Hey!!! I’m good, I didn’t feel a thing (earthquake), and if it did affect Pucallpa, I was sleeping when it hit... :)   This week has been good, we had a baptism Saturday, named Maria, she reminds me of Suzy because she is single too.  She works in the Ice Cream shop in front of our apartment, and bore her testimony at her baptism that this is the true church. It was cool!! We also watched one of our baptisms bless the sacrament yesterday, Paul blessed the sacrament and it was cool to see how he has changed.

I am good, I think the half hour of exercise every morning is helping me keep my weight down, but by no means am I the Hulk or Superman... Super-Elder!!!!!!!! jajaja

There is a new Elder in my Zone named Elder Evans, from... Soda Springs Idaho! We talked about the nasty water there and laughed. jaja I remember Janeen when she drank about half a cup and spit it all out... jajajajaja :)

He’s a cool Elder from the same group as Elder Wood.

I have something to ask from you all, to pray that the hearts of the people in this Mission(Lima Norte), Zone(Pucallpa), and Area(Las Alamedas) will be touched that they will be prepared and really receptive to the gospel. Thanks!!!!!

Your prayers are appreciated!!!!

Well I love you all, I am now going to enter the Jungle... Really we are going to have a ¨Parrillada¨ or barbecue in the jungle for P-day, wooo-hoooo!!! 

Thanks, especially for the letters.

Love you all tons!!!!!!

Te Amo!!! MAS!!!!!!!!

Elder Joe Johnson

Hola!!!!!!

Well this week was good. We had a baptism of Francisca, she is 56 and ¨lo maximo¨, she wants us to baptize her whole family. :) It went really good, and we also had a wedding of a couple, where the mom is a member and the dad isn’t, but we will teach him this week.  It was a good week and last night we taught a less active teen, Jumico. He wasn’t preparing to serve a mission, but we talked to him, and he prayed and now he is!!!!!

We aren’t going to change this time, we are going to be together for another change!!!! Rocks!!! We are going to teach a lot of people and help them receive the gospel in this change.

Hope you have a great week!!!!!

Thanks for the photos, they are awesome!!!

Love you tons, Joe!

Hola!

We had a baptism yesterday, and are hoping to have one or two more this week. I will be with Elder Yañez for one more week, and then CHANGES!!!  This change has gone by really fast, really fast. This ward rocks, and I hope I don’t have to leave... But it’s all good, it’s where the Lord needs me.

Love you all!! chow!!!

Elder Johnson

Church News about Peru Missions and New President February 13 2010

New Peru Lima North Mission President July 2010

Lawrence Paul Blunck, 53, and Karen Janeece Hawman Blunck, four children, Peru Lima North Mission; Canby 2nd Ward, Oregon City Oregon Stake. Brother Blunck is ward Young Men president and a former counselor in a stake presidency, bishop, high councilor, counselor in a ward Young Men presidency and missionary in the Peru Lima Mission. Partner, Blunck & Walhood LLC. Born in Hood River, Ore., to Alfred Carl and Beverly Kay Garrett Blunck.Sister Blunck serves as a counselor in a stake Relief Society presidency and is a former counselor in ward Young Women and Relief Society presidencies, seminary teacher and gospel doctrine teacher. Born in Sacramento, Calif., to Phillip Arthur and Grace Ardele Hawman.
New Missions for Peru July 2010
To better align resources and adjust to the ever changing needs of the Church, 10 new missions will be organized in July, while 14 other missions will be combined with neighboring missions. The resulting number of missions will be 340.

To see a map of new Peru Mission see this link.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58775/New-missions-10-announced-in-seven-areas.html

Creating the Peru Cusco and Peru Lima West missions from a realignment of the Peru Arequipa, Peru Lima Central, Peru Lima East, Peru Lima North and Peru Lima South missions.

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!! 

