HOLA! from under the Equator!!!

Happy Bday Lexi!!!!!!!!

Sorry the email came on Tuesday, but we were in interviews with President Blunck on Monday! It went well and Tuesday we went to the Quistacocha tourist site here, it was cool and there were a lot of animals there, some that I had not seen before. At the end I ate the yummy SURI!!!!!! jajajaja I bit off it's head and put it in my mouth and..... took a picture... ate half of it and then started up the gag reflex... and I gagged a lot... I then threw it up, AWESOME!!!!! I can now say that I have eaten half of a suri.... jajajajajaja Sorry if it’s very full of imagery. :) 

We then went and received Elder Morales from Tarapoto and he stayed in our apt. for the capacitations that President Blunck gave us and that Elder Morales and my comp attended.  On Wednesday started the capacitation and my comp had two ingrown toenails operated on. Then we went to our room and I left to proselyte with President Blunck!!!!! He had given us two references to visit, and I went with him to teach them. Well, they both fell through, so we started to go with our plan B’s and they didn’t work out either, so we did contacts in the street and we found two families! One of them with 9 kids!!!!! It went well and I learned a little from him and about him. COOL!!!!

Thanks for the packages!!!!! They were/ are great!!!!!! Thanks for the tape!!!!!

Responses to moms questions: The Mission offices will stay there in Carlos Izaguirre124, on Pday we can do what we would like after lunch, but before lunch we always have time to email and an activity as a zone. For service we fix stairs, paint, clean, wash dishes.... :)

Our investigators we find through contacts and references, the references usually progress, while the others sometimes do.

I sleep in a mosquito net that is really hot!!!! With a fan all night. But I sleep all night and sometimes I sleep talk.  jajaja

I know  that the church is true!!!!

Love Elder JOE!

HOLA!!!!! DESDE ABAJO DEL ANILLO DEL MUNDO!!! (Down under the ring of the world) !!!!!

I’m great and my comp is “SUPER EXCELENTE!”

Well, this week has been amazing. We have been working really hard to help two couples get married so that the husbands can get baptized. We also had a ton of lessons all week and were working all week with members. Only two of our lessons were without members and we had 27 lessons with a member present which is really good! I haven’t ever had that many lessons with a member in one week before!!!!! We have also been hit almost every day with rain and something funny that happened is that Elder Sanchez has boots and every time he uses them it doesn’t rain and every time he does use them it doesn’t rain!!! Jajaja  

On Thursday we received a reference from a member and we taught her on Friday night, her name is Gabriella.  Before we started teaching her, we asked her if she had a question about God, and she asked us why she was here on the earth!!!! It’s what we know in the mission as a question of the soul, and we taught her about the plan of salvation and the Spirit was so strong there. She said the final prayer and was crying, soooooo cooool and she attended on Sunday!!!!! The work moves forward!!!

I know that the church is true and I am so thankful for the Gospel in my life. I am thankful for the Atonement that makes our salvation possible.

Well, I got a lot of packages this past week, thanks for all, and thanks to all, that helped send them!!!! Everything rocks!!!!!

Love Elder Joe!!!!!

(Joe says that he is working mostly in the city. There are 6 missionaries in his district and 10 in his zone.)

HOLA!!!  Yehaw!!!  From under the Equator!!!

Well, my New years Celebration went like this… we worked all day, and at about 8:30 p.m. we went to the ward party and they gave us rice and chicken, mmmmm. Then we went to our room and we watched outside as they were throwing corn starch at each other in the street, and they burned clothes stuffed with hay and fire crackers, that looked like mannequins. We were up until 1 a.m., because you cannot sleep here with all the fireworks that are going off. 

We also have had some good lessons.  Yesterday we went to teach the bishop’s more or less nanny, that helps in his house. She had felt the spirit in church yesterday and we invited her to be baptized. She told us that she is going back to her house today and that she won’t be in Iquitos for two weeks, but she was excited to hear about the gospel and will listen to us when she returns.

I’ll have to try the mazamorra morada with pancakes, sounds good!

The church is true!!!!! I read an article today from an Ensign of 2007 about the Book of Mormon and the fulfillment of it’s promises, and the story took place in Armenia. It was a good story and I felt the peace of the Spirit as I read.

I LOVE THE GOSPEL!!  Fidelidad Hasta El Fin!!!!!  God Lives!!!

Elder Joe!

