 12/16/13
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| Sneak Peak!! |
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| Our district at the temple |
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| The best ice cream ever!! |
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| hermana kennedy leaves today. I took this two hours ago :) |
Monday we went and saw Los Morenos, our little cute member family, and of course Eric (Danny's boyfriend) was there. Danny asked us if we could share something from the Bible to show Eric that we believe in the bible and the Book of Mormon. So we shared Daniel and the Lion's den. And then we acted it out :) Oh my gosh- it was so funny. We had Eric be the King, and the dogs be the lions. It was hilarious. I'll have to show you the video of it one day :)
Okay, miracle of the week. Ready for it? So I got a call from our Zone Leader, Elder Evertsen (Who seriously looks exactly like Clark Kent. Anyway....) and he told me that there was going to be a baptism in my last area! I don't know if I ever told you about Anita, but she's way awesome. But it's been forever since I taught her and the APs are like- sort of discouraging us from going to old area baptisms now so that we can work in our own areas more. So he called and was like "the choice is yours" and I told him I'd think about it and call him in the morning. Then he's like "Well, do you have any other investigators that are having any problems or anything?" And I was like- well, we have Antonio who's AWESOME and would totally get baptized but he works every single day until 9. So we never get to see him. And then Elder Eversten was like "I could call President Ashton for you and see if you could teach him later and have permission to come home late." Well... long story short, we got permission to be home at 10:15 on nights we teach Antonio- with the instructions "Let's get him baptized."
So- the next day, it was 9:00 PM, we were out of our area, raining, and we rode our little tails off to Gabby's house to see Antonio. It was quite an adventure. I was praying the whole time that we'd have a good lesson with him- it was kind of a make it or break it deal. So we got there and taught Antonio about the Atonement and the blessings of baptism. I don't even remember what we said and I don't even know if anything we said mattered but the Spirit was there and I know it taught Antonio that night. We told him to pray about baptism, and see if it's something the Lord wants him to do. He said, okay. He paused for a minute, like really thinking about what he was going to say to a Father that was really there and really going to give him an answer. Then he gave the most beautiful prayer I've ever heard in my life. Just every desire of his heart, everything that he was truely thankful for, the things that he really wanted to know. And afterwards we just sat there for a minute because the Spirit was SO STRONG. Antonio said "That felt good. I need to pray like that more often." He's going to be baptized. We told him the 29th and he said he was going to pray about it and that he was going to take everything more seriously. "I know I'm going to be baptized and I don't know when but let me tell you, it's going to be soon." Daaaah!!! It was seriously the coolest thing ever. Antonio is so converted to the Lord. And I realize that's what missionary work is - really - all we do is try and help people put themselves into the Lord's hands, because once they're there, they're safe, guided and protected. It's all about faith and trusting him, repenting and being purified, trying everyday to follow His footsteps and trust him enough to keep His commandments. I love the gospel!!!!!
Anyway, that's all I've got time for. I know that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. I know that the Book of Mormon has the answers to our questions, that it can guide us everyday in our lives. I know that Christ lives. I'm so grateful for His example of selfless service and love.
I LOVE YOU!!! Para Siempre!!
Hermana Johnson
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
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Week 34: 12/09/13
Got a text from our zone leaders Tuesday morning: Extreme weather conditions. be extremely cautious and limit your time outside. this especially applies if you're in a bike area.
Welll..... shoot.
This week was COLD!!! And crazy. It's another- I didn't plan my emailing very well so I don't have any time- week, BUT!!! I'll try and scramble what happened in here.
So we went to see Hermana Moreno, our member, and she was outside. We're like- hey!!! She's like "Guess what? I'm going to Utah!" We're like "what!? That's awesome! How come?" And then she gets a pained look on her face and tells us how her only brother lives there and he's in a coma in a hospital over there. So she had to leave cuz she's the only family member that lives in the states!
We have been with that family like almost all week. Her oldest daughter, danny, is 19 and moved out to live with her boyfriend, but moved back to take care of their 4 kids that all are under the age of 12. Danny got a call on Wednesday that her Tio (Uncle) had cancer. She called us immediately, and luckily enough (o sea blessings!!) All our appointments fell through that morning. So we just went over there and helped her and helped her siblings with their homework.
I think it was friday morning, the elders came and gave danny a blessing. It just talked about how the Lord was always with her and he was aware of her and her situations and that He would help her. What a comfort, what something that we all need to hear! That the Lord is always near, and that He knows our trials, our weaknesses and that He's with us through it all. I love that.
Anyway, we explained to her boyfriend what a blessing was... then after the elders left we taught him the Restauration!!! So now we're teaching all our member's boyfriends. Haha. My last area it was the husbands... now it's the boyfriends... what next? Brothers? I have no idea. I love it though. I'm pretty sure I may only baptize men in my mission. It's fine. Anyway, his name is Eric, and he's super goofy. He reminds me of dad a little bit- his goofiness. He's so funny and has a lot of questions. he's very long-winded. Aka he talks for forever. So our lessons are really long with him. But he's really cool and! He came to church on sunday. With a scarf, a Jehovah Witness bible, and the pamplets we gave him, along with his book of mormon. haha. He's so great. Told us he'd get baptized, but he doesn't want to feel pressured, he wants it to come from his heart. So praying something will help him really want it so that it will come from his heart.
Uhm... Antonio came to church! Again! This time he showed up by himself in a white button up shirt!!! He walks in and he was like "where's my crew?" (or his girlfriend and her family) I'm like they're not here yet!!! Haha. He just came like super early. He's awesome. We didn't get to teach him this week... but it really is only a matter of time til he gets baptized.
Other miracles hmmm.... we talked to this guy that had been to our church before! Took the missionary discussions two years ago. So that was cool. Also, asked our investigator Janie if she knew the Book of Mormon was true. she's like "I prayed about it... TWICE. And I still don't know. But everytime I feel bad or stressed I go and read it and I feel so much better." We're like- Janie. There's your answer. And talked about the scripture in the bible that talks about the fruits of the Spirit. We extended a date for the end of this month. Praying that a miracle will happen and her boyfriend will move out so she can be baptized.
Did you see the Christmas Devotional!? Oh my goodness! So good! Elder Nielson's talk! So good!! And cute. LOVED IT!!!
I know the church is true! And that Heavenly Father is always near, whether we realize it or not. I know that He sends people or scriptures or experiences to us to help us grow and to help us know of His love. I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and everything He did for me. And that I never have to be alone, because He's felt everything I've felt and knows exactly how I feel. I love this gospel!!!
I love you!!!!!! FOREVER!
Hermana Johnson
Welll..... shoot.
This week was COLD!!! And crazy. It's another- I didn't plan my emailing very well so I don't have any time- week, BUT!!! I'll try and scramble what happened in here.
So we went to see Hermana Moreno, our member, and she was outside. We're like- hey!!! She's like "Guess what? I'm going to Utah!" We're like "what!? That's awesome! How come?" And then she gets a pained look on her face and tells us how her only brother lives there and he's in a coma in a hospital over there. So she had to leave cuz she's the only family member that lives in the states!
We have been with that family like almost all week. Her oldest daughter, danny, is 19 and moved out to live with her boyfriend, but moved back to take care of their 4 kids that all are under the age of 12. Danny got a call on Wednesday that her Tio (Uncle) had cancer. She called us immediately, and luckily enough (o sea blessings!!) All our appointments fell through that morning. So we just went over there and helped her and helped her siblings with their homework.
I think it was friday morning, the elders came and gave danny a blessing. It just talked about how the Lord was always with her and he was aware of her and her situations and that He would help her. What a comfort, what something that we all need to hear! That the Lord is always near, and that He knows our trials, our weaknesses and that He's with us through it all. I love that.
Anyway, we explained to her boyfriend what a blessing was... then after the elders left we taught him the Restauration!!! So now we're teaching all our member's boyfriends. Haha. My last area it was the husbands... now it's the boyfriends... what next? Brothers? I have no idea. I love it though. I'm pretty sure I may only baptize men in my mission. It's fine. Anyway, his name is Eric, and he's super goofy. He reminds me of dad a little bit- his goofiness. He's so funny and has a lot of questions. he's very long-winded. Aka he talks for forever. So our lessons are really long with him. But he's really cool and! He came to church on sunday. With a scarf, a Jehovah Witness bible, and the pamplets we gave him, along with his book of mormon. haha. He's so great. Told us he'd get baptized, but he doesn't want to feel pressured, he wants it to come from his heart. So praying something will help him really want it so that it will come from his heart.
Uhm... Antonio came to church! Again! This time he showed up by himself in a white button up shirt!!! He walks in and he was like "where's my crew?" (or his girlfriend and her family) I'm like they're not here yet!!! Haha. He just came like super early. He's awesome. We didn't get to teach him this week... but it really is only a matter of time til he gets baptized.
Other miracles hmmm.... we talked to this guy that had been to our church before! Took the missionary discussions two years ago. So that was cool. Also, asked our investigator Janie if she knew the Book of Mormon was true. she's like "I prayed about it... TWICE. And I still don't know. But everytime I feel bad or stressed I go and read it and I feel so much better." We're like- Janie. There's your answer. And talked about the scripture in the bible that talks about the fruits of the Spirit. We extended a date for the end of this month. Praying that a miracle will happen and her boyfriend will move out so she can be baptized.
Did you see the Christmas Devotional!? Oh my goodness! So good! Elder Nielson's talk! So good!! And cute. LOVED IT!!!
I know the church is true! And that Heavenly Father is always near, whether we realize it or not. I know that He sends people or scriptures or experiences to us to help us grow and to help us know of His love. I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and everything He did for me. And that I never have to be alone, because He's felt everything I've felt and knows exactly how I feel. I love this gospel!!!
I love you!!!!!! FOREVER!
Hermana Johnson
Week 33: 12/02/13
Hey hey!!!
Welp, kinda crazy week. It was FREEZING at the beginning but now it's good :) We're sitting at 70-something today.
We ate SO MUCH on thanksgiving. We had a lunch where we were stuffed full of food, and then I was too full for the rest of the day to even eat anything. We had Mexican soup, then like- turkey and salad and beans for dinner, and then we had mole and tamales and chicken with the best stuffing of my life at our investigator Jainie's house. Seriously we had three huge meals. Haha. It was so fun. Janie's girls are recent converts, and we helped them decorate for Christmas and sang "Feliz navidad" all night. Haha. I love that family!!! They have like a thousand little girls and it's seriously so fun to go over there. That whole family is so grateful for everything they have, and they really don't have much. They're such great examples to me.
Also we went on exchanges!!! Hermana Hogan came to my area, she's so awesome! She was our roommate at the MTC. We had a ton of fun- talked to a little family that was putting up their Christmas decorations, biked from one end of my area to the other (and she's not used to the bikes so it about killed her) and visited a less active who blows up balloons for a living, so she was doing that when we went and visited her, we helped her with that. So random, but so fun. At the end of the night Hna Hogan was like "You are a phenomenal teacher. Seriously, one of the best I've ever seen." It was like- the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in my life ever.
Saturday morning we went to the temple with all our Recent Converts and Less Actives. And Antonio came!!! He and his girlfriend walked outside, and I went and got to be the towel lady at the baptistery. It is SO PRETTY. I love the Houston Temple so much!!! And Antonio came to church! He can pretty much get baptized whenever he wants to now. Just a matter of time....
Anyway, sorry, I don't have time for a good big email this week, but thank you for everything!! I know that Christ lives, and I know that this is His gospel. I'm so grateful for the changes it's brought in my life and in the lives of others. I love you all so much!!!!
Hermana Johnson
Welp, kinda crazy week. It was FREEZING at the beginning but now it's good :) We're sitting at 70-something today.
We ate SO MUCH on thanksgiving. We had a lunch where we were stuffed full of food, and then I was too full for the rest of the day to even eat anything. We had Mexican soup, then like- turkey and salad and beans for dinner, and then we had mole and tamales and chicken with the best stuffing of my life at our investigator Jainie's house. Seriously we had three huge meals. Haha. It was so fun. Janie's girls are recent converts, and we helped them decorate for Christmas and sang "Feliz navidad" all night. Haha. I love that family!!! They have like a thousand little girls and it's seriously so fun to go over there. That whole family is so grateful for everything they have, and they really don't have much. They're such great examples to me.
Also we went on exchanges!!! Hermana Hogan came to my area, she's so awesome! She was our roommate at the MTC. We had a ton of fun- talked to a little family that was putting up their Christmas decorations, biked from one end of my area to the other (and she's not used to the bikes so it about killed her) and visited a less active who blows up balloons for a living, so she was doing that when we went and visited her, we helped her with that. So random, but so fun. At the end of the night Hna Hogan was like "You are a phenomenal teacher. Seriously, one of the best I've ever seen." It was like- the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in my life ever.
Saturday morning we went to the temple with all our Recent Converts and Less Actives. And Antonio came!!! He and his girlfriend walked outside, and I went and got to be the towel lady at the baptistery. It is SO PRETTY. I love the Houston Temple so much!!! And Antonio came to church! He can pretty much get baptized whenever he wants to now. Just a matter of time....
Anyway, sorry, I don't have time for a good big email this week, but thank you for everything!! I know that Christ lives, and I know that this is His gospel. I'm so grateful for the changes it's brought in my life and in the lives of others. I love you all so much!!!!
Hermana Johnson
Week 32: 11/25/13
Mom, :)
This week was good!!! I mean, everyweek is good, this week was actually kinda normal-ish... which is weird.
