GLEN WAVERLEY - Week 51 - October 18, 2017

yes we had transfers this past week and I did not see this coming.

I AM BACK IN MY FIRST AREA GLEN WAVERLEY.

And even better news:::: I AM BACK WITH MY MTC COMPANION / HOMIE / SOUL SISTER / BFF SISTER CAHOON!!! yeah dreams really do come true :):)):)

To be honest, I am little (lot) bummed to have left the city branch, all my investigators, the members and the other missionaries. It was hard to say goodbye to the area I served 8 months in. BUT I know there is a reason I am back in Waverley and I am excited to be here.

President had plans for me to go to a different area this transfer, but as he was praying about it, he felt that I needed to come back to this area for some reason. So that is so exciting and really brings me peace.

Hardest part of moving was for sure leaving Sister Zhang. We served together for 3 transfers  (4 months) and even though we had our ups and downs, we really were super close. She became one of my closest friends and helped me SO MUCH. I loved serving with her and learning from her. I will be forever grateful.

Monday was a pretty sad as I said goodbye to everyone in the city. But I guess I really am so lucky to have people life that in my life, that make saying goodbye so hard. (ew that was cheesy. sorry) 

Other than that, it was a pretty good week of teaching and then packing and moving.

Also fun news, we now live in a house with 2 other sisters that are in the English program and they are hilarious. This transfer is going to be sweet!

Thanks for the prayers and the support.

I love you all!

xoxo,

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

Moving Day - Way too much stuff

All the Sisters in the Chinese Program

Melbourne Central Chinese Zone

Companion Sister Zhang
 (Alyssa wearing fake glasses for the fun of it)

Saying Goodbye to Elder and Sister Maughan

MOORABBIN - Week 50 - October 11, 2017

Sorry I am a day late sending my email, we had lessons in the morning and zone pday yesterday, so we didn't have time to email. 

All of our investigators on date are still doing great and progressing quickly towards baptism!! :):)):)

We had a lesson with our investigator Victor yesterday and it was incredible. (quick background: I met Victor on the street when I first got to this area and have been teaching him for about 7 months now, he's awesome).  So our entire lesson was lead by the Spirit and we were able to invite him to be baptized again (which was not in our plan!!) and he said yes! The entire lesson I felt that we needed to invite him and talk about baptism again. Sister Zhang and I were both nervous to invite him again because in the past he always said he wasn't ready and needed more time. BUT in our lesson yesterday, the Spirit was overwhelming and when we invited him to be baptized it was perfect. He is a huge miracle and blessing!

So I know that conference was forever ago, but we finally got to watch it this past weekend and holy cow it was AMAZING. I went into conference weekend with soo many questions on my mind, and in one way or another, every single question was answered. 

The entire time I was watching conference I felt like every talk was FOR ME and my situation. It is insane that so many people can listen to one talk and get so many different things out of it. The Holy Ghost is just incredible. 

One of the talks that I LOVED was by Elder Zwick about praying to have our eyes opened to see others the way God sees them. Serving with Sister Zhang has been awesome, but we have had our ups and downs. We have been together for 3 transfers (almost 5 months now) and have been through a lot. To be honest, it is pretty hard to live with someone/be with them 24/7, especially when it is someone with a completely different culture than you. (ps I'm sure Sister Zhang has felt the same way about having to live with me, because I know I am not the easiest or most patient person..haha) this talk really spoke right to me, because recently I have been praying like crazy to have more patience, love and understanding with my Chinese companions. 

I have had lots of companions on my mission that come from China, so I have been able to learn a ton about their culture and the way they do things. Being able to understand each other and continue to love and work together through the rough times is what has makes us close. When we pray to see others how God sees them, our eyes are truly open and we are able to see the good in everyone, no matter how different we feel we are. I love Sister Zhang so much and honestly I've learned soo much from her. I am forever grateful for her example, her friendship and the opportunity to serve with her for so long.

well that's it.  I am sooo sore and can't move because of zone p-day yesterday so that's cool. :):)

Also transfers are this weekend! President Vidmar has told me (and has told my companion) that I will be leaving Moorabbin. :( I am soo bummed to leave all of our investigators and this area, but I am excited to see what happens and for new opportunities. 

thanks for the love and support. love you all.

Remember what Bonnie L. Oscarson said in conference, "who needs me today?" :) go out and save someone today!

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

P-DAY FUN

"I was gqing and someone bought me these chips. oooh yumm. thanks. hahaha eww.
Look at the flavor. Sound good to you?"

Someone at church gave her a bag of cookies. 

Waiting to get into the church for Conference.

