MOORABBIN - Week 26 - April 24, 2017

Hello my family and friends!

Well not going to lie this week has been pretty tough. But even though this hasn't been the best week, it is so amazing that we were able to see so many miracles! 

This week 2 of our investigators told us that they are no longer interested and dropped us. That was hard because I know that both of them could really use the gospel in their lives! But we just have to trust in God's timing and hopefully we will be able to help them in a couple months?

Also we did a lot of GQing this week and no one seemed to be interested. It was hard and this week we were rejected soo many times. nice.

Also, a lot of our investigators right now have really strong accents. Even my companion Sister Li (who is a native from China!!) has a hard time in lessons trying to understand what they are saying. That is super discouraging and has made me very aware that I am not as fluent in Chinese as I would like.

MIRACLE OF THIS WEEK was my old investigator Tina from Glenn Waverly got baptised on Saturday! I was able to attend and it was so special! Sister Dobberfuhl and I, along with 2 Elders sang 'A Child's Prayer' at the baptism and it was an experience never to be forgotten. Yes for all of you back home this may come as a surprise because before my mission I NEVER would have done this, but Tina asked and I just couldn't say no. As we were singing I looked out and saw Fiona (Tina's cousin who is investigating as well) was sobbing. The Spirit was SO strong in that moment and I was barely able to keep it together and not lose it on the stand. I am so excited and this just might have been what Fiona needed to finally make the next step and be baptised too. Tina's baptism truly was soo special

Other happy news, our investigator Jeff is getting baptised this week and I am so excited for him. He is honestly amazing! This week he was talking to Sister Li and I and shared his amazing testimony. He was telling us that he went out with his friends and they went to a bar and all his friends were encouraging him to drink, but he thought of us! He then went on to say that even though his friends laughed at him and thought he was lame and weird for not drinking, he couldn't stop thinking about us and what we have taught him. He has such a strong testimony and is such an amazing example to me. I can't wait for his baptism this Saturday!

This week has been a little harder than usual. But, I am so grateful to be a Chinese missionary because it has forced me to truly rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have prayed so much this past week and because of it now have such a special relationship with my Father in Heaven and for that I am forever grateful.

I am so blessed.

I love you all. Thank you for the constant support and love. 

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

Investigator Tina on the day of
her BAPTISM!!

Investigator Jeff with Mission President Vidmar

after an interview

All the Missionaries assigned to the Mandarin

Branch in Melbourne.  Singing in Church.

MOORABBIN - Week 25 - April 17, 2017

Hey fam and friends!

This week we got to meet with our investigator Jeff again and we finished all the lessons!! We finished teaching him and got to review and prepare for his baptismal interview that he will have this week. He is getting baptised on April 29 and I am so excited. He is incredible and I have learned so much from teaching him and helping him prepare to make this next (very important) step in his life.

We had interviews with President Vidmar this week and wow I love meeting with him! He is the greatest and always knows what to say to motivate, help and encourage me. After our interview, he was able to meet our investigator Jeff who will be baptised at the end of this week and President bore his testimony to Jeff and wow it was incredible! President Vidmar is a special and very inspired man.

I got a call on Saturday night from Sister Dobberfuhl (my last companion) and she told me that our investigator Tina is getting baptised on April 22!!! I am so excited and it was one of the best phone calls I have ever received!

This week was the 8 year anniversary of my sisters Alexis and Amanda passing away. It was a really special day for me and it happened to be on Easter this year! It is always hard with the memories and feelings that always come, but it was also really special. There were many times during the day that I felt so happy and felt so comforted. I knew in those moments my sisters were giving me a hug or two. I felt so close to them and it was amazing. I am so grateful for this Gospel and the knowledge I have to know that I will see them again one day :)

Yesterday for P-Day, we got permission from President to go to the Footy game!! For those of you who don't know what footy is... I don't really know either. It is an Australia sport and it is actually really cool! It is kind of like American football, rugby, basketball, volleyball, and soccer all mixed together. So yeah pretty confusing huh? We didn't even understand the scoring until the second half when we finally asked someone, and after watching the entire game I am still not sure what the purpose of the game is? But even though I didn't understand what was really going on, it was still so fun to watch!