So! It's FREEZING!!! And... we're in a bike area. Also, we're porbres and we have no food in our house. Always obstacles before the miracles right?? Welp, this week we randomlly got fed like 200% more than normal weeks. Almost everyday someone gave us food. I was like- what!? What is this?? Heavenly Father loves us.
Also we went on exchanges. I went with Hermana Bennion who goes home at the end of this transfer. I'm seriously like the awkward teenager missionary. It's like in life when you're weird, but you're always around other people that are weird so you don't notice you're weird until you're around someone that's actually not weird?? Yeah. That was like that- except missionary work. I'm just like the little awkward teenager missionary that's just a tryin- but compared to a pro I'm nothing. BUT, it was so much fun. She's super funny and way chill. We had a ton of fun.
Also, we have a member in our ward, Hermana Barrios, who is HILARIOUS, and her kids are like- all inactive. We went over to visit her, and her daughter Irais was home. She's like 20, and we asked her why she didn't come to church and she pretty much said it was too early and she was too lazy to go. Haha. So we're like - COME!!! And Hermana Dorian's like "In the 7 months I've been here, she's only come once before." Anyway, I don't know, I was thinking as we were riding our bikes home and it was freezing and the wind was like - fighting against us and I'm like "what the heck am I doing!?" but then I thought "You know what, it would totally all be worth it if Irais came to church."
... and guess what. SHE CAME! (Have miracles ceased??)
I'm just learning the power and importance of prayer. And how much like- Heavenly Father wants to bless us, and He will bless us when we ask for it. Cuz otherwise we wouldn't really recognize His hand in our lives as much. Prayer+Desires+Faith = Miracles. Always.
Oh yeah! I forgot. Well, first of all we didn't get to see the family this week :( BUT we're going there for thanksgiving :) And! Jose, the kid in my last area that was just getting reactivated in the church, got his mission call! SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH!!! And he leaves in about a week!!! So if you see an Elder LAZO give him a two-handed handshake for me. He is the coolest person ever.
I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ and for what He did for me! I'm grateful I get to be with you guys forever! I'm grateful for answers to prayers and miracles every day.
Love you! The church is true!
Hermana Johnson
This week was good!!! I mean, everyweek is good, this week was actually kinda normal-ish... which is weird.
So! It's FREEZING!!! And... we're in a bike area. Also, we're porbres and we have no food in our house. Always obstacles before the miracles right?? Welp, this week we randomlly got fed like 200% more than normal weeks. Almost everyday someone gave us food. I was like- what!? What is this?? Heavenly Father loves us.
Also we went on exchanges. I went with Hermana Bennion who goes home at the end of this transfer. I'm seriously like the awkward teenager missionary. It's like in life when you're weird, but you're always around other people that are weird so you don't notice you're weird until you're around someone that's actually not weird?? Yeah. That was like that- except missionary work. I'm just like the little awkward teenager missionary that's just a tryin- but compared to a pro I'm nothing. BUT, it was so much fun. She's super funny and way chill. We had a ton of fun.
Also, we have a member in our ward, Hermana Barrios, who is HILARIOUS, and her kids are like- all inactive. We went over to visit her, and her daughter Irais was home. She's like 20, and we asked her why she didn't come to church and she pretty much said it was too early and she was too lazy to go. Haha. So we're like - COME!!! And Hermana Dorian's like "In the 7 months I've been here, she's only come once before." Anyway, I don't know, I was thinking as we were riding our bikes home and it was freezing and the wind was like - fighting against us and I'm like "what the heck am I doing!?" but then I thought "You know what, it would totally all be worth it if Irais came to church."
... and guess what. SHE CAME! (Have miracles ceased??)
I'm just learning the power and importance of prayer. And how much like- Heavenly Father wants to bless us, and He will bless us when we ask for it. Cuz otherwise we wouldn't really recognize His hand in our lives as much. Prayer+Desires+Faith = Miracles. Always.
Oh yeah! I forgot. Well, first of all we didn't get to see the family this week :( BUT we're going there for thanksgiving :) And! Jose, the kid in my last area that was just getting reactivated in the church, got his mission call! SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH!!! And he leaves in about a week!!! So if you see an Elder LAZO give him a two-handed handshake for me. He is the coolest person ever.
I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ and for what He did for me! I'm grateful I get to be with you guys forever! I'm grateful for answers to prayers and miracles every day.
Love you! The church is true!
Hermana Johnson
Week 31: 11/18/13
Okay so we taught that family!!! Oh man. Haha. The best lesson ever.
So we got over there and they just fed us a bunch of food just cuz we're missionaries away from our family and such. So we talked with them for a little bit, and they actually remind me a lot of you guys cuz they think my cheesy weirdness is funny... which a lot of people don't get. So obviously I love them. Anyway, we like sat them all down and started teaching the restauration and the spirit was REALLY STRONG. And then.... they asked a thousand questions! We seriously ended up teaching them about the spirit world and the kingdoms of glory and then about the ten commandments, we taught them the word of wisdom, and about baptism. Seriously, we taught them like- something from every lesson. Haha. And we were there for like 2 hours. And pretty sure they don't understand why our church is different... cuz after people started asking questions one of them would walk out and like miss an important part and DAH. So frustrating. I seriously got a little bit discouraged about it cuz they really are so awesome and I want this for them so much ... but we'll see. We're going to do everything we can. But yeah, we had our lesson with them and have another scheduled for this wednesday!!! Whoot!
Uhm... Hmmm.... something that I learned from studying the scriptures (and from life) this week was that miracles don't happen without prayer. Sincere, heartfelt, laying it all out on the table prayer. We have one of our investigators, Janie, who is SO prepared to be baptized, but she's still living with her drunk boyfriend that she doesn't even like but he won't leave. It is going to take a miracle, seriously. But I really think the Lord lets obstacles happen sometimes, so that we can rely on Him and come to trust him to help us get out of them. I think He just wants her to rely on Him, and He'll help her get out of it. And I was just thinking, I mean, I haven't had HUGE HUGE baptize a thousand people miracles on my mission (yet :)) but I've had a ton of miracles. And seriously every miracle has happened after mighty prayer, laying all desires and cares and burdens on the Lord and then saying "But thy will be done." And the Lord always blesses me with a miracle, even if it's different than I expect.
Also, I learned that power comes from trying to help others! Trying to lead them unto Christ! It's like Harry Potter and the Socerer's stone... where he's like "Someone that wanted to find it... find it... but not use it for his own, would be able to have it." (Or something like that) It's so the same way with the power of the Spirit! It's the Lord's work! And as we put all our burdens and care on Him and just trust him and ask for His help and His Spirit in order to help others, He gives us the power to do it! And He gives us the help we need, because we CANNOT do it on our own. Just like the five loaves and two fishes... we really don't have enough... but with His help, we can do miracles. It's all about asking and trusting.
ANOTNIO CAME TO CHURCH!!! Por fin!!! (Finally!!) His girlfriend, Gabi, (a member in our area) wants him to be baptized next sunday cuz that's a year after she got baptized. He totally could, it's up to him. We'll keep you updated :)
Anyway, that was my week. It was really great! I'm so grateful for this gospel, my Savior, and prayer. I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father that loves me, believes in me and encourages me to be better every day. This church is the truth!!!
Love you!
Hermana Johnson
So we got over there and they just fed us a bunch of food just cuz we're missionaries away from our family and such. So we talked with them for a little bit, and they actually remind me a lot of you guys cuz they think my cheesy weirdness is funny... which a lot of people don't get. So obviously I love them. Anyway, we like sat them all down and started teaching the restauration and the spirit was REALLY STRONG. And then.... they asked a thousand questions! We seriously ended up teaching them about the spirit world and the kingdoms of glory and then about the ten commandments, we taught them the word of wisdom, and about baptism. Seriously, we taught them like- something from every lesson. Haha. And we were there for like 2 hours. And pretty sure they don't understand why our church is different... cuz after people started asking questions one of them would walk out and like miss an important part and DAH. So frustrating. I seriously got a little bit discouraged about it cuz they really are so awesome and I want this for them so much ... but we'll see. We're going to do everything we can. But yeah, we had our lesson with them and have another scheduled for this wednesday!!! Whoot!
Uhm... Hmmm.... something that I learned from studying the scriptures (and from life) this week was that miracles don't happen without prayer. Sincere, heartfelt, laying it all out on the table prayer. We have one of our investigators, Janie, who is SO prepared to be baptized, but she's still living with her drunk boyfriend that she doesn't even like but he won't leave. It is going to take a miracle, seriously. But I really think the Lord lets obstacles happen sometimes, so that we can rely on Him and come to trust him to help us get out of them. I think He just wants her to rely on Him, and He'll help her get out of it. And I was just thinking, I mean, I haven't had HUGE HUGE baptize a thousand people miracles on my mission (yet :)) but I've had a ton of miracles. And seriously every miracle has happened after mighty prayer, laying all desires and cares and burdens on the Lord and then saying "But thy will be done." And the Lord always blesses me with a miracle, even if it's different than I expect.
Also, I learned that power comes from trying to help others! Trying to lead them unto Christ! It's like Harry Potter and the Socerer's stone... where he's like "Someone that wanted to find it... find it... but not use it for his own, would be able to have it." (Or something like that) It's so the same way with the power of the Spirit! It's the Lord's work! And as we put all our burdens and care on Him and just trust him and ask for His help and His Spirit in order to help others, He gives us the power to do it! And He gives us the help we need, because we CANNOT do it on our own. Just like the five loaves and two fishes... we really don't have enough... but with His help, we can do miracles. It's all about asking and trusting.
ANOTNIO CAME TO CHURCH!!! Por fin!!! (Finally!!) His girlfriend, Gabi, (a member in our area) wants him to be baptized next sunday cuz that's a year after she got baptized. He totally could, it's up to him. We'll keep you updated :)
Anyway, that was my week. It was really great! I'm so grateful for this gospel, my Savior, and prayer. I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father that loves me, believes in me and encourages me to be better every day. This church is the truth!!!
Love you!
Hermana Johnson
Week 30: 11/11/13
Okay so seriously this has been one of my favorite weeks on my mission so far.
So we took Antonio on a thing that we do called "Church Tours". Hermana Dorian and I had never done one before, but we practiced it in District Meeting that morning so we were like "Eh, why not?" It was SO COOL. We took him to the chapel and taught him about the "Santa Cena" or the Sacrament, and about the Atonement, and how we get to renew our baptismal covenants every week. Then we took him to Sunday School, and Elder's Quorum .... etc. Then! We showed him the Baptismal Font, explained to him what happens there. Then we just bore our testimonies on baptism. Then Antonio looks down at the font and says "I wonder when it's going to be my turn." We're like "Antonio! Whenever you want!!" Ah! The Spirit was so strong. He pretty much was like "I just want to come to church, this isn't a joke for me." Then he holds up the book of mormon and he's like "I know this is true. I just want to find out more okay?" He's SO getting baptized soon. Just a matter of when he'll get himself to church!!
Monday night I got a phone call... from Hermana Kennedy! My last companion. She was like "Guess what? HERMONO MARTINEZ IS GETTING BAPTIZED!" Oh my goodness. It was 20 years of prayers and faith and tears from his wife, and a lot of prayers and faith and tears from the missionaries too. Haha. So we went there Thursday night, and Hermano and his wife were just sitting there in a room full of missionaries. I was like "How you feeling Hermano!?" He's like "I didn't even know this was happening until two hours ago! I was at the gym!" Haha! I guess he told Hermana Kennedy that he didn't want to know til the day of because he wouldn't be able to sleep the night before. So he gets changed and I'm like "Hermano, who's going to baptize you? It's that guy with the big arms right?" He's like "Yeah, but his arms aren't bigger than mine." hahah! Anyway, we took a ton of pictures and then had a little baptismal service with him, us and the missionaries. It was seriously one of the most like- touching spiritual experiences of my life. That man would not be there if he didn't know with all his heart that this was the truth, that he was making a covenant with God. And everyone was sobbing. Hermana Martinez comes up to us and says "I'm never going to forget you all." Dah! Oh my goodness. Angels were there. And I'm totally coming back for their sealing next year. Prayers are answered. Always.
Okay, and Saturday! We stopped by to visit one of our members, Los Morenos, cuz it was their little 9 year old's birthday. We get there and our member was outside talking to her neighbor and all the kids were playing soccer. So I put down my bag and look at all the kids all antsy like and her neighbor's like "Hey, she wants to play!" and I'm like "yeah, I want to play!!!" And so Hermana Dorian and I run out there in our skirts and played soccer with a bunch of ten year old kids. Haha. I was like - "This is the life! I'm so in heaven right now." And Hermana Moreno's neighbor thought we were HILARIOUS. She would just laugh so hard everytime we touched the ball (and I did look like a rockstar compared to a bunch of little kids). Anyway, we ended up talking to her! She was like "Is it so hard being away from your family?" We're like - yeah, but we're teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so it's totally worth it. She was like "That's right! Christ said that you need to preach the gospel!" Haha. Anyway, she was like "You two need to come over to my house on wednesday, I'm going to feed you." And she went and showed us her house and everything. Haha. She has the cutest little family and they haven't lived here very long so they all want to learn english. Anyway, it was super awesome. I'm like - holla back, soccer and spreading the gospel. This is the life!!!
I know prayers are answered. I know that God really does love us and wants us to be happy. And when our prayers don't seem like they're being answered, we just need to trust in the Lord and know that He has a better plan for us, and His timing will be perfect. Christ set the perfect example of "Not my will, but thine be done." I know that the Lord's way is always the better way. I know that the Spirit converts. I know that if we pray and prepare for opportunities to share the gospel, the Lord will give them to us, and He'll use who we are (even quirky, awkward, soccer-player missionaries in skirts) to bring to pass His work. This work is His work, this church is His church.
