Semana 97 (Mining for Gold! And Baptisms...)

Buenas!!

This week went by super quick! Last week of the transfer...kinda crazy.

It started off with a super fun service project! We went up to Cerro Azul to do a bunch of manual labor. I had a big ol' pick and was going at it against the dirt. One would have thought I was mining for gold by the amount of rocks I hit/took out. It was a lot of hard work, but super fun!

We had a big miracle happen this week! We went to visit our recent convert Deogracia, and her uncle came up to us and said, pointing to two girls, "Those are my granddaughters, they aren't members. I want you to baptize them."

So we started teaching them, and they all came to church! God always provides!

We had an activity on Saturday that was pretty fun! We played sports and board games. Some members brought some cool friends too!!

We helped teach mission prep which was really fun! We are trying to help a lot of members here go on missions. And lots of them are getting really excited! It's awesome!!

Transfers have arrived! Time is going by too quickly. But I'm staying in Las Mañanitas! Elder Smith and Elder Arias are coming here. We will be a trio for a few weeks until Elder Arias leaves for Brazil.  I'm excited! It should be a good time!

I had an... interesting experience this week. I woke up on Thursday extremely sick. Just all the bad things. I felt horrible. The only problem was that we had to be at district council and then do a baptismal interview. I decided that if God needed us to be there, He would give me the strength to go. So I prayed. Got a blessing. Didn't feel better. But hey, why not give a good effort right? So, I slowly got ready for the day, and we left.

Well, God definitely gave me the strength I needed! We had a good district council, encouraged the zone a bunch, and then did the baptismal interview! We got home around 3, and I just passed out on my bed. But, it was a good feeling knowing we did the Lord's errand!

The next day I felt super weak. I wasn't super nauseous anymore tho! That was a big win. I may not have felt 100%, but we had people to teach, so we left. And we saw lots of miracles!

Anyways, I learned 2 things from this experience. Probably more.

1) Faith truly requires action. I knew God wanted/needed us to go to the council. I knew God could give me strength. But I didn't receive strength until I acted. Until I actually started putting forth effort. Prayers are really important and essential. But if we just sit there and expect God to do everything, it ain't gonna happen!

2) 1 Nephi 3:7. "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

If God wants something done, He will provide a way for it to get done. But only if we have faith :)

Anyways. Long tangent, sorry. Love y'all lots!! Keep praying for my zone and my people! Until Next Week!!

- E. Lutze

We love service involving a pick axe and rocks!

The Service Area

We love the people of Panama!

Semana 95 (Wow, This Coffee is Really Good!)

Buenas!!

Just a normal day here in Panama! By that I mean we are on the metro train and a man is preaching/shouting the word.

This week was really good! Very interesting, but I learned a lot!

Wednesday we went to see a doctor for my companion. My testimony on the Word of Wisdom definitely grew! The doctor was trying to figure out what was wrong, and the first questions he asked were if my comp drank alcohol, smoked, drank tea, drank coffee, or used drugs. The Word of Wisdom is real folks!

Ironically, right before that, we were in the elevator with two women who were drinking coffee. And I'm pretty sure they knew we don't drink coffee, because the only thing they said to each other was "Wow this is the best coffee I've ever had! It must be different today. I don't know why, but today it's just so much better!"

They then got off. Elder Rojas and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing

We had a family history activity in the ward! It didn't really work. But I learned that I really like family history!

The bishop called my arms fat. It just sounded funny is all.

The Diablo Rojos, which are the ghetto school buses, are always super full! So sometimes we get to hang outside of it. By that I mean that your feet are in the bus, but your body is hanging outside of it. It's awesome!!

There was a big Fathers day activity! All the dads liked it a lot! The spirit wasn't really there though. They did the activity in the chapel. They had really loud music and there was some dancing that probably wasn't the best. It was weird.

Church was good! Panamanians are scared of the rain, so lots didn't come. But our friend Deogracias came! She's so awesome! She's gonna be baptized next week!! We taught her and all the youth on Sunday, and it was a super fun lesson!

Some thoughts for the week...

Remember Diomar? The man from Facebook we happened to contact? Well we went by a few times. But the last time we went didn't go so well.

From the moment we walked in the house the spirit wasn't there. To sum up what happened, he started telling us the entire life of Joseph Smith by memory. Every. Single. Detail. With dates and everything. Meaning he knew it long before we had taught him anything. He started bashing us. And we just sat there smiling. Just listening.

