Valkomna Johnson Familj och vener!
Wow, a lot has gone on this week! Ma and Pa, way to go with the Nursey
calling. Sounds like you guys will be kept young through those little kids.
Tisdag kväll: I'm really getting
pretty good at ironing and doing my own laundry. However, I am a bit nervous
being responsible for taking care of my cooking needs. I have it so easy here
with the food so I'm wondering what it will be like once I get to Sverige. We had to say goodbye to an Elder because he had some
foot pains so that was sad to see a fellow Swede have to go
home. He will try to come back out. We played hackey sack during our free time
and it's really fun/funny because everyone thinks it is good when they
get like 4 or 5 hits in a row. I just keep quiet and let my soccer skills shine
forth.
The devotional was from H. Bryan
Richards and his wife. Bro talked about how we as missionaries are called the
way general authorities are: by a prophet, for a full time job. Way
cool! He also told us that in 1954 the MTC had the largest number of people there
with 88. Now it has more than 3500 people! Ha that is such a huge difference!
Preach My Gospel was designed on the other side of the veil but put together
here for our time as missionaries to better serve. The authorities had
discussed the mission age change for a long time, but said it wasn't time yet,
but it will come. And now it has!! The apostles and the first presidency really
know everything that goes on and when things need to happen in order to hasten
the work. I thought that was so cool how they waited until just the right time.
Richards continued by saying Missions
are going to be hard. They are, so just get over it and kick yourself out the
door everyday because it will be worth it to those people you find. He also
gave a really cool quote from Winston Churchill: To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment
when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a
very special think, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him
unprepared or unqualified for that which would be his finest hour.
He then applied it to missionaries
"to every missionary...(same thing)”. Don't be unprepared or unworthy to
be called at any time to get called to your finest hour. We watched a short
clip from Elder Holland from like 30 years ago but he is just as powerful then
as he is now. He said salvation isn't easy. Things that are easy are not worth
the prize. The Savior asked for an easier way but understood that he needed to
do what the father asked him when he said "not my will but thine be
done."
Richards closed by saying that we
need to have the Name of Christ not on our pockets for our nametag, but branded
into our hearts. We sang the Army of Helaman song and I broke down crying
during the middle of it; So powerful, what a great devotional.
I got to lead my first discussion as
district leader. Brother H joined us so that was a little intimidating for my
first time but it went really well. He said even though all of you (speaking to
my class) have been called to serve in Sweden, you were called individually.
God needs you specifically with your talents, strengths and attributes in
Sweden. There are people there who are JUST for you. It is personal.
Onsdag: I got a sore throat and
haven't been able to get over it yet, but it doesn't get me down or ruin my
spirits. It actually gives me better energy to work harder and learn more and
more. We received some coaching
from Bro. B. I swear he is always there right when I need it. I get feeling so
discouraged and down on myself, thinking that I will never be able to do
anything and out of nowhere he comes and gives me a pat on the back and says
you can do this. He is so inspired from the Lord and I am grateful for him
because of that. That was my amazing moment of the day. The lord timed it
perfectly as he always does.
Torsdag: I received moms package and it was sooooooooo
awesome!! I love the pics, way cool rooms for the girls! Maybe I can repaint my
room when I get back? The pillowcase is amazing, everyone is so jealous! Batman fabric and scented with perfume! and
the bouncy balls are a big hit! I read the Swedish grammar book as much as I
can because understanding the principles helps me so much more and it sticks in
better and easier. We cleaned our classroom for inspection for Friday and got
it spotless. Some of the people in my district started talking about careers
and such for when they get back, I just sat there because I still have no idea.
I hate when people talk about that and ask me because I don’t know yet, so
don't ask me ha.
