Thanks Mom for the pins they were a hit and a half!

Happy Birthday Kenz from the district

Oh yeah. I started those Missionary tan lines early

Me and Rins

Me and Rins at "the map"

Keep Chuggin Along

Bonjour Ma Famille!!!

 

Okay, first off. Can you believe Rins and Lo leave the MTC this week!! Rin left this morning at 4:30AM and Lo leaves tomorrow!! Ahh they beat me out of this place by a mile.

 

I'm still lovin the MTC, buttttttttt

 

I'm so so so so soooooo excited to GET OUTTA HERE and get to FRANCE and GET BUSY. The French is coming along great. We are PVLing aka Parle Votre Langue aka Speak Your Language aka not speaking English at all starting yesterday, so my head feels like it is going to explode 100% of the time. It is amazing how much we are all improving in our French though. The fact that we can speak to each other in this language and understand everything we are saying is pretty much enough evidence for me for the rest of my life that there is a God and that He loves us so much. Also a huge lesson for me that when you have your mind set to something, WANT it, and WORK for it, you can do anything. 16 hours a day in a classroom practicing French has paid off. Especially for my companion!!! Her French is top notch. She gave a whole talk in Sacrament Meeting this week without even looking at her notes. Never been more proud in my life!

 

I am going to be really REALLY sad to leave my companion and my district though. I got so lucky with them. We are SO close, seriously like family. I've learned that when you stick 10 people in a room for 16 hours a day without cell phones, music, social media, etc. things get real very fast. Haha. They are all spiritual giants and they strengthen me every single day. Also, I'm convinced we have the most hilarious people on earth in our district. Ahh I could tell stories for DAYS, but I only have 3 more minutes. Oh also we've been studying outside in the sun this week (on the grass by the fence of the MTC from 1:00-2:00 everyday, in case someone wants to drive by and observe me in my natural habitat) my calves and arms are SOOOO sunburned. Hey mom remember when we were packing and I threw out the aloe vera, so I could pack like 12 pairs of shoes, yeah whoopsssss.

 

Okay sorry this email is so short and I don't have too much to update you on! All you need to know is that life is great, I love you, and that the church is TRUE. Jesus Christ lived the perfect life and it is only through His Atonement that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. It's so simple. And my favorite part of missionary work is that you don't have to take my word for it. Everyone can know for themselves that the Gospel, the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, everything is true. The Holy Ghost will confirm it to you 100% of the time. All you need to do is exercise a particle of Faith! (Alma 32) The Gospel of Christ is amazing and it truly is the secret to happiness. I don't know where I heard this but it sums it up perfectly: "How to be happy? Be good."

 

Te me mangue!!

 

Avec amour,

Soeur Johns   

 

Six Sisters Sharing One Room!

Another Day Another Dollar

FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Hi! So this week has been really normal MTC life. Which I still love, don't get me wrong, but I am getting to the point where I am REALLY excited to get to PARIS and teach real people about all of this! Which is a tender mercy in and of itself because the past two weeks anytime I would think about actually being in Paris and teaching I would break into hives, okay dramatic not really, but I would get super anxious and worried about my French, but this week I hit the point where I am comfortable enough to just be like THROW ME IN THERE IM READY TO GO. I am so grateful to have these next three weeks here at the MTC though. I still have bundles to learn and I really do LOVE this place. I have never been able to recognize the Spirit so constantly in my life. It is amazing.

Okay also, I started the Book of Mormon over again. Kay, confession I always loved reading my scriptures before the mission, but it was really hard for me to just sit down and take them striaight (chapter by chapter). I think that is pretty normal. Right? Well this week I have started it over again looking specifically for Missionary Work, Faith Building Principles, Promised Blessings, and Christlike Characteristics. Y'all that book is the word of God. I can testify completely of that. I have never loved reading it more in my life. My faith and testimony of Christ grows every single day as I read it. So COOL. Ahh.

Hmm what else? Oh yeah our district started speaking only French on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays and next week we will go all in and speak only French for the two weeks before we leave. It really is amazing how much better my French gets when we speak it all day. I am constantly amazed by how fast my district is picking it up. GOT babyyyyyyy. But really the Lord is so in this it's unreal. Work out time is a tender mercy when we are speaking it all day though cause your brain just hurts so bad by 7. Its nice to just run it off and not think about it. Oh p.s. one of the girls in my district is a big runner and we are still going strong. Her name is Soeur Holmes. Easily one of my favorite people on the planet. I'm SOOOO SOOO glad we are in the same district. Oh, also we had our first TRC this week. Which is basically where you teach a member of the church a lesson on any gospel principle. It's really nice because they aren't pretending to be an investigator, its just them. So basically you just go and give a spiritual thought in French. Easy enough. The spirit was really powerful in one of our lessons which was GREAT. The girl we were teaching and my companion both cried. I just smiled as usual, but hey I've just come to accept that that is my way of feeling things. Still not the most emotional person in the world. haha.

Oh yeah and I think I had Bronchitus this week. hahaha. It was not fun. AT ALL. Really miserable actually. Ain't nobody got time for that. But. hey I made it through. My wonderful companion's Mom had Bronchitus the week before she left, and then on day two she got it, and since then everyone in our district was just dropping like flies. I went to the doctor here and they told me to gargle salt water.......my throat wasn't even sore.....so dumb. So I just bummed meds off of everyone in my district and slept all day on Friday, which I hated cause I would have much rather been in class. But I am all better now. I still occasionally cough up a lung in the middle of Sacrament meeting when it is dead silent, but no biggie. REALLY.

