Sneezing and Snicker-doodles

 We have enjoyed a memorable Christmas week. As previously reported, Sister Johnson prepared a Christmas sacrament-meeting program. She used many of the branch youth and young adults who could be in attendance as readers (not many) and taught songs to the Priesthood and the Relief Society sisters. After planning and printing the programs, she then played all of the various songs and oversaw the “performance”.  I watched in amazement from the sidelines. Like usual I underestimated her determination and abilities. It was a spiritual meeting and one the members and investigators are not likely to forget. The Branch Presidency were pleased with the result. She received many positive comments. If we were staying here I'm sure she would be pressed into service doing programs not just for the branch but probably for the whole stake.

 Another possible result of the stress of all of the planning and organizing with which we were not so pleased was the exacerbation of a cold she was fighting to a full-on messy, snot spewing, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, sleep depriving (both she and I) event that lasted the week. We were able to make some of the visits we had planned but most of the time was spent waiting for the effects of her cold to wind down. It is good to report she is now on the mend.

 On Christmas day we, at the request of the President, attended our regularly scheduled District meeting. The previously arranged topic was the Doctrine of Christ, how appropriate. Sisters Johnson and Riley prepared a meal. The food was tasty and the instruction was delicious as well.

From left to right: Sister and Elder Riley, Elders Hansen and Heath all serving in Escanaba. Elders Christensen
and Trout serving with us in Iron Mountain. Elders Jackman and Smith serving in Marinette and
Sister Johnson and the empty chair...no, not that one...serving corn chowder
and hot buttered bread sticks. The center pieces were made
by the young women as gifts and contained
Snicker-doodles.*

*Much, much better than labradoodles. 

 . 

 Since many of the members of our Gospel Principles class have been called to attend the 7-week Temple Preparation class (a good thing); I invited the Missionaries, with my input, to make the Gospel Principles class an opportunity to teach the basic lessons to those who still come. We finished the first part of the Plan of Salvation lesson yesterday. Matt Oslund, their investigator who will be baptized this Saturday, is one of the class attendees and so has the opportunity to be taught/review these lessons each Sunday. The missionaries love it. Plus, we have some less active members attending who benefit as well. The class setting is less threatening and the members and investigators get to know and support one another. In another setting a fellowshipping family could be called to attend as well. I am thinking that inviting the missionaries to teach or team-teach the Gospel Principles class is another way to integrate the missionaries into any branch or ward.

Another Joyus Christmas season is now behind us, next year we're home so get the grandchildren prepared.

With much love and felicity, 

Elder and Sister Johnson

Another Christmas haul for the Johnsons:

Just some of the gifts (well most of them actually) we opened on Christmas. Thanks to all of our
family and friends for making our second U.P. Christmas really one to remember. 

Snow, Winter and a Christmas Poem

 We had a great experience this past week. On Wednesday as we were visiting members bringing to them a Christmas message, the phone rang twice in the space of one hour. The first call was from a man we have been trying to meet who wanted information about the church. He called at the church and talked with Pres. Nishida two months ago and President Nishida asked us to follow up. We had talked on the phone and left messages at his door but just couldn’t seem to connect. This potential investigator said he had gone to Marinette for a one-week job that extended into two months but he was home now. We made an appointment for Friday but we were still digging out after the recent storm (Draco) so it will be after Christmas before we can see him.

Not quite as bad as it appears only 6-8 inches.

 A short time later the second call came from Brandon Winter the father and member in a part member family. The family moved into the branch a short time ago. His father, who is a branch president down in Iowa, alerted us to them. Brandon and his wife Tammy were married shortly after they arrived here. They have seven children. He has two still living in Iowa, she has a 16-year-old daughter living with them and they have four children from 8 down to 8 months. We stopped by the house as soon as we could after receiving his record. He met us in the driveway to his house and wasn’t particularly friendly but during our conversation mentioned he was having trouble with his boiler. With the temperatures dropping we were worried because of the young children in the home. Shortly after leaving we felt inspired to involve a member who is skilled in that area. He gave them great advise. That was our first contact. We had a second visit 2 or 3 weeks later to invite the family to the branch Christmas party. It was here that we met Tammy's daughter. The family didn’t come but it was this contact that gave Brandon our phone number to call.

