Nele Kanutle

Well in Kuna Yala right now we are celebrating the month of the iguana or more commonly known as the month of Revolution. This means everyone is just especially more patriotic for their history. Patriotic for all the mistreatment they encountered, for all the territory stolen from them, and for the people who died fighting for their freedom. Which has been fun for us, because everyone has been hanging up their revolution flags everywhere and are more willing to give us a little food here and there. The 23rd and 24th mark the days of battle where they caused a big enough commotion that by the 25th they won their independence and signed a peace treaty. A peace treaty marking San Blas as an official territory. 

However, the only downside to being a missionary out here, is everyone is very busy preparing for revolution reenactments, community lunch, or chicha fuerte. Which means this week has been a little bit harder to proselyte. Next week people should be coming back in to start school, so that should be better. Regardless we still had a baptism of a young man in Ogopsukun this week. That always makes everything feel like the work is progressing. 

I guess I forgot to send pictures of a lot of things. Below is a very common dish called Dule Massi (Kuna Food). They eat it almost daily. It’s basically their PB&J. It either consists of Plantain (Green Banana) or Yuka Soup with a side of chicken or fish to accompany the dish. Also, we had a Polish tourist that was interested in what we did here as missionaries.  He also gave me a few of his pictures; thanks Jan.

Shark Bait U-Hah-Hah

Well, this last week we went on an impanga panga adventure. We took a boat from Ustupu (our island) to Carti Tupile (the port) and back again. I think I got a better idea of the location of the different islands. Carti Tupile, Nargana, Tikantiki (strong water) aka Niadup (Devil island), Isla Tigre, Ukupa (Large beach), Irigandi aka Golebier (Hermitcrab) Playon Chico, San Ignasiotupile, Achutupu (Dog island), Mamitupu, Ustupu (Neke Island) /Ogopsukun (Coconut beach). There are like 48 islands in this area and these are just the ones I remember.  The ones underlined are the ones missionaries are on. We are the zone leaders and were responsible for taking all the missionaries from the islands back to the port and bring the new missionaries from the port to the islands, along with all their food they got at Price Smart (off brand Costco). Because we have opened three new areas on the islands, we showed them their area and where they will live. The entire trip was a total of twelve hours in a boat, and the captain of this boat invited us into his house to eat Dule Massi. Its the typical banana soup that we eat, but this time instead of using bananas he did it with Yuka (Potatoes) with picante, and lemon. It was hands down the best I’ve ever had and actually enjoyable. I could actually eat that on a daily basis.This week we had to clean out the house of the other Elders that left the island of Ustupu where we are. I stayed here with Elder Dudley, while Elder Burke went to Irigandi, and Elder Nelson went to Playon Chico. We had the choice to  pick which house to keep, which duh... was the bigger house. But cleaning up the other house was a pain. We did get some leftover cans of chicken from that hut and then we ordered Pop tarts at Price Smart, so we will eat like kings. 

So as I have once stated, the Kuna natives here have their own culture which is awesome and I love it. One thing to know is that they don't like anything that attacks their culture in anyway. So, we have to be very careful with our words, because some don’t accept that the Book of Mormon talks about them or their grandparents, because the stories are a little bit different in the Book of Mormon and they feel attacked. I just say they have similar stories just sprinkled with a little bit of apostasy. Anyways, they have a popular story of a 'prophet' who came down from the heavens and taught the people 'the Kuna culture'. But this week we found someone who just accepted the message de una vez. We explained the Book of Mormon was a written history of the ancient indigenous Americans. She begins to tell us that, "we just tell story mouth to mouth for generations. I tell the stories to my kids, like my grandparents told me. But we haven’t had anything written ever. That’s what we're missing!" So, we open up the scriptures and explain that the highlight of the Book of Mormon was when Jesus Christ came down from heaven to teach the people. And then she states, "that sounds just like Ibeorgun! The prophet who came down and taught us..." and this time she didn’t like most people say "taught us our culture: how to sow, how to hunt, or how to farm". Instead she said … "he taught us all the beautiful things in life. How to Pray, How to serve, How to do all good things." It was the first time I've ever seen someone so receptive about it. Normally, if they accept the Book of Mormon, they think it’s not their story. But Flor was different, she was prepared. We gave her the Book of Mormon and she currently is reading it and can't get enough.

While being on this island for a couple of months, I have been walking and talking with the same people that have lived here for years who have accepted or rejected the missionaries their entire lives. I've learned how to trust in the Lord more as I've seen how the Lord touches the heart of these people. One of my recent baptisms, had rejected the church for the last 25+ years of his life. His entire family are members, his kids are members and his great grandparents are members. And they are all neighbors. But for whatever reason, when we came he was ready. I couldn’t have explained that in any other way then the hand of the Lord. The Lord prepares his people, its not my work or will, but His will and His time. God knows each one of us personally. 

Also, on a lighter note my list of unique foods I have eaten is growing; this week I ate iguana eggs and shark!!!  

Still In Paradise

Today was transfers and unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time to write. I am here on Ustupu and now with Elder Dudley. They have closed the other part of the island and so it is now down to the two of us. I will update you more next week.

A Day In The Life

A long day in the life of a missionary. As a normal missionary you may encounter a lot of stress, disappointment, and rejection. This is normal, do not worry. It all gets better eventually, or you just stop paying attention, or they change your area. Personally, for me the stronger my connection is with God (through prayer and scripture study) and if I'm working out, I'm able to manage well. A wise European friend we met on the island told us, ‘the work we did was impressive and an honorable thing and that we must really love the work to do it. That it was visibly noted that a mission is physically hard, but it must be equally uplifting for the soul.’ And he nailed it. I wouldn't be here making circles around an island talking to a lot of the same people daily, if deep down in my heart I still didn’t love this work. I personally have loved this work and have found that the more you serve the better you feel even if they accept or reject you or even yell at you in a weird dialect, but that’s just funny.

This week we baptized Anigkabaler and his friend Edencio. It was my first time baptizing in the ocean and I found it funny to feel all the sand and seaweed beneath my toes. We also happened to run into some tourists on a three-year trip. We helped them fill up their tanks with water and they gave me career advice. I have some new options.

Burke is working on a ‘60-days till sexy' workout training. So we all bought kid sized versions of football jerseys to wear while doing workouts with him and play basketball. One night as we were playing, a bunch of drunks came out and challenged us. They were so wasted that one guy couldn't catch or throw the ball. Another would throw this arm in a bear hug around you to block. One guy actually just tanked three pointers. While the last one had just the biggest ego, but tripped over himself every few steps. I've never played a more enjoyable basketball game in my life. It was like street-ball with no rules. As you can imagine we won, just watching the game was hilarious as we watched them trying to organize themselves.

And most importantly...Congrats to my sister Lauren who was just called to serve in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. This is so cool, I have had a few companions from there. You are going to love this experience!