Another week has come and gone

Hello dearest family and friends!

 

The days are long but the weeks are fast! It seems like I just emailed you a day or two ago. This last week has been really great! The work is still slowly pushing forward, but the spiritual experiences I've had this week have been profound =)

 

Let's go back to last Thursday. We tract (door knocking) in a building that was mostly Chinese people who either didn't speak English or who weren't interested.  The very last door we went to in that building a cute little couple answered the door.  I said, "do you speak english?" they both nodded their heads no. I said and motioned that I wanted to give them a card (a pass along card with an offer for a finding faith in christ dvd). The next day we received a call from a man named Pauel. We figured he was in that building somewhere. He wanted the dvd and we were the ones who would deliver it. When we returned and got in touch with him it was the old man who I didn't think knew English.  He only knew a little bit, he mostly spoke Vietnamese. It was so cool for me to see that we never know who the Lord is preparing. Nothing more there for now, but it reminded me that our message is for everyone. We should share it with everyone and those who are ready will respond.

 

On Friday we did a Blitz in the Zone Leaders area. A blitz is when all the missionaries in the zone come together and help generate contacts and potentially people for the missionaries in that area to teach.  Each week it's in a different area for a specific companionship.  This weeks was the most fun I've ever had with it.  We were on a very busy people traffic area.  It's on Fordom and Webster. We set up on all four corners of the intersection.  On two of the sides we had signs (cool official church ones) and mini tables that had pamphlets and Book of Mormon.  I enjoyed this blitz because of all the people we were able to talk to. Plus the weather was nice and if people weren't interested they could move on and two seconds later we could be conversing with someone who is interested. Also, it was fun to be out working side by side with all our other friends in the zone.

 

Saturday we had a lesson with a man from Guatemala. Anyway he's a great guy.  During the lesson I was really able to analyze and start improving my teaching skills.  Furthermore, there was a part in the lesson where I was telling about Joseph Smith and the restoration-the vision he had. After I told this experience I asked him how he felt. When we were discussing his thoughts and when I connected it back to my testimony I felt the spirit so strong! It was an amazing experience.

 

Sunday Sister Tu'akalau and I decided to fast.  We fasted for our investigators we are currently working with. I also fasted for the work and for guidence.  I felt I needed the guidance regarding our goals as missionaries.  I had a powerful experience with fasting on Sunday. It was as if everything that was said that day was direct revelation to me.  I'll share what I learned on Sunday, but before I tell that (because it's long lol) I'll tell about the rest of the week.

 

Monday Sister T. and I tracted a building where one of our members lives and we found a few potentials! And talked to a few characters as well ;)

I was so tired after wards because there were 12 floors we tract! hah Anyways that's part of the work =D

 

Yesterday we got juked (stood up) twice and then taught two other lessons. In between getting juked and our actual lesson Sister T. and I split some appetizers at Applebees lol.

 

Today we are going to have a zone unity activity and play kickball! We're going to the field in front of Yankee Stadium.

 

Tomorrow is the Sisters Lunch In! All the Sister missionaries in the New York New York North Mission get to come together at the mission home to socialize, have lunch, and be spiritually uplifted! I'm pretty sure it happens like every 6 months. No matter, I am excited :)

 

Then on Sunday Sister T, Sister Denison (the older missionary couple in our ward), and I are going to be speaking in Sacrament meeting about missionary work and how the members can play a bigger role.  So if any of you are going to be in the Bronx this weekend make sure to check out the Kingsbridge 2nd ward! haha

 

Ok on to what I learned and felt at church

Over all conclusion

"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

 

The butterfly effect-shows the science of how small and simple things do make a difference.

We all interact- Love people and keep your covenants.

 

The rest of Alma chapter 37 talks about how the Lord's small ways of doing things confuses people who think they know better.

 

We need to arise and shine forth

There is a specific work that God needs us for that only we can do.

The Lord needs all of our help in his kingdom. It doesn't matter how long we've been working in the vineyard

(in relation to life long members or recent converts) There are things only I can do.

 

Be a reliable instrument in the Lord's hand, no matter how simple or complex the task.

 

The best way for us to shine our light and be a butterfly effect for good:

-Keep the commandments

-Live with high standards

-Be an example to the world

 

Specific details of the church service that helped me reach that conclusion.

