2 July 2012

Dear Family,

2 July 2012

As you’ve probably guessed, sending the email so late makes it a sure bet that we had transfers. So that you know, last week was the zone conference and it was AWESOME. The president is so inspiring. We talked about a pocoton (little bit of a lot) of different themes but since I have so little time, one theme was about being more direct and being more efficient. We realy don’t have time to be trying to convince people to be humble. Moroni I think was the one who talked about how repentance brings humility and humility brings the Spirit. We have to invite, and if the person doesn’t progress, we gotta go! There are people to find who could come to Christ in the time  we are convincing some one to try to be humble, but in the end, it’s the Lord who does that change. There is to [One must] have guidance from Him in knowing if we should leave someone. We are just thinking about a family we are teaching who last week, we taught really clearly the day of rest, we blessed the sick wife, and they felt the spirit very strongly. Then after that they promised to keep the sabbath day holy and didn’t fulfill the commitment, she told us, this Sunday will the last Sunday I break the sabbath day! Well I’m not exactly sure what do do with them right now, my compañion and I are going to talk and pray about it. 

But a good story: Last night, we were contacting in divisions, and I was with a brother from the ward who is SO bateries ( that means energetic like the energizer bunny) and we knocked a door. The lady opened and told us that yes, and we asked if her husband was there and she said yes and went to talk to him so we could all be there, and we went in and found out that he was not too excited but that her thee sons and her daughter were perfectly able to listen. We taught them and at the end she said how she, 5 weeks ago had gone to church with her nephew who’s going on his mission in September and had felt the spirit. She was basically wanting us to find her, and the same night she becomes available, we knock the door.

New compañion: Elder Jones from Idaho Burley

LOVE ELDER JOHNSON

27 February 2012

Querido familia, [Dear family,]

Me escapa el tiempo con velocidad no conocido entre los hombres.

[Time is escaping me with a veloicty unknown among men.]

So thus finished the last week of the change. The zone changed a lot since quite a few had 7 or 6 months here. Only us and 1 other companionship didn't have a change. One of the sisters who just barely finished her training is going to train a new missionary, a new district leader is coming, and another elder who is from Nicaragua is going to train a new missionary too. The zone is a relatively young zone: two with about a year, two who are still coming from the MTC in Lima, Peru, two who have about 6 months in the mission, and us old fogeys (Elder Stewart and I).

There is a Sister Diaz who is working really hard to gain a testimony by herself. She wants to enter into the covenant people next Saturday but is working through the loss of her nephew at the end of last week. We invited her to console her family by sharing with them the Plan of Salvation... or is it salvation plan. anyway she has been really looking and has lots of member friends. We took a piece of fudge cake to her since we still didn't have the cookie recipe till today, (THANK YOU!!).

We did 3 intercambios [exchanges] with the missionaries this week, the two that our president has asked us to do every week and one of emergency for some problems that they were having (tension right before the change sometimes rises haha). Anyway it was really gratifying to be with the one I was with and see his true desire to work, and the sincere guilt that he felt for not having worked well this week. I don't know why, but I felt compassion for his worries and happy for the wishes and desires that he has to do what is right. It was an interesting moment.

So that y’all know, I got some pieces of rubber glued onto my shoes from the pictures (pieces like the old things that you can see but better with a glue that seems really durable). It seems like I walk weirdly because my shoes always get more worn away on the sole faster than the other elders. Elder Stewart still hasn't bought new shoes or put new anything on the bottoms the whole time he’s been here! Ive glued new stuff on the bottom about 3 or 4 times now. haha. I need to learn to walk good, or maybe it’s for running a lot.

Also, the shoes a member got for me in Camana when he went to Tacna just got finished being re-soled. The members have helped me a lot with the whole shoe situation. She said the first place she went to said that in just a few days they would have it done. She went there to get them back and they said that a few more, but almost done. At last she went and the man was all frustrated and said, “Why did you take these huge shoes to me?? They are so big you don’t find this size here in Peru! You’ve sent me on a goose chase! (that’s the correct phrase in English no?... goose chase?)

Elder Stewart and I always play rock paper scissors to see who shares first what we learned in the first hour of study (personal study). The other day, it got so intense that he almost fell off his chair, just saved by the wall that stopped his chair from sliding out from below him. Haha it was so funny. He won.

