hey

This week was actually a really good week. We had worked really hard the past few weeks and we saw the efforts of a labors this week. We had 69 people at church this week which is really high for the branch were in and we had total, us four missionaries, 7 investigators at church...and we had four with a date for baptism...it was sweet and we also had some people who hadnt been to church in a while come too. Three individuals but most of them were families that had become more complete it was awesome :) and so exciting.It was such a relief to see such wonderful things happen and to have this rest and assurance from all these people that came that were doing good work and God is proud :) The work is hard, but God is in charge, so its always worth it and as long as we seek Him in doing it and doing it compleltey His way it will always turn out good. So, its nice :) I love it and God is so good :)

So thats all.

Elder Johnson        

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Hey

I have great news this week everyone. Here in Estancia, we have been really working. Our focus this week was to find new investigators because we like had none...and we found 14!!! The Lord has been putting people in our paths left and right and its been sweet :) we have found some awesome families that are all former investigators and some many are referals. In fact,we have found so many progressing investigators that the branch president was like wow....thats awesome well have to work with you a lot more because they are all cool he said we have finished the restoration with many of them too. :) we have given four baptismal dates and are going to give more, but we have invited all to be baptized and most have accepted. God is really helping us and ive really had to be listening closely to the spirit this week because sometimes people will pass by us and like ill get a very strong impression to talk to them or like theyll say hi or something and so i get the feeling to continue to talk to them and its great what happens, because we found out they had been taught before. So, i am so grateful for the gift of discernment and how much it has been helping me here in being dilligent in talking to people that normally i would just say a normal hi to, So, its awesome how much more im noticing or recognizing the spirit compared to at first and how almost obvious it is and i love it :)

 So, i know that God is in this work and is really helping us :) many miracles have happened this week.

So its been sweet.

This work is awesome.

Elder Johnson   

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News!

Hey everyone, i want to share with you all a really cool expereince that happened to me last night and strenghened my testimony even more in serving others and the power thereof.
So ok, my week was ok...not much really changes as a missionary but, i wll tell you we have been looking for new investigators like crazy because we dont have too many and so thats been nice and weve been getting referals too. I attended to birthday party of this lady who is 79 but acts like a 30 year old in personality and is about as tall as yoda lol, its awesome.her name is nanay (mom) Cedrine. So that was fun..so its been nice..our new house is a quite humid so thats a little rough but its nothing i cant adjust to lol. But still working hard.  And i want to share an experience with you that happened last night. I was somewhat discouraged after meeting with this less active family and the father and talking to him outside of the house and finding that he wouldnt join the church with like his family because of tradition. And so i told him that we were kind of sad because that means he dosent want to be with his family for all eternity and i felt very much so the love of God for this man and his family and just the sadness that this man wouldnt accept such a wonderful message because of tradition. So, then we went to another house of another less active who has quite a few vises (addictions) and so i was a little saddened from this last family but as i thought, discerned, and listened to this man and the spirit, i actually felt so much better and started to really love this man, and saw his potential. And it led to a very good lesson and i went away feeling much better. It just reminds me of what President Monson said how the happiest people are those who are in the service of others and the most miserable are always thinking of themselves and how that is so very true because well lately ive been feeling so happy simply because i havent been thinking about myself at all. As soon as i do i get frusterated, or mad and the work stops and the area starts to struggle, but if i study,pray and think about the people, everything even though its hard, seems easier and i feel happier and really begin to love the people. Its awesome. I remember President Uchtdorf says "Humilty is not thinking less OF ourselves, but thinking MORE about OTHERS and LESS about ourselves."  Its all so very true and i expereinced it agan last night.

I love this gospel and all that it entails. Kabalo ko guid nga guided guid ind nga simbahan paagi sa mga buhi nga propeta kag mga apostoles. I cannot beleive that i near the sunset of my mission and im actually the longest out in the field in my new district here in Estancia and here in the apartment, and one of the oldest in the zone...its crazy. But the happiness ive been feeling is so hard to describe but oh so wonderful.

The joys of a mission are truly wonderful.

No regrets.

