Pictures

                        

This week i dont have much to tell. But i will send a few pictures for you all to see what i did for the 24th and 25th. We went to a fish spa and enjoyed getting our feet nibbled on by some fish...it was incredibly ticklish at first but then as i tried to relax and become comfortable, the fish no longer tickled. :) Then we went to see a cool Christmas lights show which was way awesome and was beautifully decorated :) Then i got to skype my family which was cool because i havent seen them in a year :) Then i bought myself a new camera for Christmas because it was greatly needed, so thank you for those who helped me by giving me Christmas money. :) thanks a lot.  I've been using my camera a lot. :) Also, heres some pictures for you all and hopefully theyll show up. Im sorry sometimes my blog has difficulties where you cant see pictures or read certain blogs...but it sends just fine i guess just sometimes it has problems on te blog...but thank you for those who still bare with me :) I want to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year :) 2013 already...dang where has the time gone. I hope you enjoy the pictures. 

Thanks for your support. 

Elder Johnson  

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pictures

    

      

        

heres some cool pictures for everyone...Kiss FM was me on the radio when i taught on it, the pictures of the lights are in Molo Plaza and are for Christmas...its way cool how they jsut hang them up in the trees :) then we were Christmas Caroling :) which was also way fun :) I hope you all enjoy :) 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

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pictures

heres some more :)

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Hey

Hey Everyone :)

Just since my mom was worried....none of you need to worry about the Typhoon that happened last week...nothing happened here on this little island. Casi (pronounced cause see)...the island of Iloilo is in the middlle of a bunch of other islands so basically, we are protected by other islands...so nothing will hit us. Usually ever. So yah thats that. Um well not much has happened here this week, but we did have some more members work with us and we were pretty bold with some if our longest investigators...so we hope that well start to see stuff from that. But um also...its been a struggle lately in many thngs but ive been learning a lot about literally the power of the mind and the impact of your thoughts to the things around you, and how once you change that perspective, it changes so much so drastically. so thats been cool. President Monson said a talk called "Living the Abundant life" and in this talk he literally talks and testifies about how your attitude or thoughts can literally change your whole outlook on life he says there is three ABC to his talk. The first is Attitude, then Belief of the belief in yourself and then Choice or choosing to be happy. He says, "You can't change the wind, but you can adjust the sails" If any  of you havent read it, you should. I really have a goal to master my mind...so many times in my life ive let my mind control me and so now im going to be in charge of my mind and im going to control it. :) and cool things do happen when you change your perspective on life. I know that to be true. I feel, its almost like by changing our perespective, we allow or block certain blessings from coming to us that wouldve come or wouldnt have come if wed thought a different way its quite cool. My third area has been the absolute hardest so far. But as i work day by day to change certain perspectives...itll become much easier even though it is still hard, if that makes any sense...its like how God wont change our situation, He'll just give us the strength to handle the situation. :) There i think that clearer. Anyway, i hit one more month on top of my year year mark now...this is crazy still. 13 months. Dang. Anyway...things are looking good and im doing good. Hope youre all enjoying life. I miss the cold. lol 

The joys of a mission, 

Elder Johnson    

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL,
This last thursday was thanksgiving or maybe its the next one...but we still said it was in the office...so heres a list of things im grateful for;
The Book of Mormon,
Prayer and its awesome capabilities for communication between us and Heaven.
Carpeted floors...i miss it so much.
My family :) I miss them so much and im grateful for their motivation to help me continue working in my mission and progress.
My Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, for their never ceasing patience, mercy and goodness to me and those i love.
movies....oh how i miss them.
Good friends :)
The Priesthood.
Having the chance to serve a mission and change my entire life and self forever.
That the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the same worldwide and dosent really change. And for the good members in it.
Washing machines and dryers (laba sucks)
Dishwashers,
My sister positive attitude always.
My dad never ending letters.
That i survived my first year of my mission...one more to go :)
How much i have changed in just one year.
Each one of my companions on my mission and how they've helped me be who i can become.  
These are just a few things im grateful for.
Hope youre all happy over there and your thanksgiving is good...but remember we dont have to be in November to be thankful. We should always be in the spirit of thanksgiving.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures.
Elder Johnson

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hey

Hey Everyone, 

So this week not too much happened, but i decided to send some pictures to yall and um just let you see some of the things that have happened here since ive been in this area. But also, i want you all to know, that about all the craziness that has happened in America since the election. We shouldnt lose hope for things to come. All this craziness just means that Christ is that much closer to coming. Also, with President Monson's announcement on the new missionary age,,,all means the same thing. We are really in the last days and the second coming is really, really close. Joseph Smith prophecied that the day would come when the constitution would hang by a thread and the the people of America would tun to the Elders of the LDS church to turn it around and save the country...so i just have to say....we are probably at that time or is close or we have been there now for a while...just need to wait it out. Gods got a plan and He really is in charge. Lets not give up hope, but instead lets repent more sincere, be more obedient to the commandments, pray harder, be nicer, kinder, more giving read the scriptures more Instead of being upset or scared about what the future will bring, lets go forth and be strong and be even more good, so we can hopefully help more people come to Christ, and continue to prepare ourselves for that day that is sooo very close now. We know the signs, we've seen it and continue to see it, its our responsibility to prepare Christs kingdom in this dispensation. We have the fulness of the truth and the everlasting gospel, the Preisthood of God and living Prophets, we have no need to fear. :) 

Just wanted to share some things for all the craziness ive heard that going on in America. Hope you all enjoy the pictures and i thank you for continuing to read my blogs blogs. Thanks for all your prayers :) 

One more year to go, 

Empty Suitcases, 

Elder Johnson    

      

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ISA KA TUIG NA!!!!!!!!!!

Maayo nga hapon sa tanan, 

Hindi ko gapati nga sang last friday, isa ka tuig ako na sa mission, surprised ko giud....crazy guid siya. 

(good afternoon to all, 

I cant believe that last friday, i am one year now in my mission, i am really surprised, it way crazy) 

But its true, its been 1 year since i entered the MTC, thats soooo crazy, because it really feels as if its been only like 3 months, but i only have one year left in my whole mission. Like dang thats crazy. Its way weird. But its true, i am half way finished with my mission. So i hope that this next year will be much better than this last year, It'll be great, im gonna serve even harder and be more even more obedient and try even harder to learn and grow and change to become the type of man God wants me to be. Also, for my dads sake, thanks Daddy for your letters and the pictures in my last letter. I appreciate the letters every time i get them, so keep em coming :) But theres not too much goin on here, just really trying to serve God a little more and getting excited for Christmas, cause its only like a month and a half away now, which is way crazy...the past few months in the office have gone by sooooooo incredibly fast just like no idea....soooo fast. Ive been here for three months here pretty soon and thats just insane. I probably have one or two more to go also. But i hope your not all too cold down there in Washington, cause its looks pretty cold, and in Utah too. It actually feels tome like its gotten hotter here, or at least more humid, its been sucking because its sooo humid here, but its been nice because we're really working hard in our area and thats always nice. I miss America and its awesome food and simple pleasantries like carpet, and nice leather couches, and washing machines lol, but oh well, thatll all be there when i get back. I miss even more though, like the people i met and know there, i miss all of you and really appreciate all youve done for me and i hope all is well with you in the craziness that is going on in that country right now. If any of you are frusterated or going through some rough times, remember pray can really help help us in our lives and reading from the scriptures like the BOM and the Bible, they can really help us, and ive really been learning as to how they can help us even more. And the modern day scriptures can help us too like the Liahona and friend and ensign, those can definitely help us especially today in our lives. So never forget to use those daily. I miss you all and hope all is well. Thanks for your reading of my blog and for your support, dont forget my family and remember to help them out too, if you can, pray for them and help them if you can. The Lord will bless you. 

