Alicia! 3-31-2014 Franklin, TN

I'm freaking out!! I am freaking out! Today we had choir rehearsal
again and the whole time I had these crazy anxiety feeling and
butterflies in my stomach. It hasn't left.... I have this feeling that
I am going to be carrying this feeling for the next three weeks. I
have never been like this before! I wish that I didn't have to
anticipate the change so much. Maybe if I didn't know it was happening
it would be easier to deal with. Nope. It's not like that. Instead, I
go on these crazy emotional roller coasters. Good day. Bad day. Freak
out moment. Lots of crying. Super happy. Excited for the future and
then anxiety again. It's great.... Not so great. Just put me on the
plane now! I am not effective when I anticipate the changes!! Ugh. Oh
well....

It was a good week despite the moments of freaking out. I just can't
believe how fast time is moving. And then there are moments of
frustration in wondering if we have done any good in this area. Over
and over again I realize that we are nothing without the members. We
have some pretty wonderful members who are willing to help us a
lot.... But it is the same ten people. And when you are trying to get
a whole ward excited, it is disheartening when all your efforts seem
to go unnoticed and don't enact much change.

That being said, we aren't sure what miracle we are going to see here
at the end. I have been praying and praying and praying to see another
baptism and we are working so hard!! We are inviting everyone to be
baptized! But no one comes to church.... :( the only investigator that
came to church yesterday was one that a member has been working with.
This is the trend of my mission. We work super hard to find people on
our own, but the only investigators that seem to go anywhere are those
that the members have befriended and invited to hear more.

J is solid. We taught him again last night and he was acting like
he has already made the decision to be baptized. He has come to church
twice now. He has read through all of first Nephi and he is working on
2 Nephi. He accepts all of the doctrine and just says that he really
wants to have that confirmation from the spirit before he sets a date
for baptism. Last night, he and Sister Brennan were giving us a ride
home after our lesson. He said, "So, Sister Johnson, you leave in
May?" I told him, "Nope, my last day is April 22." We then said if he
wanted me to be at his baptism that he would have to be baptized on
April 19th! I think that would be a wonderful miracle-- but there are
some catches to the situation. He is getting MBA this week and will be
gone until April 15th..... So there is no time for us to help him be
prepared and he doesn't technically live in our ward boundaries
anyways.... Sigh... He is golden though and I am happy that The Lord
let me teach him, even if I don't get to see it all the way through.

We also had some amazing lessons at the beginning of this week. It is
crazy because I feel like I have come so far as a missionary. There is
still more to do but I see myself as the missionary I really wanted to
be when I first came out. And more importantly, the spirit has truly
been with us this week. We had an incredibly powerful lesson with a
man who has a lot of health complications and is pretty much confined
to his chair. He was telling us how god has preserved his life and
what a blessing that he continues to be here and is able to be humble
enough to recognize that god has more for him. The spirit was like
nothing I have felt in a long while..... So powerful. Heavenly Father
loves this man!

A couple days later, I was feeling down. Sister Gillespie and I
started talking and I started to think back on all the different
experiences Heavenly Father has given me on my mission. The. This
feeling- overpowering and overwhelming- washed through me for about
five minutes. Total and complete enveloping of God's love..... It made
me cry. I was so happy!

Sigh.... I am so emotional. I am driving myself crazy. I pretty much
cried through the entire women's conference too. Cool. It was really
an amazing meeting though. :) I am very excited for general
conference.

So about jobs! I totally had that same thought! Mel is leaving jimmy
johns. That sounds like my in. They can work me to death. I think I
will need it. I will have to keep myself very busy.... I have been
getting so antsy whenever we have to sit around or have pdays and
things like that.

Keep praying for us though.... I know that The Lord can make miracles
happen. Something incredible can happen before I leave! Even if it is
just knowing that The Lord is proud of me.... I am grateful for that.

I love you all. Thanks for your emails. I am excited to fly all over
the place for free! Makes it seem more likely that I can actually come
back and visit this marvelous place. You all need to come with me
though. :)

I love you! Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Alicia Johnson

Sent from my iPad

Alicia! 3-24-2014 Franklin, TN

It's so close!!

