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 

Happy Thanksgiving (week 90)

Hey Friends and Family! 

Crazy times in the mission and wow another week down down here in my wonderful country of panama. Well last week was awesome and Elder Jackman and I finished well with a baptism! Super awesome and her name is Lindsey and she is an awesome girl and super good times cus our recent convert, Christian, baptized her. He had tried memorizing the prayer last minute because i made him do it cus I didn't wanna get wet hahaha. So he got in there and forgot the prayer and it was probably the funniest baptism ever.. had to repeat the prayer like 6 times and baptize her 3 different times...soo funny. So ya that evening I got changes.. and as I expected I came back to the city.  I had like 30 minutes to pack, just threw everything in my suitcases and left to the terminal to catch the chiva at 7 to David.  So I left with my comp and got to David at about midnight.  Then right away got on a bus and got to the city at like 7 in the morning.. My seat was sooo uncomfy and I was ticked and cold and I had a wonderful all-nighter. Got to the city and met my comp- Elder Garcia from Colombia, and left to my area.... Arriajan Vista Alegre... third time being in this zone.. my favorite zone (besides San Blas) and have been here more than anywhere else in my mission.. seems only fit to spend my last 4 weeks here with a Colombian that only has like 6 months in the mission. But I really am sooooo sad to have left Bocas del toro.  I invested my heart and soul into that area and i knew EVERYBODY.  I freaking LOVE Changuinola and I really did wanna end my mission there.. but Arriajan is the next best place.  Going to be a little harder to stay motivated though not going to lie because I am out in 4 weeks in an area I don't  know and i would have liked to stay in Changuinola where I invested so much working with the branch.  But i will keep working hard till the day i die because i'm trying get that beautiful spouse hahaha.  My comp is good and the area is good, although honestly now that I have been in Panama all the areas I would be happy to be in.  Also Vista Alegre has a ton of Kunas which is classic for Arraijan and that is just who I want to teach before I go home.  I love them!  Also my comp told me they are just finishing getting a couple married so i think this week or next week we are going to have three baptisms...dope.  So wow. I love the mission and I cry when I think about leaving so soon but I will cherish these last moments forever.  Well that's pretty much it.  Thanks family and friends for your support... Love you all have a great Thanksgiving!  For me it will be just a normal day but for all of you enjoy it!!!!!
Love, Elder Call

Love you! (week 89)

Hey Friends and Fam!

 

    Wow crazy week but don't have all the time in the world to write about it.  Wow, this weekend was sooooooo tiring but was highly anticipated and well-worth the long drive....so my week was good.  On Friday we left at 6pm for a 12 hour drive to Panama City. So I tried sleeping on the bus but didn't do well because of the freaking winding roads and it was soo cold on the bus.  But we got to the city in great time and got off the bus early at like 5am to stay the night with the zone leaders from the city. It was cool because they live in the first chapel that was built in Panama in a place, right by the Puente de Las Americas, called Balboa.  It’s no longer a ward but was awesome and I did a couple baptism interviews for them in two different areas that day. 

 

     The first was in an area that I have always wanted to go - a straight ghetto called Chorrillo...suuuper dangerous and I always wanted to see the area since it’s notorious in our mission - just huuuge apartment complexes that are straight trash - pretty gross area and must admit it made me a lil nervous.  I was with another gringo but it was cool. Then I went to the Vera Cruz area which is a suuuper cool place a little ways outside of the city- touristy and mostly Kunas with beautiful beaches.  It's my dream area but due to disobedience in the past Elders can’t serve there.  Then at 3pm we had the mission conference - it was sooo cool and Elder Soares is the freaking man!!  His testimony was awesome and the sprit was soooo strong...such a humble guy and the first ever Latino apostle!

 

     Then we rushed back to Albrook (the huge city bus terminal) and tried catching the direct bus to Bocas del Toro, but it had already left...was completely devastating because we were just a little late and missed it.  So we ended up having to take a bus to David then a chiva at 3 in the morning to Bocas…was sooo tiring because I didn't sleep much then either.  Yea, so I was nice and tired and pretty sleep deprived and we got to church late yesterday.  But we ended the week strong and I slept like a baby last night so it's all good.   Awesome weekend and I'm looking forward to finishing up this change strong…then I’ll be on to my last change in the mission...so crazy!!  I talked to pres a lil and he told me he was probably going to send me to end a little closer to the city because I’ll only have four weeks left when changes happen.  I really want to end my mission here but if I get changed I won't be too sad because experiencing another area of Panama would a fun adventure too.  I’m so excited to hit it hard these last weeks here! 

 

    It was pretty crazy in the mission conference seeing my couple of comps that still remain in the mission…sad stuff if I think too hard about it.  That was the first time in my entire mission that all of the missionaries were in one conference together.  When Elder Cook visited the mission the San Blas and Bocas del Toro zones didn't attend…so it was super special that we were able to be there to hear from Elder Soares.  

 

Love you all have a good week!!!!!

