A Great Branch Conference, Ramblings

 Yesterday we attended one of the best branch (ward) conferences we have ever had the opportunity to attend. What was so special? Plain and simple truths were taught in a most profound way. Spirits spoke to spirits; instruction edified and lifted and expressions of love and friendship were genuine. In short we had a mini "Zion" experience. We are continually astounded by the depth and power of the commitment of the saints here in the "mission field". We received the 2012 stake goals, the activation and attendance parts of which fit exactly with what we have been led to do since we arrived in Iron Mountain. We will continue to contact less actives, where we can find them, and follow up with correcting the branch records so that we can get a more accurate picture of Home/Visiting Teaching activity and Sacrament Meeting attendance. We can certainly do more and we are looking forward to Spring and Summer when the weather will be less of a barrier.
 You might remember I referenced a member whose "name " was Pops. Well, during the sustainings I found out his first and middle names are actually Lacey Dudley so "Pops" seems like a perfect nickname. He is from Tennessee where those names may be some of the more prestigious ones. I don't know.
 Sister Johnson received in the mail a response to a birthday card from the Relief Society she sent to a less active sister. The sister was very much impressed by the thoughtfulness of that small gesture. We have been at this sister's door at least twice since we have been here but never found her home. We will be making another effort later this week.
 It was -1 this morning when we awoke and it was snowing. I remember telling my children it was too cold to snow...apparently not. The best part, however, is that I can remove the snow with my broom because it is so dry. Also it is totally crunchy to walk on.
 The Oldsmobile (My spell check doesn't think Oldsmobile is a real word. Maybe that is how you know your time is up, you begin to gradually disappear from databases.) is holding up very well. I just had the 120,000 mile service done and except for half-gone brake pads everything is copesetic. (It doesn't think that is a word either.) I've replaced the radiator and installed winter tires but except for routine maintenance that is it. We are putting about 2,000 miles a month on the car, but that is why I brought it to Wisconsin/Michigan.
 It has occurred to me that the reason seniors have so many aches and pains is this; it is a reminder to endure to the end. Our Savior's actual pains were so much more intense and there were so many more and He endured to the end. Our pains are a small reminder of His pains and His example to endure.

And so we will,
Elder and sister Johnson

Nimrod, -30 and 4th Time's the Charm

 Monday of this week we had the opportunity to once again meet with the sister who lives in Watersmeet, the home of the Nimrods. (Nimrod, according to the bible, was a mighty hunter. See "Man's Dominion" Hugh W Nibley, October 1972 New Era) We had arranged to pick up some Christmas DVDs we had mailed to her. Before we went to her house we ate lunch at "Big Mama's" where I had the Nimrod sandwich. I recommend it. She invited us to come in and visit with her about the B of M. as she was confused about some of the timelines. We were there two hours because of her interest and questions. We left for her use a copy of the 2011 October Ensign the special B of M issue. She was excited about what she was learning and kept saying "marvelous", "fantastic", "isn't that great", etc. This particular sister was baptized over twenty years ago in Florida; soon after that she moved to Texas where she married. She and her husband then moved to the U.P. where her family was from. Her husband died 2 years ago a victim of MS. She was a member in name only having lost all but minimal contact with the church. She was "just" a name on our list of branch members when we first met her. What a blessing it has been for us to have met her. She had questions about the afterlife which we will address on our next visit.
 So here was the the weather advisory we tuned in to last week...
... VERY COLD WIND CHILLS EXPECTED THIS MORNING AWAY FROM LAKE  SUPERIOR OVER WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN...  A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED OVER EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR HAS PUSHED A  COLD FRONT THROUGH MOST OF UPPER MICHIGAN EARLY THIS MORNING.  TEMPERATURES THAT HAVE FALLEN INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE AND BELOW  ZERO... ALONG WITH STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTING UP TO 30 MPH... WILL  LEAD TO VERY COLD WINDS CHILLS THIS MORNING.  EXPECT WIND CHILLS OF 20 TO 30 BELOW ZERO THIS MORNING AWAY FROM LAKE  SUPERIOR OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF UPPER MICHIGAN. TEMPERATURES WILL  BE NEARLY STEADY TODAY AND WITH WINDS GRADUALLY DIMINISHING THIS  AFTERNOON... THE WIND CHILLS WILL WARM SLIGHTLY INTO THE TEENS BELOW  ZERO.  THESE VERY COLD WINDS CHILLS COULD RESULT IN FROSTBITE AND  HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. BE SURE TO DRESS  APPROPRIATELY BEFORE HEADING OUTDOORS. REMEMBER... SEVERAL LAYERS OF  LIGHT CLOTHING PROVIDE BETTER PROTECTION FROM THE COLD THAN A SINGLE  HEAVY GARMENT. MITTENS ARE WARMER THAN GLOVES. BE SURE TO WEAR A HAT  THAT WILL PROTECT YOUR EARS FROM THE DANGER OF FROSTBITE.
 I have never really ever owned a winter hat and I thought I would be able to get away with not buying one here, plus I didn't want a knitted beanie or one with giant earflaps that you tie over your head; although I am told by U. P. guys that chicks dig them. I settled on the expensive but guaranteed for life Tilley winter hat. It even comes with earflaps that pull down when needed.

Cute Huh!

