I Know it's True :)

Hello Family!

We had a wonderful Christmas full of miracles and Christmas cheer! What a wonderful year this has been:) 2017, my complete year of full-time missionary service, is coming to a close. I am so grateful for this last year and a half and all the things I have learned and experienced. I have had so much joy being a missionary here in New York City. I love running around the city serving people all day, being squished in the busy subways, talking to people on the buses and trains, and the diversity of God's children and His love for them. I loved seeing people change, and I have loved learning more about my Savior and being able to change through Him:)

I know with all my heart that this gospel is true. Living the gospel more fully and sharing it with others has brought me so much peace, happiness, and understanding about our Heavenly Father's love and His plan for us. I know He has a perfect plan. I am grateful for the gift of agency, even though it can sometimes be hard. Heavenly Father loves us enough to let us choose, and he has provided everything we need to make the right choices, and everything we need to correct the wrong ones. I have felt the Spirit testify to me again and again that the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith happened. I know it did. I know it. I know that Joseph Smith's humble prayer was answered and that he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We have the fulness of the gospel, and because of that I have great reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ.

The whole point of the gospel is to progress. I know that even though my full-time missionary service may be coming to an end, there is so much more ahead. My mission has been a springboard for the rest of my life, the fine tuning that I needed to become the best God has intended me to become. I know that as I, and as you, apply the simple truths of the gospel that I have taught for the last year and a half, and that have sunk deep into my heart, we can become so much more! We can progress and ultimately make it back to our Heavenly Father:) That is His goal, and that is my goal. 

I love my Heavenly Father, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this time I have had to be a representative of Jesus Christ, and to wear his name on my chest. What a blessing it has been and what a blessing it will continue to be for the rest of my life. I love this church, I love the Lord, and I love His work.

Thank you for all your love and support:) 

Love, Sister Johnson

Merry Christmas!!

Hello Family!!

Merry Christmas! We are in full Christmas swing here in the NYNYN Mission, and seriously so much has happened this week, so here we go!:) We had our Mission Christmas Devotional on Friday and me and Sister Westover were able to play a duet of Away in a Manger and play Silent Night while all the missionaries sang in their mission language. It went really well and it was so fun! The Spirit was so amazing in our devotional, especially as we watched a slideshow of all the baptism pictures from 2017. So many people have come into the fold of God and entered the waters of baptism in the last year and half I have been here which is so humbling and amazing to see the success of my brethren and sisters. After all, we're all on the same team when it comes to the work of the Lord:)

We had our ward Christmas Party this weekend which was amazing!! Our gym looked beautiful! Like a wedding reception! We had a yummy Bethlehem dinner and live music performances. Jennifer and Luke came and they loved it! We also had one of our new investigators, Joy, there and she really enjoyed it as well! The next day we had our ward Christmas Program which went so well! Luke and Jennifer were able to participate and they read verses from Luke 2 about the angels and the shepherds. Joy came to that as well and they all loved it. Our flute and violin duet went really well for that as well:)

This week we have been running around like crazy helping members which has been so fun! We helped two members who were moving. That's my favorite thing about being a missionary, is that our schedule is so flexible and we're able to run around to help people whenever they need it all the time! I feel like that's what Christ would do. Always serving and helping those who need it.

For the missionaries departing soon we all went to the temple yesterday. It was such a special experience to be there in the temple with President and Sister Smith and with missionaries that I have been serving with for the last year and a half. I had an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude for the experiences I have had, the success that I have seen, and the success that together as a mission we have achieved. I know that this is the work of the Lord. And where we were, in the temple of the Lord, is the goal for everything. For us, for our converts, for our families. If you haven't been able to attend them temple in a while, I encourage you to go:) There's so much peace and guidance you can receive when you go.

I love being a missionary! I have loved learning more about myself, others, and the Lord. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I love him, and I'm grateful for this time I have had to represent him here in New York. I am grateful for this Christmas Season to focus on Christ and help others recognize the light and love of Christ in their lives. I love you lots! 

Thanks for everything! Make it a great week, and Merry Christmas!

Love, Sister Johnson

Mission Christmas Devotional/Lunch. Me and Sister Westover with SANTA!!!! (William Smith😉)

Me and Sister Muhlestein after the temple. Sisters from beginning to end:)

The Statue of Liberty

Christmas music for days :)

Hi Family!

We are just wrapping up our Book of Mormon reading challenge as a mission this week. I have loved reading as a mission, and we will finish tomorrow! This week I was reading in Ether 2&3 and I loved the story of the Brother of Jared. After making the barges like the Lord said, he went to the Lord asking how to light them. Then comes my favorite part. The Lord tells him what not to do, and then in verse 23 says, "What will ye that I should do that he may have light in your vessels?" Basically, 'you tell me! What do you want me to do? Go ahead, be creative and let me know when you have an idea.' I love that about our Heavenly Father. He gave us a brain and the gift of agency to act and to choose! We can change and we can be agents for change!

That ties into another thought I was pondering about this week. I came to the conclusion that the gospel is all about change. Everything! Our purpose on earth, our purpose as missionaries, our purpose as friends, parents, and members to help others change and grow. That's what I feel the gospel of Jesus Christ is centered around. Changing for the good to be more like Christ and receive the Holy Ghost or to then change/improve to keep it with us! We had our Zone Conference yesterday which focused a lot on changing and repenting as well. It's amazing. The power to change?! That is so cool! Repentance is cool:) And it's only through and because of Jesus Christ's Atonement that we can do that.

Jennifer and Luke are doing well. Jennifer came to a fun wreath making party we had for the relief society and loved it! Jennifer has been having some medical issues lately, but they're still going strong and they're excited for our ward Christmas Party this weekend. 

