San Diego at Last!

Alright family, settle in. This is going to be a long one.

First of all, I'm glad to hear about all the happenings at home. It's nice to know what's going on and you all sound very happy.

Next, thanks for the package mom! It was great to get here to a package from home. And triple double stuff oreos!! They are huge and sooo good. I really appreciated those and the fruit snacks.

So here is how things happen. My schedule at the Battalion changes every day, which is fine, it just makes things more fun to juggle. I thought the field would be super structured like the MTC, but it isn't. Because we spend so much time in the Battalion and we want to spend a lot of time in our area, we don't get all of our studying done every day. Not even close. It just isn't feasible at all so we do what we can and do our best. Ideally, we'd have an hour of personal study, two of companion and one of language, which puts us from 8:00 to noon. Then some time for lunch, which means we'd get out at about one then we'd have to come back to the Battalion at 3 until 9 then go home and plan. But it never works that way because we have too many people to teach so we study when we can and talk about our lessons to and from appointments. And all of this info is kind of boring so we'll leave it at that.

 My companion's name is Hermana Adams. She is amazing!!! I love her so much and we get along great. We have fun, we teach well, and we give great tours. I've learned so much from her, but the thing I love the most is that she makes me feel like an equal. It isn't about seniority- she really cares about what I have to say and what I think. It's nice to be on the same playing field. Here's the cool thing though, Mark Christiansen wrote her a few months ago and told her to look out for me because I was coming in. Lo and behold, she's my trainer! So that's really fun to have that common bond already. I'm the first sister she has trained, and I'll be her last. Ours will be her last companionship.

 All of the Battalion sisters live right next door so we see each other all the time. It's like we're one big family. We eat each others food, wearing each others clothes, play together, work out together, and all sorts of other fun things. It's like living in a really uplifting and righteous sorority. It's great and every one is nice. The joke is that you know which new sisters are Battalion sisters because you have an automatic love for them, which is unexplainable, and you don't get it for any other sister quite the same way. And it's true. Everyone keeps comparing me to the other Sister Johnson. She left before I got here but they all say I look and talk like her. So I tell them I actually am her, but I just changed my face. The funny thing is that I have two of her dresses so it only makes the resemblance stronger.

I love the Battalion! It really is like home. It is so pretty, and clean and I just love spending time there. I'm getting better at giving the tours too. It's fun and I enjoy trying to help people feel the spirit. I am not super good at that yet, but I think the more I understand the story, my own testimony, the divine worth of each person in my tour and how to be in tune with the Spirit myself, it'll come. It's a lot, but I learn and grow so much every day that it's attainable. Yesterday I had a really cool experience of giving a tour to a group of deaf people. They came in and I was called on to try and communicate with them. My sign language isn't super good, but it was fun to sign with them and help them. We had the sign elders come and translate, but I felt such a strong bond with all of them. They're from Salt Lake and actually know the Illi family (which isn't actually that big of a surprise). It was a good tour.

Ok, now more about my area: it's call Logan Heights (I thought it was a little ironic because Annette's ward in Philly was the Logan ward plus our family lives in Logan... but anyway). We meet in an elementary school and it's a Spanish branch. It is Mexico. We call it the Barrio, which means neighborhood or the ghetto. And it applies. Before my mission I would have looked at this place and cringed. But it changes from being really gross to being gross, but necessary. There are some amazing people in the Barrio. One is Catalina. She came to church for the first time since Hna. Adams has been teaching her, which has been months. She is incredible! She's so down to earth and she is progressing. I appreciate her spirit so much. It's like a balm to my heart after some of the lessons we have. Her sister in law is a member, but her kids are a little bit crazy. So I have a plan. I'm going to start bribing them to behave en el reunion de Sacramental con tootsie rolls. The oldest son may be a bit of a challange, but I think I can get the younger two to jump on board. I've started using reverse psychology on the second oldest. I managed to get him to sit next to me in sacrament meeting and I kept telling him that I was glad that he was being so good and that he was being a good example to his family. It worked! He was only a little bit crazy. So we're making progress. The elders in my district are all great. There are only 6 of us total, but we share investigators depending on their needs and we all help each other out, which is apparantly not always the case. We're a team. I love working in teams like this! We also have the Zone Leaders in our district, plus our District Leader and his companion are spiritual giants. We're just a powerful group of missionaries. It's awesome.

