May 14, 2012

Dear Family, Well, I really enjoyed our phone call last night. It is always so nice to hear from you. Reading letters is great and all, but it doesn´t quite compare to actual talking face to face... or should I say phone to phone. Jackie your recital song was magnificent. I cannot believe how much you have improved since I have left. By the time that I get back, you will be better at playing the piano than me. WOOHOOO Okay, I told you all about my deathly illness over the phone, so let’s go over a few of the highlights. Monday I got sick. Tuesday I was sick. YAY We taught one lesson on this day, and it was with a nice couple. They, Alfonzo and Senovio, accepted an invitation to be baptized this up-coming Saturday. We will see how that goes this week. Wednesday I went to the doctor, and was still sick. Actually the medicine made me feel a little worse... fancy that! Thursday I did not get better. Friday I was still sick. We also spent this whole day preparing for the baptisms of 2 "plebes". That is to say to children. Their names are Andrik and Martin. They are these great kids that we have been working with for the past three weeks. Their parents are less active members, and so we have been working an reactivating them and preparing their children for baptism. This day I also went to the Homeopathic Doctor (a.k.a. witch doctor) Saturday I felt a little bit better in the morning. We held the baptismal services, and then in the night, I began to feel sick again. Sunday we made a pie, I called you all. I did not feel extremely bad. From what the family told us, the pie turned out delicious. I would not know, seeing as how I did not have the opportunity to try it, because I did not feel good to my stomach. But it sure smelled wonderful. They did a wonderful job of finishing the pie. I was quite impressed, for it being their first time. I guess, if it is a really good desert, it doesn´t matter who makes it, because it always turns out good. I love you all. I will write in my journal. I miss you and pray for you. Stay safe. Love, Elder Johnson Sorry not much happened and this was a boring week.

May 7, 2012

Dear Family, I sure hope that you all had a good week. I know that I felt the love of God present in my life this past week. Well, I have learned so many things over the course of this past week. We had a Zone Conference this past Tuesday. It lasted for 4 hours and 1/2. Apparently, there was a lot of straightening out to do in our zone. I felt a little reprimanded afterwards, but you know what the good thing is? I made the changes that I had to make, and immediately we saw the blessing fall upon us. That was a really great experience. Then, we had a Conference this Friday with President Cantu, and the Elder Tenorio of the Seventy. In preparation for this conference they had us read chapters 12-16 of Mosiah. These chapters are super powerful, because it is the last predication of Abinadi before his death. I learned many things while reading these chapters, and it really prepared me for the conference,... but not in the way that I was expecting. The Elder Tenorio is a way super man. I really look up to him. I was expecting something completely different from him. He taught and instructed us with such love and respect, that it made us want to change, it made us want to be better. One of the things that I learned from the conference is that we must be looking for real converts, not just people to baptize. This has been a big problem, not just in our mission, but in all of Mexico. To give you the gist, this year past, there was like 38,000 new members of the church in Mexico, but the average church attendance just increased by 4,000. What does that mean? It means people are being baptized before they are truly converted to the gospel. He extorted us to be like Abinadi. Abinadi did not even know that he had converted anyone, before his death. We, can see from 50/50 hindsight that the conversion of Alma the father came directly from Abinadi. Alma, the great prophet, who baptized and converted hundreds was the result of Abinadi’s last speech. The Elder then taught us how to pray for things specifically. I love you all so much. I really pray that you have been able to feel the comfort of God this past week. I look forward to your call this week end. Sunday at 7:00 I will wait for your call. (Tel. 016677890192) If there are any problems please notify me before Wednesday morning. Love, Elder Johnson

