Week 4/ or Week 1 in New York!

Hello Friends and Family!

How are all of you?! I hope you have had a magnificent week!
I have officially been on my mission for one month! And in my new area for one week :) I have a feeling things are really going to pick up time wise.

It's funny how much can change in one week. I've established a better friendship with my companion, I'm getting to know the area, I've talked to dozens of people, and I'm getting to know the other missionaries in my district and zone.
When I first got here we had no current progressing investigators. Therefore our main objective was to do a lot of contacting to lay the ground work for a positive cycle (6 weeks).  We are the third cycle of English speaking sisters in this area so there is a lot of work to be done!

The first few days were spent contacting. I've really stepped out of my comfort zone as far as talking to people on buses, trains, and at their doors.  The nice part about being a missionary is that you have no distractions. It's like, either you talk to these people, or you sit here and do nothing.  It really takes away the fear of them rejecting you. When it comes down to it if you just open your mouth you will find those who are interested in learning. Yes you may come across a lot who aren't interested, but that's ok because there will be those who are.  We gave out a lot of pass a long cards and Book of Mormon.  It's cool being a missionary and just really getting down to the basics of what we believe.

Saturday we taught a lesson with a family who is amazing! We taught the Restoration.  My companion and her last companion had already visited them once.  The lesson went really well and we could feel they were ready to progress. I will come back to them in a minute.
As for the local area, I am starting to learn my way around! I know the church address, the Sister missionary phone number, my new direct address where all of you wonderful people should write me and send me letters of encouragement ;) But seriously!
My companion and I have been having a lot of fun as we do the work and get down to business! We like to talk in different accents and be silly when we are knocking doors. Not at the doors when we're talking to people of course but definitely in between to make things interesting.  Whenever dogs bark at us from behind the doors when no one is home I always comment on how that dog is so ready to hear our message! haha it's silly but it keeps things fun!

The other sister who share our apartment are the two Spanish speaking sister, Sister Beck and Sister Vanderdose. They are both very funny people! Sis. V. is a brilliant singer! This morning when I was talking with Sister V. she shared a very cool quote with me my Gordon B. Hinckley that I thought was extremely powerful.

"Many young women are serving missions. Many are preparing to serve, not because they aren't married or have nothing else to do, but because they have a desire to serve.  The reason so many are going is because in the next generation, Heavenly Father will be sending his priesthood army to the earth.  He wants to send them to mothers who have been properly trained and taught in The Gospel.  And what better way/training can a young women have than that of serving a mission?" -President Gordon B. Hinckley

I thought this quote was absolutely perfect! I know that I have a desire to serve the Lord and to grow in my testimony.  I had never thought of it like this before, but it's true. I want to be prepared to raise the most spiritual generation our time has ever seen.  The only way I will be able to be the best mother I can be is by serving the Lord right here right now.
I appreciate all of your prayers!

Monday we had another lesson with our family who is progressing. We knew we wanted to invite them to be baptized. We also felt that it would be very beneficial to have one of our members present. We faced some opposition prior to our lesson. I was worried, but then I felt the spirit rush over me and confirm that everything was going to be ok! It was just a blessing to have that confirmation. So I relaxed and when we went to teach our lesson the spirit was definitely there! Having a member present was exactly what we needed! The couple that we are teaching committed to be baptized! We are working for March 31st! I felt the spirit so strong! I am so excited to see them accept the Lord in their lives.  They will be a tremendously blessing to the ward as well.

Speaking of the ward, Sunday I met the people in our ward (kingsbridge 2nd ward) and they are awesome people! It kind of reminded me of the Hollywood ward when I visit my brother Seth in California.  The people in our ward are amazing though :) We even have a man in our ward who changed his name to George Washington! haha We have a lesson with him tonight. Church service on Sunday was very refreshing.  Sunday night we did look ups, which is where we have names, addresses, and sometimes phone numbers of people who might be interested in learning more.  We go by their place to try to set up an appointment or decide if they need to be dropped.
Monday night after we left our appointment it was FREEZING cold!!! It's something that I'm trying to adjust to.  We went to subway and my stomach hadn't been feeling great :( I ended up getting sick. Not so much from the subway, but from the fact that my stomach hadn't adjusted to NY yet so things just haven't been working right.. The only reason I mention this is because it explains why I threw up leaving a look up later that night. Then I didn't sleep well at all that night.  I ended up getting up to get to refill my water bottle and I felt really light headed. I was trying to get my water bottle lid on when I threw up in the sink and blacked out. I heard my companion ask if I was ok. I was laying on the floor and I told her yes. I was wondering why my pants where all wet...turns out when I fell I dumped out my entire water bottle! lol. I got up, turned on the light and cleaned up my mess.
I went to back to sleep feeling much better at this point.  Earlier that morning all of the sister in our apartment did P90x and I was sure feeling it in my legs!!! I think the lack of sleep, adjusting to the food, schedule, and all the walking, and being dehydrated was really getting to me!

I woke up a few hours later for our personal study. When we were talking about our plans for the day we only had look ups.  Sister T. realized I didn't NOT feel well at all! She decided I could use the day to sleep/recover! I ended up sleeping until 8p.m.! But when I finally got up I felt amazing! I'm really grateful for her patience as I recovered. She spent the day deep cleaning our apartment.  I got more sleep that night and today I am fully recovered and ready to roll!

Since it's preparation day we have until 6p.m. to accomplish the things we would like to =)
After I finish this email we are going to go down to the city! We got permission from the zone leaders to go to Manhattan to visit the Met =) It's going to be a lovely LOVELY day!!!
I love you all!

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ! And the way it guides us through this life and helps us understand what will come after death.
Peace and Blessin's PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

Love,
Sister Emily Johnson