#WINNERWINNERCHICKENDINNER

Hello Family and Friends! I hope you are all doing well this week! I hope you all had a great Sunday! This is going to be a short one, because we have a lot going on today.

The main thing that happened today is two-fold! On Wednesday, we met with S. again, whom we've been meeting with for a while. The great part of Wednesday's lesson though, was it was all about baptism! We invited her to be baptized on this upcoming baptismal day, February 8th, and she accepted! Hesitantly, but accepted! Her main concern at the time was that she wanted her fiance/boyfriend/whatever to be there, because he's a less-active down in [another state] that got her started, so she says, on investigating the church. On Wednesday, we went through what she wanted have for her baptism. Who she wanted to do everything, stuff like that. She chose her friend C. to perform the actual baptism. 

So. You gotta understand, it's pretty much agreed upon in the dark corners and out of range of S&C's hearing that they would make the best couple. There were some unsubstantiated rumors about S.'s boyfriend, but we wont go into that here. Basically, you could totally tell that C. really likes S., and we were fairly certain that S. liked him, mostly because they would go on long walks together, and all this other gushy romantic stuff. 

ANYWAY. On Sunday, we are sitting in combined Priesthood waiting for it to start so we can go to Elder's quorum, when C., sitting in front of us, turns around to us and goes "oh! I forgot to tell you, S. told me she was praying a couple nights ago (Praying about decisions? We're doing our job!) and asked if her boyfriend was the right one for her, and she said she got a no for an answer! WOO HOO! C. couldn't contain himself. He had the biggest smile on his face. He's such a stand up guy. 

Come to find out in Ward Council (You bishops out there, if you are holding 3 hour ward councils, there is a special place reserved for you in you know where) that C. and S. are basically a "thing" now. #WINNERWINNERCHICKENDINNER. It's like a gosh dang Disney movie! Perfect ending! 

She is being interviewed by President Salisbury today in Bluefield (which is why we have to leave early) and will hopefully be baptized February 8th! Pray like you've never prayed before people! She can make it! We believe it! This will be my first baptism in almost 5 months (M. still counts as mine you dang critics!). It is amazing to watch the change in her as she is taking the steps to becoming a member of the church! We went over the baptismal questions with her on Wednesday, and she could confidently answer each one!

Anyway, that's my miracle story for the week. I hope you all like it! I know miracles have not ceased in our day! Don't worry Moroni, I still believe!

Love you all! Until next week,

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

Holy Temperature Batman! It's January!

We're Famous!

Elder Larson got a hold of my camera!

A morning selfie for mom :)

We made the paper :)

New soles and new souls

Hello friends and family! 

This week was a slower one, but still a lot of fun! After emailing we met up with the missionaries in Hillsville and went to the rec center here in Wytheville! It was built a few years ago, so it's pretty new and happenin'. We played some Raquetball, but my favorite part was the Rock Wall. It brought back memories of completely failing at the rock wall in Salt Lake when Kyle, Ryan, and I went with Stewart. Fun times! We got a good workout with the raquetball, too.

The next day, Thursday, we headed up to Princeton, a 40 mileish drive to see everyone off at transfers! Our whole district was staying the same, but we said goodbye to one of our Zone Leaders, Elder Hadfield, who was actually my first Zone Leader! A couple other people passed through, and I got to say hi to them too. 

Inbetween the van going to Charleston, and the van coming back from transfer meeting, Elder Larson and I went to Bluefield to "blitz" the sisters area. We just ended up walking around the downtown area of Bluefield. It was a little sketchy, but we had fun. We went back to Princeton around 2 and got to see all the new people coming in! It was a blast! I saw a couple friends from earlier in my mission, and got to meet the two trainees coming into our stake! A missionary I came out with, Elder Bingham, is training for the 2nd time! He trained right after he was trained, then greenie-broke (meaning you're the companion after your new companion's trainer. Sawyer was my greenie-breaker) and now he is training again! He's an awesome guy.

