10-7-13

October 7, 2013

Dear the fams,

This week was good--not crazy eventful, however.  This will probably be my last letter I will send you.  By the time you get this, I will only be a week or so from coming home anyway.

We've again had some good success lately with some less active people.  We were able to commit two people to receive their endowment and then a bunch of our recent converts are all preparing to go to the temple for baptisms for the dead, which will be way sweet.  And we've also been helping these other less active dudes to quit smoking and stuff.  It has been pretty good.

The mission has gone by fast.  It's crazy.  I hit my two years mark a few days ago...it doesn't even feel like it has been that long.  It hasn't really hit me that I'm so close to finishing.  It probably won't until I'm on the plane, I guess.  It is going to be a sad thing to have to leave Samoa.  I've really grown to love these people a lot.

Yesterday I bore my last testimony in church.  It is really coming down to it.  I don't really know what to say this week.  It has been good though.

Our snake and crab are still doing good.  I've been wondering if it is worth it trying to sneak the crab in my suitcase.  We'll see what happens.

A crazy lady came to the house we were eating dinner at last night and then just sat down at the table and started eating with us uninvited.  Haha.  It was way funny.  There is this Samoan dish called lu'au that we were eating, but they didn't bring her a lu'au and she got all mad.  It was just an unusual experience.  And then she burped and left abruptly right after she finished eating.  Good stuff.

We're still working hard and seeing some good things happen.  I've only got a few weeks left so I want to give it my all.  We're hoping we can have some investigators ready for baptism before I leave, but I guess we'll see.

My mission has been the greatest experience so far and I will be supper bummed to leave.  But it's all good.

See you in a few weeks,

Elder Johansen

9-30-13

September 30, 2013

This week was transfers.  I'm staying in Lotofaga.  It's for sure now that I'm going to finish here.  By the time I leave, that will make nine months here.  But it's sweet cause I love the area.

My new comp is Elder Save'u, from here in Upolu.  He is a good dude and real obedient, so it's good.  I'll miss Gasio though.  We were companions for a solid 5 months.  He left and took all his food and his candy though, so we're trying to figure out what we're going to eat now.  Luckily we have this big pig leg in the freezer we can cook up at any time, so maybe we'll do something with that.

This week has been a few early mornings.  We got up before 5 on transfer day cause we had to go pick up a bunch of people.  And then we had a temple trip with one of our wards and had to get up at 3:30 and get ready so we could be at the temple in time for baptisms for the dead at 6:00.

The temple trip was way awesome.  First was the baptisms for the dead with the youth, and then after we went to the endowment and then sealings.  The endowment was for this woman we have been working with for a few months now to prepare for the temple.  She was sealed to her husband and her kids right after.  It was a cool experience.  The woman's name is Malia and her husband is Usoalii.  Usoalii is actually our ward mission leader and even served a mission.  But for whatever reason, he never wanted to get sealed to his wife.  Malia told us that tons of missionaries have tried to get them in the temple, but Gasio and I were the first ones that could finally convince him to do it.  So that was a way dope experience.

Our snake is doing good.  She is a trooper.  And all our crabs are dead but one, Sipologo.  Sipologo is the man and is the king of the bathroom.

I've got exactly one month left from today.  That's pretty nuts.  I think next week will be my last letter.  Otherwise, I would just be writing letters to myself if I were to write any after that. It has been the best.  We're hoping to take it up this month and rip up the work in this area.  

Elder Johansen

9-23-13

Brothurs,

Suppins my friend?  This week has been gnars on cars for deftoats.  This week was actually the excellentness though.  We've been "spanking them blue" as the old timers would declare.

Mother, that's cool that you won 500 bones...I guess now you can use that cash to buy me 500 lbs of swedish fish when I get back.

It sounds like everyone is really spunkin' around the dunk bunk back home. That's the tops.

We had a good week.  Lots of good stuff happened.  First of all, one night while driving home after dinner we were in the dark and on the side of the road I distinctly saw a very nice looking belt that apparently someone had left by mistake.  So we put the car in reverse and, upon reaching the belt and getting a better look at it, I realized my eyes must have been "cheated by a spell," for it was not, however, a fashionable piece of hipwear, but actually a 4 1/2 foot long python.  I actually don't know what kind of snake it is.  I don't know snakes well enough to name it.  But it is massive.  We took her by the tail and tossed her into the back of the van and we were off.  We decided to name her "Snape."  However, secretly when no one is around, I call her "Ken Sortingham."  She is sweet and very passive.  She lives in our closet and we feed her lizards.

We got to go to the temple this past week.  That was really cool.  There were a few people we have been working with that got their endowments.  So that was cool.  I'm always stoked to get to go to the temple.  Afterwards we went and got food and the branch president almost got in a fight with one of the parking lot security guys.  It was funny, but kind of awkward cause they were making a big scene in front of a bunch of people.  Then these old grandma ladies from the branch got in on it and started yelling at the security guard guy too.  It was choice.

This past Saturday and Sunday we had five baptisms and confirmations.  The three sisters--Aso, Fuasa, and Fualaau.  They are Main'u's kids.  She's the woman who was baptized last week.  And together with them, we also baptized Doni, our Fijian investigator.  Also that morning we baptized Esau, the investigator we have been working with for quite some time now.

All the baptisms were awesome.  I got to do Doni, Aso, Fuasa and Fualaa's baptisms.  And Gasio did Esau.  I was a little nervous for Doni's baptism cause I had to do it in English.  But I was just afraid of messing up or something cause I've never done a baptism in English before.  Same thing with his confirmation.  It was weird cause I was translating what I would say in Samoan into English and I was just all nervous for it for some reason.  I guess I'm just used to doing stuff in Samoan.

After the baptisms, they gave the opportunity for all the converts to share their testimonies.  That was way cool, especially Doni when he got emotional as he was telling his story.  He is pretty much one of those miracle baptisms and one of those you know is just absolutely prepared by the Lord.  So it was way awesome! Definitely a day I won't forget.  Plus we got ice cream after, so that made a perfect end to a perfect day.

Several of my buddies from the MTC went home last night.  They called me on the phone and it was crazy thinking that that would have been me.  They were all jealous of the rest of us that are staying.  It's nuts though.  The mission has gone so fast.

I'm looking at my travel plans right now, Mother, and you can guarantee to expect me to arrive in Salt Lake City at 5:35 pm on October 30th.  I had the lady at the mission office send the paper to you again cause you said in your letter you weren't sure.  It works out perfect too cause I can come home just in time for Halloween and I can dress up as a missionary.

Things are the bones.  I'm lovin' it right now.  We are definitely going to see some dope miracles this next month.  I feel like the Lord has a lot of great things in store for me.  By the time you receive this letter, I will only have a few weeks left. So that's nutso butso.  I'm going to make the best of this precious time I've been given.

I think our snake is the same snake Harry Potter let loose from the zoo.  She told me "He wasn't all that tall in real life."  

You know who blades too,

Elder Eric Read Johansen

PS  Tell Mamma Jileen that Silia's last name is either going to be Pula or probably Lagalaga.  Samoans have like ten last names, so it's never a sure thing.  I think Silia will go by Sister Lagalaga though.  And she is serving in the Sidney North Mission, which is different than the other Sidney South.

Faufetai