Panama Summary

Well I was told that this blog has some dedicated readers who wanted to know how things turned out in Panama. Well it was a very good experience. It was nice to see how so many people have been progressing in the church and families are growing and ejoying the gospel. Others aren't progressing quite as much, but I think that their testimony is still there. The Panama Temple is quite a sight. It is small as temples go (the baptismal font takes up almost half the temple), but it is pretty and it will be a huge blessing to the faithful members in Panama. There was a video before the open house that gave a brief history of the church in Panama, and it was a pretty rocky history. The church began when some military personel lived in the Canal Zone and built the first church where the temple now stands and another in the city. The missonaries were removed from Panama when Noriega took over and Panamanians took over the missionary work. Those missonaries are now the majority of the bishops and stake presidents in Panama today. Panama now has about 40,000 members.


San Blas was a lot of fun too. I got to talk to the missionaries on one of the islands and give them a lot of advice on how to teach the Cunas. I advised them that they should give a lot of service and prove to the people that they genuinely loved them and cared about them so that they could effectively teach them. I was amazed at how much of the language came back to me, while I was there. It is such a beautiful place. If anyone ever wants to go visit let me know and I would love to be your tour guide!

Pictures

1-3 Panama City Temple (with Calixto)

4 I took some rub on tatoos and they were a hit with adults and kids alike (Magdiel - Calixtos grandson)

5 Calixto and Rosilda at Family Night (They were sealed in the Costa Rica temple)

6-7 San Ignacio de Tupile, this is the island I served on (pic taken from plane, the star is where I lived)

8 The missionaries from Playon Chico (a different island) and a former missionary and his wife (also there for the temple open house)

9 Me with some kids after playing on the beach and collecting starfish (after the pictures we threw them back in the water)

10 Sea turtle and grilled bananas with lime and chile and a corn and sugar cane drink (this is a fancy meal for the Cunas)

11 A pretty flower (tutu in Cuna)

12 The guys from Bugsu Gunki Galu in the house that I lived in when I was a missionary out there