¡¡semana 44!!

Wow. Thank you dad for writing me!!

I LOVE seeing the connections and miracles of ALL aspects of the work and  of all the things that happen in the mission. I KNOW that God has His hand and Divine Direction in it ALL. 

 

This is the Lords church. This is HIS work. And I know that He is directing it.

 

Dad commented about a blessing that The Bishop here had given me when I first arrived in this area. In the blessing he mentioned of finding worthy Priesthood Holders and strengthening the Priesthood in the ward. I can say without a doubt that this was revelation from God. I know that the Bishop is a worthy, dedicated Priesthood Holder that seeks to exercise this power and the keys he holds (solo with the purpose of blessing and helping "his flock", the ward), and because of this we have seen divine revelation come to pass. Since this time, we found and taught and baptized the Familia Carreon, with Hno. Gilberto the papa and son, who are both about to receive the Melchezidek (? sorry) Priesthood. We also found and taught Hno. Antonio, the son of a less active member (who is now reactivated). It was the first time that he accepted to hear from the missionaries and to everyone who knew him before, this change he has made in his life is a miracle..something that I know to only be possible through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our Savior of whatever problem, addiction, temptation, affliction, weakness, of literally every strong hold that the Adversary has on us. I know this to be true. Hno. Antonio was baptized on Saturday and received his confirmation and the Aronic Priesthood Sunday. Hno. Gerardo basically found us. He was an investigator of a lot of time (he said we were about the 8th pair of missionaries that visited him). His wife and two daughters are members of about 2 years. He too (like all of these Hermanos) have experienced enough in their lives to need a Saviour and to value the blessing of having one. And to have the sincere faith and desires to do everything possible to come to know Him, accept Him, follow Him, and become like Him. Hno. Gerardo was also baptized, confirmed, and received the Aronic Priesthood.

 

I know that God is building His priesthood army. It is one of the biggest blessings in my life to help find His chosen soldiers, help them remember their merits (?its a word), their grand potential as His sons, and to exercise it. To fight this great fight of life on the Lords team, on the winning team. To see such strong fighters, now fighting for whats right...its a miracle.

 

    Thank you to all of the worthy Priesthood holders in my life! ALL of you :) I know that the world tries to change the perspective of equality. I know that to be equal doesn't mean things need to be the same. With this, i know that men and women are equal in the sight of God. He loves ALL of His children. He created gender with a purpose. With different responsibilities, the importance is the same. When we question this, we are questioning the knowledge and plan of God. I may not hold the priesthood, but I sure do receive its blessings. The blessings are for ALL. 

 

  To see a recent convert of 7 months as our Mission Leader, directing the baptismal program, is a blessing. To see a recent convert also of 7 months welcoming the Hermanos into the ward, as their Quorum President, is a blessing. To see a recent convert of 3 months giving a talk of Faith and sharing his testimony of how this is the best decision they could be making, is a blessing. To see the happiness and excitement of a Bishop who is strengthening His word with more Priesthood power,  is a blessing.

I know that God lives, and I know that His power and authority is on the earth today.

I know that it is the key to the door to eternal life and happiness. 

The key is His power. The door is the example of His son. I cant imagine eternal life or happiness, but I know its worth everything.

D&C 64:25. 

Work hard.

Live.

Every day.

CON TODO MI CORAZON,

Hermana Johnson :)

 

he first is Obispo Field with us and Hno. Anotonio

the next with Hno. gerardo y Hno Antonio and the hermanos that baptized them.

the last two are them with their moms :))) awwwwww my heart.

the last two are them with their moms :))) awwwwww my heart.

 

 

 

WEEK 43

WELP. WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER THE BAPTISMS OF HNO. ANTONIO Y HNO. GERARDO THIS SATURDAY. SO I DON'T HAVE PICS FOR YOU ALL, BUT NEXT WEEK I WILL :)

HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCES THIS WEEK AND IN MY MISSION IN GENERAL, WHERE I JUST FEEL WEAK AND IMPERFECT, AND I LITERALLY DON'T KNOW WHY GOD IS GIVING SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SO LITTLE SO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY... HAHA BUT I HAVE LEARNED SOOOO MUCH AND KNOW THAT IT ISN'T TO MAKE ME SAD OR WORSE AS A PERSON, BUT TO STRENGTHEN MI AND GIVE ME THE OPPORTUNITIES TO RELY ON HIM AND LITERALLY USE AND UNDERSTAND THE ATONEMENT IN MY LIFE. I REALLY ONLY EXPECTING TO GO ON MY MISSION AND CHANGES LIVES, I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT I WOULD ALSO BE CHANGING MY OWN. I KNOW IF I CONQUER THESE PERSONAL TRIALS, I WILL LITERALLY BECOME A BETTER PERSON AND BE THE DAUGHTER OF MY HEAVENLY FATHER THAT HE IS SEEING IN ME, AND WANTING FROM ME. I KNOW THAT GOD LIVES. I FEEL HIS LOVE, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS REALLY FAR. HER IS NEAR. MY FAVORITE SCRIPTURE BEFORE THE MISSION AND STILL TODAY IS ALMA 12:26..THINK ITS ON MY MISSION PLACUQE...WELL IT WAS PRETTY MUCH REVELATION THAT I DIDN'T KNOW AT THE TIME. HAHA BUT I NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING OF THIS SCRIPTURE UNTIL NOW. UNTIL I BECAME A REPRESENTATIVE OF JESUS CHRIST. UNTIL I TRULY EXPERIENCED THE POWER OF HIS ATONEMENT. I KNOW I'M IMPERFECT. I KNOW I'M WEAK. BUT I'M HAPPY WITH MY IMPERFECTIONS. LIKE THE SCRIPTURE SAYS IN 2 CORINTHANS 12:9-10. READ IT. LIVE IT.

I LOVE YOU ALL.

ILL SEND PICS THE NEXT WEEK.

AHHHH.

GOT TO GO.

SMILE.

BYE :) 

HNA JOHNSON

week 42!!! wow.

¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

i loved seeing all of your white faces.

even though i cried i was happy. haha trust me :)

it was a little weird to be honest, its basically two different worlds, but i know i am finding myself the happiest when i completely focus on my world here! so don't be offended :) i still love you all

welp. this is a short one.

Antonio is being baptized this Saturday!!!! it is literally a blessing and a miracle. The things that he has changed in his life are inspiring and amazing! I have so much faith and hope in him and his conversion and that he is literally using the power of the Atonement in his life. Its a privilege to have been apart of his conversion process :)

and then the next Saturday we will have the baptism of Hno. Gerardo! His family are members and with him they will be una familia eterna :)

welp. that will be all folks. 

with my pictures i hope it will suffice :)

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING A LOVE AND SUPPORT. 

CON MI AMOR Y CARIÑO,

Hermana Johnson

the first time santa came to my companion :)) my heart broke a little. so special.

we went to a field park and played all kinds of sports for our Christmas activity. this is hna. Ruiz. from the CCM :)

this is the fam. in mexico. hi fam :) looking great.

Semana forty one!!

ummmm it wont be a white christmas thatas for sure. 

haha it actually isnt cold anymore, but the 20th was the first day of winter and apparently it gets cold in january.

basically the houses are cold because all are built for the heat. when we are out in the streets, its perfect because the air is a bit breezy and the sun is what keeps it warm. 

i think im coming home with a red head. the scalp part. hope i dont get skin cancer. yikes.

THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGES AND LETTERS AND EMAILS :)

i feel the Christmas love and Spirit. 

But really, the best presents or news i could get are stories of everyone doing something really amazing in this time of year :) Do something to spread the love of Christ, serve others, spread joy, and to invite others to come unto Christ..and then share them with me :)

ok thanks!

love you all!

ill be waiting to hear them all :))

We wont be having a Christmas baptism (Antonio couldnt attend church), but there are a lot of people with dates and metas to be prapared and take upon them the name of Christ in January! 

It is the biggest gift that I could ever recieve and will recieve in my life, to see and be apart of helping Gods children make really grand and really hard changes in their lives! Changes to come unto Him, accept their Savior Jesus Christ, and prepare for eternal life :)

A hermana that we visit who is a member and has cancer, shared with us a really special scripture and quote this week. i want to share it :)

oops. its in english. you can try to google translate it or barrett can send the translation for all :))) gracias!...

"Todo joven ha sido preordinado para la misión. El llamamiento solo es la confirmación. Jóvenes valientes que han estado guardados para este momento; la ultima dispensación para ganar la batalla. Al llegar a la misma deben estar listos a correr y dispuestos a trabajar."  

