Week 74, June 9 - June 15, 2014

Oh Boy! Happy Fathers Day!

How are you guys, Im glad you had such a good time in Disneyland, It looks like quite the crew you got there, You all look really ready for some disco skating, That'll be a sweet moment to get back and do that again, but meanwhile were doing great here in Calamba.

Quick update on Calamba, its a very very large city, its almost like Manila, We have a burger king here, and a dairy queen, the only one in San Pablo mission, Its the birthplace of Jose Rizal the national hero of the Phils. and the capital of the fruit called rambutan (look it up) here in the Phils.

It has been a really great week, there were many meetings, many learning experiences, alot of tears shed, and alot of steady growth that has really occurred here in Calamba over the past few days. Elder Farley is doing great, Im really blessed to have him as a companion, I learn things each day, we've been going around trying to heal the relationship of the members and missionaries here, I feel that there are alot of neglected fruits here in Calamba that just need to be taught, the members seem to have been waiting for that right time to give them. Im really excited and the Members are really excited that there are 4 elders here who are ready to work. They seem very supportive, and very excited about the work. From the work shop the Zone Leaders gave on saturday in Stake conference, from our talk last sunday in ward council, and our individual visits to Members homes, the ward really seems to be mobilizing. Each day is filled with hope, I know its a slow process to rebuild, we are excited for the week ahead, As we sit down and plan, and talk, as we practice teach and learn from the 12 week, I honestly can feel that we are filling our wells, the members said that they can see a light in Elder Farley that wasnt there before, He's progressing, and his love for the people and his savior is really showing through, Its really something special to watch.

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday, It was really something special. It was the last time that President and Sister will speak to us, so they chose something very close to their hearts, the doctrine of families. They talked for about 45 minutes about the importance of families. We talked about eternal progression and how our families contribute, we talked about the family, a proclamation to the world, we talked about the new and everlasting covenant, and for the last 20 minutes they opened it up to a question and answer, we learned about how to be a faithful spouse, we learned the proper way to court, we learned about how to build your self, your family and your marriage on a foundation of Christ. President shared about a turning point in their marriage, a trial in which Sister proved to be the rock of the family, he spoke of the covenant of everlasting marriage and how it truly enables us to love someone and continue to love them, to continue to learn from them not only for 40 years, but fror 400, or 4 million, and on and on into the eternities, We are all changing beings, we grow, and there is always more that you can learn from a person, and as we look for the good in each of us, especially our eternal companion, there's new things you can learn, there's continued excitement, each and every day, there's continual growth, each and everyday, and as you learn from someone, you love them more. He said when he married sister Peterson, her father asked what he had, hes asked about things temporally, such as a job and a car, but president said that his response to the question what do you have for my daughter was simple and two fold, He said 1, we have the temple, and 2 we have each other, and that's all you need, It made me want to have that, I thought of the Petersons, I thought of my parents, and I thought of the truly eternal nature of the family, and I saw it, I saw fatherhood, and I saw the family I wanted to have, and I made a deal with myself that I was never going to do anything that would keep that from happening. Family life, is an inspiring vision, and a very worthy goal. 

After the afternoon session of the conference The sisters that I came in with, that will be going home this month bore their testimonies, it was amazing to see the growth which has happened in each of them. After that The spirit was ther, and President and Sister bore their final testimonies to us, There wasnt a dry eye, the spirit was there in great abundance, After that they wanted one final hug from everyone. I wanted to go first to just get it over with, but I was the pianist, so I was stuck behind the piano crying as we watched each person hug those two for the last time her in the mission. Whe it came to the end and it was my turn, I thought I had myself together, but as I approached sister, I lost it again, the tears and sobs were flowing, "I love you she said" and I knew that she meant it. I then hugged President, his only reply was, "come home with us, theres a mission in Gilbert, you can just finish there", we laughed through the tears " thanks for making this so special" he added, and I made my exit and tried to get ahold of myself. 

Im thankful for parents, fathers especially on this day, and father figures, thats what President was, and thats what my father is, On the mission you start to realize the sacrifice that parents give, and it hurts you to part from them, But as I thought about it, Its just a small glimpse into the divine and unfailing love our Savior and Father in Heaven have for each of us. I love you dad, 

I love you all

Have a great week,

Elder Johnson

I drank dads root beer for fathers day!

In love you all

I gotta go we'll talk next week! 

Elder Johnson

Week 73, June 2 - June 8, 2014*

Hey there! Im on! Get me an update! I was transfered to Calamba Laguna! Its beautiful!

Hey Family, Well its a new transfer, a new place, a new start, and a new companion, Meet Elder Farley, he's from Bountiful Utah, hes 21, and he's really excited to be out on a mission, he's been here 6 weeks, but Im restarting his training as a result of some pretty ugly things that have happened to him the past with his true father, Lets just say its a really good thing he dosent want to go home as a result of the experience hes had thus far in the mission, but were headed in a good direction now. Im here in Calamba 1st ward. Our chapel is really old, it was the 2nd or 3rd one built here in the Phils. The work is slow, were reopening, but as we met with the leaders things were filled with hope. I can feel the changes that are bound to happen here, the members said there was a different spirit with us that there has been in the past, and were excited to capitialize on it. Elder Farley is really really excited to work, and that makes the job of helping him so much easier.

