May 28, 2012 - Rain Storm! No Problemo!

Hey family and friends! How goes it! It’s all good down here! I’m staying another transfer here in Universitario!  So that’s sweet!

 This week started out with a nice district class! It was cool. We took a picture after with the whole zone and the wind was blowing hard and freezing cold!

 But we had a great week none the less! We did our best keeping ourselves busy. Tuesday night was our Noche de Deportes. A couple of kids showed up and we played some soccer. I played some goalie, because I didn’t want to carry my clothes to change into all day. And after I shared a scripture with all of them so it was way cool. And we invited them back and they said they will come so well see what happens tomorrow!  So that was fun.

 Wednesday was great as well. We got a few lessons in, and we did a lot of contacts, so it was a blast! Wednesday in the morning I split wood for 3 hours we promised this less active mother we would cut her wood. So we did it, and Elder Arancibia was sick so he took a breather from the service. I got a good back work out none the less! So that was pretty cool.

  Thursday was normal. We got some appointments in and some good contacts. Visited a couple of members.

 And then Friday the fun began! We did some weekly planning in the morning and then we went to get our money for lunch. So we bought some hamburgers and bread and made some big hamburgers it kept us filled up for the day. And then we hung out in the house for a bit. Friday is when this huge rain storm came in! It was crazy! It blew a bunch of trees over, and it almost blew us over because the wind was so strong! I wish I would of brought my camera but it was only the first of many storms.

  Saturday was the same we left in the morning after our studies and we did contacts for about 2 hours while it was pouring and blowing wind. It was great. People would ask us why we are out in the rain, and we would say because we are here sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ! The greatest thing in the world!....(literally).

  So that was fun, and then we went to lunch and went back to the house and prepared for round 2. I busted out my rain boots because it was looking a little gnarly. So they did good. And Saturday we also had a mini exchange. I worked with Elder Glazier in our sector. Well we are both in the same sector but we visited all of our investigators, and Elder Arancibia went with Elder Egan and they visited their investigators. It was great. We saw a powerline short out. It was crazy, it was like right in front of our faces. So the Lord protected us there.  We taught a couple lessons. We taught Lucas with a member but it was hard because his son was there, and the whole time he was blowing out candles, because the power was out so it was hard to teach Lucas in that environment. So we got home that night and we cooked up some chicken burgers and went to bed, to get ready for our stellar Sunday!

    So we had to get up and take a long walk to Las Aguitas to pick up a couple of investigators. We had a member in our ward ready to come pick us up because our investigators live close to his house. So we walked all the way up the hill. From our house to their house it’s like a 35 minute walk. And I called the member and he said he would be ready in 10 minutes so we were in the house waiting for him to call, because we were like a 100 yards up the hill. But he left because we weren’t down by his house! So I was like what!!!!! I didn’t want to make our investigators walk a lot because they had their baby and I told the member that. So we called another member but he was running late, so finally a taxi passed by and we were able to get them to church on time. And they had a good time there. Everyone came up to them and talked to them and commented them on their baby! The only thing is that they aren’t married yet, so that’s something we are working on! The good thing is that they like the sound of Eternal Families and we had a great lesson about it with a member. So pray for them their names are Alvano, Nilvia, and Florencia!

  And then after church we had to go to lunch and then to a service because the roof of a members house sort of blew of, and a couple huge tree branches fell close by their house. So we went and took care of that with some other guys from the Elders Quorum, so it was way cool to be able to see the ward working together! And as we were walking home from that, Elder Arancibia slipped and jammed his foot or something so I had to help him walk home. So he was hobbling around for the rest of the night. And we taught a lesson to the family that is getting reactivated and who has the 2 kids who aren’t baptized! They are great, w always have a great time over there!

  And today we cleaned the house. I scrubbed the shower down with some stuff because there was some stuff growing on it and I mopped it, and I rearranged our study room, so it’s looking sweet now!

 But I’m happy to be able to stay here another transfer. We got a lot of stuff to finish still. I’ve learned a lot these last couple of weeks- The scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants chapter 4 come to my mind as I think about the last transfer and this next one. Serve with all of your heart might mind and strength.

  Have a great week this week! Thanks for the prayers and the love!

      Elder Johnson

May 21, 2012 - Rain, Caliente Camas and Mud Futbol!

