Red Kettle and Heavenly Stars

 What's that rriiinnggging in our ears? It's the sound of Christmas, more specifically the sound of Salvation Army bells. This past week we had the opportunity to be volunteer bell ringers. We were stationed in the ante way at our local Shopko. It was a totally gratifying experience. Around 50% of all of the shoppers stopped and donated. The Salvation Army is a great organization for helping families that are down on their luck. Most all of the money gets to its intended destination. We had one little girl who on her why past the kettle dropped in some coins. She was obviously struggling with giving up all of her coins to the cause. She decided to keep one for her favorite charity, herself. Her mother joined her just outside the outer doors and what ensued was a philosophical discussion about the merits of giving versus keeping. "Keeping" won, as she didn't donate her remaining coin...it was a cute parenting moment.

 Christmas is coming, I know that isn't news. We have been receiving cards and ornaments for our little tree all this week. A special surprise was a card and a note we received from a less active member we met in Watersmeet. This was the member who had been baptized 20 years ago and had received virtually no fellowshipping because she lives 100 miles away from the branch. In the note she commented that she has been reading the Book of Mormon we gave her. We sent her a card and a note and 2 Christmas DVDs. We will drive over in January, visit her and pick up the DVDs. This year we have decided to celebrate the season at home, just the two of us. It will be the first time in 45 years it will be just us. We will definitely miss everyone but we are looking forward to alone time as well. We won't be totally alone as we plan to video chat with every family. If you want to get in on the fun you (non-family) had better call and claim a time. 
 One of the important signs of the Savior's birth was the new star seen in the Near East. According to the B of M, residents in the new world observed a day, a night and a day with no darkness as the sun set. Now I want to share with you another witness. This one is recorded by Ignatius one of the early church fathers who is reported to have been the "Third Bishop of Antioch" and who lived during the time John received the "Revelation" on Patmos.

“A star shone forth in heaven above all the other stars, the light 

of which was inexpressible, while its novelty struck men with astonishment. And all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, 

formed a chorus to this star, and its light was exceedingly great 

above them all. And there was agitation felt as to whence this new spectacle came, so unlike to everything else [in the heavens]. Hence 

every kind of magic was destroyed, and every bond of wickedness disappeared; ignorance was removed, and the old kingdom 

abolished, God Himself being manifested in human form 

for the renewal of eternal life”.

Ignatius to the Ephesians, XIX

 We visited with a sister who is recovering from surgery for a strangulated hernia. She has needed hernia surgery for around 15 years. Instead of just sending her home...again they decided this time to operate. She is happy. This is the mother of the husband of the family we teach each week. She grew up in Ogden but has spent most of her life in the U. P. She is a great support for what we are planning to do for her family. Being back in a rehabilitation center brought back memories from when I was serving at Wasatch Villa. Some of you will remember visiting the Villa and performing around Christmas and at other times. I have very fond memories of the residents and the service I was able to give. I also have vivid memories of visits by President Monson and his playing the piano for the residents.


A great week,
Merry Christmas from Elder and Sister Johnson pleased to be in the service of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ the Lord

Lambeau, Split Rock and Dishes

 So the high today (Sunday) is in the 40s and just 3 days ago the high was in single digits and we had noticed small lakes and rivers were freezing over. This kind of weather makes me homesick for Utah weather. Here in the "sunbelt", where we live, at the bottom of the U.P. we do have fluctuations. If we lived north on the Keweenaw peninsula we would be in the path of lake effect snow. When the temps were around 5 degrees here it was snowing 5-6 inches daily in Houghton. Living in the South has its benefits even here in the U.P.
 Monday we left around noon to take our missionaries to Green Bay so they could be with the other zone missionaries for a zone p-day. Their goal was a Lambeau Field tour followed by basket and dodge ball.

We stayed overnight and prepared for the next day by taking a nap, eating at the best fast-food eatery ever, Culvers (There is one down by Fashion Place mall and a new one coming to Lehi) and then we had pizza delivered. I think we also had some conversations about some of the families we are teaching. So...a great p-day for us. We met at the local meetinghouse at 7:30 the following morning to pick up a third missionary and travel to the Manitowoc ward for a special Zone conference. This conference was called by Pres. Jones to help us know how to be more effective over the holiday season. We practiced some on how to leave a holiday DVD with an interested individual or family. Hint, don't just give it, loan it so you have an excuse to go back and pick it up. When you do go back if they haven't taken the time to watch it ask if you can sit down and watch it with them. We are also enjoying "Mr. Kreuger's Christmas" and "Joy to the World" along with the families we are teaching. If it has been a while, viewing one of both of these DVDs is a great idea for your FHE this week or next.
 Each week as we travel north to Crystal Falls to visit with the Carlson family we pass an unique sight, a tree that was growing right up and out of a rock. It's called Split Rock, what else.

