Happy Halloween

These are from the Polynesian activity we supported in Boquete. KAMA TE KAMA TE KORA KORA!!!!

 

 

We had a lot happen this week. Wednesday our zone traveled to Boquete to help the hermanas there with their activity. We all danced the Haka and a couple other Polynesian dances. We painted our faces and wore little skirts called lava lavas. A lot of people showed up to the activity and everyone had a good time. There is an hermana serving there from Tonga or Samoa that taught us all the dances. She danced by herself for several of the really complicated ones. The branch president gave us all a ride back to David after the activity. His back right tire blew out when we went over a pothole. I think there was too much weight in the back too. There were like nine of us stuffed in there. It took all of us and several other people we called to change it. When it blew out, the tire got really jammed onto the axle. We kicked the tire and rocked the car, but nothing seemed to get it loose. Someone finally went under the car and hit it from the other side which I thought was pretty dangerous since the car jack that comes with the car is a dinky little thing that could easily fall. We all got back pretty late. These are the times when it is good not to be the one in charge.

 

Our ward had an activity Saturday night in our chapel. It was to encourage temple marriages. Most of the single young women dressed up in wedding gowns and several couples gave talks. The young women were given sponsors that found a dress for them to wear and made them up. It was really strange being there as a missionary, but we had six investigators show up, so we stuck around. My companion has been really worried about going home and getting married. He leaves in January.

 

Our zone will have changes this week. I will wait here in my area with another missionary and wait for our companions to get here. It is strange receiving the changes for all of the missionaries in my email right now. It is a different perspective.

 

I hope everyone has a great week. It is raining right now.

 

Love,

 

Elder Whiting

 

24 de Octubre

 

 

 

Dear Family,

We had interviews this week with President Ward. My interview was really short. I was told my companion would probably be leaving at the end of this change, and I would stay in the area to teach the replacement elder.

We had baptisms on Friday and Saturday. They were all confirmed on Sunday. I always like to ask people after their baptisms how they felt coming out of the water because they always have a special experience. I was happy a bunch of members came to support the service and filled the room to the back. Everyone was really happy. All of the people that were baptized were references from members. It just goes to show the value of working with the members. Every missionary that has been here a while knows that contacting turns up very little. My baptism is a fuzzy memory. I just remember being with Andrew Sewell and then changing out of my wet clothes afterwards, and that dad baptized me.

We have been getting a lot of rain. The Sunday before last it rained nonstop and then off and on throughout the whole week.

Have a good week everyone.

Love,

Elder Whiting

October 17, 2011

We enjoyed a lot of success this week in the zone and in our area. We have three baptisms scheduled for this week in our area and a lot more in the zone. We have been running around everywhere trying to track down baptismal clothing and getting it to the areas that need it. We also have to make sure everyone is filling out the proper forms and getting them to us. We have the goal of 18 baptisms for the month of October and are quickly approaching that goal. I appreciate all of the hard workers in the zone.

The church distribution store sent a mobile unit out here and set up shop in the stake center for several days. Orders take forever in the interior, so we took advantage of the opportunity to go buy everything we need. I bought a lot of videos that are good to show people. I was disappointed they did not have any HLJ rings for sale. I had a CTR ring a long time ago, but eventually outgrew it. I never got around to buying one since then. All they had were the cheap little kid ones. I bought one of those Book of Mormon stories comic books that Emery and Campbell read with the intention of giving it to some little kid, but started reading it instead. I thought it was pretty interesting.

I got a call the other day from my trainer Elder Voss. I cannot believe he is dying this change. It will be so weird when he leaves. I have a lot of good memories with him. He was a really good trainer. I am starting to feel so old in the mission. A ton of new people are coming that I do not know, and a lot of my old friends have gone home or are going home within the next few changes. It kind of feels like junior high or even high school as all of the upperclassmen begin to leave. How strange...

