Week 104 - July 18, 2016

Family,

The time is closing and there are so many blessings being poured out from upon the Heavens.

I am most grateful to God, my Father and His Son Jesus Christ, for the infinite amount of blessings and miracles that have been given to me throughout these last two years of my service. 

I have learned more than I could have ever imagined and I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me in my life, especially to my family.  I love my family.  I feel your presence oft, and I know that throughout these years we have been far in person but closer than ever in our gospel progression! 

I have learned many things throughout these two years. 

I have learned that our potential is infinite and that the only thing stopping us from succeeding to heights we want to reach are our own thoughts and the temptations of the adversary. 

We must have a Believing Heart to reach our potential and become all that God would have us be.

This last week was busy and we were able to see so many miracles.

One of which is that one of my old investigators in Onyang has decided to be baptized on the 31st of July when the family is here!  How special that will be!

The lesson was incredible and the Spirit was so strong!

Mosiah 2:41 changed his life as we were teaching him!  

 

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

 

 

We felt prompted to share it and he spoke of wanting to accept the "Never Ending Happiness," and we commited him to follow the Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized!  He accepted!

This was a huge miracle!

The first time I met this man, Brother Jo, he told me in broken English, "I will be the hardest person to convert on your mission."

He has accepted to be baptized on July 31, 2016! 

He kept commitments very well and it has lead him to conversion to the Savior!

I love you all. 

Be safe.

Follow the Spirit in all things!

I love my mission and am so grateful for all the support.

Love,

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

PACE

Weeks 101, 102, and 103 - July 11, 2016

Family!

I love you.  I feel your love.  I feel your prayers and I am so grateful for so many incredible people in my life.  I appreciate your support and I look forward to seeing you all in a short few weeks!

I love the land of Korea. 

Throughout these last few weeks I have developed a love for the people more than I ever have on my mission.  Of course, throughout my mission I have loved these people with all my heart, but as it comes down to the end of my service, I have gained a special love that will remain in my soul for an eternity. 

It's a blessing.  I am truly grateful.

I have been learning a lot about the Lord's timing and His will.  I have also learned much about the characteristics of Love and Gratitude. 

Love is the very Essence of the Gospel.  The Prophet declared it!

The most important, most essential thing in missionary work is love.  Without it, we can't fully experience the fullness of the blessings that come from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

I have learned recently, as well, that love is a two-way thing.  In order for investigators to progress towards baptism, they must love us and we must love them.  It creates a special love.  The love of God.  Most investigators have one hour of the week to meet with us, the Lord's representatives.  The absolute most important thing in that one hour of the week is to feel of the Spirit testify of the truth and love that comes from this message. 

I have been recently praying for what it is that I need to do before I return, and I received my answer throughout this last week at the meeting in Daejeon where we met our new Mission President, President Madsen, and I also received a confirmation as I knelt down  and prayed.  It was, "All must know that they are a Child of God."   At the meeting, each foreign missionary stood up and sang the first verse of, "I Am a Child of God," in their language.  We then finished all together with all the missionaries in English, then Korean.  The Spirit was super strong and we all felt the truth of the words.

This week our recent convert, Brother Kim Yung Ho, received the Aaronic Priesthood and his mother came out to all three meetings of church!  (She is not a member but is quite interested in our church)  He is the best!  He is 16 and just such a funny kid.  We play soccer together on Saturdays.  He is changing through the gospel and it is going to give him an eternal prospective throughout his life!

I love you!

Thanks again for all the prayers!

Be safe and jump on Ship ZION!

Love, Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

PACE

Week 100 - June 20, 2016

Family!

This week was soooo crazy!

Elder Brown and I have been "out of our minds" busy!

This last week we moved from Cheonan back to Onyang and we had to get everything out of the house in like 5 hours.  We boxed up everything and literally had to take everything down the elevator, load it on to a truck, and then we drove with the moving guy to Onyang and Elder Brown and I unloaded everything..

Onyang has no elevator in its apartment so we had to carry everything up the stairs to the 4th floor!  We literally almost died!

It went really well, and now we are all situated in and the house is SPOTLESS.  We spent four hours cleaning it today and it looks super good!

We also went to Daejeon this week for MLC.  It went really well! 

Elder Brown and I moved so we weren't quite sure what time the bus left, so we woke up in the morning, called the terminal and they said the bus left at 6:40 am..... it was 6:32 am and we live 10 minutes away from the terminal by taxi!  We sprinted out the door.  Got in a taxi and he went full speed to the terminal!  As we got to the terminal, the bus was leaving the parking lot. 

It started heading down the street and we took off running as fast as I have ever run!  We made eye contact with the bus driver and miraculously he stopped and let us in!  Bus drivers are super strict, but this man was a very nice and humble man who let us ride his bus!  It was a miracle!  I was dripping with sweat and couldn't breathe!  Haha

Sister Hwang received baptism!

Our baptism yesterday was incredibly spiritual.  Elder Brown and I, as well as the Sister missionaries sang, "I am a Child of God" at the baptismal service.  The Spirit was stronger than ever. 

I felt the truthfulness of the lyrics.