Once he finished, we both bore a very strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. The Spirit instantly filled the room. Then we left. 

Later I was trying to think of what more we could have done. And I thought about Jesus. The Pharisees many times tried to contend with Jesus. They tried to get him to contend back. But Jesus always gave testimony of what He knew to be true.

Trying to argue never works! The spirit of contention is of the Devil! So sometimes all we can do is bear down in pure testimony of the truth, and walk away.

So the miracle may not have happened the way we wanted it to with Diomar. But I count it as a blessing in the things I learned!

So my invitation for you all is to always give testimony! In word and in deed. Your testimony is one of the most powerful things you possess! So use it!

"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" ~ 2 Timothy 1:8

I love you all lots! I'm always praying for you! Keep praying for my people and my zone! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

Panama City

E. Rojas & E. Lutze ~ Bearing Down in Pure Testimony

It's raining ~ holes in my shoes = wet socks!

Our Zone

Semana 94 (What Would Jesus Do?)

Buenas!!

It was a good week this week! Tuesday we got absolutely poured on! It was awesome! We basically ran from house to house for shelter, but no one let us in. So we enjoyed a nice shower! About time we took one 

*We played Calle 7! It's a sport here in Central America. It's awesome! It's kind of like an obstacle course race. It's hard to describe. But, I beat everyone! It's a really popular thing here in Panama.

We had our leadership conference. It was good! Got to see Elder Ence and catch up a bit with him. Love that man!

We had exchanges. I went with Elder Rápalo! We also left with 2 members. Basically everyone who was with me was new to missionary work. In other words, I felt like I was training 3 people at once! It was awesome!

*Miracle Moment

We were walking to visit some people, and I saw a guy walking in the opposite direction. I felt impressed that I should talk to him, but then my other half made some wimpy excuse not to. We walked past each other. But, I then remembered reading a really good email that talked about doing what Jesus would do.

What would Jesus do? Follow the impression and talk to the guy. So I flipped a 180 and chased the guy down. We asked if he had talked to the missionaries, and he told us that literally the day before he had filled out a Facebook announcement to talk to the missionaries. He then INVITED US to his house to teach him! Anyways, his name is Diomar. He is super awesome! And super positive!

Our friend Dereck got baptized on Saturday!!! I'm so happy for him! It was a good time!

We absolutely destroyed in soccer today! Me and my comp both played soccer before the mission, so we were playing with all the Latinos, and we just absolutely wrecked them. Such a good Pday!

My thought for the week is actually  'a learn from my own mistakes moment.' Me and my comp wanted to celebrate after Dereck's baptism. So we were gonna go get a treat. On our way, we both wanted the other to decide where to go. Our pride took over, and we both decided to wait for the other to chicken out and decide. We waited a good long while. Then we went home without a treat!

It's kind of funny because of how stupid it was! But, I learned that pride is dumb! And it's not worth it! We both lost in that situation. But we both learned our lesson! And I hope y'all learn the lesson from my mistake too! Don't worry tho, me and my comp are really good friends. 

Love y'all lots! Have a great week! Keep praying for my zone and my people! Until next week!

- E. Lutze

Dereck's Baptism

E. Ence & E. Lutze

Leadership Conference

Preparing for or Recovering from the Heat?

Trio Missionary Moment

The Joy of the Gospel

Training a new missionary E. Rápalo and two members

Yes, it's pouring rain!

Semana 93 (The Little Morrnings)

Buenas!!

Ya know that moment when your brain doesn't function? And then you say something that doesn't make sense at all. Well for the past two weeks, I've been saying the little mountains when it's really called the Little Mornings. But, those are the moments you just laugh at yourself! 

This week was really good! But, also really, really crazy. So much happened and is happening right now!

Tuesday my comp and I were sent on a 'Spy' mission to visit some other Elders. They live SUPER far away! We left at 2:30 in the morning and got there at 7:30!

But, we had a really good day with them over there in Palmas Bellas. I went with Elder Calderón. While there I also went detective mode, and I found out a few things going on. So life might get a little strange for me and my comp soon

We moved into the new apartment! It's for sure a lot better than the last one! And a lot more natural light! It's so nice!!

