Elder Johnson's December 25th PHONE CALL!!!

On Christmas Day we had a wonderful telephone conversation with Elder Johnson!  He is enjoying his current location in North Anchorage and gets along great with his new companion, Elder Witt.  He got his Christmas box and promptly took the two Nerf guns with 100 foam "bullets", which I had sent for part of his present, and used them as incentive to help the missionaries sing Christmas carols.  Not sure how he used them, but I think the loudest singers got to play with (or keep) the guns!  He says he liked the rest of the box and was very appreciative of what was sent.  He had 7 items of business that he needed to go over with his dad which basically included the need for the new shirts, new pants and what we need to do to get him ready to start back to ASU in the spring of 2013!  He has been out 14 months and his last 10 months are going to fly by.  We got Marcus on the cell phone and they talked phone to phone for a while, then we called Isaiah and they got to talk for a few minutes. He didn't want to bother trying to find someone in the ward to Skype with because he and his companion are both new to the area and they didn't know who they could impose upon to use their computer.  But, as it turned out, it worked wonderfully just using the speaker phone.  The only thing is we couldn't see him.  That will be rectified by next October!  He was happy and must be working hard since he decided not to e-mail us on Monday!  Back next week with a new post and hopefully some more great informtion from Elder Johnson!

Baptism of Katie Lewis

Mom and Dad,

I needed to e-mail you tonight because I would not get to otherwise.

We've had an amazing week. Out of the blue, Katie Lewis, an investigator that Elder Record and I began teaching decided that she wanted to get baptized before I left. She determined all that she was holding out for wasn't important and that she just needed to take the step of faith. She was baptized yesterday--the service was amazing. We had an amazing week of teaching as well. I think Elder Norris and I broke a mission-wide record of teaching 18 lessons to investigators with a member present.

I received my new call as well. I am going to be serving in the North Anchorage Zone as zone leader. It's the largest zone in the mission with 12 or 13 companionships. I don't know anything else about the situation.

Last night I saw the northern lights for the first time on my mission. I have pictures that were taken by Brother Hirsch on his camera. I will send them to you soon, along with a wealth of other pictures in the mail.

Love,

Elder Bradley Allen Johnson

THEN ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 19TH, WE GOT THIS E-MAIL:

Hi Mom,

We're here in Juneau waiting for our flight to Anchorage, and our prior zone leaders, Elder Witt and Elder Greenwell, took us to finish e-mails since last night was so short. Conveniently, Elder Witt, my former zone leader, will be my new companion, serving with me in the Cook Inlet Ward. It's in downtown Anchorage; I'll find specifics later.

What is your area?

Cook Inlet Ward in Anchorage. Elder Record and Elder Collins will also be in our zone, so I'll get to be around them. Elder Record is doing so good in his new area that they made him senior companion. Elder Collins continues to be awesome.

What are the cross streets to your apartment?

I'll find out for you soon. Maybe I'll just tell you on our Skype conversation on Christmas Day.

Who is your companion?

Elder Nelson Witt, my former Juneau zone leader.

How did you get to Anchorage? and was it fun?

We will fly into Anchorage tonight at 7:50PM. We already flew from Skagway to Juneau--a short flight. I have 5 bags of luggage and spent $80 some-odd dollars in over-weight charges. President Beesley promises to reimburse any baggage expenses. I put the charge to my credit card.

What are the details of your new zone leader assignment?

Nothing as of yet. Again, the largest zone in the mission. In very close proximity to President Beesley: his ward is in our zone.

Tell us one funny, dangerous, spiritual or exciting thing that happened this week.

Today, for our last hoorah in Whitehorse (which, by the way, I'm going to miss Whitehorse; that was a special place) we were invited to a local sled dog breeding/training farm. It was amazing. These dogs are preparing for the Iditarad. Google it. It's got something to do with Balto.

Anyways, we helped feed them, which required de-meating beavers. I cut up two huge frozen beavers, got the meat and fed it to the dogs. Then, after the dogs were well-fed, we went dog sledding. I have video and pictures. I'll send them soon.

Christmas Plans:

Thank you for letting me know your availability. I'm not sure about anything regarding when the new ward meets, but after 11AM sounds good.

The big news, however, is that we have permission to Skype. Now, I imagine this is the preferred mode of communication for you guys, right? If not, it's cool; we can have a phone call. But I'll see if I can find a member who has Skype, and who'll allow us to use it.

I'll make sure to find a way to let you know specifics. Maybe I'll have Sister Campbell call you guys to let you know all what I can do this week.

See or talk to you soon.

