December 22, 2012 baptism of the family!!!

Christmas Eve Email! Yes, I get to talk to him tomorrow!!!

So this week was super awesome! We had the family be baptized and that was such an amazing spiritual experience! I was able to baptize all 5 of the family! They are an awesome family! I am so excited for them, for when they get to go through the temple in a year!! It is going to be an awesome thing to see that whole family get sealed! They are awesome! 
We had a good week this week but the climax of it all was on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday with the family baptism, but also we have an investigator who has been kind of flaky lately but I had an impression to just shoot him a text on Saturday night and see what was up and invite him to church. We texted back and forth a couple of times and he said that his main concern as to not coming to church was that he didn't have a white shirt and tie and he felt uncomfortable coming with out it so we rushed home and got some of our shirts and ties and gave it to him with a book that shows how to tie a tie and he loved it! He is only 16, but he has researched a ton about the church on mormon.org and he has a testimony of everything. We have been praying to find out his real concern, but we keep showing him a ton a love, kind of to the point where it is a little creepy, but I don't think he minds because it shows how much we love him and want him to return back to the Celestial Kingdom. I am super excited for him and he should be getting baptized within the next couple of weeks.
We also had a very less-active lady come to church yesterday who brought a non-member friend? haha I put a question mark because it was a real delightful surprise to see her at church and not only her, but a friend? I learned the story from her home teacher and it just made me love the spirit. So a little background about her...for the past 3 months or so I have been going over there every now and then, not too often though because every time we went she would always complain and not really listen to the message that we had prepared. So we haven't visited her and her kids for a while, but she had a faithful home teacher who went way above and beyond the call of duty! He meets with her almost weekly, is always there when she needs something and just loves them so much that this past week she called him and his wife and she was wanting a blessing for her son and her who have some health issues. She had her non-member friend over to and that home teacher gave a really spiritual blessing and they felt the spirit so strong that they were, as it says in the scriptures "pricked in their hearts" to do good and they came to church yesterday and they are both wanting to take the lessons and learn more! I was so surprised that I was speechless! I almost broke down in tears! She made a total 360 degree change and it was all because of her being humble and open to the spirit!! The Spirit is so awesome!! I love our Heavenly Father's spirit so much! 
Another crazy thing happened at church today. We had a non-member from a part-member family who's husband is the member and very less-active and not wanting to come back at all but likes meeting with us and he called us out of the blue on Saturday wondering what time church started because his dad was in town and is active and wanted to go to church. I was think well, I guess he will just drop his dad off or something, but to my surprise again his wife and son came!! That was so awesome to see them at church!! Hopefully we will be able to meet with them and get them back with the husband. They are the Lent family and they are so awesome! I sat by them at church and I noticed that she was in tears after sacrament so I hope that we can help her to continue to feel of the spirit!! 

It has been a super amazing spirit filled week!!

Well I will talk to you tomorrow!!

Merry Christmas!

Love ya,

Elder Luke Johnson

Little Lukie's visit with Santa this year!

I have been a good missionary this year, so for Christmas, Santa, I want a .......

Mission Christmas Party and Temple Trip!!!

Look!  He sang, ate and went to the Mesa Temple!

Today's Letter!

So we had the baptisms this week from our area and one from the other Elder's area.  It was a super crazy baptism!  So we had the family baptism scheduled for 6 and the other one for 6:45 and so it was kind of pushing it kind of close.  So we got there about an hour early to start the font and set up, and went through everything pretty smooth, then the family showed up at the time that I had told them to come and we noticed that the baptism clothing closet was locked!  No one had a key to open it!!  So it is now about 5:50 and we can't find a key and so I was frantically calling and trying to figure out who had a dang key!  After about what seemed 50 phone calls I was given the number of the high councilor in the other ward who is in charge of the youth baptism who has a key, but the only bad thing was that he couldn't get there for other 15 minutes!  It was about 5:55 when he said that!  So I was going crazy, thinking we won't be able to get finished in time for the other area's baptism and people would hate me and everything!  But then our Heavenly Father helped me to know that everything happens for a reason, and I was comforted.  The people who were supposed to be baptizing didn't show up until about 6:15 so that was good, because we would have had to wait anyway!  We started at 6:20 and it just so happened that I was chosen to give the talk on baptism and that the talk on the Holy Ghost was set on the program for after the baptism, which was weird because that like never happens! So we got the song, pray, talk, and baptisms done by 6:30!  So everything worked out and with all of the stress that I created it ended up being just fine!  haha funny how that works!!  The family baptism was super spiritual, and oh yeah, my former companion was allowed to come back for their baptism!  His first baptism!! :) So that was amazing! :) 

So we have a baptism this week of another family!!  They are awesome!!  They had their interview yesterday and they are ready for baptism on Saturday!!  The father is so awesome!  He had quick cold turkey and is now smoke free!!  He has noticed all of money that they are saving and that is so awesome!!  Tons of blessings come to those who obey the commandments!! :)  I have noticed that a whole bunch on my mission!!

