Elder Graeme Johnson: September 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

September 17, 2012

Dear Family, So, how are you all doing? I feel like just yesterday was Monday, and now a whole week has passed by. The precious time that I have to serve the Lord is passing by rapidly. I don't ever want it to end. Well, in this week, we have had many awesome experiences. One of those that really sticks out to me is what happened when I went on divisions with Elder Goates. Elder Lazaro and I had decided to stop visiting the Hna. Maria, because we had two weeks visiting her, and she had not come to church. She was reading and praying, but for some reason or another, she did not come to church. Well, we went to visit her, and the purpose of our visit was to tell her that we would not be visiting her anymore. Well, when we first started up the lesson, she started to tell us that she could never baptize herself in our church. She put up the "excuse" that she has lots of faith in the Virgin Guadalupe. Well, we started to ask her specific questions, trying to get to the root of the problem, and after a few questions, we discovered that another religion had passed by her house and that they had offended her for her supposed faith. So, then when we began talking about the subject, she made the comment to us that she had noticed the difference in the way that we preached compared to the other "missionaries". She told us that every time that we pass by, she feels good. She feels peace, tranquility, and the love of God. (Imagine that,.... this is what she felt when we were reprimanding her for not going to church) We then testified to her that these were the feelings of the spirit. She then told us, out of the blue, that she would be going to church this upcoming Sunday. AND SHE CAME!!! Two weeks of inviting her, and she finally understood the importance of going to church. She actually came earlier than we did. She also told us that she felt really good in the church, and that she was making preparations to go to the stake conference this up-coming week. God has a plan for each of us, his children. Through this plan, He is working to bring us back to His presence. Sometimes we do not understand the why. Why the things happen the way they do. Or the when, but God has everything worked out, and we just have to be in tune to the Holy Ghost so that we might do His will, and not ours. So, Elder Lazaro and I have really had some great opportunities to grow and develop unity over the course of the past week. I was reading a letter from Elder (Kyle) Turner, the other day, and he made the comment that he was going to have 7 1/2 months with the same companion. He related how they were best friends, and that they were seeing miracles in their area. I am 100% sure that it is because of their unity as a companionship. It is amazing to see how, when a companionship is unified in purpose and obedience, miracles happen. This is what we are working on, Elder Lazaro and I. I have 4 months left in the mission. It is possible that I could have 1 more companion. Imagine the miracles that will happen. I am really super excited. I love this work. There is NOTHING better. Take care at home. Love, Elder Johnson

September 10, 2012

Dear Family, Thank you so much for the letter. I´ll tell you, I had no idea that it is labor day. I guess that I was completely oblivious. I don´t even remember the holidays anymore. Even though I do not remember the holidays, I do remember all of the tasks that we had to do on Labor Day. Great fun! I wish you all good luck. So here is a question... Has Jackie started school? How are you doing in Jr. High? I sure hope that you are having lots of fun, and making many new friends. Mother now is taking her very own personal vacation? Ooooh, how fun. I sure hope that she enjoys every moment. Benny-boy wants to go out to California? WHAT? Now why in the world would he do that... ;) Well, anyways, I am just rambling. So this past week, we had some very wonderful experiences. We had several spiritual experiences that have to do with praying specifically. The first happened on Saturday, in the baptism we had. In the morning, we specifically prayed that everything would go well, and above all, that we could bring someone special to view the baptism. The baptism was to start at 5 with a movie so that everyone who came late wouldn´t miss anything, and at 6 we were going to see the baptism. We were there at 5, and nothing. Nobody. I could feel inside of my mind, doubt starting to creep in and try destroy my faith. I made another prayer. At 5:30 came the ward mission leader. But not yet arrived Alan and Nelson (those who were to be baptized). Then, when the time came, came an investigator and her mom and her niece. I felt very sad to think that it was possible that they had sacrificed to come and see the baptism, and that those who were to be baptized were not even here. At this time of great alarm, Nelson and Alan entered, and in a few minutes came many others. In the end, it was a great baptismal service and all present felt the Spirit. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father, who has blessed us so greatly on this occasion. Upon leaving the baptism it was 8:15, and we were very tired, but we decided to test our faith and find miracles. We went out to invite everyone to the chapel. That was when we found Roger, an investigator who we had not seen since the first week. We invited them to the chapel, and we arranged a ride in that moment. On Sunday he came, along with a brother in law. I know God has blessed us, and when we ask for His help and then do all within our power, He pours the blessings of heaven upon us. We also had a great conference with President this past Tuesday. Maybe someday I’ll tell you about it, but right now, I don´t have time. Love, Elder Johnson p.s. Be sure to tell Mother that I love her tonight when you talk to her.

September 3, 2012

Dear Family, Hello, how are you all doing? It was really good to hear from you all. I am going to tell you all about some of the experiences that I have had over the course of these past few weeks in Mazatlan. First I would like to elaborate on the weather here. Supposedly, according to the people here, it was really hot right before I got here. All I can really say is that it has been raining. LOTS. I love it. It just starts pouring. The first time, all of my books and pamphlets got wet, including my journal… L But since then, I have been more prepared. I have all of the contents of my backpack wrapped up in plastic bags. I will try to include some pictures of when it rained! I love the rain, mainly because of the brief relief that it provides from the intense heat. It is crazy when we ride our bikes through it, because the water is so high that when we pedal, our feet get soaked on the downwards stroke. Guess what? All of the irrigating that we did for those years has finally paid off. Here on the mission the baptismal fonts don`t drain just naturally. I have had to work a lot with pumps. I finally have had the opportunity to put that knowledge to use. We have to prime them and all sorts of good stuff. Who would have thought that it would pay off like that. It is honestly a whole lot better than bailing the water out with buckets. So, I have been really stressed out for these past few days. I did divisions with the other Elders in our District this past week. I went with Elder Goates to his area, and his companion, Elder , went to mine. During these divisions Elder Goates told me that Elder is really struggling right now. (I do not know if I mentioned it, but this is the first transfer in the field for Elder , he just arrived from the MTC) On various occasions, he has told his companion that he wants to go home. He has lost all desire to be here on the mission. This really has been worrying me. This Gospel is not one of obligation. Even God, the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, respects our Agency. So if he doesn’t want to be here, no one is going to force him. This next Tuesday, we are going to have interviews with President. We`ll see what is going to happen. I try to always be happy and animated, so that maybe it will be contagious. All that I can do now is pray for him. To talk a little about the people that we have in teaching right now, there is Lupita and Ernesto; Alàn and Nelson; Gisel, Lisbeth, and Andrea; Hno and Hna Laguna; Alejandra. We really have just been seeing miracles these past few weeks. There are so many people who have started progressing. Lupita and Ernesto have been taught for 5 months now, but the recently have started to progress. The Hno Ernesto has stopped drinking for 2 weeks now! JThat is a major plus. Alàn and Nelson are the sons of Samuel, and if everything goes well they are going to be baptized this next Saturday. YAY! Gisel and her daughters we found two weeks ago knocking on doors. She is super golden. She told us that she went the Mormon Church when she was younger, and her children keep pressuring her to take them. I am super excited for them. Hno Laguna is the classic grouchy grandpa. It is fantastic. He behaves himself with us, because we fall well with him (or in other terms, we get along great). Every lesson is filled with tears and laughter. He tells us about his life and all of the things that passed to him. We really have been struggling with him, because he doesn`t believe in God. Also he is the second old person who has buffed and shined my shoes while I have been a missionary. That was a very sweet experience. It really reminds me of the Saviors’ example. I love you all. Elder Johnson

