Happy New Year! December 30

first off, family, it was great to see all of your wonderful faces and hear your voices! i miss you all and it was great talking to you!

this week was a hard one! it was really hard to fund people who would listen to us this week because of christmas and all but i have lots of hope for this week! 

this week 2 of our main investigators moved.. it was a bummer! but the other missionaries in that area said that they would make sure they baptized them for us! haha so that was a bummer, we only have one real investigator right now, so this week is basically going to be a searching week were we will try and find new people to teach! 

also this week elder soares accidentaly dropped our cell phone and it broke! haha so that made things a little tricking because we couldnt confirm our appointments and we ended up having to walk to there houses, but for the most part no one was home, so that was a bummer because we would walk a ton just to turn around! haha 

on the bright side! we have running water as of today!!! haha it is a miracle!! im just hoping it lasts for more than 3 days, unlike last time! haha

this week i played the piano in sacrement meeting, and that was a exciting seeing as i had never practiced any of the hymns that we sang! haha but it was fun! i missed playin! also this week i became the sewing csar of the house! it turns out that none of the elders i live with know how to sew so this week i sewed a bunch of shirts and pants! haha it looks like mrs wasmers class is coming in handy after all! haha also saw my first sunset in brazil! its crazy, i have never seen one because normally we are teaching at that time! but it was really cool! its really differnet without mountains! haha

spiritual thing of this week! my companion said it was my turn to pick a house to knock on and i saw this house really far down the street with a light on in the front, and i just got this feeling that we needed to go there! My companion i think was a little skptical because that area had already been tracted, but we did it anyway and we found this family who was super in active, like 6 years! and the son was baptized when he was ten, but doesnt really remember much about church, so we taught them a lesson and he said that he really wants us to come back! it was cool! it just goes to show that if you have a hunch, and its good thing, you need to follow it, becuase you dont know what you might miss! 

well that is my weekly update! also i need to say this.... IM SO HAPPY THE JAZZ BEAT THE LAKERS!!!!!! hahaha 

happy new year to all! i love and miss all of you!

Elder Ryan

SKYPE TIME December 25, 2013

hey i will try and skype or call around like 11-1 on christmas! im not for sure what time in this time frame for sure, but it will be between 11-1 for sure on christmas day! love you all!!

The computer started making noise about 1:15 pm and luckily all the computer equip set up by Ken and Cathryn worked like a charm....Mom forgot to do anything but look at that big smile and smile back.  Luckily Cathryn thought to take a picture of Elder Ryan (yes, that is what his official tag says) and his comp Elder Soares from Sao Paulo ("elder Hyan is cool" was his only English phrase). We got to talk for 59 min and 59 seconds according to the Skype timer.   Best Christmas gift ever!!

Contact info for Ryan

ADDRESS UPDATE


Email Address--keep them short and sweet so he can read the epistles from his MOM and DAD :-) He only has a short time to be online so if you want him to savor your words feel free to send things snail mail.

ryanej210@myldsmail.net

Snail Mail--  letters go to the Mission home address

Elder Ryan Johnson
Av. Dom Antonio Brandao, No. 333, Sala 402
Farol-Maceio, AL  57021-190
Brazil

Packages are highly unlikely to get to him unscathed--he has requested that all packages go straight to the mission home.

Elder Ryan Johnson
Av. Dom Antonio Brandao, No. 333, Sala 402
Farol-Maceio, AL  57021-190
Brazil

send me lots of packages! ;) hhaha 12-23-13

 DECEMBER 23, 2013

hey everyone!

i hope everything is going well for you and that you are all hving a great holiday season and getting lots of awesome presents for christmas.. and sending me lots of packages! ;) hhaha

weeelll this week was way better than last week! its amazing how much more portugues i can understand and speak after just 2 weeks! it truly is a miracle! its not like im fluent or anything but i can see a graduale improvement everyday! its good stuff!! 

