Goals & Accountability

Hello Family

My new companion is Sister Balley and I LOVE HER!! She is a wonderful missionary, she's funny, and we get along really well! She's a singer and loves music so that's great for me and our musically talented ward! She's from Dallas, Texas and she has been out for 15 months so she's the best! I'm so so happy I get to be with her here in Inwood:)

 This is our transfer of GOALS!! Last night it clicked about how to make simple weekly goals and how to be ACCOUNTABLE. Accountability is huge. It makes goals like a 1000x more likely to be reached I feel like! We each made two simple goals for this week that every day we can help each other and be accountable to each other so we can check it off. We want to do this for the rest of our life because the Spirit taught us that setting goals = repenting, and repentance is cool so we are all about that!:) Every week we will have two simple goals and I encourage you to think of two simple goals for the week too! Whether it's to floss your teeth every night or send a nice text to 2 people each day or to read a conference talk each day or tell your family members a strength they have each day. Something simple:) Then make a little check box for each day, and tell someone so they can help you be accountable! We're trying it, so if you want to try it with us you're more than welcome! #lifeskills #smallandsimple #goalsandplans (If you need someone to be your accountability buddy you can let me know if you're doing it and I can follow up with you and you can follow up with me;) #accountability).

This weekend is... GENERAL CONFERENCE!! Only the best, spiritually fulfilling, inspiring, and uplifting weekend ever!! Wahoo!! I hope you can all prepare a question (or questions) to go with. Just like King Benjamin said when he gave his "General Conference" in the Book of Mormon, the prophet and speakers today would agree by saying "I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view." Go with open ears, hearts, and minds, and you will receive the guidance and help you need! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Johnson 

1-2 Rockefeller Center

Pictures 3-6 NBC Store - The Today/Tonight Show

7 i LOVE ny

Transfer #7

Hello Family!!

Yes, the forecasted snow storm came! Not as terrible as I imagined, but it was pretty bad. We probably got a good 12 inches. The wind cut through quite a bit and it blew my umbrella inside out a few times haha! So it was a little crazy, but really not too bad! We were laughing and enjoying it the whole day, so it was a nice little snowy memory:) We helped a few people shovel their cars out of the snow and met a few people that way:) They all really appreciated the help!

Transfer updates! I'm staying here in Inwood, and Sister Nielsen will be going upstate to Poughkeepsie. My new companion will be Sister Balley. I've never met her before, but she seems wonderful so I'm really excited! It's going to be a wonderful transfer:) This transfer will officially mark my half way, which is so hard to believe! Where is the time going?!

On Wednesday I was on a split with Hermana Egbert. We had just been talking about how we really want to teach families. I remembered a guy we had met a few weeks earlier near where we were so we decided to go look him up. We got there and Franky was home when he would usually be at work! So it was a miracle! He then talked to us about how he really wants to raise his 4 year old son and 5 1/2 year old daughter right. We testified of how much this can bless his family and how it's blessed ours. We gave him a Family Proclamation and since he and his wife speak spanish, the Hermanas are going to teach them! Wahoo! Yay for Split miracles and for families!!

This week we literally taught the most prepared kid I have ever met! Gloria (mom) was a former investigator in our areabook, but her kids Fernanda (16) and Julian (10) were still in our areabook. We called Gloria and set a time to see them, and seriously Julian is so awesome! He remembers so much from when he was taught before. We taught the Restoration and he already remembered all about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and he was asking a bunch of great questions! When talking about the Book of Mormon he basically bore a solid testimony to us already haha! He was telling us that this is the most addicting book, better than comic books! He said the Book of Mormon literally has answers to everything, there's not a question that can't be answered by the Book of Mormon (I just learned that and I've been a member for almost 20 years!) We talked about how the most important answer the Book of Mormon is able to answer is if the church is true and if it's been restored. We asked if as they read and pray, and if they come to know that it's true (prepping for baptism question) -- but Julian cut us off and he was like "Who wouldn't? Everyone who reads it will get an answer and know it's true!" So then I was like "okay true! So WHEN you receive that answer and know it's true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?" Julian didn't even hesitate to say yes! His Mom and Fernanda aren't so sure, but Gloria wants to read and find out for herself. So hopefully we can continue to meet with them and help them progress!! :)

