September 19th, 2016

Hello everyone!

So no adventure last P-day we just had to get too much stuff, and this P-day we really need to clean the car. I've been having a stressful week because of working in two areas and having two companions. So just going to apologies up front if the email is kinda lame. With so much to do and so little time this week has gone by like a blur, if my whole mission was like this week at 18 months it would've felt like 4 months.

Tuesday we stayed in Dundee doing stuff, Wednesday went to Edinburgh to do exchanges with the STL's since last time I was with Sister Muller, I was with Sister Paxman, and Sister Six, Dahl and Muller were together. Sister Paxman has been having a tough week, on Monday morning she woke up unable to move her neck so they rusted to the ER, because her whole spine was in-pain. Fortunately Sister Muller is a Massage Therapist and treated the situation calmly. Once at the Hospital the doctors couldn't figure out what was causing Sister Paxman's Spine to be acting that way and as a bonus she has a high fever. She was in the Hospital till 4pm that night. In the end they still don't know why, but suggested that she sees a massage therapist, but her companion is one, so it was very fortunate. By Wednesday her spin is still twisted up, but she has a little bit more movement with some pain. It was a strange day for me, I was in the flat most of the time and found stuff to keep me busy. I feel so bad for Sister Muller and Sister Paxman being stuck in this situation till Sister Paxman feels better. We went out finding together for about 2 hours that day and got two appointments with people out of it. So not bad. And we went to a dinner appointment with a new family that just moved into the ward, who a Americans. It's really strange listening to American accents now because it's different than the American missionary accents. And the dinner was nice and small.

Besides from that day, nothing much more to write about.

Love you all, 

Sister Johnson

Book that I recommend every missionary to read.

I found this book in the Missionary Flat in Perth and it's called The Power of Everyday Missionaries, the what and how of sharing the Gospel, by Clayton M. Christensen. finished reading it in less than two weeks and it's awesome. I LOVE IT. It makes me so excited to live outside of Utah, being a normal person and sharing the Gospel with others it's definitely a must read. It's even helped me in being a full time missionary, to help others in doing their member missionary work. There is a bunch of really cool stories of the writer helping his friends and people he runs into find the Gospel. 

September 12, 2016 temporary transfer to Dundee

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone is having a great week. Sorry I didn't send a weekly email last week, it was kind of a lame week because I might've had low-Iron, but since I started taking them in the middle of last last week things a feeling better.

I'm just going to begin on the insane situation I'm in at the moment, On Monday we were having are usual P-day and I just had the BEST HOT CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD. not joking it was literally hot CHOCOLATE, just pure dark chocolate in a cup melted it felt like. So thick I had to 'drink' it with a spoon. I enjoyed myself. Sister Dahl had a white chocolate hot chocolate... I was at the Highland Chocolatier, and they are famous for their dark chocolate truffles, judged to be the best in the world, I tried one and I must say it is the best. Sorry for that tangent I just really love chocolate.

After we did that, in the evening we got a call that we needed to drive Sister Six to Edinburgh because her temporary companion is going back to Aberdeen, but then 20 mins later they told us that we need to move to Dundee tomorrow. WHAT THE?!?!?! So we had a family home evening that night with a less-active part member family, afterwards we got a call from President with more information about that is happening. We are currently now still 'serving in Perth' but we live with Sister Six in Dundee and only able to go to Perth to teach and find occasionally for the rest of the transfer. This week we've been helping Sister Six teach her recent converts, less-actives and investigators. Oh man though, weekly planning yesterday was so a real strain for us. I want to do the work I've been called to do in Perth, but we just need to find so badly, then Sister Six has a lot of people to teach and since Dundee is such a big city it's more productive to do finding here the member in Perth a really disappointed about the situation especially since there is already 6 Missionaries here not including us and Sister Six. 

Basically that's what's up... Don't know if it make sense at all....

In Dundee there is a couple that's been investigating the church for over a year, and one of them Patrick is from Sydney It's pretty cool to see another Australian, he's the second one I've meet in Scotland so far, that isn't a missionary. Mang-zing, (not sure if that's even close to how you spell that name) is a young Chinese man that was investigating the church for 6 months and got baptised last last Sunday, he's so funny and doesn't speak English that well but okay enough to speak and understand a lot more than you think. His story is epic, when Sister King first found and taught him with Sister Hasting (sister Six's trainer) Mang, didn't even believe in God, but now he loves God and Jesus Christ, recognising when the Spirit is speaking to him. It's so funny that he told us the other day that he thought people that donated to charity was stupid, and he would never do it. Now he donates to Charity often, and want's to help people and share the Gospel to his family and friends. He's going back to China in October, There is apparently a pretty big ward in Shanghai China, so it's good that Mang is going to be looked after there. It's just so awesome that where missionaries aren't allowed to go, when people leave these countries and hear the gospel, they bring it back with them into their country. God always finds a way. 