So much has happened in this week. My first lesson was with a woman named Martha. She is a member, but struggling with her testimony so we're helping her feel the truthfulness of el Libro de Mormon. I felt such a strong love for her and I'm glad we can be helping her. My last lesson was with Rita who only talked to us to be polite. She's been taught before for a long time by missionaries, and is friends with a lot of the members en la Rama, but she doesn't believe any of it. Last night was kind of heart breaking. We were planning on dropping her, but thought we'd give it one more shot. Needless to say, it was a mutual drop and I don't think we'll ever teach her again. Part of me is super frustrated, but the other part is really sad. It's just sad to see people forcefully drive the spirit out of their home. It was a good wakeup call. Tonight we're going to be teaching una familia sobre la Plan de Salvacion. Yo tengo gran hopes for them. It's nice to move on from last night and face a new family with hope for their future. It's going to be good.

 It's fun to meet new people. On Sunday we walked to all of our investigators houses to try and teach them. None of them were home, so we just kept walking. There were a couple of guys in front of their house who called us over to talk to them. They were funny. One was named Marco, and I don't remember his friends name. They weren't actually interested in our message, but we're all pretending that they are. They just wanted to talk to Mormon missionaries for the fun of it. But I gave Marco a copy of the Book of Mormon and told him to read it. He said he would, but we'll see. We walked away to another investigators house, but on our way back we passed them again. I told Marco to read the book and he said he was. Hna. Adams doesn't really like them because she feels like they're just messing with us. But I like them because they're the kind of people and I can just tell them how it is and we can all feel confident about it. Sometimes I feel like I'm walking on glass with some people, so I like feeling like I'm on solid ground with Marco. Chances are we won't ever teach them and chances are he may not read the Book of Mormon, but if he does and if we do, he'll have a great story and a strong testimony. He's just that kind of person.

We have a baptism lined up for this Saturday. Her name is Connie and I really hope it happens. I haven't met her because when I got here she and her boyfriend were off getting married (which makes teaching the law of chastity a lot easier). So we're going to baptise her and work really hard on keeping her active. I don't know how I feel about baptising someone who doesn't have a super strong testimony. There are pros and cons. Basically if we get her baptized, she'll have visiting teachers to help her (ideally). And she can continue to learn and grow. And we're getting her on the path to eternal life. But I don't know how I feel about setting someone up to not take that chance. Ultimately, it's their call and all I can do is help them get on the path. I just have to spend more time here figuring things out. But I'm excited for her and I'm excited to meet her.

I'm grateful for the spirit who shows me little snippets each day of how blessed I am and how much I have to look forward to in my future. I have such a bright future!!! I'm grateful for all the people in my life who respect me, help me, love me and protect me. So many people don't get that, especially here. I am just blessed to be reminded of that every day as I walk the streets.

 There really is so much I could be telling, but I should probably email Pres. Clayton. I love it here. The MTC really was so hard for me. I truly didn't like it because I was in classes all day just learning with no real way to apply it. Here, I'm doing. I'm thinking about how to help real people and what to teach them. I'm striving and working for actual goals. I'm happy, I love it, and I've already had a few moments of understanding how much I'm going to miss it in a year and a half. So I don't think about that and I just keep plugging along.

I love you all very much! Thank you for helping me all the time. I'm excited to some day show you the Mormon Battalion Historical Site. You're going to love it. Have a great week and I'll write you next Tuesday.

Love, Hna. Johnson

Visitor Center Training, Aug. 12

This week has been loco. Our elders left on Tuesday and it has been really depressing without all of them. But I'm happy for them and glad they're out doing the work. At least the other elders in our zone are here and still say hi to us. We started our visitor center training which has been super fun. All the other sisters are so nice and friendly. We're making friends with all of them and we play soccer together on the days we have gym. It was nice to go to a class full of friendly people. There are 22 of us total in the class, so it's kind of big, but once you know people, 22 isn't actually that big. All the sisters are super diverse.

One companionship is made up of a Cambodian sister, a Phillipeano sister and a Mongolian sister. They're so cute! They are always happy and ready to serve. They're super short and they just love each other. You can feel their spirits so strongly. Another companionship is Sister Perez from Mexico City. She's a riot. She loves everyone, isn't afraid to speak her mind and is so full of life. Her companion is Sister Makalake (pronounced kind of like mocha-latte) from South Africa. She speaks about a million languages and doesn't take crap from anyone. She loves shoes and has some super cute pairs. They too, are really short. Sister Rozas and Sister Wong, I don't know them very well but they seem nice. Sister Rozas is from Chile and has helped me with my Spanish. Then we have Sisters Bowers and Spencer-Kealakama... or something close to that. They're also very sweet. Sister Spencer isn't afraid to share her insights and she is very generous in her compliments of others. She likes to look for the good in people. I don't know Sister Bowers that well, but she's nice too. Sisters West, Lane and Joost sit next to me. They're gorgeous and so fun. Sister Joost actually knows Beka Arneson. They were roommates a couple years ago. They're all going to Temple Square, but Sister Wong is going to DC Mandarin speaking. Some sisters are going to Winter Quarters, Nebraska and they're excited. There are 5 of them. And lastly we have Hermanas Avelar y Ortez. I love them both so much. They are the ones who have helped me the most. They speak Spanish to me all the time and teach me words or phrases. Hermana Avelar is going to DC spanish speaking, so she'll be with my comps.

