Ok, so 3 quick stories. 1. I accidentally threw our brand new cell phone off the fourth floor of our apartment. We were coming up and it slipped. I caught it and was then like, well it's a good thing we weren't close to the edge! That would've been like....and I mimicked having the phone slip out of my hand....except it actually slipped. I watched fall. It seemed like forever. Jeez.it actually survived. It only got scratches! Miracle!! Story 2. We tried talking to a girl in her early 20s in cinnamon tree 2 times. Then one day she came up to us and asked if she could meet with us and just learn more. We were flabbergasted. She's an atheist, and so she's been to lots of different churches just for fun. We taught her about the restoration of the gospel and she asked to come to church on Sunday. She came!

After the meeting ended (we were having stake conference) I turned to her and asked her how she liked it. She had tears in her eyes, and almost unable to speak, she said she loved it, and that it was different than any other church service she'd ever been to, and that it was amazing, and she couldn't describe why. That is what the power of the Holy Ghost feels like when it testifies of truth. Story 3. We (elder S and I were on splits) had a quick lesson we some ward members and then asked them to point to a place for us to tract on a map. We went. Long story short, we had a lot of people impolitely say no thanks, not interested. What they didn't know was that I was going to give them all the cash I had on me if they actually talked a little with us. Just kidding, I wouldn't have done that, but it's so sad to see people say no thanks, not interested, when what we have is literally the best thing, and only thing that matters in this world.

Anyhow, last house there was a guy and his girlfriend putting away beers like no one's business, and the guy was talking on his Bluetooth. We let him finish, then he said, "you m&@$/&;$&)/;@& f@&?!&!&!ing Mormons! You f&?&!?&&$ing Mormons!" So we ended up talking to him for about 80 minutes. He opened up a lot. Not sure if it was because he was drunk or not...but he's a really nice guy, name is Spencer. He's a gifted mechanic and he's all about work and loves how we have a food storage and have guns and ammo and stuff. He said he loves Mormons and works for some. He's a felon, (probably stole a watermelon or something...) and he's got the biggest work ethic I've ever seen. These were all super awesome, but this last one especially was the result of direct inspiration from God and faith. The week was awesome. Other things that happened...my 3.5 mile run time is now 20:11. Jeez. I'm setting the bar kinda high with that. Thank you all so much for writing me! I love reading all your emails. They make my p-days super happy. :) I love you all!!!!

Elder Hunter Johnson

Ok, I don't have lots of time, so the story of the week is this. On Saturday my district got a booth for the annual festival that the city of Placentia has. We were handing out family history research stuff. The guys next to us were Indian, except for this white guy and were handing out cool books on yoga and karma. AWESOME!!! Anyway, long story short, I talked to Peter for a little over 3.5 hours. We talked about physics, religion, running, working out, deep doctrine, karma, the book of Mormon, yoga, and pretty much anything else you can think about. And we tied it all together. And now for this weeks letter because I didn't have time to send that stuff ^^^ last week!! This week has been crazy. Lots of planning and more teaching than usual. I got a bike with loose parts and holy tires up and working so I can take my companion on real runs finally!! A couple days ago we went 3.5 miles in 20:52. That's a 5:58 pace. So phew. I'm still in shape.  Stories. While at dinner at a families house, the mom asked us each if we wanted a coconut or strawberry popsicle thing. When she asked my comp., he was so out of it he said 'sure' with a completely straight face. I lost my composure completely. 2nd story. When we dropped off the other elders at their apartment after dinner we went home. We stopped to get gas, so we got home in about 25/30 minutes. Then we realized we'd left the phone at our apartment all day. I checked the messages. The elders left their keys in the car. We went back....so 45 minutes after we dropped them off, we let them in. It was hilarious. Earlier this week someone in the ward told us about how someone that got stabbed a few houses down. I'm sitting next to the guy right now in the library talking to him about it. He's awesome!! I gave him 10 cents. He has to call the detective. 4th story me and the zone had a confusing conversation about sandwiches and mustard, mayo, and tartar sauce. They thought I was asking them what they wanted on their sandwiches when in fact I was offering them bottles of stuff. It was funny, but it's too confusing to write about so I'll leave it at that. Last and best story, except for the stabbing one, omygosh that guy is so awesome, Cinnamon tree. The ghetto condominium complex. There are 2 different gangs operating there. Lots of drugs. Lots of poverty and problems. You can smell the marijuana at night everywhere there. But....there are so many people there that are humble and willing to hear about the Restored Gospel, prophets, and Jesus Christ. We're replacing drugs and problems there with Books of Mormon and happiness. My companion and I are the rock stars of cinnamon tree with the kids. It's hilarious. Every time we're walking around, kids scream our names and run over to say hi. I'm actually famous. They take our Books of Mormon and can't wait to read them. May of them are. They think it's the coolest thing in the world that there's another book like the Bible. All the other elders before us have called it the black hole because of all the stuff that goes on. I don't see it like that at all. Even though a security guard was attacked by the gangs and literally had his face broken. I think I heard someone fire a 12 gauge last night. Not really sure. We also burned Elder Uchita's pants because he's been out for 18 months now. That's a tradition out here. I'll have to buy a cheap pair, because I don't have the pants to spare!! love it so much down here!!!! My companion gets really nervous whenever we're out at night. That's about everything that's going on right now. I'm sending pictures for reals this time!! Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God!!

Elder Hunter Johnson 

1. My MTC comp. Elder H

3. Elder T. That guy is an incredible pianist. makes up his own arrangements.

2. Me and D S at the Provo

temple!! We just ran into each other there! It was awesome!!

