November 10 - November 16

Hello everyone!

Well it is official I am now starting my very last transfer of my mission :( it is such a crazy feeling. It is defiantly a bitter sweet moment for sure. I remember starting my mission and thinking this is never going to end! I started counting down and getting excited as another transfer came and went. but now I am trying to hold on to this last one. its sad to think that its coming to an end so soon. I am realizing that it is becoming harder to stay focused cause my mind is having to figure out what will happen next. what my game plan will be but I want to just focus on the work and to do my very best! I want to go home not having any regrets. of course I am excited to go home but I'm not ready to finish this chapter in my life. Good thing I have 6 weeks left!! :) it has been the best to not have to worry about yourself and to focus on others all day and everyday. feeling the spirit so strong everyday and seeing people lives change right in front of you. being a missionary is amazing! and hard work. Its not over yet and I am grateful for that! I will hold on to every moment for the next 6 weeks! sorry that has just been on my mind lately and I thought I would share it with you all :)

I did not get transferred and neither did my companion or my ward mates. So not much change. We had a few people in the zone change but not many at all. We will however have the Ranchos sisters, Shaw and Cornett move in with us in our home so that will be fun and exciting!

now for my weekly update:

Nov 10- We had a normal p-day where we had zone activity in the morning and did our normal things until 6pm. We had dinner with such a cute family the Goldbergs. they are a part member family and so nice! they have two little girls and they danced and sang frozen for us and they even let me record it! it was lots of fun! We then had a lesson with Amy and Terry. We were able to go in and she said okay what in the world is the D&C the bible and the book of Mormon have in the footnotes? I cant find it any where haha we giggled and explained what it was and she was excited that there was more! we had her get the gospel library app. so she can read everything. We then asked about if they believe in prophets and they do! they are doing so great! We walked home and did language study and our nightly routine.

Nov 11- We had zone meeting this morning and sister Lampinen and I were asked to give a 30 to 45 minute training on preparing a baptism. It went super great! better than we thought it was going to go. We then had lessons with Ann and the Wilcox's and Bro Sexton. we then went and had dinner at the Higareda's which was fun and then the Spanish sisters picked us up for a lesson with their investigators cause they have a daughter who speaks English and wants to try out an English ward so that was fun! We then went and had a lesson with sister Kile. it was nice finally being able to meet with her again. she has been one busy lady!

Nov 12- Cant believe I am 17 months old! wow! We visited with the Dunbars for a minute and then had a lesson with Raquel and her boyfriend Lenard was there and he said he is interested in learning more about the church again and wants to get baptized! We are excited he just needs to take care of his parole that he is on. We are excited to be teaching him though. We then visited with sister Tucker and then went to Amy and Terry's to have a lesson with the Chapmans. They are a couple in our ward that has had similar backgrounds to Amy and Terry. It was perfect for them to go and meet with them! We should have done it sooner haha we left there and went to the library to do Mormon.org time for a bit and then we were picked up for dinner by Sister Culbertson.

Nov 13- We were able to have lunch with a potential investigator. She was a referral from her brother who is a member. We contacted her and she said she wanted to make us lunch. We were able to go over there and help her make it along with getting to know her better. Right now she isn't interested in taking the lessons but we are going to continue having our friendship! one day she will get baptized! We then got the truck from the elders and went to visit a few people. not many people were home :( We then went to the Cophers and had a crazy lesson there. actually I wouldn't even call it a lesson. they were everywhere! We stayed for about 15 minutes and decided it wasn't worth it and left. We then went and dropped off the truck at the elders dinner and then sister Capps picked us up from there to have dinner at their house! We then went home and Michelle Camire came and picked us up to go to an appointment at sister Winkelmans place. We were exhausted after that!

Nov 14- We woke up early to get ready to go to zone conference which was with the entire desert cause we had Elder Golden and his wife come from the seventy. It was so great! we were able to learn lots and it was fun to see lots of my friends especially the ones who are leaving in a few days well actually this morning haha Elder Golden had many great things that he said! He talked about how we need to teach our investigators about the why because then they will desire to learn about the what and how. And when they understand the why they will do the right things and make those covenants they need to make. He also talked a lot about the power of the Priesthood and how the men need to focus more on that power when they are giving blessings but he also said to us sisters that we too have authority to bless and promise things through prayers. He then opened it up for some questions and then we had lunch and went back into the chapel to hear his closing remarks. It was a super great meeting! we then went home and studied and then sister riding came and picked us up for dinner. We then came home and started our weekly planning.

Nov 15- this morning we were able to go and do service at the animal shelter with the village sisters Toolan and VanHeel! it was lots of fun! we then went home and ate lunch and then went and visited with Amy Tesch for a few minutes and then went to our appointment with Amy and Terry. We taught them about the restoration but we used the cups this time and they loved it! Elder Baker then called us with our transfer doctrine. Amy was super excited that we were both staying! We then went to the Zachers to meet with Jacob our investigator and had a short lesson on scripture study with them. it went well! We then went home to be picked up for dinner at the Camire's.

