27 December 2011 (snail mail letter)

Dear Family,
early December 2011

Well, there goes a few more months.  Right now I'm pretty good.  Today was the day of transfers. As promised by the President, we didn't have a change.  The zone changed a lot and one of the district leaders went to Arequipa to be a zone leader, with the excellent missionary Elder Keel, but I guess that's not too important for y'all.  He who went was Elder Stringham from Utah.

These past few days have been some days of pressure and very needed growth and learning.  I feel like I've got so much to learn, but I'm happy I'm learning it.  The mission president came to Camana to do interviews and seriously helped me understand the Atonement.  I was a bit worried about a particular detail but in 10 words he was able to help me a lot.  Anyway, I feel so much better now.

I suppose Dad has seen a lot of growth in the process of interviewing.

Another thing that has helped a bunch has ben to study the Liahona of September, which talks all about fortifying marriages. [if any readers want to access this material, it can ben found at lds.org at this link: http://lds.org/liahona/2011/09?lang=eng ].Without getting ourselves all trunky, we searched for how to be the best companions ever.  It was a well-timed Liahona for us (It got to Camana pretty late),

But anyway, I've been toying with the idea of improving my handwriting [in his handwritten letter, there is a significant change at this point in his handwriting].  We'll see if it catches on more normally. . . but for now, I prefer not writing super, super, super, duper slow.  Superipermegaextraordinarily slow.

So how is everything going at home?  I love to get your Dear Elder letters.  It's a great way to communicate.  I also love getting the journal entries of Grandpa Johnson.

Christmas we are definitely going to use Skype.  It costs 5 soles [that's just under $2]to call ya'll 35 minutes with the phone and .667 soles to use Skype with video for 40 minutes.  Pretty cheap, no?  Even though there is much more information transferred.  Any calculation on the price of texting?

My companion heard the other day that his dad finished reading the Book of Mormon for the 63rd time!  That's soooo many times.  I think I'm on #7 or so or 8, but 63?! The goal of his dad is to catch up to his age and to have a lifetime average of one time per year.  He just barely caught up, being 63 years old.

Just now, I was thinking of the great example of Abraham.  How much trust he placed in the Lord because he knew the Lord.  I wish to come to here/develop faith like that, and in that process I am.  I hope I can increase lots in my trust in the Lord, and that all you can too.  Especially Paul and Eric and William too, starting these teenage years for the last two.  There is to do more than I did. [Such spanish grammar. . . I'm going to leave it]

Well, my pen is broken. . . I shall use the superglue from my first aid stuff to fix it.

[He continues]

As of now, I have felt very blessed to have this time to be a missionary.  I'm learning so so much and feel like the past year has been indispensable for my life.  And plus I've learned to speak spanish.  It would have been nice to have studied harder in seminary, but that's for Paul, Eric, and Will.  Anyway, I'm getting a lot of habits that will serve me well for the whole life, especially daily scripture study and (recently) to be neat.  I know that might not be believable for mom, but it just seems important recently to have all my stuff in the right place, and especially my desk clean and bed made. Don't ask me why or how, but I don't want to let my room get like it was before.  Anyway.

In church yesterday, we learned about the scriptures.  The teacher put a list of a few:  The Book of Mormon, The Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, Principles of the Gospel, the Ensign or Liahona [magazines], books of scriptures, notably not only the canonic list and asked:  Which is the most important?  Then took votes.  The Book of Mormon had 13, the Bible 0, Principles of the Gospel:0; Liahona: 14.  The teacher explained how the words of the prophets living are the most important for us today.  He talked about how 8 people in our branch have subscriptions to the Liahona.  There are 350 members in all.  We learned how great a tool is the Liahona for reactivation, edification, and preservation.  We learned how President Monson as a Bishop, worked a lot with it and it gave lots of faith.  I want all 350 to get the Liahona!

Somehow the Church helps the people here, and lowers the price for one year to 5.10 soles or about $2.50 for a year!  I don't know how better it could get to make sure the messages of the prophets and the twelve apostles are in the house.  We are planning on working with this area.  How's the ARlington Ward?  I don't know how many people are in the ward or how many have the Ensign, but it would be a great idea to strengthen the ward!

So things are progressing pretty well here.  It makes me happy that we are progressing.  Being better desafiers [challengers], better testifiers, better representatives of the Lord.  In summary, Merry Christmas to all!  My companion possibly will be here for three Christmas' if his visa to Argentina doesn't work out.  His family moved during the mission from Colombia to ARgentina.

