Final Days in El Paso Pics

These are the few families I actually got to say goodbye to. The one with the 4 kids is the Perez family. They are the less actives that we almost baptized and then found out that they were already members. They are my literal siblings. It was SO SAD to say goodbye.

One of the pics is a big family...that's the Vargas'. BEST FAMILY EVER. The little boy reminds me of Molly and Burke a little. I love him so much. He cried so much when I left and was so embarassed. He just hid behind his snap back :(

Then we got Angelo and Milana (the baby) angel and myra's kids. THey are gonna be great future missionaries!!!

Estoy en las Montanas!

I LOVE IT HERE IN SANTA FE!!!!! I don't have a ton of time, but I'll update you all with what I can.

People trash the north part of the mission so bad. They say it is impossible to baptize and all this stuff but I think that is a myth. We already found 9 new investigators this week! 

My new companions are AWESOME!!! Hermana Martin (the blonde one) is going home at the end of the transfer and Hermana Wallis has only been out one transfer! They are both so fun. 

Things I love about Santa Fe

-We are in the mountains

-SO many horses

-They recycle things

-Paper bags at the store

-Everybody lives in trailer parks (perfect for finding)

-We have an amazing branch president

-My companions love to RUN!!!!

-Most of our investigators are either always super high or deal drugs to get other people super high. Highly entertaining....but I now commit people at the end of lessons to be sober for the next time we come back. lol

The branch we are working in is so cool. They used to have about 100 active members and then they got a new branch president about 4 years ago. People got so offended by him that the branch got down to a total of 3 active adult members. INSANE. So this new president got called and the task is to reactivate and rebuild. We had 30 at church this week....including us....but the work is coming! I am so excited to see how much progress we can make! 

Saying goodbye to my El Paso family was SO SO sad. I basically just had to slip out of there without saying goodbye to anyone from church because transfers were so weird. Apparently at church everyone was asking what happened which straight up breaks my heart. I wish so badly that I could have said goodbye!

Last monday night Angel and Mayra asked us to come see their new home. We had dinner with them and their member cousins (who referred them). We basically went over their whole conversion and we were laughing our heads off about how uninterested they were at first. And then we talked about how quickly they turned around and now they are such faithful, active members. Angel and Mayra both bore their testimonies and thanked us way too much. It was such a special/rewarding moment for me as a missionary, but the truth is it was ALL Heavenly Father. We deserve zero credit for anything.  The gospel truly made all of their dreams come true. They are a happy FAMILY now! They never thought they would get that! And in less than a year their family will be sealed for all eternity. 

Saying goodbye to them was SO HARD. Mayra and Angel stood in the door hugging and crying and waving. I got in Blancas car and LOST IT. Worse than any break up for sure. I felt like my parents were sending me off to college x100. They stood in the door way until we were completley out of sight! it was a little dramatic haha. Then we drove off and Blanca quickly turned our tears to tears of laughter. She was like, "all of my friends are worried that i'm going to start polygamy and I told them that's only the mormons that WANT to. Plus the sister wives are mormon and famous and now i'm part of that!"

We were like "NOOOOOO WE DON'T DO POLYGAMY!!" hahahahhahaha i can't believe she got baptised thinking that we were polygamists lolololol. She said "well the spirit told me it was true so I just figured whatever weird things you do must be true too."  HAHA such a great lady. 

Then the next day I said goodbye to Ruben. Bless his heart...he is kindof active still but Nephi killing Laban really tested his testimony. Then we went to Pablo's and he gave me some pretty flowers and we all just cried alot. Then saying goodbye to Hermana Garcia was really really tough. She is my little greenie! We worked SO hard together. There is nothing like stretching yourself together to bring a companionship together. 

Man, I'm gonna miss El Paso. I learned SO MUCH in my time there. It is hard to put my experiences into words. We saw so many miracles. I learned that with faith in Jesus Christ, anything is possible. We saw faith change lives, heal relationships, cure depression, bring lasting peace, change hearts, fix addictions....i've even seen it cure cancer. It wasn't all easy, but it was worth it. 

I am going to miss those people so much. And i will definitely miss my cat and my bike....but Santa Fe has so much potential and I couldn't be happier to be here!

