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