BONJOUR :)

Guess what guys! I leave in 14 days! Isn't that so exciting?! Je suis tres-haut! 

Soooooo... what has happened this past week? The weeks just blur together. Sometimes I forget what day it is. Pretty pathetic. Anyway!

MY SCHEDULE:

I am still studying a TON! I don't think I have ever told you about my schedule so let me tell you! We have a 15 hour day. Out of those fifteen hours we are in the studying on one way or another for twelve. Language study, companionship study, personal study, classroom instruction and TALL (language program on the computer). The rest of the time is for eating, working out, and walking places.. haha. It is pretty intense sometimes.. After lunch I always struggle to stay awake when I am studying. Les ecritures est fantastique but they certainly don't wake you up. P-days you don't study as much. We used to go to the temple every Monday morning but it has been closed for renovations... So, today we slept in until 8:00 which was really weird. We aren't going to but an Elder left for Montreal last night (@ 3:00AM) and we woke up to say goodbye. ANYWAY. 

MY TEACHERS

My teachers are super awesome! Frere Frazier served in my mission and has only been back for five or six months. He is super funny. He always says "The gospel is 17% more true in French!" He won't explain why but he said we will realize it once we can read the Livre de Mormon without our english scriptures nearby. I think it is probably because everything you write is at least 17% longer in French. We always make fun of him for being the perfect mormon boy. RM, plays the piano, tall, attending BYU to be a Doctor, speaks French... Hashtag stud.

Soeur Worsham is originally from Tulsa Oklahoma! It is nice being able to talk to another southerner :) She served in the Paris Mission. She is super nice. I don't know if I said this before (Im pretty sure I have) but the first week she didn't teach us because she was pretending to be an investigator from France whom we had to teach. Sneaky Soeur Worsham. She always talks about how she loves her missionaries too much.. I can tell her loves her job! It makes you feel special. 

MTC:

My view of the MTC changes periodically. Somedays I want to hurry up and leave because I know as soon as I get into the mission field I'm not going to know French well anyway BUT other days I love it. It's a love, hate relationship. I feel like here you still aren't totally a missionary. But! I love being in the bubble and not having to worry about mean streets of France yet ;) 

Everytime I walk into the cafeteria I feel like I am at a multi-cultural event. It is crazy how many different nationalities are represented here. It is so cool! My companion went to go get a haircut and there were some Tahitian sisters getting stuff copied and I got to speak to them in French! They talked so fast... I asked them to repeat a couple of times but it was cool that I could understand them! 

FRENCH OOPSIES:

I swear my district is cursed with saying bad things unintentionally. 

So when you say "Much thanks!" you say "Merci beaucoup!" You say it like MERCY BOW KOO but we have been saying "Merci, beau cul" which means "Thanks! Nice butt!" except in a more vulgar way. hahaha. 

Another sister began praying and she kept saying "Please attack our families. Please attack us with the holy spirit. Please harm our friends Please harm us with help." Bahaha. Gah, it was so funny. 

It's funny now but when we get to France it is probably going to be a little less funny. 

THANKSGIVING:

For thanksgiving we get a change of schedule! We get to eat Lunch from 12-2 or something crazy like that. We also get to hear from a General Authority! Probably someone of the 12! :) Gotta love the Apostles! I wonder who it will be. WE also get to do some awesome service! :) It is going to be weird not being home for Thanksgiving at home, eating pie and stuff! Oh well! :) Only one more Thanksgiving to miss! 

Apparently Christmas is HUGE in France. Escargot is a Christmas treat too! Something to be excited about! Apparently the French also eat dinner around 9PM and the dinners last anywhere from 2-3 hours. Hmmm. 

Don't forget to be Thankful for everything that the Lord has given you. It is amazing what the Lord has done. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I miss you all! Thank you for the letters, dear elders and packages! 

Bonne Thanksgiving!

Avec amour,

Elder Johnson

Silly kids - just a reminder they are still 18 & 19 year old young men. lol

Bonjour mon famille!

Alright! I never know how to start these letters! I have a little post it note with me all week so I can write things down & I won't forget what to tell you guys! The days seriously blur together. 