BON ANNIVERSAIRE this week Kenz. The Big 1-8. I CANNOT BELEIVE IT. Watch out world.

Also Rachel! I hope you have the most wonderful wedding day!!! I wish I could be there! AHH you are going to be the most beautiful bride in the WORLD.

Well that's all I have time for today!! Keep it classy people. I love all of the letters I get. They put a smile on my face toujours, chaque jour (all day, everyday).

LOVE Y'ALL MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY! L'EGLISE EST VRAI!

Beaucoup amour,

Soeur Johns

Our Trip to the Consulate in San Fransico

Happy as a clam!

This week was mind blowing. I feel like I was just waterhosed with every good thing and feeling in the world. I really don't think that I've ever had so much capacity to love in my entire life. My heart and brain feel like they are going to explode. I am already to the point where I could not imagine my life if I hadn't have come on this mission. I have learned SO MUCH in these two weeks. I feel like I've doubled my understanding of the REALITY of the Savior and His Atonement, the REALITY of His gospel, and the REALITY of the need for the ordinances and covenants we make in this life to prepare us for the world to come. It is confirmed to me EVERYDAY that I am supposed to be here. I couldn't picture myself anywhere else, and I don't want to be!! AHHH I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Okay, AUBS. Way to go on the track meet. THAT'S MY GIRL!!!!

Rins! I cannot wait to see you! It will literally be the reunion of the century! I'm going to tackle you. Get stoked.

Ogletrees!!! THANK YOU DOESN'T EVEN CUT IT! Y'all are the greatest people in the whole world. I love you so much...and so does my companion:)

San Fransisco was as good as it gets!! Here's a breif summary: So we wake up at 5AM and get in a shuttle to the airport. They made me the group leader because everyone here thinks I'm responsible or something (fattest joke in America) so I got a cell phone and had to coordinate all of the tickets, so that was fun and really weird to have. We get to the airport 2.5 hours before our plane departs...and I thought JS Johns was bad...and everyone decides to start calling their families on the pay phones in the airport. I was SO tempted to call you, but then I realized that it was A) not super kosher and B) counterproductive, so sorry. I didn't. But I know I've been blessed because of it. So then we get to San Fransisco and get a driver (Edgar, best person alive...gave him the BOM no worries) and went to the consulate which took maybe 30 mins. So we had all day in San Fran to just play!!!! We went to Pier 39, ate at Boudins (HEAVEN), got Sundaes at Ghiriadellis, walked down lombard, and walked the Golden Gate!! We were technically in a red zone, so we couldn't really teach, but it was such a cool experience to see people watching us!! I am so lucky to wear Christ's name and represent Him!! Ahh it was so fun! I loved it.

Then it was back to MTC life, which I still love love love!!! French is coming along really well! I love this language! It is beautiful! Everything is really starting to click and I feel like I can actually conjugate right most of the time, finally! I memorized the First Vision and the first 4 articles of Faith this week in French! Y'ALL THIS IS NOT HAPPENING BY MYSELF. The LORD has blessed my language abilities SO much. Here is my testimony (a short one) in French: Je suis missionarie pour l'Eglise de Jesus-Christ des Saints des Dernier Jours!! Nous avons l'Evagile de Jesus-Christ! Je aime Jesus Christ, mon Savior!! Je ressentir le amour lui, tout le jour! Je sais que grace au sacrifice expiatiore du Christ nous pouvons retourner a Dieu dans Ciel! C'est une belle verite!! Je veux partager cette veretie avec tout le monde! L'evangile est vrai! Le Livre de Mormon est Vrai! L'eglise de Jesus Christ est vrai!! Les prophetes sont vrai!!! C'est tout vrai!!! Je sais que Jesus Christ aime vous beaucoup!! Au nom de Jesus Christ, Amen!!!

Ahhh the CHURCH IS TRUE!

My companion is still amazing! She helps me so much and is an ANGEL. She is such a huge blessing! I also LOVE my district! We laugh so hard together and that is just the thing you need to keep yourself sane during these 16 hour work days! They are all incredible people! There is not a single person who I don't like.

Okay, 7 mins left...ahhhhhh. hate this stupid timer.

I've also been blessed with the best devotionals! M. Russel Ballard was here on Tuesday and I've never heard a more humbling and powerful witness of Christ. So pure. Then we had a devotional on Sunday with the Provo temple President Robert Daines. CHANGED MY LIFE and my view of everything that happens in the temple. This is the only place where such sacred topics could be disscussed so openly. I was on the edge of my seat. The whole basis of it was to find Christ in the temple because he is there. He is in everything we do in the temple. My favorite quote from it, "We take upon us the Name of Christ in the most perfect and complete sense in the temple." Amazing, sacred, beautiful stuff. Then on Sunday night we watched David A. Bednars MTC talk called the Character of Christ! IVE NEVER BEEN MORE INFLUENCED BY THE WORDS OF AN APOSTLE IN MY LIFE. I wish I could tell you every word he said. But I only have 2 minutes. I walked away from that talk vowing to myself that this mission is not about me AT ALL. It is not designed to make me better, and there is nothing I need to go looking for on it for myself. The mission is about the people I serve. Bottom line. That's it. It's all about others and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Okay time is up! I love you all more than I can say!! Thank you for the love and support you have given me through your letters! I am so blessed to know you amazing incredible people!!!!!

Avec Amour,

Soeur Johns

P.S: I see Lauren...uhhh I mean Sister Petersen EVERYDAY!!! And we watched Bednar's talk together!! I have the BEST bestie. Love her to death!!