Week 10

BUENA!

This week has been great and really flew by! Having P-day on Tuesday really cut the week short! haha So we got a couple new investigadores this week! But unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit everyone we needed to this week! UGH Things are picking up again though which is great! Two of Eneida's kids had birthdays this week! Jazmin turned 10 and Ricardo turned 8 so he can be baptized too! So on Thursday we bought a cake and some soda and brought it to give them a little present! All the kids were so excited and had the biggest smiles! They wouldn't have had this otherwise so that was such a great and uplifting thing we were able to do for them! We are getting a lot closer on finding Eneida a job but she lives so far away from everything that it is getting harder to find a schedule that fits with her getting to and from on the extremely unreliable buses here haha. 

Friday was good too! We went to visit one of our investigadores but she wasn't feeling very well so we taught her grandson Chishie (yeah the names here can be kind of weird....) We taught him with Tato (who has special needs and loves God and church and everything! He is so adorable and a lot older hahaha) We taught the restoration and the spirit was really strong! We gave him a book of mormon and it was all very good! After that we had a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) with one of our other investigadores who wants to be baptized so badly but can't because she isn't married and her husband (unfortunately is a less active member) refuses to marry her... They have such a beautiful family and such a great relationship it really is so sad to hear he wont! Hence the noche de hogar con nosotros (Family Home Evening with us)! We had a Taco dinner! (Hna Salas is from Mexico :D) It was very fun and felt so normal! So very typical and just so great! The esposo (husband) was very kind kept asking questions of California and just was getting to know us and I think it was really great! We were able to develop a relationship with him and now he wont flee every time we are over! We are planning on doing another one soon! 

Saturday we saw Eneida again and were able to go to a members house to watch the Testaments and it was so powerful! I absolutely love that movie! Even more now that I am here in Panamá! After her we went contacting and were trying to find this young couple that we found and instead found her father! hahaha It was great! He was very kind to us and very willing to share his beliefs as an Evangelist! It was so great! hahaha He basically gave us the first lesson of their church and then we gave ours! It was great and the even though it was very much weird the spirit was there and was very strong! I'm pretty sure he felt something! After that we went to our dinner and it was actually their son's third birthday! So we got cake and food and again another night of normalcy in families! hahaha I know its sad I keep saying that but I guess it is the first time here in Panamá that I have felt that familiar bond and my heart has just swelled with it! We had a huge balloon fight and it was all just so great! 

Yesterday we has a very special zone activity where each pair of missionaries brought and investigador, convierto reciente (recent convert), or menos activo (less actives) and we took them on a tour of the temple! Presidente Carmack did the tour and it was so beautiful! The spirit was so strong and everyone that came was in awe of this beautiful building we have and the sacred ordinance we make and the spirit and calm that we felt was overwhelming.

This week was so great and I am so grateful I have this opportunity I have to be a missionary. To see people in a different was! This was incredibly long but I just want you to know how grateful I am for this gospel in my life. It gives hope and peace to people who have never had it in their lives before. It brings blessings that seem almost impossible but anything is possible through the Lord. Always. I am grateful for all of your love and support! Your prayers are felt and Thank you all so much! 

Les quiero muchismo!

Hermana Garcia

 Ricardo and Jazmins party...

 

Her fun family home evening....they all got a pair of socks. She said that it made her feel like she was not so far from home.  It was like a mini pajama party!
 

President Carmack (her mission president giving a tour of the temple)

With her investigator Benita!
 

She finally got to see the canal!!!!!!
 

Week 9

¿Qué Sopa?

Hiya friends! Panamá is just great as usual! Hahaha This week has been a good one! On Tuesday we had our first district meeting and got a surprise visit from President Carmack! That was so cool and totally needed because we needed to talk to him about Eneida! It was really neat because he told us that when we were describing her situation that he got a feeling and knows for certain that she is going to be baptized and that he is proud of us for sticking with her through this rough patch. That was exactly what we needed! Her situation though rough isn't impossible we just need to be determined!! After that we had a lesson with two of our progressing investigators one was the Julio who they have been teaching for a while and the other is Nelli his mother! It was only her second lesson but in this lesson we challenged them to baptism and they both said YES!!! When I asked Nelli I didn't even finish my sentence! It is all so exciting! Now we just need them to come to church but they are both so great! June 6th is their date! I am so excited!!

On Wednesday we had divisions with our ZL's (female ones of course) and I went to a different area which was bien raro. It was good though! The change helps you appreciate what you have and made me realize that holy smokes I am in the ghetto hahaha BUT I LOVE IT! Everyday is better than the day before! I just need to stay positive! haha The Lord is by my side every step of the way which is so great! 

