First Week of the New Transfer!

Hello family and friends!

This week has been great! Let's jump into the highlights:

On Thursday, I took Elder Garrett up to Princeton to meet the van that would take him to transfers. It was really hard to say goodbye to him. Over the last 6 months, he's become a dear friend, and I am really grateful to have had the chance to know him. He's a great guy. Good luck in whatever you choose to do Z!

Elder Sawyer is here! It is really weird to have him back around me. I haven't seen him for forever! He is still the great, big teddy bear that I remember, and he is ready to work hard and turn Hillsville into a thriving center of the church! I know that he can! They had an amazing week this week, which is already showing the fruits of their commitment. 

That night we had dinner at the V.'s house! Brother V. likes to take the missionaries out after we eat dinner with him, and so he took us to see a few people!

The first was a man named T. He had met with missionaries in the past, and adores the church. He's an older man, [who watches] religious things on TV. He's watched a ton of the BYU channel, and when we went over there, he basically taught us about the Restoration! He taught things that I didn't even know! How crazy is that? He is an awesome guy. We gave him CDs from last General Conference, and told him we'd be back in a couple weeks to see what he learned and how he liked them. I'll bet he'll have some more insights for us!

We also went and saw a man that I had never met before, R. He's a member of the church that hasn't been to church in YEARS, but still likes us. He had a really energetic dog that absolutely loved to play fetch. It was kinda funny. If you didn't pick up the object, she would start to nudge it with her nose or bark at you. Silly dog. It was funny.

Friday morning was pretty fun! There was a wedding at the church for two new move ins to the ward in the other elder's area. We got invited, and so we got to see them exchange vows, drop the ring, take pictures, etc. It was great! I wish them a long life of happiness together. :)

We also got invited to a Mennonite dinner on Friday, so we went! I had never really been around Mennonite's before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. But man, if there is anything I know, it's that they can COOK! That food was so good. I wanted a crockpot full of it. It was awesome!

Friday night was really cool. Elder F. was ordained and elder and set apart as a missionary, and we were able to see it happen! We even got to participate! How cool is that? So cool! He is a great young man, and I wish him the best as he goes and serves! He will be great. Good luck Elder F.!

Saturday we had a really cool experience. Brother M. (a less active in the ward) had his mom, sister, and daughter out from Utah for the week, and they invited us, and J.'s (Bro. M.'s girlfriend) whole family over for a party of sorts! It was awesome! With 20 or 30 people there, Bro. M. goes and gets 40 or 50 balloons for this party. He gives us each a few balloons and has us right a prayer on them. We all gathered around in the field in a circle, holding on to our balloons, sung a song, had a prayer, and released the balloons up to heaven. Total Light of Christ meeting. The Spirit was strong. It was awesome. 

Sunday was a great day, as usual! Unfortunately, no one came to Sacrament meeting, which was a real bummer. We were pretty disappointed. We did have a few people say they would come next week though! Doubling up our faith and hoping they come!

Yesterday, for Pday, we hung out with the Hillsville elders most of the day. Played some tennis, cards, made some homemade donuts, etc. Really just took it easy for a while. It was nice. After pday ended, we went to see the K.'s! Hadn't seen them for a bit, so we caught up and talked for a while. It was a nice end to an easy day.

Thank you all so much for your support! I am the man I am today because of all the great people in my life. I love you all, and make this week the best week ever!

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

Elder Garrett's cake. :)

Our last hurrah with Elder Garrett!

Elder Bean and the very mobile kitten.

That's Elder Bingham in there. Can you see him?

Saying goodbye to my good friend Elder Garrett!

Mom said to eat healthy. :)

My amazing turtle shell!

Elder F., on his way to serve!

The great Elder Bean!

Released balloons at our prayer meeting.

Homemade donuts. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM....

Seriously. How big is the chicken?

Transfer Week! and "Love on Them" :)

Hello friends and family! I left my planner at home again (I do that a lot apparently) so I don't have too much to write this week. My memory isn't the best, haha!

The big news of the week: I am staying for a 5th transfer in Wytheville! I am finishing Elder Bean's training up and then I'm guessing I will be leaving. It will be time though. I'll have spent almost a third of my mission here! Good thing I LOVE this place!

Last Tuesday (8 days ago) we had Zone Conference with President and Sister Salisbury, and the Assistants! I took a lot of notes! We separated at one point for a bit, the sisters with Sister Salisbury and the elders with President, and we had kind of a "man talk." It was really funny to see how awkward some people still are with having that conversation. It needed to be said though!

I went on exchanges to Hillsville with Elder Tebbs that day! His new companion, coming tomorrow, is Elder Sawyer, my old companion! They are going to work until they drop, I know it! It will explode! I can feel it. Elder Tebbs and Elder Sawyer are awesome elders. I will miss Elder Garrett! Oh - AND! Sisters are returning to Hillville! Yes! They are the greatest missionaries!

