Olá!

This week went very well! It was a pretty normal week. On Tuesday we had a flu shot and I went to the federal police because all Americans have to for visa procedures. We only had one other meeting this week! It was a meeting with the new missionaries. It is weird that it was the last training that I will give with Elder Lucas because he will be heading home. We did all of these trainings 6 times together. I will do all of them one or two more times. I have seen that the Lord has helped so much with all of these meetings and I have learned so much.

One other great day this week is that on Saturday we had an activity with our ward. We organized all of the investigators that the missionaries taught in the past and we sent out the members to visit them with a little present that had the Book of Mormon and an Ensign. We also had a lunch. It was great. Everyone was super excited and we are going to teach a lot of new people because of it!

Sunday was fantastic also because we had lunch with Mateus because it was his birthday! He turned 20. He is a great guy and we have come to be close friends. After, we watched the Restoration film with a family that we are teaching. They felt the spirit strongly so it was a great day and it seems like they are progressing a lot. We are especially excited for them! I am so happy when people accept and are willing to follow Christ. It is a great time to be a missionary. There are so many people who are ready to hear the gospel message. I am grateful to be here and I can't wait to keep working until the end of the mission. Thank you all for your love and support!

Amo vocês!

Elder Johnson

Olá!

This week flew by and I don't have a whole lot to say about what happened because it was pretty normal. We have been working quite a bit to find new investigators to teach. It has been a little hard since we have been in the area for so long and many times we talk with the same people on the street, so now we are trying new ways to find people. The ward is extremely excited and we are too. We are going to do a couple of activities this week to invite a lot of new people to come to church and be taught. We are also going to do an English class and also go out with all the members to make new contacts and visit old investigators. It will be an exciting week.

This last week I also had the chance to do divisions with Elder Eggers. He was in the office a little while so we have gotten to know each other. It was a lot of fun and it was a very effective day. A sad moment from this week is that we were teaching Fran who is an older lady and she was ready for baptism. She even stopped drinking coffee and was excited to invite all of her friends. One day we saw her on the street and it seemed like she was avoiding us. We went and talked to her, but she said that she was giving up. She doesn't want to go to church anymore and doesn't want to be taught. It was super sad to see because she is such a sweet lady and was changing her life. We saw a huge difference in her life. We think that her friends told her a lot of negative things about the church and for that she doesn't want to go anymore. I hope that she returns one day. We are going to still try to visit her and some members will go there also. It is sad when someone is so close, but they decide not to follow. We  I know that the Lord loves her and wants her to follow Him and so I hope that she remembers the things we taught her and that it blesses her and helps her have the desire in the future to follow.

We have also been teaching a great family, but this week they were not able to go to church because they had to visit a family member on the other side of the city. We were super sad, but then in the afternoon they called us and said that they felt that they needed to go to church, so they found a church there and went to a self-reliance course that was going on after the meetings there. It is amazing that their hearts were touched and they decided to go, even if it were just a random meeting that was going on in the church. I hope that the Lord continues to guide them and that they continue to follow.

I have seen the difference that the Lord makes in our lives. When we follow the Savior, though it may be difficult, we always become better. I have seen that in my life especially on the mission. I am grateful that the Lord has changed my life and I hope that I can continue changing to be more like Jesus Christ. Thank you all for your love and support!

Amo vocês!

Elder Johnson

Olá!

We had a lot of meetings this week, but it was great! On Monday we had our weekly meeting with President. We planned out the rest of the meetings for this week and the rest of the day we were preparing for the week. On Tuesday we had a meeting with all of the new missionaries. It was great. The missionaries are always so excited to start the mission so it is one of my favorite trainings.

On Wednesday we had a meeting with all the Zone Leaders in the mission. It was a really great meeting also. Thursday was a normal day for us and then on Friday, we had one last meeting with all the District Leaders. I really enjoyed the meetings this last week. They helped me a lot and I feel like it was a great week to start our transfer.

On Sunday we had the confirmations of Lana and Rayssa. It was fantastic. I loved seeing them there and they even took a friend so it was a great sacrament meeting on Sunday. After we had the opportunity to talk with our families. It was amazing. I loved seeing everyone. It felt like the time went by so fast, but I love my family and am so grateful for the technology we have to be able to talk on other sides of the world. I would also love to say that I am so grateful for my mother. She has always helped me so much. I have learned so many lessons from her of faith, hope, charity and all other attributes of Christ. She has always been an example to me and I am so grateful to be her son. I love you, mom!

It has been really crazy today, and my time is up, but thank you all for your love and support!

Amo vocês!

Elder Johnson

 Olá!

This week was fantastic! It was the last week of our transfer and we were trying to work really hard. This transfer has been difficult because we feel like we have worked so hard, but there has not been a lot of progress. These last couple of weeks we have seen a lot of miracles though. We have found a lot more people who seem to want to hear about the message and follow Jesus Christ. This week two of these people were baptized! Lana and Rayssa are two little sisters who we met a couple of weeks ago. They are 10 and 9 years old and they have been going to Church and were so excited for their baptism.

On Sunday we got to their house and Lana and Rayssa were ready to go at 8:30. They had woken up at 7 and got ready all by themselves. They were even using little hairbands that some members gave them. They went to Church and were so happy. We also had some other investigators at church and it was an amazing fast and testimony meeting. I heard some of the most touching testimonies I have ever heard. It also helped so many of our investigators feel the Spirit.

After Church, we got everything ready for the baptism. We went and picked up the girls and a lot of members went also. It was an amazingly sweet baptism. The messages were great. Another little girl that is a member bore her testimony. She was so nervous, but she bore a sweet and powerful testimony. The Spirit was so strong during the entire meeting and especially when they were baptized. After the baptism, Lana came up and told me and Elder Lucas, "I will never forget you".  It was such an amazing moment. They come from difficult families and I have seen that through their faith, they have changed their lives. We were only tools in the hands of the Lord. I know that He is the one that makes these miracles happen and I know I will never forget these precious moments and these amazing daughters of God.

I know that this is the work of the Lord. I have never had such a strong testimony of that. I know that this is His Church. He leads us and guides us. I am so grateful for these experiences that I am having. Thank you all for your love and support!

Amo vocês!

Elder Johnson

Lana and Rayssa

Kentucky in Brazil!

We didn't see the movie, just the poster!

The Food Group to rule them all.