I don't even know what to think anymore! Everyday seems to be going
faster and faster and faster! I really, very literally, have 29 days
left. Not even a full month anymore! I know that we are supposed to
keep focused but the reality of a change so big (the last transfer)
randomly hits me. I had a thought the other day. I was thinking about
the wonderful missionaries that I was going home with. They asked for
pictures of us for a departing missionary slideshow. So I pictured all
of us together watching that. Then I realized that a large portion of
my missionary friends going home with me live in Oregon, Washington,
New Zealand, Canada, Arizona-- anywhere but Utah! I know for sure
there is one sister who will be on the same plane as me. Sister
Oldham. I envisioned us coming down the escalator together-- and
pictured us crying a lot. But that is a tender mercy of The Lord. I
love Sister Oldham so I am grateful that The Lord is going to let us
be companions for at least a plane ride home. And that will be it.

Is it real?

Was my life as a missionary a dream? Or is my other life really the
dream? It is just incredible to think (and it always makes me
emotional) that after waiting 21 years for this opportunity, it is
almost over. Never to come back again. I imagine that is what it is
going to be like when we die. We will look back over eternity and
think.... I spent all that time waiting for that time. And now it is
gone. It will never be like that again. Thinking about eternity kinda
makes my head spin, so I will stop talking about it, but missions
really are a great parallel to life.

Has it really been a week?

Quick manner of business-- I just got a bit worried about work again.
Am I guaranteed a job when I get home in Bountiful??? I just want to
make sure I have work. Maybe I need to go to Disneyworld with Mel! It
sounds like school is all ready, I just haven't heard anything for
sure about work in a while.

I am glad that everyone had a good week :) it will be so fun to see
everyone again and be a part of family dinners and things like that
:). Just remember, you all have to call me Sister Johnson though! And
the name tag is staying on! :)

So this week we had some beautiful, sunny days. Which is perfect since
we also did not have the car this week. I am always amazed that we are
able to get anywhere and do anything without a car. But the weeks
without a car have been our most productive and happy. Everyday you
step out the door you have no idea what is coming for that day. You
just hope and pray that The Lord will send someone who is prepared to
be in your path. Maybe today we will teach that lesson and find that
person that will be ready to jump right in. We have met some very
incredible people in the past week. Lots and lots of potential! And
all of this from tracting.

We are teaching a minister and his wife, we are teaching another man
and his wife who are heavily involved in their worship and ministry,
we are teaching people from all walks of life!! And what is better is
that we really are seeing progression. People have accepted the
invitation to be baptized as they come to know that it is true. They
are reading from the Book of Mormon. We have people that we are beginning to meet
with on a regular basis. There is just a lot of good happening!

One specific miracle for the week: we met R tracting a week and a
half ago. She has had a lot of health complications and currently has
to do dialysis three or more times a week. We left her with a prayer
and a pamphlet. When we went back this past Wednesday, she had read
the pamphlet and had a lot of really good questions. We shared a brief
overview of the message of the restoration and explained to her what
it would mean if the Book of Mormon was true. She said that she was ready to test
it. She has studied many different beliefs and because of things in
her life she wants to start over-- a clean slate. Relearn and become a
new person. We committed her to be baptized as she came to know it was
true and she readily accepted. There was a beautiful spirit in her
home. We are so excited to go and teach her again. The Lord is placing
people in our path!! It is so exciting!

We are getting closer and closer to the end. We have to start having
people come to church or they won't make it to baptism before I leave.
Will you continue to pray that we will find prepared people and that
our investigators will come to church?? I know The Lord is going to
provide miracles contingent upon our faith and diligence. I also know
that he has a mysterious way of working. Most of our solid baptisms
come in the last two to three weeks of a transfer. With conference on
the way that is totally possible again.

We did have a great investigator come to church yesterday! He
is a friend of a member. We were able to teach him twice last week and
he has been reading the Book of Mormon. There is a slight problem in the fact
that he doesn't live in our area, but he has quite a number of friends
in our ward. He seemed to fit right in yesterday. Oh there is so much
good in this wonderful work!!!! I love, love, love it. :)

Thanks for being so amazing! I can't believe it is so close... We have
zone conference tomorrow. They have departing missionaries give a
final testimony. This is it.

