July 14 - 21, 2014

Monday, July 14

I forgot to mention that Jim is really coming along with his Spanish! He is reading quite fluently and understanding way more. He's also memorized part of the ordinances. I'm proud of him!

Today, while we were driving home from buying our groceries, one of the missionaries shared about his life growing up. It's really an incredible story! When he was three years old his mother left his father, taking all three children, but left them with three different families and never returned for them. 

When he was eight his teacher told him he had to use his real name because he hadn't been adopted. This left him very confused, so when he got home he waited around outside playing soccer until his mother was finished visiting with the neighbour. She then told him about his birth mother dropping him off at their house. 

He said they were very loving parents, but unfortunately some time after he'd turned 12 years old his mother died and shortly after so did his father. The uncles and the rest of the extended family got together and talked about sending him to an orphanage because he wasn't really family. He overheard this conversation so he ran away to a friends's house. 

He asked the friend if he could live with him and the friend helped to set him up with some sort of accommodation. The father of this friend was a butcher and taught him how to butcher meat, and then he would deliver it. He supported himself with the meagre wages from this arrangement. He lived at his friend's house for one year. 

After he had developed his skill as a butcher he moved out and shared a boarding house with three or four other boys. He was very good at saving his money; however he was too young to be able to get a bank account on his own, so he kept all his money on him. One of the guys was about six or seven years older than he was and drove a truck for a living. He started go on runs with this other guy. Eventually he was allowed to drive the truck too and started driving his own runs. He saved his money and when he was 18 years old he had enough to buy his own truck. Eventually he was able to own three trucks. 

He told me about a time when his truck broke down and he had to wait to have someone come out to fix it. Until that time he had to stay with the truck. An older woman noticed him and asked what he was doing there. When he explained she invited him to come to her house for a shower and gave him lunch. She did this every day for a week until he was able to get back on the road. 

He joined the church some time in his 20s. He eventually ended up working for the church, supervising the building of most of the church buildings in Argentina. 

He and his wife have three children, but one was hit by a car on his way home from school and died. His wife's brother's wife died and he asked them to take their three daughters because he couldn't take care of them himself. At that time his wife was recovering from chemotherapy. After a few years the brother remarried so he took his daughters back. However, the step wife was not nice to the girls so they were making plans to move into friend's homes. Their bishop came and told this couple what was going on, so she went to her brother and said she was going to take the girls back to live with them again. The girls lived with them until they were grown up. 

What an incredible story about determination and persevering. He has not let his early life embitter him, but it is obvious he has been affected by these experiences. He's the man he's become because of them. He's very kind and has a wonderful sense of humour!

Today's P Day excursion took us to Panama Vieja. It was  plundered and destroyed by pirates, like Captain Morgan. I believe it was built in the 1500s and destroyed in the 1700s. There are incredible views from the tower that was built as a defence point. 

                            President & Hermana Boren at Panama Vieja.

                  President & Hermana Martin in front of the tower in Panama Vieja. 

                                   Today's view from the top of the tower. 

                            

     Presidente Martin, President and Hermana Boren, Hermana Martin and Elder Mathieson

                                              Some of the foliage nearby. 

                             

                                   Hermana Mathieson in front of a banyan tree. 

When we arrived at Panama Vieja we found out it's closed on Mondays, but some guys that looked like they were working told us we could come in anyway. They had us pay $20 total for all four couples. We didn't think anything about it. However, just as we were leaving some other men asked what we were doing there. Apparently some unauthorized men allowed us to enter and made $20. 

Tuesday, July 15

Hermana Martin, 2nd Assistant to the Matron, asked me to help Hna. Torrero to weed out the baptismal clothing and men's shirts so that we would know how many new ones were needed. 

