This week has been
such a blast! The time is always ticking faster when you're doing the
work of God, and you are always on your toes, which means you have
almost no time to sit down and take a few deep breaths, but today I can
finally kick up my feet a little bit and relax, it feels super nice. It
hadn't been very cold down here, it only got to around 40 degrees at the
coldest, but it's funny because when it hits around 50 degrees,
everyone cranks up the heat in their cars and puts on their winter coats
like it's about to snow over, but to me it feels like a normal day in
good ol' Cheyenne. When they see me with a short sleeved shirt, they
always say, "arent you cold!?" and I say, "nope, not since I've left
Cheyenne". Blessings spring eternal from growing up in a place with
constant wind.
And
speaking of wind, my week sure was windy with activity and spiritual
experiences, and I'm sure y'all are pretty ready for me to get on with
it, so I will! Let's go...
Tuesday:
On this day, we decided to try by some former investigators. We went by
some, but most of them were just abandoned homes, which was sad. We
went by some other people, including Joanne. We stopped by her house
again (and for the last time), and knocked on her door. She didn't
answer the door, which was clear enough evidence that she didn't want us
around anymore, so we dropped her. It was sad, but people have their
agency. We DID get to meet with one of our other investigators, though.
His name is cody (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned him to you guys), but
at any rate, we caught him at an awkward time when he was playing a
video game with his buddy and drinking a little beer (which made me
panic a little bit, I've already had my fair share of drunk people
chewing me out). But, it turned out to be great! We had an excellent
conversation with him about God's amazing plan of happiness. Towards the
end of our visit, he expressed a concern, and this was critical because
we have been prying around for a concern to succor, and found none
until this time. He began to squirm a little bit, and said he was mad
(and he said he was a little more mad than usual, he blamed it on the
beer). He said he was mad at God because bad things happen to good
people. Well, we told him to read a certain part of the book of mormon
and we told him that that chapter would answer his questions. He seemed
satisfied, which was good. No chewing outs happened. We went home very
satisfied and happy about our work, and it's always a good thing to be
happy about the work you do, because taking credit for good work builds
good self esteem.
Wednesday:
on this day, we went to Amarillo for District Council again. This time,
the Zone leaders attended with us, and gave us specific instruction on
our role plays. They did it to also help us improve our role plays, and
to be honest with y'all, it was kind of embarrassing to watch ourselves
teach. It was also a huge learning experience it for us as missionaries
to see how we teach others. After that, we went on exchanges. I went
with elder Collins, while Elder Ward went with elder Barney. Elder
Collins and I went about trying to teach some people, but none of them
were home. We then went to the Stake Center to prepare to teach someone a
lesson on tithes and fast offerings, but they never came, which was a
shame. After that, we went and had dinner with elder Ward and Elder
Barney at a member's home. They got really creative with their food, and
try to recreate the cheeseburger spider from Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs 2. They did a really good job on that, and I will include some
pictures. The kids in that family helped out a lot with the meals, I
could tell. While we were eating, one of the kids mentioned to us that
she needed help, because the teacher had picked on her to talk about the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the class. We told her
to pray about what she should say, and to read the scriptures. Directly
after dinner, we went back to the Zone leaders Apartments, because that
was Halloween night, and it is specific instruction to stay indoors
around 6:30. For the rest of the night, we just told a lot of stories
and watched a little movie on the coming of Jesus Christ. Also, we went
to a little gym adjacent to the apartment that the Zone leaders live in.
Thursday:
this was by far the best day of the entire week. I enjoyed it so much,
because I have been waiting for this day ever since last transfer.