I realized that I feel pretty accustomed to Latin culture and the Latin continent now.  I know how Bolivians are a little.  Definitely know how Columbians are.  Peruvians, obviously, a little of the Chilean culture and some stereotypes of Argentina and Brazil.  Some central American knowledge and a little familiarity with Ecuador culture.  That all is interesting, but way better has been that I have learned about Christ, and the growth of my faith.  Of much more value too.  Really infinitely more valuable in terms of everything.  As we near Christmas, interesting things happen.  All the world remembers a little of our Savior.  I know he lives, that he came into the world humbly to save.

And with that, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

P.S.  One of the missionaries told me about a person who bought a tree that was too big for the room.  So, he cut it.  But, he cut it at the top.  Haha.  Ooops.  I think this letter will be getting there late [for Christmas].

26 December 2011

Elder Johnson and Elder Ortiz.  I'm not sure what they're doing???

Love at first sight.

Querido Familia, [Dear family],

26 December 2011

Someone in this internet place is speaking in Italian with her family on Skype I think. It sounds really interesting, I understand about 50 percent maybe a little more.

Anyway. It was awesome to be able to Skype this year. I too liked it a lot more. Much more interesting I think. This week, SOOO much has happened. It’s been really fun.

Studying spanish in my spanish grammar book, I came across the practice frase [phrase] to translate into Spanish: David is marrying Natalia because he wants to become an American Citizen. Hahaha. Then I found one that I can relate to: Gina pretended to be asleep so that she wouldn’t have to do the household chores. (names have been changed)

With the housing stuff, there is to talk to Roland’s parents and Johnson Moody’s parents.

Thank you sooo much for sending me Christmas gifts to all! I so much enjoyed opening them and sharing them all with Elder Ortiz. After sooo much time together we know each other pretty well and I don’t know how it’s gunna be with a new companion... I hope we can get along a little faster and work into the powerful relation that we will need to Preach the Gospel by the Spirit.

This week we went one morning to a place called Carmen in our area. We got there walking and crossing the 7 minute walk of desert and thrown away dirt (since everyone has to cut the hole out of the hills to make their property flatish, they leave the dirt in the space between Tupac and Carmen) anyway we crossed it, got to a door, knocked and found a guy who seemed pretty cool. We invited his friend to come and we talked in the park a bit and invited them to repent and be baptized. They said of course, they wanted to change their lives, Then we learned they live in Puno... and they were leaving the next day, So we invited them to the church Christmas activity that night. They came! The activity was really fun and funny and my companion was the one directing and making the jokes and all. He is a bit of a clown.

Also there was an activity in the District center that was to be a collaboration between the missionary work and the liders [leaders]. It was gunna be great but they started kind of really late and we had to go RIGHT after it started and we acted out the journey of the three wise kings. We had a family there with us and they LOVED IT. I was one of the inn keepers who rejected Mary and Joseph. I spoke in English when I was rejecting them.

Something we learned this week was that the Doctrine of Christ really can’t be read, seen, heard. It has to be felt. A family came to some Elders in the Zone saying their son was possessed by a demon and asked our advice. They said that he spazzes and vomits when he hears the name of the Savior. We talked with the President and he said to go and give him an idea of what was up. Elder Ortiz went there in divisiones [splits] and when he got there asked the adolescent what his name was. Then who else was in there with him. He said Christ. My companion called the President and the President said, “Don’t worry, there no is a demon there. He just has schizophrenia (he was talking 150 kilometers away us). The President continued, “Tell him you’re gunna hug him and give him a hug.” So my companion did. When he hugged the kid he got the such a clear feeling that there wasn’t any evil in him but that he was going to be able to be ok, that he should go to sacrament meeting, and an overwhelming feeling of love and compassion came over him. Talking again with the President,  he said, “See? Now you know how the Doctrine of Christ is not something that you can see, read, hear.. it’s something you must feel. You need to understand that you are a representative of Christ and that means that no one can harm you. I love you, Merry Christmas.”

This President is so amazing. He gives example of a true disciple of Christ. I hope to be able to give that kind of example. 

So I’m going to write thank you notes right now and they should be getting there pretty,  not sooo soon, but more or less there.

