September 24, 2012 - Stake Conference in Chillan!

How about it! Well it was quite the week here! And good to hear that the weather is keeping you guys warm up there!

 Well on Tuesday we went down to Chillan and played basketball with the Zone for about 2 hours. So that was pretty fun! Then we came back home and watched a movie and then we got ready to go to the ward party. The ward party was fun. They had like traditional Chilean games. Like Musical Chairs and stilt walking and the 3 legged race. So it was way fun. And then a bunch of people danced the Cueca. The Chilean Dance so that was cool to watch. We showed up in our Huaso outfits so everyone liked that. Then it got late so we had to take dinner home. Then we planned and went to bed.

  Wednesday was good ol District class. So we took the bus down to Chillan again, and the class went good. I talked about the difference between a planting seed missionary and a harvesting missionary because we need some more urgency to baptize here. So it went real well everyone left stoked so that was good. Then we went back home after stopping by at the corner bakery to eat our Berlin! Then we had lunch and came home and we went to work. It went pretty slow Wednesday because everybody was shaking off the effects of the 4 days of vacation so there was a lot of impatient short tempered people about. But we found a couple of people none the less and taught some lessons. So it went well.

  Thursday we had some good studies then we went and did some contacts before lunch. It was alright we talked to a couple of people so that was good. Then we ate lunch and after Brother Miguel showed us his property. He has his own saw mill. So he showed us some equipment like his tractors and stuff so that was cool. Then we went home and started working. We taught 1 lesson so that was pretty tough and we did a bunch of contacts. It was weird because when we left the house it was sunny and then at the end of the night it poured rain! haha and we had left without rain jackets again and we learned a good lesson. SO that was quite the adventure. We were outside for like 3 hours in the rain! haha it was classic.

  Then Friday we did some planning for church after we studied, and then we went to lunch but she didn’t have it so we went to the other one with the other elders. And then we came back home and got ready to go out and work. I did a mini exchange with Elder Turner. We found a couple people, and they had a reference from our mission leader and we went to teach the guy. His name is Camilo. He is a Black belt in Karate, a good guy. And he pretty much said he has been looking for this church for a while now. So I was like Brother Camilo this is the church you are looking for and we are gonna share with you why. And we shared the Restoration. It was a way powerful lesson. He had some good questions and he accepted a baptismal date. And we showed him the picture of the 1st presidency and he just held it in his hands and stared at it for a couple of minutes. It was way powerful. He came to church on Sunday so we are way stoked for him! And we taught a couple other lessons. At night we went over to a family they are teaching and we talked about getting married before they get baptized. We had a convert with us who had to get married to get baptized so her testimony helped out a lot. But at the end they didn’t want to do it. They didn’t want to give up the money that their son receives for her being a widow because if she gets married she looses that money for her kids school. But one day they will do it their kids are real great too. And then we walked home and ended the night planning.

 Saturday was sport day! We played some soccer with those 2 kids and some members so it was way fun. Then we went to lunch. It was good then we went home and showered up to go out to work. We stopped by a couple of old investigators but they weren’t home and we got into a house but they weren’t really interested. Then we taught Marcela and Sebastian. they had been in Santiago for 2 weeks so we came back expecting them to still have desires to share with us, but they had done a 360. They didn’t want to share really or get baptized or married. They had lost all desires so that was lame. But we just testified to them of the experiences that they had been having while they were sharing with us and the blessings they could receive to be married and baptized. But we left them with something to read and to pray. Then we stopped by a couple more investigators to invite them to church for Sunday. But it was a good day. I had felt that we had done our part of inviting people to come unto Christ. So we ended the day satisfied.

 Then Sunday we woke up early to take a shower and study a little bit before we went to pick up Juan to walk to the church to take the bus with the ward to Chillan for Stake Conference. It was way sweet! President Humphrey and Sister Humphrey spoke and the Stake President. And Elder Alliaud of the 70 from Argentina came and spoke it was real great. He’s a great guy. The Argentinean people are super funny so he had some good stories to tell that related to the gospel but he had a good message I took some great notes.  Then we got back on the bus after and we headed back to San Carlos. We ate lunch and then we went home and got ready to go teach the restored gospel! We taught Maria and Carmelo. They need some help as a family so we taught them about the need to pray as a family to fix their problems. The dad is a little hard headed. But we hope and pray that things will get better. The mom and the daughter want to get baptize. On Friday Elder Benitez and I had gone running and when we left this park we were at we saw Maria walking to work so we ran up and started walking and talking to her and she had just had a bad night at the house. She wasn’t able to sleep because of some problems so she was a little disanimated so we did our best to help her. But it was a miracle because the one day we went running we just happened to go by her in the morning after that bad night she had. So that strengthened my testimony of the love our Heavenly father has for every one of his children. So we had taught a couple of lessons before that we taught Juan with a member because he is going out to work this whole week and he won’t be home all week. he’s a great guy Pray for him that he gets baptized this Saturday! And then we walked home and we planned for the week and I took numbers like usual and then I watched some Mormon Messages with Elder Turner before we went to bed.

