A Picture Says a Thousand Words...I was Speechless!

As you can tell I am doing another catch-up session with Kevin's emails. He is doing very well and seems to be happy. I am so grateful that he is having positive experiences and I can see so much growth in him.
When I saw this picture for the first time, I was taken back by the sheer joy on his face. That smile says it all.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Selamat Siang Keluarga!
Gmana kabarnya?
First off, sorry the email is a day late! There was a problem at the warnet yesterday... the internet was not working, so there's my reason for not sending anything yesterday!
Things are going pretty well over here! IT has been another busy week. It has also been very very wet. On sunday we had a lesson with Novita, and her house is pretty tough to get to, we have to walk up a steep dirt trail to get there, right after already walking for a while on the pavement. the bad thing this time around was that it was pouring rain the whole time we were walking there, and we didnt bring anything for the rain. So we got soaked, and then we get to the dirt trail to see it is completely muddy. Nonetheless we made the trek and I think i only almost fell once or twice! haha Novita is doing well, unfortunately her mom still has given her permission to get baptized, but we all have faith and are praying that it will happen.
We taught good ol' om fery again, he is seriously the funniest guy ever, the best thing is he loves the book of mormon. Now he just needs to come to church again and he will be all set! We finally have him on date to be baptized in early desember. IT was awesome, right after we talked about it he grabbed his calendar and put a big circle around desember 4th. ITs been amazing to me how powerful the book of mormon is in this work. Only when investigators read that book do they make changes. If they are lazy about reading, they make no progress.
Om deni is doing great, we met his family last week, he has an awesome family, his wife is pregnant with their 4th child. It is pretty funny because they live in an almost completely Muslim neighborhood, and the people love seeing two white christian guys walking through the neighborhood, the kids especially loved it, you'll see in the picture I sent we had about 20 kids following us! Om Deni is really loving this Church/ Gospel. He was super pumped after church on sunday, and hopefully he will come watch conference this weekend!
IT really sounds like ya'll are doing well! Busy as usual. How long are you going to be in India dad? I wonder how similar India and Indonesia are... Hopefully you have a good safe trip! I was pumped to hear Geraldo had a good game, hopefully he willbe a big help. All your talk of the temple makes me so jealous! I havent been in 4 months, and I wont get to go for another year and half. Enjoy those experiences! Have they started building the one in Meridian yet?
So really what else has been going on with the family!? Carrie sounds like she is doing great, how excellent, Mel said spencer is showing number two who's boss, and mikey is gonna get married( I still don't believe it). It just seems like things are awesome over there.

That's totally lame about the whole mormons arent christian thing... People are so ignorant. The only way to find out if we're christian or not is read the Book of Mormon and figure ito ut for yourself, not a chance anyone can think we're not Christian after reading it.
Well I hope ya'll know the Church is true, Because I do! We're blessed to have the fulness of the Gospel, which answers all our questions, and we can look forward in faith and live knowing that we'll live as a family after this life. What a blessing it is.
I love you all!
Have a great week!
Oh ya! Selamat setengah tahun untuk saya! Sudah 6 bulan di misi. :]
Dengan Kasih,
Elder Johnson

HARD TO BELIEVE HE HAS BEEN OUT 6 MONTHS!!!!!!!


Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Hello Everyone!
How are you all doing?? It sounds like it has been a very busy week for you all! I am glad to hear that Carrie's surgery went well, hopefully the recovery is still going well for her. Mikey is actually engaged!! Oh my goodness! That is pretty insane. I guess in true Johnson fashion he is engaged within a year of being home from his mission right? Don't expect the same from me!!
Good to hear Geraldo is cleared, hopefully he can be a contributor, sounds like the receivers were horrible last game! Whati s BYU's deal!!!! They should be killing Utah State at home, not barely queaking out a win!! Eeish... Alabama/ Boise State sound freaking awesome this year. Sounds like the Non- AQ teams are weak this year... bummer. Oh well hopefully BSU can just keep it going.
I of course have not yet had an opportunity to watch conference, it was little weird going to a normal sacrament meeting the first sunday in october...
Indonesia is still amazing!! I love this place more and more each day. In Manado it is the "rainy season" now which means still hot but maybe two or three times a week there is rain. Luckily it is terribly hot here, there is usually a nice ocean breeze! The people here are still so funny. The branch is hilarious, goodness, so funny.
This place is just so ready to explode as far as missionary work goes. It really could be just like the Phillipines here in Manado. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work here, and when it does start to boom here it will be great to know I have had a part in helping it grow.
Om Poltje is still doing super well! I just want to teach his family now too! He is a really smart guy, jsut ridiculously busy with his couch/ chair business sometimes meeting with him is hard. He is continuing to progress though, it is great to see his excitement and testimony about the Gospel grow.
Om Deni is doing awesome as well. I am excited to finally meet/ and teach his family today as well! He had an awesome/ funny experience while he prayed about the Book of Mormon, he had a pack of cigarettes right next to where he was at and he had the feeling he should get rid of them. He said he had a really hard doing it, i am still not sure if he did, but he has a great heart and definitely wants to do what the Lord wants him to do.
I am still jsut in shock that Mikey is getting married... what a goof! Sounds like he really did do it in true mikey fashion. I love that kid!
How are Jeff, Laure, Jack, Luke, Mel, Dave, Trevor, Spencer and everyone doing?? I am sure they are just doing great.
Hmm what else, Is Capital doing well this year in football??
Welp I don't really have anything else to say, I am doing great. The Church is true! Don't ever forget it!!!
Love,
Elder Johnson



