Happy New Year

Dear family,

still no sign of the package I sent? I sure hope it shows up this week. It was good to see those of you who could make it on skype- especially the nieces and nephews. I definitely miss them more than anything and can´t wait to get back to share my adventures of Spain with them and play with them this summer.

It was a really gratifying week. I don´t know if you´ll remember when I´ve talked about Matthew and Joy and their son Samuel, but they finally let him get baptized. They couldn´t get the water warmer than pool temperature (bad news in December in Huelva), but he came up smiling and gasping and saying, "Estoy bien!" He´s such a good kid.

Mercedes came to church again, and still wants to be baptized this coming Saturday, but it´s been hard to teach all the lessons during the holidays- we´ll see if she can be prepared in time.

Gustavo passed the sacrament for the first time yesterday, and the relief society president told me after that Sandra was crying as she watched. I couldn´t stop smiling at him- he´s still growing so much in the gospel. He invited one of his friends to take the discussions, and his friend said he´d like to, so we´ll meet with them in Valverde this week. Natacha, of course, is doing fantastically and flourishing in young women´s.

I had another lesson in Sherwood forest (sorry to those of you who weren´t on skype- you´ll have to get the story from those that were) on exchanges with my sister training leader. She thought it was such an adventure and bore with me as we taught a lesson in the rain in the woods. She took one or two pictures on her camera, so if she sends them to me I´ll send them your way.

Ana is progressing a bit- she finally read the reading assignment we left, but we´re having a hard time helping her understand a few concepts. Her granddaughter Rocío, though, I feel is just on the point of a big change- she finally gave the prayer without trying to pawn it off on her sister Erica, and was really interested in what she read and was a bit hungrier for more. Keep them in your prayers- they´re also a very good family.

I´m glad that the next holidays I´ll be with the family, but I´m also glad I have this time to teach my more distant brothers and sisters the thing that has shaped my life for the better, and that offers the greatest hope that exists. 

Have a happy new year, family, and thank you for everything!

Love, Hna. Johnson