March 24, 2009 to Shannon

A boy! thats so cool! cangrats shan. i bet thats a relief knowing that you dont have to buy everything in yello or green haha. well i hope your happy and healthy. know that your in my prayers and i miss you. i expect to hear some of the names your thinking of so you can get my lulus...approval haha.

just the other week there was a lady that told us she was pregnant and she wanted us to think of names. for boy we said isaiha or however you spell that or elija and for girl we said heidi. i think all pretty solid names. she said if it was a boy she was going to give him a middle name with a mix of my companions and my name haha.poor kid...matthew-johnathan...mattathon, jonatthew hahaha.

talk to ya later

love elder johnson

March 24, 2009 to Family

hey mom and fam. sounds good about the package. im sending one your way as well.just has some random stuff in it. as well as your b-day present. i look forward to the package getting here though.dont worry if i get transfered it will get to me eventually. well sounds good about you and the calkins sounds like your all having a good time together.preach my goepel is very good. all the missionaries in the world use it or at least are supposed to and it is very good. it covers all of the basic principles of the gospel in a very concise simple way. which is what we need for this part of the world. the trip to singapore was good. ate some good food. contacted some interesting people but im glad to be back. like i told dad we had a great baptism right when i got back and it was such a good experience.

Also we had a really interesting experience the other day. We have a member that lives out in the middle of no where who called us up one night that says she has met a member that is from england that is visiting. so we went out to meet them last night and turns out its this little malaysian lady that had been living in england for 50 years. she had married and englander and comes back sometimes to visit family and do business here. like dad told me a while ago on the special he saw on pbs about the palm oil in borneo, apparently she is part of that haha. but she didnt know there was a church here so she never thought to share it with her family. but we went out and we met with her brother's family and we are now teaching them. it was so weird to meet someone who knows how the church is supposed to be run. even the people here that have been members for as long as it has been in malaysia just have a different feeling about them. don't get me wrong the gospel is the same. they just don't know all the same lingo and jive talk members have in the states. it was so funny. but anyways she's from stafford england. i dont know her name, i just called her auntie.i got to singapore by plane, and i stayed with a couple of missionaries in their appartment. 2 elders that i knew from klang actually. i was there for 3 days total.

i just got a letter the other day from dave and he has been emailing me too. he sounds like he is doing great. im proud of him. i have been feeling prety good lately. nothing to complain about. the work is very good here. it was slow for a little bit but things are picking up. the members are helping alot. how did that go with the inactive member that you and dad had been helping with? I know members make a huge difference. just a few weeks ago we were contacting and one lady was super rude and didn't want anything to do with us. it turns out her husband has a sister who is a member in another branch. this member refered us and took us over. all of a sudden, she was very polite, let us in, and we are now currently teaching her and her family. i now know how important members are to missionary work. im sure the missionaries need all the help that they can get there ma. always be on the look out to share. don't ever be scard to. ok well, i love you mom, and i love you all. hope your all having a good week and ill talk to ya next week.

love elder johnson

March 18, 2009 to Family

hello mom and family!

well today i am in singapore on my visa run. things are kinda busy and don't have a lot of time haha. but singapore is singapore. clean place full of alot of really interesting people from all over the world. i met a phillipino telemarketer last night and i asked her why her english was so good and i said she sounded like and american, and she said its because i talk to americans all day. and i thought to myself it was you all those times!!! hahazone conference went very well. it was all very spiritual and a good learning experience. yes president skelton was there. he's leaving for home in june or july. it should be interesting what the new president does for changes. thus far i have only eaten once since arriving here and yes it was delicious. it was indian food...i can't find any in kuching and it was to die for haha.

yes i can listen to cd's and if you want to send it if you like/ i'm sure its appropriate and i'm sure i could listen to it. the mission's not to strict about it. as long as it doesn't distract or take away from the spirit. I can listen. And yes if you want to send that vegitable stuff. that would be good. elder griffin and i have been looking to get more vegitables and fruits.well thank you sister clark. i dont really know her but thank you. and i just took out 100 sing which is probably about $80 us because everything is super expensive. so if you checked again eventually that would be good.well the lizard was interesting. it tasted like tuna haha. ok sorry i can't write you too dad but i don't have any time to write another letter right now. i love you all and hope you're having a great week. bye!

elder johnson

March 10, 2009 to Family

hello family! i think i would have to second that mom. february was done in a hurry and its already the 10th of march! things are going by really fast.thats good the ladies around work have been on better behavior. they always seemed like such rufians haha.today and tomorrow are zone conference. that is why i am writing to you a day early. We have our p-day one day earlier. today we had a really good training. the second counselor from the presiding bishopbric came and shared with us. apparently they are here to interview people to translate the book of mormon into malay. whereas before it was indonesian. which will make it only a little bit different. but i guess they know what they are doing. he shared alot of really good things with us and towards the end he shared a blessing with all of us that our families would be blessed for our service here, and that according to our dilligence and service our relatives who may be having a hard time in the church would be helped or touched in someway to help them come back to church. he worded it very elligantly and i just butchered it i know, but i felt the spirit very strongly and i hope that i can be worthy enough and serve so that that blessing can be fulfilled. i love the gospel very much, and it makes so much sense. i am so glad that i am here. the other day we ran into a bunch of white people, or orang putih, as it is in malay, which i hear numerous times each day haha. they were a christian group here building a house for habbitat for humanity. turns out they knew we were mormons and consequently they told us to go away and they didnt want anything to do with us haha. it was so funny, because they come here to do something so great in there own eyes, and yet while doing so they still manage to be the most prideful and rude people i have had the pleasure of meeting since being in malaysia.i wonder why they weren't helping any of the other 6 members of our church that live right by them whom live in wood shacks. some of those members don't own those houses and are just staying with relatives. i think you can probably tell that i am a little bit frustrated with it. but it just helps me to know how true this gospel is. and even though we can't go around building them a house, i know that what we bring is so much better. and that is hope. maybe not a small cinderblock house on this earth but a mansion in heaven. now that i have that out of my system haha.

