Taste of the Mish

Dear family,

 I feel like I´ve had a little taste of all of my sibling´s missions. Málaga had Matt´s West Africans and Mike´s islanders, Alicante had Jon´s Ecuadorians, Jeréz has Sonja´s Bolivians, and Spain in general has Mark´s... Spaniards. That´s all I have to say on that.

it´s been a good week. We had lots of things fall through, and they often led us to other people. We spent all Sunday morning passing by the homes of people who said they´d come with us to church (investigators, less actives, recent converts), and not one of them answered. We went to church just a little disheartened, and just before sacrament meeting, the elders found us and told us we had "an army of investigators outside"- sure enough, 6 nonmembers were making their way up the sidewalk. 

Backstory- in a lesson the night before, we were teaching an Ecuadorian woman- her sister was in the other room watching a soccer game. We invited her in in the middle of the lesson, and then invited them both to church (this whole lesson there was a sleepy kitten on my lap, so I had the spirit and an animal- what more could a Kirsten want?) They said they´d come, which is normal- the abnormal thing is that they actually come... and with another friend and 3 other kids. 

We´re working hard with recent converts here, as I may have mentioned. It´s a bit of a mess- some are smoking and drinking, thinking that it´s a suggestion, not a commandment, which I¨m vigorously trying to correct (the mission has taught me that I´m actually bold- I never thought I was before- I just kind of smack people over the head with doctrine, commandments and commitments, then Hna. Cameron kisses the wounds better with a little lovin´), a couple was baptized while still living together without being legally married and are now drifting fast from the church... it´s just a mess. Pray hard for us- we really want to help them but it´s turning out to be a tricky task. 

I´m going to Huelva this week- hopefully I won´t have to clean up too many of the messes I made there ;) Thanks for your love and support. Have a great week!

Love, Hna. Johnson

Jérez de la Frontera

Dear family,

It´s so good to be back in Andalucía! True, almost all of the investigators dropped us as soon as I got here, but the people are so much warmer (comes with the climate, I think). In Alicante, people would shut me down as soon as I opened my mouth, but here, they usually kindly explain that they´re already Catolica Apostilca Rumana, and kindly wish me luck. I love it. 

Half the streets we work on are tiny cobblestone paths, and the buildings are the classic white with yellow trim, flowers in the balconies. Jeréz is really famous for its wine, and we get wine-scented breezes from the wineries that are just slightly less numerous than the old chapels and cathedrals. 

It´s just beautiful here. 

We´re teaching one Bolivian man named Marcos who is progressing toward his baptism on the 31st. There are also a lot of recent converts here- Jeréz went through a baptizing boom about 6 months ago, but they´re nearly all inactive now, so we have a special focus on them. 

The Lord is so good to me- just when I arrived, the other SHE´s from Dos Hermanas called to say that they´d taken in a companionship that´s opening an area, and wanted us to start doing intercambios with one of the areas they have currently... HUELVA! We´re doing intercambios with those hermanas in two weeks, so just two weeks from now, I´ll be seeing my sweet swampy Huelva, with all the people I loved and worked with. Hnas Grant and Ancalle say the people are excited to see me. I can´t think of anything that will make me happier than seeing those dear people again. 

I´m happy and healthy and working hard. My legs forgot that hills existed, but they´re remembering now :) Take care- so glad to hear the wedding went well, and that no wayward karate moves took out beloved Elder Perry. 

Take care! Love Hna Johnson

See You Soon

Dear family,

I don´t think I´ll write much since I´ll be talking with you this Sunday, and I already feel like a boring conversationalist, and I´ll only be more so if I write any stories home today.

Here are some pictures you haven´t seen yet. I love you and am excited to talk with you soon!

Love, Hna. Johnson