I love you!!!!!
Hermana Johnson
So we took Antonio on a thing that we do called "Church Tours". Hermana Dorian and I had never done one before, but we practiced it in District Meeting that morning so we were like "Eh, why not?" It was SO COOL. We took him to the chapel and taught him about the "Santa Cena" or the Sacrament, and about the Atonement, and how we get to renew our baptismal covenants every week. Then we took him to Sunday School, and Elder's Quorum .... etc. Then! We showed him the Baptismal Font, explained to him what happens there. Then we just bore our testimonies on baptism. Then Antonio looks down at the font and says "I wonder when it's going to be my turn." We're like "Antonio! Whenever you want!!" Ah! The Spirit was so strong. He pretty much was like "I just want to come to church, this isn't a joke for me." Then he holds up the book of mormon and he's like "I know this is true. I just want to find out more okay?" He's SO getting baptized soon. Just a matter of when he'll get himself to church!!
Monday night I got a phone call... from Hermana Kennedy! My last companion. She was like "Guess what? HERMONO MARTINEZ IS GETTING BAPTIZED!" Oh my goodness. It was 20 years of prayers and faith and tears from his wife, and a lot of prayers and faith and tears from the missionaries too. Haha. So we went there Thursday night, and Hermano and his wife were just sitting there in a room full of missionaries. I was like "How you feeling Hermano!?" He's like "I didn't even know this was happening until two hours ago! I was at the gym!" Haha! I guess he told Hermana Kennedy that he didn't want to know til the day of because he wouldn't be able to sleep the night before. So he gets changed and I'm like "Hermano, who's going to baptize you? It's that guy with the big arms right?" He's like "Yeah, but his arms aren't bigger than mine." hahah! Anyway, we took a ton of pictures and then had a little baptismal service with him, us and the missionaries. It was seriously one of the most like- touching spiritual experiences of my life. That man would not be there if he didn't know with all his heart that this was the truth, that he was making a covenant with God. And everyone was sobbing. Hermana Martinez comes up to us and says "I'm never going to forget you all." Dah! Oh my goodness. Angels were there. And I'm totally coming back for their sealing next year. Prayers are answered. Always.
Okay, and Saturday! We stopped by to visit one of our members, Los Morenos, cuz it was their little 9 year old's birthday. We get there and our member was outside talking to her neighbor and all the kids were playing soccer. So I put down my bag and look at all the kids all antsy like and her neighbor's like "Hey, she wants to play!" and I'm like "yeah, I want to play!!!" And so Hermana Dorian and I run out there in our skirts and played soccer with a bunch of ten year old kids. Haha. I was like - "This is the life! I'm so in heaven right now." And Hermana Moreno's neighbor thought we were HILARIOUS. She would just laugh so hard everytime we touched the ball (and I did look like a rockstar compared to a bunch of little kids). Anyway, we ended up talking to her! She was like "Is it so hard being away from your family?" We're like - yeah, but we're teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so it's totally worth it. She was like "That's right! Christ said that you need to preach the gospel!" Haha. Anyway, she was like "You two need to come over to my house on wednesday, I'm going to feed you." And she went and showed us her house and everything. Haha. She has the cutest little family and they haven't lived here very long so they all want to learn english. Anyway, it was super awesome. I'm like - holla back, soccer and spreading the gospel. This is the life!!!
I know prayers are answered. I know that God really does love us and wants us to be happy. And when our prayers don't seem like they're being answered, we just need to trust in the Lord and know that He has a better plan for us, and His timing will be perfect. Christ set the perfect example of "Not my will, but thine be done." I know that the Lord's way is always the better way. I know that the Spirit converts. I know that if we pray and prepare for opportunities to share the gospel, the Lord will give them to us, and He'll use who we are (even quirky, awkward, soccer-player missionaries in skirts) to bring to pass His work. This work is His work, this church is His church.
I love you!!!!!
Hermana Johnson
Week 29
Mom,
Wow, Little Hailey is SO CUTE!!!! Oh my goodness. You have to promise me to send pictures of her every month. I'm so suprised to see everybody grow. Like Brant and Bryce. So big!!! I want to see beck and Hazel too!!!! I'm so glad everything went well with Jess and Hailey. Oh my goodness I can't believe I have another neice. She's totally part of the family, I can feel it!!! Ah, I just love her already!!!
Thank you so much for the package!!! I got it like- the day after halloween but whatevez. I still LOVE IT! And I'm so excited to make pumpkin spice cookies. :) Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Yep, so the Hna Dorian and I are staying together. :) Super excited. She's really a great missionary. Just sometimes she thinks I'm super lame... and everything I do and say is wrong... She just gets annoyed really easily BUT, I don't know what's happened, like- most of the time it really doesn't bother me, where as in the MTC it really did. The Lord's here, with me, even though I'm far far far from perfect, I'm so grateful for His help. Love her anyway.
We had a crazy awesome week! Our like- favorite investigator (okay they're all our favorites but...) Leonor, the one that reminds me of Grandma V, MOVED!! She's in Hermana Rick's (My roommate from college) area now. We just spent all day Saturday helping her move. On friday night<x-apple-data-detectors://0> we went over there with a member and taught about the Sabbath day. As we were leaving she gives us big hugs and tells the member "I don't know what it is, but I always feel something when these girls come over." and points to her heart. And the member says "That's the pure love of Christ, hermana." Oh my gosh. Made me want to cry. Dah! I love this work.
Let's see... we had a ward party for halloween, it was so fun! The elders and the sisters in our ward switched name-tags and that was our dress-up. haha. Hna Dorian and I made a bean-bag toss and that was really great. For Halloween we didn't do much- taught an english class... which was AWESOME. Oh, and Also I ate a grasshopper!!!!! One of the members had a whole bag of cooked ones and I look at HNA dorian and I'm like "I'm going to do it! I'm going to eat one!" And I did! Got it on camera and everything. So that was my halloween "Candy". Wasn't too bad actually. Kinda crunchy....
I'm totally out of time! Sometimes I only get an hour... depending on where we go but... yeah!!!! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU! Thank you for everything, all the support and everything. There isn't a day I don't go without thinking how grateful I am for having such a wonderful loving family. I'm so grateful for you and for your amazing example!!!! Love you forever!!!!
Hermana Johnson
Wow, Little Hailey is SO CUTE!!!! Oh my goodness. You have to promise me to send pictures of her every month. I'm so suprised to see everybody grow. Like Brant and Bryce. So big!!! I want to see beck and Hazel too!!!! I'm so glad everything went well with Jess and Hailey. Oh my goodness I can't believe I have another neice. She's totally part of the family, I can feel it!!! Ah, I just love her already!!!
Thank you so much for the package!!! I got it like- the day after halloween but whatevez. I still LOVE IT! And I'm so excited to make pumpkin spice cookies. :) Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Yep, so the Hna Dorian and I are staying together. :) Super excited. She's really a great missionary. Just sometimes she thinks I'm super lame... and everything I do and say is wrong... She just gets annoyed really easily BUT, I don't know what's happened, like- most of the time it really doesn't bother me, where as in the MTC it really did. The Lord's here, with me, even though I'm far far far from perfect, I'm so grateful for His help. Love her anyway.
We had a crazy awesome week! Our like- favorite investigator (okay they're all our favorites but...) Leonor, the one that reminds me of Grandma V, MOVED!! She's in Hermana Rick's (My roommate from college) area now. We just spent all day Saturday helping her move. On friday night<x-apple-data-detectors://0> we went over there with a member and taught about the Sabbath day. As we were leaving she gives us big hugs and tells the member "I don't know what it is, but I always feel something when these girls come over." and points to her heart. And the member says "That's the pure love of Christ, hermana." Oh my gosh. Made me want to cry. Dah! I love this work.
Let's see... we had a ward party for halloween, it was so fun! The elders and the sisters in our ward switched name-tags and that was our dress-up. haha. Hna Dorian and I made a bean-bag toss and that was really great. For Halloween we didn't do much- taught an english class... which was AWESOME. Oh, and Also I ate a grasshopper!!!!! One of the members had a whole bag of cooked ones and I look at HNA dorian and I'm like "I'm going to do it! I'm going to eat one!" And I did! Got it on camera and everything. So that was my halloween "Candy". Wasn't too bad actually. Kinda crunchy....
I'm totally out of time! Sometimes I only get an hour... depending on where we go but... yeah!!!! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU! Thank you for everything, all the support and everything. There isn't a day I don't go without thinking how grateful I am for having such a wonderful loving family. I'm so grateful for you and for your amazing example!!!! Love you forever!!!!
Hermana Johnson
Week 28
Okay, so let me tell you about my week.
It was ..... AWESOME (Imagine Brant in a sing-songy voice. that's how I said that just barely. Because it was that awesome.)
SO ... man. Once upon a time we have this really intense office missionary. I wish I could explain him to you but we'll just leave it at he's really intense. Kinda like Brother Kremin and Uncle Wayne mix. Haha. Anyway, he like- lectured me and Hna Dorian for like- not having our house clean, because if we want to have the Spirit, and the Spirit can't dwell in unclean places, than we have to have our house clean. And then he promised us TONS of blessings, like better relationship with God and each other, more people to teach, etc. So.... welp, obviously we did it and man, the miracles have flown!!!
Tuesday morning Hermana Dorian and I decided to pray about how many people the Lord wanted us to baptize in our area this year. Aka, before the end of the year. We put a lot of thought into it, and she came up with 7 people and I came up with six. So we kneeled and prayed, and said, literally, "Heavenly Father, is it thy will that we baptize 6 people in this area this year?" and the spirit was SO STRONG! And then we asked about 7... and it was seriously overwhelming! So we know that the Lord wants us to baptize 7 people in this area this year. It was an awesome experience.
Dah! Can I just tell you about something that happened? We just are in a bike area, and we ride down a Bayou bike trail every day (Goin down the Bayou... goin down the bayou... we're takin it all the way.... sorry, it gets stuck in my head every time) and I like- see this person sitting on this bench by themselves and say hi, and she says "Hola" back and all the sudden the Spirit hit me that I should go talk to her. And guess what. I didn't do it!!!! I have seriously been beating myself up for it for forever. I'm like "WHAT IF THAT WAS ONE OF OUR 7!?" Man, it still haunts me. Ugh. Always listen to the Spirit mmmkay??
Okay Hmm... I don't even know what else to tell you about! Once upon a time we randomly knocked on the door of one of our inactives and found another lady that got baptized like 20 years ago. What!? And then we talked to one of the neighbors of our members, and found out he had been baptized too! What!? They were just popping up out of everywhere.
We're teaching this really awesome mom named Janie, she's the daughter of a recent convert, also the mother of two daughters that got baptized too. She's SOLID. She's so cool, seriously. Just like- she's had the hardest life but she's like a champ. Anyway, the only thing that's keeping her from getting baptized is that she has to get a divorce, and right now it's out of her control. So we fasted with her this last Sunday that she'd be able to make her date for the 16th of November. We'll see.
Also, we had an English Class!!!! Oh my goodness, so great. We had this mom come from our ward, and her little son Elvis doesn't speak hardly any Spanish cuz he has like a little bit of a learning disability, and she doesn't speak English. Oh my goodness, I have never wanted anyone to learn two languages so badly in my life. We taught her how to pray in English. She's so cute!!
Anyway, we seriously met so many people and had a ton of awesome experiences but I don't have time to write them all! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the prayers. They help so much. Sometimes it just hits me how awesome it is to be here and to be a messenger of the truth. I love it. I know that God lives, and I know we gain faith by prayer and by having enough faith to "experiment upon the word." I really do know, and am learning more and more every day that God really does want us to be happy, and that everything is set in our direction to be happy and to follow Him, but we have to choose so.
Les quiero!!!! Muchisimo!!!
Hermana Johnson
It was ..... AWESOME (Imagine Brant in a sing-songy voice. that's how I said that just barely. Because it was that awesome.)
SO ... man. Once upon a time we have this really intense office missionary. I wish I could explain him to you but we'll just leave it at he's really intense. Kinda like Brother Kremin and Uncle Wayne mix. Haha. Anyway, he like- lectured me and Hna Dorian for like- not having our house clean, because if we want to have the Spirit, and the Spirit can't dwell in unclean places, than we have to have our house clean. And then he promised us TONS of blessings, like better relationship with God and each other, more people to teach, etc. So.... welp, obviously we did it and man, the miracles have flown!!!
Tuesday morning Hermana Dorian and I decided to pray about how many people the Lord wanted us to baptize in our area this year. Aka, before the end of the year. We put a lot of thought into it, and she came up with 7 people and I came up with six. So we kneeled and prayed, and said, literally, "Heavenly Father, is it thy will that we baptize 6 people in this area this year?" and the spirit was SO STRONG! And then we asked about 7... and it was seriously overwhelming! So we know that the Lord wants us to baptize 7 people in this area this year. It was an awesome experience.
Dah! Can I just tell you about something that happened? We just are in a bike area, and we ride down a Bayou bike trail every day (Goin down the Bayou... goin down the bayou... we're takin it all the way.... sorry, it gets stuck in my head every time) and I like- see this person sitting on this bench by themselves and say hi, and she says "Hola" back and all the sudden the Spirit hit me that I should go talk to her. And guess what. I didn't do it!!!! I have seriously been beating myself up for it for forever. I'm like "WHAT IF THAT WAS ONE OF OUR 7!?" Man, it still haunts me. Ugh. Always listen to the Spirit mmmkay??
