Dear Family,
This week was really great. As always, the first week of the transfer is filled with new experiences, meeting new people and getting to know your companion. Mine has been filled with that, and a whole lot more. This week we had the opportunity to go to Culiacan as a Mission. Well, actually everyone except for the Baja. In Culiacan we were able to play dodge ball, and really just have a day of relax this Thursday. When we played the Mexicans vs. the Foreigners, the odds were pretty bad. There was like 70 Mexicans and 30 Foreigners. It is okay though, because we played hard and came out Champions in the end. Then in the afternoon we had the chance to have a testimony devotional of the mission. There really was such an amazing Spirit there. We slept in a house in Humaya with 7 other Missionaries. Due to the amount of space allotted, I was resigned to sleep on the floor. After two good nights of sleeping on the floor, I have come back to Los Mochis with the resolve to keep sleeping on the floor. It really is quite fun. I have like 4 blankets for padding, and two others to keep warm, so don’t feel too bad for me. I am enjoying myself.
So, the more and more that I have thought about my return trip to Libertad, the more and more I have come the think that there must be something really special that I must do or experience here. I need to be alert, and keep my eyes out for all of the things that have been happening in these days. It really has brought back some great memories though. Hours and hours of contacting has really been great for my system. I really do enjoy it. But despite that, we really cannot do that much contacting, because it is not really considered using our time effectively.
Well, this week is awesome, I love being a missionary. I know this gospel is true. I do not have one doubt about that. I have seen it bless the lives of so many people, including my own life. I know that this really is the best investment of my time that I could do, ever. And when it is all over and done, and the dice have been rolled, I am the one who really comes out with more blessings than I could possibly ever imagine. I would not trade this time for anything. Our bishop said something yesterday that really stuck with me. He was talking to a mother who was about to send her son out on a mission. He said, "You send a young boy out to be a Missionary, and he comes back a Man, and a faithful Priesthood holder." I love this work, and I love my Savior. There is nothing more.
Love,
Elder Johnson
Friday, December 16, 2011
December 5, 2011
Dear Family,
Well, this past week was transfers! Woohoo. I believe that I told you how the last transfers were quite odd. Well these ones were even more so. Elder Rendòn was sent to La Paz in La Baja California Sur. He will be there during the following Christmas for sure! I, on the other hand, stay here in Los Mochis... I just change areas. I have moved BACK to Libertad. The same area where I started my mission. Talk about something out of the ordinary huh? Anyways, it will be interesting to see what this transfer has in store for Elder Allen and me. Our district consists of only Senior Companions. Elder Allan and I are both Senior companion. Elder Fernandez Paz and Elder Cardenas, and the Zone Leaders Elder Reyes and Elder Romero R. So yeah we are super excited.
Elder Allen, my new companion, is a great guy. He has one transfer more in the mission than me. So we are a couple of greenies right? It really brings back memories. Elder Allen is from Murray up in Utah. He just told me that out there you guys had some crazy winds. I sure hope that everyone is doing alright. He loves baseball, and football American. It will be really funny to see how this turns out, because I do not know the first thing about either of these two sports. In fact, I don’t even know where Murray is. South or North of Provo? That is the question.
So, the big question that Elder Rendòn and I had was “Who is going to be in Jardìn B?” Sister Missionaries. We have now realized that Elder Rendòn and I were just preparing the way for the Sisters to come in. We did all of the grunt work and didn´t even get to enjoy the benefits. I hope that all is going to be okay in that area. Some narcos (Mexican gangsters) trapped down a police truck this past Saturday and killed the officers. This happened right on the limits of our area. The whole town is on high alert. I have seen like 30 army and police vehicles patrolling the town in the past two days.
The Hna Elva really has been progressing after the death of her mother. She is excited for her baptism this 17th of December. Also, a boy named Giovanii is preparing for his baptism that same day. The area really has some untapped potential, and I wish those sister good luck. I have returned to my first little area.
Well, I love you all so much. This gospel is the greatest.
Love Elder Johnson
Well, this past week was transfers! Woohoo. I believe that I told you how the last transfers were quite odd. Well these ones were even more so. Elder Rendòn was sent to La Paz in La Baja California Sur. He will be there during the following Christmas for sure! I, on the other hand, stay here in Los Mochis... I just change areas. I have moved BACK to Libertad. The same area where I started my mission. Talk about something out of the ordinary huh? Anyways, it will be interesting to see what this transfer has in store for Elder Allen and me. Our district consists of only Senior Companions. Elder Allan and I are both Senior companion. Elder Fernandez Paz and Elder Cardenas, and the Zone Leaders Elder Reyes and Elder Romero R. So yeah we are super excited.
Elder Allen, my new companion, is a great guy. He has one transfer more in the mission than me. So we are a couple of greenies right? It really brings back memories. Elder Allen is from Murray up in Utah. He just told me that out there you guys had some crazy winds. I sure hope that everyone is doing alright. He loves baseball, and football American. It will be really funny to see how this turns out, because I do not know the first thing about either of these two sports. In fact, I don’t even know where Murray is. South or North of Provo? That is the question.
So, the big question that Elder Rendòn and I had was “Who is going to be in Jardìn B?” Sister Missionaries. We have now realized that Elder Rendòn and I were just preparing the way for the Sisters to come in. We did all of the grunt work and didn´t even get to enjoy the benefits. I hope that all is going to be okay in that area. Some narcos (Mexican gangsters) trapped down a police truck this past Saturday and killed the officers. This happened right on the limits of our area. The whole town is on high alert. I have seen like 30 army and police vehicles patrolling the town in the past two days.
The Hna Elva really has been progressing after the death of her mother. She is excited for her baptism this 17th of December. Also, a boy named Giovanii is preparing for his baptism that same day. The area really has some untapped potential, and I wish those sister good luck. I have returned to my first little area.
Well, I love you all so much. This gospel is the greatest.
Love Elder Johnson
November 28, 2011
Dear Family
I love you. Enough said.
Well happy Thanks Giving, Daddies Birthday! I sure hope that everyone enjoyed it. I sure was a little bit jealous, but not of the weather. I do not know how I could ever stand cold weather. Now that I have been down here for a while, I have begun to acclimatize (I do not know if that is a word, but bare with me) and I am shivering in the night. It is super crazy. Oh yeah! It rained like one day and all of the streets were filled with water because there is no drainage system here in Mochis! Yeah for muddy shoes with giant holes (do not worry Mother, I bought new shoes today).
So this week, Elder Rendòn and I have finished moving into the new house. It really has been a hassle. We have been working at this for the past five weeks and finally it is done. The house has a lot to be desired, but we will make do. I am guessing that with time, we will be able to find out why there miraculously and mysteriously appeared a small river on our floor. I am not kidding, were talking about like two inches of water here! But even if life sends us obstacles, we are going to go forth with faith. and a mop.
So, the biggest bummer of this week would be the fact that Hna Elva was not able to come with us to church this Sunday. It was really sad because her Mother had died this Wednesday, and she had to go and attend to things of the funeral, and she just was out of sorts. We are going to pray for miracles and give her a new baptismal date tomorrow. What she needs right now is the knowledge and joy that comes from living within the gospel, and we are the ones who are going to help her with that. Other than that, we have dropped just about all of our old investigators, and are starting from zero. It has been one of those new things that President has been trying for us. We’ll see how well it goes.
Also, we had interviews with President this past Tuesday! Yep, I am pretty sure that Pres. Cantu is basically the BEST and most AWESOME mission president in the world. He knows the answer to almost every question, and is super spiritual and practical. I just love the opportunities that we have to learn and receive guidance from President.
Also, Elder Rendòn sends his salutations. He was sick this past week, but is getting better. He had blisters on his feet that were the size of my thumb! Yep, that was a struggle!
I love you all once again, and I wish you all the best.
Elder Johnson
I love you. Enough said.
Well happy Thanks Giving, Daddies Birthday! I sure hope that everyone enjoyed it. I sure was a little bit jealous, but not of the weather. I do not know how I could ever stand cold weather. Now that I have been down here for a while, I have begun to acclimatize (I do not know if that is a word, but bare with me) and I am shivering in the night. It is super crazy. Oh yeah! It rained like one day and all of the streets were filled with water because there is no drainage system here in Mochis! Yeah for muddy shoes with giant holes (do not worry Mother, I bought new shoes today).