April 30, 2012

Dear Family, I am greatly saddened upon receiving the news of Grandma Sampson´s death. It comes as quite a shock, seeing as how I was not informed by my Mission President. I must say, it is quite difficult to bear the news. It actually has not quite set in yet. I just feel kind of numb. Sometimes we get set into a routine in life, and when something interrupts that routine, it is not welcome. I am so grateful for the gospel, and the hope that it gives me. The funny thing is, even with this knowledge and hope for life after death, it still hurts. A lot. I draw consolation from the fact that Grandma is in a much better place. (refer to Alma 40:11-12) I love the scriptures. I cannot imagine life without them. How difficult it would be. I love Grandma, and I sure will miss her physical presence, and her love. Some of my fondest memories of Grandma would be the many occasions when we would go over to her house for Family Dinner. It was always one of those things that I just really looked forward to. Being together as a family. It is such a wonderful experience. I will always remember her smile, and the great interest that she took in the lives of each of her grandchildren. She really loved us, and found great joy in our accomplishments. I was privileged to come to know her, and take part in her life. Mother, I know that she loved you. I may not be a great author, or poet, and I cannot thoroughly express my feelings in this moment, but I just would like to leave you with this thought. One of the many things that I have learned over the course of these past fifteen months, is that one of the greatest influences in our lives are our parents. You, as my parents have shown me on various occasions that you love me. Through you words, your smiles, and your actions. If you follow that logic... Mother and Father, you have made me very proud. I am honored to be your son, and I know that our family will be together forever. God has promised us that. There are times when, as imperfect people, we do not live up to expectations, or we do not fulfill promises once made. God, however, is perfect. His love is perfect. His plan is perfect. And all His promises will be fulfilled. I love you very much. I wish you all the very best, and the consolation of our Heavenly Father in this up-coming week. I must now go to work. Love Elder Johnson

April 23, 2012

Dear Family, Another week come and gone. I wish that I could say the same about the heat, but it just doesn´t seem to want to leave. Oh, well, I´ll get used to it. Thank you for your letter. I don´t know if I read it correctly,.... did you really roll the tractor? Wow! I cannot believe it. That just sounds super crazy. It is a really good thing that the Lord was looking out for you. That is not something that everyone just gets up and walks away from. Jackie gave a talk in sacrament meeting?!. I cannot believe that either. That must have been quite a great experience. I bet she did wonderful, seeing as how she just loves talking to everyone. I wish that I could have been there to see it. Well, this week was super crazy. So many things happened, that I still cannot take it all in. I was able to participate in my very first baptismal interview, this past Thursday. I was super nervous. You might not believe me, but I was more nervous than when I had to give my first talk in Spanish. I studied for like two hours, trying to get it all down. It really wasn´t all that complicated, or difficult, it is just the fact that I did not know what to expect. (As you know, the interviews are private, so I had never witnessed one before, and I had no clue what was going to happen) Everything went fine. The Hna Jazmine got baptized this past Saturday. For Elder Kunz and I we have been working really hard with the less actives families in this area, and one of our goals is that we can have a family home evening every night of the week. This past week we had 5, but one of the days we had two in one day. Now we are shooting to have them daily. The reason for the emphasis in the FHE is because they know the people who are ready for the gospel better than us, so we just prepare the lesson and they are in charge of inviting their friends. It really is bringing forth many results. In fact, the Hna. Ana is going to get baptized this next Sunday. She had her interview this past week, because the original plan was for her to be baptized this past Sunday, but because she could not take off her job, she had to ask for a vacation day this next Sunday. We are really excited for her, because once she gets baptized she wants her whole family to follow her. She is going to help us a lot with her children. Well, I must be going. I love you all so very much. Sorry that this week was not very detailed, but we were delayed in the District Meeting, and then we had to go wash the clothes, and so we are a little bit pressed for time. I love you all so much. I am so proud of the family that I have. I am excited to get to talk with you in the following weeks. The 3rd call! Can you believe it! wow. Take care this week. Love, Elder Johnson

