July 11, 2016 - Mission Miracles

Hello everyone!

So this week was insane! It was like a roller coaster of emotions! We saw so many miracles and yet it was one of the roughest weeks yet! Unfortunately I am running a tad bit short on time, so I won't be able to tell you everything that happened, I'll just share 3 of my favorite miracles!

Miracle 1: We almost had a normal Sunday! Almost. For once we hadn't been asked to speak or teach any classes. And then at around 9:51 am we get a call from our bishop that he had forgotten to ask people to speak in sacrament meeting and he was in Arizona, so he asked us to do it.... What!?!? So in 30 min we put something together. I was scared out of my mind but as sacrament meeting went on I felt peace and calmness. I don't even remember what I said in my talk but I felt calm the entire time! I didn't say a single "um!"

Miracle 2: One of our investigators drove 6 hours from where they had been fishing, just to come to church!

Miracle 3: Sis. Jackson has been going on this random phase of wanting to play the guitar. We asked some elders of we could borrow theirs, but after church we went to visit a less active and she is letting her borrow her guitar. And it was really random too! Cuz we were talking about something else and then she was like, do either of you play the guitar? And we were like sorta, and she was like cuz I have one that is gathering dust and would love it if you could play it and stuff. So that was awesome! We don't need to borrow the elders anymore.

Anyways, I love you all! Prayer is real! Even the simplest things, if you have faith, the lord will provide! The lord would not ask us to pray if he did not intend to answer them.

I love you all!
Sis. Johnson

July 4, 2016 - Happy Independence Day!

This week was super duper exciting! We saw so many blessings it was crazy! I will be forever grateful!

 

 
So first of all on Friday July 1, 2016 at 7:00pm at the stake center our investigator was baptized by her husband. Their story is truly amazing! They grew up together. They met in high school and got married. Her husband is in the army which is what brought them to Alaska. While he was out for training away from his family he met some Mormons and started going to church and got baptized. When he told his wife, she was very concerned. But after a year or so she agreed to take the lessons and learn more about it. The sisters who were here before us taught her and she agreed to be baptized. And that my dear friends is where Sis. Jackson and I popped in. And she was baptized and is so excited to go to the temple to have her husband and her three sons sealed together for time and all eternity! It was amazing! And I am forever grateful the Lord blessed me enough to be a part of
it! There was even a rainbow that night! It was cool!

Another cool experience I had this week was the next day. On Saturday we were out tracting (which is terrifying btw. When people knock on your door, missionaries, Jehovah witnesses, sales men, or anyone, you all had better be nice to them! Cuz it is the scariest thing I will ever have to do on my mission!) and we were going door to door. No one was really interested. Door after door we went. Then we come across a no soliciting sign in one of the windows. In Anchorage I always avoided those houses, cuz they usually don't want any visitors. So we went to the next house. But they didn't answer and we felt like we needed to go back to this house. So hesitantly we went back. And this older man answered. He came out on the porch and talked with us awhile. His family is all Mormon, he is not..... (Yet 😉) We had a great discussion and he accepted a Book of Mormon! Super cool!



Then on the way back to the car (we were going to be late for an appointment) we passed one of houses we had knocked on but no one had been home. Well they were home now and outside unpacking their car. It was an older couple. We stopped and had a nice  casual conversation with them. Then we left without fulfilling our purpose with them.... About halfway back to the car we felt we needed to turn back  around. So we did and awkwardly walked up to the open door of their
house and knocked. Sis. Jackson apologized for not fulfilling our purpose to them and explained as missionaries we teach and bring people closer to Christ. That started an awesome discussion about
their beliefs and our beliefs and things. They also accepted a Book of Mormon! This was definitely a learning experience! Cuz it was the two houses we were just going to avoid that happened to be the ones who were ready at the time. It's amazing to me how hard Satan was working on us to not go to those house, but  the Lord truly prepares people and he will send to those whom he has prepared!



What do you do? It had to be plugged!

I love you all and hope you have a great 4th of July!!! (These photos are from a hike we went on)

Xoxoxoxoxo
Sis. Johnson

P.s. Shout out to all of my Canadian friends! It was Canada day this
past week or something as well! Go team! 🇨🇦

She said she saw this at a member's house. How cool is that? ( For Tia Torrie;)

June 27, 2016 - Strangers and things

Hello!

So this week was fun. We have been working on preparing an investigator for her baptism! The sisters we replaced are so awesome and left these people like pre- taught, it's awesome! Anyways, we have been working on that all week, her baptism is scheduled for Friday July first, but her hubby wants to baptize her so it might get pushed back a few weeks. But we will see.

