It's Christmas time!!!!!
I'm already gonna go on a side note. Holidays aren't always my favorite for a variety of reasons, but the Christmas season is hands down the best time of the year! I just love how much the church is doing for the light world, they really are trying to bring Christ back into Christmas and I love it!
Well this week has been insane!
I'll start with the title.... no that is not false advertising, yes we had bed bugs. We found out Monday that we are supposed to be moving apartments by Thursday, then Tuesday morning we found tons of bed bugs in our box springs. We didn't really have that much time to deal with it because we had a meeting Tuesday morning. We came home right after and started cleaning but then had to leave a few hours later because we had lessons and a branch activity. We didn't get much sleep the next night because we were working so hard. On Wednesday we had zone conference and we were gone the whole day. (This zone conference was really eye opening because I got my sprint letter, a letter from president and Sister Brown inviting me to sprint through the last two transfers of my mission and finish strong). Luckily our move in day got pushed back to next week and we were able to sleep in a hotel. We spent the next two night in the hotel and trying to get rid of these bugs. We are now back in our apartment but sleeping on the floor in another room. Let's just say I am grateful. Hopefully we are now bed bug free and will be able to move next week! I will keep yall updated.
Despite all the chaos, Sister Jackman and I keep having 'I don't know' moments. These are moments when we walk away from someone and are just so shocked by how prepared they are that we just say... 'I don't know.' What I do know is that God is preparing the people here for the gospel. It is so fun to be apart of!
Some people we met this week that are just so prepared to learn about the gospel are Robineeki and her son Aj, James and Monique, Makayla, Destiny, Maliayah, William and his kids, and Chashera.
Please also keep Latoya, Juan, Glinda, Izzy, Mary, Ericaa, and Temo in your prayers. They are all so prepared for the gospel and they could use some extra strength:)
This week church was so full! It was so much fun, we were ushering people trying to help them get a seat. 7 of our friends came to church (Robineeki, Aj, Destiny, Maliayah, Latoya, Juan, and Temo). It was a miracle!
Check out these verse I found this week in my studies! I have read the last one a ton of times, but never went back for more context.
1 John 4:17-19 "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us."
That last one is a classic, but when I started to move backwards I had so much gratitude for the justice and mercy of God. When verse 17 says that we can have boldness in the day of judgement, I thought that felt a little backward. I have never pictured judgement as a time to be bold, but the scripture says that we can be bold because he is as we are. The footnote for is, is exemplar. So we are able to follow Christ's example because he lived in the same state that we live in. He experienced it all, and for that reason he is as we are, so we can strive to follow him. He lived that life, full of hardship, because he loves us perfectly, and because perfect love casteth out all fear and torment we must be thinking of judgement all wrong. We love him, because he loves us perfectly, and that perfect love makes all that fear and torment associated with judgement disappear. Instead we can be bold in the path that we are following, we can be bold in our imperfections but our attempts to walk to right path. In a sense, I am starting to think that we aren't trying to prove ourselves in judgement, but that we are there as proof of Jesus Christ's actual redeeming and saving power. When I think of it like this I cannot help but think of 2 Nephi 4 where Nephi exemplifies this so well. He says, "O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins;" and then he says boldly "nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted." He is being bold in his day of judgment, not saying I deserve this or that, instead he says, I messed up but I know my Savior and what he can do. For everyone who knows me, you know I am pretty quick to get down on myself when I mess up. These last couple week especially, I feel like I keep giving into temptations and sins that easily beset me. But I have so much confidence in my Savior. I know I am just a mess, but I know I am his and that he has the power to clean it all up. "If I know the way home and am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way because I am staggering from side to side!" I am walking this path clumsily most days but I know it is the right path, and I know in whom I have trusted. To me there is no greater hope than that.
I love you all so much!
This week the Spanish sisters bring us dinner made me happy!
Sister Johnson