April 16, 2012

Hi, So, how has your week been going. I feel that is was quite ironic of you all to be taking cold showers in the winter... I must say, I wish that I could just take cold showers all the time. You want to know something funny about Sinaloa,.. Well, it is not just hot all at once. It gradually builds heat, starting in February and reaching its brilliant climax in July and August. In this moment, the locals all tell us the horror stories of how in the morning, if you put the water on cold,... it isn´t cold. It is warm, and sometimes even hot. And this is in the morning! Ahhhhhhh. Oh well, that's life here in Culiacan. It reminds me a lot of the analogy of how to kill a frog. You don't just drop him into boiling water. First you must put him into the water puke warm (sorry, I meant luke warm.... ha ha). Then you raise up the heat very gradually. I believe that when I return home, I will write a book called "How to boil a missionary in 3 to 4 months". You may ask, what must it be like in Culiacan? I will tell you. It is a big city. The people here are of a fair skin, and it is hot. REALLY HOT. Besides the heat, I love it here. The ward that I have touched this time is literally the biggest ward in the whole mission. We are 6 missionaries who work this ward. (The whole district) They have about 300+ active members! To arrive with this quantity of active members, they have a ward directory of about 2000+. There is much work to be done. They have a list of about 123 recent converts over the course of this past year! That is crazy in comparison to my Home-Ward of Libertad. We only had about 20 on the past year. I really am so excited to work here. But I must tell you, I have been really stressed out about being a Leader of District. I am not joking. I feel super inadequate, because the majority of the missionaries in our district have more time in the mission than me. I had a good week. It was a lot of work, because our area is super large, and due to problems in the finance office, we have not receive our money yet for this month. I am so glad that I don't work in the offices. Congratulations Benjamin (or in other words Elder Johnson) You have officially started your last transfer in the mission. Good luck. I love you. Jackie, I am soooo super lucky to have a sister like you. I have a picture of you that I get to see every day, and it makes me so happy. Enjoy school, and when it is over enjoy your summer even more. I love you. Mother and Father, I love you so much for the support that you have given me over the course of this past year. I am deeply indebted to you. Thank you. To all family and friends, I wish you all the best of days. I feel you prayers and am grateful for them. Love Elder Johnson (El Guapo)

April 9, 2012

Dear Family, I will start off by telling you how much I wish that I could have a normal week. I don´t know why but there is always something that happens, or something that changes to make life interesting. This past week has been one of many awesome experiences. Elder Garcia and I were working double duty to prepare the area for the next transfer. We were not able to visit the Hna Maribel, because she had gone out of town for the whole week. (a holiday that is known as Semana Santa. It is based in the last week in the life of Jesus, but the majority of the people celebrate it drinking and going to the beach. oh well.) On the bright side, we met ANOTHER golden investigator. His name is Jose. He is super cool. Basically he is the recently separated husband of a member. He made a few mistakes, and they separated. He was feeling pretty low, and decided to look for help. He went to a chapel, and talked with the Stake President who in turn called us. We met with Jose later that day. He told us that he felt hollow inside, and drugs, women and money could not fill that gap. You know what the great thing is? We knew what it was that could fill that gap in his life. The gospel! We gave him a blessing, and shared a message with him, and afterwards, he told us that he felt calm, and that he felt better. He did come to church this past Sunday! Woohoo! Oh, and by the way, I had to give another talk in Sacrament Meeting. I don´t know what it is, but the members here really just love hearing the missionaries give talks. And so right now, I am super bummed out, and a little mad at washing machines. It (meaning the dumb washing machine) decided that it was tired of cleaning clothes, and decided that it wanted to get them dirty. Starting with my batch of whites. All of my white clothes are spattered with little brown oil stains. To clean them, I have to soak them in bleach and soap for days, and then take a brush to them for one hour each shirt. ARRRGGGG. Oh well, its life. right? So, I must tell you about the latest event in my life... Transfers. Remember how I just arrived in Mazatlan about 6 weeks ago ( or in other words, 1 transfer). Well, I am now in Culiacan. and for some insane reason, I am Leader of District. he he um... uh... well... yeah. I must tell you that I do not believe that I have been praying more fervently than of late. So, my ward is gigantic. I mean it. 300 or more. We are 6 missionaries. 4 Elders, and 2 hermanas. (my district) I catch you up on the details next week. My companion is a gringo! o sea Americano. He is from Logan Utah. His name is Elder Kunz. He has 4 months in the mission. Great guy. I love you guys. I love this gospel. I love the miracles that we get to live daily. I have got to go. Just know that you mean the world to me. Love, Elder Johnson

