Week 24/ Week 16 Cambodia: First time I have seen a van in a living room :D

September 8, 2013 10:27:36 PM MDT

To the Fam,

I LOVE YOU!!!! You are all so wonderful and I miss you. But I am loooving my mission too. I feel like every week I grow more and more to love my mission and I am coming to find how the Lord looks at missionary work and taking His Gospel to all His children.

So this week we had an exchange with the APs. Usually for exchanges the companionships change companions for the day. But with APs they split up and go with your companionship. So we had a tripanionship for a day. (APs only go on exchanges with Zone leaders, Elder Lyman my comp is a ZL). So they came Tuesday night till Wednesday evening. The APs have this van...and so we parked it in our living room :). It was SUPER funny.

Wednesday night we had English class. I am teaching the advanced class with Elder Lyman. It is a lot of fun. They understand a lot of english. So for the Gospel Discussion (last half hour of English) we decided to teach on charity and using the Good Samaritan and act it out. For the day we had taught on body parts so we wanted to identify parts of the body that was hurt. I was the guy who got beat up :). Apparently I had a broken arm and a bad case of the laughs. I thought it was so funny I couldn't stop laughing while I was "unconscious." It was great.

So we randomly saw goats by our house :).

Oh so Elder Lyman plays the piano a little. And President said it was ok for him to give piano lessons. He has two students and teaches them. Then while we wait for another he plays the piano. I miss the sound of live piano playing :).

We have wonderful investigators. We have 3 who are really close to being baptized. Within the next 2 weeks probably. All are young men between the ages 23-28. Ray (sounds like the word rye) is one and he is probably going to be baptized this week. We meet him 2 or 3 times a week and we love him. He is quiet spoken but knows that this church is true. He and I have grown really close. The other investigator that I have really gotten close to is Veasna. He has already read into Jacob and beyond. He understands the Book of Mormon and loves it. He loves learning and meeting with us. We meet him 2 or 3 times weekly also. I have so much love for both of these investigators and I am so excited for them to receive the blessing of baptism. They will be wonderful members.

This week at church I saw Bun Thouen again. Bun Thouen is the tuk-tuk driver of my grandparents who served in Cambodia 10 years ago. He is a former branch president and is currently half inactive. But both weeks in this stake he has come. He also brought his family. His family hasn't been in an even longer time. He is a high councilman so he is more active and just goes to other branches a lot. But it is so wonderful to get to meet people who know my grandparents and help them grow in the faith. It was wonderful.

Well, that's all I got folks. Remember to be happy, be safe, choose the right, remember who you are and what you stand for, talk to strangers and make new friends, come back alive and temple worthy, don't go biking in heavy traffic or bad weather or when it is dark (haha umm....oops :P), smile, have fun, "Return with Honor," "Serve with No Regrets," "Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can't Lose," and until next time may God Hold You in the Palm of His Hands.

Love,
Elder Johnson

So this was a wedding at the church :). Elder Lyman is on the right, I'm in the middle, and Elder Johnson the II is on the left :). HAPPY MARRIAGE!!!

Week 23/ Week 15 Cambodia: Land of Change

Sun, Sep 1, 2013 at 9:55 PM

Dear Peoples of other Places besides Cambodia,

Well everyone, it has come. I have been transferred!!! Yes. I am no longer with my awesome trainer but I am with another awesome companion named Elder Lyman. He is Zone Leader and is a super hard worker and is fantastic. He one of the biggest missionaries we have :) haha so he's big and I'm little. Super fun. He loves sports (football and basketball), loves music (Les Mis and the Forgotten Carols for example), and loves being a missionary. He is so wonderful.

So let me go through the week a little. I didn't get the call to be Emergency Transferred (when you transfer not on a regular transfer date) until Tuesday night. I had proselyted with Elder Noot and Vuat until then. I was tranferred Thursday morning so I could teach English class on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and I taught well my last time. I got to say goodbye to my recent convert Sok Eang who I baptized. We got to teach them one last lesson and as she said the closing prayer I peeked and saw her, her already member husband, her 12 year old son, and newborn baby. I pictured them in all white, sealed in the temple. It was a beautiful sight.

So Thursday morning I packed everything I had into a tuk-tuk and headed to the mission home to meet Elder Lyman. We planned for the week once we got home. Oh our home is HUGE!!!! It's got 4 floors plus a balcony. 3 bedrooms, 2 storage rooms, a kitchen, two huge living rooms, and 6 bathrooms!!! It rocks!

My new area is on the opposite side of the city than my last. My area is now near the north west side of the city. It is called Tukthla (duck tla). We have like 5 investigators with a baptismal date the coming month. All of them are super good too. I have already gotten close to them and am so happy to teach them. I love learning from Elder Lyman. He is a great teacher and is always helping the investigator or member do better. We also do lots of less active work too. We had one less active come back yesterday to church. Less active work is so fun. I used to never think about working with less active members before my mission but you do it just as much as with investigators.

Something funny about my new Zone is that we have 4 Johnsons in it. We have Elder and Sister Johnson, a really old, crazy senior couple. We get to translate for them once a week so I got to ride in their really nice car. Ahhh cars. AC and automatic drive. Boy do I miss driving my car Harold. haha Anyways (Uncle Greg that is for you ;)) we have the Johnson senior couple, then there is Elder Johnson the II, he has been out for a year now, and I am Elder Johnson the III. All the Johnsons are in one zone now. Johnson Zone!!!

