Semana 57 (My New Friend Eduardo)

Buenas!!

Hope everyone's doing well! Not much time today, so Imma hit the highlights!

Wednesday one of the 70s showed up to Antón! Not sure what his last name is but he's my new friend Eduardo! He was here because of the seminary stuff we are doing. However, we also went to visit some families with him! He bought us lunch, and we got to eat and talk with him! It was a cool experience!

The rest of the week was pretty normal! On Friday we ate with some members tho! They were watching a Turkish telenovela. That's right folks! Turkish telenovelas are a big thing here in Panamá! I'm not saying I'm a fanatic or anything, but they are soooooooo good! Super, super dramatic! But so good!

Then Sunday was good too! Not many showed up to church, but I got to hear a lot about how Hermano Cardona was filled with gasses! He's an old man and the group leader. Not sure why I shared with the entire world that he was full of gasses, but in his words he was "LLENACITO DE GASES." 

The work continues here in Antón! I love these people to death, and I'm grateful to be able to help them!

The spiritual thought is about the prophet this week. Cause ya know, General Conference... but it's important that everyone of us have a testimony that he truly is a prophet! I mean how cool - we have a man sent from God to teach us and guide us! God talks to us in these latter days through His prophet! I encourage you all to ponder that, and to really ask yourselves if you know President Russell M Nelson is a prophet of God! Start preparing yourselves now for conference! Just ask yourselves the question "How would I listen and trust if Jesus was speaking right now?" Well, it's the same with the prophet, his words are God's words! 

Love you all lots! Hope you all have a great week! Enjoy conference! Secret Lutze family traditions for conference to try are pizzart or face cookies. I would explain what they are, but it's a secret.... 

Keep praying for my people! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

Visits with E. Eduardo R. Mora of the Seventy

It must be delicious?

Pen story?

Semana 57

Dear Elder Lutze, 

I hope this last week went really well for you and your companion Elder Rendon! 

Another busy week of course!!! I went to the traveling tabernacle which was absolutely one of the coolest things to see! There’s so much symbolism in our temples today that is carried through from the Old Testament times!!! I love it! It’s just more proof that the gospel is true!!!

Our Emotional Resilience group met again on Wednesday. I’m so grateful for these ladies-the love and support they give me! 

I’m really looking forward to General Conference! I love listening for personal revelations! Dad says we’re going to do cookie faces instead of Pizzart. We’ll see how those turn out!

Our Cedar City weekend was great! We saw Emma and The Play That Went Wrong! We ate great food from The Pizza Cart, Jimmy John’s, and Las Flores. Of course there was ice cream involved at night along with some Canasta. We also did some DI shopping and wore the wigs dad found to our play that night! 

My thought for today… the gospel is FREEDOM!

Paul taught that when the veil of blindness is taken away from our hearts, the Spirit of the Lord brings liberty into our lives (see 2 Corinthians 3:17). Those who obey the gospel of Jesus Christ are freed from the captivity of the adversary. President Gordon B. Hinckley testified: “The gospel is not a philosophy of repression, as so many regard it. It is a plan of freedom that gives discipline to appetite and direction to behavior. Its fruits are sweet and its rewards are liberal” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1965, 78; see also the commentary for John 8:30–32). 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught that it is Satan, not God, who seeks to destroy agency and liberty: “It is an eternal principle that has existed with God from all eternity that man should be free. God ordained the law of agency in [the premortal life] so that his spirit children could either follow him or rebel against his laws and go to perdition with Lucifer. Then in this mortal probation man again was given freedom of choice, freedom to gain salvation by obedience or to be damned through disobedience. Since Satan always seeks to destroy the agency of man, he influences churches and governments to deny freedom of worship and to force man to perform acts contrary to the divine will. Governments and churches which curtail or deny man the power to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, are not of God; they are not directed by the power of his Spirit” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:415–16).

I love you!  

Mom 

Semana 56 (Professor Lutze)

Buenas!!

Saying goodbye to the members of Penonomé was tough! But I won't be too far away from them 

This week was awesome! We had transfers on Thursday, and I got my new comp Elder Rendón! He is super awesome! He's from México, and we get along really well! We are already great friends! We joke a lot, and teach each other English and Spanish. I also know a lot of slang now! I'm really excited to work with him!

We arrived at our new house, and it's quite something! It's actually really nice, just the color makes me laugh every time. A nice pepto bismol pink! At the beginning we didn't have anything, so we slept on our cardboard couch/bed on the floor. It was quite nice. But now we have all we need!

Well almost, we don't have an ironing board, so I have been ironing my shirts on my bed! Life hacks!

The work has been good! There was nothing here, but we are making progress! Opening an area is fun, because you just get to go crazy at the work! We have already seen a bunch of miracles!

