So we've been teaching a lot of people recently who speak spanish....and neither i nor Sister Wesley speak spanish. how did we get through the lessons and make a return appointment? i have no idea. but now sister wesley and i are reading the book of mormon in spanish with a handy spanish/english dictionary nearby. We met this really short, older hispanic woman. We communicated that we wanted to teach her about jesus. she smiled and put her shaky hand into her bag and pulled out her address. "We come jueves at cuatro o-clock." So we showed up later that week for the appointment and she opened the door and looked mad. "uh....hi...we're those missionaries you met last week...somas missionarias...can we come in?" And she snarled at us and said, "no!" We stood there stunned not knowing what to do...and then suddenly she started laughing! This tiny little hispanic woman fooled us into thinking she was mad at us and she thought it was hilarious. then she had us come in. We read the spanish pamphlet of the restoration and half way through she stopped us and start telling us a story. Sister Wesley and i would smile and nod and then we'd look at each other and through our facial expressions we'd ask, "Do you know what she's saying?" "No idea." After her stories she'd start laughing and laughing and i would laugh because she was laughing and because she was so cute and nice. Then she gave us Sprite. I'm not sure she understood our message, but we understood her message. She loved us and we hardly knew her.
We taught linda sue again this week. it was awesome. She's so worried about her "test." We tried to explain the baptismal interview and she thinks it's a test so she stressed out trying to learn everything. but we finally helped her understand the restoration and Joseph Smith!!!!!!! The cut outs worked and the Spirit helped a ton! She understands that we believe that we are the only church that has the power. When she first figured out that what we believed she was hesitant. yes!!!! I love when people question that claim because it means they understand it! So we told her to pray about it. She said that one day her family was getting frustrated with her and calling her crazy and she felt bad. So she grabbed the Book of Mormon and started reading it and she felt better. When we came back we explained more about the restoration to clarify somethings and afterwards she said, "Can i show yall some'n?" She put in the restoration DVD and we watched it. She's watched several times before and didn't really understand it, but liked the way she felt when she watched it. Well, this time as she watched the movie she started explaining to us what it all meant. "So he was confused about church! Just like I was. And then God told him and he didn't have to go to the other churches anymore because now he knew! Am I right?" "Yes Linda Sue, " I said, "You understand. You get it" And then she threw a little punch in the air and with childlike excitement exclaimed, "Yes! Oh Jesus! I get it" Sister Wesley and i were crying like little babies...so embarrassing. I love the restoration DVD and i always feel the Spirit, but i was watching it through new eyes. i was seeing it as though i was learning it for the first time because Linda's eyes were being opened and was starting to understand. She is so excited to get the Holy Ghost because she believes that it will help heal her even more.
We'll see if she' get baptized this week i hope she does, but there's just some minor road blocks...before my mission i was all about people taking a long, long time to get baptized because I only saw baptism as membership in the Church which it is. As a missionary I see baptism as the necessary ordinance to get the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I've seen investigators that took 6 months, 2 years, 7 years to join the church and they are completely less active. i've also seen investigators who get baptized with less than a month of study and they are super active years after. personal conversion is a choice. it's not about time, it's about faith. When you have faith that leads to repentance time is irrelevant. As soon as you're ready to let Him in He comes in. Plus, conversion is totally amplified by the gift of the Spirit. But before baptism you must show through your works to the Church that your faith is pure and sincere so it creates road blocks...good road blocks. sigh. But she'll get baptized!
Margaret...we're still working, but she's coming along.
love yall,
sister johnson
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
:)
Hello!
I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Wesley. She is from American Samoa. She is the youngest of four kids and all of her older siblings went on missions. She came to Texas with Sister Hill so she's been here for four and a half months. I always thought that I'd get her as a companion so it didn't come as a surprise when it was announced that she would be my new companion. Sister Green went up to San Marcus with Sister Christensen who was my companion in December for 2 weeks. I miss her, but I know she'll have fun in San Marcus.
At transfer meeting President Cutler said something that he says a lot, but I have come to really understand this quote the longer I'm on my mission:
"Go about making other people happy and you will find happiness."
