Odwalla Superfood!

Hey fam!

Sorry this email is coming a day late, the library was closed yesterday so we had to wait until today to do our emails. This past week was pretty good, I went to my first Zone Conference! It was fun to get to see my old MTC companion and catch up with him. I also really enjoyed hearing President McKee speak as well as the Zone Leaders and Assistants to the President. They talked to us about not being "robot" missionaries and that we should care about the people and not numbers. There is only one Spanish Zone in this mission, so all the Elders really know each other well and are really good friends.

Unfortunatley, my companion got sick last week so we had to stay in all day for a couple days. The other 2 missionaries in our District that we see all the time got pretty sick as well, but I drank some Odwalla Superfood and it kept me healthy. We had a really awesome thunderstorm while my companion was sick. It was raining so hard that cars looked like they were driving through 6 inches of water on the main road so they were all going really slow. Most of the time it has been pretty sunny so I've been getting Tanner.

We still haven't really found anyone who is really interested in learning about the Gospel and reading the Book of Mormon. We have taught quite a few people, but it takes longer here to find people to teach because we have to find Hispanics. There are some key indicators that help us determine if Hispanics are living in a house or not, and I'm starting to get pretty good at it.

I have heard that at least two people who got to the MTC on the 28th of December have recieved their Visas and gone to Mexico, but none who are going to Tampico or are in temporarily assigned to Nashville Tennessee. I really like it here with this ward and these Elders so I hope I get to stay here a little longer.

Elder Stockard wasn't in that picture because he is in a different area of the mission. He is also going to Tampico but he wasn't in my District at the MTC. Elder Stockard was in a District that had a bunch of people going to Tampico, but Elder Girot and I were the only ones in ours because we were in the Intermediate Spanish District. Elder Stockard and I actually opened our calls on the same night and then met each other that night.

The reason we got to go to the temple was because my companion was supposed to go to the temple for his first time in the field, but because he was assigned to be my trainer, I got to go with him.

That is awesome that Colin finished his Drivers Ed classes! How is his driving? and the Snow campout sounds freezing. I wish that I had gone Snow camping and slept in a snow cave. They should have just buried the tent in the snow haha. I hope you enjoy your trip! Let Ryan, Kaitlyn, Kelsey, and Colin know that they can send me an email if they want, that way it will be free and much faster (I am only allowed to email direct family so don't give me email out).

I love you all and will keep you in my prayers!

con amor,

Elder Johns

Second week in Nashville

My companion, Elder Monson

Eating a fish head that a member gave us for Dinner

The sky is always beautiful here

The Sun

Hey Family,

It has been a great week in Tennesee! Last week we went to a members house for Noche Hogar (Family Home Evening) and it was a lot of fun. I ate two really hot peppers, they were a little smaller than my pinky but they burned. I don't think I have ever had anything so spicy but I liked them. On wednesday morning, Elder Monson and I got to go do a session in the Nashville temple and it was really nice. This week we also had a companion exchange and I went with Elder Allen for a day and a half in his area and my companion went with the District Leader, Elder Andrew, in our area. It was fun to be in an area where they already had a bunch of investigators so I could see what it was like. The day after that it rained really hard all day long and I didn't bring my umbrella or my raincoat with me to Elder Allen's apartment. Luckily they had an extra for me to wear, but we both got completely soaked over the course of the day.

My talk went pretty well yesterday. I was a little nervous about it but I didn't mess up. I am getting a lot better at understanding native speakers. Last week during church everything everyone said just gave me a headache and was a blur of sounds but this week I could hear individual words and understand people alot more. Last night we taught a woman named Magnolia about the Restoration. I could really feel the Spirit there with us while we taught her and it seemed like she was feeling it too. This next week we are having a Zone Conference on Friday. I don't really know what that means beside the President will be there and everyone in our zone.
The photo you saw of us standing on the tree was a tree that we helped cut down on a week before last Thursday. There is an elderly couple who are in the English Ward in our area that needed help cutting down a tree who are also Elder Gage's grandparents (Elder Gage is one of our Zone Leaders). The tree was like 60 feet tall so we used a rope slingshot to tie a rope to the top of the tree, and then we tied it with a bunch of loops so we could all pull on the rope. Then Elder Gage's grandpa got a saw and sawed the base of the tree while we pulled the rope to control where the tree would fall. It looked pretty cool when it fell down. We were far enough away that we weren't in any danger. That is wierd that I was already tagged in it, I gave Elder Gage's grandma Mom's email address so that she could email it to her.

That is so awesome that Tucker and Dylan got their mission calls!!! Tucker and I will be able to speak in Spanish to each other. Tell them that I am really excited for them and that the are going to love being on a mission. Thats too bad that Ryan was rear ended but that is good that the other guy's insurance will cover the repairs.

I'm not sure why the pictures are so fuzzy, and I can't find anything that talks about jpeg compression or picture quality settings, but maybe I can find some instructions in the manual back at my motel. I attached some more pictures. I haven't been carrying around my camera so I don't really have any cool photos yet.

