The Week of the Family

Two weeks ago was the International Week of the Family.  Each branch of the church was encouraged to plan activities throughout the week.  We had a cultural/talent show on Friday night.  It was so much fun.  We had lots of dances.  The Relief Society did an Arab dance (I'm hoping that doesn't translate to belly dance :))  We had lots of fun at the practices.  The youth did a couple of folk dances.  Some people sang and our resident musician played the violin.  Mark has a video of the Arabic dance.  

(I'm way in the back)

On Saturday we had all sorts of activities at the Church.  We had relay races, an activity to make a Family Home Evening assignment chart and we played all sorts of games: board games, volleyball and football.  It was supposed to start at 2 p.m.  It didn't really get going until 3:30 but lasted until about 9 p.m.  

The first relay race was blowing flour out of a cup to get to the candy.  Mark did not win.

We had so much fun all afternoon and into the evening.

The young woman in the middle, Susana, with the pink tank top is getting baptized this Saturday.

We finally made it to the beach on our last preparation day.... Mariato

The water made such a cool sound as it would come up over these rocks and go back out.  It was a sort of clicking sound.  It poured before we could get to the other beach.  

Mark and I were able to go to Panama City this past week to the temple.  It is such a beautiful, peaceful place.  There's a Jewish cemetery next to it, so it really is quiet and peaceful.  On the temple grounds there is a chapel for weekly worship.  There is also this building behind Mark which includes a Guest House and store.  The Guest House is beautiful.  They have rooms so that people who are traveling to the temple can stay overnight.  We stayed in one of the rooms and it was beautiful.  There was a queen size bed, little dining table, kitchenette and bathroom with HOT water!  There is a cafeteria on the main floor but it's mostly for people to do their own cooking.  There are gathering places all around.  There is a Family History Center on the main floor also.  We had a great time.

I've mentioned before that it is hard to find addresses, they are more like poor directions, "Behind the school, house #35"  problem- there are a few schools and most of the houses don't have numbers. The way to find people is to get in the general area and start asking if people know the family.  You can go around in circles before success.  We had this experience last week.  We were trying to find members in this one area.  We actually found quite a few.  One woman was so sweet.  She was almost tearful at our coming.  She said she hadn't seen anyone from church for a long time.  As I was standing there with the sweat pouring down my brow, I was humbled by the opportunity I have to bring a word of comfort, a message from Heavenly Father to them.  You never know who is out there praying for something.  The Lord answers prayers through people.  We are the answers to prayers sometimes.  I'm so grateful for a Father in Heaven who hears and answers prayers.  Who loves me, who loves the people I meet.  It is an honor to serve him here in Panama.

It's springtime!

I know I put that it was winter so you're probably wondering.  The daily temperature is between 93 and 100 every day.  The only difference is now it is the beginning of the rainy season.  When the rainy season is in full swing it should rain every day.  For the past few weeks it has rained a couple of times a week.  Perfect.  The cool thing is that things are turning green, trees are blooming.  It's spring!  it has been interesting to see the transformation.  Some of the trees that looked like they were dead are now sprouting flowers.  They're beautiful.  Flowers are popping up.  I'm really enjoying it.

So we've had two great activities at the church the past two weeks.  The Primary (for ages 18 months to 12 years old) had a really fun activity last Saturday.  We had a great turn out and I think all the kids had fun.  We had relay races, the older kids had a meeting about Faith in God and we had fun refreshments.  We have the cutest kids here in our branch.

This past week has been the Week of the Family.  We had a cultural night Friday night and Today we had games, a FHE assignment chart activity, dinner and lots of fun.

I was sick with food poisoning we think on Thursday night.  It kept me down for about a day.  Glad to be feeling better.

A Mighty Change

This has been a special week.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we do many different things as missionaries.  We visit members and try to offer support if they are going through difficult times in addition to teaching people about our church.  Our purpose is:

"To invite them to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel 

through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, 

receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end." 

This week we have seen the hand of the Lord in a few lives.  One involves a young man who truly wants to change.  This week we saw the difference the Lord can make in a life when they turn to Him and invite Him in.  

At a recent General Conference of our church, Elder Uchdorf shared his experience in Germany during WWII.  He commented on the total destruction of Dresden and especially a church there.  He recently visited Dresden and the city had been completely rebuilt.  He also commented that the church that had been reduced to rubble, was built again. 

"As I pondered the history of Dresden and marveled at the ingenuity and resolve of those who restored what had been so completely destroyed, I felt the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit. Surely, I thought, if man can take the ruins, rubble, and remains of a broken city and rebuild an awe-inspiring structure that rises toward the heavens, how much more capable is our Almighty Father to restore His children who have fallen, struggled, or become lost?

It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem. It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned, or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity, or turned away from God can be rebuilt. Save those rare sons of perdition, there is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored.

The joyous news of the gospel is this: because of the eternal plan of happiness provided by our loving Heavenly Father and through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, we can not only be redeemed from our fallen state and restored to purity, but we can also transcend mortal imagination and become heirs of eternal life and partakers of God’s indescribable glory."

I know God lives.  As one of our missionaries in our meeting yesterday said, "I know God's voice".  I too know His voice.  I know how to recognize his Spirit.  He lives.  He loves us.  He loves me, he loves you.  I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to serve Him.

PS  I can't help but include pictures of our wonderful, sweet members. :)

Winter has arrived!

This is looking out our front door.  When it rains it pours.  Our front yard is flooded every time.  I'm hoping it won't overflow and go into our house.  The title for this post is "Winter" has arrived.  In Spanish the word "invierno" translates to winter.  At least that is what I was taught.  What it means in Panama and many other Latin countries that don't get cold is that it is the rainy season.  

We have been told that in the rainy season it will rain every day.  Sometimes all day.  It hasn't rained every day yet but it has started to rain a few times a week.  The good part is, it gets a little cooler.  Sometimes right before it rains it is so humid.  But once it rains it's nice and fresh.  Everything is starting to get green.  Some of the trees that were just branches and you thought they were dead are now blossoming.  It is getting really green and beautiful.

We had a zone meeting this week.  I love seeing the other missionaries.  There are about 23 of us in our zone.  We meet about once a month.  I just love these missionaries.  I love hearing their stories.  They come from all over Latin America.  Most of the missionaries in our zone are from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.  When we get together they love to kid each other and joke around.

This is a picture of some of our missionaries in our zone.  This was a service project that they helped with in Chitre.

One of the things I love about Panama is that they love color, at least on their houses.