Feliz día del pavo!

Dear family,

I am happy to report that I will be staying here in Huelva for at least one more transfer! Hna Brown is leaving to serve in Alicante, and I know it will be so good for her to be with a native companion who came from her group, although her spanish has improved a ton. Hna Daines (who came in Hna. Brown´s group) will be my new companion- she´s a very enthusiastic girl who doesn´t care what others think about her, and I´m sure she´ll help us pick up a bit on contacting, although we´re in a good rhythm again.

I´m thankful to stay here for many reasons, but there are a couple of big ones. I´m glad I´ll spend the holidays with people I know and love, and will be able to visit and take care of the people I know will have a hard time this holiday season.

I´m also glad to stay here to work with Sandra´s family- Gustavo wants to wait for his baptism until the 8th so his dad can be there, and we´re pleased as punch. We had a lesson on Joseph Smith, and his testimony of the restored gospel is really growing.

I´m also happy to continue to cultivate this patch of the Lord´s vineyard- the work is growing immensely- we were just one lesson short of the mission standard this past week, where this area has usually only had half that. We met an incredible family this week that has just been waiting to hear about the plan of salvation. We had an amazing first lesson with them and are so excited to see where things go.

This week my testimony has definitely been strengthened that this is the Lord´s work, and when we do it in His way, we will be able to be instruments in His hands.

I´m still enjoying reading the Book of Mormon so much- right now I´m in Alma around chapter 60- there is so much to be learned even from the stories about war in the Book of Mormon. Not only has this strengthened my testimony because no man like Joseph Smith could have invented such a book, but because it teaches eternal principles so clearly, and I feel the truthfulness of the words every time I read it.

I´m grateful to be here. I´m grateful for this work and for the chance I have to be so deeply involved in it. I´m grateful for the people who help us, and the people we teach. I´m grateful for the gospel in my life, and for you as a family for raising me in it and for being examples to me. I´m so grateful that none of us have fallen away, and that I can look forward to an eternity with you so long as I live worthily. I´m grateful for the present moment, and for the good moments to come. Thank you all so much.

Love, 

Hna. Johnson

P.S. Eat a lot of rolls with jam. And potawatami (sp?) jelly.

Natacha's Baptism

Dear family,

this week really was a week of miracles. We were still in rest mode with Hna. Brown´s knee, but the good news is, the doctor thinks the problem can be fixed immediately with a shoe insert. We were still able to teach a good number of lessons, and so many people came to church this week- including many of the less active families we´re working with. The best surprise was seeing Cristiani in church- a woman who hasn´t come to church since nearly a year ago. She´s making huge changes in her life for her son Nikolas, and I´m just as excited for her as I am for Natacha.

Gustavo wasn´t quite prepared for baptism the past week, and likely won´t be ready this week, but I have faith he will be in the weeks to come. Natacha, on the other hand, was more prepared than anyone I¨ve seen so far. 

When we passed over the baptismal interview questions, instead of answering simply yes or no, as the questions require, she would say, "I believe so, because..." and proceed to explain in great detail the doctrine behind the questions. Her responses were impressive and deeply heartfelt. One of my favorites, though, had to be the response to the question, "Have you ever committed a serious crime?" She paused for a moment and said, "Well, yes, once." When our jaws dropped open she finished. "When I was six, I stole a piece of gum." I explained through my laughter that maybe, just maybe with the help of the bishop she can even be cleansed from that sin.

Funny reprise: when a member gave a talk on faith, repentance and baptism at the service, she mentioned that before being baptized, we need to repent of our past sins. Sandra, Natacha´s mom, leaned back in her chair to make eye contact with me and we both mouthed, "Chicle" (gum). 

She was so sweet about the baptism before and after. In her prayers before, she prayed that the day would come quickly. Afterward, she gave a prayer in the principles of the gospel class, and thanked Heavenly Father for providing a way for us to be cleansed from sin in a matter of moments. 

The work is going so well, and it makes me really sad that I´ll likely be leaving this transfer. And on that note, make sure that if you send letters for the next week or so to send them to the mission office. 

Thank you all for your love and support. Make sure to reach out to less active members in your wards- the rescue is just as important as the search. 

Love, Hna. Johnson

Us with Natacha

With Gabriel who served with Mark

Angelica, a ward member

With Gonzalo

With Angelica, one of the elders' investigators

This Week

Dear family,

It´s back to the piso with the knee problem- a little Hna. Coloma replay. Hna. Brown got an MRI this week for her knee, but we won´t know what the problem is until the next Dr. appt., which the mission nurse needs to set up, hopefully this week. Until we know, the Dr. said she should be resting, so we´ve only been able to go out to fixed citas- no tracting for us, which is hard on both of us, especially now that we´re really in the swing of contacting.

