Warmest Winter I've Ever Had

First Christmas on the mission, check! I loved it and I loved being
able to see your faces through skype, and I wish I could have seen all
of you, but unfortunately time does not allow for that. But it was
wonderful to get to talk to you...only 5 more months till the next
time! 

So Christmas Eve is big for Hispanics, they don't really
celebrate on Christmas Day, but Christmas Eve is an all night fiesta.
Unfortunately as missionaries our fiesta only lasts till 9:30, but it
was still awesome. We went over to the Flores's house, a family in our
ward that is amazing. Hna. Flores is like an adopted mother to me. So
she had us come over early to help her cook, which is not very often
that she'll let you help her cook, and she is an amazing chef so that was
fun, and then we just ate these amazing sandwiches con pollo, way
better than your normal sandwich, and just talked with people up until
we went. It was so much fun just because of the spirit of family and
festivities that was there. 

Then Christmas Day we were with the mission most of the day.  We watched 

Inside Out as a mission, and funny story about that, so there had been a rumor 

going around that we would watch Star Wars, but President had put an end to that. 

Then as we're all sitting there in the theater room in the Visitors Center, the Star
Wars theme music comes on, and the opening credits start rolling. I
almost started crying I was so excited, but then the screen came on
saying "just kidding" and I don't think I've been so let down before
in my life hahaha.

But I've had so many wonderful experiences this week, and I'll share
one with you really quick. On Christmas Eve. I was lying there in bed
just thinking, and I thought about the night, over 2000 years ago,
that a star appeared. I can not imagine the amount of excitement that
surrounded that sign. Or for the Nephites who had suffered persecution
for years, the night was as bright as day. Finally, the sign of the
Savior of the world came. I wondered how I would have felt on that
night. How excited, grateful, amazed, etc, I would have felt. I know
that our Savior did come, and that He came and was crucified so that
we can live again with our families and with Him for eternity. I am
grateful everyday for Him and all that He did and does for me
everyday. Sé que El vive. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas,
and have an amazing new year! Set some nice goals for yourself!

Les quiero mucho,

Hna. Johnson

 Hna Pacheco, yo and Hna Flores on Christmas Eve

 Skype call with the family on Christmas Day!

Christmas is Full of Surprises

Man this week I've learned that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.
So we're sitting there in transfer meeting and they're announcing all
the companionships in my zone and they get to Glenmont, and they
announce, "Hna. Luna-Chico and Hna. Minguito...and they will be
receiving Hna. Acosta" I'm very certain my "what?!?" was audible to
the entire room. So backtracking a little bit. Hna. Acosta and I were
told by president that we would be staying together for a while, at
least another transfer (6 weeks). We knew we were moving apartments
cause that's what they had told us when we got the phone call on
Saturday night. "Hna Acosta and Johnson you will be moving but staying
in the same ward." No big deal. So we have all our stuff packed and
ready, but no major changes. Literally everyone thought we were
staying together, the ward, the missionaries, ourselves. So needless
to say, we were both incredibly shocked. But...long story short, I
have a new companion!! Her name is Hna. Pacheco and we both came out
together so we are definitely struggling making it through right now.
She and I both finished training, so it's kind of like being a really
nice warm cocoon and then being thrown into Arctic Ocean without a
life vest. A little intimidating, but we'll make it through. She's an
awesome teacher, so I have so much to learn from her.
So I am still in the same area, and funny enough, Hna. Acosta is one of my roommates.
The ward is very confused because we're still both there but not
companions anymore. I hope they catch on soon.


So this week has been a little crazy with moving, and transfers and
all that, but I guess one of my favorite experiences happened
yesterday. Cynthia is the daughter of one of our members and she just
got home this week from her mission. She is amazing, and such an
example to me of being committed to the work. So yesterday she had a
fireside and asked me to bear my testimony. I was sitting there
listening to her as she bore her testimony of this work and it really
hit me in that moment, that this is it. This is the only chance I get
to be a missionary, at least in this sort of way. It was probably the
most motivating thought and experience I've ever had. I want to be
able to stand at that pulpit at the end of these amazing 18 months and
say I tried as hard as I could. I'll be working hard to get there.


Something I loved from my studies this week was a scripture in 1 Nephi
15:11. It says, "if ye will harden not your hearts, and ask me in
faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my
commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you." This
applies to so many aspects of our lives, whether it's growing our own
testimony, answering doubts, learning where we need to go next in
life, or simply who to help that day, I know that if we have anything
that we wish to know, and we have the faith that God will answer us,
He will. He listens to and answers every prayer. So this week I
challenge you to take your concerns to the Lord first. He is the one
who can guide us in the direction we need to go, and He is more than
happy to, we simply need to ask first.


Les quiero muchísimo! Tengan una buena semana y Feliz Navidad!

Hna. Johnson

The Week Everyone Answered Their Phones

Okay so I know it's not quite Christmas yet, but it seems like it'll
be here before we know it. So wow, what a great week. I can't begin to
describe how tired I am, partly because when we serve in the Visitor's
Center our sleeping schedule gets shifted an hour later, so my
internal clock is all messed up right now. But we have been so busy
with the Festival, the time we do have in our area is very limited so
we try to pack in as much as we can, but we have seen so many
miracles in this past week. It seems as if Heavenly Father has just
been handing people into our lap to teach and it's very humbling to
see that. I know that He hears and answers our prayers as we align our
will with His and then look for those answers. We had Stake Conference
this weekend, and so many of the leaders spoke about the importance of
not just DOING what is right, but really letting the Atonement shape
who we are and BECOMING someone better. I've always seen this
principle taught by the Savior in His ministry. We must become
something else. I love this principle of the gospel, and I know that
through Christ and His atonement we can accomplish that little by
little. So in other news, summary of the week: we got a lot of new
investigators, and all of the people we haven't been able to contact
answered their phones! It's really those little miracles that just
make my day. Also we have transfers this week, and Hna Acosta are
staying together! I'm super pumped, one because I get to work with her
for another transfer, and also because I really love the area I'm in
and people I am serving with. We are moving apartments though, so
we've spent a solid amount of the day packing and cleaning! Yah for
P-days haha! But I hope you all have a wonderful week and are enjoying
the Christmas season. It's a chilling 70 degrees over here in
Maryland! I'm not even sure what winter is anymore haha. We'll have a
wonderful week and look for opportunities to serve others in this
wonderful time of year!

