Safford Girl's Camp

Hello my name is Heather Grissom I am a Young Women leader of the Safford 2nd ward in the Safford Stake. And I don't have Tori's email address but was wondering if you could forward this on to her:
Our girls camp theme this year is "Mission Possibe" where all the wards were each called to a mission that a person in our stake is serving. And we were called to the Spokane Washington mission! So I was wondering if you had anything that you would like to tell our girls (YW) about the Spokane Washington Mission. Or about why you decided to go on a mission, or what you would tell these girls about missions if you were here in person. We go to camp this next week, and are super excited to be "called" to your mission. :) you can message me back on facebook (I also sent this message to you on facebook) or email setterhp@hotmail.com if you would like. It doesn't have to be long just something I could read to the girls, to let them know that you are a real person serving a real mission. :) That would be so awesome. Thank you so much!

Thanks,
Heather Grissom 
Safford 2nd Ward Young Womens

Tori's Reply:

The weather here is amazing! you never know what to expect though the morning could be clear and warm but then by the afternoon it could be raining its weird. i always pack an umbrella. but i am working with the young single adults here in cheney washington. they are such amazing people. they love to help and serve us missionaries as much as they can and they are great missionaries themselves. The most important thing a missionary has is its ward. we would be nothing without our amazing ward and for their willingness to share the gospel with their friends. so ALWAYS tell the missionaries who they can go visit cause EVERYONE needs the gospel. i decided to serve a mission because of the blessings i have recieved from being a member. my dad was a convert so i feel like i have been blessed tremendously and so it would be stingy of me to not help others come closer to Christ. If your thinking about a mission I will be honest. it is WORK!! hard work every single day. but as you build a testimony of your savior and you realize the atonement isnt just for forgivness. it becomes a lot easier. there is a talk in the april 2012 conference that has helped me so much its by David A Bednar on the atonement of jesus christ. but the work is so important. SOOOO important and its essential that we share the gospel with everyone. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. it is the greatest blessing i will ever be apart of. the gospel is so true. Jesus Christ is my very best friend and i love him so much. and he loves each and everyone of you so much. Missions arent easy, but they are SOOO worth it.

This wasn't at Girls Camp but enjoy this picture of Tori Camping!!

Week 3 ~ May 28, 2013

So this past week has been pretty great. One of the other sisters in the area right next to me kinda went a little crazy I guess about her companion so we had a switch. so this week i have had two companions. The new one is hilarious though I loved having her with us. She is a 27 year old who has had like a whole life time of experiences. she has graduated college and everything. She is a little goofy though and is so weird but i love her so much. She has kept me laughing all week. i dont want her to leave!!! She leaves tomorrow though our house is going to be so quiet with out her :( its going to suck! My companion started being bossy though and i DO NOT appreciate it! at all haha but i told her what was up today. okay no i didnt she could tell i was mad and apologized and so i told her that i didnt need lectured everyday and that i learn things for myself and her telling me what to do isnt going to make me do what she says. so we got that all worked out. 

We have been working hard and teaching lots of people. We had to drop two of our investigators this  week though it broke my heart to do it but they didnt want the truth.  :(  The boy Jake i was telling you about last week was extra rough though.He said that he didnt think that the book of mormon was the word of God. He believes that God Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are all one being and that we were created by God, not that we were his children. He was pretty set on the bible being the only word of god but he has had lots of outside influences telling him that the mormons were wrong. It makes me so sad cause he has so much potential and he doesnt understand how many blessings that come from the true gospel of jesus christ!! Eternal Families being one of them. he has a girl that he is super good friends with and we have a feeling that he might like her a lot but we hope that when he has the desire to be married to her and she wont want to settle for anything than an eternal marriage that he might reconsider. We hope anyway. That was so hard to stop teaching him but he didnt want to do it anymore. He said that he would keep reading the BOM and everytime he had a question he would text us so hopefully he has lots of questions and wants to learn more eventually. The gospel blesses families and thats the truth!!!

This week has been more fun and it hasnt drug out as long as the other ones. although this weekend was kind of hard. teaching young single adults in a college town where they all go home for the holiday weekend is NOT fun!! Everyone left!!! So we had a slow weekend but we got through alright pday on tuesday didnt help either i was so anxious to read all my emails and then  mail didnt come yesterday so i was DYING!!! Last week i got tons of letters and this week i only got like 4 but then today when the mail man game i got like 4 more so it made it a whole lot better. Thanks for the chill pants too btw dad!!! you know thats my favorite color! my comp is jealous she just wont admit it! Haha :) i have the best support group at home its amazing. thank you to everyone. I Love all of you guys so much!!!! I am doing well though and my comp is making sure i work hard so dont you  worry about that!! 

Miracles are coming soon just you wait.

