Katie's Mission Blog: July 4-July 10, 2023-Week 9-Guadalupe

Title: gods in the details

This is the scripture that summarizes my week!:

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

I have seen many small miracles of the Lords love for me as I look for them here in Panama in the hot heat, my broken Spanish, and the newness of everything! Here are some --

Free rides, free avocados, not getting in car accidents that were very close to car accidents, free chocolate, sunsets, members coming to lessons, being able to accompany on piano, raining after we get to where we need to go, women walking with us at night when its dark to make us feel safer, being given the aux cord in taxis, a family making my favorite meal, no scary dogs biting us, 20+ contacts everyday, personal study!

God is in the small moments as well as the big if we look for Him!

Some funny moments:

- bishop getting mad at members for not singing the hymns and mandating that they need to sing

- a funny man approaching us and saying he had three wives, was Jesus Christ, offering us a smoke, and blowing in my face

- me, contacting on the bus talking to a 13 year old and then him immediately moving once a seat opened up not wanting me to talk to him

- my dress RIPPING on the bus today

- being catcalled in front of members all day Sunday. "Fula" this and "fula" that among other things...

I am understanding a lot of Spanish and seeing who i want to be! I love my mission and love what i have already learned!

Exchanges with Hermana Lopez. Our companions, Hermana Guarin and Hermana Anderson, are Hermana Leaders (that's what we call the Sister Training Leaders in our mission) and they had leadership conference, so we were put together. I was pretty nervous since I had only two weeks into the mission field and was going to spend the whole day in my area with a missionary with the same time as me that only knows Spanish. All went well and we barely got lost.

Out in the boonies of our area called Capira! It is very beautiful

Sunset in Valle Bonito, a neighborhood close to our house

Riding solo in the bus while the driver cracks a cold one

Riding solo on the bus with the most outrageously loud music. People in Panama love their loud music and their speakers. They literally could have no food to have their family, but they have huge large speakers.

All the hermanas in our zone went and surprised Hermana Gamez for her birthday and ate breakfast at her house to celebrate.

Costa Rican candy that the Medina family gave us. They knew that my dad had served in Costa Rica and they thought it would be fun to gift me some so I could tell him about it

Hermana Geovany Medina! She is a big Swiftie fan and was planning to go to the Eras tour concert in Brazil with some of her friends.

Bus ride to church with Lucas and Eliza Hernandez, y Yarichell Castillo. There is one bus that runs through our whole area and normally we are on the bus to church at the same time as other members of the ward.

Lessons with members Gloria, Xiomara, and our "friend" Jackie #iykyk. In the end, our sweet friend Jackie turned out to already be a baptized member, but was tragically in a car accident a month after her baptism and we believe she has some short term memory loss.