Olá!
We had a great week! I don't have a lot of time, but I will talk about some of the best parts.
This week we had a course of self-reliance where we talked about work and education after the mission. They gave us some good guides to look at. The best part was after when we went to the temple with President and Sister Thomas. It was a great experience to be there with them. They are such great people and I am grateful for everything they have taught me.
The other great part this week is that we had a baptism! His name is Pietro. He is 10 years old. His mother and grandmother are members are members, but were not going to church. One day they stopped there to use the restroom and as they were leaving Pietro said that he felt the spirit so strongly on the church grounds and that he never wanted to leave. We have been teaching him for a couple of months and he was baptized on Sunday.
I now have one more companion. We will be together in a trio for my last couple of weeks. I am very excited and am super happy to be working in this great work. I have seen so many miracles and know that God is in control and is guiding so many people to the truth. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Monday, July 30, 2018
Monday, July 23, 2018
Olá!
This week was a lot more normal. We only had one division so the first half of the week we were working together in our area. We had a great district meeting on Wednesday with President that helped us work hard. This area has a lot of buildings which makes it harder to talk to a lot of people on the street, but we saw that as we tried to talk to more people, we were able to find people in our path that were ready to hear the gospel message.
One of these people is Larissa. She has an aunt who is returning to church and when we went to the Aunt's house we met her and taught her the Restoration. It was a fantastic lesson and she has started to read the Book of Mormon. Another person is Angelica. She is living with a family of members while she is studying here in São Paulo. She is a great person who definitely has soooo many questions. It is fun to answer those questions because I have also learned so much as I have tried to respond to her doubts. I find that amazing. We can learn so much as we search and ask God for inspiration.
Our division was a lot of fun. I was with a guy from Minas Gerais. It is a different style. He is a funny guy. We were able to learn a lot together and eat a pizza at the end of the night. I think you all have seen how much pizza we eat. It is soooo good! I will miss the pizza here when I go home.
Sunday was a great day as we had a few people at church and President was there. His testimony in sacrament meeting was great. He is an amazing person and has always inspired me. He talked about grace. I am so grateful for grace. That Christ has the power to qualify us and save us if we repent and follow Him. I have learned so much more about why this power is so important to everyone who lives on this earth. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and for the opportunity to represent Him here in Brasil. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Funny Story - A man got really mad at us this week saying that we kill native Americans because we are missionaries. That was a new one. haha
This week was a lot more normal. We only had one division so the first half of the week we were working together in our area. We had a great district meeting on Wednesday with President that helped us work hard. This area has a lot of buildings which makes it harder to talk to a lot of people on the street, but we saw that as we tried to talk to more people, we were able to find people in our path that were ready to hear the gospel message.
One of these people is Larissa. She has an aunt who is returning to church and when we went to the Aunt's house we met her and taught her the Restoration. It was a fantastic lesson and she has started to read the Book of Mormon. Another person is Angelica. She is living with a family of members while she is studying here in São Paulo. She is a great person who definitely has soooo many questions. It is fun to answer those questions because I have also learned so much as I have tried to respond to her doubts. I find that amazing. We can learn so much as we search and ask God for inspiration.
Our division was a lot of fun. I was with a guy from Minas Gerais. It is a different style. He is a funny guy. We were able to learn a lot together and eat a pizza at the end of the night. I think you all have seen how much pizza we eat. It is soooo good! I will miss the pizza here when I go home.
Sunday was a great day as we had a few people at church and President was there. His testimony in sacrament meeting was great. He is an amazing person and has always inspired me. He talked about grace. I am so grateful for grace. That Christ has the power to qualify us and save us if we repent and follow Him. I have learned so much more about why this power is so important to everyone who lives on this earth. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and for the opportunity to represent Him here in Brasil. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Funny Story - A man got really mad at us this week saying that we kill native Americans because we are missionaries. That was a new one. haha
Monday, July 16, 2018
Olá!
This week was fantastic. Again we had a couple of exchanges so I traveled a little bit. The first couple of days I was in my area with Elder Smith. It was full of miracles! We are finding more people which is exciting for us so that we can teach a lot more. I have seen that if we do our best, God will do the rest. It is not easy, but it is worth it.
The first exchange that I did was in Baronesa, Osasco which is about an hour from here. It is a very different area. A lot more open. It is easy to enter into people's houses. We also did a couple of baptismal interviews. It was great. I met a fantastic family that the other missionaries have prepared. It was amazing to talk to them and see a united family that is so excited to follow the gospel.
