This week has been really really good.
We taught lots of people and worked really hard.
We were on exchanges almost every single day. It has just been crazy.
We also put two people on baptism date. V. B. who is coming to three hours of church faithfully, this week were are going to try and put her 9 year old son on date. V. isn’t married and we haven’t brought up the law of Chastity yet but we were asking her about her boyfriend, because he always leaves when we come over. We asked what she would do if he opposed her joining the church and she said, “well it really isn’t up to him because I am going to do this” I was so happy and relieved, she is really progressing well now.
And C., he is 9 years old and wants to be baptized, his parents are returning less actives and we were teaching him and his dad asked him about the assignments we gave him. His dad said “if you do this you are going to do it, this is a big commitment” so that was really good, and then C. said “well I want to do this so I can have a better life” Holy smokes that was just what we wanted to hear. I am so excited for C.
This week has been really crazy and so much stuff has been going on and missionaries struggling and fighting and I have had almost 0 time to think about myself and it was the greatest week ever. I was the happiest I have ever been and I didn’t realize why until we were doing comp inventory and Elder Rice asked how I was doing at being less self critical. Then it hit me. I have felt the best I have in a long time because I was focusing on others. I just hope that I can continue to do this, because I am a really selfish person and struggle with this but I know the Lord will support me in my righteous desires. My determination to work hard and be diligent has increased so much and it has really changed how the work is going.
I gave a training on Thursday about what truly matters most and compared aspects of missionary work to faith, hope and charity (I never realized how important those three things are) and I was talking about hope and said something I did not plan on saying, it was 100% by the Spirit and I think it taught me more than anyone else. “If we don’t have a hope for these people to change through the atonement why are we even knocking on their door, let alone even on a mission” and the spirit just hit me. Everything we do as missionaries 24/7 is to help people change and if we don’t believe that they can or will then we are just wasting our time.
It really added a new perspective and hope into my life to know that because of us being tools in the Lord’s hand and simply just helping in this work people are going to change their lives. I have really started to see it too and it is quite amazing.
I have really began to focus on hope and how important that really is and how it is only possible because of the Atonement, but because of the Atonement we can hope for so much. If you truly think about it it will change your life.
I love you all
Love, Elder Johnston
Elder Rice’s broken chair
This is what I look like after a service project where we were trying to burn all the trees that we cut down but the pile wouldn’t burn so we had to restack the pile and I was covered in ash.
We also cut down a huge tree
Elder Harrison Johnston 