On my birthday we had a companion change. Things have been going alright, but we all felt that it was needed in order to change the dynamic of the district in order for us to improve in learning. I now only have one companion, so it will be easier to stay with him because i won't have to be stuck in the middle. THings now seem brighter and hopefully this is the change that our district needs.
We had a few reporters come to the MTC today, they didn't have cameras so I won't be on tv or anything but they chose my class to come to. Maybe they might come again later and bring cameras to film it, but I doubt it.
So far, there have been a few decotionals where i have either been in the choir and had my face on the screen or have been in the background of some people bearing their testimonies. You could see me in a few broadcast if anyone watched them back home, although I doubt that anyone would watch those regularly. I'm gonna try staying out of the cameras way from now on though.
For the past month now, it seems like I've been leading the mock lessons while I'm with my companions. I don't know if it means that I know the material better or that I take the initiative to teach. Maybe it's because I used to go out on splits with the missionaries back at home. Either way, I feel comfortable teaching the lessons, but I am still waiting for the language to come to me. So I'm letter my companions (now new companion) lead the lessons when they are in Tagalog. By the way, for people who don't know, these mock lessons are just like going to someone's house and having a real lesson, but they have volunteers as the investigators.
Last week the snow melted, but then on Tuesday it snowed again. Today it snowed again, but I'm sure its gonna melt by tonight. It's nice weather outside and I like it now. It would make for good pictures if I remembered to take any...
Pictures coming soon! Not a lot though, I'm horrible with taking pictures and I'll try to fix that, but its different when you're just in the MTC taking classes all day. If anyone is thinking of any ideas for a care package, a nice tie rack or a few nice ties would be a great late birthday present.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Jan 24, 2011
WOW it's already been a month! The first week went by really slowly, but the past month has gone by fast. Already my birthday is coming up this sunday and I'll soon be 20. I have p-day on Monday, so i'll be able to tell everyone how it went. Let's just hope that I get some nice presents in the mail.
So far though, we've had to let go of some of our best new friends in the MTC. I talked about them in my last blog, but this week we had a going away party for them, it was a great last day with them and I'll miss them all.
My last night with the district before us was a memorable one. We were able to get L&L's Hawaiian barbeque brought to us so we had about $11 worth of food there, plus $50 worth of candy and chips and Polynesian foods and a bunch of soda's. We all stayed in the same room and slept the night there (about 10 people fitting into a room for 4). We moved the beds out from their rooms and slept together. IT wasn't easy because a few of them snore REALLY loud. The next day we gave them a good send off at the buses and waited there till the bus was gone. The next few days were really somber, but we've moved on.
As a district, we've improved. Our opinions have been voiced and we've worked out a way to coexist. Things are starting to look brighter now. It's still difficult being upbeat all the time when you miss home a lot. I also kind of wish I could have gone to a less exotic country. somplace like France, Italy, China, Russia or Japan. I see people here going to beautiful countries and I get disappointed, but I know that the Phillipines is beautiful in it's own sense. Hopefully my experience here will help me in the furutre, especially with the language. I don't want to use it for two years and then never need it again. Hopefully the language will help to open doors for me further along in life.
THe MTC diet is taking it's toll on me, I'm up to 240 but I've stopped eating as much. I'm still in good shape, so i think it's just that I've never had this much food in me at one time. I eat every meal and my rational is that I'll be starving in the Phillippines. When I come back hopefully I'll be very slim, down to 190 (maybe that's too small but we'll see) and I'll be nothing but pure muscle again. I keep thinking about going back to football afterwards, so I'm working out as much as I can. I really wish they us throw footballs, because then I would be practicing long snapping with elder Ionane.
Speaking about working out, I'm going to try for the bench press record tomorrow. The record right now is pressing 150 lbs 105 times in a row. I was able to do 120 last week without actually preparing, it was sorta just a practice run because I didn't have the trainer count for me. Hopefully this week i'll be able to do a respectable amount and hold the record for a while.
