Personal Conference Weekend

Man this week has been so crazy but also so full of blessings! Since
it was Sister Rivas first full week we had a ton of meetings and stuff
like that to take care of, and then of course General
Conference this weekend! So it felt like our time in our area was
very shortened. We knew ahead of time it would be a bit of a more
difficult week as far as lessons go, so we tried to get as many as we
could on the days that were more open and we definitely saw the
blessings of it. Wednesday was one of those days that we knew we were
going to be a little short on time, but we had a goal to try and teach
3 lessons if we could that day to help us reach our weekly goal of 20
lessons which has been a big push in the mission this transfer. So we
had an hour and a half to visit these two people, but decided to talk
to every person we saw on our way and Heavenly Father really helped us
out. Neither of the people were home, but we taught 2 awesome street
lessons to some people who seemed genuinely interested! Then we were
walking back to the car and I saw this one apartment and just felt
like we really needed to go knock on their door. We did and they let
us right in! They'd met with missionaries in the past but it had been
years since they'd seen a missionary. They weren't super interested in
learning more now, but I've learned that Heavenly Father is always
preparing His children to hear the gospel, and our visit was probably
just a friendly reminder to help out the missionaries who knock on
their door a few years down the road.

I have to say though, that General Conference was easily the highlight
of my week. For those who aren't familiar with conference, every six
months, the prophet of the Church and his apostles and other church
leaders address the entire church in a conference that is broadcast
throughout the world. It is one of the greatest times of the year in
my opinion. So this year to try and get a little more our to it, I
came up with 5 questions that I really wanted to focus on, and it
seemed that every session of conference answered each question
perfectly and individually! It's amazing how the Spirit both inspires
the speaker and the listener that even though it was a conference to
the entire world, I can receive answers to my personal question. Hence
the title of the email, it's not a very "general" conference at all!
The Spirit inspires our minds to allow us to have a personal and
individual experience with the words of the prophets. Siento muy
agradecida por ser miembro de esta iglesia. Yo sé sin ninguna duda que
está es la única iglesia verdadera en el mundo hoy. Jesucristo es el
Salvador del mundo y de ti. Nuestro Padre Celestial nos ama tanto que
el mando a Su Hijo para efectuar la expiación para nosotros para que
podamos vivir con Ellos y nuestras familias para siempre y llegar a
ser más como El cada día. Venimos de una familia celestial! Les invito
que puedan fortalecer sus propios testimonios por medio de orar y
preguntar otra vez que esa es la verdad. Yo sé que él siempre nos
contesta. En el nombre de Jesucristo. Amen.

Les quiero mucho! Y que tengan una buena semana mis amigos!

Hermana Yonson

My comp made me arrepas one night. They're like Venezuelan sandwiches
and delicious!

I Never Know What to Title These Things......

 

Happy Monday gente!!

Wow this week has definitely felt a little longer. Last Monday feels
like so long ago! I don't have a ton of time, so I'll cover just the
major things that have happened this week.

In general I feel like I got super nostalgic this week because my
comp, who I love and miss dearly (yeah check out that shout out
Casty), went home this Wednesday. Still in denial. But that means we
spent Tuesday visiting all of the greatest members in the universe. It
was amazing to see what an impact she had had on each of these people's
lives. It just goes to show what an obedient, and Christ-like
missionary can do for the work of the Lord. She has been an incredible
example to me and I have learned so much. I honestly still can't
believe that the last transfer went by so fast. Definitely one for the
books.

 So Wednesday I went to drop her off at the DC Stake Center and
a few minutes later got to pick up my new greenie! She is awesome and
really going to be such a great missionary. I feel so incredibly
blessed by my Heavenly Father. He must love me like crazy to send me
such an awesome trainee. It definitely has been a bit of a transition
going from having a companion who is going home to one who just came
from home, and let's just say the learning curve is fast. I feel like
I've learned just as much from her these past few days as she says she
has from me! I have definitely seen how when we give the Lord all we
have, He makes up for the rest. We are by no means perfect teachers,
and definitely not perfect at speaking the language, but if we do all
we know how to, He will help the Spirit carry the message and the
truthfulness into their hearts.

 One cool experience from this week
happened yesterday. Easter really wasn't anything too special here,
just a pretty nice Sunday, but last night we were driving to visit
Balmore and Christian, and we were about 15 minutes, and I felt
strongly that we should go stop by this potentials house around the
corner. We had taught her the first lesson last transfer, but had the
wrong phone number and so we haven't seen her since then, but we went
by and sure enough, she was there! She thanked us like 10 times for
coming and even asked us if we could end with a prayer before we left!
Of course Maria! I love this work and am so excited for all the things
I will learn this new transfer. I know my Savior lives and love having
the chance to testify of Him every single day. He lives!

