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.