First, thank you for your help with the Judas thing, but I wasnt able to have that lesson because I got transfered (to be explained later).
So, my last adventure (5 minutes ago):
We were in the church and we needed to get to the internet place, it started raining, we didnt have umbrellas, it started raining harder... As of right now I am soaking wet, head to toe, and I just ran through buckets of falling water and the streets are literally rivers... I am soaked. This is not an exaggeration, The water was to my knees and the same amount was (and still is) falling from the sky. It probably wasnt the smartest idea, but hey, this is the only time we have to email so it was now or never... and hey, we made it.
So I got transfered on Wednesday! I had to travel 61/2 hours on a bus by myself to get here, but I made it!
I am in a town called Volcán. It is located next to an active volcano, and I think it is actually on a volcano too, but of that I am not sure, just something I heard. This is actually one of the 2 areas in Panamá that gets cold, and it has been a little chilly. The area is absolutely beautiful! They farm strawberries more than anything. There are horses everywhere! When I first got to the area and saw the horses I couldnt help but think of mom, and how much I miss yall... My house is decently bigger than the last one. I have a working shower and it has hot water! Well, its like sort of warm water, but it is still a lot better than before. I traded a working toilet for a working shower. Yeah, our toilet doesnt work... not going to explain how we deal with that one.. also, I have been humbled, in the last area I was upset that I had to pay someone to clean my clothes, but here, we have no one, and only a sink and our hands, so yeah, I am done complaining about that one.
My new companion is so awesome! Her name is Hermana Alvarenga and she is from El Salvador. We are like the exact same height and we have the same way of thinking and we have the same desire to work hard and follow the rules. It is so great! The Lord really blessed us this transfer. My area is the entire city of Volcán and it includes the neighboring cities as well. It is HUGE! We are the only missionaries in the entire area. I have no idea how we are going to be able to cover the whole thing... only with the help of the Lord. So, my area is famous for North Americans who have come down to Panamá for retirement. There are a lot of people here who speak English which isnt the greatest because I need to practice my Spanish, but its also really fun to teach the gospel in English.. my companion doesnt know a lick of English but she is practicing. We are helping eachother. We have a Branch here and it is a little bigger than what we had in Bocus del Toro. The Asistence of members is about 60 every week. The members are so nice and we have meals practically every lunch and dinner. We are working on using the members more. We have one family that is in our Branch that doesnt speak practically any Spanish. They are a retired couple with a dependent child who is going to turn 26 on May 20... so close. They are super nice and this last Sunday they had me translate for them. Their daughter sat with me the whole time and talked to me.. she is pretty cool. They give us luch every Sunday and I had my first American meal that didnt have rice or chicken! They made German Pancakes... oh my goodness they have never tasted so good! Also, they told me that the water isnt safe, like all water in Panamá has parasites, but they told me that if I think that I have them they have the medicine for it and that I should start buying bottled water.. so yeah.
We have one investigator named Diana and she wants to be baptized, but this last Saturday we had a lesson with her about the Law of Chastity and she doesnt want to get married, and she told us she doesnt think she can live it because she is afraid of commiting to it and then breaking it... so that really puts a stumbling block in her baptism, but she said she would pray about it. We talked about repentance and the importance of trying to change. We will never change if we dont first try, and if we fail, we try again, and God will help make it a little easier each time we put our faith in Him. She has been going to church and all the members know her, so we have been praying that God will answer her prayers, and if yall could pray for her as well I would really appreciate it.
We have another investigator named Erick. He loves to TALK! That is his only problem. We had a lesson with him on Friday, and when I would talk (I was very direct with him, I have never been that direct with an investigator before, but I felt it was necessary) he would listen and you could tell he was feeling the spirit, but he didnt let it sink in. When I paused to let him think about it, there he goes talking on another topic. He has way too many thoughts.. we are working with him though.
I absolutely love my area! There are things that are better and things that are worse, but the trick I have learned is just to love it from the start. Embrace every moment, because each moment (good or bad) is going to pass and I want to look back knowing that I did all I could to find the good and the miracles in every minute of every day. I dont want to have a bad day on my mission. Yes, days are hard, but there are always miracles that we can see.
I hope everything is going good back at home! I love yall and hope this next week is great! Hey Weston, that is super cool you lost your tooth. I hope for your sake another one decides to grow there.
I love you all and you are always in my prayers! Talk to you next week!
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