So this week, Elder Rendòn and I have finished moving into the new house. It really has been a hassle. We have been working at this for the past five weeks and finally it is done. The house has a lot to be desired, but we will make do. I am guessing that with time, we will be able to find out why there miraculously and mysteriously appeared a small river on our floor. I am not kidding, were talking about like two inches of water here! But even if life sends us obstacles, we are going to go forth with faith. and a mop.
So, the biggest bummer of this week would be the fact that Hna Elva was not able to come with us to church this Sunday. It was really sad because her Mother had died this Wednesday, and she had to go and attend to things of the funeral, and she just was out of sorts. We are going to pray for miracles and give her a new baptismal date tomorrow. What she needs right now is the knowledge and joy that comes from living within the gospel, and we are the ones who are going to help her with that. Other than that, we have dropped just about all of our old investigators, and are starting from zero. It has been one of those new things that President has been trying for us. We’ll see how well it goes.
Also, we had interviews with President this past Tuesday! Yep, I am pretty sure that Pres. Cantu is basically the BEST and most AWESOME mission president in the world. He knows the answer to almost every question, and is super spiritual and practical. I just love the opportunities that we have to learn and receive guidance from President.
Also, Elder Rendòn sends his salutations. He was sick this past week, but is getting better. He had blisters on his feet that were the size of my thumb! Yep, that was a struggle!
I love you all once again, and I wish you all the best.
Elder Johnson
November 21, 2011
Dear Family,
Hola! How has everything been doing? I sure hope that everything is as good as it is here in Los Mochis. I sure hope that you are all having a great time in Canada. Can you all believe that it has been a whole year since I came back from Hawaii! It is really super crazy how fast the time just flies. I am glad that I gave a good impression during my time in Hawaii, because I really enjoyed it. I have a few questions. Zach is going to Columbus Ohio? I think that is the same mission as Kyle. If so, I should tell him to keep his look out for a Elder Nielsen... haha
Well up-dates for the week... I guess, I should just warn you all that I am going to have to use the credit card a little bit for the next month or so, because you see,... I am just not that organized, and I lost the card of the mission. I think that there are little credit card stealing gnomes walking around, and they have taken a liking to stealing my cards. Oh, and by the way... I have no idea what is my pin number is. If you could look into that, I would be much obliged.
So yeah, Mexico is pretty great this time of year. The temperature has really backed down. Instead of 45-47 degrees (c° of course,.. In fact I have not heard the temperature in f° for 8 months!) it has been a pleasing 30-35. It is quite a pleasant change.
Well, this week has been really great. Elder Rendon and I were able to see many miracles according to our unity as a companionship. So we were able to give a really powerful lesson to a family of Menus Actives about having them go to church. Also we put a baptismal date for the Hna Elva, and her daughter. But one of the most neat experiences that I had was when we were teaching a lesson to a Maria Rosario Rocha. We were giving her a really blatant lesson trying to impress upon her the importance of being consistent in our worship of the Lord. After the lesson Elder Rendon pulled me aside, and he told me that at one point in the lesson when I was talking, the spirit was so strong and I was talking super clear and perfect. It really gave me an appreciation for the gift of tongues. Do not worry, since then I have returned to speaking my broken yet understandable Spanish, but it comforts me to think that these types of miracles really do take place nowadays.
I love you all so much. With each passing day, week and month, I gain more and more appreciation for the great opportunity and blessing that I have to serve this mission to the Lord. Our time is precious here on this earth. We had better be careful with the things that we decide to do with this great blessing, which is time. I will never have another chance in this life to dedicate all of my time and all of my efforts to Him to whom I owe everything. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Once again, I love you.
Love Elder Johnson
p.s. well something really hilarious took place while we were writing these letters. The owner of this internet business put on anti-mormon videos like fifteen minutes after we came in. haha it really is quite funny. We have such an impact on the people.
p.p.s. next week I will send some photos so you can see how short my companion is. I think he is like 5 feet 2 inches tall... !
Hola! How has everything been doing? I sure hope that everything is as good as it is here in Los Mochis. I sure hope that you are all having a great time in Canada. Can you all believe that it has been a whole year since I came back from Hawaii! It is really super crazy how fast the time just flies. I am glad that I gave a good impression during my time in Hawaii, because I really enjoyed it. I have a few questions. Zach is going to Columbus Ohio? I think that is the same mission as Kyle. If so, I should tell him to keep his look out for a Elder Nielsen... haha
Well up-dates for the week... I guess, I should just warn you all that I am going to have to use the credit card a little bit for the next month or so, because you see,... I am just not that organized, and I lost the card of the mission. I think that there are little credit card stealing gnomes walking around, and they have taken a liking to stealing my cards. Oh, and by the way... I have no idea what is my pin number is. If you could look into that, I would be much obliged.
So yeah, Mexico is pretty great this time of year. The temperature has really backed down. Instead of 45-47 degrees (c° of course,.. In fact I have not heard the temperature in f° for 8 months!) it has been a pleasing 30-35. It is quite a pleasant change.
Well, this week has been really great. Elder Rendon and I were able to see many miracles according to our unity as a companionship. So we were able to give a really powerful lesson to a family of Menus Actives about having them go to church. Also we put a baptismal date for the Hna Elva, and her daughter. But one of the most neat experiences that I had was when we were teaching a lesson to a Maria Rosario Rocha. We were giving her a really blatant lesson trying to impress upon her the importance of being consistent in our worship of the Lord. After the lesson Elder Rendon pulled me aside, and he told me that at one point in the lesson when I was talking, the spirit was so strong and I was talking super clear and perfect. It really gave me an appreciation for the gift of tongues. Do not worry, since then I have returned to speaking my broken yet understandable Spanish, but it comforts me to think that these types of miracles really do take place nowadays.
I love you all so much. With each passing day, week and month, I gain more and more appreciation for the great opportunity and blessing that I have to serve this mission to the Lord. Our time is precious here on this earth. We had better be careful with the things that we decide to do with this great blessing, which is time. I will never have another chance in this life to dedicate all of my time and all of my efforts to Him to whom I owe everything. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Once again, I love you.
Love Elder Johnson
p.s. well something really hilarious took place while we were writing these letters. The owner of this internet business put on anti-mormon videos like fifteen minutes after we came in. haha it really is quite funny. We have such an impact on the people.
p.p.s. next week I will send some photos so you can see how short my companion is. I think he is like 5 feet 2 inches tall... !
November 14, 2011
Dear Family,
This week has been really long but great. So, since the beginning of this transfer, we (Elder Rendon and I) have been trying to find a house to rent in our area. It has been quite difficult not to mention the fact that the house that we live in right now is not even in our area. Every day we have been walking from another area to our area just so that we can begin to work. It has gotten quite tiresome, and not to mention that it doesn´t really allow us to work real effectively. We have finally found a house, bought the furniture, and have fixed up the contract. Now, the only thing left to do is wait until the owner of the house cleans it up a bit, paints it and fixes a few things and then from there we will be good to go! This whole process has really eaten into our working time this week. We talked with the Hna Cantu, and she told us that she wanted this thing done as quickly as possible, and on our own. It was a great learning experience. I felt all grown up, trying to rent a house and all. Anyways, if everything goes well, we should be moved in by the end of this week, or by the start of the next week. Yipee!
Well, if you want to know something a little sad, I did not even realize that Thanksgiving was coming up! Crazy huh? The thing is, I am sure that in one week or so, there will be some sort of national holiday (I think) but I don’t even know if they celebrate Thanksgiving here in Mexico. That is great that you guys might be able to make it up to Canada for the Holidays. I am a little jealous. Maybe I will have to celebrate it down here with Elder Rendon and our District. We have SISTERS! in our district! Woohoo, it really is fun.
Well, as for me, life is great. We have some great people who are progressing like, Elva and her daughters Yicel and Nallely, Sylvia, Anabel, and of course our good old gangster friend Mario and his parents! All of these people really have some potential, and I just keep praying that they will keep on progressing.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve a mission. I love the Lord and this Gospel. There ain't nothin better!
