Week 39 and Week 40 - April 20 and 27, 2015

This week has been great! 

We have found a lot of success.  It has been one of my most successful weeks on my mission.  I am really trying to focus on the Love of God.  I am trying to testify from my heart and get the words to really come from my heart through the Spirit and to the heart of my investigators. 

Last transfer we spent hours and hours on the streets walking up and down trying to find people to meet with, and this week I felt as if we have found a pool of people that we can teach.  I am really excited to work with them, and we are really trying to focus on getting the members involved with lessons and things.  I love the members here in Korea.  I have gained a strong love for each one of them, and I love getting to know who they are and their personal conversion story.  It's really interesting to hear.  Even as members who were born in the church, I believe we all have our special conversion stories.  Young or old, we all have our personal witness of the Love of God.  If you haven't found it, I encourage you to search for it.  It will come.  I often find myself researching and strengthening my personal testimony.  I have learned so much and I have grow in so many ways.  I am letting the Lord take my life and lead me to where it is that I need to go.  One of my favorite scriptures that comes out in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 7:33:  When we trust in the Lord, he will have our backs and lead us to the path he has prepared for us. 

I have had many questions and prayers answered this week. I  have been led by the power of the Spirit and am trying to focus on things out of Love.

This week I was able to meet with a foreigner, and he was from Florida.  It was a great opportunity to testify of the happiness that this Restored Gospel brings.

We had lots of miracles as well this week.  It was stake conference and we had the opportunity of getting three people to come out!  That is huge because usually it is super hard to get people to come to church.  Among those three people, one was found on the street two days before.  They learned a lot and we are excited to continue to meet with them.

Korean is still crazy!  It teaches me a lot about who I am.  I have learned so much patience through learning this language.  It is slowly coming.  I am able to sit down with people and express myself a little bit and to teach the lessons through simplicity.  Simplicity is a huge!!!!

I want to finish telling the miracle story about the Taxi from a few weeks ago.

On the way home from general conference, we had to hurry home because it was getting late and so we realized we needed to take a taxi.  None of us had a lot of money because it was at the end of the period we receive money, and we had to take a taxi all the way across Daejeon.  Maybe like a 30 minute ride which was going to cost about 15 dollars.

Long story short, I looked over at my comp and Elder Hernandez and said... "Do you think that we will be able to pay for this?"  They said, "uhhhhh I have no idea!"  I then followed up and asked a question, "Do you have faith?"  We all just kinda laughed and thought about it for a second.  I told both of them that we should pray to have this taxi driver's heart opened to our message and that Elder Dursteler in the front of the taxi can convey our message through the Spirit.  We all sat in the back of the taxi individually praying and as we continued to pray and exercise our faith, we got closer and closer to our destination.  As it came time to get out of the taxi, the taxi driver stated the price and as we started to get out of the car we looked at each other and all kind of thought, Ahhhhh, well we almost didn't have to pay..." But as Elder Dursteler pulled his wallet out and only had like 3 dollars he looked at us and said,  "Hey we need some more."  The three of us that were sitting in the back grabbed our wallets and then the  taxi driver said, "Ahhh, don't worry about it.  It's okay.  I heard a great message from you guys.  It's on me."  We were so excited and stunned!  We ended up just giving him what we had because we knew the Lord provided a big miracle for us!  We were so excited and I really do know the Lord loves his missionaries. 

Love you all.  Have a good week!

Love Elder Johnson

Week 38 - April 13, 2015

Family! Wow what a week. 

I hope all went well on spring break!  Sounds like you had such a blast.  I wish I could have spent it with you, but there have been tons of miracles that have come out of this week that I want to share!

Elder Young  and I are working hard.  Last transfer as well as this one I had an impression to ask my companions, "How many steps do you think the average person walks in their lives?"  I then followed up with a question, "Do you think that missionaries in the two year time period of which they serve walk as many steps as the average human does in their life?" haha  We laughed and after that question an answer came to my head.  I'm not sure if it was an answer as much as it was an inspirational thought.  It goes like this, "EVERY STEP FOR THE LORD."  Each step WE take, whether it be to church, to the next appointment, or to find OUR next investigator, WE ARE TAKING IT FOR THE LORD.  This is the Lord's work and it is moving forward.  It can be tough but It is rewarding, and I know that it is bringing us eternal blessings.  This phrase has become my motto for these last few weeks.