Hna. Johnson

Dropping Hna. Castaneyra off

 New greenie!  Hermana Rivas

 Cherry Blossom Festival

Febrero Showers Bring March Flowers

Happy Spring everyone!!

It felt like spring last week but we got a
little bit of snow flurries yesterday so no one is really sure what nature
is doing right now, but the cherry blossoms are all blooming! We're
going into the city next P-day to check them out cause they'll
actually probably all be gone by the time the actual festival comes
around. But I'll include a picture of some neat trees.

I feel like this week has been very symbolic of spring time in many
ways, the biggest one is that my current companion who I love to
pieces is going home in 2 days. I'm still in denial. She is an amazing
missionary and I have learned so much from being with her for just one
transfer. It'll definitely be more than a little sad to see her go.
But, as one missionary dies, another one is born! This transfer I will
be....training! Lots of mixed feelings there. Mostly I feel like I
just got out here myself, but Heavenly Father knows what's up so I'm
just gonna have to trust him on that one. I'll go pick her up on
Wednesday so I'll have a lot more to say next Monday, but overall I'm
really excited and feel really humbled to be trusted with the
opportunity to introduce a new missionary into the field.

Cool things from this week: Christian got confirmed yesterday in
sacrament and he was so ready! We went over to teach him on Friday and
I swear the guy was glowing with the Spirit. I have seen such a change
in him because of his decision to live the gospel. Also, Balmore received the Aaronic priesthood! (The authority to act in the name of
God. The Aaronic is the first priesthood and the Melchizedek is the
second). It's just so cool to know that just a few months ago, he
didn't know anything about the gospel and Jesus Christ, and now he is
receiving these sacred ordinances that will help him return to live
with our Savior again.

I am so incredibly blessed to be here on a mission. Every once in a
while I just sit and wonder what I ever did to be so blessed to have
this opportunity, and the wonderful answer is simply that Jesucristo
loves me. He loves each one of us, and has given us the greatest gift
of all, His own life, so that if we love Him and let Him, we too can
receive all the blessings that He has. Yo sé que El vive! Y tenemos
esa oportunidad para celebrar Su resurrección. Tome un poquito tiempo
para pensar en esto esa semana. Les quiero mucho! Que tengan una buena
semana!

Hermana Johnson

Hna Castaneyra's death picture

 The District

Pretty trees and our car

Call Me the Ward Translator

This has been an awesome and also really comical week. I'll start off with the funnier
side.

So on Wednesday we got a call from the office saying they were going
to take our car in and to drive down to pick up our new car. We now
have a beautiful Ford Fusion and everyone is really jealous. It was
the old assistants' car so we are completely hyped. We drove our
beautiful car all day and didn't get back until later so the next
morning we go out with our roommates to go get our parking passes and
show off our beautiful new vehicle that is no longer in the spot it
was parked in. Yes, we got towed.... So about an hour and $175 later
we got our car back and went to meetings! It's funny now in hindsight
haha.

In other big news, Christian got baptized!! He called us on Wednesday
night and was really concerned and down on himself and not too sure
about his baptism, so we went over on Thursday praying and a little
worried about what was going to happen. We start talking to him and he
expressed how he just doesn't feel worthy or ready. So we decided to
go through the baptism interview questions with him again. He answered
perfectly to every single question! Better than I even expected!! By
the time we left he was excited and felt so much better on his
baptism! It's amazing what an hour of the spirit can do! The baptism
went great and I am so happy and excited for him! It's been a bit of a
challenge for him, but he worked through it with the Lord and made
that first step of baptism! Also cool, Balmore was confirmed yesterday
and recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost! He was emotional during the ordinance
and it was just super cool to see how deeply he understood and
appreciated the step he was taking.




Oh I also translated in Sacrament for a little girl that got brought
to church by her friend. She told me I should try out for American
idol after.

I love being a missionary and am so incredibly blessed every single
day to have the experiences I do. Jesucristo lives and this gospel is
true. Take a moment this week to recognize all the incredible
blessings that come from living such a wonderful gospel. Les quiero
mucho! Gracias por su ayuda y oraciones! Tengan una buena semana y
sigan adelante!

