On December 26, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

It was a good Christmas. We were able to take a big box of toys to an orphanage that our members donated. They were SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy and so full of energy. We also took some pictures of the decorations of San Juan do Rio. My companion gave ma a new oil vial, which was much needed. I have him a wallet of his favorite soccer team. It was a good Christmas and we were both happy. My letter this week is mostly pictures because I said a lot in my call with my family yesterday. I hope you enjoy them!

Love:

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On December 19, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Hello:

This week we went to "la pena de Bernal" which is a big rock. It's the biggest rock on this side of the world (that's what they tell me). It was cool. If I can, I will send pictures. I have been having a rough time finding a computer that will read my card. I don't know why.

We went to the Temple in Mexico City this week with a couple of our investigators. It was cool. Their names are Jose Luis and Neri, they are pretty interested in the church now, more than before. The only thing is that Jose Luis needs to quit smoking. He doesn't want to because he is a poet, and the cigs are where he "gets his inspiration." He'll realize pretty soon that he needs to stop. He publishes a magazine of poems every month or so, and put my companion in it (who is also a poet). It was cool to see that. We were able to get Lourdes confirmed on Sunday. She is a lot happier than when we met her. It is so cool to see that the Gospel does that to people.

Last week we had our ward Christmas party, it was good and we were able to bring Vanessa. We sang and ate and watched some videos about Christ's birth. It was good. There was an area seventy who came to the party. It was a spiritual experience for everyone. When we went home, there was a party going on in front of our apartment building. That type of party (yes, there are different types) is called a posada (the others are: fiesta, baile, pachanga, etc...). There were a lot of nativities and dancing and LOUD music and A LOT of fireworks. We couldn't sleep until about one when it started cooling off. It was interesting, but cool to see.

I hope you all have a very happy Christmas and that you all remember Christ in this time. It is for His triumph that we celebrated, nothing else.

Love:

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On December 12, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Well it is not Christmastime in Mexico without a celebration for the Virgin of Guadalupe. Last night on our way home from an appointment, we decided to go through the center of town, only to find a huge celebration of the Virgin. There were thousands of people! Almost everyone buys balloons to send a note to the Virgin in Heaven so that she can talk to Jesus so He can talk to God. There were a lot of balloons flying away, and a lot of fireworks and a big parade with a very big Virgin statue. Everyone was singing and dancing and eating. It was chaos! It's a good thing we got home alive. We couldn't take any pictures, because we didn't have our cameras.

This week Lourdes was able to get baptized! It was a wonderful service and the spirit was strong there. The day before her baptism she had her baptismal interview and as we were waiting for our leader who does the interview, she helped us sweep the church! She is such a great lady, and is going to be a great member of the church.

I have been pretty sick lately and had to go to the doc. He says that it's only a cold and I don't need to worry. That's always a good thing to hear.

This week I received a package from my parents and my grandparents. Thank you for the packages! Elder Hilario says thank you also!

I love you all!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

Friends and Family:

This week was a good week! Vanessa came to church!!! Woo-hoo! We also came into contact with a couple (Jose Luis and Neri) who came with us to the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional. They told us that they didn't like it, they loved it! They are continuing to progress well, the only thing is that Neri likes to sleep in on Sundays, please pray so that she will be able to wake up and go to church! If all goes well, Lourdes will be baptized this week. She is excited and knows that it is a good step to take, little does she know (but we're helping her understand), that it is the defining decision of her life and she will have to stick with it. How wonderful it will be to be with her in the presence of God! Please keep her in your prayers!

If you were unable to see the Christmas Devotional, repent. You can access it online (LDS.org), please watch it. You should never lose the opportunity to listen to the Prophet of our God, for how blessed are we to live in a time where a man who talks with God is just a mouse click, or a channel change away (the BYU Channel). Please recognize the importance of that.

This month marks the one year anniversary of the baptism of one of my dearest friends, Olivia Bright. I hope you all take the opportunity to congratulate her, she is a very special person.

I love you all!

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On November 28, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Hello Friends and Family:

This week was a good week, we were able to bring some happiness into the hearts of many. This week we brought a great lady to church, her name is Lourdes. She was happy to be there and to learn and to feel the spirit. It was a miracle that she came because it has been cold here the past week or so, and not many people want to leave their houses. She is a sweet older lady who is looking for peace and happiness in her life. She is looking for that in the right place!! We are going to help some of our investigators get married this week, their names are Doris and Victor. They are a great couple, but are having a few problems, but who isn't?! They were not able to come to church this week, but next week they will be able to, and are really, really excited about going.

