Transfer #6

Hello Family!!                                                                                    February 13, 2017

So... I lied to you last week because I said it was Transfer #5, but really it's Transfer #6!! Woah!! Time flies!

We had transfers and it went well:) I saw Sister Israelsen and she updated me on a bunch of wonderful Harlem news! So Adrianna, a daughter of a less active member named Ann-Marie that we saw every single weekend, was BAPTIZED! Yay!! And they're actually coming to church and Ann-Marie is finally seeing the importance of covenants and everything is going good! Miracle!! I was so happy to hear that! Shamus, the husband of a less active member that we worked with, Jesmille, has been coming to church with her and he's not a member! Another girl we met, Abbie, who is the wife of a less active member named Byron, isn't a member either and she's been reading from the Book of Mormon! Wahoo!! They're doing great work and taking good care of Harlem:)

So I have all these funny mission dreams that I tell Sister Nielsen about all the time of someone just letting us in and they've already been reading the Book of Mormon or me just like humming a hymn and someone finding us and they just "knew" that song or knew they needed to find us, or me coming back in like 3 or 5 years and meeting someone who pulls out a pass along card that has my handwriting and name that they've kept the picture that whole time. You know, classic missionary dreams right?;) But one of them came true this week! So I was holding a Book of Mormon cause I try to be holding one as we travel as often as I can. I was sitting on the train and a guy sat down pretty close so I said hi and talked to him a little. Then (here comes the dream part) he looked at me and was like, so I see you have a Book of Mormon there. I don't know anything about it, will you tell me? Wahoo! So I told him about it and he asked the difference between our church and other churches so I talked about the priesthood, prophets, and how it's been restored. We got his contact information and he was really excited to read it! I was so happy!

We had a MIRACLE lesson! The Book of Mormon is amazing and has answers to everything! So one of our investigators, Cheyane, has been struggling with smoking. She told us a while ago she wants to be baptized, but then we asked her last week about it and she said she wasn't thinking about baptism anymore because she knows she has to quit smoking and she said she can't:( So we were really sad. But then the Elders helped us decide to share Book of Mormon stories with her cause she loves the scriptures. So we went in to our lesson and we read a couple verses about Nephi building the boat and how he put his faith and trust in the Lord even when it may have seemed impossible and his brothers were making fun of him and didn't believe in him. As we read we didn't even mention smoking, but the spirit did!! At the end she told us that it really encouraged her with smoking and she knew that she could do it. It would be hard, but the Lord can help her. She called the next day and said she had read all of 1 Nephi chapters 17-18 and wanted another good chapter to read:) So the Book of Mormon combined with the Spirit really is the key!

I've been focusing a lot on the Book of Mormon and I'm really trying to tear it apart this transfer and learn as much as I can so I can use it to teach! I'm finding and marking all the great stories that are good to share and relate to our lives and the chapters that teach doctrine clearly and simply. It's amazing! The Book of Mormon has answers to EVERYTHING!:) I really love it a lot and I'm excited to keep learning more about what's inside:)

We did have a crazy snow day with a good 6 or 7+ inches which was fun! School and work got canceled so it was good for us haha:) It's all melting away already though, so we're doing good and we're staying warm! Also our members are so amazing and we've been getting fed seriously like every night! It's so crazy!! There's a million random things I always want to tell you but I always forget:( but I guess I'll just have more to tell you when I get home right?;) 

I love you! Thanks for your love and support! The church is true, the Book of Mormon is truly our Liahona and guide in our life, and we have a living prophet and modern revelation.

 I love being a missionary! Even though I am so so far from perfect, and I seriously have so much that I need to learn, but it's amazing to be on the Lord's errand and work by his side the best that I can:) Keep reading, keep praying, keep smiling, and keep trusting! He's there:) Make it a great week!

Love, Sister Johnson