Blog:  Bearing Testimonies

This week was full of MIRACLES!!!! Yayaya!! So lately we have been
struggling with finding and teaching people. So we decided to stop our
dilly dallying, not that we were doing anything bad or wrong. But we
decided to be EXACTLY obedient and to work really hard. And oh does
the Lord bless the effort, haha!
So to start off this week we had a p-day and we were finally able to
relax a bit! It was the best! Now with a little bit of energy to work
off of we set out to dendou! (tracking) So we went out and we worked hard and
found some waaaaay awesome people! Then we had a lesson with our
Chinese investigator! Haha, he is 15 and loves basketball and wants to
be a professional singer. Literally have no idea why he is in Japan,
but he is the coolest! So in order to have a lesson with him since he
doesn't really speak English, or Japanese, we google translate
EVERYTHING!!! So sometimes he understands us and sometimes he does
not. And we have tried a hundred different pamphlets and book of
Mormons and stuff from the gospel library, and every time he tells us
it is Taiwanese so he can understand some of it but not perfectly. So
maybe one day we'll actually find some Chinese stuff, haha!!! But the
first lesson we had went pretty well, he was a bit embarrassed to
pray, but we went back on Friday and had him write down his prayer,
and he prayed!!! And in Chinese!!! It was so cool!! Maddie Giles, I
feel like I understood you more that day! He is seriously the
greatest! But he has basketball practice a lot, but we want to bring
him to the Fukuoka ward where there are some Chinese speakers, so
cross your fingers!
Then on Tuesday we were going down to visit a member who lives about
30 minutes away to help her think of ways to help her husband. Sounds
like he works a lot :(. If you ever work too much, then stop it. Just
seeing how his son talked about his Dad just made me so sad. So stop
working people and spend time with your family, you'll be glad you
did!!! But yes, while we were down there we ran into some way awesome
people. Then afterwards it was getting a bit dark and I kept feeling
like instead of visiting a potential investigator who really wasn't
that interested we should go try and dendou some of the apartments
that we saw. So we went over there with not a lot of luck. Then we
knocked on this one door that a teenager answered and I could see her
Mom in the background. So after talking with her for a bit the Mom
came up and asked if we were Mormon. I was a bit shocked and a little
scared, thinking that she had heard who knows what. Then she tells us
that her older sister was a missionary for our church and used to go
to Kurume ward before she moved!! And we asked her if she would like
to know if these things are true for herself, and she said yes!!!! So
we made a return appointment, but unfortunately we made it for a day
we wouldn't be able to make it so we went back to reschedule but she
wasn't there, but she basically told us any day in the afternoon would
be good, so we'll just visit her in the afternoon :) so no worries!!
And on the way there we met this waaay awesome girl who I am not sure
we'll ever meet again, but she will definitely get baptized!!! We gave
her a book of Mormon and tried to make a return appointment, but she
was a bit busy, but she asked if she could tell people about our
English class and the book of Mormon, and we were like, "no." Just
kidding! We were like, "Please do!!" So we didn't get a return
appointment, but I think we just got a new missionary!
Then on our way back from trying to change the appointment, we met the
COOLEST girl!!! She was waay genki(excited) and I first saw her and then we
stopped this other lady, and she went out of site. So we kept biking
down that way and I saw her again, and I like chased that girl down!
But everything we said pretty much got her way pumped and she
basically made a return appointment with us, at a donut shop!! Can you
imagine anything greater?!
Then on Wednesday (sorry I have to do this play by play because
seriously miracles happened everyday!) we had a lesson with our recent
convert who is on his way towards being endowed!! Then we had weekly
planning and we had a party with the other sisters recent convert. Who
was drunk when he came :( but he bought us a cake because
Bair-shimai's birthday was the next day and it was fun talking with
him. He read our palms and told me I would have two husbands, haha!!
Praying that doesn't happen. The cake was super good! Looked good and
tasted good! It was fun, but then he told us he was drunk because he
lost his job, but I think he might have found a new one. Not sure yet,
but please pray for him if you get a chance.
Then on Thursday we went up to have zone meeting. And the spirit was
so strong. We talked about our goals, and working diligently. Clements
shimai (my STL partner) and I planned to teach about diligence, and
the spirit was SO STRONG!!! I cried and snot ran down my face, it was
really a great image. But that was one of the best zone meeting I have
had in Nagasaki zone!! We came closer together, and it's crazy because
half of our zone is third transfer and under!!! God setting us up for
miracles, I think so! And at the end our district leader sang a self
composed birthday song to Bair-shimai, it was so awesome!! Lots of
talented missionaries. Then we had a surprise party for Bair-shimai
during Eikaiwa, which was way funny! Everyone sat and awkwardly ate
ice creams in their chairs, haha, but then we got people playing games
and it was awesome. We played do you love your neighbor, and people
got taken out!! It was fantastic!
Then on Saturday we had a relief society activity where we made
Christmas gifts for less actives and investigators, they are seriously
such awesome sisters! Then we had our Saturday activity and the member
brought American hot chocolate (yes!!!) and we got to watch meet the
Mormons (double YES!!!!) It was way fun and delicious! Then we went
out for the night and it poured rain, both upon our spirits and our
bodies. Nobody was answering :( or eating at ridiculous hours :( So we
prayed about it and felt like we should go to this one apartment where
we met an awesome lady who wanted baptism and wasn't able to make a
return appontment because of work, but said we could go back, so we
have plans for next week :D! We also ran into a lady with police in
her house, handed her a chidashi  (pamphlet) and got out of there. Haha! It was SO
awkward!!! Then on our way back we got stuck behind this fire truck
who had it's lights on and siren, so maybe some kind of emergency. But
we could've passed them on our bikes, they were moving very, very
slow. So we just ended up following behind them for like 10 minutes
because we weren't sure if we could pass them or not. So that was vey
interesting. Met lots of officials that night, fortunately none we
after us :)!!
Then on Sunday we had an awesome day at church and the priest quorum
made lunch for all the sisters, and it as so good! Then that guy we
ran into on the street last week came! Early! So we went down and
taught him a lesson, which was kind of all over the place, but the
spirit carried us along and we were able to make a baptismal date with
him!!! It was so cool!! He is a waaaay cool guy! Told us that when we
stopped to talk to him, he thought it must have been fate. Indeed it
was. Then we went and visited a member ho has been kind of sick
lately, and she was so funny, introduced us to some of her online
friends through face time, and we delivered some food to her. Then we
went out to work again and found these apartments, had very little
luck. So we stopped and prayed and asked Heavenly Father if we could
hand out one more Book of Mormon to meet our goal. And few doors later
pops out this man named Yamamoto-san. He told us he was Buddhist at
first, but we introduced him to eternal families and the Book of
Mormon and he said he would try to read it and made a return
appointment!!
So God answers prayers, loves and knows His children, and will use us
as productive tools if we work diligently. This church is so true.
Sorry this is so long, but I know this is the good stuff you want to
know!!! Love you all!!! Have a great week!! Thank you for all the
prayers in my behalf.

May God bless the people and missionaries in France.

Love,
Sister Johnson

Random girl we met on the street!!!

Us at EKW for Bair shimais birthday! Everyone awkwardly sitting and eating their popsicles!

the Sisters in our zone! (mccuen, parmley, me, bair, ketch, akahori, whithworth, clements)