This week I FINALLY realized the importance of specific small and simple goals! My whole mission I've felt like I've struggled so much with goals, and I realized that I either always have too many goals, or my goals are too vague. I feel like I'm always trying to make life goals or entire mission goals, but that's silly! Even if I were to somehow reach those, that's not the end. We're always progressing but it's not always by leaps and bounds, it's most often by simple baby steps:) As we set specific goals with small and simple plans to achieve it, we will be far more likely to reach it! Especially if we talk to our Heavenly Father about it. He wants to help us and he will if we ask!

Make it a wonderful week! I love you:)

Love, Sister Johnson

I ❤ NY

Hello Family

We had another week full of adventure as always!:) Today we went to the top of the Empire State Building!! One of our members gave us a pass that takes us to the top, so I enjoyed a wonderful and breath taking view of my city:) More like His city... Our city:) I ❤ NY

This week we had interviews with President Smith and it was wonderful:) I was super happy and I feel like I've learned a lot this transfer. Hopefully I've been able to apply a lot of what I've learned too, but I realized (and I'm still trying really hard, because it is really hard) that it really is more important just to help others. We just need to do it:) Things may not go the way you plan, but our Heavenly Father is the real planner and His plans are perfect! We are here to help each other so it's important to be able to know the goals of others and be able to build them up during your journey too:) If all we do in life is care about ourselves and build ourselves up, we may get to the top, but we'll be all alone. On the other side, if we can build others up as we go, we will be so much happier because we can have lifelong friends and have others right there with us:)

Next week is transfers, so we'll find out on Saturday what's happening! Also we apparently have a huge snow storm coming tomorrow... so get excited for stories about that;)

Here's a few fun mission miracles:) One night we were heading home and the travel time was shorter than we thought. We got to our train station at 8:37 so I said to Sister Nielsen, "We have 23 minutes to change someone's life!" In those 23 minutes we met two people and both gave away a Book of Mormon and card. They were so excited to start reading and we were so excited that we changed 2 lives:) Another night we were looking for an investigator and she wasn't home. As we were leaving the building, a guy named Bryan came up. We talked to him and he was asking the difference between us and other churches. We talked about how we have a living prophet and his eyes got big and he was like "No way! Really? Today, in the United States?" So he was excited and we talked to him a little about the Restoration:) 

What we have is amazing, true, and such a blessing! So many wonderful blessings come from that simple heartfelt prayer of a young boy, and the loving answer from our Heavenly Father. I know we are guided by Him today through living prophets. He wants us to have a fulness of joy in this life and in the life to come, and I know that that can be found only through Jesus Christ and as we live his gospel:)

Make it a wonderful week! I love you lots!:)

Love, Sister Johnson

All pictures are from the Empire State building

Random NY things :)

Hello Family!

Not much has happened since Wednesday... so I'm just going to tell you all the funny things I mean to tell you put always forget!!

Literally everyone in New York has a dog, and everyone loves their dog more than anything! Seriously, some people treat their dogs like gold and it's so funny! All the dogs are nice and calm cause they're used to so many people haha! Everyone walks their dog and I can't even tell you how many times I've started a conversation with "Your dog is so cute!" or "I like your dog!" I've probably seen every type of dog that ever exists while I've been here on my mission haha;)

There's a million barber shops here in Harlem and Inwood, but the funniest part is that there are ALWAYS people in them getting their hair done! Every time, without fail there's always someone in there haha! I don't even know how there are that many people who need to get their hair done all the time! And along with that, here in Inwood there are seriously bakeries (Mostly Dominican bakeries since we live in Dominican Heights) on every corner. It's super nice but also bad because we always want to grab something! Their bizcocho (Dominican cake) is really good;)

Instead of delivery cars like pizza delivery and Chinese deliver in cars, they have delivery bikes and little guys ride around on bikes with food in bags on the handlebars haha! So that's pretty funny! 

