Update from Elder Johnson–June 2017

Monday, June 5th

Mom, I am doing awesome, staying in Berat, and not training. (There were no new Elders coming this transfer, But next transfer a bunch are coming.) I will be here with Elder Percival, from Elder Samuel and Elder Ingram's MTC group.

Wow, sounds like a crazy fun week. Every day at the pool? Wow. That's too bad that the bikes got stolen.

I love the reading updates. I LOVE reading. I am really enjoying reading the Book of Mormon. I just finished reading about the destruction of the Jaredites. I will finish the Book of Mormon on Wednesday or Thursday.

Wow, I love the awesome exercise and eating work. No soda is good. (We just drink soda when we are at someone else's house and they give us some Fanta Exotic, which is amazing.) We have amazing bread here and amazing fruits and vegetables, so I am set, I think.

I love you. Keep up the good work. Don't be overwhelmed. The Savior will support you. Just be happy and be an example for those amazing though silly kids. You are the best! Elder Johnson

Megan, I miss you too. I am so awesome. Wow, I am so impressed that you made the United team. That is so sweet. I love you, Meg. Say hi to Luke and Matthew and Mike and Carly for me. I hope you have a great summer and use it well. Love your bro, Elder Johnson

Dad, I love reading your emails. They have so much great information that I LOVE hearing. Thank you. Cool to hear about your experience at transfer meetings. I definitely have a testimony that the Lord guides those transfers. I have grown with and learned so much from every companion I have it. It is incredible. Also great to hear that Katie is doing so good studying. I pray every day that she will get into BYU, so that we can go together. Also awesome experience with prayer. I love to hear that. So exciting. That is crazy that Mike and Carly are already there. I am jealous. I am so excited to see Whitney. Tell them to stop in Berat for a month. (I will be transferred out by the time they would get here.) Berat is the most beautiful place with some charming people and living here is so cheap. Rent, food, everything. Dirt cheap

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So, yes, transfer call day was crazy. We usually get called on Saturday night, but on Friday night, people started texting us that they had been transferred. President ended up calling half of the mission on Friday night and then the other half, including us, the next morning. So, we were so confused Saturday night. (I would have been sleepless but we work hard all day in the hot sun so I slept fine) But, the next morning, right as we were starting personal study, President Weidmann called us. Elder Harris is going to SHKODëR! Which is awesome. Now we have served in all the same places. Elder Harris will be working in Shkodër and Lezhë like I did. He will be with Elder Wood, another elder from our MTC group. He will be perfect for Shkodër. His attitude and work ethic will be awesome for the members there. I am excited for him.

As for me, I am staying here in good ol' Berat as District Leader. ELDER PERCIVAL is coming here. He is in Elder Samuel and Elder Ingram's MTC group. I am looking forward to it. He is a stud.

Motra Godfrey is leaving to Korça, while Motra Fullop is going to die here in Berat. She only has 3 weeks left. Motra Grigg and Motra Soldonia are coming, and they will be a threesome until Motra Fullop goes home. I served in Tirana as District Leader over Motra Soldonia once already. It will be fun times.

(Other fun facts about transfers: Elder Benson is being moved from Tirana Zone Leader to South Zone Leader, so I will call in every Sunday with him. Elder Samuel is still Tirana Zone Leader. Elder Jaunay is the new AP. He is a stud from New Zealand (and has never seen the Lord of the Rings) and we kenaq (get along nicely? - there is no adequate translation) because he also is the oldest in a big family.)

This week was incredible. Tuesday, we had a mission conference. Our last one with President Weidmann, we heard from all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders, as well as the AP's and President and Sister Weidmann. They were all awesome. The AP's announced a new (optional, but suggested) schedule that includes us staying out 'til 10 and going to bed at 11:30 (both an hour later) and then having an hour of nap time (also optional) to make up the lost sleep. It is perfect for our work, because absolutely no one is out between 12 and 4, while absolutely everyone is out between 7 and 10. We have had some great times contacting on the Bulevard from 9 - 10. We haven't got the chance to enjoy any nap time yet though.

So, We have also been visiting Qendra Lira, a place for disabled kids. They had a festë (party) on June 1st, Kids Day. We went and kenaq-ed with them. Great service opportunity and awesome to be able to spend some time with those kids. they always enjoy showing us their rooms and different things around their center.