Okay Hmm... I don't even know what else to tell you about! Once upon a time we randomly knocked on the door of one of our inactives and found another lady that got baptized like 20 years ago. What!? And then we talked to one of the neighbors of our members, and found out he had been baptized too! What!? They were just popping up out of everywhere.
We're teaching this really awesome mom named Janie, she's the daughter of a recent convert, also the mother of two daughters that got baptized too. She's SOLID. She's so cool, seriously. Just like- she's had the hardest life but she's like a champ. Anyway, the only thing that's keeping her from getting baptized is that she has to get a divorce, and right now it's out of her control. So we fasted with her this last Sunday that she'd be able to make her date for the 16th of November. We'll see.
Also, we had an English Class!!!! Oh my goodness, so great. We had this mom come from our ward, and her little son Elvis doesn't speak hardly any Spanish cuz he has like a little bit of a learning disability, and she doesn't speak English. Oh my goodness, I have never wanted anyone to learn two languages so badly in my life. We taught her how to pray in English. She's so cute!!
Anyway, we seriously met so many people and had a ton of awesome experiences but I don't have time to write them all! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the prayers. They help so much. Sometimes it just hits me how awesome it is to be here and to be a messenger of the truth. I love it. I know that God lives, and I know we gain faith by prayer and by having enough faith to "experiment upon the word." I really do know, and am learning more and more every day that God really does want us to be happy, and that everything is set in our direction to be happy and to follow Him, but we have to choose so.
Les quiero!!!! Muchisimo!!!
Hermana Johnson
Week 27
Okay Spanish .................... is coming slowly. hahaha. But good. uhm... Antonio will be learning about The Gospel of Jesus Christ here soon .... he seriously is the best. My favorite. He speaks a lot of English too. We called him after work one day and he was like "Ooooh, I'm too tired, could you talk to me in Spanish, my brain isn't working right now." But he totally was fine, He just always jokes with us about our Spanish. He's just great. He says he just really wants to know, and Hermana Dorian and I think once he gets to church he'll receive his answer. I have literally not wanted anything so bad for anyone in my life. He's awesome.
Houston weather is PERFECT right now!! LOVIN IT!!!!!! A little chilly.... I'm thinking I might need a coat for Christmas..... O before that. But yes, like I said, clothes. As soon as possibly possible. I would love it. Don't be afraid to get me anything crazy either, I'll really wear whatever. Okay, maybe not crazy.... but cute. Right? Okay.
Halloween is touchy for Hispanics. A lot of people think it's like devil-worshiping holiday and one of the sisters in our ward actually got like really mad about it and walked out of relief society while they were talking about the Halloween activity we were going to have. Oooh drama. That's something I do miss about my last area. The ward was so chill and nice. And like- everybody in it. Our district= drama free. This one makes me feel like it's a cool kid's club. It's like high school allllll over again, except our high school wasn't that bad. So great. But, you know, it's good. we played quidditch a few p-days ago!! It was awesome!!! I have pictures. One day.... :) We go to the mission office once or twice a week. Well..... actually once. If that. But it's a lot safer to send mail there.
Next transfer I believe is November 5th. I think Hermana Dorian and I will stay together in this area too. At least for one more, and then I think she'll move. She's been here her whole mission.
Sooooo great about Brant. And I'm sooooooo excited for Jessica. and little Hailey. When do you think she'll come!? Thanks for keeping me updated on the Grandmas. I sure hope Grandma Goodrich is doing well. And tell Grandma Gale I love her. And Grandma Vanderwood too... and thanks for the package and the letter that it was just what I needed, a little answer to a prayer. So tell her thank you thank you thank you.
Anyway, it was a good week. We met another nature-worshipper named Norm or something, and tried to argue with us that if we were made after the image of God than why weren't we perfect like Him. It was so stupid, he was just looking to argue. That's actually the first time that's happened to me on my mission, it was really weird. but you know, we're like- listen if you're interested than SURE, but if not don't waste our time. (we didn't really say that though)
Something that I'm learning is that Love really is the best teacher. Like- I'm glad I gave my farewell talk about how developing Christlike attributes takes time cuz once you get out here you realize you need them like all at once. Anyway, we went and taught one of our less-actives who's a 20-something year old single mom and is going through the hardest time of her life right now. And like- just out of a desire to help her the words just came to us as we taught about prayer and scripture study. It's so cool those times when you can just feel the spirit working through you, and I know that it happens when we do what we do out of love, cuz that's the way that Heavenly Father works. You know? Everything He does is out of love.
Also, we're teaching this lady named Elizabeth and we were teaching her the first lesson and in the middle of it she goes "You know, I've never been baptized." And we're like "Well, do you want to be baptized?" And she's like "... yeah!" We can help you with that! haha. She's awesome, and a good friend of our member, Hermana Moreno. So that's cool.
Also, Hermano Martinez from my last area is getting baptized!!! November 2nd, I'll let you know.
Well, tons more happened but I'm totally out of time. I love you!!! Let me know how the family history goes this week. Know that you're always in my thoughts and prayers!!!! Thank you so much for everything!
Hermana Johnson
Houston weather is PERFECT right now!! LOVIN IT!!!!!! A little chilly.... I'm thinking I might need a coat for Christmas..... O before that. But yes, like I said, clothes. As soon as possibly possible. I would love it. Don't be afraid to get me anything crazy either, I'll really wear whatever. Okay, maybe not crazy.... but cute. Right? Okay.
Halloween is touchy for Hispanics. A lot of people think it's like devil-worshiping holiday and one of the sisters in our ward actually got like really mad about it and walked out of relief society while they were talking about the Halloween activity we were going to have. Oooh drama. That's something I do miss about my last area. The ward was so chill and nice. And like- everybody in it. Our district= drama free. This one makes me feel like it's a cool kid's club. It's like high school allllll over again, except our high school wasn't that bad. So great. But, you know, it's good. we played quidditch a few p-days ago!! It was awesome!!! I have pictures. One day.... :) We go to the mission office once or twice a week. Well..... actually once. If that. But it's a lot safer to send mail there.
Next transfer I believe is November 5th. I think Hermana Dorian and I will stay together in this area too. At least for one more, and then I think she'll move. She's been here her whole mission.
Sooooo great about Brant. And I'm sooooooo excited for Jessica. and little Hailey. When do you think she'll come!? Thanks for keeping me updated on the Grandmas. I sure hope Grandma Goodrich is doing well. And tell Grandma Gale I love her. And Grandma Vanderwood too... and thanks for the package and the letter that it was just what I needed, a little answer to a prayer. So tell her thank you thank you thank you.
Anyway, it was a good week. We met another nature-worshipper named Norm or something, and tried to argue with us that if we were made after the image of God than why weren't we perfect like Him. It was so stupid, he was just looking to argue. That's actually the first time that's happened to me on my mission, it was really weird. but you know, we're like- listen if you're interested than SURE, but if not don't waste our time. (we didn't really say that though)
Something that I'm learning is that Love really is the best teacher. Like- I'm glad I gave my farewell talk about how developing Christlike attributes takes time cuz once you get out here you realize you need them like all at once. Anyway, we went and taught one of our less-actives who's a 20-something year old single mom and is going through the hardest time of her life right now. And like- just out of a desire to help her the words just came to us as we taught about prayer and scripture study. It's so cool those times when you can just feel the spirit working through you, and I know that it happens when we do what we do out of love, cuz that's the way that Heavenly Father works. You know? Everything He does is out of love.
Also, we're teaching this lady named Elizabeth and we were teaching her the first lesson and in the middle of it she goes "You know, I've never been baptized." And we're like "Well, do you want to be baptized?" And she's like "... yeah!" We can help you with that! haha. She's awesome, and a good friend of our member, Hermana Moreno. So that's cool.
Also, Hermano Martinez from my last area is getting baptized!!! November 2nd, I'll let you know.
Well, tons more happened but I'm totally out of time. I love you!!! Let me know how the family history goes this week. Know that you're always in my thoughts and prayers!!!! Thank you so much for everything!
Hermana Johnson
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Week 26
Hey!!
Verrrrry interesting week. Hermana Dorian and I took Elder Ballard's challenge from conference, "Missionaries, if you want people to teach, you've got to talk to everyone"
Which results in weirdness.
So meet Vern. This guy that was pinning his kayak on top of his car and I stop my bike and say "Hey, is that a kayak!?" (I've found out one of my talents are not being afraid to be awkward...) Anyway, talk to him a bit, told him who we are and he was like "ooooh, you're not going to convert me. I'm Agnostic, I worship nature." Well... that's one we haven't heard of before. Then- the guy LIFTS UP HIS SHIRT and jiggles his hairy belly and says "Look, I'm an apeman. This is living proof we came from Apes." Oh my weird. Haha. It was crazy! But we did get a referral from him so... totally worth it. That same day we stopped this one India lady and she was like "I worship fire." ... wow. But turns out her brother was Mormon! Small world.
Antonio is so great!!!! We taught him at the church this time, and I was trying to explain to him the rules we have about having to have 3 girls in order to teach a guy. He was like "Why's that?" I'm like "I don't know, in case someone was crazy or something... it's for safety purposes." And then he flexes his arms and says "Well, I'm Hulk." It was hilarious cuz he's like this really skinny lil thing. But the lesson we had with him was awesome. He had a lot of questions and he's like "Sorry I have a lot of questions, I just take this really seriously." And we told him it's okay to have questions. I was like "It's totally okay, Joseph Smith had questions, but it's what you do with the questions that matter. You have to ask God." And he told us that he never thought about asking God questions- he just says prayers of gratitude (He's so awesome!) but he said he would. We called him last night and asked him how it went and he's like "It's so great! It's like I have a friend that I can talk with about anything." And this is why I'm on a mission. Oh my goodness he's so great.
Anyway, I love you!! Thank you for the emails. I know that the Lord loves us and wants the best for everyone of us!!! Even us weird ones ;) I know that He is inspiring this work. I know that this gospel is His gospel. This work is His work. And that we are all His children and He wants the best for us, all we have to do is ask.
I love you!!! Siempre!
Hermana Johnson
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Week 25
It’s a short one this week, but a good one!
Okay!!! Mom! I've been thinking about ya'll all week. I get kinda homesick and lonely when I move to new areas. It just takes me some time to get established and stuff you know? Anyway, it's getting a lot better. I'm learning to trust the Lord and His plan for me. Conference was amazing! I loved M. Russell Ballard's talk Saturday night, you definitely need to look that up.
SO guess what!? I got to do some family history this week. I found this lady that like- her life was super hard and her husband died and then she remarried to someone who's wife died... what!? It's on Grandpa Gale's side... you can look up stories on family search did you know that!? I also found out that one of our ancestors did 187 temple names in the ST George temple! I always wondered why I loved that temple so much. So my invitation to ya'll is to just go and look up family search this week! It takes five minutes but it will literally change your life. Seriously! You gotta try it!!
Things are great in the area. We taught Antonio again, and he is super prepared!!! We taught him the plan of salvation- which was really cool to him because both his parents died. He's only 23, and he's lived in the states for five years. I'll keep you updated on him :)
I'm just looking for opportunities to exercise more faith, I know that God always grants us according to our faith. I'm loving the bikes. Hermana Dorian and I are going to try and talk to like- everyone again, which we've kind of stopped doing a little since the whole "member missionary" push. But I know big things are coming.
Mom, you are seriously the most inspiring person in my life. I'm so SO grateful for you and for all that you've taught me. I just feel like God put you in my life cuz you would love me no matter what, and you have no idea how much that love has changed me.
Dad and Grandpa are for sure here with me! I've met a lot of their Hispanic friends that they've wanted me to convert :) Seriously, ever awesome investigator I'm like "Dad would be best friends with these guys." I know that angels are with us.
Also, thank you for the handwritten letter you sent me! Give Greg a hug for me and tell him thanks for everything. He is such a great example of patience and trusting in the Lord. He really has taught me so much. Tell him he can write me anytime he wants :)
Give Brant a birthday pinch for me!!! That kid is growing up way too fast. :)
I love you!!! Something I've learned here on the mission- or I'm learning- is to trust in the Lord and His plan. He wants us to trust Him. If things aren't going the way you planned, turn toward God and keep just trusting in Him, and He will deliver you out of bondage!
Love you!
Hermana Johnson
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Week 24
Heeey!!!!
So like- transfers are kind of a big deal. It's like ending your mission in one area and moving on to the next. It was literally so hard. We went and saw a few of our members so I could say goodbye and it was so hard. Hna Veliz, one of our members we've been working with, started crying! I was like "Don't do this to me!!!" but hey... it made me feel loved. We had a lot of miracles happen my last few days there and from what I hear they're still going on. Hermano Rivas, a husband of one of our members, FINALLY sat down and listened to us. We taught him about not procrastinating the day of repentance, and he's like "Okay, I'm ready to listen to you all now." He's totally going to get baptized here soon. We also taught one of our less-actives, Moroni, who's a cute-awkward 17 year old that's had a really hard life, and taught him about repentance and the redeeming power of the Atonement. And now he's coming back to church! It's so cool. Oh my gosh I'm going to miss Missouri City so much! I LOVED it!
The Baptism was great!!! It is literally one of the most touching things to watch a baptism. I talked to QuiQue's dad afterwards and I'm like "How do you feel!?" He's like "I feel like a burning in my heart... like a warm burning. It feels good." It made me so happy. He was so feeling like he wasn't worthy or prepared. And he got to baptized and confirm his son. It's so awesome what the Atonement can do.