 And then today after we studied we went and looked for a gym and we found one. The owner is a less active guy Frans. He let us workout for free! So that was cool to get a good sweat on. And then we went to eat some completos and french fries and now we are writing so it has been a sweet week! This is the last week of the exchange! It sure goes by fast. I’m pretty sure Eder Benitez and I will stay together we are having a lot of success together. So we’ll see!

  I love you guys! Stay cool and have a great week!

      les wuiero muchisimo!

      Elder Johnson

                                        

September 17, 2012 - Chilean Independence Day!

Well here we are the Chilean Independence Day has arrived!

 We had a sweet week! We found the most investigators that I have found all of my mission this week! We found a bunch of families! So now we just gotta get them to know some members and get them to church! It rained a little bit yesterday. We left the house with just normal jackets and it poured so that was quite the adventure. So I wish I could share some of that coldness with you guys! haha But slowly we are entering into the summer! So I’m excited.

 We found this one family of a mom and her 2 daughters and little son. We were contacting at night and we saw this little dog attack this guy’s leg so I was like O no I aint contactin that house! And Elder Benitez said O no we need to contact it the Adversary put that dog there so we wouldn’t contact it. So Elder Benitez went and contacted and I strolled up behind him after seeing the dog had calmed. And a teenage girl walked out and we started talking and she said The Book of Mormon! I’ve been waiting to have my own! So we went by later on in the week and she accepted a baptismal date and on Saturday we watched the Restoration and her little sister loved it too! When we went by yesterday the mom said that they were fighting over the Book of Mormon to read it so we gave Carmen Gloria the younger daughter her own copy! So we are so stoked for them!

 Well I don’t have much time to write but I thought I’d leave you guys with that little story! That Heavenly Father always prepares His children and sometimes they are behind wild and ferocious dogs! But I’m loving it here. Tomorrow we are gonna go to Chillan with the Zone to play some basketball and have a BBQ. Tomorrow is the real P Day we just have a little bit of time today to write!

But I love you guys! Have a great week!

les quiero mucho!

Elder Johnson

                          

September 10, 2012 - Chilean Poncho and a Big Mac of course!

Here we are again! Time sure does fly when you are hard at work! It’s all going here! It sounds like everyone is getting into the swing of things with school sports and work! Sweet!

Well what can I say another stellar week in the small town of San Carlos! Pure miracles! We had a great Zone Class given by the Zone Leaders! We talked about the importance of being consecrated to our callings! So that was great we won the pastry for the week because we had the most people progressing in church! So that was a “sweet” victory! haha

But we worked hard this week. We had to find a lot of new people and get some new people to church so that we can be able to see some baptisms this month! So it was good. We taught a lot of lessons and saw some great miracles.

On Wednesday I had a mini exchange with a sector in my District. I had to go and do a baptismal interview for a person who is ready to get baptized. She passed her interview but doesn’t want to get baptized till the end of the month because she is busy these upcoming weekends with her son’s birthday and work, and there is Stake Conference the 22nd and 23rd so we can’t baptize then. But we had a good mini exchange. We taught some lessons and Elder Mera who is Mexican and a Chef cooked Quesadillas! So he hooked it up! It was s some food I hadn’t eaten for a year and a half so I savored that! But it went good and then we switched back on Thursday and Elder Benitez and I we went to lunch. And then we went to work so that was good!

On Thursday we had a sweet day. We went and contacted this part that is far out and we found a mom and daughter who were way stoked to listen to us! They accepted baptismal dates and wanted to come to church! So we were stoked for them! We left way happy! But then they called us on Friday and said that her husband didn’t want us to come over. So that was lame, and yesterday on Sunday we went by to see what was going on and the husband was drunk. And he talked about the bible for like 20 minutes and tried to explain some stuff but he wasn’t all there so it was pretty funny. But hopefully his heart will soften he started to listen to us for a little bit.

