I know that there are many times that we are inspired to reach out to people. It is always for a special reason. It maybe because they are going through tough times like Ahsley or just because they need to know someone is thinking about them. Sometimes we will have the chance to find out why we were inspired to talk to someone but most of the time we will never know why or how it helped someone. However, always follow the promptings of the spirit, he knows all things. You will be blessed for doing so and will also be able to receive more promptings and guidance from the spirit in the future. Listen closely to the things you are feeling and don't be afraid to act. I can promise you one thing you will NEVER regret following the promptings you receive. So what do you have to loss?There is also an 18 year old girl named Ashley we are working with that really wants to join the church. She loves the how she feels at church. However, her family said they would disown her if she did. We thought that was the worst of her problems. However, Sunday night we felt inspired to text her and see how she was doing. It turned out that she was really struggling. Earlier that day the Police showed up at there home handing them some papers. They also said that they will probably being coming this week to take her and her little sister away. My heart instantly sank for her. What am I supposed to say, I wish I could let her come live with us. But I am just a missionary. So I all we could say was "we are so sorry, know that we love you and your Father in Heaven loves you too." Please keep Ashley in your prayers. She is truly going through a hard time. She also is failing high school and might not graduate. If you have any advice please let us know.This week I felt inspired to read the talk by Elder Holland from conference with Tonya. (A Less active we are working with who is struggling with depression, addictions to pain medicine, and social anxiety.) As we began to read the talk the entire fill of the room changed it. It was no longer hectic and dirty but silent. We were all able to feel the spirit. I than turned to her and bore testimony to her about a time when I allowed fear to run my life and when I wasn't happy with who I was. I told that it was only when I turned to my Father in Heaven for support was I able to change my outlook and feel happy again. I told her that she was loved and that her Father in Heaven will never give up on her so don't give up on him. She began crying. I know the spirit was testifying to her that night. I also know that it will be a long time until she can really over come the trial in her life. But slowly we are seeing progress and slowly is still progress to me.Hello Everyone,I am so pleased to announce that MARTY is officially a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was baptized Saturday afternoon. It was so amazing seeing him walk up to me all dressed in white with the biggest grin on his face. I felt the spirit instantly and it just overwhelmed me. I knew looking at him that he really is a son of God and that he was loved. I was so happy and giddy the entire meeting. I can't express the feelings I felt watching this sweet 28 year old man I have been teaching get baptized. I felt honored to have had the opportunity to work with him and help him learn of his Father in Heaven. I am humbled by the experience. After Marty's baptism I waited to congratulate him. When it was finally my turn I reached out my hand to shake his. He grabbed my hand and yanked me in for a big hug saying thank you. It happened so quick I couldn't stop it but it was really sweet. His girlfriend Aime than came up and gave me a big hug saying thank you as well. I truly love this family and pray that they can experience all the joys that come from being members. Aime will hopefully be baptized in late November by Marty :D. (She was excommunicated about a year ago. And its amazing to see that this has just strengthened her testimony.)
NEWS in the mission field. I survived my first transfer. I can't believe I have been out in the field so long. Time has just flown by. My companion and I will be together for the next 6 weeks serving in the same area. We are so thankful for this because there is so much work we have to do and so much we need to improve on together.I love all of you so much, Thank you for all the Birthday wishes and the prayers.Love always,Sister Johnson
On Sun, Oct 27, 2013 at 10:19 PM, Scott Johnson <Scott4599@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
Dear Sister Tippy,
We hope you had a nice week and a wonderful birthday serving your Heavenly Father. I will be interesting to see what you were able to do. We had Britney and Allison at our house. Brenda also came to help at work. Allison is the office mascot. She is so cute:) She took her naps under my desk swaddled in her chair. That was the darkest place. Britney took a picture and sent to Kevin with the statement "find Allison" I'll have to see if we can get that to you. This last week was crazy busy. I picked the girls up on Monday-we went to my office and cleaned for a while then went home to visit with Dad and Ashley. Tuesday was my assistants first day- We trained her, mainly Brit and Brenda trained and I had appointments. Wed and Thursday were also jammed with work. Britney and I went to Ashley's Waterpolo game. We left Brenda working at the office and then returned to do a little work. Friday we were up at 4:30 am to go to the airport. We didn't have a lot of down time. I got behind at work and I'm trying to get caught up and cleaned up so my new assistant can function. That has been the story of my life this week ….work, work ,work:) I need to get a life and some balance.
