Pray for a missionary experience!

Hello Family:)

This week was another great week full of adventures:) One thing me and Sister Israelsen have really been focusing on is our referrals. Some missionaries don't get any referrals, but not us! We are blessed with a million! The thing is they pick one companionship in the area and then send all the referrals there, and since we're the best (haha just kidding, we just happen to be the first on the list probably) we get ALL the referrals! They keep coming and it never ends. We got up to 21 this week... what! (They add on to each other if you don't contact them, so we didn't actually get 21 in one week, we just had 21 total of referrals that we still haven't been able to contact). So we've been working hard on those. We're now down to 14 so we've contacted a few which is awesome! Media referrals are the best, but we're also running out of Bibles to give them so that's a problem cause they all want Bibles (and they secretly want a copy of the Book of Mormon;)

Krystal is doing good:) She's gone through and is going through a lot, the mists of darkness are a real thing! But we're working with her and she's super excited and still wants to be baptized! Speaking of baptism, we had a baptism in the YSA Ward and Me and Sister Israelsen were blessed with the opportunity to teach the Restoration while they were changing after the baptism. It was such a wonderful experience and we really felt the Spirit work through us as we testified and taught the wonderful message of the Restoration. I know that it's because God loves us so much that He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet so that we could now have everything we need to know how to get back to Him:)

We got to wear PANTS on Saturday! Real live pants! It was pretty crazy. We helped a member in our ward with some community service and we decorated part of the city for Halloween! It was cute and super fun:)

One struggle about the city is learning all the busses and transportation. It took me a while but I've got it down now! With Sister Bongolto I always tried talking to people on the bus, and then I had no idea where we were so I would just get off when she got off. But when I realized I would eventually take over the area I tried to be better at knowing where we were, so then I had a hard time talking to people because I was focused on where we were. I felt like I couldn't share the gospel and know where we were at the same time haha! I've been doing better until the other night. We were talking to a lady on the bus and I totally wasn't paying attention to where we were until right after our bus stop. Which is unfortunate because if you miss the stop on the M60 bus, you go to Queens... So that was an adventure! We saw a wonderful night time view of our beautiful area and mission as we accidently traveled over the freeway to the New York, NY South Mission. But luckily there was a bus right there heading back, so we made it back safe and we weren't even late past curfew:)

Have a wonderful week! I love you all so much! Pray for a missionary experience:)

Love, Sister Johnson

p.s. Sorry to get your pumped about Hope in Harlem, but it is now post poned for the time being. I'll let you know updates if that starts up again:)

BONUS PICTURE!! We were videoing ourselves teaching so we could evaluate ourselves and for some reason my tablet took a random picture haha!! But this picture is seriously a gem. Just look at that! I'm all bugging out, making a weird face, and Sister Israelsen is just like "Oh Sister Johnson, what in the world."

PANTS for service! Wahoo!

Fanciest/cutest project building door I've ever seen:)

3. What we look at most days:) Project building halls!

4-5. Our little accidental adventure to Queens...

6. Our super fancy panini waffle sandwiches:)

Nihao!!

Hello Family!!

This week was wonderful! Sister Israelsen is so amazing and I really feel like we'll be able to do a lot of great work with her here:) We get along really well and I know we'll be able to learn lots from each other and accomplish much so I'm excited! We exercise a lot in the morning and eat healthy which makes such a difference! We're finding ways to improve our teaching and skills as missionaries every day and it's wonderful! Also, Sister Bongolto went to the Bronx, so she's not too far away from us! 

Big news of the week... I cut my own hair this morning haha! (I'll send pictures!) and I finally ate a NY bagel and they seriously are as good as everyone says they are! So yum. Another thing is the weather! It's starting to get chilly! In church we had ward conference and the Stake President talked about how our life is a process like the refiners fire. We have intense heat and then intense cold as part of the purifying and refining ourselves to be who God wants us to be. My first 3 months were filled with some intense heat days... these next few months will have quite a few intense cold days I can tell! I'm so excited and this will be the best winter of my life!! Wahoo!! 

We're starting a new little booth called Hope in Harlem where we plan to have a permanent location where people can see and we can bring hope to those here in Harlem! We'll have a table set up on the corner with things to bring people hope. Either an uplifting spiritual thought or information for the many many resources we have available for them (family history, English classes, Hotdogs and homework, addiction recovery, self-reliance...)! We're super excited to get this started so I'll let you know how it goes:)

Our amazing investigator Krystal is going great! She is so prepared and still moving forward with her baptism coming up on November 5th:) She has had a hard past, but her faith and determination to overcome those struggles is amazing! I'm so happy and excited for her:) We currently have 3 investigators who have accepted the invitation to be baptized! So I hope we can really help them take the steps they need to reach that goal! We're pushing hard for more member involvement which is so exciting and amazing! This is the best work ever, so everyone should be involved!!

We're in China Town right now! What?! I know how to say I'm a missionary and Jesus Christ in Chinese! It sounds like "Woah sure chuan (like John but with a Ch) jow (like jousting) sure" and "Yay sue Gee do" NYNYN Mission is the best! Where else can I be an English missionary with a day being a Spanish missionary and a day being a Chinese missionary?? I'm in love:)

Make it a great week!

Love, Sister Johnson

More pictures from Central Park

I cut my own hair!!! I was so excited! I've been planning this for weeks and I finally did it! Wahoo!
The width of a pass along card is how much I cut haha;)

The Brooklyn Bridge

Bridge in China Town

China town!

Transfers/Conference

Hello Family!

My new companion is SISTER ISRAELSEN!!! I'm so excited and so happy to work with her! She's from North Logan, Utah, she's a swimmer, the oldest child of 5, and she is so sweet and amazing! Her last area was actually the MTC... so the Lord has called me to be a trainer!:) It's very humbling, exciting, and wonderful to have this new call. A few times this week I wasn't sure if I was ready for this, but God is good. So good! He will help me, no doubt about it:) He's given me this call so I can trust in Him more and truly become the missionary he needs me to be! And more than anything, I want to become that missionary so bad! I need her and she needs me and we'll be able to learn and grow together. I really feel so blessed knowing that he sees my potential and all that I've become and will be able to become is because of Him. I love being a servant of the Lord and I'm excited to see what's in the journey ahead:)

Our investigator Krystal had her baby this week which is very exciting! She sent a picture and he's super cute:) We haven't been able to see her for like a week and a half though which is sad, but we're excited for her!

General Conference!! Where do I even start? We're so blessed to have this guidance from Heavenly Father for what we need in the next 6 months. It answered so many of my questions and I hope it helped you with yours! Here are a few of my favorite tid bits:)
- Love Christ more, suffer less.
- A loving God is as close as a prayer.
- When you pray are you really praying or just saying a prayer?
- If you're trying, repenting, and doing your best you will positively make it home! 100%!
- Be ambitious for Christ.
- Members and Missionaries need to work together!!
- Focus on JOY!!
- True worship transforms us to become true and sincere disciples of Christ.

Isn't Conference wonderful? Now take that beautiful inspiration and revelation you received and use it! It's for you! I love you all! Thanks for your support and love! Make it a wonderful week:)

Love,

Sister Johnson

Me and Sister Bongolto 

Me and Sister Israelsen!!!