Friday we taught some good lessons. We went to teach Juan. An older dude who works out in the fields. He is super humble and wants to be baptized! And he came to church on Sunday! So we were way stoked for him. And we taught this girl who rents a room from him. She is super nice and she accepted a baptismal date too but she didn’t come to church so that was a little lame but we are gonna get her animated to go the next week!

Saturday was sweet! When we did the mini exchange Elder Benitez and Elder White found 2 investigators in our sector. They were contacting and they knocked a door and a kid opened it and let them in, and the mom and grandma were waiting for the Adventists to come teach and they thought it was us! haha So we went back on Saturday and we taught them the Restoration and they got stoked and accepted baptismal dates! And the mom Faviola and her 2 kids Francisco and Valesca came to church! So that was cool! The little boy loves to sing. He can’t read but he watches me sing and he tries to say what I say! haha so that is a cool family! I’m so stoked for them, pray for them!

Sunday morning we went out and did divisiones so we could look for our investigators. I went to one part and Elder Benitez went to another. And Marcela one of our good investigators bought a dress and everything and was way stoked to come to church but her boyfriend’s mom drank too much and she had to go to the hospital! So she couldn’t come to church. But we went by at night and her testimony is so strong of the gospel. She already prayed and knows that this is the true church! But now she went to The Andes up by Santiago to be with her boyfriend Sebastian who is selling stuff for the Chilean Independence Day to have some money. And it’s his birthday tomorrow. So I sent him one of my white shirts that hasn’t been opened and Elder Benitez and I sent some ties for him, for when he gets married and baptized! So we are way stoked for them! And I had to give the class in Elders Quorum. It was about Faith from the Book of the Life of President George Albert Smith! It went well. President Smith had a tough life yet he kept it together with his huge testimony of the Gospel.

So we are stoked to get to work this week! We need to see some baptisms soon! Thanks for the prayers and love everyone! Have a killer week!

les quiero,

Elder Johnson

September 3, 2012 - Tio Salgado and a Bus to Conce

Hey family and friends how’s it going! Sounds like everyone is having a good Labor Day! That’s good!

Well things are going good here still. We saw a lot of success this week as well! Tuesday we had a great District Class I talked about how we need to be examples of the gospel. Because if the people see that we are stoked to go to church and keep the commandments they will want to do it to! And I talked about how we can get some people to church this week, so everyone was stoked as we left and Elder Bracken the Zone Leader was there and we did a practice to show how it should be done about inviting people to come to church. And then after we did a mini exchange. Elder Bracken came to our sector and Elder Benitez went to theirs. It was good. After lunch we were walking to an appointment and I saw a group of people in the street so we contacted them and I asked if they would want to go inside and share a message. And one lady popped out and started walking to her house and we taught her. Her son is in prison and things aren’t going to well right now. She accepted a baptismal date and wants to go to church but she went to Santiago. But she is great she said she wants to read and go to church. Her name is Marcela. And then we were walking to go teach some kid English and Elder Bracken saw a lady out of the corner of his eye and we contacted her, and she didn’t want to hear at first but we offered to say a prayer and she let us in and we taught her and she was way ready to hear the restored gospel! And she accepted a date too! So those were a couple of miracles also! And then we went to do a couple of baptismal interviews and we pretty much battled. The first one was a grandma whose 2 grandkids aren’t baptized. And she doesn’t think they are ready. She is a new convert. But her grandkids already go to church every Sunday. So we had to help her out a little bit realize some things of the gospel. And then after we went to Javieras and Elder Bracken did the interview and the interviews are done alone and they were talking for about 45 minutes about the basic structure of the church and how Thomas S. Monson is a prophet because she doesn’t believe he is a prophet. So it was a tiring day but satisfying.

Wednesday I woke up and did some exercises like usual and then I whipped up an Elder Johnson special.  Scrambled eggs with Tuna and bread! For Elder Bracken and I! It is the best full of energy for the day. Then we did a little study and then we had service. I had to get up on top of a sketchy Chilean roof and rip off the old roof and put on a new one. While I was hammering on the metal I pounded my thumb! It killed! We did it for a couple of investigators we are teaching and who are gonna get married so they can get baptized! So that was good. Then we went to lunch and then took the bus back to Chillan to switch back our companions. Then we came back and went right to work again. And we taught a couple of lessons and found some good people.

