September 8, 2015

hey y'all well this week has been full of fun i was able to have the experience of being a zone leader for three days...

we went on exchanges for the labor day weekend, and had a really cool experience with the area they put us in, there were so many people that we were able to connect with that have never heard the name Jesus Christ before.... that really hit me in such a way that my heart felt sorrow for them. we were able to connect real well with the ward and was able to get a lot of member referrals.

My knee for the past few weeks has been acting up and has mad it difficult for my to walk for a long period of time. the other week i woke up in such pain, i don't know if i kicked the wall or what but it hurt so bad that i was in tears, i honestly didn't want to tell y'all because i didn't want y'all to worry about me...

i have been using tiger balm every night before i go to bed to help it ease some pain through out the night.

i have been thinking for the past few days that the reason being while it hurts so much could be from the surgery that i had, but i really don't know.

we had a mission wide fast this past Sunday and President Foote had asked openly to all the missionary's if there was anyone on our minds that the mission could pray for, i had said y'all, Mckenna, and a bunch of the investigators that we have been teaching.

and later on the call there was three that had said my name as well as everyone back home. i don't know about y'all but i have felt all of those prayers, the past few days and i'm extremely grateful for the power of prayer, and the great joy and peace that it brings to our hearts.

so haha my suit i had gotten a 44 regular suit jacket and 34 wast size suit pants with the length of 34 as well,

if i happen to get a joice of what color it is, can it be black with pine strips if possible.

it's great that Sarah and Jonwayne are going to the temple that's really exciting :) 

can y'all say hi to Chelsea for me, :) if that's okay to do....

It's really cool that dad was able to come home and enjoy some family time and not have to worry about stressing over work, has work picked back up lately, or are the fires still going strong?

i haven't been able to hear much about it except what i get from members and there weather report that they give me. 

we have been praying hard for the northwest so they would have some heavy rain come there way. 

i have my camera this week so i'll send some picture to y'all here as soon as i can. 

Well i Love Y'all so much and i am very grateful to be out here on the mission, and to be able to re percent our loving savior and older brother in the gospel by bringing others to the light and great blessings.

i'm also proud to be able to re percent our family as well as the west coast.

LOVE ALWAYS JOHNNY  

August 31, 2015

hey y'all......

I'm really happy for McKenna I have had her in my prayers tell Jacob and Brianna that I love them.

wow they moved to Portland, I wander how they'll like the cold during the winter... aunt Josey and uncle Ethan haven't lived out west have they?

will y'all be able to see them more often then not?

how's Chelsea doing is she home from her mission or does she have some time still to go? can you tell her dad that I said hi??

yeah my companion an I are getting along real well and I don't think as of right now there are anyone that makes fun of me.... in the mission if there was I believe that they all are home now... but everyone though in the mission knows who I am and at least have has told the mission President that I should be in leadership..... part of me is like no way man haha but the other half of me is like bring it on you know I feel that I would do good in a leadership position, the couple of conversations that President Foote an I have had have always ended up talking about either training or leadership so I have a feeling that it's going to happen here soon...

I have had an awesome week we cleaned shop on our top 40 list of people the ward council has given us to go an see and or predict weather or not they live there....

we has 14 people at church this last Sunday and also had the Primary Program that was really fun to enjoy.... the ward has pretty much adopted me and at least 12 percent of the ward has told me to come back and visit them after the mission. haha I was like if Georgia was to loose the humidity and have like 75 degrees weather every day, along with rain at least a couple of hours every day.... then maybe haha then I said that I would think about it.

oh oh  guess what has happened the past couple of days???

okay so .......... at our last few dinner appointments, we have had that chicken and kale soup that mom used to make you know the one with bacon in it.

we also had chicken and fish tacos, then we had Navajo tacos and they weren't the same as the ones back home but they were really good and brought back a lot of memories.

I'm really glade that the coos has had rain and that the weather has gotten better, sorry that work hasn't been booming as much lately for dad hopefully it picks up again

Any way I hope that this week is better for all y'all and that school is full of fun this year good luck and remember who y'all are and to be a great example to your friends and each other I love all y'all so very much and miss y'all lots.

tell next time.

