He Makes it Sound Like He's a Doughboy!

hello family,
how's the week?
Well.... george, i guess i should have been more specific, but yes you did quite well. Kevin however did not answer but i shall give him extra credit for teaching the classes.
Anywho.... This week was awesome!! Natasha is going to be baptized in july! and graham probably will be as well! and hopefully grace will as well! So things are awesome! we teach alot of people these days and are staying super busy, i like it, i like it A LOT. Anyways last night we went to a member family's house for dinner named the Spies's, they feed us almost every week... anyways... pieter looks like He-Man. It's awesome he is the elders quorum president and he has long flowing blonde hair and whenever people tell him to cut it he say "oh you're just jealous" and then shakes his long platinum mane to show off it's glory. But anyways it's hilarious he has named his son Jean-Claude after guess who.... Jean-Claude Van Dam!! it's pretty funny. The members in south africa are the coolest/funniest people ever!
On to other news.... I am proud to announce that after reaching the incredible weight of 81 Kg's which is roughly 180 pounds i have been on a strict diet of Bran-Flakes, Yoghurt and Granoala. I will be weighing in this week when i go to see one of widow's in the ward who has a scale, it should be epic.
But as far as the work goes... it's been awesome! I can't really explain it aside from that. There are just people who are literally falling into our laps. it's insane! The lord is blessing us (and them) BIG TIME!
ANd i will be sending you some pictures this week for sure! As i said earlier i don't have very many from my current area so i might send you some from nelspruit! And i am indeed keeping warm! My sweater has been awesome thus far and i bought a kaiser cheifs beanie to keep me warm. they are a local soccer team. Oh and do kev, jeff, and ryan want soccer and rugby jerseys when i get home? that's what im thinking of doing! if so i'm gonna start balancing my funds now so i can do it! Kev will probably want a rugby jersey. but ya i hope all stays well back in b-town. I hope to hear from y'all soon!
The Church is True!
-elder johnson

An Outstanding Email from Elder J

family of mine, how are you all?

Well the good news is that they didn't split the area! so i won't train and will be killing elder douglas!
The Other good news is that things are awesome here!
We have a new investigator who we put on date on the first lesson! We're pumped!
IT's this girl named grace, her parents and sister were all baptized a week or so ago and we got a referral for her from the missionaries that serve in that area and she's cool and very interested!
We also talked to Candice and she said that Natasha wants to join the church! they just have to talk to their mom about it!
As well Kim's (recent convert) little brother graham is a powder keg of gospel knowledge and is super pumped about getting baptised and receiving the aaronic priesthood!
To answer your question mom... no i have yet to baptise or confirm. We are encouraged to have members of the ward do it. So we let them!
Thanks for all the hugs and kisses mom! they are great. they make me feel loved! :) haha
Dad i loved what you said about the pastor... it's true all other church's get pretty darn close...but they are all missing a few pieces. And one of those pieces in all of them is... THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. Without the priesthood, there is no g.o.t.h.g.(acronym) and they definately don't have the priesthood. We love explaining how priesthood authority doesn't fall from the sky or come to you by reading the bible a bunch. It comes just the way the bible says it does. (Hebrews 5:4)
Anyways... starting tomorrow me and elder douglas are seriously gonna start getting into good shape again! We have to now since he's going home soon. haha I've got an awesome belly right now. but i shall overcome!
Anyways... one more story from this week as we were taking the sacrament this week at church... i was thinking about the atonement and it scared me... the magnitude of it is beyond any comprehension... but is our commitment and love to the savior beyond any comprehension?? As i thought i came up with this.... Our love and commitment will never match the love and commitment that the saviour shows for us but.... that's what makes atonement so great... ALL HE WANTS IS OUR BEST! He doesn't ask for perfection or for us to match him in any way. he just wants our best, so i just thought about how i should be always be giving my best if for nothing else then solely the atonement!
I hope that you all have a great week! Thank you for your prayers and support!
And tell sydnie that I hope she heals well and that i miss her and will take her out to the movies in december 2010! But only if she gets better soon! :) haha
-elder johnson
p.s. i have begun giving kevin gospel quiz questions every email to turn him into a "gospel doctrine machine" and so i guess i will share this question with the family to answer.....
Who are the seven gospel dispensation heads?? (in order, please)

Good Luck, Have fun... as well you can quiz me if you like! :)
SOrry i forgot to bring my camera again... i still need to get the pictures from the baptism the other week!

