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

21 November 2011

Les mando un foto de la ultima semana que me olvidè enviar Lo siento! [I am sending you the photo from last week that I forgot to sent.  I’m sorry!]

Family Como [How] are you all?

Paul, send me some pictures of your crew time for my companion! He wants to know how it is.

My companion said one day as he was talking with a person who said that the church was fine with prophets, revelation, the Book of Mormon and all, but that it can’t be true because when we receive the spirit, we can talk in tongues. My companion asked him if he could, and the guy said of course!, Elder Ortiz asked him which, and he responded something to the effect of, “mmm... I dunno but I talk some language. Bueno [Well]... there is only to read Acts 2 [referring to the Day of Pentacost and the speaking in tongues which allowed each person to hear the message in their own language and understand it.].

This week.... this week I think will possibly mark a turning point in the life of this youngster that I am. Let’s see if I can relate a few things that suceded [happened].

So great, we started the week and we did a companion interchange with Elder McNeil and Elder Ramires again. I was with Elder Ramires this time and it was great. I got to interview two people for baptism and they both expressed their testimonies. They are preparing to have 3 baptisms this weekend. In all in the district, there are 6 baptisms on Saturday! We are going to work so hard so that it happens. The other district unfortunately has none for now.

In a Dear Elder letter someone mentioned the daylight savings time. That doesn’t exist here, and it’s pretty weird, but cool. It pretty much just changes from nice weather, to really, really hot weather. And that’s spring. There aren’t really flowers or yellow trees in fall. But oh well. The sun is bright and our faith is increasing.

I read a little of Genesis, and learned that we should not kill animals unless we need to eat them, and that animals are there for the need to eat as are plants. I was meditating on the Word of Wisdom recently.. in the meat part. I will seek understanding today.

Also in the Bible we learned that those who are ordained to the priesthood like Melchezidek come into a powerful relation with Dios [God] by faith. I was thinking a little about the Gifts of God that we should seek like Moroni 10:30 says and about perfecting ourselves as it says in Moroni 10:34 and inviting all to meditate these things. Especially Paul [I imagine he’s talking about Paul, the apostle and referring to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 where we are instructed to seek the best gifts]. That relationship with God is the singular goal of my companion and I in this week.

I was thinking about the responsibilidades [responsibilities] that I answered a while ago and here is a better answer. A lider [leader] in the mission has these responsibilities.

• Representan al presidente de mission al llevar a cabo los planes que el tiene para la mision [Represent the Mission President in implementing the plans he has for the mission]
• transmiten la informacion y las directrices del presidente de mision de manera oportuna y clara [Pass along information and direction from the Mission President clearly and in a timely manner]
• inspiran a otros a tener un espititu de amor, unidad, obediencia, y trabajor arduo [Inspire other to have a spirit of love, unity, obedience and hard work]
• animan a los misioner a vivir un alto nivel de obediencia, especialmente mediante la aplicacion en su vida de los primerso principios del evangelio [Encourage the missionaries to live at a high level of obedience, espcially through applying the first principles of the gospel in their lives]
• ayuden a los misioneros a ser poderosos y fructiferos en cada fase de la obra misional, incluso en encontrar y enseñar a investigadores, asi como a trabajar con los misioneros. [Help the missionaries to be powerful and fruitful in every phase of missionary work including finding and teaching investigators, as well as working with the missionaries]
• Enseñan a otros misioneros en el estudio entre compañeros, en intercambios, en reunuoines de distrito y en otros marcos de enseñanza [Teach other missionaries about companionship study, exchanges, district meetings, and other teaching opportunities]
• Analizan el progreso de los investigadores [Analyze the progress of the investigators]
• compartir informacion con el presidente de mision de (una lista de cosas que no me da ganas de trascribir) [Share information with the Mission President--and there’s a whole list a things that I don’t feel like writing here]
• Corrigen la conducta de los misioneros cuando sea necesario (vease dyc 121:41-44) [Correct the conduct of the missionaries when it is necessary--he refers to D&C 121:41-44 which teaches us to make corrections right away for the person we are responsible for and then show an increased amount of love toward the other person]

Sorry it’s in spanish but it’s a little hard for me to translate into English and I’d rather write than translate right now.

So now, after that companion interchange [exchange] so cool, we got back to the room and the next day we went up to a special meeting with the President the next day. He taught us so much. We were in the church between 7:40 in the morning and 6:30 in the night. But wow was it so awesome. We talked about faith for a few hours. we all realized we know about nothing, but if we start to work with real faith, all the things the Lord wants will be made possible unto us. If I can do it, I will be able to make a huge effect in all the others, like the effect the President has every time we talk with him. He is a person who has obtained many spiritual gifts and for something was called to direct us.

