Week #28 in Panama!

Heyyyyy!!

Another week gone. It was quite the week too. We had some interesting experiences. So first of all, there was a bird in my house this morning. I dont like birds. I didnt like this bird being in my house. They give me the heeby jeebies worse that bugs or mice, I dont know why. I screamed and the thing freaked out. My comp chased it out. It was a traumatic experience for me. hahaa. 

On Thursday we were teaching a lesson with a member. We were teaching two sisters. One of them is pregnant and about to have her baby so she was sitting in a chair and the other was standing next to her. As we were teaching the one standing up all of a sudden stepped closer to her sister and put her hands on her shoulders and looked outside with a face of complete fear. We tried talking to her and she wouldnt move or respond and then she started to have a seizure. It was so scary! We just held her as she seized so she wouldnt fall on the ground. It was super scary for us, but her sister was just sitting there totally normal waiting for her to stop seizing. apparently she has epilepsy and gets these all the time. It was the first time Ive seen someone have a seizure though so it freaked me out. so that was that.

Ive been a little frustrated with my area this week. I think Im just ready for a change. Im hoping and praying that the Lord feels the same way. None of our investigators came to church yesterday, which is always a bummer, and we dont really have many who are progressing steadily. Right now a big problem is that we are working a lot in only one of the five parts of our area. So this week we are going to try and go into the other parts and see if we can find new people. If I do leave in 2 weeks at changes, I want to make sure i leave my comp with plenty of positive people to teach, and if I dont leave then we will have those same people to work with next change. This work is hard! Its great and so worth it, but man it really tests you in every aspect imaginable. We are going to have a good week this week though, I know it! I hope you all have a good week, too, and that youre all doing great! 

Ohhhh also, guess what? My ccm comps, h. and p. got news this week that they have mid change changes and are going to be comps on the islands! Im super excited for them, they are going to have so much fun and success together out there!! Im a little sad because Id love to be out there with them too, but I know the Lord has other things in store for me. 

I love and miss you all so much!!!

Hna Anderson

Week #27 in Panama!

Hi all!!

I hope everyone is doing well! And staying warm for those of you in the Midwest. Funny thing, everyone here thinks it snows everywhere in the states all the time because they always show on the news the snow in new york so they think its like that everywhere. They have a hard time understanding how big the states really is because Panama is so tiny. 

This week was a really great week. We did a lot of finding and found some really positive people! Theres still so much work to be done in this area and I honestly think I could stay here my entire mission and never run out of things to do. That wont happen, obviously, but I could totally do it. I love my Colon and I love my Nuevo Mejico ward. These people are my family, its going to be hard to leave them when the time comes!!

So we had 2 investigators at church yesterday which is really great! One of them had told us she was going, so we planned on (and hoped for) her, but we passed for another one and found that she was already up and getting ready to go! It was great and such a miracle. She told the sunday school teacher that she actually woke up with a really bad stomach ache at about 9, but then it went away but she was up when she normally sleeps till 11 so shes like well now I can go to church! Its great. She still has a ways to go in progression, but shes really special and we know she will accept this gospel one day! Shes only a year older than me, so we connect well. I love her! Her name is E.

So on Wednesday we went to Panama to hear Elder Duncan of the 70 speak. It was AMAZING!! You guys, you know how I very rarely get emotional when I feel the spirit, but I cried like three different times at this meeting. It was so incredible. He taught us something that changed my entire outlook on the work. He taught us to start thinking about the future. He told us how every single person we teach has the potential to become OUR convert, whether it be in 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years. It doesnt matter if you physically baptize them, they are still YOUR convert because you helping them come closer to accepting this gospel. I LOVED that and it really made me have so much more animo for the work (I dont know the word for animo in english sorry). He also talked about the converts of our converts being our converts as well, because thats the way the Lord will look at it. It was really amazing. This week has been so great and my hija and I continue to work hard! 

I love you all very much and hope you have a fantastic week!

Hna Anderson

Week #26 in Panama!

Hi all!! 

So right now all of Panama is having a big party called the carnavales. Everyone has been telling me about it since I got to Panama and I thought it sounded like a fun time because I thought it was carnival. Nope. It means party of the devil. Haha oops. Super bad. But thank goodness everyone leaves colon and goes to the city to party so our area is super tranquilla right now. 

Anyway, this week was good. My hija is still getting adjusted to everything. Its so stinkin hard starting the mission!! I was in her shoes 6 months ago, and I remember it so clearly. Its not easy, but shes doing well and learning quickly. She completes one month in the mission on Friday so we are going to do something to celebrate. 

