Elder and Sister Johnson aka Kent and Dawnine Arrive Home

 So, realizing that our last post left you and us on the way back to Utah from the U.P., we thought it appropriate and fitting that we close out this chapter of our lives with patter and pics from our adventure home. First the good news, the A/C seemed to right itself as we traveled on. It wasn't really blasting out cold air but it was indeed adequate for both of us. (We had it looked at when we got the car serviced upon our return and the tech said there are little doors in the unit that are not opening/closing as they should)

 The second day we stopped for a couple of hours at the Winter Quarters Temple and Visitor center. It was a great experience. We met some brand new Sister Missionaries who were brimming with enthusiasm and Spirit. One of them agreed to give us a tour. It was humbling to reflect on the profound sacrifices made by these pioneers.  We believe their sacrifices played a major role in strengthening their abilities and resolve when it came to the faith necessary to build God's Kingdom in the Great Basin. 

This handcart is literally headed West. You can feel their "Faith in Every Footstep"

 The following two days were pretty uneventful (mile after mile of grain and feed growing) until we began to see the mountains, once again and Dawnine's emotions got the better of her. On Thursday we were headed into the Salt Lake valley when we got a phone call from one of the children who had been monitoring our travels every step of the way. We were instructed to "circle" and not to land because every thing was not yet in place and ready. We didn't know whether to expect a marching band or what. It just takes time to get a big family like ours organized.

Here is the welcoming committee...our grandchildren not counting the dog, Leia, in the foreground. The
youngest, Boyd, is in the carrier on the extreme left and the next one to be born is in utero
with Michele our daughter in-law-on the left also. 

Maybe our last picture as Elder and Sister Johnson...sad.

After our releases on Thursday the days that followed were a whirlwind of activity.

Sister Johnson with our daughters: Stephanie, Camille, Mary and Jenny

Kent's siblings and their spouses at the Johnson family reunion on Saturday.

 On Sunday we both had a chance to report on our missions at sacrament meeting. It was kind of strange to be in a meeting with so many people and children, but we quickly adjusted and it was great to make old acquaintances. We were also saddened by the passing of some of our old friends. Oh well, just like every other calling there will be a eventual release from this life for all of us.

 Our children and grandchildren are keeping us busy, at least for the next week, until many of them return to their homes in other states.

Celebration of Jenny's birthday at a charming restaurant about 6500 feet up in the Wasatch Mountains.
Most of our children and their spouses are present. Our mission ends like it began with a special dinner
with those we love the most, our family.

 Stay happy and know we love you, but not nearly as much as our Father in Heaven loves you.

Kent and Dawnine

Farewell U.P. - Hello SLC

What can we say in this concluding mission blog post that has not already been said. Not much, except to reiterate the fantastic experience it has been to serve with the people and serve the people in Upper Michigan. 

We always seem to underestimate the time and effort it takes to load, prepare and clean for a move. And even though we tried to be careful not to add more "stuff" during the two years we served, we did notice many new things we purchased and wanted to bring home not to mentioned thoughtful gifts from those we have grown to love. The end result was our leaving approximately 3 hours later than we had planned. We were beat and sweaty and hoping to get some relief from the car's A/C. One of us did. The A/C worked OK at first but then it gave up and began to send heat instead of cold to Dawnine's side of the car. It's going to be a challenge. We intend on driving during the early morning hours with no A/C and then if we can get the A/C to cooperate we will leave it running and not turn the car off. (That seemed to kill it last time) Oh well, it wouldn't be life without challenges. 

We intend to post to FB along the way, if we remember. Getting home safely to the ones we love  is our number one priority.

See you soon,

Elder and Sister Johnson

97th Week Behind, Final Week Ahead

 We have enjoyed a great week following the baptism of 9-year-old Akasha on June 22^nd. We had worked to get her baptized almost since we got here 22+ months ago. She brought a little non-member friend to church with her yesterday. We are confident that our branch leadership will help the Iron Mountain missionaries follow through with rides to Iron County, where she lives, as there are other individuals waiting to be taught there. (Iron County is 30-50 miles from the branch) Also, we visited other less active members and two investigators last week and had gospel lessons with each of them. We are hastening our work as well, although it is a good bet our end will come before that of the world's. We have seen our efforts magnified in the Lord as He has used us to find and re-energize members in this branch including the branch callings in which we have been serving. We will miss it all, but especially the people. We understand, however, there will be new challenges and callings we will receive that will be just as fulfilling.

