What a wild week this last week and wild week to come up this
week. Life is sure exciting and I am just
trying to take it one day at a time! I have
so much to tell you and so little time-like usual, but a lot more things going on.
It sure is a wonderful life being a missionary here in the great Spain Barcelona
Mission.
Monday – We went to
the pueblo with Abel and Maria Jesus. It
seems like a decade ago!
Tuesday – Hermana
Reeder woke up with a weird kind of reaction on her skin. It´s a super long story. We also went over to
our dueno´s house (landlord) and we made his daughter Natalia her very first smoothie.
She got her wisdom teeth pulled to finish her mission papers (!) and we surprised
her with her very first smoothie. She loved it!
Wednesday – We called
up Abel and he met us at the clinic where his wife, Maria Jesus, works to get an
appointment with the doctor for Hermana Reeder.
We also had many lessons throughout these days. We have so many lessons every
day. We are so busy-I LOVE IT! I love being busy and teaching these amazing people
--- super big bummer though, because our AMAZING investigator, Angela, is moving
to a pueblo this week. L We are SO sad. The thing is; the pueblo is still
in our area. If you look at a map of Zaragoza
the line dividing the 2 branches is oddly positioned because it is not quite down
the middle of the city. So we sisters have
the huge area with like 6 pueblos all ranging from an hour to 2 hours bus rides,
and then the elders have the other branch and the 4 of them have tiny areas. It’s
super interesting the way it is set up; with 4 elders in the first branch and us
2 sisters in the second branch. So Angela
is still in our area. If we wanted to we
could go out to the pueblo to teach her, but we are not sure yet what we should
do.
Thursday – We were
at the Church´s house at 7:30am to jump in their car and drive to Lleida for our
last Zone Conference with Pres. Hinckley and his wife. The drive was nice-I slept
the whole way; even up to the arrival when the next thing I know, an elder is opening
my door for me in the parking lot at the church – (haha). It was a wonderful conference.
We received spiritual direction in the morning and then had a luncheon with everyone
(they all sang Happy Birthday to me J
). Then the second hour was very neat because
the President told us all about the transition of mission presidents. He told us that as soon as they get to the train
station to pick up President Pace and his wife, President Hinckley will give him
the cell phone and that will be the official release of Pres. Hinckley as mission
president and the official start of President Pace´s mission. Then he went on to
tell other details about that first day and about his experience with his first
week or so as mission president. It was SO interesting to hear about it! They are
sad to leave, but ready (in my opinion).
Both Pres. Hinckley and his wife were teary eyed often during our conference.
It was bitter sweet. It was also neat because President informed us that the only
thing Pres. Pace knows about us is that we are the perfect, most amazing missionaries
in the world. The President then encouraged
us to really think about that statement and to consider making adjustments in our
lives so that we could fulfill that standard. He asked us to think about things
we could do better and things we needed to improve so that we could become the perfect
missionaries that we want to be and that Pres. Pace thinks we are. I really liked
that and it really made me think a lot. I am not the perfect missionary and there
is SO many things I need to improve in my life. I am going to take him up on that
offer. J I am excited to work a little harder and to be
a little better.
Friday – MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was really a good day. Hermana Reeder is great. I love her so much and am so
happy that she is my companion. So I woke up and walked around the piso and there
were happy birthday signs around. Then later on when we went to visit our fecha,
Pius, I lost my chapa (nametag) somewhere.
It just randomly fell off. I was SO sad especially because I had stickers
on the back from members/memories of Salt Lake City. We looked around a tiny bit
but it was nowhere to be found. (…wait until what happened on Sunday). Then we went
to the church and the sweet elders in my district surprised me (Hermana Reeder´s
plan). Elder Reeder received a package from his mom a while ago with funfetti cake
mix and frosting in it. THAT IS MY FAVORITE CAKE. I always ask for funfetti/confetti
cake for my birthday every year. Elder Reeder surprised me and made it for me!!!
It was wonderful!!! It was a little taste of home and it felt familiar. That made
my birthday GREAT! :) The Elders got me a Spain flag and Hermana Reeder got me a
cute necklace. It was fun. Afterwards we went to a members´ home (Carla and Ignacio)
and she surprised me with pizza (that´s my favorite food!). It was wonderful. Then
we went to the park and good old Chicho (Raul) and Rodrigo and Juan Pablo treated
me to some ice cream. Raul got me a bouquet of silk red roses. (haha) it was very sweet. It was a great day.
Saturday – Was a busy
day. People still were wishing me happy birthday and that night we ate with the
amazing Wolfart family who surprised me with an Oreo cake (I love Oreos!!!). Also,
our amazing dueno (landlord), Antonio, found out it was my birthday and in our kitchen
was chocolates and cherries (haha) just what we need-more cherries! But it was wonderful.
Everyone was so sweet. Saturday night we sprinted back to the Wolfart´s house (it
was pretty late at night) so Hermana Reeder could talk to her family to tell her
about her reaction that is going on. I met her sweet family on Skype and they called
my parents! They were so nice to offer to call them to talk about me.
Sunday – Was a busy
day. EVERY SUNDAY IS BUSY. We went to the first ward which was great. Then Hermana
Church invited us over for a birthday lunch for me in between church sessions. It
was a wonderful meal: Homemade macaroni and cheese and lots of vegetables and carrot
cake. It was so good! Hermana Church is a cancer survivor! I looked up to her before,
but now so much more. She is incredible!!! I feel blessed for the opportunity I
have to get to know them. Then we went to church and it was ...interesting (haha). Our fecha came! Pius came and they announced his baptism this week! He is getting baptized on Saturday at 7pm. J J It was so exciting. Then Hermana Reeder and I taught Gospel Principles class. It was wild (haha) because we were teaching back and forth from English to Spanish because there were a lot of Africans visiting. It reminded me of the good old days at the Chinese Branch. J Anyway, it worked out well in the end.
ALL of the Africans attacked us afterwards with compliments. One member, Michael, said ¨Hermana Johnson if you don´t do this again next week I am going to talk to the President, because it was WONDERFUL.¨ He kept saying that over and over again. Then we had consejo after church (ward council). Hermana Reeder and I were at the edge of our chairs determined to get a word in, and we had success! We were very much a part of the meeting and it is so exciting that the branch president can count on us!! It was actually a miracle. J
Also, another miracle happened. Blass told me that Friday him and Cleopatra were walking near Gran Casa (the big mall that we live near) and Cleopatra found my chapa on the ground!!!!!! My nametag was saved!!! It was a little miracle which I was SO grateful for. J
That was the week!
This week will also be wild because we will be preparing Pius for baptism AND because we are going to Barcelona Friday night and spending the night in the little piso in Hospitalet.
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