Thursday January 10th - Wednesday January 16th
Thursday Jan. 10th
We had our Sister's Conference which was wonderful! All of the sisters in the mission, including senior sisters came together to hear from: the traveling sisters, the assistants to the president, and the mission president and his wife. Each one spoke on a different topic and left us with a lot to ponder and reflect.
I was spiritually uplifted and it helped me refocus on what Heavenly Father needs me to do to improve. Overall one of the things that I took away from the conference is that I made a promise to the prophet that I would maintain the highest standards, leave behind all other personal affairs, and be an official representative of our Savior Jesus Christ. I left the conference committed to be more disciplined in the way I keep my focus, in tune with the spirit, and professional in my personal conduct. I am here to represent the Lord. In otherwords I need to remember to loose myself in the service of my heavenly father.
I have already seen the difference in the measure of the spirit I feel. I am excited to see how I continue to grow in these last 6 months. I'm determined this is the only real way to do the Lord's work. I feel edified and ready to give my very best. I apologize if I am not very good at writing letters or getting back to individuals. I just know that the time I have left to serve the Lord is quickly ending and I want to invest all my energy and efforts here.
After the conference we had a lesson with Dana. He is someone that the sisters started teaching but then he got passed to the elders because they taught closer to where he lives. He lives in the Bronx now so he wants us to teach him now. He is awesome! I love seeing how reading the Book of Mormon really guides us to Jesus Christ. He has so much potential and I'm excited to get to know him better.
We had a dinner appointment that night with a member who is roommates with the Barlow girl (Seth you know their family). Their apartment is so cute! I look forward to decorating my own place one day!
Friday Jan. 11th
We had another APF (area prosylting focus) at the same spot as last week. Again we gave away about 40 copies of the Book of Mormon. Sister Lancaster gave me apackage from Tristan! Thanks Tristan =) After we finished there we went to the church to have a lesson with Brendan! It was a wonderful lesson! At the very beginning he told us that he had read the whole chapter of Alma 32 and loved it. He knew he needed to be baptized because verse 16 really hit him. It talks about being baptized without stubbornness of heart. He was so happy. I love how the scriptures can help us receive personal revelation! He's a truly wonderful person and he's been one of the most proactive in his learning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our dinner calendar is picking up a lot! It was slow for a while in the fall but now we started getting fed every night. It's awesome! I definitely don't have any complaints about that.
We had another dinner appointment and we're trying to help members recognize opportunities to share the gospel with people who are already in their life.
Saturday Jan. 12th
We had two appointments with elderly individuals from the family ward. On Saturdays we go with the elders in the Harlem 1st Ward to go see Brother Keitt and Sister Dickey. They are both characters! They truly look forward to the missionaries visiting all week. Any missionary who comes through this area knows who they are =)
Sunday Jan. 13th
It was a lovely day! We had a few investigators at church and a few new faces that our potential investigators! It was busy but wonderful. We stayed after church because Brendan wanted to see the baptismal font! We had dinner with Nick Knutson and then headed to the CES Fireside! We met up with Dana and his friend Dakota who is a member. We all went to the broadcast together! Dakota works at Levain Bakery and he brought us some delicious cookies!!! Pretty much all Sister Lavaki and I ate Sunday was sweets haha. We started the day with brownies that Sister Woo made. At church the Relief Society won a contest against the Elders Quorum about who could have a higher reporting average for visiting and home teaching. Not necessarily a higher number of who did their teaching, but simply reporting. Since we won Jon Burgen had made cookies, brownies, and truffels! Delicious! Then our dinner was the cookies from Levain Bakery. If anyone has easy healthy recipes I would love copies! haha I don't intend to always eat sweets. Oh and I thought the CES Fireside/broadcast was amazing! If you missed it check it out!
Monday Jan. 14th
We went to District meeting at the Inwood chapel. Elder Conlon, my district leader gave a wonderful training on how significant prayer, scripture study, and church attendance can be in our lives and especially as we prepare for all the changes in the mission.
After District Meeting we came back to our chapel. We were suppose to be meeting with a referral from the spanish sisters but he didn't show. We ended up contacting individuals and giving away copies of the Book of Mormon outside the chapel with Elder Witbeck and Elder World (from Sandy Ut). Sister Lavaki even gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to a Cop =D It was really cold! The weather is so back and forth. Recently though it has started being very cold again! It is fun to work together as missionaries. They joined us for a lesson with a man Sister Lavaki had contacted on the street a few days prior who has since denounced Christianity. He was open to hearing our message. I'm not sure how well he absorbed what we shared but I am very grateful the elders joined our lesson because Elder Witbeck was able to keep up with him on all his intense knowledge about the history and background of the bible! lol
Tuesday Jan. 15th
What a busy day! We had two lessons, one with Brendan and the other with Dana. They are both great! I know I keep saying that but I mean it =) Brendan didn't have any big questions for us like he normally does. He's been feeling a lot of peace and feeling that he doesn't have to worry because the missing pieces will come in time. He has starting telling his friends and family about his baptism! As for Dana he committed to prepare to be baptized on February 15th. He still has concerns but we talked about the importance of having a goal to work towards and how it shows Heavenly Father we are willing to act on the answers we want to receive in our prayers.
We had a meeting with Bishop Blair and Alex Kim to discus the work and follow up from our last meeting about how we can help the bishop. It was really good to be able to report on what we've tried to do since our meeting at the end of November. It's really neat to work hand in hand with the bishop because he has the keys and stewardship over the work in this area. If we are doing what he would like us to all is well =)
Wednesday Jan. 16th
Today we went to Target to exchange a fitness ball I bought last week for one that wasn't missing the pump. Then we came to the Harlem Chapel to email. After this we are going up to Inwood to place games with our zone at the chapel on Riverside Dr. Following that we have an appointment with a member for dinner. Life is going well! Sister Lavaki is crazy and as a result we are crazy together! I have no ideas what President Morgan is going to do this upcoming transfer (January 30th). I think I could be training in this area but it's hard to say for sure. By April they will have opened 3-5 areas for English speaking sisters upstate. Right now the only places English sisters serve are various parts in Manhattan and the Bronx. I'm looking forward to the leadership training tomorrow!
The next few weeks are going to be very crazy! I am excited and focused. This is my time to let my light so shine and allow others to see my good works and glorify my father in heaven!
I love you and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Sister Johnson
president morgan and myself
all the sisters and these numbers are doubling
Some of the sisters with Sister Morgan. They gave us all different scarfs for us to remember to get "wrapped up" in the work.
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