Old Glory

July 9, 2012

I hope all is well and I hope Jason is doing good. I know he is my boy. Well I am shocked that you email off your phone. I find that amazing mom haha. I’m sure you have changed allot like we all have. I know the Lord is helping us grow our talents everyday and help us be better people. He loves us so much and I can’t wait for the day to thank my Lord and Savior in person for the love He shows me. Well my comp this week had his last interview thank goodness... he is going home in 2 more weeks if he can make it. He is really struggling here and I feel bad for him and its kinda getting me dismantled as well but I wont let him. I’m always behind him punching him along but I’m excited that I will be getting a change soon. The president said in his last interview that I would not be finishing here where I am thank goodness because honestly it’s a hard area. We have had a hard time finding people to baptize and I’m struggling for some last breaths.. it doesn’t mean I’m not working hard but my area is very small and its very of the world. The people don’t want anything to do with God in their lives and its hard to not have people with desires.
I’m working hard though and this last week we had the zone leader consejo. It was great and very spiritual. I love being able to go and hang out with Elder Price and Elder Williams my best buds in the mission here. It’s like a two day vacation in heaven like I leave earth for 2 days and come back really fast. I was in charge of giving the last prayer and the spirit was very strong. I did get your package by the way and my comp thanks you for the book. He says you are really amazing getting the book to him that fast. It was funny. The  4th of July I was in the consejo and I woke up in the morning and realized there were 22 of the best missionaries in one room and at 6 AM in the morning I put on the American flag like a cap and went around waking everyone up! They all said the pledge of allegiance to the flag it was way funny and great!!
Well I love you so much mom. I am doing my best. Not for you or anyone else but so all glory goes to my Father who is in heaven. I love him so much and He has blessed me beyond measure. I love you and thank you for everything you do for me. The Church is True !!!
love
Elder Johnston

Viva America

July 2, 2012

Dear Familia

haha  That's all so great.. I love hearing that everyone is good and happy and honestly this is and always has been my favorite time of the year... I just remembered this week that the silver state rodeo and the 4th of July with ice cream and brownies is going on and I about freaked out. It's so amazing the life that the Lord has given us.. the way to learn; the ability to desarrodiar talentos and stuff its just so amazing. I love life so much and I just wish it went forever... oh wait i guess it does. Anyway this week was kinda good. Its really hard here in my area because the president always sticks the zone leaders in the hardest areas. We haven't baptised very much lately and its the part of my mission I have worked the hardest but I do know that the zone is receiving blessings for the work of my comp and I. We already have 24 baptismal dates in our zone and that's amazing because usually in the whole zone we only baptise like 14 and that's way good so this month I think we are going to break a record of baptisms for the zone so I'm way pump and excited to work...
I love you so so much mom.. I will be going to Villa tomorrow for the consejo with our president so i will get my package I think and celebrate the fourth with all my best buddy zone leaders. Remember Elder Price in the MTC... well he is a zone leader as well and my buddy from Palenque Elder Williams and the assistant Elder Liston we are the best friends of the mission and basically run the whole dang mission. Its great we always call and match our ties for the zone counsels and are always sharing our revelation with each other.. Its great and helps us have lots of success. I cant believe that me and Elder Price have come this far and we are in the same place now... now we only need to be comps...
Well tell Billy he better be practicing up. haha I love that kid. Okay I love you so much mom, don't worry I will be living with you for a long long time.. I'll be like the movie failure to launch mom and you'll just want me out of the house haha. I love you so much. Happy fourth of July
Elder Johnston
muchisimo amorrrrrr

Rescate

June 25, 2012


Thanks Mom
Well goals, idk what I told you last week but I'll tell you that we are breaking history my zone and the Lords zone.. we are the zone of Moroni.. we set a mission record I think with contacts and lessons... we have the most baptismal dates in our zone for July than any other and it all comes from sacrifice.... We have studied, we know our stuff and now its time to go and just do hard work... It's the 4th quarter of my mission and I'm not turning back and the Lord in our zone is preparing NEXT level missionary's. Another thing that you will find way surprising is that we started something that is the team rescate, or the rescue team, in our ward about 3 months ago and our plan is to go one member by one saving everyone... Now the general athouritys are coming out with the same stuff and they just had a conference call on the rescate and talked all about the thing we started here... Tell me that wasn't revelation!! This week my comp and I did 412 contacts and the rest of our zone did over 200.... the average missionary does 140! THE WHOLE ZONE OF MISSIONARY'S!! crazy..... president sent us some dead, don't want to work missionarys to our zone.. actually we have 3, and that's allot for a zone, that are just not great missionarys and in one week the Lord has changed them calling them every night helping them and pumping them up to do it. I love it because no one can believe that they are changed and now they are some of the best missionarys of the mission!!!I love you mom so so much. I know I'm 21 now but I'll always be your baby boy wrapped in your arms.. I love you so much and I can still feel the warmth of your hug; the smell of you hair; see the kindness in your heart, the glisten in your eyes and the fight in the Cooper!! I love you so much.LoveElder johnston

