The Gift of Tongues

Hey everyone!

So, this past week has been a little interesting, on account of not being able to speak English, but I am finally starting to feel confident with the language, and actually speak really well for my time in the mission. The gift of tongues is definitely a real thing! Also, my comp is super quiet, and Elder P talked a ton, and didn’t give me much of a chance to talk in lessons with people, so now I am talking more than ever with people, and it is great.  Q is teaching me new ways of sharing the gospel, and it is great to see and learn how different missionaries use different methods to share the gospel. 

We have been having a really tough time finding people to teach, and we don't have many interested investigators as is. It seems like any time we go to visit someone, they are not home or not able to talk to us.  We fasted this week with our zone, and we fasted to help us find new investigators, and we did just that!  We found a really cool lady named Olga this past Thursday, who lived next to some members and they talked to her about the church, and she is super interested. She hasn’t been able to sit down and listen to us yet, because she was really sick, but we are going back this week. Yesterday, we went out after church to do some visits, and went to visit an inactive member we found last week.  She wasn’t there, so we stood out in front of her house for a bit deciding what to do and we decided to walk down to a little circle where we had never been and contacted a guy who was sitting in front of his house drinking. He invited us in and told us that he had no religion, but listens to all religions.  We explained about how God is Elohim and Jesus is Jehovah, and the creation of the earth as explained in John Chapter 1.  He got really excited and told us that in all his study of the bible, never had anyone explained things to him with such clarity and never had it made as much sense to him as it did when we were teaching him. His name is Alfredo, and we are going back on Wednesday to teach him!  I am super excited!

As for the whole debit card thing, I had some clothes I bought, and the rest was cash I took out, so I still have the money and I haven’t really spent 87 dollars!  We did go to Causeway last week again, and I did rent a motor scooter again with Elder J, and he crashed it into a curb coming out of the parking lot!  Not really crashed, just lost control and started running alongside it trying to catch up, and fell over!  I was already gone, and looked in the mirror, and he was laying on the ground and it was hilarious! 

Not much more is happening here right now, it has been raining a ton, and we started eating on Friday nights with a gringo from Florida that lives in our branch. He gives good American food, and it is good to talk some English with him!  He was in the army, and served in Panama and always tells us crazy stories from his army days. 

Well, time is running a little short. I love you all, and am happier than ever out here!  In Jesus the Christ, it says that Panama is the Promised Land that Lehi came to, so I am serving somewhere pretty dang cool! I walk down the streets and imagine that 2200 years ago, the Nephites and Lamanites were battling on that very piece of land!  Well, I love you guys! I continue to pray for you all, and hope the best for you! 

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Austin Michael Kipp