 

First I'll go over some of the pieces that impacted what I learned and then I'll concluded with how it affected me.

 

-The Relief Society president who had just been released talked about a talk by Elder Uchtdorf that he shared about a pen that he had as a pilot.  The pen could click between different colors and it never failed him.  He used that pen for everything-big and small. The pen never told him what to write or decided it knew better than him,  He likened that pen to being an instrument in the Lord's hand.  Are we reliable pens in the Lord's hand? Do we allow him to write what he desires? Do we accept whatever he needs us to do-Big or small?

She talked about how she knew she wouldn't be in this ward long, but when she got the call as Relief Society president she wanted to help do the Lord's work.

 

-Elder Denison (the husband to the woman speaking with Sis. T. and I)

Shared an incredible talk! I was so impressed by it. I also knew my Dad would Love it!

He started by saying how we are all unique.  There are things we were brought to the earth that only we can do. Furthermore, the way we live is an example and we affect billions of lives. Thus we need to be a light to the world. "Arise and shine forth, that thy light may bee a standard for the nations."

He referenced a hypothesis by Edward Lorenz in 1963. He presented it to the New York Academy of Science. This hypothesis was that a butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules of air in motion which would move more molecules of air eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet.

The Science Academy literally laughed out loud. They thought it was ridiculous, but fascinating.  Because of the ideas charm and intrigue...the so called Butterfly Effect became a staple of science fiction.

More than thirty years later physic professors working in colleges and universities worldwide came to the conclusion that it was accurate and viable. It became known as "The law of sensitive Dependance Upon Initial Conditions."

Science has shown the Butterfly Effect to engage with the first movement of any form of matter, including people.

The examples he gave were so profound to me. I asked for a copy of his talk. So I'll type the specific examples that he gave so you can see how people really do impact one another.

 

Friday April 2, 2004

ABC News honored a man who at the time was 91 years old as Person of the Week.

Norman Borlaug.

In early 1940s he hybridized high yield disease resistant corn and wheat for arid climates.

From the dust bowl of Western Africa to our own desert Southwest to Siberia across Europe and Asia.

His specific seed product flourished and regenerated where no seed had ever thrived before. 

Through the years it has been calculated that Norman Borlaug's work saved from famine more than two billion lives.

 

But perhaps the person of the week really was not Norman but Henry Wallace.

He was vice President to Franklin Roosevelt

Wallace was a former Sectary of Agriculture

He used his power to create a station in New Mexico whose sole purpose was to hybridize corn and wheat for arid climates

He hired a young man named Norman Borlaug to run it.

 

Norman won the Nobel Peace Prize and Presidential Metal of Freedom. Or should it have been Henry Wallace for recognizing Norman's light? 

But then maybe it should have been George Washington Carve who was person of the week.

He was known for the Peanut

When Carver was 19 years old and a  student at Iowa State he had a professor who on Saturday would allow his 6 year old son to go on botanical expeditions with the brilliant student.

The student was George Washington Carver who took the young boy and instilled in him a love for plants.

It was Carver who taught the young boy Henry Wallace and pointed him in a specific direction in agiculture.

George Washington Carver shined his light with the peanut.

There are currently 266 things he developed from the peanut that we still use today. He also shined his light with the sweet potato.  There are 88 things we use from the sweet potato today.

 

Or maybe it should have been a farmer from Diamond Missouri who was Person of the Week.  Moses and his wife Susan lived in a slave state but didn't believe in slavery. This was a problem for the Quantrill's Raiders. (He described the Raiders but I forgot exactly-so look it up if you don't know)

One a cold January night they came to their farm, burned the barn, shot several people, and dragged off a woman named Mary Washington who refused to let go of her infant son.

Mary was Susan's best friend. Mary was shot and died and the Quantrill's Raiders kidnapped the baby.  Moses knew he needed to get the baby back. He arranged to meet with the outlaws and in the middle of the night he met four of the Raiders. Flour sacks over their heads, Mose traded the only horse he had for the baby which they threw him in a dirty burlap sack. The baby was almost dead but Mose held him close to his chest to keep him warm.  Walking home that night he sang to the baby and promised to raise him as his very own son.

Who became George Washington Carver.

 

Maybe it was the Farmer from Missouri that saved two billion people.

 

Let's continue to another example.

