falling in love with Jesus

October 21, 2019

hey everyone!

as always, we have been having a party down here in sturgis! so many awesome things this week and next! let me give y'all the rundown

we hit our 5 month and celebrated with brownies :)

•  we had the amazing opportunity to hear from President Ballard, Elder Christofferson, and Elder Bennet this weekend for a North America North East mission broadcast! it was so powerful to hear two apostles of the Lord speak and council us on why we share the gospel. 

•  we also had some miracles the other night. our plans for the evening fell through and we weren't sure how we could best use our time. we decided to go out and bike, talking to the people that were put in our path. we met 5 awesome people all with a sincere desire to learn! God really does answer prayers when we commit to act. 

•  we bought some rakes and went around biking (with our rakes) and asked people if we could rake their yard. it was so awesome and we met some amazing people.

rakes!

•  we had interviews this week which is awesome. I seriously love my President and the council he gives. bonus we got to go to target and qdoba while we were in battle creek. blessings on blessings.

qdoba with my favorite people

•  training is still a blast. sister nelson came pretrained, I swear. I love being in a trio with sister nelson and sister jacobs. it is definitely not easy but has really allowed me to grow and deepen my love for my companions. 

we all accidentally wore stripes so we took a pic and then changed lol

•  we also had stake conference and were able to hear from two area seventies and they counseled us in recognizing the spirit more abundantly in our lives. 

Something powerful that President Ballard shared in the meeting was that we need to "fall in love with Jesus." When we come to deeply understand the Atonement, or Christ's suffering which was so individual to us, we fall in love with him. We feel a desire to use the Atonement in our lives DAILY and seek the comfort he is so willing to give. My absolute favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon is Alma 7:11-12. Christ felt EVERY pain, EVERY affliction, EVERY temptation, and EVERY sorrow we will endure in this life. He did this so that he could succor us—to care for us, lift us, and carry us through our burdens. As we come to learn that, we have a greater love for all that Christ did for us INDIVIDUALLY. We know that we are never alone in our struggles and trials. We seek to become more like Him and follow Him. I LOVE my Savior and His very personal Atonement and for the strength I receive from Him. I invite you all to learn of Him, use His Atonement, and fall in love with Him. Sorry, I don't think I could ever stop talking about Jesus Christ, but I would love to share what I studied this week. My FAVORITE parable is found in Luke 15:3-7. It is the parable of the lost sheep. The Shepherd left behind his flock of 99 to find the one. Many of us feel lost in a lot of different ways. Christ is ALWAYS seeking us out to bring us home and when he does, He lays us across His shoulders rejoicing to have us back. 

I love the work that I get to do each day, helping people grow closer to Jesus Christ.

we were forced to get flu shots so we had to flex them..

sturgis WHAT the electric city

I love y'all and appreciate all the love and support! have a wonderful week♥

sister johnson 

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

195 Memorial Dr Apt B 21

Sturgis, MI 49091

HALLOWEEN CRUNCH IS BACK

Monday, October 14, 2019

Hey kids it’s been a bomb week!

We picked up our little pumpkin on Thursday and she is seriously the cutest! 

me and sister jacobs on our way to get our pumpkin

me and sister jacobs WITH our pumpkin

our whole district is training so here’s a district pic 

• We were finally able to teach our friend Mayra who has been really busy and it was so powerful to see the impact the Atonement had on her. We also were able to teach Rick the Plan of Salvation and the member we brought helped to really bring the spirit to testify to him that he could be with his wife again. We also taught Alida as well and she and her mom are really progressing. 

• We got another flat tire on Saturday haha! It was an even a different tire than the one that popped last week. Thankfully, our bishop was driving right behind us and helped us change the tire. We don't seem to have a lot of luck with cars lol.   

• We were also able to teach a lesson to a couple who were previously baptized but never confirmed. We had our bishop come and help to clarify their questions and understanding of doctrines. We shared Acts 19 which was super helpful and was cool to study as well. 

• We got some Chick fil a while in Lansing and it was so bomb. I love that place. 

• Training has definitely made me reflect on how hard I really am working. I felt like I was doing my best but with Sister Nelson, I realize that I have many things to improve on. She is doing very well and has such a desire to go and share the gospel! Being in a trio has also made me be a lot more intentional with the way I teach, the way I act and how I work but it has all been a great learning experience thus far. I have really come to realize it is not about me at all but about the work and helping Sister Nelson and Sister Jacobs.

• I have also really loved studying more about the New Testament and the powerful teachings of Christ. One story that I think is so interesting is about Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus Christ. He heard of his sickness and decided to stay longer in Judea. In the Jewish culture at that time, a person wasn't considered to be truly separated from their spirit until 4 days after their death. Christ evidently did not come to see Mary and Martha until 4 days after. Christ, being someone of far greater perspective and knowledge of Gods plan and also had the power to raise Lazarus yet he "wept" as we read in John 11:35. Christ has so much love and compassion for us. He wept with Mary because he knew what she was facing. He endured it all, so that he could know how to succor- or show compassion through our struggles. I love Jesus Christ and the power His love has in my life. I know He is my Savior and Redeemer. 

Have a bomb week!

Sister Johnson

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CEREAL IS HERE

Me in literal heaven with the cutest dog (almost a bear) named Winston. He is actually the love of my life.

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

195 Memorial Dr Apt B 21

Sturgis, MI 49091

we're expecting!👶🏼

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

hey yall!

it’s transfer week and boy do we have news! Sister Jacob's and I are trio training!! so pumped because I get to stay with Sister Jacob's and train a new little pumpkin! here's the week:

• this week we did a lot of service but it so much fun! we helped cut up some trees, serve people lunch, and helped garden. 

• we also got to visit with our sweet friend rick who just quit his job and is ready to start coming to church! he wasn't able to watch conference but loved reading some talks given in previous general conferences. 

• we also visited with dave and debbie and we sadly had to stop teaching them because they are heading to South Carolina this week and they weren't progressing either. we are just hopeful they will ponder what we've taught them and one day be ready to learn again

• we got a flat tire and our car is dumb and told us it was the wrong tire so we ended up overfilling one tire with a different tire that was flat that's what you get with two people who don’t know what they are doing hahaha. so shout out to a member's husband, coming out to our district council and filling up our tire enough to get us to Boland Tire lol.

as many of you know, this weekend was general conference (aka the best weekend of the year) and we get to hear from our living prophet and apostles! it was such a spiritual recharge and I loved every minute of it. I especially liked the focus on keeping covenants, enduring joy, overcoming the adversary, trusting in the Lord, and receiving revelation. each of these are crucial to our eternal progression to grow closer to our Father in Heaven and one day come back home to Him. I have so much love for this gospel and I have seen it bless countless lives. Elder Johnson's talk about the adversary really struck me. Satan uses deception, distraction and discouragement to separate us from what God truly wants us to become. as we love God and our neighbors, pray everyday, read and study the Book of Mormon everyday, and prayerfully partake of the sacrament every week, we will have the strength to overcome all that the adversary throws at us. 

love yas and hope you can each learn from and apply something from general conference in your life. 

♥Sister Johnson

riana.johnson@missionary.org

Sister Johnson

195 Memorial Dr Apt B 21

Sturgis, MI 49091