this week we had mission confernece! it was good, i got to meet lots of people in my mission and see all my friends that were in the mtc with me! it was awesome to see how All of them had progressed so much in the language after just one week! the only downer about it is that the conference was in maceio, which is 3 hours from arapiraca! so there was a total of 6 hours in a bus.. great fun! ahaha, but other than that it was good!

so i thought that i would be eating a ton of rice and beans when i got here, but i actually havent eaten like any! i mostly eat pasta, which is nice, except the members here are trying to make me fat so they can eat me for christmas dinner or something because every time we eat at a members house, they just keep piling food on my plate until im at the point of explosion! haha 

this week we found 7 new investigators, and marked 2 of them to baptism, so i should have my first baptism by the 2 week of january! i am pretty excited about that! one of out investigators found us, his name is john, he saw us teaching a lesson, waited for us to finish, and then asked us if we could teach him! it was pretty cool, we taught him and he came to church with us and he said he liked it a lot! speaking of church, in my first ward meeting here in brazil, the bishop asked me to give a talk! hahah lets just say it was like 2 minutes long! haha but all the members said they could understand me, so i was pretty proud about that! haha! also we taught paula, and investigtor we met on the street, 3 lessons this week! on the final lesson, which was sunday night, we taught her for 3 hours, she had so many questions and it just went on for forever, but at the end we bore our testimonies of the truthfulness of our message and by the end of this everyone was crying and the spirit was so strong! it was awesome, and because of this we were able to mark a date for bptism! it was awesome!

well that pretty much sums up my week, we taught lessons, clapped at doors, walked like 40 miles probs, and it was awesome! i love my mission so much, ive learned so much abot my self and about our purpose here on earth. i have learned that true happiness comes from living the gospel of jesus christ and serving others! 

i miss you all and hope everything is going smooth for you! 

Mom: the address you can send stuff to is the mission home address, and it should be in my call packet, if you cnt find it ill have it when i call on christmas! about the call, it will be on christmas, not sure what time! haha but just expect it on christmas at some point!!

love you all! have an awesome christmas!!

Elder Ryan

First Week in the Field 12-16-14

** Sorry, I forgot to post this letter while I was in London with Cathryn....distractions! 

Arapiraca, Alagoas, Brazil  December 16

well lets start off with the fact that i dont know portuguese! hahaha

but everything is going good! brazil is awesome! and i love the field!

the mtc ended on monday for me and got to the field on tuesday. on monday i had a 10 orientation, all in portueges.. soooo.. i only understood like 30 percent! hahah but what i did understand was good, but it was a little too long.. at times it was real dificult to stay awake! haha

my new companion is elder soares! he is way awesome! he works way hard and is way funny. he is a brazilian and doesnt speak a word of english which makes it a little difficult to talk sometimes but he is really patient and a great trainer, i have already learned a lot from him! my city im in is called arapiraca! its about 3 hours from maceio! the weather here is hot, hot and hot! my companion says that it never rains here either! so looks like im going to become as red as a lobster while im here! haha also we have running water every other week! haha and this week was the other week, so we had no water! i had to shower out of a barrel! haha it was legit! it is such a cool experience! i taught my first lesson my second day out here! and that was exciting! haha it was a struggle! but in total we taught 4 lessons this week! the final one was awesome! we taught this guy named jose! he was legit, he only had one foot and was super cool! we taught him about christ and the book of mormon and i shared with him heleman 5:12 about how we need to build on the rock of christ, and i think he really felt the spirit strongly becuase while we were reading it he started crying! it was a cool experience! the city in general is pretty poor but its crazy because even though they have almost nothing, they are the happiest and most accepting people ive ever met! its cool!