A poor Scottish farmer was working one day trying to make a living for his family. He heard a cry for help coming from the bog and found Mired to the waist in black muck was a terrified boy

Farmer Fleming saved the lad from a terrifying death.

The next day a fancy carriage pulled up and an elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and said he was the father of the boy he had saved.

He said I want to repay you for saving my son. The farmer said it wasn't necessary.

The farmers son stepped out from the house.

The nobleman said let me give him the level of education my own son will have.

Farmer Fleming's son attended St. Marys Hospital Medical School in London.

 

He became known around the world as Sir Alexander Fleming the discover of Penicillin.

But that's not the end of the story.

Years after the same nobleman's son who was saved in the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life?

Penicillin.

The nobleman's name is Lord Randolph Churchill and his son is Sir Winston Churchill.

 

The best way for us to shine our light and be a butterfly effect for good:

-Keep the commandments

-Live with high standards

-Be an example to the world

Last contributing point is when we studied the talk The Laborers in the Vineyard in Relief Society Sister Denison made a cool point, we could think of the workers as members of the church. Some have been working for a long time. Others have just come, but we should not compare ourselves to the others. We are all here to do the Lord's work.  The Lord has called us at specific times to do a specific job that only we can do.

I Love all of you and hope you see the goodness of God in every single day.
Turn out and do as the Savior would do.

Peace and Blessings!
Peace and Blessin's!

Sister Emily Johnson

 

Starting 2nd Cycle

Hello Friends and Family!

I am officially not the newest missionary in the New York New York North Mission! lol  It's a good feeling :) I'm learning the area better,  I'm not afraid to talk to the people, I'm feeling the spirit more as I listen to the people and pray that the Lord will guide my words.  Something I've learned so far on the mission is that if you open your mouth the Lord will help you find the words.  He never promises they will be well constructed sentences.  He never says it'll sound like a scholar.  However, I know as we speak from our heart and even fumble what we are trying to say the Lord's spirit will be there to bless those that hear us. And through the spirit we will be able to get our message through to those who are prepared to hear it.  Plus the more we open our mouth and just go for it, we will improve as we have opportunities to practice being guided by the spirit.

So that's pretty much my life here in the Bronx.  I talk to a lot of people, some going better than others, and I being myself as I share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We don't need to be afraid to share the Gospel with others. It's an amazing thing. We just need to be genuine and share with love. And be respectful of wherever they are at this point in their life.

So this last week was pretty good =)

It's the start of a new cycle so there are new people, new goals, and I am working my hardest.  It's cool because it's like seeing one chapter close and another begin.  Over the whole mission I'll have 13 of those chapters.  Just enough time for me to evolve in my journey of who the Lord wants me to become.

I don't have much time to email this week, so I wanted to highlight some of the main points.  First is the new Sister in our apartment (companions with Sister Vanderdose) is Hermana Ortega! She is so awesome =) We've had a lot of fun together! It's going to be a great cycle I can tell!  I'm still adjusting to some of the other changes from transfers, but it's just a matter of time and getting to know the missionaries in our zone.

We had an appointment this week with a less active member who just had knee surgery. She is one of the coolest people ever! She is a fashion designer, loves to skateboard, and she has so much positive energy about life.  She was so uplifting to talk to even though she has plenty of reasons to be frustrated, namely the large cast on her leg! haha. One of her dresses was in an episode of One Tree Hill. Her website is AlexaCastillo.com

She had been released but due to medical negligence she ended back up in the hospital! I felt so bad for her.

We actually tried to go visit her in the hospital Tuesday night but we went to the wrong hospital. Hah that sucked.  So we called and apologized.  Then I got frozen yogurt from a frozen yogurt truck! Yes a truck! Well van more or less. It's just like an ice cream truck but for frozen yogurt.

It has been so hot here lately!!! I'm very worried about the summer!!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to die lol. But Sister T. said everyone looses weight in the summer because of how hot it is. I'm hoping to loose weight and let the humidity rock my natural curl lol.

I'm almost out of time on the computer at the library so let me just say one last cool thing. Earlier we went to an appointment and realized we had no way of getting into the building because we didn't know the person's last name. There are more details to the story, but the point is I was saying a prayer out loud that the Lord would help us get inside and right after I asked for that I opened my eyes because a guy had opened the door for us! That was definitely the fastest prayer I've ever had answered! haha

I love you all!

I hope you are doing well and finding joy in your life.

