July 26th 2010

Hola Familia,
I am still in El Progreso, because as the title of this letter says, changes will be Wednesdays (we find out Tuesday night). So next week there might be news of that sort. There aren't too many stories from this week (or I just don`t remember too much) but there was a Baptism this week (as seen in the photo). One is of Mariano Rivera´s ? house in my area (I guess he plays for the yankees) and me in a mask.

The baptism was for Josè Nuñez a cousin of other members. I got to play the right hand part of 'Venid A Mi' (Come Follow Me) for some sisters in the branch who sang. I gave a small, impromptu talk on the blessing of baptism. All in all it was a pretty good baptism because many members attended. I think most attended because there was a stake Pioneer Day activity going on a the stake where we had the baptism, and a lot of people showed up. Everything turned out well. The 1st counselor did the ordinance.

I still don't know much about the new president. We got our haircut by a member, and while he was cutting our hair I saw part of Prince of Persia :P but not all of it. I want to see it in about 15 months... We played Monopoly a couple times with some of the youth in the branch. They really like the missionaries, so we try to help them keep their spirits up.

Well, that's all for this week. I hope you all continue forward, study the scriptures, and always be happy!

Love,
Elder Niendorf

July 12th 2010

Hola Familia,
How are you all? I have had a good week. The only two things I took pictures of were a friend of the area that we might not see again, and an 'oso perezoso' (sloth?) that we saw get run over. The sloth kept walking afterwards, and even began climbing a fence! which was pretty amazing. I still felt bad for it... How is Josh's leg?

I got to see half of the Wold Cup final, because we were visiting an inactive member who had the tv on... We actually saw a few games that way (a couple of the times were planned, like the Honduras (my comp.) vs Chile (me) game).

I was going to ask if Johnny was moved to the North Mission in Nicaragua, maybe you can reaffirm it for me. I would like to send a letter or something to him if it is...

It is true when they say that Satan is attacking the families from all fronts, and with much force. There are a lot of families that have a lot of problems, and most of the time it feels like there isn't much (or anything) we can do for them... Alcohol is never a good idea, and here in Panamà it is a big problem...

Anyways, I hope you all keep trying to keep up on your scripture reading. I finished Genesis this week (I started two weeks ago). I hope you all are happy and learning and growing continually.

Love,
Elder Niendorf

July 12th 2010

Hola Familia,
How are you all? I have some good news: Grandma`s Christmas package arrived today!! There were cookies,figurines, a book, a calendar, a pencil, and a small wooden pendant thing. The bad news is that I think it was opened before it got here... so if there was more it didn`t arrive...
So that's cool that you all had a good time in Idaho. The rapids sound like something fun I'd like to do. Sorry to hear about Josh's ankle... (In the photo of Jon in the car I saw the same Chile shirt/jersey I bought on Friday!)
Here things are going well. I forgot to mention last week that I had completed 8 months. The other day I ate some tongue (I ate a couple before thinking 'this meat is pretty chewy' before I saw the taste buds) with my rice. (from Josè Morales's mom) Our mission leader, Josè Morales who is almost 27, received his mission call to the Nicaragua, Managua Norte mission, which is pretty cool.
I will try to add photos, but the normal internet place is closed and this computer is a bit more ancient... there we go (it read my sd card finally). One is an investigator family, one I'm in a taxi, Jose Morales (in one photo he has my companion's nametag), and a sign in the clouds that Epaña was going to win....
I like the mud when rains (for me it's fun); some mud is super slippery, other mud starts adding to itself on the bottom of my shoes.
Well, I hope every is happy and that Josh heals well (even though laying down a lot means more time to read the Book of Mormon and study for school).
Love,
Elder Niendorf

July 5th 2010

Hola Familia,
Mom, many times your school mail rejects the emails with photos...

Anyway, I didn't even realize it was the 4th of July until my companion said 'Happy Independence Day.' One member who gave us dinner also remembered. I hope you all enjoyed it there in the States.

The new President is here in Panamà. I haven't met him yet but I have heard he`s pretty cool (A member from my area was and is again the 2nd counselor to the President). We have Zone Conference on Wednesday, so I will get to meet him then.

I don't remember if I have said it before but I have been teaching English classes Saturdays. Only youth from the ward show up (they bring friends sometimes) but we play soccer with them afterwards. I haven't really taken any new photos of my area yet... but next week for sure!

