Monday, May 18, 2015

May 18th 2015

Hey All! so I don't have any time because we just got done serving for like 4 hours and I'm so stinking burnt, but actually our p-day is Wednesday because we're going to the Temple (Whoo!) and we're just writing today. But I am sooooo happy it's not even funny. I never want to change comps because I flippn love Elder Borge. He seriously is like a new man but the same. We have such a blast and work so hard and I don't know what else to say. Ha! Found out we're going to have Elder Neil. A. Anderson as our mission president for a week while the new president comes. That's pretty AMAZING!!! This position is really fun because you get to know all the missionaries. Tons of stuff happened but I gotta go!

This week I'm thankful for E. Borge, crappy handwriting, scrips, service, ukulele, Elder Corey, Guiamaca!!!, the change because of the mission, crazy dreams, being happy!

Oh one thing! I need to say!

NOBODY/NOTHING CAN TAKE FROM YOU YOUR HAPPINESS.
Think about it. :)

~Elder Johnson

Fam Mar**

This is Hermano Fortunato!! 1st Member in Choluteca like 45 years ago and he sells pan and is so AMAZING!



Saying goodbye to everyone


She's my favorite!

Amazing Fam


SERVICE!!


Elder Corey and I bought matching DUCK TIES!

Monday, May 11, 2015

May 11th 2015

Hands down craziest 2hours/week ever. 
Got a call about an hour ago.. I'm leaving Campamento... so I'll talk about that for a sec. This week FINALLY we saw miracles and people wanting to be baptized, mainly Mar**!!! She told us she wants to be baptized and married to Al**! So it was gonna be the first fam! And we've worked and worked and prayed and fasted for her.. and now I'm leaving.. hurts a lot. Also, we've found golden investigators and this area is ready now. but here's the thing... I'm going to stinkin Guiamaca.... 20 min away....... as a ZL..... WITH MY FLIPN DAD!! ELDER BORGE!! IS THIS REAL LIFE? #davidgoestothedentist 
So I basically had a ton of stuff to say but forgot it all because I cant stop thinking I'm leaving.. I thought I was staying for sure at least one more change.... I'M WITH MY DAD!!!!!! What the poooppp!! WE'RE GONNA GO CRAZY!! LIKE IT'S GONNA BE SOOO AWESOME! but still. I'm gonna cry leaving Campa. Although we didn't baptize as a companionship, I love this place because I learned to really REALLY dig deep. It was a hard people to love but now that I love em so much, it's even harder to leave. But the good thing is we'll be here every week for district mtgs and intercambios so I'll be able to work here still! But ya.. today is gonna be crazy. and I'm sick. haha. I'm always sick when we have changes. But we had a reunion with Pres Fortuna with the leaders and BOOM SHAKKA LAKA. Let me just share what the def of faith is. ¨la fe es la dedicacion y determinacion a CONVINCER el Senor que quiere exito.¨or faith is the dedication and determination to CONVINCE the Lord you want success!!¨ have you ever thought about that? CONVINCING the Lord? I love that. and we convince the Lord when we are exactly obedient and put our faith in God. As well, wanted to thank Skyler for the talk he gave me.. we´re gonna shock the world in Guiamaca!! I'm sick, I'm pumped, I'm tired, I'm nervous, I'm excited, and I'm ready to roll babayyy.
Also BEST MOTHERS DAY EVERRRRRRRRR!! MY FAM IS DA BOMB. I miss them a lot, but I'm happy where I am. :) SO HAPPY. Love this work.
This week I'm thankful for me fam, Mother's Day, greatest pueblo ever, new changes, prayers, having money, my district, my fam here in Campa, the Lord, my ukele, letters, pics, crazy things that happen only in the mission hahah, MY LIFE.
--
-Elder Alec Johnson

¨And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don´t believe in magic will never find it.¨-Roald Dahl