Latest from Elder J

(This giraffe is from my trip to the Zoo with Maddie! Just thought it went well with the "African" theme!!!)

hello everyone, happy Memorial day!
I didn't even realize it until you all talked about it.
well, things are great here in Bedfordview.
This past week we had the confirmation of two of our recent baptisms. Fernando's confirmation was pretty interesting... when he got comfirmed he walked up to the front and instead of sitting on the chair he knelt down and put his head on the chair! I guess everyone in the circle just kind of looked at eachother and they looked at elder douglas with a "are you sure this guy passed the baptismal interview?" look. Unfortunately i was in the other ward and missed it. but i guess it was awesome.
Anyways, the other one is a guy named Wonderboy it was awesome he used to be really apathetic about the whole baptism thing and we were pretty sure he was only doing it for his wife but now he is a super gospel stud! the past few weeks all he would talk about was how excited he was and how he needs to apply and live the gospel not just have it and what-not. Anyways he cried during his confirmation and he's pumped about getting the priesthood! it's pretty awesome.
Next week i'll be sure to send you some more pictures... i would this week but i left the camera at the flat. maybe i'll send you some super sweet ones. I haven't taken very many pictures since i got here.
anyways are we ready for the scary news of the week... They are thinking about splitting the area this next week and if they do... i might train. i will let you know on monday. I doubt that i actually will. I don't think i'm quite prepared. but who knows it may happen.
But ya, that in-active lady and her husband came to church again this week! And we set an appointment to meet with them on Wednesday! i am pumped. FATHER LED FAMILIES ARE THE BEST.
I hope everything goes well with sydnie! I will definately keep her in my prayers! I'm sure that it will go smoothly. The priesthood is real and that's that. That is assuming you gave her a blessing right? RIGHT?? haha i'm sure the bretheren of the johnson family did not fail.
Well i hope that everything goes well for the family for the next week, tell jack i say happy b-day. And tell jeff that i miss him. And i want b-day pictures next week!
-elder johnson
p.s. here is a great story that i found in a Talk by James E. Faust about my all-time gospel hero J. Golden Kimball, and as we talked a bit about the preisthood i thought it would be nice to share:
. Over a century ago when Elder J. Golden Kimball presided over the Southern States Mission, he called for a meeting of the elders. They were to meet in a secluded spot in the woods so they would have privacy. One of the elders had a problem with one of his legs. It was raw and swollen to at least twice the size of his other leg. But the elder insisted on attending this special priesthood meeting in the woods. So two of the elders carried him to this meeting place.

Elder Kimball asked the missionaries, “Brethren, what are you preaching?”

They said, “We are preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“Are you telling these people that you have the power and authority, through faith, to heal the sick?” he asked.

They said, “Yes.”

“Well then,” he continued, “why don’t you believe it?”

The young man with the swollen leg spoke up and said, “I believe it.” Here is the rest of the story told in Elder Kimball’s words: “[The elder] sat down on a stump and the elders gathered around him. He was anointed and I administered to him, and he was healed right in their presence. It was quite a shock; and every other elder that was sick was administered to, and they were all healed. We went out of that priesthood meeting and the elders received their appointments, and there was a joy and happiness that cannot be described.”8 Their nutrient of faith had been replenished and their zeal for missionary work revived.

pretty cool eh?

Baptisms and More to Come!

hello, how are you all?
Well this week has been good! we had two baptisms on sunday and we shall have 1 more at the end of the month. So that is super exciting.
Umm... we got fed so much the last 3 days. i've got a serious food baby right now. Luckily we are going to playing some b-ball here in a bit so that should help!
We just cleaned the flat today. it was pretty epic. it's the first time since i've been in the new area that i would honestly feel comfortable having mom in our flat. haha
Umm... as far as the work goes... we have some very exciting investigators these days.
One of our recent coverts(Kim) little brothers has been coming to church and young mens for the past two weeks and he loves it. Anyways... we're going to teach him lesson one this week and it should go well. I'm very excited. Once we get graham then the parents will hopefully follow the example of their children! haha
We also had a family come to church that we hadn't seen before and when we introduced ourselves the mom said "I'm an inactive member" and then introduced the rest of the family. but she and her husband seemed to really enjoy church and we are planning on teaching the rest of the family and getting her reactivated! so i'm excited about that!
Aside from that i can't really think of too much big news!
Just remember.... the church is true!
And keep trying to find people to introduce to the gospel and have the missionaries teach. THE MISSIONARIES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THE WORK ALONE!!!
-elder johnson

Elder Douglas and I are a Rock N' Roll Powerhouse of Spiritual Blessings From on High!

