SISTER SARAH JOHNSON...Miracles...

Hello all!

So this week held a lot of really weird moments! But first, the baptism!

Rick's baptism was really awesome :). The Spirit was present and he was excited and his family all came, and a lot of the ward came out to support. We celebrated by getting Costa Vida, where a super nice lady surprised us by buying our dinner. It was an all around wonderful day, and I'm grateful I was able to start my mission off with this experience :). 

There were also 2 miracles this week. We maybe sort of ran out of money because my card was locked up for some transaction that didn't go through fast enough. So we bought what we could and figured we'd just make it work. I prayed a couple times for the food to just stretch so we wouldn't have to ration anything, but I wasn't really that worried. Then on Wednesday we cleaned this lady's house, and she gave us 3 boxes of cereal to take home. Then Thursday a ward member brought us over a huge basket of peaches and pears from her parent's orchard. Another member brought us a cucumber from her garden. And then that nice lady bought us dinner at Costa Vida. Woah! I was not expecting so much food to show up, but I definitely attribute all of that to a Heavenly Father who understand my undying love of food. Plus, 2 of the boxes of cereal were Honey Bunches of Oats, which I'd always categorized as "old lady food". But I am now a healthy addict to Honey Bunches of Oats, 100% no shame. Haha! 

The other miracle was a little more dramatic. Yesterday we were part of a missionary choir/fireside, where we combined 3 stakes and invited everyone. We got to sing in the choir, and it was a really beautiful experience, albeit an all day experience. After church and studies, we picked up the other sisters in our district and headed to set up and practice at 4. We had to be there extra early because Sister Barnes was in charge of the table of pamphlets and Books of Mormon, and we had to figure all that out. After the fireside though, we dropped off the other sisters at their apartment, and it wasn't 30 seconds later that they called us and said that their apartment door was wide open and all the lights were on and we needed to come get them. Long story shorter, we picked them up, called the Zone Leaders, called the police, and had the place checked out. Somebody had crawled through their window, stolen some of one sister's shirts and some jewelry and the camera from the other, their last bag of popcorn, and left through the front door. But the miracle part is that nobody's documents, money, or bikes were stolen, and that the sisters weren't there when it happened. We were all pretty shaken up by it, and we had the sisters over for a sleep-over that night. The Elders gave both of them really amazing blessings of comfort, and we're all feeling a little less jittery today. But scary to think someone was in their apartment going through their stuff! We are so grateful that Heavenly Father kept us all, and especially them, safe from that. 

Another weird thing that happened this week was hunting down a referral from the Elders. Their names were Fire and Lotus, and Fire is the girl. We finally found them, which was cool because we were given a slightly wrong address. But these people were some of the craziest looking people I've ever seen. Fire had this bright, bright red/orange short hair, and had white dreadlocks weaved into the back. Lotus had his head shaved, a Father Time beard (but brown) and tattoos all over his face. And in the apartment? At least 20 different reptiles and snakes, in addition to 4 hedgehogs and a sugar glider. They were super bizarre, and Lotus was telling us how they had to move into this apartment because their former landlord had pulled a gun on him and he defended himself with a hammer. Then they asked us for a food order from the bishop. That's when we realized they were probably not all that interested in us, and were probably interested in free food. We called bishop and gave him a heads up. It was fun to hold the hedgehog, at least. 

Oh! And I took over my area for a day! Friday, Sister Barnes went with Sister Blauer to Sister Blauer's area, and Sister Strate and I stayed here. But Sister Strate has also only been out for a month, so we were both just really nervous. Everything went awesome though! And I didn't get lost or yelled at, which is always a blessing! 

This week was intense, and busy and weird. But I kind of loved it anyways. I know that we are definitely watched out for and protected as missionaries, and I'm grateful to know how safe the Lord keeps us when we listen and pray. I know He's listening, and I know that when we do His work and keep His commandments, we are protected. 

Thank you all for your prayers! I love you all! 

Also, if you need a really good cry, "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" Is a really good mormon message video perspective on our Heavenly Father's love for us. :) Check it out! 

Love,

Sister Johnson