Rain, Rain, Go Away

Dear Family,

 

It has been raining so much in Chorrera! I have been rotating both of my shoes and my boots during the week to try to prevent trench foot. In truth, I think I am far away from getting it, but you can never be too careful. I was inspecting a pair of shoes this morning to see if they were dry and discovered what I think is a light mold growing on the tongue. The shoes are anti fungal so the insides were good. I was surprised by how quickly it developed since they have been laying inside for only about a day and a half drying. The rain is so fun because we get the chance to be cold in Panama, and we can walk around like gentleman with our umbrellas. I cannot believe how hard it rains here. We have had some really fun "shouting" lessons to be heard over the deafening rain hitting the sheet metal roofs here.

 

The power went out last night in our house probably because of the rain. It really was not a big deal because it wasn't hot enough to need our fans and my flashlight throws enough light to shower and get ready for bed. We just worry about the fridge sometimes and are careful not to open it until the power comes back on which it did this morning. I am having interesting experiences here seeing what life would be like with the most basic things I have taken for granted. I don't think I could have most of these experiences anywhere else.

 

We have always had the support of a lot a members here, but a few had their reservations for helping us because there were some missionaries here before us that did some terrible things. I think we have done a lot to change those feelings because they talk to us now and give us references. For the most part this ward is really awesome. The bishop likes to go out with us and meet our investigators. He has encouraged others to do visits with us too. He has mostly stressed that we try harder to go out with the mission leader whereas we usually just meet with them once a week. This week we set baptismal dates for two families and another lady we have been working with. There is nothing that feels better or gets the heart pounding harder than inviting someone to be baptized.

 

Throughout most of my mission there has been a reluctance in my companionships to talk about the Book of Mormon on the first visit, but we are doing a lot to change that. The sooner we talk about it, the sooner we can start using it, the sooner the investigators can start reading it, the sooner they can gain a testimony of it and get baptised. It really is a powerful tool in the missionary arsenal. The Book of Mormon is a powerful testament of Jesus Christ and if people sincerely read it and pray about it they can receive an answer that it is true. I absolutely know that the Book of Mormon is true and love reading and using it in my teaching.

 

I hope everyone has a great week.

 

Love,

 

Elder Whiting

[There was a little more in a separate message - added below.]

Regarding Elder Polera: 
I was crushed to hear that news
I will miss seeing him here
we grew very close in the mtc sharing the same room and being in the same district.

Diet:
blueberries sound delicious right now
i was always happier gobbling them down than picking them
we get our fair share of rice
There has indeed been a big push to improve our diet
including hiring cooks
but the cooks give us rice every day so I don't know how effective that was.

i love the rice
it lasts us a really long time
good carbs to work throughout the day
yes we get meat all the time
usually a chicken breast
i have gotten really good at stripping every piece of meat from the bone