The next day we had a lesson with JE, a man we've been teaching for quite some time now. Basically everything fell apart in this lesson. He claims that the biggest problem he has is believing that Joseph Smith is a prophet, because it's not in the bible, despite the scriptures that we've showed him. All we are going to do now is just read the Book of Mormon with him, because that is all we can do. Hopefully he starts praying and reading by himself. He is too focused on the Bible. But we will see what our next lesson has in store for us.

After going over there, we went to see a girl named PE, a recent convert whom I've probably written about before. We just got to chat with her and her friend who was over at her house. She found out that our dinner appointment had cancelled, so she jumped up and made us an awesome dinner! Steak and Gravy with Mash Potatoes and Green Beans. Some real southern cooking! It was awesome. She sure knows how to cook!

On Saturday, we had a combined dinner and lesson with S&J at our weekly dinner appointment with SB! We had a great Restoration lesson with S&J. S. had already heard it, but J. hadn't. We had a great lesson with her, and Sister B., C., and The Gr's all contributed to make it awesome! We set J. on date for February 8th. She is praying and reading to learn if it is true, so be praying for her! She can make her date, we believe it!

Sunday we did our usual thing and went out with Brother W! He took us to see two new people. The first was SA.  His wife and boy were both there, and we had a good old time letting them reminisce. He is a good guy.

After that, we went down the road a little bit and saw W., S's brother. He graduated with Brother W. They hadn't seen each other in years, so we spent a long time at that house. W. was in the military, and has some pretty severe PTSD. He was in Iraq in 2003.  He's a good man, and invited us back anytime. We really didn't get a whole lot of gospel discussed though. Wade and him were too busy telling old war stories from their time as a marine.

That was my week. I hope you all had a fantastic week! I love you all and am so grateful for your support. Have a fantastic day today! Thank you again for all your prayers and support in my behalf. 

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

So, I'm thinking it's time for some new soles...

Yea...

Mmmmmmmm

Pasta is a staple around here!

My amazing "Binder of Amazing Talks"

I may need another binder. The "H" section is big. I'm a Holland fan.

:)

Hi Mom.

Nose selfie from the Library this morning. :)

#miraclesallaround

Hello Friends and Family!

Another transfer gone by. 6 weeks down the rabbit hole. The 5th free throw has been swished. #nothingbutnet. Haha, anyway.

I hope youralls week was awesome! Mine was! We had some great things happen. I'm sorry I wont be giving another Consecrated Year sermon this week. Those don't come willy nilly you know! Let's start at the top.

Tuesday we had District meeting! Led by our fearless District Lordimean Leader Elder Davis, we went on a District hike to have District meeting atop an awesome lookout point. You know how old prophets went up to mountains to talk to the Lord because they could feel the spirit more up there? Yeah, well it's totally true. Genius me forgot my camera though. Sorry everyone! Know that it was really really pretty! Haha.

We met with an investigator on Tuesday again. JE! It was a pretty rough lesson, but we managed to teach The Plan of Salvation. The main problem is that he wants to be taught out of the bible, and we are trying to teach him that the bible is only one authority, that prophets are the final authority, but he just isn't getting it. He thinks that if it isn't named in the bible (Angel Moroni, coming of Christ to Americas, etc (ALL OF WHICH ARE MENTIONED, BY THE WAY )) then it can't be true. It's quite frustrating. We made a lot of progress with him though, and are seeing him on Friday, so hopefully what we talked about stuck [with him] and he is ready to be taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ. He asked me in the lesson to show him all the scriptures in the bible that talk about the book of mormon. Oh man. How grateful I am that I was raised (trained) by a missionary who knew the bible really well. I did fairly well, but I certainly did a lot of studying when I got home.

On Thursday we did our bi-monthly trip to the Food Kitchen at the Wytheville Baptist Church to help serve the good people that come there! Its a great place to meet people, and we get the leftovers! (which were delicious) it's a true Christian thing they do there. Its really what Christ and being a Christian is all about, serving and loving others. If only they had the Priesthood.

