September 29, 2014

Hola familia!!

Oh good, I just wanted to make sure that you got it. I wanted to send more in it but I ran out of time. But i promise there is more to come. I hope Adams mom is alright. That sounds miserable, I will keep her in my prayers. Sorry about the thunder storm. A few days ago there was a fire at the base down the street. They have control over all the flights into the ohair airport until they get into a certain distance. So we were kept awake by a bunch of Helicopters around 5am. They stayed almost all day right above our apartment. It caused quite a scene. But I think everything is alright now.
I hope the fall has been treating you well. Some leaves have started changing, others falling... The season seems to be as indecisive as the spiritual state of our investigators. Today it is about 70 degrees and feels like July.
Thankfully, unlike the seasons, we can actually do something about the later. So we are praying for miracles, testifying with power, and working like mad... there seems to be a continually urgency in the work. Thanks to the Book of Mormon we have been able to begin the harvesting process of many. Patience is required as well as charity. I have come to learn this week that God is in charge of it all. We simple work as if it depended on us and pray as if it depends on the Lord. And then sit back and watch the hand of God. I am slowly realizing that we can only do as much as we can do and leave the rest up to God.
La familia Torres is coming to activities but missed out on church and missed both of their appointments. La familia Maldonado is learning the hard way that their is opposition in all things. The closer they come to an answer the more obstacles they are faced with, and since they still haven't come to church, their spiritual reserve tank is about as full as the Bonneville Lake. But we were able to read out of Joseph Smith History and his experience of overcoming the enemy and that gave them a little hope. It has been difficult to keep members involved because they haven't kept appointments. However, I know that God never gives up on people. No matter how much they put worldly things about Him, He continually loves them and is always willing to forgive.
On the contrary, I have gained a testimony of the law of compensation. God always compensates for our efforts, even when our efforts are not sufficient. For example, we found an amazing investigator who has taken in 3 of her nephews kids because the mom abandoned them. She has been humbled and has truly learned to trust in the Lord and seek his guidance. I have learned alot from her example. We are excited to help her discover the gospel. Also we knocked into a less active family who had been lost in the records and havent been to church in over 20 years, and they were able to come to the women conference on Saturday! Miracles.
Ill send some picutres in a min. We had some great things this week (and last week)!! Including a really fun ward activity where everyone cooked delicious mexican food and danced. We had a great turn out.
I fasted on Saturday to ask God to give me a little more faith for the future. As I began my personal study I read Helaman 12:1 Y así podemos ver cuán falso e inconstante es el corazón de los hijos de los hombres; sí, podemos ver que el Señor en su grande e infinita bondad bendice y hace prosperar a aquellos que en él ponen su confianza. I really like the line "falso e inconstante es el corazon de los hijos de los hombres" and it got me thinking about the word constante (constant). Constant: continuous, steady, sure, faithful, stable, invariable, unvarying, loyal, trustworthy, devoted, persistent, unceasing, unremitting, steadfast. What are the characteristic of un Corazon constante? Well 1 Nefi 9:40 says “…Sé que las palabras de verdad son duras contra toda impureza; mas los justos no las temen, porque aman la verdad y son constants.” Or “…I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.” So when we have a consistent heart, we firm, unmovable, love truth, and continually keep the commandments. We don’t let anything shake us from our resolve to do what is right. We have an relentless desire to serve God and have an eye single to the goal. It just got me thinking of all the things we need to do in order to have a consistent heart and stay strong in the gospel. Even though its difficult to see our progress at times, continued, daily righteous action (preseverando haste el fin) help us to develop Christ-like characters over time. I think that is why endurance is the fifth step in the gospel.
I know that as I learn to be consistent- consistent in the good habits I have learned, the testimony I have gains, consistent in in serving and always standing true to the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon- I have nothing to fear.
Thanks for all you do! I hope you have a great week!! Is there anything that I can do for you?!!  By the way, thanks for the scripture case!!
Hermana Johnson