On Thursday I remember we went to the Food Kitchen again! We had literally just enough for everyone to eat and all the volunteers to eat a little bit too. It was a loaves and fishes miracle, I swear, because it did NOT look like we were going to have enough! I love all the people that come down there. It's a testimony builder to me that we are all God's children, and some people might not be "normal" in the eyes of the world, but I know that God loves them just the same. It reminds me of the quote I heard once, "In the Kingdom of God, there are no Second Class Citizens."

On Sunday, D. was confirmed! I got to stand in the circle, and it was an amazing experience! He now has the Holy Ghost with him, and boy has it been teaching him these past couple days! He is devouring the Book of Mormon! In only two months of reading, he is already done with 2 Nephi! 

We had a great time after church with Brother Wh. too! We got the chance to go see R. and M. again, investigators who we've been seeing for quite a while now. They feel a bit judged at their church, and R. is a mountain man, so they really don't like going there. They love Brother Wh. and us though, and so we committed them to come to our church on Sunday and see how they like it! We feel that everyone is going to "love on them" (Virginian expression) and make them feel right at home. It will be great!

We also, later that night, went over to the F.'s house! A., their son, is leaving on a church service mission to Palmyra on Saturday, and so they threw a going away party for him. It was awesome! Tons of members came to give him their wishes. He'll be a great missionary! On his mission he gets to work in the TEMPLE one day a week. Boo. I don't get to do that! Lucky son of a gun. :P

Those are really the highlights of the week that I can remember. Thank you all for your support of me and for reading this really long letter. Have a great week, and make it the best one ever!

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

The pictures below are to show you how beautiful Virginia is. Love me some Virginia sunsets and rainstorms! Enjoy!

Selfie for Mom!

Dramatic photo of a barn. :)

Baptism, Mother's Day Call, and Turtles

Hello family and friends (for all of you reading this fall into one of these categories)! I hope you're week was as amazing as mine was!

So, I left my planner at home, so I don't have any notes on me. I'll do my best to remember some other highlights of the week, but bear with me!

For P-day last week we went spelunking again! It's probably the last time we will go, because the cave was SO WET. Just completely soaked from all the rain. It was really fun to show Elder Bean and Tebbs around though! Lots of fun memories inside that cave. We've had a good time for a couple P-days!

Wednesday morning was District Meeting! We did a review of what we learned in Zone Meeting, which was the Friday before. It was a fun meeting! We got to be outside and smell the fresh air and get all sorts of allergies. Woo hoo! 

After District Meeting, Elder Garrett and I went on another exchange! He is great! I love Elder Garrett. During our time in Hillsville together, we participated in a street meeting thing called National Day of Prayer! A whole bunch of people gathered around the old courthouse in Hillsville and we all bowed our heads while ministers from various different churches came and prayed for specific people/things. Military, First responders, families, the nation, etc. It was awesome to see all different denominations come together to offer up a prayer to our Father In Heaven.

Can't really remember up until the weekend.... darn.

Sunday was a FANTASTIC DAY. Probably one of the best days you can have. It started off with a great church meeting, and we had a baptism! D. was baptized yesterday. It's so amazing to me to see and ponder about the 46 years that The Lord has been preparing him for those 10 seconds. We don't make a lot of fanfare about the baptismal ordinance. It's a very sacred, personal time of making covenants with our Father in Heaven. Those 10 seconds and a willing heart are all it takes to change a life. Maybe I should write a book on baptism called "The 10 Seconds" or "The Most Important 10 Seconds" or something like that. I bet it'd be a bestseller!

Anyway! I'm so proud to have had the chance to talk and teach D. over these last 5 months. I'm so grateful to The Lord for giving me this opportunity! He really is prepared. I think he will do amazing things in the church. I'm excited to see where his life will take him now! I'm so proud to call him my friend, and especially my brother in the Lord.

After Church, the V. family asked us to come and share their lunch with them! They also so generously offered the use of their home to let us call our family. We had a great time with them! Ate a lot of pizza, made some funky Ice Cream with a Yonana machine (I don't really understand either) and laughed a lot. I love that family! 

The Skype call was AMAZING! SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM! Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you all for your love and support of me. If there is anything a mission has taught me, it's how much I love and appreciate my family and friends. So whether I talked to you last night or not, thank you for your love and support!

This morning we were with the V. family AGAIN! Brother V. took us to his Brother in law's pond to go turtle hunting! Apparently Snapping Turtles are a vermin out here that eat all the fish and the owners want them GONE. So now there are less turtles in there than there were this morning! :D Kyle is getting his present after all! :P

Thank you again for all your support! I know this work is part of our Father in Heaven's plan! I know The Church of Jesus Christ is Christ's church again restored on the Earth, and I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Have an amazing week everyone! Make it the best ever!

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

A Pineapple, Crystal Hunting, "Again", and Exchanges!

Hello friends and family!

I hope you all are well on this fine day! We had another exciting and awesome week! Let's jump into it! 

Monday morning we got a call, right before we're about to leave for emailing. Our Relief Society President calls us and tells us that we're her last resort for helping with the Food Kitchen that morning, because everyone else she called couldn't come, and the person who was supposed to come couldn't either. Being eager to help the ward members in any way we can, we readily accepted! It was awesome! We got to meet a whole bunch of new people that don't usually work the Thursdays that we work at the Food Kitchen, and got to talk about the gospel with them and introduce ourselves. It was awesome.

