"I'm so happy, Mom"

Good afternoon, everybody!  I hope that all of you had a good week.  I hope you are finding ways to serve others during this Christmas season.  It is amazing what service does to us if we do it with love and with all of our heart.  We constantly progress spiritually as we are in the service of our fellow men.  What a great opportunity we have this Christmas season to reflect on the selfless life of Jesus Christ and to forget about ourselves and serve/give to others.

Something I have recognized since I have been on my mission is how caught up I was in worldly things and how temporal and insignificant they truly are.  Worldly things are such strong tools that Satan uses to distract us from things that have eternal blessings-consequences.  Don't focus this year on getting and receiving, focus on serving and helping others out because that is what this time of year is all about.

I had a good week.  We have been focusing on working with the members and gaining their trust so that we can involve them more in the work.  It has been a good learning experience for me to see how important every member of the church is in the missionary work.  They have strong testimonies that can help other people in so many ways, but sometimes they put limitations on themselves and don't take advantage of what they're capable of.  We had a lesson this week with a lady named Karina Reyes.  Our mission leader who has been a member for about two years came with us and shared his testimony about the church.  He said that at one point in his life he was going through a hard time and he prayed to get help.  He prayed to have the guidance of the Savior as he was going through this challenge.  The next day he was walking and came in contact with two missionaries and told him that they had a message about Jesus Christ that could bless his life.  He took the discussions and was later baptized because he received a confirmation from the spirit that this message was true.  After he shared his testimony, Karina said to us that there is no way that we are teaching her by coincidence.  She was able to recognize that she has had some of the same feelings that our mission leader, Victor, had and every time she talks with us she tells us that she feels a peace and tranquilidad.

I have learned so much from that experience.  I know that this work is the work of the Lord and He works through every single member.  Trust in the Lord.  Trust in your own testimonies and share them often.

Anyways, this change here with Elder Juarez has come to an end.  I have been called by the Lord to train a new missionary.  I know that I have been prepared for this assignment to learn and grow spiritually.  I'm thankful for the experience I had to be here with Elder Juarez.  I learned a lot from him and that has made me a better person.  He has been a huge example to me of humility, working diligently and patience.  I know that from his example I have become a better missionary.

I hope and pray that you all have a good week and pray for and look for opportunities to serve others.  Share your testimony often and I promise you all that you will grow spiritually, you will find answers to questions in your life and you will be more receptive to the promptings of the spirit.  I love you all and pray you have a safe week.

Elder Johnson's "Hood"

Elder Johnson

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

Transferred to Trujillo

Hello everybody!  Wow, I had by far the best week in my mission.  I seriously have been on a spiritual high all week.  To start out the week, I had the opportunity to go on splits with my zone leader, Elder Henao.  It was sick!  I felt the spirit the whole day and learned a lot of things that I can do to become a more efficient missionary.  He's one of my best bros so we just got to mob all day, it was sick.  Anyways, I told you about that family we found with Ivan last week.  We went to their house on Tuesday and we asked how they felt when we entered their house on Sunday.  Hermana Ilda told us that normally her husband plays soccer on Sundays and after he drinks with all of his bros.  After his soccer game, his bros were like hey let's go drink, but he said that he heard a voice tell him to go back to his house.  He waited a second and then he heard it again.  After he got to the house, five or ten minutes later, we knocked on the door.  When she told us that, I testified to her that we were guided to them and that they are ready to hear this beautiful gospel.  It was such a spiritual experience.  It was another witness that God is aware of ALL of His children.

After that on Thursday, Elder Henao called me and told me that he is going to be the new assistant!  I'm so hyped!  Elder Benitez and Elder Henao were both my zone leaders two changes ago and now they're the assistants!  I'm super happy and excited about that.  I have learned a ton from both of them.  they're some of my best bros!

Elder Johnson, Elder ?, Elder Choque

Now, for the best part of the week.  I had the opportunity to baptize Fernando Casanova.  It was an experience and a blessing that I will never forget.  We found Fernando on September 20th and almost exactly a month later, he was baptized.  I learned a lot from him in his conversion process.  He lives in a house where his whole family drinks, they're into drugs, and it is a hard atmosphere for him to live in.  I remember we were in a lesson at his house a week ago and his brother was drunk and punched his wife and she was bawling and left.  After the situation settled down, Fernando started sharing his testimony.  He started crying and said, "I love my family, I'm so thankful for them.  I love my mom, my brothers, my nieces, my nephews and I know this beautiful Book of Mormon you guys showed me will help change their lives so we can all be happy and because of that I'm going to be an example for them.

Elder Johnson, Inca Kola, Fernando's brother

Fernando, Elder Johnson, Elder Choque

He went on to finish the whole Book of Mormon before his baptism!  I am a witness that the Book of Mormon changes lives.  We were guided to Fernando because the Lord had prepared him.  There is no way that we were placed in the path of his drunk brother in front of his house by coincidence.  There is absolutely no way that that was coincidence.  The Lord works in mysterious ways and through his missionaries.  I know I told you guys before, but the night we found him, we had a goal of 4 new investigators from members and we were one short of our goal so we went to contact a reference and on our way back we found his brother.  I know we were blessed and through diligence that day we were guided to bring the gospel to the man, Fernando.

I remember also that he told us the other day that he had a dream with a bunch of clean cut missionaries. Before he had long hair with a beard and in this dream he said that I told him to cut his hair.  We showed up a couple days later and he was clean cut and shaven to show reverence in the chapel.  Honestly, I have been so humbled.  I'm so thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord and the strength they have given me spiritually.  I could never deny my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is so real.

Anyways, I'm being transferred and received the call to serve in Trujillo and my companion's name is Elder Juares.  He is from Lima.  I am eternally grateful for the experiences I have had and the people I have met here in Chimbote.  I'm sad to leave and will miss everybody, but I'm on the Lord's errand and I know that I'm supposed to be in Trujillo at this time.

I want you all to know that I love you so much.  I hope and pray that you all have a good and safe week.  Talk to you next week.

Con muchisimo amor,
Elder Johnson