I just want to be a missionary forever.

Elder Henry spent a week with his MTC companion Elder Carter in stunning Puerto Jimenez. 

Hello everyone!

This has been a long week. But a good one!

     Last Monday, I got back in to my area. My comp hadn't been in the area for a few days either, so there was a lot to do here in Neily. It was pretty stressful haha. Especially because we had a lot of meetings. Then we had a baptismal interview to do with San Vito, so my comp went up there and I was with Elder Gomez a few days! That was a lot of fun. I'm proud to say that I beat him in chess. Haha. It was really fun because he and I have both been in Paso Ancho and in San Ramon, so we enjoyed talking about our old areas together. Friday morning we had another meeting, for all the district leaders (Elder Gomez), via skype. But the skype didn't work... oops. 

Saturday my comp got back, and he went on divisions with Javier to work while I stayed with our Branch President, Presidente Villatoro, to a district leadership meeting with President Torres (Presidente Hayes' counselor). After that we went to clean the church, so that took up the whole day.

     Then, yesterday, three of our investigators came to church, and Pres. Torres gave a really great talk. After that, in the 2nd hour, they presented a 40 minute video about the new Area Plan, and in the 3rd hour we discussed it. It was really awesome because they stayed the 3 hours and participated a ton. So they are super super excited and just doing great. The wife wants to be the new Music director (so that I don't have to do it haha). Their baptism is scheduled for Thursday.

     All in all, we're just seeing a lot of miracles. This month we should end with 8 baptisms in the zone, which is more than Zona Sur has ever achieved that we know of! And February's also going to be a really good month.

     Missionary work, missionary work, missionary work! What else is there to think about? Haha. I really love the mission so much. I just want to be a missionary forever.

     This Saturday we have a meeting with Elder Quentin L. Cook! So that's gonna be way cool. 

     Have a great week everyone!

       -Elder Henry

A rooster in a tree...

"the yummy cream filled kind"--Timon (Lion King reference haha)

What a beautiful place to serve the Lord!

Macaw in it's native habitat!

Living the Gospel

My baby, Shiblon.

 We finally found a pizza place in Neily!

Mcdonalds in Panama!

Hello 2016!

It's pretty strange how time flies haha. 2016 used to sound really far away haha.

So this was a good week. I was in a trio all week with my kid, Elder Gonzalez, and my comp Elder Nuñez. So every day we went and did divisions, which allowed to go visit some new areas and find some new people to teach. We're hoping that everything goes real well with a new plan in the area, and all that jazz.

This week I've been preparing my segment of the zone meeting which will be tomorrow. It talks about seeing the different Less actives through the parable of the sower. It just hit me that a lot of times we try and get to all the people, especially less actives, with the same approach and the same plan.

The beauty of the gospel is that it is one, and that it is always the same, but that each one of us is different and different parts can help every one of us. I was reading President Uchtdorf's talk about living the gospel simply this week as well, and I think that both those things are connected.

I love the gospel. It helps me grow. It helps me feel happy. But maybe the parts of the gospel that, in this time of my life, make me feel really happy and make me really grow, aren't the same ones that make you really happy or help you grow. That's the beauty of it! And when we go to invite someone who's fallen away from the church to come back, we need to understand that. Some of them are lost in vices and vain imaginations, like the thorn-covered land. So we gotta show them the beauty of repentance, and the peace that living the commandments brings us. Others have no root in themselves, and are not at all converted to the Lord! So we've gotta help them get some good soil, take root in themselves, and become committed people who strengthen themselves through acts of faith. And, there's some, who simply need the seed, because they're already ready. So we nourish them in a special way to make sure that the seed grows well and flourishes.

And that's the beauty of the gospel, to me. If everyone in the world could just understand how much happier they'd be with the gospel, they'd live it. So we go help them see that.

I hope you can all see the beauty of this gospel this week.

-Elder Henry

New years day, there was NO ONE in the streets. 

Shiblon up in a tree chasing after a cat haha

Just a toad

 I dunno why, but there were a TON of vultures over here one day. 

Dinosaurs existed when Christ was born, apparently...

Monkeys! Zone Christmas Service Project & busy week!

Zona Sur!!! Zone meeting and service project!

He looks like my little brother haha and he's got a rockin' cowlick like mine!

I taught him what a selfie is :) haha

Zone meeting :)

 This has been a looong week. Lots of stuff happened.

Monday morning we were on a bus headed to San Jose.

Tuesday was leadership meeting, which was amazing, and a bus headed back down to Zona Sur. We got home at like 11 PM and realized that we didn't have electricity. That was interesting.

Wednesday we got Elder Gonzalez headed off to San Vito and got to work a little.

Thursday we had Zone meeting. Zone meeting was amazing. I felt so edified. The zone is super great and way animada -- excited? pumped up. I felt like everyone was friends there and it was just a good meeting. The zone feels nice and united. Then we headed out to the old folks home to sing Christmas songs and chit chat for a while. That was such a sweet experience and also nice to help unite us as a zone. I loved that so much. It was especially awesome because there was a recent convert in our area who got baptized like 3 months ago. He lived with his son in a shack in the jungle with a dirt floor and, frankly, on a cliff. Well his son touched a bare cord and shocked himself to death (he was drunk), and so the old recent convert left the area to go live with a son. That's always sad to lose contact with someone like that, because it's hard to get them in contact with the church again. But, guess who was in the old folks home! And he just seemed really happy, and finally living in a good, clean, modern place. I was so happy to see him there, and now we can find the way to bring him the sacrament.