Wednesday, July 16

Today we took the bus to the mall for Jim to be able to get his hair cut. While waiting for the bus Jim started talking to a woman who was also waiting. He encouraged me to move over closer to her so I could take over the conversation. She was very friendly! She gave us a container of dulce de leche that she had bought for a friend and wouldn't be able to see after all. The bus was taking quite a while and so when a taxi pulled up she asked him if he'd be willing to drive us to the mall/bus terminal for a dollar each. The three of us shared a taxi, but we insisted on paying so we could return the good deed. She also gave us her name and phone numbers. She said she would really like us to visit her when we come to her part of Panama. She lives towards the Costa Rican side of Panama. We hope to make it out to visit. When we get there we'd like to bring her a Book of Mormon. 

We did catch the bus on the way back home. As we were walking up the hill we started talking with a woman who was also walking up the hill, but on the other side of the road. She mentioned that she and her husband were both teachers at the school at the bottom of the hill, across from the bus stop. We asked her where she was from and she said that they've lived in so many places around the world that they're not from anywhere. However, I'm pretty sure she's from the States originally. She said that they live at the top of the hill in the village of Cardenas. We asked her about crocodiles, because we'd heard rumours about crocodiles being spotted along this road. She said she didn't know anything about crocodiles, but had seen iguanas and snakes. She also said she'd heard that the occasional jaguar had wandered out of the jungle along the road. 

Tonight I passed off the initiatory ordinances in Spanish. 

Thursday, July 17

Today we walked to the village of Cardenas, up the hill from the temple. It was a beautiful walk with jungle on either side of the road. It's a lovely community! Next time we hope to have more time to walk around. There is nothing up there but homes, but it's a nice change from walking around the graveyard. 

                               

       The jungle looks like this along both sides of the road leading up to the village of Cardenas. 

                               A house for sale in Cardenas. It has a three car carport. 

   

                                          View of the side of the house. 

               Notice how the backyard borders the jungle. What a lovely house and yard!

                                   

                                              Jim standing in front of a palm fan. 

                                  

The temple was fairly busy tonight! It feels so good when we get patrons to be able to have both sessions run. 

Friday, July 18

I went to the mall with Hna. Martin because she needed to get her hair done. On the way home she noticed a sloth in the same tree as before, right across the street from the temple compound. 

                                    

                           Sorry, I know it's not the clearest picture. It was munching on a leaf. 

Tonight was an amazing night! The people that showed up all brought their own clothing! We only had to give out clothing to missionaries, and four are returning tomorrow so it was suggested they use the same clothing for tomorrow.  

Jim officiated both sessions tonight. Hermano Martin the 2nd counsellor in the temple presidency, came up with the idea of having Jim wear the headset so he could hear the session in English. I'm so glad Hno. Martin is looking for ways so Jim can help out wherever he's needed!

Saturday, July 19

President Boren had asked us to do a presentation about the temple to a Primary group that was coming with their parents to the temple. We were supposed to meet them at 10 am but it took awhile to gather them together. 

We had 16 children and 3 members of the Primary presidency. It was a nice group! We sang "I Love to See the Temple" and "I Have a Family Here on Earth". We asked them what they knew about temples and why their parents make the sacrifice to come so far? We then shared some photos of the temple and some of the significant rooms. We had the children draw and/or colour pictures of their eternal families in front of a picture of the temple. We also went for a walk around the temple. When we got to the front doors I told the children that if they promised to be very quiet I would open the doors and show them inside the doors. They were very quiet and excited to see inside. It's a pleasure to be entrusted with this responsibility! 

                                       Working on their eternal family pictures. 

                              

                           The primary group on the walk around of the temple. 

We didn't finish with the children until noon, so we went back to our apartment to put away our supplies and had a quick snack before going over to the temple to see if we could help finish up the laundry. 

Tonight we went to dinner in Casco Viejo, and then walked over to the National Theatre for a Folklorical Spectacular. One of the sisters with whom we work on Thursdays and Fridays has a son who participates in a Folklorical dance group.

                              

                                 The men sitting in their box for the performance. 

                             

                                 Hermana Bjornason and me in the women's box. 

These traditional dresses are called polleras. They are hand embroidered and cost between $300-$500 each. They are so beautiful!

I was going to post a couple of video clips, but I can't figure out how to do it. If I figure it out I'll post them later. 

