Remember Me in Your Prayers

What's up, everybody?  I hope that you all had a good week and that you are all at peace, after the scare that I gave you!  It is never a good sign when you are talking to your family when it is not Mother's Day or Christmas!!  I have definitely gone through some of the most stressful days of my mission this week.  But, I am at peace and feel like I came to the right conclusion with the help of my Father in Heaven.

For those of you who don't know, in September before my mission, I had to have surgery on my tailbone and have a cyst removed.  Everything went well, but it took forever to heal and it was really annoying to deal with. I also remember after the surgery the doctor told me that there was a possibility that the cyst would come back.....and that is exactly what has happened.  I woke up on Thursday morning with blood everywhere.  I called the office to set up an appointment with the doctor, so that day I was super stressed because I knew I was going to need to have surgery again and that there was a possibility I would have to go home.  I got to the appointment and Dr. Moreno looked at it and the first thing he told me was that I need to have surgery.  As he told me that, I just started crying.  I have been through this before and I know it is not a quick and easy procedure to deal with.  I instantly thought I was going to have to go home.

Later that night, the area doctor, Dr. Asay, called me and told me there was a possibility that I am going home to have the operation done.  He talked to my parents and my parents called and talked to me...honestly, I felt like I was going to go home.  I wrote out the pros and cons about staying here and going home.  I saw and felt that it would be a lot safer, cleaner and better to go home and have the surgery.  I didn't have one reason why I would stay and have the operation done here, except that I would get to stay with all of my bros!  After a lot of prayer, fasting, receiving a Priesthood blessing, reading my Patriarchal blessing and scripture study, I have received an answer that I need to stay here in Peru and have everything done.  In my search for an answer, I came across this scripture that brought so much peace into my heart and it confirmed to me that I need to stay.  It says, "Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are not of man nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your redeemer, by the will of the Father, Amen."

I am to a point where I need to apply what I am teaching everyone here in Peru and set an example for them.  I am a representative of Jesus Christ and I suit up for Him everyday to do what He himself would do if He were here. I know He guided me in the decision that I made.  To close, I want to share part of one of my favorite scriptures in Alma, that says, "Yea, I know that I am nothing, as to my strength I am weak, therefore, I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things."  There is nothing that we can do in this gospel alone.  Living this gospel isn't easy.  It never has been and it never will be, but as we have faith and trust in the Lord, we can do all things.  There is so much to learn from this trial that I will have to go through and because of that, I am thankful to my Father in Heaven because I know it is an opportunity for me to grow spiritually.  Trials that aren't consequences of disobedience are signs that God loves us and that He has a plan for us so that we can come more fully unto Him and be happy and have the blessings that He wants to bless us with.

I know that God lives and that He loves us.  He is a God of miracles.  I'm not worried about anything because I am in His hands and through the atonement of Jesus Christ, I will get through everything.

I have a doctor appointment tonight to schedule the surgery.  I will keep you updated with that.  Remember me in your prayers so that I will be able to get back to work as fast as possible and so the doctor doesn't screw up!  I hope that you all have a good week.  I love you guys!  Talk to you next week!

Elder Johnson