Finally we had Sunday. Sunday is my favorite day of the week as well as Monday. The Sacrament is so much more to me now than it ever has been. Every week I WANT the sacrament and I realize I NEED it. The sacrament is so much more than just making us clean from our sins. It can give us strength to help us do better, be better, be stronger to resist temptation and overcome evil. We can receive help from on high to make ourselves claeaner, happier, and stronger. More loving, kind, obedient, diligent, and virtuous. I know it is so important. I love it and I hope you grow to love it too.

Well that's all I got. Love you all so much and miss you. Thank you for all the prayers.

Love,
Elder Johnson

Week 22/ Week 14 Cambodia: Land of Exploding Grenades

Sunday, August 25, 2013 9:00 PM

Dear Family and Friends,

Yes, there are exploding grenades everywhere in this country!!! Haha in Cambodian we have a term "bauk gro baik" (spelled how you would pronounce it in English). This is the term that means to have been ditched or stood up. So many times on a mission you need to have patience and get used to being stood up and having an appointment fall through. This week I think we had one fall through almost every day and one day we had all 3 fall through. But we are ok. We continue to do work.

Even though we do our best it is still difficult to be happy and optimistic when things fall through. This week was especially hard on us. We did all this preparation in anticipation and then it falls through. It is hard. I was in a down mood one of these days when I remembered that I had my grandfather's (mom's dad) conversion story. I unfortunately hadn't read it yet. I decided to read it in a spare, private moment. I want to share a brief outline of his story.

My grandfather was raised in a home with a mom who believed in a God. She had my grandfather and his brother go to many churches. In one day he said they might go up to 3 different churches just to worship God. They moved to California where they went to many churches and my grandfather got a job. He also was enrolled in school. At this time his family moved to Arizona and he stayed behind because he was earning money for the family. At this time in high school he met J.R. in biology (I believe). He found out that J.R. was a Mormon. They quickly became friends. J.R. introduced my grandfather to his friend group and my grandfather started going to activities, mutuals, and even sacrament meetings. They never pressured him though to get baptized. It was 3 years later that J.R. was about to leave on his mission when him and my grandfather talked. He asked my grandfather if he wanted to be baptized. With a little apprehension but with no doubt in his mind my grandfather said yes. J.R. then baptized him a short time later. I am forever grateful that my grandfather decided to join the church. It was the "small, still voice"that told him that it was true, he said.

When I read my grandfather's story I was immediately grateful to him and the Lord for showing him the way. I was also relieved of my burden and sour mood and was able to work harder afterwards.

There really wasn't much else that happened this week. Thank you all for your prayers and support. They are much appreciated. May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 21/ Week 13 Cambodia: Land of MOTOS WATCH OUT!!!!

Sunday, August 18, 2013 8:51 PM

Dear Family and Friends,

So in case you couldn't guess by the title there are so many motos here. Probably 80% of the traffic is motos and motorcycles. You should see what they can fit on them. I need to take more pictures of them. Some moto drivers are really good...and some are really bad. Like the one that hit me :D. Haha yes I got hit by a moto. I was crossing a street I had enough room to cross. I was just watching one car to make sure it slowed down from me. And from the other direction a moto hit right into my front tire. I flew off my bike but miraculously landed on my feet then stumbled to the ground. The biker saw he hit a white person and kept going hahaha. I was fine. Nothing was hurt except a bag of flower and my basket on my bike. It was thrilling :D.

Before I get too far I want to thank Uncle Neil for the wonderful email. It was so nice to get it. I think Singapore has about the same temperature as Cambodia right now actually. So we both got it really hot. And Aunt Karen thank you so much for the package with the Provo tie clip and twinkies. I didn't have a tie clip of the temple till now and the twinkies :D SO GOOD!!! Thank you!

This week was interesting to say the least. On Tuesday we had Zone conference and President came to teach us. We focused on helping the members grow stronger and help them invite others to church. I especially loved his talk about the Atonement and the Sacrament. We can use the power of the Atonement everyday but we need to renew the power of remission of our sins and that is by taking the Sacrament every week. We offer our sins every week at the feet of Christ as our sacrificial lamb. The Sacrament helps us prepare for the Temple and the laws and covenants found within. It is such an important, eternal ordinance. I know it and I testify that we can become clean through the power of the Atonement by taking the Sacrament. I loved it.

We taught a few lessons this week and contacted a lot. I am becoming so comfortable contacting. Some days it is still really hard but a lot of the time I don't have much of a problem just talking to people. My comprehension still isn't high but I am comfortable at trying.

So this week Elder Noot got a new trainee and I got a new companion :D. He is Khmae and his name is Elder Vout. He is 26 years old and comes from Kompung Thom, the heart of Cambodia. He is awesome and has the missionary spirit. He also knows how to cook! I have eaten rice for pretty much all but one of my meals since he came but I'm excited to eat good food. Having a tripanionship is hard. It is difficult to teach but we are still learning. I will learn a lot from it.

So about contacting. Contacting questions is really different from Stateside missions. Here in Cambodia typical questions consist of: How many kids do you have? Where do you live? When are you usually home? And so I have come to realize that missionaries are stalkers in a sense. I am sure if we asked these questions in other places we would probably get the police called on us :). But Cambodians don't care so we do.

Well, that's all folks. Until next time may God hold you in the palms of His hands.

Love,
Elder Johnson

BOOKS!!!!!!

PIGGGSS!!!!!

Elder Noot and Elder Workman (Vietnamese speaking)

Vietnamese Sisters and Elder Tien (Vietnamese)

Scones and Potato Soup night!!!

