Letter to Youth in Our Ward

Hello Little Chillins.
Hows it goin?
This is Elder Michael Johnson Serving in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission.
Well, I just wanted to send a little message to you all. The topic of this message is About Testimony. First I'll say a little bit about mine. Then I'll give you some tips of how to build yours.
First and Foremost. I know that the church is true. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of god. I know without a doubt, that the book of mormon is the word of god and because of that book I know that Jesus Christ is the Son Of God, the savior of the world and that he loves you and me.
Now many of you I'm sure, are a bit unsure regarding your testimonies of the gospel. Guess what.... That is NORMAL. But how will you be able to build a testimony of the gospel unless.... you try it out yourself. Here are a few suggestions that i have that will help your testimony of the gospel. IF you do these things, i promise that you WILL come to know that these things are true!
So.... here they are:
1. Pray. EVERY DAY.
Prayer is a conversation between you and the lord. Now if you want to know something regarding the lord, who better to ask than the lord himself? Remember it is a TWO WAY communication. Which means that just as you are talking to him, he will talk to you. The lord often answers us through the holy ghost. The holy ghost doesn't speak to our ears. but to our hearts. To find out the feelings that the holy ghost will bring to you read Galatians 5:22-23.
2. READ THE BOOK OF MORMON.... all of it!
The Book of Mormon is a very special book to me. I cannot begin to explain to you the difference that it has made in my life. It is through that book that i gained my testimony of the gospel. When i was about 16 to 17. I read the book from start to finish for the first time. Why??? Because I DIDN'T KNOW IF THESE THINGS WERE TRUE. and i WANTED TO KNOW IF IT WAS! Now if i would've only read 1 or 2 chapters i probably wouldn't have gotten my answer. But because i resolved to put the book to the test and follow the promise that is in Moroni 10:3-5. I did find out. My answer didn't come until i had read almost half the book. I still remember i was reading Alma Ch.31. As i read The holy ghost entered into my heart with such force that even to this day and probably for the rest of my life i will always remember that moment. I know without a doubt that the book of mormon is true, and you can too. Just Give it a shot!! Don't do it for me, don't do it for your parents, DO IT FOR YOU!

3. Be ACTIVE in your church meetings
I was notorious for sleeping through sacrament meeting. Just getting that out of the way. Don't worry i have repented! haha
But i'll tell you this you are only going to get out of church what you put into it. If you are active in the meetings then you will feel the spirit and you will learn something new. Trust me, i've tried it myself.

4. KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS(INCLUDING THE WORD OF WISDOM AND THE LAW OF CHASTITY)
Ok remember when you were 8 years old?? You were baptized and comfirmed a member of the church. You received the gift of the holy ghost. right?? But there were conditions(Mosiah 18) for you to have the holy ghost with you. One of those is to KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS!
So if you are trying to get an answer from the holy ghost then you need to be in the best position spiritually to feel it.
Now i know as a teenager the 2 commandments that are the hardest to keep are The word of wisdom and the law of chastity. DON'T LET SATAN HAVE HIS WAY WITH YOU. He is going to tempt you like crazy to break these commandments. Because he knows what these things will keep you from (temple marriage, missions, full activity in the church). Just keep these commandments. IF you are currently struggling with them go to the bishop. He is not there to be angry or to "call down the judgements of god upon you" he is there to HELP you. Keep these commandments. The lord will bless you and it will help you even more to know if these things are true.

The past 13 months have been the most amazing of my life. I would not want Any of you young men miss out on this opportunity simply because you didn't know if this was something you should do. So all i am asking you to do is give this a shot. And i promise you that you will know what you should do.
Young men and Young Women. Do not let anything get in the way of you and going to the temple. IT is the house of the lord. And the ordinances done there are real and eternal. they will bless your life and bring added strength to you.
Welp... Keep it real. Have Fun. But remember The Gospel is what will bring you the most happiness and fun. Things of the world are fun at the time but it doesn't last. the gospel does. Salagathe (stay well) Tot Siens(goodbye)
The Church is True.
-Elder Michael F. Johnson

Oh Boy! Oh Man! Oh Goodness! Oh Ya!