We are getting along, my companion and I, and he is really excited about learning English. It's fun to walk down the street with him and try to help him say things in English, but he is learning and excited about being able to do it. We have a lot of good people in our ward. The Bishop is a younger guy with long hair and is very enthusiastic. He only has a few months as Bishop and is trying hard to help everyone and figure everything out. We have some good young men who like to help out the missionaries, and the majority of the sisters in the ward cook really well.

I love you all!!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On November 21, Elder Johnson wrote:

Well All You Happy People:

Here I am in San Juan del Rio, Queretero. It's a charming town that is filled with tons of tourist things to do. I will have to take some pictures. The center is pretty cool, a lot of stores and a lot of cool little restaurants and such. The majority of the members here are pretty rich; this week we went out to lunch with two different members. I ate the best tasting meal I have ever had in Mexico in a fancy restaurant in the center.

We are teaching some really nice people. Right now we are teaching a lady named Vanessa who has three daughters, two little ones and one who is grown-up and out of the house. She is divorced and struggling to find a church to join. We taught her about the restoration and the Book of Mormon and she is starting to see that it is true. She is wanting to go to church this Sunday, I sure hope she does!! That would be sweet, and she will be super blessed.

It's good to hear that Bernie and Tyson are back. I hope you tell Tyson "hi" and Bernie "hola."

I'm getting along will with my companion, he is a good guy. It is refreshing to have a companion from Mexico. I am getting better everyday in my Spanish. He is a funny guy and likes to work. We have decided to work with the inactive members in the ward, and get them back to church.

I love you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On November 14, 2011, Elder Johnson wrote:

Well, I just got transferred. I am now in Queretero again, I returned to the land of my mission "birth" to "die", haha! Well, I'm pretty excited. My companero is named Elder Hilario, from Nuevo Leon. It will be nice to have a Spanish speaking companero again.

Because I got here late (I spent a bunch of time jammed into a bus) we don't have too much time to write, but I will send some pictures, they're worth 1000 words each anyway...

I love you all!!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On November 2, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Friends and Family:

Well this week was a good one. We spent a good three days helping Fidel and Mariana get married, and later we helped Mariana get baptized! It was such a good weekend! Teresa and Eusebio came to church again and as they were there, they asked me, "where can we pay our tithing?" That was a really cool thing to see, especially because they don't have any income right now (Eusebio is very sick and cannot work) and any and all the money they get goes to buy food for their sweet little girls. Teresa has such faith in the promises of the law of tithing and will be blessed immensely for that. We also had three new people come to church this week, Patricia, Karen, and Maricela. It was a miracle that they came this week! They liked it a lot and we hope they will continue to progress.

This week was Dia De Los Muertos, and it was pretty cool, they celebrated it three days here (the first day is normal Halloween, and the other two are the "official" holiday). All three days the kids go trick or treating all dressed up. I took a couple pictures, but my computer won't let me take them off my memory, so I'll have to send them later.

We are going to the temple this week! I am really excited because I have not been for a long, long time, for about eight months, I think. It is going to be fantastic to feel the spirit and to have a great time there.

I hope you all are well, and are all happy!

Love:

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On October 31, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Well, we had a productive week this week. We were able to bring two new people to church this week, which was awesome! Their names are Eusebio and Teresa, and they have three wonderful little girls. They loved church and accepted a baptismal date! I hope they continue to progress. Mariana and Fidel also came to church. If all goes well, they will get married this week and we will be able to have Mariana's baptism this week. As always, I ask you to keep them in your prayers, as they need many.

Well, we're getting ready to start Dia de los Muertos here in Mexico. All over people are buying flowers to put on the graves and the alters of their dead ancestors. Here soon they all will come back as spirits to eat some treats that are placed on their alters and have a fun time being back on Earth another little while. Maybe we'll even get to teach them the gospel...I guess we'll see! Pictures next week, seeing as they all just started decorating today. There is also a lot of "Bread of the Dead," which is very yummy, especially with some milk, which is good for the ol' bones.

