Barcelona Mission: (Zaragoza) Week-01 2012

I have SO much to tell you and not enough time because I spent most of the time working on sending all of those pictures so you can see some of my life.

So here I am in Zaragoza.  I'm sure I got transferred so fast because my amazing companion Hermana Rejon had to train a new Sister.  In the last transfer there were five new Sisters that came in.  A new area was opened up for Sisters up in Bilbao.  There is now a trio.  Hermana Rejon is training a new one in Sabadell and both Valencia and Zaragoza Sister’s areas got split into two areas.  So instead of having one Sister area in Valencia and Zaragoza we had to pray about how to split the area because now there are two companionships in each city.  So we split the area here in Zaragoza.  Hermanas Moulton and Stephenson were the only two here before this change.  They think I was sent here because I will be staying here for a while and training someone soon.

I'm sort of training Hermana Stephenson because she is still learning to speak Spanish and was never really trained formally and completely and neither was I.  We are kind of training ourselves.  It´s tough.  The amazing thing is that she knows the area like the back of her hand.  We never get lost (exact opposite of Hermana Rejon and me in Sabadell).  So since the area was split, we have two investigators and Hermanas. Moulton and Wilson (Hermana Wilson is fresh out of the MTC doesn´t speak much Spanish.  Hermana Moulton goes home in August).  They are searching for investigators.  There are four Elders on the other half of Zaragoza as well.  There are two little Branches-not Wards.  But they do have a gorgeous chapel, very similar to the one in Sabadell... like exactly the same but smaller (of course with a soccer court in the back).

So it has been an interesting and a tough week.  My Spanish speaking skills have really been put to the test.  I love speaking Spanish and I don´t have so much of a gringo accent anymore, which is going to be tough because the sisters in the piso speak English most of the time.  I am on the phone a lot coordinating with the Ward members.  I get to play the piano in Relief Society and start lessons.  It is a lot of responsibility and honestly, I am so lucky!  I am lucky because I am not fully training.  I am partially training, which means I will be more prepared when the real time comes.  I feel a little overwhelmed, but very blessed to be working hard.

It is beautiful here.  I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and for His love for me. He knows me personally and He knows my potential --- better than I do that´s for sure.

So we had a holiday yesterday that is why I am emailing you today.  It was Sant Jordi.  Our goal as a Mission was to give out 1000 copies of the Book of Mormon during this time.  We went to a main plaza here in Zaragoza and teamed up with some people from the Branch, our Branch Mission Leader and the Elders.  We contacted many people and gave out many books.  We did it all morning for 4 or 5 hours.  It was wonderful and we sweated a lot and I got a nice sunburn!  Now we have phone numbers and we planted a lot of seeds.

Then we had a wonderful mediodia lunch with a wonderful member family.  Dad and Mom, you have to meet them!  I for sure want to stay in contact with this family.  Then we went to a park and did some more contacting. Then we went back to the member´s piso and they drove us out to a pueblo in a BEAUTIFUL countryside which is 30 minutes away from the city.  We met a nice, less active family there.  It was nice to be in a house, for a change and they even had a pool in their yard.  They don´t have a car to get to the chapel in Zaragoza and by bus it would probably be very complicated and take an hour... :( but they still have FHEs and family scripture study and prayer consistently.  What a wonderful example to me. It was a great day.

You can write me at my new address NOT the Mission office (because we barely get things from there and I wouldn´t get a letter for at least a couple of months because it would just be sitting in the office).

My eyes have really been opened.  We are SO blessed in SO many ways.  We need to always give thanks to Heavenly Father and live the Gospel through our examples because it is so wonderful.

Love,

Hermana Johnson

Zaragoza, Spain - The Wolfart Family Home

Zaragoza, Spain - Members (Wolfarts) daughter dancing

Zaragoza, Spain

Laura got the flower from a lady they gave a Book of Mormon to.  The member standing next to her, loves to give out Books of Mormons.  Elders from Laura's District

Barcelona Mission: (Sabadell) Week-05 2012

Hi,

I am going to Madrid next week!   We have the Sant Jordi holiday Monday (you can look up the history of it if you want.)  So we have preparation day on Tuesday again (like today) instead of Monday.  Except that on Tuesday I have to go back to Madrid and get my DNI (my Spain identification card) and I think I will get to go to the temple!!  I HOPE SO!  And actually I have no idea when I will be able to e-mail...guess I will find out.