I love you all so much.
Love, Elder Johnson
p.s. thanks for the pictures of Jackie! I hardly even recognize her. She looks real grown up.
p.p.s. Benjamin.. Letters! ;)
p.p.s. Sorry it’s so short.
This week has been really long but great. So, since the beginning of this transfer, we (Elder Rendon and I) have been trying to find a house to rent in our area. It has been quite difficult not to mention the fact that the house that we live in right now is not even in our area. Every day we have been walking from another area to our area just so that we can begin to work. It has gotten quite tiresome, and not to mention that it doesn´t really allow us to work real effectively. We have finally found a house, bought the furniture, and have fixed up the contract. Now, the only thing left to do is wait until the owner of the house cleans it up a bit, paints it and fixes a few things and then from there we will be good to go! This whole process has really eaten into our working time this week. We talked with the Hna Cantu, and she told us that she wanted this thing done as quickly as possible, and on our own. It was a great learning experience. I felt all grown up, trying to rent a house and all. Anyways, if everything goes well, we should be moved in by the end of this week, or by the start of the next week. Yipee!
Well, if you want to know something a little sad, I did not even realize that Thanksgiving was coming up! Crazy huh? The thing is, I am sure that in one week or so, there will be some sort of national holiday (I think) but I don’t even know if they celebrate Thanksgiving here in Mexico. That is great that you guys might be able to make it up to Canada for the Holidays. I am a little jealous. Maybe I will have to celebrate it down here with Elder Rendon and our District. We have SISTERS! in our district! Woohoo, it really is fun.
Well, as for me, life is great. We have some great people who are progressing like, Elva and her daughters Yicel and Nallely, Sylvia, Anabel, and of course our good old gangster friend Mario and his parents! All of these people really have some potential, and I just keep praying that they will keep on progressing.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve a mission. I love the Lord and this Gospel. There ain't nothin better!
I love you all so much.
Love, Elder Johnson
p.s. thanks for the pictures of Jackie! I hardly even recognize her. She looks real grown up.
p.p.s. Benjamin.. Letters! ;)
p.p.s. Sorry it’s so short.
November 5, 2011
Hello Family!
This week was a "once in a mission" week. (though I hope that we will continue having weeks like these) First off, thank you all soo soo much for the package for my birthday. I really enjoyed everything, especially the SPAM! Woohoo! Everything was great, and the tie is super awesome (and clean). By the way, do not worry about last week, but I really was enjoying myself writing about flying fish. It didn’t have anything to do with drugs.... haha
Anyways, this week, first of all, I completed my twentieth birthday. It was great. I got wet. I guess there is some kind of "tradition" here in Mexico that says that you have to get the birthday kid wet. My companions took this way too literally. They unloaded a 5 gallon bucket over my head!
Other than that, this week has been a real faith promoting week. We (Elder Rendon and I) did not have very many lessons this week, and so we were pretty bummed out about that, but we had like 4 really powerful experiences espirituales. I will tell you about some of them. This Wednesday, as we were walking home at 8:20 in the night, we heard someone calling to us. We started to head over, because my companion (who is short) could not see them, and he wanted to see who it was. As it turns out, they were a group of thugs who were drinking. I wanted to turn around, and walk away, but we did not. We walked right up to them, began to talk to them. It was really strange, because we could literally feel that they had bad intentions with us, and that they were up to no good. There was 5 of them, and 2 of us, and they formed a circle around us. But we just started talking to them, getting to know them. (the whole time trying to keep our cool). As we began to teach and testify to them, we could literally feel the atmosphere, and ambient change. They lost their aggressive stances, and began to ask real question. It was really great, and at the end they allotted us a time in which we could return to visit with them. Then we left. So yeah, by now we are freaking out, because we felt like we just narrowly escaped with our lives... (a little exaggeration) but it gets better. We went to visit them yesterday to check up on them, and see how they were doing. We found one of them, had a powerful lesson, and committed him (Mario) to be baptized. HE ACCEPTED! Yep.. it was great.
Also, another of these faith promoting experiences happened yesterday. We were down in lessons the whole week, and we felt a little down. When we got to Sunday, we went to Hna Sylvia's house to help her so that she could go to the church. She went, and not only her, but she brought her whole family! Than when we got to the church, another two couples came to church. We had a total of SEVEN investigators in the church. I have not had that many since I was in my very first transfer with Elder Cope. It really was a great blessing that God had granted us to receive.
Well, I must be going now, because we have a Family Home Evening with Sylvia in one hour, and we must prepare!
I love you all so much. The church is true. I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary. God allows me to receive blessings and see miracle that I could not even imagine.
Love Elder Johnson
This week was a "once in a mission" week. (though I hope that we will continue having weeks like these) First off, thank you all soo soo much for the package for my birthday. I really enjoyed everything, especially the SPAM! Woohoo! Everything was great, and the tie is super awesome (and clean). By the way, do not worry about last week, but I really was enjoying myself writing about flying fish. It didn’t have anything to do with drugs.... haha
Anyways, this week, first of all, I completed my twentieth birthday. It was great. I got wet. I guess there is some kind of "tradition" here in Mexico that says that you have to get the birthday kid wet. My companions took this way too literally. They unloaded a 5 gallon bucket over my head!
Other than that, this week has been a real faith promoting week. We (Elder Rendon and I) did not have very many lessons this week, and so we were pretty bummed out about that, but we had like 4 really powerful experiences espirituales. I will tell you about some of them. This Wednesday, as we were walking home at 8:20 in the night, we heard someone calling to us. We started to head over, because my companion (who is short) could not see them, and he wanted to see who it was. As it turns out, they were a group of thugs who were drinking. I wanted to turn around, and walk away, but we did not. We walked right up to them, began to talk to them. It was really strange, because we could literally feel that they had bad intentions with us, and that they were up to no good. There was 5 of them, and 2 of us, and they formed a circle around us. But we just started talking to them, getting to know them. (the whole time trying to keep our cool). As we began to teach and testify to them, we could literally feel the atmosphere, and ambient change. They lost their aggressive stances, and began to ask real question. It was really great, and at the end they allotted us a time in which we could return to visit with them. Then we left. So yeah, by now we are freaking out, because we felt like we just narrowly escaped with our lives... (a little exaggeration) but it gets better. We went to visit them yesterday to check up on them, and see how they were doing. We found one of them, had a powerful lesson, and committed him (Mario) to be baptized. HE ACCEPTED! Yep.. it was great.
Also, another of these faith promoting experiences happened yesterday. We were down in lessons the whole week, and we felt a little down. When we got to Sunday, we went to Hna Sylvia's house to help her so that she could go to the church. She went, and not only her, but she brought her whole family! Than when we got to the church, another two couples came to church. We had a total of SEVEN investigators in the church. I have not had that many since I was in my very first transfer with Elder Cope. It really was a great blessing that God had granted us to receive.
Well, I must be going now, because we have a Family Home Evening with Sylvia in one hour, and we must prepare!
I love you all so much. The church is true. I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary. God allows me to receive blessings and see miracle that I could not even imagine.
Love Elder Johnson
October 31, 2011
My Dear Family,
Hello from México! Another bright and shiny week has passed down here in the beautiful country of México. I must tell you all about it.
The last letter that I was able to write to you, I was a little shook up.... Like a fish out of water. But someone took the fish out of the water and gave it wings. With these wings, and a lot of help, the fish started to make his first attempts in the world of air and wind. At first it was a little bumpy, a little awkward trying to get the tail and the fins and the wings to all work together, but in the end... the fish did fly. Then there was a cat. Now some of you might say; "Wait? Fish can't fly!" or "Why didn't the fish learn to walk first and then fly?" and others would be saying "What happened with the cat?" and "What does this fish/bird and cat have do with the week of Elder Johnson?". All of these questions would be appropriate to ask. Just don't ask me! 'cause I dunno.