WOOOOO!!!
I heard the news already!! Guess who told me??? Michael F. Watson of the quorum of the seventy!
We had mission tour yesterday and when i told him i was from boise he said "I heard you guys won your big game" I was so pumped!!
Oh man. i am so happy! Mountain West Here WE COME!! haha
OH boy. oh man. oh goodness. oh ya!
Well Things are great this side. Elder Matunya is a SKOKO(stud)!!
He's doing a great job. He's really making my job easy. It's almost like having a normal missionary. All i do is try to set a good example and work hard. Then iron out a few minor things here and there!
But it was a sweet week though, Obert went out teaching with us!(he'd been a member for like 4 days) We thought he'd be nervous and not say much but when we gave him a chance to bear testimony...... IT WAS POWER! He was just saying all this stuff about how the gospel has change his life, it's changed his family, there is so much more love in the home, that they wish they could be at church every sunday and all this other stuff... and then he was like " You guys need to come to church on sunday. You should come with us. You guys need to come over to our house sometime and see what this has done in our home!"
HE WAS FELLOWSHIPPING LIKE A MAD MAN!
it was awesome!
So, needless to say.... he's coming back out with us again this week.
And we met another awesome family from Malawi. It's a husband and wife. Angus and Jane. I swear if we baptize all of these people the ward is going to be all imigrants soon! haha
So all is well this side. Let me know where our beloved broncos end up in the polls. Keep me updated on all the other good stuff. keep the family rolling!
Oh and an update on my "10 1/2 months to sexy" plan. I was at 170 pounds this morning. meaning that since i began 3 weeks ago i have lost 5-8 pounds. I cant remember where i started. The plan has consisted of Exersising more and eating less. and it's worked. pretty amazing eh???
Welp i hope you all have an awesome week. Work with the missionaries in Boise, Show them the love that you hope i'm getting this side.
The Church is True!
-elder johnson

New Companion - Greenie from Zimbabwe!

Hey, Hey howzit?
Oh man... i was so nervous to open this email only to find that the game hasn't happened.....yet. :)
Oh man...i'm so nervous i've been using my newly acquired bsu towel everyday. In preperation for the big game. I think that trend will continue!
The package was awesome. i love jerky. However Biltong(south african jerky) gives it a run for it's money. And snickers and the newspapers we're sweet as well!
Well here's the news..... My new companions name is Elder Matunya!
Straight outta zimbabwe! he's awesome. He is definately going to be a powerful missionary someday. I'm just gonna make sure he becomes one!
As well... Obert and sabina Got confirmed. I'm gonna try to send some pictures of their baptism soon! It was awesome!
Oh man, it sounds like the young men are doin awesome. Oh man hayden better get his butt out there! haha
Yo.... well we have a new all-star couple! Their names are Ernest and Ruth they are from Malawi! They are totally awesome. They walked to church this past sunday!! epic. and He's already getting answers to his prayers and i'm sure the wife will as well! it's awesome. They are so humble and ready to listen.
Yup, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT TO PHANTOM WITHOUT ME!!!! oh man.... that's awesome. Someday i will go... Well at least it wasn't les mis.....
I'm trying to think if there is any other great news to fill you all in about. Umm... It's 2010 in case you didn't notice. World Cup is only 6 months away.
And i am now becoming one of the "older" missionaries in the field. It's pretty crazy, time goes soo fast when you're working hard and having fun. geepers.
Well have a great week! GO ORANGE GO BIG BLUE... you know the rest!
The Church is True!
-elder johnson
p.s. i'll send a seperate email for the youth of the ward just now.....

I'm a little BEHIND in posting!!!