On the note of the mission, it can be life changing, but the best thing to do is to change the life before. There is to leave everything behind of the world NOW so that in the months that come you can have the Spirit constantly with you to teach you all you need to know before you go. The spirit is the supreme and eternal teacher. Make yourself digno [worthy] of His constant companionship long before you go and your mission will be very very distinct.

So Much Love

Elder Johnson

Elder Ortiz

Thanks for the candies!

19 December 2011

Dearest family,

19 December 2011

This week we had the opportunity to go celebrate Christmas with the other missionaries in this half of the mission with the President. He was only there for a little bit since he had to go to a Disciplinary council for a missionary. The president was really, really worried for the missionary and saying goodbye to us, he went straight there. He almost began to cry saying goodbye and asked that we pray to help him and the missionary.  He has such love for every single one of the 200 missionaries in the mission.

The activity of Christmas was very pretty. Zone Camana sang some christmas hymns that turned out.. ok haha. Some other zones reenacted the nativity, the wait and the signs in the Americas, and sang other christmas tunes. We ate a type of cake very, very Peru typical that EVERYONE loves thats called Paneton with chocolate milk. The President’s family gave us all a little present with candy and a hot chocolate mug. Mine was awesome. 

Saturday we went to the baptism of the two people who were baptized in the center of the city. It was pretty and the brother who I talked about last week went with us even though his wife couldn’t. He is getting to know so many members. 

In divisiones [splits] with Elder Perez, we were teaching in the busiest part of our area, and a member of another church came trying to doubt everything. It was really interesting. We kept teaching and answering his questions and explaining the scriptures. He knew a ton and talked and talked. His main point was: if [you] show me a sign that this book is true, I’ll believe it. We read a little, we answered his doubt, but he persisted in asking for a sign. There are so many proofs in the Book of Mormon that it’s true, but I couldn’t open to any of them. The only thing I could do was remember Mathew 12:39. Anyway, talking about 30 minutes, he said so many things, but not a single thing he said worked. He was trying to work against us and the words were given to us to confound him in everything he said. The only matter of the fact is if we are willing to be humble and complete with the requirements of the Lord in reading the Book of Mormon, pondering the contenido [content or meaning], and praying to God and asking Him so that He can answer. The man refused to do this without solid proof of its truth. Testifying teaching, explaining all of his other doubts didn’t help him overcome that unwillingness. We taught about the faith, about what it says in Hebrews and Alma. What amazed me and Elder Perez was how completely the promise was completed that they who work against will be totally confounded and that the words will be given us. 

In these days, my companion and I have been finding people who are not able to be baptized in 3 weeks because they need to get married, or people who live in other places, and all that. We were thinking last night what do we need to change, how do we need to refine ourselves to be able to help people to make covenants with the Lord every weekend. If we are doing everything right, that should happen. We're teaching the gospel of Christ! Representing the Savior and His Church with His Authority! I want to be like Nefi [Nephi] from [the book of] Helaman. That's what I need to make myself.

My companion is going to be here in Peru for the 3rd Christmas now. It’ll be my 2nd. My plan is call y’all around the afternoon. At 3:00 p.m.

Family. I love you all so much. Another Christmas away from home won’t be super easy but since your packages got here I’ll get a little of that at home feeling. It drives me a little bit crazy that it’s hot instead of cold and all that.

I miss each of y’all and can’t wait to talk Sunday! I got the skype info. It’s important to be ready since I’ve only got 30-40 minutes [We’ll take 40 then!].

Love Elder Johnson.

November 28 and December 5, 2011

I bet Mark had fun driving this vendor's cart!

Dear family,

November 28. 2011

How is everything family? We are approaching the Christmas season and it gets hotter and hotter here.. which weirds me out, but I'm accustomed to not having snow for the least.

Yesterday it was cool. We found a man and his sister and we could teach them. We felt a little like Paul when in Acts 2 the people had a desire to do, we told them "repent and be baptized" They expressed doubts and following the spirit, we could find out that he feels addicted to drinking. So this morning we studied how to help people overcome addictions in Preach my Gospel and we shall teach him again today with his sister. I hope we can help him with that. Unfortunately he has worked in the mine since he had 15 years and has to go back in a week or so... but I want him to be able at least go back able to resist the temptation to drink.

