January 23, 2012

Well do I have lots and lots and lots of great and bad news to tell you.  Where should I start.?

     I will start with the bad  speaking of the dentist  appointment I had in the morning.  I forgot to tell you  a couple of weeks ago I was in a lesson talking to this guy and all of a sudden…my tooth falls out… the fake one.  Can you believe that!!!  I wanted to cuss so bad and I wouldn’t be surprised if I did but you know how I am about it and I hate it!!!  MY FAKE TOOTH FELL OUT!!!  So what did I do… in Mexico…who knows where the dentist is???? umm…..I kind of played with it and got it to hang in there just kind of floating around.  I only eat with one side of my mouth because I am scared my tooth will fall out in front of all the members!!! Crap it stinks.  Then the worst is when I’m eating sandwiches now my tooth falls out when I eat bread…Luckily they don’t eat a lot of bread here, haha.  Lots of tortillas.  Another reason why they are a blessing.
      Second  -  I want to tell you why I sent my plaques home.  Well, I have two here and I sent my plaques home for when I have my own sons who are going on missions I can give one to each of them!!!    It was an idea that came to me.
   
Okay good news!!
     When I got  here to Palenque we had about 70 or 80 people coming to church….In the time I have been here I have seen the church grow so much and this week we had a record breaking 152 people in church.  Standing room only in the church, what an amazing feeling!!!!!  I can’t even explain it.  We opened the over flow in the beginning and now it is as full it can be.  It’s amazing.  As well, we had 7 investigators go to church this week.  I loved the feeling.  There wasn’t enough deacons for all the water we needed.  It was amazing!!!!

Okay now the great news!!!
     There is no one to play the piano in our branch so what we found this week is a pianist and his family who want to join the church and now he can be our pianist!!!!  WHAT’S UP!!!!!  It’s amazing.

Now the most amazing news!!! Like the Liahona never going to happen again in the history of our mission and my life - going to be a movie someday news….

I won’t go into much detail but you should know that this weekend your son will be baptizing not only with the mission president but with the area apostle!!  Elder Johnson is his name and it will be held in a place called Azul which is beautiful water falls that are really blue.  The water is amazing and is one of  the biggest tourist attraction in Mexico…AND… my companions and I will be baptizing over 30 people.  I won’t be surprised if it shows up in the Liahona…
     It’s still in progress but you can be sure that I will be baptizing this Saturday at about 11:00 with an apostle, mission president, and lots of other missionaries and it will be amazing.  Pray for us that all will go well and all who can get baptized will be able to go.  I thank you for so much for all you have done for me and I thank my Father in Heaven for this opportunity.
     My new favorite drink in the whole world which I personally think will be a drink in heaven is called Matali.  It’s a plant here and amazing.  It’s like a pink lemonade that’s not lemonade, it’s pink and purplish.

Well, I’m going to go but I love you so so much
Love
Elder Johnston

January 16, 2012

     I am glad that you liked your Christmas packages.  I didn’t eat for a month to buy all that crap but it was worth it, haha.  The maca or hammock is mine by the way.  That’s why I told you to save for me on skype.  Save it and I will buy you one if you send me the money.
     The plate is petty cool.   When I get home I will have to show you who is who.  It is very very symbolic and you can find Nephi, Lehi, Lamen , Lemuel and Samuel, the rod of iron, the 12 tribes of Israel, the tree and fruit.  It’s way cool.  Just evidence that it is all true.  Another cool fact is that the Mayans had 12 Gods supposedly…That’s kind of weird…12 apostles.  Who knows, I can’t wait to talk to God after this life and find out all this stuff. haha
     Well, I hope you liked the pictures.  Those are the only pictures I have of my whole mission.  If something were to happen to those I would want to shoot myself, they are so special to me.  I hope they are safe on a memory or something.  I think you sent like 3 or 4 memories no???? How many were there?
     Okay, well, I love you so so much and I pray all is well in the house and I can’t wait till next week to hear from you when you can write on a good computer.
Love
Elder Johnston

(SORRY ABOUT THE UPDATES WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING COMPUTER PROBLEMS)


January 9, 2012

     Well, I will start out with I sent Andy an email and he hasn’t written me back. Tell him to check it.  I received Terrin’s package and two letters from the Johnston’s  but I don’t know who they are from yet because  I haven’t even had time to look at them.  I am running as fast as I can now days.  This week was amazing!!!  Like when the prophet feels the spirit so much they almost faint and pass out or something.  I feel like I have been spiritually drained this week and I just want to pass out but  somehow the Lord is giving me the strength to move on.
     Well, my comps in his second week in the mission and we worked our butts off.  He is like dieing for real because I have been doing everything to the best of my ability, even walking as fast as I can because we don’t have enough time to do it all!!!!
     We baptized 4 people this week.  A family of three kids, Daisy, Juri, and Martin, and a woman named Ima.  It was an amazing experience.  The baptismal service was great but before hand the devil was working so hard….
     The day of the baptism we weren’t going to go by the families house but I had the impression to go…  I arrived and found two Jehovah Witnesses teaching our baptisms…WHATTTTTTT!!!! I about freaked out and pooped my pants…      
      I walked up, though, with the authority of God that he has given me and which I can’t even describe, and when my comp and I walked in you could feel the power.  I asked Daisy if we could sit down and the family sprinted for chairs…I sat my chair down right in front of the unwanted guests and my comp was freaking out.  I was so mad but I looked them straight in the eyes and they felt it… I said some words… to them… haha and they said I think we should leave,  I was like Thank You!!!  Your church is of the devil… ok I didn’t say that.  Afterwards the family thought I was mad at them but all I wanted was for them to be happy and they know I love them so much.  I took them inside and bore my testimony and I cried and my comp did; and the family did and they were like I’M GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!  Sick…..
     Now all this was Saturday and then we were too late for food so I said forget the food we have too much to do.  We went to another appointment that I had set up with a Seventh Day Adventist or Baptist Preacher or Pope or whatever they call them.  Pastor I think.  When we walked in he was like whatever, and said we will pray however we want and got all mad.  We didn’t even open one book we just started testifying!!!!!  My comp cried and I almost did….the room filled with silence and at the end he was like I will pray to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Even his wife could feel the spirit.  Sick!!!!!!  Now we were really pumped!
     We then set up for one of my converts to baptize someone (my comps first) the Branch President one (because he as well is a recent convert) and I would baptize one.  I had to teach them how to do it because I was the only one there who knew how.   Anyway, we had eight in white on Saturday and eight confirmed on Sunday
    Today is Monday - Pday We went to Cascadas Azul!!!  It was so sweet!!!! I don’t have time to go into detail on all that happened  (wow that feels like Nephi when he says I don’t write all the words of my father).  haha I’m not Nephi but I thought that was funny   hahaha  I just have no time and the mission is flying.
     I love you so much and I will send you some pics.
Love
Elder Johnston

January 2, 2012

     I have a new comp, named Elder Zepeda.  He is from Sinaloa Mexico and it’s his first week as a missionary, and I am training him!!!!  It’s way cool but kind of hard to teach him how to teach the people.  He is picking it up real fast though.
     We are going to have four people baptized this Saturday!!  My comps first baptisms!!!  It will be so cool!!!
     It is amazing what the spirit and gospel can do to someone’s life.   What I have learned is; I feel like LDS members keep what we have a secret and don’t say anything about the gospel.  Don’t be shy tell it like it is but remember the spirit is what converts.
     I love you all so much and I am so proud of all of you!!!
Love Elder Johnston