Sunday, July 20

The temple president had asked his counsellor to request that Jim go to the temple this afternoon to check temple recommends for a meeting that they were having with the sealers. He also asked if I would accompany Jim in case any of them needed clothing. What a privilege to be able to be in the temple on Sunday!

Hermana Carmack, the matron of the Panama Mission, told me about an exciting excursion that she, her husband and daughter took to visit an Embara native village. It's only about a 45 minute drive and 20 minute canoe ride. She said it would be worth going when we have time. 

Monday, July 21

After grocery shopping we went to the fish market (Mercado Mariscos) for lunch. Jim had a seafood mix and I had a whole fried fish. I should have taken a picture because the cook put a French fry in its mouth. It was very good. 

After walking around the fish market we drove across the beltway that was built to go around Casco Viejo. It is a four lane road that goes out over the ocean, along the coast. 

                   Mathiesons, Hna. Martin, Bjornasons, Borens in front of the fish market. 

                                        Fishing boats at the fish market 

Just before we got to the turn off for the temple the president pulled over to see if we'd all be willing to drive out to one of the locks. We saw a ship that was already passing through the lock, two who were just about ready to enter and one other waiting. It was quite exciting!

We had an enjoyable P Day!

Elders Serving in the Panama Temple Mission

Temple Sister Missionaries

Catch Up from July 1-13, 2014

This post might be a little too long for some of you. I am trying to catch up on my blog, so I've included as much detail as I could remember from July 1st through the 13th. Well...I think I'm finally caught up!

Sunday, July 13

Every Sunday afternoon Jim and I take our iPads outside and we sit near the temple or take short walks to get outside in order to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings, plus we don't want to be inside our apartment for the whole day. We don't know what the rest of the couples do on Sunday's, but we have seldom seen anyone after church. Anyway, quite often we meet people who come to see the temple. It's fun to visit with them! Last week there was a dad and daughter who were in Panama for a Spanish educators' conference who had hiked up the road leading to the temple. They were all sweaty so we invited them inside to cool down inside our apartment. They didn't want anything to drink because they were fasting. (During my first mission my mission president said that when it's extremely hot it isn't safe to go without water during the fast.)

Today we were outside and a family came up to enquire if we knew anything about the YW's activity that was supposed to be at the church. No one had shown up and the family arrived later than it was supposed to have started. We visited with them, for about an hour, until the 3 1/2 yr old fell and scraped her knee. We invited them inside our apartment for a a bandaid and some chocolate. They were so appreciative!

We learned that the woman's first daughter was from another man who didn't want anything to do with her if she joined the church. She joined the church 10 years ago, but it took her 2 years to decide to get baptized. Her current husband is the father of their 31/2 year old little girl. He joined the church six years ago. His father, who is Chinese, didn't like the idea of him joining the church but he said that his father realizes now that he's a better man. They've invited us over to their house for supper. I hope it happens!

When I got home from church I opened the door to discover Jim had invited two men in for some snacks. These men are here from the States. They are working on the air conditioning systems for the apartments and temple. A funny story that one told was about, when he was going to BYU, his roommate used to answer the phone saying, "Hello from the top, Moroni speaking."  One time this man, Jacob, got a phone call from his dad, Nephi. So this is how the conversation went:
"Hello from the top, Moroni speaking."
"Hello, this is Nephi. I'd like to speak with Jacob."
I guess this really made the roommate speechless for a moment.

President Boren came upstairs to ask if we'd be willing to do another temple presentation for a group of 20 Primary children who are coming with their parents this coming Saturday. The kids are so sweet, but just like anywhere some are very lively. We think we'll buy some pencils, etc because we'll probably do this again.

Saturday, July 12

The last three Saturdays have been so busy, at the temple, that the temple coordinators have asked the sister missionaries to work in the laundry, exclusively, so the Panamenian sisters who only do one shift a month can enjoy doing ordinances. Of course, we willingly accepted. By the time the temple was supposed to close there was still a ton of laundry, so we ended up getting a snack and returning to finish up. It is so much fun to work together, especially because our husbands come back to help too. It would be wonderful if every Saturday would be as busy as these last three!

