E-mail from Neal - Received 2/11/09

Hello to everyone!!!!!!!

Well this has once again been a crazy crazy crazy week!!!! So much has happened, and so many miracles have been seen. I love my mission, and I am so glad that I am here. I am going to start off by commenting on some things then I will tell you about the amazing thing that happened last night!!!!!!!!!!

We have an investigator named Gus Bempong. He is from Ghana, and he is amazing!!!!!! We found him in Piccadilly and he is golden beyond golden!!! Last night we were planning on teaching him the Plan of Salvation, but when we got there he had a really good question about prayer. We covered that question and then continued on with the Plan of Salvation. We had considered dating him for baptism, and we even had the dates in mind. We started to teach and the lesson was going great. I was trying to figure out when to bring up baptism, because I didn’t think that the end would be a very good time. We ended up reading Alma 7:11-13 in conjunction with the Atonement. This is where the spirit started to talk to me. I usually go to verse 14, but I felt that I shouldn’t. We talked about the Atonement, and then we went on to verse 14 which talks about baptism and the part that it plays in the Atonement. The spirit was amazingly strong. We had Jonathan Spencer (my MTC teacher) with us, and you could tell that he was buzzing!! I have noticed that the spirit really guides my thoughts very directly when I am in lessons, and this time was no exception. I prayed as to which date we should do, and the answer came. I know that we did the right thing. We committed him when the spirit was strong, and we followed the spirit as to which date to do it on, and I have never felt better. I love inviting others to come unto Christ! There is no greater call then being able to help others find the joy and happiness that I have found in my life through the gospel! His date is the 7th of march, which is sadly 3 days after transfers, and there is a really good chance that I will not be here. I am hoping that I am not too far away so that I can come back!

The work is moving, and I am loving it. I am really diving into studying as usual, and I am loving Alma. I read Alma 11 a few days ago and I found one of my favourite lines in all of the Book of Mormon….. ‘And Amulek replied “OH THOU CHILD OF HELL!!!!!!” I love that so much, and I really wish that I could tell that to some people some times. I have also been moving along and I am in Luke now, and I am loving the life of Christ. I am using Jesus the Christ as well, and it is going great.

I love you all!

Elder Neal

This should be the new mission uniform I think!!!

E-mail from Neal - Received 2/4/09

Hey Everyone!!!!!

What a week this has been, what a rare mood I’m in, why it’s almost most like being a missionary!!!!!!!!!Wow this week has been crazy! It has absolutely flown by which only means one thing….. We worked hard! We talked to so many people, and got several new investigators. We got 90/9 in QGC’s this past week, and that is a huge milestone for us. Now that wasn’t all me, cause I was in Stockport for 2 days with one of the Zone Leaders (exchanges), but still I helped out a lot! Now I am going to warn you now that I have a lot of stuff to tell you so I am probably going to go fast cause I have 30 min to do so, but I hope that you will be able to follow it all!!!

I went on a 2 day exchange with the Zone Leaders in Stockport, and it was absolutely amazing. I went with Elder Aughney who is an absolute spitting image of Brian. He kinda looks like him, but he sounds a lot like him, and his personality is exactly like him. That was the best exchange that I have ever been on! We had some much fun, and did a lot of really good work. We went and we taught some members that live in Stockport. They are called the Jones family and the husband is from California. They asked me where I was from and I said Colorado. They looked at me and asked what part…. I said Northern (my usual response), and they asked what town…… I said Loveland, and they said YOU'RE KIDDING!!!!! Sis. Jones is best friends with Caroline (Habinc) Brown. Talk about a small world!!!! We got a good laugh about that one, they got a picture and everything, so you might be seeing that picture from the Habincs soon!!!!!

Yes we have been getting some snow as of late, but according to Colorado and Utah standards it is nothing. People have been freaking out, and parts of the county have shut down because of it, and we are having a blast. It basically snowed all day Monday, and it was windy and DANG cold, but it was nothing that us Mountain boys can’t handle. We just bundled up (thank heavens for under armor), and went out and worked! It was fun. People in this country do not know what snow is I have decided, and that is a problem. That is a big reason why I could never live here….. NO SNOW!!!!!!!