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Selamat Oktober! (hampir)
It has been a petty awesome week! We have some pretty great investigators right now! Om Poltje is still doing very well, He is pretty much on date for baptism, he just wasn't sure on the exact date last week! he is the man though, super humble and super faithful and hopefully his wife and kids will start meeting with us too. Oh just in case you are wondering why a lot of our investigators' names start with om or tante, it is kind of like the title mrs. or mr, except in Bahasa Manado om is uncle and tante is aunt, it is just a respect type of thing, just in case anyone was wondering! We have a new investigator named Om Deni that is on date for baptism now too, he has been Christian for like 5-10 years but has not been active in any church for a very long time. He is a very great guy and wants us to meet with his wife as well. Novita is still doing pretty well, her mom is never home when we go there, so it has been difficult to try to discuss with her mom at all about the church. Oh well Novita has a strong testimony and Heavenly Father will prepare a way for her.
On Sunday there was 5 investigators from the South area that got baptized! One of them is a family of four that is so awesome! They are such cool people. They each asked one of us to baptize them because they wanted all four of us to have to get wet. haha It was a pretty amazing experience for sure, I figured I would send a few pictures of that to you all, even though they werent my investigators, haha.
The other picture is some random home builders that want a picture with us! haha
I am super duper excited for conference too!!! Except i will probably have to wait a few weeks to a month for the translations and what not! so you all will have to fill me in on all of the good talks and all that good stuff! So Mikey is popping the big question??? that DOG! how exciting. In a selfish way i am excited for him because it means i wont have to stand around at the wedding reception! but besides that i am just excited for him, I still cant picture the skinny boy getting married!
Sounds like a good week of football. Eeish I remember at the start of this month I had a little bit of trunkiness because I thought to myself, football is starting, and it was a killer. And now I pretty much dont remember about it until I read the emails. Hopefully BSU will put a whippin on Nevada! What is BSU's ranking right now???
Carrie has and will continue to be in my prayers, just let me know how all of it goes next week!
Hmmm I dont really know what else to talk about! It is crazy that I am probably about half way done with my time in Manado... This place is really really really awesome. My Indonesian is getting better each day, at times it is a little tough to understand people and having an American companion can make it tough at times to get better at the language, but oh well we are doing well. elder Kujanpaa is the man. So this past week President Groberg came to Manado and in our interview I prayed in English for like the first time in almost 4 months... It was a little rough I felt weird. Hopefully all of my English will be that way after awhile here! haha
Welp I am doing well, I know the Church is true, I am grateful I can be doing the Lord's work, and I know that when I faithfully and diligently work, I am happiest and things go the best.
I love you all!
Have a great week,
sampai minggu depan,
Kevin

PS Hayden looks so different and Skinny. that is nuts.


