Mission Secretary & District Leader

Buenas tardes familia!!

So, this last week has been interesting!  I had changes, so I packed up everything and said goodbye to all my friends in David, and we ended the night with a baptism that the sister missionaries in my area had.  It was great!  So, I got on a bus for the city, and saw all my old friends at changes!!  We got on a bus for the temple, and went to changes, and I found out that I am the new general secretary!  I am right in downtown Panama City, so I love it!  Also, Elder O is in the office as the financial secretary, so it is crazy fun!

It was a busy couple of days.  We had to help with changes, getting all the old people ready to go back home, and getting all the stuff ready for the people going to San Blas on Tuesday. Elder J is going back to San Blas again, he was there about six months ago, and Hermana B, the sister missionary that was in my area in David, is going out as well!   It was interesting changes!

So, being in the Panama Zone, Elder P is my Zone Leader so I get to talk to him a lot!  I have a lot of friends in the Zone, so it is fun!  I am also a District Leader now, so I get the chance to learn and grow more, and apply that to help other missionaries learn and grow!  So, it has been a crazy busy couple of days!!

Elder O and I decided to get out a little office stress today for P Day, so we hit up the golf course!  There is a course called Summit Country Club close to the temple, and we went to the driving range!  It was a cool course, cut out of the jungle, and it was fun to be able to hit a bucket even though I didn’t hit very well. 

Well, not much more to report on, just trying to learn all my office duties right now, and trying to remember everything I have to do to make the mission run smoothly.  We get to eat Taco Bell a lot, which is good!  I finally got to go to the temple and saw the new video!  I understood more of what Heavenly Father wants for me.  I felt great after.  I felt empty inside after not being able to go to the temple for so long... but, now I am a ten minute taxi ride away!!!

I am thankful that mom and dad get to work in the temple, and help with the missionary work that is going on on the other side of the veil.  It is a great experience to see the blessing that President Arens gave me coming true in my mission, to see and feel that people on both sides of the veil are cheering me on.

I love you all so much!!! 

Love,

Elder Austin Michael Kipp