Okay, so transfer meeting..... Okay. So you're never ever ever going to guess who my new comapnion is. HERMANA DORIAN!!! My comp from the MTC. No joke. No lie. Not kidding one bit. That NEVER or hardly ever happens. Ever. So yeah, we're in Houston 9 aka Ghetto-ish with a billion apartments and hardly anyone to teach YET. But they'll come. It's been really cool to see how much our spanish has improved since the MTC. The first time we prayed together in spanish we were like WHOAA!! I think it's going to be a great transfer and I'll probably be here for a little (hopefully... we'll see...) Hermana Kennedy - my last companion, goes home next transfer and she's had 3 areas her WHOLE MISSION. Ask me how many I've had. In 4 transfers. 3. But I'm not complaining. I think the Lord just likes to give me chances to adapt to change and start over. So ... it'll be good. The members I've met in H9 are great so far!
Oh PS- I'm in a bike area again. YEEEEESSS!! I was riding one day and the roads were really wet, so I go to turn and the bike decided to do it's own thing! So I got a really cool cut on my elbow! This guy like stopped his car and ran out to help me. He brought like tisues and waterbottles and was like "Don't move! We're going to clean you up." It was the sweetest thing ever. His name was Michael. Angels really are watchin out for us.
We met this really really prepared guy named Antonio, he's one of the friends of our members. He was like "Why are there so many churches? I just want to know what's true. I just feel like time is running out before the second coming of the Lord." I'm just like "They EXIST!!" Honest seekers of truth. It's awesome.
Pues dejame saber como esta todo. LES AMO!!! Muchisimo!! Yo se que las oraciones siempre estan contestado! Solomente tenemos que hacerlo!!
Love you!!!!!! Forever!!!!
Hermana Johnson
Friday, September 27, 2013
Pictures
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| The Trio |
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| Bad picture of me .. but the cutest little boy every named Angel. He's my bud. |
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| Me and my Crush |
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| Us looking up at the Temple |
Week 23
Mom, it was the best day at church yesterday. Hermano Martinez came to church!!! It was a miracle. His wife has been a member for 25 years and he's come maybe twice for baby blessings of his grandkids. It was awesome. I just sat in sacrament meeting, between him and his wife, and his wife just like held my hand and wiped her tears the whole time during sacrament meeting. She has been praying for him and putting his name in the temple every single week for the last twenty years. I know that the Lord has been listening to her faith-filled prayers and that He answered them... finally! According to her faith. It was amazing! He really does always answer our prayers!
We also sang "I'll go where you want me to go" ... which STILL makes me cry. Haha. And our used-to-be less active friend, Jose (Like- he's our best friend, he calls us "Jose's angels" haha), talked about missionary work and how he was so excited to go on a mission. He finishes his papers this week! His testimony is so strong! It was just like- amazing to see how much the Lord has helped him to change in these last 6 months. Then we sang "God be with you til we meet again."
I was like - dang. Look at all these miracles that have happened in this area. Look at how much good has been done! Someone's getting transferred, that was way too good of a Sunday to not have someone get transfered.
Well guess what?
I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!!! haha.
Crazy... I'm really excited! And a little nervous! But I know it's the Lord's will and that He's really aware of me and what He's doing. I'll let you know what's going to happen! But don't have anyone send any letters here to MoCity anymore :)
Okay, to answer your questions :) We eat with members maybe probably 4 or 5 times a week, they feed us good here! One of our investigators we hadn't seen for a while told me and hermana Kennedy that we were getting fatter. hahah. It's all the tortillas! Missouri City is kinda like- South Jordan... it's got a lot of shopping places and is suburbia for sure. I lived in a really really really nice apartment. Most of the people we teach live in Fresno, TX though- you can google earth it it's kinda small and a little ghetto. But it was so much fun and I'm going to miss it so much!
The man that's getting deported ... I have no idea!! He's been in jail for a year. So it'll be a blessing for his family to see him again soon.
So yeah... something that my testimony grew of this week was the enabling power of the Atonement. Just looking back on all the times in my life (not to mention my mission) that I didn't feel like I was enough or I felt that my weaknesses kept me from blessings- I look back at it, and the Savior made it all enough. The Atonement. That He came not only to rescue us from the effects of the fall after this life- but during this life as well. His grace is suffiecient! I'm just excited to give it my all this next transfer, do my best to help whoever I can, even with the language barrier, even though I'm not even close to perfect or "good enough" I know that He'll make me enough. I'm so excited to see what's going to happen!!
Anyway, I love you! Know that you are always in my prayers! And keep praying for the things that you need, even if you don't know how it's possible how the Lord can give it to you, He always does! And it's always in the perfect timing that's best for us! I know that the Lord loves us so much!
Love you siempre!
Hermana Johnson
Week 22
Okay, balaldhaiolepsha!
(Imagine me being excited about writing you... I'm freaking out)
Such a great week! My first baptism is coming up in about 12 days! His name is Quique, he's 9. He's the best! His family was inactive for a while but now they're super active and amazing. I'll send you pictures when it happens. :)
So once upon a time I lost my nametag (don't worry I have two) and yesterday we went and looked for it where I thought I lost it and lo and behold one of our investigators was outside and was like "Hey! Are ya'll looking for something!?" and then we were able to teach him a lesson, which he needed! His name is Leo... he's about 30 and he's really funny. He kinda acts like he's drunk all the time... but I think his brain is just fried from things he did when he was younger... I don't know what it is. But his wife is GOLDEN and she knows the church is true -she's got the light in her eyes- but they aren't married. So Leo's like "Listen I want to keep the commandments but I don't know what they all are" so we're like "Hey, this is why we're here!" so we taught about commandments.... the ten and like- reading in your scriptures everyday or go to church every week and then we told him that being married is a commandment. And so he was like "Okay, I'm going to ask my wife to marry me then" (That sounds kinda funny... but it's something we hear a lot. haha) So cool!
Mom! There's this sister that moved here that's just like you! Oh my gosh. She's just a young mom and amazing and inspiring and she has so much faith. She and her husband used to live in Utah but her husband is getting deported to Mexico soon and it is really hard for her but her faith isn't even shaken at all. She is amazing. We taught them about Pedro (o sea Peter) walking on water and the faith that we need. And she was just like "Kids, what's faith?" and they shouted off random answers and she was like "faith is knowing that good things will happen. Like how we will be with daddy again." It reminded me of you. I hope I can be a stong woman like you and that woman one day.
Okay other cool story. Today after the temple we went to a little Gales! They have the same ancient computers and everything! I was like "Mi Hogar!" But there was this mom and her son there and I overheard "Mission, Provo Utah." So I went and talked to them and turns out he was leaving to the MTC today! To speak spanish in the Provo Utah mission! I was like "You're going to love it! Everyone is so nice there!" and then we just told the mom that the Lord takes care of families while the missionaries are gone, that they're so blessed, and the mom started crying! It was just cool to be there and to just help her out a little bit. I've been praying to know how I can help in this work, and that was just a cool little answer to a prayer to be able to comfort that mom a little bit.
I just love you guys so much.
Anyway, I'm going to send you some pictures! Thank you for all your prayers and support. I can feel them! I love you so much and I know that the Lord is aware of us always in every situtation! We can always pray to him!
Love you!
Hermana Johnson
Week 21
Hey mom and family and whoever this email is sent to :)
This week was AMAZING. Something that my MTC teacher said that's stuck with me is "I saw miracles every day on my mission, and sometimes that miracle was in myself."
How true it is! I've learned so much this week.
A. That the Lord KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING and I just need to calm down and trust Him.
I don't know if I've told you this, but I used to HATE (Okay... just be annoyed) of the song "Sweet Hour of Prayer" because in high school seminary that's all that anyone seemed to know, but now I love it. I love the part "believe His word and trust His grace" I feel like that's like- missionary work right there. Just believe Him, God doesn't lie, and trust that despite all your insecurities or weaknesses that His grace is sufficient. This is His work and He's promised that He won't leave us alone to do it.
B. "How great is the joy of the soul that repenteth!"
So like- sometimes I have this inner battle with myself, not going to lie sometimes I feel real triste (sad... spanish :)) and this week it just came to me to ask God what I need to change, what commandments I'm not keeping and how I can be happier. And He told me. Haha. But it's like- awesome! I think we talk about repentence as a bad thing but all it is is changing and getting closer to God. And as we purify our hearts and are closer to God, there's so much real peace and joy that comes from it. I teach that all the time, but it was cool to like- see it from personal experience.
C. "Be ye not weary, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work"
The Lord promises that as we sow good, we reap good. And sometimes we don't see the reap, but it's always there. It's an act of faith sometimes, because we really don't see the harvest. But I know that everytime we put forth the effort to do good, God notices and He blesses us and those we are trying to help.
D. "Before ye seek for riches, seek ye the kingdom of God"
Nuf said.
Anyway, I just feel really blessed. I took time to read the Book of Mormon and I was like to my companions "Have you read this book!? It's a really good book!" haha. But seriously! It like- leads you straight to Christ. It's His book. I know it's His word, and this is His church. A marvalous work is happening among the children of men!
We had so many miracles happen this week. We went to Sonya Garsca's house right after she had a fight with her daugher in law... long story but a pretty traumatic experience, and I know the Lord sent us there at that time to help her because she needed it. Hermano Martinez READ WITH US FROM THE BOOK OF MORMON. That man refused to even look at it a few months ago and now he's reading it with us. We have a lil nine year old in a family that hasn't been baptized because his dad hasn't felt worthy, and I watched him take the sacrament yesterday and it's been a long time. We taught that lady that cried about her father last week about the plan of Salvation and felt the Spirit testify as we told her that no matter what happens in this life it's because God has a plan for her and wants her and her family to be saved and come back to live with Him. My companion and I may or may not have gotten in a little bit of an argument last week, and the Lord sent my other companion on exchanges the next day so her and I could talk, fix the problem, and see how much we had in common and how much we could help each other. Miracles have not ceased! And Angels are ever present.
I know Jesus Christ lives, I know that God answers prayers in His own time and in His own way. I know that God loves us so much and does everything He does for our eternal welfare and happiness. I know that families are forever, that because of Jesus Christ, death is not the end. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thank you for who you are and what you do. The church is true!!!
Con Amor,
Hermana Johnson
Week 20
Okay, man, I don't even know where to start!
We had exchanges TWICE this week... usually it's only supposed to happen once a week but this week I got to spend a little time with both of my companions alone in our area while the other one left.
Something that like- blows my mind mom and that I believe with all my heart but I don't quite understand is how much the Lord truely knows us, and how willing He is to fix our mistakes and how no matter how fallen we are He helps us overcome.
For example, we have a part-member family... the non-member is the husband (which happens a lot actually), Hermano Analla. He's like the most shy timid little thing in the world but one of the must humble men I've ever met. His wife got converted in UTAH when she went and visited her daughter for like- a month. Well now her daughter has to move here because her husband is getting deported and she wants to move closer to the border so she can go visit him. We keep feeling like she moved here to help her family (Hno Analla) find the gospel. I'm like "Would God do that? Would he make things work out the way they have so much because He loves Hermano Analla- that timid man that doesn't think he's very much- and he wants him to come back to Him. He wants Him to have the gospel. Would He do that just for Him? He loves him that much?"
And I think about it- yes! He gave His whole life. I honestly can't wrap my head around it. I'm praying to understand the deepness and intimacy of His love for us. 2 Nefi 26:24.
So this week I got to go to a quincenera... (I don't know if that's how you spell it) but it's a big party that Hispanics have when they turn 15. We went to one of our less active's family... she's the best! We took a picture with a mariatchi band and everything. I was in Hispanic Heaven!
Yesterday we went to Hermano Analla's house for Labor Day and had corn with mayonase and cheese! I know. It sounds like the grossest thing in the world but it was the BEST! They had all their family over- like their 20 grandkids and their 3 daughters or daughters-in-law but it was so much fun! I was like- this is almost a Labor-day BBQ! Whoot!
The members are KILLING IT! We had a member family invite US over to their house to teach their friends. We're like - what is this!? The best! There was this little black kid named Jaden that just walked in and was so cute with all the hispanics. He's like "I know spanish- I can count to ten. Como estas?" It was so funny! But we taught them about the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was really strong! I know that the Lord is preparing them.
I actually had a lot of opportunities to bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation this week. To a lady who lost her father and didn't even get to say goodbye to him. Who feels like it was just yesterday that he left. She just started crying. It was cool to be able to teach her a little and to help her find the comfort that comes from the gospel.
Something else that I've come to realize is the power and the importance of the Spirit. It is literally almost a physical presence that you can feel. I know that when we follow His promtings that we not only bless ourselves and increase our faith- but more importantly we bless the lives of others and God gives us the chance to be an answer to their prayers.
I guess more things I'm learning is that charity is the most important- and everything kinda comes after that. Like- everything just comes. You can "by the book" have charity, or you can have charity and then play it by the book. It works a lot better to have charity first. I think that's why it's the greatest commandment.
Well, Love you! Thanks for everything!
Hermana Johnson
We had exchanges TWICE this week... usually it's only supposed to happen once a week but this week I got to spend a little time with both of my companions alone in our area while the other one left.
Something that like- blows my mind mom and that I believe with all my heart but I don't quite understand is how much the Lord truely knows us, and how willing He is to fix our mistakes and how no matter how fallen we are He helps us overcome.
