BAPTISMS!!!!!

This week was a blast!! Wow! Okay, so first off, as you all know, I had 3 baptisms this week and I baptized 2 of them :) So Elder Blain and I go to the church to set the room up and start filling the baptismal font. and we put the hottest water that we could in... only 56 degrees... Now this font takes an hour to fill up. We ran that 56 degree water for 45 minutes before we could get the water heater fixed. So by the time we started the baptisms, it was at 51 degrees.... MAN! It was flipping cold!!! I'll definitely remember it though!

Lol, I baptized Kaylee first, and right as she went under she yelped "Oh my Go-" and she said I didn't let her finish ;) But it's alright cause that was washed away right after :))

Then I baptized Mike next, and he was SHIVERING. HAHA :D It was just so fun!! 

Then Rick (Alannah's Husband) baptized Alannah :) It was just so perfect :) 

Then yesterday, right before church, Alannah asked if I would confirm her. and I almost panicked. lol I didn't know how to do it! But it was just so.. spiritual. I'm glad she asked me and I was able to feel the Spirit so strong. :))

Elder Blain and I made cupcakes for Alannah cause it was also her birthday on Sunday, and we knock on the door and Mike answers (He lives there with Rick and Alannah) and it was a blessing cause we wanted to sneak in and try to find candles. But there were none, so we used a bamboo skewer and lit those on fire and stuck them in the cupcakes. lol. Then Mike called Alannah to come down into the kitchen and we sang to her! haha :) it was a blast. 

Then we sit down and talk about Church and how they liked it and Alannah said that in her dream the night before she dreamed that I was confirming her and that that was what needed to happen. It was really an awesome experience. and I'm so glad she had that impression to have me do it :)

Earlier this week too, Rick invited us over to teach us how to clear a room Army Style. Like legitimately like how he used to do it in Iraq and Afghanistan!! He had us wear his old vest and everything. I had the biggest one on that weighed about 45 pounds. Oh man it gets heavy after a while. Hahaha especially going up stairs backwards to guard the rear! lol But Mike was hidden in the house with an air soft gun so we had to clear the entire house :) and it's a fair sized house :)

Elder Blain and I went tracting a bit this week and the first house we knocked on we asked if they needed help (after she rejected us) and she said Oh yeah come to the back!! (In a broken english, she was full korean or something) but she had a couple branches that had fallen from the ice storm in her back yard and we asked if we could help and she said "oh no! you too handsome to get dirty!" then we said that they are our work clothes and she said.. "Well at least take your pants off" LOL Elder Blain and I were about to pee our pants from laughing so hard. But we ended up helping her (WITH OUR PANTS ON) lol :)

Elder Blain and I are going on exchanges tomorrow! So I am gonna be the Senior Companion and i'll be in charge for a day. lol that's gonna be fun I guess :)

But this last week, the best thing I had to eat was Roast Beef on a bun and some Potato Salad :)

That's all I can think of right now :) I love you all so much! Remember what your standards are. <3

OH THIS BOY is gonna be the death of me!

*EDITORS NOTE, Parents can no longer be held accountable for things their adult children say, especially while not in the presence of said parents, when the appropriate *back of head slap* can not be given*

Richard Jacob Johnson	Feb 17 (5 days ago)

Oh my gosh. Ohkay. This last week was crazy. Ice storm, blizzard, earthquakes, power outages. I don't know what to expect next...!! like really. Georgia is worse than a woman on her period.. 

There was a huge ice storm down here and we had to stay inside for 2 days. I was SOOO BORED :( I read my scriptures and elder Tolhurst taught me how to play Magic.. xD hahahaha!! It's really weird. But I took a couple pictures and videos and y'all will get them this weekend. I'll send my SD card home this next week and Mum will upload pictures to Facebook or the blog or whatever :) 

But this week was full! Not with lessons, but with service! On Thursday, Elder Blain, Tolhurst, Shelton and I drove around to see if anyone needed help with tree removal. Cause the Ice storm froze all the trees and SO many branches and trees fell down into peoples houses, power lines, cars, everywhere. It was really sad. I wish I took more pictures. But on this last Saturday, we took place with the "Mormon Helping Hands" service project! It was a blast :) (I forgot my camera though...) But we were assigned to help out 2 addresses with horrific trees everywhere. So we did do that, but we ended up helping 4 houses. We started at 9 AM and ended at 6PM... There was this HUGE oak tree that split into 2 different ways. This was probably the biggest tree I've seen. Literally.. It was just crazy.  BUT ALANNAH and her husband Rick were there and they helped as well!! IT was AWESOME to see that she is already counting herself as a Mormon ;D They were more than happy to help! 

Kaylee, the 11 year old we teach, is also getting baptized! She asked me to do it as well! :) So I'll be baptizing Mike and Kaylee this Saturday!! :)) I am SOOOO EXCITED :)) I can't even put it in words!! All 3 of them are just as excited as I am :)

That's all for this week :) Love you all so much! :)

Jacob

Almost Two Months?? I lost count!

Oh man!! So Allanah and Mike have to push their baptism back by a week so I'm gonna have 3 baptisms on the 22nd!! BUT MIKE ASKED ME TO BAPTIZE HIM :) I'm so excited!! Rick, Allanah's husband, is baptizing her :) We were over at their house last night and Rick had Elder Blain and I try on his military gear and all that. It was SO HEAVY! Geez!!