MOORABBIN - Week 49 - October 3, 2017

A typical week of highs and lows, but this week had some extra special highs (and to balance, also had some extra special lows). BUT this week was FULL of miracles, so I guess I can't complain. :)

WING (the girl that we passed to the Waverley Sisters a couple weeks ago) got baptized this past week! Sister Zhang and I were able to attend the baptism and it was soo special. Being able to see her get baptized and then hear her testimony after, was incredible. But what was super special was after the baptism, when she came up to talk to me. She came up and said "Sister Johnson, if I didn't meet you I wouldn't have had this chance. That day that I saw you on the street, you just kept getting rejected and no one would stop and talk to you. (lol this is true) But then you said hi to me and you told me about the church!" And now just a couple months later she is baptized and has let the Gospel of Jesus Christ change her life.

Her baptism really changed my perspective and helped open my eyes. Seeing her get baptized and talking to her after, made all the hard times worth it. It made all the rejection, long days of GQing and times when people said rude things, WORTH IT. Her baptism was honestly such a blessing.

So this past week we were able to meet with heaps of our investigators and we were able to set 2 more baptismal dates! SO as of right now we have 5 baptismal dates!!! (HUGE MIRACLE!) & here is a quick overview on them all:

Louis: (Nov 4) he has been really sick recently so we didn't get to meet with his this past week. he has come to church a couple times and will pray and read the BOM (only when we ask him to read a specific part or when we remind him to read) but just doesn't have a testimony of the BOM yet. also he really doesn't like praying in public for some reason..  BUT he is headed in the right direction.

Timothy: (Oct 21) super solid investigator and is progressing soo quickly. taught him the word of wisdom this week and he was a little hesitant on not being able to drink tea. but after we explained why we have it, and the blessings that come from it and he said he is willing to try and not drink tea! he is awesome and so prepared. 

Simon: (Oct 28) we haven't been able to meet with him in foreverrr but we were finally able to have a lesson with him this week. we taught the Plan of Salvation and it was one of the most spiritual lessons ever. it was so cool because he told us that his mom passed away and we were both able to testify about the POS and that he will see his mom again. Writing about the lesson really doesn't do it justice. so just trust me when I say it was incredible.

Apple: (Nov 11) we met with her again this week and talked about baptism again. She has been so hesitant to accept a date because she feels like she doesn't know enough yet. BUT after our lesson this week she said 11/11 sounds good and now she just wants to talk to her parents about it. (scary!!!) so we are praying that her parents will support her decision.

Harry: (Oct 14) we are meeting with him again this week and will be pushing his date back until the end of October because he has a hard time coming to church and needs more time. :)

Hopefully this can give you an idea on maybe who to pray for (if you want to) :):)):)

Other than that, this week was pretty normal. We did a ton of finding and teaching, and everyday I'm learning a little bit more about the Chinese Culture. 

oh and I am soo excited to watch general conference this weekend! 

well thanks for the love, prayers and support.

love you all.

cheers,

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

SPRING IS HERE!!!  So what do Sister Missionaries do - climb a tree

So happy for warmer weather

Wing - who Sister Johnson met while GQing on the street

All the Sister Missionaries who taught Wing

When I woke up from this little nap Sister Zhang said to me,
"your mom is not going to be happy to see that
you sleep instead of doing your study" 

Made some Banana Bread

Sister Zhang had some fun hats

MOORABBIN - Week 48 - September 26, 2017

G'day mates :) do I sound Aussie yet???..

This week has gone by so fast. I don't even remember what happened. I know I have said that before, but as a missionary we do so much every single day!!! It all just blurs togethers and is so hard to remember. All I know is that I am tireeeeeed. oh and I am happy :)

I hit 11 months this past week and it is so crazy. I feel like I have been in Australia for years, but at the same time I feel like I just got here. SO crazy. time on a mission is weird, but I am really excited for the time I have left here in Melbourne. this place is the best <3

Our investigator Timothy came to church this week! He got there at 10:30, so he missed the sacrament which was a bummer. AND what made it worse, was that he told us it took him 2 HOURS to get to church, poor guy. It is so hard to get to the city on Sundays for church if you have to take the train. It is an hour train ride to the church, and recently they have been doing construction on the railroads every weekend so they have replacement buses to the city, which adds an EXTRA 55 minutes. so that is a bummer, but we talked to president about it yesterday in interviews and next transfer they might change things and have us try and attend another chapel that might be closer. We will see!

BUT Timothy is still awesome and progressing so much. He is still on date with October 21 and I love teaching him. He is so accepting & prepared and it is way cool to see this gospel changing his life. 

