MILAGROS!!!

If you haven't noticed yet, God is a god of miracles! Thank you so much for sharing with me the miracles yall have seen in your own lives and that you have seen in the lives of others. 

This week we have seen miracles! Elder Swinney and I have been blessed with such an elect investigator. We have been working hard each and every day to find new investigators and to help those who we are already teaching to progress. And the Lord saw fit to trust us with someone who is ready to hear the Gospel and overcome the trials before him. Brandon is amazing! 

We got a hold of Brandon from a media referral asking for a Book of Mormon. We NEVER get media referrals out here in the country. Pig farmers don't tend to go searching things out on the internet haha. But Brandon has been searching and studying things out ever since he found out his girlfriend is a member. We were able to teach him in the home of one of the members and we had an excellent lesson. He accepted baptism! He is going on vacation so we will be teaching him through facebook this week, but when he gets back we will be able to continue forward to help him overcome different trials he will face. 

Another miracle that we saw this week was that we were able to get up with more of the people that we have been teaching and that we have not been able to teach so much. Such as the Hedgepeth family, Stevie, and Bill Buckley! Stevie seems to not be interested anymore. We're super bummed about it. But we'll keep in touch. Bill and the Hedgepeths however seem to be increasing their interest and their faith! Bill last night specifically asked us to go over the plan of salvation with him again! We have faith that as we show him our love and as we teach him according to his needs, he will continue to change! And in this life or the next, he will accept the message. :)

On Saturday we had the amazing privilege of meeting as Spanish Missionaries in the whole mission! Elder Zwick from the 1st quorum of the seventy came and taught us in Spanish! :D That was a super awesome experience. We're not exactly sure why only the Spanish missionaries came, since we didn't address any specific Spanish proselyting or anything. But what a privilege to be taught so close and personally. And in Spanish!

The other great part about it all was that we got to see all of our former companions! It was a huge group of friends! There is definitely a different bond between the Spanish missionaries and the English... 

The main thing that we took away from it though was our personal responsibility to learn by faith and to have the power of virtue as missionaries. It was sooo powerful. What a blessing!

To be a missionary is one of the greatest gifts and privileges I have ever had. It lies just behind the gift of Christ. I am so grateful to be here and I am so grateful that the Lord is with us each day.

I love yall a ton! I wish you a very merry Christmas! And don't forget your liver pudding this year! :D

Elder Brian Johnson

p.s. yes there are many a people out here who love their liver pudding :) 

Otra vez!!! :D

Elder Swinney is my new/old companion!!!!!! Wahoo!! We are both super excited to be companions again! We both admit that it is kind of crazy, and that it was a little bit of mixed feelings, but we're over that and are doing awesome work here in Wallace!

As far as the events of this week there weren't too many. We are teaching someone named Lonnie who is great! He is the boyfriend of one of the returning less actives. We haven't gotten too far into teaching him yet, but we've been starting on the basic principles of prayer and developing a relationship with God. He has some great questions and some great potential. When we taught him this week I found that Elder Swinney has changed a ton and that he is a super solid missionary! We have had some really powerful lessons already. I still am amazed we're actually companions, but super excited!

The highlight of this week besides transfers happened while I was waiting for Elder Swinney after transfer meeting. I stayed in Wallace with the Mount Zion elders and went proselyting with them. At one point Brother Taylor came and picked me up to go meet up with Elder Swinney and his ride. They were late, so we ended up going and doing other things in the meantime. Well while I was with the Brother Taylor I realized that I had lost our key. Our brand new car key! I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but we have a brand new 2015 Toyota Corolla. I love it! :D But it doesn't do you any good parked in a random parking lot without a key! So we went on a goose chase for my key. We didn't ever find it. Still haven't. So until our fleet manager could get down to Wallace, we were on bikes! :D That kept us pretty close haha. Couldn't really go all that far. 

But we have a key now, and are continuing to look for the old one so we don't have to replace it...($$) It was one of the funniest/horrendous things that has happened on my mission! And all while Elder Swinney was on his way for me to go pick him up in OUR car! :D 

We finally were able to talk to Felisha this week! She has been in the hospital and recovering from not being able to breath. She invited us over for dinner this week and as well for Christmas! We hope that we can coordinate everything to be able to go!