You know something though. I feel that Heavenly Father is telling me
"Well done though good and faithful servant." You know why???? Because
he is letting me go to Disneyland with Mel! Tender, sweet mercy from a
loving Father in heaven. :) He just keeps blessing me so much! I am so
so grateful.

I love you all. I know this gospel is true. It truly is a gospel of
peace and happiness. I know that Heavenly Father loves us. He knows us
personally. I can't wait to see you all again!!!!

Have a beautiful week!
Love always,
Sister Alicia Johnson

Alicia! 3-17-14 5 wks to go! Franklin, TN

Oh wow! I am really excited to do the chalk art festival again! There
have been so many instances on my mission when I get this strong urge
to paint or draw... But I just never actually seem to have time to do
it! So hooray for chalk art! Time is flying so fast...

Today we had choir practice. I am so happy and excited that I get to
be in one more mission choir before the end! We are doing an Easter
performance so my last Sunday in the field I will get to spread the
joy of the gospel through music. What a great way to end! And they are
letting me do a solo again! Pretty much positive that I am going to be
crying through it.... Oh well. We will deal with that when we get
there.

Sister Gillespie and I had a good week. She helped me discover
something about myself that is just so fantastic to finally
understand! So with every companionship we would talk about trying not
to do things that bothered each other. Over and over again I have had
difficulty with communication and just weird little things that would
frustrate me and throw me off for a bit. It always bothered me because
I would have a difficulty with something my companion would do and
they wouldn't have any issue with what I was doing. It made me feel
like I was really different and just have a hard time with people. I
was having an off moment and I brought it up to Sister Gillespie and
she told me that my problem (or strength) is that I am a bit more
observant and in tune to things that other people don't recognize.
Which is true! It makes it very easy to remember people's names and
faces and where we met them. I remember smells and am acutely aware of
sounds. So when we are talking to people face to face I can pick up on
all of these little cues and then I can see and feel what I need to do
as a missionary. Pretty fantastic. But it makes it difficult when you
are with someone for a prolonged period of time! Hence the reason that
in all my relationships I need a break for a while before I can really
enjoy the relationship. I have to become accustomed to these small
little things. Sister Gillespie pointed this out to me and since then
instead of getting frustrated all the time over why I am like this, I
can enjoy the benefits and make it more of a strength for
relationships! So add that to the list of things you can learn as a
missionary. You really truly do discover who you are and what makes
you tick. And now that I have learned these things about myself, I
feel that future relationships will be greatly benefited.

So communication skills, self-discovery, and a greater understanding
of the gospel. The power of prayer, the power of service, the power of
the scriptures, the power of love and the power of endurance. All of
these things have grown and improved while I have been on a mission.
Plus I can sing alto better than I ever have in my entire life! I am
just amazed at what The Lord has blessed me to learn while I have been
serving here in Tennessee. I love my mission!! I have been telling
people I will move back to Tennessee someday. I love it here.

We had a great week again. I never even know where to begin! It is
just cool to watch the members get excited about the work and invite
their friends and neighbors to meet with us. We had another member
invite a friend to hear the lessons. He has already read through 1
Nephi 13 and he has a great hunger and thirst for truth! So exciting!
We were able to contact some less actives that show a lot of
potential-- also exciting :). And we are starting to get a more
regular group of investigators to teach! There is an ebb and flow with
the lives of our investigators but some are showing great promise!

One girl is named K. She is 19 years old, pregnant and living with
her boyfriend. We taught her the plan of salvation this week and she
just ate it up! Absolutely loved it! One day we were going to visit
her and another girl came out of the house. Turns out this girl is a
less active member of the church! Very cool! Can you say instant
fellowshipper?? We are helping K to start reading and having her
own experiences with the Book of Mormon.

It is neat to start to feel and see the fruits of our labors. No one
is jumping in the font yet, but there are so many that are starting to
read and are letting us come back and teach. We are so excited! Turns
out good things can happen from tracting :). We are still trying to
discover who is ready to be baptized. We have invited more this week--
they are all still working on commitments and testimony. I know The
Lord has someone prepared.... We are still looking so keep praying!!
We will find them yet!

Anyways I love you all :). I am glad that everyone is happy and had a
good week. Till next week!

