Missionary Email #22

 Dear All -

Yesterday I watched a primary program via Zoom, baked brownies, and attended a training session for temple workers.  As you already figured out, none of that included writing a weekly letter.  So here I am on Monday morning again.

Delkys asked me to share a few pictures from the girls' visit last week, so here they are.

Even though it was a quick visit it was great to have them here.  Thanks again to the husbands and kids who helped make it possible.

Several weeks ago we had a training meeting at the temple for all the shift coordinators.  After that meeting someone commented that it might be useful to have a similar meeting for all of the workers.  We decided we would do it in two sessions, the first of which was yesterday.  When I started preparing points for my part of the discussion I was concentrating on training issues which need to be addressed - procedures relating to the ordinances and worker behavior.  As I worked more and more on the list my thoughts turned more and more to what might be called doctrinal issues - motivations, attitudes, willingness to learn.  Delkys and I sat up until far into the night Saturday discussing some of the doctrinal issues, and they turned out to be profitable items of discussion in the training meeting as well.  As is to be expected, the more we serve in this position the more the temple influences our spirits, and the greater we feel the importance of the ordinances and covenants which are effected in the temple.

I made four batches of brownies.  Well, I say "I made", but Sister Garcia (the temple matron) actually made two of them under my tutelage because she wants to be able to make them for her family.  Watching the brownies after the meeting made me think of snowflakes on hot pavement.  I got them out one batch at a time, and they disappeared just about as quickly as I could produce them.

Speaking of snowflakes, I checked the weather this morning, and in Highlands Ranch it was 21° with a chance of snow.  I looked out the window at the falling rain, knowing that it was about 80° outside, and felt slightly left out.  Oh well.  Of course, Friday we got home from the temple and discovered that the temperature in the apartment was 79°.  Something in the air conditioning system was broken, and I was temporarily worried about my survival.  However it was soon repaired, and I made it through.

Two of our sealers are ill, so I ended up conducting several sealing sessions this week.  Each opportunity to do that further strengthens my testimony of the worth of those sacred ordinances.  Also as I bear witness to the youth about baptism, and especially the baptisms for the dead in which they are about to participate, I feel more deeply the need for the saving ordinances of the gospel.  I am very grateful to the Lord for this opportunity to serve.  It is very difficult to consider anything I am doing as a sacrifice, because the Lord is blessing us so bountifully in everything we do.

Love,

John and Delkys

Missionary Email #21

 Dear All -

Yes, late again, but this time I am going to claim slightly extenuating circumstances.

It all started a little over two weeks ago when I sent a group email to the kids saying that Delkys' birthday was coming up, and I was soliciting ideas for a gift for her.  Pretty quickly a steak dinner and some house plants were offered up as ideas.  Then one of the girls suggested I should fly them here to pick out the plants for Mom.  For some reason that really struck me.  The more I thought about it the better it seemed.  So I looked at flight prices, and asked them if they would be willing to come.  They immediately jumped at the suggestion.  After a little thought I opened the offer to all four of our daughters.  They all agreed to come.  So Thursday evening Jandel and Ashley flew in from Utah together, then early Friday morning I drove to the airport and picked up Rebecca and Sarah, who did not fly together, but got in close to the same time.  Then I drove back home, walked into the apartment, and told Delkys there was someone to see her.  Much laughter, tears of happiness, and general mayhem followed.  I thought I had videoed the greeting, but it turns out I was out of sync with the "record" button on my phone, so I made a nice video of the phone going back into my pocket.

There was a sealing on Friday in English of a couple from the United States that I had promised to perform, but other than that the other members of the presidency conspired to allow us to have time together as a family.  In fact, this is a week of patriotic holidays here in Panama, so the temple was closed Thursday, and was only open Friday and Saturday mornings, so we didn't skip too much work.  We saw different sites in Panama, ate lots, stayed up talking until late each night, and generally had a wonderful time.  Today was largely consumed with good-byes and trips to the airport, although since Rebecca had a fairly late flight we drove over to Colon again to visit the fort/castle there.

Saturday morning we decided to go to an endowment session at the temple together.  It turns out that there were no workers available to receive sisters in English, so the shift coordinator asked me if I could receive all the girls at the veil.  Curiously, I couldn't identify the first voice, until I realized it was a sister from our ward who speaks no Spanish.  But as I received each of the girls and thought about the promises upon my posterity I was deeply moved by the experience.  I have tried as much as possible to avoid letting the temple ordinances become routine, but when performing them with my family members they take on even more significance.