August 27, 2012

Dear Family, Hello, how are you all doing? It was really good to hear from you all. I am going to tell you all about some of the experiences that I have had over the course of these past few weeks in Mazatlan. First I would like to elaborate on the weather here. Supposedly, according to the people here, it was really hot right before I got here. All I can really say is that it has been raining. LOTS. I love it. It just starts pouring. The first time, all of my books and pamphlets got wet, including my journal… L But since then, I have been more prepared. I have all of the contents of my backpack wrapped up in plastic bags. I will try to include some pictures of when it rained! I love the rain, mainly because of the brief relief that it provides from the intense heat. It is crazy when we ride our bikes through it, because the water is so high that when we pedal, our feet get soaked on the downwards stroke. Guess what? All of the irrigating that we did for those years has finally paid off. Here on the mission the baptismal fonts don`t drain just naturally. I have had to work a lot with pumps. I finally have had the opportunity to put that knowledge to use. We have to prime them and all sorts of good stuff. Who would have thought that it would pay off like that. It is honestly a whole lot better than bailing the water out with buckets. So, I have been really stressed out for these past few days. I did divisions with the other Elders in our District this past week. I went with Elder Goates to his area, and his companion, Elder Green, went to mine. During these divisions Elder Goates told me that Elder Green is really struggling right now. (I do not know if I mentioned it, but this is the first transfer in the field for Elder Green, he just arrived from the MTC) On various occasions, he has told his companion that he wants to go home. He has lost all desire to be here on the mission. This really has been worrying me. This Gospel is not one of obligation. Even God, the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, respects our Agency. So if he doesn’t want to be here, no one is going to force him. This next Tuesday, we are going to have interviews with President. We`ll see what is going to happen. I try to always be happy and animated, so that maybe it will be contagious. All that I can do now is pray for him. To talk a little about the people that we have in teaching right now, there is Lupita and Ernesto; Alàn and Nelson; Gisel, Lisbeth, and Andrea; Hno and Hna Laguna; Alejandra. We really have just been seeing miracles these past few weeks. There are so many people who have started progressing. Lupita and Ernesto have been taught for 5 months now, but the recently have started to progress. The Hno Ernesto has stopped drinking for 2 weeks now! J That is a major plus. Alàn and Nelson are the sons of Samuel, and if everything goes well they are going to be baptized this next Saturday. YAY! Gisel and her daughters we found two weeks ago knocking on doors. She is super golden. She told us that she went the Mormon Church when she was younger, and her children keep pressuring her to take them. I am super excited for them. Hno Laguna is the classic grouchy grandpa. It is fantastic. He behaves himself with us, because we fall well with him (or in other terms, we get along great). Every lesson is filled with tears and laughter. He tells us about his life and all of the things that passed to him. We really have been struggling with him, because he doesn`t believe in God. Also he is the second old person who has buffed and shined my shoes while I have been a missionary. That was a very sweet experience. It really reminds me of the Saviors’ example. I love you all. Elder Johnson

August 20, 2012

Hello, Well, in this past week, I have had many wonderful experiences. Due to the fact that I receiveth not, a letter from my family, I will just hope that everything is doing great up at home. Did you all go to Bryndin’s Wedding? Did he really get married? Wow Well, next week you will have to fill me in on everything. In this week, Elder Lazaro and I went around getting to know the area. It was really great, and a little bit weird at the same time, because I had visited many of the members here before, while doing divisions. It really is super funny, when my companion was introducing me to the people, and they just kept staring at me, and then they would say "for some reason, you look familiar".. ha ha ha Yep, never a normal day. So, the first big news is BICICLES! Yep, you don’t have to tell me. I spelled it wrong. Oh well. Anyways, all I have to say about that is Ouch. My legs are tired and sore, and to top it all off, the seat on the bike is horrible. Haha :) I am just waiting until my back-side gets used to the beating. To make it worse, about half the streets in our area, are made of dirt, and they are either with pot-holes or have huge boulders in the middle of them. Anyways, my time is running out very rapidly. This past week was quite amazing, because I could take part in the conversion process of my companion. He explained to me early on in the week that he didn’t know if he had really received an answer that this was true. So, all that week, he was pretty shook up. I offered the best help that I could, but the conversion is a solitary process. We prayed often for him, and then this past Sunday we had a super spiritual experience that I really don’t have time to explain right now, so I´ll just tell you the result. My companion sat across from me yesterday, and explained with tears in his eyes, that he had finally figured out how to recognize the Spirit. He then explained how God had answered him. It was quite interesting because I realized that God answers everybody differently. According to their needs. I know God lives. I know he hears my prayers. He answers them. He helps me when it seems like there is no hope. He accompanies me when no one else will. I love Him, and I know that He loves me. He is my Father. Love, Elder Johnson

