Semana 14 (Comfort is NOT Your Friend!)

Happy late Turkey Day everyone!!! I hope you all had fun spending time with friends, family, and of course eating the most amazing food! Thanksgiving here was different but still lots of fun! This week was really good! A little different, but good!

I finally was able to meet my new companion, Elder Hansen. He's pretty awesome! We get along really well, and it's been fun to become friends! I've been leading the area which has been interesting. But things are going well. At least we haven't gotten lost yet! Samaria was a bit of a shock to Elder Hansen. He didn't really like it too much at first, but I changed his mind. (Apparently it's fairly different from his other areas.)  I have helped him with many things, such as realizing that the massive hills are now part of 'leg' day, any loud bang is actually just a firework, and of course, how to fist bump/say 'Hi' to everyone, and be homies with kids. Then, of course, Elder Hansen is teaching me how to be a missionary!

Thanksgiving here was fun! We got to meet our new district. Then we ate our Thanksgiving meal at McDonalds. HaHa! That was about it for our festivities. But, it was fun to just remember the good times and to celebrate it as a district family. I did get to call my family and wish them a happy Thanksgiving! I loved seeing my cousin Brian that I've helped care for the last few years.

Something pretty funny this week involved a lady named Jeissy. We were trying to have a lesson with her and kept calling her. She kept telling us she was headed back from work. Eventually, she called us back and asked, "Are you on your way yet? Stop by the chino and buy me plátanos." So, we bought her plátanos and gave them to her. Then she criticized them and didn't even offer to pay us back. We are now official grocery boys! Ha!Ha!

Saturday was a super awesome day! We had a really fun ward party. There was tons of music, dancing, games, and food. It was really cool to experience more of the Panamanian culture, especially their 'ropa típico' which was very beautiful. However, what made Saturday awesome was our baptism of Tania Dixon after the party!! It was super special! God really blessed us on Saturday. We haven't had water here for a bit, so we were worried that we wouldn't be able to fill the font. But we did it! (On a side note, bucket showers honestly aren't that bad. You just gotta work out before and then they feel nice.) Anyways back to the story. Our next hurdle was her baptismal clothes. I was sure the jumper we had wouldn't fit her. Thankfully, after some work, we found a bigger jumper that she was able to squeeze into. I'm so happy that everything worked out.

Sunday was also pretty interesting. The awesome part ~ our two confirmations. The funny and yet hard part ~ Lucia's nietos. These are some of the kids we are currently teaching and they attended church on Sunday. The moment I walked into the chapel, they went absolutely crazy! They were screaming and hugging me, literally in the middle of the Sacrament meeting. I'm pretty sure the ward hates me by now. I'm a disturber of the peace. I've realized kids are difficult! I was trying to keep them all quiet during the meeting, but it was not working. Let's just say my respect for parents and specifically women has increased dramatically. I love these kids so much and I love teaching them. They are pretty special to me!!!

My spiritual thought today is related to leading the area since Elder Hansen doesn't know Samaria or the people. I've had to do pretty much everything and it has been a little uncomfortable. However, it has pushed me to work harder and improve my Spanish skills. I was thinking about this and I realized 'Comfort is bad.' I know that probably sounds super weird, but it's true! (I'm not talking about a comfortable home.) There's two aspects to comfort I want to talk about. The first point is that if we are comfortable, then we aren't improving. We stay exactly in the same spot without going anywhere and that's not good! We should continuously strive to improve, which means being uncomfortable. The second point is that comfort breeds destruction. When we become comfortable, that allows bad things to occur in our lives. Satan is constantly trying to get us and being comfortable makes it easier. I know in my life that being comfortable brought lots of problems. When I felt I was safe and didn't need to do anything more to avoid Satan's attacks was when I should have been doing the most to prepare. Sometimes, we find ourselves comfortable in sin. Once we get comfortable in sin, then we might go a little further. And then we get comfortable in that, so we go a little further. Comfort is what brings destruction. The only thing that should truly bring us comfort is that God loves us and makes everything possible for us. But, even then, we need to continuously work to keep a good relationship with Him and constantly grow in this gospel. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be happy or content. I'm just saying that in order to feel true comfort, we need to be uncomfortable which leads to constant improvement towards our goal of becoming like Him. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should always prepare for Satan's attacks, and we should always strive to grow.

