"Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant" --Mathew 25:21

Elder Johnson returned home from the Mexico Culiacan Mission!

March 9, 2011 - April 3, 2013

We are so proud of Tyler and his willingness to serve our Heavenly Father

and to help His children know the love of our Heavenly Father and our

Savior, Jesus Christ and to help the people of Mexico

to come into the gospel of Christ.  

We are SO happy to have him home after 2 years!

 

Everyone waiting so patiently, or not so patiently

for Tyler to get through customs...............

 First sighting!

 

First words......... WHAT UP!!

The first hug was unbelievable....

two years is a long time to wait,
but so worth it!!

 His sisters and brothers were there

 His dad, Chris and Grandparents were there

 Tyler was most shocked by the difference

in Dillon and Jared, haha!

 

 So happy to be greeted by his friends too

  

 Elder's Johnson and Hollis

Same flight home from Mexico!

Never seen such a huge crowd at theairport!!  

and then everyone gathered at our house

after he was released for a fun welcome home party!

 He was SOOOO happy to have carpet in every room!

Super hilarious!

 and to see all his old stuff, hehe!

 His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and

faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things,

I will make thee ruler over many things;

enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

I've been gone for 2 years and my EMAIL is SHUT DOWN!

So, apparently after two years, the email just shuts down?

Tyler's LDS 2 year mission to Culiacan was extended by 3 weeks,

at the 2 year mark, he couldn't get on to his email account anymore!

I (his mom) logged in to his account and it just says:

Thank you for your service.

He will be home in 3 SHORT weeks and he can tell us all of
his last weeks in the mission field! It's really coming!

PURTY BUSY WEEK!

FAMILY!

WHAT UP!!  I can't believe that it is already baby week!  That's NUTS!  I had serioudly almost forgotten that it was this week that Jess is going to have her baby, it came so dang fast....I feel like Asher was just born yesterday and now I'm going to have another nephew.....WHOOOO!  haha.  I can't even tell you how excited I am to finally meet Asher and then get to meet the new little guy!  By the way.....have you chosen a name yet, or is that still up in the air??  Ah man, I seriously am so excited to meet them...you have no clue!!  haha. 

Also, that's so cool that Derek...ooops, I mean Elder Skousen now....already gave his farewell talk and is off to Spain!  That pic that you sent me of him hugging his Mom brought back a bunch of memories and really hit me big time!  haha.  That's so wierd to think that I'll be hugging everyone again for the first time in 2 full years.....that's so unreal!!  SO STOKED!  haha. It's cool how many missionaries there are in the family now and how many there will be in the near future!  It's just gonna get bigger and better!  Good stuff!  I'm not gonna lie, it kind of bums me out that I won't see Derek for 4 years because we got super close before I came out, but it's alright, he's in the best possible place he could be right now so that's why I'm so stoked for him! 

This week for us here in ME HE CO was pretty wild...we were super busy the whole week and we had to do a lot of boring "branch president" stuff as Elder Parkinson says!  haha.  Right now the branch had a trip planned to go to the temple because there are 2 members of the branch that just got married this week and they were planning on going to the temple this week to get sealed so we were running around doing interviews and what not and renting buses and just a bunch of other stuff....but it seems like they are not going to be able to go because there were some problems with the bus and with the amount of people that were going to go......so they are going to wait a little bit.....I'm not lying when I say that I'm SUPER bummed that they are not going to be able to get sealed this week, but I'm sure that if we keep working and keep looking, we will be able to get things figured out so that they can go to the temple!  Gotta keep positive thoughts!  Haha.  So yeah, that was most of our week and along with a ton of other stuff! haha. 

We had a pretty cool experience this week though.....so I think I've mentioned Arturo and Armando and about how they are super excited for their baptism...well something really cool happened with them this week, something that we have been working on for around 3 weeks now, and that something is the DAD!  haha.  We have been really trying to teach their dad because we felt that if they had real support from their dad it would help them so much more to not fear and to be really excited about their baptism and everything....and then something really cool happened this week.....we were there in church waiting for the services to start and then we look in the back of the room and see Arturo and Armando walk in with their mom....and.....THEIR DAD!!  WHOOOO!  I can't even tell you how happy I was to see that he went with them to church to show them that he supports their decision and that he will be there to help them!  But that's not all.....in the classes the dad was actually participating and really feeling the spirit....he was saying that he has been really wanting to change his life around and really start to live like he should...I'm pretty sure he had a really good experience at church!  We are hoping that we are going to see some big time progression with him and with his kids now!  I am sooo hoping that their whole family will accept the gospel and be able to live it all together because there is nothing that compares to living the gospel with your whole family and just having everyone build eachother up!  PRAY FOR THEM PLEASE!