Well, this week was a lot of fun. I will not lie to you. Elder Rendon and I really just click together. He is a little, short, Méxican from Vera Cruz and just a bundle of fun. (I'm not kidding when I say that Jace would be tall in comparison to him) He has six months out in the mission and really is spiritual kinda guy. He works really hard and has the mindset that the harder we work, the better results we will receive. I am super okay with that. Our area is super awesome. It has got to be the best area in the whole mission. There is like 2000 members in this area, and 300! are active. It is so great that they are planning on building a new stake-center. They already have the land bought. So we really have our work cut out for us. Basically we are driving the reference truck. We have been going to all of the members houses and asked for references, and are seeing a bunch of results from this. So far we have two people lined up for baptism in these coming weeks. Not too bad for opening up the area. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there is still so much more untapped potential. I really cannot explain how excited I am for this change.
So yeah, other than just "rocking out" the area and having a blast not too much else has been happening. Ooo, I got bit by a dog! Yeah, it was really quite a story. And it turns into an even more fantastic story when you listen to Elder Rendon tell it. They way he tells it, I sound like some sort of Super-Hero. We were just walking down the street, Elder Rendon and I, when this dog started barking up-ahead of us. Well, we just kept walking, and as we closed to the dog, Elder Rendon started to move off to the side, out of the line-of-fire. (as it turns out, this was the better choice) I, on the other hand, chose to walk straight and pay no heed to the barking dog. When I passed the dog, IT BIT ME! (imagine that,.. barking dogs really do bite) I just kept walking. After a few moments Elder Rendon asked me "did that dog bite you"
I said, "yep"
he said, "I don't believe you, show me", so then I showed him, and my knee was bleeding and I had this hole in my pants. Elder Rendon was in awe because the dog had bit me, and I just kept walking as if nothing had happened. (You have to take into account that the dog was like almost as big as Elder Rendon, so it figures that he was a little shook up)
I hope you enjoyed my letter, because I sure enjoyed writing it. I love you all, and I pray for you always.
Love, Elder Johnson
p.s. Jackie I love you like ALOT!
p.p.s. So if it wouldn't cost toooooooo much could you send dried fruit? Is that too much to ask? Really I would be super happy if I just received a letter filled with dried fruit. PLEASE! :)
Hello from México! Another bright and shiny week has passed down here in the beautiful country of México. I must tell you all about it.
The last letter that I was able to write to you, I was a little shook up.... Like a fish out of water. But someone took the fish out of the water and gave it wings. With these wings, and a lot of help, the fish started to make his first attempts in the world of air and wind. At first it was a little bumpy, a little awkward trying to get the tail and the fins and the wings to all work together, but in the end... the fish did fly. Then there was a cat. Now some of you might say; "Wait? Fish can't fly!" or "Why didn't the fish learn to walk first and then fly?" and others would be saying "What happened with the cat?" and "What does this fish/bird and cat have do with the week of Elder Johnson?". All of these questions would be appropriate to ask. Just don't ask me! 'cause I dunno.
Well, this week was a lot of fun. I will not lie to you. Elder Rendon and I really just click together. He is a little, short, Méxican from Vera Cruz and just a bundle of fun. (I'm not kidding when I say that Jace would be tall in comparison to him) He has six months out in the mission and really is spiritual kinda guy. He works really hard and has the mindset that the harder we work, the better results we will receive. I am super okay with that. Our area is super awesome. It has got to be the best area in the whole mission. There is like 2000 members in this area, and 300! are active. It is so great that they are planning on building a new stake-center. They already have the land bought. So we really have our work cut out for us. Basically we are driving the reference truck. We have been going to all of the members houses and asked for references, and are seeing a bunch of results from this. So far we have two people lined up for baptism in these coming weeks. Not too bad for opening up the area. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there is still so much more untapped potential. I really cannot explain how excited I am for this change.
So yeah, other than just "rocking out" the area and having a blast not too much else has been happening. Ooo, I got bit by a dog! Yeah, it was really quite a story. And it turns into an even more fantastic story when you listen to Elder Rendon tell it. They way he tells it, I sound like some sort of Super-Hero. We were just walking down the street, Elder Rendon and I, when this dog started barking up-ahead of us. Well, we just kept walking, and as we closed to the dog, Elder Rendon started to move off to the side, out of the line-of-fire. (as it turns out, this was the better choice) I, on the other hand, chose to walk straight and pay no heed to the barking dog. When I passed the dog, IT BIT ME! (imagine that,.. barking dogs really do bite) I just kept walking. After a few moments Elder Rendon asked me "did that dog bite you"
I said, "yep"
he said, "I don't believe you, show me", so then I showed him, and my knee was bleeding and I had this hole in my pants. Elder Rendon was in awe because the dog had bit me, and I just kept walking as if nothing had happened. (You have to take into account that the dog was like almost as big as Elder Rendon, so it figures that he was a little shook up)
I hope you enjoyed my letter, because I sure enjoyed writing it. I love you all, and I pray for you always.
Love, Elder Johnson
p.s. Jackie I love you like ALOT!
p.p.s. So if it wouldn't cost toooooooo much could you send dried fruit? Is that too much to ask? Really I would be super happy if I just received a letter filled with dried fruit. PLEASE! :)
October 24, 2011
Wow!
Well, I am still trying to get centered around what has just happened in the last 48 hours of my life. Here, I will give you a little taste of what has been happening.
Cambios! Elder Johnson has left San Jose. Do you want to know what else? I have returned to Los Mochis.... hmmm... haha Would you like to know more? President thinks that I should be Senior companion. My companion is Elder Rendon (the shortest Elder in the whole mission!). Oooo, wait, there is soo much more. Elder Tingey, who was my District Leader in San Jose, and has been in the same ward as me for 4 1/2 months, has come with me. Here. To Los Mochis. With me. He is now the District Leader here, and we are still in the same ward. In fact we are living all in the same house. That never happens. And if all of these changes were not enough, they just told me like four hours ago that I am opening an area. That means that they took the last two missionaries out of the area, and they are putting Elder Rendon and I in this area. Woohoo. Well, just to imagine that like 48 hours ago I was the Jr. Companion, and my life was stress free.
There is only one thing to do. I must start praying as of right now. Not as if I have not been praying, but for some reason I really was not expecting this, and I really feel inadequate. I am just going on faith right now, because I really do not know what I am doing. Okay, it is not that bad, but my Spanish still is lacking quite a bit. The only thing that I know is that if we put our trust in the Lord, and always strive to do His will, we will be all right.
Well, seeing as how I was on a plane and on a bus for the whole day, I really do not have that much time write. Technically, my Day of Preparation is over.
I love you all so much. You mean the world to me. This mission means the world to me. I love my Savior Jesus Christ.
Con Cariño y muchisimo Amor,
Elder Johnson
Well, I am still trying to get centered around what has just happened in the last 48 hours of my life. Here, I will give you a little taste of what has been happening.
Cambios! Elder Johnson has left San Jose. Do you want to know what else? I have returned to Los Mochis.... hmmm... haha Would you like to know more? President thinks that I should be Senior companion. My companion is Elder Rendon (the shortest Elder in the whole mission!). Oooo, wait, there is soo much more. Elder Tingey, who was my District Leader in San Jose, and has been in the same ward as me for 4 1/2 months, has come with me. Here. To Los Mochis. With me. He is now the District Leader here, and we are still in the same ward. In fact we are living all in the same house. That never happens. And if all of these changes were not enough, they just told me like four hours ago that I am opening an area. That means that they took the last two missionaries out of the area, and they are putting Elder Rendon and I in this area. Woohoo. Well, just to imagine that like 48 hours ago I was the Jr. Companion, and my life was stress free.
There is only one thing to do. I must start praying as of right now. Not as if I have not been praying, but for some reason I really was not expecting this, and I really feel inadequate. I am just going on faith right now, because I really do not know what I am doing. Okay, it is not that bad, but my Spanish still is lacking quite a bit. The only thing that I know is that if we put our trust in the Lord, and always strive to do His will, we will be all right.
Well, seeing as how I was on a plane and on a bus for the whole day, I really do not have that much time write. Technically, my Day of Preparation is over.
I love you all so much. You mean the world to me. This mission means the world to me. I love my Savior Jesus Christ.