O what a week! We started it out with a stellar District Class. We had French Toast as a Zone together! It was delicious! Then we had a district meeting about helping investigators get to church. It was sweet! We had a bunch of great comments, and the assistants finally were able to make it to a class. So Elder King came and it was great!

  Then it was pouring rain outside when we left, so the office Elders drove us in the van to our lunch appointment. So that was great! Then we went out to work after got some good lessons in. And at 7:30 we had a sports night, but it was raining so no one was able to play soccer so we played ping pong for 30 minutes. It was sweet! There is a member in our ward that was like a National Champion or something here in Chile, he is a ping pong baller. I got pretty close I was rallying for a while. But lost 4-7, gave him a run for his money none the less!

  Then Wednesday we ended up doing contacts for most of the day, and the last house we knocked on after 4 hours let us in! So we were blessed for our diligence. That was nice.

  We found a family in this apartment complex thing, and the dad came out and he was talking in Spanish, and I could tell he wasn’t Chilean because his accent is different, and then all of a sudden he started talking in English, and I took a double take. He was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York so he had an East coast accent. So he was pretty cool. Whenever people talk in English I can’t speak to them it’s weird. Spanish is taking over. But I guess that’s a good thing.

 We have been preparing our investigator Lucas to get baptized this coming Sunday, we only have to teach him a couple more lessons, but he is scared to bring his kid to church, because his kid is super rambunctious and he is afraid he won’t like it. But we showed him the primary and all of the kids that were jumping around everywhere. But Lucas is great, I could see him doing a lot in the church because he is a loving guy and always making jokes. But I’ve seen a big change in him. Because before he never prayed or read in the scriptures but he always tells us that he has more energy during the day when he prays and reads. So pray for him!

  And on Thursday we had a mini combio with the Zone Leaders. It was sweet. I worked with Elder Brule. We went to his sector. We ate lunch in their house and then went out and taught some lessons. We got a lot done, so it was cool. He’s a great missionary, he is super funny. We always have a good time with each other.

And then on Saturday we had to go help out with this primary activity. I played Joseph Fielding Smith. I had never practiced my part, so last minute Sister Salazar told me to stand on the stage and pretend I’m pondering the scriptures. So I did that but apparently she wanted me to walk around as I pondered, so I felt like a goof. But it still went well with the other parts! I had to put a fake beard and glasses on. I sent some pictures.

  O and on Friday night we had our first English class. We showed up and there was just one of the members there, and no other people. But this week we handed out more handouts so we will hopefully have a better turn out, and we are gonna post some stuff up in stores so everybody gets the memo! Because there is a bunch of college students that live here.

Tomorrow is our sport night, so we are going to see how that turns out also! And today for P Day we went to go play soccer on that synthetic field again but the field switched owners and our reservation was dropped, so we had to play on this classic Chilean dirt field! yayay! It had a bunch of mud bogs in it so it was sweet! I started out playing goalie and did work! Just like in the old days, then went out into the field and did work also! And of course our team won! haha It was Zona Concepcion versus Zona Chiguayante! It was some good times; those are times you’ll never forget that’s for sure.

  Then we came back did some shopping, showered, ate lunch in the house because we bought an already cooked chicken and potatoes and it was delicious! Then I laid in my bed with my new hot bed! (caliente cama) It’s those electric bed things. I bought it because it’s colder in our house than it is outside. So I laid in that and read the Book of Mormon for a bit then we came to centro to do internet! SO it has been a sweet PDAY! This is the last one of the combio we will see what happens this coming transfer!

So have a great week everyone! Stay safe in Utah! Go big at Chuck O Rama for me! Stay stoked to!

            Elder Johnson

May 14, 2012

Hey it was great being able to talk to all of you guys! Time goes by fast doesn’t it!

  Well it was quite the week this week, that’s for sure. We had some good lessons with a few of our investigators. Lucas ended up not coming to church because he had his kid so that kind of stunk, but just gotta keep at it! We found some great investigators though!

  We found one named Alvano. He studies philosophy at the University and has a 2 month old daughter and his girlfriend. But he has a lot of great questions and we left him with some stuff to read in the Book of Mormon and a couple of pamphlets. We left him with the Law of Chastity one since he wasn’t married and he read it and we shared about it a little bit so it was cool. But he’s a good guy, he really has desires to know!