So I'm basically super excited right now and really enjoying this time in my mission!  I'm trying to be diligent and keep working until the end so that I can be a good example for Elder Parkinson because I see a bunch of potential in him....he is going to be an awesome missionary!  But I am super excited to see you all, you guys keep me motivated and make me want to work hard till the end....I appreciate all the support!  I love you all so much.

Elder Johnson

p.s. I'm sorry that I've been pretty bad with the pics....but here are some of the pics of us.

VOY CON TODO!

HEY HEY HEY!

So basically I'm super stoked right now to hear of all the cool things that are always hapenning back home....I'm so excited to hear that the missionary work is progressing so much in the home ward....that I still dont know! haha. But it's so awesome to hear about all the cool experiences that you guys are having as ward missioanries!  Oh and I definitely did not know that Chris was baptized on the same day that I came into the mission....thats so gnarly, we have an anniversary in common! haha.  Oh and I literally cannot believe that I have completed 2 years in the mission!!!!!  Thats so wierd that the 2 years that I have always waited for are done, but the Lord gave me a little more time to be here in the mission, so thats pretty cool!  I'm really enjoying this time right now in the mission.....it's the hardest thing EVER, but I've never had to do something that has permitted me to really expand myself and really develop the gifts that God has given me and it's such an experience and the funnest thing I've ever done!

We had a super awesome experience this week and kinda funny also! haha.  JOSE GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!  WHOOOO!  We were super excited for him that he finally made the decision to be baptized because he was just super scared of not knowing enough and not being able to read well enough and a bunch of other things, but he finally found the courage to just trust in God and trust that he had recieved an answer from the Holy Ghost that all that we had taught him was true!  But it was the funniest thing because right when him and his family had gotten to the church for his baptismal service he went to the bathroom.....and you know how the doors into the font are in the bathroom?  Well he was going to come out of the bathroom and he heard us talking on the other side of the wall because we were in the room where the batismal font is and so him, not really knowing how to get around the chapel, just opens the door into the font and sees us on the other side and doesn't pay attention that there is a HUGE pool of water in front of him, starts to walk down the steps into the water!!!  hahahahahaha.  Then he realized that he was in water and just ran out of the font and we were telling him the whole time that he was just so excited to be baptized that he didn't want to wait for anyone....he went straight to the font!!  haha. Also, there was a little girl that got baptized in the same baptismal service, but when she got baptized we had to do it 3 times because there was always something that came out of the water, but when Jose got baptized, we only had to do it 1 time.....but then he was telling us that is was 2 because of the first intent on his own!!  hahaha.  It was honestly one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life!!  I'll have to tell you more when I'm with you because it was seriously soo funny!  But all in all, the baptismal service turned out great and he was super happy afterward.....he was actually talking to Elder Parkinson afterward while they were changing and Elder Parkinson asked him how he felt and he told him kind of emotionally that he knew that he did the right thing!!  WHOO!  He is going to be such an awesome part of our branch so we are super excited for him!  Then after the baptismal service we were talking to the uncle of Arturo and Armando and he was telling us that he had talked to them the other day and that they were super excited about their baptism on the 23rd, so we were also super super happy about that!  Oh, also funny thing that happened.....the jumpsuit of Jose did not fit him at all and so he just wore it as if they were pants and just turned his almost all white shirt inside out, but it was really funny because his shirt says "VOY CON TODO" which is translated "I'M GOING WITH EVERYTHING" and it was kind of visible....you'll be able to see it in the pics....but it was just super funny because it totally applied to his baptism!  hahaha.  It really was probably the best/funniest baptismal services of my mission!

Ok, so I've got news now......you remember about my hand??  Well, it is going to be operated on the 30th of this month.  They are going to cut it back open and clean it out so that if there is any infected stuff in there, it wont affect me in the future, and so it doesn't look like another knuckle!  haha.  But I just wanted you guys to know right now so that you don't worry, because it's not going to be a huge operation but I will possibly be coming home with my hand in a bandage haha.  So I'll be in Culiacan the 29th and then the 30th will be the surgery and then for a few days I'll be resting and letting it heal and then the 3rd, I'll be coming home normal at the same time.  I will still have the stitches in when I get home so we will get someone to take them out when it is completely healed, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem.  So that's my big news this week!  haha.

I love you guys a ton, I'm happy for you and I'm SUPER excited to see you again!  WHOOOOOO!! haha.  But until then, I'll still be here in ME HE CO working until the last day! love you all.

Elder Johnson

RECORD BREAKING!!

FAMILY!

