Friday, September 9, 2011


August 29, 2011

That’s so cool that you are about to plant grass!!  That’s way way crazy!!  I can’t even imagine what it looks like now to tell you the truth.  Well, what I want to build when I get back is a little house with palm tree leaves!!  It would be so cool to have a little one out in back and they are way easy to make.  I am learning how.  I can’t even think for a second what it could look like out back and our yard.  Like I said no one ever sends me any pictures of anything so I wouldn’t know, haha!! So is Jason’s finger all the way better?  It sounds like it is if he has been playing golf this whole time.  It doesn’t sound all that bad, haha  But then again like I said I wouldn’t know because no one sends me any pictures of anything.
     I haven’t seen a monkey yet.  I’m on the search though.  I think I live with one though. Haha  We live with this kid named Elder Warren and Elder Williams.  They are really cool kids and I’m sure they will be good friends for a while.  They are both from Utah. I compare Elder Warren to Chicken Joe from Surf’s Up and Elder Williams to Batman, haha!!  They always talk about hanging out when we get back and want to make plans to do stuff.   It’s good to have some good friends you know.  I feel like my whole life I haven’t really had a good friend and now I’m making lots of good friends.  They are good kids.
    My comp is Elder Zamora.  He is about six feet tall and 250 pounds.  He played football for a team called the Capitals in Idaho.  Come to find out we played against each other when I went to the Gold Beach football camp in Oregon.  As well, when the kid broke Aarik Wilson’s record at Reed High School he was there and saw me jump.  He is a good kid and has about 8 months in the mission or a little less.  He is part Mexican and I’m his second comp in the mission.
     This week was amazing.  I gave a talk in church this week and it was really hard just to talk because I was so tired.  I have to tell you the story first…We found a kid from Taiwan and he only speaks Chinese and a little English.  Just barely enough to communicate.  The thing is, he already has a Book of Mormon in his language because he listened to the missionaries over there in his house.  One of his old missionaries is named Elder Van Drew who lives in Mesquite Nevada!!!!  How crazy is that???  He is a foreign exchange student from Taiwan and we have to communicate the gospel through reading the Book of Mormon that he has!!  It’s such an amazing experience…the gift of tongues is real.  As well, mom, it’s amazing how the Lord works.
So in church ,before I gave my talk, which I was last to go, I had to translate for him in English the whole sacrament meeting…  It was so stinking hard!!!!!  I thought my tongue was going to fall out of my mouth by the time I was done!!!!   He is thinking bout being baptized!!! We will see what happens.
     Your fireside sounds like a way cool activity.  I wish I could be part of it.  We had a cool one as well called via Hawaii!!  Or trip to Hawaii  and it talked about the plan of salvation and we walked from room to room explaining the different parts of the plan.  I was an angel who led the people through the plan and explained it as we went.  We had about 200 people go.
     But I have to say that’s a really high goal you put!!  100 investigators!!!  That’s a ton!! haha  Well, I will pray for your success mom.
     I love you to the moon and I will never stop praying for you!!
Stay Safe
Love your son
Elder Johnston

Wednesday, September 7, 2011


August 22, 2011

Dear Mom.
  I love getting letters from you haha.  That one was really good and I love the big ones so I have cool stuff to read about.  It’s so crazy that Tommy, Hadley, and Cameron are already getting ready to go on their missions.  I feel like they should all still be in high school haha, and doing the same old stuff but everything about them is about to change.  They have no idea what the gospel of Jesus Christ really is yet, and when they finally get a little hint of what it is their whole world will start to change around them.  It truly is amazing how the Lord works.  First we have to do our part to get to know him.
     Well, I am still known for my dancing!!  Well, not known but they all laugh when I dance just for a  few seconds.   They all say “oh Honson”!! haha  It’s way funny, but I can’t wait to come back and dance with my mom!!  I have been thinking lately of when we would dance when you were making dinner, getting ready for a party, or on Sunday’s or Christmas!!  I love it and miss it so much!!
     That’s cool you had that cake.  That’s what they call Tres Leches here,  or three milks.  It’s pretty good and real common here.  I’m glad you liked it.
     I taught a class the other day, gospel principles, on service and used Cody as an example.  I talked on how he has been such an example to me through service to others and shared some experiences.  I told them the blessings he has received through his service and I am sure he doesn’t even recognize the blessings he has received.
     This week I threw someone out of the church.  He started yelling at a kid in the church and I stopped him and then he yelled at me…You know my patience level and so I threw him out the door into the street.  It was a good experience.
     That’s crazy about the yard!!  You tell me all this cool stuff and I can’t even imagine it so I have to see it for myself, I need pictures!!!
     We had changes today and I will be getting a new companion from Idaho I think, or maybe he is from Oregon who knows?  He is a good kid though and has little time in the mission.  My comp is going to Nachital, past Coatzacoalcos,
     I love you tons and I pray for you every night.  Stay safe and work hard like always, just don’t hurt yourself, okay!!
Love your son forever
Elder Johnston

Robby Johnston to me
show details Aug 18
Dad here is a story I would appreciate you giving to Pres. Pursel.

The Lords water of baptism is such a beautiful gift. This past week I learned how real it is to be able to change someone’s life through the waters of baptism. It all started when we were contacting in the streets. We were walking to the Church to clean the font for a baptism on Saturday and along the way we were contacting people. For the past few weeks I had wanted to contact near the Church for some reason but wasn’t exactly sure why. I just felt like it would be a good idea. Little did I know that the Lord had plans in mind for me and my companion. We contacted two men standing on the street corner. One had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The other one had a backpack that appeared to be a kid’s and was wearing a white tank top that was ripped and worn. Like always we invited them to Church on Sunday and asked if we could stop by some time to tell them more. The man with the beer turned away and ignored us but the other seemed sort of shocked for a moment then asked us if we would have time right then to teach him what we had to say. Now it was my companion and I that were sort of shocked for a moment and after looking at each other for a second we said yes we of course we had time. Following the guidance of the spirit we went to the church with him, unlocked it and let him in. We began teaching the first lesson of the restoration in the room adjoining the baptismal font. During the lesson I felt a strong impression to get up; walk to the doors of the font; open them and show it to him …but I didn’t. Later again I felt the same impression but just didn’t know when I could stand up and show him the font because we were in the middle of the lesson. Then, as we started to close the lesson, the spirit basically yelled at me “stand up NOW and take him to the font!” This could not be denied any longer. I immediately stood up and invited him to go with me to the doors. As I opened the first one he was a little hesitant to look inside. As he approached the door and looked inside a silence came over all of us. I have never experienced something so powerful. The spirit was welling up inside and tears filled his eyes. As he started to cry he looked at us and said “this is what I have been waiting for my whole life”. As we continued to talk, now with tears in our eyes as well, he opened up and shared many things about his life and many things that had happened. We told him of the blessings that could come to him, and to all, through the waters of baptism and a happiness filled him like I have never seen happen so suddenly. The following day he came to the baptism we had scheduled and then attended church on Sunday. Through this experience he committed to baptism and set a date to be baptized himself. I testify that the spirit is real and it is powerful in so many ways.
We can all learn many things from this story I think. How the Lord prepares us; how some turn away and how others find the straight and narrow path that leads to the savior and how the waters of baptism change lives. It also teaches that we should follow the spirit the instant it tells us to take action. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on the face of the earth and the only one through which everyone can truly receive the blessings of God.
I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Elder Jake Johnston