Earlier last week Delkys and I went to Gamboa Resort, which is set where the Chagres river meets Gatun Lake, which actually forms the bulk of the Panama Canal.  There we took a boat ride to visit Gatun lake and some of the islands there.  The scenery was beautiful.

There are certain places that these boats always visit and the monkeys know that if they wait long enough they will get goodies.

It was a fun trip.

Yesterday I was asked to address the District Conference in the San Blas Islands, which is where the Guna Yala Indians live.  My talk was via Zoom, so I didn't have to travel, but it was a really unfulfilling experience to speak when all I could see was my own face on the screen.  I was still grateful for the opportunity to bear testimony of the temple and the Savior's presence there, but I am not a fan of addressing a group via Zoom when I cannot see anyone.

After a somewhat crazy weekend it is back to our normal routine tomorrow.  We already miss having everyone here, but perhaps we also have a renewed appreciation for family.  We love and pray for all of you.

John and Delkys

Missionary Email #20

 Dear all -

Today was the Primary program in our ward.  It was fun to see all the kids give their parts, but it does remind me that I miss Primary. Well, I'm enjoying my current calling as well, so I shouldn't complain too much.

During the 2nd hour meeting today someone commented about the members in Chiriqui (a province at the west end of the country) hoping for the announcement of a temple there.  It is true that the temple here in Panama is not running anywhere near capacity, so perhaps there is not a need yet.  However, the closest we come to filling the temple is on the weekend when the saints from Chiriqui come in buses.  Maybe they have a good claim after all.

I have been reading about Samuel the Lamanite preaching to the Nephites.  The record says "the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart."  I have thought a lot about the weighty responsibility of speaking in the name of the Lord like this, especially as "whatsoever things should come into his heart" seems to suggest he was not given words to say, but thoughts and impressions that he had to translate into words.  After pondering this, though, I realized that I accept the same assignment from the Lord each time I place my hands on someone's head to bless them or to set them apart in a calling.  I do not generally receive words to say, but thoughts and impressions that I have to put into words.  It is extremely humbling to realize that is the same commission as the prophets receive.  I appreciate all the prayers offered to help me succeed in this rather frightening assignment.

Last week Delkys and I decided to drive to Colon, which is the city at the opposite end of the canal.  In doing so we drove from the Pacific ocean to the Caribbean Sea, which is a rather impressive feat in itself.  It took about an hour.  We visited a fort there that was built by the Spaniards back in the 1500's.

Although it is called a fort, I noticed that several of the informational placards refer to it as a castle.  So it may not match the castles of Europe, we got to visit a castle here.

The road over takes you through all sorts of lush jungle areas, and it was a beautiful drive.  We got there just as they were closing, so we didn't get to spend a lot of time there.  The plus side, though, was that there weren't many people around.  Interestingly, the fort is located where the Chagres river empties into the ocean.

Shortly after we got here I read the history of building the canal.  The French originally planned a sea-level canal, and one of the biggest impediments to that plan was the fact that the Chagres river (the upper left in the above picture) is a pretty sizeable river, but it can rise 40 feet in an hour after a heavy rain, and the proposed canal path crossed the river 14 times.  With the locks in the current canal the water from the Chagres is used to fill the locks, and the river is dammed to create Gatun Lake, which actually constitutes most of the canal.  That said, I had the impression that all the water from the Chagres drained out through the locks, so I didn't realize that it still also flows through its normal course to the sea.  All of this also means that the Chagres is the only river in the world which flows into two oceans on opposite sides of the continental divide.

The upcoming week has three national holidays, so the temple is closed entirely Thursday and half-days Friday and Saturday.  We are planning to use some of that time to take an overnight trip.  Maybe I'll end up with some good pictures.

Love,

John and Delkys

Missionary Email #19

 Dear All -

Aside from the fact that I did not use my time wisely yesterday there is really no reason why I missed writing.  There's probably a lesson in there for me somewhere if I could just figure out what it is.

Last Monday we decided to climb Cerro Ancon (Ancon Hill).  I believe it is the highest point in Panama City, and it certainly overlooks all the main parts of the city.  It's not quite the same as climbing 14ers in Colorado, since there is a paved road all the way, and the elevation at the top is only 600 feet, but it was still very fun.  You start off with a bunch of stairs, and I thought if the whole climb was going to be like that it was going to be a challenge.