We are still floating a little right now trying to find investigators who will progress. We did find a few last week, but none of them came to church yesterday. To be fair, none of them were in town because of the carnavales, we are assuming anyway. But we are going to keep working with them and pray that theyll be able to come next week so they can start progressing! I would say the most frustrating times in the mission for me are when we dont have progressing investigators. Its super easy to get discouraged, but we have to fight that because a successful missionary doesnt get discouraged! This week my goal is to have more animo, because I know it makes all the difference. 

So my hija was having a really hard time on Saturday, and I was kind of bummed to missing home a little more than usual, so we decided to do a FHE with a member family and make the theme the love of Christ since it was love day and all =) I made a cake and we also watched the documentary movie of Thomas S. Monson. It was fun. 

I know I had more to tell you guys but now I cant remember. That always happens to me when I write. We found a lady last week whos a single mom of 5. Shes really great. We only had one lesson with her, but she was really positive and we are excited to teach her again this week.

Okay I think thats about it! It was kind of a slow week. I should have more to share next week! Love and miss you all tons and I hope you have a great week! Also, mom and dad, a lady in our ward added you guys on FB last night. You should accept her because she posts pictures of the missionaries sometimes!

Hna Anderson

Week #25 in Panama!

I have an hija!! Im training a brand new missionary! Her name is Hna M. and shes from Puebla, Mexico. Shes whiter than I am though so everyone thinks shes from the states haha. She doesnt know any english, which Im really loving because I missed speaking Spanish with my comp. Shes super sweet and doesnt even have a month in the mission yet because she was only in the CCM for 15 days. Shes the best and Im really blessed to have her as my hija! I was SOO excited when they told me Id be training because I knew itd be super cool to be doing it at the same time as Corson. Its been quite the transition though going from being comp menor to a comp who was finishing her mission to being comp mayor for the first time to a comp who just entered the mission field. Definitely not easy, but its an awesome learning experience. Im learning a lot of how much I really do know with the languge and the lessons, which makes me really happy. The gift of tounges has also helped A TON this past week, like Ive been able to see a literal difference. And its cool because itll come and go, so I know Im not just speaking or understanding from my own knowledge. So I went and got her on Tuesday and we started working right away on Wednesday and had a pretty good starter week for her. We did have to drop a few investigators, but this week we are really going to search hard for new, prepared and chosen people to teach. We know there are a lot waiting for us, we just have to do our part to find them! So on Saturday we had our monthly stake temple trip and M. was able to go and do baptisms for the first time! It was a really great temple vist for me personally, because I could feel the spirit so strongly and I really did not want to leave. The temple is such a special place. And then when we came outside after spending about 4 hours inside, we came out and found M. sitting alone under a tree on the temple grounds. We walked over to her and she asked if we were coming to sit with her. Of course we were and we found that she had been reading her new triplet she had just bought. She was reading D&C 89 about the word of wisdom. She told us she just didnt want to leave and also that she wants to get started on the work for her parents. It was a really special experience to sit there and share with her. I just love her! We also talked more about her mission. She looked at my comp and she told her shes going to go on a mission in just 4 years and she looks at me and shes like si or no? It was great. When they say that, its kinda like saying isnt that right? We had a really good day that day. The week itself was a little slow because I was a little trunky with J. and N. going home on Thursday. They were both just here a week ago with me and now theyre in the states! Super crazy and super trunky haha but I think the trunkiness has finally passed today haha. I spoke in Sacrament yesterday, for the second time. About missionary work. I think it went okay. Thats about the jist of my week! I love you all lots and hope you all have a fantastic week!! =)
Han. Anderson

Week #24 in Panama!

Hey guys!!

So since Hna J. is leaving along with my comp this week, we are on divisions so J. could come say bye to everyone in Nuevo Mejico. Im super excited to be able to do that with her. It should be a really good day. Im super sad that shes going to be leaving the misión this week though!! But thats how it Works I guess haha. You come you serve you go home. Craziness. Also, Ill be getting a new comp in a couple of days so thats exciting! Still in Colon though, but thats good too. =)

 

Sooooo Ill share about this awesome baptism weekend we had!! So M. was baptized on Saturday night. It was amazing. The spirit was SO so strong. I couldnt believe it. Ive never felt anything like that before. And then again yesterday when she was confirmed. It was amazing. I cant really write much about it because I cant put it into words, but it was a wonderful experience. That night I was thinking as I was writing in my journal how she was never our convert. She was always the Lords convert because He has prepared her soo much to make this covenant. Its like he just said okay hermanas heres one of my precios daughters who I have prepared, will you baptize her now? For real though, so perfectly prepared. Theres a stake temple trip this saturday and she got her recommend yesterday so she will be going to the temple for the first time!! Super exciting. And this past week when we would teach her she would just tell us that her dream is to go on a misión. We were like WOW! shes only known about the church for a month and she already wants to serve. Shes the best. Ill send pictures!