August 13, 2012

Dearest loved ones, Well, before I start with anything, I would like to ask if you all sent me a letter,... because you know what? I did not receive one. Not ONE! I am pretty sure that it is not your fault, because I usually receive a letter about my financials, but I didn´t even receive one of those. Who knows? I was pretty bummed out. Anyways, to cut to the chase,... I am a little lot a bit sad. Transfers. Elder Johnson goes to Mazatlan,... AGAIN! I am now in the area Villa Galaxia, which is the area where my district leader was when I was in Mazatlan the first time. So yeah, I have done many divisions in this area, and I know the members here surprisingly well. It is going to be a very interesting experience. I was really sad, because I had to leave the area of Infonavit C. By far, one of my most favorite areas. I love that area, I love those members, and those investigators. To top it all off, I had the coolest district in the whole Mission. We had a whole bunch of oldies. Elder Cardenas and Hna. Mendez are going to be returning to their house in two days from now. Elder Muñoz and Hna Luna have one last transfer, and then there was me and my companion Elder Toomey. He really is such a great guy for putting up with all of us oldies, and all of our teasing. Someday I will have to send some photos of all of us. We had some real district unity. I now have to focus so that this district will be just as unified and cool. It will be hard, but if I think that it is impossible, it will be. It all depends in the attitude that I have. My companion now is Elder Lazaro from Vera Cruz. It is super awesome, because he is my first Mexican companion to have almost my same build. He is skinny and tall. I think that he actually is taller than I am. Moving on. This past week was great. Elder Toomey and I had our first and last baptisms together. The Hna. Lorena and her son Gabriel got baptized this past Saturday. It really was such a wonderful event. I have such hopes for them. I sure wish to see them enter the temple within one year from now, together with the husband. It would be such a wonderful thing. Also, David and his whole family came to church this past Sunday today goodbye to me. I really was super happy, and yet super sad at the same time. I sure do hope that they keep on progressing in the Gospel. It worried me that we had three weeks inviting me, and nothing. Then, when I leave, they go all out of their way making many sacrifices to come. I sure hope that they paid attention to what they felt in the church, and that the desire is born within them that they might keep coming. It was very sad saying good bye to everyone. It would be best if I were not to dwell on it. One day I will see these my friends again. I love you all. I am so thankful for your support. I think about you often, and I do pray for you. Be safe. DDD. (Don´t do drugs) Love, Elder Johnson

August 20, 2012

Hello, Well, in this past week, I have had many wonderful experiences. Due to the fact that I receiveth not, a letter from my family, I will just hope that everything is doing great up at home. Did you all go to Bryndin’s Wedding? Did he really get married? Wow Well, next week you will have to fill me in on everything. In this week, Elder Lazaro and I went around getting to know the area. It was really great, and a little bit weird at the same time, because I had visited many of the members here before, while doing divisions. It really is super funny, when my companion was introducing me to the people, and they just kept staring at me, and then they would say "for some reason, you look familiar".. hahaha Yep, never a normal day. So, the first big news is BICICLES! Yep, you don’t have to tell me. I spelled it wrong. Oh well. Anyways, all I have to say about that is Ouch. My legs are tired and sore, and to top it all off, the seat on the bike is horrible. Haha :) I am just waiting until my back-side gets used to the beating. To make it worse, about half the streets in our area, are made of dirt, and they are either with pot-holes or have huge boulders in the middle of them. Anyways, my time is running out very rapidly. This past week was quite amazing, because I could take part in the conversion process of my companion. He explained to me early on in the week that he didn’t know if he had really received an answer that this was true. So, all that week, he was pretty shook up. I offered the best help that I could, but the conversion is a solitary process. We prayed often for him, and then this past Sunday we had a super spiritual experience that I really don’t have time to explain right now, so I´ll just tell you the result. My companion sat across from me yesterday, and explained with tears in his eyes, that he had finally figured out how to recognize the Spirit. He then explained how God had answered him. It was quite interesting because I realized that God answers everybody differently. According to their needs. I know God lives. I know he hears my prayers. He answers them. He helps me when it seems like there is no hope. He accompanies me when no one else will. I love Him, and I know that He loves me. He is my Father. Love, Elder Johnson

August 13, 2012

August 6, 2012

Dear Family, You may notice that I am writing a lot earlier than usual. This is due to the fact that I have a lot to write, and I do not know if I will have enough time to write it all. But first things first... Bryndin is getting married?!.. When was anyone going to tell me. That is kind of big news... oh well. I forgive you for not telling me. :) ha ha Just remember, I have to be the first to know if Benjo decides to go off the deep end! Oh, and yes, this week I did receive the package. Thank you so very much. I was in great need of those glasses. Now I can finally see, without having my glasses dig holes into the sides of my nose. (this is because I was missing the feet things). Anyways,.. I probably see Elder Snow about once every 5 months. I feel like I see him all the time, but then I realize that the time just flies past. I was brought to an abrupt realization of that fact this past Sunday. Two girls from Libertad, Los Mochis, who I have known since I got to Mexico, came to our ward this past Sunday. It was super weird. It was even weirder when I found out that the brother of one of them, who I met, now has about a year in the mission. That is LOCO! Oh, and the Olympics’ have started, I think. It is pretty rough, because in every house that we enter, they are playing... :( Well, Elder Toomey and I have had some really interesting experiences and have seen some pretty big miracles this past week. First off, the biggest story of all, is the fact that... well, I should probably start from the beginning. Architecture here in Mexico is a little different from home. The houses here do not have slanted roofs. They are flat, or at least the majority. And, the plumbing is not under the floor. It is on the roof.... uncovered. Well, as it so happens, copper is worth quite a bit of money, and sometimes, when people need quick money they go and steel the copper piping from the top of the roofs. This is what happened to us this past Thursday. So we were left without water for some days. It was quite interesting. We had to go and sleepover at the Zone Leaders house every night so that we could shower. We finally got it fixed Saturday night. An investigator named David helped us out for FREEEEEE!!!!! So let me explain how David really reminds me of Dad. He is like 40 years old, and he never studied anything about plumbing or electrical stuff, but he learned it all by working alongside his Dad while he is growing up. And everybody in the neighborhood goes to him and he fixes up the things for free. He does it for service. I don`t know why, but his way of being really reminds me of Dad. (He also is going to help us fix up our refrigerator, because I broke it like a month ago.. oops) Their whole family is great. They are really interested in our messages. Yes, this is the same David who I wrote about last week. We are going to BAPTIZE this weekend!!!! Yay! This family basically just dropped into our lap and said "baptize us". The dad, Gabriel, is a member, and he is in the process of reactivating himself, so that he can baptize his wife, Lorena, and his son, Gabriel, this Saturday. They recently arrived here from La Paz, and they decided that they wanted to make some major course changes in their family. They called us up this past week, and asked us to start teaching them. ESCOGIDO!!!! DE ORO!!! Basically, they are Golden. I love you all so very much. I love this time that I have to serve Him. I wish it would stop passing by so fast. Funny thing is, we are never happy with what we are dealt. At the beginning, I wanted the time to go faster, and now, I want it to slow WAY down. I read a great message in the Liahona by President Uchdorf. Here`s the link http://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/07/always-in-the-middle?lang=eng. Great talk for missionaries. Adios por ahora. Esperaré anhelos-amente su siguiente carta! Love, Elder Johnson