Linda Sue (our investigator who had a stroke two years ago) was VERY sad to see Sister Green leave. Like I said in my last letter, they had a very close connection so it was heartbreaking for her. She was crying and asking us why. It was pretty funny when I tried to comfort her because I said, "Linda Sue, I'll still be here," And she looked up at me and then over at Sister Green and then she started crying even harder, "It's not the same!!!" Haha. She turned to Sister Green, "Why do you have to leave before I go under the water?" It was pretty sad, but also really touching to see the love that Linda Sue had for my companion. But it is probably best that Sister Green was transferred so that Linda Sue can base her testimony on the gospel and not on Sister Green.
So after that we weren't sure if Linda Sue would still want to come to Church. She told us during the middle of the week that she was going with her sister on Sunday to her church. We called her the night before to see if she would come to church with us and she said no, she was going to Church with her sister. And then for some random reason Sister Wesley and I decided to show up at her apartment at 8AM Sunday morning and we asked again if she was coming to church with us and she said no, because she was going to church with her sister. So we stood there awkwardly and she said, "I can't go to church like this" pointing to her pj's. "Sure you can," I joked. And then suddenly she said..."okay. I'll call my sister." My jaw dropped. She called her sister and then turned and told us she'd go to church with us. She went in the other room to get ready and we ran out to call someone to come and pick her up. By that time it was 8:30AM, 30 minutes before church. No one was answering their phones cause they all had already left for church. What were we going to do! But then we got a hold of Sister Rodriguez and she picked up Linda Sue and Church was amazing! Linda Sue loved it. She turned to me during Relief Society and said with tears in her eyes, "I'm more happy today." oh...she's so great. It was awesome. I love it when investigators go to church for several reasons, but one of the reasons is because the week after church they seem to be more spiritually in tune and they have an easier time understanding the concepts we teach...and because of Linda Sue's stroke, we need all the help we can get. I want her to understand as much of the doctrine as she can. We are going to try and see her every day for the next few weeks to really help her understand what she will be covenanting with God when she's baptized.
We met an awesome lady on Friday night. They way we met her was pretty cool. We had a few minutes before we needed to go home. We were going to knock some apartments. "Where should we knock?" I kept noticing one door, but it wasn't in a very logical place to begin knocking. Then Sister Wesley said, "Right over there." She pointed to the same apartment building. "Which door?" I asked, she pointed to the same door. "That's exactly where I wanted to knock! haha. wouldn't it be funny if the first door we knocked the people let us in and they ended up being golden." We laughed...yeah right, like that would ever happen...haha....Well we knocked and Margaret opened the door and before we said anything she told us to come in and we were instantly friends. Apparently her mom was baptized several years ago so she's talked with missionaries before...but she didn't join cause she doesn't think it's right that we use water instead of wine during the sacrament...however, she doesn't bash with us and she listens AND she's feeding us tonight so we feel like there' potential.
Church was great yesterday. I finally feel like I know a good chunk of people in the ward. I love smaller wards. So much better.
love yall
sister johnson
I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Wesley. She is from American Samoa. She is the youngest of four kids and all of her older siblings went on missions. She came to Texas with Sister Hill so she's been here for four and a half months. I always thought that I'd get her as a companion so it didn't come as a surprise when it was announced that she would be my new companion. Sister Green went up to San Marcus with Sister Christensen who was my companion in December for 2 weeks. I miss her, but I know she'll have fun in San Marcus.
At transfer meeting President Cutler said something that he says a lot, but I have come to really understand this quote the longer I'm on my mission:
"Go about making other people happy and you will find happiness."
Linda Sue (our investigator who had a stroke two years ago) was VERY sad to see Sister Green leave. Like I said in my last letter, they had a very close connection so it was heartbreaking for her. She was crying and asking us why. It was pretty funny when I tried to comfort her because I said, "Linda Sue, I'll still be here," And she looked up at me and then over at Sister Green and then she started crying even harder, "It's not the same!!!" Haha. She turned to Sister Green, "Why do you have to leave before I go under the water?" It was pretty sad, but also really touching to see the love that Linda Sue had for my companion. But it is probably best that Sister Green was transferred so that Linda Sue can base her testimony on the gospel and not on Sister Green.