September 22, 2014

Buenos Dias familia!!
We had a great week! We has zone conference, exchanges, and a mission
conference all in one week so we are trying to catch our breath. So
much inspiration and so little time. I love the Book of Mormon and the
prophet joseph smith. I was reading over my goals from my first
transfer of my mission. Goal number one: rock solid, unshakable
testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. I am extremely
grateful for president Fenn and his amazing testimony. I now have an
unshakable testimony of the Book of Mormon and the prophet of the
restoration. The mission conference was in honor of the coming forth
of the Book of Mormon! Man, I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON. I know that it
is the word of God, and than any man, that has a sincere heart and
real intent, will get nearer to God by "abiding by its precepts, then
by any other book." The Book of Mormon has brought me closer to my
savior and given me purpose and understanding of my life. I know as we
follow the council and apply the principles in our life's, it will
lead us to a desire to make and keep sacred covenants with our
Heavenly Father.
President Fenn spoke and then we had lunch and then 2 hours of
testimonies. A moment I will not soon forget was watching president
Fenn sing Praise to the Man and starring out over the sea of
missionaries. He was getting pretty emotional.
He also sent us all out with another Book of Mormon challenge:

 From today until the end of the year (December 31) to read the Book
of Mormon.
   BLUE: everytime it mentions something about the covenants God has
made with the house of Israel.
   RED: anything that relates to the doctrine of conversion and being
born again.
   YELLOW: what we learn about teaching from the Book of Mormon.
Ready, set, go...

Not a lot is happening with our investigators, it's amazing how many
things can get in the way of our progression. I am praying that our
families can just take the leap of faith and set a date for baptism.
Hermana Richardson is doing great, her Spanish really is great, she
picks up on thinks very quickly. I am trying to help her over come
some of her fears... Talking to strainers, climbing tall stairs, and
killing spiders.
We have been in a trio for the last 3 days because Hermana Morbeys
companion went home on medical reasons. It has been really fun!
Also I want to invite everyone to read the harvester from president
Fenn this week.  It was genius... Pure inspiration. "The change of
heart is referred to in the scriptures as being “born again.” This
involves both a moment of decision and thereafter discipline and
consecration. It takes sustained effort." I have a strong testimony
that our desires determine who we become, if we have a desire to
become like our Heavenly Father, everything we do will reflect that
desire.
And just one for the road: "an upright character is the result of a
continued effort and right thinking, the effect of long-cherished
association with godlike thoughts."
Thanks for all you do, please let me know what we can do for you. I
love you all so much!!!
Hermana Johnson

September 15, 2014

Familia.
I hope everyone is having a great week.
Just a couple updates. My week was great, we were able to have a
lesson with familia Maldonado, they are doing great but still haven't
been able to come to church. We are counting our blessings today, la
familia Torres that has come to church the last 5 weeks finally set an
appointment with us for tonight. Word has it that Jose told obispo
that he wants to be baptized; hopefully we can set a date tonight.
We had an appointment with Pricila this morning. Last week we told her
that she is having a hard time progressing because she is not coming
to church and unless she can commit that it will be hard to progress
to baptism. Then she surprised us and came to church. So today during
the lesson we brought up baptism. She is apprehensive as well as us,
because if church attendance is a struggle we don't want her to go
inactive after baptism. But I know it gets more difficult of overcome
the temptations the longer you wait for baptism. Preach my gospel says
that if they are struggling with a commitment to wait until they are
following until baptism, so I guess we will just see.
Hermana Richardson is great. Her Spanish is excelling and we are
trying to focus thoughts and spend all time on the work. I am leaning
a lot from her. We are having a blast, even though it's freezing
outside... Here comes winter. Yah!
Thanks for everything, let us know how we can help. I love you all,
sorry it's so short. Thanks for your emails and pictures, for the
family history!!! I really appreciate it. I promise I'll write more
next week. And your getting a letter in the he mail, so hopefully that
makes up for it. Que le vaya muy bien! Les quiro mucho!!!
Con amor, Hermana Johnson