Tuesday night, we were on the Boulevard and ran into Aglend, Tomi, Neri, Adiol, and Koli. They are all such studs and it is so great to see them hanging out and taking a gjiro (walk) together. Fun story, Saturday night, we had to run off to a member's house (Adile, Petro, and Klejdi) after an activity and so we left the youth at the church to keep playing games. When we got back, we were going to clean the church, but these studs were just finishing cleaning the whole thing. They are awesome. I was so happy to seeing them happily serving us. Happy day.

On Friday, we taught Seminary. It started off not so great, because they weren't paying attention. But, once we started testifying of Christ, everyone was attentive and some of them bore powerful testimonies. Aglend is a stud. he is always willing to bear his testimony or explain a doctrine. I love all those kids. At the end, Irini gave a powerful prayer. Such a blessing to hear them speak with their Heavenly Father with such sincerity. She asked to bless us missionaries. I felt very happy and blessed.

Any time that anyone in our branch prays for the missionaries, they also ask to bless their families. Just know that you have prayers coming your way from me and the entire Berat branch. I am so grateful that they include you in their prayers.

We were at Adile's because it was her birthday and her son, Petro's birthday. Petro turned 8, and he will be baptized this Saturday. I am so excited for him. We ate some amazing Patatoes at her house. Wow, I love Albanian traditional cooking.

Sunday we heard some amazing testimonies from Irini and Motra Godfrey and Elder Harris. I love this branch and these incredible people in my life.

Nino is doing awesome and will be baptized on Saturday, as will his mom, Tina, and another investigator named Beni.

I love my life, and I love you all so much.

Elder Xhansën

Our apartment door with pictures of almost all the Elders that have served together in Berat. Such a cool tradition.

Mission Conference Pictures – last one with President and Sister Weidmann

Elder Harris and Salmida. She’s awesome. Below she’s on Koli’s motorbike. She is already planning for us to have a birthday party together. Her birthday is on the 20th. I can’t believe Elder Harris is leaving Berat. I will miss that kid.

Volunteering…

Serving at Maksim’s…

Random pic Irini got with her phone. She always bears incredible testimonies and is a great example for the branch.

June 12th

Mom, Love you too. Wow, sounds like a late night. Good luck catching up on the sleep. I am so excited for you to go to Lake Powell. That is going to be awesome.

I frequently have experiences and things and places that I would love to share with you. This week was awesome. We had a baptism on Saturday. It was incredible. Nino will not be getting baptized until probably the 24th or something. He is ready, he just wanted to see a baptism live first and now we want him to come to church more before he is baptized. Guess what, Last minute, I was chosen to baptize Nino's mom. We went to the beach in Diviak, and then Pres. Xhindi informed me that I would be baptizing her. I was not prepared and I didn't have a change of garments. It was awesome. I just got changed right then and baptized her. She is larger, It took me two times. But, wow, what a great experience. My first actual baptism, and in the Adriatic Sea, no less. Definitely the most memorable baptism ever. Petro was baptized by Aglend and Beni was baptized by Rigers. It was great. So funny, but it worked out.

Elder Percival is awesome. I am excited to work with him. He is definitely a good kid.

Whitney, Hiking, Wonder Woman movie, 7 Wonders... Sounds like an awesome week. I love you. Have fun at Powell. The trip is always worth the stressful packing and preparing. Elder Johnson

I love you dad! I hope Katie's ACT test went good. I have been thinking and praying for her all week. Wow, you sound packed. Sounds fun. I am missing out. You must have so much extra space in the van though, without me there. That's good. I am also so grateful for the priesthood. I am also so grateful for temples. I miss temples so much. I appreciate so much more the power and spirit of the temple. I have grown closer to God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost during these few months in Albania. It will be a sacred and special experience to enter Their temple once again. We have been teaching the Xheladini's the temple lessons once a week for the last month and a bit. Each time, I am filled with a longing to be there. I love the temple.

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First things first, I wanted to thank Grandpa and Grandma Walton and the Astons for their birthday wishes. Thanks for the updates. I love you all. (Props to them for being early.)

Well, this week was AWESOME. Tuesday was Transfer day. Elder Percival came from Pogradec, another beautiful Albanian city. He is excited to be here. I am looking forward to serving with him. On Wednesday, we accidentally deposited the wrong funds into the bank from the branch, and then it took until today to fix it. Nice. Our other project of the week was deep cleaning the entire apartment. Elder Percival is very clean. It has been fun, and now the apartment is a lot nicer. I love it. We got all the nooks and crannies and reorganized everything. Elder Percival is also well known for his incredible cooking. It is delicious. I am living the good life with Elder Percival.