 Early in our mission we reported seeing what we thought was a bear. We were maybe 90% sure but that sighting was a considerable distance from the car. Not so last Friday. As we were traveling to Florence on Wisconsin N, a road we frequent, we came around a bend and there sitting on the side of the road was a genuine black bear. He didn't move and since we weren't ready for a picture we stopped and slowly backed up. As we got closer he got suspicious and bolted into the woods. He didn't go far as you can see in the picture. But we now have a confirmed sighting with evidence. The only other animal we were hoping to see before we returned was a moose. It looks like that will need to be postponed until a later trip.

Since the bear can't see us, we're thinking he thinks we can't see him.

 With this transfer we lost four of the six elders in our district including Elder Christensen our District Leader. Our new District Leader, Elder Johnson, and his companion right out of the MTC have been assigned to the Escanaba Branch. With that change our mission has come full circle. Escanaba was the location and weekly meeting place of our district when we first arrived in the U.P. In fact our first District Leader just announced his engagement last month on Facebook. President and Sister Jones are now in route home and President Cutler has been in charge since last Friday. We will have an opportunity to meet him and Sister Cutler this Wednesday in Appleton. Things in the Lord's church are always changing and yet, somehow, they stay the same. When you examine it I think you'll agree that, that is another evidence of the true church.

 As we’ve been sorting through things we need to pack for home, we came upon a quote from Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, “Most senior missionaries who go [on missions] are strengthened and revitalized by missionary service; many are sanctified and feel the joy of bringing others to the knowledge of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”  There are few blessings greater than being called to serve the Lord 24/7. We have very much appreciated this opportunity.

Still, for a little longer,

Elder and Sister Johnson

The Baptism and A Pioneer(ing) Church

 We have exciting and “better late than never” news. The nine-year-old daughter of the less active couple, we have been working with almost since we arrived, was baptized and confirmed on Saturday. It was a very spiritual and somewhat emotional experience. The mother and the children have been regular church attendees for the past two months. The father, even though he works most Sundays, is very supportive. At church yesterday, the mother shared with us how she and her husband, (who was in attendance, gave the opening prayer and was a witness) were up late talking about what a life-changing event the baptism turned out to be. We hope they are well on their way to becoming a forever family. Here is the blurb Sister Johnson prepared to go with a picture that will appear in the Liahona the mission bulletin: "Akasha Ann is a delightful 9-year-old.  The family has been less active because they live 30 miles away from the branch and the father, the only driver in the family, works every Sunday.  We, the Sr. couple, met with her family almost every week for about 18 months sharing Primary lessons and missionary lessons and helping Akasha be prepared for baptism.  After many of these lessons Akasha and her brother would turn to their parents and asked if they could go back to church because they loved Primary.  With the help of their grandma, they were able to attend church and have been there almost every week for the last couple of months.  We kept making deadlines for the baptism.  Because of family health reasons, the baptism was rescheduled a couple of times.  We are so grateful that the baptism was able to take place before we left to go home. Akasha had invited non-member family and several of them came.  The mother told us this could be a real turning point in their family.  It has been such a privilege to watch this young girl and her family grow." 

From left to right: Elder Pike, Elder Christensen, Akasha Ann, Sister and Elder Johnson

 We made some "final visits" this past week to individuals who are living in the outer reaches of the branch. At one of these visits our branch clerk and his son took us to visit a delightful pioneer church in Mansfield, MI. Here is more of the story of Mansfield:

THE MANSFIELD MINE

During the twenty-some years of its existence, Mansfield never had a population of more than four hundred, even counting the dogs and cats. It has, nevertheless, one tragic claim to distinction. Mansfield was the scene of one of Michigan's worst mining disasters. It happened on the night of September 28, 1893.

In 1889, a W.S. Calhoune discovered iron ore in profitable quantities there, and platted the town. A year later, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad built a branch line from the Armenia Mine (near Crystal Falls) to the site. Then the Mansfield Mining Company began developing the mine. The miners and their families represented many ethnic backrounds: Cornish, Italian, Scandinavian, Finnish, and Irish.

The town soon acquired several boardinghouses, two general stores, three saloons, a church and a school. There was a stage line from Mansfield to Crystal Falls and on July 23, 1891, Mansfield received her first Postmaster. .

By 1893, the mine had six side shafts at different levels, with the deepest at 425 feet. Each of the shafts ran directly beneath, the Michigamme River, with the top level only thirty-five feet below the riverbed.

The top 5 shafts had been nearly mined out, which left only the wooden shoring and some pillars of ore to bear the tremendous weight of the earth above.

It is generally believed that the disaster occurred when the fifth level of the mine caved in, allowing the levels above, and consequently the river, to crash down on the miners.

