No mucho tiempo hoy!

March 7, 2014

Familia y Amigos!


okay i dont have very much time today so i am printing your emails and reading them later and i will either write a letter during the week or just reply next week on email!


oh mom before i forget... YES i use the oils! i love them now!


so GC was incredible and i got to watch it all in english!!! i have so much i want to tell you but there just isnt time and i want to send pictures cuz this week i am actually on a good computer!


this week was good and it went by so quickly! im sorry i dont have much time cuz there is a lot i want to tell you but just know i am well and have many wonderful people around me here in chilpancingo.


okay as cool as my week was i just have time to tell you about conference cuz that was the best part of the week.


Well first i loved how Pres. Monson Talked about the gilbert temple!! that was awesome! then elder Hollands talk was perfect as always! I loved how he talked about taking upon ourselves the joyful burdan of disiplship. and our burdans are made joyous when we bare them together.  thats why we must bare one anothers burrdans! its the only way they can then be transformed into joy!


Siter reeves: for you mom.. "the only things in the home that need to be done everyday are family prayers and scripture study and FHE" thats it!! i love that! thats all that really matters! the rest is just extra.


Eyring: Never lose hope in your brothers.  people chose to follow christ and his plan before this life they can and will do it again.  If christ is the leader of our home things will always work out.


Cook: learn to do family history work so you can teach me when i get home!! hahaha


Anderson: amilies are the treasures of heaven.  Love ALL!!!!


Ballard: well this was cool cuz during the week i had the impression to tell you (my family) to read preach my gospel... and he invited every member to do just that!


Stevens: the gospel is not a weight that brings us down but it is the wings that carry us!


Bednar: I loved this talk!!! we need hard things to create spiritual traction to keep us going! there is definitly a lot of spiritual traction in the mission!


W. craig Zwick and Marcos a Aidukaitis spoke while i was in the mtc!!!


Uchtdorf: MY FAVORITE! im sure that comes as no surprise.... but really! AHHH Me ENCANTA! por qu before the mission i watched soooo many ted talks on gratitude and related them all to the gospel.  and now i have the ultimate talk! i loved "gratitude is the catalyst for ALL christ like attributes" and "sing dance and glory in the goodness o God" "Why ask for a rainbow before thanking god for the rain"


President Monson: I never want to miss the chance to be kind again... Im sorry for all the time i wasted before my mission speaking unkind words to the people i love and care for most.  I LOVE YOU!


Packer: There are things in life that can not be taught... only learned.  i feel like i am finally learning so many things i have been taught my whole life. its crazy.


corbridge: This made me think of our friends mom and dad... There will always be opposition where there is truth! if you dont know ask god for yourself.


Aidukaitis: "personal revelation is knowledge"


Monson: let us be better now after these messages than before. let us follow christ.


well that is just a little of what i learned! i took pages of notes but those are the most important.


I love you!!


- Hermana Johnson

Mas

Mexico

Contacting is So Much Fun!

President and Sister Gardner

The Zone of Chilpancio!!

Me and My Companion

Vacas!

Me encanta MEXICO!!!

March 31, 2014

I cant believe it is monday once again! this week flew by! I love this work and i love the people here in chilpancingo! I could not be happier! And my Companion is wonderful and loving and everything i could hope for in a companion and more!


This week was full of miricles and tender mercies. So the other night we had about an hour left to be out and only one contact.. it was a rough day.. but then in the combi on the way home we were able to contact five people!! and we taught a lesson! then when we were almost to our house with only 6 contacts we saw a FAMILY on our street!! and we talked with them and they loved us! and want us to come teach them! 5 people were in that family!! and yesterday again we had a only a few contacts and we were about to go home and hermana Lopez said okay we are going to find a family... and literaly a second later we turned around and saw a huge family walking up the street! i amost cried i couldnt believe it! it was amazing! and the next day at church on of the people from the combi came! the lord takes care of his missionaries! and he wants us to be contacting at least 10 people a day! and more! it is amazing. we find new people everyday. it is a bit overwhelming because we already have so many people to teach but im never goning to complain about having "Too many" investigators! there is soooo much work to be done here in chilpancingo centro and i love it!!
This week i also learned (and will continue to learn) that work is the best medicine! and this is the BEST work.


