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.)