Jeff email 9/28/09

First an explanation about this email, I received a message on Facebook from a Sister in Jeff's mission saying that he was being transferred and that she was going to really miss him. I was a tad bit worried as transfers were a week and a half before. So, Jeff starts right out explaining why he was transferred then. The rest of the email is a response to an email that I sent him, thus he was answering questions or making comments to what was in my email............

So what happened is that an Elder had been stuck in the Provo MTC waiting for his visa.. it came and he came 2 weeks late into the field. Elder D is training this kid. I got made a senior to an Elder that has 7 months more than me and I am opening an area. crazy no eh!
No I will not be able to send email to Elder D. I will see him at Christmas because President is planning some things for the whole mission, I think. we will see, oh and yes... packages will get to me a million times faster. You know that President's prayers always get answered so if he is praying for Russell to go to the Vitoria Espirito Santo Mission he will go.. there is no doubt about it.
Well good luck with the meetings!
love
j. johnson

ps..
the mission is receiving 2 new elder johnsons and one of them is named jeffrey.. crazy na.

Pics from Jeff's mission

Meeting new companions
The view out of the mission home in Vitoria.

Dinner with Elder Dial's family

The window behind makes it very dark, just try squinting a little. Elder Dial is Jeff's companion right now.

Jeff's email 9/13/09

What a week what a week,

This week Elder Dial and I are seeing the blessings of the Lord in our work. On Saturday we were on our way to lunch and got to the door of the sister and she told us that lunch wasn’t quite ready for us but that her neighbor was there and she wanted us to teach her neighbor. We of course accepted and entered the sisters house to give a message to her neighbor. Elder Dial was losing his voice so I did the lesson and it went pretty well. At the end of the lesson I began talking about praying for a response about wether or not the Church of Jesus Christ is the true church on the earth or not. This is where the miracle happens…. She began telling us that her neighbor had already been telling her about the church and that it was the only true church on the earth. She then said that her teacher at school explained to her that the church catholic was organized in the 300th year A.D. and that because it was the oldest church, *(out of the apostasy churches that began because Christ's church was rejected and they had no prophet to tell them that they were wrong), meant that it was the true church. She brought this information back to her neighbor and asked her to explain it. The neighbor explained James 1:5 and explained that she could ask God through prayer because he knows all and he will answer her prayer. So she did exactly that. She prayed that night and asked which church was true. Nothing happened to her in that exact second. So she went to bed. That night, she dreamed that she was entering the ´mormon´ church and being baptized. The next day she knew that she had received her answer and immediately asked her mom if she could be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her mom said that because she received a response there was no way she could say no to her. Her mother just wants that she waits until her dad gets back from his trip so that he can be there and see her be baptized. The baptism will happen on the 26th of September and we are both very excited and very thankful for the blessings we are receiving because of our diligent work and faith in the LORD. This is just more and more proof that this church is true and that NOTHING can stop this ´stone cut out of the mountain without hands´. Im just thankful that I get to be part of this work for this short 2 years of my life.
Love you all
Elder Johnson

P.S.
Its good the hear that the cougs are doing good. Keep me posted on how they do against Florida State this week. Should be a great game.

UHP Physical Test- 09 Sept. 2009

UHP Headquarters and IA personnel took part in the "Mandatory Participation" PT today. If it were a required "Pass/Fail" test, I'm afraid that too many Troopers and Supervisors would NOT be able to pass!!! Yes, I passed!!! Two years ago, I would not have been able to pass this test. At that time, I was packing more weight and the seams of my shirts were tearing apart because of my excess inches, and I could only run about a half of a block before becoming severely winded.

The PT consists of a Vertical Jump, Sit-ups, Push-ups and 1.5 Mile Run. Do to a mistake by the Supervisor that plotted out the course for the run, we ended up running 2 miles instead of 1.5. Everyone was trying to figure out why it had taken them so long to complete the run. Once the mistake was identified, the times were adjusted. I passed all the categories, and will now spend the next couple of weeks getting conditioned for the Sergeants Promotional PT that will count for extra points.

Susie at BYU Fall X-Country Invitational 09

Susie ran in the BYU Fall X-Country Invitational and did really well. In her grouping she came in first out of the Provo runners. She made me cry as she ran. There was a runner from another school that Susie helped along. I noticed as she ran that she would wave her arm and I wondered what she was doing. As I kept looking I noticed the girl next to her would slow to a walk and that is when Susie would wave her on and at times slow her pace to encourage her on. I really couldn't stop the tears as I watched and I am sure I had a few people who wondered why I was crying at a x-country race. Very nice Susie! An absolute selfless act!

Rachel Volleyball

Congrats to Rachel for being moved up to JV and Varsity! You go toots!