AHHHHH i cant believe i am in mexico... in an internet cafe listening to carrie underwood hhaha oh the life i live! okay so the little vans we ride in everywhere (combi's) are my favorite!!! they are so crazy and always full of people and i love it.  i love sitting in the front corner seat and leaning out the window and just thinking "you are in mexico!" sharing the gospel.  life is so so sweet.


so we have 25 new investigators from this past week.... i think i might die.  but in a good way. and then we have like 50 old investigators in our area book plus many many more! we always have people to tach and find and we spend a lot of time walking up dirt hills finding homes. the streets dont always have names here and they almost never have a sign with its name so we always ask people! but it is fun! and crazy!


food wide i havent had anything too crazy or too hot. the members never believe me when i say i like spicey food.  but i do!! haha and here the hotter it is the better!


So the general womens conference was so cool! and i understood almost all of it but i realized that i just miss the real voices! especially when pres. Erying spoke! that was so hard... but they might have it in english this weekend so pray for me!!! also it was so hard to sit there and think about mom watching it and not being there with her!! but its all worth it!


the people here are amazing i wish you could meet them all! i love love love the bishops amily and The bishops Wife is like our mom here! she is the best. she always points at me and then i say "YO PUEDO" and she makes me say it like 5 times hahaha. she is also making me learn how to whistle! and i am making progress! hahaha the little things here are such treasures.


I love it!! if there was one thing i could have in the future... like in a package possibly... (mom and dad) it would be a mini english hymn book. i meant to buy one in the mtc but i forgot! but it would be cool to have one but its not needed! Oh and dad i would love a post card! and you send it to the mission office! we get mail pretty frequently cuz the one leaders travel a lot.  but i havent gotten any mail yet but its okay! today when we were all playing volley ball together my comp and i left while most people were still there and we went to go eat and i got a phone call and it was one of our sisters and she was like "hey the zone leaders need to talk to you come back" she didnt know why so i was worried i did something wrong... so i go back and then i see Sister Gardener!!! (the wife of the 1st mission pres here!) and i freaked out and ran and gave her a big hug and all the missionaries laughed! they all asked me if they were family and i said no just friends! but it was so cool to see someone from home!! they were so happy they got to see me to! they said they prayed they would get to see me! they are soo sweet! o mom dont worry i have lots of motherly love here in mexico! but you are still my favorite!


well lots happens here everyday but i dont know what else to talk about!! just that i love you all so much!!


Nos Vamos!
 Mucho amor
- Hermana Johnson

Chilpancingo!!

March 24, 2014

Holla Familia!!!


wow what a week! a week ago i was in utah then gorgia and then mexico.... and in mexico i shall stay for 16 1/2 months!!


Warning i dont have spell check so bare with me please.


So i guess i will start rom the begining... nothing maing happened on the trip to mexico and if it did i dont remember... well except i did get to talk with Mom and dad and carlin and that was amazing... okay so when we got to mexico Preident and Hermana Kusch were there with their AP's (they  are funny.. and on is from AZ!) we went straight to the buses waiting outside to take us to Cuernavaca and our first meal in mexico was carls jr.... hahahaha that night i stayed in the house of the sister training leaders in cuernavaca. the next morning i showered with a bucket of water and ate a muffin with ants in it. it was great hahaha.  its crazy how much doesnt even phase me here.  i am happy to say i dont feel like i am suffering from culture shock in the least.  i have left my old life behind and this is the only life i have now so i might as well love it and love it well!


so the next day (tuesday) we had interviews, visa paper work, and trianing.  we met our trainers and got our assignments.  I am in Chilpancingo and i gues my area was closed for a while so there is a lot of work to be done here! my trainer is one of three hna lopez's here in our mission and she is from spain.  she is the sweetest person i have ever met and thankully she speaks a lot of english! it is a "comandment" in our mission to speak both spanish and english.  President says we should be better at english when we come home then when we arrived because it will mean that we helped someone learn english.  they are very serious about it.  so i speak more english then i ever thought i would! we try to only speak englih in the house but since i dont know any words outside the gosple i have to ask "como se dice" for everything.