 So Brandon called and wanted to know the phone number of the branch president, which we gave him. We then asked if there was anything we could do for him. He replied that yes, “we could come and teach him and his wife the discussions.” We had already determined to visit them later that day to give them a Christmas CD we had prepared. We went, met her and some of the children and made an appointment to start teaching them after the first of the year (they've gone back to Iowa for Christmas). We have invited the young Elders to go with us and meet them and teach them. I am certain they will do a great job and will commit the family to be baptized. Tammy was already talking like she is expecting to be baptized as the result of the teaching, Brandon said he would like to be taught again because it has been a long time and he ignored his early teaching because he felt he was ”forced” to be a member. He wants their 8 year old to be taught but he wants to be sure that getting baptized is, “her decision”. It sounds like a great opportunity. We will be there when the missionaries teach because we were the first contact with the family plus we can help with the young children while the missionaries teach. (I guess those years in nursery and primary are going to prove worthwhile after all)

 Sister Johnson has been going they extra mile this year by preparing pies, cookies, soups, bread, cakes, etc. you know the drill. She added to the above efforts by the making of the cutest little Santa hats for the newest Christmas arrivals in our local hospital.

The brims are a really bright white, I'm not sure how they picked up the
brownish tint, but you get the idea.

Just a little something in keeping with the season:

Gifts from Above

‘Tis the day before Christmas

and in all our hearts

rise feelings of gratefulness that make us a part

of that time of year God’s gifts He imparts.

To some in abundance

to others less so

but to God’s every child there comes such a glow.

A glow caused by giving, not of gifts hard and cold,

but of gifts shared from God, gifts greater then gold.

Gifts of kindness of caring,

gifts of mercy and love,

a gift of redemption sent from above.

That we all might enjoy this time of great worth

we reflect on the reach of His miraculous birth.

Through Him we are clean and worthy once more,

then asked to share blessings that He has in store

to our brothers and sisters, who among us now live,

so they will experience what He is waiting to give.

So give mercy,

give kindness,

give forgiveness and love,

for these are the gifts He sends from above. 

(Kent B Johnson - Christmas 2012)

We hope you are having another blessed Christmas…we are.

Elder and Sister Johnson

  

A Christmas Program

We’ve spent most of this week bringing Christmas messages to the less-active members and investigators for whom we have taken responsibility. We downloaded the free Tabernacle Choir Christmas music from mormon.org/Christmas and burned it to some CDs. We have been giving the CDs away as our gift to them this Christmas season. It is a blessing to have the means to be able to bring the Spirit in this manner into the lives of those we meet and teach. 

Sister Johnson has prepared a Christmas program will be presented next Sunday. It is called “Picture A Christmas” (a primary song) and utilizes other primary Christmas songs to form its central message. She is involving as many of the youth and young adults as she can as readers. It will be fantastic. It always is when she does it. Her descriptions and samples follow.

My story - I have always wanted to have the opportunity to work up a Christmas program.  When the children were little I member I would put together scripture and songs.  Over the years I loved to sing in the choir.  It made Christmas for me.  Since I am the one playing the piano this year and I had problems last year playing some of the musical numbers selected, I thought it might be easier if I chose the song/program.  In our branch we don't have a choir or any active Primary children, so I decided to use as many Primary songs while telling the story.  Then I noticed that Pat Graham ( Valley View Stake) had written a couple of the Primary Christmas songs.  The one I chose is "Picture A Christmas".  Each phrase of this song is the starting point for the narrative.  With the help of our Branch President who had three years of Christmas programs at his disposal, I came up with a nice narrative for each phrase.  I hope and pray as people listen to the narrative that special pictures are created in their minds.  The ultimate goal is to have everyone sing and understand the song, "Picture A Christmas".  The words are also  printed in the program and the narrative repeats each phrase so I'm hoping that by the time we get to the end they will know the song well enough to sing it as the closing song.  Each phrase tells most everything about the first Christmas night.  Then I have put little pictures into the program to help them visualize each phrase.  I then wanted people to read the narrative who might not have ever had a chance to participate, so I have chosen the youth and young adults as readers.  One young women said, "Yea, I get a part."  The congregation is the choir, with special numbers song by everyone, or just by the men or then just by the women. 

