First Week in Caceras

Hola Mi Familia y Amigos,

Week one in Cacéres.... CHECK! This week has been crazy, the adjustment has been weird, and basically I have no idea what I´m doing... But the Lord´s got a plan and it´s all good!! Cacéres is BEAUTIFUL. It´s full of hills (That are just SO much fun to climb haha) and trees and houses and people and everyone is going about a million miles per hour.... basically the opposite of David! The ward is small, but our area is GIGANTIC. It´s been fun trying to learn it all haha! My hija is good too, we get along and are learning a lot from each other(:

This week we had the chance to hear from ELDER OAKS! He was in Panamá all week, and had a special conference with all the missionaries in Panamá City and the surrounding zones. What a blessing it was to be there. I have no doubt that he was/is called of God. We got to shake his hand... he looked each of us in the eye and said, ¨Hello Elder/Sister¨. When it was my turn, it couldn´t have lasted more than 3 seconds, but I went back to my seat in tears. The spirit was that strong. He spoke about a lot of things, but the thing that really stuck out to me was his counsel to teach the Plan of Salvation. He said that it should always come back to that. Whatever problem an investigator or less-active may have, stems from a lack of understanding or faith in the simple doctrine of the great Plan of Happiness. We are children of God, we have a purpose here on this earth, and we have a grand goal we are striving to achieve. I know that the plan of salvation is real and true!! I know it in my mind and I feel it in my heart. I´m grateful to be a missionary, and I´m grateful for what I´ve learned. It´s like a cloud has been lifted from my mind, and now I can see clearly. It all just makes sense! What a blessing it is to help other people reach that clarity as well.

Don´t take from granted the knowledge that you have. Don´t just know it, Believe it. Then take it one step further, and share it!! Write down the name of the first person that pops into your head, and then act! Talk to them, send the missionaries to them... give them a chance to feel this peace and happiness that we have obtained through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all! I miss you all!! Tengan una semana increíble!!

Hermana Van Deusen

 

 

Hola!

i Familia y Amigos....

Soooooooooo we had changes yesterday, and after six months in the BEAUTIFUL city of David, I said goodbye to my beloved area. Now I am serving in Carceres, Araijan..... and I´m a mom!! I´m training the wonderful Hermana Juarez from Nicaragua. It´s been a whirlwind of changes and tears and overall craziness... but I´m here and I´m happy(:

To finish off changes in David, my companion and I had 3 baptisms!! They are 3 kids from 3 different families, and they are super adorable!! It was such a wonderful way to say goodbye to my area and to go to Araijan on a good note. I'm so grateful for the things that I learned there. I truly learned what it means to be a missionary... and while I have a TON still to learn, I am grateful for the experiences I had there that made me stronger.

I don't have much time today due to the choas of changes... but I love you all so much!!! Thank you for the love and support!!!!!

Hermana Van Deusen

 

 

 

Happy, Happy, Happy

My AMAZING Family and Friends...

This was a great week. Okay... Every week is a great week haha... But this week was even more so! We saw miracles. Lots of them! And it's been such a blessing to see this mission change under the direction of President Current in these past few months. I'm so grateful for my mission president. He has truly been called of God to serve and improve the Panama, Panama City Mission. Let me tell you one reason why I know that for a fact...

Everyday at 10am, every single missionary in the country of Panama gets down on theirs knees to offer a prayer. We call it "Ferviente Oracion". In this prayer, we ask for three things: That we will find the people who are prepared to receive the gospel, that we will have the courage to open our mouths to talk to them, and that we will have the words to convince them of the truth of our message. It is working!!!! We can actually see the difference. The Lord is blessing not only me and my companion, but all of the companionships in this mission. We can feel the power that this prayer, this simple prayer, is giving us. I testify that prayer is the most powerful tool we possess. We have to use it. We have to BELIEVE in it!!!!! 

This week, this month, or even this year I challenge you all to participate in "fervent prayer" as a couple, a family, or even as an extended family. Ask for blessings, believe that you can receive them, and trust in the will of the Lord. I TESTIFY that you will feel his love and see his hand. 

I love you all. I'm grateful for you all. And I hope this week is incredible for each and every one of you!!! 

Love you!!!

Hermana Van Deusen

GUYS I HELD A MONKEY!!!!

AND ATE A COCONUT

AAAANNNNNDDDDD LEARNED HOW TO MAKE PANAMANIAN TAMALES.

I LOVE MY LIFE(:

Share the Gospel!

