February 3, 2014
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been pretty crazy. My companion still is a firehazard
and one morning... (It always happens in the mornings, maybe she needs
to be supervised when she uses the stove) I was getting ready and I
hear... hermana you better come in here I am about to start a fire. I
come in and there is paper stuck in the burner and it is smoking... I
had to quickly get it out before it caught on fire... I find it very
amusing. I don't think she does though.
So some of my investigators
Monica and Aaron call me Lori. We asked them to read a scripture and
handed them our scriptures to read it and they saw our names on the
front of our scriptures and now they will only call us Brinny and Lori
(I guess Brittny and Larissa are too hard for hispanics to say). Anyways
we told them we go by hermana but they don't get it. So my mission has
flown by and I am coming up on my half way mark this next transfer. It
is very bittersweet. It is started to really fly by. Each day goes by
pretty slowly but the weeks, months, and transfers fly by and before you
know youre half way done. We were on bike week this week and Hermana
Millington was having bike problems so we had the elders come and bring
us a bike pump and ultimately 5 elders later and our bike finally got
fixed... after Hermana Millington broke the bike pump. We had an
investigator do something pretty interesting. We go to shake hands with
him and he kissed our hand... kind of like in a disney movie. I was
shocked!!! Never expected that to happen on my mission... he didn't mean
anything by it... it's just southern respect... we gave him to the
elders.
I went on Exchanges with the english sisters and I went to
Hernando Mississippi. A member took us to "the dip" or velvet cream...
this famous ice cream place after the fireside with L. Tom Perry.
Exchanges were awesome we talked to every single person we saw and we
talked to some guys that looked like they were in a gang but they were
very respectful and they came to church. I honestly think we need to not
judge people. They looked super scary but the Lord hard prepared them
to meet us and we gave them a book of mormon. I got to use my spanish
skills and we talked to some hispanics and I taught the whole lesson by
myself and they were pretty impressed with my spanish... I think the
sisters are going to have to take a spanish speaking member with them
because I had to go back to my area and now here they are stuck with a
spanish investigator.
We went to the chiropractor a little bit ago and
on the way there we saw all these crosses on the side of the road and we
were wondering what they were so we read the sign as we drove by and
each of the crosses was for each of the abortions that had taken place
in Shelby county... This month alone in shelby county there were 668
abortions. 668 precious souls denied a body and a family and a home
because of the selfishness of their parents... I'm not saying this is
always the case but it still made me really sick to my stomach. Then my
companion was talking about what they do when they perform abortions and
most the time they just take the baby out and leave the baby in a bowl
to die.... talk about inhumane and people see this as something
acceptable.
Anyways on to something more on a happy note. We got to
Listen to L. Tom Perry speak and 5 other members of the 70. One of the
most inspiring meetings I have been to. It was centered on hastening the
work of salvation and all the ward councils in the memphis area and the
full time missionaries were invited. It was broadcast to all of the
south and I was lucky enough to be in the same room to hear him speak.
L. Tom Perry started out with reading D&C 88:73. which says I the
lord will hasten the work in its time. He looks back at us and says....
it is time and the Lord has been hastening his work. He then talked
about how the age change that missionaries can serve is as great
revelation as the restoration of the church. If it is as great as the
restoration than why are people not heeding the counsel of the prophet
and the apostles when they ask the missionaries to work harder, and the
members to pray for their own opportunities to share the gospel rather
than just praying for the missionaries to find people to teach.
He kept
saying over and over again NOW IS THE TIME. He said to feel the urgency
in the work... do you really want your loved ones, and friends, and
neighbors to be denied those blessings because you wouldn't open your
mouth and share a simple testimony or give them a book or mormon or
invite them to church. He said these things with such power I knew that
even as a missionary I can and need to do better. He said the ward
council needs to be examples of the believers.
We need to realize what
has happened... with the missionaries being able to use the internet the
whole world has been opened to missionary work... we know longer have
to wait for China to opened to the missionaries in order for Christ to
return to the earth again. He is coming and everything is happening so
quickly people don't even realize what is happening. He begged us to
have every member be a missionary. Unless you do it it will not happen.
He had all the missionaries stand up and told all the ward councils
that the missionaries are not being fully utilized to our full
potential. He told us to know the families and the names of the people.
He said to take more time alone to meditate with the lord. He said it
with such power and devotion I know that people just skim over their
scriptures and do things half heartedly rather than taking the time to
receive revelation from the Lord. Make people feel welcome in the
ward... greet them at the door, sit with them, ask them about
themselves, make them feel welcome and let them know that you want them
there. Show them the love that Christ would show them if his one lost
sheep was starting to come back. We can find a million excuses not to do
it we just have to find the one reason to do it. With less actives...
go and meet with them... ask them why they ever joined the church? This
will trigger the feelings they felt when they were taught and decided to
be baptized. Then simply ask them if they would like to have those
feelings again and invite them to church or to meet with the
missionaries or invite them to an FHE in your home. They WILL remember
the spirit they felt and who doesn't want those feelings again?? People
come to church because of what they feel and people stay because of what
they continue to feel.
The book of mormon musical is coming to Memphis
and people asked L. Tom Perry what to do to prepare for that and all the
opposition which we will get. There is already a ton of opposition here
in Memphis especially with Bellevue baptist church which is probably
the biggest antimormon church in all of america. If you don't believe me
just ask any mormon that lives in Memphis. He just said if anything
people will be more interested about the book of mormon and when the
missionaries and members testify of the book of mormon we will convert a
lot of people. When that musical was playing on broadway the marriot
hotels couldn't keep enough book of mormons in their hotel rooms because
everyone was curious about the book of mormon. Maybe not for the right
reasons but it is a perfect opportunity to testify of the truth of it.
It was an amazing fireside and I KNOW that the Lord is hastening the
work... the final push and the apostles keep reminding everyone to do
missionary work... not just the missionaries.
I am so blessed to get to
be a part of the missionary work in these last days and I am so glad to
get to share the gospel and bring people that salvation. I have felt so
much joy bringing these souls closer to Christ. I haven't baptized as
much as anyone else but I am planting a lot of seeds and testifying to
everyone that I meet in hopes that I might be the means of saving one
soul. And like the scriptures say and if you bring one soul to me how
great will be your joy if you bring many souls unto me. I KNOW that this
church is true. I KNOW that Christ lives and will shortly be coming to
the earth. How great will be that day when he returns and you can tell
him that you brought one soul closer to him and imagine how much joy you
will feel to know that that simple testimony you shared with someone
led to their salvation.... how great will be your joy. I love you all
and I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
~Hermana Larissa Johnson