Uncleship times 2!

First off, Congratulations kikki!!!!!!! You're a real live momma now! how exciting! Geez my big bro is changing diapers and my big sis is having babies and my little sis is 16. I'm not gonna recognize anyone when i get home! Fun fun fun stuff :) Next, sorry Ryan for misquoting the song from last week.  I've been on a mission for 18 months give me a break. But actually now it makes me wonder how many things am i quoting wrong? cuz i love to quote movies like most of you know (I do it more out here than i ever did at home if you can believe that) and I bet because of the missionary veil, I am mis-quoting quite a few.

This week was fantastic. It started with an exchange with one of my best friends, the assistant, Elder P! How cool is that?! We got to spend Monday night and tuesday down here in Providence. We haven’t had that much time together since back in the Revere Days. So it was alot of fun to catch up and reminisce. We got to teach S and it was amazing! We read with her Sis Dalton's talk from the Young Women General broadcast this year and then we talked about it with her. At the end of the lesson I asked , "do you feel like meeting with us and hearing these things is helping you in your life?She answered saying, "YES! Everything you guys talked about today and what the lady said are exactly what has been on my mind this week. It helps alot. I love when you guys come over. Its like God was talking to me through you." Those are my favorite moments as a missionary when you know you are saying things that others need to hear and apply to their lives and then those people confirm that and let you know that they are hearing what God wants them to hear. I love being that instrument that Heavenly Father can use to communicate to His Children. I love helping people. There really is nothing better.


So this week was HOT! I think it got to 100 degrees. But honestly, the humidity really isn't that bad. I've been in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia in the summer and I still think St. George is just as hot or hotter. You just sweat more out here. We had the privilege of helping a new family move in on one of those really hot days from 1pm to 3pm. It was quite the pleasant experience ha it was like i had jumped into a pool. Oh and Friday morning at indoor soccer it was way hot and i came out of there completely soaked and dripping sweat haha isn't it great?

We had some really fun lessons with M, C and V -the little african kids. We taught them the Word of Wisdom and also the 10 commandments and all three of them can tell you all the commandments in order. How many of you can do that? didn't think so haha. We made up this little hand trick for the Word of wisdom and used something we learned in seminary using our hands to remember the commandments and the kids loved it and it really stuck. I have to hold back fits of laughter at some points of our lessons with them cuz they get so distracted at times or ask really random and funny questions. But i love teaching them. We moved their date back another week to July 8th to make sure they are really ready to be baptized. But they are almost there.

Last night was one of the best nights. We had a family home evening with some new members at H's house (H is the one we were teaching awhile back with the and now we've been meeting with them once a week cuz they noticed a difference when we meet with them and they want that spirit in their home) Elder M and I taught the lesson on Hope and it was great. C agreed to come to FHE and I think she really felt the spirit and she made a lot of comments how she has realized that she needs more hope and to endure. It was perfect. And it was great for M and H too cuz we had asked them if they could do us a favor and they were more than happy. So moral of this story, 1) have FHE 2) don't give up on people cuz miracles happen and 3) One of the keys to missionary work is to get people to serve with you, don't just serve people. because most people want to serve. Its natural and it feels good to serve others, people just need opportunities. Plus it allows them to feel the spirit. So challenge of the week, think and look for ways you can get non members or less active members to serve with you in your respective callings or assignments in the church or anything really. Ready? GO!


ok i'm going too. I love you! Have a wonderful week! Do good..Stuff :) "hey mom is this a good activity?"

ps. Mom stop counting my days left!

Love,
Elder Brady Johnson

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin, into the future!

Name the movie with that song in it! Brock you better get this:) But really tho time just keeps ticking. And it is flying! Evidence of this is 1) this week went by way too fast and 2) Stacy is turning 16!!!! Thats just crazyness! I've been gone way too long if she is already 16. I swear she was only 12 when i left haha. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL SIS! 

Anywho, Lots and lots of things going on constantly. The highlight of the week was definitely Zone Meeting. Its a meeting that is put on and organized by us and its pretty much the only chance we get to have all the zone together because we are so spread out. The theme of zone meeting was Unity-Becoming One, Focusing primarily on unity between the missionaries and the wards. And it was a great success of a meeting. We had the Providence Spanish Sisters talk to us about how they are able to motivate an average of 20 different members a week to come out with them and help them with the missionary work. Then Pres. Coates who is the 2nd counselor in the stake presidency spoke to us on what the stake is doing to help the missionary work along and what we can do as missionaries to work with the members. It was awesome. This stake I'm in right now is easily one of the best! Good things are happening here in little ol Rhode Island and alot of it has to do with the stake leaders. Then President and Sister Evans spoke to all of us (they drove all the way down here to warwick, RI) and gave us their last goodbye speech. It was kinda sad. That's the last time we will see them as missionaries.