Hermana Johnson

Christian's Baptism

He's a buff guy so we all flexed.  Haha!

The only time in my life I'll look forward to Mondays

This week I was a...wedding photographer, music conductor, English
translator x2, missionary (of course), and one of those kids that is
way to big to be using that playground.

So it's been another good week. As usual, ups and downs, but good
overall. We had another wedding and they asked me to be the
photographer so that was fun. As usual we had a ton of food and it was
delicious. I love Hispanics so much haha.

Super cool experience, Sunday I was sitting in sacrament meeting (the
first hour of church), and this African man walks in who very
obviously does not speak Spanish and sits down by me. I ask him what
brought him there and he said he was looking for the French branch
(the group that meets right after us). So he asked me to translate for
him, and I did! Simultaneous translation on a fast and testimony
meeting is definitely not one of the easiest tasks, but I definitely
saw the truthfulness of the gift of tongues. Every time I realized I
hadn't quite caught what the speaker had said, a sentence just came
into my mind. It was such an amazing experience, I knew exactly what
to say every time. The spirit really does fill our mouths with the
words we need in the moment we need them.

Most exciting news!! Balmore chose to follow the example of Jesus
Christ and be baptized this Sunday!! It's so great the see the baptism
of someone I have actually spent some time teaching and helping. I
know we didn't do anything, the Spirit was the teacher from day one.
Awesome miracles, he only had to baptized once! (YES) and he bore the
greatest testimony afterwards. I feel so blessed to have been a first
hand witness to his conversion to this gospel and more importantly to
Jesus Christ. Man this guy has the strongest testimony and he barely
has been learning about this. I'm so excited for him in the future.

But that's about all the big news for this week! I hope you all do
amazing things wherever you are and siguen adelante!

Hermana Johnson

Balmore! And Christian is getting baptized next week!

Wedding Pictures

"I Like Birds and Flowers"

Well, this week has been a solid week, like most weeks. We taught a
lot of lessons, we went to find some people, basically your usual
missionary work. Some of the more exciting stories from the week are
that Balmore and Christian are getting baptized next week! We have
just seen miracles working right and left through them. We were a
little concerned because last week we learned the Christian hasn't
been reading the Book of Mormon or living some of the commandments,
and Hna Castaneyra and I fasted for them, and they have read every
night since and haven't had a single problem with anything!! I have
developed such a strong testimony of fasting from being on my mission.
It really does bring about milagros. They are so incredibly prepared
for the gospel and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. Another cool
thing is that Jain and Brisa got married! Brisa is the relief society
president and Jain just got baptized a year ago. It was an awesome
night and I wish them the best of luck. They'll be getting sealed in
the temple in May.

On a funnier note, I learned how to make tortillas yesterday from
Rosie, one of the hermanas that always picks on me. She's hilarious,
and kept telling me my future Latina mother in law would  never approve
because my tortillas are too ugly. The struggle of not being Hispanic
hahah.

We went into the city today, so I have some cool pictures from that! I
hope everyone had and continues to have a wonderful week! Look for
opportunities to serve those around you every day!

Hermana Johnson

The boda!!

Gorgeous DC

Hna Castaneyra y yo

Here Comes the Sol

Happy Lunes gente!

It's been an awesome week here in DC, and the weather has been crazy!
So last Monday we were snowed in for the day and then Saturday was 70
degrees, so it's been super nice all weekend and I'm pretty pumped. It
means a lot more people are outside and people are just generally in a
better mood. The sol is good for you!

So we've had so many awesome things happen this week! First off, Judy,
the amazing human being that chose to be baptized last week got a
calling! She will be working with the primary kids which is perfect
for her. I love seeing her progress, it really is just uphill from
here! We also did a ton of finding this week so we knocked on a lot of
doors, and as always, got met some cool people, got some funny
comments, and got a lot of rejections. But the best was on Saturday.
We go to knock on a door and this kid, J..., answers. He says his mom
is sleeping right now, so we ask if he knows if any of his neighbors
are Spanish, he says yeah and then comes and knocks on all of their
doors for us and stands there with us in the door! Haha he was awesome
and will be the greatest future missionary :)

We are still working with Balmore and Christian to help them
prepararse to be baptized in March. I know they can do it, but they
have a few more things to work on before then, so any prayers are
welcome. Balmore is just so prepared for the gospel, and he is being
an amazing example to his brother.

