23 May 2012

Family!

Yesterday I couldn’t write because at 3:30 in the morning, the assistants called us and gave us the changes. I was going to my new area all day almost. It took me forever to put my stuff in my two suitcases. I’ve got quite a bunch of artifacts that I don’t use... notebooks, binders, little things that people have given me. The pensioner was pretty pretty sad when I told her I had a change. She is Sister Tejada [Sister Teha(th/d)a] and the husband is the stake president. She always has a hard time in the changes. She serves us so well, always trying to fatten me up. She gave me 7 of the new Nuevo Sole coins that come out every once in a while here in Peru. I’ll try to send a picture of my collection. Peru has some exceedingly fine coins. coming out.

I don’t know if it’s a thing about Tacna... but the internet here is slow again just like the last time I was here....

Hopefully the pictures can upload. The way over here was a long trip, but with very stunning desert scenes. Part of the way here reminded me of the Painted Desert that we saw in Arizona. Pretty interesting. Along the way there are a few cities, and a few future cities. People buy the land and put a little shack on it so that nobody takes it, and then abandon it for the next 10 years waiting for the land to increase in value. One member recently sold something like 60,000 square meters that she bought a long time ago for super cheap but is now something like 20 soles per square meter. She made bank. She’s actually living in the States, but came so she could sell the property. Really, really interesting are the landscapes of the Peruvian southern deserts. It made me want to have a dirt bike and go exploring there... it should be just as easy to ride as a bike, no?

This week we talked with the husband of Mari Diaz! At last!  It was just a moment but we could talk about his family a second and we asked him if he would support his wife if she decided to be baptized. He said “YES!”

That was probably because right before, we were teaching a lady. In the Companionship study, we had been studying DyC 100:5-8. 

 5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; ^aspeak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be ^bconfounded before men;

 6 For it shall be ^agiven you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.

 7 But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye ^adeclare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.

 8 And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the ^aHoly Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.

We were thinking we can apply that scripture better so that the promise is given, and in the lesson before indicated, we did so! The lady was definitely guided to know [the truth]. She is named Elena. I’m going to do some follow up to see if she gets baptized in the next council of zone leaders when I’ll see Elder Erhard with his new companion Elder Huaman (Elder Wamon). We taught her all the first lesson and got to the part about the Book of Mormon. We explained a little and read some with her and did the following:

We read the introduction, then we read 1 Nephi 6:4, 

 4 For the fulness of mine intent is that I may ^apersuade men to ^bcome unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.

explaining that the God of all those and us is Jesus Christ, and how we should come unto Him. Then she read Omni 1:26 

 26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

and she was thinking and thinking about what she had read. The word in her mind was: offer up all of your souls. She said, to do that, I should be baptized I think. That was guided. We then read 2 Nephi 31.

This Saturday I came to the end of the Holy Bible. That was a pretty cool achievement. I set myself a goal and I did it!

I was also thinking about the importance of talking with the Lord. Praying always. We talked with a mother and daughter this week from a particular church. Last week we had left them a Book of Mormon and invited them to read. They accepted and we passed by  to find them and the mom and daughter had all sorts of ideas... but in short, they hadn’t read with prayer and hadn’t asked in prayer to know if the Book is true. So even though we answer every single doubt they can have, just like Preach My Gospel says, the objections are answered with them passing the wall of faith and asking the Lord in earnest prayer to know if the Book is true. Just answering the doubts can’t give them that knowledge if they aren’t willing to ask. We should have the trusting relationship with the Lord where we can talk about whatever thing and He helps us. After all, He loves us so much.

I was reading the Doctrine and Covenants on the 6 hour bus trip here and read in DYC 24, and I liked quite a few verses in particular. Especially with the subject of my extension and the calling of Paul as a missionary.  Read the section Paul, I was thinking of you reading it. Like Nephi says, apply the scriptures to ourselves, replace Oliver with Paul. I know everything shall be perfect.

Now in Tacna we are going to work really, really hard. I’m with an Ecuatoriano. Elder Beletanga.

Love Elder Johnson

9 April 2012

Haha still? Eric did it [the Easter egg hunt] with the brace and crutches?

Dear Family,

This week we worked so hard. Well better said, we worked better.

Monday and Tuesday was the council of zone leaders. We talked about a bunch of things. Among them were the themes of standing on the Lord’s side of the line (a theme from the conference) and making sure we are able to receive the inspiration we need to be able to teach by the Spirit. We talked about the power and authority that has been given us, and we talked about focusing on all our missionary purpose and not just focusing on baptizing, but really the invitation to all to follow Christ. That’s what everyone needs to hear, and they all need to make a decision. We hope that those who choose (usually just by their actions not words) to not [follow Christ], can feel the Spirit while we teach them so that later they can make the right decisions by their actions.

