Glad Mors Dag!

Hello Hello,

It just seems like yesterday I was talking with you. Oh wait.:) I was. Skype and technology is so great! I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I had to talk with my family. I was the techy at the scene here: coordinating the missionary skype times, so needless to say I'm glad its done with now. It was a lot of fun and the family sure is changing and getting bigger.

Mån: We took it pretty chill the whole P-day. We met up with J,  we are to meet her every day up until her baptism. We watched the Restoration film and boy was the spirit there. I began to bear my testimony and I paused. In that moment, I KNEW the spirit was hitting her so hard and she could not deny it. With tears in my eyes I looked at her and said "this is exactly what you have been looking for. God is so happy with you right now as you are preparing for your baptism. That is why you can feel his spirit so strong." It was incredible. That's basically how it was every day this week with her,

Cinco De Mayo dinner

CINCO DE MAYO!!! Whooo! Yeah, it's not even celebrated in Sweden, but who cares! We celebrate it! I made some guacamole for the first time ever and it was pretty awesome. I made a Mexican feast that was to die for. I was very proud of myself for that.

Tis: We met S who has a strong determination and knows that Christ will help him. His countenance keeps changing more becoming brighter! We met with J and a member. Those 2 hit it off perfectly. Every lesson this week with J was so spiritual. I shared some personal stories and experiences, including Elder Bailey. I testified to her that I would see him again. There is no doubt about it. We helped A move into her new apartment. Her daughter is super shy so it was really cute seeing her open up to me and show me around. No, I was not using that as an excuse to get out of helping move:)

Ons: So on Monday we contacted a man, B. He wants to become a Christian because his brother is one now and is so much happier. He is living here with his wife and children. He has had a pretty hard life and literally had to leave everything behind in Albania. He lives in a one room apartment with all of his family. Today we met and started with a simple prayer, nothing out of the ordinary. B said he felt so much peace just after that 1 minute prayer. It was incredible! So after teaching we felt impressed to go straight to the baptismal commitment. He said yes and we set it up for the 7:e av Juni. That was awesome!

We met J with A in the library so the situation was hard to feel but nevertheless we were able to feel the spirit. She is so ready and prepared that it doesn't matter where we are, she feels the spirit. We told her Baptism is not the end, but just the beginning.

Tors: We had district meeting and the spirit was there, guiding the whole lesson. We did a role play that was wonderful and talked about how asking questions and listening can really help find out people's concerns. I was impressed to show the bible video of Peter and John healing the cripple in by the temple. It didnt seem to have any relevance, but i was mistaken. The man asks for alms when he sees peter, not addressing his concerns. But Peter says "gold and silver have I none, but what I have I give unto thee freely. In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, I say unto thee arise." Now it could've been as simple as that and the story ends with the man getting up. But peter stretches forth his hand and helps the man receive his strength. We don't just ask people to resolve their concerns by themselves, but we reach out with love to help them back up. It was really cool how great it worked together with the lesson.

We met with D and immediately applied what we had learned in district meeting. We asked inspired questions, listened to him and let the spirit work. There were seriously long moments of silence (not an hour like Ammon but still long), enough for the spirit to inspire him and us. He really has no experience of any kind with religion so it is all new to him. The hardest part is helping him recognize the spirit. He has felt that so many times, we know he has. It is just completely new to him and he doesn't understand it but he offered to say the closing prayer! That was a first! J passed her baptismal interview!

Fre: We went to Stockholm to get Elder S's residency card. I had a good time seeing my old place and part of town. We had some time before our train took us home, so we visited some nearby places. We got back and met B and taught a lesson in a very different way than I have ever done but it fit his circumstances and met his needs, so that was great.

