weeek 55!!!

HI. 

We are working hard and loving it.

Everything is a learning process. but its great :)

sorry i'm not really saying much in the emails these days. 

i think things are just so normal that i don't even think to share them haha

that's something i love about training, i'm really valuing all of the experiences..things that have now become "normal" for me, I am learning from my companion (her reactions and new experiences) how really amazing and great they are :)

everything we do in the work of the Lord and in His names sake, is great and grand. 

Every day we experiences little miracles. every day we are filled with the Spirit and amazing moments that just remind us of why we are here, how great God is, and how special it is to be a Representative of Jesus Christ. 

My companion is a little Spiritual Giant and I am so greatful to my Heavenly Father to know her. This companionship is divine. Its very humbling to learn from her humility as she learns everything and works hard as if shes already been in the field a while.

In our District meeting she bore her testimony and said how she has never felt the Spirit so much in her life, than the first week we have had together. In our Companionship inventory this week, she shared with me how she knows we were meant to be companions. your first companion is your vision of the mission and lots of people don't have very good experiences, but she is so grateful that we are together as companions and that this is her vision of the mission.

 i really haven't had companions that tried to learn English, or didn't like it, and I have so much respect and love for my companion as she steps in my shoes and tries to learn another language :)  Presidente Ramos told her to "learn everything from Sister Johnson." that even includes English. haha Im the only Americana sister trainer. for her its a blessing that she had this opportunity :)

we continue to find prepared people and contiune to be humbled and grateful before the Lord and this confidence He shows in us. 

love you all. love the work I'm doing. getting lost in it.

bye.

hermana johnson

 

Hna. Martinez (the third) returned home! she loves the dress mom :)

me and my companion with some popular dessert that everyone makes for Semana Santa (it isnt just Easter..here in Mexico, the holidays are week long) haha its so great.

us with Abraham!! he is about 35 years old, has disabilities, and loving life. his mom is Primary President and doesnt know how to use a camera :) haha love them. (he likes to do "pound it" but with the thumb..and we say "paz")

oh. im 21.

my companion is cute :) (Her companion had her blow out bday candles in the little hostess cupcakes!)

leaving for the conference. kevin wanted a backpack too. (little missionary..un misionerito)

birthday lunch with the sisters in our ward

wore my Bridger necklace and thought of his big day :)

laundry this morning.

hijole. week 54.

THE MISSION IS FANTASTIC. I HOPE YOU LOVE THE FOTOS. THEY ARE NOT SO PRETTY BUT HEY, THE SPIRIT IS PRETTIER :))

WE ARE WORKING HARD AND LOVING IT.

S.M.I.L.E......Spiritually Minded Is Life Eternal. 2 nephi 9:39 and Romans 8:6.

love  you all

hermana johnson

 

its a church.

its a wild flower!!! pretty :))

why do i always have evil eyes.-its our nice house!! come home one night.

my trainer is now my sister leader :)

thanks for the package mom..everyone commented on the crosses..hahaha

when its rains its cold...in the doorway of an investigator

feliz navidad 2013!

hailing??

Angel!!! my favorite :) who wouldn't love that smile?? we are teaching the whole family are they are very special to me :)) after having a few visits we found out that the abuelo (grandfather) of the father of the family is a member! less active. but in the ward boundaries!!! the little connections :)

Durango sunset. (there are even prettierdays!!)

the circus is in town. (has been for a while i think haha)

uncomfortable sunburn uncomfortable me.

relief society!!! we sang (and i accompanied on the piano) As Sisters In Zion. the far left is Nancy with two of her kids. she will be baptized this 11 of April :)

¡HI FAMILY! ITS WEEK 53.

Hola.

Sorry I didnt write yesterday. 

We had transfers.

I got 4 hours of sleep.

I traveled to Torreon to pickup up my VERY new companion...¡¡Im a Trainer!!

It really is a privilege and a blessing :)

We got to the mission offices and entered the room with all of the new missionaries. I immediatley sat next to a sister in the front row and thought, how funny would it be if we are companions. Welp..shes my companion! haha 

President explained to everyone that some people and some cultures arent accustumed to hugging, but here we must get used to it. haha so when he called all of the new companionships one by one, we would find our new companions and hug them...it was funny because we stood up next to eachother and just hugged. haha

My compañera is Hna. Moguel and is from Yucatan. 