SO THE BIG NEWS:

Transfers are today. I didn´t think I would be leaving Sabadell because I just got there!  I thought for sure I would stay and finish my 12 week training and then as soon as I was done being trained, I would become the trainer.  But it´s God´s will and not my will.  I got the phone call late Saturday night that I have been reassigned to Zaragoza.  Sunday I said bye to my Ward and to the investigators.  Monday I packed and did some last minute things and missed the train to Zaragoza and then had to catch a later one.  I got here at Zaragoza an hour and a half later around 10:00pm.

I was so sad to leave Sabadell.  It´s so beautiful and I was just getting comfortable.  I guess that is how it always happens.  I also miss my sweet companion Hermana Rejon.  She is now training someone new (who is just getting here today!).  My new companion is Hermana Stephensen.  Hermana Stephensen I met through Facebook before my Mission because her mom´s best friend is the Relief Society President in Dawn´s Ward.  I met her last summer.  She and I started our Missions at the same time and she got reassigned to Salt Lake City the same time, but then she got her Visa a month before me and got to Madrid the end of January (where as I got here the end of February).  SO, it is an interesting situation because we are both newbies.  She has been here in Zaragoza for 2 months.  She thinks I will train next transfer here in Zaragoza and stay here for a long time --- no idea.  I guess we will find out what happens.

One thing I am so grateful for is that Heavenly Father knows us personally and knows our doubts and the desires of our hearts.  He loves us so much and knows our potential and everything happens for a reason so that we can reach our potential.  He watches over us and always listens to our prayers and wants to give us even more blessings but it depends on our obedience.   One of the keys to Missionary work is obedience.  When I am obedient, I receive the help I need to be successful and protected.  I can´t focus on my will but rather the Lord´s will because I am his servant.   Even if I wasn´t a missionary it´s the same.  When we are obedient, blessings come.  When we do the right things, we can receive the help and guidance that we need to live from day to day.  There´s a reason for everything. Through the hard times we should be counting our blessings and live the gospel the best we can and give it our 100%.  We can beat our challenges because nothing is impossible with help from above.  Help that He is willing to give and that He wants to give.  It´s our choice and our privilege to exercise our agency.

Here’s a little bit of what I sent in my letter to the President:

In the midst of packing and moving, I thought to give a Book of Mormon to the man who owns the fruit and vegetable shop that we often go to and who we always wave and say hi to every time we walk by (which is quite often).  I quickly said a prayer and wrote my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and promised him blessings in his life and for his family, as the Spirit guided me.  We were leaving the piso and pulling my suitcases behind me when I realized that the store was still closed from mediodia.  I felt sad because I really wanted to give him the book with my testimony inside.  As we walked past the store, I saw a man talking to a woman outside of a store nearby.  I wasn´t sure if it was him or not.  I kept walking until Hermana Rejon stopped me and informed me that it was him!  She said, "It´s a miracle and you have to give it to him now."  I thought "She´s right because what are the chances of him being right there, right now."  I walked up to him and greeted him and gave him the book and bore my testimony and said it was a gift for him and wished him luck with everything and then went on my way. Then I walked away with a good feeling.

I loved being with Hermana Rejon and I do admire her.  I learned a lot from her and miss her already.  I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to be with her and she helped me a ton with my Spanish.  Something I really admire about her is her prayers. She is very sincere in her prayers and they are simple and heartfelt.  I think maybe it´s because Spanish is her native language and she is able to do that. I can feel that she has great love for Heavenly Father.  I need to work on my prayers so they will be more like hers.

One of our recent converts, Jose Maria is doing well.  We stopped by to teach him and originally planned to talk about the priesthood.  But he mentioned some problems that he was having and we ended up talking about the Atonement.  His faith is incredible and though he's having problems, he still feels and knows that he is blessed to have the gospel in his life.  He bore his testimony to us that he knows Heavenly Father is up there watching over him and that He loves him.  He also said that these things will pass and that whenever he gets the chance he says prayers of gratitude in his mind throughout the day at work.  What an incredible example for Hermana Rejon and I.

I love you all so much.  Keep on keeping on by reading your scriptures every day and please pray. The power of prayer is incredible.

Have a good week.
Love,
Hermana Johnson

When you send a package to me (a box) put pictures of Virgin Mary on it that way they won´t open the box look at the contents and charge me a ton of money.  That´s what some of the other missionaries have advised me to tell you.