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Hello family!
It sounds like you all are doing very well! It has been a very good week in Indonesia, like always!
We were able to meet with Om Poltje again, he is so awesome, his brother was there too for our lesson and his brother Petrus was super excited about it too. It was funny because right before that we had a lesson with this really lame guy that was not open at all, and we were a little frustrated, but after meeting Om Poltje we were just so pumped. It is great when someone actually reads the Book of Mormon. haha
So Mom asked if we teach English, the answer is yes we do, every friday night. It isn't always my favorite thing to do but it usually ends up pretty fun. The people here are all so shy that they don't like to talk so it gets a little awkward but it is understandable. We actually have a lot of investigators that come, so it gives us more opportunites to talk with them.
Sounds like a rough week for BYU... eeish that is such a bummer, hopefully they will bounce back. I can only imagine t he depression on campus right now. Glad to hear BSU got another win, hopefully Geraldo can get cleared soon, that is really lame that he can't play yet! Sounds like the soccer is a fun thing to see the kids play. haha
So sounds like your havin a little trouble with the long hair in Priest Quorum. Hmm i guess you could read together about Captain Moroni and ask them if a stud like him would have long curly locks, because the answer is NO!
Novita is still kind of the same, we are just trying to be patient and having faith that all will work out. Om ferry is doing better, we were pumped because he read the BoM and was super pumped about it! He is so funny, just a goofy dude, his son Boris is pretty interested in the Church now too. We are excited about them, hopefully Ferry will invite his wife to attend/ learn as well.
Well I sent a few pictures. Apparently i am a little famous here because there are advertisements for my website on the back of the angkots! haha I thought it was pretty sweet. The other few pictures are from a nearby town, just a little outside manado that we went to today for Pday.
Welp The work is great here in Manado, I know it is the Lord's work, I know he blesses us as missionaries each day and I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and it is the most important part in gaining and maintaining a strong testimony! Never slack off in your reading of it!!!
I love you all, I will continue to pray for all of you, and I am glad to hear that Carrie's Surgery will happen soon so all of that can be corrected! Tell hello to all the little kids from their favorite uncle!!
Love,
Elder Johnson


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Another week has flown by!
It has been a really awesome week here. WE have been working really hard, meeting with our investigators and trying to be way more bold with them! That was one thing Elder Kujanpaa wanted to do, start pushing our investigators a little bit more. A little more about Elder Kujanpaa, he is from Highland, Ut. He played hockey in high school, his dad was born in finland, hence the funky last name. He is a way awesome missionary though. It is pretty rare to get to serve with another american, but it wont last too long, a whole bunch of new Indo missionaries will be coming in.
Novita is doing well, it is just so frustrating that her mom is tough on her coming to church and stuff. She really wants to come, her mom just wont let her. Oh well, it is just going to take a lot of prayer and faith and all will work out! It was pretty funny because the last meeting we had with her, we had no idea what to teach her because she pretty much knows it all already!
We have this awesome investigator, Ferry, that is hilarious. He is probably 45-50 years old, married, not too active at his church, and likes to learn. The hardest thing is how simply we have to teach for him to understand. his son Boris comes to english class a lot, and now he wants to come to church too, so hopefully that will help his dad out a little bit too. Their family is super awesome, very quiet and humble and so nice.
As far as investigators go we just taught this awesome guy, Poltje on monday. It was our first meeting and the Spirit was so so strong as we taught the Restoration with him. It was really cool because he said he felt it too, and hopefully when we meet with him again this weekend we can have a good meeting with him again.
It is just so nervewracking after a good first lesson with someone because probably 50 percent of the time we never see the person again because they ask their friends or pendeta about the Church and are told lies about it. Hopefully Om Poltje will remember how he felt as we met, and hopefully he has already prayed too!
Hmm sounds like BYU had a typical cruddy 2nd half, it always seems like they do. oh well sounds like their defense is pretty awesome, and they will get it together for sure!
I really hope they get the Geraldo thing settled, that is really annoying, I dont think the mcmartin family has done anything wrong in that, just loved the kid!
Mom, here is the deal with packages, if you want to send a package it needs to be SOO light. If it is heavy at all, the mission office has to pay a fine for it and stuff. I cant remember the exact weight, i know it needs to be light though.
Oh! we met again with Ferry, all is well again, he is such a good guy. He is still excited about coming to church more and stuff.
The kids sound like they are doing awesome! The kids are playing soccer?? AWESOME! Soccer is HUGE here, pretty much everyone loves it so much. Jack scored 3 goals!!! Awesome!
mmm Marinated chicken sounds sooo good. Food here is great, I think I am in love with rice now though, it is so good. We eat it almost 2 times a day.
Welp, I dont really know what else to say, I am loving the mission, it is hard, but the more and more I think about it I wouldnt rather be anywhere else, Inviting people to come to Christ is an amazing thing to be able to focus on!
I love you all!!!
Kevin

New Companion- from Utah

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

GO ORANGE GO BIG BLUE!

Sounds like it has been an awesome opening weekend of football! BYU got it done too! Awesome!! I liked the all white jerseys, way cool!!! Sounds like Kellen tore it up too. hopefully there are plenty more great things to come this football season!

Well, I have a new companion now, Elder Marijanto moved to Bogor today. My new companion is from Highland, Utah his name is Elder Kujanpaa. WE will probably be comps for about 6 weeks and then the next group of Indonesian elders will be ready to be trained so he will probably be a trainer and I will be with the Indonesian elder that came to Manado with me. He seems like a pretty cool guy. He is super tall, which will get a ton of laughs from the people here.

