February 1, 2016

Magandang umaga po sa akin pamilya! 

Another wonderful week as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in the Philippines. My district leader Elder Sambile gave us a powerful workshop on Tuesday about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He committed us to mention the Atonement in every single lesson. Including lessons like Word of Wisdom, law of chastity etc. Jesus Christ is central to everything, and as missionaries we must, "have his name on our lips at all times." (Neil. L. Andersen- worldwide missionary broadcast). 

Elder Pedrosa and I are helping one of our investigators and his Lola (grandma) prepare for their baptism on Feb.13! His name is Jasem, he's 14 and is best friends with one of the members.  They're both kind of pasaway (naughty/troublemakers) but he's starting to change and we're trying our best to help build his testimony.  This next week we're going to teach him the importance of repentance (Plan of Salvation and the gospel of Jesus Christ...lessons 2 and 3). 

On Wednesday we went to the branch and had a "one day mission" with the members.  We were able to help the members learn how to teach and then we went and visited less actives. It was effective too because most of them came to church on Sunday! 

Saturday was zone interviews with President Revillo! I love the conferences, trainings, and interviews because I always learn so much from my leaders!  We had the opportunity to watch the worldwide missionary broadcast, and listen to some of the apostles speak- Elder Bednar and Andersen.  The topic was Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts.  I learned a lot talaga.  The speakers focused on the principles of Preach My Gospel.  I'll share one of the many things I learned.  I cannot forget to teach repentance and it's importance. It's easy to sometimes teach faith in Jesus Christ and then go straight to baptism.  That's something I'm going to change in my teaching...always "cry repentance".

 

The ZL's and TA's also gave amazing workshops.  Elder Santiago came back! It was great seeing him, catching up, and hearing his workshop about using the 3 month projection system effectively. To summarize it, I need to always be finding! The cycle that he taught was Planting, Nurturing, and Harvesting!

 

My meeting with President Revillo went so well.  I love meeting with him.  He's so great. His counsel and love really helps me.  I'm grateful for him and I know he's called of God. He also visited Sablayan on Sunday and came to the group sacrament meeting.  It was the most people we've had in the meetinghouse- 85+.  We could barely fit in the room haha. It was truly a miracle.  He announced that the group will become a branch soon! Such great news. 

Well that's about all for this past week family. I continue every day to grow and learn. Missionary work is hard but I know it's not supposed to be easy because salvation is not cheap! 

Love,

Elder Johnson

January 25, 2016

Happy Monday family!

On Monday we had zone training with the best zone in the mission.. Mindoro! As i walked into the church building I was so happy to see my boy Elder Huish from the Provo MTC! I couldn't believe he got transferred to Mindoro, but it was great to catch up and talk with him. He's doing well. He's excited to be here in the province instead of the city. 

Zone training was so great. Elder De Dios and Asetre gave a their workshop to us about the Book of Mormon and how to use it/explain it.  No more using pamphlets when we tract and do finding! We are now going to use the Book of Mormon to introduce the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's so great because investigators don't become converted to a pamphlet.. they become converted to the word of God! We also learned that the MAIN purpose of the BOM (found in 1 Nephi) is to help people come closer to God! Although it's important to let them know it's convincing evidence that Joseph Smith is a true prophet, the most important part is that it's another testament of Jesus Christ! And a powerful witness that he lives and that through his Atonement we can all be saved! I loved the things I learned and I'm grateful para sa Aklat ni Mormon..I know it's true.

 

Thursday we had the most powerful lesson that Elder Pedrosa and I have taught together.  The spirit was so strong we all could literally feel it!  We were teaching Nilmar and Joy.. (born and die Catholics) and we extended a baptism invitation again.  There was a pause for about 30 seconds.. I thought for sure they were going to say yes because I know the spirit testified to her of the truthfulness of our message... unfortunately she rejected it again. I was super sad, but I know one day she accept. Elder Pedrosa and I will not give up on these two.