 Our tripanionship with Elder Vout

Week 20/ Week 12 - Cambodia: Land of Miracles

Sunday, August 11, 2013 8:52 PM

Yes it truly is the land of miracles, but I think that is how every mission is. The Lord is hastening His work.

So fun little things that happened this week: we played basketball!!!!!, had a branch FHE which was so fun and SO much food, got the new Khmae version of the Bible (with tabs!!!), got to see one of our less actives be called as the Young Men's 1st counselor (he is so active now :D), and got soaking wet WHILE wearing my raincoat from Mr. Macs :). Haha I think the rain in Cambodia has some coat piercing magic or something :). Oh haha Elder Noot and I also blew money and went to an Indian restaurant called Shakti Shiba (or something close to it, with a name like that who wouldn't wanna go?). Boy was it delicious :D.

One day at the church I did hear a piano and violin duet. It was a Khmae and an International member playing Praise to the Man. Boy was it heavenly just because there is very little music here in Cambodia...well that's not true. There is music but it is very traditional and noisy and weird. Really hard to understand and they just blast it. But I got to hear wonderful music. I was so happy :). Sometimes I just decide to sing while riding my bike and I don't care who's listening because I like music and Cambodians are just awkward people so singing will biking isn't to bad :).

So to the miracles. This week we got several new investigators. One of them happens to have been a referral who we actually have met several times. Before we even got the referral I actually played him in Chinese chess. He destroyed me twice in a row but it was fun. He looks JUST like Mr Miyagy (Miyagi...IDK the spelling). His name is I Kong (how you would pronounce it in English is Ee Gohng). He is wonderful. We also had several other investigators come to church. It was wonderful.

Yesterday, was Sok Eang's baptism. It was super spiritual and wonderful. I had the privilege of performing the baptism. It felt so nice to wear all white (unfortunately I did forget my white tie at the apartment :P). I think I did a pretty good job, I only had to repeat the prayer once! Haha, but it was really spiritual. I know that the Lord loves Sok Eang and is happy that she has covenanted to follow Him. I know that we are bringing Salvation to His children. I felt so warm, peaceful, and happy the rest of the day and still today I feel it :).

Finally, we had transfer calls last night. President Moon is so spiritual and goes by revelation so transfers are always a surprise. This transfer: Elder Noot is staying in our area, he is a District Leader, and is training again. As for me........ I am staying with Elder Noot in our area!!! We are to be a tri-panionship!!! It is really exciting. Elder Noot says that there have only been like 2 tri-panionships during his year here and there has NEVER been a trainer and trainee stay together for 3 transfers in his time here. I am SUPER HAPPY!!! Elder Noot is my best friend on the mission and we are doing WORK here in Cbarumpou (in English it is jbaa- um- boh).

We had many miracles this week and I am eternally grateful for them. Until next week may God hold you in the palm of His hands.

Love,
Elder Johnson

P.S. A shout out to my little brother who isn't so little anymore but still my brother!!! I LOVE YOU!!! Helaman 11:19, Alma 56: 47-48

SCONES!!!! Patrick Star is now a scone!!!

Look what Elder Noot and I drew on the wall!!! LOTR!!!!

The day of coat-penetrating-rain.

Week 19/ Week 11 Cambodia: Kingdom of Wonders (that really is the nickname of Cambodia)

Sunday, August 4, 2013 8:50 PM

Another Email from the Kingdom of Wonders. Weather report: hot and humid with lots of clouds and a 90% chance of showers later tonight. Time: 9:30 am local. Drink of the day: Coke (or beer if you are not a member).

Each week it feels like we have a lot of appointments cancel or not show up but at the end of the week I feel blessed for what we did do. It is a wonderful feeling to know that you were committed to bringing the gospel to others even though lots of things fell through.

Even though things fall through we are having success. This upcoming Sunday we have our first scheduled baptism. Her name is Sok Aang (yes all you Avatar fans it is pronounced the same :)). She has been a golden investigator. Her husband who already is a member wanted her to join and she has been committed since the first lesson. She really is so wonderful and we are so excited for her.

Now for you who believe that being in a hot, humid area will help you keep your weight down, let me tell you: haha nope. Eating rice for most of your meals doesn't help you lose weight. I totally thought that I would have no problem losing weight and would have to worry about being to skinny. The only skinny people here are the ones who have had a bacteria infection and throw up a lot. Most other people have the beer bellies. Haha.

So Elder Noot and I are the teachers for the beginning English class we teach every Wednesday night. This past week we had an awesome gospel lesson (the class is 1 hr of English and 30 minutes of gospel lesson). For gospel lesson I had Rothana (a 22 year old young man) come up and help us be an example for us. I used him as an example as a person who got into some trouble. Every time he did something wrong in the story I smeared peanut butter on his face to say that he wasn't clean anymore. He needed to repent to get clean. It was a great lesson. (I got this idea from my grandma who did this on my face for one FHE a couple years ago :)).

We contacted lots of people this week and have a few good potential

investigators. I am starting to be able to understand a lot more now but some days it is just really hard. It is a very cool language.

I did have an awesome dream this past week that was really cool. I pretty much was Nephi in the book of Helaman preaching to the people to repent from his garden tower. Only I was on a fountain instead and preaching to a market. I did say though "Oh ye wicked and abominable people, repent!" Haha thought it was really cool :).

Well that is about all I got for this week. I know that this is where I need to be right now. I love this work. The field really is ripe for harvest. The Savior loves each of us and I know that He Lives. May God hold you all in the palm of his hand.