This week has been pretty good, a little confusing at times. Unfortunately Ferry doesnt want to talk with us anymore, it is really a bummer. Plus we always seem to lose investigators out of nowhere and dont know why, most likely because they've talked to their friends from church about this church and were told not to meet with us again. It is a bummer.

Novita is doing really well. She is still set on getting baptized in November and is starting to find the courage to talk with her mom about how she feels about this Church and stuff. It really is a matter of having faith and praying and knowing that Heavenly Father will prepare her way to follow his commandments. From Nephi 3:7 we know He always does!

Please keep sending me lots of info about football and stuff, it doesnt make me trunky, but if you stopped it probably make it worse! haha
I think it was Dad that asked if I have gotten any mail from friends- the answer is not yet. But it's not that big of a deal. Oh and what if you sent like 60 -70 dollars for the camera?

Sorry I havent talked much about what the city is like and stuff! I see the ocean everyday! The church is right next to it! It is pretty awesome. Sunsets are pretty amazing here because of it. Manado is pretty much a busy busy city, but my area is the northern part which is more neighborhoods and stuff. The living conditions are pretty rough in those areas, but I am pretty much used to it. The people are really funny, and for the most part almost always happy. I love this place for sure, except for days like monday where we get fed WAY too much and I feel sick all the next day because of it. But usually after a day or so I feel fine. I have definitely lost some weight here but I am not sure how much, there's no scale at our house. Maybe 10-15 punds? Hayden sounds like he is a skinny kid now! How funny!

The branch here is really small, and the branch president has been in the same calling for over 20 years. A very very long time. He is a really great guy, but at times it easy to see he is burnt out with being branch president. He has done a lot for the Church here though, and endured a lot of criticism from the newspapers and people here.

Well, sorry I dont have a whole lot to say! I always forget what to say in my emails! I know the Church is true and I know this is the Lord's work. I am learning more and more to just love these people and the importance of being myself right off the bat so they feel comfortable too. I have had a tough time with that, but hopefully it will get better with time! I really love this experience and that I could be a part in the most important work on the Earth.

I love you all! I hope you know it!
You are always in my prayers!
Elder Johnson

Learning Experiences, Teaching, and having the Faith of a Child

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Howdy!
Welp this week has been a very interesting one. I guess I can start off with the bad news. Let's just say there was a meeting today in Jakarta, but the Manado district wasn't there because we really messed up and missed our flight. I don't think I have ever felt as crappy as I did last night and today as I have in a really long time. I guess it was a good opportunity for the Lord to teach our district and myself some important lessons though, mostly me though. I have been taking maybe a little too much of a role as a follower the past couple of months but what I learned from this is I need to be a leader even though I am still the new elder in the district.
But besides that whole disaster it has really been an excellent week! I think Elder MArijanto and I are really going to see the work start to pick up in our area in the next couple of weeks. IT has been a very tough two months in this area because we werent really left with much which meant finding and finding and finding. This week we finally starting finding and recognizing the people who have been prepared for this Gospel. But even with all of that happening we still keep having problems with the other churches and things. I would say at least once a week we will teach a new contact, they will receive the message really well, and the next time we try to meet with them they reject us because they talked to members of their church or their pendeta about our church and they told them it is apostate. It gets really annoying and frustrating but oh well, there's not much we can do about it.
I think some of the best experiences we have had has been with inactive members. Here it is pretty much all our responsibility to meet with them, and there have been a lot of really good things that have come from it. Since we have started meeting them their activity has picked up quite a bit, and they definitely seem a whole lot happier now than when we first met with them. One in particular is Ferry who I think i have talked about before. He came to church for the first time in over 2 years a few weeks ago, missed last week because he hurt his back at work, but is planning to come this week. We are starting to invite him out to teaching appointments with us too and it has been amazing to see him change. He is really awesome.
Novita is still comin along, turns out her mother isnt really too supportive of it all, but novita knows it is true, she just doesnt want to upset her mom and things. It is going to take a lot of prayers and faith, thats for sure. All I am going to say about how to stay active is three easy things: Read the Book Of Mormon often, Pray often and Go to Church. It isnt possible to fall no matter what hardship comes if these three things are done.
I am sorry to hear about Carrie... eeish but that is really good that they were able to find that, and I know everything will work out fine. Give her a big hug and hello from her favorite Uncle Kevin! Along with all of the kids, I miss those kids a bunch, I bet they are getting so hilarious!
That is some craziness about Mikey... Not sure I can picture him as a married man. Hopefully it doesn't interfere with brother time in the future, because sometimes I miss him so much it hurts (hopefully he reads this, he will understand the joke, while everyone else judges me and thinks i am weird.) hehe.
I have still not gotten the rain jacket, there hasnt really been time to do so... it will be done soon. And the HP camera is just about at its' end. The first problem is that it won't except any memory card besides the HP ones that came with it, and then the other problem is that half the time there are errors with the pictures and I have to turn it off, and try again. So maybe it might be time for a new one... Not sure if it can happen now, but if it could that would be swell! I have seen some decent deals on solid cameras... around 1.250.000 Rp soo about 130 dollars maybe a little more for a really really good digital camera that will last a long long time. I should be fine on money if i could get help with like 40 or 50 dollars of it... jsut let me know it is really a priority right now.
I am excited for football season, well excited to hear about it from all of you! Capital is picked 2nd eh? Maybe this can be the year we finally get it done. And Boise State is ranked where now? Who is the team to beat this year?
Welp, I am sorry to hear that school is back in session now. I honestly think school sounds pretty nice in comparison to how hard missionary work is, but needless to say I like being here a whole lot more than being at school!
The church is true! I love you all! Have a great week!
Kevin

Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Selamat Idul Fitri!
The fasting month is over now. last night and today have been very interesting. Last night, people we driving around in mobs on their motorcycles and cars and bumping Islamic music and yelling and what not, mosques were going off all night until this morning and it is still kind of going right now. We actually just got done eating with some friends of a member here that are muslim as well. a ton of food, I do not feel so hot right now. haha and to think in about an hour we are invited to an inverstigators house for a birthday party with more food. this week might be a little bit of a weight gaining week, rather than losing. but it has definitely been an interesting experience, and this is in the most Christian area of Indonesia, who knows what it will be like next year when I am somewhere in Jawa!
T-minus 4 days til the big games yeah?? Hopefully both end up well. Oklahoma is number 1? another year of them being overrated at the start eh? definitely let me know about all of the big games!
It has been a good week, busy. Ferry is doing super well. He is excited about Church, helping the missionaries and what not. Hopefully he will go to institute every saturday night now too which will help him strengthen his friendship a bit with other younger ward members. he is such a goofy guy. We havent been able to meet with Novita again... she went out of town the day we usually visit. we should be able to meet again on sunday though. She knows it is true, she just dopesnt want to upset her mom.
I dont really have too much to report on this week... sorry! We got some pretty awesome training from elder perkins which we missed the meeting but we got a chance to hear what it was all about. he talked about was the language of faith, and also becoming like a little child. Missionary work requires a positive attitude and faith like a Child's faith. When we want something to happen, pray for it and have faith that it will happen because we know that God loves us and will help us. Maybe not right away, but it will happen. It was very timely and helped Elder Marijanto and I out a lot.
I know the Church is true, this is God's Kingdom being built right now, a prophet lives and speaks the word of God right now! what a great blessing it is to know this!
I love you all, I hope all is well with life, school and family. Hopefully they get things figured out with Carrie as well!
Love,
Kevin

Three Emails...Got a little behind! Kevin is doing GREAT!!!!

August 3, 2011
Selamat Agustus!
I hope you all are enjoying the last bit of summer. I cant believe it is already august. craziness!
SO first off, what the heck mountain west conference!? I still am not a big fan of that conference. but oh well, no worries, it doesnt matter what jerseys we wear for sure!
And the deal with mail here is that you cant send it through the Pouch mail thing the Church has, it has to be sent normally!
So the guy who told me that the Islam fast startted last week was incorrect it actually started on monday. It is a pretty huge deal here for sure. for the most part muslims are happy about all of it, but I am thinking at about midway through the month they'll be a little crankier, no food and even worst no cigarettes while the sun is up. I dont know if I have said this before, but EVERYONE, at least amolst all the males, smoke. and from what I saw yesterday they start young, around 12. IT is very very sad.
So, Dad asked about whether or not we teach Muslims, it is a pretty difficult situation. We cant really ask if they want to learn or anything, they have to approach us and ask. And if they want to learn it has to be cleared first by the head of their house and then by President Groberg. I am yet to teach any Muslims, it is just such a big no-no in that religion to enter into a different religion.
Our biggest finding method here is by far the angkots but also we often go into neighborhoods and try to make conversation with people. My personal favorite is when the person is sitting outside just asking " Ada istirahat sekarang?"- basically it is are you resting right now? and then they often get excited about a white person speaking indonesian and then we talk from there. It is a very different way of proselyting here, , but we usually talk with them for a while before we bring up the Church, unless they ask then we can just go for it. the most we can really say is we're missionaries from the Church and then hopefully they ask about it.
The big news this week is that Novita is now on date to baptized... but unfortunately she wants to wait quite awhile, so we can teach her mom a little bit too, and ease concerns. but we are excited about that, even though it is three months away!
one of the biggest problems in the branch here is keeping members active, it is also very very hard to find those that are already inactive to try and see if there is anything we can help with. But one member we have met with every week is a guy named Fery, who has been inactive fore about 2 years. Noone realyl knew why. but he finally opened up to us and we're now starting to help him get back into the Church and keeping the commandments. He is an awesome guy, and I could already tell he was happy to commit to start living righteously again.
Something I have really come to know here in Manado is how special this Church is because it teaches true doctrine and principles and focuses on Family and helping families be strong. I know this is the one true church, and I know it is led by Jesus Christ through a living prophet.I know that through Priesthood authority, ordinances of salvation are done so that we can become closer with Heavenly Father through covenants. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and help others learn how great our Father's love is for us.
I love you all!
Have an excellent week!
Sampai minggu depan!
Kevin

