Thankful For Thanksgiving

We had a delicious traditional Thanksgiving dinner thanks to 30 friends, old and
new, from the United States. You can see Dale carving the turkey, before and
after, and the dessert table. We are thankful for all of our many blessings here
and for all of our family and friends back home and in Peru. We appreciate the
prayers in our behalf.  We are so grateful to have the restored gospel of
Jesus Christ in our lives and hope to share that message with everyone we can.

Patriotic in Peru

 Here are some flashback photos.
Junior High Elections in Elko.

2 1/2 years Later Still Patriotic
He passed out paper bow ties when he ran for student body in Utah.

"Here in our area, they are having elections for "Alcalde," more or less like mayor. The cool thing is that here the elections are more like student body elections. The candidates march through the streets with music and wave flags. They also go door to door meeting people and talk to them about their problems and what they want the government to change or do. They also hand out free stuff but  instead of paper bow ties they give out free watermelon and fresh fish! Another great thing they do is play bingo in the street with giant crowds and hand out money and food. A lady even won a baby pig. 

Today we had a district P-Day and so we had a Thanksgiving lunch. We all put in and ate a bunch. We had grilled meat (thanks to the Argentine) hot dogs (Chilean style) brown gravy (made by the one and only, Elder Johnson from packets I found in my last room) mashed potatoes, chicken and fries.

The work here is progressing. We are finding more people every week and working with the ward better every week as well. I love you guys tons and I hope you all have a good week. " Elder Johnson

Peru

No photo this week so here is a flashback of
Matt as Flynn Ryder from a Halloween.

When I started my mission, I felt like Peru was just another country where people speak Spanish, but now I really feel proud to be here in Peru. The people here are fantastic and have an amazing history. I know I am working with the descendentes of Lehi and Nefi. I love reading the Book of Mormon and teaching it to the people because I can really testify to them that it was written for them more than 2000 years ago.

Just Another Day

Wake up, read our scriptures.

Mind the pothole.

Drive to the office. 

The view at the office.

Grind up some spices and

and pick up some vegetables for dinner.

Mow the lawn.

Say goodbye to a son.

We haven't put many photos on lately because we basically just do the same things here that we do at home. We are enjoying our time here and hope you all have good days there!

"We can be Completely Clean"

"First off, the epic story of the week took place in our room during weekly
planning. I was hungry so I ate an apple and it was super good but I was still hungry.
I started eating some chocolate and when I was about half way through, I realized that
my tooth was really sharp... I felt it with my finger and what do you know, my tooth
was broken. Haha, my tooth didn't break when I was eating chocolate, but it was the
tooth I broke during hockey and the fake part fell off. Don't worry, that was last
Thursday. Today I went to the dentist and got my tooth fixed, my teeth cleaned and
it only cost 13 dollars."
"My spiritual experience for the week was a baptism that we had in the district.When
I did the interview, I couldn't pass him and he needed another interview. I honestly
didn't know if he would be able to be baptized but we all prayed a lot that he would
pass. On Thursday, he passed his interview and on Saturday, he was baptized.
Watching him be baptized was something really touching because I know our
Heavenly Father has forgotten every sin and every mistake that he has made. Thanks
to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, he is completely clean.
I love the gospel, I love the Savior and I love you guys!"      Elder Johnson

Super Awesome Family in Peru

"These shoes are made from tires."

"Wow, what a week it has been. I always love fasting because miracles
always happen when you trust in the Lord. I got to work with my
companion from the MTC. We invited 5 people to be baptized in one
day. We have a family here who are super awesome. They have been
going to church and reading but recently the husband got a job and had
to work on Sunday so they stopped progressing. This week was fast
Sunday and so we decided to fast that he would be able to get his
schedule changed. When we got to the church, we were really surprised
to see him and his family there. When we asked them what had
happened, they told us that he got permission to go to church on Sunday!"

Ventanilla, Peru

"I am now in a place called Ventanilla which is right by the ocean and super awesome. The ward I am in is called Arenas, or in English, The Sands, ha yes, it is Sandy. My companion is from Bolivia. I am now a district leader instead of a zone leader so I am really excited to learn new things and be able to work closer to the elders. This week we were pretty busy getting to know the area and the members but we were also able to work and find people to teach and I really feel good in my area."

"Yes, I am Getting Transferred"

Elder Johnson answering his mothers questions:

1. Yes, I am getting transferred, I was completely shocked.

2. The families here are doing good.

3. Actually, we are in Spring and Summer is just around the corner.

4. I have switched from chocolate milk to skim and I drink a liter every day.

5. I eat 3-5 bananas everyday and a tamale or two.

Ponderizing in Peru

"This week I am going to be ponderizing Matthew 28:18-20.
I usually like studying the scriptures more in English  but I
actually like this scripture better in Spanish for two reasons.
First, in Spanish, it doesn't just say "teach all nations, it says,
"make all nations disciples. Second, at the end it says, " He will
be with us every day until the end of the world." Elder Johnson
 

Triple Good News

Instead of training dolls, we have a photo of real newborns that
have been resuscitated. It has only been 2 months since we visited
a Neonatal Resuscitation and Newborn Care Training in Nazaret
sponsored by LDS Charities and Ethiopian Pediatric Societies.
We learned today that 84 newborn babies have been resuscitated
since the workshops, including these triplets. We were so thrilled
with the results that we asked for this photo. The people who
attended just 2 months ago have taught university classes and held
more trainings and as a result, over 500 people have been trained
to save newborn lives and they will serve many areas of Ethiopia. 

Sister Johnson Enjoying Ethiopia

New Year's was September 12th and here we
are celebrating with our neighbors. It is now
2008 in Ethiopia and 7:00 am is 1:00 here,
 but we just go by our calendar and time.

Playing outside on the grass after Primary.

General Conference in Peru

"The highlight of the week without a doubt was conference.

The talks were great, full of the spirit and powerful. I am
definitely going to be thinking of and setting lifelong goals
about sabbath day observance, scripture study, and personal
revelation. Also, I was super excited about the 3 new apostles.
I am glad to sustain them and I really know that they were
called by revelation." "I Love you guys!!!" Elder Johnson

Preparation Day

Andrew got to sing
in the Primary Choir

Super Awesome Families in Peru

"This is a super awesome family that has been
going to church for about 2 months now. The 9
year old memorized the sacrament prayers.

"This family was referred by their neighbor but when we knocked on
their door, they told us that they had been praying to find a church that
could unite their family. Well, I guess they found it. They are all super
awesome and they have a goal to go to the temple and be sealed."   

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.