Hey family!
Ahhh I love gmail. Now I can easily send everyone my emails instead of just sending it to mom :) Wow, that´s awesome James is already a trainer! Our family rocks. I love hearing about other missionaries (I also get letters from my roommates who are on missions now) and it´s awesome seeing all the things my family and friends are learning while I´m away.
Mom, your personal prayer experience sounds awesome. That was one of my favorite talks from conference but I need to apply it more.
This week we had some awesome experiences. One morning we were studying as a companionship in Chapter 1 in Preach My Gospel about our purpose as missionaries. We started talking about why we were here, and what we had hoped to get out of our missions when we left. Then one of my companions asked if we´d share our testimonies together and we all ended up bearing really powerful testimonies to each other. It´s interesting because we share our testimonies every day, but this time it was different because we´re all members and missionaries so we said things we wouldn´t normally go into detail about in a lesson.
Another awesome experience we had was teaching a partly inactive family on Saturday night, familia Campos. Only the mom and two of the 8 kids are active, and we taught almost the whole family when we visited Saturday night. We taught about the importance of the Restoration, and then we started talking about the sabbath and how important it is to go to church. One of the kids is 19 and has been inactive for about 8 years I think. My companion shared a scripture in Mark 14:37 and asked how much time the Lord asked of his disciples in that moment. Then she asked him ¨If Jesus Christ asked you for an hour, would you give it to Him?¨ He said yes, and then she said ¨We are representatives of Jesus Christ, and we´re here right now to tell you that he´s asking you for an hour tomorrow.¨ It doesn't translate very well, but the Spirit was so strong it was crazy, and it reminded me that we really are the voice and the hands of the Lord in this area in Panama. What a responsibility. After she basically told him that he had the knowledge and now he had to make the choice, and we finished and left. And yesterday at church, they all came! Yayyy!
Life is good.
Welp I'm almost out of time but I love you all and I'm so grateful for your letters and support!!
Love,
Hermana Dance
1 Nefi 14:14
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Greetings from Tucomen!!
What up family?
Good news, myldsmail has gone Google. It´s like a little comfort fairy sent from home because I feel like I'm using my normal email again, wahoo! Plus I can send cool smiley faces again . The only part we're missing is Google chat....sigh. Haha.
Being in a trio again was a little weird to get used to but I love my companions and since there´s three of us, there´s always something to talk about. At night it feels like a slumber party. I thought our area was pretty small but it's actually pretty huge and ripe for the harvest. Ha but seriously, more than ever these days I'm realizing how much the Lord really prepares people to hear and accept the gospel.
This week we found Caridad and her sister Karol. Hermana Herrera followed a prompting to turn around to contact Caridad and she let us in and we taught her and her sister. When we asked them to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet Karol told us she didn't need to because what more of an answer could she have than that we showed up outside her house? She said she's been having a lot of problems lately and has been praying and feels like we were an answer to her prayers. When we asked if she'd come to church she said yes so emphatically and said she'd go because she needs to and wants to be closer to God. Yesterday we passed by to bring her and her kids were waiting outside ready to go. She told us they'd been ready since 10 a.m. (we have church 12-3 here). She was excited about everything and in the investigator's class she basically bore her testimony about how we were sent from God to help her, how she feels something inside her (she called it a flame) and how she never accepted other missionaries or even went to church when her other sister or mom invited her to the adventist church. She's awesome.
Other news: Carnaval started on Saturday and goes until Tuesday but we stay away from the crazy areas so we haven't really noticed. The only good part about Carnaval is that you can spray random strangers with hoses or squirtguns and dump buckets of water on them for 4 days straight just because it's Carnaval. If I weren't a missionary I think I'd be sitting at the corner throwing buckets of water at the buses with all the kids, haha. So far we haven't really been hit just because most of them know we're from a church and they're more respectful, but in other areas of Panama they crack eggs over the hair of all the women-sick.
My area is like a giant suburb of Panama and there are neighborhoods called Barriadas with thousands of the exact same house crammed together without yards. Sometimes it makes me think of Mordor because someone is always burning garbage or weeds wherever we go. It's definitely dirtier than Volcan and I feel like I'm in a different mission. Since we've never lived in a super hot area I'm discovering all the problems my body has with heat. I think I'm allergic to sweat because I have a crazy rash, and my extremities are usually swollen all day. Gross.