We have a lot of new people to meet with this week, so that is really
exciting! And we are continually praying and fasting for Balmore and
Christian so they can keep going. I love being a missionary and
knowing that the truths that I am teaching can change these people's
lives forever. I am really so blessed! Thank you all for all the
support y siguen adelante!! Él vive!

Hermana Johnson

J... the kid who knocked puertas with us!

Bautismo! Bautismo!

Buenos lunes gente!

As usual this week went by insanely fast, and I'm struggling to
remember what all happened. In our area, the ward asks us to visit a
lot of families that haven't been coming to church in a long time, so
we spend most of our time working on helping them. It's fun but also a
little difficult, because you know how much really living this gospel
will really bless their lives, but it's up to them to really make that
decision. And it's a much slower progression than teaching people who
know nothing about the church, but it really is just as important.

But the coolest news for the week....Judy was baptized!! So a little
bit on Judy, she's the older sister of an RM, who came home from his
mission about 5 months ago, and she has been investigating the church
since right before he came home. So she finally made that first step
with her Heavenly Father and Carlos, her brother, was the one who got
to baptize her! It was such a cool moment to be a part of. On the
funnier side, we got there 2 hours early to start filling the font,
right? And after about 30 minutes the hot water runs out. Like
completely gone. So Bishop tells us to turn it off and wait for a
while to see if it comes back. Well in the meantime, since the font is
very old and the drain isn't the greatest, the water starts draining
slowly. So the baptism was supposed to start at 5 and it is now 4:30
and we test the water again and it is still the equivalent of a frozen
creek. But the font must be filled so we start filling again. But it
still doesn't fill in time for the baptism, so Judy and Carlos had to
kneel, because when we are baptized, our entire body must be under the
water just like our Savior was baptized. So we felt so bad for her and
her freezing cold baptism experience, but the Spirit was still crazy
strong and I am so happy for her!!

Other than that, all is pretty quiet here in Maryland. It's
exceptionally cold, which makes finding people very hard, but we are
working as best as we can to find those who are preparing to hear the
gospel! I hope you all have a wonderful week and look for missionary
opportunities around you, they are everywhere! I know that there are
so many people looking for the happiness that the restored gospel of
Jesucristo can bring! I love being a missionary, and wouldn't want to
be anywhere else right now! I know my Savior lives and I testify that
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on
the earth. Les quiero y tengan una buena semana!

Hermana Johnson

The wonderful Judy!

Do Missionaries Watch the Super Bowl?

The answer is no, but you would be surprised the number of times we
were asked. Congrats all you Bronco's fans out there.

Well, hopefully the missionary email site is getting itself together this
week, but I guess we'll see! (There were several delays and partial letters sent last week.)
 So this has been a pretty exciting week,
I got transferred and am now in the Silver Spring Ward which is funny
because like half of the members of Glenmont used to go to this ward
before they changed the boundaries so I have heard so many great
things about it. I still am working on getting faces to names, and it
is way harder than I expected. You just meet so many people and I can't
for the life of me remember their names, so pray for me! My new
companion is Hna. Casteneyra and she is awesome! It's super sad
because she goes home after this transfer so I only get her for one
transfer. She has been in this area for a long time so she is helping
me out a ton and she is an amazing missionary so I'm super excited for
all I can learn from her!

Well as for a miracle this week, I got a call from the Elders in my
old ward yesterday and they told me that a man came into the chapel
yesterday and no one knew who he was. So, of course, the missionaries
went up to talk to him. He said he had gotten a pass along card from
two girls about 3 months ago. The cool thing is that I was the one who
gave him the card! He is apparently super solid and now meeting with
the English missionaries. It's such an awesome testimony that every
person you talk to matters! Yay for missionary work! Well I love being
a missionary and am super pumped for this transfer and this area. I
love my Savior and this gospel! Keep staying strong mi gente!

Hna Johnson

                         So we saw this house that was completely burned out, and then the
                                    house next door is completely fine so we took a picture.

 Another one of my families from Glenmont, the family G.  They are getting baptized in March!

Como El Ejercito de Helaman

Well this has been one eventful week!

First, we were finally allowed to leave on Tuesday to go about our
regular proselyting, but a lot of the roads were still really bad, so
we spent the day checking on our members and the people we are
teaching to see if they needed any help digging themselves out and so
forth. By Wednesday everything was back to normal except for the
mountains of snow that still remain on the sides of all the roads. The
phrase, "where the lanes are made up and the lines don't matter"
applies very literally hahaha.

