Saturday, March 27, 2010
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8:54 AM
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Rama is branch in Spanish. Puedo escribir muchas cosas en espanol y tu no puedes entender. No puedo esperar hasta que yo rogreso y Dad y yo vamos a hablar mucho en espanol y nadie puede entender.
Man that really blows about Austin. I hate how girls have this much power over us. Before he's all in a good mood and doing nice things and then after he doesn't even go to church? I don't know what to tell you. I guess when this happened to me I just wanted everyone to leave me alone, maybe he just needs some time. He'll be ok, there's plenty of other girls out there and plenty of new experiences to have. But I do not EVER want to hear that he didn't go to church for something stupid like that EVER AGAIN! If he understood how hard we work to get people to come to church and the reason why it's so important we get them there he would never do that again. Church is not just a place we go to to hear the word of God and then talk to our friends like a lot of our investigators think, it is where we go to be spiritually strengthened! He needed it this week probably more than ever.
I'm really sorry about your job. I don't get it though they can just hire you for one year and that's it? Don't you get like a contract or something for a while or is it just every year anyone can get let go like that? It's ok though. Whatever happens is what is supposed to happen, maybe you're just not supposed to be in Draper anymore, maybe something will happen with the other teachers with district stuff. I'm sorry I don't really understand how any of that stuff works, but as long as you're keeping the commandments and doing everything you can, the Lord will put you wherever he needs you to be. I'm really proud that you stayed and called the sub off too. I'm sure father was too. That's showing him and the kids you're teaching (even though they may not realize it) that you won't just give up when things get hard, that you're willing to do whatever it takes to teach them. I wish I could say the same thing. I'll be honest a couple of days this week after one dropped investigator, missed appointment after another I started to loose that belief and I slowed down. I feel bad now that I slowed down, but I did... a lot. After one missed appointment we just sat on the ground for a little while thinking, "now what." Thank you for your example, hopefully I will be able to do my job with as much passion and belief and perseverance as you do yours.
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I'm getting to really like this area. The rama is really cool. Everyone speaks spanish! The only problem is that nobody has a car and everyone needs rides so getting people to church and taking people on tradeoffs is a joke! But it's good.
No the childish couple is still not married. They came to church again this week though so that's a good sign. This week we also had a homecoming for a missionary who served in Portland Oregon with Justin Kiser! Do you remember him? It's really weird to talk to the R.M. because he just barely got home so he's still like one of us but at the same time he's a "civilian" he goes to work and he's allowed to talk to girls and all that weird stuff haha :) And he knows Justin which is also weird for me haha. I don't really have much to say either. Just a lot of tracting and trying to find people who aren't too lazy to change their lives around. Tracting on weekends is really hard I'm finiding. It seems like all these guys do on the weekend when they don't have to work is drink. But it's ok, I know the Lord is preparing someone for us to find. I have to baptize someone this month!!!! It's my birthday month I just have to baptize someone!! We'll find him or her (or the family of seven from Columbia) that's ready. We just need to keep on working hard and not lose the belief and the faith that they're out there.
Same with you, don't worry about your job. I read a really good talk in the January Ensign the other day about having faith of the future. It was really good you should read it. It's kinda about Lot's wife and it's by Jeffery R. Holland. Read it and pray after and I know you'll feel ok, you'll know what to do. :)
Well, tell everyone I love them! Please pray for us here in Jacksonville! Not just me, but everyone here. The other missionaries, the people, President Newman, President Barry, everyone!
Elder Johnson
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Yes I did get the package Thank you so much for the pictures and stuff. I can't believe I left without any. And thank you for the letters too! And for my debit card. I finally had to break down and get a GPS by the way. I found a really good one at Target that was on sale normally like 179.99 and I got it for 99! We found them the last day of the sale so it was really lucky.
I have no idea why we had to change our email thing. I guess it's updating and we needed new ones. I don't know.
We had our president interviews this week and when I got to mine, President Newman said, "I feel like I'm meeting you for the first time! I'm President Newman by the way." I've finally arrived. I don't know if Dad had a similar experience like the first couple of months are really hard and then you finally "arrive" and it's like a night and day difference. I don't have to wonder about what I'm doing now or wait for my companion to show me what to do I just do it. I've even thrown down on a couple of people. Sometimes we have to tell them what they don't want to hear, but if they are ready and really want to change, they know that what we say is right and they will repent. Oh and the other day somebody asked Carty and I if we have been speaking Spanish since birth! That was such a good day, I felt pretty good after that. There's still a couple of words every now and then that i don't know and I have to take a second to think of some things before I say them but it's going really well.