The Sister Ivon... we are worried about her. Since she had her baby we haven’t really seen her. Her family always says she is of weak health and can’t come out for a few more weeks maybe. I don’t remember how that is... but we haven’t really thought that it had anything to do with reality, just tradition, but now we are starting to think that she might have gotten sick. Her family doesn’t admit many details but are nice too.

Today we want to do something to contact EVERY SINGLE person in the area. We are still thinking about it.. but I feel like there are a lot of potential people there but that we have difficulty finding them. We talk to at least 200 people per week, but if we could increase that to 500 or more, then those people could be found. There is another lady with whom we talked this week who said she wants to be baptized from the first moment we mentioned baptism. She said: "I feel like I should be baptized, and not like my parents baptized me, but in water. I don’t know why, but that’s the way I feel it should be done." That was impressive. Then we talked about how part of the preparation was getting married since she is living with the father of her son, and the next day she told us how she had talked with him and set up to get married! Her future husband wasn’t too happy about her listening to us and started to say how this and that.. things he has heard, saying how had she let herself be convinced to be baptized, and she said, no! they didn't convince me anything, I want to be baptized, and what they said is true.

We are focusing on looking for those who really are sincere in coming unto Christ.

I have been reading Our Heritage again. it is the BEST. Also, this morning I read from 3 Nephi  20 to 3 Nephi 24 I think  and I really, really like the opportunity to present the ministry of Christ among the Nefites and am so thankful that they have preserved the words that He spoke. Nos manda escudriñar las palabras de Isaías. [He commands us to study the words of Isaiah.]

 

Mucho amor [Much love,]

Elder Stewart and Elder Johnson at a chapel in Arequipa

Elder Johnson

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].

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

17 October 2011

Querida Family, (Dear family),

10/17/11

Que tal! Espero que se encuentren MUY bien y que estan dandose cuenta de las bendiciones que estan recibiendo.

[How are you! I hope that you find yourselves very well and that you are realizing the blessings that you are receiving.]

This week I got a pretty intense cold, and now that I’m finally getting over it, my companion’s got it. But that’s how it is I guess when you are with someone 24/7.

The transfers are next week but I don’t anticipate a change as the new direction is that we will be in the areas for 6 to 9 months in general, and I’m about to finish 4.5, but we shall see.

The other day we passed an investigator who was outside his farm wall. We saw him from afar shooting up a tree with his slingshot. When we got there a bird fell out of the tree and he picked up the stunned hawk. He said it was a Cernicalo (that’s Spanish and I have no idea how to write it so I think it sounds the same in English.. so, well, there it is.) It was a very pretty bird, and apparently it had swooped in and taken one of his chicklets up to the tree for a little snack. I dunno what he did with the stunned bird, but he was very amused that he could catch it. Haha.

I laughed, as they say, out loud, when I read that Dad finally got to go scuba diving and to take a dance class. Sounds like it was fun. Did the brothers get to scuba too?? I would love to someday.

Thank you all for writing, I just got 9 Dear Elder letters. Eric is making BANK! Shakespeare is still cool. It seems like everyone and their dog is on vacation to Europe, South American countries. Pretty amazing. I very much enjoyed reading the stories. I think I commented about this last week, but I’m slowly progressing on a letter that I shall send home all at once.

Well, so here we are. We passed another interesting week. We did compañion interchanges with Brother Valdez from Arequipa and his companion Elder Davey. It went very well and here in Porvenir, we found a bunch of people to teach and I was very happy to hear that Brother Valdez commented at the end of the day: "Wow, so many people! They are so interested! This is AWESOME!" haha. It was a pretty great day.

I mentioned that we have these card things. They contain the key doctrines of each point in Preach my Gospel, along with some good questions, some words to define, some other stuff, and on the back, it has a section that has a self-evaluation which has questions like: Do the investigatores [investigators] understand their relation with God, and the trinity, and do the Investigatores [investigators] understand the role of the family in the earth, and eternity. Some of these things are special for our mission since we have a characteristic set of traditions and beliefs that have arisen since the Great Apostasy. (That’s a book I also want to read, but after the Miracle of Forgiveness)

They are pretty sweet.

Love Elder Johnson