For example, we have a part-member family... the non-member is the husband (which happens a lot actually), Hermano Analla. He's like the most shy timid little thing in the world but one of the must humble men I've ever met. His wife got converted in UTAH when she went and visited her daughter for like- a month. Well now her daughter has to move here because her husband is getting deported and she wants to move closer to the border so she can go visit him. We keep feeling like she moved here to help her family (Hno Analla) find the gospel. I'm like "Would God do that? Would he make things work out the way they have so much because He loves Hermano Analla- that timid man that doesn't think he's very much- and he wants him to come back to Him. He wants Him to have the gospel. Would He do that just for Him? He loves him that much?"
And I think about it- yes! He gave His whole life. I honestly can't wrap my head around it. I'm praying to understand the deepness and intimacy of His love for us. 2 Nefi 26:24.
So this week I got to go to a quincenera... (I don't know if that's how you spell it) but it's a big party that Hispanics have when they turn 15. We went to one of our less active's family... she's the best! We took a picture with a mariatchi band and everything. I was in Hispanic Heaven!
Yesterday we went to Hermano Analla's house for Labor Day and had corn with mayonase and cheese! I know. It sounds like the grossest thing in the world but it was the BEST! They had all their family over- like their 20 grandkids and their 3 daughters or daughters-in-law but it was so much fun! I was like- this is almost a Labor-day BBQ! Whoot!
The members are KILLING IT! We had a member family invite US over to their house to teach their friends. We're like - what is this!? The best! There was this little black kid named Jaden that just walked in and was so cute with all the hispanics. He's like "I know spanish- I can count to ten. Como estas?" It was so funny! But we taught them about the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was really strong! I know that the Lord is preparing them.
I actually had a lot of opportunities to bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation this week. To a lady who lost her father and didn't even get to say goodbye to him. Who feels like it was just yesterday that he left. She just started crying. It was cool to be able to teach her a little and to help her find the comfort that comes from the gospel.
Something else that I've come to realize is the power and the importance of the Spirit. It is literally almost a physical presence that you can feel. I know that when we follow His promtings that we not only bless ourselves and increase our faith- but more importantly we bless the lives of others and God gives us the chance to be an answer to their prayers.
I guess more things I'm learning is that charity is the most important- and everything kinda comes after that. Like- everything just comes. You can "by the book" have charity, or you can have charity and then play it by the book. It works a lot better to have charity first. I think that's why it's the greatest commandment.
Well, Love you! Thanks for everything!
Hermana Johnson
Week 19
Dearest Motherly Mother,
Well, crazy week. I got to cut down a tree with a machette, got chased by a dog, ate cow intestines (tripe), and Los Martinez (The temple worker and her non-member husband) told us that they were going to take a road trip to see us in Utah. My life is pretty complete.
Alright, so, we have these investigators Los Torres whose tree fell down during the "Sister Storm Chasers" storm. (You just want to hear my voice huh? That's why you want me to send you that video! I'm on to you! ... Love you :)) and so we went and cut the tree out of the road with Machettes. And then we ate pizza. In P-day clothes. It was like the best day ever.
The cool thing that I was going to tell you last week was that we went on exchanges with another Sister that didn't know much spanish (it was actually Hermana Watkin's MTC companion, Hermana Florence. She's been having some health problems and served her last area in English because of it). The gift of tongues happened! It was awesome. Also, the tender mercies of the Lord, because out of the three lessons we had in Spanish, in two of them someone showed up that spoke both languages fluently and could help us when we were struggling. Uh-Maz-Ing. The Lord's hand really is in this work. And the cool thing is that the people kept commitments! It's like we're these little struggling-with-the-language pretty-new little missionaries and it was awesome to see the Grace of God work with us by letting the Spirit work with these people dispite our weaknesses. I think I'm gaining a testimony of that every day. It helps me a lot to not be so scared and as I focus on these people, and who they really are, and who's their Father, then it's not so hard and it's not so scary. It's the work of the Lord, and when He calls us, He qualifies us. It's still a learning-in-progress thing, but my testimony of it is growing every single day.
The movement is to work with members! I love it! It's so much more effective. And we've been loving and serving our members SO MUCH and they're doing SO GREAT. I'll let you know how that is going. I can feel like we're on the brink of greatness in this area.
Alright, I better close for now. Love you! Thanks for the email I loved it! Tell Brant good luck at school!
Love you!
Hermana Johnson
Well, crazy week. I got to cut down a tree with a machette, got chased by a dog, ate cow intestines (tripe), and Los Martinez (The temple worker and her non-member husband) told us that they were going to take a road trip to see us in Utah. My life is pretty complete.
Alright, so, we have these investigators Los Torres whose tree fell down during the "Sister Storm Chasers" storm. (You just want to hear my voice huh? That's why you want me to send you that video! I'm on to you! ... Love you :)) and so we went and cut the tree out of the road with Machettes. And then we ate pizza. In P-day clothes. It was like the best day ever.
The cool thing that I was going to tell you last week was that we went on exchanges with another Sister that didn't know much spanish (it was actually Hermana Watkin's MTC companion, Hermana Florence. She's been having some health problems and served her last area in English because of it). The gift of tongues happened! It was awesome. Also, the tender mercies of the Lord, because out of the three lessons we had in Spanish, in two of them someone showed up that spoke both languages fluently and could help us when we were struggling. Uh-Maz-Ing. The Lord's hand really is in this work. And the cool thing is that the people kept commitments! It's like we're these little struggling-with-the-language pretty-new little missionaries and it was awesome to see the Grace of God work with us by letting the Spirit work with these people dispite our weaknesses. I think I'm gaining a testimony of that every day. It helps me a lot to not be so scared and as I focus on these people, and who they really are, and who's their Father, then it's not so hard and it's not so scary. It's the work of the Lord, and when He calls us, He qualifies us. It's still a learning-in-progress thing, but my testimony of it is growing every single day.
The movement is to work with members! I love it! It's so much more effective. And we've been loving and serving our members SO MUCH and they're doing SO GREAT. I'll let you know how that is going. I can feel like we're on the brink of greatness in this area.
Alright, I better close for now. Love you! Thanks for the email I loved it! Tell Brant good luck at school!
Love you!
Hermana Johnson
Week 18
Well snap, I spent all this time studying on how to strengthen the family and there you go and change the subject on me! How's school? You're in the ticket booth? What does that mean? Haha. I just imagine you in a little booth outside of the school waving at people. Haha.
The weather is crazy! We had a lightning storm this week where we had to park and stop for a while and wait for the storm to pass. But we made a movie called "The Sister Storm Chasers" ... hahaha. So great.
This has been maybe one of my favorite weeks on my mission so far! So many miracles. Like- and I just tried not to be afraid. I'm not perfect at it. I get really nervous and really worried really easy. But I just tried to "cast all my cares on the Lord" and just have a willing heart. And miracles happened!
So much happened this week! So much. So last monday we went and visited a member ... that doesn't go to our ward but goes to a different one... long story... anyway, she was like "So my neighbor's daughter died. Ya'll should go see her." We're like "Of course." She's like "How about right now!?" We're like "Uh... okay. How about you come with us!?" Haha. So we went across the street and knocked on the door and this black couple answered the door. Ugh- it just kills me and brings back painful memories to see the pain in their eyes. You know? Anyway the wife was like "I always have time for the word of the Lord." We took our little seats out on their deck and just talked to her... mostly just let her talk to us. And here we have our member- who only speaks spanish- and this lady, who only speaks english. It was the cutest thing to see them interact. Lillian (the wife) would like- sideways glance at her with her eyebrows raised and be like "Comprende?" and our member Sonya would be like "Si... mostly." And then Sonya asked if she could make tamalies. She's like "You like tomalies?" and Lillian would smile and say "I LOVE tomalies. You can make them some for me anytime." It was just the cutest thing in the world, I don't know if I'm discribing it really well. But even though they didn't speak the same language the love between those two friends was so strong. That Sonya wanted to help her even though they can barely communicate. It made me want to be a better person, care about the words I speak less and just show Christ-like charity. So great.
Another miracle that happened this week! Exchanges. My "younger" companion and I went with Hermana Florence.
Okay. I'mma finish this in a sec. Is that okay? I'll send it to you in two parts. :) Love you!
Hermana Johnson
The weather is crazy! We had a lightning storm this week where we had to park and stop for a while and wait for the storm to pass. But we made a movie called "The Sister Storm Chasers" ... hahaha. So great.
This has been maybe one of my favorite weeks on my mission so far! So many miracles. Like- and I just tried not to be afraid. I'm not perfect at it. I get really nervous and really worried really easy. But I just tried to "cast all my cares on the Lord" and just have a willing heart. And miracles happened!
So much happened this week! So much. So last monday we went and visited a member ... that doesn't go to our ward but goes to a different one... long story... anyway, she was like "So my neighbor's daughter died. Ya'll should go see her." We're like "Of course." She's like "How about right now!?" We're like "Uh... okay. How about you come with us!?" Haha. So we went across the street and knocked on the door and this black couple answered the door. Ugh- it just kills me and brings back painful memories to see the pain in their eyes. You know? Anyway the wife was like "I always have time for the word of the Lord." We took our little seats out on their deck and just talked to her... mostly just let her talk to us. And here we have our member- who only speaks spanish- and this lady, who only speaks english. It was the cutest thing to see them interact. Lillian (the wife) would like- sideways glance at her with her eyebrows raised and be like "Comprende?" and our member Sonya would be like "Si... mostly." And then Sonya asked if she could make tamalies. She's like "You like tomalies?" and Lillian would smile and say "I LOVE tomalies. You can make them some for me anytime." It was just the cutest thing in the world, I don't know if I'm discribing it really well. But even though they didn't speak the same language the love between those two friends was so strong. That Sonya wanted to help her even though they can barely communicate. It made me want to be a better person, care about the words I speak less and just show Christ-like charity. So great.
Another miracle that happened this week! Exchanges. My "younger" companion and I went with Hermana Florence.
Okay. I'mma finish this in a sec. Is that okay? I'll send it to you in two parts. :) Love you!
Hermana Johnson
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Week 17
I'M STAYING IN MISSOURI CITY!! So SO happy. I was all but tramautized from having to leave so soon after my first area, but we're all staying here, the trio is sticking together, and boy do the members love us! We were at a ward activity and our relief society president came up and asked if we could talk to her niece, Erica, who was there and investigating the church. She said "I just feel like you need to talk to her." And of course we're like "Yeah!" and so we all go into a little room and just talked to her. Just testified. Didn't even do much but invited her to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. And so we all kneeled right then and there and she's like "Okay, I'm getting baptized." It was awesome!! The Spirit does everything. I love being part of this work.
K also, okay. SO much to tell you. I just want to tell you about this guy we have named Rudy. He's like "been saved by Jesus" as he would put it. Speaks english and spanish, and holy cow. We just went over and talked to him this week and he just talked to us forever about how much he loves Jesus Christ. Like literally he was the worst of the worst and now he's got pictures and crosses all over his house and he's so much happier. He's just got the Southern-ness in him too. He's like "You mormon's are all so HUMBLE. And I can see Jesus in you." And then he asked why only the young people were out preaching the word. And something about how people of all ages should be preaching the good word. Haha. He's the best. Just a big guy with a big o' heart. He's going to be a bishop one day. I just want him to read the Book of Mormon so bad cuz he LOVES the bible. Yay for southern Bible-lovers!
Also, Erica, who we had our little experience with, got married! And she's getting baptized next week! Isn't that the best!? I'll have to send you pictures. They had a little wedding outside and it was super cute.
Mom, thank you for your example. I use it all the time. We have a member in our ward that bless her heart has had like- the roughest marriages in her life and she just feels sad that she has to do everything solo. It's hard! We shared with her Helaman 5:12 and just talked about how we need to build our foundation on Christ, and if we do we can get through the hard things, even if we feel alone. I told her about you and how you were such a great example to me of doing that. I think it really helped her, I hope so at least. Life just isn't easy! But the awesome thing is that it can be happy and fufilling no matter what! I just love that. The gospel really does bring all the sincere, true happiness in the world. And hope!
I'm learning so much about faith, hope, and the Lord's timing. We have so many investigators that are so close, but they just need to get married! And we just need to have faith that the Lord will make it happen somehow, that the hearts of the men in this area will be softened! Praying for that.
How's Grandma Gale doing? We have an 87 year old in our ward "mama hope" that reminds me so much of her. Just so happy and cute and old. Haha. I love our ward so much! Yesterday this lady told me that I have a double in Columbia, where she's from. Like- my face is the same as her face. Yes!!!! I knew I had a twin somewhere....
It's been amazing to see how the gospel changes people's lives. I know that God answers prayers. I know that He is on our side and is rooting for us to succeed. He is the perfect parent, patient, kind, and loving. He sees the best in us, even when we can't see it in ourselves. He knows what's best for us in the long run. I think about one of our investigators who has a daughter who's slowly just dying. It's a condition in her brain that she got when she was 14 and ever since has just been slowly decaying. It's so hard to see her like that, and I'm sure it's so hard for her mom. But it's like- when we truely know who God is and trust Him, we know that every hard time or "Wilderness" he puts us through is going to draw us closer to Him in the end. I think of that everytime I see her, how that's helped her mom become more like the Savior and more softened to hear the message that we have for her.
Love you all! I know the church is true with all the energy of my soul! Jesus Christ lives! And He loves us!
Love you .... FOREVER!
Hermana Johnson
Week 16
Mom Mom Mom!
How are you!? Ooooh my goodness I love you! I think about you all every single day. I have a little picture of our family on my study desk and I look at it every day and it reminds me of how much I love you and how blessed I am to have such an amazing family.