Plus the mosquitos are eating me alive because there's no wind to keep them off here.
BUT, I still know God loves me :) Haha. And I'm hoping my body will adjust quickly to all the climate changes.
Welp I'm out of time but I will leave you with what I learned from the scriptures the other day. I started the Book of Mormom over and this time I was wondering why the Lord didn't just tell Nephi before they left Jerusalem the first time that they had to get the plates and that they should bring Ishmael's family? Yeah, part of it was probably to test their faith but I thought there must be another reason. Then I read in 1 Nephi 5:8 where Sariah talks about how now that her sons have returned safely, she knows God will deliver them and she knows God commanded Lehi to leave Jerusalem. This means that before all that happened, she didn't really have a testimony, or didn't really trust that Lehi was really commanded of God. Maybe she was even a little bit like Lot's wife, wanting to go back to Jerusalem. But after this experience, her testimony was firm. She needed that experience to gain her testimony. Interesante, no?
Ok well I love you all, sorry there are no pictures but I left my cord in Volcan I think so I have to wait until they send it to me here.
Keep on keepin' on!
Love,
Hermana Dance
Good news, myldsmail has gone Google. It´s like a little comfort fairy sent from home because I feel like I'm using my normal email again, wahoo! Plus I can send cool smiley faces again . The only part we're missing is Google chat....sigh. Haha.
Being in a trio again was a little weird to get used to but I love my companions and since there´s three of us, there´s always something to talk about. At night it feels like a slumber party. I thought our area was pretty small but it's actually pretty huge and ripe for the harvest. Ha but seriously, more than ever these days I'm realizing how much the Lord really prepares people to hear and accept the gospel.
This week we found Caridad and her sister Karol. Hermana Herrera followed a prompting to turn around to contact Caridad and she let us in and we taught her and her sister. When we asked them to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet Karol told us she didn't need to because what more of an answer could she have than that we showed up outside her house? She said she's been having a lot of problems lately and has been praying and feels like we were an answer to her prayers. When we asked if she'd come to church she said yes so emphatically and said she'd go because she needs to and wants to be closer to God. Yesterday we passed by to bring her and her kids were waiting outside ready to go. She told us they'd been ready since 10 a.m. (we have church 12-3 here). She was excited about everything and in the investigator's class she basically bore her testimony about how we were sent from God to help her, how she feels something inside her (she called it a flame) and how she never accepted other missionaries or even went to church when her other sister or mom invited her to the adventist church. She's awesome.
Other news: Carnaval started on Saturday and goes until Tuesday but we stay away from the crazy areas so we haven't really noticed. The only good part about Carnaval is that you can spray random strangers with hoses or squirtguns and dump buckets of water on them for 4 days straight just because it's Carnaval. If I weren't a missionary I think I'd be sitting at the corner throwing buckets of water at the buses with all the kids, haha. So far we haven't really been hit just because most of them know we're from a church and they're more respectful, but in other areas of Panama they crack eggs over the hair of all the women-sick.
My area is like a giant suburb of Panama and there are neighborhoods called Barriadas with thousands of the exact same house crammed together without yards. Sometimes it makes me think of Mordor because someone is always burning garbage or weeds wherever we go. It's definitely dirtier than Volcan and I feel like I'm in a different mission. Since we've never lived in a super hot area I'm discovering all the problems my body has with heat. I think I'm allergic to sweat because I have a crazy rash, and my extremities are usually swollen all day. Gross.
Plus the mosquitos are eating me alive because there's no wind to keep them off here.
BUT, I still know God loves me :) Haha. And I'm hoping my body will adjust quickly to all the climate changes.