Hna Johnson

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Where to begin...this week I have learned so many things, and just a
little background, the past two or three weeks have been very, very
slow in missionary work in our area. Our days have consisted of hours
of tracting and then not being able to find the people again the next
day. Our numbers have been really low and it's been a little
discouraging. Then our two progressing investigators went MIA... So,
We decided to fast on Tuesday so that we could find new people to
teach. It wasn't until this weekend that we really saw the blessings
of that fast and those prayers. Yesterday, Denora, one of our
investigators came to church!! She's been invited so many times by us
and the elders before and she has never come until this week, and she
even went up and bore an amazing testimony of the love that Heavenly
Father has for each of us. Also, one of the less active families we
work a lot with all came! It's the first time one of the daughters has
been in church for a long, long time. We also had a part member family
that just moved in come to church and they are in our area! And the
wife is super interested.


Then the Festival of Lights started. So we are at the Visitors Center
3 nights a week and man it is crazy. There are so many people there
from all around the world every night. I've spoken Russian every
single night I've been there and of course Spanish. I love being in
there. It's such an amazing experience because the people are
literally coming to you, all you have to do is ask the right questions
and follow the Spirit. I've really realized just how much I've learned
in these past 4 months. Since the VC is so crazy, I'm not with Hna.
Acosta half the time. You're with other sisters all the time cause it's
kinda just whoever is available in the moment, and I've really seen
how the Lord qualifies those he calls. I wouldn't be able to do this
on my own if it were not for Jesucristo and His atonement.


Also Ambassador Night was really neat! The wife of he Russian
ambassador loves me and required that I tell her my first name. It was
such an honor to be around so many leaders, and just have the chance to
represent the church to so many countries. I love this mission!


Well my challenge this week is to share the new video that the church
has put out, A Savior is Born. It reminds us that He came and gave His
life for all of us. He is everything. I know that He lives with all my
heart and I love being able to testify of that every day. Well, enjoy
the snow for me!

Hermana Johnson

Lights!

 Our Christmas decorations.  Hna Acosta hasn't put up a stocking yet.

The Olympic runner from Sri Lanka I met last night.

A Savior is Born

Christmas Music and Holiday Traffic

Well, happy late Thanksgiving!! I hope you all stuffed your faces like
we did. (Mom you're going to have a hissy fit cause I didn't take a
single picture so I apologize). So the beginning of the week was just
a pretty average week. A little slow, a lot of tracting, but we found
some solid new people to teach so shout out for new investigators!
Then Thanksgiving was on Thursday and, man, holidays on a mission are
weird. Hna. Acosta and I thought we were going to have a ton of down
time for studying, making food, and all that fun good stuff, because
we had a service activity in the morning and then didn't have dinner
until 7, but some prayers were answered and we were actually only at
our apartment for about 30 minutes the entire day. I love the members
in this ward and how much they love and care for the missionaries.
They are so concerned about our well being and it's such a blessing to
serve with them. We had dinner with 3 different families and then of
course everyone gives you their leftovers so let's just say we have A
LOT of food haha. Well Festival of Lights starts tomorrow, and we'll
be helping out in the Visitors Center 3 nights every week, which is
going to be a ton of fun. Not only do we get to feel the Spirit that
is there, but the Visitors Center has a goal to receive 2000 referrals
this month from the Festival. It'll be an amazing thing to be a part
of. Well, in other exciting news, Denora, the mom of Rene, our recent
convert, came to the Visitors Center with her two sons and we taught
her about the Plan of Salvation (God's plan for each of us in this
life). She said that she wants to enter into the temple someday, and
that she would like to be baptized!! Heavenly Father truly prepares
people to receive His gospel and I am so excited to see her receive
those blessings in her home.

In other news, I finished the Book of Mormon this morning, for the
last time in English for a while because I'll be reading in Spanish
from now on. I just want to add my testimony to so many others than I
know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is the word of God and it is
the most true book of any on this earth. Through it and the Bible we
have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that God lives
and that His Son, Jesus Christ, suffered and died so that each one of
us can, through Him, gain peace in this life and in the life to come.
He is my Loving Older Brother, and He is my Savior. Yo sé que El vive.
Y sé que el Libro de Mormón trae más a una vida de una persona que
cualquier otra cosa. Esta es la iglesia verdadera. Y digo esto en el
nombre de Jesucristo.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! Enjoy the Christmas
season and remember the reason that we have all that we do. Hasta la
próxima semana!

Hermana Johnson

Where Did November Go?

Familia y amigos!

Not gonna lie, this has definitely been one of my longer weeks on a
mission. Hna Acosta and I are both in agreement there. It's been a
great week, just long. So I guess I'll start off with, I hit my 3
month mark this week!! Also, last P-Day we had a taco party at our
apartment, and the rest of this week has just been full of good food.
We had pupusas twice this week, so I'm a happy missionary. (Pupusas
are this El Salvadorean food. It's like a really thick tortilla
filled with cheese and pork and has all these toppings...sooo good).


