17 September 2012 Final Missionary Letter

Dear Family,

I just realized that this is my last letter.. That's interesting... Unfortunately I just spent about 30 minutes emailing the mission presidente and looking at key indicatores and all sorts of things that aren't so important or urgent (Elder Jones groups all the things he does on two axis: Urgentness and Importantness. It's helpful.. I think we never get to the things that are not urgent or important, but I suppose that's the point).

So well, I feel like this letter should be the BEST...

Soo.. first off, we had the baptism of three of our beloved sisters. Paola Raá was Friday, and it was a very, very well done service with lots of help. Turned out great. She was really, really well prepared. In the pictures, the better picture comes with the back of the head of Aldo Lopez. So I'm thinking that's a photoshop job since the first doesn't have everyone in it. She was so so happy to be baptized.

We also had the opportunity to have the baptismal service of Ysabel y Alessandra Ramos Saturday!!! It was great! They were also so delighted. Alessandra said Sunday that she had felt as if she had been a feather after her baptism. The ward always shows up in force to help us out. It's quite an amazing thing to see how much the ward is helping us. The bishop also is just a rock of a man. In a great way. He reminded me of Dad when he told of a problem he had with his work. He switched banks [jobs] to be able to give more time to his family and the church, but turned out that it didn't work out and he had less. So he was about to quit, and the Lord gave him a blessing to be able to have the time he wanted for his work in the home and the church. The other saints seem to be so excited. It's just a great ward to be in. I think a lot has to do with attitude of the observer too, but the attitude makes differences in everything.

Saturday we also were called to go to the Hospital to give a blessing to the mother of a ward member. She told us after the blessing that she is going to be baptized Monday. We've got to call her to see how her operation went. I think her appendix burst. She has 83 years.

Really Elder Jones and I are just so happy. Missionary work is the best. I'm excited to get into family search and family search indexing. I made some goals for that last Monday for my first month back and also for a bunch of other subjects. Yesterday, we had 42 people in the new members class! Converts, less actives being activated, and members acompañando sus amigos [members coming with their friends]! This week we have quite a few people who could be baptized. One that is more sure than my own attendance in the sacrament meeting next week. The ward is also going to have the baptism of a child of 8 years who went up to the Executive Secretary and said: "Hey, I'm eight. I want to get baptized." Haha.

I'm writing all the people I've been able to see baptized, a couple have moved and I'm a little worried about losing contact when I leave! I'm gunna call them the first possible.

All the members keep asking me how much time I have left...It doesn't feel like the full time mission is close to ending. The whole ward are our friends.

Well.... finishing up. I love missionary work. I love the time that He has given me to work here in Peru to learn how to work for the rest of my life. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful experiences that I've been able to have in all 110 weeks of the mission the Lord has given me (were they 110?) and more than anything, my heart is consumed of thankfulness for the gift to the atonement which makes it possible that when I repent, my soul may be comforted and forgiven. God is my Father, Christ is my Lord, The Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and This is His church, and Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet of God today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

6 August 2012

Dear Family

I was just working on a letter for Paul, and basically I was writing him some things I would have liked to understand at the beginning of the mission the Lord has given me, and it just is a little sad that the time I have here is coming to a close. What can I do? Work the best I possibly can, no more. Well I shall.

One of the things I'm writing him is about the lesson we had with Brother Mayta last night. A few weeks ago I think I related the experience we had finding the family. The week before we met them, the children (23 and 28 years old) and the mom, had decided to activate themselves in the gospel once more. Quite some time had passed since going to church. So we were contacting in a store one Saturday, and we introduced ourselves to two cousins who entered in. They said the did know some members, they had family who were members, who actually had been talking about activating themselves. So we excitedly asked if we could meet them that same night and one of the cousins called them on the phone, and they accepted. We went straight there. Turns out, they had been praying and asking if they should go back to church. They got an answer that they should.

The dad wanted to guide them too, just like a dad should.

We were talking with him last night, and he had the plan to either be baptized at 106 years, or in december... but we read Alma 7, which is so powerful. He decided to be baptized the most soon possible (how is that phrase again in English?.. lo mas antes posible). And that will be next saturday. It was soo cool, after we talked about the commandments and all, he looked to his delighted recently reactivated family and said, our lives are going to take a 180 degree turn in this very moment. We are going to be more loveing, united, and we are going to do all the things right! He looks to his wife, "we are going to keep the sabbath day: 6 days ye shall work, and the 7th ye shall not!" (she's been teaching Sundays, but has been trying to change her schedule with the help of her husband's pushing haha.)

That was awesome. A dad leading the family towards Christ. Sadly that isn't the way all families are, many times it's just the mom.

Also, we have been visiting another family. One  member of the family (26 years old) told us Saturday that she has determined to be baptized. We explained to her the commandment and the blessings of the sabbath day because she was expressing that she has just two months more to pay off the loan she took out to get the internet cafe she has, but shes a little worried. She said how could I sanctify the day if I have to pay it on time and there are less people comming than usual. We told her how the Lord would protect her and with a smile said, ok, Ill do it then I'll sanctify the Sunday!

October is a great month for teaching adventists and seventh day people... sadly I won't be in the mission.

I'm working as hard as I can, and I'm going to learn to do more because I really want to be able to find those children who for so long have been waiting.

Renzol Vallejos keeps teaching dancing. He has come up with an idea of having a fun class with the members, and maybe incorporating it into the institute program as service (he has two things he loves in life: the church, and dancing). He went with us to a service project with a less active member who came to church this sunday! We were able to activate 3 people this sunday!

Juana Zoyla Gonzales who was baptized 2 weeks before him got her house sold! We had promised her blessings specifically about the house she so despereatly needed to sell as result of her baptism. She's happy as can be. 

Sadly, I had writen more but I got a blue screen of death and google must have failed with their automatic save system since only a little was recovered,, forgive the shortness!

Love Elder Johnson