For example, at church 3 non-members pulled up! They are the family of one of the members here in Antón. So we are gonna go teach them soon!

More and more miracles are happening and will keep happening here! We're gonna turn this group into a branch before ya know it!

The other funny thing that happened this week is that me and my comp have been assigned to be seminary teachers! That's right folks! I'm a seminary teacher! We get our teaching materials on Wednesday! I'm actually super excited, and curious how this is gonna go 

As far as the spiritual thought goes, my comp reminded me of something I had read before. It's that God owns everything except for two things. There are only two things that are truly ours that we can give which is our hearts and minds. Whatever we focus on is what we are gonna do and follow. So if we focus and give to God, we are gonna follow Him and be filled with light and truth. But if we choose not to, well the opposite starts to occur. In a very simple way, we decide who and what we become!

There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can control or hinder or circumvent the firm resolve of a determined soul!

Choose now! It's gonna take some work, but you can slowly start to give more of your hearts and minds to God!

Love you all lots! Please pray for my people!! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

The Peptobismal House

The Cardboard Couch/Bed

E. Rendon & E. Lutze

Semana 56

Dear Elder Lutze,

How’s the new digs and the area? Elder Rendon? Praying for your health and your success!!!

Busy week. Work - new employees, new coaches, honor walk for a donor patient, errands, new plants in the yard, booked a cruise for our 30th anniversary, BYU games - soccer lost to USU, volleyball beat the Utes, and football game back to beat Arkansas after being down 0-14 in the first three minutes of the game! 

I loved this quote especially the last three sentences! I know you’ve seen this with those that have accepted the gospel into their lives. 

President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of obtaining a testimony through the Holy Ghost: “A testimony is a witness or confirmation of eternal truth impressed upon individual hearts and souls through the Holy Ghost, whose primary ministry is to testify of truth, particularly as it relates to the Father and the Son. … “Simply stated, testimony—real testimony, born of the Spirit and confirmed by the Holy Ghost—changes lives. It changes how you think and what you do. It changes what you say. It affects every priority you set and every choice you make” (“Pure Testimony,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 40).

Think about the gifts of the Spirit you’ve been blessed with to help others… which ones are they and which ones do you desire to obtain next?

Love you!

 Mom

Semana 55 (Goodbye, But Not?!)

Buenas!!

This was a good last week of transfers!

We had a really fun zone council! Got to see everyone, and say bye to lots of friends. We all had a fun time talking!

We taught Alan and Henry this week which was good! They both are progressing really well! And it was a pretty powerful moment teaching Henry about repentance, how it works, and how we can always keep trying no matter what! 

We taught Blanca this week too! She's gonna come to church this week, aaaaaand she is completely ready to be baptized! I'm so excited for her! She just needs to choose what day she wants, and badabing badaboom.

Other than those highlights, the week was chill! We were mainly just waiting for the transfer news.

My next area I have to go suuuuuuuuuper far away! Super duper far. Taking a plane and a boat to get here. (*Note the sarcasm*) For the next 5 weeks of my life I will be in Antón! I'm going right next door to Penonomé. 

It will be cool to open an area tho! Me and my comp Elder Rendón will be the first set of missionaries in Antón! And we will get to establish lots! It's pretty unique for me too, because I was here when the group became established! So I just get to help it out that much more!

Spiritual thought is about meekness. Many of us, probably all of us, hate to ask for help. Hate to say things aren't ok. I for one am as stubborn as a mule many times. But, we are all here to love and help each other out! So don't be afraid to open up to people! And ask for help! This week I decided to ask Elder Keck to give me a blessing and it was quite special! I really, really didn't want to ask him, but I did anyway, and I'm happy I did! God loves all of us! And that love many times is shown through other people! So let God and others love you!

Anyways, please pray for my people in Antón! Shoutout to the boys Cal and Maddux for already hitting their 1 year marks! Shoutout to Diver (My adorable nephew) for being a stinker and turning 2!

Love y'all lots! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

Our District

Diver's Birthday!

E. Keck, E. Lutze  and Las Hermanas

Humility

Our Zone

Semana 55

Dear Elder Lutze,

We pray that you had a great last week in Penonome and Anton!!! We’re excited to hear where you’ll be headed to next! 

How’s your strength doing? How long did you try the iron pills? Do you have a parasite maybe? Mom nurse is concerned. 

Life here is crazy busy! I can’t believe Diver is already two!  We’re having a small celebration today with the McBrides. 

I enjoyed the YW on Tuesday. We played 9 square. I worked in the yard all day Friday. Saturday we watched BYU  and  . Both were wins for BYU. The soccer team looked better than the football team. Good to have Dad home after a week in SG. 

