End of February Photos

I believe Elder del Angel is walking on the right side of this photo. It has been raining and you will notice that the missionaries [right and left side] do not have umbrellas while the women do.

Catholic church building with interesting architecture. Again the missionaries are in the rain while women in the photo, visible especially when enlarged, are using umbrellas.

Damp Elder Whiting, probably included this for his mother and sisters. This is not in Tocumen, probably Panama City on a training day.

Best picture in the group. A nicely posed Tropical Kingbird, Lori asked if he could concentrate on posting more of these rather than the others.

28 February 2011 'End of February'

Dear Family,

Changes have come and gone. I am still here in Tocumen with Elder Del Angel. President Ward said he wanted me to stay and see the fruits of my labor. I assume he is referring to the two maybe three baptisms we have lined up for March. I am having a different experience recently because they are both young men about our age as opposed to preparing two young women for baptism. It is fun because I can relate to what they are going through more, and I am excited that they have both expressed desires to serve missions. They are really cool guys. The third and fourth baptisms depend on a marriage certificate as usual. They are neat people. I have enjoyed seeing their transformation from investigating the church to feeling like they are one of us and even defending the church on occasion.

This zone has been flipped upside down. All of my American friends have left including Elder Scrimsher who came with me. I like my new zone leader, Elder Gomez. He trained Elder Polera and is from Boston. He is very personable and has some really good ideas for the zone.

I bought some oatmeal to eat for breakfast. I have been trying all of the different flavors. My favorite so far is apple cinnamon. I have been switching off between cornflakes, toast with (nutella, peanut butter, or jelly) and cornflakes. We don't actually have a toaster, so I actually heat up the bread in a pan. This area is awesome because we have all the rest of our meals filled like I have said before. Other areas have to find other arrangements usually for lunch.

I had a really embarrassing incident yesterday at a baptismal service after church. The aunt of the boy that was being baptized started talking to me after the service. She was mostly talking about her kids. I was only half paying attention because I was tracking the movement of someone else in the room. I responded with the typical "que bien hermana" after she had already moved on to talking about how her husband had died! My companion looked at me like I had just killed someone, so I knew something was wrong. He told me what happened, so I just apologized and chalked it up to me being new here and not understanding her. I learned my lesson though. Other than that, everything else went smoothly. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost.

We were drafted into the choir again. Practices are on Sundays before church. Most Sundays we are passing by investigators homes and bringing them to church, so I do not think we will be able to make the practices. I think the practices are just to get the choir somewhere near the tone anyways. My meager talents with the piano are still being called upon as well. All in all I have had a really good week. It kind of makes me nervous that something terrible is coming. It has been a while since the last trial of my faith.

Love,

Elder Whiting

21 February 2011

Dear Family,

 

We have had a busy week here in Tocumen. We set two baptismal dates for March. I do not know if I will be around to see them though. There is a good chance that I will be leaving Tocumen on Wednesday since I am completing my second change here. I would not mind staying. I like my companion, the area, and the members here. I will let you know what happens.

 

Our land lady was getting after us, so we completely cleaned our house. It looks really good. We were going to do it anyways since it flooded the day before. Nothing was damaged, but it was really tough evacuating all of the water. Needless to say the fans were going for a couple days.

 

Thank you for the Valentines Day package. I have already devoured the beef jerky. I had to laugh when I was reading a Christmas banner in late February. I still have not had the chance to listen to the CD.

 

I have collected quite a few things here since arriving. I am currently investigating a way to send some of them home. Packages do not seem to be too expensive sending them from this end.

 

We had interviews recently with the President and his wife. We weren't the only ones being interviewed. There has been talk in the mission about hiring a cook to prepare lunch Tuesday through Saturday. Several companionships already had their cooks. The cook would receive money for the food and their labor would be a service. They are concerned with the health of some of the missionaries. We do not have a problem in our area because we have our meals covered and they meet the required rice to other nutritious food ratio. Apparently other areas are not as fortunate as us. Anyways, interviews were fine. The president just asked me how things are going in my area and how I am adjusting to the mission life. Sister Ward just asked each of us if we had any contraband and how our search for a cook was going. They area good people and always spoil us with fantastic food when they come to visit.

 

One of my friends in the ward died the Wednesday before last at 6am. She had cancer and was ready to leave this world. I had a chance to talk with her before she died. She kept telling me how she felt at peace and knew where she was going. I also went to the viewing since we had a district meeting in the same building. It reminded me of when I saw Grandpa Russell years ago.

 

Love,

 

Elder Whiting

Interviews in Tocumen

A picture taken from the Panama Mission blog - it was posted by President and Hermana Ward

Baptisms

7 February 2011

Dear Family,

Everything turned out OK with the baptisms. You can probably tell from the photos that my face was pretty burned. We had some last minute complications to figure out like bad fits with baptismal clothing, figuring out the font controls, and creating programs that our mission leader flaked out on. We were all very happy to see the families of the converts there. They also came to church to see the confirmations. There are more receptive now and have agreed to take the lessons. The first baptism was performed without any problems, but I performed the second one twice because her toe popped up about the water. The water level was really low, so I had to bring my A game. The baptisms were a very special experience for me and for Melissa Michelle Rodriguez Rojas and Dinette Smith (ehsmeeth haha) Peña. I have been thinking a lot about my own baptism so many years ago.

The assistants came to our area and went on divisions with us. They came and saw the baptisms as well.

Have you guys tried Nutella? I think it was Courtney Hatch that originally told me about it, but I never had the chance to try it until recently. If you have not tried it, go out and get some. The stuff is amazing. I also love crocs. My companion and I have been playing chess at night, so I have rediscovered that love too. He is a worthy opponent, and I rarely win. All my discoveries of the new and rediscoveries of the old on my mission make me wonder if I have been living in a cave and why I forgot them in the first place.

The water is so good right now. We still cannot drink it, but we have pressure, heat, and reliability so I am ecstatic.

Mom, you asked about the food. For the most part, you already know that the diet is rice, beans, and chicken. It is true that they give us a lot of food, but I do not know it is because there is not enough for everyone. It very well could be true that they do not eat for the meal they give us food.

Our eating schedule changed for the month of February and as a result we surprised the family that was giving us food that day. They were just sitting down to dinner when we arrived. I observed the portions they were eating were very meager and did not include chicken. They were very embarrassed and quickly got up and offered us their plates. I cannot describe to you my shame that they offer us their very best and now I know what they really eat like we are too good to eat the same. The shame was compounded when they offered us what they were about to eat, probably going without that night. The situation could be considered a double edged sword. Refusing could mean offending them, but accepting makes it hard to sleep at night. I can also promise you mom that the missionaries serving you have their own challenges.  Give them your best.

I appreciate your emails and support. I love you guys so much.

Elder Whiting