RIP SUGGIE BEAR

Brittany's rendition of Sugar Johnson

Hello everyone!

Another great week! We have 3 solid progressing investigators! Woohoo! Haha, that may seem like nothing to most missionaries but that is awesome for Moraga. M***** and Brother G***** have baptismal dates (M***** for October 25th and Bro. G***** for November 8th) and they are doing awesome (M***** came to church yesterday for the second time. We had an awesome lesson with him after church! It was a great day. :)) L**** doesn't have a baptismal date yet, but we'll get one with her in the near future. Her dad wants her to be ready. So they are all doing wonderful. We are so lucky and blessed to be a part of their lives and help them as they learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and prepare for baptism into His church. :)

We had another miracle yesterday! When I was with Sister Henderson a few transfers back, we visited a former investigator who lives up the street from us. We just talked to her at her door, but she seemed really interested in having us back and we invited her to church (the sisters before us only taught her the restoration on her doorstep as well). We had high hopes for her because her and her husband have been looking for the right church for years. We set a return appointment, but it fell through, and we tried to keep in contact to visit her but eventually she stopped responding and when we went to stop by and visit she was never home. 

Well about a week ago Sister Wang and I stopped by her home and she was finally there! We talked for a few minutes, invited her to Stake Conference, and gave her a restoration DVD. She told us she's been having a lot of back problems because of a car accident she had in March. She didn't seem interested at the time still to have us back over for a visit but was grateful we stopped by. Anyways, to get to the point, she came to church yesterday! We found out that her and Sister G***** (the wife of Bro. G*****) are good friends, and Sister G***** recently invited her to come to church. She said she didn't realize the church Sister G***** went to was the same one we went to (and Sister G***** didn't know we had been trying to visit her). So it was a huge surprise to us! She brought her 8 year old son and they are planning on coming again to church! So that was awesome and really unexpected. :) Miracles always happen on fast Sundays!

Also, who is excited for conference this weekend?! I know I am! I wasn't able to watch Women's Conference because we were busy at the Visitor's Center, but I heard it was really good! 

I am SO grateful for this Gospel! It is just so true. It's really that simple. Christ and Heavenly Father are real and they live. The Plan of Salvation is also real; it's not just an imaginary idea. We are in the middle of it. I wish I could convey to you how strongly I know this. That is why we don't have to be sad forever when loved ones pass. We will see them all again. We just have to wait a little bit. :) (Shout out to Sugar - I love you Suggie Bear!!!)

I love you all and am so grateful for all of you. Have a great week and enjoy Conference! Go in with a question and be prepared to take notes (if that works for you :)) I love you!!!

Love,

Sister Johnson

SISTER JOHNSON'S SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 E-MAIL

RECENTLY, ON FAST SUNDAY

Me:  "Yeah, was it like this?"

Lauren:  "hehe.  Yes, that was me!!!"

Hello Mother deary!

Wow, Grandma is nifty! I like her re-done wedding dress! You definitely got your creativity from her! Thanks for the update on everything - and YES, it is crazy that September is almost over!!! October, November and December are going to pass by even faster! Especially October, since it will be General Conference and Halloween! Man, this year is basically over already. Goodbye 2014!

So last week was the last week of the transfer!! Crazy huh?? This will be my 6th transfer. Sister Wang and I are staying in Moraga! Which we are both really happy about it because a lot of miracles have been happening recently! 

So last week we got a great referral from one of the counselors - at the end of church last Sunday he said a woman came in with her daughter (we were already at the VC by then so we didn't meet her). They recently moved up the street and can see the church building from her house and her husband kept telling her to go check it out. So she did, and was really interested. Brother S******** told her she could have missionaries come visit to tell her more and she was like yeah! So, we got her info, called her and set up an appointment the next day! And she is amazing!!!!!!!! She and her husband are non-practicing Muslims that have been looking for a good Christian church for many years. She says she wants to raise her children in a loving, family environment - we were like, our church is the place for you!!! She also told us when she came with her daughter on Sunday, she asked how her daughter felt there and her daughter said she felt calm and peaceful, and when she told us this she got emotional! We were blown away!!! But, there is a sad part to it. We set up another visit for Friday, and sadly the day of she cancelled and said she would like to wait before having us come teach her because she wants to study the Book of Mormon on her own at her own pace and go to church on Sunday's and not feel pressured. We tried to explain that our job is definitely to help her and not pressure her, but she didn't respond to that. So, that's sad because we really want to teach her, but we are just going to keep praying that over time she will want to have us come back, and the good news is she still wants to come to church. :) So, even though it ended quickly, for now, that was a great miracle last week!