It's magic

A had J and us over for dinner before we headed up to sports night. At sports night, we missionaries had a good chat with her about Family Home Evening. She wants to establish it in her home. I told her my experience with it and how much it has helped me in my life. I am grateful for my family for making Monday nights a very sacred and holy night. Even though I would have 3 hour football or soccer practices, they always stayed up for me so we could have it. That meant the world to me. At the time, I was like "I'm tired lemme go to bed." But I know now how important it is. It is needed in this crazy life. Monday nights have seriously helped me and my family grow together in ways that I cant even comprehend. Thanks ma and pops. You done good:)

Lör: BAPTISM DAY!!!! WHOOOOO! I wrote some thoughts down in my study journal that were pretty awesome, sorry I can't share that with you. Today marks 10 months for me, it is the 10 of may, and today is my first baptism, pretty awesome right. We got to Västerås ok, and everything for the baptism was just great! B was able to come too! We did our weekly planning while waiting for the font to fill up. They actually take quite some time. The one in Gubbängen took like 20 minutes, but this one was like 2 hours! Good thing we were early!  Oh just det. In the morning I made Gma Johnson's recipe for cookies (for the baptism) and instead of chocolate chips, I used Reese's that ma gave me in my Easter package. I smashed them up and mixed them in and boy, they turned out AMAZING!!! Top 3 best batches I've ever made in my life:) Dang good.

Great day for this sister and me and my companion

Anywho, haha. The Baptism!! I got all changed in white, and it felt so great. (I remember my own baptism looking up at pops all dressed in white and then here I was all dressed in white.) I felt so much love and peace and joy. I can't describe it. As the service was going on, I could not stop smiling. It was very spiritual. We made our way to the water. I guess I was nervous -I didn't feel like it, but people thought I was. Oh well. I got her all situated and said the prayer. She went under and back out of the water. How smooth it was, I'm not gonna tell:) Let's just say I didn't have a good grip on my feet, but it all worked out ok. She's fine. haha. It was my first time, so it was something new for me, but it went well. We got changed and continued the meeting. It all was just so spiritual and fantastic! I loved it! We got home and headed straight to bed, i was so exhausted. But what a great day!:)

Sön: The confirmation!! It is just as important as the baptism! Elder S did a great job on that. Surprise, B came with all of his family to church! And they loved it! I did the translation for all of them so hopefully they understood what was going on. It was fast Sunday for us, not mothers day, that's in 2 weeks. We talked with J about us going to the temple this time next year, right before I go home. She said she would love that. Man, that is going to be so cool. End my mission with going through the temple with someone I found taught and baptized. That is something remarkable. I cannot wait for that. J is already such a great member and fits right in. Our members have already embraced her and taught her many things ha, so she is good. No worries about her.

We ate dinner with the K's and B's family. We had a great time together and watched the Restoration film. Right when we were about to start testifying, all of the kids came running in noisily. We just had to laugh about that.

Clay and Elder J - together again

We made it back to the church to Skype and that was so awesome. I love you guys. You are the best. Even though Nichole's baby isn't here yet, it was nice talking to all of you -including Clay!  I cant wait to see you guys at Christmas.

Something I shared with the family that I will end on is this. This week has been one of the best weeks of my life. Not just mission, but life. I have never felt the spirit more often and so strong than I have this week. I have never felt so happy than I have this week. As I was growing up I had thoughts and impressions on what the mission would be like and what I would be like as a missionary. For the first 10 months I felt like I was good missionary, but I wasn't who I thought I was going to be. This week was different. I began to see my potential. I feel like I finally became the missionary who I thought I was going to be. This is just the first step, but I caught a glimpse of my eternal potential. I've seen who I really am and who I am supposed to be. This doesn't mean that I stop trying because I have already reached a part of it, but it makes me so excited what more I can do and become as I continue to go throughout my mission and life. I truly feel honored and privileged to be the one to baptize J, as well as be a humble servant of Heavenly Father. I know that this work is true. I am so grateful that I am a part of it. The heartache, the pain, long-suffering, etc. hurts, but it is so worth it when you see someone enter the waters of baptism and take that first step onto the path that leads to eternal life. You cant describe it. My heart is full of love and joy. I love you all, and mom especially you. For putting up with me for these past 19 and 1/2 years, loving me all the way through to help me see my potential. I love you. Thank you for everything. Have a great week everybody!

Med Kärlek, Äldste Johnson

Big blue tractor on the city street