random things about the city! they have a different accent here and talk super fast so that is always fun when i am trying to understand what is going on! haha also coca-cola here is amazing! haha it taste so much better here than it does in the states! we walk probably 5 or 6 miles a day so by the end of each day im ready to sleep! its a good feeling every night, you go to bed knowing you did some good in the world and that you worked hard! another thing, horses, goats, dogs, and cats just roam around the streets here! its crazy! haha i havent quite gotten used to that yet! haha

we also eat lunch with members like every day which is nice, we dont really have to worry about meals to much here, becuase the members try to stuff us here! haha

my first sunday was stake confernece here! and it was a struggle to stay awake! i could barely understand anything and there was air conditioning! haha im pretty sure my head was bobbing for at least half the time!

another random thing. they have corn flavored ice cream here.. and suprisingly it isnt completely nasty

andria:HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! i hope it was awesome! i love and miss you!!! hope it was awesome! i sent you a letter, but i have no idea when it was get to you! haha

last thing, they already have an elder johnson in my mission, and my president doesnt like having repeats, so my new name is Elder Ryan! or to the brazilians, elder hyan! haha its an adventure! 

well that is it from me! hope you are all doing great! i love and miss you all! thanks for your letters they are great!! 

Elder Ryan

the final week in the MTC 12-6-13

my family!! what is up??

everything is going great on my end! this week has been my best week so far of the mission! i only have 4 more days left in the field! it is crazy!! but im so excited to get to macieo! i will be out in the field officially on tuesday morning of this week! its crazy! i feel like the language is coming quite nicely but i was talking to my instructot brother alvino, and he said that in maceio they talk really funny and that they have such a different accent that i will basically have to learn protuguese all over again! haha so that will be exciting! but i just cant wait to get out there and do the real thing! even if it is super hard! i just am so excited!!

well this weeks update!

we only had ham like 10 times this week!! it was a miracle!! hahaha i actually enjoyed meal times instead of dreading them! so that was nice for a change!

the mtc put up christmas lights this last week and last friday night they had a little light show in the court yard and we sang christmas carols! it was so fun!

both of my "investigators" got baptized this week! it was awesome! its crazy to think that just 5 weeks ago i could barely speak any portuguese at all, and now im at the point where i could sit and teach and explain almost anything gospel related for like an hour! its way cool! the gift of tongues is so real here its amazing! during lessons we'll be teaching and our investigator will ask me something and i will have had no idea how to answer and then all of the sudden im using words that i didnt even know i knew! its awesome! im just hoping that it stays with me as i go out to the field! haha

this week me and my companion spoke only portuguese everyday! it was so fun! it was hard sometimes and for sure some quiet moments but i was surprised how much i knew and how much faster i learned if i did that! it was awesome!

i decided that it is a good thing that i am leaving the mtc soon becuase i think ive started going a little bit senial! haha because seriously i dont think ive laughed so much in my whole life than i have this week! just the slightest thing will get me busting out in laughter! haha i guess that is what happens when you are in the same like 7 rooms everyday for 5 weeks! haha but lets just say that for the sake of my sanity, i need to get out of here! haha

this week i had a really cool thing happen to me. one of the sister missionaries in my district asked me to give her a blessing. im not sure what she was having a hard time with for sure, but you could tell she was just having a really hard time! she asked me to give the blessing! it was a really cool experience for me! being the mouth peice, i really felt the spirit, and even though i had no idea what to say before hand, i felt that the spirit guided me and  it was really cool. later that day she seemed to be doing a lot better! it was awesome!

cathryn, my instructor is wondering why you havent written him back, and honestly.. im a little disappointed in you! haha just kidding! but for real you need to meet him when he gets to provo and message him back today because he is the coolest guy!!!

MOM! i miss your emails! please write me one soon! and one of the sisters in my district dropped my camera when she was taking a picture for me and it broke.. so if you could send me a new one, and another memory card, that would just be grand and peachy! love you! also some zout, because that other stuff you gave me didnt work!

i love you all and miss you all! i hope you are all doing great! the church is true!!

Elder Johnson!