So probably one of my favorite experiences from this week, and my
mission in general, happened on Friday night. We had an activity with
the youth where we went on splits with them to a members home to teach
the Restoration. So there were 3 young women and 2 of them are
sisters, who speak zero English, are super shy, and have only been
members of the church for a year. Of course Hna. Acosta put me with
them hahaha. Then we went to a house where the parents are active
members, but the kids aren't. So the lesson had even more sentido. On
top of that, the kids of the family really only speak English. Talk
about language barriers haha. So I was pretty nervous. I've never
taught a lesson on my own, and especially not in both English and
Spanish, so I said multiple prayers in the car. We got into the lesson
and it was the mom and two of her kids who usually never come
downstairs when the missionaries are there. Right away blessings. The
two sisters have amazing testimonies and I feel so blessed that I got
to hear them bear their testimonies, and then hear the thoughts and
testimonies of the family as well. The lesson went great, and I felt
so blessed to have been given the ability by my Heavenly Father to do
something both way out of my comfort zone and my skill level. The
power of prayer is real!


I'm gonna steal a spiritual thought from a friend of mine in Tonga
(thanks Sis. Pinnock!). She said that the Lord doesn't call us because
it's logical. It is not logical for me to be here, speaking Spanish.
It isn't logical. That applies to so many of our other callings as
well. The Lord never calls us because it is logical, He calls us
because He knows what we can accomplish through
His Atonement. We each have callings in this life, and if we turn
ourselves and dedicate our work to Him, He can do far more with it
than we ever could. I know this to be true.
Pasen buenas semanas! Les quiero mucho! Y gracias por todo que hagan!

Hermana Johnson

Siempre Aprendiendo (Always Learning)

Well this week has been a week of lessons. Lots of lessons. The new
transfer started and so like we both expected, Hermana Acosta and I
are together for another transfer. We are both super excited to
work our tails off and see just now much we can help the area pick up
again before the Festival of Lights starts here at the Temple Visitor's
Center. It's gonna be exciting just to see how many miracles the next
2-3 weeks will bring. So like the subject says, this week I have
learned so much. We had 3 really rough lessons that taught me so much.
It's funny how much more we learn from the difficult experiences, but
I guess that's why they're there, so we can learn.

So I'll tell you about the first one. We have been meeting with this
girl who was baptized into the church as a niña, but she hasn't been
to church for a long time. We've always just barely missed her when
we've tried to meet with her, but this time we finally had an
appointment and she was really excited! So we sit down and start
talking to her about what the previous Elders had talked to her about,
why she hasn't been to church, etc. And she was super open with us.
She has such a strong testimony of our Savior and the role He has in
her life, but she just really struggles with believing in prophets and
the Book of Mormon. We extended the invitation to her to really read
it, and pray about it. Because really, what better answer can you get
than one from Heavenly Father himself? But she pushed it aside and
said she was happy with what she had, and then breaks it to us that
she is being baptized into another church. My heart just broke. She
has the truth and the path to eternal happiness right in front of her,
but she can't see it yet. I know Hna. Acosta and I tried our very best
in that lesson. The Spirit was speaking so strongly through us, but it
just wasn't enough for her.

It's hard to leave those kind of lessons, but you learn so much about
how agency works. Our Heavenly Father always knows what is best for
us, and that is this gospel, but He still allows us to make our own
choices, no matter how much they hurt Him. He loves us so dearly that
He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesucristo, to the world. And
Jesucristo loves us so much that He suffered not just for our sins,
but for our trials, our sickness, and our afflictions. He knows how we
feel every second of the day. I testify that He lives, and that He
really did overcome our pains and sins on that day in the Garden of
Gethsemane and on the cross. He overcame physical death when He was
resurrected on the third day so that we can one day live with Him
again if we follow His gospel and endure to end. I love Him. Yo sé que
El vive. Él es todo.

Hermana Bree

P.S. Also there is a video that I want you to go watch. It makes me cry every time, and I want you to watch it in Spanish because for me it has so much power in that language. It is called Gracias a Él  from mormon.org.

 (And here is the English version for non-Spanish speakers)

And finally, pictures!!

The gorgeous temple

I found O'Fallon Street!

Daylight Savings Throws Everything Off

 So it's been a transfer (6weeks) which is crazy to think. I've already
been out for about 3 months, which seems so short compared to 18 but
considering how fast it went by I'm amazed. So me and Hermana Acosta
are staying together and we're staying in this area which I am really
excited about. I love this ward and the people that we are working
with, and the idea of moving areas is just really depressing and it's
only been one transfer! I can't imagine how some of the other
missionaries feel that get moved after 6 months or so. But we will find
out on Wednesday whether or not we will for sure be in the Visitors
Center, but since it's Christmas time, we are about 97% sure we will
be. It's crazy how quickly Christmas is coming up and it definitely
doesn't feel like it here in this very odd 70 degree weather. But
anyways, we've taught the restoration a lot this week which has been
great because I've been working on and praying to improve my teaching
skills this coming transfer. But there's been one thing that has
really stood out to me as we've been teaching these lessons. It
doesn't matter how much they feel the Spirit in the lessons, or how
much sense it makes in their head. If they don't take the time to
really read the Book of Mormon and pray about its truthfulness for
themselves, they'll never become converted to the gospel. The same
goes for members of the church. The only way that we will really stay
on track is by doing those little things. I've realized so much since
being on a mission where I invite people to do that every single day,
how much more it would have helped me back through those more
difficult times before being a missionary. So here is my challenge, if
you aren't already, begin reading the Book of Mormon every single
night and praying sincerely morning and night. They are such simple
things that make the world of a difference.