August 10, 2011
howdy howdy!
Another week has flown by! It has been a good, hard week that is for sure. It sounds like all is well in the US of A. Indonesia just seems to get crazier and crazier every week. It has really really been a harder week. We just can't really seem to get anywhere with our investigators. Mostly because we can never meet with them because they're busy. I often ask myself " Why do people have to have lives? why can't they just always meet with us!" but I am learning quickly to be patient with everyone, with investigators, myself, members, and our district.
I think i have said it before, but the people here are hilarious! a few days ago, we were teaching this guy named cornelius, and he has a ton of chickens and his house is more of just like a roof and it is all open so the chickens just kind of roam... well as we were teaching him, and trying to help him understand the restoration, because earlier he told us he is so grateful for the prophet mormon that is in America right now who wrote the Book of Mormon... So as we were teaching him, it was really quiet and then out of nowhere one of the chickens was right behind me and started trying to fly up and land on a rafter for the roof but got stuck... It scared me half to death and then Cornelius says " OH! it was the Holy Ghost!!" eeeish... so funny. He is a very very interesting fellow.
Novita is still doing well as is her friend Olivia, who we're teaching now and she already has a testimony about the Book of Mormon! The biggest thing they are going to have to overcome is being willing to switch churches, because their church right now- Gereja Bethel Indonesia, is almost right next to ours. So they are a little bit shy about it and things like that. But as their testimonies get stronger it won't be a problem for them.
One of the highlights of the week for me was yesterday when we met with Sister Novita, who was recently baptized. Brother Novan her husband is out of town on business, so we missed out on him. But their family is SO strong. It strengthens my testimony every time we meet with them. They are just so humble, but yet so happy and they have already see nthe blessings of the Gospel in their lives. On Sunday she bore her testimony and it was just great- It gave me a lot of hope too. Even though things are pretty tough right now in this area, and it is easy to let myself get down a little bit here and there, There really are people who are ready and need the Restored Gospel. now, If only we can get around the junk churches here to find them! People here are just too filled by churches here with things that are good, somewhat true, but not completely true. But they dont understand that so they don't really want to hear from us.
Needless to say I have learned quite a few things thus far, first be patient and love the people, second be a little more patient, be obedient and just work hard because I can control my effort and if I worked my hardest, I can go to sleep at night feeling good.
And the last thing is something the president Groberg said about 2 months ago at zone conference- it is ok to be disappointed, just never let yourself be discouraged.
I love this place, I am loving this opportunity to serve, and I am learning and growing so much every day.

I love you all! The Church is true, don't ever forget it! Read your scriptures, say your prayers and go to church! :]
Kevin

