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