 

We did everything we could this week to get investigators to come to church, and Sunday afternoon as I walked into the meetinghouse I was so happy to see 4 of our investigators there! I know it's not a lot, but it's an improvement. I was filled with joy to see Joann, Jupie, Jasem and his Lola sitting down in the congregation. It means they have a desire to learn more about to the gospel and are willing to change! I'm excited for the upcoming weeks.  Elder Pedrosa and I continue to find families and potential priesthood holders to establish the church here in Sablayan.

Well thats all for this week family...mahal ko kayo!! 

P.S. I'm glad baby Bradley is doing well. Thank you for all the pictures. I loved them all, so cute.

 

Also, Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother! Love you so much. I hope you had a great day. 

I'm sad I missed all the action, but I know I'm supposed to be here in the Philippines serving a mission for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Love,

Elder Johnson

Elder Huish (Zone training)

 MTC Reunion in Mindoro!

MINDORO PA

Great news family....I'm still here in the best area in the mission- SABLAYAN!! I'm so happy to be here for at least one more transfer. I was so grateful to get the call from my zone leader and for him to tell me that I'm staying. It means the Lord still needs me here in Sablayan!

 

This week was pretty normal, nothing too special. I'll share with y'all some more cool experiences and things that I continue to learn from more experienced missionaries. Elder Sambile (my district leader) worked with Elder Pedrosa and me this week. I was excited to work with him and to get his help with a few of our investigators. So our priority 6 has changed once again (it changes a lot because of investigators not progressing). Brother Christian- who was supposed to get baptized Jan.23 has really no desire to come to know of the truth. It's really sad actually. We taught a powerful lesson about the importance of why we're teaching him and told him, "Brother, this is about your salvation!" We had to be bold and tell him that this is serious (he wasn't taking the lessons seriously- especially the word of wisdom). And he expressed to us that he doesn't really care. So unfortunately, Elder Pedrosa and I are giving him one more chance to sincerely read and pray, but if he doesn't then we will not focus on him anymore. 

Brother Nilmar is progressing talaga. He reads and knows the truth.. the problem is just getting him to church! We taught a member's friend and his family. We think they have potential for sure. By the way, "missionaries succeed more with the help of the members." - PMG chapter 9. It's best to try and teach referrals from the members! That's one thing Elder Pedrosa and I have been doing and will continue to do these next couple weeks.

 

So the 2016 Philippines area vision is to establish the church! Which means completing part member families, getting the young men worthy to serve missions and receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, and to find and baptize families. I'm excited to focus on these things and to establish the church here in Sablayan! 

Unfortunately no baptisms again this month.  But I will not get discouraged. Discouragement ruins everything in a missionary. "My expectations must always remain high" - PMG chapter 1

Love you all! Ingat kayo!

P.S. I love my companion, I continue to eat weird foods ( this week was chicken feet) and yes I still use my hand... 

Love,

Elder Johnson

Great week in Sablayan!

Magandang umaga po!

So this week was such a great week for me here in the best mission - Philippines Quezon City mission!

On Tuesday as I was doing my personal study up at Parola (the beautiful view of the island) I totally received revelation through my study of Preach my Gospel. The spirit touched my heart as I read over this simple statement the Lord promises me as a missionary... "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my spirit and my word, yea, the power of god unto the convincing of men." (D&C 11:21) and then .. "Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man."(D&C 84:85) After I read these verses I knew what I had been doing wrong the past few days. This promise by the Lord to me is so incredible. I love it.  I know that is is true! But I must remember to diligently study the scriptures and PMG and then the spirit will be with me. I won't have to worry about what to say. I found this to be true in my lessons this week. Personal study is my favorite time of the day to really just focus on the studying the scriptures and the PMG doctrines. Conversion is a process, but I'm on the journey here on my mission! 

Brother Christian is struggling to come to know of the truth.. I don't know if he'll be baptized or not on Jan.23, but pray for him! I feel like he doesn't take the lessons seriously, but we're trying our best to help him! Nilmar is progressing talaga, he believes Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that the BoM is true. Our problem with him is just getting him to church! It's so difficult to get our investigators to attend church. We do everything we can too! So frustrating...