July 30, 2012

Dear Family, ¡Benjamin is going to back to Cali! Wow, I sure hope that all goes well!,... oh, and by the way, ¿who is Chelsea? Anyways, that is great that Benjamin has gotten all signed up for school and everything. I wish you well on your physical therapy things and such. That is really quite a neat profession. This week I think I am going to start running, and I hope to keep it up till the end of my mission. I have become quite flabby, you might not believe. The good thing about being tall, is that no-body notices. Well, this week was super interesting. I´ll tell you, I probably spent a good 20 hours in bus this past week. I was taking my companions and everyone, back and forth from the seminary, and then to top it all off, they expected me to make some significant progress in the work. I worked with 6 different companions during the course of the week. So, I don´t have very much time, so I´ll just tell you about a spiritual experience that I had this past Saturday. After the baptism of Yezica (or pronounced Jessica) and Antonio, Elder Toomey and I went over to this man named David’s house, and we talked with him, and his family. It was a very spiritual lesson, and at the end, we asked them if we could kneel down and end with a prayer. They accepted. And All three of them offered prayers. One right after the other. It was so sweet to see this family start making these changes in their lives. I really hope that they can keep on progressing, and that they can decide to make these covenants with God. The parents of David are Mormons, and one brother. He also has many cousins who live in Utah. I believe that his time has come to change his life, and the lives of his family. I love this work. I love you guys. Thank you. Love, Elder Johnson Sorry it is so short. Next week, we´ll do better.

July 23, 2012

Well, I love you all so much. I am so glad that you have allowed me this opportunity to serve. I know this church is true. I know the Gospel is perfect. This fact has been witnessed unto me more and more as I have come to understand and love the Gospel. There really is such a peace and calm that comes from knowing that God exists. That He is my father, and that He loves me. I have come to know very plainly how much patience He has for His children, and that very much includes me. I love this great time that I have to come to more fully know the Saviors and His role in our salvation. I love him. I am sure that you have noticed something a little bit different about this letter. What happened, is that I realized that I have written just about every letter in the same format. So I decided to change things up a little bit. Here I am with Elder Mirando (Ciudad de Mèxico, Mèxico), Elder Huntington (Littleton, Colorado), and Elder Toomey (Misiòn Viejo, California). So yeah, there are 4 of us and 2 beds in our house. Do you know what that means? Me and my companion will be sleeping on the floor for the next 4 days!!!!!!! yay. Oh, well, what can I say. Oh, and the reason why they are here, is because this week there is going to be another Seminary. This one is for all of the people who didn´t go to the first one. I will not be going. Instead I will stay and work with Elder Gonzalez (Columbia) for the whole week. We will be covering the two areas. Mine, which is Infonavit C, and his, which is Humaya. Some of the great experiences that we have had over the course of this past week would be; the rain, the bus, the church, divisions! Anyways, we had a fun time this week. We found a part-member family by chance the other day. Elder Toomey and I were looking for a family that had come to the church. We found their house but there was not anybody home. So we decided that we were going to knock on the door next to the house. A lady answered, named Blanca. After coming to know her a little bit, she made the comment to us that her husband is a member, less-active. What a coincidence, because they do not come on the lists. So we began checking upon her, and she was super receptive to our message. She also told us that she almost never answered the door to strangers, while her husband was sleeping... coincidence? I think NOT! Anyways, also, we are in the process of helping a brother re-activate himself in the church. To the end that he might baptize his wife and oldest son. He has some things that he needs to change in his life, but we are really excited for him. The Stake President lent us his work van to bring members and investigators to church! It is a big van that can fit like 18 poeple when we all cram in like shrimps! That is really great, because there are many people who have become inactive because you have to take 2 buses to get to church. We are super excited to start to take advantage of this blessing. Thank you so much for your letter. I really enjoyed reading it. I cannot believe how fast the time flies by. Next month Jackie will be entering Jr. High. She is really going to enjoy that. I will complete 1 1/2 years this week. wow. it goes by too fast. This week was good. The weather is okay. It is not that hot or cold. Dear my Beloved Family Love Elder Johnson

