28 October 2013

Hello, me again!

So we have a baptism this Saturday! Surprise! We invited one of our investigators to be baptized this Saturday and he accepted so we should be having another baptism here, which is really cool. He is from Angola, so he is the first baptism that I have had that is from Africa, however he is a great guy and he has a lot of faith in God, and he isn´t afraid to leave behind anything or anyone that would keep him from following God´s commandments. There is also a member in the branch that is really helping him out. 

So things are still going here. However during this past week we have found quite a few people that look like they could be really good investigators. We also found a man on the street that came to church this past Sunday, even though we haven´t yet had a lesson with him. He also has 5 kids and we are hoping that he starts to bring them all to church. We also have a few more that we are looking forward to visiting this week. 

So a scripture verse that I read this week that I really like was in Mosiah 23:21-22. It talks about how at times the Lord sees it fit to test our patience and our faith. I just really like the principle and I think that it is an amazing manifestation of the Lord´s love for us. Because he knows that it is through trials and challenges that we draw closer to him. So in an effort to help us do what´s right and get closer to the Lord, he allows us to go through trials, and and as we pass through them, our faith is increased and we grow.

I feel like I have changed as a missionary, though I was trying to think about it the other day, and I am not quite sure in which ways. I think that I just have to sit down and compare who I am with who I was. I know that if I have nothing else, I have just gotten two years of experiences that confirm the truthfulness of the gospel. I know that I have changed, however, it is just hard for me to remember exactly how I was, so I don´t really know that well what has changed.

I have always thought it interesting that we have Portugese missionaries (*in our ward in Boston). I also think that it is interesting how I am in Galicia right now, because Gallego is almost the same as Portugese. It is cool how the Lord might be setting things up so that I help out the Elders and Sisters there at home afterwards.

So the past 3 or 4 days have actually been sunny. Which is quite a shocking surprise. It is definitely not what I expected. However, today it has started looking rainy again. Usually our things don´t dry out in time. (Because it is the winter, if it was summer they would be dry in no time at all). There is some waterproof spray here that I might try and use.

I forgot my camera today, sorry...

So unfortunately I have to get going now,  we´ll talk again next week.

Elder Johnson

21 October 2013

 

(Picture taken by Elder Groves and "borrowed" from his blog.)

 Elder Johnson studying hard.

 

Hello,

So this past week we have still spent time finding. We have dropped some investigators and we are looking for some more people that we can teach. The man from Angola is still doing well, he is just having trouble accepting a baptismal date.

So we are still working on our goals, the end of the month is approaching fast and I am hoping that we can find some more people who are ready for us to teach.

For the lady from England, we teach in English, it is different, however it is also pretty good.

So as of right now we have around 3 or 4 investigators at church on Sundays (but we are working on that). Also, the average amount of lessons that we teach are around 15ish each week. The highest that I have had is 28. I actually don´t really know how many people we contact in a week, I actually don´t really count.

We usually contact people we know by phone. The phones are pretty much on an honor system, however you can´t make long distance calls, and the office also sees all the numbers that you call so they notice strange calls and the sort.

So a moment when the Spirit was with us was when I had to give a practice in our District Meeting of missionaries. I wasn´t a hundred percent sure on everything that I was going to do, but I am sure that the Spirit was there because it helped me to learn something new which we were then able to apply to other people. Also, I was able to give a descent practice for all the other missionaries there and I didn´t have to struggle through it. 

 

So something that I felt inspired to do was to start visiting the branch leadership to find ways that we can help them and their auxiliary groups and to find a way to get the members more excited about the mission work and to help them help us find more people to teach.

Something that I have learned during my time with Elder Groves is how important it is to focus on people and to only look to help them. A lot of times missionaries are so focused on the lessons that they have trouble focusing on the real reason that they are teaching, which is for the people, all lessons have to be adjusted and changed to fit according to the needs of the people.

So something that I have learned from the branch here in Vigo is the importance that every leadership position has in the church, every calling has an important role that needs to be completed, and here in Vigo I have been able to see how, when all the leaders work together, that they can really make a huge difference. 

 

We visited a fortress today and saw a replica of the Pinta. I would send pictures but for some reason my camera isn´t loading them up on the computer today.  Columbus landed in Baiona, a city close to Vigo, when he arrived from the Americas.

 

(*Note from Mom - Maybe we will get lucky and his companion will have sent some photos.  I'll check later.  I love having companions that share pictures!)

 

 

So thanks for everything, until next week,

Elder Johnson

14 October 2013

Me quedo (I'm staying),

So I am staying here in Vigo for another transfer! I am still with Elder Groves, and there is actually only one change in the entire district, which is in the other companionship of elders here in Vigo Elder Alhovuori left, and Elder Kinghorn came up from Madrid. (Elder Kinghorn was in my piso when I was back in B1).