The night boss on the sixth level heard the crash. He knew immediately what had happened, and told his men to follow him to the ladder. The down draft caused by the crash blew out their lanterns and candles, and they had to grope their way in total darkness to the shaft. All but four of them reached the ladder and started to climb.

At the fourth level, they were met by a torrent of water from the Michigamme River, pouring down the shaft. From there, they could hardly breathe, except at the landings at each level, and reached safety at the top more dead than alive . . but alive.

The miners on the fourth level weren't so lucky. The night boss on the fourth level, was standing with another man when he heard the crash. Instead of heading for the lift, which would have carried him to safety, he went back into the shaft to gather his men, and was never seen again. Only the operator of the lift lived to tell the tale of his heroism.

Altogether, twenty-seven miners lost their lives. The death of so many husbands and fathers, as well as single men, was a terrible blow to the town, and it never recovered. By diverting the river into another channel, the mine was later redeemed and was operated until 1911 by the Oliver Mining Company. But, by 1913, the mine was closed and Mansfield's post office was discontinued. That was the end of Mansfield, except as a ghost town.

Now all that marks the site are a bridge across the river, a few houses, and a gray granite monument that bears the names of twenty-seven miners who lost their lives in the Mansfield mine disaster.

Today, the sign as you enter the ghost town reads; MANSFIELD MICHIGAN, POPULATION 3, but the 3 is crossed out and it now reads "2." One can only hope that this wasn't another tragedy.

In 1987, some of the area groups got together to restore the old log church, it is just beautiful-- not because it is ornate or fancy, but because it is simple and so very original for a pioneer church.

The door is unlocked, so you can go reverently in and look around. 

Just like almost everywhere in the western U.P., the beauty is breath taking! We cannot help but thank God for his amazing handiwork. You know, if earth can be so beautiful, can you imagine heaven's splendor? 

The Michigamme River just below the Way Dam.

Restored Pioneer Church

Our friends Bill Matson and his son Richard.

Church interior looking back towards entrance.

Looking towards the front of the interior, notice the old manual organ, but...will it play?

 This week marks the final transfer we will be observing. Transfers are always stressful for the missionaries and especially for those who deal with the logistics. This transfer is double strange because it is the last one prior to President And Sister Jones' departure and President and Sister Cutler's arrival next friday. We will have more information about the transfer in our next blog, so stay tuned.

 We hope many of you were able to watch the Worldwide Training on Sunday night focusing on the responsibilities we all have regarding missionary work. The talks were inspiring as were the anticipatory faces of the assembled missionaries in the audience. Elder Perry led off with the introduction of new and expanded guidelines for Internet use by missionaries. Our mission president e-mailed the statement by Elder Perry the next day. I have included it in case you missed it. We think that this change will be very beneficial to moving the work forward. Since we launched our own branch Facebook page just four months ago we have been able to see improvements in communication and caring. Here is the statement:

June 24, 2013

Missionary Department Notice to Mission Presidents:

In the recent Worldwide Leadership Broadcast: The Work of Salvation, Elder L. Tom Perry shared the following:

“The missionaries are now authorized to use the Internet in their proselyting efforts. During less-productive times of the day—chiefly in the mornings—missionaries will use computers in meetinghouses and other Church facilities to contact investigators and members, work with local priesthood leaders and missionary leaders, receive and contact referrals, follow up on commitments, confirm appointments, and teach principles from Preach My Gospel using mormon.org, Facebook, blogs, email, and text messages.

“Access to the Internet by missionaries and the use of digital devices will be phased over several months and into next year. We will be in touch with you when it is time for your mission and area to use these tools. Of course safety is paramount in this new frontier of missionary work. Mission presidents will monitor missionaries’ online work to help them remain safe in all they do.”   

Elder David F. Evans, in speaking to new mission presidents, added:

“We know that every missionary, and almost every mission president, will want to be part of this as soon as possible. However, it will begin in phases and only in designated missions for the rest of this year. We anticipate that where safe to do so, these tools will be available to missionaries throughout the world sometime next year. Further details, guidelines, and information about missionary use of the Internet and digital devices will be forthcoming.”

Information regarding this exciting announcement will be sent to you as soon as it becomes available.

  

 President Jones, in a follow up e-mail, asked the missionaries to be patient as it will up to President Cutler to implement these changes. The work is moving forward at an ever quickening pace. When I went on my first mission some 50 years ago there were around 15,000 F/T missionaries serving; now there are more than 70,000 and increasing. You know all about these numbers. Bottom line...it is a fantastic time to serve and we hope more of you mature oldsters will take the opportunity.

See you soon.

