Kia Ora Whanau!

How are you guys?  Good to hear from you!  Sorry I didn't give you a heads up last week that I wouldn't be able to email yesterday.  I didn't know until the next day, but all good, I'm glad you're not mad at me!  I'm glad you guys are all looking forward to Thanksgiving this week.  I'm jealous, they don't celebrate it here :-( NOOOO!  I miss Shannon and her family, you'll have to send them my aroha (love).




Eating lunch at President's Table at Zone Conference (far left table--third over from left)

 

Whangarei and Kaikohe Zone Conference November 25, 2013 Elder Johnson 3rd from left on back row

So this week was pretty difficult.  Rani, our investigator isn't progressing really at all, we're going to drop her for the time being and focus on some other people.  I've been kind of discouraged lately.  I feel like I'm doing something wrong because we haven't had any success yet, I'm being obedient and everything so I don't know!  Thursday was transfers and I was pretty sad Elder McKeown left.  We were bro's and the Ward's favorite missionaries ha ha (they told us all the time).  I was just being a baby! I was a little stressed about training a missionary who didn't know English.  I rode back from Auckland with Elder Kapatini and Elder Jenson, some of my buds and my comp is really shy and didn't say anything, which is expected.  I would be the same way if I was in his situation.  I felt for him and just started telling him, hey bro--you don't needa be nervous man!  I will help you and I will teach you!  He smiled and said Ok--ha ha, good guy!  So I kinda relaxed and I wasn't worried anymore.  He's the man!  It was so funny--we all went to Burger King and they don't have fast food or restaurants where he lives.  He just lived off of fish and rice!  Anyways, you should have seen his face when he had a burger and Mt. Dew for the first time.....ha ha ha funny as!



Kids from the ward--they yell Elder Hone Hana and then ambush him

Luckily, we have a recent convert named Mary.  She is from the same place as him (Kiribati Island) so she makes him feel at home by making him his native food and speaking in their language together ha ha which means I just sit there and laugh when they laugh!  He is doing so well though.  His English is good, he's just too shy to speak because he doesn't want to sound dumb!  So we gotta get him comfortable aye!  We're hoping to have two new sets by the end of the week so pray for us!

Elder Johnson, Elder Benetito and Mary

I had a cool experience the other night.  We were at Ray and Elliot's.  They are brothers.  Ray is 23 and Elliot is 20.  They are seriously awesome.  They take good care of us.  Anyways, we were up there helping Ray with his lesson that he was teaching for the YSA FHE and I noticed something was wrong with Elliot.  He just walked out of the lounge and went to his room.  Ray said that he's really worried about him, so I went and asked if he was all sweet and he just broke down and started crying.  Now he is huge---like 240 lbs ha and he was hugging me!  Just a big ol' teddy bear, but he was struggling lately with Church.  He's been hanging with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble.  He just cried and said God sent him to me to help him, it was pretty cool.  In the Maori culture when they do the Haungi (press noses with you) you're like their brother ha so that was cool!!!  I gave him a blessing and it was so cool.  I will be seeing him later today so I hope he's all good!

Elder Johnson, Sister Ruka (a Grandma to them) Elder McKeown

Ngaronoa--Elder Johnson taught her with Elder Tauialo on exchanges--she was baptized on Saturday, November 23, 2013

 

I'm excited for this week, I plan to work as hard as I ever have because we really need new people to teach and some souls saved.  So I'm looking forward to it!!  I hope all is well back home!  I love you and miss you all so, so much!  Have a good day!

Love,
Elder Johnson