HELLOOOOOO FAMILIA!!
Can you believe we made it through another month?! Time is flying by incredibly quickly! Where does it go?? And things change so rapidly! It is amazing! I love your emails :) I am sad Mel cannot email... But I love her lots and lots!!! And I love the pictures from Jackson! Yay! Good ol' Jackson Hole. So many fun memories! Although, I don't quite remember the memory of a stick fight with Dad and Zach... missed out on that one.
As per usual, things are happening around here! So we got transfer calls on Saturday evening and I have been very blessed to stay with Sister Munafo in Bellevue. I don't know what my problem is- but every time it gets close to transfers I think I am ready to move on. I want things to change. I am grateful that the Lord is letting me not get my way and stay here. I feel in my heart that this may be one of my favorite transfers. It is funny, we are right next to my last area and yet it is a completely different world here. It goes to show how much of a difference the unity in a ward can make. Yesterday, I was wrapped in a warm cocoon of love from the bishop and members of the ward. If anyone has figured out how to make missionaries and members one, it is the Bellevue ward. They have been begging for sister missionaries too- so they are excited to have us.
Even more amazing is the miracle of Matt. While on exchanges a week and a half ago, Sister Munafo and Sister Bundy were looking for an address that didn't exist. They began pushing their bikes up a hill when Matt walked out the door and asked if they needed help. He said that he had been searching for truth. In fact, not two days earlier, he had been praying specifically for someone to be sent to guide him. Lo and behold, two angels of the Lord came and brought him the news of the gospel. His spirit, his heart and his mind were open. He is getting baptized this Saturday. He has already been welcomed into the ward with a warm embrace. I am so happy for him and the steps that he is taking! What a miracle that one by one the Lord is gathering his chosen people together. He has been preparing Matt for years for this time when he would be ready to receive the gospel and the Lord's messengers. And now, Matt is studying each and every day from the scriptures. He is learning and experiencing the joy of the restored gospel for himself. I am so grateful for the Lord in entrusting his children to our care. I am so happy!
Saturday evening another miracle occurred. We attended a farewell fireside for the McKee family with our investigator, Matt. We walked into the doors and there was my other miracle baptism- Cheryl!!! It made me want to cry I was so happy to see her! She has done incredibly well in the past few months. In fact, her daughter and three grandkids have all been baptized. Her son, Cody, is going to be baptized sometime this month. I wish I could express the joy within my heart!!! To think that I had a part to play in Cheryl coming into the gospel. She is a light and an example to me and feels like a second mother. I love her so much! Members of the Greenhills ward came up to me and expressed their gratitude for my service in the ward. It was thrilling and almost overwhelming to see that, somehow, the Lord has allowed me to have an impact. The Spirit will use the skills and talents that we have to influence others for good. NEVER think that what you are doing (if you are living a righteous, covenant-keeping life) that you are not effecting lives. You are! We are all children of God with the divine potential to become like him. We can live lives like the Savior and touch those around us with His divine love. I am SO grateful for that knowledge! I am so grateful to be a missionary! I am so grateful to already be witnessing the fruits of our labors here in the Lord's vineyard. Can you believe that I have been a part of 13 baptisms...? Jon, Jenn, Corey, Briana, Frankie, Denisa, Cheryl, Cheryl's 3 grandkids and 2 children, and Matt. Oh! And not to mention Cheryl also did baptisms for her deceased relatives and one of her daughters that passed on. AND Sister Thatcher's aunt and uncle are preparing to go through the temple. Not to mention the Driskills who were reactivated in Bowling Green.
I feel like Alma "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." I know that the Lord blesses us as we are obedient and serve with ALL. More miracles have occurred than I possibly realized- and it has been worth every hard minute of pain, sorrow, rejection and hurt. This is the Atonement of Jesus Christ in action. I know this gospel is true. I love you and I am eternally grateful for your support and your prayers. Keep praying! Never stop praying!
I love you! Have an amazing week!
Love you always,
Sister Alicia Johnson
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