This week was "EAT SOME BUGS" week for Elder Hille and I. At the start of the week, we helped a family in our branch make some salsa with worms in it. The worms are called chiniquiles and live under the agave plant. It's the time of year to catch and eat them, so we did. They make a fine taco after being toasted and salted, with some avocado and chilies. At the end of the week we ate some good grasshoppers, that were made by a lady in our ward. You just toast them up and eat them like popcorn. Those were pretty good, and we took some home to eat later. Yes, you eat them legs and all. Crunchy, yet satisfying.

I love you all!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On October 24, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Well, this week we had some adventures, going out to Ixcuinquitlapilco and teaching Roque with his uncle who was so drunk. We had a good time talking to him, and had to use a lot of patience, but I definitely love that guy. I hope he will someday come to church with Roque. Poor Roque can't get baptized for a little while because he has some personal problems. However, he said that the girl he is dating wants to meet us and learn about the church.

We are having a great time teaching Mariana also. She is so motivated to go to the temple, and goes to every church activity, sometimes she is there more than the 'active members". As soon as we can get her (almost) husband's papers ready, we will get them married and her baptized. her suegros (parents-in-law) are really supportive. They are coming back to church and becoming active again, hopefully they continue on that path.

We helped a lady in our branch get reactivated this week! We found her knocking doors and the Lord told Elder Hille to go to a different house, so we went, not knowing anyone lived there from the church. She has two daughters who are jimilas (twins) and are 15, Noemi and Magali, a son who is 4ish, Gustavo, and a little daughter, Mayrenne. Oh, and her name is Adriana. Her husband died a few years ago, and she kind of felt overwhelmed and went inactive. We helped her to get her garden into shape and we taught her and helped her to feel the spirit again. She offered a wonderful closing prayer at one of our visits, and thanked Heavenly Father for sending "angels" to help her get back on the right path. Lots and lots of missionaries have gone there to visit her with no success, but she came to church! We were sooooooooooo happy and the rama (branch) was thrilled to see her there again. Please keep them in your prayers.

This week will be a busy week of finding more people (we always have trouble with that) and getting them to come to church. I hope we will be able to do that!! I love you all and am so thankful for all your support!

Love:

Elder Johnson

From Michelle:

I was unable to post last week, so the following is Iver's letter from last Monday...great things have happened since then, as you have just read!

On October 17, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Friends and Family:

Well, this week was good. We were not able to get anyone to go to church (not one!) but please continue to pray for our investigators, they really reALLY REALLY benefit from your prayers there at home. We have been struggling to find new people to teach, but yesterday we had a miracle!!! We went to visit an investigator (her name is Mariana) she told us two weeks ago that she was NOT going to get baptized because she did not want to get married. When we were in her house she told us "we have been talking a lot and, we want to get married so I can be baptized." We had a family home evening with the branch I am in, and our relief society president talked about eternal marriage, and how we can be together as a family forever through going to the temple.

Espero que puedo ayudarla a tomar la decision a ser bautizado. Seria muy bueno.

Les quiero mucho!

Elder Johsnon

Howdy!

On October 10, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Friends and Family and All Those Other Wonderful People:

Hello, greetings from Mexico! I hope you are all well!

This week we were able to bring a man named Roque to church. He loves church and loves the feeling that there is there. He is passing through some hard times because he left the U.S. and he can't go back because he doesn't have papers. He is sad because he can't see his kids that live in Ohio. He is struggling but will keep going to church. There he knows he can find peace and the guidance he needs. Please pray for him.

This week we will be working really hard trying to find people to teach so we can have a baptism this month. I hope we can find the people God has prepared.

I loved hearing the prophet announce new temples, what a blessing they are in our life! I hope I get back in time to go to the dedication of the Fort Collins temple, and it would be cool to go the the new Star Valley, WY temple. I heard that there is great fishing up there (which is another thing I really miss right now). President Call has announced that we are going to go to the temple as a mission the first week in November! I hope I get to go on the 5th, that would be an excellent way to celebrate my dad's birthday.

This past week I have been trying really hard to be motivated. Sometimes that is hard in the mission, but I think I am succeeding. Trying to find new people to go to church is hard, but here we go!! I think that bringing Roque to church really helped. I hope we can find the people that God has prepared. Elder Hille and I read in the Book of Mormon that God sends angels to prepare the hearts of the children of men so that they will be able to recognize the truth of what we teach.

I hope you all receive the Ensign or Liahona. This month's issue is super special. It is all about the Book of Mormon. I hope you read the issue, and take the Prophet of the Living God's challenge of reading or rereading the Book of Mormon. Heaven knows I will.

I love you all!!