Fiesta Bowl 2!! WOOT WOOT!
Geez, can this family ever be healthy???
Are you sure you're all keeping the word of wisdom? haha Welp i hope you enjoy the pictures i send in this email. One is of a baptism of a kid in our ward that we got to help out with, the others are of my one year celebration! :) And i too am thankful for the awesome members down here! this area has been awesome. the members are sweet!! And i can't believe that jeff is already graduating!! He's an old man. geepers. As far as money goes for the account just throw in about 60-70 bucks. if my calculations are right that should cover 4 jerseys.
Jo man. it's been a good week though. Obert And Sabina Are still doing well! We had some good lessons! they are good with 2 of the 3 headed dragon commandments. We will teach tithing to them tonight or tomorrow. If that goes well then they'll be ready for baptism!!
As well we had our first member referral this week! it was awesome.
We were walking down the street and as usual the ladies was waving and giving us grief. And i was like "nuh-uh i don't think so" So i gave them a super cheezy wave cause i was getting weary of it! anyways the car goes around the circle and comes back and i was like "oh great" but then the window rolled down and it was a member from our ward and she was like "hey when do you teach discussions?" And i said "uhhh... anytime!" and she said "well my friend here wants to join the church" So we taught her the next day in the members home. Textbook. Awesome. And then she came to church! So that was rad.
And i have had to do like 5 baptism interviews this week for the zone leaders! it's been hectic! But fun.
But ya... that's been about all this week. We've had some crazy thunder storms. But that's what happens every summer. We have them almost every evening!
But i hope you all have a great week! keep it rolling! Stay well!
THE CHURCH IS TRUE!
-elder johnson

well. it's been a sweet week. IT's been pretty hectic with plenty of storms. I think the maxwells will be sending some pictures of the soakageness! it was the second craziest thunderstorm i've been in since i've been out. Only the storm last year with elder mbhele can compare!
We had a pretty good week. Alfred and Thandi are doing well! They DIDN'T come to church.... ugh. But they are still progressing so we'll see what we can do to get them out next week! That's the hard part about working in a town where the chapel isn't in your area.... IT's tough getting people to die kerk!
But obert and sabina should be baptized this week on sunday! we're going to go see them tomorrow and show them the most recent general conference dvd's! WE're thinking of showing them pres. Monson and Hollands talks. it should be radical. As well we re-established contach with a white family that the missionaries taught be for we got here and we've been working for nearly 2 months to get in their home! Anywho on wednesday we went and taught them an UBER POWERFUL lesson on the atonement and got them pumped about the gospel again. And we re-commited them for baptism in march. So that was exciting the spirit was nearly tangible as we taught the lesson. it was awesome!!
Aside from that we have a lot of hectic stuff happening this week due to the holiday season. IT's gonna be crazy. But tonight the maxwells are having a caroling by candlelight thing at their house so we're going to help them set up and as well hopefully get a few referrals from their friends that are coming! :)
Oh man, it was great to hear from sydnie!! I'm so pumped that you're done with WORK.... FOREVER! WE just killed a missionary today. My dear friend elder nelson went home. He was a super cool dude. But Utah is calling him home for christmas. so that's cool.
So i'm sure it is a similar experience for both of you this holiday season. But we shall go out and have a much belated dinner celebration when i get home and then go see whatever new pixar or dreamworks movie comes out! Does it sound like a deal sydnie?? does it? haha

wow the music night sounded awesome! The holidays are a great time for missionary work! Make sure to have the elders in the home sometime during the break. I'm sure they would appreciate it! And tell kevin to get out with the elders as much as possible. I regret not doing that more!
Well i hope you all have a good next 2 or 3 days! i'll talk to you on friday!!! :) I'm pretty stoked.
the plan is i'll call at 7:00 pm this side. So i think it will be 11 there??
So you'll hear from me then!!
Love ya lots!
The church is true!
-elder johnson

