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Home Coming July 2022

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  Good Morning Brothers and Sisters of the Laguna Beach Ward. My name is Zack Johnson! I would just like to start off by saying that you are all witnessing history right now because if I am not mistaken this is the first homecoming talk given by someone who has served in both the Reno Nevada mission and the Asuncion Paraguay mission in the Laguna Beach Ward so yeah good job for being here. I take autographs they are like 5 dollars a piece.  When one is serving a mission, well I don't know if this is normal but when I was serving my mission I always sort of envisioned this moment. I would often think about what I was going to say and experiences that I would share and that it was going to be awesome and everyone was gonna just fall in love with me after. I had two full years to prepare for it but I put it together this morning so yeah. Its actually better this way because it's just like all of the talks I actually gave on the mission. It's a pretty good representation of who...
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A surprise ending

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The heavy, humid, winter air had its cold grip on my entire body. We had just left the capilla after correlation finished (the first organized meeting I have done with members from my whole mission) I may never be a starving artist or a a struggling actor trying to make it in the big city, but I will always have this moment. My old black jacket that I bought in Ayolas, socks that I bummed off of some random missionary in the office, and my permanently stained white  &collar shirt tell the tale of my many experiences and shortcomings. My ties are old. My feet are tired. My voice is raspy from a sore throat. We put our hands in the middle of a crowded street corner. On the count of three, the four of us shout at the top of our lungs: "¡SAN LORENZO!" I had such a perfect ending in my mind. I had it all. Loved my area. Loved my comp. I knew all of the members. Many of the people we were teaching had come to church that Sunday. It was all looking like the fairytale ending I ha...
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mente y corazon

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I decide to start writing and sort of let the words fill the page. I figure that's the best way to write. I was always taught that you had to have a goal in writing. That it had to be structured. An intro, a thesis, 3 paragraphs, conclusion. What's the goal with your writing. You have to cite your sources, use good grammar, avoid using passive voice, etc. And all of those things are good. But creativity comes from the abstract and the unexpected. It comes from the unknown. It's what makes the difference between poetry and rap (although I love both). Poetry starts in the soul and ends on paper. But rap needs to pass through the mouth first. If it doesn't sound good, on the outside, it doesn't make the cut. That's why most songs are based off of freestyle. It just has to come naturally. A lot of people ask me "where did you learn to write?" I guess I learned to "write" in school but I never really learned how to enjoy it until I had something t...
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Juan Ray'u

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So we finally got permission to drink Maté in the mission--which is something that all of the missionaries of Latin descent have been dreaming about for years. It's a pretty big deal because the whole point of not allowing Maté (or its cold counterpart Tereré) has been a big part of not only the mission's rules but also it's culture. It was a symbol of obedience, a symbol of sacrifice, something that says I can do hard things. I don't have to do what I have been doing for years before.  I can change We are only allowed to drink or "intake" (as the direct translation would say) Maté and Terere in our own house and using our own "equipo" or set up. You can't just throw the herb in a cup and start swigging. There's a process. You have choose which cup or "guampa" you're gonna use. Are you gonna drink it warm? Most people have an automatic boiler which is actually a pretty nifty and cheap way, but I prefer drinking it cold. The clas...
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Holaa

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4/4/2022 Hightower Psalm 144, My deliverer and my shield my stronghold and hightower I have always been told how to deal with stress, why it's important, why you can't let yourself get too stressed out and all that. I think I have passed through a lot of stressful experiences in my life just like anyone else but I've never really considered it a problem. I actually thought it was a positive thing. It helps you learn, make decisions, it keeps you on your toes. I think life would be awfully boring without it.  I would always say this to my friends, "if you don't have girl problems your life isn't exciting enough." What they never told me was how to deal with the "lack of stress." In the mission if there's a slow moment or a little bit of down time it's pretty easy to find something to do. In fact it's good to always be doing something, especially for me otherwise I would just get bored and trunky. But a lot of times when I should relax ...
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Novo Rodeo: O Rei Do Lazo

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  It all started with a stormy night in Natalio... There was an Elder in my zone named Elder Melgarejo. He was pretty young in the mission. About 7 months or so. But he was a stud. Handsome, tall, hard working. Just an Elder who knew how to get it done. He grew up in a rougher part of central Asuncion. A city called Luque. It's notorious for its gang violence and "ladrones." Elder Melgarejo was serving in an area in my zone called "Natalio Diez." A small city with a lot of faithful members that sits on the side of the highway on the way to Ciudad del Este from Encarnacion.  He was serving with an Elder named Elder Bariero. Elder Bariero was also from Luque but not nearly as "fachero" to say the least. He is tiny. 4 feet 2 inches max. He sort of just looks just like a little kid with the face of a man. I had heard a couple different things about him.  He walks too fast He isn't a good comp He doesn't know how to plan etc... After we got done wit...
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Mid-quality products from Argentina & my dear friend Angelo

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This transfer has flown by (not surprised). That is literally what everyone has told me about the mission since the day I arrived. That it gets faster the closer you get to coming back. It's like a roller coaster. The first half is slow, it's all uphill, it gives you anxiety, etc. What kind of scares me now is actually going back. I was pretty comfortable saying I had 4 transfers (around 6 months) left. But I recently surprised myself by saying yeah I have about 4 months left. 4 months. That's it. When I arrived here again in Encarnacion I sort of felt as if I was returning to my High School after graduating. Even though I'm in a different area it was all so familiar, yet so much had changed. I knew the "halls." I was recognized by the "teachers" here. I often heard, "Hey didn't you serve in the first branch a while ago?" All of the spiritual experiences I had here, the lessons I learned, the people I met. I consider it my Holy Land. It...
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