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

Celebrating 28 years! (week 86)

Hey friends and wonderful family, 

Wow so it was another exciting week just like every week out here in the best place in the world.  Changuinola is the bees knees and the cats pajamas at the same time.  People are so awesome and the branch sucks but some members I freaking love and are so down to help. The more time you have in the mission the better relationship you build with the members and the more willing they are to help you.  So yesterday we went with an awesome member named Hermano Piti to do visits all afternoon.  I haven't been driven in a car for that long in a while and we got to know sooo many people.   It also taught me a lot of principles that are really important for me like we talked a lot about the quote by Jesus that "its easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into heaven". It was interesting to hear his remarks and concepts on the story and it really made me think about the importance of not being selfish. Man the mission just teaches so much and yet there is sooo much I need to learn haha.  Wow so update is that these scabies are not going away!  I think its because of all the contact I have with these nbobes, who tend to be dirtier than kunas (which is really hard to imagine). So one guy was saying that the best cure for scabies is to get this type of leaf called "matarata" (not the best name hahha) and to boil a bunch of the leaves and rub them on my body. So I was in the shower last night probably looking like a crazy person rubbing bright green leaves on my skin. At the end I turned literally a tint of green haha and I pray these freaking things go away. I had to hunt the "matarata" down in the jungle for like 20 min so it better be worth it.  So finally we had a freaking BAPTISM!! his name is Christian and he's 17 years old. We found him living by himself in a house basically on house arrest. He had just gotten out of prison in David for gang violence and robbery, yup.. so it was a loong call with pres and it took a lot of convincing on my part but pres has a lot of confidence in me though so he got baptized yesterday. It was sooo awesome and in two weeks he's turned his life around...he hadn't abused drugs or been out doing things in a while before we met him.  He fully repented and it was soo awesome to see his changes and now we are talking about him going on a mission.  Only prob is he has gang tattoos still and there are a great number of people trying to kill him.  But he has really become a disciple of Jesus and I'm so happy for him and I will always write and support that kid...such a good friend of mine. Ya so all is well...love life and the mission and couldn't be happier. The people here are awesome as ever so ya that's all I got.  Love you all have an awesome week!!

Elder Call

Caroline's wedding (week 85)

Hey Friends and Family!

 

Well another great week out here in bocas del toro! Conference was soooo freaking good and it was probably my favorite since being on the mission.  Every 2 hour session seemed to be five minutes for me and the spirit was insane for every talk that was given. Of course, I missed like 3 or 4 talks due to the fact that we were running around trying to get investigators.  In the end a lot of people we are teaching came to watch with us and it went super great!  I especially loved Holland ’s message about the power of forgiveness and the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ.  Also they highlighted a lot about the importance of the sacrament and the need to always "stay on the covenant path". I freaking loved it and some of the best lessons I have ever taught were in between sessions of conference.  I love and also sustain Russell Nelson as the prophet of the church, and also of course I thought it was insane the change to two hour meetings and the new "name change" of the church. He is truly an inspired man and a huge testimony to me about the revelation that our modern prophets receive. Baptisms will happen this weekend and I am super excited...about time!  My new companion is coming from the city and his name is Elder Jackman.  I'm excited to meet him.  It was the best being with Elder Amaya and his love and patience is sooo Christ-like.  Well I am pumped for this week!!  Have a great week everyone!

 

Elder Call

Track assignment (week 84)

Hey Friends and Family! 

Wow, it was a crazy week and I will tell you what, the mission, even with the time I have here, doesn't get easy! Every day provides new obstacles and challenges in finding the chosen people of God who are willing to accept his restored gospel.  Man, my birthday was good... 21 feels sooo old. Enjoyed it by having an amazing day working to help others come unto Christ.  I did however, change it up a little with my favorite lunch in panama (besides Dulemasi from san blas) of beef soup with extra yuka and special rice with a Vigor Malta to drink.  It was a super spiritual and special day and I'm so honored to have passed my 21st birthday here. Man had sooo many baptisms programmed but they all managed to fall.  Familia Luis pushed it back a week and the mother of 8, Maria Serrano, had some "women issues" and felt like she had to push it off for a time as well.  Not guna lie...I got down on myself Saturday afternoon when I realized the sudden and sad news about our baptisms but it didn't hinder my faith even a little. I know there are soo many chosen people of god in this area and we just gotta get more focused on being guided by the spirit. Man, so hoping for an amazing next week and I'm definitely guna enjoy general conference. It will be my 4th and last in panama :(  Next week is changes and most likely Elder Amaya and I have changes and he leaves because he's been here a while but man he has been the absolute best to me and I have learned sooo much from him.  Looking on the bright side though, I'll have a stable house to stay and sleep at with Elder Amaya's family when I come back and visit panama...grateful I won't just have to bum it with old converts and members hahaha. Wow, also special shout out to my cousin Nathan Doxey!!!! I literally cried when I found out you got your call here.  Just know you are coming to the best place and mission in the world.  Out of 10s of 1000s of missionaries you got called to the best mission where only 160 missionaries are blessed to serve.  You will also have a little time with the best mission pres ever, President Current.  

Love you all have a  good week!

Elder Call

 

Happy Birthday!!!!!!! (Week 83)

Hey friends and fam!

