Olá!
I had a crazy week. Last Tuesday I went with President to a zone meeting. It went very well, but from there I went straight to a division in Paraísopolis. It is a large favela here. I think I have talked about it in the past. I was there from Tuesday until Friday. There are so many people there. You go down all of these little streets and there are limitless houses. It was a lot of fun to work a couple of days in a new area. It was also crazy because the area is crazy and you see some weird things. After the division, I stayed in my area on Friday. We have been working with a lot of great people. We have been teaching Roberta's sister which has been really cool. Roberta is a recent convert and her family is starting to come to church. We have also been teaching a young man named Samuel. He would have been baptized this week, but he needs a little more time to understand everything so he will probably be baptized this week!
On Saturday I went to another division in Portal which is a close by area. We worked a lot in some new buildings that the government built for the people here. There are so many people out on the streets and the missionaries have gotten to know everyone there. It was fun to see so many different areas this week. On Sunday we were working hard to take a lot of people to church and it was fantastic! We were able to take 10 people to church! It was a miracle and was amazing to see so many people there on Sunday. One of the biggest miracles is that on Friday we were eating at a restaurant and someone came up to talk to us. She asked if we were missionaries and if our church has a group for youth. We told her that the church has a lot of youth and she got excited and said that she wanted to take her daughter there. On Sunday we called them and she said that she was getting ready to go to church. She, her husband and her daughter went to church. They loved it and we are going to teach them tonight.
We are very excited to work with so many great people. We are hoping that we have a few baptisms this weekend. I know that the Lord is helping and guiding us. It is a blessing to be a missionary. I am seeing my faith grow and I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and that He is guiding all of us. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Monday, April 30, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
Olá!
This week flew by super fast. On Monday we found a lot of people when we started teaching a huge family. There are a lot of small streets here where people are always outside. We started teaching a family and a bunch of the kids that are always in the street. It is a lot of fun as it seems like we are teaching an entire primary. We worked with them during the week and a few of them went to Church!
On a couple of the other days, we went with President to help him do meetings with each of the zones. I went with him to the center of the city one day and then the other day I stayed with the executive secretary in my area. It was a great day. We taught a lot of people. A member took us to a churrascaria this week. It is like Tucanos in Utah. It was fantastic. Brazillian barbeque is so delicious.
It has been a little hard because we are teaching a lot of people, but not many want to accept and change their lives. It is extremely hard when they see that sin is normal in the world. We will keep looking and helping people and I know that we will find people and that through Jesus Christ they will change their lives. I have seen that many times we need to have faith in God and in His timing. Even when it is hard, we need to keep working. It is in these moments that our faith grows and miracles happen. In one meeting this transfer someone said that faith is like a muscle. If we put it in a jar and forget about it and then go back to use it every once and a while we won't have any faith left. We always need to exercise our faith and in the times when we need it, we will have it and God will be there to strengthen us even more. I am grateful for the difficulties that we have. I have learned to have more faith and I am sure that the Lord is preparing people and we will have many miracles in the coming weeks. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week flew by super fast. On Monday we found a lot of people when we started teaching a huge family. There are a lot of small streets here where people are always outside. We started teaching a family and a bunch of the kids that are always in the street. It is a lot of fun as it seems like we are teaching an entire primary. We worked with them during the week and a few of them went to Church!
On a couple of the other days, we went with President to help him do meetings with each of the zones. I went with him to the center of the city one day and then the other day I stayed with the executive secretary in my area. It was a great day. We taught a lot of people. A member took us to a churrascaria this week. It is like Tucanos in Utah. It was fantastic. Brazillian barbeque is so delicious.
It has been a little hard because we are teaching a lot of people, but not many want to accept and change their lives. It is extremely hard when they see that sin is normal in the world. We will keep looking and helping people and I know that we will find people and that through Jesus Christ they will change their lives. I have seen that many times we need to have faith in God and in His timing. Even when it is hard, we need to keep working. It is in these moments that our faith grows and miracles happen. In one meeting this transfer someone said that faith is like a muscle. If we put it in a jar and forget about it and then go back to use it every once and a while we won't have any faith left. We always need to exercise our faith and in the times when we need it, we will have it and God will be there to strengthen us even more. I am grateful for the difficulties that we have. I have learned to have more faith and I am sure that the Lord is preparing people and we will have many miracles in the coming weeks. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Monday, April 16, 2018
Olá!
This week was yet again another week of meetings. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had our multi-zone conferences. Each day had 3 of our 6 zones. We were responsible for getting it all setup and conducting. It went really well. We learned a lot. In the morning President invited some members from other wards who served missions to train us on how to teach and other teaching techniques. It was fantastic. I learned so much. In the afternoon I gave a training on inviting people to read The Book of Mormon. I feel like it went really well. We do the training in three separate groups so I gave the training six times, but each time felt even better and better. Practice helps a lot.