No Regrets, 

Elder Johnson       

hey

    kumusta sa inyo tanan :) (Hello to you all)

       Its Christmas now, here in the Philippines. Like all souls day (this last holiday in the Philippines close to Halloween) now everybody is going even more christmased out :) its crazy...i seriously feel like christmas break for all you kids still in school is close...however, its still like a whole 'nother  month away. So thats pretty crazy...i finally get why my sister likes to play christmas music all the time :) So i just think its funny. Um not too much happened this week, however, the exciting thing that did happen is i, after much, much hesitation, was able to speak on a radio show that the office elders here do. Its called KISS FM 102.7 it was really scary. I was freaking out on the inside...i tried not to show it but im pretty sure everyone could tell. There were only three of us elders and then the radio guys, so we talked about Ang mga Pagtilaw (trials) and usually what happens is we give people our numbers and they text us if they have a question and then we answer the ones we feel we can answer the best in the amount of time we've been given. Then we also chose to a special musical number too, actually duha :) (two)  and the first one was "i need thee every hour" the first verse in tagalog and then then in english the others. Then turns out the main guy who was listening really liked the musical number so he asked us to do another one and thankfully we had another one planned so we did "did you think to pray" in english. One of the elders brought his guitar and hes already got like a few of his own CDs so it went way awesome and we sounded like Pro :) it was way sweet. 

      We also discussed part of the Plan of Salvation and tried to blend it in with our purpose here on earth. Unfortunately, we didnt get a single text, so Elder Christian my companion had to make up one for us...which i didnt know till this morning that he did this, lol but oh well. I was sooooo nervous and my very self conscious of my skills, like the worst id been in a while..but apparently i did pretty good, pero galing (but unfortunately) there is no recording for me to hear, which sucks way bad because i would love to hear it. So dispite myself being way huya (shy) and way hadlok (scared) kag medjo forced ( and somewhat forced against my will, i felt) i committed and did it and did ok. The songs were way fun too...just to like get to sing on the radio was awesome. Definitely cool because i know now i have a voice that could do good on the radio :) But i was definitely was huya of my ilonggo...but the other Elder, Elder Waggoner was way helpful and of course my companion was too. So i am really thankful for their understanding of my kahuya (shyness.) But, so it was good. But i dont know if ill do it again. But i didnt let my low confidence control me this time and i got to talk and sing on the radio. Another cool story for my mission :) 

Anyway, thats really all that happened thats important. 

Halong Kamo, (take care you all)

The Joys of a mission :) 

Elder Johnson    

Hey

So not too much happened this week, it was pretty much a normal office-elder week except we have been able to get like 4 lessons a day lately which is way awesome compared to the usual. Its been awesome and they all are awesome and they are really counting too. Which is good because we really need to change our area for the better, which is starting to happen. It's awesome, on NOV 2 its what they call here all saints or souls day and apparently on this day is when everyone goes to the graveyards to like pray for and visit all their dead loved ones or just to celebrate the life of some of their saints. So that'll be interesting. But i just cant believe in like 2 weeks i hit my year mark....like where did it all go? i cant believe ive been on my mission for ONE WHOLE YEAR in 2 weeks. That's 365 days! that means i have only 365 left and i know itll fly by all too fast. Im very much in between right now, and im amazed how there are days and parts of the mission that are soooo hard because you think it might just get a little easier but it never does. The language has, however, there are still so many other challenges though, but no biggie, im really growing. On the mission its almost as if you never stop being stretched, although thats not a bad thing because it the only the Lord can help us grow. So i honestly welcome the stretching because its the Lord way of refining me and it's the way He helps me learn, and become who He wants me and who i need to become. So im not afraid because i know that God knows my purpose and what i can become and He knows who i want to become after my mission, so i trust whatever He throws at me and try to take it the best i can. Sometimes it takes me a little longer than i would hope, but i know that God understands and He's soooo very patient towards me. I feel His help quite a lot. I honestly feel like my growth has been a lot since ive been here in the office and just out on the mission. In a way the mission makes you grow up fast, you have to, you teach to so many people, some very old and experienced, some just starting out, and some right in between. Also, you have to like really see things as adults do. Its crazy. Like no matter how frustrated you are with people you have to think of other ways to help them, how would the Lord help them, and its really hard sometimes to just get a simple understanding of these people and get inside their head, however, if you think of solutions and not problems through prayer, its awesome what happens, and all the times you have to just reteach the simple lessons and finding each new way to teach it for each new person, it really makes you think like an adult i feel. I think that might be one of the ways we can grow up on a mission, even if youre not ready to grow up, you grow up anyway. Through much prayer and diligent seeking for change, you really do grow up. The mission has been a crazy experience for me and still continues, both bad and good, but still a great experience nonetheless. 

 Today we played flag football, because of of the Elders got a football in his package and so that was fun because that was a few of the Filipino Elders first time, and they werent bad either. :)   It was actually really fun, because it wasnt basketball, which is like the ONLY sport they play here. So that was really fun, despite the getting up at 530 AM, it was good. 

I hope all is well with you all down in cold Washington :) I do kinda miss the green beauty of Washington, there still plenty green here, but its not quite the same. Oh well, 

No regrets, 

The joys of a mission 

Elder Johnson    

Hey

   Hey, so this week was ok. I wanna share with y'all a cool experience with prayer. So like yesterday me and E. Christian were wondering how we might be able to help our area and what we should do with the things that have happened lately. So he just stares at the area book and is like " i have no idea what to do" just very disheartened. So then i say "hey before we continue, lets pray" and then we say a prayer and like within a few minutes we have this awesome outline unfolded out and then we just start going through this awesome plan like all these new people we now have to contact and where to contact them and its nice and organized so we know where to look and what their names are. It was awesome. I actually have to like admit, this is the most excited ive been to be in this area and like get to work. Its awesome  and im so excited to work and start to really do some different work, like i feel itll really help a lot with how things are going right now, so its awesome. I was amazed at how quickly revelation flooded into our minds once we said that prayer. There was a remarkable difference in the way without praying as we planned and hen once we prayed, everything fell into place. It was sweet :) I really do love prayer. 