Nov 16- Normal Sunday. Amy and Terry came to church along with Raquel and Lenard!! yay!! we were super excited to see them :) We had dinner at the Hedges after church and then went home to finish weekly planning.

That was my busy week! Hope you all had a great week too! Love hearing from you all :)

Love Sister Megan Johnson  

the zone :)

some of the crazy elders!! gotta love them!

our car mates :) Sister VanHeel and Toolan!! love them :)

November 3 - November 9

Hello! This week has been a longish one but full of excitement! Can i just tell you that i am a pro bike fixer?! yep it has been one of those weeks here.  

Nov 3- We were able to do some service this morning for the Copher family. Brother Dunbar and us and the elders went and helped them move. after we went and did our normal p-day things. we went to McDonald's for lunch and this random guy came and sat by me with my backpack in his lap. He started talking to me and he was a little mentally slow but he was hitting on me! He started stroking my arm and just saying she loves my gorgeous eyes hahaha He started using church lingo so i thought he might be a member but he isn't or that I tracted into him one day. The sisters were cracking up and laughing at me the whole time! i was freaking out that he was going to take my bag! He got up with my bag still in his arms and he acted like he was going to run so i said please put my bad down and he said no, i thought i was going to have to scream and run after him! but he said nah im just messin with ya and put it down. Thank heavens! the couple sitting next to us asked if i knew him and they thought it was super strange and creepy! we did however end up have a wonderful conversation about the church with these people. We then went to zone activity and played a game it was fun. We then went to dinner with the Esplin family and that went well! We then went to go and see amy and terry but they stood us up :( we were super sad about it. We ended up talking with the Dunbars for a little bit. It was one crazy day! 

Nov 4- We had district meeting this morning and then went to all of our appointments. We were able to meet with Ann and Chris. That lesson went super great! We talked about our baptismal covenants and remembering the feelings we had on our baptism day. We then had a lesson with the Wilcox's and Bro Sexton. that went well too. We then went and dropped the truck off to the elders and headed to the Cophers since they live closer to us now we dont need the truck for that lesson. it went well but the kids are still crazy and out of control but i still love them all! We then had dinner at the Warnocks and they came and picked us up and we ate with them and ended up watching the CES fireside with them cause he didn't want us to leave cause he knew we were going to have to bike in the dark haha we were stuck there! but it was a good devotional. 

Nov 5- This morning after studies we went to the stake center to have our interviews with Pres. Hobbs. My interview went great! I just love Pres. and Sister Hobbs. After i got out of the interview Sister Hobbs said to me, You only have one transfer left :( you will be leaving me here for another 18 months. haha she is sad to see us go cause we are their MTC babies is what she calls us. its cute! We then went and had panda for lunch with sisters Toolan and VanHeel it was lots of fun! We then went to the library so i could finish my sacrament talk. We then went over to have a lesson with Amy and Terry and we taught them about temples. Amy was so confused about them cause that was the topic of the lessons at church so we were able to help her understand it better. We then went to the Higareda's for dinner and had a great time! They are a great family! 

Nov 6- we met with the Zacher family this morning and before we left we were able to set up another lesson with their daughters husband. He isn't a member and is interested in learning more. The elders were teaching him a year ago and really pushed baptism on him and he didn't feel ready but he is now ready to try again! we were super excited and wasn't expecting this at all! We then went and met with Amy and Terry. The elders came too cause Terry needed a blessing. We then had a lesson and watched the Restoration movie with them and asked them if they believe that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and they both do! We then went and had a lesson with Ann and then went and visited an active family the Britt's they needed a few copies of the book of Mormon so we dropped that off to them. We then went and had a lesson with the Cophers but we had to walk cause sister Lampenin's bike tires were flat. yes both of them! We didn't have time to fix them so we walked to the cophers and then tried our referral but no answer. We then walked home to have dinner and the elders were over and gave us the stuff to fix the bike and gave us a super spicy pepper! they said it was sweet... not even close!! i was crying it was so hot! haha but they were super proud of me for trusting them ha we hurried and ate dinner and then Michelle picked us up to go to a lesson with Sister Winkleman. The elders showed up there too cause they were giving them both blessings. 

Nov 7- Not much happened today cause we weekly planned and then had to fix Sister Lampenins bike. We were going nuts but we were able to fix it with a little help from the elders. we then had dinner dropped off to us and then went to our appointment with Bro Gonzalez. On our way sister Lampinens bike tire exploded! no joke! it was crazy so we got to walk to our appointment which went well! and then we walked home and the elders were there to figure out what was going on. I am so over this bike thing haha the elders took the tire home to try and fix it. 

Nov 8- We were able to do some service at the Squash farm again this week! it was fun! We got to wear our cool shirts! haha The elders quickly came over with the fixed tire and on the way over the tire exploded again so they quickly went and got one of the elders bikes so we could go to our appointments today. We went to the Kelly's and had a lesson with them and then to Zachers and had a great lesson there. We got a new investigator! We then went home and had dinner and then went to the church with Sister Valentine to open the church for our church tour with Debbie. that went well sister Wilcox came and was our member present. it was good for her to be in the church building! 