The only downside of moving was the fact that we had to clean the other apartment... which I like cleaning. I do. But man, after years of missionaries living there, I think it would have been better to burn the place down!!! 

I went on an intercambio with my old comp Elder Long! It was really fun! I did two baptismal interviews which were both very spiritual. It was also really good to catch up with Elder Long a bit.

We had a good consejo de distrito. Right after we had exchanges with the APs! I went with Elder Gongora. Love that guy. On the exchange, I contacted/became friends with a Russian named AL. He was lit! He wants to go to church, and he bought my bread for me :)

On the same intercambio I was proposed to. It was weird. They said they wanted to be a Mormon, only to marry me tho. No thanks!

We also had Stake Conference! We sang in the choir, I listened to my '70' friend, Elder Mora, (we met in Antón) speak, and lots of our friends came! It was a very spiritual meeting!

Afterwards we did another exchange! 4 this week, kinda crazy! But I went with Elder Vasquez, and it was super fun!

Today for Pday we went on a hike. It was SO BEAUTIFUL! Pretty trees, mountains, water, etc. I love nature so much. We rented a bus as a zone, crammed ourselves in there like sardines, and it was just such a fun Zone Pday. We ended at a park, and we played some frisbee and other sports.

A little girl drew an awesome picture of me!

Saw some ducks eating rice. Sounds like Panama!

Spiritual thought for the day goes with what Elder Mora said in the conference. Make our homes little slices of heaven! He shared an experience of how he and his wife were quarantined in the hospital. Mentally he started to break, so they asked permission to be put together in the same room. The moment he walked into his wife's room there was such a strong spirit! The walls were filled with pictures of Jesus. She had painted scripture quotes. She had made a quarantine  room in a hospital a little slice of heaven.

I love that so much! And it's a new goal of mine, to make my home always be a little slice of heaven! I invite you all to do the same!

Love you all lots! Keep praying for me, my people, and my zone! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

Beautiful Waterfall

Panama!

E. Lutze drawn by a little girl

E. Long & E. Lutze

E. Lutze & the Panamanian Flag

E. Lutze on the Red Bridge

E. Rojas & E. Lutze

Splits with E. Vasquez

Our PDay Bus & Driver

Pine Trees in Panama?

More Jungle and More Waterfalls!

Semana 92 (The Little Mountains)

Buenas!!

Transfers are always a crazy time! We got to Albrook at 4 in the morning! But, it was really fun to see all the missionaries! I then met up with my new comp Elder Rojas, and we were off to our area!

Well we got to the house. It's literally a dungeon. One tiny window. I miss the sunlight in my house. But that's ok! I say that mostly because we are moving on Wednesday:) 

The area is super fun! It's called Las Mañanitas for a reason! The Little Mountains! There are a ton of hills everywhere! It's awesome!!!

Church was super awesome too! Especially the class taught by a member who is a 'maliante' but not. A 'maliante' is basically a gang man. It was the funniest class of my life! But it was also very spiritual!

Then we went to choir practice. I must say, Panama singing is quite interesting.

Then we had a 3 hour meeting that was actually supposed to be 30 minutes. It was really good! Lots of people from the Stake were supposed to come, but only us missionaries showed up. But that's kind of how it goes here.

Highlight from the meeting was when the Stake President referred to the stake and said, "We are gonna fatten her up until her pants don't fit!"

My thought for the day has to do with changes. My last zone/area to this zone and area is a BIG change. And sometimes that can be a little stressful. But something I've come to learn is that we tend to overcomplicate things. So, in the wise words, from the movie "What about Bob?" ~ "Baby Steps." Keep things simple, and take one baby step at a time. God truly does delight in simplicity! So if we trust in Him, and do one thing at a time, He will help us figure out the big picture!

I love you all! I hope everyone is doing well! Please keep praying for me and my zone! Apologies if I haven't written to some of you in a while! Stay safe! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

E. Rojas & E. Lutze ~ Zone Leaders in Las Mañanitas

Las Mañanitas

Meeting with all the Missionaries and the Stake President

Semana 91 (Farewell Banana Land!)

Buenas!!

This week was SO good! But fair warning, this is gonna be a long one!

*Leadership conference last week was super good! Very spiritual! The 12 hour bus rides are always fun too! Elder Ence and I played battleship with paper. It was awesome! Then we got home at 7:30 in the morning.