So...story time! I'll share a spiritual experience from earlier this
week. We have an investigator named Clara who we've been teaching
since my second day out here. She is preparing to be baptized at the
end of this month and she is just amazing. So we were talking with her
about the word of wisdom (no alcohol, drugs, coffee or tea), but we had
the feeling to ask her about her testimony of Jose Smith and the Libro
de Mormon. So we asked her what she could remember about Joseph Smith,
and she admitted that she couldn't remember much. Then she looked us
in the eyes and said, but I know he was a prophet. Man we got up and
hugged her right there. It was a prayer answered. We don't need to
have a perfect knowledge of all things as Alma says. We just need that
little seed of faith that grows and grows.

Thank you for all of the letters and all of support. I love you all
and I hope you find the hand of our Heavenly Father in your life this
week. It's always there! Les quiero!

Hermana Bree

A delicious ice cream cookie we ate!

The Mystery of the Lost Emails - Solved!

* From Mom:

I had been wondering for two months why I was never receiving the emails Hermana Bree made reference to in some of her letters home. She mentioned that the president would contact me about her iPad and general rules, etc.  Finally, this week, we discovered that the mission had my email entered incorrectly so, although the information was being sent, it never came to me.  I had the emails forwarded and discovered three terrific pictures of Hermana Bree on her first days in the DC North Mission.  Two upon her arrival at the DC temple with President and Sister Cooke and with her arriving group.  The next is a picture with her trainer, Hermana Acosta the next morning. 

This message came from the mission office:
Thank you for letting us borrow your sweet daughter. She is doing great here in the mission.
She is a wonderful missionary and she works hard. She is also progressing well in the language. Chao! 

Hooray for surprise pictures and missing emails!

The Week Everyone Moved to Guatemala

So it's been another beautiful week here on the East Coast. The trees
are still gorgeous and missionary work is still going great. We had
one of our investigators come to church this past Sunday so that was
awesome. He just tells us all the time that it's all makes
sense and is wonderful. So we are counting our blessings with him! We
spent a lot of this week visiting members who were on the ward records
but no one had seen in a while, so our week wasn't great as far as
numbers go, but we found out that a lot of those people had moved, and
even got a few potential people to teach next week! One of those was a
woman named Digna. Man, she is a powerhouse! She has 6 kids all under
the age of 10 and just sitting in her house was a pleasure. You could
tell how much love her kids have for her and vice versa. We talked
with her a little about the important role that we, as women, have in
this life, and we are very excited to see her later this week.  We
also had the privilege of meeting a dear friend of one of our members
this week. The member is one of the strongest members in our ward, and
they are close friends from childhood. The friend has had the
missionaries over many times in the past and lives right next to the
temple in Guatemala, but is not a member of the church. We shared a
video and message with her that really touched her and she said she is
going to look for the missionaries when she returns to Guatemala this
week. Also to continue our theme, Alex, one of our strongest
potentials moved to Guatemala unannounced....we received a phone call
from him explaining that he was leaving to Guatemala and would not be
returning. A little bit of a shock, but I know that if he has a desire
to continue learning the words of Christ, he will be led to find the
truth once again.
So this week my testimony that has really grown a lot is that the
gospel is for everyone, but everyone is also different. There were
many experiences where I realized sometimes it's just that one phrase,
that one scripture or that once video that really touches people and
awakens them to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look for those
opportunities to be that person that touches someone's life. It's
amazing what the Spirit will guide us to do if we are willing to
listen. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is
the same church that Jesus Christ established in His life. I know that
the gospel of Jesus Christ are the only way that we can become and
obtain all that our Father in Heaven has prepared for us. El nos ama.
Se que Jesucristo vive. El es mi luz y mi vida. Estoy agradecida por
Su sacrificio cada dia.
Have a great week! Vayan con Dios!

Hermana Johnson

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, our P-Day trip with the
mission president's wife, Sister Cooke. I felt right at home!

Mondongo Doesn't Sit Well With the White Kids

Well yet again, time is short for stories, so I'll just send pictures this week. But I love you all, the work is good!

 The gorgeous trees in the East!

 Air and Space Museum

 Festival de Hispanidad

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Johnson

 

 

*And a bit from the letter home:

My ward is awesome. There is a LOT of work to do, over half the ward doesn't come to church so our goal for this week is to work with a lot of less actives. It's hard to bring in investigators when the ward itself isn't retaining. But the members of the ward are so very loving. I'm sure you know that about Hispanics. There's a family here that we are working with that are from Tegucigalpa and probably would have been there the same time as you. They fed us mondongo....my stomach was not sure what to think of it. hahaha

We don't have set service, they just kinda ask us to do something every once in a while. Most the time its just service for members in the ward.

One of our Investigators, Jose, came to church!! He is straight off the plane from the DR and he is one of the nicest human beings I've ever met. We are so excited to meet with him more.

 I honestly had some moments this week that I thought, I love this! I want to do this for 18 months. Miracles!

Love you, The happy hermana!

 Bree

1/9th Down

Wow it's crazy to believe that it's been 2 months today! Time really is weird here on a mission. Well this week has been a lot of return appointment and finding, and I don't have to much time to share stories. But I can bear testimony of a few things I learned this week. One, the gospel is true. It sounds funny to be hearing that from a missionary, but I have gained a stronger testimony of that than I ever thought possible. Every little aspect of the gospel is true, it really is the true Church of Jesus Christ, the same church that he established when he was on the earth and I am thankful every single day to have it in my life. Second, the spirit really does guide us in what to say. I got asked to bear my testimony this week in church and of course my Spanish is very sub-par, but I got up and bore the testimony that I knew how to, that Jesus Christ lives and that we need His atonement each and every day. I know those words were guided by the spirit, and my Spanish was no where near perfect, but it was understandable. I love seeing in lessons just how much it can help me to say. The gift of tongues is real! I am also very thankful for temple work and the power it has to seal families together for time and all eternity on this earth. That really is the happiness that our Father in Heaven wants for us. I love you all and am sorry for the short letter this week. 