Probably the experience most powerful this week was the baptism we attended. It wasn't from our area, but rather a different one in the zone, the Branch Camana. In all the intercambios (exchanges) that we have done in these days we were able to teach every single one of the 3 people who were baptized in that branch. I got to baptize the investigator Elias from the sisters. It was touching. When their district leader interviewed him a week after we taught him, he asked that I could do it. In the water, Elias told me that he didn't want to plug his nose to do it more like Christ, and he wanted me to put him ALL the way down in the cold water. When he came up he had such a huge smile and leaving said, "I feel really good. Really, really good." That was a pretty special moment. When he shared his testimony at the end, he said he was so happy to be baptized, and hoped he wouldn't be the last, since he knew this is the true and living church of Christ. One of the others who I taught in interchanges (exchanges) with Elder McNeil and Elder Ramirez gave them thanks and mentioned me too! That made me happy.

Baptism of Elias

So this week has to be way more. I was trying to work with a faith unbreakable like it says in Jacob 4, but I need to up it more. I desire the abilidad (ability) to do whatever the Lord wants me to do, like Nephi said, if He tells me to say unto the sea, make yourself land, that I can say it and that it happens. I know the Lord wants 25 baptisms in December. I have to change a ton to write that history for the Lord.

I was studying this morning and I realized the question that so many here ask: what is the name of God? and the question of that as a defining and proving doctrine of their religion isn't any bigger than a question about the nature of the Trinity and the way the scriptures talk of them. John 10, Mosiah 5 and 15 and Helaman 14:12 or 12:14 I think, helped me to clarify the idea that was forming of how to answer, and DyC 110 makes it completely clear. In the end I realized, the Book of Mormon once again answered the question and the real doubt comes down to accepting the truth of the Book of Mormon and having the faith to ask of God. I was thinking about this since the other day we were teaching some investigators and some others knocked the door and came in rich with a spirit of contention right when we were leaving. When we quickly made the appointment with the family, he said, “Can I come?” Haha so I had to clarify that question a little again. But really every question or doubt that they can have reduces to the wall of the faith. Can they carry out the experiment of Alma and Moroni to have for the least the desire to know and to read, meditate, and ask, an invitation to all that comes from God.

Reading again the conference talks, we read what President Eyring said. Three things to make every branch or ward a force of strong priesthood holders: 1. A president that knows how to sit in council with his quorum and value their opinions. 2. Faith that leads to be able to develop in the unit charity the one for the other, and 3. An understanding of the priesthood and how to work righteously to take part in the work of the immortality and eternal life of man. Not sure how good this is in Arlington, since I was like a newborn puppy who doesn't open his eyes then, but we are working here. Read it!

Love Elder Johnson

Dear family.

December 5, 2011

Wow. It seems like I’ve been in Camana forever. Last night in the district center I felt like I knew all the members of the district. So this week we’re gunna do some good work. Last Wednesday we had the Conference with the President for the zone leaders. Always so edifying. I was thinking about the gifts of the spirit.... and I’m not sure if I’ve already written about this, maybe more than once.. but I’ve been thinking a lot. It’s just that the mission president so obviously has obtained gifts of the spirit and complies with the charge that the meetings be carried out by the indications of the spirit. I want to be able to always do that with the investigatores (investigators) and that in our branch it happens that way. We were conferencing with the District President on those lines. How to do it. 

I felt so good in the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! It was awesome. I loved hearing and seeing the tabernacle choir sing JOY TO THE WORLD especially. How awesome was the thing! Wow!  I just went running to pick up the two new missionaries for the zone and got back really fast!  That’s fun. The new missionaries seem awesome. One is the most loving missionary in the whole mission. Indisputably. The other is kind of new so I don’t know anything about him but he seems awesome. Elder Stoddard. Back to the devotional. We went with Brother Cabrera!

This Brother Cabrera we just barely started to teach. Almost a month and a half ago we contacted him. We talked to his family since then and they are awesome. Coming back from a baptism with Elder Ramirez we felt like we should go to visit him. So we went straight there and only had time to teach him no more. but in teaching him he demonstrated such a desire to repent and come to Christ. Running on the way out at 9:20 (we ran 8 minutes to get back before 9:30) I said, We want to invite you to church tomorrow, those feelings that you could feel today, you will be able to feel in the church tomorrow. Will you come? Yes!. So we knocked his door early in the morning Sunday but he wasn’t there and we were thinking,”oh no!” But when we got to church he got there just after the sacrament. He stayed the three hours. He loved our class we gave in Sunday School about the personality of Christ, enjoyed priesthood meeting, and all! Then he committed himself to come to the Christmas devotional. He got there a little late but we had mistaken the time anyway and he actually got there 15 minutes before it started and felt really good watching it. So cool it was. Then he found a childhood friend who is a member and en fin (in the end), had a great experience. 