Okay now to missionary things. The Hermanas have literally the most pure golden investigator ever! Her name is Maylee and she's 17 years old. She's in love with Joseph Smith, thinks the Plan of Salvation is perfect, and she's already an amazing missionary just after a few lessons. She's so committed and is basically like a member already! Every day they come home with even more stories about how 100% prepared and perfect she is. It's amazing and whatever gets thrown in the way is not stopping her one bit! Our whole zone loves her like she's our own investigator!:) Heavenly Father really is preparing people!

I started reading Our Search for Happiness by M. Russell Ballard and it's amazing! You should all read it:)

One thing I've noticed from this week is how hard Satan works to make us forget our spiritual experiences. If he can erase our personal witness of the truth, what to we have to rely on? So many times in the Book of Mormon it tells us to REMEMBER because it's that important! So, just in case any of you need some help remembering, this is what I found to help me this week:) First of all, write down your spiritual experiences (DO IT!) and then later go back and look at them! It helps you remember how you felt and helps you see where you've come since then. And second, bear your testimony to Heavenly Father in prayer:) You know you have one and He knows you have one, and He'll help you remember during the times you seem to forget. He loves you lots! Never forget that! 

And I love you too!:) Make it a great week!

Love, Sister Johnson

Elder Gong mission tour :)

Hello Family!

Sorry I forgot to tell you our P-Day would be on Wednesday this week, but this week was jam packed with amazing things so here it goes!

On Thursday we had our Zone Conference and the most amazing thing I learned was that Christ truly will take what we have and make more of it. When He was feeding the 5,000 all the apostles could bring him were 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. He didn't say "This is all you have?! Do you see how many people there are? Why didn't you plan better? Geez..." No! He said "Perfect! I'll make it more." Then when he again fed the 5,000 and they brought him 7 loaves, "Perfect that's great! Let's make more." With the Brother of Jared, "I have these stones..." "Perfect! Let's make light!" If we bring what we have He will make it more:)

These last few days we had Elder and Sister Gong of the Seventy join us for a mission tour! It was so amazing and we could truly feel of His love, President Monson's love, and our Heavenly Father's love through him:) I had a great experience that strengthened my testimony that God truly does call men to lead His restored church today. Elder Gong is called of God:) Sunday night was his first night with us. As he came he met us all by districts. I had 3 questions that I brought to the devotional. We were asked to read his conference talk "Always Remember Him" from last year while we sat in our districts in the gym and waited for him to meet us. As I read it I received answers to all 3 of my questions FROM HIM before he even talked to us! It was amazing! Then to shake His hand and meet him was powerful!:)

The next day on Monday we had a wonderful Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Gong. And then the next day we had our Missionary Leadership Council Meeting with him as well. Now here is an amazing mission miracle - so when I first got to the mission in July, we had just set a mission goal in June of getting 30 baptisms a month for 3 consecutive months. We tried, prayed, and worked hard, and we finally reached our goal!!! These last 3 Months were it:) December - 39 January - 30 February - 31 souls. 100 souls entered the waters of Baptism in the last 3 months. The Lord has roughly doubled our average from before, and we're just beginning to do this work His way! We're just beginning to use ward lists, do daily contact, promise blessings. All these things! We talked about how if we continue to improve on the small and simple things he will bless us even more. We're revving it in 1st gear still. It's time to shift up a gear:) We have now set a goal as a mission to achieve 50-50-50:) It will take increased effort on the simple things, but I know that as we have faith not fear, we can accomplish this goal. It's not our goal, it's from above:) Great things are happening here in the New York, New York North mission and I'm so so blessed to be here at this time.

I love my Heavenly Father and I love being a part of His work! We're all a part of His work as we magnify our church callings, let the light of Christ in us shine, and love those around us. If we do the Lord's work, He will do ours!:)

Love, Sister Johnson