Have an amazing week!!!

-Hermana Johnson

Let me go. Far away. SANTA FE!

Email:

susannah.johnson@myldsmail.net 

New Address: 

6429 S. Meadows Rd. #1611

Santa Fe, NM

87507

Well I guess my time in Montwood is over. I spent a third of my mission in this awesome ward and I will never forget it!!!

So at the beginning of the week I was in a slump. Practically all of our recent converts moved out of the ward, all of our progressing investigators dropped us (one the DAY before his baptism). It was so sad and I felt like Montwood is starting from scratch! It was pretty much my bad attitude. So I prayed a lot, read more than half of the Book of Mormon, and payed SUPER close attention to conference. Then on Saturday night I found out that my mission in Montwood is over and I'm getting shipped alllllll the way to Santa Fe. I'm not totally sad and not totally happy...just a big mix of both of them. 

Because there wasn't church we went to the chapel to watch conference. Hna Garcia called everyone and told them I was leaving so a bunch of people came to say bye! It was so sweet. My heart felt so full! I would say that was one of the most rewarding moments of my mission. 

Pablo came to say bye. He was SO sad. TOO sad. He probably thinks we will never see each other again...and he might be right. But there is always the next life and he will find a lot of comfort in that. 

I didn't get to watch the second session of conference on Sunday because one of my best YSA friends showed up and needed advice. I slipped oiiut of the conference room and we talked in the lobby for a while. Honestly, the most rewarding moments of my missions have been helping the youth and YSA. We have seen people get outside themselves, search for testimonies, and we have even walked some right into the bishops office. It makes me realize that there are a lot of people who are in need, and it just takes one person to rescue them. I didn't need to be a missionary to learn that. I could have been a rescuer my whole life but I chose to focus on myself and seek rescuing. Learn from my mistakes and go out there and rescue someone! Doesn't matter if you get along, if you are the same age, if you have the same interests, if its cool, or if you have to give something up. If there are souls on the line, go out and get them. As was said in conference, "those who are hardest to love need the most love."

We sat around in the church with a whole group of us from the ward and talked and laughed for a while. Then we got on the bikes one last time and went to say goodbye to some members. Really I was just mourning my bike. I love that thing. I love the palm trees. I love riding with no hands. I love biking in 30mph winds and yelling for my companion to get behind me so I can block the rocks and trash (lol those times are fun LOOKING BACK...not in the moment). Then on the ride back I was mourning the members. My comp had never seen my cry and her trying to cheer me up made me laugh so hard. Something we do riding back every night...well that I do...is whistle a Poor Way Fairing Man of Grief. And last night she goes "Can you whistle all 7 verses?" HAHA so dorky...but so funny....and you better  believe i did it. 

Today we have dinner with all of our converts, the councilors in our ward, dessert with my favorite members, and visits to all the less actives. It's going to be crazy, but I'm excited!

When I got the news I fell asleep  wondering how I am going to leave all these awesome people and start over in a place with little spanish and in a trio. I opened my scriptures and this is what I read:

"O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God." -Mormon 9: 27-28

I feel like this applies to just about every situation, especially when we can't understand the plan perfectly. But as long as we believe and put forth the work the Lord will make our futures bright!

Have an awesome week! And welcome to the world tiny horse!!! I can not wait to meet that cutie!

Hermana  Jo

xoxox

"bye el paso"

"bye el paso"

"taco trucks and sun in my eyes"

"The great Pablo"

"Mis Hermanas"

"Helmet Hair"

"Dental Arc"

"When you force the district to go to IHOP with you"

YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN SALVATION? cool.

Hi everyone!! We had a great week this week! First...something dumb/funny I did. I was leading the music at church and could see the deacons waiting to pass the sacrament. They were all on their phones! They were all, but one, smart enough to put them away right before the sacrament started. When I passed them to go to my seat the sacrament prayer was about to start and one was still texting...so as i walked by I flicked him in the head. HAHA i think I scared him good. 