Conference was incredible.  I really felt the spirit and learned a lot.  After listening to each session, the importance of the role of the father kept flowing through my head.  As I have reflected a little bit throughout these last few weeks, I have come to know a little bit more on why I am here serving a mission.  I am here to not only save these people but to become all I can be.  I have never realized how important the role of the father is in the home until now. The role of a worthy priesthood father is more important than everything else in a home.  I am so blessed and proud to say that I have some of the most amazing and supportive people in my life.  I am so beyond grateful for a father who has taught me so much and has always been that worthy priesthood example in my life.  I just want to say thank you, Dad.

(Elder Johnson's dad)

Last week after email session, Dad emailed me and told me that he would pray for a tender mercy for me each day.  I want to share each day's tender mercy.

Monday:  Right after email session on Monday, we walked outside, on the ground we found a Samsung phone with about $200  cash in it.  We were able to find the person it belonged to and were able to give it back.  That is a tender mercy.  As we went out on the street to talk to people Monday night, we were able to bear witness of the restoration and teach a short lesson on the street.  That is a tender mercy.

Tuesday:  My companion and I  were walking down the road, and it was a road that is very empty.  No one really walks, rides their bike, or drives down this road.  (My companion lost his wallet... so we have been doing some serious far walks that we would normally take the subway to.)  As we walked down this road, a man on a bike came down the road.  He pulled in front of us and stopped.  After talking to him for about an hour, we had come to realize that he had met with President Shin before.  This man has a lot of background info that I don't have time to explain, but I shared a scripture with him in the Book of Mormon and before I shared it he quoted it.... haha super weird.  He knew the Book of Mormon very well and was a very smart man, and that was a tender mercy.  Also, we met a kid (our Stake President's son) that Chase Lindsley trained and served with.  He talked about him when I first got my call.  Super CRAZY, Small world, He is so awesome.

Wednesday:  We spent a lot of time on the street again, walking up and down the street getting rejected time after time, but as we continued to move with faith we found a grandpa to share our message with.  He wasn't very interested but he brightened our day and.. that is a tender mercy.

Thursday:  Two happy smiles from high schooled aged kids and a lesson with a new investigator that I met about three weeks ago on the street.  His dad is attending our church in Seoul, and I really hope we can help this man.  That is a tender mercy.

Friday:  Today was an unusual tender mercy.  Something that I have been praying for for the last two or three weeks.  It was to meet a foreigner on the street and share the gospel in my native tongue.  I have met a few and have been carrying an English Book of Mormon with me, but I saved it until I felt it was right.  As me and my comp were walking down the road, I saw the back of a kid's head that looked like a foreigner.  I approached him quickly.  It turns out that he is 19 from Louisiana.  He was one of the coolest kids I have met, and I was able to talk to him for about two hours.  He has a good friend serving in Peru, and I was able to bear my testimony and give him the Book of Mormon.  He said he would really read it and  he said he was super happy we met.  That is a tender mercy.

I have some other tender mercies that happened this week, but I am out of time.  We had a big miracle happen in the taxi that I will talk about next week.

I love you all.  I'm thankful for all the love and support you show me.  It means so much. Love is something that I am learning a lot about, and I have come to know that the Love of God is what keeps us going through out our difficult trials and errors.  The Lord allows us to fail to be made perfect through His atonement.  I am grateful for this Gospel and I know it is real.  Hope everyone has a good week!

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson.

Week 37 - April 5, 2015

 We have to open ourselves to the Lord, allow him to teach us.  Be willing to change and want to learn.  Strive our best to live as He did and become as Him.

Week 36 - March 29, 2015

Family.

This week has truly been incredible.  A week that I will not forget.

I had the opportunity of baptizing one of the biggest miracles of my mission.  His name is 천준상.  I feel as if the Lord really lead me to this man.  I am humbled and I am grateful to have been able to have the opportunity of meeting him here on my mission.  I will have that life long relationship with him, and I will forever love him.

I feel as if lately I am being taught a big principle of this Gospel from the Lord.  It is the simple principle of Love.  The Love of God is what heals and changes hearts.  As I have been pondering these last few days of what really matters in this life, the words, "The Love of God," have kept flowing through my mind.  I often find myself meeting with people on the streets, in class rooms, or in a cafe trying to tell people that this is the right church and trying to prove it through scriptures and things.  It really hurt me when people wouldn't just listen to  our message and realize that this is the true church on the earth.  But, I've realized a lot lately.. That's not why I am here.  I am here to love. Love each and every person I come in contact with, with the absolute most perfect Christ-like love. One of my favorite talks is by the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, called "Love is the Essence of the Gospel.  It just talks about loving and caring for everyone.

Love is the Essence of the Gospel

(Click on the link above to listen to or read this talk Elder Johnson is referring to.)