 Yesterday we were excited to witness the first convert baptism in Iron Mountain since we arrived. Elders Church, Day and now Smith have been teaching this young man since October right after Elder Church arrived. (Elder Church came out the same time as us.) Tony's original date was Dec. 24th. but the girl with whom he was living was not interested and finally ultimated ;) that it was either her or the church. Tony had a testimony by then so it was not that hard of a decision for him to make. The challenge came yesterday afternoon. It seems Tony is extremely afraid of water, not the drinking of but the going under. The first attempt at the baptism saw Elder Church making a mistake with the prayer and Tony's feet coming up. On the second attempt Elder Church made a different mistake with the prayer and Tony's hair and hand surfaced. On the third attempt the prayer was fine, but now Tony, who is completely flustered and very agitated, begins to hyperventilate and passes out in the water in Elder Church's arms. Elder Church handles it very well eventually picking up the small Tony and carrying him back into the men's dressing room where he revives. To his credit Tony calms down and indicates he is ready to continue. So...the 4th time was the charm. A most unusual baptism, but a baptism for sure. All and all a great and wonderful experience.

Cold but so alive,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Naugas and Black Boxes

 This week we enjoyed the first major snow storm of the year. We left for our Friday zone meeting on Wednesday evening to be ahead of the storm. It arrived, with wind, from the northwest and literally blew across the state of Wisconsin. It only deposited 4-5 inches on the flat but there were drifts that needed to be shoveled and plowed. We braved the storm to find me a coat. Although it has been "cold" and I already bought a heavy coat, I needed a lighter one because we are not out in the weather that much. I decided on a vinyl, faux leather, coat. At least it wasn't naugahyde as Naugas are an endangered species;)

 This was one of our quarterly zone meetings. I commented to Sister Johnson that it would be worth it to be on a mission just to attend these meetings with the Elders and Sisters. President Jones gave us his goal for baptisms in 2012. (300) He cautioned the missionaries that it was his responsibility to set the goal for the mission. It is our responsibility to work hard and leave the the conversions to the Lord. So it comes back to that old maxim (I made it up a couple of weeks ago) Activity Equals Opportunity. Make the visits and the calls, keep the commandments, follow the rules and expect something (good) to happen. The Elders and Sisters were required to bring their cars to this meeting to have them inspected for wear, damage and cleanliness. Also at the meeting technicians attached black-boxes to the cars that will send information to Salt Lake about how the cars are actually driven. Most every modern car already has a computer that stores and can release all of the information (speed, braking, temperature, etc.) collected in the course of everyday driving. These black-boxes are private, however, and are not subject to privacy issues that already starting to be debated about the B-Bs the manufacturers install.

 So how are we doing? The following pictures will give you an idea.

Me, giving everyone in earshot the 211 about all things important.

Sister Brady, cute Senior Sister and Sister Maughn

We're having a great time, wish you were here!

Elder and Sister Johnson

Snow, Ice and a Dead Refrigerator

 So it's winter in the U.P., we think. Just like in much of the country it has been unusually warm here with one day last week getting up to 50. I've enclosed a couple of photos that prove we do still have some snow and ice to deal with.  This photo was taken in the parking lot of the chapel in Marquette. New Years Day we had a snow storm that turned into a lake effect monster with some areas, along the coast, getting 2 feet or more. Marquette received about a foot. This photo was taken at our District meeting on Wednesday. This was a transfer week in addition to a holiday week.

 New to our district and new to the mission field is Elder Serrano from Orem. He was sent to Houghton on the Keewaunau peninsula, the farthest north city in the U. P.; it literally snows there every day. We have two other missionaries who transferred into the district. They seem like great missionaries. One, Sis. Bastian, "got" to come to Marquette where she replaced Sis. Maughn. The new missionaries are well trained and enthusiastic and we are always excited to get them. 

 This week we moved some of our regular lessons around and began new teaching cycles with Br. Peters and the Kopskis. People make progress at different rates. Also I was finally able to talk again with the young man who had requested a B of M and a Bible.  Lucas is a very busy young adult so it may be awhile before we can connect. He said he needs to go Marquette for some training. That is a good thing. While in the city where Lucas lives we shared the "Bible Videos" with a sister in her 80s. We have them loaded on the I-pad, she became fascinated with the miracle that is the tablet computer. We agreed, it seems like a miracle for sure. The I-pad has given us an extra dimension to our efforts. Some have heard rumors that the missionaries in Japan have I-pads issued to them. I don't know about that but I can see where they will become a part of missionaries' futures. (Thanks again to our wonderful families for their thoughtful gift of our I-pad, it has made a BIG difference!)

 In a place where the winter temperature rarely is above freezing you would think a refrigerator would have a easy time of it. But nooooo, ours figured it was time to go on vacation. We tried everything including plugging it in several different outlets. No luck, it kept tripping breakers. Our landlord came and replaced the breaker to no avail. Turns out the repairman couldn't come until Monday, 4 days later. So, we have taken our food from our refrigerator to an empty one at the church. We have eaten out more (found at least one good restaurant), eaten stuff that comes in cans and boxes and reduced our grazing. Turns out that living where it is cold in the winter does have one advantage, we are able to store perishables outside on our deck. In spite of the afore mentioned warming trend it is still cold enough at night to keep our stuff cold.

 Speaking of cold, below is a picture of a circular depression just 3 blocks from the house in Kingsford. When we arrived in September we could not figure out what it was for. Now you can see that it is used as a skating/hockey rink, and has been for years. By the way it is across the street from the only Mexican restaurant we have found in the area...Maria's Cantina.

Can you find the hockey pucks, there are at least two?

We had a great Testimony meeting today with one member giving thanks and credit to a faithful home teacher who stuck with her and helped her back into activity. I was also asked to give a blessing of comfort to a non-member who is having some real challenges at home. She came to church with her member friend. It felt great to be on the Lord's errand and to help provide comfort to her that only the Lord can give His children.

With love from the U.P.,

Elder and Sister Johnson