On Saturday we had the chance to teach S&J! S has been investigating the church since I've been in Wytheville, but we just picked J, her sister, up as an investigator last week! We had a really good prayer lesson with her, and S, who as of previously not even would say a prayer alone because she "felt weird" said the prayer at the end of the lesson! WOO HOOOOOO PROGRESSSSS. Oh yes. Now we just need to teach them the importance of being baptized, because both of them are a little skeptical on that subject. They did both come to church though! So that is huge for them.

Speaking of church! So, after Ward Council, I noticed that the bishop was talking to a very uncomfortable looking Elders Davis and Garrett, so I went up to investigate. I get up to them and the first thing I hear bishop say is, "How good are you two at speaking?" and in my foolishness I go, "You need a speaker?" Davis and Garrett were extremely happy to get out of the limelight and Elder Garrett congratulated me on being so awesome to volunteer. It was right around now when it dawned on my what I had just done. Bishop says, "Our youth speaker just cancelled last second. Can you speak?" This kind of thing only happens in a New Era story I thought. Oh well! So, 5 minutes later I'm on the stand rifling through Elder Larson's scriptures (because I only brought my mini quad and those pages don't stay open) trying to find something to talk about on the subject of "The plan that our Father in Heaven has for our lives." Used a scripture in James, Peter, Abraham, and somewhere else that I can't remember. I still have the little index card that I wrote my outline on in 15 minutes. I'll take a picture and send it to ya'll. But, needless to say (obviously), it was a slam dunk.(ha ha) I was really happy with it. It's awesome when The Spirit helps you with those things!

As he always does, Ward Mission Leader WW drove us around for the whole Sunday to go visit people! Among them were his cousin, D, his former boss and his less active wife, H., his childhood friend R. and his wife and son, and finally our investigators S&J to finish off the night!

The lesson with R. was incredible. We spent the first 30ish minutes letting them talk and catch up with each other, W., as he always does, turned the subject to religion. Well, I asked an inspired question (not taking credit, it was all the spirit) about his families local church attendance. It just so happens that they haven't been to church in around a year, and haven't really found where they belong yet. Hey, who are those guys in white with wings singing Hallelujah outside? It was awesome!!!! We invited them to church on Sunday, and they invited us back to their house, "anytime". If only we had the miles to get out there "anytime." ARE YOU READING THIS MISSION OFFICE? Anyway. It was great.

S&J are awesome too. J. has mistakes in his past, as we all do, but he has such a desire to be better. They talked about getting married with us, and we asked if they'd like our bishop to do it. They said yes! We will talk to our bishop on Sunday and see exactly what we need to do. It would be so awesome. They said they are coming to church on sunday, and J. is coming and playing basketball with us on Saturday night. #Miraclesallaround It is awesome to be here in Wytheville.

Our final lesson for this email was on Monday with a less active named J. Her friend N. is always over there with her, so we thought we would go teach them The Plan of Salvation today. Unbeknowest to us, J. lost a son some years ago. As we were teaching, N. had a lot of questions about The Spirit World and where we go after we die. That lead naturally into temples and their functions, and eternal families. J. started crying and we bore powerful testimony that we know she will see him again. I said, "I know that he is waiting for you, and he's so excited that you're letting us teach you right now." I could basically feel his presence there. It was amazing. She wants to come to church on Sunday, and said she was going to be bringing her daughter and two grandkids. Woo hoo! Amazing things are happening here.

That's my letter for the week! I know, it's short. ;D I hope you all have a fantastic week, may God bless you in all your endeavors! Look for miracles and missionary opportunities. They are always around us, and I promise you'll see at least one in the next week. Until next time!

Love,
Elder Brax Johnson

LOVE my new Awesome WARM and Amazing AND WARM Pea Coat. Did I say WARM? -Thank you Mom!

Love me some sunsets!!!

It looks like Ramen tonight!

Mom felt like she had too many sunsets and not enough son pictures. Here you go Mom! :)

A Consecrated Year

Hello Family and Friends!