I hope I can paint a picture to try to explain how busy the temple gets on Saturdays. We have almost run out of baptismal jumpers and towels. We've had around 75 youth and new members come to do baptisms.

This past Saturday the women's changing room had three layers of sisters waiting to do ordinance work or for a cubicle in which to change. My cubicle had clothing hanging from the hook, hangers left hanging over the walls of the cubicle, above the lockers, on the floor and on the bench. Usually the sisters are given a numbered plastic bag and a token so they can get their clothing back. Yesterday there were four women at the temple to do their own work, including sealings, so we couldn't give the other sisters bags as we would normally store them in the bride's room, which was occupied. What a wonderful feeling to see so many coming to the temple!

The first Saturday we returned to the temple we were there until 5:45 pm. The temple closes at 1 pm. Today we were only there until 4 pm.

The laundry room had all 3 washers and dryers going throughout the day. Just as we'd think we were almost caught up another session would end. At 1 pm, three Saturdays ago, we had all the machines going, six baskets of laundry waiting to be washed and/or dried, and then the session ended and we ended up with the folding table piled high with dresses, slips, pants, shirts, socks, slippers and ceremonial clothing!!!

There are not any rentals at this temple, yet many of the people arrive without their own temple clothing. If they would follow the guideline regarding personal temple clothing it would help to eliminate a lot of the burden in the laundry. We should only have to be washing baptistery clothing and towels, etc, and of course clothing borrowed by missionaries and visitors from outside the temple district. Oh well...at least they come!

Friday, July 11

Tonight a sister (Hermana Da Silva) from Manaus, Brazil came to pick up her son from his mission here in Panama. She attended the temple and was really drawn towards me, telling me she felt we were sisters from the pre-existence. I think I surprised Hermana Garcia, the first assistant to the temple matron, by understanding Hermana Da Silva who only spoke Portuguese.

Hermana Da Silva arranged with President Carmack, the Panama Mission president, to surprise her son. She found out from him the flight so she could book her return flight in order to travel home with her son. He came to the patron apartments with some of the other missionaries who were also going home. When he walked in he saw his mom. Elder Da Silva is a very nice young man!

Thursday, July 10
Today the Bjornasons and we had our first bus experience. We had mentioned to them that we saw the name of the bus that goes to the Causeway so they asked if we'd go with them. Today we caught the bus to Albrook Mall terminal and transferred to the Causeway bus. It was a positive experience.

I gave out a pass along card to a woman who sat with Jim and me on the bus. We had to take a taxi home from Albrook terminal because the Bjornasons had to get back for the English class they teach. We gave another pass along card to the taxi driver. He sounded very interested. We've put the mission office phone number on each card, so hopefully someone will call.

Wednesday, July 9

The Massaros brought us a stack of pass along cards!!!!

Tuesday, July 8

Today is my birthday and Jim asked what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to go for a walk along the Amador Causeway. I believe I've mentioned it before. It was built during the construction of the Panama Canal from the boulders and rocks that were dug up. They placed them in the ocean to create a road connecting three outlying islands. It's a wonderful place to walk, enjoy the ocean views and watch the ships lined up waiting to enter the canal. Jim was going to take me out for lunch too, but I decided I'd rather keep walking and eat leftovers at home.

Here are a couple of photos of ships waiting to enter the Panama Canal.

We noticed that the bus went to the causeway so we think we're going to give it a try next week.

After lunch we went to the temple for our shift. What a wonderful way to spend my birthday!
When I got home from the temple there were paper birthday balloons on the door and a bag hanging from the doorknob. Hermana Boren (the temple matron) had decorated the door and left me a couple of birthday cards and some chocolates.

It was a perfect day from start to finish!