 Also, heres a sweet thing that happens here in the Philippines when it rains. There's like a low humming and then its kinda windy...then it turns into like a low sound of a jet or a rocket...then as the rain gets closer and closer to arriving...it gets louder and louder until you start to run because you know itll hit in like a few seconds. Its so cool. It literally sounds like a low sounding rocket. Its one of the coolest things. So theres good things happening :) And the work will be moving better now. 

Halong kamo (take care you all)

Elder Johnson 

Hey

Hey! 

So this week was conference and it was awesome!!! there were awesome talks. And thats way exciting about Pres. Monson's announcement of the new missionary ages. 18 for men and 19 for woman...like thats crazy!!! that is truly some new revelation that will change the work of the Lord...truly crazy. So when i heard that i thought "how close is the end?" and Elder Holland wasnt kidding when he said "In the next upcoming months to years we need 10s of 1000s of missionaries" The Lord truly does need missionaries...President Monson affirmed how important that is. The end really is near and the harvest is great, but there truly are so few. Some thing i really liked was what Elder Cook said. He said his dad stated that "God will hold a man accountable for every tear he causes to his wife"  This i have learned and know to be true. There was so many new things that were awesome and i was very enlightened by many things. So that was nice. This week was transfers and it came and went and it was actually much easier than the last and for some reason less stressful...but i have really been using my new choosing options and its way nice.  Not much has been happening here just that its been a pretty big blur and everything like just melts together here in the office. But we've given a baptism date and so thats exciting and way cool and we're excited for that :) Um i got my first package in the mission field which is awesome too :) Um sorry but not much has really happened, just normal normal stuff, but my new companion is Elder Christian who has about 9 months left. Hes my 8th companion here in the field...idk why but for reason God has given like more companions than most missionaries...including the MTC ive had 11...thats more than most missionaries in this mission. Most of the time by the time they're dont they have abut 10 -12...so its pretty weird but oh well..im not complaining im grateful for it because....im really benefiting from it :) So im just continuing to learn new things and progress in this language and also this batch of missionaries that left like made me really me really sad because i got pretty close to some of em and jsut knew many of them more than any other batch and so thats been kinda hard because it makes me think like how much little time i actually might have left here in the mission...i have 13 months left...but 11 months has already gone by this fast...like who knows...and i can still remember everything so vividly...but it just made me think when they left...like my batch, or the missionaries that came in to the field with me, is one of the oldest now in the mission which is crazy because we're supposed to be young still. So its way weird....but yah. So im sorry if its not more specific for you all back home but not much changes here to much in the Philippines. It either sunny and hot or rainy and hot..sometimes its cold when it rains...or sometimes its overcast and really hot...so it doesnt change too much. But im also getting to know my area a lot better and really being able to find my way around because thats like way hard in this area because its like being in a labyrinth just full of houses and narrow roads...but im getting it figured out. My confidence has also gone up a lot since ive been here in the office and so its nice too because i just feel like ive been changing so much and i just hope it continues :) 

I hope all is well with you and i do really miss the cold and the US sometimes. So be grateful for all your carpet, nice leather couches, nice clean streets and tables, and the never ending supply of food. Its way nice. Like ive gotten so used to having resturants say that they dont have a certain order of a food...like its crazy or like they ask you for change because they dont have any...it truly is a different world. But its good because im becoming who God wants me to be. So its all good...its just funny how used to it ive gotten. 

Elder Johnson        

Hey

Hey everyone, 

I cant say too much this week, however,  i will tell you that i am learning about about choices and just how easy it is to be happy no matter what happens to us. Every morning and through out the day, if we say todays gonna be a good day...no matter what happens to us..itll always be a good day. Its crazy. Ive been learning that i have the choice to decide what i will care about and what i wont. So i can choose to get stressed or not, i can choose  to get angry or not. I can choose if im choose to be happy or not. Its so simple, but yet i never really understood it. Its just crazy once that realization happens..like no joke. My life has been a lot happier lately and a lot less stressful in the office :) Um Im still not perfect and i still struggle but i have learned a lot about that. So choices are seriously given to us each and every day, like every second, from the moment we arise to the moment we go to bed. I never really understood how many simple, not even complicated decisions we get to make daily that i constantly over thought. Just like if today isnt turning out to be a good day...just say or think today is gonna be a good day and take a deep breath and its just awesome what happens :) Also, ive been out for 11 months now which is even crazier now because like next month is one year!!!! like what the heck?!! paano na? (hows that?) So yah. I hope you are all enjoying your autum right now and i hope its not too cold down in Washington...but its still pretty much hot here. Never really changes unless its raining, then it can get a little cold. Like no joke. But i cant talk to long right now because well...its really busy in the office right now. So this is really all for now. Hope your all doing good and thanks for all your prayers. 

Elder Johnson         

funny things

Hey Everyone,

Heres some funny things people have said about me here in my new area Molo 2 in the last 8 weeks.  

I have beautiful girl eyebrows, look like a wear eye shadow, i have some facial similarities to a macaque monkey, and if i were to grow my hair out i would look like a members sister. I also have the voice of a little kid and i dye my arm hair blonde lol. And apparently other missionaries have said i remind them of the south park character Butters lol. Dont know who that is but yah.  So its been interesting here...and just to joke with people here my companion says that yes every morning i dye my arm hair gold. lol Apparenlty people think id look better if i was a girl...like id look better in Filipino girl standards.. But just thught id share that with you all...also apparently because im white and american theres this lady we always pass who when she sees us she says "Hi daddy, hi daddy" and then says to her baby "daddy mo, daddy mo" (your daddy) and makes her baby's hand wave lol so apparently i have a baby.  So its been interesting :) Its been quite fun...to listen to all the things people say about me here. Also here are some other cultural facts about the Philippines.. some people point with their lips, and everyone puts rags down their backs to protect their back from sweat so they dont get pathsma (a sickness they believe in caused from the rain) and when the construction workers work in hot weather they cover their entire body except for their eyes so it looks kind of Arabic.

