Thriving!

Dear family,

another busy, crazy week in Málaga. I can´t believe how fast it went by, which is a good thing, because it means we have lots of work. I thank everyone that sent me a package or letter recently- Elder Estrada tells me that there are two packages and lots of letters waiting for me in the mission office. It´s a good thing that we have zone conference this week, so I can get everything on Friday. Speaking of birthdays, mine´s coming up! (name that aardvark) And if you really want to do something nice for me for my birthday (which you already have), invite the missionaries over for dinner this week, accept any challenges they extend, and try to bear simple testimony to a non-member or a less active friend this week. Dealio?

The members in my area are really taking it up a notch. We have invitations to eat with and teach members nearly every day this week. The Elders in our ward are a little jealous, because there are so many members in our area (and we get to eat Magdalena´s cooking... mmm...) Speaking of, guess who really has a love of gazpacho. Guess. Me! Still loving the food (as evidenced in photos), and loving most everything else, too.

Hna. Coloma and I get along swimmingly. She gets a good laugh out of everything. Mostly my Spanish. We really love the people though- investigators and members. One less active member this week got angry with us when we asked if we could visit her. She´s a returned missionary, and she went off for five minutes about how she knows how missionaries work, and that we only care about numbers and not individuals. Later Hna. Coloma and I decided she couldn´t believe that if she saw how we were after we teach people- we always talk about their strengths, and discuss what we can do to help them. We cry and pray for the people who´ve lost loved ones, or who face poverty and sickness, and smile long after we visit with those who are doing well. 

I have a few good stories this week- but maybe only I appreciate them ;) We taught a Nigerian named Rosemary about the restoration this week, and at the end of the lesson, invited her to pray. She declined, saying she didn´t think she should, because she had sinned "and sin is sin". Hna Moreno and I (this was during an... intercambio... oh, companion exchange) pulled out all the tricks in our bag to invite her to pray. It´s a commandment, the Lord loves all His children just like she loves her son no matter what he does, it´s the devil who teaches a man not to pray, the Lord taught he came to teach the sick for "the whole need no physician"- "ALRIGHT! I get it! I´ll PRAY!" 

We´re still teaching the Romanian family, and I love them more every day. The little girls are still studying the Book of Mormon faithfully, and are always ready and waiting with their scriptures open when we come to teach. When we went the last time to teach, as we walked into the living room they all called out, "Hermana Johnson! Hermana Johnson!" Something I´ve learned about being so far from home is what it means to have someone know who you are. I felt ready to burst from happiness the other day when I heard one of the girls calling "Hermana Johnson!" from across the street in la Palmilla this last week.

Anyway, the whole family believes what we teach... it´s just a matter of helping them understand why what we teach is important, and different from other religions. Honestly though, I look forward to visiting them more than anything else, and the children at least do too. We only passed by for a minute last night to see if we could do anything to help them on our way to our next lesson- all 6 children crowded in the doorway with their grandma to talk to us, and they looked crestfallen (particularly Melisa) when we said we had to go. 

Some days are hard, when everything falls through, but the people make every hardship a blessing. If all I do in these 18 months is help this one family come to Christ, it will be worth it to me. Well, I best be heading. 

I know that this is the restored church of Jesus Christ, because I feel His influence in every aspect of this work, and most of all His love and concern for each person we teach. Every facet of this gospel is perfect, and the only teaching that makes sense of this life and the life to come. I am more grateful than I can ever express for my Savior, and for His mercy and love for us all. 

I love all of you and pray that you can feel the same joy I experience every day sharing this gospel.

All my love, Hermana Johnson

Surviving

Dear Family,

believe it or not, I have yet to crash and burn. But I do have a good lymerick for you. 

There was a girl serving in Spain

Who was told that she´d just have to train

After only six weeks.

Things are looking quite bleak,

For the blisters and heat are a pain.

I guess I better start off by introducing my new companion. Her name is Hermana Coloma. When we first met, she asked me how long I´d been in the field. Upon hearing that I had a grand total of 6 weeks under my belt, her eyes popped wide open and she said (with a hint of fear, perhaps), "¡Qué feurte!" When I learned that she was from Ecuador (Guayaquíl, Jon!), and that she was 23, I thought, "This is alright. At least Spain is foreign, so I´ll be able to help her with something." And found out moments later that she´s lived in Barcelona for the past 6 years. So much for that. I have been able to teach her somewhat, about the schedule, and obedience, the area and the people. 

Honestly though, one of my biggest fears was that she would resent me for being foreign and so naive, but she really treats me with love and respect, as she does everyone, and for that I´m exceedingly grateful. I´m sure that we´re going to be friends, and we´re already very united in the work. 

It´s so strange to have so much responsibility- with Hermana Cano, I think I was more like a duckling, following her around everywhere and helping where I could. Now I have to remember and record everything practically on my own until Hermana Coloma learns the ropes. I like working though- it´s the best cure for homesickness. 

