Saturday, January 28, 2012

QUE COSAS!


hey hey hey hey hey hey!!!

What's up family! I don't know if you all knew this....but I love you all!

Thank you to everyone who sent a cyber b day shoutout! haha.  It really has been a super good week!  Mariana should be getting baptized this upcoming week, so we're super excited for her!  She has had a couple of doubts and it's been difficult at times, but it's always so awesome to be able to help someone through their doubts, and then just see the light come into them and they understand it!  So we are still working with Mariana, she has been a little bit hard to find this past week or so, but she is still super stoked about her baptism!  Also, we found an AWESOME family this week, their names are Consuelo, Yatsiri and Gisela!  Consuelo is the mom and she has gone to church quite a bit, but has never really wanted to talk with the missionaries, let alone be baptized....but we talked to her this last week at church and she wanted to talk with us, so we went and visited them and taught a little bit....and it was so awesome! They opened up a lot and are a lot more excited!  We are hoping that we will be able to help them to be baptized as a whole family....that would be so awesome! So we're pretty excited about them!  Also, the members are like super stoked right now in these two wards!  We have been going with the members and sharing a message about love and service and they are really excited to do service for all of their neighbors....and throughout the week, the members have been giving us references, instead of us asking for them!! It's so cool to see that the spirit really has touched their hearts and everyone is working together! We are hoping we can see more and more progression with everyone!

As for the offices.....pure stress!! haha. There is so much work that we are doing right now, so I'm trying to learn how to better organize myself so that  I can work a lot more effective and faster here in the offices!  It's been a good learning experience, but not an easy one!  I have been praying a lot for the Lord to help me better organize myself....also that He would give me the ability to be able to think about the offices and about all the needs of my investigators also....and I have seen His help a lot this week!  The spirit really does help us here and the Lord knows what talents we have, we just need to develop them and flourish them!  I hope that I can continue to progress, that way I can be a more effective missionary!!

Also, I received the packages with the gloves and with the sweaters!  Thank you so much by the way!  But still no sign of the other one...I'm sure it will be getting here soon!  No worries!

Tell my boiii trev that I say thanks for the b day shoutout from ARGENTINA! TC.

love you all so much!

Elder Johnson

Saturday, January 21, 2012

CUUUHRAAZZZYYY!


sup yo HI!
 
Hello family! This week has been one of the craziest weeks of my entire life! No joke, with Elder Larkin leaving and me being on my own here in the offices managing all of the money of the mission....I've been a little bit overwhelmed! haha. We also opened up three new areas this week...which means 3 new houses...which means I need to buy stuff for them and make sure they have their deposit and rent and everything! Basically, it's pretty stressful! haha. But I really am loving it, the days go by soo fast!! I can't believe how fast time goes here in the offices.
 
Anyway, Mariana is still way excited! We're still working with Luis Angel....little by little I'm sure he is going to start accepting!  He just really needs to come to church, because he has been to so many of the activities of the church but never has gone to an actual sacrament meeting and I'm positive that would help him so much to realize that it has been the spirit that he has been feeling the whole time and that it is something GOOD and TRUE!!!! I love those small and simple things that help us to find the truth....it just takes a little effort on our part!  We haven't seen Lupita in a little while, we kinda moved on for a little while from her....it's kinda weird, because sometimes the best thing you can do for your investigators...is leave them for a little while....they really need to be able to feel the difference of when we were coming and teaching and they were feeling the spirit...from when we are not there and the spirit is not nearly as strong! We truly are the happiest when we are learning about the gospel and more when we are LIVING it!!! And sometimes, it just takes that realization that the gospel really is what they need in their lives! And Claire´s dad still just isn't budging....I don't know what is up, but I know that girl needs to be baptized! She is so ready it's unbelievable...she just needs the permission from her parents!

I'm hoping this week will be a lot less busy with office work, and more busy with MISSIONARY WORK!!! I really want to get out there and find new people and see miracles and watch peoples lives change instead of looking at a computer screen change all day!! hahahaha.  That's a joke, I love the offices...but it's kinda hard when we get swamped, like this week with other kind of work....haha.  It's just weird because when I was thinking about the mission....before my mission.....I thought that I was not gonna have to worry about any kind of money whatsoever...and now look at me, worrying more about money than I ever have in my entire life...what's up with that!!! haha.  I'm learning a ton though, so that's super good...before the mish, I didnt know too much about money or how to deal with it, but now I feel like I've learned a lot and hope that I can keep learning, that way I can put it into practice after my mission!

I didnt get a chance to take too many photos this week, so I don't think I'll have any, but this upcoming week....I'll try to get some sent!

Also, I got the packages!!!! whooooohooooo! Thank you so much for everything, honestly!

Anyway, I'll catch you all on the flip side....l8r!

Elder Johnson



p.s. LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Simple Primary Answers...Are The Key To Everything!


Sup....Suppy!
Can I just tell you how happy all of your letters make me!! I really love them a ton!  I just love love hearing about all these good things that are happening in my family and with all the people that I love!! haha. I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed us! Now, we just need to show our gratitude by giving him more! He wants us to continually be progressing! I learned that a lot this week....have you ever noticed that just when you start to get comfortable with what your doing and you think you've got it done....everything changes!! You've got to really start to stretch your abilities and talents and by doing that, you continually progress! Although at first it really seems super hard and you wonder why the Lord would just take away everything that you had....but it's because he loves us and knows the potential that we have, that we can't see sometimes!! I love this work so much, I love the Lord with all my heart and the fact that he loves me enough to just cut me down sometimes and make me progress more and more! WOW!  The church is true...don't ever forget that, please!!! ha.