The rest of the week we worked together in our area. It was great. We have been very tired with all of these meetings so we prayed, fasted and went to work. We have not been finding a lot of people that were progressing and wanting to go to church, but this week we were able to teach a lot of new people and found so many people that are ready to hear our message. It was miracle after miracle and while we were teaching, the spirit was so strong. I remember one family that we found that everything just clicked. They felt the Spirit and will be baptized here in a few weeks. Kimberly has been progressing a lot also. Her aunt still has not let her be baptized, but I feel like it will all work out soon.
This week we had stake conference. We were able to take a few people as it was far away. A lot of recent converts went as well so it was great to see them there. One recent convert is even singing in the choir. We didn't know until we got there and looked up and saw her. It is great to see the changes in the lives of those we have taught. I really enjoyed stake conference here and with all of these meetings I have felt the Spirit testifying to me that this is the work of the Lord and I am excited to keep working. I know that the Lord lives. He has helped us so much these weeks and I hope to keep working so that He can bless us even more. Thank you all for your love and support.
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week was yet again another week of meetings. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had our multi-zone conferences. Each day had 3 of our 6 zones. We were responsible for getting it all setup and conducting. It went really well. We learned a lot. In the morning President invited some members from other wards who served missions to train us on how to teach and other teaching techniques. It was fantastic. I learned so much. In the afternoon I gave a training on inviting people to read The Book of Mormon. I feel like it went really well. We do the training in three separate groups so I gave the training six times, but each time felt even better and better. Practice helps a lot.
The rest of the week we worked together in our area. It was great. We have been very tired with all of these meetings so we prayed, fasted and went to work. We have not been finding a lot of people that were progressing and wanting to go to church, but this week we were able to teach a lot of new people and found so many people that are ready to hear our message. It was miracle after miracle and while we were teaching, the spirit was so strong. I remember one family that we found that everything just clicked. They felt the Spirit and will be baptized here in a few weeks. Kimberly has been progressing a lot also. Her aunt still has not let her be baptized, but I feel like it will all work out soon.
This week we had stake conference. We were able to take a few people as it was far away. A lot of recent converts went as well so it was great to see them there. One recent convert is even singing in the choir. We didn't know until we got there and looked up and saw her. It is great to see the changes in the lives of those we have taught. I really enjoyed stake conference here and with all of these meetings I have felt the Spirit testifying to me that this is the work of the Lord and I am excited to keep working. I know that the Lord lives. He has helped us so much these weeks and I hope to keep working so that He can bless us even more. Thank you all for your love and support.
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Monday, April 9, 2018
Olá!
This week went by super fast and I feel that I don't have many things to say as the week was full of meetings, but I will explain a little about what we did. On Tuesday we had a meeting with the new missionaries. They are great. That meeting is always exciting. On Wednesday we had a meeting with the leadership of the mission. It was fantastic. President talked about our purpose of why we are here. Why the work is so important. It showed me that the work we do has eternal consequences and that we can help others change their lives through Jesus Christ. Thursday we had a meeting with the District Leaders. It was a good meeting where we explain to them their responsibilities.
That was all of the meetings and then on Friday and Saturday, we were in our area. Actually, I went on an exchange to my old area Novo Osasco! It was a lot of fun. It is weird going back to a place you have already been. I was able to see a lot of people I had met there including Luan! It was great to see him again. He is doing great and has been going to Church, seminary and has been learning a lot. That exchange was great and then on Saturday Elder Lucas and I were together. We invited a lot of people to go to Church and also had an açaí that day which was great because I have not had açaí in so long. Açaí is a fruit that they make into an ice cream and put fruit and other stuff on top. It is so good.
On Sunday Kimberly went to Church which was great. She has been learning so much. She thinks that she is still not ready to be baptized and needs to learn more, but she knows so much already and we explained that her baptism will help her learn more and grow. She is super excited, but also nervous. It has been hard for her because so many people tell her that she is making the wrong choice. The great thing is that she is listening to the Spirit. She said that she received an answer from God and that she won't give up. I think that it is true that there is so much opposition in the Church because that is how it was in the life of Jesus Christ. His ministry was not easy, so neither is ours. The amazing promise though is that we will not be left alone. Christ will always lift us up and help us in all things that we do. I am so grateful for that promise.