She has lots of desires to work and learn, so I think we make the perfect team! Well I know it, because the Lord put us together and He knows it :)

President took us trainers into his office to talk to us seperately as a group. It was an experience SO special and spiritual. He asked us why we thought we all were the ones there. He told us its because we are excellent missionaries and that only the best missioanries are called to train. 

WOW.

He does this in order to ensure better generations of missionaries. Honestly, I felt SO privileged and SO enlightened. 

I know that this is such a great opportunity to learn and grow and to really bring forth the fruits and miracles of our obedience and our labor..the fruits and miracles that the people in this area so desperately need.

In the bus ride back, i sat next to a 23 year old sister named Alina. I presented myself to her as a missionary of the church and we talked, preached, testified, and shared beliefes for almost the whole ride! it was a very special experience. She went on a Catholic mission for a week in the Sierra Mountains here. She has family in the USofA that are members of the church! she saw that the meet the mormons movie was out and wanted to see it but didnt have the chance. She has seen the Elders in her Rancho (ranch?) but has never talked to them before.

I know that small things become Great things and that maybe this last "small thing" of a long gospel message that we had with each other will turn into something even bigger.

got the contact, put down the reference, and will see what the Elderes in her area can do with it ;)

I know that Christ lives and directs HIs church and His people in these Latter Days. I dont have any doubt that He, HIs work, His gospel , and His church is the same yesterday, today and for always. 

I love you all :))

paz,

Hermana JOhnson 

3 nefi 5:13

Isaias 51:7-------> sometimes people confuse the first two commandments..if we realy love GOD we will put Him and His ways first..before anyone and any worldy thing. #thinkaboutit #ponderandpray (i cant believe i hashtagged..)

Proverbs 29:25

I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE ALL PLANNING TO GO TO THE TEMPLE ON MY BIRTHDAY :))) THAT MAKES ME SO FELIZ AND JEALOUS. thanks for the eternal love family :) 

I was selfishly hoping to have a baptism on the 28th (because its my birthday) but dont think we will have one...and then i heard about Bridgers baptism on the 28th and got teary eyed!!! :)) send me pictures :)) LOVE YOU ALL. The gospel is true!!!

weeeeeeeeek 52

hijole. 

wow.

lots of work.

so good.

no time.

please forgive me.

we honestly worked so hard this week.

lots of progress for the area.

my compañion actually almost passed out in the street...oops. jiji yeah.

i know being diligent is a good thing, but i do need to think more of my companion. 

shes so great :) and fine. dont worry. i think i walk ridiculously faster than most people. ill work on that.

our work from the week ws honestly much greater than the area has had before. We hope to keep that going.

four investigadores in church and all with baptism dates :)

SO many people and families and stories that we have just encountered in this week.

but i will try to share one.

Mary and Kevin. :) we were actually looking for someone else when we found them. Kevin is three and has disabilities. I can just tell from my experience and the immediate connection i felt for him :) I honestly dont think his mom knows. She is SO sweet and a bit timid, so its hard for her when he has his sudden mood changes and his short attention span. She doesnt know how to control him, but whenever we are there im able to help her see how to help him. When we met them i honestly felt like i have seen them before. And I honeslty believe it. Even if it doesnt mean that it was here on the earth. We talked about how she can change her life and strengthen her family, and we talked about baptism. She has a date set as a goal and we plan to keep visiting her and helping her. 

We passed but for her and kevin with some members, on our way to church. They were all ready and so cute :) In the car, she shared with us that her grandpa was a memeber of the church, where she used to live (she only has a month living here). where they lived, it was a branch and very small. i really cant believe that because here its small too, haha our ward really should be a branch. hah anyway. she shared with us that he had alzhiemers disease and couldnt remeber his wife or his children, but remebered the church and the missionaries. this had  such a big impact on her. and the day that we found her with her son in their new house, had an even bigger one. (her husband works out of the area, nearer to the city, for a time and then visits for a week.)

at church all went well. you could tell she was worried that kevin was behaving good in his classes but he really was. we had sacrament meeting last, and all of the children were definietley antsy. kevin, with his curious mind and own will, was walking around figuring out where he was and what everything was all about. haha his poor mom was so worried and anxious and didnt know how to control him. the woman behind us told her to not worry and let him be :) well he followed un hermano during the sacrament to take a piece of bread and then the water haha he returned to show his mom all happy :) 