We had zone conference yesterday, and boy oh boy was it a good one. Every once and while President decides to teach us some things that we really shouldn’t talk to our investigators about, but it is just a huge testimony builder for those of us that are already converted. At my 3rd conference he talked a lot about the signs of the second coming, and that was really really cool, but yesterday he did something even cooler. He talked about the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Nah Ammadi Codices! Oh my goodness there is so much cool stuff in there. I won’t go into great detail about what he talked about but lets just say that in the 26,000 pages of manuscript it never once talks about the trinity, baptizing infants by sprinkling, and other modern day practices, but it does talk about MANY of the things that were reveled to Joseph Smith! Temples (IN DETAIL), restoration, other records, a prophet name Aseph (when translated into English = Joseph), Potential to become like god, pre earth life, and the list goes on!!!!!!! It blew my mind! Joseph was and is a true prophet. I knew that when the Fort Collins Institute did that program a long long time ago (the one that Brian was in), but I have an even stronger testimony of that now! The evidence is huge!!!!! My prayer and answer was enough, but this was great to learn!!! You should go and check it out and see what you can find. They are really incredible, and it is no wonder why the church is so interested in them. President said that the church recognizes them as doctrine, the funny thing is that we have had it for about 200 years ha ha ha!!!!!!! We also did questions of the soul from page 107 of Preach my Gospel. I had to answer “why does god allow evil and suffering to occur” that is the question that I get the most. Go and look at all of those questions and see what you think. That is my challenge to you!!!!

I think that that is was funny that you taught about Alma 5 in RS mom cause I just read that this morning. I LOVE THAT CHAPTER!!! Alma is a beast, and he really knows how to teach. There is a section in PMG about asking questions, and Alma really has that skill down! He asks so many questions that make the people think for themselves and teach themselves! That is what we try to do. We can talk at someone all day long, but until they teach and understand for themselves, then nothing is going to work. When you ask questions you make people think and help them to feel the spirit! That is what Alma does here, and it really works. It made me think about what I am doing, and what I need to change. I also really liked how he said that the Spirit talked to him with a mighty voice. That made me think a bit, but I figured that prophets are so in tune with spirit that it does sound loud and mighty to them. Wouldn’t that be great to have that!!!!!

Well that is about all that time that I have for today. Know that I love you and that I think about you all the time. I am still waiting for some letters, I think that everyone has forgotten about me (friends that is).

Love,

Elder Neal

The Stretford crew… us, the Hafen’s (CES/YSA Missionary Couple. Thy are seriously like our mom and dad, they take such good care of us, I love them so much.), the sisters (Goddard and Smith), and the Assistants (Frogley, Christensen).

Us and the Zone Leaders (E. Aughney is next to me)

E-mail from Neal - Received 1/28/09

Hello to all that are not where I am HA HA HA!!!!

Well what can I say, the work moves on the blessings keep on flowing. We have been working really really hard, and the time seems to be flying away. It seems like just yesterday that E. Lloyd was going off the greener pastures in Ashton, and now look… that was almost a month ago! So much is happening here and the working is moving. A little slower and in a different manner than I would like, but it is still moving. We currently have no solid investigators (not the first time and probably not the last), and so we are really in the hunt (Jeremiah 16:16). We have been talking to everyone and we are finally stating to see some results. We have discovered something…. As the QGC’s come, the appointments come. As the appointments come, the investigators will come. As the investigators come, then the baptisms will come, and that is what this work is all about. The more conversations that we engage ourselves in, the more the lord will help us out. We have been seeing not only more appointments set, but we have been setting really solid appointments. We pulled 70/10 last week, and that’s the best that I have done in my whole mission. We are well on track to beat that this week though. We are excited and really moving ahead. We had a really cool experience on Saturday while we were contacting some potential investigators. I stopped a young guy named Jake and we started to chat. I walked with him for a bit, when he told me that he lived just down the road and that we could come to his home. We went and we taught him. It was a cool, but interesting lesson. He is very knowledgeable about theology and the bible, but he had a problem accepting modern revelation. We talked a lot about the apostasy, and even more about the Restoration and the need for it. The really cool part about this all is that he has two other housemates that are very religious as well. One of them came in at the very end, and made the comment that he always misses the good stuff. It was a really cool experience, and if we are not there for Jake, then we are there for someone else in his house. We really learned a lot, and it was a very neat experience. Study has really helped me with experiences like that for sure. Study is amazing!!!!! I am half way though Mark, and I just started Alma today!!!!!

I really don’t have too much more to say. That’s about all that we have been doing lately. We have been walking all over Manchester, and so I have been shattered every night when we get in, but that’s what a mission is all about right.

Well everyone I am going to cut this one short. I need to shoot off some reply’s to other people. I love you all, and I think and pray for you daily!!!! Keep studying and working hard. The blessings will come as you show your devotion to the Lord!!

Lots of Love,

Elder Neal

GO MALLOW!!!!!!!!!

This is a great drawing!

E-mail from Neal - Received 1/21/09

Hello to one and All!!!

