Hola!!! From under the equator!!!!!!!!!

Wow, sounds like a full week!!!

I’m an Uncle again!!!!!!!!

Woohooooooo!!!!!!!!

I just wish I could be there to smell “heaven”. He’s a cute little guy, I like his name but I think Rock-cito would be more appropriate. :)

Well happy late birthday to the ‘twins’, and happy birthday today!!!!!

Today for P-day we went to the center of Lima to see some sites, and we went to the catacombs again, and then to buy some stuff. I took pictures and bought a couple things. Also this week has been interesting and I have learned lots of things about where we should put our trust, In THE LORD. If we try doing things our way we have problems, we make mistakes and then afterward we wonder why the Lord didn’t help us when we were doing the right things. But, if we do it the Lord’s way he sends His spirit to be with us and it becomes our guide and our companion, and those we teach feel His presence.  I’m trying to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands and to follow His influence.

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Living God, that he did see what he says he saw in the Sacred Grove, God and His Son. “I’m trying to be like Jesus” in all that I do and say, and I know that Jesus is our Savior. I know He loves us so much that He died for us, that He died for me. I’m trying to really understand what this means for me and all of us, but I also know that He washes away our sins with the sacrifice that He made and I love Him for what He did.

Love you all.

Elder Joe Johnson 

Wow! Great photos!!

I never knew about that big room upstairs! (Refering to the scale model of the Salt Lake Temple)

COOL!!!!!!

Well this week I have felt the Spirit so many times, and in ways that I needed to feel it. One of them was when we were studying in the morning one day about the Joseph Smith Story, It Happened!

Also when we were teaching Isolina, she wants to be baptized, but her boyfriend doesn’t want to get married or separate, and we taught her.  Elder Vasquez said after that, the Spirit was the most strong he has felt since leaving the temple, it was really strong.

I’m good, I love you all, have a great day!!!!

Elder Johnson!!

Sorry I didn’t write to all, I have to go!!!!!

Love you!!!!!!

Hello.... I hear this word a lot here, because everyone has studied English in school and they only remember one word... Hello.  jajaja it’s true!!

I’m good. My Comp. is good. The weather is a little humid and cloudy, but it doesn’t ever rain here, it only mists. Sometimes it mists strong until the ground is wet, and today is one of these. But it never, never, never rains. :) 

This past week on Saturday we had three baptisms!!!!!!

They went really well and Elder Vasquez baptized Manuel Benitez.  I got to baptize the two sisters of Hayceli- Mardeli and Marvita Valverde. The water was really cold, (again) and we were all cold afterward, but it was really great.

We also taught a member family with one of their neighbors in their house and they didn’t have wedding rings so we gave them our “Anillos de Unidad” that we made from zip ties I had. (We had made these rings as a companionship to remind us to be united on Thursday, and we found a better use for them) :)

I am also getting used to gray skies all the time, and less fried bananas, Lima is a lot different from the Jungle, and I have to get used to it.

I am also preparing to send letters today!!!  I hope they make it!!!!!

Say hi to everyone!!!

I love you ETERNALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Gregory Joseph Johnson

Hola!

Last night we watched ¨Finding Faith in Christ¨, and testified that Christ is our Savior to a family where the mom is a temple worker, and the dad drinks and lots of missionaries have taught him, but he hasn’t changed too much. Also, we taught a little about the Plan because his mom died last week. We testified of the love of God for all of us. It was really spiritual and way good.

We also taught the sister of Hayceli that got baptized last week and we read 3 Nephi 11 and asked her “if Jesus was here, what would you ask from him?”, and she said “to be saved.”  We then explained to her from the gospel index that Hosanna means “save us” or a plea for the salvation, and then we explained to her that baptism lets us be saved, and she said that she would be baptized!!! Coolio!!!!!

We also had Interviews with President Pérez, (the last one) :( sad day..... I asked him how he felt, and he told me not to remind him that he is going home. jajajaja I love him as my president!! He is so great!

We live ten or fifteen minutes walking distance from the chapel, and the entrance of the apartment is a little messy, but the apartment is possibly the best of my mission. :) It’s pretty good. 

