Sep 28 - Ayacucho

Hello All,

This week was fantastic!! We had three baptisms of Noemi, Paul, and Miriam. Paul walked into the sacrament meeting with a full suit and the others were with dresses. Wow! It was so amazing to see them so ready for the sacrament meeting. I know that they are real converts and will be active for the rest of their lives. We are now working with the brother and sister in law of Miriam, the uncle of Paul, and some cousins of Noemi. I love the focus on the family!

This transfer has gone by sooo fast and it is so amazing to see the development in our area. Ayacucho is really hard because there is such a strong catholic tradition, but at the same time they are really humble and have such a strong desire to follow God and Jesus Christ.

We found out about Elder Scott about two days ago. It is crazy that our Mission President said that this will be the first time that three have been announced in the conference for more than 100 years! It will be interesting to see who will be called up. I'm so excited for Conference! I love it in the mission because we get to see it in English. It makes me miss being able to be in the pajamas and eating while watching conference haha.

I love you guys soo much and I will continue to make you guys proud!

PS The Newsletter is awesome!! [the family newsletter Granny Buchanan put together]

Elder Johnson

Sep 21 - Ayacucho

Hello All,

This week has been hard! We had ten lessons the whole week, which means a little more than one a day... We walked soo much and I can feel myself losing weight haha. This area in Ayacucho is awesome!, but there is a lot of Catholic influence that the people follow. Despite the struggles, we are pushing forward!

We have two baptisms this week! Paul and Noemi are going to be baptized on the 26th! They are both so amazing and ready to make this covenant with God. It is such a blessing to see how much they have progressed in the gospel. So excited!

We got lucky that Pres McGinn was here in Ayacucho so that he could interview [for Mike's ecclesiastical endorsement for BYU]. It is a little tricky because here in Ayacucho we are 12 hours away from the mission home and offices (Utah to California!). They came here and spoke in Stake Conference and interviewed us all as well. He gave us training that we need to teach with more enthusiasm. We have to allow our investigators to see that the gospel really does bless us and makes us happy. I am excited to start applying everything that I have learned!

I love you sooo much and a lot!

Elder Johnson Baby

Sep 14 - Ayacucho

Hello All,

[We sent some pictures of the remodeling we did in the kitchen] The kitchen looks awesome!! I can't wait to be able to come home and enjoy it! It was a little crazy because I looked on our ward on lds.org and after Jeppe Albertson, I am the next missionary to come home... Time really does fly!!

This week we are going to have the baptism interviews of our three investigators that will be baptized on the 26th of this month. They are soo ready and we have been able to see a change in them. That is the best thing about the mission is seeing the changes in peoples lives and them receiving the blessings of the atonement. We are also going to have a wedding in October! A convert of about 3 years is going to get married with one of our investigators who then will be baptized. So all in all everything is great here in Ayacucho!!

I will finish the forms and essays for BYU and I have been thinking on that lately and I hope that I will be accepted, room with a bunch of people from the mission, and play for the soccer team. Fingers crossed!!

I love you guys soo much and thank you for helping me and supporting me to go on the mission. It really is the best two years that one could have and I am so glad that I made the decision to go. Keep pressing forward and enjoying life!

Much Love,

Elder JohnsonBaby

Sep 8 - Ayacucho

Hello All,

This week has been great! TRANSFERS! I am staying here in Ayacucho in the same area with my companion Elder Alvarado. He is awesome and so I am glad that we will be able to be together again!

We have currently 5 investigators with a baptism date. They are all progressing a lot and it is so amazing to see how they are doing. We have an investigator who always insists that we teach him english! We start the lesson and then he says Whats Obama up to.. hahahaha so frustrating, but now we have gotten it down that we will teach 30 min of english and then 30 min of a lesson! If he progresses its all good with me! haha

I will get in contact with Pres McGinn to verify the [ecclesiastical] endorsement [for his BYU application]. Sorry it took so long to get the form in but my camera is going wack and I cant connect into the computer. So frustrating! But anyway everything is all good.

Another interesting fact is that here in Ayacucho they speak another language that is called Quechua. You should look up some words haha its crazy! how are you is Imanayam cacc canqui. So hard!! We have to have someone who speaks Quechua in our lesson sometimes to translate. Its awesome!

I love you guys soo much and a lot!!

Elder Johnson