Hermana Ortez, is going to the MB with me and I just love her. It's going to be fun to work with her. I see Brittney Sterling all the time and I'm excited to work with her too. I have met a lot of the people who will be traveling with me and they're all pretty nice. One of my favorites however is Hermana Gillette. She won't be in the MB with me, which is sad, but just knowing her is fun. She's someone I would hang out with normally. I really like her. I'm excited to be flying out on Tuesday with all of my friends. I am also excited to share my testimony with random passangers who can't excape me. Muwahahaha! Jk, but not really. The only thing that worries me is this: they gave us pass-along cards to hand out. Which isn't a problem. Except they're in Spanish and I don't know how to have a conversation with people in Spanish without my companions. It's a good thing my two friends already speak Spanish and hopefully they'll be able to help me if I'm lacking. The thing I've learned this week has been to just have confidence in myself. When I think about the Spanish I don't know, I can't speak it. But if I just let it come out of my mouth, it generally gets the point across.

I'm super excited to go to Temple Square tomorrow. We're going to be paired up with sisters who are currently serving there and they're going to help us with our approaches. It's going to be fun. I just have to figure out what to wear. And I think I already said that in a previous letter, but I'll say it again.

I'm going to miss my companions. I've really come to rely on them and yes, sometimes I want nothing more than to be alone, but mostly I know they've got my back. They support me all the time and they try very hard to build me up. They're so great. I've learned to just be honest with people when I'm thinking something instead of letting it fester. For the most part, people appreciate honesty so I'm going to do my best to be open.

Well, that's been this week so far. We need to start packing. I've been very aware of everything I've acumulated since I've been here and I thought I was doing good until I looked at how many papers I have. I need to dejunk. I can't take all of this with me, but I don't want to throw it all away. Story of my life. Well, I love you all. Thanks for the support and help. And next time I write, I'll be in CALIFORNIA!!!! WOOT! :) Have a good week.

Love, Hna. Johnson

I see Bestie all the time and it's been super fun to chat with him. He's leaving for Peru in a few weeks and is really excited. It's been great seeing people I know. They keep me normal... ok that's a lie, we're all turning into weirdo missionaries, but at least we're all doing it together :)

Aug. 8, 2011

Glad you're all alive and well. I didn't get my travel plans until last thursday which is why you don't have them yet. My travel plans are thus: I leave the MTC at 5 am to drive up to the airport, and then I'm flying through Delta and I leave at 8:35, my arrival time is 9:32. There are 17 in my travel group and I know most of them. One sister is going with me through training this next week and I already love her tons! I'm so excited to serve with her. This next week will be crazy. Our elders leave tomorrow and I'm super happy/ sad for them. I have grown so fond of them that seeing them leave is almost heart breaking, but I'm so excited for them to get out into the field that I can't wait for them to go. Today we had to go to BYU campus for Hna. Bleazard, and it was weird to be out in the real world again. Last time it was fun, this time it hit me full force that I'm going to be out of the MTC in a week and now I want to leave more than anything. I'm ready to get to work. But first, I have VC training this next week. We'll be put with a bunch of other VC sisters and we'll learn who knows what. But I'm excited to go to Temple Square this week to practice. It'll be nice to practice what we've been learning. Other than that, not much has happened. I'm excited to go. I'm excited to start applying all this information they've been giving us. We got to got to the temple again today, for which I was grateful. Oh, and we get Pday on Thursday this week so I'll be emailing you then. I also got my pioneer dress last Tuesday so I'll be sending pictures of that soon. Hermana Major is still doing great. I'm just grateful we've been able to be here for each other during all of this. I've come to rely on my companions, and I love them, but sometimes it's nice to just hear someone familiar tell you the things you already know. Things are going great between my comps and I. Something clicked this week and we've all just been a lot happier. A lot of the stress has been taken off. It's definitely a gift from Heavenly Father. I still learn new things from them all the time. I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week. Love, Hna. Johnson