To me this tree represents the determination of the early settlers of the U.P. We have met locals whose families have been here over many generations. They have outlasted hard rock mining, extreme cold, burnt pastys and beaver stew. Through it all they have lived honorable, mostly religious lives. Can you tell...we really respect these people.
 Sister Johnson and I taught the importance of the scriptures and of reading the scriptures at the Carlsons this week. We hope these weekly lessons help inspire the Carlsons into activity. Jason Murra, the other L. A. we are teaching, has told us the lessons are making a big difference for him.
 Yesterday we attended the branch Christmas party. It was attended by about 55 people including 4-5 non-members. The party was basically food and lots of it. This will surprise a lot of people but afterwards Sister Johnson and I washed all of the dishes, by Sister Johnson and I, I mean I washed the dishes and she rinsed and dried. See, I knew you would be surprised.

Christmas is coming...embrace it,
Elder G-pa and Sister G-ma

December in the U.P.

 Well the deer hunt is done. The newspaper reported that they harvested 150 deer inside the city limits of Iron Mountain and Kingsford. The meat is given to local charities. We have seen piles of hides, carcasses hanging from rafters and trees and surprisingly few on the front fenders of the cars and trucks. Only one bear hide has been visible and no moose, elk or reindeer. Considering the time of year that should make the youngsters very happy.

 As you might expect, the residents here are very traditional when it comes to Christmas. There were almost no decorations up before Thanksgiving but lights are being hung everywhere. There are plenty religious messages as well. It is exciting to be a part of a community that values traditional Christmas celebrations.  Our branch Christmas party will be this coming Saturday. Sister Johnson and I are considering attending Christmas celebrations sponsored by some of the churches and organizations in the community. We received a "cute" Christmas tree from our daughter Jenny and have begun to receive ornaments from each of our families. (Pictures to follow)
 It is difficult being away from home for this special time of year as it causes some measure of homesickness. We are coping and we will survive. It also helps to rehearse the blessings with which the Lord has blessed us. We are also trying to be involved with those around us; "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God".
 Our teaching pool is about the same. We are having to postpone some meetings because of illnesses, seasonal disruptions, weather and the like. We did talk to Lucas Kirkpatrick who requested a Bible and a Book of Mormon. His father will not allow us to come to his house to visit with him. Hopefully, however, we will be able to soon meet his father. Lucas is 21 and suggested we meet with him in town. We told him that that would be fine. We haven't been able to find a time...yet.
 Winter is starting to arrive. We have had two snow storms this week for a total of around 6 inches. There are some major snowplows in these towns and is evident that they are excited to get out and plow something, anything. Every block, it seems, has a pickup truck with a plow attached. Our landlord was here today with a snowblower on steroids. I think the long winters give the people here plenty of time to think of stuff to make and figure out how to make it hence the world's biggest working chainsaw (according to Guinness) powered by a 305 c.i. chevy, is from the U.P. This is a link to some serious silliness and other Yooper information  http://dayoopers.com/

Looking forward to the Christmas season,
Elder and Sister Johnson

Beaver Stew but not for Thanksgiving

 Sunday after church we were looking for something to eat and since we had some stew that was gifted to us by the girlfriend of the Branch President after their visit with us, we decided to try it. It was good with the usual potatoes, carrots, onions and MEAT. We both commented that it was only a little different than the stews we are used to, except a little more watery and greasy. It wasn't until Tuesday when we were at church to practice the piano and hang out with Bob Peters, our investigator, that we found out we had eaten everyone's favorite rodent...beaver.