July 16, 2012

Dear Family, Thank you so much for the letters. I do appreciate and enjoy reading them. Side note, the boss of the internet place is playing all oldies music, and it is way awesome even though I know I should not listen... Chicago, Kansas. ahhhh... I´m sorry to hear about Sister Dearden, and Dad´s cousin. Life just seems to take its course whether we like it or not. All we do is the best with what we´ve got. You know, now that I think of it, driving a scooter in the rain would be super sketchy. My companion and I have talked about these types of things a little bit, because he is from California, and they don´t see very much snow out there. He has never driven in snow, and when I asked him, he told me that he would probably just crawl along until he got ahold of the way. This past week it rained so badly that when we left, it literally took 10 seconds to be completely soaked. The water was up to our knees. It is great when you are in the house of a member or an investigator, but when you’re out in the street, it gets pretty interesting. This Saturday when it rained, was just the perfect example of this. We actually were inside an inactive members house when it started raining, but it was getting late, and we decided that we could either stay with the family and wait out the storm, or we could go out and invite people to church the next day. Well,... we went out into the rain. I was hoping that we would be able to get sympathy points.. ha ha. Anyways there we were out contacting ALL of the people that we have in teaching. We invited the whole world, but no one gave us straight answers. The most common response that we get is super ironic. They always se "si Dios quiere" which means "if God wants".... Well obviously He wants them to come, that is why we are out here inviting them. Sometimes the people say the silliest things. God blessed us greatly this Sunday. Every single person who we had invited did not show up. Really sad. We actually arrived late to church because we were out looking for people and then we missed our ride. (p.s. if we miss our ride, we have to take two buses to get to the chapel...) When we arrived, we met this guy whose wife is member, and he lives in our area. We made plans to visit him in these following days!!! yay!!! It just goes to show that when we do everything possible and rely on the Lord, one way or another, God blesses us. Usually it is not in the way that we were expecting. Funny,... "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, sayeth the Lord." Isaiah 55:8 That sure is true. Well, to wrap this all up, Elder Toomey and I have made some great memories in these past few weeks. Today, after the District meeting I made Pasta for the district. It really was great fun, but I do not know if they enjoyed it as much as Elder Toomey and I. Food customs are just different here. I love you all. This mission means so much more to me than you could possible imagine. It has changed my point of view on life in general,and many other things. It really is so much easier to see the "bigger picture" when you are dedicating all of your energy to the Lord. Love Elder Johnson From Elder Toomey: 1st book of Toomey And it came to pass that after Elder Johnson had made an end of his teachings I was commanded in continuing the record. For behold, I read the writings of Elder Johnson and saw that they were good. After being burdened with making a map for the space of many days, we continued our work in the vineyard. And it came to pass that as soon as we continued our work the heavens opened, and the earth was filled with many waters. Now behold, the waters were great. After the space of many hours we were tired and none were willing to receive us. So we began our ministry by another approach. And behold, we saw that it was good. Visiting those that we knew and taught and inviting them to church. After the ends of our works, we rested. Many other things have come to pass but I will now make an end to the record of what Elder Johnson has already written.

July 9, 2012

Dearest Family, Thank you soooooo much for your letter Benjamin. I greatly enjoyed it. ¿ Spencer Greer is going on a mission? Who would have thought... That is great news. Chariton and Nick too. Wow! Sometimes I forget that time passes at the same rate in every place. ¿Is it passing by superfast for you all too? At times I feel like it is good, and then at times I wish it would calm down and take it slow. I do not believe that will ever happen. Well, I´ll just relate some of the things that happened in my life over the course of this past week. Last Monday,.... it rained! Wooohooo. My companion and I got drenched. It started at 7:00 and ended at 8:00, and the streets were flooded, and they looked like wide canals. It took a total of 3 minutes for Elder Toomey and I to be completely soaked from head to toe. It was quite a fun experience. It has kept on being cloudy for the past few days. Sometimes it sprinkles, but when that happens, it just all turns in to humid vapor,and I feel like we are cooking in a sauna. Yesterday we had a lightning storm for about 30 minutes. I have never seen the lightning so sharp. It was awesome. That is about it for the weather. This week Elder Toomey and I have been working a lot on the map. Actually President gave the command to the whole mission that we had to update the lists, and make HUGE maps and put all of the people on the map. When I say people, I mean the members (actives and in-actives), investigators (futures, present and past), and the action list from the Bishop. That would be great except for the fact that there are about 80 families in our area. 50 of them are inactive, so we do not know where they all live. This upcoming week, I get the feeling we are going to be going around and visiting all the members, and finding their houses! What fun.... Then, after we have plotted all of the people on the map, we have to give them all colors and numbers and the coordinate all of them with the lists and our area book. I know that this is going to help the work greatly, but I do feel like it is a lot of back aching and tedious work. (It is probably a little bit like checking a program... not the funniest thing in the world, but it has to be done). We have spent a great amount of time in Office Max. (That is officially my new favorite store. It has just about the coolest of everything. I am, for sure, going to try to get a job there someday.) Due to this fact, we actually have not done a great amount of proselyting. In the long run, what we are doing right now, if we do it good, will help all of the future missionaries who come into this area. I love you all super greatly muchly a lot. Thank you for all that you do for me. I sure do appreciate it. I know that you are all sacrificing so that I can be here. I wish the best week ever. This church is true. There is no doubt in my mind. Jesus is my Savior. Love, Elder Johnson p.s. I do have a regret Mother,... I have not written in my journal for like 3 weeks. Life has just gotten so busy, that it was push down my list of priorities. I promise I´ll try to do better this week, and catch up on everything that has happened. Sorry.

July 2, 2012

Dear Family, Thank you so much for your letter. The story about the girls-scout camp reminds me about many of the campouts that we went on as children that didn´t turn out as they should have. Like the time we went on a "summer" campout and it started to rain and snow. Who knows. Utah weather has something against scouting programs. Oh, and here´s a funny fact for you. I have never sent so many text messages in my entire life as I have in these past three months. It is just ridiculous just how many messages we send, in communication. The good thing is that calls between missionaries are free. I will not lie, I am getting pretty good at texting in Spanish! Ha ha Excerpt from the 1 Book of Johnson So, I will now proceed to tell you about a few things that came to pass during the course of this week. And it came to pass that as I,Elder Johnson, and my companion, Elder Toomey, went about doing good and serving in the vineyard of the Lord, there came upon us a great tribulation. We, having previously worked among the people of this area for some time, and further-more having seen a growing desire to change wrought upon the hearts of many, we decided to proceed in our efforts to bring the Hna. Ana Maria into the waters of baptism. Thus, moving forth in our preparations, we made notice to the fact that the Hna. Ana hath lost her interest, cultivating a growing esteem for the Catholic sect. and thus having lost her desire to be baptized. She, after having given heed to the many commentaries made by the Evil-one in his many guises, thus maketh known unto us that she has no desire to continue on. We, having done everything within our power to assist in her progression to eternal life, in the end we maketh not these crucial decisions for her. Thus I quote "That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment." (Doctrine and Covenants 101:78) Hence, and thus saddened, Elder Toomey and I have once again begun the arduous process of finding new people. At times, life is difficult. President Cantù sent me a message to day that really has helped me. He told me, "consider the words of the Elder Henry B. Eyring, "I have seen the faith and courage that comes from a witness that we are prepared to live an eternal life by OurFather. The disciple who accepts each test as an invitation to grow will therefore qualify for Peace and will have eternal life throughany difficulties that may arise."" I know that my Redeemer lives. He lived and died for all of us. I know that there is some reason for whythese trails happen. Perhaps it is so that I might more fully understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and what he gave for us. Iam beginning to get a glimpse of how our Father in Heaven feels when he teaches us so clearly the path, and we fall short. Agency is amarvelous. We must anxiously be engaged in a good cause, and do many things of our own will and choice. God does not want us to wait to be told. He loves us and He wants us all to make the Salvation our personal goal. Transfers happened. Nothing changed. Weather update: More or less hot. Cloudy all day, but it never rains. We are in a drought. I love you. I hope all is well in house. Love, Elder Johnson p.s. I read a talk in from conference, that I did not get a chance to watch. It is called The Laborers in the Vineyard. Great Talk