 

 

Also, this week as Sis. Jackson and I have been making lists of people we need to try to meet (cuz we are still getting to know the people they were working with). We were going through the list and a name stuck out to us, and we could not figure out how she got on our list cuz she wasn't in any of their notes or anything, but there she was so we met with her and holy cow she is so awesome!!! She
is 23, and in the military. She lives alone with a chihuahua. She grew up a member in Lehi Utah (she even knew some people I graduated with) she's been inactive for 6 years and she was so excited when we came over! After our message she was like "That's it?" So we kept going and it was really spiritual and really cool! She even had her scriptures out and everything! And we gave her a chapter to read, but she said it was too short, so we gave her two chapters to read, and she asked if there was anything else we wanted her to do, so we said read the whole book of Mosiah. Haha, it was funny. But she's awesome! And she totally misses it. Also we are starting a band. Cuz she plays the guitar and I sorta play the ukulele and Sis. Jackson sings. I only know hallelujah on the uke and she said she knows that on the guitar so we are going to be a famous band someday! Haha #dreamingbig!

But ya, mostly we are still getting to know the ward and the investigators and stuff! I love you all so much! Make good choices, the church is true, the Lord really does know us and love us each
individually. Don't you ever forget that!

Love
Sis. Johnson

 

 

This was the hole I was talking about in the last email. It keeps going around and under the house!

 

June 20, 2016 - 5 months!

Hello all!

I guess it still gets warm.

Angela says they use some interesting terminology up north:)

I hope you all had a great Father's Day! I know mine was interesting! It was our first Sunday in my new area (the Fairbanks 5 Ward) so my companion and I have been trying to get to know our Ward and everything. Plus we taught relief society! They put us to work right away!  It was super exciting! Our bishop looks like he's 20 so that was really weird, but I think he's actually older then that but idk.
Haha it just weirded me out to have a bishop so young! Especially coming from Inlet View!

Angela thinks this ladle is abnormally large.

She said, "It's as big as my head!"

This week we have mostly been working on meeting everyone! We already have two people on date! The sisters before us were amazing! So we are just trying to prepare them for the baptisms. One of them is in 2 weeks, and neither of us have ever had a baptism before so we are trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing! Haha it's a good time!

Her District

We also got to do this awesome service where we dug a gigantic hole! Yeah, we are building a root cellar so our entire zone was digging a hole and it was a deep hole. The sisters were in he hole digging and filling up buckets and the elders lifted the buckets out of the hole and dumped it out the. Sent it back down to be refilled. It was awesome! I got so dirty! I loved it! We did this for like 5 hours! At around 4:30 Sis. Jackson and I had to call an appointment to reschedule cuz we were filthy and we weren't going to make it back. So we went to the truck to get our phone and the back left tire was completely flat! It looked like it had been popped on the road up there. So ya, we definitely weren't going anywhere. So all of us were try to figure out how to get the spare off the bottom of the truck. It took a long time, but we eventually figured it out. After 2 hours and 6 missionaries we finally changed the tire. It was super funny!

 

 

I love you all so much! Make good choices. I know this church is true. That is why I am here. The gospel blesses families and by living it and following Christ the lord will bless and protect them.
I love you family and friends!

 

The Zone

Sis. Johnson

June 12, 2016 - Transfers, and Sister Johnson is in ...

I'm running out of ideas for a subject line, well actually I ran out awhile ago if you can't tell 🙃

So life is great here on the mission! We just got transfer calls! I am finally leaving my place of birth here on the mission and heading out to Fairbanks! Sis. Jackson (a sister who came out with me) and I will be white washing the 5th ward (white washing means that they are taking both missionaries out and putting bran new ones in) and by brand new ones I mean almost 5 months new. We both still don't really know what we are doing, but that's fine. The lord has awesome things in store, I'm super excited to be apart of it!

We got to go to the temple! It was my last time, for a really long time cuz they only have one in all of Alaska and I was privileged enough to serve the first part of my mission near it. It's so cute and
small too! It's adorable!

We also got to go in changes with the stls this week! I went with sister Grieve in the ocean view area of southern anchorage, it was actually really cool, she is such an amazing missionary!  I learned so
much.

I have been reading the Book of Mormon since being out here, as I read I almost feel like it is as if it is for the first time. So many different things stick out to me that hadn't before. I have read it a
few times in my life so as I'm reading I'm always like "how have I not noticed this before?" It is because this is the word of God, it is how he speaks with us and guides us. The things that stick out to you now, are because He knows your needs and wants at this time and he will help guide you through the Book of Mormon. I love this book so so so much! As I have been reading I have been putting myself in their shoes, as a new missionary so much has struck me that never has before. I want to invite you all to try it! As you read simplify and apply it to yourself. It will help and mean so much more to you. I love this gospel and I know that it is true! The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it does help us with the simplest things in life!