2014 has long since left, and 2015 is here! I've had the chance to reflect on this past year and this coming year in the past couple days. A few missionaries and loved ones back home have brought something interesting to my attention in the recent weeks. 2015 is a special year for me, because it is the only year of my life that will be spent 24/7 in the service of my Lord. It is my consecrated year. I would encourage all of us to reflect upon this coming year and what it brings. While most of you are not engaged in full-time service to the ministry, most, if not all, of you, have a love of our Savior Jesus Christ. See what you can change. See how 2015 can go down into your history as a consecrated year to you. I promise you with the authority that I have been given that The Spirit of The Lord will show you how to become what The Savior can see in your future.

Now that I've got that off my chest, let's jump in to my past week!

On Tuesday, I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Garrett in Hillsville! The exchange was a little different, as it lasted until Thursday! That's right, New Years Eve! We had a blast together, as I'm sure you can see from the pictures. We ate a lot. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep either, haha. Elder Garrett has been almost exactly a year longer than I have. Throughout the day and the night leading up to midnight, we had the chance to talk to each other about what I just talked about above. I shared with him my hopes and dreams for this coming year, and he in turn shared with me his triumphs, decisions, and even regrets as his Consecrated Year came to a close. We toasted Martinelli's Sparkling Cider at 11:59, Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 to the past that we have learned from, and the future that holds its opportunities and experiences in store for us, and took them from our lips at 12:00, Thursday, January 1st, 2015. A song I stumbled across recently goes quite well with this subject. Check it out! https://www.lds.org/church/news/new-2015-mutual-theme-songs-videos-encourage-youth-to-serve?cid=HPMO122914592&lang=eng

On Thursday, we had Zone Meeting! It's always great to see everyone in the Bluefield zone. I was particularly happy to be able to see Elder Bingham, who's serving in our zone currently. He came out with me, and we had the opportunity to talk about how fast time has gone by. In Zone Meeting, we talked about a lot of things, but one thing in particular I liked was listening. We talked about truly listening to those people who are talking to us. I saw a MormonAd a few days ago that went along with it. It showed a man and a girl, presumably on a date, and the guy was only looking at his phone. His dessert lay untouched on the table, while the girl he was with waited for him to look up, her treat long since eaten. If I recall correctly, the subtitle said, "People deserve your attention, not just your presence." I thought that was awful poetic. It seems in this world, and I am not innocent by any means, we can get caught up in just being there. Sometimes we don't even realize it! We can be comfortable where we are, being around those we love, but those we love want our attention as well as our presence, and I think that they deserve it, too.

On Friday, we said good-bye to a less active woman who was moving. She left Wytheville with a bad taste in her mouth, on terms that were less than desirable. She was unfortunately leaving and divorcing her husband of five years. A lot of circumstances that we need not go into here went into her decision, and ultimately, the decision was her own. All we can do is pray for her and hope that her life will be peaceful and happy wherever she is. While we said goodbye though, and thinking about the situation after, I was struck with how different her life could have been. How much happiness could have been there. I was also struck with the blessings that I have been given in my life. The circumstances and opportunities that I have been given by The Lord. I realized how much the gospel and families are connected to each other. Something we tell our investigators in the first to lessons that we teach them, The Restoration and Plan of Salvation, is about families. We talk about how families are an integral part of this church. We talk about the blessings we get from uniting our family to the gospel. I realized that this church not only brings peace and knowledge to ourselves individually, but also peace to our spouses and children and parents and siblings and all others who we are close to. Due to mortality, our circumstances and decisions can sometimes result in consequences that "we had not forseen in happier times, and certainly had not wanted," but that is the glory and incredible promise of the church, isn't it? Our families can be blessed no matter what has happened in the past, but what can happen now, in the future, with our renewed commitment to Christ and our family.

I am so thankful for these members out here in Wytheville. On Saturdays, we have the chance to go to Sister B's house to eat dinner with her, her 23 year old son C., and The Gr's, a recent convert family. They recently returned from less-active status, and they invite us over every Saturday. I am thankful for people like them in this church who take care of us and love The Lord so much that they would sacrifice their time to have us over. I wonder if we could do the same thing as these awesome people do! 

I've been out 7 months now, as of yesterday. I am so thankful for the time I've had to serve and hope to serve for much longer and greater. I love you all! Thank you for being so supportive of me and your prayers in my behalf. They are needed, and they are felt. 