There has been alot of drama and crazy things going on at J's home and he moved to Pawtucket and will be there for the next few weeks or so. So we are no longer teaching him. We passed him on to our good friends, the Central Falls elders. Its sad that we can't teach him anymore but he's in good hands. D one of other solid investigators is still going thru alot with losing his job and what not. But he has so much faith and trust in God so he's not even worried. He will probably be baptized on the 1st or so. the kids- V, C, and M (all brothers and sister) are coming along great. We have been having some awesome lessons with them lately and because they are young its hard for them to stay focuzed so its made us have to be more creative and come up with clever object lessons. And im pretty proud of the stuff we've come up with. Ha alot of it is from Elder M cuz im not very creative.

Thats about it. All of our recent converts are doing great. S (the cambodian) loves church, M is the first one to church each week and passes out the programs and is studying preach my gospel and trying to finish the Book of Mormon, C and D both have a job now and also have a car so things are looking way up for them, and juliette comes to church each week with the biggest smile on her face.  A and Y are doing great too. The ward has been really great with fellowshipping!

Well i think thats enough for this week. I love you all! thanks for everything. I know this work is God's work. Miracles do happen. I see them every day. Look for those miracles. they are out there. For those of you out there who have Family Home Evening each week, incorporate Preach My Gospel into it. Its perfect for FHE! For those of you out there that don't have FHE each week, Have it :) It will be the best thing for your family. There is a difference between homes where they have family home evenings and homes where they don't. I know its true cuz a prophet has said that we need to do it. So just do it ;) love ya bye

Love,
Elder Brady Johnson

Wow!

Wow is all i can really say. Wow there is so many exciting things going on at home! Wow my  friends on missions are having some crazy awesome miracles and experiences! Wow I love this area and my mission! and Wow I only have 6 months left! OH NO!!!!! ok so i have a little over 6 months but it hit me this week just how short of time that is and how I don't think im ready to go home that soon. But it just makes me want to work even harder and love every second because it will be over too soon.

Thanks for all the emails and letters you all send to me and for the great examples that you are. I feel so lucky to have family and friends like you. I really wish you could all be here with me to experience the things I'm experiencing and the things I see and do. Its so incredible and most of the time its just impossible to describe it all and tell everything. It makes writing home kinda frustrating cuz you know that no one really understands everything that you are saying. I have a very strong testimony that a mission is first and foremost for YOU, the individual.

So here in little ol RI things are going bam bam bam. We have no time to waste and no free time whatsoever we are always go go go. I feel bad for Elder M cuz he has no idea whats going on half of the time cuz there is so much to do that he is not used to. But we are getting there. I love Elder M haha we have a great time together and we are always cracking jokes and laughing. But he is also very serious and spiritual and is a deep thinker. If i leave this area i know it will be in good hands cuz Elder M is just a solid guy!

J C has been progressing big time. He came to mutual on tuesday, had dinner at our favorite family's(the Coates) house with his mom and sister on thursday, came to the gaspee parade (i'll talk about later...actually on second thought, just look it up on google if you can cuz that would be easier then me explaining it) on saturday morning, went paintballing with the young men saturday afternoon, and came to a party at the church for a member's graduation on saturday night and then to top it off he came to church on sunday! How legit is that?! And everyone loves him. He is very well mannered and very good at talking to people. especially adults. For those that know James Barrick, JC totally reminds me of him in some aspects ha its cool that they have the same name too. S, his sister only came on thursday but not to anything else. JC loves getting out to do things. So keep both in your prayers.

We finally met with Y and all is good. He got confirmed this week and that was a special experience. He is the coolest guy! He is just a big happy Haitian that is your all around handy-man plus he's way good at b ball. In the next few weeks he will get the priesthood and then start passing the sacrament and what not! I'm way excited for him. This is the first male we've baptized who is old enough to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. the other males that we baptized are 10yrs and 16yrs. So ya not many priesthood holders. We need to find more men!

Sorry to distract for the spiritual stuff but i have to tell you that i learned this week that i can dunk on 10 feet!!!!! haha it was crazy, and i did it last p day in a game with another elder guarding me. Ya, I still don't believe it myself but all the elders there can testify. Yup i accomplished a goal i've had since like the 6th grade. My life is complete.