Con Cariño y muchisimo Amor,
Elder Johnson
October 17, 2011
My Family,
We have officially started the last week of the transfer. I feel like I just started this transfer with Elder Hernandez. My Zone Leader said something that really stuck with me. "The time flies when you are working hard." I guess that really is so true. You get so caught up in the things that are happening, and trying to reach your goals, and helping the people that you just lose track of where the time goes. We have been pretty busy, and I have not put in too much effort to write in my journal this transfer. I should probably work on that.
Well, that is really great that Zach and Sy received their calls. They will do great out in the field. And Alex comes home next week? What? Has it really been two years? I really cannot believe how fast it just flies by. It is definitely a unique experience. For every person, it is different. It just depends on the attitude that you have. That is really applicable to life. If you have a good attitude and you trust in the Lord, things will just work out. Probably one of the best things that I have learned in my time here so far would be to SMILE. I never thought of myself as a unhappy person, I just did not express to many true emotions. But I really have come to realize how much our appearance affects other people. If we, as missionaries, have a smile on our face, and a good attitude, the people recognize that, and they feel the need to find out why we are so happy. Gospel means good news right? So if we are bringing this "good news" to the people, shouldn’t we show it? (go ahead, you can say it,... I am pretty smart sometimes) haha
Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting, again. (this is now the third talk I have given in this ward) And this time they left me for last! Woohoo! It was really fun. As you can imagine, giving talks never has been my strong point, and then adding in the language factor, it is quite the experience. All in all, it is not as bad as it sounds. My Spanish was not perfect, but then again, the people understood me, so at the end of the day, it is okay. (that rhymed) I talked about receiving personal revelation, and how it is vital on our journey to Eternal Life. I ended up speaking for like 15 minutes. (which by the way is a record for me)
So we have had many opportunities to try our faith this week. We were not able to find very many new people, and those who we did find did not go to the church. We had a very awkward experience this week to. We were teaching the Family of the Hermana Alma, and at the end of the lesson, her husband offered to give us a ride to our house. He stopped the car a block or too away, and just started to spill everything out. All of his problems, all of his mistakes and all of his sins. He was looking to us for answers, and solutions. We were able to comfort and teach him. After this experience, I that I thought for a while about what would have inspired a full grown man, like 45 years old, to confide in two 19 year old boys. God has a plan for each and every one of his children, and through the spirit he guides them to us. It has not been the first time that odd things have happened. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the phrase "I do not know why I let you guys in, I never let anyone in my house".
Well, this gospel is true. I love it. and I love you all. I pray for you every day, and I hope that everything is going well for you.
With Love,
Elder Johnson
We have officially started the last week of the transfer. I feel like I just started this transfer with Elder Hernandez. My Zone Leader said something that really stuck with me. "The time flies when you are working hard." I guess that really is so true. You get so caught up in the things that are happening, and trying to reach your goals, and helping the people that you just lose track of where the time goes. We have been pretty busy, and I have not put in too much effort to write in my journal this transfer. I should probably work on that.
Well, that is really great that Zach and Sy received their calls. They will do great out in the field. And Alex comes home next week? What? Has it really been two years? I really cannot believe how fast it just flies by. It is definitely a unique experience. For every person, it is different. It just depends on the attitude that you have. That is really applicable to life. If you have a good attitude and you trust in the Lord, things will just work out. Probably one of the best things that I have learned in my time here so far would be to SMILE. I never thought of myself as a unhappy person, I just did not express to many true emotions. But I really have come to realize how much our appearance affects other people. If we, as missionaries, have a smile on our face, and a good attitude, the people recognize that, and they feel the need to find out why we are so happy. Gospel means good news right? So if we are bringing this "good news" to the people, shouldn’t we show it? (go ahead, you can say it,... I am pretty smart sometimes) haha
Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting, again. (this is now the third talk I have given in this ward) And this time they left me for last! Woohoo! It was really fun. As you can imagine, giving talks never has been my strong point, and then adding in the language factor, it is quite the experience. All in all, it is not as bad as it sounds. My Spanish was not perfect, but then again, the people understood me, so at the end of the day, it is okay. (that rhymed) I talked about receiving personal revelation, and how it is vital on our journey to Eternal Life. I ended up speaking for like 15 minutes. (which by the way is a record for me)
So we have had many opportunities to try our faith this week. We were not able to find very many new people, and those who we did find did not go to the church. We had a very awkward experience this week to. We were teaching the Family of the Hermana Alma, and at the end of the lesson, her husband offered to give us a ride to our house. He stopped the car a block or too away, and just started to spill everything out. All of his problems, all of his mistakes and all of his sins. He was looking to us for answers, and solutions. We were able to comfort and teach him. After this experience, I that I thought for a while about what would have inspired a full grown man, like 45 years old, to confide in two 19 year old boys. God has a plan for each and every one of his children, and through the spirit he guides them to us. It has not been the first time that odd things have happened. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the phrase "I do not know why I let you guys in, I never let anyone in my house".
Well, this gospel is true. I love it. and I love you all. I pray for you every day, and I hope that everything is going well for you.
With Love,
Elder Johnson
October 10, 2011
Dear Family,
Thank you so much for the letter. It is always good to hear from home. If there ever was something that we never lacked in the house, it would have to be reading material. There was always a plethora of choices and options. I on the other hand have had to make do with the Ensign, Jesus the Christ, Our Heritage, and a few other books (scriptures included). Don´t feel too bad, I really enjoy them. That is really wonderful that Dad received a permanent job. A scripture that is found in D&C (121 I think) comes to mind where it says that every blessing comes on account of the commandment that it was based. It is like you said, the Lord is waiting to bless us when we put forth the effort and obey his commandments.
Well, as for me and my week,...
One of the things that really comes to mind when I think about the activities of this week would be the fact that I ate a Habanero pepper. Yep. That is right. For all of you who do not know what this pepper is like, well I´ll tell you. It is hot. After eating this small pepper I then spent the next half hour of my life dowsing my mouth with water, limes, and everything else that I could get my hands on. I felt like crying, but I could not for the fact that all of my tears were leaving my body in the form of saliva. Sorry, that was a bit graphic, but it really affected me.
Also, we finally fixed up the bikes that we have in our area. Just about everything that could go wrong with a bike, went wrong with mine. But it is okay, because they work now, and I really enjoy using them. They really are a blessing, because we have a part in our area where we do not usually go because it is so far away, but now we can bike there in a half hour. The only thing is, my legs are hating me. You´d think "hey, I´m a runner, I can do this easy". NOT. I have never been so sore in my entire mission. But I love it.
We got the opportunity to baptize as a District this past Saturday. We baptized a nice Sister in our area whose name is Alma Jimenez Lancon, and the other Elders baptized the daughter off a non active family. It was a great baptismal service. And at the end, the lady we baptized stood up and basically told her children that they should get baptized too, because it was such a wonderful experience. We have been teaching the whole family, but the mom was the only one who could be baptized because the others have not been able to go to the church, and her husband drinks a LOT of beer. He is a great guy though. He helped me fix my bike this week. It kind of broke while we were riding, and we stopped by, and he was like "here, let me take a look at that" and he just fixed it. Also, Alma has a daughter, Gabi, who is seventeen years old, she has two children, and to top it all off, she has been married since she was 13. Sometimes the world is just so crazy. Jackie is going to turn 12 this December right?
Well, I love you all, and I am so so super grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve a mission. I love the Lord, and I love you all.
Love, Elder Johnson
Thank you so much for the letter. It is always good to hear from home. If there ever was something that we never lacked in the house, it would have to be reading material. There was always a plethora of choices and options. I on the other hand have had to make do with the Ensign, Jesus the Christ, Our Heritage, and a few other books (scriptures included). Don´t feel too bad, I really enjoy them. That is really wonderful that Dad received a permanent job. A scripture that is found in D&C (121 I think) comes to mind where it says that every blessing comes on account of the commandment that it was based. It is like you said, the Lord is waiting to bless us when we put forth the effort and obey his commandments.
Well, as for me and my week,...
One of the things that really comes to mind when I think about the activities of this week would be the fact that I ate a Habanero pepper. Yep. That is right. For all of you who do not know what this pepper is like, well I´ll tell you. It is hot. After eating this small pepper I then spent the next half hour of my life dowsing my mouth with water, limes, and everything else that I could get my hands on. I felt like crying, but I could not for the fact that all of my tears were leaving my body in the form of saliva. Sorry, that was a bit graphic, but it really affected me.