So after that we weren't sure if Linda Sue would still want to come to Church. She told us during the middle of the week that she was going with her sister on Sunday to her church. We called her the night before to see if she would come to church with us and she said no, she was going to Church with her sister. And then for some random reason Sister Wesley and I decided to show up at her apartment at 8AM Sunday morning and we asked again if she was coming to church with us and she said no, because she was going to church with her sister. So we stood there awkwardly and she said, "I can't go to church like this" pointing to her pj's. "Sure you can," I joked. And then suddenly she said..."okay. I'll call my sister." My jaw dropped. She called her sister and then turned and told us she'd go to church with us. She went in the other room to get ready and we ran out to call someone to come and pick her up. By that time it was 8:30AM, 30 minutes before church. No one was answering their phones cause they all had already left for church. What were we going to do! But then we got a hold of Sister Rodriguez and she picked up Linda Sue and Church was amazing! Linda Sue loved it. She turned to me during Relief Society and said with tears in her eyes, "I'm more happy today." oh...she's so great. It was awesome. I love it when investigators go to church for several reasons, but one of the reasons is because the week after church they seem to be more spiritually in tune and they have an easier time understanding the concepts we teach...and because of Linda Sue's stroke, we need all the help we can get. I want her to understand as much of the doctrine as she can. We are going to try and see her every day for the next few weeks to really help her understand what she will be covenanting with God when she's baptized.
We met an awesome lady on Friday night. They way we met her was pretty cool. We had a few minutes before we needed to go home. We were going to knock some apartments. "Where should we knock?" I kept noticing one door, but it wasn't in a very logical place to begin knocking. Then Sister Wesley said, "Right over there." She pointed to the same apartment building. "Which door?" I asked, she pointed to the same door. "That's exactly where I wanted to knock! haha. wouldn't it be funny if the first door we knocked the people let us in and they ended up being golden." We laughed...yeah right, like that would ever happen...haha....Well we knocked and Margaret opened the door and before we said anything she told us to come in and we were instantly friends. Apparently her mom was baptized several years ago so she's talked with missionaries before...but she didn't join cause she doesn't think it's right that we use water instead of wine during the sacrament...however, she doesn't bash with us and she listens AND she's feeding us tonight so we feel like there' potential.
Church was great yesterday. I finally feel like I know a good chunk of people in the ward. I love smaller wards. So much better.
love yall
sister johnson
I don't need you
We invited Linda Sue to be baptized and she said yes!!!!! But we have a lot to help her understand before she can get baptized. Because of her stroke its hard for her to understand who Joseph Smith is and how his story relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm making a paper timeline with pictures of prophets. I'm going to make a little earth and show each prophet come to earth at different times to teach the people. Hopefully that will help her understand the time that separates Christ's ministry with the restoration of the gospel.
Linda Sue connects really well with Sister Green. They have a super sweet relationship, so it was really sad to find out that Sister Green is getting transferred on Thursday. I'm staying in Windcrest for the rest of my mission...but I shouldn't assume that cause anything could happen. :)
We are working with a family called the Kendziors. Did I talk about them last time? The mom is a less active member who is trying to come back and her husband is not a member. They have a pretty busy life, but they have decided to do family devotionals every morning. They read a scripture and talk about it and then pray. If your family is going through a rough time my suggestion is to read scriptures everyday. It will work wonders! Anyways, they have three super cute kids. Sister Kendzior wants to give me corn rows and braids because I told her that when I lived in Texas before, a lot of my friends had braids, and I really wanted to have braids too, but I was warned that I might get beat up if a little white girl like me showed up to middle school with corn rows and braids :) Now's my chance to fulfill my dream!!! But it's not going to happen. As soon as Sister Kendzior suggested the braids I looked at Sister Green and her mouth dropped, she closed her eyes, shook her head, and in a calm voice she said,..."no." "why not! they'd look so cute!"...."no." Haha...oh well, maybe someday.
