Monday, March 11, 2013







 
 
1. Talakia and Chris at church! PARTY!
2. my life
3. thank you so much! i love you!
4. my new navy top! love it! this is Sis Ramirez. she feeds us every wed at 12. she is the sweetest old lady and talks about 100mpi
 
Hellllooooo Family,
 
Thank you so much for your email!  Just so you know this past week was much better than the one before! For the most part I am back on track! I LOVED the package you sent! Sis Ellett says thank you for the cup and candy! The shirts are sooo cute and go really well with a lot of the cardigans that I have! Getting flip flops was fun :) thank you so much for your thoughtfulness! I honestly loved my spring package! The weather this week was perfect! It was in the 70's and it felt like home in the summer time haha. There was a breeze that was just right! I suppose that it had an affect on how I felt! It seems like every day I feel every emotion. Some last longer than others, I try to make sure the happiness sicks around! I have had a massive head ache this week... maybe its the weather or season change? I'm not sure. I have used the eye heater that Sheryl made it has come in handy this week!
 
This week we went to a less actives home. We were in here area and had not yet met her so we stopped by her house. As we got to talking with her we found out that she hasn't been for years. She was really happy to see sisters though. She has a small desire to come to church due to difficultly walking around. As we sat there talking to her she reminded me of grandma Judy and I couldn't figure out why at first. Then I realized, she was clicking her fake nails together the whole lesson! I just smiled and remembered grandma for a moment. For the most I have handled her passing very well, thanks to Heavenly Father but, if I ever stop to think about it, it become very difficult for me to think that the last time I saw her was the day before I left for my mission. I miss her and I know you do too. I am thankful that our family is forever and I really look forward to the day that her and grandpa are sealed in the temple! What a blessing that will be! How great the love of our Heavenly Father that he has given us a way to not only return to him but to return to him with our family and loved ones.
 
I had two experiences this week that have really strengthened my testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and his divine guidance and direction in our lives through the spirit. The first was is we have an investigator, Pixie, who is hard to get in touch with. She called us last Sunday and said she was out of town and would not be able to come to church. I called her on Tues to see if we could come see her and she said she had company in town and that the next week would be best and that she would call us. That's not a good sign when the say "I'll call you". Yeah right. So I was pretty bummed because I was worried that this investigator was slipping away. On Wed I got a thought that we should stop by on Thurs to see her. I was wondering if that was me or the spirit. It came again that night as I was thinking about how we could help her progress and what we could do to help her have an increased desire. Thurs came around and we were planning the thought came again. So I told Sis Ellett, we got ready, and we headed to Pixies. Sure enough she was sitting outside in the regular spot. She let us talk with her and we had an amazing lesson. She said, "God inspired you to come here and I am glad you did" as soon as we left I offered up a prayer of thanksgiving for that spiritual prompting to go to see Pixie. The second one happened just yesterday. In the morning about two hours before church every Sunday we go to all of the potentials to basically wake them up so they can get ready for church and continue to prepare for baptism. as we made our stops in the morning no one was coming to the door. (im cutting some slack because it was daylight saving time). we have church at 11 and have a meeting at 10. so the stops are done starting at 9. we made about 5 stops and talked to no one. disappointing ... a little. then we start calling people after our meeting. Talakia (didn't answer her door) but she answered the phone and said she was coming. I felt a little better. As sacrament meeting started we had no investigators there. I was feeling pretty down. We had done all we could do I didn't know what else we could of done. As the sacrament was going around I directed my thoughts to the Savior and then I started reading Mosiah 14, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief..." "Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows..." "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." How grateful I am for my Savior and his sacrifice. I felt the peace of the spirit come over me. My heart was comforted. As the meeting went on I began to think of what I could do to help Sister Ellett. As I was thinking about what to do for her and our investigators the peace and comfort kept coming in greater abundance. About half way through sacrament meeting we had to scoot down because someone came and sat by Sis Ellett I looked over (did a double take) and there sit Talakia and Chris. I couldn't believe it! That was the cherry on top! Again my heart was full! I was so happy to see them there! I know that everything is done according to Gods time and will. I need to have patience. " we cannot insist on our own time table when Christ has his own..." (Pres Eyring) that experience really helped me this week. There is a children's hymn that I love " my Heavenly Father loves me" in my favorite verse it says, " He gave me my life, my mind, my heart; I thank Him reverently, For all his creations, of which I'm a part. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me." I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He loves me, he loves you, he loves all of His children. He loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to suffer, bleed and die for us that through him we might live again, together, forever. The mission life is challenging at times but, I am grateful for the things that I am learning and the ways that I am growing. I wouldn't trade these challenges and experiences for anything!
 
My heart swells as I think of each one of you. How grateful I am for the love and support that you offer me. I love you more than words will ever describe! I look forward to hearing from you each week! It is so good to feel connected to you as a read your thoughts and feelings! I hope that this week is a good one! Hopefully I will be planning a wedding for Talakia and Chris this week! WooHOO! I sure do love you and keep you in my prayers! I hope you can feel my love for you all the way over in the west :) take care and talk to you next week!
 xoxoxxoxo sis brooke johnson

 

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