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

Virginia is beautiful

More Virginia

and more...

Our New Year's Eve stash. Mmmmmm

New Years would not be complete without Stratego!

Elder Johnson at his best. :)

Give me the camera!

One of the gifts from my mom. Her "homemade" calendar. 

:)

There's a what? Where?

All animals adore me. :)

Merry Chistmas and a Happy New Year

Monday, December 29, 2014

Hello Friends and Family! Happy New Christmas and Merry 2015 year! I hope your Christmas was amazing, with much focusing on Christ, and lots of love from friends and family. I know mine was!

So, starting off the week, Monday was a pretty fun day! Elder Larson and I are completely out of miles, as are the Hillsville missionaries, so we weren't able to get together and party like usual, so we had to chill out locally. I was able to meet a cool new person, Brother JB, an aged less-active who has a bunch of stories to tell. We chatted with him for a while and I got to hear some fun stories from his Korea days. It strikes me how much history can be found through these veterans. I hope we are asking and learning about these stories to write them down and keep them!

Tuesday I met some other less actives from the ward that we hadn't been previously able to see! We sat and chatted for a little while with them all. We have some good people in this ward, active or not!

Christmas Eve was a fun day! On Wednesdays (when we can), we go to the local genealogy center in town and do service for them. They have just moved to a new, cooler building and are still trying to get organized. We had been busy the past two wednesdays, so I previously hadn't been able to go. I was able to help them out with some inventory and get to know the volunteers who are there. It's cool to see that the spirit of Elijah works in all people, even if they aren't LDS. It just shows the time is coming! The hearts of the people are starting to turn to their ancestors!

Also on Wednesday, we were invited to a member family, the Pohligs, for Christmas Eve! They have a yearly tradition of having the missionaries over for Christmas Eve. We sang songs from the hymnbook, ate some delicious stuffed shells, corn, and cheesecake, played a few games of ping pong, and were given a stocking each with some goodies inside! What a family, right? Some good people right there.

CHRISTMAS! What a fun day it was! We started off being invited to lunch with The Studebaker family, out in Tim-buk-too NOWHERE. They live on the top of a taller hill, overlooking the rolling hills of Virginia. Man, do they have a view. I failed to get a picture (sorry mom), but just imagine rolling blue hills and miles and miles of trees. Our visit with them was cut short by their son calling, who is on his mission in Uruguay, but before he called we were able to share some stories and talk for a little bit.

Another member family, the Vannatters, let us skype over at their house! Woo hoo! Call numero uno is down! I loved talking to everyone who was there! Thank you all for your support and encouragement! I love you all! It was great to see you all.

The rest of the week went by slowly. Friday we went and saw an investigator named JE. We taught him The Restoration and set him on date to be baptized for Feb. 8! The dang guy is one of the best investigators ever. He is reading through the book of mormon right now, and everything he sees in there, he checks with the bible to make sure it doesn't contradict. He ALWAYS keeps his commitments, and really the only problem is understanding his broken and very very fast English. Hopefully he will make it! Make sure you are all praying for him! He has some big changes he needs to make, but we believe that he can make them.

Saturday was a fun day, we were able to teach SA, who unfortunately wasn't baptized yesterday. We still have to teach her a lot of things. The lesson went alright. We had dinner with Sister B, C, and G (awesome RC couple) also on Saturday! They aren't the wealthiest people in the world, but they love the missionaries so much that they feed them every Saturday. How awesome is that?

Ended the day with the regular Saturday basketball! Unfortunately no one showed up this time, but it was still good exercise!

Sunday with Brother Whisman is always a good day! Church was awesome, as it usually is, and we were able to go see a whole bunch of people with Brother Whisman. He basically just a referral machine. A big, awesome, funny, great, referral machine. If he remembers someone from his past, boom, missionaries, go see them. So cool. What a guy!

That was my week, I hope you all had a great one as well! Have a very Merry New Year (Or is it Happy?) and I will talk to you all next week!

Love,
Elder Brax Johnson

No pictures this week. The computer crashed each time. Maybe next week!