Something I've learned on my mission: Being a wife and mother is hard. Holy moly. Oh man. we see people in all kinds of circumstances and oh man. it's hard. You give and give and your only motivation has to be love, because if you're motivated by appreciation and approval you will never receive the amount due. I also have a lot of respect for my moms, cause I've seen a lot of bad moms out here. no offense to them...a lot of them are just parenting the way that they were parented...they don't know any different. It's a good parent who respects their children like people, and disciplines out of love instead of anger. I've also seen a lot of good mom's out here. They're not perfect, but there's only one perfect parent. One of these mom's respected her kids agency a lot...she's not a member...but she respects their agency. For instance, her 18 month old was climbing up a ladder on a swing set. It wasn't super safe for the 18 month old to be on it so the mom ran out by the ladder. But instead of grabbing the kid and putting her back on the ground, she positioned her arms around the baby just in case the baby fell, and then instructed the baby to step down off the ladder. She never forced her kids physically unnecessarily to do something, but she was right their teaching them and helping them do what was right. Obviously if the baby was about to fall she would have grabbed her, but in this situation it wasn't necessary to grab her. so she helped the baby get of the ladder by the baby's own efforts. She probably doesn't always do that parenting style, but I learned a lot from watching her. I feel like that was how all my parents raised me. that's how I'm trying to work with my investigators. We guide them so they can do things on their own so that one day they don't have to rely on us anymore. When Elder Bednar came here he told us the best compliment we could ever receive as missionaries is, "Thanks, but you don't have to come over anymore because I don't need you. I've learned to do it myself."
love ya
sister johnson
Linda Sue connects really well with Sister Green. They have a super sweet relationship, so it was really sad to find out that Sister Green is getting transferred on Thursday. I'm staying in Windcrest for the rest of my mission...but I shouldn't assume that cause anything could happen. :)
We are working with a family called the Kendziors. Did I talk about them last time? The mom is a less active member who is trying to come back and her husband is not a member. They have a pretty busy life, but they have decided to do family devotionals every morning. They read a scripture and talk about it and then pray. If your family is going through a rough time my suggestion is to read scriptures everyday. It will work wonders! Anyways, they have three super cute kids. Sister Kendzior wants to give me corn rows and braids because I told her that when I lived in Texas before, a lot of my friends had braids, and I really wanted to have braids too, but I was warned that I might get beat up if a little white girl like me showed up to middle school with corn rows and braids :) Now's my chance to fulfill my dream!!! But it's not going to happen. As soon as Sister Kendzior suggested the braids I looked at Sister Green and her mouth dropped, she closed her eyes, shook her head, and in a calm voice she said,..."no." "why not! they'd look so cute!"...."no." Haha...oh well, maybe someday.
Something I've learned on my mission: Being a wife and mother is hard. Holy moly. Oh man. we see people in all kinds of circumstances and oh man. it's hard. You give and give and your only motivation has to be love, because if you're motivated by appreciation and approval you will never receive the amount due. I also have a lot of respect for my moms, cause I've seen a lot of bad moms out here. no offense to them...a lot of them are just parenting the way that they were parented...they don't know any different. It's a good parent who respects their children like people, and disciplines out of love instead of anger. I've also seen a lot of good mom's out here. They're not perfect, but there's only one perfect parent. One of these mom's respected her kids agency a lot...she's not a member...but she respects their agency. For instance, her 18 month old was climbing up a ladder on a swing set. It wasn't super safe for the 18 month old to be on it so the mom ran out by the ladder. But instead of grabbing the kid and putting her back on the ground, she positioned her arms around the baby just in case the baby fell, and then instructed the baby to step down off the ladder. She never forced her kids physically unnecessarily to do something, but she was right their teaching them and helping them do what was right. Obviously if the baby was about to fall she would have grabbed her, but in this situation it wasn't necessary to grab her. so she helped the baby get of the ladder by the baby's own efforts. She probably doesn't always do that parenting style, but I learned a lot from watching her. I feel like that was how all my parents raised me. that's how I'm trying to work with my investigators. We guide them so they can do things on their own so that one day they don't have to rely on us anymore. When Elder Bednar came here he told us the best compliment we could ever receive as missionaries is, "Thanks, but you don't have to come over anymore because I don't need you. I've learned to do it myself."
love ya
sister johnson
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
He loves his children
We are teaching a woman named Linda Sue. She had a stroke a few months ago. When she first met the sisters before I came, she could barely speak. now she talks real good. She still slurs all her words, but she is able to communicate and she can read! She went to church this Sunday and loved it. Everyone was really happy to meet her. She's amazing.
