July 26-Aug 1st

Hello :)

I'd like to start off by sharing something that stood out to me yesterday in personal study as I was reading the Book of Mormon. It's in 1 Nephi 3:15
It's as Nephi is telling his brothers that they can not return to where there father is until they have obtained the brass plates from Laban.

"15 But behold I said unto them that: ^aAs the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have ^baccomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."

It occurred to me how applicable this scripture is as a missionary! I literally cannot return home until I've accomplished the things the Lord has commanded me.
In my situation it is to Preach the Gospel to the people here in NY. Knowing this I feel encouraged to invest my whole heart in the work and loose myself to make the very most of this time I am serving.

So last week my goals failed! They were to generic about using time well.
This week I reamped my goals to make them specific and something to lock my mind on.

• Be bold/specific about commitments
• Be clear about expectations
• Be out going/list to the spirit to find News (the elect news)
• Pure love of Christ

Companion goals

• Alternate teaching points
• Hold each other accountable to be the best we can be.

Thursday July 26th
We had a dinner (cottage meeting) at the Johnson's place. They are basically my family... if my family were black =)
Ok so it's just our name in common, but they are wonderful! Our investigator was able to come last minute which was great. The food was delicious! When we left there it was raining/pouring down.  Two of the elders walked us home. The other two walked their recent convert to the train stop. The ones who walked home with us let us use their umbrellas! It was very kind of them.

Friday July 27th
It was a very busy day. During the blitz we split and I got to be with Sister Ortega. We used the rest of the day to do look ups.

Saturday July 28th
There was a phone outreach activity at the church with the ward. We have around 800 names on our ward list but hardly any of them come. We all split up the list and made phone calls inviting people out to the ward picnic we're having this upcoming Saturday (Aug. 4th).  We were also crossing out numbers that were disconnected or didn't work. We also updated information when we were able to get a hold of people. It was great to be able to feel like we made a dent in the ward list and knowing who is actually still there.  From what I heard we got through the whole list, or very close to! Yay for teamwork :)

During the lunch part of this activity our investigator Joe showed up. I decided to just include his name. I don't think he'll mind.  We weren't suppose to see him for a few hours, but he decided he was going to hangout at the chapel for a few hours. It was sweet though because he ended up shooting some hoops with some of the ladies in our ward!
Before he showed up I was talking to Sister Newsome in my ward (who reminds me of my mom!) We talked about helping investigators understand the importance of reading, praying, and coming to church.  We continue to promise blessings, but they have to use their agency to act.  She made this connection that I thought was way cool! She said it's like trying to describe what a strawberry tastes like! It is so delicious and sweet, but they will never know until they try it.
After that I was feeling some what sick. We went home early and I slept for the rest of the night.

Monday July 30
We got back to work and taught three other lessons and one member present lesson. We tracted a new street during the day which was a lot of fun. Later we taught Joe at the church with Brother and Sister Britton. They are great! I am going to miss them very much.

Today, Wednesday August 1st
Sister T. got permission to come to Kingsbridge to pick up some stuff. When she was here I had her dye my hair for me/ color my roots. I use the Revlon Color Silk box color shade 03
After that I went home (she did it at the church) to wash it out of my hair and hurry back for our zone activity. We had a BBQ at the church. Originally we were going to have it at the park but it's been raining today. There were burgers, hot dogs, chips, watermelon (I brought), muffins, and cookies (my companion made).
It was delicious! We've been here at the chapel since then. Some of us have been having a rubber band war and shooting them at each other (when we are with just missionaries). So that was a big part of today. Another thing is I started writing a song on the piano! With lyrics too. We'll see how it continues to develop.


On July 27th I made this list
Sister Johnson's Key to Missionary Work

• Smile
• Talk to People
• Follow impulses/promptings
• * Laugh often
• * Become best friends with everyone in the Bronx! =)
• Share simple truths/promise blessings

If I do these the work and time will be well spent

I feel like there was something else I was going to include. However I do not remember what it was. I love you all! That's if for this week.
Also thank you Mica, Tristan, and Mom for the letters =)

Love,
Sister Emily A. Johnson