Katie's Mission - Bradenton - Transfer 13
Bradenton - Week 74 - December 14, 2020
Getting corona & visiting Temple Square
Companion: Sister Teasdale
Helloo everyone! First we had transfers on Tuesday.. so sad to say bye to my bffs Hna Frei and Sis Phelps. BUT we did have the best last night. We called almost all of our friends so they could say goodbye and had awesome lessons. These people bring us so much joy!!! We decorated Sonya and Tyrone's door for the Light the World challenge with actual lights and they just about died. We love them. We also set a date with Patty for February.. she just turned 16, loves the gospel, and wants to make sure she is prepared for her baptism. And on Tuesday we basically went on a mission tour with district council, visiting Brandon zooone to pick up a baptism suit, and transferring in Tampa! :))
I LOVE Sister Teasdale! It has been an insanely busy week adjusting to all of the stl responsibilities and new area. We have been working so hard to meet our goals and hit them!! She has some amazing ideas and has been in Sarasota for a while so knows just how to help!
Okay quick story so Tuesday I started feeling really sick and our mission nurse kept checking up on me and I was starting to feel better. But he had me get tested just to be sure.. so we drove to st. Pete and did our weekly planning in the car waiting for the test. Longest 15 minutes of my life but I was negative and I feel fine now. That would've been super bad.. like I said we went on a mission tour. Anyways we got to go on the famous SKYBRIDGE so that was sooo beautiful. We were basically driving in the middle of the ocean!
That day we had a lesson with Sonya about the gospel of Jesus Christ. She loves God so much and does all she can to follow Him. She wanted to know how she can make God proud and how she can know when she is forgiven. We taught about repentance and the sacrament and were able to share Moroni 6:8 which says "as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven" She found so much peace in that. I love how much peace comes from the scriptures and I love guiding people to them.
Since I was sick, we didn't get to fit in an exchange with the Cortez hermanas so we ended up having dinner with them and watching the sunset on the ocean (#sunsetFriday) We chalked the name of the Facebook page and a man named Aaron offered to take our picture and we ended up talking with him for a while! We loved sharing what we do and bearing testimony of the restoration. Hopefully he calls us:)
Zone shenanigans!!
- We do a zone activity every Friday night on our zone calls. Last week we had everyone send in a baby picture and we had to guess who was who which was hilarious. This week for the last week of the transfer, we did zone superlatives! I got most likely to get corona, most likely to finish their mission in Sarasota (ouch) and most likely to become the Relief Society General President with Sister Teasdale. Haha!
Christmas things!!
- We went caroling with the district to a bunch of our friends and some of the Creole families the elders are teaching! So fun.
- We had a virtual tour of Temple Square with Chris and his mom Darlene!! AMAZING. The lights and the temple were gorgeous but the tour was all centered on the life of Jesus Christ. It was a very emotional and spiritual experience for all, especially Darlene:) We are excited to keep teaching her.
Sunday!!
I was so excited for the chance to conduct the music again but let's just say it was a train wreck. It was our first time singing in sacrament meeting again and the lady playing the piano had some hard songs haha. Anyways..
We also taught sunday school which we were nervous about but it went so well. The ward shared the most insightful comments about how gospel preparation can help us through trials. Essentially, Christ is the one who has prepared and who helps us through our trials. One of my favorite quotes pretty much sums it up.. "When you wonder how much pain you can endure well, remember Him. He suffered what you suffer so that He would know how to lift you up. He may not remove the burden, but He will give you strength, comfort, and hope. He knows the way. He drank the bitter cup. He endured the suffering of all." -Henry B. Eyring
We are soo pumped for this transfer and all of the work we are going to do and miracles we are going to see. Plus Christmas and New Years!!! Hope everyone is having the happiest holidays!
Love Sister Johnson
Bradenton - Week 75 - December 21, 2020
Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?
Companion: Sister Teasdale
Hello everyone & happy 4 days til Christmas!!! WOOHOO!
This week we did a hot chocolate stand on the riverwalk which was so fun!! Yes, it did get cold enough to give out hot chocolate. The humidity makes it freezing, but it didn't last very long. We were all itching to street contact and it was super fun to talk to people, wish them a Merry Christmas, and do a survey with them:) this area is so pretty!!
Our friends are progressing little by little. Chris is doing amazing and is trying to start sharing the gospel with his family. He is going through some hard things but is handling it so well because he knows God has a plan for him and Christ can strengthen him. He says he would never have handled it this way before he learned about Christ.. He can truly change our hearts.
We had a lesson with Vercy and her son, trying to explain the priesthood and baptism. She is having a bit of a hard time with it but is still so excited to get into the Book of Mormon and keep meeting.
Our friend Stefani is so funny.. she called us while she was running a mile!! She was like "hey guys.. I'm running a mile right now! You can encourage me!" So we cheered her on, too funny.
We visited out friend Patty at work.. a Chicago style pizza place. The pizza was delicious and there were Cubs fans signs everywhere. GO CUBS! Patty is the sweetest and we are trying to introduce her to the YW in the ward this week.