August 17, 2011
Kemerdekaan!
Haha today is the Indonesian independence day! So everyone has been all fired up about that!
First off, I am sad to hear about Carrie... Needless to say all will work out as we continue to pray and exercise faith with it! Tell her I love and miss her! And of course say the same to all the rest as well! SOunds like the campout was a blast! I bet those kids are just getting so hilarious. I am also sorry to hear that school is already starting again... you poor souls! The kids here have already been back in schol for a month or so now. It really is the worst feeling though, going back to school. And if the summer went as fast for you as it has for me, it hasnt felt like summer at all.
I was disappointed when BSU joined the WAC because I have already witnessed first hand that it is a joke of a conference. All of those reasons are why BYU left it. Hopefully BSU wont have to stay for long though, or maybe some changes will be made. Oh well, it sounds like this year will be interesting but also pretty good! The Georgia game should be amazing, hopefully it is better than the last time we played georgia... eeish. Let me know how it goes!
AS far as the work goes, it is still goin! We are just continuing to try to find and teach at any opportunity we get. we have some pretty god investigators right now. One, Alicia has met with the missionaries before with her husband. unfortunately her husband recently left her for other pursuits regarding religion. but she is very open and we know this Gospel will bless her greatly to know the fulness of our Father in Heaven's love for her. Novita is still the same, doing great. She has a very strong testimony already. The other investigator that is awesome is this guy named Eko who is 23 years old, hasnt attended GMIM for 3 years( Elder MJ and I are pumped about that part) and is very smart so he understands pretty well. The hard part is meeting with him, he is so busy always with musical pursuits, work, school. But he is awesome and the other day as we were proselyting after an appointment fell through we just decided to pick a street and walk, next thing we knew it was Eko's street and he saw us and called us over. The Lord really does lead his missionaries. We had been trying to meet with him again for about 3 weeks, and finally were able to! It was great.
The language is coming along... my companion always tells me i am already fluent... but I definitely dont feel like it yet. IT gets better everyday, it is really nice to have a companion that doesnt speak very much english at all, Elder MArijanto really helps me out a ton. He is such a stud. He is so humble and has taught me a ton already about how to serve. I really don't like to think that in a month and a half or so I will probably have a new companion... He is just the man.
It has started to rain here a lot lately... already three times in one week, and I have not yet bought a rain jacket, i think i am god on money but I might need more for it... IT RAINS SO HARD HERE. One hour and the roads were flooded the other day. It was nuts. I think it is the most rain I have ever seen. definitely awesome though.
On SUnday I have to speak in the branch... I had a hard enough time speaking for 15 minutes in English, Indonesian is going to be a whole diferent story. it will be interesting for sure...
Well, sorry I dont have much this week, But I know that this is the Lord's work. SOmething crazy about Manado is it is one of the newest branches in Indonesia, also the farthest from Jakarta which is the center of the Church in indonesia, and indonesia is about as far as you can get from Salt Lake City. Needless to say this is kind of the frontier of mission work! I know I am here to help these people by sharing the Restored GOspel with them and I am loiving this opportunity!
I love you all!
Have a great week, enjoy school! :]
Kevin

Fruit that SMELLS like GARBAGE? Sounds Yummy!

July 26, 2011
Siang!
I can't believe it is already P-day again, this past week has flown by! Yes, It is true, you might need to hide the dogs from me when I get home, only kidding of course! But seriously, if they get too annoying... I know a good recipe! :]
Today I have attached some photos from the past month. I found out I probably shouldnt send memory cards back to you because they will likely get torn out of the envelopes or be lost, so this will have to do. First I guess I will give a little background on the photos, one of them is of the ocean and a nearby volcano from the beach that is about a 5 minute walk from behind the church! Manado is so beautiful! There is one of me holding some durian, which is a very interesting fruit here. It has a different smell to it, it is kind of like a mix between garbage and something sweet. I tried it for the first time a few nights ago, and it is so good! Very different but very good!
There is one of Elder Marijanto and I with a family that the father was reacvtivated about 3 months ago and the wife was just baptized a month ago- Novan, Novita, and their son Stiv (Steve). They are awesome and are now preparing for the temple, which is a huge sacrifice for members here it means travelling out of the country and saving up a lot of money. They have the desire though and are willing to work hard for it, so The Lord will help them with it!
Hmm So a typical day here in Manado is usally like this:
wake up 630, have an upset stomach until about 645 ( I wont go into details) haha.
Then I usually jump rope, and do some weights for 20-30 minutes. Shower, eat breakfast which lately has been grilled cheese sandwiches, so good. Breakfast food here like cereal is expensive, and eggs arent exactly too good on the stomach soo yeah I stick to the gilled cheese sandwich.
After all that is study time, until 11 then we head out for the day or eat lunch then head out. After that it kind of depends on if we were able to get appointments set up, people are hard t o make set appointments with, it is always- "oh call back tomorrow morning" and then in the morning, " Already busy today." the bottomline is the people here do not like to set appointments up in advance, or if we do set one, at least one falls through every day.
But when they dont work out we go find people to teach either by just walking around the markets and talking to people or going into neighborhoods and trying to teach lessons.
At 830-9 we pick up dinner and head home!
One of the biggest things I have learned this week has been that when we work hard, time flies by, the work is fun, and we are all happy. The other thing I have learned is that GMIM (the biggest church here) is the worst!
We had an awesome family to teach, the first lesson was great, they seemed really prepared and interested, but on monday we had an appointment and Joseph's friend was there who is not a pendeta but is in leadership at the local GMIM church. He basically started off by saying "I respect you all so much but I already know about your Church, the Book of Mormon and it is false and I don't believe any of it, and neither does this family. They are members of GMIM." It was a real bummer, and the family didn't even say anything the whole time. So we just shared a message about Faith and how a testimony is obtained and then left. It was a real bummer, but hopefully they will meet with us again without that guy there.
So that was the big story for the last week. I think it was Dad that asked what percentage of Manado is Christian, and that is a very good question, because we have heard that Manado is actually primarily Muslim as well but the areas outside of it are majority Christian. Not really sure what it is, but in the North where I am serving it is very Muslim.
Which reminds me, Selamat Puasa! The fasting month started today for Muslims. haha.
Well, The Church is true, Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is the word of God.
I love you all!
Kevin

