February 27, 2012

 Hey how is it going everyone!

 We had another great week! We are continuing to see progress here in our sector!  We stopped by every day at the house of Norma. She is the older lady that said that this is where she is going to stay. She is still battling with a challenge but she says she is going to win the battle. She has so much faith! We only have to teach her a couple of lessons. And have her interview so we are praying for her and I hope you guys can to!

  And our other investigator is reading in the Book of Mormon and everything.  So pray for her! We should have both of them dressed in white next Sunday!

  But this week we kept ourselves busy. We taught a lot of lessons. We were blessed with some great new investigators. And one of them came to church yesterday.  She is 15. And it was great because all of the Young Women came and started talking to her and made her feel comfortable. And she left with a smile! So it was great! And tonight we have a Family Night planned with her with a great family and a bunch of youth. So that was great.

 And the interviews with President went great! We have this new program where you have to memorize the scriptures and the topics of the first four lessons we teach. And as you go memorizing you rise up levels and you can get them signed off by a District Leader or a Zone Leader! Its sweet we are becoming a Preach My Gospel mission! President wants us to become Doctrine Studs! I’m pretty excited about it.

  Today for P Day we played some soccer at the church and then of course we stopped by McDonalds! And had a Big Mac and McFlurry! It was delicious like always!

 This week is going to be a great one. We have a lot of work to do, and it might be my last as transfers are next week! So I hope all of you have a great week! And that everything goes good!

  I love you all!

               Elder Johnson

February 20, 2012

Hey family and friends hows it!

  It’s going good here we had a great week for sure! On Monday we were able to teach a couple of lessons, and we found a new investigator.

  And then on Tuesday we had District Class. It was good we learned about verifying with our investigators, it was great.

Then later on in the day we did splits with Brother Orellana, and Eduardo. It was a success. I went with Eduardo, and we walked over to visit a future investigator but she wasn’t home, so we stopped by a member families house and talked to them for a minute, and then we were walking and contacting, and then I decided to go visit someone, and we were walking towards their house and we passed by a little side street and I said hey lets contact this street, and the first door we knocked a teenager walked out and let us in. We taught the Restoration, and it just so happens that Eduardo is good buddies with that family! So that was great also. And it was cool to see how they put all of the pieces of the Restoration together, it really made sense to them. So that was great!

  Wednesday was pretty normal filled with contacting and teaching, we found a couple new investigators so that was great!

  Then on Thursday we went to a less actives house and taught her and her grandson the grandson accepted a baptismal date and we set a date to come back the next day to watch the Restoration with them.

  So finally Friday came and we did weekly planning, and then after lunch we got to work. We went to the less active members house to watch the Restoration towards the end of the night. And her mom was there who is older. And we watched it, and after the movie her mom asked us some questions about the restoration, and she said I think this is the end of my search. I like this church, and then I felt impressed to invite her to baptism and she accepted!

   Then later on we decided to pass by a house that we previously contacted and we knocked the door, and it was someone different but they let us in and we talked to them and taught them the restoration. It is a mom and her son. The son was excited to listen to us, and at the end of the lesson they accepted baptismal dates, a and we invited them to church and the son almost started bouncing off the walls! He was way excited! So we found a bunch of people this week who have been prepared to listen to this message of the restored Gospel, there is no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father prepares his children for us.

Then Saturday came! And on Saturday was our ward activity! The whole ward loaded into a micro to go to Pelarco. Out in the fields, it’s a little camping ground. We left at like 9 and we got there and we kicked the soccer ball for a little bit on the dirt soccer field, and then we played some games. We had 2 teams and we had to make a team chant, so ours was LAs manos arriba los puños en frente  Levi gana y Ephraim pierde! It was pretty funny. And we did a little game where you had to blow a ping pong ball across a towel then fish a piece of bread out of a pan of water, and then fish a candy out of a pan of flour! It was funny, and our team won! Then we played guess who, then a soccer game. Then everyone took a little break and then all of the bigger guys we played a soccer game, for about an hour it was fun. Then we had lunch which was bbq pork. It was delicious. Then we kicked the soccer ball round and had a little devotional. Then we left for home to work for a little bit. So the rest of the night we walked around inviting our investigators to church and we taught a lesson.

