Hey all!
So my new city that I live in is London Ohio! It's pretty great. The area is called Madison Lake and the branch is tiny. It's not even big enough to be called a ward. To be a ward they have to average 95 members attending each week and they currently average 80-85. So our first goal is to help the branch become a ward!
It was kind of hard to adjust to missionary life and I am tired all the time and I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and blessing me constantly with strength, courage and focus. We have already met a lot of the members and they are so amazing. We have been fed dinner every night since getting here and we have dinner set up every night except Mondays for the next month straight! I am pretty sure I will be gaining a little bit of weight!
So the first night we were here we got to go see Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Columbus and it was amazing! I fell asleep for a bit because I had been up since 2 AM that morning but it was still so great.
My companion/trainer is Sister Mitchell and I love her to death! She is so fun and loving and she is training me well. We were doubled into the area which means we took the place of the Elders so she doesn't know the are and neither do I so at first it will be a little slow but we already found 2 new investigators and we are teaching one tonight. And we have a few investigators the elders were working with. We have also met some Less Active and Part Member families and I think we will have some success there. Anyway, Life is great! I love being a missionary and I love praying and reading the scriptures more than ever. And having the Spirit so strong all the time and being able to see blessings everywhere throughout my life. The apartment is pretty nice and we are both excited about today because it is P-day so we get to clean the apartment finally and get some food and stuff.
So quick story, in my last email I talked about getting a blessing from one of the Elders in my MTC district, Elder Nelson. Well he had talked to me after the blessing and was prompted to tell me a little bit about his mom and it touched me so much and gave me alot of hope. So he asked me to email some pictures to his mom and while I did that, I just told her a little bit about what her son had done for me and how her story had helped me so much. So she emailed him bakc last week and told him about my email and said that I had touched her in my email and she decided to get up in their ward on fast sunday and bear her testimony about it. Then someone in their ward afterwards commented on it and said he is so grateful for sister missionaries because they were the ones that got him active and sealed to his fmaily in the temple. So elder Nelson told me this and it just made me so happy because here I was just trying to let her know how much she helped me but in turn I ended up helping her and influencing people around her that I have never met. It was such a cool experience and I realized that that is just the beginning of what my mission will be like. I will be helping and influencing people for and with Christ and the Spirit in ways that I may never know but it is so exciting to think about. It makes me so happy.
Another fun story is that in the last 2-3 days multiple people, usually younger girls, will come up to Sister Mitchell and I and say that we are beautiful. It was kind of weird at first but I realized that we are beautiful because we have the light of Christ and the glow of the Spirit and it really does show and people can see it wherever we go. It makes me so happy to hear that now because I know that I have so much power within from God to make a difference and influence people to repent and come unto Christ. I have blessed with the ability to see everyone how God sees them. To constantly feel the love he has for them and feel love that I have growing for them and it is just so amazing! I love getting to know people and spreading the gospel.
So we have already done quite a bit of tracting and such which is hard because alot of people don't want to listen and it's pretty scary being on our end too. But i have learned to have courage and do everything I can to provide that opportunity for them to learn the gospel because that really is all I can do. Also we heard about this big worldwide leadership training being broadcast next Sunday and we have heard rumors and hints about more changes being made and technology being applied more into missionary work. I am so excited to learn and grow more and be in the middle of all these changes. I is such an exciting time to be on a mission and I love everything about spreading this gospel and teaching God's children. I am so blessed to be a part of the hastening of the Lord's work and be a part of the army of God in bringing His children back to Him!!!
So I just want to close with my testimony that I know with every fiber of my being that this church is true! That Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each and every one of us and all they want is for us to return to them. I know that I am a servant of God and I am right where I am supposed to be. I know that I personally am being blessed so much by serving a mission and that my family and friends are being blessed as well. I know that I have the light of Christ, The Spirit of God and the power of faith and miracles within me. I know I can do anything the Lord asks and He will be with me every step of the way throughout my life. I know the Book o Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God! I know that Christ lived, died for me and lives again as a resurrected being and the true Son of God. I know that I love this gospel, my Savior and Redeemer and my Father in Heaven. I don't know where I would be without and I am so glad I will never have to find out. I love being on a mission and serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind and strength!! This church is true and the Gospel is full and everlasting!!
I love each and everyone of you! I miss you all so much and pray for you every night! I can't wait to come home but I am more than happy to be out here now and I will make the most of my mission!!! Talk to you next week!!
Love you all,
~Sister Britni Johnson~
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