 We have a lesson tonight with Lucas and we hope that it goes good. He’ll probably get baptized the 27th of May we are hoping!

 Today for P Day we played soccer on a big synthetic field it was way fun! There was like 18 of us from a couple different zones so it was way cool. I had some bad crashes though, but I shut it down when I was in goal. Just like in the old days! haha but now I’m all sore and my back hurts, I think I’m getting old!

  But nothing to exciting happened this week. We have just been on the lookout with new investigators. But it’s tough down here in the center of the city, because more than half the people live in apartment complexes. And we can’t knock in those. So we gotta talk to everyone in the street and ask for references. But this week we are doing a sport night at the chapel. Tomorrow actually, so we are hoping that a bunch of people come. Because a lot of the people that live here are students. And then on this Friday we are doing an English class so we will see how it goes! Wish us luck!

  District class was great we all learned a lot together. At the beginning of the class I asked them if they had their 8 simplified lesson packets. It’s a packet that helps us focus on 8 lessons and important things as a missionary. But they didn’t have them. But at the end of the class I busted out some Super 8 candy bars and said I hope you guys have a Super 8 week and that you bring your Super 8 lesson packets next week! So they got a good laugh. But we talked about inviting people to make commitments and verifying with those commitments. So everyone had some good comments to give!

  We still play basketball in the morning and Elder Arancibia and I we won it. So they bought us some little cakes because that was the prize. So it was fun, it’s just something that keeps the energy up! We are gonna play again but switch teams so it’s more even.

Saturday we had a baptism in the District! Elder Glazier and Elder Egan who are the office Elders baptized Ximena! She has a cool story. She saw a girl on the bus reading the Book of Mormon and had the thought to talk to her and talked to her and then 3 weeks later she was baptized! She gave her testimony in the fast and testimony meeting and all of the members thought she was a member already! She has a super strong testimony already.

 This week we were knocking doors in this part where a lot of student live in these big house things. And we rang a door bell and a girl came out and we said it’s the missionaries and she said really! And she let us in and we taught her and her boyfriend, and it was great and they both accepted baptismal dates. But they live with 26 other students so hopefully we can find some more people to teach.

  So we are excited to get at it this week! I hope you all have a good week! And thanks for all of the prayers and love!

    Elder Johnson

May 7, 2012 - B-ball mornin` and tear gassed!

Hey family! This week was epic! It was great!

  Tuesday we had District Class and it was sweet. Everyone was giving comments so we all left stoked ready to take on the week! What I usually do is prepare a theme for us. Something that we are struggling with, and then I write a bunch of questions down. And then the whole class pitches in! It’s way funner and more edifying. I’ve been in District Classes where we just read and the DL talked the whole time. But we’ve got some great Elders and everybody talks. And then we did a bunch of practices. You always gotta be sharpening those skills you know! And to start off District Class I was standing up there and everybody was waiting and then I licked my fingers a little bit and said it tastes a little buttery. And then I whipped out Butterfingers for everyone! So we were all stoked! That’s the biggest thing just staying animated. If you have a missionary who isn’t animated and always bummed out it’s gonna be hard to have success. But we all stay stoked because we are doing the Lords work here in Chile!

  And then after class we did a mini combio and Elder Brule came here and we went to Subway because our lunch got canceled. And Elder Glazier and I were walking back to the office to eat because we went to a Liquor store to buy some drinks and chips and we were walking through this big plaza in front of the office and there was a huge riot! The huge police water tank trucks and jeeps were there trying to tame everything but everybody was huckin rocks and stuff and we walked right into it! So we were like uh-oh and we started to turn around to go around a huge building and then the huge water tank shooter trunk takes off down the street and launches a tear gas bomb right next to us. So I was like oh man its game time! So we high tailed it out of there, and my eyes were watering and my nose was going crazy! But we finally made it into the office and got upstairs and continued to watch kids get tackled by cops in full body armor it was sweet! They tackled this one kid into this big fountain! I learned a new lesson this week, that when there is a huge riot in Chile its every man for himself!

  But the mini combio was sweet! I did an interview and we talked to a bunch of people! And at night we bought Churrascos. They are like Carne asada sandwiches with guacamole, super good!