Love,
Elder Johnson

MEAT LOTS OF MEAT!!!!!

Me with lotus flowers behind me and my awesome helmet!!!

Beautiful Lotus Flower 

               

Elder Noot riding through the jungles of Cambodia :D

THE HORN OF GONDOR!!!! Boromir!!!

A cute puppy of a member

Me in the jungles of Cambodia :)

Week 18/ Week 10 Cambodia: Land of Ice Cream and Chess

Side note: All of the Birthday wishes from Facebook were sent to Braden, and Several Family Home Evening members from his BYU ward wrote him. Two packages were sent to him from His Mom, and Tom and his Mom... Pens, paper, markers, Reese Puffs (a favorite of Braden's), Oreos, Notebooks, Ensigns, sucking candy, pictures of the Savior, painting by Hannah, cake mix, frosting, candles....

Sunday, July 28, 2013 8:57 PM

Cumriapsua!!!!!

To start of I want to thank all of you for helping make my birthday fantastic. Thank you for all the birthday wishes and the prayers. They are greatly appreciated.

So last P-day after I emailed you all Elder Noot and I ate some good food. We actually had pizza!! So good. We followed that by going to Swenson's again. Haha I admit I LOVE Swenson's. This time I got an Earthquake. The Earthquake has 8 scoops of ice cream with tones of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and cherries. It was SO good. Haha and yes. I finished it :D.

The rest of the week we did a lot of contacting and some teaching. It was a tough week though as it was voting week and people were busy.

We did get to teach two less actives this week together. Their names are Soksan and Khoon. Soksan has been to church 3 of the last 4 weeks!!!! Khoon we are still working on but Soksan is helping now. They both know a ton of doctrine of the church though and are both really smart. They have testimonies. The key is just getting them to act upon them.

Yesterday, we had a miracle at church. Since everyone was voting yesterday nobody was working so we had a total of 5 less actives come!!!! It was so cool!!! They really have a desire to go to church. Work is a big reason people don't come though.

Something fun this week though, I played a Khmae man about 40 in Khmae chess. Haha I was very humbled and loved playing and learning from him.
Well this week was just tommattaa (normal). I love you all so much and may God be with you.

Love,
Elder Johnson

Elder Noot and I in our raincoats :D They are wonderful

Crazy Pioneer Day Party

BATMAN KID!!!

Don't you love how fat this dog is???

OREOS!!!

Yay for walking through muddy water :D

Week 17/ Week 9 Cambodia: Land of...It's a Small World?!?!?!?!

Sunday, July 21, 2013 9:01 PM

Yes...sadly the song It's A Small World has been found in Cambodia. I heard it as a noise that a truck made when it was backing up. I could not get it out of my head for hours.

This week was just filled with miracles and I'm sure I won't be able to remember them all. Yesterday we had one investigator and her husband who is already a member but was less active until we met them invited to church. We were waiting for them and the meeting already started. When the opening prayer was finished we went outside to call them but they didn't pick up. Then the first thing I thought of was just to pray. So we went in the corner of the hall and prayed. I said it in English because I had specific things I wanted to ask for. I remember the words just coming out, asking for a miracle that they would come to church. We closed and I remember as we were walking back to the chapel we looked at the stairs...and up was walking the husband with their month old baby in his arms with his wife behind him. I almost fell to my knees right there and started crying. Haha I wanted to so badly. I was so grateful for the miracle we had. I know miracles happen and that God hears our prayers. It was so cool :).

On Saturday we celebrated Pioneer day. Haha Cambodians LOVE celebrating it (well the one's who actually know what it is). They did a big celebration thingy with lots of singing, dancing, and lots of curry :) I liked the curry. Haha. They even played some American music too. It was entertaining.

This week we have had several wonderful lessons with investigators. When you actually prepare for the day and do your studies and focus during the mornings the Spirit is with you all day and you truly teach with the Spirit :).

Something fun that happened this week was I turned 19!!!! I'm officially at missionary age!!! It was weird. I didn't even realize it until halfway through studies. Then I was like...oh I'm 19...cool...back to studying :). Elder Noot did take me out to get ice cream at Swenson's. Oh I miss ice cream sooo much. It was so good. Haha.

Well that's pretty much all this week. It was wonderful and we truly had miracles.

Love,
Elder Johnson

Week 16 / Week 8 Cambodia: Land of OREOS!!!!!!

Sunday, July 14, 2013 9:21 PM

Yes.  I did just say that Cambodia is the land of Oreos!  :D

Elder Noot and I have started this tradition in order to stay sane. We eat one sleeve of oreos every night :D.  It is the most relaxing (and probably a little fattening) thing to do at night.  But we love
it so much.  Haha

Now what Cambodia really is probably land of is alcohol and smoking. Elder Noot and I make a pretty good pair because he almost dies from the smell of alcohol and I almost die from the smell of cigarette smoke.  Together, we are almost always dying.  :)  Alcohol is the biggest enemy of the mission in Cambodia.  When investigators or
members go inactive it is usually because of alcohol.  I hate alcohol.  You never want to contact people at night because everyone is drinking.  Did you know that Asians have the lowest tolerance rate for alcohol?  So after one little can of beer they are usually partly drunk if not all the way.  I love Cambodians, just not alcohol.

Anyway, this week was just a lot of meetings and contacting and being really tired.  It was a lot of fun though.  Elder Noot and I did a wonderful study of Ammon and Aaron and the way that they taught King Lamoni and his father.  We decided to teach exactly like them and it is fantastic.  We have had several good lessons with it.