The gospel is true. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us so much! Thats the best thing about this whole life is understanding that and we could make it through anything. 

I love you Jackie thank you for emailing me. 

Love, Sister Tori Johnson

Week 2 ~ May 20, 2013

so this week has been up and down with our missionary success but only up for my testimony scale! at the beginning of the week we had a lesson with some random guy we met on the street and asked him if he came to know if it was true would he be baptized and he said yes!! so we are having another lesson with him tonight! i hope he has prayed and figured out that this is the ONLY true church. its pretty amazing how much i care for this person and how badly i want him to have the truth. we had a zone conference and we got to listen to a talk from elder holland. I love that man with all my heart!!! he is definitely called of god! but he spoke of the importance of obedience and how we have to be obedient or we cant be the messengers God wants us to be. He also helped me realize how important is was for me to be here. I am starting to really love people now and love missionary work because it is essential that i share this gospel or there is no way they will make it back to live with our heavenly father. Over the past two days i think i have walked AT LEAST 30 miles though. We share the car with the elders in this town so they had it all weekend and my comp isnt up for riding bikes so we walked, anyway we are still so exhausted so we will probably take a long nap today instead of go play but i am totally okay with that! we are going to get a pizza too. They have tons of pizza places here but my comp never lets us get it it makes me so mad so today im demanding it!!! haha i lost track of my point, ANYWAY with our 30 miles walks i have learned that the only way i am still awake right now and willing to work is because my savior is right next to me helping me with every step. and i have lots of candy from my dad to keep my occupied which also reminds me that as much as i love all the candy and all the treats you guys might have to put a hold on sending me that stuff cause i'm trying to eat healthy meals but i dont think the healthy meals will do me any good if i just eat candy the rest of the day! remember my goal is to not get fat on my mission!! :) I love you guys though!  also remind me to never have 12 kids. we went and ate dinner of a family of 12 and it was INSANE!!! i could never handle that for myself. but the mission has a rule where monday through friday if you have dinner with a family the family has to have a non member or less active there with them and then saturday and sunday it can be free for all so we dont really get fed a super ton but thats okay. it scares me going to peoples houses for dinner you never know what to expect. that family of 14 people we ate venisine i guess its like deer or something idk it wasnt too tastey though haha she made spice cake though and that was DELICIOUS!!!!! but anyway we walked a lot talked to a lot of people and got the door shut gently in our faces a lot this week but thats okay. they just dont know how awesome we are and how true this gospel is that we have to share with them. haha I love you guys so much here are a few pictures my comp doesnt let me take too many pictures though cause we can only take them not durring prosyliting hours so whatevs haha this place is absolutely beautiful though!!!! the weather lately has been a little crazy though sometimes it willl be hot and sunny then two hours later it will be freezing and windy and rainy. it tricks me good sometimes and i dont like it!! haha i love it though i am learning so much and coming so close to my savior i love him so much and i can feel everyones prayers so thank you so much! i love everyone to the moon and stars!! I love letters too so keep sending them :) never forget me!! 

Love, Sister Johnson

Cheney, Washington...A little place Tori calls "HOME"

10 May 2013

Dear Brother and Sister Johnson,

I was pleased to welcome your daughter, Sister Johnson, to the Washington Spokane Mission this week.  I’m happy to report that she arrived safely.  I had the privilege of meeting and associating with her the day of her arrival and note that it is evident that she comes with a great desire to serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Sister Johnson understands the role of the Holy Ghost in accomplishing the work here in the Washington Spokane Mission and has committed to live worthy of that power.

     

After prayerful consideration, I have called Sister Judd to serve as Sister Johnson’s companion in the Spokane West, Washington area.  It is our objective to call only the best missionaries to serve as trainers and I believe that your daughter is in excellent hands.  We expect that your missionary will serve in this area for the next 6 to 12 weeks as she begins her mission.

I have attached photographs of your missionary and assure you that Sister Mullen and I will love Sister Johnson.  Our great desire is that her time here will further establish her on the path of righteousness, as well as bless the many people she will serve.

Attached are the new updated recommended guidelines we have for parents.  These guidelines are based on many years of accumulated missionary experience, especially those guidelines concerning personal contact with your missionary. Sister Johnson needs your good example.  I sincerely request that you consider them for the benefit of your daughter and her fellow missionaries.

The mission has a website where you can see what is happening in the mission.  Go to:  washingtonspokanemission.wordpress.com

You can send mail to your daughter at:

Sister Tori Johnson

14 West 5^th Street

Cheney, Washington 99004

Thank you so much for sharing Sister Johnson with us. 

Sincerely,

Donald E. Mullen, President

WASHINGTON SPOKANE MISSION

On Monday, May 6th, Tori was one of 36 missionaries that arrived from the MTC.  It looks like they got busy getting to know one another right away!!