MATEO 5:14 SOIS LA LUZ DEL MUNDO!!!
IN HONOR OF THE PLAYOFFS

all ready for Mother's Day

threw in a little #tebowing

We had to cross a river!


presies plaque with mine... last cambio with him!

our chicken friend we found

dats my FAMMMM

Monday, May 4, 2015

May 4th, 2015

WHATS UP ERRYONEEE! SORRY ITS BEEN 2 WEEKS WITHOUT AN EMAIL! carazy stufff. 
But 1ST just wanted to thank Mama McMullin for the CHOCOLATE and the Barker's for the package.. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!
AND THANK YOU TO THE GREATEST BDAY PACKAGE EVERRRR MS ABBY ANDERSON!!! A FLIPN UKE!! YOU KIDDING ME!?!!? YOU'RE THE GREATESTTTT!!!! SO PUMPED. 
OK FUNNY THINGS 1ST..
It's so hot.
So hot.
The lights have gone out every day this week.
It's rained.. and rained.. and rained.
It's still hot.
Ok this one is funny, Bishop Welch told me to wait a couple months to say this but it was too good. I got bit by a freakin dog AGAIN and it was like the weirdest, randomest thing in the whole world. Like, I thought it was gonna come and rub up against me but then it jumped and bit my thigh! hahaha! It hurt but I'm all good!
Talking about dogs, the Deacons were passing in the sacrament and a huge dog appeared out of nowhere in the chapel, so my comp and I had to take care of that. hahaha 
Ok other stuff! We're basically establishing a ward in a part of Olancho called Concordia that's 30 min away from Campamento that we take on bus, and it's a really nice town, and there are so many people there ready for the gospel. But we can only go on Saturday's. But we found soooo many people that accepted baptism and the Book of Mormon and love it all. BUT they cant go to church because it's pricey and there's no church over there. Going to talk to President Fortuna to see what we can do. Like no joke we could baptize 20 in 5 weeks but we'll see what happens... super cool though. Concordia will be famous one day.
So I've wanted to share all the things I've been reading out of conf talks from like 2 years ago but I stinkin keep forgetting the Liahona to give quotes! So wait for that. But just saying, the church of Jesus Christ has a prophet and has apostles. And when one reads conference talks and see's what they say, it makes perfect sense why we have them. If you feel down or need something more to your studies.. READ A CONF TALK. So much power.
I read one every day before I study what I need to study and it's soo amazing.
But ok. I've been thinking about this a while. Listen up- haha. I've been thinking about what makes a person likeable, or say, what I like to be around and what I look for in someone, because I've been around hundreds of different people in 9 months and talked to thousands and I put it into 3 categories.
1) EXCITEMENT AND BEING POSITIVE
if you have that you have FAITH AND HOPE ALWAYS, you like to laugh and are funny, you never give up, and are always determined to be better and work harder.
2) HUMILITY (THE OPPOSITE OF PRIDE!!)
this one.. is big in the life of missionaries because there are sooo many prideful missionaries. if you are humble you listen to OTHERS instead of talking about yourself, you realize that nobodys perfect and instead of giving everyone around you a hard time, youre PATIENT and ¨take the beam out of thy own eye first¨, you always want to learn and increase in knowledge, and you are THANKFULLLL!!! (nothing bugs me more than not being thankful so I say sorry to my family and friends all the times i wasnt thankful)
3) CHARITY (PURE LOVE OF CHRIST) 
you obey the commandments because you love God, you want to help others and think about them more than yourself, you are kind and understanding, you're slow to get mad, and have patience with all. 

There are more subcategories to these 3 points, but I truly believe these 3 make one Christ-like person. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your input.

This week I'm thankful for soo much. The rain, my uke and Ms. Abby Anderson, letters, my fam, the rose in midst of thorns, the scrips, gen conf talks, MOTHERS DAY THIS WEEK, my life, the mission, Concordia, people who love other people, my journal, bus rides, Elder Borge, planning, my friends on the mission, all the good days and all the bad, stupid dogs from Honduras, andddd OUR BROWN WATER WE SHOWER IN NOW HAHAHAH
LOVE YA ALL!