As one last story of the week, last night we got a call from a sister who did not have enough money to check in her bags at the airport. It was 3 am and there was no way to send her money other than getting in a car and going there. We talked to President and he sent me and Elder Smith(the executive secretary) in an Uber there and back to help her out. It was tiring, but she was able to check in her luggage and get on her flight. We got back at around 7 and had a meeting with President. We then just got back from going to Wendy's with him. There are only two wendy's here. It is more of an upscale hamburger place here. It was super good. It was great to eat a frosty again. :) It was a fantastic week. We are going to have more meetings this week, but I am happy to be in the work of the Lord. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week went by super fast and I feel that I don't have many things to say as the week was full of meetings, but I will explain a little about what we did. On Tuesday we had a meeting with the new missionaries. They are great. That meeting is always exciting. On Wednesday we had a meeting with the leadership of the mission. It was fantastic. President talked about our purpose of why we are here. Why the work is so important. It showed me that the work we do has eternal consequences and that we can help others change their lives through Jesus Christ. Thursday we had a meeting with the District Leaders. It was a good meeting where we explain to them their responsibilities.
That was all of the meetings and then on Friday and Saturday, we were in our area. Actually, I went on an exchange to my old area Novo Osasco! It was a lot of fun. It is weird going back to a place you have already been. I was able to see a lot of people I had met there including Luan! It was great to see him again. He is doing great and has been going to Church, seminary and has been learning a lot. That exchange was great and then on Saturday Elder Lucas and I were together. We invited a lot of people to go to Church and also had an açaí that day which was great because I have not had açaí in so long. Açaí is a fruit that they make into an ice cream and put fruit and other stuff on top. It is so good.
On Sunday Kimberly went to Church which was great. She has been learning so much. She thinks that she is still not ready to be baptized and needs to learn more, but she knows so much already and we explained that her baptism will help her learn more and grow. She is super excited, but also nervous. It has been hard for her because so many people tell her that she is making the wrong choice. The great thing is that she is listening to the Spirit. She said that she received an answer from God and that she won't give up. I think that it is true that there is so much opposition in the Church because that is how it was in the life of Jesus Christ. His ministry was not easy, so neither is ours. The amazing promise though is that we will not be left alone. Christ will always lift us up and help us in all things that we do. I am so grateful for that promise.
As one last story of the week, last night we got a call from a sister who did not have enough money to check in her bags at the airport. It was 3 am and there was no way to send her money other than getting in a car and going there. We talked to President and he sent me and Elder Smith(the executive secretary) in an Uber there and back to help her out. It was tiring, but she was able to check in her luggage and get on her flight. We got back at around 7 and had a meeting with President. We then just got back from going to Wendy's with him. There are only two wendy's here. It is more of an upscale hamburger place here. It was super good. It was great to eat a frosty again. :) It was a fantastic week. We are going to have more meetings this week, but I am happy to be in the work of the Lord. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
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| Here is one of me and a couple of good friends I have made here on the mission |
Monday, April 2, 2018
Olá!
This week went great. It has been raining a lot. It makes it a lot harder to talk to people on the street, but we were still able to meet and teach some people. One day this week I did an exchange in paraísopolis which is one of the largest favelas in Brazil. A favela is an area where people just start build up houses. I will try to send a picture. It was pretty crazy. There are so many people there. Everyone is super welcoming. It is extremely easy to teach people, but it is hard for them to progress and go to church because of the poverty and sin that surround them. I really enjoyed the experience though that we had to meet some people and hopefully bring a little bit of light into their lives.
Conference was amazing! Everyone here is super excited about Elder Soares. He is Brazillian. I watched conference in President Thomas' house on Saturday which was a lot of fun. I think all of the changes are extremely inspired. We saw a lot of these changes on the mission in the past also. Focussing less on numbers and more on people and true conversion. I really liked President Nelson's talk and also Elder Uchtdorf's talk. There were so many good talks though. I just loved the focus on us being more like Christ and receiving revelation for ourselves. I think it is great advice to everyone to stay optimistic, but also watch your step in the world. We also must always stay united and help others. I hope to be able to use what I learned this weekend in my life and in my mission. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week went great. It has been raining a lot. It makes it a lot harder to talk to people on the street, but we were still able to meet and teach some people. One day this week I did an exchange in paraísopolis which is one of the largest favelas in Brazil. A favela is an area where people just start build up houses. I will try to send a picture. It was pretty crazy. There are so many people there. Everyone is super welcoming. It is extremely easy to teach people, but it is hard for them to progress and go to church because of the poverty and sin that surround them. I really enjoyed the experience though that we had to meet some people and hopefully bring a little bit of light into their lives.
Conference was amazing! Everyone here is super excited about Elder Soares. He is Brazillian. I watched conference in President Thomas' house on Saturday which was a lot of fun. I think all of the changes are extremely inspired. We saw a lot of these changes on the mission in the past also. Focussing less on numbers and more on people and true conversion. I really liked President Nelson's talk and also Elder Uchtdorf's talk. There were so many good talks though. I just loved the focus on us being more like Christ and receiving revelation for ourselves. I think it is great advice to everyone to stay optimistic, but also watch your step in the world. We also must always stay united and help others. I hope to be able to use what I learned this weekend in my life and in my mission. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
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