Elder David Johnson: Did you think to pray?

Hello everyone!

It's been a great week; We have another cyclone coming in sometime this week, so that means I'll have lots of storm braving and tie wringing out to do, but nothing's impossible in the work of the Lord! There aren't a whole lot of rice patties here in my area, but there are some occasions when we go to service and we have to walk through a couple to get to our destination. I remember sometime ago back in my first area, I was running in a fairly aggressive rainstorm with my trainer and a member to get to a referral He had given to us. Of all places to be during a rainstorm, I was running on the middle path of a rice patty. It didn't provide a whole lot of shelter for me, as you could guess. Coming down a particular part on the path, my right shoe slipped under me on a wet rock and I tumbled down to the ground. About 50 yards away was a group of friends that watched me haul it down the path and eat rice, so amidst the rain and thunder, I could hear 12-17 year old young men laughing. I shrugged the laughter off and wiped the mud off my pants and kept running, and eventually got to our appointment. I remember that as I gave the opening prayer to that lesson, I gave thanks that we were able to make it safely and to teach these people. Later on, I baptised one of the women we taught there.

Reflecting on that experience has given me a good lesson to learn on prayer and faith. Had we not prayed before we left our house, or had I not prayed for safety that morning, I could have slipped another way and snapped my neck on the cobblestone as I fell, or I could have been seriously injured in another fashion. What would've happened? Who knows.

I just know that prayer is the ultimate guide for anything, the best comfort caller, and the best way to communicate with our maker. Jesus said, ''Pray, lest ye enter into temptation; for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'' this week, we walked into another lesson. As we knocked on the door, the women we were going to teach came to her window. We could tell something was wrong. Her hair was in a messy bun, her eye sockets could be seen more easily, and she had bags under her eyes. She told us that next time would be better, but almost out of instinct I asked her if we could help in any way, she paused and looked at us for a second or two and started to cry. Almost as if she had been waiting for someone to come and save her, she told us she needed help and told us to come in. As we came in, I covered my mouth in shock as I surveyed the scene before me. The house was in perfect order, but her coffee table had drops of blood on it. After she showed us her hands and arms, I could tell that the blood was hers. She had been crying because her now ex-husband had abused her. After a long time of crying in the night, she decided to pray. she prayed with the bible in her hands and pleaded for some words of comfort to come to her. She opened the bible and read about how God loves his children. As a spiritual thought, I shared Jacob 3 and 4. She seemed to take comfort from that.

It broke my heart to see that she now had an entire family to care for, but I could also tell that because she relied on the Lord's help, she was confident about her future. Her faith is strong, especially in her prayers. Personally, I try to pray more than 5 times a day to help myself receive personal revelation. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and for how many times unseen angels had prepared a way for me to accomplish the work of the Lord.

I hope that everyone has a great week. Love you all,

Elder Johnson

Wondering about what's in that water? Good question! I didn't really know, either, so I just drank it XD

David still loves the night sky!

This is the entrance to the church.

A very rich man, with multiple wives, lives in this beautiful home. A while back, a few missionaries knocked on his door and asked him what he did for a living, but he wouldn't tell them.