So my first Real day was wednesday.  we had a zone meeting and a district meeting first thing and that was crazy.  i didnt understand what was going on but i did feel a lot of love from my zone and district!


we eat at 3 everyday with a member and its always delicious! the members are soooooo great here!


so for our first three days Hno Noe from our ward (he just got called to be ward mission leader!!) helped us get to know the area and took us to meet lots of people.  He is really nice and knows a good amount of english so that is also really great! We walk  lot and we ride these van like thins called combies. they are crazy but dont worry (mom) i am safe.


our house is pretty nice... at least we have water. i have not gotten sick and i dont plan to.  i want to send you pictures but i left my camera (along with lots of other things) at the mission office so i dont know when i will get it back... for sure in two weeks when we return to cuer for more training but it could be sooner.... but for sure in 2 weeks i will send pictures!!


well the people here are amazing. you shake hands with everyone and when you shake hands with a girl or woman you kiss her on the cheak.. im still getting used to that but its cool how loving everyone is!! and my ward... oh my goodness they are INCREDIBLE!!!! they are sooooo amazing. and so involved in missionary work! yesterday at church i had to talk to the Relief Society and intruduce myself and say why i was on a mission and the whole time the bishops wife (she is so great) was smiling at me and giving me a thumbs up when i said a big word and just silently cheering me on (: we also had ward concil and they all want to help us so much!! there are lots of women in the ward and they are all so strong.


we have lots of investigators already and one of them stoped to talk to us cuz he couldnt believe i was here and from the USA haha. the people here are so prepared!!! it is tough though cuz they have to go to church 5 times (not in a row.. thank goodness) before they can get baptized.  so we have two boys (teenagers) who are getting baptized hopefully in two weeks and many more to come!  we are teaching this one couple who are totally hipies/hipsters and they are so cool. we found several families this week as well and i cant wait to teach them! we have one family already commited to be baptized!


lessons are crazy cuz i barely know what is going on and then so strongly something will come to my mind and by the spirit i know i need to say it! it is crazy to learn what it means to rely on the spirit and the lord completley.  when i speak i need lots of help and thankfully my comp can translate the words i dont know or rephrase what i am saying to make more sense.  My comp, Noe, and Edwardo (a recent convert. he is amazing and wants to serve a mission!) have said tat they feel the spirit so strongly when i speak in lessons even though my spanish is broken.  Understanding people is probably the hardest cuz they all speak so fast and with their own accent... but this week in just 5 days i went from not understanding anything to being able to catch alot.  I LOVE THIS WORK!!!


i love this gosple.  I know it is true and i know i can not do this with out the help of the Lord. I know that the savior is with me and that he is helping me every step of the way.  i wouldnt be here if i didnt know that with my whole soul.  and i couldnt do thins without all the love i get from everyone! here in mexico and at home. thank you.


until next week!


p.s. read D&C 29:7


Con amor!!! Hermana Johnson

No Mucho Tiempo / Uno Mas Cosa

March 19, 2014

i don't have much time but i am writing to you to tell you i am safe and in mexico! i am in an area called Chilpancingo it is beautiful here and i love it already but i definitely need all the prayers i can get!!! thanks you for everything you do!!!


my companion is wonderful!!! she is from spain and speaks a decent amount of english! but not too much.  she is very loving and wants to make this the best transfer ever so she does all she can to help me feel loved. so i am in good hands!!!

Letter from the Mission Parents

March 19, 2014



Dear Johnson Family,



We are happy to let you know that your daughter has arrived safe and sound in the Mexico Cuernavaca Mission.  She has been assigned to serve in the Centro  Area in Chilpancingo.  Her trainer is Sister Lopez. We are grateful to be able to serve with her in the work of the Lord.

This will be a time of much service and work that will bring growth and learning for your daughter.  We hope that her experience here will strengthen her testimony and prepare her to be a good wife, mother and future leader in the church.  Her experiences in the mission field will contribute to her development as a faithful and righteous servant of the Lord.

Your love and support will do much to lift and bless your missionary.  We hope you will write her regularly, encouraging her to do her best.

Together with this letter you will find a picture that was taken the first day that Sister Johnson was with Sister Kusch and me.  

We thank you for the love and support that you will give to your daughter throughout her mission.  This is the work of the Lord and each day we see evidence of that in the lives of our missionaries and those they teach.  We know your family will be greatly blessed because of your daughters righteous missionary service.