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On October 3, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

?Que honda mis cuates?

What a weekend! Wow! What a conference! I hope you all study all of these talks and put their precepts to practice!

This week we are having changes, and my companero has been moved up to a district leader. That's right, Elder Hille is a district leader. It is always fun to be with a leader in the mission. He is now responsible for making our district meetings and for reporting all of our numbers to the zone leaders. We are excited about his new responsibilities.

We were unable to bring anyone to conference this weekend :( and we are sad about that. We found a few new people last week, Georgina and Mari Luisa. They each accepted the first lesson really well, and we are going to go back to visit them very soon. We hope they won't be busy this next week so they can go to church with us.

I love you all!

Elder Iver Johnson

From Michelle: If any of Iver's friends are interested in reading or watching the general conference talks he is referring to, you can do that at lds.org.

Howdy!

On September 26, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Hello friends and family!

Well this week was a good one! We were able to bring Poli and his wife Leticia to church again, and their daughters Martha and Norma. Now we only need to help them get their other two daughters to church, Roci (Rosi) and Ana. They are a little older and because of that, a little more hesitant to go to church. Please pray for them. We were also able to bring a man named Geronimo to church. He is getting over an addiction to tobacco, and is really impressed with the church. We asked him how he felt about being baptized, and he replied, "Hay que hacer lo" (I have to do it). We are excited about helping him do that!

This coming week we will be able to go watch the General Conference. I hope you are all preparing yourselves for that! I hope you are praying a lot and writing down any questions that come to your head, because they will be answered if you do that. I am so excited to hear the conference!

I love you all very much!!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On September 19 Elder Johnson wrote:

THIS WEEK WAS WONDERFUL! Ivon and her brother Luis were able to be baptized, and we were able to help Poli and his wife Leticia and their daughter Martha go to church! We were happy also when we had inspiration to go all the way out to Ixcuinquitlapilco (about an hour bus ride) where we found a family, Judith, Janet and Laura who are excited to go to church, and hopefully they will this next week!

We had a couple adventures this week, one when we came home and found a lizard on our counter. He is cool. We named him Steve. He lives outside under our boiler, but somehow broke in while we were gone. We also have a little bird that we named Buddy that sleeps by our door. I haven't taken a picture, because it's always dark when we see him, we only ever see him when we come home to sleep. We had another adventure when I had to go to the bathroom really, really bad and we were in the middle of nowhere. There was only a corn field, and so...Well the work goes on. Hopefully this week we will have some success!

I love you all!

Elder Johnson

P.S. My sister sent me a great scripture. Read it. Mosiah 7:33: But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in Him, and serve Him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, He will, according to His own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

Last Monday, Elder Johnson sent us personal letters. Included was his testimony:

"On my mission I have learned so many things, especially how much God and our Savior Jesus Christ do for us. I love to see families blessed by the gospel, become happier and more united. I am so happy I chose to serve a mission. I know that I am involved with the most important work that has ever existed. I know that I am bringing eternal happiness to others and myself! How wonderful the Lord is! How right are His ways!"

Howdy!

On September 5, Elder Johnson wrote:

Well, this week was a long one, but boy are we happy! We were able to bring three new people to church this week: Martha, Ivon, and Luis, and also Marcela (who already went). We should start the baptizing ball a rollin' here soon!

This week we moved. We used to live in the pueblo of Gerrero, but now we live in the pueblo of San Juan Tepa, and live right by the chapel where our branch meets. It's not as pretty on this side of our area, however, it is a lot closer to where we have more work. It is, however, a lot darker here.

We sure do eat a lot in this area. A lot of nopales and a lot of chicken. They cook better out here, though, so I don't complain. We had to chase a big, old spider out of our new house, but other than that no bugs. I am having a good time getting to know the people here. All the little kids like to talk to me. They always ask me silly questions.

I have been studying a lot in the Book of Mormon lately. I really feel close to those missionaries in those stories. After all, I'm teaching the same thing to the children of the people they taught. It is cool to be a part of the ancient prophesies of bringing the fullness of the gospel to these people once again. It is wonderful to have such a great calling and to do what I do!

I love you all so much!

Elder Iver Johnson

P.S. Picture: Me and a baby cow. It really wanted to bite me.

Howdy!

