Gotta Dream Big!

soo ¡Que Rollo! Fam ill e ahh!

We had a SUPER good week this week, the Lord has blessed us so much for our hard work here in Rosario! First of all, Gladis and Melissa both got baptized but Clayra bailed literally right when we got to the chapel...it was super hard, because she backed out and the the two other girls were just super sad and just were not excited to be baptized...satan was working SUPER hard to prevent these baptisms! We were just praying super hard that things would turn around and the everything would work out in the end, and it was super difficult right up until we were in the water ready to baptize them and then it was a super special experience for me, because right when we were about to say the prayer, everything just got super calm...the spirit just filled everyone that was there and we had an AWESOME service! my companion Elder Ball baptized Melissa and i got to baptize Gladis! it was super cool and an experience ill never forget!

So all week, we had been planning an activity for the Branch and we were going to watch a movie (Joseph Smith: prophet of the Restoration) and have quesadillas! we were telling so many people about and just trying to get as many people to come as possible! We actually went into an Oxxo (gas station here in Mexico) and we were buying our things and the cashier, who we had never seen before, asked us about the activity and knew exactly what we were doing there and everything! haha. the Lord is super aware of the progress here in Rosario! So were getting all prepared for the activity and we were going to have it right after the baptism and everything was all ready and we were getting stoked cuz we thought it was going to be a solid activity. but it wasnt everything we thought it was going to be...............errrrr. IT WAS BETTER!! hahaha. 65 people showed up to this activity!! to put that into prespecive for you, Rosario has NEVER in its entire history had that many people show up to anything church related at all! in fact, not even close to that amount! It was one of the funnest days of my entire life! everyone was super excited to be there and we could just see the branch here in Rosario growing so quickly! i wish i could express through this email how significant this is and how excited we are to be apart of this great work that the Lord has for the people here! it was so great and we are expecting to keep growing! were gonna have a ward so soon here...and a temple???? ha...gotta dream big!

ok, cool experience right hurrr. so we went to zone conference this past friday and President Hoyos spoke to us (the first counselor of Mexico) and it was super good!! it was a little tough to understand everything because the whole thing was in spanish but i got the jist (excuse the spelling) of it. he spoke about how we need to be talking to EVERYONE, because we have the truth and everyone needs what we have! and just imagine this....4 missionaries, and 1 big city with a ton of people...¡Sauce! (that means wow here! ha). we havent even contacted 5% of Rosario and were already seeing so much progress. anyway, his talk was super powerful and my companion and I both just said to eachother...we need to do exactly what he is saying..so we did! Yesterday, we were leaving our house and we saw a guy sitting out front of his house filling a bucket to bathe himself and we knew we needed to talk to him so we walked over and he was a 19 year old kid named Marcos and he was going to school here and living on his own! I started to talk to him and i asked him if he had seen us before and he said he sees us everyday (he lives super close to us) and i then asked him if he has ever wondered what we are doing everyday and he said yeah...I actually always wonder who your are going to talk to because i have always wanted to talk to you to figure out what you do! WHAATT! (by the way, President Hoyos made a promise that if we are talking to everyone and following the spirit that this exact situation would happen)! He was a golden investigator who the Lord prepared so much to talk to us and accept this message! He has a baptismal date for the 16th of June and is way excited! It was a very special and spiritual experiene for me! oh and also, i told him the beginning i had only been out for about a month and then in the middle of the lesson...he stopped me and said that it was IMPOSSIBLE that i had only been in Mexico for 4 months...he kept just saying that it was impossible that im already speaking as well as i am...i kid you not, the Lord is blessing me SOO much here, he is literally putting words into my mouth as i speak to the people that he has prepared for me! I have such a strong testimony of the Love that our Father in Heaven has for his children now, because he is able to put words into my mouth, in spanish, to help others feel of the Love that he has for them! I can honestly say that after a lesson, i have no clue how i got through that and was able to express my feelings to these people in spanish! The Lord truly wants his children to return to live with him! its super hard to express through an email how i truly feel and how much all these experiences mean to me, and also how much they are shaping the person i am becoming!

so ive got bad news....i brought my camera today to send pictures, but.....i forgot the cord to plug it into the computer! haha. i feel horrible cuz i know you want pics and i want to send you pics so you can get a feel of what i am doing every day! i PROMISE next week! ha.

I truly love you all!

con amor,

Elder Johnson

shhhhhh, that ones a secret!

Dear FAM ZILL EE,

 

So i just want to say that its so great being able to hear from all yallzz every week! it truly builds me up to know that things are going so well back at home!! i truly love you all!