This past week I have learned A LOT about the Chinese culture. Recently, Sister Zhang and I had a few things come up and because of misunderstanding, it created a few problems for us. But this week we met with our zone leaders and we were really able to learn about each others' culture and way of thinking. We learned heaps about each other, the way we act & react to things, and WHY we do what we do. We now have a better understanding of each other and our companionship is so much stronger. I love Sister Zhang so much and I am so grateful I get to serve with her!!

funny story: last week we were GQing and I was talking to a chinese guy on the street (who unfortunately had no interest in the gospel) so we were just having small talk about the weather, school and the NBA (Chinese people love the NBA). Well as we ended our short conversation he gave me a big hug, a kiss on the cheek and then just walked away as I stood there stunned. yeah... I still have no idea. hahah

well here you have it.

its been a good week and I love Australia.

chinese is still hard but everyday gets a little better (I hope)

thanks for the prayers and support.

love you all.

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

We go running every day at 6:30am.  Don't like running 

ESPECIALLY running at that time of morning.  

We were so beat. This is us every single morning

My favorite snack, thanks Sister Zhang

Trying to stay focused at Scripture Study Night

 IMPORTANT THING- this week I finally figured out how to solve a rubix cube! 

Thanks to the English Elder in the city who wrote out the rules 

and how to solve it on a paper for me. It was the happiest day. :):)):)

Finished Product

In our district meeting this week we talked about stress. 

Everyone has been feeling a little stressed recently so in our district meeting 

we did things to help relieve stress. This included: coloring, deep breathing 

and also district massages. hahahh! BEST District Meeting. :):)):)

MOORABBIN - Week 47 - September 19, 2017

This week we had our stake conference and we also had zone conference. so quite a few days of long meetings but they were all amazing & I learned heaps, AND I got to see President Vidmar (who I absolutely love!!! have I said that before?! haha) so many times this week. What a blessing!

So we met with Timothy (our investigator who has baptismal date for October 21) again this week and he is amazing. He is so easy to teach and so willing to do anything we ask him to do. Not going to lie, it has kind of freaked me out teaching him because he doesn't have any problems or questions (which is the opposite of the rest of our investigators). BUT I realized that this is God's timing and Timothy is just really prepared for this gospel right now. and can I just say, teaching God's prepared people is SO nice. 

At our stake conference, Elder Hamilton of the 70 came and spoke. His talks on Saturday and Sunday were great because he is an awesome speaker and has a lot of insights, but is also hilarious. Stake conference talked a lot about trials and hardships which was extremely helpful and encouraging. They also talked a lot abut missionary work which is kind of funny because we have 44 missionaries that serve in our stake alone. sooo many missionaries!! but we have great support and help from our stake which is what every missionary wants.

oh, hah funny story--after stake conference we had to take the train home. This really isn't a problem, but on Saturday night the Maughans (the senior couple in our branch) dropped us off at a train station that I had never been to. I thought I knew how to get back to the city and how to get home, but I got us on the train going the wrong direction. We were calling our investigators on the train (lol trying to be an efficient missionary??) and after about 45 minutes we realized we were going AWAY from the city and our home. well long story short we got off and switched trains, and instead of taking the hour and a half it should have taken to get home.. it took almost 3 hours.  It was pretty late when we got home (don't worry we are responsible missionaries and called our zone leaders to tell them we would be late..) but now we look back and laugh. some days are just such a struggle haha

We had our zone conference this week too and it was very inspired. Our zone conference is just with the missionaries that serve in and around the city, so you know just the 44 of us. hah but the APs texted all of us the night before and asked us to think about a specific question that we had and to pray that it would be answered in zone conference. I had a few questions on my mind and in my heart as we went to zone conference and it was really cool because one way or another, every single question was answered. 

I really have a testimony that God hears and answers all of our prayers. Sometimes it doesn't come when or how we expect it, but I truly know that answers always come. 

I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves every single one of us. I know this with my whole heart and this is why I came on a mission. I know that God is involved in the small details of our lives and He really is helping us and guiding us. He is always there. I love being able to help others come to know their Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Chirst. 

Well I love you all. thanks for the love and support.

have a good week

cheers

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

Alyssa now thinks she is an "Aussie kid"
Her very favorite cereal

Zone Conference - MCC zone

MOORABBIN - Week 46 - September 12, 2017

wow what a week! 

The work has really started to pick up this week and we have seen some pretty cool miracles!! 

We were able to meet with our investigator Timothy this week and he is awesome! He understands the lessons we teach and loves the Book of Mormon so teaching him is so fun. In our lesson this week we invited him to be baptized in October and he said yes! He is such a miracle. We now have 3 baptismal dates (miracle!!!) and it honestly just shows that God is SO involved in this work. We really can't do this without him.

This week we had a another huge miracle! Sister Zhang and I were in the city on Monday for our District Meeting and we have FHE Monday nights, so we always just spend the entire day in the city. Well we had some time so we went out GQing in the city, and we met Anna! She seemed super interested and we were able to bring her back to our church and give her a chapel tour!! THEN she was able to meet with us on Thursday and holy cow she is soo amazing and SO PREPARED. The lesson was awesome and she has HEAPS of questions so she is more than willing to continue to meet with missionaries and learn more. She also came to all 3 hours of church on sunday which was insane!! She is the cutest and it was a little hard referring her to our zone leaders, BUT we will still be able to see her on Sundays and at activities so I'm not complaining! Being able to meet and teach people like her (even if it was just one lesson) is what makes this work so great! 

