My dearest family!
Quick updates: I am now a Facebook missionary. You may notice when you try to log into my account that it has been deactivated. I have created another account for missionary work. This is a pilot program that only happens in certain missions and I have been approved to be a part of that. I know that you can add me as a friend (and I recommend that you do) but I won't be able to respond to messages you send on Facebook. I will have to block most of the information. What you can do on my wall will be to bear testimony and also share links to the videos or messages that I will eventually post. Right now, I only have one picture and one friend. I haven't had much time to work on it... It is a work in progress :) But it will be great eventually!
Also: I have a bike! We went to a members home for dinner and she said I could have/use hers! Great! So I didn't have to buy one :) I love how the Lord works :)
Other: I thought of something else I could use for my bday- Bath and Body Works "Warm Vanilla Sugar" body spray and/or perfume.
And: Happy Birthday, Mel! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Happy Mothers Day, Mom! I don't have the details yet on calling home. I do know that we have a member who will allow us to use skype at their house (on the big screen) and that church is at 1pm-4pm for our ward. I imagine that the mission president will want us to call in the morning so that we have the evening for proselyting so I don't know what will happen yet. I will let you know details when I find out :)
Last: This upcoming week is going to be very different. We have a trainer/trainee meeting from 9am-4pm on Thursday, a Zone meeting on Wednesday AND... a Mission Leader Conference from 9am-4pm on Tuesday. That's right! I am a "mission leader" of some sort. I have NO idea what that entails, but the Zone Leaders seemed pretty excited about it. Then Friday we have weekly planning for most of the day and Sunday is church and calling home. Man! I don't know how much missionary work is going to take place... But hey, it will be a nice change of pace :)
This week has been very different again. I don't really know what it is about this area. I can't quite figure out the flow of it. In my other areas we were able to get things figured out pretty quick, but this area is just different for some reason. We didn't have a car at all this week (again) due to it being in the shop until friday. So we were on bikes for a day or so and then were calling and begging for rides the rest of the time. The miracle is we had 10 member present lessons. That may not make much sense to you- but our average for having members with us is generally a lot lower. So that is pretty cool.
We also ended up with some pretty cool new miracle investigators. One guy we contacted at about 8pm. We were just walking down this street and he was walking to his car. We said hello and asked how he was doing. We were really friendly so he asked what we were doing walking around that time of night. We were able to share the Book of Mormon with him and also the first vision. The Spirit was very powerful :) It was very cool to meet someone who has been prepared. You can just feel it! We tried to meet with him again last night... but he wasn't home. So thus begins the challenges of helping him progress. We will get him there though. Persistence ;)
We had Stake Conference this week and the leaders really wanted us to work hard on getting someone to go. We also didn't have any rides anywhere- so we had to make phone calls like crazy. We spent an hour and a half calling members- to no avail. No one would come out with us. We ended up calling the Relief Society president who is really great and comes out with us sometimes four times a week.... Then, once we were with her, my companion called every single investigator in the phone. ALL of them. No one came. BUT we did get some responses of people who want to meet with us! So that was cool. It was exhausting though. We need secretaries....
Nothing really prepares you for what missionary work really is. What I can say though, is that as hard as it is, I am so happy. Yesterday, my companion really opened up to me with some concerns that she has had. I felt prompted that for "training" we should spend some time alone praying vocally to God for answers. I know a little bit how Enos felt. My prayer was probably 20 minutes long. I don't know if I have ever prayed for that long before. What I do know, is that it has truly carried me. I have this peace within me that is deep and lasting. We came in contact with two of the rudest people yesterday, and I am at peace. When we trust in the Lord and humble ourselves to let him lead us, when we pray sincerely, He is there. He is just waiting for us to reach out to Him. We also need to be humble enough to know that everything happens for a reason and that when we submit ourselves to God, everything will be ok. Miracles are happening in this area- even if the miracles are just within myself. I love my Savior. I love my mission. I love my family. I pray that you will all have a blessed week. I look forward to hearing more about the adventures that you will be having on this journey of life. I know that our Savior is watching out for you. You are never alone.
Love you always,
Sister Alicia Johnson
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