  Then I did another mini combio with one of the office Elders, Elder Egan. It was cool. We taught some great lessons to some of our most important investigators. We taught Ines about prayer and it went good. And we taught Marcos about the Sabbath and the importance of going to church, so that was cool. And then we taught Lucas about the restoration! Lucas is like 45 and he recently got divorced and has a little 4 year old kid. He’s super funny we get along good, and we can just see the change that the Gospel is making for him. So it was a great mini combio!

 And then the next day on Friday we switched back and did some weekly planning Elder Arancibia and I, then went to lunch. And then after when we went out to work we chopped some wood for some German girls who are doing some Social Work for their Lutheran church in Germany. But we couldn’t go into their house because they were alone so that was a bummer, they seemed really nice and were super stoked to have a huge nice pile of firewood. I hooked them up they thought we were just gonna chop the wood and bail but we stacked it and then we cleaned their patio. So we are gonna pass by with a member so we can teach them one day.

   And then Saturday morning we played some basketball. I bought a ball at the store because we have a court right by our house. So that was fun. All 4 of us Elders played. And then after we went to a service project to paint a school. We got up on the roof and painted it and then we had to put up a scaffolding to paint the sides so it was pretty cool. The principal guy of the school seemed pretty happy. Our whole Zone went so it was cool!

  And then that night we left with a member named Sister Salazar to do some visits. And we visited this one family who is half less active and half nonmember and we passed by with the Bishop early on in the week. But by the end of the lesson the mom had a huge change of heart and said to her son .... hey lets go to church! But they didn’t end up coming because her daughter was sick and probably because it was raining. But well stop by again and see if we can get them animated to go again. And then we stopped by Lucas and taught him about the Word of Wisdom. He always offers us tea and coffee but we say no so we shared with him why and it helped him solve some doubts, and the sister that came with us really helped out. I have a huge testimony of bringing members to lessons because their way of seeing things gospel wise always helps out the investigators, so it was way sweet. And on Sunday I shook Sister Salazar’s hand with a Reeses in it she was super happy! So thanks Dad for sending the candy it’s being put to good use!

 And then Sunday finally came around and we went to Ines´s house early to eat breakfast and it was sprinkling. So we had some bread with cheese and we shared a scripture and then a member came and picked us and Ines and her granddaughter up.  We showed them around and the granddaughter was super happy, we showed her the piano and got super stoked to bang on it!

  But Ines was the only one to show up to church Lucas didn’t end up coming because he was sick, but he’s planning on getting baptized this month! So pray for him. But Ines loved church. But later on that day we went to her house to see if she had gained a testimony of the church because she is super Evangelical. And was having trouble because she was having trouble receiving an answer to her prayers to know that this is His church, but she said she wouldn’t get baptized again in the church of Jesus Christ. We did our best. We shared about the Restoration more than once but she was just a hard egg to crack. So we had to drop her. She has a great family, her husband Julio is blind and her granddaughter loves us. But we are praying that with time she softens her heart and calls us back.

Today for P Day we hiked to the top of a hill, and we took some sweet pictures. I’ll send them, and then we went to Subway and then came to internet! So it has been a sweet week so far. This week I think I might do a mini combio with the Assistants since they are in my District! So it’s gonna be great! I’m living it up still in Chile, we have a lot of great things that are gonna happen. We have some activities planned this week to find more people and to get our ward more animated to share the gospel!

  But have a fantastic week everyone! I love you all to the moon and back!

      Elder Johnson

May 1, 2012 - Ecuatorin Birthday parties and Elder Duncan!

 Hey family! How’s it! We had a great week! It went a little slow and had its ups and down, but when Monday came it was sweet! Because Elder Duncan came to do a mission tour! He’s the head of the Missionary Department. So we got blasted with the Spirit!

 But to start off the week, we went to go teach some of our Ecuadorian friends and they were having a birthday party, so they were all like come in come in! And they made us choose a song to sing and share a scripture, and then we had something called. Yahuar Locro. It was like a sopu made out of insides of an animal and some other things, it wasn’t to shabby! It’s always a fun adventure eating something new! And then we had some cake.

   Then we had District Class the next day and it was sweet. We talked about contacting people in the street and did some fun practices.