April 2, 2012

My beloved family, How has your week been going along? I am sure that it is quite busy as usual. Thank you sooooooooooooooo much for the recipe of Apple Pie!! I sure hope that I will be able to make it. If all goes as planned we will make it in two weeks from now. Or, if no-one changes this transfer, we might be able to make it this coming week. In any case, I am super excited. This could quite possibly be better than Christmas! Ha ha Well, this week has been "chalk full" of experiences. I will just let you know about a few of them. First off, I don´t know what it is about Mazatlan, but I don´t think that I have yet had a normal Sunday here. So I will tell you about it. In the morning my companion and I were not able to watch the conference, because we were looking for investigators to come with us... bummer. But, when it came time for the afternoon session (<---p.s. I just spent like three minutes trying to figure out how to spell that word. ¡arg!) we decided to go to the church and see who would arrive. Well, guess what! No one showed up! Well, we were pretty bummed out, but we decided to go out and look for people. That is when we met Herman in the bathroom of the chapel. He had seen the open doors, and decided to enter and see what was happening. He found the bathrooms, and was in the process of brushing his teeth when we came upon him. We invited him to come and enter with us. He accepted our invitation, and gratefully entered. We got to see about the last hour and a half of the session. It was great! Then afterwards, we gave him a quick update on how the Gospel had been restored and that the people that he had just listened to were living prophets. He told us that he felt it, and that he believed us. To make a long story a little less long, he told us that he is from the city of Guadalajara, and that he had come up to Mazatlan in hope of starting of a new life. He only had the clothes on his back and some materials in his backpack. Talk about faith. Well, we than accompanied him for four hours in his search for a homeless shelter where he could stay until he got his life in order. It was crazy! In four hours we covered the whole city of Mazatlan going from Catholic Boys-Homes to Alcoholics Anonymous, and nobody would let him in. It was incredible, but during the course of these four hours, we got to know and love this man. Something that I learned from that whole experience is that there are people all around us, and each and every one of them have problems. It is our job as missionaries to open our mouths, and invite them to hear the Gospel. If they are prepared they will not harden their hearts. I hope that one day I may cross paths with Herman, and see how his life has changed, hopefully for the better. Well, as for Maribel, that has been a whole different story this past week. Wow. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the example the Dad has put for me. It sufficeth me to say that the Hermana Maribel is on the brink of divorce, and had to file something with a lawyer because her husband had hit her. Maribel is SOOOOOOO cool. We went over to her house right after the incident, and she told us that she had put the terms real simple with her husband. Or they were getting a divorce, or he was going to go with her to the church! How cool is she? She came with us to the afternoon session of Saturday conference, and the talk given by Elder David S. Baxter about the single parents really hit home with her. She told us that she had prayed and asked Heavenly Father many things that she needed answers too, and that the majority of them were answered in Conference! The only sad part is that we were planning on baptizing her this up-coming Saturday, but she is going out of town for the holidays. She will come back next week. Well, I loved conference. The parts that I was able to see lifted my soul greatly. I felt a theme along the lines of how the family is super important, and that we must do all we can to bring the family together. I love you guys. I am so glad that you put up with all of my quirky behaviours. I guess that is what families are for, to really get to know the people, their good and bad sides, and then love them all the same. Love Elder Johnson

March 26, 2012 (March 19, 2012

So, I just realized that I did not send my letter from last week. Weird huh? Well, here it is... Dear Family, How are you all doing? How has this past week been for you? You may call me a bad grandchild, but I did NOT know that Grandpa Johnson and Grandpa Nielsen had their birthdays so close together. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! That means that I officially have 1/4 the age of Grandpa Johnson. Crazy huh? Oh well, that is life right? You know, yesterday, after the food, my companion and I sat down with the member who fed us, and he gave us a brief history of his dad. I felt like I was listening to the biography of one of the top ten people in Mexico. I mean from his physical successes and triumphs to his rock solid testimony of the Gospel, I was in utter awe. The love and admiration that this man had for his father was incredible. And it started me thinking. All of us are leaving behind a Legacy with each passing day. Every choice that we make is being written down in the book of our life. Sometimes we make good choices, and sometimes we make bad ones. The comforting part is the Jesus provides us with the "cut, copy, and paste" to our Legacy, as long as we do our part. And all these experiences accumulate to make our Legacy. Then I gave some thought the the following questions; What sort of a Legacy am I leaving here in the mission? What sort of person will I be remembered for? What example am I setting for my future children? All of these questions have been gnawing at my thoughts. Well, there is a thought for you all. Well, I am sorry that I could not go into any details about this week, but as it so happens, we placed an appointment at 5:00, so I really have got to go. I love you all so much. I love this gospel. I love my Savior. Love, Elder Johnson p.s. remind me next week to tell you about the Family Home Evening, and Maribel and Luis p.p.s. Oh, and do you think that you could possibly send me the recipe for apple pie and pie crust (the flaky kind). I kind of committed myself to some members that I would try to make it. If you could send that to me, I will love you so much! Oh, well, actually just kidding, I already do.