It was great hearing how everyone is doing and I hope that you all have a great week this week!

con amor,

Elder Johns

Tanner's Nashville Mission President and First Companion

First email from Nashville

Hey Family!

I'm doing great! Tennessee is awesome, its very beautiful here. Its also pretty different from the North West. There are TONS of different churches here and a million church buildings. There was even a chapel with a buffet built into it. I met President McKee last week and he is really cool, they were really excited to get 8 Spanish speaking visa waiters. and he put all of us into the Spanish speaking zone so I get to teach in Spanish and practice it. My companion is Elder Monson (and his dad is named Thomas S. Monson but hes not the prophet) and he lived in Hawaii for about 7 years and then moved to Utah. He even worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center when he went to BYU Hawaii. Hes pretty cool, hes only had four months out in the field and I was hoping to get a trainer with more experience but he seems to know what hes doing.

We were assigned a new area that was taken out of a larger area in Providence (which I think is near to the city of Nashville or is a part of it). It is the only place in the entire mission that we have a full Spanish speaking ward (theres like 400 members but 125 frequently come). They didn't have anywhere for us to stay, so they rented out a motel room long-term for us. Its pretty small and smells like cigarette smoke but we're doing fine. We should be getting some dishes and stuff in a day or two and we can finally buy some food today. We have been super blessed by getting alot of food from members and having them invite us over for dinner. Our Zone leaders live fairly clsoe to us so they give us rides to members houses for meals and they are soooooo delicious. These people can COOK. Mom, you need to learn how to make Horchata, it is delicious. and papusas.

My first time in a Spanish Ward yesterday was interesting, it was a fast and testimony meeting. They speak soooo fast and it is so difficult to understand them. I feel like my ability to talk in Spanish is pretty good but it is going to take a lot of hard work to be able to understand native speakers. My companion is really good at Spanish so he'll help me out. The members are super friendly and they love us missionaries. Right now there are 7 missionaries total that are assigned to the ward. Oh, and the 1st counselor asked me if I would give a talk next week during Sacrament Meeting. I'm excited but a little scared.

Because we've kinda started a new area, my companion doesn't know the area or any of the members. We also haven't had any investigators so we've mostly been tracting. We haven't found anyone really to teach yet, but we have taught the first lesson to a couple people. The Hispanics are so friendly when you knock on their door and they'll welcome us in and talk to us for a while and let us teach them. The tough part is finding the Hispanics, it feels awkward when an english speaking person answers the door and we have to talk in English.

Apparently there were tornadoes in Tennessee on Friday. We were walking to some apartments like 45 minutes away when we heard a Tornado warning siren and it started getting pretty windy. Then someone pulled over and told us that a tornado was coming so we decided to head back to our motel. Then we got a call telling all the missionaries to go back to their apartments. we were like 30 minutes away from our motel so we walked really fast and people kept stopping their cars to tell us to go home or find shelter. We got back to our motel and everyone was really worried and outside their rooms looking at the clouds. I didn't really feel scared or like we were in danger. After like an hour and a half, the storm headed another direction, hte wind died down, the sun came out, and nothing happened. We heard that some tornadoes had touched down in some parts of Tennessee but we didn't see them. We also heard that there was some pretty large chunks of hail in some areas but we didn't get any in ours.

I have to go now though, it was great to hear from you and I'm glad that Kaitlyn and Kelsey had a good time at Tolo. Also, the humidity here reminds me of Hawaii a bit so I am basically in Hawaii (we had the most delicious Pina Colada at a members house yesterday). Here is my mailing address and I am going to send some pictures.

Elder Tanner Eric Johns

105 Westpark Drive, Suite 190

Brentwood TN 37027

make sure you send packages and mail through the US postal service (thats what they told me) and if you could post that on facebook so my friends know where they can write me that would be awesome!

con amor

Elder Johns

Arrived in Nashville

Dear Parents:

Just a short note to let you know your special missionaries made it to the waiting welcome arms of President and Sister McKee late yesterday afternoon.  All were happy to see and meet one another.  Your sons were also welcomed by other members of the McKee family along with the President’s assistants.  All came to the Mission Office where four of us senior missionary couples had the pleasure of meeting your fine young sons.

They were then taken to the Mission home and treated to a wonderful dinner, good conversation, and some needed laughter.  They were interviewed by the President and his wife, saw slides of Tennessee and had a short testimony meeting.  They spent the night at the Mission Home (I’m sure a lot more of getting to know you continued for a while with some goodies mixed in with the talking) Today, Tuesday the 28th, they were paired with their companions and started training for the days ahead of doing the Lord’s work. Mondays are Prep days so that is the day they will be able to contact you.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact President McKee or Sister McKee or any of us here at the Mission Office.  Know your sons are in good hands.

Sincerely,
Sister Prudencio

Spanish with a Southern Drawl - Nashville Tennessee!

Tanner's Mexico Visa isn't ready, yet, so he has been temporarily re-assigned to the Tennessee, Nashville (Spanish Speaking) mission. He flies out on Monday morning. We were able to speak to him on the phone for a few minutes tonight and he is very excited about this new adventure!

