Hola y'all!
Let's just get right into this whole emailing thing!
So on Tuesday we had our preparation day since it was transfers this week. I'm staying in DeRidder, finishing out training Sister Lynch! Whoop whoop! That morning the maintenance guy came over to put some shelves and rods in our closets and fix our fan light, just the usual apartment being broken stuff. That afternoon we made a trip up to Leesville to say goodbye to Sister Cave since we didn’t get to see her at district council (meeting with missionaries in our general area) on Friday. We decided to meet at the basketball courts at their apartment complex because they were going to get tested for COVID that day, don’t worry though we were outside, stayed very far apart and wore our masks! Also took some advice from my mom and didn’t stand down wind jaja. Sister Lynch made them cookies and that was when we realized they couldn’t taste them...awkward. After that we came home and I got to talk some more to my family. Then p-day was over, so we called a bunch of people, had our daily reading with Brother Larimer and did some Facebook work.
Wednesday morning we went over to God’s Food Box to help out. It's a little food bank in town and we were able to reorganize their inventory since it was still a mess since Laura. It was very satisfying to organize all the boxes and get them in place though! That afternoon we had a lesson fall through...sadness, but were able to call some people so that is always good. We were finally able to finish all of our studies late afternoon and Sister Lynch even passed off some of her training stuff! Then we called some more people, read with Brother Larimer and went over to the Jackson’s home. Sadly we knocked on the door and Janaya sent us a text to cancel. So we came home, had dinner, did some Facebook work and had another lesson fall through...oof welcome to the life of a missionary; rejection jaja.
On Thursday we did our usual morning studies and I had some questions about the plan of salvation (God's plan of happiness for us, explaining where we come from, why we're here and where we're going) ...let’s just say we got stuck in a hole about what happens after we die, but oh well jaja. Sadly our Plan of Salvation lesson with Robert and Darlene (we've only had one lesson with this couple, but they believed everything we said was true) fell through, but they seemed genuinely sorry, so that was nice! Then we did some weekly planning, called one of our active members, went for a walk, did some more weekly planning, called Brother Larimer, and had dinner. Then Darlene called us back that night and they just wanted to explain to us that they aren’t door slammers but said "you've got us! We are sold!” They are so sweet and they even talked to Brother and Sister Pemberton! Bonding!!
Friday we had district council (meeting with missionaries in our general area or Stake) over Zoom because the Leesville sisters have COVID. The Nachitoches elders were also pretty sick... Our district is just falling apart, but don’t fear Sister Lynch and I are still here - nice and healthy! Then we made homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Yum :). After lunch we met a new member that just moved in, Sister Karasawa over Zoom. Oh the wonders of technology. Then we went over to help Ray clean up his yard. While we were there Sister Lynch almost set him on fire (pouring gas into his 4 wheeler with him on it)...that was fun...he still holds that against her jaja. He was a little mad, but he let us take a selfie with him and he asked if we could say a prayer before we left! He said we could even read some stuff with him next time AND that he would have a scripture memorized for us next time! I told him I already had a nice short scripture for him to memorize; Alma 15:8 that says "If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed." One of my personal favorites! Then we came home, a lesson fell through but we still had our call with Brother Larimer. We were able to call some people and do some Facebook work. We had pie and ice cream for dessert that night thanks to Sister Bolyan :)
On Saturday morning we had a mission wide vehicle training meeting. We even did a Kahoot and our companionship got into the top 5! (That was a real throwback to high school Kahoots jaja) The rest of the day we had our studies, lunch, another lesson fell through and then Bishop and his wife came over to dedicate our apartment (basically Bishop said a prayer to bless our apartment). Then while they were over, they invited us to their home to learn how to make gumbo! Since our lesson with Sonja canceled we went over the Baesler’s home and learned how to make authentic Cajun gumbo! At their house we got to meet their kids, their dogs, drink some Cock n' Bull (a super strong ginger drink), made some gumbo and played a game of Codenames while we waited for the gumbo to cook. It was really nice and their less active son even stayed for the first 5 minutes of our spiritual thought! MIRACLE!
Sunday morning we visited Grace church, but due to COVID everyone showed up in their cars where the Pastor preached up on a podium and he was broadcast on a radio station. It was also Sister Lynch’s first experience at a different church, so that is always cool! I thought it was interesting that he explained God as being reckless…Anyways the rest of the day we did our studies, watched the live Sunday devotional on Facebook and called a bunch of people. Then we went over to Brother Eastwood’s again and had the sacrament. He absolutely loved having the sacrament, he said he felt like he had been cleansed and like a burden had been lifted from him! By the end of it he asked if we could just hang out together, he just really needs a friend! Then we came home, read with Brother Larimer and our lesson with Sonja fell through again...for the third time...oof.
T'was a good week right before Christmas :) I just want to say how much I love reading from the scriptures. From the Bible and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ I learn so much about our Savior and God's plan for me. I don't even know what I would do if I didn't have the word of God to study. I know that scriptures are one of the many ways Heavenly Father speaks to His children here on earth and I am so grateful for them in my life.
Have a blessed week!
Smile because God loves you and remember that I love, love, love y'all too!
Love,
Sister Johnson
December Bug Bite Count: 10 bites
November Bug Bite Count: 18 bites
October Bug Bite Count: 39 bites
September Bike Mileage: 0.0 miles
August Bike Mileage: 46.9 miles
July Bike Mileage: 161.0 miles
June Bike Mileage: 61.6 miles
Pictures!!!
1. Sister Lynch and I eating some s'mores!
2. Our selfie with Ray!
3. Eating our gumbo leftovers! Delicious!
4. We eat so many s'mores...