On August 29, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Friends and Family:

Well, this week was really wonderful, as a matter of fact it was a good week, not because we had much success, but because my companion and I have been teaching really well. We have the spirit as our third companion! Woot woot! We are currently teaching a man named Geronimo and his mom, Consuelo. They are really wonderful, but unfortunately did not come to church. I hope they progress! We have a girl in our ward who is trying to help one of her friends Ivon come to church and be baptized. As it turns out, Ivon and her family are all interested and have accepted our visits to their house. We have our first appointment today. We are also teaching another Consuelo who has three kids and lives with a member. We are helping her to come to church and him to come back to church. He is kind of stubborn, but I think he will come back, eventually.

We have to work with the members a lot here. They are our way to find new people to baptize. We do a lot of service and a lot of helping people. The other day we helped a lady in our ward move a big pile of dirt from one end of her yard to the other. It was good service. We have also washed a lot of dishes and helped clean houses and yards. We are starting to get some references and it should be really good.

One of the members in our ward invited us to a barbacoa, which is when they kill a lamb and cook it in the ground and then invite all the neighborhood over to eat it. We did it differently. They cooked their three turkeys that they had, which was really yummy. They killed them right there (we weren't there for that...) and put them in the pit. We helped gather firewood with the member's non-member boyfriend. There are some rumors going around that he's going to pop the question soon, so we have to work fast and help him get baptized so they can be sealed in the temple at some point.

Today we went hiking in the Mexican Jungle. It was cool and we had a lot of fun. We saw some streams that were clean water (I haven't seen clean water flowing for so long!) and some cool rocks and stuff. It was great to be outdoors and to get to see a different part of Mexico.

I love you all!

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On August 22, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Well, this week was good. We were able to get someone new to church. Her name is Miriam and she is from Texas, but she moved here until her husband can go back legal. She is happy here, but very alone. She speaks both languages and was happy at the church, because now she has some friends. I hope you will keep her in your prayers.

My companion got transferred today, and now I am with my new companion, Elder Hille, who is from Utah. He has just one transfer less than me. We are going to tear it up!

I ran out of time...sorry.

I hope you are all well!

I love you!

Elder Johnson

Picture: Elder Gray (transferred companion) and I.

Howdy!

On August 15, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Well...That sucks that Grandpa O. cut off his thumb. It looks like that probably hurt a little bit. Make sure he is good and tell Grandma to give him a hug for me.

Happy Birthday to Shakira! Woot woot!

I don't have much to type today. It's kind of all the same here. We had a miracle of getting three news to church Sunday. Martha and her son Luis. Also a kid named Giovanni came with his aunt. We have not been able to teach a lesson with them this week, so keep them in your prayers. We cover a ward and a branch. The ward is called Guerrero II and the branch is called San Juan. It is a good branch and I enjoy working there. The members really like to help out, which really is good for us.

I have attached a picture of me by a cactus, also a picture of a dog that lives next door who likes to spend more time with us than his owners. He has a weird name, so we just call him Buddy. He's not very old, and almost died last week because he was very, very sick. He's a lot better now.

This week we helped our ward mission leader cut down some of his trees. It is hard work, especially with a machete. It does not go fast. They look good, and he is pleased. Mission accomplished.

I love you all!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On August 8, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Friends and Family:

Contrary to popular belief, I was not climbing any mountains last p-day. I was emergency transferred to Hidalgo. I left Mexico state at 10:00 a.m. and did not get into my area until 8:00 p.m. I had the opportunity to be in three different states last Monday on my way to the middle of nowhere. Now I am here, and boy is it different.

My companion, Elder Gray, and I cover about eight pueblos. About 80% are members in the pueblo we live in. It's quiet and dark at night and we get to wake up to roosters crowing at about 6:00 a.m. We spend a lot of time walking and waiting for buses. Rumor has it that president wants to keep some missionaries in their areas for up to 9 months. I might die in this area (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the missionary lingo, that means "finish his mission"). I have never thought of that until now...Well...also we eat a lot of cactus here, all different parts. That is because there are more cacti than people and animals combined here.

My companion, Elder Gray is great. He is in my 'generation" which means we started and will finish our mission at the same time. It's good to be with him. He is a district leader with aspirations to be a zone leader. He works really hard. We get along well. We helped a lady in our ward this week weed and mulch her cactus garden. It was fun, and I got cactus spines stuck in me. I asked her why she had a cactus garden and she said that the prophet has asked us to have food storage...It's good to see the members honoring and following our dear beloved prophet!

