More pictures from the MTC in Johannesburg...

Walk into the church like WHAT UP I wrote a big talk

Sawubona!

So you know how they say you can have too much of a good thing? Not so with the Cadbury Lunch Bar. It's essentially a Kit Kat center with Crunch Bar, Snickers, and Twix wrapped around it and it is absolutely heavenly. The way things are going there's gonna be a whole lot more of me to love when I get home.

This week has been night and day difference from last week. So powerful! I think the highlight of the week has been an investigator named Vusi. He's stellar. And the crazy thing is, we've hardly had to teach him which NEVER happens. We leave him a pamphlet and we'll show up to his place the next day and he'll have us quiz him down on it. And he knows the answers as well! Holy cow...so Friday we gave him a Book of Mormon and he couldn't have been happier. He said something along the lines of finally having it in his hands brought him so much joy. I feel the spirit so strongly when we teach him.

Wednesday was Elder Kruger's birthday so we tried to celebrate as much as we could, but it was kind of hard considering allotment wasn't in yet and we had hardly any food at the boarding. But! The Carliles had given him a cake a couple days before, so we celebrated with that. It was nice.

I swear all the missionaries here are an a mission to convince me that witchcraft is real. If anyone has any ideas for pranks I could pull on the believers, let me know please :)

But man...this week was a good one. I think this was the first week I finally really felt like I was a missionary. Lessons are starting to flow a lot easier. Elder Kruger and I are working together better. My face is getting used to having to be shaved way more often than I did back home. It's good. But this is probably gonna sound really bizarre... I miss being crazy tired. Here, I'm averaging 9-10 hours of sleep a night. Back home was probably 5 or 6. I dunno what it is, but I miss that. I just have a craving to be busy I guess. We're not supposed to schedule appointments after 7 since it's dark by then and it's not as safe to be out. So a lot of the time we'll be in our boarding after that without anything to do. I'm just so used to constantly having homework or other things to do, but we get home and there's nothing! So a lot of the time I either play guitar for a while or just go to sleep. Usually the latter.

Anyway, Sunday was spectacular. We were going to walk to church with a less active family, so we woke up at 5:30 to be ready at their place at 6:45, but we got there and the daughter was sick, so we went back to the boarding and slept until church started. I think that's the first official nap I've taken on my mission. But we got to church and Bishop Tshabalala asked us if we could give quick talks since they needed another speaker. So we both whipped something up real quick and spoke in sacrament meeting. For having ten minutes to prepare, it wasn't bad.

We had lunch at the Seditis a little later. Their dog has always freaked me out because it's fetching huge. I came to find out yesterday that it's name is Hitler, which is completely fitting in every way. We had an appointment with Vusi again later and he fed us as well. It's either we don't get fed, or we get fed way to much... There's never an in between. But it's good either way :)

Random thoughts:

- Name your first two sons Laman and Lemuel and your third Nephi. Let me know how that turns out.

- Never take for granted things like Club Chev or Beto's. I would kill for a giant greasy breakfast burrito.

Stay positive, love your lives my family and friends.

Elder D. Sterling Johnson (that's what my name will be when I'm an apostle)

Would you like some chicken with that bone?

August 12, 2013

Sawubona!

Oy...this week has been a rough one, not gonna lie. But hey, nothing's gonna get us down here in Kimberley! There are souls that need our help!

So last Monday for P-day, we played soccer with a bunch of elders in our zone, and I think I was the whitest one out there, both literally in the sense that my skin is white even like unto the snow, and also in the sense that I wasn't good at soccer. Holy cow. But hey, I'm not gonna get any better if I don't try, right? We may go play again later today too! And then that night, we went to a nature reserve and saw Zebras, buffalo (but not the buffalo you're thinking of...), and boks! It was sweet. There will be pictures eventually, but they upload really ridiculously slow, so I'm about a month behind. My mama will have them up eventually though! There's this rule in the missionary handbook that says not to climb on sacred statues and whatnot, and we probably should have thought of that before we started hanging on Nelson Mandela's hand... Oops!

Tuesday we had Zone Training Meeting which was nice. I dunno if I mentioned Elder and Sister Carlile last week, but they're the senior couple here and they're from Farmington! And apparently they're in Spencer Hafen's ward back home, so we talked about him for a while. Oh! And Elder Carlile served in South Africa with Elder Cox in 1970! Small world, eh? Mom, Grandma and Grandpa, can you pass the word along to Bobby? He said he still sees him from time to time, and wasn't sure if he told him he'd been called back to South Africa. But anyway, ZTM was good. We set goals and stuff, and the message we focused on was staying positive and building unity... Dad, Blake, does that sound familiar?