This last week I went on splits with my Zone Leader :) I was with Elder Spencer for 24 hours and it was the most spiritual experience I've had really.. We started off by going to the Hospital and giving this lady a blessing. She was pertty much dead. It was so depressing to see..She was breathing through a tube and barely holding on.. The Spirit was just overwhelming.

But then we went and taught a bunch of people! Elder Spencer taught me how to make contacts with EVERYONE I see. Cause You never know who the Lord has prepared for His message. I could be walking through a crowd of people ready for the Gospel. So I try my best to talk to everyone :)) So we also were teaching a lady named Jackie and we were commiting her to baptism that weekend and one of her Thug Friends walked in halfway through the lesson and at the end he asked "Well.. I wanna get baptized this weekend too.." It was just so awesome!! :)

Not much else happened this last week :) But I'm having more and more fun! I'm getting in better shape I guess too!! We play football every monday morning and 3 weeks ago I played for 15 minutes and I was passing out.. but today I played an hour but not near as tired :)So that's good!

I got my bike!! It's HUGE! I have to jump to get up on it cause the tires are huge xD But It works perfectly! :) The other Day, Elder Blain and I biked all day. And we have to bike like 5 miles just to get to our area... Geez. :l

I love you all!! :)

 

Jacob

 

*can you just hear the excitement in his voice and his love for the Gospel of our Saviour??*

The One

This young man has written poetry for years, and rarely, and by rarely I mean NEVER, does he share it!  It's more of an outlet for him than anything,, Then I got this from his friend that's a girl, shouldn't have girlfriends when you're on your mission, haha, and it brought tears to my eyes.  His testimony is so strong, and solid.

The One

I should start off by saying, "thank you for this day"
I didn't think I would ever be headed this way
Knocking on doors and doing Thy will
Addicted to the Spirit, as if it's a pill

Reading the Bible, and Book of Mormon too,
You'll find that He knows you, better than you.
He knows what you're doing,
and what's in your heart.
Remember who you are, and what you stand for,
Healing the sick,
And helping the poor.

Just as Jesus did,
While He was on earth
It's now our calling
and has been since birth.

We strive to be like Him,
Our Savior and friend
By loving all, like He loves us,
A love without end.

It's not always easy,
I'll be the first to admit.
There are times in my life,
I just want to quit.

But I try to remember
That if Jesus was like me,
He wouldn't have suffered,
In Gethsemane

That's why He was chosen,
to be THE ONE.
He is perfect and loving,
Not once did He shun.

He made and He loves,
every single being
that swims or flies in the blue
and walks on the green.


Although you will never be,
You gotta try your best
To be completely perfect,
And not a thing less.

You can only be clean,
if you go and repent.
But if you do that,
it has to be meant.

When you repent
and make the right choices,
By being baptized
and raising your voices

Against evil and murmurings,
Through His holy name,
You'll feel His love and the Spirit,
with the might of a flame

Satan will attack
or at least he will try
To bring you down
when your spirit is high

Just stay true to your faith,
and God will protect you
And come unto Christ,
Whose grace will surround you

God so love the world,
He gave His brightest Sun
We will fell the imprints all
One by one

Remember who you are,
For you are a child of God
You will always be safe
Just hold to the rod.

Written By, Elder R Jacob Johnson
Serving in the Georgia Macon Mission, Dec 18, 2013-Dec 2015

February 3

It is incredible to see how quickly this young man's testimony is growing!!!  I am continually impressed with him on a weekly basis.

Here is this weeks email: 

Okay, this week was a blast!! Flipping COLD. WOW. I went knocking in 33degree weather for 4 hours and the last 2 hours, it started snowing!! So I'm pretty sure I'm racking in the Hot wife points..!! Oh yeah! ;) It was awesome to see the snow! It went all the way down to 22 degrees!! We had a huge snow ball fight and I made a bunch of snow angels :) I missed it so much!!

Saturday was my birthday!! I'm 19 now. It's a weird thought. I didn't really do anything. just missionary work. like always :D hahaha, i haven't got my birthday present from home yet so it should be here today! I'm so excited!! :) 

I'm getting my bike today also! thank you so so much Uncle Dean. It means so much to me :) I'm gonna need it soon. 

This whole 'lose weight' thing is hard. Cause I don't have much money to buy food and the food I am able to buy isn't the healthiest ;) lol. So I'm gonna TRY to get healthier food that tastes good also.

This last Sunday was fast and testimony meeting, and I went up to bear my testimony. I felt the Spirit so strong. It's becoming a more and more constant feeling. I. LOVE. IT! :) Helping others come closer to Heavenly Father and Christ is the best. I do NOT know everything, I'll be the first to admit that, but I do know, that I was called by a prophet of God, to share what I do know.

I love you all and hope you have the best week of your life!! Make it the best! Your day is only as good as you want it to be :)

"Decisions determine destiny"-Thomas S. Monson 

Love always, Elder Johnson :))

Don't forget to shoot him an email at rjjohnson@myldsmail.net

or even better, send him a letter,, 

Georgia Macon Mission

Elder R.J. Johnson

400 Northside Crossing

Macon, GA, 31210

Happy birthday Elder Johnson!!

Last year when Jake turned 18, we had a batman themed birthday for him.  Just the family party, but there was batman everywhere! He even got a batman pinata that is still intact and hanging in our kitchen entry way!  He wanted us to keep the banner and pinata up until he gets home from his mission,,, OK will do!!   HECK I'm even making cake today and having our ward missionaries over for birthday dinner and birthday cake!!   So here's a huge shout out to the birthday boy that I adore!!    Happy Birthday Buddy!!  Make it a memorable one!