Mrs. Caballero doesn't know what she's talking about Puerto Ricans say their r's a lot more than their s's. I like them though, their usually loud and fun, well most Hispanics are but I think they're a little louder. I don't know if she still remembers me but that would be pretty cool.
I don't really know a whole lot more about my companion. He's really cool though. He loves movies almost as much as I do, he loves skiing and mountain climbing too. He's a lot like me in a lot of ways. He even had one girlfriend in college for a really long time that broke his heart so yeah we've got that in common. But he's pretty cool. Still really quiet, but he's cool. The other guys are sweet too they're English so sometimes me and Carty just talk in Spanish and freak them out it's a lot of fun!
The branch is really cool. Especially for Spanish missionaries. We only teach and find and bring Spanish people to church so we're really happy when we have a lot of brown faces amidst all the white people, but in the branch everyone is brown! It's really cool for the members too. The only problem we have in a branch is getting people to church. I have no idea why but Hispanics are always late! Always!! Plus there are very few people that have a car so getting rides is a joke. Everyone needs a ride! Even members who have been going for years! It's really stupid.
Tracting is hard. We are in the South part of our branch area and the south area is a little bit nicer than the north. We have zero trailer parks and the neighborhoods are all white people so we have to go into a few apt complexes so it's really hard to find people.
We are teaching a few people right now. None of them are really progressing very well though. One couple needs to get married but every time we bring it up they start acting like little shy kids and just look at each other, whisper something, then giggle or something stupid. The last time we were with them I got really serious with them and made them act more mature. I asked them what are you willing to do to follow Jesus Christ. You can either get married right now, move out until you're ready to get married or keep living in sin! They're supposed to think about it and then let us know what they're going to do before we come back.
But I'm out of time sorry I have to go. I love you all very much! I'll keep praying for you! Do the same for me!
Elder Johnson
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Um I guess I had to do like a new Mylds mail thing so I guess my new email address is anjohnson@myldsmail.net whatever....
Anyway yeah things are going good here. It's really weird. I'm out here with people that have been out for a little over a year and they're still doing things that I was doing when I first got out here but I've learned better since then and I've stopped doing those things. I'm trying to lead by example but they've been out for a while so it will be hard to shake them of their habits. Oh well, I'm just going to try and keep doing what I know is right.
President Newman had to interview one of our guys who got baptized on Saturday because his ex-girlfriend had an abortion so he came and we talked to him for a while. He has this amazing ability to read people, he always seems to know exactly what I'm thinking right when he sees me. And this time he said, "You're doing good? I got a good vibe from you." I do feel good here. This is the first transfer where I've felt like I know what I'm doing enough that I don't have to watch and see what my companion does and learn from him. I feel like I know enough where I can just do it now and my Spanish is getting pretty good too. So yeah, even President was able to tell that I'm doing a lot better here. Haha and then he was showing off all the cool stuff his iphone can do while we were waiting for our guy. He loves that thing. He always shows it off to us. I think he wants all of us to go home and get an iphone so we can stay organized and busy and working all the time.
I heard about the earthquake. I'm glad Natalie's ok. How is she doing? Have you heard anything from Nan or Stacey?
Erica said you are going to Disneyland! Punks! Just kidding that will be fun :)
I haven't got my package yet but I really really need money. Elder Bishop I guess is out of town and so we still don't have any money. (I haven't had any for like a week and a half now except for a McDonalds gift card) It's stupid.
But things are going good. Love you!
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
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8:43 AM
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Yeah I got transferred. I am kinda excited about it just because it's a new fresh start but then at the same time I'm really sad. Our apt was awesome! Elder Toney and I got along really well and Elder Jackson and Elder Harding are really cool too. Toney and Harding are still there, I got moved to the rama in San Jose and Jackson got moved to Lake City. I got transfered to a different zone! I don't know ANYBODY! I know a ton of people in the west zone now becuase I've been there for almost six months but now I don't know anyone. I was really tight with the ward in Orange Park too. The bishopric loved me, a lot of the members loved me, and we had a huge group of recent converts that come every week to every meeting we have and almost every baptism we have. My new branch had a baptism on Saturday when I got here and it was the second counselor, the missionaries, one investigator, and the people getting baptized that came. It's very different than what I've been used to for the past six months. Very different. But it's ok something new for me to learn how to do right?
