Week 9

Hey guys,

This week was definitely a week for trying new things. I mean, everyday has been something new until now, but this week was a little more extreme. I've realized that every time I get comfortable with something, something big happens to take me out of my comfort zone again. I think thats why everyone grows up and learns so much so fast on a mission though. So this week we went on intercambios (I think thats exchanges in english but I'm not really sure). I was with elder rosales. I was a little unsure of what to expect at first. Elder Rosales doesn't really speak English and I was in a new city meeting all new people again, so that was a little scary. But it actually worked out really well. The Spanish wasn't an issue, I'll tell you more about that in a minute, and I actually met some really cool investigators. This week I also got to give my first and second blessing for the sick. That was really interesting. I've never done it in english but I've done it twice in spanish. I think those were the two things that surprised me the most this week, but I definitely have more firsts.

So Saturday night we had the elders from salamanca sleep in our piso and then Sunday morning we got up early and drove to Leon for district conference. It was about a 2.5 hour drive and it was really pretty. Its funny, I came all this way to Spain and it's basically just Utah. It's weird how similar it is, but I like it. We saw lots of mountains, farms, and vineyards on the way up. So when we got to the conference I saw some of the guys from the ccm. It was nice to see some familiar faces. Then we had a really cool meeting in a hotel conference room (never a chapel). President Pack and elder Ruiz de Mendoza spoke. I think Ruiz de Mendoza is a 70. We had 2 of our investigator families go, so that was really cool. That's a big commitment to take a bus all the way up there. So that was cool. Every Sunday is different here.

I downloaded Facebook this week. It's going to be interesting. Since it's a Facebook rule that you can only have one account, we will just use our old ones. They're giving us this week to "clean" them, but since I don't have anything I'm good. I just need to remember my login. We don't have to unfriendly people from home though, so you guys can see the stuff I post,the only thing is that its in spanish. We also saw the phones yesterday. That's going to be so crazy. My district leader said they aren't going to lock anything down, we have full access on the phones and Facebook and then if you mess up you just lose your privalages.

The talks both went pretty well last week. Preparing them was hard, but actually giving them wasnt bad. It took me a few hours to write them, but then I was only speaking in front of like 10 people each time. So that wasn't bad. It's definitely not my favorite thing to do, but I'm sure I'll get better at it. So you mentioned that Dustin had a similar experience teaching people from all over the world. It's a little crazy right now. We don't have any Spaniards, but we have friends from Colombia, El Salvador, Chile, Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, portugal, Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, and Romania. We try lots of good food though. We only cooked one meal this week, the rest of the time people fed us. The only downside to that is that I haven't made bfast casserole yet. It got warm here again. It's been around 85 the last few days. And don't worry, our piso is loaded with blankets. El Corte Inglés, the big store here, is having a big sale so we're gonna go see if they have some decent sweaters and coats for a decent price. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm looking forward to zone conference to see the birthday package. Although I think elder jager might be even more excited than me though. He loves the way American families spoil their kids. I kinda do too. He hasn't gotten anything from his family and he's been here for almost a year. Crazy.

That's awesome that you guys are reading the Book of Mormon together. I don't think I realized how important it is until I got out here. So I'm sure Erin will be impressed with this. When I was in the ccm, I read the entire BOM in 25 days. You do the math, that's a lot of reading everyday. But we had a lot of free time there and it's a pretty good book. Right now I'm reading it in Spanish every night. Hopefully that will help with the language too. I also started reading doctrine and covenants this week. Idk why I didn't do that before. There is so much cool stuff in there and pretty much all of it is about missionary work.

So I should be on around 8 again today to chat if you guys want to.

See ya later,

Josh

This is the view from one of our investigators pisos.

Week 8

Hey guys, 

     I decided that Emails would still be easier to tell you about everything. I think it was kinda hard trying to talk about everything last week. This week we can still talk, but with less of a rush. 

