HoLa!!

Mi Familia y Amigos,

This was another wonderful week! Since my companion and I already know each other and the area, there wasn´t much adjustment, so we really hit the ground running! WE have a lot of plans to make sure the people that have fetchas bautismales this change follow through, and we are trying really hard to work with the members so as to get the ward to where it needs to be. I´m really excited!!! Our mission president has started a new program for us called ¨5 Families¨... it´s about five families(; The purpose is that with the help of the ward council we select 5 less active families to focus on each week of the change. We are supposed to visit them 2-3 times a week, with the intention to obviously reactivate them, but also to find new people to teach. Less actives know a lot of non-members, and even some of their immediate family isn't baptized, so with that we have a window of opportunity. We've only been doing this for a week, and we can already see the blessings!! 

I love Panama so much because the people are so inviting and warm, and you can strike up a conversation with just about anyone. This week we were contacting and we met a family that after 10 minutes of talking with them invited us to have dinner with them, gave us enough food from their garden to feed the equivolent of our whole zone, AND set up a follow up appointment all on their own!! It was like... well OKAY! I have so much love for this area and all the people here. It's incredible. I never want to leave!!! 

This week I read in Alma 36... In this chapter Alma is sharing his conversion story with his son Helaman. It is absolutely incredible, and I encourage you all to read it. Repentance is not something to fear, it is something to take advantage of. Repentance is how we use the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He already payed the price, and now his hand is stretched out, with the plea that we will take it. TAKE IT! I love this gospel so much. I am so GRATEFUL for my chance to be a missionary. Words can't express it. I love you all and I hope your week is amazing!! 

Hermana Van Deusen 

Another Change Down...

eMi Familia y Amigos,

Another change has come and gone... definitely the fastest change of my mission. My companion and I are both staying put, which while we didn't expect that, is a wonderful blessing!! I'm so grateful because we have some VERY positive investigators right now, and I really want to see their baptisms!!! This change is going to be a good one. I can feel it! 

This change we were focusing a lot on the less actives in our area.... it has been so beautiful to see some of them return and remember their sacred covenants! But for others, it is still a brutal struggle. They struggle with lack of faith and too much pride... and we can see the hurt in their eyes. Many of them became less active because of one small decision, that changed the course of their lives. They forgot their purpose for just a second.... and look at where they are now.  This week I was reading in Alma 23, and it made me think a lot about what it means to be converted. This chapter is about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, the Lamanites who were converted by Ammon and his brothers. in verse 6 it says ,

"and as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them- yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away."

They were unshakeable. When their faith was tested as the wicked Lamanites fell upon them in an act of war, they remembered the covenants they had made and as stated in Chapter 24:23 , they "praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword".  They didn't fear. They knew in whom they had trusted. 

I encourage you all to read these chapters, because they are awesome!! But how true it is... we ned to develop our testimonies in such a way that when our tirals come, and they will come, we won't have to wonder what to do or where to turn. We will know. Don't just have a testimony.  Be a convert. 

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support!! I have pictures , but my computer is lame today and they won't load. Next week!! Have a fabulous week!!! 

Hermana Van Deusen

Mi Familia y Amigos,

This week was absolutely swell.... it was just one of those weeks were there wasn´t anything particularly note-worthy... but you just feel happy!! Sunday was probably the highlight... we had 4 investigators and 4 less actives come to church, which is AWESOME!! We are trying to work really hard this change (well every change...), and we are beginning to see the fruits of our labors! Oh how I love this work!!!!! 

This week I was reading in the book of Alma. In Alma chapter 5, Alma the Younger is beginning his ministry among the Nephites... he left his family, his job, basically his whole life, to go out and preach the gospel. In verses 14-16 of this chapter he says something that absolutely blew me away... 

 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of thechurch, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have yereceived his image in your countenances? Have yeexperienced this mighty change in your hearts?

 15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him whocreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith,and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and thiscorruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God tobe judged according to the deeds which have been done inthe mortal body?

 16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that yehear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day:Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works havebeen the works of righteousness upon the face of theearth?