Nov 9- We went to our normal meetings and then I gave my talk in Sacrament meeting. Amy and Terry came and then Sister Pope too! she even stayed for all 3 hours! We then went home and i fixed my bike all by myself! :) and then had dinner and then contacted our referral! We were able to set up a lunch appointment with her for this coming week! so we hope things will go well there!!  

Well that was my week! i hope you all had a great one! This week we find out about transfers which is crazy! i feel like i just got to this area but im sure my comp and i will stay together! Well i love you all and hope you all have a great week! 

Love Sister Johnson :) 

October 27 - November 2

Hey everyone! I have had a wonderful week that i cant wait to share with you all! Here it goes...

Oct 27- I wasnt feeling all that great the night before and woke up with a headache but i didnt let that stop me from going on about my day. We had a fun zone activity where we played Mormon Mofia as a zone so that was fun! I was one of the Gadianton robbers haha and they found out and killed me :( it was lots of fun. We then went on and did our normal p-day things. We then went to the Esplin's for dinner and had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches which reminded me of home! it was a nice meal to have cause most families think they have to go all out and feed us this big meal and really we dont care about the food we are there to help the family and get to build trust with them. After dinner we headed to a few less actives to invite to our ward halloween party. Then we went home and did our normal nightly routine. 

Oct 28- Happy Birthday Kels and Leslie!! thought of you both today :) We had district meeting that went well and then went back home to eat some lunch. the elders then dropped off the truck to us. Amy and Terry had a bit of a dramatic day and called us letting us know that they no longer have a place to stay even though we paid the rent until the end of the month but the man in charge didn't care and kicked them out. We went and talked to them and by the end of the night they were able to find a place to stay for a few nights until she got paid which was a huge blessing! We were able to visit with the Copher family but the other two we normally see had to reschedule :( We were able to read the kids a story and talk about prayers and how they are answered. We were able to get a ride to the ward Halloween party with the Dunbars and went and set up and mingled with ward members and less actives and non members. It was hard to talk to people cause the church parking lot lights didn't work until after the party so it was hard to see who people were but everyone still had a good time! We got to sit in the parking lot for an hour or so after because the Dunbars car died and they had to wait for AAA to come and jump it. We had quite the eventful day! 

Oct 29- We were able to go do some mormon.org time with the village sisters and then went to an appointment with Raquel who is a recent convert that we have been teaching who is less active now. Sister Riding came along and we found out that her ex-boyfriend is back in the picture :/ not usually a good thing but he sat in on the lesson but didn't really listen. We then went and had a lesson with Ramona who is a less active as well. We had a great chat with her and her roommate Ginger who isn't a member. We read 2 Nephi 32 with them and talked about scripture study and how important it is. We then went to the Parr's for dinner which was good to be there. they joined the church a few years ago and their daughter who is 18 now doesn't have a super strong testimony yet so it was good for us to be in the home! We then had a lesson with the Dunbars and talked about the holy ghost and how we receive answers from him. It went well and they talked our ear off! haha i sure do love being in their home! The sister training leaders came over that evening to do exchanges! It was super fun catching up with Sister Green for a minute before her and sister Lampinen left. I was able to stay in my area with Sister Anderson (who i came out with). it was fun getting to know her better. 

Oct 30- We did our normal morning routine and went out and tried some less actives and potential investigators. It was nice being out with her and knowing i had someone backing me up whenever we would talk to people. It was fun to see her and how she does things and she said the same about me. We were rocking it! We then had the truck for a little bit and we went and had a great lesson with the Wilcox. The spirit was super strong and some tears were shed, not by me of course cause i cant cry out here haha its strange but i sure did feel the spirit. We taught about Joseph Smith and reminded them of the testimony they have of him. it was really good. We then went and had a lesson with Amy and Terry at the park. It went well and they bore their testimonies of the book of Mormon which was awesome! Sister Anderson loved being able to meet them and see how excited they are about learning and changing. She said man they are some solid investigators! haha I just said yeah i know! we are lucky to teach them. We then went and had dinner at home and then Sister Green and Lampinen came back. We were suppose to have a lesson with a potential family but they forgot and rescheduled cause they had family come into town, good enough reason haha 

Oct 31- Happy Halloween! We were able to visit the Palmers who is a less active family who had that cool car we took pictures with. She was outside and we chatted with her for a little bit and then tried to set up an appointment but that didnt work out too well cause they pulled the busy card but we will keep trying! We then went and tried others but were having no luck! no one was home or if they were they weren't interested. It was hard but we kept working and then to top it all off it became super windy and cold! We headed home and had to walk a bit cause the wind was so bad. The Dunbars then dropped off dinner to us and the elders dropped off pumpkins for us to carve since Sister Lampinen has never carved a pumpkin before! We stayed in the rest of the night due to Pres. Hobbs we had to be home by 6pm. We weekly planned and then had a blast carving our pumpkins...Betty and George! hahaha it was alot of fun. 

