Elder David Johnson: Tucumcari, New Mexico

Hello everyone!

It's been such a wild ride, I've enjoyed every second of my time here in the Texas Lubbock mission! I'm sitting on pins and needles here waiting for my visa to arrive, but patience is a virtue. Let me explain what happened...

A week ago, I was reassigned to labor in the Texas Lubbock Mission. About 3 days later, I woke up at 4 in the morning in the MTC to catch a train going to salt lake city. I said goodbye to all my friends I had made in the MTC (all except for elder Smith and elder mano who came with me to Texas). I went to the airport to fly to Dallas Texas, and while I was there, we met an older couple who gladly talked to us 3 missionaries who were fresh from the MTC. We planted our first book of Mormon with them, and they started reading it as soon as they got on the plane. It was a neat experience. On the plane ride to Dallas, I was in awe of the scenery Texas and New Mexico have to offer.

I got to Dallas, and before I got onto the second plane headed to Lubbock, I called my mom and brother, who both were very glad to hear from me. I then flew from Dallas to Lubbock, which only tool around 10 minutes. My mission president and the APs were there to warmly greet the 3 malagasy missionaries and many others. We went tracting a little bit on Texas tech (which is a college), and then we had dinner at the mission home and spent the night there. The next day we went over orientation, in which I was given a phone to use in my assigned city. I said goodbye to elder Smith and elder mano, and went to Amarillo to greet my new companion and the zone leaders. My new companion is so nice! His name is Elder Ward. His brother actually served in Cheyenne Wyoming (that's where I'm from)! Crazy, right? Small world. We spent the night at the zone leaders home. The next day we played outside for a little bit on the field, and then Elder Ward and I went to our assigned city, which is Tucmacari, New Mexico. So I am not actually in Texas, I am living in New Mexico! Surprise!!!

I got to the ward missionaries home in Tucmacari, and i found out that I was going to be living in an attic with the ceiling only about an inch above my head. I love it, though. Me and Elder Ward make a great team.

The family that live in this home is really nice. They are the Thompson's. They are an old couple that have a Chihuahua named Pancho. Pancho is mean to the elders because he has a learning disability, and he's kind of skittish, so we try to be nice to him.

The members of the Tucumcari branch are amazing!

Obviously, though, they can't compete with the cornerstone ward. Yesterday was fast sunday, and i shared my testimony to this very small branch of less than 20 people.

The last person to bear their testimony was on the stand for about 10 to 15 minutes going off into wide tangents. It was kind of a cringy moment for everyone. But, we survived so it's alright.

Now a fun fact about Tucmacari...you

ready? Buckle your seatbelts...

Tucumcari was the inspired base for the town Radiator Springs in the disney movie Cars.

Crazy, right? I'll have some pictures ready for you at the bottom. It totally looks like radiator springs.

Ok, now for some crazy stories with tracting.

We knocked on this gals door, and she said through the window "who is it?" And we responded "its the missionaries." She then said "nobody is home". We laughed and said "Ok, have a nice day". It made us laugh because she was home, but she didn't want us there and she said nobody was home.

When we were coming home from a lesson, me and Elder Ward saw a tarantula crawling on our front porch, so we decided to take a video of it. I took a couple of pictures. The tarantula was so cool because it had orange on its back and it was just really pretty, I've never seen one in the wild before (although I'll have to get used to that in Madagascar).

We went tracting yesterday, and we knocked on this guy's door. He opens and he says "hey guys, sorry I can't open the screen door right now, there's some stuff going on in here" and we caught a good whiff of marijuana. We both said "its alright, we will come back later". Oh, well. People's agency, right?

When I was still in the MTC I practised quickdrawing my belt to defend myself from dogs. That came into good use yesterday.

I was walking with my companion down a weird street, when a couple of dogs came up to us, one of which was completely friendly and nonhostile and the other one meant business. It was barking loud and was lunging at me, and it's tail wasn't wagging. It was so funny, this tiny little puppy was jumping for joy to see me, while this other big dog was ready to eat me for supper. The mean dog got cocky, and I quickdrew my belt and swung it at the dog, but I missed. It was enough for the dog to quit and stay a distance away from us.

I met an investigator whose name i will use is stephany. She has been progressing for a while as an investigator and I invited her to be baptised on the 29th of this month. She accepted the invitation, and she is scheduled to be baptised on the 29th of this month. I am so grateful that the Lord hasn't sent me to Madagascar quite yet so that I can learn some more teaching skills and become more courageous. I still urge the want to go to Madagascar, but I will carry his work out here first until I get my visa.

Yeah, New Mexico is hot, and Yeah, some people here ain't super polite, sure, we got some dangerous animals down here (already I've seen tarantulas, skunks, and dogs everywhere), but whoever said a mission was going to be easy? After all, smooth seas never made a skilled sailor.

Alright, here is my new address for those who want to mail me...

1811 South Monroe Street

Tucumcari, NM

88401

I hope the work y'all are doing is going good, I hope you are all safe and well. I hope you all find solace in Jesus Christ, because he is the main source of hope.

Tiako ianareo (I love you all),

~Elder Johnson~

Just try to picture Lightning McQueen drifting on these hills

This is a package David's companion got for his Birthday.

This is the street David lives on now.

Tucumcari

Tucumcari (Obviously David was trying to capture something a camera can't appreciate)

David is explaining what his first apartment is like....sounds interesting.

The steps leading up to the attic are only about half the size of my feet...and there are about 15 of those bad boys! They made me fall a couple of times. The practical joke of the sample was a making of Brother Thompson. If you notice in the bottom pictures, the table is made from marbles, and his wife wanted a marble top table. Be careful what you wish for (especially if your spouse loves practical jokes)!

~Elder Johnson~