March 26, 2012

Dear Family, Hey! How is it doing? Thanks for your letters, I really enjoyed reading them. That is fantastic that you could go off and visit Grandpa for his birthday. I hope you enjoyed it up there in Canada. Oh, and just to let you know, I did not even know that there was an earthquake until you told me about it. That will let you know how powerful it must have been. So, guess what! in two days, I will complete my first year in Mexico! I cannot believe how fast time just flies by. The heat has been starting up these past few weeks. I have started sweating again (I know you really did not want to know that). It is such a contrast to where Jake is serving. I have officially entered into the hottest 6 or 7 months of my life. (I say that, because last year, I served in the Baja California, and over there it does not get near as hot as Sinaloa) Oh well. Life goes on. :) Well, as for the past few weeks of my life. About a week and a half ago, Elder Garcia and I put together another Family Home Evening of the Ward. It was super fantastic. There was lots of people. I bet we had about 25 people show up, and compared to 13 the week before. We felt that the fame helped excite the people to come. Well, the best part of this activity, is that the Sister Dioselina brought with her a friend, the Hermana Maribel. Pure Gold! We´ll, talk about her later. So besides that, the activity was successful, we taught a little lesson, had a fun little activity, and felt the spirit very strongly. Anyways, this Hermana Maribel, felt so good in the church that day, that she told us that she was going to come to the church the next Sunday. AND SHE DID! We were super excited, and way happy. This was about a week ago. She then told us that she liked what we did so much, that she wanted to bring her husband and all of her family with her next week (or as it would be, this past Sunday). Guess what, she did not show up. We were a little concerned because we could not understand. She had been so excited, and so ready, and then she did not show up. We decided to go to her house last night to see what happened. Basically we had one of those classic missionary experiences. We showed up at her house, (after walking for 45 minutes) and no one was home. Bummer huh? Well, we sat down, and wrote her a note, saying that we had passed by to visit, and that we did not find her, and that we hoped that everything was alright. Right when we finished writing the note, a car pulled up, and her husband got out. So he let us into the house, and we began to chat with him. Then, like clockwork, Hermana Maribel walked in the front door. She gave us a funny look, and sat down. Well, we decided to teach them about the restoration. It was amazing. There was a little baby, running around the house screaming and crying, but we were still able to feel the spirit. As I began to relate the experience of Joseph Smith, she started crying. She then proceeded to tell us that when she had left the house that day, she had been so upset, and frustrated, because she wanted to divorce with her husband, but then again, she did not want to put her children through that. She was in that train of thought, pleading with God for an answer, when she returned to the house, and there we were. Like it had been planned or something... She then went on to tell us that she loved what she had seen in the church, and that of all of the dozens of churches that she had known, it was the only one, where she had felt such peace and such love. She told us that she wanted to be baptized, to clean her sins. She even went as far to ask what she had to do to be able to be baptized. I honestly felt the spirit so strongly in this lesson, it was an indescribable joy and happiness. Well, there is one of the most powerful experiences that I have had on my mission. I know that the Lord really has people ready, who´s lives we can bless, if we just open our mouths, and proclaim this gospel. He has a plan prepared for each and every one of us His children. Also this past week, we had interviews with president. I always love those. I feel so spiritually uplifted. He told me many things that I can improve on, one of them is dividing the daily agenda into 4 columns. That means that we have to have four plans for each hour of the day. That is like 40 plans per day. Crazy huh. We sure have moved on from knocking doors all day. Well, this church is true, and I love it. I love you guys. Take care this week. Love Elder Johnson