Yes, it’s true… I am now officially in my first 6 month area. Me and Elder Nielsen are both staying here in Stretford, so you can still send letters, ha ha ha!!! We are excited to be here, cause we feel that there is a lot of work to be done. We are definitely in a trough right now, but we are gearing up for the climb, and we know that it will happen! Missions are full of ups and downs in all areas of the work. Right now our part of Stretford is in a down, but we are not letting that get to us! We are going to get it back up again, don’t you worry. This is going to be my first transfer that I do not get a new companion. That was supposed to happen last transfer, but then the threesome happened, so that is definitely exciting. It would be really sad if in 7 transfers I had 7 new companions ha ha ha!!! It is wild though that I am going to be spending all winter here. It seems like just yesterday that I was with E. McIntosh and we were talking about where we were going to be spending the winter…. STRETFORD FOR ME!!!! It’s alright, I really do love it here. Manchester is a crazy city, but there is work to be done and I am the one that is called to do it.

We have been hearing all about Obama over here. Everyone over here loves him, and I think that that is for one reason only…… The Media Loves him!! E. Nielsen is really into politics and he is not a fan in the slightest of Obama. Pretty much everything that E. Nielsen lives for Obama wants to take away…. Guns, big trucks, etc….. We have been having some interesting conversations about the matter. Everyone asks us about it too, and we just say that because of the church we can’t say anything because we don’t want our opinion to be viewed as the churches…. CAUSE IT’S NOT!!!! Anyways we will see how it all turns out, I really won’t have to deal with it for a long while I guess.

I have really been digging in to study lately, but in a different subject. I have been really diving into the New Testament. I just finished Matthew today, and I was reading a lot of things in Jesus the Christ about all of that. That book is really something else. James E. Talmage sticks it to everything that is against Christ. It has been a really great experience so far to learn and to apply the things that I have been learning on the streets. People come at me with stuff, and I have an answer. I know that that is because I have studied it all out in my mind and in my heart! I am really discovering the reasons that we study every morning. Without it we would go nowhere. I have also been studying about all the Christlike attributes lately. I have learned that prayer is the key to receiving those attributes. Without prayer we are really just trying to change our lives in vain. We must ask the Lord to bless us with those attributes, and then give him the chances to do so! It really works. I have prayed for charity and love, and I have tried to talk to more people. I care for them, I feel for them, and I love them. I find myself listening more, and bearing a more sincere testimony each and every time. This is what the work is all about, helping people. I love it. I am losing myself and forgetting about a lot of the troubles that have plagued me throughout my mission. I am shedding some of the baggage and getting my hands dirty. That is my duty, that is calling, and that is what I want to do!!!!!

I love you all, and pray for your safety and care every single day!!!!!

Love,

Elder Johnson

PS to Grandma and Grandpa – Hello there. I had some extra time and I thought that I would write you and tell you about some things over here. I kinda wanted to talk about the weather a bit. It’s cold over here….. no wait, it’s dang cold over here. 0 degrees Celsius is normal, but the wind chill is always much worse. I am always bundled up when I go out, especially at night. The past two days have been a dream though! Sunshine and just a light breeze. I think that you two would love it here when it is warm, I really wouldn’t wish the cold upon you. Anyways I do love you both, and I thank you for your support. You are an amazing example and I am really lucky to have two grandparents as on fire as you two!!!!!

Manchester Zone - Zone Service

New shirt w/ name tag

E-mail from Neal - Received 1/14/09

Hello to my most amazing family!!!!!!!

Well this week has been a fun one. I passed my driving test on Monday!!!!!!!!!!! After 9 lessons and about 2 transfers I have passed. I can now drive in the UK, and not kill anyone. I hear that having a UK license will lower my insurance, any thoughts? I did really well on my test. I only got 7 faults, and nothing was huge!! I am way excited. There is no guarantee that I will be driving anytime soon. My mission is very different from the states. There are very few cars in my mission, and there are going to be fewer soon. We are getting our missionary force cut. We are at 140 right now, and by the time I go home it will be at 108. The goal is one set of missionaries per unit. This cut is going to be happening all over Europe. They are sending the missionaries where they are needed the most I guess. I am not bothered, I got sent to the best place in the world, only the super elect come to the hardest missions, and Manchester is one of the hardest!!! That is way cool that you got on that missionary moms thing. Elder McIntosh is the Bomb!!! He is still my favourite companion over all!! I loved the time that I got to spent with him. That other one from Colorado Springs….. He was trained by Elder Smith (my second Comp)!!! Elder Smith goes home next week, can you believe that. When I was with him he was at 18 months, WHERE HAS TIME GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways I am rambling!

Here is what I wrote to president about Sean…..