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However, the stairs soon gave way to the road, and the rest of the climb was easier.  The entire hill is covered in heavy jungle, but occasionally there would be a break in the greenery and we could see parts of the city.

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As you can see, the day was cloudy and we thought it would rain on us, but the rain never came, and the clouds kept the temperature in the bearable range.  From the top we could see lots of the city, including (if you look carefully enough) the temple.

On the way back down we came upon a group of monkeys next to the road.  They were picking fruit off the tree and eating it.  They were a little wary of us, but not too concerned.

At the temple I sometimes forget that our attendance is still recovering from COVID.  I am reminded when someone who attends will ​say it's the first time they have been in two years.  We are praying that as time goes by more and more people will reestablish the habit of attending regularly.

On Friday we had two young couples get sealed on our shift.  It is always exciting to see couples getting sealed, but it also caused me to think about what it meant that they were there in the temple.  In order to get to that point they had already lived lives of righteousness and made the necessary choices.  I was grateful as I talked with them to recognize their commitment.

Saturday the sealer who would have been on the shift was sick and was unable to attend, so I ended up covering three sealing sessions.  It was the first time I have worked full sessions, and the experience was very impactful.  The words of the sealing are so profound and uplifting.  Memorizing the ordinances in Spanish makes some of the words stand out more to me as I consider why they were chosen for the translation.  I appreciate the opportunity to perform these sacred ordinances.

Yesterday I got to watch Daniel and Ashley's ward's Primary program.  As I was sitting on my couch with the phone in my hand I thought about the technological wonders that allowed me to see my grandson's say their parts even though I am thousands of miles away.  When they got to the end of the program I thought "Ah, now is when the bishop stands up and gives his closing remarks!"  Sure enough, there was Daniel.  I felt very proud of him as he offered some heartfelt observations.

It is hard to describe all the joy we are feeling as we fulfil this mission, but I hope some of it comes through.  This is indeed a wonderful opportunity, and I am very grateful for it.

Love,

John and Delkys

Missionary Email #18

 Dear All -

Another week has gone by with amazing speed, although I thought that this week lasted a little better than some have. In the midst of all that is going on the service in the temple is a continual blessing in our lives.  I was talking with President Garcia last night, and we commented on how freely the Lord blesses us.  Even after all the Plan of Salvation and the gift of his Son, he also blesses us with joy, love, and personal revelation.

I know I have commented before, but one of the joys of serving in the temple presidency is the opportunity to interview and set apart new temple workers.  A couple came in Friday evening who live 10 hours away from the temple.  They figured they could make the trip once a month and work Saturday mornings.  I felt such joy as I set them apart in their callings.  When we were done they asked "Can we start tomorrow?"  Then yesterday morning a younger sister came in for an interview.  She still has small children at home, but she is anxious to serve, so she too wanted to work on Saturday mornings.  I set her apart, and then she asked "Where do I go to now?"  She started serving immediately.  Such dedication is an inspiration to me.

Something else a little more sobering has been helping Delkys collect the names for the prayer roll, since she can't go in to collect from the brothers' locker room.  As I open the box and discover a huge stack of names I am always struck with the thought of how many people there are with special needs for whom we are asked to pray.  I think of the counsel President Eyring received about treating everyone "as if they are in deep trouble and you'll be right over half the time," and I can certainly see the truth of that.

We did take time earlier in the week to go to Amador Causeway with the Rodriguez's.  Whenever we go I see families riding in the pedal carts, and have always thought it looks like fun.  So we decided to rent one for an hour.  Delkys contributed this picture.

I discovered that the cart is pretty heavy and does not pedal very easily, but we still had fun riding up and down the causeway.  Of course, "up" and "down" are relative terms since the whole causeway is at sea level, but that was a good thing, because even riding up any incline at all was a challenge.  As we were riding this hawk stopped right next to the walkway.  Again Delkys snapped the picture.

A couple of days ago we went to a bank close by to take care of an errand, so while Delkys was inside I walked around a little.  There was a park-like area behind the bank, so I wandered over to see what it looked like, and discovered there was a canal running through it.  I then noticed this guy sunning himself on the opposite side of the canal.

He was a little over three feet long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.

As long as everyone was talking about the extremely hot summer in the States I had little trouble thinking about the weather there, but now that things are truly turning to autumn I find myself longing for the cooler mornings.  However, I think I am getting somewhat acclimated to the climate here, so I'm really doing pretty well.  We hope you are enjoying the weather and all else in life.