Before the awesome devotional we taught another man and his kid who also were filled with the desire to do what Christ wants and prepare to be baptized like Brother Cabrera. He is a suitmaker and when I invited him to church next week said, “How will I go?  I don’t have a suit.” Pause....ha haha. anyway I have really been trying to roll out love for all the people. Maybe I have forgotten a little.. or maybe I just haven’t ever really been really loving, but anyway I’m finding that in having love for the people, they begin to be able to feel the love of God in their lives. And through me, they come to Him. This was a big theme of the counsel with the Presidente on Wednesday and it’s so true. My companion now has to feel that same kind of love for the people.

We were brainstorming the other day about how to help everyone in the world go through the conversion process that my companion and I have seen in our missions in ourselves. We took out three important things: 

1. Feel the need to change, 
2. Have a responsibility and a good leader to follow up and help, 
3. Read the scriptures every day to understand our covenants and the priesthood.

Which reminds me that one of the missionaries in the  zone asked me for a blessing of counsel and comfort. It was a very sweet experience to be able to communicate the profound and moving blessing and see my spanish magnified so that it could have the Lord’s desired effect.

Love Elder Johnson

26 September 2011

Dear Family!

September 26, 2011

Christmas is coming??? Wow... maybe [you could send] more of those stars to put on appointment doors when they aren’t there. That would be great, also an SD-USB converter thing so I can better send y’all pictures. Socks too would be great. My socks are getting holes in them but they are all sun stained from drying in the sun once a week for more than a year after being washed.

I’ll think a little better. By the way we CAN use skype the next Christmas with video chat. We could last christmas and mother’s day but noone told me! The other homework was my release date: 15 Aug 2013 they told me... but it’s really 2012.

This week was great! We worked really hard, but following dad’s counsel we obtained more direction from the Lord. And even though we started the new study plan for the mission which is an extra hour, and feels like much less time to proselyte, it has been so good. We are really becoming much better teachers. I am SO GLAD I COULD BE CALLED TO SERVE A MISSION!

This week we taught a family about the gospel. They didn’t read when we got back and we were quite sad since the only way they can grow in the faith and get closer to Christ is by preparing with keeping commitments. When we expressed that they promised and the next visit they had read and the mom had prayed and asked God if the Book of Mormon is true!

Saturday was a very interesting day. We got to teach in 5 homes! We literally were teaching or traveling to teach the whole day. To teach more we have to teach faster, which shouldn’t be too hard since we taught 5 long lessons. The Moya Llosa family was one. They have such desire to do the right stuff. A month ago when Elder Oaks came, one of the 70s Elder Useda said that Joseph Smith had all the true intention that Moroni 10:4 talks about since in the Joseph Smith History, he says he was looking for the correct church to join it. That was almost exactly what Luis from the family Moya also told us. I hope they pray and ask God if the message we bring is true.

Leaving Priesthood Executive Meeting (and the best one I have participated in ever), we really wanted to find someone before going to the house. We walking and knocked a door, and then his neighbor’s His neighbor is called Barney and he invited us in to talk. He’s a great guy and we answered a few questions and invited him to read and ask also before running back to make it to the house before 9:30 p.m.

Next week is General Conference!!! Elder Ortiz and I are so excited. It’s a little ridiculous. But only every 6 months can you meet people and say that next Sunday, the 12 apostles of the Lord and his prophet too [will speak]! And that if they want to know if Christ really has sent 12 again, they can come and receive a testimony of the Spirit in the very day. We are going to try to invite everyone this week!

A member gave us a reference the other day and I think he wants to marry her in the long run. But anyway, she came to church, and he asked us to teach her about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ right there. So we did and it worked really well, and then she prayed really well. Then afterwards he told us that later she prayed and could just tell that the message comes from God in her prayer.

There is another lady who with her and her unbaptised son are really working to reactivate themselves and another lady with the same circumstance doing the same. I think things are beginning to move here, and I’m sure it’s result of Monday. (did y’all get the letter yet?)