Barcelona Mission: (Sabadell) Week-04 2012

Hi,
I still can't believe that the time is going so fast.  I am getting better at my (European) Spanish and feeling more confident in speaking.  My companion is very shy and doesn't like contacting in the street or on the bus.  I learned a lot while being in Salt Lake City (we talked to everyone on the street) and at first I was scared to be here because the Spanish is way different, but you know what?  I have to be confident because I´m a missionary! (I'm glad I'm getting better.)  My companion things I will be a trainer soon --- like next month soon.  I would love that honestly.  It’s exciting to think about!

Monday (2^nd) – We went to eat at Subway!  It was nice having American food, and wasn't as good as at the Subway at home, but it was still a good Italian BMT. :)

Later we met a referral that we got from the Elders.  Her name is Ana and she is from Honduras.  She told us how she wants to know the truth and wants to read the Book of Mormon and find out if it´s true!  She mentioned that her Dad died last November.  I bore my testimony about the Plan of Salvation and about the Book of Mormon.  I told her that this wonderful knowledge makes me happy and that everything usually works out.  It was a neat experience and Hermana Rejon and I have high hopes for her.

Then on our way back to the piso, Hermana Rejon was feeling hungry for some pan con chocolate (croissant with chocolate melted in the middle).  We stopped in this store and after we ordered I got to know the owner of the store a little bit.  His name is Francisco and he told me about his grandchildren.  I asked him if he and his family would like to go to church.  He said he didn't have time.  I asked, "You don´t have time for God?"  He told me no.  How sad, I thought!  He then asked me, "Is God more important for us or are we more important for God?"  To which Hermana Rejon responded that it should be 50-50.  It was an interesting conversation and we bore our testimonies.  Guess we made a new friend and maybe in the future we can talk more.

Tuesday (3^rd) – We had a District meeting today.  During it, I was reminded of something that my Zone Leader back in Salt Lake City asked my companions and I.  That was when we wake up in the morning and get out of bed, "Do you believe that you are actually a representative of Jesus Christ?  That you are called by God and have this power and authority?"  I shared this question with my District.  It really makes you think about things.  I am grateful for this leader I had and that he listened to the Spirit and asked this question.  It has really changed my perspective and way of thinking.

Wednesday (4^th) – The Bishop gave us a list of families from the Ward to visit. So today we went around and started visiting these people. They are wonderful and love the missionaries so much.  It felt a lot like Visiting Teaching.  It was incredible to share experiences, scriptures, and testimonies.  These people are amazing.  Amidst the frowny faces and smoke and busy life of Sabadell, there are homes that truly are like houses of God where you can feel the Spirit and God´s love when you walk in.  What a wonderful feeling.  I have really gained a testimony of the importance of the home and the environment that should be there.  I hope someday when I have my own home and family, it can be as good.

Thursday (5^th) – There is this wonderful family with less actives and non-members. They love the missionaries a lot also and always invite us into their home.  We all sat at the table and started teaching the Plan of Salvation (my favorite to teach!).  It was incredible and the Spirit was SO strong.  Maria, one of the women was concerned about the resurrection.  My companion seemed to struggle with trying to explain it.  And then to her and my amazement, I was explaining this concept that I don´t know a lot about.  My companion was super surprised and Maria started tearing up and it all made sense and worked out perfectly.

Heavenly Father knows every one of us individually.  He knows our concerns and doubts and the desires of our hearts.  He will always answer our prayers...probably in ways we don´t expect.  We just need to open our hearts and always be worthy to have His Spirit with us.

Friday and Saturday I don´t have notes for sorry!

Sunday (8^th) – Besides being Easter, it was also my Mom's and my niece Jasmines birthday (Jasmines first).  I definitely missed the traditions we have and celebrating with them, but tried to focus more of my thoughts and studies on Christ our Savior.  Here in Sabadell, Easter is just like any other day.  I told my companion Happy Easter and she told me that people don´t really say that in Spanish.  She said thanks, anyway!

We met Filadelfia today.  She is from Bolivia and is 27 years old and was so excited to attend church for the first time!  She didn´t know what to expect so I started telling her about it.  After the first hour she wanted to leave!  We talked her into staying for the second hour. We attended a great class taught by a returned Sister missionary.  Filadelfia liked it so much that she wanted to stay for the third hour!

