Ball is Life?

Hello once again you lovely deserets, 

This week has been an interesting one. I think I've felt a little bit of every emotion this week. There's been a lot of good things happening, some mad, some sad, some trippy stuff, overall good but kind of weird.

I lack the motivation to write in my journal so sometimes,
 I dress up as a hipster and drink some mormon tea
to get me into the writing mood.

I got a new companion last week so this week has been spent getting to know my new companion. His name is Elder Wallace from Declo, Idaho. Good kid. It's always just a little weird getting used to a new companion for the first little bit. Everybody does things different, so you have to adapt a little to every new person you're around. It's not necessarily bad it's just different. Elder Wallace is a very on task dood tho. He's a good worker I will give him that. Sometimes I get distracted super easy, but he brings be back, so I'm grateful for that. 

Funny story: I don't know what it is but there's so many people here that are convinced that Jesus is black. Every Thursday we do a basketball night at the church. We get a lot of teenagers off the street and into play basketball with us. It's a pretty good activity. Since most of them aren't members we share a message at the beginning. At one point we asked a question of something along the lines of, "What is the most important thing in life?" Almost in unison a good amount of the kids there said, "Ball is life!" At first I thought it was funny they all thought basketball was the purpose of life but then we kept asking and all they responded with was, "Ball is life." So turns out basketball is the meaning of life everybody. 

We kept going on with our message talking how there is more important things than basketball in life. I don't think any of the kids bought it. We showed a picture of Jesus Christ and some kid made a comment how Jesus was black. Showing a picture of Jesus was probably a bad thing because then a bunch of the kids got into an argument if Jesus was black or white. A majority of the kids legitimately thought Jesus was black. If the spirit was there it was now gone haha. We quickly wrapped up the message by testifying of Jesus Christ and stuff. The skin color of Jesus really doesn't matter. His color doesn't change the significance of what He did. 

We got in contact with a former investigator this last week. We went by her house earlier in the evening and nobody answered. We left our card and to our amazement she actually called us back that night and wanted us to come over. She invited us in but because there wasn't another male in the home we stayed by the open door the whole time we talked to her. This is a tough girl we were talking to. She's grown up on the streets her whole life. She has the tattoos and the stories to prove it. Honestly, this woman could honestly drop me if she wanted to. Even though she is super tough she is a really nice girl. Her life is in chaos right now. She really just needs some guidance. 

We were able to talk to her for a solid hour or so about the gospel. She studied with the missionaries last year and liked it but she said she didn't find what she was looking for. After we continued talking to her we found out that when she was meeting with the missionaries she was usually drunk or high. Explains how she never received her answer. Now she is sober. She really needs help and is committed to change this time around. We have a return appointment with her. At the end she was making fun of us because we had to make it home before our curfew. Two little white boys out past 9 o clock haha. She told us we needed to have some more swag, some steeze. We made a deal with her that if she would let us teach her the gospel she would teach us how to have swag. Turns out the swag I thought I had was basically the Marshmallow Mateys to her Lucky Charms. I don't just want to have generic swag people! I wanna be the real deal!!

This is not in uncommon site to see in the Bronx.
Somebody stole this Escalades' tire when they weren't looking.
The saddest part is if you look closely you can see that
they got a ticket flying in the wind on their windshield. 

Just some thoughts I had this week on obedience and such. I want to share a story that I found in a talk by my boy Thomas S. Monson: 

“Rupert stood by the side of the road watching an unusual number of people hurry past. At length he recognized a friend. ‘Where are all of you going in such a hurry?’ he asked.

“The friend paused. ‘Haven’t you heard?’ he said.

“‘I’ve heard nothing,’ Rupert answered.

“‘Well,’ continued [the] friend, ‘the King has lost his royal emerald. Yesterday he attended a wedding of the nobility and wore the emerald on the slender golden chain around his neck. In some way the emerald became loosened from the chain. Everyone is searching, for the King has offered a reward … to the one who finds it. Come, we must hurry.’

“‘But I cannot go without asking Grandmother,’ faltered Rupert.

“‘Then I cannot wait. I want to find the emerald,’ replied his friend.

“Rupert hurried back to the cabin at the edge of the woods to seek his grandmother’s permission. ‘If I could find it we could leave this hut with its dampness and buy a piece of land up on the hillside,’ he pleaded with Grandmother.

“But his grandmother shook her head. ‘What would the sheep do?’ she asked. ‘Already they are restless in the pen, waiting to be taken to the pasture--and please do not forget to take them to water when the sun shines high in the heavens.’

“Sorrowfully, Rupert took the sheep to the pasture, and at noon he led them to the brook in the woods. There he sat on a large stone by the stream. ‘If I could only have had a chance to look for the King’s emerald,’ he thought. Turning his head to gaze down at the sandy bottom of the brook, suddenly he stared into the water. What was it? It could not be! He leaped into the water, and his gripping fingers held something that was green, with a slender bit of gold chain. ‘The King’s emerald!’ he shouted. ‘It must have been flung from the chain when the King [astride his horse, galloped across the bridge spanning the stream, and the current carried] it here.’

“With shining eyes Rupert ran to his grandmother’s hut to tell her of his great find. ‘Bless you, my boy,’ she said, ‘but you never would have found it if you had not been doing your duty, herding the sheep.’ And Rupert knew that this was the truth.” 

I was thinking how sometimes we get so caught up in what we want to do that we miss the whole point of us being here on Earth. We forget the fact that we aren't here to do whatever we please. Unfortunately, it seems like people fall victim to every enticing temptation that comes along. Sooooooo yaaaaa turns out we don't have to do that. We have the ability to be obedient to the commandments and things that have been taught to us. When we are obedient to those things it might be a little discouraging for a quick minute, but in the end it will all work out for our favor. God will not let us fail if we are keeping the commandments. When we do our duty to God we will find a great reward!

Luh Yuh guys.

Talk to you hush puppies later.

Elder Tyler "Obi-Jo-Kanobi" Johanson

For Mother's Day each companionship sent a pic to Sister Morgan.
 Elder Thompson and I played sick cuz she basically 
takes care of sick missionaries all day! haha 
 I miss Elder Thompson.