  Then Sunday came, and we left early to go get some of our investigators. And we stopped by that less active member who we watched the movie with but she was still asleep because she was watching all of her grandkids, but her mom Norma answered the door. She is the lady that said this is the end of my search, and I said hey lets go to church! So she said ok! And she got her cane and we walked to the bus stop. And while we were walking to the bus stop she said last night I had a dream, and in that dream she said that she was looking for used clothes to sell, and someone came and told her that she needed to wash her clothes. And she interpreted that to be being baptized and washing her sins away! And we said that is exactly right, and after church we passed by her house and taught her and we shared 3 Nephi 27:19-20 that talks about washing your garments in the blood of Christ through baptism. And she said what do I need to do to be baptized? And she said I’ve been to just about every church here in Talca and I have finally found what I have been looking for! I couldn’t believe her words. I was like this is one of those stories you hear and can’t believe. But I know that Heavenly Father lives and prepares his children and has a Plan for every single one of them. And Norma is one of His daughters who has been prepared. So we have a baptismal date for her for the 4th of March.

  So this week was one of the best weeks I’ve had on my mission. After a couple weeks of nothing, just contacting, we were blessed with these special children of our Heavenly Father. SO NEVER GIVE UP! There is always blessings around the corner! So that was a great Sunday. We continue to see miracles and progress in our sector, what a blessing.

  Well that’s about it, have a great week everyone! We have interviews with the President this week! It’s gonna be great!

     I love you all!

                         Elder Johnson

February 13, 2012 - Perros Locos!

Hey how’s it going everybody! Here we are again! How about that!

 Well this week was an eventful week full of adventure. It started out a little slow. The first 4 days we taught a total of 5 lessons and did a bunch of contacts. It was a little tough but we kept at it and we were blessed for that at the end of the week. Tuesday we had District Class like usual. Learned some great stuff. Left there uplifted and ready for the week. But Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday we struggled to teach. People are gone a lot more often during the summer or work till late. So we had a bunch of appointments fall. But we kept contacting. We did a lot of contacts but weren’t able to find anybody.

  So finally Friday came and we did our weekly planning like usual. And during that we talked about some things that we could fix so that we could see better results. It was a real good planning session. But after lunch we had a mini combio. I stayed here in Cancha Rayada and Elder Bustamante went to San Javier with Elder Mortenson. I worked with Elder Aldana from Peru. So we got out to work finally, and we taught a couple of less active members that we found from the ward list. There are a lot of less actives in our ward. There are about 600 members, but only about 65 assist regularly. So that was good, and those less active members have kids or grandkids that aren’t baptized so we are gonna start working with that so that was great!. After that we went to contact a reference that we received. And we knocked on the door and a guy with his shirt off and a bunch of tattoos came out. And we said we are missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. and we talked for a second and then we asked if Carolina was there. And he said Carolina!? Where did you talk to Carolina at? And we explained that it was a reference and that we didn’t talk to her, and he said come in so we walked into his house. And he told us that Carolina had recently ran away from the house and left 2 little kids. And he was worried about her and he wanted to know where she was. And he said he wouldn’t let us leave until we gave him the number of her phone or her address. So I was like o great here it goes, haha. So I called the Zone Leaders to ask them for the number because they gave us the reference but they didn’t answer. And then I called Elder Bustamante in San Javier because he wrote the reference down. But the didn’t answer either! So we sat there for a minute while he the guy smoked like 2 cigarettes in 2 minutes. And finally we got ahold of the Zone Leaders but they said hold onto the number because maybe she ran away for a reason. So I told the guy, hey would it be alright if we wrote down your number and when we get the number of Carolina we will call you? And he said that’s cool.

   Then later on at night we were walking to Bernardas house to teach her and we decided to stop by a less actives house on the way. And outside of their house was their dog who looks like one of Michael Vicks dogs because it was gnarly looking and its ears were bitten off, and we got closer and all of a sudden it went off and jumped in the air at me and was barking and scratching and trying to bite me! I said oh no I’m not gonna receive Rabies shots in the behind for 3 weeks, so I kicked it when it jumped and shoved its head out of the way and I was trying to take my bag off so I could swing at it, and Elder Aldana was throwing rocks at it! But I lucked out I left there with a couple scratches on my arm. But it was crazy! haha so that was quite the day.

  On the other hand, that day we found 3 new investigators and taught some lessons so it was very good.

  Then on Saturday Elder Bustamante and I we found 8 new investigators! We don’t know what happened but I’m pretty sure it’s because we contacted a place we hadn’t contacted before. And we taught a lot of lesson that day. So it was great!

