the promised land

April 27, 2020

hello! 

twas a wonderful week again here in lansing. we have come to decide that lansing really is the promised land. we have had so many miracles here and so many people who are really progressing! it is such a blessing to see the Lord further his work even in these circumstances. here's some highlights:

• most importantly, we got chick-fil-a this week. it was so good. we brought it to a lake in the williamston area called lake lansing. so fun.

chick-fil-a♡♡

• we also just had a big miracle right now! while typing this email we got a phone call from our friend jasper. so to preface, earlier this week we had a lesson with her over the phone. she was very upset and was very contentious. that broke our hearts, because she had been progressing really well. fast forward to right now, she called and said she feels deeply sorry for what she said and would like to meet again. i love the atonement of Jesus Christ that allows for true healing, true forgiveness, and true peace.

 • we got to teach our friend ryan this week. the lesson started out great and he then shared a lot of his struggles and concerns with the church. through no fault of our own, our phone shut off and kicked us off of the lesson. we quickly ran out to our car which has wifi and called on one of the other phones. it turned out that he was able to really connect with the members who were also on the phone call while we were not there. it turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise as a result of a technical issue.

• we also taught our friend kevin this week and it was really cool! we were following up on his reading and he read almost all of 1 nephi! when we asked if he had been praying while he was reading, he said, "No, I haven’t." we were crushed. he then said, "That would be too hard to pray and read at the same time. I have been praying before and after I read." he cracks us up. he is progressing so well and we are really excited for him.

• we had zone conference this week which was really different! we had it over zoom and me and my companion did a training on finding! it was a lot of fun and a little scary, but it worked out. Sister Brennan gave an amazing training about covenants as well. she spoke about many instances in history when people were patiently waiting for the opportunity to be baptized. how hard that must've been! she talked more about how when we love more, we are willing to sacrifice more. it made me ponder, what am i willing to sacrifice because of my love for God? ponder that for yourself. what are you willing to sacrifice because you love God?

us with the jackson sisters!

• we got to teach our friend sister collier-spruel this week! she was a member referral and is currently in a phd program at msu. she is so cool and so smart. she has been very engaged in our lessons and has so many powerful insights and questions about what we teach! we are so excited to teach her the gospel of Jesus Christ this week. stay tuned! 

• another miracle! so the lansing stake area has a facebook page (which you should all check out and like!) and we were recording videos of us around the lansing area. in our area notes, there was a place marked at a "graffiti bridge" and we figured we would check it out and record a video. while in our car, right before getting out, we got a phone call. the call was from a number we had never seen, and it was silent on the other end for the entirety of the call. we then discovered it was a member whom we have never contacted and is not actively participating in the church. we thought that was so weird and the minute we hung up the phone, a train zoomed past us silently. it was very clear to us that the Lord was keeping us from going on to the tracks for that video. i felt deeply as well, that so often, Heavenly Father has a purpose in everything in our lives. Many times we cannot recognize that it is help (a strange phone call keeping us from going on to the train tracks) but that He is so aware of our lives. i kept thinking to myself, what would have pushed this member to call us? what if we had not answered? what if we had not been obedient and receptive to the spirit? i know the Lord is watching over us. He is so aware and i am so grateful.

the art district!

go check out our facebook page! it is full of uplifting spiritual posts that will brighten your day!

 https://www.facebook.com/ChurchOfJesusChristSouthCentralMichigan/

have a wonderful week my friends!! God is aware of you. 

♡sister johnson

windy day

jerri eatin out of my hand

14 baby geese!! there are tons of geese who have had babies and i have been in geese heaven.

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

500 W Lake Lansing Rd Apt B 16

East Lansing, MI 48823-1479

it is the work of Almighty God

April 20, 2020

This week was a good one, so much so that I feel like yesterday was preparation day, haha. We have been so busy and it is a blessing! The Lord has prepared so many people to receive the gospel at this time. Here are the highlights:

• We had interviews with our mission president this week! We did them through zoom which doesn't replace meeting in person, but I love that opportunity to learn from him. I know that he is called of God and that I am in this mission to learn from him.

Sister Nielsen made bread for interviews since we couldn't have Sister Brennan's bread

• Sister Cook and I hit 11 months this week! Time has become a blur and I can't believe that it has almost been a year!

• We had a lesson with our friend Ryan this week which was really cool. He has been taught by missionaries off and on for many years and we are trying to help him recognize the spirit as well as answers from God. After our personal study, we felt very prompted that after we read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with him, to commit him to live one of the commandments that would allow for greater spiritual sensitivity. We are excited to see what blessings will come to him as he forsakes the things keeping him from answers.