After that Friday Saturday and Sunday were normal days. Friday I went on divisions with Javier to Laurel, which is about 1.5 hours from our area, to visit a lady and her granddaughter. They come to church like once a month, and the granddaughter isn't a member. They can't come much because the grandma has to go to San Jose a lot, but that was a good visit.

So that was the week. We saw lots of miracles and it was a really good week, but I'm pretty tired right now haha. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to serve people in little ways, like calling a missionary who's birthday was yesterday at 7 in the morning with the whole zone on conference call to sing him happy birthday. 

Oh, and we saw a bunch of little monkeys in the trees, and an iguana right in front of us in the road. So that was pretty legit :)

Have a great week, everyone! Try and find those little ways to serve someone.

-Elder Henry

 

Hey there Iguana friend!

They all really enjoyed that I put the Santa hat on them haha

Divisions with Javier, after a while of not leaving with him. That was good :)

Panama with Elder Gonzalez and Nuñez! Uush :)

 A type of turkey that Ruma and Ruth have

Skulls!

Life looks more jungly with fog

HOT! hot hot hot!

Screen shot from the video Javier posted on Facebook since "someone" forgot his camera cord ;)

 
Goodbye November! Crazy how time flies when you're in the jungle.

Well today in Panama I bought a new umbrella but I'm not sure how much I'll use it, it looks like we're entering the dry season. Which is really saddening, because dry = HOT! hot hot hot! And the hottest part of the day is like 11-3, right when we start working haha.

So this was a super great week. I think that last week I wrote about 2 great investigators that we had found.

This week I went on divisions with Elder Alvarez, and apart from being really dead (this next change he ends the mission), we had a wonderful experience with them.

So the father investigator is, I can't really explain how he is, but we thought we were gonna have a pretty tough time teaching him honestly. It just seemed like we were gonna be trudging through mud getting through his questions and everything. But on Tuesday we went with them and decided to explain a little better the Book of Mormon, and how to feel their answer that it's true, and then put a baptismal date.

So we start explaining Book of Mormon, and they just aren't really making any comments, just accepted everything. Really abnormal for them. But we keep going and they're nice and interested and they had read a few pages and connect the dots from what they read and what we explained. 

Then we start to explain how an answer from God feels. They're really well educated about the Bible, and the wife told us that she knows that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, because when she reads it she can feel it and she doesn't feel that desire to put it down that a bad book would give her. that was so awesome to hear. It was just incredible to enter into a house where I'm ready to "trudge through the mud", and they're just accepting it! Then we invite them to baptism and he says "yeah!" and we put the date and he says "Yup!". After explaining that we would be there to help them prepare she says that she would too, because she "didn't want this to just be a thing of one month and then she never comes back". Then he tells us that he wants his daughter to be baptized, too! She doesn't live there right now but might be coming back soon. 

It was just so incredible to see how the Spirit works. They are the living example of the Spirit softening the hearts of the people. I love seeing miracles. and I love being in a work of miracles.

Apart from that, I went to Puerto Jimenez again this week, and scored some goals in the soccer game. And to Panama & bought some new soccer shoes! It was really a great week in the whole zone. This week are changes, we're going from a zone of 10 people, to 14, and 3 areas have changes, so half of the zone will be new (including my companion)! it's gonna be exciting and really, really, crazy hahaha.

Have a great week everyone! I love you all so much.

-Elder Henry

I'm My Father's Son

Panama taxis! Yellow taxis seem so weird now haha

Divisions with Elder Ferrin! Hanging out in his new hammock hahaha.

I had a pet cat for a day

Mommy I'm scared! (NOT)

Happy Monday, everyone!

This last week was a productive one. We were able to find a lot of new people to teach, and the best part is that they're families! :)

      So the week was pretty standard, just that on Tuesday I went on divisions with Elder Ferrin. I love the guy so much. You sure do get to have a lot of real great friends here in the mission.

     After that it was to the brete! Brete is how they say work here, I've only heard the word here in zona sur.

     We got to cross a pretty legit rope bridge this week. Javier was super scared and did not appreciate me jumping up and down and side to side and running on it haha. I sure am my father's son sometimes.

     But on the other side of that bridge live some pretty awesome people. First we met a lady and her handicapped son, who is pretty lucid, has conversations and everything, and is super nice. He used to be able to walk alone but not anymore. So his mom and his grandma take care of him and live off of selling what they have on their little farm. They've got pigs, chickens, some crops, ducks, and this other type of duck who's got bed head haha. It's hair sticks up on the back of it's head. But yeah they're really cool and I just really love them  a lot. Really humble and the mom has a really positive outlook on life even though she's got to work really hard.
     After we met her she told us that her brother lived down a little trail, so we headed out to contact him.  He's a pretty cool guy. within five minutes of knowing him he looked at us all serious and asked who was the great whore of all the earth that Revelations talks about. But he understands the Bible really well and is really interested in the Restoration. He understands perfectly the Apostasy. It's pretty fun to teach him :)

     So yeah, that's the rundown. This week I'll hardly be with my companion, as we'll be on divisions 3 days of the week, and next week we hit the road to San Jose. Crazy how time flies.

-Elder Henry

Walking to the mini farm.

Pig on the mini farm..