Tuesday, March 17, 2020

March 16, 2020

Hey Everyone!

Well, it has been an interesting week for me, it has been for all of you. We had already started out the week on a weird note and it only progressed from there. Stay safe friends! Wash your hands!

We are down on service for this week and we may be for awhile. We do a few stuff with the elderly and a thrift store we normally help out with is closed until further notice. We are getting help though on the inside of a food pantry from a member to help with logistic stuff, so that we can still help out. We will be filing a lot of things this next week, as the service is filing.

Finding this week was interesting. Since no one really wants us knocking on their doors, we have gone to Walmart to try and talk to people and we have had some good conversations with people there. It's definitely a work in process with technique and all, as Sister Fisher and I are both new to it, but we are improving in small ways. It has been fun to discover ways to talk with people. But, we won't be doing much of that anymore. We have a whole new schedule for this next week from our mission president to social distance, so we will be doing most missionary work in the apartment for awhile.

It will be interesting to have another transfer with Sister Fisher. I love having her as a companion and we are always finding new ways to help each other and improve. Hopefully we won't get sick of each other, but I remain optimistic about the future.

With all the crazy stuff going on, we are really having to come up with new ideas on what to do. We have decided to visit members and try and uplift them during this scary time and encourage them to uplift others. We feel it is a good way for us to get to know more of the members and stay informed with everything from people to events in the world. We are trying to find ways to stay busy and spread the gospel. Hopefully, it will get better. 

More updates next week. Love you all!

Love,
Sister Savannah Johanson


Tuesday, March 10, 2020

March 2nd, 2020

Hi everyone!

We've had a good ol' time here in Prairie Grove. I have loved it here so much and I hope I never leave! Sister Fisher and I are just two peas in a pod. The other day, we were running around the apartment throwing a pillow at each other.

We had zone conference this last week and we had a member from the area seventy come. His name was Elder Ochoa. It was pretty cool and I was able to see a lot of my mission friends, as we had several zones there. It was good. He talked about finding and sharing the gospel with people and just having the right motivation to do it.

We've recently started this thing where we go over to members house on Saturdays and make cookies and then we go deliver them to people, whether less actives or their neighbors. We are still working out the kinks, but it has been so fun to spend time with the ward and getting to know them more and really build member trust.

We put someone we have been teaching on date yesterday! His name is Aiden and we have been working with him for awhile. But he's awesome, even if he is a punk sometimes.

Well, I said I would talk about the fashion show, so I guess I better. It was actually pretty fun. The set up was the best part, in my opinion. We put up this draping and of course, tried out the runway to make sure it worked out okay. It was a little weird being at the fashion show, as I felt a little out of place there. We didn't actually help too much there, but our presence was appreciated. We also made these notes for the girls modeling and really letting them know how much they are loved and appreciated and that they are beautiful. I thought it is important for every young women to think she's beautiful. Later, we ran into some of their moms and stuff and they said that the girls really appreciated them. That made me very happy inside.

One thing I have been contemplating a lot is how God speaks to me, with President Nelson's recent invitation. It's hard for me to say exactly how I know, but just that the thoughts I get are specific and inspiration and they give me a lot of peace. I have experienced them a lot in this area, as we are still finding ways to better the work in our area. As I've contemplated how I receive personal revelation, it also really magnifies the importance and value of it and I feel a new sense of gratitude and sacredness for it.

I hope you all are finding how God speaks to you (because He does) and I send you all my love, thoughts, and prayers.

As always,
Love,
Sister Savannah Johanson