March 12, 2012

Hello!!! Greetings from Mexico. How have you all been? I really am pretty sad to hear about Brother Yalden. You know, Jake and I did that route for fast offerings many a Sunday, and I did come to appreciate him. It always stuck with me that, on the coat rack in the entryway of his house, next to an umbrella, there was always a rifle. I was always so fascinated by that. It had seemed sepia and old-fashioned. I must begin by thanking you all for your prayers. We surely have felt their affects during the course of the past week. I really don’t remember much of what happened at the beginning of the week, because it just flew by, and the events that took place have taken "passengers seat" in comparison to the events of these more recent days past. This Monday, one week ago, we had a conference with our zone, to excite us, and get us ready for a great transfer that we have ahead of us. Then that Thursday, we did divisions with Elder Rosales and Elder Carlson, our district leader. It was a great experience, in the which, we got lost, and eventually found a wonderful lady of "gold". She super receptive to the message that we share and I hope that she does well. She is in the other Elders area. Then this Friday we pulled off our long-anticipated Family Home Evening of the Ward. Elder Garcia and I have been planning this for like two weeks. It went great, so well in fact that we will be doing another one this next Friday. I hope that we can pull it off to make it as good as, or even better than the last one. This is part of the "secret plan" of Elder Garcia and I to excite the ward for missionary work, so that they can give us references, and then accompany us in the lessons. I sure hope that is pays off. Then, this Saturday, the baptism that we had planned for Hno. Miguel, and elderly gentleman, fell through. He was putting up excuses in the morning, saying that he couldn’t do it that evening, because he had to go to work, at the same hour. As it turns out, he took some pills and then fell asleep, and missed his work anyway. We then passed by this Sunday, and He once again began putting up excuses saying that his Mother-in-law was sick, and that he could not leave her alone. Elder Garcia and I did not want him to feel pressed into taking these steps in his life. It is the decision that each must make for themselves. We were in this process, when the neighbor showed up. (Hno. Gaspar is a member, and the man who was going to baptize Miguel) I don’t know what it was, but something changed in the demeanor of Miguel. He just got all excited, jumped on his bike, and told us that he would meet us in the chapel, because he was going to get baptized. It was like a miracle, and I still don’t even know how or what had happened. This man has been making excuses to not get baptized since November. I guess, when it is your time, you just know. Anyways, his baptism went well, we just had a slight wrinkle, because Miguel put the white overall "over all" his clothes. Afterwards he did not have dry clothes to change into. We had to make do with some white baptismal clothing that we had on hand. It was all-in-all, a great experience. Oh, and funny side story about Sunday. An American lady showed up at the church, crying and bawling saying many things like she was super hungry, and that she wanted food, and a place to sleep, and that she was going to miss her flight tomorrow to get to Texas. It is a very long story in the which, we found out that it was all a fraud, and that she just wanted us to give her the money for a "hotel and food" so that she could do who knows what. In the end, the Church did their part, even though they were not required to. We went with her to buy a Chicken. This upset her, because we accompanied her, and bought the food for her. Then, she started complaining that she was exhausted, and that she had been sleeping on the beach for the past two days. We were then authorized to take her to a hotel, and get her a room. We left her there. Well, as it turns out, after we left, she went up to the front desk, and told the lady that she had a place to stay, and that she wanted the money for the room. Of course the lady did NOT give her the money, and afterwards, called the chapel, and told them what had happened. And do you want to know the worst part of the whole story,?!. She threw away the chicken. It is quite sad the things that people do, and the level that they will stoop to. Well, I love you all so very much, and I hope that you are getting better at home. I sure do love being a missionary. There is nothing better. I really cannot imagine where my life would be without the experience, the blessing, and all of the lessons that I have learned out here. I love you all. Good bye. Love, Elder Johnson

