FELIZ CUMPLEANOS DILLON!

FAMILY!!!!

 

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS DILLON!! WHOOOOOOOO!!!

 

I can't believe that Dillon is already 15 years old! WHATT! Where does time go?? This year has gone by so fast it's unreal! haha. But that's ok, it just means that I need to take advantage of every single second that I have while I'm here in the mission!  But I'm loving it while I'm here!

 

So this week was super busy, but super good at the same time. This coming week, there will be an area 70 named Elder Tenorio that will be coming to talk to us and train us a little bit on how we can be better missionaries, so that means that we as the office workers have been getting EVERYTHING ready so that when he gets here....EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!!  It's been a little bit stressful just because of the importance of it, and how much work it has been....and we're still not finished!  haha.  He will be here in Culiacan on Friday so we are super excited to be able to hear from him!  I hope that I will be able to learn a ton so that I can help more people come unto this gospel and have a true conversion to it's teachings!  I really love being a missionary, it's so cool that we have this opportunity at such a young age to go out and preach the gospel and while we bless the lives of others, our lives are being blessed beyond belief!  Honestly, I never thought that I would progress so much as a person and not only as a missionary here in the mission....my view of so many things has changed in life!  I realize that I knew nothing about what this life is really about before I came out on the mission, but now, I feel like I can see things a lot clearer now!

 

This week was super cool because there was a SWEET activity in the ward that the relief society set up....it was a play of cinderella, but cinderella wasn't a girl.....it was the BISHOP!! hahaha.  And the best part about it is that MORAMAY PARTICIPATED!! whooo!  She has been going to all the dress rehearsels and everything so she has gotten to know the members SUPER well and she is friends with all of them now! But this whole week we have been inviting people to come and see the play, and when the day came, we had 8 investigators that showed up in total!!  So that was super awesome! Moramay brought her mom, 2 sisters, her son, and one of her nephews!  It was super cool to see how stoked she was and that she was even inviting people!  So that went super super well!  Also, there was a baptism of the other elders here in the offices so we invited Moramay to go to the baptism so that she could see how it works and so she could feel the spirit and the truthfulness of this sacred ordinance.....and she came with her son!! whoo!!  Unfortunately, she will not be getting baptized this week, but she will be getting baptized on the 11th of May!  She told us that she wants to do it that day because that is the day that her dad passed away, so she thought that that would be really special!  So we are super happy for her and her son!!

 

Basically, I love you all a lot!  I'm so so so so so so so so so proud of everything that your are doing and all the good things that are happening right now!  I hope that you will be able to magnify your calling as a teacher in the primary, because as you do, you will find that your testimony grows so so much!  Keep up all the good work and know that I love you all a lot!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DILLON, I love you bruh! haha.  But for real, I love you like a fat kid loves cake! PEACE!

 

Elder Johnson

NEEDING SOME PRAYERS OVER HERE IN CULIACAN!

Hello family.

This week has been a great one!  We  have been pretty darn busy here in the offices, but that's usually just normal!   haha. But things are going well right now.  I don't know if I ever told you about someone who came to the sacrament meeting the day before I left to El Fuerte, but if I didn't....she's basically super super cool!  Her name is Moramay, she's a dentist here in Culiacan and has a 12 year old son named Arturo, who is also super cool!  But we met them in the sacrament meeting...a member brought her and we met her afterward and she seemed super interested and was just super happy!  Elder Morales and another temporary missionary went over to teach her while I was gone and taught her a little bit about the Plan of Salvation and left her a Book of Mormon......we went back and she had a few questions of the Plan of Salvation and her son Arturo also had some questions.  We basically reviewed the Plan of Salvation and helped them to clear up any doubts they had, but it was honestly the COOLEST lesson I have ever taught on the Plan of Salvation!  The Spirit was just super strong and they had AWESOME questions and everything.  Her brother actually passed away recently, so it hit her really hard and also her son that they will be able to see him again after this life and have the opportunity to be with him FOREVER!!!  We finished the lesson and we kneeled down to pray and she offered the final prayer..and I just remember that the Spirit was soo strong when she was praying that there was no way that you could doubt that it was true!  We are hoping that Moramay and her son will be getting baptized on the 28th, but we're still working on that a little bit...were needing some prayers over here in Culiacan! haha.  Right now, she is actually with all the members rehearsing for a ward activity where they are going to do a play of a cinderella type thing!  So she is already getting along with the members SUPER well and she feels super comfortable going to church and everything, so that is HUGE!  We are super happy for her and her son, and we hope that they will have the courage to follow Jesus Christ by entering into the waters of baptism this coming week! WHOO!

