This week has gone by really quickly. We've changed our focus from the investigators to less active and inactive members. The mission president has been focusing on the members because there is such a huge problem with inactive members. It's been really really interesting. I´m learning that every single person has a need...something that we need to find and help them with. One of the inactive members that we've been meeting with really really wants to get married. We're helping them prepare for that. Their marriage date is the 16th of November. It's fun and rewarding to see the look of excitement and the glow that she has in her eyes when we talked about how she´ll be able to take the sacrament again. She said that it's been ten years. We´re really excited for her. I can´t wait to see the glow in her eyes again. Her husband isn't a member...we've had a couple lessons with him but realized that we need to focus on both of them....and what both of them really need is to get married.

Tomorrow we have a meeting with the bishop to talk about the plan to reactivate the members.  Currently there are 500 members in our ward and there were 95 that went to church on Sunday. We need to rescue this area. Something else that I've thought about is that out of the 95 members that go to church there are many that are struggling with problems. I know that we can help them...we´re still working on how. It's hard because there's not a "rescue the members" manual and "Preach my Gospel" doesn't really help with teaching inactive and active members. So we´ll be studying the scriptures and praying a lot to know what to do. 

My health has significantly improved. The main problem that I have now is we don´t have water in the house. The only time that it works is when we don´t need to use it...well at least it seems like it. Thankfully we've been able to fill up the bucket in the shower (by keeping the water turned on all night) so I've been able to "shower."  I´m missing the blessings of running water. Thankfully I haven´t been having too many problems from dehydration. 

I continue to learn more about myself and the gospel. I also keep learning about how much I need to change about myself. But along with that also comes accepting things about me that can´t change. I need to embrace the idea of the scripture and make "weak things become strong."  I know that some things that we view as weaknesses can actually turn out to be great strengths. A lot depends on how you look at it. Something that I struggle with is caring about what other people think...and there are some people that can´t see the slightest bit of good in me. I guess the key is  to care about what the people that matter think. It's like the saying "those that matter don´t care and those that care don´t matter."

 

So here I am...in Panama..learning...growing...and trying to save the world one inactive member at a time.

I love you and miss you family and friends <3 

I´m really not looking forward to this coming birthday...I have a feeling that I will be celebrating it in an area that I don´t know with a companion that I don´t know....I hope not...transfers are October 31st (there are some missionaries that are going to go to changes in their costumes haha.) 

Okay this letter is officially over and out. 

LOVE YOU!!