Hermana Kara Lou Bloomfield

Killed the rats!!! 10 January 2011

This week was a good week we found an awesome girl to teach named Jenny and she came to church! She can't wait for next week. I think we finally found our next baptism. Pray for her. She is a single mom recently separated from her husband because he was unloyal. Hopefully the next week I'll find that family I've been looking for. I am determined that I am not leaving Panama without baptizing an entire family, mom dad kids, the whole deal.

so a lot happened this week. We killed the nasty rats in our house, so I figured pictures are worth a thousand words. Enjoy.

Get that rat!!!!

Got em!!!!!

On his way to the garbage!!

"Are they gone yet?"

Changes are this week. I am in my LAST change. AHHH. I don't think I will be going anywhere since Sister Brewster has been here a long time. I sure am going to miss her.
Anyways, hope you all have the best week!
I love you all!!!

Ice Skating Injury!! 3 January 2011

Sorry I am later writing today. The elders decided to change up p day a bit today so we are just now using Internet. We went ice skating and one of the elders fell and cut his leg really bad. I'm positive he hit an artery, blood was spurting out like crazy. They rushed him off to the hospital and I haven't heard since how he is doing. But it was way deep I bet it'll be like 30 stitches. You would be proud of me I got nauseous but not lightheaded...

The Ice Skating injury

Hermana Ward bandaging the leg to protect it.

President Ward checking out the injury.

The crazy thing is 2 pdays ago one of the other elders passed out and like had a seizure and stopped breathing so we had to give him cpr. I think being mission president must be really stressful...

It was definitely an interesting week. This was the last week of the promise we had made with Heavenly Father to do 20 lessons and 140 contacts or more and Satan definitely didn't want us to keep our promise, but we did. A change and a half of hard hard work. And tons of opposition (including two HUGE rats who have taken over our house and ran over my foot, and a man that touched my bum), but we did it. The funny part is the lord had to help us so that we could, if he wouldn't have guided us to the people that listened to us we would have had no hope. We haven't found the family yet to baptize but I know that after the trial of our faith comes the blessings.

New years went well, I was sound asleep till 11:55 when sis Brewster woke me up. I really didn't want to get up but I needed to use the bathroom, so that helped me get up. I watched tons of fireworks for a bit and then I fell back into bed.

I can't believe a whole year is already gone by and that I come home next month (51 days to be exact!!!!!!). CRAZY. I cant wait to see you all but it is going to be so hard to come home. I have learned so much here and I love being an instrument in the lords hands.

I love each one of you so much and I hope all is well and that back to school and all that goes well.

Christmas 27 December 2010

GOOD MORNING! so I'm not sure what to tell you considering we talked just two days ago, but I forgot to tell you, THANK YOU for my Christmas package, I absolutely loved it. I already used the nail polish and everything. You are the best.

How did the rest of your weekend turn out. Mine was great we started teaching the family that we had taken the Christmas presents to that are really poor. It was a great lesson and I have high hopes. We only have one more week to go of the vow we made with the lord asking for a family to baptize, so something should be coming soon.

Christmas morning, Elder Gretch, from our old ward in Gilbert, AZ, dressed up as Santa Claus and the missionaries in the area went around giving gifts to all the poor people that would not have received any gifts. ?The missionaries used their Christmas money to buy the gifts.

Santa Claus (Elder Gretch)

I love everyone!!!!!

Singing on the Bus, not the best idea!! 20 December 2010

Well another week down, eight more to go. CRAZY!!!!!!!

This week was another hard week, for all of our hard work we just don't seem to be seeing results and I honestly haven't worked so hard in my whole mission. But I know that the blessings always come after our afflictions, so we are still going strong.

This week we had a very embarrassing experience. President this last week heard about a zone that has been singing on the buses and to try and get everyone to do it he decided to make it a competition. The thing is the buses in the other zone are basically like glorified astro vans, they have AC, nice seats, fit about 20 ppl and are really orderly. The buses where I am at however are called diablo rojos, and for a good reason, they are basically a mosh pit on wheels. A diablo rojo is a pimped out school bus, just that they have removed the muffler so that it sounds like a small airplane. Where normally we would sit two to a seat they fit 3 and where we would sit 1 they squoosh 2 and then to make it more comfortable they cram as many ppl as possible into the aisles. Then, add very loud music into the mix and you have your very own diablo rojo. SO needless to say when we were asked to sing on the bus I was a little skeptical but I decided we should be obedient missionaries, so the next day we get on a bus that wasn't playing music and was too full and I yelled over all the noise of the bus hurtling down the road and asked the driver if it would be okay for us to sing a song. He nodded his head yes so we picked a Christmas song and started singing, however I couldn't even hear myself singing so I don't think anyone else could hear either. Oh except the guy in the first row who was staring at me with a sleezy grin on his face. But the best part was holding on for dear life while the bus hurtled down the road and then screeched to a stop and try to get out of the way of the people getting on and off the bus. In fact at one point a guy getting off the bus got caught on my backpack and almost took me off with him. Which made me loose my place and have to shout to Hermana Brewster asking her where we were. So finally we just sang the last line and then sat down. Once I sat down I looked at the people next to me and thought about contacting them like I normally would have done, but I thought better of it. After the scene we had already made I figured it was better that they didn't know what church we were from.