We watched the General Women's Session (SHOUT OUT TO KATIE FOR BEING ON SCREEN) at Mayra's (RC) house. Right before her niece texted to see if Mayra could do her hair for a party. Mayra was a little annoyed but said yes. Then during the conference one of the speakers talked about how sometimes little acts of service, like brushing someones hair, can bring holiness. Mayra was sitting RIGHT THERE brushing her nieces hair. Afterward Mayra told us that it struck her so hard and that she wants to be more holy. Then Angel comes in the door. He was supposed to be getting us snacks but he came back to tell us that he saw someone who's car broke down so he helped them. Then he ran into the elders who were racing home for something so he put their bikes in the truck and drove them home. He couldn't WAIT to come and tell us about his service. I have never seen him look so HAPPY. We were so proud of him!

We have been focusing a ton on families. Teaching a family is just TOO GOOD, so we are looking for more. We have been using this approach where we meet a mom or something and we tell them that we are out here trying to teach people about how Jesus can unite their family. Ususally that alone gets a return appointment! If they aren't interested we offer to do a FHE which has worked every time. And if they don't have a family we teach them about family history so they can find their family. It has been AWESOME. 

I decided to try out a new door technique this week. It might be a little too manipulative, but so far it is working. When people open the door and immediately say "Sorry we aren't interested" I say, acting really confused, "Not interested in what?" Then they get confused and say something like "What you are doing." And then I say "Wait, have you met us before? How did you know what we do?" And then they say "No....i'm just not interested." and then I say "in what?" and then they get awkward because they realize they have no idea....and then I act confused. Then I say "Well that makes sense if we haven't met, cause if you knew why we were here you would be VERY interested." I did it a couple times and it worked! People open right up and ask us what we are doing and we have great conversations. Plus it's funny....I'll keep you posted on if it is effective or not. 

Finally, stay tuned THIS FRIDAY for the new Easter Initiative to launch! The church made an AWESOME video that we got to see! It is so beautiful! Can you imagine if all 16 million members shared the video this friday? And if each of us referred a friend who liked the video to the missionaries? That probably wont happen...unless the members GET ON IT! I promise that if  you take advantage of this opportunities you could be part of a MIRACLE! Lets invite EVERYONE to learn about Jesus! #PrinceOfPeace

We are so excited about General Conference. We want to bike around the neighborhoods yelling "THE PROPHET IS SPEAKING" haha. Don't worry we won't. Hope you have a great week! xo

Hermana Johnson

"Our gps broke so we are rocking the paper maps now"

Exchanges 

THE WEDDING

This week was AWESOME! I'm gonna skip right to the highlight:THE WEDDING.

So we have been teaching Angel and Mayra for about a month. The first time we met Mayra she was not down to listen. Actually her 3 year old invited us in...and she tried to say no but we listened to the 3 year old and walked in! She told her mom when we left "Mom don't keep inviting them back. they are gonna make you quit coffee and who knows what else!"

But pretty soon Mayra felt the spirit so strong that by the end of the week she had quit her coffee addiction and her and her AWESOME husband had a baptismal date.

They are the coolest family. Their little kid Angelo always calls me "Johnson" or "Mr. Johnson". HAHA this kid is the funniest human alive. Every time he sees us he gives us a fist bump and says "Whats up dude!" 

We have been at their house almost every day for the past month. We have gotten to know them so well. They have crazy pasts. He was a big time DJ/Dancer...and she was a party girl. And they never got married cause they never had money to do something fancy. Partying was wrecking their relationship and jobs and everything like that. So once they understood the gospel it was pretty clear the living the commandments would solve their problems. 

We were planning their baptism one day and we started teaching about being sealed in the temple. Angel says "That's perfect, in one year we can finally be married!" I was like YOU AREN'T MARRIED?! 

haha. SO we taught the law of chastity and they told us they can't get married because all of their finances and insurrance for their kids. They said it would cost thousands of dollars to change to a legal marriage. yikes. 

Within two days they decided that it doesn't matter. If God wants married couples then they would get married ASAP no matter the cost. Their faith is INSANE. 

So we planned the wedding! Pablo brought all the decorations, we set up ALLLLLL DAY, the family and some members did food...it was awesome. And Mayra was BLOWN AWAY. She said she has never been so happy in her whole life. 