December 23, 2012

“Picture A Christmas”

Hymn #204 – “Silent Night”

Sung by all

Narrator – Becky Shimanek

“Once Within A Lowly Stable”

Sung by all

Reader – A. J. Krupinski

“Picture a stable in Judea. 

Picture a sacred, silent night.”

                                         “Stars Were Gleaming”

                                   Sung by all

Reader – Elder Christensen

“And can you hear The angles near and see the star so bright”

Reader – Jake Shimanek

        “Picture the kind and gentle Joseph”

                 “When Joseph Went to Bethlehem”

Sung by Men Only

Reader – Aurora Paquette

                                            “Picture the mother Mary, fair.”

“Mary’s Lullaby”

Sung by Women Only

Reader – Tanith Paquette

     Hymn #202 – “Away in A Manger”

 Verses Sung by all

    

Reader – Will Stevens

                             “And can you see So reverently 

                             The Shepherds kneeling there.”

Reader – Brian Luczak

                             “Picture the little baby Jesus.  

                        Think of his life and words so dear:  

                                     Sing praise to Him,”

Hymns # 202 & 20

“Oh, Come All Ye Faithful”

“Joy To The World”

Sung by all

Reader – Elder Trout

“Remember him,

As you picture Christmas this year”

“Picture A Christmas”

Sung by all

Sorry, the formatting wouldn't carry over without way more years of IT certification than I have...

which is NONE.

Looking forward, ever forward…

Elder and Sister Johnson

Branch Christmas Party Miracles

We had some great “payoffs” this week. On Saturday four of the families with whom we have been working acted on our invitation and came to the branch Christmas dinner and party. The Carlsons and their children, who haven’t been to church in over two years, came and were warmly greeted by the members. This is the family that we visit on a weekly basis and Sister Johnson teaches the children (and the parents) Primary lessons out of the Book of Mormon. We could tell something was touching them. Our visits this last month have been noticeably more spiritual. There have been fewer distractions, the house is cleaner and better organized and the family is there and waiting when we arrive for our appointment. The father’s work hours have changed some so maybe they will be able to attend more.

The second family is a young single mother with two of the cutest daughters a person could hope for. They have been before. She lives with her parents who are struggling, yet she responded to our invitation and came. I must say we used a little unorthodox persuasion by telling the parents of both families we would have gifts for their children so that we assumed they would be there unless they told us differently. We figured we had a less than 50% chance that this mother and her girls would come. We were wrong.

The third appearance was perhaps the sweetest. It was by the brother who asked for a blessing when we first arrived and through his faith was healed of a bunch of ailments that had been bothering him for years. We visit him and his father weekly and he has been making significant progress. His father was the counselor in the Branch Presidency when we arrived. This brother is not happy with the church for the way he perceives the church (or its leaders) treated his parents, especially his mother. He is friendly, however, and always glad to see us. He is a fantastic musician. He composes, sings and plays the electric guitar professionally. He was hoping for a career in rock music when all this stuff with the church happened. (It had nothing to do with his music). Because of his abilities Sister Johnson thought to request that he play Silent Night on the acoustic guitar as a fitting ending to the branch party. He refused. He knew the electric but not the acoustic…besides it was in church and he definitely was NOT coming there. We encouraged him to reconsider. Sometimes he said “maybe” but mostly it was “no”. Four days before the party he sort of agreed to come but it was still iffy. When he came, we were so excited to see him. After his performance, which for Sister Johnson and me was the highlight of the night, here is what he told us, “Yesterday I had decided not to come but when I got up this morning I had a pleasant but strange feeling come over me and I realized I was being a jerk about it”. He had experienced a  “change of heart” brought about by the Holy Ghost and the prayers of many of the members. He went on to thank us for hanging with him and giving him the “kick in the pants” when he needed it. He also thanked us for pushing him to pick up the acoustic guitar. After being forced to learn to play Silent Night he started to get the hang of it and said he quite liked it. So when he becomes famous remember, it is because of two over-the-hill missionaries and the Lord who refused to give up on a brother who has the talent to bless many of us. We are hopeful his progress will continue, as he is very much needed in this branch and is such a very good person.