So in that reunion [meeting], he told us about his mission, his vision for our mission, and so much more. He has been asked 2 times more from the area presidency, and meditating in this, saw that we can preach at the level of 600 per month. 6 per companionship per month. We all need to change so much to be able to [do that] and he is dedicated to work really really hard to help us change ourselves. This meeting definitely helped us a lot. My companion and I felt that personally if we work with perfect faith these weeks, we will baptize 25 December [I’m not sure if he meant they’ll baptize 25 people in December or if he meant they’ll baptize 6 on the 25th of December] and I am so completely dedicated to do so.

It takes expelling the natural Elder Johnson and becoming an Elder Johnson who can walk with the Lord. Part is being more bold. On the bus the other day we asked the driver to put on The Restoration! He did! and we taught a few people on the bus about the message of the restoration. We passed a funeral yesterday and got permission to address a few words to all. We taught about the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel of Christ, and invited all to pray to know if what we had taught was true, and consult with God if they should prepare to be baptized by the restored authority of God to prepare now to have an eternal family forever.

In another companion interchange [exchange] we contacted everybody, testifying like crazies and found some people who told us how they really want to change their life. We are understanding better our purpose and the Doctrine of Christ in these days. We are working together to walk with the Lord and purifying ourselves of all ungodliness that could make us unworthy of His company.

Love Elder Johnson.

24 October 2011

Beautiful sky in Camana

Baptism in Camana with Mark and Elder Ortiz

Dear Family and friends,

10/24/11

How’s life going? I’m making good progress on the letter. Today I wrote a bunch of your letter to y’all. 

I'm pretty content right now. Mainly because of a lot of things but anyway, I shall explain.

This week I was really, really worried. Maybe you could tell [last] Monday, but President Fernandez came to Camanà to do interviews with us.  His advice really, really helped me so much. He helped me to understand better the Atonement, not by talking, but by making two questions. They were so effective. Anyway just goes to show that questions can be very effective ways to teach when they are inspired questions.

As part of the interview my “lovely” companion and I were together with him talking about the Zone, who needs what, and about our relationship as compañions. 

After the interview we went on companion interchanges [exchanges] and I went with a member who was with us for 6 weeks subbing as a companion with Elder McNeil. In their area we got to teach almost every hour we were there, which helped me a lot to remember that we CAN. I want to make my relationship with my companion perfect. That means I’ve got to keep changing myself some more but that’s ok.

HOLY COW did we find someone. As we were finishing the interchange, The Hermano Snyder and I were looking for Elder Ortiz and Elder McNeil. We contacted a lady who wanted to know bad the answer to a question: Which of all the churches is true and how can she know??? (see “The only true and living church” by Elder Oaks, https://lds.org/youth/article/only-true-living-church?lang=eng&query=only+true+living+church+(name%3a%22Dallin+H.+Oaks%22).

 Anyway we read a scripture with her, and since we were super in a hurry we set an appointment to come back Sunday. Sunday she was there and really, really ready. We knocked the door and she walked out and sat on the curb and, looking up at us said, “Lets talk.” So anyway we taught her the first lesson and followed the guide of the Holy Ghost and she was so happy to be able to know the answer. She committed herself to praying to know if it is true and to ask if she should be baptized. She said she would follow the answer with such certainty, and expressed the history she has had with prayer. The short [story] is that years ago she was a little bit... sick. Praying and praying, putting all her trust in the Lord, God answered her prayers.

Today is the day of transfers. There were quite a few in the Zone and we are going to be working Hard this next month. One zone in the mission has had 33 baptisms with 9 companionships.  We are going to follow their example and make Camana into a place of miracles.

In my personal study I am focusing again more on the mortal ministry of Christ. I’m starting by reading 3 Nephi 9-28 and will then go to the New Testament with Jesus the Christ again. I want to become much more charitous [charitable] and wax strong like it says in D&C 121:45 :

[ 45 Let thy ^abowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let ^bvirtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy ^cconfidence wax strong in the ^dpresence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the ^edews from heaven.]

Ok.  Well, that’s about it. Time to go eat! We are gunna [going to] do good this week. Hasta el proximo lunes! [Until next Monday!]  

Con MUCHO Amor,  

Elder Johnson