The duo: Fiabane y Johnson week 24

Family!

I love having the opportunity to work with Elder Fiabane in Barrio II.

We are working so great with the members already, such as the priests

in the ward, a few hermanamientos, and we are working to have a few

members host lessons in their homes. Not having as many baptisms as the

majority of my group in the MTC is discouraging at times. I wonder what I am

doing wrong to not have this type of success of bringing other people unto Christ.

Then of course, I must remember that it isn´t about what I as Elder Johnson do,

it is how I allow the spirit to work through me. I just need to be more trusting in

the Lord that there are people prepared here, and follow the revelation we have

received to help them. I feel a little pressure being Senior companion with Elder

Fiabane, especially since he has more time in the mission than me. But hey, you

learn from your mistakes, right?

Going on divisions to take Elder Karmanov out on his first day in the field was
definitely a treat. We had two lessons, one of which I cut off short because the lady

had no interest in the gospel.. The rest of the night we were looking for a few inactive

families, and passing for discussions that were falling through. His excitement followed

without wavering. It made me remember when I first got to the mission, and how every

single charla was just as important as the next. I feel like I have lost that a little bit, and

working with him helped me remember that these lessons are so incredibly important for

the salvation of the people and that we have been sent to these people to teach them.

Everything is great! I am loving my time in the office. We all have a little heartache

without Elder Child. I love all of these Elders so much!

Elder Tyler Kenneth Johnson

Misión Argentina Resistencia

435 Entre Ríos

Resistencia, Chaco 3500

Casilla de Correo #1

Argentina 

¡Semana Capísima!‏ week 23

Family!!!

This time of the year always gets me pumped. The other Elders call the

weather right now just about an early September… For me, its about a great

Thanksgiving weather. Before, I was excited by state swim, state marching band,

and all the exciting things happening in the fall time of the year. The smell

(besides the sewers) gets my energy going for some unreal swimming excitement.

The carnaval drums fit right in to this time of the year as well (minus Mr. Vogt´s

bullhorn and 7 in the morning marching band practices.) However, right now, this

fall weather is getting me pumped to go invite people to come unto Christ and be

baptized! Better than I could have ever imagined, that is for sure. I haven´t had all

that much success in bringing people to the waters of baptism as of right now;

however, there have been many times where I have received witness from the

spirit that this is the work that the Lord wants me to be doing.

I realized that I am so much more driven by the needs of other people right now,

and that which the Lord wants of me. Usually I have to direct my thoughts on other

people, and push myself to stop thinking in my own needs and selfish wants. This week,

I realized that these thoughts come more naturally, and I am thinking in the needs and

desires of other children of God. I know that I have so much work left in this area; however,

I know that the Lord is helping me and answering my prayers.

Elder Child taught me that if you take a super cold shower while fasting it takes the

thirst away. Totally works! I will miss him extremely, especially the great example of

a leader he has been for me these last 4 months in Argentina.

Right now I am reading the Book of Mormon, focusing on leadership traits. I have

noticed that leadership traits are the same as traits of Jesus Christ that we find in

Preach My Gospel (I haven´t heard it called that in years it feels like). The common

thread of great scriptural leaders such as Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, Peter, Daniel, and

ultimately, our Savior Jesus Christ is that they are always focusing on the will of the

Lord, and the needs of the other people. Not what other people thought of them, or

the popular choices. As I apply the things I learn as I read the scriptures, I know that

God will help me achieve the potential he has in store for me.

Something I learned in Argentina this week: well, president Heyman gave me permission

to drive the camioneta (pickup) this week! There aren´t stop signs. Just a bunch of one

way streets. The person to the right, or the bigger car, always has the right of way.

WATCH OUT RESISTENCIA!  I´m also learning how to speak porteño.  Elder Fiabane

(from Buenos Aires) and I speak English in the house so that he may learn the language.

Outside of the house, we speak Castellano. So, instead of ´´jo my jamo´´ I´ve got a sweet

´´sho me shamo´´ going on. He hits me every time I speak ´´unpure´´ Spanish.

Oh, I lost the ping pong tournament… so disappointed in myself. President Heyman

can make a MEAN hamburger! Sister Heyman made us BANANA CREAM PIE!!!

(oh all of this was a goodbye party for Elder Child). And Elder Perez´s ´´cowboy beans´´

are in the running with your beans momma ;) He wants to come to the states and open up

´´Bean and Beany Tacos: Tacos for the whole family´´. I don´t think anyone has the heart to

tell him that ´´Beaner´´ is derogatory… he thinks it is just a title like gringo. I don´t want to r

uin his business name..

Letters, even though they take a littlleeee while to get here, ALWAYS help missionaries.

Just saying ;)

I know this is the work of the Lord. He is the head of it. A man tried to deny it and fight

with us. We thanked him for his time, testified, and left. Although he accused us and was

awful to us, I felt so close to my Savior at this time. I know he knows me, and I know he

knows and loves each one of us.

Elder Tyler Kenneth Johnson

Misión Argentina Resistencia

435 Entre Ríos

Resistencia, Chaco 3500

Casilla de Correo #1

Argentina

President Heyman's Instragram

Vamos!!! week 22

Family and Friends!

