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

Week 8 in Sablayan

Hello my wonderful family!

This week Elder Pedrosa and I did a lot of work. We sat down together in our planning session, looked at the board with all the names of our investigators... and I knew changes had to be made. We then erased most all of the names. We basically said we would change the focus of who Elder Santiago and I were focusing on and find new investigators. The ones that have been on the board for at least 2 months have either not been progressing, or can't get baptized because of marriage problems. 

So this week Elder Pedrosa and I focused solely on finding! The Lord really blessed us this week. We found 4 families and 4 solid potential male priesthood holders. I've realized that if we want Mindoro (my zone) to become a stake and for Sablayan to become a branch we need priesthood holders and families! I'm grateful for this week. Miracles definitely are occurring here in Sablayan. We extended 5 baptism dates to our new investigators. I have faith that in January we can baptize at least 4. 

Also this week, we've been blessed with referrals from members that we will contact next week. I've realized since being out on the mission that it is super hard to get investigators to come to church and even to read the Book of Mormon! It's so disappointing when we follow up and ask "Did you read and pray about the BoM?" and then they respond, "ah pasensyia po kasi busy ako." The key is to love them, and then recommit and tell them the importance of reading and praying to know the truth. 

Nothing else really this week family. It was a great week of finding. I'm excited for the upcoming weeks and to continue to find people that are ready and have been prepared to receive the gospel and are ready to be baptized now! 

Also on Saturday night when we were working I started to get signs of a fever. I struggled to finish the day.. the past 2 nights have been awful. My fever is pretty bad right now but I'm living on Advil (life saver). Hopefully it will go away soon. I don't have time to be sick- I've got to get to work! 

P.S. I'm getting fat for real...I eat too much rice haha

Love you all! Talk to y'all next week!

Love,

Elder Johnson

Changes here in Sablayan

Magandang umaga!!

This week was full of changes here in my wonderful area Sablayan.  I was able to work with Elder Sambile and Elder Lopez until Thursday.  Elder Lopez got transferred back to the mainland and so it was just me and Elder Sambile patiently waiting for Friday to pick up our new companions. My new companion is Elder Predrosa!! He's a super nice little quiet Filipino haha. I like him a lot.  He loves basketball so I'll finally be able to play! 

We got straight to work on Friday.  I quickly found out that Elder Predrosa does his work differently than my other trainer Elder Santiago. The way he plans and teaches is different. There's nothing wrong with it but it's just different than what I was taught. I feel like this transfer I might be having to train myself.  He's just super quiet but he's a great teacher. I know I'm meant to learn things from him and I know we will be a great companionship. It's just interesting to see the different personalities and ways of training of 2 different missionaries. He works hard and loves to "OYM" (Open Your Mouth) and I know we will accomplish great things this transfer. 

I'm a little frustrated because my investigators aren't progressing. We had a lot of setbacks this week. Only one came to church but she can't even get baptized because she isn't married. It's frustrating when my investigators aren't keeping commitments or coming to church and are making excuses. It's hard. This week Elder Predrosa and I made it a goal to do a lot of finding- finding the people that are ready right now to receive the restored gospel!! We can't be messing around with investigators who aren't keeping commitments!

 

The highlight of my week was having the opportunity to confirm brother Robert and sister Donna Bell (the 2 I baptized) as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! My branch president asked them who they wanted to confirm them and they responded, "Elder Johnson." 

Wow I wasn't expecting it.  I was nervous, but so willing. I knew Heavenly Father would help me and guide the blessing.  That's exactly what happened.  I couldn't believe it.  The spirit was so strong and I knew the blessing was from Heavenly Father specifically for them. I feel so blessed and grateful. I know this church is true.

 

My Tagalog is okay...it's still so frustrating because I want to be fluent already. I strive every day to become more of an effective teacher of truth and be more like the Savior. Anyway family, I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to y'all next week!

Love,

Elder Johnson

This is the view from a few weeks ago

Santos family. They're great.

Family Home Evening

JJ Dankingking. She's so cute.

What a week! (Sablayan Week 6)

Hello family!!

This week was so eventful! I am so happy to be a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So many things happened this week...where do i start?! 

So on Monday I had the opportunity to work with Elder Padua (TA) and I learned so much from him. He taught me a way to teach an overview lesson. 

Tuesday was the best day of my mission so far. Elder Santiago and I baptized Robert Legario and Donna Bell Amarila!! I was a little nervous because I was worrying about saying everything right. It went very well though. I felt so grateful for the opportunity to baptize sister Donna Bell.  Just the feeling of helping someone get on the path back to our Heavenly Father is amazing. I feel so blessed to be able to help these 2 receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no greater joy than baptizing! Donna Bell and Robert were so happy. I couldn't help but smile the whole time. This is an experience I'll never forget. I want this for everybody!! I realize how important my calling is- I am striving to bring as many people unto Christ as possible! True happiness is found in the gospel. It is SO true!

Unfortunately a lot of my investigators aren't progressing. It's frustrating when you want all of your investigators to come to church and keep commitments but they aren't. We had zero investigators at church this week.

Thursday I found out that my companion Elder Santiago is getting transferred and becoming a TA (teaching assistant). It's so fitting for him. He's such an amazing teacher/truly converted/PMG (Preach My Gospel) missionary. I'll be forever grateful for his influence and his training he gave me. The things he taught me I will never forget. I know our companionship was inspired and I needed him for the first 6 weeks as a new missionary. My new companion is Elder Pedrosa! I don't know who he is but he arrives on Friday. I'm working with Elder Sambile and Lopez the next few days. I'm excited for this upcoming transfer and to learn things from my new trainer. 

