Hey!!!!How's everyone's week? Mine has been good!!! We have two people on date for baptism now!!! So Yuchen is one of them, as I said last week. We had him set for the date of May 2nd and then we met with him this week and asked him how he was feeling about it and he asked if we could move the date up to April 18th! Crazy huh?! So we moved it up and he's exciting and progressing towards that date. We also have Loveday who is on date. She has been meeting with the missionaries for almost a year now. She's from China so she has been struggling with the concept of God just because that's the Chinese culture. They are taught in school that there is no God so this is a new concept for them. But just within the past 3 weeks that we've been here it's been cool to see her progression and her faith building. The missionaries have already taught her all of the lessons a bunch of times. She is very knowledgeable in the Gospel and knows all the doctrine, she's just having a hard time applying it to herself and gaining a testimony of it. We told her though that we've taught her all the lessons and there's nothing more than we have to teach her. At this point her next step is baptism cause we have nothing else to offer her. So we told her that and she knew that was true so she decided to take a leap of faith and accept a baptism date of April 11th! It was nice because we have a member with us who is a convert of about a year. He bore his testimony of his conversion and how he didn't get his answer about if he should get baptized or not until after he actually did get baptized. It wasn't until then that he got the answer that it was a good decision for him to make. I think that really helped Loveday to hear that. So we're really excited about that. Sister Jones said that she didn't get a baptism until 9 months into her mission so this is really uncommon for missionaries to have this experience. Basically it's downhill from here lol jk but I'm truly blessed for these experiences and can't wait to see what else is in store for me on my mission.
We've slowly gotten better this last week so that's good. The other Sisters that we work with went to the doctor and found out they had bronchitis so that's no fun. It's nice to finally know what it was that we were dealing with though. So we've just been resting and we're definitely better this week than last. I still have a cough and sore throat but nothing I can't push through.
This last Thursday we had Zone conference with another zone in the area. It lasted pretty much all day but it was fun to be with other missionaries and here some of their experiences. We did a lot of training from different leaders and learned more about what's been going on in the area numbers wise and goals and stuff for the future. We also learned about the new Easter video that the church produced and it is amazing! It was just released on Friday so if any of you haven't seen it yet then I highly recommend you see it and share it with others. It's called Because He lives. Basically it's a 3 minute video about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The message that it shares is that Because He lives again, we can too after we die and that we can do all thing through Him. It's really cool! It's on a website that the church created called HeLives.mormon.org. It's cool because not only is the video on the website but it also talks about the events that took place the week before the Savior's Resurrection and it has people's testimonies about it. The church is going to update this website even after Easter and keep it going with different things about the Savior. So ya go check it out if you haven't and share it on every social media that you have! Haha also the church has purchased the youtube banner on Easter. So all day it'll have the BecauseHeLives video as the banner. It is estimated that 240 million people will see a 15 second clip of it that day. Man that is awesome!!!! We as missionaries have found this to be a great tool in sharing the gospel. We invite you to use it in your missionary efforts as well. As you share this video with others, the Lord will bless you in your efforts!
We also had the opportunity on Saturday night to attend the General Women's Conference. The topic was centered on Families. It is the 100th anniversary for FHE and the 20th anniversary for The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Families are central to Heavenly Father's plan for us. I feel like a lot of times we take our families for granted, I know I do. I gained a greater appreciation for my family and how much they truly mean to me. If you haven't seen that yet either I would invite you to look it up on lds.org. Whether you're male or female, the message of the importance of families is for everyone!
I'm really excited for General Conference this weekend! I have always loved conference but I've heard that it is so much better as a missionary. I advise everyone to watch. It's a big time commitment but it is so worth it! Think this week about questions that are on your mind and then write them down. As you listen to conference I PROMISE that those questions will be answered. And I think writing them down really helps. It's good to have them in your mind, but when you write them down you are more focused on what you're looking for as you listen to conference. We only get to hear from the prophet and the other leaders of the church two times a year so take advantage of it! They have been praying and studying for you and what you need to hear. Their messages are truly inspired and will help greatly in our lives as we apply the things they teach to ourselves.
Well I hope everyone is doing really well! Keep in touch and let me know. I know some people's spring breaks were last week? How did that go? Do anything fun? Let me know how conference is for you and how you like the Because He Lives video. They're both amazing!!!!!
Love you all!!!!
Sister Kayla Johnson
We've slowly gotten better this last week so that's good. The other Sisters that we work with went to the doctor and found out they had bronchitis so that's no fun. It's nice to finally know what it was that we were dealing with though. So we've just been resting and we're definitely better this week than last. I still have a cough and sore throat but nothing I can't push through.
This last Thursday we had Zone conference with another zone in the area. It lasted pretty much all day but it was fun to be with other missionaries and here some of their experiences. We did a lot of training from different leaders and learned more about what's been going on in the area numbers wise and goals and stuff for the future. We also learned about the new Easter video that the church produced and it is amazing! It was just released on Friday so if any of you haven't seen it yet then I highly recommend you see it and share it with others. It's called Because He lives. Basically it's a 3 minute video about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The message that it shares is that Because He lives again, we can too after we die and that we can do all thing through Him. It's really cool! It's on a website that the church created called HeLives.mormon.org. It's cool because not only is the video on the website but it also talks about the events that took place the week before the Savior's Resurrection and it has people's testimonies about it. The church is going to update this website even after Easter and keep it going with different things about the Savior. So ya go check it out if you haven't and share it on every social media that you have! Haha also the church has purchased the youtube banner on Easter. So all day it'll have the BecauseHeLives video as the banner. It is estimated that 240 million people will see a 15 second clip of it that day. Man that is awesome!!!! We as missionaries have found this to be a great tool in sharing the gospel. We invite you to use it in your missionary efforts as well. As you share this video with others, the Lord will bless you in your efforts!
We also had the opportunity on Saturday night to attend the General Women's Conference. The topic was centered on Families. It is the 100th anniversary for FHE and the 20th anniversary for The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Families are central to Heavenly Father's plan for us. I feel like a lot of times we take our families for granted, I know I do. I gained a greater appreciation for my family and how much they truly mean to me. If you haven't seen that yet either I would invite you to look it up on lds.org. Whether you're male or female, the message of the importance of families is for everyone!
I'm really excited for General Conference this weekend! I have always loved conference but I've heard that it is so much better as a missionary. I advise everyone to watch. It's a big time commitment but it is so worth it! Think this week about questions that are on your mind and then write them down. As you listen to conference I PROMISE that those questions will be answered. And I think writing them down really helps. It's good to have them in your mind, but when you write them down you are more focused on what you're looking for as you listen to conference. We only get to hear from the prophet and the other leaders of the church two times a year so take advantage of it! They have been praying and studying for you and what you need to hear. Their messages are truly inspired and will help greatly in our lives as we apply the things they teach to ourselves.
Well I hope everyone is doing really well! Keep in touch and let me know. I know some people's spring breaks were last week? How did that go? Do anything fun? Let me know how conference is for you and how you like the Because He Lives video. They're both amazing!!!!!
Love you all!!!!
Sister Kayla Johnson