This is the first time in a long time that I've lived without a leadership in the apt. Me and Perez lived with the Zone Leaders and then me and Toney lived with Jackson who was the district leader. I can't tell if I'm just used to living with leaders or these guys are just lazy but my new apt doesn't seem to work quite as hard as my other ones. I'm used to everyone like racing to see who can get out of the apt first and trying to be the last ones in but here it seems like we take forever to do anything like lunch, shower, clean up, it's weird. I'm hoping that I can rub off on them and get them to work harder rather than they rub off on me and I get lazy. Ugh the last thing i want to do is get lazy.
My new companion is Elder Carty. He's from Colorado and he's been out for about 13 months. I can't really tell you much about him except he went to Utah State for school and he likes rock climbing. He's really quiet. Like quieter than I am. Ok so I have come out of my shell a lot I think on my mission but he's really quiet. Even when he does talk he speaks quietly. I'm kinda excited about that though because I think it will force me to step up and take charge in a lot of situations. That's something that President Newman talked to me about at my last interview is stepping up and taking charge so I think I'm going to be able to do that here. And I'm serving in a Spanish branch so all the members here speak spanish which will help me practice my spanish a lot more too. It's going to be a very different transfer for me but I'm excited I think I will learn a lot. I also live with Elder Fetty and Elder Preator and I still don't know very much about them either. Fetty has been out for a while I think and Preator has been out for five months. Oh but guess what. The car that I am in now is the same car that me and Black used in Crescent City! It's got the same air freshener that we bought and now every time the air comes on and I smell it I get flash backs of the very beginning of my mission. And then the other missionary in my ward got a greenie Elder Taylor which reminds me of how I was when I came out. It's kinda cool to think back and see how much I've grown since then. I just hope that it doesn't become a distraction and that I can continue to look forward rather than backward.
Ok I really really need my debit card. I promise I'm not being stupid with my money and eating out all the time or something dumb like that. But $140 a month is just not a lot. And then when stuff comes up like going to the doctor or needing new razor heads and shampoo the money leaves a lot faster.
Please send it soon, my new adress is;> > 10275 Old St. Augustine Rd apt 1010 Jacksonville FL 32257
I love you all! I hope everything is going good! Pray for me, and I will pray for you!Love,
Elder Johnson
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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5:55 PM
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We had a wedding yesterday!!! I figured I would baptize people here but I never thought that I would have people get married! But it happened. Yeah it is the same family whose son lived in Salt Lake for a while (which by the way makes me super trunky every time I talk to him about Salt Lake. He talks to me about how he used to ride Trax and go to the Gateway and all this fun stuff haha it's pretty funny) and they just showed up to church. We taught them, they know it's true and they knew that they needed to get married to stop living in sin. Oh man you should have seen them at the wedding. They were having relationship problems for a while before we met them. The bishop talked to them and we talked to them with the zone leaders and honestly I felt a little bit nervous if we were doing the right thing for this family. But during church I found an empty room and prayed to ask if it was right. I felt a confirmation from the holy ghost so we went ahead and did it. You should have seen them. The groom was so emotional, he was so happy! The bride was too, but the guy was on the verge of crying like three times. The baptism was immediately after the wedding. Their son who lived in Utah was ordained to be a priest, and then he got to baptize his mom and Elder Toney baptized the dad (who was his stepdad). It was probably one of the best baptisms I have seen so far. It was a wonderful wonderful day for us and for them.
We haven't had any more drama with the police (yet) so that's been nice. We usually have a few people who say they are going to call the police while we are tracting if we don't leave but nothing like that has happened to me yet. I haven't heard anything from the dad or grandma of Maria's kids either so that's good.
I'm glad that everyone is doing so well. Tell Erica that when a teacher tells you that you are so good that you don't need extra help and that you are the best in the class, it's a good thing. Just keep working and improving yourself the best way you know how. I've been thinking about the plan of salvation a lot. The more I think about that the more I realize how that is why we are here. I guess I just gave her some like eternal truth advice, weird. Everything that happens to us in this life is for us to learn. Our job here is to learn and improve ourselves in the best way we know how. I'm sorry this letter is kinda short but i love you all. Thanks for the news and the support.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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5:36 AM
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Yeah, I got the picture of Stacey. That's so sweet, I'm so excited for her!