Also last Wednesday was awesome! It was our full-pros day (and may have been an average day for full-proselyting missionaries, but for us it was awesome!) We had 3 member-present lessons with our investigators M*****, L**** and Brother G******, a recent convert lesson with Brother M*******, were able to catch a potential at home that we've been trying to see for weeks, went tracting and found an awesome potential, and had a meeting with Bishop who is impossible to meet with because he is the busiest man ever! Everything just worked out so perfectly that day and it was full of miracles! It was a great day! Also that day we re-set a baptismal date with M****** (who says he is for sure committed to October 25th)! L**** is doing great and is growing and opening up to us so much! And Brother G****** is on fire! I haven't been here for that long but have noticed a big change in him! He is so enthusiastic and our lesson with him and Sister G****** went awesome. We are just so grateful to all the amazing members who come with us and help us out! Yay!!

Saturday night we had the adult session of Stake Conference - which was amazing!!! Sister G****** brought her friend, who isn't a member, and she really enjoyed it!! We were really bummed because at the end they quickly left and we wanted to talk more to her friend, but the next day Sister G****** said she would ask her friend is she would be interested in having missionaries because the meeting really "inspired her" according to Sister G******. So that was awesome! Elder Hamula from the 70 was there and gave a great talk about hastening the work of salvation. A lot of the talks were about how members, we are so busy always doing stuff, always going to meetings, planning lesson, returning and reporting, etc. etc. - but that is what the work of salvation is - it is not about getting ourselves back to Heavenly Father, but helping others to get there. Everything we do in the church is for others and to keep the covenants we make at baptism, which are "mourning with those that mourn, comforting those that stand in need of comfort." It was kind of like, "Are you tired? Burnt out? Good! That's what you should feel! Keep doing it and know why you're doing it!" It was awesome!!! 

So anyways, there's the gist of my week! Awesome miracles recently and more to come! Love you so much too!!!!! Thank you for everything!!! Oh and I am good for now - don't need anything! Thanks again and love you!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Sister Johnson

SISTER JOHNSON'S SEPTEMBER 15, 2014 E-MAIL

FLOODING THE EARTH

I don't think this is what that means ...

 

Pictures I sent to Lauren to show her the extent of 

our flooding here in Chandler ...

Our park (retention basin) which is about 20 feet deep.  Those are tall trees with big trunks!

The lake is on the right, the road is on the left.

This shows the whole lake merging with the road!

Mother!!

Wow those pictures are ridiculous!!! An actual decent flood in Chandler - who would have thought? I'm glad everyone survived though and that our kitties didn't get washed away! Thanks for those pictures and also the pictures of the wedding and your trip!! I love that picture of Grandma she put on her flowers!! That is so sweet!! And yes, let's please visit everyone next year!!!! I can't wait! :-)

So this past week was crazy!! It all started on Monday, which was a doozy. We were in a rush all day to get everything done because we had a district activity at a park near the bay, so after getting groceries I spilled my favorite juice everywhere and all over my new shoes! But my shoes were fine and most of my precious juice was safe. :) The district activity was fun - we had a small bbq at a really pretty park near the bay, but Sister Wang bumped her head really hard on one of those look-out telescope thingies! I felt so bad! Then after, when Sister Wang and I got on the freeway, we accidentally took the San Francisco exit! So at first I was a little panicky because we couldn't turn back and had to pay the fee to get across ($6, not bad but still annoying), but we were able to take the Treasure Island exit and turn back quickly. So it only ended up being a 20 minute delay of our time. I was scared though because if you don't exit right away and go over the bridge it can take up to an hour to get back, especially during that time of day. But, it all worked out! Then the next day, Sister Wang and I were nervous all day for our Zone Training which we had been preparing for all week! We probably wouldn't have been as nervous if there wasn't going to be the area 70 general authority there haha. But, we ended up not giving it because we ran out of time (because Elder Packer the area 70 took up a lot of time)! Haha, so it was a kind of relief but also a little bit of a bummer since we prepared a lot for it and were practicing all morning during Visitor's Center when it was slow. Oh well, we didn't complain too much. ;-)

