Success always comes after the Trials of your Faith!

Hey everyone! How goes it? I Hope you all are doing well :)

Bueno, These past two week have been somewhat crazy and very difficult. You see I have always had some trouble with my stomach and went through a little sick phase two weeks ago and well my comp has newly discovered back problems... So we walk a ton and she has had some serious back pain and there have been a couple of days where we just had to stay in the house so she could but heat and ice and rest it. It turns out she has scoliosis.. We will have to be going to physical therapy 3 times this week. Good news is it cant worst! But it also cant get better.. I am just such a good luck charm for my comps! So it has been pretty hard through all of that but regardless of being sick and her pain we have been working so hard!

Familia Tejada has come to church for the past 2 weeks! Yesterday we had 5 in sacrament meeting! We also were able to contact Peña Blanca which is a part of our area that it so gorgeous but is a little pueblito and so far away with out hardly any buses and we usually walk a half hour just to get to the first house! Its a pretty view of horses and cows and campo!  we actually found quite a few new investigators out there and it was just so great!! 

I guess these past couple of weeks I can honestly bear testimony on the scripture Ether 12:27. D&C 121:7-8 is also a huge comfort. We are constantly tried and it is never easy but we are never alone. We need to constantly find the good in ever situation but most importantly we need to always turn to the Lord in all we do. He is who strengthens us. He is who comforts us and it is only through the Atonement that we exercise that we feel the relief and our burdens are made light. They aren't taken away but they are made light. I know that my Savior and My Father in Heaven love me and care for me and are aware of me. I know that whenever I am in need I can always turn to them. One of my questions this past week was "What can I do?" my answer was to be as Christ. He is our perfect example and through living as He lived we will find even more peace. This is my humble testimony and I invite each and everyone of you to apply this in your lives. Turn to the Lord and exercise the Atonement everyday and you will see how He will make your burdens light and open doors that your have never seen before. I leave you these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love you all I hope you have a fantastic week! Thank you all for you love and support and prayers!

Les quiero mucho!

Hermana Garcia

 My puppies for a week... Leche y Canela and they were so cute!

 Abel whose gonna get baptized on the 25th maybe sooner!

Familia Tejada at the Temple!!!!

 Temple trip with our Recent Converts :)

LA SEMANA DE LA FAMILIA!

Si Si Buenas! :)

How is everyone doing?? I hope you all had a fantastic week! This last week here in good 'ol central America was the week of the family! I don't know if they do that in the states but I am pretty sure no because I never remember doing that! 

Anyways it was awesome! every night was a different activity in the Chapel!

Monday (okay not every night) Was family home evening BUT the families needed to invite a nonmember! We went with Familia Tejada and they also invite their friends to listen and we always have a blast :) 

Tuesday was an open house and a group family home evening (noche de grupo) and we had one investigator come sadly but it was so good!! Every single presidency talked about their callings and the different classes that we have and he had really good questions :) 

Wednesday was a fireside on emergency preparedness and it was really interesting! We had a speaker from the Panamanian SIANPROC (i don't know how to explain who they are... Experts in natural disasters??) They were awesome! And well it was fitting with everything that has happened and also with some of the floods that have happened in the city with all the rain. Also Wednesday was changes and we didn't have changes! :) Hna Thompson is still my awesome comp :)

Thursday was another fireside on Family History and we had the Family Historian teach it and she did a fantastic job! It was very entertaining and our recent converts learned more about how to do family history! We also did a service that day for Hna Patty! We painted her house and we did an awesome job! It looked so purty afterwards! 

Friday was a Cultural night and almost like a talent show! It was great! It was a stake activity and there were so many investigators that came!! We even had some government officials come as special guests! There was a band and it was just really well planned and beautiful :)

Saturday we went to the temple as a ward! Me and my comp got to help 4 of our recent converts in the baptistry! I must say it was weird helping out and not actually doing the baptisms but it was so beautiful and to be able to see the converts enter the temple for the first time was so beautiful!!! Later that day Familia Tejada came to the temple afterwards! It was fantastic! We got to give them a tour and they got to see and learn and feel the spirit of the temple! It was so great! And then later that night they even went to the ward activity where we played sports and THERE WERE SO MANY BUGS! At one point we had to turn off the lights but they just came back and they swarmed everything that had light! I felt as though I was in a locus plight or something! It was disgusting!! 