Food: food here is good...most of the time.  I'm still not brave enough to eat coagulated pig's blood... but most other stuff is good :).  Haha Elder Noot and I actually make a lot of stuff... a lot of non-Cambodian food.  We actually made pasta with alfredo sauce earlier this week!!! Oh I miss alfredo.  We then followed it up by making peach cobbler!!!! SO GOOD.   Haha we did actually make curry though so we did make some native food :).

We had exchanges this week with our District Leader.  Our DL happens to be the Assistant to the President as well so the APs split up with companions.  Elder Sorenson is really cool and fun.  We had a good day.

One fantastic experience was when Elder Noot and I were contacting. We found a family who has 2 electric keyboards and an electric guitar!!! We found them because we saw that the father who knows music had written music notes on a whiteboard!!!  I was super excited.  I was reminded of Music Theory Class and I was super happy.

Well that's all for this week.  I love you all.  Alma 4:19!

Love,
Elder Johnson

Week 15/ Week 7 Cambodia: The Land of Fungi!!!

Sunday, July 7, 2013 9:28 PM

Yes I just called this email the land of fungi. That is because I have RINGWORM!!!! Pretty much it is just a rash that is in the shape of a ring. It supposedly itches a lot but I just put a little bleach on it and it didn't itch. haha do NOT put a lot of bleach on... first it is bad for you and can poison you, second...it hurts a LOT!! Haha found that out the hard way. Anyway, I now have anti-fungal cream to put on it and it is almost gone!

Now wasn't that a great introduction paragraph? Haha I think it was a good B+ grade in English. Anyway this week was AWESOME!!!! To start of I will share one thing that I have bought from this country. Last P-day I bought a horn that I can blow into and it makes noise!!! If you have seen "Lord of the Rings" then you will know the character Boromir. He has a horn just like mine!!! I feel like charging into battle...or contacting when I blow mine :D.

This week we got 2 of our investigators to church! It was so cool. They are two really old people and they live the farthest in our area away from the church but they still go, on a bike also! They are champions because the husband dopes (having someone sit on the back of the bike) the wife the whole way! So inspiring. They are set to be baptized on August 4th!!! The husband is really into it but his wife is just kinda. She is only half listening to our lessons and half committing but we are working with her.

We also got two more investigators this week. they are already Christian and just got married 2 months ago. What sparked their interest was when I randomly pulled out the Book of Mormon to show this group of Christians that we were contacting. They wanted to learn about the Book of Mormon. We taught them the first lesson on the spot. It was so cool! The Book of Mormon is the most important tool in our ministry that we can use. It always brings the Spirit and testifies of Jesus Christ. I love it so much.

Those were two of our miracles this week that we had.

With transfers past Elder Noot and I are stuck with each other for another 6 weeks...and we LOVE it :D. We love to play board games: Khmae chess, Chinese chess, King's chess (regular chess), and GO. We love to talk and eat. Oh do we like to eat haha. For July 4th we celebrated with scones :D. Mmmm so good.

The language is still hard but I am able to hold a conversation a little bit. It is difficult to understand still but talking I can do about a few things. Some days I feel I have the gift of tongues and then the next I can barely talk. Oh well. I keep trying. I love it so much. Such a fun language but something that I love to do more than study the language is reading the Book of Mormon. It really is from God and it really is the most important book that this world has. It is true and I know it is.

Well... That's All Folks!!!

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 14- Week 6 1/8th of the way done with my mission?!?!?!

Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:23 pm

Wow. I'm already 1/8th of the way done with my mission. How can it be? It has gone so fast!!! Missions really are the fastest weeks, months, and years of you life! (the days are long though hahaha). It feels just like last week I arrived in Cambodia.

It wasn't a very eventful week. As I said in my last email we had 9 new investigators. We still have a few but it is so hard to get appointments with them. We also may have to drop a few because one of them just like to "sit and play" which means just talk and tease my white/red skin, pointy nose, and anything else she can talk about. Haha oh well. Another investigator just wants money from the church. A lot of people here think that they will get money if they join the church. Apparently some Korean churches do that so it is sometimes frustrating.

We did have an awesome lesson though with one of our investigators. His name is Bunlua and he is awesome. He was a taxi driver and now is retired. He started learning with the missionaries before us because he just wanted to "squal" or know more about Christianity. He said he was hardcore Buddhist to them. But now he is praying and he is actually excited to read the Book of Mormon. It is soooo cool because he is more educated and he GETS it. He might not believe but he gets that if the Book of Mormon is true then this is the true church. SO excited for him!

Near the end of the week I caught a cold here :P. Who knew you could get colds in a place that drops no less than 80 degrees F??? Ugh. Haha but it has been a wonderful experience too. I was consigned to get more sleep and my companion is the BEST because as I would rest he would make me stew and soup and he orders me to rest sometimes too :) haha. Elder Noot is the best!

Yesterday night was transfer calls night. We made a pork pot roast to eat while waiting for the calls. As it turns out me and Elder Noot will be staying companions but our two Viet roommates (one is actually Vietnamese) are both being transferred. The Vietnamese one is being transferred back to Hanoi, Vietnam. We will miss them and their food.

Well, that is all for this week. Love you all so much!!! Return with Honor!!!! Serve with No Regrets!!!!!

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 13- Week 5 Holy Cow already A Month in the Field!!!!

