Well, I am currently sitting in the
office with a face that feels like an old catcher’s glove on fire, because we
went to the Cinta Costera to play volleyball and basketball again, and we were
there for about six hours, and I got FRIED! I have no sunscreen. But, the good news is I have lots of aloes and
when I got fried last week it turned it into a nice tan, so I am hoping this
turns into tan quick, because I basically look like a tomato right now! But, it is worth it to get out and play some
good competition sports.
So, the World Cup is coming
up this next week! In Latin America,
basically everything shuts down during the world cup, so it will be an
interesting week for missionary work. We
have a less-active ex-marine that lives next door that has invited us over for
some of the games. We accepted the
invitation JUST for the purpose of doing a family home evening, and definitely
not for the purpose of catching a few glimpses at the U.S. play.
We contacted a reference this week; well, she actually called the office and asked
her to come visit her! Her name is A, and her mom is named P. They are from Trinidad and Tobago, and have
wicked Jamaican-type accents! P is
91, but looks 60, and A is 58. The
missionaries visited them a long time ago, and they loved going to church and
they have incredible faith in Jesus Christ. They have had a hard time lately, with a lot
of deaths in their family, and something about a sister that lives in California
and they don't know if she is dead or not, and lots of family drama. We talked to them on Monday about the resurrection,
and we committed them to baptism for the 28th of June! Yesterday, we got
the impression that we had to go by and visit them. We tried calling, but no one answered, so we
went anyway. When we got there, they
told us that A's brother in law had just passed away that morning, and
they were pretty distraught. I am glad
we followed that prompting to go over there. We talked more about eternal families. I love teaching people that death is NOT the
end, and that we can see our loved ones again. They love it when we sing, so we sang
"Families Can Be Together Forever" and shared some scriptures about
the comforter from John 14. Talking with them reminds me of talking with Grandpa
Gary because they are so goofy!
Today, at church, C and his wife,
M brought us the copies of their documents to be able to get them married! It has been a spiritual battle for them,
trying to decide if they wanted to get married. They really wanted to do it in
Nicaragua when they move back in October, but they don't want to procrastinate
the day of their repentance, and have realized that it is important to get
baptized and married now. I AM SO HAPPY!
We are seeing some great success here in
Panama Viejo! We are also preparing
F, an older recent convert to go through the temple in a couple weeks! The missionaries who baptized her go home in
July, and they will be so happy to see her in white! I am loving so much this mission right now!
I am glad you are all doing well.
I pray for you all often. I am glad you are getting out and riding and
exercising more. My companion and I are
still running every morning, so maybe we can do some 5 or 10K's when I get
home, and some big bike rides. I wanna do another fifty miler sometime! Well, that is about all that has gone on this
last week. I am so happy right now. I am
noticing a big difference as my companion and I are trying a lot harder to work
more in our area. The blessings and results are starting to come here in Panama
Viejo! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Austin Michael Kipp
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