The BIG event of the week was a BAPTISM in DIVIAK, a beautiful beach city. We filled up a furgonë (van) with members and investigators (including the 3 getting baptized) and drove an hour and a half to the beach in Diviak. It was incredible. The furgonë got there first (Albanians drive FAST) and when we arrived, ever

yone was ready. Rigers was ready to baptize Beni. Aglend was ready to baptized Petro. (what a stud.) Tina was dressed, but President Xhindi was not. I asked him who would be baptizing Tina. He turned to Tina, and said, We have 3 Priesthood holders here. Who do you want to baptized you?... And she chose me. I changed last minute and we went to the beach side and started the service. All the young single adults were dressed in swimming suits. Crazy kids. It was beautiful. We gathered in a circle on the beach, and started with a hymn, prayer, and two talks (from Mama Xhindi and Aglend) Then, we went into the water (It felt so nice!) and Beni and Petro were baptized. Then, I baptized Tina! But, we had to do it twice, and after the first time, she did not want to do it again. We just stood out there in the water until she was calm and ready. Hand of the Lord that we did it right the second time. She was back to her normal self afterwards, so she was fine. It was such a special experience. I am so grateful that I was able to take part. That was my first baptism, and it was in the Adriatic Sea. I love my life. The other funny thing is that when we got to the closing hymn, we realized the last two lines of it (I Believe in Christ) were missing. That was awkward, but we were able to sing the first portion of each verse, so in the end, it worked out. That was definitely the most memorable baptism I have seen. What a great day!

I love you all so much. Keep on keeping on and don't forget that you have a Father watching over you!

BAPTISM IN DIVIAK - SO BEAUTIFUL - (pictures from Motra Fullop)

Transfer Day – Elder Johnson and Elder Harris

Elder Johnson, Elder Larson, Elder Harris

Lekë

Just a typical sight driving down the street… Classic Albania.

Elder Percival sweeping up our old Pass along Cards. Berat apartment.

Monday, June 19th

Sounds like you are having an amazing time at Lake Powell. Good to hear it. I am loving live, of course. I wanted to say thank you to the Moon's for their birthday card. Also, thank you for your card, but it is torture to have it and not open it. But, I am looking forward to opening it on my birthday. I love hearing from you all. Also Happy Father's Day to dad! And happy birthday to Grandma Walton. I am blessed to have such an amazing family.

Weird, I am turning 19. My entire 19th year will be dedicated to the Lord, and I am living in Albania. What a blessing. I am looking forward to it. I want to give it a little extra this year.

Also, three of my favorite members, Salmida, Aglend, and Rigers have their birthdays this week. Rigers is turning 18, Aglend 17, and Salmida 12. Fun times here in Berat. We are planning on celebrating together.

Normal week. District Meeting. Kurs Anglisht. Clerk Work. (I am the branch clerk) Lessons with Nino, (he might be baptized this Saturday.) and Koli. We would have had a lesson with Mysteak, but a financial family problem came up and he is going to Greece to work. I don't know if I will see him again. He is amazing. He is an older man, who teaches Priesthood, and is amazing at it. I will miss him. We also taught Tomi, who is preparing to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. We are now teaching Beni. He is the sister's recent convert. We will go over the lessons with him and help him prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. We taught a cool new couple. Spiro and Vera. Classic Albanians. They are sort of lonely, because their kids are in America, but they don't have any grandchildren. (They want grandchildren) They were fun.

Saturday was crazy, but fun! We had to leave Berat at 11:00 to go to Tirana. At the start of the drive, I randomly asked Elder Percival, "If our district was stranded on an island, who would die first?" This initial question gradually unfolded into a huge story line involving watermelon, wolves, caves, and pure epic action sequences. We spent the two hour drive to Tirana creating it (and the drive back). We have not finished, but it is awesome.

At 1:00, we got to Tirana, to get our tires changed. (Fun fact: Elder Percival worked at a tire place for a year before his mission.) Then, we went to the Mission Office to take care of reimbursements, baptismal records, and other things we needed for Berat. We had lunch/dinner at Kung Fu Express, a nice chinese place close to the center of Tirana.

Then, the actual reason we were in Tirana, was for the 25th Anniversary of Missionaries in Albania Celebration. It was so sweet. And, turns out, all the missionaries had to sing in the program. So, that was fun. Përparim was there, looking good in a new button-up shirt. There were talks from the first missionaries who had served here, and many songs and a slideshow. It was really cool.

Another awesome thing was that in Tirana, they have been working for over a year on the center of Tirana. I saw lots of progress while I was serving in Tirana, but they finally finished and opened this huge center area to the public, and it is AWESOME! Definitely something great to see. Albania is making lots of great progress.

