Last letter (week 93)

I can't believe it...My Benjamin gets home a week from today.  Too many emotions.  Sad for him but so happy for us. 1 more week and I just don't know how to get there...I am so proud and happy for my son.

Hey Friends and family, 

Wow, this is probably going to be my last letter.  I took so much time thinking about what to write this week…won’t be fantastic by any means haha whoops sorry.  Wow, wow, wow, it’s been such a ride and I'm freaking out a little about my mission ending.  I have so many emotions, feelings and thoughts about it.  Just trying to hold it all together hahaha and I’m gripping on to every last minute I have here.  Last week was awesome and this week will be even better.  Love my comp and area and I’ve been giving it my all these past weeks.  I know in my head I'm going home next Wednesday but it really doesn't feel very real.  It's just a thought that hasn't been turned into a true fact yet.  I don't even know how to explain it.  I hope to baptize this last week to end my amazing time here.  I hope to maintain everything I have learned on the mission and to progress even more spiritually after I return home.  I hope my converts are all ok and that they stay active.  I pray all day and all night for my wonderful converts and everyone I have met on my mission.  I pray for all of you too. Thanks for all of your support, notes, and prayers.  I will make sure to have a great last week and as I get home I’ll make sure to remember who I am.  Love you all so much and see you all real soon!

Love, Elder Call

Happy December! (week 92)

Hello Friends and Family! 

Happy first week of December! I love the holidays and even here in panama there's a little bit of holiday fever. I didn't know what to expect, due to the fact that last Christmas I was in San Blas, but there's some lights up in front of some houses here and there's some new Christmas chocolates in the lil stores...OK panama!   This week was pretty awesome even though this area is pretty hard compared to other areas I've served in.  A part of me is grateful I'm not going to be here for another change but the other side of me loves the challenge.  But the lord continues to bless my life with miracles every day…we found an AMAZING family...a mother and her two sons.  One is a little special needs and the other is super sick and is on the whole dialysis thing.  He was so sick he had to go to the states with his family to get treatment at a hospital back-east and were living with a family of MORMONS (oops I mean family of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).  Soo clutch that they went to church every week while there and even though they didn't understand it at all they said they always felt good which we told them was the Spirit!  So that's awesome and they accepted their baptismal date and are preparing to be baptized.  They also came to church yesterday which is super dope!  Two more experiences this week real quick.  First is about the conference we had this week with the new area president for Central America, Elder Uceda from Peru .  He is a truly inspired leader and it was probably my favorite conference I have ever had in my mission.  He talked about turning others into disciples of Jesus and not just baptising them. Then he talked about the scriptures and there’s sooo many things I learned that I will tell you all one day.  Wow, the other experience is I shared my testimony at church, during testimony meeting on Sunday, and I realized mid-way thru that it would be the last time I’d ever do that in Panama .   I was crying soo hard and trying to hold it together in front of a bunch of Panamanians who definitely thought I was crazy…what can I say other than I'm a Call!  Well, so that's all I got for you this week folks.  Such an awesome week and I'm excited for an amazing upcoming week also.

Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Call

Thanksgiving (week 91)

Hey Friends and Family! 

 Well been a great week out here in Arraijan and super fortunate to be here again. My companion Elder Garcia is 23 and a convert to the church of about 4 years and was baptized without his family support. He still managed to get on a mission thanks to a branch president. He's from a little city in Colombia called Armenia . He's very humble and a great worker and has a nice little lazy eye to top it off. Great guy and great person to end my mission with. Area is by far the richest I've been in.  I'm sure that its nothing like the states rich, but they are living perfectly fine. That means two things- people are hard to contact and prideful, but when you find them the right ones they are soooo nice and 2- Awesome members. So its been a different kind of work with more with member references and incomplete families but its been good so far. Miracle happened this week  when a girl walked by and asked if we could go to her house. So we went the next day and she's 19 years old and said that she had gone to church for three years but couldn't get baptized before because her mom wouldn't give her permission until she turned 18. So sadly she stopped going until she felt the impression to talk to us this last week and now we will be having her baptism shortly. So that was awesome and  we are also waiting on a family of five to get baptized in the upcoming weeks.. Hopefully before I leave! They are soooooooooo awesome and just in the marriage process and when they do the parents and the kids ages of 20, 17, 14 will also join them. I'm sooo excited and I'm praying and fasting that they will do it before I'm outtie. But ya that's all for now.  Love you all have a great week!

Elder Call