GLEN WAVERLEY - Week 21 - March 19, 2017

Another great week here in Australia!

So as for transfers, I am moving!!! I am being transferred to Moorabbin and will be serving with Sister Li who's from China. We will actually be doubling into the area and will now be apart of the City Zone. I am sad to say goodbye to my 2 amazing companions, but am excited to see what this next transfer brings.  Moorabbin is less than 5 miles from Port Phillips Bay.  

          This week because I am being transferred, we had to say goodbye to Brother and Sister 
          Wilson. They are the couple that had us over for dinner EVERY Sunday night. They
          are seriously so great. I have so many memories with them and will truly miss them. We
          gave Sister Wilson a stuffed animal Chicken that we found because she is the sister that
          has chickens as pets. I love her not so much the chicken but I do love her. We took some
          "family" pictures as she called them because she would call us her family. They are
          amazing. Goodbyes are so sad, but I am so grateful for the chance that I got to know them
          and learn from them.

On Saturday our 10 year old investigator, Jamie, got baptized!! It was such a special day and one that I will always remember. Being able to teach him (he is amazing and actually taught us more than we taught him) and help him enter the waters of Baptism was incredible. His mom who isn't a member was able to come and it was a really special experience and the Spirit was so strong so I hope it will help soften her heart. I know Jamie will be a great example to his mom and one day he might help her enter the waters as well! Also our Zone Leaders, Elder Wheeler & Elder Wiser did a musical number at the baptism! The Spirit they brought when they sang was so special. 

This week we had the opportunity to do a session at the Melbourne Temple! It was such a blessing and during our temple session I actually had a really neat experience. This week was the last week of the transfer and I have been pretty nervous to see what happens with this new transfer. I have been praying all week and while I was in the temple I was really praying that I would be able to feel my sisters with me and feel comfort and peace about this next transfer. I was in the Celestial room in the Temple and as I was praying for help and strength, the words came to my mind "we are here" and I knew without a doubt in my mind that it was my sisters. The feeling of comfort and peace was so familiar. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and the times when the veil is thin and I can feel my sisters close to me.

This morning we had Sister's P-day with our STL's and the sisters in our area! We actually woke up at 3 am and drove down to Phillips Island to watch the sunrise. It was a 2 hour drive to get there, but it was super fun and so beautiful. We saw heaps of kangaroos and some penguins which was cool! It was awesome to be able to see a little of the Melbourne area and being able to see & smell the ocean made me super happy. We watched the sunrise and had a short but powerful testimony meeting. Then we got breakfast and made the 2 hour road trip back. On the way home, the 4 sisters in my car were so tired they all crashed and slept the entire 2 hours. Good thing I had the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to keep me company and to keep me awake :) 

I am excited to see what this transfer brings and to continue to grow and learn. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary right now and to be able to serve the Lord. I truly know that Heavenly Father is aware of each of His children and He has a specific plan for each of us. 

well that is about it for the week.

I love you all and thanks for the support <3

have a good week!

xoxo,

Sister Johnson

张姐妹

Goodbye to the my awesome companions - Sister Guan and
Sister Dobberfuhl

New Area - Moorabbin

Goodbye to the Brother and Sister Wilson and their
CHICKENS!!

Baptism of cute Jamie

Trip to Phillips Island- YES it was still dark
when we got there.  Sister Cehajic

Cute Baby Penguins 

I love the smell of Salt Water

I love Australia

Kangaroo Crossing.  Don't mind us

Sisters all fell asleep as I drove home - just me
and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

GLEN WAVERLEY - Week 20 - March 13, 2017

I am emailing on Tuesday this week because yesterday was Labor Day here in Australia! All the libraries were closed so our emailing got pushed back to today. :)

This week has been great and we have seen so many miracles!

Last Monday we had our Zone P-day and it was so much fun. We played a couple games of laser tag and then played ping pong and had a BBQ. I love my zone so much and we are all really close which is awesome. :) also my ping pong skills are getting better since I have been on my mission so that's cool.

BIG NEWS! Our investigator Jamie is getting baptized on Saturday!! So there is a part member family in our ward - the Jee Family - where the dad has been a member for a couple years but the mom has always been very against the church. After countless prayers and fasting, Sister Jee has had a change of heart this week and said we can start teaching their 3 kids. We met with them and were able to set a baptismal date for their 10 year old son Jamie! He has been wanting to get baptized for 3 years and is soo excited and so ready!! Such a miracle to see the power of prayer and fasting this week. 

