So this week has been really really good!!  We were able to have a ton of success, which is good because I am NOT being transferred!!  :)  It was really happy news to here about that because we have had so much work going on here that it would be a really hard thing to transfer that to another missionary :)  Me and Elder Newton have made quite the team!!  We have like totally opposite personalities, but we make it work and things have been going great because of that :)  As a companionship we have been able to see 10 souls come to Christ through baptism and it is such a happy thing to have been a able to see that :) 

 

So this week was a really good one :)

 

To start off Leah was baptized this week and it was so amazing to be apart of that!!  She has turned her life around 360 degrees.  I Just love being a missionary and are able to see that so much.  I see it a lot in this area because there are a lot of people who have had quite a bad life here and when we introduce the gospel to them they just soak it up and turn their life around and are baptized!!  That is so amazing to see :)

Wendy is doing good :) She is reading a lot of things and has been coming to church every week!!  It is so amazing to see that.  It has been a bit of a challenge to meet with her because she needs that translator with her and scheduling that and her is an feet.  But we will overcome and continue to help her toward baptism!!

We have quite a few new investigators who we just started to teach this week!! :)

We have a part member family who the husband, Paul, is a nonmember and has always welcomed us in and everything, but not too apt on us teaching.  Then last week one of the Bishopric members talked to him and he is wanting to have us teach him.  He used to do comedy so sometimes it is hard to tell if he is serious or not, but we went in there and it started off a little rough because the first thing he asked us if we believed in some sort of Celestial Lizard!!  I quickly corrected that and then it got a little bit better as it went on.  It was be a different type of teaching for him, but I guess that is like everyone so we will have to think a bit differently which is good :)

The next new one that we have started to work with is another part member family who has been worked on by their home teachers for quite some time now.  They came to church a couple of weeks ago and set something up with them, and had a first lesson yesterday and it went really well!!  The Husband is the member and the wife, Maive, is not.  She is pretty awesome!!  She is from Hawaii and has has some things happen in her life where she is ready for the gospel!!  I was thinking the other day about how most of the people who I have taught on my mission so far have hardly ever been Caucasian.  I remember back to when I first turned in my papers and I really wanted to go somewhere foreign!! haha I guess I got my wish because I have taught people for all over the world!!  It is funny how you get just what you wish for :)

We had a really good Saturday this past week where almost everyone that we saw answered their door and talked to us!!

We were able to get into contact with about 6 individuals who we haven't been able to contact in quite some time now.

We first made contact with Chris and Elena.  They were tracted out by the Spanish missionaries and we started teaching them, but lost contact with them so we tried their house and they answered and we talked for a bit and prayed with them then set something up for this week!!  They are people who want to come closer to God, but don't want to join...at least right now ;)  So we will work with them and help them to see this is the path for them :)

The other person who we were able to come into contact with was a referral from the Spanish missionaries who every time we went over there he wasn't home, but we were able to catch him and talk to him and taught him the first lesson from it.  His name is Darryl and he has been through some tough stuff.  He was apart of a gang, and did some stuff in his life that he wants to fix.  He even almost lost his life from a guy shooting him 6 times in LA, but he was kept alive and he attributes every bit of that to God.  So we are going to help him get closer to him and help him to recognize those things that were the reason he was kept to stay here. 

We also got in contact with Carlos and Nicole.  We taught them like once or twice about a month ago and then since then they fell of the face of the earth.  So we tried at a new place that we were given from other missionaries who tracted them out and they were there and we set something up with them. They are pretty humble and are ready for the gospel.

Conrad and Naomi and Family are doing good!!  We keep going over there to visit with them because every time we go, and I am not kidding every time we go, they have some family member who is wanting to learn, and so we teach them!!  They have become amazing member missionaries and it is so amazing to see that!!  While we are teaching one family member Conrad leans over to his other family members and personally invites each one to church, then after we are done, he then invites that person who we were teaching!! Man that is so cool to see!!  That whole family has been so blessed because of them. :)

So that has been our busy busy week!!  I can really see how when you bring 1 person into the gospel it affects at least 10 people.  It is so cool to see that!!

 

Love you!!

 

Elder Luke Johnson

YES, LUKE DID BAPTIZE LEAH!! (Star Wars...haha!)