The snow has pretty much melted away now, there are a few spots where they shoveled the snow that haven't melted, but those don't count. The field is clear enough to run on, so we could go there if we wanted to. IT's still cold though, especially for a Phoenician.
I would like to thank the young women for the hearts and cookies and pictures that they sent. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading the hearts. I'm not too big on sweets though, for some reaon i just don't like sugar too much (not only that but the MTC diet is doing a number on me) but that's OK because my usos love the sweets. Personally, I would prefer power bars and sugar free gum. But I would like thank you for your thoughtfulness and consideration. I loved the package. It really does mean a lot to me!
In the fireside last night, the speaker talked about how there are four phases of the MTC and mission field. So far, I'm past the honeymoon phase, and past the hostile phase and now I'm in the gin and bear it phase. I hope to soon get into the endure to the end phase, because then my work will come easier to me. Other than that, life here has been the same old same old.
By the way, let me know how things are going over there, I like to hear back from home, but the mail here is really slow and the dear elders are VERY unreliable unless you specify everything. I have a very common name and they always give me someone else's mail someone else probably always gets mine.
So far though, we've had to let go of some of our best new friends in the MTC. I talked about them in my last blog, but this week we had a going away party for them, it was a great last day with them and I'll miss them all.
My last night with the district before us was a memorable one. We were able to get L&L's Hawaiian barbeque brought to us so we had about $11 worth of food there, plus $50 worth of candy and chips and Polynesian foods and a bunch of soda's. We all stayed in the same room and slept the night there (about 10 people fitting into a room for 4). We moved the beds out from their rooms and slept together. IT wasn't easy because a few of them snore REALLY loud. The next day we gave them a good send off at the buses and waited there till the bus was gone. The next few days were really somber, but we've moved on.
As a district, we've improved. Our opinions have been voiced and we've worked out a way to coexist. Things are starting to look brighter now. It's still difficult being upbeat all the time when you miss home a lot. I also kind of wish I could have gone to a less exotic country. somplace like France, Italy, China, Russia or Japan. I see people here going to beautiful countries and I get disappointed, but I know that the Phillipines is beautiful in it's own sense. Hopefully my experience here will help me in the furutre, especially with the language. I don't want to use it for two years and then never need it again. Hopefully the language will help to open doors for me further along in life.
THe MTC diet is taking it's toll on me, I'm up to 240 but I've stopped eating as much. I'm still in good shape, so i think it's just that I've never had this much food in me at one time. I eat every meal and my rational is that I'll be starving in the Phillippines. When I come back hopefully I'll be very slim, down to 190 (maybe that's too small but we'll see) and I'll be nothing but pure muscle again. I keep thinking about going back to football afterwards, so I'm working out as much as I can. I really wish they us throw footballs, because then I would be practicing long snapping with elder Ionane.
Speaking about working out, I'm going to try for the bench press record tomorrow. The record right now is pressing 150 lbs 105 times in a row. I was able to do 120 last week without actually preparing, it was sorta just a practice run because I didn't have the trainer count for me. Hopefully this week i'll be able to do a respectable amount and hold the record for a while.
The snow has pretty much melted away now, there are a few spots where they shoveled the snow that haven't melted, but those don't count. The field is clear enough to run on, so we could go there if we wanted to. IT's still cold though, especially for a Phoenician.
I would like to thank the young women for the hearts and cookies and pictures that they sent. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading the hearts. I'm not too big on sweets though, for some reaon i just don't like sugar too much (not only that but the MTC diet is doing a number on me) but that's OK because my usos love the sweets. Personally, I would prefer power bars and sugar free gum. But I would like thank you for your thoughtfulness and consideration. I loved the package. It really does mean a lot to me!