Thursday was a normal day some studying in the morning and then we had some good work in the afternoon. At night we had a family night with a less active family and we watched the Restoration. And Friday morning we had a Conference for all the leaders in Concepcion. But all the buses out of San Carlos left too late in the morning or stopped running at night so we finished the Family Night real quick and then we had to run to the house so I could change into my suit and get some things ready for the Conference. So I had a member pick me up and he drove me to Chillan at night and I got there and I had to do numbers for the night and turn them in. Then we went to bed at about 12:30 and we had to wake up at 430 to catch the early bus out of Chillan to Concepcion at 6:00. So that was a nice adventure walking through the centro at 6 in the morning it’s a whole different world when the sun is down! Then we got to Concepcion Friday morning and we had some time to spare so we waited a bit in the terminal and then we walked to the Chapel. All of the conferences of the mission are in my old chapel in Concepcion so it was nice being back there in a familiar place! The conference was great. The Zone Leaders talked about their baptismal goals and why they didn’t get it or why they did get it. And they set the new goal. And President dropped the hammer. He let us know that we need to get things going and that we need to raise the bar. So it was cool. And he talked about how we need to strengthen our companions Districts and Zones so it was way cool. Whenever he teaches you feel the Spirit it got me stoked! And the assistants talked about how we need to divide our sectors into 4 parts so that we don’t waste time. It was way good. Then after I got my package you sent! So that was great. Then we walked to a little shop and ate some hamburgers and then we went to the terminal and got back on the bus. The bus was blazing hot none of the windows were open so we roasted. Then we went back to the house and I got my stuff and then Elder Turner, Benitez and Cruz were waiting for me and we caught the bus up to San Carlos. I got back and changed and we worked a little bit, and then we had a meeting with the Ward Mission Leader. So that was good. We have a real good ward here. They love the gospel and love to help us. Then we went home and ended the night planning.

Saturday morning we studied and then we went to the chapel to play some soccer but none of the people came so we played for a little bit then we went home and showered and went to lunch so that was good. It was hot this week so that was nice. We spent most of Saturday visiting all the people that were going to go to church. We had a killer Family Night with Marcela and Sebastian. They are 2 investigators we are teaching. Marcela is 19 and Sebastian 17. He looks like he’s 26 but it’s because he had a hard life before. But we have been teaching them and he knows that stuff isn’t going to give him a bright future. And Marcela always tells him to not go to hang out with his friends because he’ll get into trouble. On Friday night we taught Sebastian and he had been stabbed in the arm when he was drunk but he didn’t know how it happened. We gave him a blessing and he said he felt great after and that he slept without any pain. So that was a miracle. So we went to the Toledo family. They have 2 kids who are the same age as Marcela and Sebastian and we watched Together Forever! It is my favorite church movie. And after we talked a little bit. It was cool because the dad is an Ex Bishop and he shared some great words and the wife also. And Marcela and Sebastian were able to talk about the things they want to make different. So it was way spiritual and they left the house with smiles on their faces! And then Sunday morning we left early and went and looked for some investigators to bring to church. But a couple of them who had committed real well weren’t awake or sick so that was lame. But Marcela and Sebastian were there and Javiera! So we were stoked for them. And it was fast and testimony meeting so that was great. But Marcela and Sebastian left early because Sebastian went to Santiago to work for a couple weeks. The classes went real well to. After church we walked home and we changed our clothes, and we went to lunch. lunch was good! It was like a potato soup with beef and some squash. It filled us up and some homemade bread. Then we went back home and then to work. We helped a guy named Rodrigo move houses for about 2 hours. And before that we taught one lesson. And found a lady who was stoked to read the Book of Mormon! So that was cool. Then at night we did some contacts, and then we went home and did some planning. And then I had to do numbers again and then we hit the hay! So it was quite the week. There is just so much to do here in this little town but not enough time to get around to do it all! But I’m loving it and am excited to see some more miracles this week!

Oh and our toilet hose broke so we had water gushing out for a day or so while we showered but we got it fixed  that was pretty classic.

And today we went to Chillan and we played some basketball with the Zone it was way fun, and then we came back and we ate some huge completos that were 4 hotdogs long! It was a competition and yep you guessed it Elder Johnson won!  And we had to eat a plate of fries! So that was good!

But I hope everybody has a great first week of school! I love you guys all!

les quiero,

Elder Johnson