We hit the Standard of Excellence!

Hello everyone! How are you all today? Mom says that some of you were all worried that I didn't get my letter out yesterday. Fear not, for I still am breathing. Anyway, the reason I didn't get a letter out yesterday was because of transfers. Transfers are this week, and our mission moves P-day to Tuesday so that all the people that are leaving can pack, do laundry, and stuff like that the day before transfers rather than two days before. Makes sense, right? Elder Fielding and I are staying in Buckhannon!

This week was great! We hit the Standard of Excellence! My first time hitting it! I'm not really sure how to explain it, but basically The Standard of Excellence is a goal set by the Mission President of hitting certain numbers during the week, such as baptismal dates, investigators at sacrament meeting, lessons with an active member present, etc. So hitting it means you had a great week!

Last P-day we went fishing for Snapping Turtles. Unfortunately, no Snapping Turtles were fished. Dang guy didn't like our hot dogs. Or the Blue Gill we cut in half. Boo. Oh well, some other time! Today we are going up to Clarksburg to hang out with The Elkins Elders and our Zone Leaders in Clarksburg. Elder Chavez goes home tomorrow! He's dying! Poor guy. We're going to play some Cornhole and Volleyball, so that should be really fun!

We taught A & R this week. R doesn't seem super interested, she just plays with the cat the whole time, but A is. She is getting really excited about the Gospel. They are almost done with the lessons, and then we really don't know what is going to happen. A's mom and dad, who live in Elkins, are actually taking the discussions from the Elkins Elders now! They are getting baptized in September! Isn't that awesome? Miracles everywhere!!

On Friday, we had to chance to see President and Sister Salisbury! President came down to interview N, for her baptismal date. We taught her last Monday The Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Word of Wisdom, and The Law of Chastity. She was super receptive and excited to hear it, and she is ready to be baptized. She is getting baptized August 10th! We are seeing her this week sometime and teaching her The Commandments lesson, and then teaching her Laws and Ordinances after that sometime. Super exciting!

We also taught a lady named B yesterday. She has been an investigator since May, but because she lives so far away (the very bottom of our area) we can only go see her when a member drives us. She came to church on Sunday and really liked it! We're hoping to get her and her daughter J (also an investigator) to Church in the coming weeks together! That would be awesome.

Anyway, B has a really bad smoking addiction. She's smoked for the most recent chunk of her life (She quit in her 30s for 8 years, but started up again. She's in her 50s). To get her to stop, we taught her the Church's Officially Unofficial Stop Smoking Workshop, created by a missionary in 1983 in Dublin, Ireland. 15 steps to stop smoking, and you only need to follow it for 7 days, and boom, no desire to smoke. It's a really cool program, and although she was scared she couldn't do it, we have full faith and confidence in her. The main man of the night was Brother Brock Howes, our Ward Mission Leader. He served in Provo from 02-04, and absolutely killed it in the lesson. He just has a way to make people feel comfortable, he's just such a genuine, nice guy you can't help but like him. He did the majority of the talking, and she followed the steps. All temptation is now gone from her house and car. We had her break the cigarettes in half when she threw them away as a sign of her willpower and commitment to quit. We are seeing her next Monday to celebrate her quitting smoking!

So that was the week! I hope you guys all had a fantastic week too! Keep praying for me! I can testify to you that the power of prayer is real. Begin and end each day with a prayer.

I love all of you!

Keep writing!!!

- Brax

 Mornin'! I need a haircut. :)

Sunset in "The Hollers"

Missionary Tan Line. :)

President Salisbury is great!

Hello everyone! How is everyone's week going?

This week has been kind of slow, to be honest. Elder Fielding and I are running out of people to teach! We are praying to find. Pray for us! All we currently have are A & R, and N. ​Ms. N. is ready to be baptized next Sunday!!!, but Elder Fielding and I still have a lot to teach her. A lot. We're going to try and teach The Gospel of Jesus Christ, mixed with The Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity tonight in one lesson. We'll see how it goes.

