JOHNSON IN WISCONSIN

Hello. Sorry i haven posted much lately. Its hard to get enough time in the libraries here in Madison. Let me update you on things here. Hello,First off transfers...we werent involved, me and E. Winkler are staying in Madison which is sweet cuz were gonna have a great transfer. Its nice staying with somone as i dont have to convert him to the area. We both expected it to happen and were happy about it. Thats awesome that you are going to the temple. Im jealous as i havent been since the MTC but we will probablt get to go this month sometime as the Chicago temple isnt very far away and the singles ward goes once a month. Hopefully that will happen. im doin a lot better this time. I still havent heard from Jon at all but i cant dwell on that, still a bummer but outta my hands. Well James Lusher, our investigator, picked us up and took us to church yesterday and he loved it! He is progressing very well. We are gonna set a baptism date with him tomorrow night!! He is very ready and should have recieved his answer by now, it should be within the next few weeks. I went to the Wisconsin Badgers b ball game on Wednesday. Get this, so the tickets we had were for the very last row of the upper bowl (they were free so i couldn't complain) but we werent gonna stay all the way up there the whole time so we scouted the bottom bowl for seats that nobdy showed up for (it was tough as it was a sellout as UW is ranked #2 in the nation) but we spotted some. So at half time we wnet down and took our seats...ROW 5!!! in the middle and nobidy ever came so we watched the 2nd half way up close, it was so awesome...good times...its weird. Serving in Madison has beem interesting...ive had some of my biggest headaches and lots of stress here but ive also had some of my best memories here and met some of the coolest people and had tons of fun. I guess it goes to show that we will have opposition but at the same time we really get to appreciate the good times and blessings that God gives us. When we understand taht god loves us and we are going through trials to learn and grow and not to be punished it makes teh whole difference. Thats one thing ive noticed about members of the church, we seem to handle tirals and challeneges in life differently than others that dont have the restored gospel in thier lives. Through the Atonement of Christ we can overcome anything and make it through any challenge that comes our way, ive experince that many times out here. I know that the church is true and im grateful for this time i have to share my testimony!! Im really excited for James, ill hopefully see his baptism this month. We have our lesson in the Dimond's hoem with him tomorrow night. As for today we are gonna go and visit Chris Farley's grave. Yup he is buried here. He grew up in Madison. Have a great week and enjoy your warm weather. Its winter here, and that card of the elders at the freezing bus stop was a good one. I dont get iceiclies coming out of my nose though!! Love you!! Love Elder Benjamin Johnson

Things here are crazy. If i could describe my 3 weeks in Madison in one word it would be: headache. This place is hard and i feel like i was sent here so the lord could stretch me. I suppose we get trials on a mission too. ive been prayin more here than i have anywhere else. It just blows having to rely on busses and other people to drive me places, things would be so much easier if i had a car here, but i dont, so im dealin with it even though its been very stressful. Things are gettin better now that the holidays are over but its still been challenging. It looks as if a few members here are giving us refferals and one is in a members home this week so that is exciting. Were also still working on Aretha, the lady that wants to get rebaptized and she comin along well. Ill be ok.I guess its making me really appreciate my time i had in Marquette. Today we are going down to Stoughton for p day. It should be fun. I dont know what else really to say. I cant even remember which scripture to do today and im having a hard time thinking of one. Um, heres a classic, John 3:16. Sorry im just nopt thinkin right now, its been a crazy couple of days. Dont worry about me though, ill get through this. Like ive said before a mission is ups and downs and im gonna learn from my time here. I hit 14 months tomorrow. It continues to roll on by. Well i gotta let my comp use the computer. We have limited comps at this library, love ya's and hopefully ill have a better week. Love Elder Benjamin.

Its been a few weeks as its been crazy but here is an update from Madisons Wisconsins. Finally, the holidays are over, now everything can get goin. Last night we got to stay up late (approved by the assistants) and we saw the whole Boise State vs Oklahoma game. It was the best football game ive ever watched. We were all rooting got Boise State (we had a fe missionaries from Idaho there) and it was such an exciting finish. About 14 missionaries were packed in the living room of a members home in Madison. It was so much fun. Life in Madison is gettin better. The lord answered our prayers last week by leading us to somone he has prepared to hear the gospel. A girl sat by me on the bus on Friday and asked "where is your church". We ended up talking for 15 minutes during which i taught her the Restoration and gave her a BOM. On Saturday morning we had one of the best lessons ive had on the mission. We taught her the Restoration and the spirit was so strong. When we asked her why she sat by me she started crying and said that she wasn't happy. We bore our testimonies about how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings true happiness.We told her we were servants of God and that he loves her and it wasnt a coincedence that we ran into her on the bus. She plans to come to church and be baptized. She said the closing prayer and in tears thanked God for sending us to her. That was such a sweet feeling. Her name is Starla. Its people like her that made me want to serve a mission and when we have experiences like that it makes it so fulfilling and worth all the sacrafice. We are gonna set a date with her next time we visit with her. I love this work. Our mission is heating up and its lookin like were gonna catch fire for 2007 as we had a tough 2006 as far as the baptisms went. My faith has increased so much with all these experiences on the mission. I really am getting blessed being here and i will reflect upon my mission for the rest of my life. Im happy to be here, its a fun time. Were also getting blessed with such nice weather. i especially appreciate no snow having to walk around so much. Well i gotta jet. I wish you all a great week. Crazy, i go home this year. I love ya's.