Sister Hannah Johnson: Transfer 4, Week 3! :D Crazy!

This week has been pretty STINKIN GREAT!

Last Monday we went on a hike/walk with Sister Pearson and Sister Vickars and the other Sisters and saw some super cool Native American writings on rocks just above Lakepoint. Except for getting bit by bugs, it was a blast! I even found a Moses tree! (I’ll send a picture... how I put it is that Moses split the rock to get water in the desert and then put the burning bush inside :P haha) then we did some shopping really quickly and then pday activity, where we played blind volleyball with towels... aaaaand my towel ripped :P but it was old and raggy and I needed a new one anyways :) we had a great lesson with the V* that night, brother Chamberlain came and we talked a lot about faith at the end he got a really powerful blessing. It was great! They have some difficulties and many struggles, but they are trying to do their best and know this is something they need in their lives :)

Tuesday we tried to visit some people and among other things, thought we'd try to walk for part of that day because it was warm and we wanted to save miles. little did we know, that it was going to be near hurricane winds (possible exaggeration... but it was SUPER windy!) we almost got blown over quite a few times and we walked along this back road called lakeshore to the trailer park. By the time we got there, we decided we could visit one person and then we had to head back before it got a lot worse. So we did! We knocked on the door of a former and possibly convinced him to take the lessons again. A missionary who was here offended him a little bit but we think he'll give it another chance :) yay for the gospel! :) We were going to see K* but she was sick, so we took her some soup and herbal tea to make her feel better. I love helping! :) We had to borrow soup from the Sisters so when we got to their front door, to our SURPRISE, there was a snake right there in front of it! Super cool. Of course, being a snake I didn't recognize, I didn't dare touch it... although I was very tempted to pick it up... :) got a pic though! We had another lesson for G*, saw D* and ate dinner with their family, and saw D*. It was a good day :)

Wed we had lunch at the Chamberlains as usual and O* was there, which was great! As well as Abby (ward missionary) and B*. We had a lesson with G*, which was great! She said she's starting to gain a testimony, which is awesome! Because besides the parts of the Book of Mormon we have read with her... she had read 6 verses on her own! O.o haha she was looking up every single footnote that she could. She is just such a wonderful person! Then G* had his baptismal interview and we had dinner with N* (a LA we read with) and the Pearson’s. She is literally the SWEETEST lady you will ever meet, she just wants so bad to help and serve everybody :) we also had a lesson with O* that night and that went really well too! We taught the word of wisdom and she committed to live it. I think she is gaining a testimony, she just hasn't realized it yet. She does struggle to understand the Book of Mormon but one of the ward missionaries is going to go over and read with her every week to help her understand. We are also going to be starting up a scripture study class once a week for the stake, for anyone who wants help studying! We’re excited to start it up! :)

Thursday was literally a full day. We had appointments starting at noon at EVERY HOUR, and only two of them cancelled... but they were easy to fill! First we saw G*, then B* (RC who lives in the trailer park), then N*, then R*, then R*, then dinner, then T*, then B*! I may have missed someone too... I don’t know!

Fri was our district meeting and weekly planning, but Elder Holmes one of the ZL's was super sick, so we all made him get well soon cards :) he's from Gig Harbor, one of the MANY missionaries from WA :) haha we saw the Mc*s again and went to a ward activity and had a lesson for E*, His mom had us for dinner and made us real Mexican food... really good! Mom would be proud, I ate some salsa that was made of avocado, green tomato, and cilantro. That’s right, Sister Johnson tryin' new stuff! :P

Saturday was fantastically crazy! :P it started off really fun. It was pouring rain and we went to a community cleanup for the Benson Grist Mill across from the stake center. It’s a historical site that had lost its funding, so now the community is going to take care of it. We helped clean out cabins that were full of cool stuff like pelts, a stuffed fox (refer to video... ;) haha) salt covered cow skulls, etc. SO COOL! after a few hours we were then weeding in the pouring rain, and it was more fun than I thought it would be :) but then it got super cold and windy and we went home after lunch to warm up. Then we got ready for the Baptism! It was a great day, everything went smoothly, except the ward mission leader was late because he went to pick up Sister Cross and Claren from Bountiful. They both served here previously and worked with the Mc*s so it was cool that they got to be there. The super cool part? The mom gave the talk on baptism, the son Aaron said the opening prayer, and the next day when he was confirmed, the whole family, including the dad was there! They had never been there as a family before, so it was such a sweet experience! And A* is now worthy to use his priesthood, so he got to help bless the sacrament (break the bread, etc.) it was amazing! Saturday night we also went to a ward talent show and Sister Latham and I sung "A Poor Wayfaring Man", she was nervous but we just had fun :) and we got a cheesecake. So GOOD.

A really cool experience I had this week: as we were walking I was reflecting on a few experiences and found them related! Earlier in my fist transfer here, I was still kinda stressed and we were both in a funk, so we got a blessing and in the blessing, Elder Day said that I wouldn't be affected by things that happened at home. At the time, nothing was going on, so I shrugged it off. Then I remembered how I had reacted when I found out that Grandpa Hanson had been in an accident. What was my emotion? Peace. I knew that everything was going to be ok, and I realized this week that it’s because of the blessing! I know my heavenly father is aware of me and is watching out for me! love you all and have a great week! :)

LOVES!

SISTER JOHNSON ♥