Alicia! 7-8-13 Bellevue, TN

Hello! Yes! I got your email! No, I didn't get any pictures... Just one that mom sent of some sleeping people :) I have worked with senior couple missionaries quite a bit! They are the BEST missionaries out here! And they have a variety of assignments. They work in the office doing referrals or finances or housing or car stuff; then there are some that work in the YSA branches doing institute or Less Active work; there are some that are sent to military bases to build relations there; there are all sorts of cool assignments for senior missionaries!

 

President Andersen just got here this week. He actually was originally called as a missionary in another mission and when they sent the release notice to President McKee they called him as a mission president instead of a regular missionary. We had transfers on Tuesday and we have a whole new district. I have a new second companion! My Sister Trainer Leader companion is Sister Vandenberg. I served in her district when I was in Princeton. I sure love her a lot and I am very excited to serve with her! She is in Green Hills now. My old area :)

 

On Wednesday we were trying to help the Sisters get settled into their area so we went to the mission office to get some supplies. We got to say goodbye to the McKee's one last time... They will be very missed. I really love them a lot. I am grateful that they are in Pocatello so that I can actually go see them some after the mission. Yay!

 

Yesterday, we met President Andersen and Sister Andersen as we were walking through the church building. It is pretty neat to be in Nashville near the mission leadership. Kind of in the hub of it all. I am excited to see what comes of this new change. President Andersen is really a neat person! I love him and his wife a lot already. You can't go wrong when you have Utah State as a common bond ;)

 

It sounds like everyone had a really fun week! We experienced a whole different world here in Nashville. The past few days it has been raining like crazy! I haven't ever been in rain like this before. It was really fun :) We didn't have a car either, so we were out walking with our umbrellas in it trying to find people to teach. The 4th of July was raining a lot too. Apparently, Nashville has one of the best firework shows in the nation. We took this opportunity to find people by going downtown with a survey to get referrals. Fortunately and unfortunately, it was pouring rain. So there weren't as many people as there would have been and we were a bit soggy. But in 2 hours, Sister Munafo and I had 40 surveys filled out. Cool! We got to go to a member's house for dinner and have bbq food too. Good times! Love holidays!

 

So, M was supposed to be baptized on Saturday but on Monday he told us he wasn't ready. He still wanted to meet with us though. He has made some amazing progress and changes in his life- but we continue to face opposition. He didn't come to church yesterday... We are not sure what is up, but we are doing our best to work through it. It will be right in the end :)

 

We had an amazing experience the other day with a member. We went to find a referral. We pulled into the lot. The member that was with us had a sudden pain in her leg so she stayed in the car. I saw a man sitting across the lot and had the impression we needed to talk to him. We talked to the referral first- who wasn't interested- and we made our way over to the man. He had gone inside. So we knocked on his door. He opened. He looked a bit upset. We started sharing about the Book of Mormon and asked about his beliefs and his family. He said that there were some difficult things happening in his life right then. We took the opportunity to pray with him. As I prayed, I felt the Spirit working through me witnessing of God's love for this man. After the prayer, I looked up and the man was crying. We set a time to go back and visit again. I don't know why, but I have a strong impression that we may have saved that man's life that night. I don't know what he has been going through, but the Lord is very aware of him. He is very aware of all of us. He knows what we need and He will do all that He can to help us. We were sent at that moment to be the Lord's hands and loving arms of mercy and peace. When we got back into the car, the member said that she felt the same pull we had. She also felt impressed that for some reason, she wasn't meant to talk to him at that time with us. It needed to be us.

 

I am so grateful for the small and simple miracles that the Lord allows us to be a part of day to day. So many times, we are walking around, unsure of who needs us at the time, unsure if our efforts matter at all. I know that the Lord is aware. I am grateful for His guidance and His presence. I don't know what I would do without the Spirit. The Spirit is the true master in this work. I want to do everything I can to be worthy of that Spirit.

 

I love you all so much! I am eternally grateful for all that you have done and continue to do for me. I know that God lives and that He loves us. I pray that you all have a blessed week. I pray that you will stay in tune to the Spirit this week- it is possible that the Lord needs YOU to be His hands this week. Reach out to those around you. YOU could be the difference in someone's day.

 

I love you so much!

Sister Alicia Johnson

Last night walking home. We had to climb this intense hill... You can't really tell from the picture but it felt like it was a 90 degree angle!

 A pretty flower we found walking in the rain trying to cut across a field.

Sweet Cece's frozen yogurt... Mmmm... :)

 Right before it starting raining on us again. The same field we were trying to cut across. Turns out that there was a creek that became a river on the other end so we had to backtrack and go all the way around back to the roads. We were only a bit late for our appointment...