Letter from Michael 11-24-2014- 1Year –Transfer News

                We have received the Transfer news but the Transfer is on Tuesday as always. Elder Harris is leaving as expected. I will be getting the new district leader whose name is Elder Coldits. Elder Matos and Elder Warton are staying in the district as the Zone Leaders and Elder Todd is training.

We have 4 father lead families that we are teaching now. I have never had so many to teach. There is Charles and Mpho, Andres and his family, Rose and Timothy, and then Sediso (David) and Mapule. We saw Sediso and Mapule on Tuesday. She had read the pamphlet we gave her and she understood very well. She also started reading the Book of Mormon.

                On Sunday it was raining hard and we were worried that investigators would not be able to make it. members. Oh yes, and we had finished teaching him about the plan of salvation. This Sunday we had a two hour stake conference. It was not the usual stake conference though. They played a DVD (recording) of Robert Gay, Elder Badnar, and President Uktdorf speaking to the people in Africa. It was great! All of them taught a lot about Labola, Ebola, cultural traditions, priorities, and excuses. It was just what Africa needs to know.

- Elder Michael Johnson 

Part of his letter to his dad:

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY! You are getting so old. I was going to send you a birthday post card but the post office has been on strike. I still have it with me though.

Yes, we taught David and Mapule. We had a short visit with Vundisa. Mphumsi came to church.

Part of his letter to his mom:

Okay, we already figure out where we are skyping for Christmas. It is at a member's house in the Rabie Ridge 2 area. They do it almost every year for the Elders. At least one of the 2 letters I got from you last week was from August. Awesome, about the AF band! Mphumsi is kind of like that. I can't take any credit for his acceptance to the gospel or his testimony. I know he has it because of our Father in Heaven who prepared his heart.

Letter from Michael 11-17-2014 Middle of November

Letter from Michael 11-17-2014  Middle of November

Last week was a good week for Elder Harris and me. We got to teach many people and found more people to teach. We taught two father lead families and both of which we found just this last week. We had two exchanges last week. The first was with the zone leaders on Tuesday. Elder Matos from Venezuela came to our area with me. Then on Thursday I went to the Rabie Ridge 2 area with Elder Todd. It was nice to finally go to another area for the exchange. In the area I have been on many exchanges but the only one where I got to go to another area was the first week when I went to Centurion.

On Saturday we saw Ram's son walking on the street. We talked to him briefly. He said that Ram's trachea cracked and will be in the hospital for at least 4 more weeks. I hope he will recover well.

My first transfer here I think I wrote about an investigator named David or in his on language, Sediso, who was a great guy that got caught up in work and we never saw him again. Well on Tuesday Elder Matos and I found him again and we set up an appointment. We saw him last night. He was happy to see us again and wanted to teach his family. We did some catching up with him and then taught about the Book of Mormon mostly towards his hopefully soon to be wife, Mapule. He also has a son named Sean. We gave Mapule a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. We will see them again on Tuesday. On Wednesday we saw Vundisa. She loves the Book of Mormon and she was already finishing up Mosiah. She is reading from the Zulu Book of Mormon though. The English is a bit difficult for her. 

Sunday was a pleasant surprize to us by the way. There is an investigator we have been teaching in Muyibuye whose name is Mphumsi. We taught him the first half of the plan of salvation on Saturday and he made a commitment to come to church on Sunday. Sunday came around and I called him up at 7:00 in the morning to see if he was still coming. He told me that he forgot to tell us that he actually had to got to some society meeting and could not come to church. Elder Harris and I were a bit disappointed. Then at the beginning of Sacrament Elder Harris whispered my name and pointed to Mphumsi walking into the chapel.  He stayed for all 3 hours and loved it. He kept thanking me for the call in the morning. He said after he hung up the phone he had a change of heart and decided to keep hi promise with us. He said he learned much more than he had imagined he would. He said will come every Sunday to the church. Nobody knew him but members came up to talk with him and treated him as a good friend. He belonged already. After church I saw him talk for a while with Bro. Ronald, Bro. Amos, and Bulelani. Amos, Bulelani, and Mphumsi all live in Muyibuye so they even walked back home from church together. It was great. And I could ask much more from our members and great recent converts Amos and Bulelani. Amos said he is getting pretty involved with the bishop in less active work in Muyibuye. He also wants to start having us and Members in Muyibuye to come over weekly for family home evening at his house. Anyway, Mphumsi coming to church was our highlight for the week.