Tengan una buena semana!! 
Hermana Bree

 PS - Also I apologize profusely. I took tons of pictures this week. There was a ward activity, Festival de Hispanidad. And there was so much dancing and food and it was awesome I loved it. and then I didn't bring my cord to the church to email cause we were in a rush so I am so sorry.

Spanish Food is the Greatest

Well the weather has been way better this week! It's been sunny and 70ish all week so I'll take it! We went into DC today for a little bit and man I love this city. When you look for it, you can really feel how inspired the formation of this country was. God is involved in all of it.

Spanish is coming slowly but surely. Like I've said, it's definitely a challenge in the states when most the day you use English, but I love being called Spanish speaking. I got to meet the ward yesterday (since conference was the previous Sunday) and they are all just amazing. We had testimony meeting, and I don't know that I've ever been to a more powerful testimony meeting. All of them bore such powerful testimonies of the Savior and His Atonement, which really is the center of everything we do. So yeah, Hispanics are really just the most loving people, even towards a tall white girl who barely speaks their language. I love working with them. And of course the food is always amazing.

 

Also, since we are in the states, Spanish people are kinda spread out which is where the ward really comes in. They are fantastic at giving referrals, or names of people that are interested in the gospel. It's amazing to see how much the gospel means to them and how badly they want to share it with others. I've never seen that kind of enthusiasm before.

 

One of the cool things about being in this area is that there are so many countries represented and so many people who will just let you in cause it's their custom to let any visitors inside. Even if they don't want to hear about the gospel, it's always nice to be welcomed.

 

Other than that, all is well. Missionary work is still hard, but every day gets better. I can testify that Jesus Christ lives, that He and our Heavenly Father know us better than we could ever imagine and They are always, always there. It is that testimony that really makes this work so important. So many people don't know that one basic truth. The power of the Atonement is real, and it can help us overcome both the biggest and the smallest of problems. I love this gospel and feel so blessed to have it is my life. It is true! Les quiero! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Bree

 

 Library of Congress

Hey Obama!

Well I finally made it!!

 DC is gorgeous, well Maryland cause that's where my area is. It looks a lot like Massachusetts so lots of trees, windy roads and rolling hills. My favorite thing so far has been asking people where they're from. This place is SO diverse. I've started keeping a list of all the countries people are from. I think I've gotten half of Africa and my ward has all of South and Central America except for Brazil.

So the first day was awesome. We got to meet with President and Sister Cooke, and they are just the best. They are so concerned about the well being of all their missionaries, and since the mission is small we get to see them at least every few weeks, which is awesome! I love them. We rode the metro over to the temple, saw the Visitors Center (I'll spend 12 weeks there at some point in my mission) and then spent the rest of the night at the mission home.

It's rained a lot, like everyday except for today, and we do a lot of tracting, knocking on doors and sharing our message about Jesus Christ and families. I definitely understand what people mean when they say missionary work is hard, but it's those moments that people let you share the gospel with them that make it all okay. 

My companion is Hermana Acosta, she's from Utah, but she's half Dominican half Panamanian and speaks amazing Spanish so that has been such a blessing to me. She's been great at helping me figure out how to say certain things. Learning Spanish is the states is definitely really tough. You really have to put in the effort cause it's so easy to just speak in English the whole time. Most the time tracting we speak English, so that's always fun to find people and pass them on to the English sisters, but hey as long as they're coming closer to Christ somehow it's a success in my book!

Conference was awesome this weekend! It went by so fast, but the messages of the prophet, apostles and the general authorities were just what I needed to hear. I definitely can testify that each of those men are called of God. And then for a conference miracle! We were following up on some people that we had found the other day, and there was a man in the parking lot,. We saw him like three times, and the third time he stopped us and asked if we were missionaries. He said he loved what we were doing, and we had a gospel discussion with him for a solid hour just in the parking lot,. He has been so prepared by the Lord to hear the gospel, it's almost like he was teaching us. He said he's always wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon, so we gave him one and he asked if we could come by another time. And the best part, he's Spanish!!! So there you go. 

Missionary work is real. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know, like they said in conference, that through his atonement we can overcome all things. I love this gospel!

Con amor, Hermana Bree

Also sorry, no pictures.  I forgot my cord.

DC Phone Call

*Hermana Bree's mom again

At 9:19pm we received a phone call from Washington DC (actually Maryland).  It was Hermana Bree's new mission president.  He wanted us to know that she had arrived safely and had spent her first day riding the Metro, seeing the DC temple, having her first interview with the president and enjoying dinner with the other entering missionaries.  She would be staying overnight at the mission home and would meet her new companion after breakfast the next morning.  He said he was most impressed by her strength.  His exact words, "she is so strong," describe my beautiful girl perfectly.  It's been a great day!

