I'm Staying!

Hello there! 

So, very unfortunately, we are supposed to already be at the Mount to hike it with the other missionaries, so this will have to be a very short email. 

But it was transfers this week and it was pretty crazy.  I feel like I'm a full time Sister Training Leader, but it's been really fun.  First Sister Taimona, from Rotorua, stayed with us for three days because Sister Judd . . .and Sister Flake, Nakagawa, Anderson, and Chudleigh all went home.  But we have sisters in Te Puke now and we are so excited!  It's Sister Lewis, who is my favorite, and Sister Toaripi, who is a brand new missionary from PNG.  She's adorable! But they are whitewashing and don't have a phone yet so that is sad.  So we've been showing them around their area and introducing them to all the Te Puke people so we won't have to it anymore.  (We will still help feed the homeless . . .of course!)  Also, Sister Machen is training and the Greerton Sisters don't have a car anymore.  So we've been driving, helping, and organizing sisters a lot.  It's so fun though.

But our area is doing so great.  We are praying for Erena.  Chasidy is rock solid!  She is having her interview for her patriarchal blessing tomorrow.  Also, we have a new Welcome Bay bishopric so that's exciting.  Also, the Prestons are moving back to Ogden in three months, so we will be in the same country and I can come visit them. And finally, guess who the new Zone Leader is?  Elder Fellingham.  I swear he is following me.  We've been in every area together.  But we are doing great.

I had an amazing experience this week with feeling God's love.  I have been wanting to improve my prayers and make them more meaningful. So one day during studies I was imagining what would happen if Heavenly Father came to my flat.  What would I do?  What would I say to Him?  I decided that I would want Him to teach me, I would worship Him, and I would want Him to tell me how He felt about me.  So then I knelt down and prayed and asked Heavenly Father, really sincerely, how He felt about me.  Of course I know that He loves me, but in that moment, I felt it more powerfully than I ever had.  I just burst into tears!  I just felt this wave of peace and calm and joy and love.  It was so real.  It felt like even though Heavenly Father wasn't physically in my flat, I could feel His arms around me telling me that He is proud of me, despite my weaknesses and that He loves me more than I can imagine.

Sorry that this is short! 

Arohanui,

Sister Johnson :D