Week 22, 21, 20, 19

Wooo last week of this transfer!!!! Transfers are 6 weeks long and every transfer something crazy changes (like you get a new companion or you move to a different part of Spain) or it all stays the same! I find out this Saturday what's gonna happen so I'll let you all know!!!!

This week has been really fun. It's been hot hot hot and we've been running literally everywhere. So the good news is I'm in great shape yay! Hahaha

Anyways update on Alberto. We were teaching him and he literally said, "I KNOW IT'S TRUE!!!!" That's the GREATEST moment, when people recognize that they've recieved an answer. So he'll be baptized! The only question now is if he'll be baptized here in Spain or in Germany. We shall see! But he's a miracle and we're so grateful.

Also this week I had an intercambio with Hermana Barlow! That's where we trade companions for 24 hours so we can learn more from new people. And it was literally a PARTY. We were in her area and there's a family who lives in her area who I absolutely LOVE and it was such a tender mercy because they invited us over to have lunch with them without even realizing that I was with Hermana Barlow. It's something small, but I had been hoping I'd get to see them and it was just so comforting to be around them at the end of a little bit of a stressful week. So I was so grateful. Heavenly Father takes care of us in the little things. :)) 

Also today for preparation day we went to the Palma Cathedral. It's this famous Cathedral that overlooks the ocean and it's absolutely beautiful. It was a super chill, super fun day. I love Spain and playing tourist in Spain. It's my favorite thing:))

Life is good friends! This week in my studies I've been focusing a lot on being happy no matter what and I learned a lot. I've got a better picture now of what it means to be on "el camino de Dios" (the path of God). We get on His path by doing the things that we're supposed to (keeping the commandments, loving, serving, repenting) and then it's like we're putting ourselves in His hands and everything else that happens around that is for our good and is meant to help us and we can trust in God and allow ourselves to be joyful because we know that He's got us. I love it.

The mission is the greatest thing!!! I love you all tons! Keep on enjoyin summer:)))

Love,

Mandi

Pictures: 1. Hermana McConkie and I infront of the cathedral!

2. Hermana Barlow and I with a cute African family that they're teaching! Actually fun story with them: the dad is a member, but they're not married so the wife can't get baptized until they get married and THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED IN AUGUST AND SHE'LL BE ABLE TO GET BAPTIZED!!!!!!!! AYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!! So happy!!!!!! We love them hahaha

Week 21

 Woops I forgot to write this so I'm gonna make it short and sweet:))

We're SUPER pumped because remember Christian and Alberto who I talked about last week? THEY BOTH GOT A JOB!!!! And it's a job that'll take them to Germany...but not until August!!! So we can still teach them!!! It's a HUGE miracle and we're honestly so excited. They're our most promising investigators right now so it's so good. :))

Also we have someone named Jondr who is 17 years old who we contacted on the street! He came to sports two weeks in a row and actually came to church yesterday for the first time!!!! It was funny too cause he texted us after and said "Anytime you want me to accompany you to save the people, I can." And we just DIED laughing. He's great. So we're super pumped about him.

Also this week we had Zone Conference!!!!! It's my favorite thing. We really focused on the basics, on love and on prayer. It's so important when we pray to really take some time to let Heavenly Father talk to us and to write down the things that He says. I've started doing that and I'm noticing my prayers have become SO much more meaningful. :)) It's the best.

Well I love you people! Happy summer times!!!! 

Your favorite Hermana,

Hermana Johnson

pictures: 1. This was our view as we taught someone named Edrysse. It's amazing:))

2. We hit 5 months this week! All 5 of us:))) Happy days!!!

Week 20

 Holaa!!!!!

Feliz dia de independencia!!!!!!! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!!! We have seen a lot of Spanish people walking around with American flag shirts, it's actually hilarious. So that's fun. Today the Hutchings (a senior couple who are serving here) had all the missionaries over for a BBQ! I had a burger and ribs and all my favorite American foods! What a happy time:)))

In other news, we have two new investigators named Christian and Alberto who are really great. They've actually come to church the past two weeks and that's how we met them and started teaching them! They're both in a really tough spot without jobs and are really just pushin through right now but I am so impressed with their attitudes. Both of them have expressed to us how their faith in God has helped them push through and they're still so grateful for all the things that they have been given because they know people have it worse than they do. 

They also both committed to being baptized, but the tricky thing is that they may be moving to Germany next week...so it all depends on that haha. Christian speaks straight Italian also so guess who is learning to speak Spatalian? THIS GIRL!!!!! haha it's so fun. They're similar enough that it works out haha.