This week, although it flew by, was just great. We saw the spirit guiding us as we looked for new people to teach. For example:

5 weeks ago, we taught a couple that was really interested in the gospel with a progressing investigator. We fixed a charla with the 3 in the house of the investigator for a couple days following. However, before the lesson, our investigator picked up and left to Brazil for some reason. This week, we were walking to visit a contact, and we felt to walk along the train tracks and contact a house that was under a huge water reserve tank (I would be a little scared to live under there).  They didn´t receive us, so we were a little curious why God made us feel to contact them. We contacted the next beat up house, and justly, it was our long lost excited investigators! There is no way we would have found this family that lives on a little pass along the train tracks without the spirit´s guide. 

The same thing happened with a less active member. We felt to contact a house, and again, they didn´t receive us. Turning the corner, we saw Marcos, a less active that we have always wanted to talk to. We´ve worked with his brother Matias quite a bit recently,and he is coming back to church! Marcos is a taxi driver, so he is either sleeping, or isn´t home. Well, he was finally home for once. He received us, and was so happy that we were there. In tears, he told us that he knew God sent us to his house. He had been struggling with family affairs, as well as some other serious sins. He had talked to the bishop for help, but it was just hurting him too much to carry the load as he started the repentance process. As representatives of Jesus Christ, we were able to testify to him of the cleansing power of the Atonement, and we read a little bit of 3 Nephi 17 that came to my mind. The part when Christ blesses the children one by one and cries for them. I love this part, because it helps me to KNOW that Christ loves us one by one. That his atonement is individual. It doesn´t matter if the people are a little different than me, can´t read, or seem the farthest away from what I would think a member should look like. What matters is that the Lord has prepared these children of God. We are just the finders.

Love you all! Stay amazing!

Felicitaciones de Argentina!‏ week 21

Family and Friends!

This past week was fantastic. We kept making bible and camera jokes (seeing that I lack the both), and I hardly thought about my missing things. My prayers have been so much more sincere, and I have felt the spirit confirming that this is where I am meant to be. I applied that which I learned in the ´´Enzeñanza del Día´´ and have been writing that which I feel while praying in a notebook, and re reading the spiritual promptings in the morning. Sometimes I can´t beleive that I actually wrote what I read in the mornings. The things that the spirit whispers to us are incredible if we only have the humility to listen.

I am realizing more and more daily the magnitude in which I love the people here. I don´t know any of me, and secretly inside, they are probably all laughing a little bit about how I get my words mixed up when I get excited while teaching, or my gringo accent. However, I love them all. I want to just be a tool in the hands of the Lord to help each and every one of them. It hurts to leave investigators-- however, I have learned that when we leave investigators, we are showing God our faith that there are really people that are waiting and are prepared to receive the amazing blessings that come from the gospel.

Something that really helped me in the last week from the Book of Mormon is the following:

Alma 58:10-11

 10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.

 11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our ^adeliverance in him.

I love this gospel! The work is incredible!

Elder Tyler Kenneth Johnson

Misión Argentina Resistencia

435 Entre Ríos

Resistencia, Chaco 3500

Casilla de Correo #1

Argentina

Semana Pasada‏ week 20

Familia:

I´m getting more and more used to the office. We didn't get to leave very much again this week, so I don´t have all that much to report again. I´ve found that my prayers are a lot more sincere as I ask for the assurance that I am doing that which the Lord wants me to do.

I felt like a part of me died when I got to the truck of the assistants and my bag was gone. First, I thought about my camera. But surprisingly, what hurts me most are that my scriptures and $2 composition notebook with 4 months worth of spiritual promptings are probably sitting in a trashcan somwhere in Resistencia.

This week, although we just worked a little bit out in the field, we found some amazing investigators. Well, their AWAL puppy found me. We picked it up, and, with the filtro misional lecture in my head from earlier in the week, I started contacting them. Walter and Tatiana have friends who are members of the church, and we fixed a cita with the couple as well as their friends. Due to the rain, their friends couldn´t make the lesson, but they seem so prepared. They are excited to learn more, and have already researched Mormon.org to learn more. They aren´t married, but we are going to work with that.

I realized how much I really love the people here this passed week. I just want to talk to them all-- it doesn´t matter to me if we are in a city bus and they aren´t in my area. I just want them all to know their Savior a little bit more and have the ground soil to follow him.

Elder Johnson

Cartita‏ week 19

This week has had its ups and downs in all honesty. It is costing me a little bit to be inside all day, and I miss studying my scriptures on a daily basis as well as daily exercises. We rarely have time to complete the both. I just loved working and inviting members, less actives, and investigators to come unto Christ on a regular basis, and it didn´t matter to me if we were doing divisions, if I was in a terminal in another area, or if they weren´t ´´my investigators´´. I just loved inviting and testifying. I know that the Lord wants me right here in the office right now-- I just need to exercise more faith and trust.

We found some amazing people in the short amount of time we were able to work in our areas this week. MIRACLES. We found Matias, and when I bore testimony of the freeing and cleansing power of the atonement, nothing elegant or flourished left my mouth. But I felt the power of the Holy Ghost working in me and I felt the love of the Savior. I knew that he felt it too. It was definitely the most powerful experience I have ever had testifying of the truth of the gospel. 

Elder Johnson