September 8, 2014

Buenos días familia!! Cómo están?
Era una semana muy buena!! Muchas cosas difíciles pero muchas cosas
muy buenas. Espero que han podido ver los milagros pequeños de cada
día como yo. Una bendición bien grande de la misión es para poder a
ver los milagros diarios. Sorry, I'm stuck in Spanish mode. Anyway,
miracles. We see miracle every day. In my life. The lives of others.
God loves all of his children, of that I have no doubt.
For example, we met a family last Monday at a church activity. They
are great. They are renting the house of obispo monarrez. How? Great
question. Well, when the family decided to move to Aurora they hadn't
even starting looking for a house, when they found a piece of paper
with a number on it to call for a house to rent. They called. Obispo
monarrez answered. They asked about the house, he said, "I haven't
even put the house in the market yet how did you know about it." They
said "well we found a paper with your number on it...." God works in
mysterious ways. Anyway, they looked at the house, and the deal was
done. So obispo invited the to the activity. Turns out they loved it,
and that they have been to about as many different churches as there
are in Galena st. here in Aurora (Galena st. Has about 18... We
counted). Each time they moved somewhere new they went to a different
church. After hearing Joseph smith story, and the spirit touching
their hearts, they are excited to learn more. I know has been
preparing them for a very long time for this opportunity.
We are still working with the familia Torrez... Basically they are
more active than 90% of our members but have been too busy to take
lessons. Man, the advisary can just fill our lives with so many
stinking things. And even though they are all great things, it's
important that we make time in our lives for the things that are most
important. Like toes relating to our salvation. I am 100% certain at
this moment that the only true, restored gospel of Jesus Christ of
which I am teaching, is the most important thing in the world. Without
it we can not return to live with our Heavenly Father an older brother
after this life. With out it, we will never reach our full potential,
and without it our purpose in this life would be in vane. I think it
would be a great idea to reflect on our personal lives. Identify the
way our time is spent and how much of it is truly spent building up
the kingdom of God and helping us reach our purpose and potential.
Just a quick thought on will and desires...
Elder Russell T. Osguthorpe said "if gods will is to be done by us and
through us, then our will needs to be ghetto same as gods. We need to
want what He wants."
"Giving our will to The Lord doesn't mean that we give up our agency.
In reality, the opposite is true. The more we give our will to the
Lord, the more our own ability to exercise our moral agency grows.
Knowing what God wants us to know, saying what He wants us to say,
doing what He wants us to do all lead us to being what He wants us to
be. God gave us agency so we could yield ourselves to Him, not so we
could succumb to temptation." There is a direct connection between
what we desire and how act, if we really want something, we are going
to act in accordance. It's like the little boy and the cookie jar. He
wants a cooking, he is going to get a stool, climb the counter, clear
the fridge... Do whatever he needs to in order to reach his goal. If
the cookie is the gospel or a spot in the celestial kingdom, and the
little boy is the honest seeker of truth... They will do whatever
needs to be done, they will sacrifice whatever we must sacrifice in
order to reach the goal. Obviously we are not perfect, and life brings
other things the occupy our time and our minds, but I have a testimony
that when we sacrifice time for the things that matter most, daily
sacrifice our will for gods, life has much more purpose and much more
meaning. The daily challenges that we overcome will help turn us into
the person god wants us to be.

I love you all, I love the gospel, and I love my Heavenly Father. Let
me know if there is anything that I can do, your in my prayers every
night!!!
Con mucho amor,
La hermana Johnson

September 1, 2014

Dear familia!
Well, I'm ready to start another great transfer here in Aurora! One
thing I have alway lacked in life is endurance, and I think this area
is really helping me learn not just how to endure, but to endure
faithfully, joyfully, to the end.. At least the end of another
transfer :) And yet, God continues to bless us ever single day with
miracles. I love being a missionary.
Miracle of the week; Saturday we were studying during 12 week about
revelation through prayer. As we conversed we decided that we needed
to pray in more specifics. That same day we had a lot finding
scheduled. Before getting out of the car we prayed to find a family
that has 2 kids over baptism age and that all have the ability to be
baptized. We got out and decided to knock 2 doors. The first door: we
meet Maria. Mother of 4 kids, 2 over baptism age. We talked, she asked
us to come back the next day... Hermana Richardson and I were in awe.
So we left. On our way to the car, we met an hermano, who was leaving.
He told us to go in to meet his wife. We met the wife, 3 sons (2 over
baptism age) and the dad come home right in time to hear the first
vision. They are a miracle family and all have a lot of interest in
learning more. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. Most of
the time, He is just waiting for us to ask the question.
Hermana Richardson is doing great, I'm excited to finish her training.
We are trying to always work a little harder and do a little more. I
am learning a lot this transfer about the difference of being busy and
being productive. It's easy to be busy doing the little things, but
it's important to focus on the big things. Also there is a difference
between busy and worthy. Even if we don't do everything perfectly and
we cannot give our all 100% of the time, we can still be exactly
obedient and worthy.
Today we had a super great picnic at the church... We all spent a few
hours cleaning and then celebrated with carne asada. I hope California
is treating you all well! Don't get sunburnt. Love you all so very
much. I couldn't have asked for a greater family and support system. I
would love to hear about anything you need or all he exciting stuff.
Also any advice... I'm trying to keep up the momentum.
Espero que todos tengan un bonito día y una semana tantísimo! Con mucho amor!!
La Hermana Johnson