Other notable attendees included all of the non-members that came to the Mormons Next Door presentation last Saturday. One young man already has a baptismal date after meeting with the Elders this last week. Also attending the branch party was the investigator with whom we have been working since arriving here. Our visit with him last week was quite intense. Our discussion centered on the necessity for and the requirement to exercise faith. His final response was, “I guess I don’t have enough faith”. The Spirit is telling us to keep the pressure on, so this coming week we will once more talk about the evidences God has given us to help us with our faith and how to recognize truth. He was at church again on Sunday. He seems to be sincere. We set a baptismal date for the 22^nd of December two weeks ago and we keep talking about it. For now it is “our date”, he hasn’t committed yet.

These experiences are very much like watching your children make good decisions that result in tangible blessings for you and them "...both are edified and rejoice together". It is a Spirit-to-Spirit kind of thing.

With much love and gratefulness,

Elder and Sister Johnson

If we don't remember later (and it's likely) here is a early Merry Christmas wish from us to you.

The Mormons Next Door

Our “Mormons Next Door” presentation went very well. Of the thirty people who attended five are not yet baptized. One young man, with whom the Elders have an appointment later this week, was alerted to the presentation by a Facebook post of one of our young women. This same young man asked for the times of our Sunday Service and expressed a desire to attend. He did attend our Fast and Testimony meeting and was impressed enough to accept the invitation to meet with the Elders. We previously knew three of the other non-members attending; they were the spouses or “good” friends of members. The remaining non-member attendee is doing some work for our Branch Mission Leader and has been hearing about the gospel from him. A big plus was the obvious energizing of branch members. They appreciated the professional approach and were happy they were involved. The next day at our Branch Council meeting we received more accolades and some suggestions as to how to improve the whole experience.

First, some of the things we feel made it work well:

-       We allowed six weeks from announcement to the actual program; this allowed reminders to be  given each week in Relief Society and Priesthood meetings

-       Some advertising was done by placing posters on community bulletin boards

-       Professional appearing invitations with envelopes that could be personally addressed and presented were used

-       We invited members to invite friends and relatives, thinking the missionaries would then have a follow-up contact person with any who were interested in knowing more

-       We held the presentation in a neutral place…the library

-       Branch members were used to present different sections of the presentation

Second, some things we will do better/again:

-       More advertising, specifically radio, TV, newspaper and social media.

-       Presentations in other parts of the Branch

-       Do it again next spring after Winter has gone away

-       Invite more people, more people mean more potential investigators

This was definitely a choice experience, one we will remember for a long time or until we are "gone" which by some standards may not be long at all. I think the most satisfying of all was how the members supported our efforts, became excited and began to offer suggestions and ideas. We in fact may be able to share what we have learned with other units in the stake. We invited out Branch President to talk with the Stake President to see if it is something he would like to do.

Some of our presenters. Left to Right Will Stevens,
Tanith Paquette, Steven Lewis and Shari Branham

The rest of the presenters. From left to right Brittney Stevens, Myron Berry,
Becky Shimanik, Cindy Gordon and Kerry Branham.

Other interesting news this week is the division of the district into two new ones with Elder Trout, here in Iron Mountain, serving as the new District Leader of the southern one. We will still have Escanaba and its companionship along with the Rileys the new senior couple. President Jones has also added the Marinette Elders for a total of ten individuals. We won't be driving to Marquette, at least not every week. 

"There is work enough to do, so put your shoulder to the wheel and push along" 

(that is if you can, all hunched over like that).

Loving the work,

Elder and Sister Johnson