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!

14 November 2011

Dear Family,

14 November 2011

I did get shoes from Tacna.  But what would be GREAT would be some Doctor Scholes gellin inserts. Elder Davey from the zone is currently gelling and when I put those shoes on, I am not gelling. They hurt mas bien [quite a bit] after a few hours walking, but nothing I can’t handle until Christmas. I also obtained glue to keep re-gluing the rubber they put on my soles every time they come off-- as a temporary thing.

That’s pretty awesome about Hamid [a young convert in the Arlington 1st Ward who is serving a mission in the Denver Colorado North mission]. I don’t know who he is... but yea! The mission will be the best for him.

Thanks in advance for the packages!!!!!!!!!!

Finishing this week we feel pretty good! We upped the record of church assistance [meaning, attendance at church meetings by converts] from the past few weeks. In the morning of Sunday we did splits with President Vilca (I’m not exactly sure if the first counselor of the Elders Quorum is called president too... si no?) and with Yimmy, our neighbor.

I went with Yimmy and after making some calls we ran up the mountain to Paraiso working up a nice little sweatcito [this made me laugh---”ito” is added to the end of the word to mean “a little”]. We got up there and a friend of Joel, the kid who was baptized in the second week of October was waiting for us outside his house with collectivo [taxi] fare ready. We looked for Nelly and her daughter, but they weren’t there (She called us at lunch time to say sorry, which is WAY AWESOME) and then went to Ruth Chuima, who said she couldn’t come. But I did not want to take no for an answer. After trying to see if there was something I could do so she could go, like wash the clothes, she said the kids would have to change and so much stuff, so I asked where they were and went off running to call them back and to animate them [get them excited] to go to church. When they came back we were almost all ready but something happened and anyway Sister Chuima couldn’t.... so worried we went a little down the mountain with Joel, his friend Omar, and his mom Sujei. We passed Davíd Molina who had gone to a neighbor to invitar  [invite] her. Yimmy and I talked a little bit with her and we took out an appointment to come back.  She seems pretty great, and now late [for the meeting], we sprinted down the east face to get in a collectivo [a little taxi] and make it to the chapel and finish the splits.In the meeting Brother Chamana (someone for whom Elder Ortiz went) with his two kids came.  Ruth Chuima actually DID show up with her two kids, and we were already there with Omar!  Pretty awesome.

That was my Sunday morning. I wish every member could take at least one friend to church. I’ve heard they do that in Colombia in some wards, and the people in the Sacrament Meeting are about half members with mountains of baptisms every week.

This week we went to the Zone Leaders Council, which was AWESOME. I learned a ton. We worked out a bunch of issues in the mission. The president taught us about the Doctrine of Christ in a way that kind of blew my mind and we learned a bunch from Sister Fernandez including some things that will help the mission be able to have powerful companionship relationships, something that I have recently realized is very, very important. Elder Stewart and I were almost there with the powerful relationship thing, and se notaba [and you could notice it].

The President talked about the Doctrine of Christ, and the order of the Church of Christ. He talked about the significance and importance of ordinances. And how of course and ordinance has to be [done] Christ’s way.  And how when people tell us that they could be baptized, but don’t really want to change religion it’s because we didn’t really teach the thing well enough. We aren’t talking about a change of religion, we are talking about a change of heart. The humility to live our life in the Lord’s way and be on His errand. It was awesome.

I think one problem we are having is that we assume that people know what baptism is.

Anyway, we are going to have a great next week! nd we are going to work soo sooo hard with the zone.

Love Elder Johnson.