The ceremony was PERFECT. The bishop did the ring exchange, I sang I Stand All Amazed, and then there were a few talks. They looked SO HAPPY. Then they got baptized in front of like 40 non member family members. After we had toasts, dinner, and the family danced for hours. It was so funny and fun. Everyone was line dancing and swinging each other around...mean while us and the elders were just awkwardly watching haha. Everyone kept coming up to us and telling us to marry Mexicans so we can have a wedding like this.

I just couldn't be more honored and happy to know Mayra and Angel. My heart was SO FULL. Their whole life changed over night. They both can't wait to be able to serve in their church and for their two kids to serve missions. In my toast I talked about how they are going to be together forever and it hit me so hard that IT'S TRUE. They are on the road to the Celestial Kingdom! And they are going as a FAMILY! I couldn't have been happier in that moment. 

Well, That's the week! We found 6 new people to teach in the last week, so hopefully we get the ball rolling with a few of these awesome new families!a

6 MONTHS

Sorry to my missionary friends....this is long and just a gospel rant. Maybe just skip to the pics lol

Wow, can I just say that serving a mission is the BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE? I often think about who I was before my mission and give thanks that Heavenly Father saved me and brought me to El Paso. People write me all the time and ask for advice on whether or not they should go on a mission and for me, the answer is YES. We can try to pick our own paths, fill our lives with things that seem good (which I was so guilty of), but if you give it all to the Lord for just a few short months you would be so surprised at how much better His plans are. His plans are filled with HAPPINESS and JOY and PURPOSE!!! I don't even think I knew how much he LOVES his children until now! And if you aren't at the age to serve a mission, that's okay you can put your trust in God and have the same incredible happiness. Make sacrifices, keep the commandments, do His will, pray to him always, study His words, serve those around you. Then you will find that He takes your dreams and makes them 10x better. Every thing you have ever wanted goes away cause you know that everything He wants for you is beyond your wildest dreams. 

Someone in our ward shared this with me: A mission is like walking through a field of roses for 18-24 months. It is really scratchy, sometimes its even painful. You might be crying and cringing. Your legs are bleeding, your eyes are watering, and sometimes you just want to get out. Then when you are out of the field you look back and all you see is a beautiful ocean of roses. The thorns are completely forgotten and all you can talk about is that beautiful field of roses you spent so much time in. 

There are definitely hard times on a mission. But at the end of a hard day you learn the most valuable lessons. I have learned that Heavenly Father loves me. How many times do we say that and think we know what it means? It's not until I got out here, and the only person who is taking care of me is God, that I actually realized that He LOVES ME. He love ME. I am the worst! I've messed up, I've complained, I'm lazy, I've been rude to people, I've made mistakes, I've bailed on people, I've told lies.... and the supreme ruler over the whole universe personally loves ME. 

If you don't know how much love He has for you, I would recommend doing all it takes to find out. Cause once you know you will never be the same. 

There is a sure way to feel His love, and it actually is not a mission. For me, a mission just helped me realize, but this formula applies to anyone. Ready? 

The Formula:

Faith + Repent + Covenant 

That right there is the Doctrine of Christ. It is the Atonement!  I have seen those three steps change lives over night. I know it saved me from taking a completely different road, and I know it can save anyone who is willing to really apply it. 

Here are some solid scriptures that are all about the doctrine of Christ, and there are so many more than just these. 

"Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll? Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest his shall come out in justice against you." -Mormon 5:23-24

"And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name. And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits." -Heleman 14: 12-13

In Alma 22:15 Lamoni's father, a king, asks Aaron (a super awesome missionary who went through a crazy repentance process) what he should do to have eternal life and joy in this life. Aaron says in 16, "If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest."

Some people think that repentance is a bad thing. That if they repent that they will just be trapped in shame and guilt. But it is just the opposite! Repentance is the best feeling in the world! You can do it every day! There are so many people in the Book of Mormon (Enos 1, Alma 36, 2 Nephi 4) who had to repent. Most of the stories are of people repenting from serious stuff, but because they repent God makes them into WARRIORS and PROPHETS and SEERS and MIRACLE WORKERS. And guess what, the moment we get on our knees, give up a bad habit, walk into the bishops office, pick up our scriptures again... those prophets, seers, and warriors  are right there with us. Guess who else is right there with you? Jesus Christ. He's been there, he's felt what you feel, and he's just been desperately waiting to chose to make the change and come to Him. Just believe that He is waiting to take you into His arms, and He will. 