I'm getting ready to run to a meeting for Savior of the World. I'm assisting some with that. We are using it as a missionary tool for Christmas. The production is going to be done at Hughson High school and we want to keep it free to the public. We are promoting through the missionaries and ward mission leaders. It will probably be a great success.
We pray daily for your guidance and protection. Stay close to the Lord and always follow promptings. We love hearing from you.
Keep up the awesome work. did you get the package from your sisters? I still haven't put yours in the mail. We are also doing one in Relief Society on the 12th of November--YOu are loved--don't ever forget that!
Love MOM
Hello Sister Johnson,
Time seems to be moving so fast. We always seem to keep busy. Britney and Brenda were down for a few days helping your mom at work and Ashley is finishing up her water polo. She has only one more game against Pitman this Wednesday. I have been kept busy with school and I have about 100 tests that I need to correct.
I am re-commiting on my healthy life style choices this week. I noticed that my weight was starting to go up again. I glad to see that you have been doing well and you look thinner in your pictures. Keep it up, you will feel healthier, look better and have more energy if you do.
One of the things that I challenged Tyler to do on his mission was to "Be Bold." Be bold means to not be shy about the gospel or not be slow to follow the promptings of the spirit. By the end of my mission, I was much better about talking to people and challenging them to make commitments. If you stay focused on the work, and follow the spirit, the spirit will help you know what you should do and say.
We are going to be making some missionary goals as a family. We will let you know next week what we plan do do.
I hope your birthday went well and you had a good week serving the Lord. Tyler is seeing Bethany almost everyday. Sounds like he is becoming serious. We let you know if there is any progress.
Work hard and Be Bold and enjoy serving the Lord. Love, DAD
Hi Sister Johnson
Like mom and dad said our family has had a pretty busy week. It was fun having Britney and Brenda over for a few days. But I did not get to spend a lot of time with them because they were working at moms work and I was at school a lot. I loved playing with Allison, she is very cute.
On tuesday I had a choir performance. It was a nice performance, but it kinda stinks that Madrigals ( the group I am in) had only a 45 second piece to perform. It is a five part accapella piece that I really like but it was just short. We prepared to sing to songs but because of timing each group was allowed to sing only one song. I also might be singing a solo for evening of excellence next week. We will be singing a song called In that Holy Place, and the young women leaders opened up three solo opportunities in the song for Laurels. It was nice that I was asked to do one of the solos. Hopefully it will work out, which I am sure it will.
Wednesday I went to the youth scavenger hunt for our ward. It was a fun activity, you follow clues to different areas of Hughson. However it lasted about two hours and luckily I did not have homework that night. I did lose my phone in the Weatherbee's dirt field while being chased by brother clark who had a chainsaw. Dad was nice enough to take me back to the field at the end of the scavenger hunt and help me look for it. He luckily found it in the dirt and it has no apparent damage to it.
Friday Hannah came over and we worked on our halloween costumes together. The plan is that we will be lollipops but we will see what it ends up as. She has a been a really good friend to me and she is a nice girl. Whenever one of our parents go to the temple, we usually tag along and do baptisms together. So far we have gone to three different temples together and we will be going to the Reno temple this friday as well.
Well I have to go now. I love you!
Love, Ashley
Monday, October 28, 2013
Letter from Sister Tiffany Johnson, October 28, 2013
On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 11:22 AM, Tiffany Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net> wrote:
Monday, October 21, 2013
Letters from Sister Tiffany Johnson October 21, 2013
From:
Tiffany
Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net>
Subject:
Re: WE
love you! Happy almost Birthday!