Brant's a hunk now eh? Well, that doesn't surprise me, he always has been. It's so weird how he's growing up! Almost 15- that's like- practically an adult! I hope he's doing so great. Glad he danced with all the girls. It seemed like yesterday that we were dancing in the basement preparing him for his first stake dance. Haha, good times. Sometimes I tell my companions about the things that Brant and I would say to each other and they're like "He's so funny! We want to meet him!" I'm like- I know right? I have the coolest little brother ever!
How'd your lesson on taking on the name of Christ go? I want to know about it! And how's the school? It's weird to think it will look different when I come back! And that Gales will be different! How does it look? You'll have to send me pictures!
The activity you had sounded so cool! I LOVE the temple. We were going to go this week but no one could take us... I hear there's a new video!? What!? You'll have to tell me about it!
That's super cool about the missionary work fireside. We're trying to push to work more with the members here too... everything's like- all about missionary work here I feel like I'm like "Is this just cuz I'm a missionary now or has it always been like this and I haven't noticed it?"
Okay, little vent- not vent- but disagreement that I feel like I need to voice to someone? Okay. So we pretty much go over to members and say "We need your help. It's your responsibility to do missionary work. We can't knock on doors anymore. You need to do be finding people." Which is, really true. We can't do it without the members and the longer I'm out here the more I feel it. But I feel like it's not something that you should do out of your "duty". Yes it is your duty, but if you go with the "dragging your feet" attitude about it and you're only doing it because someone told you to- well, you probably aren't going to get the right results. Something that I LOVED about the first presidency broadcast on missionary work was that this is a labor of love. That our responsibility is, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, meaning that we "lift up the hands that hang down and strength feeble knees", that we develop charity so that we can become like Him. And I don't know about you, but I think for me this gospel and the knowlege that I have of a loving Heavenly Father, has lifted me in ways that nothing else could. Has taken me out of the pit of hopelessness. It's such a blessing! And we treat sharing the gospel like it's a chore. It's sometimes hard and it's sometimes scary, but if we extend the invitation out of love as opposed to "Duty", then we don't need to worry because "charity never faileth". It's like having the cure for cancer or something and never telling anyone about it. "Listen! We have the fullness of the gospel! The priesthood power of God is on the earth! Come be healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ!" I just refuse to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about anything other than love. Anyway... I'm just not a big fan of how we're going about it right now... and I just wanted to tell someone. Haha.
We've had some great experiences this week! We have a lot of women that have the light of a testimony of Christ in their eyes- but ... their husbands don't want to get married so they can't be baptized! It's the most frustrating thing in the world! I'm like- daaah men, just get married already!
I know this church is true! I know that when we're at our lowest of lows that there's someone that knows exactly how we feel and exactly how to help us get out of it! I know that we are never alone, and that there's nothing, no trial or sickness that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can't heal. God lives! He loves us! He's still guiding us through a living prophet today!
I love you! Praying for you! Keep being amazing!
Hermana Johnson
How are you!? Ooooh my goodness I love you! I think about you all every single day. I have a little picture of our family on my study desk and I look at it every day and it reminds me of how much I love you and how blessed I am to have such an amazing family.
Brant's a hunk now eh? Well, that doesn't surprise me, he always has been. It's so weird how he's growing up! Almost 15- that's like- practically an adult! I hope he's doing so great. Glad he danced with all the girls. It seemed like yesterday that we were dancing in the basement preparing him for his first stake dance. Haha, good times. Sometimes I tell my companions about the things that Brant and I would say to each other and they're like "He's so funny! We want to meet him!" I'm like- I know right? I have the coolest little brother ever!
How'd your lesson on taking on the name of Christ go? I want to know about it! And how's the school? It's weird to think it will look different when I come back! And that Gales will be different! How does it look? You'll have to send me pictures!
The activity you had sounded so cool! I LOVE the temple. We were going to go this week but no one could take us... I hear there's a new video!? What!? You'll have to tell me about it!
That's super cool about the missionary work fireside. We're trying to push to work more with the members here too... everything's like- all about missionary work here I feel like I'm like "Is this just cuz I'm a missionary now or has it always been like this and I haven't noticed it?"
Okay, little vent- not vent- but disagreement that I feel like I need to voice to someone? Okay. So we pretty much go over to members and say "We need your help. It's your responsibility to do missionary work. We can't knock on doors anymore. You need to do be finding people." Which is, really true. We can't do it without the members and the longer I'm out here the more I feel it. But I feel like it's not something that you should do out of your "duty". Yes it is your duty, but if you go with the "dragging your feet" attitude about it and you're only doing it because someone told you to- well, you probably aren't going to get the right results. Something that I LOVED about the first presidency broadcast on missionary work was that this is a labor of love. That our responsibility is, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, meaning that we "lift up the hands that hang down and strength feeble knees", that we develop charity so that we can become like Him. And I don't know about you, but I think for me this gospel and the knowlege that I have of a loving Heavenly Father, has lifted me in ways that nothing else could. Has taken me out of the pit of hopelessness. It's such a blessing! And we treat sharing the gospel like it's a chore. It's sometimes hard and it's sometimes scary, but if we extend the invitation out of love as opposed to "Duty", then we don't need to worry because "charity never faileth". It's like having the cure for cancer or something and never telling anyone about it. "Listen! We have the fullness of the gospel! The priesthood power of God is on the earth! Come be healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ!" I just refuse to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about anything other than love. Anyway... I'm just not a big fan of how we're going about it right now... and I just wanted to tell someone. Haha.
We've had some great experiences this week! We have a lot of women that have the light of a testimony of Christ in their eyes- but ... their husbands don't want to get married so they can't be baptized! It's the most frustrating thing in the world! I'm like- daaah men, just get married already!
I know this church is true! I know that when we're at our lowest of lows that there's someone that knows exactly how we feel and exactly how to help us get out of it! I know that we are never alone, and that there's nothing, no trial or sickness that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can't heal. God lives! He loves us! He's still guiding us through a living prophet today!
I love you! Praying for you! Keep being amazing!
Hermana Johnson
Week 15
Hey Ya'll
This week has been CRAZY. Amazing. We saw a lot of miracles.
We have a member named Esperanza, but everyone calls her "Mama Hope" or "Abuelita" (Little grandma). She's 87 years old and she wants to learn english so we go over once a week for an hour and teach her. She's my hero. And she has this cute little walker that she takes with her everywhere that she calls her "cadilac" Haha. She's hilarious.
So Hermana Kennedy was telling her to say some things in english and obviously she's not like- the best at it yet cuz she's still learning! But it was really cool. Hermana Kennedy told her to say "Somos Hijas de Dios" in english and Mama Hope says "We are daughters of God." The spirit hit was so strong! The four of us- so different, we don't really even speak the same language and we're not the same age or anything, but we are daughters of God. All of us. It was awesome!
So we do these little things called "English fasts" I think I've told you about them... we just go days at a time without speaking any english. This week we just did it for two days, but everyday we "fasted" with a specific purpose. One day we fasted to know the needs of our investigators, and with every lesson we had that day, our investigators told us their concerns! The other day we fasted to find new investigators. Miracle. We were just walking around because we had 20 minutes to kill before an appointment with a member, and Hermana Kennedy looks at a house and says "That house looks Hispanic. Let's go knock on it." And so we went up on the porch and there was a little door decoration that said "Este hogar es Catolica" and so we just laugh and knocked on the door and lo and behold the lady was super interested in hearing more about the Gospel. That was the only door that we knocked that day- we hardly ever knock random doors, but the Lord blessed us with an answer to our prayers! It was literally a miracle.
We also had interviews with President Ashton this week. We only had like- five minutes, but it was really good. President said my spanish was really good- which was really good to hear. Really good. And we just talked about how people have different talents and the Lord uses us in different ways.
Mom, I just feel like- like I was put on this earth to be a missionary. And that scares me! Like I'm like- I'm not very good at it yet! But I know that the Lord has been helping me SO much and that He is blessing this work. I just get overwhelmed really easy. I just want to have mind-blowing life-changing lessons every lesson. Haha. I just want to be all that God wants me to be. I just want people to have this gospel and to understand their relationship with God.
Thanks for the little pick-me-up last week, it helped me a lot. I go through these phases where I'm like "sinning is dumb. I want to be perfect. I'm not going to sin anymore or do anything wrong ever." Weeeeeelll... that doesn't work. Like- ever. But it's comforting to know that the Lord loves us and He wants to bless us. It doesn't matter if we're not perfect, in fact, he doesn't expect us to. He just wants us to come to him and to "seguir adelante" to press forward and just trust him. "Believe his word and trust his grace". I guess I've just learned to get over trying to be perfect and trust in the grace of God that He'll make me enough because there is NO way I could be enough on my own. And if we're with an honest heart trying to do our best, the Lord knows, and He helps us.
Well, love you! I am doing well. The church is true!
Hermana Johnson
This week has been CRAZY. Amazing. We saw a lot of miracles.
We have a member named Esperanza, but everyone calls her "Mama Hope" or "Abuelita" (Little grandma). She's 87 years old and she wants to learn english so we go over once a week for an hour and teach her. She's my hero. And she has this cute little walker that she takes with her everywhere that she calls her "cadilac" Haha. She's hilarious.
So Hermana Kennedy was telling her to say some things in english and obviously she's not like- the best at it yet cuz she's still learning! But it was really cool. Hermana Kennedy told her to say "Somos Hijas de Dios" in english and Mama Hope says "We are daughters of God." The spirit hit was so strong! The four of us- so different, we don't really even speak the same language and we're not the same age or anything, but we are daughters of God. All of us. It was awesome!
So we do these little things called "English fasts" I think I've told you about them... we just go days at a time without speaking any english. This week we just did it for two days, but everyday we "fasted" with a specific purpose. One day we fasted to know the needs of our investigators, and with every lesson we had that day, our investigators told us their concerns! The other day we fasted to find new investigators. Miracle. We were just walking around because we had 20 minutes to kill before an appointment with a member, and Hermana Kennedy looks at a house and says "That house looks Hispanic. Let's go knock on it." And so we went up on the porch and there was a little door decoration that said "Este hogar es Catolica" and so we just laugh and knocked on the door and lo and behold the lady was super interested in hearing more about the Gospel. That was the only door that we knocked that day- we hardly ever knock random doors, but the Lord blessed us with an answer to our prayers! It was literally a miracle.
We also had interviews with President Ashton this week. We only had like- five minutes, but it was really good. President said my spanish was really good- which was really good to hear. Really good. And we just talked about how people have different talents and the Lord uses us in different ways.
Mom, I just feel like- like I was put on this earth to be a missionary. And that scares me! Like I'm like- I'm not very good at it yet! But I know that the Lord has been helping me SO much and that He is blessing this work. I just get overwhelmed really easy. I just want to have mind-blowing life-changing lessons every lesson. Haha. I just want to be all that God wants me to be. I just want people to have this gospel and to understand their relationship with God.
Thanks for the little pick-me-up last week, it helped me a lot. I go through these phases where I'm like "sinning is dumb. I want to be perfect. I'm not going to sin anymore or do anything wrong ever." Weeeeeelll... that doesn't work. Like- ever. But it's comforting to know that the Lord loves us and He wants to bless us. It doesn't matter if we're not perfect, in fact, he doesn't expect us to. He just wants us to come to him and to "seguir adelante" to press forward and just trust him. "Believe his word and trust his grace". I guess I've just learned to get over trying to be perfect and trust in the grace of God that He'll make me enough because there is NO way I could be enough on my own. And if we're with an honest heart trying to do our best, the Lord knows, and He helps us.
Well, love you! I am doing well. The church is true!
Hermana Johnson
Week 14
Well hellllloooo!
This week has been ... wow. Full. Okay first of all, my companions are great. And they are weird. Like- we have the same sense of humor and it's the best. This week we may or may not have dressed up as hillbillies and did a talk-show about how to talk like Texans one night... So great.
Also! Good news! Because we're in a trio and only have two beds, I have been taking on the role as the "middle child" and volunteered to sleep on a little fu-ton on the floor. Aka, I might as well have slept on the floor, it was pretty much nothing. But this week I got a bed! We're on little bunk-beds so my childhood dreams have been fulfilled of sleeping on the top bunk. Love it. The man that came and helped us set it up's name is Elder Nilson, and he told us his re-conversion story. That he had been inactive for 20 years or something like that and the bishop or someone showed up at his house with the elders one day and asked him if he would help with scouting. Long story short, he quit smoking and drinking and cleaned up his life and now he's on a mission! The Lord works in so many ways. He told us the importance of keeping our apartment clean and how the Spirit dwells in clean houses. That we needed to make our apartment like a temple, because that's where we'll receive revelation. It was super powerful and we're totally committed to do it. We need all the help from the Spirit we can get.
The man who's wife works at the temple- they're the Martinez family. Mom, they are my favorite! I just LOVE them! They left to Mexico this week for a week so we didn't get to see them at all. It was so sad! Every day we're like "We miss them so bad!" But we did get to go see them last night. They bought us little bracelets from Mexico and some dulces. It was so nice! They were like "We were thinking of you all the whole time!" It was so sweet. We didn't really have time to teach a lesson- but it's been so cool to see the change in Hermano Martinez's eyes. There is just light. That has been one of my favorite things in the mission so far, is to see light fill the eyes of the people. I love it. This is the Lord's work!
We also have another family that I just love- the Torres family. There are like 15 of them that live all together in one big trailer neighborhood. They are some of the most humble people I have ever met. We shared a short scripture with Mariana - Alma 7:11-12 and just testified of the Atonement. And then we asked her if she would say the closing prayer. She's like "I can't! I feel like I'm going to cry!" She's SO sensitive to the Spirit. I know she's going to be baptized on day. Most people's problems are they have to convince their "husbands" to get married to them first. Those husbands....