A & R are... changing. A for the better, R for the not-so better. A is feeling the Spirit... hardcore. She knows that what we are teaching is true, and she told R. that she is questioning their lifestyle because of what we have been teaching her. She also asked the sisters at church what she can do to become an official member of the church. We were starting to distance ourselves from them, deciding to go over only once a week to teach them, but after we found out all this stuff we now have a renewed conviction to teach her. We are praying for them. R. is getting cold to us. She knows that A. is changing because of us, and we don't think she likes us a whole lot anymore.

We walked for... a long time the other day. My feet are quite angry with me. It was good for me though. We got to meet a lot of people and get some real good exercise.

Interviews! On Wednesday we went up to Clarksburg to see President and Sister Salisbury! It was great fun. While people were being taken out for interviews, we had a district meeting where everyone in the district prepared a 5 minute principle. I spoke on having The Spirit with you. It went really well I think.

President Salisbury is great! He was really worried that I was hurt in the car accident, and we got to send Mom a selfie for proof that he made sure I was okay. We didn't get to talk for a super long time, but we did chat for a bit. We get to see him on Friday when he comes down to interview an investigator. Hopefully we get to talk to him then too.

Sorry this letter was on the shorter side! Email me any questions you guys have! I love getting emails from everyone! Keep us in your prayers, and I'll talk to you all next week! I love all of you!

Love,

Elder Johnson

 Testify of the Book of Mormon!

Me and the very cool Elder Mortensen (who is as big as me!)

Beautiful fields of green everywhere!

What the...how did that get in there! :)

                                                        Our schedule...

Elder Johnson with President Salisbury

July 16, 2014

Hand mixing concrete and totaling a car! All in a week's work.

Hello everyone! Another week down! I'm already 4 1/2 weeks into this transfer! I'm been out almost a month and a half! Isn't that crazy? The days are flying by.

Not a whole lot happened this week until Friday! On Thursday our Zone Leaders decide they want us to go on exchanges. I went with Elder Hadfield to Clarksburg and Elder Chavez worked Buckhannon with Elder Fielding. Elder Hadfield is a really funny guy and a real hard worker. We tracted and ITL'd for a couple hours straight. After having dinner and Wendy's with the other Clarksburg Elders, Elder Payne and Elder Esplin, Elder Hadfield and I were headed to a lesson.

As we were on the highway, we rounded a bend, and the truck in front of us starting slowing down. All of a sudden it slams on it's brakes​. I open my mouth to warn Elder Hadfield (I have no idea what he's doing, I'm staring at this truck), when he slams on the brakes too. I lurch forward, the seatbelt catches me, and I just close my eyes. Smash. Totaled the car. The truck we hit was fine. Figures. Little dent. We're both okay though. The only thing that really happened was my head got knocked a little by the side airbag and I had a bruise for a day or two from the seatbelt.

The next day, Saturday, Elder Fielding and Elder Chavez come and we exchange back. Elder Fielding and I went to a members home, J.'s. He is a good friend of the missionaries and asked us that morning if we could come help him pour some concrete. Of course we can!

Well, it wasn't just pouring. We had to move 80 lbs bags of dry concrete over to the holes, dump 2 at a time in a wheel barrow, fill it with water, and start stirring. It was hard work. I was really sore for the next couple days. They fed us though, so all is forgiven. J. is a funny guy.

A & D came to Church yesterday! D is our big focus, since at the moment A & R can't be baptized. D is 18, and really interested. He thought church was alright. He said he liked the feeling. He's really interested in the story of Joseph Smith, so we gave him a triple and showed him Joseph Smith - History. We have an appointment with them on Tuesday, so we will asked him what he thought and ask him to pray about it then. He was reading it all through Priesthood meeting.

