Dear Friends and Family,
This week has been crazy and I just noticed that today I have
officially been gone for 2 months. It is crazy how fast the time has
flyed by! Attached is a funny picture of one of the church markees.
There a TON of churches here and whenever you ask someone what church
they go to, chances are you have never even heard of it. It is like Utah
where there is a church on every corner except 99% of the churches
aren't LDS ones. There are so many bunnies, frogs, and creatures here I
feel like I am in a disney movie whenever I go outside. I ate a cabeza
(head) taco this week. I'm not sure what animal it was but it actually
wasn't bad. Our investigator and his 3 kids all came to church this week
and we challenging the dad to stop drinking and gave him a baptismal
date and we had him pray about it and in the middle of the pray he told
us that it feels right and he will be getting baptized on the 17th. We
are teaching pretty much every house on this street in Memphis and they
all speak spanish which is a bonus because I need to practice the
language. My companion Hermana Smith and I have a feeling like she is
going to get her Visa soon and then I will be on my own with the spanish
language. I have been panicking a little bit.
The first investigator we baptized, Terri (the one that has
cancer) just finished her first round of chemo and her neuropathy is
getting so bad. We went to visit her and I have never seen someone in so
much pain. I got the feeling she isn't going to be here much longer. We
had the Elders give her a blessing and I almost started crying because I
could feel how much Heavenly Father loves her and how he is so happy
she decided to get baptized.
Everyday there is some little miracle that happens. This one day
we were walking to save on miles and our appointment fell through and
so did the service we were going to do and we were walking in the 100
degree weather, humidity and all and it was ridiculously hot and after
about 10 minutes this lady pulls up and she said she saw us before and
recognized that I was carrying a bible and she told us she works at
chickfila and she is in charge of giving out free shakes to people she
sees that are making a difference in their community. She saw us before
and just happened to run into us again and happened to have 3 left....
there were three of us and she said she felt the urge to stop and give
them to us. She is not mormon but she was still able to recognize that
we are missionaries sent by the Lord to help make a difference. We
taught her the first lesson on the side of the road and went on our way.
Literally 2 minutes later another lady pulled over and offered us a
ride home. I know that this isn't some amazing miracle but it is little
things like that that make you realize that God really is watching over
us and does play a part in our lives. He played apart in Terri's life by
sending the missionaries to her neighborhood right when she was asking
to know which church to join. I know that that wasn't a coincidence and I
know that God has played a part in her life and he sent her the gospel
when she got diagnosed with cancer and has been fighting this battle.
God plays a huge role in our lives. God plays a role in my daily life.
He leads me to people that need to hear the gospel. He helps me feel
promptings so I am not deceived by those investigators who just want to
be baptized to have that clean slate feeling. He helps me become a
better missionary and has helped me with my spanish. I can recognize
more and speak so much more than I ever thought I could. I know that God
lives and he is constantly guiding me and I couldn't be the person I am
or have grown to be in the past 2 months with out him.
Love,
Hermana Larissa Johnson