Okay so reason this is on Tuesday and not Monday is because I got to go to the temple today! YAY!!!! The temple is closed on Mondays so we had to change our P-day to Tuesday so here I am! :) The temple here is so beautiful!! Oh my goodness and it was my very first session all in spanish! I actually understood a lot of it but I think part of it was because I went so many times in english hahaha :)

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to serve a mission and for this beautiful gospel of light and hope I have in my life. I am so grateful for the Temple and the blessings and covenants we are able to make in them. I am grateful for my eternal family.I am grateful for my amazing ward as well! Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers!! I love you all so much!!

Les quiero muchismo!

Hermana Garcia

Week 8

¿Qué Sopá? oh and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOMS!!!!

Thats what all the Panamanians are saying these days! haha It is pretty awful Spanish but its getting better! Last Tuesday I got a blessing and ever since then everything has been a lot easier! I understand even more now! I am able to talk to people to buy my own things and food! hahaha This week was a little strange because we had so many different meetings! We did have a super awesome lesson with our menos activo (less active) Hna Noris though! She really was listening and the spirit was strong regardless of the distractions. She took it to heart and actually came to church!!!! It was so exciting and we were so happy!!

Friday I had Migración (Immigration so that she could get her Visa)  and so Hna Salas and I went down to Panamá the night before (It was really early in the morning... Had we not gone down the night before we would have had to leave Colón at 4 in the morning waking up at 3!!) and stayed with the sister that Hna Salas (her current trainer) trained before me! It was fun my first sleep over on the mission! hahaha The next day was Migraciones and I got to see everyone again (all the missionaries she came to Panama with)!! It was all very exciting! haha Later when we got back we had a lesson with Hna Eneida (one of our amazing investigators) On the plan of salvation and my compa asked if she was married. This is very real and very difficult problem here in Colón. almost no one is married! Three of our investigators aren't married!!! UGH So we introduced the law of chastity kinda of short because on saturday we were going to teach her again when my compa asked her if she wanted to get married she said no... This tends to create a very difficult circumstance... Well Hna Eneida is very shy and we had a member with us but she wasn't very opened to talk about it around him so we closed and prepared for the Law of Chastity lesson with her the next day. The next day we returned and had a very great lesson on the Law of chastity with her and at the end when we asked her if she would live the Law of chastity she said yes if she had to to be baptized she would. We then asked if she would get married to live this law and she said no. We told her the only other way to do this was to be separated from her "spouse". This proves difficult you see. She is 33 years old and has 7 children. They live on a dirt floor and have a shack for a house. Her children have hardly any clothes and hardly any food. She has never worked and she can't read, but she is so determined. Her "spouse" is not a good man and he does wrong things to both her and her children. She has such tremendous faith that she knows the Lord will provide a way for her children to have a better life. To be happy and feel safe and not scared anymore. She has really helped to humble me. She has nothing and she has no where to go to get away from him, but she absolutely has faith in better things to come. Faith in her Savior and Faith in this gospel. We are going to do everything possible for her and her children. They are a beautiful family and deserve so much more! She is looking for a job and we are helping her with that along with looking for a new house which isn't easy by any means but her faith is strong and she is determined! Ugh I just love her so much! We are going around the ward collecting clothes for her children as well! What a great opportunity to serve and what an amazing lesson to me on faith. 

Being a missionary is the best! I am bringing people this true and beautiful gospel and help improve their lives while in turn they are changing and improving mine. There are miracles everyday. We just have to have eyes to see ears to hear and hearts to feel what is right in front of us.

I Love you all so much! I hope all the mothers had a fantastic Mothers Day! It was so great to Skype home! Thank you all for your love and support!!! 

Les quiero muchismo!

Hermana Garcia 

 

This is a beach in Hermana Garcia's area, she's on the Caribbean side of the country..

 

 

"Funny story about this house! The day after I took this pitcure we actually contacted it and got two new investigators from it! hahaha Super little and I thought it looked so cute a lot of house are like this but not nearly this kept up."

 

 

 

 

"Mi casa y Mi bano!" (My house and my bathroom, she lives in a 'guest house' behind a member's home. Notice the pot on the toilet without a seat, that is how they flush the toilet :)

 

 

 

 

WEEK 7! The key to success in Panamá

Hola mi familia! Cómo están?

