The Best Two Years

The Best Two Years

Monday, August 12, 2013

Kuna Indians

Hey Family! 

  Happy Anniversary mom and dad!! Hope you are having a good time in Arizona, and that you had a good day!  How is Colby doing? It doesn´t seem like two years ago that he left, it is crazy that he is already home!  Hope it isn't too weird for him to adjust to regular life again, haha ! Hope you have a good rest of your trip down in Phoenix!
  It is super rainy here right now, August through December are the rainiest months of the year here. It is winter right now, so it is the coolest time of year. If that is true, I am NOT excited for the summer months! It is mid eighties to low nineties every day, but with the humidity it feels like 120! I didn´t think I would ever say that I actually miss the snow!  Snowboarding sounds about perfect right now! 
  We had District Conference this past weekend, and Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the first Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us. It was a great conference, we had priesthood and adult sessions on Saturday, and heard from Elder Duncan. We had three investigators come to the Sunday morning session with us yesterday, which was awesome, and we heard from Elder Duncan again, and also President Carmack, which was great. Our investigators got a chance to meet them both, and I think we will be taking the investigators to the Temple this next Sunday with President Carmack!  It was a great weekend, the spirit was very strong in those meetings! 
  On Wednesday this last week, we had to go into Los Andes to get a couple of things, and we got back to the house around one in the afternoon. We didn´t have any appointments set up, so we began to call all our investigators and contacts to see who we could meet with, but literally NONE of them could meet with us that day. It was really frustrating! We decided to get down and pray, and in the prayer we asked Heavenly Father to help us find someone, preferably a family, who we could begin to teach. So, we went out and started contacting. We walked past this huge hill that we had never been up. My companion asked me if I wanted to walk up that hill, or go up a smaller hill farther down the road. I told him that we should go up this hill, even though it was much bigger and steeper. This hill was huge, and we were getting tired. But, as we reached the top, we saw an old man sitting out in his driveway, so we decided to stop and talk to him. He started talking to us, and we discovered that he had cataracts and couldn´t see very well. As we began to teach him, his wife came out, and told us that her husband had NEVER before accepted people from any church, because he didn´t like religion at all. But, he was listening intently to us, and for that, she knew that we were special people. We taught them about the restoration, and after the lesson, the man told us that it was truly a miracle that we found him. He said he has NEVER gone out to sit on that side of his house, he always sat around back. But, for reasons he didn't know, he just decided to sit there that day. He said he truly knew he was prompted to sit there because god was sending us to him. As soon as he saw us come over the top of the hill (he said he couldn´t see that far when we met him) he knew that god sent us to him. It was a pretty cool experience, and I am excited to go back and teach him this next week! That experience gave me a new excitement to go out and find more people to teach! 
  It is interesting that you mentioned the Kuna indians in your last email. They are the main group of native indians in Panama, from the San Blas islands, and they are the indians that make Mola. Elder Price was telling me about Blas last week, and about the history of the Kunas. He said that the Kunas tell their story of a White God that came to them andtaught them. He said the missionaries on Blas, when they teach, have much success teaching about the book of mormon, because their story is EXACTLY the same as third Nephi. Literally exactly the same. In some of their tribal clothing and different mola designs, they have some of the symbols that are on the garment, and they do very similar ordinances to those done in the temple today. It makes me believe without a doubt that the book of mormon and this church are true. In my dream that I had, I am pretty sure that I am out in the San Blas Islands! I am excited for the day that I get to go out there!
  So, I am guessing that I will be in my area for at least 12 more weeks. They won´t take both of us out unless they put Hermanas in the area, and I dont think they will right now. So, I will most likely have a new comp here in six weeks, then most likely be transferred out in twelve. I like this area, it is really safe and the people here are really cool! I will be sad when I have to leave!
  Well, not too much more to report this week. We are going out to a church in San Miguelito this week to play some soccer for P Day, then we will go buy some ties so we can get some mola made. I got another tie this last week, one of our investigators went out to San Blas with her university because she is studying tourism, and she bought them for us. I will send a picture of all three that I have now! Well, tiem is runnung short, I love you all so much! Thanks for everything you do for me, for your love and support and prayers!!! 

Love you all!!!

Love, 
Elder Austin Michael Kipp

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