We found a lot of new people this week and so we're way excited because they all have such awesome potential and so we're excited to get started on that and so thats awesome to have all those new people. Also we have a really good family that is really starting to progress and grow. The dad is still not drinking and the other day we taught the first 5 ten commandments and then they had a few questions and one was...if the bible says to not have false idols or worship or build them..them why does the catholic church do that? and it was awesome because weve been struggling with her a little bit and so that question posed a little bit of hope for us to hopefully get her to progress more now. So that was awesome. Two people in the family said "we might just move to mormons!" because they liked how we said to rest on the Sabbath and just they liked everything we shared about the commandments :) so it was a great lesson and they are an awesome family :) Its going doo here :) damo nga sadja (lots of fun) :) 

Elder Johnson      

Hey

Hey everyone, 

Sorry i havent written in a while, i just now have some time. So not much has happened too much since Bednar came, Ive just really been busy here in the office...Like its been really rough for me. But its all good im taking it day by day. Um i guess ill share something that has happened here thats pretty cool with all of you. There is this cool family here called the Kandido's, and they are more catholic than the Pope in a way of putting it. However, we have been helping the husband quit his drinking problem and its been way sweet. The wife has been trying to get him to stop drinking for 15 years and yet hasn't. So finally we come along and we start teaching them and we invite brother daily to quit drinking. Like on the day he was sober, we committed him. We say "ok brother, you didnt drink today so can you go all day tomorrow without drinking?" and he said "Kaya" (i can) and so we've done that every day now since and its been 9 days now he hasnt drank and its been awesome. Hes come to church now twice with his son in law and so its way to see that hes not drinking. He has changed a lot too. Whenever he talks now, his speech is much clearer and you can actually understand him now, like its awesome. His wife is always mentioning how much more gwapo (handsome or attractive) hes gotten because hes stopped drinking and you can see how much happier they all are. Its been really cool to see. Everyone is more happy and open and Brother is really quite smart, like he answered all the questions in the investigator class and usually he would like beat around the bush when he answered questions and hed get take forever to get to the answer or hed miss it entirely. So we're seeing an awesome change in him. Its been awesome. Every day we try to at least visit the Kandido Family and follow up on brothers drinking and we re-challenge him again. And he always says "Kaya!" with a thumbs up. :) so its been awesome to see what thats been doing for him. Also, sister said that we're pushing it now, because hes been getting weaker as the withdrawals have been setting in, but we challenged him again yesterday. And we keep praying for him that he'll stay strong. So its been way sweet. 

 Also, lately ive been reading in the New Testament lately, i have a goal to finish it for the first time. And im really discovering that when Jesus tells people they are healed by faith. there is really a deeper meaning there. It seems to me like faith has two parts and those two parts together are what create our actual faith. Like the story of the woman with the blood disease, she says if she could just touch Jesus's robe she could be clean and so she reaches out and touches out and is healed. Then Jesus finds her and tells her according to her faith she is healed. So she had a belief that Christ could heal her, and then she acted on the belief. If she had just said that i just believe i can be healed so ill be healed. No she touched him and was healed. I thnk that is why Jesus told her she was healed by her faith. Also heres another exapmle, the man who was paralyzed who couldnt leave his bed. In Mark 2 it mentions how this man was unable to get inside the house because of the number of the people. So due to his belief in Christ and His healing power, he had a hole cut into his roof and goes down that way to be healed of Jesus. Mark mentions how Jesus was impressed with the mans faith and due to it he forgave his sins. Then he heals him. So this man couldve easily said or accepted the obstacle that was placed before him in having it be hard to get into that room and just said well i believe Christ can heal me of have him come to me and then ill be healed. But however he didnt, he made his own way to come to Christ and was healed by his faith, or the acting on his belief. So thats been pretty cool. Ive been learning a lot about that stuff in the Bible and it seriously is ALL over the Bible. These people according to their belief in Christ going to Him in whatever way they can and asking to be healed. Its pretty cool :) So i definitely have gained an eev bigger testimony of Faith without works is dead. And that the acts with our belief are what make our faith complete. So that was pretty cool and its way cool to see that in the Bible. I didnt know that was in the Bible :) 

So yah just taking it day by day here in the office. Its been tough but i am learning good stuff. 

Thanks for all of you who read this, Im sorry if they're not too detailed, i will try and do better. 

Elder Johnson :)                 

20 Years old!!!!!!!!!!!!

   HAPPY BDAY TO ME, HAPPY BDAY TO ME, HAPPYYY BDAY TO MEEEE, HAPPY BDAY TO ME  

    Hey everyone today is my birthday September 3 :) I turn 20..thats insane...i never thought this day would come...im like no longer a bata (child) its weird. 20. Viente. Crazy. But this week Elder Bednar came to Iloilo for the first time and spoke to us and the YSA here and so that was way sweet because i got to shake his hand and talk to him...like not just listen to a talk...but ask him personal questions and just have him speak to us...its awesome :) so awesome. Then he instructed us and i always like having apostles visit because they are different than when theyre not on the tv delivering us messages about Christ. Like they really like let you see their sense of humor and their personality as people not just apostles even though its very much intertwined...i feel you just get to see their personal personalities better so that was really cool for me. And just to get to ask him a question and having talk to me. I was very grateful for it because he didnt call on me for a while...but i didnt give up. I asked him about his conversion and so that was cool :) It was a very cool experience :) and of the many things that has increased on my mission..one has been my testimony of the living prophets and apostles today and that they really are called of God to help us and help in the work of the Kingdom of God. I also have a testimony of the 70 too. They are also called of God to do the same thing as the apostles...they all are called to truly help us and receive the revelation for our day and our personal every day lives. 

  I hope is well with everyone down there. Thanks for reading and your support for me and your prayers for me and my family. They are appreciated :) 

Elder Johnson         

hey

So this is my new area...imagine this.....its like the movie "The Labrynth" which is basically a maze of narrow roads with many, many houses and then a bunch of small twists and turns and even smaller alley ways. Sometimes you have a few normal sized roads but not too many. Then...i am also the supply manager which means i drive around and buy supplies for people, then i get mail, pick up people from the airport, drop people off and all that stuff. So its definatley a busy area, so it takes some getting used to. Its pretty demanding and you have no time for you...very unexpected schedule...so its kinda tough but itll stretch me, which is good :) so well see what happens...but thats pretty much it...just a crazy new area and being much business. 

I Hope youre all well. 

Elder Johnson       

hey

Hey everyone,
I hope youre all doing well down there...i just found out yesterday that im transfering and ill be going to be the Supply manager of the mission in the office which means i get to povide all the missionaries with the things they need. So it was unexpected but yah...also ill be in my third area now...thats crazy...but dont have much to say this week just that i haveno regrets with this area. I gave it my all...it was frusterating and exhausting just being worked and worked and worked again buti truly saw some great miracles happen here and so it was defianltey worth it....i am glad at how hard i worked and that i had companions who were just as willing and really helped meto be able to have no regrets :) So this is defianltey the Lords work and as long as i keep going to Him i can really learn a lot and see some awesome things happen.
Elder Johnson     

Wats up!