The second exchange I did was in the center of São Paulo. It was a lot of fun to work in the city. It is a lot like New York. We took the subway around and there are a lot of buildings. I wish I could have taken a couple of pictures. It has a really big city feel to it. That is good because I like the city, but it is also hard to stop people and talk to them because they are always running. It was a really good exchange though and I am glad that I got to know another missionary and another part of the area.
The last couple of days we worked in the area and are having a great time together. The members here are fantastic. I love the work and am excited to see people preparing to be baptized and show that they want to follow Jesus Christ. It truly is a blessing to be apart of this Church and this work. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week was fantastic. Again we had a couple of exchanges so I traveled a little bit. The first couple of days I was in my area with Elder Smith. It was full of miracles! We are finding more people which is exciting for us so that we can teach a lot more. I have seen that if we do our best, God will do the rest. It is not easy, but it is worth it.
The first exchange that I did was in Baronesa, Osasco which is about an hour from here. It is a very different area. A lot more open. It is easy to enter into people's houses. We also did a couple of baptismal interviews. It was great. I met a fantastic family that the other missionaries have prepared. It was amazing to talk to them and see a united family that is so excited to follow the gospel.
The second exchange I did was in the center of São Paulo. It was a lot of fun to work in the city. It is a lot like New York. We took the subway around and there are a lot of buildings. I wish I could have taken a couple of pictures. It has a really big city feel to it. That is good because I like the city, but it is also hard to stop people and talk to them because they are always running. It was a really good exchange though and I am glad that I got to know another missionary and another part of the area.
The last couple of days we worked in the area and are having a great time together. The members here are fantastic. I love the work and am excited to see people preparing to be baptized and show that they want to follow Jesus Christ. It truly is a blessing to be apart of this Church and this work. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Monday, July 9, 2018
Olá!
This week went well. Happy late 4th of July. We celebrated here by eating McDonald's. It was pretty good. This week we had a couple of divisions. The first one was with Paraísopolis again. This time I stayed in my area. It was good. I am in a new area so on these days I have to work hard to have a lot of plans, but it was a good day. I learned a lot and we were able to find a lot of people. This area doesn't have as many people on the road so when there is one it is fun because you basically run after them.
The second division was with Novo Osasco. It is an area I have been in so it was fun to be back there. We had a good day and I saw a few people that I met there which was great. I saw Luan which is a young man that I taught and baptized there and he is doing well. It is nice to see the progress of people after baptism.
We only had one meeting this week. It might be the last meeting that I run as I don't know if I will be assistant next transfer. I really enjoyed the training that we did. I have seen how much I have learned since the first training and now. We were with the new missionaries and it is fun to see them entering. I know that they will do a great job here in the mission. They are always so excited and willing to learn.
In our area we are doing well. We have a couple of people who will be baptized this month. Pietro is a young boy who is super excited. His mom and grandma are returning to church and he said that the only thing that he wants is to be baptized and always go to church. We are also teaching a member's girlfriend. She also said that she has a huge desire to be baptized. I have seen that the Lord is truly preparing people. We have found both of these people and they have the desire even without inviting them. They were amazed when they found out that they could be baptized this month. I am so excited to teach and prepare them.
This area is not as crazy as past areas so I don't have very many stories. The best one from this week is that a guy was saying that Neymar(A Brazillian soccer player) was called by God to win the world cup for Brasil. Sadly, they lost, but maybe his prophecy will come true in 4 years. I was sad that Brasil lost. It was super crazy here every game day. I was happy to see a little bit of the Brazillian spirit. I love the people here and am grateful for all of the experiences I have had here. Thank you all for your love and support.
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week went well. Happy late 4th of July. We celebrated here by eating McDonald's. It was pretty good. This week we had a couple of divisions. The first one was with Paraísopolis again. This time I stayed in my area. It was good. I am in a new area so on these days I have to work hard to have a lot of plans, but it was a good day. I learned a lot and we were able to find a lot of people. This area doesn't have as many people on the road so when there is one it is fun because you basically run after them.
The second division was with Novo Osasco. It is an area I have been in so it was fun to be back there. We had a good day and I saw a few people that I met there which was great. I saw Luan which is a young man that I taught and baptized there and he is doing well. It is nice to see the progress of people after baptism.