August 25, 2014

Dear familia!
Como estan?! Espero que todo este bien! It's been a really hot and
humid week. A lot of rain and you just feel wet/sweaty/sticky... But
it's great.
hope you had as great of a week as we did!
The area is doing alright. After being in an area so long it's hard to
look back and not feel like you have seen any changes or great
improvement. But I know that The Lord does not work that way; He
prefers small and little miracles that eventually bring to pass great
works. So although I feel like we have seen little change in the wards
missionary work, I have seen so many miracles over the past transfers
that I cant deny that Aurora is where I am supposed to be.
However, every once and a while God gives you gigantic miracles. Like
Jose y Soxi.
They are member referrals. Hermana Saenz have invited this couple to
church countless times and each time was politely turned down.
However, this last week, Jose y Soxi, one Wednesday, asked Hermana
Saenz if they could accompany them to church... WHAT. (Don't be afraid
of rejections. One day they will remember.) They have been going
through some big life changes and want to strengthen their
relationship with God. They have come to church twice now and we met
for the first time with them this week. The lesson went great and we
are so excited to work with them... They are incredible people, when
they walked into Church, the majority thought they were visiting
members.
As far as Pricilla goes, she came to church and is progressing. She is
doing a great job keeping the sabbath day holy, not going out or
shopping, and when her husband took out the son, she stayed home with
the kids. We are really proud of her.
Hermana Richardson is doing great. Her Spanish is really good, she
picks up on the language really fast, she just has a hard time
studying it, but I think it's just a difference in learning styles. It
gets a little rough because watching the 12 week videos, I tend to
feel a little inadequate. Ya know, because all the video shows you are
the perfect member present lessons, the spiritual moments, a little
bit of drama and then it skips to the baptism... In like 10 min. I
don't know about the California missions, but here in Aurora
conversion takes a little more time than that... Especially with
Hispanics because they all really like their novelas and cooking
tamales (did you know that it's like a very laborious, 5 hour process
from start to finish). But we just keep walking, reevaluating,
repenting, and God makes up the rest. Like Dory, we just keep
swimming... Literally, the humidity is so thick, we have to swim
everywhere.
Wish you were all here to share this great experience with, I love
seeing all the miracles, eating mole, and shopping en la supermercado!
Apparently the reason I was never very good at dancing before my
mission was because hadn't eaten enough chills. Las Hermanas Saenz
assured me that when I get home I'll be really good at it for all the
spicy Mexican meals I have eaten. Vamos a ver.
I love you all so much!!! I hope everything at home is going well!!
Let me know how i can help! Have a fantastic week! Muchisimo amor!!!
La Hermana Johnson