First off! 4-SQUARE is my greatest addiction at the moment. It seriously is the best game ever invented... Not football, not baseball, not soccer, or lacrosse but 4-SQUARE. Our district is so competitive it is beyond ridiculous. Everyone wants to be king & sometimes they forget that I am meant to be king. 

We also got a new district in our zone this week! All of the sisters are going to the West Indies and all of the guys are going to Vanewatu (sp), I guess it is a small island near New Zealand. I think they also call it New Caledonia which is French speaking. They are all really quiet. They also seem so much younger than us... Probably because we have been here for so long ;)

San Francisco was awesome! I loved it. It was a really, really long day though. I had to wake up at 3:30 AM to leave for the airport on time. I slept on the bus and the plane. But anyway! We get picked up by this crazy driver at the airport... he was super nice but a very aggressive driver. Apparently he picks up the missionaries all the time because he had two BOM's on his dashboard... lol Probably keeps them there as deterrent. So, our crazy driver friend drops us off at the French Consulate and tells us to call him when we are done... Kid you not, it took 15 minutes for all 15 missionaries to get the stuff done... 15! 

After the French consulate, we still had six or seven hours before our flight left so we called our driver and he took us wherever we wanted to go! :) We went to the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39 (which seriously had the best sourdough bread bowls in the whole, wide world. We also went and watched the sea lions for half an hour. 

It was nice to get out of the MTC into the real world. Although, everyone looked at us like we were aliens. It might have been to due to the fact that there were 11 of us... Who knows. 

As fun as San Fran was we missed L. Tom Perry's devotional... Sad day :( I guess those who missed it were just too righteous and didn't need to hear it ;)

The french is coming along nicely! I can bear testimony pretty easily, and I'm really starting to understand them when they respond... I just respond really slow. I really have to think so I get all of the conjugations correct.. The French are SO particular about how things are said.. They actually have a government department that regulates the language... Seriously. 

The French is coming nicely HOWEVER my district is cursed with saying inappropriate things on accident. Here is a sample:

 One elder said that he would like to "I would like to rape you about the gospel"

One elder looked up how to say "Im going to break you!" Which is actually a very vulgar phrase that people shout at you when they see the name tags... lol

I was trying to say "I am excited" but when you use the phrase "Je suis... whatever" you are speaking very literally. So if you say that you are excited, passionate, good, etc... it is VERY literal and sexual... bahaha. Quite embarrassing when you are talking to an investigator.

My companion said as he was leaving the room "I AM ON THE TOILET." bahahaha

Oh, and the word for seal is la foque. Be careful saying that one. 

The cultural differences in my district are hilarious. Especially when it comes to words that mean different things. For example, a lot of swear words here are not British swear words.

I also said that my food was mushy and the German sister thought that it was HILARIOUS but disgusting and inappropriate... She wouldn't tell me what I said.. who knows.

OH! We also practiced tracking with our teacher... and she said "Im not going to be the nice teacher behind the door..."  The first door we opened was slammed as soon as she saw our name tags... the Second door we opened, she had been sleeping and the lights were off.. the third door was opened she was Muslim and wanted to hear more but her husband "Mohammad" wasn't home... The last door we actually got in! 

This poor Elder opened the door to a 4 year old and told her "we have a message that will change your life... SO FUNNY.

I'm so ready to leave for the field! I can't speak french but who cares! The MTC is awesome but I'm getting anxious. They call this place "Spirit Prison" for a reason... 

I love you all! Thank you for the letter's and packages...

Avec amour!

Elder Johnson

Feeling A Calm

It seemed like the first week Elder Johnson was a bit wound up, running around like a squirrel on caffeine.  This week I feel a calm is starting to come over him or maybe a peace, which I am very grateful for. He is still very busy and learning a lot in a short amount of time but seems to being "going with it".  Now we can all breath out slowly and read his latest letter.

Alright! So I'm going to type as fast as I can because I have so much to say! Holy cow. 

1. When I said that the date had changed to November 12th I meant that it just changed on my address. lol, I'm still leaving the tenth of December.. 29 days from today! :) 

2.  Uhhhh.. That is too hard of a question! I need ties in the following colors: blue, yellow, and green. I hope that helps… lol

So! The language is coming along well. We have SO much time to study it is pretty crazy. Probably six hours a day. Super krayyy. 

