Another week of miracles and adventures in Panama.
Miracles- Hermana D. got confirmed yesterday and her blessing was beautiful! She is already a prime member of the church- we got to the chapel yesterday and she was already there helping the priesthood set up chairs! We also taught her about the temple and baptisms for the dead and she is already gathering names to take with her when the branch goes in March. It makes me really happy to know that I will be in Panama a year from now and that I might get the chance to be there with her when she goes through the temple!
We had two of our most inactive of the inactives at church yesterday!! One of them stood up in priesthood and told them that he wants to reactivate to set an example for his son which is amazing considering that my first week here he told us ¨I'm like Oliver Cowdery. I know it's all true but I´m never coming back.¨ The other one is this great little hermana and we make american desserts with her every couple weeks and she has been a member for over 20 years but just isn't very excited about the gospel. We found out that she never went to the temple, not even to do baptisms so we talked to her about that and now she is preparing to go with us in March as well!
We have started our English class and also a piano class and this week we had a ton more people show up and they were all our less actives/investigators. The real miracle is that we can teach in Spanish without everyone getting up and walking out.
Tips for travelling to Panama- The bus drivers here dont have to have a special license. They don't even have to pass the driving test, they just have to have a bus. If you are looking for a good time, sit in the back of the bus- if you close your eyes you can't even tell that you aren't on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. If you love people, sit in the middle of the bus- you will really get to know the 40 people trying to squeeze into the center row. If you want to be a diva you have to be the first one on the bus so you can sit in the passenger´s seat- air conditioning, a nice view, and leg room...but where´s the fun in that?
Last week on divisions the sister training leader told me one of her goals was to contact a whole bus and I had that in the back of my head all week and I wanted to do it. So on the way back from dinner one night I had the driver turn off the music and turn on the lights and I stood up in front of the whole bus and gave my little speech and ended by asking if anyone wanted to learn more/take a pass along card/have any references and you could have heard a pin drop....everyone on the bus just stared at me like I was speaking Chinese (my Spanish is not that bad) so I just smiled and awkwardly sat back down next to my companion who was hiding in her seat and about ready to die of embarrassment...it was bad but I was on a high the rest of the night because it made me feel so much like a real missionary!
Ok now for this stuff- One of the elders asked me why I am obedient and it really made me think. A big part of the reason that I want to be obedient (by the end, I hope the only reason) is that I love my Savior. He said it Himself that if I love Him I will keep His commandments. I am far from the perfectly obedient missionary but I like to think that I am trying my best to do everything that is asked of me and like with everything else in life, the best motivator is love. I had been thinking of how I can be even more motivated by my love for the Savior when I read 3 Nephi 17 in my personal study one morning. Holy Cow. I dont know why I hadn't paid more attention to this chapter earlier but it hit my so hard this week. It is all about the Savior´s ministry among the Nephites and in pretty much every verse you can just feel so strongly how much He loved them. He healed them, He taught them, He blessed them, He prayed for them, and He wept, He wept, because He loved them so much and maybe more than any other time in my life I could feel that He loves me that much as well. And I know that He loves each and every one of us that much and I know that He is praying for us and He wants to heal us. So how could I not want to reciprocate that love and try my best to do everything I can to follow His commandments? I hope that as I learn more and grow more that I will be able to develop so much love for my Savior that that love is the motivation for every choice I make.
Love love love,
Hermana Smith
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