Love,

Elder Whiting

 

Elder Whiting answered a few of my questions.  His companion is from Ecuador and they have been able to work well together.

He loves his new area David and the air is very clean being so far from the city.

They have a cook for lunch on Tues. through Sat.  This is common in most areas to try and improve the nutrition as there was way too much starch.

He is happy and healthy and working hard!  We appreciate his service and we have seen many blessings.

Love, Lori

10 October 2011

This week all of the zone leaders had consejos in the house of the president. We reported our accomplishments and talked about new goals. The assistants taught several good lessons. We left Tuesday after district meeting and lunch to undertake the 8 hour bus ride again. We arrived around 10 at night and stayed in the assistant's house. Hna Wards cooking is so good. She had cereal and a baked bread for us to eat for breakfast. For lunch we had boiled potatoes with toppings to put whatever we wanted on them and bbq chicken. I always stuff my face with broccoli and carrots. I never thought I would crave vegetables so much. It was fun to see all of my friends from the mission. Elder Biesinger my comp from the MTC is the new office secretary. He brought us all of the mail for our zone to take back. My package came! Thanks for all the awesome stuff. I got a ton of mail too so thanks. I love it.

 

It has been raining nonstop here. Usually it will rain one day and then we get a break, so I get away with rotating shoes and letting them dry, but now I am not getting the chance. We rigged up a drying station with fans blasting our shoes. Putting them behind the refrigerator also works on some models, but not ours. We have been on foot these last couple days because the front tire on my bike got a flat two times. I decided to buy a new tire since the current one is pretty old. The tire and the tube cannot take any more holes. Luckily we do not have to change or repair the tires. There is a little shop really close to our house that does it for cheap. When it rains here the roads pretty much turn into rivers. Anywhere there is a "t" Two big trenches are dug into where the intersecting road crosses the main road, so I bet we have looked pretty ridiculous getting a running start and leaping over all the flooded areas. A lot of times I do not completely reach the other side and end up splashing into the trenches. This was a good week. A lot of our investigators are taking critical steps by reading the Book of Mormon, accepting baptismal dates, or praying, or all of them. Elder Villacres has taught me about pleading your cause to the Lord with specific, righteous desires and the help you need to accomplish those desires (goals). We have really seen His help this week as we strive to do our best and work hard, He does the rest.

3 Octubre 2011

 

 

Today we are in Boquete for pday. The weather is really nice here. I sent a picture of a family we helped get married and the other two pictures are pictures I took on the way here. It is really relaxing to be here in the cooler climate. I feel weird not sweating.

Now I am going to try to attempt to answer the questions that I remember. Elder Villacres has about 20 months in the mission. I think he became zone leader when he arrived here 3 months ago, so he has the hang of it. My 8 hour bus ride thankfully was not in a diablo rojo. We came up in a tourist bus with air conditioning and everything. I am in Barrio 3A. I think lds.org has a ward search capability to see the boundaries. I am assigned an area about 5 min by taxi from the city center.

Conference was really fun. We were pleased to have five investigators show up. A couple of them have dates to be baptized this month, and we will soon be putting dates with the rest. I watched most of it in English. They stuck us in the kitchen with a dinky fan for all of us and a little tv. People kept coming in asking if we knew where the bathroom was or something else. I tried listening to one talk in Spanish and did just fine too.

I really liked the talk about just looking up. I was really confused by Elder Ballards talk about using the church name. I remember an earlier talk saying it was ok to use Mormon since others are more familiar with the name, and now we are supposed to use the official name? I came away with the impression that when talking about us as a people it is ok to use Mormon, but when talking about the actual church to use the official name, and whenever possible avoid confusion between the other "splinter sects" of the church like polygamists. I do not know. I thought it was strange. Again I missed dad during the Priesthood session. I think that is now three in a row without him, one in college and two on the mission.

There was some worry that there might be a demonstration in front of the chapel, but nothing happened.