 

So, update...Roberto is still my main man! and check it out...he came to church on his own without us walking with him and he brought his Book of Mormon! but thats not even the best part...i was sitting next to him and he leans over to me and asks if he can borrow my pen...so i gave him my pen (not really knowing why) and he is sitting there MARKING in his scriptures his favorite parts!!!!!!! que suave verdad! ha. But i was seriously just sitting there happier than ive ever been in my entire life just watching him mark in his own Book of Mormon his favorite parts of what we were talking about! I kid you not, this guy is lo más chaca hombre EVER! ha. he is going to be baptized on the 4 of june! so stoked.

 

We also have 3 baptisms for this upcoming weekend with Gladis, Clayra and Melissa! by the way, we opened up this area...no missionaries have ever been here! we literally started from scratch and we already have 3 baptisms the first week that we can baptize (because they have to come to church 2 before they can be baptized). But im way excited for this weekend!

 

So the language is seriously coming so fast i can hardly keep up with myself! its so cool being able to reflect on the day each night and see how much the Lord is blessing us...my spanish improves everyday, we have so many investigators who are just bien suave, and i get to serve people every day with a smile and feel more joy than i ever have in my life! missions are honestly the greatest opportunity! tell my girls i say hi. Fam, i LOVE IT HERE!!! and i cant wait to get more into the groove and be super comfortable with the language and everything! The church is growing so fast here!

 

So i totes forgot my camera again this week.....errrrrrrrrrr but i promise next week there will be a ton of photos being sent your way! oh and the box is stuff from the MTC that i want to keep that i had someone send for me (didnt want to waste space in my suitcase). And we have an hermana in our ward who has a machine for us to wash our clothes in and she also cooks lunch for us every day! ha. But i have cleaned a few this with the bucket (ill send the pics of that). and the food is so much different than what people think mexican food is! haha. But i havent gotten super sick yet, but i have had a couple close calls trying to get to the bathroom...shhhhh that ones a secret! ha. But the food is way good here.

 

tell court that im way proud of her and that i enjoyed her letter! oh and thats hilarious about Jess and the feet! keep on keepin on Jess!

 

Por favor, write trev and drew and tell them that im way proud of them! and anyone else that you can! tell Dallin that i love him a ton also when you see him! tell my girls i say hi. I love you all and im proud of you!

 

con amor,

 

Elder Johnson

Loving Mexico!

Hola mi familia eterna!

 

SOO....Mexico is so great! Its super HOT!! haha. we were given these towels to carry with us because handkerchiefs (excuse the spelling) dont do enough! haha. But other than the heat, everything is so awesome!

 

Me and my companion Elder Ball, who is American and known to be the greatest missionary to ever come through this mission (thats not a joke either) he is literally one of the coolest guys i know, but we are in a place called Rosario! its the farthest south city that this mission goes! haha. We are literally in the middle of nowhere! we are in the mountains so its super pretty! But honestly this area is so beautiful...we walk these super tiny streets all the time, but mostly we walk dirt roads! ha. my shoes are literally just fully brown at the end of every day! We are working super hard and have been teaching a TON!!! no joke, we teach like 6 times a day! we have 14 progressing investigators right now and we havent even had a full week of working...the Lord has blessed us so much!!

 

List of people we are teaching:

Haciento

Agustine

Maria, Melisa, Galdis, Clayra, Nayeli

Daniela, Rosio

Maria, Jose, Ashley

Lilia

Maria

Mara, Yolanda, Karen

Hortis

Perla

Guadalupe

AND ROBERTO!! my favorite, this fuy is so legit! haha

 

Anyway, lots of people!! haha. We usually have around 15 people that show up to church, and in less than a week we doubled and had about 30! the Lord has prepared the people here! and its only going to increase! the work is so seriously moving so quickly here we can hardly keep up with our own feet! Its a pretty big area and there are only four elders in this whole city! MUCHO TRABAJO! ha.

 

But im loving it so much! no joke, they werent lying when they said the mission is hard (we walk back and forth all over the city ALL day) but when you can look someone in the eye and tell them that you know that this work is true and they accept to be baptized...WOW!! it makes everything worth it! We have 12 baptismal dates for the 28th and 1 so far for the 4th of June! cuhhhh-ray-zeeee!

 

But i want to tell you a story of ROBERTO...my MAN! ha. this happened yesterday...we got done with church and so we went out to try to find more people to teach and we had literally no clue where we were going, were still learning the area because its so big. but we were walking and we turned down some random street and we walked by this straight up shack (almost every house is a shack here by the way!) ha. but me and elder Ball both stopped and said we need to talk to whoever is in that house...so we went to see if they were home and my man Roberto comes out all swagged out with his long shorts and baggy tee shirt and he was holding his brand new baby girl in his arms! So we asked him if we could share our message with him and he said ABSOLUTELY! But from the moment i saw this man, i could picture him in the temple in all white clothes, i kid you not i literally could picture it in my mind the moment i saw this man! But we started to teach him and his wife came and sat with us for a while! But anyway, he is a very soft spoken man and just so gentle! I have never cared for the welfare of a persons soul as i did at this time for this man! All i could do was teach very simply and bear my testimony with as much conviction as i could possibly have! He is going to be baptized on the 4 of June! WHATTTT!!! i was so filled with the spirit during and also after this lesson that it was just incredible! the mission is so great!