I couldn't resist posting a picture of Michael in his "rock n roll" days, not that that was his music style. I also loved his analogy of the guitar, Kevin is in this picture playing the bass.

This week's email~
Johnsons! Cutlers! Joneses!
I have come to solemnly declare that the church is true! And that that is the case where ever you go and that Elder Douglas and I are a Rock N' Roll Powerhouse of Spiritual Blessings From on High!
He wrote that to his family and i had to tell my family as well! haha
Anyways....
I'll start off by telling a story that i told jeff in the email i sent him....
We went to teach a recent convert(candice) and her husband (jared) who has been a member his whole life and we were going to just review some of the commandments or whatever... but before we went we both were prompted that we should teach lesson 1. And when we got there We came to find out that candice can hardly remember anything the missionaries taught her and as well her little sister who isn't a member was there and we taught her. And over the weekend candice's little sister told her that she knows that our church is truer than the one her parents take her to!...
This is such a great example as to how the lord can get the message that his children needs to get to them as long as the instruments he uses are in tune. For instance... if a guitar is out of tune, it doesn't matter how good you are it's still gonna sound like rubbish. But if it is in tune and if the person is who is playing it knows how to play it then it sounds awesome.
It's the same with the lord and his servants here on earth. We must be in tune with the spirit so that the lord... who you better believe knows how to play his instruments..... can play one sweet masterpiece of a spiritual guitar solo upon his children whom are ready to recieve it.
As a missionary so far i have experienced both being an out of tune instrument and a perfectly tuned instrument. Trust me, it is much better to be the latter. There is definately a difference.
So my spiritual message for the family is that we should always be in tune with the spirit so that the lord can use us to bring blessings into other people's lives!
Anyways though...
I'm glad to hear that things are going well at home!
When i heard about the ham and mac and cheese i got really hungry.
But as far as the phone call goes... it should be coming around 8 o'clock!
So i hope you're all excited!
What im going to do is... i'll call you around 8ish... and give you a number to call me back on!i hope that will work!
I'm glad you enjoy my haircut... i do to. I think i will soon be needing another one...my hair is getting a bit to long for comfortable mission work. I want to keep the top long though... i am just dying to be able to part my hair! it would make my mission experience complete. haha jk
the tsela's are on date for baptism later this month... i am so excited for them!
Nelspruit seems like forever ago! it's crazy... i am so caught up in all the people here and what not. but ya definately ecxited for all the people who i taught who were on date when i left!
Welp... i'm gonna get on my way... we have a lunch appointment with an old widow in our ward. so we gotta get to that! but have a great week everyone! Remember to keep praying and looking for people that you can refer to the missionaries to teach!
-elder johnson

First transfer, new companion, and teaching a criminal?

Here's the latest from Elder J. He sounds great and has had quite the experiences already. This new area will be different in many ways! I am just thrilled at how good he looks and that SMILE... what can I say, he's adorable!


Hello Johnsons!
How's it?
Well... here's the news...
My area has two wards, the members are awesome, we get fed a bunch! The work is actually pretty good here. So all i have to do is just put a little bit more effort into it and make it even better! My companion elder douglas is way cool. He's from Arkansas and he played bass in a band there. He really enjoys being bold and shambucking(chastizing) our investigators and less active members... it's pretty funny. We're like a good cop/bad cop routine. I must say it's pretty effective. Wow... i am so glad to hear that you all enjoyed the death cab show... I'm jealous but i know that someday i shall see them again.
I have yet to tract since i've been here.... It's been pretty crazy. We ALWAYS have people to see. I think at the moment we have 2 people on date. and a few more that we're hopeful for! Hopefully next week i'll have even more info about our investigators and members and what not. Here is something funny though... a couple of weeks before i got here the missionaries met a guy named shaun la roux. He seemed like a normal guy. He came to church and all was well... then they visited him and found out the following:
1. He was raised by wild dogs
2.He is at large with every crime orginization in the world.
3. He personally knows osama bin laden. But osama is posing as a man named John Robinson 4. He wants to be reincarnated as a bird 5. He can communicate with animals quite well.
Any ways.... i had to oppurtunity to teach him...twice. and he is indeed nutsers. So... we are planning to distance ourselves slowly but surely. haha But all is well here sorry about the email problems last week, i let my mail box get way too full. But i'm clearing it out bit by bit each p-day. As far as calling goes... we're thinking to call on sunday around what will be 8 or 9 in the morning on mothers day for you guys.... i hope that will work ok?
Anyways... i hope you know that the church is true..... in south africa too.
The gospel is such a great blessing to have in our lives. So make sure you are trying to help others receive those blessings as well by sharing it with them!! The youth are wise... listen to them. It's "like" the best!
haha
-elder johnson
p.s. here is a picture of me with the tsela's!