She even rode the bus back with us and wanted to know when she could see us again.  Some members invited her to their house tonight for an FHE!   Members are the key to missionary work.  If you haven´t talked to the missionaries yet, maybe you can and ask them if there is any way that you can help them.  Missionaries need the members help!

Then last night we met Mustafa from Senegal, Africa.  He has amazing faith and was almost crying while talking to us about how the world is so wicked now and that no one believes in God.  He bore his testimony about his strong faith in God.  It was incredible to see the light of Christ shine in his eyes.  AND he was so excited to get the Book of Mormon!  He asked for one in French and for one in Spanish.  He wants to keep the French one and give the Spanish one to one of his friends.

It was incredible and we will look forward to seeing him again.
Good ending to the week.  I love being here and I am feeling more comfortable.  Missionary work is so amazing.

I like this quote:

"Everything that you have to give to the Lord, has its origin in Him (time, 2 years, strength, gifts, talents, tithing, etc.) except ONE thing: your Will.  He does not have your heart, nor your mind, unless you give them to Him.  It is the only gift you have to offer that He does not already have.  And so when you give yourself, you truly give Him everything."
How incredible is this?

I love you all.  Have a good week.
Love,
Hermana Johnson

Barcelona Mission: (Sabadell) Week-03 2012

A miracle happened this week with our fecha, Modibo.  We were talking to him about Christ and the Atonement and that He suffered for us.  Modibo then told us about a movie that he had seen from another church where it explained that Christ didn´t actually suffer on the cross.  Someone else was in Christ´s place being crucified and that Christ was watching it all from the side!  Hermana Rejon explained to him that that couldn´t be possible because of the purpose and the need for the Atonement in our lives to save us from physical death.  But he seemed to not understand.  I thought about the movie "Finding Faith in Christ" and so a couple days later we watched it, but in French so Modibo could better understand it.  Before we started it, I explained a little about the movie, bore my testimony of Christ and then offered a prayer. We were hoping that he would feel the Spirit during the movie.  After it was over, we asked Modibo what he thought and talked about some things.  He said "Now I better understand.  Christ had to suffer personally on the cross so that He could save us from physical death.  It couldn´t have been done by anyone else or that would have defeated the purpose of God´s plan."  It was just amazing to see the change in his attitude and a testimony forming.  Then he said he wanted to follow Christ´s example by being baptized.  I think one of his struggles has been in understanding the doctrine and because of a little language barrier it´s somewhat of a challenge to teach him and to make sure he understands.  We make sure to always ask him questions to see if he comprehends what we are teaching.  Hermana Rejon has been doing most of the teaching.  He says that even if he can´t always understand me, he knows I am sincere because of the smile on my face and the sincerity in my voice.
Anyway, he needs to be serious about taking the steps to quit smoking before being baptized.  And we can help him by fasting and praying together, and making sure we have daily contact.  This past week has been a little crazy trying to figure out some things, and trying to adjust to living in a different country!  But I know that if we focus more on our investigators, we can be more affective.   Modibo watched the Sunday morning session of Conference with us in the capilla yesterday and really liked it.  We gave him a children´s Book of Mormon in Spanish thinking that the pictures will help him better understand the stories.  It´s been a challenge figuring stuff out for him, but I honestly could feel God´s love for him because like it was said in a Conference talk, "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" and we are not giving up on Modibo.

I admire my Companion because she has a strong desire to do what´s right and be happy while doing it.  She often tells me that she wishes she could remember to smile more around people.  As we get to know each other better, I am realizing just how inspired it is that we are Companions.  The only issue that we need to work on is being more effective in our teaching.

This week we watched the "How to Begin Teaching" video in our District conference and it was neat because the next day we had a referral from a member and then went to the home of this great family.  The father has a great desire to learn more about Jesus Christ so he can bring up his children better.  Hermana Rejon and I used the principles that we learned from "How to Begin Teaching."  It went really well and we have high hopes for this family of five.

One night we visited with our fecha, Roberto.  He is SO ready to get baptized this weekend!   We were inspired to ask him certain questions and had a great discussion.  He told us about his fears of getting baptized and I shared some experiences I had in my life and how he will be very blessed in his life.  It was great!

I have been praying for help on loving the people and have been super grateful for the answers and help I have received in response to these prayers.
Next week will just get better!
Read Mosiah 23.....

Love,

Hermana Johnson