This week we helped a couple get married and set the date for another couple to get married. It is fun to be teaching complete families since that does not happen often.

I love you guys. Have a great week.

Elder Whiting

He also mentioned that he and Elder Villacres are living alone in a house. He said it is great except for no water.

Boquette [from our Panama map]- Settled in 1911, the town of Boquete is renowned for its pleasant climate, oranges, and festival of flowers and coffee. The western highlands contain extensive cloud rain forest. A visit includes birdwatching, hiking to waterfalls. It is also at the end of the sorta good roadway. Also to the west of the roadway Volcan Baru and the streams coming down it.

Changes

Surprise! I had changes this week. I was kind of bummed because I was having fun with Elder Bentz in Juan Diaz. I remembered that I only had one change with my trainer as well. I was really sad that I did not get to say goodbye to anyone since I was certain I would not have changes, but I stayed up really late packing and writing letters to as many people as I could. Luckily I had some pictures too.
Anyways, now I am in David with Elder Villacres as a zone leader. I completely skipped being a district leader, so I have been scrambling this week to try to learn everything. This zone is one of the biggest ones in the mission. This has been a couple of big adjustments for me going from junior companion to training to now leading the biggest zone is Panama. It is hard at times not to feel overwhelmed with everything. I have been very humbled as I make mistakes while breaking into my various assignments. I am trying my best though to live up to the confidence that has been placed in me.

It is so strange being so far away from the city. The bus ride was a good eight hours, plenty of time for me to let everything sink in and take a few deep breaths. My area reminds me a bit of Chorrera, but without the hills. It is kind of funny that mom mentioned in her last letter that it is too bad that we cannot ride bikes because this area actually has bikes. I think it is one of only 3 or 4 areas in the entire mission that ride bikes. I finally feel like a real missionary when I mount my awesome mountain bike. When it is raining and we are flying down the road, the back tire kicks up muddy water onto the back of me. I have a feeling my clothes are going to get destroyed here.

My water problems continue in this area. Each area I leave I say to myself, ok now I will have water. We pretty much always shower out of buckets here because even when we have water at night the pressure only spurts water out of our lowest water spicket (out front in the yard). I feel like I am in some monastery up in the mountains undergoing some Chinese monk training every time I am carrying buckets of water.

I love you all. Please pray for us and my zone. Thanks for all of your support. Sorry no pictures. You will get a lot next week though.

Love,

Elder Whiting

19 de septiembre

Elder Whiting and Elder Bentz

Looking toward Panama City

Looking toward one of the islands

These are pictures from P-day. They are taken on the Amador Causeway. The Causeway was built with some of the excavation to make the Panama Canal. It is also a breakwater and protective wall for the entry to the Canal and links three off-shore islands.


This week the mission has changes on Wednesday. I am pretty sure nothing will change within my companionship since the new training program is intended to last for two changes. Elder Bentz and I were talking about how fast this change went by yesterday and how every week goes by so quickly.

Our ward had a talent show on Saturday, and a lot of people showed up. We had a couple of investigators there too. I saw them laughing a lot, and they said they had a good time. The four missionaries from Juan Diaz and the three hermanas in Marcasa (a bordering area to us) were the final act of the night. We all sang a song, and had a little skit planned out that we ended up not doing. Ward activities really help people feel comfortable about church and they get to know a lot of members. I like how they see that for the most part we are normal people too.

I hope everyone has a great week. Thanks for all of your letters and support. 

Love,

Elder Whiting

12 de septiembre

 

Last Monday I finally got to visit the famous Panama Canal. We got there just in time to see several ships passing through. I thought it was incredible how they fill up the different locks, and all of the engineering involved in the canal. The whole time I was thinking what a waste it all was and why they did not just dig a giant pathway in between the two oceans, but then we watched a video that explained how the ships travel above sea level, the difference in elevation between the two oceans..etc The canal was really cool, and now I feel like I can leave Panama when my mission is over.

I turned 20 years old this week. I can hardly believe it. Everyone always asks us how old we are, and I have to keep correcting myself when I tell them. It did not really feel like my birthday at all since it was pretty much a normal day except for going to Fridays for dinner. The two times I have gone there have been the only times where I feel like I am back in the states before. All the members were really nice during my birthday week as they called it. Pretty much every dinner we have had there has been something special.

I did not remember Sept 11 until we got back to the apartment. Many Panamanians have taken an interest in it because they have been watching specials on tv. Some have asked us where we were when it happened. Was that really 10 years ago?

I gave a talk this Sunday on the relation between faith and repentance. Every second Sunday of the month the missionaries are assigned to talk on anything they want. I figured we are trying to help people increase their faith and repent daily and through baptism, so I thought it was appropriate. We have a couple of investigators in church on Sunday. The gospel essentials class also gets really animated because it is more of a discussion than the other meetings. One of our investigators asked me for the reference book I used in my talk "True to the Faith" which is slightly more interesting than a dictionary because she wanted to read it!

Have a good week. Thanks for all your love and support.

Love,

Elder Whiting

Katie noticed these pictures - they were posted by Sis. Ward on the Panama mission blog site.

5 de septiembre

This week has been so awesome. I was really sad to see everyone go from the medical brigade. I got to know a few of them pretty well and enjoyed working with them. Each one was an impressive individual. I mostly translated in oral surgery, but my last day they let me help in recovery where I was changing bloody gauze! I became professional by the end of the day. On the last day one of the dentists kindly cleaned my teeth, so I might not have to get dentures when I get home. I also snapped a picture with Elder Martino since I did not get a chance at zone conference.

Elder Bentz and I were really happy because we had two investigators in church on Sunday. One of them stayed for a couple hours and the other one stayed all three. We showed her the baptismal font after church and talked about baptism. We extended an invitation to be baptized, and she accepted a date. We passed by the other guy during the week and gave him a Book of Mormon to read which he accepted. We will be talking with him more and want to set a date with him too. It was a testimony to us to work until the very last moment. We found them both Saturday night.  That was part of Elder Martinos message too that we should work even when we are tired, or raining, or we do not want to. I love the talk by...Henry B. Eyring? that says the Lord usually blesses us after we have given 97 or 98 percent rather than in the beginning. Anyways, it is nice to have progressing investigators again. They both seem super positive.

Thanks for all of your love and support. I love you guys and hope you have a great week.

Love,

Elder Whiting



29 de agosto

Today I am completing 11 months of my mission. Time is so strange here. Sometimes I feel like I have been a missionary my whole life, but at the same time the time is really flying by.

This week has been super busy. I am fighting to stay awake as I write this. I am working at the Stake center in Brisa del Golf translating for a group of dentists that have come to do humanitarian work. They are called Smiles for Central America. I have been working there since Saturday and got a break Sunday. Well, not really because I went back to the area to work. Elder Bentz is with Elder Estrada working in our two areas while Elder Reber has been coming with me to translate. We will be working with the doctors through Wednesday. We work the whole day with the doctors and then return to my area each night to sleep. We are basically on really long divisions. The stake center in Brisa del Golf has been converted into a hospital. They are providing everything a future missionary needs to prepare for the mission (haircuts, pictures, dental, oral surgery, physical...etc). I was assigned to translate in the oral surgery room. I just translate to the patients whatever the doctors say and then translate their responses. They obviously cannot talk during the surgery, but ow and ouch do not need much translating. A lot of the patients were really scared because they would see bloody trays coming out or look in when the door opened. I think we lost a few that decided against it. A lot of them thought that when they were fully numb they would not feel anything, so I had to explain to a lot of them that they would still feel pressure and stuff. Several were hysterical and crying. I thought watching the surgeries and being around so much blood would be difficult, but I was fine and had a really fun day. The night before I looked up a lot of words I did not know like numb. I thought a lot about when I had mine taken out. Since I was put under I did not get to see or really experience any of it, so it was interesting to be in the room and see everything that was going on. I think that if they have time one of the dentists might be able to look at my chompers. I was looking around for Dr. Judd, Dr. Favero, and Dr. Mullen.