I love you all! Thank you so much for all your support! God loves you all so much! I truly can testify that this gospel is true and that it brings greater joy and peace than any other thing in life ever could. Keep praying for my people! Have a good week everyone!

-Elder Lutze

E. Lutze & E. Bray (Saying Good-bye to Dad)

E. Hansen & E. Lutze (Samarian Hills)

E. Lutze in his Panama Hat & E. Hansen in his Mola Tie

E. Hansen & E. Lutze with their district at McDonald's on Thanksgiving Day

Tania Dixon's Baptism

E. Lutze with Lucia's Nietos (His favorite kids)

Semana 13 (The Good Samarian Once More)

Hello everybody! Hope you all had a good week! And, I hope you are all doing well! So, if you remember from my last email how I was saying that I was pretty sure I was being transferred? Well, our President done fooled us! I will be staying in Samaria for this next transfer! Hence the title "The Good Samarian Once More." I'm very excited! But, also a little nervous because I will have a new comp, meaning that I will be the one leading the area. So pray for me on that one.

Had some fun times this week! I raced a bunch of kids. They were on bikes and I was running. I won! Haha!

Taught an English class which was cool. But, then I tried saying a prayer in English and I couldn't. It was actually so hard! 

Dropped my toothpaste in the toilet...

We are teaching a "China" (everyone in Panama uses this term) named Lee. So we got a Chinese Book of Mormon for her.

We are teaching these kids too. They are so precious. Whenever they see me, they run up to me and hug me. They have a ton of energy! It definitely makes Sacrament meeting interesting! These kids are special to me because I get to act like a fun uncle to them. Speaking of which, my sister Hannah just had a baby!! I'm super happy! But, also a little sad that I don't get to see Diver or the new baby (Hunter). So, I'm grateful for the substitute opportunity here in Panama and that Google Meet exists.

Then, of course, the district and zone all said bye to each other. Some of us are staying and some of us are leaving.

Also, "Wakanda Por Siempre" looks like a super awesome movie. I'm waaaay too hyped for it since I can't watch it!. I guess I'll have to settle for my happy meal toy and a picture in front of a massive poster.

Finally, today for PDay we got super cool soccer jerseys for the zone. They are lit!

Now it's time for a spiritual thought. This week we did a practice where we told another missionary his talents and good things. Elder Putt and I had each other. And wow, I felt the spirit. It was so strong. Oftentimes, I don't exactly see myself in a positive light and can be hard on myself. I know that others are the same. However, in this practice Elder Putt had so many good, sincere things to say to me. And I just thought that God also sees us in such a good way. He sees us for the good and for what we can be. It was so powerful! We don't always see ourselves how others or how God sees us. So this week take time to help someone else realize how special they are and take time to realize how special you are. Because if you are special to God, then that means you're pretty dang special.

Overall it was a good week! I'm excited for the future! But, please pray for me and my new companion E. Hansen. Lots of work to do, and there's no time to waste. So pray for me that I can lead this area well. And please pray that the people of Samaria will accept us well. I hope you all have a great week! I'm always praying for you all! Ciao!

- Elder Lutze

E. Lutze and his Book of Mormon

Hunter Layton McBride

Wakanda Por Siempre - Happy Meal Toy and Huge Poster

E. Lutze in his soccer jersey

Super Zona San Miguelito Soccer Jerseys

with a smolder look attempt

Semana 12 (THE Canal and Fish from THE Canal)

I'm not sure how long this email will be, but I have a feeling it will be long. So apologies in advance!

