Surprise! I'm getting transferred again! Got a call from Big Z Friday and he asked me if I'd be willing to go help him open the Iraq Baghdad Mission. So yep... Packing my bags after this then it's off to the Middle East! But also it's probably not good to be bearing false witness while on mission so uh... I should probably tell you that I'm actually still in Queensburgh and loving it. Hoping and praying for stability these last three weeks of the transfer!
Eish man, eish. Lots of changes and lots of adjusting, but I'm loving every minute of it. Elder Higley and I have been spending most of the week trying to learn the area and meet all the members. What a blessing it has been. The members are so excited to do missionary work, and with full time elders in the area for the first time since they moved the APs there about a year ago, we've been welcomed so warmly! I'm just hoping and praying we can live up to their expectations.
Tuesday we went to the mission home to pick up Elder Higley and we got to meet some of the greenies there awaiting to hear their first areas. One of them was Elder Bryant. He's black, so we asked him where he was from, expecting to hear a country in Africa. We were shocked to hear him say Gilbert, Arizona. I guess being in Africa for so long has made me forget there are black people in the United States as well. Oops :(
We met a member couple named Chris and Betty. As we were talking, Chris pointed to a picture with the missionaries who baptized him, and lo and behold, it was Elders Francom and Kruger! I was so stoked to see such familiar faces, and Chris said they were his two favorite missionaries he's ever met. I couldn't agree more!
Met the bishop and a couple other members over the course of the week. Stuffed pass-along cards into mailboxes. Found libraries we can volunteer at. Looked for stores that would let us set up media stands in front of them. Basically did everything we could this week to be productive with our time and even managed to teach a couple lessons and place a couple Books of Mormon too. Take that, Satan!
Sunday was church (duh), and man... The ward is stellar. Very different than most of the mission... Mostly white and a bit on the, uh... More experienced side? That's a polite way to say they're older, right? Hehe, that's a compliment though. Met with some of them over the course of the day and couldn't believe some of the testimonies I heard. The Queensburgh ward is small, but powerful. So stoked to have the opportunity to work with them. And stoked to be able to continue learning Afrikaans! Beste dag ooit!
I guess just to finish up... I must have really good blood or something, because the Durban mosquitoes absolutely adore me. I wish I could say the same of them, but as they continually keep me up all night scratching at the fruits of their labors, it's hard to find love in my heart. But after hauling mosquito repellent and cortisone cream around for six months thinking "Ah my mama's crazy... When am I ever gonna need this?" I can once again affirm that moms knows best. Thanks mama :)
Stay well, stay positive, love your lives dames en here.
Baie liefde,
Elder Johnson
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