Hola Mi Familia y Amigos,

Guess What?!!! We had a BAPTISM this week!! Woot Woot!! His name is Derian. He started listening to the missionaries about a year ago, but he wasn't progressing so the missionaries dropped him. My last companion and I visited him a couple of times about 4 months ago, but he didn't seem too interested. Well about a month ago, he came to church with his friend, and told us, "Hey Hermanas, I want to be baptized".... Uhhhh, okay!!!! Music to a missionary's ears! We've been working with him a lot since then, and saturday he finally entered the waters of baptism. It was absolutely beautiful. I cannot express how grateful I am to be a missionary, and that I have the chance to see such wonderful changes in such wonderful people!

Something really cool about Derian's story, is that he was a referral from a member. The member's name is Kenneth, and Derian is his neighbor/friend. Derian is proof that referrals make a difference!!!!! The spirit was so strong when Kenneth placed his hands on Derian's head to give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It wasn't just a great experience for us as missionaries, but for Kenneth and Derian, and everyone that was there in Sacrament Meeting when Kenneth beared his testimony. You guys, SHARE THE GOSPEL. Give REFERALLS!!! You will never regret sharing your testimony and helping the missionaries, but you might regret not!!

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and support!! Remember who you are, and have a fabulous week!!

Love,

Hermana Van Deusen

General Conference!!!

Mi Familia y Amigos,

This week was fantastic!! Not only did we have General Conference, but we also had interviews with our mission president, a multi zone conference, and we had about 8 people come to church!! Blessings. It was a very spiritual and incredible week.

So let's talk about conference. Oh my goodness. Talk about Machete. They were pretty direct!! It's crazy because now I have a greater appreciation for this time that we have every 6 months to hear the words of the prophet and apostles. I feel so bad for all of the years I slept through their talks of wisdom and counsel. Never to happen again, I assure you!! I loved every single talk, but the two that really stuck out to me were by Elder M. Russell Ballard, and Elder Russell M. Nelson.... The two Russells... Coincidence? I think not! How true were their words. The gospel of Jesus Christ is JOY, and we can never forget that... because if we don't live by the principles of that Gospel, our joy will be interrupted. How true. I can't express the gratitude that I have to be a member of Christ's church.

I'm sorry but the clock is ticking.... but I love you all so much!! Thank you for your love and support. Remember the words from conference, but more than that, APPLY them.

Your guys are just the best(:

Hermana Van Deusen

Another FABULOUS Week!!

Mi Familia y Amigos,

What a fabulous week!!! We were really able to see that hand of the Lord these past few days, and his many tender mercies. AHHH!! I'm really happy today!! And how amazing was The General Women´s Conference???? Pretty amazing if you ask me. It was pretty funny, all day Saturday my companion and I were counting down the hours until we got to go to the Stake Center to watch it. We weren't disappointed! It was exactly what we needed to hear, when we needed to hear it. 

We had something happen that was a little sad on Sunday. We had two men come to church, one is inactive and the other isn't a member. They have lived tough lives in the past, and let's just say their exterior is a little rough. They have a lot of tattoos, and at first glance might not be someone that very many people would greet with a smile. But they came to church. They've changed, and want to learn more about Christ. Well let me tell you what happened. We didn't know that they were coming, so to see them there at church was a cool surprise! My companion and I greeted them, directed them to the Sunday School class, and went to go tell the teacher that we were going to have a class today. As we were walking to the classroom, we saw the two men storm out of the church. We were confused, so we went to a group of people that were gathered together and asked what had happened. Apparently some members were afraid and started to stare at the men and ask them what they were doing here. The members made a scene, and made our investigators feel really uncomfortable and judged... so they left. They left. The house of the Lord, where the people are supposed to be representatives of Christ. My companion and I were really hurt, and couldn't believe it. 

It made me think about Mormon 8, a chapter that the Sister Leaders of the Church were focusing on. It says that in the last day, the church would be puffed up in pride. That people who aren't prepared are going to fall. It was a little harsh, but oh so true! We have to be careful. We have to be humble. We have to be strong!! We have to do everything in our power to be better representatives of Christ. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful that we have the chance to repent. But we have to remember. Remember what Christ did for us, and the love that he has for ALL us. He knows our hearts, and he is the only one with the ability to judge. I encourage you all to read Mormon 8, and think of the things that we can do so that when our trials come, we are ready. 

I love you all!! I'm grateful for every single one of you(: Have a FABULOUS week!! 

Hermana Van Deusen

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