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