Remember the story of how we couldn't go to the Animal Sanctuary because
we had to get rid of the bed bugs first? Well, I got to go to the
Animal Sanctuary to do service with the other elders! And it was the
coolest thing, because we got to feed some very exotic animals. When we
got to the sanctuary, The Zone leaders gave Elder Ward and I a tour of
the sanctuary. The first animals we got to see, and quite frankly the
first ones we heard, were the Lions and the Tigers. The lions were
enormous, and the Tigers weren't far behind the lions. If you could
picture me standing at full height, which is around 6 feet, then the
Lions which I saw were up to about my belly button. They were huge! And
they were very hungry, which made me want to go to the next thing to
look at. The next thing we saw were the chimpanzees. Now, as a passing
note, I want to say that the chimpanzees were actually a lot scarier,
and by far the scariest ones we saw, because they were very, very, very
loud. If you ever got close enough to them, they would spit water at you
and Screech at you. Next to the hundred foot tall cage of the
chimpanzees, there was a building complex that connects to the cage
itself. I went inside this little complex to prepare to feed the Lions,
when I noticed that the cage and the building were connected by a little
prison-like door which had bars on it. As I looked through the door, I
could see one of the chimpanzees throwing a hundred foot pallet around
like a frisbee. If you were there, I think you might have been a little
humbled, too. I heard the Zone leaders tell me, you should move away
right now. Right before I could ask them why, I could hear running steps
approaching the prison like door, and then I heard numerous bangs come
from the door and I looked up, and I saw Chucky the chimpanzee rocking
the door forward and back spitting water at me through his teeth. I was
slightly offended. Even though the other Elders laughed at me, I went
about my way looking at the chimpanzees. The next animals we saw, and
the last exotic ones ( MTC District missionaries excluding elder
meldrum, I'm sorry, but you are going to be very jealous) were the
ring-tailed lemurs. We fed them bananas, grapes, and kale. I will
include a video of myself feeding the Lemurs. They were in a position of
when someone was meditating when we first looked at them, because the
sun had just come out, and that night had been very cold. The hardest
ones to feed were the Lions and the Tigers, because for one thing, I was
a walking corn dog to them, and for another, we were feeding them
frozen chicken bodies that were already hard enough to get into the
silver trays we would slide into their cages. There was an adult male
lion in particular that was very impatient with us getting his food into
his cage, and I will include another very short video of that. after
those Amazing Adventures were over, Elder Ward and I went back to
Tucumcari. We went around members homes for the rest of the night.
Friday:
this day was mostly uneventful, We just went around and visited some
people we were teaching. The swaps were out of town around this time, so
we had to go and feed their horses and one goat. other than that,
nothing else really happened that day.
Saturday:
We went by a man named Mickey Trousedale, whose wife died recently of
cancer. We stopped by his place and talked with him for a little bit to
see how he was doing and to see if we could do anything for him. He was a
little tired and sick when we saw him, and we told that to president
whetton, the branch president. He decided that his ministering brethren
should go to his home soon to help him feel better. We didn't really
have anything else happen that day that was really eventful
Sunday:
I bore my last testimony in fast and testimony meeting expressing my
love and faith in them for their love and support. I live then so much
and I'm going to miss them so much when I leave in a couple of weeks.
That day, 21 different missions participated in a fast for the increase
of missionary work. Elder Jeffery R. Holland participated in this fast
and actually gave a broadcast that day. We got a referral from San
Diego, California. Her name is Julia, and she is so ready and open to
the gospel. We love it!
I
have explained the Lions part of the lion, the glitch, and the war
zone. Let me explain the glitch. Just a couple of days ago, my phone
started acting up in such a way that whenever I typed in an incorrect
password, it would still unlock the phone. unfortunately, I never
figured out the cause of this glitch, but after a few incorrect attempts
it follow the correct protocol of denying me entrance into the phone.
Now, for The War Zone part. Dear friends, we are living in a world where
opinions, thoughts, and ideologies are constantly bombarding us to
hopefully to thrust some sort of influence into our lives. The only hope
of fortitude in this life is Jesus Christ himself. We must Center our
lives on him if we are to feel any peace, and if we do not send her our
lives on Jesus Christ, we can relate that to being in no man's land,
Being all alone without any armor or weapons. Gird up your loins, put on
the sword of righteousness, and the armor of God, and as you go out
into this world, you will be protected from the fiery darts of the
adversary. I would like to bear my testimony that I know that this
church is the living and restored Church of Jesus Christ. he is the best
example for us to follow. If we are to be anything like Heavenly
Father, we must first adopt and develop christ-like attributes. I love
you all, I pray for you, i pleade for you, I hope for you, I think of
you. Please have a safe and fun week, and know that the lord loves you.
Scripture of the week
Fotopampianarana sy Fanekempihavanana 138:58, 59
58 Ny maty izay mibebaka dia ho voavotra amin’ ny alalan’ ny fankatoavana ireo ôrdônansin’ ny tranon’ Andriamanitra,
59
Ary rehefa voaloany ny sazin’ ny fandikan-dalàny ary voasasa madio izy
ireo dia handray valisoa araka ny asany, fa izy ireo dia mpandova ny
famonjena.
Doctrine and Covenants 138:58, 59
58 The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,
59
And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are
washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they
are heirs of salvation
Mazatoa!
~Elder Johnson~
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