-Kyle

Hey Fam!

I got my temporary assignment! I'm going to Nashville, Tennesee!!!!!! Thats not fair that President Tanner told you and ruined the suprise. That is cool that Grandpa Anderson served there. I am REALLY excited to go to Nashville although I don't know anything about it besides that it has alot of musical history. I have loved the MTC and the friends I have made here, but I am so ready to leave to go and work in the real world. I feel so ready but I know that I still have a lot to learn! Sadly I do not think I will be speaking Spanish in the Tennessee Nashville Mission, but I am not really worried about forgeting the Spanish I have learned. I am hoping that my Visa doesn't take too long for Mexico to approve. Oh and I get to call you tonight for 5 minutes because they gave me a reassignment. I will call tonight sometime around 9-9:30pm my time so 8-8:30 your time. I guess its not a huge deal since I can call you at the airport on Monday.

This week I got to be a host for the new missionaries that came in on Wednesday. I got to welcome them to the MTC, take a couple of them through the registration process, drop their stuff off in their room, get their materials, and take them to their classroom. The whole time I had to keep reassuring them and help them not to feel so nervous, which is hard because they just said goodbye to their families for two years. I remember my first couple days here, they were extremely difficult and I was more stressed than I have ever felt in my entire life. But now, just before I leave, I feel very at home here and I think I will miss it. I am confident that I will be able to adapt to the difficulties that will come from being out in the field and I am so excited to tackle them head on.

My biggest worry right now is that I am not sure if I can even teach the lessons in English, I've only taught them in Spanish from the first day I arrived here. I'll have to translate from Spanish to English in my head and then my sentences will come out wierd like "Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial" to "God is our Father Heavenly" or "Por medio de la Expiacion, podemos arrepentirnos y llegar a ser limpios de nuestros pecados" to "Through the Atonement, we can repent ourselves and come to be clean from our sins." Nah that probably won't happen (most of the time) but it will take some getting used to to teach in English.

That trip sounds like a lot of fun, I bet Abby really enjoyed the water slides! Flying kites on the beach sounds really fun, I haven't flown a kite in forever. Thats great that Kaitlyn and Kelsey got a semester at BYU-I separate and a semester together. I am really excited for them, they are going to love college! That Cavalia show sounds pretty awesome, I think I remember seeing the tent while I was in WA before I came here. You will have to get me her contact information and how I am related to here and if I am near here I can go and visit her. All I know is that I need to be at the travel office at 6:00AM and I think my flight leaves around 10:00 so I will be calling before then. Also, I am going to mail most of the letters that I have recieved at the MTC to you in a large envelope with some letters for my friends that I don't have their address.

I love you all so much and I can't wait to talk to you on the phone soon!

con amor,

Elder Johns

Valentines Day in the MTC

Happy Valentines Day!

I can't say that alot happened this week. We got a new District last Wednesday and one of the Elders, Elder Draper, is going to the Mexico Tampico Mission too. Unfortunately, the guy who just got back from the Tampico Mission that I talked to before my last email forgot about meeting up with Elder Girot and I. He was going to show us some pictures and I was going to ask him a bunch of questions, I hope that we can find another time to meet with him.

My Spanish is getting pretty good. I don't have to think very hard to say what I am trying to say anymore during the lessons and on our Speak Your Language days. I can't wait until I get to my mission and then I have to speak Spanish literally all of the time so that I can improve my Spanish even faster. Teaching the lessons has become alot easier now because I have been teaching them so much. It is fun to do the role-play investigator thing, but I really want to be teaching real people. I haven't heard anymore about my Visa, they've pretty much just told me to wait and if I get my travel plans then I have my visa and if I don't get my travel plans then I don't have my visa. We are supposed to be recieveing our travel plans within the next week.

My companion and I have become a lot better friends this week. We joke around with each other more and it feels more like we're friends instead of just companions. I'm really grateful that he is my companion and that I have had the opportunity to learn from him and with him while at the MTC.

I'm sorry to hear that alot of you weren't feeling well on Valentines day, but a heart shaped pizza sounds pretty cool. I felt a little homesick because I remembered that we would always have a fondue dinner on Valentines day. Thanks a lot for the package! It felt nice to get something on Valentines day, and now I have enough candy to last me for the rest of my mission! That is awesome that Colin did well on his talk, tell him to hurry up and write me back on DearElder. That is also awesome that he has started practice driving and Drivers ED, driving was really scary for me at first, and especially when I got my license and got to drive by myself. I was also glad to hear that Kaitlyn got into BYU-I as well as Kelsey! They are going to love it, College is the best. How has Abby been doing recently? Yeah Ryan sent me a quick letter telling me about how he volunteered as MTC investigator, too bad I didn't accidently run into him or get to teach him.

I can't think of anything that I need right now, I should have everything I need. I think I am going to hang on to the coat because I was told that it can actually get really cold in Tampico during the winter months. Thank you so much for everything that you have done for me, I really enjoy being here and I always enjoy getting to hear from you all!

con amor,

Elder Johns