Abraham 3:23 (in the Pearl of Great Price)

I know that this is true for all of us. We were saved for this time; a time more close to the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. He lives and He will reign His earth and His kingdom once more, forever more. 

Remember Him this Christmas.

If you are frocused in yourself and what you want and what you will get (of the things materiales), I dont think youve found Him or the true meaning of Christmas. I invite you all to really live the meaning of Christmas, to really live the meaning of life, and think "outside of yourself" this Christmas. Think as He, and think of others.

LOVE YOU ALL:

SEE YOU SOON. literally.

hermana johnson

WEEK FORTY #TIMEISSHORTY

hahahahahahahahaha i dont know why i even tried to hashtag.

but really. time is so short. doesnt wait and doesnt come back. 

so lets make the best of it, shall we?

BUENO. don't know what to say.

we had another activity in the market here and went really well!!! this time we did it with our whole district (more missionaries) and it went over really well. it wont let me load pictures so sorry you be seeing any this week :(

there was another Christmas activity yesterday night in the Plaza Mayor in central torreon and we were able to go and went with an investigator and his family (his wife and daughters are members. hes going to be baptized 15 January :) there was a choir of 3 stakes and it was so beautiful!! what was really beautiful was to see so many missionaries contacting and conversing with their investigators and to see many people that i know from old areas. it was like seeing my mission experience in 360 view. and to be with so many missionaries and really feel the spirit of the work and realize how we are all just a big team. the Lords team :)

one quick experience last night in the activity was when a man came up to us all excited and emotional and just thanked us. he said that he never thought he would get the opportunity to thank us but that we had contacted him one day in the street and because of us the missionaries were sent to his house! he was so thankful and filled with the spirit it was so beautiful to see and a grand blessing! really every part of the work is important and i am so blessed to see the fruits of all aspects of my labor :)

i love you all and hope the Christmas spirit is being felt!!!

LOVE YOU ALL AND SEE YOU SOON....AHHHHHH. haha

con todo mi corazon.

Hermana Johnson 

:) besos.

WEEK 39 #NOWISTHETIME

HI FAMILIA. ¿COMO ESTAS? ¿ME EXTRAÑA?

yea yea yea yea yea. don't know what to write. ah.

ok.

ummmm.

i lost my agenda so i cant remember any good stories and i dont have many awesome quotes. sad. lo siento. pero esta bien.

yeah i'm basically Mexicana so you'll have to get used to it ;) (the spanglish)

ummmmm. 

i have an email that says i have a paquete in the officinas. not sure when ill have time to get it, or just wait for the Christmas activity with Pdte. haha but its here!!! gracias mami.

So si. My companion is Hermana Martinez. Another. And better. haha no they are all great, but really.

I was actually shocked to hear the transferes, because shes has 15 months in the mission, with only three left, and now i'm her "senior companion" as Hermana Leaders. yeah its weird. but its so wonderful. I actually have a feeling that we will have another transfer this next week because its just too good to be true. haha (to explain- we have transfers every 4 and 6 weeks)

She is literally my example and i'm gaining so much confidence from her to do things right and comfortable how i've always wanted to and felt :)

she is such a blessing. we will see how it goes.

she was actually in my first area and ward haha so we know each other a little bit..but the old lauren that knew less (Gringa Lauren. oops. Hermana Johnson. weird. i used my name.)

Big hopes and happiness for this coming week and especially with the Spirit of the Navidad. Its so beautifulllllll :) Its such a blessing to preach the gospel when all others are more prone to the Spirit and their minds are focused on things that should always be the center of our lives, and things that we preach and live every single day. oh what joy :)

The Christmas Devotional last night was so Spiritual :) I love to watch the transmissions here in Spanish with the people and have an experience so different and so special. 

Its actually starting to get weird to talk in english and to hear people talk in english is even weirder. I hope your'e all excited for Skype on Christmas :) haha. be kind.

I love you all. With all my heart, might, mind, and strength :)

I know that God lives. 

I am a living testimony of a living Savior, Jesus Christ.

He was born, He died, and He resurrected and lives.

I know that the hope we have and love we feel from remembering His birth, is something to be felt all year round. and something that can be felt all year round. He is not a halftime God, but full time. 

If we live His doctrine and His teachings halfheartedly, we are going to receive the blessings halfheartedly. 

DyC 19:16-17

The price was paid. We don't HAVE to pay it. But sadly some people do. 