Nov 1- Today was one of the best days on my mission by far! and one of the coldest! haha This morning we had a wonderful lesson with Amy and Terry. We taught them the Word of Wisdom and they accepted it! they are trying to quit smoking and they dont do any of the other stuff anymore. they have cut down a ton already!! We also extended a baptism date to them for December 6th and they accepted!! We need to get them married this month and then dunk them next hahaha they are both so excited about it and cant wait for their new lives to start. We then had a lesson with sister Kelly who is a less active and that went well. We then had lunch at home and the Pope's came and picked us up to go down the hill for Everett's Baptism!!!! We got there about 2pm so we were an hour early but better to be early than late! Sister Dunford and her comp Sister Allen were there so we chatted with them as well as some other elders cause we found out that this was a joint baptism with another ward. Then everyone started to show up! Ah i loved seeing everyone! Sister Mayall showed up and we both ran towards each other and gave each other a huge hug!! I sure miss her! and then we saw Dawn and Everett and Mariah :) I felt like i was back at home! I also saw Elders Ercanbrack and Smith and Francis and Jesse and King and Jopson. And the former Elder Patch. It was a mini reunion and we loved it! Sister Dunford spoke on baptism and then Todd Patch spoke on Holy Ghost and then Elder Jopson baptized Everett. It was super good and a lot of people came out and supported him! Ah i love that family so much and im so excited for them!! We then rushed back up the hill to make our dinner appointment with the Camire family. we were only a few minutes late! Man we were so tired when we got home! it was a great day though! 

Nov 2- Sister Kachelmeyer picked us up for church and we had our normal meetings. Amy was able to come to church but Terry wasn't feeling well so he stayed back and slept. Amy loved church! She loved the testimony meeting and after it was over she knew this church was true. She told us that she got her answer and that this is where she needs to be. She also said she has been praying about all her piercings and she said God told her to take them out so next week she is going to! hahaha we didn't even have to bring that up. she figured that one out all by herself! She was able to stay all 3 hours and loved them all! Bishop was happy to see her there too. After we had dinner dropped off to us and then went and visited some less actives and member's of the ward. We were able to visit with the Higereda family who loves to talk! haha they are super sweet too! 

Well that was my crazy week! I think they will only get crazier here on out! haha I love being a missionary and seeing the lives of those i love change. I love seeing people making those covenants with our Heavenly Father. This gospel is truly amazing! I love you all and thank you for your love and support! Have a great week! 

exchanges with Sister Anderson :) 

sister Lampinen :)

The finished product! Betty and George :) 

pulling a Betty face!

pulling a George face!

Happy Halloween :) 

funny faces :)

the elders took my camera and took a selfie in the boys bathroom..... awkward! hahaha 

Halloween fun! carving pumpkins :) 

with the elders Jopson and Patch

Everett's Baptism!The sister missionaries who taught him!!

October 20 - October 26

This week has been a pretty good one! Here is the wonderful update :) 

Oct 20- We woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a 6am hike with the zone. it was super fun and scary at times! Sister Shaw and Van Heel and I went with the elders and took the harder path. we were climbing on rocks! It was scary at times but super fun! And the best part was none of us got hurt! haha We then studied a little bit when we got up at the top. Some of the elders were having their own Sermon on the Mount haha the things we do as missionaries! We then went home and changed and grabbed lunch and did our normal things. We all were able to get our flu shots as well. We then had dinner with the Roberts family and a lesson at the Ridings home with our investigator Debbie. She was super tired so she wasn't really able to function all that well so we made it a short lesson. 

Oct 21- We had district meeting this morning and i was able to give a training on How to Begin Teaching from PMG. it went well i think but who knows! haha we then had lunch and the elders dropped off the truck to us! i sure love the days we get the truck! We had a lesson with Ann which went super great! she was able to open up and we were able to get some of her concerns out of her. she is starting to open up to us which is helpful. We then had a lesson with Sister Wilcox about being of the world and not in the world. it ended up being a great lesson better than we thought it was going to be! After we went and taught the Copher kids about Christ's Ministry. They knew more than we thought they would have so that was fun to see! We then went to see Amy and Terry really fast which ended up not being super fast cause she can talk! but it was a good visit we had. We just wanted to see how they were doing. We then had dinner at the Moores home which was fun! I love being able to meet more of the members of the ward. After we went home and did our language study. 

Oct 22- We were able to go do Mormon.org and work on our talks for sunday. and then went and visited with Amy since she just got back from the hospital again. they want her to go down the hill to another hospital to get her surgery done but she doesn't want to go without Terry so we will see what will happen. she really needs to go and get it done. We then had to fix my bike cause i got a flat tire! yay! the elders came over and fixed that well they thought they fixed it but they didn't cause it went flat again! so they took my bike home with them so they could fix it. Sister Biberston picked us up for dinner and then we went out for dessert at Sonic after! it was super fun! they are so sweet and have thee cutest kids! We then ended our evening with Language study. 