Love Elder Johnson

December 27, 2010 Letter and Pictures

Dear familia,

Wow! It was way awesome to be able to call home. Sorry I spent much of the time amazed that I was actually talking to you and 35 minutes and 7 seconds was ridiculously short, but obedient. (grumble). Oh, I wanted to correct a verbal mistake I made on the phone. I was translating the sentence to English and did a bad job. In the story I dont remember, we returned to the apartment, not "home".

This week has been absolutely crazy. COMPLETELY, COMPLETELY CRAZY. I had two interviews with the president. In the first after confessing and discussing obedience, he told me and my companion after my interview that both of us were going to be transfered to an area called Satillite or at least the spanish word for that.

So I didn't know we weren't supposed to say goodbye or give any indication at all that we were leaving, and we did so to the three converts we have helped to learn the Gospel of Christ, and the member families. It was a kind of big thing, since Elder Orihuela has been here now 5 months.

Well, last night I called the President following his order to me cuz in the morning I let 2 women hug me (I made impossible for anyone else [to hug me] the rest of the day) to tell him about my disobedience. He talked to me in Spanish and with the help again of Elder Boulter I think (Cassie's friend slash Assistant to the President) and after gave me a challenge that will deeply, deeply impact the rest of my mission. Stay tuned for next week when I am authorized to talk about it. It will require me to completely, completely be humble, and depend on the dirrection of  the Holy Ghost, and I honestly have no idea how I can do it, but, I know I can with this help.

How went christmas? Considering that I have been quite worried about everything and stressed out basically since I got here, it was way, way good. Still a long shot from any christmas spent at home. Still tho, I got a wifebeater from Clelia (haha unfortunately I shall likely never use it) And various other gifts from members and investigators. We ate three meals of turkey on the 25th. The 24th we had splits with the zone leaders, which means that I went to their area, and one of them came to ours with Elder Orihuela.

I was with Elder Huccachuco from Peru. He is really, really, really awesome. I guess that explains why he is a Zone Leader, but I was constantly impressed by how great a missionary he is. By the way, there are about infinity things to know to be a missionary. First the lessons slash doctrine, we gotta know that. Second Spanish haha. Third we have to know how to interact with the ward leaders and members, we have to know how the missionary leadership works, we have know our area. We have to know how to set up and prepare and do baptisms. We have to know how to measure and improve our work. We have to know much more.

Really I have only just begun to feel like I'm about halfway there. I have plenty of time in the mission, but I have to know all this now.

Wowowowow. so yea I basically am freaking out for my future and what is going to happen.

Oh I wanna report on our companionship. It is great! I think we can say we are friends. Last night we couldn't sleep. I was sick, and my brain was sprinting (see next week). Elder Orihuela wasn't feeling to good either. Anyway the point is we talked a little bit before falling asleep. Also, he loved the presents y'all sent for him and I think they kind of saved his Christmas. His family has not called yet.  It is hard cuz they don't have a phone in their house.

One More Thing. On christmas, we ate tons and tons of paneton. Paneton is the traditional food of around here for parties, celebrations, times of happiness. We don't have it in the US, I think. Maybe you could find it in a Peruvian store, but it is basically cake that they buy. No frosting (haha) for those who don't like frosting. It is kinda like fruitcake and everyone loves it so much. I'm not too crazy for it but i like small quantities.

Thank you everyone who has sent me mail, packages, everything!

Brother Brooks, I am taking that challenge. For your interest if you are interested, would have gotten your letter about reading 30 min per day today, but I was on splits with the zone leaders Friday and they received it that day, the 24th of December.

Dearelder.com continues to be the best!!

Love Elder Johnson

Merry Christmas Picture and a Picture of a meal

Dear Primary!

Thank you so much for the cards! They are awesome! And I am sure when my companion gets on email in a little bit he will appreciate them so much too! Ah christmas :)

It is HOT today. I'm betting it isn't over there on the far side of the equator.

Cultural note: Milk is delivered door to door by lecheros. They walk around carrying two of the classic metal big milk jars to the doors of their clients.

Today I am writing another letter. I wrote one hace quanto tiempo... mucho...[how long ago?] a month and a half [ago]? I also sent my memory card in that letter... so if it hasn't arrived... that's a problem. [If it hasn't yet] I shall ask the leaders. This new letter willl probably get in the mail system Thursday.

