August 26th

Hello everyone!

It's been another good week here at the MTC. There was a really good speaker and he talked about families and the church and asked us when the last time I said I loved my family. So, I'm going to tell you all right now

Mom- Thanks Mom for everything you have done in my life. Thanks for all the hugs and comfort during the rough patches. I love you so much! Oh, and thanks for all the meals you cooked for me, there were yummy. I love you! And I love reading your letters you've sent me. In the next letter, please tell me a mission story, I think it would be interesting because I haven't heard very many of them from you. I love you!

Dad- You are the man! Thanks for all the times that you played basketball with me when I was little. It was a fun challenge and I remember when I was so happy that I finally beat you. So, now that I win all the time in basketball it will be time for me to beat you in golf! Woo haha! But thanks for always giving me opportunities in my life. I love you a lot.

Jen- What up big sis? Haha, thanks for letting me come over and kick it at your place in San Diego! It was really fun! You have always been a 2nd mom to me, and I enjoy looking at the pictures I have in my photo ablum that you gave me for Christmas! Thanks for the packages and letters you write me, I love you!

Jeremy- How is it going big guns? I just want to say thanks for being a good husband to my sister. You are a solid guy. I hope everything goes well with you in the future! And thanks for standing up for me in Oceanside when the fat guy cussed at me; hahah good times bro! I love you

Kelly- What can I say? All the good times being mad with each other. All the bonding with the ADHD. Thanks for being a good example to me and sending me so much stuff out in the mission field! And thanks for doing the blog, I heard it looks really good, and I know my friends enjoy it! I love you, and thanks for everything!

Greg- What up? I remember when I beat you in Super Smash Brothers, hahah good times. Thanks for always playing games with me and being a good example. I really look up to you and you set a really good example for me. I hope that you have fun in Finland and enjoy it up there. Thanks for the good advice and being a good husband to my sister. I love you.

Cheryl-What up sista! Thanks for always having a good attitude! You're always the one that goes around poping jokes and making people laugh. I always enjoy April Fools to see what new thing you bust out! Thanks for taking care of me at BYU, and always having me over for dinners. I love you!

Tyler-What up son! Thanks for kickin it with me, you are fun to mess aaround with hahahaha. Thanks for always hanging out with me and all the good talks we have had. Thanks for being a good husband to my sis (even though she is bringing home the bacon) hahah but you are a good dude. I love you

Kim- What can I say? I feel like you and I are really close. And I love you a lot. All those times I scare boys and stuff is because I love you and I want only the best for you hahah. I hope you have a good senior year. My advice to you is to have fun, but good fun. And be careful with boys once you start dating. Remember to always ask yourself, would Steven approve of him? I cant wait for BYU and chillin all the time. And thanks for the letters! They are really good motivational letters; I'm impressed! Well, I love you, and you better stay a good girl!

Well this just reminds me of when I got set apart and started crying like a baby. Just remember that time and then you'll remember how much I love all of you.

Well, time for the MTC business. Nothing really new has happened. We get some new elders in our zone on Tuesday. My teachers are awesome. I really enjoy studying. And I gained some more weight. I have gained a total of 10 pounds since I've been here. All you can eat food baby! wooo!

I really like it here, but I know I will like even even more when I get out to Houston. I have a cyst in my wrist and I get it removed on Monday so that will be fun; I get to leave the little bubble of the MTC. I really love reading the Book of Mormon and the Bible. They're really good stuff. I am almost finished with the Book of Mormon. I have 80 pages left; so that's exciting.

Friends from LC- Thanks for the letters!! They make my day! It's good to hear how you all are doing! I miss you all! And I love you all also! Thanks for being my friend and being a good example! Don't worry, I'm still your bro and I'll see you all in 2 years!

Hmmm spiritual thought of the day.... I have 7 mins so lets see if I can think of anything................................................................. hmmmmm, well, I guess this will work.

God is our heavenly father. We are his children, and he loves us. I know he loves me and he loves you all also because he sent his son Jesus Christ to the earth to be the perfect example for us. I know that we can be cleansed of our sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that we can talk to our heavenly father through prayer. And he will answer you prayers! maybe not by hearing a voice or seeing an angel but I promise if you look for answers throughout the day you will notice how small answers to your prayers are given to you through experiences that happen to you. Also, search the scriptures for answers, and sometimes you can recieve an answer to you prayers through other people.

Well, I really love all you guys! And thanks for everything!!!!!!!
-Elder Johnson

the mega missionary :)

August 18th

So, I guess today is the end of my 4th week. I just finished half of the time I'll will be here at the MTC. This week was just like any other week. I did a lot of sitting, studying, and reading awesome letters and eating stuff from packages.