A New Level

June 18,2012


Dear Family


haha hey lay off me on the whole english thing... its only been twenty months... haha.
Well all is great over here. I'm spiritually preparing myself right now like Christ did in the desert for forty days in fasting.. I'm doing it because these last months of my mission I'm going to make a covenant with the Lord to take it up one more level and do things that no one has ever seen before. I'm going to be the Moroni of the mission and I'm in preparation because when I say go... it all starts and I will be working my tail off even harder till the day I go with no excuses and I will not fail the Lord. It's amazing what the gospel can do.
Well today you will never guess but I went back to Coatza for a bit and got to play basketball with some elders, with all my buddy zone leaders. They are really good ball players and basically they got on their knees and pleaded for me to come so I went... I really got a confidence booster today because out of no where when we were playing 4 on 4 half court ball I took a kid to the hole and somehow the Lord just lifted me off the ground and I dunked it on everyone!!! Everyone like got silent for a second and then freaked out that I just threw it down haha and now think I'm the best basketball player in the whole mission haha !! It's pretty funny. I guess I've still got a little bit of game. I'm just really skinny that's all. As well I also saw there MY FIRST CONVERT IN THE MISSION... When I baptized him he was only ten years old now he is 12 and tall and strong and has the preisthood and his sister who I also baptized is going to the EFY!!!! It's so amazing.. I got him way excited to go on the mission. I love that so much. I loved the feeling. It was way funny to see the expressions on the face of the people when I knocked on their door after a year and a half.
Well I love you and I got dads letter tell him thank you tons and I got the two short sleave shirts.. Thank you for the shirts. 
Well I love you tons and I'll go for now but I love you so so so much.
Love
Elder Johnston

Feel The Burn

June 11, 2012


Dear Mom,


haha gracias mom... I love you so so much and thanks for telling me so much of whats going on there... I love you tons. Well nothing really new is happening here and all is well.... I am really picking all my work up to another level the last three transfers... I only have 4 months left so what I have done is made an oath, a pact, to give everything all I have like the last 100 yards in a football game. For example usually a missionary does 140 contacts in a week but we set a mission record of 408 in a week last week and this week we want to do 1000 contacts in 7 days... feel the burn and the fire in our bones for the love of the Lord.!!!  Well all is well we had a crazy week but I cant really talk allot right now. We had to take a sister missionary to Villa because she got sick and another to Coatza because he got sick... crazy stuff but at the same time miracles are happening...

I ask 2 things for my birthday... one is an American flag for the 4th of July and the second is my comp is learning the guitar and wants my guitar book that I never used... can you send that so he can use it???? I would very much appreciate it if you could send those things... I got the garments.. I love you so so much and thank you for everything.

Well I love you tons have to go.

Elder Johnston

Electric Miracles

June 4, 2012

Dear Mother,

Well I'm really sorry Roxy died I know its sad and all.. someone once told me the only thing that is sure in this life is change and it's really true. I know its hard for you and its painful if its a close pet or a loved one but the only way to take the pain out of death is to take the love out of life. I love you so much mom you know that. I hope you trust me and can put your confidence in me at all times. I hope all is well and I constantly pray for your well being. I know you are going through a tough time. I pray you can feel the love of God. Read the song where can I turn for peace in the hym book and then sing it. It really helped me this week. Then once you are feeling good go back and read the last three emails you have sent me, the impressions that you recieve will be of great knowlege and a learning experience by the spirit.

Well this week was great as always. I think I say that just about every week... I think it might be because of my attitude.

This week was amazing and I really saw the power of God and felt it descend from the heavens over my life this week. Another personal experience that is and will be part of my testamony for forever.

