Elder Jakob Lutze: Semana 79 (Make 'Em Laugh!)

Buenas!!!

Lots happened this week, so let's get into it!

*We FINALLY got permission from Abby's dad to baptize her! Huge miracle! She'll get baptized on the 16th of March!

*The Women in Panama are crazy. One was cat calling and saying things like "Oh my gosh, I'm a sinner just by looking! You're so beautiful! You're so pretty!"

It's scary out here folks...

*Ate Sopa de Pata de Vaca.... (Cow Hoof Soup). Yea, it's as bad as it sounds. Super fatty meat that looked more like jello, and there's hair everywhere. Lovely.

*Story Time! We pull up to a house to contact. But, then we recognize someone we've met - Larry. Larry is a Testigo De Jehova. Well it turns out the other 3 people there were also Testigos. So we start talking to them, and ask if we can share what we believe. They agreed, but refused to let us say a prayer. We start teaching, and then 4 more Testigos arrive, and then 4 more walk out of the house. We were surrounded!!! Even though our legs were shaking a bit, we taught with Power and Authority! We got them thinking hard on things. We were making good progress, but then the mother testigo walked out and started bashing us. Everything went into flames, and they refused to let us read a single verse in the Book of Mormon. While the opposition was strong, it only made our testimonies grow stronger!

*Story Time 2! Went 'finding' in the morning, and we both had the impression to go to this one place. Found Boris. Put Boris on date to be baptized. MIRACLE! Came back, he didn't remember anything...not even his baptismal date. Decided to try one more time. He remembered EVERYTHING! Even his baptismal date! Has 0 problems with the word of wisdom and law of chastity. Believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Wants to read the Book of Mormon and go to church. My guy is lit! He cant see super well, and he is a bit old, but he is such an awesome investigator!

*Story Time 3!! (Didn't see that one comin' did ya?) We were in an area where we had already contacted everyone. No one wanted anything to do with us, so we decided to leave. But there was one last street we hadn't gone to. So we decided to go. I said jokingly to Elder Clark, "I feel like every missionary has that one story, where it's always the last floor and the last door. Where's my story?"

Well, sure enough, the last street, and the last house, we met Guillermo. He stopped everything he was doing to listen. And we had a super good lesson with him! Accepted a baptismal date too! He's awesome!

*Ok, ok I'll stop...after this one. Story Time 4!

This girl Gabriela wants to get baptized. We started teaching her. She wants her missionary brother to baptize her when he gets home. Well, her mom tells us some bad news. That the brother isn't coming to Panama, but is going to Ecuador. But Gabriela doesn't know. So this 12 year old girl, whose only dream is to see her brother and have him baptize her, was gonna get her heart broken. Which could potentially have led to her not wanting to get baptized.

We had the impression to go over with some members. We talked about Christ's Atonement and how he can help us at any moment. The spirit was really strong. Then we had to break the news to her. It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen! This girl literally just started breaking down completely right in front of us. We could just see her dreams being crushed. Now the members helped a ton! Very inspired to bring them. But it still wasn't enough. I was just praying to know what to do, and I had the thought, "Make her laugh."

Make her laugh? How? I suck at making people laugh! Sure I'm a clown sometimes, but when it comes to intentionally making someone laugh I am the pits at that! So I'm racking my brain on what to do. Literally felt like that one scene in Monsters Inc where Sully tells Mike to make Boo laugh, but he doesn't know how. So what was the best solution? Make a fool of himself. The thought had popped in my head "Do Magic."

Great! Magic! that will make her laugh for sure... But! It was all I had! One simple dumb coin trick. I ended up doing it, and everyone was just so confused. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but the trick caused a chain of events to occur. I definitely made a fool of myself. But, one thing led to another and EVERYONE was laughing their heads off! I genuinely have no clue what happened, but with the laughter the mood was cleared completely! Everyone was happy, and Gabriela set her own baptismal date for the 26th! God is good!

*Had 5 of our friends come to church on Sunday! All of whom have a baptismal date for the 16th!! Hype!

*Anyways. Transfers are here! I'm going to Banana Land! It's called "La Finca 30." I've got a 12 hour bus ride to Changuinola ahead of me! I say Banana Land because it's where they grow all the Bananas! It's also a Bro Zone, meaning that it's all Elders! Should be interesting! I'm so excited! It will be so fun!

I'm sure sad to leave Vista Alegre 2! Even though there weren't any baptisms here in my time, I'm really happy I could help a lot of people! Even some that will get baptized soon! That's the beauty of missionary work. You give your all, and in the end, it's all the same God and the same work! Doesn't matter where you go or what happens!

Love you all! Wish me luck in Banana Land! Pray for me, my new area, and my new zone! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze