E-mail from Neal - Received 11/28/08

Hello everyone,

Well I hope that everyone had a great thanksgiving. I sure did!!! I actually got 2 thanksgiving dinners. The first was with the YSA for FHE, and that was really really great. One of our investigators Sean Reader came so that was really fun. We ate really well and got a great chance to talk to everyone of the YSA. That was on Monday, and yesterday we had a huge feast at our ward mission leaders house. His name is Bro. Bob McCallum, and he is so Scottish it's hilarious. They have 2 kids that live in Utah, so they did everyone American style. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the whole 9. I seriously rolled out of that house, and I have trouble walking the rest of the night. Because it was thanksgiving we got special permission from president to eat at a members, and to eat for an hour and half, not just an hour. It was really good. This being my first Thanksgiving away from home it was a little sad. I missed watching the football game with the guys, and I really missed the endless amount of pies that we always had. No worries though, the lord is looking after me, and making sure that I am fed well and happy! Christmas is coming soon now, and I will have to go through the same thing, but oh well, again I will be ok.

Ok so this week has been a good one. Tough, but what else is new. No one ever said that a mission was going to be easy! It is really really cold now a days, and so I am bundling up all the time. We have been talking to so many people and trying to share the gospel with all of them, and we are seeing things happen. Its amazing to see the work move and progress, and I am loving every minute of it! All day, everyday, and there is no time to stop. Fits my personality well wouldn’t you say?!

So some cool things that I have studied these past few days….. I was reading in PMG about Christ like attributes (chap 6, highly recommended), and I read in the introduction this….. “On a mission, it’s more than what you do, its who you are.” That really hit me. We must be like Christ, we must follow his example, and we must live by his teachings. If we don’t then we are just coming and going in vain. We must always strive to do what is right, and we can know that we are doing things right, when we feel the spirit! I was also listening to a song the other night, and the lyrics were something like, “When he walked this path he walked it alone.” That struck me too. Christ has walked down every single road that we have, but when he did it, he did it by himself. When we do it we have him right next to us. That is so comforting to know that I am never walking alone in this dark and dreary world. I ALWAYS have Christ right next to me…. ALWAYS!!!!!! Missions are great, and I cannot believe that I have been out for 7 months already!!!!! Time flies when you are working hard!!!!!

I love you all! Stay strong, and work hard. Know that I am working hard, and that I am striving everyday to become better.

I LOVE EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!!
Elder Johnson