Date:
October 21,
2013 12:14:13 PM PDT
To:
Scott
Johnson <Scott4599@sbcglobal.net>
OK so a little about facebook. We can get on everyday but Mondays and we
can use it for up to an hour during slow proselyting times. We add all the
members in our ward and those in our area that we are teaching or want to be
teaching. We can also add people from outside our area if we know them and its
for missionary purposes only. We also have two options. We can use our old
facebooks (and clean them up to make sure they are missionary appropriate but
you get to keep all your old friends) Or we can start a new one. I decided to
start a new one because I didn't know how to hide everything and it would take
forever because you cant have any past pictures or post showing from before your
mission. But my mission president said that I can basically add anyone I want
if I feel its appropriate and is only for missionary work.
How
we use it. We try and post videos or scriptures or quotes that are uplifting.
Than we can have private messages with people. So we can teach an entire lesson
online if we can't get to them. We can also skype lesson if we have the
technology. We than can also use it as a form of daily contact with those we are
teaching. It is also use d to confirm and schedule appointments.
On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 12:03 PM, Tiffany Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net> wrote:
First: When I was in Colusa on my exchange an older Easter Indian man (older than 50) waved to us as he passed us on his bike. I thought what a nice man. However, he then stopped his bike and waited till we got to him. When we approached him he started saying "you marry, you marry". I was really confused and thought he was saying that we were lesbians or something. So I started to explain who we were and that we were not married. But than he went on to say "no, no I need a wife. You Sister Johnson, marry me. I take care of you on my steady social security income. See I have clean eyes and can shave my face to look younger for you." He went on to explain how beautiful I was and that my companion was pretty but his eyes preferred me. It was pretty awkward. He than grabbed by hand and said he could kiss me right now. I yanked my hand away and said "Sorry we are missionaries and that's against the rules. I need to go serve the Lord now, BYE." and we walked away. He yelled out his address and said come by my house "I'll buy you a ring". We than started power walking away as fast as we could. When we were far away from him my companion and I just looked at each other and started laughing. It is now the joke between all the sister missionaries in this area now.ALRIGHT here are my funny stories from this week!We are also preparing a sweet 15 year old for baptism. Her name is Brooke and she is so amazing. She is involved in so many school activities that it makes it hard to meet with her. But she has committed to baptism and reads the Book of Mormon every night. She said she gets a "weird" feeling when she reads it. I said "O really, lets talk about that". I know that she is feeling the spirit and to already hear that she misses church because she wasn't able to go was so sweet. I know that the Lord has been preparing her to meet us. We are also hoping that we can start meeting with her parents. (They are not members but are literally never home. So that should also be challenging) But her grandpa (who is a member) already says that we are family and her calls us his "sweet girls" or his "little angels". I love this family they are just so nice to everyone.Marty has been doing great, he is still on track for being baptized this Saturday (oct. 26) at 1:00pm. Sunday was his interview with President Paulson. It was so amazing to hear him explain his conversion story. He said that he had heard the lessons for the last two years and then when he heard us teach it, it just made sense. He explained he just liked the way he felt about what we said and knew that he was supposed to be baptized. I am so honored to be a messenger for God. I know that we were just teaching by the spirit and that he too was spiritually prepared. It wasn't because we were better teachers than the Elders in the past. I am so excited to see Marty get a fresh start at life. He is already starting to be a missionary. He is really good friends with Brian Skousen (He is the cousin to the Barth's) who is not active. Marty invited him to his baptism and he agreed to come and even said that he too should start coming back to church. So we are going to start teaching Brian. His mom (who you drop my stuff off with) is so excited.HELLO EVERYONE!This week went by so fast. I had my first exchange and that was a lot of fun, to live for one day in a different area with a different companion. I went to Colusa for the day. We decided to visit a woman named Jackie. Neither of us had met her but we read the teaching record on her and thought that she had rejected the teaching because she didn't believe in prophets. But I thought well lets go see her anyways. So we walked to her home and luckily she was there and willing to listen to us. I then asked her a few questions like why did she stop taking the lessons and why she believed there couldn't be a prophet today. It turns out that the reason she doesn't believe in these things is because she didn't know anything about prophets (She didn't say that but you could tell by her answers) She also thought that if there was prophets than God couldn't personally speak to us. So I quickly jumped in and taught her on our beliefs, that we can receive personal revelation and that prophets receive revelation for everyone. They are there to help us and guide us in the way we are supposed to be living. She really liked that and said she would like to learn more about this. We than helped her see in her life when she has received personal revelation. She really knew by the end that those were times that she did feel the spirit and was being guided or counseled by her Father in Heaven. She scheduled a time to meet with us again. It's too bad I probably wont see her again but I will be checking up on her and will keep you guys posted if there is any more progress with her. I think it is so important that we really don't assume people know things. I know if we went into that lesson assuming she knew all the lessons we would not have had any success. This is why asking questions is so important. We need to ask questions to know the areas they need help in. IF we don't ask questions you will just be teaching a lesson NOT a person.