Aug 1, 2011

Ok, so this week has been one of many adventures. To start at the beginning: On monday night, or actually tuesday morning at 2:15, the fire alarm went off in the girl's dorm and so we all filed out to the lawn just to be safe. Needless to say, we weren't very happy to be awake and shoeless that early in the morning. Personally, I actually thought it was super fun but Hermana Bleazard was demanding to see flames if we were to be up that early in the morning. Fortunately, it was only a glitch that was easily taken care of. Next, on wednesday we got to host the new sisters and it was super fun. I keep meeting sisters who are going to San Diego and I'm super excited to fly out with all of them in two weeks. I am so ready to get out into the field. I'm getting a little stir crazy here. Fortunately, next week will be diverse. The only sad thing is that our elders leave next tuesday so we'll miss them. They all got their travel plans last thursday and are super excited to be going. They're all going to do great. I still haven't received my pioneer dresses so I think the Lord is trying to teach me patience. That's a good thing, right? On Saturday night we were brushing our teeth when we realized we had locked ourselves out of our bedroom. Mind you, I was in yoga shorts with no shoes, Hermana Miller had no shoes or her glasses and couldn't see and Hermana Bleazard was in pink polka dot pants also sin zapatos. Entonces, we had to go up to the front desk to borrow a key. It was so fun to be running through campus at 10:15 when everyone else was in their dorms. We felt like such rebels. The main building is 1M, and we're supposed to wear missionary clothes in there so when we walked through in our pajamas it just added to the excitement. Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves. We may or may not have played a little James Bond as we "walked" back from the desk. We danced and did some tuck-n-rolls.... yeah, it was an adventure. Yesterday our district sang in Sacrament meeting. It was funny because the week before my comps and I sang so people teased us about loving to be in the front. But it went well and I was proud of everyone. We actually sound really good all the time and it is great. The temple opened last Tuesday so we had the chance to go today. It was so nice to go again, but I don't know if we'll get a chance to go before we leave for the field. It all depends on if we follow the same schedule as the elders this week or if we follow our normal schedule. But I remembered how grateful I am to be able to go to the temple and how much I NEED it in my life. This month has been so hard, and I'm contributing it to the fact that I couldn't go to the temple every week. Although, if that's the case I'm doomed in the mission because we only get to go 4 times a year. Which is actually still a lot, but a few times more would be nice. Other than that, things are plugging along like normal. Grandma Stratford sent me a bunch of pictures from Andrew's wedding which I appreciated receiving. I'm going to write her during laundry. And will someone tell Matthew to write me already! The punk, I want to hear about the rest of his time in Europe. And basically anyone else who wants to write me needs to get on it. Oh mom, on Sunday for RS Sis. Cook from the YW General Presidency came and spoke and she had some girls from her ward sing "Guardians of Virtue". You'd really like it so you should look it up. It's probably by Jenny Phillips, but I don't know that for sure.

I leave in two weeks from tomorrow so I'm going to start getting things ready to leave. Anyway, I love you all. I really am alive, sorry you didn't hear from me last week. Have a great day!

July 25th, 2011

I'm glad all the festivities are going well. Happy Pioneer Day! I realized yesterday that my testimony of this gospel, its legacy and the pioneers is not only growing so much now, but it's going to keep growing until it's huge! I'm so blessed to be able to serve in a mission where my history will become such a part of me.

I hope Annette's race goes well. Give her a hug and congrats for me if you get this in time and see her. She sent me a picture of the girls and I cannot believe how grown up Kenz is! She's huge! They're such cuties. And so is Faye! (or as we like to say, Fe). Thank you for sending those pictures. I show them off every chance I get.  It was funny because on monday I received your email telling me what had happened, then on tuesday I received your package so it was super fast and nice to have so hard copies of the pictures. The package was perfect! Thank you! So today I was supposed to receive my dress, but she had to reschedule and hopefully I'll get them tomorrow. I got to Temple Square on the 13th (whatever Saturday is the one before I leave) and I'm super excited for it. And yes, I'll be able to call you from the airport. I won't receive my travel plans until next week, ... weird. But once I do, I'll let you know. I'll just plan on calling your cellphones because my flight likely won't be too early in the morning. But maybe it will be. I'll let you know. Our district is leaving soon, and they get their travel plans on thursday. I can't believe that it's coming down to the end. Las semanas are really flying now. It's intense. We have made a lot of friends who have left this week and last week. It's so fun to see them going off to their respective missions and I'm excited to keep in contact with all of them.

We got a new district with new sisters and it's great. Although, I'm kind of responsible for them so it's stressful, but good. Spanish is going well, Jess is adjusting. Life is great. I'm healthy, although I did have a bad week last week where eating made me sick and I lost some weight, but I'm fine now and it's all back.

I love you all! Have a great week.

Love, Hna. Johnson