I think this Elder is learning French through the dream method. 

I haven't go to San Francisco yet. I leave tomorrow for the French Consulate! :) Which will be fun. It was pretty hilarious because I went to go get my voucher for food for the whole day and they gave me a ten dollar bill. lol. Okay then... stingy MTC. I'm also supposed to be ready to leave at 4:30 in the morning. Count your blessings people, count your blessings. I really shouldn't complain because the Elders going to the Paris mission have to poop in a cup and send it somewhere. 

So! Something else super exciting happens tomorrow! L. Tom Perry is coming to speak to us! I'm super excited to hear from him :) I'm pretty darn lucky.

On a more spiritual note! I have a new favorite scripture! It is Alma 7:24. It is so simple yet so powerful! We only need three things to abound in good works! (Mom, you can insert it here.) lol The scriptures is so different here because you read everything looking for things that would help your investigators. 

 " Alma 7:24 And see that ye have ^afaith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works."

Speaking of which! Our investigator "Melanie" was supposed to fly back to France last friday but ended up becoming our teacher! Haha SUPER SNEAKY MORMONS. I was shocked but happy that they deceived me. If I had known it was a Mormon in investigator's clothing I wouldn't have really put my heart into it. It was also extremely funny to hear what we said on accident. I accidentally thanked Heavenly Father for his wardrobe instead of love... bahaha.

I have a calling too! You are now associated with Branch #46D sacrament coordinator. I'm trying to not let all the power go to my head. In my interview with the Branch President he told he felt impressed to call me as DL but he realized I already had the leadership ability to do so. That was pretty cool. Our Branch President is very inspired. After about five minutes in an interview with him, he asked me "Can I ask you to do something?" of course I said yes. He then said "You need to repent of being a perfectionist." It totally shocked me! But I didn't get mad. I genuinely appreciated what he was telling me. He talked from personal experience about how perfectionism is good sometimes but it can lead to being to harsh on yourself and on others. It was really cool though because I hadn't spoken once about myself and he knew me. 

I've come to realize I don't understand the Atonement as much as I thought I did. I need to rely more on the Lord and less on myself. ANYWAY! But I've come to realization of how it is of no use to strive for absolute perfection without the Lord in the equation. 

Our zone has three districts but we are getting a new district tomorrow! Half of the new missionaries are going to New Caledonia and the other have are going to Montreal. 

I love my district so much. I'm really going to miss them when we all leave... even though we are serving in the same mission. The German, soeur Reichelt, reminds me SO much of Judith. She is now the STL and has been abusing the power... I made a sarcastic remark directed as her and as she hit me she said "I am the Sister Training Leader, I can hit you when I want." I laughed so hard... she is too funny. 

Here at the MTC, you just have to come to accept the fact that you will be tired for the rest of your mission. There isn't enough time to do anything---especially sleep. 

Sundays are good for rest though... except all the meeting is in French and you are struggling to understand the talks...

Anywayyyy... I love you all & appreciate your letters! 

Avec beaucoup d'amour!

Elder Johnson

Moving at the Speed of Light

Elder Johnson's first e-mail(s) arrived since we left him last Wed.  After I read it I get an image of him running around in triple time, like when you fast forward a movie.

HEY! So my P-day is on Monday and I only have 30 minutes to email so I am going to kind of ramble on and on.  

First off though this is the stuff I need: 

--My heavy cardigan

--Striped AE shirt

--White pants (the skinnies) 

--White stripe shoes

--Ragnar hoodie

--Pajamas

-Heavy socks

Mr. mac also never sent my overcoat so you might check on that... please :)

SOrry to list off the things I need first but if I didn't I would forget completely!

Anyway! I miss my family so much! But I know that I am doing the right thing being here. Today we got to go to the temple and do an endowment session which was very nice :) It was a very spiritual experience. 