Two Emails~ Melissa is the MVFM...for now!

Guess who won Most Valuable Family Member??
That would be melissa jones.
For some reason i didn't get the email from mom and dad... and the
rest of the fam... but if you could forward this email to them and as
well have them resend their other one, that would be great.
Anyways... This saturday i got the news that i will be transfered to
Edenvale. Which is in the Jo'Burg area. So that's gonna be
interesting! I guess it's a pretty rich area. I'm gonna have a lot of
fun. anyways.... i am leaving the area with 4 people on date! We put
Precious on date last on tuesday night! So hopefully the nelspruit
branch will grow by 4 on may 24, 2009. Anyways I'm totally freaking
out though. The next elder better be good and ready to work hard.
cause if any of those fall through i am gonna throw a fit. But i am
excited for the challenge of a new area. I guess the area im goin to
is right by this place called Bruma. Which is this huge place full of
Curios Shops... which is where you buy all the traditional african art
stuff and what not! so that's exciting! There are also two wards
there. So i'm going from an area with barely one branch to one with 2
wards! i am so pumped!
I'm kinda scared though cause the way things are working out it's
looking like a situation where i might train in 3 months.... that
could be scary. But awesome at the same time. So there are gonna be
lots of crazy stuff happening in the next little while!
Next week i'll be sure to send you all the pictures of me with some of
my investigators as well as some of the members down here!
Anyways... as far as you are all concerned.... make sure you're doing
member missionary work.
We had this sister complain about not being able to feed the
missionaries and about how they are missing out on blessings because
of it. And i just said Don't worry about feeding us with food, just
feed us refferals. Cause noone does member missionary work here. So i
want you to all to always be doing all you can to spread the gospel
and give the elders help in teaching the people. If you help them then
the work is much more effective. so just remember that and maybe set a
goal to have someone you know be taught by the missionaries by the end
of the month, summer, year.... whatever you think you can do!
Well i hope you all have a great week! i look forward to hearing from
you all in my new area on monday!!
:)
-elder j



Eita hola.
How's it family?
Well i'm glad to hear that your easter went well! Mine was pretty fun... We had fast sunday so that was awesome.... ha. But church was great. fasting can be tough but it definately helps you be more in tune with the spirit. It's pretty cool. But I taught sunday school and Combined Priesthood/relief society... my lesson was about lengthening our stride. I separated it into 3 sections.... first Personal, 2nd Family, 3rd Member missionary work.
It was great, i'll use it again sometime when i get home!
That was great to hear about kevin's Rugby game.... I wish i could see mom on the sidelines watching.... but ya rugby is huge hear. Everyone loves it, i do too. I watch whenever i am in restaraunts or at investigators. For souvineers for the family i'm considering getting some of you rugby jerseys and some of you soccer jersey's. The soccer jerseys are sweet. KAiser Cheifs are my favorite but that will change depending on if i go to an area that has a soccer team! haha
But the work is great here! Lawrence, Thabo and George all came to church again! George says he wants to get baptized! so that's pretty sweet. We get to start teaching precious again this week, i'm excited i think she's starting to realize that the church is true and what that means to her! hopefully she'll be on date soon.
Oh and testimony meeting was awesome last week! Kanyhi went up and bore her testimony it was awesome! i was so proud. and this elderly black sister named Elizabeth went up and bore her testimony it was so sweet. After testimony meeting lawrence said " I could feel the spirit" I was so happy about that.
And as far as mission news goes.... I am so excited for benson and especially for kevin!! He's coming to the best place on earth (besides boise)! The church is huge in ghana too! They even have a temple in Accra. So he should be pumped!
Oh we went caving today! it was sweet! It's a place called sudwala....
here's a website with pictures of it... sudwalacaves.co.za
We took the extended tour deep into the caves! it was crazy. Hopefully it will be the last of our very expensive p-day activities! i gotta stop spending so much! eish!

Well i hope everything continues to go well back home.
Remember The Church is True!
-Elder Johnson
P.S. Can someone get me Matt Featherstone's email address... I want to write a email that he can read to the seminary students. I wanna encourage those kids to get out on missions!!!!