SO that was probably the highlight of the week and we may have not had much success but at least President Ward is helping to keep us humble.

Well with that, I hope everyone has the best Christmas ever, celebrating the birth of our dear Savior. I am so grateful for all that he has done for me and that I have been able to come closer to him while serve those around me. I love him dearly and I could never express my gratitude completely for his love towards me. I also love each one of you with all of my heart and I hope and pray that all is well with each one of you.

All my love.

Keeping a "contract" with the Lord 12 December 2010

Well I figured its kind of been awhile since I last sent out a good family and friends email and you guys were kind of wondering whats up. SO first off, THANKS TO EVERYONE and especially mom for the awesome notes and pictures on the Christmas Tree you sent. It was so awesome, it made me cry.

Well this was an interesting week, it has been cold and rainy everyday this week. For the first time in my whole mission I was actually cold and I had to wear a sweater. The only sweater I have. It didn't match at all but matching has become kind of a relative thing now.

I have been working like crazy this week. I can't remember if I told you guys but as our whole district, we made a promise with the Lord that we would do at least 20 lessons and 140 contacts every single week till the end of the year and in return we all asked him to bless us with a family to baptize before the end of the year. Kind of like a contract. Thus far Sister Brewster and I have been the only ones that have been able to hold out. For the past 4 weeks we have met or beat our goal. But either the Lord is going to give us a crazy miracle or he is testing our faith. Unfortunately, Camilo and his family have stopped progressing and now seem to see us as their cool Mormon friends, they didn't come to church on Sunday, But we have a few other investigators that are progressing.

I think the highlight of the week for me was a blessing I received from President Ward. I have been plugging along with a headache for the past week and a half, so I asked for a blessing. My headache isn't gone but it was an awesome blessing. My testimony of the priesthood really grew a lot this week, I studied it pretty intensely for a lesson we taught to Camilo and Monica, trying to help them recognize why our church is true and it is so amazing how the Lord is always the same, he always keep his word and how blessed we are to have his power and authority here on the earth. I know the church is true and I am so grateful for how the Lord has shaped and changed me in the last year. It is incredible how much I have learned and done in just one year.

I love each one of you and hope that this Christmas Season has helped each one of you to recognize the hand of the Lord in your lives. I truly know that he is always there.

All My love.

District Conference

Getting lunch served.

Cleaning up

Decorating the Mission Home for Christmas 6 December 2010

Putting up the decorations and tree.

Well this week was kind of a horrible week, but the good news is that today is an awesome day, so its all good. We slept here at the mission presidents house and are helping Sis. Ward put up Christmas decorations and more than anything doing girl stuff. It's nice to stay in a real house with AC and furniture and stuff. I am definitely gonna be one of those really weird missionaries that gets home and doesn't know what to do, because I was pretty weirded out about taking a shower with hot water this morning. Just warning you now. I took a hot shower AND slept in a room with AC last night. It's like Heaven.

The soccer family is not doing to good with their progression towards baptism. They didn't come to church on Sunday. He said he had to go to work and it sounded kind of like excuses, we were pretty heart broken, we cried almost all day Sunday. We were fasting on Sunday for them and I felt pretty peaceful about it so I think it will all be okay. Either way I'm not giving up yet.

Such cute Hermanas

Thanksgiving 2 December 2010

It has been an in sane week. The awesome news is I DIDN'T HAVE CHANGES!!! I thought I was going to because on Thursday at Thanksgiving lunch Pres. Ward said I would be having changes, which left me heart broken because I am determined to see Camilo and Monica get baptized and I wanted to be with Hermana Brewster for Christmas. But after a lot a lot of prayers and begging Pres left me here. I have decided that this will be the best Christmas ever.

Camilo and Monica are doing great, They have testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, its just been a little hard to let go of the catholic church cuz its so much of their culture. But I know I was left here so we can baptize them.

Other than that, not too much has been going on. Just working my little heart out and seeing the tender mercies and miracles of my God.