Sunday, June 23, 2013 8:19 pm

Dear Family and Friends,

Can you believe I've already been in the field for a month?!?! I can't. It hasn't felt like I have been gone that long. So crazy. The days and weeks already are going by so fast. Wow. Anyway, this week has been amazing! Miracles!

So at the beginning of the week we started of with 0 investigators. All we were doing was contacting and meeting with less-actives. But this week the Lord has blessed us with miracles. Nearly everyday we contacted someone who wanted to learn. As of right now we have 9 investigators!!! 9 new investigators in a week!!! SO COOL!!!

The Lord is hastening his work. He has called us to serve him and we are reaping the already white fields of harvest. Probably my favorite lesson we gave this week was to two Oms (about 70 year old couple). The live SO far away though and we have to book it home to get home on time. But our first lesson with them was so cool. We taught them in their tiny 1 room home about 12 ft x 12 ft. Also we taught by candlelight! It was so cozy and cool!!! Haha.

One of my favorite investigators is Ming Pou (a 40ish year old lady). She is super energetic and sarcastic but also she wants to learn. We randomly stumbled by her and her neighbors and she called us over and said that she wants to hear what we teach. Whoa! We never get that. Haha she is so cool. We then returned and there were like 10 or 15 people there who, though may not have been all apart of the lesson, knows who we are and what we do. Pou really likes us...probably because we're white.

Oh, some info about Cambodians... They loooove white skin. They think it is so attractive. And what is even more than that is pointy noses. AGH!!!! I should NOT be here because I have already been asked to be in a relationship/get married/if I'm going to marry a Khmae girl like 5 times this week!!! Everyone comments about our noses and calls us beautiful...it is really weird.

Anyway, Pou is awesome and she is so enthusiastic about our message too :). It is really cool.

I am so excited for this week and the adventures it will bring. May God be with you all.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 12- Week 4 Cambodia: Land of the Broken Bicycles and RAIN!!!

Sun, Jun 16, 2013 at 9:19 pm

Dear Peoples Halfway Around the World!!!

Boy I say boy, fixing bikes is pushing the limits of my medication!!! (that's for you Tom :D). Anyways, I have come to find out that each week in Cambodia is very different from the last. Each day is an adventure, whether it is getting soaked in the rain, talking to drunk people, or just singing Disney music with your roommates at night.

The beginning of the week was very contrasted to the end. The beginning we contacted a ton of people. We talked to nearly everyone we passed it felt like and we tried sooooo hard to get someone to teach. We had several return appointments with people and even with our first referral. Unfortunately, each and every contact and appointment fell through. It was kind of discouraging but we just say that tomorrow will be better. We have had more success with our less actives though. By success I mean that we actually meet with them. None of them have come to church yet but we are always inviting and trying to strengthen their faith.

The end of the week we had a ton of meetings that we went to so we had literally no contacting time. In our area we are across a pretty big bridge, away from the main part of the city. Our church, and where all of our meetings are held, are on the other side of the bridge. It takes about 20 minutes to bike to the church. 10-15 minutes if we book it fast. I have come to realize that this bridge is a literal obstacle in the work of our area. People just don't want to come to church when they realize how far away it is and that they have to cross the bridge. Haha it is sometimes an obstacle for me and Elder Noot too. Sometimes we know we have to cross it and we are just anticipating it. Haha. It is so tiring sometimes but it is also kinda fun to race motos on a bike.

One cool thing is our Mission President!!! He had a personal meeting with us and we talked about our area and how to contact all the inactive members and get them to return. We have a lot more people than we thought. We are working to get a branch in our area!!! After the meeting it was pouring rain outside and President rode bikes with us to a pizza place and bought us pizza!!! :D YUM!!!

That really sums up a lot of our week. Some fun things that happened was while contacting and stopping at a bakery we got to talk to a monk. He was super interested in us and asked a lot of questions. Right before we left we actually got a picture with him!!! Haha it was awesome. Another day we contacted through a huge storm :D. We were walking in water halfway up the calves and it was so much fun!!! Hahaha. It has rained everyday since. In some places there are little rivers because of how much rain there is!

Finally, after all this time riding our bikes it has taken a toll on them. I have a brand new chain and Elder Noot has a brand new tire and brand new pedals. Hahaha. We spent so much money on fixing our bikes this week hahaha. Well I guess it is a sign of working hard :).

Until next week, stay strong and keep the faith. Even when no one wants to hear our message we keep pushing forward and keep our heads held high. I know that angels are with us watching our backs and lifting us higher and higher. This is the true church and I know that Jesus Christ leads the church. I love him and I know that he lives. I love you all and may God be with you.

Love,

Elder Johnson

You can tell by Elder Noot's face the little boy doesn't want to let us in :D

An awesome old blacksmith we met while contacting. He reminds me of Grandpa Johnson :)

A picture that Elder Noot took of me contacting a guy

Elder Noot and me with our helmets and our surgical masks so we don't die by the car fumes. :D

Week 11-- Week 3 Cambodia: Land of the Crazy Children

Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 8:39 pm

Yes people, Cambodia has crazy children. I will talk more about that later. Anyways, this week has been full of adventures if not investigators.

So last week we did a couple fun service projects for members in the branch. The first one was just on the spot. We went to go visit them and the Lookpuu (older man about 50+) was out in front of his house pounding his dirt flat because it had just rained and he was smoothing his "drive way." So being us missionaries we started helping him pound dirt. It was really cool because next door a monk was visiting his family. They were watching us and all of a sudden the monk came over and started talking to us!!! In English too!!!!. Hahaha. It was so cool to talk to him. He was really nice and humble and we invited him to English class... at the church :D. He didn't show up but that is ok haha. BUT something cool is he looks like an Air Bender Nomad off of Avatar!!! The robes are so legit...I'm gonna get some :D.