(Elder Johnson stated:  Brother Kim Dam Yoon's family!  They are the greatest people!)

After the baptism, Elder Brown and I gave our member, Kim Dam Yoon, a hug and he started to cry.  Tears filled his eyes with happiness and joy!  We, through the Lord's help accomplished a big dream of his.  Sister Hwang is special and Brother Kim's family is changing my life!  Such good people and examples!

I saw Jake Westbrook this last week.

It was a great experience.  He is a stud and yes, he can speak Korean very well!

I love you so much.  Stay safe and follow Him in all you do. 

He will lead you!

Have the greatest week!

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

PACE

Week 99 - June 12, 2016

Family,

Indeed again, it was a Glorious week.

Soooo much has happened and things are moving a million miles an hour.

So much good is happening, and I am grateful for all the fasting and prayers on my behalf.

I dont have much time this week but yesterday at church we had 2 new investigators out!

They are so great!

One of them is sooo prepared.

We met with him once this last week after Elder Brown followed a prompting to call him.

As we were meeting with him (for the first time), he all of a sudden expressed his desire to be baptized and to come to church.  He picked up the Book of Mormon and started telling us we needed to read somewhere in it.  We opened to 2 Nephi 31 and began to read!  Next thing we know... We were inviting him to be baptized on July 3rd!  He accepted.. Turned around and circled a big mark around that day on his calendar!  I couldn't believe it!  Elder Brown and I were stunned!

He is such a great man!  His name is Choi Byung Chore.

Choi Sang Oon's baptism was probably one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission.

Such a humble 18 year old kid who wants to follow the Savior and His gospel.

I love him and am blessed to be able to have met such a good kid on my mission!

The Spirit throughout the baptismal service was so strong!

I love you!

Have a great week!  You are in my prayers!

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

PACE

My boy Connor is home this week!  I can't believe it!

SPECIAL PICTURE SENT TO ELDER JOHNSON'S FAMILY:

A good friend of Elder Johnson's mother sent this picture to his family.  The friend's son served in Seoul.  He is there now on an internship with Kia.  Elder Johnson baptized the aunt of his investigator, and so they saw each other.  This was such a happy occasion. 

 

Week 98 - June 5, 2016

My Family.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the countless fasts and prayers on my behalf.

I really appreciate it.  I can feel your love and and I am very grateful. 

This week was again very bright!

Lots happened. 

Our investigator, Sister Moon Jung Sook was baptized. 

The baptismal service was very special.  The Spirit was so strong and we were able to have a lot of investigators out to the baptismal service. 

 

 

We, missionaries, sang "Lead Kindly Light."  It was a great song and the members felt the Spirit so strongly as well. 

When I entered the font with Sister Moon, I closed my eyes and said the prayer.  After she was fully immersed in the water and came directly out, like her, I too, felt reborn again.  I felt cleansed from sin and I felt the Spirit of the Lord testify of the importance of baptism and of this message.  It was a great experience and one to remember. 

We, also, were able to set a baptismal date with our investigator Sister Hwang Su Yun.

During our lesson, we could see that something was on her mind and she seemed kind of frustrated and a little down, so in the middle of the lesson our member stood up, grabbed four hymn books and turned to, "I am a Child of God."  We all sang the song together and it brought the Spirit into the room!  We bore testimony to her that yes indeed, even if she doesn't know it yet, she is a "Child of God."  We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. He loves us and knows us. 

The lesson before that, we met with another one of our investigators named Choi Sang Oon and he is such a stud!  The most humble 18 year old I have ever met.  He is solid and his desire to learn the gospel at age 18 is truly inspiring!  He participates in church and will be baptized this coming week!

Pray that all goes well!

I love you all.  Hope all is well.

Be safe and follow the Spirit in all things.  Create Environments for the Spirit to dwell with you.

Love you!

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson.

Elder Browns and my revelation for this last week was:  Pride Prohibits Progression.

PACE

Week 97 - May 30, 2016

Family,

This week was incredible.  So many miracles and so many cool experiences that I will remember for an eternity.

First of all, Shout out to my little brother Big LUKE J.  Happy Birthday you, stud.  I am looking forward more and more to seeing you and how much you have changed!  I can't believe how tall and big you look!  You're gonna be bigger than me!  I hope you had a great day!  I love you. 

I guess I will start this letter off with an amazing experience that Elder Brown and I had with one of our members, early on this week on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, Elder Brown and I planned to go visit one of our investigators named Wang Su Yun that lives out by our member in the Country side.  It is about one hour from our house which is pretty far and so we have to take a bus for a while, which is fine, but just takes some time to get there and back.

(Wang Su Yun works at our member's restaurant where they prepare food for 300 people. She is the head cook and is seriously incredible.  Her smile is the greatest thing in the world and she is always so happy.  She has such a pure heart and is the most prepared person I have seen on my mission.  We are teaching her with our member every week and things are going really great!)

After we got off the bus, Elder Brown and I were just getting ready to pray when our member Brother Kim Dam Yoon came and passed us in his car.  He told us to get in and that she wasn't yet ready to do a lesson because she wasn't finished cooking for all the people. 