On Tuesday night, we had a lesson with Fiona and Tina again. It was such a beautiful night and they live pretty close to our flat, so we decided to walk to their house instead of drive. It was so nice to walk and get fresh air.. but mistakes were made and lessons were learned. Our flat keys are on car keys and since we didn't drive I didn't think to bring the car keys. Well walking home after an awesome lesson, we quickly learned that we didn't have the keys to get into our flat. We called the Zone Leaders because they had the extra set of keys and long story short we didn't end up getting into our flat until almost 11 pm. Luckily it was a nice night & we made the best of it and took some fun pictures while waiting outside. :)

We had a dinner with our recent convert KaiKai this week and we made dumplings! Super fun to make them and we seriously ate soo many. We probably all ate at least 30 dumplings each. No regrets haha

During our district meeting this week I was feeling a little discouraged as I realized the language isn't coming as fast as I would like. I was practicing role playing with Elder Wheeler, one of my zone leaders, and it was awesome! He shared with me Alma 17:10-11 and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I have learned so much about patience this week and know that even though I may not be fluent in Chinese right now (or anywhere near fluent) the Lord will help me and that the language will come :)

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve a mission in Melbourne and to be learning Chinese. I love this Gospel so much and know without a doubt in my mind that it is true. Thank you for the support and love this week. I love you all!

xoxo,

Sister Johnson

张姐妹

Alyssa's Companions make a "Heart" for her to
show her their love??

Most Chinese only use knives like these
Our investos Tina

Selfie for the week - just hanging' out in the church on Sunday

A friend of a friend went over to Melbourne for business.
We were able to send Alyssa a care package for free.
This is one of her favorite treats from a bakery down the street.

Laser tag for Zone P-day 

Locked out of the flat AGAIN.   Just waiting around.  So sad

Making homemade dumplings

Go Sisters Go!!

Yummy Dumplings!!

GLEN WAVERLEY - Week 19 - March 5, 2017

This week has felt super long.. but still great :)

We had Golden Review for Sister Dobberfuhl and it was so fun. Even though I am technically not the golden anymore.. I still learned so much. I loved something that Elder Olan (one of the AP's) said. We were talking about faith and he said "Faith is not to change the will of the Father, but to give us the strength to act". I think this is so true because when finding or teaching, it is easy to forget that everyone has their own agency and they have to accept this message for themselves! 

We had interviews with President Vidmar this week and oh my goodness I love him so much. He is awesome and I am so blessed to have him as my mission president. :)

Tuesday was a day of unfortunate events for us. Sister Dobberfuhl woke up with an upset stomach and was feeling pretty crappy all day.  Then we had district meeting and we were half way there when Sister Guan realised she didn't have on her name tag. So we turned around and ran home real quick to grab it. She was running out the door and somehow tripped and fell down our front steps and twisted her ankle!! We grabbed the bag of frozen veggies and iced it for a couple minutes but then quickly were off to our meeting. Oh goodness. Then I had an allergic reaction to something and my whole face swelled up and was really itchy & irritated. Super weird and we don't really know what it was but it was red and swollen all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday. But my awesome district leader gave me some weird Chinese cream and it seemed to help so #blessed.

This week we had a lesson with our investigators Fiona and Tina and it was amazing! Fiona has been an investigator for 2 years, and Tina is her cousin. Tina just got here from China to stay with Fiona and her family, and she doesn't really know anything about the Church. So we have been able to teach them! Fiona has a super strong testimony but just doesn't feel ready to be baptised (yet..) so she often helps and testifies when we teach Tina. This week in our lesson we were talking about how God loves us and will help us in our trails. Fiona was testifying and shared the quote from The Pursuit of Happyness "Don't move this mountain that is in front of me, just give me the strength to climb it". I really liked that and it was such a powerful moment in our lesson. The Spirit was so strong that I just couldn't hold back the tears. I know that the Lord will help us and give us the strength to get through our trials if we ask Him. Most of the time on my mission I have asked Heavenly Father to just make it easier and to take away my trials and hard times. But Fiona reminded me that our trials are actually to help us and they shape us into who we are. I am so grateful for the trails I have had in my life that have gotten me to where I am today. This week as I have been praying for the strength to endure, I have felt power beyond my own and I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. I am so grateful to have a Loving Heavenly Father.

Thank you for the prayers and support you all show me. I say it all the time, but I honestly wouldn't be here without all of you.

LOVE YOU ALL! Have a good week and be safe.

xoxo, 

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

Shout out to my Grandma Dorothy Johnson in Texas

Building a shoe rack - my face is red from an allergic reaction.

Weird Chinese medicine to help the reaction - it worked.

A nice lady gives us fruit, oats and cookies every week.
The fruit and cookies are always gone, but the
oats are building up - we need some RECIPES!!

Love driving on these crazy roads in Melbourne, good thing
I'm not driving a stick shift.

Beautiful Summer Sunset
I love Australia.