I hope that all is good down there in the good old land of free and plenty lol. Its been pretty normal here...ive been recieving a lot of revelation here and its been nice but not much has been going on too much. Ive just been doing my best to learn how i can be a better missionary and be a better person. I really like what this article in the Liahona said..it was talking about what is pure testimony? and this article was awesome here are some things i liked. "Imagine you have a large box filled with puzzle pieces created just for you... When two pieces of your puzzle fit together, you know they belong. Testimonies work in a similar way. As you have spiritual experiences, different pieces of your testimony will start to fit together, and you will come to believe or know certain truths about the gospel.
Even if you don't know right now if everything about the Church is true, Heavenly Father will bless you and help you learn as long as you have a righteous desire to know and you sincerely try to learn." " Just as you can't take a completed puzzle out of the box without doing any work, you can't expect your testimony to come all at once. You learn, piece by piece, the truthfulness of the gospel." and this quote by Dieter F. Utchdorf "   Those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle—one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us—not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed." Laslty, Boyd K. Packer said this " A testimony is.... the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."

 It was very inspiring and really helped me think of some cool teaching things :) So that was just some things that i thought were cool that id like to share from my study with you all. I am learning so much and im loving it...its tough because as a missionary God is constantly testing you...constantly but i know itll be worth it in the long run... things are going good :) 

Elder Johnson  

Update

So this week has been rather trying...its been a rough week with lots of rain and strong wind and quite a few days without water...however we have collected rain water and the water has come back however unpredictable it still is but its back now so thats way nice...butit still dissapears as it pleases lol. But we had some cool miracles happen at church we had 1 lady who her family has been a focus come to church and she hasnt in two years and another family with an investigator come to church also that havent been to church in like years too. So that was awesome jsut because of all the time and effort weve put into them it was ssooooooo cool to see them come to church absolultly a joy :) and so that was the miracle of church and then two investigators recieved answers to their prayers about the BOM which was awesome :) so that was cool too. So the Lord is really helping us with this work still and Hes is definaltely in it. And also thank you all so very much who continue to help my mom in her time of need fore it is through you that the Lord is working His miracle in her and my life that the Lord does bless His servants families. You have all been so kind to her and im so thankful for your continued generosity to her :) and for your prayers in my and her behalf :) God is answering them and thanks for the prayers for our investigators too :) they are being answered :) So even though its been trying and continues to be trying. I can see the Lords hand in it and He truly does take care of HIs children all of us. He truly is wonderful and He is soo mindful of us and watchful. Thank Him every day for the things you have like running water that whenit rains for days doesnt run out and just no power outs and just that He lives, listens and answers prayers. and try to notice the little things He does for us every day...because they are many. The Lord is wonderful and He and God do live. :)
The joys of a mission
Elder Johnson       

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Hey y'all

Hey Everyone,
Its been the weirdest weather here. Like really strong wind and so its weird like all the time...all the time. So thats weird but its alright cause i love the wind cause it makes things much cooler lol. But also im just continuing to learn more...it truly is amazing what you can learn from the Spirit if you let him guide you. Also, in PMG (Preach My Gospel) theres a list of scriptures that talk about Christ form the BOM and its a lot and for the past few weeks ive been reading those chapters and finding what the prophet of that book says about Christ...so since i finished it...im compiling it together to see what they all said and making a list and whatever appears once i write down...but if it apears more than once i put a check mark next to the thing restated and then at the end im gonna comple it more so i have a really specific list of what the Prophets have said about Jesus Christ in the BOM and even the modern ones...because the The Living Christ was on there too. Let me tell you its been interesting. There are many repetitions but the most ive seen are that Jesus is our Savior and our Redeemer, He atoned for us and died for us and suffered for us, we have to choose to access His atonement and use it by repenting and He loves us. There are many others too like He came into the world and suffered for us all and He can heal us all. And still many more...its been amazing to me because ive been learning a lot about His atonement because of it. I now know why even more the BOM is another testament of Him is because in every single book and many,many chapters almost all of the them speak of His atonement somewhere....there are many chapters where that is the whole focus and it explains the deeper meaning behind it and how it can effect us...not as just an event but like a much, much, much deeper meaning as to why we need to access it, why we are indebted to Christ and ONLY saved through Him and like how its possible to be saved through the atonement...so its been very interesting because my knowledge has grown very much in that and ive gotten much strength through my study of Him and the BOM really is central to Him and His atonement and Jesus Christ and His atonement are inseperable and there is no way to separate them and say that He was just a good leader with cool powers. He truly is the Savior because He did what He did for us. He endured to end in what none of us could endure because He was the Son of God and given speacial power before the world was to accomplish that whole purpose at the last few moments of His life and in His endurign to the end He became our Savior and earned the right to that title :) so ive been learning a lot about that and its been very cool.
 I hope that things are going well for you all over ther in Washington and i hope you always think of Christ and how He has changed your lives. Im loving the mission and what its doing for me :) I miss you all though and that beautifulland in America..it turly is a land of plenty lol enjoy it.
Elder Johnson          

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8 and a half months :)

Its been a while since ive written everyone :) sorry but sometimes i dont have too much time to write :) But God has been very good to me and my family and i want to thank all of you who have us in your prayers. I have been learning a lot about turning to the Lord and really trusting Him in everything. He really has been all my strength. Everything that has happened He has been in it and i know that I will be the man i want to be when Hes finished and the man that He wants me to be. I have learned so much lately :) My patience has been torn and stretched, torn and stretched again and then one more time...its been really annoying but with the help of the Lord ive been able to really handle it and really go along way. Im impressed by how much i can give when i think i have given my all and then i come to the Lord and i can still give so much more. Its been awesome :) Of course im still somewhat frusterated but as i come to the Lord and ask for understanding im amazed at how much more pateince i receive. Its truly awesome :) I really do get what Ammon was talking about when he said "I do not boast of these things of myself  but i boast of these things of my God....for he is my strength." i truly get what he means. I dont know how He does it ...but somehow the Lord gives us strength beyond our own if we ask for it. Thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ and all that He did for us. Its truly wonderful. I have really been trying to surrender all to God and i mean all...and im amazed at how ever short i come if i get on my kness and ask to give more or how i can..The lord helps me so i can surrender all. He is truly awesome :)
 I hope you are all doing good over there and hank you so much for reading my blog for those of you who do :) and thanks for your prayers too i have felt those and i know my family has too. God truly does live and He truly does answer prayers.
 I hope you all know to really enjoy that Taco bell and DQ and Arbys and those washer and dryers cause to be honest i really miss them lol like no joke lol but its ok i just hope you are thankful for it because a lot  dont have it. I would really go for a blizzard or something right now or like a crunch wrap supreme lol theres not too many options here in the Philippines for food lol . Hope you all are well and happy. I challenge you all to try and be more thankful to God for the tender mercies He so freely gives us and if you dont think He  gives you tender mercies..pray to find them and recognize them and i promise you will .
God is truly oh so good and so kind :)
Hope this helps some of you
Elder Johnson  

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Hey

Hey whats up everyone :) 

 I hope everything is good down there in Washington this week was pretty good we had 6 less actives at church which was awesome because thats been our goal and some that havent been to church in three months were finally there it was truly miraculous :) and just awesome to see them all there. So that was pretty much the highlight of the week sorry theres not much but were just doing a lot of the same stuff this week and were hoping to get more to come. I just want you all to know how thankful i am for all you who have influenced me so much in my life and how you all read this it shows me that you all support me :) and its awesome :) thanks you i know the lord will bless you always because of it. And also thank you to those of you who have been so kind to my mom while i am away and served her and continue to serve her :) thank you so much. The Lord is blessing her through you and it really helps me to not have to worry :) So thank you all for your support in Salmon Creek ward and in the new Nehalem ward :) 

The works going good and im learning a lot...also this is THE LONGEST year of my life...i swear the Lord like purposley slowed it down to work His purposes but oh well thats good because i know that there will come a time when it will just fly by and ill want it to go slow again. Sometimes the Lord slows time down just so He can see what we'll do with that time He gives us i guess. Or to just prepare for a time when time will fly by. 