Love always,
Sister Alicia Johnson

Alicia! 3-10-14 Franklin, TN

Well this was like the best week of my life!! The sun was shining
almost everyday, my companion is awesome, and miracles were happening
all over the place! It was amazing! I am so blessed to be a missionary
right now! I can't even explain how happy I am. :) it's official
though... I am going to be super weird when I get home. Yesterday some
members had piano guys playing in the background. It was totally
safe--except for the bass! Oh my... My ears! In my heart and head I
was totally freaking out. Sister Gillespie has had 6 siblings serve
missions so she tells me really funny things about what their mission
president tells them NOT to think when they get home. First, it's not
evil--it's just different. Second, my family is not apostate. Hahaha!
Is it ok that all I am going to want to watch is Mormon messages and
together forever? And listen to hymns while I exercise....? I had
another moment of panic when we were at an investigators house. He had
catching fire playing. It was muted but my eyes kept drifting over
there.... Ahh! The world is scary!!!

Be warned. I am weird.

Sooooo.... We got transfer calls on Saturday. The last one.... Dun dun
dun. And we are staying right where we are at! That is a relief.
Although, with my luck, something crazy will happen. And we will end
up in a trio or one of us will get emergency transferred or something
crazy! I never feel set where I am. Things just keep changing. It is
what it is though. Let the chips fall where they may! Whatever happens
I am where The Lord needs me :).

We had an amazing week of miracles! Here are the facts:
Sunday March 2nd we taught a man who was diagnosed with cancer. He was
given six months to live and started all sorts of treatments and
surgeries. He had a coming to Jesus moment where he realized that God
is real and that he knows him. He felt at peace with whatever the
outcome of the cancer. Well, a member in our ward works with this man.
He received a prompting from the spirit to ask him to ask for a second
opinion. The day before he was supposed to go in for chemo, he went to
Vanderbilt, got reevaluated and the cancer was gone!! He said that he
didn't know why he was preserved but because. Of his mighty change of
heart he wants to tell everyone about this miracle in his life. We
taught him last Sunday at this members home. He asked for a BOM and
has been reading it. He said that nondenominational May not be the
path for him-- but Mormon might!

Tuesday March 4th. We go tracting. There is one area in Franklin that
is about a 30 minute walk from where we live. This is a more poor area
so it is generally where we do all of our finding. We were knocking
doors. Enter V. V is 26 years old. He is not married but
as he says he has made a lot of mistakes in his life. Thus resulting
in 5 children. Also--burns all over his body. About four months ago,
V was in a terrible car accident. The car hydroplaned, flipped
over three times and caught on fire. Miraculously, his life was
preserved, but he was completely engulfed in flame. He was in the burn
unit for about 3 months and has had skin grafts all over his body.
Because of this life changing event, he has great desires to be free
of the sins and pain and guilt that he feels from all of his past
mistakes. He recognizes the importance of God and family in his life
more than he ever has before. We taught V about the Restoration
and he COMMITTED TO BE BAPTIZED ON APRIL 19th!!!

Enter T. About three weeks ago we had been walking down the same
street where V lives. There was a woman getting out of her car.
Sister Gillespie approaches her. We share a brief restoration lesson
and invite her to church. She got very ill and never came. This past
week we decided to just try back. She let us in. We taught a full
restoration lesson learning that she has been desiring to feel close
to God again. She wants to be filled. Her three kids are the most
important thing to her beside God. She wants them to have a knowledge
of Christ. T is Vs ex girlfriend. She is sincerely reading from
the Book of Mormon and will commit to baptism on condition of learning it is
true.

Sunday March 9th. We have church. J promised to come but backed
out again. We aren't expecting anyone and in walks C. We found
C tracting. He hadn't been planning to come to church and just
decided spur of the moment that he would come. We had a great lesson
in gospel principles. There were many members with us. They were all
so excited to be a part of it!

Finally, we had another lesson last night at a members home. He
invited two of his friends over. They had a bunch of awesome questions
and quickly became new investigators!

