Hi Everyone! Tell Ty and Sami - Happy Anniversary yesterday. Hope they got to do something special.
Today....in...PANAMA! Yep! Went to Panama today. New Years Eve is pretty chill for us missionaries. Actually, my companion is not feeling very well because of the extreme heat. It is kind of nice being chill and thinking about things we can do better...you guys have fun watching the ball drop. Happy New Year.
It was fun skyping with you all for Christmas. I enjoyed every minute I had with you. You all look a little different but sound the same! I love it. The kids are getting so big...don't like that! So excited for Cameron and Kennedy's birthdays coming up...more presents to look forward to.
Christmas and New Years in Costa Rica -
People all go to the beach. Everyone! Seriously, they all just say, "Heading to the beach - want to come?"
Obviously, we can't. But yeah...super fun. They open their presents they received at midnight the night before (Christmas Eve) to start the Christmas day and then dance the whole night into the morning. There is so much dancing here. Also, lots of fireworks -this whole week there have been fireworks outside. I was doing our laundry in the backyard and watched the fireworks right behind our house. They were so pretty and like the ones at home on the fourth of July. For New Years, all the places close (same with Christmas) and they spend time with their family. It's a little bit more sketchy for New Years, so we'll probably go home early to be safe. For Christmas, we listened to some Christmas music, drank coke and ate ice cream. We also spent time with our investigators talking with them about the birth of Christ. It was really chill and nice to think about Christ the whole time.
For New Years Eve, today...we went to Panama. We went and looked at the stores. They use American dollars - so I could use my money. However, knowing that I can buy things in America - I will just save until I get home, except that we bought some groceries. Yeah - I found Oh's cereal. I realized that I took U.S. food totally for granted. I do like the food here, to be honest. The food is still rice and chicken, but it is totally growing on me. Dad, they have rice and milk as a dessert - which I know you like.
My companion is not feeling well. We will probably go home and have some gingerale with some cake that we bought and that will be our celebration.
My companion is a definite hard worker. She is more serious and sometimes impatient with my Spanish. I try to teach her to smile and enjoy life and she is teaching me hard work and we are seeing results.
Our investigators are progressing. We have one man who pretty sure will be baptized in a few weeks. He is afraid to make the same mistakes again - so he wants to make sure he does things right.
I feel that I have changed so much in these past 6 months. I am more confident about myself and sure of the future. My companion is always saying that we need to put our faith in Heavenly Father. I am learning so much about that. I am becoming a better person overall. I feel like my relationship with others and God is so much stronger. My teaching is also a lot better. I taught one inactive about the three important things (scriptures, church, prayer) using objects. He said that the church is growing because of us as missionaries. He said that our spirits are so strong and helping people like him change - such a compliment! I gave a talk on Sunday about the Book of Mormon. Super nervous, but when I bore my testimony at the end, I felt the spirit so strong., I felt Heavenly Father speaking through me to the people. One lady came up to me after and said, "Don't worry about your Spanish, because your spirit speaks louder than your words." She said that my testimony of the Book of Mormon was the strongest she had heard. She said all I have to do is bear my testimony in lessons and they'll be converted. Wow...I wanted to cry, honestly. I am trying so hard with Spanish, but what she said really helped. Anyway...I understand why I am here and why I was encouraged to serve a mission. I have never felt so close to Heavenly Father. I have to rely on him 100% every day. It is amazing.
Tell the kids I love them - and give them a big hug and kiss. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!
Love, Hermana Jones
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