Jeff email 9/27/2010

Dear Family,


This week was cool. So everyone in this area thinks I’m Brazilian! How amazing is that. They say that I speak without accent! Yeah baby!! It makes my comp pretty peeved because they all think that I have less time than him so they think he just can’t speak at all. By the way his parents have received the flight plans so…. I’ll look into it.

This week was a lot of begging the members for references. We ended up getting about 150! Yeah. That’s what I am talking about! This week is General Conference and I am super excited to hear the prophet talk to us again! So all of you are wondering, My plane leaves the 27th I believe and I should get there on the 28th sometime I just don’t know what time. You should receive something soon.

For some odd reason lately there haven’t been too many experiences that don’t involve dogs. I almost get eaten every day! On Monday we went shoe shopping. My size in Brazil is 44. It doesn’t exist. Finally we came to a store and there they were. 25 dollar shoes.. brown with shoelaces like I wanted! This was just one more testimony to me that miracles have not ceased and that they still do happen!

We had a baptism fall this week. She couldn't stop breaking the law of chastity. I explained it in the clearest way possible so she will have no excuse in the judgment day. I did warn her!

Hopefully this week we find a few more baptisms for the future because its nearing the end!


LOVE YOU ALL!!!


Jeffrey Johnson

Family room remodel

We, or I should say, I decided to do a project I have been wanting to do a very long time. (poor, poor Todd always gets roped into the projects. Good thing he is a patient man!) Tile around the fireplace and put built-in-book shelves and a window seat in our family room. We are going to try and have this done before Jeffrey Todd gets home....wish us luck!!! Love projects :)

These are the before

These are in the process....

....Stay tuned for the finished.........

Niles- Football Vs. Timpview

Jeff email 9/13/2010

Dear Family,


This week was marked with.....Yes you read it....BAPTIZM!!!!! It was the best baptism yet on my mission I think! It went splended! Ana was way excited! She invited like 10 non members to her baptism and it was amazing! She said she feels it was the turning poing in her life. I’m way excited that I got help her to start her new life on the straight and narrow!

Well, last night I got the transfer calls and I have been transfered. I was a little annoyed but President Pickett explained after that he was releasing all the Elders that were in positions that will be going home this transfer. So tomorrow I will go to my last área with my last companion. My goal is that I don't want anyone there in that área or even my companion to know that I will be going home. It should be fun.

So funny story of the week. Elder Thompson and I were in the favella (the hood, the slum, other side of the tracks). We were looking for a could be elect that we had spoken to in the street a few days earlier. We were walking up these stair alleyways. At the beginning of my mission I would probably be wetting my pants because I would be so scared to enter in there but these days I'm not scared at all. My companion was a little un-easy but He is still a Young padawan. As we were walking through one of the dark alleys I could hear someone talking in mono-tone. It sounded like those people that do that Saint Mary prayer from the catholic church. I thought that was what it was untill I got closer and I could hear what the man was saying. He said. “the way I work is killing alot! I want to kill everyone. My way is killing tons.” I was back to my greeny ways of almost wetting myself in the favella. We passed by his house and went up another stairway. As we got to the top we turned and saw this Guy running down the stairs. Again, the level of our being scared went up again. As we were going down the stairs something jumped on my comp as we were in the dark. He began freaking out swatting at what He thought was something that would kill him. It flew off of him and then went back on to him and again He was freaking out trying to get it off of him. It ended up being a little Grass Hopper but because of the intense situation that we are in He thought it was something that was going to finish him off or end his life. I had quite a good laugh!


Tchau!

Jeff email 9/6/2010

Querida Família!

This week was another amazing week! We are working SO hard! This week we are going to realize the baptism of Ana our investigator! She is a super elect! she was taught years ago but never accepted but this time she can see the change that the Restored Gospel is making in her life! We are constintaly in the process of finding and cutting investigators! We are just working and trying to find the elects that i'm here to baptize!

Lately I have been thinking about one of the biggest blessing in our lives that brings me so much sadness. Free Agency. I hate the fact that people are allowed to choose wrong paths and wrong things. Something that will bring us to the glory of God can bring others so much misery and pain! Thats one of the biggest difficulties for me here on my mission. People that use this gift from God to not choose to follow and receive the blessings that He has in store for us. If you think about it. Agency is the only thing in this world that truly is ours. Think of the blessings we could receive if we gave the only thing that is ours, (our agency), back to our Heavenly Father. Thats one of the greatest things that I have been able to learn here on my mission. There are many many places in the scriptures that talk of a "broken heart and a contrite spirit". To me these are signs that we have begun to give our will/agency back to our Heavenly Father. A "broken heart" to me is our willingness to follow God's will for us in the flesh, and a "contrite spirit" is our willingness to follows God's will for us in the spirit. I am constantly praying that those that i come in contact with here on my mission will be able to do this. Follow God's will. I love the scripture in D&C 82:10. "I the Lord Am bound when ye do what I say. But when ye do not what I say, Ye have no promise." (exlamation added). It doesn't get any simpler than this. If those I teach are obedient and follow God's will, The blessings will come.

Had quite the experience. Usually when im doing contacts people always say that they already know the word and dont need to hear any more. Sometimes i like to mess with them a little bit. I say. "what apostacy to you frequent?" apostacy in portuguese is a word that very few use or even know so when you say this they say the name of their church. i usually come in with the follow up question that goes like this. "is there good apostacy or bad apostacy there?" they always say that there is good apostacy. usually it goes like that. UNTILL THIS ONE TIME! He said he already knew the word throgh the catholic church. I asked him. "how long have you been frequenting that apostacy". Awating the response to my clever question the man said. "are you calling my church apostacy?!" I was fried. He knew what apostacy was. I gather up my courage and said. "maybe?" he then said what is apostacy.. i said, "well here you go. Christ organized His church during His life and in Ephesions 2:20 we read that it was funded on the organization of apostles, prophets, and that Christ was the chief corner stone. So, anything that is different than this is apostacy. so yes.. .im calling your church apostacy." He wanted to fight about Peter being the first pope or whatever but I said good night and I got out of there. It was real fun.

well, sure do love you all and hope to see you soon!

Jeff!