August 18, 2014

Hola familia!
Primero quiro dicer "Feliz cumplisnos mama!"
Happy Tuesday! We changed our preparation day to Tuesday because this
morning we got to go to the Chicago temple! Man, this church is
awesome... And so true. Well, it's been a great week... I learned a
couple of very valuable lessons.
First, God is a master planner: we taught a lesson to our investigator
Maria and had brought a member with us. Maria's little 3 year old kept
turning the tv on and disrupting the lesson, our member wasn't too
happy about that. So she decided to take responsibility of the remote
control to counteract the distraction. That was helpful however after
we left the lesson and drove to our next appointment we received a
call from our member who apparently had walked out the door, still in
possession of the remote control - note to members present in lessons:
don't steal. Anyway, we decided to meet Hermana Ortega at the Cermax.
As we walked back to the car I saw a man and asked him if we could
give him a card. El se llama Rafael. And he said yes, and then I just
straight up asked him if we could come and share a message with him
and his family. He said, "ya, how about tomorrow at 12 then my wife
will be there too." They are awesome! Nothing is coincidence these
days.
Second, God tries your faith before the miracle. On Saturday we left
the apartment with high hopes and about 5 set appointments. However,
one by one ever appointment either fell through or was a no show. So
that day was spent knocking a lot of doors and we didn't get into one.
It was rough because after a while you just get a little tired of
people telling your their not interested... I mean this is the most
important thing you will ever hear and your telling me that your too
busy or love the bible. Guess what. The bibles not enough. Anyway, it
was about 7:00 and we were about ready to head back to go find some
dinner. We were in north Aurora so decided that we would just walk to
the closest members house to see if they were home. It was about a 15
min walk. As we walked we saw a women outside her house watering her
flowers. We began talking, her name is Cindy so that was a good
conversation starter. She eventually invited us in, and we taught a
restoration lesson and she is GOLDEN. It was a very powerful lesson,
she is so prepared. Unfortunately we have to transfer her to the
English missionaries. God works miracles according to our faith, but
most of the time he makes us wait after the trial of our faith. That
just makes it that much better.
And third, I have learned that my dream of baptizing a 80+ year old
Hispanic may be a pursuit of a lifetime... They are all just too
catholic.

Well I hope you all had an amazing week. I can't believe school is
starting again, I remember school getting out for the summer, it flew
by.
Good luck Melissa with your new job, good luck at school Alex! Les
quiero mucho! Espero que puedan tener muchas oportunidades a compartir
el evangelio con sus amigos. Feliz cumplianos mama y estoy emocionada
a ver potos del boda de Julia. Also I know cami is having her baby
soon, krystle and Melinda get married in the next few weeks... If you
get a chance to see any of them tell them hi for me!
Hasta luego!
Hermana Johnson

I was wondering if you could find the current address for Dana
Peterson for me pretty please :) muchas thanks.

August 11, 2014

Hola familia!
Como estan?! Those pictures look awesome! I hope you all had a blast
in California!! It's been extremely hot here the last few days... But
that's no surprise, we are in Illinois. Lots of humidity. It was a bit
of a rough week, but no worries, we are expecting a lot of miracles
this week.
I have had some time to really think about what we need to do
differently. Just like someone mentioned at zone conference, what
worked last week will not work this week, and what worked yesterday
won't work today. We are going back to the basics and trying to figure
out what God wants us to focus on these next couple weeks. I am really
grateful for the 12 week training because it is giving me a chance to
relearn the fundamentals.
The baptism for Hermana Erica (a family that just moved into our ward
the day of their confirmation from West Chester) was a great
experience. I hope they can make some great friends in this ward.
Obispo Monarrez (ward mission leader) is very good at that, he just
took all of our recent convert families on a camping trip. I know one
reason I was sent to this area was to learn from great examples like
him. He is one of the most selfless people and there are many things I
want to do when I am in a member position - lots of member missionary
work.
Hermana Richardson is doing great. She is very creative and outspoken.
She has a little fear talking with others but she has improved a lot.
Reminds me a lot of myself, and look how far I have come :) who would
have thought. Although she is still adjusting to the missionary
schedule, she is usually pretty happy. I know that my Heavenly Father
knows exactly what we need. One thing I love about my mission is
seeing the hand of The Lord involved in each persons life. I love
being a missionary more than anything else in this life. Thanks for
all you do. Have a great week!! I love you all a lot! Con mucho amor!!
La Hermana Johnson

August 4, 2014

Hola Familia! 