Basically I'm just super happy, still working on the hand thing....I'm going to get an x-ray this week and go to a doctor to get it all checked out.  I talked with a doctor before and he told me that we might have to open it back up a little bit and clean it out, that way it doesn't affect me too much down the road.  So I'll keep you updated on what's goin on....but honestly don't worry, it doesn't hurt or anything, I just may need to clean it up a little bit! haha.  And also, I don't know when you will be sending the next package, but when you do....could you send some Clearsil face wash?? PORFISSS!! (PLEEAASEE!!) haha.  It seems to work really well on my face for some reason. Thank you!  And thank you for sending the socks!!!!!!!  I still haven't gotten them yet, but I'm definitely waiting anxiously! haha.

Anyway, Im really glad to hear that everything is going well and that everyone is happy and content!  Keep up the progress that everyone is making.....WE CAN NEVER LOOK BACK!  The blessings are greater and greater as we progress more and more!  I LOVE YOU ALL A TON!!!!

Elder Johnson


p.s. still not sure about the phone call deal. skype or no skype???? who knows!

SUPER GREAT WEEK...SAW MIRACLES, WORKED HARD AND GOT A TAN!

hey family,

 

So I got changed temporarily again!  I'm all over the place right now...it's been pretty crazy! haha. Right now, I'm right in the middle of Los Mochis and El Fuerte!  In the north of Sinaloa. I'm in 2 branches right now....Rosales and Constancia!  These 2 areas remind me soo much of Angostura it's so crazy! It's pretty nice being in the Ranchitos again....getting a little bit of dust on my face! haha.  But just so you know, I won't be here for too much longer...I'm here because the other elder that was supposed to come here hurt his knee playing soccer, so he´s in the offices right now while I'm here!  I really do love this place though!  It's kind of hard when you go to one place and get to know a bunch of AWESOME people and you find new investigators that want to get baptized....and then you leave again........hahaha.  oh well, I'm just glad that I have the opportunity to help so many people, I really have learned A LOT in my experiences being changed all over the place....by the way, right now I'm training another missioary named Elder Gutierrez, who is super awesome, he´s a super short dude, but he´s honestly just a FIREBALL! haha.  But anyway, I'm really grateful that I have had the opportunity to learn so much and to help so many people!

 

One of those people that we foud this week is....KARLA!!!  She is a 19 year girl that we found in a place called 4 Milpas!  She is seriosly super cool.  We found her through a reference of a member....she took us to her house and introduced us...but then had to leave so we kept talking to her.  At first, she was just saying that she didn't have time and that she didn't even believe in God, but we just listened to what she was saying and the whole time I was just thinking of how we could help this girl feel the love that our Heavenly Father has for us....so we just listened and we just bore our testimonies about how we know that God truly does love her and that he knows exactly what she is going through!  She listened and we saw that her heart had changed...the spirit touched her heart in that moment, and she let us in the door!  So we were teaching her about God and the restoration and everything and it was so cool to be able to relate the restoration of the gospel to the specific needs of this girl, and we could feel the spirit so strong....then we invited her to be baptized and she ACCEPTED!!  It was SOO cool to see how the spirit just worked in her as we taught her words of truth and bore our humble testimonies of the truthfulness of the restored gospel!  But it doesn't end there......this past Sunday was branch conference which means that President Cantù was going to be there so we really wanted her to come, so we invited her...but she lives pretty far from the place where we meet at, so it was going to be a little difficult.  But we went and talked with the member that gave us the reference and asked her if she could help, and she said that she would do everything possible to help.  We showed up at the chapel about 30 minutes before the meeting was going to start....and there was Karla, sitting right next to the member with a big grin on her face!!!!!  WHATT!!  We talked with her afterward and she said that she felt SUPER good in church and that she really liked it!  Karla will be getting baptized on April 28th!!  I won't be here, but I'm SOO excited for her and grateful for the opportunity I had to teach her!!  By the way, basically her whole family is super interested in the church also, so they will be getting baptized shortly after! haha.

 

Basically, this week has been super good....we have seen miracles, worked hard, and gotten a little tanner!! hahahaha.

 

I still don't know anything about the whole phone call deal yet...but when I know, you know! haha.  By the way, I'm sure I will be writing again Saturday.....haha. we'll see.....it's kinda unpredictable at this point! 

 

Love you all, and I'm proud of every single one of you! 

 

Elder Johnson

 

 

p.s. THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!!! 

 

SPECIAL CHANGES.......AGAIN!!

hey hey hey!

So I'm back here in the offices once again! I thought that I would be in the area of 7 Gotas until the rest of the change, but there were some problems here in the offices and they needed my help so they brought me back here! haha.  So now I'm here...and I'll be writing on Saturdays once again! It's kind of weird because I have had 2 p-days this week....lucky me! haha.

