Iron Rod Johnson

Hello hello all! I hope you all had something exciting or funny happen this week! Here's an update on mine:

Monday- Not too exciting, I was still sick that day and had to get checked for strep. Luckily I didn't have it, but I was still not feeling well. My throat was feeling pretty awful and I had a cough so we cancelled plans for the evening.

Tuesday- We got to work a finding booth on ISU campus with the YSA Elders. We aren't allowed to proselyte on the campus, but we can hand out candy glued to pass along cards so thats exactly what we did! Basically we can't initiate the conversation about the church, they have too. So we xan start conversations and talk to people, and then steer it in a religious direction, but we can't outrightly say "want to hear about the church?" So it's a little different. It was fun though, the Elders manned the booth for an hour and then we took over. And we got an investigator from it! His name is Lem and he actually lives in the Elders area so we passed him on, but he seems great and was really accepting of some of our beliefs.

Wednesday- Wednesday morning was a little different. We got a call from some ladies that work at the institute at about 6am asking us if we could PLEASE come in to help prepare and serve food for the institute lunches they sell. They were really understaffed so we went and helped out, it was a lot of fun(: Later that afternoon we got to meet with our investigator Kelsey, who will be leaving for the summer. So we'll only see her one more time before she leaves. She's hilarious though and loves the gospel. She'll do well wherever she goes. That evening we headed out to Arimo to go to the Marsh Valley Institute and activity. Institute was great, we talked all about service and why service is important. It was also senior night so the graduating seniors came. They were all pretty fun, but definitely huddled together. They didn't just travel in packs, it was like an entire senior clan. Just quietly staring from the back row..I hope I wasn't like that as a senior going to YSA. They sorta warmed up by the end, and after institute we all headed outside to play ultimate frisbee. No bones were broken, no blood drawn, and our team definitely won. So it was a success.

Thursday- On Thursday we met a recent convert named Aldo and had a fun lesson with him. He's actually been taught most of the lessons so we just clarified what had and had not been taught. He hasn't been at church the last few weeks so he thought we wanted to meet because we thought he was going less active or something. He was a pretty funny. After meeting with him we got to sit down with Michael and talk more about the specifics of his baptism. It'll be really neat to get to see him be baptized. It's going to be an awesome weekend, He'll be baptized on the 12th, Sunday is mothers day (the 13th), and that Monday is my birthday! (the 14th) Pretty much a celestial weekend. That evening we got to attend the last class of mission prep before summer hits and hear from Sister McKee. She has gone through some crazy and hard trials in her life so it was really neat to hear her testimony and see how God was present throughout all of it.

Friday- In the morning we had District Meeting, and discussed help needed in our areas and how to make our areas better. We talked about specific problems we're having with investigators and brainstormed how to solve the issues, or what we needed to do to help the investigator. It was a great meeting and very helpful. Also, on a less spiritual note, Elder Johnson's mom is Polynesian, so he has a Polynesian name. Well I saw his name etched into the cover of his scriptures and asked how it's pronounced. He said it, and then told us what it meant -Iron Rod. Which is pretty cool and spiritual considering the vision Lehi is given in the Book of Mormon. (thus his name) But then Sister Ziegler was like "wait, so your name is literally Iron Rod Johnson?" Which does sound pretty funny. Even his companion was having a good time, Elder Hassell was like "Lets sing Hymn 274 to open district meeting.." Pretty much Elder Johnson's theme song. Now you understand my subject line.

That afternoon we were out contacting potential investigators and came across a girl names Erica, who is interested in us coming back! Hopefully that pans out(: We also got to eat with Bishop Reddish for dinner, which was hilarious because he kinda just states things like they are and was definitely calling out some of the YSA's haha. After dinner we got to meet with Kaylee for the last time before she leaves for the summer. (Pocatello YSA kinda empties out in the summer time because we're supplied by ISU) It was a really good lesson, we talked a lot about miracles and how god still works them today. She said she doesn't want us to pass her name on to missionaries in her area, because she needs time to think about things on her own. Hopefully she continues to recognize the miracles happening in her life.

Saturday- We finally got to our weekly planning today so not a whole lot to report. We had a lesson with Gabriel about the plan of salvation though, and discussed the parts he had questions on. Talking to him about the Plan of Salvation made me again realize how grateful I am for the knowledge that we have and for a Heavenly Father who loves us and has provided such a beautiful and forgiving plan.

Sunday- We went to the Marsh Valley Young Single Adult ward and met tons more of the YSA's down there. It was an awesome sacrament meeting and one of the speakers told his story of finding the church. Again, it was amazing to see how God is in the details of our lives and I'd encourage you all to watch for the little miracles that happen each day. I know God loves us all and wants us to be happy, and he will help us achieve that happiness.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and can see how Heavenly Father is working in your lives. I love you all!

Love,
Sister Jensen