Howdy!

On Monday, March 28, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Family and Friends:

I hope you are all well this week! We were able to have interviews with our president this week, which is really cool. He is getting ready to go back home, and we'll be switching presidents in June. I'm excited to meet our new president, but I'll be bummed to see President Nancollas go. He is a good leader and knows what he is doing. This week I got pretty sick again and we had to stay home all of Friday because I couldn't make it too far out the door without puking. It was an adventure. I puked a few times outside, in the gutter. There really isn't anything much more pathetic than a little white boy puking his guts out in Mexico. That's OK, what doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger (and wiser). I'm doing much better now, and can eat again.

We were able to have two people in church this week, Josefina and her son, Carlos. They loved church, and we hope they can come back again. If they can, they will be baptized on the tenth of April. Woah. It's almost April...That's cool.

This week is general conference, and I can't tell you how excited I am. Being on a mission really opens your eyes to how important a prophet really is for us in this day and age, and I'm so excited to hear what God has to say through President Monson. I hope you all take notes and study their words, I definitely will be.

I love you!

Elder Johnson

P.S. Mom: I got the package. Thank you so much for your love and support. I hope you have fun in Vegas, and send a lot of love to Fred from Mexico.

Howdy!

On Monday, March 21, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Friends and Family:

Well, this last week was good. We were able to find a nice couple who are really interested in the gospel. However, we have not been able to get anyone to come to church with us. We are working hard to find out what we need to do better in order to help people get to church. We hope that will happen this week. Yesterday I was able to find a man named Roberto as we were working as a District. He was really interested in our message and wanted his family to hear it, so we are going back tonight. If all goes well, they should be baptized on the 10th of April. He would make an awesome Elder's Quorum president.

My companion is a great guy, he is really funny and we have a good time working together. He has started to say "Hello, how's it going, dude?" to all the little kids (in English) and it's really funny to see their reactions. They look at him like he was from a different planet.

Life here in the city is different. We live in an apartment complex, and that is miles different anyway. The other day we were studying with Pink Floyd, not that we were listening to it, but our neighbor was. That was a totally righteous study, dude. We have to close the bathroom window whenever we go in there, too, because someone else's bathroom window is right across the way, and that can be weird. We also have a drain plug that is a must use, because if you don't...well let's just say that an apartment complex makes a funky smell...

Well, that's all for today. I hope you all are well. I send my love from Mexico!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On March 14, 2011 Elder Johnson wrote:

Howdy gang!

Well this week has been pretty cool! I really like my new area, and my new companion. We are getting along well, and are working hard. We weren't able to bring anyone to church this week, but we are doing our best to change that. Our leaders gave us some pointers on some things, and a few suggestions to try, so things are really looking up. The area is called Tequexquinauhuac (Teh-kehs-key-now-walk), for all you Google earth explorers, located in the state of Mexico.

My companion and I had a cool spiritual experience this week. We really know that God watches out for His servants. As we were climbing up a really steep hill in our area, we had a few drunk bums start yelling bad words at us, and we ignored them because it's pretty normal. All of the sudden, one of them pulls my companion by his backpack and turns him around (my companion is a big guy, I don't know why he went for him...) and starts telling him, "I'm here to rob you, white kid."

He was totally out of it, but he was serious about it, so my companion said, "Well, sir (by the way, this all happened in Spanish), we are missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and quite honestly, we don't have any money, but you can have all the free pass-a-long cards of Jesus as you want." He gave him a card, and the bum promptly took all the other things out of my companion's pocket, and threw them and his tag on the ground, and then did the same to me.

My companion told him, "Sir, we are only here to help people, like you. The bum responded, "Well, give me your cell phone number so I can change my life!"

"We don't carry a cell phone, sir."

"Yes you do. Give it to me!"

"We really don't have one, sir."

At this point, he was upset because he couldn't find any money on us, so he called one of his buddies over to handle me, which didn't make me nervous because while he was a very big Mexican, he was very drunk, and I could take him if I had to, no problem. While he was holding onto me, the other one said to my companion, "Do you want me to hit you?!"

My companion said, "The truth? Well, no actually, I don't want you to." The drunk wound up and THUMP! Hit him square in the chest. My companion (who was a good two and a half heads taller than the bum) grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him to get his attention. He said, "We are servants of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and as a servant of Jesus Christ, I command you not to hit me!"

The bum got really freaked out, and right at that moment, one of his other bum friends came over and pulled him and his friend off my companion and I and told us to leave in peace. So we did.

We didn't get hurt, and they didn't get any money, but it made for a good story.

I really like my area.

I love you all and pray for you more than you know!

Elder Johnson

Howdy!

On March 7, Elder Johnson wrote:

Family and Friends:

Well, first off, I am supposed to let you know (by order of one of the assistants) not to send me jelly in packages anymore. Ha ha. It was a specific order from him, so...Thanks for the jelly, I appreciated it. I have absolutely no problem cleaning it off of anything, considering it was a package sent out of love, but the assistant did not (he blows everything out of proportion anyway...and sent an email to the entire mission about it). Ok, I told you, it's out of my hands. It smelled like really good jelly, though.

Bummer.

This week we were able to baptize Ignacio, which makes a complete family in the gospel. I'm pretty stoked about that. It was a good experience this week, as my companion and I listened to the spirit and were able to literally save him from falling into temptation, and he was able to overcome the adversary and be baptized.

I was transferred into the state of Mexico, I actually don't know exactly what it is called yet, but here I am, in the biggest city I have ever been in, jam-packed full of people. My apartment is pretty small, but we have a gas stove and an oven, which is very rare in the mission. My companion's name is Elder Norland, another white kid from California. He is a great guy and appears to be a hard worker.

Well, I love you all and hope you are doing great!

Elder Johnson

Mosiah 2:41 (Book of Mormon)

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end, they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.