Tons of miracles have been happening. The work is booming and
there are so many prepared people here. One miracle is a less active coming
back to Church with her friend who now has a baptismal date. Her name is Angela
and she is so prepared. Every time we teach her, there are tears in her eyes
and she always gives us the tightest hugs. She loves us so much and Heavenly
Father. She is excited to get baptized possibly on July 7th or sooner.
I love being with Hermana Reeder and we are on the same page for
everything and we teach so well together. We are able to back each other up for
everything and have really been working with the members to build good
relationships. I love her smile and she
lets people know that she cares about them. This is something that I need to be
better at.
Cleopatra, who is 22 years old and originally from Nicaragua,
wants to be baptized on June 30. She
found out about the Church through her boyfriend/fiancé who has been a menos
activo for a long time now. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and going
to Church for the past few weeks or so, and is wonderful! The only frustration
is...they are living together. They do want to get married but her boyfriend,
Blass, just moved here last month and is trying to get his residency. We are
working our hardest to help them out but they need to make some decisions.
Pius, originally from Nigeria, also wants to be baptized on June
30. He doesn´t have a lot of time here
in Spain and his wife and children live up near the Pamplona area. He came to
Zaragoza to find work and doesn´t speak Spanish and is struggling here. He has
strong desires to be baptized and receive help from God so he can find work. We
teach him slowly because he does not read very well. But he wants to do what´s
right and has strong faith in God.
Pascal, also from Nigeria, also wants to possibly be baptized on
June 30! He just moved here a month ago
and lives in the same piso as Pius. His wife and little 18 month old baby girl
live with him. He learns fast and at the end of the lesson he repeats the
principles to us to make sure that he understands everything. It´s incredible and we are so blessed to be
teaching him
This last Sunday was Missionary Sunday. Hermana Reeder and I gave a talk as well as
our Mission Leader. Hermana Reeder played her violin and it was amazing! What
made it more amazing was the reaction that the Branch President had to it. He
loved it! It is his first time being in Church for a month and he shook Hermana
Reeder´s hand and complimented her and it was wonderful! The future continues
to be bright and I love that I am here to be a part of this great time.
I almost feel like I am back in Salt Lake City with all the work
we have been doing and with all of the investigators we have and will have. I
love inviting people to be baptized. We have seen so many miracles. Hermana
Reeder says she has never been this busy ever before on her Mission (she´s been
out a year). I told her that there was a reason I served in Salt Lake (well
there are a lot of reasons, I believe) but another reason is so that I could
have the experiences I had and feel what it was like to be so busy and know how
to handle it! Hermana Reeder said she is glad I am keeping calm because it
helps her and she doesn´t feel overwhelmed! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed
because I am the one who knows the area so I have memorized/taken a lot of
notes about the bus system. There are SO many buses here and if you take the
wrong one, you lose time. We can´t waste the Lord´s time, so it is up to me to
know where we are going, when, and what bus we need to get on and off of. I am
proud to say that we have only been lost or taken the wrong bus a handful of
times these past 2 weeks that I have been in charge...honestly though, it´s the
Lord who's in charge and I can feel His
help OFTEN.
We are SO blessed. It is wonderful being here in Zaragoza at this
time. Sometimes it can be challenging with these fechas, but I know that the
future is bright and that Heavenly Father will be helping us every step of the
way.
We had the opportunity to go to a medieval festival at El Pilar
where I took some pictures and bought some goodies.
And, two great people, Abel and his amazing wife Maria Jesus took
us on an hour road trip to a pueblo (village) in the middle of nowhere, (it
seemed!) There were shoe factories there and everyone who lives in the town
works in the shoe factories. We went to a shoe warehouse and I bought a nice
pair of sandals (Mom you would like them...they kind of look like ones you
would wear) they are comfortable and will last me the whole summer. Because it
was at a factory they were half off! I got them for 20 euros.
Then we got the best napoiltana I have tasted so far (croissant
with chocolate inside and chocolate sprinkles on top) and we ate them inside of
a castle overlooking the village. (I am e-mailing pictures). Then we went to a
house/warehouse type place and tried the best cherries I have eaten in my life
(kind of a big deal because I really don't like cherries). The cherries taste
like grapes with nuts in the middle. They are plump and juicy. Amazing! Abel
bought us a carton full! As we were driving back to Zaragoza, they told us that
they visited San Diego and took a trip to Vegas and then to Utah to visit ex
Sister Missionaries. (Abel´s story is a long one...they still aren´t members of
the Church but they befriended the Missionaries because of things that happened
a long time ago. They´ve kept up with the Sister Missionaries who served back
then and who are also new ones serving in Zaragoza...they´ve even been to
General Conference!). Then we went to their house and had pizza and a
salad. It was a long day but amazing.
This is why I am so late in e-mailing. Sorry. Hope you like the pictures.
I have dinner plans for my birthday this week.
Also we are going to Lleida again for our last Zone Conference
with the Hinckley’s before they go home next week! We are driving there with
Brother and Sister Church, the senior couple here. (I LOVE road trips.) Our District is doing a musical number.
Time is going by so fast; I'll be back home before I know it.
Please read your scriptures, pray to Heavenly Father for He loves
you SO much and cares SO much about you. Tell Him everything because He is
always listening. Attend Church always for we are so blessed to be able to take
the sacrament every week. Take advantage of that time.
Love,
Hermana Johnson
Laura with her District in Zaragoza
Laura & Hna. Reeder at El Pilar Medival Festival
"Random Bull" - saw on road trip
Shoe Factory Village - Abel, Maria, Laura and Hna. Reeder
thank you for being a good missionary!
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