PDay definitely set the mood right for this week! I got to go to the canal and let me tell you... IT WAS LIT!!! I mean how many people get to say they went to the Panama Canal? Also, because I'm a citizen I got in for 3 dollars and not 10. I may have looked like a tourist, but I'm not! I wasn't sure what shocked me more though, the canal and boats, or how many people I saw. I was genuinely so confused. It didn't feel right! Haha! But it was a really cool experience! I bought a hat, a dope pen, and I drank canal water. How many people get to say that? So, so cool.

Another highlight of the week would definitely be the fish soup. Some lady fed us fish soup. Ah man. I thought the guancho was bad (blended up fish). But this soup literally tasted like she took a bucket, went to the canal, caught a fish in the bucket, then just served the fish with canal water. It was bad. But, we were able to eat it. And we enjoyed it so much that we wanted it again for breakfast the next morning if you know what I mean. Good times! Oh, also, one of our friends said he liked me a lot, so he bought me a mini bible. So now, I literally have the scriptures in the palm of my hand. ;)

We also had entrevistas this week with President Forsberg. While waiting, a bunch of us went and got some pizza, and it was pretty dang good. But I think I'm breaking... because there wasn't rice with my pizza and I was confused. And I am starting to crave rice. Not that I want it all the time. But if I don't have rice with my meals, then is it really a meal? Anyways back to the interviews. They were good. President said I'm adjusting super well. He also basically said that I was being transferred to a different area. We have transfers next week, and Elder Bray will probably be training some newbie in Samaria which means I'll be headed off somewhere else. Which brings me to my first thought for everyone.

I have been in Samaria for about 5 weeks. I can't understand anyone. I can't speak the language. But, I have such a love for the people here. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little sad to be leaving them. We have about 9 people that are pretty close to baptism and I want to help them. But, I know they will get there without me here too, so that makes me really happy. Bottom line of all this though is that if we have the ability to love others without really even knowing them, just think about how much your Savior loves you. He knows you so perfectly ~ everything about you. I promise you all that the Savior has a greater love for you than you can even imagine. And there's so much comfort, love, and hope in that.

Second thought. This week I had the thought "You can't receive answers if you don't have questions." Well, that seems pretty obvious right? But it's so true. The spirit can't give you answers, if you don't first have a question. Now I'm not saying to go questioning or doubting everything about the church because there's a difference between questioning and doubting. Doubting is wondering if something is false, while questioning is wondering if something is true. Questions are good. God wants to give us blessings. He wants to give us knowledge. But, he also wants us to work for those things. He for sure will help us find those things, but we have to do our part. But, you also need to know what you are working towards, hence why we need to have questions.

Now to the third thought. Elder Bray and I were teaching this couple ~ Edson and Tanhia. Edson is an inactive member and we are trying to get Tahnia to be baptized. Now Edson was fighting us a lot during this lesson. He just kept saying he wanted to do things his own way ~ have faith and just kinda be tranquilo. He was just being super stubborn. Now at Edson's house, I'm always laughed at a ton because I can't speak or understand Spanish. And it didn't help that I was beyond tired and it was 10 at night. (Very not allowed, especially in Samaria). Anyways. At one point, I felt so strongly in my heart to share some very personal things. So I just trusted God and went with it. I started to talk but didn't know what to say at first. And they kinda laughed at me, but I took a small second to just feel what to say and went for a second go. They were still laughing, but after 3 words they went completely silent and the spirit was so strong. On the way back home Elder Bray said to me "You just shook the house." And I'm happy to say that Tanhia came to church for the first time ever, after months of teaching. I hope she keeps going. But, the point of this story is that we need to trust God and the spirit. There is so much power that comes from trusting. I genuinely can't describe my thoughts about this experience, but take from it what you will.

Fourth thought because why not. I was thinking about trust and the thought came to me "Who do I trust more? A person I just met or the one who has been with me through everything?" Also another simple answer. We all have struggles. But the strongest relationships truly are built through hardships. When someone is right next to you in your hardest moments, there isn't a trust quite like it honestly. I promise you all that God is always there and by putting faith in Christ always, especially in your struggles, you will learn to trust in Him.

