Elder Johnson's November 28th E-mail

Hi Mom,

1. Have you been warmer this week?

Yes, I had to purchase appropriate headgear and some glove liners (Roughly $45). I was given a pair of boots from a member that will be very sufficient during the rest of my stay in Whitehorse.

2. What did you and Norris do about the beds?  He wasn’t comfortable because of the top bunk?  What was wrong with the top bunk and why wasn’t he comfortable and why didn’t you just take the top bunk?

Nothing really. There's not much we can do because our apartment is too small. Yesterday, however, a less-active sister gave us a twin-size blow-up mattress. Elder Norris slept on that last night. 

3. How tall is that kid? You are 6’1” or 6’ 2”.  What is he? 6’4”?

He's 6'4''.

4. Your letter to Elder Flynn was funny.  You crack me up.  I had to look  up Sisyphus.

Oh, yeah.

5. Also, how do you keep your door locks from freezing?

We borrowed a space heater from the other Elders to keep on during the day. And we no longer lock our door.

6. Was it scary when you couldn’t get in the front door?

Not really. Brother Moore lives next door to us. He'd be tickled to death if we wound up having to bunk in his place while we waited for someone to come open the door.

7. Make sure you send me the president’s letter and/or tell me anything noteworthy (or scary or weird or funny) that has happened this week.  And tell me how you are getting along with the new guys.

Sent the Letter to the Mission President.

Funny Experience:

It's nice to have Elder Norris as a companion because he likes to play basketball. And we can get competitive games going with him around. Saturday morning, during our workout time, we had a pretty competitive game of 21 going. I dove for a ball and in the process completely wrenched my ankle. I rolled it like I've never rolled an ankle before. But consistent with my response to rolled ankles in the past, I walked it off. And I played another two games, then we went to help a guy in the Branch clean out a storage unit. The whole time the ankle was a nagging pain but not too much to cope with.

After the move, we had to run the Family History Center, which is a very sedentary activity. After 30 minutes of sitting, I tried to stand and could not. The ankle hurt so bad. It was swollen, I realized, and beginning to be discolored. We had a lot to do that day, so for our lunch break, we went to Walmart, and Elder Norris pushed me around in a wheelchair so I could buy some ankle wraps and ice packs. That's why I had a $40 expenditure at Walmart.

So I was on crutches for Sunday. But today it's better. I'm off crutches. I should be back in full commission next week.

Love,

Elder Johnson   

Elder Johnson's November 21, 2011 E-mail 40 below!!!!???

 

Elder Johnson and Elder Norris

Whitehorse

Hi Mom,
  I'm in a rush. We have a scheduled haircut appointment in 9 minutes. I
 will come back and write something more detailed in a little bit. There's a
 few things I must mention.

   Hopefully, you sent the shirts to my Alaska address and not the Canada
 address. Your package will not get to me before I leave Whitehorse. This
 transfer ends in 4 weeks.

   I am freezing my tail off. It's freaking cold up here. It got to negative
 40 degrees Celsius, which is negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not
 including the windchill. I need to buy a hat and a face mask. And probably a
 warmer coat--but I'm not sure yet. I'm sure I've got at least 50 bucks in my
 account. That should be fine for the head gear. If I need a coat, I will
 call the office and have them call you and tell you to transfer however much
 money it will cost into my account.

The following are the updated District Duties:

Elder Norris: District Auditor, District Activities Coordinator,
District Womanizer

Elder Duncan (elderduncanalaska.blogspot.com): District Chef, District
Photographer, District HAZMAT Specialist, District Fondeler (They
thought that rang better than District Hugger.)

Elder Bowes (eldertaylorbowes.blogspot.com): District Music Producer
(DMP), District Wingman (Includes assisting all of the
duties--especially District Photographer and Activities Coordinator.),
District Comedian

So who is the new person responsible for pictures?

Elder Duncan and Elder Bowes are combining efforts to ensure
consistent and quality pictures. At the end of the transfer, we will
combine all of the pictures in our jump drives. Which, by the way, if
you want me to be able to do that, you must send the jump drive that I
sent you back to me. That's the whole point of sending the jump drive
to you.

How does Elder Norris like Whitehorse?

He says, "I love America." North America, that is.

Are the Whitehorse winters harder than the Anchorage winters?

Yes, very much so. I'm sure you've already gotten my first e-mail.
It's extremely cold.

Will be get to skype for Christmas or only telephone?

I'm not sure. I will find out. Expect just a phone conversation.

Picture please of Elder Norris and you.

Okay, Elder Bowes just took the picture, and he will send it to you.

Bishop Barney says Hi, as well as Bethany, Annie and Jenny (sp?) "Hatch"
(she has a little boy now).

Tell them I said hi. Tell them I've gotten their letters, and I will
respond soon.

love,

Elder Johnson

Elder Johnson's November 7, 2011, E-mail

Hi Mom,

Thanks for the e-mail update.

Transfer Update:

Yes, you are correct--I am staying in Whitehorse again. President Beesley said this was my last transfer in the area. After that he'll give me another challenging assignment.

Elder Bowes' new companion will be Elder Duncan. My new companion will be Elder Norris. I do not know much about him. It is assumed, however, President Beesley mentioned, that he will take over as District Leader when I leave. President Beesley asked me to make sure their was a smooth transition.

I am certainly going to miss Elder Record. It was a joy serving with him. He's got a fun assignment ahead of him, which entails eating a lot of food and learning Samoan.

 As for your questions:

1.    When do E.Record and E. Hartman actually leave?

 Actually, our Branch has a temple trip planned this weekend from 10 Nov. through 13 Nov. President Beesley wanted the Whitehorse missionaries to go on that, thinking it would be beneficial to get to know the members better and also give the missionaries an opportunity to attend the temple.

The way it all worked out is Elder Record and Elder Hartman will be staying in Whitehorse until we leave on Thursday. They will drive down with us. We're getting rides from members. For Elder Bowes and me--our new companions will be arriving in Anchorage, AK on Saturday. They will then drive back up to Whitehorse with us and the members. So the temple trip is also our transfer.

2.    I don't envy them the 18 hour bus ride back, do you?

 They get to avoid that bus ride. We'll all cruise in a car with members and save the additional five hours in takes the bus to get to Anchorage.

3.    What will you do on p-day without golf?

 Anything my companion wants to do. I've found a great way to avoid stress in a companionship is to be open to activities on P-day. I did, however, request to Elder Record that he allow me one hour each Monday to hit a bucket of balls. We did that from 10 AM to 11 AM--the rest of the day was up to him.

4.    Are you using your missionary work out book I sent?  Do you need anything besides the book?

 Yes. Yes, I need new shirts--badly. My neck size is 17''. 36/37 length. Please send those ASAP. Preferably this week.

 

I also need new pants.

 

5.    Give me the full name of your companion so I can add him to the companion list.  Add any details that you know as well.  We would love to know a little about him.  Maybe it will be E. Flynn!

Elder Something Norris. I don't know a thing about him.

Love,

Elder Johnson