ANOTHER suprised happened, and all of us four missionaries have talks on the spot. when i was giving my talk he was up there with me, but getting into things. haha one teengerage went up to take him back to his mom and kevin started bawling. another member went to help her and take him out of the salon and help him calm down. but seconds after that she also left, and went out crying. in that moment, my heart broke. literally. i was giving my talking, and literally talking by the spirit (because i had nothing haha) and saying that that actually refered to the situation and how Christ taught us to be innocent and humble as children, and how we can help one another. but in this moment, i just felt so much empathy for Mary. and Kevin. i literally watched her leave and paused to hold back the tears. 

i finished the talk and couldnt help but feeling emotional. 

we passed by later in the day with a memeber to see them and hope everything was ok! i literally was afraid she wouldnt feel comfortable to return. 

we taught about how the gospel blesses families and i can just see in her eyes how the spirit touches her needy heart. I know and she knows that we were meant to find eachother and that this is the will of God for her and her special son :)

its really isnt coinsidence that the ward has lots of children with disabilities and i know they will be able to help her and her son and see how the gospel is for everyone!

God doesnt have coinsidences. Everything has a purpose. How great His plan is. 

We cant lose faith in the things that we cant see. God has a plan for us. Our faith is that even though we cant see them, He does.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND I LOVE MY MISSION. Durango is great. lots of struggle but LOTS of hope. I hope im worthy and ready to help them :)

pray that we can work miracles and pray for the ward too. 

GRACIASSSSSS.

Hermana Johnson 

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡HAPPY BAPTISM ANNIVERSARY MAMITA!!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you for being my modern day pioneer :) thanks for everything. i LOVE you. 

#waytogodad #bestbaptismbyfar

 

Picture Captions:

 

Kevin!!! saying goodbye..watching us leave..asking us to come back because he wanted to play...my heart broke haha

washing dishes. Sister Netane y mi compañera Sister Castellanos

it was raining...for 2 minutes.

 

 

i DID SOMETHING.....................

..........................................................................

jajajajaja i was so nervous going back and forth on if i should cut it or not and the hermano just said "don't think!" and cut it..jajajaja how great.that's why its in my lap. haha

 

 

Semana 51

CAMBIOS.

TRANSFERS.

They happened. But I was alreday feeling like they were coming.

I am in Durango!!! I actually thought I would spend all of my mission in Torreon. haha 

here it doesnt feel as hot, because there is actually wind, but its in the mountains so its closer to the sun..and easier to burn. haha no se preocupen mami. tengo sun screen. 

i am not a sister leader, but im senor companion with Hermana Castellanos. 

I learned SO MUCH in my old area and ward. it literally was a blessing to be apart of so much success. i can already tell that i will be bringing everything ived learned to this new people and ward :)

how beautiful. 

I know the Lord prepares me and has more of a work for me to do..and maybe now with a bit more time on my hands haha

i trust in His will and will follow it.

Durango is more humble than torreon and has a bit more green (plants. yay!) and the skys are GORGEOUS. well so ive been told.

welp.

oh.

definitely was able to finish my time in Roma with lots of success!!! yesterday in church we sang how Great Thou Art in spanish and english..while we were singing i was so suprised that you couldnt hear anything but us. literally. no cell phones, or crying babies..the only ones crying were the adults haha it was a beautiful way to end testimony meeting. there was such a STRONG spirit and SO many members came up to us after to comment and thank us, with tears in their eyes.

Hna. Carreon (mi converso recenté) bore her testimony for the first time!!! it was So special to be able to see and hear her powerful words that literally touched my full heart :) the day before she was able to go to the temple for the fist time. how speacial to hear her growing testimony! 

in third hour we taught everyone on the topic of sharing our testimonies as a more natural way to preach the gospel. it was also powerful and successful haha only becuase we were all guided by the Spirit and literally filled with it as we were fasting. 

then after church we had lots of leccions and lots of powerful lecciones with one of the RM sons of Bishop and the bishops daughter. SO once again we were able to complete the Meta de Excelencia that our mission has for lessons in a week, but this time with 51 lessons :)

i am so greatful for everything i have expereienced and learned and know that where i am now will be different, but the work and the Spirit and the Lord and His ways are always the same. and will ALWAYS bring success.

LOVE YOU ALL. DESDE EL PROFUNDO DE MI CORAZON.

BYE,

HERMANA JOHNSON

-some JAS (YSA) from my old ward. they worked so much with us :) one hermana is preparing for the mission and goes out with us to lessons a lot, one goes out with us and gives us lots of references, and one introduced us to her boyfriend and we taught him and now he has a date to be baptized :) awww. mi corazon.

-me and hermana southard! when we were on exchanges, everyone thought we were sisters, literally hahaha she knoes katie stevenson :) i love her.