Second: Well I have never had much sea food experiences in my life. I never eat it but I promised myself that if I was served it I would eat it. So Wednesday night I was served Shrimp Pasta. I have never eaten this before and didn't know I was in for a surprise. The man who lived in the home, Oscar, wanted to spoil me so he scooped up my plate and made sure to pick out a bunch of shrimp for me. I thought to myself "OOO lucky me." As I looked down at my plate I thought hum... they have that nasty tail on them but its in pasta, so am I supposed to just eat it, RIGHT? I didn't know what to do so I just took a deep breath and ate one. As a began to chew I realized, yep its super hard and disgusting. So I swallowed it whole. I than looked at my plate and thought man how the heck am I going to swallow all of these shrimps whole. So I just put another one in my mouth and prepared myself to swallow, when I noticed everyone else had there tails on there plates. They weren't eating them!!!! SO I used my napkin and spit the tail in it. I than went through and cut off the tails like everyone else was doing. Let me tell you it taste a lot better this way. I just laughed at myself and tried to pretend I always knew that. Later that night I told my companion what had happened and she just laughed and said I didn't even know it was possible to eat the tail. SO lesson learned DO NOT eat the tail on the SHRIMP its hard and nasty.
Anyways, I just want all of you to know that I love this gospel. I have seen how it has blessed so many families and how it has blessed my own life. And if I have to eat a Shrimp tail to help someone else learn about this gospel, that is something that I am willing to do.LOVE Always,Sister JohnsonP.S. I just found out my companion grew up with Jacen Stout. She lived in Oakdale until she was 8 and I guess her mom is really good friends with Aunt Nancy's sister Judy Howes (? I am not sure on her name) But let them know that Sister Caitlyn Powell and her mom say Hello to the STOUT family. Small world.
On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 11:03 PM, Scott Johnson <Scott4599@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
Hi Sister TIPPY,
Happy birthday to you-happy birthday to you-happy birthday dear tippy, happy birthday to you:) Enjoy your bike and stuff. Sorry--your birthday box is still getting together. I have a box of stuff we have been gathering for you. We drove through Roseville yesterday, but we could only talk about you:) I didn't have the box complete so It is coming but not today. Your sisters sent you a box. Not sure if they sent it to your house or the mission home. I keep forgetting to ask. If nothing else, know that we love you and pray daily for you. Dad and I went to the Reno Temple on Saturday and we put your name on the temple rolls. They always pray for the missionaries, but I want to make sure you get extra prayers. We got your letter to the Falkes. Ashley spent the night there while we had our short get away. It was a belated anniversary trip. We couldn't get away for our actual date so we made it an extra long event:)
Our Elders want to know more about this Facebook missionary work such as when do you get to do it etc. If you have a minute, let us know a little about this.
We love you and pray always for your protection and guidance. Stay close to the spirit. We love your letters, they are awesome. Keep it up.
Love always!
MOM
Hey Sister Johnson,
Happy almost birthday! I hope that you will have a good birthday and that you find lots of wonderful experiences to tell me. This past week was really crazy because friday was the end of the quarter and all of my teachers wanted to assign something. Any way I survived, and it is weird to think that my senior is a fourth of the way over. Friday I missed school because I had a lot of appointments. I went to the DMV( I finally took the permit test), got a lot of blood work done( very close to passing out) and went to the chiropractor.