Wednesday was good. We filled up with gas, which is about R13.50 a litre, and I did the conversion and it's about $5.51 a gallon... So you people back in the USA, hitting $4 a gallon isn't the worst thing in the world... It could be worse. ;) We went tracting Wednesday and found a few people that have potential to be strong investigators. I also ran into a drunk man that kept telling me he has HIV... I honestly had no idea how to respond, but luckily Elder Kruger was there to talk to him. We had a lot of appointments cancel that day, too.

Thursday also had a bunch of bunked appointments. One of them was a man we met and taught last week named Vusi. Once we can actually meet with him, he's going to be strong. He had so many questions and said that the answers we gave him were just what he needed to hear. He wants to come to church, which is excellent. Can't wait to meet more with him!

Friday morning I decided to take the thermometer out in the study area... It's 55 degrees when we study in the morning, so we have to bundle up. (Yes, it gets cold even in Africa!) We have weekly planning Fridays, and we really had to take into account our investigators and who were actually progressing. A few we had on for baptism we had to move down, just because they hadn't been keeping commitments... It was sad. We're looking for ways to contact stronger investigators, because tracting isn't super effective. We're hoping members in the area can start giving us more referrals, and we have some activities in the works... Perhaps a soccer tournament, chapel open house, or firesides and other activities that non-members can attend! And also contacting people at the mall and Pick 'N Pay as well. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes! That night, we had dinner with the Vesagis, which was really good. Elder Kruger and Sister Vesagi started speaking Afrikaans to each other, so I started saying random words in Spanish. Katelyn, her daughter, then asked me if I knew French, to which I replied only bad words... She told me to stop listening to whoever taught me those. (Sorry David Earl, no more listening to you!)

Saturday was good. We had a solid lesson with the Mothelisis. And they came to church last week, which was excellent! The last couple lessons with them, they brought their neighbor Julia who honestly frightens me so bad, and I don't know why. She's so so so nice, but she's a preacher for another church. But she accepts everything we teach, she wants to come to church, and she even called for a Faith in Christ DVD! Which actually makes her one of our strongest investigators right now. Elder Kruger taught, and it was on the restoration, and we all felt the spirit so strong.

Sunday was great, as always. Church was nice and we had lunch with the Boiambos. When I told her I'm from Utah, she called it the "factory." Hehe...not the first time I've heard it called that. We're cranking out missionaries like crazy! #hastenthework

Welp, everyone's waiting on me right now to go get food (we're eating Chinese! YES!!!) so I guess I better call it a day. Stay safe, enjoy the rest of the week, stay positive, and LOVE YOUR LIVES.

Much love,

Elder Johnson

More Pictures from London Heathrow Airport and South Africa MTC in Johannesburg and the Temple...emailed August 12, 2013

Elder Johnson traveling from SLC to Johannesburg via Chicago and London

More pictures to follow....Elder Johnson said it take so long to upload pictures that it may take a few weeks to get pictures all uploaded.  

Bob Barker reminding you: help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.

Sawubona!

That's Zulu... No one speaks Zulu in Kimberley... But whatever, that greeting sounds the coolest so that's what I'm sticking with.

Been a long week this week! Lots of ups and downs... But holy cow, you can't truly appreciate a society that has strong morals until you've lived somewhere that has next to none. Alcoholism is high, daga is common, chastity isn't really a thing, and I hear little kids that have vulgar mouths... It's sad in a way. But hey, we're there to help, one conversion at a time!

Last Tuesday was rough. Literally, every single one of our appointments fell through. We ended up updating our Area Book (which hadn't been updated in 3 months...) and didn't teach a single lesson. It was rough, but really helped us to appreciate the good days we had. The next day we taught nine lessons, so that made up for it! Oh... and I also had my first haircut from someone other than my mom in I think 8 years... Crazy.

I think it was Wednesday... So funny. We went tracting a little bit, and we found a girl named Natasha. We taught a little bit about the Plan of Salvation, and she seemed very intrigued. Asked a lot of questions, and I think she'll be a solid investigator. But apparently I have a very heavy American accent, and she asked me if I had been to New York. I told her I had, but that I liked Chicago better. "Ooo that's where Barack Obama's from! Did you meet him?!" Then I mentioned I lived in California for a while... "Ooo did you meet Kim Kardashian?!" I just laughed... I guess it's the same as other people's perceptions of Africa. "Ooo Africa! Do you have lions and giraffes in your yard?!"