• We had a few lessons with our friend Kevin this week and he is progressing really well! He is very eager to learn and in our last lesson said, "Well, I think I need to be baptized." There are a lot of steps before then, but we are so excited to help him grow closer to Christ.

• We joined some of the sisters of our zone in their companionship study which was a ton of fun! It was the closest thing we have to exchanges, haha. I love learning from other missionaries! Especially being that I got to see the one and only Sister Nelson! Love that girl.

• Sadly this week was so stinkin’ cold and snowy so we didn’t get out a whole lot. But yesterday was wonderful, and we had some lessons outside which was so refreshing! Pray for warm weather, haha!

Gary and Jerri (my best friends) hanging out with us during a lesson

picinic!

• We picked up several new friends this week and had some wonderful lessons with them! One was Lauren, a referral from a member and we had a wonderful lesson about the restoration—so powerful! Then we also had a lesson with our new friend David, and he is really just seeking a relationship with God. After texting him later in the week about the commitment to read from the Book of Mormon, he had a ton of questions and was trying to understand what God wants him to do. The Lord has blessed our efforts here a hundred fold.

• We have been invited by our mission leaders to study about the love of God. I have seen some very personal messages for me and my missionary work as I have been studying. I know that this time may be challenging but that we are still “to be about our Father's business.” It helped me realize that there is nothing more important than this work. I do not love anything or anyone more than my Heavenly Father and I want to bring Him glory by helping others learn of Christ.

In my studies of the love of God, I read about the story of Peter at the Sea of Galilee when the risen Lord appeared to them. This was retold by Elder Holland in a talk called "The First Great Commandment" and I recommend every one of you to read it or reread it.  Here is the link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/10/the-first-great-commandment?lang=eng

This story has always been very powerful to me as a missionary. I can remember the first time I read about it in some of my first weeks in the field and it had not struck me in the way that it did this past week. He tells of how after Christ rose, Peter turns to the disciples speaking of how it has been a glorious 3 years serving beside the Savior but that is over now. He said they are to return to our former life rejoicing. His former life, being a fisherman, he returned to the sea. After no luck catching any fish, a man shouts to them to cast the net on the right side. Peter immediately knew it was the Lord so he swam to shore and spoke with him. Jesus asks him, "Do you love me more than these fish?" and he replies, "Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus asks again with the same response. Then a third time he asks, "Do you love me?"

In Elder Holland’s words he said, "Whatever his feelings, Peter said for the third time, 'Lord, … thou knowest that I love thee.'

"To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my nonscriptural elaboration), perhaps saying something like: 'Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.'

"Then, turning to all the Apostles, He might well have said something like: 'Were you as foolhardy as the scribes and Pharisees? As Herod and Pilate? Did you, like they, think that this work could be killed simply by killing me? Did you, like they, think the cross and the nails and the tomb were the end of it all and each could blissfully go back to being whatever you were before? Children, did not my life and my love touch your hearts more deeply than this?'"

With all that is going on, it really impressed upon me that as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I cannot serve for 18 months or 2 years or any number of time. This is a lifetime of striving to love the Lord our God and serving Him as well as our neighbors. May his life and love touch each of us more deeply and allow us to serve him with our whole soul.

sister johnson

special easter dinner the senior missionaries made for us:')

another running pic :'(

y'all can bet I am still out here using my cosmo skills

idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

500 W Lake Lansing Rd Apt B 16

East Lansing, MI 48823-1479

you do belong

April 13, 2020

Hello friends and family!

This week has been a roller coaster of things happening but miracles were around every corner!

♡ We had a very powerful and moving mission devotional last night with the area seventy, Elder DeVries. He shared some very strong counsel on how we can do better and overcome this challenge we are faced with. I am again so grateful to be blessed with the opportunity to continue serving. I know that there is so much work to be done and so many people that the message of the restored gospel needs to touch.

♡ This past week was Holy Week and we were so blessed to remember our Savior throughout the week. I felt the spirit so strong in my study of Christ's life and resurrection. I know He did come to earth, that He did perform miracles, that He sacrificed Himself for MY sins, that He died, and that He lives for me. I know it and I know that God knows it, and I cannot deny it.