March 5, 2012

Good After-noon Family, How has your week gone? I am sorry that you have come down with the cold. I know it is never fun, especially when there are so many other things that I would prefer to do in place of "moping around". (to quote my father) I wish you well, and hope that you get better soon. Just know, you are in good hands. I say that referring to Jackie. She is such a motherly little girl. It is so sweet. Oh, and thank you very much for the package. HOLY COW! I could not believe that such great a quantity of candy could fit in one packaging box. My companion, Elder Garcia and I, are going to get sick over the course of the next week for having eaten so much candy... and we are going to enjoy every minute of it! And for the dry fruit,... well... all I can say is that I love you so very much. I really do. It was quite funny, because I realized how well you know me, based on the contents of the box. (example: spam, skinny green tie, reeses, butter-finger, the book, the little bug, and the dried fruit) Well, I will proceed to give you an account of my dealings upon the face of the land of Mazatlan during the course of this last week. First off, my companion IS AWESOME!!! He really is so great. I get along fantastically with him. He has the "lets serve people" attitude, which is something that we share. It is like a competition in every meal. We eat at top speed to see who can finish first, and wash the dishes. (the Hermanas in the ward just love us! haha) Oh, and guess what,... He taught me how to put together the rubic-cube in one day. That was like one of the mysteries of the universe, and he just unraveled it right before my eyes. So, besides the fact that I get along really great with him, also we have seen a great quantity of miracles this week. The grandest miracle that we saw was yesterday at the church. We had worked all week with a lady named Maria, teaching her, and inviting her to come to the church. So, come Sunday, we decided that we would go to her house, and bring her to church with us. When we got there, she was ready and prepared to go to church with us. So we brought her to church. When we got there, the most amazing thing happened. She sat down, and then after a few moments, she commented to us that her brother was here. We exchanged glances, thinking "well of course, we are all brothers and sister here", and then asked her "where is he". She then got up, and proceeded to go up the the front of the chapel, and sat down next to an elderly man. He was stunned and amazed, for it truly was his sister. And our shock surpassed all else. She had never once commented to us that her brother was a member of the church, or that he even lived in this area. It really was a beautiful experience for everyone involved. When she left, she told us that she definitely would come to church the next week. She told us that is just felt good. Oh, I love this work. Well, there are so many things that I wish to tell you, including how I played the piano for the first time in sacrament meeting. (I was scared stiff) (I am not kidding) (I could not believe myself that I had gotten up and just did it). I'll tell you, in some ways I have quite changed over the course of this past year, but inside I'm the same old silly boy who blurts out "but your stupid" at the dinner table. I have gained a great amount of appreciation for you all this past week, while I have been with Elder Garicia. You see, he is an only child, and so he really has taught me much about the blessing it is to have siblings, and parents. I love you all so much. I pray for you often. "Hold down the fort" Love, Elder Johnson p.s. Jackie I love you. Thank you so much for the Zebra. It really is so adorable. Every time I see it, I will think of you.

February 27, 2012

Hello Family, Hey, hi. How´r ya doin? I am fabulous. Actually no, I really am a little bit bummed out, but we will get to that later. So, how was your week? Did it really snow? I cannot believe that. This world is so strange sometimes. Here I am dying in the heat, and you are all out enjoying rain and snow. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little bit, but it is starting to warm up. The winter has officially gone (as of 3 weeks) and spring looks like it won’t last long either. Oh well. Its life. So, you told me that life is the same back at home, but I will have to ask you to explain this to me, because I find it a little hard to believe that nothing has changed in 1 YEAR! So tell me, what is an average week like back at home in Orem. My week was anything but average. I got to assist a seminary thing. It was basically a education for the future leaders of the mission (note: this does not mean that I will be a leader or anything. It just was preparing us with the things that we should know, on the off chance that we would be leaders of trainers). Basically there was about 50 missionaries there. That is like a third of the mission. And you want to know something great,... well, if you don´t oh well, because I will tell you anyways. I sat next to Elder Snow during the training. It was super SUPER weird, but awesome at the same time. I also got to see Elder Webster (from the MTC), and Elder Allen (my old companion). So basically life was pretty good. I had a blast, but also I realized that I have many things that I must improve on. For example; my teaching, my studying, my contacting, my planning. Basically everything. It got to the point that the Hna Cantu had to tell us how to eat... or at least what to eat. I did not have a problem with this, because I normally eat healthy,.... I know, I know. That sounds weird right? Elder Johnson eating healthy food. And just to think, I used to make fun of Jace for eating healthy... ha ha Oh, and by the way. I am in Mazatlan. Hence (refer to the first paragraph). Goodbye Libertad, y Los Mochis. Well, I love you all. Take care and have a good week. Love, Elder Johnson