Oh, I remember something that happened. On thursday, I left my toothbrush and retainer in the bathroom and then the building monitor guy picked it up while I was in class. So, that night, I went to get my toothbrush and retainer and it wasnt there! Man, I was freaking out because Mom would kill me if I lost it! So, I asked the zone leader were the lost and found is and he was like its in Howard Howard's office, and he is a really mean guy! He probably snapped your retainer in half. So, I was freaking out because some mean guy named Howard Howard had my retainer. So, I tried to find him for 3 days and I couldn't find him and I was like oh man. So, on Sunday, I put in a maintanence request and I wrote, "Dear Mr. Howard, I think you have my retainer can you please have a time that I can check to see if you have it? My room is 117." So, then Monday morning at 6:32, Howard Howard comes into my room and goes, "ALRIGHT, who lost the retainer." I sat up in my bed because I was still waking up and I was like "Oh me," and he is like, "Is it blue?" I was like, "Yeah". He's like, "Alright, follow me." So, he had it and I was happy and I bet you're happy right now Mom because I know I'll probably get hate mail after you read this, telling me that I need to be more responsible and everything. Sorry! haha

Well, the rest of the MTC is going to be way interesting because everything is going to be in Spanish. Yes, I said it total Espaniol. Pretty crazy! We have to learn in Spanish, and teach our lessons every week in Spanish. We will see how I do. We have taught a couple of short lessons in Spanish already, so I am not that scared about it.

Elder Breeza and I are still good friends but we did have our first "real fight" this week, and it wasn't even that bad. We are just both very stubborn in our opinions and it takes a long time to talk about things and half of the time we get nowhere. But he is still my bro and we still own all the lessons we teach. For instance we went to a T.E (teaching evalutation) and tought a teacher one of the lessons. And we taught him about the word of wisdom, and after we were done he only had 1 thing to say, it was bring in the investigator's testimony of Joseph Smith more. But he said we did a really good job and that would be the only thing that he would change.

It doesn't feel like I have already been here for a month. The days go by slowly but the weeks go by really quickly. I don't know how but they do. My roommates brother has a tie shop, so I am going to by some cool ties from his bro for 7 bucks, but they are way cool. I bought a Texas shirt that was at the bookstore and I'm wearing it right now.

Oh, I still play basketball every day in gym. There is a new kid named Elder Walker and he is good. We have fun guarding each other and talking smack to each other. If he wasn't here it would be to easy so I'm glad I have someone that I can be competitive with. Apparently Elder Breeze said that someone asked him if he knew who Elder Johnson was, and he was like, "Yeaa he is my companion" and they were like, "No way, he's a baller!" haha it was pretty funny.

I want to thank everyone for the letters that they have sent me. I am going to respond to them as soon as I can. I have a ton to do today. I can only write letters on Tuesdays, so be patient with me. I do my best to write them! Well, I love all you people reading this! I hope everything is going well in your lives. If you get bored go ahead and write me a letter. It can be about anything. They really help make my day interesting because the days are pretty much the same and letters make it funny, and interesting. well I miss you all!

Elder Johnson

p.s. LC bros im jealous you kicked it down at Oceanside! I hope you had fun!

Mom- I have my retainer no reason to freak out. :) Thanks for the letters this week. I love you!

Dad- the used bike is fine. If it's already gone that's ok too. Thanks for the letters, they are very interesting and give me something to do. Apparently a guy in Utah said that article was in his newspaper. So it was pretty weird. Thanks for everything you do for me, I love you.

Kimmy- LIL SIS! Your letters are so cool. I really love reading them and they give me motivation to work hard when I read them! I love you!

Jen- is the baby out of your tummy yet? I hope you are doing well! Thanks for everything! I love you!

Kelly- How is finland? I hope you are liking it there! Thanks for the package! I love you!

Cherly! How are you! I wrote a letter last week but haven't mailed it so I'll mail it this week. I love you!

August 11, 2009

Another week of the mission has gone by and I can say that I am really enjoying it! I am learning more and more Spanish every day, and I am really learning about the Gospel.

Well, here is a funny story that happened to me that I am pretty sure will make you all laugh. So I was walking down the hall and I started singing in a high pitched voice "I can fly like an eagle!" and then I see the MTC president and he totally heard me singing and it was really embarrassing. So, I went up to him because I wanted to shake his hand. So, I go up to him and I say " how is it going" and he kind of looked at me funny and said good, how are you and then kept walking, and then I realized that I forgot to call him president. I hope that he doesn't think I am a missionary who isn't taking this very seriously haha. O well, it happens to the best of us right?