Wow. He really was asking some tough questions. When I read this I got a little emotional... because how true is that. One day, we are going to see the face of our Savior. He is going to sit us down, he's going to look us in the eyes, and what is he going to see?? What is he going to say?? How are we going to feel?? Personally, I think he is going to ask us something like this... "Did you use my Atonement? Did you take advantage of the loving opportunities I gave you? How did you use my name?" Now is the time to prepare ourselves for that day. Now is the time to "receive his image in our countenances".... because who doesn't want to hear "Come unto me ye blessed"? I testify that the only way that we can have unending joy, is mediante Jesus Christ and his Gospel. It's the ONLY way. How blessed we are to have that knowledge, and to have so many countless opportunities. 

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support!!!! Tengan una buena semana!! 

Hermana Van Deusen

Gratitude

Mi Familia y Amigos, 

Wow this week was just... wow. There were a lot of crazy things that happened... but there's not enough time to explain it all... so the moral of the story is that I was extremely humbled. I guess it began with Adan. Adan is a less active that one of the members introduced us to. He lives in a "house" that has no electricity, no running water, no kitchen, no bathroom, no nada. It's basically four walls, a tin roof, and a matress on the floor. He is extremely poor to say the least. Sunday night La Familia Lezcano invited him to come to their house to eat dinner and talk with us for a little bit... it nearly broke my heart. We were talking and he told us about his struggles, the things that have happened, and the fact that he is still alive is a miracle. An absolute miracle. He has little education and doesn't understand much about the Gospel, but he has a lot of faith. He told us that one day he was praying because he didn't have any money for food and he hadn't eaten in almost two days... when he said "Amen", there was a chicken right in front of him that he caught and ate. He told us that because of that, he knows that God is real. Wow. When he was talking, I was just filled with so much, I don't know, Guilt, for all that I have. For my petty wants that I classify as needs. For the things that I used to think were so important. But I am also so grateful. So grateful that my family is together, that we have a home, that my parents can provide for us, that we have the gospel in our lives, that we are sealed in the temple, that I know my Lord and Savior, and that I have this chance to preach the Gospel and meet so many wonderful people. We have been so blessed... and we don't even see it. We can't truly comprehend everthing that the Lord has done for us. But how grateful I am that he loves us enough to bless us despite that fact. The only thing that he asks us to do in return it to keep the commandments. That's it. I'm reminded of when in the New Testament when Christ is talking to Peter, and asks him 3 times, "Peter, do you love me?", when Peter responds affirmative for the third time he states, "Then feed my sheep". Maybe we don't have the means to support every person in need, maybe we can't change everyone's physical circumstances... but we can share the Gospel. We can feed the sheep. We can smile at the people who are walking down the street with a frown. We can visit the less active that we haven't seen in church for a while. We can make dinner for someone who's sick. We can give REFERENCES TO THE MISSIONARIES of people who we know need help. We can follow the example of the Savior, and just show love. I learned a lot this week, and again, I can't express how blessed I feel to be here. It hurts sometimes, and it's really hard, but it is the best experience I've ever had. I'm so grateful for my Heavenly Father, and my Savior Jesus Christ. What a priviledge it is to preach in his name. Help someone in need this week, not for me, but for him. I promise your week will be 100000000% better. I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support!! Have a fabulous week!! 

Hermana Van Deusen  

La Restauracion

Mi Familia y Amigos!

This week was incredible! It was so cool. We taught two very distinct lessons about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Two lessons that changed my mission. Let me start with Isabel. Isabel was an LPE that Hermana Peralta and I did about 2 weeks back. She was really positive and let us right in, and we did "how to begin teaching" to recognize any needs that would dictate which lesson to start with. It was nice, we had a good chat, and we went on our way feeling like the Restoration was A-Okay to start with. Well changes happened and kind of made things crazy... so we didn't have to chance to return until this week. WELL, it was fabulous. Normally we like to split the Restoration into two parts so as not to throw too much information at the investigator at one time, and to explain slowly as to allow them to understand better. With Isabel it was not like that. She was so prepared, so ready to hear this message. We shared it all in one lesson, and we could see in her face that she UNDERSTOOD. She felt it. She knew it. The spirit was undeniable. And after the lesson she told us, "my whole life I felt like something was missing... and I think this might be it." We left that lesson in tears. 