Hm what else. For some reason I'm just having the hardest time remembering everything that happened this week haha. Oh so another thing that we do is have "sports" every Saturday morning. So all the missionaries go and we literally invite EVERYONE. Last Saturday my companion and I had invited a 17 yr old boy that we met on the street and he came! He's from Venezuela and LOVED it. So that was super fun and now we're gonna try to teach him. 

SO I hear that everyone's getting married and going on missions and things at home. How exciting!!!! Congratulations all you cute people! 

Also this week I've been studying Captain Moroni. There's a verse in Alma 47 (or somethin like that) that says that if everyone was like Moroni, the devil would have no power over the children of men (or something like that haha). But how great! Let's all try to be like Moroni!!! So I've been studying him a little bit more and trying to figure out his character and things that I can improve on to be more like him. Something that I really loved is that he is SERVICE MINDED. He leads by example and serves with Christlike love. I love that. He's such a good example. 

Life is good! It's been fun being here during tourist season. Especially during church we always get people from the US who are visiting Palma. It's like a little piece of home to get to talk to people in English who actually have an American accent hahaha. 

I love being a missionary!!!! It's seriously the best. :)))

Love you all!!!

Love,

Hermana Johnson

Week 19

 Holaaa!!!!!

Well this was my first week with my new companion and also my first week out of training! My companion's name is Hermana McConkie. She's from Vernal, Utah and has red hair! She's super cute and a great missionary, she's been on her mission for a year now. So it's fun.

Life is good here in Palma! We've been CRAZY busy this week. We've had visit after visit after visit with people and it's been amazing to see how many people just kinda pop up when my companion came here. It was kinda a testimony builder to me that we are called to specific places for a specific reason to help the people here. And there are people who are prepared and ready to hear from me and Hermana McConkie specifically. So how fun is that! 

So this weekend we had district conference. It's just church but longer haha. It's the same thing as stake conference but we aren't big enough over here to be a stake. But it was fun because President Dayton and H. Dayton came and spoke and Elder Dini Ciacci of the area seventy came and spoke! It was really great and JAN HAAS CAME and LOVED it!!!!!!

So back story on Jan Haas. So earlier this week, Hermana McConkie and I went to KFC and we were just chillin, enjoying our chicken and American fries, and the man sitting at the table next to us (Jan haas) turned to us and was like (in English) "hi, sorry to interrupt, but I've seen missionaries like you before and wondered if you had any information on homeless shelters around here." So apparently he's from Colombia and has only been in Palma for about a month and came here and felt really bad for all the homeless people that he sees everywhere and wants to help them! So we talked to him and explained a little more about what we do as missionaries and such. And then invited him to come to district conference with us! Which he accepted! 

And he LOVED it! There was a meeting on Saturday and a meeting on Sunday, and after the Saturday meeting, he was like "I have to come tomorrow when is it and where is it?" And he came! And then afterwords he texted us and was so grateful that we invited him. He told us that the messages really touched him and have made him rethink the course of his life. So we are SO excited about him. We're meeting with him today actually to talk about the restoration of the gospel. Yay for KFC miracles!!!!

So that's really been the highlight of my week. Today for preparation day we went to Valldemosa. It's the CUTEST little old town you've ever seen and it's up kinda high on a mountain. I loved LOVED it. It reminded me of Italy actually which was so fun.

Life is good! I continue to love it! And oh my goodness the SPANISH this week has just flown. I don't know what it is but I can speak Spanish now! I'm at the point where I know I don't speak or understand perfectly, but I have enough confidence in my ability where I have no problem going up to people and talking to them in Spanish. Some accents are harder to understand than others, but at this point I can fluidly carry on a conversation where I am understanding and am understood. So that's fun who knew that'd ever happen! haha

The church is true everyone! Earlier this week we met a cute lady on the street who we're going to visit on Wednesday and as we were talking to her, she was really curious about us as missionaries and what we do and how long we serve and all that. And at one point I told her "we wouldn't do this if we didn't believe so strongly in this gospel." and the spirit confirmed so strongly that YES this is the work of the Lord and I'm bringing people unto Christ! We always say that, but it's real! There really is a church of Jesus Christ on this earth where a true and living prophet recieves revalation for God's children just like in Bible times. I love it. Blessings blessings. :)

Well I sure love you all!!!! I hope everyone's enjoying their summer and are planning trips to Spain ;) 

Love!

Hermana Johnson

Pictures: 1- me and Hermana Barlow (my love!)

2- We all went to Valldemosa!

3- My companion and I and Jan Haas at district conference! We had just given him that pamphlet hahah