Zachary Justus Johnson

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Clifton.  Because he was a ZL we got to go out of our district in the morning and play basketball in a park. There were a lot of homeless people there, and they all sort of formed a crowd and watched our game and cheered us on. One of the men came up to me afterwards and we talked for a while.  He said that he was from North Carolina too and that he used to play basketball with Michael Jordan and David Robinson.  I don't know if I fully believe him, but it was great to talk to someone who had lived in NC. I could talk all day about the cars in Reno, NV.  Everyone has a nice car. It doesn't matter who they are--and it is a cultural thing that brings everyone together.  Outside my apartment, there has been a guy trying to replace his engine for weeks. He has Indiana license plates even though he has been here for years, so our nickname for him--Indiana Joe. We struggle with fin...

I'll begin with the drive to the airport in Charlotte. It was long and peaceful. Sort of like the calm before the storm. It was sad seeing my parents start to cry. It must have been hard for them to just let me go. It must have been hard to put me in the Lord's hands for two years. I walked up to my gate and I sat right outside the jetway door. The man sitting across from me asked if I was "going in or heading out." I  told him that I was heading out. He served in Nigeria and he gave me some really good advice. I was shocked he even knew I was a missionary--I forget I have a name tag. He said his biggest regret was that he didn't ask for an extension because he didn't know that he wanted to serve longer. I was the last one to get to the mission home, and my first thought was oh great, late as usual. If you know me well enough you know I hate being late, but I'm also late all the time. It's tough. Everyone there had already emailed their parents, had lu...

“Days felt like weeks, weeks felt like days.” I forget if anyone important said that, but that is what the last few weeks of Home MTC felt like. Not really a set of time but more like a blob with things morphing together. I think this is the first time in my life where my schedule has been this strict. I feel like every hour has been accounted for and every hour has been used. After all, I am on the Lord's time. From Left to Right: (Me, Elder Smith, Elder McDougal, Elder Hancock, Elder Anderson, Elder Millett, Hermana Martines, Hermana Sherman, Elder Peterson, Elder Frederick, Hermana (Harmonica) Cabrera, Elder Mendenhall, Elder Monday, Elder Taylor, Elder Arsenault, Elder Metge, Elder Buck) Our district, 13C, was really close. I cannot imagine my experience being the same if we even replaced one person. We were a pretty good bunch. I feel the best way to tell you about them is to break each one of them down, Hermana by Hermana, Elder by Elder. Hermana Martines It was very rare to ...