HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well everyone this week had been great. I got to skype with my family!! :) that was the highlight of the week. It was great seeing all of my family. Love you guys haha. I hope that everyone that has a missionary out got to see them! Hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas.

Well this week we found some really positive people to teach. On Christmas we went to an old folks home and gave out presents to them. They were so old and cute haha. I loved the Christmas time here in Panama. It was a good way to contact people because we would sing them a Christmas hymn.

Well around Santiago there has been a bad case of the Chicken Pox. One little kids had it then all of a sudden everyone and there dog had it. There are like 15 people in the branch that have it right now. Some of which are adults and some kids. Good thing all the missionaries have the shot.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas not only getting cool Christmas presents but also remembering the true meaning of the holiday. Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and that he sent his son to die for us. So that we can all return to live with him someday. Love you guys and miss you tons!!

-Hermana Patrick

Family

Dear Family,

      I am super excited to see you guys through skype this Christmas. I cant wait to hear how things are going. I cant believe Ive been out on my mission for almost 6 months. only 1 year left wow!! I miss you guys a ton!! See you all in like 3 days. Love you!!

-Hermana Patrick

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well everyone this week has been really weird. We didnt really do to much missionary work. We were in the city for most of the week because we had immigrations. But the two days that we did work we worked super hard. We contacted this lady on the street and she told us to come back anytime we want. We went to her house yesterday and she told us that we could come over on Christmas Eve and share a message with her whole family and we could eat. Super excited for that. We also had a less active come to church that hasnt came in years. When she walked in the door my face lit up. I was super excited.Well not much time this week. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

-Hermana Patrick

Training!!

Hola everyone,

       So this week has just been all over the place. My companion Hermana Bennett left to go home last week and I got a call about a few days before she left to tell me that I would be training someone. I was not very excited when they told me that it was someone from the states. I thought for sure that I was going to have a Latina companion next and that my Spanish would improve a ton. I went to go pick up my companion for the mission presidents house and I had no clue who she was going to be. President said that he still needed to pray about it. As the other trainers and I sat waiting for our new companions I was anxious to see where my MTC companions where going to go. Everyone dream in the mission is to serve on Blas, which are the islands. I have wanted to go since I have been out. While wait I got a call from Hermana Hall, my MTC comp. Guess where she was going??? BLAS!! I was soo happy for her but at the same time a little jealous. I didn't really want to be training and do the thing the Lord wanted me to be doing. When I got my new comp. we both realized that we both only speak a little bit of Spanish. We both new that this change in going to be hard. I have never prayed so much in my life. I now understand why I am training. Its not for her but for me. I am learning so much from my new comp. Her name is Hermana Smith. She is from Utah! We have both decided that thing change was going to be the best in the mission. We have been working really hard and are going to do great things. We both speak enough Spanish that we can teach a very good lesson. Im so excited to see what this change has in store for us. Well not enough time this week but here are some pictures that have been long over due. Love you alll and have a great week!!

-Hermana Patrick

                                                   Some of the Elders in my Zone 

                                 My old MTC comapnions got to see each other last week while my old companion was saying by to all her areas. This is us on a bus

                                               This is my new companion

                                           We got to go to the temple on Saturday!!

                                       

Feliz dia de la madre!!!

Well guys yesterday was mothers day here in Panama. So happy mothers day everyone!!! Hope it was awesome haha..

Well this week has been killer hard for me. Lets just start off with that for some reason for the past week Ive had diarrhea. Not really sure why but its happening haha. But all better now. 

This week we also only had 50 people at church which is super low. It was really sad but this next week we are going to work hard so that EVERYONE is there. 

Along with all of this I got told at least 5 or 6 times that I dont know how to speak spanish and when my companion leaves its going to be really hard. So that has been really hard. I also got called the B word by some guys on the street the other day. It was actually quite impressive, they spoke English very well. 

Hard week but I will push through and keep getting better. So today while on the bus with my companion that leaves tomorrow I got a phone call from the Elders. They called to tell me that I needed to be at the mission presidents house at 10 am tomorrow morning. I was so confused.. But they later told me that I needed to go to a trainers meeting because I will be getting a new companion tomorrow in which she is brand new to the mission and I will be training her. The first words from my mouth were "wait your joking right, I cant train." After they assured me that it was not a joke they then told me they think it is an American from the states that doesnt speak any Spanish. The whole two hour bus ride I was super worried and thinking... how can I do this? Two people that dont speak spanish very well. I called Hermanas Hall and Anderson (my MTC comps) and I really loved something they told me. They said that Heavenly Father trust me so much that he gave me one of his children to watch over and train this early in the mission. I now am starting to prep for my new companion. I want to give her the best first companion ever and have her really enjoy the mission. Keep us in your prayers because we are really gonna need it. Teaching lessons is going to be rather hard but Im super excited for all thats in store. Pictures to come next week when I see her tomorrow. 