Airport Phone Calls

* Posted by Bree's mom

At precisely 8:45am the phone rang!  I had been carrying my cell around all morning to guarantee I wouldn't miss her.  I know she had hoped to call a little earlier and talk to her siblings, but it didn't quite work out for her since the last of the buses had taken them off to school only 15 minutes earlier.  The good news was, although her dad was already at work, he didn't have a client meeting until 9am.  I talked to her briefly, then told her to call her dad so she wouldn't miss him and  I would wait for her to call back since I had no schedule restrictions.  I waited anxiously for an hour with no word.  Finally, at 9:48am the phone rang again.  She had run into a little difficulty making her calls.  The phone card she was given had enough minutes on it, but was only good for one use.  She didn't realize this until she had hung up with me and tried to call her dad.  The phone card was now useless. A kind person in the airport let her borrow a phone to quickly call her father before his 9am meeting.  It took her a little while longer to find someone else who was willing to lend a phone to a missionary so she could call me back.  I don't know their names, but thank you to the family from Hawaii who shared a phone with my missionary in the UT airport!!  We only had a short time to visit, but she was so excited to begin working with the people in DC.  She was a little nervous about being able to develop her Spanish well since she would be living in the US, but was happy and optimistic and her voice made me smile all day long!!

I tracked her flight all the way to DC and "watched" her land in her new home for the next 16 months. I am excited to see when the mission president posts pictures to the mission blog of her first day and I can't wait for her first letter from her first area!!

MTC Week 6 - It's Getting Real

*Hermana Bree just realized this was never sent on p-day. I got a chance to talk to her this morning  on her way to DC while she waited in the airport. She asked me to send it out to all of you.  Her next letter will probably not arrive until next Monday - we think that will be her new p-day.  Sorry it's late! And she sounded terrific on the phone, in case you were wondering.

Well, first news of the week, we got our flight plans on Friday! I just have a straight flight to DC and I'm with 6 other missionaries but I haven't met any of them yet, so it's gonna be a lot of fun getting to know them, I'm so excited! It makes it all seem so real. I still can't believe that I'm leaving in 5 days. Where does time go??

We said goodbye to Hermana Johnston Monday morning when she left us for Trinidad so now our trio is down to two. I'm so grateful for the many lessons I learned from her these past two weeks, and I wish her the best in Trinidad.

Other than that our week has been rather uneventful in stories (it's always eventful in learning and spiritual experiences). We had our last lesson with our investigator Mercedes on Friday and it went great. She bore her testimony to us and she is just such a strong person. I love her so much! But yeah, so we haven't taught anyone since then other each other during study time. It;s been a little hard not to have anything specific to plan for but I'm also grateful I have the time to study the lessons in general so that I can teach better when I get out to DC. 

An experience from this week that has really stood out to me and Hermana Shaw is the reality of the scriptures in our lives, specifically Ether 12:27  

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. 

Heavenly Father has definitely shown us our weaknesses these past few weeks. It's funny that almost as soon as you recognize something that you're not great at, He shows you something else.I can just imagine Him up there thinking, "Alright come on! One down let's work on something else now." I'm so thankful to have a loving Heavenly Father who wants me to improve and be the best I can be and I am thankful for my Savior Jesucristo who makes improvement and change possible. Me encanta este Evangelio y se que es la verdad. le bendici mi vida otra vez y otra vez. I love the MTC and all I have learned and I can't wait to get out in the field and apply it!

Con amor,

Hermana Bree Johnson

 (A text message photo received from the MTC of Hermana Bree's departing district.)

Phone Call!!

So I was a nut and forgot to bring my flight plans with me, but I leave the MTC at 4:35 AM tomorrow, so I should get to the airport around 5:30-6. Give me probably half an hour or so to get through security and find my gate, so I should call sometime around 6:30-7 Mountain, so 7:30 your time. Also of course there is a very limited amount of phones at airports so there might be a delay if I'm waiting for other people/missionaries. My flight leaves at 10ish, so I'm sorry for the big window, but I could call anytime between 7:30-10. Yah!! I have a call card, so I have plenty of money so no worries there. Les amo!! I have plenty of space in my suitcase, so weight is also not an issue. Anyways, I'm super excited! It's finally real!! But I will talk to you tomorrow. I think I'm supposed to take around 30 minutes, so not too much time, and I'll try to call as soon as I can so I can talk to some kiddies real quickly maybe.

 Les amo,

Su hija Hermana Bree

MTC Week 5 - Familia

*Email to the family

Hola mama!!

 

 This week has been pretty darn great. As I said, travel plans. I leave Tuesday morning at like 4:35 am and then my flight is at 9 something, but I get the chance to email you on Saturday and let you know when I'll call.  Our trio is back to 2.  Also this week felt a little less progressive since we haven't really been applying any of the things we learn since we're not teaching, but that's all about to change! That's about all I have for you. I hope all the kiddies are doing well in school!  As for my schedule it's pretty much the same every day. I eat, go to class for 4 hours, eat, go to class for 3 hours, gym, eat, class for 4 hours then bed. Nothing too crazy. Devotionals on Sunday and Tuesday. No Sunday nap, I'm very jealous mom. And service on Friday. Todos os amo!! I hope you have a wonderful week and I hope to hear from you! I won't have a big letter for maybe a week and a half since I leave on a Tuesday, but I love you all!

Hermana Bree

MTC Week 4 - Still Here!

As usual time is going by so fast and I can't believe how fast its going! I've been here a month and we get out flight plans on Friday which I'm super pumped for. I still haven't met anyone going to my mission so that's pretty neat. Everyone I meet is going to the south mission but I'll have to keep an eye out for English speakers cause they'll be coming in today.

So this week has gone like most of the others. Lots of class, lots of Spanish, but its a miracle to me how fast 4 hour class blocks go by. I remember how difficult it was to focus in 45 min college classes so I'm just gonna assume that time doing by fast is one of the blessings of being a missionary.

 

The Spanish is coming along slowly but surely still. You learn a little more everyday and I'm super interested to see what it'll be like one I get out in the field since it's stateside. I'm super excited to find out. I'm just really excited in general to get to the field.