Oh and funny story I popped another exercise ball just by sitting on it. This is the second one i've popped on my mission. Fat joke? i guess so haha. Elder M was ticked too but not too much i hope. I love you all and hope Nikki has a baby and all goes well! Be good people!

Love,
Elder Brady Johnson

June is here already!

Its been a crazy last couple of days, Going to transfer meeting and saying goodbye to alot of friends going home, having to part ways with Elder W, but also seeing other friends at transfers. Then i got my new comp Elder M from Cache Valley Utah. He is way awesome just like I remember him when we used to go on exchanges back in Lynn. It is going to be a way fun transfer, thats for sure! We get along really well and even tho its crazy trying to get everything organized, getting Elder M up to date on things, teaching him the ways of ZLship and helping all the new members in our zone (10 of 26) figure everything out, we are having a blast! I'm really excited for this transfer and our zone is really solid.

Not too much to report this weekend because it was just alot of planning and organizing. But A got confirmed on sunday and I had the privilege of perfoming the confirmation -my first time ever doing one! Y couldn't make it to church this week so we'll get him next week. J and S (the twins) and their mom Teresa (haha mother Teresa -no i don't call her that but probably will some day) are all legit interested in the gospel and J and S came to all 3 hours of church and loved it and want to go to Trek and all the different summer activities!  Ya, way cool and very exciting!!!!

Thats about it. Mom you are right, I really love this area and these people so it probably means that this will be my last transfer. But then again, you never know what the lord has in store for us. President and Sister Evans will be leaving and going home June 30th and then we get the new guys on july 1st! Big changes are happening but the Work of the Lord rolls forth. It is such a great time to be a missionary. I love this stuff! I wish you all could experience the things that I am experiencing cuz it changes your life. I love change! And I love you all! TTFN Ta Ta For Now!

Love,
Elder Brady Johnson

Goodbye to Elder W

There you have it, Elder W is finally going home. Well technically he is getting transferred to Revere, MA for two weeks and then going home, but anyway, he is leaving me. Its weird seeing my trainer go home. I'm so glad i got to spend these last 5 months serving with him. He is an awesome missionary and a great friend. I couldn't have asked for a better companion! He actually is having a family reunion this august in ST. George so he is going to be stopping by. I gave him your info and he will contact you. Wont that be fun?! Providence definitely won't be the same without him but life goes on.

My new companion is Elder M and he was in my district back in Revere and I went on exchanges with him a couple of times and he is a really cool guy so im excited to serve with him. Should be an awesome transfer because we have alot of good things on the horizon. For example, we got J and S (the twins whose parents said they can't meet with us) back and all is good between us and the parents. Apparently it was all a big misunderstanding but we went over the other night and I talked to the mom and explained alot plus she saw us and how we had fun with the kids and how the kids really like us and so she told us that she wants them to meet with us and go to church and maybe she will follow. She is definitely down for listening and learning so it should be really good.

Other big things that happened this week, this has been one of the best weeks of my mission. It would take way too long to talk about everything but here is just a bit. First off it has been hot and humid and I love it!!! Second, the evenings are so perfect-temperature wise. Third, Y Hatian and A got baptized!!! Lots of the members showed up to support and the water was CLEAR! *please note that every other baptism here the water in the font is brown and rusty and you can't see the bottom, but for some reason it was clear that day! MIRACLE! A's Dad came and he was the one who a year ago dragged him out of church on the day of his baptism so he wouldn't get baptized (yes we were nervous that would happen again) but everything went well and after the baptism the dad said to me, "Thank you for working so hard to get amos and for working with him so much. I see now that this is the right place for him and I am not worried." We are hoping to start teaching him soon too. Y was so happy when it was all over. We was just glowing. It was a fantastic day.

Funny story: Brother M, one of our members who is hilarious and the most sociable person I've ever met, baptized Y and he is a strong guy but Y is a big man. So after putting him into the water you could see it was a workout to get him back up and when he did, Bro. M flexed his biceps and said, "I knew lifting weights was good for something!" and then gave Y the "good game" butt slap as he was leaving the font. Haha maybe you had to be there but it was the funniest baptism I had ever seen :)

This week was also spent saying goodbye to lots of people cuz Elder W knew he was leaving. It was really cool to be around and just see how much of an impact he made in their lives. I hope that when I leave this area that I can have a similar experience. This really is the best area in the mission and I hope i don't leave it too soon. Well we have lots to do with Elder W leaving and needing to pack and what not so this is short. But I love you all and will write to you shortly! Bye!

