5/16

haha..apparently this is it? wow..it still has not hit yet...like at all. I don't know why but it still feels like Wednesday is forever away! It's so weird whenever people ask me about how i feel..i honestly don't know! Like..part of me is excited..but then again it's weird thinking that i'm gonna be something different on Wednesday than what i've been for the past 2 years. I'm no longer gonna be that creepy guy that chases you down in the street in the middle of the pouring rain, dressed in a suit and riding on a bicycle and wanting to talk about Jesus! haha.. Well..one thing that is for certain..even though i'm not going to be the "same thing" i'm still going to be the "same person." I may not chase people down anymore, but i know that i'm still going to be a missionary! Tag or no tag! =) The way i see it..this is really just another transfer and i guess i'm just as excited for this transfer as i am for any other transfer! haha.. I am definitely going to miss "the field" though..Maybe i'm a little crazy..but i actually think that chasing people down in the street is fun and i'm going to miss doing that! I'm going to miss talking to random strangers about the gospel on the daily! I'm going to miss the meetings and the conferences and the other missionaries and the organization. However, i can honestly say that i am excited to come home because i feel that i have done exactly what the Lord has asked me and has expected of me to do, and that is a great feeling! =) I've worked hard and have been diligent and obedient! I've accomplished everything i wanted to on my mission! Now it's time for me to go and get married! ;) hahaha.. (i threw that one in there just for you, Mom!) But yeah..words honestly cannot describe the impact my mission has had on my life! But if i had to narrow it down to one thing..i would say that the greatest thing i've learned on my mission is how great of a blessing it is to ENJOY the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost! I've got the Spirit! I'm happy! What more could i ask for? =) I am grateful for all of your examples for me! I really am indebted to y'all! If i hadn't gone on a mission..i really don't know what i'd be doing right now..but i know that it would have amounted to nothing. Well i love y'all so much. Thanks for supporting me throughout my entire mission! I'll talk to y'all soon! =)

love..

Elder Johnson

5/9

Hey everyone! It was great being able to speak to y'all yesterday! I have to admit..it was pretty weird talking to y'all..knowing that we're all going to see each other in like a week and a half! haha.. So yeah..this was a pretty good week! Not necessarily number wise..but we got a ton accomplished this week considering how busy of a week it was! We had a great zone leader council meeting last week, as well as a great training meeting! Pretty much the only 2 regular days last week were Tuesday and Saturday..every other day we had various things going on which made it a little tricky to go out and talk to people, but we were able to manage! Sister Hunter was able to make it to church for the 2nd time and hopefully she will be getting work off soon so she will be able to come every sunday! If that is the case, we may set her date for when i come back to North Carolina, so that i can be there! =) Today should be fun..we're gonna go fish for a little bit..maybe this time i'll catch that catfish..i swear that thing's head was as big as Justin's! =) haha..but then after fishing we're having our zone preparation day and i'll get to say goodbye to everyone in the zone! Well..this should be a great week coming up! I'm looking forward to going out with a bang! I love y'all and i'll see y'all soon!

Elder Johnson

5/4

Sorry this e-mail is kind've late..I had a zlc meeting on Monday so our P-day is today. Well..i got to go to the temple today..for the last time as a missionary. It was such a great experience! So was our meeting last Saturday with Elder Richard G. Scott and Elder Cornish, a member of the 2nd quorum of the 70. I got to shake their hands!! haha..But yeah..they are both just really delightful, happy, loving people! We learned a ton about missionary work, things that i feel will definitely help me to have a very strong finish! =) But yeah..I guess Elder Scott was still dwelling on the same topic as his General Conference talk..he talked a TON about marriage!! haha..it was very un expected! It seemed like every single answer to any question about staying strong and improving was "get married in the temple. It is your first priority when you get home." haha..So OF COURSE..everyone has been giving me a ton of grief about it. Even President Cotterell at our zone leader council meeting was calling me out on it the entire time! So of course..i had to let everyone know that i applied to BYU Idaho in my departing testimony! haha..it was pretty funny.. Well jeeze..I'm getting down to my last few emails home here..that's so weird! We had a great experience at church on sunday! There is a guy named Eric that comes to church every week with his girlfriend, who has met with the missionaries before. We invited him to meet with the missionaries again about a month and a half ago, but he declined. But Sunday before church, we both felt that it was time to invite him again, so we wrote it down in our planners. Well..right after Sacrament was over, before we could go find him..he found us! And told us "hey elders guess what! I've finally made the decision that i want to be baptized!".....You could only imagine the state of shock that we were in! =) haha..it was pretty crazy because that is exactly what happened with Tara! The Lord moves in mysterious ways, that's for sure! Also..our zone is doing really well! We had 6 baptisms last month, and 5 the month before! The last time this zone has had 5 baptisms in a month was well over a year ago..and there is no telling when the last time this zone had more than 5 baptisms in a month..it was at least over 2 years ago! So we're really excited for our zone! We're grateful for how hard and how well they work and follow the spirit!

So for mother's day this Sunday..same rules apply as they did for Christmas..I'm only gonna have about 45 minutes to talk so we'll all probably have to conference call again. Probably won't matter too much because in a couple more weeks i'll have a lot more than 45 minutes to talk to y'all. =) I'll be calling around 5:30-6:00ish..so hopefully that works out with everyone!

Well i love y'all and i hope y'all are doing well! Can't wait to talk to y'all this Sunday!

Elder Johnson