Happy Thanksgiving

What's up everybody!  I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving spending time with your families and friends.  Thanksgiving is such a special time to reflect on all that we have been blessed with.  I have been so humbled here on my mission and I have really come to know ho blessed I am to have the family and friends that I have and to have the fulness of the gospel in my life.  I'm so thankful for my mission and everything I have learned.  I could never ever deny the testimony I have of this beautiful gospel.  How blessed we all are to have the gospel in our lives.  As we are getting into the holiday season, never let the worldly things and traditions overtake the true purpose and meaning of this special time of year.  Take advantage of every opportunity that you have to serve and give to others as a reflection of your faith and love you have for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Something I want to share with you guys is something that I have been thinking a lot about this week.  As members, a lot of the time it's easy to have fear to talk to other people and to share our testimony with them.  We may feel like our testimony isn't strong enough or that other people will make fun of us.  all of these fears, thoughts and discouraging feelings come from Satan.  As members, we have such a great responsibility to share it with everyone. Through service, being a Christlike example to others, and most importantly your testimony.  I testify to all of you that all of you have the ability to change somebody's life.  I know with faith and trusting in the Lord and asking to have missionary experiences, He will prepare the way and you will be given missionary opportunities.  As He gives you those opportunities and as you act, you will be guided in what you need to say.  Through you and your testimony, you can change someone's life forever.

I have really been thinking about that this week because it is so important to work with the members and sometimes it's hard because they feel some of these same things.  I'm here to promise all of you that as you magnify your duty as a member, especially those who hold the priesthood, you will have success.  You will see miracles and your testimonies will be strengthened.  It is my invitation to all of you to help the missionaries in your ward.  Without you, they are nothing.  They can't do it alone.  The Lord is preparing people and through you, you will have fruits.  I know this is the work of the Lord.  We are all disciples and representatives of Jesus Christ, we took his name upon us at baptism and every Sunday during the Sacrament we renew our covenants and promise to always remember Him.  It is my prayer this time of year that you can remember the real purpose.  That you will reach out to others, magnify your calling as a member or to whatever office that you are called, I testify to all of you that you will see miracles and that this beautiful time of the year will be brightened even more.

Anyways, that's all I wanted to share with you guys this week.  I want all of you to know that I love you.  I pray that you all have a good, safe week!

Love,
Elder Johnson

Oops!

When we asked Elder Johnson why we didn't get the group email last week---he said, "You didn't???"  He is not sure what happened and couldn't find it in his sent folder or drafts---he even said it was a great email!  (He mentioned something about a falcon pooping on his head!! ha ha)  That would have been fun to read about!

We all got personal emails so we were confused when we didn't get the big one!  That is why there was no post last week!

Not Much to Say Today

Hey everybody!  I don't have much to say today.  Not much happened!!  I want to let you all know that I love this gospel.  There is no way I could deny the testimony that I have.  I love my mission and am so blessed to be here as a representative of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I love you guys!

Elder Johnson

Trujillo Temple

What's up everybody?  I'm sorry I wasn't able to email you on Monday.  We had the blessing to go to the temple today, so our p day changed to today this week.  The Trujillo Temple is unreal.  It was the prettiest temple.  As I walked in the temple for the first time in seven months, I felt the Spirit so strong.  There is no way I could ever deny that the temple truly is the house of the Lord.  I love it and I'm so thankful for the experience I was able to have today.

I had a pretty good week.  First off, Naomi was married and baptized this weekend!  I'm so happy for her and her family.  It truly is a miracle that she was baptized.  she had been taking the lessons from the missionaries for years and rejected multiple baptismal invitations. I will never forget the day when she walked in the door and told us that she made the decision that she was going to be baptized.  I learned so much from that experience.  Most of all, I learned that the Lord never gives up on any of us and is patient with every single one of us.  I'm so thankful for that knowledge.  I know that Naomi was prepared by angels and was able to make the changes in her life that are necessary to make covenants with our Father in Heaven.

Another blessing from this week was being able to recognize that truly as missionaries, we represent Jesus Christ and we are set apart to teach with power and authority.  We were led to a family of 14 this week who recently had a family member die.  I will never forget the feeling I had in that room with this family that was mourning the death of their brother.  A family that doesn't know where their brother is and if they would be able to see him again.  We were filled with the Spirit and I know we told the family what the Lord wanted them to hear.  I know that this is the work of the Lord and that He works through all of His servants.  At the end of the lesson, the mom told me thank you so much for that message-this was the first time since my son passed away that I have been at peace.  I can't describe to you through email how spiritual this experience was.  I am so humbled to have the calling that I do.  To teach others about this beautiful, perfect gospel that is the biggest blessing in my life.  I could never deny the testimony that I have of this gospel.  It's true!

Elder Juarez and Elder Johnson

Anyways, this is all for this week.  I hope and pray that you all have a good week filled with spiritual experiences.  I love you guys!

Elder Johnson

First Week in Trujillo

Hello everybody!  I hope and pray that all of you are doing good!  I'm so thankful for the blessing that it is to hear from all of you today.  I had a pretty good week with a lot of mixed emotions.  It was really sad and hard to leave Chimbote and all of the people that I grew to love.  That is by far the hardest part of the mission, getting so close to people and then having to leave them.  I'm eternally grateful for all of the people I met, the experiences I had and all of the things I learned in Chimbote.

That was hard to leave, but I'm really excited to be in my new area, Laureles, with Elder Juarez.  Elder Juarez is the man.  He is a really humble missionary and I have been able to learn a lot from him already this week.  He teaches with his heart and really focuses on the people we teach and what they need.  It's amazing how different the lessons are when we rely on the spirit.  That's something I have really been able to recognize this week with Elder Juarez.

My area, Laureles, is super sick.  I love it here so far!  It's a pretty wealthy area.  We live in a house with four missionaries.  It's me, Elder Juarez, Elder Paredes and Elder Willard.  It's super sick!  We live in this old lady's house who is super rich.  It's gonna be fun.  I have confidence that Elder Juarez and I will get work done.  We have a good work ethic and I know through diligence and obedience we will see miracles.

In closing, I want to share a quote from President Ezra Taft Benson about the Book of Mormon.  Lately, I have felt really impressed to put a lot of emphasis on the Book of Mormon and its power.  I'm embarrassed to say before my mission there were times where I felt like reading the Book of Mormon was a chore and with that mindset, it prevented me from spiritual progression that I regret more than anything.  But, President Benson said the following about studying the Book of Mormon and how neglecting that study may have unforeseen consequences.

"Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book?  Yes, either to our blessing or condemnation.  Every Latter Day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit.  Otherwise he is placing himself in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life.  There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod and one who is not."

I invite all of you to partake of the blessings of the Book of Mormon.  It is necessary in our lives as members.  There is power and we have free access to it, don't let the things of the world distract you or prevent you from the blessings that are promised to us by daily study.  I know it is true and I could never deny the testimony that I have.

I hope and pray you all have a good week.  I love you guys!

Elder Johnson