June 25, 2012

Buenas Dias mi querido Familia, How are you all doing? So here I was writing you all a letter, a little down because the only person who had written me was President, and then along came a letter!!!! Wooo hooo! That is great that everything has been going along well in the house. Oh, by the way, tell Benny-Boy that it is absolutely prohibited to get married in these following 7 months. No ifs or buts. PROHIBITED! ha By saying that, I am probably going against the counsel of his Mission President in his last interview. I imagine he said, "Elder Johnson go home, get a job, go to school, and get married a soon as possible... it is not good that man is alone". You will definitely have to send me pictures. As for me, I have given up trying to use contacts. Eye infections come so easily these days because of all the dust and dirt in the air. I stick with my old glasses. Dad, thanks for your advice about dehydration. It is a very real threat here, but the good thing for us missionaries is that if we are thirsty, we can just knock on any door and ask for a glass of water. And then we have our foot-hold. While one person drinks the other begins to proclaim the gospel. Classic, but effective. So, I will tell you all a little bit about what has been going on around our area these past days. This past Saturday we had a lesson with the Hna. Ana Maria. We taught her the ten commandments, including the word of wisdom, law of chastity, and tithing. She promised us that she would stop drinking coffee, but when we passed today in the morning, she had drinking today. hmmmm. it is something very sad, but we are going to keep working with her to prepare her for her baptism. The Zone leaders have really been pressuring us to baptize her this week end, but I don´t know. We are going to see. Will have to see a definite improvement very soon. Today we committed her again to stop drinking. We will see tomorrow. I hope that all goes well. Remember last week when I told you about Lidia. Well we taught her this week, and then we challenged her to be baptized. She accepted, but we began to question her motives when we tried to put a date. She told us that she would be baptized the last day that I was in Culiacan... then she went on to explain that she was going to marry an American with blue -eyes!!!! aaaaahhhhhhh. So, to top it all off, my companion has six months in the mission, and many things that people say just go right over his head still. He sat there half-clueless the whole time. So we have decided that we will return when we have the back op of one of our leaders! The funny thing is that people confuse the feelings of the Spirit for other things. They are not used to feeling this way, and they do make note that it comes when we go and teach them. Also, we found a family of 4 this past week. Marcela, and her three children Sulma, Jesus, and Alejandra. They are really great, and we have an appointment with them tomorrow. They could not come with us to church this Sunday, but we are hoping that they will be able in the next week. Also, my companion and I formed part of a Boy-Band this past week, even though that is against the rules. I´ll tell you what happened. A Brother in the ward came to us and asked us if we would participate with him in the talent show this past Friday. In the end, we sang a song that we had never even heard of before. It was great fun. I´ll tell you something very funny though. It sounded a lot better when we were practicing. I cannot imagine why, but It is very true. Oh, well. It is over, and now Elder Toomey and I are rock stars. If you want to know what song it was look up "How can I be". It is about Book of Mormon prophets. Well, I love you all, and I sure hope you have a great week. Love, Elder Johnson

Jun 18, 2012

Good afternoon my Dear Family, Well, I really was super excited to receive letters from you all this week. It sounds like after 1 1/2 years of silence, calmness, and tranquility, life is just getting back to normal with Benjamin home. I sure do miss you guys. I love you lots. So, I will fill you all in on a few of our fantastic experiences that Elder Toomey and I have had this past week. First off, I´ll tell you a little about Elder Toomey. He is a short little guy from Missión Viejo, California. (I don´t know if you ever heard of that place Benjamin, but it is like 1 hour south of Anaheim). He has 5 months in the mission, and still is a little green. He works hard, and is always willing to be taught and learn. That is something that I could definitely improve upon. He is really timid, which is very different from Elder Kunz. When I think of Elder Toomey, I think of someone who is innocent and honest. I really am enjoying this time that I have to work with him. So, we have seen some great miracles in this past week. We found this one lady whose name is Lidia. She has been progressing greatly. We found her Tuesday knocking on doors. She was really receptive to our message. We invited her to come and see a baptism this past Saturday and she accepted. (The Sisters in our ward/district were able to help two young children be baptized this past Saturday) (YAAAAAAAYYYYYYY) We also found a new family who were referred to us buy some members. They (Jose and Sandy) came to church this past Sunday and they really liked it. Jose has a few problems with the word of wisdom, but he really is excited and I believe that he can make these changes. Ana Maria is just the bomb. Sometimes when we are helping people get ready to be baptized, they have to undergo great changes in their lives. Ana is the complete opposite. She is such a great person, and the only thing that she lacks is being a member of the church. She came with us to the Baptism, and afterwards she began asking us where she could go to get a hold of baptismal clothing. The Hna. Loyola really has been helping us with her, and she really has liked the church and everything that she has seen. She has her Baptismal Date set for the 30 of June. Well, I love you lots. I sure hope that you all have a good week. Jackie, enjoy your summer. Benjamin, behave... :) Love, Elder Johnson