Well this week has been awesome and I am so excited for Tina's baptism this Saturday :) I love being a missionary! Chinese is still hard but is slowly (VERY SLOWLY) coming. I am so grateful I get to be apart of this special work. 

xoxo,

Sister Johnson

张姐妹

At a Footy Game on P-Day

Didn't understand much of the game but got a
Cool beanie and took lots of pictures

Easter lunch at the Branch

8 out of 10 chinese sister missionaries serve in the city -
so happy to see my sister friends so often

MOORABBIN - Week 24 - April 9, 2017

This week I finally got to meet Huang Mei! She is the lady that Sister Cahoon and I skyped when we were in the MTC and because I didn't serve in the City when I first got here she has been waiting quite a while to finally meet in person. She had my companion and I over for a lunch this week and she is the cutest. She said that I have to call her my Melbourne Mom and she says that if I need anything to let her know. So don't worry mom-she is taking good care of me :) also she is a hard core member missionary. She LOVES missionaries and missionary work. I love her!

I did exchanges this week with my awesome STL Sister Pratt and it was so much fun. She is awesome and we get along really well. We are so similar so exchanges were great. I learned so much from her and I love her so much.

So yes we finally got to watch Conferece this week and holy cow it was amazing. I don't know it if is because I am a missionary but I got so much out of this session of General Conference and it was FOR ME! I swear all the talks were exactly what I have been praying about helped me so much. I loved every single session.

One of my favourite talks was from Elder Gary B. Sabin and Elder Bednar's talks! They were both great but I encourage all of you to listen to them all again and learn from them. I have a lot of things that I learned from Conference that I will use to be a better missionary and person! :) 

What was cooler was that our Investigator Jeff was able to attend a couple of the sessions and it was amazing to hear from him what he learned and how much he also enjoyed it. My heart is full and it was so special to see how General Conference helped him and answered some of his own personal questions.

This week has been amazing and I learned so much. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and am so blessed that I get to serve Him and tell people about Him and His life.

Have a good week.

I love you all!!! 

xoxo,

Sister Johnson

张姐妹

Branch President Waylon Lai and his wife
(in the star shirt and yellow shirt)

Huang Mei with all her missionary name tags

Crustacean anyone?  Alyssa ate
"this cute little thing" (her words)

MOORABBIN - Week 23 - April 3, 2017

Hello family & friends!!

This week has been so great.

We have been able to meet with a lot of our investigators and recent converts this week and it has been great helping them and teaching them more about the Gospel and about our Savior Jesus Christ. I LOVE doing missionary work here in Melbourne. It is the hardest and most discouraging work I have ever done, but at the same time is it also the happiest and most rewarding work I have ever done. 

We have been working with our investigator Crush this week. He is awesome and is so willing to learn. He loves everything we teach him and truly wants this Gospel in his life. During our lesson this week we were able to set a baptismal date with him for May! He has a few things that we need to work through and overcome before he can get baptized, but both he knows and we know that the Lord will help him in this process! It has been so special to see his relationship with the Savior grow and become so personal. It has helped me think about my own relationship with Him and how I too can make it more personal. 

We had zone conferences this week and it was so great to hear and learn from President Vidmar. I love him and Sister Vidmar so much! It was also fun to see my old zone and all my old homies at zone conference. I have seriously met some of the best people ever on my mission and I am so grateful for their examples and their friendship.