Elder and Sister Johnson

A Mighty Cavern and A Mighty Apostle

 As we close out our service here in Iron Mountain, we're happy to be able to look to do some things which will remain with us as memories of our experiences with the people we have met. This week included several examples as we visited with members, went underground and were a part of a fantastic all-mission meeting. A week ago Monday, on p-day with permission from the zone leaders, we arranged to take the members of our district into the bowels of the earth into the Iron Mountain iron mine in the small town of Vulcan, MI. After "suiting up" in yellow rain slickers and helmets our guide explained the operation of various pieces of mining equipment housed near the front of the mine. We saw the evolution of mining techniques from the early 1800s up and through the mid 1900s. It was then time to board the original, small, electric powered train on cars designed to carry miners to their work areas. We traveled over 1000 feet into the cold (average temperatures between 38 and 43 year round), dark interior of the mine. After walking an additional quarter of a mile we came to the second of two gigantic caverns that were dug into the earth some 400 feet under the surface. The caverns are all that remain of very rich iron ore deposits. Because of copious amounts of ground water (hence the slickers) the caverns have filled to stasis, one even included trout planted there at an earlier, forgotten time. To illustrate the magnitude of scale our guide informed us that, "the Empire State building, if placed on the floor of the water-filled cavern, would have only ten feet of it's top-most spire extending out of the underground lake".

Back row - Elder and Sister Johnson, Elders Pike, LeBaron, Simmons, Rudarmel, Sister and Elder Riley.
Front row - Elders Ripplinger and Christensen our District Leader.

 During the week we made some of our final Home and Visit Teaching visits before we leave to return home. These are the people of which we have grown most fond. It's a truism that a person grows to love those whom they serve and we have sincerely grown to love these people. We also had an excellent meeting with the Roche family. The father had some exciting information that should affect his employment in a positive way and Tyler is progressing a lot faster after his surgery than they hoped. He is in fact already in physical therapy. We began the process of preparing for the baptism of the young Carlson girl. She was interviewed by the District Leader on Sunday and we are finalizing the program. We postponed the baptism for two weeks so that her father would be prepared to perform it.

At the end of this dirt road lives the Relief Society President and her husband.
What an idyllic setting. If there is a heaven on earth this might be it.

 The end of the week brought us to a meeting to which we have been looking forward for most of this month. At our last interview with President Jones he hinted he was trying to arrange an all-mission meeting to take advantage of an Apostle who was scheduled to attend a six stake meeting of Priesthood leaders in Wisconsin. His hope and desire became a reality as we, "we" the entire mission, were invited to meet with Elder Dallin Oaks and four other of the Seventy last Saturday. You can just imagine the Spirit that was present. It was especially hard (a tender mercy as they saw it) for President and Sister Jones to be with all of their missionaries one last time before they were to leave in just two weeks. One of the new Seventies who attended was Elder Gifford Nielsen a former BYU quarterback who was recruited the same time as coach Edwards was hired (he was hired by then BYU President Oaks) and helped to turn BYU football into the great program it has become. Elder Nielsen, who was later drafted by the Houston (no mistake) Oilers and found great success as the sports anchor on a Houston TV station, was in our ward when we attended BYU. He was then a priest and was to be found every Sunday at the sacrament table. Here are some notable concepts from the meeting: Elder Funk, "Our biggest challenge is to align our wills with the desires of our hearts"; Elder Nielsen, "Missionaries are a prophetic priority" (prophets pray for us); Elder Clayton, "Bury your rebellious weapons" and finally Elder Oaks, referring to his completely bald head, "The noble and great always come out on top" amen. A blessed and unforgettable experience.

That is us next to Sister Jones in the red. Elder Oaks is to our left next to President Jones.

In three weeks we will be showering you with hugs and kisses,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Bonus material:

Here is a short video of the eastern shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Four Left, Still Trying to do Right

 Four weeks and counting…our many and continuing blessings.

 We are still enjoying wonderful encounters with the Spirit as we visit with less-active members. This week we visited with a family that has received many blessings from the branch following our initial “chance” encounter with them. We prepared and gave a short lesson to the family on the Holy Ghost; then, when inviting the father to choose someone to say the closing prayer, his wife was insistent upon him praying. He struggled momentarily with his pride but began to pour his heart out to Heavenly Father. He gave thanks for and asked for continued blessings in his behalf and on behalf of the family. Rarely have we heard such a deeply moving prayer. Sister Johnson, upon our return to the car, said, “That was awesome!” In this case her exclamation was totally accurate in that we were struck with awe as to the love and kindness Heavenly Father is but waiting to shower down on His children. We are confident that the love and attention being demonstrated by the branch will bring this family back into full activity. We look forward to them becoming an eternal family.