A few weeks ago I met with a Jehovah's witness that I met one the street, and he set up another appointment to meet with us.  When we sat down to meet with him before we started talking, I just looked at him and said, "Before we start telling you about our beliefs, we are not here to try and change any of your beliefs, fight or try and force you to believe what we teach.  We are only here to help other people come unto Jesus Christ and add to the truths that you already believe."  As we continued meeting with him, he was just trying to prove specific scriptures to me about what things really meant.  I just sat back and allowed him to talk.  I just had a feeling to let him talk and after he finished (which was like 1 hour after), I finally just bore my personal testimony of the personal truths I know and how it has blessed my life.  I realized that, that is why I am here.  Just to love each of God's children as He would.  I am not here forcing people to believe, just inviting and loving.

The pure love of Christ heals our hearts.  Even in our most hard times.  When we doubt and when we feel like we can't move on, we just have to rely on the Savior's mercy and grace. It's something that I am slowly coming to learn.

I have been able to have one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission and in my life this last week. 

Going back to Gwang Ju was quite the trip!  To make things short, me and my comp were literally .3 seconds from going the opposite way and ending up in SEOUL!!!  Right as the train was taking off, the Spirit told me soooooo strongly, "ASK SOMEONE."  I turned to the next guy to me and was like, "Hey, this is going to Gwang Ju, right??  He said, " Noooo!!"  I literally jumped off the train with my comp and the train doors shut and the train took off!  SO CRAZY!  Me and my comp were dying!!  hahah

As I finally ended up in Gwang Ju, we got the church all set up for the baptism.  It was so good to see everyone again.  The Gwang Ju members and the missionaries who were serving there, I have really developed a strong love for them.

The Baptismal service started, and the Spirit began to fill the room.  Me and 천준상  walked down into the font and the Spirit came into my heart with a  perfect peaceful calm feeling.  As the young man came up out of the water, I knew that the sacred ordinance being preformed was allowing him to start his journey on the straight and narrow path.  The path back to our Heavenly Father.

As the baptismal service continued on, I could just feel a spirit of peace.  I am so so grateful for the Lord leading me to him.  I know that he has definitely become such a huge miracle in my life, and I will forever remember his conversion story.

This week has been great.  Full of mixed emotions and I am continuing to just push forward with an attitude of PACE. I have really taught those 4 letters to each missionary I have had a relationship with here.  It is something I will never forget.  In our most happy and hard times, we must have a POSITIVE ATTITUDE because it really does CHANGE EVERYTHING.

 

I, also, want to say thank you for doing the Gift of Tongues prayer for me.  I want you to know how much I have noticed it and how much it has helped.  Wow.  It is really amazing how the Lord answers our prayers.  I am praying three times a day for the gift of tongues and I can feel your prayers on my behalf.  My Korean this week has gone up, and I feel fluent in what I know.  I still have a long way.  I don't know a lot and it is very difficult to speak and understand, but I am grateful for the Gift of Tongues.  I know the Lord blesses his missionaries.

It's my Birthday!  My first one on my mission.  I love you all and thank you for all your support.  I can feel your prayers.  They give me strength!  Have a good week!  I am so blessed.  Be safe and remember to show others the Love of GOD!

Love,

Elder Johnson

Week 34 and 35 - March 22, 2015

FAMILY!

What a week!  I am experiencing things in my life that I never thought I would experience. So many crazy things and so many learning experiences.  I am training and there are so many new responsibilities I have, and I am learning so much.  This training experience thus far has taught me that I really can't do missionary work on my own.  I need the help of my companion and I need the help of my Savior.  This has been a humbling experience, and I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me this opportunity.  I am still a very young missionary, but I am so thankful for all the lessons the Lord is teaching me. 

New companion.  New area.  New Members.  New responsibility.  New adventure.  New Investigators.  New People, and New Blessings.

I am so grateful for the time that I had to serve in Gwang Ju.  I learned so much.  I was able to create some relationships with the members that I will have forever.  I am so grateful for all my experiences I had there in that city.  I learned a lot, met so many people and really worked hard to leave my mark. 

Its been one year since I have received my mission call and 6 months since I arrived here in Korea. It is really crazy how time works!

 (Elder Johnson with some darling friends of his in his new area of Yousang.)