To keep you updated, we have made contact with Sean, both us, and the ward. He is talking to some of the YSA and other ward members, and we have seen him once. We are all taking it slow. We really prayed hard the first few days, and we all felt that going slow, simple, and easy would be the best. It sounds to us that he was just not sure about some things, and he didn’t want to do something that he was not ready for. We are not going to push anything on him, because that is not the Lord's way. When we saw him we made sure that he knew that we still loved him, and that we were thinking about him. He knows that we are still his friend, and that we wanted to see him again. We invited him to church and to FHE, and told him that no one is angry or mad that he didn’t show up. I really have a lot of hope that he is going to come back and eventually get baptized. I am not sure if it is going to be now, or later, but I have full faith that it will happen!

There is still hope, and we are going to be trying to make something happen

Transfers are coming up this week, so you know the drill. I kinda have an odd suspicion that me and E. Nielsen are going to be staying. We are having a lot of fun, and talking to a ton of people. We have a small and shaky teaching pool right now, but that can always change. I have been feeling lately that I was going to stay in Stretford for 6 months, but you never know. Maybe I will get moved to a car area!!!!! Anyways, E. Nielsen thinks that I am going to be training again, but I don’t know what I think about that. We will just wait and see. I am really not bothered. I am on the lords work, and whatever he wants me to do I will do. I am really starting to realize that more and more everyday. This is not my thing, I am not here for my benefit, I am here for him!

The New Testament is great. I am on Matthew 22, and I am really loving it. I have learned so much, and it has really helped my with my teaching and “contending with people.” Hey they did it in the Book of Mormon so we are allowed to a little right!!! I am not afraid of anyone anymore. I have gotten into deep discussions with lots of different people, and I always find that the lord helps me out. I find myself saying things and thinking of analogies that just make sense!!!!! I LOVE MY MISSION!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Johnson

Pictures: The Swinton District:

Pictures from Neal - Received 1/7/09

Manchester Zone December 2008

England Fog (looking down from the church towards our neighborhood)

Me in Front of Old Trafford (Football Stadium)

SNOW!! (if you want to call it that. Taken from my bedroom window)

Did you know that Spider webs can freeze?

The Snow Slide in Piccadilly (it had white astro turf instead of snow LAME!!!!!)

The Terrible 3 (looking all American)

E-mail from Neal - Received 1/7/09

Hello everyone!!!!

Well this week has been a bit interesting to say the least. I can now officially say that I have had the worst day of my mission, and I really don’t think that it will get topped any time soon. I would really love to tell you about the baptism, and send you pictures, but it didn’t happen. Sean didn’t show up. We had everything ready and set to go, and he never came. There was the biggest turn out for a baptism ever, and he didn’t make it. It was a really hard pill to swallow, and I was really really embarrassed! We don’t know what happened, or what is going to happen, but we are trying hard to find him. We called him a lot that night, and stopped by his house and what not, but nothing. The worst part is that we saw him the night before, and he was totally excited!! He was pumped up and really ready to join the kingdom. Our only conclusion is that something happened either that night, or the next day, and he knew that he wasn’t ready. It really hurt, and I really never want to have to go through that again. Church the next day was really awkward as well, but hey what are you going to do. I want to all to know though that my testimony of working though the hard times is getting more and more rock solid every day! We did not let a little set back like that take us down, we kept working! That’s all that you can do when hard times hit. You cannot just sit back and wallow in your own self pitty, cause what good is that going to do? You have to get up and work, and work HARD!!!!!!!!! I am totally over the whole thing now, and I am back to myself. I am still really worried about Sean, and I am thinking about what to do, but I am good. I am happy, and I am serving the Lord!!! I have really come to learn on my mission that you get the most opposition, when you are doing the most good, so we must be doing something really really amazing because I can only think of a few things worse than what happened to us.

We have found 2 new investigators since then, and they are both solid. They are both female, and I think that they are the first females that I have taught on my mission for some reason (I have no clue why). One of them is named Riya Yates and she is going to be an interesting one. She is 17, pregnant, and has some major word of wisdom problems. I can’t think of anyone more ready to hear the gospel though. She is really cool, and really excited about the message (not the three American boys thank goodness)!!!

More changes in Stretford though. We got a call today from President and found out that E Lloyd is getting emergency transferred to North Manchester (Ashton). It is now going to be just me and E. Nielsen in Stretford. I am sad to be seeing my son leave me, but I trust president, and I know that we have our whole missions ahead of us so we sill see each other again. The threesome was good for the month that we had it, but I guess that the lord has other plans! He will be leaving today, and it will be a little more empty house. The wild part is that E. Lloyd has been feeling that he was going to be leaving lately, but he was thinking at transfers!

The New Testiment is amazing!!! I know most of the stories, but all the teachings and the miracles are what I love. I am learning so much!!!! I love you all, keep working hard and always keep praying!!

Cool Quote: If you believe, there are no questions. If you don’t believe, there are no answers!!

LOVE,

Elder Johnson

Pic - Two BAD dudes!!!! me and E. Nielsen