Elder Iver Johnson

And now, a special guest writer:

Hey Johnson family! Elder Gray here, companion of Elder Johnson. I just wanted to let you all know that Elder Johnson is a slammin' Elder and he's really easy to work with. He's not afraid of hard work, and he keeps things interesting. Yesterday he decided to start a collection of pictures of himself next to various types of cacti.

The mission is definitely better off because of your son. Thank you for raising such a brilliant young buck. He's certainly doing you proud!

Elder Gray

Howdy!

On July 25, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

!Buenas tardes, Familia y amigitos!

Well this week we were able to help Adela and her mom, Venustiana be confirmed. It was a wonderful day and they were both so happy! Unfortunately, I don't think that Venustiana has too much longer in this world. But she'll make a great missionary in the next with all the things she has learned! I hope you keep them in your prayers. We are teaching a man named Giovanni and his son Diego, who are really excited about learning. They will be a great addition to the church. We are also teaching two littler kids named Jesus and Abram. They are cool guys. Their mom is a member and we are helping them to make the decision to be baptized.

It was wonderful to hear about Elder Sonntag and Elder Hawkins! They would be such great zone leaders! I wish I could send them a letter, but I'm afraid one of them would get transferred before it got there!

Well, remember to pray and ALWAYS follow the promptings you get. That goes for everything. Home and visiting teaching, teaching a class in church, talks, and just normal life. Do it and touch lives. Do it and help save generations.

I love you all so much! I hope you all are well!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On July 18, Elder Johnson wrote:

Family and Friends:

This week was a great week because we had two baptisms! Adela and her mother Venustiana. They were so excited, especially after the baptism. I had the opportunity to baptize Venustiana, who is 90 years old. It was cool because we had to have three missionaries in the font to support her. She can't stand up, and has to roll around in a wheel chair. It was a good experience and she was beaming after her baptism.

My companion and I had an interesting experience this week. We bought bananas, just your normal average everyday red bananas (yes, red), and put them in the fridge. The day after I was washing some dishes and my companion reaches in the fridge for a banana. A few seconds later he yells, "AAAAHHHHHHHGGGGG!! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!" Needless to say, my interest was peaked. I asked him why, and he said that he stuck his hand in a spider web. We pulled out the bananas and inspected them. Sure enough, there was a big sticky spider web right in the middle of the bananas. We carefully opened them to look for the spider, and...there she was, big and black (your common banana spider, one of the most deadly in the whole world, one bite, and it's bye-bye, so long, bon voyage) and dead. Whew. We scraped the web off the bananas and put it on a plate for further inspection. The spider did not die from the cold of the fridge, not the dark, but died from giving birth to MANY baby banana spiders who were still hanging around in the web. They were still alive. We acted quickly and got some poison and killed all the tiny people killers before they could escape, then cleaned out the fridge and thoroughly cleaned the bananas. They are all dead now.

The produce here is really swell. Good fruits. The bolillios are...well, bread. The pan dulce is good, especially with some abuelita hot chocolate. I am indeed eating sufficiently. The chilies are hot. I found out that I must be allergic to some or something, because they give me a horribly bad and bitter taste in my mouth that fills my whole tongue and makes me want to puke. I have to sometimes swallow whole bites because chewing makes it a lot worse. There are all kinds of chilies here.

My companion is good. Our zone is good too, just doing what we do...The new president is a really great guy. He only brought his wife, all his kids are on their own.

I sent a picture of my desk. It's interesting, I guess.

Love:

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

Iver art!! Yes it is!! This past week, we had the awesome surprise of coming home to letters from Mexico in the mailbox!! CRAZY-WONDERFUL!!

Iver and Shakira, ever since moving to the city, have a thing about pigeons. They could literally spend hours watching them and laughing. In his letter to Shakira, Iver introduced her to a funny little smaller breed, the pigeoncito. He described their pigeon antics, in miniature. Needless to say, Shak cannot wait to go to Mexico City next summer to see them for herself!

The letters were so wonderful and full of love. We are so blessed!

On July 11, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Family and Friends:

I hope you are all well and have not drowned. It seems that up in Colorado, the sky is trying to kill you. Here we have been swimming also. It rains now everyday at exactly five o'clock. You can literally tell time by it. I have been wearing my waterproof shoes, because it is just a pain to try and dry the other ones out after a rainy day. It takes about two days to get them completely dry. All the streets here flood, because ALL of the drains are blocked with stuff. I think that part of the reason God had me go to Washington was so that I would only have to pass through the rainy season once. He's a smart guy and really does take care of His children. Ha ha.