well thats good to hear about david. he's in the right place. and yes this little branch is growing. its doing well. just across town they are going to build an actual church building for 1st and 3rd branches. so 2nd branch (my branch) will still be in a large shop block, but that shows progress here in kuching and its exciting.we don't really have to give talks so much as we just get called on all the time to expand on ideas in class and stuff. its interesting. but nope not too many talks.well it sounds like maryanns funeral went well. thats good to know. and sounds pretty crazy about judy. its a small world i guess.

about the malaysian food...i haven't ran into alot of really awesome food here. i eat fried noodles and fried rice. when i was saying how much i loved the food in west malaysia that is because i was eating indian food so i wish you luck at that restuarant. its probably better than it is here haha. i mostly just want you to go there to ask them if there are actual people from malaysia there so i can come home and talk to them haha. so good luck!! hahawell all is well here its been raining a fair amount. O! crazy story i almost forgot! so yesterday we followed a recent convert into the jungle and trapped monitor lizards!!! sooo cool. we caught one and we're going to eat it tomorrow.i have a bunch of pictures and videos i will send home one day. so much fun. i dont think i need anything ma. thank youok fam i love you all and hope your all happy and healthy.

love elder johnson

March 3, 2009 to Shannon

Note from Shannon - I gave Matt a Singapore "quiz" that he answered: 1. What is a normal breakfast, lunch and dinner for you and your companion if YOU make it? 2. What is the best thing you have eaten there so far, local food?3. Anything you were too scared to eat? But did you eat it anyway? 4. What have you learned about your personality in the past 6 months? 5. What meal of mom's do you miss the most?6. What is your favorite thing about your current companion?

hello shan shan,

well sounds like your having an interesting time over there with everything. i hope your feeling better today. and you should make sure to tell me if its a boy or a girl! come on little boy! if it is you should name him matt as well so there can be MASSSS confusion haha.

about those questions...it probably wont be to interesting haha. breakfast usually consists of soy milk and oatmeal...pretty boring. lunch is some kind of little shop food, either fried rice or noodles, but its not really like american versions of either. dinner...same haha. unless we eat at an appointment.best thing i have eaten by far was found over in west malaysia. they dont have it here and its a tanduri chicken and naan dinner. sooo delicious. im going on a visa run in two weeks to singapore and im excited because i get to eat some. they dont have it in east malaysia for some reason.

ive eaten some weird stuff. nothing too crazy as of yet. i ate snails the other day. they were pretty tasty. one thing i was scard to eat and ate anyway much to my dissmay was some pork (mostly just fat) that had hair and stuff all in it. turns out my not wanting to eat it but eating anyway was a bad choice. i was sick for 2 days afterward haha.

personality? i dont know maybe. i know ive learned so much gratitude for my family and the home in which i was raised and how truely blessed i and this family are. being around so many people that have little or nothing but still want to give is so humbling.i think you can just say i just miss moms cooking. i have eaten the same things since ive been here. i just miss mom's cooking.....haha.my comp right now is really a good elder. we just get along. it plain and simple we both know what our purpose is here and we get along at the same time. its quite nice. ok shan i hope that opend up a little into my life here. i love you and ill talk to u later!

elder johnson

March 3, 2009 to Family

hello family!
well sounds like you all had a fun time having a little get together! i miss those. they always sound like so much fun. wo! that would be crazy if all 3 were going to have kids around the same time again. yes yes 3 boys this time haha. ok mom ill keep that in mind when finding a career. no promises tho! haha.woo you saw a malay resturant in folsom!?!?! i am bamboozeled and i hope that its real. you must go there. and tell me how it goes. from the name it sounds like malay singapore and indonesian food.

ok i should be sending it (a package from Matt to me, note from Me, Mary/Mom :-) ) home here pretty soon. i want to find some more stuff to put in it before i send it off.ya i havent really taken much $ out lately so it may be a little bit different. im planning on buying some more souveneirs here soon since im going to singapore i can drop some stuff off there. so maybe you should check it just to make sure.

thats really sad about Maryann. i didnt know her too incredibly well. but i do know that she was a good nice person.good to know she was still strong in the church when she went. although i didnt know her that well that is still very sad for her family.well good job helping them out mom. thats good you're looking out for people.

i wish you could come here and help. there is soooo much need. i would love to come back here after my mission and just help people. as of right now as a missionary we can't really give them financial aid. which sometimes it is so tempting. but we can't. that would be something i would love to be able to do. it is so funny to think about how those people were spending $16 US on tamales.....that much money could go soooo far here.thats more money than it would take to feed a family of 4 for a week. or more. thats pretty sad people were so unwilling to give.(note from Mary, donations to a family who had no money for propane)well i agree this year is already going by really fast.

i can't believe i've already been out for 6 months. Am i one of those missionaries that its like...woo! hes already been out that long?? or is it, its only been 6 months? because for me its like woo! ive been out 6 months haha. ok mom thanks for the message. it was good to hear from you and how you're all doing.

ok love ya lots!elder johnson