Anyway loving it here. 

Elder Johnson 

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Hey

Hey everyone!
Sorry i havent written in while. Ive just been busy with other things dont mean to leave you all hanging lol. Anyway so these past few weeks have been interesting. I got a new companion who name is Elder Lowry and im still in Guimaras :). Cause of course i still have lots of work to do lol. Um also we have a british investigator whos very interesting. Hes Athiest and somewhat saracastic. lol Hes also got the really strong British accent..like wif instead of with. So thats awesome. But um hes remarkably very interested in the BOM for its historical infromation about the migration to America that makes more sense to him then the world history view so thats awesome!! Hes a truth seeker but hes very interesting to figure out. But its fun and i have no doubt that the BOM and the Spirit will do their job because they already have and it surprises me greatly...its awesome. So yah. This transfer is very interesting its 9 weeks instead of 6 weeks so it ends the day before my birthday lol :) so thats exciting. Also HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!!!!! also Philippines cause apparently theirs is on the same day lol. I hope you all are doing good and being taken care of. I have been learnign a lot about families and thier importance to God and as to why they are important also. I know that families are central to Gods plan and very important to HIm and that is exactly the reason He gave us prophets so that we could learn how to be happy in families and through prophets giving us guidance for that as the world changes. They are so very important and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even if they are a single parent or have both, will help them balance their lives and their families. Because they are each entitled to their own personal revelation directly from a living God for their families. Also ive learned that the Priesthood really is the actual power of God given to His children for their benefit and anyone who holds it should not be lazy with it and always be worthy. The missions been fun as well as really tiring and exhausting but even more rewarding...its been good. Loving it.
Hope you all are well and thanks for reading.
Your friend,
Elder Daniel Johnson  
   

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News :)

Hey Guys,
  To all the Fathers out there i say HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!! :) i hope its good for you all :). This week was was kind of rough just cause like nothing was really happening but on sunday i received some relief and so that was nice. A blessing of going to church :) Cause a lot of cool things happened like people came who i didnt expect and so that was awesome. It was great and i was very thankful for it :) I want you all to know how very grateful i am to you for doing your best to always be apart of your families and i hope you always try because that is what the Lord expects...always be good righteous Priesthood holders, lately a lot of talks in conference has been for the men and what they need to do as Priesthood holders. Study that and apply it. It is important and it seems to be a trend. Also thank you for your prayers in my behalf and all the missionaries :) they are greatly appreciated and needed. I am learning a lot out here especially about cooking and being a smart financial planner which is going to be very helpful. Thanks for always reading this and emailing me when you can :) Thank you all for being good fathers and good examples to me..Ive gained a testimony of family and really how important they are to God and how important it is for them to work together under the principles of the gospel. Anyway thanks for all of you who read this :) and hope all is well with you in your lives. Stay strong in the gospel..it truly is awesome :)
Thats all i guess.
Elder Johnson :)      

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hey

This week has been alright. Right now though its been raining a lot and so we have no water...so we've showering with the buckets that are filled with water and so thats fun lol but very cold and the weather is already cold lol. So its medyo (somewhat) trying...but thats ok lang( alright) cause its a learning expereince :) and its normal to shower in shorts outside here too :)....Um Guimaras is way cool still although its very wet and so you have to have fans dry your clothes cause its too cold for anything to dry lol. But its still fun :) and loving this cooler weather...two nights in a row now i havent needed a fan cause its been like perfect sleeping weather lol so thats been nice. The missions going good, still learning a lot and the language is coming along great :) and on June 11 ill have been here 6 months so im at my 1/4 mark already lol...crazy. I hope things are well with you all and i hope your lives are going well. Thank you for all your reading :) So turns out the Philippines has two independence days June 12 and July 4 ironically lol so its pretty exciting...there are so many holidays here its crazy lol. Oh and i got to experience my first funeral March...there was a dead guy that had passed away and was being driven and so it was no big deal..the big deal was the numberless concourses of people behind him...like trikes...jeepneys...people walking, people riding on motorcycles in the POURING RAIN...for miles and i mean miles like we waited for like 15, 20 mins before we were able to move again in the van it was crazy...so many people...so yah that was interesting...i mean i thought Micheal Jackson died again because there were so many people all following this dead guy in the car that carries dead people. It was so weird..just when you think you know the Philippines...something like that happens..and you realize...no i dont lol. But anyway yah that was mainly it. Just doing work for the Lord and ive really been growing :)
Its fun. Loving it :)
Hope all is well with you all and Washington's not too cold lol..it feels somewhat like Washington here...with the no sun and the rain lol.
Elder Johnson
      

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Almost 8 months out....CRAZY!!!

I cant believe ive reached past the 1/4th mark already...crazy. It blows my mind 8 months i cant beleive how fast the time has flown by. It just hit me this week after trying to figure out after someone asking me questions that ive been out almost 8 months!!! i cant believe it! But oh well thats the facts of life. But anyway..this week has been insightful and ive learned A TON!!! like a whole bunch. We just had the mission tour yesterday and Elder Nielson spoke to us form the 70 and he really like trained us...it was awesome!! I wasnt even hungry for lunch because i had learned so much and im really applying it to my work now and i just continue to learn its crazy. My mind has been enlightened so much by the purpose of questions and what they are for and how to receive revalation through them. Like in 1 Nephi 11..Nephi does this "Revelatory Process" and its awesome.
First is "what desirest thou?" ASK. God can only give us answers if we ask for them.
Second is "What believest thou?" NEED FAITH. God wants to know what we believe in or He'll test our faith to see if we believe we'll receive. 
Third is  "Look!", Look for what God is trying to show you.
Fourth is "What beholdest thou?" We need to to understand what it is we are searching for and our answer. Try to recognize it.
Fifth is "What desirest thou?" Once you have that understanding, ask for more clarification about what you have just received.
I ask all of you at home to read that chapter and really ponder and really try and figure out this revelatory that Nephi shows to us in chapter 11. Cause it works to receive revelation. Just read it and apply it to your life...i promise your mind will be enlightened and you'll understand the importance of questions according to revelation. If you say a prayer before for what you want...you will be enlightened.
"Ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you" If you dont ASK, God cant answer...even if He wants to, He wont give us something that we dont literally ask for. Pretty cool huh?
Anyway so ive been learning about that and its really an answer to my prayers. :) It was cool to shake a general authority's hand also :) There are some way cool experiences here that are just awesome :)  Its crazy how much we can learn when we really are led by the Spirit :)
I love the mission :) Love the people!! Love you all and i hope all is well with you. Remember the Windows of Heaven are open to all. To all  who are willing to ask, God will not withhold. :)
I guess thats about it. Still loving Guimaras and still learning lots. Although i feel as if ive been 19 forever...my birthday is taking forever to get here lol...its just funny. :) The language is also starting to make sense and im really starting to soar in that. There are many people who have been like wow...youre way good now at ilonggo lol so good things are happening :)
Elder Daniel Johnson   
 