June 11, 2012

Hey Family, How was your life over this past week? Mine was pretty crazy, if I might say so myself. Many things have changed, and others stay the same. It seems to me that the things that you wish would change (for example, the heat) never actually change, and the things that you hope would last, just pass right on by. I will try to explain a little more about that as I go on. Well, the past week I made the comment to you all that this week Elder Kunz and I were invited to a 4 day Seminary Capacitation. Well, I will just tell you that it was incredible. I learned so much. I also realized that there are various things that I must change as a missionary, not only in myself, but also in the work that I do, and the motives behind why I do it. They helped us to realize that if we were not working for the right motives, we were not doing the work of the Lord. They also told us that we cannot have fear. That is the opposite of faith. We must be bold. Anyways, each day of the seminary, we had 3 hours in which we could return to our area, and put into practice what we had learned during the capacitation of that day. Basically I felt the Spirit soooooooooo strongly it was awesome. It even prompted me to contact a bus. Let me explain what I mean by that. Friday night, after the end of the seminary, we were in the bus going to our house. And as I sat there thinking about what I had learned over the course of those past few days, I couldn’t get one thought out of my mind. I stood up, and went to the back of the bus to talk to the Zone Leaders in the back of the bus. I asked them if they would be willing to sing a Hymn in the bus. They told me "échele ganas" which basically means "good luck". I sat there thinking for a little bit, and then I went to the front of the bus (alone...) and asked the bus-driver for permission to sing on his bus. He turned off the radio, and I then began to explain to all of the passengers aboard that I was going to sing a song, and that they would feel the Spirit of God, and that they would recognize His love for them. I then proceeded to sing "Abide with me, Tis even-tide". At first I was singing alone, but then my companion who was seated in the middle of the bus began to sing. Then the leaders in the back began to sing, and it really was super awesome. There was a member of the church on the bus, and he also began to sing. We could really feel the spirit, and it is not because I am a good singer or anything like that (in fact, my voice was shaking horribly, and my hand were trembling even more than normal), but because really the Holy Ghost was present, and he testified to the hearts of all those present that Jesus is our Saviors. There is such power in song. I realized in that moment that really God loves each and every one of us. He has made this plan for everyone, not just for me and the people that I decide to talk with. I cannot be a judge of people. I cannot make the decision for them on whether or not they will accept the Gospel. Well, we have had special changes again... Elder Kunz is going to San Lucas tomorrow, and I will be receiving another green elder named Elder Toomey. I really am super sad for this, because I get along so well with Elder Kunz. We have been through many things together. We were able to live many spiritual experiences. He really is one of those noble and great ones of whom the scriptures talk about. He was so patient with me, and he really helped me to realize my purpose of why I am here. He always has such an optimistic point of view on the world, and the things that happen. It really helped me to build my hope and faith. I will surely miss him, but is good to know that we will still be brothers in the Lord no matter what happens. Ana Maria came to church this past week, and we are so excited for her. I believe that she will be progressing right soon, and is headed for the waters of baptism that will change her life. Also, we have come into contact with many new people who really have been searching for the truth. We must find these chosen children of God. He has placed us here to find and help them. I love you all so very much. "with an eye single to the glory of God". We cannot look back. We must always look forward to Christ. He stands with open arms to receive us. Con mucho amor y cariño, Elder Johnson

June 4, 2012

Dear Family, Well, as I can assume, Benjamin has arrived safely home. That sure has to be nice. Has he changed? Is he taller? Fatter? Running? I sure hope that all is well. I do not know if you told me if school was over for Jackie. I believe so, but you never know. School does not get out down here until July. But then again, they enter in September,... I think. Well, I must begin by telling you it’s hot. (I believe that I refer to said heat in every letter. Sorry) Supposedly we are entering into the time of the rain. I have yet to feel any, but it has been clouding up a bit. That is comforting. Besides the weather, I must tell you about how disappointing our Sunday was. Elder Kunz and I had been working really hard the whole week to bring our investigatos to church. We arranged rides, and made appointments. The whole deal. Maybe I will let you in on how it went for us. Frida and Carmen: Well, with them, we received a text message at 11:30 Saturday night saying that something came up in the family and that they would not be able to assist. Ana (the mother of Frida and a recent convert) was also not able to make it. Ana Maria: She is a nice lady with blue eyes who we met this past week. She was referred to us by her neighbor Hna. Loyola. She was pretty excited to come, but last minute, the Catholic Church called her up, and put her in charge of bringing food to a donation thing that they do for the homeless. Sergio: He is a teenager who we met three weeks ago. He came to church, and loved it. These past two weeks he has stayed over at his Grandmother’s house for the weekends. Janet and Family: Janet is a friend of the Hna. Xochilt. She has listened to the missionaries many times, but for reason or other, she fell well with us. We passed by her house Sunday morning, and they were sleeping. No one answered the door. Heidy: She is a teenaged girl who is a referral from the Hna. Paniaguas. We have taught her various times over two weeks, but she has yet to come to church. This week, she told us at the last moment that she was going to go out with her friends. The thing that really got me down about this Sunday, is because we really had put in a lot of work. We had used our time effectively. I guess there is something from this experience that I must learn. Maybe it is that I must be more patient. Or maybe I should not put my trust in the arm of flesh, but in God who is mighty beyond all else. Well, also, some of the big news for this coming week is that we have a Seminary thing again. Only this time it will be over the course of 4 days. From our district everyone will be going except for the Hna. Luna. Seminary is like a time of capacitation. So if everyone in the district is going that must mean that we all have need of capacitation, with the exception of the Hna. Luna. The good thing is that it is here in Culiacan so I will be able to return home each night and sleep in my own bed!!! YAY. I sure am excited, because I am sure that we will learn many things that will help our areas. What I need is to receive personal revelation for my area and the investigators in it. I love you all. I hope that you all enjoy your family bonding time. And be sure to enjoy the weather. Love Elder Johnson Superman (that is what an investigator named me a while ago) I think I’d be more like Clark Kent. p.s. Jackie, aren’t you so happy that Benny is back? I sure bet so