Sunday during 3rd hour we had a wonderful devotional from the area presidency where they had discussions on families with their families! :) Later that day we got to visit a new investigator whose older brother is super active and mom whose super inactive but he just turned 9! So now he wants to be baptized and we get to teach hime the lessons and his date is for the 25 of june! :) 

Today we played some soccer and then it started pouring so naturally we kept playing and it was a blast! I love Panama!

I love you all so much! Families are forever! What a beautiful message! The gospel is true and because of it the spirit can better dwell in our homes and our families will be unified! DO FAMILY HOME EVENINGS AND NIGHTLY SCRIPTURE READING AND PRAYER! It is so important!

Have a great week! Les quiero mucho!

Hermana Garcia

PS I have fotos but this computers isn't the best so next week!

The Baptism I have been waiting for!

Hey Every one! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! 

I hope everyone enjoyed their day to remember their mothers and spend time as a family! I loved being able to se my family and get to talk to them! Families are the best :) 

This is going to be short but I thought I would share some pictures of the baptism I got permission to go to! I may not be in Tocumen but I was able to get permission to go back! THEY FINALLY GOT BAPTIZED!! It was so beautiful and they were so happy! I cried! They will be going to the temple next year to be sealed I know it! They have such string testimonies and they will keep enduring to the end. It was one of the most spiritual moments I have had here on my mission to see a family get baptized. It was amazing and the spirit was so strong! Sorry its so short!

This is the true church! The Priesthood is the light in the world today and Families really can be together forever!! I love you all so much! Thank you all for your love and support! Have a great week!

Les quiero mucho!

Hermana Garcia

1- Went to Tocumen this week! Fam Vargas got Baptized!

 

2- The whole family minus the older son Bishop Smith Baptized them

3- Hno Vargas walking out afterwards

 4- Naylis After she was baptized

 5- Hna Vargas after she was baptized

Gringas in Puyeras

AWWEE!!! Bueno I thinks that how you would spell the grita or shout of Panama :) You all need to look up BALLET FOKLORICO DE PANAMA! There you will hear the scream and the music Typica of Panama and my pictures at the bottom will make all the more sense! 

This week was great! We had a Baptism! Moises got Baptized!! Oh he was so great and so excited! He is extremely quiet and timid and shy but understood everything we taught him and he never forgot and he knows it is true! It was so great to see him progress and get so much more confident!!! I love being a missionary! The gospel changes lives and to be able to see their progress is all the more special. It is such a blessing to be part of these peoples lives.

With Familia Tejada we had a series of lessons and one the hna (Member) asked why we don't use the BIble and only use the Book Of Mormon so we explained its purpose and the importance and really it was for her Husband who is our investigator but shy and evangelico. We then planned a lesson and they had invited friends as always for our Noches de Hogar and we taught the lesson with only scriptures from the bible on The Gospel Of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was so strong and then at the end we wrapped up with a verse from the BoM and the Hno said the prayer and then gave thanks for both the Bible AND The Book of Mormon! They are so going to be baptized!!! 

Saturday before our Baptism in the Mornin we did a service for la Familia Rios who are our neighbors and members and afterwards they decided to dress us up and teach us a little bit more about panamanian culture! And so it is the lovely fotos and me will so much make up on but dont worry! We got all cleaned up and then left to go work! haha

We have a less active sister who we are working with whos sons are all super active and one is almost 9 and wants to be baptized! Hna Ortega or La Familia Ortega! I love them so much! They are so amazing and love us so much as well! I feel at home when I am with them and they understand it all it is just getting the Hna to realize how much it is blessing her family! 

Seems like the whole world is getting sick here and twice we have walked into a house sat down for a lessons and one of their kids gets sick! Literally they throw up everywhere. hey just sit there and throw up in their laps! So that's fun! I guess when the rain comes so do the colds!

I love you all so much and hope you have a fantastic week! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU ALL YOU MOTHERS! You will get it next week too :) Thank you all for your prayers!

Les quiero mucho!

Hermana Garcia

1- We did a service and the Hna wanted us to dress in typico! They are called puyeras

2- It was our whole district!

3- This was my hair! They are call Temblecas! They are gorgeous!

4- Moises got baptized!

5- Walking out after being washed clean! Look at his smile!