Transfers and New Missionaries!

Hello friends, family, one and all! I hope you are all doing super well and having a fantastic week! I hope your Sunday was amazing too!

Well, lets jump into the week! 

For Pday last week on Wednesday, after emailing all we did was hang out at the Institute building with some of the other missionaries in the area and play Ping-pong and board games. It was a blast! Just took it easy. Taking it easy is good every once in a while, you know?

Wednesday night was CRAZY! We needed a trailer to attach to the van that was taking us to Roanoke, where the big van would be, but we couldn't find a trailer! The trailer that we usually use was out of commission, so it was a mad rush to find a trailer that we could use. After being up later than I wanted to be up (believe me) we finally located a trailer in Lexington! Thank goodness for miracles! After coming back to the apartment, I was up really late getting everything ready for the big day tomorrow!

Thursday was a lot of fun! Because our ENTIRE district was either getting transferred, going home, or training, which means they were going to Charleston to pick up their trainee! So, it was just me that would be staying in BV, but that wouldn't work, because I needed a companion! So I had the awesome opportunity to go to Roanoke and spend the day there with Elder Millard, the Zone Leader there, and Elder Steed, an awesome missionary and one of the hardest workers I've ever met! Roanoke was AWESOME. It's the biggest city in our mission, so it was crazy to walk down the streets of downtown. You all have to understand, I haven't been in a downtown with a population of over 20,000 people in over 14 months. It was a little bit of a culture shock to me! I can't imagine what it will be like to see Utah again! Utah is just basically one big city (in Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah counties anyway, haha). We did have a lot of fun though! A former-less-active-turned-active named C. took us out to a whole bunch of areas. He's a really awesome and cool guy. Unfortunately, we were stuck in a traffic jam for an hour and a half! It was insane. We were going crazy. We thought about getting out of the car and contacting people in the standstill, but we decided that may not have been the best image for people when they think of missionaries, haha, so we decided against it.

Everyone coming from Charleston arrived in Roanoke about 6 that evening, and we all loaded up and headed to BV! I got to meet all my fantastic new missionaries in my zone. I was just so excited that whole time! Shoutout to Dad! Sister Ford, the new trainee in Lexington, is from Eagle Mountain! Apparently, as she told me, it has gotten a little bigger since I've been there! That is awesome. I'm excited to see it someday!

Friday wasn't a super big proselyting day, we were Weekly Planning, talking to our district leaders, and taking Elder Brenchley and the brand new YSA elders, Elder French and Tannell, shopping so they didn't starve! 

Saturday was really fun. We had the chance to go down to Forest, VA, near Lynchburg, to train Elder Walker on his new duties as a District Leader! I've known Elder Walker since he came out on his mission, back when I was in Wytheville. Now he's been out 7 1/2 months! How time does fly. He is going to be a fantastic district leader and I am really excited to be working with him.

Saturday night we were also able to teach B. and D.! They have recuperated from their run in with unfavorable material, and are doing really well! We are excited for their progression and seeing the changes that they are making. I am really blessed to be able to know them and their awesome personalities. We had a great lesson on the Plan of Salvation with them, and I think they really believe. They are still studying and praying about the Book of Mormon, so if their health will let them get to church, it will be no time before they become members!

Sunday was a special day! It always is. Church was great! Elder Brenchley was able to bear his testimony on the power of this work and his witness of the gospel! We talked to a lot of ward members, introducing him, and it just reminded me how absolutely amazing this ward is. How lucky we are that we get to serve here among all these awesome people! 

That night we got to teach a man named C.! Elder Numbers and I found C. one day while we were going to an investigators house. We was sitting on the porch, talking to the investigator, so we started talking to both of them, and invited C. to learn about the gospel! We gave him a Book of Mormon and Restoration Pamphlet, and then we were on our way. Lame missionaries we were, we didn't get his address or his phone number, so we lost contact with him! Through some awesome miracles, we were able to find out the general location of his house and started knocking (this is now Elder Numbers' last week). First house we try, we found him! It was great! A week later (yesterday), Elder Brenchley and I go over there and teach him an awesome Restoration lesson. He doesn't fully comprehend it all, his beliefs are pretty ingrained, but he does have a strong faith in Christ, and that's all we need to build off and help him see the light of the gospel.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I sure do love every single one of you, and I hope you make this week the best week ever! Stay strong, remember that the gospel is true, above all else! 

Love,

Elder Brax Johnson

Best Photo Ever!