HOLY SMOKES I'M IN PANAMÁ!!!! Who da thunk?? It is so crazy here but it is also so great! It has sorta been a blurr here in Panamá hahaha I am in Colón! My very first area where it rains the most and the people are the hardest to understand! 300 inches of rain a year! A super big difference from my dry drought of California ;). haha My trainer is Hna Salas and she is from Mexico! She is super awesome! We get along really well! She speaks a little bit of english which helps a ton! I still talk to her (except for a few a words I don't really know) all in spanish! Holy smokes is it hard to understand some of these people! They talk so fast and most of their words aren't even real! I guess its a good thing I'm learning here because then I'll be able to understand so much better in a different area! The Lord has really blessed me with the Language though. Every day is better than the day before! It is amazing!! I have never studied or prayed so hard in my entire life. Every morning I am working at understanding the scriptures in spanish. Every prayer I say I ask for help in Understanding and confidence to open my mouth! It has not been easy for me and I have never felt so homesick but I also have never felt more comforted in my entire life, My area isn't the safest but I have never felt more safe in my life. Here in Colón I am somewhat a gaint spectacle. Everyone here is black! Then there is me! hahaha Soy la blancita rubia hermana! I'm also reall tall here hahaha. And then they see mi apellido (last name) and then a whole new stream of questions come! ¿Por qué tiene un apellido latina pero usted es blanca y rubia? (Why do you have a latin last name but you are white and blonde?)  No joke every person we talk to hahaha. We have 5 investigators but they aren't coming to church and it is so sad! They are so close and it literally is the only thing they have to do! We work a lot with los menos activo y recent converts! Thats pretty cool and the lessons are so much easier to do then making small talk for me in spanish hahaha. I also have been working on gaining confidence because I seriously fail at street contacts! They are so hard and everyone stares at me like I'm an alien! (I guess here I kinda am...) But through the Lord I can do anything and I know her is on my side always! But seriously I got told I looked like a Barbie yesterday... Oh well! What doesn't kill me makes me stronger and the Harder the Job the strong I'll be :) I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support!! I hope all is well at home! 

Con muchísmo amor,

Hermana Garcia (blancita y rubia)

No pics from Panama yet :(  

She had to say goodbye to her companion Hermana Nielson who is off to Florida.  They left the same day, Hermana Nielson at 3:30am and Jocelyn at 4:30am

The awesome map photo.  Elder Stracener is her other BFF besides Hermana Nielson and Sister Flake on her right was her Spanish teacher.  \

The last picture was sent from a good Samaritan at the SLC airport of her group heading off to Panama.  It was texted to all of us moms.  Truly a tender mercy, brought me to tears.  The woman that took it is a missionary mom herself....

Week 5- Spanish, and luggage and letters... OH MY!

Hola Mis Amigos!

Lo siento sobre el semana pasado! Es muy dificil para estuvo pensando de cosas necesito escribir! Okay thats all hahaha. This week has been awesome! Last week I got my travel plans and this week is my last week! IM GOING TO PANAMA!!!!  its actually happening! I'm going to be a real life missionary! It is all just so super crazy and I'm totally freaking out but I'm also so totally excited!! There are six of us traveling together so that will be super fun! There are four Elders and one other Sister so I will be safe and secure :) I am so excited to be able to do my job! I am also incredibly sad that I will be leaving mi compañera.... Shes the greatest I can´t wait to see all the good she does! I'm super psyched for real food again too! Even if its not the best at least it'll have some nutritional value! 

Okay now on to the spiritual part. I have a super cool story. So every Monday we had a member lesson for TRC. This last week it was over Skype (holy smokes it is so hard... Skype is kinda awful...) We were teaching this older man about having faith in Jesucristo. How important we have faith and how that faith can bless our lives. I didn't feel super prepared for this lesson but we started off on our lesson plan and then Hermana Nielsen started to take it in a different direction and i felt that it was what the spirit wanted. We went completely away from the lesson plan but still was rooted in faith in Jesucristo, but it wasn't about how it blesses us but how it strengthens us. We talked about how if we can do anything with faith in the Lord. This guy was super Knowledgeable in the gospel. We may not have been conveying everything super well but the spirit was super strong, even over skype. Afterwards our teacher got back on with him and asked how it went. He asked if he thought it was boring because it was a topic he knew so well. After he asked him this Fransisco (the guy we were talking to) paused, and he started to cry. He said that he had been having a lot of problems and challenges and had been praying for answers and counsel. We had answered his prayer. This is my purpose as a missionary. I am here to answer peoples prayers. I need to be able to be that answer. I need to study hard. Work hard. Harder than everyone else. Love like I've never loved before and Smile. 

I love you all so much! Thank you all for your love and support! I'll talk to you all in a week and a half in PANAMA! 

Con muchismo amor

Hermana Garcia 

 

Hermana Garcia was not prepared for snow....I told her to make friends with someone going to Russia and borrow their coat :)