Yay Brock for asking a girl to Homecoming! Geez im so proud of you!  Plus geez you picked a good date!  I can't wait to hear all about it.  And if Nick [Anderson] has any problems with you going with his sister, tell him that i have connections with the cambodian swat team special forces unit aka the Klaa Haaa which means flying tigers haha.  Also way to go with football.    And i want to see a pic of your facial hair some time soon. 

That is crazy that JT is home now.  I wish i could've heard his homecoming talk.  Can you believe Dahlson will be home in a few months?! That is so crazy.  Stacy is so awesome!  Thanks for using me in your talk.  

Oh hey Mom and Dad, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! 25YEARS! WAAAAAHHHOOOO!  You guys are so awesome!  Im glad you liked my card and that everyone agrees with my philosophy of me being the best child of yours and now i can prove it mathematically, scientifically and ....ok im just kidding but im glad you got a good laugh out of it.

Alright so now for my side of things.  This week was not a very good one as numbers go and actually doing missionary work because of A) pday B) Weekly planning C) Water Festival and D) Zone Conference.  With all of those things we barely had time to do a whole lot of missionary work but we did what we could and Water Festival and Zone conference were SO AWESOME!

First Water Festival.  So Friday after District meeting we drove up with Elder B and his companion Elder M(who doesn't speak cambodian) to Lowell.  Man if you guys ever get the chance to ride in a car with someone who has only been speaking english for a few months and only been in america for a few months, take that opportuninty! It was hilarious! I love elder B sooooo much!   The ride home saturday night was just as good haha.  I just can't even explain what it is like.  Its just one of those things you need to experience :)  So we get to Lowell and met up with the other elders and we started to help set up the tents and what not at the trail next to the Merrimack River when it started pouring and there was lots of wind. So we had to take everything back down.  Then they sent us over to a different place to help them move things inside a building cuz they thought it would rain all night.  but it didn't so we were able to go to the opening ceremony which was kinda lame... they had a candle lighting ceremony where the Monks said a long prayer and then people put candles on the river... It would've been way awesome but they only put like 20 candles so it looked lame.  Anyways that night we slept over at the lowell apartment and i got to sit at my old desk and really just take a trip down memory lane all week end. 

Saturday we got up at 6 and headed to the river to once again help set up.  It was a perfect day!  We helped set other people's stuff up and then set our booth up.  Which was legit if i do say so myself.  Ill be sending a package with some pictures probably this week so  you can see what it was like.  So from 9am to 4pm us 9 elders took turns manning the booth, handing out free things, contacting, speaking khmae, and just wandering around talking to peopleand buying stuff.  It was so fun!  I don't think ive ever seen so many asians at one time!  I love these people!  Plus i got to speak lots of khmae and alot of people were really impressed that a bunch of white guys can speak their language.  There were alot of cambodians there of course but also Laotian, vietnamese and Thai people as well.  Pretty awesome.  I saw some ward members from my ward in Lynn and also from Lowell that i recognized.  Met some RM's that were coming back to visit, met some of our former investigators and just talked to alot of people. Our booth got alot of attention and we gave away alot of stuff.  I feel like this description just isnt really doing this event justice but its the best i got.  Just so you know, i went on a little shopping spree and spent like 70 bucks!  It would've and should've been alot more  since most people were impressed i spoke khmae so they gave great discounts!

 

After it was all over we helped take the whole thing down for 2 hours and then drove home and that was it.  It was so FUN! I can't wait til next year! Its a bummer that its already over. 

We stilll have 3 investigators set for baptism this week on the 28th!  Our last few lessons have gone super good and they are all ready and excited for baptism.  They are a bit nervous still but that is to be expected. The interview will be on thursday and since i am the district leader, the Zone Leaders will do the interviewing.  Oh and yesterday at church we asked M who he wanted to have baptize him and he asked me to do it.  that will be my first person i personally baptize.  Im a bit nervous but honored to be able to do it.   I'll let you know how it goes next week :) Pray for them! and thanks for all of your prayers so far

Ok so Zone conference was wednesday up in Nashua, New Hampshire.  It wasn't your typical zone conference of talking about rules and goals and obedience and all that jazz, but it was a special one.  The focus and really what the whole thing centered on was the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  From 9am to 3pm (with an hour for lunch) President and Sis, Evans, the Assistants, and the zone leaders gave talks/lessons all about the atonement.  Can you just imagine what it was like for us.  A room full of missionaries and the spirit just talking all about the atonement.  It was very very spiritual and enlightening.  I wish all of you could have experienced it.  Here are a few things that i learned or experienced.  Pres. Evans started out and he talked alot about Bruce R. McConkie's last talk on the Atonement. I encourage you all to look that one up and read it.  Sis. Evans read to us 3 Nephi 9: 13 "Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that i may heal you?"  The atonement was already made.  We have to be the ones to turn to Him and use the atonement in our lives.  She also told us to imagine what it was like for us to be sitting in heaven watching Jesus go through with it, and hearing him say "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me." and thinking, hoping and praying that Christ would go through with it so that you could be saved and then hearing Him say" nevertheless not my will but thine be done" and knowing that because of Christ we can go to Earth knowing there is a way to be saved to return to God. Sis. Evans is a brilliant woman.  She knows so much. Elder T (AP) Asked us to think about What does the Atonement mean to me?  Think about that one, and i mean really ponder it.  Elder (AP) talked to us about how the applications of the Atonement are infinite! everything is covered by the atonement.  We then had a very spiritual testimony meeting all focused on the atonement and alot of tears were shed and lots of powerful testimonies.  Man, some of these missionaries come from the hardest backgrounds. It is so amazing to me to see where they are now.  Truly inspiring.  The last thing i really loved was what Elder D and Elder T did.  They had us all close our eyes as they narrated the last few days of the Saviors life and asked us to picture ourselves there with him, being an eyewitness to all of the things He went through.  I did so and it felt so real. I felt like i was right there next to the savior watching him suffer and die. This zone conference, the atonement finally clicked with me and it is real to me.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and the Atonement is real.  as it says in PMG everything in life will be made fair through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  I know that is true.  I love this gospel.  I love this opportunity to serve the Lord!

I love you all.  Have a wonderful week and make sure to keep Christ in your thoughts always.

Love,

     Elder Brady Johnson