The Best Two Years

The Best Two Years

Monday, March 16, 2015

The Last Transfer, Monte Dog and The Carriers

Happy Preparation Day everyone!!!

This P-day has been pretty great so far!  Elder A(my office companion) and Elder M came from Ukupa and Irgandi to bring things they need taken to Panama City tomorrow when we go in to do the changes shopping bonanza.  We went with them to the monte to walk to a waterfall, about an hour hike.  We took our branch president's dog, Kippcito (Little Kipp) with us to train him to be a monte dog.  He fits in my pocket.  He whined the whole way, he is still pretty young.  He spends every minute he can in our house and he thinks he is our dog sometimes! haha!  The waterfall was really pretty!  We explored for a little bit and saw some cool jungle then came back home.

This last week was a pretty good one.  A very wise missionary once gave me the counsel that I can be a missionary and myself at the same time.  I sometimes get uptight because everything doesn't go exactly how I expect it to, but this last week, I really tried to focus on who I am.  A missionary and representative called of Jesus Christ to preach His gospel.  It helped me to know that even when we have hard times and problems, that the Lord is still at the head of this work, and that if I try to do my part, I cannot fail because He will be helping me every step of the way.  I also figured out that I don't have to be uptight and get annoyed by every little problemito and difficulty, but that I can be Austin Michael Man and a representative of Christ at the same time.  It is better that way.  If I give myself to Christ and His work, He can work on me and mold me into the person He wants me to become.  All I need to do is dedicate myself and give my whole self to Him, because he can't work on what He doesn't have, and he can't have me unless I give myself to him.  (The "Fourth Missionary" talk is great.  It talks a lot about our potential and who we want to become in our lives.)

There are some guys here on the island who we call the "island carriers".  They all have super long hair, speak no Spanish at all, only Kuna, and look like someone just took them right off a pirate ship. They rush across the bridge whenever a plane gets here to carry all the cargo across for the people, and that is their job.  They are all so funny! We were able to start teaching one of the carriers, A, and his brother and two friends. We took Hermano U to the three lessons with them this week, and the spirit was seriously STRONG!  They all accepted to be baptized!  It is great to see people finally find what they have been searching for their whole lives, the happiness and blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, this week marks the start of my last transfer in the mission.  I still have a lot of things I want to accomplish, and I have set many goals to accomplish those things.  I cannot believe how fast the time has passed, but I am thankful that I still have a little time left. Time is an interesting thing.  Time seems to run faster with time.  I want to take advantage of every minute I have left to help the people here in San Blas! (I still haven't heard about changes yet, but I am pretty sure I am going to be staying here!)  I want to be as focused as I can, so please help me out!  I am doing pretty well right now.  I don't even feel trunky! Haha!

That is so crazy that C is already home!  Now you all officially know her family better than I do, I am so excited to meet them all soon!  Well, I will let you know about changes as soon as I can!  We leave on a plane for the city tomorrow so I will write a small note from the mission office.  I love you all!

 Love,
 Elder Austin Michael Kipp

P.S. Remember, Nephi lived in the desert of Jerusalem for eight years with little provisions.  He built a boat starting with literally  nothing, and crossed the ocean all the way to America. He did it all through prayer and the guidance of the spirit.  We can do great things in our lives if we live worthily of the companionship of the spirit and pray to God for thanksgiving and blessings.

I can't believe I forgot to put V's baptism in my letter... best convert ever!  He is super strong! And he comes over to our house every night with Hermano U to pray!  Satan didn't want his interview to go through, but we got all the Skype problems fixed and he got baptized on Saturday!

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