Its your choice. Live your faith. Discover Him. Accept Him. 

I don't know how it is in english but the church has a beautiful video online of Christ and his birth and the Navidad. look for it!! [El es la Dadiva). 

Juan 3:16

Christ was the first gift of Christmas, and the most important in existence. Its a gift that doesn't have a price tag or an expiration date. 

i hope you all discover it and unwrap it and share it this Christmas (and for always) :)

I know that this is His church. This is His doctrine. This isn't just life, but life eternal. 

I know that in this time of the year all people have a special light and feeling of love, because all are in remembrance of the purpose and center of life. Christ. Our Savior. 

I thank God daily for the light of His son in my life. 

And then I try to shine it :)

KEEP SHINING FAMILY :))))))) haha love you all

con amor, 

hermana johnson

PS hope this wasn't weird or random. i don't really know what i said hahaha oh well. love you. 

HI

hi. don't remember what week it is. the truth is so much happened today. we had transfers again. i'm still in the same area as hermana leader but with a new compañera and am the companion mayor. don't remember how to say that in English. but TONS of things to do and today we literally didn't have any time. soooooo ill write more next week. hopefully. LOVE YOU ALL: thanks for the support and prayers.

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER. 

i hope you all feeel the Christmas spirit and live it all year round, not only for one month :)

Christ lives, and He is needs to be the center of our lives.

LOVE YOU ALL

bye,.

hermana johnson

ps my comps name is Hermana Martinez...again. hahahahaha i swear, not all mexicans have that name :)

 i love it :)

week 37.

It was a busy week with exchanges, but I loved it :)

So we have a new investigator that is the son of a less active member, who is now coming to church :) This family has many many problems and the son was pretty much the cause of them all. in fact, the missionaries weren't allowed to visit the house for a while. But God has His timing and protects His missionaries. When we went to visit His mom and the children of his sister, he was there and for the first time sat with us and listened and even gave the opening pray and just cried. it was the first time in his life that He really felt the Spirit.it was so special and the little apartment was filled with the Holy Ghost.

We have been visiting with Him a lot. I really am privileged to know Him and see Him for who he really is, the person that God sees in him. to see his potential and help him develop it is a blessing and the purpose of this work. I love the scripture in 1 samuel 16:7. God see us for what we can become. we need to see this in ourselves. I know that to have any kind of growth and progression in this life, we need faith. we need hope. its not for us to judge. only ourselves. God doesn't judge for the past, if we aren't living in it. Ezekiel (?) 36:26-27, He will help us change. He will help us move forward. This is true conversion. 

To be honest yesterday morning when we went to pass by his house for him and his mom, the police were outside with his sister and the mom said to them that the missionaries were going to pass by for them for church, but that wasn't really anything promising for the police. she said when we showed up they were shocked and had faces like they couldn't believe it was true. well. its a perfect example of how its not for us to judge. and everything is possible with God and according to His will. 

despite it all, hno anotonio said, "I just smile about life." and in the class of gospel principals he shared that in his life he now feels a purpose and feels the will of God for him. 

how beautiful.

i am so lucky to have such strong examples around me. 

to be honest, i LOVE our gospel principles class. its about 11 people and 8 are people that we work with (3 recent converts, 3 with a bap. date, and 2 less actives). they ALL have questions and they ALL have answers and when they share their comments and bare their testimonies, my heart is just filled with love and gratitude and i just watch the fruits of our labor :)

like something that one of the hermanas said to me..i know that im not only here to see miracles, but i'm here to make miracles.:)

i love the Lord. I love the people of Mexico.

I know that God lives. I know that I am His daughter. I know that we are all His children and we can all return to Him and live with Him, if we accept Him. Like His son and my Savior Jesus Christ, if we accept Him with all our life :)

LOVE YOU ALL:

BE SAFE PLEASE and pray for the people of Mexico :)

-Hermana Johnson

WEEK THIRTY SIX.

So its starting to feel like Christmas!!!

The cold. Yes, Mexico gets cold. Or at least in the desert of Torreon. 

People are already putting up lights and we are planning some Christmas activities. 

Wow. Does time fly. And i don't want to waste any of it!!

Ahhhhhh. So much to do.

Ok. Sorry. 

I have five minutes.

I love you all.

ok.