Church was good. I love taking the sacrament. Recently, I have been able to have much greater spiritual experiences as I take the sacrament and it has been amazing. I found a great way that worked for me to really help me to think about the Savior and how I can become more like Him. I love my Savior. I know He loves all of us, for He sacrificed His life for each of us. He knows and loves each of us, as do our Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost.

I love my life. I am constantly encouraged through trials (and hot days) as I think of Christ, and as I see the love of God manifest in 1. the beauty of Albania, and 2. The love and growth of the members here in Berat. I truly am blessed. Have a great week.

Elder Johnson

Monday, June 26th

Mom, I love hearing about the fun summer schedule. Sounds like you are having some great times. Lake Powell sounds awesome.

It is SO HOT! We are literally in the hottest area of Albania in the hottest months of the year, and I have heard that this year is supposed to be hotter, because the winter was so cold. We have already experienced weather up to 94 degrees, and Thursday is supposed to be 103 degrees. The hottest place to be in Berat is probably this Internet Cafe. It is insanely hot. BUT, I love Berat, so it is ok. Classic times.

We had a baptism on Saturday. Xhanino Rakipi. (we call him Nino) He has been investigating for almost two months now and agreed early on to be baptized. He has progressed very quickly and understands and lives the commandments, including reading the Book of Mormon every day. He was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday by Elder Percival. (He even wore a white shirt!) He is awesome. So my first baptism was Tina Rakipi, his mom, and he is my second baptism. It is great to be a part of helping this amazing family come unto Christ. Nino's sister, Ada, is also planning on being baptized, though she is not on a date. Nino is a very funny kid. He is one of the few Albanians acquainted with sarcasm. Practically no one in Albania understands sarcasm. It is pretty funny.

This week, we did our last week of Addiction Recovery Program, as a branch presidency. I have been here since Step 1 and we have progressed through all the steps to Step 12. It has been an amazing. I have learned a lot, specifically on how to overcome my own weaknesses. This program is not just for serious addictions. This program is for people who really want to come closer to God and Christ, and who want to apply Christ's Atonement into their lives, and become more like Him. This program is one of the experiences and lessons that I will take home from my mission and share.

Also, I had an exchange with the Lushnjë elders this week. I went to Lushnjë with Elder Larsen (former comp.) and Elder Weston. They are crazy. But, I love them. It was great. We got some solid street contacting, lessons, and studies in, as well as some late night talking. Good times. I woke up on Friday (my birthday) in Lushnjë. Who would have thought that I would wake up in a place like Lushnjë a year ago. They have a great apartment, with an amazing view of Lushnjë. That night, we actually had a branch activity/birthday party, for Rigers, Aglend, Salmida, and me. It was fun. I was lucky that three members have birthdays the same week as me. Aglend and I have the same day. I love those members. In fact, Rigers turned 18 and yesterday, he got the Melchizedek Priesthood. Hopefully, he will leave on a mission pretty soon as Berat's second missionary.

On Wednesday, we have many missionaries leaving, including two from our district. Motra Fullop and Elder Holding are going home. It is crazy, but it has definitely been a pleasure to serve with them. Also, our incredible mission president, President Weidmann, and his wife, are going home. They have been presiding over the Adriatic South Mission for 3 years, and have done so much to bless the lives of these people in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia. I know that he has especially had a great impact on Berat. He opened Berat for missionary service just over 2 years ago, and has made good friends with the members. For President's last Sunday in country, he came to Berat. Many of the members were brought to tears as they said goodbye for the last time. He truly is an incredible man and the spirit is so strong and present as he teaches and speaks. I have been inspired and changed by his example and his daily texts.

I am very imperfect. But, when I am humble and obedient, Christ fills in the gaps. I am being molded here into the man I need to be. I am now 19. This year of my life, my 19, I will be on my mission the entire year. I am looking forward to the learning and growth that I will experience. I want to truly dedicate myself this year. The plan is to never be the same, but to be for the rest of my life, more full of Charity, Virtue, Patience, and Humility - To be more like Christ.

That is my goal and I hope it will be your goal too. Life is an incredible experience and opportunity, though it can be hard to understand at times... most of the time, actually. Our primary goals should be 1. to learn the TRUTH, that Jesus is the Christ and His church is restored and directed by Him through living prophets, and 2. to practice VIRTUE, or in other words, to live true to that knowledge, and to follow Christ's perfect example. I love you all. I am so grateful for your incredible examples.

Love, Elder Johnson

P.S. You are going to LOVE these pictures (most of them are from Elder Percival's and Motra Fullop's cameras.)