♡ So funny story. Pictured below is President and Sister Brennan, our mission leaders. I love them so much. We were on our Mission Leadership Council call (with all of the other leaders in the mission--Sister Training Leaders, Zone Leaders, and Assistants to the President). President and Sister Brennan were mastering some of the fun features of zoom, including fun backgrounds. Sister Nielsen and I thought that it was the funniest thing, so during the break we went to screenshot them. We thought we were muted, but everyone in the entire meeting heard us yelling, "Screenshot it! Screenshot it! They're so cute!" And this is the shot we got of them laughing at us. Luckily, one of the elders let us know that we weren't on mute pretty soon after that! Yikes, so even though it was embarrassing, it was really great.

♡ We sadly had to send a few missionaries home this past week, but a blessing that came through that was Sister Cook joining us on Saturday! She is the sweetest person I have met in my life. We are seriously so blessed to have her. Also we got to celebrate her 20th birthday yesterday!

trio power!!

♡ We also had a wonderful lesson with Jasper about recognizing the spirit. She told us in the lesson, she felt something that was different but gave her chills down her back when we bore testimony to her. She also came to the virtual Book of Mormon class and mentioned again how she was feeling the spirit so strongly. We are so excited to teach her this week!

A thought that has been in my mind this week was about how we all fit into our Heavenly Father's plan. God is no respecter of persons, and there is no one fit mold for who can return to live with Them again. This quote has brought truth to that question—no matter who we are, as we strive to be like our Savior, it is enough. "When God appeared to Joseph Smith, He introduced His Son, Jesus Christ, and said, “Hear Him!”¹ Joseph spent the rest of his life hearing Him and following Him. As with Joseph, our discipleship begins with our decision to hear and follow the Savior Jesus Christ. If you desire to follow Him, gather your faith and take upon yourself His cross. You will find that you do belong in His Church—a place of warmth and welcoming where you can join in the grand pursuit of discipleship and happiness." I know that YOU belong. As you strive to be like the Savior, He will strengthen you and push you. 

Here is a link to the full talk to read!

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/54uchtdorf?lang=eng

Lots of love,

Sister Johnson

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

500 W Lake Lansing Rd Apt B 16

East Lansing, MI 48823-1479

the cutest easter gifts dropped off by some members

far off in the distance, me and my best friend

baby turtle who i proceeded to drop ever so sadly

The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

April 6, 2020

hello!

we had a great week here with many miracles. i feel as though i am still in denial about this virus and that any time now we will get a call telling us we can go back outside for work. we have been so blessed this weekend to hear from our living prophet, Russel M. Nelson. i am especially grateful for the messages shared that were centered on Christ and the continuing restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. here are a few of the many blessings!

♡ this week we met the sweetest woman named Robin! she had previously requested a bible from missionaries but never got it. when we shared the book of mormon with her, she said it was an answer to her prayers! God continues to provide miracles to us even in times like this.

♡ we also were able to teach megan, sister nielsen’s friend over skype! it was really cool, we were able to teach with missionaries in washington that live in her area. technology is the coolest!

♡ we also taught our new friend Jasper. she reached out to us last week looking for an Elder who taught her previously. she is going through a lot of struggles right now and it was really powerful to testify to her of the power of the atonement in her life. it is hard to understand how much Christ truly suffered on our behalf, to allow us to never be alone in our sorrows.

♡ it was sister nielsen’s 1 year anniversary of being a missionary, so her parents ordered and sent us sushi! it was so good and crazy to think i am 6 weeks away from being out for a year! 

♡ we were invited by the prophet to participate in a worldwide fast. this is where we go without food or water for 24 hours or 2 consecutive meals for relief from this pandemic. no matter your faith please join us in fasting this friday. if you have any questions about how to fast please email me!  

fast with us!

General Conference was so spiritually edifying and I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of this gospel. I know it has been restored through a living prophet, Joseph Smith. I know that my Savior lives and loves me and you. He is at the head of this church. I know that ,"He came to pay a debt he didn’t owe, because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay." He is our Redeemer and if we Hear, Hearken, and Heed Him, we can overcome the world. 

the new church symbol :)

the restoration proclamation to the world!

bless my parents for ordering chipotle to be delivered to us during conference

If you didn't get the opportunity to see conference, GO WATCH IT! If you did, WATCH IT AGAIN! I felt so much peace as I heard testimonies of Jesus Christ and of the First Vision.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/general-conference?lang=eng  

I love you all! Stay healthy and safe!

Sister Johnson

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

500 W Lake Lansing Rd Apt B 16

East Lansing, MI 48823-1479

our district! (lansing zone leaders and the assistants)

also we go running a lot! it is a lot of ... fun :]