Peace and Blessin's

Peace and Blessings!

Love,

Sister Emily Johnson

General Conference, Bed Bugs

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I didn't write last week.  It was crazy! For reals.

Anyhow, I hope everyone had an amazing General Conference. I loved it! If you didn't get a chance to check it out you should check it out on LDS.org

I had a really cool experience when we got a lot of the missionaries involved for a service project at an apartment of one of our investigator's apartment.  It was a beautiful sight to see everyone serve selflessly to meet the needs of a family in an underprivileged circumstance.  I was filled with the spirit and of love.  That's how I decided I wanted the scripture Mosiah 2:17 on my missionary plaque.

As for this week

We had bed bugs in our apartment.  Only the Spanish sisters were getting bit. Anyhow yesterday was a huge hassle because we had to take ALL of Our CLOTHES, towels, pillows, bedding, and anything with fabrics down to the Wash And Dry down the block and dry EVERYTHING. Then we bagged it all up, brought it back up the hill, and sprayed our apartment down with some chemical formula. We then left to go to a dinner appointment and had to stay out of our apartment, windows open, for 6 hours.  We returned that night to reassemble our lives. It was a LONG day!

Today is Transfers! With officially means I am no longer the new missionary! Yeah for that :)  It was cool to be on the other side and do the cheering/greeting rather than the one being cheered at lol.

And I received a package from my mom with pictures printed out from my whole Utah trip visiting Tristan! Thank you sooooo much Mom =D

As for the recent spiritual experiences

First was a lady named Dorothy who I met on the bus.  It was on Monday after I found out one of my really good friends, Elder Richards, was getting transferred upstate and would be leaving on Wednesday.  I was super bummed out about this fact and I was talking to him on the bus.  I'm convinced Heavenly Father knew it'd be hard for me to talk to others that day so he put people in my path who would help me continue to do missionary work.

I was sitting across from Elder Richards and the lady next to me tapped me on the shoulder.  She asked me what we do. I was like, "Hi! We're missionaries!" It was a total 180 from what I had been feeling.  I was able to share a little bit more with her but her stop was coming up so she quickly gave me her address.  It was such a cool tender mercy from the Lord.

The other spiritual experience that has been the highlight of this week was when we went on Monday to visit a less active.  I had met her two weeks previously at church. When I talked to her I felt the spirit so strong!  I knew I needed to visit her.  We set up a time/day for us to come by but that fell through.  The day after I met her, Monday at zone conference, I was talking to one of my zone leaders about getting permission to visit her since she wasn't in our area.  When I was telling him about my experience with her at church again I felt the spirit so strong. I told him I was feeling the spirit and how even though I wasn't sure why, I KNEW Sister T and I needed to visit her.  This last Monday we had the chance to go see her and it was one of the coolest experiences.  Heavenly Father helped me see her for all that she is and showed me the ways we as missionaries can help her.  We're going to start visiting her and her granddaughter on Mondays to read the Book of Mormon with them.  There is a lot more to the situation but I am so impressed at the person she is.  She's pretty rough on the edges, but she has such a big heart!  I love it =) I have so much love for her! I am thankful Heavenly Father directed us to help her through my impressions of the Holy Ghost.  I know that as we work with them the growth that comes will be incredible!

The last spiritual experience I want to mention is from the other day.  I asked Elder Richards to give me a blessing of comfort.  Missionary work is hard and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve around righteous examples who can help lift me when I am down.  Blessings to me are so cool because you can really feel the Lord's spirit as the person giving the blessing mentions things or says things that hit home to the heart.

All is well out here in NY! Our Transfer theme is Obedience.  The transfer them is something Sister T. and I do in our companionship as a goal for us.  Last cycle it was Diligence.  The days are long but the weeks are fast!

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the way it can transform our lives little by little, day by day.  I am thrilled that the Lord has something amazing in store for me that he is shaping me into.  He has a plan for all of us! He knows what we are capable of becoming.  May we all strive to let him work in our lives and shape our existence into something better than we can do ourselves.

I love you!

Peace and Blessins'! Peace And Blessings!

Love,

Sister Emily Johnson

Special shout out to those I heard from recently

Thank You!

Mica for the package! I loved it! I will be writing you soon!

Olivia for the letter.

Tristan for your constant letters and package.

