"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.   

Matt and mormon.org

"One day we were walking and a guy came out of his house. He started spewing out every anti Mormon thing I have ever heard. Apparently, he had been looking up the church on the internet the night before"
(If he wanted to know, he should have gone to  mormon.org  )
"After telling him that the things he read weren't true, for example, "Mormons hate black people", "My parents live in Africa and love black people." He let us in to teach him about the restoration and he actually liked it. It was a super awesome lesson and I felt the spirit so much. We had a really good week and I just love being a missionary!!"

"I did a work visit with an elder and
learned that it's not a good idea to
leave your dirty plates out for more
than a month." Elder Johnson

Transfer Week in Ethiopia

It's transfer week and we are moving 10 minutes away but we are still companions. We love serving with the youngElders and the members in the branches here. We love the good people throughout Ethiopia. Here is a slide Dale made about a conference we attended.

'Our conversion is a lifelong process as we strive to become like our Heavenly Father.'

"The Lord's Team"

Elder Johnson was able to attend this family's sealing in the Temple
last week.
'This week, we had to teach a zone meeting and I always love
preparing to teach because that is when I really feel like I learn the
most, when I'm teaching. I know this is the Lords work and He isn't
going to fail. Because I am on His team, it means I can't fail either.
I love the Gospel and I know that sometimes we feel like we are
failing or the world is beating us but all we have to do is remember
whose team we are on and that He will never lose." Elder Johnson  

Saving Newborns in Nazaret

Training Dolls
We attended part of a Neonatal Resuscitation and Newborn Care
Training given to nurses, midwives, doctors, and professors. LDS
Charities works with Ethiopian Pediatric Societies to teach people
to save newborn babies and then train others to do the same. They
teach ways to help babies breathe, stay warm, get nourishment, and
teach kangaroo care to the mothers. Many newborns have been saved.

Matt

"I had transfers and am in a place called Los Olivos (still in Lima).I am with a
companion from Peru named Elder Quezada. My area is super awesome and so
is my comp. Something fantastic that happened this week is that I went to a
sealing in the temple of a family that I was working with. It was the first one
that I have been to and it was awesome!!! I love the temple!
"I also ate guinea pig so that was also pretty tasty. I love you all!" Elder Johnson

Table Tennis in Ethiopia

Yes, they do have ping pong in Ethiopia.

Speaking Spanish

"Bueno hoy voy a escribirles en español porque no tengo mucho para decirles y esto lo hace mas divertido!!! entonces ayer acabamos el cambio y era mi cuarto aquí en el trébol. Hoy me llamaron y me dijeron que tengo cambios pero no se adonde hasta mañana en nuestro reunión de cambios. Estoy muy feliz por esta oportunidad a ir a otro área pero también estoy medio triste que tengo que salir este área y dejar esas personas que quiero tanto acá. Los cambio siempre me hace pensar en el trabajo que he hecho y de verdad puedo decir que he dado todo de mi en los últimos 6 meses que pase en esta zona. Amo la obra y estoy agradecido por poder participar en ella." 

Haha I love you guys tons and have fun translating!!!!!! have a great week!!!!:)

Love

Elder Johnson