11-24-14 We found a waterfall!

Phew!!!! Well I´m kinda tired but not cause of the week but because today for Pday we basically did what I've wanted to do the whole time. hahaha 

We went to a Finca of a member.... I'm not sure what that is in English but it's like a plantation of coffee. Anyways and we made a path in the jungle with a machete, we saw snakes, and swung from vines (like legitly! I always thought the movies exagerated but it was pretty dang cool) and in the end we found a waterfall and if I wasn´t a missionary I would have gone swimming but since I am... we did not go swimming. I´ll have to come back to do it all again. Then we harvested two giant heavy things of bananas.... those weigh alot. and filled a bag of oranges and hiked all the way out of the valley again... cars do not enter there. It was freaking SICK!!! Other than that we cut coffee... I never thought I would do that but we did it as service.. they´re members, I just hope they don´t fall into tempation. I don´t understand the appeal honestly, especially seeing all the processing that they have to do, I do not think it is worth it. But that's my opinion.

Other than that this week is transfers!!!! I will be staying until January because we're doing tithing setttlements right now so they can´t really take me out. Also we got the Christmas program set up, I can´t just leave after planning it all. haha but our district lost Hermana Hackney.

Now we will be receiving a new sister tomorrow... the day changed from Wednesday to Tuesdays now... it´s more effective but not as comfortable, oh well.

 

This week I just want to share an experience. I went on interchanges with some elders and we invited one of their families to fast with us about if they should be baptized this week. I don´t know why I did it, but I accepted to do it even though it wasn´t my area or investigators... I really fasted for them and they got baptized. I found that this gave me a happiness that I have not felt for awhile. Or maybe it´s just that I had begun to take it for granted. It made me so happy and im not even sure why. I felt so good. In our are We worked super hard this week, and the fruits will come later.... haha.

In the branch we called a first counselor and a secretary... talking about progresss. we are trying to have a temple trip on the 9 of Dec. and on the 20th of Dec we have the Christmas dinner. We should be sending like 2 families to get sealed if they can stop drinking coffee.... It feels good. Also this week the chapel filled up with people.... all of the sudden. God has done miracles here... other than that I´m beat and I think if there is 20 min I will try to squeeze a nap in. or maybe I´ll just close my eyes while I wash clothes.. haha

Love you all! Hope you're doing great!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

paz y amor

11-17-14 soccer tournament

To be honest I need to wake up!!! haha Idk what´s happening these days but I just feel tired and unexcited. We baptize, we teach, we find, I know the words, but I feel like I´m missing the feeling that I used to have. Now looking at those symptoms I would say I need to repent. So that´s what I´ll do. I just gotta figure out what exactly I need to repent of... :)

Really, things are going good. The attendance is rising, the new investigators are progressing, I wake up, do excercise, eat, work in  the mission and collapse exhausted on my bed. repeat repeat. Sundays people come to church and yet don´t want to get baptized yet. I´m missing the enthusiasm that I had when I just came out. Now I know what I´m doing, I know how to do it and we have results but... it´s missing something, you could say the spirit, you could say enthusiasm, or energy. Or maybe a bunch of different things. I know we determine our attitude, and that the prepared are out there waiting. But why don´t I have that something?  Because I choose it and I want it soo bad, even sometimes it comes, but why doesn´t it stay the way it used to? Thats what I´m doing and thinking about these days. I am repenting, and trying to re-repent, trying to find the thing that is impeding me to feel the energy I used to. I think I just need to trust more in God..

 

 

Now those words are so easy right? Trust in God. It´s on the Dollar but how do we do that? Doesn't´t faith mean action? So what is trust and how can I do it more? These are my questions these days. I´m definitely a work in progress.

 

Other than that, this week something different happened. As the young men´s presidency in our branch my companion and I organized and reffed a tournament of kids 14 to 10 playing soccer. It was really fun and it reminded me of my reffing days when the Tippets would call me. Some of these kids have some major talent. We taught them all about the church and invited them to church and one of them came. It was cool, we´ll see how his lessons go this week.