 

But anyway, we live in a house with 2 other elders and i did eat with the president and his wife, she cooked for us and it was so awesome! President Cantu is the man, he is so cool and im so excited that he is my mission president! I wish i could answer more of your questions but i dont have much time!

 

But tell Derek im SUPER proud of him and WAY STOKED!!! i wore my toro volleyball shirt today for p-day so tell him that im still reppin for the team here in MEXICO! haha.

 

But i love you all and im so glad i got to see you all, pray for the people here in Mexico because they are progressing so much and the church is just blowing up here!!! so cool! love it. nothing better! oh and tell Perk that im way stoked for him! zahhh.

 

con amor,

Elder Johnson!

HEADED TO MEXICO...

Journal Entry by Mom:

May 9, 2011

Oh my goodness!! Today was a GREAT day! I got to SEE Tyler! First we waited at home for his call from the airport...which came almost an hour late. He was just down the street at Sky Harbor. I couldn't take it, so I asked him if we could bring him and his companion "du jour", Elder Zufelt, some lunch! He got soooo excited and was like "Oh, that would be the coolest thing!" Because Chris works for US Airways, he booked us super quick on some random flight and we met him there and literally RAN through security and down the moving walkways and all the way to the end of the airport, of course, he was at the last gate! We talked for about 20 minutes, gave him the In-n-Out burgers we brought for them and then he was off again. On his way to Mexico! He looked so good, he is so happy.

READY TO GET OUT INTO THE FIELD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY/MOTHERS DAY!!!! Love yaa tons madre! teee heeee.

WHAAAAAAATTTTTT????? That picture of Jess just fully blew me away! That's so wild! I guess 8 weeks can change a lot! ha. felicitaciones! 

So guess what.....Im coming to PHOENIX!! whattt upppp! haha. im so excited. My first layover is in phoenix for almost 3 hours! so I'll be chillin right next to yy'alllll. so stoked! anyway, then im going to Hermosilla, Mexico....then finally arriving in the celestial mission, Culiacan, Mexico!!!!

So i saw Trev right when he came in! it was hilarious, we were sitting there with our whole zone just eating our sack luches and all of a sudden....out pops Trev's head out the window yellin TEEEEEEEEJ! haha. I was so stoked to see him and he gave me a big hug from da MOMMA...ha.  

Anyway, everything is going so good here! my spanish has come a long way, and im feeling pretty ready to get out into the field! i just got a letter from my mission president saying that they are breaking all sorts of records on baptisms and confirmations! the field is white! ha.

I just want to appologize if i dont answer all of your questions, my mind is just going wild when im watching that clock count down and i feel like i have so much that i want to say everytime! ha. so my bad...i do my best! 

But just by the way, Im loving all the packages!!!!!!!! so nice, that blanket that you sent is the most comfortable thing in the world! and the mexican candy is outtaa dis world! im spoiled.

But i really want to tell you all how important the members are in this work! It is critical that members are constantly be-friending people and helping the missionaries out...so please do all you can!  

Anyway, I love you all ( no joke) i really do! tell me girls to keep the letters coming.

The lord loves you all! 

con amor,

Elder Johnson 

Elder Larson sent this picture!

As he captioned it..."The 3 Amigos"

Letter From President Cantu

Letter Elder Johnson received before leaving the MTC from President Cantu, the Mission President of Culiacan, Mexico.  I've translated it into English...sort of.




May Heaven!
Elders and Sisters! We are in a very special moment in Miracles, we had about 50 confirmations in our first week of May, we have almost another 50 planned for the second, we can achieve in these five weeks that a blessing on our mission is fulfilled and break a record more 15 189 years in August we now can achieve much more than the 200 and so we could do it a second time, as long as all do our part and continue finding those elected in each of our area, we find in this week will be baptized in the last month, we can not give up, do not let discouragement Aque or the likelihood that they will have a change prevents them from finding many more new researchers in this week and those that follow, you have the latest word! Remember this time will never come back! never forget that made history! Come for a month of May Heavenly! If we all come to this view all areas chosen way, and send them out of here, and not when they are appointed day or so, should make clear on this earth as if they were to live there many years and of benefit them. We are here for the love of father and successfully selected and go! We thank you all for your fast and invite those who did not join our purpose to baptize each week together as a mission and made her fast. Yesterday we started all the mission to study a chapter book of mormon newspaper and a section of d & c per day, so we are all studying together and seeking revelation and mission of these appointments, this should be a time of study personal, if you are already studying these books please start again with the rest of us! With love and admiration, Pte Cantu