Love, Elder Brady Johnson

Another school year gone by

Wow what a fast week. I can't believe another school year has come and gone. I've been graduated from High school for 2 whole years! WOW (imagine me spelling it with my hands in a "w" and and mouth making the "o"-you know how I showed you last week on skype?) That means Brock and Stacy have alot more free time to email/write me :) Hurray! Im super jealous of your fun trip you are going on to North Carolina and Tennessee! Take lots of pictures cuz it makes it more fun! How come no one ever told me my cousin Jessica Johnson is getting married?! I better be invited haha.

 This week was a good one. We did exchanges with the elders in Groton, CT (an hour away) and i stayed down there with Elder S. It rained the entire time but it was fun walking around getting soaked. Groton is home of the major Submarine base for the U.S so that was cool to drive by. We also got to go out with the Stake President, Pres. Hutchins and he is the man!

We had a leadership training, meaning all the zone leaders, district leaders &comps, and sisters came together with Pres and did trainings and roleplays and discussions and one of the major things that came up is that the biggest downfall of the church here in New England is that hardly anyone does home teaching or visiting teaching. I am willing to bet that the church would explode and flourish out here if people started doing thier visits. So everyone who reads this, Please do your home/visiting teaching!!!!!!!!!!!

Y is doing so good these days. We actually bumped up his baptism to this week (the 27th). So he and A will be baptized on the same day! We asked Y in one of our lessons, "Since meeting with us and coming to church, have you noticed a differenece in your life?" He just laughed and with a huge smile he said, "YES! I am 1million and 5% happier these days and my friends and family are noticing it and asking me whats different." How cool is that? He is going to be a great member of the church and a great leader. A is solid too. We taught him 3 nights in a row and had the interview and he's all set! He is excited. 

Lastly, this weekend was stake conference. It was marvelous. Our stake presidency is so focused on missionary work and good things are happening. Our Zone, which covers the stake, is leading the mission in baptisms and baptismal dates. Its pretty awesome.  Pres Coates spoke (we teach alot at his house) and he had alot of good things to say about Elder W and I. Pres and sis Evans also spoke Saturday night. but the best speaker for the adult session and general session was Pres. Hutchins. That man speaks with power and authority but with love. Like i said before, he is the man. He has 10 kids, the oldest on a mission, and has been the stake pres for only a year, and he goes out with the missionaries at least once a month, plus he works for Fizer(sp?) and is pretty high up in the rankings. And he does it all. And he does it really well. He really knows how to inspire peolpe. Another cool part about the conference was a 12yr old recent convert of 2months, this young african/american kid with a Huge fro spoke about the blessings that have come to his life since joining the church. His talk was one of the best given and he gave it professionally, without using any notes. It was so cool!

And now I am sitting at the Boston Public Library, in down town Boston emailing you all. Yup we got up here again and I love this city. I could totally live here and work here. Its just got a really good nice clean feel to it.  I love you all and cant wait to hear about your trip!

Love, Elder Brady Johnson

Happy Mother's Day

That was so much fun to see all of you on the computer yesterday! One of the little boys that was waving to you on skype said to me after the call with the fam, "your mom is pretty." haha and i was like, "yup i have a pretty mom." Then When talking to Karli, Elder W. told Brother Don that i was talking to some babe and he was like, "what?! He can't do that!" but then i explained, that it was my sister and my new nephew. Good stuff. Oh before i forget, an elder in our district told me to tell my mom hi from him, so Hi from elder S!

I forgot to tell you cuz i totally spaced it but we (elder w and i) gave a talk in church yesterday. And it went really well. I don't think i have ever received more praise and compliments from any talk before like we did after those talks. Alot of the members told us to make sure and tell our mothers Thanks for all that they did to make us great and get us here. I talked about the Untold Stories of Mothers-the things we seem to over look. I asked everyone to think of all the great prophets, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Nephi, Mormon, Capn moroni, Mosiah, ect. And then said, "Now think about the mothers of all of these great men and imagine what they were like. I know that their mothers were a huge role in making these men so great because that is exactly what mothers do." And... a whole lot more was said but i don't really feel like writing it all out :) But i love you mom!

I told you my release date has been set and it is December 28. This means I will be able to make it to school in Jan without too much rush (one week is plenty of time.)  Well im gonna go cuz we are making the road trip to Boston today to play some Soccer! Bye! love ya! Write me people:)
Love,
    Elder Brady Johnson