We went bowling with our friend Rhiannon and a member in our ward!!! Please pray for her as her family is trying to convince her to turn away from the church and it's so sad! The spirit is touching her heart as she reads the Book of Mormon though and she's going strong:)
One more! We visited a member who made us tacos and smores.. she has the cutest backyard right on the ocean! She has been through the refiners fire.. all 3 of her children have passed away and she bore her testimony to us of how Christ is her rock and He is the only thing getting through because she knows she will see them again.
Oh also I hit my 17 months this week and we celebrated with ice cream on Anna Maria Island:)))
I wanted to share something from my studies.. one of my favorite things about the gospel is that we get to keep learning and improving all the time. I read a talk that explained how when Christ said one of his disciples would betray him, they didn't ask "Lord, is it him??" They said "Lord, is it I?" We can constantly be asking the Lord what we need to improve (rather than noticing what others can do better) and He will help us to become more like Him.
(Lord, Is it I by elder uchtdorf!!)
Well I just looove the gospel and I am so grateful to be here during Christmas. I have grown so much closer to my Savior as I study His birth and His life. I know He was born for us. He is the greatest gift!
Merry merry Christmas!
Love Sister Johnson
Bradenton - Week 76 - December 28, 2020
Hey sisters you should get yourselves some chocolate covered almonds
Companion: Sister Teasdale
Hey fam!!!! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas:) we had a FANTASTIC week and saw God's hand in it all!
Christmas miracles:
Christmas Eve, day we handed out candy canes and pictures of Jesus at Marina Jack (by all the yachts in Sarasota) it was so fun, I looove talking to people!!
On Christmas Eve night, we were walking around an empty apartment complex trying to find a friend who requested a visit. It was dark and windy but man when we found the house, a light as warmth seemed to come. A mom and a bunch of little kids came out! (They are the cutest seriously.) We explained to them what they do and they were so excited to learn. We gave each of the kids a picture of Jesus and talked about Him and how his church is restored! Then they each read a verse from 3 Nephi 11 and decided they each wanted their own copy of the Book of Mormon. It was one of the sweetest moments. So we decorated copies of the Book of Mormon for them of course and delivered them. We have a chapel tour set up tonight but sadly we have to pass them off to the elders because they live in their area haha but they will do amazing!
Christmas Eve, we slept by the tree and watched the Christ Child:))
On Christmas Day, we went to Chris' families house for dinner!!! It was fun to be around their whole family and get to know them all a little better. They all had questions about how Chris found the church and why he is joining and so it was a perfect opportunity for them (specifically Chris' brother and dad) to ask us over dessert! They had great questions and we ended up teaching the whole Restoration with Chris! #proudmissionarymoment They each accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said they are excited to read it. Best Christmas ever!! They also gave us gifts and made us feel like part of the family, it was super sweet. Chris' mom Darlene said she will be coming to church one of these days, we looove her!
Ok one more thing.. exchanges this week were the bomb.. I got to go with the legendary Hermana Farley and Hermana VanDam. I seriously love them so much.. we were able to teach a lot of great lessons and ended it all off with dinner in the city at SoFresh Sarasota. YES it was sooo fresh and now we like to call everything so fresh as you can imagine. We were laughing so hard we were crying at that dinner. They are the best examples to me!!!
We were able to find 8 new friends this week and 8 came to church! One of them is Stacey.. who called us the morning of and said I am coming to church!! The service had already begun when a family we met at the booth walked in too!! We are loving our friends and having a great time! We are ready to grind it out for my last week! I LOVE being a missionary.
Love,
Sister Johnson!!
P.S. yes the subject is a quote from the elders "hey sisters you should really get yourselves some chocolate covered almonds.. you deserve it!"
Bradenton - Week 77 - January 4, 2020
My last cuban!!!
Companion: Sister Teasdale
Hello family and friends! Very hard to believe it's my last email but I just wanted to thank you all for the love & support & prayers you have shown me while I've been here in Florida!! It has been a huge strength!! And especially my cute family! They are the best!
Here are some highlights from my last week!
•trying gator in a burger @ RJ Gators- so good!
•exchange with Hermana bushar and Hermana montoya! They are killing it in Cortez
•teaching all the hermanas german!
•shopping with the sisters @ University Town Center
•eating my last Cuban sandwich in Florida.. pure joy
•running by the ocean for exercise
•lesson with 16 year old Harley and all the young men in the ward:)) Harley said his first prayer!!!
•Stacey is elect! We delivered a Book of Mormon and he committed himself to read it, come to church, and have another lesson. The kindest person ever.
•we set some lofty goals this week and saw lots of cool tender mercies.. I also loved getting to know more members this week and learning from them.
Well it's not over yet! We still have some lessons tonight which will be amazing((:
I want to end with my simple testimony that I KNOW that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that His church is restored on the Earth. Even with our weaknesses, He is the one who helps us along each day. God is so aware of all of His children and I know he answers our prayers. I love the gospel with all of my heart and I am grateful to continue becoming a disciple of Christ each day of my life!
Catch you on the flip side!
Sister Johnson
