{11.30.15} Camino Gardens

I've arrived, and I've been transferred to the area of Camino Gardens! It's in Boca Raton Florida (aka where all the Portuguese missionaries serve over half the mission because it's loaded with Brazilians). Our Area is really, really big (car area!) but our Branch is TINY. Sacrament this Sunday had about 45.. which is the most ever. hahahah. It's crazy. There's so much work to be done in this area, it's almost overwhelming. The area has struggled a lot recently, there haven't really been any new investigators for several weeks, and those that were found didn't stay long. It's also really hard to find any concentrated areas of Spanish Speakers. They are definitely in the area, but they peppered throughout. Probably every 5-10th door is Spanish. It makes Finding a whole new ballgame. 

We have a lot of solid plans to help find here. We are following the example of the Portuguese Elders and Sisters and advertising English classes in front of the Latin Markets. We have also worked out a deal that we will advertise in Portuguese as well as Spanish if they do the same. I also was able to get Special permission from the AP's to leave our designated area to advertise at this Gold Mine Latin Super Market.

Knocking doors is crazy here too. Since I've gotten here, we've contacted pretty much every mission area around us that knocks in our area as well (our area consists of 3 English Areas, 1 Creole, and 1 Portguese) about latin populated areas. And when we knock, we have to FLY through doors. Every door we ask if there's any Spanish neighbors/friends/etc. We have to move at a really quick pace to insure we can talk to as many people who speak Spanish in the time we have given for finding.

My new Comp is Elder Riggs! He came in at the same time as my greenie, and they were like bestfriends in the CCM so I already knew a lot about him and was hoping i'd come over here and be with him. He's a crazy fun kid! Reminds me a ton of Brig Steele for those of you who know him. He's from Logan Utah, loves the outdoors, hunting, fishing, football and sports--all that good stuff.  He's also really into Yoga, which i'm trying to big up because mission life has wrecked my body. it's not normal yoga tho.. it's pretty intense. I promise I'm not a girl.

I have some more pictures but I lost my camera cord for the computer.. hopefully I can find one soon. 

I'm also continuing to District Lead, and my District is AWESOME. Huge contrast from my previous District. We are also the "youngest" district in the mission. I'm the oldest, at 9 months. The next oldest is 7 months, then 6, 6, 4.5, 1, and 1. But they're all amazing missionaries, including the two new greenies. They're also a lot of fun. So I'm super excited for this area even though there is a ton of hardwork to be done ahead of me. It's been challenging this far, but It's also been really fun and I'm loving the adversity.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Also my new address is below:

Elder Juanes

Elder Jace Johns

1200 SW 12th Terrace

Boca Raton, FL 33486

{11.24.15} Transferred and Picture Overload



ya boy Jean Carlos,coolest 15 year old member-missionary

Got the call last night... me voy. I knew it was coming, but it will definitely be hard to leave everyone here. Being in an area for 4 &1/2 months really allows you to create friendships with ward members, investigators, and recent converts. I took pictures with as many as possible (hence the overload) but I am excited to go forward and see what the Lord has in store for me. To answer your question, Dad, Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. It will be a little difficult having to spend it with brand new people I haven't met yet in a brand new area, and at the very least not with some of my great ward family here in the Rio Vista barrio.

​The Whole Gang!

Sunday was amazing. Fernando, Esteban, and Inocensia all got baptized!!! Not without its problems, however. Satan ALWAYS tries his hardest. Tina (Their mom) had her Van break down on the way to church, so we had to send a member to go pick them up halfway through sacrament. In the meantime, I was translating over a microphone for English members in the ward (spouses and kids) into their headsets while trying to make sure the baptism was still going to go through. Then, just before the baptism after church, Tina started to come on her way and her boyfriend got drunk and tried to keep her from coming. She's trying to find a new place to live currently, and she was able to make it to the baptism just before it started.

Bravo Family! pretty much the coolest

Fernando (the oldest) was so thrilled about the baptism. He really felt different, and recognized how much his life was changing with this decision. He's really excited to get the Priesthood; he wants to be the example his family needs so badly, and the help his mom needs. He has a huge heart and has the strongest desires to do what is right. He also wants to serve a mission. I really feel so good about his baptism. I have obviously felt good about all of them, but I feel like the changes I've been able to make him make even in the smallest of ways are going to make the most lasting impact in his own life, his families life, and his future families life. It's really cool.

Ana, the number 1 homie (will miss her the most)

I'm definitely excited to see what the Lord has for me in my new area and companion! Change is a good thing, always. 

Have a good thanksgiving!

Elder Juanes

I was shivering....