They have also needed a lot of help on the humanitarian side. We have been carrying around food and big black duffel bags filled with fleece blankets, toys, and candy. The first day (Saturday) was a lot of moving around heavy stuff and organizing. I was cataloging translator and receiving devices the group brought for Sunday meetings and a fireside. I have a chance to slip away and write you because several of the oral surgeons left for an hour to pass some gifts out. It has been so weird to hear so much English.

This week was also zone conference. Elder Martino from the seventy came to speak to us. I really liked the messages he shared with us, and he set apart a time at the end to answer our questions. He gave some really good responses, so I have been trying to use some of his ideas. I have been working closely with his wife since she is coordinating the translators for the oral surgeons.

So I have had a pretty busy week, but I am having so much fun too. I hope everyone has a good week. I will try to send pictures next week of all the craziness. No, it is actually really organized which is amazing given the scale of what they have going on here.

Love,

Elder Whiting

22 de agosto

 

 

Last pday we went to Panama Viejo because it was completing its anniversary of when it was founded. Normally it is not open on Mondays, so we took advantage of it. Plus we got in free, so we were happy. It really reminded me of some of our other adventures with the family exploring ruins in Central America. I always like to try to imagine what it would have looked like when they were inhabited.

This week was really funny because I have been coughing a lot and practically lost my voice for several days. We relied a lot on my companions Spanish because every time I began to talk I would start coughing. He has had lots of chances to grow this week. Everyone keeps telling me to go to the doctor. I did not tell them we do not normally go to the doctor for every little cold or cough, but they were convinced that I must have tuberculosis.

The ward is really animated with missionary work right now. The mission leader started leaving with us for visits, and has been a great help to us since he is a convert. We have started several programs such as group nights and passing out a Book of Mormon each Sunday. The group nights are just social activities at members houses. They invite their friends and neighbors which we get to meet and share a message with. The Book of Mormon is passed out during the week to someone. They then go up to the pulpit and share their experience with everyone Sunday, then get to pick who is going to go next.

Thanks for all of your support and mail. I love you guys. Have a great week. 

Love,

Elder Whiting

15 de agosto

Elder Sanchez headed home after completing his two year mission. Neither of us could sleep the night before changes because he was going home, and I was informed that I would be training a new elder. My new companion is Elder Bentz. He is from Los Angeles, California, so he is cool. We have been getting along well. He is a lot better prepared than I was when I entered the field. I have been impressed with his Spanish. When I talked to Elder Voss at changes he was happy that he is going to be a "grandpa", so we took a picture of the three generations (Elder Voss who trained me, me, and now Elder Bentz that I am training). Then have a new program that went into use this week. It is called the first 12 weeks which is two changes, and yes we will be together for both of them. They are now keeping trainers with their trainees for two changes. I thought that was interesting since I was only with my trainer for one change. All of the trainers received DVD players and have video segments to watch each morning to supplement our studies. President Ward also added an hour of extra study time each morning. We have a packet that tells us what we are supposed to study each day and the application/goals for that week. I took a peek at the end of the two changes, and the new elder is supposed to take the lead is pretty much everything from planning to proselyting. He is also supposed to be able to train after our time together. The program has worked really well when it was tested in the states. My life has been really difficult since Wednesday. I have been fairly overwhelmed by going up to senior companion and training in one change. I am used to teaching the area to the new elder that comes, but this is completely different. I have been reminded of myself a lot this week and when I first arrived in Panama. The new elders that come are so eager to get to work, and so full of their "good ideas" from the Missionary Training Center haha. I have realized how far I have come experience wise as a missionary, with the language, and street smarts in Panama. I feel bad for Elder Bentz since this area has more challenges than most. He has a super positive attitude though. I have been watching him pretty closely. Some days full of rejection can be brutal. That is a normal part of the mission, but on top of that I remember how hard the beginning is. Anyways, please pray for my sanity as I adjust to my new assignment.