Soy Hermana Johnson, somos misioneras de la Iglesia de Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias. Y compartimos un mensaje sobre las familias y como usted puede ser una familia eternal.
The 15 seconds a person takes to listen to our doorstep is the most important 15 seconds of their life. Unfortunately, most dont know that, and they mostly think think that we are 1 of 3 things... A Testigo de Jeovah, crazy, or representatives of Jesus Christ.
"Thou art my servant; and I am covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep. And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive." Mosiah 26:20-21.
There is nothing better than being recognized as a servant of Jesus Christ. Which leads me to our first miracle of the week!
Cristina. We met her son Anthony in the street Cristina. We met her son Anthony in the street and told him about the Book of Mormon, he told us that we should come back and teach his entire family. So we set an appointment and went back. As we taught this family we came to find that they have 8 children... first miracle. We continued teaching and I found myself teaching the restoration from a bit of a different perspective, we began teaching the Plan of Salvation and through the authority restored by Joseph Smith you can be sealed as a family for ever. Turns out, she had lost a child a few years ago and has been praying to know what happens after we die. We had a very powerful lesson and at the end she explained that she has been meeting with "other people that teach about the bible" and tries to avoid them. But when we called to confirm our appointment she actually felt excited and looked forward all day for us to come. She feels something different and very comfortable about us and our lesson. (Backing up to the day before, we were weekly planning, and hermana Richardson suggested that we plan to teach Christina every day that week. In my mind, I laughed and said "that would be the day." But we prayed for it specifically.) So when the end of the lesson came to ask Cristina when we could return she surprised us by asking "when can you come back?" we slowly suggested "well, everyday if you want." And she said... "That would be great." PRAYER WORKS. Dont ever doubt it!
Shes awesome, and we are excited to teach her again tomorrow!
So that being said, i love being a representative of Jesus Christ. Im taking advantage of His name on my tag every day... But to be honest, more often than not. People fail to realize who we represent. They assume us to be one of the first... and we dont get to share this extremely important message with them. That is where the members come in.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we are all representatives of Jesus Christ. We all have a responsibility to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. And our friends feel it a little less weird by having you ask them to an activity or FHE then meeting some super awkward girls show up on their front porch.
So the challenge for the week is to SHARE THE GOSPEL.
And your in disneyland, so that should be easy to find people that dont know about the church. I promise you the God will put people in your path to meet and invite that are looking for the purpose and happiness that the gospel brings... which will make them even happier than Disneyland. Because its a lasting happiness.
I love you all!! Thanks for all you do! I hope you have an amazing trip! Con mucho amor! Ustedes siempre estan en mis oraciones! Les quieremos! 

La hermana Johnson

July 28, 2014

Hola familia!
Una semana lleno de milagros! Dios está bendiciéndonos! Well Hermana
Richardson has been here for a total of 6 days, and she is doing
awesome. She's adjusting back to the states and missionary life... I
think she likes the real Mexican food over the "imitation
mexicanized-American MTC food" I think were her words. But we get a
long very well. She is from Stansburry Park Ut, 19 years old, and love
ballroom dance. So she's awesome! And more than that, she has a great
desire to serve her savior and has a strong testimony of the Church. I
couldn't have asked for a better trainee... God knew I needed a
pre-trained one :)
Every night we come back she falls asleep on the couch before we
finish planning, she says she has never been so tired in her life...
So were trying to work hard. And God is blessing us with a lot of
miracles.
For example, we were leaving our favorite local toco shop TiaWannas
Mexican food/browns chicken and icecream (weirdest combination EVER -
inside decor includes Hispanic muñecas and clowns) but they make great
$3 burritos. As we got in the car we were about to close the door a
lady came up to me and said "I have been looking for someone to teach
me about the bible. You look like you could help me, and I felt like I
should talk to you." She preceded to tell us that her sister had died
and she wasn't prepared to meet god. This lady,
Tina, wants to learn more about god and the bible. MIRACLES.
Unfortunately she is english, but I love the feeling of being in the
right place at the right time. We also have started teaching a girl
named Gabriella. We met her a few days back and set a return
appointment. We asked "do you have any questions before we start the
lesson with a prayer?" To which she responded "um... Sólo quiero saber
que necesita hacer para bautizarme."- GOLDEN.
We had an awesome lesson and were able to set a baptism goal and get
her started reading in the Book of Mormon.
I know with all my heart that God is preparing so many people to
accept the gospel. We just need to find and invite them. That's your
job... All you members out there.
I had another cool experience, Tuesday we drove past a house that I
remembered knocking my first week in the area (way back in feb.) I
never once talked to the people inside but remember Hermana Trimble
saying they were interested. So I quickly saved the address in the
GPS. Yesterday we were driving to Galena and I felt like maybe we
could just stop by and knock the door. So we did. We met a man, we
will call him Jorge. He just recently returned home from a few years
of jail time. He proceeded to tell us that his time in jail completely
changed his life and he wants to make things right with god. He is
also having problems with his wife and just wants a happy family. We
were able to share a few scriptures with him and set a return
appointment to meet with the whole family. I know that god sent us
there at that exact time for a specific reason. I know that God is
aware of every single one of his children no matter who or where they
are. He is more involved in our lives than we will ever know.
Final experience was with Alejandra yesterday. We went to stop by to
see if she was coming to church. We started talking about how every
time she gets more involved in the church or remembers to read or
tries to pray, obstacles and trials enter into her life. She said,
everytime she tries to read something (a literal force) pulls her away
or keeps her from opening it. And sometimes when she tries to pray,
something binds her tongue. We opened up to Joseph Smith History vs.
15-17.

