Trunky Companions, Crazy Teaching, and a Juice Fast

hello everyone!
How's it?
I'm glad to hear that all is well in The City of Trees.
Things are good here in the city of...... Disappointing soccer???(US 2 BRA 3) haha
Well the house sounded like it was pretty crazy! Too many little ones. eish!
I'm glad to hear that you've gone green george. But don't go too green. They watched an inconvienent truth for an activity at church and all the members of the ward thought that the world would meltdown before the second coming could ever happen! it was pretty funny.
As far as MY physical well being.... I am doing quite well we did a juice fast last week for 2 days.... it was nuts. it totally cleared my system and i lost 3 kg's!! It was legit!
But i will definitely not be doing it for a long time.
Mom you can send me a letter either way! whatever works best for you!
As far as the teaching of the gospel goes... IT'S AWESOME!!
Things are going so well. We keep getting awesome referrals. We are teaching the Fiancee of a guy in our ward and she pretty much already knows that the church is true and will readily accept the baptismal date once we give it to her! Lesson 1 was powerful! I love that lesson every time you bear testimony of it... it's just an ASB (Automatic Spirit Bomb) being dropped in the room!
SO we're excited for her(Chantalle). Oh and get this.... She's VERY AFRIKAANS! Which makes it a "baia lekker" miracle! As far as how many lessons we teach every week....i can't really count. We have a bunch. We are usually teaching or visiting Investigators/less-actives all day! I have only tracted 45 minutes since i've gotten here. We are always staying very busy. OH and Grace is doing dyn-o-mite. She came to church again on sunday! that is 3 weeks in a row. And she's really building her testimony in the truthfulness of the gospel! We're super excited for her.
Then with graham i don't know if i mentioned it but we're gonna wait a bit longer to baptize him. He still has a little bit of growing up to do before he makes a serious decision like this. But he is doing well he comes to church and learns very quickly we just want to make sure the message is in his heart as much as it's in his head!
Who else is there exciting news for.... Oh elder douglas is going home in 2 weeks and he's beginning to get uber trunky! It's fun for me. I love elder douglas but i really hope my next companion is a younger guy. I have had 2 super old trunky district leaders in a row as companions! haha
As far as sending those pictures and what not through the mail goes i'll try to do it next month, my allotment is pretty much gone and i really don't want to use my home card too much more.
But things are still awesome here, i am loving every minute of it! BTW the reptile park was awesome and as promised i will send pictures of me with some big snakes!
I'm trying to think if there is anything else that needs to be brought before the family this day.... I taught my first sunday school class since i've been here... it went well! i can still teach classes ok!
Btw keep working with the members on doing mission work... these days it's the ONLY way to do the work!
When i send the pictures i will send one of the "family mission plans" from talk about. it will rock the ward mission leaders socks.
I shall leave thee with my testimony in the great work in which we are engaged...
IT is true. Every facet of it is. It's hard work but it's the greatest work there is and i wouldn't rather be doing anything else!
have a great week! I hope to hear from you all very soon!
-elder johnson

News from "Jobi"

Hello everyone!
Hows the day?
Well.... this week was great! we had 2 investigators at church in edenvale which was some kind of record and we had 5 in Bedfordview!
It's pretty exciting! Paul & Michelle actually came this time! that was rad! So things are going quite well! we are working hard on getting the "talk about program" rolling in our area and we are excited for the results!
As far as the guitar goes i am not abusing it! haha I only play on p-day and when i have time at night before bed! And right now i am learning If you could hie to kolob( i pretty much got it down) and I'm going to learn Come thou fount! It's pretty rad. I got ahold of this folk cd that has church songs on it. It's the best ever.
Umm... what else can i tell you about?
Grace is still doing great! She is on date for the 26th of july i don't know if i told you all yet!
Graham is doing awesome as well... we're going to wait for his baptism date he's still a young kid and we need to make sure that he's doing it for the right reasons and what not!
As far the diet stuff is going... i am doing quite well! we are trying a very interesting eating routine today and tomorrow and i will let you all know how it goes next week.
Oh and today we are going to a reptile park that a guy in the ward owns...it should be awesome! So i'll actually have some cool pictures for you all next week!
As far as township goes i only go once a week there are missionaries that work there and we just go and help out once a week. THey have a branch in Alex and it's exploding. it's pretty sweet. If you go to township you baptize a ton!
But i still like being in town just fine!
Tell jeff that i miss him. that he needs to drop me a line. haha
'Til we E-mail again have a great week.
Elder Johnson
p.s. tell kevin he makes a horrible urban cowboy!
WHERE ARE THE BUM-LESS CHAPS?!?!?!haha jk
he is a stud muffin.

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