An Answered Prayer

After watching General Conference as a family,  Austin's mother offered a silent prayer on behalf of our son, asking for some small confirmation of his well-being.  Roughly thirty minutes later, we received the following email:

"I just talked to Austin yesterday, so I figured I would just give yous a little bit of an update. 

5 weeks ago, he went out with Elder Joseph (a marshallese elder). ....he (Elder Joseph) came in this transfer and none other than Elder Koleni went out to be companions with Elder Johnson. They both seem really happy and like they are getting along well... He sent 4 letters with Elder Joseph so you should hopefully be hearing from him soon. Plus there is a mission tour in November so you should be hearing from him then too. 

They have had one baptism and now have 3 other people that have baptismal dates which is really exciting. They are really stepping up and showing their mettle. He has spent some of his time coming up with marshallese puns that had my laughing pretty hard. He is doing great and said he is losing every bit of fat on his body so when he comes back it's just going to be muscle. And I guess they are working with their land lord/member of the church there and they are taking people to church in a vehicle that the church is paying for. So that is progress that I didn't think was going to come for a couple more months, but he is way ahead of the game out there. 

I know he is where he is needed. I don't think anyone else on this mission could be doing what he is doing right now.

Hope you are doing well, stay safe. 

Elder House"

Thank you, Elder House, for listening to the still, small voice and answering a mother's prayer.

Going silent.

Friends,

Over a year ago, while reading the blogs of other missionaries, I was confused over the large gaps of time where there were no photos, letters, or updates.  I figured that the missionaries (or their families) were too busy to attend the blog or perhaps the spotty Marshallese internet couldn't handle the browsers.  In all of this, I was wrong.  It is due to the remote locations that many of these missionaries serve.  On August 20, 2017, Austin was transferred to the outer island of Ailinglaplap.  Due to the remoteness of the location, the lack of internet and the lack of anything other than a small solar panel which powers the single lamp in their home, we haven't heard from him since.

Missionary work requires a lot of sacrifice and faith.  This has certainly been one of those times.  We appreciate your concern and prayers on his behalf.

-Shawn and Shannon Johnson