On Saturday we had zone conference in San Jose! It was so great. I don't even know where to start! The spirit was so strong and I learned so much. President Revillo came.  He's such an amazing leader and I truly believe he's called of God to be the PQCM president.

So I had one the the best experiences I've had so far on my mission on Saturday night coming home from San Jose on the bus. Long story short...I sat next to this guy named Sonny... by myself I taught him lesson 1.. somehow he understood and was like a golden investigator! The spirit was the teacher, and I was simply the Lords instrument. Anyway.. after I finished teaching he told me that he believed everything I said because of he "felt it in his heart".  I gave him a baptism date and he accepted. He texted me on Sunday and wants us to teach his family.  I'm so excited!! We'll visit him this week and hopefully baptize his family! I'll never forget this experience.

So that's all for this week family.  I find out tomorrow if I get transferred or not.  Everyone keeps saying that I'm leaving haha. But I really hope not. I would be so sad to leave this beautiful area of Sablayan and all my wonderful members. 

Have a great week family, talk to y'all next week!

Love,

Elder Johnson

New Years in Sablayan

Hey family!

This week started out so well! On Monday we had our group Christmas party at this beautiful place called Feliz del Mar. Elder Pedrosa and I gave a lesson about what gift we as members of the church should give to Jesus Christ for this new year 2016. We ate delicious food of course and played super fun games. I love all the members here. I don't want to leave Sablayan. 

Tuesday was the best day of the week for me. The Zone Leaders came and we had exchanges with them. Elder de Dios worked with us again. I was so excited because Elder de Dios is awesome. I learned so much from this exchange. Elder de Dios is super bold.  That's one thing I love about how he teaches. He really asks inspired questions, his teaching skills are so impressive, and he's a PMG missionary. At the end of the day we had our evaluation, which is my favorite part. He had us divide our sheet into 3 sections.. our strengths, what we need to improve on, and what we need to repent of. I'm so grateful for his leadership, and his wisdom. He's a great zone leader and I learned so much from this exchange with him. 

On Wednesday I had another exchange with Elder Sambile (my district leader). He's the most humble missionary I've ever met. He teaches with love and passion and power. As I had these exchanges this week and that I've had throughout my mission so far, I try and acquire the skills and attributes of these great missionaries here in my mission. It's been a blessing for me. 

For New Years we went over to a member's house and she stuffed us with masarap pagkain (food), adobo, menudo, rice of course etc. For New Year's Eve, as a district we bought a big grilled chicken and 2 pizzas haha. It was a good night. At midnight the Filipinos go crazy here! It was so loud! Fireworks, people cheering haha. It's different than in the U.S. 

Friday and Saturday were really rough days for me- teaching wise. I felt like my Tagalog digressed and it was almost like I didn't know how to teach. They were days I want to forget and move on. I realized that I always need to be focused and pray for the spirit. I cannot teach on my own- it's impossible.  I'm going to move on from these past couple days and get back on track.  Missionary work is hard, and I'm starting to get really impatient with Tagalog. It's really frustrating to be honest. I just want to be fluent already. 

The only thing I would ask family is that you pray for brother Christian Monte. He came to church yesterday and we're hoping he'll be baptized on January 23. He's our only hope for the month of January. He's progressing which is great. We have many investigators but many aren't progressing. Well that's all for this week fam. This could be my last full week here in Sablayan (transfer day next week). But I don't think I'll get transferred. Love you all, talk to you next week!

Love,

Elder Johnson

I ate dog this week!

New Year's dinner

My First Christmas in the Mission Field

Maligayang Pasko and Happy New Year Pamilya ko!

I had a lot of highs this week...and just a few lows here in the mission field.

This week Elder Pedrosa and I were so happy because of the baptism dates we extended to a lot of our new investigators. We now have 15! Our lessons this week were so powerful. The spirit was strong. Unfortunately a lot of our lessons fell through because many people weren't home or were busy because of Christmas. This transfer I've learned to teach lesson 1 pretty well! haha.  We've taught it a lot because of how much finding we've done and the new investigators we have. It's the most important lesson and I've grown to love teaching it!  I used to be scared because of my Tagalog but it's coming along.  There's no reason to be nervous because the spirit is the real teacher. 