 

My zone has basically the greatest elders y hermanas in the MTC. Since Hma Shaw, Johnston and I are the sister training leaders we get to spend time with the other districts which is really fun for us cause we get to know them all really well. But they're all just the best. We get the chance to have devotional kind of things on Sundays and after Tuesday night devotionals where we all get up and share what we liked and our testimonies, etc and the Holy Spirit is just so strong in those meetings. Something really does change when we're set apart as missionaries.

 

I can't think of any funny stories right now, this week has been more of a spiritual learning week for me which I have loved! It's been awesome. But my companions are still great, we laugh really hard everyday and it's always a good time. Hma Johnston leaves us for Trinidad on Sunday so that's gonna be really sad, but I guess that's the story of a mission.

 

I absolutely love being a missionary. It's the greatest thing I've ever done. I get to talk with people about the gospel of Jesus Christ, something I love more than anything, every minute of every single day! Like how neat is that?? But that;s all I can think of right now. This gospel is the truth on this earth and I am so blessed every single day to have it in my life and I can't wait to go and share it with others so that it can help and change them like it has helped and changed me. I am so thankful to be here. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real and it is for everyone, even us missionaries! I think a lot of missionaries forget that we need the atonement too. We'll never be perfect teachers, but if we listen to the promptings of the Spirit and really love the people it'll all work out.

 

Te amo!! Hasta luego!

Hma Bree

 

 Me and Hermana Shaw

 All the hermanas in the zone minus Hermana Johnston

 Companions plus Hermana Schaat

With Sister Knight, Bree's freshman summer roommate.

(Thanks Sister Knight's mom!  I "borrowed" this from facebook.)

MTC Week 3 - Halfway There!!

I really can't believe I'm already halfway done with the MTC. Time is so weird here haha. Spanish is coming along slowly but surely, and it's all good cause I'll basically be starting from ground zero once we get out to DC. Still haven't met anyone going to my mission in any language, so I'm really curious to see who I'll be flying with when they give us flight plans in like a week.

So Hma Shaw and I got a new companion this week! Her name is Hma Johnston, and she's so great. She's been here 6 weeks and has two more with us cause her mission to Trinidad (in the Caribbean) got changed from English to Spanish the night before she came into the mtc so she has to stay for 8 weeks to fit the transfer dates. But we are so happy to have her, since she's been here longer and has had different teachers she's taught us a lot about teaching and how to improve our appointments and such. She's been a great example to Hma Shaw and I. She's also from Gilbert and lived in Provo the past year, so she and I will definitely be seeing each other sometime after.

 

The Lord still teaches little by little, and it can be a little frustrating sometimes. Sometimes you just want the teacher to tell you the answers or tell you what to fix, but that's not the point. The point is to learn how to listen to the inspirations of the Spirit so you can teach people and not lessons, and that really is a lesson that is learned though practice and over time. You just have to have faith in the Lord's promises. "Those he calls he qualifies."

 

Hmo Nordfelt our teacher is also great. He really does a great job of focusing on how we can invite and help people to become converted rather than just join the church. Those are two very different things. Someone can be baptized into the church, but if they don't take the steps to really change their lives, they'll never stay. It's an important lesson, and I love that he focuses so much on that. People can't just accept the Gospel of Jesucristo. They have to live it.

 

Story of the week, so last week we had a lesson with our investigator and Hma Shaw and I had been on splits all day because of the confusion of having random people move in our room due to scheduling errors and her getting asked out of the blue to host new missionaries while I was in the shower. Basically it was a crazy preparation day and we didn't see each other much until that night when we had to teach. I had the impression that we should totally change our lesson plan that we had had planned all week and this was like 20 minutes before we were supposed to teach. Now Mercedes is not a fan of the Book of Mormon, and since that is essential to getting people to come unto Christ, we had planned on talking about that and reading the introduccion with her. We instead felt that we needed to teach about the plan of Salvation, god's plan for us in this life, and focus on why we have trials and the freedom to make choices. It was an awesome lesson and she cried as we read in 2 Nephi 2 about our ability to choose to have joy in this life and in the life to come. Another thing is that she only had 10 minutes, and our original lesson plan would have taken way longer. The Spirit is real and Heavenly Father really knows each of his children and will do anything to bring them unto Christ, all we have to do is listen and he'll tell us what to say

.

Missions are great. I love being out here, and am starting to get sooo excited to go to DC. Se que Jesucristo vive y ama todos de nosotros. He wants us to come closer to him, and I'm so excited for the chance the share that with other people! Until next time!

Hma Bree

 

Also lo siento, I totally forgot to bring my camera so I'll have to double up on pictures next week!

MTC Week 2 - The Soviets are Everywhere

I can't believe its already been a week!! Every day gets better and every day goes by faster. The Spanish is coming along slowly but surely and I learn more about teaching every day. Missionary work is still humbling but I love it so much. So there's 4 hmas in my district and we all share a room and we have gotten so close these past 2 weeks. Actually the whole district has gotten really close these past 2 weeks. These elders and hermanas are family to me. They're basically my brothers and sisters. We laugh so much over the stupidest things. I love seeing how much each of us brings to the mission field with our individual testimonies.

So, like I said I love the MTC. Our teachers are so incredibly patient and loving. Hma Boza who's from Peru is literally the funniest/cutest person ever. She picks on Elder Nelson  (our District Leader) relentlessly and it makes the 3 hour classroom blocks go by way faster. Hma Boza has a super cool story.  She converted 6 years ago, served a mission, and then taught at the Peru MTC for like 4 years and now she's here. She's such a great teacher and really makes sure we all understand our role as missionaries. To invite people to come unto Christ not to teach lesson. 