Also, we finally fixed up the bikes that we have in our area. Just about everything that could go wrong with a bike, went wrong with mine. But it is okay, because they work now, and I really enjoy using them. They really are a blessing, because we have a part in our area where we do not usually go because it is so far away, but now we can bike there in a half hour. The only thing is, my legs are hating me. You´d think "hey, I´m a runner, I can do this easy". NOT. I have never been so sore in my entire mission. But I love it.
We got the opportunity to baptize as a District this past Saturday. We baptized a nice Sister in our area whose name is Alma Jimenez Lancon, and the other Elders baptized the daughter off a non active family. It was a great baptismal service. And at the end, the lady we baptized stood up and basically told her children that they should get baptized too, because it was such a wonderful experience. We have been teaching the whole family, but the mom was the only one who could be baptized because the others have not been able to go to the church, and her husband drinks a LOT of beer. He is a great guy though. He helped me fix my bike this week. It kind of broke while we were riding, and we stopped by, and he was like "here, let me take a look at that" and he just fixed it. Also, Alma has a daughter, Gabi, who is seventeen years old, she has two children, and to top it all off, she has been married since she was 13. Sometimes the world is just so crazy. Jackie is going to turn 12 this December right?
Well, I love you all, and I am so so super grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve a mission. I love the Lord, and I love you all.
Love, Elder Johnson
October 3, 2011
My Beloved Family,
Well, I sure enjoyed the letter. I sure got a laugh at the part where the guys dumped the rocks in the canal. When will they ever learn that a CANAL is not a RIVER. What makes this even funnier is that I didn´t make that connection until embarrassingly late in my life. It is too bad about the Priesthood Session, though I really couldn´t tell you, because I was not able to make it either. You see, it was presented all the way in San Lucas, which is kind of far away. Elder Hernandez and I decided it would be better to stay in the area and work. WAIT!!!... Tabernacle as a Temple? When did this happen, and why did I not hear about this? Oh wait, conference right? Yeah, we were only able to assist the two sessions on Sunday. Flooded the house again? I guess that you´ll be pro at cleaning it up really soon. There is a phrase "you can´t teach an old dog new tricks"... or something like that. That would be really cool if they built a Temple in Star Valley. We have an Elder Sessions in our mission who is from there. Great Guy.
Well, this week was filled so full with experiences, that I doubt that I will be able to tell you everything in the time allotted, especially because I can´t really type that great to begin with.
Well, we had the opportunity to do divisions for one day this week! I stayed in my area with the Leader of District Elder Tingey. We really had a blast. It was quite an interesting day, because we had about 5 appointments with various people, but 3 of them fell through. It was quite sad, but it gave us room to actually receive inspiration for the area. We visited some old investigators, and invited just about all of San Jose to the Conferences
By the way, General Conference, way super amazingly awesome. I really just love hearing the prophet, and the apostles, and everyone! I always come away from it edified, and with a passion to be a better and more spiritual missionary. They are great leaders, and I really look up to them. (FYI, I was able to understand everything that was said in conference!) I also celebrated 6 months in Mexico, because my first Sunday in Mexico was General Conference. Really fast right?
I also had an experience very singular this Saturday. I will give you what is written in my Journal, because from memory I won´t do the account justice.
"October 1, 2011
Right now I am feeling a profound sadness. There are so many emotions swirling around in my chest right now, it is difficult to breath. August 10 I met Hna Mayra Meza. Truly a chosen daughter of God. Never had I met a person more prepared and ready to receive the Gospel. When we met her almost two months ago, she related some experiences that had passed in her life. In fact, we arrived at a very critical moment in her life. She had suffered from an unfaithful husband for two years, and when she finally separated with him, he stayed in Acapulco with her 4 year old daughter, and she came here to live in San Jose. In these days, she was really depressed, and she told us very clearly that she felt something different when we dropped by. (obviously it was the spirit) As we began to visit and teach her, it was so easy to have compassion, and understand how she felt. I could literally see my desire change as the weeks passed. It went from trying to teach her and lead her to baptism, to really feeling the desire to help her improve her life through receiving those blessings that can only come through the Gospel. Well, everything was going by just as normal today, and when we passed by the house of Hna Marya Maza, the door was shut and it looked like no one was home. We decided to call her and remind her about the General Conference tomorrow. My companion called and I wasn´t really paying attention to what he said, when all of a sudden he handed me the phone and said that she wanted to talk with me. I greeted her, and then she began talking really fast as if she was holding back tears or something. She said that she was going to go tomorrow, and then she just started to thank me for everything that I had done for her, telling me how much it had all meant to her, and then CLICK. Nothing. I did not really understand what had just happened. I thought that what she had meant when she said that she was going to go, meant that she was going to go to Conference. My companion then explained to me that she had bought her plane ticket and everything, and that she leaves tomorrow. I feel remorse, regret and sadness. A profound sadness that I don´t think that I have ever felt before. It all just happened so fast and without a warning what so ever. We even had a Family Home Evening planned for her this coming Monday. What could I have done? I guess the only thing I can do now is get a hold of her new address and send it to the missionaries in Acapulco as a reference. No regrets huh?"
Well, I was really feeling down, and that definitely is not a good place to be as a missionary. The next day I was able to go to conference, and it really helped to alleviate the sadness.
I love you all so much, and I am sure that God has a plan prepared for each and every one of his precious children. All of us, as disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, have the responsibility to be examples in every place and at all times. I know that this Gospel is true, and with that knowledge comes the deep burning desire to share it with every person. We are are children of our Father in Heaven. We all deserve a second chance. Jesus has told us that he did not come to preach repentance unto the righteous, but to the sinners. We all have things that we can improve in our lives, and I know that our Father in Heaven is waiting for us to take the first step in this change, and then he will swamp us with blessings.
Love your son,
Elder Johnson
p.s. don´t worry about me, I can´t think of anything is specific that I would want. A calendar for 2012 would be cool. Other than that, I dunno. Surprise me!
p.p.s. I love you so SO much Jackie. You are the bestest little sister a Guy could ever want! Take care of Mom and Dad, and remind them that the Pork Roast is always better with stewed tomatoes...
Well, I sure enjoyed the letter. I sure got a laugh at the part where the guys dumped the rocks in the canal. When will they ever learn that a CANAL is not a RIVER. What makes this even funnier is that I didn´t make that connection until embarrassingly late in my life. It is too bad about the Priesthood Session, though I really couldn´t tell you, because I was not able to make it either. You see, it was presented all the way in San Lucas, which is kind of far away. Elder Hernandez and I decided it would be better to stay in the area and work. WAIT!!!... Tabernacle as a Temple? When did this happen, and why did I not hear about this? Oh wait, conference right? Yeah, we were only able to assist the two sessions on Sunday. Flooded the house again? I guess that you´ll be pro at cleaning it up really soon. There is a phrase "you can´t teach an old dog new tricks"... or something like that. That would be really cool if they built a Temple in Star Valley. We have an Elder Sessions in our mission who is from there. Great Guy.
Well, this week was filled so full with experiences, that I doubt that I will be able to tell you everything in the time allotted, especially because I can´t really type that great to begin with.
Well, we had the opportunity to do divisions for one day this week! I stayed in my area with the Leader of District Elder Tingey. We really had a blast. It was quite an interesting day, because we had about 5 appointments with various people, but 3 of them fell through. It was quite sad, but it gave us room to actually receive inspiration for the area. We visited some old investigators, and invited just about all of San Jose to the Conferences
By the way, General Conference, way super amazingly awesome. I really just love hearing the prophet, and the apostles, and everyone! I always come away from it edified, and with a passion to be a better and more spiritual missionary. They are great leaders, and I really look up to them. (FYI, I was able to understand everything that was said in conference!) I also celebrated 6 months in Mexico, because my first Sunday in Mexico was General Conference. Really fast right?
I also had an experience very singular this Saturday. I will give you what is written in my Journal, because from memory I won´t do the account justice.