Well I love you all so much. Don´t let the letter deceive you, I´m happy and working, and content these days. I just used this letter as a thought process more than anything so thanks for all listening, and don´t worry everything is gonna be alright. :)

Paz y amor, Elder Johnson

11-10-14 Nothing went as planned, but it was a great week.

This week was surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because nothing went according to plan, but everything we needed to do got done, and more. Just goes to show that sometimes God changes the plans. haha

We started  out the week with a Zone Conference. President Fortuna came and talked to us about studying and gave us a test to see how well we´ve been studying. It asked what the 13 chapters of Preach my Gospel were,

and the titles of all 5 lessons. I´m proud to say I got 96 out of 110. That´s without warning. haha He taught us the importance of planning and making lessons ¨spiritually¨ before we make them physically. We read in the Pearl of Great Price and it says God created everything spiritually before he created it physically, or in other words he made a plan. Cool huh?

So this week we were committed to have 10 baptismal dates, and we ended with 6. One of our investigators received a miraculous answer and wanted to get baptized early.... we were like "hey, want to get baptized the 15th?" and he was like "No, I want to get baptized the 8th".... that never happens, usually they say "why so soon?" so he kinda caught me by surprise. But thankfully my companion is much more intelligent than I and was like, "well, we won´t make you do anything you don´t want to." haha This man is now a member of this church... not planned but way better.

 

Also, basically we only had 12 lessons this week.... so that means we had a lot more appointments cancel than usual, but we found 4 new families.. It´s crazy how much God knows better than us. The thing is we made this plan with his approval and we felt it is what he wanted. Sometimes God just wants to show us some miracles I think. I sure am willing to let Him. I love it so much.

Other than that, this Sunday was seminary graduation and my convert graduated!!! He´s such a stud, and it was even cooler cause I was presiding over the thing so I got to give him his certificate, made me tear up and everything, but I didn't cry. He is blessing the sacrament every week and is currently serving as my 1st assistant in the Young Men's Quorum (we have 7 young men and I am the only active leader, so we just keep them all together). He is learning so much. I am so grateful to God for allowing me to see all of the amazing miracles.

Well... Love ya. Sorry I don´t have anything funny or any crazy stories, super spiritual. Like I said, it was a good week. Just not sure how it all happened haha.

Love ya all

paz y amor

11-03-14 Welp, I'm sick - stengthening my immune system

Welp I'm sick. I have an extremely strange rash on my arms and my legs and on my belly button. Yes yes I have talked to various doctors and they normaly tell me something different every time, but now I have been treated by  the mission doctor and am taking a medication to destroy the "giant mosquito bites that wouldn´t go away." because that´s what I thought it was. but... not. :) 

Eating a lot of sugar cane these days

The mission is so great, think about it, I would have never had the opportunity to get this in the states, well... at least I don't think so, and now my immune system is going to be that much stronger. Really, they don´t bother much which is why they got kinda biggish, like a quarter, not like horrific or anything. Really everything is just great.

 

New hammock for $10!

We have a family we are teaching that are progressing a lot. They want to marry and they want to join the church, the problem is they don´t want to get baptized for the 3rd time... Kind of a pinch, but no worries. They just have to understand the doctrine. The doctrine of the gospel enables us to make changes in our lives when we understand it correctly. That's a key thing I´ve learned here. I've been frustrated because lots of times I feel like words are not enough. There ought to be more that we can do to bring people to this truth. Through suffering and stress and studying the missionary manual, I have been taught that our words really are one of our most powerful tools. It is a tool of influence, it´s sole purpose is to communicate... there are other ways to communicate, but if we use this communication in a way where the Holy Spirit can testify as well it becomes more than words. The thing for me is it is hard to know when the other person is feeling, and UNDERSTANDING (two things that are inseperably connected) that this really is the Doctrine of God. I´m a work in progress.

 

Awesome family! They're a riot!

I love this place, these opprotunities and I am so grateful to all who have helped me and influenced me. Love you all!

Paz y amor. 

Elder Johnson