Hermana Coloma is great- she has good ideas, and is up for all of my... adventures. For example, one of our investigators moved from the most ghetto area this week to the second most ghetto area, and I decided we should help her, since we´ve been asking for weeks if there was anything we could do for her. Well, it just so happened that she had a BIG flatscreen TV- I didn´t measure it, but it was just a few inches smaller than the TV mom and dad have in their basement. Anyhow, Hna. Coloma was in charge of hauling the cart while took the TV by myself (our investigator is expecting, so we didn´t want her to carry anything). Everyone crowded us, asking how much we were selling the TV for (that street is a sort of free market, most of the goods coming from dumpsters). Then we promised to help her move her fridge. Turns out she had two half sized ones, and a normal fridge. The elders came and carried one of the smaller ones, and Hna Coloma and I got the other one. Everyone in the street kept calling out about how strong we girls were... we certainly stood out in our skirts and blouses carrying a fridge between us in the poorest area. It was great fun. On a more-than-you-needed-to-know note, I´m going to have to look for some clinical strength antiperspirant. Particularly if I decide to carry any more fridges. Oh, and Estela (13 year old Nigerian who was baptized my first few weeks) asked me if all the Johnsons were tall and strong like me. I told her were were the strongest family ever. She said people must know I´m a Johnson just from seeing me carry such heavy things in the street- so true :) I´m glad I have a family I can be proud of in every way.

Oh, another fun adventure (that may or may not have also been a sweaty experience) happened the other day. The Elders had asked me to sing at Jay´s baptism (you guessed it, he´s also Nigerian), so Hna. Coloma and I planned to be in the chapel a few minutes before 8. 8.As we were waiting for the elevator in a building about 25 minutes away from the chapel (at 7), Elder Cortes called to ask whether we were planning on coming to the baptism. "Yes.... It is at 8, right?" Nope, definitely at 7. We ran (read: sprinted in 90 degree heat) to cut the time down to 15 minutes, so everyone in the chapel sang hymns while waiting for us to come.  It was a beautiful baptism though, and after I sang "I know that My Redeemer Lives", Jay clapped for me :)

There´s also an amazing Romanian family that we´re teaching- they´re pentacostals, but they really love all that we teach. We invited them to pray if the Book of Mormon was true, and they said, "Oh, we know it´s true. We´d share it with our congregation if we had enough copies so they could follow along." When I was teaching the girls (about 9 and 8 years old) about dispensations and the great apostasy, I explained that God has always revealed his will through prophets like Adam, Abraham, Noah... here, the younger one interrupted and asked, "Prince Noah?" "Prince Noah?.... Do you mean King Noah?" "Yeah, him! From the Book of Mormon!" .... "Do you mean you´ve read all the way to Mosiah?" "yeah, we read it every night." I don´t know what will happen with them, but they are so full of light, and I know the girls at least embrace the gospel whole-heartedly. One problem is we can´t get any one of them to give any prayer but the Lord´s prayer from the Bible... in Romanian. 

Sometimes our appointments fall through, and sometimes I miss home, but I really am loving my mission. I can´t believe just how much I love the people I meet- the missionaries, the members, the investigators, and strangers on the street. I realize every day just how fond I´m getting of this place, and all of these now-familiar faces and streets. Missions aren´t easy, but every day when we teach, I know that it´s worth it, because I feel the worth of each person we meet, and I know that they´re worth every effort, and every sacrfice. Something I´ve really learned is that (maybe I´ve said this before) Heavenly Father is all-powerful, and could do this all on His own if He willed it so. But he gives us the chance to give service- to show our faith and gratitude for all that He gives us. It´s humbling to know that even if I worked at full capacity every day for the rest of my life, it would never repay Him. 

Thank you for all of the emails you sent this week and the last. I always mean to reply but never have time- today we were at a castle in downtown Málaga, so... I didn´t have much time for letters today either. Just know that I appreciate everything you do for me, and that I don´t know what I´d do without your love and support. You´re the greatest family (and the strongest), and I´ll be happy to be with you again. I love you all!

Love, Hna. Johnson

It's a Girl!

Dear family,

the news is in- I´m training this transfer! Hermana Cano is going to Cartegena to be a SHE (Super Hermana Entranadora/Sister Training Missionary), and I´m staying here in Malaga 3 to train. As far as I know, there´s one other sister missionary from my transfer training on her own- Hermana Kunz. There are two other sisters (Hermana Thompson and Hermana Israelson) who are both training a new sister and being trained by their current companions still. 

I haven´t met my new companion yet- President Deere has hinted that I´ll probably train a Spaniard, which will be a blessing and an immense challenge, but I know I´m going to grow a lot this transfer because of the difficulties. At first I was really scared (ok, still really scared, but more so then), because I felt like I was just a last resort in desperate times, but a senior missionary here (Elder Castillo) told me that from the first day he and President Deere were almost certain that I should be one of the trainers in the next transfer. I still feel very inadequate, and maybe it´s better that way. Knowing that I have so many things I need to improve is going to keep me focused and humble. I´ve never felt so weak, and I have a feeling that´s only going to intensify- I´m going to have to learn to rely on the Lord more than ever before. 

