The Nile River and Murchison Falls in Uganda

We took a boat tour to Murchison Falls
and saw hippos and crocodiles in the
river and baboons, birds, warthogs and
elephants on the shore.

Our first time to see the Nile. It has two major
tributaries, the White Nile flows North from Lake
 Victoria in Uganda, the Blue Nile begins at 
LakeTana in Ethiopia, and they meet in Sudan.

Senior Couples Conference

We went to a nice restaurant with an interesting menu of African game in Uganda. Then we attended a senior couples conference and had the opportunity to get to know the other missionaries and report on our missions. We had a wonderful time and learned a lot. We went to Murchison Falls National Park and stayed at Paraa Safari Lodge and a night at Chobe on the Nile River. We were able to see all kinds of animals and we saw giraffes for the first time. Here are photos from Paraa.

We tried the crocodile but we liked
the steak and pork chops better.

Oribi

Male Kob

Warthogs

Hartebeest

Hartebeest and Giraffe

Cape Buffalo

Baby Oribi

We couldn't find the lions.

Christmas Skype

Matthew didn't write much since
he knew he would be talking to
us but here are some photos.
"I hope you all have a fantastic
CHRISTmas!"    Elder Johnson

Matthew looked and sounded great on Skype. It was so good
to have the entire family interacting together even though we
were only online. It was a wonderful Christmas!

LOVE

No photos this week so this is Christmas 15
years ago. Lacey holding Matt after singing
in church with the Choraliers. 

"I have been thinking about the true meaning of Christmas.  It made me think of how much God loved us to send His Son. It also made me think about the love Christ had for the people he served and taught. That made me think a lot about the love I have for the people I serve and teach. I know it isn't easy to be like Christ or love like he did, but it is a commandment and I know we don't have a single commandment which we can't keep.

I know that Christ was born, lived, died, and conquered death.  That He did it all because He loves us and He loves His Father.  I love you all and I hope that in these next two weeks we can think more about a the love of Christ and more than just think about it, we can put it in practice."           Elder Johnson  

Plenty of Exercise on Prep Day

I am an expert in cement

Futbol

I asked what he did for exercise and he sent these photos. This was his transfer week but he isn't having any changes. He said," I am not a super smart person and I don't have a ton of life experience but somehow the spirit helps me to counsel people who are twice my age and have families. I don't understand how Heavenly Father does it but I am extremely grateful that he lets me participate in His work and i am grateful that he can use me as an instrument. I just hope and pray that I can be a useful and efficient instrument in his hands." "Also, I am excited to start the Christmas season and I hope that we can all remember the real meaning of Christmas from the start.  I love you all bucket loads!" Elder Johnson

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."