Anyway, this week actually went super well! I was with Elder Toomey until Wednesday so I got to work with him a little bit this week, which was super good! I really enjoyed my time with him a lot!  It really reminded me of when I got here in the mission and how willing I was to do ANYTHING!  If we as missionaries could all be as humble and willing as the greenies, but have the knowledge of how to work and teach of a missionary that has more than a year....basically, it would be off the CHAIN!  It really got me super stoked to work even harder than I was...and now I'm really grateful for my time with Elder Toomey!  But then when I came back here to the offices and to my area here....there was too much goin on.....haha.  So we went out and we worked!  I remember just praying for an opportunity to serve someone, and we started to walk in the direction of an investigator that we had been teaching before....and then I saw a woman that was carrying her groceries, but she had a big neck brace on....BOOM, opportunity to serve!!!  We offered our help and she immediately was SOO grateful that we offered to help!  We helped her carry her groceries to her house and on the way there she told us that she had talked with a friend before about the church and about Joseph Smith and everything and that she was super interested!!! WHATT!  She really wanted us to come back to her house and visit her.....also, she has a son who is about 30 years old named Jesús Cristo!  We're gonna baptize Jesús Cristo.....that's so cool!! haha.

Wilian is still doin good. We are still trying to get his family STOKED so that he can get STOKED also!  It's just really hard when he doesn't have that much support telling him to do what's right....but we'll see!  We actually met part of his family that lives in a different part of Sinaloa, and they are actually way cool!  I hope that we can gain their trust so that they can help Wilian and also so that they will be baptized sometime in the future!  Dulce.....we kinda had a problem with her.....or better said, her husband.  He kinda just flipped and changed completely!  We have tried to go over there and now they always just say that they are busy or some other excuse....kind of a bummer, but we're gonna still try to help her to come to church so she can feel the spirit!  Lots of prayers are needed for her and her husband!

Oh and I almost forgot to tell you.....my package got here!!  So I'm thinking that you need to activate from there....? So if you could do that and then let me know when i should start using the new one, that would be great!  Also, I'm thinking that I'm gonna need some new socks in the near future...the goin is gettin rough, and these guys have got quite a few miles! haha.  And....you remember the incident I had with my finger a while back in Rosario??  It's not looking all that great these days...it is like super big and swollen, but doesn't hurt very much...that's the weird thing!  But I'm gonna have to get it checked out and see whats up.  But don't worry, it's nothing too serious....I just dont want a big golf ball looking thing on my finger for the rest of my life! haha. But thats basically all the news I can think of!

I love you all kind of a lot!  I'm happy, content, and almost always exhausted! haha. But thats a good thing! But for real, I'm SOO happy it's unbelievable....I love the mission soo much and I'm so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to be a part of it!

love you all,

Elder Johnson

Elder Johnson with his temporary "son" Elder Toomey

SPECIAL CHANGES!!

hello hello hello!

 

So I just want to first let you know that I am officially not in the offices but with a STUD named Elder Toomey!!! WHATTT....I'm training a new missionary!! hahahah.  I'm seriously so stoked it's un...be...lievable!i Love it so much!  The changes were super random and sudden but I'm loving so much being able to help Elder Toomey be the best missionary that he can be!

 

Since I left the offices, I have really been able to see how much I really have progressed as a missionary and as a person!  It's just really cool being able to work in the field all day every day!  Elder Toomey and I have been having a really good time together and we have been able to have success!  When I first got to the area, there were basically no investigators and I didn't know the area at all (neither did my companion) so we were just kinda lost but we knew that the Lord wasn't just gonna leave us solo with no success....so we started to just talk with people and be missionaries!  As we did, we found A LOT of new people, I couldn't believe how much the Lord was blessing us!  The next day, we were studying as a companionship and we decided that we were going to challenge a few to be baptized and that Elder Toomey was going to challenge them.....so we go out and find this girl named Paola, we were teaching and the lesson was awesome, it got time to where we were going to challenge her to be baptized and I look at Elder Tommey and he looks back at me with the "deer in the headlights" look! hahahah.  Then he looks back at Paola and says with his broken spanish...."seguirà el ejemplo de Jesucristo y serà bautizado por alguien que tenga la autoridad de Dios?" At that moment I could feel the spirit so strong and we both look at Paola and she says "Claro que sì!!" WHATTT!  I was so happy in that moment and so proud of Elder Toomey that he had no fear at all to challenge someone to be baptized!  I learned in that moment that it doesn't matter if we can't speak the language very well or if we have some other difficulty...the Lord will always back us up with His Spirit if we are really putting in our effort to speak for Him!  Basically, I'm loving the work and loving being able to train a new missionary (my son!) haha.

 

Anyway, that's probably the biggest news and coolest thing that happened this week!

 

Just chillin here in MEXICO loving every second that I'm here!  By the way, MEXICO IS GREAT!

 

Also, that's so cool that court is in Anaheim cheering, I hope she does super well! GOOD LUCK COURT!  I love you all family, keep doing what your doin, cuz what your doin is what you should be doin...and if we're doin what we should be doin, blessings come!  Love you all! peace out.

 

Elder Johnson