Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Listening to the Spirit

Hey family!
I started reading emails... but then I just started copying and pasting again to print.  I don't have time to read them because the computer has a short time limit.  Will you get Nana's address for me?  And tell Grandma Diss and Nana I love them.  And tell Grandma and Grandpa Johnson too and thanks for the letters.  I can't wait to read them.  I just love my family and friends. :)

Soooo something cool before I forget.  I got to pet wolves this week!  We have a Native American Chief in our ward and he has wolves.  I guess it's rare that they let you pet them because usually they try to attack, so we felt special. :)  Then while we were there, they made us chili.  I was like, oh yum! I love Chili.  After I finished eating the lady said, "so was that your first time eating rabbit and deer?  We caught it ourselves." haha It wasn't bad... I'm kinda glad she told me after I ate it.
Also, maybe I shouldn't say this, but we went to this ladies house - be SO grateful for our home and where we live.  Seriously.  We walk in and first of all, it smelled like someone died... then she was holding a dog in her hand and she said... "that's weird, it was alive a second ago".  It just died. :(  Then we look in her kitchen... think of an attic- a really dirty one with stuff ALL OVER.  That is what it was like.  It had poop all over the counter tops and all over the floor.  She was like... "what do ya'll want for dinner" and threw the chicken right on the counter on the poop :(  Then she looked at me and said, "you better watch out, I have mental problems!" and she pretended to scratch me.  I said I had a stomach ache.. and we left without eating.  I really did though.  I have never been so grossed out in my entire life.  LOVE our home :)  We live in the best place ever. :)

This week was a normal missionary week!  We taught a lot, had a baptism, taught a Book of Mormon class, went tracting in the pouring rain, met a lot of new people.  I still haven't been able to give a tour at Kirtland yet, but this week we will!  I don't know much about the tour yet... so it will be interesting.  We can't study our Kirtland book until we are in Kirtland, they don't want us to focus on it.  It kinda scares me! ha but oh well, I can always give my testimony.

We had a training meeting as new missionaries and also as Visitor Center sisters.  A senior couple got up and talked about how their daughter was at the Boston Marathon.  I haven't heard much about it, but I guess a bomb went off?  Well, their daughter had a prompting that she should leave... and two minutes later is when the bomb went off and she was not injured.  They were SO relieved!  There are two things I love about this... One - she felt the spirit and is living in a way that she can feel the spirit in her life and Two - she ACTED on it.
The Spirit can protect us, comfort us, help us, guide us, etc., but it's our job to keep living in a way that we are able to have the Holy Spirit as our constant companion.  Sometimes the spirit repeats itself, but most of the time, we only get one chance, so if we aren't careful, we will miss it.  It is just a still small whisper (D&C 85:6).  I also like to think of the spirit as a direction without explanation.  It takes FAITH. If we don't have faith... then it's pointless.

So this last Saturday, we had a miracle day!  We felt strongly that we should go out offering others service.  It worked!!!  We had some miracles happen and it was my first real experience of seeing the miracles that happen on missions.  It was such a rewarding experience.  We had planned to go see a guy named Bradley Roberts, but when we went up to the door, he wasn't home, but the thought was still in my head that we should go back later.  We went to another member home and then the thought came again and I asked my companion if we should go back. She said... if you want to.  But we ended up continuing on to another member home. Then the third time, I said, I think we should go back and so we headed over.  His son was actually the one who lived in the home and Bradley Roberts did not live there.  The son was nice and he told us where his dad's home was.  We ran over there and we saw a woman out front. She said, "Are you missionaries?  We have been waiting for you!"  That made me so happy to hear.  Then we see Bradley.  He was SOOOO happy to see us.  He hasn't been to church for a long time.  He told us that even us being in his home helps remind him that he needs to be better and that we are helping him already.  He invited us over for dinner this next week and we are going to start teaching him.  We hope that he will start coming to church.  (He said...since my birthday is in July, he is going to cook me up a couple pigs.... hmmmm :) )  The most amazing part is, when I saw them, it was like I have seen them before and I instantly loved them!  

It was great and I know we need to never ignore a prompting of the spirit because you don't always get a second chance.  In this case, I did and I'm so grateful for that.  It is sooooo important for all of us to prepare ourselves to be able to feel the spirit and to also figure out and learn HOW the spirit speaks to us personally.
I do love, love the gospel.  It is our map and our study guide to return to live with our Heavenly Father.  I know that if we continue to have Faith, Keep the Holy Ghost with us, repent and endure to the end, we can return to live with our Father in Heaven.

I love you all... love and miss you family. Stay happy.  Stay Strong.  Keep enduring to the end.
Until next week,

Sister Johnson

“You can tell how effective your daily plans are when you don’t have to ask others, ‘now what should I do’?” 
"Service changes people.  It refines, purifies, gives a finer perspective and brings out the best in each one of us.  Righteous service is the expression of true charity, such as the Savior showed. "

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