This morning I had my first BYC. It went fairly well, but it helped me realized that I have some work to do as Laurels president. On wednesday we have the third annual youth scavenger hunt. It is really fun and hopefully all go well. I am in charge of refreshments and I plan to get doughnuts.
Well I have to go now, I love you! Have a wonderful week.
Love, Ashley
Hello,
Happy birthday!! I am glad you like the bike. I like the features and I put an extra liner in the tires so you don't get flats. Don't forget to lock it. If it is outside and you are not next to it, then it needs to be locked to something. Don't be tempted in thinking that is safe just because it is next to some members door. One of our elders got is bike stolen when his bike was locked.
Thanks for the nice letters, we enjoy reading them and see you growing in testimony and faith. The mission is hard work, but when it is all over, you will always be grateful that you served. I still think it is one of the most important things I ever did. Ashley scored a goal in her last game. She only has two more games and her water Polo career will be over. It has been fun to watch, but it will be nice when it is all over. We spend a lot of time on Water Polo, she has played over 30 games this year.
This week is the ward Halloween activity and I get to drive. Hopefully, I get a nice group of Kids.
We had the Elders over for dinner tonight. They seem like nice Elders and they left a message when they were done. If you do have dinner with the members, don't waste time and always remember that you are a representative of the Lord.
We love you and our proud of your efforts to be a good missionary. Keep up the good work. Love, DAD
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
October 7, 2013 Letter From Sister Johnson
From: Tiffany Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net>
Date: October 7, 2013, 11:45:53 AM PDT
To: Scott Johnson <Scott4599@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: bike etc.
Also this week I plan to become a facebook missionary, so if you have any less actives or investigators you can give me there names and I can become there friend on facebook. SWEET!
On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 11:43 AM, Tiffany Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net> wrote:
FOLLOW THE PROPHETS!Sister JohnsonI Love each of you and am always praying for you. Keep in touch.So look for the ways your prayers are being answered. I know I was not planning on seeing the answers to my prayers through broken bikes but they are still answers and I LOVE them. Our Father in Heaven is always answering our prayers, we just have to be willing and humble enough to find out how.I would also like to say a big THANK YOU to my amazing parents. I love the bike they just sent me, it could not have come at a more perfect time. I have only been on my mission for a little over 2 weeks now and have gone through 2 bikes. The first bike was rusty and was so hard to petal. Than when I was riding it the bolt in the handle bar came undone. It started slipping and turning upside down while I was riding it. It completely slipped to one side and I was just trying to balance it and not crash. I was praying so hard the entire time because we were also on a small road with no bike lane, in the dark. I know, I was being watched over during that entire ride because when I showed up to our appointment the family took a look at my bike and said I cant believe you road that here. They than let me barrow there daughters bike which was pretty small. I road it for about 4 days. Than after leaving an appointment from that same members home the pedal broke off and I got stabbed in the leg. It was a pretty deep cut and got a lot of bike grease into it. But luckily I was just right outside there home and the boyfriend came running out to help me. It was also a miracle that it broke right in front of there home. I felt really bad about breaking the bike so I went inside and apologized for it. They laughed at me and said it was not my fault the bolt fell off the pedal. They put another pedal on and I went on my way.When Sunday morning rolled around we road to Tonya's apartment. We watched conference together in her mothers bedroom. It was an amazing experience to see her watch and listen to our church leaders. She even wrote down questions she had so that we could talk about them afterwards. Each talk seemed perfect for her and her struggles. After the morning session we went into the living room to talk to her home teacher and Micheal. They explained priesthood blessings and how they need her faith to really make a difference. They did such a wonderful job teaching her. Than they laid there hands upon her head and began to give her a blessing. At that moment I looked at Tonya in a new light. I saw the long road of recovery ahead of her. But she was glowing to me. I felt the love of the savior for her and knew that she was truly a daughter of God. Though she has done and continues to do things that are not alined with God, I know that through the Atonement she can be healed and that she can be forgive of