Love,

Elder Johnson

Elder Johnson's December 12, 2011 E-Mail

My encounter with a wild fox

He's a cute little fella

Mom,

That performance was epic. That was so funny. I think Dad could make some money with that performance. The William Hung of So You Think You Can Dance. All of you were awesome. It was a perfect performance. I hope you showed this the the guys. Hopefully, they came by and visited with everyone.

1.    Do you know if you will have to take the bus or get to fly (either one is a dangerous undertaking at this time of year.

 We actually might drive. We may use one of the trucks up here, and then the other missionaries will trade us when we get to Anchorage, assuming we're going to meet at Anchorage for the transfer.

2.    How does your ankle feel this week?

 Feels great. Played basketball all p-day last p-day. Going to do it again.

3.    Are you getting all the phone numbers and addresses of the Whitehorse people you want to send future mail too?

 Yeah, I'll make sure to do that. I need to send a Christmas letter to Grayhawk Capital! Can you find their address for me? I think they may have moved office locations.

4.    Does your visa expire or are you just leaving because its "your time" to go?

 Both. President Beesley said I'd be there for 3 transfers when he told me I'd be going to Whitehorse.

5.    What investigators are you leaving for Norris and Duncan? (remember to forward President's letter to me!)

 We have a good pool of investigators for Elder Norris. And we have investigators who are progressing, who will be baptized next transfer.

6.    Tell me one thing either interesting, funny, spiritual or frightening that happened this week.

We were coming away from a family's house and saw this beautiful fox. There are a lot of foxes here. Gorgeous animals. Anyways, I started running after him, and he was just toying with me. He'd run a little way, and then stop and wait for me to run at him again. Anyways, I held out my glove to him and shook it. After a little time, he came up sniffed the glove and then took it from my hand. Elder Norris took a picture of the exchange, which I will be sure to send to you soon.

I'm going to spend a little money to buy some blank CDs and maybe a jump drive this week to save all the pictures from everyone.

Love,

Elder Johnson

A CHRISTMAS GIFT TO ELDER JOHNSON

TO ALL THOSE WHO READ ELDER JOHNSON'S BLOG -

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ELDER JOHNSON'S FAMILY!!!!

Brittany (Singing)

Donna and Steve (Backup Dancers)

Lauren  (Choreographer)

WE LOVE OUR MISSIONARIES!!!!!

Elder Johnson's December 5, 2011 E-mail

Hi Mom,

Thanks for the e-mail update. I look forward to getting a picture of Dad's black eye. Hopefully, it doesn't hurt too bad. I like the thought of him risking his body, though, for the interception. I'm sure he's one of the few leaders in Church history who've gotten a black eye playing with a bunch of Priests. Joseph Smith certainly had the demeanor to do so, but as far as I know, I don't think it happened to him. I'm sure the Priests love him and think he's awesome. Tell him to keep playing with them. It's really cool.

My Ankle

As for my injury, the Branch thought I was faking it. I show up to Church last Sunday, hobbling around on a crutch, wincing from discomfort, and then the next week I'm running around the halls doing things. Last Monday it felt a little tender, touchy enough to not desire to play sports. Tuesday I was walking without a crutch or wincing--still a little weak. But on Wednesday I felt no restrictions. Today, Monday, we're going to play basketball at the Canada Game Center. It's all better.

Weather Update

The weather has been very temperate, actually. It's warmed up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It looks like Spring break-up. Mud, slushy ice, dirty cars, wet shoes and pant cuffs. It's been warm enough to waltz around in just a suit--no gloves or head gear.

Coolest Experience of the Week 

We had our Zone Conference this past week. They had us drive down to Skagway and then take a plane to Juneau. It's a beautiful trip as I mentioned the last time we did this. This time, they had us stay in the houses of local members. Me and Elder Norris stayed with Bishop Kearns of the Juneau something ward.

We traveled Wednesday, had zone conference Thursday, stayed in Juneau Friday and then traveled back on Saturday. On Friday, they were struggling finding things for us to do, so we had the opportunity to watch Fires of Faith--that three-part series on the coming forth of the King James Version of the Bible. It was a great documentary.

Thursday night, after Zone Conference, while President Beesley was doing interviews, Sister Beesley took us out caroling. She's pretty funny. We sang in Juneau's Nugget Mall until they kicked us out at 8 PM due to closing. Then WalMart decided they didn't want us singing in their store, so we just loaded up in Sister Beesley's car, and she cruised around the parking lot with missionaries jam-packed, singing Christmas hymns out of the windows, creeping stalker-esque behind folks as they looked for their cars and loaded up their groceries.

Afterward, she took us to a local convenience store to buy us all hot chocolate and insisted that we all put a dollop of ice cream in it.

This week we will be back in our area for a full week. The Branch is having a Nativity Display, so we will help out significantly with that.

Love,

Elder Johnson