Mexico has a lot of Fayucas (Falluca?). They are basically farmers markets or flea markets with EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. So we put up a table this Thursday ( me, my comp, and the two other Hermanas in our ward) with signs of different life and introspection questions people have, and the Plan of Salvation and music and a box that says "gratis" (free) with pamphlets and cards and Books of Mormon and candy and had a lot of people pass by! A lot of contacts and references and short messages. It was a fun new way to work and this coming Thursday we are going to do it  with members and leaders from the ward! With a lot more stuff!! signs bigger and better, a big TV to show Family Search a cake from the Relief Society and lots a great stuff :) Ill let you know how it goes.

So I'm always (well not always) having exchanges with the different Hermanas and its such a privilege. I have SO MUCH to learn and grow that I can only think I have the assignment and responsibility that I have to do exactly that. Learn and Grow. Better and faster, because I learn every day and at every experience i have with my Sisters :)

Really, in comparison to other zones and areas in the Mission, these Sisters are something else. Poderosos. Powerful. 

And then its a privilege to have the opportunities where I'm guided by the Spirit in my words and am actually able to help and inspire them! 

For some, the mission is a change and a process much deeper, personal, and challenging. But for all, its a change and a process bigger than ourselves. We are literally Representatives of Jesus Christ. We have been endowed with His power. With power from God, to do the work of the Savior. What a privilege. and what a blessing.

I don't know if the Liahona is a magazine completely different from the Ensign, but we get the Liahona in Spanish and English and its always so inspired!! :)

I want you all to look up and read the article "Act Upon This Land as for Years" from the August 2014 edition. Some quote from it....

"Everything Heavenly Father does is ultimately for our benefit, even if we cannot understand why. And since Gods thoughts and ways are higher than ours, we need to elevate our lives to be more in harmony with His plan for us." 2 nephi 26.24

"We may not be satisfied with our circumstances and thus spend time wondering when things will change. Or we may experience an unanticipated change to our pleasant routine. How we choose to respond to these experiences determines, in a large part, our happiness. and if we spend our lives wondering while we wander, we may miss our on wonderful opportunities for spiritual growth."

"We sometimes get into trouble when we insist on doing things according to our own timetable, rather than trusting in the Lords."

READ IT. there are much more better and inspired parts.

Some other quote for you all (translated into English, so hope it makes sense)...

"If what you are doing doesn't have eternal consequences, Why are are doing it?"-Gordon B. Hinckley

D&C 18:10 look it up. (don't have it in English haha sorry).

I LOVE YOU ALL: en verdad. thank you for the love, support, example, respect, everything.

My mission is not only here in Mexico. Its my life. Its with you all and with my future. Its in the heart. Its a change for life and eternity.

I hope your hearts and touched and grown and you read or listen to my experiences and sometimes rambles.

I am so appreciative for everything in the Mission. everything in my life. the good the bad the hard the easy. i will never be regretful but rather always grateful. for what i have, what i experience, and what God has in store for you.

I hope you are all able to have the same assurance and hope that we all can obtain as His children and as witnesses of Christ.

Find Him. Follow Him. 

I know this is His church. I know this is His gospel.

Its a blessing and an honor to be a part of it.

STAY SAFE AND STAY WARM:

Hermana Johnson

PS-sorry i know the spelling was fast and bad and spanglish. forgive me!!!!! im an awkward missionary.

PPS- but really. be ready for the worst of worst RMs. I'm going to be so awkward...oh well. hah

PPPS-sorry no pictures! especially for the people that just look for those. My memories and full and wont copy or past to my USB. and the computers don't always work with my adapter thing. my sooo ill figure it out.

¡Semana 35!

Thanks dad for the letters!!

This week was SO busy. so much happened.

So Apparently it gets cold in Torreon. It NEVER rains, and of course since Ive been here its rained more than the normal in Virginia (that I can remember).

So this week it rained for four days straight...yes that means more flooded streets. up to our knees at times! But it was different this time, because it was COLD. no sun. So we got creative with plastic over our shoes since we don't have boots or anything. haha wasn't very beautiful but better than the first day when we didn't use anything and were wet and cold. not smart. woke up with weird body temperature changes, but that could also be because i got the flu shot :) (poor niña after me...crying and screaming "¡NO QUIERO! ¡QUIERO MI PAPI!" sad.) my compañera almost did the same.. haha shes sensitive. emotionally, espiritually, and physically..she reminds me a lot of Colleen. i love her.