"October 1, 2011
Right now I am feeling a profound sadness. There are so many emotions swirling around in my chest right now, it is difficult to breath. August 10 I met Hna Mayra Meza. Truly a chosen daughter of God. Never had I met a person more prepared and ready to receive the Gospel. When we met her almost two months ago, she related some experiences that had passed in her life. In fact, we arrived at a very critical moment in her life. She had suffered from an unfaithful husband for two years, and when she finally separated with him, he stayed in Acapulco with her 4 year old daughter, and she came here to live in San Jose. In these days, she was really depressed, and she told us very clearly that she felt something different when we dropped by. (obviously it was the spirit) As we began to visit and teach her, it was so easy to have compassion, and understand how she felt. I could literally see my desire change as the weeks passed. It went from trying to teach her and lead her to baptism, to really feeling the desire to help her improve her life through receiving those blessings that can only come through the Gospel. Well, everything was going by just as normal today, and when we passed by the house of Hna Marya Maza, the door was shut and it looked like no one was home. We decided to call her and remind her about the General Conference tomorrow. My companion called and I wasn´t really paying attention to what he said, when all of a sudden he handed me the phone and said that she wanted to talk with me. I greeted her, and then she began talking really fast as if she was holding back tears or something. She said that she was going to go tomorrow, and then she just started to thank me for everything that I had done for her, telling me how much it had all meant to her, and then CLICK. Nothing. I did not really understand what had just happened. I thought that what she had meant when she said that she was going to go, meant that she was going to go to Conference. My companion then explained to me that she had bought her plane ticket and everything, and that she leaves tomorrow. I feel remorse, regret and sadness. A profound sadness that I don´t think that I have ever felt before. It all just happened so fast and without a warning what so ever. We even had a Family Home Evening planned for her this coming Monday. What could I have done? I guess the only thing I can do now is get a hold of her new address and send it to the missionaries in Acapulco as a reference. No regrets huh?"
Well, I was really feeling down, and that definitely is not a good place to be as a missionary. The next day I was able to go to conference, and it really helped to alleviate the sadness.
I love you all so much, and I am sure that God has a plan prepared for each and every one of his precious children. All of us, as disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, have the responsibility to be examples in every place and at all times. I know that this Gospel is true, and with that knowledge comes the deep burning desire to share it with every person. We are are children of our Father in Heaven. We all deserve a second chance. Jesus has told us that he did not come to preach repentance unto the righteous, but to the sinners. We all have things that we can improve in our lives, and I know that our Father in Heaven is waiting for us to take the first step in this change, and then he will swamp us with blessings.
Love your son,
Elder Johnson
p.s. don´t worry about me, I can´t think of anything is specific that I would want. A calendar for 2012 would be cool. Other than that, I dunno. Surprise me!
p.p.s. I love you so SO much Jackie. You are the bestest little sister a Guy could ever want! Take care of Mom and Dad, and remind them that the Pork Roast is always better with stewed tomatoes...
September 26, 2011
Dear Family,
How is everything doing back at home? I sure hope that everything is great. Wow, I am more than just a little bit jealous about those peach pancake breakfast. It is that time of year again I guess. As for what I eat, it never changes no matter what time of year. There is always some type of meat, and some tortillas and salsa. Everyd ay. And the funny part is that I am not even joking. I have thought about it, and I don’t know how I am going to eat without those tortillas when I return. It will be quite different. Oh, and another thing. Everyone and their dog drinks coke here. It could be considered a food group. The good news is that I have developed some sort of allergic reaction to soda of all sorts. (or that is at least what I tell the wonderful Hermanas who feed us. Hey! it is cheaper right?)
Jackie has started choir!!! Wow, I am sooo excited for her. I look back now, and I really should have stuck with it, because I really do enjoy singing. I am so sure that she will just have a fantastic time with that.
Well, as for my clothes, everything is good so far. My shirts are looking a little bit yellow, but what can you expect. My shoes on the other hand..... well I shall have to tell you the story. So when I came out here to the Baja, I took a decision that I would only bring one pair of shoes with me. (Bad choice on my part) Well, as it turns out, those 30 dollar shoes from Burlington’s made it a whole seven months. But about a month ago, they broke. It is not too bad. Only a little hole. The problem is, me and my companion are walking around broke. So, I decided that I would just use them until they fell apart completely. Great Idea Right? Wrong. Yesterday in church Hno Suarez, President of the quorum of the Elders, pulled me aside. At first I that that I was in trouble, because he was kind of serious. He then proceeded to offer to buy me some shoes. I felt super bad. I finally convinced him that I was wearing them broken because I wanted to. It was really funny, and a little bit awkward. But I do not want you all worrying about that because I have come up with a plan. I am going to save some money and buy a new pair.... by Christmas.
Well we had a surprise visit by President this week..... Or at least it was a surprise to me. I feel like the rest of the world knew that he was coming but me. Sometimes I can be a bit oblivious. It was really great. He talked with us about obedience, and the importance it is for us to seek revelation for our areas. Also we had some activities with answering hard questions with the scriptures. It really opened my eyes to the fact that I need to focus my studies in this area for a while. But in all, It was a great conference.
I was going to tell you about a super awesome investigator that we have, named Jacobo. I guess I will just leave you all in suspense till next week, because time is short and I still have to write President.
General Conference. Super Excited.
I love you all so much.
Elder Johnson
p.s. it has been a while since I have included Spanish in my letters.
Mi querido Familia. Solo quiero decirles que les amo. Estoy muy MUY agradecido por este oportunidad que tengo para servir a mi Padre Celestial. Gracias por su ayuda y apollo. Se que este evangelio es real, y que Jesucristo es mi Salvador. El nos conoce como ningun otro hombre puede, y todavia nos ama. Siguen adelante y con animos!
How is everything doing back at home? I sure hope that everything is great. Wow, I am more than just a little bit jealous about those peach pancake breakfast. It is that time of year again I guess. As for what I eat, it never changes no matter what time of year. There is always some type of meat, and some tortillas and salsa. Everyd ay. And the funny part is that I am not even joking. I have thought about it, and I don’t know how I am going to eat without those tortillas when I return. It will be quite different. Oh, and another thing. Everyone and their dog drinks coke here. It could be considered a food group. The good news is that I have developed some sort of allergic reaction to soda of all sorts. (or that is at least what I tell the wonderful Hermanas who feed us. Hey! it is cheaper right?)
Jackie has started choir!!! Wow, I am sooo excited for her. I look back now, and I really should have stuck with it, because I really do enjoy singing. I am so sure that she will just have a fantastic time with that.
Well, as for my clothes, everything is good so far. My shirts are looking a little bit yellow, but what can you expect. My shoes on the other hand..... well I shall have to tell you the story. So when I came out here to the Baja, I took a decision that I would only bring one pair of shoes with me. (Bad choice on my part) Well, as it turns out, those 30 dollar shoes from Burlington’s made it a whole seven months. But about a month ago, they broke. It is not too bad. Only a little hole. The problem is, me and my companion are walking around broke. So, I decided that I would just use them until they fell apart completely. Great Idea Right? Wrong. Yesterday in church Hno Suarez, President of the quorum of the Elders, pulled me aside. At first I that that I was in trouble, because he was kind of serious. He then proceeded to offer to buy me some shoes. I felt super bad. I finally convinced him that I was wearing them broken because I wanted to. It was really funny, and a little bit awkward. But I do not want you all worrying about that because I have come up with a plan. I am going to save some money and buy a new pair.... by Christmas.
Well we had a surprise visit by President this week..... Or at least it was a surprise to me. I feel like the rest of the world knew that he was coming but me. Sometimes I can be a bit oblivious. It was really great. He talked with us about obedience, and the importance it is for us to seek revelation for our areas. Also we had some activities with answering hard questions with the scriptures. It really opened my eyes to the fact that I need to focus my studies in this area for a while. But in all, It was a great conference.
I was going to tell you about a super awesome investigator that we have, named Jacobo. I guess I will just leave you all in suspense till next week, because time is short and I still have to write President.
General Conference. Super Excited.
I love you all so much.
Elder Johnson
p.s. it has been a while since I have included Spanish in my letters.
