Malaga III

Dearest family,

 

my first area is Malaga III! It´s beautiful here- tons of old apartment buildings and little alleyways where kids play soccer together. It´s just what I would have imagined it to be. Everyone here has a little dog, or birds, or both. Most people are polite, even if they aren´t particularly friendly. I´ve already had a fair amount of typical Spanish food from the members- some of it I´ve loved, and some takes some real fortitude to get down and keep down. I am trying to eat everything though, mom, don´t worry... which actually is a problem- I always feel like I´m starving, and I know if I don´t watch myself, I´m going to get very, very fat.

 

My companion is Hermana Cano- she´s from a town near Cadiz, so she has a really thick Andaluz accent, which was hard for me to understand at first- much like a Chilean accent on steroids. I´m getting better at understanding, though, and the other day at church I gave the prayer, and the members said I´m starting to get an Andaluz accent too. Sister Cano is compacted energy- she´s a little intimidating that way, but she´s such a great missionary. She really cares about the people and uses time wisely.

 

Missionary work isn´t quite what I expected. I don´t think I could put my finger on what is different exactly, but I know I felt surprised when I really got started. The schedule in this mission is different from most people for sure. We study a little in the mornings, proselyte, then come back to our piso from 2-5:30 to study because everyone is napping then, and when we get further into the summer, it will be too hot to be outside.

 

Most of the people we´ve taught this week are Nigerians, and half of the lessons have been in English. A mother and daughter that we´re teaching already have a baptismal date, and their willingness to commit to live the commandments astounds me, and I know that people would not be making such difficult changes if they weren´t doing it for the Lord.

 

We´re also teaching a man who was a pentacostal preacher, and I love seeing the light that comes into his eyes when we answer his questions with the gospel. He told us that he´s been taught by a lot of preachers and missionaries, and that our gospel is different because we actually care about his concerns.

 

One... fun... story happened when we were teaching in one of the more "chunga" (ghetto) areas. We were teaching one woman in her piso, but there were four other men there, all talking and eating together. I thought about inviting them to listen, as it advises in Preach My Gospel, but I decided they were too busy, and that we´d just annoy them by inviting them, so I let it be. Then in the middle of the lesson, one of the men came over and asked, "Is Jesus just for one person?" We were stunned for a second then answered, "No, He´s for everyone." He raised his voice, "Then why are you only teaching His gospel to one person? Don´t I need it too?" I felt so guilty for ignoring my impression to invite him earlier, and I really learned my lesson. My companion thought he was kidding, because all the other men were laughing at the conversation from the table, but we invited him to listen at the next appointment. He was there listening the next time we came, and seemed sincerely interested in what we had to say.

 

The ward here is wonderful- and it was a relief when we had a family home evening with an Argentinian family and I understood every word they said. Oh, it was heaven.

 

So, next week is mother´s day, and I get to Skype home on Sunday. I´m going to try to do it at 4 o´clock here from a member´s home, which I think is 8 in the morning in Sandy, but I´m really not sure. I don´t know if I have a skype account, so I¨m going to use my companion´s, which I´ll send to you in another email, mom and dad. I think I have about an hour to talk, and the more of my family I get to see the better.

 

I´ve been more homesick here than I was in the MTC, but it´s not so bad that I´m depressed or can´t concentrate. Still keep me in your prayers so I can do what I´ve been sent here to do. I really do want to be a good missionary, but I know I need the Lord´s help.

 

Those who sent me an email this week: thank you- I love to hear how your families are doing. I can´t wait to talk to any and all of you who can make it to Skype on Sunday morning. Dad, make sure you send me an email with your skype account so if you have trouble finding my comp´s account, I can try to find yours. Maybe you should be on your email then so I can email you if I have problems.

 

I love you all- you´re in my prayers always.

 

Love, Sister Johnson