This area is funny because it seems slower since our contacts and lessons are fewer, because there isn't a lot of people and the people are more of a "closed off" bunch; but at the same time i feel like we've accomplished more stuff, with the baptisms of Familia Carreon, and finding a lot of prepared people, our responsibilities as leaders, and our Actividad Misional.

Saturday we had the baptisms of Hermana Sandra Hno Gilberto (the parents of Hno Gilito) AND right after our Mission Activity (?). 

The baptisms we so beautiful and Spiritual :) Hno Gilito sang with us and bore his testimony to His parents. It was SO inspirational and spiritually. Their conversion has been so strong, and so fast, and so prepared :) i LOVE looking back at the moment we met them and their differences and just how prepared they were; and just how divinely planned all of this was. I literally thank God every day for having them in my life and being apart of this grand life-changing experience :)

When they had their interviews, before their baptisms, our Zone Leader said he has never heard anyone say the things that Hno. Gilberto (the papa) said. not even a convert of 15 years. Everyone who meets them knows that they are a family of GOLD and POWER; and since the very moment I contacted him (and met them all) I saw the potential, and felt the power of the Spirit. I know that God needs them in His earthly kingdom and i cannot wait to watch their progression and see what great things He has planned for them :))

So every other day of the week we had at least one really powerful and spiritual lesson. One morning it was really rainy and cold and we felt a bit off, but as we left the house and passed the apartment building next to ours I remembered a contact we had made a few weeks past. We decided to stop by and a joven, Oscar, (18 years) opened the door. we were looking for his grandma but she left for DF (mexico city). we presented ourselves to him and his sister was home so we were able to share a message with him.

the lesson was filled with the Spirit!! Oscar has an eternal perspective! He doesn't practice a religion in specific but knows of the importance of following Gods will and centering His life in Him. we found out that the Elders had taught Him by himself when he was just 10 yrs old!!  we couldn't believe it. He is another prepared, elicit child of God. He happened to be home that day because he stopped working. want to start school again. we asked where he worked and he said Subway...I have eaten their once with my other companion and in the moment he said remembered his face!!! it was so crazy and amazing how the little experiences and timing and connection of everything is of God. I just know it. 

Very quickly, we had another beautiful lesson with the husband of one of the members. the wife and two daughters are baptized and active and the husband had been investigating for years. This man is a leader. He is so intuitive and powerful and digests EVERYTHING. He is the epitome of our bishop here and i think its funny because he (the investigator Gerardo) jokes around, but very seriously, saying he wants to be a bishop, so he can go knocking on doors and asking people why they aren't going to church or doing the things they should be doing. hahaha 

He is a teacher in a college and his schedule is 8-10 every day. so we can only meet with him Sundays! but he wants to be baptized on his birthday because he KNOWS its the true church. he is very taken with the organization and has some doubts about other things but wants us to help with them, because he has prayed and knows its true. he knows his life purpose is to be happy with his family and just do the things that God wants of Him, and I explained how that's prefect because that is exactly why God has a Plan of Happiness for us :)

I explained how he is exactly like the prophet Nephi. Knows what is expected of him, what he needs to do, and does it. We shared 1nefi 3:7-8, and as he read it he got choked up and started to cry. he apologized and said he has been through a lot in his life. 

in march some guys gun pointed them in their house and took everything. a horrific story but a strong family and amazing example.

like the scripture says, God will always prepare a way for us to do the things that He commands. We can always find strength and solace in His will. There is a Will, and there is a Way. 

 love you all.

hermana johnson

  

trabajamos para vivir en los cielos :)

no pasamos la regula (meta), no hay misericordia. 

¨¨quote of the week.

Week 34.

Hola.

Yes there was Halloween, and we still went out proselyting. But our area really isnt dangerous. 

