9 Nov 2015 Dan Smith/BYU

"I hope you enjoy my letter more than the cookies the young women made." Wise words from Dan Smith whom I don't know...hahaha Thanks adopted ward for the package! Great stuff! Want to know what else is great? Hot water. Hot water is a blessing from the heavens.
But anyways! So it was a life changer week. Elder Kevin R. Duncan, pres. of the Area de Central America, came and I got to have 2 mtgs with him. Wow! He made me feel like what I've done in 16 months was nothing. But 1st he said that I don't care why you're here on the mission, we all have our reason. BUT, he said, YOU must obtain an unbreakable testimony of the Book of Mormon and this restored Gospel. Then he said, we need to change! Because the Lord is accelerating His work. Then he talked about how we're going to change...holy smokes, did he teach us what we need to do. Honestly this guy is amazing. One of my favorite General Authorities. He talked about how to plan for every 30 minutes, how to teach, and focusing on the priesthood in Central America. Then he talked about having 3,300 missionaries serving in CentroAmerica and there are 3,200 FROM CentroAmerica and President Spencer W. Kimball made a prophesy when Central America has the same amount of missionaries that are serving from CentroAmerica that are IN Central America, they will start sending more and more Latinos to countries on the other part of the World! 100 more! Then he talked about teaching the law of justice and mercy and whoo! We did it this week and have a way of doing it in 10 min. and it's worked soooo well! The spirit is so strong and the investigators are so intrigued and we're in and out in 20 min with them wanting more! Alma 42:22-23! Then he blew my mind with the meeting with the zone leaders, talking about ministers for our zone and doing divisiones and just tons of things we need to do as zone leaders.
Andddd what he talked about more than anything was the less actives. Hoy si papa. My invitation to all at home is that you can go up to the Bishop BEFORE SUNDAY and ask him for one person or family that is less active that you can go visit. Then on Friday you're gonna make cookies or do whatever us Utah Mormons do and go to their house and talk with them, deliver the goodies, be their friends, sing a hymn, and say a prayer, ok? Y'all are gonna report back the next Monday oyó? Perfect! :)

Well this week I've thought a lot about change. Change is so good. I'm so glad Elder Duncan taught us how we can change and help this great work hasten. From the 4th Missionary..."one way that you are immediately blessed is that you are changed, and change may be the greatest blessing of all. You are the sum total of all that you have thought, done, said, seen, heard and felt in this life and before. You change immediately with each good thought, each good act, every good word changes you for the better. When you willingly obey the principles of the Gospel, you are changed by the Spirit of God to become incrementally more like Him. The degree of change with each small act of obedience may be small, but it is real and immediate." :)
Love it. Love the change in me. Love looking back a year ago and my dreams and desires then and the dreams, desires, and visions I have now. They've changed! Change is good! We're always changing! I love repentance. It's so tough to look back on things you did wrong and know you should've done something else, but it's so glorious to know Christ's mercy is there for things like that if we just come to Him and are willing to change. Where is your heart? :)

This week I'm thankful for hot water, my awesome companion, when he talks like a gringo, our area, the baptisms we are going to have this week!!!, Elder Duncan, Pres. Ferman, the package from Sandy UT, justice, mercy, tithing, obedience, my sweet tender mercy from the Lord-my mission, this area! (becoming one of my fav areas ever), that I'm not in places in the world where nobody talks to missionaries (props to all in Europe haha), chastity, soccer jerseys, juice, my fam, the '3 tips' to have a good companionship, SVU, the Utah Jazz, church, candyyyyy, funny videos, the church's growth, andddd my Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
-Elder Alec Johnson

Scrip of the week 1 Nephi 15:11

Nov 2, 2015

Elder Holland once said, "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." I testify and echo his words. Well! Back to where I started! The #1 most dangerous city in the world! Tegucigalpa! In Jardines De Toncontin! With Elder Terrazas as my partner in crime! He's from Mexico but lives in Memphis and is a crazy basketball Fan! 1st Comp! Also plays college soccer and he's awesome. We got here in the same group, and we're zone leaders of the office and AP's...speaking of! Elder Duncan is new AP! #calledit #herrimantakeshonduras
So Elder Duncan, Elder Bingham, and I are all in the same zone! Also! Jardines De Toncontin is right next to La Vega, my 1st area. Literally just down the street! It's so weird because I was here exactly a year ago! After 9 months of pure pueblos, the city is way different! So hot, so many mountains, so many people. But the people progress a lot faster! We are going to have baptisms every week this month. Investigators from before I got here and we found 2 this week that will be ready the 28th! And the whole time I was like..."are you kidding me!" Do you know how hard it's been to get baptisms and how I've had to fight and fight until the very day so they could be baptized? I've given everything to have baptisms and it's not been easy. And all a sudden all these people want to be baptized! And are willing to obey all the commandments! I'm confused. But I'll take it for what it is and be grateful.
But not going to lie. My heart sure has hurt this week. A lot. I'm good now but man...leaving Siguatepeque was almost like leaving my home and La Vega...leaving the investigators, the members, the elders, and sisters in the zone. It was a tuffy Tuesday and Wednesday. But I know God has other plans for me to grow and he can make me into something more than I ever could alone. But it stunk. But I love my new area and I love the young men here who are so stinkin' awesome, love our inv., and love my new comp. Also! Our zone is part of the Temple baby!! 10 min. away! Every Sunday with investigators!!! We also went and I saw part of my Sigua family on Wednesday because they went on their Temple trip! Such a surprise! Also saw Mario my fatty from La Vega! I was so pumped! And he told me Fernando and Steffany are going to get sealed! That's the family from La Vega with the 2 little girls!
But ya, my message to all you this week is simple. If you want to be really, extremely happy this week, get a pamphlet, Ensign, Book of Mormon, or whatever and give it to a friend, neighbor, enemy, teacher, doesn't matter. I promise if you do, you will feel the power of the atonement in your life even more. "As your understanding of the atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase." (P.M.G.)
Just take a deep breath and do it. The Lord is promising joy if you do.