Well this last week it has rain a ton which is awesome! I love it! We saw a dead guy in the street on Thursday.(who had been hit by a car) We protected a recent converts house from a drunk man until the police came. The police never came though but he ran away anyway. Apparently he does this a lot. But the recent convert family in the other Elder's area said that he does this a lot and they just threaten him with the "calling the police" trick and then he runs away.

- Elder Johnson

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do so is increased." - Heber J. Grant

Letter from his mom: P-Day: so the ball was different. The ball had a tube that we would fit in. There we 2 handles that we held and then shoulder straps. Our legs poked out the bottom so that we could run and kick. It was indoors and sooo hot! We would play soccer but you could run top speed at each other and blast them. Then you just roll and roll and get back on your feet. I have some pictures of it.

Letter from Michael 11-10-2014 2nd Week in November

Letter from Michael 11-10-2014  2nd Week in November

It was a better week for us thankfully. On Sunday Onkabetsi was confirmed a member of the church and I had my first time of conferring someone the Holy Ghost.

There was a guy named Francis who we met on the street a while ago. He said he had been taught by the missionaries before but then they left. He said he still wanted to be baptised though. We got his contact information so we will see how that goes.

Fortunately we got to meet with Charles and Mpho again. The lesson went so much better this time. Charles was sober and we talked about the restoration of the gospel.

There is a Lady named Dorcus who we tracted into a while ago. We met with her for the 2nd time on Saturday. She is a very nice lady. She said she was once taught by the missionaries and then never saw them again. She said she wanted to learn more and come to church. Surprisingly she did come to church on Sunday. Most people who say they will commit to something don't actually keep their commitment. She has a good friend who is a member of the church somewhere else and Dorcus has been talking with her over the phone. Her friend's name is Maria. Maria came with Dorcus to church on Sunday.

At church we received many referrals but only one of them lives in our area. The others stay in Rabie Ridge 2 area which is closer to the chapel.

This week was much better than the last one. Even the weather was better at the end of the week. Saturday, Sunday, and Today have been much cooler rainy days. I definitely appreciate rain more than I used to.

FUN FACT: (Johannesburg is the lightning capital of the world. More lightning strikes occur here more than anywhere else in the world. I can testify of that. It hasn't stopped all weekend.)

(I was reading the other day in the bible dictionary and came across "weights and measurements."  I figure out that last time I checked weigh approximately 8,250 shekels or 2.75 talents. I sound much bigger in shekels.)

There is a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley that I really enjoy. He said, "Don't be gloomy. Do not dwell on unkind things. Stop seeking out storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face. 'Accentuate the positive.' Look a little deeper for the good. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your hear. Love life."  This was my quote of the week.

- Elder Michael Johnson

Part of his letter to his mom:

By the way on Saturday night I dropped my top retainer in the dark and the wire got bent. It doesn't fit anymore. If I force it will scrape my teeth. I will try to bend it back into shape if possible.

I have been studying new testament and Helaman in the Book of Mormon. I really enjoy teaching about the restoration. Book of Mormon, and Plan of Salvation. I can't decide which one I like teaching best.

Part of his letter to his dad:

Today we are having a zone activity. We are going to a place where we play soccer but everyone will be in big individual blow up hamster ball things. I will tell you more about it next week. Should be tons of fun!

Letter from Michael 11-3-2014 (Beginning November –Baptism)

Letter from Michael 11-3-2014  (Beginning November –Baptism)

            It is the Holiday season now... I guess at least for America. For Halloween last week we went to the temple. I can safely say I have never celebrated Halloween in such a spiritual way. On Sunday our investigators that came were Onkabetsi and Kabelo. Onkabetsi got baptised yesterday. The funny thing about it is that she asked Elder Christie, a missionary in another area, to baptise. I am surprised she even knew his name. Elder Christie today doesn't even remember her name. It is what she wanted though.

