Well everyone...this is it. I am officially with my last companion. No more worrying about "Oh, I wonder who my next comp will be, will he be a Latin, a gringo, will he want to work, how much time will he have, will I like him?" or "Where is my next area going to be, I hope it's not (tal) area, will there be any good investigators, will the people like me?" No more wondering. My final comp, Elder Olivas is a good one, a cool guy that just came from Bocas del Toro out with Elder Clarke, whom you all know. Before that he was also with Elder Goodson from my MTC dying group right now, so he's had some of my best friends recently. I like him a lot, he's from San Salvador, El Salvador, and only has one change less than me, goes home in December. So...the Tocumen of back to back to back dying elders continues with my current comp, poor Tocumen, haha. What can you expect though, it's right by the airport, it's only natural to send the elders finishing their missions to the closest area next to where they ACTUALLY finish their missions, the airport. It's like 5 minutes away, haha. He and I both want to work, which is good, and we teach well together, so I'm excited for this change.
I learned this week that I'm an incredible chef, who knew? It wasn't anything special, just got assigned to cook something for a "social misional" that we had this past Saturday. It went really well, like 50 or so people came (probably just for the food). Our ward mission leader basically just said "Well, elders and sisters, whatever you pick, you will cook it and do everything, and then I'll direct the meeting, and sit back down", haha, lazy man. We did everything, us 6 missionaries, and it turned out well. I made myself in charge of cooking up some spicy chorizos and "bollos", which are like corn meal shaped into hotdogs, weird food. The chorizos were delicious though, let's be honest. :) I fried them up, chopped them, mixed them with some spicy tomato sauce, chopped onions, oregano, and a salsa that a member made that had garlic and all kids of stuff. MMM! The others teamed up together and made a few pasta dishes, including an amazing lasagna that Hermana Hunt made, representing San Diego style baby! Then Olivas and I got assigned the message, and we talked about the importance of loving our neighbors and fellowmen, sharing a scripture which I'll write here, about meeting together often as a congregation to get to know each other better. If you just go to church on Sundays, it really isn't enough. You want friends at church don't you? Well...you're gonna need activites then, neutral environments to enjoy yourself, eat some food, listen to calm music, whatever. Activites are great, when they are supported by all kinds of members of the ward.
Earlier that day we went with the ward to the temple. That was my first temple trip for like 7 months, and it was much needed. It was incredible, one of the most powerful spiritual experiences that I've had. Praying, asking God if He was pleased with what I've done as a missionary. I received some pretty evident impressions that yes, He approved what I've done. No way to deny that Spirit. One of the best parts about that trip was that the Panama Stake was also assigned for that day, which means that my first 2 areas were going to be there. I saw tons of people from my areas, and they remembered me. I walked into the baptismal area and saw my first cocinera and just looked at her and said, "Hermana Navarro..." :) She remembered exactly who I was, it was awesome, and that was literally 2 years ago. It was a great feeling to know that people remember me and that I made some sort of positive impact on these people, without even realizing. I've been blessed with great areas, where I've learned and grown in each one of them.
As I sat in the Celestial Room, I came to a conclusion. I have 1 more temple covenant left to make, eternal and celestial marriage, which is the most important. That's all I have left. All that I've done up until now has been in preparation for that special moment with that special lady, whoever and whenever that may be. Just funny to think about that, how much my life has changed in the past 4 years or so. I prayed for my future wife, and I've been doing that since, that she may continue being worthy for our eternal marriage.
El Señor da linea por linea, poco a poco, aquí y ahí. Everything has it's time and order. Work is going well here in Tocumen, we have a pretty sure baptism for the first week of October, wife of a recent convert, who wants to be baptized. Desire is the beginning.
I want to thank you all for all you've done, really. I feel your love everyday. I have the best family in the world. Scrips for you peeps are Mosiah 18:23-25 which tells about what I was saying, that the church of Christ is to meet frequently together, to help out one another. Last scrip is one about the temple, Matthew 21:12-14, Jesus comes in and has his moment of righteous fury, but in verse 14, even after all of that, calling them thieves, He still blesses the blind and the deaf there. Unbelieve His mercy and forgiveness. Yells, forgives, and heals all at the same time. I love you all, you know so.
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