*Did a CPEC which was fun! We got a 'Makdonald's' breakfast together!

*Did two exchanges. One with Elder Hulme, and the other with Elder Vasquez. It was a really good time! I had a lot of fun with both of them, and they both are really good missionaries!

*I created a Bible Bashing monster. By that I mean, I taught a 12 year girl how to prove our church right, and every other church wrong by using the Bible. She then laughed like a maniac saying how she was going to destroy her friend.

*Almost got killed by a massive dog. We were walking and heard someone say, "Careful with the dog!"

Dog? What dog? We then saw a long line, and attached to the line there was a chain. The chain could move across the line. We then saw a HUGE dog attached to the chain. Well the dog started sprinting towards us, and we turned to run as fast as we could! The only problem was the fact that when I turned around, there was a child right in front of me! So naturally, instead of trampling the kid over, I picked him up and sprinted far away from the dog. It was pretty scary!

*We had Branch conference this week! We also sang in the choir! You would never guess what we sang "JESUS WANTS ME FOR A SUNBEAM"!! IT WAS SO AWESOME!

*I killed a snake outside our house with a rock! We weren't sure if it was poisonous.

*Arellys, Luis, and Yorlenis got baptized!!! I'm so happy for them!! Especially Yorlenis! I met her on my first day here. And I said to my companion, "She is going to get baptized." It took a while, but God really changed her heart! There were a lot of miracles!

Arellys is also kind of a big lady. So we found a massive dress for her! It was so awesome! I may or may not have tried it on, then danced to music in it. But you guys will never know...

Story time

Exchanges - Elder Ence met an old guy who said he was a member, and wanted to come to church. The next day we saw him again. Then he disappeared.

The next week we were assigned to mark down where every member lived, and we were given a list of names. There were 3 names we didn't recognize. Well, one day we were walking, and we were prompted to go visit this one member point on our map. There we saw 3 people. A guy, his daughter, and someone in the hammock. We asked "Is Dionisio here?"

Right then an old man popped up from the hammock. It was the old guy from the week before and his name is Dionisio! We then proceeded to teach him and his neighbors. But Dionisio was very confused. He was saying God and Jesus are the same person, and they don't have bodies.

We pulled out every scripture possible to show him that God and Jesus are different, and they both have bodies. But he wasn't having it. So I said "Hermano, do you believe that God answers prayers? Because we are going to ask God what He thinks."

We said the prayer and left. The next day we came back, explained the Restoration, gave him a Book of Mormon, and left.

The next day we came back. He said the funniest/best prayer ever! "Thank you for Nephi, son of Lehi who married the daughters of Samuel. No no no. Adán. Sí sí. No no. Samuel. No no Ismael. Thank you for the Book of Nephi which ya know, its not that bad."

Then we read 3 Nephi 11 with him. And at the end, he said "Ok, I know now that God and Jesus are different. And Jesus has a body. But I'm still not quite sure about God."

Progress people! Prayer and scriptures work wonders! The second half of this miracle is that we are teaching his neighbor Nidia. She is progressing so well! She is going to get baptized on the 8th! She is so, so awesome, and a big miracle!

I hope you all can learn something from these stories. God is a God of miracles. And He truly changes hearts. In the beginning of my time here, this was an area that no one wanted to be in. But now it's one of the areas that everyone wants to go to. People used to not be receptive. But now people's hearts are being softened. It's becoming a branch. Miracles are flowing, and it's all thanks to God hastening His work! I'm so grateful for the chance to be an instrument in His hands

Sadly, my time has come to leave the area. I'm extremely sad. I may have cried a few times. Goodbyes are the pits. The familia Morales became like a family to me. We all cried together. I'm just grateful that God has helped me to come to absolutely love the people in this area. I'm going to miss them all a lot!

Now I'm going to Tocumen! My new area is called Las Mañanitas! My new comp is Elder Rojas.

Wish me luck! Keep praying for me, my people here in La Esperanza. My new people in Las Mañanitas. And of course please pray for my new zone. Love you all lots! Until Next Week!

- E. Lutze

Awesome Ties

Dancing in a Dress

E. Ence, Nidia, Yorlenis,  Luis, E. Lutze

E. Ence, Yorlenis, Luis, E. Lutze

E. Lutze, Yorlenis, E. Ence

Yes, I'm in a dress!

Leadership Conference

The Snake