4. Theeeere's my whole district! Left to Right again: Elders T, N, W, B (our district leader), H, me, D, N, and J.

That all sounds awesome and like it was a ton of work! Correction. I went to the Newport Beach Temple. We have non investigators coming to church. One came to a baptism yesterday. That was a huge miracle. Thanks for sending the music and stuff!! I love the letter that mom and avery and Zenock sent in the mail a few weeks ago. forgot to mention that. My companion is a robot. He wants to plan and study to help me learn how to be a missionary. I've tried telling him that I don't really need that and that I've already prepared for one. He was a very sheltered kid, and at almost 23 and 15 months out, he still isn't very good at talking to people. He stresses very easily. HE reminds me of Mom, but Mom actually gets things done. I'm trying not to complain, but honestly, we're wasting the Lords time. He constantly wants to replace visiting and contacting potential investigators that we already have on record with planning and/or tracting, which gets us nowhere. He hasn't read the bible, D&C, or P. of G.P. I think President Taggart put me with him more for his benefit than for mine. He's like a little kid. Takes long in the shower, brushing his teeth and getting ready. Takes about 35 minutes. So I cook breakfast for both of us. I usually cook us lunch too, while he takes a 20-30 min. nap. I'm working on building his endurance. The ZL's are in my district. They're awesome. They live a few doors down from us, so we visit them a few times a week. The other companionship is Elder C and Elder U (you cheeta'). U has the funniest laugh and C is awesome. He told me about a story my comps. last comp. told him. They were out knocking and there was a guy standing by a car. Young is socially awkward, so he says, "Hey, you've got a car there." That's what he's like. C has got a good sense of humor. And he's spiritual. good combo.  President Taggart is by the book, but he's not so by the book that he only allows people to listen to music on pday. Trust me. My comp. has it memorized. It's scary. It keeps us from working to some degree. He is literally the most obedient missionary in the mission. He just has no idea how to act. Only to plan. And he listens to music. Story of the week. R. His mom asked us to com over when we were at the neighbors. He's got drug addiction probs. Bad. It has taken away his agency so much that to get him to keep his commitment to pray by himself we had to tell him to kneel down and start praying before we left. Just about out of time. I love you all!!

Hunter

Alright everyone, I don't have lots of time, so here's 2 quick stories. When we went to teach a lesson last night, we just talked with the kids mom on the porch cuz he was busy. We were talking for about 5 minutes and while we were talking, the neighbor came out and asked us to come over when we were done. to give you an idea what it's like, CA is a mix of Florida (with the palm trees) Texas (heat), Utah (cools down at night, and pretty dry), Virginia (lots of people), and the Azores (the way the houses are built. Anyway, we went over and she and her husband just started talking about their 22 year old son. They pleaded with us to help him out of his addiction to drugs so he could get back on his feet for life. He's had trouble keeping jobs because of drugs and he always cant resist going out with his friends even though he knows they're bad influences on him. He's trying ot get into a rehab program, but according to his parents all he ever does is say he will, but then he starts again. It was incredible. They recognized us not as just some random feel good missionaries, but as representatives of Jesus Christ. We proceeded to talk with R (the son). He said he's always being judged by people. People tell him he's trash. I told him, and the same goes for anyone who reads this, that he is, above all else, a son of God. He has divine potential. We are all sons and daughters of God. We can't allow anyone to convince us otherwise. We then proceeded to read some of Ether 12 with him. We talked about how faith can help him overcome addiction, and specifically faith in Jesus Christ. I told him that part of having faith was acting. I told him that fear is the opposite of faith. That FEAR IS SOMETHING UNWORTHY OF A CHILD OF GOD. We left him with a Book of Mormon with a chapter to read. We encouraged him to start reading his Bible again (he used to be really involved with his church), and to begin praying regularly again. We gave him our phone number and we're going to stop by his house again. The second story I have happened earlier that day. We went with the Zone Leaders to a nearby college to talk to students as they walked between classes. I finally found a use for my French skilz. Tell you what, if you talk to someone in French, 8 times out of 10 they'll stop and talk with you. It was awesome. One of the zone leaders came up to me and whispered, 'how did you talk to that girl? She just walked right by me!' I'm tellin' you, it's the French. Then this XC (Cross Country) group from high school ran by, so I just started running with them and talking to the kids up front. After about a minute I realized I was kinda far from my comp so I headed back. It was a blast. Love you all a ton!

Elder Hunter Johnson

Hey everyone! I'm glad that you all were able to have fun with the L and everything. A, I love the way you wrote that story, K, just be an example. Never let go of your standards, but don't be afraid to go do things with other girls and show them who you are and what you stand for. I wasn't there, so I don't know anything about this girl, but if you feel like, um no, then there you go. Just be careful not to rule things out right off the bat. Here's a story. We went to see if some investigators were going to come to church and they weren't. we were late in picking up the other Elders and church started in 20 minutes. I was calling them, so I finished and then jumped into the car. Then I heard from outside and behind the car, "Hey, do you want to come to church?! It starts in 20 minutes!!!" Elder Y (my trainer) just walked up to this guy smokin' a cig. and invited him to church!! We talked to him and he and his girlfriend are having a baby boy. He's 20. HE wants to be a good father, and he knows he needs God moere in his life. We exchanged #s and we have an appointment with him in about 8 hours!! This story also shows how both companions need to be in tune with the Spirit. I felt prompted to go invite the A to church, and Elder Y felt prompted to go invite C to church. It was incredible. I'd prayed for a miracle earlier that day, and BAM. Just like that. The Lord blesses those who are obedient if they ask for blessings. T, your glasses got there before I left, remember? Tell me something new bro!!! Z, why don't you tell me about what's going on in school? You just summed up everyone else's letters in 2 sentences!!

Elder Hunter