Wow! That’s all I can say. This is a totally different
ballgame --- totally different.
Friday morning (March 16th),
we missionaries took the train to Barcelona and slept the whole way. When we got to Barcelona we met President and
Sister Hinckley right away. Sister Hinckley´s
hug was so comforting. She said: "So
you´re Sister Johnson! We have been waiting
for you since July when Sister Davies told us that you opened your Mission call
and was coming here!" She gave me a
big hug which made me feel really loved and welcomed. (I finally made it!)
I sat in the front seat of President
Hinckley´s car and with three elders in the back seat and he drove us around town
and up to the fort/castle at the top of the hill overlooking Barcelona. I could smell and see the ocean! Seagulls were flying around and it was sunny and
beautiful outside. I was with my Mission
President and his wife. MY Mission President! It was wonderful. The others came in other cars.
President Hinckley walked us up to
the top of the look-out point on top of the fort where he told us about Christopher
Columbus and we read in the Book of Mormon.
We talked about the "Second Harvest", which is that Spain is going
to lead Europe in baptisms (a prophecy by a General Authority). We talked about our goal of 150+ baptisms for
the first three months of this year. We talked
about the islands and how the "small island" of Ibiza now has the first
missionaries that they have had in many years, and they are baptizing a lot over
there!! Miracles happen. We learned about dreams that people have had and
that they found the missionaries. We heard
about dreams missionaries have had and they found the people.
We learned that our Mission is known
as one of the most obedient Missions in the world. One difference is we cannot say the words "cool,
awesome, sweet, DL, ZL, AP, etc." We
have a higher standard of language and obedience. We have higher standards of excellence (much higher
compared to the ones in Salt Lake that I was used too). We have to wear suit jackets at every baptism
and have to send a picture to the President of us and the converts. We also have to wear suit jackets every time we
see the President. The Missionaries here
are SO MATURE. This is a whole new world
(besides it being a totally different country.)
Our schedule is that we are to wake
up at 7:30 A.M. and exercise for 30 minutes.
Then get ready for 30 minutes, and then eat breakfast for 30 minutes. Personal study is at 9:00 AM. Companionship study is from 10:00 AM to 12:00
PM. Then we go out and work. We come back to our apartment from 2:00 to 3:00
PM to eat. Language study is 3:00 to 4:00
P.M. Then we work until 10 PM. We finally review and plan for 30 minutes, and
then go to bed by 11:30 PM. (No dinner).
It's totally different from what I'm used to!
The weather is beautiful and the people
are different in their own way. I'm assigned
to the city of Sabadell which is north of Barcelona and is very populated. I haven´t seen any houses yet, only apartments
(called pisos). Our piso is apparently one
of the nicest ones in the Mission. It is big and spacious and I LOVE having a huge
desk.
Anyway, when we came back from the
castle/fort, we went to the Mission Office and then upstairs to the piso of President
and Sister Hinckley. It´s beautiful and they
have the neatest paintings/pictures of the Prophet. There, we had a very formal and elegant lunch.
Then we went to the Church, which
is just a rented space in a building. We
had a little orientation meeting and met our Companions. My Companion´s name is Hermana Rejon from Yucatan,
Mexico who doesn´t really speak English!
I thought about the phrase "Be
careful what you wish for, because you just might get it". I got what I wished for: a native companion. I was looking around the room at the other people
and realized that if anyone would be the best with a native companion, (considering
our Spanish skills) it would be me. I am
so grateful and it´s been a great experience.
After this transfer, or my time with her I am going to be fluent for sure!!!
Crazy!
We had a baptism Saturday!!! Jose Maria was the man’s name and the sparkle
in his eyes was so incredible. He seemed so happy. The Church building here in Sabadell is beautiful
(with a soccer field and a sand volleyball court in the back, I might add :)).
The baptism was wonderful and my companion
volunteered me to play the piano. I played
"I Know That My Redeemer Lives".
Prayer is real .Heavenly Father loves
us so much. When you are lonely.... He is
there to comfort you. He is always listening
to your pleas and he cares so much.
I love the words from this hymn: "I know that my Redeemer lives.. What comfort
this sweet sentence gives. He lives. He
lives who once was dead. He lives my ever
living head. He lives to bless in time of
need. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives and loves me to the end."
We are so lucky to have these great
hymns.
Love,
Sister Laura Johnson
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