Interviews with President Salisbury are on Wednesday! Then we get to go out to lunch with our whole Zone! Fun stuff! Not much else to add, so if any of you have any questions, email me! I love getting them!

I love all of you! Keeping praying for me! Some awesome stuff is about to happen here in Buckhannon, I can feel it.

Love,

- Elder Johnson

His only picture this week. Not my favorite...

A New Mission President!

Hello everyone! Happy 4th! Happy birthday Dad! Fun stuff!

Sooooooo what to talk about first. After leaving the library on Monday, we went to... back home. It was a real take-it-easy day. Elder Fielding took a nap and I read a comic book about The Bible and the "Big Book of LDS Secrets" which is a textbook for a class at the Y called "Church History in the Fullness of Times".​ It has some really cool, deep doctrine stuff in it that slips under the cracks (mostly because it isn't pertinent to our eternal salvation, but that doesn't mean it isn't cool to learn about!) Like for example, during the times when Joseph Smith led the battalion, the company found the remains of a skeleton with an arrow sticking out of his chest. Joseph said he was one of the last Righteous Lamanite Chieftains. Zelph or something like that.

Tuesday we said good-bye to an investigator and his less-active wife. They moved up to Pensboro, where they just took the Missionaries out of. Shoot. They were progressing so well. We helped them move on Tuesday for two or so hours, then he took us out to dinner where I ate.... A SALAD (Contain your gasps, Mom, I know you're so proud.) and a philly-cheesesteak. Yummy yummy.

On Wednesday we helped MORE people move. This time it was in, rather than out. The W. family. They hired a moving crew of 4 people, mostly to speed it up and move their 900 pound gunsafe. Elder Fielding and I luckily got there right as they were putting it into place. Dodged a bullet (haha).

Also, if there is ever something wrong with the world; civil war, famine, nuclear war, zombie apocalypse, whatever, I'm totally going to their house. They have tons of things to defend yourself with, a lake, tons of food storage, solar panels, and their house is on top of a mountain surrounded by an electric fence that is constantly running at a high voltage. Total fortress, in the middle of nowhere.

Thursday! We met President and Sister Salisbury! The highlight of the week! They are so awesome and so excited! We drove up to Clarksburg for the "Meet The President" thing at The Clarksburg Stake Center, so all of the Clarksburg Zone and Morgantown Zone came to see him. I got to see someone I came out with who is currently serving in Masontown. I forgot to get a picture. I'm bad at that. :P

President and Sister Salisbury are super nice and sweet. They have a son currently serving in The Philippines, and he gets home next August I think. Apparently he's coming here for a couple weeks, then going back home to Utah.

On Friday we went BACK to Clarksburg for Zone meeting! This time it was just the Clarksburg Zone. Elder Chavez and Elder Hadfield, our Zone Leaders, taught. They talked about accountability and other things, like getting to know your investigators. Elder Fielding taught District Meeting right after Zone Meeting. It was awesome! He talked about the order of things that should take our importance when teaching. Obviously progressing investigators come first. He also talked about how Member Referrals are what get baptisms, because they already have a friend in the Church that way.

After that, we came back to Buckhannon and spent The 4th at the Family C's house with a couple of his kids and grandkids. I learned how to play Cornhole! (Look it up, I want one when I get home. ;D) You basically are throwing beanbags into a hole in a wooden board. Sounds boring. Great fun though!

So, not a lot to report on this week. We taught a less active and her husband, K&J, they had some concerns and we worked through it, and J. came back to Church!! Hopefully she keeps coming. They are thinking about switching Churches, so we are pushing them hard to read and pray. They are so close to their answer, they just need to keep going.

We are meeting with N. and then R & A this week. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully well. Teaching The Restoration!

I love you all! Keep praying for me! Prayer works! I'll talk to you all next week!

-Brax

Zone Leader - Elder Chavez

 Zone Leader - Elder Hatfield

Up to 25 ties! :)

Every missionary needs to exercise!