15 November 2010

Dear family and friends,

Is the picture problem fixed or worked around? I sent a letter home on Thursday the 11th. It has my memory card within. When y'all receive it, can you move the pictures somewhere safe and separate from those I email home (to avoid duplication and apparently corruption it sounds like)? They are very important please take care to take care of them in the next 21 months!

SO what happened this week? Lots.

I had the question: out of every 1 eV that the beam in the LHC gets increased, how many eV´s does the LHC use? So how efficient is it? My guess is around 10,000 eV per 1 eV in the beam.

People always like to practice what little English they know with me. We were at the door of one family, and their children girls said, Hello, good night, Justin Beiber. I almost threw myself down the steep hill at this marked failure of society.

Cassie! I met your friend Elder .. uh Boultin? I didn't get exactly the spelling but it is Trevor. We talked for about 3 minutes before our multizonal meeting on Friday. He seems really cool! I think I shall see him today as well. I have no idea how he remembered to look for me on Friday, hasn't it been 6 months since you warned him of my coming?

Speaking of which, our multizonal meeting (with all the missionaries who are in the city of Arequipa --around 100, once every 6 weeks) was awesome! Our president talked for about 2 hours and called us to STEEP repentance and correcting of our ways. I hope I can implement everything he talked about. I really like our leaders.

Also at the multizona, I got to meet up with a bunch of the missionaries I was with in the CCM and MTC. They are doing well, some better than others in terms of Spanish. One is having a very hard time, and didn't understand me when I asked him how he felt in Spanish :(

Oh yea at the multizona also, we met some of the missionaries with 23 months. Elder Orihuela commented that some of them have ¨perfect Spanish, with slang... everything¨ they really sounded exactly like native speakers. This is my long-term goal for my Spanish.

To look up where I am, the tourist attraction in our area is La mansion del Fundador. We cross the orange bridge by it most days.

I was a little wondering which lesson story I would send home until last night. We worked hard yesterday visiting lots of people, meeting lots of new people. The last place we went was the home of a member. I had been praying a lot to find a new investigator who was ready to start progressing. We went to the home to meet one of our investigators who spends a lot of time there. She is kind of a daughter-in- law of Hermana Emedita. We got there and sat down with Yenny, the investigator, and through the door walked two other people. They both sat down with us and be taught all three with Hermana Emedita! Turns out one is a member who is ¨less active¨and the other had never heard of the church.

As we taught and talked about the Restoration of the church that Jesus Christ established while he was in the earth, which had the four key parts: Prophet, Apostles, Priesthood authority of God, and Revelations for the people received through the prophet. They all three were full of curiosity of where in the world is this church. We talked about how after the death of Jesus Christ and the martyrdom and deaths of his apostles, there no longer were Apostles or Prophets, and that with them left revelations and the authority of the priesthood. So the church that Jesus Christ established was no longer on the earth.

In the following years, tons of people tried to reform the church in the same form it had with Jesus Christ and the Apostles, but without the true priesthood (though many claimed to have it) and without a prophet or apostles, and revelations received through them, they were unable to find the true church.

As we explained that God called a prophet to restore the true church of Jesus Christ, we could tell that all three felt the Holy Spirit testifying of the truth, and we helped them recognize that. It was very powerful to be in the room, despite the fact that family members were shuffling in the background. It was like their distraction was muffled.

Love Elder Johnson 

1 November 2010

Dear Home:

You asked "Can you have music on your mission? What kinds?"

We can have music but only Monday and only of the church. So basically I am fine. I do miss some good motab [Mormon Tabernacle Choir] and our classics we would listen to at night in the CCM.

Speaking of ipods, they are going to be awesome when I return.

Right, business. I got letters from Oksana, Kimmie, and Cassie on the 28th of October. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The week before, I got a really old letter that was addressed to the Provo, MTC from home, and a letter from Gramps J on the 19th. Thank you for your answers to my questions and the stories from Texas and home! They were great!

I think letters are transported by a llama express because they are soooooo slooowww and it kinda kills me a little. It is all right though haha. Bueno. I wrote a big letter btw which I'll send off.

What was so great about this week. A lot. We fasted yesterday for Melisa, an investigator whose parents aren't too keen on letting her get baptized. She fasted too which was cool. It is always cool to fast, placing spiritual things above physical, and learning a lot.

I have been trying to be really, really obedient, and I have been richly blessed as a reward. My Spanish is growing so fast, comprehension is way good. I still have a lot to learn though. It is kinda like jumping off a cliff into cold water. Or apparently cold. You jump into the air, not really knowing what to expect, but doing so on faith, and instead of plunging into the water, you realize you are standing on higher ground than you were before.

There are bastante [many] examples.

Some cultural I think.

Halloween was yesterday, and here it is a little different. It is associated a little as the day of the devil, so church members are a little careful. Kids still go around in costumes asking for dulces [candy]. But lots of people go to cemeteries to celebrate the lives of their relatives and friends, which I'm pretty sure no one does in the States.

Everyone here cooks on propane stoves. They look normal [compared] to ours but burn propane from tanks. There is a whole infrastructure to support it too.

Our shower and all those I have seen have electric heaters at the spigot. There is no heated water here as far as I can tell. I am making a semi-educated guess that is is around 400 watts, but I really have no idea what the change in temperature or the rate of water is.

Every one remembers Johnson shampoo when they hear my name. Some of the ward's children call me Johnson lotion, Johnson shampoo, Johnson baby. My second apellido [last name].

AH and ONE investigator story. Hermana Luisa runs a tienda. She is very knowledgeable of the Bible, and loves to talk to us about doctrine, and learn of the gospel of Christ. She is very enthusiastic and in church last Sunday she could not stop smiling. All she needs is to pray for her self... something that isn't super easy to bring about.

Love,

Me