So beaver down, now we only have deer, moose, bear, squirrel, badger, raccoon, woodpecker, raven, rabbit and bald eagle (have I left anything out?) remaining to sample.
 Earlier that evening we met the new missionary who has been assigned here replacing Elder Day and who Elder Church will train. He is from Ogden and went to Ogden High. His name is Elder Smith and, get this, his grandfather, President Peterson, was the Anchorage Alaska mission president when Jenny was there. Elder Smith looked at her picture and thought he even recognized her from visits he and his family made back then. Small world. We have arranged to meet with them each Wednesday night for dinner and correlation. Elder Smith will be a good new missionary, we are looking forward to working with them.
 Wednesday morning we met again with Sandy Carlson, her children Akasha and Gunnar and her non-member sister Tina. We gave the lesson on prophets. The kids were excited to see us arrive and were looking forward to our "primary" lesson. We got great insights about all of them including Tina who was raised Pentecostal and has a good understanding of the scriptures and concepts we were presenting. Sister Johnson had prepared for the children but for the second part of the lesson which we, due to time constraints, didn't give. The kids were out of school because of Thanksgiving. We did change the time of our future meetings to 3:30 so the kids will be home. We will bring Primary to them each week along with the "adult" lessons.
 Thanksgiving was spent with the Klatt family. They were kind to invite us. We had a traditional Thanksgiving with plenty of food and conversation Sister Johnson brought yams. This year we are especially thankful for the many blessings in our life. Imagine being able to be on a mission serving the Lord and those in the U.P. and having the Gift of the Holy Ghost manifest itself on a daily basis. To have children and grandchildren who are choosing to serve the Lord is an even greater blessing for us. Notice how these blessings are now multiplied through our service to others; friends, family and non-members alike. We have all become the Lord's instruments in bringing very real blessings to those around us. It is our testimony that these efforts, with their positive and happy results, are part of the grand design of our Heavenly Father. It is His gift to His children who trust and obey Him.
 Friday we had another meeting with Jason and this time his friend Colette was there with us. We taught prophets and scriptures. She wasn't directly involved in our discussion but she was in the room and listened to every word of our conversation. The time will soon come when we will be able challenge her to read the B of M and pray about it. We are looking forward to it. The Lord continues to put people in our way.
 Saturday was rainy, all day. The Elders had given us a request from a county fair last fall for a Bible and a Book of Mormon. We drove approximately 50 miles one way, through the rain, to see if we could find this individual. When we located him he couldn't come to the door because he was busy cutting up a deer. His wife? seemed interested so we left the books and we arranged to come back on a different day. Because of the distance, if there is interest, we will involve a member who lives in Iron River about 5-10 miles away.
 Remember, the Lord loves all of his children, stay alert to how we can serve others.

With much love,
Grandpa and Grandma Johnson

Oshkosh, A Radiator and Other Stuff

 This week was one of meetings. It all started on Monday with a pool of coolant appearing under the front of the car after we stopped at the bread store. Since the Olds is 15 years old, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming. Sure enough the radiator had a hole in it. Four hours in the dealer's waiting room and $462 later we have a new radiator. We needed it to be fixed as we had to attend two important meetings the coming week.
 Tuesday was our last district meeting with our current missionaries before transfers next week. It seems these meetings become special testimony meetings. Sister Johnson and I feel like their parents and start giving them advice before they leave because it may be the last time we see them for a while. It's a special time with special people. At the very least they seem to tolerate us. Later on we went to the church so Sis. J. could practice the piano and I could practice cribbage with Bob Peters our investigator. When we arrived the hallway was awash with books (not totally unusual for me). These were books from the library of the sister that was murdered. Most were church related and weren't purchased by anyone at the auction. By the way her children feel the auction to sell her belongings was a success in that it was all taken care of for them by the auction company. It didn't hurt that the auction brought in more money than they expected.
 Wednesday we shared with our LA mother and her non-member sister in Crystal Falls a DVD track narrated by Steve Young and Sharlene Hawkes. The title was "Myths about Mormons". It was well received and we went on to set up a weekly meeting with both of them. It is still amazing to me, although somewhat understandable, that many individuals still harbor erroneous beliefs about the church and its members. I think the "Book of Mormon" musical, the presence of mormon candidates for president and other newsworthy events will widen the dialogue and help increase understanding of what we, as a people, are all about. For all of our LDS friends and family...just remember the eyes of our friends, neighbors and indeed the world are always upon us. Remember to show them what being a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like in your everyday life.
 Thursday we got up early to leave for Oshkosh (yes, where baby and work clothes are made...by gosh) for a special training meeting with the other senior missionaries. We were with 4 other couples, President Jones, sister Jones and 2 single sisters who work in the mission office.