We also taught a woman named Karen. i want to tell you her story so i changed her name so I can tell you what she's been through. we met her in the parking lot of her apartment complex. She told us that she was from another part of Texas, but her husband and she had separated because she said, "he's mad at me..." After talking to her a little more she told us that she was having problems that she couldn't quite understand and her husband basically sent her away. At first we were thinking, what a jerk. but as we talked to her she told us that one night she was just feeling weird. That same kind of weird that got her sent away from her family. it scared her so much that she called the police and they admitted her to the state mental institution. A week later she was diagnosed with bi-polar with severe depression. They started her on some medication and that's when we ran into her. She was super sweet but so sad because she didn't understand what is going on with her. She was so sad because she said her husband wouldn't say he loved her anymore. She said she was lonely. we taught her about the plan of salvation and tried to uplift her and gave her some scriptures to read. it was sad. but she said she felt better after our discussion. We told her that even though she was lonely, she was not alone. God was watching out for her. We told her that she could pray for the strength of Jesus to help her endure her sorrow. A week later we returned and she was doing much better. She said that her husband had come to visit her. They had talked about things and he seemed to want to support her through her trial now that they had a better understanding of what was going on. She said that one day she was really, really sad, but she prayed through her tears and it helped a lot. I'm not doing a very good job at helping the reader feel how significant this experience was for me. it was just beautiful to see how the atonement works. God had not forgotten her. He sent the missionaries to her so she wouldn't be completely alone. We did nothing, but that which we are taught. We are led everyday to those that need us most. My testimony of God's love for His children has grown so much on my mission because I see the way he shapes His children's lives and places people and blessings in their path to help them.
karen is gone now. She moved back home. We are definitely following up with her to make sure the missionaries go and see her, but we wont work with her anymore. but it doesn't matter because we are just the instruments. this isn't my mission--this is the Savior's mission and i've been blessed with the opportunity to help in His work and His glory.
it makes me think of this woman that i once worked with in one of my areas. she really loved the teachings of the Gospel and felt the spirit really strong testify that it was true. but one day she nervously told us that she had suffered from same gender attraction since she was young and she knew that it wasn't accepted in our church. After she explained sorrowfully her struggle she looked at us wanting to know our response. wanting to know her standing in the church and...well...with God. We said the first thing that came to our hearts. "God loves you. You are his daughter and He loves you so much. He loves you more than you'll ever know. God loves you." We didn't say anything super unique or profound, but in that moment the room filled with the love and the Spirit of the Lord testified that what we had said was true. All of us in the room were touched by that love that God has for his daughter.
People have hard lives, but God is watching out for them and loves them...this i can testify with a surety.
sister johnson
We also taught a woman named Karen. i want to tell you her story so i changed her name so I can tell you what she's been through. we met her in the parking lot of her apartment complex. She told us that she was from another part of Texas, but her husband and she had separated because she said, "he's mad at me..." After talking to her a little more she told us that she was having problems that she couldn't quite understand and her husband basically sent her away. At first we were thinking, what a jerk. but as we talked to her she told us that one night she was just feeling weird. That same kind of weird that got her sent away from her family. it scared her so much that she called the police and they admitted her to the state mental institution. A week later she was diagnosed with bi-polar with severe depression. They started her on some medication and that's when we ran into her. She was super sweet but so sad because she didn't understand what is going on with her. She was so sad because she said her husband wouldn't say he loved her anymore. She said she was lonely. we taught her about the plan of salvation and tried to uplift her and gave her some scriptures to read. it was sad. but she said she felt better after our discussion. We told her that even though she was lonely, she was not alone. God was watching out for her. We told her that she could pray for the strength of Jesus to help her endure her sorrow. A week later we returned and she was doing much better. She said that her husband had come to visit her. They had talked about things and he seemed to want to support her through her trial now that they had a better understanding of what was going on. She said that one day she was really, really sad, but she prayed through her tears and it helped a lot. I'm not doing a very good job at helping the reader feel how significant this experience was for me. it was just beautiful to see how the atonement works. God had not forgotten her. He sent the missionaries to her so she wouldn't be completely alone. We did nothing, but that which we are taught. We are led everyday to those that need us most. My testimony of God's love for His children has grown so much on my mission because I see the way he shapes His children's lives and places people and blessings in their path to help them.