Yuni is doing really well. We had a great lesson with her and her mother in law. When we asked her what the most important part in the plan that Heavenly Father has for us, she said "The law of Chastity!" Well, maybe, but it was awesome to hear that it's the first thing on her  mind! :D Hopefully this week Elvis will be able to get his passport. Please pray for him to be able to do so!!

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the true way to have happiness in this life and in the life to come!

Have a very merry Christmas and don't forget to share the gift!! :D

Élder Brian Johnson

Traslados!

Transfer time is here! They always go by so fast! Sometimes I feel like Elder Foote is still teaching me the area, but I am going to be doing just that in about 24 hours! I heard rumor on Friday at our leadership meeting that Elder Swinney will be coming down to Wallace as my companion again! Who really knows haha. But that would be pretty awesome!

This week has been a fantastic week. As a zone we have had a goal to have no zeros in our key indicators. We ALMOST did it! We don't have anyone with a baptismal date right now, but we have a few who are close to it. Really Yuni is the closest one, and it's simply a matter of time to be able to get married.

Speaking of which, she is doing really well. Her countenance has changed since she has decided to get baptized. It is amazing!

So yesterday going along with our goal for no zeros, we had a goal to have a lesson in a member's home. But we didn't have anything set up! Saturday night though we set the goal to do it, and prayed specifically that we would be able to teach someone in the home of one of the three members that we were going to visit on Sunday. The first home we had a miracle. We were able to visit with the Jeffers family. Sister Jeffers is really sick and can't come to church much. And her daughter is not a member. She's been taught before, and we have been sharing messages with the family for a time. We had an awesome lesson about the He is the Gift Initiative! I love that thing! 

Second miracle that happened is that a member invited us to eat at their house for his birthday! He had cousins over and being hispanic, about 75% of their conversation had to do with religion. In the end we had the privilege to share the same thing and set up a return appointment to eat deer with them! Woot! Miracles happen!!

So I have been trying to think about what happened this week. And I spaced the fact that it was THANKSGIVING!!! What a day!! It was great!

For thanksgiving we went over to President Adkins house with the family. They were talking about how they had the whole gang there save a few. They had a table that fit about eight people.... As far as I understand we had our big dining table and two other tables that fit eight each... It was a quiet thanksgiving haha. It was super fun and super good though! Good old southern food! And boy do they love their macaroni! I was put on the spot to sing/play for them, so I figured I'd sing Lullaby for them. They don't know why, but it was really awesome for me to play it and sing it for them. 

We also ate at the Jeffers home! I ATE CHITLINS!!!!! WOOOOT!!!! If yall don't know what that is, then simply imagine eating the tripe. Intestines! But boy was I not expecting the flavor. Some day yall need to try the Carolina BBQ, because it had some of the richest vinegar based bbq ever. 

We also had home made fried chicken which was super good! The people out here in the south make it right!

I am so grateful to be serving a mission! I am so grateful for all y'all! I am so grateful for life!

I love y'all so much!

Élder Johnson 

We love to cook Hispanic food! This was all us!

So one of the best parts about my district is that Hampstead is on the coast! 

And I get to go on exchanges there! This was on Topsail island and it was soooo cold that night!

This is my district!! Love 'em all!

¡Espíritu!

Hey all y'all foreigners in the land of the west!! (And wherever else you may be...)

I hear that there's been some snow! Well rather than snow we have had warm weather, rain, and tornado watches! Don't worry, nothing came of it. But really, it has been so warm a few of the days! We could actually go running this morning because it was so warm!

Well, so you remember Jorge from Henderson? Turns out that he was actually already baptized! What?? He was baptized 18 years ago, but doesn't remember it at all. Woot! Double dose!

Marisol is doing well I hear as well which makes me super happy! She's already getting her patriarchal blessing!

This week here in Wallace things went great! Yuni decided to get baptized!!!!!! WAHOO!!! We were in the middle of weekly planning when all of the sudden we remembered that we had a lesson with Yuni, Elvis, and Maria in about an hour. We had no plans. So we paused and began to make them. We took the whole hour racking our brains to decide what we were going to do! She's been taught everything, and everything we teach gets the same response! We made some great plans, and then trashed them. Then we did it again! In the end we bagged it all and said we'd do Alma 7:11-16. 

