Through the Lord I Can Do All Things

Hello everyone,

It has been a good week because we had a BAPTISM!!  K got baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday!  It was a spiritual baptism, and it was pleasing to see the results of my labor.   But, it really wasn’t even me that converted her.  It was the Spirit.  I am just thankful that the Lord is guiding me with his spirit to the people that he has prepared for me here in Panama. As Ammon says, “I cannot brag of my own strength and power, because as for my own strength, I am weak.  But through the Lord, I can do all things.”

It is so hot here right now, I think I will have to be buying new shirts soon because they get sweaty, and then the wind picks up the dirt and it sticks to my sweaty shirts and gets them all dirty.  I never knew a person could sweat so much! 

So, this last week I had to go into Panama City for immigrations, so on Thursday night at midnight, I got on the bus with Elder B and our Zone Leader, and we took a 7 ½ hour bus ride to the city.  These buses are cool, double decker buses, but they are freezing inside!!!   They are literally known as the coldest places in Panama.  The buses and the showers ARE the two coldest places in Panama.  I couldn’t sleep at all because I didn’t have a jacket or blanket or anything.  So, we got to Panama City and hopped on a Metrobus to the immigrations building, and we were there until four-thirty in the afternoon because the lawyer for the mission didn’t fill out our papers right, so we had to do the whole process twice.  But, I did get to eat at Taco Bell, so that was allright, and I saw my friends from the MTC, so it was fun to talk to them!   So, we go to Albrook to buy bus tickets for the six o’clock bus, but it was full, so we left Panama City at 8:00 at night, and got back to David at about 3:30 in the morning, and we were dead!  But, it was nice to see the city, it was a little weird because I hadn’t left David for four months and David is so much smaller and quiet.

So about changes, I heard a lot of rumors that I am going to go to the mission office this next change, but I am not sure.  My name was in for one of the secretaries about five months ago, but I didn’t go.  Elder O is the financial secretary and he told President Carmack that he thinks I would be a good secretary.  I am indifferent to going to the office, we will see what happens! I am pretty sure that I am leaving David though.

Well, not much more to report on this week, just that we are finding lots of awesome new investigators to teach, and that I am growing and learning and becoming happier every day!  I love you all so much! 

Love,

Elder Austin Michael Kipp