Getting Yuuuuuuge

March 4, 2015

Dear whoever doesn't have anything better to do than read this,

I'm going to try to start eating healthier (we will see how long that lasts). You wouldn't pick up on this just from looking at him, but my companion, Elder Haycock, is obsessed with working out and getting big. He always talks about working out and is going to start this new crazy diet that involves a lot of kale and cottage cheese...I told him I wouldn't be joining him in that diet, but I did tell him I would help him try to eat healthier. We have a free gym at our complex, so he likes to hit that up all the time and he bought one of those little things that you squeeze so your forearms can get big. We squeeze that thing all day long when we are driving around doing deliveries. I'm afraid I have already embarked on his quest of getting Yuuuuge (so big you have to say huge with a Y) and there's no turning back.

Welcome to New Roc City
New Rochelle is a sick area!

The church is getting ready to open more missions up to online proselyting. For the past two years our mission has been one of the test missions for IPads and online proselyting. That test period was a time for the church to look at the things that they liked and the things that need improvement for iPads and online proselyting. What they're going to do is what the big guns in the SLC call "refresh and restart". 

They church is sending out people to all the missions that have or are going to be getting iPads and instructing them on it. This last week we had Elder Allen who is the Managing Director of missionary work worldwide and Elder Evans who is the Executive Director of missionary work. Two guys that are very high up there.They came and gave our mission a lil but of a conference. We were able to come together as an entire mission (which rarely happens) and met down at the Lincoln Square Chapel - the one that's attached to the Manhattan temple. 

There were some amazing things that went down at this conference. The topic was online proselyting but the content was of a far more spiritual nature than apple products and facebook. They focused a lot on repentance. There was some legit quotes shared so I thought I would share them with you:

- "Elder Ballard teaches that we made covenants with our Mission President in the pre-existence to serve with one another." –Elder Evans.... He talked about how sad it would have been had we not lived worthy/made the decision to serve a mission. Can you believe that? An apostle of the Lord said that we made COVENANTS with our Mission President to serve with one another. How crazy cool?!?

-"If you're ever having a hard time feeling the spirit of the Lord it is not the spirit that has withdrawn from you, it's you that has withdrawn from the spirit. If you are having a hard time you need to find out what you can repent of so you can have that spirit with you." -Elder Evans ... I felt a little chastised when he was talking about this one but you know, it's all good!!

-"The adversary is an isolationist" -Elder Allen... I will let that one bake your noodle. #MicDrop

I realize that they probably aren't as cool to you as they were to me but I hope you like 'em. Also, they are going to have us not get on facebook for awhile because they are going to give us some further training and reintroduce it to us so we can come out  swinging on social media with the other missions. Deuces social media you were a good social media.

All these beautiful people are from a beautiful place 

Highland, Utah for the win!

The amount of office work that we have in any given week kind of just depends on what President Morgan needs us to do. Which means that the amount of Proselyting time we get a week just kind of depends as well. Since we don't always have a ton of time/our schedule isn't always consistent, we usually give any solid investigators over to the other Elders in the ward so they can get the attention they need. It's a good system and all except for the fact that we get the shaft because all of our proselyting time is mainly finding.

Sunday rolled around, very similar to the way that I roll around on the floor when it's time to wake up in the mornings (you would think you would get used to waking up early... Guess my body hasn't realized it’s a missionary yet). Anyway, it's the Sabbath day and after church ends we have no teaching appointments scheduled, no dinner appointment, nothing. Nothing but some good ole tracting. Tracting has always been hard for me to do because I haven't really seen any success stories from it on my mission. Very few times have I ever been able to have someone say that we can simply just come back. Oh and at the same time there was a blizzard going down. Turns out we had been grounded that night which means we aren't supposed to be out cuz it's super icy and dangerous. But we never received  the text from the Zone Lords so we kept pressing forward through the snow like we were Dennis Quad in "The Day After Tomorrow". 

Even with the blizzard going on, I didn't have the un-motivation  that I sometimes have when it's time to do hard things. Elder Haycock and I went out and put some good work in. We trekked through the deep unshoveled snow from house to house, not looking up for fear that snow flakes that resembled icy needles would poke our eyes out. I don't know what it was but everybody that we came in contact was nice to us. We even had three people say that we could come back and visit them, which I don't know what it's like other places, but from my past experiences, that is a GREAT tracting session. 

Tonight we have appointments with two of those people. Both the people that we are seeing tonight are married to preacher husbands, one of which is gay, so I guess we will see how it goes. For whatever reason on Sunday night there was no other place that I would rather be then out in a blizzard, with some dood knocking on doors of houses trying to tell people that they need Jesus. Sometimes the stuff you do on a mission can seem absolutely terrible but for some reason it is so fun and I find so much joy in it. It must mean this church is true and I'm doing exactly what God wants me to do. 

Missions are the best! I'm so glad I came!

Elder Tyler J Johanson

At Washington Square Park

The very place that Will Smith killed abunch o zombies

 in I Am Legend