OUT ONE MONTH!! Nov 30, 2013

November 30

ok so i have officially been out for a month now! pretty crazy huh!! seems like yesterday i was getting dropped of at the provo mtc! so wild!!

thanks for all your emails this week i really enjoyed them! and mom you can send more than one line!! haha just dont make it too long! haha i would love to hear more!! ***

but as the mission goes on, the more and more i love it! i am having so much fun out here! so this week i went to the police station and got all my fingerprints and such! and now its official, im in the brazil system and can go to jail!! i guess i better not do anything to stupid now right?? haha this week we even had a thanksgiving dinner (well lunch, because that is the main meal of the day here) but it was seriously so amazing... and best of all.. NO HAM!!! it was a miracle!! haha but for real i was so happy, we had turkey, potatoes, and best of all... Ice cream! haha it was the first time that ive had it since i left the grand old nation of USA! we also get to go to the sao paulo temple everyweek, which i think i already mentioned, but my greatest accomplishment this week was not falling asleep during the session! hahaha! score one for elder Johnson! haha also my district has been practicing a musical number to sing at the farewell deviontional when we leave! so that will be way fun, even though my district lacks some musical talent! haha but they try so that makes up the difference right?? haha

to be honest, its time for me to leave the MTC! i mean its been great and all, but i jsut want to get out into the field and start doing the real thing! even though im not fluent in the language, i feel like i can communicate pretty well, and when it comes to church vocab,i am pretty much fluent and can teach about all the principles and such and feel like i could teach a whole lesson in decent portuguese.. but when people start speaking fast... uh oh.. haha its like they speak a million miles and hour, i have to ask people to speak slower like ten times before i understand them! haha but other than that, the language is coming pretty nicely and i feel like im improving daily! its been awesome!

last night i was helping this elder from ecuador, i was teaching him how to do a rubiks cube, and he messed up, and he yelled, "damn it" hahahhahaha i seriously laughed so hard! i almost wet my self! I was like rolling on the floor! so funny! haha

well that is it for me! i miss you all and am a little jealous i didnt get to go to san diego with all of you for thanksgiving! it was weird not being with you! but i love you all and am so greatful that you are my family, eventhough we struggle and are real weird.. i wouldnt want any other family than the one i am a part of!! i love you all so much and hope everything is going great back home!

Elder Johnson

PS mom here is my scripture for my plaque. Ether 12:27, and can you call the bank and tell them im in brazil.. i forgot to do that before i left! haha thanks so much!!

*** Mom's email for this week--after last week's complaint about my NOVEL length emails.  

Dear Ryan,

I Love you!!!  We love your letters-- Send me your mission scripture for the plaque. Send a note for Chandler's mom.  I LOVE YOU.

Short and sweet,  MOM

MOM NOTE:  Ryan you also forgot to vacuum the excursion and the Jeep Club....and that laundry....hmmmm forgot or turfed???  It must be LOVE!

Brazil MTC address

To Write to Ryan: 

You can send letters directly to ryanej210@myldsmail.net*** 

He can read your letters online...but he has strict Mother orders to reply only to me!!! hahaha

****Remember that he only has about 1 hour to spend reading and writing emails so here's an alternate way to contact him:

1.  IF YOU HAVE 5-10 days: you can send him a snail mail letter to his current address below. He will be there until December 10. I will update his addresses as I get them. 

2.   IF you have info he needs in less than a week or you want to write a long epistle that he can chew on during the week....

You can forward your email to me and I will include it in my emails to him through my missionties.com acct-- I email it to Brazil...they print it out and send it to Ryan via snail mail.  He can snail mail it back to them and they will email it back to me.  They promise not to read your letters...but I'm pretty sure that I might sneak a peek if it comes to my email box and I actually have a moment... but in reality I barely read the soccer practice alerts so you might be totally safe to say all kinds of bad things about me in the email and I won't have a clue!!!