Well, when we got there we did the normal follow up questions about their previous commitments and their prayers and all. We asked about how they liked the baptism that they went to as well. And bingo, Yuni popped the question about why they were baptized so many times. (The water was super low, so it took a few tries) Basically she came out with her doubt though that she felt she was failing God for being baptized again. We showed her my priesthood line of authority and explained once again the answer to her question. And for some odd reason (the spirit) it all clicked! WOOOOT!!! (Clint, you have officially made me love this word!) 

So we now have to get them married. :) Which should happen soon here. The funniest part was that when it all finally clicked, Maria, Elvis's mom, asked Yuni if she has already been baptized. Then said, "Well what are you worried about! You don't need to be baptized again!" In Elder Footes words we said in ourselves, "Get thee hence Satan!" It was hilarious! But all is good, and we are super happy.

Other than that, Vilma went to Virginia for vacation until about Christmas she said. So we'll be teaching her on facebook! :D

The greatest miracle for the week is that we got a branch mission leader!! We are sooo excited! We have been in dire need for this! We can't wait to get up and running with him and his wife! The Taylors are the best!

I love yall a ton! Keep keeping on, and before you know it you'll have kept the keep on!!

Elder Johnson

Bautismo!!

So it wasn't our Bautismo, but Wallace Sisters had one! Woot!! One of two baptisms that I have ever seen done at least seven times! :D There's always something that happens at a baptism to make it a unique experience haha. 

So this week we had miracles galore! We had investigators popping out of the ground like Daisies! Well kinda. But we really did see some great success this week. 

To start the week off we had a Spanish FHE! Only three people showed up besides us and the sisters. Elvis and Yuni and his mom! So... the sisters taught our investigators haha! But it was such a great experience. It helped us out to let them hear the testimonies from someone else about the restoration. We then were able to have a lesson with them all the next day to talk about the spirit that they felt at FHE. Maria, Elvis's mom, really liked it and is interested in learning more and really coming to find out for herself if it is true! Yuni definitely felt the spirit, and really wants to follow Christ, but still has a hard time understanding Baptism by the authority of God. We are trying so hard to let the spirit teach her!

Felisha was in the hospital this week :/ But we were able to get her some gatorade which we took over yesterday with a member, because her mother had said that she especially likes gatorade after getting sick. Keep praying!

This week I feel like the greatest miracles though have been as a district. We have simply been continuing to better focus ourselves on helping others come unto Christ through baptism, and investigators have begun to progress! As a mission we are all praying and working for a white Christmas, meaning that each companionship is striving for one baptism in December. 

Our districts vision is found in 3 Nephi 17:20. 

"Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full."

Faithfully Joyful! That is what truly has blessed us this week!

The last miracle is that we were planning on friday, and we got a call from brother Cruz. He asked us to meet him at his friends house to teach them! Hey hey! That was awesome! That morning we had prayed specifically for the opportunity to meet our goal for two new investigators, and as we acted in Faith, the lord granted us something even better! One very elect daughter of God! Her name is Vilma and we are super excited to teach her!

I know that the Lord is preparing his children! He cares so much for each lost sheep, and there are many. His work never ceases, so each day there is always something we can all do to take care of the fold!

I love yall a ton! 

Elder Johnson

Rewards

What a great reward it is to give up two years. The reward to wake up each morning and be a servant of the Lord! Elder Foote and I have been talking a lot about that this weekend and we have it written up huge on our whiteboard! 

This week has been a fantastic week! Our district went from having very few baptisms lined up, to several in just this last week! We have seen such amazing blessings here in North Carolina! One of the highlights for me this week was that I was able to do my first baptismal interview! The spirit is so strong in that meeting! When an investigator truly understands and is committed to the Lord, their testimony is so strong. So this means that the Wallace sisters will have a baptism here this Saturday! We are excited for this to boost the member missionary work here.