The second sister is named Maria. She is an elderly woman that has invited the missionaries into her home for the past ten years. We have visited with her a few times, but had never shared an actual lesson. Well we went to her home on Wednesday and asked her, "Hermana Maria, do you want to be baptized?" and her immediate response was, "Oh Hermanas, I've wanted that for the past 10 years". Again, we left the lesson in tears. We came back the following day and taught her the Restoration again, kind of as a refresher. When we were talking about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon I asked her, "Hermana, do you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that the Book of Mormon is true"... her answer hit me. She said, "Hermanas, everything we know comes from books. And all books are written by men. I know this book is true, because it wasn't written because no man could write it." ... wow. Absolutely incredible. The only thing stopping Maria from being baptized is her husband... he's catholic, and thus so is his family. I made her a promise that in two weeks, her husband would let her be baptized. As soon as I said the words I was like... Uhhhh, should I have said that?? But I have already seen the Lord's hand in making that promise come to pass. How incredible it is to be a missionary. 

My testimony of the Restoration was fortified this week. I TESTIFY that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that he restored the church that Christ established, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is the most correct of any book. I KNOW that these things are true, I FEEL it with everything that I am. And I can't believe that the Lord has given me the opportunity to help other people realize that same fact. What an absolute blessing it is to be here. I love you all!! I miss you all!!! And I hope this week is wonderful for you all!!! Keep your chin up, and remember who you are. 

Hermana Van Deusen

Hola Familia y Amigos,

Well this week was full of changes and craziness! Like I said last week, my companion Hermana Peralta se fue.... tears were shed. She was a wonderful trainer and our 2 cambios together were so much fun!!! But with every ending starts a new beginning... My new companion is Hermana Espinal!  She is from Honduras, speaks 0 English, and has about 2 weeks more than me in the mission. We actually go home on the same day haha. So with that, we are both pretty new and ready to work. I was pretty nervous to be the "guide" of the area and take the lead for the first little bit.... but so far so good. We've only gotten lost like 19 times.... success. Haha... but no she is really great and we are learning a lot together. This week we had a decent amount of lessons, and met some AMAZING people that we are REALLY excited to start teaching. AND We had another baptism yesterday! His name is Ariel, he's 12 years old, and he is pretty awesome. He's already attented church 5 times (he hasn't missed one Sunday since we started teaching him). His baptism was crazy because my companion and I didn't really know what we were doing and it was lightweight chaotic...BUT the spirit that was felt when Ariel came up out of the water was undeniable. There is no way to explain how precious a moment it is to see someone you have grown to love take that step and be baptized. It is incredible. I've only had the privilidge of being a part of that process 3 times... But every time is more powerful than the last. How grateful I am to be a missionary!!!!!!!! These 4.5 months have changed my life, and I can't wait to see what the next 13.5 bring. I'm so grateful for all of you and your support!! I love you all and I hope you have a fabulous week!!! 

Hermana Van Deusen

I have a ton of pictures to send.... BUT this computer is old and won't let me... Fingers crossed that next week I get a good computer!! 

Another Change Down...

Mi Familia y Amigos! 

Another week has passed....and another cambio too!! 3 Months in Panama!! Crazy!! AAANNNNNDDDDD... I just found out that my dear companion is leaving me. Sad, sad day. We thought that she was going to stay because she only has one change left..... but the Lord had other plans. AHHH, my heart is broken!! But it's all good, and I know it's for a wise purpose. She's been called to be Hermana Lider and open a new area about 5 hours from here. I still don't know who my new comp will be or any of that... It's a little crazy right now to be honest and my mind isn't really here... so this email will be short... 

BUT we had a baptism Saturday! Our dear sweet investigator Diana was baptized, and it was awesome!! To see her face when she came up out of the water was the coolest thing ever. What a blessing it is to be apart of this work and to be able to see the changes in these people. But the coolest thing is that we have the opportunity to renew these convenants that we have made each and every Sunday when we partake of the Sacrament. What a tender, merciful Lord that we have. The Gospel is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!! 

Well... that's about it!! But I love you all and I hope this week is absolutely fabulous!! 

Hermana Van Deusen

I have pictures but the computer is being dumb... next week!