Which leads me to my fifth and final thought. With that faith and trust, we can have hope. Hope was the attribute of Christ that I studied this week. Let me first start by saying, wow it is crazy how connected everything is in this gospel. Like it blows my mind. Everything is connected. And truly the only way to learn is line upon line, because there is too much to learn at once. But hope was an absolutely amazing topic to study. And I'm not even close to finishing. But I can testify that hope is real. It truly is an anchor to our souls. It is what keeps us going. It makes us steadfast in Christ. Hope is basically trusting in God and His promises. But it's also more than that. It's the assurance that we will receive those blessings. Hope is the assurance that we will inherit the kingdom of God. And wow what a blessing that is. Idk about all of you, but I want that. And I want that for all of you too. In addition, when we have hope, it gives us a desire to do righteousness, because we hope for the things of God. And the only way to obtain the things of God are by doing the things of God. It is what allows us to persevere in faith. There are a lot of hard things going on right now for everyone, but I promise that there is always hope in Christ. Hope that if we keep strong in our faith that God will see us through. There is so, so, so much more to hope. I have a challenge for you all. In PMG there is the section Attributes of Christ. Every week I study one and work on it. There's so much to all these attributes, and I promise you they will change your life. So, I challenge you all to pick an attribute you want in your life, study it, learn what it is, how to obtain it, and pray for it.

Sorry if none of this makes sense. It's sometimes hard to put thoughts into words. But I love you all. Thank you so much for your support and prayers. I hope you are all doing well. Don't stop praying for me and my people! And I most certainly won't stop praying for all of you! Keep hoping! "And remember kids, God made you special, and He loves you very much!"

Much love,

Elder Lutze

The Canal was dope and so is my mini Bible!

Scriptures in the palm of my hand

THE Panama Canal!

Semana 11 (Desire is Important!)

Family & friends,

What another great week!! Not gonna lie, I'm kinda completely exhausted. But, each morning I pray, workout, and take my cold showers. Then, of course, I get my personal study in, and by some miracle, I'm filled with energy for the rest of the day. I will say that being exhausted makes sleep feel 10 times better. I'll try to keep this email shorter but we will see.

I'll start with Pday. Pday was pretty awesome last week. We tried going to the canal as a district but took the wrong bus. So, we ended up going to Cinco de Mayo which was cool. We took some nice pictures, bought some necklaces, and I also bought a hat. So really good times! You guys will like the pictures.

We had Zone Conference this week too! It was nice to see a lot of missionary friends and President Forsberg. It was also just a good spiritual reinforcement.

We also met a Cuna dude named Antonio. I don't think I told you this, but Panama also includes the San Blas Islands. So, I could be sent to the islands at some point where the Cuna live and speak Cuna or Chibchan.  I got to try some phrases out with him which was cool.

My favorite thing is to find random kids in the street and play soccer with them for 30 seconds. I megged 7 kids this week. HeHe! Every time, I say "tunil" which means tunnel or megged.

We had another intercambios this week! I stayed in Samaria and was with Elder Vega. We had a good time and now have some more baptism dates. At the end of our time together, he said that I have an extremely strong spirit, so that was kinda cool.

And this week we had 3 baptisms! I baptized 2 kids ~ Saed and Rosemary on Saturday. Then we had a baptism on Sunday! We also had 4 confirmations on Sunday which was awesome!!

Overall it has been a great week. And now it's time for a spiritual thought! I've got two this week.

The first has to do with what everyone here says when we ask how they are doing. They always say "Bien, Gracias a Dios". And that phrase has just stuck with me. Gracias a Dios or Thanks to God. There is so, so, so much to be thankful for and we need to remember that. In fact, we gain a lot from remembering that. For me, God has given me more and more in my life when I'm thankful. Gratitude also helps me be positive and happy. Each night I write in a gratitude journal and it is a big blessing to me. So, I challenge you each night, to remember all the things you are grateful for and give thanks to God in prayer or in a journal.