I've noticed many blessings from my heavenly father this week. I'm learning and striving to become a better teacher and effective minister of the Savior Jesus Christ. Tagalog is coming along. I just need to stay patient and continue to speak it as much as possible. My companionship with Elder Pedrosa is so great.  He's an example to me and I've learned a lot from him already.

Christmas Eve was so fun. We had the YSA (Young Single Adults) in the branch come over to our apartment and we made spaghetti, adobo, fried chicken, rice, pancit, and buco juice (coconut juice)!  It was a blast. We called it "missionary family home evening". We shared with each other who Jesus Christ was for us and our testimonies of him. 

On Christmas day we worked, we visited members and had a delicious sweet spaghetti dish (its different than American spaghetti but it is so good!) and buco salad. It didn't feel like Christmas but it was nice. All the members are so nice. They spoiled us by giving us so much food. The highlight of this week was of course Skyping y'all! That was amazing.  It was so great seeing y'all and being able to talk to y'all. I feel so blessed. 

It's now time to get back to work and refocus on the work here in Sablayan. Elder Pedrosa and I were so disappointed on Sunday.  We were expecting at least 10 investigators who committed to come to church to come, but they didn't. It's very frustrating. But we have to be better and help them have the desire to attend next week! Missionary work is hard and there are highs and lows, but I'm grateful to be here in the Philippines right now. I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a great new year!

Love,

Elder Johnson

 Christmas Eve with the YSA

 Christmas Dinner

Christmas Party

Week 9 in Sablayan

Maligayang Pasko!!

Hello family! It's almost Christmas here in the Philippines. They've been celebrating it since September haha. I can't believe how fast time is flying here in my first area Sablayan, especially this transfer. It doesn't feel like Christmas because it's hot haha. I'm used to it being cold, but it's nice because everyone here is so enthusiastic about Pasko!

On Monday we had zone training. It was so great. We got to hear from our wonderful zone leaders Elders De Dios and Ezekiela. They gave a workshop about learning to recognize and rely on the spirit. How important is this?! The spirit is everything in missionary work. It is necessary. We cannot teach or find, or do anything without it. I learned that the spirit will give me a prompting and then it will leave and let me use my agency to decide whether to follow the prompting or ignore it. The spirit wont tell us everything to do. He respects our agency. But he will prompt us, with a still small voice. I must be willing to listen carefully and always be worthy of the spirit in my daily work. 

We also did a role play about the atmosphere we teach in. We had 2 elders "teach" other sisters while the rest of us made noise and had normal conversations while they were teaching. After a few minutes we stopped and evaluated. The zone leaders concluded that it doesn't matter what atmosphere we are in when we teach a lesson...noisy, kids running around, etc.  We need to be focused solely on the investigators, keep eye contact and listen carefully. I loved what they told us, how "being distracted is a choice." I'm grateful for this zone training. The spirit will be with us if we focus and listen. 

Tuesday a typhoon came to Mindoro! It was a signal 3 so we couldn't work all day. It was kind of nice because I had the opportunity to recover from my fever. It was actually a blessing for me haha. 

This week Elder Pedrosa and I got punted a lot...more than I ever have before since being a missionary. A lot of lessons fell through because our investigators were never home this week. we didn't reach our goals and it was disappointing. It's frustrating when we plan for a great lesson and we need to teach our progressing investigators, but then they aren't home or are "busy". This week wasn't the best. It resulted in only 4 investigators at church. But one of our investigators named Christian is progressing! He's been to church twice now. I know he'll be baptized. A lot of our investigators have potential and I'm still excited for the upcoming weeks. 

I know this week will be better for Elder Pedrosa and me. We just have to continue to find and teach! This week is Christmas and I'm excited to bring people unto Christ! (the real reason for the season). My testimony continues to grow every day being a missionary. I feel so grateful to be a representative of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I know this church is true, and this gospel gives us so much hope!  I love you all family. That's all for this week. I hope y'all have a great Christmas and I can't wait to talk to y'all on Skype! 

Love,

Elder Johnson