Week #36

Fam-

    First things first. . . I wanted to make sure you all remembered that time that we got to that house in Cali that smelled like dog and animals in general.  Well I just wanted to quote our Friend Frankie and dedicate it to Jake who does a wonderful impersonation.  "Look Jerry, My name is Frankie and Ima' givit to ya straight alright? . . Ima pocket 200 dollars, no one will ever know... I pay Baws (boss) the rest and you got yourself a great weekend with fam. . . "you gotta trust me Jerry..." hahahaha LOVE IT.  All is well here. .  It has been a great transfer and is winding down!  Who knows what is to come.  Love you and miss you all!  Christmas from Brasil will get there before the 25! : ) . . I dont think I left anyone out.... not even rudy! wait. . I left C-baby out. . . ahh man.  Give him a hug for me.  Love youall! - Elder JOhnson

PS. Thanks for the Jazz and BYU updates!  ... If they win it all . . I will be ticked.  and I excited I guess. haha

All - 

      Another week of missionary life come and gone as fast as the first.  How crazy that there are only 104 weeks in total!  This week we were able to baptize 3 young men that we found through a young member of the church who started to come back to church recently.  I want so badly for all of them to understand and fully grasp the concept of "THE TRUE CHURCH" on the earth today.  I wish sometimes I could just put a pendrive in other's heads and upload my testimony of the truthfulness of these things. . . but that would be too easy.  We know that we are here to work and that the work we have to do was designed to make us happy. . . How SICK!  

     We have been teaching a 19 boy, Tony, who is truly a 'seeker of the truth.'  He has followed through on our invitations and is just waiting a solid answer from God to take a leap of faith into the waters of baptism.  The first lesson that we had with him was the first one with someone our age in a while, and he was paying VERY close attention to everything.  These two factors really put the pressure on and made me think about every word.  When I got to my testimony, the thoughts were loosened and my mind was able to reflect upon ALL THAT I KNOW as a member of this church.  I bore testimony from the depths of my heart and I was blessed with one more witness that there is no other path than the one we are on.  Sometimes, our feelings for the gospel and our gratitude to Heavenly Father can only be expressed to a certain point, the rest has to be done by the spirit, and is often accompanied by tears.  I will admit that I have decided against tears on the mission and so they are a super rare sighting.

     As for a mission comment . . . Missionaries will never be perfect, neither will members, and neither will our testimonies.  I find strength in simple scripture study everyday and a simple desire to KNOW MORE and to be able to teach others more effectively.   One more thing that I learned this week . . . it doesnt matter WHAT it is . . . it just isnt worth getting mad. . . at least not if you want to have the spirit!  I am done preaching to the choir.  Thanks for being amazing friends, family, examples, teachers, etc.

Love Elder Johnson

P.S. I weigh 170 pizounds.  It is a record.  Dear Amy Cotant "I'm on a diet...too"  ; ) hahaha 

P.P.S.  I realized this week that to make a child behave you count to 10 in the states. . .here, the mom just reaches for her flip flop without saying a word and the child knowsthat he'd better stop haha... good ole brasilian culture!

P.P.P.S  Thanks to all that have written. . . E-mails, letters, etc. . . . I am amazed by the force of our friends that are spread across the globe doing this work!