"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." 3 nephi 9:14

Then the last step is covenant. That is baptism, taking the sacrament, going to the temple, personal promises (like the Anti-Lehi-Nephis). That's why the people we meet who have faith and repent, practically beg to be baptized! How cool is it to make a promise with God. He is the best person to make a promise with because we promise to keep the commandments and in return he gives us HAPPINESS, PEACE, JOY, and ETERNAL LIFE. That's not even a fair trade for Him! But it works, I've seen it and I've experienced it. 

Wow, this next year is going to be so incredible. I can't believe time is flying so quickly! I wish it would slow down. Thank you for all of the support, and for all those who pushed me to get out here! I am so in debt to all of you! THANK YOU!

Hermana Johnson xoxoxoxox

Baptisms, Birthday, Blessin's

We started out the week without a car so we had to bike everywhere. The problem was that El Paso was having a crazy sand-storm, and we had a baptism to get to and our church is way far out of our area. Well, it wasn't really a problem...just a set back. I just threw all of the food and baptism stuff in my backpack and put everything that didn't fit in plastic bags on my handle bars. It was cool until the sand blasts ripped the bag open! I wish someone could have seen us biking up hill, one handed, in the wind with a bunch of white clothes in my arms haha!

Jose and Blanca

The baptism was SO BEAUTIFUL. Jose had fasted all day to be ready, and Blanca has been waiting for the day that she could be clean since we first went to her house. They were so nervous and excited. Blanca wore her heels all the way to the font haha. Then when she got baptized she came out of the font, with tears running down her cheecks, and gave me the biggest hug. Then Jose got dunked! He said he felt at peace for the first time. It was such a beautiful experience. All of their non-member family was their to support them and afterward Jose told me that it was the anniversary of his mother's death and that he knows she was there. 

Holy cow I'm running low on time. I'm probably just going to send like 25 photos and let you look through those haha. 

Joel

Joel's baptism was so so great! When he went into the water he yelled "DANG THIS IS COLD!" it was so funny. We took a bunch of flexing pics because pretty much all he does is flexes and talks about his muscles. We thought we would play along. 

20!

My birthday was INSANE. Thank you to everyone who did something!!!! It was such an awesome day! Nora (one of our members) did a cake and a bunch of Mexican traditions for me. Our investigator Myra gave me a locket with a note from her inside and the sweetest letter in the world. Joel gave me a present that was kinda flirty so we actually have to pass him off to the elders now (he sprayed the card with cologne hahahahha) and I came home to the COOLEST presents from the COOLEST family. My zone leaders even tried to get me a present! They called Hna Garcia and asked her what my favorite drink was and she was like....ummm water? So they got me a case of water HAHA.  It really was one of my favorite days of my whole mission!!! I felt so loved through the simplest tiniest things. 

The Temple

We got to go to the temple yesterday!!!! SO incredible. I missed the temple a ton. It is such a beautiful place. It makes me so excited to go with Mayra, Angel, Joel, Blanca, Jose, and Pablo. I can't wait for them to go in for themselves!!! We are already planning a road trip to do baptisms with Jose and Blanca! They are so excited to baptize their parents and her brother. 

Man, the church is so true. In Alma it talks about how our joy will be so great if we just bring one soul to the fold of God. When we look at it through the eternal perspective, I can see why! Each soul has hundreds on the other side waiting for their work to be done. One convert could mean a whole family tree of converts who have already passed on! I know because I have felt it. I know that the angles that are "on our right and left bearing us up" are the family of the people we are teaching. I know it without a doubt. I have felt it! Mayra even told us the other day that she heard the voice of her daughter before she was born, and waaayyy before she knew us, saying "mom, we have to follow HIM and then we can be a family.". Now she knows what that means and her little baby is going to grow up with married, sealed parents. 

Well thank you again for all of the love. I have no idea how I got such great friends and family. I feel so humbled and blessed to have you all. Getting so spoiled on the 4th made me want to work 100x harder so that maybe I can deserve a FRACTION of all the love I have received. You people are AMAZING. I don't know what I would do without you. 

LOVE,

Hermana Johnson xoxoxox