Oct 23- We met with Amy and Terry that morning and had a great lesson with them. The elders were able to come over and give them both priesthood blessings. It was a great experience for them! Amy opened up more and told us about how she is so happy and that it is because of the gospel. It was a neat experience to hear her say all of this. And she was talking with me and just said how she really needed me at this time. I know i am suppose to be here right now for them! its so neat to have experiences like that. It helps me know that I did do the right thing in serving a mission and trusting my Mission president and the Lord on where i need to be. Anyway after we had a lesson with a recent convert who has become less active Raquel and sister Riding was able to come to that. We then had another great lesson with Ann and her husband Chris was there too! We invited them to church so hopefully the will come! We then went to the Cophers and taught them about temples. it went well especially cause their mom was listening and was involved more than usual! We then had the Warnocks come and pick us up for dinner and we had a nice evening with them. after we went and visited with Sonya who is a less active we have been working with! 

Oct 24- We went and weekly planned at the Navajo building with the zone leaders and our ward mates so that was interesting! haha we then went home and had lunch and then finished weekly planning. We then went to the Tesch's who were home of course! and then went and had a great lesson with sister Pope who is a less active. She was able to open up to us and talk about how she knows she needs to go back to church. We committed her to come this sunday so our fingers are crossed! We then had sister Wilcox come and pick us up for dinner. That car ride felt like I was in Indiana Jones!! haha the ride cause she picked us up in her old Jeep that is falling apart and we had to drive a long way on dirt roads haha it was just really funny!  We had an awesome visit and lesson with them! Bro Wilcox and Bro Sexton who are LA were there and participated in the lesson about baptism covenants. it was great! we invited them to church! After we had a lesson with the Dunbars. We finished the lesson we had when we had dinner with them. 

Oct 25- We were able to do service from 10 to 2 at a squash farm! it was super fun! we were able to plant broccoli and cauliflower and we got a t-shirt! we were able to find this place through the just serve website that is starting up around here. so that was neat and they love our help! We then went to the library to write our talks and i was about done with mine and my computer shut off on me! i was not happy cause i lost it all :( its okay i was able to kind of remember what i wrote and finished it that night. We then went to the Tesch's to have a lesson but Amy wasn't feeling well so she asked to reschedule but we were able to have a short lesson with the little girl who is 9. Kaeley kept saying that she will listen! it was super cute! she loved church and wants to come so we hope we can start teaching her more often! after we got picked up by the Ridings to go to a baptism with Amy and Terry. Half way to the stake center the sisters told us it was tomorrow evening so we felt super dumb and told them so we ended up going to dinner with all of them. it turned out to be a great evening! 

Oct 26- We had our normal meetings and then had church! Amy and terry were there and a few less actives! It ended up being a great sacrament meeting especially cause i didnt have time to speak! hahaha so i get the privilege to speak in two weeks yay! hahaha i stressed all week for nothing! if you all have any insights on Family Home Evening i would love to hear them and use some of your thoughts and experiences in my talk :) I have it all written out but i could add some of those in it since i might have to make it longer. We were also able to teach sharing time the 3rd hour and that went well. We then had dinner dropped off to us and then we went out to pass out some Halloween party flyers. We were able to set up an appointment with a potential family! they are super cute and we hope it will go well and that they will come to the party! 

Well that was my week! I had some great experiences and will only have more in the coming weeks! I am looking forward to seeing Everett be baptized on Saturday and seeing my old friends there :) I love being a missionary and seeing these amazing people accept the gospel! I love you all and hope you have a great week :) 

Love Sister Johnson 

the hike :) some of our zone

one of the cameras fell so sister Toolan started laughing!! haha

climbed that!! 

crazy sisters!!!
Sisters Shaw, Cornett, and Toolan 

in the cave with sister Van Heel 

the elders sermon on the Mount 

squash farmElders Baker, March and Kirkham

super windy hence the hair in the face haha

October 13 - October 19

Hello everyone!

Well I hope I get through this update this week! so much has been going on! time is just flying! I did get exciting news that I will be able to make it to Everett's baptism!! the old gang will be back together! I am super excited to be there on his special day!!

anyways...

Oct 8- We were able to visit with a part member family this morning but they are moving to Texas soon. We then had lunch and then went and contacted our referrals we got the previous day. We went to what is called the Black Horse Motel and contacted room 31 and 35. Guys it was super sketchy! I was freaking out a little bit cause im so not use to places like this. It turned out better than we thought! We were able to leave there with 2 new investigators Amy and Terry! they are great people who are in need of a new start! they are a bit older she is 35 and he looks like he is mid 50s but we aren't too sure. They have had some colorful pasts and just need help! We were able to let them know that this gospel will give them that hope and fresh start they are looking for! We taught about the Restoration and Terry was taking it all in and read the whole pamphlet while we were there and he got super emotional cause he knows this is what they need right now. it was neat to see them this way. they are both super humble and ready and willing to learn. We then left with a return appointment and then visited a former named Tina! She is a talker for sure but isn't interested in our church. We had great conversations with her! We then went to dinner at Bishop Gibbions home. it went really well and they have the cutest twin girls! it was lots of fun!