Today was transfer day, and as it turns out, it looks like I have something yet to learn from Elder Schultz. We are still together, and will be for at least a few more weeks. We have been working hard, and getting wet, and he has been getting sick. Poor guy hasn't been able to sleep for two days. He looks pretty sick. Keep him in your prayers.

This week we will be working hard so we can have some baptisms and make some converts. It will be a good week, and I'm excited for it! I hope I don't get too wet this week. I love you all!!!!!

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On July 4, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote personal, individual letters to Corbin, Shakira and I. He is very busy with a new mission president coming in, and could not take more time to write the general letter he usually writes. I will share some of what he wrote to us:

To Shakira, a joke:

How does Hitler tie his shoes?

Into little Nazis! lol

He also wrote a very loving, heartfelt letter of council and comfort to his sister.

To Corbin:

Thanks for your advice about the new president! He is a swell guy and I had a good time getting to know him (Iver had a meeting and interview with him on Friday). He looks a lot like Papa Ted, and is a very spiritual man. I look forward to doing all he says and following his guidance.

And to me:

Happy Fourth of July! This is the last one I will pass on my mission! Woah!

I didn't know you taught the Gospel Principles class (I actually don't, just sub sometimes and told him about my experience Sunday). How cool! Did you know I do too? It's a tad different in Spanish, but so much fun! My "students" love learning and reading out of the Book of Mormon. It is always fun to prepare the class, saying a prayer before so I can help the spirit touch every person somehow. It's difficult but it is the best way.

And about your missionary question (I have someone I am really wanting to share with, and I asked his advice), the best thing to do is just do it. When you see an opportunity, just do it, because it may pass you by forever.

I love you!

I miss you!

Elder Iver Johnson

And oh, how we miss and love him too!

Howdy!

On June 27, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Hello Everyone!

This week was a good one! We were able to have Ana get baptized, and her son will be following very soon! We are continuing to find a lot of really great people, but for some odd reason they are not coming to church. I guess we have to work a lot on that and we will do it.

Today, our presidents are switching . Goodbye Presidente Nancollas, hello Presidente Call. I am excited to have my first interview with him this Friday, and get to know him and his wife. The mission is sad to see President Nancollas go, but they'll get over it. We are going to go forward!

I studied the atonement this week, and I came across something cool (while talking with Elder Schultz). There was a part on the cross when Jesus asks God, "Why hast thou forsaken me?" In order for Jesus to know how to help us through everything, he had to pass through everything. I can't imagine being 100% alone and dying. He and His Father made the conscious decision to let him pass through that so that we, when we feel alone and ask God, "Where are you?! Why did you leave me alone?", we are never actually alone. Never ever are we alone. It was a cool study and it made me appreciate the atonement a bit more.

I hope you all are well. I love you all. I appreciate your prayers on my behalf.

Elder Iver Johnson

Howdy!

On June 20, 2011 Elder Johnson Wrote:

Friends and Family:

Well this week was a bit difficult, but not a bad week. We were able to get Tonia baptized, and she was really excited after it. We have some good lessons lined up this week and hopefully two baptisms, which will be really great! Ana and Brian will be our baptisms, and they are pretty excited to be baptized. They are great people and their baptism will help them so much in their lives.

This week was good in the sense that I really felt the pressures of being a missionary, and especially of being a senior companion. Sometimes it's difficult, but everything I go through is for my benefit and learning and I will definitely come out a better person in the end.

We have to say goodbye to our president, Presidente Nancollas, this week, but next week will be great because we get our new president,

Presedente Call. We are going to be able to meet him next Friday, the first of July. We will be having interviews with him and it will be really wonderful to finally meet the guy. I have heard a lot about him and want to get to know him. I am hoping that I will be able to get to know him and that I can learn a lot from him. I am also hoping that he has a good influence on my mission and also on THE mission.

This week has been a little less hot. It has been nice, and I believe we are heading towards the rainy season, which should start in July. I have heard that it floods a lot here. I am looking forward to that.