This week I'm thankful for a whole bunch of things. For my time in Sigua, for the new time I have to be in Los Jardines, for grass, for a piano people (went 9 months without a piano at church), my new aweomse comp, FOR THE FIRST HOT SHOWER IN 16 MONTHS!!!!! We have a hot shower!, for being an instrument in the Lord's hands, for the old zone, for the great new zone, for the states, for airplanes, for Elder Borge as he finished his mission this week, companionship study, for the power of service, for being so darn close to the Temple, for John Stockton and his legacy in Utah, for the new fav drink Morirsonando, for Elder Blake, the young men in our ward!, for the inv we found and have, the Atonement, for Halloween, andddd the Liahona.
-Elder Alec Johnson

Remember! For the Warmth of the Children!!

This is Fam Per** who's going to get baptized in Sigua!

And my beautiful Fam Castillo...Tuki, Jean, Allison, and Karen

The lineage in La Vega!

My Papi's gone!!!! 

Best kids in the entire world. Remind me a lot like Cart. They went and started knocking on doors to get contacts for us!

Got to see family Mesa at the Temple!

YOU KNOW WE DRESSED UP FOR HALLOWEEN AND YOU KNOW I WORE THE JERSEY THE ENTIRE DAY PROSELYTING UNDER MY SHIRT

This is my comp getting hugged by a little drunk guy for 5 min straight..I was dying of laughter..it was Hilarious

Oct 26, 2015

Longest, shortest, craziest, most beautiful week of my mission. Ha! So many things..well we'll start off with Monday.
Soooo Hermana Martinez sorta got sick with the pancreas so we had to stay the night on Monday at Doctor Mendoza's house while they watched her and we wok up at 4:30 in the morning with her screaming and then throwing up and then Doctor Mendoza singing hymns. Ha, we thought something really bad happened but she came in and told us she just threw up but needs to go to Tegucigalpa ASAP. So at 6:00 we left in an ambulance to Teguc 3 hours away but 1 hour and a half in ambulance. BTW we weren't even allowed to ride in the ambulance but we convinced him and good thing because we almost dies twice with him at the wheel. haha! But we got there, dropped her off and then had to take a bus to the bus stop to go back to Sigua, but we had to go to Otoro which is even farther to get the sisters things and go back to Teguc the same day. So Tuesday we spent the whole day on a bus...9 hours people. Then we had to sleep over at the secretaries house and go home the next morning at 6:00. Man Alive. But she's good now! But man was it a hoot with Elder De La Rosa. We laugh a lot. His 2 quotes for the week are 1st, as he tries my protein for the first time, "OH! This tastes like chicken food!" haha and then in the District meeting he directed the Hymns right and so he get up there and we're all ready and he says, "ok the hymn goes something like this.." and then he starts to sing, "I don't care! I love it!" hahaha now remember this is all in Spanish and out of nowhere sang that song. Too good.
But man the district meeting was poderososisimo! Best one I've been to in months! And that day was awesome as well. But oh Saturday one of the most powerful and tender moments that happened. 1st we had the baptism of the kids of a family the sisters from the other part of Sigua, and I got to baptize them with Elder Jensen! The parents get baptized next month. But then after we went to Puran and, people! Hermano Pe** straight up told us he wants to get married and baptized and be a member of the church! He has his answer and he's ready to roll! He's just so humble and loving and we're going to need to help pay for the wedding but we're going to sell taco's! and then...well we were walking and it was dark and a man was carrying 2 shovels and his 11 year old son with a bike. We contacted him and asked if he needed help. So we helped him and we asked where they were coming from and he said work and I started talking to the kid and he told me they didn't pay Papi like they said they would for the weeks work. And then we found out this man lives on a hill, like at the very top, and has 8 kids...and 5 of them less than 8 years old and they live in a house that doesn't have power, and that his wife left them. And so we get there and these kids come running and you can just see their smile in the dark and they are so happy to see their dad and they were all so good-mannered and just the cutest kids and one of them asks if they brought food. And man did my heart just break as I saw this man, humbler than humble, have to tell his kids they didn't pay him. And so we said bye and ran down the mountain and bought rice, eggs, and milk for the fam and took it back up to them and man. To help a family of 9 like that was a privilege. Moroni 7 really hit me hard in that moment.
But they said they're going to come to church next week.:)
So I kinda feel like I'm going to leave this area Tuesday. Changes are here and you have no idea how much I've begged to stay here. We are going to have so many baptisms this month. But like Alma 29:9 says, we're just instruments.:) But sure do love Tuki's fam and I wish you see their faith and devotion in only 6 weeks. Jean Carlos (who's 14) went from never going to church to being at the church every morning at 4:30 a.m. waiting for seminary and memorizing all the D&C scrips in just a week. While Tuki is literally memorizing the Book of Mormon, and Karen (the mom) is preparing to go to the Temple. If I go, I'm absolutely filled with joy to be able to help that family for such a short period butttt I don't want to leave! Also, cool thought. Want to know why there are more women than men on the earth? Because in the premarital life the 1/3 that followed Satan were made up more of men, and more women stuck to the truth. There is evidence of it in our society today!
This week I'm thankful for pineapples, Mormon Messages, my journal, the new family's we found and taught, that a lot of 'the chosen' are being found, the Temple, sleep, Puran, chopping wood, Scriptures, Preach My Gosepel, good doctors, the highway system in Utah, my comp, and the God watches over His children.
Love you all! F.I.E.
-Elder Alec Johnson

Scrip D&C 6:33