            Last week we started doing some less active searching. We set up a couple more appointments for this week. There is a new guy we have been teaching this lately whose name is Mphumsi. We taught him the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and then the Book of Mormon. He was very happy to receive it and read it. Rams is unfortunately still in the hospital and we have not seen him in a long while. I hope he comes out this week. As for Joyce's family we don't see them anymore. So this week hasn't been any easier than last week. Hopefully we will jump the work back up where it usually is. We had a zone meeting on Friday. It was a short one. We mostly talked about some announcements and about being happier missionaries. He said he wants the mission to come closer together, be happier, and have some more fun in missionary work. President Dunn also gave us a compliment. He said we are doing great and that our zone is the most successful zone in the mission.

            Fun Fact: Apparently I laugh occasionally in my sleep. I scared Elder Harris a few times. At least I am not having nightmares.

            Testimony meeting was nice yesterday. In fact it is really nice every month. I must say they are much nicer here than back home. The nice thing about Africans is they give pure testimony. There are no unnecessary stories, they don't do it to make themselves look good, and they are not afraid. It is powerful. Even in the little branch in Polokwane there was never spaces of time between testimonies. They love the gospel and all testify of it often.  That is something I would like to try to take back to my home ward where there are even more members who can bare their testimonies. I know the restored gospel is true. It works and I see it bless my life and the lives of others every day. God loves us all and the worth of every soul is great in the eyes of God.

- Elder Johnson

Letter from Michael 10-27-2014 (11 Months)

Letter from Michael 10-27-2014 (11 Months)

            It is getting into the Holiday seasons Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Only one of these Holidays do they kind of celebrate here. For Christmas Africans besides drinking might have a BBQ (Braai) and that is about it. Anyway, it has been about 11 months since I have left to South Africa and it has been great so far. One of the greatest things someone learns on mission is patience. It is tried all of the time.

            So I learned that the Post office will probably be on strike even till sometime next year. I would be shocked if the Post Office was off strike in January. I did hear that UPS or FedEx would still work. So Mom, perhaps you can send things to me through FedEx.

            Well we have another Temple trip coming up that I am looking forward to it. The weather last week was very hot at times and then at other times it was cold and raining. I am very grateful for the rain lately. It has been too long. The rainy season came late this year.     Unfortunately we never saw Joyce and Mpumi last week and they did not come to church. Something sad happened to Joyce which is why we have not seen her in a while. It has been a rough week. Throughout most of the week almost all of our appointments got cancelled so we had to do a lot of improvising. We have been tracting quite a bit but it really isn't very fruitful. We need to find more through the members.

            On Tuesday the AP's went on splits with Rabie Ridge 2 Elders and us. Elder Menendez who is the new AP who came with us. He is from Lehi, Utah Just like Elder Todd who is being trained by Elder Christie. A few days after the APs were here President Dunn told us that he is pleased and impressed with the work that we are doing in our District.

- Elder Michael Johnson

Letter from Michael 10-20-2014 -New Zone Leader

Letter from Michael 10-20-2014- New Zone Leader

                        It was another average week in the work this week. On Thursday Elder Harris and I went on exchanges. The new zone leader came with me into our area. It turns out our new zone leader is Elder Warton who I flew with from Salt Lake to Johannesburg. Him and one other Elder from our MTC group is a zone leader now. So exchanges were pretty fun this time catching up with each other and talking about mission and the MTC.

                Anyway, in this new transfer President Dunn gave us a new rule. We have to always have 2.5 kg of pap and 2L of water everywhere we go even when we are transferred. On Sunday we heard the stake president talk about sleeping through the restoration. Lots of funny things are going on in the world which are warning signs to us today. Elder Harris and I were thinking, "Uho!.... Is there about to be a famine, disaster, or apocalypse happening soon or something, haha! We heard from the stake president because the Rabie Ridge ward had a stake conference on Sunday. It was pretty good.