Keep working hard! I love you and I’m so proud of your service to our God and the people of Panama. The Speirs just returned from   Sierra Leone and told beautiful stories like the one in your last letter where the Lord was working with them and creating miracles! Brother Speirs talked about the hymn ‘Let Us All Press On’ and the phrase ‘ an unseen hand will aid me and you.’ This is so true! 

I loved this scripture from my study this week. Amazing to think of us putting on Jesus Christ’s armor ~ His ‘armor of light.’  

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Love,

 Mom

Semana 54 (A God of Miracles!)

Buenas!

What is up my fellow children of God?! This week was fantastic as always, so let's get into it! Imma hit up the three highlights.

Wednesday was exchanges! I went to good ol' Aguadulce (Sweet Water). We had a grand time of teaching! But let me tell ya, the name of this place is deceiving... it is not in fact 'sweet water,' but a fiery furnace. All was good and well tho, because the Elders in fact have AC in their rooms! It's a house of 4 Elders, and being with all Latinos is one of the greatest experiences. The jokes were flying, and the food was cooking! As the time to go to bed rolled around, the power went out... which meant no AC or fans. I have never been so hot in my life! And sleeping was impossible! This place was not 'Sweet Water' but 'Sweat Water.' All in all, the time was great, aside from my trip to the sauna!

Thursday was a big big miracle, but I'll get to that!

Friday we saw two miracles! We taught two of our people with baptism dates! First, we taught Henry. The miracle with him is the fact that he is living the law of chastity! He kept talking about his girlfriend and how he wants her to be baptized too, but we definitely thought bad things were going down. Well, luckily they aren't, so Henry is going strong!

Then, the same day we taught Blanca! Now she had a huge problem with coffee! Born and raised on the stuff sorta thing. We had taught her the Word of Wisdom two weeks ago, and had suggested many things to help her. She agreed to try, but kept talking about how much she drinks it, and how hard it would be etc., etc. Well, when we taught her Friday, she said to us "I have completely dropped coffee." It was such a miracle! God truly does help His children! So Blanca is ready to be baptized! Sadly I won't be here for her baptism, but I'm so excited for her!

Now back to Thursday! There was the baptism of Osmar! 

Background is that he is the husband of a member. Many, many missionaries had tried with him but couldn't get through. Then the sister missionaries finally were able to get him on date to be baptized! However, it was still a bit of a toss up if he would go through with it.

Well, he ended up getting really sick from a problem caused from diluted medications he took years ago. He had been to many doctors, but they could never find a solution. They were about to go to the doctors, but they had me and my comp come give him a blessing first. We gave him the blessing and they were off.

A few days later, the doctors found a solution and he was healed! It was a miracle! Osmar and his wife later explained the experience to us. They said that the moment we explained what the blessing was they started to feel the Spirit. Then, after the blessing, Osmar felt a lot of peace and a hope that he hadn't felt before about his medical situation.

We later came to find out that from him feeling the Spirit so strongly from that whole process, that it finally pushed him to being baptized! His wife texted us, and asked me for a favor. She said, "What my husband felt when you blessed him was something really special, and he wants you to baptize him!"

The baptismal service was on Thursday, and it was so special! I've never seen a family as happy as this one! It was such a privilege to be a part of this experience! God truly is a God of miracles!

I love you all! I hope you all are doing well! Please continue praying for my people! Until Next Week!

-E. Lutze

E. Keck & E. Lutze's Final Week Together!

Osmar's Baptism!

(A Miracle due to a Priesthood Blessing given by E. Lutze)

Semana 54

Elder Lutze,

I pray that all is well with you! I was worried after our last phone conversation. I’ve put your name on the prayer roll. 

Life here is always busy with something. Dad and I went to see the new Mission Impossible. Excellent! Now we have to wait for part 2. I played pickle ball with the YW. 

The Weights are in town this weekend. Cami moved in to her new apartment the last few days. She has a car now.  All the girls went to Swiss Days on Saturday. Hannah went to even after her foot surgery. We all took turns pushing her around in the wheelchair . Of course we enjoyed scones  after our shopping expedition in the huge crowds. That night after dinner we went to the RSL game and while watching the game, Hannah and I were watching two other games. BYU women’s  against UVU. They won 6-1 and BYU  that beat Sam Houston 14-0. The score doesn’t reflect how terrible the game really was!!! Ugh! BYU football has lots of work to do. RSL beat Colorado 2-0. 

We are celebrating Diver’s birthday  today! I can’t believe he’s almost two. 

Love you! Keep working hard. Remember D&C 90:24!

Jeffrey R Holland talks that I love!

Broken Things to Mend

Like a Broken Vessel

Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You

Love,

 Mom