I love it here. I wish I was more. I wish I could do more for the Lord. But I pray that what I have and who I am is enough for Him right now. Alma 29:1-4
Gotta go! I sure love you!
Hermana Johnson
This week has been ... wow. Full. Okay first of all, my companions are great. And they are weird. Like- we have the same sense of humor and it's the best. This week we may or may not have dressed up as hillbillies and did a talk-show about how to talk like Texans one night... So great.
Also! Good news! Because we're in a trio and only have two beds, I have been taking on the role as the "middle child" and volunteered to sleep on a little fu-ton on the floor. Aka, I might as well have slept on the floor, it was pretty much nothing. But this week I got a bed! We're on little bunk-beds so my childhood dreams have been fulfilled of sleeping on the top bunk. Love it. The man that came and helped us set it up's name is Elder Nilson, and he told us his re-conversion story. That he had been inactive for 20 years or something like that and the bishop or someone showed up at his house with the elders one day and asked him if he would help with scouting. Long story short, he quit smoking and drinking and cleaned up his life and now he's on a mission! The Lord works in so many ways. He told us the importance of keeping our apartment clean and how the Spirit dwells in clean houses. That we needed to make our apartment like a temple, because that's where we'll receive revelation. It was super powerful and we're totally committed to do it. We need all the help from the Spirit we can get.
The man who's wife works at the temple- they're the Martinez family. Mom, they are my favorite! I just LOVE them! They left to Mexico this week for a week so we didn't get to see them at all. It was so sad! Every day we're like "We miss them so bad!" But we did get to go see them last night. They bought us little bracelets from Mexico and some dulces. It was so nice! They were like "We were thinking of you all the whole time!" It was so sweet. We didn't really have time to teach a lesson- but it's been so cool to see the change in Hermano Martinez's eyes. There is just light. That has been one of my favorite things in the mission so far, is to see light fill the eyes of the people. I love it. This is the Lord's work!
We also have another family that I just love- the Torres family. There are like 15 of them that live all together in one big trailer neighborhood. They are some of the most humble people I have ever met. We shared a short scripture with Mariana - Alma 7:11-12 and just testified of the Atonement. And then we asked her if she would say the closing prayer. She's like "I can't! I feel like I'm going to cry!" She's SO sensitive to the Spirit. I know she's going to be baptized on day. Most people's problems are they have to convince their "husbands" to get married to them first. Those husbands....
I love it here. I wish I was more. I wish I could do more for the Lord. But I pray that what I have and who I am is enough for Him right now. Alma 29:1-4
Gotta go! I sure love you!
Hermana Johnson
Week 13
Hey mom :)
So this week was crazy, so fun. My companions are HILARIOUS. We have so much fun. Hermana Moberly (she's the new one) is from California and she's 19, and Hermana Kennedy is from Idaho and she's been out a little over a year. Our area is a little (okay, a lot) more ghetto than my last area- but hermana Kennedy says it's like the nicest area she's been in her whole mission. I'm like- ooooh I was so spoiled with my first area. Haha.
Oh I have so much to tell you! Mom, miracles happen. We have this man that didn't want to take the lessons for forever and finally he is. His wife works at the temple, and as we testified about how important the priesthood is and the covenants that we have of eternal families we were like- all crying. The Lord knows him and wants that for him and his family.
Okay. I just want to tell you my epiphany of the week. The scriptures are awesome! I was reading (in Spanish...) about Nephi telling his brothers when they were in the wilderness about Moses and the people of Israel. He was like "Hey! That was just like us!" There's always something we can relate to in the scriptures.
I was reading in 2 Nephi 3 and Lehi I think it was is talking about how weak they are in writing. He's like "We're so weak but the Lord makes our words strong!" That is exactly how I feel. I feel like my words are so weak. That I'm so weak. That I'm not perfect at all, but my weaknesses don't matter. This is why I know this is the Lord's work. Because the words we say aren't really that amazing. Nothing we do is really all that grand. But the Spirit truly does carry the truth to the hearts of the children of men. The Lord makes our words strong. That's the miracle of this work. I love it.
Okay, so I ate oyster this week! From El Salvador. It was so slimy and weird. Haha. Also, we had this lady that needed her lawn cut but her lawnmower was broken. So we drove to a member's house a mile away and got a lawnmower and walked it back. It must have looked really weird but.. hey! It was awesome.
Also we didn't speak any English for like 4 days. It was crazy! We called it an "English fast" to find new investigators. Yeah. It was awesome. My Spanish is coming! Slowly but surely. I need to battle the battle of perfectionism. In Spanish and in teaching and in just... realizing I'm not perfect and not being afraid of making mistakes.
Mom, I can't tell you how much I love you! You're example and your love has helped me more than anything to know and remember how much God loves me and what He thinks about me. Mom, thank you so much for your unconditional love for me. It has shaped me into who I am. Thanks so much for your emails. I seriously have so much to tell you every week and I never have time! Just know I love you all and I think about you and I'm praying for you!
Love you forever!
Hermana Johnson
So this week was crazy, so fun. My companions are HILARIOUS. We have so much fun. Hermana Moberly (she's the new one) is from California and she's 19, and Hermana Kennedy is from Idaho and she's been out a little over a year. Our area is a little (okay, a lot) more ghetto than my last area- but hermana Kennedy says it's like the nicest area she's been in her whole mission. I'm like- ooooh I was so spoiled with my first area. Haha.
Oh I have so much to tell you! Mom, miracles happen. We have this man that didn't want to take the lessons for forever and finally he is. His wife works at the temple, and as we testified about how important the priesthood is and the covenants that we have of eternal families we were like- all crying. The Lord knows him and wants that for him and his family.
Okay. I just want to tell you my epiphany of the week. The scriptures are awesome! I was reading (in Spanish...) about Nephi telling his brothers when they were in the wilderness about Moses and the people of Israel. He was like "Hey! That was just like us!" There's always something we can relate to in the scriptures.
I was reading in 2 Nephi 3 and Lehi I think it was is talking about how weak they are in writing. He's like "We're so weak but the Lord makes our words strong!" That is exactly how I feel. I feel like my words are so weak. That I'm so weak. That I'm not perfect at all, but my weaknesses don't matter. This is why I know this is the Lord's work. Because the words we say aren't really that amazing. Nothing we do is really all that grand. But the Spirit truly does carry the truth to the hearts of the children of men. The Lord makes our words strong. That's the miracle of this work. I love it.
Okay, so I ate oyster this week! From El Salvador. It was so slimy and weird. Haha. Also, we had this lady that needed her lawn cut but her lawnmower was broken. So we drove to a member's house a mile away and got a lawnmower and walked it back. It must have looked really weird but.. hey! It was awesome.
Also we didn't speak any English for like 4 days. It was crazy! We called it an "English fast" to find new investigators. Yeah. It was awesome. My Spanish is coming! Slowly but surely. I need to battle the battle of perfectionism. In Spanish and in teaching and in just... realizing I'm not perfect and not being afraid of making mistakes.
Mom, I can't tell you how much I love you! You're example and your love has helped me more than anything to know and remember how much God loves me and what He thinks about me. Mom, thank you so much for your unconditional love for me. It has shaped me into who I am. Thanks so much for your emails. I seriously have so much to tell you every week and I never have time! Just know I love you all and I think about you and I'm praying for you!
Love you forever!
Hermana Johnson
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Week 12
Hey mom!
I'm great!!!!! Transfers were great! I'm in a TRIO!! Okay story time...
So what they do at transfers is they introduce all the new-coming people. We were late because our ride totally locked their phone in their apartment and then didn't pick us up. but anyway, we got there just as they were introducing the new ones and there was this one tall skinny blonde sister that they were like "This is Hermana Moberly. She likes cross country and Harry potter." And I leaned over to Hermana Chavarria and was like "I'm going to be her companion someday." She's like "I could see that." Anyway, then how they do transfers is they put us all on this big screen with our pictures and area. So they were all like "Hermana Kennedy will be with Hermana Johnson... and they will be training Hermana Moberly." I was like "WHAAATT??" So yeah! I'm in a trio getting "Follow-up trained" They call it and helping our little fresh face as much as I can. Even though I still have no idea what I'm doing. Haha. But it's so fun being in a trio. Hermana Kennedy is so funny! And I love Hermana Moberly too- she is the nicest! And so much more emotionally prepared to be out here than I was. I was a struggler my first few weeks. But yeah! I love it in this area. I love the ward. And I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. This is the place! We're still in a pretty nice part of the mission. There's a ton of trailers and then we have like Mansions too. Good ol' Houston. It was so hard to leave the last area though. But I'm trying to remember that this is exactly where the Lord needs me and He is aware of who needs me and the experiences that I need to be having. It's good. It's hard work but It's good. :) I'm loving the people and the new ward already :)
How are you!? Sounds like the 4th was so much fun! Bryce!! I thought about him on Saturday. Give him a birthday kiss for me. I forgot to tell Jess- tell her happy birthday this week!!! Tell her I love her and she is seriously the best older sister that anyone could ever ask for! I love her!!
Keep me updated about the store. Sad it didn't work out- but maybe it's a blessing in disguise.
Oh mom. Reading your emails reminds me how much I love you all and how I'm so excited we get to be together for forever. I love you so much. Thank you for everything you've done for me. You and the love that you have has shaped me into the person that I am today. I can't thank you enough.
I'm praying for the Watkins family. Sad to hear about Grandma Sarah but that woman is going to the celestial kingdom for sure! She is one of the most Christlike people I've ever met.
Cool about the BoM!! I'm at the Lehi's dream part. I learned a lot today reading it about how we need to not pay heed to the world, but just enjoy the love of God and the glorious truths we've been given. We don't even need to worry about them.
I love first nephi! I always think about how symbolic their journey is. They left their home and their lives and went through a time of struggle so that they could obtain their promise land. I think the Lord does that for us, too. Things change, we're put out of our comfort zone and into our trial of faith our "Wilderness" but it's because the Lord has something so much better in mind for us! He knows exactly what we need to do to get to our promised land. And we can look forward with an eye of faith in those hard times that it's because the Lord is shaping us and preparing us for something so much better. Because He knows us, and exactly what we need.
Well mom, better get going. I love you so much! Sorry if my emails aren't so great. There's always so much I want to say and like- no time to say it. but I love hearing from you and what's going on back home. I love you all more than anything!! The church is true!
Hermana Johnson
I'm great!!!!! Transfers were great! I'm in a TRIO!! Okay story time...
So what they do at transfers is they introduce all the new-coming people. We were late because our ride totally locked their phone in their apartment and then didn't pick us up. but anyway, we got there just as they were introducing the new ones and there was this one tall skinny blonde sister that they were like "This is Hermana Moberly. She likes cross country and Harry potter." And I leaned over to Hermana Chavarria and was like "I'm going to be her companion someday." She's like "I could see that." Anyway, then how they do transfers is they put us all on this big screen with our pictures and area. So they were all like "Hermana Kennedy will be with Hermana Johnson... and they will be training Hermana Moberly." I was like "WHAAATT??" So yeah! I'm in a trio getting "Follow-up trained" They call it and helping our little fresh face as much as I can. Even though I still have no idea what I'm doing. Haha. But it's so fun being in a trio. Hermana Kennedy is so funny! And I love Hermana Moberly too- she is the nicest! And so much more emotionally prepared to be out here than I was. I was a struggler my first few weeks. But yeah! I love it in this area. I love the ward. And I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. This is the place! We're still in a pretty nice part of the mission. There's a ton of trailers and then we have like Mansions too. Good ol' Houston. It was so hard to leave the last area though. But I'm trying to remember that this is exactly where the Lord needs me and He is aware of who needs me and the experiences that I need to be having. It's good. It's hard work but It's good. :) I'm loving the people and the new ward already :)
How are you!? Sounds like the 4th was so much fun! Bryce!! I thought about him on Saturday. Give him a birthday kiss for me. I forgot to tell Jess- tell her happy birthday this week!!! Tell her I love her and she is seriously the best older sister that anyone could ever ask for! I love her!!
Keep me updated about the store. Sad it didn't work out- but maybe it's a blessing in disguise.
Oh mom. Reading your emails reminds me how much I love you all and how I'm so excited we get to be together for forever. I love you so much. Thank you for everything you've done for me. You and the love that you have has shaped me into the person that I am today. I can't thank you enough.
I'm praying for the Watkins family. Sad to hear about Grandma Sarah but that woman is going to the celestial kingdom for sure! She is one of the most Christlike people I've ever met.
Cool about the BoM!! I'm at the Lehi's dream part. I learned a lot today reading it about how we need to not pay heed to the world, but just enjoy the love of God and the glorious truths we've been given. We don't even need to worry about them.
I love first nephi! I always think about how symbolic their journey is. They left their home and their lives and went through a time of struggle so that they could obtain their promise land. I think the Lord does that for us, too. Things change, we're put out of our comfort zone and into our trial of faith our "Wilderness" but it's because the Lord has something so much better in mind for us! He knows exactly what we need to do to get to our promised land. And we can look forward with an eye of faith in those hard times that it's because the Lord is shaping us and preparing us for something so much better. Because He knows us, and exactly what we need.
Well mom, better get going. I love you so much! Sorry if my emails aren't so great. There's always so much I want to say and like- no time to say it. but I love hearing from you and what's going on back home. I love you all more than anything!! The church is true!
Hermana Johnson
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