{11.16.15} Yo

Paint-Fight from our Zone activity last P-day. 
We played "Zombies" with paint. I was the Zombie--
and Succesfully infected everyone. NO SURVIVORS

This letter will probably be pretty short. But Transfers are next week! I don't really know what will happen but more than likely I will be transferring. If you want to send anything to me, send it soon because after the 25th I will probably have a new address.

Fernando is such a boss!!! his little brother Esteban and his little sister Inocensia are just as cool too! We have been teaching the whole family, and Fernando, Esteban, and Inocensia are all getting baptized next Sunday after Church! And their mom is going to start coming to church againnn (she is not a member, but almost got baptized twice before but didnt' because of a previous marriage and problems that occured there). Fernando is the coolest, he wants to serve a mission! He also went to the Priesthood fireside last night and he's super excited about that as well. The familiy loves when we come over and teach them, so we get to go over every day and teach them the lessons, and the standards in the For Strength of Youth. It's great, because they are so innocent and the light of Christ is so strong in them. Their prayers are the best too, because they are simple yet so sincere and powerful. Super excited for their baptism, and how much the Gospel is going to continue to change their lives!

Car Washes are Scary

There's another family that we've begun to start teaching. They are equally as cool! Well.. half of them. The Mom and the daughters are super religious and are looking for the right church, but the dad and brothers just don't have interest/don't care. So we will see what happens there.

Also, we are teaching a puertorrequena named Mermaid. She's got the red-hair and everything.

Went to a Pentecostal church yesterday before our Church. It was very interesting and educating.

I've begun to study the Old Testament in a lot of detail. I really want to know the Bible in depth. I'm actually really, really enjoying it. There's so much figurative language and symbolism, it's really fun to study and decipher. It requires a lot of background knowledge that I don't really have, but my mom sent me some books that really help clarify some of the language of the times. It's really making me want to study some Hebrew and Greek when I get back to college--at least some basic level understanding of root words and such.

It's really taught me how important it is to have the Holy Ghost in learning. Before my mission, this is something that I began to study through one of my favorite professors at BYUI (shout out to Sister D'evegnee!). A lot of us don't think of needing the Holy Ghost to learn, but it's so critical. It also really emphasized how worthy we ALL need to be inorder to have that constant companionship.

Well Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Elder Juanes

Elder Jace Johns

3850 Central Ave 

Apt# 202

Ft Myers, FL 33901

{11.9.15} The One House in Pine Manor

This week was absolutely amazing.

Ever since I've arrived in this area, I've always told myself that I was going to find "the one house" in Pine Manor that had someone ready to receive the Gospel. Pine Manor is a predominantly Hispanic (and somewhat african-american and Haitian) community that is a pretty scary place to be.. and also one of the few places that we can actually find people who speak Spanish to teach here. MOM you may want to quit reading here. Every person you talk to is usually holding a beer or a joint in their hand, and after knocking a street one day, a cop pulled over and asked us "What are y'all doing knocking all those crack houses?"

One street in particular, 8th ave, is right in the heart of Pine Manor, and I've knocked the whole community 3x now but I've always felt prompted to knock 8th Ave. I remember I knocked it on my first day, but never have found an investigator on it. I began to think for someone reason I just liked the number 8 or it was just some weird personal bias I had developed in my mind.

Turns out, a youth in the ward named Jean Carlos brought his friend Fernando to church. Fernando came to stay at his house Sunday night because there had been shootings again in Pine Manor and he wanted to get out of there for the night. He came to church the following day, and he loved it. He felt peace, happiness, and wanted his younger brother (Esteban, who is 12) to come as well to surround him with the "good kids" at the church as well. He usually won't allow Esteban to leave the house, because he doesn't want him to get caught up with the type of kids that live in Pine Manor, so Esteban is loving the church as well.

Guess who lives on 8th Ave? Fernando and Esteban

Fernando has been to church twice, and every church activity including Wednesday night mutual, and will be enrolling in Seminary and Boyscouts shortly. We've began teaching them, and we got to share the story of the Strippling Warriors, which really rang with Fernando. His Father was very abusive of his little brother and mother, and his step-father isn't doing much better. He's very protective of his family, and really wants to change his life and be better. He saw the example of Jean Carlos, who was baptized last year, and calls him "his brother." It's been an amazing week, and Fernando's mother has given him permission to be baptized. He will be going down the 21st! Esteban will most likely be getting baptized then as well, we just need to ensure he is making this decision on his own and not just to follow his brother.

We are also working with Jean Carlos's step-dad, Luis. He's blind and missing an eye, and was never educated in Puerto Rico because of his disability. But Despite his shortcomings, he has found happiness in the Gospel, and has a crazy knack for working with Electricity. He used to be an alcoholic, but has quit and is down to 4 cigarettes a day (HUGE progress from where he was 2-3 years ago. He will be getting baptized shortly as well, there's just a few legal complexities and of course, the cigarettes.