Also, a huge miracle happened last Tuesday evening!!!!! There is a part-member family in the ward named the G***** family (Sister G****** was baptized 5 years ago, is super spiritual and has wanted her husband to get baptized the whole time since she's been baptized. He goes to church every Sunday and has had many missionaries and many baptismal dates but they've all fallen through). Anyways, last Sunday at church, Sister G****** asked us, "Sisters, when are you gonna come visit us? You haven't been over in a while!" And that was surprising to us because we had visited them a while back and tried to set up another appointment many times but Brother G****** said "That's okay, I will just keep studying on my own," meaning he wasn't interested in having us visit haha. So anyways, that surprised us, and when we were setting up a time to visit, Brother G****** was involved in trying to find a time to meet (which was also unusual). So we went on Tuesday, and Brother G****** greeted us at the door, more friendly than usual (which was also odd - not that he's not friendly, its just because we are the missionaries). So we went in and sat down and started talking to Brother G******* and asked how he's been. He said he's been really good, etc.....then a couple of seconds of silence.....and then said, "Well, you know, my kids are getting older. I'm not getting any younger. I've been huffing and hawing all these years, and to be honest I don't know why. So I think I'm ready. I want to take the next step." And we were like - WHAT? We didn't say that of course, but that's what I was thinking!! I was just like, "Wow, what made you decide this?" And he said lately he's been getting these feelings that it's the right thing to do. We were blown away! He has been an investigator for a long time now! So we had an awesome lesson, which we felt inspired to share that morning, all about Heavenly Father's plan for us and that the only way it can happen and that we can return to Him is through Jesus Christ (so basically part of the Plan of Salvation). It was awesome and Sister G***** told us the story of her baptism, which was awesome! So, mir-a-cle. As a missionary, you just do what you can. You try to be exactly obedient to everything. Then that, mixed with Heavenly Father's plan, allows blessing and miracles and people's hearts to be prepared. Woohoo!! So we are really excited! :)

Also last week we had exchanges and it was super fun! Sister Kim came to Moraga with me. Our 2 appointments fell through, but we went and visited people and took 2 sisters with us from the ward, both preparing to serve missions. No one we visited was too interested in seeing us, but then the last lady we visited was super friendly!! She was actually a former investigator (didn't investigate for very long) and was very willing to have us come back to share a lesson with her and her kids. So that was a miracle!! We've also had many other miracles happen and a lot of member referrals! So awesome things are happening here in Moraga!!

Well that's all I have time for today! Thanks for sending me all those pictures and all the updates with home! I love hearing about how everyone's doing and seeing how everyone looks! I'm sorry I haven't sent pictures lately, I haven't taken too many but have some that I will send next week because I'm out of time right now. Love you all and have a blessed week!!

Love,

Sister Johnson

LAUREN'S SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 E-MAIL

COCOA DYNO BITES

Hello Mother Dear!

Thank you for all those pictures! Cathy looked beautiful! I'm glad you got to hang out with Granddaddy!! It sounds like you had a lot of fun; I'm sad I wasn't able to be there! Can we please take a trip down there next summer when I get home? :-) 

So yesterday was a great day. It started off in the morning - I got ready, and went to go pour me a nice bowl of the best cereal on the planet (Cocoa Dyno Bites - it was the very last bowl too). I poured the milk and got a spoon and then, my heart dropped. It was fast Sunday! I totally forgot. For a few moments, I stared longingly into my bowl of cereal, knowing it's fate wouldn't be to enter into my hungry stomach. So, without further ado, I dumped my freshly-poured delicious bowl of Cocoa Dyno Bites right down the sink. As painful as it was in that moment, a few moments after I felt exhilarated. I thought to myself, a bowl of my favorite cereal means nothing compared to the chance I have to fast for those around me who I love and care about! You betcha I'm willing to dump that bowl down the sink! And thus, the rest of the day turned out great, and I didn't even feel hungry for the rest of the day! So there is my little story and testimony on fasting. It works!! :-)

Haha, so we really did have a miracle yesterday! M****** finally came to church! Yipee!! We've been trying to get him to church for almost a month and a half now haha. He lives 30 minutes from Moraga and doesn't have a car, so he takes the bart and two awesome members were able to pick him up from the bart station. It was so cool, he was all dressed up nicely and had his Book of Mormon and Bible and it was just awesome! It is like Christmas when an investigator comes to church, but also nerve-racking because you want to make sure they have an awesome first experience. And he did! All the members were so nice and warm to him and he said he really enjoyed it. :) Everything just worked out perfectly and the members helped out so much. So we were happy campers yesterday!