Later we spent the day with R! He had told us about a cool rock quarry on his property in the northern part of the county. We headed up there with him after he got off from work with the intent to find some diamond looking crystals he had told us about! How fun, right? Unfortunately our crystal count was a goose-egg, but now we know where they are! We'll get rich yet!

Tuesday was interesting. We had planned to go see H. at her office (as usual on Tuesdays), so we headed over there after lunch! Lo and behold, her car wasn't there. Usually in that situation we would just go to our backup, but for whatever reason I just started driving toward her house. As fate would have it, there is her car, sitting in her driveway. We go up to the door, she lets us in, and we just talked. She had been having some rough experiences the past couple days, so we just opened up the scriptures and had a great conversation. It's amazing how the Lord knows everyone's situation and what they need at that time. She's such a strong and awesome woman.

That night we stopped by D. and D.'s house for the last appointment! His baptism is coming up, and his baptismal interview was on Friday (see later in the letter), so we were really just getting him prepared for the interview and baptism in general. He did great, as he always does, and even taught us a little bit. Can somebody say "elect"? I can. :D

The highlight of Wednesday was seeing R. (again). It was his 56th birthday, and we wanted to make it special. We didn't want to get him anything sugary to make his blood sugar rise. But we didn't want it to be boring either ("Here's a carrot!" Yeah, thanks a lot.) So we pondered a little bit, and bought him a pineapple! He said it was the first pineapple he'd ever gotten as a birthday present. How awesome, right? Pineapples make surprisingly good substitutes for birthday cakes. 

Thursday things picked up again, starting off with the Food Kitchen (yeah, again)! It was great, as it always is. Had a great conversation about missionaries with a couple people there, and I think that some of them are honestly interested! That's what service is all about. Helping people and getting your name out there to find these sons and daughters of God. 

We saw D. and D. AGAIN (Lots of 'agains' in this letter). This time was the review of everything we had taught. We went through the baptismal interview questions and quickly reviewed the lessons. He passed with flying colors, and was all ready for Friday!

Speaking of Friday! That morning we had Zone Meeting up in Bluefield! What a fun time. We learned a lot, taught a lot, and had a lot of fun! I love our zone. Nicknamed "Bluefield zion" it really does seem like the promised land. Funnily enough, the Bluefield Zone is entirely elders. Not a sister in sight! I'm still a little bitter about that, so we'll end this paragraph before I rant any more.

Zone Leader exchanges were on Friday as well! Elder Bean went up to Princeton with Elder Bingham and Elder Labrum (Who is staying with them due to some unfortunate circumstances), and Elder Trujillo and I partied down in Wytheville! Elder Trujillo is from Fruit Heights, Utah, and came out on his mission with Elder Larson! (A long, long time ago) He is a great guy.

One of the first things we did was D.'s interview! He passed with flying colors, and now Elder Trujillo is as excited as we are for his baptism. May 10, 2015. Mother's Day! Save the date! What an amazing day it will be.

Skip to Sunday! After an awesome fast and testimony meeting (and the rest of it of course), we headed out with Brother Wh.! Our first stop was to C.'s trailer, where he, S., J., and J.'s boyfriend G. had gathered! (Along with J. and G.'s little newborn E., can't forget him) We had a good lesson with them, and answered some gospel questions, and joked around for a little bit. I also took some good-natured abuse from everyone for saying a prayer and "rushing us out" as Brother Wh. jokingly said. Sometimes we stay too long at people's houses that we are supposed to when we are out with Brother Wh., and so to make our time most effective, I've been trying to keep us a little more on track. I learned that by doing so I get a little resistance. Oh well. Being a missionary never was supposed to be easy!

After them, we went and saw B., who I hadn't seen in ages! Brother Wh. and I both agree that B. will eventually join the church, once "the lightbulb goes off in his headed." He's just scared right now. Too many hours spent watching Sister Wives. One day though! We'll watch and pray and wait for it.

We ended the day at D. and D.'s (the last again). They fed us an awesome dinner of Salmon Cakes, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Cheesy Broccoli! A true Southern dish. What I love most about D. and D. is how naturally the conversation flows to the gospel. It just happens, without any pushing on our part! We had a fun conversation with them about early Church History and stories from that era. I think all 5 of us (D., D., Wh., Elder Bean, and I) went away learning something new. I love this church and all its history. No matter what nay sayers and anti-seekers say, this church will always stand, unmarred by its Iscariots. 

Didn't mean to start sermonizing! It happens more and more the longer I'm out, haha.

Well, today marks 11 months down! The time moves too fast. This time next year I'll be packing up. I want you all to know how much this mission means to me, and how grateful I am to the Lord for choosing me to be a laborer. I'm serving with all my heart, might, mind and strength, and I know that because of faith, I am seeing these miracles.

I love you all! Make this week the best week ever! Have a great Mother's day next week!

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

The Quarry!

Not a crystal, but still fun!

The rolling hills of Virginia.

A pineapple present for one of my favorite people!

Happy Birthday R.!

The mower man.

The front!

The back (for Emmers!)