August 8, 2016 - Obedience is the key!

Alright everyone pay close attention! I have things to say! 

So first of all, I serviced my first week white washing. Wahoo! Big accomplishment! We have finally met many of the people in the ward which is great. Our bishop is the bomb.com!!! He loves his ward and has been so helpful, even though he was in Logan (as in my home, Logan
UT), during it all. He called and we had good discussions. Now that he is back from Babylon we have coordinated much and it is awesome! This week we have tracted a lot! We still are quite dry in the investigator department (prayers would be wonderful! 

Now you need to understand something very important. Alaskan houses are sketch! They are buried in two acres of woods and their driveways are forever long. There was this one house where we had to climb down a hill covered in trees on a dirt road out in he middle of nowhere with broken cars and other things lining the road, with these huge dogs guarding it and big dark windows. And there were signs along the road saying no trespassing or soliciting. And other signs that talk about guns and stuff and beware of dog signs and things. And the house was this cabin type thing with HUGE brooding dark windows, so whoever lived there could see us coming from a mile away. Needless to say I was terrified. But onward we went..... With my amazing companion dragging me behind her, we went to this house and met the most amazingly kind, super duper nice, very open man who took our number and said he wanted to learn more and stuff! Holy cow! Did not see that coming. And his dog who looks terrifyingly mean is actually this huge fuzz ball. Because of this experience I am now a witness that even though we are scared to death to follow the spirit, it is so super duper important for us to follow through, cuz we never know what will happen.

Also I had this awesome epiphany yesterday! We were at a dinner appointment and we were talking about our life on earth being a test. I imagine it to be like a math test. As we are taking the test there are problems we struggle with and choices of answers we don'talways know the answer to. We pick wrong answers, we might get
confused while trying to work out the problem. In life we were sent here to be tested. We are not perfect, we don't know the answers to all of life's questions. We might get confused as to why things are happening to us and what is right and what is wrong. We won't get every choice or decision right. Well, in school my math teacher would have us go over all the answers we got wrong and try to figure out the right answer. And sometimes,
even going over it again and again I still would get the answer wrong in the test. We have trials so we can continually learn and grow, even after we have gone through it time and time again, we may still make the wrong choice. But just like how we learn more about math and what is right and what is wrong, in life we learn and gain experience as to what will bring us true joy and real happiness and what will mess up our lives and cause us to start over. Jesus Christ suffered so that we can start over. He is the teacher, the prophets are the tutors. We have been given by the prophets study materials and study guides to help us get more and more of those questions right. Really what it boils down to is obedience. The test of is life is obedience. As we follow the Lords teachings and listen to what the prophets have to say, we have a chance at Acing this test! I know that this is true! I have seen it time and time again out here. We have been given commandments to help us be happy.

Sorry it was so long today, for those of you who finished reading this all the way to the bottom, good job! I hope you take something from it. I know it is true! I love you all! And hope you are safe!

Love,
Sis. Johnson :D

Oh ya, we also got to go to the temple! That was pretty awesome! :)
this is my new zone!

August 1, 2016 - Wasilla!

Hellooooo!
😊Im in wasilla now! Sis. McGraw and I are white washing memory lake. We got a new phone, car, and apartment and a new area book and everything is new! So we have no information other then what the elders have told us who had the Ward before we got here. It's super exciting.... But it also means we have no investigators. We decided to get to know the Ward and work through the Ward to get some referrals. That's the  plan so far. And it has worked pretty good.

The first few days after getting unpacked and things we went out and visited a bunch of people! So we had met quite a few people before Sunday even came around! So that was great! One of the people we went to see was a man who is a hitchhiker that is currently living in a school bus..... The elders told us to go see him cuz he is super solid and curious and has lots of questions. Of course we can't say no to questions, so off we go. We drove quite a ways into the forest (Wasilla is full of trees) and it was cloudy so it was pretty dark for Alaska in August, and it 8pm... Sketch right? But we had to meet him! So we are driving and driving and we turn and this clearing opens up and there is this nicer house with this random school bus sitting in the yard..... Not quite what I was expecting. Smoke was coming out of the bus so we knew he was home, so awkwardly we knock on the bus door. He was very nice and wanted a Book of Mormon. So that was exciting!

So I have decided that if I were to ever move to Alaska it would most likely be Wasilla! Cuz Wasilla has both mountains and trees. It's like a bowl full of trees. Mountains on all sides with trees everywhere. People who live here are basically forest hermits, my future ;) and the best part is on the side of the roads there are dirt trails for
dirt biking and four wheeling! People ride them everywhere! It is normal to ride them down the road to your friend jimmys home! It would be weird to walk cuz jimmy would live like 5 miles away! And instead of riding a bicycle they ride four wheelers, it is great! And everyone has dogs and land. For missionaries it's a pain cuz the house is buried behind trees and so we can't see the house number like at all, and they train their dogs to guard their houses (cuz people out here don't normally want to be found). But ya, and it's not to far from the temple, maybe like a 45 min drive. But I love it here! And the Ward is super awesome! It's great! But ya that's about where I'm at right now!