In other big news, I'm getting transferred!!!! I still don't know
where I'll be going, but I'm leaving this area which is very
bittersweet. I'm excited for all the new people I will get the chance
to work with, and for the opportunity to get to know another part of
Maryland, but I am going to really miss these people and this city.
It's funny how very quickly a place can become home to you, and that's
definitely how I feel about the Glenmont ward. Even more surprisingly
though is that my companion, Hna Pacheco is also leaving the area. She
has only been here three transfers and this is her third area, so we
were sure that she was staying here for a while (there's only 4-5
Hermanas areas in the first place) so needless to say, it was a huge
shock. I'm also praying very hard for all of the people we are working
with since there will be two new missionaries in the area, and change
is always something difficult, but I have faith that transfers are
always inspired, and whatever happens will be what is best for the
area. So I've starting saying goodbye to a few families that I was
really close to and its quite depressing. Definitely not one of my
favorite things. But like Winnie the Pooh says, "How lucky I am to
have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

So spiritual experience for this week. Wow there have been so many!
Yesterday was probably one of those days that I think I'll always
remember. I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting. Since it was the
fifth Sunday, and they asked a few of us missionaries to speak and do
a musical number. So of course, public speaking is not my favorite
activity, and now we must add that it needs to be in understandable
Spanish. Man I was so nervous. I had my talk all ready and had Hna
Minguito, one of my roommates read through it, and then I prayed real
hard. I spoke, and didn't struggle for words the entire time. It just
flowed. Afterwords, my trainer, Hna Acosts told me that was the best
Spanish she has ever heard me speak. She understood every word and I
barely had an accent. Let me just testify that the gift of tongues is
real! But even cooler was right after I spoke we did a musical number.
We sang llevaremos Su verdad al mundo, we'll bring the world his
truth, we sang the first verse in Spanish, second in English, and
third mixed. I could barely mouth the words of the second verse. The
spirit was so strong and I could barely keep from crying right there.
It was such an awesome experience.

Well I'll keep you all posted on what happens to me this next week,
it'll definitely be interesting to see where I end up, but I'm pumped
for wherever it is!

And now some photos:

 

 One of the families I've worked a lot with, Hna. K from Peru and one of her sons.

They are so sweet!

 The Criders!  They are my family away from family!  Cynthia returned from her mission in December and they have all been such an amazing example to me of Christ-like love.

 Zone picture.  We have English, Spanish, ASL and French all in one zone!!

 

Let it snow, let it snow.......

Well we have so far survived Blizzard 2016! We haven't been allowed to
leave since Friday at noon, so we've had some very nice
roommate/companion bonding time! We've watched a lot of Mormon
Messages, and I'm pretty sure I've seen Johnny Lingo more times than I
can count. And we spent all day yesterday shoveling out cars for
people and my back is definitely feeling it today haha. But it was
awesome to get outside and help out some people. I still have no idea
what the final count is for snow, but I would guess around 2 to 2.5
feet. It reminded of the good times back in Mass (my heart goes out to
you, keep shoveling strong). So that has been our weekend. The rest of
the week was just pretty normal other than the fact that all the
shopping centers were nuts because people were preparing for
Snomageddon We had a world-wide mission conference that got broadcast
from Salt Lake City on Wednesday, and it was really great to hear from
the apostles and other leaders that spoke. Those kind of conferences
are always just the biggest motivation for us as missionaries. You
always walk out of that feeling like you can conquer the world, so I
am grateful for that.


This week we also had a family who we are teaching, the familia
Gaitan, commit to baptism! They just moved here from El Salvador and
have an crazy story, but they are living with the friends, the familia
Hernandez, who are members of the church and have been coming with
them to church for the past month. They are so great and I am so
excited for them to prepare to make than essential step in their
lives, and begin changing through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
This week I have also realized even more (if that's possible) how
grateful I am for the Book of Mormon. I have been reading it a lot
this weekend with all the down time we have, and I feel like every
time I pick up that book my testimony of it grows. I know it is true,
I know it was writing just for our days. It has been one of the
biggest sources of comfort in my life. If you ever need a reminder of
who you are and how our Savior feels about you, just pick up the Book
of Mormon and start reading. I promise you will feel it! He loves us
each individually and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to share
that with the people here.

Les quiero a todos y tengan una buena semana! Vayan bien!

Hna Johnson

Unfortunately I took most the photos
on my camera, and will not have access to a computer today :/

The Week it Snowed!!

Buenos días familia!