 

Hey everyone!  That's so cool to see the pics of the wedding and hear that it went so well!!  I can't believe that Robert is married, it seems like time just doesn't exist anymore! haha.  But it's really good to hear that it went well and that everyone had a good time!  Also, it's really funny to hear that everyone is talking about how I have less than a month left.....sometimes it still hasn't sunk in that it's so close, but than sometimes it hits me and I try to work a little harder so that I get everything out of it!  It's even crazier to think that if that change wouldn't have been made...I would be finishing my mission in a week!  WHAT!!!  haha.  But I'm honsetly so excited to see everyone!

 

So this week was super awesome, there were so many good things that happened and we saw quite a few miracles!  First of all, JOSE IS SO STOKED FOR HIS BAPTISM!  Oh and big news........JOSE AND SOFIA GOT MARRIED ON FRIDAY!!!!  WHOO!  They are progressing so much and they are both so happy!  Jose also went to church this week and in the middle of church he handed me his envelope with his tithing!!  He looked so happy that and so willing to do the will of God and I was so happy for him...I know that all those prayers from back home are helping him!!  He is going to be baptized this Saturday and we are way excited for him!  Also, Armando went to church with his mom and he was so happy to be there.....his mom actually shared something really cool with us about Armando, she was telling us that in the morning he was still asleep when she was about ready to go to church and he woke up randomly just in time and saw that she was going to church and popped out of bed and told her that he wanted to go with her even if he couldn't eat breakfast, he wanted to be in church with his family!!  It's so cool how much we can learn from children and their willingness to do Gods will!  Also, in church we had a total of 54 people, but that's not the best part.....in the Rosales part we usually only have like 12 or 15 and I have been really wanting to get it up to above 30 and this week in Rosales we had 32 people in Rosales!!! WHOO!  We are really excited about the progression in the branch and we are hoping that we can continue to progress!  Oh and Arturo and Armando will be getting baptized on the 16th so pray for them that they will have the courage to take this step!

 

Well family, I love you, I miss you and I kind of can't wait to see you!  I'm not getting too trunky, we are still working super hard and like you said....I honestly don't have time to get trunky anyway so I'm not too worried about it!  haha.  I love you all and I hope you all have a good week!

 

Elder Johnson

SO HAPPY!!

MI FAMILIA TAN HERMOSA!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!  I'm so happy to see all the great blessings that you all have received!  I can't even tell you how happy I was to see the pic of the baptism that you guys were in and that Chris directed!  That's so awesome.  And that's awesome that Sylviana was there in the baptism of Gabe and Carlee because that is literally the best place for an investigator to go when they are investigating the church!  There is actually a super gnarly statistic that of every 10 people (no miembros) that go to a baptismal service, 8 get baptised also!!!  Do you remember that one experience with my investigator that went to a baptism and then after it ended, asked if he could also be baptized?? yeah, it's true!   Also, those pics of Hawaii are so awesome, I loved the one of Court and Dillon out on the rocks! hahahaha.  Everyone here in the internet cafe were all looking at me super wierd because I was laughing so hard!! haha.  But it looks like you guys had a good time there!  Also, what's up with the snow in Mesa!  That's so wild...maybe there will still be snow on the slopes when I get back????  Positive thinking! haha.  I can't believe that Mac is already in the CCM of Gutemala....I just now realized that she is the first girl missionary of our family....that's way cool!!  I'm so happy to be part of this family, it is definitely one of the blessings that I will be forever grateful for!

So this week was basically AWESOME!  We are seeing so much progression in the branch right now and that's even with some of the strongest members being out of town so I'm soo excited what is going to happen when everyone gets back and we can start to work BIG TIME!!  The members are so much more excited to work and to really make a diference in the branch here in Rosales!  That, I think might be the best part is that it's not just us working now to try to help, but we are helping the members so that they can help us in return and now we are working like a team.....like it should be!!!  WHOO!!!  Jose came to church this Sunday and he was way excited.....he didn't last week for some other problems that they had in the family, but we got it all taken care of and now they are all going to church together again!  Oh and not to mention, Nadia and Sofia gave there first talks ever in their lives on Sunday!!!!  They were super nervous on Saturday so they asked us if we could go over to help them a little with their talks, so we went over and they both had all their books out and the web page of the church open looking for ideas....it was awesome to see that even though it was their first time, they were so willing to do it....and in the end, they did a GREAT job!  All the members were congratulating them afterward and they both felt great!

Arturo and Armando couldn't go this week, so we are going to go visit them to see what happened, but they are both reading in the Book of Mormon and praying to know if it's true so we are super excited for them, but we're going to see what we can do to help them get to church this Sunday.  Also, we have a way cool investigator named Horacio that we taught this week and had a way cool experience with him!  He was feeling a little down on himself because he really feels like he doesn't have any friends and the ones that he had kind of just let him down so he wasn't feeling too well....so we started to talk to him and he was telling how grateful he was that we had gotten there in the time that we did, because it was in the moment that he most needed it!  This work is Gods work!!!  Also, Elder Parkinson invited him to be baptized at the end and he accepted!  He still hasn't gone to church yet, but we have to go with some members to see if that will help him feel more comfortable going for the first time!  Pray for him PORFAAAA!