 The Carlsons have firmed up a date for Akasha’s baptism. It will be held on the 22^nd of June. We are more confident than we have been that her father will be able to baptize her. In church on Sunday her mother was excited to tell us that Akasha had begun the process of requesting different family members to accept parts on her baptism program. This will be a major event in the lives of her family and extended family. We are confident of the attendance of other non-members and investigators as well.

 Those of you who know Sister Johnson well know how important it is to her to attach her personal, caring flair to any gift or project in which she gets involved. Many of you have seen the folded shirts she has used as small gift containers for something like Fathers Day (which, btw, she is doing here in the branch this coming Fathers Day). We added a pic of ones she made for missionaries at our last zone meeting. There is a cute twist.

Notice the shirt (blouse) on the right with the modified collar and pink "tie" she did for the sisters.

 Oh yeah I turned 71 on Saturday but no one else needs to know that ;) Here are some pictures:

My present wrapped in standard issue missionary wrapping "paper".

Here it is. The best present ever! My sweetheart knew it would be nearly impossible to get a
complete 1965 Corvette home so she started with something that could be easily
transported...a flag emblem for the fender of the above mentioned car.
I'm hoping she has the rest for me when I get home.

In it to the end and we mean the very end*,

Elder and Sister Johnson

*Those with ears, let him hear (Mark 4:9)

Outcelts, Copper and THE "Gay" Bar

 We enjoyed a different kind of week, which included appointments being re-scheduled, illness-caused cancelations plus our focus is ever so slightly changing back to those things we must begin to think about upon our arrival back home. What things you ask? Things like doctor and dentist visits, what did our house really look like and will we be able to recognize our grandchildren? 

 We were, however, able to spend some productive time with a local judge and his wife, the Outcelts, who we met at one of the Mormon Next Door presentations. She is a very inquisitive and knowledgeable person. They invited us to have lunch with them at their picturesque cabin by a lake. It will be a cherished memory. We think he even eventually enjoyed our visit because, it seems in the beginning, it was her desire and her desire only that we stop by. She serves on the Marinette (WI) County Library Board so much of our discussion centered on that. We peppered our conversation with some talk of religion but we are confident it was our examples and spirits that interested them the most. In our estimation these two are most definitely, at this point of their existence, terrestrial quality individuals (also taking part in the first resurrection) who, in many ways, were examples to us. We will stay in touch.

 On Saturday we concluded our missionary apartment inspections by visiting the apartment in Houghton.  It looked only slightly different than when we first saw it. All of the missionaries we have met seem very conscientious about their apartments and cars. This visit to Houghton got us to thinking and we realized we have been assigned, without ever moving, to the following districts: 1^st Escanaba under Elder Harper, 2^nd Houghton under Elders Calder, Bryer and then Fergo, 3^rd Marquette under Elder Horne and finally 4^th Iron Mountain under Elder Trout and currently Elder Christensen. All great young men with outstanding leadership qualities with albeit different styles. We are interested to see what changes, if any, happen at our “last” transfer. 

 After inspecting the Elder's apartment and truck we took one last opportunity to take in the beauty of the Keweenaw peninsula along with the local flavor. What follows are some pics:

Native copper that, in solution, percolated into cracks and fissures in the rock and gradually
precipitated into these interesting shapes. In this part of the world was found great deposits
of this pure copper. I was noticing the "coincidence" of this happening around the time
electric power was rapidly expanding across the continent and copper was an
essential metal for the wires that carried that power. A placard stated that
this one large sheet weighed approx. 850 pounds.

If you take time to read the placard in this picture you will find that these are Petosky stones; the Michigan
state stone. This and many other displays, including the copper above, were in the Seaman Mineral
Museum on the campus of Michigan Tech in Houghton. All we can say is, "if you are into
rocks this is the place you absolutely need to see".

The day was murky and cloudy but none the less beautiful. This photo does not do the muted tones justice.
This is the same Lake Superior but this time we are on the Eastern side of the Keweenaw peninsula. We
went from here into the clouds driving through misty, winding, hilly roads. All we could think
about, after the obvious beauty, was, "where is our Corvette when we needed it?"

On our way we drove through the town of Gay Michigan. Gay was a thriving mill town in the late 1800 and
early 1900s. It is right on the shore and was named after one of the Mill's Vice Presidents. One time
boosting 1500 inhabits, competition closed mill. The schools and the railroad shut down and
even the Post Office left. There are now fewer that 100 residents in Gay and the sur-
rounding area, but fortunately we still have what may be the original Gay bar. 

 Sunday there were 51 people attending church. The Elders had two different investigator families there. What a blessing to have been here long enough to see such growth.

Elder and Sister Johnson