The second thought is about addiction and sin. We are teaching a man that has a serious addiction to cocaine. He wants to change so badly, but it's so hard. Being wrapped in sin and addiction is one of the hardest things. It's suffocating. I know, because I myself for years was wrapped in it. But, from my own experience and from teaching Alexander I've learned some important things. The first is that God loves all of us no matter what. He loves all of you so, so much. The second is that the first step to change is a desire. Third, there is always hope, so never give up. It's a hard change. But it just takes one small step at a time. Truly the most important thing is to let God take care of you. Allow Him into your life and to change you. The best thing we can do in any situation is to "let God help us" with emphasis on "Let Him." We have to be willing to open up and allow God room in our lives. I read in the scriptures this week where it said along the lines of "Give the Lord and spirit a place to dwell." We are temples. We have to constantly clean ourselves whether it is a light clean or completely rebuilding your temple. Our temples or bodies must be clean for the spirit to dwell in us. Luckily, we have the best cleaner right next to us, so let Christ into your life. I promise all of you that change is possible, but it's only lasting and possible through Christ.

I love you all so much. Miss you all and I am grateful for you all. I hope you all are well. I pray for all of you, as you do for me. So thank you. And keep praying for me and my people. So many people need that desire to change, so pray for them that they will have a desire to change in their hearts. I never fully realized how important this work was until being out on a mission. This is literally people's salvation on the line. So work hard in your own lives to be fortified in Christ and work hard to help others do the same. Love you all!! Until next week!

Love, 

Elder Lutze

jakob.lutze@missionary.org

E. Lutze ~ Model for the Book of Mormon Smolder Look

E. Lutze ~ Model for the Book of Mormon Smile Look

E. Bray & E. Lutze ~ Models for the Book of Mormon

E. Bray & E. Lutze ~ Models for the Book of Mormon

Our District

Panamanian Independence Day with the flag in our cool hats

Saturday Baptisms ~ Saed & Rosemary

Sunday Baptism

Semana 10 (Amen Varon)

For anyone curious about my title this week, people here literally say "Amen" to everything about God or Jesus. But, then they say "Amen Varon" which sounds like baron. It essentially means "holy man." So to my fellow missionaries out there.... AMEN VARON!!! Keep preaching the word of God!!

What a good week everyone! I'm so happy to be here in Samaria preaching and testifying. I did have crazy neck pain this week. I couldn't turn my head at all. Satan, I think, just said "Well, I can't get to him mentally or emotionally, so I'm going to try physically." Well, if that was the case, then he clearly doesn't know me. Because some pain ain't gonna stop me from doing the Lord's work. It was funny though, because three different ladies saw I couldn't move my neck and they pointed at me and just said "vick." It sounded like they said "beak." We were so confused. But eventually it was explained that it was a product to rub on my neck, and so I did that, and boom, problem solved.

Anyways... This week was really good. I'll start off with intercambios. I didn't think I would have another one for a while. But I had to go to the city, so I went with my guy Elder Ramirez. (HaHa!). I knew that there was gonna be a story with this one. And there was. We had to take the metro. I got on, but for some reason he did not. So, I turn to see the doors close and him on the other side. And then the metro starts going. I just got off at the next stop. But still, it was hilarious. The first time I was alone in public... it was weird. In the city we went to immigrations, and I'm happy to announce that I am officially a citizen of Panama!!

Then, we had second intercambios with the APs. It was so awesome! In one day, we got 14 baptismal commitments. So in total right now we have 20. We've got a lot of work to do!!! But for me, it was cool because Elder Longhurst (the AP I was with) made me do everything. I led us where to go, planned everything, just everything, which I didn't think I could do, but apparently I can. I'm happy to say we didn't get lost!!!. This was surprising because my area is massive. We got a lot of baptismal dates, mostly because the scriptures just had such a powerful effect. We now call them the magic scriptures. Elder Longhurst also taught me a lot and told me some good things. Something that stuck with me was this. "I hope you realize what a grand blessing you've been given. Not many "3 weekers" can bear testimony in Spanish like that. Don't hide your gift or God will take it away." I was thinking about that a lot. We all have gifts from God and the best thing we can do is use them. I know I don't alway recognize them or sometimes feel like I don't have gifts. But I do. And I know all of you do too. The most precious gifts we have are our testimonies, the scriptures, and the Atonement. So use them. Use the gifts God has given you and He will give you more.

