MELBOURNE - Week 74 - March 27, 2018

Is this even real?! 

My last week in Melbourne, the place that has become my home.

My heart is soo full. There is no way for me to even express how much I have learned and grown the past 18 months. I am just grateful that Heavenly Fathers can understand the feelings of my heart, because there are no words to adequately express how I feel and how grateful I really am.

It is hard to believe that it is all over.

The past 18 months I have learned more than probably in the 20 years of my life. I have learned so much about the gospel, about myself, and most importantly, about my Saviour Jesus Christ.

I have been pushed further than I thought was possible and I have accomplished things that I never thought I could. I have been happier than ever before, and have also been more sad than I care to admit. 

BUT I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am grateful for it all.

I just pray to REMEMBER. To remember everything from the past 18 months. 

I pray to remember everyone I have met, all that I have learned and everything I have experienced. I pray to remember the good days, the bad days and everything in between. I pray to remember all the feelings and emotions. The feelings of happiness, love, loneliness, exhaustion, and pure joy. I pray to remember the days when I knew that this is exactly where I needed to be.

I pray to remember the times when I saw God's hand in my life and knew He was there. When He answered my prayers and sent me exactly what I needed and honestly, more than I deserve.
I pray to remember everyone I have met and come to know here in Melbourne, because they have all helped in so many ways. I pray to remember their love, their stories and their incredible testimonies.

I pray to remember the times where I was able to witness and see first hand that this gospel changes lives.  The times when I got to see someone coming to Christ and the happiness they felt.  I pray to remember the people that I knew I needed to meet.  The friendships that showed me that God does knows us all individually and is involved in the details of our lives.  

Most importantly, I pray to always remember HOW I was able to do this. Why I was able to have this experience that allowed me to see more, be happier and change so much. This is because of my Saviour Jesus Christ. I pray that I will always remember what He has done for me. I pray to remember the times when I felt Him with me, helping me and holding me. I pray to remember Him, His love, and His life. 

I pray to REMEMBER. 

Melbourne will always have a piece of my heart.
I want to thank all of you who have supported me along this journey.
It hasn't been easy, but it has definitely been worth it.
I am forever grateful and I wouldn't change a thing.
I can't wait to see you all. I love you heaps.
See you soon.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith"

xoxo,
张姐妹
Sister Johnson​​​​​​

Can't leave Melbourne without

one more jumping picture!

Sister Johnson with her final district

TRIPLE THREAT

Sister Cahoon, Sister Johnson and Sister Fong.

The best of friends <3

MELBOURNE - Week 73 - March 20, 2018

wow what a week!!!

Last P-day, the Maughans took us down to Mornington and Cape Schanck. It was soo pretty! I love the city, but it is fun to see more of Melbourne.  They also took us to see the famous bats!! Bats (flying foxes) are soo popular here in southern Australia, who knew?! We always see heaps of them when we are driving at night. We went to a famous park where they all sleep during the day, and there were thousands of them! Sooo cool to see them all hanging & flying.

BIG NEWS: Elder Andersen from the quorum of the 12 came and visited our mission this week. It was so cool to have him here! We got to meet with him and hear from him!! I learned soo much and it was such an incredible weekend! His grandson, Elder Hadlock, is in our mission right now (he's my zone leader) and so he came to visit the mission and also to see Elder Hadlock. :)

First, we had a MLC (Mission Leadership Council) meeting with Elder Andersen and it was SO powerful. There were only about 25 of us in the meeting so it was pretty intense. So scary to have an apostle looking at your notebook and reading the notes you are writing as he is speaking. haha but hands down one of the coolest meetings.

On Friday we had an entire mission wide meeting with Elder Anderson and his wife, Elder O. Vincent Haleck and his wife, and Elder Daniel G. Hamilton and his wife. They were all amazing and the Spirit was so strong. I wish I could write all about it... but I don't know how to put it into words. 

He spoke a lot about President Nelson and testified that he is the prophet today. It was really cool. He also spoke a lot about God's timing and how we need to trust Him. I loved every minute of it.  also it was so fun to see all the missionaries from the entire mission!! I love this place and I have met and served with some of the most incredible people here. 