Tori LOVES the MTC

Dad,
I get email time today and so i  thought i would write you an email. I just want to say thank you for all the letters and dear elders. I LOVE THEM!!!! So much!!!!!! Keep them coming PLEASE!!!! They make me so excited every time my district leader brings mail and he gets all mad when he hands me letters cause i always have at least like 3 and everyone else gets none :) they make me so happy and help me focus on learning cause they are a reasurrance that everything is going all right :) I love and miss you guys so much. Today is P day and so we havent been so busy with everything else that we normally do and so this is like the first time i have gotten kinda homesick. Tab just sent me a letter about keegan asking where i am all the time and i love hearing it it just makes me want to call her and tell her i am okay. i am excited for monday though you will be getting a call bright and early on monday i dont know exactly what time we fly out but we have to be at the front at 5 am so i am sure its pretty early. thats like 4 our time. that was hard adjusting to the time zone cause i would eat dinner at like 4;30 and then that would be like 3;30 our time and then i wouldnt even be hungery so that part kinda sucked. the first night i didnt sleep super well but every other night i have slept like a champ. I had to do my own laundry today that sucked. mom always got the stains out of my clothes and i had one on there and i forgot about it and i just washed it normally and it didnt wash the stupid stain out i was pissed haha. mom is the best!! i tried emailing her earlier this morning to tell her to be on at noon but i guess it would be different our time i didnt think out that dang it!!! But anyway me and my comp get along well she is starting to get a little touchy and i dont like that i will have to tell her to quit touching me cause its starting to bother me really bad. other than that its great. ummm idk i think i just sent you guys a letter the other day i try and write one every night to you guys and send it off in the morning but it gets hard cause im super busy a lot of the time. i figured last night i could just email you today sorry :/ I love you so much and i am doing so good. i have such a better appreciation for this gospel now after being here. I love it so much i cant wait to actually  be in the field. I love you though and hope everything is good. Remind mom how much i love her and tell her i emailed her!

Love,

Sister Johnson

Washington Spokane Mission 

Cutest Missionary there!!!

Tori's companion at the MTC, Sister Sheppard

They got to take a special trip to the Provo temple

You're going to have to ask Tori about this one!

Tasia is such a nice sister, she used all her Victoria's Secret awards 

to get Tori a new hoodie.

In the same box, Keegan drew Tori a picture and sent her some Chex Mix candy!

April 24, 2013- Off to the MTC

With a late night of driving, packing, and moving things around to keep both suitcases under 50 pounds, it was a team effort to get Tori officially ready to go.  At the house, we got both suitcases at exactly 50 pounds!!

The next morning, we all got up nice and early and made the dreaded drive to the airport. 

Tori said in one of her letters, "On the car ride to the airport it was hard to look at Rhett.  Everytime I did I just started to tear up."

After she was all checked in, we had a little bit of time to get some breakfast.  Clearly, we are nothing like the family behind us!!  With lots of hugs and lots of tears, Tori turned around and walked to the plane without looking back.  At that moment, our hearts were sad but yet so proud of the choice she has made to serve our Savior.  Tori said this in one of her letters, "I am sitting on the plane right now and today is definitely isn't my best looking day I've had.  Red puffy eyes isn't very attractive...So I think there is about 10 missionaries on the plane with me.  When I got in the gate, I saw a whole group of them talking.  I just stood by myself and cried haha I was a wreck!  Some guy asked if I was okay and I was able to choke back a few words lol That girl that Tasia knew that was at the airport the same time was so nice though.  She walked over to me while I was standing there alone at the gate and brought me over withe all the other missionaries.  There is another girl going to Spokane too!!  Everyone is so excited it helps me be a little more excited too."

Tori was greeted at the airport by Tera.  Even though she couldn't be here when she got set apart, she played a special role in picking her up from the airport and taking her to the MTC.

Tera, Melanie, and Davis treated Tori to lunch!

What kind of missionary would Tori be if she didn't go with a fresh pedicure!

Tera and Melanie dropping of Tori to her temporary home for the next 2 weeks!

April 23, 2013 -- Officially a Missionary

If this pictures doesn't say that Tori is loved, I don't know what does!!

 

It was such a special night for Tori to officially be set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Spirit was so strong and the room was filled with love. Tori is so grateful to everyone that came. After lots of hugs, tears, and goodbyes, it was off to Mesa to catch an early flight! 

  Dad ~ Mom ~ Tabitha ~ Tasia ~ Levi ~ Keegan ~ Rhett

Grandpa & Grandma Bingham ~ Grandma Karen

Ty ~ Tawna ~ Shannon ~ Megan

 

  Trent ~ Susan ~ Justen ~ Miranda ~ Macee~ Madden

 

   Jared ~ Brooke

 

Crystal ~ Gary ~ Wade