these sins. I know that if it wasn't for our Savior there would be no hope for Tonya or people like her. But luckily we do have a loving Savior that can give us that hope, only IF we turn to him. I can honestly say that our Savior lives, that he loves each of us individually. He has paid the price of our sins. Do all that you can to receive of that love and forgiveness for him. Live each day thanking him for all that he has blessed you with.Hello Family and Friends,Well I hope everyone had a chance to watch conference this last weekend. It was amazing! I loved hearing so much about missionary work. Know that the things taught this weekend were inspired by God. These are the things that he wants you to be working on and improving on. I was able to watch all of the sessions and just felt the spirit so strong in all of them. On Sunday we went to a home of a member. Her daughter is in her thirties and we have been working a lot with her lately. She has had an extremely difficult past and for almost her entire life hasn't allowed missionaries or any church members into her life. But just a few months ago the Lord softened her heart and she let us into her life. She is struggling to overcome addictions to pain medicine and other drugs. We have been taking her to ARP meetings (Addiction Recovery meetings) and have been teaching her as well. When we went to check on her Saturday night she started to complain about pains she was feeling and how she didn't want to really talk with us. Then I felt inspired to ask her if she has had a priesthood blessing lately (knowing that she hasn't since she was a little girl). She responded no I haven't but I think that might help. At that moment her brother-in-law (who is a really active member) walked up.(Coincidence... I think NOT!) I than asked "hum... do you know anyone who can give you one?" She than looked up and saw Micheal and asked "Micheal will you give me a blessing?" He quickly responded yes he would love too. Since we needed another priesthood holder we decided to schedule the blessing for Sunday afternoon right after the first conference session. Sister Powell and I then said that we would love to come and watch Conference with her, so she invited us to come over in the morning.
I know I can look at these experiences with my bike and say man I am just really getting picked on or have really bad luck. But I like to think there were many miracles that came from these two difficult bikes. First I learned that the people in this area love me and would do all they can to help me. I felt so loved when ever they would offer help or there bikes. Second I know that I was protected the entire time on both of those bikes. When they broke down I was by someone that was ready and willing to help me. (MIRACLE) And Lastly I know that having these bike challenges have brought my companion and I closer together. We now have something to constantly laugh about. Sister Powell started realizing the troubles I was having and started slowing down to check on me during the rides which really meant a lot to me. So to me I was supposed to go through this trial. It may seem funny but I know that it has helped me so much. My Heavenly Father was just answering my prayers in a creative way.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Letter #2 & #3 from Sister Tiffany Johnson
From:
Tiffany
Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net>
Subject:
Re:
first email:)Date: September 17, 2013 2:51:32 PM PDT
To:
Scott
Johnson <Scott4599@sbcglobal.net>
I am in ROSEVILLE!!!! I woke up at 2:30am (only sleeping 2hours) and board
the train to Salt Lake City. When I was boarding the plan I realized that my
seat was not going to be by anyone I knew. So I thought to myself, this is a
defining moment. Am I going to hold my head up high and say I am a missionary
for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints or am I going to hide my
testimony because of fear and say nothing. Then the words of my MTC teacher came
to my mind (Brother Starkie) he said " when ever I fly I sit in the middle to I
have two opportunities to share this gospel. This is what the Lord wants me to
do." I know that this is what the lord wants me to do. My name is no longer
Tiffany it is Sister Johnson. I am a disciple of Christ and I am going to share
his gospel. Right after I made up my mind that I was going to talk to whomever
sat next to me a large man who looks exactly like Uncle John sat down beside
me. Since I was sitting next to a window I knew this man was going to be the
lucky man I was going to talk to for the next hour and a half. I took a deep
deep breathe and tried to hide my fears. I didn't even have to start the
conversation he turned to me and said "I promise I don't bite." So I looked him
straight in the eye and said "even if you did I am not afraid. I have been
bitten by students in the past and am still living." That sparked the
conversation or should I say him just talking to me haha. He just talked and
talked about how he was a teacher and how hard it was. He also taught some
students with autism. Then he started saying things that would normally scare