Sincerely,



President Bruce C. Kusch

Mexico Cuernavaca Mission

Mi Familia!!

March 13, 2014

Cuatro Dias Mas!!!!!!! No Creo! my mind is blown when i think about my life en el CCM ending... it's weird i feel like this is all i have ever know! thats a bit dramatic but very true!! oh and last friday we got our travel plans!!! and we celebrated with the chips and salsa con caso! dad that package made my whole district sooo happy!! and there was tons of candy in it too!! they alll said "i love your dad" hahaha you are a district favorite!


okay so there is always soooo much to tell you but i either cant remember, dont have time or just dont know how to put it all into words... okay so yesterday in class after dinner we had a plan to do something hilarious in class so here is how it all played out....  we had these fuzzy orange and green mustaches and during language study our teacher was writing a big long thing on the board so we all put them on and Hna. Tidwell (the hilarious one from Az) said "Hermano Chatterly i mustache you a question" and he turns around and only saw Tidwell and Naut in their staches.... for those 5 seconds we thought we would be busted and that he wasnt amused... but then he turned to see we ALL had them and the look on his face was killer!!! i swear his eyes were watering and he said "this is the best thing that has ever happened to me" and then we all died laughing. im sorry if it doesnt come across as hilarious in email because it truly was the best thing ever.  


So we all have tribal names... it all started with Tidwell (everything great starts with her) and she is tiger lily my name is Blue duck and there are more but i will have to just send a picture of the list next week cuz i forgot to take one! but that was pretty great too.  Chatterly is "chief one cut" cuz he has this funny story with his hair and i am realizing that it wont make sense on email so yeah haha... trust me its hilarious.


well this week was great and it was full of many wonderful experiences.  one of my favorite things from this week was when we studied 3 Nephi 11 (mom thats your new reading assignment).  Christ  truly is the most wonderful and loving and compassionate person to have ever lived.  His mercy and grace astounds my more and more each day.  the scriptures really do come alive now when i read them.  i can never get enough of them!


ooh soo my cheap laundry soap gave me a rash all over soooo the other day i had to do an emergency load during gym time. okay so i was there with one of our sisters and we were practicing grammer and this guy started talking talking to us and he only spoke a little bit of english so we started talking to him in spanish!! it was great! and then these guys came in while we were talking and after the other guy left they asked us a few questions and they were like one word answer q's so we just replied in spanish without thinking and they were like umm "do you speak english?" hahahaha it was awesome! they could understand us cuz they served in brazil and speak Portuguese.  as horrible as i am at spanish i really do love it.  it is a funny language and a marvelous one!


so vulnerably moment... the other night i was saying my prayers and i was just filled with so much gratitude and humility because it just hit me so hard that i was speaking to my heavenly father in spanish.  i just started to cry right there in our little closet on  my knees cuz i couldnt believe just how blessed i am and just home much i love being a servant of the lord.  this work is all about love. i know this is sooo cheesy but love truly is the same in every language so i know that even though i still cant speak with words very well i can at least love the people i get to serve and nothing is more exciting and glorious than that.  every time i miss home and wish i could be with the people i love most i just have to remind myself that the lord has people waiting for me in mexico that he needs me to love just as much.



this truly is the lords work and i know that he will always provide away to make it all work out. I know that this gospel is true and that the lord loves his children.


Muchas Muchas gracias por todas las cosas!!!


Love- Hermana Johnson

Temple Day

Our Last Day with Hermana Pullan

We are friends with all the bus drivers!

Una semana y medio!!!

March 6, 2014

Well it is p-day once again and i feel like i don't have much to talk about! i would love to just send pictures but the computers here are weird so its not worth it!


Well the weeks are all basically the same but we are always learning new things.  the highlight of my week is always Sunday so i will tell you about that! Oh but first!! We got 6 new elders last week and they are all so great! Volleyball is even more fun with them and i am glad we don't have to watch them leave cuz we will be gone before them! that's so weird!! We didn't get any new missionaries this week and we don't have any leaving either. Our zone is really great and I love them so much!