Oct 9- We were able to have a great lesson with Amy and Terry! we taught them the gospel of Jesus Christ and they loved it! We then had the truck and went to Ann and the Cophers home. Had great lessons with both of them. We then talked with the Bishop about helping Amy and Terry. They aren't in a great financial place right now and are going to be homeless so we thought we would ask the bishop if there was anything that we could do. He was able to go over there and meet and talk with them and ended up paying for the room for another week. they both fell apart when he did this cause they couldn't believe someone would be so kind. It was a neat experience for all of us! We then had dinner at the Gonzales home and then a lesson with one of our ward missionaries at the Dunbars home. it went great! what a busy day we had!

Oct 10- Weekly planning! taught a lesson at the Tesch home. They are a part member family. Amy is 17 and has a little girl who is 9 months old and then her husband Chris who isn't a member. They just moved in with his parents and Amy wants lessons still and Chris is thinking about joining as well. We were able to watch the resto movie with them and talk about them praying to find out if its true. Chris still isn't sure but we told him he will and it will help him if he reads the Book of Mormon and comes to church. We had dinner with the Anderson family, they are a cute young family. We then had a lesson with Debbie another one of our investigators! we taught about the Restoration at the Ridings home. It went great and sister Riding invited her to meet the Mormons movie with them! She was able to go and had a wonderful time! she loved it!

Oct 11- Visited many less actives today and had good lessons with them. We then went to dinner at the Caddell's and that was fun! they are one of my favorite families :) we had a good time with them.

Oct 12- my first sunday in this ward! it was a lot to take in! I have many people to still meet! We had our meetings at 11 and 12 and then church at 1pm. Amy Tesch was able to come! but chris wasn't able to :( after church we went over to Amy and Terry's place to see how they were doing. Amy was in the hospital for a few days. she is scheduled to have major brain surgery next month so we hope all will go well there. they were sad they weren't able to come to church. we told them next week :)

Oct 13- Normal p-day. we spend it with the Village sisters who are sisters Toolen and Van Heel they are super cute sisters! love them. We had zone activity with the other apple valley zone so that was fun to meet all of them and we played savage ball. we had dinner at the Hedges home who is a part member family. Her husband acts like he is a member, I sure hope one day he will join. We then met with Wendoly who is a former investigator who is 18 and is super sweet! we were able to talk with her for a while. she is having a hard time cause she lost her grandma not too long ago and misses her a lot. we were able to talk a lot about the plan of salvation which brought her comfort. She loves learning about the church but doesn't want to come to church. we were sad to hear that!

Oct 14- We had zone meeting this morning which was really good! We were able to be trained on many different things and it was fun being with the zone. Two other elders I came out with are in this zone so that was fun to chat with them. they are serving in big bear so we never get to see them only when we have zone meetings and stuff. We then had lunch and got the truck from the elders. We were able to visit Amy and Terry and had a really good lesson with them. we read 2 Nephi 31 with them and talked about it. they loved it and we invited them to be baptized and they said yes!! they want to get married first so we will be planning a wedding soon ;) yay!! Amy was able to say the closing prayer! we then saw the Cophers and taught them how to fill out a tithing slip since we taught about tithing last lesson. they loved it! We then had pizza dropped off to us for dinner and then went and visited a few less actives.

Oct 15- We were able to visit Bro Palmer who is a less active and we took some fun pictures in his yard! He has an awesome car and Halloween decorations that we couldn't resist! it was lots of fun. We then were able to email for a little bit and then went and had a lesson with Raquel who is a recent convert but isn't active. she wants to come back so we were able to set up weekly appointments with them. I was then able to meet Irma who is an investigator but idk for how much longer. she isn't all that interested and doesn't make time for us much so we will probably drop her which is sad but right now isn't her time. We then had dinner at the Landers who are the cutest older couple! 80 and 75 years old! they told us some great stories!

Oct 16- We were lucky enough to get the truck all day today! we had so many appointments but most of them canceled or rescheduled :( its okay that's part of life and we just keep trying our best! We were able to have a lesson with Amy and Terry. Terry said the closing prayer this time! We talked a lot about repentance and the spirit was super strong and touched their hearts. We then had a lesson with the Wilcox and their less active neighbor I forgot his name :/ We saw the cophers for a minute but they had to go pick up their mom from the hospital so we couldn't have a lesson with them. We had dinner at the dunbars who are our next door neighbors and our grandparents in this ward! they spoil us! we love them so much! We then had a lesson with Sonya a less active and michelle who is our ward missionary came to that. the elders were able to come and give Sonya a blessing which is exactly what she needed. it was a good day for sure!

Oct 17- Weekly planning again! you would think I would get use to it but nope still not my favorite! haha We then went to sister Tuckers and did service for her. we painted and cleaned in her home. we then had dinner there. it was lots of fun and we were able to chat with her less active daughter and she even stayed for dinner so that was a plus!

Oct 18- We went to the animal shelter to do some service. We weeded out in the front so I felt like I was back home on a Saturday morning hahaha but it was fun we went with the Ranchos sisters, Sister Shaw and Cornett. We then had a lesson with Amy and Terry and taught about the plan of salvation. they loved it and said it makes so much sense! Amy wasn't feeling well so we didn't stay too long. that morning they were able to go and help clean the church as well! We then had a lesson with the tesch family well actually just amy. we read alma 32 with her and talked about faith. We then went to the popes who are less active but think they are active so that was interesting. We then went home for some dinner and ended our day with language study!