It was really hard to leave Lemery, There has been some massive changes there in my time, and I felt so blessed as the call gave me a chance to reflect on the changes and blessings we've seen as well as the many many things ive learned.I packed my bags and went to the mission home thursday. President wanted to talk to me about some things, as I walked into his office, and sat down and talked with him we had the chance to reflect on the past year and a half.  He thanked me for taking everything he had taught me and changing. He thanked me for my service the past 9 and a half months as a Leader for him, he hoped that i'd learned some things, we talked about the assignment and trials which lay a head, we talked about Elder Farley and how we could help him, he said he's see me when I came home, and that he really wanted to make it to my homecoming, and then he closed, we shared a moment of silence after the hand shake, and then I asked for a hug, as we embraced he said thank you, with tears in his eyes, he was quiet for a moment and said through tears you know Elder one day Im going to meet your parents, and when I do Im gonna tell them how it is, then he added, they dont even know the half of it. I've wondered often how I would know if the service i've performed was pleasing to the Lord, and I can testify that the Lord testifies to us in quiet moments that he is in deed pleased with us just as he did with me as I heard that man that Iove so much say those words to me. After he said that, I lost it, and we enjoyed a few good moments together sobbing. As I walked out of the office trying to hide the tears I was wrapped in a big hug by Sister Peterson, It was a good day, it filled me with hope and inspired me to do better than before, Often the Lord places us in our missions not only for the people we can help, but for the things we can learn from those who serve with us, Ive learned many things, and Im so grateful for the Petersons.

The work is great, God is good, 

Love you all

Elder Johnson

Week 72, May 26 - June 1, 2014*

Hey family, 

Man it was a great week, we really really worked as hard as we could and up to this point are still completely exhausted. The week started with a meeting with Elder Craig C. Christensen of the 70 in San Pablo, we knew it would be quite the experience to hear from him and feel of that spirit he has in such a personal setting, so we woke up at 3 AM and left on the bus at 4AM , we arrived on time for the 9 AM meeting, and man was it worth it. We really had tried to exercise more virtue in our thoughts, and actions in the days prior to the meeting and the Lord really blessed us for it. I felt that I was being lifted up off of my chair as he spoke for only 20 minutes on the concept of prayer, I have never felt more information and visions of application flow more freely into my mind than they did at that time, My prayers have improved so much in the past week, I've felt closer than ever to my father in heaven. He said that the trick is to learn to pray for what god wants you to pray for, to think about what you should pray and be ready to yield to spiritual promptings in that prayer, its almost a matching game, to match our prayer and will to gods, and then we see that the answers come, He said that its not an easy process, its a wrestle, its work to seek for the Lords hand in matters of great significance, but it is possible to receive revelation for anything that we face in this life. 

We were so excited after that meeting we went out with more faith that we have ever had and really gave it our all, we are experiencing many blessings in the area, the Lords hand is definitely here, many new investigators and part member families are coming out of the woodwork, there are people attending church, there are a whole lot of baptisms scheduled for the next few weeks, and the changes we see both in people and in the area fill my heart with joy. 

This work is true, I love it and I love you

Elder Johnson

You all sound great!

We had a Zone p-day today at the big catholic church, so I wasnt able to e-mail you

Max, school is almost out thats great! God has so much more in store for us after highschool I promise!

Tuck, that magic act sounds pretty sweet! Im so excited to see when I get home..

Bailee, Keep having fun in that movie, It looks pretty intense! 

Aimee, I hope your well! Have fun at disneyland!

Coop, stay cool, Thanks for your email last week! Hows soccer? 

Maximo! Im so glad your back in our house! Hopefully I get the chance to meet you, keep reading that Book of Mormon! 

Its transfer week this week, we'll see how it all pans out..

Love you

Elder Johnson

Week 71, May 19 - May 25, 2014

Family and friends, 

Man the week went great, I really wish I could put more lines down here but it was just another solid week of work!

It rained for the first time in a long time yesterday, we slept so well, Ill never forget that, if its a hot day and then it rains at night, my body just drops. Its a good thing, you wake up rested!

