Wise Men Still Seek Him

Happy New Years everybody!!! Man it was so good to see the lot of you. Yall are so great. Well this week, was pretty slow going as far as teaching and investigators go. We did have some good lessons with the people we did see so that was nice :) 

Christmas was so good! On Christmas Adam all of our zone went to downtown Greenville and sang Christmas carols while some missionaries passed out the A Savior is Born pass along cards. It wasn't too successful because it was raining. But it was fun! Our Zone leaders asked me to be in charge of all the songs and conduct them. So everyone stood on the steps with their umbrellas while I stood out in the rain leading them in song. But it was fun, I enjoyed it. 

Then Christmas Eve we got to spend it with the Kunzlers, there was no acting out of the nativity but it was still very spiritual and it felt like Christmas Eve. Holy cow, never so much mac n cheese in my life. Luckily it's not Kraft-y. It's the good kind. 

Christmas morning we woke up and opened all our presents, I think we've got enough sweets to last the rest of my mission, so all is well. Don't bother sending me anymore. 

For dinner we went to the Lahuskys and they had all their family over. We played the states game!! Man, it was a game me and Sister Smith introduced to them. They really seemed to enjoy whacking people on the head with a roll of christmas wrapping. Things got a little violent but no fatal injuries. All in all it was just a good holiday. 

But to focus more on my favorite part of everything, Christ was very much at the center of everything. The more I showed the Savior is Born video the more it meant to me. Some of my favorite parts in that video is where they say "rejoice greatly." No wonder Christmas time is the most wonderful part of the year. Whether we realize it or not, the spirit of Christ is pouring out over the world and it's the real reason why we feel so joyful at christmas time. I rejoice because this week is New Years, and Jesus Christ has given me the chance to make new years goals. Things I'm going to change this year, so when I'm home this time next year, you'll know that the Savior has impacted my life greatly. That Because of Him I've changed. I hope that you'll be able to see the Savior in me more and I'm grateful to be doing what He would've been doing when He was on the earth. They talk all the time here in the south about being saved by grace. I'm so eternally grateful that we've all been saved by grace. But I hope to be changed by grace and I hope you will all be too. I love my Savior and my hope is that we live our lives so that when people talk of Christ, they immediately think of us. 

I love you guys so much and hope you have a great new years! May it bring many changes and choices that lead us to our Father in Heaven :) 

Sister Johanson JR

Sister Johanson's before and after picture of her rain biking adventure

Joy to the World

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!!!

It's finally here. It doesn't really feel like it's Christmas but I'm excited it is. Excited to see all your faces!!!

So this last week was transfers, my new companion is Sister Smith. She is from Middleton, Idaho and she is so awesome!! She is a fireball and I can tell we are going to have a lot of success!!! It's going to be great :)

Let's see training..I don't feel like much is changed. Sister Smith is just so prepared to be here, she knows all the lessons really well. Things are just gonna be swell. 

Man oh man I'm so excited for it to be Christmas. I'm also excited for holidays to be over so people will stop putting us off. But the spirit of Christ is so strong this time of year and we've been able to have some cool experiences with people this last week. 

Sister Smith's first experience in the mission field was our ride making us wait for 2 hours after transfer meeting while they went to the temple. So that was fun. 

We got missionaried to last night. Two women from a baptist church knocked on our apartment door and when they found out we were missionaries they thought it was their duty to "warn" us by kindly reading from the bible and sweetly telling us we were cursed and going to hell unless we repented. It was really funny, they were so sweet about it. So we gave them a card and wished them a Merry Christmas. We are so nice :) 

Everything is all a little fuzzy so I'm not sure what to tell you this week. So I'll just let you know about our Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives and I know He is the reason we are here. He is why we celebrate and why we sing. My heart is so full of love for Him and the chance I have to be out here representing Him. That's not an easy task, or a light one to take on. So I'm trying to be like Jesus and follow in His ways. I watch for the days of gladness when He will come again. I love you all so much and hope you all have a very Christ filled Christmas. Thank you for supporting me and praying for me and helping me be out here. Couldn't do this without you guys. 

Love you!! Merry Christmas!!

Our district,

My lovely Sister Withers

And our Santa that drives around Easley #thisisthesouth

A cheerful heart is good medicine

Man I forgot a title again last week. Sheesh.

Well it's another week and things are still crazy! So much happened last week! Transfers are this week and guess who's getting transferred? Ha, not me! Jokes, you thought it was me. No but my companion is, this will make for 5 companions in 5 transfers. And this one will be green in honor of the Christmas season. If you don't know what that means, it means I'm training. Yes siree, fun stuff. I don't know what I'm gonna do when I don't have to go to a transfer meeting.