Okay so Sunday!! I got to sing in sacrament! That was fun! Hna. Chen from the district ahead of us played for me and she is really great! She is from Taiwan! I sang How great thou art it was nice to share my testimony with the zone through music. Everyone really loved it and I was happy they did! That night I went to choir practice which is always fun! I always meet new people and make new friends! The devo was really cool! The speaker had people stand up and share why they would want to join the church if they were an investigator and his son went around and picked people to talk.  Then he had converts stand up. And the coolest part was when he asked people who had been members, then left the church, and then now came back, and why did they. soooo many missionaries stood up for that one and it was truly incredible. His talk was really to stress how important it is to involve everyone in the work.  That bringing people back to the church is just as, if not more, important than bringing in new members.  I love it!! ahh this work truly is so glorious and I can't believe I get to be a part of it.   And hey to all you at home reading this... if you want to help... talk to the missionaries!! Members are essential to the work so please work with the missionaries in your ward!


So the other cool part of my week was on Tuesday.  The choir director is so great and it is just a lot of fun to sing with so many missionaries twice a week! on Tuesday we practice on main campus and the director was upset at the MC missionaries cuz there were more WC missionaries in the whole choir!! hahah the hermanas are taking over!!! But seriously.  okay so we sang this song called faith of our fathers and it was soooo coool! the director told us all the stories about the faith of our fathers and how that faith is in us still! He told us stories of John Taylor and all these great missionaries during the time of Joseph Smith.  They had no idea what they were doing, no MTC, no determined time to come home, and very little instruction.  It's crazy.  I could not do that.  But I don't have to! I just need to do what I am doing and give it my all.  


I don't really have much  to say this week so i'm sorry this email is kind of lame... but I love you so much! I love hearing from anyone and everyone and dear elder really is a great way to send me stuff!! And for three more weeks I can get them the day you send it! So do it! Okay well thank you for all the love and support I couldn't do this with out you!


te amo!


- love -


Hermana Johnson

Half Way There!!

February 27, 2014

Well it is p-day once again and i feel like i don't have much to talk about! i would love to just send pictures but the computers here are weird so its not worth it!


Well the weeks are all basically the same but we are always learning new things.  the highlight of my week is always Sunday so i will tell you about that! Oh but first!! We got 6 new elders last week and they are all so great! Volleyball is even more fun with them and i am glad we don't have to watch them leave cuz we will be gone before them! that's so weird!! We didn't get any new missionaries this week and we don't have any leaving either. Our zone is really great and I love them so much!


Okay so Sunday!! I got to sing in sacrament! That was fun! Hna. Chen from the district ahead of us played for me and she is really great! She is from Taiwan! I sang How great thou art it was nice to share my testimony with the zone through music. Everyone really loved it and I was happy they did! That night I went to choir practice which is always fun! I always meet new people and make new friends! The devo was really cool! The speaker had people stand up and share why they would want to join the church if they were an investigator and his son went around and picked people to talk.  Then he had converts stand up. And the coolest part was when he asked people who had been members, then left the church, and then now came back, and why did they. soooo many missionaries stood up for that one and it was truly incredible. His talk was really to stress how important it is to involve everyone in the work.  That bringing people back to the church is just as, if not more, important than bringing in new members.  I love it!! ahh this work truly is so glorious and I can't believe I get to be a part of it.   And hey to all you at home reading this... if you want to help... talk to the missionaries!! Members are essential to the work so please work with the missionaries in your ward!


So the other cool part of my week was on Tuesday.  The choir director is so great and it is just a lot of fun to sing with so many missionaries twice a week! on Tuesday we practice on main campus and the director was upset at the MC missionaries cuz there were more WC missionaries in the whole choir!! hahah the hermanas are taking over!!! But seriously.  okay so we sang this song called faith of our fathers and it was soooo coool! the director told us all the stories about the faith of our fathers and how that faith is in us still! He told us stories of John Taylor and all these great missionaries during the time of Joseph Smith.  They had no idea what they were doing, no MTC, no determined time to come home, and very little instruction.  It's crazy.  I could not do that.  But I don't have to! I just need to do what I am doing and give it my all.  


I don't really have much  to say this week so i'm sorry this email is kind of lame... but I love you so much! I love hearing from anyone and everyone and dear elder really is a great way to send me stuff!! And for three more weeks I can get them the day you send it! So do it! Okay well thank you for all the love and support I couldn't do this with out you!


te amo!


- love -


Hermana Johnson

Provo Temple

Me and Hanna Knight!

Mexican Consul