     This whole week was kind of a birthday party. We had district meeting on Wednesday and they bought some cake. So we had some German salad and sausages with cake. Then they sang happy birthday in 3 languages. It was pretty funny. Then on Friday Elder Jager gave me a  bunch of candy and we met up with a member from Madrid. He was awesome. He is going to take us to Segovia soon, and he wants to take us to get some real tapas too. We went to his piso here in Zamora and did our studies and then we just hung out there and talked for a while. I'll upload some pics to the Drive. Saturday we were just talking to some people on the street and one lady invited us over for a BBQ. There was so much food. They just kept bringing it out for over 2 hours. We were planning on an hour to eat and 30 minutes to teach something, but then we used all of our time eating and had to run to our next appointment. That was pretty cool though. 

     I was wrong by he way. Valladolid is is our zone. Our zone leaders are actually there. We will be going up to Leon on the 29 for zone conference, so I will probably get your package there. Church was even weirder this week. We drove up to Benevente where they have a district. That was cool cause there were only 9 members and they actually had a chapel. Then we ate with the district leader and his wife. Sacrament meeting in Zamora was a little disappointing. We had 20 people commit to coming and only 7 showed up. But, I still liked it. I had to speak in both meetings. 15 minutes in the first, and 10 in the other. 

So yeah. That's all I can think of now. Let's chat later,

Josh

Elder Johnson, Elder Jager and a friend member from Madrid

Birthday Celebration with Elder Jager

These pictures are from the BBQ we had with the people that invited us over:

 8:30a.m. Mountain Standard Time (4:30p.m. in Zamora)

Josh: So funny story. Elder Jager is like five foot nine, and he's usually tallish around here. Most people are his height or shorter - never taller. So twice this week we went to meet some of our investigators that I hadn't seen yet. And we sat down and started talking and then at some point we started talking about soccer. Both times though, they asked if I play and Elder Jager answered for me. But then he looked at me and told me to stand up. I did and it was hilarious. They all freaked out and acted like I was 7 feet tall. One family calls me Elder Grande.

Mom: Haha! That's hilarious! So what does Elder Jager say when he answers for you?

Josh: He thinks I can play and it's actually coming back really fast. I can still play. Elder Jager has mostly played handball before but he's really good at soccer, too. I mean, he's German.

....

Josh: I got like 25 emails this week - Birthday's are great. I'm trying to email everyone back but there are so many! I'm thinking the family will see you so maybe you can thank them for me? I feel bad I don't email my grandparents more.

OH DUDE!! I don't think I ever told you guys. Spain Madrid is going to be the 7th mission in the world to get smart phones. We will have insta, facebook, what's app, everything. We have a training on the 29th in Leon. I don't know all the details yet but I'm assuming it will be all the same rules we have for the phones we have now. We have dumb phones that are just assigned to the area. When we go they just stay in Zamora and there will be one for us in the next area.

Dad: That makes sense with the phones. Curious to see how they manage the apps as you move areas. They must be using the same kind of app to lock the phones down as they do the tablets.

Josh: I think they will. It sounds really cool though. They really trust us. We will have access to Internet anywhere now so I think we can do a lot more. This really changes how we do things.

......

Josh: We are going to Segovia soon to see the aquaduct. There are some cool parts but overall Edinburgh is winning. We'll see though as I see more.

....

Dad: Enjoy your week and work hard. I will email you a bit later this week.

Josh: I will definitely enjoy this week. Talk to you later. Love you guys!

Let's Talk... Week 7 (ish)

Monday, September 11 at 2:19am (U.S. Mountain Standard Time)

Hey Guys,

Life has definitely changed this week. The rules are a little different when you get to the field, so we can use an app called Google Hangouts to text on p-days. There are some things that make that complicated though. We are basically living in a farming community from the 80's, so we will need to find an Internet Cafe or McDonald's for wifi. And, we have the time difference. So I will be on from 4-6pm my time, or 8-10am your time. We can chat then or I can send you a big long email. Either way is good with me, just let me know what you want to do.

Love you guys,

Josh

Monday, September 11 at 8:25am (U.S. Mountain Standard Time)

Josh: So what do you want to know? I don't even know where to start.

Mom: Tell me everything! Just talk to me..

