This week was great, I have developed a stong love for listening to General Conference. If you would've told me that it was General Conference when I was a kid, I ran and hid in my room and played video games because it never really interested me, even as a teenager. Not that I am much older now or anything, but I really do love it. That was the main highlight of my week naturally, so I will talk about the details that come with that.
We decided that we wanted to go listen to the prophet in his natural voice, the way God intended it ,haha so we went to the gorgeous chapel right next to the temple called Cardenas, the practically-all-white people ward. The elders there are really cool too, so we stayed at their house last night. Seriously the few white people that this country has to offer are absolutely loaded beyond belief and comprehension, and some of them are members luckily. I had the pleasure of eating American food prepared on a stove, eaten then on a table with placemats and china, silverware and not with my hands. It was like Caesars Palace! Hahaha. But seriously, it gave me a bit of a taste, literally, what it is like for a lot of the missionaries that stay stateside, because it was a fully furnished lovely dinner, 2 nights in a row. The people are here all working for something they call the Embassy, which I think is just like a bunch of internation businesses and they need the specialties and qualifications of all kinds of different people. Walking through those neighborhoods was crazy, they were even huge houses by American standards. I had a delicious dinner of taco noodle casserole and corn bread with homemade honey, oh my goodness, my stomach was not used to that kind of stuff! It seems like it's been decades that I haven't eaten a mound of rice.
But back to conference, it was really great. We unfortunately missed the first session on Saturday because we thought they were going to broadcast it at the church, but turns out they had us all fooled, haha ,jokes on you missionaries!!! As normal though, when Elder Jeffrey R Holland came on in the afternoon session, he machetted all who were watching, and I quote; "Priesthood holders, STEP UP!". Haha, and the machete swings, duck everyone! He never holds back and that's why it's the greatest, because he really makes you reflect on how you are living and what exactly you need to change in order to better yourself and be who the Lord wants you to be. We watched the rest of the sessions in the member's houses and Priesthood session in the chapel, it was really great.
At one of the members' houses, the guy gave us all haircuts because he said we all looked like hippies! So I got a free haircut ,haha, all good with me, didn't do too bad of a job.
I now really look forward to General Conference, and I know that it will be something that I honor as family time for the rest of my life. It's just something that we all need to do, listen to the words of our living prophet ,Thomas S Monson.
This week has been a great one, let me talk about a little game that the Panamanians like to play with us gringos though, which I call Gringo Strike. What they do is when we are walking on the side of the street, they try to drive as close as humanely possible to us in their cars without hitting us. They really think it's quite funny, I on the other hand, from the receiving end of the game, think this is quite insane. I've actually been hit in the arm one time by a side mirror and the other time I felt the air fly past me as it drove by. But I'm not sure if I like that more than I do when the kids here shout at us in the tiniest bit of English they've learned in the wonderful education system here in Panama, like "HELLO HOW ARE YOU!" they just shout that over and over as we walk by, it gets really old. So I usually just turn and speak to them really fast in English, or back in Spanish to prove I know their language as well. What I've learned though in my mission life is that when the companionship has one latin, like my last 2 changes, no one looks at you funny apart from wearing white shirts and ties. But when its 2 gringos walking, they all look and point and laugh and speak in Kuna and Spanish thinking that we don't understand. But really I do love the people, I promise, kids are just really annoying sometimes.
We are working this coming week on getting our non-married investigator lady, Rosa, married. Apparently we have a lawyer member here who can get them casados in a week's time only. So we're stoked for that so she can get baptized and her daughter. I'm excited for the last part of this change, we´re in April now, time is flying by.
I shall end this email wtih 2 quotes from General Conference, first by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf who said; "If we stumble, we will rise. If we falter, we will go on" Which is a sweet quote, in reference to the healing power of the Lord´s atonement for us. We really have this eternal blessing that we need to appreciate and respect daily. Lastly is from Elder Neil Anderson who said; "Being a disciple of Christ in these trying times will be a badge of honor through the eternities", and that is so true. This is the hardest time in history to have high standards and be an example and light unto the world, but we will wear that badge of honor if we are faithful and stand strong.
I love you all, and I love that we have the exact same organization of the church in our day as of old. Have a wonderful week.
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