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its been interesting

So Elder Farnsworth is puli na...hes been home for about a week
almost and so my new companion is Elder Paune. He's from
Macati...which apparently is the finacial center of the Philippines,
its in Manilla. He's been out for a year and 2 and a half months :) so
thats interesting. But im not the newset Elder Anymore lol ive met
plenty of new elders who have been out for like 3 weeks and its crazy
lol so thats nice although im still pretty new lol :).The language
here is coming along pretty good too...like since im working a lot
more for it now. One of the Youth here said he was really surprised
because everyday i get like a lot better at the language and so i was
way happy to hear that :) Um last monday i got to talk to my family
for mothers day :) and btw Happpy Mothers Day to all you Mothers out
there...sorry its a week late but i was medjo (somewhat) busy last
week lol. I hope you all had a good Mothers Day cause you all deserve
it. Ive been learning even more how much God values righteous woman.
There is a way awesome woman in our branch. She a mom of a less active
family. She is the only people who goes to church in her family
despite them all being members she has 6 kids too most under the age
of 10...and you can really tell just the difference with her :) But
she was telling us that she was sad one day and medjo burdened
because of how hard shes trying with her family to get them to churh
and that we really made her day by coming and they're a way cool
family too :) When i saw her there all alone at church, i really felt
the Lord reaching out to her and just telling her to hang on and how
much He loves her. It was truly awesome. The Lord truly does love
righteous woman..espeacially mothers. So i want all you Mothers out
there to know how much the Lord appreciates your efforts to raise your
children and everything you sacrifice so willingly for Him and for
your children. And all you husbands...listen to your wives and help
them to raise your children in righteousness and teach them to listen
to thier mother and respect her. That is what the lord expects of
children. The Family truly is ordained of God and very speacial to
Him. They work together :) That is just a little bit of went on this
week. Happy belated Mothers Day
Miraces are happening.
Elder Johnson :)


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God is good :)

So ini nga week (this week) i want to tell you all about this really cool family. So this family is a part member family and they all attend church and so they have a son who is an investigator who couldnt be baptized because he wouldnt quit smoking. So 3 weeks ago mayara accident siya ( he had an accident) with a trike where he fractued his face in four places and needed surgey which would cost up to 50,000 pesos which is impossible to come by for most Filippinos but espeacially this family so they got a blessing for the branch president of comfort since he was the only who could go...just because it was a long ways away and just we wit for three weeks with many prayers and three weeks later he comes back. So his family tells us his story. So he had a fracture on his nose and under his eyes then on his forehead and his face was like swollen pretty bad so thats why he needed the surgery. So after the blessing it comes time for the surgery and the doctor takes a second xray and is baffled by the results. His xray not only shows that all four fractures healed in 3 weeks but his face looks as if it never happened. Like it baffled the doctor so much he asked...where is it? So after this 19 year old kid saw that he declares im gonna be baptized and im going on a mission...this boys heart was changed while he was in the hospital and he was able to quit smoking also. This part member family had their prayers answered through the Power of God. This boy didnt need surgery and so they didnt have to pay the fee and now the rest of their family can be baptized. We wanted the brothers to be baptized together :) So that was way cool. God truly does answer prayers and He truly does watch out for His children here on earth when they humbly ask Him for help. He also still works many miracles according to our faith and to help our faith. He truly is so kind.
That was really the highlight of the week :)
Hope this brings comfort to some of you...He is aware of and He loves us very much :)
Elder Johnson :)        

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Re: Hey

On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 10:41 AM, Daniel Johnson <johnsond@myldsmail.net> wrote:

 Lord in your lives cause i know they are there. Just remember that The Atonement of Christ is not only for our sins, or sadness, dissapointments, let downs and unfairness. It can also provide us strength and courage to face the things we have to everyday. Which i think is something that we look over a little too much :) So i guess thats it.

Elder Johnson 

sorry about the splits blog,,,but the computer sent it when i wasnt done..sorry lol  

      

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Hey

Hey everyone! I hope things are going good up there in Washington. Things are going pretty good here...ive been learning a lot about how to effectively study and effectively learn and listen. My teaching skills are getting better too because ive had to lead the are like 2 times now and ill have to lead it two more times. So yah this is somewhat crazy....um we are kind of at a stop now because we've been finding new people who arent really doing much so this kinda sucks but hopefully this week things will pick up. But we keep finding new people who also are pretty golden which is nice i just hope that the next visits they are still as golden and we hope tp get three baptisms in this month which will be awesome :) And so far things seems way good for those three...the lord really does work in mysterious ways. He's blessing me in many ways that i know are awesome and that i still dont fully understand. I went like 3 weeks without an answer to a prayer and now im getting it big time so yah things are going good. Guimaras is turning out to be a crazy cool experience where im learning a ton of new things. So its way cool. I hope in all your lives you will pray to see the tender mercies of the L  

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End of Manggahan and a record....4 and a half months out :)

So this week was the last night of manggahan and it was a crazy week. My companion Elder Farnsworth ate 7 kilos of Mango..which is equal to 15.5 lbs of mango....yes he loves his mango lol. And he set a record which was is going to be hard to beat. It was crazy to watch him eat that. In 3 minutes he ate 6 mangoes and you have to peel them so that was crazy...then he just went and went lol. Then we just continued teaching as normal and one of our golden people we showed him the restoration video and he really enjoyed and hes been reading the BOM and finding tht there are no contradcitions...no surprise there lol so that was cool. Then we're just continuing to teach and ive been learning a ton here about everything..and so thats crazy and all my aprtment buddies are awesome. Last night Manggahan ended and so there was a fireworks display which was awesome :) Also the language is coming along much better for me too lol so thats nice...um right now things are kinda stagnit because we're just getting more people to teach and so its kinda slow but were meeting cool people so thats nice :) 

The works going and moving along :) 

Hope all is well with all of you

Elder Johnson :)       

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MANGGAHAN!!!!!!!!