         

(l. to r. Elder and Sister Johnson, Sister Carrol, Sister Carling, 

Sister And Elder Foutz, Elder and Sister Hunt, 

Sister and Elder Bowring, Sister and Elder Wilkes, Sister Jones and President Jones)

It was a very spiritual meeting with training and suggestions coming from both President and Sister Jones and some of the Senior Missionaries. The Foutz and the Hunts will leave early next year and the Bowrings and Wilkes leave a year from now as they are serving for just a year. We will leave with President and Sister Jones around July of 2013. These are outstanding individuals with a real love for the work and with special abilities and gifts, that are helping the units where they have been called; which, by the way, is to all of the corners of the mission. We hail from UT, AZ, WA and WY. In "civilian" life we were ranchers, business owners, educators, civil servants, stay-at-home moms plus one was a librarian and another ran an Indian trading post for 30 years. We have one common goal, to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan.

 Friday we awoke to a skiff of snow which I swept off of the deck then we visited with Jason for a lesson on prayer that Sister Johnson prepared and gave. He is getting more involved and is not so passive. I think it may be because he is now engaged and he is thinking more about the whole religion issue as his fiance' is not LDS. Sister Johnson worked some more to finish crocheting the little blue flowers and some new lists and other things for Saturday's Visit Teaching conference that are a part of her RS calling. Saturday was very cloudy and rainy with snow expected in the afternoon the VT conference came off very well and was well attended. The snow even waited until the meeting concluded. It is very helpful for our work for Sister Johnson to be involved as the RS secretary.

 Sunday we found out that Elder Day is being transferred to West Bend having been called as a DL. His companion Elder Church, who came out when we did, will stay and train a brand new elder. New elders have a special 12 week training period with extra time for study. The missionary department is suggesting that new elders who have just been trained will be the best to train the next generation. Having trained and worked to develop programs I really think this concept has a lot of merit, we shall see.

The work continues and so do we,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Appleton, Apples, Snow and Motorcycles

Our Appleton meeting last Monday with Elder Walker was fantastic. He took command of the conference right from the start giving us great counsel and encouragement. His experience as a Mission President in Tokyo gave him unique insights and abilities to talk to the young missionaries on their level. They loved him. He had a Q and A at the end of the day where he told us how the brethren decided to have the Provo Tabernacle become the Provo Temple. After the engineering studies were done and came back positive; the First Presidency talked about the temple concept for about 30 minutes then President Monson raised his arm and said I think we need to do it. By raise of hands the counselors agreed and it was announced at conference a couple of weeks later. So there you go. I visited with him after the meeting and asked him to say hello to Dave Burdett, my former Home Teaching companion, when he got back on Jon Huntsman's plane.

 Tuesday was Sister Johnson's birthday. We celebrated by attending the Chicago Temple. We were the only couple there on that weekday morning. It was a very pleasant and comforting session. After the session we drove all of the way back to Kingsford. Continuing the birthday theme we stopped at a roadside attraction, Apple Holler (look online), where practically everything on the menu contained apples in some form or another. The food was delicious. I bought her a bottle of apple butter which was incredible. (So...it wasn't all for her)

 Wednesday saw the first big snowstorm of the year. Before the blizzard got going in a serious way we visited our LA family in Crystal Falls and tried out the new snowtires I purchased. The mother had forgotten we were coming and I think because of the weather she was somewhat surprised. We stayed awhile and by coming through the storm we let her know we were serious about keeping our appointments. Upon returning home we exercised the Senior option and stayed in the rest of the day and watched it snow, and snow, and snow. We ended up with about 5 inches on the ground. Our landlord came and shoveled for us. Hooray!

 Thursday morning was pasty making day. These great seniors have some fantastic stories...like, "the time our "gang" was riding motorcycles in town and our leader on a BSA said watch this and rode his bike through town on the back wheel. This happened in front of the town cops who were eating lunch. The chief was annoyed and told a rookie cop go and get him. They chased him to and around a local lake but lost him. His gang waited for him to show but he didn't. They got on their bikes and looked for him. They finally found a track heading off of the road. He had missed a curve, flown over a barbed wire fence and hit the only tree in a farmer's field. After hitting the tree he had fallen and hit his head on the only rock exposed in the entire field and knocked himself out. He was the only guy in the group that wore a helmet and it was cracked like an egg. When he came to they picked up his bike and they all rode back into town". This probably happened in the 60's. The talk is always around mechanical things like, "the great log splitter I had with a Model A engine or the 24 motorcycles I have owned'. H. was a professional driver with over 5.5 million miles driven before he retired from that job. I asked him about hitting deer with a big rig, he said that deer were no problem but moose can really ruin your day. I feel right at home in this group.
Later we were able to teach another lesson to Jason after which we drove 45 miles to meet with an 82 year old member who came originally from SLC. We had a great visit and will see her again, we hope we can get her to come to church.