May 28, 2012

Dear Family, Hello, how is everything going at home? I sure hope it is just great. What is the weather like? You know what it is like down here? HORRIBLE! It is so hot. Here, I will give you a little example of the heat that we suffer through. Today, we realized that some members had a thermometer in their house. Upon a brief inspection, we came to the realization that there was a Celsius/Fahrenheit button. After we had changed it, the thermometer read 97 degrees. We were inside the house... Then we had the brilliant idea to take it outside. It started to change, and just kept increasing until it reached a good 112 degrees. We put out our clothes to dry on the line, and when we had finished putting up all of the clothes, the ones that we had hung up first were almost dry... At night, when we return to the house, it is like walking into an oven, because the house just sits there all day in the sun, heating up like a big microwave box. Does that not just sound so lovely. We are at the end of May, just starting June. They say that the worst heat is in August... wahhhhahahaha. I guess that I get to suffer now, since I lived in the glory the year past. So you want to hear about one of the funny experiences of this week. This Tuesday we had a Family Home Evening with a less active member, and her husband. Usually that would be great, and we could count on the member to support us and help us in parts of the lesson. This lesson did happen like that. In place of helping us out, it almost seemed as if she was hindering us. She began to ask us right off about polygamy, and about how many wives Joseph Smith had. Imagine that? Here we were explaining about how the families can be together forever, and then she brings that up. Then she sat there told us for five minutes that God did not have a body. She did not seem to understand the concept that we are made in the image and likeness of God. All in all, her husband was more prepared than she was, and despite all of those little problems, it turned out okay. We have another appointment with them today at 6:30. Oh, and you want to hear some really awesome BIG news. This ward has just set apart 15 ward missionaries. 5 for each different area. This is really going to help us move the work along. I am super excited for this. We have begun to involve them in the work being done with the new members, and slowly we will start to involve them with our progressing investigators. I cannot believe it. Benjamin will be home. 2 years... It is incredible. You will have to tell him that I love him and that I miss him. So this week we were really blessed to find many new families, and we are super excited to start working with them. Some are references from members, and other we found in the area book. All of them are really friendly. Me and Elder Kunz are super animated to work together this next companion. Elder Kunz has to be an angel or something. Not just anybody can put up with me for such a great amount of time. I really have learned so much from him. He has been greatly blessed, and has been blessing me. I am very lucky to have this opportunity. Well, we were looking into a talk given by the Elder Uchdorf. I don’t know what it is called in English, because it was in Spanish, but I do believe that it is called "To Be". or something like that. I would urge you all to read it. There are many great messages that we can obtain from it. I love you all so much. I love this time that I have to serve the Lord. I know this church is true. When the Spirit testifies, there is nothing more beautiful to feel. I love this Gospel, and the comfort that it gives to me. I pray for you all often. Love Elder Johnson

May 21, 2012

Querido Familia, Primero que nada, quiero decirles que les amo. MUCHÍSIMO. Espero que hayan tenido una semana de éxito. Me da mucho gusto al escuchar que Jackie tuvo su "recital". Sé que ella se lo hizo muy bien. No puedo creer que Benjamin se va a regresar en una semana. Es algo tan increíble que el tiempo haya pasado tan rápido y que ha pasado 2 años ahora. Espero que no les hace muy largo este siguiente semana. Este semana nos fue bueno. La mayor parte fue pasado yendo con doctores y haciendo exámenes. Que divertido... Luego, por causa de esto no pudimos trabajar tan eficazmente en nuestra área. Ni modo. Lo única buena cosa que pasó es que me dijeron que estoy muy saludable y que no tengo fiebre tifoideo. Estas noticias me alegro bastante. También tuvimos la oportunidad de ver algunos milagros. Uno de los cuales nos acompañó a la iglesia el domingo. El se llama Sergio, y el era un milagro del Señor para nosotros. Habíamos trabajado todo el día Sábado buscando y invitando a todas las personas a que pudieran acompañarnos a la capilla, y nada. Todos salieron con sus pretextos, o no les encontrábamos. Era un día muy aprobante. Al final del día, fuimos con la ultima familia quienes quedan muy cerca de nuestra casa. Al invitarles, nos dijeron que tal vez iban a poder. Les dijimos que algunos miembros iban a pasar por ellos en la mañana. Saliendo de su casa, fuimos con eses miembros y mientras que estuvimos allá con ellos, llego un vecino de ellos. El empezó a platicar con nosotros sobre religión, y que el tenia muchas preguntas y que nunca había visitado unos de las iglesias de nosotros. Le invitábamos en este momento, con los miembros presente, y luego preguntábamos a ellos si ellos pudieron ayudar a Sergio con un rite. Todos estaban de acuerdo, y el siguiente día, el vino ala capilla. Dios nos bendigo grandemente en este ocasión. Yo quiero tener estés experiencias todos los días. Se que el Señor quiere bendecirnos, pero hay que hacer nuestro parte. Les amo mucho como dije al principio, y oro por ustedes diariamente. Tengan una buena semana. ¡Animo y adelante! Con cariño y amor, Elder Johnson p.s. Perdóneme porque no escribí mucho este semana, pero es que no hay mucho tiempo. Lo siento mucho. p.p.s. No se creen que mi gramática es tan bueno, o que soy muy bueno por los acentos,... La computadora hace la mayoría del trabajo. :) Translation: First of all, I want to say that I love you all. A LOT. I hope you had a week of success. I am very pleased to hear that Jackie had her recital. I know she did very well. I can not believe that Benjamin is coming home in a week. It is so incredible that the time has passed so quickly and has been 2 years now. I hope this next week isn't too long. This week was good for us. Most of it was spent going to doctors and taking tests. What fun ... Then, because of this we could not work as effectively in our area.Oh well. The only good thing that happened is that he said I'm very healthy and that I don't have typhoid fever. That news made me very happy. We also had the opportunity to see some miracles. One of them accompanied us to church on Sunday. His name is Sergio, and he was a miracle from the Lord to us. We had worked all day Saturday looking and inviting everyone to join us in church,and nothing. All came upwith their excuses, and said no. The day was very aprobante. At the end of the day, we went with the last family who are very close to our house. After we invited them they said perhaps they would be able to come. We said that some members were to come by and get them in the morning. Leaving home, we went with eses members and while we were there with them, they came a neighbor. He began to talk to us about religion, and that he had many questions and had never visited one of the churches of us. He invited them at this time, members present, and then asked them if they could help Sergio with a rite. Everyone agreed, and the next day, the wing came chapel. God bless us greatly on this occasion. I want to have you experience every day. I know the Lord wants to bless us, but we must do our part. I love you a lot, and I pray for you daily. Have a good week! Have courage and continue forward! With love and affection, Elder Johnson P.S. Forgive me because I did not write much this week, but there is not much time. I'm sorry. P.P.S. I don't think that my grammar is that good, or that I am very good at accents, ... The computer does most of the work. :)