Josh: The rules here are way different. We had this app in the CCM, but Pres. Packer didn't want us to use it. Probably cause we would always be talking to you guys. But now we can email anytime on p days, we just need wifi. Today we just found a McDonald's and we're using their wifi. The area is really interesting. It's the biggest one in the mission as far as land covered. We don't have a ward or branch right now because there are only 2 members, so we just have Sacrament Meeting in the park. We also have 1 of the 2 cars in the mission. We rotate though. So every other week we drive down to Salamanca to go to the branch there. They meet in a small school. We just rent out two classrooms.

Mom: How many missionaries are in your area? That sounds so much like what dad experienced. Are you loving it?

Josh: Oh I'm definitely loving it. It scared me a little at first, but it's been awesome so far. It's funny how much it is like dad's stories. We just have the two of us in the area, and our district is only us and the companionship in Salamanca. The others are about 80 minutes away by car, so we only see them for district meeting. Elder Jager is awesome. He does speak English but we try to speak Spanish anytime we're not in the piso. The food is a lot better outside the CCM. I have been cooking a lot. We have a pretty sweet set up with our groceries. Once or twice a week we go work on a sheep farm taking care of the animals, and sometimes the guy gives us some fresh eggs and homemade chorizo. Oh and tons of potatoes.

Elder Jager is from Hamburg, Germany. We get tons of food from the sheep family so we don't have to buy a ton. It's amazing. I made some red beans with chorizo and rice last night. It was the bomb.

I don't know what half the stuff we eat is. Spanish is hard. Manuel, the sheep guy, isn't an investigator yet. He doesn't want to hear a ton about the church but he let's us help him. We'll get him soon.

Mom: Are you eating McDonald's while we chat? Is it cooler there than in Madrid?

Josh: It's actually pretty chilly here. It's been around 70-72 most days.

McDonald's meal during our chat

People do feed us though. Our investigators are all from the Dominican Republic and Boliva and Brazil so there has been some good food.

The last baptism in Zamora was 15 years ago. It's an interesting situation. 

I bought the missionary backpack and a hoodie to wear in the apartment today. We don't really have stores here to buy a sweater for proselyting so we will grab one Wednesday in Salamanca. It's been cold in the apartment in the mornings but we had a guy come fix up the heater.

Today we had a lot of cleaning to do since it was a new transfer. Next week we will probably go to Salamanca to play Risk. We play soccer in the mornings for physical activity every day. 

I did get your package. It was amazing. That makes it sound like I ate everything already. I didn't.. I'm making it last. 

Mom: I'm working on a birthday package for you. Maybe you'll get it by Halloween? Lol. Anything you want me to put in the package?

Josh: Idk. I actually forgot about my Bday until this morning when Elder Jager asked me about it. I can't listen to any music except for Hymns so don't send Piano Guys or anything. It's been okay - it's not like we have free time in the piso, so I don't notice there. But it would be cool to have music on our long drives. 

Salamanca

The kitchen in our Piso

So the top pic is in Salamanca. After church we were walking to the car and there was a big festival. The second pic is of our kitchen with the washing machine - Cari was right. 

Mom: Everything looks like its Ikea sized. 

Josh: Oh yeah. I hit my head on the tiny door frames daily. It's getting really annoying. I think I'm the tallest person in the city. 

Mom: That's funny. Are you getting every one's emails then? Do we need to switch up how we have been doing it?

Josh: I can read my emails now. We go the wifi password to the bar that's below the piso. We just have to sit down on the bench outside to read them. 

I will try to get lots of pics this week. I've just been really distracted lately with the new stuff.