We've started teaching an "investigor" (she's actually a member but pretends to be an investigaor for our sake) named Mercedes and she is awesome. We've struggled a little with her since she has no interest in the Book of Mormon and kind of turns off whenever we mention it, but we're teaching her again today and we're hoping to help her be a little more open to it.

We also got to teach members yesterday just to practice talking about the gospel in Spanish and there was this one man who's wife died from cancer 2 years earlier. He has such as amazing testimony of the atonement. I am also amazed by my companion. Hma Shaw has the strongest testimony of eternal families and and that we will see our loved ones when we die and she shared that with him. We were all in tears.

Like the title says, there are Russian missionaries everywhere! Well American missionaries going to Russia. And today we had two Russian sisters move into our room, which I'm not gonna lie we were a little bummed about because we love our just having hermanas in our room, but they seem nice. We don't think that they'll be staying long cause Hma Shaw and I are getting a new companion, Hma Johnston (yeah I know we;re all laughing) on Monday and there's no more room in our room, so we'll be making a trip to the scheduling office tomorrow to figure that out. Side note, one of the new Russian sisters has pneumonia so that's fun. 

Other than that, mission work is going great. I'm learning so much every single day! I love my companion and the other hermanas that are basically my companions as well. Until next week,

Hma Bree

And pictures!!!

Back in the Motherland

Wow this past week has been crazy. I'm officially at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and it's definitely true what they say about the days feeling like weeks and the weeks feeling like days. I have no idea where this past week went, but the days all felt soo long. Regardless I love it here. I have the same view of the mountains that I had at BYU cause it's like a mile down the road and it makes me so at home even though its all new. My class/disctrict has 6 elders y 4 hermanas and I love them all so much. Its amazing to me how easy my life has been after talking to some of the health, family, etc struggles that many of them have gone through. We all have so much fun together which really makes the time just fly. I've laughed so much in this past week! The Spanish is coming along. I continually feel super blessed that languages are something that I'm good at cause it's almost all we do here haha. Okay so that's not true. But they start by teaching language and then they start teaching you how to teach investigors. The past few lessons have been a little frustrating to me since they do it in that order, and also cause they kinda want you to learn by making mistakes. Figuring out the balance between being their friend and teaching the lessons have been a little bit of a struggle for me, but Hermano Nordfelt (one of our teachers) said it comes with practice. I can't think of too many specific stories to tell, we just laugh a lot as a district, especially us hermanas. Hermana Shaw is my companion and she is just awesome. She's from Seattle and just graduated high school, but also is somehow older than me which we laugh about all the time. Hermana Schaat is from rexburg and she's definitely the responsible one of the hermanas. Hermana Kinikini is just hilarious and super social. Like stops to meet random people and learn their life stories all the time. Shes visa waiting right now, but we really hope we get her for the whole 6 weeks. Like a couple of my friends have said, missionary work is exhausting. Despite getting 8 hours of sleep we are all just tired all the time. It's super funny to just look around during class, devotionals, lunch, etc and see who's falling asleep. I've seen so many friends here from BYU which has been such a blessing, including Talon (my brother who works at teh MTC). Our zone is awesome. All the hermanas are just the nicest people and have great stories to tell. I'm gonna miss all of them when we all leave. Other than that, P-Day is great! I'm so glad to be here, and to my family members I'm loving the letters! The gospel is true, love you all!

Hermana Bree

so the pictures aren't working on any of these computers so I'm sorry. I'll try again later

First Letter and a Surprise Photo

(Sent by Sister Bree at 11:51am)

I Survived!

So, we only have about 10 minutes to quickly write to our families, but so far the MTC has been great! Only 3 people in my district are going to the same mission, the rest of us are going all over, but mostly stateside. My companion is Hermana Shaw and she is also great. She's from Seattle and is going to South Carolina so she keeps asking me about the East Coast since the furthest east she'd ever been is Chicago. She underestimates the power of humidity haha. Spanish has been going good so far. It's surprising to me how much I remember.  Our room is surrounded by Russian speaking sisters so that's been lots of fun! They always seem very surprised when an Hermana walks up and greets them in Russian. I've run into a handful of friends so far from BYU and it has been such a blessing to see familiar faces. It started when I ran into Sister Pinnock only 5 minutes after I got into the MTC (she's been in my ward all three semesters). The other two hermanas in my district are Hermana Schaat and Hermana Kinikini. Hermana Schaat is going to Las Vegas (Kaila's mission) and Hermana Kinikini is here waiting for her visa before she goes to Guadalajara Mexico. We don't really know each other super well yet, but they seem pretty great to me. Can I just say that missionary work is humbling! It seems like every time you feel confident you're shot down, but the spirit is strong and the whole point of being here is to learn so I'm not too worried. The church is true, and I'll talk to you on Wednesday! Love you!

Hermana Johnson

 

(And back to me.....)

 

From this we glean three important pieces of information. One, I should have named this blog Hermana Bree in DC - didn't think that one through very well.  Two, her preparation day must be on Wednesday, so that's the day to look for letters!  Three, she is happy and learning and her first day has gone well.  Smiles all around!

A little later today I received this fun photo series:

Sister Bree, henceforth renamed Hermana Bree,  has a brother going to BYU who happens to work at the MTC and was there for his shift when she came in to eat. Of course, all greetings with opposite gendered persons have to be at arm's length, although I don't think her brother would have counted.  They will get to see each other quite a few times during her MTC stay.  Please make her dinner extra delicious, Talon! 

 

Happy Day 1 Hermana Bree.