Lincoln Mission April 23-29 2024

 Another week, another email. Que bendición. It 'twas another great week in the work of the Lord. Normal as to changuinola standards but nonetheless great. Vamoos.

 

Professional Spike Ball in Panamá

So, there's an elder in our zone of 8 that was ranked top 5 nationally for spike ball before the mission. This means that he has a super nice spike ball net, knows all the rules, tips, and tricks, and that on P days we play for hours. He's insane and it's super fun. We get crazy into it, diving for the ball and pulling off some crazy hits. My dreams of going pro have begun. 

 

The Other Side of the River

Somehow, we've been seeing some success on the other side of the river. Basically, the only way we find people there is if we go over there in a canoe and someone is hanging out with Pablo and his family. We then teach them, see if they're interested, and schedule time to go over there during the week. We now have three new friends that are progressing over there and one is on date to get baptized. It's a win win because we get to go on the canoes two or three times a week instead of just one. Our boy Orlando we found over there loves reading the Book of Mormon and paddling canoes. Gotta love Almirante.

 

Carrera de Canoe

Sadly, the canoe race has been postponed to this upcoming Wednesday, but a friend that we are teaching has become really good friends with us just by talking about it. He used to not really say anything, but I felt to offer to race him, and he opened right up. The Spirit came in clutch. The work here is a straight W (win). I'll keep y'all updated.

 

Finding Souls in the Swamp

In our area, there are a ton of swamps. Meaning a lot of houses on stilts, a lot of mosquitos, and a lot of... different...  smells. This week, while braving dengue and nose blindness, we found four teenagers to teach, who started the lesson off not very positive, but ended up listening and asking questions. The Spirit definitely did its job and helped them understand the importance of our message. It was a fun experience.

 

Friends

Dalisbett is still doing great but is constantly busy with college. She's still really positive in the lessons but has missed church twice in a row now. She still has a lot of attendances, so this week we're going to see if she's still ready to get baptized this upcoming weekend. We'll see. Freddy and Yanett are also lovin it. Yanett is paying attention and understands almost everything. Freddy is a little less positive, but Yanett seems to help him along. We're also hoping that they'll be ready to get baptized this upcoming weekend, but they just moved over to the island, and we still don't have permission to go over there. That means we have to teach with video calls, and they have to make more of a sacrifice to come to church. Faith overcomes all and theirs is about to be tested. Orlando is the boy I mentioned earlier who likes to read the Book of Mormon and paddle canoes. He's a super smiley kid and has a lot of potential. He lives deep in the jungle across the river. Our boy Pablo is going to pick him up and take him to lessons and to church, so we have hope. Christian is another teenager from across the river whose entire family are members, but before they Christian, his brother, or his mom got baptized, they moved to Almirante. We're hoping to help them back onto the path, so we're gonna see what happens.

 

Spiritual Thought

This one will be really simple, but hopefully can introduce a little of the Spirit into your lives. We know that we need to build our house on "the rock," but what does that look like? Well, without going into detail and while also throwing in my thoughts and opinions, it means putting God first. It's a very basic principle, but if properly applied to our lives it can also be very powerful. That looks like morning and nightly prayers. Reading the Book of Mormon every day. Turning to God first when we're faced with a challenge and trusting in His will. It also means that we keep him in our thoughts. For example, when we're lying in bed, trying to go to sleep, do we think about our Savior and His atonement, or do we think about that one time or that one thing. "Look unto me in every thought, doubt not fear not" (D&C 6:36) "...spiritually minded is life eternal." (2 Nephi 9:39.) I now realize that this isn't short or simple, but it is necessary. Remember that to build our house upon "the rock," which is Christ, we need to put God first. Not just in some things, but in all things. Not just sometimes, but all the time. Of course, we can still have regular thoughts and conversations, but Christ should be involved more often than not.

 

Thank you to those who persevered to the end of this email. I hope it was worth it...

