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
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