  And one day on like Wednesday it rained it was weird, and then Thursday and on it was hot. So the weather is weird. Last year at this time it was pouring rain so well see what happens. But on Wednesday we walked up this huge hill in the richest part of our sector. We figured that no one had gone up there before because it is hard to get to and they are super rich so they aren’t to accepting sadly. But we said hey! Let’s go for it! So we got denied by a couple of houses and then we rang the doorbell and a guy walked out and we talked to him and shared the Restoration pamphlet with him real quick and made a date to come back. So it was cool. But then we went back and he wasn’t there like he said he would. So go figure. But the houses up there are crazy huge! And they had like Audis. This one guy was an architect and he made this like tower looking house it was pretty funny looking.

  Then on Thursday morning we went and got into these Apartments that had a gate around them, and we started knocking doors and a couple of people let us in. They were 2 families! But they were busy so we said a prayer real quick and left them with a pamphlet to read. We are gonna go back this week and see how it goes!

 And the rest of the days were normal with some appointments here and there.

  The lady from Washington Jessica has been reading in the Book of Mormon. We stopped by last night real quick to see how they were. They have been reading together! So that’s super sweet! They are getting married June 2nd! So hopefully she’s ready to be baptized by then!

  And we have another investigator Lucas who has a 4 year old son! He’s funny he’s always cracking jokes. But we gave his little son a pass along card of Jesus Christ and said you have to keep good care of it and can’t lose it! And we both have one and we keep it safe. And the next day when we went over he lost it and tried to find it but couldn’t. And then today at lunch he told his dad he wanted to call us and I answered the phone and it was his son and he said... I found the card it’s here! It was funny. He’s a little kid that just bounces off of the walls. But we taught Lucas about prayer yesterday and he liked it and he said a prayer, and felt really good. So that was great because right now he’s going through some hard times.

  Then Monday it was great! Elder Duncan of the 70 came and talked to us. We first had a meeting with all of the District Leaders and Zone Leaders. It was great he told us that everyone that is under our Leadership is our investigator. So everyone that is in your District or Zone is your investigator, and we need to study and pray for them also. And talked about mini exchanges to and how we need to do them when ever. It was great!

 And then it was the big conference! And 8 missionaries sang Abide with me tis Even Tide and the Spirit just came into the room. And then Elder Duncan just started going! It was epic! I filled up 4 pages of things that the Spirit told me. Elder Duncan put big emphasis on how the Spirit will bring stuff to our mind that he may not even be saying. But he talked about how we need to take care of the less actives and use them to teach investigators. And talked about how when Bruce R. McKonkie came in 1976 to do conference, and during that conference Elder McKonkie said that one day there will be 500 stakes in Chile! And Elder Duncan said that if a Prophet says something by the Spirit it is scripture, so one day there will be 500 stakes in Chile. But right now there is 75 stakes. And he said that every stake has about 7 wards. So if every ward turns into a stake we would have about 500 stakes! And he said we are here right now to help with that, and that all of a sudden 500 stakes aren’t gonna pop out of nowhere. It was so sweet. And he shared some stories from his mission about people he baptized that he lost contact with and then 25 years later they call him and say they are going to the temple to get married! So that’s what it’s about. Just doing what the Lord asks you to do now, and in the end it will be all right. Sometimes we don’t understand how the Lord works, but it always works out for the better! I’ve learned that lesson more than once.

 And he talked about how the church should be the hippest place in town. And how we should always be doing activities there, and to give it a good name. Because most people here think we are crazy. But if we do those activities they’ll see that we are normal and they will feel the Spirit when they go into the church! So I’m excited to get things going here in our ward. We have a big ward but not a whole lot goes on missionary work wise. So we gotta get the ward animated!

 And this week we met one of the Pioneers of the church here in Concepcion. Her name is Sister Hernandez. She was baptized like 50 years ago. She served a mission in La Serena Chile and worked in Genealogy at the Provo Temple for 10 years she is way cool. She came up to me and said Hermanito you come from a blessed land and she started crying. We are blessed because it is so easy to go to the temple or church and the church is strong in the States. And things are getting stronger down here. Elder Cook said when he came to talk to us that we are branch builders. It’s true and I love it!

  And today we had P Day on Tuesday. So we played soccer for a couple hours then ate lunch at a member’s house and then came to do internet!

So we are living it up here, Elder Arancibia and I! We got some great things to do here in Universitario!

 Have a great week everyone I love you guys tons! Stay stoked!

   Elder Johnson