Monday, July 7

Today was our P Day. We started our day by getting up around 6:15 and walking. At 9:30 we (all the non-Panamenian senior missionaries) went grocery shopping. When we got home we had to make food for the birthday potluck and FHE in the evening.
It is so nice that they celebrate our birthdays monthly. President Garcia, the first counsellor in the temple presidency, is having his birthday on Thursday. The sisters made two cakes, one for me and one for Presidente García.

Sunday, July 6

Today the Bjornasons invited us over to watch The Other Side of Heaven. It was very enjoyable! The Bjornasons are originally from California, but when they retired from teaching they moved to Utah to be closer to their kids. This was only 9 months before their mission. They have become our friends, ones with whom we share taxis for outings and sometimes meet in the mornings while walking.
Saturday, July 5

We had a good turn out at the temple today! Saturdays are the best because people come on Friday night and stay over at the patron apartments so they can get to the 7 am session.

Hermana Martin, the second assistant to the matron, went with me back to the mall to get highlights. I like my hair much better now!

The Martins are from Argentina. It feels like old home week around them!!!! I know Argentina isn't Uruguay, but there are so many similarities. It's fun having them here!

Friday, July 4

I now know all the temple ordinance by memory in Spanish!

Thursday, July 3

We decided to go to Albrook Mall, which also holds the bus terminal. Our plan was to walk down the hill and hope to catch a taxi to the mall. About half way down the hill a car pulled up and offered us a ride. This couple, the Wends, have moved to Panama from California. They come once a month to work at the temple. I can't remember the name of the city/town they're from.

When we got to the mall I went to the hair salon to get my hair cut, dyed and highlighted, and the Wends took Jim to get us bus passes in the "Daigon Alley" part of the mall, which is the bus terminal. Jim calls it this because it reminds him of the shopping area in the Harry Potter series.

I do not like the way the guy cut my hair; it is way too short, especially on the sides. I also don't like the colour. It is way too dark and he wouldn't give me highlights?!

Jim wasn't able to get the bus passes because I had the copies of our passports. At least he learned where to go, so we were able to get our bus passes before we left. It only costs two dollars for each card and $0.25 to ride the bus or metro.

When the Bjornasons found out we had bus passes they decided they would get passes too.

Tonight I worked in the temple laundry with a sweet Panamenian ordinance worker. I asked her a few questions so I could get to know her better. I found out she has ten children and that when she decided to get baptized her common law husband didn't want to marry her (He's the father of her three youngest children), so she had to decide between a man who was the father of her children and one who didn't want her as a wife, or being baptized into the church. She chose the church and is such a faithful member. She comes to the temple four days every week to work the afternoon shift. She's one of my favourite people!

So many people have amazing stories! I need to be more diligent in writing every night so I don't forget them.

Wednesday, July 2
Jim and I were sitting out by the temple and we saw the Massaros. They're the medical missionaries in the Panama Mission. They had come to attend the temple and were just making some phone calls prior to walking down the hill to catch a bus. Jim invited them in for something to drink.

As we were walking toward the apartment we invited them to stay for lunch. It was very pleasant. They've become good friends. We mentioned to them that we wished we had some literature to share with the taxi drivers because we always have conversations about why we're here. Elder Massaro said he always keeps some pass along cards in his white shirt pocket. He gave us the three he had and promised to get us more from the mission office. I think this is a perfect way to be able to do missionary work. I'm excited!

The Massaros also told us they would help us learn how to take the bus. There are no bus schedules here.

Tuesday, July 1

Happy Canada Day! Today was also a holiday for the Panamanians. Their new president took office today.

Last year, on July 1st the temple kept their usual hours, but this year they decided to try opening the temple at 7 for the first session and holding a session every hour and a half and closing the temple at 1 pm. They said it made a huge difference because there were tons of people for all four sessions.

We decided to invite all the missionary couples to celebrate Canada Day with us. We made two large apple crisps (Thanks for your recipe Helen!), used red plastic bowls, spoons and cups, white napkins, and put out the Canadian flag we brought. We also gave everyone a Canadian pin. Jim told them how Canada Day came to be. It was a fun gathering! We all sat around chatting for quite a while. It's nice to get to know the people with whom we are serving a little more personally.