Dankzij Hem

Hi Friends

Beautiful week in beautiful Lokeren. I'm beginning to fall in love with Belgium, and it's splendid.

Last p-day, we went to Gent with the sisters that serve there. Wow, it was gorgeous! We went to a castle! I'll try to send pics sometime, I may not have time today. Belgium is really just out-of-this-world for us Americans.

We had zone training on Thursday, and it was fantastic. The theme was following the Spirit, and it was powerful. I am so impressed with the missionaries in this area. Wow, they are amazing. When they bore their testimonies, or shared thoughts/experiences, the Spirit was just overwhelming. It's amazing to see what this experience can do for a bunch of Mormon kids.

Something that was really cool for me this week was watching my testimony be tested a bit. I talked to a couple of people, actually, who don't think that Christ died for us. Oh, it struck my heart and did me pain. I never realized how strong my testimony of The Book of Mormon, the restored gospel, and my Savior is until I had to testify to someone who didn't fully believe those things. I felt something new - that swelling feeling in your chest, that feels you with a kind of power that you didn't know a normal person could feel, and you find yourself saying words that aren't quite your own. How grateful I am for these small moments that God gives me to see how much I truly love this.

I Know that Jesus Christ lived. And died. And was resurrected. And it was for ME. For us. And it was out of pure love that we can't comprehend. And that's something I'll never quite be able to express, but I hope that you all get the chance to feel it for yourselves.

Thank you for your testimonies, your prayers, and your love. Have a wonderful Easter week, :) Hope it's sunny where you're at! And I hope that you are able to see miracles in your lives.

Much much love,

Zuster Johanson

Colorless Skies

Goede dag!

So much for good weather..this week was a week of absolute colorless skies and we had to get our winter coats back out. But, so is European weather.

Busy! We are busy, and it is great. Yesterday was one appointment to the next - which missionaries love. We are teaching a fair amount of people, but we can't seem to get them to the part where they keep commitments and progress... Ah well. Patience is also a mission thing, I guess.

We got to up to Nederland for Sisters Conference! That was wonderful in so many ways. All 40ish sisters in the mission gathered in the mission home to be uplifted and encouraged by our leaders and each other. (there are probably pictures on the mission blog) Being 6 months in now, it was just what I needed to keep me pumped up.

You know how missionaries always say, "Oh my favorite thing about my mission is the people. I love watching people change." Well, I am always thinking about that, and it definitely applies to my mission, but in a different sort of way. I haven't seen the sort of "success" where I have watched people change and be baptized, but I've watched missionaries, and I've seen them change and become more converted to the Lord. I've watched them begin to grow into themselves, and become who they're destined to be. And I have made friendships out here that I never expected and never would have had in any other circumstance. So my favorite thing about the mission is the people, and watching them change. And maybe that's my mission, so maybe that's okay.

Much love to you all from Europe! Look for the miracles. They're there.

Love,

Sister Johanson

Sister Jones and I playing soccer

Eating a waffle at Antwerpen Station on my 6 month mark!

Okay, Belgium

So, everyone thinks I'm from Holland here. That's just because I don't speak Vlaams yet, so they don't know what else to think of a girl that can speak decent Dutch haha. 

The work here is so different! It's fantastic though! We have been so busy, we have to pack dinners for on the go. Oh, I love it. The ward here is super enthused about missionary work, so that is also really fun. Sister Jones is a great "go-getter" and our companionship unity rocks Belgium's socks. Seriously, we are only going to be together for one transfer because this is just too easy. 

I don't know how to tell you about people, there is many and I am still new... I did see a baptism yesterday! The Elders in our ward baptized an amazing 15-year old, and several people in the ward came to support. It was incredible to see the strong testimony of this young man and his commitment to the Lord.

We are teaching some really great people! Some of them even come to church! Just getting them to water is a little tricky... But God's timing is always better than our timing.

Also, the weather has been amazing. Belgium, and especially my little Lokeren, is gorgeous. And surprisingly, the culture is really different here. Still getting used to it, but I like it. The change is exactly what I need. I miss my friends back in Haarlem, but a change of scenery is good for my teenage identity crisis. 