The spiritual insights this week have been many, I think each week here in the Phils I see things that are both great examples of things to do and things not to do, things to apply and things to discard. I think back to Henry B. Eyrings talk this past conference about Heroes, and how when you hold the priesthood whether you want to be or not you are an example, you are a light, dim or bright others see you, and form opinions based on your actions, and to me I have seen many examples and read of many experiences of those who have put the church first in their life and given all they have, while still exercising common sense to the Lord and his kingdom, We experience both ends wherever we are those who are consecrated and those who will shrink, but this week was another testament to me of the true blessings that you can bring not only to your own life and family, but the life of others through consecration, The blessings are great, and this week as there is truly both ends of the scale, consecrated and not here within the Branch it becomes a prime opportunity for us as missionarys to grow as we exercise patience and help others come to see the amazing things that really could come out of a result of deeper consecration. So if your not consecrated, if you feel that anything in your life is above that of family and the church, I invite you to prioritize, As we shrink from greater consecration we find ourselves unworthy of the sacrifice of the one who for our sake refused to shrink in his great and atoning sacrifice for our sins. The church is amazing, it is the fullness of the gospel and the only way to true and lasting happiness, So be that example, purify yourself and I can promise the blessings are great, weve felt it in our work. 

I love you

Elder Johnson

Week 70, May 12 - May 18, 2014

Hey family,

The week went well, The heat continues to rise as it was a blazing 94 degrees in our room last night, but were so grateful for the nice tan the sun gives. 

Lance was Baptized this week and it really was quite the experience, Lance is a really special kid, a 15 year old part member family investigator, his older sister and family are really active members here in Lemery and she introduced us to Lance about 6 weeks ago. Lance has completely switched his friend group, he's quit smoking and other word of wisdom problems, he paid a fast offering, fasted, and bore his testimony all before his baptism, I learned alot about the pure workings of the spirit from him, as well as the blessings and testimony that comes as we act on those promptings. He invited all his family and a ton of his friends in his kind of run down neighborhood to his baptism, he said there were quite a few people who wanted to come, the only thing was they didn't have money to get there, we felt strongly that this was an extremely important event and that there was still a way that God had prepared, so as me and Elder Merrill thought about it we remembered a member who has a van, this member is always gone, driving people to the airport, or to weddings, things like that, but we let him know and he said that Saturday, the day of the baptism was his day off, and that he was happy to help. It was quite the experience as we piled 20 people, consisting of investigators, friends of lance as well as his mother and all his siblings.  into this van and got them over to the church. We had spent the morning cleaning the font, and setting up the Relief Society room, the spirit was there and it was a very special experience for all. The talks were great, very personal, Elder and I taught the Doctrine of Christ to those present, and as Lances sister bore her testimony to her family who was there about the eternal nature of the family and the gospel of Jesus Christ, there were some moist eyes. The spirit confirmed to everyone that what Lance did that day was sacred,as we followed up with Lances family yesterday, they seemed to be so much more willing to hear, and think about what we were saying, Baptismal services really are the most spiritual meeting in the church.

The work is going great, I can feel your p[rayers lifting me up.

Love you all!

Elder Johnson

I think we'll go visit the huge catholic church on the hill, then go get some grocerys, then nap, we washed our clothes by hand this morning, so the hard parts over, 

I'll get that money tomorrow, thanks! 

Sleep good 

Love you lots!

Tell everyone I said Hi and that they all look great, especially aimee in her new glasses :)

This is Lance and his sisters family,

I got your package! Thanks for the ties

Week 69, May 5 - May 11, 2014

Elder cook got a pinata in his B-day package!

This is Lance, he'll be baptized this week!

Week 68, April 28 - May 4, 2014

Im doing well, it was a good week, we had our Mission Leaders Council in San Pablo, heard some really great things from president, Next month he goes home and i'll be at 18 months! Time goes by so fast! 

Yesterday was great we had alot of people coming to church, our investigator lance got up and bore his testimony from a prompting from the Holy Ghost, and he's not even baptized yet, theres been alot of part member families that have come to us over the past week and its opened up the door to teach alot of people, we feel really blessed.

We had a fun experience the other day, we used a members printer/scanner to print our progress record, his mother livces with him and his family, shes about 70 years old, and here in the Phls when you get to a certain age you thought process changes a little bit, we forgot to shut the power off on the printer and we left, usually that would be ok, but when the member left, his mother was there alone, she heard the printer reset, kind of a "wherr: then a "click click"and in her old age and lack of knowledge about technology she thought the printer itself was about to explode, so she went out back of their house and resumed her reading there, until the member came home and found her there, he was surprised that she was outside, and he later found out why and told us, so the moral of the story is that you just dont know what technology can do to old people, so turn off the printer after you use it.

The week was great :)

I feel great, I actually lost a big toenail back in Lopez and its grown in wrong its effecting my walk, so today were going to get it worked on, it'll hurt, but it'll be good to get it fixed, other than that i'm alright, drinking alot of water, Fasting is pretty extreme with this heat, but it was really neat to feel the Lord lifting us up as we did it yesterday. The members feed us well, Im not full if I dont have rice with my meals anymore, we bought 25 kilos for the transfer, life is good! 

How are you guys doing anything else that happened, funny storys?

Theres actually no card reader here, i cant send the pics, but next week we get to skype! I'll call you guys at around 6 PM Sunday night there, is that OK?

I gotta take off! Is that alright 9 AM here 6 PM there sunday evening? We'll make it the plan

I love you guys

Elder Johnson