Welp I'm out of time but I will leave you with what I learned from the scriptures the other day. I started the Book of Mormom over and this time I was wondering why the Lord didn't just tell Nephi before they left Jerusalem the first time that they had to get the plates and that they should bring Ishmael's family? Yeah, part of it was probably to test their faith but I thought there must be another reason. Then I read in 1 Nephi 5:8 where Sariah talks about how now that her sons have returned safely, she knows God will deliver them and she knows God commanded Lehi to leave Jerusalem. This means that before all that happened, she didn't really have a testimony, or didn't really trust that Lehi was really commanded of God. Maybe she was even a little bit like Lot's wife, wanting to go back to Jerusalem. But after this experience, her testimony was firm. She needed that experience to gain her testimony. Interesante, no?
Ok well I love you all, sorry there are no pictures but I left my cord in Volcan I think so I have to wait until they send it to me here.
Keep on keepin' on!
Love,
Hermana Dance
Monday, February 8, 2010
I think they sent me to a different mission on accident. . .
Oi!
So I think you all probably guessed from the title of my email that I got transfered....wahmp wahhhh.
It was really sad to leave Volcan and I got a glimpse of how it will probably be hard to go home. I'm really sad I won't be able to be there for the baptisms of Ladys and Luz on Friday and the baptism of Jonathan when it happens, but I know the Lord knows better than I do where I need to be and with whom so I'll trust him.
I'm now in a trio with my sister, Hermana Perez (Hermana Rodriguez trained her in Volcan the transfer before I arrived) and Hermana Herrera. They both seem awesome and I'm stoked.
I'm in Tocumen now, the area right by the airport. I seriously feel like I'm in a different mission because the only places I know are the little towns in the interior and I only know the missionaries who served in our zone there. When we got here last night I kept hearing ¨big city, downtooooown! Beepbeep, beepbeep!¨ playing in my head, haha.
It will be weird starting all over again in an area of unknowns. On the plus side, there are actual stores here, we go to a ward not a branch, and I'm pretty sure our area is smaller than Volcan and the two other towns we had in our area. And my mail will come faster because we're closer to the mission office.
Oh and before I forget, shout out to BYU 23rd Ward and all my Utah friends who sent me Christmas cards!! They just came last week but it was an excellent surprise. You all are amazing :)
Uhhh I feel all flustered and sleepy from all the traveling and new things and I can't think of anything to write. The zone is a lot bigger here and aparently there are more atheists and negative people here (in volcan everyone believes in God and is Christian). It'll be interesting adjusting to teach to the needs of the people here.
Welp, I love you all and I'm grateful for your letters and support. Next week I'll have more interesting things to tell you about and my brain won't be so confuddled. Until then, just remember the church is true!
Love,
Natalie
So I think you all probably guessed from the title of my email that I got transfered....wahmp wahhhh.
It was really sad to leave Volcan and I got a glimpse of how it will probably be hard to go home. I'm really sad I won't be able to be there for the baptisms of Ladys and Luz on Friday and the baptism of Jonathan when it happens, but I know the Lord knows better than I do where I need to be and with whom so I'll trust him.
I'm now in a trio with my sister, Hermana Perez (Hermana Rodriguez trained her in Volcan the transfer before I arrived) and Hermana Herrera. They both seem awesome and I'm stoked.
I'm in Tocumen now, the area right by the airport. I seriously feel like I'm in a different mission because the only places I know are the little towns in the interior and I only know the missionaries who served in our zone there. When we got here last night I kept hearing ¨big city, downtooooown! Beepbeep, beepbeep!¨ playing in my head, haha.
It will be weird starting all over again in an area of unknowns. On the plus side, there are actual stores here, we go to a ward not a branch, and I'm pretty sure our area is smaller than Volcan and the two other towns we had in our area. And my mail will come faster because we're closer to the mission office.
Oh and before I forget, shout out to BYU 23rd Ward and all my Utah friends who sent me Christmas cards!! They just came last week but it was an excellent surprise. You all are amazing :)
Uhhh I feel all flustered and sleepy from all the traveling and new things and I can't think of anything to write. The zone is a lot bigger here and aparently there are more atheists and negative people here (in volcan everyone believes in God and is Christian). It'll be interesting adjusting to teach to the needs of the people here.
Welp, I love you all and I'm grateful for your letters and support. Next week I'll have more interesting things to tell you about and my brain won't be so confuddled. Until then, just remember the church is true!
Love,
Natalie
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