Anyways I love and miss you all! Keep being awesome! Make good choices! And remember who you are!

Love,
Sis. Johnson  🤗

June 6, 2016 - Miracles happened this week

Hello my support team!
So we are still finding and finding and finding. And seeing very little success from it. We only have 5 people in our whole area book, which is a little messed up cuz I am in one of biggest cities in
Alaska. But that's how it is. So we find all the day long. I have met some of the strangest, coolest, weirdest, scariest, funniest people just from this week.

Sis. Christian and I were getting a little bit flustered from all of the lack of success that was happening especially with all of the finding we do all day. So one day we were in the car and thinking who we should see. We were going through our former investigators list when the name Amelia Zimmerman stuck out to us. We decided to go find her. We drove to some apartments and knocked
on the door. Apparently Amelia had moved a long time ago. Feeling bummed we were walking back to the car in the rain (it was even that dramatic and everything!) and we hear someone call out to us. And that is when we met Ryan. He was just getting out of his truck. He's this cool huge black man in the army (he jumps out of planes for a living! Like what?!?!) Anyways we went over to talk to him and he said he wanted to take the lessons and he specifically asked for a Book of Mormon! (Like what? This never happens! I was in a daze this whole time, probably looking creepily lovingly at this man for talking to us!) he said he wanted to learn more and asked if we were available right then to teach him. Of course we were, but we needed someone else with us so that we could go inside his house. And we couldn't do it outside cuz it's raining. So we scheduled to see him the next day with 2 brothers from our ward. It was the most spiritual lesson on the restoration I had ever had. And he just accepted all of it! Soaked it in like a sponge! He accept the invitation to be baptized! He even came to church on Sunday and had already read 1 Nephi! (Like what!?!?)

But then..... We found out that he didn't live in our area...... So we had to give him to some sisters who were actually over his area. It was honestly like a punch in the gut. But those sisters are going to do an amazing job, and is was a testimony builder to me that the lord does look out for all of his children. If we hadn't gone looking for Amelia we never would have  met him. And it  would have taken that much longer for him to find the church. I know that he will do amazing. And I was privileged enough to play a part and for that I will be forever grateful.

This church is so true you guys! The lord knows everything and he does direct and lead our lives. He will always be there!

May 30, 2016 - Crazy week!

CRAZINESS HAPPENED THIS WEEK!!!

So Tuesday we had one lesson... you know what that means??? We went finding all the day long! Tracting and oyming and talking to strangers, and strange people. But a miracle happened!!! In one of the areas we were tracting in, door after door we went and then finally one opened. This cute little lady opened up the door to us and asked us to come back tomorrow. 

So on Wednesday we went back!!! She was so super interested in the Book of Mormon it was crazy! And she is all there! so that's a plus. She said she was going to study it very thoroughly and compare it to the Bible. So we pointed out the footnotes and how those could help her. It was amazing!! 

 

Then on Thursday we had this amazing lesson with another investigator. She is from the Dominican Republic and she is 15. She is living with a less active family in the ward, her aunt. They asked us to teach her so we have been. This last lesson we had it at the church. We gave her a church tour and I know she felt the spirit! It was a great lesson.

 

We also got a new ward mission leader. He is so super passionate about his new calling, I can tell he is going to do amazing! There have been a few changes in the ward council, and us and the elders we are working with both feel that something big is about to happen in the ward, I just hope I get to stay long enough to witness it!

 

The elders and us are getting along much better now. We actually are working as a team which has really helped the work progress. (I probs forgot to mention that I shared a ward with some elders and they are very much anit- sisters, but they are doing much better once they realized that it was getting in the way of the work, we are doing much better now!!! :D)

 

So exciting story of the week: yesterday we were given a list of prospective elders to visit (less active men whom bishop would like to bring back and pass the sacrament) We felt inspired to visit one. We go over to his house and knock. no answer. We knock again. no answer. I was ready to turn around and leave, but good ole Sis. Christian is very persistent. So she knocks for a third time. Finally the door opens. And there in the doorway is this lady with a shaved head and piercings all over the place. Sis. Christian smiles and says hi, but before we could get another word out she says no and slams the door. We are a bit confused as to what just happened. I started to turn around when the door opened again, which startled me so I fell off the porch. But then the lady proceeded to be angry we were at her house and said don't pound on my door on a Sunday afternoon.... I think she was having a rough day. 

 

Anyways that's my week! I love and miss you all!!! 

Sister Johnson