I realize that I sound just like every other sister missionary, but we just can't help it. We are excited to work, and we see great things, we try to downplay the hard times, and we really just can't express to you what we experience. I wish I could just show you what it's like to be here. :)

You are in my prayers, and I'm grateful that you keep me in yours. It does wonders. Much love from Europe!

Liefs,

Zuster Johanson

 

Alles leuk in Lokeren

Hiya!

So, I'm in Belgium now, with the fabulous Sister Jones. Lokeren is small, like IJmuiden, and it's super beautiful and very Belgian. The ward here is fantastic! Actually, everyone else told me that, and I'm just believeing them. But they seem really great. :) Sister Jones is small and very darling, and a great missionary. It will be fun to work with her. She is a third transfer missionary, so the same as my last companion.

The work here seems different, but good. Really, my mind is just crammed with new things that I don't know what to say. Ummm..they have lots of yummy bread here? But really, they have bread vending machines randomly on the streets! It's cool. 

Sister Andressa Johanson

Oudstrijderslaan 3 Bus 5

9160 Lokeren

Belgium

Thanks for the prayers and love! Love you all!

Liefs,

Zuster Johanson

Hiya!

So, I'm in Belgium now, with the fabulous Sister Jones. Lokeren is small, like IJmuiden, and it's super beautiful and very Belgian. The ward here is fantastic! Actually, everyone else told me that, and I'm just believeing them. But they seem really great. :) Sister Jones is small and very darling, and a great missionary. It will be fun to work with her. She is a third transfer missionary, so the same as my last companion.

The work here seems different, but good. Really, my mind is just crammed with new things that I don't know what to say. Ummm..they have lots of yummy bread here? But really, they have bread vending machines randomly on the streets! It's cool. 

Sister Andressa Johanson

Oudstrijderslaan 3 Bus 5

9160 Lokeren

Belgium

Thanks for the prayers and love! Love you all!

Liefs,

Zuster Johanson

If you wanna have fun with me....

BELGIUM IS WHERE I'LL BE!!!!!!! :D

Transfers! Goody will stay in IJmuiden with an MTC pal of mine, Sister Twiggs, and they're sending me to Lokeren, Belgium! I knew it. I never thought about serving in Belgium until a couple weeks ago, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since. And I just had this feeling that I was going to need to learn Flams, which is a tiny bothersome cuz I was just getting a decent hard Dutch accent going. (Dutch and Flemish/Flams are the same but not. Same language, but like learning a new language, the dialect is so strong. Look it up on YouTube) So last week in beautiful, wonderful, delightsome IJmuiden, but it was a pretty solid one.

We had a lesson with Tinca (woman we met on the train a while back) and she is stellar. Believes everything we do, was baptized by immersion, believes in modern revelation, so is open to reading The Book of Mormon but she is really firm in her religion. Still a cool lesson, and a lovely person.

Finally had a lesson with Frank, our miracle guy that referred himself! And it rocked! It was the coolest, funnest lesson I've ever had. He's pretty young, and "searching," so he had questions about our lifestyle and listened openly to the Restoration. His work is irregular hours, so it's hard to get another lesson with him, but we're gonna try to get him to soccer on Saturdays and church. I'm voting that he gets baptized.

Eli said she'd come to church next week! Man, if we could just get her to church... District leaders were at our lesson with her, and I think that helped, having someone else from the Church other than sister missionaries.

Gave the fastest Restoration lesson the other day. A woman said we could come back and ask about the website, and she let us in, but we only had 5 minutes to give her an explanation of the Church. We maxed at about 7 minutes! Phew we were flying, Dutch words everywhere. Gift of tongues is amazing.

Our mission is doing great! We had zone conference last week, and our numbers are slowly working their way up. Hoping for more continued growth as we keep working harder and longer.

Aw man, I'm gonna miss IJmuiden. Haarlem 4 is no more. :/  It takes 3 transfers to really fall in love. I liked being here before, and I liked the ward, and my companion, and the city, and the people. But now? Oh, this place is just beautiful to me, and no one will be able to understand unless they themselves serve in IJmuiden. After these sorts of experiences, in a place like this, the people and the place and your experiences with them become sacred to you, and you just can't quite convey your feelings. I'm so grateful I got to serve here. It's where I became a missionary. And now I'm grateful I get to go serve in Belgium! Tot ziens!

Liefs,

Zuster Johanson