 We planned for Friday morning to look at our health insurance situation since we will have to stay with what we currently have or switch before the deadline. We made some progress but we forgot that Friday was a Holiday and some of the government offices were closed. We will continue on Monday. Sister Johnson did her pasty making thing in the afternoon. After she was finished we went to the church so she could practice for the memorial service on Saturday. While she was there I went over to Jason's to give him an asked for blessing. His friend Colette was there and before we did the blessing I was able to teach her the Restoration and give her a B of M. I did this to give her a little background so she wouldn't think we were too wierd. In church today Jason said she enjoyed the visit. It was a special experience.

We ended the week by finishing our pasty obligation, we then went to Wausaukee for a memorial service for Sister Aubel who passed away this week in a nursing home at 87 years of age.  Two of her daughters live in the Branch. It was a rather large boisterous service. Sister Johnson  played for the congregation to sing.  It was nothing like you can imagine. You've got to love country people and their traditions.

With love, The Johnsons

Wood Pecking, an Arrest and Ralph

"What is that knocking sound? It sounds like someone is tapping on the side of the house". And so it was. A small Downey Woodpecker had dropped by to see what our house tasted like or more likely to see if he could scare up any bugs to eat. This, the morning after a deer was just standing in our driveway checking us out as we came home. Is this the greatest place for wildlife...or what! What follows is an article that appeared in the November 1st edition of The Iron Mountain Daily News CRYSTAL FALLS - Officials from the Iron County Sheriff's Department have announced that David Anthony Levack, 44, of Kingsford is scheduled to be arrested today on charges related to the Sept. 27 homicide of Joyce Johnson, 81, of Crystal Falls. Iron County Sheriff Mark Valesano said that Levack is charged with the following felonies: one count of homicide open murder, one count of homicide felony murder, one count of first degree home invasion, and one count of witness intimidation. Levack will also be treated as a habitual offender-third. If convicted, Levack faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. According to court records, Levack had been scheduled for a trial on felony stolen property charges in Iron County Trial Court on Sept. 27. The victim and main witness in the case, Johnson, was found deceased the same day. Her death was ruled a homicide. Levack was wanted for questioning, but was not located until Oct. 3 in Iron Mountain. When approached by officials from the Michigan State Police, Levack allegedly waved a six-inch filet knife at them and himself. As a result, Levack also faces felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and felonious assault in Dickinson County. Dickinson County Prosecutor Stephanie Brule said during Levack's preliminary examination that further charges against Levack related to an alleged meth lab bust in Kingsford will likely be filed shortly. Levack was being held on a $100,000 bond in the Dickinson County Jail as of this morning.  Maybe now some of the other branch members who were scheduled to testify won't be as frightened as they have been. We made arrangements with a LA family to visit with them once a week. We will bring church to them even if they can't seem to come to church. He works Sundays and they have but one car and live 30 miles away. She was baptized 3 years ago and he is a lifelong member. They have 2 children ages 9 and 7. We hope to re-energize them. It will help that he has applied for a different job with more money and a better working schedule. Sunday shifts are the rule in this part of the country. We need to thank our Heavenly Father for jobs where we are able to use the Sabbath as the Lord intended. We did spend a lot of time on the road this week; first at District Meeting in Marquette that was attended by our ZLs for the first time, then looking for members as our appointments all re-scheduled. At the end of one road lives a 60 year old member and her 40 year old daughter along with goats, chickens, and various other animals on immaculate property. They weren't home but we are anxious to meet these sisters living at the end of "civilization" yet, by all appearences, being totally in control of a challenging environment. On Friday we ate our lunch in the town of Ralph. It is like many similar places we have seen; when a new main highway is built all of the "Ralphs" slowly began to die. There was however a nice new tavern, probably the most successful business in Ralph. The countryside is teeming with hunters getting everything ready for the gun hunt in a couple of weeks. On the news some hunters were complaining that the 700 or so wolves in the UP were taking too many of the estimated 200,000 deer and not leaving them any. Really. After church today we are headed to Chicago and the temple via Appleton after a Monday conference with 3 of the mission zones/stakes. Elder Walker of the Seventy will be in attendance. He is the chairman of the temple committee and has been at the dedications of recent temples around the world. We are excited. Standard time greetings to you all, Elder and Sister Johnson