So he told us he was going to drive us to the very top of the highest mountain (next to his house which was only like 10 minutes to get to the top.. But it was super high) and that we would say a prayer and consecrate all of Cheonan.

As we go to the top of the big mountain, all three of us knelt down and we each said a prayer to consecrate every area in the Cheonan Zone (we could almost see every area in our Zone.  Our Zone is really big too!..)

The Spirit was so strong.  Elder Brown and I both prayed and our member Kim Dam Yoon said a very humble prayer as well.  It was such a cool experience. 

(Elder Johnson stated:  "The man in the red shirt above is 'the man.'  He is our dad here in Korea and is incredible!"  He is the brother who took the missionaries to the highest mountain and whose name is Brother Kim Dam Yoon.)

The Zone is doing better than it ever has!  We have 10 baptismal dates which is HUGE. Normally at one time we have about two to four.  So these are huge miracles. 

The baptismal service went really well. The Spirit filled the room with love and many members went out of their way to make it a great experience for 김용호 형제님.

His mother and younger brother made it out to the baptismal service and we have a great relationship with them, so we will continue looking for ways to teach them of the Restored Gospel.  I have a good feeling about the younger brother, but I feel as if the Mother will need some more time. 

Another quick miracle.
This was super cool!

Elder Brown and I just finished eating and we felt like we needed to go behind the building a pray.

As we prayed, we asked Heavenly Father to lead us and guide us and especially help us to remain focused for the rest of the night and to find His prepared children.

As we got done praying, we were walking and out of nowhere I had this feeling that we needed to hurry and go over to the train station area (which was completely the opposite way of where we were going.  As we went over that way, we got rejected a whole bunch. We started to ask each other why we came over this way.... After about five more minutes, this girl passed by and we said hello to her.  She started speaking really good English and started singing, "Count Your Blessings."   We asked her where she learned and she said that she went to Utah State on an exchange student trip!  She said she roomed with all return Mormon sister missionaries and she went to church and met with the missionaries.  She also told us that she had planned to be baptized but ended up not making the commitment.

Long story short, she wouldn't accept our message but was very respectful.  I learned again a powerful lesson.

The Lord will always lead you to His prepared people and well give you what we need to say, but because everyone has their own personal agency He will not accept the message for them.  He will give them the opportunity and chance but will not accept it for them. 

The Lord will always lead us to His prepared people!  

The next person we ran into after talking to that girl was our investigator who will be baptized in two weeks.  SOOOO many miracles!

(Elder Johnson reported:  "This is our other investigator Wang Su Yun.  She is the most pure investigator I have had on my mission.  I love her so much, and she is changing my life.  She was a referral from Kim Dam Yoon.)

(Elder Johnson:  "Our investigator who is getting baptized soon (Moon Jung Sook's son.)

Be safe! 

I love you!

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

PACE

Week 96 - May 23, 2016

Family.

What up?

This week was sooo Glorious. 

I want to begin by saying that I am truly grateful for my personal membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints.  I am grateful to belong and to represent the Restored Gospel. It's true.  I know it. 

This week we had Zone Conference and it turned out very well.  There were a lot of good things said and we all learned a lot.  In our mission right now, we are focusing a lot on "Find Teach and Baptize" and so we are constantly talking and thinking about how we can be more effective in these three areas.  The topic of the meeting was on these three things and I was able to share a few things about "Fear and Finding."  In other words, "Opening Our Mouth to Everyone." 

A thought came to me as I was preparing. 

It was this:  Every time we fear, we are thinking of our personal self.  And often times when we fear, we often start our thought or our words with "I," which in some situations can be classified by  Pride.  And the source of pride comes from the devil, so if we focus on the Savior and OTHERS, then all of a sudden we notice that we have no fear within us.

Recently as Elder Brown and I have been focusing on others, we have been able to receive more guidance from the Holy Ghost.  

Elder Brown and I have been able to set three baptismal dates this week.  HUGE MIRACLES!

One was a from a miracle 전도 about two weeks ago after District Meeting. Her name is Sister Moon Jung Sook.  She has come to church two times and 김수경 자매님 has done an amazing job at fellowshipping her. 

Every lesson we have taught has been with her and she has provided all the things that our investigator needs.  The lessons have been packed with the Spirit and after church yesterday, we went to Sister Kim's house and during the lesson Elder Brown and I felt really inspired to ask her to be baptized.  As Sister Kim was bearing her testimony, I looked over at Elder Brown and said, "We are going to invite her to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized." Then next thing we knew was that she was accepting our invitation to be baptized on June 5th.  The Spirit was so strong and Elder Brown, Sister Kim, and I were all very happy.

It was a great day and an experience I will always remember.

Our other investigator we met this week for the first time, we got a baptismal date in our first meeting.  I have never been able to do this on my mission!  The Spirit was so strong and his desire to follow Christ is huge.  He is my little brother, 18 years old and just such a stud!  He said straight to us that our meeting was "Glorious!" and he said he had the chills when we were showing him the baptismal font. 

We had four investigators out at church yesterday which was also Huge!!

The Lord is pouring the Heavens out upon 천안!

I love you!  Thank you for all your support! 

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson  (PACE)