It is fall here in Australia and winter is coming soon so we had flu shots after zone conferences for those who wanted them. I have always gotten flu shots in the past and so I decided to get one this year too. For about 3 days after the shot I was getting headaches and was feeling really dizzy, but it wasn't too bad. On Saturday evening I was feeling pretty light headed and had a really bad headache so I decided to take a shower and go to bed early. Long story short, when I was showering I didn't feel good so I got out and stood outside the shower for a second. Next thing I remember was laying/sitting on the floor of the bathroom. Turns out that I hit my head on the counter when I passed out and got a nice shiner right on my forehead. but DON'T WORRY MOM.. all is good and after resting all of Sunday I am feeling better and can now continue in the work. I know that it could have been a lot worse than it was and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father is always watching over and protecting me!

I love this gospel so much and am so grateful to have it in my life. I am even more grateful that I have the opportunity to share it and help those who don't. I truly know that God is our loving Heavenly Father! I have been able to feel of His love many times this week and I am always brought to tears. I know that He knows us personally and will answer our prayers. 

Also I am so excited to listen to conference this week! It takes a week for translation so we will listen to it this Saturday and Sunday and I cannot wait.

Thank you for the love, support and prayers. I love you all.

Have a good week and say your prayers!

xoxo,

Sister Johnson

张姐妹

Zone Conference - All the Sisters in the Chinese Program

Sister Li.  Companions who do "twinner" hair
are true companions.

Fall mornings in the flat, a little chilly.
Good thing she isn't serving in Russia or something

Bumped her head after fainting.  Oh boy!!

MOORABBIN - Week 22 - March 26, 2017

 I hit my 5 months mark this week! So crazy how fast but also slow time is going here!

This week has been pretty crazy moving to a new area. Since Sister Li and I both doubled into Moorabbin we have spent the week trying to get to know the area and getting to know our investigators here. Because of where we live, we are actually about an hour train ride away from the City. We go to the City almost everyday - Sunday for church, Monday for FHE, district meeting on Tuesdays and English class on Thursday and Saturday and game night on Friday - so we spend a lot of time on the trams..but it has been really fun. Also such a blessing because I get to see SISTER CAHOON almost every day! :)

My companion is Sister Li who is from China and she is awesome! We are very different in a lot of things, but actually work really well together! She has been a convert to the church for almost 3 years and is so good at talking to people and helping them. I have already learned so much from her and I am looking forward to serving with her this transfer!

Thursday we went out GQ (talking to people on the street) and it was great. We were talking to heaps of people and I was feeling like I was on top of the world. Right before we were about to go home, I felt something hit my leg. I look down and A BIRD HAD POOPED ON ME! I guess that in order to feel the highs on a mission, you have to go through the lows too. haha

We were able to meet with our investigator Jeff on Saturday and it was so great. He is so keen and is willing to learn. He has been investigating the Church for a while but in the past has been super busy. He still is pretty busy with school but said that he is willing to meet with us every Saturday and will come to church on Sunday! During our lesson with him, we were able to set a baptismal date for the end of this transfer on April 29! He is awesome and has been so prepared!

This week I came across 2 Nephi 22:2 - "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation."  and it honestly helped me so much! I really love the scriptures and love the opportunity I have to read and study them everyday. Such power and love come whenever I read the scriptures!

Enjoy General Conference.  We will watch it Saturday and Sunday April 8 & 9 because it takes a week to be translated. They have the mandarin ones but I will watch it in english so I can understand and learn from it. but yeah they have it for us and we will watch it at the city branch. :) i am soo excited!!!!  Maybe I will be able to watch the October Conference in Mandarin and understand it, here's hoping.

So yeah that is about it for this week.. sorry not much happened!

I love you all so much! Thank you for the support and love.

Have a good week and say your prayers.

xoxo,

Sister Johnson

张姐妹

Old Companions - Sister Guan and Sister Dobberfuhl
right before transfers in front of our PICTURE WALL

Zone Leaders - Elder Wiser and Elder Wheeler

Saw my favorite recent convert at church
Brittany

Hit 5 months this week!!

 
           New Companion - Sister Li

Just doing some missionary work - talking
to people on the street.