This last week we had zone conference and that was so great! It was just what I needed, other than the little black box they stuck in my car. Our mission finally got tiwis so we can all drive better. But don't worry cuz Sister Johanson is an awesome driver and her tiwi never talks to her. 

But something really cool I learned at zone conference was president talked about a baptist guy he had been talking to and had described the feeling he felt after helping someone. He described it as feeling Very "up." Then he went on to say, "I bet Christ felt very 'up' after He went through what He did" and we always think about the atonement of His suffering. Which we should. But can you imagine how "up" He must've felt after taking on all the pains of the world? And suffering for all mankind? He helped us all. I love Christmas time on my mission because I don't have all those traditions and activities going on, so all I really have to focus on is what this season is really about. I'm so grateful for my Savior.

I hope you guys remember too and that you all have a very "up" week. I love you all and can't wait to see you!

Have a blessed one,

Sister Johanson Jr

Dad! It's Spanky!!

We helped the Killoughs move in this week and they live in a haunted

house. Someday I coming back and making a horror film in there. There

are mirrors everywhere.

The first family is the Roberts, we had thanksgiving with the,. They

are so good to us and have is over all the time. The other family is

the Turoks. They are so great too!

This week Ali forgot to give a title so this is it

Hi errybody!! 

Not much time today but I'll hit you with some highlights. 

I finally got to meet one of my investigators this week! Woot woot!! And! Crazy crazy story. She has a missionary friend who she's been writing. She met this girl once at a college tour, but neither of them ended up going to that college. So they literally only met each other once and have stayed in contact since then. But she told us this week she finally wrote her friend back, I asked her where she was serving. Well she's serving in Belgium/Netherlands mission! Guess what her name is? Keagan Hanny! Dressas old companion. Now if that isn't divine intervention, I don't know what is. 

We had stake conference this week and it was amazing. Something that I learned I need to do is bear my testimony more frequently, I encourage you all to do the same. 

Ah shoot, I gotta go. Next week are transfers. If that didn't sneak up on us I don't know what did! Zone conference is this week as well and I'm excited :)

I wrote a letter to the mission president a few weeks ago and he actually replied. He came to our stake conference yesterday and made me come talk to him. Don't worry, he didn't get mad at me. He just told me it made him laugh and that he printed it out to keep. Haha. I also got to see some old Anderson friends since it was stake conference! That was so great :) Not all the ones that I wanted to see but I got to see my old bishop and that was great :) 

Anyway gots to go. Love y'all!!! See your faces in 18 days! :)

Love,

Sister Johanson JR

Oh come let us adore Him

Ok, well I don't have much to say. This week was so long. But so good! And also boring, it's hard to do missionary work here around the holidays. Isn't that the opposite of what they tell you before you come out? Well yeah, nobody wants to listen to you or let you in their door around the holidays so it's kinda frustrating. The work just slows to a turtle pace. And even tho it's just a week it feels like forever cuz mission weeks are much longer than normal weeks when you're a normal person!

We had dinner at the Robert's house; he is the assistant ward mission leader and his wife is just awesome. It wasn't homemade or anything but it was still very good. We had like 3 other Thanksgiving appts we were gonna go to but somehow we ended up being at the Robert's all day yet, it didn't even feel like it, it was so weird. Also! The one thing that was homemade was the turkey. You know those jokes you make about having fried turkey in the South for Thanksgiving? Well they are not actually jokes. It is real. I got to watch them stick the birds into a giant pot of boiling grease. Man, doesn't taste too much different. Pretty good, but I think I prefer the traditional way. 

We went and sang in a nursing home. Oh my goodness that was so fun. We took the ZL's and the Spanish elders and I played the piano while my comp and the elders sang. Oh goodness, so funny. Sister Withers and I picked the songs and I just wish I coulda gotten on camera the elders singing do as I'm doing. Man, great stuff. 

Lets see..we are working more on faith as a power. If you could specifically pray for our zone to have 14 baptisms by the end of the year, your prayers will make a lot of difference. We are going to see miracles!! It's great!!! 

Um...I think that's all for now. Even if it's not I gotta go. So have a great week! Love yall!!

Sister Johanson JR

So I got your packages this week, Mom! Well at least the ones with my

coat and scarves in it. Thank you sooo much! But one of the scarves

was rather large. But I decided I would send you a picture showing

that I'm putting all my things into good use.

The other pic is of us at the Roberts house. Us and our Spanish

elders. We decorated ornaments :) mine is a snowman and he's so cute.

His name is Oatmeal

Our district had a Mexican Thanksgiving

And then I showed the Roberts how to do this :)