Ryan's  MTC address is currently :

Elder Ryan E Johnson Brazil Maceio Mission

Brazil CTM, Box6 District 44-A

Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo

Casa Verde

02516-040 Sao Paulo-SP

Brazil

Thanks to all of you for your love and Support of Elder Ryan!

the update! 11-29-13

ok so i have officially been out for a month now! pretty crazy huh!! seems like yesterday i was getting dropped of at the provo mtc! so wild!!

thanks for all your emails this week i really enjoyed them! and mom you can send more than one line!! haha just dont make it too long! haha i would love to hear more!!

but as the mission goes on, the more and more i love it! i am having so much fun out here! so this week i went to the police station and got all my fingerprints and such! and now its official, im in the brazil system and can go to jail!! i guess i better not do anything to stupid now right?? haha this week we even had a thanksgiving dinner (well lunch, because that is the main meal of the day here) but it was seriously so amazing... and best of all.. NO HAM!!! it was a miracle!! haha but for real i was so happy, we had turkey, potatoes, and best of all... Ice cream! haha it was the first time that ive had it since i left the grand old nation of USA! we also get to go to the sao paulo temple everyweek, which i think i already mentioned, but my greatest accomplishment this week was not falling asleep during the session! hahaha! score one for elder Johnson! haha also my district has been practicing a musical number to sing at the farewell deviontional when we leave! so that will be way fun, even though my district lacks some musical talent! haha but they try so that makes up the difference right?? haha

to be honest, its time for me to leave the MTC! i mean its been great and all, but i jsut want to get out into the field and start doing the real thing! even though im not fluent in the language, i feel like i can communicate pretty well, and when it comes to church vocab,i am pretty much fluent and can teach about all the principles and such and feel like i could teach a whole lesson in decent portuguese.. but when people start speaking fast... uh oh.. haha its like they speak a million miles and hour, i have to ask people to speak slower like ten times before i understand them! haha but other than that, the language is coming pretty nicely and i feel like im improving daily! its been awesome!

last night i was helping this elder from ecuador, i was teaching him how to do a rubiks cube, and he messed up, and he yelled, "damn it" hahahhahaha i seriously laughed so hard! i almost wet my self! I was like rolling on the floor! so funny! haha

well that is it for me! i miss you all and am a little jealous i didnt get to go to san diego with all of you for thanksgiving! it was weird not being with you! but i love you all and am so greatful that you are my family, eventhough we struggle and are real weird.. i wouldnt want any other family than the one i am a part of!! i love you all so much and hope everything is going great back home!

Elder Johnson

PS mom here is my scripture for my plaque. Ether 12:27, and can you call the bank and tell them im in brazil.. i forgot to do that before i left! haha thanks so much!!

Temple Trip 11/27/2013

Forgot to share these awesome pictures of Ryan at the São Paulo Temple during his time at the CTM--

Dear Family,

We are pleased to be able to send you a picture of your missionary´s recent visit to the São Paulo temple.  This is always a special moment, entering the temple with other missionaries engaged in the Lord´s work.   We know they will treasure this remembrance. 

It is a great honor to serve with each of these fine young people and to watch their growth as they learn more about their sacred calling of a missionary.  We have a great love and respect for each one of them.

Thank you for your support for them.  They love to receive emails and letters from you, and feel of your love.  We know that your family will feel the blessings of their service.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Degn

The Update 11-22-13

Ryan Johnson <ryanej210@myldsmail.net>	11/22/13
to me, Cathryn, Ken

ok first off mom... that was the biggest email i have ever gotten!!! its like you where writing the fifth harry potter book! i dont even have enough time to read the whole thing beause we only have like 30 minutes to write in this place!! its madness i tell you!! ;) haha but everything is going well