Love,

Elder Whiting

 

8 de agosto

This week we had capacitaciones (training) in the chapel of Bella Vista where changes are. President Ward really emphasized asking inspired questions to get to the needs of the people we teach faster. I really learned a lot. I met the senior couple serving here, the wallthrops or something throp. I do not really remember. Anyways, I talked to Hm somethingthrop for a bit. He has been working for the church forever, and has worked on tons of temples. He is a very interesting guy. President Ward and his wife are always really good to us. They bought us all pizza, and I stuffed as many carrots and brocoli my stomach as I can since I do not get those a lot.

 

My weird food of the week was cow heart. It tasted like any other cow meat, and I actually liked it a lot. I was joking with Elder Sanchez that we have tried almost every part of a cow. The same lady said she was going to make us cow tail next. Thanks... Anyways, my food adventures continue.

 

Saturday our baptism went through as planned. She could not decide who she wanted to baptize her, so she wrote "yo" on a piece of paper and kept the other one blank. Then she crumpled them both up and had us each take one off the table. I thought that was so strange. Elder Sanchez drew the paper with "yo" on it, so he was able to end his mission with a baptism. We had a lot of support in the baptismal service, so we were happy about that. She bore her testimony afterwards, and I realized how much knowledge in the gospel she had gained. A lot of members came and her family was there. Afterwards, we had refreshments and broke a piñata. I am always really motivated to work even harder after a baptism.

 

The scare right now in Panama is the dreaded dengue. I always thought people got really sick from it, but 6 people have already died. There have been a lot more cases of it this year than last year, so the government is taking action. There have been lots of fumigation trucks going around spraying everything. I see men walking around with a device that looks like Br. Howes potato canon shooting out poison. Now whenever I get bitten by a mosquito I pray to God that I do not get it.

 

This week we will have changes, and I will receive a new companion. I am 99% sure that I will be staying here in Juan Diaz. That is fine by me.

 

Love you guys,

 

Elder Whiting

 

 

1 de agosto

Celebrating Elder Sanchez' 22nd birthday at Friday's
[in a separate short email he again commented about how expensive it was.]

Here are some pictures of my apartment [in Juan Diaz]

 

I looked at my suitcase, and it appears like both wheels are the same. I am not sure if the other one sheared off as well and I never noticed. The wheels are functionable, but it looks like the outer layer came off or something.

[If you remember a prior email the wheel on his Costco luggage delaminated, leaving the inner shell. It did this on both sides and is the second piece of Costco luggage to do this.]


Wow, we are already in August. I can hardly believe it. 

Elder Sanchez turned 22 on the 30th of July, so we went with a group to Fridays to celebrate. The Fridays in our area is a symbol of America for me. I can feel like I am in the states for a bit. The menu was a little different though, and a lot of the plates included rice. I searched out something without a single grain of rice, a California club sandwich to show my pride for my state. The food was painfully expensive for a missionary budget. I never realized how expensive eating out was. I am afraid I let dad pick up the tab every time. The food was so good though, and we had a great time. The week before, Elder Sanchez was telling everyone about his birthday. All of the members are really nice and all wanted to throw parties. They all asked me when my birthday is and if I am going to be here. I think they are already planning something. They are so funny. I think they are more excited than I am.

We have a baptism planned for this Saturday. We were really worried about her because when we passed by her house to pick her up for church she was not there, and the house was all locked up. I was surprised when we walked into church and there she was sitting in the pews waiting for the meeting to start. She got there before us.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Love,

Elder Whiting