We had an awesome experience with Leonel this week, the husband of Guadalupe (the one that got baptized about a month ago)!  He was also kind of having a tough time because he is from Honduras and hasn't seen nor heard from his family in a really long time.  So Elder Parkinson and I were trying to think of how we could help him and we came to the conclusion that only God could help him so we prayed and asked His help to know what to do.  When we went with him the next day, he started to tell us about a a really cool experience that he had the day before.  He said that one night he was really feeling bad and was really missing his family and felt the "random" desire to go out of his house and pray and ask God for help...he said that it was one of the first times that he really prayed to God and asked his help.  Well, the next day his son got home and told him that someone had added him as a friend on facebook that was from Honduras that supposedly had recognized the last name.  Well, it turns out that this guy is from his same small town in Honduras and is family!!!!  WHAT!  Leonel said that he was literally in shock that God had answered that fast his prayer!  While we taught Leonel he was way more receptive to the spirit and it seems like his realtionship with God has totally changed!  He is progressing a ton now and we are super excited about it!  God answers prayers and this is His work!

I love you guys so much and I'm so excited to see you soon!  I hope that you have a good week full of blessings....keep looking for them and you will find them!

Elder Johnson

HELLO.

HEY FAMILY!

So Hawaii this week huh?? That's so gnarly!!  I'm excited to hear that Dillon went on his first real dive, I still remember my first real dive.....I was pretty nervous, but STOKED! haha.  That's way crazy that you saw a couple of sharks....I still have yet to see a shark while diving!  I almost forgot that our family can just fly wherever almost whenever we want....that's a pretty awesome perk!  haha.  But anyway, I'm glad to hear that everyone had such a good time and that everyone is safe! 

I can't believe that Mac leaves this week to the MTC in Guatemala!  Everything is happening so fast it's unbelievable.  I swear, these past couple weeks have felt like just 1 day!  Elder Parkinson keeps asking me if the mission really goes as fast as everyone says....and I always tell him thats it's WAY faster than people say! haha.  It's so much fun training a new American missionary....honestly, it's WAY different than training a Guatemalan missionary!  But I'm enjoying it a ton and I'm excited for the weeks that come!  It actually reminds me a lot of when I was starting the mission with Elder Ball and he always had to have so much patience with me.....I didn't realize just how much patience he had to have until I trained an American missionary!  hahaha.  No, Elder Parkinson is AWESOME, but one really does have to have some patience sometimes, but I'm learing a TON right now!  It's really not too easy being BP and training an American at the same time, because there is always some kind of problem in the branch that I have to deal with, but at the same time, I have to make sure that Elder Parkinson is getting enough time to teach investigators and it just gets a little stressful sometimes, but I'm LOVING it! 

So this week was way cool because we had a super cool experience that really helped to strengthen my testimony of prayer!  So we have been teaching Arturo and Armando for about a week now and they are super awesome, they are sons of a sister that has just recently reactivated herself in the church and they are doing really well.  Anyway, we have been really wanting to find the dad so we can talk to him also so that we can teach him or at least get permission from him to teach his kids.  So we were finishing planning one day and as we kneeled down to pray I said to Elder Parkinson that we were going to say a specific prayer and I asked him what we should ask Father in Heaven for....and we both came to the conclusion that we were going to ask that when we went with Aturo and Armando that we would be able to find the dad and talk to him and get his persmission to teach them.....so that was our prayer, simple, but specific!  So we went to the appointment and we taught them the restoration and had an awesome lesson, felt the spirit really strong and then we started to talk about baptism with them and in that very moment.....Arturo, the dad comes through the door!  We invited him to talk to us and he told us that he was just going to change from his work clothes and then he came back and sat down with us and began to listen!  Then we talked to him about the baptism and his kids and he was actually SUPER stoked that we were teaching them and he said that he was totally in agreeance with the idea of them being baptized and so we put a baptismal date for March 2nd!!  We, them, the dad, the mom are all STOKED!!!  It was cool seeing that the Lord came through and answered our specific prayer exactly how we asked him too!  This is the Lords work and He will always back us up if we are doing the right things and asking for good things that are going to help His work progress!  WHOOOO!

I love you all, I can't believe that I will only be writing you 5 more times before I will see you all face to face!  Time. Goes. Really. Fast!!  I love my family!!

Elder Johnson