August 27, 2013
Dear Family and Friends,
Humberto got baptized!! There were some bumps along the way but he did it!!! We all went and celebrated after. Terri, my first investigator is in the hospital and her husband Daryl says she doesn't
have much longer. We with with her the night before we called him to check up on her and you could just tell she isn't going to make it through this round of chemo. When the elders gave her a blessing I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. Everyone was tearing up, even the elders. I know that she was sent the missionaries right when she needed them. I know that it wasn't a coincidence that she knew she was going to die and was looking for religion and then the missionaries walk by. It is so hard to see the people you care about go through hard times. I think it is one of the hardest and most
frustrating things about serving a mission.
We got a new investigator named Miss Mackie and she is AMAZING. She actually asked us if we could help her quit smoking. She likes our lessons because it is like a bible study and she knows exactly what she needs to read and do to improve her life. I have developed a strong love for the people here and I am so sad to leave and just hand over our progressing investigators to the Elders.
I have been in Olive Branch and Memphis for one transfer and they are closing that area for sisters because the english ward we are in isn't the friendliest and won't use the missionaries they have been
given but oh well. I have been a zebra (half english, half spanish) but I am getting transferred to Bartlett, TN where I will be full spanish. :( I'm so nervous because my companion Hermana Smith is going to be leaving for Argentina soon and I will be expected to understand and speak to our investigators in full spanish. I am freaking out!!! I don't really understand what people say in spanish but I can pick out a few words but I don't understand the overall concept of what they are saying. My spanish is slowly coming but I am reading in the spanish BOM every night and that seems to help. Hopefully President Hinckley's promise comes true and I will know full spanish by the time I finish reading the BOM.
My district is awesome, we all speak spanish and all of the cool people are getting transferred out. I am getting transferred on Wednesday but I will let you know what my new address is when I get it. It is so hard closing an area and leaving everyone behind. It's also going to be hard opening an area and the Lord knows its gonna be rough for me so he specifically put things in my path to help me out. I am going to be living with a member and she is fluent in spanish so she will definitely help me with the language and she is so great with helping us with missionary work so we will have a lot of member present lessons. Also he gave me Hermana Smith as one of my 2 companions I will be training. She can speak and understand spanish so that will help until I can catch on. Also some of the elders in my district served there and they gave us a bunch of referrals of people to contact and members to get to come teach with us. THat definitely has helped us with opening a new area. Also this week we have 2 dinners with members in that area already so it will be pretty good.
I know sometimes it feels like we are serving this mission alone but I assure you that we aren't alone! Christ is with us every step of the way. He puts little things like those referrals or a spanish speaker, in our path to help us out. I was previously relying solely on my abilities rather than relying on the Lord and it was extremely difficult now it has gotten so much easier. When we do all we can do and trust in the Lord he literally picks up our heavy burdens and helps us out. We are not alone. When we rely on the Lord we can do anything! Hope to hear from you all soon.
Love,
Hermana Larissa Johnson