Yeah, it has been pretty cold here. Nothing like home but pretty dang cold. It's got down to like 30s at night and pretty cold during the day but no snow or anything cool like that. Like two days ago it started to warm up again a little bit. It feels really nice right now. Oh man a few days ago it was raining pretty bad and we were out tracting like all day which was really fun I love tracting in the rain so much! Anyway we were out tracting and we had like five people tell us that there was a tornado warning in for Orange Park. Nothing ever happened but I guess just a little bit south of us it was pretty bad and so there was a tornado watch. I was actually kinda bummed, I've never seen a tornado before I was hoping we would see one.
Did you get my pictures? I sent a CD with a bunch of pictures on it a while ago, I don't know how fast the mail is here though. What about my debit card has that come to the house yet? I've been out of money for a while so we just eat a lot of sandwiches and Ramen. We will get more money either on the 31st or on the first so we should be good. I probably could have done a better job budgeting this month but i had to buy more deodorant and soap and stuff that I don't have to buy every month so my money was gone faster. Oh and I had to go to the doctor and pay 10 for co pay and 10 for medicine. I just had an ear infection so the doctor gave me some drops and it's gone now.
Ah man Luis and Doris was super lame. We talked to Luis about giving up drinking and stuff a while ago and he basically told us straight up, no. So we were teaching Doris and hoping that he would come around by her example. They came to church and Luis really liked it but Doris didn't because her 17 month old kid was being bad the whole time. So we went back to teach them and Luis told us that he was ready to change. So we told him, "ok Doris is going to help you, if she finds any beer she is going to throw it out ok?" Yeah good that's good I need help. "Is there any beer in the house right now?" No, there's not we don't have any. We were super stoked for him and for her. Then we took the Zone Leaders over on a trade off one night and had a super sweet lesson with Doris. Just with Doris though because Luis straight up lied to us and there was beer in the fridge and when she went to throw it out, he got super mad and they got in a fight. But Doris was finally getting why she needs to change, why we ask her to read the Book of Mormon and she was really committed to changing. We left feeling pretty good about it but then when me and Elder Williams (the zone leader) got to the apt she texted us asking us not to come back because whenever we come over she and Luis get into a big fight right after we leave.
But it's ok, we baptized part of another family we're teaching yesterday. We baptized the two kids Antonio 19 and Ricardo 14. Their parents are going to get baptized next weekend because they were not married. So they're going to get their marriage license this week, have a wedding, and then get baptized! I'm so excited! I really hope everything works out, I'm still a little nervous just because I've heard weddings are really hard but they are pretty solid, I think it will happen. Especially since their kids got baptized and the spirit was there so strong and they felt it and they know this is what they need to do.
Oh man Maria, the lady we baptized last weekend, yes she does have her kids back! The other day we were over at her house teaching her and she told us that her baby's daddy's mom somehow got a hold of her number and had been calling a lot. The baby's daddy is crazy and I guess he's tried to kidnap the kids before so Maria was kinda freakin out. The Grandma said, "I want to see my grand kids we're going to be at the park at four you guys should come" which was just a ploy to get the kids out. So we called a member to come and pick them all up and get them out of their house before four. Just as we were pulling out of the trailer park, we saw the daddy's truck and he saw us! We booked it to the member's trailer and rushed all the kids inside and called the police. Me and Toney pulled our car around and watched them and made sure nothing happened. The truck pulled up with the dad, another man, another woman, the grandma, and two kids. The grandma got out of the car with one of the kids and knocked on the door. Then she started banging on their door and kicking it and shouting at Maria, "Donde esta Dios ahora, Maria?" They finally left and me and Toney stayed there until the cops got there in case they came back. It was pretty crazy! But everyone is safe and they got a restraining order put on the dad and everything. It's really sad, but I'm really glad that we could be there to help if we needed to.
So yeah crazy week! Police, crazy dads, planning a baptism, planning a wedding, tracting in a tornado watch... Man missionary work is so sweet! If I wasn't a missionary I would have been nervous, but the Lord is watching us and if he needs us to help his children here in Florida we do whatever we can.
I'm glad the house is going good except for the shower heads, that would suck if they have to rip the tile out again. Let me know how it goes and anything else cool that's going on.
Love,
Elder Johnson
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