Hermana Laura Johnson: Barcelona Mission: (Zaragoza) Week-05 2012

Here is my letter to the president it has a lot of good stuff! Hopefully you understand it all!

Dear President,

This week we had good and bad news. Our solid fecha Rodrigo, who was the one who invited all of his friends to take the discussions, had to buckle down on his classes so we couldn´t meet with him at all during the week! He did come to church though but he is not able to get baptized this weekend BUT we have high hopes for the following weekend. His friend Alfonso disappeared and stood us up a few times because he is looking or found a new piso so we were not able to meet with him as he never answered his phone. Another friend and fecha named Raul is living in the Elder’s area so we gave him over to them. Our other solid fecha, Felix, who cried during that one lesson that I shared when I bore my testimony, he just moved to Peru. He gave us his address of his family in Peru and he really wants the Missionaries to find them there. It was a bitter sweet good bye. We had a little get together for him with other investigators and some recent converts. We sang "God be with you till we meet again" and the Spirit was so strong. He was recording it on his camera and he started crying. He is incredible. He said that he will most likely be returning to Zaragoza in October and he´s bringing his 17 year old son with him. He wanted to know all about the requirements to serve a mission! He wants his son to be a missionary when he´s 19!!! Felix is incredible!! We are happy that he is going back to be with his family but sad to see him go, because he was SO prepared to be baptized this weekend. BUT, the Missionaries there in Peru will be receiving one amazing and prepared man.

Then a miracle happened on top of that amazing despedida. Sunday, Raul told us that he talked to Felix on the phone. He said that Felix told him that he already visited the temple there in Peru!! He just went there and walked around and talked to some people there!! How amazing!!! Felix is so great and I am so excited for his future with his family and with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his life!!! At the despedida we asked him to say the closing prayer. He started stuttering a little and tearing up during the prayer. Afterwards he was telling us how calm and happy he felt and how grateful he was for great friends. In the prayer he thanked Heavenly Father for us Sister Missionaries who helped teach him. It was amazing. I am happy for him to move forward and will miss him.

So Felix and our experience with him was in and of itself a miracle. The other fechas-Alfonso and Rodrigo we are still teaching. It´s tougher to get a hold of Alfonso, but we will not give up. It is a lot easier with Rodrigo and he is continuing to bring us more of his friends. He is ready and will set a date for baptism.

A few of the recent converts in the Branch are doing a little Missionary work themselves. They are telling their friends about the Gospel and are inviting them to church. It´s a wonderful thing and slowly we are making progress.

This week we have been visiting members and trying to teach lessons and get advice from them on how to better do Missionary work in this area. They have given us a lot of advice, especially President Wolfart. We took some of his advice into action this past Sunday. It was Missionary Sunday and we asked a member to share an experience she had with us during the week and to bear her testimony. It was wonderful!!! She is the Primary President and it was so great to hear about her experience and how she felt helping the Missionaries. Then Hermana Wilson got up and read some from Predicad Mi Evangelio about La importancia de los miembros. Then I got up and gave suggestions for the members to prepare for this upcoming month of Invitations! Then our ward mission leader got up and shared some experiences and feelings he has had as he has been coming out with us and helping us. It was such a good Sacrament Meeting!!! It made a difference because after Sacrament people were complimenting and thanking us. Some people asked when they can go out with us! Pres. Gomez said thank you and we talked to him for a short time. That is wonderful improvement!! Things are starting to look up and I am very excited for this next month-the month of invitations!!

Another miracle was when we were looking through the Branch list of members. We split up the list into our two different areas between us two companionships and we started calling the people on our list. It was pretty rough for the first five calls or so until a less active man named Hillen picked up. He´s a JAS and only 27 years old. He was so nice and immediately invited us over. We went over there and had a great lesson with him and his nonmember girlfriend. They are both from Nicaragua and he was telling us all about the church over there. His uncle is the current Bishop in his home Ward back there. It was obvious that Hillen hadn´t been to church in a while with his hair style a little wild and a tongue piercing. But he was so nice and really lit up telling us about his experience with the church.

Hillen asked us how we found out about him and how we got his number. I told him about the Branch list and everything. He thought it was so interesting and then went on to explain that he was randomly thinking about the church and how he was wanting to return and then he received a call from the Sister Missionaries. He didn´t answer it at first because he thought it was such a coincidence. Then he called us back and that´s when I talked to him. After relating this experience, I felt moved by the Spirit to tell him that it was a senal de Dios. It was meant to be and it was the perfect moment that I needed to be calling him and that he needed to be reminded of the church. It was incredible to talk about it.

His girlfriend knows everything about the church and has had discussions with the Missionaries before. She is so nice and even asked us if we could come back soon. She even suggested having a picnic together! Then Hillen told us about how he knew so many inactive members of the church from Nicaragua. He said if he went to church they would probably start going back also. He gave us a name and a number and said he will find out about the others. It was great!! I asked him if he could help us further the Missionary work in this area and he said he would think about it. He told us that he finished all of his Mission papers back when he was 19 years old in Nicaragua but that his Dad (even though he is a member) would basically disown him if he went on a mission.

Anyway, it was a very interesting experience and wonderful at the same time! It was also neat because when we went to the JAS meeting the next morning we were able to share some of this information and now for the first time we are working with the JAS and everyone is excited about the future!!

It´s been a great week. Especially when our District Leader felt inspired for us Sisters to do intercambios. For a day and a half I was with Hermana Wilson and Hermanas. Moulton and Stephenson were together. It was great working with Hermana Wilson. She is a huge example to me and I learned a TON from her. It was perfect timing and really worked out well.

Poco a poco we are doing better. There are ups and there are downs but overall I, personally, have faith for a bright future ahead.

Love,
Hermana Johnson

We are finding out about transfer info this week!! Everyone thinks Hermana Stephenson is leaving and that I might train...I don´t know though because there is only 1 new Sister coming in this transfer and a bunch of Elders so I know that there are a lot better qualified Sisters to train...we will see!!! I like changes.

Also, I like teaching the English class and it's going very well.

June 10, President & Sister Hinckley are coming to the Branch for a special Mission Conference, we're excited.

I got an email from an investigator from Salt Lake (Rose Park). It was the Arbizu family from Guatemala. They still haven't gotten baptized, but it was great to hear from them.