--
-Elder Alec Johnson
CONCORDIA WITH THE CASTLE


This is the house we are doing!


My papa and I and Nevi taking pics


do you shower and wash your plates in this water? #yaYA

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

April 27th, 2015

Well I don't have a lot of time because the lights went out but here's some pics! This week was crazy hard and we're working like crazies, but not a lot of success. But we keep on keepin on!

-- 
-Elder Alec Johnson

¨And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don´t believe in magic will never find it.¨-Roald Dahl

MATEO 5:14 SOIS LA LUZ DEL MUNDO!!!
The District!

This is my main man Wi**!! We're gonna get him on the mission! He's only 11

Monday, April 20, 2015

April 20, 2015

This week was crazy.. ha I'll write a group email next week! love ya all!

--
-Elder Alec Johnson

¨And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don´t believe in magic will never find it.¨-Roald Dahl

MATEO 5:14 SOIS LA LUZ DEL MUNDO!!!

had the opportunity to baptize We** and An**.. they are super awesome



Tuesday, April 14, 2015

12 de Abril 2015

So basically, this week rocked, but to start, I need to say something to all the missionaries I know that are in the field, and those that are going to leave...(D-May in less than a month BABAYYY!!) SERVICE IS KEY TO SUCCESS. Service is key to success. Service brings miracles and really is the pure love of Christ. We've been giving so much service to our investigators and less actives., it's crazy! For Gl** we've been, no joke, digging and picking the side of a huge hill next to her house, and with one less active we've been building a house out of mud-cement and it's been one of the most tiring things I've done. It's so exhausting. But it works! Faith brings miracles. Faith = Works. And we saw our faith work this week. We had 13/4 at church on Sunday!! 13 PEOPLE!! And although two are moving, we had 6 that came that we found and invited the night before and they came!! That never happens! And it was in Talanga for the meeting which is like 45 minutes away! And we have a FHE Monday night! But Pres. Fortuna gave his last talk in the district because he leaves in 2 months (ya, 2 months!) And it was just awesome. I love that man so much and am going to miss him so much. But anyway, he said something that hit me just because of the trials and difficulty that's been going on here these last 7 weeks. He said, "sometimes the Lord asks us to push the boulder, not move it. And when we ask why the boulder hasn't moved after pushing it so long, or what's the point in doing it if it's not moving? The Lord shows us how much stronger we are, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Sometimes we can't move the boulder for others because the Lord wants us to grow personally." He's wise.

I love Family Ma** with all my heart. He's the less active ward mission leader and his family and we are going to baptize his girlfriend! Ya ya! I hope and pray they are the family we marry. They live with like 10 and they were all less active until we found them and now Al** has a girlfriend and another family that lives there, is listening and went to church and boom! So excited! I'm asking Pres. Fortuna if I can stay for like 2 more changes because I love this place. Greatest pueblo in Honduras. What else... a guy almost chopped my legs off with a machete because he thought I was robbing his bamboo when I was trying to help him move it...hahaha geezer. Oh, and Gl** is progressing like crazy so we'll see if she gets baptized this week! Had a crazy powerful lesson with her this week after we did service and that's when she started reading the Book of Mormon a lot. Have I told you all how much I love Familia Ma**? They remind me of my Uribe family so much! AH! we play games all the time with the kids and man we are going to Marry Al** and Ma**! Also, found my favorite quote ever about the spirit, that answered a life long question of mine. Listen to this.
"Whenever darkness fills our minds, we may know that we are not possessed of the spirit of God. When we are filled with the spirit of God we are filled with joy, with peace, and with happiness, no matter what our circumstances may be; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and happiness the Lord has given unto us, the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is our privilege to have the Holy Ghost reign within us, so that from night till morning we shall have the Joy, the Light, and Revelation thereof."
*drops mic*
Let me tell you how that answered my prayers and how true it is.