You wouldn´t recognize me now, in part because of the chub I have in my arms and belly, and in relation to that, what I´m willing to eat. I´m so sad I didn´t take pictures of it, but the other day we had paella with a member, and it was full of little bite-sized squids- tentacles and all! Get this- I loved it! Ok, apart from knowing that there was a little squid in my mouth, it was really good. The members tell me that I´m brave because I try/eat all the food they prepare. And oh, how I´ve grown to love bananas and oranges- I prefer them over practically any dessert. Still don´t like tomatoes- I wonder if I ever will. We had a salad with a member the other day filled with tuna and tomatoes (not the best salad), but I was eating it bravely when my knife fell. I bent to pick it up, but the member told me not to worry and rushed off to get me a new knife. It was an answer to prayers- I turned to Hna Cano urgently, "Hermana, take my tomatoes!" She did, but thought it was intentional- I promise it wasn´t!"

I met a friend of Mark´s the other day in Granada- I don´t remember his name at all, but I know he served with Mark. He says you were a great missionary, Marky. I´m always so grateful that I have 8 incredible siblings and amazing parents that I can look up to and be proud of. You´re all the best, and I´m grateful I have you.

So many miracles this week. My favorite happened the other day when one of our other plans fell through. We thought about seeing a recent covert instead of our back up plans, but felt that we should follow through. The first backup fell through, and when we went to the next, we were told he didn´t live there anymore. But someone inside heard that we were missionaries and shuffled to the door- it was a Nigerian woman we´d met through Victoria- we had her number, but she never answered her phone, and we didn´t know where she lived. It was incredible- we had a really good lesson with her, and I can´t wait to see where it goes. 

I don´t have time to write more, my lovelies, because we have to eat with a member. I only had time to glance at the newsletter, but it looks amazing, and I can´t wait to dive in when I have the time. You´re all so wonderful, and even though I miss you, I´m glad I´m here on the Lord´s errand. Take care, and make your children write me :) Let them know I miss and love them. 

Take care! Love, Hna. Johnson

Up In the Air

Dear family,

this week has been more stressful than others for a few reasons. One is that we´ve had to drop a lot of our investigators because they aren´t progressing, and we feel like there are others who are more prepared and willing to accept the gospel. So now we´ve started the difficult work of finding new investigators, but at least we work in a more humble area than many. The Elders in our district work in the resort towns along the coast, and we´re in the inner-city, where people aren´t above literally begging on their knees.

I´ve also been worried with the transfers coming up this next week. In normal circumstances, I could say pretty safely that I´ll still be in Malaga 3 with Hna. Cano finishing my 12 week training (and she´s only been here 2 transfers). However, with the massive wave of missionaries coming in (the 14 sisters that came in my transfer nearly doubled the number of sister missionaries in my mission), we have no idea what will happen with the 9 sisters that are coming in this transfer. Either there will be a lot of trios (which are so hard to teach in), or there´s going to be some major mixing. 

And... that´s where things could get interesting. President Deere told the sister training missionaries in my area that he thinks I´m ready to train. Hna. Cano says that if he said that, it´s pretty much guaranteed that I´ll train this next transfer. We really don´t know what will happen, and I´m going to have to trust in whatever he feels is right... but I´ve been pretty worried about it all week, so please, oh please, keep me in your prayers. 

On that note, I guess I can tell you how I´m doing. Spanish is better some days than others- not sure what the difference is. I´ve pretty much got preterit and imperfect down, but I forgot that subjunctive exists up until this morning, so I´m going to have to get cracking on that. I know the area well enough now that I know which buses to take, which streets to walk quickly through, and I can find any address using the map. The members have warmed up to me a little more, especially now that they have an idea of how much I can understand. It still is a little hard for me when some ignore me and just talk to Hna Cano, but I just need to let go of my pride and choose not to be offended.

It´s been pretty hot lately in the afternoons, but the members get a good laugh when they see the heat taking a toll on me already- they like to bring up the fact that 120 degrees farenheit isn´t uncommon in the coming months. Hence, Hna. Cano and I are going to buy some sandals (allowed!) and 1 layer shirts to wear this summer. 

We´ve been working with one man who´s been smoking since he was 14, and the biggest miracle of the week happened when we were teaching about the Atonement and repentance. (Before this lesson, he´d been trying to gradually stop smoking). When we told him that part of repentance is completely leaving behind the sin, he told us that he was going to stop smoking then and there, knowing that it was wrong and that God wanted a complete change. This happened at the beginning of the week- he went from smoking a pack a day to not smoking at all. He´s planning on being baptized next week. 

Keep me updated on the family- I´d love to see another newsletter sometime. I miss you all very much, and I´m looking forward to coming home, but enjoying every day on the mission (even the hard ones). 

All my love, Hna. Johnson