                The members last week did a great job at coming out to teach with us. They are always a great help. We had a lot more member present this week. Hopefully we can have the usual members come to befriend Joyce and Rams. Last week we taught Joyce, Mpumi, and Xolani. I am surprised they didn't make it to church yesterday. We will have to call them today. Only Rams and Kabelo were the investigators who came to church today. I worry about Rams. He is old, recently divorced, has health problems, and is so lonely. His highlights every week are when we come and he is heart broken whenever we have to leave. So we are going to bring members with us so he can have friends other than us who can spend more time with him. His son is the only family member who lives with him. But the son never talks to him. Maybe only a grunt or too. So family, it would be great if you could say a prayer for him. Hopefully Rams can be baptised in November.

Fun Fact: (I have to drink more soda in a week on mission than I ever did in one year back home.)

                You really don't have much control much of your diet when you can't afford healthy food and you are force fed unhealthy food everyday. But We eat some great tasting food though. On Sunday a member cooked us some African style Mexican food. Oh, boy! It was Heavenly! It has been so long since I have had good Mexican food.

- Elder Michael Johnson

Part of Michael’s letter to his mom:

                We got to teach that father lead family once last week. The husband even brought the Book of Mormon to work with him. Oh, by the way. Last week Joyce told us that she gave a Book of Mormon to her friend and challenged her to read it in one week and pray about it and the church. Powerful, eh? That was good to here. She seems pretty converted and has a testimony.

                We don't tract everyday but a few times a week. We didn't really see anyone we had tracted into other than the father lead family. We teach lessons day and night. Most of our solid appointment are in the evening though. We don't tract or find in the evening because it is too dangerous at night. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes from the flat to the area. It depends on the time of day and traffic though of course.

I keep hearing rumours about the post office being opened again and then we find out that it is false. I really don't know when it will open again. It is super frustrating. My guess is it will open up sometime next year. Okay, say thank to Grandma and the Smiths. I really appreciate it even if I don't write back anytime soon. 

                By the way, I heard the movie "Meeet the Mormons" might be going global and coming to South Africa. I don't know if that is true though. On Saturday morning we had to go give a 17 year old boy a blessing because his mother just died that morning. He was freaking out but when we got there we gave him a blessing, said some comforting words, and taught a bit about the Plan of Salvation. He is the younger brother of one of the 18 year old members who teaches with us some times. They don't have the same mother though. So That experience made me think of you and how grateful I am to have you and that I love you! I love you and Dad very much! thank you for supporting me, raising me, and being a great example. I was meant to be with you guys. Love you!

- Elder Johnson

By the way, this year Elder Cook is coming to SA to speak to us! Actually he will be here in SA

by this week.

Letter from Michael 10-13-2014 - Just Another Transfer

Letter from Michael 10-13-2014- Just another transfer

On Saturday we got the transfer news. Nothing has changed in the district except for our new zone leader is leaving now. So Elder Harris and I will be together for 4 & 1/2 months. Church this week was good. 5 investigators came to church. We found some people while tracting. We even found a father lead family on the same street as Joyce, Mpumi, and Xolani.  Rams has had some health problems this week. We missed an appointment with him because he had to go to the doctor. We will check up on him soon. This weekend we started teaching a less active family. They seem very nice and they want us to come again every week.

Fun Fact: In South Africa to pass a class or test you only need to score 30%

....that is incredible! You could pass the hardest classes without even trying.

By the way, Rabie Ridge is the ward or area. But we actually don't serve in Rabie Ridge. We serve in mostly in Maybuye, some in Pumelong, some in Klipfontein, and Friendship Town.  

- Elder Michael Johnson

Part of his letter to his mom:

The restored gospel is the greatest thing there is. Meet the Mormons sounds great and inspiring. I can't wait to see it. What other stories were in it?

 Joyce and Mpumi are still getting baptised this month. We moved it to the 26th as well as for Onkabetsi. Joyce & Mpumi came to church yesterday. We had taught them the Plan of Salvation last week. Joyce really enjoyed it. She participates in church and has a great desire to get baptised and to learn more.

(By the way, next week I'll have a couple pictures sent)

Today I went to the Rhino & Lion park in Krugers Dorp again. This time I got to play with tiger cubs. They love to wrestle a lot... so fun

The mail will never come until the post office is off strike. We are supposed to get mail weekly.