karen is gone now. She moved back home. We are definitely following up with her to make sure the missionaries go and see her, but we wont work with her anymore. but it doesn't matter because we are just the instruments. this isn't my mission--this is the Savior's mission and i've been blessed with the opportunity to help in His work and His glory.
it makes me think of this woman that i once worked with in one of my areas. she really loved the teachings of the Gospel and felt the spirit really strong testify that it was true. but one day she nervously told us that she had suffered from same gender attraction since she was young and she knew that it wasn't accepted in our church. After she explained sorrowfully her struggle she looked at us wanting to know our response. wanting to know her standing in the church and...well...with God. We said the first thing that came to our hearts. "God loves you. You are his daughter and He loves you so much. He loves you more than you'll ever know. God loves you." We didn't say anything super unique or profound, but in that moment the room filled with the love and the Spirit of the Lord testified that what we had said was true. All of us in the room were touched by that love that God has for his daughter.
People have hard lives, but God is watching out for them and loves them...this i can testify with a surety.
sister johnson
we found 11 new investigators this week....that's amazing... for me anyways....And we picked up 13 more investigators because the entire stake's boundaries changed and we got a pretty good-sized chunk our of the Elder's area. We are no longer going to share the ward with the elders because a new ward was just created and they are going to cover it. Don't take this the wrong way (because I know some of you will want to), but they were kind of like extra companions because we had to see them at least once a day to get to dinner appointments and such and so it will be weird not seeing them anymore. But now we're doing a car share with the woodlake elders. Ugh. can't get rid of these little brothers who cramp our style. haha. just jokin.
Anyways, we've got a jam-packed week this next week and all the wards are in complete upheaval which will be interesting, but fun. Tonight we get to eat at the coleman's. sister coleman is from Thailand and she said she would make my favorite thai dish: sticky rice with pork dipped in brownish sauce with little green leafs floating in it. I don't know exactly what the dish consisted of because when my host mom made me food back in Thailand I never asked what was in it cause the few times I did ask I got answers like: pig tongue and fried peacock, and that just ruined the dining experience. so anyways, I'm excited to know what she's going to make.
We are teaching a family called the Kendziors. the wife is a less-active-wanting-to-come-back member and her husband is a somewhat interested investigator...and they have the cutest kids ever. Ohhhhh. they are super cute. the little 4 year old boy, Qwinton, always gives me a hug and says, "I love you." Ahhhhh....
We're teaching another lady named Letasha who has a super cute little boy too. During our lessons he'll ask over and over and over and over....and over again, "what's this?" Our lesson this week sounded something like this, " I know that this....a pig...book will help you and your....a pen....find happiness.
We're teaching some other super neat people too, but I don't have time to go into all of them right now.
Anyways, we've got a jam-packed week this next week and all the wards are in complete upheaval which will be interesting, but fun. Tonight we get to eat at the coleman's. sister coleman is from Thailand and she said she would make my favorite thai dish: sticky rice with pork dipped in brownish sauce with little green leafs floating in it. I don't know exactly what the dish consisted of because when my host mom made me food back in Thailand I never asked what was in it cause the few times I did ask I got answers like: pig tongue and fried peacock, and that just ruined the dining experience. so anyways, I'm excited to know what she's going to make.
We are teaching a family called the Kendziors. the wife is a less-active-wanting-to-come-back member and her husband is a somewhat interested investigator...and they have the cutest kids ever. Ohhhhh. they are super cute. the little 4 year old boy, Qwinton, always gives me a hug and says, "I love you." Ahhhhh....
We're teaching another lady named Letasha who has a super cute little boy too. During our lessons he'll ask over and over and over and over....and over again, "what's this?" Our lesson this week sounded something like this, " I know that this....a pig...book will help you and your....a pen....find happiness.
We're teaching some other super neat people too, but I don't have time to go into all of them right now.
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