In the fireside last night, the speaker talked about how there are four phases of the MTC and mission field. So far, I'm past the honeymoon phase, and past the hostile phase and now I'm in the gin and bear it phase. I hope to soon get into the endure to the end phase, because then my work will come easier to me. Other than that, life here has been the same old same old.
By the way, let me know how things are going over there, I like to hear back from home, but the mail here is really slow and the dear elders are VERY unreliable unless you specify everything. I have a very common name and they always give me someone else's mail someone else probably always gets mine.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
January 17, 2011
It's stopped snowing and has been warming up lately here. The snow is starting to melt but there is still a lot around. It's cold but not as bad as the first week. The cold is making my hands dry and they are cracking, but I have enough lotion for right now. I am no longer sick. I had strep throat a week before i came and i'm still coughing a bit but I feel much better. Sorry I couldn't go hiking with you Joe, my throat made sure of that and I'm still feeling it.
We've started to get better as a district now. We're much more unified and the district leader is learning from his mistakes. even so, I have to keep reminding myself that nobody is perfect whenever he tries to lead us. The district before us has been great company while they were here. Sadly though, they are leaving tomorrow. They're al polynesian and they've welcome me and Elder Vaimalu and Elder Ioane into the MTC with open arms. Their names are Elder Tuik'lavatu, Kaufusi, Lasalosi, and Lotoahea. I'm gonna miss them and I hope I get some of them as companions later on im my mission.
We've had a pretty upbeat attitude lately, during class I was singing a worldly song and this is roughly how it went,
Me: I don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep
Teacher: NO Babylon!
Me: Because I'd miss you Jesus and I don't wanna miss a thing.
Teacher: That's better.
We've been doing those kind of things lately, we try to make church songs out of worldly songs and just make up our own songs. I never realized the importance of having music in my life until it was taken away from me. Not too upset about movies and games but music is what I miss right now.
I'm still a bit homesick and have yet to receive any pictures from back home. The mail here is pretty slow and it's depressing looking into an empty mailbox. I've gotten plenty of letters, more than I can reply to all at once, but it always feels like there's not any mail. I also hope everyone can send me a picture or two with their letters.
I met a few people whom I didn't know where on missions. One of them remembered me from the stake snow trip a few years ago and another I met at the stake youth trek. I forgot their last names though...I'll try to get it from them but I think they already left to their mission fields.
Jeffrey R Holland came to give us a devotional on Tuesday. I was really impressed by his speech skills. He talked to us about obedience and kind of came down on us about study habits and the effort we should put forth. It was a nice talk and I stayed awake for the whole thing. Well other than that, there's not very much else to talk about. The MTC has started to become a way of life right now so it's kind of become a routine.
We've started to get better as a district now. We're much more unified and the district leader is learning from his mistakes. even so, I have to keep reminding myself that nobody is perfect whenever he tries to lead us. The district before us has been great company while they were here. Sadly though, they are leaving tomorrow. They're al polynesian and they've welcome me and Elder Vaimalu and Elder Ioane into the MTC with open arms. Their names are Elder Tuik'lavatu, Kaufusi, Lasalosi, and Lotoahea. I'm gonna miss them and I hope I get some of them as companions later on im my mission.
We've had a pretty upbeat attitude lately, during class I was singing a worldly song and this is roughly how it went,
Me: I don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep
Teacher: NO Babylon!
Me: Because I'd miss you Jesus and I don't wanna miss a thing.
Teacher: That's better.
We've been doing those kind of things lately, we try to make church songs out of worldly songs and just make up our own songs. I never realized the importance of having music in my life until it was taken away from me. Not too upset about movies and games but music is what I miss right now.
I'm still a bit homesick and have yet to receive any pictures from back home. The mail here is pretty slow and it's depressing looking into an empty mailbox. I've gotten plenty of letters, more than I can reply to all at once, but it always feels like there's not any mail. I also hope everyone can send me a picture or two with their letters.