The kids here on Halloween are CRAZY. We were finishing a lesson and heard the kids (and their parents) outside yelling "¡QUEREMOS HALLOWEEN! ¡QUEREMOS HALLOWEEN!". hahaha so instead of "trick or treat" or something nice like that, the people yell "We want Halloween!" hahaha and when you come outside to give them the candy, everyone goes crazy yelling "¡Señorita! ¡Aqui!" "Here!  Lady!", with their bags and hands grabbing for what they can. haha awww. Our area is more of the "rich" and "nice and clean" side. And the people that trick or treat are all from different areas (Colonials as they say it here). And areas more humble. So I'm glad the kids were able to enjoy their Halloween. :)

I cant believe that on that day, exactly a year ago I received my mission call. Time flies. We had Stake Conference this weekend and as Elder Jose Pineda Castillo (of the Seventy) said to us, "Time is like an arrow; it never comes back and never waits." I'm so happy and honored to be spending my precious time of this life in the work of the Lord. I know that in reality, my time here (in this life) is a gift, at the cost of His life. I can only repay Him by using it wisely. And my time in the mission is so short in the grand perspective of things. The time is short but the consequences are eternal. 

In our Council of Leaders with Presidente Ramos and in our Stake Conference, a common theme we talked about was Autosuficiencia..I don't remember the English word but its basically Being Self Sufficient. 

One of the example our stake president used, Pdt. Jimenez, stood out to me a lot :) 

During the Last Supper when Christ said to His Disciples that one of them would betray him, all of them thought to themselves, ¿Is it me Lord? No one looked around at each other asking if it was someone else. They all questioned themselves. 

We all need to have a personal change and conversion before we can help and work with others.   

I love this example because you can relate it to many things. I know that in the work here, I can only make a difference and fulfill my purpose of helping and inviting others to come unto Christ, if I have a surety in myself and my faith. If I am humble enough to accept my weaknesses and allow Gods power to help me overcome them. 

This has been one of my biggest problems. Humility. I think its the problem of the world. To overcome the natural man and strengthen your Divine Potential as a child of God.

I really don't have excuses and I don't like giving them. But despite the hard things that I have encountered in the mission, with a new culture, new language, nobody understanding me, maybe not always feeling respect as a missionary or a person (because I'm just some American that cant express myself correctly), not having the patience of myself or others, y blah blah blah...despite these things, I know that there are always means to overcome them. God has never left my side and never will. I have always had the potential to overcome them, but lacked the faith to see it. 

The world sees humility as something weak. But in reality its the strongest characteristic we can have. With humility, we can receive the power of God. We are given the power to turn our weaknesses into strengths.

2 Nephi 4 (verses 27-32?)

There are always moments in our life that test us. That's life. That's the purpose. In these moments Satan wants us to fall into our faults and weaknesses and be miserable like him, but God allows these moments because He sees our strengths and our potential and He wants us to overcome them. 

I have turned to my Savior and put my trust in my God. I have softened my heart and accepted that I am not here to speak Spanish perfectly and that like the ministry of the Savior, in His work there will always be struggles and hardships, but with His power and my humility to accept it, i will overcome. And there will be miracles to outshine the darkness.

I love you all. 

I hope this is more inspiring than concerning haha

Just some more of the realities of the mission. 

WITH LOVE,

Hermana johnson

PS when we skype in December, ill be halfway done with my mission...wow.

Week 33.

hi.

yeah no time.

sorry.

These last two weeks went by SO fast. The week before we had exchanges with the Hermanas ever day.. hah so I was in a different area with a different companion each day, and in the mean while preparing for the baptism of Hno. Gilito. But as we know it all ended well. The truth is with our baptism and with Hna. Sandra y Hno. Gilberto (the parents) preparing for their baptisms 8 Nov., the ward and the members are VERY animated and excited! The numbers of people in church each week has shot up (about 113 each Sunday) and everyone is so happy to see the Sacramental full :) (Sacramental? I honestly forgot what we call it..sorry). 

From husbands of female members, friends of Hno. Gilito, and other people we have met, we have a lot of male investigators. To be honest, I've never felt reallll comfortable contacting males (because I'm used to the more humble areas with more problems), but God has been putting His sons in our path to build a Priesthood army. I know that this area and this people need more of the power of God, and more of His strong, noble, valiant children to build up His kingdom in a struggling part of the Earth. 

I'm starting over with the Book of Mormon and remembering just how powerful 1 Nephi is. Its beautiful to read scripture, as God is talking to you; because its His word and His purpose is for us to have this guide in our lives, as we are away from Him. The Book of Mormon is without a doubt the word of God. As He said in the Bible, His word has 2 or 3 witnesses. It is a third witness of Him, His son Jesus Christ, and their work and Plan of Happiness for us. Like the Old and New Testament, it is another Testament of Jesus Christ!

I love you all and will write more next week.

be safe. be good.

Hermana Johnson