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I'm in Arkansas!






Good news! I made it!!!
It's been quite the week. We had quality classes and said goodbye to everyone at the MTC (that's what most my pictures are), and then left early Wednesday morning. We stayed the night in Bentonville, and now I'm writing you from Harrison, Arkansas. I am so happy. :)
My area is HUGE (2000 square miles). It takes 3 hours to drive through it, so it's impossible to reach everyone, but we're doing our best. We have a truck and a house (like not an apartment, a house). Sister Brown is training me. I am so lucky. She is the best trainer. She has been in Harrison for 12 weeks, so she's a definite expert, and I just follow her around cause I don't know what I'm doing. Also, we have a lot of fun together. There is a lot to learn and do as a missionary, and I'm very new. But Heavenly Father has been helping me out. Over and over I've had the prompting to just follow Sister Brown. So, I'm trying not to stress and try to figure everything out right now and just trust Sister Brown. 
I've only been in the field for 5 days, but it feels like a lot has happened. We do a lot of service and have visited a lot of people for me to meet them. I'll tell you about a few of my favorite experiences so far.
My first day, we had lunch at a barbecue place with Brother Pierce. We call him Grandpa, and he spoils us. He gave us candy and all this stuff and he feeds us a lot. He talks and talks and gives us all kinds of advice. And he has a quality southern accent. It was so fun, and I felt like I had really arrived in the South. 
Sunday we sustained President Nelson as our prophet. A lot. It was so funny. It was Stake Conference, but the stake center is a few hours away, so it was broadcasted to the church building in Harrison. It kept glitching at the beginning, and it kept going back to right before we sustained President Nelson. We probably sustained him 12 times. Everyone was there in their church clothes being all serious and sustaining President Nelson over and over, and I was dying inside. So funny! Heavenly Father really wants us to know that President Nelson is the prophet. :)
Probably the best part of my week was Saturday. I had my first lesson! The Deans are strong in the church, and their son-in-law Lucas is staying with them right now. Lucas has had two lessons with the missionaries so far. We had dinner with the Deans and played games. (Okay, side note: Play the card game Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. It is so fun!) Then we taught Lucas about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about how after Christ died God's power was no longer on the earth. (We had a quality object lesson to show this--we made a cup tower with different gospel principles on each cup and the names of the 12 Apostles on the bottom cups. Then we took the bottom cups out, and the whole tower fell. It was fun.) We had Lucas read Joseph Smith's account of Jesus and Heavenly Father appearing to him to give him that power to establish Christ's church again. It was awesome. The Spirit was really there. Then we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him how it testifies of Christ and is evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet. We read the first chapter with him. He said he would read more on his own and pray about it. It was all really normal stuff that we shared that I have learned about my whole life, but it felt... amazing. I don't know how to describe it. This message will change Lucas's life! I know because it has changed mine. It has given me purpose and peace and just makes me happy. Sharing this with Lucas felt so good and reminded me why I am here.
I love you all so much. Please email me ‘cause I miss you! My email is liberty.johnson@missionary.org.
--Your favorite Sister Johnson  


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