I'll start out from before. Well our goal for attendance here that we set was 100 people. It has been like that since the last time we broke it a few weeks ago because truly we have helped this place grow. To have a real growth in the church is an amazing feeling. Long story short we have never gotten to 100 people before in the history of the ward. Another goal we have never broken is the attendance of the stake which is 600 people... we are working with the stake president to make that.. anyway last Sunday the attendance just made me soooooooo mad because we only had 70 in our ward and that was the low in the stake.. I was really upset and the Lord revealed to me a plan. I said this week we will have 100 people in the ward even if I have to do it all my self!!! I told everyone. I composed a pledge in writing that stated.. I (blank) and your name.... promise to help the Lord to achieve the goal of one hundred people in the sacrament meeting and renew my covenants this day and hour I... kinda like that.. and I went to every members house during the week working my tail off.... not kidding ...most I have worked in my whole mission.. I went to 133 peoples house and they all signed the paper saying they would go and help make the ward goal and bring a friend.... so I'm exhausted and ready for Sunday.. I start my fast and every prayer was focused on this goal. After we had planned to make it a stake thing because it was looking good. Then we get to church and we are the first ones there.. kinda weird, its already late and little by little came 80 members to church... I had failed... again.... now I felt bad because I got everyone excited.. the bishop and the leaders didn't help me at all, no one did. I did everything... I brought 80 people to church alone and if it wasn't for the investigators we had it would have been 70 again. So sad imagine how I was..

but I put on a smile and said the next time we will get them here.

I'm down... but putting on a show for my comp... who is really dead to let you know, one of the worst comps I've had..... so I am trying to animate him..

We go to eat, come back and start calling for the numbers of all the wards... Now I told myself I know that the Lord wouldn't fail us like that.. I didn't do all that work for nothing. I knew that something was going to happen.

Once we got all the numbers from all the missionarys the goal that we had for the stake at 600 people was broken by some miracle. We got 624 people in the reunion sacramental.. that is the real number that is important to give to the president of the mission and we broke the goal wich no one ever does. No one ever breaks the goals they put in the mission because they say its a lack of faith if you put a realistic goal.. it's amazing how the Lord knew that what we really wanted was 624 people and not just the 100 people in our ward. I know he listens to us and it shocks me how miraculously he does what he does.

 

As well there was a big electric storm here. So scary I have never been in a storm like that in my life. The lightning actually struck a chicken of one of the neighbors and killed it haha. It's pretty funny but the thunder was so loud it hurt your chest and the light was flashing so bright you could barely see because it would like shock you.

 

Well  love you so much and I hope you can be optimistic about the things that happen in your life. Learn to enjoy your personal conversion. I love you so much

love

Elder Johnston

Two Birds and a Tooth

May 28, 2012


Dear Family


I'll just start off by saying that God listens to you as well... its funny to read your letters once a week. Last week you were complaining about the cotton and wanted some wind and now your complaining about the wind. That's funny!
Remember when dad says... I can never make your mother happy Jake... HaHa well I wonder how the Lord feels.
I love you so much mom. Don't worry so much. It is all in your attitude.. if you have a bad attitude everything will be bad... you have always told me... it is what you make it to be...... as it says in the bible... woe unto the priest who profit unto himself.... be happy.. come what may and love it. What more can you do?
I had an experience this week. Lots actually thinking about it. I had a stake meeting with the president and all the ward mission leaders of the stake. They just called a recently activated what some would call a punk kid as our new mission leader to help us and he shows up for the meeting in shorts and the same shirt he slept in and was just a mess... so what did I do? I told him with some strong words to go home wash up and come back when he is ready to represent the Lord.
He left mad and I went in the meeting and sitting there I felt a bad and repented for what I said to the kid. I felt impressed to offer a prayer for the kid. I did and I prayed he would feel the impression to return to the church for the opportunity for me to offer an apology. Finishing the prayer in walked the kid with a tie, white shirt, showered with dress pants. The love of the Lord filled my heart for the opportunity I received for the revelation and inspiration he gave me. He said he learned his lesson and I ask his forgiveness.. 
I as well gave a talk this week in sacrament meeting. The bishop asked us Saturday night and I had no idea what I was going to speak on till 5 min before the talk. Then he sent all the revelation I needed to give a great talk about two experiences I had in these weeks with birds. 
One bird that we found in the church building was calm enough to grab it so we could release it and the other one that flew in our house that was crazy and didn't want us to touch it. It was very funny the talk and I related it to not being afraid to choose the right and do good things. Don't be scared to do good things... everyone liked it and it was the first time I have had the people in Mexico say good job on a talk I gave. First time ever.. the culture here is that they just don't do that.
Then that night we were going to have a fireside and I was going to speak but during our dinner appointment ... what happens... my tooth falls out... and now I can't stick it back in so I just didn't talk the rest of the night. Being Sunday I couldn't do anything about it until today in the morning when I went to get it fixed. Uggggg
Well I love you so much... oh we baptized this week as well and I don't have much more to say except that I love you tons.
love
Elder Johnston