Week 28

This week was full of scams. The first scam is that the week is already over cause it feels like it's been 2 days since last P day. 

The second scam is that we were teaching this single mom and her son and they were progressing so well and coming to church and even stake primary activities but then yesterday they told us that they wanted us to stop visiting them and it BROKE my heart. They didn't even have any real reason either, she was just like ¨Wow all this has been very peaceful and beautiful. no more please¨ and I´m just, very sad about it. 

Anyways. The last scam is a happy scam. Last transfer Hermana Castro and I met this very flamboyant designer guy who told us that if we ever have a free day we should go to this place in the city called Casco Viejo/Altar de Oro and we got so excited to go on P day but then we asked the Zone Leaders for permission and they said no because there's ¨too many gringos¨ and they were worried we'd be swept away in the things of the world and we were very sad. But then when I was on divisions I planted the seeds and very indiscreetly left hints at my Hermana Leader that we should go there for Hermana P day and today my dream came truue. I took a ton of pictures with my posterity and also of the sights so I´m just gonna randomly throw in ones that look good from the thumbnail and call it good. 

Yo con Mis Dos Hijas

It's only kind of apostate that a group of missionaries went to a Catholic church and the beach on P day but don´t even worry cause we didn't even touch the water or anything. Everything was really beautiful and nice and we all felt very disoriented but all in all it was a good show.

Aside from that, this week I was reading the story of Lazarus in John 11 and also reading in 3 Nephi 17 and was left feeling very amazed at the reality of Jesus Christ. I feel like Sometimes we forget that he had feelings and also that he prayed a LOT. I don´t know if that makes any sense but if you all go read those chapters maybe you´ll be like ¨oh I see what you mean, Hermana Tolman¨

Love

Hermana.

Tolman.

A mini diablo rojo! (the crazy busses we rode everywhere back in Arraiján)

Hna Castro is now finishing the training a brand new gringa so her English is improving a lot! Here is a video of her practicing with us. She always accidentally says things like "the houses like me" instead of "I like the houses" because in Spanish when you want to say you like something you say "me gusta" which technically means "it pleases me"

Week 27

Hello hello.

This week was pleasant. Happy. Tranquilito. We had a multi-zone conference and all the counsel we received was surely very inspired and wholesome. I love my new mission President and wife. They're very focused on strengthening ¨Sión Panama¨ and not just baptizing people and then leaving them to die. 

Divisions in Los Andes

Also I saw my trainer Hermana Strong which is a more rare thing and we took family pictures with Hermana Ruiz. 

We also had divisions this week with our Hermana Leaders and it was a DELIGHT cause I was with Hermana Jardine who just got back from being in San Blas for the last 6 months and she is just like my fun fun coworker Evie from a time gone by so yeah anyways it was a fun day. Also not to mention we were in Los Andes and that's the area that Hermana Head (my other trainer) was born in so I've literally heard so much about everything in that area and I got to meet her recent converts and see the TRUTH about everything she´s said about her house and the hills and stairs and people. It was like living in a book I've read. 

Anyways. I think I had more to say but I can´t remember. OH. A thing I forgot to say in last weeks email is that Carlos (who got baptized a few weeks ago) went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and we heard about it from all the members and it was just the happiest thing. (he kept going ¨me bautizaron CINCO VECES!¨ and would show you 5 fingers on his hand to emphasize how many times and how awesome it was haha). 

Also this week I've been asked about snow a very unusual amount of times. 

This email is already very scattered so I think I´m just gonna throw in a quote from Elder Christofferson and call it good. Ciao until next week my friendydoodldoos :)

"Partaking of the Savior´s flesh and drinking His blood means to put out of our lives anything inconsistent with a Christlike character and to make His attributes our own. This is the larger meaning of repentance- not only turning away from past sin but also ´a turning of the heart and will to God´ going forward. God will show us our flaws and failings but He will also help us turn weakness into strength. If we sincerely ask, ´´What lack I yet?´´ He will not leave us to guess, but in love He will answer for the sake of our happiness. And He will give us hope.¨

Hna Tolman 

Neighborhood cats raiding the dumpster. There's so many!

Artsy view from this guy we're teaching's house. His name is Joey but he spells it Yojoi, lol 

This week we had to get up early to go to Migrations and so we were leaving the house around when we normally wake up. I took the opportunity to record the classic sounds that wake me up every morning (particularly this fish salesman that walks past our house).

This is one of our recent converts, Aiysha. She wanted me to film her practicing her english, or at least it started that way. At the end shes imitating the muchachos that stand outside of busses in Panama and yell where the bus is going (one of my favorite jokes of hers).

Week 26

Hello,

This week was, oof yeah, hot stuff. Even better than last week. We had the baptism of Zoila. I´ve never met a woman as elect as Zoila. 

When we found her she told us that her son and spouse had passed away so we pulled a classic missionary and testified of eternal families and how we have to make covenants with God in order to achieve them and she accepted a baptismal date and told us that she felt very suddenly inexplicably happy and we did too so we all started crying tears of joy right there in the doorway. Normally when we set baptismal dates with people, we have to keep resetting goals because they need more time but with Zoila she got baptized on the first date we set with her and I´ve never met someone more ready. She's freakin 81 years old and walks to church every Sunday without us even having to remind her (and she lives significantly far from the chapel, like Hna Ruiz and I wouldn't make that walk and we´re young and called of God). She told us that one time she was walking to church and almost got hit by a car but she felt a hand push her out of the way but there was nobody there. 

Also I´ll never forget when we shared the first vision and she gasped when we said ¨This is my Beloved Son, hear him!¨ and now she has the first vision memorized.

Basically I am just so full of joy and love that I got to meet Zoila and that's all I have to say. Also HUH. Tomorrow I complete 6 months of my mission. That's one third! That's so crazy. Also today is the first day that I can say ¨A year from today I´ll not be here¨ and that's even more crazy to think cause I still feel like I just got here. 

That's all, thanks bye love you all.

Hermana Tolman

This is me with one of Zoila's grandkids who has special needs. He loves when we come to visit

Week 25

Sometimes mission is hard. Sometimes mission is very good and happy and you never want to stop feeling the way you do cause its so happy. This week was very happy. I don’t know if it’s the joy of motherhood or WHAT, but it’s been good stuff.

(lol, last transfer my fun friends were like ¨wow its so amazing to see how God magnifies you to fufill your calling¨ and I was like ¨lol can’t relate¨, but here I am, relating.) 

Anyways. oh, OH. Speaking of motherhood! Mi chichi! My baby! Her name is Hermana Ruiz! She´s from El Salvador! She´s the only member of the church in her family and she´s just great. She doesn´t speak a word of English and her Spanish is very different from Panamanian spanish but somehow things are going fine. 

I don´t think I have anything else to say this week except that I had the biggest epiphany of my life. Theres this train station/bus stop place that the whole time I´ve been here everyone calls ¨La Roozbel¨ and it made me mildly confused but I just rolled with it. But THEN, I was sitting and I saw a sign that said ¨Roosevelt¨ and my mind just exploded. 

Thats all, thank you.

Hermana Tolman

Me with Hermana Johnson, one of our mission financial secretaries who's going home this transfer :'(

Some homemade tembleque that a woman who we teach gifted to us (tembleque are these beaded hair accessories that women wear in their hair as part of the traditional Panamanian dress..google it, its cool!)

My District Leader and his companion LOVED Carlos when they came to do his baptismal interview and my District Leader is finishing his mission so he decided to leave ALL his ties as a gift to newly-baptized Carlos!

Me with one of our neighborhood friends, Zelena