My other thought for the week came from when I was playing with some little kids. They were laughing and jumping all over me and it made me miss my nephew Diver. But instead of being sad, I was happy. At this moment, I remembered some important advice I was given. Enjoy the moment of things. Enjoy the people around you and what is happening. A lot of problems that I had in the past were caused by focusing on what I couldn't control. It overwhelmed everything. But when I focus on what I can control, on what is happening, and focus on Christ, then I find that I can be happy. I remember a talk that said something along the lines of "Focus on everything that you are able to do. And do everything you are able to do. But when you can't do more, hand it over to the Lord for the time being." What a blessing that is. I truly can testify that we can be happy when we focus on what's in our control. I testify that if we do what we can and try to align ourselves with God, that when we can't do more, He will help us through all things. He's there every step of the way. He loves you and wants what's best for you. We just need to focus on our part and trust that God will do what is best for us.

I love you all. Thank you for all the support and emails! I hope things are going well. Keep praying for me and my people!

Elder Lutze

E. Bray & E. Lutze in the rain again!

E. Bray & E. Lutze with some random kids

E. Longhurst (AP) & E. Lutze in Samaria on intercambios

E. Lutze with his dope Book of Mormon case and pamphlet holder

E. Lutze with my guy E. Ramirez

Elderes with Hermana Babb

Lasagna with rice (E. Lutze actually liked it which surprised us. He's refused to eat lasagna for at least 10 years since he got food poisoning after a ward party.)

Semana 9 (Marcos ~ My First Baptism)

What a week! There's always so much to talk about, and I don't know what to choose. My emails already are forever long. So apologies. Anyways, let's get started!

First off, PDAY!!! Pday is hype. I get to talk to the fam, friends, do laundry, shop, eat at Wendy's apparently, and of course... Fútbol! Ah man, I love soccer so much. And we get a lot of attention from kids when I start juggling a ball in the street. But, Pdays are super dope, and a good destresser.

Things I forgot to mention in my last email ~ Chinos. People here call stores Chinos because the stores are run by Chinese people. They also call the people Chinos and not by their name. Suuuuuuper racist. But Chinos are dope and have everything you need. Another thing ~ Chivas. Oh Chivas. To get to Los Andes or other places not in our area we take Chivas (buses.) They literally just fit as many people in as humanly possible and play horrible music. It's actually so lit. Not as lit as Diablos Rojos (Red Devils.) Those are school buses from America that were imported here and they paint them and supe them up. They are kinda sketch but so dope!

The women on the Chivas and in general can be scary. On the Chivas some women stare at me, wink, make hearts, touch my butt, press against me, or stroke my face with their acrylic nails ..... super weird! And they love saying things (in Spanish of course) like "I love you baby" "Black girls taste sweet" "Hola mi amor" "Eres galan" (Handsome dude/sexy) "Give me your eyes" (babies)... yea stuff like that. Honestly, if I wasn't scared of being kidnapped by them, I would probably be flattered. Broma Broma, I'm not scared.... "ok a little, but!" *in Gru's voice*

Food is energy. Rice and chuleta is about all I eat ~ not much flavor. But, I'm super grateful for it! And sometimes it is dang good. Hermana Bab gave us an absolute mountain of rice and we had to eat it all. I was beyond full. And Hermana Laura gave us this strange food... it was basically blended up fish with who knows what. She was excited about it though. So, we managed to eat it all with a smile. It was brutal. But I'm still super thankful to her. Later that day while we were in the streets we kept smelling her food in really nasty areas... soooo, we became a little concerned! What was in that?

