IT'S WORTH THE WAIT - WE PROMISE!

                                             IT'S ALL ABOUT  'PERSPECTIVE'

 Ponderings for the month:  As we conclude the year and some of you have been reading the story of a family (the Old Testament), we want to share our love and best wishes for you as our brothers and sisters in that very family.  That family, (Israel), has gotten scattered throughout the entire face of this planet and we are serving a mission to gather them back together. In this diverse area we have been blessed to meet people with patriarchal blessings from so many different sons in that family. If you happen to have such a blessing, take a look at again.  You will be provided with a greater perspective on you, your family, and your future. (if you don't have one, consider doing what it takes - it will be worth it).We are grateful for you and yours. It is our prayer at this Christmas season that we will all recognize the incredible places we all live,  the people who make it that way, and Jesus Christ who gives us the ultimate in perspective. Including family perspective. Please pray for us to be a light, not a judge! We will do the same for you. Ok, enough of what my kids call 'speeching'.  Lets get on with the news for the month so we can introduce you to our grandson!

     This has been a real up and down month for us here in the mission field.  Nothing in this world is more exciting than a baby and we have a new one.  Our grandson, Hyrum,  born to Jordan and Melissa in Wisconsin gives hope for the future and sheer joy for his cousins around the country.

This is their 2nd child and that makes it our 16th grandchild. What a welcome addition to the Johnson family. Our grandchildren are the greatest blessing in our lives (their parents think it is them, but we all know it's about the grandkids!)  So that new baby will make Christmas extra special this year.  Say hi to Hyrum Alex Johnson and THANK YOU MELISSA (and all you other moms) for being willing to be a mother and all that entails.

    Watching the peaks and valleys of life means that there is always that other side.  During this last few weeks we got news that a young man that many of you may know or may have seen and heard passed away from colon cancer.  He was only 34. Yea-34! His name was Quentin Lee and he was married to a fabulous girl in our home ward who we watched grow up from toddler to the amazing and talented young woman she is today.  I say that you may have seen or heard him because he did a number of things on Broadway and he played Phantom in "Phantom of the Opera" in the national touring group. It was my privilege to marry these 2 when I was serving as a Bishop. They were on their way that very day to Hong Kong where he played the role of Scar in Lion King. Later they were sealed together in the temple and so we have watched their growth as a couple and as parents to a beautiful little girl. His passing is difficult to take because he is so young and they have this beautiful little girl who will grow up without her dad. We hope that you will add that family to your  prayers. Quentin and Angie Lee and their daughter Samantha 

           

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                               

For our review we are trying a new approach today.  In no actual order our month included the following:

 In the past month we have had transfers and missionary moves and all that goes with that on an island that is 285 miles long where we do car and apartment inspections. We have  been in the Vancouver Temple with all of those same Island missionaries, been snowed in and not been able to get on the Ferry to return home, packed and unpacked peoples storage facilities,

 served the homeless, met lots of wonderful people of different faith traditions who also are providing service to the needy, seen an incredible display of                       nativity scenes. Been aware of the change to Christmas lighting at Butchart gardens,

 Interviewed and recorded the faith promoting stories of another dozen "island pioneers", been on teaching appointments with the young missionaries, helped with Institute dinner, taught institute to the stake young adults, had a great Christmas party in our ward where over a dozen non members attended, participated in zone conferences and district councils, fed the missionaries and then fed them some more, 

drove a whole 'bunch' of miles, had a meal with the mission office staff (because we are on the island, we don't see the other couples so this was a big deal),

and even responded fairly kindly to some terribly negative "anti' comments made to our young missionaries on social media. (for those of you who know how irate I can get at folks who who make stupid comments to those I love, you would be proud of me being as calm and 'loving' as I was).  A cool thing we get to do is read the regular messages from other missionaries around the world.  Sister Johnson has a brother and his wife in Ireland serving a mission. The connections they are making are nothing less than miraculous.  Proof of Gods love for us. We had some great friends in the ward here just leave this week for a 6 month mission in Toronto.  They will be speaking Chinese and working in the Chinese branch downtown. (that is home to us from 40 years ago),                          

We were taught by an inspired stake president at stake conference that part of the normal life struggle we are having on this island is found in a Book of Mormon scripture: "the easiness of the way".  For many, life is TOO easy in this community - apparently, not a lot of humility. And yet the homeless population continues to grow.

