Hey!

This week was a great week! We didn't teach that many lessons compared to normal, but we taught really outstanding investigators! 

First of all this week we taught Marisol. She accepted a baptismal date for the 16th!! We're most likely going to push it back though to help her out. When we went over and talked to her this last week she let us know that she really does feel like it is true and that she has been receiving her answer along the way. She feels like she needs to learn more before she is actually baptized, so we have set up a good plan to teach her more through the week. Pray for her! Help her to hold strong and strengthen her conversion!

We also taught Teresa this week a few times. She is the best! We were trying to set a baptismal date with her and she was sooo nervous and we couldn't figure out why! Turns out she is really scared of drowning! Haha! We were soooo confused! And we were so relieved that it was just that. Turns out that she's perfectly fine if the youth leader baptizes her, and not us haha. We're just fine with that though. We're actually teaching her tonight! 

The miracle for this week though was Jorge. We found Jorge a while ago while I was companions with Elder Swinney. Though ever since then we hadn't been able to get up with him until last sunday. And turns out he is super elect! When he taught him yesterday we invited him to be baptized on the 13th of september when he came to know it was true. His answer was that there's nothing that would keep him from doing it, so of course! It was great! He probably has the best understanding of what the Bible teaches than any other person I have met on my mission. Explaining gospel dispensations was the easiest thing to do! We are super excited to keep working with him. And it will be really easy since he is home every day. The difficult part is that he is most likely going to have to move to be baptized. So please pray that doors will be opened for him to be able to find new and affordable living circumstances.

This week we had a great Zone Leader Training meeting. It really was one of the greatest ones we have had. Really it was because the topic was completely on Baptism. For the year we have a 894 baptism goal. So far we have 193, leaving 701. We've had some since, but over all that means by the end of the year each companionship needs to have 6 baptisms by the end of the year. The great thing about the meeting though was that we tried not to focus so much on the big number, or even the number. Yet we focused on what we are going to change to actually achieve that and apply it to specific people.

As a zone we have committed to these goals. 1. Pray specifically to baptize. 2. Invite investigators to be baptized no later than the second lesson. 3. Include baptism in the step of How to Begin Teaching.

We saw miracles happen as we were able to set three baptismal dates after that meeting! 

I know that if we do pray for the blessing of the lord that he will bless us in his time and with what his children need. We must be dedicated to do what our leaders ask of us to do, and as we do that the Lord will place people in our path that we can influence and bring with us the whole way.

I love yall a ton! I know that the gospel is true and that it is specially designed for each one of us as children of God! Have a great week!

Elder (Brian) Johnson