-lots of hermanas before i left for DURANGO :)))

-my old compañera (sorry dont have a foto with my new one)

-i actually used the watercolors whitney!! haha thanks. it was a 3 hour bus ride..

week 50?

wow. 

maybe just a week of photos. 

lots of stuff happened and im busy doing lots of stuff in this moment haha sorry.

um fast things..

watch "mens hearts shall fail them"-elder nelson, mormon message.

lots of people say "hola" to mi familia :)

does anyone in the DC area know a Sis. Davis?

read "Gods Harvest" by pdt. uchtdorf

mom..i need a packet of tights. i runied all of mine by keeping them in a bucket with detergent for a week...we had a lot of exchanges!!!! forgive me!!! haha oops. welp its hot again so maybe i wont need so many ;)

i feel like these past two weeks a lot of that stuff that has happened involes being a sister training leader and all of my sisters. haha sorry i wont really be sharing anything. 

il try harder next week!

enjoy the pics.

love you all!

Picture captions:

the activity in the market

valentines day with my comp

my trainer and i as leaders!!

a puppy :))

 

 

¡Semana 48!

hiiiiiiiiiiii. hola. ¿como esta?

Estoy MUY bien. Gracias.

¡HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MAMI Y PAPI!

haha yeah, I know that probably sounds funny. 

I hopé i spelled Anniversary right. Equis. (whatever) haha

So in our Council of Leaders, President Ramos showed us the video "Conozca a los Mormones", or better for you guys "Meet the Mormons"(?)

It was so good!!!!!!! I LOVED it. I wanted to watch it again. and visita all of those places and meet all of those lovely people haha Just think of how its their every day lives. Im sure we could make a movie like that with everyone and produce showing amazing and awe inspiring. 

It comes out here in Mexico sometime this month. We are hoping it will come out somewhere near our mission so our investigators and members can go see it!! I invite you all to go see it. Its beautiful, and helps us to see how normal it is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, how we can live in the world and not be a part of it, and just how possible it is to live our dreams, to find purpose in life, all through accepting the Savior in our lives and living His will for us. This is what the gospel brings us. Happiness! 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ and His chruch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the cause of my happiness. This is my happiness. And  Im here doing what Im doing, with the hopes that others can experience a little bit of that happiness. If they feel it, if they accept it, they can reap the blessings of eternal happiness. 

This is also for you. For everyone. 

God loves us so much that He gave us a Plan of Happiness! (also called the Plan of Salvation). 

There is always a reason to rejoice, trust me. Trust God, and find that reason :)

Alma 26:35 

Something that the brother from Napal said (in the movie) really touched me!!!

"I hope to keep overcoming my weknesses. Im not perfect, but Im perfect at one thing..trying."

I kinda have a quick experience from this week that helped me to truly believe that.

So at 8:53AM (7 minutes before Sacrament Meeting) Bishop Field asked me to give a talk..haha yupp. Those mssion stories are real and it definitely happend with me. haha I am so shocked looking back at it all. Normally I would have been SO nervous and broken down emotionally inside of me. Welp, the craziest thing happened. my reaction wasnt to try to talk the Bishop out of it or say that I couldnt do it, but was a clear yes. I immediately felt peace. I was definitely guided by the Spirit in all of it. I had nothing written, literally nothing in my mind but shock, haha and just confidently went on with it all. I basically accepted that for as random and funny of an experience as it was, Obviously my Heavenly Father had a purpose and I was going to find it. I am SO very grateful for the expereince. I literally thanked Bishop and told him the experience was a blessing for me. God gave me the opportunity to prove to myself that time and language are not barriers for me. With Him and the guide of His Holy Spirit, I can accomplish all things. I could give a 15 minute talk that my brothers and sisters could understand and appreciate, and bring His Spirit to them and the meeting. Well it really was a grand moment and Im so grateful for all of these moments my Father is giving to prove things to myself and to develop this divine potential that He sees in me. I know that He sees the same in everyone! so i hope everyone can find these "scary moments" in your lives, and conquer them with confidence, with Him. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!

oh. i talked on Hermandad (english?) and used the story in acts 4? about Peter and the Pentacoste. 