Yeah so the is a baptismal date for the 24th. A cousin of some members have been going to church for several years with them. He already has a testimony, and he seem pretty tranquil compared to how the youth normally are. Hopefully everything will work out, and his mom already said she'll support him.

Anyways, I am in Helamàn right now. I hope to finish the Libro de Mormòn soon.
Talk to you guys next week!

Love,
Elder Niendorf

June 28th 2010

Hola Familia,
Well, this week has been pretty good. We have been able to find about 7 new investigators this week, a few of which seem positive. There are more members in this ward. I think, because the attendence was 63ish and there were apparently a few families missing or imcomplete... But all is going well. I can see the ocean from my area, and there is a possiblity that I will visit the beach that is part of my area...

There are a few things that pull at my heart. One is that there is an investigator who seems to already have a testimony, but the man she is living with (a mistake form a long time ago) doesn´t want to leave; he hits them (her, her son, and his daughter). She seems to adore the missionaries, esp. my companion, because they have hepled her with these hard times. And there is danger if they go the the police because they don't always act, which would make things terribly worse afterwards. She hopes to move in with a sister at the end of the year, but has to wait until then for some reason ... Also there is a youth and mother in the branch that also might have the same problem...

I have felt pretty strongly the love of the members here. The mission leader is called an angel by some memers, and I think it is fitting. He is 26 and waiting to see if the church will respond to send him on a misison or not...

I cleaned the bathroom a bit. I made my own rice the other day. I plan to cut my own hair again with the ... hair cutter machine... that I bought in the last area to eventually save the church money on my haircuts (which normally cost about 2 or 2.50)

Well, one photo is me saying goodbye to my last area, another some of the youth in this new ward after we played soccer with them...I don't remember the others I put but I am running out of time, so I will right more next week. Keep studying the scriptures; I am in Alma ch 50s right now, and Moroni is always inspiring (as well as Lehi and Teancum, Helaman and the 2000 youth...)

Love,
Elder Niendorf

June 21st 2010

Hola Familia,
Yes, well my first week here went pretty slow. I was a bit resfriado the first two days, and then my companion has been having headaches (one really bad one where I gave him a blessing, and he was more or less 100 percent in the morning), so we have been taking it easy for that past few days. To sort of use the time where we have been a bit ill, we have seen about 4 games of the 'mundial' with some people... I haven't seen any of the USA though...

So this area reminds me a bunch of Caimitillo, my first area. There is even a part of this area that is called Puerto Caimito (caimito is an type of tree, my companion says)

Thats pretty cool to hear about the good things going on with you guys. Tell Joshua to write me more.
Well I want to try sending more photos, becasue I think not all of them got through last time...
So I will talk to you guys next week.

Love,
Elder Niendorf

June 14th 2010

Hola Familia,
I am currently in Chorrera. My area is called El Progreso. My new companion is an Elder Rodriguez from Honduras. I don´t really know too much about here yet, but this is a pretty big zone with several missionaries...
This past week went by pretty fast. Elder Cruz an I tried to work, but there wasn´t too much we got done. I had a cool experience where we were at the top of a hill, and we could see the city beginning to get covered by rain. Then we saw the rain enter our zone, and eventually the wave reached us. We rushed down the hill, but the rain overtook us while we were still only halfway down...
We usually end up spending a lot of time with Rita and Mati, two older (60 and 80?) recent converts of December. They are pretty cool; I learned how to cook rice again,(since I forgot the first time) and I hope they continue to progress in chuch. They still can't go to church because Rita, under doctors orders, cant leave the house...
Well I will try to send a bunch of photos of Coastway (I think this is correctly written, but everyone pronounces it Cosway)
Love,
Elder Niendorf

June 7th 2010

Hola Familia,
This week I won`t write too much, but I am here in the Allbrook Mall. We played soccer against another Zone and we won. Next we will eat lunch and then is Cosway, which from what I have heard is a tourist attraction where we ride bicycles and take photos and I don't know what else.
This past week we didn't see too much progress in the investigators. One of the wards recent converts, Rita, sends greetings. She is 60, and has several health problems. We always visit her and her mother (who is 80). Before they always gave us food, but they are going through very tough times economically. My compañero Elder Cruz is more or less behaving, but he does use the cell too much... (we don't have a house phone so we have a cell; but I think we're supposed to leave it in the house...)
Anyway. I send greetings and love to all. I will write more next week.
Love,
Elder Niendorf

June 1st 2010

Hola Familia!
We were able to reach our Zone goal of 10 baptisms and reached 11. So next week we will go to Cosway for PDay. I don't know when we will write, but I will try to have good photos for the week after next (which will be cambios).