I have peanut butter - it was the most expensive thing I bought but it was worth it. So we drive out to the pueblos every once in a while to go door knocking (a pueblo is a small, tiny, tiny town that is usually in the middle of nowhere) And the last one we went to, they were doing one of those running of bulls things. It was crazy. The whole town was a party. We didn't accomplish much but it was a crazy experience. We are teaching a lot. We have anywhere from one to four lessons a day. Until last night Edler Jager taught most of the lessons and then I would bear my testimony or explain a small thing. But then he did exactly what dad's trainer did. He started off by telling them we wanted to talk about personal revelation, and then he looked at me and said "now Elder Johnson will teach us about that." I kinda struggled for a second and expected him to help. But, he just sat there and smiled. I got through it though and figured out how to teach a lesson. The family we are teaching is awesome though. I wish I could help them more. They are from Romania. The two kids were baptized at some point. They are our two members. The parents want to be baptized and they're ready. But they need papers to be legal before they can get married. The only thing standing in the way is a trip to Madrid to get the papers but they can't get a job because they aren't legal. So they don't have money to make the trip to Madrid. Its a stupid circle. They make good food though. 

The Packs are awesome. They even made Cafe Rio for us. They have an insanely nice house too. It kinda got my hopes up for our pisos. 

Mom: How's your laundry situation been? How much $ do you get for MSF?

Josh: It's good. We can do laundry anytime in the kitchen. Then we just hang it on the line outside the window. We normally get $162 a month, but this month I only got $131 because I missed the first few days. It should still be plenty though. We are going to a Chinese buffet on Wednesday with the guys in the district. BTW they are from Guatamala and West Jordan.

Elder Jager - knocking doors. 

Elder Jager & Elder Johnson (Madrid)

The first pic is funny. That was in a pueblo on Friday. We knocked doors for over an hour and no one would talk to us so Edler Jager started messing around. That's an old house that had collapsed. The second pic is me and Edler Jager. He came and picked me up on Tuesday. 

Also, I don't think you can tell but with the change of diet and adding over an hour of exercise every day, I've actually lost 13 pounds. I wish I had more fitted slim shirts. My good slimfit one is getting worn out. It is from Homecoming though. Don't worry about me though. It's a good thing. A lot of the guys gained weight in the CCM. We had two guys gain over 20 lbs. I just have been working hard because I wanted to be in shape. I still got shin splints this week from all the fast walking all over town to get to appointments. All but two of us gained weight. A lot of weight. I got some nasty blisters in the CCM. Like the bottoms of my feet were covered in blood blisters. But they are going away now. I think that was actually good cause I went to the pharmacy and bought some Dr. Scholes things that are really comfy. Those help a lot now. I wouldn't have gotten them if I didn't get the blisters in the CCM. Oh and the blisters were from crap soccer shoes, not my church shoes. 

Mom: Are you using your TruSocks? 

Josh: I use them a lot. They are awesome. I just wish I could wear my cool socks. They still aren't allowed. What a waste of money. Even my new black Stance ones.

So I have to give a 15 minute talk in the Salamanca branch this Sunday. That should be fun. I can choose my topic, so that part will be easy. It's just the Spanish. It's been a rough week learning where I am. I thought I knew ore than I really did coming out of the CCM. But it's coming along now. Last night was a big step. 

There might be a letter in the mail for you guys this week or next. Idk how long it will take but I'm going to send it today. 

We will probably need to go in a few. But, you can still send emails any time. I might even be able to email you later tonight if you need anything. 

Mom: I'm sure everything has been crazy this week. I was stressing a little about not hearing from you.

Josh: Don't worry. Everything is good here. I got exactly what I asked for. I always wanted my mission to be something crazy like this. 

Love you guys. Talk to you later!

Mom: Okay we will watch for your letter and you watch fore a Bday package from us. Love you! Talk to you soon. 

Josh: (later) Hey this doesn't count as the later email, but could you send me meal ideas and recipes when you get some time this week. I forgot to ask earlier. 

Elder Johnson has Arrived (Week 6)

Dear Johnson Family,

We had the great pleasure of welcoming your son to the Spain Madrid Mission. We spent the day together at the mission home where he received training and orientation on his missionary assignment. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and felt a wonderful spirit present. We appreciate all that you have done to prepare your son to serve the Lord and for the sacrifice you are making in giving him to the Lord for a time. 

Elder Johnson has been assigned to labor in Zamora with Elder Jäger.

We thought you might enjoy these pictures that we took in the backyard during our lunch break. May the Lord bless you and your family in all of your endeavors.

With love,

President and Hermana Pack

President Pack * Elder Johnson * Sister Pack