Oct 19- Normal church meetings and Amy Tesch came to church and Bro pope so that was good! we then went and watched some Mormon messages with Amy after church for a little bit and then left to have dinner at the DeGrisells home. Her parents live with them and they are thee cutest people! They aren't members but im sure they will be one day and if not here on this earth they will be once they pass on. they made my whole evening! Later in the evening we were called by Bro Moore who kindly asked us to speak on Sunday in sacrament...yay! even though we are missionaries we still hate speaking in church haha my topic is on FHE. the sacrament meeting is all on back to the basics so all four of us missionaries get to speak! wish me luck! :)

Well that was my busy week! Sorry I probably just rambled but hey that's what I do best! haha well I love you all and hope you have wonderful weeks!

Love Sister Johnson :)

The house they live in.

the cool car at the Palmers

gotta love it!

the dead version haha

we found this outside our house the other night.... gross!!!mom thought you would appreciate this one :)

October 6 - October 12

Hey everyone! this week has been a busy one for sure! it has been fun but stressful being in a new area! I cant wait until I know the area more but we were able to see many miracles this week and just have a good time! Sister Lampinen is super cute and we are getting along great! she is breaking out of her shell which is nice!

I wanted to share with you all something that I was able to learn from conference and that has been on my mind a lot lately.

I loved watching conference and I was able to learn many things from it. my favorite session was the Sunday afternoon. I loved Elder Scotts talk and how straight to the point he was. this talk has been on my mind as well as a few other things. I thought I would take some time and tell you all the things that I was able to learn.

Before conference I was able to think and prepare some questions I would like answered during conference. one of them was when I go home I don't want to go back to my old habits but how can I make sure that I still apply the things I have learned out here? Elder Scotts talk answered it perfectly. we need to focus on the basic things and make sure our foundation is strong. when our foundation is strong we will be able to endure anything! ( Hel 5:12)

In my personal study I was reading a talk by Elder Holland called The Atonement and Missionary Work. this talk is super good and one of my favorites but anyways there is a part that talks about our study time we get as missionaries and how important it is. he says,

"Presidents, encourage your missionaries to study the scriptures conscientiously and become familiar with those passages that teach and testify of Christ's redeeming mission. I have said to missionaries all over the world that they make or break their mission from 6:30 to 9:30 in the morning. there are lots of reasons for that, not the least of which is simple obedience to mission rules, but one of the great reasons is that this is when they get to study the gospel and nothing will so touch their hearts and stir their souls like the truths of which we have been speaking. In their companionship study and individual study they become 'GOD'S INVESTIGATORS' in those morning hours it is the studious, prayerful missionary who receives the Father's record of the Son, borne with fire and the Holy Ghost to the heart of the missionary. later in they day, it can then be to the heart of the investigator."

We need to search and study our scriptures. This is how God speaks to us. My testimony had increased because I study my scriptures daily and I see the many blessings that come from it. I love this gospel with all my heart.

now for my weekly update :)

Oct 6- one crazy move in day! Its so crazy that I am here in the desert! I hated saying bye to all my friends at transfer meeting but excited to start in a new area and meet new people! We did our normal p-day routine and then that evening we had dinner at the Capps. they are a super nice family and I think will end up being one of my favorites in this ward! They have a daughter who just left on a mission to Chicago so they love us sisters! :)

Oct 7- We had district meeting which was interesting cause most of our people were gone so we had the meeting with the zone leaders and the Village sisters and elders haha it was still really good. We then cleaned the church building and then we got to take the elders truck for 3 hours! we get their truck for 6 hrs a week so we can go and visit some people who we are working with in their area which we cant bike to. I was super excited to drive it!! haha We went and saw Ann who is a less active and then we visited the Wilcoxs but we only chatted with sister Wilcox cause brother Wilcox wasn't home and he is the less active one but oh well we still had a good visit with her. We then went to our investigator and recent convert families home the Cophers. Man that is one crazy household for sure!! Carlos is an investigator well kind of he is 7 but his parents aren't members so that is what makes him a part investigator and he is so cute!! His sisters just got baptized a few months ago so we go and have lessons with all of them. Their grandma is a less active and the parents want nothing to do with the church. It is really fun teaching kids though! We then had to give the truck back so we got our bikes and visited Sonya another less active but she wasn't home. We then went to dinner at the Ridings. She is the primary president and is super nice. it was just her cause the rest of the family was in good old Utah. After dinner we went to Sister Kile's home to have a lesson with her. she is a less active that we have been teaching. she loves family history work so we are helping her to be able to get back to the temple so she can do her own family names. We ended the night have language study. this is a new one for me! She just reads aloud or to herself while I can have my own personal study or I update the area book but its kind of a nice way to wind down.

Well that was a short little update haha but I am running out of time so I will continue this next week! I did have a great week and I love you all so much! Thanks for all of your love and support! Have a wonderful week!