The festival of Mangoes. This week is Manggahan and its crazy here. Everyone is going to the Manggahan. They have many cool activities like mango shakes that are litterally a taste if heaven...here Guimaras is known for its amazing Mangoes. So these shakes are the best...i hope i can make it when i get home lol but they're just amazing. Also they have an all you can eat mago contest...except here is mango all you can eat and then they have like a farris wheel and a live band every night and they have souvenior shops that you can get your name engraved in cool things make out of coconut...so thats way cool :) its way exciting. 

 The work here is progressing big time we have a father and son that on the second visit excepted baptism and so thats way cool they really are just eating up this gospel its awesome to see. one of em said he wanted to join this church and his father said the BOM had to be true because it was translated form egyptian to english form a man who had no education. Then another lady said we are the only missionaries she lets in her house because we're the only ones that teach the correct docrtine from the bible. So thats way cool. and there are som really interested peope here in Guimaras. So yah the works going good and things are progressing and the language is coming pretty good too :) Its also very beautiful here and im getting  good taste of the culture here too...much more than preiviously lol so its exciting and things are going good. I hope all is well with you all in America. Oh yah i met a guy who is inactive but used to work on a cruise who said he wanted to be an American like he was really passionate about. He wants to live in Miami he loved going there and has a bunch of souveniers before he retired. He loves America...so that was interesting. Anyway the church is true and the work is rolling. 

Elder Johnson     

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Nagsaylo ako (i transfered), confrence guid

I have been transfered this transfer. It was very unexpected!! But now
im in Guimaras. A little island below iloilo...i had to take a boat
ride to get here so that was interesting and it was right during the
day of holy week where Christ was crucified...so it was a popular day.
Um my new companion is Elder Farnsworth...who actually trained someone
from my batch. But yah and so im officially not a greenie anymore
because im in my second area :) so thats pretty crazy. The aprtment is
way nice. Theres nice tile in everyroom and the shower has the option
of hot water...which i wont really use too much...just maybe to make
the water slightly warmer then freezing cold lol. Um but yah so
transferes were way unexpected for me. But im here and its not too
bad. Um sorry about the way short post from last week.
Last week was pretty much a few parties and good byes and then a fun
exchange with a flood and being drenched form head to foot literally.
And a lot of pictures :)
This week we watched general confrence and it was cool to see the
messages the living apostles and prophet had for us. They had some
awesome messages that were way cool and definaltely built up my
testimony of this church even more. Like the story of a man who was in
Haiti when the earthquake hit and he and his wife were out working and
their kids were in the apaprtment building with a babysitter. So he
and his wife rushed to thier home to find it completly demolished and
thier little children werent out. So the man says a prayer that at
least one of his children would be spared if its Gods will and with
tears in his eyes still. He begins looking and as the search party
looks they hear some crying and he recognizes it as his baby. Then a
little while later they hear some singing and find his son who was
singing his favorite song...i am a child of God..They find all three
of the mans children alive and well. Although the mans sons has to
lose his arm. To me that story was truly a testimony that God answers
prayers and that He still does miracles today. This is truly an
amazing story of faith. That was one of my favorite stories.
Hope you all had a an awesome Easter this sunday :)
This work is true :) The joys of a mission.
Elder Johnson

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my mom and me at the temple

some types of travel in Phillipines

Baptism :)

This week was awesome!!
Or weekend i should say  i had my first baptism and he's a way sweet guy who really deserved it :) It was this saturday at 4 and it was definatey a cool experience too. So, first of all the font. The font looked normal and was pretty normal except for a big yellow spot that came from the faucet...um and so when they turned it on it got all smeared around and i was like//holy cow..that'll go away right? cause it was really gross...it did though but the water here doesnt have chlorine here and well it was really gross. The water was like a yellowish brown and you could kind of see the bottom of the font. I didnt want to go in there let alone totally immerse someone in there...but when the time came around and we got in the water... it all went away and i really didnt care. Wearing that cool white clothes was awesome too :). What was even more interesting was we didnt get the water high enough and even though we checked many times...it still was too low...so bishop had us kneel..yah kneel in that dirty water...but it still  worked out anyway. Then on sunday we got to see him where the white shirt and tie i gave him...and it was cool to see :) 4 of us 5 elders gave him a tie...so that was cool. Then he got to be officially become a member of the church and received the Holy Ghost :) Then later he received the Priesthood and that was really cool to see just because ive had friends that ive dreamed of this for and none of them have come this close and it was just like a dream come true just to finally see someone i care so much about, who was my friend, take those steps. Later he mentioned how happy he felt and just kept repeating it :) i was like thats the Holy Ghost :) Youre gonna feel like that all the time :) and so that was it :)...he was really shy on sunday but it was still just cool to see him take those important steps in the gospel :)
Thats it for now...the work is moving :)
Elder Johnson    

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3 months :)

So ive been out 3 months now and its been awesome. This week had espeacially been awesome...we cut down trees with machettes, climbed some mountains, swung on vines, squeezed through really small holes and walked through dense forest. We also walked on a really  narrow path on a cliff...it was awesome :) We went to pilar today which is about an hour from my area and went in the caves...we had a tour guide too. So those were way cool. Just cause the caves are way different form amaerican caves. Oh yah we had bats fly around us too :) Um, so we walked through the caves with the sisters :)  and we treaded through some awesome mud too...so it was aweome. The caves had been very obviously corroded by water...like they were so beautiful to see. Just awesome. I flet like i was in a movie the whole time just simply because we were in those kind of places that only you see on movies...like with the vines and with the jungle and the mud that could suck your shoe in...an in one spot i was sure they had filmed the Princess Bride ROUS's scene there...it was crazy :) The jungle was just awesome. Someone climbed a tree and got some coconuts for us and they showed us how to eat the meat inside and drink the juice..it has a cool taste it tastes like watered down sprite literally. So that was really cool :) And the meat wasnt that bad either. Um so we got way dirty and had a ton of fun....the caves were gorgeous and it was just awesome. The on Friday we went to some member in another ward to cut some trees for an investigator of some other Elders...and i was thinking oh well we'll just go in their backyard with a few axes and cut down some trees...well we cut down trees but we had to climb a mountain and go to the top to do it...then they used these really cool machettes made from the spring of a car and chopped the trees like axes...then they tied them together with vines...like actual vines :) Then we carried them down on our shoulders an easier path thankfully  and then they gave us some food and i got to try papaya...but unfortunateley it tastes a little like sour milk...but thats probably because i have american taste buds...like things that are sweet here arent so sweet to me because everything in America is really sweet. But yah its still way cool to like try all this stuff and its been a really awesome week :)
Elder Johnson
Still loving it :) 

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