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Monday, July 28, 2014

Wow, time flies

HOLA!!!!!
 
Wow, time flies when you are about to go home from your mission! Seriously, this week may have been the fastest week of my mission. That may have been because I spent about 4 days of it out of my area...but it was an awesome week! We did these things called 24s (I think I told you about it last week) where half the mission does a huge exchange for one day and at the end of it we had a big testimony meeting about all the miracles that happened on the exchange. It was super fun! I got to go back to the San Clemente YSA ward, my greenie area!! It was awesome. I was able to see a lot of the people that I taught, and I set up an appointment to see Shannon Brady, one of the recent converts that was baptized while I was there, this week before I leave! It was a very successful exchange :)

This week we feel like Miguel made a lot of progress! He didn't come to church, but we had some really good lessons. This week he will most likely be coming to a baptism and then we are going to take him up to the Newport Temple!!! I am suuuper excited about that. Our goal is to have a baptismal date with him by the end of this week, I really hope we can do that!!

Oh another super awesome thing that happened this week is that they are going to be starting the temple classes again in our ward! Sarai Cervantes (the mom of Kimberly-one of the people that was baptized while I was here) has been waiting for those classes for a while so she can go into the temple! I am sooo excited for her!
AAAAHHHHH!!!! This is my last full week in the field!! I honestly couldn't really tell you what I feel like right now. Some days I'm super excited and other days I am really sad, and other times I am just super anxious to see you all!

Les quiero bastante y nos vemos pronto!
La Hermana Johnson

Monday, July 21, 2014

HOLA!!!!

Buenos Dias!
 
Pues, this week was crazy! We had so many service projects which is something we haven't done a ton of, so it was super fun! We helped this lady move and then we helped set up for the Pioneer Day 5K. It was super fun! A lot of our members ran it and then later that day we had a stake BBQ with pioneer games and music and everything. Soo fun!

LUIS GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!! He was somebody that me and my companions found when I was in San Clemente who was golden. He was the one that said that he had been waiting for something like this for a while. So cool. I taught him for a couple weeks and then I left, but he just got baptized yesterday and I was able to speak at his baptism! It was a tender mercy.

Well I don't have much time today, but I love you all soooo much and I'm super excited to see you again in 2 weeks!

Adios!
Hermana Johnson

Monday, July 14, 2014

CORO!!!!

HOLA!!!!!
Man, this week was crazy. It was awesome!!! So for those who saw on Facebook, our choir had the coolest opportunity ever to sing with the Nashville Tribute Band this week, twice!! It was awesome. It was cool because we invited a lot of people and there was a pretty good turn out of people, both members and non-members. At first, I'll be honest, I was a little apprehensive because their music is so different than what we are used to singing as a choir. But it was awesome because as we were practicing with the band, the main guy, John Deere, stopped us and said something like this, "I hope you all understand what we are doing here. There are a whole group of people out there who can't or don't understand the gospel in sacrament meeting, there are a lot of people who don't go to sacrament meeting, there are a lot of people who can't get the importance of this message another way, so we need to go out there and get them!" (It was something like that) But it hit me, that even those this was a very different way to proselyte, it was still a way to do it. There were a ton of non-members there and the way they did the program included a whole bunch of teaching about the gospel, especially Joseph Smith and it was pretty powerful. Such a cool experience.

Then on Sunday, we had the chance to sing in another Sacrament meeting. It was the last choir performance that I will be a part of before I leave. :( It went super well. Haha it was crazy, cause I was praying for the spirit to be there so that people (I was thinking mostly about the missionaries) would be able to come unto Christ and use his Atonement more in the things they are struggling with. Let me tell you, God answers prayers. As I stood up to conduct "I Believe in Christ" I looked into all of the missionaries eyes as we started singing, and I just started sobbing. Haha, the spirit was there, it was great. Later during the meeting I looked up at the time and it was 12:30...sacrament meeting had gone way over and we still had one more song to sing. The problem though was that I was supposed to be in my ward giving a talk at that exact moment! I had a mini heart attack. No worries, we figured it out and I got to my ward just in time to give my talk. I don't know what my deal was that day, but at the end of my talk I started crying again! I think it hit me that I am going home in 3 weeks, haha. AH!
Miguel came to church!!!!!!! WAHOO!!! Keep praying for him to receive an answer!! We also received some awesome referrals this week, so we are excited about that too!

I love you all and I will see you soon!
Hermana Johnson

p.s. One of the many things that happen on a mission that you never thought would happen. As we were standing on the street talking to a member, dressed in our skirts like normal, someone yelled from across the street, "Hey! Are you guys a gang?!" haha it was hilarious. I was crying from laughter...which really isn't that surprising. :)

Monday, July 7, 2014

Intercambios

Buenos Dias!!
 
So this past week has gone by way too fast! It was a great week though. For the 4th of July we had a mission conference from like 3 until 9, it was awesome! We played games as a mission, and then were able to watch the new movie "The Son of God". It was super fun to watch it together as a mission. Then afterwards the choir sang and President shared his testimony of the Savior. It was really powerful. We sang Dad's version of My Hands!! (this song that President and Sister Orgill absolutely love because they used to sing it at the PCC) They loved it! Sister Orgill came up to me in tears afterwards and said, "Can we please make that a regular one that you sing?" Haha, so thanks dad. We also sang This is the Christ and Go Ye Messengers, kind of classic songs that our choir always sings. But it was really powerful that night, probably the best time that we have ever sung This is the Christ. Oh, and Sister Bergau was there! That probably doesn't mean anything, but she is a missionary who was here before and has been home for a while. She had a really big impact on my mission so it was really cool to see her again.

Also this week I was able to go on an exchange with one of the sisters in the mission. I don't know if I told you all last week, but I have been given the opportunity this transfer to go on a couple exchanges with different sisters around the mission. Wow, I learned so much from this sister. I learned that if we think our trials are hard, they aren't. Someone else is ALWAYS going through something harder. But no matter how hard everything is, you can still be happy. She had such a glow and a light about her and she made everyone around her happy. It was really quite an amazing exchange.

So pray for Miguel!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He didn't come to church yesterday, but we are still working with him. We are planning on fasting this week and we are going to invite him to be baptized again on the 20th of July so help us out with your prayers! haha thanks! He is such a good person, he just needs his answer. Oh, this week we played soccer with him (he was almost on the professional team of Honduras before he hurt himself) and a couple other members. It was sooo fun! He was really good :)

Les quiero bastante!! Que tengan buena semana! Nos vemos en 1 mes! (See you in a month.....ah!!!)

Con amor,
Hermana Johnson