Katie's Mission Blog: January 9, 2024-January 17, 2024-Week 36-San Miguelito (Wednesday P-day Because of Transfers)

Letter to everyone:

I am heading into my sixth transfer in the mission field, and seventh overall. I am staying here in San Vicente, but with a new companion, Hermana Jackson. I don't know much about her, but I know she is really sweet and nice! Hermana Christensen is going to Tocumen, so she will be in the zone over and hopefully we will see each other...at least before the mission is over.

I can't believe I am this far into my mission, and approaching halfway. I had the opportunity to talk in church today about lasting conversion. I have really seen on my mission who God wants me and knows I can be. I am so happy to share this joy with others and help them to see that God has a plan for them and they have a divine potential. I managed to talk for 18 minutes haha, I guess I am really passionate about being a missionary and staying converted forever. The mission is the best thing I have ever done with my time!

We are getting ready for a baptism tonight! I am so grateful to know without a doubt that God is a God of miracles. Every humble prayer we offer, is answered in the Lord's time. We always pray to find the Lord's chosen -- and He always provides. Miracles are wrought by the sweet power of prayer. Reymundo and Mercedes we found since their grandson is a new member of the church, and they accepted so readily and willingly. They love the Book of Mormon and they know that they will be baptized into the church with every truth and every doctrine that Jesus Christ taught! They took what they had and their knowledge, and added their faith with what Christ's church had to offer.

I have been reading all of President Nelson's talks for this month of January. There are quite a lot...111 to be exact. But, one really stood out to me this week was called Be Thou an Example of the Believers. It inspires me to maintain my conversion and always share this message with others. I invite you all to lengthen your stride and share what you have with others. There are people in your path who need this message!

Letter to family:

Anyways, this week was my last week with the amazing Hermana Christensen. I grew to love her even more, and am very sad to see her go. I am staying here, in San Vicente with another companion, Hermana Jackson. I have only had a few interactions with her, but I believe she is really sweet and nice. I am staying Hermana Leader, so I will continue to do exchanges and go to the city for conferences and help the Hermanas when they need it.

Tonight we are having a baptism of our friends, Mercedes and Reymundo! Originally, Erick and Milagros were supposed to be baptized too, but they went to the interior (the west side of the country that is not city and really pretty and peaceful) and so now they will be baptized at some future date. But, finding Mercedes and Reymundo is so cool and special! They are the grandparents of our recent convert (Keller), and we just thought it would be good to go see where they leave and meet them. We were told they were super catholic. Basically they are only as catholic as having a rosary and a photo of the virgin Mary in their house and the last super (but every house has a last super picture). But, we asked them to be baptized and follow Jesus Christ in our first visit and they were like "debemos ser bautizados (we must be baptized)" and since then we have visited them every day and they are so humble, so willing, and just know that this is something different. Reymundo has already read all of 1 Nephi, so that is amazing, and he reads to his wife, Mercedes.

This week we got to get let in on some Panamanian culture -- making bollos. Basically it is like a tamale, with nothing in it. We became experts as we made them with our friends Erick and Milagros and their family (the family Cumbrera). All you do is grind up corn, add butter and water and salt (or coconut and tons of sugar) and form them and then wrap them in palm leaves. It was super easy. They are alright...I made the mistake of eating two and was about to throw up. They are just really filling and my stomach has shrunk here I think. And to top it off, I was given grape soda, then topped off after I chugged it (because fun fact i do not like grape soda, it tastes so bad). But, I made it through and I survived.

I got to talk in church this week and somehow managed to talk for 18 minutes...whoops. I was told to talk for 12. I guess I am a chatter now. But I just talked about lasting conversion and how we can stay converted forever. It went good, though with lots of grammatical errors. It really is the daily and consistent efforts to read the scriptures, go to church, pray and press forward. Ask, seek, knock! Doctrine and Covenants 9:8.

We are still having a lot of success visiting less active people and then starting to teach their families. There are people in the ward who have been helping us find them and letting us know where they live, and then we always visit them and they are so loving. The problem is that there used to be tons of branches in all the areas of our HUGE area. Then, they combined it all into one, in a church building that was way far away. People didn't have the money to get there, so they became inactive. Now, we have a bus that gets us there for free. But, people have sadly fallen out of the habit of going and reading the scriptures and practicing their religion. But, there are still many gems to be found --- like we taught this one lady just because everything fell through and she came to church the next day...that has never ever happened to me! And that lesson was funny because I TOTALLY screwed up the first vision scripture because I am a little out of practice... I don't think I have said it since my second transfer anyways....yeah it was terrible. It jumped all over the place. But the point is, God will work miracles. He doesn't need us, but He lovingly us lets us be part of the work.

Something that has been my favorite part of Panama is the conversion stories of other people. The church only came here in the 70s, so practically everyone is a convert, or their grandparents or parents were converts. I like to hear how people chose and fought for their testimony and overcame obstacles and how they have been forever changed for it. We also have been hearing a lot of how people met their spouse stories, and they are pretty cute, but they have really made me think about what type of person I will marry one day. That's a future Katie problem. But there was a cool story about this couple that fasted together to know if they should get married and they both had the same dream of them in the temple getting married. So they got civilly married because there wasn't a temple in Panama. But one day she was reading in the Liahona a talk from President Hinckley about true and lasting love is being sealed in the temple for eternity, and to get married in the temple if couples hadn't yet. That night when her husband got home she said "cuantos me amas (how much do you love me)" and was like "ẗhen take me to the temple!!! " and so they went to Costa Rica to get married. It is worth every penny to be married in the temple of the Lord. It was funny too because she always explained how she never thought it was that important until the stake president sat her down and read with her in doctrine and covenants 132 and was very direct with her. Sometimes I want to do that with our friends too, but I don't want to come up too bible bashy. But no one can argue with the word of God either...

Random:

We found cherries this week! And they were SO good! They were even better than Spokane cherries

Making bollos with the family Cumbrera