September 25, 2024-September 30, 2024-Week 73-Loma Nueve

Hey! So here we go! Ok, this was the first week with my new (and last comp), Hermana Romero. She's from San Vicente, El Salvador. She's 19, and has 4 siblings, and worked before her mission. She's in her fourth transfer, and she had three beforehand in the area where I started (Guadalupe), so it's fun having so much in common and members that we love. Last transfer with Hermana Shirley, we covered all of Vista Alegre 1, now it is divided up and we are covering 1B. But it's kinda like a mini white wash because we didn't work too much in this side, so we asked a lot of references and met lots of new members, and just taught SO MANY new friends. But with the division, we have all of our baptismal dates and the better house, so who won?? I've been thinking a lot about this transfer, and how I need to make the most of it. I honestly thought Hermana Christensen and I would be Hermana leader and stuff like that, but what the Lord has truly taught me is HE IS A GOD OF MIRACLES. And being a God of miracles, He will ALWAYS give us miracles, but not always the miracles we wanted but the miracle we NEED. So, I am trying to note down why I needed this transfer, and with who, and with what assignment, and where. On a fun note, I lost my voice all of Friday, and have been a little sick for three weeks. But now I am getting better, so we are on the up and up! I have been reading the BOM all in English but with the lens of... 1) what would my life be like without the Book of Mormon? 2) what would I not know? 3) what would I not have? I think this has been the best way I have ever read the book of Mormon, and has helped me to understand the necessity of the BOM in my life. I know it. I how and why I can maintain my constant testimony that He lives.

My new comp, Hermana Romero

Lessons with Hanna and Eduardo Hartman

Cute notes from FatiMOM

Walking to our baptism with Roxana and her son, Gael

The baptism of Rudelinda Rodriguez and Eusebio Morales

 Our friend Roxana

Mamá Fatima

Mirror selfie with the Hermanas of Vista Alegre 1, Hermana Romero, Shirley, and Bran

ITS GETTING TOO REAL

Where I live, Valle de los Cerezos Manzana 1

Looking and waking up our friends Sunday morning

September 17, 2024-September 24, 2024-Week 72-Loma Nueve (Tuesday P-Day)

Katie didn't write a letter this week

The elders from the islands have been helping us with our Guna friends, We are so thankful for them.

The baptism of Aries Cañizales

The baptism of Guillermo Lio

At our baptism with Elder Loiciga and Elder Campbell

 Rudelinda and Eusebio got married!!!!

 With our Guna friends

With our friend Roxana, her son Gael, and her dad Bolivar

With Alicia, our recent convert

Last full day together before transfers

One last gelato before transfer

September 10, 2024-September 16, 2024-Week 71-Loma Nueve

Another good week to be a missionary as always. We had a lot of good miracles that happened, interviews in the city with President, and we even got to walk around the temple grounds with some of our friends who are getting to know the church. 

Some good miracles were the following...

1) so some lady in our ward kept telling us how there were these native people (guna's) who had come to the ward a few times and that we were teaching them. Hermana Shirley and I were so confused and like "uhhh we have no idea who you are talking about" and the hermana in the ward didn't respond back and we forgot about the whole thing. Until one night we were talking about how we can meet some of our baptismal goals, and how supposedly, there was a couple coming to church. The next morning we resolved to find them. As we walked by the fruit stand, someone stopped us, asking how they could go to the temple the next day. Thinking they were a member, I just gave them the bus schedule, but then realized they weren't a member, and it was the husband of this couple!!! Literally who we had been talking about the night before. We set to visit them, and the craziest thing is the husband can speak a little spanish, but the wife, NOTHING. They can only speak the native dialect from the islands, and it is not at all like the spanish language. So in lessons we just speak spanish and have someone from the ward who speaks the dialect translate, and literally not understanding anything at all. And get this, they are married even!

2) once again, we were laying in bed thinking about meeting our baptismal goals. We had set the goal for two this coming Saturday on the 21, but it seems that only our friend Aries would be getting baptized. My companion is so full of faith and that night she told the Lord that we would be willing to do what it takes to meet this goal. The following morning, a friend, Guillermo, shows up at church, and has come another time before and is friends with members. We taught him the restoration after church, the necessity of prophet, and the vitality of covenants, and he said "yeah i wanna be baptized as soon as possible" and we said "this Saturday then". So yeah! Two baptisms this weekend, and two other one's in this week to end up the transfer. It has been a really special transfer to see how many people are ready to receive the gospel, and how willing God is to work with us if we commit ourselves to Him. 

We also had the baptism of our friend Samay!

I am working on focusing on the Atonement of Jesus Christ at the end of my mission, and am listening to all the talks from general conference. I really liked this talk this week, and this line by Elder Maxwell:

"I testify that, though he never needed it, he gave to us what we desperately needed—that program of progress—repentance, which beckons us to betterness. I thank him for helping me, even forgiving me, when I fall short, when I testify of things known but which are beyond the border of my behavior, and for helping me to advance that border, bit by bit. His relentless redemptiveness exceeds my recurring wrongs."

“Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1976/04/jesus-of-nazareth-savior-and-king?id=p16&lang=eng#p16

I know this to be true! Repentance is spiritual progress, and the promise of receiving forgiveness is infinite thanks to our Savior!

Cpeccc

New phone???

Temple visit with all our friends!

Eating ice cream, and also my TAN haha

Ready to be baptized

The baptism of Samay Eliza Aguilar Castro

Post baptism!

Looking for our friends on a SUNday

Handing out pamphlets with Fatimom

Our miracle of Guillermo is gonna be baptized SATURDAY

Dinner on Sunday with the ZLs

On our way to the beach for p-day. Seat belts don't exist in Panama.

The beachhhh