-JOHNNY      

August 24, 2015

hey y'all 

well this week has been a little hard, with all the rain mainly because we are on bikes this week until Tuesday.

we had a somewhat spiritual week with experiences, i taught again in gospel principals class, and elders quorum, the bishop in the word that i'm serving in said that if i keep doing well that i'm gonna need to watch out.... when i go home because the bishop at home might have a calling waiting for me.... haha do not tell that part in your talk on Sunday....hahahaha

my companion has been out for a year now and is still trying to figure me out.... i said to him good luck.... but i have been nice and also tried to help him out with missionary work through out the week, we do get along pretty well, he keeps challenging me though every day and tells me that he's going to beat in all that we do. so i don't know weather or not he wants the rest of the transfer to be a competition..... hahaha he doesn't know how the black family play's ball :) but this companion though is way more fun to be around mainly because he has a sense of humor. and get's my jokes... the mission life on the other hand has been really good thus far. i love the people here in Georgia, they have probably the best hospitality around and absolutely loves talking about the savior witch makes life somewhat easier to teach them.  have James's senior picture come in yet?? did they turn out pretty good? where did y'all take them at?

so i ate it pretty good the other day on the way back to our apartment, and it started to rain and i was hollin down our apartment road, and as soon as i turned the corner and by back my back tire slipped out from under me and i hit this puddle hard... got up looked around like no one saw it and my companion was just laughing at me, had a nice bruise on my face for two days...

other then that hahahaha this transfer has been great... really hope that y'all are doing well and that all is well back home love you all...

tell everyone at the track that i said hi and that i miss them all... and tell dad congrats's on the win again that's really cool, have y'all been videoing any of the races??

can't wait for the package to get here... really excited tell Brianna and Jacob that i said hi and to give McKenna a hug and kiss for me...

also tell grandma and grandpa that i said hi as well.

tell grandpa chuck that i said hi tooo.

LOVE YOU ALL 

talk to you later...

JOHNNY   

August 17, 2015

so transfers was last week, my new companion in Elder Albertson, he is from Roy,UT

IT's a Miracle that Brianna&Jacob got McKenna in the children's hospital, i have had her in my thoughts through out the day, and in my prayers. i hope that she get well real soon.

I didn't have as of a spiritual experience as i did last week.

dang haha i'm sorry y'all went through with cleaning my room, hope that it didn't make anyone keel over :), is it clean now?? what did y'all do with everything?

sorry about your thermal cup..... i'll be you a new one....

dang tell Sarah (Messenger) that i said hi and that i hope she get's well.

"oh ya" i some what get along with my comp, he keeps him self on the safe side with all of his jokes. he is pretty funny but probably the biggest nerd that i have met... he is pretty smart well a lot smarter then me anyway. we are completely apposite, he is a red head and kinda lazy, not athletic at all so i haven't been able to run in the morning lately, but it's totally cool. he loves to clean which is awesome and he is very organized. our apartment is always clean now.

hahaha we i love y'all and i hope that y'all have an awesome week. 

To: Grandma & Grandpa 

hey y'all how are you? the mission field has been great thus far. i have learned so much.... i am grateful that the blessings that i have received have come off even more so for the family i saw picture of everyone and when my folks were down there visiting, everyone has grown so much and looks different. tell 
Brianna & Jacob that they are in my prayers, also tell them to give McKenna a hug and kiss for me.

has Grandpa grown out his beard again since he has been released from being a bishop?? or is he keeping his face clean shaved? 

it truly is a blessing to be on a mission and to hear that the great blessing that come from that are helping my family in so many ways. i love all y'all and i hope that everything is well where y'all are at.. hope to hear from y'all soon.

LOVE ALWAYS 

Elder Black (JOHNNY)

August 10, 2015

hey y'all so this week has been a blast we had one of our investigators come to church this Sunday!! yay haha 

Elder Holt and I both ate it pretty hard on our bikes this last Tuesday, haha and as soon as it happened i said...... hahaha don't tell mom!

😥😅😂😀 then we said said lets go down that hill again.... knowing that he was going home this Wednesday.

my bike is doing great if you were wondering, and i just have a new scare forming actually a couple forming on my left hand they are pretty cool...... not gonna lie it hurts real good :)