I love you all and hope you are all safe and enjoying the end of summer!

Opposition in all things" - Dallin h oaks April 2016
(This is a really awesome talk! Read it! It will change your life!) I
know this church is true you guys! If you don't know it then try to,
if you do know it then help those who are seeking. We are here to
learn and grow and help those around us. I love you all so much!

Sis. Johnson :)

July 25, 2016 - Transfers

Alright everyone!
This week was awesome!

First of all we witnessed a small but awesome miracle just this morning. Our lock on our door is broken and our key is too, so we can't really turn it to lock or unlock it. This morning when we were trying to leave it wouldn't budge! Like at all! The key wouldn't turn. And we
were running late! So Sis. Jackson said a quick prayer that it would turn so we could leave. After a few more tries with no luck she looked at me and then turned it, and it turned so smoothly I didn't even know she had locked it! Usually she has to wrestle with it to lock it! But it turned so smoothly! It was awesome! The Lord answers prayers! Even little ones such as a broken lock!

So this week we have been doing lots of service! I chopped wood for the first time in my life with an ax! And can I just tell you how satisfying it is?!?! Such a great stress reliever! And I got pretty good at it too! I chopped logs and stuff in half in like one..... Or 2..... Or 20 chops! But it's super fun!

We have 2 new investigators this week!  One of them is so prepared it is truly amazing how awesome she is! We helped her family move in at the beginning of the transfer and she invited us over for lunch and asked if we could talk about churches with her. We were like, ok, cool that's awesome (we were planning to anyways lol). So during lunch before we
were even done eating, she eagerly was like, ok tell me everything! So we started with the restoration and she wanted to make sure she understood everything we were talking about. She asked so many questions and committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. It was crazy! By the end we looked at the time and it had been like 3ish hours, shortest but longest lesson ever! She invited us back every week!

And finally, we got our transfer calls! Sis. Jackson is training a new missionary up here in Fairbanks, and I will be pink washing Wasilla in the memory lake Ward with Sis. McGraw (Sis. Jackson's trainer, I'm killing her off muwahaha (it's her last transfer)) Pink washing is a
lot like white washing, except we are taking over  the elder's Ward. They had to open 3 new areas for sister, cuz 8 new sisters are coming out this transfer! That is the most sisters we have ever gotten in probably all of the Alaska mission history! It's crazy! But ya, those are the highlights of my week! I love you all, and hope you are all doing well!

Love you!
Sis. Johnson :)

😊

July 18, 2016 - Fun Times

Hey guys!

So this week was excitingish..... Ok, not really. I got sick again :P So far I have gotten sick every transfer, well except my first one. Don't worry it hasn't been anything to horrible, more just like obnoxious uncomfortable  horrible.

Anyways so it's been very bipolar up here! The weather gets up to 100 degrees one day, then it's raining
the next, but it's not like normal rain, it's more like mist, it's been misting the past few days, if that makes any sense. It's almost like we are inside the cloud itself. Haha it's very interesting.

We get transfer calls this next week! Crazy! I feel like the transfer just started! But it's going to be a crazy transfer call cuz we are getting 7 new sister to the mission! Which means there will be some new areas opening up and we will all be transferred. And if we aren't training this transfer we will be next transfer cuz we will be getting
5-6 new sisters after that, so within these next two  transfers all of the sisters in the mission will be training! It is quite the exciting buzz going throughout the mission!

On Friday we did this huge service project! It was us, 1st Ward elders and 6th Ward elders. We helped a cute little family clean up their back yard. And it was a HUGE backyard. The yard ended into the Chena river and it had t been mowed or taken care of in a very long time. The grass was almost taller then me! And there were trees popping up in random places throughout the yard from the forest around the house. So we clipped and mowed those suckers down! Basically we did that all day and smelled like grass and gasoline the rest of the night. But I
am now a professional lawn mower tree trimmer! Their yard looked fantastic by the end of I do say so self!
While we were doing this a river boat with oodles and gobbs of people floated by on the river so that was cool, sadly I did t have my camera to take a pic but it was exciting! (We took this pic at the very beginning when we started working on the yard. We cut down trees and in the back elder Ryan is mowing it down. We forgot to get an after pic so just imagine the perfect yard that looks amazing! And that would be it! ;)

Anyways hope all is well in Zion! I love you all! Make good choices!
The lord loves you!
Sis. Johnson

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!