{8.24.15} I'm Gonna Sit Right Here, on the Edge of This Pier...

Don't have a lot of time today because we went fishing all day off of a Pier in the Caloosahatchee (?) River where it meets the ocean so it's gonna be a short one!

This last week was really sweet for a couple of reasons,

1.) Señorita  got the date of her last divorce so she's getting MARRIED AND BAPTIZED this week! So is Señor by default obviously (her "husband")

2.) I got to fish!

3.) We got to experience some severe weather! ( I hear a Hurricane is comin? someone please update me)

Señorita finally put forth the effort to get everything ready to be married after we shared a Scripture in Alma 34:32-34 about how this life is the time for men to perform their labors and not to procrastinate your repentance. Also, her daughter (28)  was present for the lesson as well and she took it to heart by QUITTING HER JOB so she could come to church on Sundays! Super crazy, but when people are ready the Spirit can testify to them powerfully. We are super excited to start teaching her because she is so willing to act and really just wants to do what God wants of her.

Biggest Catch of the day (sick neck tan line!)

Señorita  is doing very good. Thank you everyone for your prayers! ... It still may take sometime, but she is going to baptized which is all that matters. I'm just very grateful to have the opportunity to be one of the missionaries amongst the long line before me that gets to be apart of her conversion process. We were able to give her a blessing earlier this week, and the Spirit was SO strong! She was about to burst at the seams with Tears...

Crazy Weather in Florida sometimes...

Other than that, we get a car tomorrow!!.... that has no miles on it because the missionary who had "knee problems" that took it from us used all of the miles for the month.... so we have enough to maybe get to church on Sundays and (if we are lucky) drive the Library on P-Days!

Hope everyone is doing well!

---Jenna: Did you get the Job?! Mom made it sound like you did!

--_Lorren: Is it safe to stand on your head?! hahaahah

---Gpa & Gma Hink: Got both of your letters! Thank you so much! I'm hoping soon I'm going to have time to write back

--Gpa & Gma Johns: Got your letters too! Thank you so much! Same goes for time to write you back hahaha.

--Mom: got your letter to! And I'm about to pick up a package from the office but haven't gotten to it yet but i'm guessing its from you

--

Good thing our apartment is the only place in FL with a fireplace!

Elder Johns

{8.17.15} #PrayFor Senorita (Craziest E-Mail I've ever sent)

THIS WEEK WAS CRAZY. Well mostly last Monday night. I'll explain. Also, I'm going to try to keep my emails shorter from now on. I'll probably fail but it's the effort that counts.

So last Monday night we got all showered and ready to go @ 6 PM to go out and Proselyte until 9. We get a text .... We hopped on our bike and biked the Bishop's house to let him know the situation--he wasn't there. We called him--no answer. Called his wife--no answer. Called our Zone Leaders--no answer.  Called our District Leader--no answer. That isn't too abnormal, but we needed to know how to handle the situation because it was very urgent. We call the Asistant's to the Mission President--no answer. We call the Mission President--no answer. That's EXTREMELY unusual. The Mission President always answer any emergencies. We try them all several times and no one answers. Keep in mind, we haven't eaten in like 21 hours and it's 97 degrees and 90% Humidity and we just biked at full speed a few miles.

We have no idea what to do, so we quickly said a prayer that somebody would call us back. We sat for a few minutes, and decided the best course of action was to continue with our night as previously planned. We hop on our bikes and start heading towards Pine Manor (Mexican/Honduranian/Haitian Ghetto). We don't get very far before Satan tries to attack us. This crazy lady leans out of the Ford Bronco beeping her horn, yelling at us, showing all she's got to the world stopped next to us at a stoplight! The Adversary is VERY real, and this was definitely no coincidence. 

We got on our bikes and ran away hahaha, and finally someone called us back! The AP's gave us advice that we had basically already planned on doing, but was very reassuring to have a confirmation to know that our plan of action was right. After talking with them for 15 minutes, we  continued a little further and the mission president got ahold of us. For lack of better words, our Mission President THREW DOWN. He laid out exactly what we needed to do and how to handle the situation appropriately. Once we received the proper counsel, we biked off in front of this old abandoned furniture store off of this highway to call ... and give her our mission presidents number and the appropriate counsel. As we start to call her, this huge, 6'6", absolutely jacked out of his mind, Large black man comes tearing out from around the corner. He was bleeding from his head profusely, swearing up a storm and dropping language of the likes which has never been heard. I look at Elder Warren and he's already on his bike and riding away. I talked to the guy and was able to make sure everything was alright and that he wasn't going to kill us, and we then were able to bike a ways off and make the phone call to Ana.

It was a CRAZY night, and I've never been more grateful for a night to end. But after planning, saying a prayer to Break our fast where we could finally Eat, I've never felt more Happy. I had perfect knowledge that we had done EVERYTHING that we could, and that we were truly fighting against the enemy of God to help our Sister make the covenant with him that she wants and needs. The situation was able to be temporarily resolved, but the prayers for ... need to keep coming! As a mission, we sound out "miracle texts" when we see miracles daily. Our whole zone is using the #hashtag "#PrayFor..." in all of ours, because we know God wants all of his children to be baptized, and all of them to return and live with him again. Our Sister is no exception. No one is every too far gone or in situation to dire.

In about an hour, we are going to give her a priesthood blessing to help her know what God wants her to do, as well as have ... strength ... She's received amazing counsel from the Bishop and the Mission President, as well as the previous missionaries who have taught her that are now living at home (she has maintained contact with all of them). S.....................o Pray for Señorita!

everything else in the area is going really well! Señorita  and Señor will be getting married very soon and we are super excited for them as well! Hopefully I will have more time to talk about them next week. Hope everyone is good!