me. He talked about how he is very educated and loves to read books. He was very
philosophical and said he never loses an argument. Instead of getting scared I
just responded by saying its a good thing I am not hear to argue anything with
you. He than asked me a question that at first I didn't know how to answer. He
asked what would you teach me? I prayed and thought hum.. I didn't know what but
I just went with my heart. I just said I would teach you that God loves you and
that he has a purpose for you. He then opened up to me saying that he is bipolar
and has thoughts of suicide often. He even shared with me how he would take his
life. But I couldn't hear it anymore and I just said don't. I explained that my
heart would break if he did and so would his daughters. He than said I have to
show you what keeps me from stopping myself. He showed me a picture of is
daughter laughing and dancing with her friends. I chocked back the tears and
said "That is worth living for to me". He than asked " I can't figure it out why
are Mormon's more successful than everyone else." I then taught that it was
because we live life in a positive outlook. We know our purpose and love our
families. We would do all that we can for them but understand spending time with
them is the best things we can do for them. He said that he agreed, he loved how
important families are to the church. We talked about this a little more until I
found out why he was going to California. It turns out that his wife's aunt has
cancer and needs help but the most touching thing about this is she is a mormon.
He knew about the Book of Mormon and said that he was planning on reading it to
her if she asked. I pray that she not only asks but begs him to read it to her.
He than pulled out a note pad and I thought he was wanting to end the
conversation. But I wanted to talk to him so much more about the church and give
him a pass along card. So I kept asking him questions just trying to find the
time to give him the card. Then I said can I give you something. He looked at me
and said Sister Johnson I pulled this note pad out a while ago because I want
your contact information. I want to check up on you and hear about the work you
are doing. I was so shocked and filled with joy. We exchange information and I
then slipped in mormon.org and that he can show his aunt amazing
mormon messages videos online. I promised him they would make her and him happy.
I love the note he left me. It is now a constant reminder that the lord does
know me and puts people in my life for a reason. I pray that John and I keep in
touch that he will understand his purpose and know of gods love. I will keep you
posted on the progress of this story because I know its not the end. My
president said that I have to write him and I get to decided when to send
missionaries to him. But heres the funny part of the story the man told me his
name as we were walking away. Any guesses???? Well his name is John I just
laughed and said of coarse it is. I know that I wasn't afraid of him because to
me it was like talking to Uncle John.
I love this Gospel and I love my Mission president. I am
Home.
Sister Johnson
From:
Tiffany
Johnson <tiffanyj@myldsmail.net>
Subject:
Re: bike
etc.
Date:
September
30, 2013 11:38:08 AM PDT
To:
Scott
Johnson <Scott4599@sbcglobal.net>
Hello Family and Friends,
I have completed another week in the
field. It was over all a good week. Will riding around after our appointments
had canceled we felt like visiting a few people on our less active list that we
had never met. So we road across town as fast a possible because it was already
8pm. The first home we got to was Sister Berger, she answered the door and was
so excited to see that it was not only missionaries but sister missionaries. She
said she had to go to bed but wants to visit with us this week. So we exchanged
numbers and have plans to see her in a few days. We had time for one more home
so we skimmed through the list and saw the name Brother Ryan. So we went to his
home, non of the lights were on but we decided to knock anyways. After minutes
of waiting we thought well they must be asleep so we started to walk away. Then
the door slowly opened and we saw Brother Ryan a 76 year old man. We were so
excited we spit out who we were and looked to his face to see his reaction. In
response he said "I have been thinking its about time to go back to church". So
he invites us in. He said that he was about to go to bed when he heard our
knocks and thought it was worth answering. Then he went on to explain that he
was born and raised in Utah. But when he was fourteen he moved to California
with his Dad when his parents got divorced. They didn't know where the church
was so they just never went. That was the last time he had been to church. He
also explained that his wife passed away last year and now he is living with his
daughter and her family. He explained that when these things happen you start
realizing the things that are really important. So we said you are so right and
we committed him to coming to church with us on Sunday.
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