So this week was a really good one!!  It was kind of an interesting one too....so this past Monday, after we did our normal p-day stuff we got a call from the guy who we live with, and he said something that was really scary to hear...and it was that our house had been robbed and that he wanted us to get home quick to see what had been stolen!!  That was a super scary thing!!!  I was really hoping that they didn't steal too much.  So we rushed back home and found that it was a mess!!  Everything was all strung out all over the floor, it looked like they had entered from our bedroom and just ransacked the place to see if there was any money they could take!!  So we went through everything and inventoried everything and found that the only thing that was missing was our bikes, some extra change that bro Ratliff had, and some other odds and ends, and his computer!!  So that was a pretty traumatizing thing that happened!!  So we cleaned everything up, made sure that every thing was there and then went to some teaching appointments and dinner that we had.  Then we came back home and planned for the next day and went to bed thinking that we would never see our bikes again...We then woke up the next morning I walked into the kitchen, still half asleep, and saw our two bikes sitting were they normally are!!!  I seriously had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming!!  So I saw Bro Ratliff on his la-z-boy and asked him where did these come from.  He said that they were just sitting on the front door when he went to go out to get the paper!!  So he called the cops to see if this was their doing and they said that they had not heard about it...So...after a traumatizing experience of having our stuff taken, they ended up bringing back our bikes!!  If that is not a miracle I don't know what is!!  They could have just dumped them somewhere or pawned them off, but they brought them back!!  Mine was brought back broken, so I took it to the mission bike repair guy to fix it.  

 

So, anyway, here is an update on the work that we did this week!! 

 

This week was a super amazing week!! Probably one of the best on my mission!!  We were able to find some new people to teach and meet with some people who we are working with and also baptize 5 people this week!!  So we are meeting with some investigators who weren't progressing as much as the people who we baptized, but were going, so we were able to focus on them :)  We are trying to get people coming in while people are going out of our teaching pool.  It is kind of like we took a whole bunch of people from the outside to this build with an elevator, and took the elevator from the bottom floor and went to about the middle floor and those who were ready to go to the top floor we took and those who weren't we left behind.  So now we are coming back to retrieve those who we left on the middle floors to bring them to the top :)  We still had contact with those on the middle floors but they weren't wanting to get into the elevator to go to the top.  So now we are going to help them to get there :)

Robert was baptized on Saturday, and that was such an amazing thing that we were able to see and I am so happy for him :)  He has come such a long way and now he is baptized and going to be progressing a lot more in the gospel :)

The other four who were baptized were the family :) Conrad and Naomi who were married a day before their baptism, and there two baptism age kids Harvey and Alyssa :)  That was so amazing to see that family be baptized!!  I can not wait until they go through the temple and are sealed together forever!! 

Leah is doing good and is very ready for her baptism on Tuesday!! She has invited like all of her non-member friends and so there should be a lot of people there who don't know about the gospel and so we are going to help them with that :)

Wendy came to church this Sunday again and is really enjoying it!!  It is hard to meet with her on a regular basis because we have to work around the translators schedule, but every time we meet with her she always feels the spirit and is very ready to be baptized!!  She has been prepared major for the gospel!!  There are many more, but that is the highlight of this week!! 

 

Hope all is going well!!!

 

Love,

 

Elder Luke Johnson

The other FOUR baptisms on Saturday!! A Family!!

 

Saturday's Baptism!! (one of the many!)

 

5 Baptisms this week, 2 Next!!!

So this week has been really good!!! We are getting a lot of people ready for baptism and it has been a really fun thing to do!!  We have been working hard this week!! Luckily we have been blessed with a car so we don't have to go bike riding in this 105 degree weather :)  I hope that I stay here and the car stays here for the rest of the summer because I did not like biking in 120 degree weather last year in Anthem, but lets hope for the best :) I can't believe that I am coming up on my year mark!!  It is very crazy how fast time flies!!  :)

So we having great fun here :)  We have a total of 5 people this week getting baptized!!  and 2 more next week!!  

The first ones who are going to be baptized this week is the Family of Conrad (the dad), Naomi (the mom), Harvey, and Alyssa (the children) They passed their interview this week and so they are all set for baptism this Saturday!!  I am so excited for them!!  That is such a great family who will be a real great addition to the church and the Gospel has helped them sooooooo much!!  Just in the past 2 months that we have been teaching them they have: quit smoking, got in a better place to live, able to pay for food, and are now much happier :)  It is so amazing to see how when people come closer to Christ he always provides a way. :)  We went to the temple with them this last week and that was such a good experience for them!!  It really helped them to gain that eternal perspective that they needed and now have a firm goal of getting to the temple in a year!!  That is sooooo cool!!  I can't wait to be able so see that wonderful family sealed in the temple :)

The next one who is getting baptized this Saturday is Robert!!  It is so amazing that he is going to get baptized!!  He has been touched so much by the spirit and has had so many things happen in his life where he is so ready for baptism now :) we are going to be teaching him this week and helping him prepare for his baptismal interview.  It is going to be so amazing to see him get baptized!!  :) He is so ready for baptism!!

There a couple who are getting baptized next week.  The first in Leah.  She has grown so much in this gospel and I can't wait to see her get baptized!!  She has been so much prepared for a long time now and she is ready for that remission of sins that baptism brings. :)

The other one is Eric.  He is prepared so much for his baptism and is very ready for it!!  