Thanks for the advice Dad, I definitely realized that was part of my problem. This week has been great. First I corrected that, then in a meeting of our zone, the Asistantes of the President came and talked a little about Alma 26:22. Just the very beginning of repentance. They invited us to take out a piece of paper and write down everything we are doing wrong, and fix them. I've been doing this. I haven't been apoyando [supporting] my companion, which is one things that lead to the problems I had. Other things that I have changed this week have allowed me to get along with him much, much better.

Also dad, my triple combination has broken. The spine that gets glued to the pages came off.. There is still a sticky flexible layer which will stick shortly, but delaminate also shortly if I open the book. What can I do to fix it? Rubber cement? Seek a book repairer? I have no idea where I'd find one here.

The food pictures goes like this.

Breakfast was bread and eggs. I really like this breakfast. Which is good cuz we have it almost every day. Other times we have it with meat in the bread, or some fruit thing. What you can't see here is that the temperature at 7:30 am when it was taken was PERFECT, refreshingly chilly. Sound: roosters crowing, dogs barking. Smell: that of sunny side up eggs and bread. Feel: er the bread warm, the seat hard.

Lunch: spaghetti. Acutally this meal is really uncommon. We have only had it one other time. It's good, but tastes quite different. Temperature was warm slash hot. Sound: fast eating, dogs barking. Smell: tomato sauce. Feel: rushed, we were running late for an appointment.

Dinner: Rice and potato with some sort of sauce. I like this one... all right. Not a lot. Have no idea how to describe the taste. The rice potato combo is really, really common.  I think I have gone maybe one day since arriving in Peru without eating rice... maaayyybee. Temperature: cool.  Sound: quiet, dogs barking. Smell: of the food.  Feel: relaxed, a little tired.

So what cool has happened this week? We will have a baptism next week! Preparing her has been really, really awesome. We teach her with her mom and sister who are less active members. They really have a passion for learning the gospel, and have returned to go to church with strength, along with our investigator.

I will write more detail in the letter!

Love Elder Johnson

29 November 2010

Dear Family,

Ok, so the Christmas call has come so so fast. I didn't realize Thanksgiving had passed until the 26th! So I didn't do anything, but I still want to make a list of everything I have here. Should be pretty short.

Right. The call. The missionaries are telling me that the limit is 1 hour, that it costs only 10 centimos per minute, and yes I buy a card. Don't know as of now when we will call. But yes I am looking forward to it and no I can't skype. The time seems to be what time we wish. So I think you all can dictate the time. Would it be cool to make it wired like 5 in the morning for you all? haha no.

Right this weeeeeeek. It is good to write in English. I don't use English at all anymore. With the gringos in my district I try to speak spanish, journal. Basically I only use English to teach a few words to those who want to learn a little.

This week I started to have a weird sensation. I don't know why but I started to be exposed to more Quetchua. When i hear it, I feel like I used to when listening to Spanish, confused and what not, and weirdly when the conversation reverts back to Spanish it feels like reverting to English used to feel in high school classes or in the MTC.

One new investigator from this week I don't understand at ALL. Elder Orihuela says that her Spanish is funny, cuz it is a heavy mix of Quetchua and Spanish. Imagine Spanglish, and that is her Spanish... but Españechua. Anyway the picture of just Elder Orihuela is in her.. front yard slash sheep pen.

I realized the other day how important in my life having the goal of going on a mission has been, specifically muh teens. It was kind of like bumpers around the path spoken on in Lehi´s vision. Speaking of which, The vision, actually the one of Lehi and later of Nephi, [Nephi] has been the subject of my studies lately. I have learned a ton from them. Its is interesting to imagine it and try to place myself, the investigatores. Imagine what is needed. I think it would be useful for everyone to find themselves and where they are, what group of people they are in the vision. Whether they are diligently struggling on the path holding tight, holding loosly, have eaten and are looking at the spacious building or maybe are starting to walk away or are just coasting not paying attention to whether are eating or wandering.

For those who want to read more and understand what im talking about take a little time and (do it!) read 1 Nephi 8 to 15ish I think it is to get the full effect. To read on the Internet, Google 1 Nephi 8, and from I think the first link you will be able to.

This might make part of my return talk.. haha

 Yeah, so this week we shall continue to strive to work hard, do good work.

Love Elder Johnson