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