Sister Six's new companion that never made it to the mission field was suppose to be the first Chinese Speaking Sister Missionary in the Scotland/Ireland mission, I can see why we need one. There is so many Asians in Dundee, and if they can't get the Gospel in their own country they need to hear it when they are here. I wish I could learn Chinese when I'm out here but it's such a difficult language to learn on your own because of the different tones. It's ashame, I wonder what's going to happen next transfers since there is now and uneven number of Sister Missionaries in the field.

There is a lot of Uni students in Dundee right now, since the semester has started. I feel super awkward being around people my age living normal lives... We ate a NANDOS this week and it was filled with young adults. I love nandos, we have nandos in Australia and it's like a Portuguese South African restaurant. Basically known for their chicken with the peri peri sauce. I got the classic Chicken and chips thing. Love it. I'm definitely going to buy some of the sauce to take home with me at the end of my mission. We need to have Nandos in the US.

Really scattered email today, but I hope it give you all an idea of what's been happening this week.

Miss you all,

Sister Johnson

Sister Johnson with Sister Dahl and Sister Six

August 22, 2016

Greetings everyone!

It's been a pretty interesting week I must say, not very productive with missionary work in the Perth area because I wasn't in it very often this week. As you know last Monday I was in Edinburgh to drop off my lovely trainer Sister Stein! I'm so sad to see her go, but I know she's served her mission well and completed her mission. She needed to go home eventually.  I'm so glad she was my trainer but I still feel inadequate to follow up train Sister Dahl, I hope that I can lead the Perth area well and get some work moving forward quickly this transfer. Anyway I'm going to organise this email because each day was kinda unique and weird.

Monday 15th August, Basically I helped Sister Muller clean the STL Flat in Edinburgh, hung out with missionaries at the Mission home and then that night I taught with Sister Muller this guy called Marcus who's suppose to be baptised this Wednesday but it's been an up and down roller coaster of drama lately so I don't know what's happening. When we got back to the STL Flat that night there turned out to be 7 Sister Missionaries in the same flat!! And no shower working...

I was the shortest so I slept on a bed that wasn't quite long enough for me. They were there because they took the plane from Ireland for the trainer's meeting the next morning. Sister Fisher is training a newbie, and I slept next to her that night. It was good to see a familiar face, and we haven't really talked since we were first dropped off at the Mission Home. She seems to be doing well and excited to train. 

Tuesday It's hard to believe that 3 transferres ago I got off the plane here from Utah MTC, and received the same instruction the new missionaries received. There were so MANY NEW missionaries that came in and a lot of them were Sisters, pretty much all of the Sisters are training, being trained or are in a leadership position. It's exciting and fun. Sister Six's trainee was in the Provo MTC learning Chinese and wasn't coming this day so that night I was with her.

Wednesday Sister Six is my companion till her trainee arrives {Later we found out that she went home due to illness and Sister Six was re-assigned a companion on Saturday} So we went around a huge park in Edinburgh together till be left to pick up my trainee from the bus station. We left at 11:30 and she wasn't coming till 1:45. It was INSANE! We went to the 'city center' part of Edinburgh and there were a sea of people EVERYWHERE. Seriously crazy. It was busier than usual because it was festival season, and I was the one driving through the city. Visualize that for me every one, Me. Driving. People. Craziness. I must admit I might've been protected by the spirit, because I almost got up almost killed twice, because I can't drive in city traffic and couldn't find a parking spot near the bus station for 1.5 hours. I ended up getting into a mall parking lot and we RAN to the bus stop, because the STL's told us she was coming at 1:20 and I was worried she'd walk off somewhere to find us if we took too long and she didn't have a phone. I will say this, it was a struggle to run through a sea of people trying to find the bus station and also not have my dress fly around. Sister Six may have also been laughing really hard at me as well... Anyway... We found the bus station at 1:30, called the Assistant President Elders and apparently her bus doesn't arrive till 1:45 so we were good. When I first saw sister Dahl I was so relieved and happy, FINALLY I HAVE MY COMPANION!! She's pretty tall and reminds me a bit of Sister Swindle. Very Utahan but that's okay I love them alright. I may have gotten us lost on the way back to the car because I thought we should take a short cut through a mall. To my credit, it turned out to be a short cut, we were only lost in the perfume section of a department store for a moment. Then when we got to the car, loaded everything up, lost my keys... I was so stressed out and WE FOUNDED THEM a few moments later. That day we drove straight back to Perth, Sister Dahl unpacked and then packed a small luggage for the night and we went to Sister Six's flat in Dundee. Her flat is way newer and nicer than the Perth flat, it's right along the river and a 10 minute walk from Dundee City centre. That evening we went to a Cottage Night (Scottish version of a fireside) at a member's home for Recent Converts, Less Actives and Investigators. It was a lot of fun and we played a word game.

Thursday We GQed (finding people on the street) in Dundee City Centre in the morning. There were SO MANY MISSIONARIES in the same spot, in Dundee there is 3 elder companionship and 1 sister companionship in the City Centre that day and it seems like there were too many missionaries to people ratio in one area. Dundee is a cute little city, it's bigger than Perth but smaller than Dublin. It's hard to tell with these cities because they don't have sky scrapers everywhere just a lot of low buildings. and the hills are very gradual so I didn't get a huge view of everything. Sister Six says that there is a lot of Chinese people here, especially during the school year. It's cool that even though people from a country like that can still have the opportunity to receive the gospel outside of their country, and be baptised before they go home. That evening we went to the Anderson's and had a wonderful dinner with them.

