Tuesday, July 12, 2011

12 July—Brazos

Hey Family!

Things here in Texas are going great! This month the mission is focusing on obedience and the zone has been applying it and we have been seeing miracles happen here!

This week was a week of hard work for us here in Rosenberg and Richmond. We have really been trying hard to find newbies and we had a funny experience happen this week while we were out talking with people. We found a bike trail that lead to the back of a trailer park that we had been to before, so we decided to take it to the trailer park for the first time. We were going kind of fast and my brakes don't work very well, when suddenly I saw a little stream right in front of my path. I tried to brake but it was to late. Splash! I rode into this little stream that was probably five feet wide, and jumped off my bike and the only part of me that got wet was my right foot. My companion was laughing at me, but the cool part is that when we got to the trailer part we talked to a lady who has a brother that is a member of the church. His name is Angel and we have been trying to find him for ever! Turns out that this summer he is out of the state visiting his cousins and wont be back till school starts. But we are now going to teach Jessica his sister and we will see what happens!

The other good thing is that right now we are teaching Sandy and Frank, and they are progressing well. They really have the desires to change, and those are the type of people we are looking for to help the work move on. They are actually a member referral. We have been receiving a lot of them lately and they help out a ton. President Saylin shared some interesting information with us that I want to share with you. And that is that almost 70% of baptisms that happen in our mission are from member referrals. So I can promise that if you have a little bit of faith, and invite friends to church and to visit with the missionaries, you will see results and you will be able to have some of your best friends with you at church. If you are afraid just remember this. We are in the Church of Jesus Christ. This is His church. We have a secret weapon and that is the spirit. It will testify of the truth of the Restoration to everyone. It is then up to them to accept the message or to reject it.

I have been studying prayer lately. And the Bible Dictionary is totally cool! It talks about praying in the name of Christ, and says that when we pray in the name of Christ, we pray in a way that our mind is his mind, that our desires are his desires and our ways his ways. It says that most prayers that are not answered is because we don't pray in the name of Christ, but instead we pray for the selfish desires of our hearts. So that is what I am trying to do. Align my will with His.
I love you!
-Elder Johnson

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