Well the days seem to fly by, and the weeks are going by fast. It is really weird having every minute planned for the day. I am really starting to like the sleeping schedule here. It is nice having to wake up at 6:30 because then I have the whole day ahead of me. I think I am lucky because only one of my roommates snores, and the same guy that snores talks in his sleep sometimes. Oh and guess what! we got some new elders on our floor. We got some new guys next to us. And one of them is from La Canada! It's JOSH NEWTON! It's cool because we get to play basketball together, and hang out. OH and so far I have gained 8 pounds since I have been here at the MTC wooohooo! hahahah

Ok time for serious business. Something that I have learned this week is how to pray more effectively. We are so lucky that we have the opportunity to pray. We have a heavenly father who loves us and we are his children. When we pray we should act like we are talking to our Father. We should picture him while we pray to him. God loves as and will give us answers to our prayers. But we need to first ponder about what we are going to pray about, the we pray asking sincerely for and answer or help, then we ponder and listen for an answer by the spirit. He will tells us answers in different ways. if the thing we are praying about is right we will feel peace and joy in our hearts. If it's wrong we will have a stupor of thought (we won't have a good feeling, it might even be a confused feeling) if we don't feel anything than that is God saying that you are on the right path, just keep doing what you are doing.

Friends from back home!- Hey how are you all doing? I want to hear from you guys soon! I miss you all a lot, and nothing makes me happier than when I get letters. They are good motivation boosters and a good break from the busy day. I don't have your addresses so write me a letter to the MTC and I will write you back on my P-day (Tuesdays)

Jen- did you pop out your baby yet? and thanks for the package

Kelly- I'll email you cuz I don't know how much a letter to Finland costs. If you tell me I'll hand write one to you.

Kim-thanks for the letters

Mom-thanks for the package and the watches. I am going to send the watches in so they can take a link off. P.s I didn't need any shots thanks

Dad- thank you for the letters and the stories that come with them; they are interesting to read.

Cheryl- How was lake Powell, p.s tell Tyler he is a butt for not writing me a letter, cuz all the other bro in laws have hahaha :)

Greg- thanks for the letters.

Jeremy- good luck with the babies and everything else, thanks for the letters

Tyler- whats up bum? I have been drinking chocolate milk every day

Letter on August 4th

I survived another week at the MTC wooot wooot!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well! Thanks to everyone who has been sending me letters. Nothing brightens my day more than when I get a letter. Well, I will try to get out as much as I can in 27 minutes. So the typical day for me goes like this. My alarm goes off at 6:30, I then crawl out of my bed and believe or not I have energy. Then, I hop in the shower and sing a couple of awesome songs like Lion King and Disney stuff. Then, I go to breakfast at 7:00. Then, we have class for 3 hours. Then, we have gym and I ball some fools up in basketball when I don't even have actual basketball shoes to play in. (Dad, please send me a package with my shoes I need them so I don't get blisters). Then, I come back and shower and have lunch at 11:30. After lunch, I have either another class for 4 hours or I have personal, language, and companion study and MDT (missionary down time) each of those last an hour. Then, we have dinner at 4:30 and then class or the study time depending on what we haven't done so far. So that's it, that is my typical day. It's interesting because the days go by slowly sometimes but the weeks go by quickly.

Well, me and my companion, Elder Breeze, still get along really well still. We even made an awesome handshake. He read me a funny letter from his grandma and I guess she found the blog and wrote him a letter. She said, "I am glad your companion wrote something good about you, otherwise I would have to punch him out"! so GMA BREEZE! shout out to you! you have a coool grandson!

Well, I found out that I am only supposed to write letters and emails on PDAY so Tuesdays. So sorry that you will get 1 letter a week. Because I learned that selective obedience is not obedience. and I want to be obedient so I am going to follow that rule. But that doesn't mean I wont enjoy letters from everyone!

Friends and family if you are wondering why I haven't written you yet, I'll tell you. I don't have your addresses. So write me a letter and I will write you back! That's a promise. So, I am going to be sending a bunch of letters out today.

I really like the MTC. Like I think I said this in my last email. I love being here and I know that I am supposed to be here in this time of my life. I love just devoting my life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is awesome. I have been here for a week and a half and I am in Alma already. so I have read half of it.

If any of you have questions about The Book of Mormon write me please and I will do my best to answer your questions. If you ever see a missionary be nice to them! because I am one of those guys in the white shirts and black name badge now! Listen to what they have to say and they should be able to answer some questions you might have like where were we before this life, whats our life's purpose, and where we are going.
I miss you all a lot!
Elder Johnson

Bros from LC- I haven't heard from any of you! whats new? Write me a letter so I can read how you are doing

Kelly- I don't know your Finland address so I am kind of afraid to send a letter to the Pittsburgh one because you will be in Finland soon. So let me know what I should do. Oh, and can you make sure my address is on the Blog and that it's the right one? Thanks!

Dad- Thanks for the letters and pictures they are awesome!I miss you and I hope you are surviving without another man in the house.

Mom- I love you! how is everything?

Kim- MY little sister! I actually had a dream about you! I beat up a guy that wanted to date you ( I didn't approve of him) I love you. Can you make sure my address in on facebook and that its the right one? Thanks.

Jen- Man your letter was so funny. I hope you have a good time poping out a baby :)

Cheryl- What up girl? How was the Lake Powell trip? Write me a letter and let me know how it was

Well I love you all. Good luck with everything.