So I started off the week super excited, ready to meet goals and work my butt off and just be a missionary and everything went super well until about Wednesday when my comp literally couldn't speak at all (he communicated with through only the Spirit and written messages) and felt like his bones were in the process of shattering. So we did the only logical thing and tried to work. Kidding! That was Thursday morning when he still felt the same way, but on Wednesday morning, we went to the doctor and he essentially said that we had to rest the whole day. So we did, with Hermana Leyva's permission. I got really bored because, unfortunately, we are too pilas right now. The house was clean. The area book was organized and updated, and I couldn't leave. I got bored. So, like I said, on Thursday we tried to go work even though my comp couldn't speak still and still felt like tiny little creatures were constantly taking jack hammers to his bones. It didn't really work out, so we ending up resting AGAIN, under the Hermana Leyva's stict orders. I went crazy and starting just jabbering about anything that came to my head, dancing to Motab, and playing basketball in our tiny house with 6 and a half foot ceilings and no hoop. Somehow, a midst all that, my comp slept. 

Point is, we lost two entire days of work, so that was kind of a bummer. On the plus side, I learned how to properly give someone a shot in the butt. I learned how not to hit the some-crazy-latin-name nerve that will cause you legs to go to sleep for a month and I learned about the four quadrants that every cheek has and I learn how to stab myself in the finger with the needle while practicing on a lime. It's was a good experience. I guess there's a silver lining in everything.

Just so you know, we did put a baptismal date with (insert name here). She's super pilas. We gave her a Book of Mormon with the simple assignment to read just 2 Nephi 31 and she tried to read from 1 Nephi 1 to 2 Nephi 31 in ONE DAY! And she almost succeeded! She soooo wants to get baptized. We have to tell her no, you cannot get baptized until you receive a firm answer from God. All the members already love her. She's going to be a great convert. Honestly, thinking it about it, the Lord doesn't want me to do anything. He doesn't want me to find new investigators because that's the member's job. He doesn't want me to convince investigators because that's the Spirit's job. He doesn't want me to bring the investigators to Church because that's the investigator's job. I do nothing! I just cite things from Preach My Gospel and receive all the credit! The world is going mad!

Anyways, I want to tell you the coolest experience I had this week. So, we currently have a commission from our President to go and search out the people who were baptized in the Church but then stopped coming to Church to help those people become active again. We have to visit 8-10 people like that a week and in order to know who those people are, we ask the Bishop for a list. This last week, the first name on the list was Armando. We decided to visit him on our first work day of the week (Tuesday). 

We called him on Tuesday to see if we could come because he lives rather far away (like fifteen minutes in taxi) and we didn't want to travel all that way only to find that nobody was home. Hence, the foresight to call before. See, I do learn things in the mission. Anyways, he didn't answer, so we ditched the plan of visiting him and decided to do other things. But, later that same day, I felt an impression that I needed to visit him. I kept thinking about it and for some reason, it just became more and more important to me, until it got to the point where I had to call him again. This time, he answered. He said he wasn't home and that his wife said she was gonna go on some errands. He told that we could pass by though, if we wanted to. He would tell his wife just to stay home for a bit.

So off we went, to go visit his wife and not really knowing why, but feeling that it was pretty important. We got there and there she was. She answered the door normally enough and presented us to a friend who was there visiting her. We exchanged the customary pleasantries like "Hi, how are you?" and as soon as we asked her "how are you?" she burst into tears, sobbing. Apparently, somebody had just jacked their pick up truck and it had some important documents in it that she needed to pay a debt and now she didn't know what to do and she had prayed to God for help and lo and behold, we want to come visit her out of the blue. She asked for a blessing from the priesthood, for comfort and guidance. I had the privilege of giving it to her. We then spent the next hour talking about the purpose of trials in this life and sharing scriptures of comfort. She was positively beaming by the end of our visit and constantly reaffirming to us of the reality of God and the truth that He always answers prayers of faith (things, of course, that we, the missionaries, already knew, but reaffirm she did anyway). It was a wonderful experience. I've had many miracles in my life, but it's different to be on the other end of a miracle. I like it when God uses me to answer prayers. Nothing like it in the world. And then my companion got sick.

Life is just good in the mission right now. I have no complaints about anything (actually, I am kind of hungry right now....but wait, an investigator gave me a mango!). I don't really want to leave ever. It took me a lot longer than Taggart to reach that point, I think, but I officially able to say sincerely that I don't want the mission to end. I like it too much. So I'll see you in a year, I guess, if I have to.

Tell Jordan I say hi and then make fun of him a bit for me. Just for old time's sake. I'm sorry it is cold and dangerous. I sweat all the time out here. The only difference between winter and summer is that it is dryer in the winter. I hate having dry hands. But I like being warm. I think I will die my first winter when I get back because now I think that 60 degrees is "cold." What has Oaxaca done to me? Have a great week and I'll talk to you later!

Love,

Elder Johnson