International Day of Cleaning the Beach

Matt has always enjoyed cleaning the beach. 

"Saturday was International Day of Cleaning the Beach. We went to the
beach right by my first area and I was able to see the bishop from my first
ward, it was just great. We also found interesting things half buried in the
sand(bottles, birds, blankets, shoes, tires, pigs)."
"This week we worked really hard but we were having a hard time
finding people. On Sunday at 6:00pm we had only found one crazy guy
who recently got out of prison. But I felt like I needed to call a contact
we had had about a month ago that we could never find. When I called,
they told us to come by and when we got close, they were waiting in the
street for us. We went inside and found that there are 11 people in their
family. I know that the Lord guides the work and our lives and if we trust Him
and have patience, we will get to where we need to go."   Elder Johnson

"Our Lives Will Change"

"On Tuesday, I got a new companion from
 Piura in Northern Peru. He is super cool."

"On Wednesday, all the zone leaders had a super awesome meeting with President
Archibald. We talked and learned about prayer and personal revelation. Right now
we are teaching some really awesome families."
'Sometimes it surprises me to see the changes that people make in their lives when
they learn about the gospel. It is always a super powerful testimony to me that the
gospel is true and that it doesn't matter who we are. If we accept it in our lives,
our lives will change, and they will be better."  Love you guys tons, Elder Johnson

God's Beautiful Creations

The drive to Hawassa is always beautiful. This boy was herding
 his cattle and this little girl saw me taking photos of these sheep
 with interesting colors. She went and got her lamb so I could take
a photo of it. She was so sweet.

Changing Companions in Peru

This is Elder Johnson's last week with this companion. They bought 24 hot dogs
and 2 kilos of avocados for a hot dog roast. They had a great week and taught
an awesome lesson with a couple that is being baptized at the end of the month.
They taught about temples and eternal families. This work isn't just to baptize,
but it is to baptize and have families be sealed together in the temple for eternity.
"I love you tons and I hope you have a good week!" Elder Johnson

September Brings Showers in Ethiopia

We had a great leadership training with members from all over Ethiopia coming to
the Megenagna Chapel and Priesthood Leaders coming from all over the world to
teach. In the women's meeting, we talked about our divine potential and of the
attributes of Jesus Christ. If you look closely, the Amharic words are underneath
and women defined them and chose one to try to improve on in their lives. 

We knew there wouldn't be
enough candles for elder
 Elder Johnson's birthday so
we didn't even try.

We are always happy to be with the
mission president and his wife.

September brings Spring in Peru

"Another month has ended and it is starting to warm up and look like
 spring is coming. This week was super fantastic. We had a meeting
with Elder Bednar and it was just the best. I can really say that, that
man is an apostle of the Lord and also one of the best teachers I have
ever met. Here in our area, things are great. We are teaching families
that are progressing well and are going to be baptized this month."

Home Away From Home

We are settling in to our new house. As you can see we have all the comforts of home with little bits of Africa and Utah mixed together. Most of the time we have electricity too. We miss family and friends but are so grateful for the opportunity to share the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There are so many good people here in Ethiopia. We love the missionaries, the members and the people we meet.