We have a few investigators progressing towards baptism right now, and it's so cool to see the Lord's hand work in their lives. A couple are still struggling with Word of Wisdom problems... Isaac especially. I dunno if I mentioned him last week, but he has a serious problem with alcohol and smoking. He stopped for a while, but relapsed, and we can see a huge change in him. He isn't as happy as when he was off of it. He can barely talk, and there's just something different about him. We're going to work with him and another investigator struggling with that stuff named Lucky and set something up for a couple hours every couple days or so to get their minds off of those harmful substances. Sort of like AA, but with a spiritual message as well. :)

One of the things I miss most about back home is the food. Mexican food specifically... There isn't a Mexican restaurant to be seen down here! We're eating well, especially when member's cook for us. And I haven't gotten sick (yet...knock on wood!), so that's good. We usually cook at our place... Elder Kruger is quite the chef! I've tried making a couple things, but usually I just end up burning eggs. Oops. I'm working on it though. Our place is sweet though. Two beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It's connected to the landlords' house. They're Afrikaans and very nice. Not members, but they love the missionaries. Crazy thing about South Africa...everyone has barbed wire or electric fences around their houses. Security's tight, but I guess it has to be with how much theft there is. (Don't worry, as long as you don't be stupid, you're safe down here!)

Oh my... I forgot to include this last week. Funniest thing ever at the MTC. We were doing a role play, and the deal was that I was an investigator at an airport and my companion was to come up and talk to me. The scenario was that I thought the Mormons were polygamists. So Elder Kasambala comes up and starts talking to me, and I'm like "Oh, aren't you the guys that have a bunch of wives?" And he looked at me, paused for a second, and then in the most humble voice I've ever heard, he said "Yes." The teacher and I burst out laughing... Holy cow, I think the question just confused him a little bit. So funny though.

I've been working on picking up Afrikaans a little bit, and it's tough... I have an Afrikaans Book of Mormon and I've read through about 3 pages! Woo! "En dit het gebeur..." translates to "And it came to pass..." So I can say that. That's about it. Slowly, but surely I'm working on it!

P-day's today... I think our gameplan is soccer at 3, and then we're going to a nature reserve tonight around sunset that has giraffes, zebras, and the works. Expect some Lion King-esque pictures next week!

Make me proud at home everyone. Much love!

Elder Johnson

PS... If you're wondering about the title of the email, I now understand why Bob Barker says that at the end of the Price is Right... Dogs run rampant here. All the females are pregnant or nursing, and they reproduce like rabbits... It's said, because there's not enough people to care for them all. A lot are skinny, a lot are abused, and they just don't look happy... Elder Kruger LOVES animals too, so he hates seeing it. Spay and neuter your pets, folks!

Random thoughts that would otherwise end up on Twitter:

* (Background: In our planners, we have our Daily Plan and our Backup Plan if we can't make it to our Daily Plan) Sunday: Daily Plan, Church. Backup Plan, Outer Darkness.

* Our first thought when we hear a car alarm is never "Oh no, someone's robbing me!" It's more along the lines of "Ugh turn off that noise!"

Is it already almost August?

Family, friends, and udda people, HELLO!

I have a lot to report on, but very little time, so I'll be brief!

I left off at the MTC right? Yes...So we finished up there our last few days there, and I LOVED it!!! Last Saturday was the 10th anniversary, so there was an open house. Our only job was to look pretty and focused while African officials toured the place, so that was awesome. President and Sister Reber were fantastic. Sister Reber has a picture in her office of Nephi with the caption "And now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together." If you recognize where that's from, we can be friends. ;)

But we left the MTC a week ago today at 5 in the morning to catch our plane to Durban! I got to call the fam while we were there, and got caught up on a few things. I hear it's been very hot back in good ol' Utah, eh? Suckers... ;) But our goodbyes to the Uganda Elders and the flight were quick. Only about 45 minutes, and then we were picked up by President Zackrison and the APs. I LOVE President Zackrison! More on that later... But the drive to the mission home was BEAUTIFUL. It's winter right now, which is aka the dry season here, but it was still very green. Palm trees everywhere, which is never a bad thing!

When we got to the mission house (which is...holy cow, one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen! There's even a swimming pool!!!) President Zackrison gave us his opening shpiel. He focused on obedience using your best judgment, testimony, and teaching by the Spirit. He's gonna be spectacular. As we were there, different Elders trickled in and out picking up their sons (that's mission terms for trainees). We were interviewed, practiced driving (they're like the Brits here...left side of the road!), and eventually, Elder Jeppeson and I were the only ones left, because we had to catch an all night bus to our first areas...