Visit from Pres. and Sister Groberg

July 21, 2011

Hello Brother and Sister Johnson,

President and I made a visit to Manado last weekend.
We were able to be with the elders on Saturday, their branch on Sunday, and be with them when they taught a new investigator after church.
Elders Johnson and Marijanto are working hard and working well together.
Elder Johnson took part in the lesson and gave the first vision in Indonesian. We were so impressed. That's not easy-especially with the added pressure of having president there!
You can be proud. Elder Marijanto is young, faithful and a patient trainer. Elder Johnson has probably told you that both of Elder Marijanto's parents are deceased. He has 3 older siblings but only one-a married sister- is a member. I don't think he receives many letters.
I took a few pictures and will attach them.
Thanks for raising a great son.
Love, President and Sister Groberg
1-Elders with President, and Elias at Bukit Kasih
2-Manado Elders: Brown, Go, Johnson, Marijanto in front of metal doors of the church which is held in a Ruko (short for Rumah Toko= house store)

Bathing in a BUCKET? That's one BIG Bucket!!!

I have to preface this with a little history. Kevin has ALWAYS been a very picky eater. When he was young he did not like pizza or spaghetti. When we would get fast food we would most likely have to go somewhere completely different for Kevin. He also does not like to be dirty, sweaty, or stinky!While playing sports, it was not unusual for him to shower at least twice a day if not three! So hearing that he has eaten dog and is showering out of a bucket is quite surprising! My what a year away from home can do and especially a mission call from the Lord! I am so proud of the man he has become!
July 20, 2011

Hello!
Another interesting, busy but great week over here!
First off, yes I have eaten dog. And no it does not taste like Chicken, it tastes better! Just a little bit bony. Dont hate me forever for saying it, but it was really good. The food is all very spicy here, and up until last week I was yet to have a post- sambol filled meal stomach ache that was unbearable. But last week it ended as I ate just a little too much sambol, which is mashed up peppers and stuff, and I did not feel so great for the next day or so. For the most part I can handle it though, It is so hot but it tastes so good.
A little bit about my companion! Elder Marijanto is from Semarang which is on Java. He has been a member since he was young, but his family is a little interesting. About half of his family is Muslim, and the others are members. Pretty interesting. It is interesting because the way it works with the Indonesian missionaries is that they start their mission right after the graduate, so at age 18. He started his mission last october but his birthday is only 3 months before mine. Pretty interesting, He is awesome though, such a humble person. I have learned a ton from him already.
This past weekend President Groberg and his wife came up to Manado, which is pronounced kind of how it looks, in Indonesian the letter A is always pronounced like it is in the word All. AHHH. like that. haha. But it was good to have them up here because it helped the branch out a lot to have them come and ensure them that the church is strong. The branch here is really struggling, it is hard when the church is so small here but there are a ton of other churches that are Huge. The big ones are pentacostal, GMIM which is just an evangelical- protestant church, tiberias which is apostate to the extreme, it is very charismatic and Catholic. Also there are many advent churches too. With so many churches and things we meet a lot of different doctrinal understandings and things too. It is amazing what some people believe because their pendeta told them.
The language is still coming along, I am starting to feel a little bit more comfortable with it. The hardest thing is I struggle more with hearing than speaking and when an investigator is speaking about something really important that helps us know their needs, i miss it sometimes. But it really is getting better.
This week has been pretty challenging, people here are not very good about showing up for appointments and things! often they want to meet at the church, but then they dont show up, it gets very frustrating especially when it happens often. But even though it has been hard it is great when finally you find someone who is interested and willing. We got a referral from an investigator the other elders are teaching, it is the girl's relatives, and we met them on friday and on sunday one fo them came to church, usually they are very reluctant to come to church right away. So that was very exciting!
Novita is getting closer, we really just want to meet with her and her family and teach them all and just help a little bit. The thing is that her mom doesnt dislike this church, she just doesnt understand what is different about it that makes Novita want to join it. So yeah, we are just trying to help with all of that.
But It was great to hear from you!
I am doing well, I am now pretty much used to very different living conditions, no AC, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, showering with a bucket and being dirty all the time. now that I am used to all of that I am starting to love it here!!
Well I love you all! have another great week, Enjoy summer and all the fun that comes with it!
Kevin