Elder Call

Grandpa's Call's Funeral (week 88)

Hey friends and fam! 

 

Wow, was just informed of grandpa’s passing.  Nobody had told me anything about it until now when Nick wrote me.  I know it’s a very sad time but at the same time what an amazing joy he feels now with grandma.  I am a firm believer of God and of his plan of salvation. I love Grandpa Call so much what an honor to be his grandkid.  He is an example to all and a down right amazing person…blessed to carry on his legacy here in Panama !   He lived an amazing life and he’s going straight to lo alto. 

 

Wow great week out here in Changuinola, better than ever out here. Also freaking pumped and praying and getting prepared extra hard because Elder Soares is coming to panama this saturday to talk to us!  I'm soo pumped and it will be the second time attending a mission conference with an apostle of the lord.  Awesome stuff but the drive is guna be suuuuch a drag.  We are about 13 hours from the city and we have to take a the night bus to not miss too much time teaching. I'm trying to convince pres to let us return here in a plane cus there's a litttle airport here but I doubt it will happen hahaha.

 

We had a baptism this weekend of that kid Mosiah and I feel sooo awesome and am so excited and happy because his family now has a goal of going on the bocas del toro temple trip in just a few weeks.. so we re-activated the heck out of the family!  So ya seeing a lot of success and working a lot with recent converts because man sometimes the recent converts get baptized and left by the missionaries and stop getting love and I hate that.  Pres is stressing the importance of working with them too.  Man All good out here though and these weeks have been so amazing and I've been working especially hard and with more happiness. Week was super special and I'm so honored to be a missionary.

 

The whole country of Panama is going crazy right now because these weeks are independence weeks which are huuuuge holidays for panama.  Everybody basically goes wild, and it ain't your average wild, because Panamanians are normally pretty wild but during these holidays they’re even more wild than normal hahaha.  So it was crazy here and there was a huge parade here and everyone was hammered and doing naughty stuff.  I felt so separated from it all but just looking at it from a spiritual viewpoint it was a nightmare haha…saw one or two naked people and other things that I can’t say over emails hahahaha.  Last year at this time I was still in san blas and I reflect more on that time of my mission than any other time. Even the kunas went crazy for this freaking holiday.

 

Wow speaking of kunas, I feel like God has blessed me with a gift. I can literally smell kunas…hahaha…I can just feel when they are around and when see then I just get talking in their language and they love it.  So we are literally teaching the only kuna families in the entire province and its been awesome.  One of the families is progressing and I hope they meet their baptism goal in two weeks.  So ya, Jackman is a good comp, super different and an interesting chap, but all is well.  Patience is the key with every comp (something I have worked on my whole mission and still struggle with haha) but I promise I have gotten more patient fam!  

 

Well, that's all I got... sooo many funny stories but man i just don't remember them all.   Animal stories- I just feel like I have been in panama so long that these crazy animals don't get to me like they used to. Before the mission I would of freaked out seeing these animals…hahaha.  For example the GIANT possum that walked right outside our front door, or the red and yellow giant poisonous frog that during church came in and everyone was freaking out and I had to be the one to get it.  Or the turtles that swam in the rain water in front of our house. Yup good stuff.  Man, also as a side note, we walked through this crappy are (where we always work) and there was like a gay indian volleyball association that we walked by and I have never received that much crap from anyone in all my mission hahaha.  Good stuff!  Well thanks friends and fam...Jesus loves you all, do the right!

 

Bye, Love Elder Call

Happy Halloween (week 87)

Hey friends and family!

 

Wow what a week out here in Changuinola.  It's still awesome out here and continues to be one of my favorite areas in my entire mission. Idk what Pres is going to do with me next change because I’m leaving two weeks early for school.  It will be weird if I’m here till the end of my mission because of what a pain sending a new missionary here mid change would be.  This area is so far from any other area in the mission and I don’t think pres will want to close this area for two weeks after I leave.  Who knows what will happen but I would really like to finish my mission out here.  Wow, the weather has been brutal this week.  So Bocas del toro has a way different climate than the rest of Panama and it honestly feels even hotter and more humid here sometimes.  In Panama City right now summer is starting so rainy season is over but out here this week its been raining soo much which is a drag to work in but I'm used to it by now…lol!   We found some awesome people this week and we are seeing miracles happen like the baptism we are having this weekend.  Mosiah is 9 and didn't get baptized because his family went completely inactive.  But activating families is my specialty and we activated the family and they came to church for the first time in 5 years this Sunday!!  I was blessing the sacrament and when I saw their family walk in I was put to tears.  They put the natural man behind them and came back to church after five years!!  So dope and I’m so happy for them.  So Mosiah will be a dope baptism next week and the best part is his family will be reactivated because of him.  My comp Elder Jackman is good too…we are very different in personality but he's cool.  So all is well and loving life!!  Love you friends and fam!   My camera is still broken so I haven't taken a pic in like 4 months sorry fam!

 

Love,

Elder Call