  And then Sunday we had Bernarda go to church! We are planning to have her baptism this Sunday! She is really excited and is always really animated when we talk to her about it. We have a Family Night with her tonight so she can meet some other members. So that has been a real blessing. So pray for her that she can have a good week.  She is doing great!

  Today for P DAY we went down to Maule in the South of Talca to play some soccer and have a bbq at a member house. They have a little grass soccer field in the back of their house it was fun we played a lot of soccer.  And then we had some Churri Panes. It’s a little sausage in a piece of bread they are really good!

  Oh and this week is The Chilean Independence Day when they signed the papers. So there is a big festival here in Talca because they signed the  papers in Talca and one of the big Generals of the  military or something lived close to our house, so there was a bunch of fireworks going off last night it was cool. And it has been super hot this week! It was great!

 Well that’s all for this week. We are keeping it going, nothing is gonna stop us from having a great week! I’m loving it here. I know that this is the work of the Lord, no doubt in my mind!

  Have a great week everybody and muchas garcias para todo!

    les quiero,

                    Elder Johnson

February 6, 2012 - A la Playa!

1 Year Mark!

Burning shirt for 1 Year Mark!

Hey family and friends how’s it going!

Well another week has gone by how about that!  It was a good week. It was a tough one but we stuck it out. We did A lot of contacts and walking this week. It was just one of those weeks.  On Tuesday we had district class which was great like always. The Zone Leaders shared with us all of the things they learned at their

Zone Leader council, so it was really uplifting. We left with a lot more energy.  Wednesday and Thursday we spent like usual. We had a lot of appointments that fell so we had to go to doing contacts and looking

for people to teach. I know Heavenly Father wants me to learn something from this week, and I think I know what it is. So I am Grateful for that.

 On Wednesday we were contacting a street and we did the ahh loow at the door and a guy came out. But it wasn’t no ordinary guy, he came out in some really tight red soccer shorts that I would have used when I

was 6 and he was holding a little puppy drying it with a towel. but he was a big guy like 6 ft 4 and bigger! haha It was pretty funny I got a little laugh. But he let us in and we taught him the Restoration.

 On Friday we did weekly planning like usual and after we went to lunch. We were supposed to do a mini combio so Elder Bustamante put his clothes and his books in my back pack that I had laying around and

we left to start working because they were a little behind. So we ended up doing contacts for about an hour and a half waiting for them to call us to tell us to go to the terminal to transfer. But they finally called us at 6 and said well do it another day! haha So Elder Bustamante got a good workout with the big back pack.

 And Thursday was when I completed a year. So we went to a meeting that we usually have at the church. But the people that come to it were making completos for young womens. So the meeting was cancelled,

but Richard was there for young mens and he said  ¨hey! I'll buy completos!¨haha So we took a bus to a little completo stand and we ate some completos. And then after we bought some watermelons at a little

stand right next to it. And Elder Bustamante loves watermelons. So we chose the biggest one of the group of watermelons that was the least expensive.  The watermelon was shaped funny, more like a pumpkin then a

round watermelon. So me and Richard gave him a hard time that it was going to be a bad one. But then he cut it open at home and it was alright it was pretty funny.

Saturday we left to work with a member named Christian. He is 21 and is preparing to serve a mission. We finally found some people on Saturday! We found one guy who let us n and who was real nice, then we

knocked a couple more houses and a lady let us in. who had talked to missionaries before but moved to our sector and lost contact. So that was a great blessing! After a long week of getting nothing we found

some great investigators!

 And for P Day we went to Constitucion! To the beach with a couple other Elders! It was fun. We tossed the football around for a bit, then we walked around the bend to this big sand dune, and we climbed it and

did some rolls and flips down, it was pretty fun. Then we went back to the beach and ate some completos and played a football game, and burned our feet because the sand was black sand! But it was great we

had a great time!

  But that was our week! It was great we are really looking forward to this week! I love you guys and thanks for writing me and praying for us! It makes a big difference!

 les quiero mucho,

                           Elder Johnson

January 30, 2012 - Churrascas!!

Hey family and friends how is it going!

  It was another great week here in Chile! We found a bunch of new investigators so that was great.

