Well
family, this officially marks the start of my last full week as a full-time
missionary. Feelings are mixed, it is a different time and things are different
than I expected them to be. But I am doing great!
This last week was kind
of tough. Elder P and I got sick
again, and we couldn't leave the house for three days because of sicky stuff. But we are all better now! On Friday, we got on a boat and went to
Ustupu, it is the farthest island in the zone, the closest to Colombia. We went to do three baptismal interviews for
the sisters there. It was a super cool
island! The first chapel in Panama was
built there, and Elder O's grandpa was one of the missionaries that helped
build it. So it is a pretty special
place! It is always a cool experience to interview candidates for
baptism and see how the gospel has changed their lives. My testimony in the Savior is always
strengthened during those interviews.
We had to spend the
night in the chapel there, and get up at 3:30 a.m. to get back on a boat to our
island. We got back on Saturday, and crashed for a little bit, sleeping on the
cement floor in the church wasn't exactly "restful". Then, we went to work. Sometimes weekends here are hard, because
there are days where all the men are required to do work in the community or
they get fined. It usually entails
clearing paths in the monte, and takes up about six or seven hours of the day. Well, that happened on Sunday, and it was
tough because we had to do church late. Here,
if there is work in the community, they have always just cancelled church in
the past, but we tried to invite everyone we could. We ended up having a tough Sunday, the
community was kind of shut down, and we didn't have many people at church. But we did see some small miracles, and we
have some great things planned for this next week!
So,
there was a new thing started in the Playon Chico hut this last week called
"pirate hammock raids". Elder P's hammock is next to mine, but up
a lot higher. I am next to the wall. The speaker we have to play music was on my
shelf, and it started acting up. So, Elder P starts swinging in his hammock, and grabs my hammock and started
swinging it at equal speed with his. I
was not in the hammock, mind you. I was watching intently. He gets to a rather high swinging velocity,
then rolls from his hammock down into mine, failing to think that the hammock
would then hurl violently toward the wall where my guitar was hanging. You can guess what happened next. He slammed into the wall really hard, and
cracked my guitar, but it still works the same! It was pretty darn hilarious! So now we do pirate hammock raids on each
other.
There is a talk by
Jeffrey R. Holland called "Missionary work and the Atonement.” He says
some powerful things, but for me, among the most prominent things he says, he
states: "Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to
ask, 'Why is this work so hard? Why doesn't it go better? Why can't our success
be more rapid? Why aren't there more people joining the church? It is the
truth. We believe in angels. We trust in and have seen miracles. Why don't
people just flock to the font? Why isn't the only risk in the mission field
that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal
font?' You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this
a great deal. I offer this as my
personal feeling. I am convinced that
missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation was NEVER easy."
That is pretty powerful!
There were many talks in conference that
talked about "causal obedience" to the commandments and wasting time
doing unimportant things. When I get back, it will be nice to have a couple of
days to rest and spend with the family. But
after that, I don't want to waste any time in getting to the most important
things that will help me start my future life and to progress more. I am excited to be able to apply everything I
have learned in my life in a different setting, and to have new trials that
will help me progress. I know it will be
hard coming back, mostly leaving Panama, but I know that the Savior was able to
accomplish the most when he had the greatest trial in His life. When he felt the greatest pain was when he
earned his greatest victory. If we look
at our trials as a learning opportunity, we will have the strength to endure
faithfully. It is hard to put on paper the things I am feeling right now.
This last week is going
to be great! We are hoping to baptize one of our converts that got baptized but
never showed up to get confirmed. He
fell away for a bit and now he realized that the gospel makes him happy! We are also going to go to an Island called
San Ignacio, where supposedly there were missionaries and a branch, but not
anymore. We are going to go see what's
up! I can't wait to see what this week
has to hold! I know it will be a super
great one!
As for when I get home,
I really just want to spend time with the family, play some good old card
games, watch movies, play a little baseball with dad, and maybe some golf. I really just want to relax for a few days and
be with family. As for the food
situation, I really do want to grill, and maybe go get some sushi with Dad and
Lionel, but other than that, I kind of want to eat healthy. I know mom and dad eat really healthy, and in
Panama they eat SOOOO many fried things that I am ready for a health/exercise
kick! I really am so excited to see all
the family again! It is going to be so fun!
I love you all so much! Remember
that God hears our prayers. The power of our prayers depends on us!
Love,
Elder Austin Michael
Kipp
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