February 10, 2014
Dear Family and Friends,
A few things about Memphis....
It snowed for the first time this winter... I forgot what snow looked like.
Only in Memphis do people parallel park on their front lawn between 2 trees when their driveway is completely empty.
I am getting transferred.... I heard to Arkansas. Pretty sad. I
have grown to love the people here and they have become my family out
here. I have spent about half of my mission in this little branch and I
am very sad to leave. But like I promised the Lord when I decided to
serve a mission, I will go where the Lord wants me to go.... even if
that includes going across the Mississippi river back to Arkansas.
Memphis... one of the most interesting places I have ever been to in my
life but I absolutely love it!
The zuccheros are getting sealed in the temple this Friday on
Valentines day and I am begging President to let me go especially since
Both Hermana and Hermano Zucchero asked me to be at the temple with
them. Nothing like seeing your ward mission leader get sealed to his
family. It probably would be one of the most amazing experiences to see
that. Sooo hopefully President Petersen will say yes.
I am so sad to be leaving but I am so excited at the same time. I
opened the Bartlett area for spanish sisters and I have been here for
half my mission. We have found so many amazing people and brought so
many less actives back to church. I have met some of the most amazing
people here in Memphis/Bartlett and I am very sad to leave but I know I
will continue to meet amazing people wherever I get sent.
We saw a lot
of opposition this week but we didn't let that stop us and we saw a lot
of success. We were told by people we are not good missionaries and are
unable to help others feel the spirit. This could have been very
discouraging but later that week we had a prompting to talk to this
lady. She had come outside of the apartment complex and I felt prompted
to talk to her and give her a pamphlet. We turned around and I
introduced myself and she instantly recognized we were missionaries. She
told us how her family was arguing and she was sitting on the steps
just not knowing what to do and she felt like she needed to come
outside. When she did we talked to her and gave her that pamphlet and it
just so happened that her father had jsut recently passed away and we
told her exactly what she needed to hear. She chucked her lit cigarette
into the bushes which I'm pretty sure could have set it on fire. We
prayed with her and she told us she wants us to come back and keep
meeting with her. She told us that what we are sharing is exactly what
she needs in her life right now. If we let what the person said get to
us and thought that we are incapable of helping people feel the spirit
we wouldn't have met Kimberly. Obviously we are doing are job and if we
were incapable of helping others feel the spirit we wouldn't have had so
much success this week. I am not boasting of our abilities as
missionaries. It is infact all the Lord's doing, we have effectively
become instruments in the Lord's hands and he is putting people in our
path.
I KNOW this work is amazing. I have learned this week that when we
help people get on that path or do the necessary ordinances for those
who can't do it themselves that they will one day be kissing our feet
and praising our name. I don't want all that recognition. I will be
perfectly content with just knowing that I was an instrument in the
Lord's hands in helping them receive that saving ordinance. I KNOW this
is the lords work and I am happy to be performing the Lord's work.
Love,
~Hermana Larissa Johnson