And there is not too much to tell this week, either. I will try to send some more photos, but I'm not sure of the ones I have sent... so sorry if there are repeats...

We taught one person who said that sometimes she has the experience during the night that her spirit leaves her body and is taken to visit other countries. I think that she was one of the most interested people we have taught because she was the one asking the questions of understanding, and had more questions to ask.

This past week we barely taught any lessons; we haven't been able to work too effectively, and one of the days we didn't leave the house because I think I ate something bad, but I was pretty much 100 pecent the next day...

Anyway, I love all you guys. Remember to try to read the scriptures every day. I seem to visit you guys often in my dreams, so don't forget to take care of yourselves.

Love,
Elder Niendorf

May 24th 2010

I accidently sent it....

Hola Familia,
This week went by super fast. I don't remember most of what happened, but I am doing well. I don't really have problems with clothes, only the belt we bought from the missionary mall is began peeling the first change, I think. Other than that I am pretty set concerning supplies of such nature. Maybe Erika can send me the foto I have as my Facebook profile photo (Darth Elder) in an email. I was also wondering if you guys could find out which mission has the lowest average for baptisms per missionaries in the mission, 'cause I heard it was Panama...

Thurday there was a LOT of rain. We were about to leave to a meeting with the Zone when we got a call saying there was a service we had to do: a bunch of mud fell behind a house and they were worried for the wall, so we as a zone went and shoveled mud for about 2 hours. I actually very much enjoyed being in the mud in the rain; it was a good experience, only I got cut by a broken shovel and one of my fingers got bruised between a big rock I was moving and the wall...

And yesterday was the confirmation of the sister that was baptized (we couldn't do it last week due to the census). My companion did the ordinance and I participated. Friday was Zone Conference, and the Mission President gave his last testimony as President. He leaves I think the 30th of June...

And I am not trunky or anything, but in 4 days I complete 7 months since entering the MTC. Josh entering High School...crazy...here I think they have primaria (1-6 grado) and secundaria (1-6 año). I will

Well, have a good week.
Love Elder Niendorf

May 17th 2010

Hola Familia,
Like I said, Saturday there was a baptism, and I peformed the Ordinance! My first one in the mission, and in my life. Sorry that I can't send any photos, because I actually wasn't going to use internet today. The President was supposed to come and we were going to have interviews, but something kept him. So we played ping pong and then came to use internet. So, the zone leaders were late for the baptism (and they were bringing the baptismal clothing for the investigators, one in my area and one in theirs). So we sang about 5 different hymns while waiting, then a couple elders and I sang two more... But all went well except we didn't get to take photos before the baptism for the wait and then the rush. Anyway, afterward we watched Joseph Smith: Profeta de la Restauración and played some games before hotdogs and juice. Yay!

Yeah, so yesterday was the national census. How are they going to do it there? Here it took a day, and there were several difficulties. But they passed by in the morning, because they are counting the population, extranjeros, and the houses, too. It is sort of weird....

This week we also did three and a half service projects. We helped paint a man's house, carried about ten sacks each of sand and rocks that weighed about 40 or more pounds for another families floor, and cut 'monte' for two different people (one only took about 5 min.) One of them is a positive investigadora, but she and her 'esposo' aren't married, and won´t think about getting mairried or at least a few more months. Another positive investigator is about 18, and she works in other people's houses all week in the city, so she's only home on Sunday. But she went to church, and agreed to go next week. Sometimes it feels more like we are trying to 'convince' people to feel the Spirit, for we don't normally see much effort on the part of the investigators. But we will keep working and learning to work more efficiently.

So I hope all is going well. It sounds like JonAnna are doing well. I hope all goes well finding a job. Sorry that you have to work so much Erika, but thanks for your support always. I also got the letter form the miamaids today. And I guess I will send photos next week. Thanks for evertything.

Love,
Elder Niendorf