Alicia! 2/24/2014 Franklin, TN

I love my family!!

I just love you all so much!!! So much more than you can even realize!!! I can't wait to see what the house looks like when I get home! If you want to leave the painting until I get back- I will promise you some service hours to help out. That sounds like fun! I suppose it depends on how busy my life is. I don't really know what to anticipate at this point. But is it kind of freaking you out how close it is?!? This week we are starting week 5 of this transfer. That means I literally only have 8 weeks left. 8. 8 of them. That's it. We went to a Chinese restaurant this week. I partook of a fortune cookie and it told me that I would meet my goal in two months! Guess what day I ate that cookie...? Just guess. February 22nd. I am a believer. Your primary class sounds so cute and fun!!! I just love those little childrens. Haha! Daddy... Its fun making little projects for kids, huh? I will help you with your lessons when I get home! That would be fun too! Just like FHEs that we have had here :) That sounds like a cool video game that Zach created! How cool! I will have to try it out when I get home too :) Speaking of technology- we are getting ipads this Friday! I am really looking forward to it. All week we have been seeing ways that they could be useful. There are rumors also that once we end our missions we can pay a small price to keep our ipads! Cool! So I am going to come home 20lbs heavier (they feed us WAY too well in this area...) and more technologically advanced than I had anticipated :) Great!

The weather was beautiful this week. I hope that it stays that way forever. I love the sun. I need the sun. It makes EVERYTHING better.

We had a good week. We did a lot of tracting at the beginning of the week with much more success than we have been having previously. Like most areas, it is the level of economic status that effects our success in tracting. We went to the "poor" area of Franklin a couple days in a row and taught a bunch of lessons. It was nice. Weird how I kind of like tracting after all is said and done. Then, during the evenings we were able to enlist the help of many of the members and track down less-actives. We had a lot of success with that as well.

So funny that you grew up with Kevin Crouch. We had he and his wife come to a lesson with us this week! That was a crazy night. Sister Crouch has never been out with the missionaries and was not looking forward to it. Brother Crouch was calm and just funny. I like him. Quirky and funny. As we were driving the weather was looking pretty bad. As soon as we stepped into the investigators' home, the Tornado Warning started. It was scary! The winds were blowing really strong and the sirens were going off and the hail started hitting the window. And we were supposed to sit there calmly and teach a lesson!!! The lesson was interesting too... Brother Crouch connected with the wife and Sister Crouch with the husband. Haha! Man, another great missionary experience. I sure like the Crouches though. They are probably some of the most unique and interesting people I have ever met. We survived the night and have a return appointment for next week :)

We are still seeing the ups and downs of the work- people choosing not to come to church or read from the Book of Mormon, etc, etc. But we are talking to a LOT of people and trying very hard to help the work in this area. The ward is really excited by what we have been bringing to ward council and that is always a plus. We have gained the trust of the members and have a lot to report on. NOW if we could continue to find prepared people through them and have some progressing investigators! I know we can. We are just going to keep working and praying and working. It will be a miracle for this ward to have a baptism. It has been over a year and half since the last one. And that actually was one of my goals before I go home- to be a part of at least one more baptism. What would be more miraculous would be the baptism of a family!! They have to start coming to church first though... Ah blessed agency!

I guess that is all that I have to report on this week. I have a bit of cabin fever. I have been struggling to stay focused during studies because of the sun and the birds outside singing. It happens every spring. You can just feel the change in the air... It is a time for change. Things are changing rapidly. I hope that I will be prepared.

I love you all so much. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. I love being able to share my testimony of the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I know they love each one of their children individually and personally. I am so grateful for that love. I pray that you have a blessed week. Talk to you next week!

Love you always, 

Sister Alicia Johnson