Hola from under the equator!!!!!! woooo hoooooooooo!!!! and sweating a lot!!!!!!! jajajajajaja 

Well I am great, it’s a new week and I am soo excited to get out there and work hard. Last week we were working and I started thinking a little bit about work and I thought to myself “me gusta trabajar... I like to work” and I remembered when I was little and growing up that I hated work, that it was horrible. I had to laugh to myself because I really do love to work and the more I work here the better I feel, it is a cool feeling!!!! I love to work!!!! (and it took me twenty years to learn that) jajajaja

Also this week Jovita Padilla got baptized!!!!!  The bishop baptized her because he is her grandson, and it went well, she left smiling and when she received the Holy Ghost was also really happy and smiling, sooooo coooolll!!!!! Her grandson will be baptized on the 8th of Jan. and we are working with him and helping him to get prepared.

Something cool that happened was on the 25th we were teaching and my comp, was trying to say that we should be firm like a rock and at the same instant we had the same thought and said the same words and, wow it was soooo coool and the Spirit was there sooo strong. I love the gospel!!! I love being a missionary!!!!!!

I know that the truths I am teaching are changing lives and have changed my life. God lives. Love you alll!!!!!

HaPpY NeW yEaR!!!!!!

Love Elder JOHNSON!!!!!!

Hola from the selva!!!

My new companion is Elder Manuel Moises Sanchez Sanchez from Chiclayo, Peru.  He is a great companion.  Our new area is Moronacocha Iquitos.  It is hot, but it is great!!!

Well, this week was great and I have seen miracles. My companion twisted his knee and he asked me for a blessing and he told me after that his leg didn’t hurt at all. Also on Friday we had an appointment and it was raining really hard so we prayed and the rain stopped so that we could continue with the Lord's work. We are teaching some great people and have found some great families. We also have a baptism on Saturday. She is 73 years and is the bishops grandma. She rocks.

The season of Christ....

I love you tons. Merry Christmas.

Love Joe

Hola!!!!! from under the equator!!!!!! JAJAJAJA

Well this past week has been good and we have been able to invite a lot of people to be baptized and some of them have accepted!!!! Maximo will be baptized on the 25th of December, and Antony and Jonatan have accepted, but couldn’t attend on Sunday so they will be waiting to be baptized on the 1st of January.  We have also been teaching Liseth and the Paredes family and they are progressing.  BUT there is a little problem, I won’t be here to teach them because I am leaving the area! Elder Sanez also is leaving, he will be going to Pucallpa as señor comp!!! COOL! and I am going to Iquitos!!!! And I get to train again!!!!!

On the night before we received changes, I had been thinking if I would leave or not and I said a prayer, and told the Lord that it didn’t matter where I went, but that I would work hard in this new change and that I would accept His will. I feel privileged to be able to train another Elder, again, and I know that this change is going to be great! WOOOOO HOOOOOOOO

Well, this week we have been teaching Karen Paredes and last week she told us that she didn’t believe in God and that she respected what we taught but that she didn’t believe it. So we invited her to read the BOOK OF MORMON!!!!! Woo Hoooo, I love that book!!!!  She read in it and then last night when we were teaching her family, she offered the closing prayer and thanked God that we had helped her to know that he does exist and she thanked Him for the Book of Mormon. It was Incredible!!!!

Well, also this week has been good and we have worked hard and we’ll see how everything goes this week. Thanks for everything!!!! Love you all!!!!!!

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that Thomas Monson is a prophet in our days. God lives and Loves us!!!!

Love Elder Joe Johnson

Fidelidad Hasta el Fin!!!!

Kia Kaha!!!!!  Selva!!!!

I’m good! Well this week has been ok and we found a family that came to church with us on Sunday, that was way cool to see them enter in the chapel! The work is moving forward every day. My comp is good and we are working at being more united in all that we do every day.

Concerning Christmas traditions, Peruvians don’t go around singing and caroling but they do listen to Christmas music (some in English) and they do give presents, and some put up lights. Also, almost everyone has a manger scene, but they put it in the corner of a room and then they put a box under it and cover the box with green paper with drips of paint on it, I don’t know what it means but they always have drips of paint on their paper. They also give gifts and everything as usual in the U.S.

I don’t think that we are going to have a tree but maybe a manger, that is miniature. :) I bought one on Saturday. :)

Well, the Stake President here said last week that God does send angels but a lot of the time they are the people that surround us. The gospel has been restored!!! The church is true. God loves you.

Love Joe