Anyway, this week was sooooooo awesome!!!!!!! I really can't even describe how happy I am right now! Every single day that we left to go work this week, WE SAW MIRACLES!! I'm not kidding when I say that I've never felt so much like I've completed my missionary purpose than in this change with Elder Larkin here in the offices! It's so cool, that even though we only have half a day every day to work, we go out and we really make a difference in this world and in the lives of SO many people! I'm so happy to be able to say that I have been able to make a big impact on a lot of peoples lives in this past month and a half, and it is because this truly is the work of the LORD!!!!!!  We carry the true and everlasting Gospel, the one and only thing that can save this world from the commotion and calamity it is in....WE HAVE THAT, and WE TEACH THAT!  There is no place I would rather be and nothing that makes me happier than seeing this gospel change the lives of others...and through that, it changes MINE!! Gods plan truly is perfect, there is no doubt in my mind!
So I don't know if i told you guys about Mariana....but she is so awesome!! This week, we really started to teach her and watch her progress in this gospel, and I'm happy to say that she has progressed SOO much!! Right now, we are teaching Luis Angel and Mariana, they just got marrried and they are super cool! Anyway, we went to go teach them this the other day, and when we arrived...she was just SO happy to see us and she just looked so much different. So we started to talk and teach a little bit...and we found out that Luis Angel isn't all that interested because his whole family is Christian and they want to continue in their church, which yes, is very sad...but then Mariana was just like....I know I need to continue learning and talking with you guys, because I feel the NECESSITY to keep moving forward with this and be baptized in this church!!! WHATT!!!  She has been reading and praying and she has a testimony that everything is true!! It really shows the importance of READING and PRAYING and GOING TO CHURCH!!!!!!!  The simple primary answers to everything.....are the KEY to everything!!!! haha. Sometimes we forget about those small things, but it really is what makes a difference in the lives of the people that don't even know anything about this gospel....so WHY CANT IT BE FOR US TOO?? We need to continually we striving to be better and always do the¨"small and simple things" so that "great things are brought to pass" Alma 37: 6-7.  Mariana will be getting baptized on the 28th of January!! I'm so excited for her and couldn't be more grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I had to find her and teach her!  love love love it!
You all better know that I love you...because it's true, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH IT'S UNBELIEVABLE!!  Keep progressing, and keep being awesome!  Tell Tate that I love him, and am so proud of all that he is doing and is going to do, you're one of my best friends Tate and I really do love you man!!  Go kill it in Inglatera (England in spanish) haha.
con muchor amor y cariƱo
Elder Johnson
 



Saturday, January 7, 2012

Gnars. Bars.


Whats up my family!
So things are going super super well here right now!!
Elder Larkin and I are just killin it out here! I really have never felt so united with someone before, like companion wise! He really is one of my best friends and I love him!  Anyway, Lupita didn't get baptized this week because we haven't been able to find her this whole week and get her excited.....or even just talk to her! haha. But thats ok, she just gets a little nervous sometimes when it comes to the whole baptism thing! But we did find some super super sweet investigators who are just super stoked about the church! Their names are Luis Angel and Marianna....they are both 19 years old and they just got MARRIED! haha. They actually got married on Christmas day, which is super cool and we went and taught Luis Angel and he was just super happy, because he knew that God was happy that he was completing with the commandments! And so we taught him and it was awesome and then we went back a few days later and found his wife....Marianna!  She is super awesome, she has family that are members and she has been to church a couple of times and she says that she really likes the church and wants to learn more and keep going! suuhweeet! Also, Luis Angel´s best friend is on a mission in Chile right now so he has been to church and he goes to mutual every single thursday here! They both really like the church a lot, the only problem is....the mom of Luis Angel isn't too fond of them going to church and the whole deal.... but thats ok!  I know the Lord can soften her heart if we pray a lot and have enough faith! We are hoping a lot that they will continue to progress and be able to go to church and then.....GET BAPTIZED!  Elder Larkin and I are really excited to teach them about the temples and that they can be sealed together for eternity!!!!!!  Also, Claire is still doing super well! Her dad said that she will probably be able to be baptized in these next weeks...so we'll see what happens with that, but we are really excited for her, because she has such a strong testimony and wants to be baptized SO bad! 
 
This change has gone by soo fast it's unbelievable! I can't believe that Elder Larkin is going to be leaving in like a week!  I'm kinda sad, just because we are like best friends and I love working with him...but thats ok!  He's gonna go kill it in another area and my companion and I are gonna kill it here! So no big deal!
 
Right now in the offices, we have been super busy!! We had a couple elders in here this week....one broke his foot and the other has super bad back problems and can hardly walk, so he was getting some x rays and stuffs like that! It's weird to think that I'm gonna be on my own in here in the offices doing my work as the financial secretary in just 1 week! I have a feeling that I'm gonna be having to call Elder Larkin to ask him a few questions if I get lost! hahaha. I feel like I've got almost everything down pretty well, so we'll see! haha.
 
But other than that, this week has been pretty calm!  I am learning so much it's crazy! I can feel my testimony growing every single day, and I know the Lord is just preparing me more and more every single day to be a better person and become more like His Son! lovin it!
 
Anyway, the mission is the greatest thing in the whole world! Dillon and Jared......you better be getting yourselves ready to get out here and teach the Gospel! haha. I love you all so much, keep up all the good work back at home, and know that I love each and errrr one of you!
 
l8r sk8r,
 
Elder Johnson