Hello Family!
howzit?
Welp.... OBERT AND SABINA GOT BAPTIZED!! it went awesome. We're so pumped.... and Here's the other big news.....
I'M GOING TO HAVE MY FIRST BORN IN THE WILDERNESS!!!
I got a call from president on saturday morning and it turns out elder hatch is being transferred to mamelodi which is a township in pretoria! And i'll be training! So i'll get to meet my boy on wednesday. We don't find out who it is until wednesday at the transfer meeting! I'll keep you posted on that.
Aside from that there isn't too much happening! Just the same old stuff. We're working hard and preaching the word. Over the next few weeks i'm gonna really have to show some backbone to the investigators who aren't coming to church.... so that's gonna be fun. But fear not, I will reprove them with love.
Oh man, tell the evans that their prayers are much appreciated! And is ben black going to home soon??
And how are the youth of the ward?? Especially the young men. I think i'll try to send an email in the next couple weeks that dad can print out and give to the young men.
I wanna get those kids fired up!!
And as don't worry about the broncos i have much faith in them!! will the game be this week?? If so don't talk about the game in the email. Because depending on the result i may not be able to pay too much attention to the reset of the email! Just send me the online newspaper article like you do with most of the games so i can just read it from there! OR you can just tell me. Either way is fine!!
But hey have an awesome week! happy new years! i'll let yo know if i got my package next email! :)
the church is true!
-elder johnson

The Ladies Give the Missionaries GRIEF!!!

Fiesta Bowl 2!! WOOT WOOT!
Geez, can this family ever be healthy???
Are you sure you're all keeping the word of wisdom? haha Welp i hope you enjoy the pictures i send in this email. One is of a baptism of a kid in our ward that we got to help out with, the others are of my one year celebration! :) And i too am thankful for the awesome members down here! this area has been awesome. the members are sweet!! And i can't believe that jeff is already graduating!! He's an old man. geepers. As far as money goes for the account just throw in about 60-70 bucks. if my calculations are right that should cover 4 jerseys.
Jo man. it's been a good week though. Obert And Sabina Are still doing well! We had some good lessons! they are good with 2 of the 3 headed dragon commandments. We will teach tithing to them tonight or tomorrow. If that goes well then they'll be ready for baptism!!
As well we had our first member referral this week! it was awesome.
We were walking down the street and as usual the ladies was waving and giving us grief. And i was like "nuh-uh i don't think so" So i gave them a super cheezy wave cause i was getting weary of it! anyways the car goes around the circle and comes back and i was like "oh great" but then the window rolled down and it was a member from our ward and she was like "hey when do you teach discussions?" And i said "uhhh... anytime!" and she said "well my friend here wants to join the church" So we taught her the next day in the members home. Textbook. Awesome. And then she came to church! So that was rad.
And i have had to do like 5 baptism interviews this week for the zone leaders! it's been hectic! But fun.
But ya... that's been about all this week. We've had some crazy thunder storms. But that's what happens every summer. We have them almost every evening!
But i hope you all have a great week! keep it rolling! Stay well!
THE CHURCH IS TRUE!
-elder johnson

We've Hit the One Year Mark!

I cannot believe Michael has hit the one year mark in his mission. When he left I knew the time would pass quickly, but I had NO idea. Looking back on the year, it has been a good one. I have seen such growth in him and yet every email I read makes me chuckle because he writes just like he talks...ALL OVER THE PLACE! I know he is loving his mission and loves the people he is serving. The areas he has been in have been amazing and the way they care and support each other is truly humbling. I know he has been taught by those he has served.
The ward members are fantastic to the missionaries and treat them very well. I have been so impressed with how they work to FIND people for the missionaries to teach and are supportive to the investigators when the Elders bring them to church.
I LOVE having a missionary out in the field. Yes, I miss him but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. He is right where he should and needs to be. And I know the Lord sent him to the Johannesburg South Africa to fulfil His purpose for Michael.
I am so thankful to have this young man worthy and willing to serve. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for his safe keeping and I know as long as Michael is obedient that he will return to me safe and sound.
I have said this before, but if missions could extend 6 months I'd say go for it, but for 6 weeks it's hardly worth it.
So until November 2010...

Thanksgiving in South Africa

Some wonderful people in Selcourt had Michael and his companion, Elder Hatch, over for Turkey Day. It was actually the Wednesday after but I appreciated is so much!
We have had contact with these good people and they are delighful. I am so grateful that Michael is in an area where the members take such good care of the missionaries!
Here are some pictures of their day. I might add that Sister Maxwell has a broken hand too! Thank you for taking care of my boy!