 

We had an awesome planning session this week combining the two areas and we took about 55 names that we are either working with or hoping to work with over these next few weeks!  So it is now time to, as a member in our ward says, "hunker down, get'r'done, get'r'baptized!" haha :)

 

Here goes another week of awesomeness!!  Crazy awesomeness!! :) Four wards is a lot!!  Yes!

 

Love ya,

 

Elder Luke Johnson

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

If anyone knows Luke, Christmas is his favorite time of year!! So he took a picture of the tree in his apartment. This is actually only a small portion of the decorations in his apartment! Missionaries can have the Christmas spirit too!

Saturday's Baptisms!!!

He told me that the Dad and 3 kids in the picture were baptized on Saturday!  The grandpa and a member of their ward performed the baptisms!  There is Luke with his former companion!!

Elder Johnson with his former companion, Elder Rigby and his new Tri-Companionship

So after some mix-ups, and some confusion with everything, the result of the transfers was that I am staying and that Elder Rigby is the one that got transferred up north to Cottonwood.  I was sad to see him go, but I was able to teach him all that he needed from me, so now he gets to grow being transferred away from me.  Ha, I kind of now kind of feel how you guys do when I went on my mission. So my District leader, Elder Baldree, got a call from president telling him that there was a mix-up and that I was to be staying in the area.  Then yesterday in the Transfer meeting I became companions with him and his companion, so I am in a tri-panionship now and I basically cover four wards again with me being the lone ranger in my area, with the help of Elder Baldree and his trainee Elder Rushton so I am now co-training!  (This is pretty much all I got about the transfer!  So he's staying in the same area and gets to see the baptisms!! Maybe I will hear more on Monday.  Who knows, but his address remains the same.  16630 North Reems Road #2084, Surprise, Arizona  85374)

Transfers happened, but details are still unknown!

So...I know he was at transfers as he is on the front row, but I still don't know for sure where he ended up.  No email.  May not get one till Monday....if anyone was wondering! :(  Will keep you all posted when I hear!!

GETTING TRANSFERRED!!!

TRANSFER WEEK....received a very short email from Luke on Tuesday.  He is getting transferred and is NOT too happy about it, so say extra prayers that things will go well for him tomorrow as he goes to his new area so close to Christmas and is also unable to see the NINE, yes NINE, people get baptized!  They were scheduled for this weekend and next!!!  Seriously??? Hoping for a miracle!! Such a big fat BUMMER!!!  He MUST be needed somewhere else desperately!!

More Leadership Conference Pictures!

Anyone else notice that he's wearing a grey jacket with black pants?  My poor color blind Elder!  Wish I could help!!

Trainer Meeting!!!

Huge trainer meeting on Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The weather here is still really warm during the day!  Is the weather warm in Utah?  I remember last year in Arizona it wasn't this warm.  It is like high 80's during the day and that is kind of weird, but I would much rather have this that 120! haha :)

 

So I really love this Christmas season out here on a mission!! It is great fun!!

 

This week has been a really interesting week teaching people.  It has been quite the struggle to actually meet with our investigators, but we are trying and when we do it is always a intense spirit filled lesson!  

 

We meet with our investigator family this week and it turns out that the mother has some "adopted" daughters that she has been housing this week so they have joined in on the lessons with the kids.  That was good for the frist one, but the second one we had they kind of exploded on us with a whole bunch of those stereotypical questions of, "Why do you baptize dead people?" and "Do you think that Joseph Smith is god" and some really good questions too, and so it kind of took my companion off guard a little bit and the member that we had with us and so they trying to answer the best they could, but they didn't really have that wanting to know, so we just bore testimony and left.  I really think that the spirit touch them and it really wasn't any of their fault, they kind of came into it all in the middle of the lessons and so it was kind expected for them to have questions like that.  So if they are there next time, because they are sometimes back and forth with their real mom and the mother of the family, we will start from the beginning with them.  The kids are doing good, and there faith just continues to grow every time we go over there.  Two of the children are super ready for baptism on the 15th, but the 14 yr old, kind of has a bit of teenager things to get over.  I really believe that once she feels the spirit she will be ready. 

 

We met with the other family who are super excited for their baptism on the 22nd of December and they are awesome!!  We kind of have split the way we teach them, were on Tuesdays we teach the mother and father in the Church while the kids are at scouts, so that has been good.  Then on another time in the week we teach the kids who are baptism age and that seems to go really well!!  They are an awesome family who I am really excited to see be baptized!!  The father is still is having some trouble with the word of wisdom, but he is trying, and with some strong prayer and faith, I know that he will stop by his baptism date.

 

We were also able to teach Cole who is awesome!  He just soaks up everything we teach him and we set a date with him this week for the 15th and we will try to help him get to that date.  He is awesome and is just sincerely looking for what he needs to do to become closer to our Heavenly Father, and that is awesome!

 

Since I was sick this last week my mind has kind of been in a fog and it has been a little hard to focus sometime, but this past fast Sunday I really fasted that I might be able to have a renewed focus and the work and I can really feel that from the spirit lately after that and it has been nice!  I also had a priesthood blessing and that was really awesome because right after I had that my fever broke and I felt a lot better!  It has been a really testimony builder for me to really feel and see the power of God work in my life.

 

Well I think that is about all for this week!

Love,

 

Elder Luke Johnson