You know how when you're playing volleyball and the ball lands just barely outside the lines, and there's ALWAYS someone that makes that stupid joke "It was in!" and continues to draw a box around where the ball landed? That's literally how Kimberley is. There's the mission boundaries at the far west side, and a box that extends out to include our li'l town. It took a bus from 8 PM til 5 AM to get to Bloemfontaine, and then it was another 2 hour drive from Bloem to get there, but we finally made it! Literally, the drive from Durban to Kimberley is farther distance-wise than the flight from JoBerg to Durban. So that gives you an idea of how far it is!

And fun fact... I dunno if I ever mentioned Elder Sidumo from the MTC, super classy kid... But Kimberley is his hometown! So I met his brother this week, and he was so stoked to hear about him! There's a picture of him and Elder Brimhall (AKA Elder Brimtall...he's 6 foot 7!) in the chapel, so that was fun to see.

But Kimberley is sweet. It's nowhere near as green as Durban... In fact it's quite brown. But that's ok, there's work to be done! My companion's name is Elder Kruger, and he rocks. He's super chill, so we get along great. He's native to Cape Town, he loves an animals, and he's even skinned a few dead ones he's found on the road... There's a fox skin drying on our roof right now!

Teaching is tough... Very different from teaching in the MTC. In South Africa, there's the town, and then there's townships, which are essentially just the poor parts. It's hard to call them houses, but that's where most of the ward members live (oh! We do have a ward here, 80 members strong and growing!). They're kind of like shacks, on a dirt road, but that's where essentially all the work we do is. Elder Kruger's taken the lead in all the lessons this week, and I jump in where it gets quiet and where the Spirit prompts me to share a scripture or thought. The training process goes on for 12 weeks, so I'll be in Kimberley for at least 3 months!

It's winter down here, so all the natives bundle up while I'm in a short sleeve shirt... I think it's in the 50s or 60s Fahrenheit most days. One of the young men in the ward asked me if I was cold, and I told him about those nights in Logan that it hit -17 degrees, and he couldn't believe it! So I'm fairing quite nicely. :) I did buy an extra jersey though (that's what they call sweaters down here...and also, traffic lights are called robots, so that's fun) and it's tan, seeing as lighter colors are now allowed.

Lots of interesting lessons... I'm trying to think of how to put this in biblical terms... You know those times you're teaching a lesson and the investigator decides to pull out her supple bosom and start breastfeeding her infant? Yep, we're up to three times with that. Modesty isn't really a thing down here. We do have some strong investigators, but keeping them committed on the Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom have been tough. On weekends here, virtually everyone is drunk or high. Daga (South African for weed) is very prevalent. Saturday's are rough, but the rest of the week is usually pretty good.

We only went tracting once this week, and it was very different than expected. After selling pest control this summer, I was ready to knock doors and get rejection everyday, but just about everyone in the townships will let you in and share a message about Christ with them. It's good, but it makes it difficult to find out who the serious investigators are.

Mondays are P-day, and the two of us in Kimberley drive down to Bloemfontein for district meetings. We drove down Sunday night this week though, because the zone leaders invited us to sleep over at their place. Elder Francom is one of the ZLs, and he's actually Connor Cook's cousin! We talked late into the night, and then got up this morning and made a big breakfast before district meetings. After that, we ate at Spur, which is a burger place that reminded me a lot of Chili's or Applebees... Getting some greasy American food was FANTASTIC. ;)

Oh! And I've eaten at McDonald's and KFC down here... Good, but different. The menus are entirely different. KFC has like chicken burgers and stuff, and I didn't even try to explain to the cashiers what a Mini Mac or a McSnitchin is... And the biggest difference, there's no fountain drinks! I couldn't believe it... Soda from a can, and they're called "cool drinks" here... These South Africans and their crazy terminology.

Well, I hope I can get pictures out next week! This computer isn't reading my SD card. But stay posted.

Here's the random thoughts that would otherwise end up on Twitter for this week:

- The MTC: The wrong place to yell out "What a hoe!" Need to remember to say "harlot" next time.

- I'm going to ruin chocolate for anyone who tries to tell me caffeine is against the Word of Wisdom.

- "OMG IT'S SO COLD. SATAN Y U DO DIS?" --South Africans when it's 50 degrees

- "OMG YES THE CHURCH IS TRUE IT'S SO WARM" --Aggies when it hits 50 degrees

Love you all lots! Stay positive, love your lives!

  Johannesburg @ the MTC - Done!

With President and Sister Zackrison in Durban

  Missionaries that flew to Durban 

           At the Mission Home