Semana 3: Semana 3!!!‏

If I only had time to explain the craziest week of my life in 40 minutes… Well I guess I'll try! Just wow. If you’re wondering if God is there or not, he is. Just trust me. And then read the Book of Mormon, any verse, and then pray... and then you won’t have to trust me because he will answer your prayers!

 Ok so first.. I wish I could explain the growth and experiences I’ve been going through this week. I can’t fully describe these feelings because it’s just what happens on the mission. Can’t describe it. Got to go on one to know what it feels like! 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CANDY AND STUFF!! But although I love candy, those letters are the greatest thing in the entire world. Man so much happened since last Monday..

Ok so Tuesday morn at 5am all the 6 weekers and Latinos left for their missions and that kinda stunk cuz we didn’t get a lot of sleep. But remember that Latino that said I’m beautiful? Ya I gave him a tie and he gave me a tie and it was way cool. Awesome guy. Also, everyone says that the food in Honduras is so great. So I’m way excited for that. Also should probably say I’ve gained 10 pounds in 3 weeks.. hahaha and I’m getting a whole lot stronger.. Pretty sure it has to do with the promise somewhere in the d and c about going on a mission.. Like I did 160 pushups in 20 minutes and I’ve never been able to do 30 hahah its sweet! But anyways ummmm ya, so I haven’t lived in the MTC for like 9 days now....

6 of us live in the house next door to the Temple with another 12 from different districts! It’s crazy awesome. So look up online and see where the Temple is and see the CCM and then look at that gas station on google maps that is right in between, because that’s where all the stories are. Ah only 30 minutes.. ok but I'll talk about that in a sec!

We went to the market on Tuesday in a huge bus and its a whole different world there. This is such a nice part of Guatemala. But okay I bought a hammock that’s stinkin’ sweet for 20 bucks and a sweet Barcelona jersey for like 5 bucks. Thought I'd like to tell you that. But that wasn’t even the great part! So it's kinda like the swap meet in Hawaii but it's underground and dark and a billion people and everyone is talking in Spanish that they definitely do not teach at the CCM haha! So we had plan of salvation folletos and 1 libro de mormon to place. So we go walking and I was kinda nervous at first but then I was like woa woa woa.. I have been called of God to preach His gospel.. this is why I’m here. So next lady I see. She’s sitting down and we kinda talk to her and I barely understand her, or what she’s saying, but I tell her we have a message about Jesus Christ, would you like to hear more.. in Spanish and I ask if she would like to have this BOM to come to closer to God and she said something that I didn't understand and didn't take it but she did take a plan of salvation pamphlet.. The story has more to it. Also have tons of pics I'll send in 3 weeks and Elder Bergstrom got a pic of us talking to that lady. It’s so cool. But so we move on and we place another folleto to a guy that had a family and his name was Jesus and he was awesome. Just worked there at the market. And then we placed a BOM to a woman I bought that jersey from. And so a couple minutes later Elder Fackrell came up to me and was like "did you guys give a lady a pamphlet over there?" and he then said that he was watching her for a while and she didn’t put it down! She kept reading it! And it brought more joy than I’ve ever felt before! Like it was so amazing! Idk where she is but she just read a tiny portion of where we came from, why we're here, and that families can be together forever! That can pierce anyone’s heart. So then we went to Wendy’s and it was amazing. Got to move on cuz no time.

So ya, we don’t live in the CCM anymore haha it's so great! We live about 4 min away and there’s like 5 guards the whole way that talk in their microphone to each other when we go. Not gonna lie, it's way cool. The room is tinier than tiny and we have 5 guys in a room and it smells terrible but it's like an apartment so there is a bottom and that’s where families stay to go to the temple. So cool. Met this kid named Nefi one morning (there’s just people that come and go all the time its confusing to all of us haha) and he was cool. So we walk back and forth from the CCM about 4 times a day because morn, deportes, and evening. So we try to talk and place BOMs every time but it's hard cuz everyone walks fast. But we’ve had a couple talking’s to. I’ll share one crazy one with you. So there are these 4 guys sitting there and we go up to em and they say hola elderes! And tell us to sit down and then we realize that these guys are drunker than drunk. And so we talk to em for about 20 min and it's really hard to understand these guys and Elder McNeily has taken 5 years of Spanish so he really is almost fluent in it, and so these guys basically just wanted to prove us wrong and Bible bash so it was hard. But it was a good experience. But these guys were so drunk one of em just got up and started peeing on the tree next to us and he was really considerate because he had his back to us but then another guy got up and peed on a pole right by the busy road and right in front of us. Way weird. But we were able to bear our testimony and one took a plan of salvation folletos. 

Ok I really have no time. So this week we heard from Elder Bednar Christmas devotional of last year and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. All of you. Go look it up. And also Elder Macfarlane and I taught the entire first discussion in Spanish this week. Definitely was the Lord blessing me with the gift of tongues because the next day he humbled me and Spanish was a whole different language again. But I have the first vision memorized and baptismal prayer and questions and I’m working a lot on other things. Also, on page 200 in the Libro de Mormon and ever since I’ve started reading, I haven’t been stressed. I’ve felt pressured but now I just have faith that it will come. It would be a lie to say I don’t get discouraged because I do a lot but that’s ok. It’s different than what it was 2 weeks or a week ago! It’s so cool. 

Ok there’s about 100 other things I want to and could talk about, but as a district we sang in sacrament and I had to talk in Spanish and give a talk in sacrament as well, even though I bore my testimony the week before! haha! That’s another amazing experience. Also heard from one of the 70 yesterday. Wish I had time to talk about that.

Remember. You are a force to act. NOT be acted upon. Satan will tell you otherwise. Also! Teach everyone you see! Wish I woulda done that!

Also, need Mimi’s address because I don’t have it memorized.. Sorry! Sent letters this week to Sissa because our address I can no longer use! And you should get a letter probably in 3 days right before you leave cuz i sent it last week! 

I’m thankful this week for hymns, ties, new home, new teacher, pruebas, hair, pillows, hammocks, family, don de lenguas, pictures, letters, Joseph Smith, apostles, ability to change.

There’s more. So much more. But I guess ill tell you in 2! haha! Love you all! Thanks for everything! 

-Elder Johnson