Hey Mom and Dad!

Hello to my two favorite people in the world!

So good to hear from both of y'all! Thanks so SO much for the awesome package with pictures and the cute clothes and the candy for Sister Marks. She loved it! And so did I! I'm so thankful that I have such a supportive family :) I'm doing well with Sister Marks, and it's really fun/challenging to teach in Spanish. I was wondering if you could send me a Spanish mini Preach My Gospel ("Predicad mi evangelio") and a Spanish dictionary por favor? It would really help me a lot. I am trying to study the lessons in Spanish and really practice and put myself out there in order to teach more effectively and with the Spirit in Spanish. It's tricky, but it's going to be worth it. Now I wish I would've paid more attention in all those Spanish classes I've taken haha.

This week was awesome. We taught 20 lessons for the first time on my whole mission! Wahoo! And it didn't even feel like that many, but we had two days when we taught 5 people on each day, and the rest of the week just carried on as usual. It was so cool. Also, I got to go on exchanges with Sister Tuft which is always super cool. She is seriously the best. I hope I get to serve with her eventually!

Please pray for "A", she is this new investigator we have. She has a lot of problems in her life, and we asked if we could teach her how to find comfort. Also, please pray for Brother T, that his heart can be softened and we can teach him about how to use the Atonement to help him quit smoking. He has tried to quit so many times, and now he is 66 years old and doesn't think he can ever quit for good. But I know he can, because I've come to know, see, and feel the power of the infinite atonement. And I want so badly help him access this power if he has even a twig of faith, like Elder Eyring said. And lastly, please pray for "H" - it turns out that she has read some of the Book of Mormon on her own since we last saw her, more than we asked her to, and she feels good while she reads it! Which is a big sign for her - she loves the Bible and feels good as she reads it, so the fact that she feel the same as she reads the Book of Mormon is a big deal. But she said she felt a little guilty studying the BoM instead of the Bible, but we told her to study them both, that you can never have too much of the word of God. :) And lastly, please pray that "C" will continue reading the Book of Mormon and progress in her desire to be baptized. She goes to the Spanish branch and she is the greatest. She has gone from not wanting to even touch the Book of Mormon to reading it and testing us when she has questions. Seriously, so cool. And please pray that she can get her papers worked out so that she can get a job and stay in the US. She is allowed to be here but there is some complication with actually getting a green card.

Anyways, I just love you both so much. A scripture that has been my motto this week is Joshua 3:5 - "Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." I love this because I am on this quest to really sanctify and purify myself - my Christ-like attribute for the month is virtue. And I know that if I want the Spirit as my constant companion, to see miracles, and to really help myself and the work in this area to move forward, I must leave behind the little things that "poke" at my Spirit. I am so excited for the rest of this transfer and for the transfer to come - I 'm excited to grow, to learn about the gospel, to learn Spanish, and to help both the Spanish and the English speaking people in the area to come unto Christ, enter into the gate, and make and keep sacred covenants with Heavenly Father. This work is amazing, and I'm so thankful that I get to be a part of it!

Love, Johanna