Wednesday we went to do companion interchanges with Palacio (Elder Child y Elder Bastidas) and we realized that we would have interviews with the President in the night. The assistants had called us at 11 p.m. the night right before, but we were so asleep that we didn’t remember until studying with the Elders in Palacio (Palacio is spanish for Palace- their area has some of the biggest areas in the whole world-- well, in all of Arequipa)

In our interview with the president we both went in first, Elder Stewart y yo [I]. We talked a little about the zone and what the zone is facing and doing, the plans. Next he looked at our goal for April. He had us sign and commit ourselves to really do it. We ARE GOING TO. Well... I am. There were changes and sadly Elder Stewart was changed to the Umacollo zone in the same city of Arequipa.

In that moment, he asked if we can do the goal we put ourselves. We basically said, help us have the faith so big that we can do it, and he said, it isn’t the faith that you need, rather power in the teaching. We have been set apart and given divine authority to preach. This authority gives us the right to have power, but it doesn’t come automatically. We read DyC 11:21. Emphasis in if you desire.

 21 Seek not to ^adeclare my word, but first seek to ^bobtain my ^cword, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my ^dSpirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the ^econvincing of men.

Then we talked about DyC 33:1 

. . .open ye your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God . . . [who] is a discerner of the thoughts and ^cintents of the heart.

Then Alma 8:18.

 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.

He opened his cuad that he has in English (the church instructs all members of the church here to learn English and he knows English pretty well!) and he talked about what Alma did. Speedily, and, through another way.

So he charged us to go speedily and just do it.

We focused and prayed so much every time we could teach in the week, and we taught all our investigators.  We found 21 new investigators and ran basically everywhere. In the contacts we focused on following the spirit to know what doors to knock and it worked!

A little bit of a disappointment Sunday when the tons and tons that we had committed to come didn’t come to sacrament meeting! But Mari Diaz and her daughter Helen came to church! Teaching Mari Diaz, who has come a while, we talked about how is the eternal life. We talked about how to be able to have it. The class Elder Stewart taught on Gospel Principles was on the covenant people and the church. She was thinking about all this. The Spirit prompted us to open DyC 76:50-52. 

 50 And again we bear record—for we ^asaw and heard, and this is the ^btestimony of the ^cgospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the ^djust—

 51 They are they who received the ^atestimony of Jesus, and ^bbelieved on his name and were ^cbaptized after the ^dmanner of his burial, being ^eburied in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—

She read it and we analyzed a little. She had my triple combination in hand and kept reading a little as we explained a little. She read 53 and 54. She told us: And here it says that to go there, we have to conquer by faith (is that correctly translated?). I have to conquer by the faith and be baptized.

Wow that was a moment where she listened to and followed the dictates of the Spirit.

She told us that she will be baptized next week (after this Saturday that’s coming). She said she doesn’t know that everything is perfect, but she feels like she needs to do it so she will (Alma 32:16). 

16 Therefore, blessed are they who ^ahumble themselves without being ^bcompelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without ^cstubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.

We shall work with her so she can feel certainty in these days but that is so awesome!!!

Sunday, we got the changes. Elder Stewart went to Umacollo :(.

Elder Erhard came from the same area and is the same with which I was in Tacna! This will be great.

Love Elder Johnson

Anyway, we started to work and work and concentrar. [concentrate]

Transfer to Camana, Peru! 6/27/11, Zone Leader

Mark's new area:  Porvenir in Camana

Camana

Camana

Querido Familia,

Sorry I couldn't email the last week! I woke up at 12:30 a.m. again to get that call. At 6:00 a.m., I was in the bus terminal and at 7:00 a.m., I was on the road leaving Tacna. By 1:00 p.m., I was in Arequipa and bought another ticket to go to Camaná. My new companion is Elder Hunsaker. I have mentioned him before since he was my Zone Leader in Tacna when I had just barely arrived. He is a great, great missionary and I am very happy to be his companion. A great opportunity to learn a BUNCH.

Our area is called Porvenir, and we are a little branch in the hills of Camana. All of my areas so far have been on the outskirts of whatever city I have been in. It is a seaside city and the valley area is mostly used with farm fields. It is very, very pretty and this afternoon in my preparation time I am planning on going up the hills to the last areas to take pictures. When I got here I was stunned.

Eric I wanted to thank you for being so awesome at writing EVERY Sunday!

The people here are very, very nice, very, very humble, and I am thinking it is a very chosen place, we just need to turn it into a little Zion.

Elder Hunsaker says I have to tell y'all about Victor and Juan. Victor and Juan are the BEST. We contacted Juan about 5 days ago and it was amazing. He is so interested and intelligent. We gave him a pamphlet and made another appoinment. In the second, his brother came out to talk with us too (they have one of those family stores). The third time we came, we asked them about their reading in the pamphlets. They had read them really closely and asked questions about the difference between the baptism of Joseph Smith and the difference between the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods. It was awesome! We asked Victor if he had prayed and asked God if it was true the message, and he said he did.

He said that when he asked, he felt something really strong, a peace and a feeling very spiritual that it is true. Juan also felt the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23). Very happy, we were. Walking out Elder Hunsaker told me: "up top"

We have some great people and missionaries in this zone!

Love you all!

Elder Johnson