We also were able to teach some lessons to less-actives. Unfortunately we found out one drinks a little. He thinks the Word of Wisdom says that it is ok to drink as long as you don't get drunk. We are working with him though. He is so kind and nice. Also, we taught him the Restoration again! I said the whole 1st Vision in Khmer and it was really cool. I was rusty but the Spirit was definitely there.

This week we made Curry!!!! I LOVE curry. So much. Mmmmm!!! It had pork and potatoes and carrots and awesome flavor! Yum. We made a ton...but it only lasted 3 days. Haha. We have eaten good food this week. Lots of new foods plus one cheeseburger and fries :). Haha it was so good.

One night this week we woke up to Elder Barker saying he saw a mouse. We were chasing it all around the room. Elder Vu (he is Vietnamese) didn't wake up though. He didn't even budge :D. Haha but we finally caught it when it crawled into a plastic bag. We took it outside and killed it...yeah I know we are horrible but we had to. Anyway, you think that would be over with right? Nope! Elder Noot and I found another one in our room during the next day. We chased it around and...He killed it with my flip flop. MY FLIP FLOP!!!..... I just washed it with lots of soap. Haha. Now there are no mice in our room... I think.

Everyday Elder Noot and I try to meet with less-actives. We usually have one a day. So we spend about an hour a day teaching less-active members and then we spend the rest of the day contacting and tracting. The members haven't given us any referrals yet so that's all we've been doing. We are giving out so many pamphlets that someone HAS to want to learn. Well it is sometimes discouraging but we always are working hard. I do love the work though.

Also, this week we helped another member. We weeded!!! I thought I was done with that for 2 years...I was wrong :D haha. It was really quite enjoyable.

Some quick notes:

1. I am taller than the average Cambodian :D!!!!!

2. I am getting tan!!!! I look good too haha.

3. Dad, can you tell grandma and grandpa that I randomly met Bun Thoeun at the church. I will have to meet him again to give him grandpa's letter but yeah. It was weird. (Bun Thoen was my grandparents' driver when they served their mission here in Cambodia 10 years ago.)

Lastly, the little children. Everywhere we go the little children are saying "Hello"and in some places they literally mob us. They try to get rides on our bikes haha. The children next door (yes...we have children next door) became zombie children as it was dusk and we were sitting in our living room and they started pounding on the door trying to get in kinda haha. Kinda creepy. Anyway, children here are crazy. Probably because parents give them Samurai drinks (energy drinks). Bad idea. haha.

Well we are working hard. Hope you are all safe at home. Love and miss you all.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 10/Week 2 Cambodia!!!!

Sunday, June 2, 2013 9:27 pm

Where to start? Hmm so much to talk about. Haha well this week has been amazing! I love Cambodia! So my trainer, Elder Noot, is the best trainer I could have asked for. Getting to know him has been like getting to know myself! We love all the same things and it is really weird at how well we get along :). He is from Pleasant Grove, UT and went to BYU Hawaii for college. He has been in the field for about 8 months now. He is the youngest trainer currently and is a stud :). He is half Korean and loves having fun with me. One thing we do is play Chinese Chess! We have two chess boards so that us and our Vietnamese speaking Elders (roommates) can all play together. We play it while eating lunch or dinner or after we return to the apartment at nights. It is so much fun. Tom, you would loooove this game. Reminds me of our chess, stratego, go moments :).

Last P-Day after emailing we went shopping at a market then at a convenience store. I got some sunglasses (FINALLY!!!), a kromaa (spelling?) (a cool thing that I use to wipe my sweat and dry my clothes, and hold my super cold water bottle when it is frozen), and we bought a lot of food. Some food we got: cereal and milk, PB + J sandwiches, and NUTELLA!!!!! They have it here! I totally have been eating American food this week :D. Haha.

You all might be thinking if we do any missionary work. We do a lot actually. We have no investigators still. We have been out contacting a lot though and have talked to countless numbers of people. They just don't ever answer their phones out here :P. The most common excuse they have is that they are too busy. I hear that about every other person we talk to. Haha. We do a lot of CBR book hunting. Which is we are trying to meet every member (active and less active) in our area. We then try to teach the less actives. We have met twice with Bong Khoon. He is less active and is a moto-dope (likes motobikes). But He absolutely loves the scriptures. We are working with him to return to church. I think he might soon. We also have met Jumbo...yeah that's what we were told to call him. He is an English teacher...kinda. We taught him in English haha. I still didn't understand everything. Jumbo...is the most worldly person I have ever met. Let's just say that he likes money and has friends in high places..... Yeah it was an awkward meeting.

Yesterday it rained for the first time that I had to ride in :) really hard too. BUT I had my awesome raincoat from Mr. Mac's!!! Yeah! I was dry while my comp was soaked hahaha but It was so nice to feel rain on my face.

The Spirit is so amazing. I can feel it when I bear my testimony and teach the truths of the gospel. I know that this church is true. I know Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the church. I know Jesus Lives. I testify this to be true. I love this mission and I know I have been called here by the Lord.