This week we also had a service project with some of the zone. We helped set up a camp for all of Panama's YSA. So that was pretty cool. And after that we started intercambios. We switched comps for the night and morning. So I was with Elder Ramirez. Oh how I'll never forget this. He got lost going back to his area (Cerro Batea).... for 2 hours. We finally made it back to his apartment and dropped my stuff off and went out to teach. We had 1 lesson and he got lost again... for 5 hours!!! We walked a huge circle ~ about 2 miles. He tried walking us down one particular street twice, after we had been warned not to go that way late at night (8). So I stopped him. Good thing too, because we heard some uhh "fireworks." Anyways. In the morning, we went out to teach but he got lost AGAIN. Then it started pouring, like water past my ankles pouring and Elder Ramirez didn't bring his umbrella. So I ended up giving him mine. I was absolutely drenched. But, it was so fun and everyone thought I was so weird. Which I am. (Hahaha) But I'm also a gringo, so obviously they think I'm weird.

The next day it poured again and my other shoes got drenched. But, I love the rain, so I don't even care. Literally it is my favorite thing.

Other things that happened  ~ talking to some boys. It was hilarious. They offered us weed, which happens a lot, and they kept asking if we were virgins. Happy to say we are. I learned a ton of slang! And for my favorite Dutch friend, they kept saying "Quiero torta". Our stove also exploded this week. It started shooting sparks at me while I was washing dishes. We got a new one. We also saw a dead dude. Our friend Eliseo, his friend, got shot and now Eliseo is asking us for money. So I'm not really sure what we are involved in!

I also met the funniest dude of my life ~ Edson. I learned that you practice kissing on sandias (watermelons) and mangos, NOT PINEAPPLES and go to church so your girlfriend doesn't kill you. Then Edson lost it when I told him I'm from Lehi. And that there is a Nephi and Moroni in Utah. "Like the profeta!?! Is there a Lemuel too?! I feel bad for the people who would live there!" So, so funny. He was dying!

And then of course... MARCOS. My first baptism. The man is 80 years old! What a legend! He didn't want a pic... but that's ok. Super special! I love that guy. I'm excited for the many more baptisms coming. We be working hard.

There's too many spiritual thoughts to choose from. I'll go with the scriptures today. Everyday, I have time for personal prayer and scripture study. It  is the best start to a day I could ask for. I've learned a lot. But, the best thing I've learned is that the scriptures fill you with the Holy Ghost. Every time I immerse myself in the scriptures, I just feel happy for the rest of the day. We learn that the scriptures are the word of God ~ the iron rod and it leads to the fruit of the tree which is God's love. I truly can testify that scriptures are the word of God and that when we immerse ourselves in them, we are filled with the Holy Ghost and love. So, I challenge all of you to immerse yourself. Read with a purpose. And, I promise you that you will feel the love of God in your life!

I love you all. And God even more. I'm so thankful for your support and prayers. I hope you are all doing well. I love the mission and I'm excited each day to learn, teach, and grow. Have a great week!

Elder Lutsay

A fish within fish

Baptism Day ~ Marcos!

Part of a service project?

Two elders attempting the "smolder" look!

Yep, it's raining!

Semana 8 (Elder of Many Names)

 BUUUUEEEEENAAAAAAS

That is how we greet literally every single person in Panama. It is the most hype thing ever. And my favorite thing to say. Ladies and Gentlemen, I finally made it to Panama. My name is Elder Lutze. But I always pronounce it "Elder Lutsay", or they think I'm saying Elder Dulce. I'm also known as gringo, nuevo gringo, and luchador. And, according to the members, I'm from la Fabrica (the factory) because I'm a missionary from Utah.

Had sad goodbyes with some of the district on Monday night. Then went straight to packing. Woke up at 1 am to go to the airport, meaning I got an hour of sleep. But then our flight left at 6 and we were finally off to Panama. This place is literally the dopest place ever. It's got it all ~ jungle, massive city, poor places with houses stacked on top of houses. On our first day of arrival, we just chilled in the mission home. We met the mission president, President Forsberg and his wife. They are super awesome and nice. It was nice to chill, but obviously we couldn't do that forever. So, at 6 we went contacting for the first time in the city. First of all, cars will hit you. They will run you over. In every single area. Not just the city. So you just kinda have to make a break for it. But contacting was awesome. I went out with Elder Larsen and we had numerous contacts. One guy in specific was mad at us because "your church condemns me for being Gay! And because I'm a wizard who does witchcraft. And because I practice astral projection." Kinda funny.