February 20, 2012

Dear Family, Thank you very much for your letter. It really sounds like you all had quite a week filled with experiences. Sometimes it gets to the point where we just say "I wish I could just spend one day bored, and not have anything happen" but life is not like that. We are constantly changing and growing. There is always something that we have to learn, or in some cases re-learn. How many times did Jesus have to tell Peter to take care of His sheep after his resurrection? 3 times. Or how many times do our parents tell us to do our homework? Sometimes we just are a little thick-headed, and need reminders. I´ll bet that is what our Father in Heaven feels like at times. What is important is that we are always trying to do our best. Well, this week has been one of many trials, but many blessings too. For the past few weeks we have been going with a family, and teaching and helping them. (to the point that I painted a bicycle) They were progressing well, reading the Book of Mormon and actually the Dad, who is a drug addict, told us that it was necessary for him to be baptized so that he could enter into the kingdom of God. So they had a baptismal date for this past Saturday, and as we had began to check up on them, seeing how they were feeling about this date, instead of coming closer to the church, they began to go to "their" church. It was heart breaking, to hear the 16 year old daughter, Kimberly, tell us that even if God told her that the Church of Jesus Christ is true, that she would not be baptized, because she was content in her church. Then, the dad entered. He was high. It is actually quite easy to tell, because when he does not take drugs or drink, he is really receptive to our message, but when drunk and high, he gets all defensive and begins questioning everything. It is a delicate situation. Well anyways, he entered and told us that they had their religion, and that there would be no point in changing, and that we were just wasting our time and that we should never come back. It is always a sad experience when this happens, because we know how much this Gospel will bless their lives, but we cannot force them to make right choices. They have to choose their own course. Which leads me back to my comment earlier. Sometimes we just are a little thick-headed. Oh well, that has been a little rough for us. The good news is that we are teaching a young lady named Nancy. She is studying to be a lawyer, and she has been progressing very well. In fact we had a Family Home Evening with her and some members, in which we taught the Plan of Salvacion in a way very dynamic. It was really cool. I was able to direct, and there was about 15 people there. As you can imagine I was terrified.... ha ha but it really ended well. We felt the spirit, and learned. Well, I love this Gospel. I love its simplicity. I just love everything about it. I love you all, Mom, Dad, Jackie, and of course Benjamin. (extended family and friends too) he he I love this opportunity that I have to be a missionary. Well, I must be going. Love Elder Johnson

February 13, 2012

Dear Family, Well, I must admit that I always love reading about and hearing about what is happening in other parts. It always sounds like an "out of world" experience. At least for me. I cannot believe that it has been snowing! Really, I am astounded. It really doesn´t compare to down here in Mexico. I was able to bid farewell to winter this past week. My beloved friend "the heat" has returned all to soon from his vacation. I really wouldn´t know how hot it is, but definitely in the 75- 85 range. It is super crazy. To think that today is the 13 of February. Oh, and by the way, Happy Valentine’s Day! I know that it is a little early, but it is okay. So, you want a little bit more detail about the activity. As it so happens here in this ward, the missionaries are in charge of a mission activity every three months to help the work. Usually the missionaries just put on a movie at the church, like the movie "the Restauracion", and then invite investigators. Elder Soto and I decided that we wanted to do something different, so we came up with the idea, and did all the coordinating and everything else. It was more improv, in the way of script, but the idea and pulling it all off was our part. And so that is why I said that we really were blessed greatly for this. We put in a great amount of time and effort into the Play, and our Heavenly Father took notice of our efforts and blessed us, in ways that we had not even hoped for. Like, for instance, after the activity all of the kids in the ward went out to eat or something like that. The best part is that they invited all of the teenaged investigators to go with them. From what we have heard, all came away from that with a really special experience. The investigators were really surprised because no one lacked respect or said "naughty words". All in all two thumbs WAY up. -The Critics he he Well, I really don´t have time to tell you about what happened this week, but it sufficeth me to say that we had the chance to hear our President of Mission speak, and also a member of the 70. It really was great. I really am getting excited for General conference. It is coming right up. We had a Zone Conference, and also a Stake conference. So I have been spiritually boosted for the next week. I love you all so much. I am so grateful for this grand opportunity that I have. I know that the time cannot reverse. Si hay algo que he aprendido en mi misión hasta ahorita, tiene que ser un aumento en mi fe en Cristo. Yo se, sin ningún duda en mi corazón que Jesucristo es mi Salvador. El es mi Redentor, y pago el precio para que me rescata de mis pecados. Yo se que los bendiciones del Padre vienen cuando nosotros somos obedientes a los mandamientos de El. Love, Elder Johnson p.s. Jackie I love you super crazy much. Have a good week, and take care of Mommy and Daddy.