11 Months

Congratulations to Spencer! wow I can't believe he graduated already. It feels like yesterday that we were playing hide and go seek in the clothes aisle of K Mart, with me ending up lost and crying. Haha, I feel like Spencer has never really gotten lost like I have. Have you all noticed that?

Congratulations Spencer :)

So now that I think about it, I haven't talked to you since Mother's day. Well, I got changed again. Haha, not from the office. Just changed in my area. But it was a good change. We were working in a sector with a pair of sisters and the assistants. So we got changed to the sector with the other two secretaries. The sad part was that it crashed any plans we had of having baptisms this month. 

But we were blessed this Sunday when a lady came to church with a member. We presented ourselves saying it was our first Sunday there and she said "Great, it's mine too". She accepted the message well. That same night we went to her humble home and met her daughter and invited them both to the next Sunday. They both accepted. 

That Monday we picked an elder up from the airport who was waiting in Bogota Colombia for his Visa to go through. He is a good guy from Santa Marta Colombia. A convert of three years but has a great foundation and is really ready and eager to learn. So I was able to mini-train him. He just left today to a sector that"s growing about 2 hours outside the city.

This last Thursday we were able to have a good lesson with that lady who came to church and her daughter of 19 years. We invited them both to be baptized. They both accepted. The mom has the date for the 9th of June and the daughter is the next week since she hasn't been to church yet. It was a great blessing coming from the other sector. We hope to be able to keep up the momentum. We are really learning how to manage our time better, but there is still a long ways to go. I love my companion. I'll try and send photos next time. 

Well I hit 11 months last week and before I blink I will have a year. I honestly did not believe anyone when they told me that the mission goes by really fast. But it really does. 

When ye are in the service of your fellow men, ye are in the service of your God. That's really true being secretary. I am finding new ways to serve the missionaries and make their lives a little easier so they can focus more on the work. And in return I can see the Lord's hand in helping me in my personal labor and discipleship. I love you all. May the peace of Christ be upon you. 

Love,

Elder Johnson

Mother's Day

Dear Family,

I will dedicate this letter to my mom. Instead of writing a general letter of how moms influence the lives of their sons and how important that is, I will express to MY mom the way she has influenced my life:

Wow, I always knew I had great parents, but until I came out here I never realized how great. I remember when our stake president told me I would realize how blessed I was to have parents like the ones I have while I served here on the mission. He was right.

Mom taught me how to express my feelings, how to share testimony, how to think rationally and critically, and how to act in the moment. "I know I've taught my sons to not be in the crowd and watch, but to stand up and do something." That's something she told me when I told her about a fight I had stopped in football practice one day.

She taught us to be peacemakers, to seek to be better and to follow the example of Christ. I know that this has helped me in the mission.

Haha, I remember turning 12 and being ready to leave the Primary. But because my birthday was in January I had to stay in the Primary being 12 years old for the rest of the year. I would be singing the Mother's Day songs with the rest of the little kids. Haha, I didn't want to. "Sing to your mother." She told me and I went up there to sing when all the little kids walked up. I was so tall to everyone else and felt too big to be there. I think I sang the first two lines of "Mother, I Love You" and then started crying. I don't think I understood the emotions at that time, but I was feeling love for my mom. The love of the Savior. Pure love. I love you mom.

Elder Johnson
P.S. We´ll talk tomorrow :)

Busy Bee

Dear Family,

This last week was pretty crazy actually. We had 11 missionaries go home and 11 come in. And I had to make sure everything went just right. I certainly learned something about airports, migration, and negotiating. I am trying to learn something from the stuff I have to do as secretary. I definitely have to have a mind that remembers everything, and I get to work on my Christlike attributes as I deal with many people and missionaries in many different situations. It was cool, the other day while waiting in line to register the visas of the new missionaries I sat next to an Italian Jehovah's Witness and taught him the Restoration. I also taught a French catholic guy. And a white lady who came here to live after her husband died. My life is a lot more busy. But I always have time to have a prayer for you guys. I hope and pray that you are being blessed. You were all part of my preparation to be here and complete this mission for the Lord. Pray for me, as I pray for you.

Love
Elder Johnson