We also have some awesome potential miracles in the future! Sister F******* (the most awesomest coolest lady ever) invited her long-time friend to meet with us - and she accepted! Another member, Sister Johnson (who is also out of this world amazing, and not just because we have the same name) invited two families to church and stake conference and she said they accepted and are interested in coming!! Yayy!! Our members are awesome! 

Oh yeah! At the VC we also had a miracle - a member and her friend came in, who was interested in learning about what we believe. We played the Christus for them, showed her pictures of inside the Oakland Temple and the Book of Mormon table, and showed her God's Plan for the Family. She had questions about grace and mercy and we read out of the Book of Mormon with her. She loved all of it and wanted a Book of Mormon asap! So we got her one and she is going to have missionaries come over. She was hilarious and was going crazy because at the end of God' Plan, the music reminded her of Titanic. Hahaha. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. Those kinds of tours are gifts from Heavenly Father!

So those are some of the highlights of the week! Oh yeah, Sister Wang and I were asked to give a training in zone meeting this week (which we have no idea why because usually the sister trainers do them) so pray for us please! :)

Have a great week! Love you, bye!

Sister Johnson

LAUREN'S SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 E-MAIL

TRACTING FOR FUN AND FAMILIES!

Hello Mother!!

I'm glad you made it in one piece to G-Daddy's house! Wow, what?! Mason has his driver's permit?? Now that's just crazy. How did he get that old so fast! My goodness. But yes, definitely send my greetings to everyone!

This past week was really fun! Sister Wang and I are enjoying Moraga and being companions! She is super funny and screams at every bug or anything that resembles a bug. She especially HATES moths. Hahaha. She is so funny. Last week we had dinner at a member's home who recently moved into the ward, and when we got there the husband starting speaking Mandarin to Sister Wang. Found out he served in Taiwan, where she's from, which was cool! They started talking more and then found out he served in her home town. So then they started talking further and he told her he might have served in her ward! She pulled out a picture of her parents and he was like, "Oh my gosh, I totally remember them! He was the bishop! Yours were the first home I ate dinner at in that area!" Haha isn't that funny? Small world! So that was cool! :)

Last week we also set a baptismal date with our investigator M******! Yay! However, he still hasn't come to church...so unless he comes to church the next 3 weeks we will have to push his baptismal date back. It is hard for him to get to to church in Moraga though, which is why we tell him he needs to go to the ward where he lives. So, we will see how it goes....we have to do all we can to make sure he comes!!!! 

Oh yes, a neat thing happened this past week! We've decided lately to do more tracting because we haven't done a ton of it in the past (we don't feel it's very effective in this area but feel we should give it more of a shot.) Friday night we set a goal to find a family of 4 while tracting for the next day. So the next day we chose a specific street to tract on, but for some reason could not for the life of us find that street. So we just ended up going to a random street. When we parked, we saw a dad and his daughter get home from somewhere and go inside their home. I had a thought to myself, "Hmm, maybe that's our family!" We decided to tract other houses on the street first though. So we did that for a little. Right before we were going to leave we decided to go to one last house which was the one with the dad and his daughter. So we knocked on their door and the dad and his daughter answered. They were super friendly to us, and were actually interested in talking to us! So we told them who we are and what we do. They asked us some questions about our church and we taught them a short restoration lesson. We introduced the Book of Mormon and offered to give them a free copy. The dad was hesitant to take it, but we told him it was a free gift, and the daughter said, "Cool, I'll take it!" And she asked us a couple more questions. Anyways, we found out they are Catholic, but not super active, and were open-minded about coming to the ward in Moraga. What was super neat though was the daughter - she seemed so interested!!! And right before we left I saw their other daughter and the mom....so guess how many people are in the family? 4! :) So, even though we couldn't get a return appointment and they aren't investigators (yet), we are really hoping they will become investigators and that this is the family we were supposed to find! So we are going to go visit them in the next week or so. :) So that was cool! I definitely think Heavenly Father lead us to that family that night!

Anyways, other things that have been going on lately: visiting less actives (which has been rare for us these past couple of transfers), visiting our recent converts (who are all awesome - C*******, the one from New Jersey fed us hot dogs with sauerkraut last week and they were sooo yummy, it made me think of you mommy hehe), and trying to visit members of the ward to get to know them better. We continue to see miracles everyday, no matter how small they are. :) It is so much fun being a missionary out here! My job is to help people and give them the greatest news they could ever received. If you ask me, that's the best job ever.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers! Love you all. :)

Love,

Sister Johnson