The language study is SUPER crazy intense. We taught our first investigator the SECOND day IN FRENCH. bahaha. I was so awful when I was when there trying to speak to Melanie. She is a French exchange student for BYU studying english. She is super nice and forgiving thankfully. Otherwise she wouldn't come back to listen to our broken French. I was able to tell her to Book of Mormon was true and that if she read it, it would bless her. It was cool to testify in French. I have also started saying all of my prayers in French. Some of the pronunciation is all wrong but I have a feeling that notre Pere Celeste understands what I'm trying to say :) THe first day in class I thought I had walked into the wrong place because it is complete French as soon as you start. NO ENGLISH. 

So my Companion is Elder Hutchinson! He is from Wales, UK and is very agreeable. I thank Heavenly Father every night that I got such a good companion my first round. I'm junior companion but only because his name is alphabetically first :P lol. We have two other elders in our room. Elder Price, who is from London and elder Andrew is from California. We all get along so well. Which brings me to talk about my district! There are exactly four elders and four sisters in my district. Soeur Jackson is also from London (I am completely surrounded by the British accents and I have to conscientiously keep myself from saying rubbish, toilet, bin, and a number of other British words). Soeur Jackson's companion is soeur Koyle who is from Idaho. The other two soeurs are from Germany and Italy! So, Americans are out numbered to internationals in my district! Pretty crazy :)

A little bit about my actual mission--

There are 240 missionaries serving in my mission. 60% Elders & 40% Soeurs. Wowzah.  

There are also baptisms every week which is one of the highest rates of baptism in Europe.~

OH! I also met a missionary that knew Jaime Perry .. he said that he met her when she was a missionary and that she was the "most fun" missionary ever. haha

Thank you for the candy! It really brightened my day. I've shared a ton of it with the elders in my room :)

The MTC schedule makes you feel like you don't have enough time in the day to do anything! We have about 30 minutes to eat but hey, we only have six weeks here so we better use our time wisely. Apparently I fly to San Fran sometime this week to the French consulate. Which will be a very fun!  My companion doesn't have to go because he is from the EU and they don't need visas. 

I love and miss you all! It has been a rollercoaster already but I know that the Lord has blessed me tremendously because of it.  I can't wait to read more of your emails! How is the ranch? 

Je sais que l'Evangile de Jesus-Christ est vrai et il'amour nous. Je sais que le Livre de Mormon est le parole de Deiu. 

I love you all. I wish I could write more but I simply don't have time. 

Avec beaccoup pour amour,

Elder Johnson 

Then I received a bunch of short little e-mails…kind of a, "Oh yeah..and then Oh yeah…" Here are a some of them.  :)

So, tell Stanton that I am not prepared for a mission because I forgot my toothbrush. The irony. I can't even... lol Don't forget to send Dear Elders! Those are my favorite :)

Love, 

Elder Johnson

oh! Last thing. Please pray for me to learn the language! I would also love some pictures of my family :)

LAST silly, small email.

Love,

Elder Johnson

HEY! So I guess I have a little more time on this... The laundry is taking a while. on my Address the DEC 10 needs to be changed to NOV 12..I don't leave until the DEC 10

Oh! I remembered something else. Please send a USB for my camera! 

Current Mailing Address:

ELDER CAMERON RAY JOHNSON

NOV12 FRA-LYON

2007 N 900 E UNIT 83

PROVO UT 84602

Missionaries LOVE to get mail!  

Feel free to drop Elder Johnson a word of encouragement, fun things about what it going on or just a hello - we love you note.  

Another great way to get Elder Johnson mail in one day is to use the services of 

http://www.dearelder.com

It's a free service to send letters to the MTC.  If you get your letter in via internet by 12:00 p.m. MT they will hand deliver it the same day.  They do ask for donation but it is not a requirement.  

No word yet but...

While we were in Utah, Cameron's  8 year old cousin, Staton said all Cameron needed was his toothbrush on his mission.  We joked about it the entire visit.  After dropping Cameron off and  heading back to Arkansas, his Aunt Jennifer sent this photo via text to me:

She found Cameron's toothbrush and toothpaste on Grandma Janet's kitchen counter after we had left. This gave us all a good laugh. I wonder if he thought it was as funny as we did when he went to brush his teeth that night.  Probably not.  Day one in the MTC and no toothbrush. (giggle)