Friday Spent the morning and afternoon in Perth then headed back to Dundee that night.

Saturday Morning and afternoon in Dundee, evening in Perth

Sunday Had so much fun introducing my two companions for the week to the branch got a bunch of strange looks, it felt like way too much fun this week with Sister Six and Sister Dahl, We are going to be sad to slit up again later on Monday night. We went chapping for a bit after dinner but wasn't very productive because the first door we knocked on was a nice family or Jehovah Witnesses. We had an actually pretty pleasant converstation with them about comparing out different belief's and trying to understand one another. They were excited to see Sister Missionaries because they thought only Guys we knocking on doors. We explained that Sister Missionaries have been doing this for a while. I think it's pretty awesome though how pleasant they were, but as usual JW's don't think that the Book of Mormon could be a scripture of God like the Bible, they always say it's a work of a man, you follow a man, it's an idea that man came up with. Whatever... I recited the first vision to them and a few memorised scriptures, which I was pretty proud of myself or thankful to have them in my head. It was funny as well because we were talking to the Grandma, Mum and Son, like all the generations in the home. They all knock on doors whenever they have free time but the son who seems to be the same age as us and he just got back from a youth conference for JW's about 'missionary work. They also don't call it missionary work which is strange. Some of the ideas they have and the pictures they have are super weird, kinda depressing and sad. I enjoyed the converstation and I'm always open to hear other people's opinions and thoughts. This is definately not the first time I've had a conversation like this, I've spoken to atheist, Buddhist, Catholics, Born-Again, normal Christians, undecided and Muslims. Personally the conversations where people talk about what they believe and we compare is my favourite, it's funny when the born again Christians, end the conversation with "I'll pray for you", because they think I'll be dammed.  I love it when people get kinda upset at me, and I'll just do my thing anyway.

Monday Going to Saint Andrews today!! I heard so much exciting things about that place and we are going with all three of us! 

So this week was fasinating, I hope Sister Dahl and I can get back to the missionary work next week quickly.

Have an awesome week!

Sister Miranda Johnson,

St. Andrews, Scotland

15th August 2016‏

Good day everyone!

I hope everyone has been doing well. Right now I'm in Edinburgh Mission Home, with a bunch of missionaries. Sister Stein will be flying back to the Netherlands tomorrow morning and I'll just been chilling out till my new companion Sister Dahl, comes from Ireland on Wednesday. I'm be follow up training her, so for those who don't know how training works for Missionaries. We get trained in the MTC, but then get field training for the first 2 transfers or approximately the first 12 weeks of our mission. With that training we have in the companionship a trainer and a junior companion. Since I've done 2 transfers so far I'm done with my training and Sister Dahl has finished her 1st transfer. I'm going to be her trainer for her 2nd last bit of her training. A little bit scared and excited at the same time to be leading the area of Perth. No more Sister Stein... I'm going to miss her. Sister Dahl doesn't know what she is getting her self into. 

Sister Stein and I last week was interesting, I'm not sure what to think of it, we had our ups and downs. Alot of the time we visited members and I don't really rember... Time just really goes by way to quickly. P-day on Monday was pretty cool, after I emailed in the morning we went to Cluny Gardens, without really meaning to we just followed the road signs to the Highland Chocolatier but didn't eat any of the Chocolate... So sad... and then saw a sign to Cluny gardens. Curious we just drove to it and it's pretty fasinating. We spoke to the owner of the garden and said that it was all planted in 1950s by his step-dad the House was there since then as well and his step dad used it as his veternarian practice. In the garden there is all sorts of weird tropical plants from all over. 
On Wednesday I think we went to Brother and Sister Watford's house, they live pretty far away from Perth, but it's beautiful out here. Surrounding there house is forest and little fields and rolling hills (they call mountains) and in the Photo you can see a massive loch that is right infront of their home. They've lived there for 27 years I think and as they lived there they've turned this little cottage on a slope into a home. removed tons of dirt to make leveled ground, and Sister Watford keeps a beautiful veggie and fruit garden.

Billy is doing so well spiritually and continues to study the atonement, he unfortunately isn't doing good health wise since Friday and couldn't make it to Church this sunday. Right now in Perth we just really need to find people to baptise and teach so bad, my new companion and I are going to do so much finding this week and try and find one more new person between Thursday and Sunday! Pray for us to succeed!

I've been thinking about Family History so much on my mission and continue to feel the pressure from my anstors to do the work for them in the temple. First thing though I need to find the names, and build my family tree on familysearch. I have to wait to do that when I get home, right now I'm doing the work for the living.

Ahhh! just so much stuff is going through my mind right now I can't write a proper email this week. 😛 It wasn't a bad week, I love Perth it's just RESPONSIBILITY, I want to do really well this transfer and get some one closer to christ!​