Transfers is coming up in about 2 &1/2 weeks, and I'm honestly going to be very sad to leave this area. I've learned so much here, about life, other people, and the Gospel. Nothing has grown my Faith in God more than seeing the humility of others, and the hand of God working in their lives. Anyone can change. Every. Single. Person. has divine potential. God is always waiting to bless us, his is always extended. All we ever have to do is search for out, whether it be through our obedience or just simply getting down on our knees. And one other thing I've definitely learned, is never give up on a Spiritual Impression.

Love, 

Elder Juanes

Elder Jace Johns

3850 Central Ave 

Apt# 202

Ft Myers, FL 33901

{11.2.15} ALRIGHT ALRIGHT

So to start off, I'd like to share a story from knocking doors last night. 

We were knocking in an area called Village Creek (One apartment complex of 3 in our area that is mostly Hispanic--and our area is massive) for like the 3rd time last night, and this old white man opened the door. We explained we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that he sent us to share a prayer with him. He stared at us with his mouth open for I kid you not, probably 20 seconds. I finally said "...soooo can we share a prayer with you?" and then he just WENT OFF about our "cult." Elder Alexis looked kinda freaked out, and I was like "Sir, we are just here to share a prayer, can we share a prayer?" Kinda laughing, which made him really mad and he yelled "I JUST WANNA KNOW WHERE ___ YOU GUYS ARE COMING FROM!?" To which I responded "Jesus Christ" (It's true!) which made him Rage even more. Finally his Son came up behind him and told him to quit being a "Ding-Dong" (language changed). Then the son started asking us some questions (He was pretty genuine) but the guy just kept going off. He asked what we believed in, I gave him a simple 3 sentence explanation (Christ established church, people rejected Apostles and Priesthood authority was lost and we believe it's been restored) to which he went off and yelled "Who rejected the Apostles!? NO BODY?!" to which I responded "...the people who crucified Peter upside down?" which he responded "Yeah! The Same people who crucified Jesus! Those guys weren't very popular!" ...... "Exactly, so they were rejected..." to which he responded "Well that's because people usually reject the truth because they're too prideful!!!" ...."Exactly, and when they were rejected and killed the Church was corrupted and Priesthood Authority was lost. Look at us, we are pretty unpopular. Maybe we have the Truth!" Well, that made him really mad... and then he told me that we kill people who leave the church, so we handed him a card and walked away while he was still foaming and barking at the mouth.

I share that experience not because I want to embarass this man, or speak badly about him. I wasn't trying to argue with him, but I was trying to calmly clarify what we actually do believe. It just amazes me how hard people are against the mormon religion.. we don't teach anything that crazy. That pretty much sums up my knocking experiences I've had in this area. I've been handed anti-mormon pamphlets where the storyline is something like Two Mormon Elders being converted to Born-Again Baptist churches (among many others), that "quote" "Real Mormon Literature" (only key words and context have been changed hahaha) and sometimes cite quotations from Books titled "Mormons and the World of Magic and Blood-Oaths" as our "Doctrine."

My simple question is this. Why are there no other religions that have so much adversity raging against them, with so much combined force to stop them, and so much blatent lies circulating about them?

I've recently began attending other churches on Sunday. I love hearing and comparing doctrines. There's a lot of people who have amazing Faith in Christ, doing amazing work in his name. I want to know where these people are coming from, and what they believe. I dont want to tear down anyone's Faith, but to simply grow it and show them more. It makes me frustrated how no one even considers to try and view things from our Standpoint with an open mind. I want to do the same thing for others. If i can understand them better, maybe I can help them understand us better.

I bore my testimony this past Sunday. I have no idea why, but the Spirit hit me like a train. I didn't say much, but I wept like a baby. It was embarassing.. it's actually the first time I've cried on my mission.. which is a shocker, because I've had alot of profound and moving experiences on my mission, but this is what moved me to the point of tears. My testimony was short and simple:

"I Know this is the Church of Christ, and it's on the Earth again for all of us. I know The Gospel changes lives, because it has changed mine, and I'm so grateful for that. I know that it can change anyone's life. I testify that Christ lives, He knows us all. He is our Savior, and he always will be, no matter what we have done. I am so Grateful that I am a Representative of Christ, and I get to share that with everyone I meet. This is my purpose, and I'm just...grateful."

Love, 

Elder Juanes

Elder Jace Johns

3850 Central Ave 

Apt# 202

Ft Myers, FL 33901