 

Elder Nelson

 

 

 

 

Lincoln Mission April 16-22 2024

 Que xopá? Que lo que? This week has gone by quickly. It's been full of adventure and seeing the hand of the Lord. We've seen some setbacks, but we'll trust in the Lord to get His work done.

 

Santiago

We went to go teach a recent convert and we caught him right as he was about to go and work. Meaning, go and climb palm trees to get pipa. We went with him and watched in awe as he scaled the trees, got the pipa, and got back down. I need more practice, because right now I'm the guy from the movie Mulan who tries to climb the pole to get the arrow and ends up using his teeth to try and not slide back down. After that adventure he used his machete to open up the pipas, and we had a good lunch.

 

Intercambio (ft. Hotel dinner)

Being companions with the district leader means that we do a lot of exchanges with the other elders in our zone so he can do baptismal interviews. This one was for the ZLs, so I got to take Elder Lutze back to Almirante for a day. He was also my ZL in Arraiján, so it's super fun to have him as a zone leader again. We worked hard and had fun. He's definitely helped me a lot throughout our time together. At the end of the day, the senior couple in our area took us to eat at the hotel they were staying in which was awesome. I got octopus ceviche for $8. It was definitely the experience I was looking for. Don't know if i'd get it again, but now I can say I've had octopus before. It was a super fun day.

 

Intercambio again

The day after my first exchange with the ZLs, we had to do another exchange with the elders from Empalme. I took Elder Rueda back with me to Almirante and we worked hard and had fun once more. We worked in an area covered in swamp, so we had to balance on rickety boards to get from house to house, and you really don't want to fall in. We found some good people to teach and are hoping they'll be willing to change their lives. 

 

Friends

Dalisbeth is doing great. She's reading the Book of Mormon and she's usually the one setting the date when we come back. She is struggling to give up coffee, but we have faith she'll be able to. Kelianis is also doing great, but her mom told her that she can't come to church anymore. Basically, her problem is that if kelianis is trying to get baptized, then she needs to be a perfect child, do well in school, and win the nobel peace prize. It's sad but we're working on it. Freddy and yanett again are doing great. They love the plan of happiness that God has for us, are reading the Book of Mormon, and want to get baptized. They're really a golden family, but Satan is doing his best to hinder them. Prayers are always welcome for our friends!

 

Canoe races 

We have a part of our area that requires a canoe to get to and it's always super fun. Pablo is a super faithful 12-year-old that usually drives us over. We have officially planned a canoe competition. Me vs Pablo. I'm going to try my best to not get absolutely smoked by the GOAT himself, but the date has been set. Next Monday we shall see who was victorious . 

 

Jungle miracle

An elder from David was telling me about a family that lives in Almirante (my area) that was about to get baptized and then had to move a day before their baptism. The morning of the canoe trip that family came to my mind, and I asked Elder Hulme about them. Basically nothing. Then Pablo shows up with another kid to take us in the canoes and he's the kid from that family! We get to the house and the mom and brother are there as well! It was a miracle from God. They've fallen back since then, but the Lord has put us back into their lives once more to help them continue their journey on God's path. 

 

Coconut break

Well, as you do when walking through a jungle path, we were hungry. We saw a palm tree and decided to get some pipa (I have discovered that "pipa" is a coconut in the early stage of growth. It has sweeter water and better meat on the inside.) We got it down from the tree, went through the lengthy process of breaking through the shell, and then took a small break to enjoy some pipa. Then a nobe family comes along and walks by us. When they saw two gringos sitting on the ground eating and drinking pipa they were just astounded. The definition of flabbergasted. One boy stopped in his tracks with his mouth wide open staring at us. Then we spoke to him in Spanish and his eyes got even wider. He was like that for a while. We offered him some of the pipa and we just sat there in a stare off while eating. In the end, he invited us to his house next Saturday to teach about Christ. Looking at it from his perspective, I can see why he was so surprised.

 

It's been a great time out here. Eating johnny kks (coconut bread that is delicious,) trying to climb palm trees (not too high of course,) and doing the Lord's work. 

 

Elder Nelson (Lincoln)