 

Wow, what a last couple of weeks and sorry for not writing last week. We had to go to the City of David, like 5 hours away on bus, for something and that took the whole pday.  Wow, so much has happened in just 2 short weeks haha. The week before last I already forgot and it all just seems like a blur hahaha.  This week was super cool in terms of the work and we are seeing more success than I think this area has ever seen before.  This area is known to not baptize a ton but we have been going super hard and it is all paying off. We had 10 investigators in church this Sunday and 5 of them have baptism dates for this weekend. I'm soo pumped and I know we can have them all.  It was a huge surprise but last week we felt an impression to go to a giant wood house and leave a blessing.  Come to find out that it's a family of literally 2000 people and one of their kids is serving a mission in Guatemala.  So that's soo dope because no one else in the family are members and we are going to make that missionary's dreams come true by helping his family.  So five of them went to church on Sunday, in spite of the fact that they are protestants, and we taught probably the most spiritual class yet on repentance...the spirit was soo strong.  We are visiting them today so i'm praying every minute that they can be baptized soon too.  Wow, we also got a text from some missionaries serving at temple square (didn't even think that was possible) and they said that they have been online chatting with a girl for the past month and the girl wants to get baptized.  Such a funny miracle, out of all places, chatting with a girl from Bocas del Toro, Panama haha.  So that will be fun and we are going to visit her tomorrow for the first time to see what's up.  Man time is just flying by and I just feel like there is not enough time in a day to visit everyone we need to. We are so busy up here and I have freaking loved this area sooo much. Comp is still the man and we get along great and I have no complaints about anything right now.  Also the week before last we had to go to David for the zone conference.  It was awesome and we all learned a ton about how to retain more converts and finding more families to teach.  Man, for lunch pres surprised us with super cheese pizzas from little ceasers...like idk where it even came from...haha...but it was actually so freaking good and I had almost a whole pizza to myself.  Man, then like an hour later we loaded up for the five hour trip back to the area and I was soooo sick...haha...I was still so full I could barely breath.  I was letting loose soo much gas that everyone on the whole bus was complaining...so grateful to my father in heaven that no one found out it was me hahaha.  Soo funny but yup sorry that's all I got.  Love u all have a good week as usual!  Big shout out to all my fam that has been celebrating their birthdays, Ella, Natali, Jared, and Grandma Brown in heaven. 

Love u all, Elder Call

Ella's Birthday (week 82)

Hey Friends and fam! 

   Wow super good week out here in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro. Good time with my comp, Elder Amaya. This man is teaching me all sorts of patience, literally a hippie, bob marley missionary, which i really need sometimes out here when the people we teach litterally sometimes make me feel like teaching a wall would be more productive hahaha.  So we have been working a lot this week with an amazing couple ana and demetrio. They are super special and have now gone to church twice but man its been hard, they still feel like they aren't ready and are unsure about baptism and feel like we are pressuring too much. We found them a while ago and I would have dropped them by now but there is something special about them and their already married, 1 for 4583465234 families that we have contacted that are married and not going to church. Demetrio also drank a lot but he is transforming his life and dropped it, so im hoping they get baptized soon cus the branch needs some priesthood. also we had a super cool baptism this week of an 18 year old kid named albert. He's great and was a miracle we found someone so spiritually prepared for our message. Hes soo humble, really sarcastic, which got on my nerves but there was no water in the church so we had to go to the river and it was an awesome baptism. He leans over to us before and just said how happy he was and it made me feel the spirit so strong. So it was awesome and i got my camera working again so i will send pics of it all soon. This friday is multi-zone our conference in david so we gotta take a chiva for 5 hours thursday and sleep at another missionaries house to catch it but im excited to do the trip again hahaha. Well thats all I got, Love u friends and fam! have a great week!

Hello September (week 81)

Hey friends and wonderful family!

     Wow its been quite the week around here in Changuinola, getting to know the area, members, and my new comp.  Its really cool here and the people are soo humble and kind.  Pretty much everyone receives you but the trick is keeping them interested and helping them to understand. You gotta have a ton of energy here because the Ngobes are quiet and shy people.  We have had some awesome experiences and this week was such a tease for success.  We found soo many people who have gone to church including all the people that have been to church but have not been baptized.  I tried to use the convincing powers to help the people come unto christ and by Thursday we were planning on having 4 baptisms.  But in the end the people didn't have the desire they needed and I humbled myself and learned for the 1 millionth time that it has to be the spirit in the conversion and not me.  Super pumped though because we helped a young family get to church who are really interested.  Unfortunately, the dad drinks so he won’t be able to get baptized right now but the wife has a date for next weekend and we are hoping she will get baptized.  The kids are too young, but the family is awesome and i am praying Anna can make it strong to her baptism date.     Wow, so president had a conference with the leaders of the mission and he was telling us some new focuses in the mission.   There are soooo many recent converts in the mission and the new focus is using the converts to help baptize.   The mission of Panama has been the best baptizing mission in Latin Central America by like double every month and now there are soo many converts who are not getting the visits like they were before.   So we are hoping that changes and we can balance our time but still have the same success as before.      My comp Elder Amaya is freaking awesome and his humor is soo great.   Such a laid-back dry Panamanian sense of humor…it’s been a lot of fun. I’m super excited for the week and this new area is soo dope and I’m excited for the success we are going to have here.   Thanks everyone for your support and prayers…love you all have a good week! 
Elder Call