Elder Johnson 

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Happy Mothers day

Hey Everyone,

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!! to all the mothers out there. I hope your day is a speacial one where you feel very loved and appreciated, but i also hope that its not just today that you moms are treated nice and feel loved but every day. There was a brother in our branch that said mothers should have a whole month to themsleves or a whole year because there are still mothers whose mothers day isnt as speacial as it should be. Im sorry i havent written in a while but ive been really busy. But so just to fill all of you in. On may 4 we had a baptism and it was awesome, we completed a famly and broght an aweome mom into the church and shes got a solid testimony of the church and she is doing awesome in her reading of the BOM, so its been sweet. But now ive moved on from Miag-ao and i was transfered to Estancia A which is back to my first zone, and the members are pretty cool, its a branch here. So thats a step up from the group, but just a little. Yesterday was cool because it was mothers day and so they had a whole sacrament where everyone just said good things about thier mothers and it was awesome just to hear the cool stories of ways peoplemothers have effected them. Almost every person went up, it was cool Um i am happy that i was able to leave Miag-ao with no regrets, i worked really hard there and i have no regrets ;) so its awesome. So my new companion is Elder Baccay, who i am following up and he is actually the batch of the missionary i trained , so thats cool. Um hes a very amitious elder who really wanted to work hard and its hard because he has a lot of very good self motivation and its really paying off. Hes super good at the language even though hes tagalog and only out for 3 months, he sounds as if hes been out for like 6-8 months with the language or even a year. So its cool. So so far things are going okay in my new area, but it is quite an adjustment just because of having to move again and to a place so far away. Its 3 and a half hours from iloilo and 2 and half hours fromthe nearest city in Roxas lol...so yah, im in the middle of no where lol. But its ok. lol. Its a new start.

But i think thats about it for highlights, ill write more this next week. 

Its weird though too because i am the oldest missionary (length in field wise) in the apartment and also in the district. I have been out officially 18 months now....thats crazy how fast the time has gone. May is almost half way done with too. I cant beleive it,how fast its gone. Oh well, just means i need to work harder.

Thats it. No regrets.

Elder Johnson  

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Hey Everyone,

Not too much has happened this week. But i do want to say that we got the chance to listen to the Prophet and Apostles this week It was awesome :) I love them all so much. President Monson is an awesome, righteous and jolly man, who loves cracking jokes and is a very obedient follower of the Savior. President Uchtdorf makes God so personal and reassures you always of just how loved you are and President Eyring is always so intune to the spirit and always cries. Elder Bednar is the wise and full of knowledge. Elder Holland is the one that is very bold and throws down in His love and passion for the Savior. Many more still, i dont have time to list them all down. But i do know that they are all  called of God to guide in these last days of turmoil, confusion and strife. I love them and im so thankful for them. They all have such wonderful counsel that is definitely for our day. I am so thankful for a church that i guided by a living God who has given men His power and authority and has personally hand picked them to lead His kingdom at this time. I have learned so much about families and happy homes and marriages from and i look forward to applying it in the future. 

This church is so true. Guided by Christ through revelation and is the exact same church that existed in Christ's time in organization and power. 

Sorry i didnt write much, ill write more next week. 

God is good. 

Elder Johnson         

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Hey y'all

Hey everyone!!

So this week we had a baptism :) it was awesome! It was my companions first baptism and so it was funny because since it was in the ocean, and the waves were particularly high and strong, so he had to immerse the guy like 4 times before it was right. But at least he got it right. Im really learning and the other night something amazing happened i had Mac and Cheese for like the first time since ive been on my mission, let me tell you it was HEAVENLY!!! and then i had chicken nuggets it was awesome :) a truly miraculous dinner. Manna form Heaven :) Then we had an awesome investigator who has a date for next month and she read the pamphlet for the plan of slavation and just like took notes on it and really summarized every section and then had such a good understanding and so like our teaching was just like super easy like we didnt even have to do anyhting. It was funny because if everyone did that that we taught, we wouldnt have nearly as much trouble with understanding or teaching, it was amazing. So shes super cool. So we summarized and clarified and answered the questons she did have, so it was good. It was truly awesome. So, it was exciting. Im sorry theres not much to share but not too much happened, just more little tender mercies from on High, there are many. But hopefully ill have more next week. Working hard though. We have two more baptisms coming up. 

The joys of a mission. 

Elder Johnson     

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hey :)

Hey everyone, 

This last week i hadnt seen too many miracles, but this week was just the opposite :) 

All of the people that have baptismal dates are really progressing and going closer to Christ :) and its awesome to really see all the light that has come to their lives. That is truly the coolest thing to see, the way that this Gospel can change a person, it can change their desires and hearts, and you literally see this light that comes to them and its awesome! I know that that is because of a persons coming unto Christ and repenting and doing their best to follow Him:) "True doctrine understood, changes behavior. The study of the gospel, can change a persons behavior, quicker than the study of behavior can change behavior" -Boyd K. Packer. That statement is true. There are so many good things that have been happening, with less active members coming to church and having desires to serve missions and wanting to work with us, and people having their minds and hearts softened, it just strengthens my testimony that this work and this church really is living and so very true. Its been hard and challenging, but God is really over this wonderful work and He really does guide it, with His Prophets and apostles and continuous revelation :)  Just want to share something i wrote with all y'all. 

A mission is hard, incredibly hard, it makes you doubt everything you think you are, and throws you in some really big waves, many times you feel you get close to drowning and your your just overwhelmed and you yell i cant do this, im too weak! and then you want to sink in despair but then as you say a simple prayer, you realize that youve reached the shore, safe and sound and its a new day, and you look up to God and say thank you. 

God is good. Amo ni ang only nga matuod nga simbahan sa bilog nga kalibutan.  Kag ginaguide guid siya sang Diyos.  

Amo lang na! (thats it)

Elder Johnson 

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