I hope you know that you are all in my prayers, and that I love you all!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On June 13, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Family and Friends:

Well, this week was a good one. We had Alma's baptism on Sunday, which was great. She was so afraid to get in the water (we don't know shy) but after she was baptized, she didn't want to get out! It was some nice warm water, that would be a first on my mission. Elder Schultz had the opportunity to baptize her. It was his first one on his mission. He felt really good afterwards. I was pleased that she got baptized also, seeing as I am the senior companion, and hey, first baptism as a senior companion is a great thing to accomplish. My companion and I have been working really hard to do it. This week we have three planned! Ana, and her son Brian and also Tonia who is Alma's sister. Please keep them in your prayers this week so that they have all the help they can get to get to their baptisms.

I had the opportunity to go and have an interview with President today, and he gave me some great advice to help me get over the "one year blues" that I seem to be going through right now. He told me that even he went through the same thing, and he told me how to get over it. He is a great guy and it'll be hard to see him leave in a few weeks, but I am also excited to get to know President Call. I have heard a lot of really great things about him.

I love you all! I hope you are well!

Elder Johnson

From Michelle:

Short and sweet today! I love how Iver just tells it like it is, but those of us who know and love him can literally read between the lines and see what is in his heart. He knows he still has a lot of work to do, and is worried about getting it all in! He also wrote a very special, heartfelt note of love and thanks to Corbin for Father's Day. I will be slipping it into a card on Sunday! Yay, Iver! You are such a wonderful missionary!

Howdy!

On June 6, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Dear Family and Friends:

Well this week could have gone a bit better, but we had 5 investigators in church! Talk about blessings! We are planning the baptism of Alma for this week, as it did not go through last week. Hopefully she will take that exciting step in her life! We had two new investigators at church this week, Ana and her son Brian. They loved the church and are really excited about learning. I hope they keep that flame! This week we have some good lessons planned, and are hoping to have lots of people in church next Sunday.

My companion, Elder Schultz and I are doing good together. He is a great missionary and will be an even greater one than I. He is learning Spanish at a quick rate, and is happy doing the work.

I went out and bought a cactus today, as a year present for myself. It's cool. Now I feel like I'm in Mexico. It only cost me five pesos, about forty cents USD. I like it.

It has been hot down here lately, but we are getting ready to have the "wet season" here in a few weeks. It is supposed to rain everyday. Yee haw!! That will be nice after all this heat. Yes sir.

I love you all and hope you are well!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On May 30, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Family and Friends:

Well this coming week, we have a baptism planned for Alma. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Especially her dad, so that he will quit drinking and come to church again. We have begun teaching a man named Carlos, who was a drug addict about a week ago, but he lost everything (wife left him with hes kid, all his possessions he sold for drugs...etc.) and decided to clean up his life. He quit drugs, all of them, and came to church with his mom yesterday, where he introduced himself to us. We are trying to help him out the best we can. He is really humble right now, and could use your prayers. Primarily so he doesn't do drugs again.

The ward is cool. Elder Schultz and I bought a cake for the Relief Society (the women in the ward) and gave it to them a couple weeks ago. They adore us now (it's amazing what a little sugar does...), and love taking care of their guerritos (little white missionaries). We have a lady named Jenny who lives above our apartment and always drops by with a little bit of dinner for us. Our bishop is active in this ward, and is a really great guy, and after three weeks of searching, we finally found our ward mission leader. We have yet to meet him, but his mom is really cool, and always feeds us wonderfully.

Being a trainer is an interesting experience. We have had some cool experiences, and we are meeting some cool people. Transfers are today, and he (Elder Schultz) was really glad neither of us got transferred because, in his words, "We are finally getting this thing off the ground!" It has been really cool, seeing where I came from, not being able to speak a word of Spanish to now, where I am the one who has to speak it. It is cool and it is fun teaching my companion Spanish.

I love you all and hope you are well.

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On May 23, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Familia y Amigos:

I hope you are all well! I hope you are not worried about the bugs and such, we got it under control this week and we are sleeping very well these days!

We had the wonderful opportunity to meet and to listen to Elder Cook, of the Twelve Apostles this week. He is a lot taller than I thought he was, however, it was really great to listen to him and receive revelation from him. He made us some cool promises. I wish I could send you my notes, but they are in Spanish! I'll see if I can translate them this week and send them off. I learned some cool things. Really cool things. There were butterflies in my stomach when I shook his hand, it was a cool experience. His wife is the sweetest little old lady, too! She was a lot of fun to listen to.

We were able to bring one person to church. If you can keep her in your prayers, it would be much appreciated. Her name is Alma, and her dad is a member (very inactive), but she loved going to church! We are hoping to help the rest of her family to go this Sunday.

I love you all!

Elder Johnson