Love Sister Johnson

16 month pictureat the valentine's home farm! 

milking a goat! yep I did it!! never thought I would be doing that on my mission haha

the desert....Apple Valley

wind blown hair hahamy new companion Sister Lampinen

the truck I get to drive!!

the copher kids! they are one crazy bunch!Carlos is the one who is dressed up as a girl. he wanted to show us haha

September 29 - October 5

Hello everyone! well im sure most of you know that transfers are today and yes I was transferred to Apple Valley to the Granite Hills ward. its the desert but its starting to cool off here which is nice cause its been in the triple digits! goodness it doesn't feel like October at all! also im still on bike....yay. not too thrilled about that cause ill be on bike for more than half of my mission but hey at least im getting in shape haha My new companion is sister Lampanin and she is from Finland. She has been out for almost 9 months but she is super quite so I hope I can get her out of her shell! Wish me luck here in the desert! ah im feeling like im more of a valley girl haha

Sep 29- for our last zone activity we went to the Vondersaars gym again. that was fun and then we went and did our normal routine! We had dinner with the Coria family which was good they always make some yummy food!

Sep 30- We had district meeting this morning which was a really good one! most of us missionaries did trainings. I did my training on when you or comp has a bad day. I focused it on the Mormon message Good things to Come by elder Holland and it went really well! We then went home and went to the Matheson's to drop some CDs off to them for them to copy for us and then went to Sister Vaea's who is in the Tongan ward but lives in our area and help her paint her home. That was a blast! we ended up having a paint war with the zls and Sisters woodward and manumua. We then went home to wash up and then got picked up by the Stocksdales to go to the stake mutual activity with Frances our investigator. that was a party for sure! it was a Lu-al sp? put on by the Tongan ward so it was legit! We were able to learn a dance and perform it! hahaha I got it recorded so don't you all worry you will see it when I get home hahaha it was lots of fun!

Oct 1- We got to see meet the Mormons movie at the mission office! it was super good! you all better go and see it cause if you don't you will regret it for sure! The last story really touched me maybe cause im a missionary but that one made me get a little teary eyed. We then went and stopped by Rosy a potential and then had a lesson with Sister T and then ended up having dinner at the Tesimale's home! Love them so much!!

Oct 2- We had service at one of our members home doing yard work with our district and then we headed to the Mountain View elders area to help a lady paint a room in her home. We have been doing lots of service lately which is super nice! We love doing service!! We then had a lesson with Ruby who became a new investigator! We taught her the Restoration and she loved learning about it! We hope she is really interested and isn't someone who has a hard time saying no haha We then went to Moniques and had a lesson with her and Bro. Swart came over to give her a blessing for her huge exam she had the next day! We then went out to dinner with her. Im so sad to leave her but she will get baptized one day! I just know it!!

Oct 3- We went back to sister Vaea's and finished painting the rooms! that was lots of fun! she made us lunch too! she is so sweet! I love them! We then went to Lina's to have a lesson with her and she bought us lunch so we were lucky to have two lunches that day haha good thing we are on bike! We then went home and weekly planned until we had dinner at Jazmin's and Ivans place. Later that night the training calls went out and Sister Mayall got one!! yay! im so happy for her! but sad that we weren't going to be together again. She is going to be an awesome trainer!

Oct 4- General Conference! I love watching it especially as a missionary!! We were able to watch both sessions at the stake center. During the break the Tesimales took us out to lunch which was super fun! Im going to miss that family! On our ride back we got our transfer calls. We all were screaming in the car haha it was so funny! After conference we home so I could pack so on sunday we can go and visit some more families before I have to leave. We then went to the Birdsalls to have dinner and a lesson. Everett had the best surprise for us! He is getting baptized on NOVEMBER 1st!!! yay!! we were so happy! I sure hope I can come back for that one!

Oct 5- we watched the morning session with the Stocksdale family with Frances and then we watched the second one with the Birdsalls. so that was lots of fun! the last session of conference was by far my favorite! I forgot my study journal to write a bit of what I learned so I will try and do that next week! We then went to the Mathesons and then Sister t to say bye and then went to dinner at the Wattersons where we had a yummy dinner. We even had blue jello!! its the first time on my mission that I have had jello! hahaha I have missed it since we have it all the time at home especially with sunday dinner. haha I know im weird! We then said bye to the Hernandez family! they are too cute! they got me a goodbye present and we had cake! I love them so much! their little son Fernando but they call him Nano was super sad cause he had a bit of a crush on my haha the youngest boy is in love with Sister Mayall so he was happy to see her stay! After them we ended the evening at the Dades! love them all too. man im going to miss this ward a lot! They have taken great care of me! and I was able to see many miracles here!

Well that was my crazy week! I love you all so much! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Love Sister Johnson :)

our district! :)

again! With Nani Vaea!! she is super cute we just love her!

at the mutual activity!!

the present the Hernandez family gave to me!

I look gross but the Hernandez family :)

Dade Family :)

Sister T :)

funny faces with Frances! :)

the stocksdales and Frances :)