On Thursday we headed to San Jose for our zone Christmas conference and District Conference!! For Thanksgiving dinner we had Jollibee haha. Friday was so fun! President  and Sister Revillo came and we had our Mindoro zone Christmas conference! We had delicious food, had workshops, performed our skit and song, played games, and ended the day by watching Frozen! It was an awesome time with my zone. Our motto is #ASaviorIsBorn. I'm excited to share this message with the people here in Sablayan.

Saturday I had my interview with President Revillo. He's so great. I'm so grateful for his advice to me. He told me to pray for charity for my investigators and that that miracles will happen and that the Lord called me here for a specific reason.

District conference was nice, seeing all of my ward members attend (3 hours ride to San Jose from Sablayan) was amazing! They are so faithful! The goal for next year is to become a stake. We need 25 Melchizedek priesthood holders in each branch. 

I'm so happy family! I love being a missionary. It's still hard and my Tagalog is still bad but I'm grateful to be here. I hope you all are doing great. Talk to y'all next week. Love you!! 

Love,

Elder Johnson

Sablayan Week 5

Magandang umaga pamilyia ko! 

Wow, what a great week here in the mission field. Tuesday was one of the best days I've had in a while. In the morning, I had the opportunity to go to the Manila temple with my Mindoro zone! It was the most spiritual experience I've had in the temple- especially the celestial room. I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father. He is always there, waiting for me to call upon Him for help and strength. I've learned to rely on God with everything I do. 

Meeting and hearing from the apostles was amazing! Being in the same room with all Quezon city missionaries and 2 apostles was an experience I will never forget. Their talks were great. The spirit was so strong. I really do believe they are special witnesses of the Savior Jesus Christ. I learned from Elder Renlund to have an A+ attitude and give A+ effort in missionary work.  I am the only one who controls my attitude! Elder Andersen talked about having an eye single to the glory of God. This means conforming His will to mine- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I can't juggle 2 balls (as in, thinking about things non-related to the work). I've tried to apply the things I've learned to my every day work.

I also got to see my batch! It was so fun catching up with the other elders from the MTC. I ate Mcdonalds in the mainland. haha It was delicious! And the mega mall there is so huge! it reminds me of Lenox in ATL. The Filipinos love Christmas. There are so many lights and I heard some Christmas songs.

The boat ride home was gorgeous. I'll try and send some pics. We drove through islands and it was beautiful. On Friday, I had exchanges with Elder Sambile. He's our district leader, and he's a great missionary. He's a small little Filipino who's quiet, but his testimony and confidence is bold and inspiring. I continue to learn from Elder Santiago- he's tough, but I'm learning and growing.

Great news family!! Brother Robert and Sister Donnabelle are getting baptized tomorrow morning!! It's official. I'm so excited for them. I'm nervous to baptize for the first time, but I'm so grateful. I never thought this day would come- my first baptism. I don't want them just to be baptized though. Eventually my goal for these 2 is the temple! I want all my investigators to be truly converted to the gospel. 

Anyway, it was a great week. Miss you all! Have a great Thanksgiving! Love you all family. Talk to y'all next week.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Outside the Manila Temple

Sablayan Week 4

Magandang umaga pamylia ko!!

What a great week here in my wonderful area Sablayan! Last Monday we had our first zone training! It was great. I love my zone leaders- Elders Tonga and De Dios. They're awesome. At the training they talked about the lessons in Preach My Gospel and how we as missionaries need to STUDY, BELIEVE, LOVE AND TEACH the lessons in chapter 3. It's so true! I'm grateful every day for personal study- to really dive into the Book of Mormon and PMG. My knowledge of the gospel continues to grow. I don't know everything, and I'm for sure not a perfect teacher but man...I know this church is true!!

Tuesday we had splits with the zone leaders. I worked with both of them. They're such amazing missionaries. Hopefully one day I'll be as good as them. I'm grateful to be placed where I am surrounded by these missionaries. I've learned a lot about how to teach, and different skills, and of course trying to improve my Tagalog. 

Wednesday night was one of the most powerful lessons that Elder Santiago and I have taught together. We taught Brother Donald about free agency and how it's a gift given to us from God but it's so important that we use it wisely and follow Jesus Christ! Unfortunately Brother Donald has chosen to give the Book of Mormon back to us and not get baptized because his wife threatened to leave him. I was so disappointed, but Elder Santiago told me, "We did our part. He used his agency- we can't be sad."

 

Thursday wasn't the best day. Elder Santiago felt like I didn't have his back in one of the lessons. I learned from that mistake and I'm growing and trying my best. Our companionship continues to grow. It's strong right now. He's a little impatient and I've had to learn to just do what he says, because he's my trainer. He's a great missionary and his testimony and knowledge of the gospel is incredible. 

Saturday we taught the temple preparation class. It's so fun teaching the members about the importance of the temple. That night we had a Family Home Evening. I love the FHE's so much! The Filipinos here are so awesome. I love them all. I love the Philippines!!

 

Sunday I spoke in sacrament meeting! I feel like the members don't understand me but I'm trying my best. And now today we're on the mainland! I'm in Manila right now.  We're probably going to go to the mall later and then tomorrow is the big day... I get to meet Elder Andersen and Elder Renlund!! How incredible to meet 2 apostles of the Lord. I can't wait. 

Well that's it for this week family. I miss you all. Hope y'all are doing great. It's almost Thanksgiving...geez time flies...I've almost been in my area for a month! Talk to y'all next week, love y'all!!!

Love, 

Elder Johnson