As Joseph Smith began to pray he said "I had scarcely done so, when
immediately I was aseized upon by some power which entirely overcame
me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue
so that I could not speak. Thick bdarkness gathered around me, and it
seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction."
ETERNAL TRUTH #1: wherever there is truth, satan attacks it.
And the closer you get to a spiritual, revelatory experience, the
stronger the opposition becomes.
ETERNAL TRUTH #2: god is more powerful than the adversary.
"Exerting all my powers to call upon god... just at this moment of
great alarm, I saw a pillar of clight exactly over my head, above the
brightness of the dsun, which descended gradually until it fell upon
me." And you know the rest.
I am eternally grateful for Joseph Smith and his dedication to know
the truth. What would have happened if Joseph smith would have given
in? What would have happened if he just said, "man, this is too hard,
there's too much opposition." I mean, he practically joined the
presbyterian church.... And where would that have left us all. I am
eternally grateful for his example of faith and endurance. I know that
the harder a trial becomes signifies that we are that much closer to
the breaking point. We are that much closer to the miracle...
Bruce R. McConkie said "great men climb mountains." Sometimes we climb
to what we think is the top just to find another peak, but I know that
if we endure, the reward will be that much gratifying. God never
withholds blessings.
I love you all! Thanks for your support and prayers!!!
Love you all!!! Have an amazing day!! Les quiero!! Let me know what
you need and how your doing! Keep praying for my investigators because
they need it! They are climbing big mountains but with God nothing is
impossible!
Con amor Hermana Johnson

July, 21, 2014

Wow, can you believe that it's already the end of July?! Time flies,
and after 3 short transfers with Hermana Sewell, she is being
transferred to Beloit Wisconsin... The farthest you can get still
being in mission boundaries. Man I'm going to miss her. She has don’t
great things for this area and the ward has really grown to love her.
That being said, I’m pretty excited... I get to train the only new
Hermana. She is flying in from the Mexico MTC as we speak. She will
get a little spoiled with the Aurora apartment, car, members, etc. Im
convinced this is the best ward in the mission. I am very nervous, but
we are going to be exactly obedient to qualify for the continual help
of the Holy Ghost. I’m going to need it A LOT!
Our investigators are doing alright. It was a bit of a rough week...
Nothing compared to a typhoons but the adversary just works in so many
ways. Neither Alejandra or Pricilla have been to church the last 2
weeks. Daniel had to work and Guadalupe has not answered any of our
calls. Some times free agency makes me mad... I just want to drag them
to church because there are so many blessings... however, we seen or
taught all of the between church yesterday and this morning and they
are all still committed to baptism... When is just the big question.
We are trying to help them understand what it means to be a disciple
of Christ. That no matter what comes up, we must always be obedient to
what we know is right… like church attendance.
This week We really want to focus on inviting everyone and teaching
families. Our investigators are amazing but none have family support
and that is an external factor that is working against us. And since
salvation is a family affair, if we work a little harder to involve
families, maybe that will help us to reach our goals and help our
investigators support each other.
Thanks for all the letters, the text was actually from a member... But
she is a convert and has been looking for a way to buy Pero. So
thanks. Also the scripture cases, you can buy the same ones in the MTC
in Provo. So maybe that could help. Thanks for looking so hard.
I hope everyone is doing alright! We have been teaching, cleaning and
packing all day and have to go to dinner, but I promise to send some
pictures and a better letter next week! Thanks for your prayers and
support! I love you all SO much!!!
Thanks for everything! Have a fantastic week! Let me know if there is
any advice for training. Im pretty nervous but I know God will help
us!
Con mucho amor!
La Hermana Johnson!

Ps: could you send me a copy of my patriarchal blessing? I lost mine
and I would love to have it again. Thanks a mission. Give everyone a
great big hug for me!