Government has encouraged the homeless to stay in the grade school playground and park as long as they are gone by the next morning at 8:00 am. when the kids arrive. We have a few who actually stay on the side porch of our church building until police ask them to move.  A number have come to our recent Christmas gatherings.

   Newest stats for Victoria British Columbia are that for a family of 4 to 'survive'  it takes 2 full time people making $20.52 per hour. You are correct. that is 41.00 hourly for a family of 4.  That is based on an 8 hour day, 5 day work week.

                   

Drove people to the hospital for procedures or drove them home, drove young single adult kids to play basketball with the missionaries, played pickleball as a missionary activity, swam 20 laps at the community rec center pool, watched the Chosen with some less active folks, walked a total of 150 miles, studied 'Come Follow Me' on 5 or 6 different podcasts, heard dozens of conference and BYU speeches,  attended biweekly family home evening on zoom with a bunch of ward adults. Watched a 30 minute video on the "storm of the century."  In 1996 it began snowing in Victoria just 2 days before Christmas. Snowed for 9 days.  THEN it rained.  The weight was too much and roofs all over this city caved in.  Some people actually could not find their cars.  But come on, that was 1996. Never again!?!                                                                   

Attended a sacrament meeting where the high council representative told of his brother and sister in law both dying within 2 years of each other and leaving 3 small children to him (the high councilor) and his courageous wife. (consider doubling your family size nearly overnight). We have met with a whole bunch of our 'less active' members and invited them to come back to church. We checked for Facebook accounts to straighten up our ward list (over 425 letters sent out and  111 came back undeliverable so facebook is the final tool to verify if we 'send off' the records).  We have attended zoom primary presentations in Utah and in Canada. (Canada one had 7 kids in primary and the Utah one had what appeared to be 'hundreds'.  Both were wonderful. There is just nothing quite like our primary kids. We attended an inspirational remembrance day celebration in Oak Bay, (quaint old and established community that is an extension of Victoria).                                      

                                                                            

  Attended a 'missionary' fireside put on for our stake youth where the full time missionaries got to encourage and teach,  We celebrated US thanksgiving (sort of) and have now set up a Christmas tree and sister Johnson has put a picture of every missionary that has been on the island since we got here on that tree. (nearly 100 of them).

                                                              

 This will be a unique Christmas for us because, if I am not mistaken, it will be the first away from our family in 50 years. We are missing them terribly, but like many of you, we will get through it and strive to bring the Christmas spirit into the lives of the less fortunate here. We have prayed hundreds of times, studies scripture every day, have fasted for the sick and have put lots of names on the Temple Prayer Roll.                                             

We have visited and taken a weekly 'non hospital' meal to a friend who has been a quadriplegic for 26 years.  Lives his life literally 'in his head' and uses his mouth to do everything. Pretty good with computer games! He is a man who is doing his best to make and keep covenants.  Great guy who has given us deeper perspective and sense of gratitude.  Provided priesthood blessings to a few who requested them and a few that we had to encourage.  We have met and born testimony to people whose families were so dis-functional and the abuse so severe, that their simply being alive is a miracle. Our prayers after that changed. I continually thank God for ancestors who went before us and for their commitment to just being good folks. Believing that "people matter most".  In all of it, our perspective on life, love, and family has increased and our ability to 'not judge' has grown as well. Our witness of Jesus Christ as the only way to real joy has increased dramatically during the past months.  Wearing His name every day and announcing to the world that we represent Him brings joy but also some sadness. Why? Because there really are people who will NOT spend time with us because of that name tag.  That is disappointing on so many levels.  But again, we are learning not to judge. (ok, full disclosure - we are learning to judge less!)

    Thank you again for your support.  Just knowing that we are brothers and sisters in the family of a loving God provides us with a perspective that cannot come in any other way.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU.

Elder Scott Johnson

Sister Valerie Johnson

Canada Vancouver Mission