Ethan for the postcard

Mom for everything you send

Super Busy Week!

 Hello Family and friends =)

This week has been splendid but extremely busy.
We did a really cool service project and helped the family we're teaching. I can't remember what photos I uploaded. So enjoy lol.
I hate to be super lame but I got distracted talking to the
Elders and now I'm out of computer time! lol
But you will hear from me next week!
I'm working hard, the people in NY are sweet, and I'm having fun!

Hello once again!

Hello Everyone

How are you doing? I have had an amazing week!  This week is filled with so many experiences that I will treasure in my heart forever.  You know how people talk about experiences from the mission and they know deep in their heart that Heavenly Father prepared that person or that family for them to work with as a missionary? Well I am happy to tell you I had my first experience like that where the spirit was lighting me on fire! haha. We've been working with a new family who was a referral from South Man (Manhattan). A single mom with four beautiful children: Girl 12, Boy 10, Girl 8, and Boy 4. They are the coolest kids ever!!! They have been through so much and faced tremendous hardship.  I love the children SO MUCH! We've become best buddies =)  

The kids truly love having us over.  Our first visit we really got to know her and her struggles.  After she poured her heart out to us we connected it back to the atonement.  We had such a strong desire for her to find the hope and peace she was looking for that would be found in the Gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The next time we taught her we focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ and how baptism is the way we access the atonement in our lives.  During that whole meeting we all felt the spirit so strong! She cried at a few points, and both her and I commented on feeling the goose bumps that the spirit can bring.  I was amazed at how strong the spirit was when we talked to her about how that feeling she was feeling was confirming baptism was the right thing to do.  When we extended the baptismal invitation she said YES and that it wasn't even a question! The moments we have with her make up one hundred fold for all the frustrating moments we have contacting and trying to find people to teach.  The next time we visited we taught her and her children (who we had met previously).  Saturday night her and her 12 year old daughter came to the Young Women Broadcast at the chapel.  

All of the YW were super amazing about reaching out and welcoming them.  We also had our first member split that night. I went to a member's house with  because we were supposed to have a cottage meeting with an investigator we were working with before. The purpose of a cottage meeting is to have members and nonmembers over with the missionaries to eat dinner and socialize with a spiritual thought.  Unfortunately we got juked (aka stood up). However it was delicious food and great company for those of us who did go.
Today for P-day we deep some deep cleaning of the apartment for conference and it's AMAZING!!! We cleaned so much it's ridiculous! I was so happy to throw out a lot that has collected or been left behind by other missionaries. It's such a good feeling to have everything in order and organized. After that we went shopping for some summer clothes and there was a sweet store called Cool Cat and it's a store of all Jewelry! We shopped at Fordham (area) which isn't too far from us.

Also when we were doing some deep cleaning (sweeping, mopping, throwing things out, and organizing) I came across a ton of crafty/artsy things that had been left behind by another sister missionary. It was pretty much heaven =) It's my gift to me for cleaning. She left it behind with the intent of it being up for grabs. 
Mom I really appreciate the time you take to mail me cards/letters/pictures on a regular basis. I am such a blessed missionary.

I love all of you so much! 

Oh and Sam thank you for the microwavable corn on the cob! I haven't tried it yet, but I'm excited!
The only other thing I can report about at this time is the fact that all week we've been being fed by members, which has been such a blessing.  Especially because it's time I get to visit with the other missionaries and the members. 

Please keep Sister T. in your prayers? Her foot is giving her a ton of problems. 

May the Lord bless all of you and your lives.  Have a wonderful conference experience!

Love Sister Emily Johnson

Hello Everyone! (who reads this blog)

Hello Everyone (who reads this blog)

This weeks message might be short and sweet!  The thing is so much happens in a week and my time is limited to share. Therefore, only the major things that come to my mind will be included.

This week has been an interesting one for sure. I've been hitting some road blocks and really reflecting on why I am out here. It's funny with missions because there are so many ups and downs! The mission makes me feel somewhat bipolar to be honest haha. But it's cool because when you're being worn out you are able to rely on the Lord to help you find the strength and motivation from deep inside to press forward.