 

wednesday we got to place books of mormon and it was awesome!! i placed 7 books!! it was so legit and i swore i spoke fluent portuguese!! the gift of tongues is way legit! oh and just so you all konw, im short on time for this email because moms email took so long to read! haha! so sorry if im short on details! but im loving it down here in brazil! i have gained 8 pounds.. so hopefully i stop gaining wait or else my pants will no longer fit me! haha but i swear we eat ham in like every flipping meal... it is safe to say that i hate ham.. i meant i HATE ham! hahah it seriously is the worst.. we even eat ham sandwihes for breakfast.. its a joke! haha

 

Cathryn. you have to marry my instructor brother Alvino.. he is serously that most amazing guy ever and he so freaking funny. he is planning on going to BYU so you have to find him this next year and marry him!! but for real he is awesome and should totally meet him!

 

other things that have been going on this week

fell asleep at the temple.. oops! haha seriously like the story of my life here!! i swear im so tired! haha

my district had an awesoem testimony meeting on tuesday where we all started crying because the spirit was so strong.. dang it spirit.. make us all cry! haha

well that is pretty much the most excting things that happen in the CTM here in brazil! its hot.. the next day its even hotter. the portuguese is gettign better and better everyday and i can teach a lesson about almost anything in portuguese and actually make sense! its so awesome!!

 

tell andria, cat, and rachel that i miss my best homies a lot and that im sorry that i couldnt respond to their emails personally this week! i will try hard to respond next week! its just crazy busy! but i love them and am missing you all like crazy!

 

love you all and miss you and appreiciate all your emails! keep sending them.. even if they are longer than the book of alma! haahha.. mormon jokes! hilarous :)

 

love

 

Elder Johnson!!

Sweating in Brazil .....and Rachel???? Nov 15, 2013

hey family!!

 thanks for all your emails! i loved them all so much!! it was great hearing that everyone is missing so much that they can barely function without me!! ;) haha but it is going great down here for me! i really love it down here even though i swear its like 600 degrees! haha its seriously so hot im surprised i havent melted yet! haha but i miss all of you so much and am really hoping that you will all keep writing! tell rachel she is dead to me though because she is the only one in the fam who didnt write me!

but the language is coming so much better! im so glad im in the brazil mtc because i really am forced to speak portuguese so much more here! its hard to understand the people down here though becuase they talk so wicked fast! its crazy! its like.. how the devil do they move their tongues fast enough to talk like this? haha its hard to understand sometimes but if i can figure out what is going on, i can almost always respnd! so that is a good sign!

my district here is really awesome! we have 2 sets of sister missionaries, and another set of elders! but they have been super welcoming to me and i feel like i fit in really well with them so that is really awesome! Me and my companion have started clicking better this last week too! we have started teaching with more unity and we actually play one on one every day for an hour! he is really good at basketball so it is really fun!

we have 2 investigators... AKA our instructors.. Brother alvino, and sister monique, but we were really having a lot of trouble teaching this last week until thursday, we talked to both of them for like 40 minutes without notes and we commited them both to be baptized!! it was so awesome! even though they arent really getting baptized i got all excited! haha i cant wait to teach people and actually get them to be baptized! it will be so awesome!! i cant wait!

really it has been such a great experience down here! i love it so much! its a lot of fun and its also really challenging! studying for like 11 hours a day is sometimes really hard, but when you know that if you learn the language you could change peoples lives for the better, it makes you really motivated to learn and work hard! so thats good!

Maelyn got her mission call to mexico! i forgot what city but she leaves in april! and she is super excited!

i hope everything is going well at home and that every one is doing well, thanks for the updates on chandler and for keeping him and me in your prayers! i hope you all are keeping my room nice and dirty for the whole time im gone and that you are constantly using all my various quotes!! i love you all so much and miss you all like crazy! but this is the best decision ive ever made! i love serving so much! I feel that i learn and grow so much everyday! but dont worry, im not too werid yet!! haha! keep writing!

Love you all!!

Elder Johnson (elder GREEGG)

PS please forward this to grandma and grandpa, and let them know that i love and miss them!!