   On Tuesday we had District Class. It was great we did presentations of all the new Elders. We had to say how many people were in our family, and how much time we had in the mission. And we also had to say what animal our companion would be if he was an animal. So it was the sisters turn, and one Sister named Hermana Hiel said that her companion would be some type of bird and she made a bird noise just like the bird it was pretty funny. And then it was Elder Arana and Elder Judds turn. Elder Judd is a new missionary and he said his comp was a horse because that was the only animal he knew in Spanish, it was pretty funny. Is always great to see the new missionaries come in. They have a bunch of energy to get out there and work! And our new Zone Leader is Elder Dastrup. He has a couple months left in the mission he’s great, and Elder Chilcote is still the other Zone Leader,

 On Thursday we taught some lessons, and we had some time before another lesson so we did some contacts. So we walked over to a street and we started contacting and on the 4th house we contacted she let us in. We taught her about the Restoration.  She said she wants to be baptized because I haven’t been baptized. So that was a cool experience. The Spirit definitely led us to that street.

  We have some great investigators that we are teaching. One is 10 years old and is the daughter of less active members. She is great she loves listening to us, and reads in the pamphlets. But her parents are a little problem, whenever she gets the desires to be baptized they say think about it a little more because it’s an important decision. So we have to work with them a little more but they always love it when we come over. I think we are going to do a Family Night with them this week.

  And we are teaching the mom of one of the newly baptized members. She is great. She said she wants to be baptized, and she loved the feeling she had in the church. We tried really hard getting her to church yesterday, we promised her a lot of blessings, but she didn’t show up so that kind of stunk. She is great she prayed in the last lesson, and reads in The Book of Mormon every once in a while. So we have been passing by to teach her. And we put a baptismal date with her for the 19th of February. So pray for her!!

  This week we did a lot of contacting. Elder Bustamante and I are always having a good time. We work good together and want to get the job done. He’s funny I always give him a hard time. He’s a good sport he’s always smiling. And he loves learning English! He’s always asking me how to say stuff he’s a champ!

 Today for P Day we played some bebe futbol at our chapel. It was fun we played for about an hour and a half. There is a couple of new Elders in our Zone. Elder Judd, he’s from Pima Arizona, and Elder Alberqueque, he’s from Peru. I had Elder Judd on my team, it was great we won a couple games. Then we went to McDonalds to eat, but I ate some empanadas from the store next door.

 But it was a great week we got a lot done. It’s still hot here so that’s great! We are getting a nice tan, haha.

  But thanks for everything! And thanks for your prayers! I love being here in Chile it really is the best two years!

  I hope you all have a fantastic week and that you stay warm!

    Les quiero mucho!

                                 Elder Johnson

January 23, 2012 - Nos quedamos en Cancha Rayada!

Hey family and friends how’s it going! I’m staying here in Cancha Rayada for another transfer! So that’s good it is a blessing. We are going to be able to get a lot of work this transfer. So we are excited to get to work and get some things done!

  Elder Bustamante and I are really excited to be together again! It’s going to be great. We have really been blessed here in our sector.

  Well this week was a good one. We found a little family. A mom and her three sons. Our first lesson with them we taught the Restoration and it really called their attention. And they read in the pamphlet! So we are gonna get them going. And we have a couple of investigators of less active families, so we have some work to do.

 Hey an earthquake just happened as I was writing this letter! Last week we did a lot of finding, but this week we are really gonna focus on the needs of the investigators. The Lord has blessed us with people who are ready to hear the gospel. Now we have to really focus on what they need to hear so that they can be in the church each Sunday, to be able to be baptized this month. It’s great, right now I am learning so much. My love and knowledge for the scriptures is growing, and my love to share the Gospel to. There is no better feeling then teaching by the Spirit, and saying the things that they need to hear. It is a blessing to see their eyes light up, to see them putting the pieces together. I know the Lord has kept me in this sector for a reason, and I know he expects me to take care of this part of his vineyard. I know that he will help Elder Bustamante and I do that. We are going to have a great transfer here.

Chilean Sandals!

  Today for P Day we went to Talca and played soccer with the zone. And then we went to McDonalds for lunch of course. And Elder Bustamante and I showed up to Talca Soccer in our Chilean Sandals! We got a good deal on them they are pretty sweet! I’ll take a picture.

  I don’t really have that much to say this week. We kept ourselves busy and  taught a lot of lessons, and found a lot of people. It was great. There isn’t any other thing I’d rather be doing then this!

  Well I hope everyone has a fantastic week this week! Sigan firmes! I love you all and am very thankful for your support and your prayers. It keeps the Lords work moving and me!

   les quiero mucho,

                             Elder Johnson