We only had one meeting this week. It might be the last meeting that I run as I don't know if I will be assistant next transfer. I really enjoyed the training that we did. I have seen how much I have learned since the first training and now. We were with the new missionaries and it is fun to see them entering. I know that they will do a great job here in the mission. They are always so excited and willing to learn.
In our area we are doing well. We have a couple of people who will be baptized this month. Pietro is a young boy who is super excited. His mom and grandma are returning to church and he said that the only thing that he wants is to be baptized and always go to church. We are also teaching a member's girlfriend. She also said that she has a huge desire to be baptized. I have seen that the Lord is truly preparing people. We have found both of these people and they have the desire even without inviting them. They were amazed when they found out that they could be baptized this month. I am so excited to teach and prepare them.
This area is not as crazy as past areas so I don't have very many stories. The best one from this week is that a guy was saying that Neymar(A Brazillian soccer player) was called by God to win the world cup for Brasil. Sadly, they lost, but maybe his prophecy will come true in 4 years. I was sad that Brasil lost. It was super crazy here every game day. I was happy to see a little bit of the Brazillian spirit. I love the people here and am grateful for all of the experiences I have had here. Thank you all for your love and support.
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
Monday, July 2, 2018
Olá!
This week went well! We had a couple of really cool things this week. First off we had a mission tour with Elder Parrella. He is a member of the Area Presidency. I have now had a mission tour with all of the members of the Brazil Presidency. It was a great meeting. He talked a lot about how if we are obedient and have high expectations and work hard that we will see miracles. I know that it is true. This new area is a lot different because it is in a big city and so there are not as many people on the street and people are not as receptive, but we are working hard and I have seen so many miracles. Usually, not a lot happens when we knock on doors or talk with people on the street, but when we do that, people just appear in our path. It is incredible and makes me want to work even harder, because even if everything falls through, I know that if I do my part, God will do His. We are teaching a few people that have a lot of potential.
We also did a couple of exchanges this week. I was able to stay with a new American in the new area here. It was funny because I have only been here for a week, so it was kind of like, well... I will just go out there and get it done. It was a good day. On the other day, I went to the north of São Paulo. It was a good exchange with a missionary that I have known for a while now. I just love working here with everyone. The mission is great.
One crazy thing that has been happening here is World Cup. Brazilians love Copa do Mundo (world cup). For example, today is P-Day. We went to the mall and people were watching there because everything was closed down. Literally every store other than a couple of restaurants. Everyone was in the food court. We can't watch the game so we just were there kind of watching them watch the game. When there was a goal everyone started screaming and jumping up and down. It was so loud. It was awesome. Brazil is doing well. It kind of makes people more receptive because they are super excited. It also is hard during the times of the games because everyone is watching. But we will keep working. It is a fun experience to see their culture here during this time.
I am so grateful for the mission. It is an amazing experience and I will always remember these times here. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
This week went well! We had a couple of really cool things this week. First off we had a mission tour with Elder Parrella. He is a member of the Area Presidency. I have now had a mission tour with all of the members of the Brazil Presidency. It was a great meeting. He talked a lot about how if we are obedient and have high expectations and work hard that we will see miracles. I know that it is true. This new area is a lot different because it is in a big city and so there are not as many people on the street and people are not as receptive, but we are working hard and I have seen so many miracles. Usually, not a lot happens when we knock on doors or talk with people on the street, but when we do that, people just appear in our path. It is incredible and makes me want to work even harder, because even if everything falls through, I know that if I do my part, God will do His. We are teaching a few people that have a lot of potential.
We also did a couple of exchanges this week. I was able to stay with a new American in the new area here. It was funny because I have only been here for a week, so it was kind of like, well... I will just go out there and get it done. It was a good day. On the other day, I went to the north of São Paulo. It was a good exchange with a missionary that I have known for a while now. I just love working here with everyone. The mission is great.
One crazy thing that has been happening here is World Cup. Brazilians love Copa do Mundo (world cup). For example, today is P-Day. We went to the mall and people were watching there because everything was closed down. Literally every store other than a couple of restaurants. Everyone was in the food court. We can't watch the game so we just were there kind of watching them watch the game. When there was a goal everyone started screaming and jumping up and down. It was so loud. It was awesome. Brazil is doing well. It kind of makes people more receptive because they are super excited. It also is hard during the times of the games because everyone is watching. But we will keep working. It is a fun experience to see their culture here during this time.
I am so grateful for the mission. It is an amazing experience and I will always remember these times here. Thank you all for your love and support!
Amo vocês!
Elder Johnson
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