Anyway, we are getting some newer investigators to church which is really exciting. However we still want everyone to come. Hopefully we will be able to see the rapid progression of a few of these investigators so that they can start making these covenants with God.  I feel like we are going to have a lot of success, but we are still looking to find quite a few more investigators.

The work is going well. This month President Jackson had every companionship set some goals for the number of baptisms that they want to have this month. So by the end of the month of October we should have quite a bit of success as a mission in whole.

So the rain has started. It started raining yesterday and some of the members have told us that it will probably continue until the end of the year. It rains a lot here in Galicia. So today I bought an umbrella, my previous one got lost somewhere between the office and B1, and nobody has seen it since... Very disappointing because I really like that other umbrella that I had.

Could you please send me my line of authority. (by email or mail, either is fine).

So when you mentioned our investigator from Africa, I don´t know which one you are talking about so I´ll tell you a little about one from Angola. He is doing really good. We have talked with him about baptism various times and so far we haven´t been able to set a fixed baptismal date with him. However, he has told us that he fully plans on being baptized, he just doesn´t know when because he wants to feel prepared.

So we started teaching a lady from England this past week. She very nice and is also somewhat religious (though not really in any particular faith). She just showed up to General Conference last week with a member who works with her (they are both English teachers). So she could have some awesome potential to get baptized, however, she also has some different viewpoints in certain aspects of doctrine. However, that isn´t anything that the Spirit can´t handle.

So congratulations on Arya´s birthday. Everybody is getting big really fast. In no time at all you are going to start having grandchildren and everyone is going to be married. 

I hope that everything is going well for you guys. Keep praying for us, and thank you for all the support that you all give me. I can honestly say that it is something that I look forward to all the time. 

So I think that that is all for now.

Until next week

Elder Johnson

 Farewell to Elder Alhovouri

(he is being transferred to Gijon)

Octopus, yum!

It is somewhat chewy. It isn´t bad, however I get bored of it quickly so I have to eat it with other food. I can´t eat it by itself.

Most of the Vigo District before the transfer.

We have 3 companionships in Vigo, 1 in Ourense, 1 in Pontevedra, and 1 in Vilagarcía de Arousa in our district.

A view of Vigo.

 We were in a fortress on a hill in Vigo. The fortress consists of only a wall. But it is still pretty cool.

 

7 October 2013

Hola,

So this past General Conference was really awesome. Unfortunately I only was able to see the Saturday morning session, the Priesthood session, and the Sunday Morning session. But the talks that I was able to see were really great. I was able to learn a lot of things from the talks that were given.

So our week was definitely better than last. We are finding more people, and it seems that we have more people that are ready to be prepared for baptism. It´s really cool. We still aren´t finding that many new people that we can teach, but we still have a few new investigators showing up here and there.

We found a man the other day from Angola (Africa) and we had a pretty good lesson with him in the church, and then a few days later we had another lesson with him and we invited a member who was also from Africa, and it went really, really well. The member was really excited to see our investigator (1. because they were friends a year ago, and 2. because I think that the member feels lonely sometimes being the only member from his country in his district.) So the member was so excited that he was talking about baptism a lot, and how our investigator was going to get baptized, and our investigator just said that he needed a little bit of more preparation to get baptized, but that when he was prepared, that we would get baptized. So we will probably have another baptism in a few more weeks.

So transfers are this Saturday, hold off on the paper letters, until we know what is going to happen.

The branch is starting to help us out more, it is really cool, because it is exactly how the mission work should take place. 

So being a trainer is a little bit harder than I thought, I think that the hardest thing about it is trying to be perfect, because in all honesty that is exactly how new missionaries think that their trainers are. It´s not bad and Elder Groves is a good missionary and a good person, so he makes it easier for me too. But I think that the best part of it will be seeing Elder Groves continue in the path that I am setting him in so that he can continue to work hard and grow, and learn.  In all honesty I think that I won´t even be here in the mission by the time that the best parts of training would be showing. I imagine that it would be a lot like having a child, that the best parts of it are seeing them grow older and make good decisions.

There are a lot of cruise ships that pass through here, and though we usually don´t contact the tourists, we do go out contacting. (We don´t plan to go contacting when the ships get in town though). Vigo doesn´t really get snow in the winter, but it is going to get a ton of rain. Pretty soon here it will start raining every single day until the summer comes back around.

So I think that is it for now, our work load here in Vigo is increasing, and the mission work worldwide is starting to grow. Pretty soon there are going to be huge miracles worldwide. I am really excited to see what is going to be happening in these next few years.

So I think that that is all for now, Thanks for everything... I need to take more pictures,

Until next week, 

Elder Johnson

 

Well, I´m afraid that I don´t really have any cool pictures this time, so this is one of my companion when we went to a park two weeks ago.