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WEEK!

your favorite,

Hermana jOhnson

sorry forgot my camera...:(

 

PS. read the talk by Elder Bednar...I really learned a lot from it and applying it in my life has made ALL of the difference. Literally felt the difference in teaching with power and authority and with the Holy Ghost, more this week :) 

And Nothing Shall Offend Them

 

.WEEK 47.

oh. and the classic "halfway mark" picture that i know you all missed. jiji even though i already have 10 months and, 8 basically 7 left..ahhh! how sad.

ummmmmmmm it was probably one of the weirdest weeks in my mission. and i hope its the only haha

i was sick one day (don't worry mom nothing serious) so had to take a day to rest..broke my streak and goal in the mission of not having "sick days".. :( but that's ok. one will be fine. 

we also took SOO mucho time trying to find a house to live in!!! we have been looking for months, this includes the Sisters before us, and nothing! its because our limit from the mission is very little compared to the prices in our area. we live in one of the wealthiest areas and theres a well known Univeristy here called Technological de Monterey. its one of the best in Mexico. but thankfully the owner of the house gave us another month to keep looking. keep in your prayers that we find one! haha thanks.

So today we had transfers today and ALL of our Hermanas had transfers!! it was fun. So many changes and its beautiful. they closed one of the areas so we are left with  fewer sisters but now i will almost know all of them!! haha what blessing. I love working with my Sisters in Zion :) its definitely some of the biggest work that I do, helping them, supporting them, doing what i can to inspire and uplift. 

We had interviews with President this week and something that he told me is "ser una fuente de inspiración". His hope for me is that I'm a "fountain of inspiration" for the Hermanas. This really hit me, because it doesn't mean I need to be perfect or know everything, but to do everything i can in my power and put forth my best works. The inspiration isn't perfection. Its progression. I can honestly say that im progressing. As a person, as a missionary, and more importantly as a Daughter of God. But all of this, to be able to help others to the same. Its really not about me, its about being who God needs of me to help His children. 

anyone have stories or missionary experiences or favorite scriptures?? id love to hear them :)

love you all! 

thanks for the returned love :)

President Ramos sends "saludos" to the family. (he basically says hi)

LOVE YOU ALL.

Hermana Johnson

This is the activity in the "fayuca"! its a ward and missionary work activity that we do. the ward (relief society) displays things that they do and contacts and shares with the people that pass by and we share messages with them or take down their references. its really something!!! actually the baptism that our compañeras had this past Saturday (the other Hermanas in the ward) was someone that a member contacted in this activity and the Hermanas taught him and now hes a member!!! que genial :)))

and this is moms favorite dog...happy birthday! he was the SWEETEST! and as big as me haha :)

"the whole world smiles in the same language."

my letters and packages!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LOVE!!!  i LOVE reading the kind and uplifting words and then sharing the special gifts :) thanks to ALL :))

andddddd if i remeber the last pic isssssss us with Sofie, a recent convert and Socorro, her ADORABLE grandma :) our favorite :)) (i want hair like hers)

Week 46.

hi family.

i wrote a lot of individual emails this week, so sorry this wont be long.

thanks for the love and support! i really feel it :) and sometimes need it haha

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MOM! 29 AND GOING STRONG. (look for your personal email please).

Welp, this week I really strengthened my personal testimony of fasting.

Fasting is one of Christs examples! I love the story in Luke 4 for many reasons. But one thing that sticks out to me was how He entered the desert (or wherever He was for forty days) already "being full of the Holy Ghost". We fast to be more receptive to the Spirit and to better understand Gods will for us. So why did Christ need to fast? Once again, like the need to be baptized, it was to show us the example; to be obedient to His Father, Our Father, in Heaven. After being tempted by Satan and teaching us that to live the ways of God is better than temporal things, He returned to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit". This week as I fasted I could literally feel the power of the Spirit. There were moments where it filled me, and filled others. I felt better in everything, we had better lessons, found people that we know God has prepared for us, and completed goals that we had. One experience from last night was really special. 

we had the goal to have 50 lesson this week, because both of us have completed 48 in the mission but never made the mission goal of 50. So last night at 8:45pm we were with 49 lecs. we didnt know where to go and what to do because we cant contact at night so we just walked toward home. in the way we came upon a less active who was with her little son and just sobbing. this hermana has lots and lots of hard life problems. I know it was a moment of desperation and a lot of the Advisery. I know that God put her in our path that night to bring the Spirit to her. It was really special to help her find hope and feel Gods love. 

We completed 50 lesson but I know that we complete this goal because God wanted us to :)

welp. love you all! be safe! be happy!

byeee!

Hermana Johnson 

D&C 61:36-39

(we shared this with her and sang "come come thee saints" it was perfect in Spanish :)