This week has been great.  I am learning a lot about member missionary work.  I am trying to have members come to some of our appointments to help better explain things in depth and to gain a better relationship with them.  One of the most important things in missionary work is establishing a relationship with the member and the investigator.  I have found a few people to meet with on the street, and I came into the area with 2 investigators who are slowly progressing but have a Word of Wisdom problem.  We got a referral from the other Elders last week, and he came to church.  It was a miracle!  The Lord has really prepared him.  I extended a baptismal date to him this last week, but he talked about how he wanted to wait till he graduated  (next year).  I know that as he continues meeting with us, he will understand why this gospel is important. 

Yesterday I went to a member's home in our ward.  It was by far the best member visit I have had on my mission!  Holy cow, it was amazing!  First of all, on the way to the member visit, we were walking in between these apartments and I saw an American kid playing football with another kid.  When I saw the football, I got so pumped!!!  As I went up closer to him, I could see he was wearing a Colts sweat shirt haha.  Me and some of the Elders played catch with him and were able to get his number.  He is here with his parents for his church, so I don't think we will be able to really teach him a lot about our church, but you have no idea how pumped I was to see an American, and let alone..one with an American NFL jersey on!  It was super fun to play catch for a few minutes and break the ball out again! Hah!

After that, we headed to our appointment and when we got to our member's home, it was the nicest apartment home I have been in on my mission.  SO nice.  She prepared the most amazing meal I have had on my mission.  So healthy and goooood!  They had a huge dining table we sat at and it was seriously probably the greatest thing ever.  All the Elders in my home went there.  (There are 4 of us.)  I was able to share a message about service.  I talked a lot about how through service we can come to know who God is.  As I look back on my mission experience, I can name so many times where I have come to know who I am and how I feel the love of God through serving His children.  I am so grateful for a family who has taught me to give selfless service.  I talked a lot about how I am grateful for an amazing mother who has taught me to always give to others.  Through serving, we can really feel the love of the Savior, and we can come to know that we are all children of God.

This gospel is so amazing, and it's really changed me.  I have been incredibly blessed in my life, and I came out here to change myself, learn and grow, and to know what role that the Book of Mormon and the Savior Jesus Christ are in my life.

I am so excited!  This week on Saturday, I will be baptizing Chun Joon Sang.  I am so blessed, and he was and is truly a miracle.  The story of how I met him and the way things lined up, I know for a surety that it was the will of God.  I am so thankful and am so excited.  I have developed such a strong relationship with him.  I really, really love him.

Hope all is well.  Keep your head up.  PACE.  And allow the Lord to be a part of your life.  He will lead you if you let him.  Focus on what's important and Have a good week!  I love you all and thank you for your support!

Love,

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

Week 33 - March 8, 2015

FAMILY.

Not a lot of time this week but wow, my heart is full.  There has been so many great experiences this week.  I have received so many miracles from the Lord and am so blessed! Mom and Izzy, I hope all went well in Cuba.  Sounds like an adventure of a life time! That's awesome!  I miss you guys and love you tons!

I'm being transferred!  I am done with my first area and am on to my next!  Time has gone by so fast.  I cant believe it!  I will be transferring to a place called  유성 (Yousang).  I am half training!!!  My new companion is Elder Young, he has been in Korea for one transfer and I will be picking up where his trainer left off.  I am so excited!  I have been praying about transfers so much this week, and I know this is where the Lord needs me.  I am called to a big responsibility and am so excited for this new opportunity to really find out who I am.  I just need to continue relying on my Savior in all I do, and I know that He will continue to guide me in my missionary efforts.

Well, it has all come to an end here in 충장 Gwangju.  I can't tell you enough of all the many tender mercies that the Lord has provided me with here in this amazing area.  I am truly blessed.  I am so grateful for my time here, and I am extremely grateful for each thing I learned, each companion I had, and each investigator that I got to change.  This last week has been my most successful week that I have had here in this area and in my mission.  I have seen the Lord's hand in my life, and He has blessed me with so many miracles. 

This week Elder Oehler and I had to opportunity of setting a baptismal date with our miracle 구도자 천준상 형제님 (Our Investigator ).  I am so excited !!  I have never put so much heart into a prayer for someone else like I have for him.  He is progressing so well.  Last week after P-day he called us that night and told us he needed to tell us something.  He told us that he just knew God was real, and he knew that Jesus is His Son.  He told us that he believed.  It was very interesting because we found him through a fast and the day previous to him calling us was Fast Sunday when we fasted for him.  I know the Lord is hearing and answering my prayers.  I am receiving so much help from him, and I am really seeking his will.  We have set our baptismal date for March 29 and look forward to continuing to pray for him and help him progress.  I am so grateful.