I met a few people whom I didn't know where on missions. One of them remembered me from the stake snow trip a few years ago and another I met at the stake youth trek. I forgot their last names though...I'll try to get it from them but I think they already left to their mission fields.
Jeffrey R Holland came to give us a devotional on Tuesday. I was really impressed by his speech skills. He talked to us about obedience and kind of came down on us about study habits and the effort we should put forth. It was a nice talk and I stayed awake for the whole thing. Well other than that, there's not very much else to talk about. The MTC has started to become a way of life right now so it's kind of become a routine.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
As a district, we've had a lot of trials and tribulations recently. As the novelty of being a missionary wore off, we started to faulter with our unity as a district. We haven't done anything which require discipline, but the distance between a few members is pretty apparent. Basically we've broken off into two groups. It's not bad because we stay together as a district, but we don't always walk next to each other. We keep our sipirts up though by singing a lot. Mostly love songs and what not, but still worldly songs, it's hard to let go of a good song. About the division without our group though, our district leader is young and inexperienced, he tries hard but he doesn't know how to be a leader. This is a great time for him to learn though. It seems like everyone was able to work things out when we had our companion inventory.
I never realized what exactly it takes to be a good leader until I saw an example of a bad (inexperienced leader. I always just played the part without any thought and things just sorta clicked into place. Now that I've seen that though, it's given me a lot to think about how I can improve as a leader. I gave him a few pointers and hopefully he'll learn how to lead by example, that's probably why he was put into that position, to learn how to become a leader. Other than that, there hasn't been much going on here. The days sorta just melt into one and the time just flies by. I still miss home though, it's hard because I know I have a full two years before I come home, when that one year mark comes around I'll counting down the days.
When I do think about home, I think of my cats, jack and spot, they always put a smile on my face because they're just so cute. I also miss spending time with Carli and Drew, pretty much for the same reason. Sometimes I got really bored of playing lego star warsx for hours and swinging on the swing with Carli but now I think I wouldn't mind doing that as much. They always made me smile and I cherished every minute with them. I'm sad that I won't be there to guide them along the way for the next two years, but I know that they'll be just fine without me, they're great kids and I know they'll go far. There's a lot of people that I'll miss and I'm hoping that they'll write to me. I'll need their words of encouragement to give me strength and keep me going while I am on the Lord's errand. And lastly, to my mom, I miss you the most. I love you.
-Elder Johnson
I never realized what exactly it takes to be a good leader until I saw an example of a bad (inexperienced leader. I always just played the part without any thought and things just sorta clicked into place. Now that I've seen that though, it's given me a lot to think about how I can improve as a leader. I gave him a few pointers and hopefully he'll learn how to lead by example, that's probably why he was put into that position, to learn how to become a leader. Other than that, there hasn't been much going on here. The days sorta just melt into one and the time just flies by. I still miss home though, it's hard because I know I have a full two years before I come home, when that one year mark comes around I'll counting down the days.
When I do think about home, I think of my cats, jack and spot, they always put a smile on my face because they're just so cute. I also miss spending time with Carli and Drew, pretty much for the same reason. Sometimes I got really bored of playing lego star warsx for hours and swinging on the swing with Carli but now I think I wouldn't mind doing that as much. They always made me smile and I cherished every minute with them. I'm sad that I won't be there to guide them along the way for the next two years, but I know that they'll be just fine without me, they're great kids and I know they'll go far. There's a lot of people that I'll miss and I'm hoping that they'll write to me. I'll need their words of encouragement to give me strength and keep me going while I am on the Lord's errand. And lastly, to my mom, I miss you the most. I love you.