 

Nothing can really top that this week, so Ill just leave you all with that. But I love you all and hope you are all doing well!!! Miss you lots!!

 

Hna Anderson

Week #23 in Panama!

Well we are officially in the last week of the change. Super insane. I dont know how that happened. So my comp will be in her house next week along with Hna J. I remember talking to J. about it being 4 months away and now its next week! The mission goes too dang fast! You really cant afford to waste any of the time you get.

Anyway, this week was a great one. So we didnt get to teach M. all week until Sunday because she wasnt home since all that had been happening with her tia, so when we finally were able to teach her on Saturday my comp and I wanted to talk to her about her baptism and whether or not she felt prepared for it to happen in a week. We asked her and she said yes (because shes so stinkin prepared already by the Lord) and then we made a plan to go teach her every day starting Saturday until the day of her interview which will be Thursday so that we could make sure we taught everything to her clearly and thoroughly. So she will be ready come Saturday at 6pm! Im soo stinkin happy. My first baptism! And shes incredible! So chosen. They announced it in sacrament yesterday, which was super cool. Yesterday, we taught her after church and another one of her tias came in during the lesson and my comp asked her to join us so she did. We were teaching the plan of salvation combined with the law of chastity. It was a great lesson and by the end of it we had a fecha with the tia as well! Its great. So I have to tell you guys this. Theres this little part in our missionary schedule that I havent been very diligent in keeping during my mission. Its the part from 6:30-7:00am when we are supposed to work out. I had convinced myself that it wasnt so much a regla as it is a suggestion haha so I didnt always do it. Mostly never actually. Then we had an AWESOME capacitacion on Wednesday with President and the APs and we talked about the schedule and how every part is important and we should be obedient to ALL of it. So I decided from then on out that I would do everything I could to follow it exactly, including working out. And I did and the difference I have felt since then has been incredible. I feel like Im a lot more in tune to the spirit and I can understand so much more Spanish! My teaching flowed a lot more smoothly, too. My comp starting doing the same thing, following the schedule more exactly and as a companionship we have already seen so many blessings from it. My testimony on obedience has grown SO much this week. Its SO important. 

This change has really changed everything for me. The way I look at things is so much different. I had a dream last night that Corson and I went home just for like a week long visit, because I have those dreams everyone once in a while haha, and I was sitting at the table with Whit and shes like I dont know what to talk to you about because youre so different now. Hahaaa obviously thats a little depressing and wont happen, so dont worry whit. BUT I do feel like Im changing a lot and hopefully all for the better. As I learn more and more about the gospel I just have a stronger and stronger desire to be better. I love it and I know that the Lord still has soo much for me to learn. The gospel of Jesus Christ is SO true and the Lord can and does change hearts!

I love you all so much and I hope you have a fantastic week!

Hna Anderson

Week #22 in Panama!

I tell my comp I just want to sleep at least once a day. haha. For so many reasons this change has just been wearing me out! Its good though, because that means Im progressing and the work is going. Lets see. 

So on Thursday we had a movie night planned with the YW and our investigator M. While we were at the members house waiting for the girls to get there, I called M. to see what time she would be getting there and she answered crying saying she couldnt because her aunt died. So we went straight over there and it was super weird because she was really upset but none of her family was acting phased at all or paying much attention to her. Not in a mean way, even though it seemed that way. We found out later that the aunt of R. that M. lives with is her grandma, not her mom like we thought. Her parents actually both died when she was really young. And the side of the family that she lives with isnt the same side as the one that the aunt who died is from. If that makes sense. So we ended up going to her grandmas house, from the aunts family, with her so she wouldnt have to go alone. My comp knew exactly what to do and say to the family when we got there so even though it was a really sad situation, we felt the spirit so strongly and we could tell they did too. It was really good that we were able to go there with her. She didnt come to church yesterday because she was still over there with her family, but she came back last night so we should be able to visit her tomorrow. We now understand a little better why shes soo prepared for the gospel. 

We left for Panama that same night and got to the hermanas house at about 10. We went to the temple the next morning and spent the day up there in Panama afterwards. We went to a baptism of a little girl in the Cardenas ward that night, which is the mission presidents ward. Its bilingual because theres so many gringos in the ward. There was a lot of english being spoken there and it felt like a ward in america. It was super weird for me. haha. I actually didnt like it, probably because it wasnt the Panama Im used to and it was pretty trunky for me. The baptism was great though.

We went to the temple again on Saturday because it was Colons temple day. So two days in the temple last week! It was great. Thats about all I can think of right now. It was a pretty busy week!! I hope you all have a great week this week! I love and miss you tons!!!

Hna Anderson