The scripture in 3 Nephi 12:16 is coming to life for me.  It has been something that I have been working day in and day out on.  "Let your light so shine."  These past few months in Korea and as I have been serving my mission, I have really tried to find myself.  When I first arrived in Korea, I felt pretty lost and realized I couldn't do very many things I wanted to. Being a missionary was hard, being in Korea was difficult, and I just couldn't speak the language or understand anyone.  Well, it wasn't until this week where I have felt like I have truly found myself.  My foundation is set and I am progressing and growing so much.  My light is going forth.  I really believe that I have been blessed with a special light that needs to touch the lives of others here in Korea.   The lyrics to the song, "The Lord is My Light," have had so much meaning to me throughout these past few weeks.  I know that the Lord is blessing me, and I know that through Him I am able to become a better me.  I have been focusing a lot on the scriptures and am trying to align my will with his in all I do.

I love you all and hope you have a amazing week. You are in my prayers, and I am so thankful for the support that I receive each week from everyone.  Have a good safe week.  I love you!

Elder Cole Thomas Johnson

Week 32 - March 2, 2015

Family!

This week has been great!  Not a whole bunch of new things, but I want to share a few funny stories in my email today.  I hope I can explain them so they will be funny!

So after email time this last week, I went to the barber shop to get a hair cut.  Well, first of all... I just want to challenge anyone to go to a haircut store and tell them how you want your hair cut with out using words.  Only actions.  Ohhh and did I mention, you can't understand them clearly when they speak back to you.  Anyway, that's how I do it every time.  So this last week as I went to the hair cut place, I tried to do my best explanation of how I wanted my hair cut..  As she kept cutting and cutting, I told her to just go shorter and shorter.  As she got to the length I like, I told her to stop there.  Well, long story short... As she was cutting my side burns, I didn't realize this at first but she was turning me into a "SPIKE," (hence, my nick name for the past week by all the Elders in my district).  She cut one of my side burns completely in a triangle and my other one on my right side the way it is supposed to be.  The one that is cut in a triangle shape, she also nicked the side by the top of my ear, so I have a little bald spot and when she got done washing my hair at the end, my front left side of my hair had not been cut at all... So she took the scissors and cut a straight line right across my fore head.  I guess you could say I am one of the more stylish missionaries walking the streets.  Haha  The other Elders have been laughing at me all week!  It has been great!  Definitely a good memory!  When someone cuts your hair and all you can say back to them is, "Yeah IT LOOKS PERFECT," or "YEAH, THAT'S OKAY," because you don't know hair cut vocabulary, things get real interesting. :)

I was able to go out on a bus to the country side today and help one of our members with some farming stuff.  It was so amazing.  Such a cool experience.  We had to take these big pipes and move them like a half mile to this other place, we had to wrap these big plastic things up that they put on the top of the big flower gardens, and we got to fix these walls that needed to be repaired out on the farm.  It was amazing. 

 

I was grateful that the Lord gave me an amazing opportunity to serve.  It was a lot of hard work, and it was nice to get out in the dirt and fields and get all dirty! 

After we worked in the field our member took us back and we had a big lunch at his house. It was amazing, we had these hand picked strawberries from his huge strawberry garden and he fed us this really good meat and lettuce wrap things, (of course with rice).  It was awesome.  Such a good experience.

This week we have been able to continue to meet with our investigator.  He is the one I found on the street that I have been talking about each week.  We were able to spend basically a half day with him on Thursday.  We taught him a lesson and then went to a member's home together for a dinner and an activity!  It was perfect, something that he really needed.  He is slowly starting to progress.  He and another one of our investigators came out to church this last week.  Those were two big miracles!  Each night I have been able to call him and talk to him on the phone.  I have developed such a good relationship with him.  We have such a strong friendship, and I have really just been trying hard to gain that relationship with him and help him to see the love God has for Him.  That is one of the most important things, Letting your investigators know that God loves them.  I have been doing that by example.  Trying to let them see the light that I have been blessed with.  I have been bearing my testimony of the fact that I know God Loves me.  I know He knows me personally.  I have been grateful for that testimony I have gained while I have been serving.

I love everyone!  Hope you all have a good week!  Be safe and work hard.  I feel impressed to share this to anyone who reads my e-mail.  God Lives and He loves.  He knows each and every one of us.  I challenge all to give thanks each day, and I promise that as you do this, you will feel His love and a new light will come into your life.  I know that God knows each and every one of us.  He has a plan for us and we are down on this earth seeking that plan, and we need to allow his son Jesus Christ to be a part of that plan.  He can if we let Him. God loves each and every one of His Children.

I love you! 

Elder Johnson