11/03/14

Victoria Paige Johnson (victoria.johnson@myldsmail.net) This sender is in your safe list.
Sent:	Mon 11/03/14 1:18 PM
To:	Robert Johnson (cars4play@gmail.com); Allison Johnson (alliecatfm@aol.com); Lexi Johnson (papaversatiny@hotmail.com)

Hola!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay so transfers are in two weeks on November 17. So, if you are desiring to send anything. Then please send it before then! So I'm not going to send my memory card home until after transfers I decided... Just in case I get transferred...... which is very likely.

It's November. Where did the year go? In one month I will be 20...... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH AH AH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Anyways. On October 31 IT GOT COLD. I'm talkin like 30 degrees colder than it has been. It went from 85-89 degrees in the day to 55 and freezing wind and rain. And now there is snow on the mountains! The winter here in the high desert is BRUTAL everyone says..... Because we are high altitude and lots of wind, it gets pretty bad..... BRING IT ON. I'm pretty sure it will get hot once again before it stays cool for good though.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME. Best night ever because I got an extra hour of sleep. But now it's the worst because the sun starts going down at like 4:30?!?!?!?!?! People hate opening their doors when it's cold and dark......... DUMB. Arizona is way cool for not doing daylight savings. I like it that way. Thanks AZ!

Sister Martinez and I are finally going to bike this week. So pray for us that we will not get run over. And that we will stay warm! I am so excited.... Crazy right? But biking is so cool because we get to talk to more people and also exercise at the same time! And then more people can see us and that we are sister missionaries. 

This week has been a struhhhhhh-gle. Not gonna lie to you. But it's okay. I love the hard times. We must experience the bad in order to recognize and appreciate the good. 

We also had some good miracles though! Did I tell you that our investigator Carol dropped us? Well we got back into her house to see her and found out she was just scared. scared of change and commitment... like we had thought she was. So she said she would come to our family home evening tonight at the church. We really hope she will! 

We also were able to get in and teach some less actives, the Lloyd family, for the first time EVER. No one had ever met this family before. That was a huge miracle in itself. And now we are bffs with them! Bro Lloyd has been in the hospital and sister Lloyd has been texting us updates about him every day and asking for our prayers. It's crazy how they just needed a little love and support. 

Yesterday we stopped by this crazy less active's house- he's usually pretty rude- but yesterday he was drunk! So, that might seem like a bad thing to you... but because he was drunk and happy that he had just won money from betting on the horse races, he gave us two referrals! hahahahaahaha good stuff. 

We also got into this house of a part-member family we have been trying forever. See, miracles still happen even when times are hard!!!! 

This weekend was Stake Conference! The adult session was of course focused on The Hastening of the Work (my favorite subject) which is the theme that was direct to us all by the first presidency. We sang in a missionary choir with all us missionaries from the stake. Guess what song we sang? You got it. Called to Serve! hahaha and I directed the choir? hahahah I didn't know what I was doing, but I made faces at the choir the whole time and had a blast while doing it! 

I was pretty sad that night though, because only a couple members of our ward were present at the adult session of stake conference. Legitimately.. we counted. there was 7. And the whole time they were talking about hastening the work and the members and missionaries being united! Which is what our ward needs.... So Sister Martinez and I had a pity party for a good two or three minutes and then got over it.. There is work to be done, and this work will continue to roll forth, unhindered, "until the Lord stretches for His hand and says 'the work is finished'." (The Prophet Joseph Smith said that). The Lord is the one hastening His work, it is not hastened by our participation. 

Something I have seen very clearly this week is how the adversary works alarmingly hard against the members to stop them from sharing the gospel. We have been working with members of the ward to encourage them, direct them, and help them share the gospel... But they still have their agency and Satan uses that to his advantage. 

So I had some thoughts about what was shared in stake conference in the Sunday Session. 

A member of the Redlands temple presidency and his wife spoke about the temple, President and Sister Tate. Sister Tate talked about the difference between attending the temple and worshiping in the temple. She said "The temple is a beacon to help us become." (my favorite word is become btw). She spoke very reverently and beautifully about the blessings of temple worship. She said we will still feel peace and guidance by attending the temple, but when we WORSHIP in the temple, we will leave the temple with LIFE-CHANGING blessings. woooo! Life changing. Life changing blessings are the kind of blessings that I desire for you all- my family and friends back at home. President Tate spoke about temple blessings as well. He said, "If you want blessings oured out upon your children, whether they are doing what they should or not, then attend the temple." That's a crazy awesome promise right there! He said that temple repetition equals daily blessings. That means regular temple attendance brings blessings. Why would any of us deny ourselves of that?? He also said, "This is a temporary world. The temple is the real world... Soon this temporary world will be gone." 

President Saunders, our stake president spoke about 6 ways to find joy. My favorite way he mentioned was #3, to live outside of ourselves. To serve. In his words, "Get off the back row and quite thinking of yourself." bahahahaha what a slap to the face. 

This week was also WAS HALLOWEEEEEENNNNN DUH. How could I forget? I knew there was some exciting things going down. We had a killer awesome Halloween party on Wednesday and tons and tons or less actives and non members attended! That's what ward activities are all about!!!! We had a chili cookoff.. and a legit chili-judge. This guy in our ward is a certified chili judge. He has a badge and everything. And trunk or treating was awesome. Sister Martinez and I helped a member make popcorn and cotton candy to pass out, and when we went around to see all the member's trunks we ended up with a lot of candy in our bags.... and now some of it is on our thighs and some of it I hid away in our apartment for me to never find again. Hahaha 

So there are some things I have learned or experienced this week.... 

1- pray always that ye may come off conqueror... and that you can escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work. 

2- living below your privileges and potential is a plague that is sweeping the members of the church. do not give into the temptation to sit back and watch others participate in the work of salvation

3- "Because Christ walked such a long, lonely path, utterly alone, we do not have to." Elder Holland

4- Becoming like Christ is part of a life-long process that requires consistent and persistent faith and action. And "Agency is your power to become."  

5- there was this couple sitting in front of us at stake conference that kept cuddling and kissing. Ew. Don't do that at church people. It's weirdy. 

6- "Reverence is more than just quietly sitting.... it's thinking of Father above... When I am reverent I know in my heart, Heavenly Father and Jesus are near." We can learn so much form this simple primary song. I am sad when others are irreverent and drive away the spirit. 

ANYWAYS. hey this was a long email. I am so excited! 

Have a good week. I love you, I pray for you, and I get really excited when you share your spiritual experiences with me. So feel free to tell me what you have been studying, who you have been sharing the gospel with, who you have been serving, and whatever else brings you joy!

Adios!

Sister Johnson