This last week we were able to keep working with Bill Buckley. He is a hoot! We were able to teach him a lot more about the Plan of Salvation and it made us so sad to hear that he doesn't know if he'll ever see his wife Evelyn again. We are excited to go back this week to continue to talk about it. He was bothered though that we took too long and we couldn't eat ice cream  afterwards... :D

We weren't able to teach Felisha this week, but we were able to visit with her on her porch for a time. She told us two amazing things. One, that we had pushed her away from the Baptists. Yeah!!! That is HUGE here!! And second, that she very emphatically said that we would be surprised the next time we come, by how much she will have read in the book of mormon. Not to mention she wants to feed us. We are excited to go back tomorrow! We are bringing a member with us this time and we are praying that they will get along and that Felisha will take to them. We have faith that they will.

We can't get a hold of Stevie :/ 

Yuni came to church! And Elvis has plans to get his passport really soon here so they can get married!! We are still struggling to help her receive an answer about baptism, but keeping the commandments will definitely help.

More and more I realize that we are most definitely in the South. I love it! And I can't remember life any other way! And boy am I excited for a good Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner out here in the country. It will be soooo good!! Oh and I also can't remember barbecue sauce being ketchup and sugar based. The NC bbq sauce is vinegar based and soooo good. 

Feast upon the words of Christ! They're even better! And don't forget to learn about how the spirit talks to you and to others! 

I love yall a ton! Have a great week!

Élder Johnson

¡Ay! ¡el frío!

Well the cold is finally hitting here in North Carolina! Well it goes up and down, but this morning we had our first frost! I have been sooo cold! But I realized something. Last year after being in Cary where I ate like a king with the amazing hispanics there, I weighed about 15 lbs more than I do right now... So I didn't get so cold! But boy do I hope that I can make it this winter! In all reality I am totally fine, since I love the cold haha. I just have to decide to like it right now! :D

This week was a great week! We had several lessons with different investigators and found a new one as well. The greatest lesson that we had was with Felisha and Raheim. I love these people! Felisha, the minister, has had a change each time that we have gone over to her house. When we got there Raheim told us that she was feeling sick and that it would just be the three of us and his brother Adam. But as we began to talk Felisha came out to be there with us with the determination to talk with us because of how much she loves us coming over. We were able to talk even more about the Book of Mormon and how it relates to the Bible. They hadn't read much since the last time so that is what we are trying to get them to do. We left them 2 Nephi 33 to read because of how strong of a testimony Nephi gives to all those who read his words.

As we talked we asked them if they had been able to pray about the Book of Mormon to ask God if it is truly His word. They both very passionately said that they did not need to because of the spirit that you can feel as you read the book. Wahoo!!! We are trying to help them now to understand Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the organization of the Priesthood and the fold of God. Our plan for our lesson tomorrow is to invite them to pray specifically if this is the same organization that existed in the primitive days! And we plan on lovingly and fearlessly inviting them to be baptized when they come to know that it is true! PLEASE PRAY FOR US! :D:D: The Lord needs these elect children of God to establish more firmly his church here in Wallace! 

We taught a man named Hector who is a new investigator as well. He is great! Super nice and loves to talk! It took us two lessons to simply do what is called How to Begin Teaching! But it's worth taking the time to set the expectations with people of who we are and what our purpose is in being there with them! 

We are slowly but surely progressing with "Wild Bill Buckley"!! Our visits have turned more and more into gospel conversations and he has come out to us with more and more questions that he has! What we do, since he can't handle focusing for very long, is we write a scripture on a piece of paper and post it on his fridge or his wall where he can look at it all week. That way his thoughts are complete about it. This time we talked more about the Plan of Salvation and left him these two questions: Why did we ever leave Heaven? and what do we have to do to go back? We are excited to follow up!

We have not been able to see Steve for a while or Yuni. So we are working hard to get in touch again so we don't lose ground. 

I hope yall enjoyed your Halloween! We certainly did! We had a great chili cook-off! We had soo many hispanics there! Including the whole Hernandez family! We've been constantly working with them, and it was soo good to see them there and at church as well!

I love yall a ton! And I say unto yall, LOVE THE COLD! :D

Love,

Elder Brian Johnson