Sorry that all email didn’t get sent last week!!!! The computer died and I didn’t get to send!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!! I GOT FOUR PACKAGES LAST WEEK!!!!! We had interviews with President Pérez and I got Thanksgiving and Christmas all in one!!! It was a really good day!!! I’m actually eating the gobstoppers right now. :)!!  We had a baptism last Saturday. Jair has 15 years and he was taught almost a year ago by other missionaries. He told us the first day that we taught him that he wanted to be baptized. But he had some doubts in his interview. So we prayed with him, and he felt the Spirit and told us it was the right thing to do. I baptized him and it was really good.

This week we got rained on a lot!!! We walked for two minutes in the rain and my pants and shoes and everything was soaked!!! It was crazy!! We also had three baptisms this week!!!!! Two of them, were Paul and Viviana, siblings - Paul has 18 years, and Viviana has 11. They are really cool and we are working on their mom and dad, their cousins are LDS and live in Utah!! We also baptized Sally, she has 13 years and her brother is a recent convert. They rock. We are also working on her mom and dad. :) 

We also found two families yesterday!! In one of them, the dad assisted the church for two years in Lima and wasn’t baptized, and in the other she told us that she was looking for the true church and was reading the bible!  These were answers to my prayers, to find families ready for the gospel.  :)

Well I’m good, I can’t wait to find more families!!!! Families are the best !!!! I love my family, when I think about them I feel love for everyone of them/you.  When we teach about temples and families, I love to testify that families can be forever, because they can.

I love this gospel, that through it we can live with our families forever in God´s presence. I KNOW that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that through him Jesus Christ organized His church. I testify and promise along with every prophet and apostle and member of this church that if you pray with FAITH you can know it is true too.

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!  I hope you have a great one!!!!!!!  But, don’t forget that “God so LOVED the world that he gave His only begotten Son..”  That through Him we might be saved.  I love my Savior, and I love you, (whoever you are) Happy Valentines Day!!

HapPy VaLenTinEs dAy!!!

Thank you so much to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The packages were the best!!!!

Love you tons!!!

HEY,

How are things going with you?

I’m good, my comp. is good, we have had a lot of rain.  Well, I felt the earthquake, but don’t be worried it was tiny and Elder Yañez didn’t even feel it.

Thanks for everything, the packages, and letters and everything, 

the picture of Jesus. Have a great week.

Love, Elder Joe

At the Mission Home:

Baptisms while serving in Huaral:

HEY!!!!!!!!

This week was cool, I held two yellow boa snakes!! (that the ward mission leader has). I also held a monkey!!!  An investigator gave us a monkey, and we can’t have pets, so we gave it to a family to watch for us. 

We got soaked twice in the rain.  It’s raining really hard.  Right now it is raining... snakes, and ... frogs...  Haha!   It was pretty fun!! :)  (It’s winter here now... despite the heat, and in the winter it rains more than normal.)  

We had a baptism of Juan, he is a really cool 10 year old that prays like an apostle. :)

Sunday I was in the chapel for the sacrament and the hymn right before was “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”.  I had been thinking about this hymn all week and the spirit was way strong, I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!!!  I love the feelings of His love for me. This is His church, the only true church, and if you have any doubts, ask of God, He will answer.  Love you tons!!!!

!!Under the Equator!!

Elder Joe :)

Holá!! How are you?

My new companion is Elder José Alfredo Yañez Saldaña, from Arequipa, Peru. My new area in Pucallpa is Las Alamedas, the airport is in our area.  We live next to the airport on the East side, more towards the North.  The ward that we are in is the best.  We work with the members a lot and get lots of referencias (referrals).  We are working with a lot of youth and families, but especially the families.  We visited two of these yesterday, one of them the wife is a member, but the dad isn’t and they need to get married (they want to).  The other is an artist and his wife and two little boys, they are awesome!!!  The lesson was really good and real filled with the Spirit.  I love this work!!!

We blessed seven people in church on Sunday, one right after the other.  I love blessing lives with the power of God on earth, the Priesthood.  I love this gospel and the hope it brings to everyone that prays about it’s truthfulness.  I know it’s true, I know that God knows, and I can’t deny it.  I love all of the blessings it has given to me, and most of all I love my Savior and am so happy to be a part of His gospel.

Love you tons - Elder Joe