I expressed my frustrations to my companion and as we talked it helped me work through my difficulties. I am thankful the Lord lets us work in companionships to learn and grow.  The main thing I've noticed from this week is that these challenging times are really stretching me for the better.  I feel like someone in a very mild version of a renisanse (sp?) stretching/pulling torture machine! haha  A mission is quite the strain on your physical body and your mental capacity! Each day stretching you a little bit more and more! But the difference between the torture device and a mission is that at the end you aren't a tattered dead person. You are a polish/defined human being who has willingly took upon themselves a challenge to become the very best they can be through our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Monday we had Zone Training which was very inspiring/uplifting! It was all about Love and how that was the most important thing we could do for the people of NY. I thought about the attributes I came out to the mission field with. I know I am here in NY because I love people.  Although I'm not perfect at it or the way I teach the doctrine I genuinely love the people.  I know Heavenly Father will help me improve and grow.

My time is short because I am on a public computer right now at the library in Manhattan! So I will include two more thoughts before I run out of time. 

The first being that I just went to a session at the Manhattan Temple! It was awesome! I love the Manhattan temple because the interior design is gorgeous and they have some gorgeous murals painted on the walls and pictures hung that captivated me =) Not to mention I love going to the temple and reflecting in the peace and quite. And trust me, in NY city you appreciate that silence!

The other thing I wanted to share in my last 15 minutes is about church on Sunday.  During the sacrament meeting I was thinking about how I wanted the lord to help me become my best self. In my mind I wanted him to tell me when big way I needed to improve.  As I sat there I had this analogy develop in my mind.  It was that of a rock.  It begins jagged and rough. That rock is us as humans.  The rock is submerged into the stream of water.  The flowing water is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we submerge ourselves in the Gospel of Jesus Christ gradually we are refined! We become polished and smooth.  However, we must remember it is a gradual process.  The Lord is not going to chip of a chunk of our rough edges because he know that will hurt us or we will get offended.  Yet as we embrace the basics of the Gospel we can transform our lives to become our best selves.  Furthermore, if we take the rock out of the routine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we hault if not stop our refining process entirely.  The world of day to day morality is not going to help us become better/smooth. If anything it will add to our sharp edges. However, even if we have taken ourselves out, someone else took us out, or we were never in to begin with, the living water of Jesus Christ is always available to ALL of us. At anytime and any place.  The sooner we emerge ourselves, the sooner we allow the Savior's hand back in our lives to sooth our pain, to polish ourselves, and to continually become the beautiful stone we have the potential to become!

      I love you all very much! I appreciate your support. Each week when I go to church to take the sacrament, read my scriptures, pray, serve, and love I am going to keep in mind the polished stone I want to become.  I encourage and invite you to do the same.  Give the Gospel of Jesus Christ a fair chance and I promise you you will feel the blessings and love pour out from Heaven that I can't even begin to explain!

I am thankful to be called as a full time missionary regardless of the daily ups and downs.  I can cope with them because of my Savior and because I know this is his work. He went through so much agony and pain for me.  If I am going to represent him I need to be willing to do the same (obviously not on the same scale) ;)

Peace and Blessings! Peace and Blessin's!

Love

Sister Emily Johnson

Blog Time!

Blog time!
Hello again!

It is warming up out here in the Bronx. It's been pretty nice out, but I'm not going to lie, I am worried for the summer! haha and I'm from Arizona. However, I hear the humidity is killer.
This week has been rather eventful! 
Thursday
When we woke up we found a dead mouse that had drowned in a pan in our sink. That was pretty gross! lol. Later that day we got to go pick up couches from an investigator-the family who is working towards a baptismal date, because they were getting rid of two perfectly good couches. We got to ride in the truck over to their apartment. When we were back at our apartment some of the other missionaries came over to help us unload them and get them up stairs in our building.  It's rather amazing to see how people maneuver in the city when it comes to furniture and such. This was the first day the weather started to brighten up. When we were arranging the couches in our apartment on the fourth floor we had the windows open and a glorious breeze danced through the room. That was the same time the APs (assistant to the president) brought the mail from the Mission home to our zone. I got two letters from some amazing boys in my life! lol I was pleased to finally hear from Ethan and Tristan since getting to New York. I also had two packages from my family. One consisted of fruit snacks with a card from my nephew! The other had some delicious home made cookies and letters from my parents! It was such a wonderful day. Later that day we had an apartment inspection and we passed :) It was by a couple who has a calling supporting our mission president (the Denisons) and they are the best! Afterwards they gave us a ride to our appointment to the family we are teaching (who have a baptism date). That family has been pretty busy and have not been keeping their commitments, thus they're not progressing.