This week we went on a visit with the Elders to give a blessing to a really sick little girl. Her family is really poor and they live in this place where there are like 20 other family that are poor as well. They feed them what they can and let the sleep but there is nothing really more that they have other then each other. There beds were cardboard boxes and like 2 pair of clothes. After the blessing of the little girl the family asked when we were going to come back to visit them. We are going back on friday and Im super excited. We are going to do everything we can to bring Christmas to this family this year. They have 3 kids and are very sweet. They are not members but I think with time they will see that the gospel will bless them a ton!! Im super excited about this family. We will see what happens. 

Well guys something that I really have been trying to apply in my life lately is the atonement of our savior Jesus Christ. On this mission I have really come to learn what it means for ME! I am so greatful for the gospel and for the many blessings it has brought me in my life. Well I love you all and miss you tons.. Christmas is coming soon. Send me letters :) haha. Love you guys! 

xoxo

-Hermana Patrick

WONDERFUL WEEK!!

Hola, How was thanksgiving/black friday shopping?? I hope super awesome!!!

        Well everyone I had my first baptism on Saturday. It was amazing!! After Britany came up from the water she said, "I feel different". It was a great experience and I will never forget it. My companion and I sang Britany a special song in English, she loved it. We also had tons of people show up for the baptism as well, which is super uncommon because our branch never comes to activities. We worked so hard to get everyone there and everything turned out great. It was such a special night for the family. They just remind me so much of how my family was before we were members. The mom was the only member in the family but now her kid is baptized. We are going to start working really hard with the dad so that he can do the same. This family is great and I see wonderful things happening for them in the future.

Well this week is the last full week I have with my companion. She is headed home back to Idaho on the 10th of December. It has been great having her as a comp and trainer and also super hard at times. I have had days were I think that I get to go home as well because she is leaving. haha its hard but Im glad that I have the comfort of the Holy Ghost to help me. It has really been a life saver.

With all the super awesome things this week there were also some really hard times. As most people know (people who read the emails) I have been having a really hard time with my district leader. Things seem better some days but other days they just get worse. So this week my district leader decided it would be good to do some things in the district that not everyone was on the same page with. We were all upset and just talking really bad about are DL. I was so upset that I talk to the mission president about it when we saw him at a conference we had this past week. I just went to president and told him all the problems that the DL had and not anything about me. Hermana Patrick was perfect right??? NO! but thats what was going through my head. I didnt need to change anything about myself he just needed to fix HIM not me. Well after several minutes of complaning to my mission president he tells me that he will take care of the problem but not until I prayed about it. He saw that I really have been trying to fix the problem but I didnt take it to the Lord. So that night I got down on my knees and prayed. I prayed to know what the Lord wanted me to do. As I studied Preach my Gospel I was ready something that never stuck out to me before. PRIDE! The whole time I was thinking that it was just the DL that needed to change and not me. President came to Santiago yesterday and before he talked to the DL I went in and told him what I had learned. That I wasnt trusting who the Lord put in charge and was being pridful. I wrote a three page paper on what I learned and showed it to mission President. He loved that I had changed and he wants me to teach the stuff I wrote in the next district meeting so that our district will get tons better. He then talked to the DL and now we all see that we have tons of work to do. Today we have gotten along so well and Im sure there will be many other days like these.

Sometimes we many not understand why the Lord sends us things and we many just want to give up, but we need to figure out what we can do to endure to the end. I love a quote that I read the other day. It says somthing like this...."All the bad things that happen in your life, happen for a reason, it gives you the chance to apply the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ". It is sooo true. When we just forget about ourselves and loose the pride we become so much more like christ. This is what I will be teaching my district on Tuesday. The mission so far has just taught me so much about myself that I would have never figured out on my own. They say that you come out for 18 months or 2 years to serve others and help others but at the same time you are helping yourself. I am becoming a person I thought I would never be. The past 4 almost 5 months have changed my life. I love the mission and I love the work!!

I miss you all and love you tons. Have a great week!! It begining to look a lot like Christmas.... not here in Panama but its okay haha. Have a wonderful week!

-Hermana Patrick