We also did exchanges with our STLs this week and it was so much fun. I was with Sister Patchell (an American!!!) and it was awesome to talk to her and learn from her! It has been a while since I have had "small talk" in English and it was just an awesome exchange!

After a transfer or 2 of struggling, being discouraged and feeling that we weren't having success or making progress, it is amazing to see that because we kept trying and stuck with it, Heavenly Father is blessing us soo much. Like it says in D&C "after much tribulation come the blessings". This work isn't easy, but it is soo worth it. I love being a missionary!

Thanks for the support, love and encouragement. 

love you all and miss you.

have a good week 

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

Neat Cathedral in Melbourne

Lost a FHE game and had to drink a V8 mixed with
tabasco sauce and hot chili sauce.  Sister Johnson thought it tasted
gross but Elder Yang said he liked it.

It is Elder Feng's Birthday so Alyssa drew a picture of him

This is Alyssa and a member, Leo, and they were matching so they
had to get a picture

Sister Trainer Leader - Sister Patchell - She and Sister Johnson were
able to go on exchanges together.

MOORABBIN - Week 45 - September 5, 2017

g'day mates. wow. what a week! 

As far as transfers go, I am staying in Moorabbin and I am staying with Sister Zhang!! Honestly such a tender mercy that we get to stay here and get to continue working together. I love Sister Zhang so much, we get along really well and work great together. Also this past week things have started to look up and I feel like something GOOD is coming so I would have been bummed to leave it all behind. 

SO last week I told you about Wing, the girl I contacted a couple weeks ago that we started teaching and then referred to the Waverley Sisters? Well we got a call from the Waverley Sisters this past week and they said that she is soo keen and has met with them a couples times now and she accepted a baptismal date for the September 30th! how crazy cool is that!! super excited for them and especially for Wing but also a little bummed because it is always SO HARD giving up and referring super keen people. but no worries.. we will find people to teach here in Moorabbin! I just know it!! 

Also MIRACLE from this week is our investigator Harry!! He is soo awesome and he met with missionaries a little over 2 years ago, but wasn't ready before. We recently picked him back up and started teaching him again. Well he is awesome and he is soo prepared now. We invited him to be baptized and in the most sincere way he said "I really want to! Do you think I am ready?" and honestly it was soo special to be able to testify that he is so ready and this is what Heavenly Father wants him to do! He accepted a date for September 30th (so everyone please pray for him and Wing!!) The Spirit was soo strong and we all left that lesson with not only tears in our eyes but with FULL hearts. missionary work is the best. BUT Harry has a hard time going to the city for church, so we talked to him about Waverley ward which is closer and he might be able to go there instead. So we might have to refer him to the Waverley Elders which is breaking my heart a little, but I know that this is what is best for Harry so that makes everything alright. :)

This past week I had a really cool experience but I don't think that anyone except Sister Sheri Peterson back home will really understand. but I will share it anyways! :)  so one day I was doing my personal study and was feeling a bit overwhelmed and discouraged about the fact that all our investos are busy right now and we haven't been seeing as much success as we would like. SO I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to not only help us, but to also send angels to help us. I specifically asked that my 2 sister angels as well as those angels from my home ward back in Utah (that I was super close with) to come and be with me. well I finished my prayer and as I was reading in the bible and read John 14:18. I have read that scripture soo many times on my mission but as I was reading it this time, our living room light flickered (and our lights have never flickered before Sister Peterson!!) and I was immediately overwhelmed with love and comfort. I could feel people around me and it was a familiar feeling!! It really strengthened my testimony that the other side is soo close and Heavenly Father really does love us. He wants to help in any way He can, and all we have to do is ASK. I know that I have so much help on my mission, especially from those on the other side!

Like I said before, I am really excited for this upcoming transfer. For some reason I have such good feelings about this next transfer and I am so excited to get out and work hard. I feel the flame of missionary work soo strong and it has gotten my soo pumped. I can't wait to see what miracles we have this transfer and what we can do here in Moorabbin.

thank you all for the love and support!

have a good week mates. 

xoxo

张姐妹

Sister Johnson

In Alyssa's words: "behind the scenes picture. a look into the life of a missionary.
This was me doing phone calls - I was talking to our investo Victor
who I love so that is why I look so happy haha ;);)
Also, yes mom I know there is stuff all over the ground..
we were going through some church magazines for comp study tonight"

What do you do while waiting for District Meeting to start -
You building a tower out of Hymn Books of course

Sisters in the South District

The South Squad District.

Selfie for the week.