Thanks for the emails!!!!  I’m great!!!!!! My Comp ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are learning and becoming a team. I love you soo much!!!!!!!!

This week was great!!!! 

Christ lives! and paid for our errors.

Love ya!!!!

Elder Johnson

Well, Lima is a little cooler than the jungle!

It is amazing how good you feel when aren’t sweating all the time :).

This week was great!!! My son is called Elder José Luis Vasquez Davila, from Boaco, Nicaragua!!!!

He is 21 and is so great, I love him so much.

I’m trying to be a good daddy and teach him what he needs to know.

We have had some good lessons that were really spiritual and it was so cool to watch Elder Vasquez teach a little and then look at me with a little lost look on his face. He rocks!!!!!

We are the missionaries in Quiñones Branch, and Chinchaysuyo Ward, and yesterday we were in the chapel for about 8 hours!!! We also had to do Informes on the wards,(thats why we were there for so long.)

We also had a fireside with Elder Jay Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy. It was really great, and the spirit was there teaching me. We read in D&C 138 about how we had received teaching before this life. GTG

LOVE YOU MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Joe Johnson

WOW!!! well I don’t think I can respond to everything that you told me... jaja

Yes I do know Elder Evans, he is the best!!! He rocks!

Also I am leaving Pucallpa!!!

This Wednesday are changes, and I am going to Tahuantinsuyo in Lima! On Wednesday I also finish nine months and am going to have a son!!!!!! I’m going to train!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!

My week was good!!!! We had four baptisms on Saturday; Hermana Isabel Lam, her son Leopoldo Arquero, her daughter Jemimah Keren, and Nilo Cabrera. It was cool, I got to baptize Leopoldo, and Jemimah. Elder Pérez baptized the other two. She was so happy and also invited us to eat in her house tonight, I hope it’s good!! jajajaja She is an amazing woman that loves to learn!!!

Yesterday we went to visit a reference of a family that their son had visited the church, and the mom had prayed for God to send a sign to her to help her be better and to change.  She told us that we were her sign, it was pretty cool to be “God-sent”.  :)

Also last night we contacted José in the street and he was thinking about his life and what he could do better, and had made the resolution to change his life, I was a little amazed, we taught, he listened and I felt really strongly to tell him basically that chances don’t exist and that he needed what we have. It was cool and we are going to teach him again tonight. 

Well I love you all tons!!!!  It’s true!!!

Elder Joe Johnson

De la Selva de PERÜ!!!!!!!

Well this week we had a baptism!! His name is Pablo Murrieta, and he is 17 and lives in the apartments next to us. It was really cool in his baptism because he bore his testimony and said that he had found two friends that showed him that God really does care about him.

I also talked in church Sunday about “The effects of a Righteous Woman” and talked about the things that I remembered Mom teaching me. Also we had two families that assisted church and one of them is going to be baptized this Saturday!!!!!! woo hooooooo

Families are the best!!!!!!! ( I love everybody, but it’s cool to see a family get baptized!)

Also this week we got to go to Lima to listen to Elder Gavarret, a Seventy, speak. That was pretty cool, and then after I talked to his wife, and she was so nice!

We then ate pizza in the airplane and came home to Pucallpa. Elder Evans put his papers in his backpack and sent it as luggage and couldn’t board his plane, so they got left behind and came the day after at 5 in the morning. :) It was kind of stressful for a little while when we found out, but it all turned o.k.

Yesterday we were in the house of an investigator, and her house got flooded and we had to leave in the flood, so we rolled up our pants and walked out and got muddy, it was pretty interesting!! I looked out one minute and the water wasn’t too high and then two minutes later it was coming in her house!! crazy!

When we were in Lima we ate with some Elders and the Sister gave us fried fish, and then spaghetti, salad, grapes, a weird fruit from the jungle, and bananas and juice!!! I was way full!!!!!

It was kind of funny because she just kept coming with food!!!!!

We all just kept looking at each other thinking ‘where is all of this coming from?’

Well Love for all!!! Have a great week!!!!!

Love Elder Johnson!!!!!!!!!!