Love,

John and Delkys

Missionary Email #17

 Dear All -

Although we don't usually have temple meetings on Sunday we did just finish up with a training session for all the shift coordinators.  Given that they all attend the temple on the days they are able it was impossible to find another time during the week for a training meeting, so we did it today.  In the process of today's meeting we discovered that the internal lights in the temple are programmed to turn off Sundays, and there was no obvious way to turn them on.  After calling the temple facilities manager I was able to find the secret switch on an electrical panel in a facilities room which overrode the programming.  It is so exciting to learn about the secrets of the temple!  Oh, yes - one other secret about that particular room that I learned a couple of weeks ago is that the door closes by itself, and the same key that opened it from the outside apparently does not open it from the inside.  So today when I went in I was careful to prop the door open.  I made two pans of brownies as part of the refreshments, and they all disappeared in a matter of minutes after the meeting was over.

This week we had a group of saints from Guyana come to the temple.  It turns out that those who attend the temple from Guyana usually go to a temple in Brazil, but their area presidency decided they would try sending them to Panama this time.  There were three couples who came to receive their endowments and to be sealed.  They also had a senior missionary couple with them.  Like the saints from Jamaica, they speak English, but no Spanish, so Delkys and I ended up helping them with a number of things.  In particular I got to perform all three sealings, which was a wonderful experience.  They were so grateful to be at the temple and we all had a marvelous time together.

Today was stake conference for our stake.  There were three choirs that sang; a Primary chorus, a choir of Kuna women, and then a more traditional choir.  I enjoyed all three of them, but I was particularly struck by the Kuna sisters.  The Kuna indians are from some islands off the coast of Panama, and although legally part of Panama, they are very autonomous, and maintain their own language and customs.  These sisters all live here close to Panama City, but they were all dressed in their traditional clothing.  They sang the hymn "How Great Thou Art", alternating verses between Kuna and Spanish.  In all honesty they had little sense for the melody, but they sang with great enthusiasm and spirit, and the meaning of the words came through just fine.  I found their performance to be very uplifting.

As is customary, at the end of the week we are very close to exhausted.  It has been a great week and a lot has gone on, but it does take somewhat out of us.  Next week we will be working mornings again, which means we have to get up earlier, just to add to the challenge.  But we are having a wonderful time, learning lots, and are grateful for this opportunity to serve here.  Thank you for your love and support.

Love,

John and Delkys

Missionary Email #16

 Dear All -

Wow, change my Sunday schedule a little, and it's hard to get the email written.  That said, I loved General Conference.  The messages were definitely timely and meaningful for me.  Each time a speaker mentioned the temple I could look over my left shoulder at the temple, which was also pretty nice.

Speaking of which, I have been reflecting on the value of having our apartment overlook the temple.  Besides the beauty of the view it is a real blessing to look out the window the last time at night and see the temple, and when I get up in the morning the first thing I see out the window is the temple.  We are obviously centering our lives around the temple anyway, but just the visual reinforcement is precious.  Of course, what I really see is all that the temple represents in terms of our relationship to Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Saturday I had changed my clothes and was preparing to walk out of the temple when I saw three young men talking with the temple recorder.  They were casually dressed, but said they were from Ecuador and had come to the temple in the hopes of participating in some ordinances.  All the workers from the morning shift had left, and the recorder suggested they could wait an hour or so until the afternoon shift showed up, but I asked if he would be willing to stay a little longer and he and I could do some initiatory ordinances with them.  He agreed, and we spent a half an hour or so doing initiatories.  After they left I thought about what a special experience that had been.  We emphasize so much making sure that all who enter in the temple - workers and patrons - have a positive experience and it was nice to be able to make that happen.

Since I mentioned temple views, I'll share this one.  It is hard for me to get an exact sense of scale, but that vulture sitting on Moroni's trumpet is pretty big.

Last Monday we went to Price Smart to do some larger-scale shopping.  Price Smart sells Member's Mark products, so I assume they are affiliated with Costco.  Although we found a lot of good items, I was very disappointed that they didn't have the big tubs of ice cream.  So when we followed up with a visit to the grocery store around the corner from here I went to look at their ice cream.  I discovered that all of their ice cream was melting.  So we are having to struggle through on just the ice cream that I had on hand.  Hopefully today we can find some.

So even if I am late getting the email out, we are doing fine, and the Church is true.  We love you and enjoy hearing from you.

Love,

John and Delkys