-Elder Johnson
Monday, January 3, 2011
January 3, 2011
Wow! It's already been a week! i'll probably only update this once a week because they only give us one day to write our mail (and 30 minutes to write emails). First of all, i had a great time on the ride up to Provo with the Finlaysons. The kids for the most part were pretty good but got bored a lot (we all were, it was a LONG drive). When I got to the MTC, it was snowing and it was a wonderful sight. After I was processed, we met our teachers- Brother Cooke and Brother Slade- and for the first day they didn't speak a word of English, only tagolog. IT was VERY confusing. My first night here, it snowed and they still had their christmas lights up and had them on. It was wonderful, I couldn't have asked for a nicer first day. (I know it's strange that I'm happy we had snow, but come on...I've lived in Arizona my whole life. We don't ever see snow) I'm sure I'll start to hate the snow soon, but it made for a memorable first day. So far though it's been a rough adjustment. Everynight I go to sleep around 11:30 and wake up around 6:00. I've been really tired this pask week. I even fell asleep during one of our firesides. Whoopsie! I have companions, Elder Garlick (like the spice) and Elder Ioane (YO-AH-NEH). Elder Garlick is from Salt Lake City and Elder Ioane is from American Samoa. Our district consists of me, Elder Ioane, Elder Garlick, Elder Viamalu, and Elder Abbot. It's a very small district so we tend to do everything together.
I liked how at my first fireside (that I fell asleep at) we sung Army of Helman, this time we sang "We ARE NOW the Lords missionaries" instead of we will be the lord's missionaries, we also sang "brightly beams our father's mercy" for the first time. It was very nice and I've really enjoyed the music here, I would like some more CD's though, maybe I could get some care packages too... :)
I'd like to bear my testimony:
Alam ko po na totoo ang simbahan at buhay si jesucristo at mga propeta ng diyos sina thomas s monson at joseph smith, amen.
P.S. no time for spell check or anything, they only let us have 30 minutes to write all our e-mails. it's really ridiculous! especially if someone is a slow typer!
P.P.S. No pictures yet, still waiting on my camera, sorry you guys!
P.P.P.S I would also be very thankful to everyone if they could send me a picture along with their letters. i forgot to take a single picture with me and I would really like to be able to see everyone's faces as I write them home.
I liked how at my first fireside (that I fell asleep at) we sung Army of Helman, this time we sang "We ARE NOW the Lords missionaries" instead of we will be the lord's missionaries, we also sang "brightly beams our father's mercy" for the first time. It was very nice and I've really enjoyed the music here, I would like some more CD's though, maybe I could get some care packages too... :)
I'd like to bear my testimony:
Alam ko po na totoo ang simbahan at buhay si jesucristo at mga propeta ng diyos sina thomas s monson at joseph smith, amen.
P.S. no time for spell check or anything, they only let us have 30 minutes to write all our e-mails. it's really ridiculous! especially if someone is a slow typer!
P.P.S. No pictures yet, still waiting on my camera, sorry you guys!
P.P.P.S I would also be very thankful to everyone if they could send me a picture along with their letters. i forgot to take a single picture with me and I would really like to be able to see everyone's faces as I write them home.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The MTC
Elder Johnson braved it out and rode all the way to Provo, Utah with the Finlayson family and he survived! The kids loved having him along for the ride!
At the MTC you basically pull up and they have tons of different numbered cones with lots and lots of missionaries there to help you out. Once you get all your stuff out and say a few quick good-byes the Elders usher you into the MTC and off you go!
The day Elder Johnson went into the MTC it was snowing pretty bad and really really cold. A big shocker from Phoenix.
Drew had to get one last hug in from Alex before he left. Drew also thought it was so cool that Alex was now a missionary and that there were so many missionaries there when we dropped him off. Alex is a great example to lots of people!
At the MTC you basically pull up and they have tons of different numbered cones with lots and lots of missionaries there to help you out. Once you get all your stuff out and say a few quick good-byes the Elders usher you into the MTC and off you go!
The day Elder Johnson went into the MTC it was snowing pretty bad and really really cold. A big shocker from Phoenix.
Drew had to get one last hug in from Alex before he left. Drew also thought it was so cool that Alex was now a missionary and that there were so many missionaries there when we dropped him off. Alex is a great example to lots of people!
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