I............ Can't believe I forgot to put it in the email!

Love,

--

Elder Johns

{8.10.15} Miracle Monday

Burning of the Tie! 6 months

This week was kinda a heartbreaker. It started out SO GOOD. We found so many cool people last week and at the start of this week. We were teaching lessons, and the Spirit was crazy strong in all of our lessons. One example was Zenaida. We found her, asked to say a prayer, and she said no and that she was too busy. We handed her a Jesus card, and she turned around and started to close the door but stopped. She turned around and said "Actually, I could really use a prayer right now." She told us about how she lost her job, so we prayed for her and the things she needed. We set up a return appointment, and when we came back the next day she had found a job! Not a permanent job, but a part-time house cleaning that would allow her to pay the bills until she could find a more permanent fix. We started teaching her, and the Spirit was SO STRONG. She knows the church is true, especially based off her experience with previous churches, and her Faith was so strong. She even called into her new job and took Sundays off so she could go to church. Unfortunately, she texted us Saturday--As did all of other Investigators--and told us she couldn't make it to church this week. Or ever. She said her life was "too busy" right now and some other lame excuses--all this after breaking down and crying saying God was answering her prayers and that she knew the LDS church was Christ's church and that it was what she's been looking for all her life.

Solid Sign on the Muffler Shop

 Our only Investigators we have left are Señorita  and Señor. Señorita is getting her Divorce papers mailed from Mexico and they're getting her next week... which means she and Icidro can get married! Once they're married, they're both gonna get baptized! They've been wanting to get baptized for forever, and they're basically already members in every way except ordinance. We're super excited with that! Hoping and praying everything goes well with the Marriage License.

Good old american red neck country!

 And then we have our Miracle,... She is what we call an "Eternal Investigator" or and "Eternigator." ..................................................................We want what's best for her, and only God knows what that is.

Good old american red neck country! part 2

 Love you all! I promise I'm sending pics this week hahaha -- Elder Johns

{8.3.15} 2-A-Days (just like football) (and my new address)

So Mama will leave me alone:

Elder Jace Johns

3850 Central Ave 

Apt #202

Ft Myers, FL  33901

Remember last week when I said it was the hardest week of my life... I lied. This week KILLED last week. But, as in all things, we have opposition. This week was also easily one of the most Joyous weeks of my mission to date.

So the reason for the subject of my email... is because every day when I came home, it felt Exactly like coming home from 2-A-Days. We biked around 150 miles this week.. and no that is not an exaggeration. We have a map to scale and we measured it out each night. If anything, that's on the conservative side. But it was definitely super worth it. We were able to get to new parts of our area and see tons of members. Members are so key in missionary work!!!!! In areas like Miami, members are so helpful. Anywhere else, members are NECESSARY. We can't do anything on our own.. so this week our goal was to get tight with as many members as possible.. which meant lots of biking. It definitely paid off! Most weren't able to share any friends or neighbors we could teach, put we were able to find Spanish neighborhoods and trailer parks from them, so we have 4 new areas to knock!

Even better however, we received a huge blessing from the Lord (through a member). We were biking home, and a member flagged us down. He's this crazy successful Venezuelan that lives no where near where we were. He made us lock up our bikes, and took us out to Steak-N-Shake, BUT even better than that greasy burger and tall milkshake was the referrals he gave us! Robert and Erika! They just barely got here from there (left due to the Political oppression) and they already loved the church! Roberto is one of the coolest guys ever (siempre esta deciendo "chevre, chevre"), and Erika is crazy smart but super humble. We taught them the Restoration with the members who referred them, and the Spirit was in that room hitting everyone like a sledgehammer! Probably one of the most Spiritual lessons I've had on my mission. They're super humble people and just really want to know the truth and follow Christ. We can't wait to see where everything goes with them!

Señorita and Señor  are finally going to get married so they can be baptized! (maybe) more to come on that another day hopefully.

We went to pick up two investigators for church on Sunday... the were wasted in the front yard... with a less-active member. This is why we need new areas to knock hahaha, and member referrals.

This area is transforming before my eyes. I'm so pumped! It has required so much diligence (and biking) on Elder Warren and I's part, but in reality it has come own to our willlingness to be obedient, try our hardest to follow his will and do his work here, and keeping our Faith and Hope high when all of our plans and back-up plans and back-up-back-up plans fall through (which is basically everyday).

Also, I love the members here so much! They're amazing. And there's a less-active family of 7 youth--ages 13-20. They were all basically shipped here from the Dominican Republic to live with their Aunt, but she's a bum and not a responsible adult so they basically have no accountability so they don't come to church. The oldest wants to serve a mission (20, Abel) but he feels crazy pressure from the Aunt (who's on "disability") to work and support for his siblings/cousins he lives with. It's super sad. I really want to help him and so does the ward. He and the rest of the fam are a huge priority right now as well.

Shoutouts---

Lorren, Jenna: thank you for your emails! stop trying to make me so trunky for home! I'm glad you all had so much fun, and don't worry about me! That ship has already sailed!

Grandma Johns: Thank you so much for you email I loved it! I wish I had more time to write back. I need to write you (and all the grandparents) back I just never have any time :(

I feel like there's more I'm forgetting.

DAD-- your family from Australia sent me a package two weeks ago! I got "lollies", scarf, beanie, and some other Australian stuff! It was so awesome to read their note as well. I hope all those that I baptize become as awesome as them in the church

Hope everyone has a great week!

--

Elder Johns