I had one funny contacting experience. There was an Ecuadorian woman I wanted to contact on the bus, but she had her back to me. I prayed for a chance to talk with her, and just then saw a spider in her hair. I reached forward to tap her shoulder just as she started talking on the phone. I waited, thinking it´d be a short call, but no, and our bus stop came and went, and she was still talking. As she stepped off on the next bus stop, I got off with her and said, "Um... you have a spider in your hair, do you mind if I take it out?" She nodded, and I caught it, but then she walked away still talking on the phone. I was super disappointed, but then the next day, we saw her in a completely different part of the city and were able to contact her. Whether she becomes an investigator or not, I´m so glad that God answers prayers.

Things are going well with Natacha and Gustavo. We found out Natacha´s dad, who´s also an investigator (although it´s hard to ever see him), couldn´t come yesterday, so we rescheduled her baptism for the 16th with her brother Gustavo. They´re such good kids. We finally got members to take us out and stay for the lesson in Valverde, which is what Sandra needs especially- she´s shy like her kids and really needs some love as a returning member. The members were enchanted with them. We taught tithing this week, using a huge bag of candy to teach it. After we´d finished, I asked them what they thought about the principle. Gustavo, without hesitation said, "Es muy rico." (It´s delicious). What a kid.

We had a miraculous day yesterday- we worked with some less active parents last week, and three less active families came (or at least brought their kids) to church yesterday, after months (or years) of inactivity. Galicia, the primary president, went into happy fits each time we opened the door to bring another kid into the primary, and kissed our cheeks liberally afterward. Also, a really cool Ecuadorian woman (from Guayaquil, Jon!) came from the Elders´area. She´s been to the church in Ecuador before over ten years ago, and has friends that were baptized, but never committed herself. She´s going back to Ecuador this month, but she kept talking about how good she felt in the church- that it was just what she needed, that she was going to follow with it when she went home, and bring her family with her. I´m so happy for her, and for the missionaries who will work with her.

I´m very happy right now, even if we´re not out as much as we´d like. It will be even better when we can really get back to the street and finding. Please reach out to less active members- they need more fellowshipping than investigators, and it´s hard to come back. So, that´s you´re homework.

This church is true- and there isn´t any small part of me that doubts it, or that doubts the existence and divinity of Jesus Christ.

I love you all, and hope all is well with you- thank you for all you do for me.

Love, Hna. Johnson

November

Dear family,

things are going well. Natacha is preparing to be baptized this Saturday, and grins as pleased as punch whenever we bring it up. Gustavo is really progressing- he´s finally reading the Book of Mormon on his own (it´s better when we give him interesting reading assignments instead of expecting start to finish, like Natacha, who´s a reader like me), and praying on his own. Following up on commitments is so important. We´d pretty much grown to expect Natacha to say she´d done her part, and Gustavo to duck behind his Book of Mormon with an embarrassed smile and say he hadn´t. But we asked how their prayers were going and Gustavo surprised us by saying bashfully, "Actually, something interesting happened on Monday." He told us that he was sick and prayed to feel better, and almost immediately, the pain went away. His faith still isn´t quite as strong as Natacha´s, but it´s incredible to watch it grow.

I don´t know if I mentioned it or not, but it´s getting cold here in Spain- who knew? The good news is, they sell freshly roasted chestnuts on nearly every street corner. Have you ever had them? If not, I suggest you have some this Christmas season. Even though Hna. Brown and I still haven´t figured out if you´re supposed to eat the ashy outside or not. We eat it anyway.

There´s not much else to say for this week- we´re working and looking for more investigators, as always. Keep praying for my companion´s knees- they´re getting worse, and we´ll probably have to go to the doctor this week for her. Deja vu! 

Oh, I might be in love with the 3 1/2 year old son of one of the members. His name is Gonzalo, and not only have he and his sister created a theme song for Hna. Brown and I, he calls me "guapa" about every day I see him. The other day he spat in the chapel during a ward activity and I knelt down to tell him that we don´t do that in the Lord´s house. His eyes got big and he held my face very seriously as he said, "But God doesn´t live here. He lives in heaven." I told him God has a lot of houses- in heaven, and on earth, like the chapels and the temples. He looked at me thoughtfully and asked, "Conoces a Dios?" (Do you know God?) I said yes, and he nodded approvingly. "Sí. Eres muy guapa." As if that summed it all up. I´ll attach a picture of him and his sister with the beetle we caught.

I love the mission, even the hard days, and love working with all my heart. I love reading the Book of Mormon, and learn something from nearly every phrase I find. Take care, everyone. Love you all!

Love, Hna. Johnson