Tiffany and Sam are doing good!!  Sam got the priesthood yesterday and that was cool to be able to see that!!  They are both progressing a ton in the Gospel.

We had some awesome investigators come to church this last week.  We had the Chinese lady who we are teach come and she came to all three hours and that was really awesome to see.  Se said that she really liked it and she is really ready for the gospel.  We kind of have to go a bit slower with her because of the language barrier but we have a translator that the main fellow shipper brought to help with all of that.  We are starting to get are teaching pool to the point were once we baptize these awesome people we will have more to teach, and we will have a constant teaching pool so that just keeps cycling through.  :)  We have gotten some real promising referrals this week which we have set appointments up for next week and are going to start teaching.

Well life has been good and the work is going great!!  The Lord keeps blessing all the people in this area and it is so amazing to help him in his harvest!! :)

Hope all is well back at home!!

Love,

Elder Johnson

(Disclaimer once again:  I have left out last names on purpose.  If you really want to know them, text or email me and I will tell you.  This is for safety reasons.)

Star Wars Puzzle

The Family Getting Baptized on Saturday!! (Mom and Dad and 2 of the kids!)

 

Luke and Leah (No this is not Star Wars) and Elder Newton! (She is getting baptized this week!)

 

So here is an update on some amazing things that happened this week!!  :) So I think I told you about Robert and how he now has a baptismal date!! It was kind of an amazing story how that happened!!  He has been praying for an answer to his question about when he should be baptized and he was driving with his daughter one day and they were talking about how he has changed a lot and then out of the blue his daughter said dad I think it is time for you to be baptized!  That was such an amazing experience!! It was an answer to his prayers and to ours too!!  That was amazing!!

So this week we have been working more with Conrad and Naomi and their family.  This week Conrad said that he doesn't think that he can be ready by the 16th to be baptized, but we talked with him so more and help him to see that he is.  He just has this one obstacle that has proven to be a real challenge,  he and Naomi have a smoking problem, but we are trying our hardest to help him and I really have faith that he will quit completely before his baptism!!  We had Stake conference this week, and they came to the adult session.  He and Naomi really liked it because there was so amazing recent converts there who shared their testimony about how they overcome their things that they had to in order to be baptized, and that really helped him.  He now talks that he is very excited to be baptized and that is really good.  We are going to the temple with him and his family and that will be a real great experience for him to gain that eternal perspective on things. :)

Leah is doing really well!!  She is have some really strong temptations from the adversary, but she is keeping strong and really trying to follow Christ and is preparing a ton for he baptism!!  We keep in daily contact with her because she doesn't have the gift of the Holy ghost and when we contact her she is able to feel that and have the spirit with her through us. Things are going great with her.

We taught that Chinese lady again yesterday!!  She is so prepared and we spent the whole time yesterday talking about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important to have and how it can bring us closer to God.  She doesn't speak too much English, but her fellow shipper's friend has someone who speaks Chinese and it is really awesome to teach her because we have to keep things really simple so that she can understand.  Sometime she can't understand us, but that is why it is quite a blessing to have a translator so that she can understand the Gospel better. :)  

So we have a couple of new investigators that we started to teach this week!!  One of them is named Letica,  her sister was contacted by some missionaries and she sent them over to her and we went over there this week and taught her the first lesson!!  It was pretty awesome!! So I had a cool experience when I went to go teach her with a member ( because we were on splits).  We first tried at the time that we had set up, and she wasn't home, so I gave her a call and she said that she would be home in about 10 minutes, so we went to some other people to try and contact them, but not luck so we came back for the appointment with Letica.  I saw an couple on the other side of the street when we first went by and I didn't talk to them, then I saw them again when we came back by and so I thought that these people must need the Gospel because this is my second chance to talk to them.  So I did and offered to give a prayer on their home and they accepted and we got a return appointment.  So we went over the next day and taught them the first lesson and they are so prepared for the Gospel and they listened to everything that we had to say.  So we taught most of the restoration and left a blessing on their home.  It was pretty awesome to see and a true testimony that we have to talk with everyone!!

So that was the week!!

Well that is sad to here about all of those missionaries coming home early from their missions!!  I am glad that I am not because I wouldn't be able to teach those people who have been prepared for me and they would have to wait for the Lord to prepare someone else to teach them.  I think about all those people who I have taught and it makes me glad I choose to serve a mission because I would be hindering their eternal progression if I didn't. I am so glad to be a missionary and see all these people come closer to Christ.  I can truly say that the Lord has shaped me over these past months to the point that the only reason as to why I would go home were to be that my two years have ended :)  It is so amazing how fast time goes and how I have been out for just about 11 months now and it just feels like 2!! 

Well that is the week and the work is going amazing!!

Love,

Elder Johnson