Me and Sister Westover have enjoyed being companions. The other night we played Christmas hymns on our flute and violin outside of the Lincoln Square Chapel downtown while missionaries handed out hot chocolate to people walking by. We will also play in our Ward Christmas Program as well as our Mission Christmas devotional this weekend! We love it and I'm glad I get to serve with her:)

Make it a great week!

Love, Sister Johnson 

After freezing our fingers off while playing Christmas hymns in front of the Lincoln Square chapel! So worth it though:)

You can't see the top of it super well, but these are the Book of Mormon Musical ads that travel all over the city on little taxi toppers. Had to get a picture with one! Even though it's not from us, we get excited when we see them and we use the Book of Mormon Musical to our advantage quite a bit because everyone has heard about it!

Me and Sister Westover in front of the temple

This is our wreath on our door

 Our wreath making Relief Society activity!

This is Jennifer's wreath on her door:)

Baptism of Jennifer and Luke :)

Hello Family!

JENNIFER AND LUKE WERE BAPTIZED!!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for them. This has been the most amazing experience of my mission, to see from beginning to baptism the conversion of Jennifer and Luke. I've never seen firsthand how much the gospel can truly change someone, but it's real! It's so real and it's powerful:) 

It's amazing that just two months ago Jennifer was searching for something. She shared this in her testimony at the baptism and said that she was in the hospital praying to God for help and a mormon.org ad came up on facebook. She kept scrolling and it popped up again. She kept ignoring it, but finally after about the fifth time she clicked on it cause she knew that that was her sign. Instead of just getting a Book of Mormon, she got two missionaries and a Book of Mormon! And ever since then it's been amazing to see the changes that she has made in order to reach this goal of baptism this weekend. They did it! Luke and Jennifer are now members of the Church, and they are so so happy!:)

The baptism went great and the members were so supportive and helpful. Lots of members came and were involved in the program. They have all welcomed and loved Jennifer and Luke with open arms. The baptism program was wonderful and the Spirit there was so great:) It was amazing to see their excitement and to see them enter the waters of baptism. The talks were great, me and Sister Randall were able to teach the Restoration, and both Jennifer and Luke bore their testimony. Luke is pretty quiet, but he still got up and talked about how much he loves the people and loves coming to church:) Their confirmation on Sunday was wonderful as well! 

This week we have also started doing a lot for Light The World. It has been so much fun so far, and I'm excited for the rest of this month and the Spirit of Christ we'll be able to feel and share this season. On Saturday night after the baptism we were able to help out at the Lincoln Square Chapel (temple building) with our Stake's Carols on Columbus Christmas concert. There were two concerts and between both about 1400 people were in the building! There is some amazing musical talent in our stake so it was fun to be there and see many members that I've served with in other wards. I love Manhattan:)

I know the gospel is true! I have seen the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my own life and in the lives of Jennifer and Luke. He is the reason for the season:) I am so grateful for the experience I have had to see Jennifer and Luke change because of the gospel. I love the gospel and I love being a missionary! Keep lighting the world with His light:)

Love, Sister Johnson 

It was such an amazing baptism with so much love and support:)

1-2. Carols on Columbus

 3. I LOVE MY MOM!!!

4. We had to fish out the plug for the baptism font

5. Macy's at Christmas time

6. Rockefeller Christmas tree

Transfers, Baptism plans and Service!

Hello Family!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Our district enjoyed some service at a senior center in the morning packing Thanksgiving dinners to be sent out as meals on wheels. Then me and Sister Randall delivered a pass along card and little treats to those who were working and lonely on Thanksgiving. That was something so simple but it was so happy and exciting to see their faces light up and see the joy that it brought them. They loved it! One doorman we gave one to was like "Oh wow, thank you so much! Can I give you a hug?" So we were like "actually you can't... but we can shake your hand!" and then we explained why haha! We had a nice dinner with one of our sweet older members, Sister Harris, so it was a great day!

Jennifer and Luke are getting baptized on Saturday!!! They both passed their baptism interviews last night, so we're just scheduling the program and which members will do what! Our ward is so great and so excited for them! On Sunday they announced it a lot in church and in our classes, so lots of people talked to them and congratulated them. We were able to meet with them five times this week, and every lesson we were amazed by how willing and understanding they were of everything! Even the big commandments that we were a little nervous about, they happily took upon themselves to live! I've never seen someone so excited about tithing and fast offerings:) So they are amazing and so prepared! Thank you for your prayers for them:) Things can definitely be difficult the week before a baptism, but Jennifer and Luke are staying strong. They are so determined and it's amazing to see their true desire to be baptized and better their lives through Christ:)

We had transfers yesterday, so I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Westover and she is from Portland, Oregon. She is so sweet and I am excited to serve with her! She is so genuine and layed back, but a hard working and loving missionary:) Sister Randall went up to Stamford, Connecticut, so it was sad to see her go but she'll do great and she's excited! I cannot believe how fast the last transfer went, but I've been amazed by the changes we were able to see in Jennifer and Luke as they learned and accepted the gospel in just 6 weeks. I'm excited for this new transfer ahead and for the many miracles that are coming forth in this Christmas season here in the NYNYN Mission! 

Make sure you visit mormon.org to see all the Light the World videos and ways to serve! Doing one little act of service is so good, doing it for 25 days is even better, and multiplying that by each one of us is the best!! Wahoo! And remember "there is no such thing as a small act of kindness." - Sister Hinckley. It may seem small to you, but it may mean the world to someone else! So go #LightTheWorld!

Love, Sister Johnson