Funny Story!
So Thursday night/Friday morning I got up to use the bathroom. When I was sitting there I saw something creepy run past my feet along the wall! It ran back and forth a few times quickly, I jumped up and yelled "Oh my gosh!" My companion and one other sister who had been up talking in the other room heard me. My companion came over to the door and asked if I was ok. I said, "There is a mouse in here and no toilet paper!" Hahah she got me some toilet paper and I fled from the bathroom feeling very jumpy.  I sat in the other room and talked to the other sisters for a little bit before I decided I really needed to use the bathroom so I could go back to sleep.
We decided to have a mouse hunt! Sister Vanderdose, one of my new heroes, led the brigade! Sister T. kept psyching me out and tricking me into thinking it was right by me and I would jump! After much distress on my bladder and sanity Sister V. caught the mouse! It was an adventure to say the least. I was able to relieve my bladder and return to my peaceful slumbers :)

Saturday we spent most of the day tracting.  We actually had a Muslim family let us into their apartment. Not so much because they were interested in hearing our message, but because the mom decided she liked us. She made us some delicious home made lemonade. Following that she made us some noodles with veggies on top. We were hungry and in no position to turn down food. lol. Meanwhile we talked to her daughter who was our age. Later when here son got home from school he joined us and he was fascinating to talk to. He knows like 5 languages and plays cricket. He's a really awesome guy and he seemed very interested in what we did as missionaries. They taught us some phrases in Bengali (from Bangladesh). It was interesting learning about their culture and customs.  At the end of our visit the son gave us a Quran and we gave him a Book of Mormon :)

Another Funny Story!
Saturday before we left the house we were doing our companion study.  We had been studying in Preach My Gospel where it talks about How to Begin Teaching. We had really focused on the suggestions and how we can apply them in our missionary efforts.  We discussed how important the last bullet point was and how we wanted to internalize it. Later when I was saying the closing prayer I asked Heavenly Father to help us "take the bullet to heart!" My companion and I started laughing hysterical! It took us a few minutes to recover and continue with the prayer ;)

Sunday we did a lot of contacting after church. Our investigators did not come even though they promised they would. We are really trying to increase our teaching pool of people so we have things to do during the week. When I first came in this area it was not really moving forward (at least in my companionship-some of the other missionaries have investigators). However, we've been working really hard the last few weeks to really turn things around in our area. The start of this week is when I've really seen those blessings start to come forward!

Monday we had Zone Meeting and a District meeting where we set our new goals for April and followed up with how our goals were coming.  It was a really good meeting because we were all feeling motivated and excited to do the work! We set some positive goals, especially in our companionship, and we've noticed the Lord has been blessing us big time!
Monday we really felt the Lord bless us tremendously! We had a lot of success in one of the buildings we tracted and we left there with three set appointments! We've also been getting a ton of referrals for the Spanish elders! It's a little ridiculous how many Spanish speaking people there are here. A lot of them are from the Dominican Republic.  I'm going to try and pick up some Spanish here because it's definitely beneficial. As we contact, when we run into Spanish speaking people Sister T. knows just enough to say that we're missionaries, she doesn't know very much Spanish but would it be ok if the Spanish missionaries came back to share a message about Jesus Christ. If they say yes, which most of them do, she'll write down their info and we'll give it to the Elders. It's interesting how open the Spanish people are. Most of the white people are very closed minded lol.
We had dinner in the park feeling so blessed!

Tuesday we were suppose to have an appointment early in the day but it fell through. We went to the park we were at the night before and played on the swings! It was so cool because the city surrounded us. When I was swinging I saw planes, trains, and automobiles! It was so amazing to feel so free while being in the midst of a crazy/busy city. The city didn't seem so big when I was on the swings.  After that we had an appointment with a woman who was a referral and that was an incredible experience! She's totally been prepared by the Lord and we are looking forward to working with her and her family! Well my time is running short, but know that the Lord is in control of all things. He loves all of us so much! If we are patient and work with his time frame the blessings are endless. In the meantime we must bare our afflictions with patience like the people in Alma.

I'm so thankful the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored on this earth! I am thankful for living prophets today and am so stoked for General Conference.

Peace and Blessin's PEACE and Blessings!
Love
Sister Johnson