Child-like Faith

Hey family :) 

Mom, thanks for the package.  Best package ever.  Thank you... I like the Valentines love. 

It has been another transfer!  Sister Wygant are staying together one more transfer.  She is going to be going home the next transfer.  We were supposed to have transfers tomorrow, which is why we are having p-day today, but since a huge storm is coming in, they canceled transfers and it's going to be on Thursday!  The weather is so fun here.  It was at least 7 degrees this morning. SOooooo much better than negative. :)

I had an interview with President Vellinga this week.  He is the best mission president in the world.  I don't know how he does it.  He can look right into your soul and scan you. haha.  Elder Sorenson handed us the list of companionships with all the Kirtland sisters and said, "if you can play the transfer game and tell me at least 50% of where everyone is going, then I will tell you where everyone is going."  We tried... we got about 20% right. haha.  I said it's because we don't have the priesthood.  He just laughed. 

We have been stopping by "Best Gueros" (I think that is how you spell it).  It is a restaurant and not very healthy...  well, we made friends with all of the people there.  I love making friends with everyone everywhere we go.  We JUST had dinner and they brought out all this free food for us.  Cheese fries, cookies, etc, etc. Gross.  Well, we had to eat it.  We were so sick. Then Chris... the manager came over to me and said,  "Hey here is Serg's number (another guy who works there) and he wants to just show you around town and take you out."  I Was like .... uhhhhh I don't know what to do!  We took it and then I felt like it was going to be awkward talking to Serg.  So, I pushed myself to go talk to him and invited him to Kirtland.  We always talk to them about missionary stuff. I don't know how he got the idea about going out. haha.  He has a lot of potential... we just have to make sure to establish purpose. ha

We also called a less-active last night.  He goes to UVU.  We just got to know him and it was so funny.  At the end he said, "so address?"  Me and Sister Wygant just looked at each other... we were like what do you mean by address?  He is going to write us a letter.  He said, "all missionaries like letters!" haha so a random less-active is going to write us.  How fun!

Our investigators are doing GREAT!  Jason came to church again... he liked it and Kia and Kayla.  We are working on getting them to church.  Laura makes us dinner every Sunday..  Even when last Sunday, we told her no.  But when we got there... Steve and Laura were making us "Superbowl food"!  We didn't even know it was the Superbowl!  It was so sweet of them.  But we definitely had 2 dinners :( That has happened quite a bit lately haha. I love them sooooo much.  I hope Steve lets us teach him soon as well.

Okay, best part about this week.  I am now the work out instructor for the Kirtland sisters!!!  We do boot camp every morning now... well, 4 days a week because we can't on Friday's and Sundays and Saturdays- bc the guys play bball.  So we are all really sore right now, fat and out of shape.  It is GREAT!  We might wake up one day a week and get a full hour work out. haha.  It is soooo fun. All the sisters are becoming so much more unified.  I love it SOO much.  I definitely want to instruct when I get home.

I have been getting such sweet notes from some of my less-actives from Hiram.  I miss them.   I have to tell you!!!  So, 2 different ladies from my first area that we did service for have baptism dates! Me and Sister Joseph did not think that they were interested... but now the sisters eventually were able to teach them and they are getting baptized!   No effort is ever wasted. 

Jordan Wheeler sent me a talk this week. I read it... and read this really cool story about having child-like faith.  I loved it and so we decided to share it at a members home.

The story talks about this guy who was really busy.  He wanted to have the missionaries teaching people in his home.  He had set a goal for a specific date to find someone for them to teach, but knew it wasn't going to work out when he had so much going on.  Instead of giving up, he remembered that with God, anything can happen.  So he prayed and fasted specifically that someone would come to him.  A few days before the date that he had set a girl walked up to him and said, "I would really like to know more about the Mormon religion.  Don't missionaries come and teach people about it.  Can I come to your home and learn more?"  He said he wanted to cry because his prayer was answered!   He said it is all because I had child-like faith.  He didn't doubt that it would happen.

After we shared this story at the members home, we left and were like, "ehh that lesson was okay."  We went to church on Sunday and the member got up and bore her testimony.  She told everyone that story and said it had inspired her.  She said, "I am so busy just like this man, but it is so easy to pray."  She said that she prayed and knew EXACTLY who to give a Book of Mormon to. It made me SO happy. 

I know how important it is for us to all pray with child-like faith for missionary opportunities.  Those opportunities will come.  I can promise you that.  I feel like I've been transformed and truly humbled this last transfer.  Elder Sorenson always tells us how much power we have and it's hard to see it sometimes.  I'm grateful for him.  I am grateful to be learning to much and growing.  I am grateful for the hard times.  I know that we can always get through them with our Savior Jesus Christ. 

I love this gospel.  It is true.  It is real. 

Love you most.

Sister Johnson

"Without experiencing a gospel principle in action, it is more difficult to believe in that principle."

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Dear Sisters & Couples,

A very rare snow flow has pounced upon us.  It is called the Ohio Snow Rollers.  It has happened because about 1 ft of fine power snow melted on the top and the right temperature and the exact wind speed caused the snow to create roller balls.  The news stated it was very rare and even most local people had never seen roller balls.  Enjoy.

 

Kindest regards,

Elder and Sister Sorenson