Fredag: I got thinking about the youtube Kid
President Pep talk. Weird right! But I thought about how a lot of things he
says can apply to the gospel. We all have the power to change/affect people by
what we do; simple acts of service like smiling at someone will change their perspective
and outlook. It's so cool how you can pull things out videos and such and apply
them towards the gospel, man I love it. I also was brought back to all of my
great memories with my exec council where we first watched that video. I miss
all of them so much, we had the best of times together!
I stumbled across the 135 section of
the Doctrine and Covenants which is about the matrydom of Joseph and Hyrum at
Carthage Jail. I have been there and it was amazing for me to read about that
and picture in my mind exactly where everything happened. I remembered Elder
Holland's testimony of The book of mormon, especially about those 2 giving up
their lives because of a book. A book? Why on earth would anyone ever sacrifice
their life for a book? Because they knew that it was the truth. I then
proceeded to read Praise to the Man and broke down because I know Joseph Smith
truly brought back the only true church and that the book of mormon is from
god. He sealed his testimony with his life. It was a powerful experience for
me. That was my amazing moment of the day.
I recieved letters and love how
great they smell!! I know it's weird but I love it! My elders say I'm probably
gonna die from affixiation...oh well haha jag skojar! In TRC we got to learn
about Sweden from the people we talked to and got to bare our testimony of the
book of mormon to them. Just visiting with them gets me so ancy and pumped to
go there!! Dear elder got messed up so I'm not sure if i got all the right things
from people, it was a mess. I took a pic with my soccer boys
Lördag: Johnson bootcamp is still going on. I am
going harder on them each time, but i know my elders will thank me...someday i
hope! I am really happy and proud of them for doing it with me and keeping
up. I love doing role plays. I still
struggle with them, but they really are so beneficial for you when you are
preparing; thanks Brady! Our lesson went fantastic!! Man, such a great experience
to see the spirit really work through us. In the afternoon class we practiced
on another topic but it went really bad. My comp and I did not work together
and became really frustrated. It was good for us to see the drastic contrast
between that and the earlier lesson. No fear, we pulled the
positives out of it. I had my district interviews after that and everyone seems
to be doing really well!
Söndag: It was fast sunday, and everyone said it was
the worst thing but I felt like it was the best thing so far! So instead of
priesthood and relief society, there was one big mission conference. We
listened to one of the first recordings ever of Wilford Woodruff's testimony
about Joseph Smith, it was so powerful to be linked to Joseph through that. Bro
R said that we should never underestimate the power of our testimony to our
grandchildren. I am grateful for my grandparents testimony because it has also
strengthened mine. thanks you guys!
An investigator spoke who was
baptized because she met with the missionaries here for TRC in Korean. It was
actually Stephen Wade from St. George!! How cool is that! She came up and bore
her testimony, and he translated it for us! I wish I could have gone down and
talked to him but I had to get to a meeting. Church ended with testimonies from as many
missionaries as time allowed.
We had a district meeting after that
on a topic I was supposed to choose. I chose repentance, but as I was studying
about it, it didn’t seem right. Right when I was about to start I had a feeling
to open it up to a testimony meeting. I am so glad I did that because we all
got to share our testimonies, cry a lot, and be spiritually edified. It was so
touching to hear everyone's testimony and why they were here. We then had our
temple relaxation walk and had a good time. We broke our fast, i really wasn't
that hungry because I had been so spiritually fed already. The night devotional
was Jenny Oaks Baker. She performed a lot of great music and spoke to us about
the gifts of the spirit. Hers is obviously music, but she uses that to help
others feel the spirit. We should all do that with the gifts we have been
given,
Måndag: We did TRC skyping with people in Sweden and
asked them what it's like and just to be connected there was amazing! They were
so nice and we actually understood them really well. I cannot wait to be
there!! The rest of the day just goofed around and wrote some flashcards before
dinner and the mail. Elder Garrard, a nord, has a crazy workout scheme and I
followed him and I'm dead today! Geez!! But it was sooo worth it!
Lycka Till och Jag älskar dig!
Äldste Johnson
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