Mi querido Familia. Solo quiero decirles que les amo. Estoy muy MUY agradecido por este oportunidad que tengo para servir a mi Padre Celestial. Gracias por su ayuda y apollo. Se que este evangelio es real, y que Jesucristo es mi Salvador. El nos conoce como ningun otro hombre puede, y todavia nos ama. Siguen adelante y con animos!
September 19, 2011
Dear my beloved Family,
True or False, commandment number 6 states that thou shalt not kill. True. Ahhhhh I am sinnning! Do not worry, he died quickly and it was painless. We both shed a few tears. I have now started this transfer with E. Hernandez. It is going great. We are so much alike it is kinda scary. We both have the same attitude, and do things in the same way too. In truth, I am really excited for these coming weeks.
Well, to answer your questions... Well Elder Johnson and the weather have been getting along great. I never would have believed that I could enjoy the heat, but it is quite refreshing. (Well sometimes... yesterday we had to walk to the house of the Hna. Vega after church, IN OUR SUITES! yeah, it gets a little hot sometimes) All those years of cold and snow, and here I am! As for being one of the crowd... It’s never going to happen. My companion talked about this the other day. First, I am a white gringo (americano) Second, I am a little bit tall (which means I could be a giant to some of these Mexicanos) and Third, we are misioneros. All of these things equal one thing. I stick out of the crowd. I have accustomed to the fact that everywhere I go, and everything I do, someone is watching. And to tell you the truth I don’t know in which language I think. It is more like I have ideas, and then I use the language to piece together my thought.
The people are different, just like everyone else. One of the major problems here is the drugs and alcohol. It does not matter who you are or what you do, everyone in this country has been affected in some way or another by these destructive substances. From problems in the family to the big drug cartels and everywhere in between. It is a people who, despite all of this, has been prepared to receive the message of the gospel. It is such a great opportunity that we have to be able to serve the Lord in this place at this time.
Well, as for the events of the week,.. Everything was great. In the first part of the week we were working on getting the cell phone fixed up, because someone... (your truly) dropped it in the water and it broke a little bit. But everything is okay, we got it all fixed up, and it only cost about 100 pesos. (9 dollars) Also we had to get back to the house early Thursday because it was the Independence Holiday, and "everybody and their dog" goes out and parties and drinks. It is a little sketchy for missionaries. Atras de eso, everything has been going great, we are still working with Mayra Meza, and have been working to find new people.
Well I love you all so much, and I hope that everything is going great at home. I am a little saddened that I am missing the peach pancake breakfasts, but oh well that is life right? I love you all so so much, and I pray for you always.
Love,
Elder Johnson
p.s. thank you so much for forwarding me the letters from Benjamin. I really enjoyed reading about what is happening with him. He sounds like he is so happy and on fire.
True or False, commandment number 6 states that thou shalt not kill. True. Ahhhhh I am sinnning! Do not worry, he died quickly and it was painless. We both shed a few tears. I have now started this transfer with E. Hernandez. It is going great. We are so much alike it is kinda scary. We both have the same attitude, and do things in the same way too. In truth, I am really excited for these coming weeks.
Well, to answer your questions... Well Elder Johnson and the weather have been getting along great. I never would have believed that I could enjoy the heat, but it is quite refreshing. (Well sometimes... yesterday we had to walk to the house of the Hna. Vega after church, IN OUR SUITES! yeah, it gets a little hot sometimes) All those years of cold and snow, and here I am! As for being one of the crowd... It’s never going to happen. My companion talked about this the other day. First, I am a white gringo (americano) Second, I am a little bit tall (which means I could be a giant to some of these Mexicanos) and Third, we are misioneros. All of these things equal one thing. I stick out of the crowd. I have accustomed to the fact that everywhere I go, and everything I do, someone is watching. And to tell you the truth I don’t know in which language I think. It is more like I have ideas, and then I use the language to piece together my thought.
The people are different, just like everyone else. One of the major problems here is the drugs and alcohol. It does not matter who you are or what you do, everyone in this country has been affected in some way or another by these destructive substances. From problems in the family to the big drug cartels and everywhere in between. It is a people who, despite all of this, has been prepared to receive the message of the gospel. It is such a great opportunity that we have to be able to serve the Lord in this place at this time.
Well, as for the events of the week,.. Everything was great. In the first part of the week we were working on getting the cell phone fixed up, because someone... (your truly) dropped it in the water and it broke a little bit. But everything is okay, we got it all fixed up, and it only cost about 100 pesos. (9 dollars) Also we had to get back to the house early Thursday because it was the Independence Holiday, and "everybody and their dog" goes out and parties and drinks. It is a little sketchy for missionaries. Atras de eso, everything has been going great, we are still working with Mayra Meza, and have been working to find new people.
Well I love you all so much, and I hope that everything is going great at home. I am a little saddened that I am missing the peach pancake breakfasts, but oh well that is life right? I love you all so so much, and I pray for you always.
Love,
Elder Johnson
p.s. thank you so much for forwarding me the letters from Benjamin. I really enjoyed reading about what is happening with him. He sounds like he is so happy and on fire.
September 12, 2011
Well Hello amado familia mio!
This week really was one of a kind. I had the opportunity to kill my companion... it’s a phrase that is used here in the mission. It is to say that he ended his mission and went home. It really was a great transfer. I learned tons of things. and yes, do not worry about my Spanish. It is coming along... slowly. I can understand everything, and I can basically communicate everything that I need to, but I definitely am far from fluent. I have made a goal for this transfer,.. I will study the language for the first time since I have been in Mexico! Yep, same old Elder Johnson, I just really never have had a taste for studying. And also I am going to trust that the Lord really does bless us missionaries with the gift of tongues! But Hey! I have been writing in my journal in Spanish for the past 4 months. I think that that has helped.
So yeah, transfers were today! I will stay here in San Jose 2b for another transfer.... as junior companion. Yeahhhhhh.
Elder Hernandez is my companion. He seems like a great guy. He does not talk much, but neither do I so it work out great. Oh, and some other news about the transfers. Elder Tingey in our ward (other area) was made Leader of our District. That is way super awesome. We fall great together. (Spanish Grammer)
Well, as for your questions, my eye is now better. More or less. I still put drops in about twice a week. and I love this area. The members are great, and there are tons of people who are ready to receive this gospel. The Zone Conference is in San Lucas. We take a bus for about an hour. In fact I went there yesterday so that I could drop off my companion at 4:30 in the morning. We slept in the house of the Leaders of the Zone, and I was the lucky one who got to sleep on the floor... again! haha
Well, other than this, life has been about the same. It’s hot, the days are long, and there is lots to do. The work is alive and real. I love you all, and wish you well.
Love,
Elder Johnson
This week really was one of a kind. I had the opportunity to kill my companion... it’s a phrase that is used here in the mission. It is to say that he ended his mission and went home. It really was a great transfer. I learned tons of things. and yes, do not worry about my Spanish. It is coming along... slowly. I can understand everything, and I can basically communicate everything that I need to, but I definitely am far from fluent. I have made a goal for this transfer,.. I will study the language for the first time since I have been in Mexico! Yep, same old Elder Johnson, I just really never have had a taste for studying. And also I am going to trust that the Lord really does bless us missionaries with the gift of tongues! But Hey! I have been writing in my journal in Spanish for the past 4 months. I think that that has helped.
So yeah, transfers were today! I will stay here in San Jose 2b for another transfer.... as junior companion. Yeahhhhhh.
Elder Hernandez is my companion. He seems like a great guy. He does not talk much, but neither do I so it work out great. Oh, and some other news about the transfers. Elder Tingey in our ward (other area) was made Leader of our District. That is way super awesome. We fall great together. (Spanish Grammer)
Well, as for your questions, my eye is now better. More or less. I still put drops in about twice a week. and I love this area. The members are great, and there are tons of people who are ready to receive this gospel. The Zone Conference is in San Lucas. We take a bus for about an hour. In fact I went there yesterday so that I could drop off my companion at 4:30 in the morning. We slept in the house of the Leaders of the Zone, and I was the lucky one who got to sleep on the floor... again! haha
Well, other than this, life has been about the same. It’s hot, the days are long, and there is lots to do. The work is alive and real. I love you all, and wish you well.
Love,
Elder Johnson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)