our resent convert i fon't think you got pictures of the baptism yet i think brother moss will send them here shortly... but they are headed back to salt lake here next week to be sealed together!!! i cried this last Sunday in sacrament meeting and tried to keep it to my self.... but the speaker saw me darn it. the talk just really hit home for me and i felt the spirit so strong... they both talk about family and some of they're life story's. i gave them both a hand shake and said thank you for your talk, and as i went in for there hand, sister Tatum gave me a hug and said your welcome. Saturday was really good we got to ride home in the rain after spending the afternoon with some deep southern baptist folks that was fun. oh i almost forgot yesterday afternoon after our ward got out and all of our meeting got done we also attended a baptist service we had agreed with this family that there would be no pros alighting and that we would just be there as friends. all the old folks in the service were asking so many good questions about the three kingdoms and whether or not they were going to see there family's again, or even be married to they're spouse. i wanted so bad to just turn to D&C and to answer there questions. but we couldn't. after we had left Linn the lady that we have become friends with followed us out and said how come y'all didn't say anything... and we were shocked, she then told us that she has a book of Mormon and the D&C with the pearl of great price... again we were really shocked and said have you been reading them. she said yes and no then asked if we could join them for dinner this Wednesday and talk alittle bit about these things. we said what time and now we have the rest of the family wanting on board as well.... i love DALLAS GEORGIA!!!! I knew sooner or later that the Lord would provide a way..... and not only did he answer our prayers but he answered some of our members prayers as well.... this family that we have been visiting and now have become really close to happens to be really well known in this small town. so that has been some of the most exciting news that i have thus far.... haha keep the Christian FAMILY in y'alls prayers that they will continue to flurrish and want to learn more of the gospel. that they will be able to feel all the blessings that heavenly father has in store for them.

TRANSFERS: 

so we got transfer news this morning and haha obviously my comp is going home!! yay :) 

I on the other hand, I am staying in my area to continue the work here in DALLAS. transfers are this WEDNESDAY.

I'm in desperate need of a new suit.. that's what i get for liking the Georgia southern food! my legs and behind are pretty big and now we are allowed to go to gyms as well and they are getting even bigger. biking has done them good :) i have ripped two pairs of slacks now and not on purpose i promise. i got my boots approved and now i can wear them all the time if i so choose. i have two white shirts that still fit pretty good enough that i can still breath. but i am at 195 now and still at 6"2' i have officially stopped growing upward and trying so hard not to grow outward.....

my wast size is still 34 and or the next size up but lets stick with 34 haha i'm doing my best to eat healthy and workout.

my hair is getting blonder and so far that's the update.

1st nephi 15;23-24  is the scripture for this week it has helped me out thus far and has kept me going through out this week and transfer.

nothing else really has happened thus far this transfer, i have a bunch of pictures to send off i got my camera some what working and it still takes pictures which is good. i'll send those off next week.

I love y'all so very much and hope to hear from you soon!!! LOVE ALWAYS JOHNNY

August 4, 2015

hey yall i got permission from the mission president to come back to the library and finish emailing yall. 

yesterday ended up being really late for the afternoon which consisted on us not being able to come back and finish emailing....

transfers are coming up this week and my companion elder Holt is flying out and i am either getting a new missionary to train or just a regular.... but i am staying in the area, i'll find out more details next Monday. i did have a scripture to share with yall and i wrote it down, but guess what i did again.... i left it at the apartment right we got on the rode with our bikes i had remembered that i forgot something.... but my comp didn't want to turn around. did yall happen to get the picture from our p-day Yesterday, that was sent from a members phone in our district leaders area...... we played ping pong for most of the day, i found out that i am not good at everything haha then the rest of my district decided that we were going to play sting pong and guess what..... i lost at that as well i have a lot of welts on my back and i officially do not like that game any more!!

so today we were at district meeting and it turned out to be another day of picking on elder Black day's, then they brought out cupcakes and stated a surprise some what of a party for elder Holt..... just a bunch of piles :) but it was fun i did a training on Christ like attributes. as we were leaving my comp and the other two missionary's that are heading home as well stated singing a bunch of songs like i'm coming home, i'm leaving on a jet plain, your gonna miss me when i'm gone.... the rest of us decided to through a bunch of waded up paper at them to finally get them to stop there horrible singing... not that they chose bad songs because they didn't it was the fact that they are really bad at singing:)

i hope that this week gos by fast again like all the other one's this transfer, it's getting real hot down here and the bike have yet learned how to produce off air conditioning..... biking has got a whole lot easier not that i didn't know how to ride a bike before, well some missionary's would like to debate on that one. but it was the fact that 1) i was way out of shape when i got out here, and 2) i hated biking my first week now i would much rather be on a bike then in a car...... only if it would rain haha that would be real nice.

well i love ya'll and i really miss ya'll so much.... how's max doing?? i still would really like a picture of him. any way give him a hug and kiss for me... and i'll talk to ya'll next Monday and give ya'll more of an update with transfers and what's going on....

LOVE ALWAYS------- JOHNNY     

August 3, 2015

so we are at another set of elders library this morning and the computer is not working in our favor... we are going to end our p-day a little early to day so that I can finish emailing ya'll and so I can also get some more picture takin on elder holts camera and send those to you...

I love you all and I will by back on soon.

I'll send more pictures later these are some of my latest from tracting in our area.