Also, on Sunday I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting! It was my first and last (thank goodness) talk. Giving a talk in Chinese is pretty scary, so I was a little (VERY) nervous!! I was doing really good, until I was in the MIDDLE of my talk... and I look up to see Elder Andersen walk into our sacrament meeting and sit down behind me!!!  Everything that I had just said and everything that I was going to say was GONE. Completely left my brain and I was like a deer in headlights. 

So no one remembers anything that I actually said in my talk...they all just said that my face when I saw Elder Andersen walk into the room was priceless. I guess it was pretty obvious that I was really surprised & nervous when he walked in. No one has or ever will let me live that down.. haha

BUT he spoke at the end of our sacrament meeting, and it was the coolest thing all weekend. He took time to come visit our small Chinese branch and everything he said was perfect. He talked a lot about how all of the recent converts and members in our branch are the pioneers for the Church in China. It was so amazing. It is soo cool to know that I have a tiny part in helping the Church grow in China. I love this gospel and I love sharing it!!  I am so lucky to be here and to be involved in this great work.

On top of all of that, we still had to do exchanges and we got to meet with some of our investigators!

Sadly, we are going to have to push Zee's baptismal date back a little. :( We met with her this week and she has a few questions that we need to help her understand before she gets baptized. BUT she is still awesome and will be baptized in the near future for sure. She is awesome!

This week has been amazing. I learned soo much and I felt the Spirit like never before. Meeting an apostle of the Lord is something soo special. Somehow, I got everything I needed AND MORE. Everything that I had been praying about, was answered this weekend. I know that Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers.  I know that we have a prophet today, President Russel M. Nelson. He is guiding us and one of my favorite promises from Elder Andersen was, "If you can stay close to the prophet of God, and obey his teachings, you WILL go to the Celestial Kingdom." I love this and I know that if we can stay close to President Nelson, listen to what he has to tell us and follow his teachings, we will make it back to our Father in Heaven. 

I love this Gospel soo much.

I love you all! Thanks for everything..

we are down to 2 weeks people. is that freaking anyone else out?

haha love you all heaps!

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

                                                 CAPE SCHANCK AND MORNINGTON

YARRA BEND PARK

All the black things in the trees are BATS!

Triple Threat

Sisters Fong, Cahoon and Johnson

BBQ with companions, Elders Hadlock & Norby, 

member Evonne and investigator Eddie

I think she is loving her mission.  

Sister Johnson and Sister Lee

MELBOURNE - Week 72 - March 13, 2018

hello family. 

wow this week has been such a miracle!!

We had MLC this week. Pretty much just a massive meeting with all the zone leaders, the STLs, the assistants and President and Sister Vidmar. The STL's all go to the mission home the day before and spend the night at the mission home. I love all the sisters and it was so fun to talk to and play games with the Vidmars. It was also a great meeting and I learned heaps. They made us get up (again) and share our testimony. It was really cool and the Spirit was so strong. 

We met with our investigator Zee this week. She is AMAZING. We invited her to be baptized on the 31st of this month, and she said yes!! (everyone please pray for her!!!) We met with her twice this week and she came to church on Sunday. We also went over to her flat to have a BBQ with one of our members this week and her flat is sooo nice. We had a BBQ on the 19th floor and the view was incredible!! She is the sweetest and I love her soo much. She is such a miracle!!

One of the lessons we taught her this week was the word of wisdom. When we started the lesson all 3 of us felt really nervous because she had heaps of questions. BUT we started sharing the lesson and the Spirit completely took over. It was the BEST word of wisdom lesson I have ever taught. I have never experienced the gift of tongues like I did in that lesson. It was the most incredible experience! 

We also had 2 exchanges this week! The first one, I went to Doncaster and was with Sister Zhang again! It was really fun to be back with her for a day and see how much we have both have learned and grown. It is weird that I served with her 6 months ago.. feels like it was just yesterday. I love her soo much.

Then the second exchange, Sister Cahoon and I were in the City with Sister Ihaka. All 3 of us are going home at the same time, so it was fun to be all together. We were all able to talk about our missions and how fun, sad, awesome, hard, incredible and crazy the past 18 months has been for us. 