This has been a really good week and I can't believe it went by so
fast! It seems like I was just writing people yesterday. But this week
we've seen a lot of progression in the people we are working with, and
we found 4 new people who would like to learn more and who we have
starting teaching! I absolutely love each one of them, and I am so
excited for their future progress in the gospel, and pray that they
will have to hearts open to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I guess one cool example from this week is we were visiting a family,
and the padre almost never comes to church, but we were teaching the
Restoration to them (the story about the Church of Jesus Christ was
restored). And the Hermana's brother in law was there, and after we
had taught the whole lesson, I felt like I should ask him if he would
like a Book of Mormon and he said yes! He even came out to the car
with us to grab one! I hope he really takes the chance to read it and
pray about it.

Something cool I learned this week was from last night. Every month we
have an event called Why I Believe at the Visitor's Center where
recent converts and a special guest are all invited to share why they
believe. This month it was a man named Terryl Givens who is the author
of a couple different religious books. But he said something that
really struck me. He was talking about the story of Jonah and the
whale, and he said that this story invited us each to ask ourselves
the question, "How do we respond when others are seemingly blessed or
appreciated more than we think they deserve?" I really thought about
this and realized how often I fail to feel joy when Heavenly Father is
merciful towards others. We need to recognize that in His eyes, we are
all on the same playing field, no one of us better than the other.
Much easier said than done right? But hey, there is hope through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ!

I know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth and
that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church. I pray that you all
have a wonderful week filled with testimony building experiences! I
know I will :) until next week!

Hermana Johnson

We Found New People!

Well this week kind of came and went. Vino y se fue. But it has been a
really good week. We found a lot of new people to teach the past week
and we've been able to get back in touch with a lot of them and start
teaching them. We have 2 wonderful new families that are really
excited about the gospel, and I was am just praying that I'll get the
opportunity to stay here long enough to help them make those first
steps with Heavenly Father and be baptized. But we'll see what the
Lord has planned for me :) I don't have too many funny stories for
this week, but there was one night when we were out knocking doors,
and it is in this huge apartment complex. There are buildings
everywhere, it almost feels like a different country (also because
almost everyone is Hispanic or African) but a lot of people had their
windows open and you could just see them going around their usual life
and I remember thinking, wow I am so lucky that I get to be doing
this. Everyone is just going around doing their usual nightly routine,
and I am here looking for people who want to learn more about Jesus
Christ. I am so blessed!

Well missionary work continues to go well here in Washington. My Spanish
 is growing little by little, and I can't believe that next week I'll have been
out for 5 months. The time really flies.

Something I learned from my studies this week was in Jacob chapter 3.
Jacob is talking to the people about why they are writing the
scriptures. And it amazes me that the most important thing to him was
that anyone who read these records, the Book of Mormon, knows that
Jacob and his people believed in Christ. What better testimony can we
have other than that He is our Savior, who loves us and suffered for
us individually. I know that He lives. No tengo ninguna duda de eso.
El vive. Hoy y siempre y El nos ama. Well I love you all, and I hope
you all have a wonderful week! I know I Will! Keep doing good! Sorry
no pictures this week :(

Hermana Johnson

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Happy 2016 lovely people!!

I hope all of your winter breaks consisted
of a lot of resting and sugar. Mine had a lot of the latter haha. But
New Years was fun. We went to bed like normal, and then woke up at 12
to say happy new year and went right back to bed! Haha yes very
exciting. But I really can't believe it's already 2016. This week has
left me reflecting on the past year. For me, 2015 was a year of a lot
of changes. I was at school, received a mission call, and now am here
back on the East Coast serving a mission! But the thing that really
made me feel grateful was for the number of amazing people I have met
this past year that have changed my life (yes that's you Adams). I
feel incredibly blessed to have met all of these people, and I
continue to meet people that change my life everyday! I think one of
the most heartbreaking things for me on a mission is to see people who
so deeply and permanently want to change their lives but don't have
the family support to do it. That is something I see a lot being on a
mission. The majority of the people that we help and teach have
families who do not support their actions and it makes me realize how
blessed I have been to have such an amazing family, both biological
and emotional, my entire life who have always encouraged me to do
good. I know that the plan that God has for each of us is exactly what
we need, and our experiences not only strengthen ourselves, but others
as well. I encourage you all to count your blessings this year! We are
all so incredibly blessed, but sometimes we just need to take a step
back and look at them to recognize it. Well, les quiero muchísimo y
espero que todos tienen una linda semana! Vayan bien!

Hermana Johnson

 Our Sister party earlier this morning at the mission home.

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