Well I love you guys and hope you have a great, hard-working, week full of love and service towards all. Thanks for all the prayers and messages and I love all of you! "Never, never, never give up."

This week I'm thankful for running water in the states, going without a warm shower in who knows how long hahaha, SERVICE, church, my fam, this beautiful area of mine, Familia Ma**, plan b´s, listening to the spirit, miracles, 13/4, zone conference, Elder Dunn, soccer, working out, andddddd beautiful music:)

-Elder Johnson

¨And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don´t believe in magic will never find it.¨-Roald Dahl

MATEO 5:14 SOIS LA LUZ DEL MUNDO!!!


Beautiful campa




Monday, April 6, 2015

April 6th 2015

This week was nuts. Just nuts haha. 1st off you guys are soo lucky. We saw only the conference yesterday morning.. and that's because the internet wasn't working good in the church so at 9 at night on Saturday President Mejias called us and told us we had to go on a bus to Guiamaca to watch it 20 min away, and so we had to call all the members and it was crazy. But the messages were so amazing. Prodigal son my fav. We'll get the Liahona here in a month and I cant wait to see what else was said.
But ya! GOT MY NEW COMP YAYAYAYA! ELDER GONZALEZ!! He's soooo awesome! He's new, he came with Elder Garcia and it's great! From Panama and we are great buds. Sooo they extended my district.. so now we have 4 companionships.. and one is the zone leaders.. and one of those zone leaders is my dad.. Elder Borge.. hahah sooo ya! great guy and works hard but man he's crazy.
But on Wednesday Hermana Gonzalez got bit by a stinkin scorpion in the morn so we ran over there and took her to a clinic and she's all good now and Hermana Rojas killed it but it was pretty carazyyy ha.
Then the next day we moved houses.. Elder Montejo does the contract, wants to move, and then leaves the area and we do everything and the house is... well it's a house at least! stinkin montejo... I like it but I dont like at 5 in the morn when a million roosters go crazy like a million alarm clocks. I sleep with earplugs now, haha but the view is nice! Also, that same day I got my 1st kiss 2 years ago so there's that gossip if you guys wanna talk about it. hahaha 
But this has been one of the hardest times of my life. Haven't had baptisms in like 2 months and we are trying to clean up the mess that the missionaries made before. Ok when Elder Montero (my old ZL and hes just the greatest) was here he just killed it! Baptized like crazy and got the number of people at church to 100! That was like 8 months ago. The missionaries after stopped working and visiting a lot, and now we have a buttload of less actives and my comp and I have just been going crazy this week. Finding, walking, and walking, and walking and we do so much but then nobody comes to church.. 
Yesterday I was just pretty down, and I kept thinking how much we are working and how hard we are working and nobody takes it for what it is.. and then that made me think of the Savior and I learned a lot about the Atonement in that split second. Does our Savior feel the same with us sometimes? That he gave his life for us and atoned for us and the majority of us don´t appreciate the beauty of the Atonement for what it is? We say we´ll repent later or that we don´t need His divine help. And not only that but like Elder Bednar always talks about, is that the Atonement is there to give us strength and help us become even more better. I learned a lot last night and challenge you guys to see the Atonement in a different way. Because Christ did his part. Now he waits for us to use it to the fulness! He wants us happy! and We are happy when we rely on the Atonement of Christ. He lives. He loves us. Gracias a El tenemos esperanza. Tenemos fe. Y podemos ser feliz. I love you guys and hope you see and use the Atonement for what it is this week!

This week I'm thankful for Easter, semana santa, day of service in Utah, my new comp, my new friends the chickens, cold showers, the general authorities, and the Atonement.

Love ya all! oh and heres the greatest quote from my fav author since childhood the Mr Roald Dahl! this guy KNOWS

--
-Elder Alec Johnson

¨And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don´t believe in magic will never find it.¨-Roald Dahl

MATEO 5:14 SOIS LA LUZ DEL MUNDO!!!