May God be with you until next time.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Me hugging a ginormous tree

Me with a huge Watt (Buddhist temple building)

Elder Barker on the right and Elder Vu on left

(Vietnamese speaking)

Me and Elder Noot

Our house from the street

With Elder Spencer Lee

A Tuk-tuk

Me eating cereal while playing Chinese Chess :D

Week 9/Week 1 in Cambodia

Received email: Monday May 27, 2013 at 1:03 am

May 26, 2013

CAMBODIA!!! Dirty, smelly, chaotic, no traffic laws, happy people, motorbikes with 6 people on them... I love it. It is super crazy here but so fun. Cambodia may be really old and dirty but it is homey sometimes.

So my trainer, Elder Noot (note), is super cool. He is super chill and a hard worker and we get along so well. We currently are starting a new area. We are doing what is called "whitewashing". We have no investigators. We are trying to get to know the members and to meet the inactive members. I love it because it is like starting a mission. My area is Chamkamorn, it is Phnom Penh but closer to the outskirts. It is in the south east. There is a huge bridge from the main part of the city and our area is just over it.

The language is really hard but I actually am already catching on to a little bit. We have been contacting so my trainer is making me do a lot of it. It has helped a lot. Also, i love ALL of the food here that I have eaten so far. The fruit here is 10x better than in America. And their stir fries are delicious. I love having rice for breakfast.

I forgot to mention that it is super hot. I am always covered in sweat and it is so funny how much I sweat at times. Haha. But I love it. I love our Mission President, President Moon. He is so nice, funny, and spiritual. Just amazing.

Cambodians are either the best or worst drivers. There is not traffic laws whatever but I haven't seen a crash yet. So fun and crazy to navigate through traffic. I love riding on tuk-tuks. They are so fun.

Something cool. On Saturday we had the opportunity to give a less active member a blessing. I anointed the oil and my companion gave the blessing. Already giving blessings. It is awesome.

The branch is small but really cool and strong. We hope to strengthen it.

Cambodia is so cool. It is so fun. I love it. I love the people. Elder Noot loves adventures. And there are plenty here. I love them. "Adventures are out there!"

I love you all and thank you for your prayers. May God bless you.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 8- Made it!!!

Thursday, May 23, 2013 12:12 am

After more than 30 hours of travel and some delays we made it to Cambodia!!! It is super hot and humid and crazy drivers but I am safe. I am so excited to get to work. I love you so much. I will write you soon. Lots of loves.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 8 FINAL WEEK!!!!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:57 am

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you first of all everyone again for the love, support, letters, candy, and caring for my family that you all have given me. I love you all so much.

So I officially leave in 6 days!!!!!! I can't believe that in 8 days I will be in Cambodia teaching, tracting, and testifying. It is so nerveracking and exciting all at once. I will be flying first to LA then to Hong Kong and finally to Cambodia!!! It is so exciting. May 22nd doesn't even exist for me but for only an hour because of the time change. Haha it is funny to me :).

This week was fun and amazing. I got to see a couple of my best friends here. I saw Sister Michaelah Thompson who is going to the Houston South mission and I saw Elder Wilson Hulme who is going to the Mexico City mission. It really was so much fun to see them. They both just got in like a week or two ago. I know they and all my other friends that I have seen will be great missionaries.

I have learned so much this week and have been spiritually fed so much. Something one of my teachers said was to stay focused on the present. Satan will do anything to make us think about the past or future, but the present is where we actually make a difference. We serve others and do good in the present. So stay focused. Another thing that I learned is that God's standards for us get higher as we improve. We have to constantly strive to do better than ever because Heavenly Father wants us to be the best that we can become. I know that the First Vision has power. The Adversary will do anything to interrupt the First Vision. It has so much power and instantly brings the Spirit. I LOVE it. Plus it sounds really cool in Cambodian :D.

Sundays really have been the best days because it is ice cream day, Temple walk day, and watch awesome talks by the Apostles. I watched Jeffrey R. Holland. I LOVE it. He said that as a missionary we are similar to an apostle. He called us apostles with lower case "a" while he is an Apostle with an uppercase "A." He had some wonderful quotes. "Don't miss it" when talking about the mission and serving with all that you can. He reminded me of Aunt Karen's quote "Serve with no Regrets." (or "Have No Regrets" I forget the phrasing :P). Elder Holland also said that we must make "His work and His glory" become "[my] work and [my] glory" too. Not that we take the glory or anything like that. Only in that we want to do exactly what the Father wants done. I try to gain the vision that Heavenly Father has for missionary work everyday.

One of the coolest parts of the week was listening to Elder Russell M. Nelson come to speak to us on Tuesday, yesterday. He was amazing and his wife was awesome. Something his wife said was "We can ask for Angels to be with us; by name sometimes or even by attribute." That is SO COOL. Because I know that angels are with us all the time. But we can ask for their help! They talked a lot about how the people on the other side of the veil all want to help us and are helping us and praying for us to succeed. Somethign thtat Elder Nelson said was "We Follow Jesus Christ." He said to use that to answer the question why we are here. Whether on the earth or on a mission that is why we are here because we Follow Jesus Christ. I loved it.

So, as my stay in the MTC winds up I realized how amazing it was. I have grown so much and have learned a new language. I have made amazing friends and had spiritual experiences. I have had fun and have sang for two Apostles. I think it has been so good to be here and I almost hate to leave but I know I am so excited to be out in the field. So I think this is my last email until the field. I love you all and I want you all to know that I have a firm testimony of Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. I love them all so much. May God be with you all.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Love you lots Mom

A scripture I love- 3 Nephi 5:13

Me and Sister Thompson :D

 My desk space

My new name tag :D

Me at the Provo Temple