Anyways... the next day I got my assignment and my trainer. Elder Bray! What a guy. We were sent to work in the San Miguelito Stake and specifically the area of Samaria which is considered the ghetto and a dangerous part of Panama, pero es tranquilo. Everyone here comments on how big I am and they think I was a luchador or something. So I don't think people want to mess with us. I've heard a few gunshots, and we saw a video of a friend of a friend that was shot. Elder Bray basically prayed him back to life. Samaria is suuuuuper poor, there's trash everywhere, and massive hills. People don't have doors ~ only these gate things, so we just yell "buuuueeeenaaaas" and they come to the door/gate. There's a million houses too. I would get so lost without Elder Bray. My first day there was a massive storm! It downpoured so much! The river was about 10 feet higher causing a lady's house to flood across the street, so we got brooms and swept it out. 

Like I said, cars will run over you. It's extremely hot here. It rains a lot, which I absolutely love. I eat a lot of rice, rice, and chicken. I also tried Sumi. It's pig stuff. And Duro which is like an insanely good otter pop. Panamanians talk waaaaaaaaaaay too fast and I can't speak or understand their Spanish. It's awesome!

Wednesday we had a mission conference with Elder Taylor. He's a member of the Seventy over central America. It was a really cool experience!

Our days are packed. We wake up, pray, workout, shower, study, plan, go out and teach, cosechas (contacting), but that's usually on our way to lessons. It's so, so awesome. I love teaching people. And I love meeting them, saying prayers for them, giving an insane amount of fistbumps. What a privilege it is to do the Lord's work. I can't speak or understand a lot. I can't help or give much to the people. But, I can give them my most precious belonging ~ my testimony. I learn more everyday and I'm working hard which is how I want it to be. It's part of God's plan. So do it with a positive attitude.

My message to you all today is about faith. Things are for sure hard. But what makes it easy is faith. In General Conference, they kept saying "the Lord's yoke is easy." It's so true. I don't know anything. But I have faith, and I'm working hard, and I know God will see me through. So why be discouraged. We have God on our side. Trust in Him. Have faith. Because being discouraged does the opposite. If I am discouraged then that diminishes my faith that God will be there for me. It doesn't necessarily make things easier,  but faith in God brings happiness and joy. It makes the hard things easier to bear.

I love you all. There's a lot that has happened and not enough time to tell you all of it. But have faith in God and you will be happy. I promise. What a privilege to serve my God. I've never been happier in my life than walking the streets, saying Hi to people I've never met, people I can't understand, and I can't even talk to them. But they are all God's children and I love them. May God be with you all. Have faith. Don't be discouraged. And please keep praying for me.

CIAO!!!!

~Elder of Many Names

Elder Lutze & Elder Bray

View from apartment

Chicken and Rice

E. Bray and E. Lutze

The Rain

Semana 7 (Panama!)

Querida familia y amigos,

Elder Lutze arrived safe and sound in Panama Tuesday morning. In his brief call, he told us it's beautiful and HOT. The buildings in Panama City are apparently huge. He's super excited to get to work. PDay should be Monday. We're looking forward to hearing about his first week in country.

Con amor,

The Lutzes

Dear Brother and Sister Lutze,

We are pleased to inform you of the safe arrival of

 ❖ Elder Jakob Frederick Lutze 

We are very happy to have him join us in this wonderful work of the Lord.

His first companion and trainer will be Elder Bray.

He has been assigned to begin his service in the Samaria area, which is part of the San Miguelito Stake.

We appreciate your efforts in helping prepare Elder Lutze to serve the Lord. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns by replying to this email. 

Best regards, 

President Keith Forsberg and Stephanie Forsberg

Elder Lutze & Elder Bray with President and Sister Forsberg