The members are getting super fired up and things are MOVING! It is so
exciting! Miracles are occurring left and right--but we need to keep
this momentum up. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We will
be seeing baptisms before the end. Steps towards heaven and the big
CK. Eternal families. Dressed in white twice. I am absolutely amazed!!
And what changed....? It just must be after the trial of our faith. I
am so grateful to be a missionary. This work is incredible. It is
amazing to watch the lives of so many be touched by the light of the
restored gospel. This work is real. God is real. He loves us. Our
Savior lives. He loves us too. I love you all! Thank you for your
support and prayers. Keep them coming! We will see more miracles yet!

Have a great week! I love you!

Love,
Sister Alicia Johnson

Alicia! 3-3-14 Franklin, TN

Well, hello there! Guess what I am typing on??? That's right! A really fancy device called the iPad! I think it is going to make my typing time a bit slower so hopefully I can still send you really juicy, fun-filled emails full of adventure time and money. 

We got these things on Friday and it has definitely been taking some time to adjust to them. We have area books and planners on them and they want us to eventually be paperless. Pretty crazy! It just takes longer right now until we can get used to them. Thank goodness for auto correct on these things. You would be reading a bunch of gibberish right now.

Guess what it did today!?! You will never guess..... It snowed! And it actually stuck to the ground a little bit! Which means that half the businesses in Tennessee are shut down and school is closed. This place is hilarious. :) 

It has been a great week! It didn't necessarily start out that way but things improved greatly and it ended up being probably the best of the transfer so far. I can't believe - which I should be able to at this point - that I am still learning how to communicate with companions. I seriously think that that is why I needed to come on a mission. To learn how to live with people. We had an exchange on Wednesday that was fantastic, but it made me realize a lot of different things that have been bothering me with our companionship. Thankfully, we both recognize that we need to do better and we want to work hard and be more open with one another. I was having this horrible fear of not being able to finish my mission strong. So before interviews I decided that I would fast and pray to know what I needed to do and to help president Andersen be inspired to know what to do as well. The spirit was so strong. It was the best interview I have had on my mission. I told him everything that was going on. He gave me a priesthood blessing and helped me to see that I am where The Lord needs me, even when sometimes it seems we haven't done anything in an area. Interestingly enough, all of our investigators that have been hopeful in the past kind of flew off the map this week. Due to sickness or just other things. It will be ok though. I have the reassurance that something amazing will happen before I go home. Someone still has yet to have their life changed! 

We hit it hard after interviews and the next couple days were totally full of miracles. We mostly went tracting- but we were able to teach many lessons and find some great new potential investigators. Yesterday we had three investigators come to church! And we had dinner in a members home who invited some nonmember friends that we were able to teach a great discussion with. Also during sacrament the spirit reassured me again sweetly that I am in the right place and that the work we have done has had an impact. A sister that came out with us on Monday stood up to bear her testimony. She talked about the experience that she had had while she was out with us and what a great impact that it had had on her testimony. Then, following her were two more testimonies where the members specifically mentioned their wonderful sister missionaries.... It made me want to cry. Maybe we haven't had all the success in numbers in this area, but we have had an impact. A positive change has been enacted and it feels so good to know that we are accomplishing our purpose as missionaries. 

It keeps slapping me in the face how close I am. I keep having really weird dreams and wake up kind of in a funk. But then I remember, I remember the miracles that god has allowed me to be a part of. I give myself a pep talk - I WILL FINISH STRONG. There is none of this getting tired business. No. I am going to work hard to the end. Satan hates that. He doesn't like me very much right now so he is really trying to make it difficult. But I have The Lord on my side. And he is so much stronger than ol what's his cheeks. 

Keep praying for us. I know there is another amazing miracle around the corner. I can feel it and The Lord has promised that I will receive the righteous desires of my heart. We are going to see another baptism. We might even see several. But it is in the lord's hands. So keep praying for us. Pray that are eyes will be opened to the opportunities around us and that we will be able to be led to recognize where we need to be and what we need to say. 

Also, I was able to email Liz from fort Campbell. Please keep her in your prayers as well. I love her so much and just need her to have the strength to carry on right now. 

Thank you as always for your emails. I love you all so much. I know that god lives. I know that he loves us. This is the greatest work and I am so grateful to be a part of it. There have been many tough days, but it has been the sweetest most rewarding experience to be a servant of The Lord. My mission means everything to me. I am so grateful that The Lord was willing to issue me the call. I love you all and pray that you have an incredible week. 

Love you always, 

Sister Alicia Johnson