For some reason, every single exchange we have done this transfer have been absolutely crazy. There is ALWAYS something that comes up, or happens that is bizarre and makes the exchange just go south. But we have learned to just laugh about it and take it as it comes. haha so much fun. good thing I am in the craziness with my 2 best mates. ;)

Sister Vidmar also took all the departing sisters out to dinner last night. She is going back to the states to be there for her daughter's birth next week. She won't be here when we leave, so she wanted to take us all out to dinner to say goodbye and give us some advice. It was soo fun to be with the sisters and with Sister Vidmar.. but HOLY COW we ate sooo much. 

Well, this week has been awesome and I am so happy. I love my mission and everything I am able to do. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to share the gospel and share what I know to be true. Before my mission, my testimony was what I believed to be true. Now, my testimony are things I know to be true. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I know that He lives and He loves us. I know this because I have felt it not once, but multiple times on my mission. I have felt His love for me, and for people I have been teaching, for my companions, and for strangers on the street. I know that because He loves us, He sent His Son to help us. I know Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God. He lives and He knows exactly how to help us. I know He lives because I have felt Him with me on my mission. 

I am forever grateful for everything I have learned on my mission, especially this past week. 

I am also grateful to be apart of such a special and important work. 

I love you all.

Thank you for the prayers and the support. You guys are the best.

cheers,

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

Queen Victoria Market

Shopping at the Market

A lunch with Branch members

Elder Tsui - member missionary

Bracelets from investigator - Eddie

View from Zee's apartment - 19th floor

Just a bit windy

Cool Melbourne Signs

Dinner with Sister Vidmar and all the sisters

going home.

"Look Mom, normal food this week."  (Finally)

More Selfies

Triple Threat

Holding President Vidmar's medals from the 1984 Olympics

MELBOURNE - Week 71 - March 6, 2018

g'day g'day mates!

你好我的朋友s

wow this week has been awesome.. and very busy!

This past week I had my LAST EVER zone conference. It is still soo crazy and surreal to me that this is my last transfer. The weeks are honestly flying by and I don't like it. 

Also, President Vidmar makes all the missionaries that are leaving share their testimonies in their last zone conference, so Sister Cahoon and I had to do that this week. :( It was soo hard to get up in front of everyone and talk about how much my testimony has grown and how much I have learned on my mission. I was smashed with the Spirit and couldn't hold back the tears (in other words, I was a mess haha)

Sister Cahoon and I got our flight plans this week.. which makes me want to throw up. They sent us what they call, our "death letter". This is just our flight plans and information on the next couple weeks. ewwwwww. I don't want this to end soo soon. 

BUT, we have been teaching heaps lately!! We have some solid investos right now which is such a blessing. Also most of our lessons this week have been SO powerful and some of the best lessons of my entire mission. The Spirit has been soo strong in our lessons recently and it is such an incredible feeling to have the Holy Ghost working through us to help these people.

This past week has been awesome in the branch as well! All the members just came back, which means there were finally people at church again! We had 80 people at church this week, which is the most we have ever had!!! Not to mention all the members that come right now are soo solid and are doing great. The branch is finally coming alive again!!

We also ate rabbit head this week...uhhh? One of the Chinese elders had a rabbit head and made us try it! haha nothing better than eating a rabbit head, the tongue, the eyeball and the brain ;):)):).. yum?

I have been having some bomb personal studies this week too! This week I read in the Book of Mormon in Jacob 5, where it talks about the vineyard. It let me reflect on my mission and what I have done here in this vineyard (Melbourne) and what I have done to change myself. I love the chapter, but verse 71 hit me pretty hard.

71.And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.

This hit me hard this week, and even though my time as a missionary is coming to a close.. I am so beyond grateful for the opportunity to represent my Saviour Jesus Christ and to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind and strength.

There are no words to express how grateful I am and how much I have learned about Christ (and also about myself) through thismission experience. I know Him in such a personal way and for that, I am forever grateful. I am soo blessed.

I am soo happy where I am. I am soo happy to be a missionary. I am so completely exhausted.. but so excited to get out and smash the work. :)

xoxo,

张姐妹
Sister Johnson

MELBOURNE CENTRAL CHINESE ZONE (MCC)

Zone Leaders and STL's (and Elder Blackhurst, a new missionary)

A chinese zone lead by Americans ;)

Dinner at our investos home with Evonne (a member)

"Death Letters" - just information they get from 

mission office before heading home

Alyssa eating more weird food - This week it was a Rabbit Head 

Why I ask????

The rabbit tongue and rabbit eye