Season’s Greetings to all my favorites, how are we doin?!
Christmas is in FULL SWING here in Chester! They set up these beautiful Christmas markets here in Chester city town center and it is so gorgeous along with all other Christmas decorations. Like a giant Christmas tree and string lights across all of town is so magical, let me tell you!!! I will send all the pictures your way!
Although the vibes have been good on the outside, the vibes for Sister Smith on the inside have not been so festive. We had another rough week of being sick & just not our best. It’s okay as it makes for some fun flat memories together. There’s been a lot of changes here in Chester recently & we now have a new zone leader. An unexpected change, but everything happens for a reason.
We met with some cute friends this week, and even though they are not progressing as much as we’d like, we can find comfort in the fact that we are still planting seeds in their lives. However, we know we have got to go find the prepared people out there scattered around in this area. The field really is white and ready to harvest. This week also consisted of a lot of cancelled appointments and a lot of moments having to accept the life of a missionary being based on the agency of others. Agency is a gift given to us from God and so sometimes when things don’t go exactly how we planned, we know that people still have that ability to exercise agency and it is not our fault. A lesson I’ve learned a lot so far on my mission. A miracle from this week however was contacting a returning member that hadn’t been to church in over 3 years! She was so happy when we visited her and came to church with us the following Sunday!
I will be honest with all of you and admit that the past couple weeks have certainly not been the easiest for me (for various reasons and circumstances beyond my control). I promised myself I did not want to be a missionary who only talked about sunshine rainbows and butterflies when in reality there are a lot of obstacles that get thrown at you on a mission. It truly is a time to be put through the Refiner’s Fire and although it’s not comfortable when you’re going through challenges, you always come out on the other end so much better because of it. I can assure you that I’ve been strengthened through Christ during these hard times. He is the reason we all are able to make it through our trials in this life. I think sometimes we don’t always see how relevant He is in our individual lives and how His strength and His ability to lift us up will quite literally carry us through every low point in our lives. And because of that, because of what He did, and because of what He continues to do, I am forever grateful and, my golly I love Him for it!
All my love always,
Sister Johnson
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly.”
– Thomas Paine
Called to Serve... 