Preparing to Leave Kiritimati

Dear mom,

First off, I apologize that this email will not include a journal entry.... because elder Gilbert and I woke up at five to clean the house to get ready for the Sisters to move into our house..... so I am tired and I forgot to grab it before leaving the house.  But I will try my best to highlight the best events from yesterday.

Something that I always say to people here is e nang mwaka teuare are buakaka, ma ko ataia, antai ae mwaka riki?? Te atua.  The devil is powerful, but do you know who is more powerful>?? God...

Yesterday was a great day, but really sad... we woke up, I ate, packed and cleaned up a little, then fixed my flat before going to church. We went, I ended up talking with Elder Gilbert in sacrament as expected He talked on the Restoration, and I gave them, ‘Elder Johnson's famous last words.... Looking back and pressing forward.  I explained that everyone always asks me, what have I learned most from every experience in my life, and I explained that it is good to look back, and use those experiences to press forward.  I then went to talk about being a captain for swimming and how I can use that for my missionary work! The closing song was ‘God be with you till we Meet Again”, and that's when it became real that I was leaving... and I teared up I'm not gonna lie.  After church my patches didn't hold up, so we had a long walk a head of us!! But that is okay, because our investigator was walking too!!!!! I love her so much, today in church she participated in Sunday school!!!!! XD When we got home, we did the sacrament for this cute couple in their 70s and then went to our lunch with some members.  (Everyone wants to feed us before we leave!!! hahah)  After we taught Ereateata, who I made promise she would endure and get baptized with the sisters! Her faith is so strong.

Today she even wrote her testimony in a Book of Mormon, and committed to give it to her brother, who has been reading all of her pamphlets we gave her!!!

Funniest thing that happened today is we went to go teach one more lesson before dinner, and we sat down with the kid said he would be right back, and left us waiting with his little cousin... when 5 minutes went by and he didn't come back, we sent his cousin to go get him from the back room, because I just saw his shadow on the wall... when he came back he had a smirk on his face, and said he wasn't there. We knew the kid didn’t want to lesson right then!!! haha

Anyway I know it's not as long, I forgot my journal...

Love you mom,

Love your son,

Elder Johnson

Dear dad,

Well, when I saw those pictures, my stomach got really upset... I do not even recognize my sister.... this is so weird....

It won't be long cause we have stuff planned for our last p-day in Kiritimati.

Honestly, I do not want to leave..... Ereateata is so close to baptism, she has come to church everyday for the last month, and has an amazing testimony... I am just sad that it wasn't in Gods plan to see her baptized.....

I fly out Wednesday late afternoon and will be staying in fiji for a day and a half. Elder Gilbert is going to my birthplace Temwaiku!!!! I will meet Elder Jackson on Friday.

I love you dad,
I will be able to email better in Fiji.  oh and I sent a Christmas package your way.

Love you,
Love your son,
Elde34r JOhnson